Twenty
Princess Luna, Our Lady Of The Moon, paced back and forth in her suite, dictating her stream of thoughts to her hoofmaiden-turned-secretary.
“The primary strategic goal is... The primary strategic goal must be... No! This is not like the old days... not like commanding an army. No, don't write this down!” Luna said and waved her hoof at Twilight, who stopped her telekinetic scribbling. “Not yet! It is not the same. Then you marched your army against another army, or against one of their strongholds, and sooner or later you met them in combat. There is nothing to march against. They are just animals. They aren't even social animals normally...”
“So, should I write something like 'Regular strategies are useless' or something. To summarize you thoughts, Your Highness?” Twilight said.
“What? Yes, do that. Or wait – amend it to 'Unless the beasts of winter can somehow be forced to convene at one point, regular strategies are useless in this war. Such a situation is unlikely.'” Luna said.
“Can't you view the situation as a siege, Your Highness?” said Twilight. “If the... 'beasts of winter' don't come to the reindeer, there is no danger, and if they do come, you can defend against them?.”
Luna shook her head.
“Yes and no. If we were only defending places where reindeer live, and that's hard enough," Luna said in frustration. "But the greatest threat – the reason this is an issue at all – is the massive amount of ice-wyrms. And the reason they are dangerous is because they threaten the forests. Without forests, the grazing reindeer have nowhere to spend their winters, and they starve. Without forests, the coast reindeer has no way to keep up neither their forestry nor their agriculture, and they starve. Not to mention the moose who live in the forests and farm its lakes and marshes. And there is no way we can defend the forests like they were a city.”
“Is it impossible to build a wall or something?” said Twilight.
Luna stared at her.
“Yes, Your Highness, I know it is big. But you said to consider everything, the reindeer are master carpenters, and if you drag over as many royal engineers as you can, it won't wake up Karhu-Akka, will it?” Twilight explained, almost whispering the name of the Goddess-Glacier.
Luna paused in her pacing.
“When you say it like that, it remains possible if not probable. Note it down as a possibility,” she said and frowned. “Maybe the wall could be raised from ice and snow?”
“A wall of wood and stone would last for the several years of extra hard winters,” said Twilight as she wrote furiously.
“But a wooden wall would attract the ice-wyrms since they love to eat dead wood. Thus the alternatives must be ice or stone,” mused Luna as she started pacing again.
Spike entered, riding a bemused reindeer porter who just paused and gaped when he saw where he was. Spike jumped off, grabbed his shopping bag from the reindeer and gave him a tip.
“Thanks a lot, buddy! I'm sure the guards will let you out!” he said and smiled. The reindeer barely noticed as he watched the princess and her aide discussing wall-building. He hastily bowed himself out.
Spike shrugged and started unpacking as he listened to Twilight and princess Luna with half an ear.
“You haven't thought about the reindeer doing this every year and knowing more about it?” he said as he popped a huge rock crystal into his mouth. It was the only gem for sale in Sarvvik that fit his pocket money, but they were very cheap.
“I have, young Spike,” said Luna. “But I promised Jarl Vidar I would compose a strategy from my viewpoint first, and then we would try to synthesize a plan from that.”
She sighed.
“But the distressing part is not knowing anything about what resources we have. It is easy to plan a campaign on the map if you can just wish for troops and provisions, but real life doesn't work like that,” she said.
“We must also deal with Lord Eminence, Your Highness,” said Twilight. “He seems to have done nothing today but wait for dispatches from home and stride around the city looking silly – but he will do something soon. It is my humble opinion that we must stop him, reveal him to our allies or both, as soon as possible...”
Luna groaned.
“It does feel strange to conspire with Princess Ljufa when one of my underlings is plotting to murder her father and usurp the throne from her son, doesn't it?” she said. “I have postponed it in the wake of the War on Winter stepping up like this, but his idiotic plotting will undermine everything if we don't stop it and soon...”
Spike, who had been briefed on “the scary gray dude”, had started to make a parcel out of some of the things he had shopped, and snickered to himself.
“What's so funny?” said Luna and frowned.
“Sorry,” said Spike and grinned. “It is just that if Twilight was what rumor says she is, you would have it much easier.”
“What do you mean?” said Twilight.
“If you really were an evil sorceress, you could just have zzzapped him with a spell and killed him or turned him to a frog or something. Problem solved,” said Spike and tied a knot on the string.
“Not that likely. I assume as a spy and assassin he would have been one of my 'minions', why would I kill him then?” Twilight snorted.
“You don't read enough comics!” said Spike. “Bad guys kill their minions all the time. 'Foolish fool! You have failed me for the last time!' ZZZZZAPP! “ He mimicked shooting a ray from his forehead.
Luna looked amused, Twilight less so.
“That almost gives me an idea...” mumbled the Moon Princess.
“You'll have to develop it later,” said Spike who had finished making his parcels. “You'll just fix yourselves up and then we are leaving.”
“What,” said Luna and stared at him.
“As the assistant to your hoofmaiden, I have to remind your hoofmaiden, and through her you, that you this afternoon is visiting the sickbed of a very nice young lady who your glacier-lesson antics sent into a coma,” said Spike and looked stern. “I mean, I am sure Eira would have sent us a message if Saga had became worse, but you still should visit her. She asked for you when I was there yesterday.”
Our Lady of the Moon and her hoofmaiden looked down at their hooves and looked a bit embarrassed.
“Oh,” said Luna. “That's right. Oh well – attend to me, hoofmaiden!”
Twilight put down parchment and quill and lifted manebrush and hoofpolish.
At the temple they found many gawkers. Kvalhissir had started on the muddy puddle that was to become a lake, that was obvious, but he wasn't outside working. Instead they found him holed up sleeping in the main hall, having created some sort of bed from the benches. Some of the gawkers had entered the temple but been roped into cleaning and maintenance by Eira, who was overseeing her “flock”.
After exchanging greetings (and some of the parishioners falling down from their ladders when Luna entered – luckily no legs were broken) Eira directed them to Saga's room, which turned out to be in the former storage in the basement.
“'Cept she maintains it is a crypt, My Goddess,” said Eira as she opened the hatch for them. “She asked for you this morning. She is much better but she has been babbling a lot. I had her stay in so she don't go about and hurt herself. The Prince turned up earlier today with a very nice cake; he is down there now.”
Luna and Twilight looked at each other with worry in their eyes, but Spike scampered down the stairs.
“Hello? Saga?” he called.
The room was rather small and made even smaller because it was still used as a storage, mostly for a series of rather grotesque wood and wicker images of beastly faces. (Luna would later learn that they were something akin to parade floats in a festival that hadn't been celebrated for centuries.) The furniture consisted of a bed made out of one of the images, a wooden bin made into a bookcase (Twilight immediately tried to make out which books were in it), a rather old music player and a bedside table jammed into a huge wooden wolf head. An rather ratty lamp hung from the head of a vast wicker adder.
Saga was lying on her bed with with a blanket on; she was showing Vigg something in an open book. They each had a plate beside them which bore traces of cake, as did Saga's nose. Vigg looked a little distressed. Saga was clearly excited about something, and looked up when she saw Spike.
“Oh, hi Spike!” she said perkily. Then she saw Twilight and Luna (who had to bow and bend herself a little to descend the stairs) and gasped loudly.
“My Goddess! My Mistress!” she said as she rose and prostrated herself in their general directions. Vigg got up and bowed.
“Greetings,” said Luna, and hit her head on the roof.
“Hi,” said Twilight, embarrassed.
Saga leaned backwards, sighed melodramatically, and placed a hoof to her forehead.
“I have had... a vision!” she said and shut her eyes. “I can still see it all before me!” she moaned.
“Was it a... bad vision?” said Twilight carefully.
Vigg mimed Would she overact like this if it was? but Twilight either didn't see him or ignored him.
“On the contrary!” said Saga and swept out her hoof. “I saw the salvation of my country! The salvation from certain doom!”
“Wow!” said Spike.
“That's... good,” said Twilight.
“Hmmm...” said Luna. She had seen Vigg's face. He looked a bit worried now.
“The salvation at the hooves of the heir to the throne!” she half-shouted and pointed both forehooves at Vigg, who squirmed a bit.
Everyone looked at each other.
“You were really out there a bit, Saga,” said Twilight. “What happened, really?”
Saga sat up normally in bed, her antlers touching the roof.
“Well, it was still scary, even if it was a good vision. And it was... so big and strong and vast and old. I... I don't know what happened, I woke up in bed here,” she said. “But I remember it all” she added hastily. “I am certain what I saw.”
“My temple-fawn,” said Luna “I won't doubt your prophetic abilities, but per definition, as I have heard, your gift is to see possibilities, not probabilities. Until now, as I understand it, you have made use of it by seeing that something could happen, and thus knowing you should act to avoid it. This kind of... vision is all new, and I don't know if you should be this certain about it.”
“Oh, My Goddess, I know! But this is the same sort vision – it is just that I feel certain how to act to, uh, get it to be the true future,” Saga said happily.
“Saga,” said Spike “what do you mean about Vigg saving the country? How?”
“Well, first it is only natural for a brave young prince to save a country from a horde of monsters! Happens in all the best of stories!” Saga said and patted Vigg on the head and he snorted.
“Second, I literally saw him doing the things that was saving everything, so it has to be him who does it!” Saga continued as she smiled brightly at the reindeer prince.
“Well, alright, but I meant how is he supposed to do it? How can that be possible?” said Spike.
Vigg sat up and bristled a bit.
“Hey, are you saying I can't be a hero?” he said angrily to Spike.
“Whoah, didn't mean it like that at all,” Spike protested. “I just meant no one could do something like that on their own, unless they are like Luna, and if they are they would cause a worse disaster.”
Vigg was mollified, but not much.
“Saga, are you sure you aren't... interpreting this wrong because you have... feelings for Vigg?” he said.
Saga stared at him.
“What? What kind of feelings?” she said.
Vigg looked at Spike.
“Nothing,” Spike said. “Nothing, forget it...”
“Spike has a point,” said Luna. “Exactly what did you saw that tells you Vigg could save Tarandroland? What did he do in your vision that was important?”
“He used – he will use – he must use – the Sampo!” said Saga.
“The what?” said Twilight.
“The Sampo?” said Spike.
“Yeah,” said Vigg and looked dismayed again.
“Impossible!” said Luna with a scowl.
“What?!” said Saga with a hurt voice.
“Yeah, what do you mean by 'impossible'?” said Vigg with a sudden edge.
“We are talking about the magic grinder, right?” said Spike. “Not the superhero?”
“The who?” said Twilight.
Luna sighed and looked to the side.
“It merely highlights what I just said, my... dearest servant. It might sure be possible for the Sampo to save your country, but it is so unlikely I'll just call it impossible and be done with it,” she said.
“Excuse me, Your Highness, but what is the Sampo?” said Twilight.
“But... why is it impossible, Oh My Goddess?” said Saga, her lower lips quivering.
Luna sighed again.
“The Sampo is an ancient magic artifact,” she said.
“It's a magic thingamajig,” Vigg translated needlessly.
“And there are three reasons why Vigg using it would be an unlikely way of salvation,” Luna continued. “First, the artifact itself is cursed.”
“What is the Sampo, really?” said Vigg. “Nodeer knows any longer. They say it was a magic mill, but nodeer knows.”
“And cursed how?” wondered Saga. “With howling insanity? Killing your firstborn? Weeping wounds?”
“Nothing so melodramatic,” said Luna. “The Sampo is older than me and my sister. It was a tool used to create the world. The being you reindeer call Äitsi pulled a malicious prank on its creators and tainted its powers, to cause... discord. “
“What does it do?” said Twilight, frowning.
“It seems to be a wish machine... letting your get anything you wish for. Like, as in the reindeer fairy tale, flour , salt and gold. Or... almost anything. I have neither seen it in use nor used it myself, but it was said you even could wish for abstract things – like 'strength' or 'success',” Luna said.
“That sounds... awesome, to borrow a phrase,” said Twilight.
“Too awesome. Not even I and my family can create something from nothing. The Sampo merely brings things to you. Discord's prank was that it brings things that tend to belong to someone else,” Luna said. “And that they tend to find out. So, when it was found by... some reindeer...” Luna looked to the side again, “and they used it to end a famine, first others became jealous of their wealth, then yet others became angry with them for 'stealing'. Jealousy and anger bring discord... and discord brought war.”
“But... that should not be a problem,” protested Vigg. “Shouldn't it just be a matter of how and what you wish for? Sampo didn't know it, but we do.”
“You would think so, but the temptation that comes with it is too great. You wish for more and more, and sooner or later you slip up. Sampo brought war to Tarandroland, Vigg,” Luna said sternly.
“Yeah. To end famine. And he ended the war as well!” said the reindeer prince and stepped close enough to Luna to look her in the eye.
“Be it as it may, the second reason is that magical artifacts never solve anything! There is no magical miraculous salvation to life's great problems!” Luna said emphatically.
Everyone fell silent and looked at her. Spike cleared his throat.
“No, it is obvious it doesn't. Magical thingamajigs never cleanse moon princesses of evil or seal away ancient spirits of chaos. Well known fact!” he said.
“I – I didn't mean it like that! Look, all I am saying is that it isn't enough to find some magical artifact to wish away your troubles! It takes more than that!” shouted a flustered Luna.
“And you don't think I am up to that?” said Vigg.
Luna looked at him.
“I am sorry, Your Highness, but you are on your first set of antlers. No one wants you to get yourself killed – or worse! And don't you have duties – up and to including school?” she said.
Vigg snorted.
“And the third reason is that no one knows where the Sampo is. Unless I am misinformed, it disappeared before my exile, and has never been seen since. The last reindeer to see it was the one named after it, and he has been dead a thousand years now,” said Luna.
“And you don't know anything, Oh My Goddess?” said Saga, looking downcast.
Luna shook her head.
“I swear I do not. I had nothing to do with Sampo and the Sampo, and I have been absent too long from the world,” she said.
Then she turned to get upstairs.
“But...” said Saga.
“Are you saying you are forbidding us from seeking the Sampo?” shouted Vigg after her.
Luna stopped and turned half around.
“I can forbid you nothing, reindeer prince. I am neither your mother, your ruler nor your goddess. I am just giving you some advice: don't bother, for the reasons I have already given,” Luna said and ascended the stairs.
“M-mistress Twilight?” said Saga. “You believe me, right? Can you...?”
Twilight looked skeptical but apologetic and opened her mouth to speak when Luna shouted down the stairs.
“Lady Sparkle? Attend to me!” everyone heard.
“I'm sorry,” said Twilight. “I must... upstairs. Go. Bye. Take care! Get better!” as she trotted upstairs with a worried expression.
Saga burst into quiet tears
“But... my vision! Why don't they believe me...?” she sobbed.
Vigg patted her back, but he was more angry than comforting.
“Just a kid! It's the usual! Like it becomes less risky if no so-called adult will help you!” he snorted.
Spike looked up after her as he gave Saga a hug.
“That's... not very much like her, even if she has a terrible temper. I must talk to her... this is really fishy,” he said.
Then he smiled.
“But first, I'll go upstairs and get some cake, OK? Better wait a day or so. And cheer up, I'm sure things will get better!” he said.
“You think so?” Saga sniffled.
Spike nodded.
“Besides, you haven't really talked to Twilight yet, because of the princess tantrum there. And I know exactly how you two will get in Twilight's good books to get her help in finding the magical thingamajig!” he said.
“You do?” said Vigg.
“Oh yeah. It's one of her weakest points. If you ask her the right way, she will be so impressed with you she can't but help to help you. And hey, she is the world's greatest sorceress and the world's smartest pony! You could have worse help!” he said and patted Saga.
“Come on, tell us!” said an enlivened Saga.
“First,” said Spike, “cake. And what is that book?”
He pointed to the one Saga had showed Vigg when they came in.
“It's a book of fairy tales,” said Vigg dismissively.
“Hey, that is research too!” Saga protested.
“And you think I am ridiculous for reading comics!” said Vigg.
“Look” said Spike “I'll get cake. And then – my babysitter can read me a fairy tale. OK?”
“OK” said Saga. “And comics are way more childish!”
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At first I was hesitant in the slight redirection of the story but the current plot line is intriguing.
Thanks for liking my fanpic and using it as your avatar
45056
Thanks for making it! I was so glad to get a little fan art!
I did it in mypaint and gimp. Don't have the money for a program like Photoshop, would like to get it , well oneday
45402
Star Wars?
1221800
Not consciously, actually. Spike is just emulating Comic Book Villain Standards and Practices.
They're not comics! They're Manga!
2392766
Though as Vigg is a fan of Equestrian comics, and Equestria is made out to vaguely correspond with US of A, he'd probably protest that they are "graphic novels".
"-she will be so impressed with you she cannot but help to help you.-"
Spike would use "-can't-"
6120279
You're absolutely right.