Chapter 18: New Terms
They left the temple, or at least that part of it, descending a set of stairs near the back to a basement level. The rooms were all decorated in a similar style, with lunar and night-based tapestries and mosaics wherever there was room. This seemed to be the quarters for the priests, judging by the modest bedrooms they passed, along with a cooking and bathing area, all clean but looking lived-in.
“Of all the ponies I thought might visit…” Nightbreeze said. “I never imagined she would send you. Guess you must’ve really impressed her to get the princess to trust you again.”
Hayden winced a little—she could feel the tension between them, of a different flavor than the last time. It was meeting an old friend with which you’d had a falling out, without ever having the time to make up again. “You’d know about all that if you read my letters,” Hayden said.
Nightbreeze cleared her throat, ignoring the remark completely and looking up at Lodestone. “Your uniform is…” She didn’t have to squint, though there was only a tiny candle to light the room. “Ah, yes. You’re General Autumn’s replacement, then? Or just Evening Star’s foalsitter?”
“The first,” Lodestone said, apparently without thinking. “Lady Evening Star accompanied me here to receive her commission. Given all that’s happened…” He looked down, though it seemed he wouldn’t stay quiet any longer. “I was told you could explain the exact nature of this transformation. I already asked Lady Star, but she insists she doesn’t know any of the magic involved. Snow Storm told me you were the pony to ask.”
“Yes, I suppose he would.” She didn’t actually look back to face him, instead pacing around the edge of the room and lighting the feeble candles one at a time. It was a library, as it turned out, albeit a modest one. But considering the cost of books, the ponies probably saw it as a fortune of knowledge. “Luna’s gift, as he puts it. A delightful euphemism.” Only when a dozen candles lit the room all around the perimeter did she return and sit down on her haunches before them. “Evening Star named us Thestrals—so far that’s the name that stuck. If you’re talking about our magic, well… it’s not like pegasus ponies. That’s a lot to give up.”
“I know,” he said. “He told us that much. Just not what you received in return. It must be quite the gift, if so many were clamoring for it.”
“Oh, yes. Quite the gift,” she repeated, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “It does have some advantages—our night vision is perfect, as you will know if you’ve spent any time with Evening Star. Our hearing is better than yours as well—so good that we can use sound to figure out what a place looks like even in total darkness. Did you figure out how to do that yet, Star?”
“No,” she answered, before Lodestone could get indignant about the lack of a title again. “There hasn’t really been time.”
“I’m sure there wasn’t.” She looked back to the captain. “What she hasn’t discovered yet—I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, considering where she’s from—are the other aspects. We’re very good at moving around in the dark—stealth. It seems magic, though maybe it’s just a skill. Our unicorns haven’t figured out the difference. A few have figured out how to do some stranger things.” She glanced back at Hayden. “You know Princess Luna has dominion over dreams, right?”
She didn’t actually wait for a response. “Well, we apparently have a… physical version of that. She can change dreams--make ponies afraid, or settle them down. We can do that while we’re awake. Make them afraid, or angry, or…” she trailed off, looking sidelong at Hayden. The implication was obvious. “Nopony really knows yet what the limits of these powers are. Can a pony get good enough at hiding that their powers work in daylight? Could you make a whole crowd feel a certain emotion, instead of just an individual?”
“That sounds… interesting, I suppose,” Lodestone said. “Almost half unicorn, half pegasus. But I don’t see why so many soldiers would be accepting this gift. Weather magic can be a weapon—is stealth really so much of an advantage that it’s worth giving it up to be a little better?”
“I don’t know that many of them have a choice,” Nightbreeze said, with a tone that suggested she didn’t believe Lodestone could possibly be so ignorant. “They do what their commanders tell them. And there is a persistent belief that bats are better at fighting than other ponies. More able to… more able to kill. I don’t know if it’s a rumor or if it’s true, but their captains believe it. Now that we’ve fought off one attack with mostly bat soldiers, I’m sure the rumor will only get stronger. Anypony who can who hasn’t already changed probably will soon.”
“I don’t…” Hayden didn’t exactly feel welcome down here, but she couldn’t stay quiet anymore. “There’s no way all these ponies could be changing so fast if the only way is…” She couldn’t even bring herself to say it. “What happened to you? How can there be so many?”
Nightbreeze laughed bitterly. “If that were the only way, then I wouldn’t be down in this temple and Equestria wouldn’t hate us. Snow Storm’s unicorns discovered a way to share the magic. So long as you have one bat, it’s really easy to do. And there are other ways, more… intimate ways.” She glanced briefly up at Hayden again, though her eyes didn’t linger this time. “I’m not a unicorn and neither are you, so I can’t give you more than that. Just… being very close friends with a bat, if you’re a pegasus… that seems to be enough. Whether those relationships are physical or otherwise.” She shrugged. “Now, was there anything else. Snow Storm will hear if I don’t direct the ceremony with enough conviction. I should return to the bats.”
“That is… sufficient.” Lodestone turned back for the stairs. “Thank you for being frank with us, Nightbreeze.”
“Somepony has to.” She gestured with a wing, and a brief chill passed around the room, putting out all the candles in a flash. Hayden could still see well enough thanks to the light trickling down the stairs. She could see Lodestone tense. “What will you decide, new general in the north? Will you force your ponies to change?”
“No.” No hesitation. “I can see the advantage of having a few of you in my army. Scouts in particular seem like they would benefit from your skills—but the advantage of any pony army is its diversity. Bringing all the tribes together is what makes us strong against our enemies. We can bring many skills to use in battle, instead of just a few.”
Nightbreeze made an indistinct sound—not quite a sigh of exasperation—before hurrying past them up the stairs.
Hayden moved beside Lodestone. “I can see the way out,” she whispered quietly. “Follow me.” And he did, back out the doors of the temple and onto the streets of Icefalls. She didn’t even look back at the sword on their way out, or at least not more than once.
It was full dark by then, every seat in the temple packed. Only now did it look like the city was really waking up. Ponies had started organizing into crews, joining the soldiers as they hauled rubble out of the streets. Shops looked like they had just started opening their doors—she could see children running through the wreckage, hear the shouts of their parents behind. Many were bats, but not all.
“The more I learn, the less I know,” Lodestone muttered, just loud enough for her to hear. “All this would be difficult enough to understand if we weren’t apparently being probed for invasion. All this, at the same time…” He shook his head, then started back towards the castle. “I’m afraid it doesn’t appear as though I will be leaving Icefalls anytime soon, Lady Evening Star. And if this really is an invasion…”
“I understand,” she interrupted. “You need to ask Luna what to do with me. She might want me back in Harmony if there’s danger up here. My experiments were meant for peace, and she told you to protect me.”
“Indeed,” he said, apparently relieved that she had spoken. That way, he didn’t have to. “You will remain at the castle just as Snow Storm suggested. I’m sure you will be well cared-for in your time here. Were it not for the invasion, I would think Icefalls a perfect home for you. Not a place I expect you will deal with much disrespect.”
“I expect not,” she said, wistful. “But that doesn’t help me if the Stonebeaks really do come back. Or more importantly, it doesn’t help all these ponies. Who have… apparently decided they want to be creatures of the night. It’s kinda metal—this city looks like it could be an album cover.”
“Huh?” Lodestone stopped walking, glancing back at her with genuine confusion on his face. “What are you talking about? Is there something I missed during—”
“No,” Hayden sighed. “Just something from my home. I shouldn’t have said anything.” They walked in silence for most of the way back to the castle. “What was that sword, Lodestone? The one in the temple?”
“Achelois.” He spoke very quietly, almost reverently. “It’s a magical sword left over from the draconic invasion—Luna received it as a gift from a dying god, the stories say. Apparently it can cut through anything evil, no matter how strong, but can’t hurt anything good. I don’t… really know how true any of that is, but it is a magic sword, and nopony but Luna can use it, so… I’m guessing nopony was able to figure out how to make more.”
If Nightbreeze were here—the old one, not the one that hated Hayden—she might’ve said something about the voice she had heard, whenever she looked at the weapon. But Lodestone already had enough to think about, and this wasn’t really his area. “That’s too bad. A whole army with swords that can cut anything evil but not hurt our own men would be wonderful.”
“Yeah.” He chuckled. “It would be great. I don’t suppose you know how to enchant magical weapons along with making ponies not get sick.”
“Obviously I do,” she answered, before she could stop herself. “Well, not that kind of magic. The kind of magic the Stonebeaks were using to cause all this.” She gestured with her wing down at the city, with its many smoldering fires. “I know how to do that. And… many more.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Lodestone, I know how to make weapons so terrible that they would make the most bloodthirsty pony hate war.”
Lodestone didn’t look away. There were many ponies moving around them, flowing in and out of the castle. They parted around the two of them, apparently not paying attention to their conversation. “Could they fight off an invasion?” Lodestone asked. “If a hundred ships attacked Icefalls…”
“Yes,” she whispered back. “But not if you wait that long. If the enemy arrives at the gates, it’s too late. You know that better than most ponies, I’m sure. New weapons need to be made somewhere—ponies need to be taught how to use them—you need new tactics to take advantage of the new abilities you’ve given your men—but yes. If Equestria fought with the weapons my home possessed, then no enemy could threaten it. It wouldn’t matter if they sent a hundred ships or a thousand.”
Lodestone straightened. “I will send word to the princess of our predicament. I’m sure she will be sensitive to our needs, and will give me instructions for your care. It might be that the first legion is already marshaling to shore up our defenses, and to reclaim whatever territory we’ve lost. But that concern is mine to carry. I will send the soldier you chose… Corporal Honed Edge, I believe. Since I do not yet require the soldiers of Defiance to join us here, he will be your bodyguard for the duration. Do not argue.”
For that was what she’d been about to do, her mouth already open for it. Hayden shut her mouth again, glaring, but she didn’t argue.
“We will speak again tomorrow,” he said. “A message cannot possibly return from Equestria proper in that much time. Assuming we can find a way to get a message to Harmony, I would expect three days before we receive a response, at the earliest.”
The quarters they had waiting for her were much nicer than anything she’d ever had in Defiance, though nowhere near as nice as Luna’s own personal guest-quarters. The space was fantastic, an entire study already filled with the various things its previous owners had cared about—books, and old musical instruments, and a whole shelf containing rolls of old maps behind glass.
Hayden didn’t unpack exactly—she might be returning to Harmony tomorrow morning for all she knew. But she did take out her gun, along with the mechanism the craftsponies of Defiance had helped her make for it. A thin cloth sleeve went onto a forehoof, holding the handgun so that it would aim down the length of her leg. The trigger had been modified so she could fire by pressing down on a nearby lever. To get a steady shot would require her to brace her leg on something.
She had exactly thirteen bullets left—she was down two shooting at nothing when Luna had first kidnapped her, and another one when she had tested the mechanism. Only eight of those bullets were with her right now—the others were all back in Defiance with the rest of her belongings. I won’t be holding off an invasion with a 9mm.
Honed Edge arrived at about that time, opening the doors, and making his way into the attached servant’s room. The room didn’t have nearly as much space for him as it did for her—it was barely larger than a closet. “What a wild place,” he called, about as formal with his introduction as usual. Honed Edge didn’t see her as an officer, as indeed she wasn’t. The parts of pony society he came from were evidently too “common” to fear the indirect damage displeasing a noble lady might do to his life or his family. Either that, or Edge didn’t care.
It was one of the reasons she had liked him so much—Edge was the first pony she had hired for the lab who would call her out on a bad idea, instead of just smiling and nodding but then giving her bad results when her ideas fell flat.
“Yeah,” she agreed, walking right up to the doorway. She had removed her winter clothes, was completely naked now—but the time for being embarrassed about that was over. Ponies almost never reacted to that, and apparently Edge was no exception. “Can’t say it was what I was expecting. I knew Icefalls was Luna’s city, but…”
“You’re not thrilled?” Edge had dropped his saddlebags, but made no effort to remove his armor or the weapon sheathed there. Given he had been assigned to protect her, Hayden gave it even odds he tried to sleep wearing it. Some ponies could do that, but not many. It didn’t look like a pleasant experience either way. “A whole nest full of bats. I guess there must be enough places like this where you’re from that seeing one in Equestria isn’t that interesting. Unless…” He grinned at her. “Unless you’re from some secret refuge in the jungle or something, last of your kind. Then maybe it’s back to being excited to seeing more bats out in the world.”
Hayden could still feel Luna’s despair. It was there on the edge of her perception, the kind of feelings that would swallow the soul of a weaker pony. I should be back there with her.
But just as she thought that, another voice spoke in her mind, just as insistent. What if she blames you for this? What if seeing you only makes it worse? There were no easy answers here, except one. Star Swirl really should have sent her back to Earth all those months ago. Then Equestria wouldn’t be changing.
“I only knew about two of me in the whole world,” she eventually answered. She wouldn’t be giving out more details to Edge—just as he wasn’t terribly afraid of offending her, he also wasn’t someone she would rely on to remain quiet with her secrets. He kept their work secret in the lab, but only because he wanted ponies not to see what they’d done until it was finished, and he could soak up the praise of his fellow soldiers. “I didn’t expect there to be more bats here. Certainly not a whole city’s worth.”
“That’s what you’re worried about?” Edge sounded amused. “Equestria just lost one of its best generals. Polestar might’ve been destroyed, Icefalls could be attacked tomorrow. This could be the beginning of a full-scale invasion the likes of which hasn’t been seen since our great-grandparents. You think the number of bats is the important thing?”
It seems to be for everypony else. But she didn’t say that out loud. “I’m glad I brought you, Corporal. I don’t know what I’d do without your perspective.” She turned, making her way back towards the bedroom. She didn’t really feel like sleeping yet, but she probably should. There was much to do while she was in Icefalls, and she wouldn’t want to waste any of that time exhausted.
“I’m glad you brought me too,” Edge called after her. “I’m sick of moldy bread. This castle stuff is much better.”
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The plot thickens, like jello in a mold.
They can Scootaloo?
Hmmmm....I wonder if the Sword calling out to our Heroine is proof that she would be able to wield it, given her close connection with Luna.
Damn. I was hopping for some kind of possibility for romance to rekindle, for I'm a sucker for it... But Nightbreeze really does seem to hate Hayden. Well, they can always talk things out, but holding my breath is getting harder...
Oh man, I hope Nightbreeze and Hayden make up sometime. This whole situation between them has been a bummer from the get-go.
I can't really blame Nightbreeze for her resentment, but I do hope she and Hayden can have a reasonable conversation in time.
In any case, yeah, Edge has a point. There are much bigger issues at hand than the sudden thestral population explosion. Let's just hope Harmony recognizes that...
8567199
I actually think the wildfire spread of thestrals is at least as big an issue to the nation as a potential invasion. But what's done is done (the city is already mostly converted and it's probably not going to spread across entire regions with the same alacrity) and it's not as urgent.
This feels like we're rapidly converging towards the Nightmare Moon crisis anyway, complete with sudden army of bat ponies, and it's only the slightest bit Luna's fault at all.
Guns?! You're introducing guns into Equestria?! Oh Evening Star, I'm starting to think that Starswirl was right... After all, what does a goetic daemon truly do, if not teach and tempt with dangerous knowledge?
8742807
And we end with FO:E universe