Chapter 7
Commander Grass Shade was having a problem.
The monotone voice of a stallion read aloud, “Logistics report that their last unit has moved into their floor, but it will be several more hours before services will be up and running. Additional personnel are expected to arrive later this week from the academy for the departments there, but until then, sections report that they will be able to perform operations. The floorheads of each department has filed their-”
Grass Shade flicked through the various papers in front of him, a pile of folders and clipped documents larger than the pancakes his stomach longed for. As the reporting officer continued his report, Grass Shade hesitantly flipped deeper into his stacked folders, catching the headlines of more meetings on his day’s schedule.
The voice continued, ”-but medical also states that it’ll be another day before equipment will be up and running. As for communications, the gem mirror is aligned and active to the Canterlot branch.” The stallion lifted his eyes and looked across the table. “Iron Shield, what’s the troop report?”
Grass Shade, who sat at the head of the large rectangular conference table, slowly moved his eyes from the six ponies sitting on his right, to the nine ponies sitting on his left. A mare stood up from the left side, a unicorn sporting the newly appointed administrative officer’s uniform that every other pony in the room wore; a white stitched cloth vest that bore the royal insignia upon its chest, as well as a frilled line of dark blue following down the shoulder seams.
“Yes, Captain Windfall,” she replied before she carefully restacked her pile of papers, cleared her throat, and began her briefing. “Squads One through Three report a high turn out for volunteer programs. They’ll be running their evacuation drills for the city’s eastern half of the populace for the remainder of the week before shifting to their roles into Phase Two. As for squads Four through Nine, they-”
Grass Shade’s eyes trailed away as the room filled with the cadence of her voice.
I just had to do it, didn’t I?
“-with 14th ave fortified, downtown guard stations have been reporting-”
Full authority of Equestria’s Eastern forces, huh? Not to mention war time powers over Manehattan and its neighbors, along with ten thousand guards positioned throughout the area. Yup, ‘Eastern Commander’ sure does have a lot of perks. A once in a lifetime promotion. Everything a guard could ever ask for.
“-with the remainder of the air ship crews beginning construction for the hanger modifications. The field managers each report that-”
And I just had to go and accept it. The thought tugged at his stomach like a bad meal, or as his stomach reminded him, a missed breakfast.
Grass Shade turned his attention to the doors, which sat directly opposite of him and the expansive table. The crystalline and transparent doors were opaque enough to blur details, but it was clear to see the flurry of silhouettes on the other end where everypony was in a commotion of work establishing themselves and their departments within the luxurious building. But, as Grass Shade learned from the buildings other rooms, the magic ingrained within the doors made sure not a peep of noise could be heard within the closed room.
Now I got myself the fanciest office I’ve ever seen. Even the Canterlot academy wasn’t this extravagant. I guess a ‘royal donation’ isn’t so bad of a punishment for that noble. Hell, this conference table is gold trimmed, and the seats might even be enchanted given the soft feel on my rear despite how long I’ve been sitting here. And the window is the size of an entire wall with a view to die for. Yep, everything seems perfect for my military career, except...
Looking to the other officers in the room that listened with him, he saw their glazed expressions looking towards and past him to the large window that sat behind his chair; the glimmer of sunlight reflecting in their eyes as they too withstood the verbal barrage in stoic silence. Instead of the decorative walls and tinted glass doors that Commander Grass Shade was forced to see from his sitting position while facing the briefers, all the other members instead looked out across the expansive and beautiful skyline that was Manhattan and the vast glimmering ocean sprawling beyond it.
Grass Shade bitterly looked at his fellow officers weary but blissful eyes, jealous at having to stay dutifully facing forward during the briefing from his position with nothing but the overtly designed interior in front of him. Why in Celestia is it built like this!?
“-concluding the field reports for all ground sectors.” Setting her briefing folder aside, the speaker grabbed the next one, and cleared her voice for another session. “Placed and ready, our aerial divisions report that-”
A sparkle of magic flashed into the room, causing all eyes to turn to the pout of green fire that erupted into existence above the conference table, where from its flame fell a letter. By its seal, each pony saw that it was written by Princess Twilight Sparkle.
Grass Shade let out a ‘tsk’ as he leaned forward and used his magic to retrieve the letter. “I thought this room was supposed to be secured.”
“It is, sir,” a stallion on the left began. “But as we’ll cover in this afternoon’s briefing, Princess Twilight prepared a communication system for each Cardinal Commander, something that should be able to reach them as the slide will quote, ‘no matter where they are’, sir.”
Grass Shade sighed at that, and opened the letter. A minute passed as he read and reread its contents. He then sat it down, and lit it on fire with a spell.
“Commander?” another pony asked.
“Priority Mission, lieutenant.” Grass Shade proclaimed with a firm tone. “It’s coded plaid.”
Each pony stiffened at the implication of Discord, and Grass Shade seized that moment to stand from his seat and quickly make his way to the door. “The Princess has asked for something important to be done, and I must see to it with the best of my ability.”
The closest to him turned on his swirly chair. “Oh, right now, Sir?”
“Yes,” Grass Shade said, grabbing the door’s handle. Opening it, he let loose the cacophony that was the hallway. Guards, secretaries, and contractors alike were running around, setting up tables and stations, organizing information, and managing the chaotic logistics of the whole thing. By the sound of a shrill ringing that could be heard over any noise, it sounded as though the crystal communications had gone awry again.
“Also,” Grass Shade shouted so that his conference team could hear him. “I’ll likely be away from the city for a few days, but do prepare a transport for an afternoon departure to my beacon. As for the rest of the schedule, handle the rest for me, please. Do your best!”
And with that he closed the door, and the room became deathly quiet.
“Did… Did he just do that?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Magic flashed in the grassy field where Grass Shade appeared while heaving in exhaustion. He shakily brought a hoof to wipe the sweat from his brow, and looked back to the city only a mile away. The magical exhaustion of five teleportation spells had completely drained him, but nonetheless, he was smiling from ear to ear.
Looking around him, he saw a much more fitting environment than his highly furnished headquarters. Here, he was surrounded by a grassy field speckled with daisies with the woodland and beach only a short trot away. Looking to the south, he saw Manehatten's still towering despite a mile's distance. Letting his eyes trail left, his gaze followed the city's skyline until it meet with the ocean, and he smiled as his head turned eastward. He soaked into the vast, glimmering view that was the ocean. And with his smile widening further, he spun the rest of his body around so that he faced north, and he saw a thick growth of forest of various pine trees; their limbs and needles encrusted by years sea-salted winds.
Although Manehattan’s noise pollution from behind could still be heard even from here, the field was much more pleasant and the cool shaded woods invited him even more so.
“Ahh,” Grass Shade sighed as slowly trotted north, taking in the view with each and every slow step.
I’ll admit this, Twily, he thought smugly. You have a dense but thorough tagging system.
While he could recite more than a dozen regulations that result in a punishment for his AWOL behavior, no rule could withstand the plaid code. The details of its own rules had been among the few things he had managed to memorize since his initial briefings yesterday. Still, if Discord himself went out of his way to visit each drake personally, it only stands to reason that I should meet one myself while I have the opportunity.
Upon reflection, he still deemed it a well enough rationale for why he was about to go on a three hour walk through a wooded eastern coast.
Grass Shade smiled at himself at this thought, and as he began to enter the woods, his horn lit with magic. With a whisk of his head, the casted spell burned its circular mark into the grass behind him, leaving only a thin bare line of dirt in the aftermath as the magic settled.
With the signalling spell prepared containing a short coded message, along with a delaying component of his own hoofwork woven into the spellcraft, he blissfully left the city behind him, vanishing into the woods where the sounds of nature and the distant ocean shores where all that constantly spoke to him, along with the soft rumble of his stomach, and the twinkling of spell casting every hundred paces.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With only a few hours of daylight left, a weary and starved Grass Shade finally came upon the signs of another pony. Here were the woodline receded some was a short but spacious beach large enough to fit two wagons lengthwise. Grass Shade’s eyes trailed up the sharply sloping beach and to the jutting cliff direction behind it that extended into the ocean, the start of but one rocky formation of stone spires that continued some miles further up the coast if his memory recalled correctly from third briefing from today. He sighed at the prospect of climbing around those spires, and made a mental note to visit another day, one where he had a full meal to begin with.
He looked left, following the path of the cliff that sloped downwards, it’s path meeting with the beach together at the woodline where a pony’s home stood, and a lovely one at that Grass Shade felt with a twinge of envy.
On the surface, it was nothing more than a shack facing the coast, made with old beach wood and a wrapped hay. There was no door, just a large space for entry for the single room the building was, and rectangular space serving what was presumably a window decorated by hanging shells. The roof extended out from the door, creating a shady area for the hammack that swayed gently with the ocean breeze, just above the spot where the sandy beach met with the grassy ground. Around the house were stacked crates and barrels, with some extending out from beneath the covered balcony and behind the shack.
Grass Shade stepped out from the forest foliage and traversed the edge of the beach, keeping an eye to the forest. So far he could see no hoof prints indicating a presence, but it was when he came to the first claypot that he finally did see the path furrowed into the beach sand, a worn path that came up from the ocean and to the house. By the lack of grass, he saw that this path curved around the front of the shack and up the cliff, trodden barren and flat by numerous repetitions over years of trotting. But judging how the lumps of sand by the water had not entirely been deformed from the waves, he concluded at least a recent passing.
Turning this attention to one of the large barrels, he saw that it was full of shells and corals, some still quite wet. He looked to the other containers, noting the separate items each one held. He glanced over the bulk of items, imagining that they would fetch for a price for some stores if sold.
“Ah, a customer!”
Grass Shade turned his head to the voice, and saw galloping up from the beach towards him a turquoise coated mare. Her red fire-colored hair whipped behind her, seemingly dry despite her obvious entrance from the ocean. But most strikingly of all, aside from the hefty seanet bag that she dragged behind her, was the draconic wings she splayed.
Without pause she ran up to the house, swiftly dumped her bag into an awaiting barrel, and then began charging up the cliff. “Please make yourself comfortable as you browse! I’ll be right back!”
With that, she leapt from the top of the cliff, glided out some dozen meters, and then sharply dived into the ocean, piercing the water like an arrow.
Grass Shade blinked at the display before letting out a surprised chuckle. “Don’t need to tell me twice.” Turning about, he went straight for the hammock and settled into it comfortably.
Happily sighing, he kicked his hooves over one another as he began to sway side by side. The sun blazed on the ocean’s horizon, scattering a golden glow across the waters. The ocean breeze blew by, and the roaring of the water rushing back and forth up the beach was the only sound of noise he could make out.
The notion of a career change crossed his mind as the sun’s rays did shorten over the horizon, and the lulling call of a nap sweetly played around his thoughts. But while he gently swung, the sudden presence of mana flickered in his horn, and he let out a ‘tsk’ at the spell’s activation.
Sitting up to look around, Grass Shade blinked at not seeing a sign of the mare. It had been a few minutes since she dove, and he turned a concerned gaze to the beach. Another minute passed, and he began to wonder just how long she could hold her breath, or if perhaps exhaustion had finally caught up from her day’s haul.
It was then that he did see her red mane appear from beneath the waves. With greater speed than he expected, she exploded out from the water and onto the shallow shores. She huffed from the exertion, twisting her head to yank her catch from the waves along with her. Yet as she trotted up the sand, she paused at the water’s edge to drop her load, and she widened her stance.
Inhaling deeply, she huffed her chest, and began to spew fire from her mouth. Turning her head so as to douse herself with the flames, the water evaporated into tufts of steam. The damp mane that had been clinging to her body began to twirl and play about the rising heat and water vapors, blending in with the fire in a danciful manner.
With lingering steam on parts of her body, she flicked her dry, trailing red mane, and grabbed a hold of her bag with her maw. Despite her continued huffing from exertion, she wore a wide smile on her face nonetheless as she hauled her catch up the beach; a larger one than the previous haul, Grass Shade noted.
After dragging the haul behind the shack for later sorting, the mare let out a laborious sigh, and then turned to Grass Shade with a weary smile.
“So, see anything you like?” she said while she gave him a once over, noting how nicely made his uniform was before her eyes trailed for the signs of a coin pouch. “My ocean treasures are one of a kind, and today’s hunt was one of my best!”
Grass Shade eyed the items around them, as well as her draconic wings and the poke of a fang in her smile.
“Don’t mind this,” she quickly said, noting where his gaze traveled. She smiled as she motioned to her tucked wings. “These are just part of a spell a friend of mine casted on me, a unicorn from Manehattan. You see, usually I’m a pegasus, but the scales really help with my business.” With a wink, she brought a hoof to her chin. “Can I trust you to keep my business secret to yourself? I’ll give you a discount for being a loyal customer!”
Grass Shade smirked, then rolled out of the hammock and stood before her. “Hello, I’m Commander Grass Shade. Sea Drop, by the order of the Princess Twilight, you are to be brought to Ponyville.”
“Eh?” Sea Drop replied, her sales pitch smile still plastered.
“Whew,” Grass Shade, wiping his brow as if he had just completed work as laborious as hers. “Now that that’s been said, I’ve been looking at this bit of corral here. It’s a rather nice color, it might just go good on my desk. You see, there's just too much Golden Oak for my taste, and-”
“Wait… What!?” Sea Drop finally exclaimed. All signs of a sale had vanished at the bombshell of a pitifully short message.
“This one right here, the green one. You see, nearly none of my offices has a window and the ones that do are in terrible places. Can’t even enjoy the view while I work. So I figure if I focus on decor then maybe-”
“Commander? P-Princess Twilight? Me!?” Sea Drop nearly shouted. With woozy steps, she wandered over to the hammock and plopped herself down. Her eyes were wide with disbelief as she stared up at the thatched roof. “I must be dreaming! There’s no way this is happening, but it is! Can my life get any better!?” Squeezing her eyes shut as she squealed to herself, she threw out her hooves and wings, causing the hammock to rock back and forth. “Being a drake is awesome!”
“You say that,” Grass Shade said, inspecting various greens of coral. “But do you even know what a drake is?”
“Sure,” Sea Drop said, rising up to sit within the hammock. “I’m going to become a dragon! Isn’t that exciting? Can you imagine, me? A dragon? I mean, it’s not my first pick if I could choose, but a dragon!? I can’t believe it!”
“And the pony that told you all that, that didn’t happen to be a red fellow called Gale, was it?”
Sea Drop blinked, then began to snicker to herself. When Grass Shade turned to look at her she brought up her hooves. “I’m sorry, sorry,” she said between her laughs. “It’s just… a week ago my life was pretty different. And now I’m so popular that Princesses want to meet me and the Guard are apparently already spying on me. What don’t you guys know? And what in Equestria is going to happen next?”
“Funny you should ask,” Grass Shade said, and he turned to Manehattan’s direction while he mentally counted down the last second in his head. When nothing first appeared, he let out a ‘tsk’ in the response time, but his disappointment was short lived.
A noise began to overcome the crashing of waves, a whirring of machinery and magic that twirled the air with a static hum. With the sky already darkening, the spot lights could be seen more clearly as they passed over the treetops before they swiveled out and panned over the beach.
Sea Drop lept from the hammock and ran out onto the beach. With an open mouth and wide eyes, she watched as a guard air ship broke over the tree trops and begin to descend. It’s wooden underbelly and envelope were colored white while its metal framing and numerous metal panels were a dark blue. The second deck that began at the center of the ship and trailed back out to the end was entirely plated and attached to its port and starboard by a length of rod a pony's width was a large metallic spheres; each the size of a wagon and humming with the crackle of trickling electricity and mana crackling licking over its edges.
With more dexterity than Sea Drop had ever seen from the airships while on delivery trips to the city, it strafed out over the ocean all while keeping its prow pointed at the beach.
It’s wooden hull groaned as it swished the air above the waves, and the water surface rippled directly beneath the metal spheres as it came to a slow hover in its approach to the beach, stopping itself when it came to only two pony’s height from the sand and waves. The sound of metal unlatching could be heard, and a rampart beneath the front hull began to descend, accompanied by the ringing of chains in motion. When edge of the ramp thudded into the sand just past the waters edge, a formation of a dozen guard exited onto the beach from the ships interior.
Grass Shade stepped forward and waved the guard against them from coming up the beach further, and so they dispersed to an open formation around the rampart entrance. Rubbing a hoof behind his forehead, Grass Shade turned to Sea Drop. “Look, I know all of this is sudden and that your life is a rollercoaster right now, but if you could accompany me to Ponyville, it’d make the paperwork much-”
Sea Drop was already running past him, and by the time he blinked in recognition of the matter and turned around, she was already galloping up the ramp.
Bursting into the new space, Sea Drop looked all around herself with searching eyes. The bay of the ship nearly made up the entire deck, and the dozen Guard pony she found awaiting in reserve directly in front of her eyed her in return curiously.
“Wow,” Sea Drop said as she walked about. There were rows of crates lining the walls of the deck, with spaces between every group of boxes where cannons sat tied and waiting, ready to poke out from their ports for any external threat. Above the bay was rows of pipes glyphed with magical seals, their grooved metallic lengths trailing from the ceiling, down the walls, and into metallic grates that seat beneath each cannon.
The clamour of the landing party coming back up the rampart could be heard, and the deck rang as all hooves snapped to attention. “Commander on deck!”
“At ease,” Grass Shade said while motioning with his hoof. His eyes were nearly closed as he looked about warily. “Inform the Captain to make course for Ponyville, I want us there by tomorrow morning. Take your posts, we’re escorting a very important guest.”
“Aye!” ponies shouted in return before bustling out from formation and to their assigned activities.
Sea Drop eagerly looked about the scene, unable to help herself but smile in curiosity as ponies took to their stations. Much of the guard equipment was hastily exchanged for an airborne outfit, ones that donned a purple diamond etched into the back of the garment; its shape being slightly raised from the rest of the fabric as though it were filled.
One pony spoke into a metallic cone, and as soon as he relayed his message did the ship come alive again with the sound of magic and machinery. The low hum that was the spheres hardly penetrated the interior of the vessel, barely audible beneath the noise of ponies and resulting of equipment unless one kept a keen ear listening.
“This way,” Grass Shade said while he passed her, looking quite tired as he navigated the busy deck towards the stairwell at the center of the bay.
Following along, Sea Drop climbed up three deck levels, taking note of what she could during their passage. While much of the ship’s interior was wooden, it’s tighter than normal hallways had metallic plates for flooring, each with an indented latch at the edges for a hoof to grasp and lift. Each deck also appeared to be stationed by more than one pony, some of which were patrolling guards while others carried maintenance tools within their cargo packs.
Sea Drop and Grass Shade exited into a much quieter deck where the low hum of the spheres were more present. Without pause Grass Shade opened the door to a room marked ‘Captain’s Quarters’, and promptly made his way to the comfortable looking armed chair that sat behind the desk. “Have a seat,” he said while motioning to the wooden peg leg chair on the other end of him.
Sea Drop sat while she took in the room and its various knick-knacks that adorned a shelf running along the walls; military awards, glasses, bottles containing various things.
“Is this your room?”
“No, it’s Captain Peach Tree’s, but I’m sure she won’t mind our use of it while she commands the ship.” His eyes trailed over the plate of fresh food that sat on the desk beside him, no doubt recently delivered by chef for the captain's afternoon meal.
Grass Shade's stomach grumbled with vengeance at still not being fed yet.
“Nor would she mind letting a fellow officer sate his hunger in dire times,” he said while sliding the plate towards him. “But first,” Grass Shade rested his chin onto his propped up hooves over the plate, almost in a protective manner. “If you wouldn’t mind, there are a few questions I’d like to ask you.”
“Sure, as long as I can ask some in return.”
“It doesn’t work like that, but sure, why not.” Grass Shade nonchalantly leaned back in his chair and took on a more comfortable and slouched position. His eyes trailed from Sea Drop and the plate of tasty greens. “What do you want to know?”
“Well… What does Princess Twilight want with me?”
“Don’t know,” Grass Shade said idly, eyeing the wonderful sight of a juicy red tomato hiding between two pieces of iceberg lettuce.
“Oh, well,” Sea Drop said as she leaned forward in her seat with a toothy grin. “What about the other drakes? What are they like? Gale mentioned that there were others like me.”
“Not sure, never met them.” By the glaze of the peppermint dressing and the spices within the sauce, his mouth began to salivate more as his stomach demanded attention.
Her smile fell. “Oh, I see.”
“...”
Some moments passed, giving ample audible space to the white static hum of magic and machinery, and the rumbling of a stomach that vied to match the noise.
“Are all commanders like this?” Sea Drop asked sardonically.
“Like what?”
“So quick to put off their work?”
“Ah, I should probably do some.” The stomach rumbling ceased, and he propped his chin back onto his hooves. “What was your conversation with Gale about?”
“Not sure, don’t remember,” Sea Drop replied sarcastically, pursing her lips as she idly inspected a nearby ship within a bottle. After a pause she eyed him for a sign of reaction in her mimicry behavior, or at least expecting him to be entirely focused on the food. But he continued on momentarily.
“Second question, you talked to an entity known as Discord, correct?”
Sea Drop flashed brief look of surprise. “Yeah, that’s right. I don’t think I could ever forget him.”
“Did he say anything that seemed important? Or more importantly, anything that seemed irrelevant?”
Sea Drop raised an eyebrow at the question, but otherwise gave the matter some thought. After a moment, she said, “He didn’t make much sense, but after congratulating me on becoming a drake he seemed really interested in my hobby.”
“That being?”
“Treasure hunting,” Sea Drop replied with a smile.
“Okay, that’ll be all. You’ll find a guard outside this room who will escort you to your guest cabin and for the remainder of your stay on this ship. The mess is on the second deck, and anything else you need will tried to be accommodated for. ”
Letting out a heavy sigh, Grass Shade slumped back into the chair and let his arms hang carelessly at its sides. He rolled his head back as he reclined the back end of the chair, dipping himself until his vision was simply the ceiling and the underside of the knick-knack shelf.
“Wait, that’s it?” Sea Drop asked incredulously.
“That’s it,” he replied. He then raised a hoof before she could speak further, not even lifting his head to look at her. “Trust me, you’re gonna want to save your energy. You’ll have all the time in the world for questions soon enough. Princess Twilight will assure to that, you have my guarantee.”
With a sudden yawn of tiredness, and with the return of an angry stomach, Grass Shade rested his eyes while magically dragging the plate towards him. “I suggest you get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for you.”
Sea Drop raised an eyebrow as she left her chair and made her way to the door. “You’re sure you’re a commander or whatever, right?”
Grass Shade’s horned flared for but a moment. “Eastern Commander,” he corrected while a piece of lettuce floated itself off the plate and into his awaiting mouth. His stomach gurgled more audibly at the first crunch.
When it was clear that he wasn’t going to say another word between the floating salad train that steadily departed from the plate, Sea Drop shook her head and exited herself into the hallway, where she found a unicorn guard waiting for her.
“Is he always like this?” she asked.
“I don’t know, he’s new.” the mare replied. “Anyways, follow me. I’ll escort you to your cabin.”
“Does it have a good view?” Sea Drop asked as she fell behind the mare.
“Eh, better than most rooms. But I’m partial to the stern views.”
The two of them disappeared behind a corner, and the corridor fell into a gentle hum once more. That is, until the soon to be heard clops of an angry mare pegasus coming the opposite end; her hoof stamps causing the metal plates to shudder beneath her. She deftly threw open the Captain’s Quarters door and growled, “Grass Shade.”
“That’s Commander Grass Shade,” he replied without opening his eyes, seemingly quite happy being kicked back in the chair as the remnants of her dinner choo-choo-trained itself into his mouth.
The mare promptly stomped towards the chair, rounding the desk with a practiced swiftness.
“Actually, we should remain as formal as possible, so Eastern Commander Grass Shade will do nicely I thi-WAGH!”
A swift kick at the chair legs sent it and Grass Shade completely sideways, with a near instantaneous blow directly into his gut following his airborne momentum, sending him to the edge of the room.
“Grass Shade!” the mare shouted this time while standing over his wheezing form. Beneath her auburn hair and peach coat, her purple eyes held a stern yet maddening gaze.
“P...Puh.. Peach Tree.. Nice to.. See you too… ow…"
"Cut the crap, Grass," she said, following it up with a smack of her hoof against his whimpering legs. "And it's Captain Peach Tree. I could dam well take you in right now for going AWOL from your HQ, even if it was a code plaid emergency."
"It… wouldn't hold...," Grass Shade wheezed. He painfully turned away from her while still curtled on the floor. "Speaking… of which… I could court martial… you right now."
"So why did you bring her aboard?" Peach Tree quickly replied, with only a slight drop in her tonal hostility. “The Weatherlight has better things to do than errand runs.”
“In this case... she’s a pretty important errand,” Grass Shade replied, rubbing his sore spot while his stomach gurgled at being upset during digestion. With little effort, Grass Shade found a comfortable spot on the floorboards, propping his head up with a hoof as he began to doze off his meal. “The briefing hasn’t made it to the lower ranks yet, but to give you a cliff note the Drakes are going to be sticking around longer than any of us. Given the circumstances, I thought it’d be best to meet one for myself, all while delivering her in only the finest military vessel Equestria’s armed forces has to offer.”
“Don’t butter me up,” Peach Tree barked, and she righted her chair before plopping down and kicking her hooves up onto her desk. “So then? What’s your impression?”
“Well, if the others are anything like her, they’re gonna have more stamina than you’d think and water isn’t going to slow them down.”
“Anything else?”
“You’ll get the rest in your report. No doubt a follow up report will make its appearance within the week.”
“I’m talking about the girl.”
“Ah, hard to say.” Grass Shade scratched his rear while he reminisced the gentle hammock and the sound of the ocean. “Records office showed her as a registered merchant delivering goods every few months, and those paper trails shows that she's been doing it ever since she was young. After trekking a few hours I found her home, and the best word I could describe it is ‘oasis’.”
“So devoid of any pony life?”
“You got it.”
Peach Tree huffed at that. “Must have been pretty rustic and bare bones for you to have liked it. So if I understand right, you abandoned your post all so you could have a nature walk while having a bit of R&R on an isolated beach?” She turned her glare towards him. “Remind me again why you were appointed Eastern Commander.”
“Princess Twilight Sparkle deemed me worthy enough for the position.” Grass Shade’s brow furrowed slightly as he stared at the wall, feeling the daggers piercing his back. “Had I’d known Shiny’s little sister was going to become a Princess someday, let alone a vampony, I would have stayed farther away from her. Maybe then my retirement plan would have gone without a hitch.”
“Can’t say I agree with her pick, but at least it got you out of that dam archives office.”
“Please don’t remind me,” Grass Shade replied, sighing seconds later as one would remember a fond lover. “After years of fighting for the position, I finally got myself set for the rest of my career... and then I just had to get promoted.”
“And how are things going?” Peach Tree asked, all note of her earlier ire gone from her otherwise stern tone.
Grass Shade was slow to respond at first. “Truth be told, as well as they can be. Whether or not all the new recruits will hold up… Well, I suppose it’s up to you and me to make sure every pony keeps their chins up.”
She let out a ‘tsk’ in response. “Bad enough that you can’t give me a straight answer, eh?”
“Bad enough in that there is no answer. I can’t say much aside from that these Shepherds aren’t pleasant business.”
“You don’t need to remind me,” she replied testily.
“I feel like I do, because the one we’re dealing with is going to be hard to handle. Scratch that, probably impossible to handle given the descriptions. By Celestia and Luna’s personal accounts of him, I’m rather glad he’s outside of Equestria right now.”
“Only for a matter of time, I’m guessing?” Peach Tree asked.
“Until we hear what his business is about or what the Princess’s want to do about it, we’re to keep a watchful eye for his return, and give him everything we got when he does. I’m sure his file will show up some time or later on your desk covering the details. It’s about a few hundred pages despite how little we know about dragons, so I hope you brought your reading glasses. How’s captaining going?”
Peach Tree groaned. “All the new recruits have been putting me in a bad mood. I'll whip them into shape in time, that I will guarantee, but I’d prefer if I could have staffed my ship with a more veteren compliment.”
“Can’t be helped,” Grass Shade replied. “After how many folks signed up after the dilemma with Princess Twilight, the policies that got hashed out meant a large dispersal, all units included. The loss in guard due to Gemstone loyalty doesn’t help either.” Grass Shade opened one of his eyes and looked over his shoulder to eye her. “Speaking of, how you holding up?”
“A few months in lock-down isn’t so bad,” Peach Tree replied, keeping her eyes focused on some knick-knack. “I was antsy, sure. But given it was the family matter after all… well, maybe it was best I was kept out of it.”
“Oddly mature of you.”
“It’ll only last before I pile drive you where you lay.”
“Let’s not ruin a well deserved nap.”
“For the first time today,” Peach Tree said, kicking back herself and tilting her hat over her eyes, “I can agre-”
Suddenly, a scroll flared into existence above Grass Shade, neatly landing in front of him as the embers vanished.
Peach Tree kicked her desk, adding yet another dent to its edge. “Some pony is going to be scrubbing decks for a week. This room is supposed to be secured, and why wasn’t that sent to comms?”
“Don’t get in such a fuss,” Grass Shade replied, staring at the horrible thing that waited to be unsealed. “The Princess has a means to supercede any sense of isolation in due to the rank I hold.” He lazilly reached out and began to open the letter. “I wonder what she wants now.”
As Peach Tree settled herself back into her chair, albeit somehow grumpier than before, Grass Shade read the letters contents. He then did so again, and for a third time.
“Well?” Peach Tree said eventually. “If it isn’t above my clearance spit it out.”
“It looks like the Princesses will be off on a dragon hunt, to say the least.”
“About time.” A smiled finally did appear on Peach Tree’s face, and her eyes stared with an even more crazed edge. “After this, she’s next.”
“Remind me again why you were made a captain?”
“Do I need to remind you again?” she replied with a raised hoof.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Western Equestria
“Commander Wintermane, sir! All systems report nominal, and arrival time shows to be fifteen hours!”
“Thank you, recruit, that’ll be all,” Wintermane replied before facing the pony sitting across the table. “Are you sure you want more?”
“I know it’s a bit much, ain’t it?” the mare replied. She chomped the remaining banana pancakes, her draconic fangs supplementing any need of a knife or fork to cut. After chewing through a sizeable chunk that made Wintermane’s jaw ache from the sight of it, she dainty burped and continued. “But truth be told, I just have such the appetite as of late.” With the last bite finished, she set threw the plate onto a nearby pile that was beginning to reach Wintermane’s height. The mare stomped a hoof onto the mess hall table and waved to the kitchen staff. “A pile of blueberry ones this time, please and thanks!”
“Miss Breezy Lace,” Wintermane began.
“Just Breezy will do, please,” Breezy Lace replied.
“Breezy, while you might feel like it, I strongly recommend stopping after this next batch.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” Breezy Lace sullenly responded. She brushed her blonde mane behind her ear. “Changes aside, I’d hate to let it ruin my figure.” Bringing up her peach colored foreleg up, she flexed the muscles that her large and sturdy frame sported. “When I get back to work shipping cargo, I’d better make sure I’m still fit for the job.”
“Something tells me you’ll have no issues with that,” Wintermane replied. He watched incredulously as the next plate of pancakes were brought out and Breezy Lace eagerly dove into them as if she hadn’t eaten all day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
North some hundred miles.
“Tailwind! Tailwind where are you? By Celestia they don’t pay me enough for this.” The stallion guard looked back and forth between the four hallways he could go, sighing at the situation. “For the love of-TAILWIND! I promise we’re not going to dissect you! All Princess Twilight wants to do is have a talk, that’s it. So you can stop hiding and come back to your cabin!”
The sound of a crate clattering to the ground made the guard groan, albeit at least he now had a direction to go. “I swear, if you made another mess for me to clean up!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Southern Equestria
“We’ll be in Ponyville by the crack of dawn,” Captain Sun Step announced. She turned her command chair to face her guest. “Are you sure you don’t want to rest up for the journey, Dust Cloud?”
“No mam, I’ll be alright up here if you don’t mind,” Dust Cloud replied. With a white colored snout leading to a silver beard, and a brown coat with a coarse black mane, he tipped his cowboy’s hat, revealing the salt and pepper at the sides of his hairline. He extended one of his draconic wings outward politely. “I feel a bit more energetic than I usually do, and the view tonight happens to be lovely.” Turning his gaze past the sunken row of guards operating complex stations of equipment and through the hardened glass that sat between the command deck and the sky, he saw a vast ocean of clouds that shimmered silver from the moonlight above amongst the stars.
Sun Step smiled and joined in her guest’s cloud watching.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ponyville
Jolting awake, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes. Lifting her head from the bed, she saw Twilight beside her and that the two of them were alone in one of the library guest rooms. A single candle burned on the nightstand beside her, and the window was open to the night sky, letting in a gentle breeze from the east.
“What happened?” Rainbow Dash quickly asked as she propped herself up further. “Did it-” She stopped short, took a moment's pause to inspect herself, and then plopped herself back down onto the bed. “Great...”
“It wasn’t a bad shot,” Twilight said softly. Her crimson eyes looked over Rainbow Dash with concern. “If any pony could have reversed this, it would probably have been Discord.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t reply at first, instead signing as she tried to gather her thoughts and quiet down others. “I just gotta accept it… This is my life now… scales and all.”
Twilight’s eyes glanced to Rainbow Dash’s mouth where two fangs poked out. Despite the differences between them, the similarities made Twilight all the more focused with worry. Forcing a smile, she said, “At least we can be fang buddies.”
To Twilight’s relief, Rainbow Dash chuckled at that as a small smile appeared. “That’s stupid… but sounds good.”
Twilight scooted off the bed and stepped towards the door. “I’ll let you get some rest now, tomorrow’s going to be an eventful day, after all.”
“About that,” Rainbow Dash said while hopping out of bed.
“Rainbow,” Twilight said as her eyes tightened with worry. “Please rest while you can, you just went through an ordeal.”
“Not all that tired anymore,” Rainbow Dash said as she rolled a shoulder. “And we still need to talk. I’m coming with you.”
Twilight gently sighed, “Rainbow, I-”
Rainbow Dash trotted past her and to the door. “You went after Night Walker and I didn’t stop you from doing it. If anything this time it should be me bringing you.” Opening the door with more force than she intended, she sternly looked at Twilight. “I’m going to the kitchen, and we’re talking about this.”
With that Rainbow Dash loudly proceeded downstairs and into the kitchen, flicking the light on and opening the fridge to fish out whatever food she could find to place onto kitchen island table.
After a slow thoughtful descent downstairs, Twilight entered the room and pulled a stool up to the island, watching passively as Rainbow Dash pulled more food out.
Rainbow Dash suddenly “Where’s the pistachios?”
“Top shelf on the far right cupboard,” Twilight said, noting most of the food Rainbow Dash had pulled out from the fridge heavier in protein; beans, rice, and nuts. “I told you why I need you here.”
“Yeah, and I don’t accept it,” Rainbow Dash replied. She opened the cupboard and sifted through its contents. She paused at seeing rows of mugs with Discord's face on it, as well as one yellow rubber duck nestled beside the pile. She shook her head incredulously without comment, and then yanked the bag of nuts down before grabbing a hoof-full to munch on. “Whay do I havsh to babyshit?”
“Chew your food,” Twilight said, before fluttering her eyes for a moment at sitting on the other end of a deja-vu. “And you’re doing a lot more than simply watching them. Rainbow, you do realize these ponies are the only ones who can understand what you’re going through and you them. And…” Twilight’s voice became quieter. “And hundreds of years from now… You might find yourself more fond of them than you think, and they you.”
Rainbow Dash ruffled through the bag. “What are you saying?”
Twilight searched Rainbow Dash’s eyes. “You’re going to outlive so many ponies, Rainbow Dash. Do you understand what that means?”
Rainbow Dash paused her eating and placed the bag down. With a downward gaze, Rainbow Dash pulled up a chair herself across from Twilight. After some moments she pulled a plate of muffins towards herself and began eating, albeit in smaller and slower bites.
Twilight remained quiet as Rainbow Dash kept her gaze focused downard, not a word spoken as she made her way through the first muffin. The kitchen clocked ticked away as the seconds dragged on, and her bites became slower as she nibbled at its edges.
When Rainbow Dash finished the last bite and finally swallowed it down, her mouth hung open, and a tear dropped onto the table. Rainbow Dash inhaled quickly as her body shuddered, before a gasp of an exhale did cause her to become still.
“You’ll be there, right?” Rainbow Dash quietly asked. “When everypony else is…”
Twilight’s sorrowfully smiled. “Yes, I’ll be with you.”
“But the gi-” Rainbow Dash began to say, but found she didn’t have the heart to bring up the topic. Knowing that one friend would always be by her side was comforting and terrifying enough on its own for the time being.
Wiping away a trailing tear and the subject aside, Rainbow Dash repeated, “I-I’m still coming with you after Gale.”
“Rainbow,” Twilight said, ruffling a hoof through her mane as she searched the kitchen as if it had an answer. She then turned back to Rainbow Dash. “This isn’t the same as with Night Walker.”
“And why the hay not?” Rainbow Dash said, raising her voice.
“Because he’s not toying around,” Twilight replied, exchanging the softness of her manner into a more hardened expression. “As much as I hate admitting it, the only reason I beat Night Walker was because he let me. Because he wanted me to. If he hadn’t, stopping him would have been much harder and bloodier.”
Twilight placed a hoof onto the table. “And Gale isn’t the type of pony to let others win, for any reason. He has destroyed armies and kingdoms. By Celestia and Luna’s personal encounters, he could start burning Equestria and nothing short of our strongest military might can hope to stop him without massive casualties, and trust me there will be casualties no matter how we approach this.” Twilight stared hard into Rainbow Dash’s eyes. “Ponies are going to die when we face Gale, there’s no escaping that fact.”
“All the more reason for me to come with you,” Rainbow Dash bitterly replied before she began slapping together the chunkiest peanut butter sandwich she could muster.
“All the more reason for you to stay here,” Twilight responded. “If Gale sees you with our forces he’ll kill you.”
Rainbow Dash grimaced. “I’d like to see him try.”
A flurry of magic caused all the food to clear themselves away between Rainbow Dash and Twilight. Rainbow Dash groaned as she slammed her hoof onto the table. “You’re acting like I’ve never been in danger before.”
“I’m not joking, Rainbow,” Twilight said, her voice rising an octave. “He will kill you, he has a history of culling his kin, and standing at Celestia and Luna’s sides is enough for him to do that.” She pointed a hoof to herself. “Neither Celestia, Luna, or my magic could stop him from tearing through our defenses in a charge to tear you apart. Taking him down isn’t going to be a quick and easy process, and we don’t have time to protect you during the fight even if we could.”
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to protest, but paused as her mind vividly recalled her encounter. The wall of shadow that was his hand breaking her body caused her to shudder for a moment. With distant downward stare she wrapped her hooves around herself, numbly recalling the memory. The hard blow, the pain shooting throughout her, the towering form of Gale and the bright hot fi-
Rainbow Dash gasped, and flashed her eyes around the kitchen to reaffirm herself it wasn’t happening again.
During her moments of panic, Twilight had left her stool and came to Rainbow Dash’s side. Without warning she grasped Rainbow Dash tightly.
“Hey, I’m fine,” Rainbow Dash said with quiet irritation. “You don’t need to use your magic on me.”
“I’m not,” Twilight replied. “Rainbow Dash, I didn’t know how much this would mean to me, but… you’re… you’re my only friend who can follow me through time now, and the thought of losing you when we have so much time… I can’t allow it. I need to make sure you’re safe for this.”
“And what about you?” Rainbow Dash asked. “If you’re so worried about me then what is he going to do to you?”
“I’m going to be fine,” Twilight said as she pulled away. “Celestia and Luna and a portion of our military will be there, out where no pony else can get caught in the crossfire. We’ve been preparing for him, and we have a strategy.” Twilight squeezed once, then pulled away. “I know this must be hard for you, but please, Rainbow Dash. I need you here in Ponyville. If not for me, then for the other drakes. They still need to learn exactly what all of this means, and they’re going to need help adjusting to their new lives.”
“And how am I supposed to help them? Especially with you going away,” Rainbow Dash asked sourly.
“Be there for them, and be yourself,” Twilight replied with a smile. “These ponies haven’t lived a life like yours, and there’s no telling how they’re going to deal with these changes.” Pulling a stool to side beside Rainbow Dash, she continued, “I couldn’t think of any pony better than you to help them through this. You’re strong, experienced, and capable of facing the greatest of adversities.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t respond at first, simply choosing to sit quietly for a thought before hopping out of her chair. “You know… I’m not so hungry anymore. I think I’m going to go get some more rest.” With that she began to round the table.
“Are you-”
“Thanks, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash suddenly said, stopping at the kitchen entrance. Looking back at Twilight, she added, “I… I’m just going to need some time to myself. You’re right, I should be here... helping them.” With another word, Rainbow Dash departed back into the dark library.
Within the still brightly lit kitchen, Twilight heard Rainbow Dash slowly make her way up the stairs and into the guest room. Looking about the mess around, Twilight sighed and began to idly clean up with her magic, all the while wondering just what else it was that she could do to help her friend.
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Still alive! Wow! I did not expect that.
'Tis great to have you back!
bgreco.net/objection/objection.gif
*slams desk*
You said right there that the ocean to his east "layed on his left," am I correct?
There lies the contradiction! If you'll have a look at this evidence here...
cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1205/7108/products/CROBLUL_-_Compass_Rose_large.jpg?v=1519284567
...you can see that the only way the ocean could be on his left was if he was facing south. If that's the case, then how could the noise from the city to the south come from behind him?
Apologies. I've been getting a little too into a certain HD remaster as of late.
Another good reason RD should stay behind is to learn to control her new abilities as well as her more aggressive side as aggression can be useful when properly controlled.
9939282
Thanks for the catch. I agree it was weirdly worded upon another take. I was imagining him facing the city so that the east would be on his left, and then him turning 180 to face north as he trotted to the woods which would bring east to his right. I'll touch it up a bit as well as one other detail I forgot to add.
'Tis another chapter! Oh, how joyous an occasion this is! I might even go to the gym, my heart soars in delight.
REEEEEEEEE this updated but my bookmarked area didn’t show it
twilight should tell rainbow dash that she can not come because unlike her she is a liability.
In all the fights that dash has been in she has flown around at super speed and attacked.
Until she learns how to fly again she is no shape to fight anyone.
9963993
She has been effectively crippled as a threat for the forseeable future
Um hi started getting into this series is there any chance you might restart it again.
10008559
I will continue. Been trying to get myself to start writing the next chapter now that I have some further along narrative points figured out, but my break between semesters has been more eventful than I imagined. I'm hoping to get a day of writing in this coming week. I was doing a thing where I split my writing time between multiple stories that are in dire need of attention, but I think Dragonfeather is going to take priority for a bit. Also, I got some new cover art for the story, so that'll be coming with the update. Same person who did 2PotN's cover art, too.
10008692
Yay I'm so glad to hear that this is going to continue. I love how this is going so far it is an awesome story.
9946128
ditto
Wow... Seems like Rainbow Dash is actually the one least adjusted to her condition.
10121174
well it seems many have had improvements since their change. Dash has not. her hopes as a Wonderbolt could be gone.
I meant to post a reply to this chapter months ago but life has kinda gotten in the way. I didn't think about it again until I saw the update tonight. I figured I should re-read this one before moving onto the next.
Of all the drakes *coughkirincough* we've seen thus far, it honestly seems like Rainbow Dash is the one handling it the worst. I'm not sure it's so much going to be her being there to support the other drakes, but rather the other drakes being there to support her.
Perhaps we won't see any other drakes, but I'm wondering if a canonical Kirin will be turned into a drake... or is Gale highly biased towards pegasi?
Grass Shade seems extremely lazy for a commander. I'm wondering why it was that they chose to promote him to the position... There's got to be more we haven't been made aware of yet.
All in all a good chapter! Thank you very much for continuing this story for so long, and continuing to do so.