The Mission Begins Anew

by comicfan616

The Terramar Mission

“Sooooo, what are you doing right now?”

“Just going over a new mission. I think it’s time we utilize that upgrade.”

“Really? You sure you don’t want to wait a few more weeks?”

“You’re a comic genius. But it’s our duty to help Princess Twilight spread the magic of friendship. And now that her School of Friendship is getting along, I think it’s safe to say she and her friends are mentally adjusted by now.”

“Alright, then. What have you got?”

“Right here. On Mount Aeris.”

“Mount Aeris, really?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Well, it’s just that, after all that talk about 'spreading friendship across the lands beyond Equestria,’ this… kinda feels like retreading old ground. Keep in mind, the hippogriffs have restored relations with Equestria now that the Storm King is gone, and one of their own is at the school. I doubt they need to be shown friendship that badly.”

“Maybe, but I still don’t want to needlessly overwhelm anyone just yet. Much of the land is still largely unknown to most ponies, and I’d rather let them all get comfortable with working with newer species before challenging their lack of knowledge.”

“…Whatever you say. So what’s the mission? I… admittedly haven’t spent that much time looking at the new backlog.”

“Meet our target: Terramar. A hippogriff youth just a couple years younger than Silver Stream, who also happens to be his sister. Purely coincidence, I assure you.”

“So, what’s his problem? Missing his sister? Trouble adjusting to post-seapony life?”

“That last one’s actually not that far off. Do you recall what happened when Queen Novo let the hippogriffs return to the surface world?”

“Something about some ‘griffs having gotten used to life underwater?”

“As well as the queen giving them the power of the pearl to switch between forms if they so choose.”

“Right. Are you going somewhere with this?”

“At the moment, Terramar is in a fairly odd position; his father returned to the hippogriff village on the mountain, but his mother is content to live underwater. Add to this the pressure of most everygriff else having figured out where they want to live, and he’s very much torn between two worlds.”

“Hmm. Is there a law that says he has to choose?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“And what about his family? What’s their situation like?”

“Separation aside, it’s all pretty cordial. Neither his father nor mother bear any real animosity toward each other.”

“Well, there’s your answer; no consequences, no actual outside pressure, no reason to stress. His family doesn’t seem to mind overall, either. Just pick the ponies best suited to explain that to him, and he’ll be just fine.”

“I agree. The catalyst to help him understand that is his family. As they say, ‘Home is where the heart is,’ and it doesn’t get much more heartful than family. So maybe we send Applejack, possibly Rarity too. I can’t think of two ponies more dedicated to the concept of family.”

“…”

“You’ve got that look on your face. You have doubts?”

“Not with the idea, but the reasoning is… Okay, look, this is only the first time I’m hearing about this mission, which I’ve already made clear is my fault, but it sounds like his problem is more about wanting to find his place in society rather than his relationship with his family. From the looks of things, he already knows both parents love him, and that’s all either pony could offer. All he really needs to understand in that regard is that they’d have no problem with him switching back and forth on the regular.”

“…Okay, so let’s just shelve that idea for the time being and discuss other options.”

“Well, looking at Princess Twilight’s itinerary, she does seem to have some business there for Silver Stream. Maybe she could pull double duty?”

“Wouldn’t work. Whole new species, no threat of adventure; she’d be more focused on learning all she can about hippogriff culture.”

“You mean she’d geek out over it. Or maybe even use it as an excuse to take a little vacation. But yeah, I see your point.”

“Maybe Fluttershy? Perhaps a calm, soft-spoken approach would get to him?”

“Hmm… Maybe not…”

“Pardon?”

“It’s a weekend, yes?”

“What’s that got to—?! Ooooohhhhh.”

“One round of that screeching contest, and she’ll be heading for cover faster than you can say, ‘Where’d she go?’”

“Yeeeaaahh… Probably should take Pinkie Pie out of consideration too. With a full-fledged festival going on, she’ll be too busy having fun to help. Should I even bother asking about Rainbow Dash?”

“Weren’t you the one who said she has a tendency to pick sides in an otherwise nuanced conflict?”

“Oh yeah, right, back when you considered her for the Royal Sisters Mission… Maybe we could bring out the Starlight marker for this one?”

“Nah. We had Starlight go that time because of her bluntness and willingness to do whatever it takes. This is something we need to approach with a bit more tact.”

“…”

“Sooo, I guess we go back to Applejack and Rarity?”

“Hmm…”

“Okay, now you’re getting that other look on your face.”

“I may have an alternative solution…”

“I’ll probably regret this, but let’s hear it.”

“Well, after making that Starlight marker, I kind of… experimented a little bit.”

“Oh, trust me, I’m well aware of one of these ‘experiments.’”

“Yeah, well, Spike wasn’t the only one I worked with; he was just the next logical choice.”

“‘Logical.’ Riiight.”

“Drop it, will you? I said I was sorry. Anyway, I came up with a few more markers, just on the off-chance we’d need those particular ponies.”

“And which ponies would you be speaking of, specific to this moment?”

“Voila!”

“The… Cutie Mark Crusaders? Okay, first question, how’d you even manage that? They haven’t had that much direct contact or experience with the map.”

“Remember when I made those Pillar markers for the Stygian Mission by using Star Swirl’s latent memories? Let’s just say I had some practice.”

“Alright, then, next question: why?”

“Simple really: Our main problem is that Terramar doesn’t know where to fit in, that he doesn’t know his place. The Crusaders got their cutie marks by helping someone find her place, and they continue to do so to this day.”

“…There is… some merit to this…”

“Any other criticisms you wanna levy right now?”

“…Honestly, not really. I mean, it’s like you said, this is a case of someone not knowing where he belongs. I still say Terramar’s family will be the deciding factor in the success of this mission, but I suppose there’s nothing stopping the Crusaders from helping him to see that.”

“I still stand by my earlier statement: all Applejack and Rarity could offer would be the usual platitudes of the importance of family. But Terramar’s young; simple words won’t do much on their own, especially when he already agrees with the basics. With the Crusaders being young themselves, they’ll be more likely to take more direct action and bring the experience of family to the forefront.”

“Might take them a while, though. As you just said, they’re young, younger than Terramar, even.”

“It’s not like they’d be going alone; like I also said, Princess Twilight was going to have to go to Mount Aeris eventually. If the Crusaders get stuck, she’ll probably sort them out.”

“…I have to admit, I’m finding fewer and fewer reasons to disagree with this.”

“So we’re good, then?”

“We’ll try it. I’m still keeping Applejack and Rarity on standby, though. If nothing else, they would certainly be willing to help their sisters.”

“Fair deal. Let’s do this.”

“Your idea, so I’ll let you have the honor of starting us off.”

“Okay then. Calling Applebloom.”

“Calling Sweetie Belle.”

“Calling Scootaloo.”

“Your mission begins here!”

Comments

[titanhades70]

Twilight did more for that mission then the Crusaders. They were actually pretty useless.

[Comickook]

Thanks very much for getting this chapter up. And yeah, the exchange between the Map's spirits was well done as usual. And, yeah, could see the point of picking the Crusaders for the mission (despite the fact that Twilight was actually the bigger help on that one, there WERE some good arguments made here).