Rebirth of Magic: Cold, Cold Heart

by JimmyHook19

We Keep Marching On

I woke the next morning, and once I had everything in order I finally set off for my journey home towards the town of Maretime Bay. It was a long journey back towards my home, and as I drove along, the roads rumbling by underneath my wheels of the my truck, I found myself in need of something to do. Luckily, I still had yesterday's food, and had picked up some coffee on my way home to ensure I could stay awake for the journey on the road on my way home. It was certainly nicer doing the northern section in proper levels light as I rattled along that highway of legend.

At least the sea was nice to look at, which provided me some company as I drove along the road. I felt quite relaxed as we went along, actually, that truck and I. The ground and sky and sea continued to role by as the sun continued to rise next to me. I even had to boost the air conditioning slightly in order to keep cool, actually. The region was certainly quite humid if nothing else. The terrain began to be light up by the sun's rays as I rolled along the road, and saw the world unfold around me in considerably more detail with a smile. Boy was this a world worth fighting for, in my mind. I relaxed and continued to rattle along the road at speed, before the scenery began to shift once more around me.

After a period, I needed to pull over and rest. Unfortunately, it seems that they hadn't figured out highway service stations yet, and this meant pulling over and resting was reliant on side roads and laybys. I know that's technically not what they're meant for, but I'd seen plenty of other drivers use them that way, so I figured they were fair game as well. I pulled into one and stopped, cutting the engine as I did so before I began to enjoy the meal from yesterday and experience the rejuvenating effects of coffee.

I enjoyed the coffee very much. Clearly Equestrian ponies are able to handle caffeine based on their biology, as otherwise they'd be in serious trouble if they happened to drink it, which would be a huge problem based on my old world. As I sat there, I tuned into the local news to find out what was going on.

What I heard surprised me a bit. The radio station- FBS, or Fillydelphia Broadcasting Service- was talking about some sort of military spending bill, which attracted my attention. It had been passed through at speed and was currently awaiting Presidential approval.

But something confused me a bit. The name of the bill was a bit strange. I had explained to them the threat wasn't a unicorn or a pegasus attack, but rather something from another world. And yet the bill was called the Defense against the Unicorns and Pegasi bill, which made more than clear what the purpose of the bill was.

What was going on?

---

I got my answer as I pulled back into the garage in Maretime Bay, and wandered into the main CanterLogic building where Phyllis' office was. I made my way out of the lower levels and up to one of the upper levels, finding my way along the stairs fairly easily.

It was a gentle walk to say the least, and although I was breathing quite heavily when I was at the top, I was glad to have made it up there. I went in through the door and saw Phyllis sitting there at her desk, looking quite pleased. "Extra funds for production?" she said to herself.

I then decided to address her. "Hey mom."

Phyllis turned the chair and her face changed to a smile. "Sprout! You're back! How was it?"

"Well, I did get to talk to them and warn them," I said. "And something about a bill was on the radio."

"Ah, yes, the Defense against the Unicorns and Pegasi bill," Phyllis replied. "I heard about it on the radio. It's certainly needed in trying times like these, and will hopefully help to get our little town back on its feet after the little incident we had a few days ago."

The very same one that I'd mentioned to the authorities all that time ago, funnily enough. And yet they chose to use a name that might inflame global tensions. Not the smartest of ideas in my mind, but I had to go along.

"But why call it that? Why not just call it the Increased Military Spending Act and be done with it? Surely that'd be less inflammatory to the world situation right now?"

I was certain Phyllis would see reason in this case. But that was sadly a fool's errand.

"Sprout, I thought they thought this to you in schools. Unicorns and pegasi are not our friends. As when that unicorn turned up several days ago and took Sunny away as her slave." She sighed. "Poor dear. I do feel a bit of sympathy for her, even if she always spouted nonsense and was brainwashed by her father."

The narrative with Izzy seemed to be changing every few seconds. First she wanted to fry Sunny's brain, then she was hauling her away as a slave? Consistency is clearly not a thing in this part of the world.

"Besides, that's how it's always been around here, in this land. Since time began we have been enemies. We have been enemies ever since the old times, and especially since the invasion one thousand years ago. Follow me."

We went away out of the office and into another room, which I presumed was a boardroom of some sort for the company. Speaking of which, I had never seen members of the board around the facility. I could sense they probably usually turned up on when required for a meeting. The lights flickered on, and this illuminated a back wall which revealed something interesting.

Hanging up was a painting which showed a battle scene. Upon it were a large formation of tanks thundering across the landscape, with infantry moving up to support them on the side. Fighter aircraft, mostly biplanes, streaked in from on high, their propellers thundering as they fired rockets and dropped bombs at their targets on the ground. Before them were monstrous depictions of the other tribes. The pegasi were buckling under the assault, whilst the unicorns were fleeing for their lives on the edge of the field. It was clearly a battle from the war that had been mentioned a few times.

"This is a personal favourite of mine," Phyllis said. "The original hangs in the National Gallery in Trottingham. I took you and a school trip to see it one time- a pity Sunny spent most of the time trying to argue with a member of staff that it depicted a false scenario. We must go and see the cyclorama version some day."

I read the caption at the bottom. "Gadsden's Charge: the Valiant Earth Ponies drive back the Cannibalistic Pegasus and the Cowardly Unicorn."

"It's part of the Battle of Thunder Bay, the battle that secured our freedom," Phyllis smiled. "A truly glorious day when we made it clear to the other tribes we would not be slaves."

"Slaves?" I asked.

"I know you slept through some lessons but I had idea it was this bad. Whenever you played at Sunny's house you always wanted to use her figures to recreate the battle, though Hitch always let Sunny play out her crazy fantasies. That girl needed help." She coughed, then began to tell the story. "A long time ago, our planet was a different place to now. The pegasi and the unicorns had always wanted to take our lands and steal our resources, and they had a common enemy in us. So they forged an alliance and attacked our lands, tearing through the terrain and damaging anything they came across. We fought them off in many battles, and their final attack came at the Battle of Thunder Bay, where they assaulted our forces with a massive army.

"They expected we would break and run from the enemy. But our lines held, and we even repulsed their attacks. Eventually, our armour and other vehicles arrived, and with air support we drove them back in the charge depicted in this painting. And we've been preparing ever since. If they come back, they'll wish they'd never attacked us."

I nodded. "Well, thanks for the history lesson." I knew I had to get back to work, so I stepped out of the door and wandered over to a balcony. I stepped onto it, after opening a door, and stepped onto the breeze and looked out over the sea.

It was oddly peaceful, and quite quiet as well. Ponies were just going about their usual business on the beachfront.

And there I was, concerned. Hitch had told me not to start a war whilst I was away. And I feared I had done precisely that.

Author's Note:

And of course.... we return back to Maretime Bay now. ^^

Comments

[Comickook]

Another great job on the dialogue, characterizations and future chapter set-up in this chapter. Definitely appreciated "Sprout's" reflections on the lack of service stations, making the use of other places for rest stops necessary as well as the frustrations concerning the name of the bill and Phyllis's stubbornness.

VERY MUCH looking forward to more of this.

[Phetiamwantip]

This new chapter is so cool! Can't wait to see what happens next.

Here's a song that will make you do whatever it takes. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/HcNcOnIkQQU?si=nhBhui1DcGQyy_GX

[JimmyHook19]

11726606
Indeed =3

11726628
Noice =3

[Phetiamwantip]

11726637
Thank you

[JimmyHook19]

11726642
You're welcome :)

[hmaf43]

This is the best out of every fanfics in the series!

Likely because author is unbounded by the gen5 movie plot and can do anything without limit.