//------------------------------// // Bridge Chapter 5: Sight of the Stone Eye // Story: When the Everfree Burns // by SpiritDutch //------------------------------// Five Weeks before the Summer Sun It was early morning, and the rosy sun was just beginning to peek from behind the thick jungle that ringed the Coltcutta lagoon. It’s reflection wavered hypnotizingly across the surface of the brackish waters drawing Gilda’s eyes West, toward the world she knew intimately. Lies, deceit, anger, and murder had all followed her from Griffany. Was it the world, or was it her? Was there anywhere in the world that knew true serenity? “Hey GIlda!” Dash’s high pitch call came, startling her. Gilda craned her head to look at her approaching friend. “Yeah?” “I just wanted to see… What were you looking at?” Dash shaded her eyes from the sun with a hoof and scanned the horizon. “Nothing, nothing.” Gilda coughed, pushing away from the railing. “Everypony ready to go?” “Just waiting on you.” Dash said. “You know I hate to be a slowpoke.” Gilda faked a laugh. Nothing felt quite right, like she was living out a farce. Every breath, step, and word was unfulfilling. But she'd never felt guilty over a lie before, so what was making her feel that way? It unnerved her. "Do you feel good about this Dash? Confident?" "Come on G, don't start calling me out when we haven't even started the day." Dash looked somewhere between hurt and amused. "I feel fine. You?" "Fine." "Awesome. I was afraid for a sec I'd have to take the lead." Dash teased, leading her down the forecastle to the middeck. Magistrate Mare was overseeing the trickle of sailors returning from their gracious overnight shore leave in Coltcutta, while Daring Do was leaning against the mast polishing her tiny derringer pistol. “Tally everypony else as they arrive. If all hooves are not accounted for, send me a message by gull, and we will bring them back with us.” Mare was instructing the quartermaster. “Both Mis Gilda and Mis Dash will be accompanying me, so it will be up to you to maintain order. If things get rowdy, satiate them with that rum we’ve just brought aboard.” The quartermaster's face lit up. “Every drop missing will come out of your pay. Don’t doubt I’ll check.” Mare supplemented hostility. “I will be back before sundown. Everypony is to rest up and be ready to set sail by then. Are we clear? Good!” “Is it just me or is she getting harder with the crew every day.” Dash joked to Gilda. “Seems that way.” Gilda agreed. Who would miss the despicable magistrate if she just disappeared one day? Eh, it was too early in the morning to be contemplating murder yet. “Alright ladies, we have a long day ahead of us.” Done addressing the crew, Mare rounded to Dash and Gilda, ushering them onto the recently vacated dinghy, She then turned to Do. “Anytime this year, Mis.” Do tucked her pistol into an inside pocket of her tunic before clambering into the little boat with Dash and Gilda. Mare was right behind her. “Boy, this brings back memories. This one time, I was stuck in an escape boat like this with a starving griffin for five months.” Do said, “You liar. When you told me that story, you said five days.” Dash giggled. “Did I say that? I meant five weeks.” Dash arched a brow, baiting for a laugh. “Five years? “Tell me about it in the memoir.” Gilda said snidely. She pulled the oars from under her seat and passed one to Dash. Sunrise was evidently not early enough to get into the city easily. Coltcutta’s waterfront was choked with local fishing boats coming back from a night out on the ocean, and the jetties were now filled with the fishers hawking their catch. It was a more numerous and varied crowd than Gilda or Dash had ever seen. Thousands of equines, griffins, zebras, buffalo, cows, and simians bustled endlessly up and down the docks, conducting their business with an eager enthusiasm. Just looking at so many creatures in one place, bumping and elbowing past each other, gave Dash anxiety. “There’s protection and anonymity in groups.” GIlda told her. “Today, it will be important NOT to make a scene. You get me?” “Subtly is my middle name. Heh heh.” Dash laughed nervously. They guided the dinghy past the docks to a less cluttered stretch of waterfront, further down the lagoon. Imposing warships sporting hundreds of cannon ports guarded the entrance to the EOC district. Within the confines of their allotted zone, the EOC had created a city within a city, with high walls lined with cannons, and tall equestrian-style buildings looming over squalid slums beyond its borders. The maharaja of Coltcutta had ceded the most worthless part of his city to the Equestrians, and they had transformed it into a monument to their imperialism. Magistrate Mare was the only one of the four who had been to there before, and directed Dash and Gilda to row them around to the side of the main cargo jetties, out of sight in the shadow of one of the warehouses. She bade them stay near the boat while she went to talk to somepony within the walls. “I don’t like places like this.” Do mused, taking in the sight of the frigates anchored around them. “Look at those behemoths, haringers of exploitation and destruction with messages made on the wings of cannon balls. You know, I left home to get away from stale equestrian culture. I wanted to see the world and her diversity.” “Well, you’re not far away.” Gilda nodded towards the low roar of business at the fishing docks. “If ponies like Mare had their way, everything would be like this fortress. No commerce if it’s not orderly, no local fishing without a dispensation from the EOC. All the vibrant clothes would be replaced by dull linens.” “That’s a bit unfair. Mare’s weird, but I don’t think she’d want that.” Dash protested. “She’s a businessmare, not an conqueror. If it wouldn’t benefit her personally, she wouldn’t care.” Gilda agreed. Mare came back five minutes later carrying a labelless bottle, containing a glowing and swirling green liquid. “That’s not your usual swill.” Gilda observed. “Nope something more exotic. It’s much harder to get it here than in equestria but I have my sources.” The stuff was churning such that Gilda wouldn’t have been surprised if it combusted on contact with air. “I thought you were going dry, Magistrate.” “Don’t think about it.” Mare growled, as she slipped the bottle into the space under one of the dinghy’s seats. “Do your jobs and don’t get distracted.” “Yes, my lady.” Gilda said in her best impression of a stiff noble accent. With Dash at her side she strutted up towards the fortress gate, leaving Mare and Do to work out the intricacies of their assigned tasks. “I’m starting to have second thoughts.” Dash whispered once they were alone. “Does it really have to be us who goes to the palace?” “Yes, because we’re noponies; Forgettable and unimportant. If Emerald Rose has agents in the city, they will be watching for Mare or Do, not us. That’s the logic anyway.” Gilda whispered back. They were nearing the entrance to the fortress, staffed by two uniformed earth pony guards armed with muskets. “Hey there gals.” “Hey yourself.” The guard mare on the right said. “What’s your business?” “Collecting pay for the crew of the Flyer Kyte.” Gilda replied. She pulled a slip of paper from her pocket and held it out. “Here’s my orders from my captain.” The guard didn’t seem interested in the orders. “Flyer Kyte, eh? Ain’t that the ship that made the transoceanic from Manehattan to Trottingham in under week?” “I think it is, yeah.” The other guard agreed, her eyes roaming over the duo. “That’s a nice gun you got there.” “Huh? This thing?” Gilda reached over her shoulder and grabbed pulled her long-barreled arquebus out of it’s straps. “Yeah, I got it in Stirrup. A Trottingham forged custom, fourteen point five. Can use pellet too." She snapped open the breach. "You won't see these in armories for another twenty years." The left guard whistled. "Bet it barks like a bitch. That's some craftsponyship." Gilda felt a glow of pride. "One of a kind. A stallion almost blew my head off at a hundred meters with it, but I’m not near that good with her, yet.” “You told me you bought it at a pawner’s stall.” Dash whispered, suspicious. “Shut the buck up Dash!” Gilda hissed back. The right guard blinked. “What was that now?” “Nothing. My mate here’s getting ancy.” Gilda put her gun back in its place on her back. “Mind if we go through?” “Sure.” The guard on the left shrugged. “Don’t be causing any trouble for the merchants now, ya hear.” “Yup.” Gilda waved, pulling Dash through the gate. As quickly as she could without anypony watching, she dragged her pegasus friend into a darkened corner. “What the buck was that?!” Dash demanded, incised. “I was gunna ask the same thing! I was socializing! That’s what ponies do!” Gilda matched her tone. “What I wanna know is why you’re trying to sabotage us by contradicting me!” “You lied. I KNEW your story about what went down in Stirrup didn’t match up!” Gilda rolled her claw nervously. She she could let Dash know part of the truth. “Dash, listen, please. Can I trust you?” That caught Dash by surprise. Her hostility evaporated, replaced by caution. “Yes. Why?” “No, no.” GIlda shook her head. “I mean, can I trust you absolutely, and whatever I’ll say will never be heard by anypony else. No matter what.” “G, I thought we already had that going.” Dash spoke uneasily. Gilda pulled Dash closer. “Daring Do was going to buy another sarcophagus in Stirrup. The Inquisitors from Maredia who got there first and slaughtered everypony.” Dash pulled herself out of Gilda grip. She was shocked, disbelieving. “W- What?” “You know that hippogryph we met in Clawstantinople? He practiced pyromancy, which is illegal to most Maredians. Maredia has a whole list of outlawed practices like that.” Gilda said. “And the gryphs who enforce the religious laws are the inquisitors.” “They’re not just in Maredia?” “Apparently bucking not.” GIlda grunted. “Whatever’s in the sarcophagi is dangerous or holy or both, and it’s enough to have the inquisitors leave their home territory to hunt it down. They killed an entire city, Dash, so you better believe massacring a ship full of bystanders isn’t going to make them lose any sleep.” Dash fell into a sitting position. “Do said-” “She was lying, both to you and to Mare. We are all in serious danger.” Gilda said. “I’m sorry Dash, I know you really liked her.” Dash stared into the sky, mute. The two of them loitering in the shadows was beginning to draw the attention of patrolling guards, so Gilda dragged Dash to her hooves and led her to their destination at the treasury. It was small compared to the warehouses surrounding it, and the entrance was virtually empty. The only other ponies in the building seemed to be the staff. “Hello there. This is the treasury, right?” Gilda approached one of the desks. “I’m here on behalf of my captain to get the crew’s salary.” The bored looking clerk accepted the paper slip Gilda offered and looking it over. “Flyer Kyte. I don’t recall having such a ship transferred to us.” “The Kyte is on special assignment, on orders of the Planning Board.” Gilda reported truthfully. “The bloody Planning Board! With how many special assignments they are slinging about it will be a miracle if we can survive the next resupply.” The clerk grumbled as she began filling out paperwork. “Go wait over there. We’ll have your disbursement in a few minutes.” Gilda obliged, retreating to a bench. “That was easy.” Dash was still in a slump, trying to reconcile her thoughts. Gilda watched the clerk complete and file the paperwork, then go bustling to the back of the treasury where the vault was. After a few words with her supervisor and a guard, she disappeared into the vault. “How much money do you think trade from this place nets? Whole convoys full of gold, ivory, dyes, spices, and goods go between here and Equestria. It must be millions of bits!” Gilda wondered. “Billions, even.” Dash broke her silence to say. The clerk came out of the vault with an enormous canvas bag. Gilda had to guess it was two feet across, and bulging with the bits it contained. “I’m sure you ladies know better than to take any.” The clerk dropped the bag at Dash’s hooves. “Wage theft is a crime punishable by death within EOC treaty ports.” “Worry not ma’am. We are consummate professionals.” Gilda helped Dash shoulder the bag of bits, before giving the clerk a shallow bow. “Have a wonderful day.” “Yeah, yeah.” The clerk waved them off. Once they were outside the treasury, Gilda noticed how hard Dash was sweating. “It can’t have been that easy. Gilda, I’m scared. Everypony thinks we're in danger. What with the inquisitors and Rose, what are we going to do?” “Take a deep breath, that was the easy part.” Gilda quipped. “The hard part is going to be navigating the seedy filth of Coltcutta with a thousand bits.” At the same time, several buildings over, Magistrate Mare and Daring Do were entering the EOC messenger station. Compared to the mighty stone edifices, the wood tower looked like a shack. It was by design, Mare knew, for it was within unassuming places like this did the most important cogs of the EOC dwelt. The service room was filthy, with piles of letters heaped up to the ceiling and feathers and dust choking the air. “My gods, Mare. Where have you brought us.” Do coughed out a downy feather she’d breathed in. “Don’t make too much noise. Courier technicians are flighty creatures.” Mare joked. “Did somepony call for a courier technician?” A white pegasus with a brown mane popped her head out from behind the counter. She wore a flimsy visor over eyes, ostensibly to protect her from the feeble light peeking from between the boards of the walls. “Ah ha. You must be...” Mare glanced at the dirty shift sheet on the wall behind the counter. “Apodis.” “Yup!” Apodis beamed. “What can I do for you, mis?” “Mis Do here, a very important client of the EOC, is looking for a letter that passed through here a month ago.” Mare explained. “I assume this message post retains copies of all letters?” “Just as the hoofbook orders, ma’am. My transcriber’s off in the city today, but I can show you around.” Apodis nodded eagerly. “Uh, just so I’m clear is this an official visit or…” Mare grinned. “On the downlow, you understand.” “Understood my friend, understood.” Apodis smiled back. "Usual fees apply." Do was nonplussed. “The EOC retained copies of all letters? That seems unethical.” “All of them that aren’t protected by obscuring spells and the like.” Mare said. “Control of communication is the vessel that sustains the monopoly over overseas trade.” “Monopoly! Yeah!” Apois giggled ecstatically. “Now then Mis Do, why don’t we go hunting for that letter!” She ushered them to a side door into a back room. Within were thousands of pigeon holes, some containing stacks of letters, some containing actual pigeons. A surly looking albatross roosted in a cabinet designed for large packages. Do was even more appalled, but Mare didn’t skip a beat. “We are looking for letter from the EOC Subsidiary Relations Chairpony, Emerald Rose.” “Emerald Rose. Ooh, you know I met her once, when I was in training in Python’s Landing. It’s her eyes. They’re all green except for the pupil. I think I might have seen a couple of her letters round here.” Apodis scratched her chin with the back of her hoof. “She uses red and green ink in all her dispatches.” “Dispatches?” Mare scowled. “She’s not in Baltimare?” “I don’t rightly remember. Just her funky inks stood out to me.” Apodis began rifling through the stacks, looking for letters from the right timeframe. “Maybe you could look through those folders over there. I think some might of wandered off over there.” Mare joined her, being very careful not to step on any of the birds. Within several minutes, they had set aside a small pile of letters, all addressed to or from Emerald Rose, EOC SR Chairpony. Do hesitated. “This is wrong…” “Would you be happier getting to Chitin, fetching the treasure, and getting shanghorned and press ganged, never to be heard of again? The EOC higher ups are bastards, and if they think they can screw you without getting burned, they will.” Mare said, looking up from the stack she was sorting through. “Butcher Rose especially. She’s a notorious red-collar, making her enemies disappear in the paperwork.” “Well I think you’re being paranoid.” Do huffed, picking up the first of the letters. “Look. Most of these addressed to Horsestralia anyway.” “Really?” Mare said, looking up from the stack she was sorting through. “That's curious. Horsestralia is it’s a GOC stronghold. But of anypony, I suppose she makes the most sense. As SR chairpony, she handles the EOC affiliated networks.” “The EOC and GOC haven’t been in a war in years though.” Do scowled. “I thought they respected each other's zone of control.” “They realized open war is bad for business. Proxy wars have become more in vogue, and so wheelers and dealers like Butcher Rose get more power.” Mare said. “For example, she might be developing client companies in Horestralia because she plans to usurp the GOC monopoly there. Then she consolidates the clients into a full EOC branch, takes a percentage, gets a new ally on the Board, and garners no risk to herself. Sure, the GOC might retaliate against the EOC in Chitin or Sahella, but that’s hardly her problem.” “That’s utterly disgusting.” Do clucked her tongue. “Is that the kind of thing they teach in the buisness universities?” “No. It’s something you have to learn for yourself.” Mare returned her attention to the letters. Do sighed. All she wanted was an adventure, not drama like she could find at home. She pushed away most of the letter stack until she came upon a much shorter letter. “Hmm? This is interesting.” “What?” “This letter is dated the day before yesterday.” “Then read it.” Mare scowled. From, Emerald Rose, EOC SR Chairpony [REDACTED] [REDACTED], [REDACTED] To, Sapphire Rose, Counting House One Yeezhaw, Chitin There have been unforeseen complications. The GOC is tightening their grip, and our plan is at risk of discovery. We move now. Rendezvous with the doctor and the mercenaries in Macaw. You know what to do. Sincerely, Emerald Rose “Mercenaries.” Do said aloud. “Say what?” Mare looked up. “This letter, addressed to a certain Sapphire Rose, mentions mercenaries in Macaw.” Do passed her the letter. “It’s a bit cryptic.” “Not cryptic, just lacking context.” Mare corrected, earning an annoyed look from Do. She scanned the letter, thinking back to her study in Filly Delphia where she learned the names of almost every pony of importance in the Free Cities.. “I’ve never heard of Sapphire Rose. It might be a code name, or a distant relative working for Emerald. The mentions of mercenaries is very concerning though. Luckily for us, we’re not going anywhere near Macaw. That’s GOC territory, fine for strategists like Emerald to play around in, but not us.” “If you say so.” Do shrugged. The next letter she looked at was from a few weeks earlier. “Huh, the mystery thickens! This one’s from yet another Rose, this time Iron Rose.” “Iron Rose?” Mare repeated. “I definitely know of her. She is a cousin of Emerald’s, if I recall correctly, and a member of the Manehattan Great Council. House Rose has most of it’s roots in Manehattan, with members in various smaller enterprises and guilds. Iron Rose is what you could call the family matriarch. May I see that please?” “So there’s two, maybe three of the Rose family sending letters to Chitin.” Do passed her the letter. “What do you think that means?” “Don’t know. House Rose isn’t a monolith. Most ponies assumed Emerald was breaking away from her family’s control when she entered EOC service.” Mare took the letter and unfolded it. “But sometimes in business, family are the only ponies you can trust. Hmm, there really could be a plot ahoof.” “Ooh, planning an insurrection boss?” Apodis peered over her shoulder. “It’s been a while since we’ve had one of those!” “Uh, no. Just looking for peace of mind.” Do answered. “Isn’t that right, magistrate?” But Mare did not answer, busily reading down the letter. When she finished a half-minute later, she looked much less pleased. “You’ll want to read this.” She said, passing the letter back to Do. From, Iron Rose, Lady Councillor Palace of the Doge Manehattan, Equestria To, Caballeron, BS, MS, Phd [REDACTED] Buzjing, Chitin Payment has been received. Thusly, allow me to be the first to congratulate you on your new post as the first EOC viceroy of Inner Chitin, doctor. If I were a mare of the company like my cousin, I would be celebrating this momentous advance of equestrian interests. The first batch of mercenaries from Horsestralia will be arriving at Macaw within the week. Their payment and orders have been routed through affiliates, so if things go wrong our name will not be found anywhere. The GOC factor and garrison of Macaw have already been paid off, so you may expect to enter and leave with your new army unmolested. If on your way north you were to perturb any other GOC treaty zones, we would naturally not object. Do exercise restraint. If you raze the entire nation, there will be no one to trade with. However, to not directly re-enter Buzjing. My analysis concludes that the [REDACTED] will renege on the agreement, and attempt to kill you as soon as she has the mercenaries. To forestall this, my cousin has created an simple plan. I refer you to our earlier correspondence [8-2-1000] where we discussed the logistics of protecting future excavations in the Chitin hinterland. In specific, I mentioned an expedition being outfitted to enter the mythical tomb complex of Xcero Mountain. That expedition, lead by Do (look back to letter [13-3-1000] for a full dossier), is now sailing and is reported to have passed through the Saddle Strait as of yesterday evening. The arrival of the mercenaries and Do’s expedition line up nicely. You will have to tempt the [REDACTED] out of Buzjing with the promise of treasure from the excavation. Ambush and slaughter her. The conquest of the interior will go much more smoothly with her out of the way. House Rose thanks you your solicitude, but urges you not to forget your obligations. We do not necessarily expect you to petition for EOC overlordship immediately after you carve out your new realm, but do not take too long. The flow of goods and wealth is more important than any one pony. If you betray us, do not doubt for a second that we will not send another army, flying the banner of some other ambitious creature. Do not forget how replaceable you are. Iron Rose Mare waited until Do was finished reading to remark. “Now that’s what I call a plot. A nice, thick, plot.” “When I applied for this expedition, that bastard Caballeron tried to undercut it with a bid for his own. I thought Emerald Rose’s patronage would put a stop to him, but I guess I’m the fool here.” Do sighed. “We both are. I was conceited to think a big-picture mare like Butcher Rose would stoop to squish me.” Mare admitted. “No treasure could compare to sustained exploitation, and they plan to put the heart of Chitin under their hoof.” “Bad luck all around.” Apodis remarked. “Boy am I glad I’m just a courier technician, and not you.” “At least we know they won’t be killing us as soon as we get off the boat.” Mare began shoveling the rest of the letters into her saddle bag for later reading. “They will let us trek up to the mountains, find the treasure, attract the attention of the locals, and then kill us.” “We’re so screwed.” Do buried her head in her hooves. “There’s not even anywhere I can hide. Not with the sarcophagus.” Mare pursed her lips, filing away that admittance for later. “Let’s get going. We can ponder our doom later.” She turned to Apodis. "Thank you mis. Your fee." She produced a sack of bits. "Thank you ma'am." Apodis accepted the little sack, the helped them get all the letters into their bags. “Hey, if you’re ever in the neighborhood of Hornzhou, give a holler to my cousin Pleiades at the message office there. She’d love to meet you two.” “Will do. Au revoir.” Mare bowed. As soon as they were out of the building she turned to Do. “We need to return to the Flyer Kyte immediately. If Gilda and Mis Dash are discovered buying political favors with EOC money, we will want to seem aloof.” “You’d leave them here?” Do gasped. “Only as a last resort. If we are caught with somepony else’s letter our plausible deniability goes out the window.” “Damn it.” Do squeezed her eyes shut. “Why does surviving in this world force you to be a bad pony?” “Oh, we can survive just fine. If I wanted I could go back to Ponyville and scratch dirt for a living like my ancestors. Excelling and standing out… Well, that’s where lines get blurred.” Magistrate Mare said. “Hurry up now, this is a loitering-free zone. “ “This was a really bad idea.” Dash said, her eyes darting between Gilda and the path ahead. “I mean like really bad.” “Sush!” Gilda said. “Talking like that isn’t going to help.” "Eeee. I'm just really nervous." Dash whimpered. "Can we go back to Coltcutta?" "I've been in worse cities than this. They say crime and disease kills a thousand creatures in Mare Kesh a day." Gilda comforted her with a wing pat. "This place can't be that bad." Zebrastani cities had not always been so dangerous before the EOC had established themselves, but they had also been much smaller. The explosion of demand from the oceanic trade had changed the face of the countryside: Subsistence farms had been seized by the local lords and chieftains and turned into exports farms. Small settlements declined, and hundreds of thousands were forced to find new lives in the cities. Employment had not kept up with the uncontrolled urban population growth, and crime ran rampant in the poorer quarters. The Coltcutta maharaja had made sweeps of the slums to oust the extortionists and racketeers as a show of force for the EOC, but that only pushed the criminals into the shadows. Gangs of thugs prowled amongst the poor, and murders were so rampant that even with numerous daily immigrants from the countryside population growth had become stagnant. Gilda and Dash were traveling down the streets, drawing the curious eyes of the inhabitants. They were the poorest of the poor, forced to live in squalid and overcrowded conditions. They were looking hungrily upon the two transgressors and the foreign wealth they carried. Their destination could be seen over the tops of the shorter buildings around them: The red sandstone palace of the maharaja. Dash looked from creature to creature, trying to look intimidating, but with the heavy bag on her shoulders she felt like she just looked tired. The inhabitants of the slum were a mix of all species, mostly ponies and chital with a few watchful elephants and water buffalo in their solitary corners. They had little in the way of clothes, tattered rags for the most part, although Dash noticed that almost everyone wore at least a small amount of gold jewelry. They came to a market square that was much more crowded than the streets. Dash looked longingly at the tables strewn with bobbles, knowing they had no time for her to buy a memento. But one of the other shoppers looked back at her. He was covered in a loose crimson robe that stood out for how untattered and unwrinkled it was. As Dash and Gilda passed to the far edge of the market the robed figure began after them. “Big guy at our six, Gilda.” Dash whispered, avoiding taking a second glance back at the pursuer. “Could it be a hippogryph?” Gilda asked. “Maybe. I didn’t get a good look at him but I’m pretty sure I saw a beak and wings under his robe.” “Red robe?” “Yeah.” “Shit.” Gilda swore. Hippogryphs didn’t wear red lightly, being one of the colors that recalled holy fire. “Good chance it’s an inquisitor.” Dash squeaked. “Really?” “Probably. It was a matter of time.” “What should we do?” If they got in a fight on the street, it was highly likely random people would join in or try to take the bits. And if Dash ran ahead with the bits, Gilda had no faith in her ability to stand up to an inquisitor. “We’ve got to lose him. We could hide in the alleyways.” “Let’s do it now then!” Dash nodded. They immediately turned off onto an enshadowed alley and broke into a gallop. They delved into the maze of filthy passageways cut through the dilapidated slum. There was scarcely anyone to be seen, with only the occasional pony or zebra. Dash stopped momentarily when they came upon an emaciated earth pony face down on a heap of garbage. “There’s no time!” Gilda hissed, glancing backward to check for their pursuer. After staring for another second or two, Dash tore her eyes away from the dying pony and followed. The alley deposited them in a sunken and damp street flanked by abandoned merchant warehouses. It was reasonably wide with the only occupant slumped against a wall in a daze. The trash was piled even higher than anywhere else in the slum, reaching almost head height. “An old canal, turned into a dumping spot. We’re standing on five meters of garbage.” Gilda guessed. “I wonder, did the merchants move away or did the canal get filled up first?” “Kindof a useless question, especially since we have ‘no time’.” Dash rolled her eyes. She took the lead. At a much slower canter, they followed the path of the old canal, as it twisted and branched on it’s way towards the center of the city. The amount of new garbage tapered off, but the dilapidated rows of warehouses continued. The dull roar of the city echoed over the rooftops, close but out of reach. “We should be getting close to the palace.” GIlda said. With taller buildings around them was difficult to get glimpses the red sandstone castle. “This might even be the last turn.” The level of the ground abruptly dipped into a makeshift ditch, where a constant stream of filth flowed. On the other side, two unicorns, two earth ponies and an ox stood barring Dash and Gilda’s way. They were scarred, stoic, and besides from the ox all carried weapons. Gilda spied a spiked club, and two broad-bladed swords with a serrated edge. The thugs had probably jumped a guard or two to get them. The pony in front of the group was a blue unicorn mare whose mane had been mostly shorn off. “Word gethss around. I athume you didn’th mean to inthult me by trathpathhing in my therithory, tho I will leth you go withh only a tholl.” She spoke with a sahellan accent, further exaggerated by the paralysis of the left side of her mouth. Dash let the bag of bits slip off her shoulder, then used her wing to draw her cutlass and pass it to her mouth. Gilda unstrapped her arquebus and popped open the breach to double check that it was loaded before snapping it shut. “I conscientiously object to your tariff.” Gilda said cooly. “We’re more free-trade gals.” The boss unicorn growled and raised her weapon, a dagger with a pommel embellished by teeth of various species. “You wanth to tetht me, birdy? You’ll pay a theeper price than juthst gold, I warn you.” Gilda saw the thugs all shift their attention to her. Clearly they saw her as the bigger threat, despite her lacking a close-quarters weapon since she’d left her own cutlass on the Kyte. She wasn’t objecting; If they focused on her it would mean less trouble for Dash. So, she did what came naturally and talked herself up. “I already said we’re not going to pay. If you don’t disband this illegal blockade we’re going to break it! And fair warning, I have famously quick claws that have had more than one foolish filly see pink.” Dash gasped at the innuendo and a few of the thugs (the ones that understood equestrian) chortled. The boss unicorn turned red in embarrassment and anger. “You’re athking for it! Tanthhridu, dhavah!!” The thugs charged. Before one second had elapsed, Gilda raised the arquebus and pointed it at one of the earth ponies. The pony saw the gun pointed at him and panicked, throwing himself to the ground. The unicorn behind him tripped over the unexpected obstacle, and they both tumbled into the ditch. Before the second second had elapsed, the two ponies and the ox still going had jumped over the ditch. Gilda, trying to make a decision of who to shoot, heard Dash cry out in panic. Another pony, a pegasus, had jumped down in between them with a brick tied to a stick. Dash ducked under the improvised bludgeon, and kicked the pegasus’s hooves out from under him. Gilda wasted precious time making sure her friend was holding her own. Before the third second, the thugs, had closed to within a three meters of Gilda. She was still indecisive, doubtful if shooting the leader would scatter the others, and doubly doubtful that any bullet would stop the massive ox bearing down on her. The two ponies thugs raised their blades, which slowed them down slightly. The ox bared his teeth menacingly, showing off his rotten collection of molars. She heard Dash land a slash on the pegasus with her cutlass, but the indignant cry indicated it was far from lethal. Before the fourth second was half completed, Gilda had snapped the arquebus up to her chin and taken aim at the ox’s face. She took a deep breath, let it all out, and pulled the trigger. The hammer slammed down and the gun roared. The bullet shattered through the ox’s savage smile, something that would have caused him immense pain if it had not continued through his head and ripped open his skull, killing him instantly. At five seconds, the blue unicorn and her remaining earth pony reached Gilda. She flipped the arquebus around and swung it by the barrel, smacking the earth pony with the solid wood stock. The unicorn spun and bucked the gun from Gilda’s talons. Gilda jumped backward, out of the reach of the dagger the blue unicorn carried. She saw Dash, finally gathering the poise to beat her opponent, bucking the pegasus into a wall where he slumped into unconsciousness. “You okay?” “Just fine.” Dash picked her cutlass off the ground. “More than I can say for this whore after we’re through with her!” “Keep a cool head Dash. You don’t so great when your emotions get away from you.” Gilda warned. “Keep talking, punk-athhes.” The blue unicorn reminded them she was there. Unfortunately, she was now between Gilda and the bag of bits. “Every breath you wathte is one I could have enjoyed affter I kill you!” “Let’s not put the cart before the horse.” Gilda shot. “You could still walk away from this alive.” “Buck you!” The unicorn swept her dagger sidewise, forcing GIlda on the defensive. Gilda danced back a few steps then counterattacked with a talon punch, knocking the dagger out of the unicorn’s grasp. The unicorn somersaulted backwards and caught the little blade out of the air with her mouth. “Woah, that’s pretty good.” Gilda conceded, cautiously advancing. With a sweep of her wings Gilda pushed herself into the air. Against ground dwellers, the move always caused a half-second of confusion or disorientation. The unicorn apparently knew the move. She flipped her dagger around and threw it in the air. Gilda instinctively clasped her wings together, sending her back to the ground and giving the unicorn enough time to turn and tackle Rainbow Dash. “Dash!” Gilda picked herself up and jumped into the fray. She tore a talon along the unicorn’s back. The unicorn howled in pain and disengaged, kicking Dash back and retreating a dozen steps. She’d managed to wrest away Dash’s cutlass, but blood was beginning to seep into her fur from a trio of gashes near her whither. “Buckerthh! Thhith ithint over!” “It is unless you can un-kill you stupid friends! It’s two against one.” Gilda helped Dash to her hooves. The rainbow pegasus was looking worse for wear from the two brawls. “Well, one on one, but do you think you can take a griffin by yourself? You see this body? It was specifically designed to eat dirt-draggers like you!” “Afraid, birdy?” The unicorn spat. “Just you wait, you mangrove-seed dolphin-fin palm-eating trash gullet.” Dash pushed GIlda out of the way, less menacing without her cutlass but intensely angry. “I’ll compact you even with the ground like the rest of the garbage!” “Dash, you’re hurt. You need to rest before you hurt yourself.” Gilda sighed. “I’ll deal with this twerp.” “You don’t think I can do it?” Dash narrowed her eyes. “You don’t think I can do my job?” “Dash give me some credit. This isn’t the time for this.” “G, I’ve been playing second fiddle for- HEY!! COME BACK HERE!” The blue unicorn had dropped the cutlass and run, galloping full tilt the way Gilda and Dash had come. She disappeared around the corner, leaving her dead and unconscious underlings. “How about that.” Gilda hummed. She picked her arquebus off the ground and reholstering it on her back. “They say discretion is the better part of valor.” Dash sucked her bottom lip in, looking supremely disappointed. “You should have let me at her.” Gilda wasn’t sure if Dash was angrier than warranted, or she herself was too calm. “Dash, what do you plan to do after this little adventure we find ourselves wrapped up in?” “Uh, what?” Dash was surprised by the question. “I’m just asking if you want to make a life of killing ponies.” “Isn’t that you dragged me out of Baltimare for?” Dash challenged, still aggravated. She was not as quick to come off the high of violence as Gilda was. “And isn’t that how you kicked that night off? With a bloody murder? Gilda felt an uncustomary pang of regret. She hadn't been completely honest with Dash about the circumstances of that killing on the Baltimare docks, and that had been the seed of many other lies. But she really had wanted to improve Dash’s life by taking her away from Equestria and her self-destructive tendencies. “I want to help you Dash, and maybe I don’t understand my logic from moment to moment, but I just… Look, being happy about killing isn’t healthy. I’ve been there. It’s not great.” “Great shmate. I want epic purpose! I’m sick and tired of being dead weight. I need a damn purpose! I need to be able to do what's needed!" She looked around, frustrated. "I don't know if I am, G. Yet. I'm a buckup but I can get better." "By killing." "Yes by killing!” Dash spat back. “Look at these degenerates! Wouldn’t the world be better if we killed them here and now? If I didn’t, I’d be in the wrong. And I can do it! I can be that pony who improves the world.” Gilda looked over the remaining thugs. The pegasus Dash had knocked down was cradling a broken leg. One of the two ponies who’d collided and fallen in the ditch was knocked unconscious, and the other was tending to him. “Be generous in victory, Dash." "Don't tell you don't believe killing some ponies can improve the world, G. You don't believe that." Dash stretched to get out the tension of the fight. "That's the reason to win. So the winner can do good things." Gilda groaned. "You're not thinking strait. This would be cold-blooded murder. Our grace period of self-defense is over." She gestured to the dead ox, most of whose head was outside rather than inside his skull. "You know I hate to be preachy, but don’t be too hasty to commit your maiden murder. It sounds cliche, but life’s different afterwards.” Dash’s brow knitted in anger. “The buck are you talking about? I’ve killed HUNDREDS.” Gilda’s mouth went dry. “I- I didn’t mean to say… Cloud Creche hardly counts.” “Hardly counts” Dash mimed, like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “It was, um...” Gilda was regretting her words and actions. There would be no graceful dismount for the line she was walking. “Cheating. Magic is cheating.” Dash was obviously not at all impressed by the pseudo-apology. “Buck you Gilda.” She fetched her cutlass and tucked it in her belt. “I let you jerk me around before, but I’m going to expect a real apology before I forgive you this time.” Gilda stood in place, her logic and emotion detached from her surroundings. She watched Dash go to injured earth pony, a brown mare with lime hair. “Hey! Can you understand me chestnut?” Dash pulled the mare’s head back by her mane. “Do you want to live? Well?” “Merra naama N- Namibdochtar haii.” The earth pony cried out, trying to pull herself away with her uninjured leg. “Mujhi mata maru, sakisli dayku!” “I asked for a yes or no, not a poem.” Dash growled, kicking her unconscious with a hoof to the back of her head. She went from pony to pony, knocking out the ones still awake, then dragging them into a dry corner away from the deceased. “Foreign names are so stupid. What the buck does Namibdochtar mean? Not like Rainbow Dash. You get the whole package there: I’m a rainbow pony who goes fast. That’s all I am.” Dash said, a coarse rumble in her words. Was she angry at Gilda, or the thugs, or at herself, Gilda couldn’t tell. All of the above, most likely. “Whatever. Who cares. Everypony here will be speaking equestrian in a couple years anyway.” “Thank you for listening and not killing them.” Gilda said softly. “Yeah yeah.” Dash grunted. “My purity remains intact for another day.” She took the lead again, leaving the bag of bits for Gilda to pick up. Gilda sighed deeply. What should have been a feeling of triumph over the thugs had been stolen away by Dash’s melodrama! Why couldn’t the silly mare see things her way for once. She shouldered the canvas bit bag and cantered to catch up with Dash, stepping carefully around casualties: Two unconscious earth pony, one unconscious pegasus, one dead unicorn, and one dead ox. Gilda couldn’t help herself to feel disappointment that none of them looked like very good snacks. After ten minutes of twists and turns, the filled canal stopped abruptly. At the end was a rotted wood cargo crane and a dilapidated warehouse, whose entrance appeared to have been barricaded and cleared several times. “Looks like we’re finally getting somewhere. We must be within spitting distance of the city center.” Gilda could smell the faint aroma of spice from a nearby market place. “When this was still a working canal, you could probably make a delivery by water within a block of anywhere in the city.” “Might have made delivering a bag of gold easier.” Dash said, somewhat coldly as she was obviously still very angry with Gilda. “We’re going to have to go through this building.” She led them into the warehouse. It was a tall stone building, somehow still standing with all the wood rotted out. It was entirely empty, with only dust particulates to block the shaft of light filtering down from holes in the roof. “No homeless roosting here, like you’d see in a griffin derelict. The guards must sweep the area regularly and shepherd them back to the slums.” Gilda noted. “They got to keep up appearances for the EOC I guess.” “You guess.” Dash said. “But you don’t know. You just make stuff up.” "Why do I other talking when you're like this." Gilda muttered. The warehouse's exit had not been boarded up, with a simple lock holding the heavy oak doors closed. The key was already in place. The center of the city would be right on the other side. “This is convenient.” Gilda smiled, turning the key until the mechanism clicked. “We will be at the palace in no time!” The door swung outwards. On the other side of the threshold was a saffron hippogryph in a flowing red robe, who strode through the now open door as if she’d been waiting for it to be unlocked. She was huge; Gilda did not even come up to her shoulder. She held a gnarled walking stick, brandishing it like a club. Her left eye, wide and trembling, flicked between Dash and Gilda. Her wild head of brown feathers covered her right eye but Gilda could still tell it was artificial. It was like the sniper in Stirrup had said. Beware the gryph with the glass eye. “Hello hello there.” The massive gryph had the squawking pitch and cadence of a maredian with a limited knowledge of the equestrian tongue. “Finally good, it is. I catch up at you, hee hee.” “BOOK IT!” Gilda dropped the bag of bits and ran. She jumped and weaved around the warehouse's structural columns, trying to interrupt line of sight. Had her sights on the back door, but two ponies stepped into the threshold, blocking her way. Gilda skidded to a stop and jumped behind a column. She pulled out out her gun and stuck it in the open where the ponies would see. “Get out of our way or I’ll blow your heads off!” “You’re in a hurry, but your friend’s knot going anywhere.” The first pony said. “Why knot stay, talk a while?” “Thtay, lithen.” The other pony said. “Tharon only wanth to talk.” “What?” Gilda clacked her beak in confusion. She recognized those voices, spoken so mechanically and emotionlessly. She peeked out from behind her cover. The blue unicorn thug and a sailor she recognized from the Flyer Kyte were standing side by side. In the place of each of their right eyes were stone spheres carved with symbols. In the case of the blue unicorn thug, blood was still oozing out of her socket from the fresh surgery. “H- Hwa?” Gilda staggered backwards, trying to comprehend the utter nonsense. “What are you?!” She had seen such things before, long ago in a memory she thought she’d forgotten. She was in a castle, surrounded by black banners and shriveled crows in cloaks. Wind and storm whipped around the black spires of rock. Waves crashed against the cliffs and sent up sprays of salt. 'Aren't they marvelous, Gilda?' 'Yes, mother' Grey spheres, dozens of them, all lined up in the heads of the ponies who bore them. They blinked in unison, flesh eyelids sliding over stone eyes. She could hear the caw of the griffin behind her, who maintained a tight grip on young Gilda’s shoulder. ‘Isn’t it amazing what a fusion of new and old magic can create?’. To which Gilda had replied ‘Yes mother’. Memories from the past, of her childhood on the island of Godswing, flashed before Gilda’s vision. She felt too nauseated to stand, and the column was too slick with blood to hold her. Whose blood is this, she asked herself as she fell face first in the ever deepening pool. “Why is this happening to me!” She gargled pitifully. “Pleath underthand.” She heard from the blue mare, standing over her. “All Xaron wants is to talk.” Said the other pony. Xaron… Gilda was trying to place that familiar name in her swirling and churning recollection before the hot red ocean swallowed her up.