Chapter 1: It Begins With a Letter
Ponyville in summer is a Ponyville at its most picturesque. From my house at Sunset Springs the view is especially spectacular; the entire valley is laid out before you in a patchwork of green and blue, with the walls of Canterlot gleaming in the distance. Happy birdsong fills the air and the wind carries the faint, sweet scent of ripening apples up from the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres.
However, I make it a habit to finish my morning routine before enjoying the view.
My name is Patrick Vornskyr, or Lanternlight if you prefer. I am the Guardian of the village of Ponyville, a pioneer of the no longer fictional art of firebending, and an amateur magician. In the nine months since my arrival in Equestria during the first stages of the Return, and since then I've had my own fair share of adventure and excitement in this world of magic and surprises. From early fall to the beginning of summer, I was somehow able to settle into life here in the middle of all that craziness.
An important part of that is my training routine. Every morning at sunrise and every evening at sunset, I practice in the field by my house. This morning is no exception. Yellow and red-gold flames dance in the air as I work through the forms, flowing through each set of movements and meditating on a focus aiding mantra I invented.
Fire is life, life is energy. Energy pours from the Sun to the Earth. Magic Springs from the Earth and flows across the land. From the land it flows into me, and I create the fire. Energy is magic, magic is life, life is fire. Fire is life, life is ener-
"Have I ever told you that you have a great view up here?"
The voice breaks my concentration, causing a noticeable hiccup in my routine. There is nothing I can do but stop, take a deep breath to refocus, and start the last form over again.
"Repeatedly," I answer the woman that walks out my kitchen door. "Usually when I'm in the middle of practice, and, coincidentally, shirtless."
A leaping snap kick followed by a bow to the rising sun ends my routine. I turn towards the smiling face of Karol Anners, who has become better known to Equestria at large as Uplift. We began seeing each other over the winter, and ever since then we've spent every moment we can together.
We are an excellent example of a case of opposites attracting each other. I am six feet tall with shoulder length red hair, golden eyes, and a physique cultivated by two years of martial arts training. She is five foot and half an inch with silver hair, blue eyes, and the build of a vaguely feminine willow branch. I have an almost stereotypical martial artist's personality; calm, friendly, and quietly philosophical. Karol is a loud and boisterous musician who follows her impulses without reservation.
It doesn't surprise me at all when she runs up and throws herself into a hug, throwing her arms around my neck. She's wearing a t-shirt and her pajama shorts, and all I have on is my pair of work out pants. In a romantic cliche she's wearing one of my shirts. It makes her look like the mast of a sailing ship.
"So what could you possibly have planned on a gorgeous day like today?" she asks.
I hum thoughtfully, playing along. "Well, I'm patrolling around the southern side of town today. Fluttershy has asked me to escort her into the Whitetail Woods sometime this week so she can check up on the wolf pack. Oh, and I finally have enough bits saved up to start building that dojo I've been designing." I squeeze her a little bit. "But first, I think I'll convince my girlfriend to practice her airbending for me."
The girlfriend in question gives me an impressive pout. "Come on Patrick, I have enough people riding my ass about working on my days off." Karol had spent the past month or so on a concert tour around the country, exposing herself as a musician to Equestria's music scene. "My agent wants me to write some songs, the Weather Authority's been pestering me about reporting to them for training, and Jetstream works me to the bone whenever he can get his hands on me for lessons. Can't I just slack off for today? Please?"
"Your sifu asked me to keep you from doing just that," I say seriously, "and I gave him my word that I would make sure you practice three times a week like you're supposed to."
Determined to make me cave, she snuggles herself into my chest and looks up at me. "Pretty please?"
I roll my eyes and start dragging the whining airbender towards the practice field I just vacated. "Nice try. I want to see your progress, and I know how much you like to show off."
"Oh fine," Karol huffs and pushes herself out of my grip after I pull her onto the soft grass. "Just let me find a rhythm."
I grin and seat myself on the edge of the field, where I watch her start practicing. She begins by standing still, eyes closed, as her head slowly starts to bob to the beat of a silent song. Eventually she drops to a low crouch, stepping back and forth before exploding into the bouncing, springing movements of Capoeira. Her kicks and flips are accompanied by gusts of wind as the air around her reacts to her movements. This style's strong circular movements, acrobatic flair, and emphasis on evading attacks makes it a perfect alternative style of airbending to the Ba Gua derived style in the show. It is also a great match for Karol's personality.
Karol proves this point by ending her routine with an impressive twenty foot leap. She flips upside down and fires off a spinning kick, creating an arc of wind that lifts skyward, before performing a perfect gymnast's landing. She flings her arms up as if expecting a crowd to burst into applause. I oblige her by clapping. "That was great! You've definitely improved since the last time you where in Ponyville."
She falls back onto the grass with a tired sigh. "Not surprising considering how hard Jet's been pushing me." Her silver curled head peeks over her feet at me, "You wanna know what he said to me after our last lesson? He told me that he thinks I'm ready to move on to the next level of training if I wanted to."
"Do you want to?"
"Ask me later," Karol grunts, throwing an arm over her eyes. Seeing that she's not planning on going anywhere anytime soon, I step around her and take up a position near the cliff bordering my home's eastern edge. As I exhale I plant my feet shoulder-width apart, pulling my elbows in next to my hips with my fists clenched. "What's up?" the exhausted airbender behind me asks from her bed of grass.
"Something new." I inhale, focusing on the warmth of the sun, on the warmth of the magic flowing through me. When I exhale, I act. Externally, my arms and hands move in precise, circular motions. Internally, I reach deep inside myself and separate my internal magic into its positive and negative elements. As the final moment of the technique approaches, I can feel the opposing charges straining to reunite and restore my internal balance. When the moment is right I release the energies, allowing them to reunite as I thrust my right arm forwards, hand and fingers extended straight ahead.
Something goes wrong in that moment. The reuniting energies clash off-kilter just as I try to release the effect. A spark ignites off my fingertips. The air explodes.
Heat scorches my face and smoke blinds me. A wave of expanding air knocks me off my feet, but a cushion of whirling air catches me before I hit the ground. I use the extra time to flip myself over and allow momentum to bring me up to my feet. A wave of dizziness suddenly knocks me onto my ass, probably brought on by a combination of the botched technique and the concussive force of the blast.
Karol runs up and grabs a hand, pulling me up to my feet. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Good." She slugs me in the arm, hard. "What the hell are you trying to do? Did you just wake up and think, 'Hey, today I feel like blowing myself up'?"
Trying to cut her off before she can build up into a rant, I raise a hand and say, "Look, I was trying out a very advanced firebending technique and it proved to be a little more difficult than I thought. That's all."
She tilts her head incredulously. "Excuse me? A little more difficult means you almost blow your head off?"
"It's not that bad," I begin weakly. Luckily for me, I get cut off by a purple bolt from on high landing between me and the furious Karol.
"Lanternlight, Uplift!" Her Majesty Princess Twilight Sparkle looks up at us with desperation in her eyes. "You have to hide me, quick!"
A little while later, I walk out of my house fully dressed to the sight of an annoyed blue pegasus pony hovering above my property. Hooves crossed in front of her chest, she simply says, "Where is she?"
"Good morning to you too, Rainbow Dash."
"Yeah, sorry," she drops altitude until we're eye to eye. "Twilight ran off while I was getting the practice course ready for her flying lesson today. I know she flew off this way, so could you just tell me where you hid her?"
"Why'd she run?" It's drastically out of character for the purple pony to flee from anything remotely resembling any form of education. My question causes Rainbow to land and look down sheepishly.
"I may have kinda sorta implied that today is more a test than an actual lesson." Ah, one of Twilight's trigger words. That'll do it.
"Implied?!" Twilight's head pops out of the bush she had been using as a hiding spot. "You said that you would be testing me on what I've learned so far!"
"I never said that word! I said 'I'm going to see what you can do.'" Rainbow argues.
"And when I asked if it was like a test," the alicorn counters, "you said, 'Yeah, kinda.'"
Rainbow groans and plants her hoof firmly on her forehead. Before I could get involved in the argument the sound of the front door of my house door slamming draws my attention to Karol marching towards the exit of the little valley that the Springs is nestled in. Knowing that she'd just stew if I let her leave angry, I rush to catch up to her.
She's dressed in her casual clothes now; a blue chest-length shawl/cape thing designed to catch the wind over a tight black t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts, all courtesy of Rarity. Just as I reach her she leaps up to a low hanging cloud she parked near my place last night. She's been using small clouds as transportation since she learned that she could push them around by airbending, and apparently the practice had caught on with airbenders she met while on tour.
"Karol!" I shout, trying to get her attention before she zips off. "I'm sorry I worried you, but that technique is something I have to master to do my job."
"I don't like it when you get hurt, Patrick." She's talking to me, at least. From ten feet above the ground, but I'll take whatever progress I can get.
"I'm a Guardian, honey. Sooner or later I'm going to get hurt, but the more I know how to do the less serious it'll be. Please, Karol, don't leave." I regret my words when ninety pounds of angry woman jumps on me and hugs me hard enough to make my ribs creak.
"I'm not leaving you." She squeezes me harder than I thought a girl her size and build ever could. "I'm just scared."
I hug her back, letting my mind run on what came out today. The danger inherent in my occupation has been a shadow hanging over our relationship ever since we started getting serious. She's never really expressed how scared she is until now, she's never really been good at admitting when something's bothering her, but I've been able to sense it. If she's in town and I'm patrolling she hardy lets me out of her line of sight for more than ten minutes. I once overheard her talking to Nurse Redheart about a First Aid seminar the earth pony medic would speak at. Little clues like that have been popping up over the last few months.
It's not like I wouldn't understand, but part of what makes Karol the person that she is is her determination to deal with her own emotional baggage herself.
My mind turns towards my failed attempt at generating lightning. The technique requires absolute peace of mind, something that I think I have in abundance right now. Ponyville's crises have either been easily manageable or resolved themselves without me getting involved. What could possibly be holding me back?
Karol derails my train of thought by pointing at something in the air. "What's he doing here?"
He is a golden armored pegasus from Canterlot's Royal Guard. Wings beating hard, he comes in for a quick landing in front of Rainbow and Twilight, who's argument had long ago faded into an easy conversation. The guard bows and pulls a scroll out of his saddlebag with a wing, presenting it to Twilight. "Princess, I bring urgent news from northwest Equestria." No sooner does Twilight lift the message from him does the soldier salute and take off again.
Curious, Twilight unrolls the scroll and begins reading it as rapidly as she can. Her eyes widen in astonishment and she quickly rereads the entire thing. Her reaction draws the rest of us to her. Rainbow steps next to her friend and tries to get a look at the messages contents. "What is it," the nosey pegasus asks, "is Tall Tail Tale being attacked by a dragon or something?"
"No. This is a lot more serious than that." The princess's voice is much more grave than I'm comfortable with.
"Twilight, what's wrong?" She doesn't even acknowledge me, letting the scroll roll back up and looking past the horizon. I swear I can hear the gears in her head turning as she formulates a plan for whatever that message warned her about.
"Rainbow, I need you to go tell everypony to meet me in the library in one hour. Tell them it's an emergency if you have to."
The commanding tone in the princess's voice causes the Wonderbolt cadet to stand at attention. "Right away," she affirms before rocketing away towards Sweet Apple Acres.
"Lanternlight, Uplift, you should come too." Twilight floats the scroll towards us. As soon as Karol snatches the scroll from midair the alicorn vanishes in a flash of light.
Karol and I share a confused look before she opens the scroll and we begin to read.
FROM WILDLAND WEATHER PATROL TTT 15 TO CLOUDSDALE CENTRAL; FWD CANTERLOT CASTLE, FWD CRYSTAL PALACE, FWD PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE ASAP. ROYAL EMERGENCY.
ROUTINE PATROL SPOTTED GEOGRAPHICAL ANOMALY AT B (116.442) BY C (135.150). CREW CHIEF AND 3 VOLUNTEERS INVESTIGATED. ANOMALY PREVIOUSLY NON-EXSISTANT ISLAND IN THE CENTER OF CRYSTAL CLEAR LAKE. INHABITED. CITY STRUCTURES WITHIN STONE WALL 15M TALL. RESIDENTS HUMAN. RESIDENTS FRIGHTENED BY PATROL MEMBERS BUT NOT HOSTILE. REPRESENTATIVE OF LOCAL AUTHORITY DEMANDED PATROL VACATE AIRSPACE IMMEDIATELY ONCE COMMUNICATION ESTABLISHED. CHIEF COMPLIED AFTER INFORMING REPRESENTATIVE OF DIPLOMATIC CONTACT TO FOLLOW.
"That's the situation," Twilight says to the assembled group.
We're all sitting around the big round table in Golden Oak Library's main floor. The table is laden with teapots and enough cups for all, along with plates of assorted comfort foods. The alicorn is sitting directly across from me, with both of the elder Apple siblings on her immediate right, followed by Rarity, Fluttershy, myself, Karol, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and lastly Spike on her left. To my relief someone had found cushioned stools for Karol and I to sit on.
"What's yer plan, sugarcube?" Applejack asks, her tea untouched.
Twilight takes a deep breath. "I've spoken with Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, and we've agreed that I should be the one to make contact with the city's leaders. As a princess I have the authority to make promises on behalf of Equestria, but unlike the others I don't have a principality to look after yet. Also, you know," she points to the purple, star-shaped gem topping her crown, "friendship. So my plan needs all of you if I'm going to have even the smallest chance of pulling it off. Will you help?"
Rainbow puffs her chest out proudly, "Like you even need to ask. Just tell us what you need and we'll make sure it gets done."
A chorus of agreement follows the pegasus's statement, but Karol and I share a look. Karol's only experience with the excitement that surrounds the Elements was when she happened to be in town when Pinkie somehow managed to clone herself. She has no idea what she'd be volunteering for. Myself? All I know is that there is no way I'm letting these mares walk into something as dangerous as a city full of freshly Returned humans without me around. "You can count on me."
"Me too," Karol says.
Twilight smiles happily and begins disclosing her plan. "All right. First of all, Rarity. You'll help me during the negotiations with the city's leaders. Your knowledge of etiquette will no doubt help make a good first impression."
Rarity preens her mane proudly. "Oh, but of course."
"More importantly, I'm going to need an expanded wardrobe to better present myself, since human society has a nudity taboo," Twilight continues. Rarity glances at Karol and I out of the corner of her eye before nodding her understanding and taking a dainty sip of tea. "At least ten more outfits." The refined unicorn freezes mid-sip, her cheeks bulging as she holds back what could have been an epic spit-take. "And two more for everypony else, just in case." The dam breaks and Rarity soaks Rainbow's face with a jet of chamomile and jasmine blend.
"Eighteen! I, it, wha..." Rarity sputters, wobbling like she's about to faint. Twilight is grinning sheepishly while an indignant Rainbow dries herself off with a napkin next to a giggling Pinkie Pie. The white unicorn suddenly sits ramrod straight as an idea hits her. "I have to get to my store," she says, and we are treated to the rare sight of the designer frantically galloping off fast enough to leave a white and purple blur in her wake.
"Pinkie." The pony in question snaps her full attention to Twilight. "When we get to to the city I'm going to need you to do what you do best."
"Throw a party!" Pinkie gasps, then hesitates when Twilight smiles but shakes her head. "Bake sweets? Sing a song? Violate the laws of physics so hard they cry in a corner?"
"No Pinkie, I need you to make new friends."
"Oh yeah!. Okey dokey lokey, Twilight." Crisis averted, the party animal dives into the pile of sugary confections on her plate.
Twilight turns to Rainbow next. "Rainbow, you'll be keeping an eye on the weather. It might have stalled out with the wildland weather ponies avoiding the area. However for the most part I need you to keep Pinkie Pie out of trouble."
Rainbow glances at the pink sugar demon, who is happily stuffing her frosting-coated face with another serving of diabetes inducing snacks. "Sure, give me the hardest assignment in the whole trip."
"Not to worry, you'll have help." Twilight smiles at Applejack. "AJ, you'll be with them. I want you to get a feel for the people, find out what life in the city is like. If all goes well, we might need your help finding viable farmland to help the city become self-sustaining."
"Yah got it, Twi." The earth pony adjusts her hat and casts a cautious eye at the blue and pink duo across the table from her. "Ah'll do my best to keep those two troublemakers in line."
"Good luck." Spike says cheerfully, dutifully taking notes as Twilight speaks
"Uplift, you'll be help them explore the city and deal with the people there. Show them where to go, teach them what to do, what to say when, and most importantly who and what to avoid."
Uplift salutes. "Don't worry Twilight, I'll teach them everything I know." Her grin as she says that sends a chill up my spine. Karol and Pinkie get along pretty well, but their personalities work off each other a little too well. Combine that inevitable randomness with Rainbow's mischievous streak and Applejack will have her hooves full corralling that herd of cats.
"Fluttershy, you'll explore the area around the lake. We need to make sure the ecosystem can support this number of humans without collapsing." The yellow pegasus nods, happy with her assignment. Twilight's next request makes her a little less happy. "I might need your help during the negotiations too. Your empathy might enable you to pick up on something the rest of us might overlook."
"Oh. A-are you sure you want me helping you with something so important?" Fluttershy nervously rubs a hoof against the table, but Twilight's nod seems to give her a measure of confidence. "Okay, I'll do my best."
Finally, Twilight looks my way. "Lanternlight, you'll be with us during the negotiations. You're pretty good at reading other's intentions, and I'm sure your advice will be invaluable." She pauses, fiddling with her teacup with her hooves. "Also, you're the foremost expert on human magic in the nation. If anyone can figure out why a whole city Returned, it's you."
I nod, already planning ways to keep track of everyone when the group is separated. "Got it."
"Okay. Now I know this is sudden, but I want to leave day after tomorrow. We have a day to pack everything we need and make arrangements for our homes and pets." As she speaks, Twilight hovers a piece of paper and a quill to her desk and starts jotting something down.
"What about me," Big Macintosh rumbles. The big stallion has been here the whole time, but hasn't spoken a word. "Ah'd feel right silly if all Ah do is sit 'round while everyone's helpin' out."
An awkward silence stretches across a few seconds before Applejack narrows her eyes at her brother. "Macintosh, ya seem to be under the impression that yer' comin' along this time."
"Eyup."
"Absolutely not!" AJ pushes her face closer to Mac's. "Leavin' the farm to just Granny and Apple Bloom when there's a whole orchard to maintain before applebuck season? Ah didn't now yah could be so irresponsible!"
Mac, normally as calm as one of his family's deep-rooted trees, surprises everyone by literally butting heads with his sister. "Ah'm comin'."
AJ pushes against the red stallion's head. "No ya ain't"
Mac pushes back, almost shouting, "Yes. Ah. Am."
"Holy cow," Spike mutters at the sight of the siblings squaring off, "that escalated fast."
Twilight's horn glows as she grabs each earth pony's tail with her magic and pulls the arguing siblings apart. "Okay, that's enough!" The alicorn fumes at her best friend and coltfriend as they continue to glare at each other, then turns apologetically to the rest of us with her horn still alight. "Sorry guys. Do what you need to do, we'll work this out."
The five of us awkwardly exit the library, unable to help hearing the sound of the argument resuming as soon as Spike closes the door behind us. Fluttershy takes to the air and heads towards Carousel Boutique, muttering something about giving Rarity a hoof. Karol gives me a peck on the cheek then leaps onto her cloud and zips off to find her agent, while Rainbow and Pinkie have already vanished to who knows where.
Worry eats away at me as I make my way back to Sunset Springs. An entire city Returning en mass? Where on Earth did it come from? Are the people the weather patrollers talked to even still in charge? If they are, will they be willing to negotiate? Will they turn on our little group if they think it will benefit them? There are too many uncertainties, but I'm going to do my best to make sure everyone comes home safe and sound.
God help anyone who gets in my way.
Miles away and hours later, in a darkened room lit by candlelight, five men sit at a long table.
The table itself has seen many of these late-night meetings. It bears the stacks of papers with quiet dignity, each one bearing a handwritten report. Occasionally one sheet among them has the deep impressions of a mechanical typewriter pressed into service after decades of dusty retirement. A forrest of candlesticks provide enough light for the men to see by, carefully arranged to limit the risk of fire as much as possible. By the force of long-observed habit, a sleek, black, modern conference phone remains unburied by the shifting dunes of paper and wax despite its current uselessness.
"We've been able to restore power to some districts with the emergency generators, but it's spotty at best. Our gasoline reserves can only give us about a month of service before we'll be forced to search for an alternative power supply." The speaker adjusts the glasses on his thin nose, sweat from nerves and the sweltering atmosphere of the room dripping from his chin.
"Good thing our Duchess likes candlelight so much, eh." A jovially overweight man says, laughing at his own jest. His mirth earns him glares from three of the other men seated at the table.
One of them, hardly tall enough to see over the table while seated, stands and slams his hands down on the wooden surface. Paying no mind to the dangerously wobbling candles, he shouts at the last speaker, "How dare you joke at a time like this, and at the Duchess's expense no less! Our city is in crisis, you fool!"
A forth man, his jacket flung casually over the back of his chair and his tie hanging untied around his neck, snorts humorlessly. "Food reserves dwindling, martial law being called out, more than nine tenths of our population missing; this situation isn't just a crisis, it's a disaster. And we still don't know how or why it happened." He glances at the spectacled man accusingly.
"It's only been three days! How can you expect a scientific inquiry to come to a conclusion with so little time and data?"
Before the meeting can devolve into a shouting match, the fifth man, seated at the head of the table, holds up a hand. "Gentlemen please compose yourselves. Fighting will do us no good." The owner of the calm voice is handsome and impeccably dressed, seeming untouched by the heat of the still summer night. "We are each doing our best to see our city through this difficult time. Unfortunately we can only act on what we know."
In the silence of the room, the man folds his hands in front of him. "And what do we know? Very little. Three days ago the central quarter of our city was bathed in a mysterious light, and we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a lake that wasn't there before. We have been cut off from the rest of the city and its infrastructure, and lost the majority of our population. The weather is static, no rain or wind and the clouds haven't so much as budged an inch in the time since our arrival. Telecommunications are offline or destroyed, and many of our remaining citizens have displayed strange abilities. To put the icing on the proverbial cake, just last evening we were contacted by nothing short of a flock of what appeared to be talking pegasi." A round of disbelieving laughter snakes its way around the table. "The only conclusion that makes sense, once we apply logic, is that we are no longer on Earth. So we must adapt."
A strange wind billows one of the rooms curtains, drawing the men's attention to the windows lining one of the walls. A wisp of green smoke, sparkling and flowing with a will of its own, enters. In stunned silence the men watch as it coils into a spiral above the head of the table. With a flash and a soft pop, a rolled up scroll takes its place and falls directly in front of the well-spoken man leading the meeting.
After a moment's hesitation, the man carefully picks up the scroll. He notes the purple ribbon and the horseshoe and starburst sigil impressed on the wax seal. The other men gasp when he breaks the seal, then wait breathlessly as he reads the message within.
For more than a minute the room is deathly silent. Then the leader stands up and makes his way to the window, looking over the city. "It seems our winged visitors were being honest. A Princess 'Twilight Sparkle' is making her way here to open diplomatic conversations on behalf of her country." He studies his face reflected in the window's glass, his now slate-grey eyes glowing softly as they gaze back at him. "She'll arrive in four days. We'd best make preparations."
Author's Note
Hello readers! This is a sequel to my other story: Chronicle of the Return. If you haven't read that one yet, then by all means do so.
Hopefully I can keep this story updating more regularly than Chronicle. I'm aiming for a chapter a month, barring any real life interference.
And for those curious, Lanternlight's firebending style is based off Shotokan Karate instead of Northern Shoulin Kung Fu. I'd consider him a fifth dan (or degree) out of ten, meaning he has long since mastered the basics and has moved on to studying the more complex and philosophical aspects of the discipline. By contrast, Karol's instructor is ready to move her on to the first dan in her style.
As always, like, favorite, and leave a comment! See you guys later.
-DU
Chapter 2: A Quiet Train Ride
On the day of our departure, everyone assembles at the train station. The porters are busy sorting our luggage into carts for the trip under Rarity's watchful eye.
"Careful!" The unicorn shouts when one of her large trunks shifts and almost tips the cart over. "There are some very delicate items in there. Please be gentle." One of the porters rolls his eyes and gets back to work.
Karol walks over and pats Rarity on the shoulder. "Chill out, girl. They know what they're doing." Despite the airbender's calming words, the designer bites her hoof and watches like a hawk as each piece of her luggage is pushed, lifted, or levitated into place. "Wow. Have trouble choosing what to pack, Rares?"
"Oh you have no idea! Twilight's order and timetable means I simply must bring along enough supplies to work while we travel. That means fabric, thread, needles and pins, my machine, things like that. Of course I had to balance that against my own wardrobe and what necessities I could fit." Rarity pauses to pat an errant curl back into its place in her mane. "I must look my absolute best if I'm going to represent Equestria, after all."
"Uh, of course." Karol chuckles uncomfortably as Rarity starts asking her what she packed for the trip.
My attention turns to the where Twilight and the Apple Family stand in a huddle. Twilight and AJ have their saddlebags on, and Macintosh has his own bags strapped on as well. It seems that they were able to reach some kind of compromise.
"Are you sure you want to stay, Spike?" Twilight asks her assistant. "The last time you tried to help out on the farm it didn't go very well."
"Come on Twilight, I know better than to go overboard this time. This way, Big Mac can go with you, and you can send a message to Celestia in case something goes wrong." Spike puffs himself up proudly and points at himself with a thumb. "Don't worry about a thing, Twilight, Spike's got everything covered."
Being an incorrigible old pony she is, Granny Smith seizes the opportunity to squish the baby dragon's cheeks between her hooves. "Aw, don'cha worry sonny. Applebloom an' Ah'll show ya the ropes." The little dragon blushes in embarrassment under the elderly mare's hooves.
"Braeburn will be comin' along in a few days ta help out around the farm," AJ says to Applebloom, "but you'll have ta pick up the slack without Mac an Ah there. Just don't push yerself too hard, ya hear?"
The little yellow filly nods and salutes. "Yes ma'am. Maybe Ah'll get mah apple farming' Cutie Mark while ya'll are gone!"
AJ just shares a knowing smile with the other adults present. "Well that'd be a nice surprise, wouldn't it Macintosh?"
"Eyup."
A sudden whistle in the distance draws everyone's attention to the east. "Looks like our train is here," I observe to no one in particular while shrugging on my backpack.
As everyone gathers near the edge of the platform, the Apples exchange a big goodbye hug. Twilight stands at a respectful distance, but is soon drawn in by a pair of green hooves while a yellow pair snatches Spike. After one last loving squeeze they join the rest of us.
Twilight ducks her head to whisper in her assistant's ear, "Just remember Spike, if you have any questions or trouble I'm just a letter away."
"I can handle it. You have more important things to worry about anyways." The little dragon gives his unicorn friend/big sister another, more personal hug. "Just don't wait too long between letters, okay?"
"Okay." After breaking the hug, Twilight, by virtue of being Twilight Sparkle, checks the station's big clock. "Oh, wonderful! We have enough time to meet our escort before the train leaves."
"Ah don't think marchin' a bunch'a armored ponies through the street is goin' to make us a whole lotta friends, Twi," AJ observes sardonically.
"Actually, I decided to bring along a new division of the guard as our escort," Twilight says while, with a hiss of steam, the train stops. We gather near the royal carriages that has been provided for us, elaborately decorated and no doubt luxuriously appointed. Once the train has come to a complete stop, our escort disembarks from the passenger car.
They are dressed in full body armor, the plates painted with random patches of grey and white. Any exposed fabric I can see is a dull grey as well. Instead of the standard helm that the rest of the Guard favors, these two wear full helmets with completely featureless masks built in. Combined with their ramrod posture and strong builds, the effect is more than a little intimidating. The two humans raise their clenched fists to their chests in a salute.
"Your Majesty," the broader of the two says in a gruff voice, "the Faceless Guard are at your command."
Adjusting her posture to look properly dignified, Princess Sparkle walks forward to address the speaker. "Thank you for accepting this mission on such short notice, Captain." Confused, she tilts her head to look past the two guardsmen. "Shouldn't there be more of you?"
"Our recruitment standards are very strict, ma'am." The Captain's voice is frustratingly familiar, but I can't quite place it. "The corporal here is the only applicant to pass Selection so far." The other soldier, slightly shorter and much slimmer than his commander, nods at the acknowledgment. Then the Captain turns his attention towards the rest of us. "All right ladies and gents, time to get underway. I am Captain Ironsides of the Faceless guard and this is Corporal Undertow. We are your escort and security team for this trip, which means that when it comes to your safety you will listen to what we say. Even you Princess. Corporal, help the porters get the bags stowed and secure the baggage car."
"Yes sir," Undertow salutes his officer then walks off to complete his orders. I catch a glimpse of his Duty Mark before boarding the train, a blue field with six black lines and a downward-pointing black arrow in the center.
After making sure that everyone was settled in the cars, the conductor shouts "All aboard." The train begins to pick up steam, driving us towards our destination as I settle into my seat for the long ride.
"We'll get off tomorrow in a little town called Old Oaks, but after that we'll have to travel on hoof the rest of the way to Crystal Clear Lake." Twilight drags a hoof from the village to the lake on the map spread out on the table. "It'll take us a couple of days, but we should get there quickly enough to make a good impression."
I nod, taking in the schedule and route of our journey. Around the table the others are all paying varying amounts of attention. Mac and AJ are both sitting close to the alicorn and are memorizing the route, but Rarity is busy drafting designs on a piece of scrap paper and only halfway devoting her attention to the rest of the world. Fluttershy is apologizing to a grumpy Angel Bunny, who had to be locked in a cage for the trip. Pinkie, Rainbow, and Karol aren't even paying attention to Twilight at all, huddling together on a bench. Occasionally a whispered word or ominous giggle floats over from their little conference. Watchfully standing by at the door leading to the rest of the car is Ironsides, silent and still as any of his colleagues in the Royal Guard.
"So what's the plan once we get to the city?"
My question makes the Princess pause for thought. "Well," she begins uncertainly, "I'll try to get in touch with the city's officials once we reach the lake's shore. Then we'll try to get an idea of the state it and it's people are in. Ask for a tour, make small talk with the diplomats, look around for any damaged buildings or the like. Once we get settled into whatever quarters they provide for us then we'll discuss our findings and strategize for the rest of the visit."
"Okay," I say, beginning to frame my next question. "Do you have a goal for this diplomatic envoy of ours?"
"Best case scenario is that I manage to persuade them to join Equestria as full nationals. More realistically I want to offer them relief and aid while they adjust to this world, or at least get them to agree to an arrangement that will let the pegasi to enter the airspace again so they can manage the weather in the area again."
"On that note, I need to talk to you about a few things, ma'am." Ironsides nods towards the back of the car. Twilight shrugs and follows the guard into the next car down, leaving the rest of us to our own devices.
I spend the next hour sitting next to the window, watching the scenery fly by and trying to quiet my racing thoughts. My initial apprehension of this whole situation has not faded with time. Legend says that King Ignis's spell would only bring back those humans worthy of living in this world, but exactly what traits would the long-dead King of Humanity consider 'worthy'? My species is so infamously varied and complex. Not that the ponies aren't similarly complex, they are in a very different way. Humanity seems to be far more cynical in our worldview than the ponies. I'm thankful that Twilight chose to take the Faceless with us as an escort. Ironside's experience and training will come in handy on this trip, of that I have no doubt.
I'm drawn out of my trance by the sound of an argument behind me. Karol and company in the booth across from me are ignoring the quiet but incessant chatter, focusing on their game of cards. Behind us, taking up a whole third of the car, is Rarity's improvised workspace. Bolts of fabric are stacked on tables and benches, dressed with scattered ribbon and thread. Pincushions litter the colorful terrain like cybernetic sea urchins. In the center of the semi-organized mess is Rarity, in the midst of carefully assembling a hat. Fluttershy sits nearby, handling what looks like some tricky and delicate stitching on the hem of a completed dress.
What really surprises me are the two apple-flanked siblings helping out with the process. Macintosh is acting as a gofer, retrieving anything that the mares need but are out of reach, holding bolts of cloth while Rarity measures and cuts, and just helping out in general. Applejack, on the other hand, is carefully running a large piece of fabric through the sewing machine with a look of complete concentration on her face.
"Ah know how to stitch a seam, Rarity." The orange earth pony says, not even glancing at the unicorn across the table from her.
Rarity, however, throws several worried glances at the farm pony acting as a seamstress. "Oh, I know AJ. I'm just… nervous about completing this order in time. If even one tiny detail is out of place it could set me back hours."
"Don't get yer tail in a twist, sugarcube. Fluttershy an' Ah are followin' yer designs to the letter." AJ lifts up the fabric in her hooves, displaying the curving seam she just finished sewing for Rarity's perusal. "See?"
Rarity hums softly in surprised approval of her friend's work. "Well done, you've certainly improved since…" She suddenly falls dead silent, pinning her ears down when she realizes what she was about to say. "Well. That whole mess. Last month."
"Oh. Er, yeah. Ah've been puttin' aside time to practice since then."
"I let her borrow some of my magazines." Fluttershy's attempt to break the awkward silence falls flat. The trio then quickly return their attention to their work, not yet ready to discuss the events that lead to Twilight gaining her wings and title.
Suddenly an armored man sits in the bench across from me. I'm sure it's the Corporal due to his slender build. He just stares at me for a few minutes. The blank mask makes the whole thing awkward almost to the point of being creepy, I can feel him staring despite the mask's complete lack of eye holes.
"Can I help you?"
My question seems to snap him out of whatever trance he was in. "Oh, sorry. I'm just very, very excited to have this chance to meet you, Lanternlight-senior."
Wow. He sounds young. He also used one of Babel's honorific suffixes. Huh.
Wait, Babel has honorific suffixes? I've been using the Chinese sifu title because I like the way it sounds. Does Babel actually have an honorific suffix for 'teacher/instructor/Master'?
I decide to save the linguistic quandary for another time and focus on the conversation. "Well, it's nice to meet you too, uh…" It is really difficult for me to remember a name without a face to link it to.
"Undertow." He bows slightly when he introduces himself. Between his mannerisms, suffix use, and accent I begin to suspect he was born and raised in a Far Eastern nation. "Let me just say that I'm a big fan of your work."
I lift an eyebrow in confusion, "And you would be referring to…?"
"Your discovery of the Thousand and One Steps Towards Wisdom! Well, more specifically your transcription of the first fifty lessons for publication. Oh, and your Beginning Bender's Manual." Oh god, I can almost feel him smiling through the mask. I can almost feel my subconscious file that sensation away as nightmare fuel for the nights ahead. "It's actually thanks to you that I qualified for Selection in the first place."
"Really?" I ask, stunned.
"Oh certainly, senior. After reading the Manual I spent weeks honing my waterbending, then curiosity lead me to the Steps Towards Wisdom. It took me forever to find a copy of the transcript in Babel. I'm still trying to learn the Equestrian scripts, Unicorn is giving me a lot of trouble. Anyways, I'm almost done with the first fifty lessons and I've got a request to access the original plates processing back in Canterlot. What lesson are you on?"
"I'm kinda stuck on 46," I reply automatically, still trying to catch up to his train of thought.
"Oo, the introduction to the chi network? It's not surprising that you would get stumped on that one. Not that I'm implying that you're stupid, it's just that that lesson is strongly rooted in Water philosophy so a firebender like you might have trouble mastering that stuff. I'm sure you'll find it very useful though. Uh, speaking of the Steps, did you know there's a rumor going around Canterlot about the restoration of the school you found them in? Apparently the Princesses are considering fixing it up and reopening it if there is enough interest from the human population."
Okay, time to jump the track and gain control of this conversation. "That's interesting. Say, you wouldn't happen to be Japanese would you?"
"Born and raised in Tokyo. Is that going to be a problem, senior?" He tilts his head to the side and I swear I hear a puppy whine from somewhere on the train. As if the contrast between his demeanor and uniform wasn't jarring enough. The culturally sensitive part of my brain smacks the rest as I realize what my question might have inferred.
I try to salvage this… whatever it is that is going on here. "No, no. I was just curious about your accent and…"
My salvation from awkwardness comes in the form of a roar that channels the spirit of every sergeant to command a squad ever. "Corporal Undertow, what in the raging hell are you doing chatting with a civilian while you're on duty!" Ironsides' voice rattles the panes of the car's windows and probably makes the conductor up in the engine jump three feet into the air. Rainbow Dash does jump into the air, joining the rookie Faceless in the aisle. Both are standing at attention as the Captain stalks towards his subordinate.
Ironsides stares the two down for a second, before waving the slightly embarrassed Wonderbolt cadet away. He then stands inches away from Undertow and growls, "I'm waiting for an explanation, soldier."
"Captain," the corporal salutes, "the train is secure and the baggage car is clear. I was attempting to fill the time while keeping an eye on our charges, sir."
"I hope you slept well last night, rookie, because you just earned yourself the night shift." The captain points towards the engine-side door. "Go and stand guard properly."
"Yes Captain," Undertow says, saluting. Then he bows deeply and mutters, "sorry captain," before turning around and walking through the door.
Silence reigns in the car for a few seconds before Rainbow speaks up, still standing in the aisle. "That was pretty harsh, sir."
"I expect my team to act professionally while on duty," Ironsides says evenly. Rainbow grumbles something before returning to her seat with Pinkie and Karol. The man ignores the grumpy pegasus and gestures towards Karol and I. "Lanternlight, Uplift, may I have a word with you in the sleeper car, please?"
I glance at Karol, who replies with a shrug. We get up and follow the earthbender towards the next car down. We pass Twilight on the way. She looks like she wants to say something but is cut off by Pinkie Pie loudly inviting her to sit in on the card game.
Once we move out of the car, Ironsides seems to relax. He sits down on one of the beds, heaves a big sigh, and takes his helmet off. The old soldier's dark brown, grey-streaked hair and warm brown eyes become visible. It looks like he has trimmed his mustache since the banquet. He also looks very tired.
I sit down on the opposite bed. "He's a nice kid. How'd he wind up working for you," I ask lightly.
The old soldier chuckles. "He was the only volunteer out of three to pass Selection. I see a lot of potential in him, he's smart and picks things up quick. The problem is that he's greener than spring grass and I have to train him from scratch." He leans forwards and clasps his hands together. "All joking aside, I need to tell you something. When we get to the city we have to keep our bending a secret."
Again, Karol and I share a look. "Okaay," she says while quirking an eyebrow at Ironsides, "why?"
"Two reasons," the captain holds up a finger, "the first is to keep the citizens and leaders of the city from panicking. What they just went through is enough to put anyone's hackles up. For all we know this city Returned from the middle of a war zone. It won't help our cause if our hosts know that one of us can throw fire around at will."
I nod. "Reasonable. And the second reason?"
"Operational security. These people are going to know a lot about us. They will know how many of us there are. They will know where we are staying. If they don't have us under constant surveillance from the moment we step foot on the island I'll eat my boots. We are going to need an ace up our sleeves in case the situation gets violent."
"Are you sure that's necessary?"
"No, but I'd rather take this precaution and not need it than hand valuable techniques to a potential enemy."
"Damn," Karol curses suddenly, "that means I'm going to have to walk everywhere, isn't it." When she notices our incredulous stares, the airbender huffs grumpily. "Don't give me that look. Clouds are the only way to travel."
The rest of the trip is uneventful. I spend most of my time chatting with the others, although Undertow doesn't approach me again. I savor my evening and morning practice sessions, standing on the back porch of the caboose so I don't set the train on fire.
We spend the second night of our trip in the home of Old Oak's mayor. While hardly spacious, there were enough rooms to accommodate everyone. More importantly, the house is close to a wide field that is perfect for what is probably my last morning practice before we reach the city.
My focus this morning is shoddy, with the city so close my worries are magnified and wreck any piece of mind I may have. What I do have is the good sense not to make another attempt at the lightning technique. If I couldn't pull it off at my most peaceful, then there is no way I can do it now.
My routine finished, I turn to find the other benders near the field. Karol is leaning against one of Old Oak's namesake trees while the two Faceless stand at ease at the edge of the field. Ironsides steps forward, saying, "How about a little sparring match? I'm tired of beating the snot out of Undertow and it looks like you could use a little practice against something real."
He does have a point, and I think a change of pace would be nice. "All right Captain, challenge accepted."
Ironsides begins removing his armor. "Right. No strikes that would be illegal in a dojo; head, hands, and groin are off limits."
"No submission holds either. I would like to keep all my limbs, thank you."
Ironsides grins mischievously at that. "One point match good with you then?"
I grin right back. "Sudden death it is."
He throws his shirt off, joining me in the middle of the field. "Ready when you are, laddie."
We bow and take our stances. The wind blows across the landscape as we size each other up and plan our first moves.
I engage, jabbing a fireball at him to test his defenses then repositioning myself for the next strike. Ironsides stomps, intercepting my fireball with a clump of dirt. He then launches it at me, but I've already dodged and use the opportunity to launch a counter attack. As I run I launch the fast fireballs in rapid succession, staggering their trajectory. My opponent ducks underneath my fire and punches up and out with both fists. The ground beneath my feet heaves and I immediately jump before the ground flips over on me. Unfortunately the momentum of his strike forces me to jump backwards. He quickly takes advantage of the distance, bombarding my location with dirt and sod with his superior reach.
All he needs is one clean hit to win, so I don't give him the chance to land that hit. I roll under his assault and begin running towards him in a serpentine pattern to evade his strikes. When he kicks a rolling slab of dirt in my direction I tumble to the side and sweep an arc of flame towards his legs. He pulls up a bank of earth to deflect the attack. I seize the opportunity and go on the offensive, closing and unleashing blast after blast with a combination of kicks and punches. Overwhelmed by my onslaught, he pulls the bank up further to protect his entire body, but launches small pieces of it to counterattack and break my inertia.
Undaunted, I dodge around or blast apart the earthen projectiles. When I'm almost close enough to touch the shield I pivot, ready to throw a haymaker behind it and hopefully catch Ironsides by surprise.
Except he isn't there.
The earth suddenly swallows my left foot, trapping it in place. Behind me the earth erupts and I feel a meaty arm snake around my neck and a fist touch my right side near my kidney.
…Well crap.
"My point," Ironsides states smugly.
I put aside my pride when the soldier releases me and give him a sportsman's bow. "Your match, Ironsides." He graciously returns the bow and grips my hand to shake. That's when we hear applause from the edge of the field.
To my surprise there are four ponies standing on the townward side of the field. Twilight has a bemused expression on her face, while AJ, Rainbow, and Pinkie are stomping their hooves and cheering like sports fans at their local arena. Pinkie is even swinging around a yellow pennant with my Duty Mark.
Rainbow exuberantly takes to the air and flies up to us. "That was a pretty awesome match there, guys. You should have told me, I would have sold tickets."
"That was mighty impressive, I'll give yah that. Here." Applejack trots up and tosses me a water canteen with a flick of her tail. "Ah bet the two a yah could kick some serious keister fightin' together."
"That was intense," chatters Pinkie as she appears behind us, "you were all 'woos, fwoosh!' Then he was like 'boom, pow!'" The pink pony then proceeds to reenact our entire duel with accompanying sound effects.
Twilight joins us, talking over the pony-shaped mass of energy that is her friend. "Very exciting, but we have to get going soon. That and you made a bit of a mess."
Looking back at the sparring grounds, I find that what was once a quiet, peaceful meadow has been transformed. Rubble and small fires litter the ground and a couple of trees around the area have scorch marks or clods of dirt sticking to their trunks. Undertow works to extinguish the fires with his waterbending, sending thick clouds of water vapor into the sky.
Rainbow looks around, "Yeah, we'd better get outta here before anypony notices."
Less than an hour later, we hit the trail after leaving a politely worded apology and a small bag of bits on the mayor's desk. We follow the trail through the woods surrounding Old Oaks, two heavily loaded carts in tow. Next stop: Crystal Clear Lake.
Author's Note
For those curious, Ironsides uses Krav Maga as his Earthbending style.
Sorry this took so long, but it's here and my brain is already churning away at the next chapter.
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