The Immortal Dream

by Czar_Yoshi

Eyes On Abyssinia

"Well, I'll be!" The fat walrus in the tavern corner pointed a flipper at Corsica as she carefully rolled closer, recognition shining in his crinkled, jolly eyes. "I remember your face! You were here with that mechanical pony a while ago! Welcome back, missy, welcome back!"

At his gesture, the rest of the table looked up, some craning their necks and a few moving aside to make room - hospitality Corsica would easily accept. "Hey!" said a spherical frog, its ears flapping in excitement. "I remember you too! You remember me, right, old buddy? Old pal?"

The trio of polar bears lifted their sunglasses to squint at her in perfect sync. "Say," one slowly began, "weren't you there when...?"

"Wow," Corsica said, rolling up to the table. "I really made that big of a splash? Last time I was here, I just hung out and did nothing."

"Ponies are memorable!" the walrus defensively insisted. "Though I'm afraid I have a better memory for appearances than names... I'm Jones, in case you're the same?"

"Corsica," Corsica said, noting that not one of the creatures here was commenting on her age - understandable, since she was surprised they remembered her at all as it was - or on her roller cart, which was much more surprising. "And she's Nanzanaya. This a good spot to kill some time and help her lighten up?"

"Did someone say killing time?" Fauntleroy, the tavern's lanky owner, sidled over with the grace of a phantom thief, wielding a pen and clipboard in one hand and a platter in the other. "Can't speak to that, but if you'd accept the death of your taste buds instead, I got a great new drink in this weekend... How can I whet you ladies' whistles this fine afternoon?"

Corsica blinked, remembering the actual purpose of taverns. On the one hoof, now that her mind was finally her own again, it would be nice to keep it that way. On the other, she really had gotten several years chopped off her age, which meant that she definitely wasn't old enough now... Hold on, that wasn't on the other hoof, that was a second reason to say no. On the other hoof, Nanzanaya was clearly trouble, so Corsica needed to keep a level head to deal with her-

Was this for real? All Corsica could think of were reasons to ask for something soft, and yet her mental calculus kept insisting that abstinence was a losing proposition. Why not go bold, be adventurous?

She shook her head in disgrace, forced her eyes shut and tapped the table with a hoof. "Gimmie something a kid can drink."

"I'll take the house special," Nanzanaya cheerfully volunteered, nudging Corsica. "You're paying, right?"

"Yeah, whatever," Corsica grunted, trying not to think about Nanzanaya's age. Was impulsive stupidity a part of her own personality that had been hammered out by her special talent and brought back by her wish, or was this just the way all teenagers were?

Excessive policing of her own thoughts was supposed to be a relic of her past, now that her special talent was gone. The whole point of getting rid of it was to be free to think and feel and act how she wanted, without restraint or consequences! But no, here she was, doing it again to act like the twenty-year-old she wasn't instead of the seventeen-year-old she was.

Fauntleroy was back in a flash, passing Nanzanaya a wooden tankard overflowing with tan foam with a you're doomed expression and a dainty little glass to Corsica that looked to be filled with orange juice. Corsica reddened and sank lower on her roller. For something she was doing to soothe her adult ego, this sure felt embarrassing.

"I'm feeling the deja vu," one of the polar bears said in a deep baritone, nodding at Corsica. "You definitely were there for the thing. You remember what we're talking about, right?"

"Huh?" Corsica looked up from her orange juice, grateful for any distraction. "Uh, no. I lead an eventful life. Think I've seen you before, don't remember anything special about it. Should I?"

The polar bears nodded in sync as Nanzanaya cautiously sniffed and sipped at her foam. "You were with the party that found us in the swamp after our memories got zapped," said another bear. "With that changeling who was pretending to be an alicorn? Teleported us all the way back here, remember?"

Corsica still wasn't sure how much she remembered the polar bears, but she definitely had a memory of Twilight realizing the Abyssinians thought she was a changeling with classless tastes. Which had come from Fauntleroy, actually...

"So how's that been going?" Corsica asked, figuring it would be much faster to let them remind her than try to remember it all on her own. "You guys really did get zapped?"

"Completely and utterly." The third one nodded. "The dragons confirmed it was their you-know-what that did the job. We've been slipping back into society, but it's only been a month, so..." He shrugged. "Baby steps?"

The spherical frog who had greeted Corsica earlier nodded excitedly, sending his ears flapping. "It's been the talk of the town! Opinions are split on whether they were involved in some shady business that backfired, or they got on the wrong side of that rogue guy from the department of you know what. But everyone works the fields in groups now, just in case they become his next target!"

"The department of you know what?" Nanzanaya raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I don't know. You have secretive government organizations here?"

Corsica nodded, fairly certain they were talking about the memory-wiping batponies, including the one that had supposedly attacked Halcyon before disappearing... not that Halcyon ever told her about these things. She couldn't even blame this one on her hazy memories. That was all Halcyon.

"Yeah, you're not supposed to know!" the frog insisted. "That's the whole point of what they do!"

Nanzanaya raised a skeptical eyebrow, and Jones chortled. But as Corsica watched, she began to get the feeling someone was right behind her, and wasn't mobile enough to whip her head around.

Another instance of her infirmity forcing her to play it cool... Silver linings, right? She flicked her tail. "Don't wanna take a seat?"

Two identical batponies slipped into her vision, claiming the stools on either side of her.

"Hey," one said. "Long time no see."

The other winked.

"Am I really that memorable?" Corsica asked, raising an eyebrow.

The second rolled her eyes and shrugged, and the first gave an oh yeah wink.

"Should I be flattered?" Corsica asked warily, vaguely recalling a pair of batpony twins that had been the shadiest characters at the table last time around.

"Oh, you should humor her," Jones encouraged, his blubber shaking as he spoke. "Poor Yunie's been on probation with the dragons ever since last month's incident! She's just trying to entertain herself on the straight and narrow!"

"Shut up, pops!" Yunie - evidently the one who had spoken - said. "For the last time, stop telling everyone you meet that I'm turning over a new leaf! It's embarrassing!"

Her twin nodded in furious agreement. Corsica glanced at the twin in confusion. Only one of the duo got called out, huh?

"But, uh, anyway, yeah, I remember you," Yunie said. "Hard not to, when your marefriend was the one who got me in so much trouble. You and her an item yet?"

"What?" Corsica frowned. "If you're talking about Halcyon, we're not an item."

Yunie nodded along. "Mmm. That's a different flavor from last time. Still good, though. You two have a fight or something?"

"Yunie," Jones warned.

Corsica gave the more talkative batpony a look. "That's none of your business."

Yunie and her clone both flickered with green changeling fire, and a second later Corsica found herself flanked by two shoddy Halcyon clones. They had done a decent job on the faces, but that was about it: there were no leg colors, the special talent was wrong, and the complete lack of clothing made them almost unrecognizable compared to her friend's usual appearance.

"You could make it our business," Yunie said with a seductive wink, her silent twin striking a flirty pose.

Once again, Corsica's instinct to avoid hurting herself with sudden movements was all that let her remain calm and composed... even if, internally, she felt an urge to smack the faces in front of her and give Halcyon a piece of her mind for what she had done at the laughter palace. "You're not very good at this," she deadpanned. "And Halcyon doesn't know how to make that expression."

Yunie whistled. "Okay, so it was a bad fight. Guess you're not the right venue to mess with her by proxy. My bad."

Both her and the twin turned back into their regular batpony forms.

"Don't get me wrong, you're welcome to mess with her," Corsica grunted. "Just, she's several continents away-"

She was interrupted by a furious sputtering and choking as Nanzanaya, eyes bugged out, barely managed to land her mug upright after taking a sip. "Haaaaaugh!" the zebra panted. "W-w-w-w..."

Fauntleroy slipped past with a stupid grin, sliding a glass of water to a stop right in front of her.

Corsica laughed as Nanzanaya gulped it down, the whole rest of the table joining in. Half of her was glad she had been smart and chosen the orange juice, and she took a classy sip to celebrate. The other half thought that looked kind of fun.

Yunie's twin got up and helped the spherical frog to pound Nanzanaya's back, and in a moment, she had recovered enough to speak. "That's an experience..."

The frog took a whiff of her mug and blanched, its ears standing up ramrod straight.

"South Badlands Swill," Fauntleroy explained, hanging close enough to ensure that one of his customers wasn't about to die. "It's a recent recipe, maybe twenty years old. After the old fermenting crops died out when the desert started getting worse, they found some new ones that are hardier and not as good. So you drink this stuff to show you're tougher than hard new times while reminiscing about the good old days. Being terrible is the point!"

"Twenty years ago?" Nanzanaya raised an eyebrow, still shaking a little from the effects of the drink. "Resources have been getting scarcer in Abyssinia, you say? Is this why you invade your neighbors? A shortage of food?"

Fauntleroy whistled uncomfortably. "You know, I'm not really one for politics..."

"You asking 'cause you're a zebra?" Yunie tilted her head casually. "I wouldn't sweat it. No one in Abyssinia would be dumb enough to go after any of our other neighbors when all the warmongers are currently wagering our existence on beating the ice dragons."

Nanzanaya frowned. "Are you certain of this?"

Jones glanced around the tavern, which was only just starting to fill up for the evening rush. "I don't see any of our resident experts who love explaining the situation, but the Abyssinia I know has plenty of goodwill for its neighbors! Most of the time."

"When they're not hoarding magic we need for our survival," the deep-voiced polar bear said.

"They do that?" Nanzanaya asked, putting on a very good innocent facade that suggested she wasn't in Equestria purely to convince their leadership to attack Abyssinia on behalf of the defense of her own homeland.

"That's what all the newspapers say," the polar bear said with a shrug. "I make a point of reading every single publication in the city. When your history's gone, why not become an expert in current affairs?"

"Nerd," another polar bear whispered. The third kicked him.

"The dragons see the war from a cultural standpoint," the deep-voiced bear went on. "At least, that's the signal their presses send. Most of them think they're trying to defend cultural monuments from barbaric invaders. My countryfolk mostly see it from a survival standpoint. They think there's old magic the dragons have buried away that'll help them survive... and with the state of Abyssinia, the need for survival is obvious to anyone with eyes. You should see the pictures. The land itself is rotting, and the seas no longer behave like any water you and I know. And all this started happening within the last quarter century."

Corsica tilted her head. "Is this town really that new? Last time I was here, you said it mostly cropped up as a result of the war."

"Yes and no," Jones said. "Our nations have always been like squabbling siblings, going back for generations! But we care about each other where it matters. It's hip these days to talk doom about the present state of the world, but when has it ever not been? Things aren't so different now than they were when I was a pup."

Yunie gave him a skeptical look, her twin falling over with an exaggerated facehoof. "Um, pops, I'm pretty sure all the dudes on both sides currently dying in the war wouldn't agree with you on that."

Jones muttered unhappily, but didn't reply.

"So these are recent developments," Nanzanaya said. "What about the tower on your border with Aptann?"

"Oh, so you know about that?" Yunie nodded along. "Yeah, not surprising. I'll bet you anything it's related. It showed up right before the seas began to change, right down to the day. I was there, you know. Got to explore the place on day one, but it was so tall I didn't make it even close to the top. Bet you can't even breathe at the top, it goes so high up."

Nanzanaya frowned. "I was told your king built that tower. You say it simply showed up?"

"Yup." Yunie nodded seriously. "There I was, minding my own business on the beach one day, hunting for treasure in a shipwreck, when suddenly there was the biggest earthquake you've ever laid eyes on. I flew straight up 'cuz I knew a quake like that would probably cause a tsunami, which it did, but before even that happened I got to watch the tower literally grow from the ground. Looked like a bunch of plants sprouting up and then weaving together in midair. Right in the middle of the village. The place was a mess. Everyone had to write it off as a total loss and move out the moment help arrived. Whole thing took less than fifteen minutes."

"You were a local?" Nanzanaya pressed, curious. "You lived there prior to its appearance? Were there any strange factors, indications that it would happen or why it happened? Tell me more."

"Curious, are you?" Yunie smirked. "Nah, nothing that would indicate it was about to happen. Not obviously, at least. It came completely out of the blue. One moment, everything was fine, and the next... boom."

Her twin mimed an eruption for emphasis.

"No indication of its purpose?" Nanzanaya pressed harder. "How did your government respond?"

Yunie shrugged. "Helped relocate us. What else do you do? And I think they sent some mages to check it out once they realized the weather was getting weird. Those guys grilled me for a while since I was one of the first people to see inside, but they didn't look like athletic types so there's no way they made it even as high as I did. And I didn't find nothing up there. Just empty rooms and hallways, all made of this weird purple crystal that felt kind of strange to touch. Couldn't say how."

"And what's this tower doing now?" Nanzanaya frowned. "Your government has it cordoned off from the public for their safety and no one is allowed to see what they're using it for, presumably?"

Yunie scoffed. "Nah, they tried to do that for a few years, but then someone came along and kicked them out and claimed it as a castle. Abyssinia's government isn't that coordinated. Honestly, it was a miracle they were able to come help out in the first place, and they probably wouldn't have if our village hadn't paid hefty tributes to the crown. We were one of the only places in the nation that could actually trade with Equestria, so we were like... indispensable to the economy, and stuff."

Corsica listened along, knowing there were only two things that could be going through Nanzanaya's mind right now: she had come to Equestria to tell them the tower was an Abyssinian military threat against her country. Either she was lying to cover up her real motive and was thinking about how to prevent Yunie's version of events from conflicting with her story, or she was wondering if the information her own superiors had given her was flawed.

She took another sip of orange juice. Watching someone else's plans get the Ironridge treatment, over a matter she had no stake in, was deeply satisfying.

"You traded with Equestria?" Nanzanaya asked, skeptical. "I was under the impression Equestrians considered Abyssinians to be monsters."

"Eh." Yunie shrugged. "Changelings are a special case, since we can look like normal ponies well enough. It was a whole town of us. Providing certain 'services' to those in the know. Turns out some ponies will pay huge amounts of money for one more day with a dead friend, that one crush who got away... You name it."

At this, Corsica leaned in, her attention grabbed. "I thought changelings only learned to shapeshift recently. Have Abyssinian ones been doing it for a while?"

"Uhhhh..." Yunie suddenly backpedaled. "Just to be sure, neither of you is a monarchist stooge, right? Because you have hung out with the dragons, and there are teensy little rumors you know a Princess as well?"

"I'm from the Aptann Valley," Nanzanaya promised. "Which isn't to say that I don't value relations with my Equestrian neighbors, but I prefer to sing to my own tune."

Corsica nodded. "I'm not a stooge, but those rumors might have some truth to them."

"Welp. Sorry," Yunie said. "In that case, I've probably blabbed too much already. Not that I don't like blabbing, but Equestria really dislikes changelings after some of us attacked Canterlot a year or two back? Our village is toast, so it's probably no biggie I just told you where that used to be, but we're really trying to fly under the monarchy's radar..."

Corsica thought about that. From her interactions with Princess Twilight... Well, Twilight had been spending most of that time telling her to get up and stop lazing around. She wanted to go with her instincts and say Twilight wasn't the kind of leader who would be mad about the mere presence of changelings... but then again, there was that whole incident in the Crystal Empire where Halcyon and Nanzanaya got busted for sneaking around. And she remembered the dragons having a well-drilled changeling protocol.

It probably wasn't safe to promise anything in order to try to learn more. But without doing Yunie dirty, she very much wanted to learn more about this changeling business from the other sides.

"Psst," hissed the spherical frog to Yunie. "Is this about the thing with the Royal Guard, where you awaken to your powers by-"

Yunie smacked him in the lips with an urgent hoof. "Shut up, Leeroy! Whose side are you even on!?"

"Oops," Leeroy whispered. Jones shook his head in disgrace.

The Royal Guard, huh? Corsica gave Leeroy a knowing smile.

Nanzanaya had a smug smile of her own. "So how do you handle South Badlands Swill?" she asked Yunie, poking her on the shoulder to get her attention. "If you can keep down a whole gulp of this, I'll change the subject away from changelings."

Yunie swiped the mug, chugged half of it, let out a thunderous belch, and then passed it to her twin to finish off, who followed suit. "You got a lot to learn about how much toughness is normal around here, kid," she wheezed, clearly suffering for her stunt, yet able to push through it. "Now pay up. What's your story, eh?"

Corsica raised an eyebrow, curious how Nanzanaya would spin her reasons for being in Equestria to this particular audience.

The zebra took a moment to think, gently tapping her forehooves together. "That tower isn't just bad for your own lands, you know. It's practically on our border. Our lands are suffering too. I came to ask Equestria to do something about it."

Huh. Honesty. Or at least sticking to her story. Not what Corsica expected.

"Equestria, eh?" Yunie gave her a mischievous look. "Not gonna come to your neighbors who actually claim the land and tell 'em to better regulate their fiefdoms?"

Nanzanaya hesitated again. "...The Aptann Valley has a strongly centralized government. Forgive me if I assumed the tower's continued presence signified a tacit approval of its effects within your lands."

Yunie rolled her eyes. "Lady, if we knew how to make our lands stop being all woo-woo..." She waved her hooves like an inflatable balloon mare for emphasis. "We'd have done it long ago. But I think the current sentiment from on high is that this is, like, the beginning of the end of the world? And that you can't really stop what's already been started."

Nanzanaya gazed levelly at her. "And what if I told you I have it on good authority that bringing down that tower will actually fix everything, for both of our nations?"

"Eh, good luck with that." Yunie blew a raspberry. "That tower's new lord doesn't really keep the place open for business. You'd need an army to get in there, and Abyssinia's army is currently busy fighting the ice dragons, and convincing them to do otherwise is a preeetty tough ask. Besides, we had that tower to ourselves for like... more than a decade, and it was just empty rooms. Far as I know, at least. Point is, no one wants to spend effort reclaiming a position they already know to be useless."

"Who is this tower's new lord?" Corsica asked. "Someone the crown doesn't have much authority over, it sounds like?"

Yunie shook her head. "The crown doesn't have much authority over anyone save for having the most powerful mages in town. Abyssinia at large is a fiefdom. The army that actually does the fighting in Cernial is just a bunch of warlords fighting under a united banner for various reasons, some better than others. So the new lord is literally just someone strong enough to walk in and set up a perimeter. I'd already left the area by the time it happened, so I don't know anything about them."

"Hmmm..." Nanzanaya mused. "Does that mean the Abyssinian crown wouldn't take it as much of an insult if any of their neighbors - say, Equestria or Aptann - walked in and razed the tower for themselves?"

"Uhhhhhhh," Yunie said. "If you ever actually get to make a decision like that, you should maybe base it off more than just my opinions? I'm, like, one random punk in a bar somewhere halfway across the world."

"Yes," Nanzanaya pointed out. "And you're also someone who claims to have been there when it first appeared. Additionally, I don't find myself interacting with many Abyssinians. So I find your opinions interesting."

Yunie scratched her rump. "Well, I don't think anyone cares about the tower keeper's feelings, and I think we'd probably be pretty happy if stuff actually started working right again with the environment? But sending an army onto Abyssinia's lands is kind of a declaration of war, no matter who you're fighting."

Nanzanaya frowned thoughtfully.

"...Have we kept this down long enough, by the way?" Yunie asked, sharing a look with her twin and then at Nanzanaya.

"Huh?" Nanzanaya blinked.

"Gonna take that as a yes," Yunie said, sliding shakily off her stool and embracing her twin. "Alright, I'm gonna go find a ditch somewhere that no one will need for the next day or two. Smell ya later, monarchist stooges!"

The two of them wobbled out of the tavern, showing much less coordination than even a minute ago as they made their abrupt exit.

Nanzanaya put a hoof to her chin. "So that's the topic that makes her excuse herself..."

One of the polar bears chuckled. "I think that was actually your drink."

Jones guffawed, slapping the table with a flipper. "Oh, you're new around here, so I can't blame you for not realizing she'd take your dare. That mare's stomach is truly a marvel, but even it has limits."

"I'm surprised she held out for so long!" Leeroy added.

Nanzanaya picked up her mug and looked at the froth on the bottom. "Huh. I guess this stuff really was that bad."

"So what's with the other one?" Corsica asked. "You talk about her like she's only one pony, but she's got her mute tagalong twin?"

"That's pretty much all there is to it," one of the polar bears said. "Her cutie mark gives her a second body somehow. The finer details are a mystery, since she just makes the conversation get really horny if you ask her how it works. Learned that the hard way. Don't try it at home."

Another polar bear shrugged. "Isn't that your own fault for not being into ponies? I bet those two-"

"I'm actually not really interested in this conversation," Corsica interrupted, the bear pointing at her and Nanzanaya. "And this place is getting fuller by the minute. What do you say we clear out and make room for the higher-paying customers who can actually hold their liquor?" She patted her roller. "Besides, this makes me mega slow, and I'd like to get home before midnight."

Jones raised an eyebrow. "That isn't an augment to help you go faster?"

"What?" Corsica blinked. "No, it's a support because I fell off a cliff and literally can't move without it..."

Jones' eyes widened in alarm. "My dear, you ought to be resting in that case!"

Corsica gave him a peeved grin. "Or we could go back to the reality where none of you were commenting on it because you're tough and gritty geezers who see nothing unusual about a filly wandering in with more breaks than a unionized warehouse job."

Leeroy's ears wobbled. "So... not very many, then?"

"Shut up." Corsica held her grin in place, trying to detach her roller from the spot where it had come to rest, one of its wheels stuck in something sticky. "You try coming up with good puns on the fly."

One of the polar bears stood up and bowed. "May I escort you? The roads of this town can't be good for your wheels."

"Huh?" Corsica let her grin drop. "Any particular reason, or just feeling nice?"

The polar bear shrugged. "You did save us when we were lost in the woods after losing our memories. What goes around comes around, right?"

Another one nodded. "And I'll get your tab for the night!"

Instantly, Fauntleroy appeared, wearing a sharp-toothed grin. "Did someone just utter my absolute favorite phrase?"

The third polar bear chuckled. "More of a favorite than 'everyone's drinks on me'?"

Fauntleroy gave him a side-eye. "Second-favorite phrase. On a technicality." He picked up Nanzanaya's tankard and sniffed it. "I see you opted to poison my favorite set of twins. Would be a shame to leave without sharing in their experience, don't you think?"

Nanzanaya gave him a polite look. "I already shared in it, thanks."

"Oh, that little sip?" Fauntleroy raised both eyebrows, then smirked. "No. No, I don't think you did. Careful not to step in any ditches on the way home if you can't already see the bottom, fillies. And come again soon!"

He raised a hand, waving lazily and scooting off to the next table over.

---

Dusk had settled in by the time Corsica was at the gate separating Freedom Town from Snowport's fortress. The walk from the tavern was just long enough to let her watch the stars come out, and there was no trouble along the way for her polar bear escort to ward off.

"I think we'll be fine from here," Corsica said, a stone's throw away from the gate's guardhouse, which was staffed less vigilantly than when she had come here with Twilight. "Thanks for the walk, old dude."

The polar bear saluted. "Give our regards to your other friends if you see them again, too. And keep an eye out for strangers if you go out alone. They still haven't caught the culprit yet, so there might just be a brainwasher still on the loose nearby. Take it easy, ladies!"

He turned to walk away, and Corsica rolled onward, Nanzanaya at her side. Like true professionals, the guards remembered both of them from earlier in the day, and after a bit of small talk waved them on through.

"You're still staying on the boat, then?" Corsica asked Nanzanaya as they walked.

"Sure am." Nanzanaya nodded. "I have a mission, after all. And staying in Princess Twilight's orbit as long as possible is my best venue for seeing it through."

"Anything you heard tonight change things?" Corsica raised an eyebrow. "Their version of events kind of differs from your own."

"It does." Nanzanaya flicked her tail. "And I'm inclined to trust theirs, as I've never been to Abyssinia or seen the conditions there for myself. It would also be very convenient for me if they were telling the truth, as the indifference of their king makes this a much easier task than if he was outright hostile. They also confirmed the core tenet of my mission here: even if Abyssinia is not building the tower up as a fortress as a prelude to invasion, the negative effects it has on my land are documented by their people, as well."

Corsica listened, focusing on her hooves to keep them from getting tangled up in the cart wheels. "Huh."

"Of course, it's possible that they are lying," Nanzanaya added. "Trying to put an innocent facade on their nation's true intentions. But such dedication would be strange to find in a village this remote and unimportant. The best result would be that diplomacy can take me further than anticipated, and I might treat with their king as well to seek aid and sanction for this tower's destruction. Unfortunately, this new tower lord still presents a threat I will need a military force to remove... I have much to think on. I very much hope we stay here for a few days, so I can speak to more of the civilians about the state of their home."

"Sounds reasonable," Corsica said. Surprisingly so, even. Nanzanaya was extremely shady; she had established that much from observing her over their previous stay in the Crystal Empire, and... probably other events she had forgotten about. It was hard to remember things that had happened during a period of her life where nothing whatsoever was allowed to be important.

But everything she had done and said tonight lined up with the actions someone would take if they really were concerned about the effects the tower had on her land, and wanted it gone at any cost. Granted, getting rid of it probably wasn't the actual solution, when it was likely a broken crystal palace that needed to be fixed instead of razed. But Corsica didn't talk about her own knowledge of crystal palaces in public spaces. Telling people about her experience down in Laughter's palace, or watching Ironridge's Kindness palace break, would lead to endless hours of questions. So she couldn't fault Nanzanaya for doing presumably the same.

They made it back to the harbor without incident, where the ship was still in one piece. Corsica had to wait on the deck for Nanzanaya to climb down and get Starlight to help her down the stairs, and as she passed by the engine room doorway on her way to her cabin, she saw that her old special talent was still stuck in the engine, still making that all-consuming buzz.

Welcome back! Did you have fun? that voice asked, speaking once again into her head.

"Sure did," Corsica muttered under her breath, rolling along to her cabin. Tomorrow, bar anything catastrophic happening - and Starlight had reassured Nanzanaya no fewer than three times that the ship was not about to explode and was in a perfect stasis until someone decided to mess with it - she would have to get to the bottom of that voice and figure out who was talking to her. Because it was definitely not a hallucination.

Comments

[KMCA]

I wonder if the voice is pre-incident Corsica.

[Okie Brony]

Another fascinating chapter. One of the reasons I'm still following this story is the incredible world-building. Even if I think it's silly that this world is a Discworld that's almost infinitely large.

---

Here's some appropriate bar music. Nothing happens in the video, so after you start it, I strongly recommend scrolling back up and rereading some of the bar scene.

🍺🍻🥃