In which the ivory dice are rolled.
ooOoo
Dear Diary,
If you’ve seen one mountain, surrounded by mountains, in the middle of mountains, you’ve seen them all. It’s Saturday afternoon and I am sick to death of riding. Teelo estimates we’re doing about two miles an hour as the crow flies and about six miles an hour over the ground. A human being can do three miles an hour at a brisk walk (or so Teelo says, she’s a font of knowledge when it comes to exercise, blargh).
Which means I can’t even try to walk or I’ll hold us up. Can you say bored?
Kusken is his usual chatty self, I got him to say ten whole words this morning! Teelo and I are running out of things to talk about. It’s gotten so bad that Søyle suggested we start learning Trollish.
At this point I’m willing to try anything!
Love,
Emma.
ooOoo
Thunder was running out of enemies to obliterate, so he started on doors. Fortunately, the lair must have originally housed creatures of significant size, letting the dragon pass easily. Unfortunately for the defenders what barricades existed were no match for the battering ram of the dragon’s armored snout.
He didn’t even slow down for doors.
Finding himself in a large chamber filled with all manner of necromantic laboratory equipment he simply blasted the contents, closing his eyes as the room exploded with a terrific bang. He grinned, enjoying the feel of shrapnel bouncing off his face.
Pulling his head out of the inferno he started hunting for more rooms to explode.
It really was making him feel so much better.
ooOoo
Twilight Sparkle paused, suddenly feeling her foul mood lift away for no discernible reason. Shrugging she decided to take a break from the mounds of paperwork and go for a stroll in the castle gardens. It was completely unprofessional but Twilight’s soaring mood would not be denied.
Besides, I’ve been working for a week straight. What did Celestia call it? Oh yes, Me time. Nobody will care if I take an hour off—or two. Two hours tops. Oh, what the heck? Maybe all afternoon!
Nodding in satisfaction she made her way toward the gardens with a clear conscience, two Royal guards silently shadowing her.
ooOoo
By the time Sombra caught up with the dragon he had already torched several labs and was heading for the main library. The thought of all those irreplaceable ancient scrolls and books, many predating the ponies’ arrival in Equestria, made even the black-hearted unicorn blanch.
“Turn him from the library,” Sombra hissed. “Distract him, bait him! But keep him away from there!”
The two bloody corpses charged at the dragon’s side as he was crossing the corridor in front of them. Thunder couldn’t see them coming because his head was far up the corridor. He roared as the two undead ponies slammed rear hooves against his vulnerable ribs with supernatural force.
One draugr was staggered by a slashing rear foot, the talons ripping through undead flesh with a sickening tearing sound. But the undead pony recovered quickly, the long ragged tears in its flesh closing almost immediately. The other draugr dove into the floor before the dragon’s head looped back and snapped at the first draugr, who leaped twenty feet backward to avoid it.
Meanwhile Sombra had teleported into position and seeing his chance unleashed crystal hell upon the dragon. He screamed in triumph as the razor sharp crystals shot toward the unsuspecting Thunder.
ooOoo
Earth, Sunday evening, June 8, 2013 7:21 PM Eastern Standard Time
“Man, you look like death warmed over,” The president noted as Admiral Spears rubbed his unshaven face, the stubble clear against too pale skin, his eyes bloodshot and baggy.
“Yeah, well you try sixteen hour marathon sessions back to back,” The man growled at his commander in chief. “Where’s that infamous coffee of yours, Mitchell? I need a couple of barrels of it.”
Wordlessly the Chief of Staff handed the NSA head a tall steaming cup, which the man took an incautiously large mouthful of.
After the inevitable spit back, the Admiral looked at the president with a sullen glare.
“We are screwed,” he announced in a hard flat tone, “so much.”
“Why?” President Bend asked, narrowing his eyes.
“I got a visit from Faust when I got home Friday night,” the man replied, taking a more cautious sip of the hot coffee. He swallowed and grimaced, gamely taking another swig.
“Something big is going down among the Fae, I’d bet my next year’s appropriation on it. Faust actually gave me a straight answer. Well, as straight as any of them ever are. And you aren’t going to like it.”
“I haven’t liked anything you’ve ever told me about the Fae,” The President said sourly. “We have to pussyfoot around them like they’re damned nitroglycerin. Give me the Russians any day. Dorog may a turbo-charged psycho but at least we know him, we’ve got assets in place. Even the Chinese can’t hold a candle to these damned faerie tale characters!”
“Yeah, well, check this out. That royalty Teagan O’Gara is mixed up with? It isn’t just a princess. It’s a queen—of the whole bloody seventh universe, no less.”
“How did you find that out?” The President asked, stunned.
“Faust. He was spouting off about her being on the move, and worlds spinning around her like jewels.” He snorted. “Destiny cannot gainsay her, apparently. And not even Faust knows what’s going to happen when it’s all over.”
“That doesn’t sound promising,” the Chief of Staff noted quietly.
“No, it doesn’t. Apparently there’s been a succession or a revolt, or something. Faust said she’s newly crowned, so it sounds like the Fae are maneuvering to take advantage of it. He also warned us the Fae know we’re snooping.”
“Wonderful,” the President said with a face palm. “Did Faust happen to give any advice?”
“Basically, he told us we should butt out,” the Admiral said in disgust. “Told me the Queen isn’t necessarily hostile to us right now, but if we stick our noses somewhere she doesn’t like she’ll swat us. He told me she tries to be kind but has a terrible temper. And, to put the cherry on top there’s high confidence she’s actually here on Earth right now.”
The President’s head snapped up. “You’re kidding.”
“We can’t be certain, but things that Faust said make it highly likely. Oh, and Faust gave us her title. In Norwegian, of all things. Her title is Dronning av Fjellet, which translates to Queen of the Mountain. Given everything else he said here’s what we’ve been able to nail down.
“The queen can travel between the universes. He specifically mentioned rainbows, which pretty much confirms it’s the seventh universe. He also said her subjects ‘dwell deep’. When you look at Norse mythology for subterranean creatures the very first thing that pops up are trolls.”
“What, little men with weird hair?” The Chief of Staff said with a grin. “My daughter used to collect them. Hey, somebody’s got to lighten this up!”
“No,” Admiral Spears said wearily. “Not little. Legends vary, but early ones say trolls are giants. They’re ten feet tall and extremely dangerous. Many legends say they eat humans, others that trolls are actively hostile. Precious few talk about neutral or beneficial interactions. Usually humans end up having to trick the trolls to get away.”
“Nice,” the President grumbled. “So, Faust is telling us the queen of a hostile nation is here on Earth, although she’s not exactly hostile to us herself. Oh, and she’s so important to the Fae everything she does is causing seismic waves in their balance of power. Is that what you’re telling me?”
“Pretty much,” the Admiral said with a wry grimace. “Oh, and Faust didn’t shy away from saying we’re out of our depth, either. He called us a pack of hounds that should have sense enough to not bite off more than we can chew. He got pretty serious when he talked about how terrible she could be if she got mad.”
“You think he’s right?” President Bend asked.
“Damned if I know,” the Admiral admitted. “But he’s never steered us wrong in the past. My advice is to keep an eye on it but do not do anything that could be interpreted as a threat. And there is one final thing. Faust gave me one bit of advice straight up. If we do find her she won’t deal with underlings, only our king, i.e. you. And you’ll have to meet her on her terms, not yours.”
“Not going to happen,” the President said firmly. “The President of the United States does not go hat in hand like some beggar to meet a foreign leader, no matter how powerful she might be.”
ooOoo
Teagan stretched as she prepared to clamber down the side of the wagon. The sun was just touching the horizon as the trolls and ponies started to make camp. Emma groaned as she stretched, yelping as Kusken lifted her down without warning.
“Hey!” She protested grumpily. “I could have climbed down, you know! I’m not helpless!”
Kusken shrugged, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly, as he turned to tend to the wagon.
“Give it up,” Teagan advised her friend. “Trolls focus on practicality. I don’t think they even have a word for pride.”
“Is stolthet, Droning,” Kusken grunted as he knelt to inspect a wheel.
“I stand corrected,” she said drily. “I’m headed over to talk to Stormwind and Heavy Hoof. Wanna come with?”
“Sure. Better than standing around being grinned at,” Emma grumbled. “I’m glad we’re only a couple of days from Hejm. All this riding is giving me calluses in places you aren’t supposed to have calluses!”
Teagan laughed as the two girls strolled over to the expedition commanders and their seconds, a silent Skrent and Flint trailing them.
“How many?” They overheard Heavy Hoof ask as he frowned.
“At least a dozen, all loners,” Stormwind replied with a blank face. “It looks like they’re scouting for us.”
“What’s up?” Teagan asked, turning serious.
“We spotted a dozen undead skeletons, all ponies,” Stormwind said, saluting her before turning back to the scroll on the table, held open with clearly purpose made stones. “They’re in a rough semi-circle in the mountains behind us, probably about ten hours back.”
“If they’re scouts, where is the main force?” She asked, focusing on the map.
“We don’t know, and that’s a problem,” Heavy Hoof said. “If their tactics are anything like ours, the main force will be about half a day behind the scouts, since I can’t imagine skeletons can fly.”
“But windigos can,” Stormwind interjected. “Something told Thunder where to find us, remember?”
Heavy Hoof grunted in acknowledgement. “Still, if they had enough fliers to scout they wouldn’t be using ground units, now would they?”
“Which makes me wonder,” Teagan mused, “how many heavy hitters they actually have. It’s not like they can completely ignore logistics. They may not have to supply undead troops but they do have to procure them in the first place. A skeleton is bound to be easier to get than a windigo and a lot easier than a draugr, right?”
“Sounds reasonable,” Heavy Hoof allowed.
“Which means the bulk of their troops are going to be lightweights, relatively speaking. What kinds of undead are there in Equestria? I’ve heard of skeletons, zombies, vampires, windigos and draugr. Anything else?”
“Ghosts,” Meteor Swarm volunteered. “Shadow ponies, and a lot of weird-flank things from Scoltland that Earthen Stone is always blathering on about. Like the fachan, supposed to have one back leg in the center and a single foreleg sticking out of its chest, with one eye in the middle of its head and a mane as hard and sharp as a bunch of wire.”
“Only one leg? That doesn’t make it sound very dangerous,” Emma commented.
Meteor Swarm grinned. “It doesn’t, does it? Of course that’s before it bucks you in the head hard enough to put its hoof though your skull. Oh, and once it kills you it chops off half your legs so you rise as a fachan yourself at the next new moon.”
“You might have mentioned that first,” Emma said, deadpan.
“Scoltish undead tend to be like that. The Scolts were pretty uncivilized before the founding of Equestria,” the unicorn said with a chuckle. “A lot of their undead were corpses with bits and pieces lopped off before some evil magic reformed them and gave them unlife.”
“Nice,” Teagan said. “So are we anywhere near Scoltland?”
“Not too far, actually,” Meteor Swarm replied, turning serious. “It’s almost directly north of us, probably about a hundred miles or so, just south of the Crystal Empire. Earthen Stone is from the Scoltland Skylands. Come to think of it, so is your friend Sun Hammer.”
“Any chance these fachan things are real?” Teagan asked.
“Real enough, according to Earthen Stone, who claims his great grandfather managed to kill one. Stone tells me he saw the thing’s skull once, but then again Stone likes his tall tales.” The unicorn chuckled.
“Back to the point at hand, Lady Teagan is most likely correct,” Heavy Hoof said in a no nonsense tone. “The most common form of undead in their armies are likely the weakest. Let’s hope they haven’t had the time to create a lot of draugrs. As for the rest, well, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“What are the odds the main force is actually waiting ahead to ambush us?” Teagan asked.
Heavy Hoof and Stormwind both grimaced.
“You have a nasty suspicious mind, Your Majesty,” Heavy Hoof commented. “Fortunately, so do I. Stormwind split his wing to scout ahead, behind, and to either side. No trace of them.”
Teagan frowned as she studied the map.
“We used magic to sneak away from the blood bird attack, right? Any chance an undead army could do the same? Would it be easier if they weren’t maneuvering?”
“It would be easier,” Meteor Swarm said, nodding, “except for two things. One, our caravan is relatively small. An undead army would be a lot harder to hide, depending on their numbers. On top of that, many kinds of undead are prone to explosive sunburn.”
Teagan barked a short laugh.
“True enough. But part of my nasty suspicious mind reminds me that an undead army wouldn’t need the kind of space a living army would. What’s to keep them from burying themselves during the day? Or maybe they stack themselves into a big pile that doesn’t take up a lot of room?”
Emma winced and Percival looked distinctly nauseous.
“Well, zomponies would attract vultures,” Stormwind pointed out.
“Yeah, you’d be hard pressed to cast a spell that could hide a stench that strong,” Meteor Swarm agreed. “I think your idea of them burying themselves is more likely.”
“The forests around here would make that easier,” Heavy Hoof noted gloomily. “At least we’d have a bit of warning though. Even a minute or two will help.”
“Maybe that’s why we’ve only spotted skeletons so far?” Teagan asked. “Sunlight doesn’t bother them, right? And they don’t smell.”
“True,” Meteor Swarm agreed.
“What about those shadow wolf things?” Emma spoke up. “How did they end up in the middle of Canterlot? We’re a lot closer to Hejm now. I’m surprised they haven’t tried that trick again.”
“Lady Emma, that is an extremely unpleasant idea. Why didn’t I think of that?” Stormwind asked rhetorically. “Commander, she has a point. A pack of shadow wolves could rip us up pretty bad with relative impunity.”
“Trolls can see in the dark,” Teagan offered. “I think they should be part of the night watch too.”
“Some of them already set watches, Your Majesty.” Heavy Hoof said. “But it might be helpful to have them in the outer perimeter instead of just the inner. Of course that means your personal protection will be lessened. As the expedition commander I must ask you consider any such action carefully. We do have limited night vision capability in Rolling Thunder. There’s also the matter of chain of command.”
“I’m the queen, Heavy Hoof.” Teagan said in a serious tone. “If I ask I’m sure I can find some volunteers. Pair them with a pegasus floating on a cloud out of immediate reach of attackers to help watch their backs—yeah, I could totally sell that.”
“Will they follow my orders?” Heavy Hoof asked skeptically.
“Ponies and trolls are clan, Heavy Hoof. If I ask them they most certainly would. Just make sure the pegasi paired with them keep that in mind, hmm?”
“Understood. It will be full dark in half an hour, Your Majesty. We have no time to waste.” He pointed out.
“Come on, Emma. We’ve got a defense to rally.”
It was just after full dark when the trolls and their pegasi partners formed the outer rim of their encampment.
“This is a good thing, Dronning,” Søyle said solemnly as she surveyed the new defensive arrangements. “Nothing bonds clan like defense of the hjerte.”
“I just hope this is a dress rehearsal, Søyle, and not opening night,” Teagan said, peering into the dark.
Can you see anything, Crush? she asked her symbiote mentally.
There are no enemies about. Sleep and I will keep watch, the club replied.
Are you all right? Teagan asked impulsively. She got the mental equivalent of an amused eyebrow.
I am a demon. I am never “all right”. But I am fully capable of keeping watch while you sleep. You need to be rested if there is an attack during the night.
True enough. Goodnight, Crush.
The human girls slept without a tent or fire just in case the undead army managed to find them.
This turned out to be prudent, as both were ripped from sleep by a troll’s angry bellow, followed by a loud crunching noise.
Teelo was struggling out of her sleeping bag before her eyes were fully open, drawing Crush without conscious thought. Emma sat bolt upright, trying to peer past Søyle, who had sprung in front of the girl before the latter had started moving.
“Det var en hest skjelett, jeg ødela det!” A troll’s deep voice rang out through the night. Neither human had learned enough trollish to understand what the troll was saying.
“A pony skeleton, Dronning,” Søyle growled. “The guard destroyed it.”
“Emma, stay here,” Teagan commanded. “Søyle, guard her.”
Two looming shapes rose to follow the girl as she strode, Crush in hand, toward the shout.
“Where are you going?” A four footed shape demanded.
“To see what’s going on,” she replied without breaking stride. Stormwind cut in front of her, bringing her to a halt.
“Don’t be stupid, Lady Teagan,” He growled, glaring at her in the darkness. “The sentry line is no place for you! Wait for a report like you’re supposed to do! You’re much too high-value a target to go running headlong toward a fight, you idiotic human!”
“Is that your professional opinion, Wing Commander?” She said, smiling in spite of the harsh rebuke. “I suppose you’re right. But if that wasn’t just a scout you’re going to need me and Crush to sweep them away. And that’s queen idiot, remember?”
“Come with me, Your Majesty,” Stormwind said in a mocking tone. “We’ll go to the command tent and find out what’s going on.”
Just then another troll shout split the night, followed by a screamed equine battle challenge from the same direction.
“We’re under attack! Skeletons on the west side!” a pony shouted.
Suddenly a light leaped skyward, and exploded into brilliance, lighting everything within a hundred yards.
It revealed a sea of moving bones charging toward them, pony skulls bobbing like foam as they closed the distance in horrifying near silence, the only sound a slight clattering noise, far too quiet for the wall of dull ivory closing in on them.
In the distance Teagan spotted a group of ponies on a rise behind the skeletal army. There was something wrong with them but she didn’t have time to study them, too intent on flinging herself into the air, the red glow already surrounding her as Crush’s magic caught and flung her outward.
Her eyes narrowed as time slowed down, coldly calculating whether she would reach the edge of the sentry line before the undead wave overwhelmed it…