A Whisper on the Wind

ACT III

“Fire!”

A momentary flash of magic from my hand caused the small campfire to blaze as night began to descend around us. The past week of preparation had been grueling, and after having finally departed for the west coast, this was our first night under the stars, away from the relative safety of the settlement.

Everypony's mood had brightened during the past week; I'd even seen Stopper wearing the occasional smile when she thought nopony was watching. Crush, meanwhile, had been unable to finish my weapon request, so it had been left in the trusty hooves of his apprentices and assistants to finish while we undertook our journey.

Ace took to his new position as a scout with gusto, and he'd already been extremely helpful with helping us avoid some potential hazards, like a shallow, flooded cave system and a rather nasty outcropping that a manicure was suspected of hiding in.

Hearing Tricks explain what a manticore was put me in no mood to tangle with one even with my new sword in hand, and we gave the area a wide berth to be safe.

After conducting a cursory scout of our temporary camp’s perimeter, I joined the others as they huddled around the smoldering blaze, sheathing my sword before kneeling with them.

“Have you named your sword yet, Stuart?” Asked Crush, his minty-green coat tainted with brown smudges from our trip to date.

Stopper snorted. “You name your sword?” She asked incredulously.

“Lots of ponies name their sword!” he countered.

“Lots of ponuts.” She spat as Crush turned his attention back to me, expecting an answer.

“Well, uh… I haven’t really given it much thought,” I lied, “How about I call it… ‘Oathkeeper’?”

Nods of approval abounded from almost all gathered, and soon my thoughts wandered to a well-trodden tradition from Earth. “So, as is customary where I come from, let's kick things off with a story or two. Only fair that I start…”

I ran through the multiple options I had available, and the best part? It was all new to these guys!

… or, rather, that was my plan, until Ace spoke up. “Can you tell us more about your world? It feels like all we've been doing is telling you about ours… I'd like to know more about where you’ve come from.”

I took a sip from a water pouch stashed at my side. “That’s a… complicated ask. Well, let’s start with the obvious: Humans are a form of what we call a primate; we’re bipedal in that we walk on two legs, and we have hands with opposable thumbs that have allowed us to develop and use tools. Our recorded history dates as far back as twelve thousand years with varying levels of accuracy, and our planet has many, many nation-states, each with its own distinct culture, history, and identity.”

“Tell us about your culture!” Implored Flame, as they all sat with rapt attention toward me.

“I’ll tell you about my culture, but I need to preface this with something,” I cautioned. “Due to my education and upbringing, I’m going to be a little bit biased in what I describe, in the same way that Alex would no doubt be biased towards his culture in certain respects; tribalism isn’t trivially solved, much like I suspect the case was here, on your world.”

“You two are from different cultures?” asked Crush, who was taking a swig from his own water pouch.

“Yes. I’m from a nation called the United Kingdom… or if you want to be formal, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.” I clarified with great enthusiasm. “Fancy, huh? Lots of history behind that name. Alex, however, is from a nation called Spain, itself referred to formally as the Kingdom of Spain, which lies to the south of mine across the sea.” I said, doing my best to use my hands to point out relative positions, which I’m sure was no help whatsoever. ”Our ancestors were historically enemies, and battles were won and lost between our nations on several occasions. In modern times, our respective governments are allies, but there’s still some lingering resentment between our two cultures over a few issues.”

“What other kinds of battles has your nation fought?” asked Stopper, who was predictably going for the military dimension.

“Many,” I stated, bluntly. “Way more than I could list here without some help, certainly. However, if I were to list my country’s most impactful conflicts, then I have to mention the two global wars that we fought in.”

“Two of them?!” Exclaimed Tricks, “They sound… violent.”

“One of the hardest things to come to terms with… for me, anyway, is my species' abundant talent for warfare and violence. But, that paints an unfair picture…” I said, stoking the fire with a branch. “I will openly admit that my species is capable of violence and sadism that makes us look like monsters, but that’s balanced by the kindness and compassion shown by the decent people of my world, in such acts that'd make your heart weep with joy. Overall, I think you’ll find-”

Rawwwwwwwwwwwwwr!

Never before have I ever risen to my feet so fast as my hand reflexively unsheathed Oathkeeper, all of us turning our attention to where that roar originated from. Not seeing much of interest, I grabbed a smoldering log from the fire with my magic and swung it loosely in the direction of where I thought I heard the disturbance.

The light wasn’t great, but the creature’s unmistakably angry features were rendered visible through the soft light of my temporary torch with nearly everypony taking up positions beside me as we collectively faced down our new adversary. “Manticore!” shouted Stopper, her hoofblade now fully extended and prepared to inflict severe physical harm if necessary.

Tricks was nowhere to be seen, but I trusted him to do something of worth from the shadows. Ace, on the other hoof, was joining me in our emergency defensive line as Crush and Flame hung back a bit.

Me? I was getting just a little bit pissed off.

“Uh, Stopper… tactics?” I asked with a very noticeable air of concern as the beast started pacing back and forth, the sight of our weapons seeming to have an effect in staying its immediate instinct to run us through like we were tissue paper.

“Go for the legs. If it can’t run or walk, it’s not a threat,” she said, matter-of-factly.

The creature continued to roam back and forth, and our time was fast running out to find a solution. “What I wouldn’t give to have Dr. Doolittle with us right now.”

“Who?” Ace questioned without turning his gaze away from our target.

“Later, Private! Do you reckon you can distract it without getting hurt?” I asked.

“Yeah, just watch me!” he shouted as he immediately sped into the distance towards his mark, dirt and twigs being kicked up from his sudden burst of speed as the pegasus corralled the enraged target into following him. The manticore was quick, but Ace was quicker, and the pegasus used his natural affinity for speed to his advantage while keeping within range of the light from the campsite as he drew our adversary away from us. Nodding to Stopper, we waited for the manticore to once again fall within our line of sight.

The manticore repeatedly lost its footing, further giving Ace the advantage; the creature kept looking around to see what new threat was present but found nothing in the darkness.

Without even needing to look at each other, we each noticed the appropriate visual cue, both of us now running as fast as possible toward the creature, Stopper’s four legs giving her a natural speed advantage as we attempted to outflank our target for an incoming pincer attack.

Putting every ancillary thought out of my head, I closed on my target, doing my best to track the creature’s left leg against the moonlight from above as my body complained about being given a proper workout. Fear threatened to creep back into my mind as I gripped the hilt of Oathkeeper hard, my target nearing as my legs continued to give chase to the rampaging entity.

Fanning out slightly, we both then darted directly into the sides of the manticore; Stopper was the first to make contact as she landed a direct hit with her blade, extending it with a single precise motion that was visible against the backdrop of the night’s illumination.

With the creature’s attention now fully occupied with its new wound, I inflicted my own; Oathkeeper pierced its hide with ease, and my follow-up motion jerked the blade upwards on its trajectory out of the damaged flesh. Both Stopper and I continued to run as the manticore fell harshly to the ground with howls of agony; we took that as our collective cue to double back to confront the injured creature, with myself taking a momentary pause to catch my breath.

As we approached the struggling beast, Ace circled back around, and all three of us were soon within smelling distance of our quarry, the creature’s musky odor wafting through the chill of the night air as we approached; its flailing started to decrease, and the beast’s snarling impetuousness soon gave way to timid whimperings as we slowly reached striking range. The manticore was in no position to offer a threat at this point, but all of us knew what needed to happen.

Remember: You are their leader. Their safety is your priority. You must do what needs to be done.

Before I lost my nerve, I swung my bastard sword and put a deep gouge in the creature’s neck, causing a healthy amount of blood to spurt out as the creature quickly began to bleed out.

Within a matter of moments, all signs of life had faded; on autopilot, I walked back to the campfire, still clutching my blade and not even acknowledging the two ponies accompanying me back, with Tricks joining us once we were close enough to be warmed by the heat of the smoldering fire. It took some time before I even registered that the hilt of the sword was still in my fist's embrace, slowly sheathing the bloodstained blade once I realized, my head avoiding looking at the group as I sat down cross-legged on the grass.

“Is this… what I have to really look forward to here?” I asked rhetorically to nopony in particular.

Flame moved closer and put a hoof on my knee. “If Scar was here, she’d say you made the right decision; you encountered a violent, dangerous animal, and you did what you had to do to protect us.”

“You need to be comfortable with killing,” Stopper remarked. “It's either us, or them, and you know what the only right answer is there.”

“You don't want me to be comfortable with killing,” I responded. “I've seen humans that are, and they're not people you need in a world like this. You need people that can add to your world, not excel at taking things away from it.”

I got up and regarded the ponies present with a tired expression. “I'm turning in early; take turns being on watch and wake me for the last shift,” I instructed before walking over to one of the two animal hide tents that we'd brought with us, sheepishly making my way inside.

The inside was spartan; four sleeping bags plus pillows and bags for myself and the three stallions. Unbuckling my belt, I lay my sheathed sword to the side and set about wriggling into the linen sleeping bag, turning over to the side in my favored sleeping position. Using my jacket for additional protection, I draped it over me and closed my eyes as my head hit the pillow.

As I buried my face in the pillow, I began to sob as I contemplated what I’d just become.

A killer.

—

Perspective: Aerial Ace

I watched as Stuart went to our tent, all of our eyes upon him as he slinked into the dwelling, before we all looked at each other, not sure how to digest what had just happened.

I wanted to go after him, but I knew that that would've been a mistake; I remember the first life I took, and even now I still think of her… even if she had been trying to kill me. I didn’t want to talk to anypony, and I guessed he was going to be feeling the same.

The purple mare sitting to my side spoke up first. “At least we made it out of that one intact. The first time I went up against a manticore I wasn't so lucky…” she said, pointing a hoof at her eye to show off a scar reaching all the way down her cheek. “The beast got a lucky swipe in, and I was lucky to still see out of this eye. That was the only luck it got in that fight.”

Stopper continued to look at me, and leaned in. “You like him, don’t you?” she whispered to me, causing my cheeks to utterly burn when she uttered those words. “C’mon, follow me,” she said, rising to her hooves as she sauntered over to the tent we’d earmarked for the mares. As she stepped inside, I followed suit, and we both sat down across from each other, my hoof reflexively touching my goatee’s hair as I sat in silence.

“How long?” she asked, with that knack she had for cutting through everything irrelevant. I was starting to see why Stuart treated her the way he did.

“Since w-we, um… got c-close…” I stuttered, struggling to form words. I didn’t know what I was feeling, but something made me want to march into that tent and just give him a cuddle… but, he wanted us both to not do that stuff while we were out here… and that hurt.

“You more than like him… don’t you?” she pressed, and I weakly nodded in the only response I was capable of, my eyes now streaming with tears as they rolled down my cheeks. To my surprise… She got up and gave me a hug; I didn’t know what to do, but all I could do was bury my face into her chest as I continued to cry.

I don’t know how long she stood there, but the waterworks soon stopped, after which she sat down beside me.

“If you tell him that I hugged you, it won't be pleasant for you,” she said with a sly grin, enough for me to nod my head to accept her terms… even if I suspected she was joking.

“Have you ever had… feelings for somepony else?” I asked.

The unicorn shrugged her shoulders. “I don't get to enjoy things like that.”

“That's not what I asked.” I pointedly stated back.

“If you must know… no, I haven't.” She confirmed. “I've had my brain rutted out of my skull, sure, but love was never a part of that. I’ve honestly given up on finding it, but you shouldn’t.”

I nodded. “Ever since we… you know… all I've wanted is to be close to him. It hurts when I'm not by his side, y'know?” I asked, desperately seeking affirmation.

“Not really,” she replied. “But, I can imagine. Regardless, he needs to know about this, and you know that he needs to know.”

“Not now…” I said, resigned to the fact that it couldn't happen. “When we all get back to the settlement. That's when I'll tell him. I'll sit him down, and then I’ll make a complete fool of myself, after which he'll probably reject me.”

“You don’t know that.” She shot back. “He’s not the tough guy that he wants others to think he is. If you opened up to him and offered to share his life with him, I think that’d make him really happy.”

“What gives me that right?” I asked. “He's equally close to Flame; buck, she might even be carrying his foal. What right do I have to intrude on that?”

“Because happiness sometimes requires selfishness,” she explained. “You have to be prepared to fight for what you want.”

“Maybe,” I conceded. “I don't know what to do about Stuart back there, though.”

“He's not a soldier,” she observed. “This is probably all new to him. Leave him to me; if he needs it, I'll kick some sense into him.”

I grinned. “You like him too, don't you?”

“Ace…” she cautioned, “If anypony else had just said that, I'd have smacked them. I'm many things, but one thing I'm not is attracted to that hairless human. Now, let's head back outside, before the others start gossiping.”

We slowly made our way back to the campfire, the others eying us up as we once again got comfortable around the fire.

“Well, we have another long day ahead of us tomorrow,” began Crush, “So I think it's best we all get some sleep. Who wants to take the first watch?”

“I will,” I said, “You folks rest up; Peach, I'll wake you up in about an hour; Tricks, Crush, and Stopper, you take the next watches in that order.”

Everypony nodded in unison, and everypony but me retired for some sleep.

—

Perspective: Show Stopper

Prod.

Prod.

Prod.

I interrupted the sleep of our resident human by jamming my hoof into his side; I knew it'd worked when he sharply inhaled, his head turning automatically to find the one who'd awoken him.

“Oh, it's just you, Stopper.” He said, wiping his eyes. “I guess it's my turn, huh?”

I nodded, and we both emerged from the tent, careful not to disturb the stallions who were by some miracle still sound asleep.

The fire had mostly died, but the sky was a lighter shade of blue and the full dawn would soon arrive to give us ample light.

“How're you feeling?” I asked him.

“... I don't want to talk about it,” he replied, shutting me down.

Oh, we were going to talk about it until I was sure he’d got the message.

“Follow me,” I said as I took us to a large tree, about twenty minutes behind our campsite, our journey conducted in complete silence. I was done with this charade, and I didn’t want anypony to overhear it.

Once we reached our destination, we each took up positions opposite the other. “We have a problem,” I began. “Our commander helped kill something last night, and now he's having a personal crisis over it. He's not talking to his squad about it, and he's putting on a brave face, but inside, he's far from okay. How am I doing?”

He'd sat me down and got me to share my personal thoughts, and by Faust, I was going to make him take his own advice.

“You don't understand!” He shouted at me, his arms extended.

I stepped back. “I don't understand? Have you already forgotten about how I told you I slaughtered zebras because they killed my father!? How dare you trivialize that!”

I might've been over-dramatizing a bit, but he needed that splash of cold water.

“...You're right, you did tell me that.” He said after a brief pause. “I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to downplay what happened to you, it's just…”

I waved a hoof before pointing it at him. “I don't know what kind of world you've come from, but if you're still holding onto hope that your sense of honor is going to survive being here, you need to march right back to Scar and tell her that you're unfit for command.”

He put those hands of his on his hips. “You think I need to be more like you?”

“What you need to do is to stow away that good part of you for now. You're responsible for us, and that means being comfortable and prepared to take lives to protect ours, just as we have to do for you.”

Stuart paced around the tree for a moment, before stopping to look at me. “I'm not sure how to do that and honor the pact I made.”

I remembered. When he destroyed that gemstone, he spoke of his promise to not inflict pain or suffering for any reason.

“What do you think he would want?” I challenged. “For you to honor it and be dead, or forsake it and remain alive?”

We both knew the answer. “He'd rather I live… as I would wish for him if our roles were reversed.”

“There you go, then.” I reinforced, “You do have good ideas, you know; that thing you did with the griffons was a masterstroke. Me? I would’ve killed all of them and displayed their heads on spikes as a warning.”

“You think about violence a lot, don’t you?” He asked.

“I don't just think about violence… but I can't deny it's been effective for me. You need to not beat yourself up over needing to inflict it occasionally.”

The human briefly looked back in the direction of the camp. “Fine, I get what you’re saying. Let’s head back to the camp; I’ll go on watch and you can get some more shut-eye.”

—

Perspective: Corporal Stuart Robinson

Stopper had given me a lot to think about, and it consumed my thoughts for the rest of my watch. As soon as everypony else was awake, we all packed up our gear, and soon we were all ready to depart. It was then that my eyes caught sight of an incoming storm cloud moving in, although it seemed to be far larger vertically than any cloud I ever remembered seeing.

“Hey, guys… that’s quite the raincloud, isn’t it?” I queried, pointing up to it.

Ace took a few steps forward, looking into the sky before turning to me. “That’s… Cloudsdale,” he said solemnly.

“Clousdale? What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s the old pegasi capital city. A floating city in the clouds, cloudcrete as far as the eye could see. When we lost our ability to fly, it couldn’t be maintained, so it turned into a violent storm cell.” he lamented.

Flame spoke up next. “I think it may be responsible for some of the unpredictable weather lately. It floats across the continent, and bad weather always follows it.”

“It seems like it would be difficult, if not impossible, to re-establish control over it if the pegasi can’t fly. Maybe in the future when you can fly, it can be re-claimed.” I suggested.

Ace nodded and we departed, making sure to give the storm a wide berth as we continued on our journey. After a few hours of travel, we encountered a double railroad track, heavily overgrown with vegetation.

“There used to be a railroad system that spanned Equestria,” explained Crush. “It connected the east and west coasts to everything else. These battered tracks are probably all that’s left of it.”

I fished out my phone from my pocket, once again finding the compass application. As the phone picked up the planet’s magnetic field, and after properly positioning myself, the electronic display finally indicated which direction was west, with the tracks loosely following in the same direction.

“If we follow the tracks, it should eventually lead us to the coast; from there we can probably get our bearings on where to go next,” I advised.

The group nodded in unison, and together we followed the railroad track as it led into the distance. We still traveled in our usual formation, but more tightly packed together as a side-effect of following a path.

After an hour or so of continuous walking with barely any change of scenery, I heard a whistle from up ahead. As per our practiced routine, I too blew my whistle and continued my walk to meet up with the group’s center, Crush following to my right a little bit of distance away. Once everypony was assembled, we began our debriefing.

“Who blew the whistle first and what did you find?” I asked.

Ace raised a hoof. “I did. It looks like there’s an old abandoned railroad depot just a bit up ahead, both of the tracks branch off into it. I think it’s worth checking out,” he advised.

“Fine, lead the way,” I said, agreeing with the proposal, and we immediately followed Ace as he led us further up the tracks. Just as Ace had mentioned, both sets of tracks branched off to the left into a depot of sorts, the rusty iron gates at the entrance not even offering resistance when pushed open.

Walking inside, it felt like being back at home, the area having a clear industrial feel to it with numerous piles of scrap metal in every direction. In the distance were a number of maintenance bays, the two tracks each splitting into a further four on either side as we approached them. I looked around, and felt nothing but sadness at the decrepit state of the facilities; several steam engines were present, but they’d be useless without sources of fuel or water. Looking to my right, I was now intensely interested in something else, striding faster to reach one of the sheltered maintenance bays while also taking note of the switches between the tracks.

As I walked in, my suspicions were correct, and I eyed up the primitive handcar (or ‘hoofcar’ as they’d probably call it here) still present on the tracks; it was about seven meters long, a good meter and a half wide, and had raised ironwork around the sides, probably to prevent goods from falling off. It’d suffered some wear, quite understandably, but was in very good condition, all things considered. As I walked around the contraption, I took note of the see-saw handle on the top of it; gingerly climbing onto the wooden decking after navigating its metal shell, I examined the mechanism. The bars on either end were tarnished from years of oxidation, but there were two polished sections, one on either side of each bar that indicated past and possibly even recent usage. The mechanism itself was responsive and showed signs of recent lubrication, cementing my assertion that others had been here fairly recently. There was also a lever sticking out of the floor that I hoped controlled the brakes on this thing.

“I think we can use this to cover some distance. Crush, how do you feel about giving me a hoof with this?” I asked.

The earth pony nodded and leaped onto the wooden decking alongside me, easily clearing the ironwork. “Just say the word!” he beamed.

I walked around to one side of the bars while Crush followed suit on the other side as I placed my hands on the shining rod of metal on my side. “If this works like the ones on my world do, we can propel this thing by putting pressure on either side to push down the bar. For now, let’s gently ease this thing nearer the switch outside.”

I gently pushed down on the bar and the hoofcar moved forward. Once I gave the signal, Crush pushed down on his bar, and the vehicle inched forward once again. After a few more repetitions of this, the car had been maneuvered out of its shelter and was now positioned before the first switch point. I pointed at the lever on the ground I could see was controlling it. “Ace, can you push that lever for me?” I asked.

Saluting, the pegasus did as he was instructed, and the metal lever clicked over the switch to its alternate position. After some more motions from myself and Crush, the hoofcar was now on the right track (so to speak), and I could see up ahead that the final switch was already in the correct position. After a short while, we’d positioned the vehicle on the set of tracks that would take us on our intended course, but a lot faster than walking.

I wasn’t sure if the lubrication on this thing was going to hold, and I wondered what else this depot held… but I didn’t have time to consider that as I spotted a few ponies making themselves known at the entrance gates.

My fight or flight response kicked in, and rather than risk a skirmish, I opted for a quick and hasty exit. “Guys… hop on!” I commanded, every other pony clambering or jumping onto the carriage as ordered. I then turned to Crush.

“Start pumping!” I ordered, and we unsteadily started the long process of getting the car to its top speed, the whole thing creaking and complaining as we put it through its paces; we had two hundred meters or so of ground before we got to the entrance, and I was intent on making out like a bandit.

A cursory glance ahead told me that the others weren’t quite as keen on that idea as I was, as they lined up on both sides of the track while we approached, weapons ready and clearly intent on a ranged assault.

Less than fifty meters away, I spotted a pony refusing to leave the track, the grey-furred pegasus absolutely intending to bar our path. Glancing at the ponies still on either side of the track, I decided to employ every defense I could muster, raising a hand while keeping the other on the mechanism, pushing it down with all the force I could muster as I began channeling my intended spell.

“Wall!”

A large spherical shimmering azure aura descended around us all as our speed increased, and soon we were within point-blank range of the pegasus on the tracks, her white vest flapping in the breeze as she continued to refuse to yield.

A myriad of objects then struck the shield from the ponies on either side, and I could feel each one; every impact sent a small wave of shock through me, but still, my shield held as we hurtled through the rain of weaponry.

Leaping at the last moment, the female pegasus was now standing in front of us, fire in her eyes.

“You’re not taking this out of my junkyard!” she barked, clearly extremely annoyed at our trespass. However, I was beyond caring at this stage; I looked at Stopper, and with a brief nod between us, I stopped casting my spell. The unicorn then stepped between us and our stowaway as we thundered out of the entrance and along the tracks to our left, Crush and I keeping up the rhythm to maintain our speed.

Coming right at Stopper, the pegasus made the foolish move of going for her midsection, but after Stopper easily repositioned herself, nothing could save our apoplectic stowaway from Stopper’s next move, a quick and brutal buck to their side with her hind legs, causing them to be ejected from our vehicle and onto the grassland to the side; I was concerned for their wellbeing, but I dismissed thoughts of that out of sheer practicality.

I’m not disagreeing with your methods this time, Stopper.

With the threat dispatched, Crush and I continued to pump the mechanism, further increasing our speed as we raced along the track. Ace had taken up a position at the fore of the hoofcar, watching out for anything of interest while we sped along, while Stopper had retreated to the rear, keeping an eye out for any threats to our aft. Looking back, I could see in the distance that we had some pursuit, but I was confident we’d lose them owing to our much faster method of transport. Flame and Tricks, meanwhile, had taken up crouching positions near myself and Crush; not having an outright affinity for combat, they'd been forced to take cover until the threat had subsided, both of them only now getting back to their hooves to watch the landscapes either side of us zoom past.

With our pursuit soon nothing more than pinpricks in the distance, I felt a little more comfortable as we continued hurtling along, mountain ranges passing on either side of us as Crush and I maintained our speed along the overgrown tracks. The condition of the track initially concerned me, but on reflection, if whoever was back there was still using equipment like this, it would behoove them to have scouted the rail tracks first, so I concluded that we were in little danger of derailing.

Eventually, fatigue started to make itself known in my body, in contrast to Crush, who showed no sign of even slowing down, let alone stopping.

“I need to rest, can I have a volunteer?!” I shouted, my voice having to be raised over the turbulent air.

“Step aside!” Stopper bellowed in response, taking up my position on the mechanism. With nary a glance shared between her and Crush, they started a concerted effort together and before long had us going even faster than before, our car now traveling at breakneck speed down the track.

A small town passed us to our left, but seeing no obvious way to safely disembark, I made a mental note to check it out later. Soon after, another larger town came into view, complete with a picturesque coastline and ruined buildings dotting it as the expanse of the nearby bay came into view. After a short while, the coastline receded from view, replaced by rolling hills, and I started concluding we'd probably need to get to the railroad terminus to get off this thing without leaving an obstacle on the tracks.

In the distance, a series of urban conurbations started coming into view as the sun’s rays started dipping, twilight nearly upon us. After we’d gotten much closer, Stopper pointed at the rapidly expanding vista.

“Vanhoover!” She shouted to us all; feeling a massive sense of relief as we hit our intended destination, I looked ahead to the distance and could see what looked like a very similar depot to the one we left behind earlier. Only, we weren't headed for that… we were headed for a siding with a buffer at the end!

Taking off my backpack, I got myself mentally ready. “Brace!” I ordered as I pulled the lever to slam on the brakes to slow us down as we careered down the track toward the apparent terminus.

The lever came off in my hands, which is something that I wasn’t expecting at all. Thinking on my feet, I gave the only instruction I could.

“Abandon the car!” I screamed, swallowing my fear and taking a leap onto the grass after throwing the backpack first; my tumble was far from graceful, and I rolled for a good while before coming to a complete stop. Shortly after, a loud CRASH could be heard as the car collided with the buffer at the other end of the track. Weakly rolling myself over, I had one concern, and one concern only.

“Everypony alright?!” I shouted desperately into the air, unsure as to whether or not anypony had been hurt as I looked up into the darkening sky.

“Fine here!” came a feminine voice that could only have come from Stopper, because of course, she would be fine.

“I-I’m okay!” came another voice, this one being attached to Flame, what sounded like a fair distance away.

“Crush reporting!” came the masculine voice of Crush, who sounded much nearer.

“I’m o-okay!” stammered Tricks; his voice was the closest so far, and I was met with his shaken appearance when I got up and looked around.

I grew agitated as one voice was yet to join the chorus of ponies in alerting me that they were okay. I got to my feet, dusting myself off and taking a concerned look around. Ace was nowhere in sight, and I felt a surge of panic run through my spine; running towards the impact site, I took a look ahead and noticed something just a little bit further up the tracks. It didn’t take long for me to recognize it as Ace.

Now sprinting over to him, I could see that he was lying on his side, muzzle facing away from the car, probably thrown from it after he didn’t move quickly enough. Within seconds, I was right by his side, thanking the stars above that he was still breathing.

I put a hand to his side; his breathing was elevated, but regular, his body weakly stirring at my touch.

“It… it hurts…” he complained as my hand ran over his barrel. Looking over him, I found no obvious signs of injury to his limbs and decided to act. It was going to hurt like fuck, but I was the furthest thing from caring at that point.

“Cure!” I practically screamed into the air, the surge of magic causing my back to bathe in pain as a river of red-hot agony surged across it. Looking down, tell-tale tendrils of green life energy flowed from my hand into the injured pegasus.

As the pain in my back partially subsided, Ace sharply inhaled and rose on his hooves, standing unsteady for a moment as he looked over himself.

“Thanks! Um, sorry about that, I kinda misjudged the impact point…” he said, pawing at the ground nervously.

I sighed and patted the pegasus, running my fingers through his mane. “Remind me to add that to our training regimen…” I said, trailing off as I spotted a number of ponies approaching us.

“Form up!” I shouted, and within seconds everypony was at my side, ready to meet the oncoming herd. These ponies were coming from the direction of Manehattan, so they weren't the ones we'd appropriated the car from, but they'd no doubt been alerted by its rather sudden crash. At the head of the pack was an earth pony stallion, taller than Tricks but a nose shy of Crush; mellow brown in color with a dark brown mane and tail, his mustache and almost cowboy-esque hat blew gently with the breeze in the air as he slowed and approached us, flanked on either side by an entourage, a collection of ponies armed and willing.

“Who the fuck are you?!” He bellowed at us, and I was a little bit taken aback.

“... What did you just say?” I asked after a brief pause, my eyes meeting his teal-ringed irises as we squared off.

“I said, ‘Who are you’, and where the-” was all he got out before I pointed a finger at him.

“Nonononono! That's not what you said!” I corrected with as much passion as I could muster at hearing some actual profanity for once. “You said fuck. Now, I've been living with these fucking ponies,” I continued, stretching out my arms briefly, “For about a month or so. And in all that fucking time, they've never fucking sworn like you just fucking did. So, I ask you: where the fuck did you learn to curse like a human?”

The stallion took a step back before addressing me. “I-It's been passed down to us by our forebears! They said a strange creature once came to our world, one that walked on two legs rather than four, an alien that became a Prince of the Realm. Now that I think about it, actually… you fit his description. Have you returned as you told my ancestors you would?” He asked, eyes momentarily lit up with a flicker of wonder.

I shook my head. “No… I'm not Alex. But, on my world, he was my friend. In fact, our mission relates to him, in a way.”

The stallion looked to his left, and then to his right. “Stand down!” He commanded, the ponies behind him lowering their spears and slings, the stallion turning forward to address me once more, momentarily removing his hat and bowing. “Name's Golden Sunshine, an adventurer around these parts of no small renown, I assure you. My crew behind me…” he continued, moving between them, “First up, Moon Burst,” he introduced, who was a blue-furred pegasus with a mane and tail of red and gray and eyes of deep green with a hint of red, kitted out with a scarf and spear, a dour expression on his muzzle as he indulged his superior.

The earth pony moved along. “This is his brother, Moon Guard,” he continued, who also had a blue mane, but in contrast to his brother, Moon Guard had a mane and tail of solid white with vibrant orchid eyes, armed with only a small, round shield that reflected the sunlight as it dipped in the sky, destined to eventually cloak us all in a veil of twilight.

Golden Sunshine kept moving along, “This is Ice Wisp, who is rather unusually, an ice-aspected kirin,” he said, planting a hoof on the dark-green scaled back of the green-furred stallion, his lime-green-and-white mane and tail shimmering in the wind as his crimson eyes regarded us all with a guarded expression from behind an elaborate horn of multiple red hues.

I'd never seen a kirin before, and I had to confess that this one was rather striking; his tail flowed out from behind him, thin and with a long tuft of hair at the end, while his horn stood proud on his head, a path of dark-green scales leading from its base to his snout.

“I thought all kirin were fire-aspected?” Stopper questioned the stallion.

“Why do you think I’m here, pony?” he said, with no small amount of disdain in his voice; whether it was at us or his situation was unclear.

“Err, moving swiftly on…” the earth pony said, moving along as he intended. “This here is Genesis Frost,” he went on, introducing an alabaster unicorn with solid crimson eyes, mane, and tail, equipped with a spear in hoof and with a dagger very visible at her side.

“And this here filly is Apogee, our latest recruit,” he said, his hoof gesturing down a yellow-furred pegasus with cute freckles with a three-tone green mane and tail, her crimson eyes sizing up all of us before turning to Golden Sunshine. “I'm not a filly, I'm a young mare!” She protested, turning her nose up and closing her eyes.

“This is all that’s left of our little band of travelers,” the earth pony continued. “As for you, good sir… As far as I’m concerned, any friend of Alex's is a friend of ours, too. What’re your names and what brings all of you out here?” He queried.

I smiled, happy to have established a rapport. “My name is Stuart Robinson, Corporal Stuart Robinson if we’re being formal. My humble crew is,“ I said, gesturing from right to left, “Crushing Shield, Flaming Peach, Aerial Ace, Show Stopper, and Tricky Canvas. Our mission involves these…” I said, taking the Mnemosyne Crystal out of my pocket and holding it up to him. “See this? Alex recorded some of his memories in them, and these crystals seem to be scattered across the world. I'm tracking them down to find out what he's hidden, to honor his memory… and maybe for me to find some peace as I learn what he did here.” I said, confirming my intentions as best I could.

The stallion nodded solemnly, digesting my words. “I'd offer you some hospitality, but we're in the process of packing up our gear to return to Las Pegasus… or what's left of it, anyway…” he said, trailing off for a moment. “We were on an expedition not far north of here. There's a tomb hidden in the base of the Crystal Mountains, of a unicorn of no small importance; it's been said that there's a powerful artifact inside, one capable of revealing if somepony is being truthful or not, a valuable ability in this place as I’m sure you’d agree. But… we lost two ponies trying to get it, and I judged it too dangerous to risk further loss of life. So, we're pulling out, and heading home.” He continued, clearly disappointed.

“Okay, putting that to one side for a moment… Why aren't you at each other's throats like, oh I don't know, nearly everypony else I’ve met so far?” I quizzed the stallion.

“What makes you think we care about what's happening out there?” He shot back, candidly. “I imagine we're like your rag-tag crew here, just trying to survive.”

“Fair point,” I said, nodding as my stomach started to grumble. “Now that we've firmly established that we're not going to harm one another… Do you have any food?”

—

After retrieving my backpack, the group of six ponies we'd just encountered led us to a large building near the center of the city. Golden Sunshine explained that it used to be the city's town hall before it was abandoned. Before I could step inside, Stopper accosted me and motioned for me to go to the side of the building, following me and looking around like a mare expecting an ambush.

“I wanted to pull you aside for a moment,” she began, “Do you know how long kirins live for?”

I put my hands in my pockets as a chill gust of wind swept through the street. “I dunno… eighty years?” I offered.

She shook her head. “Try centuries.”

I tried to wrap my head around such a lifespan, but that thought was sharply pulled back by another. “If they can live for centuries, then that means…”

“Yes,” she acknowledged, nodding her head.

“Which means it's possible that…” I attempted to continue.

“Yes,” she stated again, putting more emphasis on the single syllable.

“Which means he might've…”

“Yes!” She whisper-shouted at me. “They age much slower than ponies do. He might look young, but he could easily be a century old.”

I stood there, mouth agape.

A living, breathing witness to past events. Holy shit.

“I need to talk with him,” I stressed, looking around in a combination of excitement and anticipation of what he might know. “Although truth be told, he didn't seem that friendly back there,” I said, recalling our earlier introduction. “Is there anything else I should know?”

She shook her head. “Nothing I can think of.”

I nodded. “Fine. Let's go inside and rest up.”

I gestured to the entrance, and we both made our way inside, the door's frame was taller than me, which struck me as odd for a city of relatively short quadrupeds, something I mused to myself as I ran a hand over the ornate granite construction.

“Wondering why the door's so much taller than us?” Golden Sunshine said to me as he approached.

I nodded once more. “Yeah. You're all roughly half to two-thirds my height. The height of the door seems like it was designed to accommodate something of my height.”

“Oh, there's a reason for that. Come inside and I'll show you,” he offered, and before long he'd led us into a large chamber, a still-intact glass dome above us; at the end of the room was a desk, flanked either side by a statue.

“Those statues over there are one-to-one depictions. Go on, take a look!” He urged.

I approached the first one, on the left. The marble construction was obvious and had been carved to represent a pony whose eye level was equal to mine. Despite its lack of colors, the statue projected a regal elegance to it; wings extended, with a piercing yet caring gaze upon the room.

“I'm sure you've heard her name already on your travels.” Said Golden Sunshine, approaching my left side.

I nodded. “I recognize her. Princess Celestia, right?”

“Very good! As you can see, she’s as tall as you are… taller if you count her wings and horn.” He pointed out.

“If this is Princess Celestia…” I began as I approached the other statue on the right, “Then this must be Princess Luna?” I suggested, looking back at the earth pony, who merely nodded in confirmation.

The other statue was equally elegant in design, a striking figure carved in onyx whose eyes fell a little short of mine, but her pose was no less regal than the statue of her sister; her wings were also extended with a similar gaze in her eyes, the lifeless figure still conveying a look of intense care and warmth.

My eyes were then drawn to a statue on the wall behind them; I then moved in front of the desk to get a better look at it.

Golden Sunshine nudged me. “I have no idea what that statue is, though,” He stated, but as my eyes ran over it, I had but one thought about its purpose.

“Did this place ever serve as a court? Like, to issue punishments and sanctions against those that broke the law?” I asked.

“Yes, it did. Why? Is that important?” He questioned.

“It is if you want to know the meaning behind that statue,” I said. The statue was of a mare, standing on her hind hooves. “The resemblance is just… uncanny,” I said, not quite believing just how similar it was to the well-known statue I'd grown up seeing in various guises.

By now, a small crowd was gathering around me, and Ice Wisp had approached me on my right side. “So… who is she?” The kirin asked.

I shook my head. “I don't know what you call her, but I'll compare her to what my world’s version of her is. Take a look at her left; she's holding a sword, pointing into the air. That sword represents the authority of the judicial system to enforce the judgment of the court. On her right, she's holding a set of scales; they represent the requirement that the evidence should be presented and weighed in order to reach a fair judgment.” I said, pointing higher. “She's also wearing a blindfold. That represents the need for the court to be impartial and to pass judgment without bias or outside influences interfering. I would call her the Mare of Justice, for that is the virtue that she represents, in my opinion.”

“You have… quite the way with words,” came a voice behind me; turning around, I recognized her as Genesis Frost, the unicorn we'd been briefly introduced to earlier. “We've been here for two weeks, and it never even occurred to me to pay that statue a second glance.”

“Stick around him long enough, and you'll have enough wisdom to fill a book in no time at all.” Came another voice, this time from Crush, standing further back in the room, smiling at me as I lowered my hand.

“I want to hear about culture,” Tricks said, “All you've talked about so far is history,” he continued, turning to me. “I want to know more about your culture; music, literature, your performing arts… I want to know a little bit more about what your kind values about those.”

“That is a big question, my unicorn friend. But, I think I can give you something you'll all appreciate.” I said, removing my phone from my pocket.

I had just the song for them. My phone had some exceptionally powerful speakers on it, and I could already tell that the acoustics in the room were very favorable.

< Thomas Bergensen - Remember Me >

< https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsb_vMuS1LY >

After powering the phone on, I selected the track for playback and the beginning of the melody came through the speakers, the deceptively light opening movement echoing through the hall.

All present gathered around the device as it played back the music, the first crescendo filling the room before settling into the solo vocal that was the centerpiece of the performance.

Even now, in this alien place, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to be lost in the beautiful singing that radiated to every soul in the room, mine included.

As the final crescendo washed over my very being, the room fell silent along with my phone, nopony knowing how to articulate themselves yet. I decided to use the silence to my advantage.

“That melody is what accompanied a scene from a play I went to. The play told the story of a princess of a kingdom, cursed with immortality, destined to one day rule as queen, but having to endure the agony and torment of watching each and every one of her friends grow old and die, while she never aged, not even a day.”

The kirin spoke up. “What did she do?” He asked with a curiosity that I could tell was something he didn't experience often.

“She studied all the magic in her kingdom,” I said, crossing my arms. “Spending many years and many sleepless nights looking for an answer. Eventually, she finds one, and the final scene of the play is her walking into a wing of her castle, where the remains of all of her friends are interred, each one entombed since the day of their passing.”

Everypony continued looking at me, so I continued. “That vocal melody was the spell, each syllable and inflection forming part of an incantation she needed to complete with pitch-perfect precision, each sound directing the magic all around the room to surge within her. At the apex of the melody, the spell succeeds, and she restores her friends back to life in the prime of their youth, but at the cost of her immortality. As the princess tearfully rejoices with them, one of her friends asks her why she did it.”

I looked around and noted that they were content to let me finish. “She said that she’d rather live out her days surrounded by her friends than spend an eternity without them, such was the bond between them. I think that's a hauntingly beautiful sentiment.”

Stopper snorted. “Don't knock immortality. You might be offered it one day.”

I laughed outrageously. “I'm not royalty, so no, I don't think so, somehow. However… I am curious about something,” I said, looking at Ice Wisp. “I indulged your curiosity earlier… would you permit indulging mine?”

He hesitated slightly but ultimately nodded. Looking around the room, I spied a few doors leading off to places unknown. I gestured to one of them, and the kirin followed me, a cautious but permissive expression on his muzzle.

The door led to an anteroom, filled with a mess of old, decrepit paperwork; a lone desk and chairs next to the wall represented a lone island of calm amidst a sea of decay and chaos. As the kirin took a seat, I closed the door and sat opposite him, resisting the urge to blurt out every question I had for him at once. Instead, I opted to start simple.

“I may be new here, but I’m blessed with friends and comrades who are at least partially informed… first things first… Ice, wasn’t it?” I asked with the kirin nodding in confirmation. “Okay, Ice… how old are you?”

“Twenty-four,” he responded, an answer that was an obvious and practiced lie.

“Ice… this is a valuable lesson you’re about to learn from my world: You can’t bullshit a bullshitter. How old are you really?” I pressed, although I was in truth hiding a big, fat bluff, but thankfully, the kirin either didn’t detect it or didn’t care enough to maintain the charade.

“... Seventy-four,” he said after a long pause.

“Is ‘twenty-four’ what you told them out there?” I asked.

The kirin nodded. “When we met out there, I thought you were lying about what you said… about being Alex’s friend. It wasn’t until you said your name that my opinion shifted,” he said, his tail swishing behind him.

I was floored. “You… know of me?” I queried.

“Alex used to talk about you all the time. I still remember being sat in a classroom, at the front, and he was talking about the time he found you looking at something perverse on your equipment,” the kirin replied, with a hint of smugness in his voice. “He also said that given even half a chance, you’d talk our ears off. That little show back there was all the proof I needed that it really is you.”

“You…” I said, pausing to process my thoughts. “... Okay, firstly, it was tasteful, not perverse, and secondly, when I next see him, I’m going to fucking kill him… or at least clock him one,” I said, somewhat irritated at my private life being made public. “Although… I suppose he never expected me to be here. What was Alex doing in a school, anyway?” I enquired with curiosity of my own.

“He was one of my teachers. There was a school in Ponyville that specialized in friendship lessons. I graduated from there before… well, before the world went to shit,” he said, looking down at the floor.

“I’m impressed you can remember events from fifty years ago,” I said, crossing my arms.

The kirin pointed to his head with a hoof. “Eidetic memory. Once I learn something, I never forget it. I remember every anecdote, every comment, and every reference Alex ever made, just like I can with Trixie, Starlight, Twilight, and the other teachers I had.”

“Ice, I… saw something. It was a dream, or a vision, or whatever fucking else it was. I saw an argument… in Ponyville, I think. It was between a human and Princess Twilight Sparkle. Do you know what that was about?” I queried, desperate for some context.

“I remember it like it was yesterday. The princess was walking across Ponyville with Alex; I was nearby, and I overheard her say that she was nearly ready to complete the integration of the crystals, and Alex… I think he’d had enough. He told her that she was about to betray everypony and that if she went through with this, she was no better than Opaline. Twilight reminded him the crystals were his creation as well, and that if she was about to be a betrayer, he was going to be one as well.”

I mulled it all over. “Alex might not have pulled the trigger, but it seems sure as hell that he helped load the chamber… I need some time to think. For now, that tomb sounds interesting. Deadly, but interesting.” I mused.

Ice shook his head. “We need unicorn magic for it; I can only manipulate water and ice, so I'm not much use there. If Alex was here, he could use his gauntlet, but he's not… so that place is off-limits.”

I could tell him, sure, but a visual demonstration would accomplish my next task much better. Looking around the desk, I spotted a paperweight, dark black and probably a piece of obsidian, oval but with an uneven, jagged surface. Reaching out my hand, I began casting the necessary spells, and before long, the paperweight was floating in the air, suspended in an aura of deep blue.

The expression of the kirin changed to one of dumbfoundedness, mouth open while his eyes tracked the object as I moved it in the air before coming back to look at me.

“You really are as smart as he said you were,” He said, smiling.

“I always thought he was the smart one,” I replied, bringing the stone back to rest on the table and putting my hand down. “I think I might be able to help you with your tomb, Ice,” I offered.

The kirin nodded enthusiastically. “What else can you do?” he asked me, tail practically wagging behind him.

I winced as I got out of my chair, my back still hurting from earlier. “Watch this. Cure!” I shouted as the familiar green tentacles of life sprouted from my hand and went for my back. Within moments, the pain had disappeared, and I breathed a sigh of relief at that burden being lifted from me. Far more comfortable now, I stretched out my hand once more.

“Wall!” I again shouted, the now-familiar azure aura descending around me. My audience was utterly lost for words, a situation that continued as I halted my spellcasting, but instead instantly went for the door.

Running after him with a bad feeling welling up inside me, I heard him shout into the room. “Golden! Show him!”

The earth pony was caught off guard. “S-Show him what?” He stammered as I arrived at the kirin's side, the green stallion looking up at me.

“He has one of those crystals you seek,” he told me, and I had to stop myself from marching to the earth pony and ask him just what the fuck he thinks he was playing at. Sighing and looking down, Golden knew the jig was up.

“Fine. I know where it is, but I want something in return; I'm not going to just hoof it over without being compensated for it,” he demanded, eyes now fully fixed upon me. The kirin, meanwhile, seemed to have my back.

“He keeps it in a desk on the upper floor. Follow me!” he commanded; I naturally followed suit, as did what felt like everypony else, all of us following the kirin as he led us up a partially collapsed stairwell and into a large, ornate room with various flags and statues present. Without waiting, I practically ransacked the creaky wooden desk, the aging furniture offering up its treasure with practically no resistance as the crystal came into view, the script identifying it as the second crystal.

Using Levenesis, I extracted it and provided it to Stopper for safekeeping, who promptly put it in one of her saddlebags. All eyes now turned to the room’s entrance, a rather sheepish Golden Sunshine looking nervously inside at his squad.

“Look, if you’re all annoyed about me not giving it to him-” he said, attempting to justify himself when Genesis Frost cut him off.

“I'm not pissed off about that, Golden,” She explained. ”I'm pissed off that you didn't mention that you had a gemstone in your possession, and a potentially valuable one at that!”

“Yeah! What else are you hiding from us?” Said Moon Burst, brandishing his spear while his brother, Moon Guard, donned his shield and angled it menacingly at the earth pony.

The mood in the room was turning.

“Rather than getting violent, I have another idea; let’s go to the tomb and see if I can at least help you retrieve the bodies of the ponies you lost back there,” I suggested.

Apogee shook her head. “They’re not dead! He ordered us to leave them behind!” she explained, pointing a hoof accusingly at Golden.

I was starting to get angry, but it seemed that I was at last becoming used to this place, and I saw a situation to take advantage of. I put my anger aside and tried to push forward with an alternative. “We’re going on a rescue mission. We’ll get those two out, and then explore deeper into the tomb if we can.”

Now it was Golden’s turn to point a hoof at me, “Like fuck we are! You know what? You can just fuck-” he said before I’d finally had enough, and I opted to let my magic do the talking for me.

I extended my arm and shouted, “Levenesis!” My aura smothered him, and I dragged him through the air, the earth pony making only unintelligible whimpers and whinnies as I brought him to the center of the room, every pair of eyes now fixed on him.

“Mares and gentlecolts, I present to you a choice,” I said, walking around my captive. “Follow me and my squad, and we’ll do our best to protect you. Or, you could follow this shining example of morality. He’s left two of you to die already; how expendable do you think he considers the rest of you? Now, a show of hooves: Who still wants to follow this stallion?” I candidly queried the rest of his group.

Not a single hoof went in the air.

“Now… who wants to follow me and my crew?” I asked them, and almost immediately, five hooves went into the air. You didn’t need to be a math wiz to work that one out.

“Then it’s decided. Stopper, go see if you can find a jail cell or something for this disgrace.” I said to her, and after a brief salute, she went off to go find a cramped, and hopefully deeply unpleasant cell for our new prisoner.

“Everypony else,” I said, turning my voice to the others, “Confab downstairs. We have a rescue mission to plan.”