Stronghold: New Beginnings.

Chapter 8:

Time to get down to business.

Once again, my fellow readers, Max is having nightmares. We will now view his ghastly dream, and figure out the problem;

He is at the castle of Reggie Phillips, Emerald katanas in hand. With Fluttershy at his side in human form, he feels reassured that victory was imminent. He brings out all his might as he kicks the gates down. But as he does, all of Reggie's little minions surrounds them, and throws spears at them. A second before the spears hit them, Max wakes up.

“Augh!!!” I yelled as I woke up. I saw an ace bandage wrapped around my abdomen...again. I saw Zecora hovering over me. “Zecora...we have got to stop meeting like this.” Zecora chuckled, then said “Mother's right here, my little Max. She's right here.” as she hugged me. 'Hmph...never thought of her as my mother, up until now.' I thought. “I know, mom...I know.” Kind of odd, calling a zebra your mother. But hey, she saved my life twice with care. What was I supposed to consider her as, my nurse?

“Where's Fluttershy? Was she killed by that assassin?” “No. She is outside. I will bring her in.” Two minutes later, I heard galloping headed my way. Fluttershy immediately started tearing up, apparently worried I had died. She started babbling like a madmare, talking about seeing me holding my side where blood was pouring out between my fingers, and that I fainted, and that she got Rainbow dash to drag me to Zecora's hut.

It took a while for me to calm her down. “I'm fine, Fluttershy. Really. I wouldn't be awake if I wasn't. What makes you think a small knife would kill me? As long as I'm ticking, I will always be kicking. All we have to do is remove the assassin from Reggie's game plan, and then we can come up with a plan that will knock Reggie off the top of his throne! As soon as I rid of him, we will regroup, and think of something else.”

“Are you sure you're alright?” asked Fluttershy. “Listen to me, Flutters. I've been healed by Zecora, an Herbs specialist for crying out loud. There is no way that I can't, be fine.” And so, I got up, and headed out of the Everfree Forest. I headed to the Sugar cube Corner place I mentioned, and went up to the counter. There, I saw Pinkie Pie standing in front of an oven. She must've been baking muffins, because a beautiful scent filled the air that made me think of home baked goods.

Then, I looked around, and noticed that the place looked a little better than before. Then I looked down at the counter, and saw a hotel front desk kind of bell. I tapped it, and Pinkie turned around.”Oh! Hi, Max, I was just making these muffins for when you come to. I heard about the near assassination thing, and I knew you wouldn't go down so easily. I'm just waiting for the—” and a timer finished her sentence as it made a satisfying 'ding!' “Ooh! They're ready! Hold on just a sec, okay? I'll go get the muffins!”

“Now, what's your reason for coming over here? Did you come to visit the little ones upstairs?” she asked as she handed me two of her freshly baked muffins. “That's the thing, Pinks. I came...to adopt them.” She instantly had a shocked face that made me crack up on the inside. “...YES, YOU CAN!!! I don't know anyone who could be a better father than you! Caring and ready to defend anyone if they are defenseless.

“And I've only known you for a few hours. But after meeting you, a few hours is plenty. Besides, I've had to give them a snack before they could stop crying. All you did was sing, and they stopped. They even went to sleep! They've stressed me so much, I have gray hairs. See?” and she pulled back her mane using her hoof, revealing quite noticeable slivers of shining gray mixed with the pink. “Wow.”

“But first, can I still take care of them from time to time?” I said “Sure,” and went upstairs. I saw the babies playing around. Pound Cake (the boy) was using his flight to walk upside down on the roof. Carrot Cake (the girl) was having power surges, and making her toy ducky fly around while she imitated the sound a duck makes. Then they looked at me, and they immediately stopped doing what they were doing and sat down. I smiled, and said, “You two ready for a new home?”

They started laughing, and I scooped them up in my arms. I left, but not before thanking Pinkie Pie for the delicious muffins, and left, heading downtown to where the stores were. I saw one in particular that got my attention; a mini-palace, with jewel-encrusted walls for the exterior, and a purple flag on the top. Above the door was a beautifully crafted wooden-sign that read “Rarity's Boutique-the to go place for the finest ensembles.”

It was the only place that seemed untouched. I went inside, and immediately heard a wind-chime. Rarity came in and said in what seemed to be a mid-Atlantic accent “Hello, there! My name is Rari—oh! It's just you, Max. Why have you come here, out of all places?” “Because it's the only place not falling apart, obviously. And because I'm in need of your assistance.”

“Oh, sure! Just settle the children down here.” As I did, she then insisted that I follow her. “Now, my reasoning for asking is because your my first male customer. What ensemble can I make for you?” “I need something for when the new plan gets put into action. It's an outfit I used to put together when I was twelve and it was almost Halloween. I even drew a picture of it a day after my thirteenth birthday. I keep it in my pocket at all times. Now, it should be of good use.” I said as I handed her the picture.

“It looked very complicated, and I do love a good challenge when it comes to making ensembles. Let's see what materials I have that you want. Oh, and it's on me since you're being so kind as to try to free us from Reggie.” “Okay. Let's see.” “We have many luxurious fabrics, like silk, satin, and most importantly, fine imported leather from Itaily. Which would you like?”

I thought about it, and realized I'll need all three since I never perform well without comfort. Then remembered that my new untold plan was supposed to be covert and secret. Therefore, I'd need it in black, with a hint of white. I told her this, and she said it'd take her about a half an hour or so. I left, babies in hand, and went to Zecora's hut.

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“WHAT!!! Are you out of your mind, Max? You'll be killed in a heartbeat!” Said Zecora. I told her my plan, and she thought it was crazy-talk. My first part of the plan was to sneak into Reggie's castle, and kill his spies randomly when no one is looking. Then, I'll tell everyone about the new plan, and since Reggie will have no spies, he'll never see it coming. “No, I won't. I'm getting a special outfit designed for this mission right now. I'll never be spotted.”

“Are you sure this will work, Max? Reggie may not be very smart, but he's smart enough to know when to attack. And he's smart enough to know when someone's in his domain. Are you sure you want to take this risk?” “Yes, mother. I'm sure. I'm also sure that my mission outfit is ready. See you tomorrow morning. I'll be here before you wake up so that I could cook up some breakfast.”

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“Thank you for the outfit, Rarity.” “It wasn't a problem at all making this ensemble, Max. Don't thank me. Thank yourself for having such a perfect fashion sense, even when you're about to get yourself killed.” “Let me pay for it.” “No. You're wasting your time by staying here. Go!” And she pushed me out the entrance. “Okay, then,” I said, cracking my knuckles. “Let's get down to business.” And I ran.