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Heart of War- Act VI

By ThingPaste
Created: 2024-02-28 03:04:31
Expiry: Never
heart of war

  1. >…
  2. >Conscious once more, you gasp for breath, only to start coughing violently.
  3. >It’s dark, and you’re lying face down on a bed.
  4. >An actual bed, not a hard naval cot.
  5. >As your coughing dies down, and your breathing starts stabilizing, you roll over.
  6. “AHHH damnit!”
  7. >When pressure was placed onto your back, a tremendous pain shot through your torso, prompting you to sit up.
  8. >You can hear the sounds of the ocean outside, but the room you’re currently in is lit only by a couple of oil lanterns.
  9. >To your immediate right is a wooden wall, in the center of it lie many small glass windows.
  10. >There’s no light coming through, so it must be in the nighttime.
  11. >To your left is a small bedside table, past that a pair of closets.
  12. >On the table is a canteen, which you promptly grab.
  13. >Removing the lid, you sniff the contents.
  14. >Odorless.
  15. >Testing it, you find that it’s water, so you start drinking.
  16. >After chugging over half of it, you take it away from your mouth.
  17. >Every single muscle in your body aches.
  18. >Looking back to the room, on the far wall you see a desk with various papers on them.
  19. >It’s too dark to make out what is what.
  20. >The desk is flanked by a cabinet on each side, both closed.
  21. >The left wall of the room is solid wood, save for the double doors in the center.
  22. >A couple weapons are decorating the wall next to the doors, mainly swords.
  23. >They appear to be rather gilded, based off of the reflections from the scarce lights.
  24. >And in the center of the room is a circular table.
  25. >A lantern atop it illuminates a map of the known world and other various naval charts and tools.
  26. >Looking down to inspect yourself, you find that you’re now in dry clothes.
  27. >Shirtless, but almost the entirety of your torso is covered in bandages.
  28. >A breeze enters the room as one of the doors opens.
  29.  
  30. >The room is also better lit, as the pony entering it is carrying a bright lantern.
  31. “Tiara…”
  32. >So this is the Captain’s cabin aboard the Avalon.
  33. >”You’re awake; I thought I heard noise coming from in here.”
  34. “What happened?”
  35. >”The ship’s powder magazine went up, we saw you jump off before the explosion, and a pair of pegasi fished you out of the water. That was over thirty hours ago.”
  36. “How bad was I?”
  37. >”The ship’s doctor said you suffered second and some third degree burns to much of your back, more than a few shards of wood were lodged in there as well. And the blast left you with a minor concussion, and you were under the water for about two minutes. The doctor didn’t expect you to survive more than an hour.”
  38. “I’ve had worse.”
  39. >She places the lantern on the center table, then starts approaching the bed.
  40. >You shift your body so that your legs can touch the floor.
  41. >And you attempt to stand up.
  42. >Attempt being the appropriate word, as your right leg falters.
  43. >Your knees were already starting to constantly ache, and the shockwave did nothing but weaken them further, hopefully only temporarily.
  44. >Before you impact the ground, she quickens her pace and catches you under your right arm.
  45. >For the slightest moment you both don’t move, staring each other down from a more level position.
  46.  
  47. >Then you use her back as a brace to help you stand.
  48. “Thanks.”
  49. >She doesn’t miss a beat in going back to explaining what happened.
  50. >”Once the doctor did everything he could for you, I had you moved into here. Given your injuries, we thought it best for you to have a proper bed to recover in.”
  51. “You said I was out for over thirty hours, does that mean?”
  52. >”You missed a full day, and we’re nearing sunrise.”
  53. >As you begin to walk towards the doors, she continues to speak.
  54. >”And you should know, we’ve officially entered dangerous waters. This is about as ships can go without running the risk of ‘mysteriously’ disappearing.”
  55. “That means we’re not even a fifth of the way there….”
  56. >Each step you take, each breath, and every movement (no matter how small) is extremely painful for you.
  57. >It’s entirely possible that the only thing keeping you alive is sheer force of will.
  58. >Reaching down to open the door, her voice stops you.
  59. >”Hey!”
  60. >You turn back, and instinctively catch what she threw at you.
  61. >”There’s your shirt.”
  62. >You grin slightly.
  63. “Thanks.”
  64.  
  65. >As you step out onto the deck, you are drawn into your thoughts.
  66. >It’s a good thing that they got to you as soon as they did.
  67. >You’d guess that you didn’t actually lose that much blood.
  68. >That’s what puts you out of commission the most, seeing as nothing in this world can donate blood for you to use.
  69. >You should have thought out your attack more.
  70. >Saddle Arabian ships, pirate or otherwise, are often filled with as much gunpowder as possible.
  71. >It’s based off of their naval doctrine.
  72. >They prefer to keep their ships with more offensive capabilities, even if that means tighter crew conditions and less storage for other necessities like food.
  73. >Even their lightest ships have considerable hulls to offset the increased powder supply, but hull size doesn’t do much when the hold is lit from internal issues.
  74. >Their modus operadi is to have a secure frontline with ships to slowly advance into further waters.
  75. >Then with their front secured, it leaves the waters behind them free for supply convoys to move at will.
  76. >Overall they treat naval warfare as if it were on land.
  77. >That’s how you bested their navy in previous wars.
  78. >You made that connection, and suggested to the admirals to use schwerpunkt style spearheads on their ‘flanks’ to encircle the front line ships, and cut them off from convoys.
  79. >The bottom line in the present is that you sacrificed strategy for tactics.
  80. >By rapidly changing the ship’s course, it served your short term needs of keeping the crew off of you.
  81. >But assuming that the explosion wasn’t intentional…
  82. >It’s your fault and your fault alone, that you let yourself get injured when you need to be in your best condition.
  83.  
  84. >God you feel so weak.
  85. >You’re an old man, beaten and broken.
  86. >Walking forward, you head to the foremost mast.
  87. >The cool air of dawn was blowing against you, and the hard wood was rough against your bare feet.
  88. >Around you, the crew is shuffling about, preparing for another day at full mast.
  89. >As you reach the mast, you sit down on a crate lying next to it, then lean over to place your right shoulder on the mast itself.
  90. >You then rest your head against the wooden pillar as well and close your eyes.
  91. >Why are you here?
  92. >And you don’t mean ‘why are you on this ship’.
  93. >What’s the point of this?
  94. >Is this Hell?
  95. >Purgatory maybe.
  96. >Because it sure isn’t Heaven.
  97. >You started an act 26 years ago, and never stopped.
  98. >At the end of the day, you’re a liar- a fraud.
  99. >Your eyes crack open, and you see the sun peaking over the horizon.
  100. >What have you even made of this so-called ‘life’?
  101. >What point does all of the fighting serve?
  102. >Every justification for every death you’ve caused, and look at you now.
  103. >How many people were on that boat the other day?
  104. >A hundred, two hundred?
  105. >Those that didn’t die instantly from the explosion were just doomed to drown or feed the sharks in the open ocean.
  106. >And you’ve been doing similar ever since you arrived here.
  107. >What gives you the right to play God?
  108. >No, that’s not even correct.
  109. >God creates, you take.
  110. “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
  111. >You say to yourself quietly.
  112. >Be it by your hand or your orders, how many have you killed?
  113. >More sentient beings have died in the conflicts you’ve taken part in, than in the rest of this world’s collective history combined.
  114. >Now you’re going to face some horror that you barely know anything about.
  115. >Some great corrupter.
  116. >An indescribable foe that Discord himself failed to deal with at his peak.
  117. >But if you kill the most powerful entity in the world, what does that say about you?
  118. >You shouldn’t return from this voyage.
  119.  
  120. >The sounds of the ship were soon overshadowed by something else.
  121. >You just had to teach the crew shanties.
  122. >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fVQwzv5Qfc
  123. >But you should leave.
  124. >Leave all of this, when it’s time.
  125. >It’s taken decades, but now you realize something.
  126. >You’re not a soldier; you’re not even a man.
  127. >You’re just another monster that plagues the world.
  128. >The other day you batted away a fifteen foot shark like it was nothing.
  129. >You’ve wrestled bears and won handily.
  130. >Dragons tremble at the mere mention of your name.
  131. >And armies turn tail and run rather than risk facing you.
  132. >Celestia might not be in her right mind, but she was correct to exile you to the far corner of Equestria.
  133. >Contemporary society may vindicate you, but as the years pass you’ll eventually be known as the single deadliest organism to ever have existed.
  134. >A man who tossed millions into the meat grinder.
  135. >What would this world look like today, if all of those who died from your actions had lived?
  136. >How much potential was lost?
  137. >What medical, scientific, or magical advancements will never exist because of you?
  138. >How many people don’t exist because their potential parents died in your crusades?
  139. >But you can take solace in one fact.
  140. >That from this point on, there are only two more lives you have to take.
  141. >And after you take that last one, then assuming this isn’t Purgatory or Hell, you can be on your way.
  142. >If you remember Dante correctly, you should end up nicely in the eight circle.
  143. >No, the ninth circle, 4th round.
  144. >Closest to the center.
  145. >This world took you in, and look what you made of it.
  146. >At least the crew has stopped singing.
  147. >Standing from your position, the pain returns throughout your body as you leave your moment of clarity.
  148.  
  149. >…
  150. >”No backtalk in my dojo!”
  151. “Sir, isn’t this unsafe?”
  152. >”Don’t make me repeat myself!”
  153. “Yes Sir!”
  154. >You say shakily.
  155. >”Now tie. The. Rope!”
  156. >Offense brought you to the top of the palace.
  157. >He flew up with you, and is now having you balance on the tip of a tower’s cap.
  158. >He’s standing on the nearest one.
  159. >His wings are tucked tightly against his beige body, and his dark brown mane and tail are flowing in the wind.
  160. >He instructed you to stand on a single back leg, just as he is.
  161. >Then he tossed a rope to you, and told you to tie it around your wings.
  162. >”Get on with it!”
  163. >You toss the rope around your torso, and tie it.
  164. >”Tighter.”
  165. >You do as he says.
  166. “What exactly is the point of this?”
  167. >”You’re skilled Thunder, but undisciplined. This is to make you find your center.”
  168. “How long will we be up here?”
  169. >”Till sundown, maybe through the night.”
  170. >The sun just rose…
  171. >”Every time you fall, just means you have to try again the next day. And with every failure, it will become harder. This wind right now? It’s the easiest you’ll get. If you fail today I’ll have my men make it rain. Fail then, and it will storm the next. And you get the picture from there. But, today I’ll let you come back up. You’ll still need to complete it tomorrow though…”
  172. “He’s mad.”
  173. >You say under your breath.
  174. >”Yes I am, but I have good hearing. Now quit talking in my dojo, worm!”
  175. >…
  176. >”GET BACK UP HERE!”
  177. >…
  178. >”OFF. THE. GROUND. SOLDIER!”
  179. >…
  180. >”Gravity is for the weak.”
  181. >For every time you fell (and there were many), the Brigadier stood there unfaltering.
  182. >At least there was a pair of pegasi standing by to catch you.
  183. >However Offense said they wouldn’t be present tomorrow…
  184.  
  185. >Eventually he let you go for the day.
  186. >After getting an icepack, you were walking through the palace hallways, when you heard Offense’s voice from a parlor.
  187. >”And he actually tied his wings! The look on his face was priceless.”
  188. >You then hear Brairheart speak.
  189. >”You really just wanted to see how far he’d go.”
  190. >”Yeah, but I still haven’t thought of a way to top your goat though.”
  191. >”What part of ‘never speak of it again’ don’t you understand?”
  192. >Wave’s voice can then be heard.
  193. >”You know he’s standing right outside in the hall.”
  194. >What?
  195. >How does he know that?
  196. >Offense then addresses you:
  197. >”Come on in then kid.”
  198. >Entering the doorway, you see the three officers sitting around the room in various chairs.
  199. >Offense is nursing a glass of whiskey, Brairheart is reading some book, and Wave is sharpening a knife.
  200. >”Before you say anything, yes about half of the ‘tests’ are just excuses to mess with you.”
  201. “Just… why?”
  202. >”Why not? Also, there’s no need to head back out there tomorrow.”
  203. >Wave then takes over.
  204. >”I don’t understand it either.”
  205. >And back to Offense:
  206. >”Oh, but Thunder, I’ll need you to bring ten- no, eleven oranges to the meeting room tomorrow.”
  207. “No!”
  208. >”You’re right, lemons would work better! And make it a dozen.”
  209. >This is your life now.
  210. >You could have refused; you could have stayed in the Crystal Empire with your wife, but no…
  211.  
  212. >…
  213. >Between your outlook, the pain of your injuries, and alcohol, the days have started to bleed together.
  214. >It’s been five?
  215. >NO, four days since you woke up after the battle.
  216. >You still can’t sleep on your back, or even lean back in chairs.
  217. >And your bandages need replacing every day.
  218. >But when you awoke on this particular day, the crew seemed… off.
  219. >On deck, they didn’t sing a single shanty; instead they went about their duties in almost complete silence.
  220. >And when off duty they didn’t drink or gamble.
  221. >At all.
  222. >The way some of them looked out towards the waters…
  223. >You suppose that it’s just the situation they’re in.
  224. >As sailors, they probably know the legends surrounding these waters much more than you do.
  225. >But the trend continued when you had dinner with the officers.
  226. >Aside from when you spoke and received short answers, not a single word was spoken.
  227. >And they insisted on having as many doors and windows open while inside of the dining room.
  228. >It doesn’t take a genius to know that something is wrong.
  229. >The real question is ‘what?’
  230. >And (of course) it’s up to you to find out.
  231.  
  232. >As you began planning on discreetly interrogating the crew, you noticed something.
  233. >The almost empty bottle in your hand.
  234. >Okay, how much of these seemingly out of character actions was really you just being constantly drunk for the past four, or was it five, days?
  235. >Is this the real life?
  236. >Alright, new plan: let it get out of your system, observe crew tomorrow.
  237. >Walking through the inner workings of the ship, you made your way to your cot.
  238. >Setting the bottle of rum aside, you sat onto the small bed.
  239. >Then let yourself collapse backwards onto it.
  240. “GAh, Damnit!”
  241. >You spring back up immediately as a jolt of pain goes through your back.
  242. >At least the rest of your body isn’t in constant pain.
  243. >Aside from your knees, which are back to normal, maybe just slightly worse than before the explosion.
  244. >But that might just be the alcohol.
  245. >It’s probably the alcohol.
  246. >Tomorrow morning should be fun.
  247. >Reaching down, you unlace your boots before kicking them off.
  248. >Then you lay face down onto your cot, with your right arm hanging off of the side.
  249. >You close your eyes, and start listening to the ocean outside.
  250. >But just as you drift to sleep, you could swear that you hear something… else.
  251. >…
  252. >You’re standing in the middle of a dense forest; by the looks of it you’d assume it’s the Everfree.
  253. >Looking down, you see that you’re wearing a set of camouflaged fatigues, and you have your sword ready in your right hand.
  254. >You immediately sheathe it, because you can tell that you’re dreaming.
  255. >Might as well enjoy the ride while it lasts.
  256.  
  257. >You can just make out a small path in the brush, so you start following it.
  258. >Around you, you can hear the sounds of forest life as birds, insects, and small mammals go about their daily routine.
  259. >The sun is high in the sky, but as far as you can tell, isn’t moving.
  260. >Makes sense, seeing as this is a dream.
  261. >The best part about it, is that you feel as physically fit as you were in your mid-late twenties.
  262. >No burns over your back, and your knees are free of any pain.
  263. >Soon you hear a sound that is more than just a small woodland creature.
  264. >You hear large paws stalking you from the brush… and panting?
  265. >Whistling towards the forest, a large and familiar manticore comes charging out from behind a large bush.
  266. >He immediately tackles you, and starts licking your face.
  267. “No, no-“
  268. >You’re cut off by the tongue.
  269. “Frederick, nein!”
  270. >He stops his assault.
  271. “Good boy.”
  272. >You start getting back onto your feet, and as you stand, Frederick runs further down the path.
  273. >As you work your way through the forest, you soon come to a clearing.
  274. “Well shit.”
  275. >You find yourself looking at a lodge identical to the one that Discord put you in while you were fighting the parasite for control of your subconscious.
  276. >You inhale sharply, seeing as that can always force you to wake up from any dream you’re in.
  277. >But you remain in the clearing.
  278.  
  279. >No, not again.
  280. “Discord! Show yourself, I know you’re behind this.”
  281. >Aside from a slight breeze picking up, noting occurs.
  282. >What did you name the person that the parasite took the form of?
  283. >Right!
  284. “Steve, buddy, you here for round two?”
  285. >Again nothing happens.
  286. “That’d be quite a feat seeing as you’re dead and all… or at least expelled from my mind.”
  287. >Towards the lodge, you can see Frederick clawing at the front door.
  288. >He’s a manticore.
  289. >In the dream/coma he was a dog.
  290. >And the lodge wasn’t in the Everfree.
  291. >Maybe this is just a normal dream.
  292. >You begin walking towards the lodge.
  293. >Nothing out of the ordinary happens, although you’re not quite sure what you’re expecting.
  294. >Reaching down, you open the door.
  295. >And Frederick runs into the building, sitting patiently for you to enter as well.
  296. >Well, if this is a normal dream, you might as well enjoy it.
  297. >You enter the lodge, and start walking towards the kitchen.
  298. >Reaching the refrigerator, you hear Frederick whine.
  299. >So you reach into the freezer, and pull out a steak, then toss it to him.
  300. >He catches it out of the air and begins devouring it.
  301. >Meanwhile, you open the other door to the fridge and grab a can of beer.
  302. >Cracking it open, you take a long gulp.
  303. >”Anon!”
  304. >A familiar figure runs into the building after you.
  305. “Discord, there you are. Wake me up, now!”
  306. >”But there’s the question: am I the real Discord, or just a creation of your subconscious?”
  307. >He looks and sounds incredibly distraught.
  308. >”I mean think about it, I know that I’m self-aware, but is that only because I’m a faithful recreation of the ‘me’ from the real world?”
  309. “Discord, slow down and listen carefully.”
  310. >”Okay.”
  311. “I don’t care about your existential crisis.”
  312. >”Have you no heart?”
  313. “Is Steve still swimming around in my brain or not?”
  314. >”What? No, of course not. But you need to come with me.”
  315. >You take another sip of your beer.
  316. >”Now!”
  317.  
  318. “Alright, alright. I’m coming.”
  319. >Discord rushes further into the building, and you take your time following him.
  320. >If you remember the other dream correctly, he rushed into the living room.
  321. >Entering the room, you see Discord sitting in a foldout chair.
  322. >Around him are…
  323. “Oh come on, just wake me up.”
  324. >”Anon, this is an intervention.”
  325. “Discord…”
  326. >Foldout chairs are around the room in a circle.
  327. >In them you see Lancer, Offense, Brairheart, Wave, Thunder, and Flurry.
  328. >”Anon, this is serious. You have a problem.”
  329. “You’re about to have a problem if you don’t quit this right now.”
  330. >”Uncle Anon, just listen to him.”
  331. “You’re not the real Flurry, the real one is currently locked somewhere where Discord’s magic can’t reach.”
  332. >Discord then speaks again:
  333. >”Okay, fine.”
  334. >The other people in the room all disappear, leaving you and Discord alone.
  335. “Alright, you got your joke out of the way, now what do you want?”
  336. >”Oh, I’m quite serious. You have a problem.”
  337. >You take another sip of your beer, before setting it down on a nearby table.
  338. >Then you walk over to one of the foldout chairs.
  339. >”What are you doing?”
  340. >Picking it up and collapsing it, you then approach Discord.
  341. >”Anon, wait!”
  342.  
  343. >You bring the chair over your shoulder, and strike it into his head.
  344. >It knocked him out of his own seat.
  345. >”Stop and listen to me for a moment you idiot!”
  346. “You’ve got one minute.”
  347. >”From this point on in your voyage, you’ve got to be on guard at all times. The further east you go, the more dangerous things get-“
  348. “Do you actually have any information that I don’t already know?”
  349. >”I…”
  350. “You brought me here to entertain yourself. I’m not putting up with your BS anymore Discord! Let me out now, or I swear that you’re in my sights as soon as I’m done.”
  351. >”Fine, have it your way.”
  352. >He then teleports to a standing position, while he continues to grumble to himself.
  353. >”Try to help, and look what I get.”
  354. >As he speaks, the world begins fading into darkness.
  355. >…
  356. >You’re not sure how much time passed after the dream started to fade, but your eyes opened onto the real world.
  357. >The sound of the sea and the feel of the ship lurching on the waves were ever constant as you began to sit upright.
  358. >First you ripped off yesterday’s bandages.
  359. >You then reached over to a roll of fresh ones, and started wrapping your torso.
  360. >With them snugly secured, you then bent down to put on your boots.
  361. >You have quite a hangover, but not as bad as you would have assumed.
  362. >With your boots tied tightly, you stood up, feeling the ache in your aging knees, and started making your way through the ship.
  363.  
  364. >Eventually, you step into a proper room.
  365. “Morning Doc.”
  366. >A light grey unicorn is sitting at a desk reading a book.
  367. >You never got his name, and at this point it would be an insult to ask, so he’s just ‘Doc’ for now.
  368. >”Go on and sit down.”
  369. >Doing as he says, you sit on a low table that serves as an examination table.
  370. >You then wait for him to see you.
  371. >You can make out three pages being turned before you hear him set down the book.
  372. >Then you hear his hoofsteps start approaching you.
  373. >”Alright, I’m going to start moving some of these bandages, you might feel some pain as they set back into position.”
  374. >He uses his magic to move aside the bandages so he can get a proper look at your injured back.
  375. >When he puts them back against your skin, there is a tingling as they come into contact with your burnt skin.
  376. >You then hear the doctor walk away from you, filter through a cabinet, then return.
  377. >The bandages on your back leave contact with your skin, as he raise them to put a layer of a cream that is supposed to help burn wounds heal easier.
  378. >The feeling is hard to describe, it’s like the burning is completely gone and twice as bad at the same time.
  379. >He lets the cream air for a minute before using his magic to tighten them once again.
  380. >”You’re healing remarkably well given the severity of your burns. With luck, there might only be scars in the areas that you received third degree burns.”
  381. >You then hear him walk back to his desk and sit.
  382. >Getting off of the table, you see that he has resumed reading.
  383. “Reading anything good?”
  384. >”Not your concern.”
  385.  
  386. >The ship’s doctor isn’t usually the most talkative of ponies, but he’s being uncharacteristically blunt.
  387. >And he’s spoken in almost a complete monotone.
  388. >He usually does that, but it sounds even more emotionless than in previous days.
  389. >”Are you just going to stand there all day?”
  390. “Oh, sorry. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
  391. >He doesn’t respond, so you take your leave.
  392. >There might actually be something going on after all.
  393. >You start to walk through the level you’re on.
  394. >It’s pretty quiet for the most part.
  395. >One of the crew was working his way down the cannons, making sure they were clean and cleared in case they needed to be fired.
  396. >The ponies who stand on watch at night were sleeping.
  397. >And another was just sitting next to the hull.
  398. >His eyes are closed, and it looks like he’s got his ear to the wood next to him.
  399. >But the entire ship feels unsettlingly quiet.
  400. >Only the lurching and the sound of waves, peppered with the occasional hoofstep.
  401. >It certainly makes it easy to sleep, but it’s just wrong in the day.
  402. >You head for the stairs, going up to the main deck.
  403. >Stepping into the sunlight, your eyes wince at the brightness.
  404. >Saying that the sun isn’t helping your hangover would be a bit of an understatement.
  405. >Unfortunately, yesterday’s worries are reaffirmed.
  406. >The crew is completely silent as they go about their work.
  407. >Many of the sailors are giving thousand yard stares out into the sea.
  408. >Something is definitely wrong.
  409. >You should begin by speaking to Port.
  410. >He should also be noticing that the crew is acting strangely, assuming he’s not part of whatever is happening.
  411.  
  412. >As you walk across the main deck, the crewmen go about their jobs, barely taking notice of you.
  413. >Not that they usually do that much, but they don’t even make eye contact with you.
  414. >Their focus was anywhere, as long as it wasn’t on the ship itself.
  415. >In the corner of your eye, you can see Port looking off of the starboard side of the ship.
  416. >You begin the short walk over to him.
  417. “Commander.”
  418. >”Field Marshal.”
  419. >The horizon is empty, only the endless waves in the distance.
  420. “Looking at anything in particular?”
  421. >”Not your concern.”
  422. >Déjà vu.
  423. “Just once can we skip the passive aggression?”
  424. >”I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
  425. “Alright, look: neither of us care for side stepping the issue, so I’ll cut to the chase. What’s going on with the crew?”
  426. >”What do you mean?”
  427. “For a day or two they’ve been acting like mindless drones.
  428. >It may have just been your imagination, but you could have sworn that you saw his left eye twitch slightly.
  429. >”Tensions are high, these are dangerous waters. The crew is simply being attentive to their duty.”
  430. ”Yeah yeah yeah, you’re sober men and true, cut the crap. I’ve seen men stuck in trenches under cannon fire for weeks and still be livelier then how you all are acting.”
  431. >”Listen.”
  432. >Aside from the wind and waves, there’s nothing.
  433. “It’s silent.”
  434. >”Something’s out there, and none of us want to be caught off guard.”
  435. >Somehow you’re not sold by the ‘it’s too quiet’ shtick.
  436. “Maybe you’re right. It is too quiet.”
  437. >”Be wary.”
  438. “I’m always wary… We’ll speak later.”
  439. >”Field Marshal.”
  440. >Taking your leave, you start heading for the aft end of the ship.
  441.  
  442. >Reaching the Captain’s cabin, you knock on the door.
  443. >”Enter.”
  444. >You open the door, finding Lady Tiara sitting at her desk observing a map.
  445. >She’s facing the starboard side window, as you walk into the room she speaks.
  446. >”Anonymous.”
  447. “Was it only the two footsteps that gave it away?”
  448. >”Any of my crew would have spoken.”
  449. >She looks up from the map, and starts looking out the window.
  450. >A few of them are open, giving a slight breeze into the room.
  451. >At least it’s relatively bright.
  452. >You close the door behind you, then lean your shoulder against it.
  453. >She then lets out a small moan as she puts a hoof to her forehead.
  454. “Tired this early in the morning?”
  455. >”Not your concern.”
  456. >Twice is a coincidence, but that’s the third time you’ve gotten that response today.
  457. “You know, this is a pretty contrived way to backstab me.”
  458. >”What are you talking about?”
  459. “I’d prefer that you just stab me in the front and get it over with.”
  460. >”Look, I’ve got a migraine right now, but I’ll indulge you.”
  461. >She turns in her chair to face you.
  462. >”Why would I need to stab you when you’re already poisoning yourself with alcohol?”
  463. “I’ll have you know that I’m completely sober.”
  464. >”What’s the occasion?”
  465. “I needed to get my wit back for this conversation.”
  466. >”Just get to the point.”
  467. “The crew’s been acting odd; don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.”
  468. >”If you’ve heard even a fraction of the legends about these waters, you’d know that the crew is right to be on edge.”
  469. “Yet somehow, every gut feeling I’ve got is telling me there’s something else going on.”
  470. >”You should see a doctor about that.”
  471. “Does the navy specifically promote ponies based on bad dry humor?”
  472. >”Look, as much as I don’t enjoy these little discussions of ours-“
  473. >She’s cut off as you feel and hear knocking at the door you’re leaning on.
  474.  
  475. >You hear the Commander’s distinctive baritone then speak:
  476. >”Ma’am, land on the horizon, port side!”
  477. >Tiara immediately springs up from her seat, and grabs her officer’s coat.
  478. >You turn to open the door, and hear her hoofsteps close behind you as you follow Port.
  479. >As you reach the side of the ship, you see a lush island not that far from the ship.
  480. >Commander Port addresses Tiara:
  481. >”It just appeared there.”
  482. >”How does an island that large just appear?”
  483. >It is quite sizable; you’d guess that it was thirty-five to forty square miles.
  484. >What’s more interesting to you, is that it looks out of place.
  485. >Comparing it to Earth, it’s covered in foliage that would be at home in the Mediterranean.
  486. >But you’re a couple hundred miles north of waters like that.
  487. >And in the middle of a rough ocean, not a gentle sea.
  488. >But there’s something in the air.
  489. >A sound of some kind, it’s very low pitched and you can’t quite make it out.
  490. >To your left, you see Tiara looking at the island with a spyglass.
  491. >On your right, Port speaks:
  492. >”Orders Ma’am?”
  493. >”You know what to do.”
  494. >Well that’s just ominous.
  495. >What does-
  496. >Something blunt strikes you in the spine, right below the neck.
  497. >The next thing you know is that you’re falling.
  498. >No, that you were pushed.
  499. >When you’re fully cohesive, you’re under the water and short of breath.
  500. >Swimming upwards you breach the surface and gasp for breath.
  501. >There are about twenty feet between you and the stern of the ship.
  502. >You start swimming towards it, but the distance is steadily increasing because they have the wind.
  503. >Stopping for a moment, you start treading water.
  504. “I’LL KILL YOU!”
  505. >But right now, there’s only one option if you don’t want to drown.
  506. >From the distance and the rough waters, it’ll be quit the swim.
  507. >Right now you’re really wishing that you just asked the Saddle Arabians for help.
  508. “Son of a bitch.”
  509. >With only one course of action to take, you start swimming for the island.
  510.  
  511. >…
  512. >You eventually crawled your way onto the shore, and dragged yourself away from the wet sand.
  513. >Unsure of how long your rested while face down in the warm sand, you eventually picked yourself up.
  514. >You were swimming for well over an hour, but now it looks like midday.
  515. >In the distance you can see the ship.
  516. >It’s just staying put.
  517. >Why?
  518. >More importantly, what are you going to do?
  519. >You’re trapped on a large island with nothing but what you’ve got on you.
  520. >You don’t even have a shirt.
  521. >And you didn’t attach your sword to your belt this morning.
  522. >Bending over, you pull out the knife you have strapped on the side of your boot.
  523. >You have a knife, and that’s it.
  524. >On the bright side, the island isn’t large enough to support a viable population of large predators.
  525. >Although Equestria doesn’t exactly have conventional predators, so that is out the window.
  526. >The big issue is water, seeing as you’ll need some within a couple days.
  527. >Only problem is that there aren’t even any palm trees on the beach.
  528. >No coconut water, so you need to find a substitute.
  529. >You’ll also need food and shelter.
  530. >As you look towards the island proper, you see that while it’s decently wooded, it gets much denser towards the west.
  531. >The western side is also on a higher elevation, getting almost mountainous.
  532. >Taking a look back to the ocean, you see that the Avalon is still stationary.
  533. >What are they waiting for?
  534. >Why haven’t they started back already?
  535. >Wait…
  536. “Alright Discord, very clever. You can wake me up for real now.”
  537. >…
  538. “Discord?”
  539. >It’s nearly sundown, and you’ve been sitting on the beach out of protest.
  540. “This is real isn’t it?”
  541. >Nothing interesting happens.
  542. “I’ve been talking to myself for hours, haven’t I?”
  543. >Again, nothing happens.
  544. “And I still am.”
  545. >Shit.
  546.  
  547. >And you’ve wasted the afternoon hoping to wake up from this.
  548. >With what little light you had remaining, you stated gathering wood.
  549. >…
  550. >Sitting next to the fire you’ve got going, you were sharpening a relatively straight stick that you picked up while getting firewood.
  551. >Your boots were off as they were still damp from your swim.
  552. >Food shouldn’t be an issue for you in the morning.
  553. >There seems to be plenty of small game on the island, and you can hear plenty of birds chirping.
  554. >Even if you couldn’t hunt, there are still alternatives.
  555. >You didn’t see any fruit bearing plants, but in the more open areas there were plenty of clovers and dandelions.
  556. >They’re edible, and you’ve survived of them before.
  557. >Thankfully it might not come to that.
  558. >A certain herb is incredibly wide spread from what you’ve seen.
  559. >You hate arugula, but the handfuls of it that you gathered are the only new thing in your stomach.
  560. >Right now, you can’t trust any plant that you can’t identify.
  561. >That limits your options considerably.
  562. >Also, there seems to be plenty of seaweed washed up onto the beach.
  563. >Only problem with that is the salt.
  564. >You need water, and salt will just dehydrate you quicker.
  565. >Food is a non-issue.
  566. >Your real problem is finding (relatively) clean water, and protecting yourself from whatever predators might inhabit the island.
  567. >With impeccable timing, you hear a wolf howl into the night.
  568. >You carve off a final piece of the stick you’ve been honing and test the tip.
  569. >Sharp, but just dull enough to not snap after first use.
  570. >You have a basic spear, but it’s very obviously a rushed job.
  571. >Setting it next to you, you take another bite of the bitter herb you found.
  572. >You really don’t like arugula, but it’s better than eating common weeds.
  573.  
  574. >In the distance, you can see lanterns on the ship.
  575. >Why are they still here?
  576. >Tossing another few branches into the fire, you continue wondering.
  577. >Or at least you would like to wonder, but you haven’t the slightest idea why the ship is still present.
  578. >What’s more troubling, is what you’ve been hearing.
  579. >For the past hour or so, you’ve been hearing… something.
  580. >It’s very low pitched, barely registering in your ears.
  581. >But it’s constant, almost like the static you’d get when you were wearing a set of headphones that were plugged in, but with no sound actually coming through.
  582. >Something about this island feels wrong.
  583. >But if there’s one bright side to all of this, it’s that both your anger at the crew and your will to survive has helped you ignore the pain from your injuries.
  584. >However in retrospect, things look pretty dire.
  585. >You currently have no way back to Equestria, or to the Eastern mainland.
  586. >Even if you somehow were able to get back to the Avalon, what then?
  587. >A single man can’t operate a ship of that size, and you doubt that even a single member of the crew would side with you.
  588. >It pains you to say it, but…
  589. “Discord, you there?”
  590. >The fire crackles.
  591. “Look, I know we’ve never got along. But right now, we’re on the same side.”
  592. >You hear the tide come in and then recede before coming in once more.
  593. “Right now I could really use a hand; I really don’t know how I’m going to get out of this one.”
  594. >You hear an owl hoot in the distance.
  595. “… Come on, give me a sign here. Anything.”
  596. >Your surroundings remain unchanged.
  597. “Nothing? Not even a bloody volleyball?”
  598. >You wait another moment, but your prayers are unanswered.
  599. “Yeah, I figured.”
  600.  
  601. >Tossing the remainder of wood onto your fire, you begin to lie on your back.
  602. >The pain is ever present, but you deal with it.
  603. >If something comes up to you in the night, you need to be ready to respond.
  604. >Good thing that you’re a light sleeper.
  605. >With your knife held backwards in your left hand, and your right resting on the spear, you let yourself drift to sleep.
  606. >…
  607. >You managed to rest without incident.
  608. >As you sit up in the sand, you feel the pain in your back become much more relieved.
  609. >To your right is the ash pile from your fire.
  610. >Beyond that, you can still see the Avalon sitting at sea.
  611. >You awoke right as the sun rose; it’ll soon be a complete day without water.
  612. >You’ve gone without water for over eighty hours before, and that was in the Saddle Arabian desert.
  613. >Granted, you were younger then, but you should be okay for another day if worst comes to worst.
  614. >Hopefully that won’t happen though.
  615. >Yesterday you saw plenty of squirrels and rabbits, and you even heard a wolf howl.
  616. >There has to be a source of water on this island.
  617. >You just have to find it.
  618. >So, you tucked your dagger back into its sheath on the outside of your right boot, put on your now dry boots, and grabbed the spear you made.
  619. >And then started to make your way into the island’s interior.
  620.  
  621. >…
  622. >Walking through the woods, you notice something peculiar.
  623. >Aside from honey bees, there are no bugs on the island.
  624. >Not that you’re complaining though.
  625. >Of the flora and fauna you’ve seen, the island doesn’t look that bad actually.
  626. >Current water issue and whatever as-of-yet unseen monsters notwithstanding, you could see some describing it as a paradise.
  627. >Ducking under a low branch, you continue through the forest.
  628. >Looking through the trees, you manage to spot something.
  629. >Is that?
  630. >Looks like a wild pig.
  631. >Stopping in your tracks, you observe further.
  632. >You can just make out a handful of smaller ones following it.
  633. >This is good.
  634. >Beyond the obvious hunting reasons, if a family of wild hogs is in the area, you’d guess that a water source must be nearby.
  635. >The younger hogs look large enough to be off of the teat, so you decide that it would be prudent to follow the family.
  636. >You’re currently downwind of them, so if you keep your distance they should be completely oblivious to you.
  637. >Nothing to do now, but wait.
  638. >…
  639. >The sun is now high in the sky.
  640. >You’ve been following pigs through the forest for hours, hoping they lead you to water.
  641. >At no point in your life did you ever even so much as think that this would happen.
  642. >A while ago you passed a berry bush of some kind.
  643. >You have no idea what the small bright pink berries were, so again you find yourself chewing on a piece of the ever present arugula.
  644. >Nothing about the islands ecosystem makes sense.
  645.  
  646. >Wolves and wild pigs, abundant numbers of small game and birds, herbs that grow like weeds, no bugs but bees.
  647. >You never particularly knew much about ecology, but it doesn’t take a genius to know that the island’s ecosystem is absurd.
  648. >But given the nature of the world you now live in and the region you’ve entered, you’re not sure exactly what you should expect.
  649. >Right now, you can only pray that you are the apex predator if this food chain.
  650. >Oh thank God.
  651. >You see a clearing up ahead.
  652. >With a sizable lake, with maybe a fifty foot radius.
  653. >Rushing forward, the pigs squeal and run off into the brush as you fall to your knees.
  654. >You immediately start scooping water into your mouth.
  655. >You’re thirsty, but drinking straight from the source is suicidal.
  656. >The liquid is cool, and more importantly, freshwater.
  657. >Either the island gets a considerable amount of rain, or it’s linked to a spring.
  658. >You don’t particularly care which one it is though.
  659. >…
  660. >You ended up staying near the lake for quite a bit.
  661. >To get some strength, you ate as much of the edible flora as you could stomach.
  662. >Because tomorrow you’ll be hunting.
  663. >With maybe two hours until sundown, you decided to leave the lake.
  664. >You decided to go due east, so that you should easily be able to find the lake again.
  665. >It’s important not to sleep here, because you have no idea what predators might come by in the night for water.
  666. >So you drank up, and started walking.
  667. >As it got closer to night, you found a clearing that should work well enough as a camp site.
  668. >With the sun soon to go down, you were still working on getting a fire started.
  669. >That’s when you heard the movement.
  670. >Followed by an obviously aggressive grunt.
  671.  
  672. >Springing to your feet, you grab the spear you’ve made.
  673. >Twenty feet away is a boar.
  674. >Not some wild pig, a proper boar.
  675. >And it’s a big one, maybe three hundred fifty pounds and with a decent set of tusks.
  676. >It’s currently staring you down.
  677. >Wild boar can be territorial, and this one has never been taught to fear your species.
  678. >And effectively you have a wooden stick.
  679. >If you had gotten your fire started, you might have been able to scare it away.
  680. >But at this distance, if you make any sudden move, it’s liable to charge.
  681. “Come on pig, no need to die tonight.”
  682. >The boar squeals loudly.
  683. “RAAH!”
  684. >You wave your spear through the air, hoping to intimidate the beast away.
  685. >It seems to be to of no avail, as the creature drags one of its front feet in the ground signifying that it’s about to charge.
  686. >As it starts to charge, you hold steady.
  687. >It’s gaining speed as it closes the distance.
  688. >Hold.
  689. >Hold.
  690. >Just a bit longer.
  691. >Before it can reach you, you sidestep right and thrust your spear into its side.
  692. >It continues moving forward and the tip of the wooden spear brakes off, still imbedded into the pig’s side.
  693. >Throwing the useless haft of your spear to the side, you reach down and draw your knife.
  694. >As your attention is back on the boar, it is back in range and slams into you.
  695. >You’re thrown to the ground and your head impacts sharply, dazing you.
  696. >You feel a cut from the boars tusk, but before it can continue to properly gore you, you spin the knife around in your hand.
  697. >And slab it into the side of its neck, twisting the blade once it reached its maximum depth.
  698. >But you’re left crushed by the limp body that is almost twice your weight.
  699. >The first thing you do once free from its mass is to inspect your chest for injury.
  700. >Just under where Cadence impaled you is a shallow cut going upwards.
  701. >You unravel the bandages that are still on your body, and retie them to cover the wound.
  702.  
  703. >With little daylight remaining, you focus on starting your fire, so you can properly cook your fresh kill.
  704. >…
  705. >You were had just finished eating your fill as you went back to the slightly carved up boar.
  706. >When you stood, you felt slightly off balance.
  707. >It’s a shame to leave so much good meat behind, but if you sleep next to the kill it’ll only summon predators.
  708. >In your hand was a rudimentary torch to help you find a safe place to rest.
  709. >But it illuminates something near the carcass.
  710. >A few feet from its head, is a rock.
  711. >That has blood on it.
  712. >You reach your free hand to the back of your head, and when you pull it back, you can see where the blood came from.
  713. >It explains why you’re light headed and off balance.
  714. >You let it unattended for what, an hour or two?
  715. >That’s... that’s bad.
  716. >Right?
  717. >What’s happen-
  718. >You feel yourself completely losing your footing.
  719. >Did you just black out?
  720. >You’d assume so because now you’re face down in the grass.
  721. >Son of a-
  722. >No, not like this.
  723. >…
  724. >Your eyes open.
  725. >Another day in Canterlot.
  726. >Getting out of your bed, you begin your morning routine.
  727. >Ah, you must have slept on your right wing.
  728. >You flex it a few times to help the blood circulate better.
  729. >…
  730. >As you leave your quarters, you hold the slightest hope that another ‘test’ isn’t slated for today.
  731. >There haven’t been any for a week or so, but that could just mean they’re trying to surprise you.
  732. >Or maybe they realized that each so called ‘test’ got more absurd than the last.
  733. >You really hope it’s that one.
  734. >But right now is another meeting to discuss the daily affairs of the nation.
  735.  
  736. >…
  737. >”And so I think it’s safe to roughly a quarter of the steel industry back into the public economy.”
  738. >Lancer responds:
  739. >”Make it fifteen percent, and that no individual can control more than three percent of the overall industry, we don’t want anypony specifically having too much sway while the economy is still recovering.”
  740. >Brairheart writes down a couple of notes before continuing.
  741. >”Alright, and what about textiles?”
  742. >”We still have what, thirty percent of those? Keep ten percent of it nationalized.”
  743. >”Stone quarries?”
  744. >”Let them all go to market.”
  745. >”And what about agriculture?”
  746. >”Continue subsidies until the end of next year. The year after that we’ll halve them, and see how it’s doing in the year after that.”
  747. >”Great, that leaves…”
  748. >Brairheart flips through a few papers.
  749. >”Actually that’s in on my end.”
  750. >”Good. Offense, Wave, how is reconstruction faring?”
  751. >Wave addresses Lancer first.
  752. >”The southeast is faring well, sans Baltimare. The Minotaurs destroyed a fair amount of infrastructure when they marched through in the northeast, but it is low priority and should be fully repaired within a year or so.”
  753. >”Good, what about your end Offense?”
  754. >”Cloudsdale was the only place the griffons damaged severely. But, given the residents’ abilities and skill, we’ve pretty much got everything in working order. Some things aren’t pretty, but I think that we can let that entirely to the civilians at this point.”
  755. >”Fair enough, leave a tenth of your pegasi there to assist the civilians, redirect the others to Baltimare.”
  756.  
  757. >Wave interjects:
  758. >”With all due respect, at this point from a logistics standpoint, we can’t support many more ponies working in Baltimare. I would wait until next year’s harvest so that more of our men can be supported locally before putting more to work there.”
  759. >”Good point.”
  760. >Lancer turns in his seat to face Offense.
  761. >”Instead, sent the remainder of your men to border forts and outposts bordering the griffons and minotaurs. They faced the least casualties in the recent war, so it doesn’t hurt to have more men ready to respond should the need arise.”
  762. >”Understood. You know, there isn’t a name for the ‘recent war’ yet.”
  763. >A new voice answers Offense.
  764. >”You can name it later.”
  765. >You turn to face the direction of the voice.
  766. >And you see who just teleported into an empty seat.
  767. >”Discord.”
  768. >”Lancer.”
  769. >”Is there a reason why I shouldn’t call the guards?”
  770. >”Oh, don’t be so melodramatic Rainbow Marigold.”
  771. >Wait, is that really what R. M. Lancer stands for?
  772. >Given the intense stare that Lancer is giving Discord, you’d assume so.
  773. >”Look, your glorious leader is in trouble and I need to get a message to him.”
  774. >”Firstly, why should I believe you? Secondly, why would you need our help?”
  775. >”Why shouldn’t you believe me? And if you’d prefer a long explanation on the minutiae of magical metaphysics, I’d be more than happy to comply.”
  776. >Lancer sighs while putting a hoof to his forehead.
  777. >”No, that will be quite enough of an explanation. What do you need?”
  778. >”Your intern.”
  779.  
  780. “Me?”
  781. >Lancer speaks:
  782. >”Why do you need Thunder?”
  783. >”Don’t worry, I won’t break him. Slight sanity slippage might be a problem, but that’s a risk he’s willing to take.”
  784. “What? no, no that isn’t a risk I’m willing to take.”
  785. >Lancer address you:
  786. >”Do whatever he says.”
  787. “What?”
  788. >”Within reason of course.”
  789. >”Excellent, also I need five pound of ground dragon bone, two and a half griffon beaks, one of those magic enhancing crystals you put in cannons, an apple strudel, and a henway.”
  790. >”What’s a henway?”
  791. >”About three pounds, now get on it stat, I’ll be back to collect at four seventy three.”
  792. >In the blink of an eye, Discord was gone.
  793. >”I hate that guy.”
  794. >Offense then speaks up:
  795. >”Oh he’s not that bad.”
  796. >”That’s because you never saw first hoof what he used to do to Anon… alright, Offense you get the crushed dragon bone, Wave you get the griffon beaks, Brairheart get the crystal, and Thunder can make a trip to a bakery.”
  797. “What about you, Sir?”
  798. >”I’ll be working on a contingency plan. We have until five thirteen, just less than six hours, so work quickly ponies.”
  799.  
  800. >…
  801. >You gasp for breath as you spring into a sitting position.
  802. >Grasping at your chest, you notice that the wound you received from the boar is completely gone.
  803. >Reaching to the back of your head, it feels like that wound has healed as well.
  804. >And…
  805. >Your back?
  806. >You feel no pain from the burn wounds.
  807. >What happened to your bandages?
  808. >And your pants.
  809. >Where are you even?
  810. >You’re in… a room.
  811. >There’s a soft bed that you’re sitting on, and a plain white sheet covering you.
  812. >It’s dark; there are no light sources in the room.
  813. >You can make out a few wardrobes and bedside table.
  814. >The door way has no door, but you can see light in the hallway outside.
  815. >Getting out of the bed, you notice that you’re completely naked.
  816. >So you fold the sheet a few times before wrapping it around your waist.
  817. >The floor is stone, but a thin rug covers much of it.
  818. >With a hand supporting the sheet, you make your way into the hallway.
  819. >The light is coming from your right, as you see an open doorway leading outside.
  820. >At first glance, the light strains your eyes, but you soon start walking towards it.
  821. >Reaching the doorway, you step out onto grass.
  822. >Before you is the horizon of the ocean that you can see after what looks to be a cliff a couple hundred feet from the building.
  823. >Turning to inspect the building, you see that it’s a single floor.
  824. >It looks like a villa made in Roman or Greek style.
  825. >The doorway you exited from has a small overhang supported by a pair of stone pillars.
  826. >You place your hand onto one of them and feel the intended grooves.
  827. >Looking to the top of the column, you observe the styling of it as it connects to the roof.
  828. >If you remember correctly, it’s Greek.
  829. >Doric style to be precise.
  830. >Alright, you’ve got two possibilities.
  831. >Either you’re on the western side of the island, or this is the top of elevated portion of it.
  832. >Or-
  833. >You are brought out of your thoughts as you hear a splash.
  834.  
  835. >Not from the ocean, it sounded like it was on the opposite side of the villa.
  836. >Heading around what should be the north side of the building, you see some enclosures in the distance.
  837. >Pigs and some goats.
  838. >Continuing around the building, you see a circular building made of stone, supported by a dozen or so pillars.
  839. >A shrine maybe.
  840. >Beyond that, you get a better view of the surrounding area.
  841. >The villa is built in a valley, on the slopes leading upward you can see rows of various plants.
  842. >Olives, grapes, a few apple trees.
  843. >Right next to the doorway on this side, you see a water pump.
  844. >But something draws the attention of your ear.
  845. >A voice?
  846. >It’s coming from the southern side of the villa.
  847. >It sounds almost like somebody is humming.
  848. >As you continue round the corner, you see a pool.
  849. >A swimming pool.
  850. >Maybe fifteen by thirty feet, with a smaller circular area for sitting in protruding from the far end of it.
  851. >And there’s a head sticking out of the water on the side closest to you.
  852. >It’s a woman.
  853. >As in a human being.
  854. >She’s got her arms on the side, and is resting her chin atop her hands.
  855. >”Hello.”
  856. >Moving the position of her arms, she pulls herself out of the water, sitting on the side with her legs still inside the pool.
  857. >Down her back, you can see her long burgundy hair cling to her body.
  858. >Her skin is bronzed from the sun, and based on her face you’d guess that she’s a few years younger than you are.
  859. >However her face and body look like they’ve held up amazingly.
  860. >She’s wearing a silk two piece swimsuit that matches the dark red of her hair.
  861. >And she’s just sitting there, turned slightly towards you with a small grin on her face.
  862. “Am I dead?”
  863.  
  864. >She giggles slightly.
  865. >”No, of course not. I saw the light from your fire last night, and brought you here when I found you injured. Don’t worry, everything will be fine now.”
  866. >Something about her words strikes deep.
  867. >Maybe everything will be fine.
  868. “You carried me here? By yourself?”
  869. >”I’m stronger than I look.”
  870. “Wait, you said last night. How did my wounds heal so quickly?”
  871. >”A few herbs in the proper proportion.”
  872. >Right…
  873. “Who are you?”
  874. >”You can call me Melody, and you are?”
  875. “Anonymous. Are you the only person here?”
  876. >”Oh my daughters left a long time ago, and their father died long before that.”
  877. “So it is just you? On your own?”
  878. >”It was, yes.”
  879. “Look, it’s not that I’m ungrateful, but where are my clothes? I have to do… something.”
  880. >Your mind feels a bit cloudy on your next course of action.
  881. >She nods towards the south, where you can see a clothes wire where your things are drying.
  882. “Excuse me.”
  883. >”Take all the time you need, I’m sure you’ve been through a lot.”
  884. >You nod before walking over to your clothes.
  885. >Grabbing your underwear off of a clothes pin, you smell a hint of lavender.
  886. >You pull them on under the sheet, and then unwrap the sheet from your waist.
  887. >Tossing it over the wire, you then grab your pants.
  888. >With them back on, you then grab your socks.
  889. >Your boots are sitting next to one of the posts, so you sit on the ground to put on your socks before lacing your boots.
  890. >Thankfully, your knife is still in its sheathe.
  891. >Growing around the posts are some arugula plants.
  892. >You reach down and pluck a bit off, then put it in your mouth.
  893. >The bitter taste leaves a lot to be desired, but after a couple days the taste helps you relax.
  894.  
  895. >Looking over to the villa, you see Melody’s head breech the water once again.
  896. >It looks like she’s walking up the steps to leave the pool.
  897. >After two and a half decades, you’ve finally found another human.
  898. >You watch as she wraps a towel around herself.
  899. >With your clothes all on, you stand from the ground and start walking towards her.
  900. “So how are you even here?”
  901. >You call out as you approach.
  902. >”I don’t know, one day I just woke up here with no memories of my old life.”
  903. “How long ago was that?”
  904. >You’re currently standing with the pool in between you.
  905. >”I was just a child, alone and afraid. But this place just seems to exist. The water is always fresh, the crops grow on their own, and any items that are broken will mend themselves overnight.”
  906. “That sounds too good to be true.”
  907. >And if it sound too good to be true.
  908. >She speaks as she starts circling around the pool.
  909. >”The only thing I lacked for was company. But when I became a young woman, someone washed ashore. He gave me three daughters, but soon fell in a hunt. Then my girls grew up and wouldn’t be content with life here, leaving me alone once again.”
  910. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
  911. >”It was a long time ago… and besides, it doesn’t look like I’m alone anymore.”
  912. “Oh, no, no, I’m sorry. There’s still a ship and I need to go.”
  913. >She reaches out and grabs your right hand.
  914. >”You can’t even stay for a night or two?”
  915. >Her eyes match the burgundy of her hair, and they stare deep into yours.
  916. >You suck a bit on the bitter herb that is in your cheek.
  917. >It’s not like you have a way to actually get to the ship.
  918. >Even if it’s still there.
  919. “I suppose I could stay for a couple days at least.”
  920.  
  921. >…
  922. >Five thirteen.
  923. >As soon as the minute hand ticks over, Discord pops into the meeting room.
  924. >He looks at the assortment of items on the table.
  925. >”Hmm.”
  926. >He lifts the bag of dragon bone, and Offense speaks.
  927. >”We had to raid the trophy room for that.”
  928. >Moving to the griffon beaks, Discord asks a question:
  929. >”Is that blood fresh?”
  930. >Wave replies.
  931. >”You don’t want to know.”
  932. >”Ohh, that’s a big crystal.”
  933. >His attention is drawn to the focusing crystal, prompting Brairheart to speak.
  934. >”For you.”
  935. >”And you even got my strudel!”
  936. >Discord levitates the pastry up to his mouth and devours it in a single bite.
  937. >You don’t think he even chewed.
  938. “Wait, that’s all you wanted it for!”
  939. >”Well I can’t work on an empty stomach, now can I?”
  940. >He pauses for a second.
  941. >”Wait, where’s Lancer?”
  942. >The door is kicked open by Lancer.
  943. >On either side of him, you see a magical cannon pointed at Discord.
  944. >”Sorry, got to go. I’ll have the intern back in one piece.
  945. >What?
  946. >A loud noise pierces your ears as you are teleported away from the Palace.
  947. >You put a hoof to your gut before you throw up.
  948. >”Sorry about that… well in truth I’m not. Ponies get that sometimes when they’re teleporting with Air Discord the first time.”
  949. “What is wrong with you!”
  950. >”No time for the psych analysis.”
  951. “Where are we even?”
  952. >You look out to see a mountain range.
  953. >It looks like you’re standing atop a mountain with Discord.
  954. >”Turn around.”
  955. >Looking behind you, you see the city of Canterlot.
  956. “Why do you even need me?”
  957. >”Because I’m not a point of view character.”
  958. “What?”
  959. >”Hold still.”
  960. “WHAT?”
  961.  
  962. >You feel a sharp pain as a feather on your left wing is plucked out.
  963. >”Oh, sorry. It’s the pegasi’s right, not my right.”
  964. >Another pain goes through your right wing as he plucks another feather.
  965. “What was that for?”
  966. >”Quiet, we’re doing magic.”
  967. >You watch Discord levitate the focusing crystal in front of him.
  968. >Then he opens the bag of ground dragon bone, and you see the griffon beaks and your feather hover above the opening.
  969. >With a snap of his fingers, you watch as the beaks liquefy, and your feather ignites.
  970. >The liquid and ash falls into the bag, that he then closes and shakes.
  971. >He then places the bag atop the focusing crystal.
  972. >”Oh, wait one moment. Hold this.”
  973. >The crystal floats over to you, and you grab it.
  974. “What are you doing?”
  975. >”I need my magical aura to be ionized with another individual’s magic.”
  976. “I’m not a unicorn, what does that mean?”
  977. >”I need to get shot by a particularly strong magic user.”
  978. >And in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
  979. >A moment later, you see a flash of light come from the city.
  980. >It takes the form of a cyan beam, which is coming your way.
  981. >And you see Discord’s silhouette at the front of it.
  982.  
  983. >The beam impacts just below you; leaning over the side you see Discord stuck into the mountainside.
  984. >”She didn’t even hesitate…”
  985. “Are you alright?”
  986. >”I was just shot into the side of a mountain.”
  987. “Stupid question.”
  988. >Discord pulls himself out of the rock, leaving behind an impression of his body.
  989. >He snaps his fingers, and the crystal levitates out of your hooves.
  990. “What is this all even for?”
  991. >”I need to get a message to our dear Field Marshal, but he’s currently in an area that is coated with a magical field that blocks me out.”
  992. “Then what do all of these things do?”
  993. >He snaps his fingers, and the bad disappears.
  994. >”The powder in there was teleported in a patter across the entire world, by using the crystal I can send a message that will reverberate through all of the particles. It might take a while, but Anonymous will eventually hear my message.”
  995. “And what message is that?”
  996. >He grabs the crystal and holds it up to his mouth.
  997. >Then says his message.
  998. >As the words come out of his mouth, you can see the visible waves in the air start coming out of it.
  999. >As he finishes, the crystal shatters.
  1000. “Wait, so the Marshal is-“
  1001. >”Indeed.”
  1002. “I thought that was just an old story that’s told to fillies and foals.”
  1003. >”You heard about it as a mini-Thunder?”
  1004. “Yeah, why?”
  1005. >”Because the truth is much worse.”
  1006.  
  1007. “And what exactly is the truth?”
  1008. >Discord sighs.
  1009. >”Alright, look…”
  1010. >…
  1011. “So you really don’t remember anything from before you woke up here?”
  1012. >”Well I remember things like how to speak, but all of the details of my life are gone.”
  1013. “So for your entire life, you’ve just known this island?”
  1014. >Melody nods.
  1015. >You can barely imagine what her life must have been like.
  1016. “And you never wanted to see what was beyond it?”
  1017. >”I… don’t know. When I was young, maybe. But, well, look at me. I’m too old for that now.”
  1018. >You’re currently sitting at a dinner table opposite of Melody.
  1019. >Although the plants take care of themselves and the inanimate objects fix themselves, someone is still required to harvest and clean dishes.
  1020. >You didn’t believe it at first, so Melody dropped a drinking glass.
  1021. >She then led you out of the room she broke it in.
  1022. >A few hours later you returned, and saw it on the floor, completely mended.
  1023. >You are extremely unsettled by how the villa works, but you can’t deny its convenience.
  1024. “You do know that at first glance, you look a decade younger than you actually are.”
  1025. >”Thank you Anonymous.”
  1026. >You push away your plate; she had made a salad for each of you.
  1027. >She almost made arugula taste good.
  1028. >Almost.
  1029. “Anon works.”
  1030. >”Okay, thank you Anon.”
  1031. >You reach forward and grab a bright red apple from a fruit bowl in the center of the table.
  1032. “So what exactly do you do here? I mean for recreation.”
  1033. >”Swim, watch the ocean, spend time in my garden. However I think I’ve led on a bit more than I should have. There is still a lot that needs to be done: the animals need to be fed, food needs to be prepared or stored, clothes and linen need to be washed. The island takes care of a lot, but not everything.”
  1034. “What exactly do you call the island?”
  1035. >”I’ve always just called it Home.”
  1036.  
  1037. >Home.
  1038. >…
  1039. >You sat at the end of a small dock, fishing rod in hand.
  1040. >Nothing has been biting.
  1041. >You were facing the sun, because it’s close to sundown and the dock lies at the bottom of a sheer cliff to the west of the villa.
  1042. >A staircase was carved into the stone, and winds down to the bottom.
  1043. >The shore on this end of the island is quite rocky, and the stairs don’t have any form of guard rail.
  1044. >Reeling in your line, you find that your hook still has bait on.
  1045. >As you cast out once more, you sigh.
  1046. >You’ve been on the island a few days.
  1047. >Your stomach grumbles, you haven’t eaten since breakfast and you’ve been down here fishing all day.
  1048. >The emotions you’re going through are quite mixed.
  1049. >Yesterday and the day before, you were rather content.
  1050. >As in: with everything.
  1051. >All of your life’s pain and baggage was at ease.
  1052. >And not in the ‘pushing down the feelings to cope’ way.
  1053. >But now you’re not sure.
  1054. >You have… a job to do, and it was important to you.
  1055. >Even though it’s relevance to you has been pushed away.
  1056. >It’s almost like everything that used to matter to you doesn’t anymore.
  1057. >You don’t really want anything in particular, just to live.
  1058. >This place is an ‘out’ from every single stress and problem you’ve ever faced.
  1059. >Part of you wants to take it.
  1060. >The other part is unsure if that idea is terrifying.
  1061. >Back in the now, you look to the sun.
  1062. >If you leave now, you could make it back up the stairs before its dark.
  1063. >And you’d rather not make the climb at night.
  1064. >So you reeled in your line for the last time, and put the fishing rod back in the small shack at the start of the dock.
  1065. >As you made your way to the stone staircase, your eye catches something in the low light.
  1066. >About thirty feet away from the foot of the stairs, you see what looks to be the entrance to a cave.
  1067. >And it almost looks like there is a red glow emanating from it.
  1068.  
  1069. >You take a step towards it, but stop as you hear Melody call down from the top of the cliff.
  1070. >”Anon, it’s getting dark. Are you coming home?”
  1071. >Her voice echoes off of the jagged rock.
  1072. >You look upwards, but can’t see her.
  1073. “I’m on my way!”
  1074. >You glance back at the glow, and feel a slight ache in your right temple.
  1075. >But then started ascending the stairs.
  1076. >…
  1077. >Reaching the top, you find Melody waiting for you.
  1078. >The moon had just risen, and the light was shining off of her dark red hair.
  1079. >”No luck?”
  1080. “Not my fault there isn’t any fish in the ocean.”
  1081. >”I’m sure you’ll catch something eventually.”
  1082. “The point isn’t the fish, it’s the fishing.”
  1083. >”Whatever you say, now come on, dinner is waiting.”
  1084. >She reaches forward and grabs your hand, leading you back to the villa.
  1085. >…
  1086. >After eating, the two of you remained at the table.
  1087. >A glass of wine was in your hand, and you took another sip.
  1088. “So that’s how I got to this world. All one big act that I perpetuated.”
  1089. >”In your defense, you weren’t exactly sober.”
  1090. “I was at a party. College can be like that.”
  1091. >Not that she’d know.
  1092. “Really though, what are the odds?”
  1093. >”Maybe it was fate?”
  1094. “I don’t believe in fate.”
  1095. >”So then you think that this Discord actively chose you?”
  1096. “Honestly, I don’t know at this point. It was a long time ago. When I was younger I would have a huge existential crisis every other week. Part of me still expects to wake up at any moment. With all of the possibilities that surround my life, the only thing I can do is to accept what it is, and just go with it.”
  1097. >”Are you okay?”
  1098. “Yeah, I’m sorry if I didn’t make much sense, I don’t have my thoughts about it settled. And I haven’t really talked about it to anyone for over a decade.”
  1099. >”If you’d refer to switch topics, I understand.”
  1100. “Actually it’s getting late, I think I might turn in.”
  1101. >“You know…”
  1102. >She cuts herself off.
  1103.  
  1104. “What it is?”
  1105. >She sets down her own glass of wine.
  1106. >”Well, I just mean…”
  1107. >She stands up and starts walking over to your seat.
  1108. >You set your glass onto the table after taking a final sip.
  1109. >”You don’t have to sleep in that room if you don’t want to.”
  1110. “We’ve only known each other a few days.”
  1111. >”But seeing as you’re stuck here, we’ve got all the time in the world.”
  1112. >She places a hand on your shoulder.
  1113. >”And I’ve been alone for so long.”
  1114. “I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about it.”
  1115. >”This is Home, it’s just you and me. And I’m not too old…”
  1116. >She is beautiful.
  1117. >A firm bumper, and decent tracts of land.
  1118. >On earth she might have been a model.
  1119. >But more importantly, she’s a human being.
  1120. >And like it or not, you are trapped here, possibly indefinitely.
  1121. >Maybe you are dead, and this is heaven?
  1122. >You stand up from your chair and face her.
  1123. >She’s maybe six inches shorter than you.
  1124. >With your left hand, you reach forward and mover her hair behind her ear, feeling the smooth strands slide against your skin.
  1125. >You each remain silent as you place your arms around her shoulders and bring her in for a kiss.
  1126. >It feels like an eternity before you eventually break it off.
  1127. >As your pull your lips back, you open your eyes.
  1128. >Your foreheads are touching, and you stare into each other’s eyes.
  1129. >You lower your arms, and she jumps.
  1130. >Chest to chest, you quickly get your arms under her legs.
  1131. >Her head is now higher than yours, and she comes in for another kiss.
  1132. >When she breaks it off, you begin the walk to her bedroom with her in your arms.
  1133. >Maybe after all of the hell you’ve been through, this is your reward.
  1134. >Maybe this is Home.
  1135.  
  1136. >…
  1137. >Light shines in on you from an open window.
  1138. >Last night was…
  1139. >You reach up and clear your eyes.
  1140. >Sitting up on the bed, you reach to the floor to grab your discarded clothes.
  1141. >As you finish tying your boots, you hear the distant sound of a harp being played.
  1142. >Followed by Melody’s voice.
  1143. >She’s singing.
  1144. >Not any actual lyrics, but ‘oohs’ ‘ahhs’ and hums.
  1145. >Her singing voice is, well, beautiful.
  1146. >Rising from the bed, you start making your way towards the sounds.
  1147. >First door on the left if you turn right out of her bedroom.
  1148. >As you reach the room, you lean in the doorway against your right shoulder.
  1149. >She strokes a few more cords before stopping.
  1150. >”Good morning.”
  1151. “Don’t stop on my account.”
  1152. >She begins playing once more, but continues to look at you.
  1153. >”So, do you have any plans for today?”
  1154. “I’ve wasted most of my life making plans, not anymore.”
  1155. >She grins to one side.
  1156. >”There is something I should show you, but it can wait.”
  1157. >Your stomach grumbles rather loudly.
  1158. >”You would be hungry after last night.”
  1159. >She pushes her chair away from the harp and stands.
  1160. >”Come on, let’s get breakfast.”
  1161. “Trying to fatten me up?”
  1162. >She laughs at the statement.
  1163. >”I’m sure we can find a way to work it off later.”
  1164. “Oh can we?”
  1165. >She walks towards you.
  1166. >Well, to the door at least.
  1167. >As she reaches the doorway, she presses against your body, even though she would still be able to fit through the doorway.
  1168. >Stretching up to your ear, she whispers into it.
  1169. >”I’m sure we can.”
  1170.  
  1171. >She then heads into the hallway and continues walking.
  1172. >After a few paces she calls out to you.
  1173. >”If you want meat, you can go choose a pig. I saw that boar carcass, so I’m assuming you know what’s involved.”
  1174. “Yeah, and there was salt and a dry larder in the cellar, right?”
  1175. >The livestock (presumably) doesn’t magically grow like the plants, so you should preserve everything you can.
  1176. >”You remembered that from the tour?”
  1177. “I have a good memory.”
  1178. >She turns around the corner, so you start making your way out to the enclosure.
  1179. >Maybe the best part of this situation is the consistent access to meat.
  1180. >Since you got to this world, there were generally only two times you could eat meat.
  1181. >The first is when you and your men were out of supply, but even then you hunted as little as possible to keep up moral with your all herbivore troops.
  1182. >The second was your various trips to the Everfree, where you were just a man with your will to survive.
  1183. >A shame there are no cows here.
  1184. >It’s been almost twenty-six years and you would kill for a good steak.
  1185. >Not literally of course, as that’s what would be required for you to do to have one back in Equestria.
  1186. >Something you never fully understood was why the ponies keep pigs.
  1187. >Sure they can eat organic waste that the ponies don’t eat, and they have competitions for the biggest hog, but what’s the point if you don’t eat bacon?
  1188. >Well anyway, it’s time to pick out breakfast.
  1189.  
  1190. >…
  1191. >You told the others exactly what Discord told you.
  1192. >And every day afterwards, they double checked to make sure you didn’t forget anything.
  1193. >Brairheart was about to start the question line again, but was stopped as Lancer walked in with a solemn look on his face and a letter in his hoof.
  1194. >”We have a problem.”
  1195. >Wave then quips:
  1196. >”When don’t we?”
  1197. >And Offense replies:
  1198. >”Well that would just be too easy.”
  1199. >”Quiet you two!”
  1200. >They immediately fall silent.
  1201. >”As you all know, Saddle Arabia has descended into full scale civil war. Their army was effectively nonexistent after the recent war and their navy tied up patrolling Equestrian waters. Most of the cities ended up vying for control without a centralized military to keep cohesion.”
  1202. >Wave then adds in:
  1203. >”Same old story, they haven’t had a stable government since the First Coast War.”
  1204. >Brairheat then speaks up:
  1205. >”Wait, he doesn’t know the truth, should we tell him?”
  1206. >The leaders share a few glances before Lancer speaks.
  1207. >”No objections? Good.”
  1208. >He then faces you.
  1209. >”Thunder, what we’re about to tell you is classified beyond top secret. Nopony knows about this aside from us, Anon, and the Princesses.”
  1210. “That sounds discouraging.”
  1211. >”It goes without saying that we expect you to guard this information with your life.”
  1212. “I understand.”
  1213. >”Good, then it’s time you learn the truth behind the Coast Wars. Because the sins of our past are coming back to haunt us.”
  1214.  
  1215. “If I’m in, then I’m in.”
  1216. >”That’s a good attitude to have. Now look, you remember 10/12, right?”
  1217. “I was young at the time, but I remember.”
  1218. >”Never forget, right? As you know, the Saddle Arabian king ordered all Equestrian nationals within his country to be executed, on that day hundreds died as trading quarters and our embassy were stormed. Thus began the First war of the Saddle Arabian Coast.”
  1219. “Our navy started by establishing dominance, then the army was sent in to major coastal cities.”
  1220. >”Yes, we were dedicating to a push against the capitol, hoping to end the war as quickly as possible.”
  1221. “And you did, the king was captured, then publicly executed by the new king we put on the throne.”
  1222. >”Not quite. When their Royal Palace was stormed, five individuals were present. Anonymous, a colonel at the time, a destroyed airship’s first officer, and three army officers. Brairheart, Offense, Wave, and myself. When Brairheart’s ship went down and he linked up with the ground forces, it was the first time that all five of us had met.”
  1223. “Then what really happened?”
  1224. >”The king attacked us as we entered the throne, and Anon cut him down. When the king died, his body transformed- he was a changeling in disguise.”
  1225. “Wait, the Changelings really did 10/12? I thought that was just a conspiracy theory.”
  1226. >”That theory has almost every detail wrong, but yes. We later found the real king in the deepest corner of the dungeon. Celestia and the Military High Command of the time agreed that it should be covered up. The real king was sent off to a distant estate he had in a hidden desert oasis, where he lived out the remainder of his life, only dying about two years ago. We set up a distant cousin as the new monarch, and the ‘king’ he executed was just a normal prisoner that would have been put to death anyway.”
  1227.  
  1228. “If that’s how the first one happened, what about the Second Coast War?”
  1229. >”The public knows the truth about that one, after the steep reparations after the first war, the country descended into massive poverty. Eventually their military overthrew the monarchy and killed all the know members of the bloodline. Their new Junta then shifted the entire country to have a wartime economy. Within two years, they had a navy that was just as large as our seafaring fleet, and had almost as many soldiers in the field. Appeasement failed, and they attacked us. They got a fair foothold in the south before we pushed them back. And that time the invasion was much more than a simple push to the capitol.”
  1230. “I know, I signed on and was sent out in the second invasion wave.”
  1231. >”Lost too many good soldiers to the first attack, we got next to no ground for over thirty thousand lives.”
  1232. “But without those tiny footholds, the second attack wouldn’t have fared nearly as well.”
  1233. >”It doesn’t change that in the span of a month, we lost five percent of our active duty soldiers. But this isn’t the time to have that conversation.”
  1234. “Right, as you were saying?”
  1235. >”After we occupied most off their nation, we set about nation building. We carved up the nation into a loose confederacy of city-states with elected officials. Only problem was that anti-Equestrian sentiment became the biggest issue to get elected, and their populace rallied behind surviving military officers and the same Emirs and Sheiks, forming a defacto aristocracy centered around hoping that the third time would be the charm. They allied with zebra tribes to the south, and played their part in the recent war.”
  1236. >Offense interjects:
  1237. >”It still isn’t named.”
  1238. >”Well other recent wars are named for geographic location or the enemy we faced, but in this case it was on many different fronts and we faced a coalition.”
  1239. “Why not just call it the War of the Coalition?”
  1240.  
  1241. >”That’s… any objections?”
  1242. >Offense shrugs, Wave doesn’t say anything, and Brairheart puts his hoof to his chin and thinks for a moment before speaking.
  1243. >”Well we can’t just keep calling it the ‘recent war’ indefinitely.”
  1244. >Lancer then addresses the room.
  1245. >”Then it’s settled, the ‘recent war’ will officially be known as the War of the Coalition.”
  1246. >Did you just name the largest war in recorded history?
  1247. >”Now, back to the original topic. When we bested the Saddle Arabians in the Coalition War, it left a power vacuum, and those city-states ended up blaming each other for the loss, prompting a full scale civil war. To deal with our huge amount of Saddle Arabian PoWs, Anon struck a deal with their highest remaining admiral. The Mushir would be given the remnants of the Saddle Arabian army in order to stabilize the nation, with the promise of lasting peace. Anon stuck an unofficial alliance and now, Mushir Khidr is calling for aid.”
  1248. >Wave speaks:
  1249. >”I’m assuming the letter is from him?”
  1250. >”It is. His faction quickly took some of the northern cities; however the remaining city-states have rallied under a new leader. He styles himself as Ferik, one of their generals, although he was never an officer in the First Coast War. After the First Coast War ended, the surviving males did what any soldier does after coming home from a war. Now, this Ferik Jagir, has started youth movement calling for a return to the old system and that the war with Equestria to continue as long as a single Saddle Arabian still lives. The movement gained traction, and the city-states fell into line as not to fall to the ‘peacemaking cowards’ in the navy, and because-.”
  1251. >Brairheart then speaks up:
  1252. >”Wait, you called it a youth movement, the First Coast War ended barley sixteen years ago, does that mean?”
  1253.  
  1254. >”Yes, he’s sending boys as young as thirteen onto the battlefield. Khidr’s faction has trained men, but Jagir’s recruitment policy means he outnumbers them two to one. And that’s not counting any fathers that defect to join, or at least to not fight, their sons.”
  1255. “You said that this Jagir wanted to return to the ‘old ways’, what exactly down that entail?”
  1256. >”I was about to get at that earlier, Jagir was a soldier back in the First Coast War. He never saw combat, but he was posted at the king’s private retreat, and as it turns out, the old ex-king made sure that he had plenty of female acquaintance there. Everypony always assumed he was sterile, but just before he died he sired a son. Jagir is styling the two year old as the ‘grandson’ of the old king and proper heir to the throne, obviously with himself as regent.”
  1257. >Offense then starts yelling:
  1258. >”Just once I would like that damn forsaken pit to stay fixed after we beat them!”
  1259. >”Back on topic, this letter is from the Mushir, he’s requesting aid against Jagir’s faction. But official war is out of the question, at least until Anonymous returns. The public would raise too many questions why the Princess and Chancellor are nowhere to be seen, and our entire façade would come crashing down. So, I need options.”
  1260. >Wave speaks first:
  1261. >”Let me see the letter.”
  1262. >”Here, it outlines the situation down there. We don’t have much direct intel, but what there is collaborates Khidr’s story.”
  1263.  
  1264. >As Lancer gives the letter to Wave, Offense begins talking.
  1265. >”I say we invade and get it over with once and for all, who cares what the public might say?”
  1266. >”Out of the question. I should remind you that the minotaurs took almost no casualties, and the griffons and yaks would probably itch for another fight. If our forces are fighting down south, it jeopardizes our home front. Besides, if Equestrian’s are taking the side of the Mushir’s faction, it would kill any legitimacy he might have with their populace, and inspire the opposing faction to fight even harder.”
  1267. >Brairheart then speaks:
  1268. >”I could arrange for supplies to be ‘lost’ in our southern waters, if the Mushir just happened to ‘scavenge’ them, it gives us plausible deniability.”
  1269. >”See what you can do, but make sure there isn’t any trail back to us.”
  1270. >Wave then speaks:
  1271. >”It says here, that while Jagir’s faction has about eighty percent of the land and twice the manpower, the Mushir controls the vast majority of all the weaponry. Saddle Arabia’s industry is at a breaking point, and Jagir is operating on credit alone. In fact, the only armament that his faction has that the Mushir doesn’t, is their airships. Jagir has no sea based navy, and Khidr has no airships. Aerial superiority is what’s been stopping him from gaining ground. The young boys that form the core of Jagir’s forces will break at the first sign of battle against their well-equipped and battle hardened foe. The only thing stopping Khidr from advancing are the enemy airships. In a way, Jagir’s entire plan to win the civil war relies upon the air war.”
  1272. >”What are you getting at?”
  1273.  
  1274. >”It’s a good plan, seeing as the Saddle Arabians have never fared well against airborne enemies. But what happens, if airships are taken out of the picture?”
  1275. “Then they’d be a glorified mob of riled up kids.”
  1276. >Wave continues:
  1277. >”Exactly Thunder. But unlike out airships that are powered by magic directly from unicorns, their airships are powered by engines. They found veins of crystals that naturally contain magic, and they found that when they grind the crystals finely, they’re left with what they call ‘Sahar sand’, and that’s what they use to power the engines in their airships.”
  1278. >Lancer speaks:
  1279. >”Wave, point, now.”
  1280. >”I’ve been reviewing the MID files we seized, and it turns out that they only have one mine that contains the magically charged crystals they need. It’s deep into the desert and far away from the front lines. But what would happen to all of their airships, if the mine that provides their fuel supply if they weren’t able to produce anymore?”
  1281. >”They’d lose their only edge.”
  1282. >”Give me a day or two to do some more research, and I’ll get you a way to destroy the mine.
  1283. >”You have those days… and Wave?”
  1284. >”Sir?”
  1285. >”Glad to see you’ve still got it.”
  1286. >”Did I ever lose it?”
  1287.  
  1288. >…
  1289. >Melody was leading you down the stone staircase to the bottom of the cliff.
  1290. >”Like I was saying, the…”
  1291. >She pauses as if she’s lost for words.
  1292. “The father of your daughters.”
  1293. >”Yes. He thought that it was the source of the magic. For both keeping everything growing and fixed, and for hiding it from the outside world.”
  1294. >As you reach the bottom of the stairs, she continues forward along the rocky coast.
  1295. >Straight to the cave you noticed the red glow from the other day.
  1296. >”Well, here it is. After you.”
  1297. >She motions her arm for you to enter first.
  1298. >Stepping into the cave, you see the red glow covering the walls.
  1299. >The source of the light is a large red glowing crystal.
  1300. >It’s almost as large as you are, and is shaped like a picturesque diamond balancing perfectly on the ground.
  1301. >Moving towards it, you feel the slightest bad feeling start bubbling over in your gut.
  1302. “What are these?”
  1303. >”What?”
  1304. “It’s otherwise a perfect gem, but there are three indents into it. Like someone chipped some of it off.”
  1305. >”Could just be damage over the years.”
  1306. “No, it’s too perfect to be random.”
  1307. >”It wouldn’t be the strangest thing about the island.”
  1308. “Heh, that’s… right.”
  1309. >Your eyes shift to your left, where you see a passage way.
  1310. >It’s dark, and it goes downward on a steep decline.
  1311. >Something about it is completely unsettling.
  1312. >”We should head back.”
  1313. “Yes we should.”
  1314. >That came out almost involuntary.
  1315. >Something shifts in the corner of your eye, but as you turn you only see Melody.
  1316. >Must have just been a cloud blocking the sun outside, or something.
  1317. >”Care for a swim when we get back?”
  1318. “With your company, how could I refuse?”
  1319.  
  1320. >…
  1321. >You bring your axe down, splitting the log.
  1322. >Pausing, you wipe the sweat off of your forehead.
  1323. >You’re now wearing a hand woven cotton shirt, long-sleeved but lose fitting and with a deep V-neck.
  1324. >In the distance, you see Melody sitting on a chair, relaxing in the shade.
  1325. >Your swim last night was quite… eventful.
  1326. >She’s wearing her usual sleeveless white chiton.
  1327. >At breakfast you noticed that it’s the only thing she’s wearing today.
  1328. >You see her smile at you and raise her hand to wave.
  1329. >With your free hand you wave back, and then turn back to chopping the firewood.
  1330. >The candles around the villa replenish the wax and wicks overnight, and there is a stack of logs against the outside of the villa that never seems to run out, but they still need to be quartered.
  1331. >Okay, they don’t need to be quartered, but you like the feeling of chopping wood.
  1332. >You never wanted to be a barber anyway.
  1333. >You snicker to yourself.
  1334. >Good skit.
  1335. >As the axe comes down once again, you set it down to collect the wood you’ve already split.
  1336. >This is the life.
  1337. >Just simple honest work.
  1338. >No stress, no horrible situations or choices, no killing.
  1339. >Just your shining villa on a hill.
  1340. >Stacking the chopped wood against the side of the villa, you head over to Melody.
  1341. >”Have fun?”
  1342. “I always wanted to be a lumberjack. Leaping from tree to tree as they float down the mighty rivers of British Columbia!”
  1343. >She tilts her head and raises an eyebrow.
  1344. >Alas the joke is lost on her.
  1345. “Oh never mind.”
  1346. >Although you do have a sudden craving for scones.
  1347. >You see that her hand is drawing up the cloth covering her legs.
  1348. >She then winks at you.
  1349. “Not that I don’t approve, but do you ever rest?”
  1350. >”I’ve been alone for many years…”
  1351. >She stresses the word ‘alone’.
  1352. “Well now I can’t argue that, now can I?”
  1353. >”You could, but should you?”
  1354. “No.”
  1355. >”Will you?”
  1356. >”No.”
  1357. >You lean in and kiss her, as your lips are locked you feel a hand unfastening your belt.
  1358.  
  1359. >…
  1360. >You had just left today’s meeting with the others, however General Wave was absent.
  1361. >”Oi, Major!”
  1362. >A bruised pegasi calls over to you.
  1363. >You recognize his brown coat and black mane.
  1364. “You look like you’re healing well, Corporal… Call, right?”
  1365. >”Like I said, I’ve had worse.”
  1366. >He was Lancer’s ‘assassin’ in your earlier test, and you didn’t go easy on him in the fight.
  1367. “Did you need something?”
  1368. >“Yeah, seeing as I’m posted here indefinitely, I sold my flat in Manehattan and got one here.”
  1369. “That’s… good?”
  1370. >”Well the movers just left most of my furniture all piled together, last time I hire them. Anyway I’m a bit too bruised up to do all the heavy lifting myself.”
  1371. “And seeing as I’m the one who put you out of commission, you think that I owe you one.”
  1372. >”There’s free beer at the end of it.”
  1373. “I could use a break from the monotony.”
  1374. >…
  1375. >”Alright, that’s good.”
  1376. >You set your side of the sofa down.
  1377. >Call then does the same with his side.
  1378. >With the last of the heavy lifting done, you sit on the couch.
  1379. “You know I never got your first name.”
  1380. >”Curtain Call. Well technically it was Closing Call, but there was already a ‘Closing Call’ and the union only lets one of each name be active at a time. I was an actor before the Second Coast War.”
  1381. “Who’d you serve under?”
  1382. >”Wave.”
  1383. “Those were some tough campaigns.”
  1384. >”Kicking ‘em out of the south, was nothing compared to the first invasion. I was one of the first on the beaches.”
  1385. “Those were bloodbaths.”
  1386. >”Only one of my entire company to survive the invasion.”
  1387. “Really?”
  1388. >”Luck alone kept me alive.”
  1389. “I don’t mean any offense, but why are you still a corporal? I’d have assumed they’d promote you simply for surviving that.”
  1390.  
  1391. >”They offered, I turned it down. I joined up to be a soldier. And besides, I like the alliteration.”
  1392. “I suppose Corporal Curtain Call sounds better than Sergeant.”
  1393. >”Now if they wanted to make me a Captain or Colonel, that’d be a different question. Still think I’d turn it down though.”
  1394. >You see Call walk off, and a moment later he returns with two bottles.
  1395. >He gives you one, and then sits on the opposite side of the couch.
  1396. >”Hope you like Billowing Boulder; it’s a bit of an acquired taste.”
  1397. >You take a sip of the (very) pale larger.
  1398. >Generally you go for darker ales, but you can’t quite place exactly how you feel about this one.
  1399. “It’s… different.”
  1400. >”Might be hope for you yet, Major.”
  1401. “That accent, Trottingham?”
  1402. >”Manechester; I have a family tree, not a family wreath.”
  1403. “Heh. Sorry.”
  1404. >Ponies from Trottingham and Manechester have a longstanding, but ultimately friendly, rivalry.
  1405. >”Rightfully so, you should be… comparing me to those dirty country bumpkins.”
  1406. “At least you’re not from Glascow.”
  1407. >”That’s actually the one thing we and Trottingham agree on.”
  1408. >He reaches his bottle forward, and you clink yours against his.
  1409. “Cheers.”
  1410. >”Cheers mate.”
  1411. >…
  1412. >After sharing a couple more beers, you went your own way.
  1413. >The following morning you sat in the meeting room.
  1414. >Wave was about to address the others about his proposition.
  1415.  
  1416. >”There is a small town built around the enemy mine. It takes the form of a quarry roughly fifty feet deep with a diameter of two hundred feet. A standard mine forms at the bottom of the quarry. MID reports indicate that sizable veins were only found that deep, the large spiral quarry was built around the small vein that was visible from the surface.”
  1417. >He flips the page on one of the files he’s got.
  1418. >“We know this because of a deep cover operative, codenamed ‘Yalanci’. Her parents moved to Manehattan in their twenties, and the operative, birth name Sandy Shore, ended up in the Ministry of Interior Defense because they needed somepony who’s loyalty they could trust but could also work undercover in Saddle Arabia because of the obvious issue of appearance. She’s alone, and set up with a fully stocked safe house in the mining town. One of her last reports to the MID mentioned working on a way to put the mine out of commission. And no, she wasn’t one of them replaced by a changeling.”
  1419. >He pauses to take a drink of water.
  1420. >”Now, we could send a team of our own in to destroy it. However, I would recommend sending one or two ponies down south to meet with ‘Yalanci’ and if she’s still there, offer her a way back into Equestria and full amnesty from any MID related charges, provided that she can make good on her previous plan to stop the mining operation.”
  1421. >He pauses.
  1422. >”The only problem, is that there aren’t many ethnic Saddle Arabians in Equestria currently, and none of them have any security clearance or necessary training for espionage or demolitions. And I don’t think any of us are ready to trust the Mushir’s faction with this information due to possible security breaches on his end. If the opposing faction knows it’s an active target, then the already high security will be redoubled.”
  1423.  
  1424. >Offense speaks:
  1425. >”Why don’t we have a unicorn do it? The teleportation would make things a lot easier.”
  1426. >Wave answers:
  1427. >”Because they would have to go completely unnoticed, and a cloak can’t hide the shape of their horn. Normal unicorn teleportation only works over short distances or to areas the individual knows well. And none of ours have a knowledge of the lay of the land, because it was just empty desert until a year or two ago.”
  1428. >Lancer offers a suggestion:
  1429. >”Then pegasi, if they’re well stocked and good fliers, they could make a high altitude journey by using cloud cover and traveling at night.”
  1430. >Why do you get the feeling everypony is staring at you?
  1431. >You glance at the others.
  1432. >It’s because they are.
  1433. >You sigh.
  1434. “I volunteer…”
  1435. >Lancer then speaks:
  1436. >”Good, because you don’t have a choice.”
  1437. >Discord was right, you are just an intern.
  1438. >”You should take Corporal Call with you, he’s the second best flier in the Old Guard, which means he’s the second best flier in the military.”
  1439. “Wait, then who’s the first best flier?”
  1440. >Lancer nods toward you.
  1441. “Really?”
  1442. >Wave answers you:
  1443. >”Many of our dedicated fliers died in the air trenches outside of Cloudsdale, those who didn’t retired to help rebuild it.”
  1444. “And here I was thinking you were complimenting me…”
  1445. >Offense speaks:
  1446. >”Compliments… What do you think you’re a part of, the navy?”
  1447. >Brairheart takes objection:
  1448. >”I’m sitting right here!”
  1449. >”Your point being?”
  1450. >Lancer then hushes them.
  1451. >”Enough!”
  1452.  
  1453. >Brairheart then speaks:
  1454. >”Sir, I’d recommend they hold off on leaving for a week.”
  1455. >”Why?”
  1456. >”The Prydwen.”
  1457. >”Is it that close to completion?”
  1458. >”As per Anon’s orders.”
  1459. “What’s the Prydwen?”
  1460. >Brairheart answers:
  1461. >”The new flagship of the Air Fleet, built exactly to Anon’s specifications. Its design has been overhauled, and it dwarfs our standard Air Frigates… and yes, he insisted on the name as soon as he saw the blueprints. We’ve wanted to build it for over five years, and once he put me in charge of rebuilding the fleet; it was the first one we started work on.”
  1462. >Lancer continues:
  1463. >”It’s mainly a proof of concept. Ever since he saw our airships, he wanted them to be bigger and better armed. A moot point seeing as we always had air superiority, but now that the Saddle Arabians can take to the skies in their own, we’re hoping that the Prydwen class Air Battlecruiser can pave the way for larger and more advanced models.”
  1464. >Brairheart takes the speech back up:
  1465. >”Anon expressed interest in Air Battleships and even an Air Dreadnaught, and already decided on their respective names: the Yamato Class and Enterprise Class.”
  1466. >Lancer takes back over:
  1467. >”The point is that you have until we have an airship afloat to prepare. For The Prydwen’s maiden voyage, she will take you as close to Saddle Arabia as possible. That should make your flight much less strenuous.”
  1468.  
  1469. “Long distance flight isn’t that bad… Sir.”
  1470. >Offense speaks:
  1471. >”But it’s not as cool.”
  1472. >Lancer chuckles at the statement before talking:
  1473. >”That might be so, but remember that there’s a reason the maps say ‘here there be Dragons’ over the waters between Equestria and Saddle Arabia. The last thing we need is you and Call getting eaten on the way, and they usually steer clear of well-armed ships on sea or in the air.”
  1474. >Brairheart then speaks:
  1475. >”And even if they don’t, it’ll be a great test of the ship’s abilities... not that I’m hoping for a fight of course.”
  1476. >He sheepishly laughs.
  1477. >”No, really, I’m not.”
  1478. >…
  1479. >Another day in paradise.
  1480. >It’s been over a week since you were abandoned on the island.
  1481. >Not that you’re complaining.
  1482. >This morning was actually the first that you awoke before Melody.
  1483. >You took care to not wake her as you got out of bed and dressed.
  1484. >Then you kneeled down to kiss her forehead before leaving.
  1485. >As you leave the bedroom, you went down the hall to a closet.
  1486. >You found a spear leaning against the corner.
  1487. >A proper boar spear.
  1488. >You’re going for a hunt.
  1489. >And before you left the villa, you took a trip down the cellar.
  1490. >You had emptied out a large waterskin and filled it up with wine.
  1491. >So channeling your inner Robert Baratheon, you slung the wineskin around your left shoulder, lent your boar spear against your right shoulder, and headed down the mountain into the woods.
  1492.  
  1493. >…
  1494. >Trudging through the woods, you finally managed to realize something about the island.
  1495. >When you’re not fighting to survive, it’s actually quite nice.
  1496. >The only thing stopping you from labeling it as ‘perfect’ is the horrible fishing.
  1497. >Three separate afternoons on the dock, and not a single bite to be had.
  1498. >But that’s not important right now.
  1499. >You’ve been wandering the island for hours, with no a boar to be seen.
  1500. >But you eventually found the lake from when you first arrived.
  1501. >You sat on the shore, the spear lying beside you.
  1502. >A honeybee buzzed by your ear.
  1503. >They’re actually very passive.
  1504. >Melody keeps a few hives near the villa, and the honey is some of the best you’ve ever tasted.
  1505. >She is… amazing.
  1506. >Last night you did the whole ‘I love you’ talk.
  1507. >She asked, and you agreed.
  1508. >You think that she wants another kid.
  1509. >At her age she doesn’t have much time left.
  1510. >You’re not sure how you feel.
  1511. >After a few years in Equestria, the whole ‘impossible to have children of your own’ thing hit you pretty hard.
  1512. >But now you’re just not sure.
  1513. >You take a long swig from your wineskin.
  1514. >And then your stomach growls.
  1515. >You did skip breakfast.
  1516. >Reaching over, you pick off some leaves from a nearby arugula plant.
  1517. >Melody is quite fond of it; she’s put it into almost everything she makes.
  1518. >You remember a conversation from a few days ago.
  1519. >’You do like it… right?”
  1520. >You place one of the leaves into your mouth, taking in the bitter taste.
  1521. >You love it.
  1522. >Huh.
  1523. >You do?
  1524. >What’s that sound?
  1525. >You haven’t heard it since you were taken away from Earth.
  1526. >Is that radio static?
  1527. >[Anon.]
  1528. “Discord?”
  1529.  
  1530. >[Yes, it’s me.]
  1531. “What do you want?”
  1532. >[To deliver this message, it might take a few day to get to you. maybe a week.]
  1533. “Discord, stop playing games, you just answered my question.”
  1534. >[I know you better than you think. Also this is all being said inside of your head, well not technically, but you still look pretty foolish talking to nothing.]
  1535. “Jackass.”
  1536. >[And watch the language. Now shut up, because the signal will just become unstable the longer-]
  1537. >He is cutoff as the static sound overtakes his voice momentarily.
  1538. >[So, this needs to be said quickly. You’re trapped on-]
  1539. >The static cuts him off.
  1540. >[‘s island Odysseus. The woman you’re with is NOT who she says she is. In reality, she’s-]
  1541. >When the static dies down again, you hear Discord laughing.
  1542. >[Oh, those were good times. But I digress, her magic doesn’t work on you, because no magic does. So if you’ve fallen for her story, you’re probably-]
  1543. >He is cut off once again.
  1544. >[It’s NOT arugula.]
  1545. >You slow your chewing, and spit the herb out as you hear his statement.
  1546. >[Now, I know you were angry for me not helping you directly. But… I’m willing to help with this. However, you need to de-]
  1547. >Oh come on.
  1548. >[crystal-]
  1549. >This is getting annoying.
  1550. >[And it also works as a magical dampening field around the island, so once you’ve-]
  1551. >Again, really?
  1552. >[The cavalry will come a knocking. You need to do it sooner rather than later, because she will eventually e-]
  1553. >Son of a-
  1554. >[after m-]
  1555. >Bitch.
  1556. >[-ing. It will be the first test for her new-]
  1557. >And again…
  1558. >[So seeing as you’re most likely susceptible to suggestion, do as I say. Also Thunder is here, he says ‘hi’... Oh, and P.S. I’m borrowing your hat.]
  1559. >Is that it?
  1560. >[Almost forgot, P.P.S. no matter what you do, stay away from her until I can arrive.]
  1561. >The ambient static dies down after that.
  1562.  
  1563. >He said to stay away from Melody.
  1564. >Why do you suddenly agree almost completely?
  1565. >You look at the ‘arugula’ leaves in your hand.
  1566. >You hate arugula.
  1567. >Always have…
  1568. >Until she insinuated that you liked it.
  1569. >Discord said that you’re currently susceptible to suggestion.
  1570. “Oh son of a…”
  1571. >You’ve been drugged.
  1572. >That’s okay, now you’re aware of it.
  1573. >You need to fight everything you’ve agreed to over the past week.
  1574. >You’re trapped here, do you want to be trapped here?
  1575. >There was something else.
  1576. >You have to go east.
  1577. >You can’t stay here.
  1578. >But every instinct you have is telling you that you do want to stay here.
  1579. >Would you abandon everything else?
  1580. >Your job?
  1581. >It was a bad job anyway.
  1582. >The war and fighting?
  1583. >You have your out…
  1584. >Flurry?
  1585. >She…
  1586. >She’s why you’re here.
  1587. >Because…
  1588. >Because you can’t let your little girl…
  1589. >She’s suffering.
  1590. >And you can’t allow that.
  1591. >But this is Home, right?
  1592. >Right?
  1593. “NO!”
  1594. >You shake your head from side to side.
  1595. >You need to fight.
  1596. >You need to do… something to that crystal.
  1597. >Wait.
  1598. >Discord compared you to Odysseus.
  1599. “… Oh no.”
  1600. >You start to stand.
  1601. >Grabbing the spear you look around.
  1602. >Empty forest.
  1603. >Throwing away the wineskin, you start heading north.
  1604. >You’ll work your way around the coast.
  1605. >You need to get to the cave.
  1606. >Grasping the spear with both hands, you make your way into the brush.
  1607. >You can’t believe it.
  1608. >Everything you experienced, every emotion was a lie.
  1609. >You were happy…
  1610.  
  1611. >…
  1612. >You’re coated in sweat and the saltwater that splashed against the rocky shore.
  1613. >But you’re here.
  1614. >Standing at the mouth of the cave, you pause.
  1615. >No… you have to do this.
  1616. >Making your way into the cave, you ready your spear.
  1617. >You’re met with the ominous red glow from the giant crystal.
  1618. >As you approach it, you start to feel uneasy.
  1619. >Staring into the glowing crystal, you start to lose yourself.
  1620. >NO!
  1621. >You bring the spear above your head, preparing to smash its blunt end against the crystal.
  1622. >But as you prepare to attack it, your eye is drawn to the descending tunnel you saw the other time you were in here.
  1623. >You drop the spear.
  1624. >Something about it…
  1625. >You need to investigate.
  1626. >You approach the tunnel.
  1627. >It’s wide enough for you to walk into.
  1628. >But pitch black after the crystal’s glow ends.
  1629. >As you descend down the cold passageway, you lose yourself in the abyss.
  1630. >You walk for quite a while.
  1631. >But in the darkness, you have no real sense of time.
  1632. >Why did this have to happen?
  1633. >To finally be free from the Purgatory known as your life, and have it turned completely on its head.
  1634. >Life here would have been so simple.
  1635. >There would never be that ever present ‘next job’ that requires you to go back into battle.
  1636. >The weight of a nation was finally off of your shoulders, and then it comes crashing back onto you.
  1637. >Why do you have to be Equestria’s Atlas?
  1638. >But…
  1639. >There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
  1640. >Literally.
  1641.  
  1642. >You step out into a cavern.
  1643. >It’s roughly circular, and a dozen lit torches line the walls.
  1644. >You don’t see a way for the oxygen down here to be filtered, but you’ll chalk that one up to ‘magic’ torches.
  1645. >There’s a circular pool of still water in the center of the cavern.
  1646. >But that’s not what astounds you the most.
  1647. >The rocky floor is covered in bones.
  1648. >Some of them are fish bones, but you can clearly make out dozens of skeletons.
  1649. >Earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi, a few griffons, and you even see a minotaur’s skull tossed aside.
  1650. >They’re all completely bare.
  1651. >And as inspect bone after bone...
  1652. >They’ve all been picked clean…
  1653. >By teeth.
  1654. >Some of them look relatively new, but you can see some that look to be quite old.
  1655. >Taking a closer look at the pool, you find that it’s salt water.
  1656. >It might lead to the ocean through underground tunnels.
  1657. >Just how many sentient beings have this cavern as their final resting ground?
  1658. >You’ve caused and immense amount of death, but the feeling you get in here is worse than any bloody battlefield you’ve stood upon.
  1659. >You need to end this.
  1660. >Turning back around, you rush back into the tunnel.
  1661. >The climb is rather steep, at some points you have to crawl to avoid slipping back down.
  1662. >You.
  1663. >Will.
  1664. >Not.
  1665. >Be.
  1666. >Toyed with.
  1667. >No more will you let yourself be a pawn to the forces of this world.
  1668. >Eventually you crawl out of the tunnel, and are back in the red glow of the crystal.
  1669. >You pick up the spear, grasp it firmly with both hands, pull it back, and strike at the crystal with the blunt end of the spear’s haft.
  1670.  
  1671. >And it shatters.
  1672. >Into thousands of small fragments that stay in place.
  1673. >The crystal holds its shape for a second, before falling into a pile of shards.
  1674. >That was…easier than you expected.
  1675. >The cave is much darker now, with only dying flickers of larger pieces producing light.
  1676. >Is that it?
  1677. >As soon as you tempt fate, you feel the ground shake violently beneath your feet.
  1678. >You lose your footing and are thrown to the ground by the massive earthquake.
  1679. >The ceiling of the cavern begins caving in as rocks begin falling towards the ground.
  1680. >…
  1681. >”Yeah sure, why not?”
  1682. “Wait, just like that?”
  1683. >”Yeah, if you’re telling me then it’s coming from High Command directly.”
  1684. “I would have thought that given your role in the Second Coast War-“
  1685. >”Let me stop you there Major. Do I want to go back down to that sandy torture? No, nopony in their right mind would want to. But, I said that I signed up to be a soldier. If that’s what the job is, then I’ll do it.”
  1686. >Call takes another swig of his pint.
  1687. >One of the rooms in the Palace has been converted into a bar for off duty soldiers, and you were bringing him up to speed on the situation.
  1688. >Avoiding specifics due to the nature of the actual job.
  1689. >And even then, the only soldiers in the bar are all members of the Old Guard, their loyalty is without question.
  1690. >”Go on, sit down and grab a pint.”
  1691. “I’m on duty.”
  1692. >”You’re head of the bloody Old Guard; you can relieve yourself whenever you want unless one of the generals says otherwise.”
  1693. >He’s not wrong.
  1694. >”Sit down, not like there’s a war on.”
  1695. “I suppose I could have a drink.”
  1696. >You stress the word ‘a’.
  1697. >”That’s the right mood.”
  1698. >You walk around the bar to grab a mug, seeing as the bar is self-serve.
  1699. “What’s in this keg?”
  1700. >You ask when you get in front of an unmarked one, there are a dozen kegs lined on a shelf, with liquor bottles above and below.
  1701. >”That’s a stout ale, something local I think.”
  1702.  
  1703. >Placing the mug under the tap, you fill up your glass with a nice dark beer.
  1704. >You tilt the mug to get a near perfect head on the glass.
  1705. >As you round the bar once again, you speak out to a unicorn that is throwing darts with an earth pony.
  1706. “Hey Private, you mind?”
  1707. >You ask holding the mug up.
  1708. >”No problem.”
  1709. >His horn lights up as you feel the glass chilling.
  1710. >”Thirty-five degrees.”
  1711. “Thanks.”
  1712. >He nods before turning back to the dartboard.
  1713. >Call then speaks up:
  1714. >”Sometimes I wish I was born a unicorn, solely for that purpose.”
  1715. >You sit in the barstool next to Call.
  1716. >”So how’s your wife feel about you being away from home? You mentioned her a bit when you helped me move, you said her name was Winter something.”
  1717. “Gem. And she married me while I was a soldier, even if she wasn’t from a military family she’d understand.”
  1718. >”’Winter Gem’, how soon did she get tired of the bad poetry?”
  1719. “No poetry, but she lasted two name puns before starting to hit me.”
  1720. >”I mean, that’s like… societies fault. It’s not the little pony’s fault that Equestrian naming conventions are how they are.”
  1721. “How many have you had?”
  1722. >”You wound me Thunder.”
  1723. “Admitting it is the first step.”
  1724. >”Look, let’s get one thing straight. I am NOT and alcoholic.”
  1725. “Uh huh.”
  1726. >”Alcoholics go to meetings, I am a drunk.”
  1727. “At least you’re honest.”
  1728. >He elbows you.
  1729. >”Nah, just pulling the old chain. This is my second.”
  1730. “What about you, you married?”
  1731. >”What, me? Nah!”
  1732. “Dating?”
  1733. >”Haven’t found a mare that’d put up with me for more than a month or two.”
  1734. “Word of advice, enjoy your bachelor years while you can.”
  1735. >”What, you having regrets?”
  1736.  
  1737. “Never, best decision of my life. Everything just gets more; I’m not sure exactly how to describe it. Serious, I guess. When you’ve actually got somepony back home, and a little one on the way, everything about the job gets more complicated. On one hoof, you want to hesitate, so that the wife never gets that letter from a pair of soldiers and your little filly or foal doesn’t have to grow up never knowing their father. But on the other, it makes you see everything with much better clarity; it adds a personal stake into being a soldier. Because what’s worse, a kid having to grow up without a father, or that kid never growing up at all because you failed to do your duty?”
  1738. >”That’s deep mate. But you’re gonna be a dad?”
  1739. >You laugh a bit.
  1740. “Yeah, due sometime next spring. She insists that it’ll be a girl, ‘maternal instincts’ she calls it.”
  1741. >”I wouldn’t paint the room pink just yet.”
  1742. “That’s exactly what I said… right before she made me paint the nursery that color.”
  1743. >”Haha, well I suppose you could just keep trying for a boy. That’s how I got born, youngest of five and the only son.”
  1744. “That must have been rough.”
  1745. >”Ah, it’s not that bad. Really though, congratulations!”
  1746. >He pats you back.
  1747. >”You’ll be a great father.”
  1748. “Thanks Call.”
  1749. >He raises his mug, and you click your to his.
  1750. “Cheers mate.”
  1751. >You say in a horrible accent mocking his own.
  1752. >He shoots a deadpan stare your way.
  1753. >”No don’t, don’t do that.”
  1754. >You hear a loud pop, then feel a hand on your shoulder.
  1755. >You glance back and see a different hand on Call’s shoulder.
  1756. >Between the two of you is…
  1757. “Discord?”
  1758. >”You two will do nicely.”
  1759. “No, no don’t-!“
  1760. >You feel your insides churn as he teleports the two of you away.
  1761. “Teleport…”
  1762. >Before you can get a glimpse of your surroundings, you drop your near-empty mug which shatters as it impacts the ground.
  1763. >And then everything you just drank came up.
  1764. >As well as lunch.
  1765.  
  1766. >…
  1767. >You see a trio of silhouettes.
  1768. >Two of ponies, one of…
  1769. “Discord?”
  1770. >”At your service, mon général.”
  1771. >The room lights up, most likely due to Discord’s choice.
  1772. >A pair of pegasi are flanking Discord, both have shattered mugs in front of them, and were reeling from having vomited.
  1773. >One has a familiar light grey coat and short black mane.
  1774. >At a glance, you don’t recognize the one with a brown coat and longer black mane.
  1775. “Thunder?”
  1776. >”Sir?”
  1777. >”Oi, you!”
  1778. >The English accent jogs your memory; the pegasi yelling at Discord is Corporal Call, one of your Old Guard.
  1779. >”That was a bloody waste of a perfectly good pint glass!”
  1780. >Discord seems shocked.
  1781. >”I just teleported you across the world, and your first thought is to berate me about a broken drinking glass?”
  1782. >A rock comes crashing down between you and the others.
  1783. >Discord speaks to the pegasi:
  1784. >”Grab him and take him to higher ground, the island is collapsing into the sea.”
  1785. >”WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!”
  1786. >A figure is standing at the mouth of the cave.
  1787. >Melody, and to say she looks angry would be a terrible understatement.
  1788. >You can see her eyes glowing red.
  1789. >The next thing you notice is the sound of Discord snapping as Melody disappears with a flash of light.
  1790. >”She’s only a couple of miles away, now grab your dreary commander and follow me.”
  1791. >Thunder and Call fly over to you.
  1792. >On their way, a large portion of the cave starts to collapse in, however Discord raises a hand and it stops in midair.
  1793. >To think, with all the power that that creature can muster, he has dedicated so much of it to personally annoying you over the years.
  1794. >Why are you thinking of this right now?
  1795. >Oh yeah, because you’ve been DRUGGED over the past week.
  1796. >And you just shouted in your head for emphasis.
  1797. >Drawn back into the real world, you are jolted forward as the pegasi lift you by grabbing your shoulders.
  1798.  
  1799. >As you pass out of the cave, you hear a loud crash as it presumably fully collapses in on itself.
  1800. >With a look toward the cliff, you see countless rocks crumbling off the side of it.
  1801. >The once grand staircase carved into the side is collapsing before your eyes.
  1802. >Thunder and Call raise you over the cliff side, you can see the villa start to crumble as the ground is shaking under it.
  1803. >Animals in their pens are running around frantically.
  1804. >You hear a loud crack, and watch as a great divide forms in the ground below you.
  1805. >All of the land south of the villa separates itself from the rest of the island, and begins crowning into the ocean below.
  1806. >You are set down on relatively stable ground.
  1807. >It’s slight, but your vision is starting to spin.
  1808. “Discord! What’s happening?”
  1809. >He appears in front of you and places his hands on your shoulders.
  1810. >”When was the last time you ate the herb?”
  1811. “I had a leaf or two today, before that maybe twenty hours or so ago. She laced it into most of the food.”
  1812. >He slaps you.
  1813. >”You’re starting to go through withdrawal, it’s highly addictive.”
  1814. “IT”S WHAT! Why the hell didn’t you warn me about anything?”
  1815. >You attempt to reach out and deliver a right hook to his jaw.
  1816. >Attempt.
  1817. “I can’t move my right arm.”
  1818. >”He’s starting to shutdown, there’s a ship that way.”
  1819. >You see him point to the southeast.
  1820. >”Take him ther-“
  1821. >”DISCORD!”
  1822. >You hear Melody’s voice cut him off.
  1823. >Turning to face her, you see…
  1824. >Something that is definitely not human.
  1825. “Melody?”
  1826. >”Not right now dear, the adults are talking.”
  1827. >She (it?) looks like a large demonic seahorse, blood red and floating in the air to the west surrounded by a magical aura.
  1828. >She looks to be comparable in size to Discord in his natural form, and is currently staring him down.
  1829. >”I had thought that you were too much of a coward to actually start a conflict.”
  1830.  
  1831. >”A coward? I seem to recall that during my reign, a certain Siren hid away in the deepest ocean trenches out of fear.”
  1832. >”Are you actually going to fight, or are you just going to run away to the other side of the world? After all, it wouldn’t be the first time.”
  1833. >”How do you know about that?”
  1834. >Discord’s tone of voice changes, you’ve never heard him so dead serious.
  1835. >”Oh I can put two and two together, especially when the man you sent to clean up your mess came through my waters.”
  1836. >”You know… I’d like to think that I left violent confrontation behind; never had to after I solidified my rule. After that simple tricks and illusion worked, and since then I’ve been reformed… but just this once, I might revert back into my old ways.”
  1837. >”The difference between you and I, is that over the past millennia you have been beaten time and time again, whereas I have only gotten stronger. My home might be destroyed and my crystal shattered, but even if I cannot create a new island or mend the crystal, I will take great pleasure devouring you and your little helpers.”
  1838. >”Oh this old dog still has a few tricks up his sleeve… if I wore any.”
  1839. >Discord cracks his knuckles and neck before turning his head to face Thunder.
  1840. >And by ‘turning his head’, you mean that it twisted around in a 180 to face Thunder.
  1841. >”Get him out of here, none of you will want to be in the crossfire.”
  1842. >Thunder asks a question before moving.
  1843. >”What are you going to do?”
  1844. >”Let’s just say that this island will sink considerably faster.”
  1845.  
  1846. >You then feel hooves on your left shoulder as you’re raised back into the sky.
  1847. >With a quick glance, you see that there are hooves on your right, but you’re starting to lose all feeling in the right side of your body.
  1848. >As your men airlift you away, your back is turned to Discord and Melody.
  1849. >But you hear Discord speak before you get too far away.
  1850. >”Oh you poor little misguided Siren, you’re dealing with a cosmic being of unimaginable powe-“
  1851. >He stops talking as you hear a loud bang from behind you.
  1852. >You then see his body being shot far past you.
  1853. >After he is launched a hundred feet or so in front of you, he stops in midair.
  1854. >Not by using his wings, he just stands in the air.
  1855. >He beings stamping angrily towards where he was shot from.
  1856. >As you pass him, you hear him muttering:
  1857. >”Oh if you want to fight dirty, then the gloves I’m not wearing are coming off...”
  1858. >You hear a voice on your left speak:
  1859. >”Just another day at the office, eh Thunder?”
  1860. >”You have no idea.”
  1861. >Below you can see the island descending into chaos.
  1862. >In addition to the normal crumbling terrain and scattering animals, you see that in certain areas gravity has been inverted.
  1863. >Discords doing, no doubt.
  1864. >Trees are being uprooted across the island, and large chunks of rock are rising from the ground.
  1865. >Behind you, you can hear sound of rock and water crashing upon one another.
  1866. >Your right eye starts blurring, but you can still see that everything that has been raised from the ground below you begins rushing back to the west at an incredible speed.
  1867.  
  1868. >…
  1869. >”Thunnnderrr.”
  1870. >Anon is slurring quite a bit.
  1871. >”Da nanna nananana. Thunnnderr.”
  1872. >Is he singing?
  1873. >”Yanananannana. Thunndah!”
  1874. >A quick glance over shows that he is literally foaming at the mouth.
  1875. >He continues to spew some incoherent words, and you can make out a ‘Thunder’ every once and a while.
  1876. “Sir, you’re not making any sense.”
  1877. >”Ith a-thee deethee, hou unculthuthed… bathard.”
  1878. >You understood the last bit of that well enough.
  1879. >But you’re approaching the only ship you see at sea
  1880. >You soon set him on the deck, and he stops rambling.
  1881. >As you do, a mare wearing a naval officer’s uniform begins yelling.
  1882. >”Identify yourselves, what have you done to him?”
  1883. >”Tirra, iss alrith, my menn.”
  1884. “He’s been drugged, and you’ve all been under a Siren’s spell.”
  1885. >”Of course we’ve been under a spell, why ELSE WOULD WE BE ANCHORED HERE!”
  1886. >”Tirra, stop yellin ath Tunder!”
  1887. >”You two!”
  1888. >She points at a pair of her sailors.
  1889. >”Get him to the ship’s doctor.”
  1890. >She then motions for a spyglass and goes to inspect what’s left of the island.
  1891. >”By Celestia.”
  1892. >You don’t need any magnification to see what she’s speaking about.
  1893.  
  1894. “It’s… gone.”
  1895. >All that remains of the island is a small rock jutting maybe ten feet out from sea level.
  1896. >And there is no sign of Discord, or the Siren.
  1897. >If they killed each other…
  1898. >Then you’re trapped out here.
  1899. >”Oh don’t get your hopes up boy.”
  1900. >His voice startles you, and you turn to face him.
  1901. >Discord is standing behind you, visibly bruised and with quite the back eye.
  1902. >”Time to go home you two.”
  1903. >He places a hand one both your and Call’s shoulders.
  1904. >Oh not-
  1905. >…
  1906. >-again.
  1907. >You reel and fall to the ground, grasping at your stomach.
  1908. >If there was anything in there, it would have come up.
  1909. >”Thank you for flying Air Discord; if you need me, I’ll be resting my aching back on a glacier.”
  1910. >He then disappears in a flash of light.
  1911. >At least he put you back in the same room that you left.
  1912. >You turn to Call as he starts to speak.
  1913. >”Did that really just happen, or do I have a drinking problem?”
  1914. “It really happened.”
  1915. >You see him getting a bottle of whiskey.
  1916. “But you might have a problem.”
  1917. >”Now look mate, I’ve been teleported by unicorns before. It’s not supposed to be that…”
  1918. “Painful?”
  1919. >”You know, I think he does it on purpose.”
  1920. >He begins to chug straight from the bottle, but you stop him.
  1921. “No, report first, the others need to know what just happened. Then you can drink.”
  1922.  
  1923. >…
  1924. >”So in short: Anon’s ship was caught under a Siren’s song, and although he wasn’t affected by it, the crew was and marooned him on the island. Once there he was fed an herb that, in addition to being highly addictive, made him incredibly open to suggestion. The Siren then was waiting for his body to become so saturated with whatever chemical is released by the herb, so that he would have ended up no different than any of her other thralls. Another week and it would have been complete, she would have brought in the ship’s crew and begin feeding off of them, leaving Anon to be the first one hunted by her new child. But Discord’s message got to him before the indoctrination was completed, so Anon managed to break the crystal that kept the sailors under her spell, and stopped Discord from being able to use his magic anywhere near the island. When it went down, he transported the two of you with him to the Island, you both got Anon back to the ship and Discord fought against the Siren as the island was crumbling into the sea. The island was nearly completely destroyed, and Discord came out of the battle victorious. However Anonymous now faces the withdrawal from being drugged. That about sum it up?”
  1925. >Lancer finishes speaking.
  1926. “Yes Sir, based on what Discord told me on the mountaintop, and what we saw on the island, that is the full accounting.”
  1927. >”Are you sure the Siren is dead?”
  1928. >Call speaks up to answer:
  1929. >”Discord seemed cross. Very cross.”
  1930. >”I’ll take that as a yes. Well, get a written report to me within a few days, until then you have the rest of the day to yourselves. Good job, you’ve each gone above and beyond the call of duty when thrust into an unknown situation. But, hopefully the rest of Anon’s journey won’t face many more holdups.”
  1931.  
  1932. >…
  1933. >You cast out your line, and are comforted by the ‘plop’ it makes into the lake.
  1934. >As your bobber stabilizes on the water, you reach over to your cooler.
  1935. >Removing an ice cold beer, you crack it open and take a sip.
  1936. >”Care if I join you?”
  1937. >You let out a sigh as you hear the voice.
  1938. “Well I don’t have much of a choice, do I Discord?”
  1939. >”Not particularly.”
  1940. >You see another chair warp into existence next to you, as Discord takes a seat.
  1941. “You know Discord, you’ve never explained something to me.”
  1942. >”And what, pray tell, would it be?”
  1943. “I’m immune to all kinds of magic, but you can still invade and affect my dreams.”
  1944. >”That’s because it’s not exactly magic, and I’m not technically ‘here’.
  1945. >You take another sip of beer.
  1946. >”By using magic to modify how my vision works, I can ‘see’ your brain waves and decode them. When you’re dreaming I can teleport in additional chemicals too affect the mood of a dream, and then use the ever so slight psychic link you have to shape specifics. With a pony I would be able to physically enter a dream, but with you It’s all mental.”
  1947. “You have all this understanding of life and the universe, yet you squander your immense power and knowledge to suit your own whim.”
  1948. >”It’s in my nature, Picard.”
  1949.  
  1950. “Well… I suppose I should thank you.”
  1951. >”You’re not going to berate me?”
  1952. “Not this time.”
  1953. >”Not even a little?”
  1954. “Discord! Thank. You.”
  1955. >Oh that feels so… wrong.”
  1956. “Without you I would still be trapped on the island, under her influence.”
  1957. >”Anon, stop this.”
  1958. >Fat chance, you finally have a way to get on his nerves for a change.”
  1959. “And then you teleported in with a way to get me off of the island, and provided cover for my exit.”
  1960. >”Please…”
  1961. “Honestly, I’m not sure how I EVER could repay you.”
  1962. >”I know how you could.”
  1963. “What do you have in mind?”
  1964. >”Yell at me, berate me, threaten to wound or kill me, anything but PLEASE stop this torture!”
  1965. “It really pains you?”
  1966. >”I…”
  1967. “Spill it out.”
  1968. >”I may have grown to like our relationship over the past years. If we were friends it would RUIN all of the fun.”
  1969. >You turn to actually face him.
  1970. “You’ve gone soft?”
  1971. >”Never! I haven’t the slightest idea where you would have come up with that ridiculous notion.”
  1972. “No, no. That’s fine, I understand. You’re immortal, what you crave above all else is entertainment, something to keep you attached to the world. All of your ‘spirit of chaos and disharmony’ shtick is just a front; you just want to be amused in the easiest way you know how.”
  1973. >”Absolutely absurd.”
  1974. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, assuming you actually do sleep.”
  1975. >You face back to the water and take another drink of your beer.
  1976. “So how was the fight?”
  1977. >”She got in a lucky hit or two, but was nowhere near my level.”
  1978. “That easy, huh?”
  1979. >”Well…”
  1980. “Well what?”
  1981. >”You see…”
  1982. “Discord! Well what?”
  1983. >”She may have gotten away.”
  1984. “Nowhere near your level, huh?”
  1985. >”She used almost the entirety of her remaining magical powers to teleport away, and contrary to popular belief, I am not all-seeing… sometimes.”
  1986. “Will she still be a threat?”
  1987.  
  1988. >”Oh I think she’ll give your ship a wide berth.”
  1989. “Good… but, uh…”
  1990. >”What?”
  1991. “Well she and I, you know.”
  1992. >”What?”
  1993. “She shape-shifted to look like a human woman, mentioned kids, the chances of us being genetically compatible are non-existent, right? I mean different universes and all of that.”
  1994. >”Oh you naughty boy. But, you’re right.”
  1995. “I mean the chances would be like what? Winning the lottery and on the same day you get struck by lightning as a shark is attacking you, then when you finally get home a meteor crashes into your car.”
  1996. >”I would say the chances are about the same as playing trans-dimensional golf and swinging out of bounds, causing the ball to go into one specific universe out of the infinite possibilities, landing right on the head of a college student who is sitting next to a tree looking at the stars in the night, then forming a bridge that sucks him into the golf ball’s home dimension, plopping him right in the middle of Celestia’s Throne Room.”
  1997. “You’re not funny, you know that.”
  1998. >”Fine, I’ll be serious. No, it’s impossible.”
  1999. “Good.”
  2000. >”Well…”
  2001. “Discord.”
  2002. >”There might be the ever so slightest chance…”
  2003. “Discord!”
  2004. >”Life finds a way.”
  2005. “I really hate you, you do know that?”
  2006. >”No, it’s virtually impossible.”
  2007. “Virtually being the key word.”
  2008. >”As in one percent of one percent of one percent.”
  2009. “So one in a million?”
  2010. >”Pretty much.”
  2011.  
  2012. >You want to distance yourself from this topic, and quickly.
  2013. “So, I’m assuming I’m unconscious on the Avalon right now.”
  2014. >”Yes.”
  2015. “What are my chances?”
  2016. >”Oh, you’ll be up and about in a few days. But a few more days of ingesting the herb, and your body would have become permanently dependent on it.”
  2017. “So right now my body has shutdown from withdrawal.”
  2018. >”Bingo.”
  2019. “This is the second coma I’ve been in this year. The third if you count the fight we had with the entity in my dreams.”
  2020. >”Personally I wouldn’t count that.”
  2021. “So Discord. The Entity, I know you brought it into this universe from another dimension, you’ve already said that. I know that you are either incapable or unwilling to deal with it yourself. And I know that it assimilates creatures that can be affected by its magic. What else haven’t you told me?”
  2022. >”I told you before, that that’s all I know. But the ‘Entity’ as you call it, is not the only reason the East has its reputation. A part, but only one factor of many. It’s still cordoned off within a hundred mile radius, everything outside of that is free from its influence. Leaving aside the way it snuck out in the parasites that are in the Princesses heads.”
  2023. “Hey Discord?”
  2024. >”Yes Anon?”
  2025. “If you ever go trans-dimensional golfing again, I’ll kill you.”
  2026. >”You really do care!”
  2027. “You’re a real messed up guy, you know that?”
  2028. >”Why thank you Anonymous.”
  2029. “Hey Discord?”
  2030. >”Yes?”
  2031. “There are no fish in this lake, are there?”
  2032. >”Well I don’t know, it’s your dream.”
  2033. >Right…
  2034. “Right…”
  2035. >Let there be fish.
  2036.  
  2037. >Immediately your bobber sinks under the surface of the lake.
  2038. “You know this takes the point out of fishing.”
  2039. >”How so?”
  2040. “I’m fully aware and in control of this dream, that means any fish I catch would just be because I said so. The point of fishing, beyond the simple act of fishing, is the chance that is involved with everything.”
  2041. >”But if you’re in full control, couldn’t you implement that chance?”
  2042. “It’s like Schrödinger’s cat. If I didn’t catch any fish here, it’s equally possible that it was because of the chance, or because my mind saw that catching no fish is the proper way to counter the certainty of catching a fish in the dream. Likewise, if I do catch a fish, it could be because of the chance, or my subconscious ‘choosing’ to catch a fish.”
  2043. >”Aren’t you looking into this a bit too much?”
  2044. “And besides, fake fishing has no satisfaction.”
  2045. >But your control of your state of mind means that for once you can flip the tables on Discord.
  2046. >You set down your rod, and turn to face him.
  2047. >With a slight grin on your face, you raise your hand and snap your fingers.
  2048. >And in a flash of light, your surroundings completely change.
  2049. >You’re in a small theater, with a layout the same as the one from your college.
  2050. >”You’ve learned well, my not-so-young padawan.”
  2051. >You snap your fingers again, and the stage is filled with the people that were in the theatre productions from your campus.
  2052. “Alright, oh, Discord. Would you like a role?”
  2053. >”I’ll pass.”
  2054.  
  2055. “Okay.”
  2056. >You stand up from your center seat and start pointing at the actors.
  2057. “I’ll be Iago, you’re Othello, you’re Cassio, you can be Desdea, you are Emilia, and you ‘re Roderigo. Moving down the line: Bianca, Montano, Brabantio, Duke of Venice, the Clown, Lodovico, and Graziano. And you are a cheating bitch; you can jump off a cliff. The rest of you are audience.”
  2058. >Discord then speaks:
  2059. >”Well, if you’ll excuse me, I really should be going.”
  2060. “Let me guess: you prefer the works of Marlowe.”
  2061. >Discord disappears in a flash.
  2062. >He said you’ll be unconscious for a few days, so you have quite some time here.
  2063. “Alright people, Act One Scene One, I’ll be doing lighting, sound, and set changes with my mind.”
  2064. >You glance over at one of the actresses.
  2065. “Go on, find that cliff.”
  2066. >Maybe you’ll do Hamlet next.
  2067. >Oh, one last thing.
  2068. >You create a mirror in front of you, and watch as you start getting younger.
  2069. >By the time you reach twenty, you stop.
  2070. >You get rid of the mirror, and turn to the actor playing Roderigo.
  2071. “You ready?”
  2072. >He nods.
  2073. “Everyone else take your seats… and Action!”
  2074.  
  2075. >…
  2076. >”Right, so there I was standing eye to eye with the bestial Siren… She roared at our group, the shockwave sending Discord flying to the other side of the island. We were the only things stopping her from her dastardly plot. I look at her, and proclaim: ‘NO! This ends here!’ Thunder was busy getting the Marshal to the ship and I had to buy time… but I had no weapons. Long story short, I put my hooves in a fighting position and started boxing with the giant creature. Didn’t take a single hit, and KO’d her within the minute.”
  2077. >Call is currently attempting to flirt with one of the female members of the Old Guard.
  2078. >”And look, there he is. He can tell you that the whole thing is true, can’t you Thunder?”
  2079. >The look he’s giving you is obviously begging to set him up.
  2080. >You could play the part of a wingman…
  2081. >But he is embellishing to levels that you had thought impossible.
  2082. >You leave your table and start walking over to his.
  2083. >”Major, this lovely mare is Private River Breeze.”
  2084. >He refers to the light blue unicorn with wavy hair in a darker shade of blue.
  2085. >”Sir.”
  2086. “At ease Private.”
  2087. >Call speaks again:
  2088. >”I was just telling her about our adventure earlier, care to comment?”
  2089. “I overheard most of it. The truth is that…”
  2090.  
  2091. >Call eyes you nervously.
  2092. “Discord teleported the two of us there, where we both threw up upon arrival. He then fought the Siren alone while the Corporal and I flew the Field Marshal to safety.”
  2093. >”You lying, no good…”
  2094. >The Private stands from her seat, looking like she’s about to strike Call.
  2095. >But then storms out of the lounge, while muttering to herself:
  2096. >”Why can’t ONE guy in this entire army actually be honest.”
  2097. >Call looks at you like a child who just learned that their dog died.
  2098. >”Mate… come on, unicorn mares are amazing. I was once with this one fan who did this amazing magic trick in bed where she-”
  2099. “If you’re going to womanize, don’t get me involved unless you’re honest… mostly honest at least.”
  2100. >”That’s it, you’re getting written out of my will.”
  2101. “I’m in your will?”
  2102. >”Well… no, but you sure aren’t getting put in anytime soon.”
  2103. “All because I stopped you from having a one night stand?”
  2104. >”Yeah, you’re as bad as my sisters. None of them let me get anywhere near any of their friends.”
  2105. “Your sisters sound like smart ponies.”
  2106. >”Stuff it.”
  2107. >Call leans back in his seat and looks at his drink with a defeated look.
  2108. >”Hey, I don’t suppose you have a sister?”
  2109. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t let you anywhere near her.”
  2110. >”Damn...”
  2111. “No offense.”
  2112. >”No, no, that’s fine… got any cousins?”
  2113. “I’m not sure what’s worse: that you’re this desperate, or this is your sense of humor.”
  2114. >”Me! Desperate? Pssh. I’d like to point out that I was a very successful actor in Manehattan.”
  2115. “But you still begged for a wingman.”
  2116. >”Never hurts to have a little backup.”
  2117. “Both of you are under my command. Even if I didn’t disapprove of your method of open lying, I have an obligation to not abuse my position like that, even for a friend.”
  2118. >”Damn… you know you never answered that question about if you have any cousins…”
  2119.  
  2120. >…
  2121. >Back in consciousness, you feel the churn of the ocean rock the ship back and forth.
  2122. >You hear a man talk.
  2123. >”It’s been three days now, the sporadic convulsions stopped last night and his body temperature is back within his normal range. I daresay he’s past the roughest bit.”
  2124. >Followed by a woman’s voice.
  2125. >”When do you think he’ll wake up?”
  2126. “I already am.”
  2127. >As you lift your eyes open, you see Tiara and the ship’s doctor at the far end of the room.
  2128. >The doctor approaches first.
  2129. >”Easy sitting up.”
  2130. “I’m fine Doc.”
  2131. >Your stomach churns a few times, but other than that you feel perfectly healthy.
  2132. >Well, aside from the ache in your knees.
  2133. >”You’ve been unconscious for three days, you’re not fine.”
  2134. “Doc.”
  2135. >You sit up on the cot and start getting off of it.
  2136. “I’ve had worse.”
  2137. >Tiara speaks:
  2138. >”He’s a big boy, I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.”
  2139. “How has our progress been like since I’ve been out.”
  2140. >”That’s a talk I’d like to have in private, follow me.”
  2141. >You stretch your legs before heading for the door to the sickbay.
  2142. >But Tiara stops in the doorway, and turns back to face you.
  2143. >”And under no circumstance will you ever refer to me as ‘Tirra’ ever again.”
  2144. “Understood Lady Tiara.”
  2145. >You stress ‘Lady Tiara’.
  2146. “Now, after you.”
  2147. >You motion your hand for her to lead you out of the sickbay.
  2148. >As she leads you towards the captain’s quarters, you sigh slightly.
  2149. >The break you had was quite nice actually.
  2150.  
  2151. >As you pass onto the main deck, Tiara barks to the upper deck:
  2152. >”How’s our heading Commander?”
  2153. >You hear the deep baritone of Commander Port reply:
  2154. >”Slow, the wind has died down.”
  2155. >”As you were.”
  2156. >”Aye.”
  2157. >Tiara continues towards the double doors under the upper deck, opening the right one and inviting you in.
  2158. >”Sit.”
  2159. >She nods towards the circular table in the center of her room.
  2160. >You pull out the chair closest to you and sit down, as she round the table to the opposite side before sitting.
  2161. “So, where are-“
  2162. >She cuts you off.
  2163. >”Anonymous. I am so sorry.”
  2164. >That’s... unexpected.
  2165. >”Discord stopped by two days ago to answer some questions. When we got within a couple day’s voyage from the island, the entire crew fell under the Siren’s spell, myself included. As a member of this crew, you are my responsibility. But through lack of will power, I allowed you to be marooned on the island with that… thing.”
  2166. “There was no way you could have fought it.”
  2167. >”That is only a possibility. The fact still remains that on my watch you, as well as this entire crew, could have died. And if this mission fails, we both know the consequence.”
  2168. “However, despite the week or so delay, we have resumed out course with no casualties.”
  2169. >”This far from any friendly ports… or any ports period, I have to set aside political opinions and trust you. Too that end, given your unique relationship with magic, I have come to an arrangement with Commander Port and the other officers.”
  2170. “And what exactly would that be?”
  2171. >”If you have reason to believe that I have become compromised, I’m giving you the authority to remove me from command. Likewise, if you have cause to suspect any member of the crew, then speak to me at once.”
  2172. “I… Thank you Tiara. It shows a great manner of trust that you would make preparations like that.”
  2173. >”It’s not trust; it’s facing the reality of our situation!”
  2174.  
  2175. >That struck a nerve.
  2176. >”Don’t think that I like you, in fact it’s quite the opposite. But we cannot succeed without each other.”
  2177. >Huh.
  2178. >You’re noticing something.
  2179. >Currently, you are unsure whether it was from your experience on the island or in the coma, or a bit of both.
  2180. >But you feel strangely calm.
  2181. >Everything about your life seems much clearer.
  2182. >You aren’t tied down by your years of fighting.
  2183. >You aren’t harboring any latent feelings about being ripped from your own world.
  2184. >You aren’t having any delusions about the ‘legacy’ you leave in this world.
  2185. >In fact, you feel quite rejuvenated.
  2186. >There is only the mission: to save Flurry, the only family you have.
  2187. >And the other Princesses.
  2188. >And to stop a blight on this world.
  2189. >You actually feel like a soldier once again.
  2190. >Your actions in this world might not have been ‘good’ from a moral standpoint, but for the most part you did your best.
  2191. >And you tried to do right by those close to you.
  2192. >Maybe that’s all that matters.
  2193. >”Are you even listening to me!”
  2194. “Oh, sorry. I understand, and I promise that I won’t mutiny unless you really deserve it Tirra.”
  2195. >”Don’t call me that!”
  2196. >The light shining into the room isn’t really illuminating her face, but you could swear you can see a slight blush on her cheeks.
  2197. “Sorry, it just slipped out.”
  2198. >”Well see to it that it doesn’t happen again. Now, you should find all of your things as you left them. Dismissed.”
  2199. >You nod to her before taking your leave.
  2200. >But as you reached the door, you hear her call out:
  2201. >”And Anonymous.”
  2202. >You turn back just enough to glance back at her.
  2203. >”… It’s fortunate that you weren’t too badly injured on the island. It’s good to be under way again.”
  2204. >You assume that’s her way of saying ‘glad you’re not dead, it’s good to have you back.’
  2205. “It’s good to be back.”
  2206. >With that, you turn back to the door and head onto the main deck, ready to continue your voyage into the East.

Heart of War- Prologue

by ThingPaste

Heart of War- Act I

by ThingPaste

Heart of War- Act II

by ThingPaste

Heart of War- Act III

by ThingPaste

Heart of War- Act IV

by ThingPaste