Ghost of the Everfree

by David Silver

49 - All Lines Made One

With food secured and an evening of safe rest, the group settled to get their first proper sleep since arriving in that town. Adventurers or not, sleep was a part of a healthy way forward. Apple Bloom was the first awake. A farmer by blood and habit, she was ready to get right to work.

"Good morning." Oh, one other had also awakened, their caretaker. "I don't have any real breakfast supplies," she admitted with a sigh. "A little oatmeal good enough?"

Apple Bloom closed with the adult, patting her. "A little oatmeal sounds more than fine. Ain't tryin' to eat ya out of yer own supplies, and they ain't givin' ya anything fer the rest of 'em."

A drop splashed on the ground. The mare gently pulled Apple Bloom close. "A little foal shouldn't have to worry about that..."

Apple Bloom colored faintly in the embrace of the saddened mothering pony. "We're not just foals, ah--"

"I know that," she gently cut in. "Normal foals don't rescue a train full of injured adults. Normal foals... don't pull other foals away from ... I heard...I heard... You may not be 'normal' foals, but you're still a foal." She gently ruffled the top of Apple Bloom's mane. "And you still don't deserve this."

"We signed up fer this." Apple Bloom wriggled away gently. "We're here to help."

The mare walked towards her own kitchen, vanishing inside. "I'll have a little something ready for you all. You'll have a busy day ahead of you, I'm sure."

"Figures you'd be up." Diamond emerged from their room, Silver just behind. "What's up, besides you?"

Apple Bloom smiled at the two fillies joining her. "Hey. She's makin' up some oatmeal fer us. We're a bit short on supplies, so let's get thin's movin' so that can stop bein' a problem fer her."

Silver blinked softly. "Oat meal... alright, and...?" But there was no and, just an awkward Apple Bloom. "Oh... It's like being in Everglow again."

Diamond shoved her friend suddenly. "We made it once, we can make it again. I'll go wake up the others." She stormed off to rouse the other foals.

"Sorry." Apple Bloom shrugged. "Feel a little guilty. Ya made sure we had all kinda luxury food on the way here."

"Which means I can settle with a day or two without." Gathering herself with a deep breath, Silver Spoon stood up to her tallest. "For now, oatmeal."

And thus it was that they ate the oatmeal with the slenderest bit of butter, the last the house had. Refueled, they were ready to go. "Ah'll be back, hopefully with good news."

The mare patted Apple Bloom gently. "Just come back safe, and that'll be good news enough."

As they slipped out into town, Dry went aside the others. "You mentioned the Druid has changed. If they have, maybe others too?"

Apple Bloom made an unsure eh of a noise, ducking into cover. "Ah'da seen any others, 'least if they were guards. They're kinda obvious t' see an' all." The patrolling soldiers were quite obviously Everglow in build. Some wore helmets and some not, but none of them were full face, making the differences quite clear even if one ignored the rest.

"Form up!" shouted a female, marching back and forth in a restless pace before a line of a whole two ponies. One of them was the druid, the other not. Both were Equestrian in form. "They selected you." It was not immediately obvious who she was talking to. She did wear full armor, plated, and a full helmet. "You will be the first weather engineer up in the sky. It is by your performance that we decide if there should be more, or none. Do you understand?"

The pegasus saluted. "The weather corp takes this very seriously, ma'am!"

"Hm." The commanding female nodded shallowly. "Today we'll judge that." She turned clearly on the druid. "You will be the supervising superior on this project. If anything goes wrong, I need to be the next to know. Am I clear?"

"Entirely." He turned to the pegasus. "What matters of the weather do you mean to address today?"

"We're late on the rain." The pegasus lifted into the air. "I'll go grab some clouds and get that started. If you could, inform the ponies that rain is expected today. We're off schedule."

The druid nodded at the fleeing pegasus and turned instead to a guard standing stoically. "See that this is done. Warn everyone, ours and the residents."

The commanding female hummed. "Why are you warning the residents? The vast majority of them are indoors already. This will not impede their days, and you are diverting valuable horsepower."

The foals ducked low, listening curiously.

"It will raise their morale, to put it in your terms." The druid ran a hoof over his altered beard. "They expect the weather to be managed. Having a warning of rain, then rain, is a return to normality for them."

"Ah. Excellently thought." She turned from him. "Great. Keep an eye on that pegasus. If he flies off, it's your responsibility. And don't give me that 'I can't fly' speech, druid. You can fly when you want to."

Scootaloo leaned in towards the other. "One of these things does not belong."

Sweetie pointed at the druid. "He's an Equestrian. You mean him?"

Scootaloo shook her head vigorously. "Not him. Her." Scootaloo pointed at the withdrawing form of the commander. "She's the only one all covered up... like she's scared, of being attacked, or..."

Diamond leered at the vanishing armored flank of the commander. "Or she has something to hide. Good eye."

"Thank you." But it wasn't Scootaloo. The druid was looking down at them all. "You've found friends."

The foals recoiled, jumping away, at least except Apple Bloom, who was laughing nervously. "Hey there... Um." She looked around furtively. "Is it safe to talk here?"

"No, but there isn't a better place. Why are you spying on us?"

"Sir?" A female guard came in closer. "Are these foals bothering you? They shouldn't be here."

The druid waved the guard away. "They want to watch the process of weather engineering. I see no reason to deny them the educational opportunity."

"Oh." The guard turned to the others. "Commendable." She thought of it for a moment. "You're all bored, aren't you?"

Scootaloo spread her tiny wings. "I want to be a weather pro!"

The guard reached to pat Scootaloo on the head. "As a pegasus, it is your right to chase that dream. Follow him closely." She turned the hoof on the druid. "The rest of you, what's your excuse?"

"Ah might be a little bored." Apple Bloom looked to the others.

Sweetie shrugged. "My sister did some 'weather engineering' before. I wouldn't be opposed to learning more about it."

The druid waved them all along. "They're getting away from us. We won't learn here." And he led them all along like the eager little foals they were. "Now..." He glanced to be sure he wasn't being watched too carefully as he addressed the foals. "What is it you're really here for?"

Dry hurried to the druid's side. "Hello, sir... I never met a druid before. They have orders, right?"

The druid quirked an ear. "I did not expect any Equestrian child to bring that up."

Silver brushed Dry to the side, taking his place. "We've all been there, to your world." She glanced away and back. "We didn't try to take it over. That's, like, kinda rude, you know?"

"I do know." He arrived at a small hill where he could keep an eye on the busily working pegasus. "Poor thing... Clearly more fliers would make their job so much easier..."

Scootaloo followed the work with her eyes and head. "So... where's the rest of 'em? Ponyville woulda had a dozen pegasi up there." She made swooshing sounds, imagining the rush of the flight. "Take care of those clouds in no time."

"Ten seconds flat?" suggested Apple Bloom with a smirk.

"Five, with all of them." Scootaloo clapped her hooves with a big smile, missing the joke entirely.

The druid cut right between the foals and the flyer. "You didn't say what you were here for. I do want to know. I'd say your parents are worried about you, but I'm getting the feeling that isn't technically true."

"Wrong." Diamond smirked at him. "I'm pretty sure mine's freaking out, but we have an understanding. Bet he's talking to hers." She pointed to Silver Spoon, struck embarrassed. "Hers are alright." She pointed at Apple Bloom, then Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. "They were good little fillies and filled them in."

"I would hope any child of mine would at least tell me." He nodded to the well-behaved foals. "But I would not permit them such a... dangerous task. I ask once more, what are you here for, today?"

Dry hopped up to his hooves, a bounce in place. "Sir. I may be an Everglow pony, but I will defend this Equestrian town! They don't deserve this."

Silver slid in front of him protectively. "They, like, super don't. And what they did to the train? Were you involved in that?" She adjusted her glasses, glaring at the druid despite that.

"Train?" He inclined his head. "They have a train here?"

Sweetie snorted at that. "That's a firm 'no' if I ever heard one. We do have trains. They run on horsepower or coal. The one we were riding was derailed. Ponies were hurt."

"Ponies died," spoke Diamond Tiara, making that quite clear with no dancing around the topic. "The Everglow ponies killed Equestrian ponies for the 'crime' of trying to go home."

"Oh..." The druid sank to his haunches. "She promised..."

Apple Bloom patted the distraught druid gently. "Who promised?"

"The commander. You saw her." He pointed back where they had come from. "The one in full plate, barking orders. She's in charge, but I made her concede a few promises... which she has clearly broken." He thrust a hoof down with a heavy thump on the grass. "Witch... No... That's offensive to actual witches. Charming people, I have a friend of one back in Viljatown."

Several of them perked at the name of Viljatown, knowing it. Dry waved a hoof excitedly. "If she broke the promises, does that mean you don't owe her anything?"

"I already barely did." He thumped his own chest. "I'm a druid. We're not known for our military loyalty. We made a deal, and those promises were part of it. I was not coming to slaughter people who weren't fighting back. I have limits, and they are being crossed."

Diamond crossed her arms. "Put that away a moment. I have a more pressing question that may help everypony involved."

"Everypony?" The druid peered at the curious turn of phrase.

"Right. Everyone involved." She'd been on Everglow long enough to learn that. "Why does she dress like that?"

"What's she, like, hiding?" bit in Silver. "She can't be scared of being attacked by most of us. We're not good at it, not really a secret there."

A thought came to Scootaloo. "What happened to the guards that used to work here?"

The druid raised his hooves wardingly. "One question at a time. She only started dressing in full plate recently. I haven't seen her out of that suit of armor, so I couldn't tell you what prompted it."

Sweetie Belle giggled. "I bet you can! You have the same thing." She pointed at him. "It's not all bad, but I bet a super mean strict army leader'd think it's the worst."

The druid curled a hoof up to look at it, then back at himself. "Hm... She's... It's almost to laugh, imagining it." He leaned in closer to the foals. "The Equestrian body isn't entirely unworkable, just surprising. It does lack in intimidating prowess, which would bother her a great deal. What of it?"

Diamond clapped her hooves together with a scheming smile. "Then we have an angle..."

Author's Note:

You knew that druid would come up again, right?

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Comments

[redmar]

If the truth were to be revealed the commander would lose credibility.

[Booster Spice]

One reasone someone starts to hide who they are behind protection, is that they either know something overwealming might already be heading there way, or theint no longer inside,a nd instead its someone, or something else wanting death and destruction and fear and hatred?

[badninja]

I wonder how these interlopers would react if Celestia or Luna decided to pay a visit?

[howard035]

"Oh no, the commander's been replaced by an Equestrian spy!"