Light at the End of the Journey

Chapters

Dawn of a New Day
High Noon
Dusk

Dawn of a New Day

A meek yawn escaped her lips as she painfully stifled the urge to go back to sleep, rending her blanket away from her body with a forceful pull of her hooves, despite protest from within. As a reflex to this defiance, she stretched her body as much as she could to try and rid herself of the sleep that still enveloped her. Much to her chagrin, however, the manoeuvre provided no respite from her current disposition, rendering her immobile in her bed for the perceivable future.

Coffee. Her mind called out feebly.

She needed coffee.

With this revelation came the thought that she might have woken up a little earlier than she usually did—the alarm clock beside her bed standing mute and still, its hands aligned to 6:55, confirming to her that she was right—and that her maid would arrive soon with the much-needed morning elixir. With nothing else to do but wait until then, her eyes wandered away from the door and towards the window beside her, its thick windowpanes acting like a transparent barrier that allowed vision between two worlds but no contact.

The realm outside was a domain of the cold and dreary: the snowstorm that had been ravaging Feslott for the past week had turned into a harrowing blizzard that threatened to wipe her home from existence, the silhouette of the crescent sun beyond the horizon unable to penetrate the snow cover of the mountains that dotted her town. Yet her gaze, in a fashion typical of her heritage, went instead towards the deer working still in the early feeble dawn light to earn their pay while keeping the Lehtisaari monolith chugging away despite the bleak midwinter snow raining down on their backs.

As the door to her own room opened with a knock, Helmi Lehtisaari, the heir to a long prestigious line of businessdeers and now leading industrialists of newborn conglomerates, turned her view inwards. The toils of the inspirational and diligent deer forgotten in a moment, a privileged fatigue laden with cold apathy came back. Yet the smell of the hot coffee that her maid-cum-friend Valla brought filled her snout, its radiating warmth but a minute source among many others that led to the comfortable temperature in her room: crackling sounds emanating from the fireplace, that was flanked by a big ornate mantelpiece adorning the center of her room, bestowed divine heat and light in a stark contrast to the devilish blizzard outside, her room containing many dime-a-dozen fur pieces from the various animals her family and she herself had hunted in the wilderness outside (her very own blanket being made of fur itself as was custom of the Olenians living so far north) that provided further extra insulation.

"Good morning, Helmi. I hope you had a pleasant night sleep. I have brought you your morning coffee," Valla drawled in a soothing south Equestrian accent, placing the cup at the stool of the window. Hailing from Appleloosa, the climate of this town was vastly different from the one she came from. But, having lost her mother when she was young, she was adopted by the Lehtisaari family; seldom growing homesick and never talking about home.

Well... almost never, Helmi thought with a quaint lethargic smile, her mind in a daydream of thoughts recounting the cozy stories she would hear from Valla about her home in the deserts of Equestria. Comforting her during the bone-chill nights when her shivering body refused to fall asleep.

As she brought the coffee mug to her snout and felt the warm brew travel down her gullet, it had the opposite reaction than what she desired. Making her even more relaxed, she settled back into her bed rest with a content sigh, her eyes turning glassy and opaque; and her thoughts meandered sluggishly to her atypical plans for that day.

Maybe I don't have to do this. I can just live like this, a corporate exile as my assistants take over my role in the company. I can just sit here...sipping my coffee in the face of this unending winter, she murmured in a form of ironic lucidity, as if this was the best idea she had thought of since winter began this cycle.

Just then, a loud crash followed by a blast of frigid air struck the dreamy deer, snapping her out of her stupor. Looking up with a start, she saw Valla peaking her head out of the window. A thick white foam came out of her muzzle as the earth pony let out a breath in the snowy air, the two worlds now merged at the threshold. The twee sunlight glimmering from the mountains casted the usually dull brown pony in an almost golden glow of her earth pony heritage like the snow caps in the distance.

"Sorry about the noise. Window was frozen shut by the snow but fortunately I managed to pry it open. I know you hate the morning chill but humour me this once since I wanted to immerse myself today in the invigorating wind," she asked with an almost petulant grin, her mane swishing behind her in a beautiful flurry.

But rather than making Helmi into a typical chattering mess, for once, the frigid gale brought back her stoic demeanour as she made up her mind and promptly drank the rest of her coffee in big deep gulps; the burn providing her with a renewed energy this time as her eyes once again rested upon her long-time companion. The pony, in response, smiled warmly in the freezing wind bellowing from over yonder.

"I am relieving you of duty Valla," came the matter-of-fact response from the businessdeer.

The raging blizzard that had ravaged Feslott during the break of dawn had—come evening—died down, leaving a quiet town with a pile of snow festooned upon its land. Despite the silence, however, it would have been amiss to state that the mental constitution and financial situation of most town-folk allowed them to take leave from work during such a harrowing climate. Even now, in the waning sunlight of the winter evening, many deer could be seen returning home from the work, uninhibited by the battering that their town had received from nature that day.

While their own natural coats provided plenty of insulation, quite a few still adorned fur coats and jackets that they were able to purchase from their meagre earnings, quietly making their way to their hearths in the different corners of their city like mindless drones; quite a handful detaching themselves from their senses, lest the cold that they journeyed through made them stop dead in their tracks.

Many more tired to distract themselves with idle talk, either by themselves or with colleagues that lived in the same direction. Some talked about the abuse they received from their bosses while trying to plead for the most minute of amenities: a short rest break, a garment for the poorer ones to at least cover their bodies from the blizzard, or even a day-off. Others talked about the mundanity of it all: the same routine day-in and day-out that they were forced to undertake to provide for them or their families. A select few had a quaint smile on their muzzles as they talked about the praise they received or the bonuses they got that they.

As per usual, the topic of buying a car eventually came up on the muzzle of many, even if they knew how the conversation would usually end up: that purchasing one would require throwing months of precious pay down the drain. The town of Feslott was a haven for the rich away from the prying eyes of the government and acted almost semi-autonomously through a combination of bribery and politicking, a sort of kingdom within a kingdom. Cars were a luxury not provided to most, the roads of the town like a barren stretch of land that sat unused by most.

Not to mention that the climate of Feslott lent itself to terrible winters, of which this was one of the worst in years. Driving through the region would have been a fool’s errand. And so, the deer fell once more into their routine, blending into the dark and industrial grey of the snowy city like blots of ink on an artist’s painting. Unnamed and unassuming dots that constituted a morbid yet necessary strata of society under the industrial behemoth of the city.

Policedeer, like eternal wardens, stood stationed at strategic locations that covered the entire city, watching the roving bands of pedestrians with a narrowed gaze for intrusions, sometimes checking the identity papers of those that passed by them; carrying these papers a mandatory duty that even the rich could not escape from. Changeling infiltration had become a problem in Olenia for years; numerous investigations deemed Feslott a primary entry point. Both the local government and the industrialists reinforced the local police garrison to protect their city/assets, which allowed them to become adept at their jobs.

For all intents and purposes, the day felt like any other when the sky suddenly blazed an orange glow from towards the east, contrasting the setting sun. Many watched with stunned looks and enlarged eyes towards the glow, growing concerned of another changeling attack, while nearby policedeer shouted queries into their radio about the situation and what their orders were.

Towards the eastern sector of the city, Väinö Laine drew a hoof towards his face to wipe down the sweat that was gathering on his face, the police tape nearly slipping from his hoofs due to the aforementioned accumulated liquid. Still, he forged on to cordon the area off from the growing crowd of deer near the fire that seemed to be enchanted like insects looking upon a light, quite reasonably still, given the current weather. Their fur, which had puffed up from the cold, were now matted down by the radiant heavenly heat. The ground had become an icy puddle as the bonfire on the road melted the snow around the area, causing some to nearly slip.

After he managed to cordon the area and quell the nearby audience with a harsh shout, Väinö tried to call for backup through his radio, his hoofs slipping many times in the process due to them being wet but also due to them shaking a lot. While he had become a natural at quelling most forms of public disorder, or even Changelings for that matter, the scene in front of him was honestly not one he had witnessed in his many years of service for a quiet town with not a lot of automobiles.

From what he could make out, two vehicles in question were what constituted the accident in front of him. A 4-seater of an expensive variety looked to be conjoined at a central nexus, its front end smashed to smithereens, with a large cargo truck that most likely had whatever it was carrying burnt to a crisp, if not outright smashed out by the impact. A huge fire from Tartarus itself seemed to envelop both vehicles, disallowing anyone to come any closer than they could.

As he waited for backup to arrive, Väinö tried to keep the nearby crowd back; not that it was necessary given the fire. He had already spotted the charred remains of a body and tried not to think about it as he did his job. Fortunately, the crowd seemed to be lessening as most turned to leave, either due to indifference, the fire or the smell of death that had started to permeate the air.

While swatting away another batch of adventurous deer, he noticed something out of the corner of his eyes. On the ground, near to the burning car, lay an opaque white object that contrasted with the grey asphalt and translucent ice. Snow still fell from above, mixing with the lingering ash in the air from the burning vehicles, but none of it could prevent the object with its angular edges from sticking out.

Väinö carefully picked it up, making sure to stay out of harm's way, and swatted away any ice or snow that had settled on it while making sure it was undamaged in the process. As soon as he did so, he immediately recognized it as an identity card that most higher class deer carried; their soft power clearly manifesting in this simple difference: whereas most deer had to carry a small identity booklet with them for their daily use, the rich were content with just a simple card with their name and basic details on it. Just to remind the others who stood in front of them.

Turning it over, Väinö drew a small yet sharp breath when he glanced the name written on top. As an everyday policedeer in Feslott, it was an unwritten rule among their corps to know the names and positions of most high-class deer in the city. To not come forth as insulting or ignorant of the status of their 'shareholders'. And this one, Väinö thought as he gazed it over again, was definitely a major shareholder.

He knew that if what this implied was true, it would truly shake up the power dynamics of the city in a massive way, the ramifications of which he did not want to think. Right now, hearing sirens in the background indicating help was finally here, he knew he had a job to do.

As the arriving force took control of the situation: firefighters trying to douse out the fire, a team of policedeer keeping any lingering civilians or arriving press back and a few ambulance lying in wait to take anyone to the hospital (mostly for the crowd as, given the situation, they too doubted anyone had survived the accident), Väinö left to report to his superior about what he found.

He could already picture the newspapers tomorrow as he heard the ramblings and voices of newsdeer furiously writing down the story unfolding in front of them either by themselves or to their assistants standing behind them. Ignoring them as best as he could, he finally found his superior officer and, while waiting for him to finish bellowing orders to other policedeer in his signature gruffy voice, took a second to collect himself and think upon how he would break the news.

Deep down, however, he knew that no matter how he delivered the evidence, it would affect many deer in a huge way in all levels of Feslott society. Not only was the deer in question one of the most powerful and well entrenched elite in the city but, ironically, was also known to be one of the most fair-minded of their people, and a big proponent and supporter of the police in their hunt for changelings. Losing them would send a shockwave to all corners of the city.

Despite this, Väinö took a deep breath and steeled himself. No matter what he or anyone thought, what's done was done. He, as he once again reminded himself, had a job to do. Perhaps the most important one out of all of them.

Seeing the officer in front of him gaining a bit of respite from his non-stop overview of the accident, Väinö trudged forward to report to him, but not before looking at the identity card one final time.

Helmi Lehtisaari. CEO of Lehtisaari Fur Conglomerate

Far past the city borders, a lonely guard post stood alongside one of the few roads leading out of Feslott; its occupants either keeping watch over their designated stretch of road or taking a break playing the same card games for umpteenth time while their comrades rotated into watch shift. A single hut with barely any provisions made up their entire command post from which they operated. But, given that almost nothing of note ever happened near their post, they were content with it regardless.

As time forged ahead, those that passed by them were of typical nature: the goods trucks that delivered cargo to and from the city, armed forces(military or law enforcement), and the rare but not out-of-ordinary elite who wished to get out of the city every other night or so. As per protocol, they all required the right permits to leave the city. To prevent changeling infiltration, of course; although, it wouldn't be amiss to guess that sometimes the guards took certain...liberties with the ones that passed by them.

Sometimes, however, there came by a vehicle of utmost curiosity and apprehension. Like the oil tanker truck that rolled by the guard post at 2 in the morning. Eyeing it with a suspicious glare, the officer on guard rotation came by to the driver's window and knocked on it with a slightly harsher thump. Trucks were known to be prime vehicles used by smugglers to transport goods deemed illegal by law. In recent years, their number had been cut down massively, but some still took their chances. Unless you had the right permit from the right source, there was little chance many could continue forth to their destination.

The guard kept his weapon on ready as the windows rolled down to greet him, but as soon as they did, a surprised grin quickly manifested itself on his face seeing who was behind the wheel.

"Mikael! What are doing here? By the Gods...it has been so long since we met, mun ystävä!" the guard exclaimed, albeit with a restrained glee so that he wouldn't disturb the other resting guards.

"Antero! How good to see you again as well. I hope you and your boys are having a better night than I am with this," the driver replies while pointing to his tanker. "Truthfully, though, I did not expect to see out here too. Must have been the Gods' work indeed. I know it has been long, but my new job expects me to work my ass off even in the dead of night," he groaned, with a bitter laugh following after.

The guard looked at him sympathetically. "Yes, I can very well understand that. We used to be on day shift, but then apparently someone complained about there being too much sun! Too much sun! Can you believe that? Ever since then, we have been on guard in the night. And they wouldn't even tell us who did it!"

The driver howled with laughter at that, which soon prompted his old friend to laugh as well. The rest of the guards looked on in astonishment at what was happening but, given that it wasn't them on watch, promptly gave no further thought to it as they let their colleague manage the situation.

The two laughed and talked for a while, giving the bitter cold around them a certain warmth radiating from their old friendship. But even this warmth was no match for time. Soon, the guard asked the driver the fateful question, "So do you have a permit for this piece of hunk Mikael?"

The driver grew visibly disturbed from this question, and fidgeted around as he gave a straight yet quiet answer to him, "No. I do not have one." Antero gave an alarmed look, as he looked back briefly to the other guards to see if they heard that. Realizing that none had heard, he brought his gaze once more to Mikael.

"What are you saying, Mikael? Do you not know that no one is allowed to leave the town without a proper notarized permit? By the Gods!" he cursed, with a restraint once more in his voice. But before he could say anything further, Mikael held his beak close with his claws and spoke quickly with a pleading voice, "Please Antero, listen to me before you say anything. I know that, under normal circumstances, you would have to send me back. However, I am asking you this once to please allow me to pass without the permit."

Antero didn't say anything, even after Mikael removed his claw, and simply stood there dumbfounded. As if to strike it home, Mikael added one last point, "Of course... I will be willing to forget about that favour you owe me."

At the mention of that incident, Antero jolted out of his stupor and, after a few minutes of deliberation, slowly nodded his head in agreement. A quaint all-knowing smile seemed to glide onto the muzzle of the driver as he touched his cap while nodding back to the guard.

"It really was nice to see you, old friend. Maybe after I finish this delivery, we will catch some drinks together at our favourite bar," he said with a jovial grin. Antero nervously grinned back, then turned towards his fellow soldier near the gate. "He's clear!" he shouted with a quiver in his voice, as he saw the gate rise and the truck began to roll forward; and soon, disappearing into the darkness.

Antero let out a forceful sigh, as he rotated once more with another guard and retired to where his other colleagues were: either playing another game of cards or simply whistling a tune in the silent night. Unbeknownst to him, his hands were slightly shaking that mirrored his troubled look. His senior officer, a kind old deer, caught it and asked him, "What's wrong Antero? You look a lot worse for the wear. Guard duty becoming too much for you?" he chuckled at that last statement.

"No...no I am fine. Just...tired. I swear, the day I find out who complained to the superior..." Antero seemed to mumble on but stopped when he heard his senior gasp, "Huh! You don't know? There was no complaint! Someone had just made that up as an excuse to drive our asses away. We were always going to end up on night duty no matter what."

Antero froze after hearing that, the weight of that revelation falling over him. With no one to blame, he suddenly wished to strangle the one person he could: himself.

Mikael whistled a joyful tune, the hard part of his journey now behind him. At a fair distance from the city, his eyes began to search rapidly for something; and then zoned on it once he knew he had found it. Bringing the truck to a stop near it, he made a mental note to later thank his 'helpers' that he hired earlier for actually doing their jobs. Stepping out, he briefly walked over to it to make sure everything was present and working properly, before giving a satisfied sigh and walking to the back of his tanker truck.

Climbing on top of it, he spent the better part of a minute opening the hatch on top of the tanker, hoping he hadn't made it too air-tight by habit. Once the hatch finally opened, he peered down into the abyssal black for a second, trying to spot some sort of movement. Realizing quickly that this was impossible in the darkness, he called out with a low shout, "Is everyone alright? We passed the border guards, now we can make the rest of the journey in a more comfortable accommodation as we discussed."

At the sound of his voice, a cacophony of voices was heard from the tanker's depths: some tired groans, a cheer here and there, and a lot of coughs (which confirmed that had secured the hatch a little tighter than was comfortable). A few shouted, "Finally!" which reverberated uncomfortably in the closed space, causing many to wince irritably as they covered their ears in reflex.

"Shh! We are still not completely in the clear. You must come out one-by-one and head to the truck up front. You will find the necessary clothes you must wear, along with some provisions. Now quickly!" Mikael urged, looking frantically around him for anything that could give them trouble.

Meanwhile, the party hiding in the tanker—deeply tired from the asphyxiating journey—did as they were told with a silent zeal, eager to finish their harrowing journey. While many looked overjoyed at the slightly better conditions of driving in the back of a truck than in the annals of another suffocating vehicle, there was one that had a frustrating look on her face, which most would not notice due to it being hidden by the cloak around her. The orange pony besides her gave a sympathetic look but gestured her to let it go. They had more important priorities.

With a huff, the deer finally moved towards the languished pile of clothes that lay in the truck, picking up a set that seemed to be her size. As others began to change in earnest, she walked a bit further from the group to change in private. As the minutes rolled by, Helmi finally finished changing and, with a quick deep breath, rejoined her group soon after.

Being the scion of a well-known family, she had always radiated a natural commanding aura around her, which was boosted further by what she was wearing: the clothes for an armydeer, just like the rest of her hodgepodge group, who gazed at her like her little soldiers waiting for orders. But soon, the mirage broke as Mikael banged the truck with a harsh thump from the driver's seat, signalling them to get moving.

The next few hours rolled by in continued silence, as most of the group finally received enough space and cool air to feel sleepy. The truck began to echo with the sounds of snoring deer, when Helmi felt a little nudge on her right side. Turning towards the source, she gazed upon the one who had disturbed her. Her eyes met the ones of a young deer, who looked only slightly older than Helmi herself. Her face was covered in soot and dirt, and her stomach screamed of starvation, yet she radiated an inner strength as her hand—holding a snack bar—rose towards Helmi.

As her eyes grew in astonishment and suspicion, the deer beside her reassured her in a silk-song like voice, "Relax dear. You look you saw a ghost. Name's Lumi. Lumi Korhonen. And you must be... Helmi Lehtisaari... right?" she asked in a confident tone. Helmi grew concerned: this was exactly the sort of attention she was hoping not to get. Not after what she had... done... to disappear. But surprisingly, Lumi seemed unconcerned that she was sitting next to someone that, just a few hours ago, was the richest deer in all Feslott. Maybe even Olenia.

No, the way she talked was as if Helmi was just an old friend who, like Antero, she couldn't believe would see in a situation like this. At first, Helmi was apprehensive of talking to her but soon her brow settled, and her muzzle lost its tension as she found herself listening to the stories of this stranger with rapt attention.

She soon found out how she knew her: she worked at one of her distribution centers and was one of their best employees. She talked about how gradual reforms made by Helmi was like a gift from the gods for many of her workers, Lumi included. Her positive accounts regarding work and colleagues very much surprised Helmi, who had—for a long time—saw Feslott as nothing more than fetid backwater; a seedy underbelly of the Olenian society that was always far away but never far enough.

"Even though I finally hit a breaking point myself, I will never forget the good times I had with the few friends I made in the city. I will miss them," she sighed while looking back at the city longingly.

"I will miss them very much. But I can stay in the city no longer."

Saying this, her eyes turned towards Helmi. "I suppose it's the same for you, if you are here. I guess the city has a way of drowning those that live at its peak. But I suppose… that doesn’t concern me," she concluded with an airy tone as she looked back at the snow-covered city.

“Say, do you think you will miss anyone? Friends? Family?” she asked suddenly. Helmi merely shook her head when asked about any friends (the only one in her life was conveniently sleeping right across her) but she shuddered upon hearing the word ‘family.’

“I…have a brother. He is older than me, but we very quickly realized he never had any acumen for running a business. So, he was sidelined in favour of me. An arrangement I am sure he was happy with,” she replied with a spite in her voice. Lumi tilted her head curiously as she asked, ”So does that mean he will take over the company?” at which Helmi replied that she didn’t know.

“He was always a ruffian. Hanging out with his gang buddies deep in the forests. I have heard tales, but I never wanted to confirm them. I…”—she paused with a deep melancholic sigh—“I haven’t seen him in 6 years since he left. I don’t know what has become of him. I pray to the gods he is alive.”

“And I pray we never meet again.”

“Why is that?” Lumi asked.

Helmi looked her dead in the eye as she said, “Because he would make me suffer.”

High Noon

The morning brought forth a warming gale from the sea, signalling that they were near the Vaverfront border. Hours of non-stop driving and many checkpoints later, the occupants of the truck could finally taste the salty smell of freedom. But before they could celebrate, beyond the horizon, a final obstacle stood in front of them: the Vaverfront coast guard.

As the truck rolled into their view, the coast guard soldiers had their brow up; their confusion heightening. Nevertheless, they made a sign for the driver to halt the vehicle. Mikael cautiously brought the truck to a stop near the security post and rolled down his window, as two deer approached him. They noticed his army uniform.

“Halt! This is a restricted zone. State your business, otherwise we will be forced to turn you around.”

“At ease, Lieutenant! I am Senior Lieutenant Matias”—as he stated, he gestured towards the badge pinned to his chest—“and my squad has been tasked with a mission. We have been informed about a possible disturbance out on the sea near our coast, and I am here to requisition a naval vessel from the coast guard. Here is all the necessary paperwork, but please hurry! We already wasted a lot of time just getting here.”

The two officers looked at each other and then asked Mikael to kindly wait. Mikael gave out a frustrated grunt, which was equal parts acting and equal parts real internal turmoil that he felt inside. Despite his paperwork being perfect or not, the more time they spent here, the more chances they had of being caught. But wait he had to, so wait he did.

When he saw them come back quickly, however, he was far from happy. Something was wrong, he could feel it. The two coast guards raised their guns at him, confirming his fear. A third deer strode up to the truck from behind them. Before Mikael had any chance to plead innocence, the deer spoke up.

“Apologies for the confusion Senior Lieutenant Matias but you see, we have a few… issues with your paperwork. For one, as Captain of the Vaverfront Coast Guard, I was not informed of any such…disturbance that you claim of. And yes, before you correct me, I know that normally coast guards are not privy to such special information relegated to special forces. But I assure you, my dear Matias, things such as this rarely escape me. Even a few… whispers from the sea.”

Knowing that they were caught in the act, Mikael made a split decision and stomped down on the accelerator. Immediately, the engine roared to life as the deer started firing. He could hear screams and panicked shouting in the back of the truck, but adrenaline had hyper-focused the deer, as he gunned straight for the strip of harbour at the far end.

Thankfully, the military grade vehicle managed to hold its own against the hail of bullets impacting upon it, but Mikael knew it was only a matter of time. The refugees behind had adopted fetal positions on the floor, hearing bullets rip through the weaker fabric of the rear part of the truck from above them.

As his destination came into view, Mikael twisted his body to look back, opening the small hatch window to the backside, and asking loudly, “Is there anyone who knows how to operate a boat!?” Silence was what met him for a few seconds, before a hand meekly shot up. Satisfied, he brought his attention back to the road and began rummaging through his bag beside him, taking out what looked like a grenade. He flicked off the metal pin and threw it out the window, as gas slowly bellowed out of it in a huge volume.

Once he saw that they were completely covered, Mikael stomped down on the breaks, bringing the vehicle to an abrupt stop, before asking the refugees to quickly unload. In silent shock, everydeer complied immediately, and looked to him for further instructions.

“Listen, they will catch us before we ever make it to the boat. I will lead them away as distraction. Get to the end of the docks. There is a teal-coloured boat over there that is placed for our use. Here are the keys,” he throws the keys to the one who had raised their hands, “Once you get away from here, head towards Vanhoover. There will be someone waiting for you.”

And with that, he drove off; dropping even more grenades of the explosive kind. Nodeer questioned how he planned to get away. They all began to book it towards where the driver had instructed them, hiding here and there when they felt they were exposed.

Helmi stuck close to Valla and Lumi as they made their way towards the boat. For whatever reason, she had grown close to the young deer, making her an unspoken third member of their two-deer group. The soldiers, who had earlier been concentrating solely on them, now fired at something else in the distance, completely ignoring the group of refugees as they silently made their way across to their vehicle of freedom.

The sky, which was earlier a mix of grey and orange, was now filled with the golden rays of the morning sun; already a lot better than how it was in Feslott. Reaching the boat, as others quickly climbed onto it, Helmi took a moment to soak in the morning glow, closing her eyes. It had only been a day, yet the difference was— in some sense—literally night and day. In her heart, she couldn’t wait until she was on the other side.

As she opened her eyes and turned to look at Lumi, she noticed a deer in the far corner of her vision. Looking at them.

With a gun pointed right at them.

The next few seconds passed in a blur, but the taste of salt water in her mouth shook Helmi out of her frozen state. She felt water around her, and a weight was pressed on to her body from the side. Suddenly, an engine roared from behind as she turned to see the boat beginning to drift ever more into the water. Somedeer had found a gun on board and started firing back, albeit with lesser success than their army counterparts, who had now coalesced upon the ship and began spraying at its occupants.

Helmi felt the weight beside her move: Lumi was hanging onto her, face down in the water, looking unconscious. She could feel her chest move but it felt shallow and heavy. Some distance away, Valla was trying to swim over to them, but she was visibly struggling as a dark stain spread around her in the water, clearly originating from her left hoof.

“Oh my God, Valla! You have been shot!” Helmi screamed at the sight of blood, stirring Lumi ever so slightly from her dream-like state. “It’s…it’s fine. I am fine,” Valla grunted with a strain, then thrusted her uninjured hoof towards her friend. As soon as Helmi grabbed it, she lurched forward from the pull, as Valla tried dragging them towards the boat. Someone lent a hand, which Valla took gratefully, as the refugees became more adept at providing cover fire and the driver grew more comfortable behind the seat.

As soon as they got on board, Helmi turned to help Lumi but to her horror, she instead saw her sinking motionless into the sea, one hand outstretched as her eyes stood open in a state of shock. Before she could do anything, Valla pulled her away and towards the floor, while shouting at her.

“Helmi! Stay down, or they will shoot you too!”

“But Valla! Lumi is still—”

“Lumi is gone, Valla! She was shot, remember?”

Helmi remained speechless but took a cautious yet terrified glance over to where Lumi’s body used to be. Nothing besides a dark red stain upon the water’s surface remained of the deer that she knew as Lumi.

“But…but she was right with me. She was breathing… we must help her Valla!”

“Helmi, please. She is dead. With no medical aid, she was dead the moment that soldier shot at us. If she weren’t in front of you, you would have died instead. Do you want her sacrifice to go in vain by going back there to die?” Valla pleaded.

Helmi remained speechless once more, drowning out the sounds of injured groans and cries of anguish among their crew as bullets whizzed by, and as the sun peaked once more from the clouds, temporarily blinding the coast guards with its sharp glare, she lay back down on the deck; her mouth moving in a silent prayer.

The sunlit sky shone a bright orange as the Sol star itself glittered high in the noon sky, rendering Helmi blind just to look at it. Still, she persisted anyways, opting to feel ever more the ONE thing she longed for more than anything in her life ever since she left home. Or more accurately, as a sign that said, “See you soon!” with Appleloosa written underneath went past her window, the only solace she had left ever since she had to leave a place that she called home once again.

More than anything, she did not want to look straight at the newspaper that the pony in front of her was reading; the title ‘OLENIA BECOMING A PROTECTORATE UNDER CHRYSALIS. THE CHANGELING MENACE SUBJUGATE YET ANOTHER NATION AND ITS PEOPLE MERCILLESLY’ splashed on the backside in bold letters.

The door to her train carriage opened, allowing Valla to enter with the day’s lunch in her hoofs. Helmi gave a tender smile, but the pony did not return any. Sighing, Helmi took her half of the food from Valla, who stored the excess food in one of their three bags that contained all their possessions. How ironic[/], Helmi thought as she dove hungrily into her favourite tomato soup. We came to Appleloosa with nothing, and then we left with nothing.

She winced at that thought. It was a tough decision to make. When she received news of what happened to her home, she knew the rumours that she had heard of when living in Feslott were more real than she had given them credit for. She knew it was only a matter of time before they came for Equestria, and although Appleloosa was far from the border, she didn’t want to take any chances.

And all for the better too, because no sooner had she left that the news came about the Changelings taking over Vanhoover and blitzing down towards Las Pegasus. The speed had caught everyone off-guard, but Helmi was at least grateful that her somewhat paranoid nature caused her to think of a backup plan.

The plan, as it was, was to reach the eastern port city of Baltimare by train. From there…well, she had only heard of it in stories but after further investigation, she found out that the famed deerlaw nation of Hindia did indeed exist. To her, it was perfect. Sunny beaches, a nation of deer and, most importantly, no nearby enemies.

A huff brought her attention back to her long-time companion, the wince on her face, as she blew tenderly over the soup, made it abundantly clear that it was still hot to drink.

Helmi watched her struggle, her heart slightly heavy. Out of all her preparation, Valla was the one that she knew would be the most troublesome. The journey out of Olenia had, unbeknownst to her earlier, left Valla a bit on the edge. The comfort of a home in Appleloosa had renewed some of her strength, as well as her smile.

But when Olenia fell and Helmi started ‘preparing,’ that feeling of comfort and safety was becoming increasingly foreign to her once more. She started looking at Helmi with an exhausted look, as if she would rather die here back home on some lawn chair, than keep running till the end of days. Eventually, in a moment of clarity, she decided that her foalhood friend WAS the home she wanted to die with. They sold most of their belonging, packing only the most necessary items or the ones that held emotional value to them, and began their journey east.

Helmi sighed as she looked once more to Valla. She was fit as always, and her body showed no signs of fatigue or malnutrition that many pictured refugees looking like. But on her face, she could see all the mental tension that was gripping from within. Today, she hadn’t even asked whether Helmi wanted something to eat before getting up to get lunch. At first Helmi thought it was just her psyche decoupling from her time as a housekeeper, but the venomous aura that leaked from her expression when their eyes met told a different tale.

A deep sign suddenly emanated from the golden earth pony, shuffling in her seat to go to sleep. Helmi gave an internal sigh of relief too and began to rest her head on her window as slowly drifted off to sleep as well; the view beyond her window changing, as vegetation slowly started to creep upwards on the southern desert.

In the sweltering heat pooling inside her train carriage, Helmi had never slept so peacefully. Her body coat naturally smaller since birth, the sweat matted fur stuck to her body like a make-shift blanket, cooled eventually by the evening wind that blew through when they reached deep into the south-east. A state of perfect bliss, in her dream addled mind. So, when the emergency siren blew like the Gjallerhorn straight into her ears, she burst up from her sleep with a start. Not noticing the flurry of movement outside her train carriage, as well as within, she gazed out of her window.

The sky had grown dark above the train, with rows of trees whizzing past them on the ground. However, Helmi could see bright flashes of light in the sky as well. Lights flew across the sky like shooting stars, following the path of objects obscured by the darkness. A bright flash sparked once more behind one of the objects, providing a clear silhouette to her. Helmi gasped in surprise when she realized what they were.

Planes. Hundreds of them.

From here, she couldn’t see what flag they bore or who they served, but she knew she didn’t want to stick around to find out. Finally bringing her attention back inside, she turned towards Valla, who was making sure all their items were packed and secured.

“Valla! There seems to be a battle going outside!”

“No shit!” Valla replied with a frustrated tone, then immediately suppressed what she was going to say next. “Listen, they have called up everypony in the train who has military experience to man the Bofors anti-air, but they don’t have enough. I am going out to help them. I might not be an Equestrian anymore, nor have any skill in using a gun, but this is still partly my home dammit!”

Helmi’s eyes grew enlarged as she processed that information. She didn’t want Valla to get hurt of course, but she didn’t know how to persuade her.

All that came out of her mouth was, “Well, what do I do?”

Valla looked at her with a disgruntled reaction. “Just stay here and try to keep out of trouble. See that nobody takes our stuff.” And with that, she opened the carriage door and sped away to her would-be post.

Helmi had felt a looming dread ever since she woke up, but it magnified after her best friend left. She was used to running a business empire, with a legion of helpers behind her. But out here, in the middle of a jungle with a warzone in the skies above her, she felt very out of her element. She felt helpless, and the one pony who could have told her how to help just left her alone to go fight her own battles.

Sitting back down on her seat, Helmi held one of her bags tight in her grip, as if hoping they wouldn’t leave her as well. Her gaze went out of the window again, as she had always done every time she woke up; an old habit that refused to die. But the scene outside filled with her something different than what she was used to. Rather than the cold apathy from Feslott, or the warm relaxed feeling in her small house in Appleloosa, what she felt now was absolute pure terror.

She didn’t know how many minutes passed by in dreadful silence, until the door flew open, and Valla came in with terrible fear in her eyes, as she screamed.

“HELMI, WE HAVE TO GET OU—”

The train suddenly lurched and derailed, their carriage toppling over as it went skidding on the dirt beside their tracks. Crashing into a row of tress, they thankfully came to a stop but not before rolling over a few times in a terrible dance of inertia. Helmi and Valla bounced around like ragdolls in a spinning machine, ending up unconscious but otherwise rather unhurt. Unfortunately, few had their luck: some carriages crashed with other carriages, with devastating results. Others blew apart by the sheer force of friction and deceleration. But a few did survive, and many could be seen lumbering out of what would have been their metal coffin.

Helmi woke up with a blinding headache, and her arm hurt really bad, but the entire lower half of her body felt numb and disconnected. She tried her best to move, to feel anything, but to no avail. Few minutes passed by in an agonizing manner as she tried to calm herself down, ignore the pain and move her body. It was only when she could lift her head that she gazed down to see her legs smashed by debris, a painful sight that explained her paralysis.

Her heart shot up in panic and grief as she cried for help. She could see ponies moving away from the wreckage, but they either couldn’t hear her or purposefully ignored her. As the hope slowly drained away from her, she heard a familiar shout.

“Helmi! Helmi where are you!”

“Valla? VALLA I AM HERE!” she screamed back, tears running down her face in a mixture of pain and happiness. Soon, Valla’s beautiful face gazed down upon her, tears running down her face as well. A small smile crept up on both of their muzzles as Valla tried to slowly lift her out of the wrecked carriage. Realizing the state of her legs, she opted to carry her across her back, galloping as fast as she could with a limp away from it. Helmi, scared and near-death just a few minutes ago, now felt the familiar warmth and comfort coming from being with Valla. She felt tired but the rising pain and decreasing adrenaline would not let her.

This inner battle would be won, however, when a shot rang out from behind her, snapping her alert. Both her and Valla looked back to see a pony limping away suddenly fall to the ground motionless. A hole protruded artificially from his back and warm blood oozed out.

Soon, other ponies suffered the same fate, falling all around them like domino, as the shots came closer and closer to them. Suddenly Valla lurched forward, throwing Helmi off of her as she too fell down. A streak of blood flowed anew from her hoof, as Valla cried in pain. Helmi laid stunned on the ground from the manoeuvre, not that she could move anyway. She glanced over at the pony besides her, as the same feeling of helplessness came over her.

She crawled slowly over to her friend, extending a hoof as she did to comfort her. But as soon as she laid but a tincture of her hoof on Valla, she swatted it away like a whiplash; cursing aloud as she did.

“FUCK! Please, leave me the fuck alone! I can’t, I can’t, I CAN’T! I can’t…,” her shouts devolved into whimpering cries, “I can’t…. do this anymore. I can’t run anymore. Please… please just let me go. Please…”

“Aw we got a cry baby here. Don’t worry love, we will soon put you out of your misery.”

Helmi, distraught as she was with how Valla was acting, stiffened like a tree bark when she heard that voice. While it had changed very much in the six years that she saw him, it had the familiar sinister tone underneath his playful façade. She knew already, with all her heart, that it was him before she even turned to face him. And when she did, the colour drained from her face; as torture victim no.1 locked eyes with her torturer.

“Hello… dear sister,” Olavi Lehtisaari’s quiet sneer boomed in Helmi’s ears.

Dusk

The sight of her brother out here momentarily froze Helmi. How could he here, out in the jungles of South Equestria, far away from Olenia. Far away from home. For a moment she thought he was some sort of god of the forests; being able to manifest in any of his vegetative domains as he pleased.

Olavi, seeing her confusion, grew a pleased smirk on his face.

“Oh please, did you think I would stick to playing pretend in the forests of Feslott like some sort of fawn? I formed my own band. My own crew, loyal to ME. And now, thanks to YOU,” he venomously spat with a hoof pointed at her, “I was appointed the CEO of our company. Did you never think how this would affect me? Ripped away from my playground as these… VULTURES… placed me upon a gilded throne? Thank the gods when I found out it was the Changelings who placed me on it, as a reward for my help in infiltrating Feslott. How else do you thi—yes it was me,” he confirmed when saw the shocked look on Helmi’s face.

“It was me who helped them all along. And now, as my Changeling assistants run the company in my name, I was given the opportunity to lead an operation in the heart of Equestrian jungles against the ponies. Hunting them like our ancestors of old!” his jovial mood seemed to radiate among his group as he continued his speel.

“And now, imagine my surprise, when I learn that my sister…my dear…sweet…vile….sister… was travelling on a train across the very lands I was currently raiding in the name of the bugs. I tell you, Helmi, I had never shrieked in joy as much as I did that day. But I suppose…” Olavi cocked his gun as he spoke, “this might top that.”

“No! Please… I am sorry Olavi, I did not mean to anger you! I swear! I was tired… tired of living there. I couldn’t bear to live in that place anymore, the town that was steeped with the blood of the ponies that died from the sins of our family. I couldn’t wake up one more day in a never-ending blizzard that felt like the world around us was cut off from our fetid city. I just… please. Please let us go. Please don’t kill me. I always loved you, Ol. I never looked for you because I thought that was what you wanted. I am sorry…I am so so sorry.”

All Olavi did was chuckle at her. “Kill you? Where did you get such ideas? No, I won’t kill you, dear sister. The forest will.”

Helmi froze once more, this time out of great concern than fear. Her mind once more remembered the rumours she had heard about her brother, and she very much did not want to know how true they were.

“I had great many plans on what to do with you sister, but it looks like you are already in a lot of pain. As you are right now, you are already dying. I don’t need to do anything. This one, however…” he trailed off as he strode over to Valla.

“This one will help complete your suffering. She must blame you a lot for what happened to her. I would as well though, considering what you made her go through. Poor, poor pony… she wishes she didn’t follow her idiot master.”

As he spoke, his hoof that was on her injured leg suddenly twisted, breaking the bones with a snap. Valla let out a horrid screech, her eyes glassing over with pain and exhaustion, as she slumped back down; her breaths coming out in pained gasps.

“Valla! Stop Ol, ple—”

“Shut up! Watch quietly as I send your friend to her the gods.”

With a silent nod to one of his crew members, who whipped out a cloth to muffle Helmi’s mouth, the deer moved to his next target. He left her hoofs, inspecting them before turning to Helmi.

“Ah, this is one of the hoofs that served you for so many years. You call her a friend, a sister, a companion but she was always a lesser to you. And today, because of your petulance, this hoof will neither serve nor help anyone anymore.”

And with that, he broke her hoof at the mid-point, eliciting a silent painful moan from Valla.

Finally, Olavi took out what seemed to be a large bowie knife. Inscriptions were written on it that seemed like the old language.

Like a ritual knife.

Helmi could nothing more but scream uselessly behind the cloth that muffled her mouth, trying to reach out for her friend, but she could see her strength leaving her. She could do nothing more as her eyes closed, partially from being blinded by the glint from the blade that was raised high above Valla.

And when opened her eyes, only to see her brother gutting the body of her only friend in the world, as he collected her blood in a bowl to drink later in service to the gods, she could nothing more but peer into the glassy eyes of the pony, that held an expression of pure rage which seemed to bore into Helmi’s soul.

She didn’t hear any more sneers from her brother or her gang, nor did she hear them leave. She just lay motionless, all strength gone from her both physically and mentally, as her eyes started to close. Probably the last time she thought.

Before she drifted off to sleep however, she caught the sight of the planes once more, now fully visible in the morning sun. Her last thought was when she saw the banner resting on the tail of the planes.

She remembered it was the banner of the hippogriffs.

A thunderous gale roared upon the beachside, as grey clouds blotted out most of the sun; a few rays shining down here and there on the tumultuous sea like beacons from the heavens. But the young mare that swam in these waters required no such guidance. Her body glided through water like air, her biology made for this environment. Corals and sea fauna swam alongside her like family, but even though she loved them very much, she knew her real family was waiting on the beach up head.

The unstoppable swimmer finally broke the water surface to gauge her distance from the shore. Over yonder, she saw her father on the shore; his muscular body, courtesy of his hippogriff nature, stood tall and proud like Mount Aris itself. The only form of weakness on his body, the shining pearl glowing with a bright red, hung from his neck. A similar red colour shimmered on her neck underneath the water. But she knew that she had time before she had to switch.

Seeing that their daughter was fine, a relaxed smile appeared on Jet Spray’s beak. Turning to the deer beside him, his smile faltered ever so little as he saw a similar smile on her face; the sight of which was as rare as their visit to the beach. But what could he do when, in a nation of deer like Hindia, she said that she couldn’t be around other deer. Going out for anything: a date, a dinner or even a movie, was a big hassle for her. Ironically, it was only during a stormy weather when they found the perfect excuse to head out for some fresh air and enjoy the sea.

But he understood. He always did. When he found her in the jungles of Equestria, when he kept tabs on her in a hospital in Aris. When he proposed to her. When he married her. He knew what he was getting into, and it didn’t matter in the slightest. He had a dark history of his own and whenever Helmi smiled, he felt his past slip away ever more.

Helmi, meanwhile, had her own battles that she fought when out here on the beach. Beside her, sat the pony which had haunted her dreams since that day, whose spirit would not leave her side ever since. But today, as dark clouds kept drifting up above, she wanted to confront her old friend in the eye of the storm.

“Your daughter has grown up to be a fine woman. I won’t be surprised if she takes up to be a woman of leadership such as yourself,” her ghost started, with the usual slight jab at her.

“My daughter can be whoever she wants to be. I won’t constrain her,” she finally looked at Valla, after months of ignoring her, “just like I did you.”

“Just like you are doing to that hippogriff you call husband?” Valla shot back.

Helmi’s silence said everything.

Valla sighed deeply, then turned back to the ocean.

“Listen Helmi. You have made a lot of mistakes in your life. Not all of them were in your control. But…”

She turned back to Helmi, and the two locked eyes as Valla continued.

“I will really come back to life and kill you if you make the mistake of taking your life now for granted.”

No sooner when she said that, Helmi finally broke down. She cried like she never had, not even when Valla died, as Jet Stream came up to her. He took her into a hug, consoling her as much as he could.

A few minutes passed, as both wife and husband looked into each other’s eyes and kissed each other deeply.

Looking towards the ocean again, where their daughter swam, Helmi whispered in a tone so relaxed that Jet Stream, in all the years he knew her, realized she was finally ok. She was finally ready to live the rest of her life.

“Can we go visit the Arisian restaurant you keep talking about?”

“Of course, my love.”