Chapter 8: We’ve Gotten to the Bridge… Let’s Cross It
Southward to New Friends Arc
“Ama, are you crazy?!” Zyra cried. “I thought we decided to keep moving.”
Ama shook herself, loosening up, “Yes, we may have… But I will not let this opportunity pass me by.”
Essenta was at a loss. Maybe Ama would listen to her… Maybe she wouldn’t. Was she afraid to stop Ama, if she developed the mind to try and stop her? A little. But she didn’t want to stop Ama. She didn’t want to see her get creamed either, but…
“Ama. Do as you wish. As you say… I’m not your princess.”
“If you wish for me to stop, then say so. You are still my leader… and my friend.”
Essenta felt a little surge of pride, “From my heart, Ama… Do as you wish. I only hope we can move on… with you at our side, when it’s over.”
Dechaa and Zyra couldn’t believe it; Essenta was letting it happen! It was still hard to see if Ama would have stopped if Essenta told her to do so. Did she expect Essenta to say one way or the other? Would she have gone along? It didn’t really matter, as it was happening.
Ama put aside her greatsword and other weapons, leaving just herself, her beaded smock, and her wild mane.
The Terran hummed, “Are you sure you want to fight me with your bare hooves?”
Ama shrugged, “I do not know… as I do not know if I may win. But I wish to fight on fair terms, the same.”
The Terran shifted her stance, “Whenever you’re ready.”
Ama waxed, “I know you wish to remain anonymous. I do not understand but choose to accept. Still… I am Ama of the clan Waterfall. Please call me Ama. If I happen to be victorious, would you grace us with your name?”
The Terran spoke immediately; she sounded happy, “I would do so without reservation.”
Ama smiled to the Terran and back to her friends, “Very well… Let us learn your… name!”
Ama moved as fast as Essenta had ever seen her move. The Terran braced herself. Ama collided with the Terran, pushing her back. It was the damnedest thing: the Terran appeared as a statue, not moving at all. Her armored hooves tore up the ground as she was propelled across it, but still she herself remained ridgid.
Ama noticed, “I can see you are strong! Now… fight me!”
With that, she could no longer push the Terran. She became immovable and Ama was now the one tearing up the ground. She felt the Terran shift her weight.
“Uh, oh…” was all she got out.
The Terran put her hooves under and behind Ama’s front legs and heaved. As if she was throwing a rock, Ama was sent into the air. The company watched, as their friend and companion, who took out 10 stallions in about as many seconds, go sailing through the air. She screamed as she flew, end over end, landing in a hay pile some distance away. It was intentional, on the Terran’s part.
Zyra ran to Ama in a panic but found Ama unhurt. In fact, she was laughing fit to bust. She waved to Essenta.
“Essenta. There is no winning here. I have had my fun.”
Ama rolled off the pile, still laughing, while Zyra followed nervously. She approached the Terran, genuinely smiling.
“You are indeed powerful. It was worth losing so pitiably just to see a Terran’s strength.”
The Terran cocked her head, “Uh… thanks, I guess?”
Ama was still laughing as she approached Essenta and Dechaa, so tickled by clashing with such a power, “Let us go. We can still make the next town… …Essenta?”
Essenta was now staring towards the Terran. Ama waved a hoof before her eyes.
“Essenta…”
The princess dropped her gear, also casting aside her dirk; she fitted her cesti, “I’ll fight the Terran.”
Dechaa and Zyra faded, “What?”
Ama chuckled, “You may have even less chance than I, but I can understand.”
The Terran hoofed the ground, almost guiltily, “Princess? Do you really want to do this?”
It was not mocking. It was earnest. She knew the princess likely stood no chance. But Essenta had an idea.
“Gatekeeper… would you be against… a little magic?”
The Terran lit up, “Ah, your cesti… I do sense a magic from them.”
Essenta was puzzled, “But… you’re an Earth pony… you’re a Terran, but you’re an Earth pony. How?”
The Terran hooted with laughter, “It’s something we can do. We can’t use magic as a unicorn might, but drawing on such a power as we do, it fares us a few… interesting gifts. But I cannot tell what magic you possess.”
Essenta grinned, “Want me to tell you, or would you like to guess?”
The Terran giggled in a very… cute way. It was the weirdest noise they’d heard yet out of her. She trotted to a spot with a lot of open space behind her.
“Okay, Princess! Let’s see what your cesti can do!”
Essenta called over, smiling, “Please… Call me 'Essenta'!”
The Terran was practically giddy, “I’ll call you by your chosen moniker if you can knock me down!”
Dechaa and Zyra didn’t immediately understand, but Ama did. Before she could call on Essenta to stop, Essenta took off.
“Here it comes, gatekeeper! You won’t call me ‘Princess’ after this!”
Leaping through the air, her front right hoof collided with the Terran’s left shoulder. The magical cesti did what they were supposed to, sending something flying.
Essenta was sent spiraling through the air, back towards her friends. With many a crash and clatter, she wound up among them.
“OOOOOOOOOOW!!!!!” Essenta was rolling around, holding her right front leg. Dechaa and Zyra fell upon her, more than just a little concerned. The princess kicking and flopping around, Ama guffawed at her.
“Eh-heh-heh-essenta! Do you know nothing of Terrans?! Their muscle and skeletal structure alone must not be overlooked; she may not look it, but she weighs at least what I do, perhaps more. And that armor… But the magic of Terrans is a wondrous thing with a strength all its own. ”
The Terran hoofed the back of her neck, “Sorry, Princess. If I’d known that’s what you were doing, I’d have stopped you. Ama’s right. That won't work against me. Is your hoof okay?”
Essenta had stopped rolling around, having kicked off the cesti. Her hoof, and her leg up to her shoulder hurt, but it was okay. Dechaa moved it around, and it was fine, somehow.
Zyra clung to Essenta, “Cap… let’s get out of here. You’ve all had your fun. I don’t want-”
Perhaps the biggest shocker of the day occurred: Dechaa put on Essenta’s cesti.
She stood before the Terran, “Got a problem fighting a unicorn?”
Essenta, Zyra, and Ama all did a horsey snort. What?!
The Terran laughed, “No... as long as you don’t try to set me on fire or something.”
Not well known for her sense of humor, Dechaa laughed at the nasty idea, “Oh, no such thing… I just want to try something.”
The Terran took up a position, “I have a feeling I shouldn’t let you hit me… Let’s see if I can avoid it.”
Dechaa rushed in and attacked. The Terran was good and ready until Dechaa vanished. Telepor- Before the Terran could even finish her thought, she was sent sprawling by a mule kick from Dechaa. She really went flying, skidding on her face, back legs high in the air. As she slowed down, she tumbled forward on to her back with a great thunk.
The company was so shocked, they forgot to cheer. Dechaa stood easily, waiting to see what would happen next.
The Terran staggered to her hooves, “Wow! Well done! You can time your attacks to compensate for the concussion and send it back to me. Tell me… uh…”
Dechaa began to pace, staring down the Terran, “Dechaa... My name’s Dechaa Beiran.”
“Tell me, Dechaa… just how fast are you?!”
The Terran took off, and it was plain to see… she was faster than Ama. Possibly, she was more nimble than Ama. And Ama was faster than Dechaa. Dechaa could teleport, but she was no faster than Essenta on her hooves. Giving chase, the Terran closed in on Dechaa. To avoid her, Dechaa took to the scrubby landscape near the road. It did little to stop the Terran.
She chased Dechaa, obliterating their surroundings. Trees fell like toothpicks and boulders cracked. The company was astonished at The Terran’s speed. And with the weight she bore. The Terran literally wrecked every hiding place and feature.
Dechaa had nowhere to run. She had agility the Terran didn't, but not the endurance. The Terran didn’t gloat but stated facts.
“Your magic needs concentration to work. Can you hold up under a chase?”
Dechaa obviously struggled with this, panting, “I’m surprised I’m doing this well. Until two weeks ago, I was training to be an apothecary.”
The Terran doubled over laughing, “I can relate… at least in a way. I used to tend a stable. It’s strange where life takes us.”
Dechaa smiled back. The company looked on. Dechaa wasn’t doing badly, but what would she do?
The Terran lowered her gaze, “Let’s see what happens now.”
The Terran attacked and Dechaa could barely hold up, just keeping out of reach, using the cesti to glance off her armor. She saw her chance. Teleporting to just the right spot, she punched all four cesti into the Terran’s side. It was a gamble, but sometimes gambling pays off.
For a fraction of a second, all went still. Then the Terran went sprawling, but Dechaa was able to maintain and teleported over. Before the Terran even stopped bouncing, Dechaa was on her. She held her twin swords, which she never cast aside, to the Terran’s throat, panting, her horn glowing. The company, at first flabbergasted, cheered.
The Terran put her hooves up, “I yield, Dechaa.”
Dechaa let up at once, offering a hoof. The Terran took it, and Dechaa almost threw out her back assisting her.
“Thanks, Dechaa.”
The two walked over to the group. Dechaa’s companions piled on her, hugging and buffeting every surface of her they could reach. The unicorn laughed, treasuring her friends.
The Terran stood, with a rather bittersweet feeling rising up inside. But she pushed it down. The group now turned their attention to her.
The Terran felt a strange happiness, “Though it was Ama I made the agreement with, I suppose I’ll introduce myself.”
She unfastened her helmet, wrenching it off, “Oh, that’s good. I hate this thing…”
Casting aside her helm, it made a substantial divot in the ground when it landed. Before Essenta’s company, stood the most stunning mare the lot of them had ever seen in any of their collective lifetimes. Sure, she was sweating buckets, but it still showed.
“Wow, you guys… that was fun.”
She began to amble around, casting aside pieces of her armor, each of them embedding in the ground. Essenta hoofed a shoulder plate, trying to lift it. She was unable to. Ama lifted the helm and found it difficult. It fell back to the ground with a thunk, Ama jumping back as not to crush a hoof. The Terran had finished removing her armor. She turned to the company.
Stripped down to a tunic not unlike the one Essenta wore, they got a good look at the Terran: she was indeed beautiful. Her coat was the color of vanilla cream, her wavy mane and tail very black, with a healthy shine to it. She let her mane, tied up, loose and shook her head, giving it a little volume. Opening her eyes, her long lashes fluttering, they were very blue. They were as blue as blue could be blue. They had an amazing softness to them, and her smile was enchanting.
Standing in awe of this probable model of female perfection, the company gawked as she spoke, “I’m Loress Claystable. It’s been so much fun meeting all of you.”
Essenta eyed her; as she had guessed, Loress was just a bit taller than her, and apparently no heftier. It was like looking into the mirror to her idealized self. She couldn’t get over how beautiful Loress was. It was odd… this pony was at least 10 times her own strength. Even so, Essenta had seen enough of the world already, and had heard of many strange things, though, so nothing was all that weird anymore.
Loress hoofed the ground, somewhat timidly; it was a lot less strange to see her this way, behaving as she did, “I suppose you've more than earned your way across the bridge, but… would you like to stay a little while for morning tea?”
Loress had the most hopeful expression, as if she’d not had a guest, or anypony to talk to, in months. She was even… kind of glad she lost. If these interesting mares hadn't achieved victory, it was assured they’d just move on immediately. Now, they had time.
Unaware of all Loress’s thoughts, Essenta thought back to their exchanges with her. She seemed now the same polite, flappable mare she had been throughout their fight. Essenta saw the forlorn, possibly homesick Terran and her heart melted.
Not out of guilt or any similar obligation, “Sure, Loress. We’d love to stay for tea.”
Loress’s face lit up, “Oh, I’m so glad to hear… Oh! My carrot cake!”
She dashed inside, much to the confusion of the company. They heard clattering inside, Loress soon reappearing.
“That was close… another minute and it would have burned. Make yourselves comfortable.”
The next thing they knew, Loress was hauling out a table… an oak banquet table, large enough to seat 20. She carried it as if it weighed no more than a box of candy.
“This gatehouse used to be a soldiers’ post. This is what I have.”
Essenta once again felt a little sad; Loress was alone in some place like this, furnished for so many, “Uh, Loress? Let us help you.”
The company went in, a few of them grabbing five chairs. Dechaa joined Loress in the kitchen, also big enough to feed 20 stallions, and helped her with the tea.
Soon the five mares were sitting at one end of the table, enjoying fresh carrot cake and tea. To any passersby, which they had not seen, it would have been most peculiar. The cake was… pretty good. It was better than the crap they’d tried to bake in their little cast iron oven a few days earlier, thinking they could make a cobbler. It was awful. Their host couldn’t be happier, having somepony to share it with.
Loress gushed at having visitors, and she told them about herself,
“I had some training, sure, but mostly I just took care of our animals. My father’s a stable-master. I tried joining the army when I turned 17, but they rejected me… I’m not tall enough… or strong enough.”
Essenta found this hard to believe, “Not tall enough? You?”
Loress blushed a little, “I’m actually quite short for a Terran… Not sure why. My parents are closer to Ama’s height and so are my little brothers.”
Zyra found this very interesting, “Little brothers? Near Ama’s size?”
Loress smiled coyly, “Terran stallions get tall early. I quit growing when I was 14… I’m 19 now, so… this is as tall as I’m getting.”
Essenta wasn’t finished, “But not strong enough?”
Loress took a sip of her tea, enjoying it, “Well, what you’ve heard is true. Any Terran mare should be about 20 times as strong as the average Earth pony stallion… Terran stallions… there’s one in Terrow that scored a 38 on the test…”
Dechaa cocked her head, “Test?”
Loress smiled, nodding, “Oh, yes. The average strength of an Earth pony stallion is designated one point. I’m not sure of the exact figure. The army requires 18 points for mares... 23 for stallions. Even after all the extra work I did… I only got 14.”
Essenta’s jaw dropped. 14 times stronger than a normal Earth pony stallion?
Loress couldn’t help but poke fun, eying the princess, “But Princess, if you were the standard, I think I could’ve gotten my 20.”
“C’mon, we beat you. Call me ‘Essenta’.”
Loress took on a fiendishly gleeful expression, “It was Dechaa that bested me, not you… I’ll call you whatever you wish if you can beat me.”
The company laughed along with Loress. She was right. That had been the deal.
Loress giggled into her teacup, “Anyway… I like calling you ‘Princess’.”
Essenta and her friends did a take, what?????
Loress blushed; she wasn't a nervous wreck like Dechaa occasionally seemed, she was simply flappable, “I meant nothing by it… I mean… Zyra calls you ‘Captain’… and Dechaa calls you ‘Sen’… I… just wanted to be able to do it too…”
The Terran looked sadly onto her plate. It was nothing but crumbs. The same could be said of everypony else’s plates. The carrot cake was gone. The teapot was empty, as were their teacups… It was about time for Essenta’s company to move on…
Loress sighed, “Well… it was nice having tea with all of you. Thanks so much for staying. I suppose you’re in a hurry, so I can clean up. It’ll just take a few minutes.”
Something switched on in Essenta’s head. As she had felt earlier, it wasn’t pity, or some other obligation. She just wanted it.
“Loress… I know you said you were planning to go home in a few weeks, but… would you… like to come along with us?”
The company was surprised, but not unhappy about the idea. They were all ears. As for Loress’s ears, they perked up.
“…What?”
“I have to tell you though… anything you’ve probably heard about our quest is a load of horse apples. My father didn’t send us on any quest. We’re not on any mission of his. He… meant to punish me. His stupid idea backfired, and Dechaa, Zyra, and I literally had to run away. If… I’d stayed, even a few minutes longer, my father… my king… I don’t know just what he might’ve done. So… the quest is a farce… maybe. I don’t know.”
Loress looked at her thoughtfully, “So… Princess… what is it you plan to do?”
Essenta grinned ferally, remembering the same thing she told Ama at breakfast, they day after they met her… the day she joined them, “Even if we can’t get the so-called ‘Dragon Lance’, I- we are going to turn the world upside down a little bit. I’m not going back to the Dale with nothing to show for it. I don’t know exactly what’s waiting for us down there, but we plan to find out.”
Loress, a few happy tears forming in her eyes, enthused, “Well… the Dragon Lance does exist. It’s Terran-made. That’s what your father wants? It does reside in the Salvatrix Temple. King Dale no doubt heard of the plague… If you could get past all the traps and strangeness in the temple… it’s possible to attain it. If nopony beats you there.”
Light dawned in Essenta’s and her company’s eyes. Maybe this horseshit quest meant something after all.
Loress, her tears now falling down her cheeks, wavered, “As for your offer… I’d love to go with all of you… if you’ll have me.”
Essenta leaned over and hugged the little Terran. She received a bone crushing hug right back.
“Too tight! Too tight!”
Loress let up, “Sorry! This better?”
It was, and Essenta patted her back. With that, they all cleaned up after their little tea party, and Loress put the table back where it belonged. Since they’d be able to skip the long route, they ran back to town for supplies. Loress met up with the merchant, and apologizing profusely, resigned, much to his horror.
Well… he had money. He could just hire somepony else to do it. It payed better than picking fruit. He would have to lower his fare considerably, and any offers of "besting the guard" would not be offered anymore. Ponies had concerns about the bridge, even if the fare was low... If ponies could afford to cross the bridge, the canyon towns might see less business. Most of them popped up as a result of, and depended on the fact the canyon was impassable. But the concern was unfounded. The road by the canyon went east for hundreds of miles; it connected the land to the eastern cities, so travel along the Canyon Road would still occur.
As Loress went around town with the company, they realized the monster guarding the bridge was also the same ravishing mare they now beheld. The drunk, old Pegasus that had so frightened Dechaa, having apparently never left his stool, pulled the same nonsense with her when they stopped by the pub for a keg of ale. And she reacted much the same way, scrambling out of the pub, to the chorus of laughter from its patrons.
Zyra found a nice cart for an ounce of gold, and they decided to invest in it as a group. It was more than enough space for their gear and weapons. Loress, thankfully, left her incredible plated suit where she dropped it. She had lighter materials. They left the gatehouse as it was. It was no longer their concern.
Loading up their new wagon, Zyra cast a lightening spell upon it. One could blow hard on it and it would roll away, so she also put on a brake. They could take turns pulling it, or even if they didn’t, nopony would tire out from it. And now they could walk, unencumbered. Lovingly packing her tea set and cookware, Loress took one last look at the gatehouse. She wouldn’t exactly miss the place. She wished she’d met more ponies, but had been stuck with her duty, day in and day out, wearing that ridiculous suit of armor.
With a smile, Loress set hoof on the bridge alongside Essenta. The company followed, and they made their way south, in the early afternoon warmth.
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The chapter does feel a bit off; a big part of it I think is it's really a foregone conclusion and everything proceeds a little too smoothly.
It's also a classic case of going really far to make an obstacle (in this case, the Terran) look insurmountable, then when a clever trick beats it, backing off with words about how this was only a small version. It's a bit clunky to have Terrans put into the setting to begin with, and having to build them up in this way makes it very blatantly obvious what you're doing as a writer.
Overall, this chapter kind of loses the magic of the story; everything's too obvious.
9037001
She's the juggernaut bitch!
9050837
I don't think I've watched that video since Bush was president, but I remember when it appeared 12 or 13 years ago; I laughed until I cried. I'm sure I can find it and the sequels were pretty funny too.