Mission 7, Part 9: We'll Reap The Whirlwind
“Sir! You have to take a look at this!” I shouted when I saw what I saw. I had to make sure that I wasn’t seeing things, but the attack on the tower was not an illusion. Actually shouting and telling The Guard and the others to look was redundant, but I was too excited; I had to speak.
All of us had already seen what had happened, the noises of the tower’s collapse were hard to ignore. The Guard was gazing towards the encampment through his binoculars. He slowly lowered them and narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.
“Sir, look there!” The one known as Cascade stated. She was pointing to a small group galloping along the now collapsed tower. We could see them when the dust swell calmed a bit before being kicked up again from an unfamiliar strong breeze. They were obviously making towards the remains of the entrance at the tip of the peninsula.
“They must be heading for the entrance,” He stated slowly.
“They won’t know it’s blocked, sir,” Cascade intoned looking at The Guard and at He.
Then we saw the chase. From our vantage, we could see the lone skimmer leading a sizeable number of other skimmers after them.
“I can make out two Guards on the leading skimmer, sir,” Cascade informed looking through her binoculars.
“And if they’ve split up, they must have something important enough to entrust us Watu with to use themselves as decoys,” He muttered.
“Themselves?” Cascade asked. “The Guards? Are you sure they aren’t just running away? It would be the smart thing to do.”
“The Guard? Run? Do you not see whom is in our presence?” He asked incredulously. “You best watched your tongue, or it might end up like mine.”
“Somehow, I doubt that would happen,” Cascade replied. She pointed towards the horizon. “They are being pursued by at least ten skimmers. Maybe more, but it’s hard to tell with all this sand. Looking at their formation, they are disorganized.”
I looked at He puzzled.
He saw me and half-smiled. “Meaning there will be holes in their security. They also have too many ponies on each skimmer, so that extra weight should slow them down.”
Cascade shrugged. “They are remaining within sight and just out of range of their magic and bolts. If what you’re saying is right, then they are doing it on purpose.”
Gnashed furrowed his brow. “To anger them further and frustrate their chase?”
“Must be. The longer they pursue, the weaker their main force will be. That’s a good number of skimmers and Cultists that have given chase. A good distraction. I would have fallen for it,” Cascade admitted.
We all nodded as one, agreeing with that sentiment. Except for He.
“We will assist this attempt,” Semper stated, his voice making them all turn to him.
“What then? We use their own trick. Find a bunch of quarrels, bundle them up and keep throwing them at the entrance until it opens up,” He said and shook his head. “There is nothing that will move those boulders.”
“Why not? Explosions will work. We just have to buy time,” Gnasher countered.
I had to speak out. I had to tell them. It was my duty to Providence to speak and say something about the plan. It was beyond flawed. It would not work and would endanger all of us. I had to open my mouth and say something.
The argument grew heated, as was the case with us Watu. A few felt the pommels of their blades and the staves of their spears. Some pulled daggers from their pouches and waited. I gulped. I had to put a stop to it. I had to. I just had to.
“It won’t work…” My voice was too quiet. None heard it.
Save The Guard.
“Why?”
The others turned to look at The Guard first, then followed his gaze to me. They all looked at me with expressions I could never read. I clutched my mask tightly on my head and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath and spoke.
“The blast would not help. The debris would be stacked on top of each other from the ceiling down. Unless we worked the explosion from within, and assuming the stability of the plateau is sound enough, we could try and blast our way through, but it would take a long time and a lot of resources to finish that and a hundred baskets of explosive quarrels are not going to be enough. Sir.” I choked by my fear and waited for the blade to slit my throat. I did not call him sir. How could I have forgotten the honorific? I deserved to die.
“What is your name?”
“I… I don’t have one. I’m not worthy of a designation.”
“A few have called her Ghost, but she rarely speaks. She is also the youngest of us. Too young to be an Elite. Then again, perhaps we all are. The only one quieter than her is Torment, but I don’t think he’s capable of speech. Just another dead pony too stubborn to stay in a grave.” He looked at me. “I thought that Providence already told us all. The same laws that governed our rank and position do not apply anymore. We are free from that system. You can speak your mind, little one.”
My heart skipped a beat. It always felt so warm when He called me that. “I don’t know what she meant, sir.”
He licked his lips again. “I know. Few of us do, but I think she means we can speak out of turn. In this case, you’re right. What then do you suggest then?”
The question was directed at The Guard.
“Let her speak.”
All eyes were suddenly on me. I gulped. But I was given permission. I had to speak. I was given the honor of making my voice heard for The Guard. Perhaps one day I would be able to talk to Providence. I wondered if she would let me call her something else. Something other than ma’am. I wondered if she would let me call her mother.
“Sir, I suggest that we first rendezvous with them by heading them off before they reach the entrance. Then we bring them here. Without the tower, the Cultists will have no choice but to dig out the entrance. We don’t have the kind of equipment or physical labor to do that. If we get safely away, let the enemy dig out the entrance, then, when they’re done, sneak through and join mommy— ma’am and the rest.”
He’s head whipped around when I made my mistake. A small smiled crawled across his lips. “Mommy?”
I felt small. I lay down on the ground, submitting to him like I always do. If he wanted to take me, I would close my eyes and bear it. As I had to. I had to obey. I was weak. I was nothing. My life was in their hooves. No pony would help me. No pony had to. No pony should. I am nothing but a ghost. That is what they called me. I was nothing more than a figment of their imagination. I am not even worthy of a name.
“I find that… quaint. I am sure she would too,” He said and actually chuckled.
I couldn’t understand. Was He being nice?
“Her idea is sound.”
I looked up from the ground to The Guard, my heart pounding hard in my chest. He was looking away, but I had heard him correct. He complimented me. Nopony in command had ever done that before. Did it mean that I was worth something? My heart felt like it would jump right out of my chest. I didn’t understand what was happening to me until He walked over and patted my head again.
“It’s alright, little one. You don’t need to be scared of me or any other here. You did good. The Guard likes your plan, and so do I. And, I’m sure mommy would approve too,” He added with a wink.
I looked around slowly, not sure if it was a trick, but He himself turned his back on me. I could feel his defenses down. I could feel him shifting his attention from me and away. I wasn’t in any danger. But was I really as safe? Perhaps it was a trick. To lure me into a false sense of security before they all ganged up on me and killed me. Could I take the chance? Was this the right moment to take He out? Would I gain the respect I deserved?
That was how it used to be. But now, like always, it felt wrong. Especially because it was He.
My eyes focused on He’s back, then to his left where The Guard stood. I stared at him for a long moment, and when I shifted my gaze back to Slasher, he had walked further away. There was no way he could attack me from there without me noticing.
Perhaps it wasn’t a trick. Perhaps they really did respect my opinion. Maybe they really did want to listen to me.
And maybe, just maybe, I could and would call Providence ‘mother’. And maybe, being Ghost wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
Rarity frowned.
“Oh bother. Where are you taking me, you silly horn!” she muttered to herself as the magic continued to pull her along. She had been awake all night long as it pulled her without any sign of slowing down. Her eyes were wide open, she obviously could not sleep a wink with what was happening, yet she felt not a single ounce of exhaustion.
She did not know how far she had travelled, but it was certainly far away. It would take ages for her to get back home, but she just couldn’t stop whatever was happening to her.
So, without any other choice, she let the horn continue to pull her along. She turned her head slightly, as much as she could, and she saw morning about to break over the horizon.
“Cock-a-doodle-doo,” Applejack sighed sadly as she saw the sun peeking over the horizon before Celestia would raise it to the top and into the sky. She just felt so out of place and out of sorts where she was. And she came all the way to Manehatten. A knock on her door snapped her out of her reverie. “C-come in.”
“Good morning, Applejack. How are you feeling today?”
“Fine, I s’pose,” Applejack replied turning away from the window. “Just feelin’ a lil’ homesick is all.”
“Still? Even after last night’s fabulous dinner?” Aunt Orange sighed. “Well, don’t worry, darling, it’ll pass as time goes on. It will only stop when you start to feel that this is your home. As much as I would love to stay and chat, I have to go out for a luncheon. I’ll be back later. Tomorrow we’ll go look at schools for you to attend. You know, I think that once you make some friends here you’ll feel more at home.”
“Yes, auntie,” Applejack replied and turned back towards the window. Somehow, she just felt that it wouldn’t.
Something was off. Very off. Not a mere illusion, but something tangible and real. Something was indeed out of place and out of sorts. But what could it be? It was as if there was a tension in the air.
“Your Highness? Is something the matter?” Honey Dew leaned forward, her blond curls inches away from the Princesses’ tea. “You look out of sorts.”
Princess Celestia looked at the mare in question and pulled her tea away from the table with her magic discreetly moving it away from her mane. In those few seconds, she struggled to come up with a way to express what was troubling her but failed. For all Celestia knew, Honey would think it to be an ailment of sorts and would be calling for the Royal Doctor and making an unnecessary raucous over something that could be nothing. All she knew was that whatever she was feeling, it was getting stronger by each passing moment. Slightly, ever so slightly, but she felt it. It had begun a few days prior, but was so subtle that she ignored it. It wasn’t until she had raised the sun that morning that the feeling had been growing at a steadily and seemingly accelerated pace.
She decided to buy some time for herself while she shuffled her thoughts around by changing the subject. A technique she grew quite adept at over the years dealing with the courts and those that held power in the High Council.
“Honey, can you please clarify what is on my agenda for today?”
“Of course, Your Highness,” the unicorn replied after making a small face. The princess had decided not to tell her, and Honey had to respect that. The unicorn levitated a scroll to her face and slipped on a pair of half-moon reading glasses on her nose and began. “This morning you have your regular morning exercises, then you have a meeting with the Weather Team on improvements to the RCMS.”
“And that is?”
“Rain Cloud Manufacturing System, Your Highness. Apparently they need your approval in increasing the budget to allow for a faster system in getting water from the ground. A new technique involving pegasi flying around in circles coupled with their affinity at controlling the wind.”
“Flying around in circles?” Celestia asked, a little amused by the prospect.
Honey shrugged.
“I see. Anything else?” Celestia listened, getting slightly bored as the Honey went on with the day’s agenda. Then Celestia caught something different. “What was that?”
“Your Highness?”
“You said something about an inspection. Inspecting whom?”
At that, Honey smiled. “I thought that it would be nice for you to take a stroll through the classrooms while the entrance exams are going on to see the new batch of potential students.”
Celestia picked up her tea and took a sip. “That is very thoughtful of you, Honey. Yes, I would like that very much, but isn’t ‘inspection’ not entirely accurate. I am not part of any selection committee at the school.”
“I was having trouble justifying your ‘attendance’ to your Royal Duties Committee.”
At that, Celestia let out a slight pained sigh. The Royal Duties Committee was formed as a way for Celestia to keep her time vested in the goings-on of the kingdom. Essentially, she formed it as a way to not waste her time and to keep her duties relevant to the changing of times. All this at her own behest many, many years ago, even before… difficult times. When one lives for so long, duty and repetition tend to become slightly more than tedious, so she formed the committee to help keep her sane over the years and relieve her of boredom. Of course, she could override whatever the RDC decided to do, but she had convinced herself at some level that the ponies who managed her affairs knew what was best for the kingdom. It worked well, but as things went on and repetition started to set in, she found the tasks that RDC decided for her were growing more and more irksome. It wasn’t that she had started having to do more things she did not want, but she found that sometimes her Royal Duties got in the way of what really mattered. She found herself having to spend less and less time with things that she felt were important. Still, she adhered to her duties and deferred to the RDC as she had promised herself she would. But in the end, if she really wanted to disobey her committee, she could. She had done so in the past, and if it came to it she would do so in the future.
The only thing she could not interfere with was the High Council, and she despised and hated that fact. Hated it more than anything else in her kingdom. Throughout her life, the High Council had always been a very painful thorn in her side. But it was, as Startswirl had once told her many eons ago, a necessity.
“They can be quite a bother sometimes,” Celestia confessed talking about the RDC.
Honey chuckled. “Well, this was actually Professor Inkwell’s idea that I call it an inspection.”
“Oh?” Celestia perked up at the mention of the name. “Did she now?”
“Yeah. She said it’d slip under the noses of the snooty ponies.”
Despite herself, Celestia couldn’t help but giggle. “Honey! Please.”
“Well, it worked. Basically, you’ll have a couple hours of free time to take a stroll around the garden and, if you really want, the school too.”
“Please send a thank you for me.”
“Already did. I sent her some of your private tea stock. Anyway, the committee signed-off on everything almost as soon as I submitted your schedule. They were all nodding their heads and saying that you ought to have a more proactive approach to the selection of the students to maintain the highest of standards.” Honey smiled. “I think it was after the success of being a mentor that got them to open up to this. The whole ‘personal student mentorship’ idea has given us more flexibility in making your schedule a bit more,” Honey leaned in and looked around suspiciously as if making sure nopony was listening in, “fun?”
Celestia smiled and placed a hoof on her lips to hide her smile. “Thank you, Honey. I think I need this.” She glanced over to her desk where a large picture of a smiling filly beamed over the scrolls that lay strewn about. “And I am grateful about Sunset Shimmer. She has shown such strong promise. And she is very talented.”
“Right?” Honey removed the empty tea cup from the table. “She’s been an absolute angel, and very, very ambitious. She’ll grow up to do many great things.”
“I’m sure,” Celestia replied and stared out of her large bay windows across the garden where Discord’s statue lay in the shade of a tree. She had managed to shuffle her thoughts and it was time to approach her original concern. “Honey, something feels a little… different.”
“Different? What do you mean, Your Highness?”
“Just that something feels out of sorts. I cannot describe the feeling.” No, that wasn’t quite true. She had felt it before, but she just couldn’t remember from where.
Honey nodded in understanding. “We all get those once in awhile, Your Highness. Nothing any pony can do about it. It’s just one of those days.”
“Is it? I suppose,” Celestia replied doubtfully.
Honey got up, walked over to a stack of papers on a side table and started sifting through them, thinking that the matter had been closed. In the silence that lingered, the princess lifted up the folder newspaper and spread it open with her magic to see what has been going on. She was always keen in understanding the events of the day, especially in the newly annexed region to the southeast, and particularly in the newly acquired capital of said area now dubbed Freetown. When she had heard that the area had been taken, mixed feelings of anger and relief washed over her. But this was quickly followed by shock. Even after all this time, she could not get over the suddenness of what had happened. All previous attempts at taking the area had been met with staunch resistance, but most of that came from internal sources. In truth, short of marching on the area with her Royal Guard, she was at a loss of what to do.
In all her wisdom, and from all her spies and resources, she had never expected the Border Guard to accomplish it. There were rumors that a solitary Guard had managed to do it, but she had refused to believe it. She had to. Any pony who could perform such a monumental task on their own would not have avoided her personal oversight. When she had first heard of what had happened, she had thought that the High Council would have immediately started undermining her power there and try to annex the area from her own control.
But then it was the Royal Guard that secured the area. That really put her entire opinion of the High Council awry. She had allies within the Council, that was for sure, but if they had wanted to secure that area for themselves, much as they had secured areas to the west that were technically beyond her rule, they would not have sent in her branch of the Guard. Of course, the Border Guard filtered throughout the new borders, securing them as they usually did, but that left all internal matters directly under her rule. Something that she could scarcely believe, no matter how many times she tried to see an ulterior motive. An outright declaration from within the Council suggesting that the princess take control would have outed that pony as one of her own and ostracized said pony, which would have eventually led to them being cast out of the Council itself. It had happened so many times in the past.
But that did not happen. In fact, her own spies were as astonished as she was and, in the consequent meetings between her Royal Court and the High Council, it was them that were trying to get information out of her. Or so it seemed. Perhaps it was another ploy, to distract her from finding out the true reason.
There was too much to gain from giving that area away. Its proximity to the southern trade routes, long plagued with bandits and slavers, was now seeing an overabundance of trade that had strengthened the royal coffers and supplied the rest of Equestria with new and wonderful things. The open border policy with the Zebrican tribes was also a huge benefit, and the Zebricans were now a common sight to behold within the annexed area. But perhaps the most priceless commodity gained was the Eleonora Nevus and its safe return to the hooves of those that had built her. It was still a warship, but with a stronger emphasis on protecting the waters from pirates and defending the seas against their neighbors, who had thankfully been silent for the past several months. Several Griffin envoys had demanded answers from her and the kingdom, but for once she could actually and truthfully state that she had nothing to do with it, and nor did the High Council.
Truth, as it were, won that argument.
Still, it annoyed her that such an operation in the area had happened without her knowledge. Even with the Royal Guard policing the interior, along with the Silver Clan, it was just too good to be true and she half expected to read about open rebellion or something similar. But, if politics were put aside, it was the right choice. The Border Guard were not trained to do what the Royal Guard divisions were specialized in. Specifically, the City Guards whose role was purely to ensure that the laws were adhered to.
She placed the paper down and folded it neatly aside and used her magic to pick up her cup of tea and take another sip just as Honey returned to her place opposite her on the table. “Anything else of note?”
Honey removed her glasses and placed them into her glasses container and shut it with a loud click before slipping it expertly into her saddlebag. “Nothing. Please take your time and enjoy the ‘inspection’ of the new students. Towards the evening, you’ll be having tea with Miss Shimmer in the garden. She apparently has some questions for you that she wants to ask you directly and had petitioned for your time with the RDC.”
“Strange. Very well. Thank you, Honey. You make my duties seem that much more bearable.”
“I aim to please, Princess.”
Butterflies didn’t describe it good enough. It felt like a million little birds thrashing around in her gut. At first, she thought she was ready; she had studied hard, practiced harder, tried to memorize everything, and then practiced even more. But whenever she stopped to try and relax, she would think up another potential issue to another potential problem and she would spend hours trying to think of an answer. The stress and worry were starting to affect her performance and she knew it, but was futile in stopping it.
“Twilight, relax!” Shining exclaimed, poking his sister on the nose. “You’re wound up like a top. Just relax, okay? Take a deep breath, and enjoy yourself.”
“Enjoy myself? Easy for you to say,” Twilight muttered. “You’re practically a Guard!”
“Practically? I’ve got a long way to go, lil’ sis. Soon, though. Soon. I’m not quite there. Officers courses are a lot different. More classroom work than anything else.” Her brother sighed when he saw the dejected expression on his sister’s face. He stole a look at his parents who both gave him a nod. “Look, I’ve got to return to class. I’ll see you later at the palace, okay? Really, just relax and you’ll do just fine. I promise.”
Twilight looked at her brother and felt proud. He was part of the Junior Officers Training School, or something like that. Shining always referred to it as ‘JOTS’, and he himself had wanted to sign up for it. His parents were a little apprehensive at first, their family did not have a very happy history when associated with the Guard, but they eventually agreed considering that was what he had wanted to do ever since he could walk. He would be joining other young colts and fillies and trained with specific skills to fill officer roles within the Royal Guard.
Twilight remembered the day when he came home and proclaimed to his parents that he had signed up for JOTS. How proud and scared she felt at the same time. Proud because it was an honor, scared because he’d be putting himself in danger’s way. But then again, she couldn’t think of any other stallion worthier of becoming a Royal Guard.
“Okay,” Twilight replied weakly. “See you later… after I get thrown out of the palace.”
“They aren’t going to throw you out, Twilight. They’re good ponies. They just want you to do your best. I’m sure that’s all you’ll need to do to prove to everypony just how talented you are.” Shining patted his sister on the head and turned and walked away. “See ya later!”
“Let’s go, sweetie,” Twilight’s mother whispered into her ear as she gently, but firmly, pulled her along. “We’ll be late.”
And being late was not an option.
Where was he?
Where was he?
Where was he?
He was supposed to be there. He promised. He Pinkie Promised. He made that promise. He made that promise! Didn’t he? So, where was he?
No, he said he’d be here. He promised he’d be here. He promised.
Promised.
He. Promised.
He! Promised!
“Where are you, Sempie?” the little pink filly asked looking up towards the skies.
“The egg.”
“The egg?” Arpeggio looked at the mare and raised his eyebrow. “What about it?”
“Tell ‘em to open it.”
“Wait. You want us to give a test to foals that has baffled even our greatest unicorns? You want us to use this as a test of their skills?” He asked, staring at the egg at the center of the vault.
“Why not? Even if they cannot unlock it, this egg inhibits magic. Whatever is inside is worth trying new tricks. If they can merely coat it with their magic, they’re already far more gifted than most other unicorns here. It will be good to use that as the base to assess their abilities.”
Arpeggio looked at the speaker doubtfully. He looked over the egg then shifted his gaze over to Crystal Clear who was standing next to him. “What do you think?”
“I think it is interesting. Why not. We’re always trying to come with new and inventive ways to test our students. This is just another and it's perfectly gift-wrapped for us. Do we have permission to remove it from the vault?”
“Who do you think I am?” The mare’s eyes glinted with a knowing twinkle.
Arpeggio chuckled lightly. “Very well. In that case, thank you, Professor. We will use this to test prospective students right away. I hope that you’ll attend as well.”
Professor Inkwell snorted a laugh. “Me? On top of my other duties? Doubtful. I’m still annoyed that neither myself nor Her Highness could even make a dent in that shell.” The old mare poked the egg. “What secrets are you hiding from us within those walls! Tell me!”
“Is she talking to an egg?” Crystal asked in a hoarse whisper at Arpeggio.
“Be careful, Crystal. She may be old, but she’s still a lot stronger in magic than you and me combined,” Arpeggio whispered back, knowing fully that the Professor could hear them.
“How many times do I have to tell you foals,” Inkwell spun around suddenly making both the unicorns jump, “the real power of magic comes from understanding yourself and the role you play, not how much energy you can cram into your horn!”
At that, Arpeggio smiled. He was once her student a long time ago, and he never forgot that one lesson. “We remember, Professor.”
“Oh? Well. Good. See you two later.” And with that, the mare turned and headed out of the vault. She gave a nod to the Guards outside and they came in and gently lifted the egg and placed it on a trolley before wheeling it out.
Crystal couldn’t help herself, she reached over with her magic and surrounded it with her aura. She held it for a moment then released. “That… wow. It’s outright rejecting my magic. It’s not even pushing it away! It’s actually trying to stop me from casting it from my own horn!”
“I know. I’ve tried my magic on it too,” Arpeggio surrounded it with his own magic and it formed a bubble only to burst open a few seconds later leaving the stallion slightly out of breath. “It’s like it’s trying to understand my purpose.”
“Careful, those sounded an awful lot like the Professor’s words coming from your mouth.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You would.”
Arpeggio could only smile at that.
“Okay, dad! See you later!” Rainbow called out as she opened the door and rushed out through the open space.
“Waitaminute!” Came a shout from the kitchen before the door could close.
Rainbow reversed-flew and landed on the doorstep. “C’mon, dad! I’m gonna be late!”
“Right. You? Late? The fastest filly in Cloudsdale?” her father chuckled and hugged his daughter. “Not on your life.”
Rainbow blushed. “True. So, what d’ya want, dad?”
“You forgot to say bye.”
“Um… didn’t I say ‘See you later’?”
“Not to me. To mom.”
Rainbow’s face soured at that. “She isn’t here, dad…”
“Wrong you are! She’s always here, okay? Just because she’s not physically with us anymore doesn’t mean she’s not looking out for you. Right?”
The filly grumbled. “She left us, dad. She ran away. She abandoned us.”
At those words, Blaze lowered himself to Rainbow’s eye level. “She never abandoned us, squirt. You know that feeling you sometimes get when you gotta do something you gotta do?”
“Yeah…” Rainbow said slowly.
“Well, your mom had one of those. And it was strong. I know because nothing, not even Princess Celestia, could make your mom leave us, especially you, if she didn’t wanna, right?”
Rainbow giggled at that. “Yeah.”
“So, she didn’t abandon us. She just had to go and do whatever it was she had to. Be proud of your mom for that.”
“I guess.”
“Look, just humor me, okay? Go ahead and say bye to her. If nothing else, it’ll make me feel better.”
The filly gave an overly exaggerated sigh. “Fine.” Rainbow turned to the picture next to the door of the smiling mare grinning at the camera. It had been the last picture taken before she had left. “Bye, mom.”
Blaze smirked as he saw his daughter’s eyes brighten just a little bit more. Like mother, like daughter. So strong-willed. So stubborn. Always using excuses to cover their true feelings. Always trying to act the opposite of what they feel to hide what they thought was a sign of weakness.
“Oh, and don’t forget to keep an eye out for Fluttershy, okay?”
“Aw, dad!”
“No ‘aws’ from you, young lady. She’s practically your little sister!”
“But she’s older than me…” Rainbow grumbled.
“I know, darling. But you know how she is; she needs you to look out for her. Isn’t she your best friend?”
“Yes, dad,” Rainbow bemoaned and floated out of the door.
“Look, I’ll see you after school,” Blaze replied.
“Okay. See ya!”
He watched his daughter go with a heavy heart. He knew that Providence had gotten herself mixed up with something really serious. Her last letter made little sense to him, which was rare for her. He knew it was written in a hurry, a lot of it seemed to be broken, as if she were forgetting things.
But could that mare write. Every single day he expected another letter. This one with what he thought was inevitable. A letter that he dreaded, but he started expecting. That made him feel super guilty, but he knew he needed closure. A letter informing him that Providence had, somewhere faraway, came up against something she could not surmount. That she had passed away doing something spectacular.
When she had told him she would be leaving, he had been furious. At first he refused to accept it, but Providence had a way of convincing him and she had worked her magic. In the end he was happy for her. She had always been far more than what he expected, a trait that drew him to her. He loved that about her. There was something more to that mare.
But now it had been so long since she had left, it was time to close that chapter in his heart and move on. He had to. For himself and for Rainbow. He knew that was what Providence would have wanted. He knew that she would never abandon him if it were within her power to do so, and he understood that she was going to places where dangers lurked behind every corner. And he knew that she would never, ever abandon their daughter and would do anything to get back to her.
Something serious happened. That was the only answer.
Blaze did not say it outright, but he implied as strongly as possible that the worst of the worst had happened. That Providence had died out there. But Rainbow, true to her nature, didn’t believe it for a second. And neither did he.
“She’s got too much of you in her, Providence,” Blaze whispered and closed the door and set about his chores before heading for work.
Samidra ran on. What had she and her father gotten themselves into. Granted, she wasn’t fresh to combat, she had been taught by her father and the best of her father’s warrior magi due to her father’s name. There were times when she was forced to defend herself, to kill her attackers. That was the way on the desert, and none were spared its cruelty.
But had never, ever, ever been in a situation as she was in now. Hiding under the very snout of their enemy, running through the desert using the strange combination of wind and sand as cover, relying of the very whim of nature, to accomplish a near impossible task. She was stuck between an all-out battle. The Guards and their untrustable allies – even her kind were hard to trust – against the Cultists, who outnumbered them by an uncountable number.
She kept her head down and ran along as quietly and as quickly as her toes could carry her. Despite having the advantage of biology and her wide feed helping prevent her from sinking into the sand at every step, she found it difficult keeping up with the Elites who ran on ahead of her without any difficulty. They stopped every so often to let her catch up and to ensure their rear was clear, but the Elites were keeping an especially sharp eye along the top of the downed tower, ever-watchful of any unwanted company.
They had moved on for some time, the sun now up in the sky when Raze made a sign for everyone to get down. It took Samidra a moment to find the Cultists overlooking the damage tower, standing on top of it and muttering to one another.
Not all the Cultists could have chased after that Guards. Right now, these particular ponies were unintentionally blocking the team from proceeding towards their intended destination. Despite the sandstorm, they would be hard pressed to sneak by without being seen.
“Stay here,” Raze whispered and started forward.
Onslaught waited next to Tessa, the breezies, now in his saddlebag, were shaking in terror. They understood something was going on. Samidra wished that she too could be safely placed in the large pony’s bag, safely tucked away near his armor.
Raze crept along the tower as closely as possible. When she got a good distance ahead, Onslaught gently pushed Samidra. “Follow. Slowly. Quietly. No talking. They’re downwind.”
They progressed quickly, and soon Samidra’s ears could hear them speaking in natural Equestrian.
“… this thing is useless!” the voice said, stomping on the body of the large downed tower for good measure. “We would’ve been better off just attacking as one unit from the start. We’ve wasted an entire night! I bet there’s nopony on that ridge! They’ve all gone! What if they find the Stone first? It’ll be all over!”
“You haven’t fought against the Watu Wakali, so your opinion isn’t worth a cow’s dung-pile. You want to go up there and say hello to them, then that’s fine by me. I have seen them and I know what they’re capable of. So, no. What we did was the right thing. The only thing worse for us is the Guard themselves. That and the fact that the Watu and Guard are working together is… well, it’s something that we cannot face up against with you lot. So. Shut. Up.”
“Cowards like you are the reason why there isn’t an Eternal Night!” the first retorted.
“And idiots like you who think actions are all that matter are the reason why we’re hiding and being hunted by the Guard.”
“So, you admit you’re a coward!”
“You want to try and say that to me again, Pebble?”
“Don’t call me that!” the first retorted.
“Silence! Both of you!” another voice roared over the others. “Yes, we have to get to that Stone before they do. We’ve spent far too long looking for it and now that we have some idea of where it is we cannot bicker amongst ourselves. When we find the Stone, you two can gut each other for all I care, but for now you will both be quiet and you will both obey orders. Got that?”
“We’re not soldiers, Velvet. We don’t have to listen to you. So take your Guard baloney and stick it where the night don’t glow!”
There was a long moment of silence, then a gurgling noise, followed by a dull thud.
“And anypony else have something they wanna say to me?” The voice asked.
Again, there was another long moment of silence.
“Good. Now let’s head back to camp and get ready. We got an attack to plan.”
There was a chorus of cheers, then the sound of hooves scrambling and receding.
“Let’s proceed,” Onslaught whispered and jogged on ahead trying to use as much of the curved body of the tower as cover. He was careful to keep within the shadows of the tower’s downed status, but hugged as close to the object as possible.
“This wind… we’re lucky that it’s not settled yet,” Tessa whispered to Samidra who was walking slowly and keeping a safe distance behind Onslaught.
“Yes,” Samidra concurred. “Why is it doing that?”
“The wind is being trapped between the tower and the cliffs. That, and the chaos caused by the Guards helped stir up the sand. It won’t last too much longer, so we have to hurry. We have to get to the entrance by then or it’ll be very bad. If they spot us, we’ll be killed. Or worse,” Raze whispered as she trotted along with the others.
“Worse?” Tessa asked stopping mid-step.
“Oh yes. There are much things much worse than death. Didn’t you know?” Raze asked with all seriousness.
“I-I-I’ll take your word for it.”
“Yes. I think that’d be best,” Raze calmly agreed and gave the mare a firm shove. “Let’s go.”
They came up to Onslaught who was standing near a badly bent portion of the tower. He made a sign for them to get down and hide. He quickly vanished around said corner and was gone for no more than a few minutes, but it felt like ages to Tessa and to Samidra.
“Alright,” Onslaught pointed out, the two non-Elites gulped seeing the expression on his face, “we have to move fast. They’re loading skimmers and getting ready for a fight. I think. So, we have to race them to the entrance. Keep close, okay? No slowing down.”
They all nodded and trotted together once more. Only once did they make noise. It was when Samidra happened to come across the body. She made a half-scream when it suddenly moved. The Cultist was still twitching, a broken spear visible through his armor with the haft directed towards the heart.
Onslaught casually walked over and angled the spear’s direction slightly and plunged it deeper into the pony. A hoof made to reach up once, then dropped onto the sand. It was a mercy kill. But Tessa had never seen something like that before, and she moved to throw up onto the sand.
“Don’t,” Onslaught said shutting her mouth and stopping Tessa’s contents from spilling out. “We have limited water and we don’t know how long it will be till we get more. You best conserve every drop and morsel of food.”
Tessa’s eyes widened as she realized what Onslaught was asking her to do. She looked down at her puffed out cheeks and struggled to hold the rest of the contents in her stomach.
“Swallow.”
She tried to shake her head, but the powerful grip forbade it. Onslaught pulled out his dagger and licked the blade with utter malice in his eyes. Tessa gulped out of fear, realized what she had done, started to tear up, but Onslaught held on for a few more seconds before he released her and patted her gently on her head.
“Good.”
All she could do was glare at him.
“It is better than starving or dying of thirst. Trust me. I’ve almost died from both. And dying of thirst is far, far worse.”
Onwards they rushed, further and further, the wind behind them blowing steadily. But it was apparent that the wind was pushing the sand down and away from them. Like a river, the wind and sand had started to flow down the easiest path and it was steadily becoming thinner as their ability to see farther increased.
That was not a good sign.
“I don’t think we’ll make it,” Tessa informed the group with a high-pitched squeal in her voice still trying to keep her stomach steady.
“Relax. We move. Chances are they are too busy to have a watch set up,” Raze whispered loudly.
Onslaught looked at her. “That’s a very big risk.”
“We have no choice. Either we keep moving and take that chance, or we wait here until we have no cover and then get spotted and most likely killed. That we cannot allow. We have the map. It needs to be put into Providence’s hooves. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
The two non-Elites exchanged glances. They were there because being with the Guards was far more dangerous, but now they felt that perhaps that was the incorrect choice. What could they do against the Cultists?
On they ran in silence, Samidra following closely behind Raze as she led them along. Onslaught running steadily at the back, looking to ensure that they weren’t flanked from behind. The Breezies, sensing the tense situation, remained silent and watched with apprehension as the group continued its sprint across the sands.
It was Raze who made the sign, and Tessa and Samidra slid to a halt as she continued forwards with Onslaught in tow.
Two Cultists were talking to one another and seemed to be more interested in the conversation than anything else. They were standing in an alcove formed by a large dent where the tower must have buckled and twisted from the pressure of the impact as it crashed down.
Without missing a beat, Raze picked up the pace as did Onslaught.
They moved forwards with the immaculate grace and deadly purpose, but the sand that they used as cover had diminished too much. One of the Cultists suddenly spotted them coming and shouted something making the other turn around. The second one’s eyes opened wide when he saw what was coming in. He knew the masks. He knew what they were.
“Watu!” he called and reached for his crossbow.
But the Watu had broken into a sprint over the sand now and were moving too fast. These Cultists were too panicked and not trained to load their crossbows properly.
A mistake that cost them their lives.
The first one managed to snap a bolt in place and was about to raise it when Raze threw a dagger at his throat with deadly accuracy. The pony winced and tried to put pressure on the wound out of reflex, letting go of the crossbow in the process. If he had fired it, perhaps he would have survived, but that reflex allowed Raze to close the distance and dispatch him with a quick blade across the rest of his throat to prevent him from making further sounds. She carved through it with her scimitar followed by a smooth upward strike with another dagger in her opposite hoof that found the heart.
The Cultist dropped without making another sound.
The second Cultist was shaking with fear and screaming in terror, but her eyes were on the crossbow in front of her hooves and she did not realize just how fast Onslaught had managed to come. When she looked up, the gigantic sledgehammer that he wore across his back slammed into the side of the Cultist’s face. Even from where they stood, Tessa and Samidra saw the neck break in an impossible angle. But she was not dead. She struggled and flailed her legs about trying to stand, to get away, to flee.
Raze gestured for the two of them to follow. They galloped hard moving past Onslaught just as he raised his hammer over his shoulder.
Tessa tried to tune out the muffled scream just as the sickening sound of bones being crushed could be heard as they galloped towards Raze, tears streaming down her eyes. She stole a quick look back to see the Cultist’s head buried beneath the surface of the desert; Onslaught’s hammer dripping with blood as he it hefted up.
“Quickly,” Onslaught said as he caught up giving Tessa a firm shove.
She had not realized she stopped.
“Go.”
“...uh-huh.”
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So much tension!
Shit's really starting to get real in here...
wide feet
Also just read though all this in the last week, damn this is an engaging story!
I love this, the pacing is incredible, if perhaps a bit jarring to someone less flexible. I adore the snapshots into the elements before they get their marks. I love this and I love you for making this.
Good lord. I hop on in and I get these mountain of comments.
First off, you read fast. The timings between chapters is quite impressive to say the least.
7875271 Thanks. I tried to portray him as he is in the show, but a little more... rigid.
7875384 Well, that's always been the way I thought. It's just the way they do things, at least I think so.
7875406 Very observant. You'll just have to wait and see.
7876482 Again, very observant. You'll just have to wait and see.
7876587 Good point about his Cutie Mark. I had thought about it, honestly, but I didn't know how that dimension would take away from the character I wanted to portray because it is a strong focus. Would it be the reason why he was singled-out in training camp? There were factors that I didn't want to get into.
7876673 Someone had asked that I do a fic focusing on this political dynamic. I told him no. Then I said that he/she ought to do it and I have yet to hear a response.
7876703 Thanks for pointing that out. I'll clean it up now.
7876846 I addressed this (the Diamond Dogs), I thought. Maybe in the next few chapters it'll get cleared up.
7877081 Descendants of Sombra? That's a new one... I didn't put that in. That's actually quite awesome. I'm curious as to how that connection came about.
7877176 This one was hard to explain without going back and delving into lore. A Zerstörer is essentially a warrior-slave. I tried to explain it without having to break the flow like before, but you're not the first one to point that out. And each ship has their own Zerstörer. Perhaps I will edit it and fix the continuity issue in the future.
7877885 I'm done reading for now, will pick this up again in a few days and read through the rest (not that there's anything near as much to go through). If you're off for a full day again, you'll return to a bunch more sys notes
, but if you want to reply to any more of my comments now go ahead.
Re: Blood and Ruby Flame being descendants of Sombra. From Mission 2 Part 10:
If it weren't for that bolded part, I would have thought it may have been some other pony you fashioned up, since I didn't think Blood would have somehow researched his family history to over a thousand years into the past. But with two alicorns, that very specifically means he's talking about a king from at least a thousand years ago, and Sombra fits a large part of that historical figure to a tee.
So...this chapter was honestly a little bit disappointing, if only for the Celestia narrative. Throughout this entire story Celestia has been behind-the-scenes. We know she apparently personally approved Semper to join the Border Guard, and that was it. From that much alone I imagine a lot of us readers have assumed she knew something about Semper, and now we find out that she's just as clueless as everypony else in the story is. That's a bit of a mood whiplash to find out about.
I can tell where this is going, anyways, as instead of the Sonic Rainboom helping them out in the desert it'll actually be Semper and co. seizing the Stone and triggering the Sonic Rainboom. Even setting aside whether the Stone is the same thing as the Elements of Harmony or something altogether, I wonder precisely how those events will pan out. I get the feeling that Semper or someone else will use the stone to set 'fate' up for six separate ponies. More intriguingly though, I wonder if there'll be ponies worse off for whatever occurs from using the Stone.
Also, maybe it's just me, but if Pinkie is going to be crushed by Semper breaking a Pinkie Promise, I can't see her actually going on to make a Pinkie Promise an inviolate thing that she makes a lot.
There goes my idea that Providence could have been Scootaloo's mother, anyways.
I wonder if you're going to do something different with Sunset Shimmer, or if your headcanon was just that she left Canterlot after the Sonic Rainboom. Considering the amount of gore and dark stuff that's happened in this story so far, I wouldn't put it past the Stone to actually end up robbing her of some happier fate than what she actually gets.
Oh? I wonder who their cousins are, then.
EDIT: Also, I guess that Semper's mission could be responsible for minimising the damage from the 1000th Summer Sun Celebration, by getting rid of many, many cultists that could have otherwise stirred up riots.