//------------------------------// // Embuscade // Story: My Little Teelo: Masquerade // by Ardwolf //------------------------------// Wherein our Heroine discovers quantity does indeed have a quality all its own and nasty surprises can arrive in packages both miniscule and gargantuan. “You wished to see me, Your Highness?” A mild voice interrupted Celestia’s endless stream of paperwork. She looked up to find a pale mauve unicorn stallion with light gold mane and tail regarding her from behind a pair of thick rimmed black spectacles. Any person who encountered the stallion could be forgiven for thinking him nothing more than a lowly filing clerk or one of the other essential but instantly forgettable functionaries with which Canterlot was overrun. “Ah, good morning, Under Hoof,” Celestia said pleasantly as her horn turned golden. Within the walls, floor, and ceiling hidden spell matrices lit up and instantly sealed the room from all outside contact, almost placing it in a pocket dimension. The stallion ignored the suddenly stuffy feeling that pervaded the room. “Good morning, Your Highness,” he replied in a pleasant voice that was neither loud enough, deep enough nor shrill enough to draw attention to itself. “It appears we have a new player on the field my friend,” Celestia said, her horn bringing a pair of cups and a teapot from the sideboard. A simple glow of her horn caused the water in the teapot to come to a gentle simmer. Opening the lid she allowed a carefully measured amount of tea leaves to float from a container on the tea trolley tucked discreetly into a corner. Closing the lid she set the pot aside to steep, a small egg timer beside the pot setting itself. “Or rather,” she corrected herself, “a very old player has just let their cloak slip aside in an unguarded moment.” “Hmm,” the stallion settled on the cushion in front of her desk. “Is Pinstripe aware of this, Your Highness?” “I may have mentioned it to him,” Celestia admitted with a tiny smile. “It appears the two of you will be consulting on this, as our player may be scattered near and far. Unfortunately, it appears they have actually had ample time to set the board to their own advantage.” “Highness?” the stallion asked, cocking his head. “That would imply they are even older than you, if you will forgive this unicorn his tactlessness.” “Oh, very much older indeed, Under Hoof,” Celestia said with a sigh. “Far older than anypony would credit, in fact. If you will forgive this elderly alicorn her hyperbole, I would in fact say our player is from the beginning of time.” The unicorn considered his liege’s words with only a mildly interested expression on his face until the egg timer went off. Celestia poured both of them tea. The unicorn accepted his cup with a nod of thanks. “With all due respect, I must protest your claim of being elderly, Highness. You are as young today as you ever were. As for this player, there are very few who could match your description. The only ones I can think of offhoof are Discord and Tišina, neither of which can be said to be new. And to my knowledge, neither are active players at this time.” He blinked as he tasted his tea, apparently startled. He stared down at the tea with widened eyes. Watching his reaction, Celestia nodded slightly. The mild mannered clerk’s expression turned stoic as he sat the teacup down on her desk. “So,” Under Hoof said. “You truly feel this new player merits that kind of attention, Princess Celestia?” “I do,” the alicorn nodded firmly. “I ask you to forgive me, Under Hoof. I would not ask this of you unless I had no choice. You know that.” “I will need all the information you currently have, of course.” There was a slight tinge of resignation in the stallion’s voice, although his stance remained calm and unworried. “I will inform you of our progress as appropriate—Sunny.” “Agreed,” the alicorn said in a sad voice. “A word of warning, Hoofie, look closely at your own before you begin. Our new player enjoys keeping their enemy in a loving embrace, much as Chrysalis did. They may have begun compromising both the Eyes and the Ears from the day they were founded.” “Then I will of course submit freely and completely, Sunny. Stroll through my mind until you are sure of me—my mind and my oath have ever been yours.” The stallion slipped from a seated position to lie on the floor, placing his head on his forelegs Celestia stepped around her desk to settle on the floor next to the unicorn, putting a wing over his back and drawing him to her. “I’m so sorry for this,” she whispered as she lowered a gently glowing horn to touch his. “No pony should ever be forced to this.” “You are not forcing me,” he murmured just before the magic took hold and he slipped into unconsciousness. Closing her eyes the alicorn began her mind walk, delicately placing each hoof with exquisite care as she began to examine Under Hoof’s innermost thoughts and secrets, gently invading even his most private hopes and dreams. She was tenderly ruthless, leaving no corner of his mind untouched, no secret unseen, but making absolutely sure her journey left not the slightest hint of her passage, the pathways completely unmarked by her mental hooves. The hours passed as the mind walk continued, the ticking of the clock measuring the fall of Celestia’s tears. ooOoo “Dronning, it is time to get up,” Søyle’s voice cut through the silence in the dim light filling the tent. Teagan groaned quietly as she grudgingly tried to get out of the bedroll. Her thigh muscles started protesting before she could even sit up. She winced and tried to stifle the yelp, but was unsuccessful. “Whna—“, Emma snorted from the bedroll next to her. “Waagggnn?” “Time to rise and shine,” Teagan grumbled, rubbing her aching legs. “We’ve got a long day ahead of us.” “Oh God, just another five minutes?” Emma begged piteously. “Remember what Søyle and Kusken did yesterday?” Teagan hissed as another knot made itself known. “Ow, my legs are really sore.” Emma reluctantly clawed her way out of the bedroll, only to grimace and clutch her own legs. “Jeez, it feels like my legs are on fire!” She yelped as she shifted. “And my poor feet! I can feel at least two blisters. This sucks.” “Welcome to the wonderful world of mountain hiking. Only another six days to go,” Teagan began trying to slowly stretch her legs to work out some of the stiffness and soreness. “Lady Teagan?” The light female voice which could only be a pony spoke from outside the tent. “It’s Graceful Star. May I enter?” Teagan threw a blanket over her bare legs and Emma did likewise. “Come in,” Teagan invited. “I’m sorry to intrude, but I thought you might want this,” A large bottle was floating in Graceful Star’s magic. It settled next to the red-haired girl. “It’s liniment. I should have offered it to you last night but I forgot the two of you aren’t used to long marches. It won’t be as effective because of the delay, but it should still help quite a bit.” “Got something for blisters?” Emma asked, suddenly realizing Graceful Star was a doctor. “Sure. They hate to admit it but even big burly soldiers can lose the calluses on their frog occasionally. After that, well,” Graceful Star smiled, “it’s amazing how stallions turn back into foals when they get a blister on their frog. Mares are usually more sensible and don’t wait to get help.” Feeling less body shy in front of a doctor than she would have otherwise, Emma pulled her feet from under the blanket. “I have a couple of blisters. Could you take a look?” “Certainly,” the unicorn replied cheerfully. “You’re Emma, right?” “That’s me,” Emma turned on her side to more easily present her foot for inspection. “Is it both feet or just one?” Graceful Star’s tone turned professional as she focused on Emma’s foot. “Both, but this one is the worst. There’s one on the back of the heel and another on the ball of my foot,” Emma said. “Oh my, the one on your heel is fairly large,” The unicorn replied with a slight frown. “I’m going to have to drain it and cover it with blister pad. The one under your foot isn’t very big, we’ll just put a ring pad around it and it should heal in a couple of days. I’ll want you to stay off it today, though.” “More riding?” Emma asked, dismayed. “That’s so embarrassing!” “You’d rather risk more blisters? Or getting an infection?” Graceful Star asked dryly. “Infection? Eep! I’ll ride. But will I be able to walk tomorrow?” “We’ll see,” The unicorn replied. “If it’s any consolation, when a trooper has to have a frog blister drained they have to wear a special boot over their hoof and let somepony else carry their gear. The platoon has a long memory.” The unicorn chuckled. “Ok, this won’t hurt a bit. I’ll just prick the blister using magic and then drain it. It’ll only take a second. Emma tensed but felt only the slightest pressure and a sense of relief. “There, all done. Let me put a bandage on this and you’ll be good to go. Oh, don’t want to forget the other foot!” Emma obediently shifted to present her other foot. “Do you get a lot of practice patching up non-ponies?” Teagan asked, watching with interest as the various items flew around and settled where they needed to be. It reminded her of Rarity’s sewing, but Graceful Star wasn’t handling nearly the number of objects that Rarity normally did. “You’d be surprised,” Graceful Star said as she examined Emma’s other foot and placed a second ring pad on the small blister. “There’s not a lot of call for actual combat, thank goodness, so mostly our platoon deals with the aftermath of natural disasters and the like. Or monster rampages.” She laughed. “Most of the big ones know it’s time to run when we show up. But that means we travel all around Equestria. Since about 1 in 7 Equestrian citizens aren’t ponies, or even equinoids, I get a lot of practice with other species. Everything from minotaurs to young dragons, I even treated a pack of diamond dogs once.” “So humans are just more of the same old same old?” Emma asked as Graceful Star finished up. “Pretty much,” The unicorn agreed. “Don’t get me wrong, every species presents its own unique twists, but simple stuff like friction blisters are pretty universal. Still, I like the challenge, it keeps my job interesting. Lady Teagan, any blisters you need me to deal with?” “No, just sore legs,” Teagan chuckled. “And this liniment seems to be doing the trick. Is there healing magic in this?” “A little,” The unicorn agreed. “Some of the herbs in it absorb magic naturally, but there isn’t a lot. Certainly nothing compared to a unicorn healing spell. I’ve heard humans don’t use magic at all, is that right?” “Yep,” Teelo nodded. “Before Discord kidnapped me I’d never seen real magic before—just fake magic like stage magicians use.” “I can’t even imagine living in a world without magic,” Graceful Star said shaking her head. “It must be so strange.” “Well,” Emma said, snagging the liniment bottle from Teagan and pouring some in her hand, “we’ve never had magic, so it doesn’t seem strange to us at all. To us magic is fantastic, like something in a dream. Your tele-whatsis, the thing you do with your horn to lift stuff, that’s so incredibly cool.” She grinned up at the unicorn. “Still, your hands can do pretty much the same thing, but how do your doctors heal patients? Even Earth ponies have their flow magic. Without any how can doctors do anything?” “We use advanced technology,” Teagan explained, getting dressed. “We have machines that can perform all sorts of analysis, like testing blood for traces of disease, or looking for cancer. We have lots of medicines for different diseases, and doctors train for years in college to learn all about the body and what makes it tick.” “Amazing,” Graceful Star said. “Well, I have to go, but Emma I don’t want you walking too much. You can walk around camp a little, but ride today during the march. We’ll see how your feet are doing tomorrow, all right?” “Yes, ma’am,” Emma said with a sigh. “Thank you so much,” Teagan said gratefully, handing the bottle back to the unicorn. “I’m feeling a hundred percent better.” “Keep that,” Graceful Star chuckled. “You’ll need it tonight.” Emma grabbed the bottle and spread another generous handful on her legs. Her eyes lit up. “Ok, now I know there has to be magic in this stuff. Five seconds and the soreness is starting to fade. Thanks, Graceful Star!” “You’re welcome.” The unicorn left to attend to her own affairs. “Ready for breakfast?” Teagan asked. “Just give me a second to finish up here because I’m starved,” Emma said. “Is this how you feel all the time?” “Pretty much, now hurry before the trolls eat it all.” Emma rapidly finished rubbing the liniment in and pulled her jeans on. The two girls left the tent chatting amiably and headed for the smell of the breakfast fires. ooOoo “Kongen, medlemmer av rådet,” Alene Avgrunn spoke gravely. ”I bear troubling news. The Alene have carefully inspected Hejm’s wards and found an enormous number of openings that were not there when last we surveyed them a decade ago.” The news was met with silence as the council waited to hear the rest. “Over two hundred openings have been found so far,” the elderly troll said, “and another thousand runes are weakening as well. This is unprecedented in the history of magic. Ordinarily, without attention, we would expect to see one rune fail in a century. For so many to be failing after a mere decade tells me something is interfering with Hejm’s wards. Given that the Deepest Dark is stirring again I suspect it is no coincidence.” “How soon until the openings are closed?” Varig asked sharply. “The wards are vital if we are to face the Deepest Dark again.” “A fortnight,” Alene Avgrunn replied, “until the runes have been replaced and given a preliminary charge. But that is not the problem. Our vulnerability does not end when the runes are charged, Varig.” “What then?” The silvery skinned troll demanded. “Ward magic strengthens over time,” the Alene said calmly. “Even with the runes in place and charged they will not regain their full strength for five years. And this is not all, for I have not spoken of the weakening runes. They too will have to be dealt with. Some are almost ready to fail and create new openings. Demons may easily enter Hejm now, and that is not the worst of it.” “What more ill tidings do you bear?” A skeletal looking troll asked in a growl. “Until we manage to close the ward failures, draugr can enter at will.” The Alene’s voice was grim. “Indeed, any creature that can tunnel to the openings could pass without our knowledge, Tynn of Clan Elv. Although we may be fortunate that many openings would require wings to use as they are in the vault above our heads.” “Is there any pattern to the failures?” Sannheten asked after the Alene’s words brought silence to the council chambers as the trolls considered them. “None that we can note,” the Alene replied after a moment’s reflection. “The failed wards are scattered about the cavern, no more numerous in one area than another. Nor do they appear to favor secluded points over well traveled ones. If it were not impossible I would have said the failures are random, though clearly that cannot be.” “Do you know what is causing the runes to fail?” Fjell asked after another silence. “No, and that is the most troubling thing of all,” The wizard replied with a frown. “We know that any slight imperfection in the rune’s carving can hasten its failure, but even an imperfect rune should last for centuries. We are investigating, but Alene Hule is the most knowledgeable in these matters and he is attending Dronning Teagan at this time.” “How soon until the Dronning returns?” Sannheten asked. “Five days,” Fjell replied. “We received a message from the Pony Princess this morning indicating the Dronning left Canterlot two days ago.” “Why was this message delayed?” A troll with a plain undecorated harness asked suspiciously. “Surely it should have been sent as soon as the Dronning left? The bevinget hester can cross the distance between us in three hours if they wish. Such a message should not have taken two days!” “Peace, Vismeg,” Fjell said placatingly. “Our enemies struck Canterlot the night before the Dronning left. They attempted to slay the Princess of Ponies as well as the Dronning in two separate attacks.” “Why have we not heard of this before now?” Vismeg demanded angrily. “Because that information was in the same message we received this morning,” Fjell replied mildly. “And there is more. The Dronning has formed a military alliance with the Pony Princess. She vowed to stand with Clan Hest against our enemies. The Pony Princess in turn vowed to find where our enemies lair so that we may strike them down.” “So the Pony Princess keeps Clan Hest safe while trolls bleed for her?” Vismeg sneered. “I think not.” “Clan Hest is a troll clan, Vismeg of Clan Langtpunkt. Or had you forgotten this?” Sannheten said quietly. “Ponies cannot be clan to trolls,” Vismeg said dismissively. “They walk on four legs and have fur, Sannheten. They run where a troll would fight and they lie easily. Such cannot be clan to trolls! They mock our very nature! How can you accept that?” The room echoed with a loud boom as Fjell’s fist crashed upon the reinforced table, causing it to rock from the force of the blow. “Take care, Vismeg,” Fjell said with a low dangerous growl. “For Dronning Teagan was not to the trolls born, yet she wields Mountain Heart. Dare you to doubt her? Dare you foreswear yourself by denying the Law? She is Dronning! She is troll. And she is klanen av sjelen with the ponies! So they are clan to trolls! It is the Law!” Fjell’s roar was deafening. He rose out of his seat, glaring at the elderly troll who glared back instinctively. “Klanen av sjelen?” Vismeg snarled. “How do you believe this, Kongen?” “Because Kona Søyle sent a message saying that Dronning Teagan told her this without knowing what it meant.” Fjell sat back down and spoke calmly. “How then can I not believe it? And if Dronning Teagan has said this, do you doubt her?” Vismeg hesitated, then settled back in his chair, thinking. The others kept their silence out of respect for tradition. Fjell had challenged Vismeg, and it was up to Vismeg to answer. “What proof of this is there?” Vismeg answered. “I am a Plain Troll, Fjell. I must see this for myself. It is too important a matter for belief. The Dronning may be mistaken. And then what would the Law say about Clan Hest?” The tension in the council chamber spiked sharply. Vismeg had answered in a way that was within his rights. He had not denied Fjell’s statement, or the Dronning’s, yet he had not accepted it either. It was now Fjell’s burden to offer proof. “Vismeg has the right of it,” Tynn spoke slowly. “I myself believe the Dronning’s statement. I accept Clan Hest into the trolls. Yet Vismeg must be heard. It is the Law. He must be given proof.” “Then we must wait for the Dronning to arrive,” Fjell said heavily. “Vismeg, you shall have your proof from her own lips. Until such time, we will honor what the Dronning has said and we will honor her commitments. What say you to this, Vismeg of Clan Langtpunkt?” “I will abide until I have my proof, Kongen. Should the Dronning be able to provide it, then I will accept it. But if she should not, then we will need to reconsider Clan Hest.” The other council members nodded somberly. “So be it,” Fjell said with a curt nod. ooOoo Earth, Wednesday morning, May 31, 2013 11:32 AM “Well?” Evelyn asked with a half smile. “Where did you get this?” The other woman asked with a glint of cupidity in her eyes. “It’s possibly the finest ruby I’ve ever seen of any size, much less this large! Three and a quarter carets! There’s not one inclusion even under a 30x loupe! And the color is perfect.” “It was payment for services rendered,” Evelyn said smugly. “From an Old Money family that didn’t want a large and oh so visible transfer of funds for their enemies to discover. I need you to convert it to cash for me, Rosalyn.” “This stone is worth half my inventory, Evelyn,” The jeweler sighed regretfully. “Off the cuff I’d guess this stone is worth at least two hundred thousand. Maybe more if it caught the eye of the bigger traders. But God knows I want it. The doors this thing would open are worth ten times its cash price.” “Well, I might be willing to be flexible on the payment terms,” Evelyn said, putting her chin on her folded hands. “Say, twenty percent down and a thousand a month until you sell it, then the balance due. Just for old time’s sake you can give me ninety percent of what you get for it.” “That’s amazingly generous,” Rosalyn said suspiciously. Evelyn waved her off casually. “I didn’t say the ruby was the only gem in that payment,” she said, winking. “It was just the best of the bunch. There’ll be others I’ll eventually want to sell too. I scratch your back you scratch mine.” “This is a legal stone, right?” Rosalyn asked sharply, blue eyes narrowing. “I’m lusting after it, but not if it costs me my license. I know some of your cases lean toward the weird and questionable.” “You have my word. Perfectly legal, it just needs a bit of discretion.” The older lady’s eye fell on the ruby in front of her, lying on the dark cloth like a glittering drop of blood. She could feel it calling to her, begging her to sink into its lustrous depths and meditate on the matchless beauty of the stone. “I swear if this turns out to be stolen or something I will personally lead the police right to your door.” She said finally. “They already know where I live,” Evelyn said, grinning. “How long will it take to properly assess the stone?” “Give me an hour,” Rosalyn replied. Evelyn rose. “Great! I’m gonna grab some lunch. You want me to bring you back anything?” “You trust me with this?” Rosalyn asked, raising an eyebrow. “Yup,” she winked. “You’ve never screwed me over, Rosalyn. Besides, we both know the stone’s worth more if you play it straight.” ooOoo Earth, Wednesday night, May 31, 2013 9:17 PM It was well past sundown and the jeweler’s shop was dark, lit only by a peculiar lamp the Treasury Department had forced her to buy from them. Rosalyn Parker was staring at the ruby she’d purchased from Evelyn Lewis, lit by the pale but strangely pure silver light from the lamp. “Damn it, Evelyn,” she whispered as she watched the ruby emit a beautiful—but impossible— rainbow of light. Even though the light from the lamp was steady, the rainbow pulsed like a heartbeat, fading in one place only to blaze up suddenly from another. With a heavy heart she dug out her cell phone and dialed the number printed on the base of the lamp. “FinCEN, jewels and precious metals division, Agent Merriweather speaking.” A deep male voice answered on the other end. “Yes, my name is Rosalyn Parker, I own RP Jewel Trading in Kansas City Kansas. I just bought an exceptional three caret ruby and tested it with that special lamp you people made me buy.” “One moment, ma’am,” he said, suddenly sounding alert and professional. She felt her stomach clench, knowing this was bad. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “The ruby is producing a rainbow,” Rosalyn said, nothing in her voice betraying the sick feeling in her stomach. “The rainbow isn’t steady. It pulses, and shoots out from different parts of the stone, then fades and appears somewhere else.” “Can you time the pulses?” the agent asked. “About once a second,” she replied. “Miss Parker, I’m afraid I’m going to have to have you hold onto that stone until we can send an agent to take a look at it.” “Are you going to confiscate it? I don’t think I could afford that,” she said, suddenly afraid. “No ma’am,” the agent said firmly. “Should we actually need the stone you’ll be reimbursed for it, but at the moment all we want to do is have one of our agents examine it. You’ll probably be free to sell it within a couple of days but we will want a copy of all transactions, particularly who sold it to you and who you sell it to. The whole thing should only take a day and then most likely you’ll be free to sell it.” “It’s not dangerous, is it? I’ve never seen a jewel react this way before,” Rosalyn asked worriedly. “No ma’am, it’s not radioactive or anything if that’s what you’re worried about,” Agent Merriweather said reassuringly. “The ruby’s perfectly harmless. The light show is some kind of photonic quantum interference. At least that’s what the scientists tell me.” He chuckled. “I’m just an accountant, all that science double-speak is way over my head.” “You’re sure?” She asked again, eyeing the dancing rainbow with misgivings. “Absolutely,” he said firmly, “nothing to worry about at all. The ruby is reacting to the special wavelength of light the lamp creates. You are using it in the dark, right?” “Yes, that’s what the instructions said to do,” Rosalyn said, relaxing. “Can I turn on the lights now?” “Sure, go ahead,” he said cheerfully. “After you do I’ll need to get some basic information from you, like your address and phone number.” “Ok, hang on a second,” She quickly rose and turned on the lights. She sighed in relief, still somewhat unnerved by that spooky rainbow. Feeling the need for even more light she turned on the lighted magnifier on her desk and pointed it toward the gem, which was now behaving like a normal gem, simply glowing red with the light shining through it. “I’m back,” she said into her cell phone, “That’s so much better. The rainbow’s gone.” “See, nothing to worry about,” the man said cheerfully. “Now…” He spent almost an hour gathering information before telling her a Treasury agent would arrive the next day and hanging up. With a groan she pocketed her phone and turned off the magnifier. That’s when she noticed the special lamp was still on, although its glow was almost invisible. She hastily turned it off, worried she might have shortened the lifetime of the bulb. She remembered the instructions had said not to let the light burn for more than five minutes at a time. The lamp hadn’t been cheap and most of the price was in the bulb she knew. She picked up the ruby and slipped it in her pocket, planning to lock it in her office safe, but before she could even turn around there was a silent explosion of rainbow light that blinded her for a moment and made her lose her balance. She reached out for the desk to keep from falling. Her hand instead landed on something warm and furry. “Oh, I say,” a cultured voice exclaimed in shock. “Kindly unhoof me at once! Guards! See to this ruffian immediately!” Rosalyn still couldn’t see anything because the blast of light had made her eyes tear up. Her impromptu support moved away and she stumbled again, trying to keep her balance. She finally managed to blink away the tears and focus—only to stare dumbfounded around the huge room she found herself in. It almost looked like a museum. A museum with lots of ponies for patrons. “Guards!” The angry cultured voice shouted. “Arrest this creature for assaulting my person!” She looked at the source of the voice and her mouth fell open. “A unicorn?” she gasped in shock. “Unicorns don’t exist!” The white unicorn threw back its head and stared at her haughtily, clearly affronted. “We canst assure thee unicorns are quite real,” a woman’s cool and very formal but loud voice came from Rosalyn’s right. Turning she found herself looking at another unicorn, this one dark blue and much larger than the first. It sat on a dais several feet above the room’s floor. Standing on either side of the dais were what looked like golden armored ponies with, she was shocked yet again, wings. “Pegasi? What’s going on? Where am I?” “Thou art in the throne room of Canterlot Castle, in the Night Court,” the unicorn answered her with that same booming voice. “We hight Luna, Royal Princess of Equestria. What is thy name?” “I’m, uh, very confused.” The woman said, blinking. The sheer impossibility of what she was seeing stunned her. “We canst see that. How came thee here? What is the purpose of thy visit?” “I don’t know. I remember picking up the ruby and there was this horribly bright flash of rainbow-colored light, and then I was here.” “What is thy name, madam?” Luna asked, lowering her voice to normal speaking tones. “Um, Rosalyn Parker—it’s Your Highness, right?” “Thee may address Us as Princess Luna,” the unicorn said kindly. “Art thou all right, Rosalyn Parker? Thee seemest to be in some distress.” “I—how is this possible?” The woman waved an arm around, encompassing the room and its impossible occupants. “Unicorns? Pegasi? All of you are mythical creatures. How can you exist?” “Quite happily, We assure thee,” Luna said dryly. “We take it thee did not come here of thine own free will?” “No, not at all,” Rosalyn said. “I was in my shop—I’m a jewel trader by the way—and I picked up the ruby Evelyn sold me when bam suddenly I’m here talking to you. Do you know what happened?” “Auntie, clearly this human,” the white unicorn snorted in disdain, “has taken leave of her senses. Let the guards deal with her.” “Blueblood, thou art here to learn the trials and tribulations of Our subjects,” Luna said in an annoyed tone. “A prince must have deep compassion for the common pony—or any traveler cast adrift. Hold thy tongue and open thine ears so thee may learn!” The white unicorn winced and glared at Rosalyn. Silently he took one step back and bowed his head toward the dais. Satisfied, Luna returned her attention to the human woman. “Rosalyn Parker, thou sayest Evelyn sold you a ruby. Wouldst this be Evelyn Lewis?” “Yes, Your Highness,” Rosalyn said, stiffening. “Do you know her?” “We know her very well indeed,” Luna agreed. “She and her friends rendered Equestria a great service. We are in her debt. Is she a friend of thine or merely a business acquaintance?” “Um, well, I hired her a couple of years ago to find out who was stealing from me. We kept in touch and became pretty good friends. She came in today and sold me a large ruby. She said it was all legal and aboveboard.” “And so it was,” Luna replied firmly. “No doubt thy ruby comes from the cache of jewels We and our sister gave her in payment for her service to Us. She earned every jewel we could give her, Rosalyn Parker, and more.” “Um, ok. Can I go home now please?” Rosalyn winced at how plaintive her voice sounded. “Alas, it is not so simple,” Luna said in a regretful tone. “The Bridge of Days lies deep within the Everfree Forest and recent events have barred us from going there. Twill be two days shy of three weeks before it becomes safe to return.” “Three weeks! Oh, no, no, no, no! There’s a Treasury agent coming tomorrow to examine the ruby! If I’m not there…” She shuddered. “It would be bad, Your Highness.” “Agent of the Treasury? We do not understand. Why would thy rulers care about a single gemstone? We took care to choose only the finest stones, of course, but even so it is only a single ruby!” “Only a ruby?” Rosalyn gaped at the unicorn. “Your Highness it is the finest ruby I have ever handled! It’s one of the finest I have ever heard of, it’s absolutely unique! It’s worth at least a quarter of a million dollars!” “This is a large sum in your world?” The princess asked uncertainly. Rosalyn stared at her, speechless. Luna returned her gaze with mild curiosity. “Um, yes, Your Highness. That’s enough to buy a good sized home in my…wait…world? You’re saying I’m in a different world?” “Didst thou not suspect?” Luna asked gently. “Didst thou not say unicorns and pegasi are but myths to thee? Indeed humans have been naught but legends to us. Before the coming of Lady Teagan the common pony would have scoffed at the mere mention of humans—if they even knew of humans at all. Thee and we dwell in different worlds, and the paths between them have been lost for a thousand years. Even so, we had thought the Bridge of Days the only way between our worlds. Thee must have treaded another path we knew not of, for all our ancient knowledge.” Rosalyn’s legs gave out and she thumped down hard on the floor. “What am I going to do?” She whispered hopelessly. “It is not so bad,” Luna soothed her. “In three weeks time the way to the Bridge of Days will open and thee canst return home. Until then thee shall be our guest here in the castle. Do not despair for thee shall see thy home again. Thee hast Our word. Rest easy, the vow of a Princess of Equestria is surety indeed.” “But by then it will be too late!” Rosalyn said in a panic. “I’ll be arrested! I’ll lose my license and my shop! They’ll put me in prison!” “Truly? For what crime?” Luna asked in clear confusion. “Money laundering! Obstruction of justice! I don’t know! I’m not a lawyer I’m just a gem trader. But you don’t mess with the Treasury! They’re worse than the IRS!” “Surely if thee explains thy absense was not of thy doing? No, wait. They have no reason to believe in Equestria, tis true,” Luna said, mulling over the problem. “We sympathize, Rosalyn Parker, but we have no answer. Is thy government so cruel then that it would imprison thee for something that was not in thy control?” “What? No, but there are laws, Your Highness. Gems are an easy way for bad people to hide the profits from their crimes, so the Treasury keeps a close eye on all gem trading, especially the really valuable ones. If I vanish along with the ruby it looks like I’m deliberately concealing something.” “So that is money laundering?” Luna asked with a frown of concentration. “I have never heard of this practice before. Vested Interest, please summon Our sister. We have need of her council.” “At once, Your Highness.” Another unicorn, this one periwinkle blue with a mulberry mane and tail containing a yellow stripe hurried away. Taking a moment to collect herself and stand up Rosalyn took a deep breath. “My apologies, Your Highness, for my behavior. This has all been a huge shock to me. I’m still having trouble taking it all in.” “Think nothing of it,” Luna said graciously. “No doubt the average pony would react much the same way if they found themselves thrust into thy world unexpectedly. Why, when Lady Teagan first appeared in our world she had some advance knowledge of us, yet still fainted for a full twenty-four hours from the shock. We judge thy own behavior better than hers and commend thee for dealing with this unforeseen circumstance as well as thee have. Once my sister has joined us we may yet arrive at some answer for your dilemma. May we examine this ruby that seems to be the heart of thy troubles?” “Of course, Your Highness,” Rosalyn took the ruby from her pocket and started to walk toward the dais, extending the ruby in the palm of her hand toward Luna. Much to her shock the unicorn’s horn became surrounded by a bluish glow. A matching glow surrounded the ruby which immediately rose in the air and floated toward the unicorn. “What…” the woman started to say, staring wide-eyed at the floating ruby. “Tis only magic, Rosalyn Parker,” Luna said soothingly. “Do not fash thyself, it is harmless.” She studied the ruby as it floated a few inches from her eyes. “Most strange, We do not recognize the spell matrix within this stone. It appears to be natural rather than designed,” Luna mused. “We do not understand why it would have brought you to Us, unless this natural matrix is merely a universal receptor and an actual spell was deliberately placed within the stone. Such universal receptors are common, although they hold only raw magic, not a pre-formed spell. But why that particular spell was in the stone is beyond us.” “Um, I was using a special lamp, Your Highness. The Treasury sold it to me to test stones for a certain reaction. The instructions said never use it for more than five minutes, but I accidentally left it on for an hour before I realized it. There was a bright light focused on the ruby too, and bright room lighting. “This special lamp thou speakest of, did it shine with a particular color? Silver, perhaps?” “Yes! Silver light, but it’s very dim, so dim you’re only supposed to use it in a completely dark room. It made the ruby produce this weird pulsing rainbow. It was really strange the way the lamp produced a steady light but the rainbow moved around.” “Ah,” the Princess said in satisfaction. “Matters become clearer. Tell Us, did thee touch the stone while the silver light shone upon it?” Rosalyn shook her head. “No, Your Highness, I turned off the magnifier and the silver lamp first. When I picked up the ruby there was this blindingly bright rainbow light all around me, and then I was here.” “Hmm,” Luna said absently “Let Us see something…aha! Just as We suspected, there is indeed a spell matrix within the stone, hidden behind the stone’s own natural array. Sweet Aura, a sheet of parchment and quill, if thee please.” A dark emerald unicorn with a bright blue mane and tail lit her horn and the requested items floated from the desk in front of her to the Princess who must have grabbed them with her own magic because the quill started to rapidly scribe the parchment. There was no sound in the throne room except the busy scratching of the quill which occasionally paused to dip itself in an inkwell that sat before the Princess. Rosalyn couldn’t stop herself from wondering why there was an inkwell in front of Luna, but no quills or paper. “There!” Luna finally exclaimed in satisfaction. “Once Our sister joins Us, we shall examine the spell that brought thee here and discover if it might be reversed.” ooOoo The caravan made good time, with Emma perched moodily on the same wagon she’d been riding the day before. Teagan made a point of spending as much time next to her friend as she could, but many of the trolls asked to have private conversations with her, which inevitably devolved into exchanges of personal history. A way for them to bond to her, she guessed. It was useful, she supposed, and important, but it meant Emma spent nearly six hours of the ten hour march in silent vigil atop her perch. That was why Emma was in a particularly foul mood as she was lifted off the wagon when the caravan stopped to make camp in the early twilight. So foul a mood in fact she decided to take a short walk to loosen the muscles that had stiffened up during the day. Nobody noticed her leaving camp, not even Teagan. Emma didn’t think there would be a problem because she had no intention of wandering far enough from camp to lose sight of it. The area the trolls had stopped in was a valley and thus pleasantly warm. There was an odd smell in the air, almost like new mown grass, but earthier and muskier. It grew stronger as Emma walked toward the tree line that paralleled the trail. The trees reminded her too much of the Everfree for her to want to enter, so she turned aside and walked along the edge of the trees instead of into them. As she walked she started hearing bird calls, high-pitched and somewhat unpleasant. She stopped and peered up into the trees, trying to spot the owner of the calls. Emma was city born, and thus didn’t know how to spot birds, it was her mother that had been a girl scout, not her. So she wasn’t terribly surprised when she couldn’t see anything. Still, the bird calls had an eerie undertone that spooked her. She decided to cut her walk short and headed back to camp. She couldn’t help but notice more and more of the trees started to fill with that singularly unpleasantly whistling. She broke into a jog and headed straight for the nearest troll. ooOoo By the time she reached camp she could still hear the bird calls, but distance had muted them to the point they didn’t sound quite so scary, so she shook off her uneasiness as simple nerves and decided to just casually mention it instead of raising an alarm. “Hey, Teelo,” She said, settling on a stump near her friend as the latter helped Søyle pitch their tent, holding the pole while Søyle simply drove the stake into the ground with a single smash of her fist. “Hey Emma, how are your feet?” Teelo asked. “Thanks, Søyle, nothing like a troll to drive tent stakes!” “You are welcome, Dronning,” Søyle replied. “Well met, Emma.” “Hey Søyle. Listen, how much do you know about the woods over there?” Emma asked, nodding toward the trees. “A swamp lies not far beyond those trees,” Søyle rumbled. “Nasty place, easy for a troll to sink in the mud and never be seen again. There are many different ways for trolls to drown too. We stay well away. Why?” “What about dangerous animals?” Emma asked, glancing at the trees again. “Some,” Søyle nodded. “Venomous snakes, cragadiles, a hydra maybe.” “Anything that sounds like a bird?” Emma asked, eyes drawn to the trees again. “Birds?” Teagan asked, suddenly aware of just how many bird calls she was hearing. A chill ran down her spine. “Emma, is there something you aren’t telling us?” “It’s probably just a city girl spooked by the great outdoors,” Emma said, blushing. “You can’t hear it from here, but when you get right up on the trees those bird sounds are creepy. There’s something nasty about them.” “What? Like crows?” Teagan asked, studying the trees. “No,” Emma said. “They’re not caws, they’re really high-pitched whistles. It sounds different close up, I swear.” “I will ask others,” Søyle stood up suddenly. “Søyle, it’s probably nothing,” Emma protested. “Just my mind playing tricks.” “Trolls do not know the World Above, Emma, just as you do not. Trolls do not take chances with things we do not know.” Søyle said. “I will ask others who might know more than we do. Dronning, perhaps you should ask Stormwind. Maybe Clan Hest knows of these birds.” “Not a bad idea,” Teagan nodded and stood up. “Teelo, if it turns out they’re sparrows or something they’re gonna laugh at me,” Emma complained. “Yeah, and if it’s not sparrows we could end up on the menu,” Teagan retorted as she made a beeline for the wing commander. “Wing Commander, how familiar are you with the animals in this area?” She said without preamble as the pegasus turned to face her. “Not terribly, Lady Teagan, why do you ask?” The pegasus asked curiously. “Emma was down by the tree line and got spooked by unusual bird cries,” Teagan said. “It may be nothing, but with Duisternis already having attacked us once I’d feel better if we could get an ID on them.” “Prudent,” the pegasus nodded. “Let’s go see these birds of yours.” He snapped out an order and three pegasi guards joined them as they headed down toward the trees. Emma’s nervousness increased as she started hearing that unpleasant higher pitch to the whistles. “You hear it now?” She asked. Teagan’s head came up and she peered closely at the trees. “Yeah, I can hear it, barely. Sounds like some kind of bats.” She said. “Oooh, that’s not worrying at all.” “I don’t hear anything unusual, Lady Teagan,” Stormwind said, ears turning to catch as much sound as possible. “They sound like normal birds to me. Although I don’t recognize the calls, they’re probably native only to this area.” “That’s what I’m afraid of, Wing Commander,” Teagan said, still straining to hear the elusive shrill whistles. “I know teenage humans can hear higher pitches that adult humans, could the same be true of ponies?” “Young foals do have better hearing,” he admitted. “I don’t know about higher pitches, but they can hear fainter sounds.” “Ok, well we’ve got trolls, griffins, humans and three different kinds of ponies in the caravan. Let’s see if any of the younger ones can hear this. Why don’t you let the guards get in the air and see if they can spot any unusual birds flying around?” “You three go take a look,” The wing commander ordered the guards. “You see anything unusual don’t let it get too close to you. And don’t get too close to those trees, either.” “Sir,” the three guards saluted and vaulted into the air. “I hope it’s just sparrows,” Emma muttered. “Stormwind, if this turns into a false alarm I apologize ahead of time.” “I hope it is a false alarm, Lady Emma,” Stormwind said grimly. “But if it isn’t we need to know while there’s still enough light to fight. Lady Teagan is right about Duisternis, this would be a good place for another attack.” There was a sudden yell over the trees and the three pegasi came thundering back toward camp. “RUN!” One called down as a dark cloud poured after the fleeing guards. “Move!” Stormwind snapped at the girls, who lost no time sprinting back toward camp. The three guards were bellowing an alarm even as they tried to outdistance the cloud trying to catch them. Teagan could see the camp boiling with activity as Rolling Thunder deployed. The trolls were grabbing weapons and roaring. Søyle, Flint, and Skrent pounded down toward the oncoming pegasus and humans in grim silence. Without a word Søyle grabbed Emma and reversed course toward the camp. This gave the girl a chance to stare up at the cloud of dark shapes winging overhead. All she could see were a bunch of blobs with long elongated beaks and what looked like too many wings. She couldn’t be sure because the cloud of attackers was blurred from their numbers and speed. The one thing she could tell was they weren’t ordinary birds… The birds were ignoring them for the moment in preference to the pegasi they were chasing and the camp itself. A large pink dome suddenly expanded over the camp, making the cloud of attacking birds swirl upward in surprise. Several didn’t pull up in time, slamming into and sliding down the dome. By the time Søyle and Emma reached the dome a circular area just large enough to admit them appeared and the pegasus and three trolls wasted no time sprinting inside. “Dronning, hurry!” Søyle bellowed, setting Emma down. The girl turned to see her friend standing just outside the opening, fumbling with what looked like a small bag. She placed it on Crush and swung upward as hard as she could. The world turned white around Teagan and blazing pink filled the rest of the world. There was a huge ringing noise and Emma heard several ponies scream in agony. The last thing Emma saw was Teagan and Crush come hurtling through the opening, skittering along the ground like a flung stone before something slammed her into the ground. ooOoo Rosalyn Parker turned as she heard the large doors of the throne room open. She’d thought she’d reached her culture shock limit but the huge white unicorn that walked into the throne room made her mouth fall open. The first thing she noticed was the pastel rainbow of light that made up the unicorn’s mane and tail, blowing gently in a wind the woman couldn’t feel. The second thing she noticed was the unicorn had wings, and as the white vision walked over to climb the dais the third thing she noticed was the large tattoo of a golden sun with long rays that took up almost the entirety of the unicorn’s rear thigh. “Hello, sister,” the white winged unicorn said, covering an obvious yawn with a fore-hoof. Her eyes met Rosalyn’s wide-eyed stare with some surprise. “Well, well, another human, and one I haven’t had the pleasure of being introduced to,” the unicorn said in a warm voice, giving the woman a smile. “I assume this is why you woke me, Luna?” “Indeed. Sister, may I introduce Rosalyn Parker, a jewel trader and acquaintance of Evelyn Lewis. Rosalyn Parker, may I introduce my sister and co-ruler of all Equestria, her Royal Highness Celestia, Shepherd of the Sun.” “Um, it is an honor, Your Highness,” Rosalyn said, hastily bowing. “It’s always a pleasure to meet the friends of our friends,” Celestia said, nodding her head in acknowledgement. “But tell me, how is it you come to Equestria, Rosalyn?” “Allow Us to summarize, sister,” Luna interjected smoothly. “It appears Rosalyn Parker is not here by her own will. Twas a spell placed into this ruby and accidentally charged by moonlight. Further, this particular ruby was among the cache given to Evelyn Lewis.” “A spell?” Celestia’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “A spell that can breach the Veil, just like the Bridge of Days?” “So it would appear,” Luna nodded. “However, unlike the Bridge of Days, which may carry any number across so long as it remains open, this spell appears to allow only a single being to cross. We have managed to record it on this parchment, and did await thy coming before studying it. Also, unlike the Bridge of Days this spell didst bring Rosalyn Parker directly here to the throne room.” “Really? How fortunate that she didn’t appear in the Everfree,” Celestia commented mildly. “Right now that would have been extremely dangerous. Luna, why don’t we invite Rosalyn to a late night snack while the three of us discuss this? You and I can study the spell and Rosalyn can relax. I’m sure she’s had a very trying day.” “Cake?” Luna asked, one eyebrow rising in amusement. “Cake,” Celestia said, nodding firmly. “Rosalyn, would you kindly join us for some cake and milk? I can assure you the cake is delicious.” “Um, of—of course your Highness,” Rosalyn said, still not quite comfortable with the whole situation. Cake, however, was cake, even down this rabbit hole…she hoped. ooOoo “Dronning, are you all right?” a rumbling voice asked in concern. Teagan blinked, feeling rough ground under her cheek. She remembered setting off the Claymore attack using Crush and a bag of marbles, and she remembered the back blast swatting her through the shield’s opening. But for the life of her she couldn’t remember hitting the ground… “Uh—yeah. Give me a minute, Søyle,” she mumbled. Crush, how much power did we use on that? She thought muzzily to the eyes in her mind. One quarter of my full weight, the demon responded. Too much, she thought back as she slowly levered herself from a supine position to a sitting one, suppressing a groan as the various scrapes and bruises made their presence known. Why don’t we set a maximum limit of one one-hundredth your weight? If we accidentally used more than that underground it would kill us. It would kill you, you mean. Crush’s mental voice sounded amused. I suggest a limit of one one-thousandth of my weight. That is probably still not safe underground, even so. Yeah, good, let’s do that then. Teagan opened her eyes and looked around at what remained of the camp. Every tent was flattened, and most of the ponies were down on the ground. A couple of Rolling Thunder’s earth ponies were up, checking on their companions. Emma was lying beside her, just beginning to stir. The trolls were up and moving about, apparently unhurt. She couldn’t see the griffins anywhere, but she assumed they were on the ground too, just like the pegasi. “Where’s the shield?” She asked, blinking her eyes into focus. “It collapsed from the blow you gave the sky, Dronning,” Søyle said a hint of admiration in her voice. “The ponies could not hold it, but before it collapsed it shielded us from the worst of your wrath.” “And the birds?” Teagan asked. “Gone,” Søyle said simply. “Your mighty blow smashed them all. None survived, very few of the corpses are even intact.” “Any idea what they were?” Teagan asked, checking Emma for any obvious damage. The girl’s eyes were open and Teagan’s ministrations were causing her to bat at Teagan ineffectually. The redhead stopped, figuring the grumbling girl was probably all right. “Blod drenering fugler. How you say, blood birds.” Søyle replied. “I had thought them only a tale told to children, Dronning. The last troll to tell of them lived thousands of years ago. But the tales never spoke of clouds that darkened the sun. I fear this was a blow struck by our enemies.” “You think?” Teagan asked sourly. “Do we know how many casualties yet?” She winced at the cold flat way the question had come out. “None died this day, Dronning,” Søyle said solemnly. “The trolls stood firm, but the bevingede hester were knocked flat by Mountain Heart. However they do not appear to have broken any bones. Many stir even now. The large wingless ones of Clan Hest withstood the blow without falling.” Teagan thought she heard grudging respect in Søyle’s tone. “The worst hurt were the four horned ones of Clan Hest, they that held the shield. It felled them, and they still do not stir. The slender horned healer tells me they will recover by morning, but will not be able to use any magic until we reach Hejm.” “Heavy Hoof’s gonna love that,” Teagan said ruefully. “What about Lady Silkwind and her guards?” “They too were flattened by Mountain Heart, Dronning. But they are made of sterner stuff and are already in the air, scouting to see if there are more blood birds about.” Teagan felt a wave of relief wash over her. Nobody died! Those birds were the size of housecats and Teagan doubted very much the caravan would have survived the attack, magical shields or not. Her relief was short-lived, however, because the commander of Rolling Thunder came stomping up to her, glaring. “Your Majesty, if I might have a word?” The huge pony growled, his voice icily polite, but his nostrils were flared as he snorted with barely restrained anger. “Yes, Commander,” Teagan sighed and struggled to her feet, barely able to force her abused body to move. They walked away far enough to give themselves some privacy and Teagan braced herself to face the tirade she was sure was coming. “What in Tartarus did you do?” Heavy Hoof demanded. “My four best unicorns are out for the rest of the trip. I’ve seen those four hold a shield after being body-slammed by a full grown dragon! Yet you gave them magical backlash with that damned club of yours! We’d have been safe from those things if you hadn’t done whatever you did!” “For exactly how long, Commander?” Teagan asked, taking hold of her temper with both hands. “All night? A week? Forever? Those things came from Duisternis to kill us. They drain blood, just like ticks. How many of those things would it have taken to kill a pony? Five? Ten? A hundred maybe? Because there were thousands in that cloud! Do the math, Heavy Hoof. Could Rolling Thunder have kept us alive? I want an honest answer.” “Probably,” He said after an uncomfortable moment. “It depends on whether or not we could have out-waited them. A swarm that big would have had to leave eventually. They’re predators. They have to eat, Your Majesty.” “They were magically controlled predators, Heavy Hoof,” Teagan said, relaxing. “They would have starved to death before they let us go. How many hours could your unicorns have held the shield?” “About six,” He said reluctantly. “But we could have dealt with them using fire spells. Just like Subtle Dancer did with the changelings.” “There were a lot more blood birds than there were changelings, Commander. Can you honestly say you could have gotten them all without anyone dying?” “No,” He said with a wince. “Combat doesn’t come with guarantees, Your Majesty.” “I hurt four of your unicorns,” Teagan said heavily. “And I will apologize to each and every one of them for it. I’ll give them all medals—Hell I’ll proclaim them heroes of the World Below! “I’ll do all that because I took a calculated risk. I gambled that they could hold that shield against the backlash. And because they did everyone gets to live. Yes, they got hurt and I am to blame. But they get to live. If we’d done it your way people could have died.” “You didn’t know?” He snarled. “You hurt my ponies and you didn’t know? Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I do not like the way you gamble with the lives of others! Those are my ponies you hurt! Those are my ponies you’re staking on your little adventures! If Celestia hadn’t personally signed my orders for this mission I’d leave you flat and march right back to Canterlot! You want to risk yourself and your trolls? Fine! But leave me and my ponies out of your next adventure!” “Ponies are trolls, Heavy Hoof. So my trolls will fight for your ponies just like they would for each other,” Teagan said quietly. “My trolls will fight for your ponies because they are family. And so will I. Speaking of your orders, Princess Celestia trusts me. Remember, I already saved your life. Twice. Not just you but every single one of your ponies. I saved your wife and your children. I even saved Celestia herself!” “I’m not married,” Heavy Hoof said, looking away. Teagan barked a short laugh and kept going. “What was that you said, Heavy Hoof? There are no guarantees in combat? I know that as well as you do. Maybe I was reckless—maybe. But you and I and everyone else in this caravan are alive to argue the merits of my tactics because this time I was right.” “This time,” he agreed, giving the girl a cold stare. “What about next time? What happens when you’re wrong?” “Somebody dies,” Teagan said heavily, staring him straight in the eye. “But that’s going to happen eventually. Duisternis wants the world plunged into eternal night, Heavy Hoof. For some reason they want me dead, probably to keep Crush out of action, maybe to keep the trolls sidelined. They even tried to kill Celestia two days ago. My bet is they want to sow terror and chaos in every country so we’ll be at each other’s throats instead of fighting them. So people are going to die.” She laid a hand on his armored shoulder. “Because of them my best friend might get killed. My family is at risk. Every stubborn one of them, four legged or two! I need help Heavy Hoof! I need your experience in the field to tell me where the safest places to camp are. We’ve lost our shield—yes I know, thanks to me—so we’re going to have to be smarter so Crush and I aren’t needed. Rolling Thunder can’t do it alone. But maybe Rolling Thunder plus the Sun Shield plus the trolls can. The trolls are already willing to work with you. So is the Sun Shield. The question is, Commander, can I count on you to do what I obviously can’t?” Heavy Hoof stared at her, clearly surprised. “We shall have to see, Your Majesty,” he said after a long pause and a weary sigh.