The Equine Scrolls: SkyFiM

by FireOfTheNorth

Chapter 73: The Isles

The ice shifted underhoof as we crossed, threatening to plunge us into the frigid waters. It was hard to see where we were going, and we didn’t dare carry a torch for fear of being discovered. If we disappeared out here, on the ice fields between Horizon and the Featherrest Isles, nopony would ever find us. It was pure foolishness to cross the ice even at this time of year, but it was the only way we were going to make it into the Pegasari Dominion.

Steadfast and I had been to the Dominion once before, when we’d snuck into the Blackwing fortress at Windrake Cavern for the Bards College, but this was completely different. Windrake Cavern had been in the middle of nowhere. This time we were crossing through heavily populated pegasus cities.

The largest island in the archipelago that was the Featherrest Isles was home to two of such places: Sunhorn and Pegasor. Pegasor was our eventual destination, but it would be impossible to waltz into the Pegasari capital directly. Instead, we were crossing the ice at Horizon’s eastern border to reach the island. Then we’d make the short journey to Sunhorn and follow the paths from there to Pegasor.

Of course, the Pegasari Dominion and Horizon were now at war, so it was difficult to cross from one to the other without being spotted. Pegasi sentries flew overhead more often as we neared the Isles, and we were forced to lie down on the freezing ice and remain still until they passed.

At last we reached solid ground again. Through the darkness, we maintained a steady trot towards where Sunhorn was marked on my map. The city came into sight as the sun began to peek over the Spine Mountains of Unicornica, which could just barely be seen in the distance jutting above the horizon.

Sunhorn was a city that had been built during a time when the Featherrest Isles had been open to all pony races. Like Winterhorn and Windhorn, it had once been under unicorn control, and the city’s architecture showed it. Sunhorn was a divided city, with typical structures built up the slopes of the mountains, and more built on top of the low-lying clouds that brushed up against the under-city.

I pulled a potion from my saddlebags as we neared the city. I’d had to do quite a bit of rearranging in order to make room for the many phials I now carried, but I’d made do and slimmed things down to only the essentials. My Twilight Armor now sat unused in Breezehome, traded for the typical pegasus clothes I now wore, provided by Sar’van. The only armor I carried was my Dark Brotherhoof armor, tucked away safely in my saddlebags. This was a job for stealth, and heavy armor had no place here.

I drank down my potion as my friends did the same. Instantly, my appearance began to change, my coat going from gray to gold, and my mane and tail from gold to brown. My horn vanished, and two wings sprouted on my back. The spell only changed my appearance, however. I still couldn’t fly, as the wings didn’t really exist, and I could still feel my horn and use magic, even though nopony could see it.

My friends had all changed as well. Steadfast was now a pale blue pegasus with a snow white mane. Mystic was an orange pegasus with a red and yellow striped mane. Mephalda was still a pegasus, but had obscured her identity by changing into a mare with a cobalt coat and a silvery mane.

Fully disguised, we entered Sunhorn. The guards posted at the gates gave us no trouble as we entered, falling for our ruse. Everything seemed perfectly normal in Sunhorn, exactly like any city in Horizon or Unicornica. Ponies went about their lives, acting as if the war that their land had declared was perfectly normal. A few ponies stood around a message board in the center of town, reading about how war had been declared, and how the Pegasari leadership was promising a swift victory over the earth ponies.

We ignored the propaganda as we passed through the city. We had one goal in mind here: finding a map of the Featherrest Isles. I would’ve completely avoided entering the city at all if it hadn’t been for the fact that we had no idea how to navigate the Isles. The Empire put out maps, of course, but none were detailed enough to show exactly how a pony was supposed to be able to travel through the rocky mountains that separated Sunhorn and Pegasor. Like so many other things, the Pegasari Dominion kept this a secret.

I realized what was off about the city as we neared the cloud district. Every single pony we passed was a pegasus. Of course, a large pegasus population was to be expected in the pegasus homeland, but even in Horizon there’d been the odd unicorn or pegasus living among the earth ponies. Here there was nothing but pegasi. It was as if every other race had been wiped off the face of the earth.

I was preparing to drink my cloud-walking potion before we entered the cloud district, when I caught something out of the corner of my eye. A hooded pony was darting around in a nearby alleyway, soon disappearing from sight. Suddenly, I felt a hoof over my mouth, put there by a pony standing behind me. A moment later I lost consciousness.

My head was pounding when I came to. I found that I was restrained, my hooves tied behind my back, pinning me to a chair. My hindhooves were also tied to the chair’s legs, making escape impossible. To practice, I lit up my horn and found that I could in fact use magic. Apparently, my captors hadn’t impeded my magical ability with that vile goo, but I decided to keep my abilities secret in case I needed a surprise.

Trying to take in as much as possible before my captors realized I was awake, I cracked my eyes open slightly. I was in a dark room lit only by a few candles placed here and there. I couldn’t see any of my friends around me, but a few of my captors stood nearby, going through my saddlebags. Now that they had their hoods off, I could see that they were unicorns, or at least they appeared that way. My own disguise warned me that looks could be deceiving.

“Looks like Steedarr was on our side,” one commented as she dropped a stack of parchment on the table my saddlebags and possessions sat on, “Visitors to the Blackwing Headquarters; we’ve caught ourselves some big shots.”

So they’d found our invitations to enter the Blackwing Headquarters. Before we left Horizon, I had Berefs (who now lived in Whitetrot after the messy business in Foalkreath) forge us the invitations. I figured that the farther we could get without having to break disguise and fight our way through, the better.

“Dark Brotherhoof too,” the other commented, laying my armor out, “I didn’t think the Brotherhoof operated in the Dominion anymore.”

“I’d put my money on that they were absorbed into the Blackwings, or some other shady government organization,” the mare postulated as she pulled out all my potions, “What do you suppose these are for?”

“Friend of the Blackwings, Dark Brotherhoof member,” the stallion said, “My guess is poison.”

“She’s been over Horizon an awful lot,” the mare said, examining my map of the province, “I’ve never seen such a complete map of it.”

“I’ve never seen this book,” the stallion said, looking at the copy of A Visitor’s Guide to the Shivering Isles Discord had given me, “Looks like she’s got her hooves in everything, including Draconequus worship.”

“She’ll be awake soon if she isn’t already,” the mare said, “Let’s get some answers.”

I tried to maintain the ruse of being asleep, but was forced to give it up as a bucket of ice water was dumped over my head. Sputtering and blowing the water from my nose, I tried to shake my head dry.

“Who are you? Where are we?” I asked once I cleared the water from my nose.

“We ask the questions,” the mare said, her hood now raised, “But I can tell you that we are the unicorn resistance; that should strike some fear into your heart. As for where we are, if you figure that out, you’re already dead.”

“So, Soaring Heights,” the stallion said, “What brings you to Sunhorn? And be truthful, or it’ll hurt you.”

“Well,” I said, determined to tell the truth, “My name’s not really Soaring Heights to start with, and I’m not a pegasus.”

My honesty was rewarded with a hoof strike across the face.

“The truth, no nonsense!” the mare demanded, “We know you’re somehow involved with the Blackwings and the Dark Brotherhoof, which doesn’t put you very high in our books. Your kind sickens me, thinking you can just ‘purge’ us as if we’re some kind of sickness. Well, the tables are turned now. You do what we say, or you’ll get more pain than you can imagine!”

“I’m telling the truth,” I said, using a low level healing spell to repair where I’d bitten the inside of my cheek, “I’m really a unicorn named Sapphire, and I’m trying to break into the Blackwing Headquarters to find the key to stopping the World-Eater Alduin.”

“Somepony hit her over the head too hard,” the stallion commented, “She’s gone mad.”

“No!” the mare insisted, “It’s just a ploy to get us to lower our guard. She’s just faking, but we can beat that obstinacy out of her.”

“Look,” I said, “I’m telling the truth, and I’ll prove it.”

With my magic, I undid my bonds and rose from the chair.

“She’s loose!” the mare cried, building magic at the end of her horn to strike me.

As they both shot fire spells at me, I picked the chair up in my magic and used it as a shield. The chair was consumed, turning to ash. My two interrogators stood dumbfounded, unable to believe that a pegasus like me had just used magic.

“Check my armor if you have to,” I said, “It’s made for a unicorn, not for a pegasus.”

“Go check,” the mare ordered, keeping her horn pointed at me.

“She’s right,” the stallion confirmed as he examined my Dark Brotherhoof attire, “There’s no holes in this thing for wings, and there’s a slot for a horn on the helmet.”

“May I see it?” I asked, motioning for him to throw it to me.

He complied, but kept his horn pointed at me, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. Using my magic, I pulled the armor on, sliding it over my fake wings. The spell began to deteriorate as I tugged the armor over wings that weren’t there. The wings on my back jerked around for a minute, unsure of what to do as they wouldn’t fit within the armor, before disappearing completely.

“By Julimanos,” the stallion swore, “She was telling the truth after all.”

“I don’t mean you any harm,” I told my two kidnappers, “I just want to get to Pegasor. So long as you don’t hurt me or my friends, we won’t have any problems. You haven’t done anything to them, have you?”

“The others we captured!” the stallion exclaimed before charging out of the room.

The mare followed him, leaving me alone. I exited the room as well, being careful to keep within sight of the two ponies ahead of me so that I wouldn’t be killed on sight. I saw now where we were, in a set of ancient catacombs, no doubt built beneath Sunhorn long ago. And now the unicorn resistance in this city had made the tombs their home.

Steadfast, Mephalda, and Mystic were all found in rooms similar to the one I’d been in, about to be interrogated. Thankfully, none of them had been tortured yet, and my captors made sure they were set free without further fuss.

Once we were free and had our gear returned to us, we were taken to the resistance’s leader, a one-eyed unicorn stallion named Sky’s Wit. We told him our tale, and about our goal. Of course, I didn’t tell him exactly why we needed to enter the Blackwing Headquarters. I was worried that he’d want the Elements of Harmony for himself, to combat the pegasi.

“As I understand it, what you really need are directions to Pegasor,” he spoke as we finished our story, “Perhaps even a path through the mountains that no pegasus knows about.”

“That would be most helpful,” I admitted.

“We can help you with this,” Sky’s Wit replied, “The resistance has much use of such information. However, before you leave, I would request that you assist us in an urgent matter.”

“What would that be?” I asked suspiciously, reminding myself that nothing was ever really free.

“The Pegasari Dominion has long oppressed us here, proclaiming us to be inferior to the pegasi,” he replied, “Now they are preparing for a war that, if won, will let them do the same to the whole of the Northlands. That cannot be allowed to happen. The docks here in Sunhorn are busy constructing a new Air Fleet to replace the one they lost at Winterhorn. We intend to break into the docks and sabotage the fleet tonight. Will you join us?”

I thought about it for a minute. Getting the remaining Elements was important, but equally important was stopping this war. At the moment, there didn’t seem to be anything I could do to convince the Pegasari Dominion to back down. Perhaps the only thing that could be done at the moment was to sabotage their war effort so that any attack on Horizon would never take place, and they would admit defeat.

“We’re in,” I said.

We must’ve been unconscious for some time, as it didn’t take long for night to come. With the hooded unicorn resistance, we left the catacombs and headed up through the silent city. Our disguises were still in place, lasting a whole day and keeping us from looking too conspicuous in the city. Fortunately, the Pegasari shipyards were built in the non-cloud part of the city, so we didn’t need any of our precious cloud-walking potions.

We passed Pegasari guards from time to time as we traveled through Sunhorn, but Mephalda was always able to take them out with a well-placed shot from her bow before they were able to cause any trouble. Near the top of the city, the shipyards jutted out away from the homes below to prevent cataclysmic damage in case of accidents. We could see the massive ships under construction as we approached, held up by the clouds that kept the shipyards from collapsing under their own weight.

Four guards waited outside of the shipyard’s gates, keeping watch for intruders like us. A few members of the resistance snuck around toward two of them while Mephalda and I snuck up on the others. I kept to the shadows, creeping along the building until I was standing behind one of the Pegasari guards. As Mephalda dropped down from above and stabbed the other guard, I put a hoof over my target’s mouth and sank my Fell Blade into her side. We pushed the bodies off to the side before moving on.

A few of the resistance members were handy with lockpicks, and popped the locks open quickly, opening the doors to let us inside. We hid behind a stack of lumber as we surveyed the situation. All six of the docking positions were filled, with two of the airships completed (one being the damaged one from Winterhorn). The other four were still under construction and being held up by the docks instead of under their own power.

Though guards had been posted outside, the inside of the shipyards were far from unprotected. The lights of torches burned in the dark, marking where the guards patrolled. The entire shipyard was filled with them, and more no doubt waited within the attached buildings, able to be roused from their slumber to fight if it came to it.

We moved around the pile of lumber, splitting up to take out the guards looking out for the airships. I snuck up on a pegasus guard who was alertly looking out for any signs of trouble. As he trotted along a shelf filled with tools, I followed on the other side. When he reached the end of the shelf, I quickly lunged out, catching him by surprise and sinking my dagger into his throat.

Hiding his body under a tarp, I snuck through the shipyards, seeking out a new target. I found two guards who were spending more time chatting than actually guarding the airships. I hid in the shadows and waited for them to separate, but they didn’t seem inclined to do so any time soon.

An arrow flew through the dark, striking one in the back of the head. As the other gasped, I charged out of the shadows, clamping a hoof over her mouth a split second too late, allowing a bit of her scream to get out. She tried to fly away, batting at me with her wings, as I struggled to pierce her side with my dagger. Eventually, I managed to pierce her heart, and dropped her to the ground.

Across the shipyards, I saw a worker emerge from the sleeping quarters, nearly bumping into a unicorn before ducking back inside. Shortly after, a large group of armed guards spilled through the door, working to light the torches around the shipyard and illuminate the place. Arrows began to fly through the air as they spotted the resistance members finishing off their fellow guards.

I drew Dawnbreaker as two of the guards charged toward me. It seemed the time for stealth was over. As one brought a mace down at my head, I blocked with my Draconequus sword, pushing it away from me. The other swung a sword at my forelegs, which I was forced to dodge, no longer able to rely on my armor to protect me from strikes like that.

I shot a blast of fire at the pegasus, forcing her to retreat. I swung Dawnbreaker around, knocking the first’s mace from her mouth before swinging my blade back up and into her neck. The other guard swung her sword at my side, and I brought my sword back around to block, stopping the blade before it reached me. With my blade, I pushed her back until she was against the wall. Drawing my Changeling war axe, I swung it around into her neck, finishing her off.

<<<FUS~RO~DAH!!!>>> I Shouted as a group of pegasi charged me.

They were thrown back, some landing in bins of nails. I let loose a blast of fire at the others that tried to approach. A few tried to fly over the flames, and I cut my fire spell off in order to shoot ice spikes up at them. Most were hit and fell to the ground, but one got through.

I blocked the battleaxe she swung at me, stopping it with Dawnbreaker. I tried to push her back, but instead she pushed me back. I jumped out of the way as I released her battleaxe and it came crashing down. As it stuck in the floorboards, I swung Dawnbreaker around into the pony’s neck.

As she fell to the ground, I turned to face the survivors of my fire attack, drawing the Blade of Hoofingar as well to fight them off. A pegasus with a war axe swung down at my head, and I hooked my ebony sword beneath the blade, throwing it from her mouth. I struck her in the chest with my hoof as she tried to leap at me, knocking her into the pony behind her.

Another of the guards tried to strike me with her sword, but I blocked with Dawnbreaker. While I pushed back at her with my Draconequus sword, I swung the Blade of Hoofingar into her side. She pushed Dawnbreaker away, and I switched to my ebony sword to block her, using Dawnbreaker to stab her in the chest instead.

<<<FO~KRAH~DIIN!!!>>> I Shouted at the remaining pegasi, including the one I’d previously disarmed.

They froze over solid, and I stabbed my Draconequus sword through the ice, spearing them through. Knocking their frozen bodies out of the way, I galloped over to where Steadfast was fighting to hold off three pegasi at once. Though he looked like a pegasus at the moment, his wings were non-functional, and the others were able to take advantage of their ability to fly.

I shot an ice spike into the head of one of them as I approached, sending it through and out the other side. Another flapped toward me, and I blasted fire up at her, trying to hit her wings. Instead, she zoomed over me, forcing me to duck down as she swung a sword over my head.

I brought Dawnbreaker up to block, knocking the weapon from her mouth. She leapt to retrieve it as she landed, and swung it up to block me before I could strike her. I forced her sword away, knocking it to the ground and kicking it with my hoof. Swinging Dawnbreaker around, I took off her head.

Steadfast crushed the last remaining pegasus with his warhammer, sending her flying through the air. A few began to disembark from the ship that had attacked Winterhorn, and threw shields up over their heads as Mephalda rained down arrows on them.

<<<FO~KRAH~DIIN!!!>>> I Shouted, causing the plank they were climbing down to become slick with ice.

Many slipped before recovering with their wings and hopping to the docks where I was standing. However, many of them were shot out of the air by Mephalda before they landed near me. Those that did land I repelled with Dawnbreaker. Steadfast lent a hoof, attacking the pegasi still heading down the plank with his warhammer.

I ducked behind a stack of wood as an arrow pierced my armor and stuck in my shoulder. Archers on the ship were firing at us, giving up on approaching via the plank connecting the ship to the docks. I pulled out the arrow and wrapped a bandage on under my armor before rolling out of my hiding place.

<<<WULD~NAH~KEST!!!>>>

I went shooting forward up the plank, landing on the ship, in the middle of a crowd of pegasi with bows. I covered my face with a hoof and launched fire from my invisible horn, spinning in circles to coat the pegasi around me with flames. Arrows still flew at me, sticking in my armor, but they weren’t life threatening wounds, so I continued to cast my spell until I couldn’t any longer.

No more pegasi stood around me, so I headed for the hatch to belowdecks, Mephalda stepping through as I opened it. Only a few Pegasari soldiers lurked below, hiding behind barrels of supplies. Mephalda shot arrows at them, pinning them down as I snuck around behind them.

I ran one through with Dawnbreaker before he even knew what hit him. The other turned in surprise as I killed her friend, and leapt at me with her sword ready. I had no time to dodge, and was tackled to the ground by the pegasus, bringing Dawnbreaker up just in time to stop her blade from slicing my throat.

She kept me pinned, flapping her wings to apply additional pressure. She brought her sword up, and then back down at my neck, nearly knocking Dawnbreaker out of the way. Arrows struck her in the throat, and she rolled off me as she choked on the shafts. Mephalda stood nearby, and shot an arrow through her heart to finish her off.

No more pegasi lurked within the ship, so I peeked back above to see what was going on in the rest of the shipyard. No more pegasus guards remained, and the unicorns were busy moving the barrels of black powder into position. The plan had been explained to us before we’d arrive here, and I knew what had to be done.

Mephalda and I moved the barrels of black powder within the airship around to their designated spots, removing lengths of cord from our saddlebags and connecting them to the barrels. Very carefully, we ran the lines out of the ship and through the shipyard, where other ponies were doing the same thing.

As we exited the shipyard, all the lengths of cord came together. We stepped back from the structure before Sky’s Wit sent a ball of flame at the cords. Fire traveled down the lines swiftly, entering the shipyard and the barrels of black powder within.

Explosions burst through the night as key points of the shipyard were blown to pieces. The ships within began to fall first, separated from the clouds that held them up by the explosions. The bits of shipyard connected to clouds exploded as well, separating from the fluffy material. The shipyard began to groan, tipping under its own weight until it collapsed, breaking apart and falling down the side of the mountain, shredding to pieces as it did so.

“As promised,” Sky’s Wit said, passing a map of the Featherrest Isles to me while he watched the shipyard’s destruction, “May the Equines aid you in your quest.”

“You as well,” I said, staring down at the map and the path clearly marked connecting Sunhorn and Pegasor.