The trek forward had been a quiet and tense one; partly out of caution and partly due to the subdued atmosphere caused by James’ declaration. They eventually came to a stop at a collection of bushes just feet away from where the forest suddenly cut off. Some distance to their left, the forest opened in a wide trail measuring roughly ten or fifteen meters. Considering the large ruts and splintered logs that littered it, it was assumed the trail had been made by Stumpy. Ahead of them was a massive quarry surrounded by forest except for the cliff of granite and stone directly opposite their current position. The center of the cliff was split by a narrow divide leading to a twisting trail between the two rock formations.
“Considering our luck I have a pretty good idea what the answer is going to be but I’ll be the stupid optimist here and ask anyway. Is that divide on the other side supposed to be our way out?” Daring asked grimly from James’ left. He looked over taking in the state of the two mares before answering.
Daring was staring with a steady though wary gaze as she waited for an answer she knew she wouldn’t like. Luna was still staring ahead resolutely, her mouth tightened into a thin line. James didn’t envy the frustration she must have felt at staring down a foe she should be able to trounce but likely couldn’t fight now due to her injuries. He looked back at Daring and briefly considered trying to break it gently before dismissing the idea as he figured she wouldn’t appreciate him apparently trying to handle her with kid’s gloves. Besides, there is some bad news just didn’t have a way to break gently without straight up lying. He nodded answering tersely, “Unless the two of you instantly recovered enough to fly when I wasn’t looking? Yes.”
The explorer closed her eyes and hung her head with a tired sigh, “Yeah, I kinda figured that would be the case.” James and the Daring both looked back up to stare at the dilemma that had Luna’s attention. Napping directly in front of their escape route was none other than James’ very own archenemy: Stumpy the hydra.
Now to say stumpy was a hydra could be considered a bit misleading. Comparing him to any hydra could be akin to comparing a German Shepard to a Chihuahua. Yeah, they were technically part of the same family but they were still worlds apart. Stumpy’s body was covered in dark green armor-like scales speckled with dirty gold mottling that could allow him to blend where the tree canopy was tallest near the Everfree heart. Hard as it was to believe, it was pretty effective as he looked like a small hill with sun beams shining down on him right up to the point where some poor animal walked along into an ambush. He measured nearly twice the mass of any hydra found in the bogs. Where normal hydras were waddling mountains of meat, Stumpy’s mass was formed into a streamlined serpentine body that employed thick muscles along his side and rough traction gaining scales on his belly. James might have thought the sleek designed body would’ve rendered the front legs obsolete if he hadn’t seen how Stumpy was able to use them for quick bursts of speed or tight turns by quickly pushing off to the side. It brought to mind a freight train given the ability make hard banks and seek out targets to flatten. And that was before considering the temper and rows of razor-sharp teeth the size of a gladius.
Unlike the wide maws found on his lessor bog cousins, Stumpy’s heads angled into sharp snouts ideal for spearing through trees and underbrush where unlucky prey thought it could hide. Each head had a feathered crest colored motley gold that either aided in camouflage as it folded down or served as intimidation when flaring in anger both through colorful display and an unsettling grinding, screeching noise they produced as they rattled scratched against one another. It certainly didn’t make hiding from him easier as there were six heads, each one vigilant and equipped with sharpened senses. Well, seven originally, James mentally corrected as he idly observed the sleeping beast with his heads curled up and one stunted appendage hanging over the side and ending in a fused stump.
“I take it you had something to do with that little feature that probably earned its name?” Daring asked snidely from the left.
James looked over to see Daring’s gaze alternating between giving him a suspicious glare and a stare at Stumpy’s useless appendage with a combination of awe and nausea. Luna’s stare directed him was a bit more guarded though showing a hint of curiosity. James sighed before turning back to the sight of the troublesome uber-hydra before he started into a flat toned explanation, “You may remember I told you he holds a grudge?” He didn’t bother looking over to see them nod as he continued, “well, along with his little arsenal of natural weapons, he’s smart enough that the same trick doesn’t work twice and he seems to have a pretty well developed ego. When I narrowly survived our first encounter, he seemed to take affront to the fact that I got away and started going out of his way to track me across the forest. Half of my efforts to survive here came from thinking up new ways of evading him. Eventually, it came to a point where running was becoming less of a feasible option and I had to do something drastic,” he idly fingered the staff strapped to his back as he stared toward the spot where Stumpy lay curled asleep and snoring loud enough shake the nearby rubble, “something that would convince him that chasing me wasn’t worth the effort.
“Of course, this presented a slew of new questions. For one thing, there were stories back home about how hydras regenerate to the point that they could regrow new heads in the place of lost ones. And before you ask, no,” he held a hand up to Luna whose mouth opened as if to ask a question, “there aren’t any back home and I don’t know how there are stories there. I can only assume it involves whatever connection allowed me and the humans Daring mentioned to cross over.”
Luna’s mouth snapped shut while Daring simply nodded, likely been plagued by the same questions in her own ‘arrival.’ “However those stories came about, you made a good call keeping them in mind. From what I’ve seen in my travels, the whole regeneration thing is a trait that comes with age. We might not know how old…Stumpy…might be but considering all the advantages he has working for him already it’s better to ere on the side of caution.”
“My thoughts exactly,” James agreed with a nod. “I’d have to do something that would wound and leave a permanent mark. The one idea that came to mind was following the stories’ example by doing something that left a wound then cauterized said wound.”
“What could you have possibly done to achieve that?” Luna questioned incredulously before gesturing to the staff on back. “I will say that your weapon fits that description but, even with your strength, I see no way you could have used it to severe its neck!”
“Well, you’re not wrong, Luna,” James answered ignoring Daring’s glare at his lack of formality. “Even if I could cut through his hide, the best I could do would leave a few minor scratches that would only tick him off.” He sighed tiredly before he finished, “So, using the materials I found in the forest, I made a homemade termite grenade and-”
“YOU WHA- hmph!” Daring’s eyes widened and she quickly slammed both front hooves to her mouth seemingly in a vain attempt to take back the startled shout. The three of them found their frightened stares turned to the beast in the quarry as he gave a massive snort and twitched. Long, tense seconds stretched before Stumpy’s breathing settled back into a regular snore and the three observers exhaled quietly. Daring turned her gaze back to James and hardened before she resumed, carefully whispering this time, her earlier thought, “You what?! I mean, I figure finding the materials to make the stuff would be easy in a place where you could trip over diamonds on a random walk but there’s no way I’d believe you could do it safely! If you even know what thermite is then you have to know how stupid it was to pull something like that!”
“Know ye one of the largest annoyances We’ve found since waking after a thousand years?” Luna interjected. Daring and James both turned to Luna in confusion at her casual interruption. There was also more than a little nervousness as her old speech was back up in full. When she noted their attention, she gave a satisfied nod before letting calm give way to aggravation as she hissed, “That everypony forgets it has been a thousand years! Would you kindly explain the details before thine tirade continues?! What is thermite?!”
For the first time, Daring actually showed a bit of chagrin as she coughed awkwardly before addressing Luna. “Uh, yeah, sorry about that, Princess. Um. Would you happen to have read anything about railroads?” She waited for Luna’s impatient nod before going on. “Well, thermite is a special mixture that can produce a steady heat source that burns at extremely high temperatures. Rail companies use it in the field to melt and fuse the ends of steel rails together in seconds. Without magic.”
Luna’s eyebrows rose in interest. “Indeed? I’ve yet to hear of it though. Cursory as my readings on these railroads have been, I would think a device of such import would’ve shown in my studies earlier.”
“That’s because thermite isn’t all that popular. It requires a specialist to prepare it, loads of preparations, safety precautions. Unless they have some kind of deadline to make most teams would rather wait for a trained unicorn to come on site because, at the end of the day, magic tends to be cheaper,” Daring’s tone changed from respectful to irritated in a heartbeat as she turned to James with narrowed eyes, “not to mention safer. Usually, you can just use magic without worrying about spilling something on the floor and having it melt through the box car. And now this half wooly numbskull says he’s been playing with the stuff in a wooden hut in the middle of a forest. All so he could make a onetime weaponized form of it.” By the end of her rant, Daring was jabbing an accusatory hoof at James as if she were going to somehow stab him with it.
“I know, I know,” James groaned as he shrugged tiredly. “It was crazy and risky but some situations kind of don’t give you much choice in the matter. Like using up any bag of tricks you might have running from a giant walking stomach with several maws and a bad case of sadism.”
Daring’s face twisted into an exasperated glare as she prepared to shoot a reply only to be calmly interrupted for a second time. “He is not wrong.” Daring and James turned their gazes, the former blinking owlishly and the later quirking a concerned eyebrow, towards Luna. “We are not always given the luxury of safe and wholesome choices.” Her face was guarded as she stared at the ground but her eyes seemed to grow haunted as she thought on old memories.
An awkward silence stretched until James finally spoke quietly, “Look, I understand. Things are bad and you have no reason to trust me. Yes this latest bit of info probably gives you even less reason to listen but know this: I may take risks but I don’t take them lightly. I have a plan and I have taken every detail into account. Please, just trust me for a little bit longer and I promise I will get you two home.”
James wasn’t sure how much his face was giving away, but he could feel a tightening in his gut as he watched the two mares consider his words. Daring frowned at the ground in deliberation before looking up and nodding reluctantly while Luna barely hesitated before nodding her own confirmation. James nodded acknowledging their acceptance before turning to regard Stumpy again. Glad as he was that they were onboard though, he couldn’t seem decided what made him more uncomfortable: Daring having to struggle against years of experience before trusting him or being the object of such unwavering faith from someone like Luna.
Well, no point brooding on it now.
“Okay, here’s what I have in mind. If you follow the treeline,” he gestured to the right where the two mare’s gazes followed, “you’ll notice it follows the quarry border all the way to the cliff wall. Once there, you’ll notice a thick barrier of foliage lining the base of the cliff all the way to the divide entrance.”
Luna nodded her head and pursed her lips thoughtfully as she listened to James’ outline. Even Daring, for all her misgivings, seemed to grow enthusiastic as the plan went on. “Yeah. Yeah I see where you are going with this. As long as we take it slow, the foliage should give us plenty of cover to get to the divide undetected. Even if he wakes up, we should be close enough that the divide that his size should limit him.” Daring held a hoof to her chin in thought before looking back to James with an appreciative regard. “You might just have a solid plan there.”
“Oh, not at all. Simply trying to sneak by would get us killed in a heartbeat,” James interrupted casually causing Daring to blink in confusion. James noticed her look and explained, “Among other things, Stumpy is a ridiculously light sleeper. The moment you get close to the divide, he’s going to come around. When that happens the brush won’t slow him down at all. I’ve seen more than enough poor woodland animals put too much faith in greenery.”
“O~kay,” Daring gritted out. “Any reason you bothered with that suggestion earlier? You know, besides getting under my fur? Oh and,” she waved a hoof as if a thought just occurred, “you know. Also tempting me to…oh how would you say? Buck you so hard that monkeys a million years ago feel it and fall out of their trees!” she hissed.
“I’m deeply hurt,” James declared in a flat tone accompanied by an equally flat stare. Daring answered with a raspberry that quickly cut off with a yelp as Luna gave a light smack to the back of the head with her wing. James ignored the exchange aside from a brief smirk and continued, “Inappropriate cracks aside, sneaking along the brush was only part of the plan. By the time he starts to rouse from your presence, I’ll be giving him something else to focus on from the opposite side of the quarry.”
This last addition to the plan left the two mares sharing an uncertain look before Daring hesitantly spoke up, “So what then? Are you hoping that your fight from last time will scare him enough to back down?”
“Not even a little bit,” James answered matter-of-factly. “The best my last stunt achieved was persuading him to stop actively hunting me. Finding me sneaking around in his backyard though? He’ll definitely be ready to rip me apart.” Seeing Daring and Luna’s distraught faces, James held a hand up to forestall any panicking and continued, “Before you freak out, no, it isn’t my plan to be an appetizer. While I had no way of knowing I’d meet anybo-pony I did plan for the possibility that I would have to get by Stumpy somehow without having the luxury of time to wait for him to leave. I managed to sneak some surprises in here piece by piece over the course of a few weeks.” He looked deeply into each mare’s gaze before adding in as sincere a voice as he could, “Everything will be fine, ladies. Just go on and I’ll step in by the time he starts to come to. After this, the wildlife afterward will be a lot tamer and it’ll be a straight shot to the border. Promise.”
Daring glared at the ground as she warred with herself before turning her glare back to James. She took a breath, likely to give him a piece of her mind on how stupid this idea was, only to be interrupted by Luna’s wing tapping her on the shoulder. She looked over to see the Princess give a slight shake of her head before letting out an exhale and turning back to James with narrowed eyes. “You had better be on the up and up on this,” She muttered before spinning on a hoof and skulking off.
Luna started to follow before turning and giving James an unreadable stare. “You are the first soul I’ve been able to openly speak with like this in a long time. A very long time. Please don’t force me to see that to be taken away by going down in a blaze of glory.”
James stared back into her eyes and gave what he hoped to be a reassuring smile. “Believe me, Luna. That is in no way my first plan.” Luna regarded him for a moment nodding and making her way after Daring. James’ smile quickly fell when he was sure Luna was out of sight.
“Well, aren’t you just full of crap mister bible thumper? What happened to keeping that holy-ish image? The no lies thing a bit too much for you?”
“I didn’t actually lie. All I said was that going in a blaze of glory wasn’t my first plan,” James corrected.
“Going down in a blaze of glory shouldn’t be a plan at all, Dumbass,” came a sardonic reply.
James sighed tiredly turned his head acknowledging the presence to his left. If anyone else could see him they would see a young man casually leaning against one of the trees. His auburn brown hair was combed back and extended to his shoulders. He wore designer jeans and a white T-shirt that said ‘Governments might rule the world but artists shape it.’ “What do you want, Gramlich? Unless you have something genuinely helpful I suggest you get lost before I send you into the Gauntlet.” The abomination he faced now was probably the worst drawback suffered from the juice. In the past few months, every one of James’ doubts, fears, and insecurities that haunted him at home started harassing him in the form of a persona that called itself Gramlich. And to add insult to injury? It took the face of his younger brother, Alex.
“Hey, take it easy buddy,” Gamlich said with a disarming smile and hands raised in placation. “I’m just looking out for your wellbeing. After all, being a part of you means if you go then I go down too. And I happen to be very helpful thank you very much. It just doesn’t do much good when you never listen to good advice.”
“‘Good advice!?’” James repeated indignantly. “If I did things your way we would have been waiting at the hut for Celestia and her guards to come looking!”
“What’s so bad about that? The Princess is a big filly who can take care of herself.”
“A lot of those guards would’ve died searching these woods!”
“Um. Yeah,” Gamlich drawled as he shrugged nonchalantly. “They’re soldiers. Dying is kind of one of the hazards that comes with the job.”
“Maybe so, but I’m not going to be the weasel that forces them to face that when there’s another way.”
“And your way is what? Getting killed so they don’t have to? Yes, very noble,” Gamlich sneered. “I’m sure that unwitnessed act of heroism would be enough to inspire those soldiers to come visit your unmarked grave in the middle of nowhere. Assuming, of course, that Stumpy bothers to leave enough of you for that anyway.”
James huffed, “At least I would die knowing I did some good. If I did things your way, I would be spending the rest of my life rotting in a room by myself.” He stalked off toward Stumpy’s game trail where he would enact the plan while doing his best to ignore the grating presence beside him.
“You know, most sane beings would prefer rotting in a hut over getting torn limb from limb by a raging hydra,” Gamlich pointed out dryly before shrugging. “Anyway, I didn’t show up to bemoan a ship that long since sailed. No, I’m here to talk about the sensible options we have left.”
“Oh I can’t wait to hear this,” James muttered darkly.
“Walk away.”
Those two words stopped James in his tracks and turn toward the impassive visage of the creature before him. James would need some quality time in a padded room when/if he got out of these godforsaken woods. He knew this long since the first hallucinations started badgering him. He only bothered talking back to this depressing specter of self-loathing because it provided the closest thing he had to conversation. He knew it was just some twisted aspect of his own mind.
And that is what terrified him now. To think even the worst part of his consciousness could suggest this. “…No. Just…You would have us-me! Have me leave them to die?!”
“Survival of the fittest,” Glamlich suggested with a sardonic smile on his lips.
James glared at him and spoke quietly choosing to ignore the barbs in the quote, “As far as my standards may have fallen. As much faith as I may of lost, in myself and others, I not going to leave another soul in need like this. ‘No greater love is there than to lay one’s life for another.’”
“Oh, great. More Bible quotes of the day,” Glamlich grumbled. “I’m sure the denizens of the forest appreciate your wisdom. Like that bunny living in sin? No telling how many holes that home wrecking skank has hipity hopped between. Or that deer from a few days ago? I’m sure he’ll rest easy knowing that manticore will get a good scolding for eating him without praying grace first.”
“Even if it weren’t for my personal code,” James went on over the jeering and started his way again toward the cleared path, “I especially wouldn’t leave them since they’re in danger because I gave my word to be there.”
“Word shmord. Who’s going to give you flak if you walk out now? The trees!?” the specter asked incredulously as he motioned around. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in Equestria not Narnia. Totally wrong fairytale setting for eavesdropping trees. Which brings the real issue at hand. THEY AREN’T REAL!” he spelled in a voice loud enough to alert everything within a mile. Or would have been if it had occurred outside James’ head. As it was, it was enough to make him flinch in mild pain. “I don’t care what theory you come up with in that little space between your ears where I’m stuck lodging. They’re still as good as fake where you’re concerned. Kept or broken, who’s going to know about a promise you made to make believe characters in a kid show?!”
“You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth,” James whispered softly as he made it to the spot a few feet from the width of area consisting of ruts, crushed trees, and compacted soil formed by Stumpy’s frequent passing.
“Will you stop hiding behind verses for a second and listen, really listen?!” Gamlich cried exasperatedly as he stood in front of James who had taken to watching Stumpy for any sign of movement. “You’re not a soldier, or prophet, or even a real chaplain. You’re an emotionally closed off shut in with delusions of martyrdom! This isn’t one of your hypotheticals. This is you about to throw your life away in a painful, useless end. And for what? To play hero and feel justified in how you wasted your life before?! I say we get out now. Screw what happens to some make believe ponies and those dusty old scriptures written by a bunch of dea-”
Gamlich was cut off as James’ halberd sliced through him. The image faded and James fell to one knee, grasping his head in pain. Essentially, James had done nothing aside from swinging his weapon through the air. However, when dealing with ‘distractions’, physical acts often provided a focus when dealing with some of these hallucinations. In this case, he used it to drive Gamlich out and down deep into his psyche. It might not seem like much in theory but he essentially cut off a part of his being, though a very annoying and despised part, and buried it deep.
After taking a breath of calming air, James looked up to watch Stumpy for any sudden twitches and signs of waking before tiredly whispering, “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”
******
Gamlich gave a couple of painful coughs as he lay on the hard surface. After a few more shuddering breaths he opened his eyes only to squint again at a powerful light around him. He looked around at darkness surrounding his area of light and went into a wheezing chuckle as he realized where he was.
“So that’s it huh? Just send naughty old Gamlich to the Gauntlet when you can’t make a real argument,” he wheezed out another laugh as he forced himself shakily back to his feet. He looked up with a glare as if hoping his spite would surface through the abyss. “Well, fine Jamie boy! That’s just fine. Keep shoving your problems in a hole. See where that gets you. Sooner or later, reality is going to catch up and bite you in the ass. Then you’ll hear my voice sneering in the back ground and-”
“IMMA FIRIN MAH LASA!!”
Gamlich blinked a couple of times before recognition kicked in and he lowered his head mumbling in resignation, “Son of bi-”
***BOOM!!!***
******
“Well, it looks like that’s my cue,” James muttered tiredly as he noticed one of Stumpy’s heads twitch and grimace at an unseen disturbance.
After taking a bracing breath, he left the cover of foliage and strolled into the path. Once he got to the center he turned to face the direction of Stumpy and went into a parade rest with the halberd hefted over his shoulder javelin-style. He took a few more slow, deep breaths as he watched Stumpy for any more movements.
On seeing three of Stumpy’s heads blink their eyes and started to look around groggily, likely due to Daring and Luna nearing the exit, James took one more deep breath. “Hey, Stumpy! Eat anyone interesting lately?!” James bellowed causing all of Stumpy’s heads to jerk awake and turn towards him.
Stumpy stared at the intruder with six pairs of shocked eyes before they narrowed as he growled. Crunching sounds echoed as he uncoiled his massive body and grounded the rock beneath him to dust beneath walls of muscle and rough scales. New ruts were formed into the quarry floor as Stumpy anchored himself with his claws and began to slither leisurely towards the insolent creature before him.
For his part, James continued to hold a relaxed stance with left hand propped on his waist and his right still holding the crude halberd over his shoulder. He watched Stumpy slide closer before commenting further. “Hey, Stumps! I always wanted to ask you something. How do you deal with morning breath? I mean most creatures sharing sleeping space can just leave. You? You’re stuck with six directions of perpetual B.O.” James frowned slightly in apparent thought before shrugging and adding, “Well, at least now it’s only five directions now. You’re welcome by the way.”
Five heads snarled in anger as their feathered crests ground against one another generating a series of shrill screeches. The sixth neck ending in a stump twitched back and forth as if making sure to remind the rest of the source of their anger at the intruder. And the seventh, who James had affectionately taken to calling ‘the brain,’ actually hesitated at the jab. It looked around then took an experimental sniff in the direction of the other hissing heads before quickly turning and coughing to the side with a nauseous expression. James actually wondered if they would come to blows with each other when the others noticed and started bickering in a series of growls and hisses before one finally restored order by barking something at them and bringing their attention back to James. As the main bulk of Stumpy’s body came to a halt, the six heads lowered slowly until they were lined up in front of him nearly a foot away.
From the proximity, James could count every row of razor-sharp teeth. His manticore coat flapped about him from the sheer force of Stumpy’s breath and the rank smell of soured meat threatened to bring tears James’ eyes. He waved his hand in front of his face a couple of times to disperse some of the stench. He looked into each of Stumpy’s glaring eyes then surprised the hydra with an elegant bow befitting a stage. “As much as I’d love to stay for dinner”- James had to stifle a chuckle seeing brain actually roll his eyes at the comment- “I’m afraid I have a promise to keep.” James straightened back up and gave a twisted smile. “And you’re going to have six nasty headaches to get over.”
James turned ninety degrees and threw his halberd toward the tree line to his left. There was a thunking noise as it landed in the ground just past a bush, but also the snap of taut line being severed. The noise was briefly followed by a din of pulling ropes and wooden gears just before sections of foliage on either side seemed to explode in a mess of clod and leaves as wood beams launched from either side in a collision course toward the middle of the path. Right where Stumpy’s heads were lined up in a row.
Stumpy didn’t have time to do more than look surprised before the logs made contact on either side slamming all six heads together. He roared in pain, pulling all his heads away and stumbling backwards. James held his breath as he watched each head seem to take turns drifting in and out of consciousness as the titanic carnivore struggled to stay awake. Eventually, only one head remained before finally giving in and sagging down groggily with the rest. The whole body seemed to brace and stand for a moment before crashing down with enough force to shake the surrounding area and send James to his knees.
James took a minute to catch his bearings then walked to Stumpy and gave one of his heads a cautionary kick to make sure he was truly dead to the world before retrieving his spear and jogging toward the divide. He was met by the sight of two mares staring at him with matching awestruck expressions.
He took a moment to bask in their shocked looks before he spoke. “While Stumpy might be a light sleeper, even he won’t just up and wake from a blunt force trauma like that. I estimate an hour or two before he wakes up with several killer headaches. More than enough time for us to get out.”
Daring and Luna both stared at him incomprehensively before the former finally attempted to speak, “H-how? What? I…huh?” In the end Daring could only motion toward the downed Hydra with a hoof in hopes James would guess the question.
“Not sure if you’ve seen for yourselves but I’ve noticed that Hydras have this odd little quirk. Whenever they actually face their prey head on instead of with ambush tactics they lower their heads down into a neat little row before taking the kill.” James shrugged nonchalantly before going on, “Not really sure why; toying with their prey, giving each head an even chance to tear at it. Could be anything really. Anyhow, I occasionally snuck here while Stumpy was gone to set the rig up one piece at a time on the off chance that Stumpy shared that habit and I would be able to exploit it.”
“There’s no way you could have tested it with him though,” Daring pointed out. “You said yourself that the same trick doesn’t work twice and there’s no way you could have tested it here and cleaned up before he returned.”
“Well, I tested the mechanics of the trap with a small scale model. As for whether Stumpy would fall into that same habit? I all could do was hope he was related enough to those smaller ones outside that he would share the same instincts.”
“And if your plan failed?” Daring pushed.
“I know enough about the wildlife outside that you two would’ve been able to sneak by them without too much difficulty.”
“But what of you?” Luna asked with a concerned frown.
James merely shrugged again before answering, “Then I would’ve explored new meaning to the term ‘fast food.’” He raised a hand as if forestalling an objection, “And before you say anything, all I promised earlier was that dying wasn’t my first plan.”
Luna’s face darkened red with anger while Daring just shouted, “Are you bucking crazy?!”
…James knew it was in bad taste. These two had been through way too much but he just couldn’t ignore the opening. He lifted his hand while pinching his thumb and forefinger together in the universal sign, at least to those with digits, that said ‘a little.’ He was rewarded with a glare and violent eye twitch from Daring and, much to his surprise, a deepening scowl from Luna. He could only assume the latter mare knew the gesture from dealings with diamond dogs, minotaurs, griffins, and the like.
He was practically giggling on the inside when Luna growled, “We are not amused.”
Even Daring had to struggle to keep her scowl up at that line.
Approaching the Ponyville border - Late evening
Luna continued to scan the area as they drew closer to Ponyville. While still injured and far from top form the cover of night, likely her sister’s doing, did much to restore her strength. Even as she worked to raise the moon and usher in each night, she and her guards drew a measure of power from it. James had been quite accurate in his assessment that she would be able to handle anything found in this part of the Everfree.
The Princess frowned as she gave a sideways glare at her guide who stoically strode at her left before giving an annoyed snort and turning her gaze forward again. Since the incident at the quarry, their party had travelled under silence: first cautious then sullen as the surroundings lost some of the menace present further back. James also kept silent though whether due to his normal disposition or caution around two infuriated mares, she couldn’t say. Halfway to their destination, Daring said that she recognized the area and parted ways saying that she had to keep a low profile. Luna wasn’t entirely sure, but she thought she might have heard Daring mumble something to James along the lines of ‘Take care. I might actually look forward to working together again’ before departing.
Since then, she and James had continued at a brisk pace though something worried her. Occasionally she would glance over and notice that some of James’ strides falter a bit. He didn’t speak or show any expression to indicate something wrong. It may have simply been fatigue but it still worried her. He’d already demonstrated a nearly reckless disregard for his own safety if he feared endangering or holding others back.
Her thoughts dispelled as her ears picked up sounds ahead. Her eyes widened and a foalish grin crossed her face as she noted lights ahead. “There! Just before us!” Luna cried excitedly. “That should be Ponyville! Quickly! If my sister isn’t there already, they should have a way to send a message!” She picked up her pace and sensed James keeping up behind her.
The scenery quickly gave way from wild brush and tree to fields and houses as they crossed into the Ponyville city limits. They failed to see any citizens though they may have chosen to stay indoors as a precaution if Celestia was already there in force and preparing to enter the forest.
As Luna suspected a small platoon of guards, comprised of members from both lunar and solar divisions, stood ready at town square fountain. The element bearers stood ready at the front with their elements equipped. And in front of them? Celestia stood dressed in gilded plate armor that she hadn’t worn since the end of the Chaos Wars. Luna’s heart seemed to leap into her throat at the sight as she realized how terrified her sister must have been to willingly pull out the old armor that she couldn’t stand to look at on most days for the memories associated with it. “Sister! Sister We’re over here!”
Luna’s excited cry drew the attention of all the assembled ponies. Upon spotting Luna, Celestia’s stern glare melted leaving a teary eyed look of relief that brought a warmth to Luna. That warmth quickly faded, however, as Celestia’s relief gave way to shock and wariness as her gaze slipped past Luna. Luna’s trepidation increased as she saw the guards and the Elements take notice and readied for combat, the guards lowering their spears and the Bearers seeming to prepare their elements.
“Wait, hold! Everypony hold!” Luna cried quickly as she came to a stop while motioning for James to do the same. She nodded toward him as she hurried to explain, “He is called a human and is an ally. His name is James has been living in the heart of Everfree. He found me wounded and tended to my injuries before guiding me out.”
Celestia stared inscrutably between Luna and James before finally nodding to the rest of the group. The Element bearers relaxed and the guards raised their spears reluctantly. Rainbow and Applejack still seemed as suspicious as the guards. Fluttershy stayed hidden in the back while Rarity and Twilight stared, the latter in curiosity and the former in disgust at James’ attire. Pinky…reacted oddly, even by Luna’s past interactions as a reference. The pink mare stared in James’ direction with a strangely intense look. Regardless, Luna breathed a relieved sigh before looking up noticing Celestia making her way forward at a steady pace. She came to a stop directly in front of Luna and regarded her with a cold stare. Luna swallowed nervously as she failed to be able to read anything from Celestia’s expression. When even Luna couldn’t see past Celestia’s calm mask that usually meant the solar diarch was beyond furious.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Celestia surprised everypony as she quickly reached forward and pulled Luna into a bone crushing hug. Before Luna could respond, or catch her breath for that matter, she heard Celestia whisper, “If you ever take off like that without telling anyone again, I might just lock you in your room for the next hundred years.”
Luna scowled and opened her mouth to give a sharp retort until she felt a nearly imperceptible tremor go through Celesita. Luna’s annoyance quickly faded as she returned the hug and sighed, “Very well, sister. Next time we shall endeavor to fill out and turn in the proper forms for reckless self-endangerment. I know how much those clerks of yours love their paperwork.”
That got a dry chuckle from Celestia as she pulled back. “Of course. Can’t let the nobles think I’m playing favorites, can we?” Her relieved, loving gaze lingered on Luna a moment longer before fading back to the typical court mask of polite indifference as she turned to regard the human. She strolled to him until they were face to face and gave a nod. “I do not know how you came to be here or why, but you have my gratitude for aiding my sister. She means everything to me and I don’t know what I would have done if anything happened to her.”
James said nothing, only staring back steadily. Celestia frowned slightly as she glanced back at Luna with a raised eyebrow. Luna cleared her throat before speaking to James in a reassuring voice, “I realize you must be uncomfortable being surrounded by strangers after your…unique situation. I can assure you, however, my sister means you no harm.”
“Of course,” Celestia agreed quickly with a nod as she turned to regard James again, this time with a comforting smile. “While some here may be a tad wary of you, you have my word that no harm will come to you. Further, I promise I will do everything in my power to-”
Celestia’s gentle words were cut off as two loud, wet coughs echoed through the plaza. The entire crowd stilled and stared toward Celestia with wide eyes. Celestia herself had a look of wide-eyed surprise as she slowly looked down at her chest trying to understand what she was seeing. Where her armor’s chest plate shined in pristine glory a moment ago, it was now marred by splotches of dripping crimson.
Before anypony could speak James bent double and collapsed onto the ground with a bloodstained hand to his mouth as more violent coughs wracked his body. “JAMES!!” Luna shrieked as she rushed to his side and grabbed him in her hooves. His skin was burning to the touch and his body shuddered visibly. “James, speak to us! What ails thee…so…” Luna’s eyes widened in shock and she breathed, “Magic.” She looked over to Celestia in a near panic. “Sister, there’s too much magic in the air for his body to handle. It’s killing him!!”
Celestia’s face dawned in recognition then her eyes narrow determinedly as she turned and barked at the guards, “Have the fastest of you sent to Canterlot General and tell them to have Dr. Brightheart prep and ready a magic null chamber. He’ll know what to do. The rest of you secure him in the chariot. Manually. His body likely won’t take any more exposure to magic so no magic is to be directly applied.”
“That won’t work, Sister!” Luna cried out worriedly. “Several ley lines have formed in Canterlot after centuries of raising the sun and moon from there. Even if you take him directly to the chambers, bringing him close to that amount of magic in his state could finish him!”
Celestia looked back to her sister with a frustrated scowl, “And what else would you suggest?! Canterlot is the only nearby city with a null chamber or the specialized tools to set up another. We-”
“Actually, we can move him to the library basement,” a small voice spoke up. “It’s already lined with the insular materials and equipped with the glyphs needed to purge and redirect magic from the area.” Everypony present turned to the source of the interruption to find a very nervous Twilight Sparkle shuffling her hooves. “Before moving to Ponyville, I was working on some delicate research that needed a controlled environment where the magic could be reduced, or even blocked. So I…might have…slipped in some paper work with my town citizenship transfer forms to ‘borrow’ some of the equipment long enough to alter the basement.” By the end of the explanation, Twilight was rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof and smiling nervously.
Celestia blinked a couple of times before sighing tiredly as she resisted the urge to face hoof (an urge that some in the guard, as well as Applejack and Rainbow Dash couldn’t resist) and spoke briskly, “Well, that can wait until later to discuss that. For now, ready the basement Twilight.” Twilight barely nodded before rushing into the library as Celestia turned back to the guards, “Move him to the library. And send somepony to the staff at the local hospital as well as the one in Everfree known as Zecora. We will likely need the expertise of every type of healing we can get.”
The town plaza had become a whirlwind of activity as everypony moved to follow their orders. Luna barely noticed as she held James in her forelegs, looking into pain clouded hazel eyes that drifted closed as his breathing slowed. “Hold on , James. Please, hold on,” Luna whispered gently.