The rest of that day we spend training, each of us doing our own thing. I spend some time meditating as Rose taught me, attempting to familiarize myself with this new magic. Thanks to how crazy things have been, I've never been able to truly understand the composition of this magic. It's difficult to explain, but it feels as though I'm afloat in myself. It doesn't make sense, but this magic feels like me.
Swift is at another end of the clearing, practicing her technique with the lance. She spends her time perfecting her form, using her magic to jab forward at a practice dummy with her lance. Applejack and Rainbow are exercising together, though both of them assert that they're practicing on their own. Essentially, they're running laps around the village...though I feel like it eventually turns a race. I say that because they're running faster every time they pass through the clearing.
Surprisingly, Trixie seems to be doing the same thing I am, sitting down on her haunches with her eyes closed and a serene expression on her face. It's a nice change, because she's always looking stressed or awkward whenever she's with us. Nevertheless, it's good to know she knows proper technique for training herself. I wonder where she learned that from? She never really seemed like the meditating type.
As for Pterax, he's not doing much of anything except lying curled up on the ground in the form of a polar bear, keeping warm and watching us, though he only looks half interested.
As time passes, I eventually get up from the ground and flare my magic, melting the snow around my feet. From there, I unsheathe my sword and transform it like I did during the fight with Mist, until the blade becomes emerald once more. Now that I have a chance to look at it, this sword actually looks really cool like this.
For several hours, I practice with my magic, attempting to rediscover old techniques. Should an old ability prove particularly hard to recreate, I attempt to create new ones instead, to limited success. That dashing ability I had with Sombra's magic was invaluable to me in battle, but I can't seem to recreate it. Every time I try, the most I get is a substantial increase in movement speed. In other words, it's slower than the dash, but faster than I can ever move on my own. It also has an advantage in that I don't have to use it in bursts like the dash ability.
Rainbow and Applejack suddenly yelp as I swiftly catch up to them, moving so fast that my magic leaves behind multiple emerald shadows of myself. The fact that I' using magic isn't what's surprising them...it's that they're galloping as fast as they can in an attempt to beat one another, and I caught up so quickly.
“Yo, mind if I join you?” I call, cheekily waving at them. Applejack and Rainbow look at one another, and then back at me, a competitive gleam forming in their eyes. Without another word, Applejack and Rainbow lower their heads and pick up their speed. Imagine the faces of the soldiers as the three of us zoom right by them at a speed that they can hardly follow.
As I am, I'm faster than Rainbow, but relatively even with Applejack in terms of overall speed. No doubt if Rainbow was able to fly, she'd kick my ass pretty quick. I could probably beat Applejack in maneuverability, considering that when I concentrate my magic like this, it affects all of my movement. My point is proven when the three of us turn a corner, and I easily take the lead due to my heightened maneuverability.
However, they quickly catch up to me on the long straightaways in the village, showing me that ponies...and especially earth ponies, are extremely fast runners. These two could outrun me any day of the week without this magic.
Eventually, after several laps around the town, I come to a halt back in the clearing, my legs starting to get tired. I've also gotten used to the way it feels to speed myself up like this. I wonder how much faster I'll be able to go when I power up to the next level.
Then, while Rainbow and Applejack start working on exercising their legs, I focus on trying to shift the shape of my sword, much like I did with the rifle. It's difficult, but I do manage to recreate the chain knife that I used against Mist. The feel of the magic is different, so it's a little difficult to get it to do what I want, but it's definitely responding easier than Sombra's magic ever did. You know, and it also helps that there's not that little voice in my head, constantly telling me to give in and lay waste to Equestria.
We don't stop training for the rest of the day, except for short breaks to eat and rest. Once the sun starts to set, we pair up and start training together to improve our skills. Applejack and Swift go head to head on one side of the clearing, grappling one another vigorously. Swift is a soldier, so she's drilling proper fighting techniques into Applejack so that she isn't just bucking things all the time. Rainbow eventually joins them, and Swift takes the both of them on at once, showing her superior training. As for me, well...
“What the hell was that, Trixie?” I demand, catching her hoof easily on my arm. From there, it's easy to grab her hoof and press down on her barrel with my free hand, pinning her to the ground. “Your magical technique is good, but you literally just tossed yourself at me.”
“It's not Trixie's fault you're so much stronger than she is!” Trixie protests, getting up from the snow once I release her. She's wearing an adorable pout as she glares at me. She flares her magic once more and charges into the attack.
“What? No, I'm not using any more magic than you are,” I correct her, blocking or evading each of her vicious magical attacks. Every time her hooves hit my guard, a small shockwave emanates from the point of impact, caused by the collision of our magical energies. A large round area of melted slush forms around the two of us, our magic superheating the ground. “You've just got to be less predictable about your moves. You had trouble against Mist because of that.”
“Then how do you like...this!?” Trixie rears up on her hind legs and kicks her forehooves in the air. Magical bursts of color and light fill the air around me in tandem with her flourish. I wince as my eyes are assaulted by that sensory overload. There are so many colors and lights blending together in my vision that it physically hurts. I have to close my watering eyes....and then Trixie attacks me a second later.
Her hoof rams into my side painfully before I can gather much magic to that area, knocking me back several feet from the impact. I can feel a bruise already forming from her attack, and I can't help but feel impressed. However, even with my eyes closed, I'm able to intercept her follow up attack with a kick of my own. Basically, I'm assuming that she's going to attack from the same direction, so I'm lashing out and hoping I hit her.
Sure enough, my gamble pays off and feel my foot connect. Trixie yelps, and then I hear the sound of her falling into a snow drift. “Okay, that was a better, if a little over the top from a training session,” I tell her, rubbing my eyes and holding my side with my hand. It stings, but it's not serious. “The illusions was a nice touch, but you have to move around a bit more than that if you want to keep your advantage. Now, let's go again.”
Trixie grumbles something under her breath as I finally manage to open my eyes again. My vision is a little funky at first, but eventually she and I get back to sparring.
As the day comes to a close, we all start to get tired. Iron shows up at one point to help me out with training, but it only lasts for a little while before the others start to retire.
“Whoo-ee!Ah'm plain tuckered out,” Applejack sighs, wiping the copious amounts of sweat beading on her forehead away. Her mane is damp as well, as is Rainbow's. Swift has been easily handling the both of them, despite Applejack's obvious strength advantage and Rainbow's speed advantage. However, Applejack doesn't seen annoyed at all, unlike Rainbow. “Thanks fer the help, Swift. Ah feel like ah really learned somethin' today.”
“That's good to hear. Even the littlest bit helps on the battlefield,” Swift returns amicably. She then gives the grumpy looking Rainbow a small smile. “Don't take it too hard, Rainbow. I've been in the guard for a long time. It's only natural that I'd be more skilled than you.”
“I don't care! I hate losing...” Rainbow grumbles. Oh my god, she really is salty. This is too funny. “Just you wait. Next time, I'll get you.”
“I look forward to it,” Swift retorts, lifting her lance off of the ground and hooking it back into her armor. She looks up towards the heavens, where the moon is starting to rise in the darkening sky. “It's getting late. Perhaps we should all rest up for tomorrow.”
“Why, what's happening tomorrow?” Trixie asks, looking up from her position on the ground. It looks like she'd been inspecting herself for bruises.
“We're not going to stay in Everwinter forever, you know,” Swift reminds her, offering her a hoof. Trixie takes it and gets to her hooves, dusting herself off. “It's best to be in good condition for whatever may come.”
“Precisely,” Iron agrees. The commander and I had been training hard together, but I've had enough for now. Iron is a ridiculously hard opponent to face, even though we're just training. “I'll be taking my leave. Seth, do not forget about the meeting in the morning.”
“I won't,” I promise him. Satisfied, Iron retrieves his equipment and leaves the area. I notice the curious faces on the other ponies and figure I'd better explain. “We're having a strategy meeting with the other leaders tomorrow. Chances are, we're making our next move tomorrow.”
“And there you go. It would be prudent of us to prepare ourselves for tomorrow's events,” Swift adds, sounding vindicated. “Shall we return to our barracks?”
“It's not a barracks, Swift. It's just the house where we chose to sleep,” I remind her, just to be annoying. Swift scowls and ignores me, looking instead to the others.
“Yeah, I guess I could use a nap,” Rainbow answers with a yawn. Applejack, who is next to her, looks down at the both of them, their fur streaked with sweat, and wrinkles her nose.
“Not before we git a shower. Ah feel like ah just came out of a hard day at the farm,” Applejack expresses, picking at her fur uncomfortably. Heh, I guess that's the closest she'll ever get to complaining.
“Are we leaving now?” Pterax asks, shifting back to his normal form. He blinks his eyes several times, as if trying to wake himself up. I guess he took a nap while the rest of us were all training. I don't know changeling physiology, so I don't know if training would have even benefited him. “It's about time.”
“Trixie didn't see you doing any training,” Trixie accuses him as the rest of us start to walk back through the streets towards our chosen house. “She thinks she even saw you napping.”
“Pterax doesn't exactly care what Trixie thinks,” Pterax retorts, mimicking Trixie's voice mannerisms, much to the unicorn's annoyance. “Besides, if I wanted more muscle, I'd just give myself more muscle.”
“Right, except it doesn't work like that,” I remind him. Every time I try to make sense of the fact that even by taking the form of a dragon, he won't have the strength of a dragon, I start getting caught up in physics and my head starts to hurt, so generally I just don't question it. Magic is bullshit. “Now quit instigating, Pterax.”
“Not my fault she makes it so easy,” Pterax replies, though he doesn't say anything else after that to irritate Trixie.
After that, it only takes us a few minutes to reach our chosen house. Inside, there's two separate bedrooms with three beds in each. According to Iron, every house is crammed with soldiers, so it's not like we could all choose our own house. We have to make do with what little space we have.
So unfortunately, that means that Rainbow won't want to sleep in my bed, because there'll be another pony in the room. It's funny...it used to feel really awkward that Rainbow would be that close to me when I sleep, but now I've gotten used to it. It feels weird not to have her there now, as fucked up as that is for me to admit.
The moment we step in through the door, Rainbow streaks up the stairs. “First two to the bathroom get the shower first!” she declares. Applejack immediately bolts up the stairs behind her, not willing to let Rainbow get the shower to herself.
Swift and Trixie look at one another, and then shrug. “Well, sure, they can have it first. I doubt the heating crystals are charged with magic, so it won't be fun for them,” Swift remarks. Trixie giggles next to her, looking incredibly mischeivous. Wait, what are they talking about? Heating crystal? Is that what they use to...
A startled screech emanates from upstairs, and I hear something hit the ground hard. I raise a brow, wondering what the hell their problem is. “This water is so cold it's like bathing in liquid ice!” Rainbow screams, causing Swift and Trixie to snicker at her expense. “Swift! Come heat this up for me!”
The four of us move upstairs. Swift and Trixie look at one another, nod, and then walk into the bathroom. “Sure, Trixie'll heat it for you...” Trixie begins mockingly. Seconds later, Applejack and Rainbow are simultaneously thrown out of the bathroom by Trixie and Swift's magical auras. “...but only if she gets the shower first!”
The door shuts in Rainbow's face, causing the pegasus to start banging on it furiously. “Hey, that's not fair!” Rainbow then turns to me for help...only to find me laughing my ass off at her misfortune. “Seth, he...oh, you're no help!”
“Not my fault you jumped the gun. This works for me. The unicorns go first, and then the rest of us get hot water. Win-win, as far as I'm concerned,” I say with a shrug, resting my back against the wall. Rainbow grumbles, but she knows I'm right. “Anyway, I'm gonna lay down while I'm waiting for my turn. Who's in my room tonight? Besides Rainbow, I already know that.”
I had to mention Rainbow because the moment I asked, she had already been opening her mouth. A sinking feeling comes over me as I see a smirk form on Applejack's face. “Ya know, ah'm thinkin' ah should stay out tonight. Ah don't think ah wanna be aroun' when ya start makin' it up to Dash about her busted wing,” she teases us. I groan, even as Rainbow turns nine shades of red next to me. I should have figured this would happen the moment I opened my mouth. “Ah'll go sleep with Trixie.”
“You most certainly will not!” Trixie yells from inside the shower, causing the rest of us to start laughing, despite the joke that just happened. Of course, I'm not going to let it go.
The moment Applejack lets down her guard, I tackle her to the ground, aiming to hoist her up off of the ground. Of course, I've never wrestled her before, so I'm completely unprepared for her strength. Applejack manages to resist me, grabbing my arms and forcing the both of us to the ground. While Rainbow is laughing her ass off, Applejack and I roll over the floor into the bedroom, until she finally manages to pin me down.
“Y'all gonna have to train for another thirty years before you can wrassle this earth pony,” Applejack teases me, her powerful hooves keeping me from moving at all. Gah, and I thought I could handle her after my minor victories with Rainbow. Applejack sees me grin and my eyes start to glow, so she puts a hoof on my nose. “No, stop that. Magic ain't fair.”
“Alright, fine, you win. Now get off of me so I can lay down,” I admit. I could easily best her with magic, but then that wouldn't count. Applejack chuckles and climbs off of me, heading back out to the hallway to wait for her turn in the shower. Once I'm free, I hop onto my bed and lay my head back on the pillow with a sigh.
Today's been fun for the most part. That's good, because I really needed it to help relieve some of this stress that's been present ever since the war began. Of course, it's just going to come back tomorrow, but for now, any relief will do.
Once we've all showered, it isn't long before the three of us get to bed, choosing to head to sleep immediately to get as much rest as possible before the morning.
My alarm wakes me up before any of the others, a little after dawn. I blink the sleep out of my eyes and get to my feet, adrenaline helping me wake up when I realize that I should be at a meeting. I let Rainbow and Applejack sleep, leaving the room and walking down the stairs. I grab my sword and scabbard on the way out, because I don't really want to be without it in case of attack.
The first thing I notice after I step outside is that it's fucking cold as shit. Right, it's dawn in the frozen north. I don't know what I expected. Tightening my jacket, I step into the snow and head for the command tent.
As I'm walking, I happen to glance up into the sky and notice dark shapes flitting through the air. Alarmed, I almost release my magic. However, I soon relax when I hear the sound of hissing an buzzing insect wings, rather than the growling of undead. Okay, for some reason, the changelings are here. Aren't they were supposed to be to the northwest, scouting the blizzard?
When I walk into the command tent at last, I find Iron, Salamul, and Mist gathered together at one end of the room, and surprisingly, Chrysalis is here as well, standing on her own with Mantis by her side.
“My, my, Seth. You are starting to build up quite a track record,” Chrysalis comments when she notices my presence in the tent. Even though I'm choosing to stand by Iron and the others, she moves to join me, much to my annoyance. “It appears I am not the only enemy you've turned to your cause.”
“Talking about Mist?” I reply tiredly, rubbing my forehead. Mist looks up at the sound of her name, but she quickly goes back to hiding behind Iron when she realizes how much closer Chrysalis is to her.
“But of course! I'm a little surprised; I had no idea you could be such a bleeding heart,” Chrysalis remarks, her expression a mixture of surprise and disgust. “I remember you being much too dark to bother saving an ailing mother.”
“That's because you weren't down in the ruins with me when I killed one of Sombra's generals, months ago,” I shoot back, quickly losing my patience with this conversation. I'm not a fucking bleeding heart...I'm not going to go out of my way to save the enemy. Mist just didn't seem like an enemy. Chrysalis gives me a questioning look at my answer. “And no, I'm not going to explain it to you. Besides, why are you here, anyway?”
“Because when I left the blizzard, this town was the closest,” Chrysalis answers uncaringly, looking miffed at my refusal to explain my change of heart to her. Please, out of everypony I know, she's the last one that I'd ever tell about that. “I have a report to give concerning what I found...whenever Celestia decides she's ready to talk to the rest of us.”
Iron walks to the center of the room, where the table is. He places a communications crystal on the table and activates it, causing the orb to flash at regular intervals. “Let's get ready. I've let the others know we're ready to receive communications,” Iron announces. Chrysalis scoffs and moves back over to Mantis.
Moments later, the crystal starts to glow, and Celestia appears on the side of the room opposite Chrysalis. But that's not all. The crystal flashes several times, and more figures appear in the room. Luna appears next to Celestia, followed by Blades, Cadance, and Zythe. With this, all of the team leaders are present.
“Is everypony present?” Celestia asks, looking around the room at the other holograms. She smiles happily at the sight of her sister and niece, and then nods when she notices the others. “I trust all of your missions went well?”
“It was too easy, if you ask me. Immune to magic or not, there's simply no beating my intelligence,” Chrysalis boasts shamelessly, lifting one of her hooves and glancing at it nonchalantly.
“We ran into one of the generals, but we managed to complete our objective,” Blades reveals, causing me to look curiously at him. “A real nasty one, he was. None of our magic could hurt him, and he was a particularly skilled fighter.”
Oh great, so Blades and Twilight ran into Shatter. I sure hope they killed him. “So what, you shoved a knife in his gullet?” Zythe joins with a bloodthirsty grin, agreeing with my mental thoughts. “You ponies rely too much on this magic of yours.”
“No, unfortunately. Just like that mare at Trotsdale, he had an escape plan ready in case he got cornered,” Blades admits, much to my disappointment. Damn, so Shatter is still out there. Blades then looks at Celestia. “You should be real proud of your student, but the way. She's the one who took him down.”
“Really?” Celestia looks honestly surprised by that. “You said he was immune to magic, correct?”
“That's true. He was takin' on all of us by himself with ease, but she had the bright idea to knock him right outta the sky with a boulder. Turns out magic won't hurt him, but debris propelled by magic does,” Blades explains. Celestia nods, looking impressed. Damn, too bad I couldn't have done that. I can't use telekinesis like unicorns can. Neither can I teleport, for that matter. “Anyway, he took off after she broke his wing.”
“Lucky you. All we had was a bunch of lousy undead to fight,” Zythe grumbles, clicking his beak irritably. “But we're not here to discuss war stories, are we? Come on, point me at my next target!”
“No, the purpose of this meeting is to discuss our findings in the blizzard, and to choose what our next course of action will be,” Celestia rejoins, gathering all attention back to her once again. “As planned, Queen Chrysalis and her changelings infiltrated the veil of snow and discovered what lies beyond. If you will?”
“You will be very interested to hear what I've found.” Chrysalis steps forward to the table, her horn lighting up and striking the wooden surface. All of us lean forward with interest as a small green hologram appears, much like the one Luna used back during the changeling invasion. This time, it depicts a large mountain with a faint trail of smoke emanating from the crater up top. Shit, that's the dormant volcano that Gale mentioned. However, it's the large complex built right into the side of the mountain that draws our attention. “The blizzard is a danger, but once you are within its veil, it is clear. As you can see, the enemy has a sizable base of operations here. It is guarded by a large horde of undead, but there doesn't seem to be anypony there to sustain them.”
“I see. Perhaps another necromantic heart,” Celestia muses.
“'Tis a threat we cannot ignore. Should we march upon the Crystal Empire, they could flank us while we are occupied,” Luna decides. Chrysalis nods in agreement. “However, 'tis a mystery. That architecture is unlike anything we have ever seen.”
After a few minutes of looking at the structure, my eyes widen. “That's because it's human architecture,” I reveal, much to everyone's shock. I can't believe this, but that is very clearly a power plant of some sort. It's a very large one, making me wonder why the hell Sombra needs that much electrical power.
“Art thou certain?” Luna questions me curiously. I nod and point at different locations on the hologram.
“Yeah, look at these lights. Those are clearly electrical. Plus, if I'm thinking about this right, that's a geothermal plant,” I point out. “What it does is makes electricity from the heat released by radioactive decay...though I doubt that means much to you. What worries me is that you don't have this technology...and neither should Sombra.”
“You told us that Sombra went back to your time, did you not? Perhaps he picked up this technology from there?” Celestia suggests.
“It's possible, but I doubt Sombra could have learned how to harness geothermal energy in only a single year,” I return. Comically enough, some of the other ponies look completely lost at the implications of this. “I have no idea what he could be using all this power for, or how he managed to build a complex that large in such a short time. Even with magic, electricity is not a simple concept to grasp.”
“I....I can help with that,” Mist speaks up timidly, making her presence known for the first time since the meeting began. Celestia smiles at her appearance, though the others that didn't know about her defection stare at her in confusion and anger. “I've been to that base before...I know what it's being used for, and how it was built.”
“Hey, ain't that the mare that led the attack on Trotsdale?” Blades asks curiously, jabbing a hoof in her direction. Luna's eyes narrow as she recognizes Mist as well. Chrysalis doesn't look like she cares one way of the other, of course.
“You mean the coward who turned tail and ran the moment she got faced by griffon cannons?” Zythe brags, though he doesn't seem angry, just amused. “So how much did they torture you to get you to spill this information?”
“Viceroy, if you please,” Celestia chides Zythe gently, giving him a meaningful expression. Zythe scoffs, but he does fall silent. “Yes, this is Flowing Mist. To put a long story short, she was a slave to the Crystal Empire, but is now determined to see us succeed. Now, let her speak. Mist, can you tell us what you know?”
“Yes, I can. It's an electrical plant like Seth said it was, but it has nothing to do with Sombra,” Mist reveals. I blink. Wait what? If it's not Sombra, then... “That plant is where Governor General Hawke has been living.”
“King Sombra's second in command, huh...” Zythe comments, rubbing the feathers at his neck absentmindedly. “And how does he have this 'hooman' technology?”
“Because he's a human himself,” I reply, taken aback by Mist's revelation. That actually makes a lot of sense. If he knew enough, he could definitely build a plant like that if he had the time and resources. It's a long shot, but it makes more sense than Sombra building it in less than a month. “What is Hawke using it for?”
“There's a weapon that he's been working on...one that channels all of this electrical energy and fires it in the form of a piercing beam,” Mist answers. She moves up to the hologram and indicates a large construct on the roof of one of the protruding buildings of the complex. It looks like a massive cannon of some sort, though I've never seen anything like that, even for humans. “It's not complete, but right now it could still very easily devastate any armies sent towards it.”
“Cunning. Erect a barrier in the form of a raging blizzard, and then blast to oblivion anything that manages to get through,” Chrysalis comments, rubbing her chin. “That aside, I am very interested in this other human...”
“Chrysalis, no. He's our enemy,” I tell her immediately. I can practically see the wheels in her mind turning. She has a fixation with humans, so I don't doubt that she'd try to possess Hawke too if she had the chance. Chrysalis just gives a toothy grin.
“So were you,” she reminds me, not looking dissuaded in the least. She turns to Mist eagerly. “So, little Mist...is Hawke there now? I do remember sensing someone's presence while I was there.”
“Yes. Or at least he should be. He never leaves unless explicitly ordered by King Sombra himself,” Mist replies. Well shit. We've just been presented with the biggest threat apart from Sombra himself. And apparently he's building one epic weapon capable of devastating armies.
“I see. Then the solution is plain to see. We must divert our forces to crush this base and deal with Hawke before attacking the Crystal Empire,” Celestia decides. She looks about as grim as I feel right now. “Queen Chrysalis and the changelings are an obvious choice, as they can get through the blizzard with ease.”
“Don't forget my airships. They're so well insulated that a smaller force can easily get through, if they all huddle near the engines,” Zythe reminds her. Celestia nods understandingly. “But I doubt the big bad's just gonna sit around in the capital while we crush his second in command.”
“That is true, I suppose. Sister, do you have any ideas?” Celestia says, turning to Luna. Luna ponders for several moments. She soon perks up, and looks over to Chrysalis.
“Chrysalis, couldst thou taketh thy forces into the blizzard and hit the undead in a head on assault?” Luna questions. I sigh, knowing that Chrysalis is going to object to something that's so blatantly dangerous.
“I see...you and I appear to think alike,” Chrysalis agrees pensively, much to my surprise. Wait, they do what? “You know as well as I do that we are the only ones that can attack that base in bulk. So, if I use my changelings as a diversion, you can send a smaller force in on the airships and tackle the complex directly.”
“Precisely. That weapon Mist spoke of must be eliminated. However, if Hawke is indeed there, he will need to be dealt with. It will take one of our strongest magic users to do so,” Luna agrees, showing me once more that she and Chrysalis are incredibly smart when collaborating together. Luna turns to her sister, who nods.
“Very well. I shall travel aboard the airships and confront Hawke directly, while a smaller force disables the weapon,” Celestia determines. Oh shit, if Celestia goes herself, Hawke is screwed. However...this doesn't sit right with me. “The rest of you will...”
“Celestia,” I interrupt suddenly. Celestia closes her mouth and regards me curiously, even as some of the others raise a brow at my rudeness. “I don't like this plan.”
“Oh, and I suppose you have a better idea? Considering you nearly got yourself killed fighting this pitiful thing, pardon me if I don't have much faith in your tactical ability!” Chrysalis snaps, irritated. It's partly her plan too, so I guess saying that offended her. As for how she knows about Mist, Pterax was there, so that's probably why.
“Seth, what are you saying?” Celestia asks me calmly, lifting a hoof to stave off Chrysalis's anger for now.
“Let me go in the airships,” I tell her. I don't know if this is the smart thing to do or not, but I have to do this. “Let me take care of Hawke myself.”
The looks of shock and scorn pass across the assorted leaders' faces. Celestia starts looking at me oddly, no doubt trying to figure out my motives for such a gutsy move. “Seth,” she says softly. “You remember that Hawke is one of our most dangerous enemies? He is likely stronger and more skilled than you. It would be safer if I were to take care of him.”
Before answering, I walk forward and stand in front of Celestia's hologram so that I can look directly into her eyes.“I know that. Trust me, I really do. But this is something I have to do,” I tell her firmly. “He's human, just like me. He and I are the only humans left in the world. He's my responsibility.”
Celestia's eyes soften when she realizes what I'm trying to tell her. “I believe I understand,” she responds softly.
“Believe me, if he were just any other pony, I'd let you take care of him, no problem.” I try to justify my feelings to her, but even despite all this, part of my knows this is crazy. There's a chance that Hawke will manage to defeat me...but I just can't stomach the idea of Celestia crushing him before I have a chance to talk to him again. “Please, Celestia. I need to do this.”
“Are you sure you can defeat him, Seth?” Celestia asks me, her eyes filled with concern for me. I close my eyes and sigh, remembering something Celestia said to me a while back, at that cliff in Trotsdale.
“It doesn't matter whether or not I think I can defeat him,” I begin, clenching one hand into a fist. Celestia's eyes widen almost imperceptibly when she realizes what I'm trying to say. “I only know that I must defeat him, for the sake of the human race.”
Celestia looks surprised that I echoed her own words back to her for several seconds. Finally, she gives me a genuinely happy smile. “You've come so far, Seth,” she says to me sincerely. I flush a little, not really sure how to deal with praise like that. Celestia then looks back to the rest of the leaders, who have been watching with interest. “Very well. Seth will lead his team aboard the airships and deal with Hawke and his weapon. The rest of us will solidify our positions and defend against possible counterattacks from the capital. Is this acceptable to the rest of you?”
“I hope thou knows what thou dost,” Luna warns me, her voice filled with veiled concern as well. “This Hawke is no pushover.”
“You're going to get yourself killed,” Chrysalis grunts, though I can't help but notice that she looks a little impressed. Zythe and Salamul do as well.
“You've got guts, monkey. I can't wait to see whether or not you end up in a pool of your own blood,” Zythe expresses to me, shrugging his feathery shoulders. “But I'll get you there, for better or worse.”
“Then that is that. Now, there are a few last details to cover, and then we can adjourn this meeting in preparation for the battles to come,” Celestia decides. I step away from her, back towards Iron and Mist. Celestia turns to Zythe, and the discussion of the finer details begins.
While they talk, I zone out a bit, and start thinking to myself. Soon, I'll be facing Hawke again...and this time it's of my own choosing, and I have the power to stand up to him.
We are the last humans. I have to be the one that takes care of him, once and for all.