Foe Hie Odyssey

I ran down the hall of the office building until I found the legionnaires who were looking for us.  There were eight or nine standing in front of me, but either way there were too many for me to fight on my own.  Waving the eagle I crashed into the shields of the front rank.  The shields parted and swords struck out.  One of the swords pierced my side.  Because I was already kicking off from their shields, the wound was shallow.  Or at least I hoped it was.  All I knew was that my side felt like it was on fire.

I clenched my teeth, sprinting away from the soldiers and then I heard a machine gun firing a burst behind me.  My left hand, the hand I was now holding the eagle in literally caught on fire.  My vision turned red as I felt my hand engulfed in the flames of hell itself.  “Washington. Jefferson. Jackson. Shit! Shit! Shit!” I waved my hand about trying to put out the fire burning my hand.   I almost dropped the eagle.  Now, holding the eagle in my right hand and waving my burning hand about, I focused on just running for my life.

Not looking where I was going I crashed through an ancient pony sized window.  Pieces of broken glass fell around me and I barely managed to catch myself on the window sill.  I hung from the window my hand blackened by the fire which was now travelling up my arm.  My hand was bleeding from holding onto broken pieces of glass.  Other pieces of glass fell around me and cut the unprotected skin of my face.  My vision began to darken as I screamed like a little filly.

I was dimly aware of bullets flying over my head from the zebras pursuing me.  I had lost all feeling in my hand and numbly dropped to the ground.  My ankle twisted as I fell and I bit my tongue.  My mouth was filled with blood and I spat out something small and fleshy.  Blinking past tears I saw a pair of legionnaires running towards me.  I tried to activate my stealthbuck.  It sparked, but refused to work.  In horror I realized that the bullet that had set my hand on fire was lodged in the side of my stealthbuck.  I hurt.  I wanted to lie down and fall asleep.  I wanted an end to the pain.

Looking up I saw the legionnaires looking at me funny, “Quid tu facit?” said one of the zebras.  He had a bandaged foreleg and was missing one of his ears.  He wore an eyepatch and his face was marred by a long scar.  He offered me a syringe.  Not knowing what to do I took the syringe and held it for him.  I was shaking from the pain and my sleeve was still on fire.  The two legionnaires smiled and saluted me.  Hesitantly I stuck myself with the needle and felt sweet relief flooding through my body as the med-x entered my veins.  The pain wasn’t gone, but it wasn’t as bad as it was before.

When my vision cleared I saw the legionnaires walking away from me.  I spat blood out of my mouth before gargling, “Thank you.” The legionnaires turned to face me and the one who had given me the syringe grunted in pain before nodding.  Numbly I realized that he had given me his medicine.  I looked down at the syringe in my hand feeling guilty.  I briefly wondered where I should go from here.  My left arm was hurting and I smelled something burning.  Oh right my arm was on fire.  I started to roll on the muddy earth to put out the flames.

“Ecce Furem!” cried a voice from above.  “Prehende Furem!  Ignavus canus est surripere Aquila.”

The smiles on the faces of the two legionnaires turned into determined scowls.  The one who had given me the medicine mournfully cried, “Esto!  Gods forgive me.  What foul deed have I wrought?”

I leapt from the ground and ran forwards striking one of the soldiers over the head with the eagle.  He fell dead.  I kicked the bandaged soldier in the leg.  When he crumpled from the pain I dropped his syringe beside him.  Hopefully he wouldn’t be blamed for giving it to me.  Hopefully there wouldn’t be another poor bastard falling on his sword while Legate Marcus watched.

Again I ran and as I ran an idea came to me.  Soldiers turned to look at me as I ran.  My bruised body was covered in mud, blood, and even a little fire.  I must have struck quite the imposing figure.  Because of the dog hat that I had randomly stolen and the eagle I had purposefully stolen it seemed that the legionnaires were mistaking me for one of their standard bearers.  Because I held their gold eagle I commanded their attention.  A cruel smile distorted my face.  I wanted a bath to put these flames out and these legionnaires could probably use a bath too.

Leaping onto a soapbox I cried out, “The Flankfurters have mocked us for long enough.  Will you stand for it?  Will you let them take everything away from us?”  I punctuated each question by striking the box with the butt of the standard.

“No.” said the legionnaires somewhat uncertainly.  I grimaced.  They weren’t cooperating like I had hoped that they would.  I needed some enthusiasm from these bucks.  Looking around my eyes settled on the countless bandaged limbs in the small crowd that was gathering around me.

“They killed our medics.” I said quietly so that only the front row could hear me.  “They killed our medics.” I said mournfully.  I slammed the eagle staff down onto the crate shouting, “They killed the medics.  The dogs murdered all the medics.  They are forcing us to rely on a gryphon.”  I let my hatred of Omega color my voice, “They are making us rely on a hired raider.  The dogs in that city, the greedy pigs that wouldn’t share a few stupid bridges,” as I said the words I felt my own anger flare up.  Why did so many have to die over a handful of stupid bridges?  It was wrong.  I waved my charred hand towards the city. “They are trying to torture us to death.  First they take our friends.  Then they take our peace and fill our lives with suffering.” I waved my hand around to show them the burnt flesh.  To make them feel the kinship brought by our pain.  “Now they are trying to take our pride.  They are trying to take away what it means to be a roman.” I remembered my Ivy League classes, the courses I had taken in Latin, and some of the hazing I had gone through to get into a fraternity.  “I will not insult Jove’s name by cowering back here.  Mars is with us.  Diana and Phoebus Apollo guide our bullets.  We cannot lose.” I turned in a full circle looking each of the soldiers in the eye.  More than one of them was missing an eye.  I also spotted a small group running towards us from the center of camp led by Marcus, but they were too late.  “Our roman gods are watching us.  Whatever awaits us, make sure they are not ashamed!”

I leapt off the soapbox and marched double time towards the besieged city.  As one the crowd around me, some forty two ponies stepped forward in unison.  We quickly marched as one towards the city the soldiers behind me chanting a bawdy song about a mare back in Roam who was waiting for every one of them.  I didn’t laugh or smile at the parts that I understood.  The song reminded me too much of what the real standard bearers had done to Sable.

As we marched towards the city the eagle I held began to glow bright red as if the gods really were watching over us.  In the red light I saw that many of the craters around us had been partially filled with water.  It must have rained recently I thought trying to keep my mind off the occasional faces that bloated stared accusingly up from the water.  Part of me wanted to stop then and there and douse myself in water, but I couldn’t ruin my image.  That is what I told myself, but the real reason was because I couldn’t stand to look at those faces.  I was about to be adding forty two more faces to a watery grave.  I briefly wondered if the river Mane could wash away my sins.  I clenched my teeth in defiance of the world and instead made myself think about my current condition.  I was still bleeding and my muddy body was still smoking.  I held a red beacon in my hand as if I were the herald of Mars himself.

I briefly considered actually leading the roamans against the Flankfurters.  I thought about glorious battles.  I saw myself standing beside Haywire and Black Hawke, each of us clad in legion armor and standing upon a bridge.  Against us swarmed a hoard of feral ghouls, monsters, and savages.  I recalled the words of the poem Horatius at the Bridge, “To every man upon this Earth, death cometh soon or late.”

In the vision Black Hawke sang sweetly in the voice of a nightingale, “And how can a mare die better…”

Haywire then added “Than in facing fearful odds.”   I could see among the approaching army, monsters from every nightmare.  There were minotaur intermixed with bears and wolves, tigers, jackals, dogs that walked upright with claws of iron, creatures that were once ponies but now were twisted by radiation or disease, ponies covered in bright steel armor armed with heavy weapons,  pegasi in black chitin armor with scorpion tales, and even a dragon.

“For the ashes of her fathers.” sang Black Hawke her minigun started spinning even as the hoard drew within spitting distance.

The savages were almost upon us.  My machete was in my hand but as I held it, it morphed into an actual sword.  I quickly looked behind me and across the bridge I could see seven hills.  I turned back to the army, “And the temples of his gods.”

I wanted it.  I wanted the glory.  Holding the eagle I felt powerful.  I could have this.  If I could win a single bridge and hold it against the Flankfurters just long enough for the legion’s tanks to arrive then I would have also won a home with the legion.  I could have a home.  My eyes were filling with tears, but it was probably because of the smoke coiling around me and the mist forming around the eagle.  The eagle was the key and it promised me incredible gifts.  All I had to do was take the bridge.  Haywire and Black Hawke would come to aid me.  The eagle could summon them.  We would hold the bridge together.  The eagle glowed brighter.

I drew my machete seeing it morphing slowly into the sword of my vision one of the longer roman swords that was used by cavalry.  What was it called?  “A spatha,” said the red eagle in a voice only I could hear.  In the spatha’s blade was reflected the red light of that eagle.  The same light glowed in my eyes.  I looked into it as I marched.  My face distorted so that I had a muzzle and my ears flicked about impatiently.  For some reason I thought this was funny and grinned.  My reflection grinned back with rows of pointed teeth.  I was reminded of my reflection in the blue metal idol.

Wincing I looked away from the sword and considered my options.  We were now entering the ruins of the city and as if by chance I saw the body of one of the Flankfurters.  She was gazing back towards her home with a smile on her face.  Suddenly I was reminded of the body of Storm Breeze who had a similar smile on his face.  Not again I silently vowed to myself.  Even if I have to lead these zebras to their deaths I won’t make the same mistake twice.

I looked back into the sword seeing that the red light was leaving my eyes.  The eagle’s glow faded and I felt something from it.  I couldn’t tell if it was grudging respect or barely restrained hatred, but I knew that it did not love me.  I held onto the standard tighter as if I were afraid that the eagle might fly away.  Looking back at the spathe I saw that it was now once again an ordinary machete.

I thought back to Haywire and Black Hawke.  They wouldn’t actually stand beside me against the Flankfurters.  The Flankfurters were our allies and we had seen what the legion did to the ponies that stood in their way.  I muttered under my breath, “Now who will stand on either hand and keep the bridge with me.”  Nopony would stand beside a faithless turncoat.  I was now committed.  The eagle reluctantly pulsed with light one final time before going still.  And just like that I was an ordinary man covered in mud, soot, and small tongues of flame leading a bunch of hopeless people to their graves with a shiny metal idol on the end of a stick.

At last we came to the battle.  Bullets started flying about us but none seemed to be able to touch me.  The legionnaires locked shields as we marched steadily forward.  When we were within sight of the river I said, “We are going to charge forward and swim across that river.  It sounds crazy, but the eagle has brought us this far.  It will protect us while we cross.”  The former part of this was to some degree true, nobody had been killed, at least not yet.

I heard grumbling behind me. “What was that?” I asked spinning about.  I stood in front of the shield wall.  It must have seemed to the legionnaires like the eagle protected me from the rain of bullets, but I knew better.  I had recognized one of the Flankfurters on the opposite bank.  True Iridescence it seems had told his fellows not to shoot me.  “Does getting wet frighten you?  Fine!  Go back to the camp.  As for me and any true roaman we will earn us some glory!”  At that I turned and running leapt into the water crying the only Latin I could remember, “Senatus Populesque Romanus!”  I heard forty two voices join mine before I plunged feet first into the river Mane.

*****

I fell, face first, onto a stone walkway.  Awkwardly standing I wiped the blood from my nose.  Where was the river?  Where on earth was I?  Or was I perhaps on some other world?

Looking around I found that the latter was correct.  I stood in the starlit ever night of that strange barely comprehensible city that I had visited once before.  The walkway I was on was actually the bridge over the black river.  Beneath me I could feel the familiar and sinister presence even though I couldn’t see it.  Strangely it seemed more curious now than angry.  I looked over the edge of the bridge.  I could feel its eyes on me.  They seemed to bore into me stripping me naked and then tearing into my flesh.  I backed up quickly.  I didn’t want my soul to be left naked to this thing whatever it was.  After a few seconds everything returned to relative normalcy.

I looked up towards the stars to see if it would again return me to the planet that my body was on.  My gaze was tugged towards a relatively small planet.  With a titanic force of will I slowly pulled my eyes away.  I did it again to make sure it worked.  Panting I lay with my eyes shut.  I had a way home, but I wasn’t ready to leave the city around me without first getting some answers.  Rising to my feet, I confidently stepped off the bridge.

A wave of pain overcame my senses.  I collapsed to the ground my forehead and back being sliced open.  I fell onto all fours.  After a minute the pain gradually ceased eased.  I opened my eyes.  My vision blurry I looked around for the source of the attack.  Seeing nothing, I wiped my eyes and resolved to keep going.  As my vision cleared and I saw what had happened I screamed.  I forgot about the monster living under the bridge and the mysterious city in front of me.

My fingers were gone and in their place was a glossy glowing hoof.  Looking down at my body I saw that it was the silvery fur coat of a pony.  Looking at my back I saw that I had grown a pair of wings.  My tail flicked in irritation and my ears peeled back as I snorted my contempt for my new form.  I hated that I was now deprived of my humanity and turned into something else.  I looked around again for the cause of my trouble, but found nothing.

Well not quite nothing.  There was a silvery mist around the bridge that wasn’t there before.  I stepped towards it tentatively and stuck my hoof into it.  To my astonishment my hoof disappeared from view, but I could now feel my fingers on the other side of the barrier.  I stepped into the mist and found myself once more in human form.  I rose from my crawling position and looked back towards the sky.  Just as I was about to return to my body I remembered my curiosity.  How could I give up on an adventure after just getting a bloody nose?

I turned back towards the city and strode forwards.  Again I fell forwards, but the transition wasn’t as painful this time.  I noticed two things that I hadn’t the first time I had stepped off the bridge.  First, that the glow from my body was easily as bright as a torch so that I could probably be seen from the other side of the city.  The second thing that I noticed was that I wasn’t exactly alone.  In the corners of buildings were ghostly shapes that seemed to flee from my light.  Two of these shadows seemed to notice me and charged forwards.

As they neared me I could make out their shape.  They were about half my height, but they were still about as long as me.  Their bodies seemed to be created by absorbing the light around them making it nearly impossible to make out their shape.  I could however tell that they were four legged and that they vaguely resembled large cats or wolves.

As the two creatures got close to me and with nothing else that I could do I reared up and struck the first creature in the face with my hooves.  His form dissipated into a smoky mist.  The second creature took my moment of distraction to sink its fangs into my hind leg.  I cried out in pain and then the pain in my leg was replaced by a dull ache.  I kicked my attacker off.  It rolled away before rising to its feet just in time for me to slam my shining hooves into its face.

Now that the threat was gone I took a moment to examine my hind leg.  There was a dark splotch on the silver.  I watched for about a minute as the black splotch slowly dispersed while the dull ache spread throughout my body lessening as it did so.  After about another minute the pain was completely gone and my coat had returned to normal.

I continued to walk away from the bridge and towards one of the buildings wary of more of the creatures.  I crept up to the door and found that it would not open.  I let my curiosity lead me about the city for a little while as I took in the sights.  I first went right from the bridge and then walked left under some kind of overpass connecting two of the larger buildings.  I went straight at an intersection dominated by claw like structures that reminded me of a starburst.  I crept down the street doing my best to not draw too much attention to myself.

It failed and a black shape swooped down from a massive structure with black talons aimed towards my face.  I ducked under its claws as it passed over me.  It faded into an amorphous dark mist before reforming facing me again and again diving towards me.  I leapt onto my hindlegs and struck out with my hooves.  One hoof connected with its form searing away part of its body.  Both of the specter’s sets of talon’s struck my side.  I collapsed letting the poison touch of the claws diffuse through my body.

I looked up to see the specter was also nursing its injuries.  It turned to me and let out a silent screech.  I covered my ears as the sound pierced my being.  While I was ducking it dove towards me.  Without thinking I head butted the creature.  It quickly slowed and then came to a stop a quarter inch from my face.  I didn’t know what happened, but as I watched it slowly fade away I saw something on the edge of my vision.  A shining silver horn jutted out of my forehead.  I was walking around this city in the shape of an alicorn.  Part of my mind was telling me that was important, but I had no clue why.

Shaking my head I examined the building that the specter had been guarding.  It had a high dome in its center with rays of snake like tentacles radiating out of its center.  The door to the building was ajar so I casually stepped into the structure’s dark interior.  The first thing that I noticed was a pillar of starlight coming out of the ceiling to rest on a rounded stone table.  Around the table were raised concentric terraces so that the strange alter at the center of the room was at the lowest elevation and a person entering the room was at the highest elevation.

I trotted down a set of oversized steps to get a better look at the stone alter.  It was about eight feet in diameter and was divided into four sections.  I clambered onto the nearest section and ran my hoof along carvings set into the surprisingly warm stone.  There were images set into the stone of creatures engaged in acts of violence, a forest fire, a beam of light burning through a field of lesser creatures, and other stranger things.  I ran my hoof along another segment and found to my disgust that this section was not only colder, but felt slimy.  The carvings on it were all of tentacles, giant fish, massive sea serpents, sunken cities, water dragons, battleships, schools of fish, submarines, jellyfish, whales, and some kind of fish monster that was unimaginably huge and horrible.

There was a sound at the entrance of the door being pushed open and my hoof slipped across the wet surface of the stone.  I felt something in me activate as if I had flipped a switch.  My hoof burned from where it had touched the stone.  As I examined the hoof I saw that burned into my flesh was an elaborate image of animals dancing in a circle around some kind of behemoth.  Among the twenty or so animals were the small images of earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns, zebras, and gryphons.  Alicorns were conspicuously absent.  Among the other creatures in the image were wolves the size of ponies, bipedal dogs, minotaur, and bears.  The brand started to glow.

I pulled my eyes away from the glowing brand and turned my gaze towards the entrance.  Before the light of the brand blinded me, I beheld an Alicorn mare on the other side of the room shielding her eyes from the glow.  Her coat was a glowing sky blue streaked here and there with thin bands of scarlet.

*****

The vision changed.  I was strapped down on a hospital bed.  I lay unmoving and could feel that my eyes were being held open by clamps over my eyelids.  Men in white coats sourounded me.  One of them held a syringe filled with a glowing fluid.  He stepped towards me.  I wanted to shout, to tell the man to stay away.  Slowly his name came to me, Octavian Milton PHD.

I remembered that I had at one point considered him to be a friend.  We had met at college in New Haven.  Octavian and I had shared a passion for history that nobody else seemed to be able to understand.  I recalled that Milton was passionate about a lot more than just history.  He had also majored in mechanical engineering and genetic engineering.  He always liked to talk about how humans were no different from machines and like machines we were able to be understood and predicted.  Back in college we’d occasionally take something apart like a car, a television set, or a computer to find out what it was made out of before putting it back together again.  I suppose that he was now going to take me apart.  I wondered if he would be able to put me back together again when he was done.  I hoped that I would be working better if he put me back together than the computer that we had taken apart.

As the needle entered my arm my vision changed although I was still lying on a hospital bed.  The first thing I noticed was that I was no longer tied down.  I immediately sat up.  I noticed that Octavian and the other scientists were gone.  In their place were a handful of the Silver Wing Slicers.  None of them were wearing armor and none of them seemed to be armed either.  Ember removed the syringe from my arm grumbling something about uncooperative patients.  Silver Wing came towards me, “I heard about what had happened out there.”

I nodded, “Yes, it was quite an unpleasant affair.” I thought back to the ponies who had been with me in the legion camp, “What about the others, are they alright?” I asked as I leapt to my feet.  If Haywire was captured I was ready to run back to the legion camp to rescue her.

“One dead and one injured.” said Silver Wing solemnly, “Much better results than most suicide missions.”

“Who was injured?” I asked.  To my shame I hoped it was Sable Grace.  I couldn’t live with myself if I had gotten Haywire injured after promising her that everything would be alright.

“You, you moronic bastard.” cried Black Hawke.  Her eyes were on fire and she moved as if to punch me.  I cowered in a ball, but the blow never came.  Instead I felt warm forelegs wrap around me and black wings envelop me.  “You almost died.”

“You would have died, if I hadn’t been here to save you.” said Ember, “You really need to take better care of yourself.  Oh and don’t use your left arm for a while.  I did what I could, but burns aren’t easy to heal, not even for me.”

Clay was chuckling from where he sat reading a magazine.  On the cover was the image of a young pegasus mare posing on a cloud with her wings spread in an inviting gesture.  Beneath the image were the words Wing Boner.  Black Hawke turned like lightening towards him and bared her teeth.  “The two of you should get a room.”

“This is no laughing matter.  Ulysses could have died.” said Black Hawke contemptuously.

“But he didn’t.  You underestimate our Mercan friend here.  He’s tougher than he looks.” Clay offered me a sincere smile.

“Yes, I do believe there is more to our friend here than meets the eye.” said Silver Wing quietly.  He started as if realizing that he had just said this aloud.  Something behind Silver Wing caught my attention.

“What is that doing here?” I demanded pointing at the Aquila.  It was currently propped against the wall.  It was supposed to have been given to the Flankfurters in exchange for the vaccines.

“That zebra lieutenant from earlier said that you had to be the one to deliver it to his boss.” said Silver Wing looking at the eagle oddly.  Apparently he also suspected that something was wrong with this.

“Where are the two mares who had accompanied me on my mission?” I asked.  I would have expected Haywire to be by my side through this.

“I sent them away because that alicorn looked like she wanted to murder you in your sleep.” said Black Hawke a happy note in her voice.  “It took a lot of persuading, but I convinced the two of them to let you recover in peace.  There on the room down the hall.”  Taking a look at my surroundings I saw that we were in the bunker that Flankfurters had used to organize the mission to steal the eagle.

I stood, “There is something I need to say to them.  Something really horrible happened while we were out there.  I want to make sure there is no bad blood between us.”

I said my thanks to the raiders and promised that I would meet up with them as soon as I was done with my mare problems.  I took the eagle and stepped into the hall.

I entered the waiting room to see Haywire and Sable Grace talking quietly in the corner.  Haywire upon seeing me leapt her feet. “Your alive.” she cried running towards me.  She wrapped me in a bear hug and I felt my back pop.  Seeing the open door behind me she backed away and sheepishly said, “Yeah, uh fellow adventurer who I never met before.  Your alive.” she finished lamely.

Smiling I wrapped her in a hug of my own.  “I am so glad you made it out of there without getting hurt.”

“Yeah whatever you did to distract the legion worked.” said Haywire.  I smiled for her sake, but I felt horrible on the inside.  I had murdered all those legionnaires, all forty two of them.

I looked over at Sable Grace.  There was a cruel light in her eyes.  “Don’t expect me to hug you.” said Sable.

“Sable.” snapped Haywire, “It isn’t Ulysses fault.”

“I am still partially responsible.” I said quietly.  I stepped forward to look the alicorn in the eye.  “For my part in what happened, I am sorry.”

The alicorn met my eye and I saw in her eyes that the cruel light was being replaced with something else.  Her eyes widened as if she were realizing something.  “I’m afraid that you being sorry won’t help me forget what happened and I doubt it will get rid of any other possible consequences of… of what happened.”

I wondered what she meant by other consequences before realization struck me like a falling anvil.  “Your pregnant?” I asked quietly.

“Its it is not impossible.” she said just as quietly.  “If I am with child then what will you do.”

“I,” I thought about it.  What would I do?  I was responsible for what happened to Sable Grace or at least partially responsible.  Therefore I must also be responsible at least in part for what happens as a result of it.  “I shall do what I can to ensure the child has a good life.”

Sable didn’t stop looking me in the eye, “Do you swear that you will ensure this childs future.  I will have no part in it.”

“I swear.” I swore.

Out of nowhere she said “Do you know why I was sent away from the Followers of the Apocalypse?”

“No.” I said surprised.  Her horn started to glow.

“If I wasn’t still a member than I wouldn’t even be bothering with this.  I would just end the problem before it could be born.” She stamped her hoof onto the ground.  I stayed silent letting her work out her anger and pain on the floor.  Her horn suddenly glowed several times brighter.  Something on my left hand was also glowing.  I looked to my hand afraid that it was the animal brand from my dream.  There was nothing there, but my hand still glowed faintly.  “There is almost no magic in you.  What kind of monster are you?” whispered Sable.  I remained silent.

Sable Grace rose up to her full height and looked me in the eye, “Part of the reason I was sent away from the followers was for learning the dark arts.  I know a spell that will force you to keep your oath.”

“I already swore I would take care of the child.  Is that not enough?” I asked wary of any magic labeled as the dark arts.  “These dark arts that you are talking about, they cannot be healthy.”

“If you were sincere about wanting to take this part of the responsibility then you have nothing to fear.” she said gently although I had the feeling that she was saying it the same way she would be explaining something obvious to somepony who was slow.  “And as for the dark arts they are just a means to an end, a tool.  The megaspells that destroyed all of these cities were also tools originally made to save lives not to take them.  The tool isn’t what kills ponies.  Ponies are what kill ponies.”

“Fine.” I said a little hurt that she didn’t trust in me to the point where she was trying to use a dangerous tool to force me to keep my oath, “What do I do?”

“Hold out your hand.  It is a link to your soul.  If you forswear your oath then you shall die.” she touched her horn to my outturned palm.  The horn and my palm were enveloped in a sphere of darkness, “Do you Ulysses Haroldson take responsibility for any child born of my womb?”

“Yes I take partial responsibility for the child in your womb.”

The alicorn grimaced but continued, “At the end of eleven months’ time and if a foal is born will you accept in into your keeping?”

“Yes, unless I find a better home for her.”

The alicorn’s horn glowed bright red and then the sphere around it was sucked into our point of contact.  I pulled my hand away and examined it.  In the middle of my palm was the image of a circle of twenty three animals dancing around a behemoth.

“What is that?” asked Haywire from where she stood.  “There is some kind of seal on your hand.”

“What?” asked the alicorn trying to see what Haywire was staring at.

“Not now.” I said feeling suddenly very tired.  I leaned on the eagle I held to keep from falling over.  I think I felt something change in the standard, but it might have just been my imagination.  “We should give this to River Waltz.  Is he in his office?” I asked.

“No.” said a stallion’s voice.  True Iridescence was leaning on the doorframe.  “What is that on your hand?”

“Nothing.” I said hiding my left hand behind my back.  I didn’t need to though as the brand had by that time almost faded out of sight.

“Suite yourself.” sighed True Iridescence, “I’m here to take you three to River Waltz.  I’m assuming that you all still want your vaccines and money.”

I nodded.  “Let me just round up the family.” I stepped outside to see the raiders already there.

“We saw the Lieutenant here and figured that he had come to collect you.” said Silver Wing.  He and the other raiders were wearing their barding and every one of them was armed with several weapons.  On the hip of each of them just over their burned off cutie marks I saw a magical energy pistol identical to my own right down to the writing on the side.

“Everyone here?” I asked counting seven raiders, one alicorn, one cyborg pony, and one Flankfurt soldier.  “Good.  Lieutenant Iridescence please lead the way.”  True Iridescence nodded and then led us all away.

We passed the sound proof room with the radio pony.  He was telling everyone to stay away from the bridges, because the legion was launching a massive assault.

“Yeah. Yeah. the legion has been attacking the bridges for the past six or seven hours.  Tell us something new.” said Clay, “Tell us about the legion’s maneuvers or our countermeasures.  Give us advice on how to survive in the wasteland.  Just tell us something that we don’t already know and are sick of hearing again and again.”

“They only announced the major attacks against the bridges.  There hasn’t been one of these since the legion lost their eagle.  Even before then though, we didn’t have any ‘massive attacks’.  My guess is that the legion’s tanks have arrived.”

“Then why didn’t the buck say anything about tanks?” asked Clay, “Everypony needs to be warned.”

“Part of the Art of War is deception.  We can’t risk the legion learning about our surprise.” said True Iridescence.  He seemed to be genuinely troubled by this surprise that the Flankfurters had prepared.

“This surprise of yours, it wouldn’t have anything to do with our mission into the legion camp would it?” asked Sable.  I looked at her, examining her carefully.  She looked like she had completely recovered from her ordeal.  She was now healthy, happy, and ladylike.  She appeared to be a completely different mare than the one I had made a crazy death vow with.  She saw me looking and her visage changed very subtly as our eyes met.  I saw the pain that she was concealing for a brief moment and then it was gone.  She was hiding it from the others.

“Something like that.” said True Iridescence again sounding troubled.

“So that is where you disappeared off to.” Accused Haywire, “After we,” but she was interrupted.

“River Waltz will explain it.”  True Iridescence looked down at his hooves.   “All I can do is offer myself as tribute for my part in all of this.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, “What is all of this about tribute?”

“You’ll see.” said the zebra.  By this time we were already well into the sewers.  No amount of verbal or physical prodding could convince the young soldier to give up his secrets.

We came out of the sewers to find the world wrapped in predawn twilight.  The sky was overcast and for once the guns were silent.  “Where is the thunder?” I wondered aloud.

“The Flankfurters ran out of most of their ammunition two days ago, so they have had to use what they have left sparingly.  We have hardly heard any artillery fire since you fell into the Mane and that was about four hours ago.  They must be saving all of their shells for this tank assault.” said Clay.

I nodded, “And where is River Waltz?”

“By the river.” said True Iridescence.  The moment the zebra broke his silence he was again bombarded by Haywire, Black Hawke, and Sable Grace’s questions.

This went on for a minute or two before we came to an alley with a view of the river Mane.  I could see that the legionnaires had constructed their own barricades out of the rubble, but didn’t appear to be firing.  The flankfurters had also stopped firing.  The world was eerily silent, the calm before the storm.

Along the side of the alley was a large industrial machine that was covered by a tarp.  Along the other side was a dumpster.  In the middle of the alley stood River Waltz along with a retinue of five soldiers.  Two of the soldiers carried heavy metal boxes that vaguely resembled suitcases.  Another two carried briefcases which I guessed were full of money.

“I have that eagle that you wanted.” I collapsed the eagle’s staff and handed it to River Waltz.

“Wonderful.  Marvelous job.” he said examining the eagle.  He tossed it from hoof to hoof for a few moments while we watched perplexed by his strange actions.  “It’s a nice eagle, but as good as it would look on my mantle I’m afraid I can’t take it.”

“What?!” cried our entire party in unison.

“We need those vaccines.” I shouted stepping forwards.

“And you will have your payment.  I only said that I can’t keep the eagle.”  The crazy light had returned to his eyes and he seemed to be growing impatient.

“Then why were we sent to get this eagle in the first place?” asked Haywire.

River Waltz seemed to become more fay by the moment, “Yes I did didn’t I.  Really sorry about that.”

“Sorry?” asked Sable.  It sounded like she was crying.  Haywire held onto her and whispered something into her ear.

“Yes, I am sorry that it was necessary.”  River Waltz alternated between looking at a stopwatch and looking at the brightening sky.  “I needed a distraction and something to get the enemies minds off us, to make them angry.  To keep them focused on their hate and not on finding out what we’ve been up to ever since we sent you lot over.”

“A distraction for what?  What did you not want the legion to know about?” asked Haywire.

Silver Wing whistled, “This is one finely preserved Howitzer.”

“Shut up.” whispered several of the Flankfurt Soldiers.

There was a noise in the distance and River Waltz laughed.  It was a fay sound, like the laughter of somepony torn open at the core.  “Behold the death of our fair city of Flankfurt!” cried River Waltz extending his arms out to the sides like a preacher.

Two of the mammoth legion tanks rolled into sight.  “This is the largest and most well preserved bridge.” whispered True Iridescence as if he was afraid to draw attention to himself, “It figures that the legion would focus their best weapons on this bridge.  The first of the tanks easily rolled over the abandoned outer bridge fortifications.  Machineguns fired streams of bullets towards the Flankfurters driving them back first from one defensive position and then from another.  The second gargantuan tank fired its main cannon at some of the fortifications on our side of the river.  Within a minute the bridge was clear of defenders and the Flankfurt soldiers were all retreating.

River Waltz was clicking his tongue, “They are early.” He looked up at the sky and smiled, “Real shame that the bridge can only safely support one of their monsters at a time.  Ah well that is what these beauties are for now isn’t it?”  One of the ponies holding a briefcase came forward and opened it.  Inside was some kind of detonator.   River Waltz lifted this, “Heres to the life we led.” He activated it.

Explosions erupted along the entire length of the bridge and it fell along with the mammoth tank into the river.  The remaining legion tank moved as if to retreat when River Waltz activated the detonator again.  The road all along the other side of the river collapsed trapping the remaining tank.  It turned its turret and began to methodically fire at the buildings on our side of the river.  River Waltz waved a hoof and the ponies around us galloped over to the howitzer.  They ripped away its tarp and then pointed it towards the trapped tank.  It fired once and the front armor on the legion tank shattered.  The legion tank reoriented its turret to face the alley when another shell struck the main gun blowing it to pieces.

River Waltz nodded and proceeded to activate the detonator another three times.  When he was done the ruins on the other side of the river and the quite a few of the legionnaires on it were destroyed.  It looked like an earthquake had struck the already wrecked portion of the city.

The tank in the river turned its gun towards us and fired.  The tank was on its last legs.  It had sustained incredible damage, but it wasn’t out of the fight just yet.

River Waltz turned to us.  There were tears in his wide eyes.  He still held the detonator.  “I would suggest that you all stand back.” he was trembling.  With a start I noticed several bulges in his coat.  He laughed another sad painful laugh, “That legion tank that fell into the river is still a threat even if it is no longer mobile.  I can’t risk the legionnaires repairing it.  The legion will be stopped here and when winter comes,” he laughed again this time it was a sadistic laugh, “I want to see them left with nothing.  Nothing I say.  After what they took from us, from me, I have nothing.  With nothing I came into this world.  I worked my way up from nothing.  Schemed, planned, and achieved great things with my great ambition.  Then it amounted to nothing and now I must return to nothing.  From dust” He threw off his suit jacket and underneath it were a dozen explosives duck taped around his midriff, “To dust!”  He sprinted over the side activating the detonator for a final time.

When the smoke had settled True Iridescence said, “The other bridges are also down.  We have bought time for those behind us to prepare.  Hopefully when winter comes the legion will return to Roam.”

A few of us nodded, but nopony spoke.  “What now?” I asked.

“You lot have a gryphon to kill.” said True Iridescence, “And I will come with you.” He hesitated for a moment and he pawed at the ground nervously, “That is if you’ll have me.  Especially after,” his voice trailed off.

Silver Wing stepped forwards and took the stallion’s hoof. “Of course we’ll have you, and any pony else who wants to come.” He looked concerned for a moment, “You do have enough vaccines for everypony, right?”

The Flankfurt zebra gave a weak smile, “Have we? We have twenty here.  Do you think that that will be enough?”

And so it was that seven raiders, six Flankfurt soldiers, a cyborg pony, an alicorn, and a human with a bad skin condition set out on a quest with high hopes for the future.