//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 // Story: Luna vs. a Tiny Italian Car // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// August 29, 2015 There’s a song about walking in Memphis and feeling blue. I couldn’t think of anything for staying in a hotel room in Nashville, but hey, it’s the same state. Luna had been in a funk pretty much the whole time since the disaster that was Louisville. Losing her magic and Tirek gaining power weighed heavy on all our minds. Maybe also the destruction of several buildings, though I later heard no civilians had been caught in the crossfire. We’d managed to get Luna to do a few things to take her mind off it. The Parthenon in Nashville, a replica of the real one in Athens, was a great one. Luna, and maybe ponies in general, seemed to enjoy traditional art. Moreover, a lot of the mythology in the two worlds overlapped. That entertained her for about an hour. Then she went back to moping. Though, to be fair, there wasn’t much else I could think of for her to do. Her ability to cast spells was gone, along with her flight. She didn’t mention any earth pony-equivalent magic, but I guessed that maybe her slim body had lost some strength. She said that previously-cast spells, like her incognito one, were still in effect. And, as it turned out, she could still detect magic. When Tirek popped up again, Luna was on her hooves instantly. Lifting a hoof to consult the compass strung around her neck, she declared, “East!” We went. At Knoxville, we departed the interstate on Luna’s direction. Maria frowned as she looked at the atlas. “Surely we’re not headed for Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg?” “Finding Tirek in a tourist trap town would be bad,” I agreed. “Too many people around. But...maybe he’s at Dollywood?” Maria gave me a smile for effort, but didn’t laugh. Finding him there would also be pretty bad, for various reasons. Fortunately, we went on through there and entered the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Shortly thereafter, Luna announced, “We are close.” My driving got a little more cautious on the narrow two-lane roads. Luna pointed out a few directions. The road dead-ended at a parking lot for a campsite. With Luna’s urging, we pushed into the woods on foot. There wasn’t a trail. Fortunately, that greatly reduced the likelihood that we would encounter anyone, so we went loaded with everything. After walking for maybe a quarter of a mile, Luna’s steps grew shorter and more careful. We crested a ridgeline and the three of us immediately dropped behind a convenient outcrop of rock. Tirek and Celestia were down below, visible through the trees in a shallow valley ahead of us. We all took careful peeps over the rock to assess the situation. I guessed the distance at three hundred yards or maybe a little more. It was hard to tell with the trees. Tirek looked about the size of a truck. I suppose two alicorns’ worth of magic would do that. Celestia was bedraggled, but still mobile, though he kept her on a short chain. Behind the rock, we had a whispered conversation. Luna said, “You must shoot him.” She’d been watching TV and understood some of the capabilities of firearms. I looked at my 5.56 weapon, Tirek’s hulking form, and back at her. “It would just piss him off.” “What do you suggest instead?” Well, maybe a tank, but that wasn’t on the table. “I can try.” Looking at the situation again, I might attempt a lucky headshot. Maybe I would even get a few rounds off before Tirek squashed us all like bugs. However, “Celestia’s right there.” “Are you not confident in your abilities?” Luna asked. “I’m nearsighted, shooting a carbine with iron sights. I’m just saying that I’m uncomfortable having her so close.” Luna hesitated, but then said, “I trust you.” I nodded. “Okay.” The rock was not smooth, but I managed to find a place to rest. My heart was hammering, and breathing exercises didn’t seem to help. Fortunately, Tirek stood still as I squeezed the trigger. My shot felt right, though I didn’t have time to assess it because Tirek reacted violently. With a roar, the magic orb between his horns lit up brighter than a disco ball. I ducked down behind the rock. A red laser of magic swept past the hilltop, slicing off trees. One of them started to fall right towards us. Maria and I got out of the way. Luna didn’t. There was a flash from down the hill and sudden silence. Maria chanced a look. “They’re gone.” We both turned to Luna. The tree across the middle of her back was about eight inches in diameter. Her breathing was ragged, but her ribcage looked all right. Her eyes were squeezed shut in pain. Maria and I grabbed the tree. As big as it was, I guessed it might have been a thousand pounds. We didn’t move it much. Luna groaned and shifted her forelegs. With our help, she managed to jack up her upper body, forming a ramp of her back. We gradually slid the tree off. Equines naturally get up front end first, while bovines get up rear end first, so I guess we were lucky Luna wasn’t a magic cow. Sitting on her rump, Luna was breathing hard and still wincing in pain. There was a bare patch on her back where the rough bark had skimmed off some hair. Maria put tentative hands on her neck. “Is anything broken? Where does it hurt?” “From the shoulders back,” Luna replied. Maria gently felt along her body. “How’s the pain? What level?” “I will live.” Luna started to stand, but her tail was still caught. Using the butt of the rifle, we dug it out. “Walk for me,” said Maria. Luna complied, slowly turning in a circle. She limped on a hind leg. “You cracked a hoof. Maybe the way you stepped combined with the crushing weight did it,” said Maria. “Though with a crushing weight, I’m surprised a cracked hoof is all that happened.” “There are perks to immortality.” “Hang on,” I said, “If a tree landed on you and all that happened was damage wear items like hair and hooves, did you tell me to take the shot because you thought Celestia was bulletproof?” “That may have been a factor,” Luna admitted. Maria decided that Luna, as she said, would live. Tirek was gone again, so we turned back for the car. Maria pulled out the medical bag she had brought along and had Luna lie in the car, elevating her injured hoof into traction with one of my belts. “I’m going to check out the area,” I said. Maria nodded to me and I went back into the trees. It was easy to find the place again. The trees being cut off was a good indication. I walked down the hill, still a little jumpy but more confident than before. I didn’t think Tirek was still around or that he had left anything behind, but there was no telling. Surprisingly, he had left something: a few drops of blood. I was briefly pleased with myself, before remembering that I had basically tried to assassinate him on Luna’s order. Well, I think we can argue that we didn’t have any other options. Not that it was that simple of course, but- I really hate arguing ethics. I spotted Tirek’s distinctive hoofprints. He seemed to have been there for a while. Circling the area, I couldn’t seem to find where he had come from. Perhaps he had teleported in, as well as out. But why? There didn’t seem to be anything here. Was he waiting for someone? Was it us? Did he bait us here? Assuming someone would come to check out the fallen trees, I kicked dirt over the blood and headed back to the car. I told them what I had found. Maria had worked quickly, and had Luna testing the fix. Luna looked contemplative as she walked. “I wonder if he was testing me. He has my magic, but perhaps wanted to see if I could still track him.” “Well, it looks like he’s still leading us around,” I observed. Luna nodded, looking down as she walked. Clop, clop, clop, clank. Maria had a spare horseshoe in her bag, and had installed it to keep the cracked hoof together. “So where do we go from here?” I asked aloud, grabbing the atlas and opening it. “If we’re going to continue this easterly trend, maybe Charlotte, North Carolina.” Maria looked up. “I hope you aren’t using this as an excuse to take Luna to a NASCAR track.” My wife knows me too well.