Episode 113: (Shining Armor): Ponyville
Pony POV Series Shining Armor Part 12
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
Pony POV Series
Written By lz0291
Edited By Kendell2, Alex Warlorn, Louis
Ponyville
I sighed even before I looked at the clock. I was awake early. Again. On what was our last full day in Zamunda. I kept waking up an hour early disorientated. Like I was already getting out of bed when I woke up. Maybe it was just something in the air or all the goat's cheese.
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Maybe it was salt? After all, you were near the coast, Goat's cheese can have over 500 milligrams of salt per 100 grams...)
I doubt that. I can hold my salt pretty well...
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): I seem to remember you mentioning something about when you got drunk and tried to learn a fireworks spell to shoot 'Maresenal for the Cup' into the sky.)
That involved rather a lot of it, hehehe...
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): You look far too proud of that.)
Anyway, most ponies forget you do still need to take over six grams of salt before you'll start feeling tipsy in most cases. I still thought the cheese was to blame at the time.
Still, things in Zamunda were going well for us. Sunset had traded mail addresses with the acrobats. Our one true snag was Private Newcastle kept getting mistaken for a Zamundan speaker. Her family's originally from Zebrinia and she doesn't even speak that language too well!The rest of Misfit 2-1 decided learning some Pundamillian before we got there would save us trouble later. Lance-Corporal Marelowe had no such problems, as his longer full-body stripes clearly marked him as part of an east Zebrafrican ethnicity.
The newlyweds were off to Prance for their honeymoon, but we had stayed for a few more days after the wedding, visiting a few sites in the capital and on the last couple of days, heading out to other smaller towns and villages.
We were heading out of the capital to a town called Mbuzishamba, far enough out that we borrowed some airships so the non-pegasi could get there within an hour or so. It roughly translated to 'Goat Field', and sure enough, there were a lot of goats milling around it. Cadence wanted to stretch her own wings and flew alongside us with the pegasi rather than in the shuttle after we left the city - I saw no problems with it. We'd brought along Misfit 1-2 and 2-2, simply to have more pegasi with us, and help prevent anypony else fretting about the risks of the Princess having a chance to get some fresh air.
Twinkle Shine did not seem to be having much fun in the light airship after that.
"Something wrong?" I asked, as she kept looking out at Cadence and Sunset happily flying with the formation.
"W-well, it's nothing really, Captain... It's just that Cadence can sometimes get a little, er... overenthusiastic about flying when she gets a chance..."
"In what ways?"
"Well, er... There was one time she raced Sunset, and since the Princess is a faster flyer, she thought carrying some extra weight would balance it out..." Minuette explained.
Given that Twinkle Shine was trying to compress herself into a one-pony ball of hugs, I guessed what the extra weight was.
"I doubt the Princess will want to race anything today. We've got a schedule to keep. Besides, we're nearly there anyway. I understand the base we're landing at is only five more minutes away, Major Oha?"
The Zamundan nodded.
"That's correct. We will then board carriages to head for Mbuzishamba. On the ground," He was careful to point out.
The landing was fairly standard, and actually somewhat lacking in fuss. After all the bells and whistle in Columbia, Zebrafrica was so far a nice change of pace. The Zamundans did give an honor guard for Cadence as a welcome, but overall the base seemed to be business as usual for the five or ten minutes we were there, most of it spent with Cadence chatting to the base commander when she said hello, and walked us to where the carriages were waiting.
"Oh, hey, Canons Pain!" Audience noted as we passed a row of Zamundan vehicles.
"There's actually something called pain cannons?" Minuette almost sighed.
"...Er, he said bread cannon, it's Prench," Gag then pointed out.
"What?"
"It's a type of field kitchen, a huge self-propelled convection oven. They're over there, behind that fence."
He was pointing at what looked like a big boxy thing on tracks with a chimney.
"Sorry, we're walking past some parked tanks apparently undergoing maintenance and you're more fascinated by field kitchens parked up a hundred meters away?" I had to wonder.
"Well, yes, Sir. They're able to bake almost three hundred baguettes at once, or up to twelve hundred croissants. The originals were stoves on carts with enchantments to have consistent heat, used by the Prench over two hundred years ago. The modern versions are six times larger because you can just stick them on a self-propelled vehicle."
"Oh. That's actually quite useful isn't it," Minuette said sheepishly.
"...Ah wonder how many apple fritters you could bake in one of them," Ellis pondered.
"Twelve hundred croissant-sized ones?" Garnet pointed out rather swiftly.
"Why do they call them cannons anyway?" Sunset wondered.
"Well, the old ones used to be towed with the stove chimneys collapsed down. It looked a lot like a cannon. Okay, and sometimes if they burnt the bread they allegedly fired it out of an actual cannon for training but that may be an apocryphal story. Either way the name stuck...."
We could tell we were getting close to Mbuzishamba when we saw lots of goats. While it wasn't a huge metropolis, being only about the size of Hoofington, it was a rather interesting town. Outside the center, most of the houses were actually built into artificial hills with turf on top of them. Cadence twigged why almost right away as we passed.
"I presume the extra turf means more grazing space for the goats?" She asked Oha.
"Correct, Your Highness. The design also helps keep the temperature inside regulated," The Zamundan said.
"Gotta be pretty dark in there though... Gonna need some fireflies or candles," Ellis noted.
"In fact there is a method of providing light in the day that is cheap and free. Each house has a small hole in the roof, in which a glass container full of water is placed. Metal mirrors around the hole shine light into the container..."
"...Refracting it and lighting up the inside without any magic or candles. That's pretty clever!" Twinkle Shine noted. If there was one thing that mare knew, it was how light magic and light in general worked.
"Indeed. The idea comes from the Fillypennes originally, but it has become popular here in Zamunda, and much of Zebrafrica. Previously, for daytime light one had to either shine it in through wide windows, use candles, magic, or glowing mushrooms."
"...Glowing mushrooms? Will they recharge my batteries?" Gag wondered.
"Er, no, Running, they'll probably give you stomach cramps and the trots," Garnet shot down his attempt at a joke.
"If he tries to hide under a box at any point today you have my permission to hit him, Private Garnet," I said.
"I wasn't going to hide under a box, Sir. I was gonna find a barrel…."
"What was that, Private?"
"Nothing, Captain."
Oha was giving us a funny look.
"...It's a joke about a series of novels," Cadence tried to explain.
"I see," he said without much conviction.
I once built the tank-box from Peace Trotter for Nightmare Night. Twilight voiced approval.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): How old were you at the time?)
Twenty-two.
Anyway, we were given the usual sort of welcome in the town full of goats: Town chief said hello outside the town hall, a few foals were paraded out to say hello, us Guards stood about stone-faced, a band played some music, and people applauded before we were led around town. Cadence was shown a few interesting things and chatted. And a goat tried to eat Garnet's medical saddlebag. Gag helped keep it at bay until an embarrassed sheep herder led it away. An actual Sheep, by the way.
That's where the word originally comes from: Many sheep herds appointed special herders to keep the flock together. Then they tried to train dogs to help and, well, that went wrong, basically. Nowadays a lot of sheep flocks in Equestria work mowing grass, as shepherds, or sell their wool. Or they join the Civil Service. A decent number are just happy to work as farm animals, most cows are the same way. Suppose they like having farmers take care of them in exchange for their wool or milk.
Still, on the subject of sheep and goats, I've got to admit goats confuse me a bit. They're related to Sheep, but they seem incapable of speech. In fact, the only records of talking goats I've ever encountered are the stories of Grogar, and he's hardly normal. Given some recent events though we may be well advised to look up old legends. And maybe also invest in canned food and shotguns. I hear they did well in the last apocalypse.
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): How could you-)
Joking. Shotguns and canned foods didn't exist when the Windigoes were around.
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Oh yes yes.)
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Wait, if goats can't talk how come some wear headsets?)
It's a funny story really. Corporal Iron Will had a pair as pets, and they'd steal his headphones whenever he was trying to listen to music. He tried to give them a pair of broken headphones for them to wear, which worked until they realized they weren't the same type he had! Iron Will claims they can still bray to each other, and are insists they're good at following orders and carrying around eight hundred pounds of minotaur.
We stood back a bit, letting the Hoofmaidens and Cadence do the talking through Oha if needed. Gag was with us in case we had any questions asked.
That wasn't the kind of questions I got.
"Um, Captain, can I speak to you for a moment? Sergeant Foaley said you might be able to help me out with something..." Ranger said, somewhat nervously.
He kept an eye on Sunset the whole time: the Hoofmaiden was well out of earshot.
"Well, I can try, Ranger."
"Well, Sir, I, uh... I was actually a little nervous about trying to arrange a... Well, not a real date, the last one was a real date even with her friends there, I guess, and she does want to keep hanging around with me I guess, so..."
Typical really. Bold as brass asking the mare out, then has no idea what to do next. Half the time I reckon we barely understand mares simply because we have no flipping clue about ourselves.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Yep, that sounds about right.)
"You mean you're looking for advice on what to do when it's just you and Sunset?" I said quietly.
He nodded at my question.
So far the couple had wound up dating at parties, or with her friends in tow. For her birthday, Sunset and the other Hoofmaidens had an evening off. It made things a little tricky given Cadence had been invited to dinner at the Vietmanese embassy that same day, but Private Baldrick's experience working for Lord Blackadder came in hoofy to help ensure she was properly attended to, with Private Party helping out too. Not that it stopped Twinkle Shine from worrying, mare takes pride in her work.
"Yeah, uh, yes, Sir. I wasn't really sure where I could take her to be honest. And I'm not sure how to actually, y'know, pick her up to go on the dates, like, do I bring flowers or chocolates or... a-assuming I can get time off, that is, to actually be going out into towns..."
"I don't imagine Princess Cadenza will deny Sunset time off that coincidences with yours, nor would I. But we can't provide any special treatment just because you plan a date. If we did that, half the platoon would start dating," I reminded.
"Of course, Sir."
"To be honest, I can't say I've had much experience with courting. Never really met the right mare to ask."
"...Oh," he said, looking a bit dejected, like his Sergeant had sent him on a wild goose chase.
Mostly because Foaley had.
"Still, one bit of advice, don't take chocolates and flowers, that's two things you eat, never a good thing to take to a mare. In fact, stick to flowers for dates if you can, chocolates all the time sends the wrong message. Oh, and flowers have a language. You'll want to look it up yourself, or maybe even talk with Gag about it since it's a language, but Daffodils are a good start. In the Equestrian and Neighponese systems they can mean respect, but in Equestrian I think they also can mean you have chivalrous intent, or that you wish her to return your affection. Find out Sunsets ancestry if you can, just to be safe"
He looked at me in bewilderment.
"Uh, okay, thanks, Sir..."
"As for where to go, well, clubs, restaurants, areas without flight restrictions. I think the important thing though is try to go somewhere you'll both enjoy. Keeping her happy is all well and good but relationships have to have some compromise to work properly. I know Sunset loves to fly, so that's one thing."
"I thought you didn't know much about courting, Sir?"
"I don't. I know about equine nature though. Marefriend and coltfriend are both two words combined, and the key word in both is friend, Private. You enjoy going places your friends like but you don't?"
(Interviewer's Notes(Pegasus): That was actually impressive.)
"Ah, I see your point, Sir. Thanks for the advice..." he said, tilting his head a little to make me aware of what was approaching.
"One more thing, Private. You may want to ask others. Like I said, I've not got much experience with... crossbows and arrows. And to be honest it takes a lot of effort to fire them with your wings. The Air Navy should know better."
He nodded, just as Minuette and Sunset walked back towards us, the others closing in.
"We're heading out to the farms after lunch, there's a small pegasus cloudplex out there for their weather control. The Princess asked me to cast a cloud-walking spell on you."
"Uh, I don't need one..." Ranger said.
"Nor me," Thunderchild chimed in.
Minuette gave them a look, as Sunset giggled.
"Not you two, silly! Minny means the unicorns and earth ponies. Anyway, she wants all the pegasi with her to fly up first, and that does mean you."
And so after lunch in the town hall, we were off we went to see a Zamundan weather control setup.
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): If you had so little experience with relationships where did all that come from?)
Observation, and Dad. And if you mean the flower language, well, mom's writings are all romances, so the obligatory read a good son gives each one teaches you a few things to do...and a lot of things not to.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): How'd Ranger get on with looking for more advice?)
I know Ellis advised him to remain honest and not change himself just because he thinks it's what she wants. He compared it to engineering, that the more something is forced the more strain it's under. And Thunderchild, er well:
"Guitar Solos."
"...What, Sarge?"
"Chicks dig guitar solos."
"But Sunset's a Pony, not a Griffin!"
"Oh. Sorry, I thought you said Gundette."
"Who?"
"That griffin pilot on Enterprise. She's the kind of griffin that makes you know where hippogriffs come from..."
He finally made the mistake of asking Squadron Commander, Lord Flashheart for advice hearing he had had lots of mare friends.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Big reason he's had lots and not just one?)
Uh, well, let's just say that The Lord Flashheart is best described as an erotic adventurer of the most deranged kind.
Luckily, Commander Hornblower was on hoof soon after:
"Okay, Private Ranger? Everything he said, try to forget it. In fact, if you like I can get you an appointment with Doctor Crusher, get your memory of the whole thing erased..."
"Why a flying helmet... And wet celery... And how can you even do that with an egg whisk? I... I don't think she'd like it…."
"Oookay, with me, coming through, traumatized pegasus on his way to sick bay..."
"Where would I even get that much oatmeal?"
Yep. After that he just stuck with what me and Ellis said.
I found it a little unsettling to be walking on clouds, to be honest. Like walking on a very fluffy pillow that felt a little wet, but I got used to it. I had faith in the cloud-walking spell and, I was pretty sure I could shield myself from a fall. I hope.
It turned their weather was something of a hybrid system. The slightly unreliable Zebra Voodoo rain-dances combined with the unreliable-without-enough-Pegasi-and-Griffins form of flight-based weather manipulation merged together resulted in something that was pretty efficient all round.
Thunderchild and Gag gushed in pegasus jargon that went over my head at the apparently rather unusual weather system. They both seemed impressed they were achieving such a high degree of schedule accuracy with a low number of workers per square kilometre. Though I will admit, it was interesting that Zebra Voodoo could be used like that, even Twiley has some trouble with weather magic.
Apart from most of the structures being semi-underground, the farms seemed pretty much in line with what I know about Equestrian agriculture. Orchards growing oranges and bananas, rows of corn, vineyards, and grazing space for goats. Also bee houses, but Cadence stayed at a distance from those. I stayed silent like a good bodyguard.
Another interesting thing was that the farmhouses, though built with turf over them like most of the town, had small towers with mirrors and lanterns in them. It was intended as a sort of semaphore system. Pretty clever when you lack the means to magically send letters, cheaper and more effective than other methods for their scale and place.
"Shining, is everything okay?" Cadence asked as walked back to the carriages.
I turned to face her instead of looking over my shoulder.
"Yes, Princess. Why do you ask?"
"You've been looking over your shoulder a lot again."
"...Was I? Well, it's just to... keep aware of my surroundings..." I tried lamely. I hadn't actually noticed I'd been doing it.
"Minny, we're all on schedule just now right?î Cadence called out.
The unicorn mare cast a small spell to summon her notebook.
"Yes, Princess. We should be back in plenty of time for the dinner with the King, have plenty of time to pack up this evening, and then Ellis says he can set up the PEC4 to flatten the cabin in fifteen minutes tomorrow morning after breakfast..."
"It's more like ten then five to make sure Ah got it just right," Corporal Apple added.
"...Board the ships, set off just before lunch, and we should be in Adidas Azebra in Zebrawa after breakfast tomorrow."
"Okay. Is is me, or does it feel like we weren't here in Zamunda all that long? Columbia felt like a lifetime in comparison," Cadence said.
Considering I had to deal with monsters and mad-deer every five minutes back where we'd been, this had been heaven. Honey Badgers and their feline comrades excepted.
"No, I think things flew past a good bit faster here, Princess.... Mactavish, what are you looking at?" I wondered when he gave an aside glance at apparently nothing.
"Maybe Soap is just keeping aware of his surroundings?" Cadence snarked before 1-2's Lance Corporal could reply.
I didn't say anything back, fully aware I deserved that one. I did notice she was using his nickname though, rather than his given name, so I suppose she was getting to know everypony all right then.
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Why Soap?)
He designed a horseshoe that had a small amount of soap and a brush on them, and extra grip to keep steady on slippery surfaces. Quite useful for cleaning the barracks, and so the nickname stuck. His actual given name is Soutar, old Caledonian word for Shoemaker. Mactavish is actually his clan name. A fair few families up north use a scheme where family name comes first and your given name is earned for your cutie mark.
Anyway, off we went. Twinkle Shine breathed a sigh of relief when Cadence got onto the airship with us rather than flying with the pegasi and Griffen.
"Wait, Minny. Your schedule did take into account these ships are going back to the larger airships first, right?" Cadence suddenly panicked.
"Of course. I even added an extra fifteen minutes for traffic in case it's bad. Plenty of time for this evening's dinner."
"Good, good..." The Princess relaxed while the airship crew finished take-off checks.
Have to admit, I'm surprised Minuette and Twiley didn't end up friends since they went to school together. With her scheduling skills and Twilight's checklists they'd have made quite the team.
Shortly after that, we were on our way to another uneventful evening. The King hosted that farewell dinner, I managed to avoid the cheese that evening, Gag evaded another attack by the Honey Badger-Cat Alliance, and when I went to bed that night, I held out a small hope maybe I'd be woken by an alarm clock, instead of flat-out alarm...
"Well, there's the blue flowers," I said.
"We should go around them, Sir, they've got a dodgy magical signature. Scan them and see," Audience warned, having been keeping up a scan every few moments in case anything nasty was around. Apparently even the rank and file being infused with a trace of Celestia's essence gave you advantages for Everfree's natural 'screw with your senses' vibe.
We had been called to Ponyville the day before due to reports of a Timberwolf on the loose outside the Everfree, which had so far seemed to be a misunderstanding. However, we had also decided to check on stories of a mysterious figure sighted at the edge of the Everfree Forest.
"Okay, we'll go around them and... Wait, Captive, do you sense anything on the scan? My two o'clock, about a hundred meters."
"...Magical signature, other side of those trees. Earth Pony or Zebra."
Finding the source was easy enough when we became aware of a clicking noise. We soon encountered a cloaked figure turning a hoofdrill into the bark of a partly-hollowed out tree. There was a small tent, and a crate marked with an explosives warning symbol. The hood was down, showing her to be a Zebra.
"Good afternoon, Madam," I said, getting her attention.
The Zebra almost jumped, then again seeing three Equestrian Guards.
"Oh, I am sorry, you startled me. A Royal Guard, I did not expect to see."
"My apologies. I'm Lieutenant Sparkle, would you be Zecora?"
She nodded, looking a little worried as most people do when a Guard they've never met knows their name.
"There's nothing to be alarmed about, Miss. We're just here investigating a few reports from townsponies that we think might be misunderstandings. Did you speak with a mare yesterday near the blue flowers? Raspberry colored, had a flower in her mane?"
"Yes, indeed, I met a mare. She seemed alarmed, did I give her a scare?"
"I think you did. What was it you said?"
"I said to her 'I am Zecora, I bid you good day, please do not go that way. I must warn you strongly, Pony Mare, but of those blue plants you should beware.'"
"And then what happened?"
"...When my hollowing charges went off over here, she suddenly screamed and ran in fear."
"What are hollowing charges?"
"Uh, beg pardon, Sir, but ah think ah can explain. See, that there crate is a standard bundle of tree-hollowing charges used to build house trees. They're a special composition, designed to hollow out trees and apply a potion that also helps keep it alive. It's a faster method than old ways with axes and chisels," Ellis cut in.
"Indeed, the traditional way is slow and tiring. It is simpler to use explosives firing."
"Oh. So you're building a house?"
"Yes, but I am not an illegal hermit. Both my home and my explosives have a permit."
She seemed to be a little defensive as she produced some documents. Ellis was given the explosives one. The 'living permit' however was written in High Equestrian Hieroglyphs and was legal gobbledygook. For a start, there hadn't been a Kingdom of Canterlot for over two thousand years. A common trick by con merchants, to use High Equestrian and a defunct legislative body.
"I think you've been conned, Miss Zecora. There are no permits for living in the Everfree Forest, the Thirty-Third Parliamentary Congress of the Principality declared that any who wished to tame Everfree were free to do so without restriction, and that legislation hasn't been changed in centuries."
Everfree wasn't just a fancy name, it was quite literally nopony's land. Only the very brave or the suicidal even tried to stake out a living in the forest of death. High risk, high gain. The mare groaned and muttered something in her own language for a second.
"I should have seen those unicorn brothers were tricking me, why did I ignore the signs so plain to see? Is my receipt for explosives real, or am I as much a fool as I feel?"
"...Well, of course this one's legit, Ah signed it mahself last week when ah wuz workin' at the controlled party and construction supplies department! Thought ah recognized you! You were up to collect 'em from the depot, yeah?" Ellis said.
The zebra nodded in surprise.
The last document she produced was a record of having begun construction of her house for the Canterlot map-makers (like Blueblood) so her home legally existed. I'm actually surprised she went through the trouble of that. Most who chose to live in the Everfree wanted to exist in the forest's legal limbo. This Zebra was new to Equestria.
"Oh? Small world. Anyway, Miss Zecora, we're not here about your construction, or even scaring that mare. That clearly seems to have been a misunderstanding. We're wondering if you might have noticed any unusual animal activity in the area?"
She shook her head. "No, I am afraid not. Is it possible I am startling them with my tree-hollowing shot?"
"It's possible. Maybe Lance-Corporal Apple could help you finish a little faster to minimize that?"
She nodded.
"Now, are you sure you'll be safe out here? This place is unsettled for good reason."
"Oh, about me there is no need to fear, it is of me those creatures should stay clear," she said, showing us a few pouches containing some Zebra concoctions.
Flash-powder, illusion dust, blinding powder, and stink bombs among other things. We didn't discount the utility of any of them, especially the last - they've been used as effective monster repellent since before the three tribes because most predators had an acute sense of smell. Stink bombs are even used as a less damaging alternative to pepper spray by the Guard.
After making sure she knew what she was in for, we bid her goodbye, leaving Ellis to help her out.
"Looks like it was all a misunderstanding. Oh well, I guess ponies will be ponies, getting paranoid at every.... Did you hear that?"
Audience wondered if I was joking until there was another growl and he looked behind.
"...Wait a second, there was no wolf when this actually happened," I found myself saying.
"Sir?"
I turned around, seeing that the growl was not from a Timber Wolf. Not from a Timber Wolf at all....
"...Oh, son of a..."
I was awake early. Again. They were just strange dreams, nothing to worry about. Cadence was near me. I was safe. Anyway, a few hours later, breakfast was over, and Ellis had a guest house to blow up.
"I should warn you, Twinkle Shine, this is probably going to be remarkably dull," I said. The hoofmaiden had suggested fireworks when she'd learned of this. Having seen Ellis conduct controlled explosions in the past, I knew there was less bang than some ponies expected.
She didn't give any reply, for the minute I finished speaking the windows of the small cabin began to glow. A few small pops blew holes in the roof, and sure enough, out came a few fireworks. Not noisy ones, but just multi-colored sparks. A few dull crump-noises, and then the whole structure slowly caved in, a shower of sparks landing on the scene before clouds of multi-colored smoke burst from the rubble, obscuring it all.
"Okay, who decided to add fireworks after all?" I sighed.
"That would be me, Captain. I cleared it with the Zamundans, don't worry," Cadence responded.
"There's no risk of fire, Sir. Ah set up a few extinguisher charges, everything that was ignited inside got soaked when the main charges went off."
We;d just got back to the ships with a modest farewell detail, when Twinkle Shine spoke up.
"Excuse me, Your Highness, but there's one thing we need to take care of first before we depart."
"And that is?" Cadence asked politely.
The hoofmaiden gave one of those smiles that can make you jump when they appear suddenly.
"Hit it." Music began to play from seemingly nowhere as Twinkle Shine counted to three.
"Oh no," I flattened my ears.
Cadence didn't notice this, clapping her hooves delightedly.
With nothing stopping them, the Hoofmaidens gave a farewell number to Zamunda that some of the locals joined in on. Turns out they have the music gene too! The song ended with applause from Cadence and our hosts as the ships took off.
"You knew didn't you?!" I pointed wide-eyed at my princess.
"Oh Shining," She said shyly, "Whatever do you mean?" She is Celestia's niece!
Apparently, Minuette had fit that into the schedule, so we departed on time. Shepard had invited Cadence and a few crewmembers with upcoming or recent birthdays to lunch, fulfilling Cadence's desire to have events like that. Rather than crowd out the officer's dining room, I went down to the mess.
"...Makes you want to know where hippogriffs come from," Thunderchild was saying to a bemused Ranger, as I neared where my squad were sitting.
"Afternoon, Sir. Do you have any requests to play on the radio in transit?" Audience greeted me, pointing towards a table staffed by two of the ponies from Enterprise who'd actually be running the show. Either you chose from what they had, or you let them make a copy of the song off of one of your own records...
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): But that's illegal!)
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Yeah, Piracy!)
Don't be silly, Cadence technically is the head of the Equestrian copyright authority for music (and...well, literally authority for Music in general), and the lawyers in her civil service entourage were covering the fair royalty payments to the respective artists under the Government Use clause. Besides, it was on a commissioned Naval combat vessel. It'd be Privateering, not Piracy....
After lunch, the hard-working Guards got down to hard work, in a room full of computers...
Okay, it was the ship's arcade. Enterprise had a larger one, but none of us could be bothered going over.
"How the hay have y'all unlocked the triple rocket launcher already, Captive? And how come you shoot so dang well? You're meant to suck at it!" Ellis groaned.
"What?"
"Ya shoot well in real life, yer meant to shoot badly playing games! It's a rule!"
"...I've never heard that. By that logic, the Captain should be lethal here..." Audience noted, as he gunned through AI characters with a plasma rifle.
"I am!" I protested. I'd already lost my round against him, and Ellis had beaten Thunderchild.
"Yes, Sir, to yourself. Honestly, how did you miss with a shotgun at that range?" Thunderchild noted.
"I was aiming for that exploding barrel, I thought you were closer and it was farther..."
"I'm telling you, Sir, use the Dubyaplus M1 more..." Audience noted as the console proclaimed 'holy horseapples' at his high kill-rate.
"I refuse to resort to a flamethrower!" I fumed.
I just wished there'd been some way for me to get a Hoofball Manager game, but they weren't popular enough. The game selection here was mostly shooters and racing games. Despite being pacifists, ponies tend not to mind violence in video games as much. We still have ratings, we just don't have as many restrictions. Probably because our natural aversion of violent acts makes imitating it less of a concern...is there something wrong?
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Oh...nothing...We're just not fans of shooters, we tend to sympathize with NPCs too much.)
Personally, I can understand, but it's just a game. Besides, in shooting games the NPCs know what they're in for and so do you. Real combat simply lacks cutscenes or pointless efforts to redeem or taunt the foe. It's good drama, but really not advised in reality. Fights start when negotiations fail. You don't try to negotiate on a battlefield. Talking is a free action in fiction. Try it in reality, you'll probably let a half-competent enemy get the drop on you.
Anyway, I found myself roped into playing Wonderbolt Airshow against Cadence later on after dinner, and it turns out I'm bad at racing too.
"I think I'm just going to go read a book. Nopony can kick my flank at that..."
"Unless it's a choose your own adventure. Remember, the Manticore was in the back seat the whole time and never try to fight the gazebo!" Cadence cheerfully said as I made a dignified retreat to my cabin.
The law entitles small towns to call in some military aid if there's some danger. Usually, it's emergency aid, like if there's flooding. The Community Service Initiative helps cover the Guard side law enforcement, though foreigners may be amused to learn that thanks to the way the law of Crown Constables works, it grants arrest rights to any Crown Servant of good standing - meaning that if a town doesn't have a sheriff, it might have a librarian or mailpony arrest criminals instead. Talk about throwing the book at offenders, eh?
Ponyville however was somewhat odd. It was right next to the Everfree, but... well, until recently, almost nothing ever really happened, monsters stayed in the forest, ponies in the town. There had been a Guard Outpost watching Everfree for forty years, and it only closed a decade ago - converted into a cottage I think. Over that half century, there had been six reported or suspected incidents of Everfree animals leaving the boundaries and causing problems. The Guard joke was the town was well overdue for a whole wave of Everfree problems.
It's not a funny joke any more, of course, even for ponies other than me. Since I actually responded to the last of the six, roughly a year before Twilight moved there, I'm not sure which one of us actually heralded the oncoming storm. I was sent for two reasons: Ellis, and the fact my squad at the time was very under-strength. Four ponies were enough to take a look around.
The Mayor met us at the train station, an assistant I never caught the name of beside her.
"Good afternoon, Madam Mayor. I'm Lieutenant Sparkle, this is Sergeant Thunderchild, Lance-Corporal Apple and Private Audience" I said, giving a salute.
"Welcome to Ponyville, Lieutenant. Thank you for coming. As I said in my request it's probably nothing, but these matters are causing some concern in town and I felt that it was important that some calm was introduced. I can only hope we can try to bring some calm fast. Some ponies can get rather panicky, you know."
"Certainly. We'll strive to be quick and diligent, we wont disrupt the business of the town, but you understand we'll have to stay until we're sure any problem is resolved. I understand the main report comes from a farmer?"
"Yes, Granny Smith is the one that's convinced us there's something unusual, but, well, I see you somewhat planned ahead," She gave Ellis a glance.
"We'll probably start by speaking with her directly. One thing, though, Madam Mayor, We'd requested your Weather Patrol loan us a Weatherpony to help out aerial surveying, where is he or she?"
"Oh, well, we've recently only just got a new Weather Patrol manager in the job, she's only been promoted this last week. She may not actually have got the request yet..."
"No, she got it, Mayor, she said she'd tell Thunderlane to do it," the assistant said.
It appeared this Thunderlane was a rather lazy fellow.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): Hey! The guy's not lazy! He's just overworked!)
How would you know?
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): We're interviewers.)
Oh...right...
Thunderchild went off to look for him with Audience, while Ellis and I went to the farm to speak with his relatives. A short walk and we found ourselves at the gates. A young orange-coated mare greeted us.
"Howdy, y'all the... Ellis? That you?"
"Yup. How you doin', AJ?"
I left the Apples to talk amongst themselves mostly, zoning out to inspect the area as they walked to the farmhouse. How was it possible to speak for hours on end about apples of all things?
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Hoofball.)
...Point.
It was a pretty large farm, and the trees provided a lot of cover. Any wild animal out of the Everfree could have conceivably found somewhere to nest; we needed air cover to scout through it properly. I hoped that Thunderlane turned up soon with Thunderchild and Audience, or this would be complicated on my own. Not to mention dangerous.
You see, pegasi can perform a range of spells using echomana emissions. Normally it's just used for awareness in flight, like other things in the sky or their own altitude/speed, or to help manipulate the weather. For ranging, it's a spherical area of effect about a kilometer in range. But it can be used a bit like a unicorn scan spell if focused in a certain directional arc, known as an Arced Echo Wingpulse. It puts all the energy of a rather weak ranging pulse in one focused direction, boosting the strength of it. And from high up enough it can cover an area wider than the unicorn scan spell as well as exploit mana streams to get a boost at high enough heights. Naturally, that makes searching an area much easier and safer - no accidentally walking within charging distance of a hiding nasty. Not every pegasus knew how to do it, but it was standard training for guards and Thunderlane apparently was apparently the only Weather Patrol member on duty who knew it at the time.
We'd been led to the farmhouse, where an elderly pony waved at us from a rocking chair, presumably the Granny Smith whose expertise had led Mayor Mare to call us in. I was about to speak until Ellis waved me off.
"Sir, all due respect but it's maybe easier if Ah do the talkin'..."
"...Fair enough," I agreed.
Ten minutes later we'd learned the howls had put the family dog so on edge that she'd stayed indoors all day, and had not just come from the direction of the forest but all around. We also learned that two other members of the family had gone off to see if somepony they knew could come help calm the dog down.
Soon after, Thunderchild and a dark-grey male pegasus flew over. They were instructed to scan the edges of the Everfree forest. Sadly the other pegasus had borrowed a radio, or was at least on our frequencies.
"Thunderlane, try to scan a hundred meters past that pony on the trail."
"What one? Oh, wait, I see her. She's beautiful..."
"He's over there, he's a guy! Oh, wait, I see who you mean now..."
"Well, he's having fun at least," Audience noted as he made his way up the path.
"Yeah. Lance-Corporal, we're going to go scan from the ground, you can stay here and wait for your cousins to come back," I instructed.
Ellis saluted.
"Anything else pop up in town, Captive?" I asked a few moments later.
"Actually, yes. A mare called Lily spoke to us, had an interesting story. She said she was looking at some odd blue flowers near Everfree when a cloaked figure came out of the forest. Mostly in shadow, glowing yellow eyes, claimed her name was Zecora and issued some threat. Couldn't get any exact wording though. She also claims there was a crash of thunder when the witch finished the threat."
"Hm. Zebra name. Might warrant looking into after we've checked around here..."
Ten minutes of searching and directing the scans turned up nothing except a unicorn colt playing with some snails (we sent him and the snails home as a safety precaution), before the radio crackled, Ellis contacting us.
"Sir, got some news here. Seems we may not quite have a wolf problem after all..."
"Oh? What's got you thinking that, Ellis?"
"Well, let's just say it seems Winona's a big girl now. Them odd howls? Got reason to believe it's boy dogs in the area trying to say hello..." He chuckled down the radio.
"I... I see. I suppose the problem's being solved?" I had no idea how he'd come to this conclusion.
"Yeah, Mac and Apple Bloom went off to fetch a naturalist to help out.
"Okay, I guess we'll head back in for now.... Wait, how is that going to help? Nopony in this town seems to really wear clothes as it is..." I wondered.
"...Naturalist, Sir. As in pony that studies and works with nature," Audience corrected, but a strange knocking noise seemed to...
I opened my eyes and sighed. It was barely midnight. I was not pleased to be awoken by knocking.
"Yes, what is it?" I tried to say as politely as possible as I opened the door.
"Um, Captain, the Captain requests your presence on the bridge as soon as possible, Sir," Jenkins stammered. Maybe I hadn't been as polite as I'd thought.
"Uh, sure, inform Commander Shepard I'll be there in a minute, Jenkins..."
Fifty-five seconds later, I was there, armor on. It turned out I'd actually beaten the pony I was meant to be meeting, for it was Hornblower in charge of the bridge. Shepard wasn't too far behind me, Bond in tow.
"Captain Sparkle, Commander Bond, my ready room. Hornblower, you have the bridge," She grumbled. Apparently she'd been asleep too.
"Alright, Bond, what's got everyone who isn't an insomniac awake?"
"The embassy in Adidas Azebra has sent us an urgent security notice via Canterlot," was his reply.
"...All right, I'm awake now. What's gone wrong now?" I groaned.
"Quite simply, Captain Sparkle, a lot. There's apparently been crowd trouble at a sporting event, few scuffles at the Gold Cup final..."
"This had better have been a big riot. We don't need to be notified of a bar-room brawl caused because some hoofball hooligans couldn't handle losing..." Shepard cut in.
"The riot itself was rather small, actually, but did divert the security forces attentions. Our real problem that's the urgent note, though, is that the Embassy guard upgraded their security stance. Double-checked things, made busywork to look like they're secure, that sort of thing..."
"I know of that, yes. Keeps the troopers alert and civilians calm to see things being done," I offered.
"Except, for once, they found something. Checking the visitor list, they discovered that there had been some possible intruders. We were only being advised about the riot in advance as the ambassador apparently expected the Princess to seek entry as a spectator at a hoofball match a few days after our scheduled arrival, and wanted us to know there had been crowd trouble at another event. These intruders, however..."
"Are something far bigger to worry about, since the riot was their distraction. A riot to mask an infiltration..."
"The infiltration seems to have happened long before the riot. If anything, we wouldn't have found it without the rioting, and we only got told about the riot because they were giving us a less urgent warning about it before they discovered this," Bond pointed out.
"Maybe, but something stinks. There's probably going to be something else happening very soon, isn't there? We need to make sure our security is up to scratch before we even arrive..."
As if fate had heard me, another knock came. Shepard bade the visitor enter, and Master Chief Spartan came in.
"Captain, Commander Bond, we've just been given another urgent notice. A fire has broken out at the embassy."
"What?! Sparkle, stop being right." Shepard groaned
"Believe me, no one would like me better than me," I replied.
"Chief, what does it say?"
"A fire in the post office box room, intense but localized flame that burnt down through every box in a stack. No injuries reported though," The Naval NCO replied, passing the note to his officers.
"Some magical device?" I offered.
"They're not sure. It burned out before they could properly raise the alarm, extinguish it, or scan it, but it took out the boxes entirely. Sliced through solid steel like butter... Bond, this sounds like your second job. Any ideas?" Shepard said, as she read the note.
"Sounds like nothing I'm familiar with," he admitted.
"Is it possible they were trying to destroy something?" I asked, logically.
"Either that or they underestimated the strength of their own device."
"Either way, you were preemptively right again, Captain Sparkle. We need to halt our ships here and await further news, as well as ensure they're increasing security up ahead somehow. Somepony go wake up the Princess while I give the orders."
A moment later, Cadence joined the ranks of the irate, and then of the alarmed as she raced to the ready room.
"What's happened?! And I know there's another hairbursh in my mane. I don't care right now!"
She was given a quick recap, starting with the riot.
"Firebomb in the embassy planted by intruders using a volleyball riot as cover? Not this again..." She sighed.
"Actually, Captain Sparkle thought that but... wait, volleyball? They have riots at volleyball games?" Shepard wondered
"And more importantly, volleyball is popular enough to cause riots in Zebrawa?" Master Chief added.
"This is the one where you use your head to hit a ball over a net?" I threw myself in.
"Yes. The Gold Cup is a volleyball tournament, and Your Highness, the infiltration occurred before the riots," Bond clarified.
"Oh. Well, uh, this may sound off, but there was meant to be a Zebrafrican Champions League match between Azebra United and Genosha Stripes a few days after we arrived..."
"Already covered, we only got told about the riot as a heads-up in light of your potential interest. Apparently you were in communication with the ambassador?" Bond cut her off.
"Er, yes, the ambassador is Lieutenant Colonel Supermarine, Retired, of course. And I do know her, she was sort of my foalsitter."
Something else then occurred to me.
"Wait. What if this was to get us to stop?"
"To attack the flotilla? Sparkle, I'm ahead of you. I issued orders that we check long-range scans, have patrol craft out, and that we maintain five thousand meter altitude. If anything is coming we'll see it long before it's a threat."
"Oh. So what are we actually going to do then?"
"Hold position until we know more."
I didn't get back to sleep, fearing that I'd be woken with more bad news. I could barely even manage to make myself lie down and relax. So I simply went to the mess hall, tried to read, and tried to get as much tea as possible to keep me awake. We met back up again for breakfast. Bond opened up proceedings.
"First, We've been told there was another incident last night after all. The archeology department at Celestia University was broken into - as the name implies, the university is part-owned by Equestrians. Security guards found the dead bodies of three ponies and a griffin, and one wounded Zebra."
Cadence gasped. For my part, I simply closed my eyes for a moment and said a quiet prayer to anyone listening this wasn't going to get any worse...
"Four dead? Sweet Celestia, were they guards?" Shepard said.
"Burglars. The room was where a number of recent finds had been stored, cataloged to be shipped off. They had safebreaking tools, and firebombs. However, their plan seemed to have been to burn the whole room, hide what they'd taken," Bond continued
"Cover their tracks behind them so everyone thinks that it's a fresh find rather than link it to what another archaeological dig found. Lifted right out of a Daring Do book," Cadence noted, still looking a little upset at hearing four bodies had been found.
"The problem is, someone destroyed the items anyway. The safes, intense but localized flame. Sliced through like butter. Pages from notebooks in the room logging the finds, and only those pages, were torn out, possibly burned with the safes."
"Brilliant. Same MO as the embassy fire..."
"Possibly the same attackers. One of the safety deposit boxes destroyed belonged to an Equestrian Archaeologist. Guess what he said was in his postbox?"
"...A list of the large items and a small sample of what he'd found?" I groaned.
"Correct. Our embassy intruders may be nothing more than well-informed, and violent, thieves."
"Why would anypony go all this way for just a few trinkets and bits of pottery?" Cadence said.
"Do we know anything about these intruders, Bond?" Shepard asked.
He opened a folder.
"This one you're really not going to like. A white-coated male unicorn entered the embassy under a Guard ID with the name Marauder Shields, with a similarly white-coated female accomplice using the identity of Twilight Sparkle."
Cue Royal Canterlot Voice from Cadence and a darn good try from me.
"WHAT?!"
Everyone else present winced, but Bond pressed on.
"Quite. The Guard on duty said that she also looked like a Royal Guard, except she never identified as one. Cutie mark was reported as some stars. She used a passport as an ID..."
"Twiley doesn't even HAVE a passport. Whenever she goes abroad, she travels under diplomatic rules as Princess Celestia's student," I cut in.
Two things were going through my mind at that point. First, that no way in tartarus was I letting some thief frame my sister for ANYTHING, and second, a desire to find this thief and use them for a game of shield pinball.
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): You never thought for a second she'd done it.)
No. Bucking. Way.
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): We didn't expect anything less.)
Bond passed over a sheet of paper.
"That's the passport numbers that were logged and a picture of the passport photo, as well as one of the ID card our Marauder Shields used."
"...The mare doesn't look that much like Twilight at all, but that stallion looks a heck of a lot like me," I admitted.
(Interviewer's Notes (Unicorn): Really?)
Well, yes. But, I was fairly sure I'd never posed for any photo looking THAT grim. But I was relieved about the mare; since she and my little sister were the furthest thing from doppelg‰ngers you could get. No way could my Twiley be mistaken for her.
"There are differences, that looks like a scar above his eye, see that slightly darker line? And his eyes look harsher," Cadence noted.
"Well, we're not experts on Captain Sparkle's eyes, so we can be forgiven for missing those points," Shepard smirked.
"I'd like you to look at the passport and ID card information though. The guards at the embassy didn't see anything wrong with it before it was double-checked. Can you?"
"...The date formats seem to be wrong, they seem to be day-month here, not month-day. And the ID card is using an invalid service number, it's alphanumeric, it's meant to be all numeric."
"And that's not Twilight's cutie mark on the passport, but both the marks are in full color. It's a line drawing here on Shining's ID card," Cadence noted.
"...This is fairly obvious stuff. I sincerely hope whoever made this cock-up is getting their flank kicked for it," I growled.
"The guard behind the initial lapse is in the cacky, to say the least," Bond nodded.
"Okay, so, what did our fakes do?" I continued.
"They claimed to be there to send containers of metal powders through a post-onwards box, had a key for it. Cover story was they were sending it to metallurgist friends. They signed out again as you can see on the sheet there. About ten minutes later a small fire broke out in the post box room that burned through four boxes. They destroyed anything in them. Starting where they left the tins."
"The tins were scanned magically, right?" Cadence then asked.
"Yes. X-ray spell showed a brown powder in the one they claimed was rust scraped off old armor, that they were sending in to be analyzed. The other tin was apparently a small sample of aluminum powder. No idea what for."
"Perhaps they might have been there to mask the spell residue, something like that? Or they were actually some special chemical we've not heard of?"
"Investigation is on-going. Now letís talk security. Ambassador Supermarine, in light of all that's happened, has asked that we hold our position for a while so both us and the troopships containing the new guard detail arrive tomorrow morning. You may not have known there was a switchover, Captain Sparkle,"
Quick clarification: Embassy guards in each continent are usually a single regiment spread out for a six month tour. Zebrafrica and Oceaneighia are treated as one, as is Equestriana and Columbia, because a regiment is too many for each of those continents alone.
"I did. I presume the present detail is staying in place?"
"For at least as long as we're in Zebrawa. And that's going to be awkward. You see, the old detail was the Eighty-Second Air Regiment. The new was Pegasus Guards, they're now Night Guard, by the way, so that's all three land sub-branches represented there now once we arrive with you guys. The other awkward part? The Wonderbolts are meant to be there for an airshow this weekend."
"Oh, horseapples," I groaned.
(Interviewer's Notes (Earth Pony): Why's that bad? Ah thought you were okay with the Wonderbolts...)
I am. The Pegasus Guards are as well - in fact, most former Guards who join the Wonderbolts are former members of that regiment. The problem is, the Eighty-Second Air Regiment are part of the Eighteenth Pegasus Legion. The Legion predates Equestria itself, having been the personal unit of Commander Hurricane - in fact, it's been commanded by her descendants much of the time since. Now, take a proud, elite Pegasus unit, with a warrior-flight culture dating back thousands of years. Add the Wonderbolts, who they see as brash, egotistical, show-off flyers that are only good for stunts.
Pegasi in the Eighteenth despise the Wonderbolts. The fact some bright spark in Parliament tried to suggest the Wonderbolts would make a great rapid response force to accidents - guess that the Eighteenth regards itself as?
(Interviewer's Notes (Pegasus): But that had nothing to do with the Wonderbolts!)
Doesn't matter. The Eighteenth regard the Wonderbolts as paramilitary posers, pretend fliers. The mere suggestion they took over their role resulted in that disdain intensifying.
And it meant that we'd basically be in the crossfire of a flame war between Wonderbolts fans from the Pegasus Guards, and haters from the Eighty-Second. On top of an unstable security situation, and having to guard a Princess. Plus the fact I wasn't getting much luck sleeping, I was worried about that wolf...
"Horseappples indeed, Captain," Shepard replied to me.
"Anyway, that's all for now."
Cadence rolled her eyes.
"Yes, that's 'all'. We've got murderous impostor ponies using Captain Sparkle's sister as a fake ID, two fires with a substance we've never encountered, four dead bodies, a riot that's already happened, and possibly a civil war between two of our own Pegasus regiments. That's a nice start to the morning!"
We broke the meeting up. Ellis and Thunderchild had been waiting outside, and the four of us made our way to the Princessesí cabin. I tried not to dwell on how much of a royal mess things had become in under twelve hours. Instead I found myself wondering about something else said.
"Princess, I'm a little curious about something - what did you mean by harsher eyes? It was a picture, surely you can't tell from that?" I asked a few moments later.
"Eyes are windows to the soul, Shining. Those eyes look like he's seen things."
"Quite a difference from the Captain, his eyes look like someone left a candle lit but no one is home...," Thunderchild whispered.
"I heard that, Corporal."
"That was Sergeant Thunderchild, Shining," Cadence told me.
"Not if he keeps up those kind of snarky remarks, he's not," I said as we reached her cabin. Minuette was waiting there for her.
"Ah. By the way, there's another small issue. Ambassador Supermarine? Her daughter is a Wonderbolt. And her husband is a former Wonderbolt himself, he's why they're invited to a flight show in Zebrafrica. Anyway, I suppose I'll see you all later."
With that, she entered her room, and we departed for the mess hall. I groaned and slammed my head against the nearest wall when we were clear.
"Did she have to mention that in front of you, Private Thunderchild?"
"Uh, Captain, you, uh, you kinda got Sarge's rank really wrong..." Ellis cut in, confused.
"If he doesn't behave himself in Zebrawa around the Wonderbolts when they arrive, it won't be wrong at all. I'm just getting used to it now."
"I'll be good!" He protested.
"You're probably going to hit on an ambassador's daughter if you get a chance."
"...Of course not, Sir! I only have eyes for Fluttershy!"
"...Who? Oh. Good grief, it was only a photo! A small one!"
"But Sir, I could tell she was a kind and wonderful pony. It was in her eyes..." He snickered.
"Alright, that's enough, Cadet. Quit it or you'll be discharged from the Guard."
Thankfully, that shut him up.
Night would fall before we were back underway. In light of the problems, I'd made sure the troopers were well prepared for trouble. Cadence and the Hoofmaidens found themselves largely explaining it to the other civilians, borrowing an Air Navy officer to cover any security issues. I'd been trying to make sure everything was as prepared as it could be. Combat barding was double-checked for fit in case it was needed, everyone made sure they practiced their combat skills, we made sure that full issues of equipment were being carried off the ship when we were leaving.
When I finally found a few moments to myself I decided to head for the deck. Our flotilla was air-anchored in a rather pretty spot, it turned out. The plains and Savannah of Zebrawa were all around us, but on the horizon to the east we could just make out the desert. Apparently our nearest town was sixty miles away, right at the edge of the desert. Our destination, the coastal city of Adidas Azebra, was another six hours flight away. The scans by flying pegasi and by the machines aboard the ships hadn't detected anything unusual at all for miles. Unless Lions had invented anti-air weapons able to hit a target four miles up, we were probably safe.
Even knowing that, I couldn't help but scan the scene before me with some concern. Out about half a mile away, the various patrol ships circled. Around us, the Corvettes. Some Pegasi were allowed out to fly, but not civilians, not this late. Many of them had gone over to Enterprise. I glanced over at the scientific survey vessel and...
...Was that just a trick of the light or was something standing on her bow?
"You all right, Sir?" A voice asked from above. Corporal Griffen was floating there.
"Fine, Corporal..."
"It's just you were staring at the Enterprise for a while there."
Well, he did have eagle eyes, I suppose.
"Just thinking a bit. This whole thing ahead, it was a little unexpected."
"I don't think there's much to worry about myself, Sir. My parents and uncle were here when they were in the Marines, and again when they were working with Cloudwater International."
"That Private Weather Company from Trottenham?"
"Yeah, when I was born they moved into municipal weather back in Canterlot rather than keep traveling. My uncle kept working with them then his Henfriend convinced him to go work for Cloudsdale weather when my cousin was born. They all said the only unpredictable thing here was the weather at times. The local soldiers and police are well trained. "
"Well, that's good to know. You think we can rely on the locals to be on higher alert, Corporal?"
"Honestly, I'm more worried about the Eighty-Second, Sir. They're pretty cocky."
I thanked him for the conversation and made my way back down decks, suppressing a sigh the whole way. Maybe I was just too paranoid about the events of the last day. After all, none of it was obviously connected to the Princess. The riot didn't seem related. It was all just coincidence. Yet I couldn't stop thinking it was part of something larger for the rest of the night, as I had been thinking the whole day.
As I lay down to get to sleep, knowing we'd be arriving at last in the Zebrawan capital by the time I was awake again, my last thought was on the most alarming news we'd been given. The four robbers killed, had they really just been out to steal some artifacts from an archaeological dig, or were they working for someone else? Were their killers working for someone? Had they been the intruders at the embassy? What would it mean if they were?
I really should have remembered my own advice on thinking about things like that.
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Oh hoo hoo....Do not mess with Shiny when he's in a bad mood.
I'd lay bits that Makarov is trying to frame Shiny and Twi for what happened in Columbia.
Huh. Cool.
About time.
"And then I said, 'Oatmeal? Are you crazy?'"
Loopholes are fun.
I like the pony rating system.
I don't blame you, Thunderchild. She is a very beautiful mare.
With all the craziness that is happening to Shining Armor, I am beginning to wonder if there is a betting pool in the Pantheon of what strange/unusual thing is going to happen next to him.
2506297
You are both right and wrong.
2510487
Wait and see.
2510789
Thanks!
2510997
She didn't spend time as a model for nothing.
2511100
Only the gods know.
2521642
I wish I had done a lot more like that.
2524857
Considering LZ positively absolutely HATES Code Geass and Death Note, I suspect very little chance.
2530831
Yes.
2559488
Nightmare Mirror, "Our friendship is not friendship in name only. That's what you chose to believe because we need to be COMPLETELY bad since your brain can't handle gray areas. I'm a bucking NIGHTMARES and I can see gray areas easier than you about this! You're not a hero, you're just a bully. Now doesn't that sound kinda familiar? ... Welcome to our family, Nightmare Brony."
I don't know why, but for some reason when I looked back at Seasons 1-5 I was surprised to find that they were only around 11-12 chapters long, while 6 is unfinished and yet already at 48 chapters as I type this... and yet the shorter seasons didn't feel shorter.
I guess it's just something about the spectacular writing that goes into this.
2571314
Thank you very much. *hugs*
2559959 *doesn't become a Nightmare thanks to Charm of Harmony*
Sorry, I don't do the Nightmare thing.
And your friendship IS In Name Only. After all, unless Paradox is forced to use the rest of you in a battle, she locks you up in her body and decides everything herself, without letting you have any say in the matter. Your argument is invalid.
2576186
Nightmare Manacle, "... You're an idiot! Geeze! Seriously! Just because you can't hear us speak to her doesn't mean she doesn't listen to us! Here a bit, now go buy a clue!"
2582465
"Oh? So you know where there are some other living soulless bodies around?! Please tell us! . . . Because then we can attack with six bodies instead of sharing one body. You think we're stuck inside her in the sprit world?"
2583698
Excuse me, but what chapter is this?
2585510 Sorry, I'll stop.
2583576 See that? We'll have to stop our little debate for the time being if we don't want to lose the author of the Shining Armor chapters forever!
2585521
You really have no idea how close to the truth you are with "lose forever" these days. But I don't mean stop entirely. I simply mean keep it where it's relevant. And sure, the comments system on FIMFiction assigns any reply to anything made from the story front page to the latest chapter, so in this case it's more Alex's fault, but try to keep it away please.
2585554 Don't worry, I'll keep it away from the Shining Armor chapters, cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!
2583698
Nightmare Manacle, "You really are a moron. We're in a FIGHT, and you don't blab everything you can do or who all your teammates are in the middle of a fight! Haven't you ever read Kazumi Magica?! The twins loved each other, but didn't let the heroes know they shared one body until they needed to! Geeze! Grow up!"
2585521
I get the feeling we're both programmed to HAVE TO get the last word in.
2585740 Alex, we have to stop now. Otherwise, the Shining Armor chapters will end FOREVER!
We can continue when a non-Shining Armor chapter has been uploaded, okay?
2696343
Thank you for BEING POLITE. Thank you.
"Minny, we're all on schedule just now right?î Cadence called ou
Closing quote is mangled.
doppelg‰ngers
HTML escape code is being doubly-escaped (ie. the escape code is visible, instead of the character it represents.)
However ‰ doesn't produce the right character anyway; it looks like this: ‰
At a rough guess you want "ä".
"Horseappples indeed, Captain,"
Is that like saying "shiiiiit!"?
Doctor Crusher eh? Another Star Trek reference.
They make Thermite with iron oxide and aluminum powder
Oh boy. That is not a good omen at all.
Heh, I got that reference.