Coco

There was some amount of excitement among both ponies and rats that morning. Word spread quickly that the Captain of Sable had agreed to play against the “best Equestrian at chess,” as Sergeant Grimsly phrased it. The game was to be held in the galley, so all off-duty rats, plus the ponies, could watch.

“I would hardly call myself the best...” Coco told Captain Barlent. “I just played with my grandfather after school, that's all.”

“So did I.” the rat captain said. “Please, take a seat.”

Coco sat, and took a look at the board the Barlent had prepared. The board and players were made of oak and cherry. The pieces were older than the ones they had last night, as well: the pawns had poleaxes, the castles were actually castles, the king and queen were both actually a king and queen, rats with crowns, scepters and robes. “This is very nice.” Coco said.

“Yes, it's been in the family for six generations. Greywacke over there doesn't like it,” Barlent pointed to the political officer, lurking in a corner of the galley with his arms crossed, “he says it's counter-revolutionary imagery. Me, though? I call it historical. No point in denying we had a king just forty-five years ago.”

“One of these days, they're going to arrest you.” Torner remarked.

“I invite them to try.”

“Mister- Captain Barlent, why are we having this match, anyway?” asked Coco. “I don't want to be rude, but I really don't understand why...” The Captain just shrugged.

“Think of it as a friendly competition. You and I are the best of our respective peoples aboard this ship, why not have some fun? In fact, I'll even throw in a prize if you win! I heard you were seeking a new book to read, and even though I'm reluctant to open my collection to rats, or ponies rather, I don't know... if you win, I'll make an exception. Any one book from my collection. Does that sound fair?”

Coco sat a little straighter in her chair, and nodded quickly. “Oh, very much so!” She noted that Caballeron's attention was directed fully at them, ears pricked forward and all. What? Coco attempted to mouth at him, but he just shook his head and returned to his normal reserved self.

By this time, most of the off-duty crew had arrived, as had all the ponies taken from Nutmeg. The energy in the galley was palpable. There were many sports enjoyed in Equestria, both air and land variations of chariot racing particularly, but for the rats of Hivald, chess was a sport held in the highest esteem. “It's a game of wits and strategy.” Caballeron had told her the other night. “You must constantly be attentive and wary, and be striving to find your opponent's weakness all the while. An exercise in intellect and foresight.” From what little she had known of rats before this misadventure, Coco would have assumed that their favored competition was gladiatorial death-matches between slave warriors.

“Well, everyone's here!” Torner announced, pulling out a silver penny from his uniform's breast pocket. “Let's get started. Heads or tails, Miss Pommel?”

“Um, heads, please.”

Torner flipped the coin, and caught it. “Heads it is!”

“Fair enough.” Barlent carefully spun the board around, so that he got the black pieces and she had the white. “Good luck, Miss Pommel.” he said, with a polite smile. “Let the game begin.”

Her first move was a pawn to E4, matched by Captain Barlent's pawn meeting it at E5. “Here we go!” Billet said excitedly. Coco's white wizard moved to C4.

“How very Equestrian of you.” commented Barlent, sending his knight to F6. “I've ever only seen your kind make this kind of opening.”

“We're a traditional nation.” Coco replied. Her own knight mirrored the move, to F4, and Barlent's knight captured her nearby pawn. Not a problem, she told herself. She moved her other knight onto C3, and again lost a pawn at F2 to Barlent's knight. What is he doing, though? Coco wondered as her king took the knight.

The rat's black wizard moved out to C5, checking her king; Sable's crew muttered and nodded in approval. Coco's pawn moved to D4, and was taken by Barlent's. In return, her castle moved into the E file and put her opponent's king in check. It became the ponies' turn to get excited. When Barlent moved his king out of danger, Coco sent a knight forward to attack his black wizard, forcing it to retreat.

For a while, she considered her next move, as did Barlent. She settled on queen to D3, which Barlent countered by moving up another pawn behind his one on D4, attacking both her knight and white wizard. Coco's queen went to A3, putting his king in check again, and forcing him to move next to the castle. But now what?

The seconds ticked by on the galley's clock. She was about to just move her wizard out of the pawn's way when an idea finally came to her. A very bold idea, Coco realize as she played it out in her head. Instead of fleeing, her wizard took the pawn, and ended up right in the path of Barlent's queen. He did as she expected, and took the wizard.

“A wizard for a pawn?” he asked her.

She said nothing back, not looking up from the board. Her knight went to F6, attacking both Barlent's king and queen. It was easily dispatched with a pawn from G7.

“Why did she do that?” questioned Quartermaster Forestay from behind.

“Looks like your lady-friend is starting to slip up, Doctor!” laughed Torner.

“Nothing's over yet.” Caballeron said. “She'll think of something.”

“You sure?” asked the rat.

“Very sure. This little mare has repeatedly surprised me in the time I’ve known her. I’m counting on it happening again.”

Coco couldn’t help but smirk, despite the game’s situation. She rather liked being described that way. Her queen was sent to F8, which was promptly was taken by the king. “Oh, Miss Pommel, what are you doing?” Billet sighed. “You're supposed to win, not throw the game! Think of what Princess Celestia would say! You can't let these revolutionaries triumph here!”

Again, Coco didn't respond. Politics weren't on her mind, she wanted that new book. Anything was better than Rarity's risque taste in romance novels. Her heart hammered against her chest, and she was so tense she could barely inhale. The game could fall apart at any moment now, at any turn, if the rat saw through her plan. She moved her black wizard to H6, putting the king in check. Barlent moved him to G8. And just like that, Barlent realized what was going on.

Coco's castle moved to E8; the king was pinned between the wizard and it. “Checkmate, Captain.” she breathed out, sighing in relief.

Most of the ponies cheered gleefully, Caballeron looked very satisfied; the rats clapped courteously and talked amongst themselves. For a few more moments, Barlent didn't say a word; his hand to his chin.

“Miss Pommel,” he finally spoke, “it occurs to me I've seen this trap once before. Many years ago... What was your grandfather's name?”

“Durian Pommel, Captain.”

“Durian Pommel...” repeated Barlent, leaning back in his chair. “Durian of Greenland... Winner of the Adin Tournament in the 956th, 958th, 962nd, 974th, and 979th years since the Long Winter?”

Coco grinned. “That sounds like him, alright!”

“I should have remembered that sooner... I had no idea.” the Captain said. “Is he..?”

“No, he passed a few years ago.”

“I'm sorry to hear that. He was an excellent player. I actually faced him in his final tournament in Adin. I was absolutely annihilated within fifteen turns, by the same strategy as yours, but it was an honor nonetheless.”

“Yes, he was quite the master player.” agreed Coco. “Master historian, as well.” Though I had no idea he'd gone as far from home as Adin...

“Well, I suppose I should let you take your prize now, and confer with your fellows.”

“Very well done, Coco.” Caballeron said approvingly. “I knew you'd come through.”

“Excellent job!” exclaimed Billet, stamping a hoof on the deck. “By Celestia, we've sent these republicans packing for today!”

“I just wanted a new book...” said Coco, blushing. She really needed to stop doing that when she was praised; if she got home, it'd be happening a lot more.

Not long after, she found herself in Captain Barlent's cabin. He had the box of books they'd seen in the hold last week brought up, along with all the rest of his collection put on display as well. “Here they are. Half a hundred of them.”

“Wow.” Coco said. “This is a lot for just one ship...”

“A good dozen were taken off ships we've already encountered.” the Captain said.

“Choose wisely.” Grimsly remarked, with a chuckle.

Anything was better than Rarity's loan to her, Coco was after just about anything other than steamy romance. There certainly weren't any romances in this collection. Naval Power as an Extension of National Influence, Alighayri's Divine Tragedy, The Rise and Fall of the Arminian Griffonlaw (100 A.H. -150 P.H.), One Thousand and One Dalmatians... Military-political treatises and histories did not interest her any more than classical Equestrian poetry or pup's stories from Cania. Coco continued to look through. Complete Books of Exodus I-IV, The Phantom of the Orchestra, The Doom in the East, On the New Star-

Wait! Coco shuffled back to the title she'd just seen. The Doom in the East! That was the book Caballeron had been looking for in Adin, and the one he was going to the griffon High King's library to find! It was right here on Sable! She knew what she had to do. “I'll take this one.”

“Really? You can read Old Frithish?” Barlent asked.

“Uh- yes, yes I can. I told you my grandfather was a historian, didn't I?” Coco hoped they didn't know she was lying through her teeth. She couldn't even read Saucer's Canterlot Tales in Medieval Equestrian, let alone something in Old Frithish! “If you say so...”

Coco carried the book back to her cabin, and placed it on the luggage that took up most the floor. The Horn was still behind her suitcase under the hammock, probably starting to gather dust. She had barely thought about the artifact in the last week... Just for competition’s sake, she pulled it out and put it next to the book.

At the first chance she had, after finishing their sail work for the day, Coco brought Caballeron the find. “I didn't want to tell you earlier, it'd ruin the surprise, but look at what I got!” she said, beaming at him as she showed off the book.

“What?” He leaned in, eyes widening as he saw the title. “Miss Coco Pommel, you've done it again! How did this get here?”

“I don't know! The Captain had it. But I know you were looking for this, and now I have it.”

Caballeron nodded eagerly. “You've made this detour worth the trouble. Of all the places in the world to find this book, it ended up right under our noses...” he said, smiling back at her. Coco felt good about that, the stallion didn't smile nearly enough, and when he did it didn’t often seem genuine. This time, it was. But then his happy expression vanished. “Absolutely unbelievable.” whispered he, moving a hoof slowly over the worn front. “They replaced the original cover! Who would do this?”

“What?”

“This is in Old Frithish, see?” He opened the book, and sure enough, Coco had no idea what it said inside. “But the title is in modern Equestrian! The shame!”

“I just want to know what's inside it.” Coco sat down next to him. “What are we looking for, anyway?”

“We?” Caballeron paused, looking into space. “I suppose this has been a team effort... We're trying to find out what that thing next to the book is.” He glanced around, before lowering his voice. “A horn that doesn't make a sound? Carved mysterious runes and spirals? Is this just a broken showpiece, or is it something... more? Something that can set me on one path and close others?”

“I've been having strange dreams since I took it.” Coco said, glancing down at the Horn. “They're strange, surreal... But I can hardly remember them when I wake up.”

“As did I...” It didn't seem Caballeron wanted to talk about the dreams, for he launched into the opening lines of the griffon saga. “I'll give this the best translation I can on the spot. It begins as so: Between the time when the fires consumed Great Griffonia, and the rise of the sons of Arminius, there was King Vortigern...”

“Who was Arminius?”

“That's a book in itself, Coco. Now, listen closely, we have a horn to find in this text. All I know is that this is the first and almost only reference to it in the world.” And listen closely she did. Much of the opening was about blood; who was son of who and whose fathers had done what. As far as she gathered, the griffon Vortimer was the son of Vortigern, who had sailed into the rising sun on a high adventure. It was some silly quest to prove his masculinity, or something, by traveling into the doomed lands of Great Griffonia, the ancient home of the lords who now ruled in the isles east of Equestria. By retrieving an artifact of power, Vortigern would prove his bloodline’s right to rule. I prefer my novels, Coco thought while her friend read on. Mystery and romance that kept things classy were much more interesting than this dry account of family relations and killing random monsters. Her yawn must have made that clear, because Caballeron stopped.

“Sorry,” she said, covering her mouth, “this isn't my kind of story.”

“Yes, most ponies say that about the things I read... Not enough love, too much violence.” sighed he. “But what can you do? Most ponies have never been where I've been or seen what I've seen.”

“Well, let's get back to reading.” Coco stretched her legs before laying down.

“It was there they met Guthrum, Lord of the Rock, whose people still tarried and huddled near the smoking shores of their homeland. And near Vortigern and his band were, for on the sea's horizon they saw a terrible and false dawn, awaiting their destined arrival. 'Welcome, friends from the western isles,' spoke Guthrum...”

The saga went on. Again, Coco quickly lost her focus, not sure where anything was or who was doing what or why. But she enjoyed listening. Not to the words themselves, but to Caballeron's voice. It was clear and crisp, but not too sharp, even with his strange accent; an excellent reading voice, that was for sure. Coco put her head on her forelegs, closed her eyes and kept her ears open. She was happy to just be here.

Vortigern's band sailed away from Guthrum's home, perched on its rocky pinnacle, into the false dawn. When they passed over the horizon, his part of the tale ended, for no griffon knew what became of them until Vortigern returned, alone. From there on, the saga was about Vortimer, his son. He pieced together the story by retracing his father's steps as far as Guthrum, before going back to the isle that was now known as Frithland. Then, Vortigern had returned, and told of what had happened to he and his band. Coco felt herself nodding off into sleep...

“We passed through fire and shadow, through blizzards and ice and demons that wore the corpses of a dozen creatures...” Caballeron recited, sounding as if he were speaking from another room. She could see them, though. She saw frozen mountains burning, plumes of ash spilling into the black sky that rained pumice and ice, underlit by rivers of lava that flowed through the snow-covered husks of cities greater and grander than even Canterlot. She saw the bone-monsters, charred fleshless griffons bound by spiraling magic, violet orbs in empty sockets; she saw the demons, abominations of creature parts melted together, marching slowly towards her, dark blades raised in silent challenge.

“Through them all we fought, though we lost many. When we found the Horn, we thought our quest was at an end.” But the demons and the bone-monsters had stopped their attacks, they stared at what was left of the griffon band. The cold bit deeper. Something approached, something she couldn't see, and could only feel. Even the air was tense, it pulsed with each moment, faster and faster. The demons shouted in unearthly wails, howls, and cries.

“They hailed him as 'Exarath, the Thrice-born, the Immortal, Night-bringer, Demon-binder, Dream-walker, Lord of Ashes, Lord of Dust, the Winter King.' Then, the demons spoke again: 'The Horn of the Damned has but one master, and he has arrived.'”

She gasped, eyes opening wide.

“What is it, Coco? I thought you were asleep.” asked Caballeron.

“I saw it.” she whispered. “I saw all of it. It- it must have been another dream.”

“You dreamed about what I was reading?”

“Yes. I saw the snow, and the fires, and the bone-monsters, and the demons...” Coco shivered, and huddled closer to the stallion. “I was having such a nice day, too.”

“Hmm...” Caballeron looked down at her, concern on his face. “Coco, I didn't read anything about bone-monsters. Whatever they were, they were only in your dream.”

“What?” She looked at the book, knowing that the cryptic language would reveal nothing to her. “But I saw everything else you described... They were griffons, all burnt and held together with these strange magic chords, and their eyes were burning...” Caballeron put a hoof over her shoulders.

“We'll keep reading and see where this goes.” he said. Coco nodded. “The Winter King came forth from an infernal gate, the shadows flowed off him like wine-dark water. He took the Horn, and blew it once, echoing through the despairing realm as a keening note. We struck at the Winter King, and seized the Horn, but it was too late. All the spirits of this dead land rose up. Their bodies were burnt until they had not a scrap of flesh left, and twisted magics spiraled about them; in their eyes blazed hell-fire. Our flight to our ship was swift, but only I survived. They waited in the ruins, they waited in the water. The Horn summoned the dead, but it did not send them back. And now, I, Vortigern, pass this instrument of the underworld to you, Vortimer. Bury it so deep that it may never be found, for the Winter King will always be seeking what is his.”

Both ponies sat in silence, and looked at the Horn the Damned laying before them.

Author's Note