Exordia

by Claystead

Part 4: Through Air and Fire

Equa, capital of the Respublica Universalis Equestrica, 27 BC

«Olus! Olus mustus!»
The calls of the merchants resounded over the market square, contributing to the cacophony of animal noises and excited chatter reverberating through the eager crowd. The Saturday market was always one of the biggest events of the week, filling the squares with eager citizens and foreigners, looking for everything from crucial foodstuffs to exotic apparel.

Clover the Clever lifted the hood of her unassuming brown cloak so as to better inspect a radish she had picked up with her magic.

A shine of metal in her peripheral vision made her drop it and pull the hood back over her eyes, and she started to make her way out of the square.

“Hey, you!” the Senatorial Guard yelled, and started to make his way towards her.

Clover cursed herself for stopping to buy more food before she had come out of the city. The pouch she carried the amulets in felt heavy around her neck, but she had to run.

As she started moving she could hear the guard groan and push complaining shoppers aside.

Clover galloped out of the square and into a quiet side street. Quickly moving from alley to alley in a confusing pattern, she desperately tried to not get lost in the labyrinth of back alleys in Equa’s residential areas. She had to get outside the city and bury the amulets as planned!

Rounding a corner and almost colliding into two guards that seemingly materialized from thin air, she spun around to run back the way she came…

Two pegasi guards were flapping side by side above the alley, training malicious-looking arrows at her with compact bows.

“Do not… move… a muscle.” the left one said with dramatic pauses, apparently intending more to impress his younger female colleague than warning the basically frozen Clover.

The earth pony guard from the market square trotted breathless after Clover and stopped beneath the pegasi, raising a hoof towards her, panting.
“Clover, daughter… of Buttercup of… Greendale, please… come with us.”

Compared to the bustling Senate building next door, the unassuming edifice containing the senatorial offices appeared as an island of peace and quiet.

In a small, marble-clad foyer on the second floor, Clover the Clever’s hind legs scratched ineffectually on the hard floor as she was being dragged along by two burly guards.

“This is harassment!” she yelled, trashing wildly, “You have no right…”

Clover caught the eye of a curious clerk that she knew.
“Epicur! Tell the praetor th-“ she called out before being tossed through an open office door.

She immediately got up and scanned the room for exits, but both the door behind her and the small balcony across the room was flanked by spear-wielding senatorial guards.
Finally her gaze fell upon the character sitting in front of her.

The cyan-colored unicorn sat quietly behind a desk, holding his hooves together and just studying her. The golden eyes peeked out between two locks of a curly blonde mane, reminding Clover eerily of a predator stalking its prey through tall grass.

“Can I help you, sir?” she asked in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

“No, not me,” he responded slowly in a slightly nasal voice, “but all of Equestria.”

“And with whose authority are you holding me here against my will?”

“The Senate’s authority, madame.” the stallion said, standing up and revealing the violet toga of a Senator.

“I am afraid I do not now you, Master Senator…” Clover said hesitantly.
“Scipio,” he answered, “Senator Corneus Scipio. At your service.”

Clover gave him a sugary smile. “Maybe you could let me go then. I have business to attend to.”

Scipio’s face straightened, and he stood up. “I am afraid I cannot do that, Clover.”

Hearing her name from this stranger felt wrong for Clover. “Why? As a citizen I would usually believe I should have the right to go as I please as long as I am not arrested. This is obviously not a holding cell, so…”

Scipio lifted a hoof to stop her. “That can be arranged, I assure you. I just figured that we could resolve this… impasse in a civilized manner. I assume you are aware what we want?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about, dominus.”

Scipio raised an eyebrow at sarcastically being called “master of the house”, but answered with no hint of surprise or anger in his impeccable Equestrian; a lack of accent Clover envied.
“Clover, you know very well what we are looking for and why.”

Clover could not help but whisper “Discord…” under her breath.

Scipio nodded seriously. “We believe your master was hiding something of great power, something that could help us defeat Discord.”
Hearing her suspicions out loud for the first time simply sounded like madness to Clover. “Defeat him? Lord Discord would destroy Equestria if we ever stopped paying tribute to him, let alone attack him!”

Suddenly her body was jerked up into the air, a light blue glow surrounding her. Scipio had put his front legs up on his desk and looked her directly in the eye while holding her with magic.

“Listen to me, Clover! We can defeat him. We now have the chance to remove this scourge forever and let our children sleep in peace!”

Clover wondered if she should rip herself free with her own magic, but the guards in the room discouraged her. She snuck a peek down at her pouch, and was horrified when she noticed Scipio had followed her gaze.

“And this is…?” he said, ripping the pouch from its cord and releasing Clover in one move.

”That is private!” she protested, but Scipio just smiled triumphantly.

“Put that down now, Corneus!” The voice boomed into the room from the open door to the corridor.

The discussing pair nearly jumped from being startled. Scipio dropped the pouch onto his desk in his surprise, and Clover spun around so fast she almost tripped over her own hooves.

A furious Smart Cookie marched into the room, sending Scipio a glare that could kill a hydra.

“Praetor Crustulum,” he started stutteringly, “I must say, I am surprised at this visi-“

“Shut it!” Smart Cookie ordered, “Why are you harassing this citizen? I can personally vouch for her patriotism and good character!”

“I am within legal bounds to detain her!” Scipio protested, “The Law of National Security, Article XII, allows me to detain citizens suspected of hiding information crucial to national security!”

Cookie slammed her hooves onto the desk. “There is no Article XIII in that law!”

Scipio’s eyes narrowed. “It is not the Senate’s fault when the praetor falls ill during law amendment discussions. Government cannot wait for one mare, praetor. It passed with 134 to 68 votes this February.”

Smart Cookie looked like the embodiment of shock. “But... that is less than a third of Senate. How could you…”

She considered the possibilities for a few seconds before her face lit up in anger again.
“You little bastard, you waited ‘till I was sick and passed it on a public holiday so you would not be voted down! I will have your toga for this, Corneus!”

“If you… relieve me of my position, praetor,” Scipio sneered, “I will just run for election again.”

“No, you will not,” a voice said, “You have to be eligible to vote to run for office.”

They all turned and saw two elderly bearded stallions stand in the doorway. The wiry unicorn and the compactly built pegasus were so famous even Clover recognized them.

“Consuls Nimbus and Patos, what a pleasu-“ Scipio began, but was interrupted by the shorter consul, the head of the Equestrian military.

“As I am sure you know, only propertied ponies can vote, Senator, and it so happens I was just about to send out a recommendation for the appropriation of the Scipio estate as barracks for XXIV Military Police Company.”

“And,” Nimbus, the consul of internal and civic affairs added, “you will not be able to purchase your land back as long as you are under official investigation for transferring powers of the executive to the legislative without a two-thirds Senate majority.”

“But- But Consuls, I had two thirds of the in-session votes…” Scipio began.

“Of all the Senate, Senator.” Nimbus retorted, “Listen, Scipio, this is what is going to happen; you are going to release this mare, then you will stay in the background until the amendments have been reviewed next week, and then we will pretend all of this unpleasantness never happened. Understood?”

“This is ridiculous!” the senator protested, “We have created a universal republic for all of ponykind, free from racism and discrimination, and you are all so afraid of the repercussions that you would pay tribute to an oppressive lunatic rather than…”

The shorter consul nodded, and suddenly two spear tips hovering less than a hoofwidth from his neck made the senator fall silent. Clover was surprised; she had all but forgotten the guards by the balcony.

Scipio swallowed. “Of course, Consuls, at once, Consuls. You are of course free to go, Madame Clover. Please accept the sincerest apologies of this office for this inconvenience.”

The consul frowned, but made a head movement indicating the guards should return to their positions before he turned and left the room with his colleague.

Clover quickly followed them. “Excuse me, uhm… Consuls, sirs?”

The consuls turned halfway down the corridor.

“Yes?” the short pegasus asked.

“I just wondered…” Clover asked, “why? Why are you doing this for me?”

The old pegasus consul’s eyes shone with an emotion she had not yet noticed.

“Your master…” he started, “There are times where greatness may spring from the most unexpected of sources, where history is shaped by the unlikely participant. And sometimes, when a great quest proves unassailable, the defeat still shines like a thousand victories in the hearts of those affected.”

Clover frowned. “What do you mean?”

The consul opened his mouth as if to speak, but stopped when his colleague tapped him lightly on his shoulder.

“Patos, we need to go. We have a meeting to attend.”

Consul Patos nodded and turned to follow his colleague out.

“Pegasopolis still lives in our hearts,” he said over his shoulder, throwing something to Clover, “and Pegasopolis remembers.”
She caught the medallion midair with her magic. On it a young stallion bearing a uncanny resemblance to her master was stamped,
along with the words
Ήρωας της Μεγάλης εκστρατεία
written in Old Pegasi.

A hoof on her shoulder made her drop the medallion in surprise. She spun around to see Smart Cookie with her amulet pouch.
“You forgot this, Clover.”

“Oh, thank you.”
She gripped the pouch sheepishly.

Cookie cleared her throat. “Now, officially I will not inquire about the contents of this pouch, but off the record I am still curious. Last time we talked you would not go into details, but young Corneus’ interest piques my own.”

Clover smiled and told her everything.

Cookie’s brow furrowed deep. “I will see if we can come up with a solution for the amulets’ safekeeping. Meanwhile, I have a question.”

“Fire away…” Clover said.

“Can you show me?”

Clover scratched her chin thoughtfully. “I am not sure. I might be able to pass on the image if you touch me. Let us try, or we will never find out.”

She pulled out an amulet, placed Cookie’s hoof on her own chest, and touched the amulet with her horn.

Part IV – Through Air and Fire

18th day, 9th moon, 17th year of the reign, Horthium

“Uh, I must say, I did expect them to put up more of a fight, what with us… standing here in front of their big blue gate and everything…”

The Commander rolled his eyes at my comment as he adjusted his ceremonial helmet, a bronze creation shaped like a lion’s head, with a big red plume on top and two shorter white feathers on the sides.
“Relax, my unicorn friend. The satrapi know what is best for their personal power and position.”

“The what now?” I asked, casting a nervous glance back along the mile-long column of pegasi pikemen and auxiliaries.

“The provincial governors,” my companion answered, tapping the armor of one of the pegasi pulling the ceremonial chariot we were standing in, causing him and his three colleagues to trot towards the gate, “they know where power rests its ugly head now. In my lap, that is.”

The large doors split apart with a loud creak. The Commander’s grin seemed to widen with the opening.
“Remember, my friend; smile and wave. Now is not the time to show weakness or doubt; smile and wave.”

The roar of thousands rolled over us as the gate opened.

I stared cross-eyed at the pink flower petal resting on my muzzle. The sensory input from the yelling, the chanting, the exotic smells, the shine of the bronze and iron of the pegasi soldiers parading up the street… It was simply too much for a simple unicorn. The Commander poked me in the side with a hoof, grinning at me through the slow drizzle of petals from the rooftops lining the avenue we were traversing, and I remembered what he had said earlier. I grinned to the best of my ability and waved to the cheering crowd as the chariot passed them.

“’tis kind’ odd they’re cheering their conquerors along like that.” I mumbled through my teeth to the Commander, keeping up the grin.
“They’re hoping we’ll refrain from sacking and burning the place.” he mumbled back in a similar fashion.

I started a little at a sudden memory.
“Sir, I need to speak to you,” I mumbled through my gritted teeth, “I have discovered a plot, I think.”

The Commander’s brow furrowed, but he kept grinning and waving. “Talk to you in my quarters at midnight, ‘Swirl.” he mumbled back.

Laughter resounded through the vast corridors of the palace as the commanding staff of the pegasi army explored the complex. In the hopes of getting some more private time with the Commander I followed a small group consisting of him, a hoofful of unit commanders and Surgeon General Hippokrates. After falling a little behind, I accidentally passed them when they stepped out onto a balcony to admire the view of Horthium. Mistakenly pressing onwards, I almost crashed into a group of mares exiting a room.

I gulped when I realized the tallest of them, far taller than me, looked very much alike a beaten and broken face I had seen two short days earlier, except of course being intact and female.

Our eyes locked for a second, and her pupils widened in… fear?

“O, glorious Commander and Conqueror of Nations,” she said with a heavy accent, dropping to her knees, “I beseech Your Grace to spare a moment of your time to lend your noble ear to your most faithful servant’s humble request.”

I panicked a little when I realized the mix-up, no doubt due to the armor I had not had time to take off, and the plume of the helmet concealing my horn.

“I, uh…” I started unsure how to continue.

I looked over my shoulder and saw a grinning Commander stand a few paces away, gesturing me to go on.

“Er… Granted.” I finished, puffing out my chest as much as possible.

Only her dark eyes were visible, her full-body silk dress revealing only her face between the eyes and the tip of the muzzle, looking directly at me as she stood up with a jingle of expensive jewelry.

“Your Excellency, I am Princess Zoorab, sister of the former ruler of these lands. I pledge mercy for my mother and siblings. Instead I offer myself and my life to you, to end or give or take in marriage at your behest and pleasure, great lord.”

I looked at the Commander. He gave a shrug and rolled his eyes.

I turned back to Zoorab. “Milady, you can return to your quarters. Your family will come to no harm and feel no need while under our protection. You may all leave when and if you please. You are free to choose your own path in life; I do not desire your life in servitude.”

She closed her eyes and bowed deeply. “Truly, your greatness and compassion knows no bounds, O noble lord.”

With that, she left with her chambermaids surrounding her, but not before adding “Oh, and Commander, enjoy the thousand pleasures of the harem,” with a knowing, almost playful smile.

I almost jumped when the real Commander slammed a hoof into my back, laughing.

“You heard her, Commander!” he… almost giggled.

“Uhm…” I started.

“Enjoy!” he laughed, bucking me into the room Zoorab had exited.

I rolled around and got to my hooves in time to see the door slam shut.

A whiff of perfume upon the wind made me spin around.

A room full of beautiful mares stared back at me.

“Eh, I was just about to…” I started, sheepishly pointing at the door.

The closest mare pulled me close enough to make me blush.
“Please, milord,” she said softly, “tell us how we may serve you today.”

I let out a small moan of pleasure at the warm slickness. “I must admit I thought a hot oil massage sounded wrong at first, but I take it back, Yahra.”

I stood up and bowed to Yahra, the masseuse whose hooves had been kneading my back a few moments earlier. She gave a coquettish smile and asked if any other services were required from the harem.

“No, that massage was quite enough,” I answered, stretching and arching my back, “I think I will retire now.”

Yahra bowed and disappeared. I put on some smooth silk robes and entered the quarters I had been given. To my surprise I found private Pansy waiting there.

I raised an eyebrow, but she simply shrugged. “Nothing new to report on the generals, sir. I am here to tell you I have been re-transferred to the Commander’s personal escort.”

“Good for you, Pansy,” I answered, rifling through some of my documents a servant girl had brought up.

“I will leave you unto yours,” she said, “but one thing…”

“Yes?”

“You might want to check your bed before you jump in it tonight, sir.”

“Thank you for the advice,” I replied coolly, having not fully forgiven her for the whole fake capture ordeal back in Pegasopolis.

Still, I pulled a short knife I had taken to wearing when I entered the bedchamber. I did not underestimate Pansy’s senses.

I noticed a slight heaving under the sheets of my bed. I moved silently over and positioned the knife right above the figure, the used my magic the pull the sheets off with full force.

I heard a loud gasp and saw somepony roll scared out of the bed. It was a young mare, about my size.

“Who are you?” I asked carefully, knife still trained at her with my magic.

“L-Lani, my- my liege, sir!” she stuttered, obviously frightened.

“And why are you in my bed, Lani?” I snorted, putting the knife away.

“Madame Lahressa of the Harem ordered me to warm you for the night, weary as you now doubt are.”

“’Warm’ me, eh?” I asked, measuring her and thinking about her small stature compared to most of the locals.

I raised an eyebrow. “How old are you, Lani?”

“Almost thirteen and a half, milord.” she answered, staring at her own hooves. “In the early bloom of the mare is the bud of her rose best pl-“

“ENOUGH!” I almost yelled, raising a hoof before scratching my back awkwardly. “You know, why do not you sleep over there in the bed, and I sleep here on the floor?”

“But Your Grace…” she started, but I stopped her.

“Permission to speak revoked. Follow my orders!” I barked at her.

Scared, she hid under the sheets.

I sighed and let my weary body down on a big soft rug, hoping for an end to surprises.

I had a most delightful dream. I was a cheery little green alicorn, hopping from cloud to cloud without a worry in the world. However, soon the clouds adopted an eerie orange hue, and a thunder started booming repeatedly from a distance.

“Snozberries taste like SNOZBERRIES!” my Pink Cloud Friend commented.

“Ew.” said Purple Cloud Friend.

“Although sometimes they taste a wee bit salty!” Pink Cloud Friend declared gleefully.

“Oh, Pink Cloud Friend, you so random!” I said, and we all laughed and laughed.

However, the thunder became more insistent. Demonstratively, I dropped to my rump and shoved some cloud into my ears.

“Ouch!” said Purple Cloud Friend, “That was a bit of my ear!”

“Oh, sorry, I forgot your cloudiness, Purp-“

“MARLIN!”

I rolled over in surprise, off the cloud…

…and onto my hooves. My bedroom was illuminated by an eerie orange glow. Somepony hammered insistently on the door to my bedchamber, shouting my assumed name.

“I am coming!” I called out drowsily and wobbled over to the door.

Outside was a male pegasus soldier and Corporal Hurricane wearing nothing but her helmet and slippers. They looked worried.

The male noticed I was staring drowsily at Hurricane’s cutiemark; a chicken, rather than at him, so without further ado he marched into the room and started talking. “A thousand pardons, Sir, but the Commander has requested that everyone be aware of the situation. Also, Vilos here wished to speak to you in private about an urgent matter.”

I rubbed my eyes, casting a stolen glance at the snoring mare over in my bed. “Wait a minute. What situation?”

The soldier pulled the curtains aside, and the room was filled with orange light.

“Gods, be merciful” I whispered horrified under my breath. The entire city appeared to be on fire.

“There is nothing to fear, sir; the fire cannot cross the river by the palace. We are safe for the time being,” the soldier said, trotting out the door, “so I will be on my way to the next room. We have many to wake tonight.”

Hurricane remained.

“Yes, Vilos?” I asked.

“It is the Generals Strívo Paltó and Hippokrates, Sir. They were discussing carrying out some ‘plan’, and General Paltó had me escort him to the Commander’s apartments. As per my orders I immediately came here to report to you.”

I froze. “What is the time?”

“Uh… a little past midnight, Sir.”

I moaned. “I forgot my meeting with the Commander! He knows naught of the danger!”

“Er… is there something wrong, Sir?” the corporal asked hesitantly.

“We have to go now, Vilos!” I exclaimed, dragging her with me.

“Commander’s orders, sir. No interruptions. Please stand back.”

I glared angrily at the guard. The corporal and myself had not been admitted to the Commander’s apartments, even though Private Pansy had been one of the guards by the door.

I looked at her helplessly. “It is an emergency! Pansy, you know what has been going on. Please let us in!”

She looked doubtful. I quickly stepped back as her companion’s spear was swerved to a position uncomfortably close to my cheek.

“Are you deaf?! Stand ba-“ he was interrupted by a sharp cry of pain from behind the door.

The corporal jumped a little in surprise, a move the guard caught in the corner of his eye. He spun around to assess the threat, allowing me to slip between the guards and through the door. Pansy swore and chased after me through the Commander’s apartments.

On a wide veranda overlooking the burning city I saw the Commander leaning towards the wall, holding his bleeding shoulder. Bukefalos was pinning General Paltó towards the rail; a dagger in his mouth.

“Commander!” I yelled, prompting Bukefalos to spin towards me. In a blink of an eye Paltó was over him, breaking Bukefalos’ left wing with a sickening crack, causing the Commander’s assistant to scream loudly. With a final exertion the general tipped him over the rail, sending him screaming and flailing down into the darkness of the gardens a few floors below.

The general turned to me, breathing heavily.

“Commander, watch out!” I heard, as a spear came flying over my shoulder, burying itself in the chest of the general. I turned and looked at a horrified but determined Private Pansy, sans the spear she had been carrying moments ago.

“NO!” the Commander yelled, shakily standing up and hobbling over to the general. I hurried to his side.

The dying stallion gave a pained smirk. “At least I die with my honor intact. I may not have... not have liked you, Alexálogo… but the soldiers… need a leader in the times to co-“ His speech devolved into a fit of bloody coughs, before growing silent.

“I- I do not understand.” the Commander stuttered, “The General was warning me about a plot against my life, when suddenly Bukefalos stabbed me and attacked him!”

The troublesome guard from the door appeared, pushing Corporal Hurricane in front of him. “Sir, my sincerest apologies for this disturbance, but this one distracted me so that the other could… Oh.”

Everypony stared at the slack-jawed guard, who looked from Pansy, to the dead general, to the bloody Commander, before finally resting his gaze on Pansy again.

“Leave.” The Commander said, barely containing his sorrow and anger.

“I am so sorry, si-“ Private Pansy began.

“Leave.” The Commander repeated with such vitriol that it caused the guards to bow in unison before scurrying out.

“You two, stay.” he said, directed at me and the corporal.

With the sound of the door to the apartments closing in the distance, it was as if the air went out of him. He suddenly looked a lot older.
“Bukefalos was… special to me. Yet I know he would probably have killed me and Paltó both had you two not distracted him. My army’s route is at your full discretion and control, Starswirl.”

“We will need a lot of preparation and equipment to reach Ponitthaya.” I warned.

“Speak to my cartographers and quartermasters in the morning, Starswirl. They are already consulting the palace library for the best route there. If the city exists, they will get us there. As for you,” he said, and turned to the slightly shaking corporal, “what is your name and rank?”

“C-Corporal Anemostróvilos, Commander!” she responded, scared.

“Tonight you have demonstrated both valor and quick thinking both, by distracting that blockhead at the door. These are abilities we are looking for in the officer corps, Colonel Anemostróvilos. Dismissed!”

I hate to admit that despite the tragic circumstances, I chuckled silently at Hurricane’s facial expression.

21st day, 9th moon, 17th year of the reign, Horthium

“So, going by the known distance between A and B, how far is the relative distance to C from B?”

The officer scratched his mane while thinking about my question. “No more than a couple o’weeks march, I would think, sir.”

I gave him a smile and rolled up the map. “Thank you.”

The Commander sent me a questioning glance as I crossed the marketplace outside the city walls where the army was preparing for march.

“A few weeks to Ponitthaya!” I called out some distance away from him.

He nodded and turned back to a group of discussing officers.

“Starswirl!”

I almost jumped at the mention of my name. I span around and saw Lani move through the crowd, prompting a groan from me as I realized I had revealed my true identity to the kid in a drunken haze the preceding night. She had become virtually a fixture of my apartments, sleeping in the bed meant for me at nighttime and hovering around me like a servile fly all day.

“Yes, Lani?” I asked in an ever so slightly exasperated voice.

She blushed a little, noticing my irritation and realizing she had said my name aloud in a public place. ”I just wanted to… You have been so kind to me. Nopony has ever treated me as anything but a slave. So I wanted to give you something!”

Beaming, she held up a golden chain with a small green crystal fastened to it.

I took it and held it up towards the sun. “Lani, you did not steal this, did you?”

“No!” she protested loudly, “one of the cooks at the palace traded it to me in return for letting him…”

“I… do not think I want to know,” I interrupted her, “but I appreciate your gift, Lani, I really do.”

A wide grin spread on her face. “The cook said it lets you understand foreign tongues through magic!”

I furrowed my brow and took it on, then turned to some soldiers putting the wage chest onto an ox cart. “Hey, Samos!”

One of them looked up. “Need anything, Marlin?”

“Did you say you knew the earth pony tongue here the other day?”

“Eeyup, had a nice family of ‘em at the family orchard in my youth.” He said with a grin and jumped down from the cart.
I smiled, “Say something in that tongue, please.”

His grin widened. “Ég tók móður og bæði dætur aftan á sama degi!”

«Did it work? Could you understand him?» Lani asked excitedly.

“Uhh…” I said, then smiled to her when I saw her face light up, “It worked perfectly. I will cherish this gift. Say, Samos? You’re one of those responsible for the financial aspects of this expedition. Do I get any wage for being here?”

He scratched his head. “Er… I think so, yes. I would have to check the ledger for the sum, but…”

Somepony pricked my shoulder. “Marlin, the Commander told me to make sure you are ready to move in a quarter of an hour.”

“I’m coming,” I sighed. “Meanwhile, Samos, check that sum and see to it that the equivalent of the sum is paid out to this young lady here.”

I heard a mutual “What?” as I turned and started walking.

“Buy yourself free and place on a boat away from here, kid,” I shouted over my shoulder as I disappeared in the crowd, “you should not live out your life as a slave! Especially not here! This city smells more horrible than any living creature I have ever encountered!”

2nd day, 10th month, 17th year of the reign, Middle of Nowhere

“By all the gods, this creature smells worse than Horthium!” I commented, wrinkling my nose at the rancid stench of the camel I was leaning on.

The soldiers around the campfire looked absentminded into the crackling fire, although one of them afforded me a shrug.

“Say, why do they look so smug, anyway?” I continued, “It is hard to sleep with them staring at me like that. Do they have the gift of speech?”

Most of the dozen-or-so soldiers looked as disinterested as previously, but a brown-bearded veteran gave a toothy grin. “The locals say them do, but them usually remain silent and smug-lookin’, ‘cause them are the only ones t’ know the hundredth secret name of Sarata, their mother-goddess. Not that it matters. We are dead meat by tomorrow night, anyhow.”

I poked the fire with a stick. “What do you mean?”

He chortled. “Sounds like somepony knows naught of the stories goin’ ‘round camp, eh? Been too busy presentin’ that taut little rump of yours up in the officers’ tents?”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, we have quite the comedian here tonight, I hear. It is probably good for you to vent your fantasies like that in a safe environment here with.”

The soldier clenched his teeth, but leaned in closer over the campfire. “The Commander is goin’ mad with paranoia. He tries to destroy his own army to replace us all with recruits loyal to him and him and alone, rather than our generals. He led us into that storm. And that river with ‘em croco thingies. And he started the fire in Horthium. Tomorrow he will off the rest of us in the Valley of Flowers By The Clucking Stream.”

I laughed. “Sounds ominous.”

The veteran looked dead serious. “Exactly. Too easy. I have crossed, laid bridges across and chopped my way through a dozen Valleys of Certain Death in my time, but that name? That tingles an old spine.”

I rolled my eyes and threw some more firewood in the fire.

3rd day, 10th month, 17th year of the reign, Valley of Flowers by the Clucking Stream.

The valley was mellow. It was not as bad as it could have been. It did not exactly live up to its name. As we approached the gorge, I moved away from the camel to get a better look at the bridge crossing the gorge. The bridge was about five ponies wide, and had a wooden roof. As I watched the first members of the supply train begin to cross, I approached General Pallas.

“Nice day,” I said.

“Nice day indeed,” he responded.

“Do you know why the valley bears this name?” I asked him.

“Well,” he answered. “I supposed those rock formations over there are the reason for the flowers in the name.” He said and pointed towards a cluster of somewhat flower-like stones by the ravine. “And the Clucking Stream is obviously that little thing right there.” He said and pointed to the small stream at the bottom of the gorge.

“Well,” I said, “I was talking to the soldiers last night, and there are some rumors that the Commander that planned to lead us into certain death here. But it certainly doesn’t look that way.”

“Well,” he answered cheerily. “It can certainly be worse. But if you look over across the gorge between those two hills, you can see that transporter that the commander got us for the next part of our journey.”

I held a hoof over my eyes to create some shadow. I could, in the distance, see a cluster of grey shapes, twenty in number. “Elephants?” I asked incredulously.

“It certainly looks that way,” He replied. “But I suppose they’re good for cleaning debris. You’ll have to have a chat with him about that later.”

“Well, I will see you on the other side,” I said with a nod. I walked up next to a group of camels about to cross the bridge.

As I was halfway across, I heard a shout from the other side. I couldn’t make out words, but as I stretched out my head to see what they were yelling about, a whisper went along the line of ponies crossing the bridge. “Dragon.”

The few words that could hold so many connotations of fear and fiery death. The slow march quickened to a panicked run, as everypony on the bridge began to move as quickly as possible. Yet I couldn’t see anything until the roof piece of the bridge was suddenly ripped off. I caught a glimpse of red scales green wings.

I lost my balance for a second and struggled to get back upright. Suddenly, a shadow fell across my vision. I caught a short glimpse of claws before I was thrown over the railing, along with a camel and two soldiers.
The whole world spun around me for a few moments before I hit something hard and blacked out.

I heard yelling and regained my senses, in time to stagger back to my feet as the Commander and four soilders flew down to me. I looked around and realized that I had landed on a ledge next to a cave at the edge of the gorge. Above me was almost pure chaos as panic spread across the ranks, and several random pegasi took off and flew across the gorge on their own, rather than crossing the bridge in an orderly manner.

The commander landed in front of me and opened his mouth to say something. The great roar made it impossible for me to hear him.

We all turned and saw the hellish vision of the dragon headed straight towards us. In unison, we all headed straight into the cave. The opening was too small for anything but the head of the dragon.

We nervously gazed at the wide row of glistening, white teeth. After about two minutes, the dragon ceased his attempts to enter the cave. We all let out a sigh of relief as the dragon retracted his head.

As we started to make our way towards the exit, the opening was suddenly filled with General Palas and his guards. “I’m sorry it had to come to this, Alexalogo,” he said. “I really am.” He looked confounded for a few moments.

“Wait,” I said. “Are you saying…”

“Yes,” he answered. “I am the much spoken of conspirator.”

“It wasn’t the other commanders conspiroating to kill me,” The Commander said. “It was you!”

“I’m afraid so,” he answered. “And now, I must take my leave. This dragon cost me a small fortune in gems to attack you. So, if you would excuse me, gentle colts..” he left the opening, and the dragon filled the opening again.

It was hovering almost perfectly in the air, flapping its wings outside the opening.

As General Pallas moved out of the way, the Commander stepped forward.

“Please,” the Commander said, addressing the dragon, “I know you species is capable of speech. So I beg of you to spare our lives. I know honor is important to your kind. What honor is there in killing mere passersby, such as us. If it’s gems you want, I can award you a thousand times more than Palas can. Please…”

The dragon hovered silently, simply staring at the commander for a long time. I shifted uncertain from side to side for a few moments. A twitch in the right eye of the dragon as the only indication of what it was about to do, before fire erupted from its mouth, enveloping the ledge outside. I instinctively used my magic to create a barrier around myself and the four soldiers standing near me.

I closed my eyes to the blaze for what seemed like half an eternity, until the roar of the flames died down. I opened my eyes again, and could, by the entrance of the cave, see a charred skeleton.

Author's Note:

You might want to make sure you have some free time before reading Part 5. It is longer than the previous chapters combined.