Failure, Eternally Retold, Part Two: Nature's Blessings

by Kiernan

Chapter the Tenth: Damage Control

Celestia stepped out of her chariot and grabbed the major by the shoulder. "Tell me what's happened," she demanded.

"I don't know," he responded, shaking his head. "One of my scouts comes in and reports seeing an anomaly, I came to check it out, and... Well, see for yourself."

Another large chunk of Equestria had disappeared, and been replaced with terrain that didn't belong there. This one was a section of forest, like the first, but with a few bits of structure littered about. Most notably, a small platform in a tree, perhaps the beginnings of a treehouse, but it was only big enough for one adult pony. Even then, there wasn't much room. What space was there was taken up mostly by a simple metal chair.

"You said in your report that there was some strange creature that you managed to capture?"

The major nodded. "It did something to four of my soldiers. They're in the infirmary, but I don't know if they'll recover from this. Their injuries are pretty bad. I have the weapon locked in a trunk at the moment so it can't be used."

Celestia nodded. "I'd like to start with the injured soldiers, if that's alright with you."

"Of course, Princess. Right this way."

They made their way to the infirmary, which was essentially just a big tent with wounded ponies and medics in it. The ground was covered in grass mats to simulate some kind of floor, and the medical beds were just cots with a water-sealed mattress on top. "This was the best we could do on such short notice," admitted the major. "We plan to escort them out of here and to a real hospital as soon as we're sure they'll survive the trip."

Celestia approached the only soldier who was awake, as the others were still anesthetized. His abdomen was wrapped snugly in gauze. "Are you lucid enough to speak?" she asked.

The stallion saluted and nodded. "Yes, majesty."

"This isn't a formal event, you don't have to salute me in your current condition."

"I'm sorry, I just... I thought..." The machine next to him beeped, indicating a rise in blood pressure.

"At ease," said Celestia, in her most calming tone. "You're not in any kind of trouble, I just want to know what happened to you."

The stallion nodded, but everypony could tell that he was still very nervous. "Right, we were called out to investigate the shift in terrain, and we saw the creature up in its perch. We called out to it, and then we heard a loud bang, and saw something come from the creature's claw. The next thing we knew, PFC Sweet Heart was on the ground and bleeding. I pulled him behind a rock with PFC Dew Drop, and while he was applying first aid, the rest of us coordinated our plan to take the creature down from its perch before somepony else was hurt. I made it past the tree line, and then I felt like I was hit in the gut with a huge stick. I didn't see any stick, but it must have been big, and it must have been sharp, because it pierced right into my gut. It was also accompanied by a loud bang. I managed to stay with my senses for long enough to see my fellow soldiers take the creature out of its perch, and the next thing I knew, I woke up here."

A nurse approached. "When we were inspecting the wound, we found this." He held up a small surgical tray, and among the bloody bandages was s small four-pronged claw, made of what looked to be copper, only 9 millimetres at the point where it all joined together. "We're not sure what it is, exactly, but one of our soldiers brought this back, and we think it might be related somehow." He held up a brass tube of about the same diameter, pressing the two together to show how they thought it fit. The other end of the tube was sealed off, but stamped into the metal were a few Characters.

Celestia held the tube up and looked at the stamped end closely. "Nine M M plus P. Any idea what that means?" Everypony shook their heads. "We'll have to find out." She gave the tube back to the nurse and walked out of the tent. "Show me this weapon you found."

The major escorted Celestia to his tent, where he had stored it. After opening three locks, he lifted the lid and stood back. "Be careful, Princess. We don't know how it works yet."

Celestia was very gentle as she lifted the device out of the chest. It was a very strange looking weapon, but she had seen something similar to it in the past. "Do you happen to know anypony in the kingdom of Course, major?"

"I'm sorry, princess, but I do not. Do you think they might be behind this?"

Celestia shook her head. "While it's a possibility, I'm not sure about it. I'm only asking because this looks similar to a weapon I saw over there on a recent visit. I think they called it a bow cross, or something like that. Supposedly, it's a bow that's always ready to fire, and it hits harder than normal arrows."

"If you wish for me to find out, I can be on the next boat to Course," said the major, saluting.

"That won't be necessary," responded Celestia. "I'll just send them a message, and have them come here. Their bow cross was also made of metal and wood joined together, but it wasn't quite like this. It had a big bar across the front, and both sides were bound by a flax weave. Furthermore, the munitions used by the bow cross were these short wooden sticks. Not as short as that metal claw, but shorter than a common arrow."

She had to admit, the wooden piece at the end looked very similar to a crossbow stock, and that lead her to believe that the forward facing claw where the trigger mechanism would have been on a crossbow was the trigger mechanism for this device, as well. That all lead her to believe she knew where the most dangerous part of this weapon was.

She pointed to the open end of the metal tube protruding from the end opposite the stock. "Keep away from this end," she said, placing it back in the chest. "I believe that's the part that causes injuries. I want this sent directly to the castle, and that's where we will look into it."

"Of course, princess," nodded the major, closing the box and locking it. "We'll have it to you as quick as we can."

"Safely, though. No unnecessary damages."

"Of course, Princess."

"Now, I think it's time I saw this creature."

The major escorted Celestia to her next location, another tent. Inside were four heavily armed, fully armored ponies and one large ape-like creature with its wrists and ankles bound, and a cloth gag in its mouth. "We had to gag it because it wouldn't stop screaming," said the major. "It bit the soldier that was trying to feed it this morning, and then started screaming again. We're not sure what it is exactly, so we called in an expert. She's supposed to be here later today."

Celestia took off the gag and draped it around the creature's neck. "I'm going to ask you some questions. If you can, I'd like you to--" She was interrupted by the creature spitting in her face.

"I got rights!" he yelled accusingly at her. "If you think I'm gonna talk, you can bend on over and suck m--" He was interrupted by having the gag replaced in his mouth.

"I'll leave it to the expert, then," said Celestia, wiping the saliva from her cheek. "Hopefully, they'll have more luck than I did."