The adventures of Dr. Moss and a perilous crossing of the divide between Humans and Ponies.
A border exists from a result of a uneasy truce between humans and pony kind in Equestria. Over 100 years have nearly completely cut of the cultures of the two. Dr. Moss, who studies humans from history and what he can glean from the border, is threatened to have his funding removed to teach his subject at Canterlot university because of the lack of interest. He resolves to make a dangerous crossing into the human land to see what has changed since the war.
Things have gotten really sour now. The University of Canterlot council has summoned me, as I am the only expert in Humanology. I suspect they are going to review the budget for my department and research, and cut it... again! I know that in recent years after my mentor died that Humanology has not been taken as seriously....I must do something to rectify this!
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"...And that brings us to our next agenda item, Humanology. Will Dr. Moss please come forward?"
Dr. Gentle Moss arose and stretched from his seat. He nervously checked his little brown bow-tie and his brown jacket as he trotted down the aisle of the conference hall, his briefcase levitated with a green glow following behind him. He'd hoped that the suit would make him look more like a tree against his lime-green coat and black mane. Ponies naturally liked the outdoors, perhaps by wearing it the council would take notice and be more in his favor this time?
He finally reached podium. "Good Morning, council." He gave a small smile, but only two smiled back.
From left to right, there was Fizzy Bubbles, Chemistry. Light Wood, History. Starlight Bright, Magic and Wind Whisper, Psychology.
"Good Morning Dr. Moss." Starlight Bright said plainly, looking over her paperwork. "We've called you here today to discuss with a possible reduction of funding for your department, and the possibly turning it to a specialized section of the History Department."
Gentle Moss did not believe what he just heard, "Come again...?"
"What she means, Dr. Moss..." Light Wood spoke dryly, "...is that we are considering merging Humanology with History for the upcoming semester, and possibly for good."
Are they daft?
"You must be joking," Gentle Moss attempted to compose himself. "Humanology is and needs to be a department of its own. It compasses not only the history of humans, but also culture, medicine, and its influence on ponykind! To lump it with just the history department would not do it justice."
"Now Dr. Moss," squeaked in Fizzy Bubbles, "We were considering it. Nothing has been made final as of yet." She paused for a moment, preparing for what she would say next would insult the doctor. "However, after the esteemed founder of Humanology and your teacher, Dr. Moonbeam died ten years ago, students have been avoiding taking Humanology."
"Th- thats not true!" Moss lost his composure for a moment before rebutting, "Students still enroll in my class, and even though there are few, they take on one of the most challenging and high paying jobs out there that are needed, such as diplomacy!"
"Bah! Diplomacy that has gone nowhere in the last 100 years!" snorted Light Wood. "Even though we have a truce, we are still technically at war because they succeeded land from Equestria, and cut off the westlands and the sea from trade and travel, simply because they think they have the right to destroy the earth by polluting it for their interests."
Moss sighed, this was progressing nowhere, "You fail to make your argument regarding the merging or reduction of my department. Can we please focus on that? I'd be happy to take another cut from the department, but my research money is seperate from the actual teaching. What are you planning to do with that?"
Starlight Bright shuffled a few papers, "We will get to that in a moment. But your input is greatly appreciated. Would it be accurate to say you would object merging with the history department? And if so, why?"
"Yes, I would object." Dr. Moss levitated open his briefcase and placed several sheets of paper on his podium. "And I have prepared a paper regarding the unique nature of Humanology and its need to be taught to ponykind. I do not believe we have time to hear the entire 10 pages I wrote, so I will read from summery:
"Humanology is the study of the Human Species and everything related to them specifically. As defined by Dr. Moonbeam, the study of them specifically is essential as they are the only opposing species that believes that they claim a right to govern themselves apart from what other species believe should govern them, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. We need to understand the basis of human culture, fashion, art, technology, politics, and etcetera because without humans, we would all still be living in grass huts. There would be no stone or wood buildings because we were taught carpentry and masonry by humans when we met them approximately 200 years ago when we explored the west. Our entire society was rapidly changed in those years because the humans, and our lives have greatly benefited."
"Most of what we teach here was originally taught to us by humans, only because they believe that all thinking and reasoning creatures should discover, create and innovate to better ourselves. Unfortunately, problems with this philosophy made itself apparent when pollution began to affect Equestria... and the rest is history."
"Which..." Light Wood began to grin, "is why it would be better suited for my department."
"No! What did I say abou-"
Starlight Bright then interrupted, "I think we can discuss the merge or reduction of the department, later. I think it would be best now to discuss the research funding." She looked across the table, "Dr. Wind Whisper, you mentioned that you wanted to lead the discussion?"
Wind Whisper was an older pegasus pony, with graying hair streaking his blue mane, he slowly sat up in his chair and looked at some papers, ruffling his feathers until he was comfortable enough to speak in a low but carrying voice, "Dr. Moss, I am greatly concerned about the quality of your research in the last few years. While you are indeed exulted for your work by the Equestrian Guard, who uses your material in training, none of your research pertains to understanding of humans in general. For example, you wrote a few years ago..." Dr. Whisper produced a thick folder of papers and went through them until he found what he was looking for. "Ah yes, The dexterity human hands. In which you took 3 of your students to a deserted part of the border, and harassed a posted human border guard by throwing objects of varying size and length on her side of the border until you and your class were chased away by the Equestrian Guards."
Dr. Whisper looked up, "Not only did this particular research project endanger your students, but the study itself seemed to be... rather pointless."
The other members of the council nodded their heads and murmured their agreement. Gentle Moss had no idea how to respond other then look diminished. But Dr. Whisper wasn't finished.
"I also have noticed a trend in your papers that when you are not studying humans directly, you seem to be repeating and rehashing the works of Dr. Moonbeam or the historical creature archive society. While it is not plagiarism, you don't seem to add any new information, and the insights appear to be mostly guesswork and untested theory."
Dr. Whisper then paused, and looked at Dr. Moss straight in the eye with a sorrowful glance before delivering the final blow, "At this point in time, and keeping in mind the adjustments for the reduced budget this year, I don't see the benefit of continuing to provide you university funding for the research of humans."
Dr Moss was flabbergasted. It was always reduction in funds, but he never expected the recommendation to be cut off completely.
"No!" he gasped, "You cannot be serious!"
Fizzy Bubbles then spoke unexpectedly, "I disagree with Dr. Whisper's opinion."
The council turned their heads at Dr. Bubbles with confused faces, "What?!"
"Allow me to explain my position." she gave Gentle Moss a small smile before continuing, "From time to time, Dr. Moss has written about human technology and has come to the science department with various items of human origin to help him better understand their make and functions for his studies into humans. Often time these human manufactured items are created with pollution being the by-product. The chemistry division of the science department has been granted special defense funding by Princess Celestia to find ways to fight the pollution that is coming across the border. Many times, Dr. Moss acquired new types of items made out of materials we have never seen before, and once we understand what they are comprised of, and how they are made, we find solutions on how to deal with the by-product."
"Since we are often busy with the task of analyzing pollutants, we do not have time to go around hunting for their source. To completely take away Dr. Moss' funding which he undoubtedly uses to acquire human technology from various sources, would harm the war effort in protecting innocent ponies from human's careless implementation of industry."
Silence filled the chamber as Dr. Bubbles' defense argument sank in. Dr. Moss was attempting to hide a smile as Light Wood screwed up his face trying to find a way to play down the new information. Wind Whisper sat quietly, quietly with a frown on his face while he looked around for the mentioned research. Starlight Bright gave Fizzy Bubbles a curios eye before speaking again.
"Umm... perhaps since this involves defense related subjects, I am going to have to call this meeting to a close-door session."
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Summer 43, 22XX
I just recieved a note in my my office this morning regarding the decision the council made. They have agreed to continue my research funding but reducing the amount yet again. However, a ultimatum was made. If I did not produce better quality research, and attract more students to my class by the time the next semester starts, I will be merged with the History department. Lovely. I must buy Fizzy Bubbles dinner sometime to thank her.
My current and only student Berry Shine has been absouloutly outstanding. She now has completed the history portion of the course and is ready to meet the actual subject she is studying this week. I have arranged a trip with one of my graduates Cheerilee and her class to come to the entry point to observe humans as part of the Border educational visit program.
According to Border commander, Guilded Wing, who is helping organising the visit, we may see the change of the human guard, and the incomming "Border Master" Sarah (Sura? Zera? And second name is completly unwritable) . According to Wing, she is a decendent of one of the soldiers involved in the Dragon Incident that occured 30 years ago at the old entry point, and might open the Human learning center for us at the point. And if we have time, we can visit the Dragon Incident memorial.
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A/N: You may want to follow me on FiMfiction.net, as I will be posting sidestories in addition to this story. Currently Sceduled after chapter 2 of this story, is "The Border: The Dragon Incident."
I have finally arrived in Ponyville to meet Cheerilee's class. According to our prior correspondence it appears that she has been delayed in teaching Human strata basics due to playing catchup with some of her students in mathematics. I will be leading a couple of strata classes before the trip to the border, which should be in three days. I asked Berry Shine to enjoy the time off and to meet the group at the checkpoint on the day of the trip.
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Gentle Moss made his way down the cobblestone pathway from his temporary place at the Ponyville inn towards the lone schoolhouse. Lugging his over-weighted saddlebags, he weaved past residents heading to work and dodged children has they ran up from behind passing him and hurrying down the path before class began. The bell began to ring and the stragglers increased their pace. Dr. Moss chuckled. It seemed not so long ago that he used to did the same thing.
He made his way up the porch of the schoolhouse and pass the threshold where someone was waiting for him.
“Dr. Moss!”
“Cheerilee!” he exclaimed, “Good to see you! Mind giving me some help with this?”
Cheerilee assisted Dr. Moss with his bags and began to unpack the teaching materials. Just as the school bell finished ringing. Cheerilee moved from the school entrance to the class room to begin the school day.
“Good Morning, class!” Greeted the teacher.
“Good Morning Ms. Cheerilee!” replied the class.
Cheerilee turned her flip chalkboard to reveal photographs and drawings of various humans. “Today we will be ending Mathematics to start on Biology, and our first creature will be Humans!”
The class chattered excitedly as they looked at the black and white photographs of humans. Woman, children, and men, black and white; tall and short, smiling or grumpy, it was a whole assortment of ancient photographs taken by the historical creature archive society before the war.
Cheerilee let her students gaze at the photos a bit before continuing, “This year however, we are going to take a field trip in three days to see humans at the border of Equestria to study them first hand. But before we do that, a special guest will be teaching us humans basics. He also was my teacher when I was learning how to become one. So please give a warm applause to Dr. Gentle Moss!”
On cue, the class began to clap as Dr. Moss emerged from the entrance room. “Good Morning, Class!”
“Good Morning Dr. Moss.” the class replied.
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While Dr. Gentle Moss tells a sanitized elementary version of human history, you may want to read:
The human history hoofnotes
By the historical creature archive society.
Humans are discovered in the northwest by royal cartographic ponies. 1 Humans welcomed ponies and showed them their more advanced lifestyle, education, and generalities. 2 Humans state that they originally came to what is considered Equestrian territory from the ocean upon small boats. There are little records about life before migration. 3 Humans show that they rank themselves according to education and voting. 3.1 Ranks are Student, Teacher, Master, Doctor. 3.2 Masters generally run government and businesses. Teachers are hired by Masters for schooling Students or to perform work for business. Doctors perform research at the expense of Government and Business and are held in high respect. 4 Humans are fixated on advancing. 4.1 This is enforced by three words: discover, create and innovate. It is promoted often and is said to be the pillars of human existence. 4.2 The majority of the human workforce focuses on maintenance. They are either working or studying, or resting. 4.2.1 Humans will fix or improve about anything. They cannot stand things that do not work, or that are proven inefficient. 4.3 Humans do not get cutie marks to indicate their role in life. They get certifications from institutions that prove their specialty.
Humans begin diplomatic relations with Equestrian Government. 1 Humans are fascinated with magic. 1.1 Human Doctors in this time begin retracting very old documents related to the explanation of stars, moon and the sun. Weather documents also retracted. 1.2 Great focus was made to study magic, and incorporate it to invention. 2 Humans were appalled by the conditions of pony society.
Humans ratify agreement to join the country of Equestria. 1 Humans help build new capitol (Abandoned later because of conflict). 2 Humans establish schools and begin teaching. 2.1 Pony Society rapidly advances, including other sapient species.
Conflict regarding ranking 1 Celestia orders human ranking system to be disbanded. 1.1 Explains that it interferes with ranks of nobility and creates confusion. 1.2 Establishes educational reform from certifications to diplomas. 1.3 Humans riot and begin sectarian violence between other humans over confusion of new law and disrespect for higher ranks. 1.4 Humans migrate back west to avoid violence and reorganize ranking system. 2 Celestia amends rule for the sake of peace. 2.1 Agrees to allow human ranking system on condition that humans no longer become nobles, and ponies do not receive human ranks. 2.2 Humans become confused on how to formally address other species, as it is disrespectful in human culture not to use rank before name unless affectionate. The human word to informally address humans of unknown rank “Comrade” is now used towards other species. 2.3 Humans at this point, feel estranged from their leader and become distrustful. The majority now live west of Equestria as a result. 2.4 Nearly all humans leave their jobs in the capitol, including Celestia’s advisors and builders of the capitol.
Conflict of the Environment 1 Over the years, Pegasus were, in more and more numbers becoming ill. 1.1 Study by Canterlot University was ordered to discover the cause. 1.2 After 2 years of study, it was concluded that factories primarily in human towns to the west were the cause. 1.3 After announcement, Pegasus flee the east. 1.3.1 Humans outraged over now unpredictable weather. 1.3.2 Study is rejected by general human public on the basis that no human Doctors were involved with study. 1.3.3 Independent Doctors begin to study, but abandon after research money could not be sought from either Canterlot or businesses. 2 Celestia asks factories to voluntarily close to regain the trust of the Pegasus to return to the western towns. 2.1 Human business owners reject request. 2.1.1 Local governments increase incentives for Pegasus to return.
Rebellion 1 Weather ponies across Equestria holds general strike. 1.1 Demands human factories closed. 1.2 Pony populace sends letters to Celestia begging to give into demands. 1.3 Human towns fire local weather ponies. 2 Celestia orders towns to close factories. 2.1 Weather ponies return to work, fired ponies leave to the east. 2.2 Royal Guard moves into west to enforce order. 3 Brasstown rebels. 3.1 Rebellion lead by Teacher Vladimir Oppenheimer, Cogmaker. 3.2 Surprise attack kills all Royal Guards tasked with dismantlement. 3.3 Ponies are forced out. 3.4 Brasstown declares independence. 3.4.1 Sends formal notice. 3.4.2 Town Industry focuses for war. 4 Leningrad, Crystal town, Greenville, Arlington and Oakland inspired of Oppenheimer’s rebellion. 4.1 Forms own militias to chase back Royal Army and throw out ponies. 4.2 Conference held in Leningrad. 4.2.1 Formal process approves Oppenheimer to become Master. 4.2.2 Constitution drafted and ratified. 4.2.3 Oppenheimer becomes Tsar (king) of the Republic of Humanity. 4.2.4 Formal notice sent to Celestia, the border is drawn.
Equestria Reacts. 1 Celestia receives Brassburg notice in open court. 1.1 The princesses discuss possible war with Brassburg. 1.2 They elect to wait for more information. 1.3 Ponies spill into the east and into Canterlot. 1.4 Celestia and Luna hold joint court to hear testimony. 1.4.1 War crimes are alleged, others coming in later to say that other towns have rebelled. 1.5 Remaining humans now being fired from non-government jobs, due to newfound bias. They flee to the west. 2 The Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Humanity is read in Luna’s court. 2.1 Sisters of the crown hold joint court to formally declare war.
War and Peace. 1 War is waged for 20 years. 1.1 Human front lines were frequently pushed back because of Unicorn magic and Pegasus Lightning. 1.2 Trenches stopped most attacks from earth ponies. 1.3 Invention of the Trench Gun (shotgun) halted airborn attacks. 1.4 Case bullets were invented, humans slowed the advance by delivering quicker and cheaper ordnance. 1.5 Invention of the Sniper Rifle put a halt to Magic mortar attacks. 1.6 Unicorns forced to fight independently of each other, still devastating to humans. 1.7 Luna appears in the battle of Greenville, the farming town falls. 1.7.1 Humans are beginning to go hungry. 1.8 Breakthrough in metallurgy, Hekaluminum repels magic. 1.8.1 The humans apply new metal to everything. 2 Leningrad (defacto capitol) comes under surprise attack from the air. 2.1 Because of the starving humans, Celestia believed that Leningrad would easily fall. 2.2 Humans fighting in the city went all out. Eating raw pony flesh as they went. 2.3 Oppenheimer, hiding with his advisors in the prison town of Oakland, ordered the release of the prisoners and ordered them to be armed to reinforce the city. 2.4 The battle of Leningrad was won by humans. But at a heavy cost. 2.5 With vow of revenge Formation of Special Air Service of former prisoners and militiamen are formed. 3 Surprise night attack on Canterlot by SAS. 3.1 First use of Armored Zeppelins secretly developed. 3.2 First practical use of the Parachute. 3.3 First use of repeater pistols (Machine guns). 3.4 Celestia and Luna out-of-town. 3.5 Royal Guard unprepared, no winged forces available. 3.6 Castle & Royal Archives specifically targeted. 3.6.1 Orders and intelligence pertaining to war declaration from archives destroyed. 3.6.2 Throne room vandalized, and letter left on Throne. Contents of letter not made public. 4 Celestia and Luna declare truce. 4.1 Peace conference held. 4.2 Border established. 4.3 Tsar Oppenheimer disappears. 4.4 Peace deal never signed. Truce continues to this day.
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“...and that sums up human history.” Gentle Moss finished. “As you can see. Humans have impacted our lives in every way, from the desk that you sit in, to the construction of Princess Celestia's Castle. Any questions?”
Several students had raised their hands. Gentle Moss picked a blue colt “Yes?”
“Humans are tall. How tall can they get?”
Gentle Moss pondered, “Hmm... not entirely sure, I think that they can get as big as three ponies stacked on top of each other. Next question?” He picked out a white filly “Yes?.”
“Do humans get Cutie Marks? I can't see because in pictures they wear clothes all the time... why do they where clothes all the time? Are they rich?”
“One question at a time please!” Dr. Moss pleaded. “No, they do not have Cutie Marks, and they wear clothes because they do not have feathers, coats, or fur, and very limited places where they grow hair, and they have to keep warm. They also wear clothes because it is considered indecent to them be naked. As for riches, you would have to ask each one. Just like ponies, some are rich and some are poor.”
Somepony with a yellow coat and ginger mane and very nasal sounding in the back piped, “But... how doth they know what they are good ath if they don't get cutie marks?”
Gentle Moss sighed, “They don't. They simply go to school to learn to do a particular subject, and attempt to master it. There are four levels they divide themselves in based on their knowledge; Student, Teacher, Master and Doctor. In their culture, school is very important. In fact, if they were to invade Ponyville, they would take great care not to damage or destroy the school house.”
Cheerilee giggled, “Hear that class? Even if there is a war, you would still have to study!”
The class groaned.
Gentle Moss picked out another filly, “Yes?”
“My mommy says humans like to eat meat. Have they ever eaten ponies?”
There was a painful silence at the end of the end the question. Dr. Moss carefully selected his word for his answer, “Humans... like other animals... are indeed carnivorous. But there is only one particular time that humans ate ponies, but only after they were already dead. There is no need to worry however, humans as do we, consider it wrong to eat other intelligent creatures.”
Dr. Moss didn't like to tell white lies, humans did kill ponies and ate them. But it was not the primary purpose. The war had took a terrible turn for humans at a time when their food supplies were cut short. The class sighed with relief. They continued asking questions in a more rapid-fire pace.
“Do human children play?”
“I have never seen human children, but I'm sure they like to play.”
“Do humans like cupcakes?”
“Humans invented baked goods.”
“Can humans do magic?”
“No, but often their inventions may seem like magic. If you have ever visited the castle, there is an entire room of clocks that are not powered by magic. Those are human clocks, built with gears and wind-up springs that have to be manually wound twice a year. They are very intricate, and very valuable.”
“Do they have a rulers?”
“Humans no longer have a monarchy.” Dr. Moss continued, “They only had one king and that was the same human who started the war. His name was Vladimir Oppenheimer, and he mysteriously disappeared after the war. The human government now is a general assembly. Think of the Republic of Humanity split into different sections. Each one sends one human to represent them in the capital of Leningrad. I am not sure how it entirely works, but its similar to voting for a mayor.”
“How do they control the weather without weather ponies?”
“... I don't know.” Gentle Moss put a hoof to his chin and looked at the rafters of the school, “I never thought about it really. Come to think of it, it always looks cloudy on their side...”
“Why are humans mean?”
The last question threw Gentle Moss completely off guard. He looked at the foal who asked, it was a blue colt with a bow and arrow for its Cutie-Mark.
“Why do you assume all humans are mean?”
The foal began to explain, “My daddy is a Guard and he patrols the border, he tells me that when he is walking by human posts that are on the other side of “The Line”, humans call him bad names.”
Dr. Moss was confused by this information, “Hmm... that is odd. Generally border guards do not talk to anypony as it is not allowed unless warning them to stay away. If I were to hazard a guess, it must be that those specific humans who badger your father are just bad humans.”
At that moment the schoolhouse bell began to ring; it was time for recess.
Cheerilee called out to them as they vacated the classroom for the playground, “When you come back, we will learn about the human body next!”
As the last foal left the classroom, Gentle Moss sighed. He began to take down the photographs of humans and replaced them with various drawings of human anatomy. Cheerilee helped, and decided to strike up a conversation with him.
“You are doing a good job so far,” she complimented.
Gentle Moss sighed as he adjusted one of the pictures of a human skeleton, “I'm sure I am, but sometimes I am annoyed by the gaps in my knowledge. For example...” Dr. Moss turned to look at Cheerilee, “How do they control the weather? Certainly nothing would grow if it never rained, and all mammals need some sort of sunlight. We know very little about human children, how does their society treat them? Are they even allowed to play in this day in age? And human behavior... something that Doctor Whisper would love to study...”
He went silent, looking at the floor in disappointment of himself. “Cheerilee... sometimes I don't think I know anything about humans.”
Cheerilee stared in horror, “Your Kidding, right?” she asked. “My favorite teacher, who happens to be the leading scholar in Humanology knows absolutely nothing about what he teaches? That's just silly.” she smiled at him.
Moss turned to look out the window facing the playground and for a moment, he tried to imagine the pony children as human children at play.
“Perhaps I am being silly.”
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Summer 49, 22XX
I have completed teaching Cheerilee's class the three day strata course and we will be making our way to the border via the train early tomorrow morning, and should arrive by afternoon. I expect to see BerryShine at the edge of the DMZ checkpoint with Border Commander, Gilded Wing. I am happy to write that all permission slips have been signed. Even though this trip is for the children, I am particularly hoping to get into the human learning center. Every time I have visited the border when I was young it has never been unlocked.
Earlier this week I had expressed doubts about my expertise on humans. The children in the class asked questions of which I am still unsure of. One example was how they controlled the weather. While we take for granted the work of the pegasus ponies and don't notice how the weather works except for what days are to rain or snow, we never knew how humans adapted to have no weather control. I place blame on Dr. MoonBeam for not documenting that. Another question was a behavioral one; a student told me that his father was in the Royal Guard and was harassed daily when he was out on patrol. I had a chance to meet him in the evening at a local diner. He stated that there was a stump that was between the border-line and the warning-line that he had to inspect when out on hoof-patrol. There was a human sentry posted at the point on the opposite side:
On a good day, whenever he crossed the warning-line, the human sentry would slap his weapon and yell a proximity warning, and be silent for the time that he checked the stump.
On a bad day, whenever he crossed the warning-line, the human sentry would not only do what was described above, but also harass him verbally, and threaten to kill him and his entire family... disturbing.
From personal experience, I am familiar with the good day experience and escalation. I once took my class to a deserted part of the border as part of a ill-thought out experiment to show them human dexterity. The female sentry was extremely angry with us to the point that she fired warning shots in the air, bringing about both the Royal Guard and Human Guards, which was enough to end the experiment and flee. I swore that I would never do that again.
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The morning for Dr. Moss, Cheerilee and her class began early in the morning as they rode the train west. Some students excitedly chattered about where they were going, while some took a nap. Cheerilee herself was wide awake with her head out the window, enjoying the wind as it passed through her mane, while Gentle Moss was going over his materials for the day.
Around noon they had arrived at the last stop. DMZ TOWN, was spelled in red letters at the top of the platform, whos walls were littered with “Royal Equestrian Guard” notices and warnings. As the class got off the train, Berry Shine greeted Dr Moss. Then, three royal guardsmen approached the group from the other end of the platform. The middle one, larger then the two that flanked him, stopped in front of class and asked “Ponyville school, right?”.
Gentle Moss responded, “Yes sir, and you are?”
“I am Border Commander Gilded Wing. I welcome you to DMZ town. We are here to escort you to the border.” he said. “Please keep your class together and in sight at all times. Please follow us.”
They made their way across the town. It was mostly inhabited by guardsponies that lived in small wood structures while off duty. There were civilian ponies that ran the local shops here and there, but they were few and far in between. The real reason why the town existed was because it was a informal military base for the the royal troops keeping watch over the border. The off duty guards stopped and saluted whenever they saw the Border commander pass them by, and gave inquisitive looks at the group of children they were escorting.
Eventually, They came to the edge of the town where a large three story building stood, surrounded on both sides with barb-wire that stretched all the way to the edge of the horizon. The building had a engraved signed on top of the doorway that read “Equestria Welcoming Center”.Once inside, the group was instructed to be seated in the line of chairs on the first floor of the center's conference room. Where Gilded Wing began the orientation:
“Welcome Ponyville class to the Equestria/Republic of Humanity border. My name is border commander Guilded Wing. You may just call me commander if you wish. Today you will be given a rare glimse as to what we do here to protect the peace between our two nations. But before we allow you to see the borderline, we need to brief you on recent events.”
The room suddenly went dark, and a slide projector came to life and projected a picture on the wall. In the picture their displayed three humans, dressed in different uniforms.
“The Republic of Humanity, or RoH for short, declared independence from Equestria 100 years ago. A 20 year war followed in a attempt to stop the rebellion. Currently, a truce is in effect, but not a peace treaty. We are still technically at war. A border agreement was established in the truce, drawing a line from the north where before the waste land moutins begins, all the way to the south sea. This line is called the 42nd parallel, because if you were to look at a map of the land, you would see a universal line that runs straight down from north to south numbered 42. This line separates the two countries.”
“Now as you know, The Equestrian Military is divided into two functions, the Royal Guard, and the Wonderbolts. The RoH Military is divided into three functions, National Guard, Border Guard, and Special Air Marines.”
He pointed a hoof at the first photograph to the left, which was a grainy color photo of a male human in a bland brown uniform and patrol cap.
“This is a RoH National Guardsman.” He said. “You will never see them unless you are inside the RoH. They are the equivalent of the Royal Guard.”
He pointed to the next human in the middle, which was a clear color photograph. It was a male dressed in a blue decorative uniform with many medals and ribbons carrying a rifle with a pointed bayonet at the end. There was a yellow band on what was his right arm that spelled out in bold black letters “BMA”.
“This is a RoH Border Guard. To be exact, this particular border guard is a Border Master Assistant. He is responsible for enforcing the Border Master's orders and rules, and ensuring that all the border guards are awake.”
There was some laughter from two of the royal guards in the room.
“Quiet!” Guilded Wing barked. “Now, there are two divisions of RoH Border Guards” he continued. “Each take turns guarding and switch every 30 days. The 1st division are currently protecting today until noon. Their motto, “Don't stomp on me!” is in reference to the motto of the rebellion of Brasstown before the entire RoH region rose up against Equestria. They are particularly mean in part due to the fact their leader, Border Master Tavian Krass, orders them to be. They can be identified by a large red number 1 on their shoulder, and by the sudden unprovoked screaming.”
“The 2nd division, which will be trading places with 1st division today, shares a motto and a special relationship with the 4th infantry of Royal Guardsponies, which is permanently stationed at this border. “Dragon Killers!” is in reference to a border incident that occurred 20 years ago. I will be telling that story later. Like the the 1st, they have a large red number 2 on their shoulder. They are professional in their duties, have sharp commanding voices, and are on strict orders from their leader Border Master Sarah Rafaeli, not provoke us. It is my personal opinion that she secretly likes us.”
The class laughed at Gilded Wing's joke.
“Now the last RoH soldier on the right...” he pointed at a blurry photograph of scowling human wearing a green overcoat and a officer's hat, while pointing his rifle at the camerapony. “...Is not human at all.”
The class gave a confused “Huh?”.
Gilded wing explained, “The soldier is part of an elite unit called the Special Air Marines, or SAMs for short. When I say that they are not human, I mean that they are monsters. They were created after the failed battle of Leningrad, the human's capital, to wage destruction at the battle of Canterlot. They are trained to kill ponies the moment they see them, and that is all they do. Not much else is known about them.”
He pause for a moment to let it sink in, then he added in a sad tone, “The reason why the picture is blurry, was because the guardspony that took this picture was attempting to run away... and is the only pony that is known to have survived an encounter with a SAM within close proximity.”
One member of the class, raised raised her hoof. “Who was that guardspony?”
“He was me.” replied the Border Commander. “I was blank flank who was freshly graduated from the Royal Guard academy. During my first routine patrol, it was requested that I take pictures of things my commander might think was “interesting”. So I did as ordered, until I stumbled upon one human sentry box with two humans arguing. One dressed in green, and the other blue. Thinking that this was one of the things that was “interesting”, I lifted my camera to take a picture, when suddenly something really hard and fast hit my helmet. And that is all I am allowed to tell, aside from getting my shield cutiemark.”
There was a deafening silence as class stared at what was a living testament to their country's defenders.
“Now onto incidents...”
=+=+=+=
After what seemed like a long time in the conference room, the class was finally being escorted to the other side of the welcoming center towards the entrance to the DMZ. While on their way, a young filly by the name of AppleBloom was straggling as she tried to adjust her bow. But no matter what she did, it would not stay on right. Cheerilee came up behind her and asked, “What's wrong?”
“My bow won't stay on!” she complained.
Cheerilee looked back towards the class moving away, and back to AppleBloom. She decided that she would help her when they got to their destination, and began to nudge her along.
“We'll fix it when we get outside!”
=+=+=+=
“Alright, listen to me very closely,” Commander Gilded wing commanded when they got to the iron door leading to the DMZ. “Before we go out, I need to inform you of a few rules. Under no circumstances are you to go beyond the where the guards out front are standing. Do not cross the warning line and most certainly do not cross the border. Do not wave at, make gestures or speak to the Human Guards on the other side. There will be no magic or flying allowed, because of the no fly/magic zone agreement. Anyone breaking these rules will be arrested. Since Pegasus and Unicorns guards are not allowed to be upfront at the Border, the class will be arranged into three groups; Unicorns are to be in the back, Pegasus in the middle, and Earth Ponies up front.”
As the children did as instructed with a little help from Cheerilee and Gentle Moss, the steel door opened and a guard with a yellow band on his right leg came through.
“Commander, sir!”
“Yes, sergeant?”
“Border is ready to receive visitors, sir!”
“Is the other-side behaving, today?”
“As expected for the first, unfortunately... sir.”
The commander frowned his disapproval, then gave an order “Sergeant, as per regulations of the Border Educational Visit program, I defer these ponies to you.”
“Yes sir!”
The guards saluted each other, and the commander walked off back into the depths of building.” The now lined up class, looked at the sergeant.
The sergeant dropped his official tone, and spoke kindly and clearly, “Good morning, My name is Sergeant Green Bean of the 4th infantry, Royal Guard of Equestria. I will now be your tour guide and escort. Before we exit, I must remind you of the rules one more time. Do not attempt to fly or do magic, do not wave, gesture, or make faces. Do not cross in front of the royal guards up front, and though impossible, given the security, Do not cross the border.” He took a moment to scan the room of ponies and stopped to look at Gentle Moss and Berry Shine, pulling out quills and parchment from their bags. He whistled at both at them, and added “No throwing objects either.”
The sergeant then turned around and opened the door, and lead the group outside.
“Unusual activity!” screamed some creature on the other side of the line.
“Confirmed!” A different voice replied, “Standby for further instruction! Move to half defense!”
The creatures on the other side of the border moved behind the blue buildings that straddled it, and disappeared completely, save for one that began to fiddle with a container on his belt.
Meanwhile, Sgt. Green Bean directed the class down a short flight of stairs towards a white lined box on the ground where he instructed them to wait. He then turned towards the border and dug into his saddlebag, and pulled out a yellow flag with a picture of a schoolhouse on it, and held it. The students whispered excitedly among themselves and pointed their hooves at the lone human on the other side.
The human in question was wearing a blue uniform jacket blouse with shiny brass buttons, with a yellow belt that went around the waist, blue pants that match the jacket with yellow stripes that were vertical on the sides, polished black boots that gleamed in the sunlight, and a blue hat that was decorated with an intricate yellow design, and a centerpiece on that hat that appeared to be a brass gear with two rifles crossed in the background. The difference between this guard and the others that were hiding, was that it was wearing a yellow armband with three letters that spelt out “BMA”, and three shiny medals affixed to the jacket. It was a Border Master Assistant, and it was not happy.
The unhappy guard pulled out a pair of binoculars from the container on its belt, raised it to its face, and pointed the glasses at the offending group of ponies. The guard noted that the group appeared to be small loud mouthed foals accompanied by three adults and it's equivalent. It noted the yellow flag that this was an educational visit... nothing out of the ordinary... though why were the two of the three adults scribbling furiously in their notebooks? Possible intelligence activity? No... the changing of the guard was not something new to be recorded, and it was too overt... maybe they were just teachers?
At this point the guard gave up on his pondering and decided to passively observe the two scribbling ponies until the end of the tour. “As you were,” it called out, “teaching activity in progress!”.
The humans that were hiding from behind the blue buildings marched back to their behind the warning line as if they were mechanical toys. Simultaneously, they came to a stop and remained still, heads looking up, left to right, then forward again. Like the BMA, they were dressed smartly in similar fashion, but without the yellow arm band, medals, and wore only black belts. Instead, they held rifles with polished bayonets, and sunglasses, facing the their equally unmoving counterparts. the Royal Equestrian guard.
Sgt. Green bean put away his flag as the children began to wind up again in chatter. Pointing their hooves in awe at the strange creatures. Meanwhile. Dr. Moss bent his head towards Berry Shine and asked “Which one is the female between the two guards in the center?”.
Berry Shine, pencil still in mouth pointed at the left center guard.
“Why do you think that one is female?” he asked.
“The human adult female has slightly wider hips then the male, and breast of the female protrudes slightly from the chest... and is often shorter then the male, who is on the right.” Berry Shine stated. “Its a little harder though to tell, because that human female has muscles not typical in pictures of civilian female humans.”
“Very good.” replied Gentle Moss.
Sgt. Green Been, now satisfied that everyone was accounted for, and that the human guards had relaxed, began to speak, “Okay everypony listen up! This is the RoH/Equestrian border, this area is the official crossing point for both sides. The last official crossing was approximately 10 years ago to return the dead of the Dragon Incident. Since then, no official traffic has passed through, except for the mail. As you can see, there are six buildings that straddle the border. The center blue building is for negotiations and mail exchange. The green buildings left and right are entry and exit points. The brown building on the far left belongs to the Griffin observers, who monitor the peace treaty and handle disputes. The grey building on the right belongs to the RoH, and is a museum called the Human Learning Center for equestrian visitors. It is always closed.”
Cheerilee made a puzzled face, “If the building was meant to be visited, why is it always closed?” she asked.
“The building can only be opened by the human Border Master,” explained Green Bean, “The reason why it is always closed is because when it is opened, the Royal Guard must inspect the interior, and from what I understand, the RoH guards are particularly nasty when the Royal Guard is inside their building. Patrons visiting are subject to RoH laws when inside, and violating any human law would lead to a nasty incident. Even if opened, I'd advise against visiting.”
“But what if we want to go in?” asked young stallion.
“That is up to your teachers,” Green Bean replied. He then took a cautionary glance towards the border, “But I don't think you will be getting in, period.”
The classed audibly sighed its disapproval.
“What is that building on the human side with the big clock?” asked a filly.
“That would be the RoH Welcoming center.” explained Green Bean, “It was built after the Equestrian welcoming center was completed. Every-time the building on our side is remodeled, the humans immediately attempt to match or exceed the design of their building. What is interesting about the RoH welcoming center is that if you are extremely quiet, you can hear the gears inside the clock as it ticks. It is also believed that the original....”
***
As Green Bean continued, Apple Bloom fidgeted with the bow on her head. No matter how many times she reset the clasp to keep the bow tight to her mane, it would become undone over and over. Finally upset, she undid the bow and began to work on it with her hooves when suddenly, there was a gust of wind and the bow took to the air...
“Hey!” cried Apple Bloom as she jumped for the wayward bow. “My bow!”
Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell, and other classmates also began to jump for the crimson ribbon. Green Bean completely stopped his boring dialogue about the clock tower and attempted to restore order by pushing them back in the box and pouncing on a little pegasus colt who was about to take flight, while Cheerilee, Gentle Moss, and Berry Shine attempted to quiet everypony down. Sensing that the noise level was not agreeable nor consistent of an orderly border, an Equestrian guard turned away from his his post, and stomped its hoof, and bellowed:
“IT IS REQUESTED THAT ALL VISITORS MAINTAIN AN ATMOSPHERE OF SILENCE!”
As the disorderly class froze, Apple Bloom watched as her bow blew away towards the sky, and then land at the feet of a RoH guard.
“No!”
The guard regarded it briefly by bowing its head to look at what had just appeared out of nowhere, then returned to its position, still as a statue.
“Give it back!” Screamed Apple Bloom.
“Apple Bloom, be quiet!” hissed Cheerilee. She then turned her head to look at Gentle Moss, who had a half confused, half bemused face. She then looked towards Green Bean pleadingly, who shook his head. “I'm sorry, but once its on their side. It's theirs. There is no way to get it back”.
Apple Bloom lowered her head dejectedly.
=+=+=+=
Border Master Tavian Krass, of the 1st Border division, was extremely upset. Border Master Sarah Rafaeli, of the 2nd Border Division, was late. Not late as in coming after the time that she was supposed to be here. But late as in “hurry up and be here, so you can wait to be on time” late. His mood was steadily become worse as Border Master Assistant Christopher Haagen was showing signs of increasing panic while reading off final reports from the other BMA's. His Boss's handlebar mustache was twitching, which was never a good sign.
“...And north mile marker 44 says that they have suspicions that coffee and currency smuggling has picked up again in the region due to the lack of watch stemming from mile marker 38 to 42. We think that it may be because of the lack on the enemy's part to actually have regular patrol-”
“Why do we even care, Teacher Haagen!” shouted Krass. “Explain to me how they can stand in the more crappier part of the front line and report on 'Coffee smugglers' instead of actual violations!”.
Comrade Haagen held back the urge to shake, “Master... there have been no violations by the enemy for at least a year in that particular area. The problem is more political, and poor planning on our part economically, and the enemy's preference to simply not keep a more watchful eye... which actually gives us an advant-”
“ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!” shouted Krass, “And where the hell is 2nd division!” Krass got up from his chair and marched towards the easterly window of his office on the second floor of the welcoming center, putting his scarred hand to the glass to block out the sun as he peered out the window.
Haagen gulped and fumbled with his clipboard and adjusted his officers cap so that he could grip it better under his arm, “Coffee is banned in Equestria due to health issues and the overall trade ban while the peace treaty is in effect. Thus, Equestrian currency, which are gold “Bits” are also covered by this ban. The smugglers are importing gold from the enemy for our undersold supply of coffee... which could...” Haagen hesitated as he thought up a clever lie to get his boss to take the issue seriously for the sake of peace “...fund rebel groups?”
“They there are!” shouted Krass. As he pointed out the window at a group of human soldiers that had just appeared. “Those slackers! Teacher Haagen!”
“Yes Border Master Krass?” replied Haagen as he stood at attention, afraid that he had been completely ignored.
“Prepare the 1st for the changing of the guard and colors!” he ordered, re-buttoning his uniform as he marched his way towards the office mirror to put on his cap. “As for the coffee smugglers...” he tighten his collar and adjusted the clasp before turning to look at his subordinate, “I think Comrade Rafaeli would be best to handle it, since she cares more about the enemy like the seditious traitor she is, then I ever will! You will stay here to brief her before returning to the barracks for leave!” he commanded.
“Yes Master Krass.”
=+=+=+=
“Again, I must remind all of you...” Sgt. Green Bean whispered with a bit of a nasty tone in his voice, “...That noise, flying, or doing anything else to distract the guards of either side will not be tolerated.”
“I do apologize again Sargent,” Cheerily said with compassion, “I think that after that, we will take greater seriousness in your warnings.” She glowered slightly at Apple Bloom, whose head still hung dejectedly.
Gentle Moss was eager to change the subject, “Um, Sargent. When exactly is the changing of the guard?”
Green Bean looked towards the human clock, “The RoH change of guard is not for another few minutes... but usually the replacement division is here much earlier then that to stage their pomp and ceremony... one moment...” he strained his ears for a moment “I hear the music now! Everypony please be quiet, you are about to witness the RoH changing of the guard. As you are aware, this particular day is also for the change of command. We are particularly cautious when this happens because of the sheer amount of massed RoH soldiers at this point. Please do not make any sudden movements. Thank you.”
A sudden troop of humans appeared from around one of the corners of the imposing clock tower, wielding band instruments as they marched to the front of the building. Only the flute and drum players were working their instruments, playing a catchy marching tune. Behind them followed a perfect trio line of fresh RoH border guards. Dressed similarly as their current counterparts on duty, they also moved in a clockwork fashion, goosestepping in their polished boots and starched pressed uniforms as they made their way front and center of the boarder. The class of small equines could not help but whisper amongst themselves, while the Royal guard stood ready with spears at hooves in case anything went amiss.
The RoH soldiers then stopped when the music finished. They slammed the butt of their rifles against the ground which made a thunderous clap that echoed against both equine and human buildings. They then formed two lines, and faced the RoH welcoming center.
“What happens now?” asked Berry Shine.
“Shh...”
Then the clock tower tolled, and the human band began to play. As they did, a far off group of Border Guards began to stork march towards the building, The leader was a highly decorated women, followed by Border Master Assistants, all saluting as they approached the building. When they got close, a highly decorated, mustached man came out of the building, followed by his Border Master Assistants.
When the two parties came close, the music stopped. Then the man shouted “Who goes there?!”
The the woman shouted back “Border Master and comrades of the 2nd division Border Guard, Ready to relive Comrades of the 1st!”
“Advance, Comrade Border Master and Comrades!”
=+=+=+=
After the long and drawn out pomp and circumstance the 1st marched away, Leaving Border Master Sarah Rafaeli at the top of the steps of the Welcoming center, surveying all that was hers to guard against. She noted a grouping of enemy civilians, which one of her assistants informed her were schoolchildren. Nothing wrong with that, education was precious in her culture, and disruption to the educational process was not tolerated. She then looked over her guards, all of them stiff as a board and where they needed to be, and the BMAs were marching about, inspecting each and every post... except for one she did not recognize, which simply stood in a salute to her.
She promptly return the salute, and ordered “Approach! Name and rank!”
“Border Master Assistant, Teacher Christopher Haagen, 1st division, responsible for the region of Mile markers 38 through 42, here on orders of Border Master Krass to advise Border Master Rafaeli on a sensitive matter before returning to barracks!”
“At ease!” she commanded. Both then relaxed, and Sarah asked, “What suspicion does Tavian have now that demands that you be delayed your well deserved leave, Teacher Haagen?”
“It is actually a matter I would request be discuss inside, Master.” said Haagen. “I assure you, it will not take more then fifteen minutes of your time.”
In her mind, Sarah sighed. She wanted to spend some time outside rather in the office right now, as it still reeked of Tavian's metallic smelling cologne. She scanned her border one more time, then stopped to look at one particular soldier. There was something red under his glossy jackboot.
“Teacher Haagen, please wait in my office. I will be with you shortly.”
=+=+=+=
The steely eyed stallion Sargent watched as the Human border guards gathered like bees around their queen, and they began marching towards the border. He only seen this once before when the enemy wanted to talk... or the Border Master wished to discipline their subordinates.
“What's going on?” asked Gentle Moss.
Green Bean huffed, “Not sure, but get your class ready to run back up inside the building at my command.”
The children were getting restless at the approaching humans. There was one that was really different and had a really long mane, and must have been important as it was surrounded by more humans.
“Shh...” scolded Cheerilee.
The gathering stopped half way, and then parted way for the different one. It marched forward flanked by it's personal guards, then stopped next to its query right at the warning line.
=+=+=+=
“Face... Left!” commanded Sarah.
The border guard who was at the front line faced its commanding officer and saluted.
“What is the second rule of guarding?” she asked.
Her subordinate replied “To walk or stand my post in a military manner, keeping always on the alert and observe everything that takes place within sight or hearing, sir!”
“Very good.” said Sarah. “Anything to report?”
“The enemy has a teaching activity in progress and there is unknown debris at my feet, sir!”
“Anything else?”
“Nothing else of interest to report!”
“Hand me your weapon for inspection!
“Yes, sir!”
In a well oiled maneuver, the guard opened the chamber of the rifle which spat out a loaded round, passed it to the BM. He resumed standing while the BM began to inspect his rifle.
After completing the inspection, she handed the rifle back to the guard, then marched behind him, and plucked from the ground with a white gloved hand a dirtied ribbon. She then turned it in her hands to inspect it. The loop that held the flang-pin in place was broken... Easily fixable... but who was its careless owner who allowed it to be broken?
She then looked at the enemy. Four royal guards had appeared to back up the one that was there and observe her and her sudden group. Beyond them in a chalk drawn box was the class of colorful equine, one the stood out from the rest was a yellow one with a red mane who looked longingly at Sarah.
Bingo.
“Prepare to open the Human Learning Center for our guests.”
Sargent Green Bean's jaw dropped when his well trained ears heard the conversation by the human in the breeze. The Human Learning Center was opening!
The Sargent barked an and a subordinate came to him. “Inform Border Commander Gilded Wing that the Humans are opening the Center, and prepare an inspection party!”
“Sargent, what is going on?” asked Cheerilee, slightly frightened by the change of calm from serious. The children were starting to center themselves in a group with Berry Shine and Dr. Moss in the center, uncertain of what was going on.
There was suddenly a flurry of activity on both sides of the border.
On the pony side a group of unarmed Royal Guard ponies marched out of the Equestrian building and went and stopped precisely at the warning line, waiting.
On human side, a border master assistant marched with a large key ring in his hand to the border master. After saluting each other, the keys changed hands. The Border Master disappeared with a group of BMAs surrounding her behind the human learning center building for awhile. Then the blinds on the human building went up. And the Royal Guards on the pony side went to each one on either side and in front of the building to peer inside.
The Border Master reappeared with her subordinates, saluted the BMA guard and handed back the keys. The the Border Master retreated inside the Human welcoming center.
The BMA Guard who was handed the keys, then went to the left to the building where there was two guards facing the border. He quietly murmered a command, and they about-faced and marched with him to theback of the Human Learning Center.
There was then a sharp knock coming from inside on the equestrian facing door.
The Royal Guard carefully manipulated the knob on the door where there was a human standing inside imposingly, who screamed, “BUILDING READY FOR YOUR INSPECTION! Do not touch anything!” and stepped out of the way while the royal guard entered the building and shut the door behind them.
The children began to murmur again, “What is happening now?”
“The Royal Guard must inspect the building for safety.” Sgt. Green Bean announced. He then directed his attention to the adults in the group, “Teachers, at this time do you wish to enter the human learning center? If you do, you will be treated as guests to this building by the RoH and will be subjected to their laws until you leave.”
Dr. Moss pulled Cheerilee aside, and said with a crazed excited tone, “Cheerilee, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that we cannot pass up! We must enter the building!”
Cheerilee shrugged off Dr. Moss' hooves, “I don't know... I have been entrusted with my class' safety...”
The class then began pleading, “Please please please may we go in?” “Can we go in?”.
“C'mon Cheerilee”spoke Berry Shine. “Its not like they will eat us.”
“...Well, I suppose it will be safe.”
“Yay” said the class.
“Quiet!”shouted Sgt. Green Bean.
There was then a muffled shout in the building “Do not touch that!” followed by a barely audible argument between the humans and the ponies in the building. Humans and ponies outside peered into the windows stoned faced with a scowl. Then all went silent. Then there was a booming shout:
“Fine! All done? Get out of our building!”
Then the door opened again, and the royal equestrian guard filed out. With the lead nodding to the Sargent that everything was okay.
“Okay...” said Sargent with a hint of confusion while turning away from the guards to face the class. Earth ponies enter first, followed by Pegasi, then unicorns.
=+=+=+=
When the class entered the building, there was only a sign at the front entrance that crudely wrote:
Welcome students to the Human Learning center and the Republic of Humanity! You may only touch the objects in the room with a green circle. Do not touch anything with a red circle. Follow directions of your teachers or masters and follow directions of the guards. Do not touch the humans, fly or perform magic.
When further inside, there was an assortment of tables that displayed many different human artifacts and small trinkets, and on the walls contained pictures of important humans and the center of floor itself was a map of the RoH. The opposite end of the lengthwise building stood two human guards on raised pedestals Guarding the other door that led to the RoH side of the border.
Everything look freshly dusted and not out of place, with the exception of what looked like a Red Ribbon and a card placed on a chair before the assets of the building.
“My Ribbon!” Squeaked Apple Bloom as she moved infront of the class to retrieve it. She also picked up the card with her teeth and manipulated it open, which read:
Your ribbon has been repaired. Another fine quality job by (Black Ink blotted out the name), please mention me to your associates if they have similar work needing to be done. Please return soon comrade!
“How nice!” stated Cheerilee as she inspected Apple Bloom's Ribbon. “The humans repaired, no, replaced the loop.”
Sgt. Green Bean shook his head, “The humans are just showing off. They are trying to send a message that they are better then us.”
“I don't think that's it.” injected Gentle Moss. “Humans don't like broken things, and they will fix about anything.”
Throughout the Center, the class and adults looked at all the different exhibits. There was a mint set of human money made of paper and ink instead of coins, each denomination showing a different landscape on the back and an important human on the front. With a little placard that said:
Why Carry a bag full of precious metals that are heavy and, clink so much that thieves can hear you have money and try to rob you? Paper currency is easier to fold and carry in a bag or pocket, and they are light to transport! The inks and paper are kept secret to prevent forgery. Do not touch!
Another exhibit appeared to be a collection of gears and springs:
Everything in the RoH is powered by the gear and the spring. Its human magic! Turn the lever and watch as a process called ”Automation” make the little puppets on the other side perform a show! You may touch the lever and crank only!
Berry Shine at the request of the foals around her, carefully manipulated the crank until it stopped, then she pulled the lever. On the other side, static metal figures appeared, and danced to a melody of a unseen music box until an evil black and white striped looking human figure appeared and knocked over a few of the automated figures, then what looked like figurines of human authority arrived to take him away. The class cheered on the policing figures as they chased the evil human figurine around the set until a big police figure appeared with a stick to “Knock out” the evil human.
The police and evil human disappeared from the set and the evil human appeared in a window with wires mimicking the appearance of a jail. The humans that were dancing reappeared and danced even faster to a more faster, celebratory music box tune. And then it ended.
“Do it again! Encore! Encore!” shouted a foal. Berry Shine winded up the machine and pulled the lever again. Several other exhibits were more or less the same lever and crank type machines but with different purposes.
Cheerilee was fascinated with the more artistic exhibits, particularly the Fabergé eggs, decorated with gold and jewels, with each one representing an event in human history. Most were replicas according to the sign, but the only “real” ones were the Green plain ones made in memory people and ponies that died in border skirmishes or accidents.
Other then a spring loaded model train and airship that circled the rafters of the center, the final exhibition was surprisingly, the humans themselves which interested Gentle Moss and a few class members. There was both a living male and female guard standing at attention on a marble stand with their commanding officer behind them with placards on the marble stand that said:
Male and Female Humans (Left and Right)! Do not touch or talk to!
This was the closest that Gentle Moss was ever to humans he carefully approached closer, looking up at them while trying to take notes and at one point he murmured what sounded like a question, looking up at the guards hoping that they would make some sort of answer in a motion. The border guards ignored the pony. Soon the rest of the class was at the living exhibit. Some made snide comments about how humans must be statues in real life. Others wondered if the two were related and had children. One got too close to the female and the female guard picked up her rifle from rest and secured it with both hands. The sudden movement terrified the young foal and he backed away as the rest of the class oohed at the break of non-movement.
“That means 'Don't get too close'.” stated Sgt. Green Bean. “Stay out of their personal space.” he warned.
The clock tower outside chimed. The human officer standing behind the male and female guards whispered “At ready... away weapons!”
Both guards shouldered their rifles with the strap and returned to ready. The class babble suddenly ceased at the movement.
The officer then walked from behind the guards to the front. “Ready, face right!”
Both guard faced right like clockwork. The officer, then turned about smartly towards the class.
“Fillies... and Gentle-colts” she began, still slightly uncertain if the pre-written speech was correct in using the honorifics. “May I have your attention please. At this time, please stand for the national anthem of the Republic of Humanity. Please remain silent. Thank you.”
She then turned right, towards the human flag that was hung on a small pole near the corner of the room. She then saluted it. Then all three began to sing.
The flag itself was like the equestrian flag. It was rectangular, but instead of the regalia and coat of arms, it was a simple red and white striped flag with a blue field. Inside of the blue field was a golden gear. Aside from that, a younger pony would have described as a candy cane...
And this certain younger pony liked candy canes...
Aside from looking like a candy cane, Twist thought it would taste exactly like a candy cane.
And then, the unthinkable happened.
Twist walked right up to the flag and took a big, wet, lick.
As if in slow motion, all the adults in the room watched in horror at Twist's deadly mistake. For a whole five seconds, no pony/body moved and all was silent. Then it was full on pandemonium.
Sgt. Green Bean dashed to Twist before the human border master assistant screamed "Seize her!". All three humans reached out and ran towards the petrified pony. Before they could get to her, Green Bean dove under her and swept her up, and ran toward the exit, knocking over the flagpole, which in turn, tripped up the borderguards who fell over each other.
"EVERYPONY! MAKE FOR THE EXIT!" screamed Cheerilee.
"mmph- HALT!" screamed the male border guard as he got up and stepped on his superior who was screaming in pain and shouting orders while shaking the female border guard, who was knocked unconscious. The male border guard giving chase stopped to un-shoulder his rifle and he began to load the chamber.
By then nearly all the class was out of the building and there was absolute confusion on both sides. Sensing danger, one of the human border guards screamed "Unusual Activity!".
Then from inside the human learning center, a shot rang out.
All the human border guards dropped their clockwork act and started taking cover while the royal guard did the same. The nearest humans ran towards the building with a purpose, and the royal guards began to form a line shielding the most open areas of the border to allow the class that was retreating towards the equestrian building. Berry Shine caught sight of Dr. Moss trying to make his way back into the building for his dropped note book, and pounced on him and pushed him back the other way screaming "Its not worth it!".
=+=+=+=
Back safely in the equestrian welcoming center conference room Cheerilee, Berry Shine, and Gentle Moss were counting the class, and Sgt. Bean was furiously reprimanding Twist, who was sobbing and saying "I'm Sorry", over and over again.
"Why? What part of 'Do not touch' did you not understand?!"
After at least five minutes, the shock of being almost being arrested or killed was finally lifted, Cheerilee, Gentle Moss and Berry Shine began to add up their group's numbers and found that one was missing.
"Oh my goodness!" Cheerilee took her hooves to her face in shock, "Who is missing?!"
After the class looked each other over, some of them began call out for Silver Arrow.
There was no response. He could not be found anywhere in the building.
The captain was brought from downstairs, and he was not happy.
"Where is this Silver Arrow? I want him found, NOW!" he barked at two subordinates, who them proceeded to search the building again. He then turned to Sgt. Green Bean. "What happened out there, Sargent! Report!"
"Sir!" Sargent Green Bean saluted, "One of my charges had licked the national flag of the RoH thinking it would taste like a candy cane, provoking a reaction from the RoH. I took my charge out of harm's way and directed the class out of the building ASAP."
"The humans fired a weapon, Sargent!" huffed Guilded Wing.
"It was a warning shot, sir."
"Then WHERE, is one of your other charges, Sargent?! Did you see anypony shot? Or were you too busy playing hero?"
"Sir! I didn't see any pony killed or injured, sir!"
Another subordinate rushed into the conference room. "Sirs! The enemy has detained a pegasus foal!"
There was a gasp, "Silver Arrow!" then Cheerilee fainted in Gentle Moss' hooves. Berry Shine sighed and began to fan her with a spare notebook. Captain Gilded Wing Face-hoofed "Dear Celestia..."
=+=+=+=
Silver Arrow struggled and screamed as six humans carried him into the Human Welcoming Center. Each one held each of his hooves and wings and said not a word to him except to grunt as he attempted to buck them or flap his little wings, which were becoming twisted and painful as the humans tighten their hold.
They proceeded down a dark corridor and down a flight of stairs towards a table and firmly pressed him down against it.
“Comrades! Get the Pegasus restraints!” one of them shouted.
“Let me gooooommmph!!!” Screamed Silver Arrow. His protest was answered by a white felt-gloved hand covering his muzzle and his head being slammed against the table. He continued to fight, squirm and buck as his pony-in-danger instincts demanded. Something then was slipped over his head and suddenly it tightened his wings against his body. He screamed some more when he heard the metal buckles clink as they were secured. Then came a muzzle, which didn't go on as easily as the wing restraint. He managed to whip his head out of the grasp of one human and bit his hand. The human growled and teared his hand any from the defiant Pegasus' mouth, ripping off the felt-glove the guard was wearing. Silver Arrow's reward for this win was another slam of his head against the table and a successful muzzling while the felt-glove was still in his mouth.
When Silver Arrow was finally secured to the table by chains. The guards then unlatched the top part of the table and wooden handles mechanically sprung out on all four sides, effectively turning it into a stretcher. The guards carried him up the stairs and were about to turn into another corridor when a voice rang out.
“Halt!”
The guards stopped where they were, and the head human that was leading them turned to the challenge, and responded,
“Yes, Teacher Stewart?”
“The Border Master has ordered that the prisoner be brought to her office immediately, and that all but the wing restraint be removed!”
=+=+=+=
BMA FIELD REPORT
BMA: Teacher Joanne Hopkin
At approximately 12:55, during the national anthem part of our program in the Human Learning Center, I observed a yellow pony with a red mane with an unknown cutie mark, lick the Republic of Humanity's flag. This flag was hanging in an upright position as dictated for this building in manual 8 of the Border Command post and clearly marked DO NOT TOUCH at its base-stand. I ordered an immediate arrest of this pony for destruction of military property as defined in ROH law 2433 under subsection 2, line 2, “Desecration”.
While attempting to make this arrest, an armored earth pony of the 4th Royal guard regiment interfered, and took the offender back to equestrian territory. This interference created an evacuation response for the civilian ponies and created a hostile situation when a halt command from subordinate Teacher Evans was ignored and Teacher Sides was knocked unconscious from the interference when we stumbled. She was not attacked by the Royal guard. Comrade Evens fired a warning shot into the air from his service rifle, which was ignored by all civilian ponies except one blue pegasus with a white mane. Upon arrival by outside comrades the pegasus was arrested and HLC was secured. A notebook was also recovered. Upon consultation and agreement from BMA Teacher Vladimer, we brought the detainee into the command and secured him for transport.
During the securing, subordinate Teacher Messi was bitten by the pegasus on the right hand, drawing blood and ripping off his service glove. While transporting the pegasus to the exit to an awaiting transport, we were halted by BMA Teacher Stewart, who by the orders of BM Master Rafaeli to remove all but the wing restraints and transport the detainee to her office. I was dismissed after the execution of this order to return to the barracks for administrative leave.
Teacher Messi has complained that he was injured by the Pegasus, and requests assault charges to be filed.
I also have been injured and request medical leave. Nothing further to report.
=+=+=+=
ENCODED TELEWIRE AND PIDGEON DISPATCH
FM BG MA BM SARAH R.
TO NG MA BRIGHTTON STAR.
MSG AS FOL:
NG PRIORTY NG PRIORITY NG PRIORITY BORDER CMD HAS DETAINED YOUNG PEGASUS AGE 7 NAME SILVER WING BLUE WITH WHT MANE AND BOW/ARROW C MARK STOP
PEGASI ARREST W/COMPLAINT OF DESTRUC OF ROH MIL PROPERTY AT HLC IN ROH JURIS STOP
DETERMINED THAT SUBJ NOT OFFENDER STOP
OFFENDER IS NOT WITHIN JURIS ATT STOP
ADDITION CHARGE OF ASSULT IS REQ BY SUBORDINATE AS HAS HAND BITE DURING ARST STOP
IS HELD AT BM PLEASURE STOP
WILL TO RELEASE IF NO RESPOND IN 24H STOP
ENEMY IS ON GUARD, NO CHG/BKUP REQUESTED ATT STOP
HPE MARRIGE IS WELL STOP END
=+=+=+=
(scrawled)
SIGNALS REPORT
At approximately 13:20, Enemy has signaled comm flag at border command post: Negotiation.
I authorized a comm flag to be raised: Standby.
For the Border Master's attention, BMA Teacher Simon Frued. 2ND Border Division.
=+=+=+=
~~~~~BY THE ORDER OF THE BORDER MASTER~~~~~
(scrawled)
BMA Teacher Simon Frued is authorized to fly comm flag: Acknowledged. Continue flying standby flag.
All guards below the BMA rank guarding the line at Border command are to fall back from their positions and stand at parade rest in the lobby of the command until further instruction. Silence rules still apply.
Our enemies are sensitive at this time to the situation, please move quickly, but do not act aggressive. If enemy crosses warning line DO NOT CHALLANGE unless there is reason for harm. Challenge only if an actual crossing occurs, normal procedure to be followed. Arrest only if enemy crosses our side's warning line.
For the Republic, BM Master Sarah Rafaeli. 2ND Border Division.
=+=+=+=
ENCODED TELEWIRE ONLY
FM NG MA BRIGHTTON STAR.
TO BG MA BM SARAH R.
MSG AS FOL:
MSG ACKNOWLEDGED RE ARREST STOP
DENIED BACKUP REJECT REQ. DOD INFORMED OF INCIDENT AND ORDERED SAS LTA RROUTE TO SECURE SECONDARY LINE N WILL PATROL FOR UNSPEC TIME XO IS SAS LT MA VALIENT 3RD FLEET STOP
IF INJURY OF SUBORDINATE IS DETERMINED TO BE SEVERE AT YOUR DESCRETION TO PROSECUTE DO SO OR RELEASE ASAP WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS STOP
INFORM ME ASAP OF DECISION FOR DIPLOMATIC REASONS STOP
ORDER RETRANSMIT TO GUARDHOUSES/SUBSTATION FOR ATTEN OF BMA ON DUTY STOP
ALL IS WELL APOLOGY FOR SAS INTERVENE NO CHOICE IN MAT STOP
PERSONALLY AOKAY STOP END
=+=+=+=
Sarah spat at her clipboard at the mention of SAS Marines being deployed via Lighter Then Aircraft to her secondary defense line. There was absolutely no need for that sort of overkill, especially when the commanding officer of this particular LTA group was paranoid from the drug experiments that supposedly made you stay awake for three days straight with no pain... or so the rumors went.
She looked up at the BMA who delivered the message, who stood at attention with a blank face. Then she glanced at the corner of her office where her small prisoner was sitting, and shivering in fear at two imposing Guards who simply stared at him. Sarah sighed, she had to make difficult decisions that would please no one. Despite a bite wound that caused a subordinate pain and suffering, it was a tiny Pegasus with no value to the RoH other then souring the ceasefire, and causing the peace to be disturb again.
She slammed down the clipboard on the table and barked, “Comrades! Leave me and Student Silver Arrow alone and wait outside the door. Do not disturb us until I fetch you. Lock the door on your way out!”
All the guards saluted and marched out of the room, and closed the door with a click. Sarah then opened a drawer and began rifling through a drawer.
Free from his mean and overbearing escorts, Silver Arrow shook himself a bit to adjust to his wing restraints and cautiously glanced around the room. The Border Master's office was possibly the nicest in the entire building. Instead of the bare cold stone marble, the walls and ceiling were plastered with dark red wall paper, and the floor was carpeted the same. The walls were also decorated with glass cases containing ordinate swords, guns and the occasional picture. There were also more of the weird jeweled eggs, like the ones in the Human Learning Center, sitting on top of a well used fireplace. The centerpiece of this room was the desk of his captor, which looked like it was carved out of of tree and dipped in bronze.
“Pony! Come here!”
Silver Wing jumped a little at the human woman's sharp command. His wings breifly tightened against the restraints and relaxed. He slowly approached the desk. The whole situation seemed unreal, he was in a room of someone who his own father was devoted to fighting. If this was the end, he was going to go out bucking and screaming. After all, he got his cutie mark from protecting his friends from bullies.
The woman motioned to the chair. “Sit!”
He hopped into the chair. He avoided all eye contact with the human, he was getting prepared to be screamed at; told that he was going to be executed; eaten. All because of stupid Twist.
Sarah took off her service cap, Then she began to speak kindly “I know its not your fault you are here.”
Silver Arrow slowly looked up, “huh?”
“Comrade, What is your name?”
The human woman was being oddly nice now.
“Silver Arrow”
The woman clapped her hands and laughed. “Ah! And it matches the arrow on the bow for your... what do you call it?”
“... a Cutie Mark. What's a comrade?”
“In the old language, it means friend,” explained Sarah, still smiling. “But now it usually is a greeting for when you do not know one's rank in society.”
“Oh... What's your name?”
“You may call me Master Sarah.” she replied. “Where do you live, Comrade Silver Arrow?” asked Sarah, moving along her interrogation.
“Ponyville”
Sarah pulled out a map of Equestria and placed it on the desk. “Can you point with your hoof where you live?”
Silver Arrow tapped a spot on the map and Sarah marked it with a quill.
“Thank you.” Said Sarah sweetly, she then looked at the map and exclaimed. “Ah! You live near Canterlot! A lucky little stallion like you must see the Princesses everyday!”
Silver Arrow blushed “No...”
“Oh don't be shy... unless, the princesses are seeing someone else?”
Silver Arrow blinked dumbly, “They are?”
It was obvious that this young pony did not know anything personal about Celestia or Luna that would be valuable to the RoH intelligence community. It time to change the subject focus on the incident at hand. Particularity the notebook is what disturbed her. “Tell me, are you on a... field experience with your teachers?”
“Yes, we were learning about... you... and Dr. Moss and Cheerilee and Berry Shine took us to the border to see humans.”
“Hmm...” Sarah replied. It made sense to her, education is very important and highly regarded in the RoH. “And who teaches you?”
“Cheerilee.”
“I saw two more adult ponies.” Sarah stated, dropping her sweetness level a tad. “Who are they?”
“Dr. Gentle Moss and Berry Shine.” replied Silver Arrow. “They research humans.”
“I see...”
The written contents of the notebook now made sense. The notebook was something like reading a Doctor's research book meeting a new species entirely. Though it was terribly limited to her border guard's behavior, which only scratched the surface of Humans. Perfect. The less they know, the better. And the name Dr. Gentle Moss rang a bell...
Sarah stood up and walked over to the window to gaze upon the border. Her subordinates were still hiding behind the border buildings, and it appeared that the enemy was doing so as well. She often forgot how tense things tended to be when watching The Line. Especially when it was outside the command zone.
“Comrade, could you please tell me who... licked... our flag?”
Silver Arrow snorted. “Twist did it. She is so stupid.”
It was illegal to call another human stupid in the RoH unless it was someone of higher rank doing it, but even then it was frowned upon. It did not foster camaraderie amongst humans and actually created conflict and deviants. Though technically not human and not insulting another human, Sarah let this pass, she could use this to her her advantage.
“But why would this... Twist, lick the flag?” Asked Sarah, turning away from the window to look at Silver Arrow. “Does she not like humans?”
Silver Arrow snorted again, “No, her special talent and Cutie Mark is a peppermint stick, she probably thought it tasted like peppermint.”
Sarah simply stared incredulously at what the young pony just said. Then she let loose a laugh that rattled the glass holding the weapons in their wall mountain cases, causing Silver Arrow to cringe away to the end of his chair. And a sharp Rap at the door.
“Border Master Sarah! Is everything okay?” shouted a muffled voice.
She then stopped laughing and became stern. “Guards! Get in here!”
The door banged open and border guards came pouring into the office and pointed their weapons at Silver Arrow. He whimpered as bayonets touched his neck.
“Your orders, Master?”
“Please don't kill me and eat me!” shouted Silver Arrow.
Sarah shook her head. It was time to end the interrogation and send the pony back home. But not without sending a message that what his fellow pony did was completely unacceptable... plus, a personal vendetta that needed to be settled...
=+=+=+=
~~~~~BY THE ORDER OF THE BORDER MASTER~~~~~
(scrawled)
BMA Teacher Simon Frued is authorized to fly comm flag: Negotiation. Contact the griffon peacekeepers. There will be a meeting in 30 minutes.
For the Republic, BM Master Sarah Rafaeli. 2ND Border Division.
Summer 51, 22XX It's official, I am banned from the border. We did arrive as planned and the students got to see humans, but I am afraid that their perception of them despite the humans allowing us into the Human Learning Center, is shattered forever. While inside of the building one of Cheerilee Students (who shall remain unnamed) licked one of the RoH's standards. Her reason?: SHE THOUGHT IT WOULD TASTE LIKE PEPERMINT!!! Dear sisters! And for some reason it made the humans very mad.
Though, I don't blame her. She is after all a little filly, and the majority of the RoH standard is striped red and white... I wonder what the red and white stripes mean? Better add it to my list of things to discover about humans...
I'm getting off track... They detained Silver Arrow for awhile because of that... I won't go into detail but we did get him back thanks to the griffon peacekeepers who explained the situation to the Human Border Master. I have never seen a human be anything but serious, but she absolutely laughed like somepony told her the world was made of cheese... then suddenly go back to being serious... If I didn't know any better I 'd think that she was on the Bean or she had mental problems.
Before Silver Arrow was released, I finally found out why there was an air a familiarity around her, she was the exact same human who unwittingly helped me with my dexterity paper. And she remembered me down to my Quill and Paper Cutiemark. She darkly warned me personally that if I ever showed up near her border again her guards would be ordered to personally pursue me into Equestrian territory just to kill me regardless of circumstance.
This angered the Captain, but he made assurances to his counterpart about me. By his order, I am not to be within two miles of the border-line ever again. And given the circumstances, a visit to the Dragon Incident memorial was out of the question.
As soon as the Human Delegation left, Silver Arrow was released. But his tail was cut off and now all that was left was a silver-haired stub. He said that this was for biting the hand of one of the guards. Cheerilee was a bit annoyed but was mostly overjoyed to have her student come back unharmed.
I wish I could end the journal there, but where one complication closes, another opens. Berry Shine has elected to drop my class, she stated that she wanted to go back to wine making. Which now brings my class size to zero until next semester. Quite the opposite of what I need to avoid being demoted and subjected to the likes of Light Wood. I fear that I may be ruined unless I do something drastic...
Just unpacking has made me completely exhausted. I think I shall go visit Fizzy Bubbles tomorrow. She would be absolutely interested in the self-inking quill I managed to swipe from the negotiation table that the Border Master left behind. It writes remarkably well...
=+=+=+=
There was a sharp knock at the door.
“Oh my goodness, who could that be?” Fizzy Bubbles asked herself as she opened her door to none other then a green stallion with a slightly messy black mane.
“Gentle Moss!” Fizzy squeaked joyously. “Please come in! Make yourself at home. I hope that the lunch time traffic didn't faze you to much...”
“Funny you should ask,” replied Gentle Moss as he trotted in. “I almost got squeezed between two carts!”
“Doesn't surprise me in the least.” Fizzy acknowledged. “Would you like some tea? I was making some for my brother who is in the living room.” She pointed a hoof to blue stallion with a close cropped brown mane sitting on Fizzy's brown recliner chair. The stallion looked wiry and a bit tired as he smiled a mischievous grin back at them. Fizzy leaned towards Gentle Moss's ear, “He just got out of prison. So forgive him if he seems... odd.”
“Yeah,” began the reclining stallion “being stuck in a cell with no contact with the outside world for two months can really make a pony odd.” He then crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue, “Oh noes! My face is becoming odd! Help help!”
“Bubble Wand you stop that this instant!” Fizzy Shrieked. “We have a guest, and making faces isn't polite!”
Instead of stopping, Bubble Wand decided to escalate by crossing his eyes outwardly and making a sad face that truly show no remorse. Gentle Moss chortled at the display while Fizzy Bubbles fumed “Very mature, Wand.” she said coolly. She then turned to Gentle moss, with an apologetic face, “I am so sorry. The rest of the family is out of town and since he can't be trusted alone I offered to house him until he gets a job and moves out.” She directed that last bit towards Bubble Wand, who rolled his eyes.
Fizzy sighed and helped Gentle Moss with his saddlebags. She then went into the kitchen, leaving Wand and Moss alone in the living room. As soon as he sat down on the couch, Bubble Wand said “You're not half-bad there good-lookin', Gentle Moss was it?”
“Um yes...” he replied. He wasn't sure if Bubble Wand complimenting him or hitting on him.
“So have the hots for my sister huh?”
Gentle Moss' eyes went wide and he whinnied as he shook his head, “What?! No. No no no, you have it all wrong. I am actually a Co-Worker with Fizzy at the University of Canterlot and a good friend.”
Bubble Wand snorted, “Sure you are. But the way that Fizzy fusses over you, one would have thought differently.”
Gentle Moss quickly decided that Bubble Wand was not a very nice pony, and given his tone he was looking to start an argument to bully him and possibly annoy Fizzy. He changed the subject, “So, your sister mentioned you were in prison, what for exactly?”
“Possession of Coffee,” Bubble Wand said as he adjusted himself in his chair. “It was my third offense, and judge Cabal was tired of assigning Community Service. So then he said that a month in prison was going to have to do. I then called him a 'colorless breed'. He then got mad and gave me two months in prison, and told me to write a thousand page essay on 'equality'.”
“You brought that upon yourself!” Fizzy squeaked from the kitchen, “And you still need to write that Essay, and if you expect to stay here, you will also write an apology letter to the judge!”
In response, Bubble Wand then made a retching sound like he wanted to vomit. Then he smiled at Gentle Moss.
Gentle Moss rolled his eyes. Bubble Wand was indeed a very bad pony who still needed correction. But the Coffee charge peaked Gentle Moss's interest. “Coffee is grown in the south of the Republic of Humanity, isn't it?” he asked.
“Sure is.”
“How does a pony exactly get the Coffee over the DMZ?” Gentle Moss asked. “I mean, the DMZ has to be the most heavily guarded and most dangerous place in the world.”
A look of excitement spread over Bubble Wand's face. “Let me just say this, drinking the coffee to get the caffeine high is just half the fun. Sneaking around under the Royal Guards and those wind-up monkeys in the blue suits is just a rush... oh boy...”
Gentle Moss raise both eyebrows in surprise, “You've actually been inside the RoH?”
“Ha ha... no.” said Bubble Wand flatly. “But I know a pony...”
At that moment Fizzy Bubbles came in floating a tray of cookies, crackers, cheese and little bags of green and black tea leaves. As she sat the tray down on the living room table, Bubble Wand exercised his magic to pick up one of the black tea bags. Then Fizzy took her pink hoof and slammed the floating bag back on the tray.
“No!” She squeaked. “No Caffeine. Period. You may have the Green Tea instead.”
“Oh come off it, Fizzy!” Bubble Wand barked. “I just got out of prison and hadn't had anything good for months! One cup of black tea won't turn me back into a coffee loving psycho!”
“No!”
“Arrgh!”
Both siblings looked ready to fight each other. Gentle Moss decided to intervene, “Fizzy, I don't think the amount of caffeine in black tea is substantial enough to drive Bubble Wand back to coffee.” he stated calmly. “I know you love your brother, and being the good chemist you are in trying to control what he consumes, you can't protect him from everything caffeinated. Just let him have his tea.”
Fizzy made a contortionist look on her face, as if she was debating with her inner demon about what Gentle Moss just said. In the end, she sighed and lifted her hoof off of the now flattened tea bag and let Bubble Wand take it away with his magic. Bubble Wand mouthed a thank you to Gentle Moss as Fizzy became distracted in pouring hot water out of the kettle and into three cups.
As they became settled with their Tea, Fizzy Bubbles asked “So Dr. Moss, what brings you to my busy corner of the city?”
Finishing his sip, Gentle Moss replied, “I am glad you asked.” He then reached out with his magic to the saddlebag on a hook and undid the buckle, which out came the self-inking quill, and floated it over to himself.
“This I managed to get by chance,” he decided to withhold the truth that he stole it from the human Border Master, “and it appears to be a self-inking quill made by our clever neighbors across the DMZ. You see, it just seems to never run out of ink, and you never have to dip it. Let me show you.”
He then levitated a piece of parchment from his bag, uncapped the pen, and began drawing wild circles on the parchment it in front of Fizzy, and indeed it seemed the ink would never run dry from the quill.
“Fascinating...” Fizzy stated with awe. She took the pen with her own magic and scribble out the simple formula for water: H2O. Satisfied, she then twirled it around in front of her face, trying to decipher how it work. “Looking at the groove in the metal tip, which looks like it is made tin mounted on a copper or brass tube, it seems the ink is stored in the tube which acts for the ink's container, so its not really endless, it has to run dry at some point during normal use...
“But when it does run out, how is it filled again?” She asked aloud. “I don't think its a 'one and done' type of invention.” She then noticed a small lever on the pen, “Hmm...” she then lifted it, and immediately she would regret it. Ink suddenly spurted out the tip of the pen and sprayed all over her face.
“It's pressurized!” she squeaked, completely blinded by the ink.
Bubble Wand, who was watching quietly first began to giggle, which quickly evolved into a roar laughter, which caused him to drop his tea and his own body fall on the floor, gasping for air. “Ohoho, my sides... ahahahaha!”
While Bubble Wand continued to laugh, Gentle Moss fetched a cloth from Fizzy's kitchen to help her wipe off the horrible mess the pen made to her face. Fizzy looked wholeheartedly embarrassed having to be cleaned up like a Filly. Dr. Moss felt the embarrassment and said “Well, we now know how to empty it and fill it now...”
“Bwhahahaha...” continued Bubble Wand.
“Shut up, Wand!”
=+=+=+=
After cleaning up the mess the pen made and patiently waiting for Fizzy Bubbles to finish arguing with her brother about cleaning up the spilled tea (which took 20 minutes), Fizzy accepted Gentle Moss's invitation to go out to dinner. At the Charlie Horse they were seated by a good window overlooking the cliff valley that the castle sat upon. It was a beautiful site as the cliff below the castle was basked in the castle's golden light.
The chef and owner Carrot Cut, actually surprised them, “Hello young couple! How are you doing tonight?”
Gentle Moss and Fizzy Bubbles shifted uncomfortably, “Oh, we are not a couple...”
“Ah! Say no more!” said Carrot Cut. “But may I ask what the occasion is?”
“A thank you dinner.” replied Gentle Moss. “My College here actually helped save my research and my department.”
“Oh, you both teach at the University?”
“Indeed.”
“What department was it your lovely companion saved?”
“Humanology.”
Carrot Cut face suddenly went from pleasant to curious. “Are you Dr. Moss?”
“Yes...?”
Carrot Cut curious look went back to Pleasent. “Ah yes, I thought it might be you. You were mentioned in the paper today. My word, I had no idea those humans could be so... uncouth. Cutting off that poor young stallion's tail.”
Fizzy Bubble then looked at Gentle Moss, “What?”
“And there was that student who was interviewed... said that she was done studying humans?”
Gentle Moss looked extremely uncomfortable at this point. Fizzy Bubbles was still confused, and then asked “What is he talking about?”
“Anyway, I have brought out this nice salad for you, on the house!”
“I have lost my appetite...”
=+=+=+=
Out in the street on the was home, Gentle Moss explained what happened with his trip to the border.
“Oh. My. Stars!” Fizzy belted out. “That's absolutely horrible!” “I know...” Gentle Moss sniffed, on the verge of crying. Now that whole class is going to grow up with that horrible experience and especially poor Silver Arrow. And to make everything worse Berry Shine has left the class...” He pulled out a handkerchief from his dinner jacket. “There is now going to be a whole generation of ponies growing up with wanting nothing to do with humans, and I am ruined for sure!”
Tears streamed down his face now. Fizzy sighed as she watched a Good Professor become a sobbing mess. She allowed him to lean against her on the way back to her home. She secretly was looking forward to inviting him in tonight, but the mood was ruined, no thanks to Carrot Cut. Once they reached her home, she said a few comforting words to Gentle Moss and bid him good night. Gentle Moss slowly made his way home, depressed and head hung low.
As he turned the corner and passed an alleyway, he heard a familiar voice.
“And it squirted all over her!” said a echoy Bubble Wand. “I was half expecting them to find the lever on it like I did that one time when we visited that check point.
“Must of liked her a lot.” replied a gruff voice.
There was a snort, and then a cackle. Gentle Moss knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but the last bit interested him. He had seen human quill before? Checkpoint? Gentle Moss entered the alleyway as quietly as he could and came upon a dimly lit dumpster, with Bubble Wand facing a much larger and musclebound earth pony wearing a black leather jacket, with a brass ring necklace around its neck. Surreal.
“Anyway,” Bubble Wand wiped a tear away from his eye. “I was wondering if you could hook me up with something.”
“Back to bad habits I see,” replied the gruff the pony. Chuckling as he dug through his pockets. “I thought you'd quit, see how this time the judge locked you up last time. But oh well...” He fished out a small bag of a brownish color. Coffee grounds! Gentle Moss thought to himself.
“That it?” Bubble Wand eyed the bag with distaste. “You could barely drink a damé with that!”
The larger pony chuckled, “I know it small, but you could mixed with hot milk and make whats called an espresso. The richer humans are doing it. If you wanna wait, I am going on a run next week with the crew to the checkpoint to get more, and then you can get more.”
“Eh... I suppose it will do for now...” murmured Bubble Wand. “How much?”
“Fifty squared”
“Fifty?!” exclaimed Bubble Wand. He then suddenly became self-conscious of how loud he was being and looked around. Gentle Moss hid himself more behind the dumpster he was listening from.
“Sweet Celestia, Wand! The larger pony screamed whispered as he looked around as well, “That loud mouth of yours is going to get us in trouble.”
Bubble Wand, now slightly more subdued, whispered barely enough that Gentle Moss had to strain his ears to here. “...is just ridiculous.”
“Look wand, as I said, business got harder as of late. And the Royal Guard has been more buddy-buddy as of late with the humans cracking down the coffee trade.” the large pony said sternly. “The last run never arrived because they got blown to bits by a trip-mine. And we almost got whacked by a SAS Balloon.”
“SAS?”
“The human Special Air Service.”
“Oh... buck...” Bubble wand cursed. His eyes really wide with the vision of being turned to a pseudo-changling by an Air Marine Autogun. “What are they doing so close to the line? I mean... I thought they weren’t allowed... isn't it a no fly zone?”
“I don't know, and quite frankly it was enough to make me want to go straight... Do you want it or not?”
“…Fine, for the cause.”
There was a tinkling of coins, and then Bubble Wand said, “When did you say you were getting more?”
“Next week. Wanna come? Might be fun... just like old times.”
“I'll have to cut you a rain-check” replied Bubble wand as the transaction completed. “Fizzy has been unbearable since I got out. I'm still not even half done with the apology letter, not even started on the equality essay, and I still need to find a job. Plus based on what you told me, I don't think I want to ride along to the border right now.”
“Luna forgive, what did you do to piss her off?”
“I called the judge a colorless breed.”
There was a chortle, “Only you Bubble Wand.”
“Yeah, hey, catch up with you later?”
“Later.”
Gentle Moss quietly left the alley and waited on the corner to Fizzy's for Bubble Wand. Bubble Wand was whistling a merry tune as he strolled out of the alley and accidentally bumped into him.
“Oh sorry, my mistake. I wasn't watching... Gentle Moss?”
“Hullo Wand.” Said Gentle Moss flatly. “I have a proposal for you.”
“Whoa, big words!” chuckled Bubble Wand. “And I thought you had the hots for Fizzy, guess you like bad colts? Sorry but I don't swing that-”
Gentle Moss used his magic and picked up Bubble Wand and slammed him hard against the light pole. As Bubble Wand watched little birdies fly around his head, his saddle bag clip was undone and out came the small bag of coffee.
“What were thinking!?” shouted Gentle Moss sternly as he hovered the illegal substance against in front of a dazed blue pony. “I am sure if I showed this to Fizzy she would not be too pleased. And the judge is sure to send you back to jail.”
Wand shook off the head bang, and his eyes went wide with fear. “Oh no... please. I don't want to go back to jail!”
“Then listen closely,” Gentle Moss began, putting on his angry face like he did when a student didn't complete his work, he hoped it was convincing. “My career is in shambles, and unless I do something drastic to save it, I am ruined for good. And this is what I want to do, and you are going to help me...”
He then explained his plan.
Bubble Wand just shook his head. “Are you completely bucking insane?!” he asked. “Did you... whats the word... selectively hear what my friend said in that ally? SAS. Super. Angry. Psychopaths. Patrolling the line. There is no way in heck you could survive.”
“I have nothing left, and neither will you for awhile if you don't let me come with you and your coffee addled friends.” threatened Gentle Moss.
“...fine.”
Gentle Moss picked up Bubble Wand off gthe ground, patted off the dirt and levitated the illegal substance back into his back. “Man, moss. I never knew you could be such a bad ass, I wouldn't mind you marrying my sister.”
This may very well be the last journal entry for awhile.
I have managed to... 'convince' my colleague’s deviant brother to allow me to come with him to cross the border. From mutual agreement from him and his reluctant gang of misfit smugglers, they will escort me half way to their rendezvous point where they are to make the exchange of bits for coffee beans. After that, I am on my own.
Based on the suggestions made from Bubble Wand I have packed a medium load of the following.
One set of dark clothing
One can of “war paint”
Five scrolls
Eight quills
A pack of hay for food
A canteen for water
Some Vials for extra water or liquids I find.
An empty pack to store anything I find interesting on the other side
Some toiletries and a blanket
...And apparently no magic infused items. I am told by the other smugglers that there are heckaluminum infused traps along the border that will detect magic and trigger unwanted attention by irregular human patrols, mines, and an artillery nest nearby.... wonderful.
If I do survive the crossing, assuming that such devices are not prevalent in the RoH, I have been practicing an invisibility spell to hide myself for short periods of time. I havn't quite got it yet but I am getting there.
We are to leave in two days time when the moon is full. That way we will be able to see patrols and mine markers... I hope not to get killed by any of any of the aforementioned.
Also, I realized that if I do make it across, I need to set myself some rules to prevent any problems arising from my presence in human territory.
1. Do not use magic; from what I understand from the smugglers I that there are traps and alarms devised from from a type of metal that changes its properties when magic is nearby.
2. Do not interfere with human activity or be seen; No doubt I will cause panic amongst humans if I am discovered. I am there to observe only.
3. Take only what is needed and in the smallest quantities possible for survival or study; otherwise, leave everything as it was.
=+=+=+=
In the darkness, a lone lantern shone from a guard house from the inside as its human occupant opened the door. He looked left, then right. Then stepped out from from it and closed the door, encasing the world in darkness once more. There was a small click, and a flicker of light made itself known to the darkness as a smaller lantern was lit. The human border guard looked around himself as he raised the lantern above his head. Satisfied that nothing around him was going to sneak up and kill him, he set off towards his designated patrol path to relieve his fellow guard.
This place at the border was known to the RoH as mile marker 44. It was here where on the equestrian side the Black Forrest was at its closest. Nearly a stone throw away from where the human walked. It was also home of huge stump that was in between his homeland and the enemy's.
It was also a trouble spot where unauthorized people were often shot dead from the smuggling trade. It wasn't always this way-- it used to be when coffee smugglers were caught, they were stripped of their cargo and sent back the way they came. But due to more aggressive people entering the trade due to economic hardship, its now kill on sight. Plus, the enemy also has been complaining of the influx of “dangerous caffeinated drugs” entering their country.
Border Guard Teacher Jobs McCormik, snorted. 'Who knew that coffee was poisonous to ponies?' he thought to himself.
As he approached the warning line whilst amusing himself with thinking about how to perhaps invent a way to weaponize coffee extract, he heard a loud crunch sound coming from the woods on the Equestrian side.
McCormick stopped and rapidly dropped to one knee and pulled out his service pistol and pointed it at where the sound came from, lifted the lantern above his head and shouted, “Halt! Who goes there?!”.
Silence. There was no reply.
Keeping his pistol steady, he placed his lantern on the dry grass and covered it with his hat, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness and letting the moon shine on what he was trying to see. Eventually, his eyes settled on what looked like a large broken branch on the ground from the outermost tree.
Uncovering his lantern of light and placing his hat back on his nearly balding head, he fished out a pocket watch and checked the time, then he flipped it over in his hands to check the color of the back casing.
The casing did not turn purple. Meaning that there was no magic nearby.
Satisfied that nothing foul was afoot. The guard stood up, sheathed his pistol, and moved on.
=+=+=+=
Dr. Moss and his escorts let out a sigh of relief as the lantern light bobbed away into the night. It was by chance that a human border guard happened to be near them as a branch broke from its tree near their crossing point. They broke from their cover provided by the low shrubs, and dashed across the three lines that made the border between Equestria and RoH possible. Bubble Wand who galloped alongside Gentle Moss, stuck out his tongue at him in a matter that read 'We got away with it!'
Accompanying them, there was an Earth Pony named Shamrock Shine who was the leader and the guide. She was very hesitant to bring Gentle Moss and was very stubborn to even consider the idea when she heard his suicidal plan to enter the RoH. But relented later at the urging of Bubble Wand. The two other earth ponies were twin brothers Huff and Puff, the were the “Mules” and would be carrying the goods, they also scoffed at the idea of bringing Gentle Moss along, but when they heard of him actually wanting to go forward with entering the RoH, they immediately gave him respect and told him he had “balls of steel”. The last member of their group, Silk Touch was a Pegasus with a steely gaze and didn't talk. Her job was just to keep a lookout for any human patrols during their trip. She wanted coffee, that was it. She didn't care how many ponies came along. (Later, Shamrock would explain that Silk Touch used to be a fashion designer for Pegasus clothing before becoming addicted to coffee. She needed it for late-night work, but she than began to fall apart and her clients noticed. She now drinks for her depression.)
Eventually, the group of six ponies dressed and covered in dark clothing slowed to a trot as they made it over a hill that presented the rest of the sloping human DMZ side. The pony leading the group on this dangerous expedition signaled a stop and raised a hoof, halting the rest of the group and to be silent. She looked left, then right. Then turned to the rest of the group and said, “Let's rest for a bit and check the map.”
Two of the smuggler ponies sighed in relief as they unloaded their burdensome coin packs from their backs and the only pegasus above them took flight and circled the hill to keep an eye out for unwanted patrols. Gentle Moss took off his wool beanie hat and wiped his brow of sweat as he sat on the grey empty ground. Already on the human side, he noticed that the farther away from the border they galloped, the less plant life there seemed to be. He took out a piece of parchment and made a quick notation of his surroundings.
They were not there long before Bubble Wand and Shamrock Shine began a whispered argument over the map. “No no no!” Shine vehemently stated, “that's a known minefield, Wand. if we go that way we risk getting blown to bits!”
Bubble Wand groaned “How is going near that nest of monkeys any better?! If they see us, they will personally blow us to bits!”
Curious, Dr. Moss put away his scroll and trotted over to the heated discussion and asked, “What's going on?”
“Bubble Wand is insisting that we take a shortcut and get ourselves killed.” Shine answered with an added roll of the eyes.
“No” protested Wand, as he jabbed a hoof at a brown spot on the map. “She is insisting that we 'sneak around' a human artillery position. Which is begging for problems.”
“But they won't see us!” exclaimed Shine a bit more loudly then the rest of the group was comfortable with. “We have always gone this way, and when we do, we are too close in range of the cannons and far way enough not to be shot or blown up by a mine!”
“I'm not going anywhere near them” declared Wand.
“You don't have a choice.” Shine tortled.
“Yes I do!”
“Grah!”
As the two belligerent ponies continued to argue of what path they should take, the two mule ponies carrying the bits began a betting pool with the Pegasus who decided to land in fear of being seen while her leader was fighting loudly with Bubble Wand. Gentle Moss meanwhile rolled his eyes at the both of them and tried to study the map himself.
At that moment a cloud briefly blocked the moonlight, making it hard to read. Instinctively Gentle Moss lit up his horn.
Which was a horrible mistake.
Both Bubble Wand and Shamrock Shine at that moment stopped arguing and snapped their heads at the sudden display of illumination magic while the Pegasus and the mule ponies got up off the ground and quickly galloped away.
“MOSS NOOOOO!”
But before Dr. Moss released the illumination spell, it was too late. Nearby just a foot in the ground, a heckaluminum spring inside a brass contraption contracted itself from the nearby unicorn magic, and triggered a fuse, which caused a small purple flare to eject from the ground and fly straight into the sky and explode.
“...Buck!”
=+=+=+=
“Magic detector triggered at grid 2-5-10!” screamed a young border guard woman as she lowered her binoculars.
“Verified,” responded the BMA as he looked through his own pair. “Comrades, does any of you see any enemies or what triggered it?”
As expected, all responses from the artillery nest was “negative”. Wonderful, another faulty magic detector flare.
“Sir, orders?” asked the lead artillery loader as he had his hands on the hatch of the cannon.
The BMA put down his binoculars and made a face. The Border Master made it clear that “When in doubt, shoot” when it came to protecting the inner zone. But he also hated wasting ammunition. He looked towards the artillery crews. All young and eager to shoot... eh why not just this once?
The BMA took a deep breath and shouted “AIM GUNS 1 & 2! SIGHT 2-5-10 AND 2-6-10!”
The crews quickly and gleefully maneuvered the cannons by cranking the levers that swiveled the weapons at their base.
“Gun 1, Aimed 2-5-10, Sir!”
“Gun 2, Aimed 2-6-10, Sir!”
The BMA took another breath, “GUN 1 & 2! 5 ROUNDS ONLY, FIRE ON MY COMMAND!”
There was clanking as the hatches on the cannon opened, grinding metal of the shells being loaded and a final clack of the hatches snapping shut.
“Gun 1 loaded and ready, Sir!”
“Gun 2 loaded and ready, Sir!”
“SET FOR FIRING GRID TYPE C AND FIRE WHEN READY!”
“FIRING!”
=+=+=+=
In the distance, the three ponies screamed and ran for their lives as the shells whistled down and exploded all around them. Shrapnel, rocks and heavy clumps of dirt narrowly missing them. Gentle Moss shouted to Shamrock Shine who was in the lead, “We need to get out of here!”
“No duh!” she gasped back as Bubble Wand gave out a very filly shriek as another shell fell too close for comfort. Just then another round landed near them, and then there was a scream as Shine tripped over her hooves from the blast and covered her head, tripping the accompanying stallions over her.
No pony dared to move until the shelling stopped.
=+=+=+=
“Firing order complete, sir!” a sharp female voice rang out as a depleted shell was emptied from one of the brass cannons. “Orders?”
The BMA surveyed the fresh destruction of the landscape through his binoculars. With a satisfied grunt he put them back on his belt and announced, “Good Work, comrades. Now who volunteers to scout over our handiwork? Teacher Dexter, why don't you take some comrades and check.”
=+=+=+=
Shamrock Shine moaned in pain as blood trickled down her snout from her head as she attempted to stand up- only to fall over back on the dirt. The dark world was dizzy, and there was this never ending ringing noise that was making her nauseous. Dr. Moss also heard the ringing, but was able to power through it as he forced himself off up the ground. As sore as he was, he checked himself over. Finding no blood or wounds, he turned his attention to Bubble Wand, who was silently whimpering to himself in the fetal position. Seeing no obvious wounds, Dr. Moss rolled his eyes and looked over their guide and gasped.
Shamrock's head was covered in blood, and from the looks of it she was fading in and out of consciousness from the loss of it. Dr. Moss quickly dropped his bags and pulled out his blanket and canteen of water.
“Shamrock Shine, are you still with me?” he whispered.
Shamrock groaned in response, eyes still closed. “Don't... use magic...” she feebly said. “I am so sorry.” said Gentle Moss as he poured water over her head in attempt to clean off the blood from the wounds.
“...me... too.” she replied, sarcasm missing, but implyed.
Suddenly, something hit Gentle Moss behind his head and he felled to the ground. When he looked up, all he saw an angry Bubble Wand
“We are all going to die because of you!” he shouted in an angry whisper as he loomed over Gentle Moss. “We've lost our money for the coffee beans because our pack mules and lookout ran away. We can't continue this buck'd up journey anymore! We got to go back...” he slowed down as he looked around himself. “I am not going to die here... in the middle of this Tartarus forsaken place.”
Gentle Moss slowly picked himself of the ground as Bubble Wand continued his 'I don't wanna die' speech. He returned his attention to Shamrock Shine with his blanket, and clumsily began to wrap her wounded head with it earth pony style. After ensuring that the blanket was tied securely to her head. He turned back to Bubble Wand.
“They are going to tie us up.”
“Bubble Wand...”
“...and skin us... and cook us...”
“Bubble Wand....”
“While we are still alive!!!”
Gentle Moss took charge and smacked Bubble Wand across the head.
“OW! You hit me!”
“Shut up.” firmly said Gentle Moss as he grabbed Bubble Wand's snout with both hooves so that he had his full undivided attention. “We are NOT going to die, or be eaten... I don't know how many times I have said that humans only did this once...” He shook his head and continued, “and I agree we should get out of here. And when I say WE, I mean You and Shamrock Shine. I...” he trailed off as he located the map next to Shamrock Shine, “...am taking the map, and going to proceed into the RoH.” He looked back at the misdemeanoring pony and brought his head in close. “You and Shamrock will go back home, and change your lives. I want you to write that apology letter, get a job, move out of Fizzy Bubbles' house and stop drinking coffee, and get help for your caffeine addiction. Got it?”
“...”
“Well?”
“... fine.”
Gentle Moss released Bubble Wand. He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
There was a shout in the distance, “Careful comrades, its a bit steep here.”
“Buck!” Moss and Wand scrambled to put Shine on Wand's back. After ensuring she would not fall off, they said their goodbyes hastily and parted ways. Two ponies to return to safety, one to move on, but only after covering the blood with dirt and making his way to the minefields, and onward to the land of humans.
=+=+=+=
“I see nothing here but craters in the ground, Comrade Dexter.” pipped one of the humans, her lantern shining on the spot where the ponies had been last.
“Figures...” a disinterested Dexter muttered. Taking off his service cap to let the night air cool his head. “As usual, faulty alarm. What a waste of ammunition, though I do thoroughly enjoy making holes in the ground for no reason. Let's return to the cannon nest.”
The group began to head back, but the woman had stopped when she saw a glint in the darkened dust. She slung her rifle back over her shoulder to free her hand to pick up the gleaming metal object. It was a nail, but instead of being the rusty iron that most humans were accustomed to, it was a slightly bent gleaming white steel nail! 'But where did it come from?' she wondered. Perhaps some piece of government machinery that was here a long time ago?
“Comrade Dexter! Come look at this!” she shouted aloud as she held up the nail to her compatriots.
The group came trekking back, with Dexter leading them. “What is it Comrade Augustine?” he asked.
“I found this nail on the ground, its white steel! This is very rare... is it perhaps from a tank or other machinery?”
Dexter took the nail from her and held it at the point. He could tell as he turned it that it was indeed white steel and very light, very shiny with no rust, with a criss-cross pattern at the top of the nail. After a moment of examining it, He said with an air of a scholar, “Very peculiar... most equipment is put together with bolts or screws, and hardly are these ever made of white steel.
“Perhaps its from a lighter-then-aircraft patrol?” brain-stormed one. “It may have fallen off-”
“No.” Dexter dead-panned, cutting off his compatriot's train of though. “Again, SAS and any government made machine is screw and bolts, either brass or iron, not nails and certainly not white steel. Now, lets ask the question. What is put together using white steel nails?”
“Wood structures?” guessed one.
“Perhaps...” replied Dexter. “But who would spend that kind of money? And why would they want to build something in the middle of the DMZ?”
“...Smugglers?” guessed another.
Dexter frowned. That was certainly one possibility, but that didn't make sense. “White Steel is plentiful in Equestria and Plentiful in the Republic. But very expensive to manufacture. Even if they smuggled it, why would they do it in the form of nails instead of bar bullion?” he asked. “No, not smugglers, and no, not anyone building anything.” He eyed his comrade, who did carpentry in his civilian life shut his mouth.
“Comrade...”
Dexter turned to the shortest one of the group. “Yes, comrade Julian?”
“May I see the nail?”
Dexter handed the nail to Julian, who examined it for himself. After intense study. His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped.
“This is a horseshoe nail.”
Immediately the rest of the group felt out in the open, and they formed a defensive perimeter and became alert. Some pulled out their watches and check for magic. Dexter then asked “How can you tell?”
Julian explained, “My grandfather before he died worked for the Kremlin, he brought home horseshoes that were collected from the rebellion. The nails are slightly bent so it stays in the hoof, the criss-cross on the flat part is to help grip the ground on slippery terrain.”
Disturbed by this information about the nail, he pulled out his service pocket watch, opened it to note the time, closed it, turned it over in his hands, and placed the nail carefully on the back part of the watch.
It took 10 seconds, but the watch's special back-plate began to glow purple along the length of the nail.
Ponies. And they were here recently!
“Everyone listen to me!” Dexter barked. “We have possible intruders here, and we need to find and eliminate them! Comrades Julian, Augustine, and Martian! I want you to take this and report back to our Border Master Assistant we have a possible incursion! The rest of us is to follow me and we are to search and destroy! Do it comrades, for the Republic, and the Motherland!”
With disturbed and angry RoH boarder guards not too far behind him, Gentle Moss galloped quickly, weaving in and around the brush and around old artillery-made craters. He was running out of breath, and one of his horse-shoes was coming loose. He wanted desperately wanted to stop and use magic to fix it, but he couldn't. He wanted to stop and cry, but he could not. He had to keep running. No matter what happened, he could not afford to die before his true adventure began. Heaven or Heck, he would persevere and prove to the University-- and Equestria, that his field of knowledge was worth more then anything else anypony thought otherwise.
In the dim distance, a chicken-wired fence appeared with damage to its lower wire (by smugglers coming and going, no doubt). Gentle Moss came to a skidding stop, chucked off his saddlebags using his teeth and threw it under the fence. He then flattened himself against the ground as far as his could and squeezed his way under, his coat occassionally snagging painfully against the wire until he was clear. With human voices nearby, and no time to restrap, he picked up his saddlebags with his teeth again and did a an awkward hop-gallop away from the scene.
Little did he know, the fence was the DMZ end. Our little pony, the first in many years, made it inside the Republic of Humanity.
=+=+=+=
Research entry 1 (note on personal health and beginning statement)
Dr. Gentle Moss
Summer 62, 22XX
I'm beginning this entry in hopes that if I die, somepony will know the story. Tonight I have done something very brave and very stupid in hindsight. I have illegally crossed the boarder from Equestria into the RoH. I'm doing this because I was at my wits-end with the university council on the lack of funding for humanology and the lack of any interest of anypony to learn. They our part of our history, just as reluctantly as much as we are to them. It is vital we learn from each other.
I'm currently holed up under a bush I was able to a small fox hole under. Tomorrow I will attempt to get a bearing on the landscape. I did see what appeared to be a village ahead, and that is where I will get to the leaf of the matter. For now, I'm very scratched up and need rest...
=+=+=+=
ENCODED TELEWIRE AND PIDGEON DISPATCH
FM BG TCH BMA VICTOR.
TO BG MA BM SARAH R.
MSG AS FOL:
ALL STOP ALL STOP ALL STOP BORDER CANON CHKPNT MID 8 RPTS INCURSION STOP
INCURSRION BY PONYS / SMUG / CRIM UNKN STOP
MAGIC DETEC FLARE CONFM BY EMY DEBRIS VIA WATCH STOP
SKIRM RESP ARTILY STOP
NO CUSLTY STOP
REQ. REINFORCEMENTS FOR SOD STOP END
=+=+=+=
Boarder Master Sarah spat out her 2am coffee over the dispatch she just read. “Incursion?! And they have found no causalities?”
“Yes, Master Rafaeli,” said a rather uncomfortable assistant. “We are requesting more information now, and I have ordered reinforcements there now in anticipation of said order.”
“Yes, of course, authorized.” said Sarah, slumping in her seat. “This is... what, the third incident since I've arrived here? Kremlin would strip me of rank if this continues. Those poor ponies and the coffee traders are biting off more then they can chew each time we catch them, and its harder and harder each time to justify letting them go.”
There was sharp knock at the door, and the assistance excused himself to answer it. He opened the door to a young boarder guard who sharply saluted him, and handed him another message. He closed the door and read the message, and gasped.
“What is it?” asked Sarah. “Tell me now Comrade.”
“They've found hoof tracks exiting the RoH beginning of the DMZ!”
