Chapter 14 - The Ship
Beef Wellington sat on the floor of the inn, leaning back against the bed as he took stock of his knapsack. Feeling a slight pressure on his shoulder, he reached up and scratched the white pony behind her ear. When she leaned into his hand, he let out a chuckle.
"Morning, Popcorn," Beef said, lowering his arm and tracing his hand down her neck and jawline.
"Celestia needs to go back to sleep for an hour or two."
"I thought earth ponies were early risers?"
"Well someone kept me up all night," Popcorn grumbled, glancing at the unused bed across from hers. "Are you sure you don't want to come all the way to Neighagra Falls with us?"
Beef reached up and scratched her neck. "Sorry, cutie. I have to finish those wing blades for your private, along with some other orders for a few ponies I'm to meet here in the next couple of days."
"Okay," Popcorn replied, frowning. She then gave him a quick nuzzle on the neck before hopping out of the bed. "I'm going downstairs for breakfast. The others are probably waiting. Want me to order you anything?"
Beef looked at the piles of his stuff around him. "Yeah. Order me up some graincakes with whatever the freshest fruit they have is. And tell the cook I'll know if he tries to water the cakes down again." Plucking a small bag from one of the piles, he tossed it over to her with a wink. "Thanks, babe. That should cover it."
Popcorn smiled, and looped the jingling sack around her neck before trotting out the door.
Several minutes later, Beef cinched his knapsack closed, slung it over his shoulder, and strode out into the hallway, flipping a coin to the maid one room down. The worn wooden treads of the stairs creaked and groaned under Beef's weight as he made his way down to the common room. Hunching slightly so his horns didn't hit the ceiling, he stepped down the last few stairs.
Reaching the main floor, Beef stood back up, glancing over at the kettle hanging above the crackling fire. One quick sniff let the sweet and mildly spicy scent radiating from the pot tickle his nose. Continuing towards his friends seated at a table near the center of the room, he gave a nod to the innkeeper, an older pony he had known for several years now. On the way, he passed by an elderly pony couple sitting near the window to let the early morning sun warm their coats. Beef smiled to them, and gave the mare a lascivious wink, causing her to blush.
Beef approached the table where his new friends sat, a broad smile still dominating his face. "Good morning," he said, plopping down into a chair next to Popcorn. "Take it everything's already been ordered?"
The unarmored unicorn guard glared at Beef. "Yes it has. Should be out any minute now.”
"Aww, come now, what's got you angry with ol' Beefy?"
"You know exactly why, mister. I didn't get a wink of sleep."
"Well, you could have joined us."
"As if," the unicorn nearly spat.
"Well I had a grand time last night." Beef grinned and gave Popcorn a quick scratch behind the ear.
In response, the unarmored unicorn huffed and hit the table with her hoof. "Sergeant Popcorn, I request a separate room tonight."
"Ehh, we'll see," Popcorn replied, leaning towards the big minotaur, hoping for another ear scratch.
The pegasus private fidgeted in his seat for a moment, before giving a pleading look to the unicorn mare. "Ugh, fine. But you owe me back," she said.
Her horn lit up, levitating a small pouch from her saddlebag on the floor. After counting out a few coins, she sent the bag in Beef’s direction, and dropped it next to his with a jingle.
Beef smiled at the waitress coming out of the kitchen with a large, food-laden platter on her back, before looking back to the private. "I don’t need this: I had plenty of fun last night, more than enough to make up for a few measly bits," he said, pushing the bag back over to the unicorn. "But, let this be a lesson: don't spend bits you can’t afford. You won't always have a friend like this pretty unicorn right here to bail you out."
The blushing mare quietly levitated the small pouch back into her saddlebag while the waitress served their food.
Beef took another small bag from the pouch on his belt and pushed it over to the silent earth pony sitting next to the pegasus, who perked up. "Same goes to you. Ol' Beefy doesn’t need your bits—it was worth it for the experience."
Before she left, the waitress whispered into the two stallions’ ears while keeping an eye on Beef, and flicked them with her tail as she walked off. The two of them immediately gained a more cheerful demeanor, and small talk bounced back and forth as the food quickly dwindled before them.
"You sure you won't want a pair of battle shoes made?" Beef asked Popcorn and the earth pony stallion.
"We'll pass for now, BW," Popcorn said.
"Alright," Beef said, pushing his now empty plate away and leaning back in the chair with his hands behind his head. He silently thanked the owner for the foresight to have a couple minotaur-sized chairs in the common room, though he was pretty sure it had to do with him breaking so many pony-sized chairs when he’d first started traveling this route.
He'd just gotten comfortable when the sharp thud of a door being slammed open stopped all conversation in the room.
A stark white griffon marched into the room like he owned it. His yellow eyes scanned the room, until they fell upon Beef. The griffon’s black beak curled up in disgust. "I thought I smelled bovine. I was under the impression this was a decent establishment, but it looks like they just let in anything."
Beef only gave the griffon a passing glance before returning to conversation with his friends. The griffon bristled and stormed up to the bar, pounding on it to get the innkeeper’s attention.
"Hey, no need to go wrecking the place. Use the little bell, and Crossroad Slumber will be out in a minute," Beef shouted.
"I don't take orders from lowly cow," the griffon snarled.
"And I don't tolerate rudeness to my guests," Crossroad Slumber said, emerging from the back. "Now, before you go breaking my door or pounding a hole in my bar, how can I help you?"
"My acquaintances and I," the white griffon said, gesturing to the griffons seated around two tables in the corner of the inn, "require three rooms for the night, two stalls for our gear, and breakfast."
"Well, the waitress should be out any minute now. As for the rooms, I only have two available for tonight," Crossroad said.
"Fine." The griffon tossed a bag of coins at Crossroad Slumber.
"Hey now, there’s no reason to be rude and demanding like that," Beef said to the griffon, his hand resting on Popcorn's back.
Murmurs could be heard from the table where the griffons sat. "Hah, learn your place if you know what's good for you, cow. I am Razor, an ARC in the Imperial Griffon Army. You probably don’t even know what that means."
"If you’d look around, you’d find you’re in Equestria. Your rank doesn't really mean much here. But, alrighty, I’ll learn my place. I just figured I would give you some friendly advice," Beef said, leaning back in his chair with a smile.
"Pfft, as if I would listen to the 'advice' of a weakling, still suckling at his mother's teat. From the looks of it, you aren't even good enough to be in that pathetic group you bovines call an army," Razor said with contempt.
“Sure, sure.” Beef gave a double flick of his wrist and turned his attention back to his pony friends.
Razor’s beak twisted into a snarl, and his feathers bristled. After a quick glance around the room at all the ponies present, he ran a claw over his crest and marched back to his subordinates.
The guards left to get ready to head out, leaving Beef and Popcorn alone at the table, carrying on an animated conversation. Several minutes later, he let out a hearty laugh, and scratched Popcorn behind the ear.
Razor’s contemptuous voice carried over the noise in the common room. "Ahh, so that's why you’re hanging out with that pony. You can only get with loose ponies, I see. Didn't know it was that kind of establishment. Come over here, pony; I can pay better than him."
Beef rested his hand on Popcorn's back, giving a little squeeze to forestall a protest. "You know, you’ve been a condescending ass to everyone since you strut in here like you owned the place,” he said conversationally. “But you’ve just crossed a line. You can insult me all you want, but you will not insult Miss Popcorn."
Razor jumped out of his chair, knocking it to the ground. He shot forward to Beef’s table with a quick flap of his wings. "And just what do you think you’re going to do about it, cowpat?" he asked, slapping Popcorn on the rump. "So, how much for a go around?" he taunted, licking his beak at Popcorn.
In a flash of motion, Beef grabbed Razor by the neck. A strangled squawk caused pony ears throughout the inn to fold back, muting a pained grunt followed by the crack of dishes breaking on the floor. Metal clanked against metal as the guards from outside charged in to see the muscles of Beef's 8'5" frame bulging as he squeezed Razor’s neck and slammed his face into the table.
The fully armored guards quickly stood in front of the other griffons to keep them where they sat. Popcorn stood stunned at the quick change in Beef’s demeanor.
The minotaur leaned down, his short muzzle sliding across the side of Razor's face, while his horn barely missed scraping the other side. "Listen here, you little shit,” Beef hissed. “I know your type: you probably have a rich daddy, and you’re always getting your way. Those subordinates with you are all probably yes-griffs. Well, I'm only going to tell you once. You will apologize to the lady, pay your tab, and you and your little feathered friends will leave. If not… I will crush your throat right here, and your skull will perch upon the side of my family's battle totem. Do I make myself perfectly clear?".
Razor looked at his own reflection in the polished silver horn cap a mere inch from his eye. A small inscription was at the bottom. Beef Wellington, Son of Rib Eye, House of Brisket. Razor immediately stopped his futile struggle, and tried to speak, but was unable to let out more than a senseless squawk under the minotaur's crushing grip. Desperately, he very slightly nodded his head.
Beef released his grip and straightened up. The nervous-looking guests and guards let out a collective sigh. Rubbing his throat, Razor shouted at one of his subordinates to pay the tab, and leave a good tip, while the others gathered their food and started heading out the door. Beef got a wicked grin on his face and, just as Razor passed by, Beef reached out his arm. The slap echoed through the room, and a shrill cry came from Razor as his hind legs buckled.
"Wooo, look at that taut ass," Beef called to the retreating griffon, giving a wolf whistle before sitting back down to see a confused Popcorn, who didn't know if she wanted to yell at him or laugh.
As the griffons shuffled out of the door, the two armored pony guards returned to their friends.
"Sergeant, the griffons have two wagons. One’s larger than the other and both are magically enchanted. The larger one may be housing a prisoner. However, I am unable to legally perform a deep scan as they have proper paperwork for transit, signed by their embassy," the unicorn said.
"I see. Anything else of note?" Popcorn questioned.
"I suggest we send a telegraph to have them watched. Though the paperwork said they are here for some forest training and then to deliver supplies to their Canterlot embassy, I spotted and smelled evidence on the wagons that they have been up in the pine forests of the snowy north."
Popcorn rubbed her chin, leaned back in her chair to the point that Beef had to hold it from falling backward, and peered out of the window. "They’re all eating around one of their wagons. Once we get out of sight we can send you up ahead to the rail station," she said, nodding to the pegasus guard. "Once you’re there, you can shoot a message out using the telegraph. Since we know they’ll be here for at least one night, it should give the higher-ups time to send a discreet scout."
A dull thud emanated from the floor as the chair returned to its normal position. Popcorn finished off her drink, then stood up, stretching out all four legs at once. After a few pops and a soft groan, she started towards the door. Beef waved to the innkeeper, then pulled out a generous amount of bits and dropped them on the table before following his pony friends out of the inn.
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Cassie stood in the shower with her eyes closed, holding onto the railing as she leaned her head back, just letting the warm water flow over her. The droplets from the showerhead lightly massaged her scalp before running down her gently swaying hair, finally falling to the bottom of the tub in a unified stream. She stayed like that for several minutes, not wanting to really look down at her own body. While she was glad to finally be getting fed, the effects of her malnutrition since arriving at the planet were still evident. It was bad enough feeling her ribs while washing, but the visual reminder of them, and the thinness in her arms—that was something she could do without.
The corners of her mouth lifted into a pleasant smile as her fingers worked the mint-scented shampoo into her hair and scalp. Using the matching body wash, she put a generous amount onto the loofah, before working it against itself to lather it up. She got completely caught up in the enjoyment of her shower—until she accidentally pressed the loofah too hard against a half-remembered bruise on her side. She winced and sucked a breath against clenched teeth, then turned her side into the warm spray from the shower, letting it dull the pain.
When she was satisfied with her work, Cassie gave herself a final rinse under the spray, then waited until the suds drained away, before finally shutting off the flow.
Cassie worked the towel down her legs, then sat on the edge of the tub, drying her foot off before spinning around and placing it on the towel she had laid out on the floor, and repeating the process with her prosthetic. Normally she would have just balanced on one leg, or propped a foot on the edge to dry off before stepping out, but her balance was still not back up to par, and she got dizzy sometimes. Nevertheless, she was grateful that her fever had dissipated, at least.
Mindful of the still-painful cut on her back, Cassie patted the area dry as well as she could. She was halfway through combing out her hair when she realized she didn't have anything clean to wear. Sure, it had only been two days since she’d washed her clothes, and she’d had to wear them longer than that recently, but she still didn't want to. Cassie didn’t particularly care for the grimy feeling of unwashed clothing on newly cleaned skin, and wanted to avoid it if she could. Padding out to her room, she grabbed her dress and undergarments and gave them a quick wash, laying them on that same towel rack as before to dry.
"Well, I wonder if there’s anything around here I might be able to wear," Cassie muttered, then began searching through the furniture of the main room.
During her brief search, she found a few extra blankets in the drawers under the bed, along with a pillow that was promptly placed on the bed. While peeking in the armoire standing in the corner, Cassie’s face lit up. Reaching into the lower drawer, she pulled out a pale green robe. Quickly closing the drawer, she made her way back to the bathroom to try it on.
Cassie studied herself in the full-length mirror, twisting around to examine herself from all angles. Unfortunately, the robe was almost too short to wear by itself, but it was the only thing she could find. Since she could do nothing about it, she shrugged and returned to the main room.
She sat sideways in the large, plush chair near the window with her legs curled up next to her. It still hurt Cassie's brain to see the flying ponies messing with clouds, but it beat staring at the wall. She smiled, imagining them as old-timey miniature fighter planes.
Her fingers absently twirled around the V of her neck where her necklace should have been. Realizing what she was doing, she pulled her hand away, letting out a sigh. I'll probably never see that again.
Once the pegasi moved on, Cassie found herself bored with nothing to watch, so she got up and moved to the table. She grabbed the cushion brush she had left on it before returning to the chair. Pushing her hair out of her face, she set to work getting the long black strands of pony hair out of the bristles. When she was satisfied with the result, Cassie moved to the bathroom while brushing her hair back. She retrieved a hairband from the cubbies to hold it in place, and then pulled her bangs forward to cover her dead right eye.
Hearing a knock on the door, Cassie shouted, "~Come~."
Popping her head out, Cassie watched one of the maids gather the dishes from the breakfast she’d eaten before her shower. Once the maid left, Cassie reentered the main room, stretching. A sudden draft made her realize something very important, and she quickly put her arms back down. The robe was too short for her: while standing, the hem just covered the bottom curve of her butt, barely preserving her modesty all around, but if she reached her arms over her head… not so much. Briefly, she wondered if the ponies would get mad if she removed the robe’s arms so that wouldn’t happen, but was reluctant to vandalize the soft robe.
Instead, Cassie stood on the hem of the robe and pulled gently but firmly at the top. She hoped to stretch it out enough to be a little more decent. After repeating the process all the way around, she slipped it back on. A mixed smile crossed her lips. The robe had indeed stretched, but unfortunately only about a half-inch. Deciding it was as good as it was going to get, she moved to the desk with all the drawings.
Cassie folded a few up while keeping one separate. After placing the folded ones into her pocket, she cinched the belt tight and strode over to the door. Hesitantly, she turned the handle and cracked it open far enough to poke her head out.
Turning her head so she could see to the right, she spotted one of those armored, white-coated guards. Looking back to her left caused a small smile to form on her lips. She had thought Cereal would have been mad at how she’d been treated yesterday. To Cassie’s surprise, the mare still wore small bows in her mane, but they were mostly yellow with some white ones instead of the multicolored ones Cassie had put in yesterday.
"Umm, ~hi~," Cassie said.
"Hi, Cassie," the brown mare replied cheerfully.
Snaking her hand out, she held up the picture of Padlock and asked, "~Padlock, come, yes~?"
The pony shook her head. "Awzzg, pih Padlock qa pigm obr apm kiv'b come ql zqopb vye."
Cassie looked at her blankly.
Cereal quietly muttered to herself and brought a hoof to her face before looking back up at Cassie. "Padlock no come,” she said, her ears drooping.
Cassie was disappointed that Padlock wasn’t available, even though she’d known she might not always be around. After a moment of thought, Cassie came up with a new idea. Folding and putting Padlock’s picture away, she pulled out the one that showed Padlock and three other ponies. Just to be certain, she pointed to the one that looked like Cereal and said, "~Yes~?"
Cereal nodded, her ears perking back up, and Cassie folded up the picture before slipping it back into her pocket. Opening the door fully, Cassie waved at the mare, saying, "~Come~."
At first, the brown mare just sat there, her ears folding back slightly. Cassie looked down at her feet, scuffing her shoe across the floor a few times. "Oh… okay, you don't have to come in," Cassie quietly said, and started closing the door.
Cassie wasn't entirely sold on her own hastily made backup plan, so the pony’s rejection didn't sting her too badly. She was still trying to sort out everything that had happened since she had been moved to this room. While she did somewhat trust that Padlock wouldn't do anything mean to her, that trust didn't quite extend to the other ponies, outside the nurse and doctor. However, seeing that Cereal wore bows in her mane and tail even after what Cassie had done yesterday, she had kind of hoped the mare would work out as a guide.
A brown leg shot forward, preventing the door from latching. Cassie pulled it back open to see the mare smiling at her before walking in. With a smile of her own, she shut the door and motioned for the pony to sit at the table. Not ready to completely trust her yet, Cassie decided to remain standing.
“Q’u Ykykw Ditt,” the mare said, touching a hoof to her chest.
It took Cassie several minutes longer than it had taken with Padlock's name before she finally figured out how to pronounce Cereal’s real name without butchering it too badly, but she finally managed.
With that done, she pulled out one of the pictures Padlock had given her of places in the castle. "Can you take me here?" Cassie asked before remembering. "~Come, yes~?"
With the mare’s short mane flopping around enthusiastically, she got up and trotted to the door. "Cassie, come."
After a quick check of the pockets to make sure she had all the drawings, and a short tug on the robe for modesty, Cassie followed the brown mare into the hallway, closing the door behind her. Slightly unsure if this was the smartest thing to be doing, she followed the mare down the hallway and around the corner to some stairs.
When they reached the bottom, Cassie walked over to the large windows and looked down on the city spreading out past the curtain wall. Her eye darted around, taking in its splendor, from the slender domed towers mixed among pristine houses to the valley spreading out below. For a brief moment, Cassie wondered where her ship was in relation to the city, before suppressing that thought. There was no benefit to contemplating another mystery she currently had no way of solving.
Snapping herself back to the present, part of her wanted to go visit the city below, while the other part reminded her it was full of ponies. With a sigh, and a wish that this planet would have had just about anything other than ponies as the intelligent race, she turned back to Cocoa Puff and continued down the hall.
Cassie stopped frequently to study paintings or carvings in the stonework. While she was aware of the unicorns’ ability to do some sort of manipulation, she was not sure they could have produced carvings like this. Not for the first time, Cassie began to wonder if this had all been built by another race before the ponies, and they simply did the upkeep on it.
Everything had been going smoothly, until they rounded the next corner. Cassie jumped next to a short cabinet stand that held a large flower arrangement, pressing herself against the wall as a group of guards walked in her direction. Her heart rate increased and she tried to meld herself into the wall, hoping they were not there to capture her. As they approached, her left eye never left them. Other than a quick glance over to her, they kept on marching down the hall. Once they’d disappeared around the corner, she let out a sigh of relief.
"Lwv'b sknnu, Cassie. Hyvm wnav'b dana bu ush ukq. Come cb, hap'a ush owejc," Cocoa said soothingly.
Cassie blinked and shook her head, then looked down at the mare. She couldn't fully read Cocoa’s expression, but the tone of voice didn't seem to be as chipper as before. After a few more pony run-ins, all of which Cassie hugged the walls for, and a short break because her legs started to ache, they finally made it to the garden.
This garden was much more elaborate than the one below her window was. Birds flitted from branch to branch and tree to tree. Colors exploded everywhere and sweet scents filled the air. In other parts of the garden, she could see other ponies roaming around—most, oddly enough, wearing clothing.
Cassie spotted a group of white flowers edged in a deep purple and thought of Princess Ink Splotch. A smile came to her face as she remembered how the apparent Royal had been kind enough to give her space, and even stay out of her blind spot. Cassie still didn't know if she’d known about that before, figured it out during their meeting, or if it had just been a fortunate coincidence. A tiny part of her wanted Princess Ink Splotch to show up again, if for no other reason than she was familiar.
Moving over to the flowers, Cassie ran her hands down her butt to hold the bathrobe in place, squatting down with her knees together to take in the strawberry mint fragrance they gave off. For a brief moment, Cassie thought about picking a few for her room, but decided that would probably not go over well with the ponies. She had no desire whatsoever to do anything that might give them any reason at all to put her back in the jail cell.
I'm gonna have to figure out what these are called.
Deciding she really wanted one of the flowers, Cassie turned towards Cocoa. "~Yes~?" she asked, mimicking picking the flower.
Cocoa’s ears folded back, and she mumbled under her breath before responding with, "No." Her eyes suddenly lit up. After pantomiming for Cassie to stay put, she ran off further into the garden, disappearing around a hedge.
Cassie had returned to standing, warily watching the other ponies in the garden. A few rows over she spotted Mustachi, walking along with a slender, white unicorn mare. He didn't stop or point, but he did nudge the mare next to him, and they both gave a slight nod to Cassie before continuing on their way. She was still unsure what to make of him. He'd been the only visitor she'd had, and she didn't know why. She made a mental note to ask Padlock about him later.
Cassie spun around at the dull sound of quickly-approaching hooves, and saw a beaming Cocoa who slowed her advance until she was right next to Cassie. She started talking and gesturing too quickly for Cassie to understand what she was getting at, but with a little figuring out she finally deciphered Cocoa’s message. With a huge smile, Cassie surveyed the flowers, looking for one that wouldn't be missed. Spotting a suitable specimen, she carefully bent down and plucked it near the dirt to give it a long stem with a few leaves.
A sharp snort and a gasp sounded off to her right, followed by a bunch of harsh-sounding words. Looking up, she saw a pale gray unicorn stallion with a faded black mane standing next to a yellow unicorn mare with a lilac and white mane. Both were similarly dressed in shirts, with a sweater draped over the back, and tied in the front by the sleeves.
Cassie could feel the disdain pouring out of them as they stared at her with narrowed eyes for several moments before putting their muzzles in the air and stomping off.
Turning back to Cocoa, Cassie briefly spotted Mustachi looking in the direction of the unicorns, shaking his head, while Cocoa’s knees bent, her leg muscles tensing like compressed springs, giving her the look that she was ready to pounce. She spotted some ruffed up grass near the mare’s front hoof.
Looking around, she noticed several other ponies in the garden with similar sour expressions. Cassie’s breaths became shorter and her heart rate started climbing. She suddenly really didn’t want to be there anymore. With a trembling hand, she quickly reached into her pocket, and pulled out a few pages.
"~Cocoa Puff, yes~?" Cassie asked, pointing to a part of the castle with a portrait above it.
Cocoa looked at where Cassie had pointed, at the few ponies still nearby, and then back over to Cassie. The mare chewed on her lip in thought for a moment, then her eyes brightened, and she turned and motioned for Cassie to follow.
Cassie was relieved that Cocoa had recognized the urgency, even if it didn’t seem she was going where Cassie had intended, heading instead for an unremarkable door in the castle.
Cassie brought the flower up to her nose, relaxing at the smell as she followed Cocoa back into the castle halls. She suspected Cocoa had a good reason why they weren’t going where she’d pointed, but her impromptu tour of the castle was joyful for the most part. She really loved seeing the artwork on the walls, and the different themes in parts of the castle. However, Cassie was annoyed with how many times they had to stop at various benches around the castle due to her lack of energy, and the soreness in her legs. Unfortunately, she'd also noticed a fair number of ponies seemed slightly irritated with her presence, like the two she'd seen in the garden. That is, if the upturned muzzles and snorting as they saw her were any indication.
Along with her constant fighting with the short robe, Cassie felt that her limit for random pony encounters had been reached, and she just really wanted to go back to her room. On the way back, Cocoa let her know it was nearly time for lunch.
Cassie didn't quite understand the rest of what Cocoa tried to get across. It seemed like she had been given a choice to eat somewhere other than her room, but she couldn’t be certain. Cocoa wasn’t very good at pantomiming. With an apologetic smile, Cassie turned her invitation down: while she might not have been trying to hide every time unknown ponies approached, she still hugged the walls, quickly scooting past while keeping an eye on them for sudden movements. She was definitely not ready to just go eat with a bunch of them, especially not after the looks she’d received in the garden.
Clutching her flower in her hand, she let Cocoa lead her back to her room.
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First Lieutenant Rook Ramparts stood at the edge of the pine forest, peering out into the snowy plain beyond. Behind him, he could hear his squad enjoying a brief rest and food break. A smile creased his muzzle as the rich scent of the burning wood in the campfires tickled his nose. Dropping his smile, Rook swiveled his ears forward to block out most of the noise, and looked down at the map lying across a hollow log. Pulling a compass from his saddlebag, he checked his bearing, and then made a few annotations on the map.
Rook trotted back to the camp, quickly looking around for his second-in-command. He spotted the light blue crystal mare talking with the Wonderbolt trainee who was attached to the squad for this mission, and veered in that direction.
"Gunnery Sergeant Jewel Joy, we have a few hours of marching ahead of us. Get the squad ready," he stated, then turned and trotted over to the campfire to get himself a mug of coffee.
Rook sat on a log, steam rising from the metal mug of coffee in his hoof as his unit started breaking down their mini camp. He mused at how much more efficient the older members of the squad were at this task than the others, despite the new training techniques introduced recently, and made a mental note of those helping instruct the younger members with tricks not taught at boot camp.
He brought the mug back to his open muzzle, leaned back, and when no coffee was forthcoming, he pulled it away and looked at the empty cup with a frown. Grumbling, Rook scooped up some snow with it, mashed it around with a stick to clean it some, banged it against the log he sat on a few times to knock the snow out, and then chucked it through the air to land into the supply wagon-sled. He took a quick look around to make certain the area was cleared up to his satisfaction, then, Rook Ramparts stood and gave the order to move out.
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The object the scout had spotted—now recognizable as some sort of snow-covered metal ship—loomed in the distance. A pegasus sat on a cloud above the craft, watching for movement, while another flew in a large circle doing the same for the perimeter. Two burly earth ponies lead the way with each snow-crunching step breaking a path, followed by First Lieutenant Rook Ramparts and Gunnery Sergeant Jewel Joy, and then the rest of the group.
Rook’s and Jewel's eyes narrowed upon seeing faint streaks of crimson which marred the pristine snow, many leading away from the craft to a small finger of pine trees that jutted out from the main forest. With a wave of his hoof, Rook sent a few of his squad that way to investigate. Further inspection revealed a few feathers, larger than the average pegasus’, sticking up from the snow.
"Griffons," Rook stated flatly.
The two continued towards the craft, eyes and ears never lingering in one spot. After a cautious lap around the craft, Rook stood next to the sheared-off stump of a wing, and had his team start inspecting the scene, instructing them all to keep clear of the ramp going up to the opening in the side.
Rook spotted some symbols near the front of the craft and made his way towards them. Looking up, he began taking a closer look at the writing for several moments. "Jewel, give me the black-backed scroll."
Jewel squealed in excitement. "Oh, do you think this is related to what landed at the castle, or at that farm?"
"Shhh… Wait a minute, how do you even know about those?" Rook asked, his eyebrow raised.
Jewel quickly looked away as her face flushed bright red. Her ears drooped, allowing her bright pink and purple mane to fall over them. "I, ummm… might have overheard some officers talking about it." Quickly and quietly, she pulled out the scroll and stuck her hoof out to the side for Rook to grab it, still not willing to meet his gaze.
Popping the silver seal, Rook unfurled the document. Scanning the contents within, he narrowed his focus onto the strange symbols.
~| SSC Quasar (SEF-02) |~
~| Transport Escape Ship #1 |~
He then compared them to the symbols on the side of the vessel. As best as he could tell, they were similar.
~| Zaire |~
~| SSC Quasar (SEF-02) |~
~| Transport Escape Ship #9 |~
Rook’s eyes widened upon the realization. "Cadet… Lance Corporal, whatever your rank is, Meadow Flower, report!" he bellowed to the circling pegasus.
Ignoring Jewel's protest, he slapped a piece of paper from his saddlebag on her back and began scribbling a note. He made sure to copy the writing as accurately as he could, and recorded their location. He rolled it up with the black-backed scroll on the outside, put the ribbon back around it, and sealed it with his mark.
"Meadow, it's time to put your Wonderbolt training to use. Get this to the Captain, now!"
Rook had no sooner hoofed it over to the usually reserved mare before a blast of wind covered his face in snow as a pink blur sped away. Jewel, annoyed that he had just used her back as a writing desk, hip checked him into the snow, while standing there with a warm smile and tilt of her head in an attempt to look innocent.
All ears in the area honed in on the loud clank, followed by coughing echoing from the opening in the side of the ship. Rook smacked himself with a forehoof. With the undisturbed snow built up on the ramp and no lights emanating from the dark opening, he had foolishly presumed the damaged craft abandoned. He gave two sharp whistles while swinging his foreleg around in circle, then pointed to a spot near the copse of trees when the scout looked over the edge of the clouds. The pegasus gave a quick salute, then shot off to each of the squad members, quietly relaying the information.
"So, do you think there’s another one of them?" Jewel asked in an excited whisper.
Rook let out a sigh, his two-tone green mane flopping from side to side. "Seriously, how do you even know about this stuff? Wait, never mind, she's not really a secret. Anyways, I've no freaking clue. I don't know what that thing is other than some type of aircraft, I don't know where it's from, I don't know who or what piloted it, and I don't know if whoever or whatever flew it isn't very good since they tore a wing off on those trees way back there, or if perhaps they are good and saved it from being just a trail of scattered wreckage. What I do know is that there is something inside and alive, and we need to be prepared just in case it's one of those things like her."
Jewel Joy wisely kept her muzzle shut as they continued to approach the clustered guards.
Standing in front of his subordinates, Rook looked over each of them. The squad had grown considerably for this hastily thrown-together mission, though Prince Shining Armor had assigned most of the new additions just to give them some long-range patrol experience. They hadn't even really expected to find anything other than a boulder, ice bear shelter, or some other random unimportant thing. Now the mostly green-membered patrol had turned into something entirely different.
He felt a little bad that he didn't even know everypony’s name.
Rook relayed the entry plan, and entertained ideas from his squad. He knew he shouldn't have, but didn't see the harm in it. Everyone had moved over to the supply wagon-sled. Clinking filled their ears, and glints of light off golden metal left light spots in their eyes as everypony wiggled into their armor. Once he was dressed, Rook rolled his shoulders one last time to get the armor to sit properly, then marched his squad to the bottom of the ramp leading into the vessel.
Looking to the lone unicorn in his squad, Rook asked, "Are you able to project a light orb?"
"Yes, sir. I can send one to a location, or have it follow a pony," the unicorn said boldly. "It won't last more than a few minutes before I have to recast it, though," he admitted quietly.
"Close enough. Light up the space beyond the entry," Rook said.
A grunt mixed with tinkling preceded a large white orb being shot through the opening until it hovered just beyond.
------------------------------
Commander Flint Torsen drew in a ragged breath, releasing it in a pained wheeze. His eyes carefully followed his grubby finger as it moved over each line on the page of the thick manual lain open before him. He’d torn a section out of the front of the book, and then written over many of the remaining pages as he completed each task. The often-times barely legible handwriting dotted the margins, while entire lines had been scribbled out here and there. An engineer would have been appalled to see what he’d done.
Flint didn't care what an engineer would think. He pushed the battered manual aside and started punching buttons on the reactor console, and then navigated to the correct menu. After a quick typing of his command code, swipe of his access card, and a thumbprint, he pressed ENTER and sat back heavily into the chair.
The room dimmed, and the everpresent yet quiet pulse of the reactor slowed as it began shutting down, moving into a safe, dormant state. Flint let out a chuckle. Out of everything that had happened recently, of course shutting off a starship reactor would be the only thing he could accomplish with full success. Moving the manual back in front of him, he flipped through it until he found a mostly blank page, then started writing.
Flint jumped at the sudden sound of voices filtering through the open airlock and the jammed engine room door, causing his elbow to knock the decoupler off of the desk with a loud clank. He scowled down at the tool as he listened closely to see if the sounds would continue. He heard clipped whispers, followed by a few sharp whistles.
His eyes turned red. Flint thought back to the winged monstrosities that had attacked his men. Mitch had disappeared, and Mark had been hauled off; both most likely were dead. His thoughts turned to himself as he looked down at the red stain that seeped through his coveralls.
Hah! You're too late. The reactor's been shut down, and the only way to start it back up is with my codes. The only thing you’ll find in this ship is death.
Flint scribbled on the page before ripping it out, folding it up, and shoving it into his chest pocket along with his access card. He swept the book to the floor and picked up his energy rifle. Setting it to maximum, he shot the book, turning it to ash, before returning the weapon to full stun.
"Good luck now. You’ll need an engineer if you want to try and bypass my code," Flint chuckled to himself.
Moving towards the door, he braced himself against the frame, one arm cradling his weapon, the other holding his stomach. He coughed several times, then licked the crimson spots off his lips before leaning to peer out into the cargo bay, ready to fry the first thing he saw.
Flint started to think he'd imagined the earlier sounds, when a bright light suddenly filled the cargo bay. He quickly pulled up his arm to shield his eyes and ducked back behind the door. Blinking the spots out of his eyes, he watched the rays streaming through the opening dim, and level off to a more natural indoor lighting.
Sharp clopping reverberated into the ship from the ramp, pulling his attention back to the cargo bay and airlock entrance. Briefly, he wished the airlock hadn't been retracted, but it was too late to change that: the controls were on the other side of the room. The instant he saw a shape start to materialize, he fired. He smiled from the scream his shot produced, and the thump of the creature falling off the ramp and into the snow.
"That's for Mitch!" he roared, his bold words ending in a paroxysm of coughing which slid him to the floor.
The glowing light that had hung in the middle of the cargo bay near the ceiling winked out, but was quickly followed by another brightly flashing one. Flint again ducked behind the door.
Clutching his abdomen, Flint blinked the spots of lights out of his vision. His finger hovered over the weapon settings, but he hesitated, deciding against turning it lethal now, as he could not get information from the enemy if they were dead.
The sound of metal against metal accompanied the vibrations of heavy clopping coming up the ramp. The pulsating light ceased, along with the clopping sounds, but was followed by a series of loud thuds ringing from the cargo bay.
Flint snuck his head out just enough to look into the cargo bay. At the entrance were four large, heavy-looking shields locked side-by-side. He raised his weapon and fired. The shield glowed a soft orange, and the energy shot deflected harmlessly to the side. Flint quirked an eyebrow at the unexpected resistance. Looking closer, he noticed a small scorch mark where he had hit. Taking aim, he fired again; this time the orange glow was weaker, but the shot was absorbed instead of deflected.
The orb of light flared, blinding his vision, and he felt a tingling in his arms and hands as his rifle was yanked from his grasp.
"Lhawoa opkl odkkpejc ib ca. Em wna vyb dana bu vifh ukq," a voice called from behind the shields.
Ignoring how that had just happened, Flint pulled his energy pistol from his holster, and set it to kill.
"Give me back my men, and get off my ship!" Flint hollered, and then fell to the side coughing, flecks of red staining the floor.
The spots stopped dancing in Flint's eyes, and he looked out at the shields, just now noticing that he had fallen completely in view of the intruders. He raised a weak hand, pointing the weapon at them, and fired. His shaky hand caused the shot to hit the upper corner of one of the shields. Instead of bouncing or being absorbed, the orange glow flickered and disappeared from that section, and the shield behind it received an easily noticeable charred dent. He smiled, but hesitated pulling the trigger again upon hearing loud, unintelligible whispering, and then light clops running down the ramp.
It gave Flint time to think. This felt different from those winged monstrosities. They had flown in, and then started attacking and firing those crude crossbows instantly. Maybe this was something different. He coughed again, dropping his hand to the cold floor he lay on, but still held the weapon. He took shallow breaths through his nose while putting pressure on his abdomen and gritting his teeth.
Quick, light clopping raced up the ramp. Flint heard a commotion behind the shield-wall and again raised his weapon, while moving to set his back against the doorframe, though too weak to try to hide behind it.
Flint raised an eyebrow as a white cloth attached to a stick shot above the shields, covered in a blue glow. Hearing more of that unintelligible whispering, though sharper, the flag dropped out of sight briefly, only to quickly pop back up without the glow around it. He gave a slight thought about the glow, then dismissed it as he slowly lowered the pistol and put it back to maximum stun, though he held onto it, ready to raise and fire. The flag danced above the shields, moving towards the end of the line. He almost burst out laughing when a slightly translucent, light blue equine stepped out holding the white flag in its hoof and something in its mouth.
The strange equine nodded at him, and then slowly spun in a circle in an obvious attempt to show it was not armed. It then started walking towards him with slow, deliberate steps.
Sucks to be you, Lieutenant Campbell, if you made it here.
Flint chuckled a little at that last thought, hoping she had made it to one of the transports and wishing she had been on his, since she could have fixed most of the problems they had had on board. Then they never would have crashed in this frozen wasteland.
A gasp from the equine pulled Flint's thoughts back to the approaching pony. Its large eyes had zeroed in on his red-stained abdomen. The item that had been in its mouth hit the floor. Still staring at him, the pony kicked the cylindrical object towards Flint, finally moving its eyes to meet his and nodding again.
Groaning, Flint leaned forward and picked up the dry, rolled-up paper with the hand that had been holding his stomach. The pony made another gasping noise as he unfurled it.
Flint released the weapon, pushed it away, and leaned back with a relieved sigh while looking at a photo of Lieutenant Campbell sitting in a small—even for her—bed.
"Well, I'll be," he muttered, a glistening trail cutting through the grime on his cheek.
He sighed with relief that his hesitation earlier to fire appeared to be the right call, and that they were here to help, not attack.
"UMLEY!" the equine yelled over its shoulder.
Flint's eyes widened in alarm at the sudden shout, and commotion behind the shields. He feebly reached towards his weapon, only to find himself clutching his stomach and coughing. A light gray pony burst out from behind the shields, wearing saddlebags with big red crosses on them and a matching hat, and galloped right towards him. The pain from Flint's wounds overwhelmed his rational thoughts as to how this parallel to his own world could be, and he didn't have time to laugh as the new pony pushed the first one out of the way.
Frantically, Flint reached into his front shirt pocket, pulling out his command card and a few folded papers. The new pony slowed its approach, calling out to its friends, causing the shield wall to fall and more ponies to scramble into and out of the ship. Flint grabbed the pony the instant it got into range, and shoved the items in his hand into the pony’s hoof.
"Take these, give them to Cassie, or any other survivors you’ve found," Flint instructed. He jerked as he felt a sharp pinch in his arm, and his eyelids grew heavy before he could even make a token protest.
------------------------------
Lucky Clover pulled the needle from the sedated creature’s arm, and tossed it to the side before removing the bloody hand that still gripped his light grey coat.
"Gunny, lay him down gently," Lucky said, pulling things from his medical saddlebag.
Finding his scissors, Lucky started cutting the red-stained garment open. He turned his head and loudly blew through his nose once he carefully pulled the clothing back. Jewel Joy gagged in the background, averting her eyes from the jagged wound across the creature's abdomen.
"Get the First Lieutenant here now, and prepare the wagon for an immediate evac!" Lucky shouted to the ponies still near the entrance.
Pulling out some sterile cloth and dampening it with some alcohol, Lucky began trying to clean some of the dried blood off to see the full extent of the wound. The creature had obviously done some sort of self-care, as there was an unidentifiable gel substance in and around the wound. Some of the substance wiped away, but Lucky left the stuff that did not, since it appeared to be what was preventing most of the bleeding.
He had just finished, and was preparing to wrap the creature's stomach with clean bandages for the trip when Rook skidded to a halt next to him.
"Sir, the creature is in need of immediate transport. I should have him ready in a few minutes," Lucky reported.
Rook looked at the wound, and his muzzle scrunched up. "That's definitely from griffon talons, confirming our suspicion. Probably why he attacked. At least nopony was badly injured, just one that’ll have a headache and a few bruises from the fall."
"Yes, I know sir. Gunny, help lift him up a little so I can get this bandage around him. Oh, and sir, he shoved that stuff next to me into my hoof before I sedated him. He said something too, but I have no idea what it was, and I don't think I can recall how it sounded," Lucky said, not stopping his treatment.
Rook picked up the few pieces of paper and a rectangular object. The paper seemed to be obvious notes, maybe even a final letter, if the creature's culture was anything like theirs. He held the card out, looking between it and the creature on the ground. His lips curled up on his muzzle, recognizing it as some type of identification card.
"Ohh, they are just going to love this back at command," Rook said, pulling a small sack from his saddlebag. Dropping the items in, he sealed it and wrote the relevant information on the outside.
Leaving the medic and Jewel to finish preparing the creature for transport, Rook moved back to inspect the shield that had been damaged. After talking with the shield carriers, they had determined that the Dragonfire Armor was partially effective against the weapon, though the one mode he had been briefed about at that officers’ meeting still overpowered the enchantments. He added that to his mental list of things to put in the report.
Rook took a moment to take a cursory glance around the room he was in, letting out a soft whistle at the creatures’ construction ability. Other than containers all along the walls, and some scattered around the room, there was the door to the room behind the creature, and one near himself that went towards what he figured was the front of the ship. Rook went over and examined it closely, but he couldn’t figure out how to open it: there wasn’t a handle or any familiar mechanism. The only other thing easily recognizable were the two doors that led outside of the ship: the one he had entered, and another exactly opposite of that. His ears drooped, and he let out a sigh, knowing he didn't have time to keep looking around, or try and figure out how to open the forward door.
Carefully trotting down the slippery ramp, Rook went to see the progress on the wagon-sled. All of the supplies had been dumped out, while bedding to secure the injured creature was being thrown back in, along with foodstuffs, and other needed supplies on the other side for the return trip. Four muscular ponies were already hitched to the wagon-sled, pawing at the ground and ready to go.
Rook double-checked that the return team only had the bare minimum, since the trip would be highly expedited. He began giving orders to the members that would be staying behind. Most went to forming the guarded perimeter, while others started setting up camp. During this time, Jewel and Lucky made their way to the wagon-sled with the creature floating on two shields held aloft by the unicorn’s magic.
Rook left them to finalize departure preparations, and called the pegasus scout down. The slightly pudgy pegasus stallion glided down, kicking up a cloud of snow around him upon landing, and used his wing to salute. Rook passed over a rolled-up scroll.
"Take this directly to the Search and Rescue division. They’ll know what to do. The faster you get there the better. We will need them to meet us on our trip back, since they will be able to take over and get the creature back much quicker," Rook stated.
The pegasus took off, though much slower than the Wonderbolt trainee had. Trotting over to Jewel Joy, Rook gave her final orders, before looking over the evacuation team. Lucky was in the wagon-sled with the bundled-up creature, making sure the IV bag was secured for transport. The four stallions at the front stood ready to go, while one stood at the back, and a mare on each side. Moving next to the stallion in the back with a smile, First Lieutenant Rook Ramparts gave the order to go, and all eight ponies took off across the snowy plains with the muffled thundering of hooves.
For the interested parties: Protocol D: Translations Document
Pre-read and edited by: Admiral Biscuit
Edited by: Level Dasher
You should check out their stories, they have some really good ones.
Thank you Level Dasher for the cover art commission. 
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The blood on the snow was Chuck Berry Red.
Also the new coverart is awesome
7222486 Thanks.. and thanks to Level Dasher for getting it for me. I like artwork for my stuffs.
This is definitely going into my Read Later folder.
Dat coverart doh.
Based on the title, I was frightened that this was a Human in Equestria/'human f*cks X because reasons' fic.
Glad to see I'm wrong!
Commence Reading.
Nice surprise before bed. Looking forward to more.
7222517 You're quite welcome, m'dear.
As an art lover myself, I figured you'd like one as a birthday gift (given how long ago your birthday was, and that you decided to wait to post the new cover with the new chapter 
).
7222610 not once reading this story did protocol d ever mean that in my head. It now does thanks alot
Glad to see you're still writing this. Keep up the good writing!
Nice to see this alive and kicking!
The plot thickens! Will Cassie finally have some human company? What will the Griffons do with their prisoner (come on, it's quite obvious)? Will ink blotch find out that dreams don't depend on language? Will we find at least one of those out in less than a month? I don't know, but would dearly like so!
Another great one.:D
I feel left out
Yay finally to see what happen to are brothers. I hope at least a few of them are still alive.
It always throws me off, when you switch the cypher in the middle of a sentence – but that just makes it more of a challenge.
And now we have confirmation that Gryphons are more than willing to break laws and treaties as well as assault, kidnap, and possibly murder just because they can. I am feeling more and more like there should be a building body count in this story. I am so pissed right now, I could strangle those assholes.
YUS!! An Update!
*Reads*
Damnit, that Chapter went too fast! MOAR!
Finally some potential human-human contact! Unless #ErrybuddyDie and Cassie is left all alone in Horsie-Land...
Don't you dare... -.-
Good to see it lives!
Well, shit just got real...
7223755
Good thing Beef is there to do it for you. The lineage on his horn cap had me laughing however. The puns... the puns!
6053937
This is the sort of thing that makes me glad I read comments ahead before stopping, because it sounds like even more senselessly forced drama.
Also, no. The investigation still happens, but courts drop charges based on sufficient evidence all the time because they have better things to do than prosecute and traumatize a known innocent. Law enforcement is quite capable of investigating an incident on the presumption that nobody is necessarily at fault. There are precisely two cases where the scenario you're describing happens, and I doubt Celestia or Twilight would have much patience for either:
a) The prosecution accepts conclusive exculpatory evidence then wastes public money, the court's time, and the defendant's sanity (in this case already a precious limited resource) continuing prosecution out of spite.
b) The prosecution suppresses conclusive exculpatory evidence and attempts to get a known innocent sentenced.
Granted, both of those things happen in real life because of perverse incentives in prosecution. But again, you have a pony princess with a personal investment in the case and legal authority to intervene, and two more who had better have taken notice of legal proceedings involving a space alien by now.
More!
Were the griffons the ones that payed off that corpral to distribute those wanted posters?
7225983 Well, MLP does like its puns.
Other ideas I had were:
son of Beef Tenderloin, house of Sirloin
son of Chateaubraind, house of Tenderloin
But I didn't like the way the sounded.
7222545
. I hope you like it when you get around to it. 
7222610 I'm with 7222756 on this one. That never once popped in my head. Gald you saw it was not about that, though.
7222664 Hope you didn't stay up to late to read it.
7224691 7222825 7222830 Yuppers, I am just slow on writing is all.
You will have to wait and see. I have no idea what you are talking about.
There is a reason Princess
Ink SplotchLuna has not been in her dreams, it was partly hinted at in chapter 12. As for the month before the next update. Sorry, but I highly doubt that. I get distracted, along with playing videogames and stuff. Plus I am writing something else first, a special side story, before I work on chapter 15. I hope think it will be a nice surprise.7224372 7227703 More will be coming, eventually.
7222861 Thanks.
7223578 Lol, sorry. I don't like just one, some of the words look worse. But, I do have the translations document link at the bottom of the chapters if you really want to know what is being said.
7227714 You will have to wait and see.
7223086 How come? Didn't you get the notification from Google? I figured you were just busy.
7223755
If that's how you feel about the griffons, then I am doing something right and Mission Accomplished.
7228319
I don't sleep like a normal person.
7226885 I kinda meant the video popping up while in the middle of a trial, not before it even starts.
Plus, there is a driving force behind the charges being levied in the first place, which has sort of been hinted at a few times. Especially in chapter 9, where Celestia flat out says what's driving it. Along with the reasons why its being allowed to continue at this time.
Plus a while back 5292109 had a great comment to which I also replied (5292497)
Overall as I have said before, I am not a professional writer, or even close. I do the best I can, and sometimes my best does not come across properly. But that's ok, I still enjoy what I do and not everyone needs to like it.
7228319 No I didn't, actually
And yes, I was actually really busy, and will be for about 8 more days. Hopefully after that, though
7229003
You should ask; would humans behave any differently?
Depending on where ponies landed, they could have been shot on sight as devil's abominations or welcomed as visitors from another world. I can see more than a few shady groups (looking at you North Korea) wanting to steal a pony to see if they can "extract" that magic/technology for their own use seeing as how no equivalent exists here on Earth.
Sorry that I missed a few. I didn't think a they really needed a reply based on what they were about.
6495122 Discord is in a stone statue. I have no current plans to change that. Technically his little punishment for a few weeks is probably over, but I figured he screwed up again so is back in stone for a few more months or something. Or he is hanging out in his personal dimension. Either way, I have no plans of him to be around.
6834417 You will have to wait and see.
7229003 Lol, I do, I just skipped/missed a few is all.
Anyways, declare over what? Their space ships crashing onto someone else's planet, doing who knows what in the process. I mean they could have taken out some sacred tree or landed in protected fragile ecosystem killing off the last of a endangered species. Or the treatment of Cassie? Which has been shown that that its mostly positive, and the government employees who did do bad stuff are being investigated, with at least 2 already arrested? Plus, its just one person, You don't go to war over one person. Get pissed... sure, send an entire fleet of ships, not so much.
Any other questions... that is not asking for possible spoilers... feel free to ask.
7228329 Well I don't know that it will help, but here is what I was feeling from this past chapter:
1. Burning anger toward the Gryphons for their misdeeds
2. Extreme sympathy for the poor guy who got all clawed up by the Gryphons (he probably won't last long if he's coughing up blood)
3. Very grateful that the Ponies seem to have pulled their heads out of their collective asses and actually helped a Human instead of intentionally traumatizing him.
4. EXTREME eagerness about the resolution of what the Gryphons had in their wagons (and hopefully a LOT of VERY harsh retribution for their crimes)
5. Satisfaction that the wait for this chapter has been worth it and evoked a strong emotional response.
6. Curiosity about what the Ponies have been doing at our girl's crash site (hopefully not having dug up the dead bodies to study)
7. Waiting on the other guards who aided in absolutely destroying our girl's eyesight to get what they deserve.
8. On pins and needles about how Cassie will react to seeing Twilight and the others again (probably with righteous anger)
9. Hoping that poor Cassie gets some SERIOUS payback for the many, MANY crimes against her person.
10. Enjoyment of a story that makes me feel THIS MUCH.
Hopefully one or more of these will help you as an author. Feel free to read my own works if you are so inclined (if not then I won't think any less of you).
7229590 I do have a question. Well we see Twilight & Shining Armor again?
7231351 Yuppers.
Beefs family name sounds delicious.
7231582 Are we going to see more updates sooner now for the story? It use to be for a while to wait for an update
7235227 Sorry I am a slow writer... plus I get distracted easy, and spend to much time in videogames. So, it means chapters finish slowly. Though I do hope to at least make it a little sooner. Won't promise that, though. Dino's need taming and stuffs.
7235429 I can understand that, there so many great games coming out. I just finished Uncharted 4! It was really good
What kind of games you play?
7236159 To many games. I really like Skyrim, especialy the modding part of it, but need to reinstall it after I screwed up while working on making a mod compilation of armors and deleted the mesh folder. Star Trek Online is my off (currently) and on mmo I play. I recently got into ARK: Survival Evolved... but my computer barely can run it, still fun though. Several other games too, most are either single player rpg's or mmos.
The last time I read this, cassie had been given over to padlocks custody, and they were both sent off to ponyville. Celestia knew the entire truth of cassies traumatic treatment in the jail, and gave cassie a sincere apology for her terrible treatment. Cassie was now living in ponyville with padlock so she could learn the language and how to live among ponies. What happened to that chapter ?
7239589 Uhh, there is no missing chapter. I believe you are thinking of parts of chapter 9 where Celestia laid out the plan to Padlock... not Cassie. At this time its only her third day since she was removed from the jail and put into the temporary guest quarters, still at the castle.
Gotta say, I'm liking that Beef's character so very much. He took that douchebag's crap like a boss, then put him down like one when the jerk started messing with the poor mare. I definitely enjoyed that scene.
On another note, at least Cassie won't be alone now...at least, hopefully. Here's hoping the poor guy will pull through and those who put him through heck get their butts whoop hard.
Nice cover art, by the way. Good job on it, Level Dasher.
C&C:
Once we get out of sight we can send you up ahead to the rail station," she said, nodding to the pegasus guard.
> Comma after ‘sight’.
7241953 Glad you like him and that part. That section was fun to work on.
As for Flint, you will have to wait for future installments to find out.
Thanks for the suggestion on the comma, but I am going to have to say, nah. There is no pause in what she's saying so I'm pulling its dialog card out.
Twilight can be disappointed in me all she wants.
I'm certain, there was another chapter where padlock and cassie had already moved to ponyville and were getting started on cassies' education. Twilight was so happy to see cassie again. The end of the chapter had cassie wondering what protocol D was. It was like shed been given an unknown directive.
7258608 I can 1000% guarantee that is not a chapter that had been written. The only time Cassie has been in Ponyville is when she was in the hospital, and then ran from it back in chapter 4 and 5.
I think you are getting chapter 8 ( with her thinking of what Protocol D might be a little) and chapter 9 (the plan Celestia laid out to Padlock) confused as stuff that's actually happened. As mentioned in chapter 9 Cassie and Padlock will be going back to Ponyville, once Celestia has things ready.
But no 1000000000% sure that what you are thinking is not a missing chapter or something removed. The only changes happened in the R1 stuff, which was minor and mostly editing cleaning up stuff. It did not require a re-read as it was mostly just cleaning up the issue of the ponies thoughts on Cassie's initial sapience, and mentioned in a blog.
It is a directive and she has absolutely no idea what it means, she only saw it on a computer screen right before her capture by the guards. She will have to figure that out when she gets the opportunity, as her crashed ship is no where near Canterlot Castle... and she kinda can't leave there by walking out the gate, and would have no idea where to go from there.
I guess you're right. maybe it's the way I'm remembering it. It has been about a year since the last time I read the story. I am rather frustrated by the number of incomplete stories that have been on hiatus for a few years now. There are so many awesome stories out there, that make you wonder if they're ever going to be completed. AAARRRGGHH !!!!!
7272254
That is very true. Lots of great unfinished stories like that unfortunately.
I just write slow, reallllllly slow.
This story is awesome!!! I hope they stop those griphons before they escape.
7307144 Thank you. I am gald you like it.
7307325
Very good story!
Now, when next update?