Chapters The Ghost and the Darkness
' This is the most famous true, Zebracan adventure. Famous because what took place in Tsavo, never happened before. Colonel Shining Armor was there when it began. A fine Canterlot gentleman, a brilliant engineer, he was my friend. My name is Zecora. I was there. Remember this, even the most impossible parts of this story, really happened.'
Shining's Pov.
I was walking through Canterlot castle towards the meeting room where I was told to meet with Fancy Pants. I must admit that I was a bit nervous to meet him as I heard rumors of him being a monster to those that work under him. But, as my father would say, you must take every rumor you hear with a grain of salt. I had made it to the room just as other people were walking out. As soon as the room had been cleared, I walked in to find a man standing at the front of the room with a map behind him. The man had a well-tailored suit, slicked-back hair, and a monocle over his left eye.
When he saw me enter, he walked up to me and greeted me. " Shining Armor. I'm lord Fancy Pants." I took his hand in mine and shook it. " Firm handshake. I like that, tells me a lot about you. Sit down." I took a seat on one of the benches and waited for him to continue. " Why don't you tell me about me?" I said nothing as he would answer anyway. " Well, to get you started. People find me handsome with a wonderful smile, I'm sure you'll agree. Winning personality, heaps of charm."
I finally spoke to him. " My wife is the game player in the family, sir." I gave him a smile which he returned.
He had a small chuckle before slamming a pointer on a desk. " Look at me closely, Colonel Armor. I'm a monster. My only pleasure is tormenting those people who work for me. People like yourself. Make one mistake and I promise you, I'll make you hate me." Well, at least now I know where the rumors came from. " We're in a race, Colonel. And the prize is nothing less than the continent of Zebraca. We are building the most expensive and daring railroad in history for the glorious purpose, of saving Zebraca from the Zebracans and of course to end slavery. Our competitors are the Germeigns and the Prench. We are ahead and we will stay ahead, provided you do what I hired you to do." He went over to the map and pointed at a spot with a river. " Build a bridge across the river Tsavo, and be finished in five months." He then fixed me with a stern gaze. " Can you do that?"
" I'm sure you've examined my record. You know I've never been late on a bridge." I answered as calmly as I could.
" I'm well aware of your distinguished record Colonel, but let me humbly remind you. You've never built in Zebraca." He said with a leer.
" I have in India. Each country presents its own challenges." He chuckled darkly at my retort. Seems he's still unamused.
" You'll need all your confidence, I promise you."
" Feeling myself growing bold, I prepared to tell him a few personal matters. " I love Zebraca. I've always wanted to go there. And if I may speak personally. My wife is having our firstborn in six months, and I promised her I'd be there for the birth. And I always keep my word." This seemed to have an effect on him.
" Very moving Colonel Armor, and I'm touched you confided in me, but I really don't give a shit about your upcoming litter." It took all I had to remain calm and collected after hearing that. " I made you with this assignment. Don't make me break you."
" Seeing that the hour was getting late and the train was due within the hour, I got up from my seat and started for the door. " You won't have the opportunity." I stopped in front of him with one more thing. " Any other words of encouragement?" He just stared at me with no emotion or indication for any other words to be said. " Then, I have a train to catch." I left out the door and made my way out of the castle. When I made my exit, I was greeted by the love of my life, Cadence.
" Hello, Darling." We embraced in a passionate kiss as this would be the last time to do so for the next five months. We separated from the kiss and made our way to the train station. As we walked through the busy streets of Canterlot, Cadence would inquire about the meeting I had with Fancy Pants. " Tell me about Fancy Pants. Does he understand how brilliant you are? How lucky he is to have you?" She kissed my neck on that last question.
I smiled while I spun how she thought the meeting went. " It was embarrassing. The man showered me with praise." Cadence saw through my lie immediately, I never could lie to that woman.
" Oh, dear." We walked in silence for a while before she spoke again. " You're getting that downtrodding look again."
" Of course not, don't be silly." We made it to the front of the train station where I stopped our movement. " I would never have taken this job had we known sooner."
" And you would be in agony and it would have been my fault. You've been desperate to see Zebraca all your life."
I tried to make a counter-argument. " There may be difficulties."
She just came right back. " There will be. There always are, which only means that our daughter and I, note my confidence, will have an excuse to come and visit you." Seeing her smile made my fears of leaving her vanish.
I heard the conductor yell for us to board. I looked at my wife. " Come along, put me on the train." I started walking to the train but stopped when I saw that Cadence didn't follow.
" You go." Finding nothing else to say, I went up and kissed her hand. " Such a gentleman."
I smiled and brought her into a hug and kissed her, making her giggle at my conduct. " I am desperate to see Zebraca, but it is just a place."
She made me look her in the eye while she smiled softly. " You build bridges, Shining. You have to go where the rivers are." We kissed once more as the conductor called again.
I seperated from her and did my best to remember every small detail of the woman I loved before I left. " Goodbye." I turned to the station and made my way for the train, and the adventure of a lifetime.
Author's Note
Okay, So here is my third story ever, and I'm doing a homage to one of my favorite movies. For those wondering why Fancy Pants is a dick and why I didn't give the role to Blueblood. I saw both Fancy and Robert Bomant as the same person but with different personalities.
With luck, this story will end at fifteen chapters, and be a masterpiece.
Like how I do all my chapters, I'll end it with a clip.
The Ghost and the Darkness
It was early in the morning when I arrived in Mombassa. So early, in fact, the sun hadn't had the chance to rise yet, though that didn't stop the local merchants. They gathered close to the tracks yelling in their native tongue for someone to buy their wares. At the moment a couple of young ladies were trying to sell me fruit and would have kept pestering me, if not for someone calling my name. " Colonel Armor! Colonel Armor!" A man came up to me, calling my name and helping me get rid of the persistent young women. " Colonel Armor, yes?"
I took his hand and shook it. " I'm Colonel Armor."
" Welcome to Zebraza, sir, and good morning." He gave me a wide smile. He was a bit shorter than me and had a mustache that was poorly trimmed. " Flash Sentry. I am to assist you at Tsavo. But Fancy Pants will have told you that, surely."
" No, actually. He did give me his monster speech." I told him with a small chuckle.
" That. Oh, I know Fancy seems dreadful, but once you truly get to know the man, he's much worse." We shared a laugh at the small joke he made. " And I'm one of his defenders. Forget him for now. Follow me, sir." He led me towards the front of the train. " It's your first trip to Zebraca, yes? Good, because I've reserved the best seats on the train." We made it to the very front of the train where there was a two-man bench nailed to it.
We put my luggage underneath the bench, and we took our seats just as the train whistled, signaling its departure. A few minutes passed and the train started chugging its way forward.
A couple of hours had passed and the sun was coming up over the horizon. With the light, I was able to see much of the landscape, and it was beautiful. We saw all kinds of animals race alongside the train, and Flash would often point out different things of interest. We came across a small herd of giraffes, running in the opposite direction. " They're amazing, aren't they?"
This was a good opportunity to share my knowledge of Zebraca. " You know the most amazing thing about them? They sleep only five minutes a day."
The train kept going and soon we came across a pack of hyenas. " Don't like them much." Flash made a point to sneer at them as they ate some poor animal.
" The females are bigger. Only animals here like that. Have to be, or they wouldn't survive because the males eat the young." As I was watching them, I could feel the glare that Sentry was giving me.
We rode by a small river where a thunder of hippos was lazing about. " Anything special about them?"
" Well, it's just that they fart through their mouths." This got Flash to laugh while looking at them. " I bet they don't kiss very much."
" I've lived in Zebraca for a year, and I don't know what you know. How long have you been here?"
I pulled out the pocket watch, Cadence had given to me for our third anniversary and looked at the time. " Just about twenty-four hours. But I've been longing for this all my life." We rode the train through the rest of the day, and when it was night, we retired to a small cot each in the passenger car.
The next day, we arrived at the campsite where the bridge was to be built. All around me, there were workers toiling away at the rails, burning the brush away, or gathering materials needed for the project. " Welcome to Tsavo." The train pulled up to the station where we disembarked. As I was walking with Flash, there was a Zebracan woman giving orders to the workers in their native tongue. " Zecora!" Flash had yelled over to her. " Zecora's camp liaison, absolutely indispensable. She's the only one here everyone trusts." He told me as we approached her. She wore a brown cloak and wore gold rings around her neck and ears. She carried with her, a gnarled staff she used when talking to the workers.
" Does she speak Equestrian?"
" And very poor Prench." She came over and waited for instruction.
" Zecora, Colonel Shining Armor." Flash introduced me to Zecora.
" The bridge builder." She took my hand and shook it. " We've been getting ready for you."
" Good. I'd like to see the bridge site."
" I've got some medical supplies to deliver. Come along to the hospital when you're done." Flash went back to the train to get said medical supplies.
" I'll bring him, Flash." Zecora led me along the track, heading towards the river while directing others along the way.
" Where are you from, Zecora?"
She went and pointed towards her left. " That way, beyond those mountains." She kept walking.
" I'm from..." I looked up in the sky and judging where east and west were, pointed to where I thought Canterlot would be." over there." We kept walking down the track while I looked at all the work that was being done. A couple of times, I would catch a worker giving the other workers a dirty look, Usually a Zebracan leering at the Indians. " Everything seems to be under control."
" Thank you. If it is, it's a miracle."
This caught my attention. " Why is that?"
" The truth is, the workers don't like each other ar all. Obviously, the Zebracans hate the Indians, but the Indians also hate other Indians." She pointed over to a group of Indians that looked to be Hindu. " The Hindus believe cows are sacred, while the Muslims eat the cows." She then pointed over to the other group of Indians, showing that they are Muslim.
" Do you eat a cow?" It would be funny to know the camp liaison, makes things worse for her.
" Of course." We walked between a small herd of cows as we went on our way.
" I've worked with both Hindi and Muslim. Perhaps I can help."
" You can certainly try. It won't work. Nothing works here. Tsavo is the worst place in the world." We passed by the blacksmiths forge where they were toiling away with making the parts for the bridge. After a few more feet, we made it to where the bridge would begin. Many workers were down on the river banks clearing away the brush and doing their best to make the ground level. " Advance camp is across there." Zecora pointed across the river, where the other set of track would be connected by the bridge.
" How many workers?"
" Three-thousand men laying track. Even though your bridge is not yet built, each day they move two miles further away." We both went down the hill a little to get a better inspection of the worker's progress. " Did it look like this in your mind?"
" No." I took off my hat and wiped my brow. " This is more difficult. It should be difficult. What better job in all the world than to build a bridge? Bring land over water. Bring worlds together." I took a long look at the bridge site before I decided to head up and find the hospital.
Author's Note
Alright, another chapter done and on the same day. That makes me feel good. Anyway, I hope you're liking the story so far, and if this sort of thing gets more popular. I'll do other movie crossovers.
Clip.
The Ghost and the Darkness
Zecora led me to a large building that was designated as the camp's hospital. When we entered, there were a few workers either lying or sitting on the beds being cared for by the orderlies, Flash, and the Doctor.
" Finish your tour?" Flash was bringing rubbing alcohol and bandages over to a small table.
As I looked at all the patience in the hospital, one thing came to mind. " Is this mostly malaria?"
" Yes, but their suffering is only transitory...once they accept God into their hearts."
" That's just vomitus talk, Mr. Sentry. Poor bastards will get even sicker if you don't shut up." The man who said that walked over to the wash station with his hands all bloody. " David Whooves. I'm, um... This is my hospital. And my advice to you is...don't get sick." I looked at him as he washed the blood from his hands and couldn't help but wonder what made them so bloody. " Haha! That was meant to be charming. Sorry. I seem to have lost the knack."
Flash threw this little jab. " You never had it."
While he dried off his hands, the Doctor explained this. " Flash and I don't like each other much."
" I am also a liaison between these two." Zecora pointed between both Flash and the doctor.
As I observed the doctor, I could tell he didn't stand for what was being done here. " Clearly, you don't share Fancy's vision."
" This? This is a shame. Who needs it? It's ridiculous. It's only being built to protect the ivory trade, make rich men richer."
" Then why stay, Doctor?" Why would he stay?
" Who else would hire me?" The Doc looked over at Flash. " Beat you to it, didn't I?" Flash responded with a smug grin.
" Doctor Whooves--" Before I could speak my mind, the Doctor held up his hand.
" Oh, yes. I almost forgot." He started heading to the back of the room. " You seem to have brought bad luck with you. Come here." I followed him as instructed. We stopped at a bed where a man had his left leg heavily bandaged. " This is Karim, one of my orderlies. He was attacked by a man-eater earlier today."
Flash stopped what he was doing and came over. " A man-eater attacks and you're such a buffoon, you almost forget to mention it."
" His injuries are only slight." I had no idea a wound that bad could be considered slight. " Been riding his donkey not far from here, when suddenly a lion sprang on them. Donkey took the brunt of it, then the lion ran off." The Doctor then focused his attention on me. " Now, I know this is your first day, and you must be tired...but um...what are you going to do about it?"
I fixed my hat on my head and looked him in the eye. " With any luck, I'll sort it out this evening." I walked out of the hospital with flash following me. I made my way to my tent where my luggage waited for me and grabbed hold of my Lee-speed sporter rifle.
As I loaded my rifle, Flash made his thoughts known to me. " I don't suppose I could come and watch."
" Have you ever hunted?" It would be nice to have another rifle to help.
" Well, not exactly. I've never been very adventurous."
I loaded the last bullet and cocked my rifle. " Can you keep quiet?"
It was now late in the evening and the sun had sunk below the horizon. Flash and I have perched in a tree away from the camp with a donkey tied to it. I was doing my best to keep silent and listen for anything that might be the lion. As I was doing this, I could hear Sentry in the branch below me, fidgeting with his position. " I hate to be a bother, Shining, but--"
" Shh!" I went back to listening, for the lion.
Five seconds later, Flash makes himself known again. " My cramp is getting worse." I did my best to ignore him and kept on patrolling. " The pain is actually quite unbearable now."
Having had enough of his whining, I told him off. " You'll just have to cope with it, Flash."
" That is precisely my plan..." Flash then made for getting out of the tree. " but back at my tent."
Before he could go far down the tree, I gave him this small warning. " You'll be dead before you ever get to your tent." This grabbed his attention. " The lion will eat you."
" I know." He made his way back up on the branch, though he did get into a more comfortable pose, and kept quiet. The silence was not to last, however. " Is this the best way to hunt a lion?"
All I did was shrug my shoulder. " I don't know. I've never even seen one." This did little to boost Flash's confidence.
The hours progressed into the night, and Flash had fallen asleep. As I kept watch, the thought that the lion wouldn't show up came to mind. I was about to wake Flash and call it a night when suddenly the donkey starts braying in fear. I pointed my rifle to the area around the donkey and waited for a sound or movement in the grass. I didn't have to wait long as the grass on the right started moving and a low growl was heard. I took aim with my rifle, waited until I could see the lion, and." Bang!
" No!" The noise from my rifle had woken Flash and he stumbled out of the tree. When he recovered from his fall and looked to his right, he came face to face with the lion I had shot. " Aah!" When he recovered from the initial shock, he saw that the lion was dead. He then looked up at me. " One shot!" I got down from the tree and helped Flash up from the ground. We would deal with the lion in the morning.
It was now morning, and we were parading the lion I had shot through the camp. Of course, Zecora had to make the kill even more of a spectacle. " One shot! Armor has made the night safe again!" She then praised my achievement in her native tongue while Flash and I walked beside the lion that was being carried by some volunteers. This caused many of the workers to cheer and lift their spirits.
As we strolled past the hospital, the good Doctor came out to see what all the commotion was all about. When he saw the dead lion, he'd come to realize what had happened. " By God, you sorted it out." I nodded my head while Flash threw him a smug look as though he had killed it.
Zecora's narrative.
' There is nothing like the fear a man-eater brings. They own the night and kill so quickly. It was clear to the men that Armor was willing to take risks for them. That one shot had taken their fears away.'
Author's Note
Another one down. Also, something I would like to address. This is not a historical retelling of what happened in Tsavo. This is a homage to one of my favorite movies, with characters from MLP replacing the actors who portrayed them in the movie.
The Ghost and the Darkness
I, too, have killed a lion
It was the morning after we celebrated my kill and I was looking over the area where the bridge would be built. Along with me, I had Flash and my foreman Iron Will, to look over the design I had for the bridge. " Alright, Flash. I've decided to have you and Iron oversee the foundation piers." I gestured for them to follow me to the other side of the river. " Of course, the hardest part about building a bridge is the foundation piers, and for that task, I'm giving you... four thrilling weeks." We were now on the track opposite the camp and observed the workers.
When Flash had heard my time proposal, he let me know how annoyed he was. Aren't we full of ourselves today? I think it's because of the lion. Uh, Shining--"
" You know, I also have killed a lion." Iron Will interrupted Flash to give us that little fact.
Feeling smug, Flash went back with this question. " How many shots did you need?"
Iron just offered us his massive hands. " I used my hands." Not hard to see why. Iron Will was a giant of a man and looked like he could rip a small tree out of the ground.
The only thing Flash could respond with was, " Oh." Trying to save face, he went back to the designs in hand. " Uh, Shining, four weeks is just not enough time."
I just smirked his way. " You'll just have to use your hands." This got Iron to laugh while Flash gave me an irritated huff.
The moment was ruined when a small gust grabbed hold of my designs and tossed them down the ground below. Flash went to get them while I looked to Iron. Something had caught his attention in the distance and he looked to be unnerved by it. The feeling quickly passed and we went on our way to start on the bridge. Unbeknownst to me, was that we were being watched.
Seven weeks later
It had been a long few weeks but we were finally ready to put down our first foundation rail. Forty workers were working on each side, lifting, hammering, and measuring, making sure that everything would go smoothly. The large support beam hung above where it was to be placed and it took twenty workers to keep it aloft. Zecora was ordering the many workers and even grabbed the rope for additional support. Soon we were given the go-ahead to lower beam into place. Slowly and steadily, the beam was lowered into the first foundation pier. With a loud bang, the beam slammed into place.
When the task was done, all the workers cheered for the job's completion. While they celebrated, Flash, Zecora, Iron and I, made a claw gesture with our hands. It is something that we have done to congratulate each other whenever we progressed further in our job.
A few hours later I was back in my tent, going over the plans for the rest of the bridge and looking through the reports. As I was lost in paperwork, a knock came from outside. " Come in."
The one who knocked was none other than Zecora. When she came in, she presented me with a necklace that had three lion claws. " One-shot." I put down my work and stood to examine it better. " The claws of the lion you killed."
As I looked over the gift, all I could do was smile. " Thank you. It will always remind me of Zebraca."
Zecora calmly shook her head while smiling. " It is meant to remind you of courage. It will also protect you." She then made me lift the necklace a bit higher. " Wear it." With that, she left my tent and went on with her job. Not being the superstitious type and having no desire to wear it at the moment, I set it aside and brought out a fresh piece of parchment for a letter to my wife.
Darling... you know how God invented liquor so the Ponish wouldn't rule the world? Well, I sometimes think he invented being bullheaded so we could be the best at something, for when this bridge is finished, it will have nothing to do with my engineering skill and all to do with my stubbornness. Zebraca... It changes everything I plan, yet still, we are somehow ahead of schedule. Iron Will, my foreman, deserves so much credit. The man is a marvel. Oh, another marvel. Sentry has actually convinced some of the natives to convert. I Cannot wait to show this beautiful country to you.
Love, Shining.
By the time I had finished my letter, the sun had already set and I felt tired. I put the letter in the drawer of the nightstand and shifted in my cot. Moments later, sleep had taken hold of me.
Iron Will's tent. 3rd Pov
Iron Will was fast asleep in the tent that he shared with his fellow workers. Being quite a tall man, his feet stuck out of the tent so others could still have room to sleep. This would be his undoing. Outside the tent, a lion had seen that someone was not all the way in the tent and took advantage of this. The lion had grabbed the protruding feet in his maw and dragged the person they belonged to out.
The dragging had awoken Iron from his slumber and looked around in a panicked daze. When the dragging stopped, he caught a glimpse at what had dragged him out. A large lion.
Before Iron could get up from the ground, the lion had grabbed hold of his leg and ran off with him screaming. " Aaaaaahhhhh!" The screaming of Iron and the growl of the lion had alerted the rest of the tent and the made for escape.
" Simba! Simba!" The men kept shouting as they saw one of their own get taken away.
As the lion kept dragging Iron away from the camp, Iron's blood would stain the ground and tall grass, letting others know where they were going. As they got close to a thorn bush, the lion had let go of its catch. Iron was still on the ground and was in no shape to stand. All he could do was stare into the face of the lion that had grabbed him in fear. Without a moment's hesitation, the lion had bit into his leg and continued to drag him.
" Aaaaahhhhh!" The lion jumped over the thorn bushes with Iron with him, and then they were gone.
Author's Note
Sorry for the delay. Also, had to bleed into the next scene of the movie to get this chapter's end, but I think it was worth it.
