The Lord of Ragnarok

The Lord of Ragnarok

Mini Chapter 13 - Ante up

Flumen Subjicite - Adventurer's Guild - Gin Rummy’s P.O.V.

I wondered if I suffered brain damage. I wondered because here I am, in a strange place, with strange beings, and I am here because I listened to Fishie. It was not that my little girl is mentally challenged. She has proven, on more than one occasion, to be intelligent, but more often than not her choices have been less than stellar. Yet, regardless I found myself here, and I also found myself signing up for Adventure work. In truth I felt that I was getting to be an old mare. An adventure for me was making sure that stable was still standing, maybe getting a decent rut, and then sleeping in a comfortable bed. But even so I couldn’t say that I was not curious about the rest of this world.

Being here, in this world, in this place, it has been an eye opening experience. For the longest time I would have been the first to say that a male’s place was in the breeding queue, but I’ve learned that there are males who are far better leaders than several of the last Overmares combined together. It was still hard to wrap my mind around though. Lord Mannulus was one such male. He has proven himself to be intelligent, I have seen him consider what should be done before doing it, and then he has proved that he is willing to put himself in harm's way in order to protect those he considers to be his friends or his servants.

If our last Overmare would have been like him then my little Go Fish would have never needed to leave the stable. But at the same time if she didn’t leave the stable then I’m very well convinced that the mare I’ve been around wouldn’t exist. She has put herself through tartarus again, and again, and each time she has proven how resilient she truly is. In truth the mare I’ve been spending time with would have made an excellent security pony. She has become dedicated, steadfast, and understands that security often comes with sacrifice. In truth I would have no problem with hoofing, or I suppose handing now, over the reigns to the Stable. Because I know that it would be in good hands.

My duty as head security mare has changed only in location. I was no longer in Stable 99, but instead I watched over Sakerek Nim. The hidden city was easily as defendable as any stable. The mouth of the cavern leading into the stable was the only entrance into the city, and while it was a large opening I believed that we could construct a door or gate if needed to make it even more secure. I had mentioned this to Lord Mannulus, and he had stated that he would certainly take it under consideration.

I finally walked toward the front of the guild, Go Fish and her friend standing nearby, and I looked at one of the strange rabbit creatures.

“I would like to join the guild,” I said.

She nodded, led me over to a mirror, and asked for me to touch it. I did and she shook her head, “Well, you’re not the highest level adventurer we have admitted yet, but you’re certainly in the top ten. You’re a level eighty easily,” she said, “So we just need you to sign off on the contract and then give it a blood seal.”

I nodded, signed, and then I pricked my thumb with a dagger. I brought up a small dot of blood, pressed it to the paper, and soon it glowed a soft lavender color for a moment. Afterward I watched as the girl rolled it up, and then looked at me.

“Okay, currently you’re starting out at bronze level. There’s a few bronze level adventures listed, but for your level I’d say that you’re able to start with something a bit more challenging,” she said as she brought out an older scrap of paper, “This is something that has been listed for about two years now.”

She placed it on the counter, “The mission, if you choose to accept, is fairly straightforward as far as missions go. You would be going to an abandoned village. One of the merchants that’s put up the contract wanted to have someone search the village and find the chief’s house. Once inside you’re to find the city’s ledger. He wants it returned. The village, the last time anyone went there, has become a nesting place of giant rats. We will pay one copper for each rat killed, and one gold for any goblins that you slay if there are any.”

I nodded, looked at the mission, and then gave a smile, “I’ll accept, although am I allowed to take someone with me?”

She nodded, “Of course, although you will be required to split any payment with them.”

I grinned, “Oh Fishie, we’ve got somewhere to go.”

I heard my daughter sigh, “Seriously, it’s Blackjack, I go by Blackjack!”

Heading out I looked at the information on the papers that the girl had given me. It stated that the village was deeper into the Empire’s domain. From what I had learned from Go Fish, and the others, was that for the most part the inner part of the Empire had been left unexplored by those that lived under the shelter of the Temple of Celestia Sol. It would be a chance to see more, to do more, and I found myself okay with that. We left the adventurer’s guild, and together we began to travel west. As we traveled the city began to give way to the country. The map included with the adventure showed that it would be a sizable walk, but that in and of itself was expected.

I wasn’t exactly sure what I should expect as we traveled, but according to Clopmaniac and Go Fish there would undoubtedly be some action to be seen before we arrived. As we left I felt uncertain. In truth I felt as though I was abandoning my position. Both Clopmaniac and Go Fish had said that it would be a good experience, and they managed to get Lord Mannulus to agree with them. That was something that was still taking time to get used to. A male as a leader still felt all kinds of wrong. I was learning that stallions had just as much to say, and do, when it came to how things ran, and to be honest most of the stallions I’d met seemed to be exceptionally intelligent.

Lord Mannulus himself was a damn sight better than the Overmare. Both her, and her mother, had been uncommonly cruel. Looking back on things I’m sure that the best option would have been to overthrow her. But really what good would it have done? Most of the stable was locked in a permanent belief that the only life was living as things had always gone. There were times I even missed the stable. I missed safety meetings, I missed meeting up with maintenance, and I missed doing what had to be done in order to keep the stable going, and keep it safe.

I had talked to Go Fish about it, and she had said the same. That she missed it sometimes too, but usually when we talk too much about it I can see a sad look in her eye. She didn’t know that I knew. I knew what she had to do, and I knew what became of it. I knew that the stable was gone, that everypony I ever knew was dead. I knew that they had got a horrible virus that turned ponies into flesh eating monsters. I knew that in order to save even more ponies outside she had to make an impossible choice.

It was something that I wish I could say that I would have done. I wish that I could say if the choice was gassing my home, of killing everypony I ever knew, and saving thousands of strangers from them that I would have been able to do it. But I’m not sure that I could. I was proud of her, and a little afraid of her. That’s terrible, I know that it is, but it's the truth. I was afraid of my little girl because I knew that she could do all that she could in order to do what had to be done. I knew that she would break her own body beyond what healing potions could fix in order to save ponies she had never even known.

I felt out of place with her. I was a security mare, like herself, but my scope had always been to protect the stable. She had pushed beyond that, and I was uncertain if I ever could. Even now, Sakerek Nim was practically a new stable, and I was more concerned with protecting it than I was with going on an adventure. I considered turning around and going back. I wasn’t too old, and I liked spending time with Fishie, but this just felt wrong. A security mare protected her stable. She protected the ponies inside of it, and she did it without fail. I wasn’t where I needed to be. True, there were guards, several of them, including Bro Hothoof and Windy Whistles. Which it was odd meeting the parents of the mare of the Ministry of Awesome. It was just odd being around the mares of the ministries.

I shook my head, I was on an adventure, with my daughter, and I suppose her marefriend… Or were they friends with benefits? I glanced back at the two of them as we walked out of the town. They were familiar with each other, but they weren’t trying to nudge each other, or sneak kisses. I grinned, friends with benefits were exactly what they were. Sure, someday they might be something more, but I had my doubts. She hadn’t talked about it, but I had a feeling that my Go Fish had a special somepony already, and I had a feeling that she had lost her.

I understood the feeling all too well. I was open to having a casual relationship with either a stallion or mare, but I wouldn’t be able to get close to somepony again. I couldn’t after what had happened to Steam. It would feel too much like I would be betraying her memory, even though I understood that was silly. In truth I was certain that Steam, wherever she was, likely would like for me to be happy. In a way I actually was happier here than I had been in a long time.

I was proud of the mare my daughter had become, even though I understood that in order to do it she had to face problems that I could never really relate to. The closest that I could come to understanding was 52 Pick-Up and her experience with the riots in the stable. How close she had come to having everything simply stop existing in those few days of terror and fear, but somehow she had pushed on through and managed to stop the stallions from destroying everything.

Although from what she had learned all 52 Pick-Up had really done was buy time for all of them. It had been difficult to accept. That all of those mares before her, every last one, had done everything that they could to stop the end of the stable from coming, but in the end it hadn’t mattered. She looked at her daughter, and she realized that there had been something of a trade. Her old life was gone, although she was still a security mare, and in trade she was able to do what she was bred to do. Not only was there that, but she was able to do it with her daughter.

“Mom, everything okay?”

I nodded, “It is, although I feel like I should be back watching over things.”

I heard her laugh, “Mom, I get it, but Bro and Windy both said that they would be watching over it. Not to mention several of the Ministry Mares are there. I don’t think that we have that much to worry about.”

I looked at her, “Fishie, what was something I taught you really early on?”

She looked confused for a moment, “Ummm, never assume that everything will just be okay?”

I nodded, “Exactly. When you assume you make an ass out of you and me,” I saw her friend smile, “And as capable as everypony, and creature, may be at watching over things I hate to leave it behind knowing that I could end up being the deciding factor.”

I saw her roll her eyes, “Mom, trust me, sometimes you’ve just got to let things go. It’s hard, I know, but if you don’t then it will drive you insane. Trust me, I’m speaking from experience here.”

I raised an eyebrow at her, “My, it sounds like my daughter is trying to be deep.”

She laughed, “Well, even a not smart pony can learn things from time to time.”

Ahead I heard the sound of somepony screaming, yelling some of the most insane sounding things, and I looked at both of them. I hadn’t realized it, but we had cleared the city, and we were between it and a smaller village. There was a small farm, on fire, and it looked like all of the livestock, and those that worked the farm were lying dead. I rushed toward it, both of them following me as I heard the sound again.

We arrived to see someone screaming, his eyes were both yellow, there was an insane giggling coming from his mouth, and before I could say a word Fishie shot an arrow from her crossbow hitting him in the head.

Small Farm outside of Flumen Subjicite

Blackjack’s P.O.V.

No, no no no no, I know that Mannulus had said something about this, but damn it I didn’t really expect to see this again! Raiders, honest to Celestia raiders, and they were here. This changed things. I agreed with what Mannulus had said before, that it had to be someone like Lighthooves that was setting things into motion. It couldn’t be some poor mistake. For it to be happening like this, for this many to be affected, it had to be someone feeding it to them.

I looked back where we had come from, it was closer to the bigger city, and they didn’t have the protection that Megamart had. Gun wasn’t hovering overhead to make sure that everypony played nice. That meant that things were going to get really bad before they got better. I didn't want to see that happen. Raiders inside of a city, with thousands, was a recipe for disaster. I couldn’t let that happen.

“Okay, we’ve got to check for bread and raider’s rye. If it’s here then that means that someone’s sold it to them. We might be able to track them down.”

Sure, we were on an adventure, but who’s to say that we had to go straight there, and besides this was far more important. I looked at both Mom and Clopmaniac, “Are you okay with us trying to track down whoever did this?”

Clop nodded, “‘Course I am, and I wanna shove a sword up their arse for what they did here.”

Mom also nodded, “Tracking them down would protect ponies, and Security protects ponies.”

I nodded, and the three of us began searching around. There wasn’t much to find. The house was burning, as was the barn, and there wasn’t any sign of the rye other than half a loaf of bread. Clop used her magic to destroy it, and without anything to go on all we could do was continue on the adventure. Maybe we’d get lucky, and maybe we’d stumble onto something. For the first time in a long time I could almost hear the shuffle of cards. I didn’t see him, I didn’t see Eco at all, but I could almost hear his voice, “Ante Up Blackjack, different World, same rules.”