LostArchivist
Sane, unfortunately.
- Location
- The State of Confusion
Nevermind, good point. So it's more likely to be "HERESY!" rather than just questioning everything.
...That might be more fun, anyway.
Reforged: aka Sauron Did Nothing Wrong (LOTR and Silmarillion/MLP)
- Thread starter Arawndil
- Start date
...That might be more fun, anyway.
Maximum Power
The Unchosen One
- Location
- The Ormulum
I love this, really I do. Have all of my red envelopes 🧧. The more "funny" approach to the Middle Earth characters is excellently done, managing to be entertaining without being overly cartoonish. I can barely wait to see Sauron's plans unfold!
- Pronouns
- She/Her
This was a fun treat to find. Easily the best take on Sauron's internal life I've seen. I can so easily see this version of the character being played for completely straight drama and working just as well as he does in comedy. You've also captured the Mane Six really well both their voices and their characters are spot on.
Luna and Olorin are also well done for the little we have seen of them. On that note making Discord a being from outside the song in a similar manner to Ungoliant was a good move, really helps sell his alienness to the world around him and also shows the ponies' great strength in being able to reach out and find common ground and peace with him regardless.
I honestly find myself hoping that at least one of the CMC does get a cutie mark related to the skills Ember is teaching them given how dispointing that storyline ended up in the show.
Luna and Olorin are also well done for the little we have seen of them. On that note making Discord a being from outside the song in a similar manner to Ungoliant was a good move, really helps sell his alienness to the world around him and also shows the ponies' great strength in being able to reach out and find common ground and peace with him regardless.
I honestly find myself hoping that at least one of the CMC does get a cutie mark related to the skills Ember is teaching them given how dispointing that storyline ended up in the show.
Last edited:
I don't think he did.
Ungoliant naturally gave off something that was not from creation, her Unlight. Discord? Ever since Melkor originally threw his childish fit, discord has been a part of creation. And our buddy named Discord, as in the personification of that feeling (as far as Sauron is concerned anyway)? He represents something of creation as it was created.
Sauron doesn't seem to think so.
And Discord claims to not be part of what Sauron considers the order of things.
Not that either of them has exactly the most reliable of viewpoints, but still.
This has been interesting so far.
how did this video come up on my youtube recs literally a day after i read this
- Location
- Lake Wobegon
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Sauron approves of the algorithm's omniscience and efficiency.
GuesssWho
To Assemble A Name From Scars
- Location
- People's Republic of Treacle Mine Road
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I've had a few thoughts rereading this. First is that I want a pony maker so I can make pony!Sauron in it. Second that Sauron would probably be delighted by things like citrus, which the body really needs but often tastes like pain, because then you can hurt people for their own good in a whole new way. Third I can totally see this Sauron being semi-reformed but never noticing. Or really changing at all except that he's found people to be terrifyingly protective of. And calls them favored servants, because Sauron.
If I find a good pony maker I will absolutely make pony Sauron. And maybe pony Gandalf, and Gollum, and everyone I can think of.
If I find a good pony maker I will absolutely make pony Sauron. And maybe pony Gandalf, and Gollum, and everyone I can think of.
Last edited:
GuesssWho's Fanart
GuesssWho
To Assemble A Name From Scars
- Location
- People's Republic of Treacle Mine Road
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Art! Sorry for the double-post and slight inaccuracy, it's hard to find a good picture of a forge in cartoon style LOL Spoilers because the pictures this thing makes are ridiculously big.
Sauron
And bonus Smeagol, because the disconnect between 'Smeagol-Gollum' and 'pony' seemed extra-hilarious:
Sauron
Interlude: The Warden
- Location
- United States
Interlude: The Warden
Luna was beginning to wonder if she had made a mistake.
"I'm just saying, black and red is a weird color scheme for someone who claims not to be the villain!"
"What would the drunken mistake of a blind taxidermist know about aesthetics? Nothing. The answer is nothing, you puerile tapeworm!"
It had made sense at the time, of course. Keeping an eye on Sauron would keep Discord out of trouble with a chance to earn back some trust, he would be able to stay out of sight easily, and he would also be able to act quickly if their new guest did anything rash.
"Did you at least grow a goatee or a curly mustache to complete the look? I mean, if you're really going to go with that branding, you might as well lean into it!"
"Why don't you be like a tree and burn to death, you wretched…wretch?!"
Luna had worried that Sauron might hurt some pony through accident or malice, or that he would unleash some darkness upon Equestria that they hadn't anticipated. She had never even considered that he would be so well-behaved that Discord would get bored and start poking the manticore.
"Oof, didn't quite stick the landing on that one, did you? Don't be nervous, though, it's not uncommon to have…performance issues."
And Gandalf was just sitting there, puffing on his pipe of strange incense, as if the pot in front of them wasn't boiling over and melting the stovetop!
"I will put a hole in you. I'll do it."
"Don't threaten me with a good time, Sparky!"
"No one is putting holes in anyone!" Luna finally snapped. She couldn't believe she actually had to say such things! "Discord, we shall discuss your poor decisions later. Go and take the rest of the night off."
The Spirit of Chaos gave her five thumbs up and produced a white plastic pool chair, which he then stretched out on languidly and began loudly slurping a colorful beverage.
Luna's eye twitched. "…Somewhere else, if you please."
Once Discord had finally left the dream, and they all waited a few seconds to ensure this was indeed the case, the Alicorn allowed herself a small sigh before turning back toward Sauron. "What in the world am I going to do with you?"
"Nothing, I should think," he snapped. "If you let that thing run amok across your realm with no leash but its own fleeting whims, a knife at your back still dripping from its last stroke, then why trouble yourself with the likes of me?"
"Discord is a known factor- we know how to deal with him," replied Luna, albeit with more confidence than she really felt. While it was true that the Spirit of Chaos had been thoroughly, as Celestia had put it, dis-incentivized from causing serious trouble by what he stood to lose by doing so, whether they be the strange social bonds he formed or the new amusements provided by actually participating in society, Luna knew perfectly well that she could not actually control him in any meaningful way, thus the current situation.
"You, however, are alien to us and to our culture," said Luna, narrowing her eyes at the spirit in front of her. "And what little we do understand about you does not inspire confidence."
"It does not matter how accustomed you have become to its presence," Sauron hissed, and the embers in Gandalf's pipe sparked with a maroon flame before the wizard grumbled and dunked it in his tea. "It should not exist. It does not deserve to exist!"
"That is not for either of us to decide," Luna snapped, and the Dreamscape around them became cloudy and opaque as the tension grew. "I don't know you. I don't trust you. So excuse me if I do not leave you unattended any time soon."
Sauron glowered at her, and she could sense his steaming irritability rapidly cool into something distant and inscrutable and cold. Luna was reminded once more that this was not a pony, was quite possibly not even a living creature as she understood the idea. She tried to avoid asking herself how alike 'he' really was to a pony, and how much he simply pretended to be.
How much Irmo and Gandalf pretended to be, came the thought unbidden, and she could sense the bearded Maia projecting a feeling of reassurance and…apology. Luna chose not to dwell overmuch on that.
"Is that how it is." Sauron nodded at her mechanically, and it seemed to her that he had come to some sort of decision. "Then I shall need to more clearly demonstrate my nature to you."
The Alicorn felt a surge of alarm, and the Dreamscape began to close in around them, roiling like a storm cloud as she gathered her strength. "We are not like Discord, Ember. We do not laugh off threats to us and ours."
The once Dark Lord jolted away from the shrinking boundaries of his dream, but his expression was not one of surprise or fear as she might have expected, but rather confused annoyance. "What is this nonsense, quadruped? Have I not made it clear that conflict with your brood does not interest me?" Sauron huffed in exasperation. "Leave me to my business, keep that rot out of my sight, and I will show you why I am a Smith."
The nascent hurricane churning around them slowly began to break apart, returning to the star-dappled aurora she had (naively) hoped would promote a calm atmosphere. Luna ran a hoof through her mane and willed herself toward serenity while restraining an undignified groan.
"Just…just don't give my sister a reason to get involved, alright?" It had taken a tremendous amount of convincing for Celestia to allow the Maia to come to Equestria, and Luna very much did not care to test the boundaries of her fellow Alicorn's understanding should their subjects be put at risk by her 'project'.
"And eat some proper breakfast when you get up!" called out Gandalf as Sauron began to fade back into the waking world.
"I know, I know! Stop pestering me you smog-belching fool…"
As the proverbial thorn in their sides vanished from the Dreamscape, Luna let out a breath and took a long sip of tea to cover her grimace. What a disaster- why in the world did I invite this walking migraine into my life?
"I think that went quite well!" said Gandalf mildly, blowing a fragrant smoke ring out into the ether while Luna stared at him incredulously over her teacup.
How can you possibly say that?! Are your expectations really that low? Just what kind of catastrophe were you expecting?!
"In what sense?" she asked.
"In the sense that, despite his rather colorful attempts, Ember failed to provoke Discord. Rather the opposite in fact, which I dare say is a new experience for him."
"They should not have been in such a position to begin with," Luna grumbled regretfully. "It was foolish of me to trust Discord with anything requiring restraint."
"That may be so, if your intent was for him to remain unknown and unnoticed into perpetuity, and all the while let Ember glare upon his neighbors with ever more delusional suspicion as to your source of information about him." Some of her annoyance must have shown on her face, as Gandalf coughed out some smoke and waved her off. "I speak with hindsight, of course, as those who think themselves wise so often do. It is easy to say 'it is raining' when your head is already wet, and regardless, I think that this could be a good opportunity."
"...For what exactly?" Luna asked with exasperation, putting aside a frustrated retort about the 'wise' and their love of pithy adages.
"For your exceptionally fortunate ward to relearn how to coexist with those that he dislikes, however vehemently, but that do him no real harm. It is a skill that most social creatures tend to take for granted, but seems to be largely forgotten when one dominates society for centuries and is violently intolerant to disobedience."
"Does he deserve to?" Luna couldn't help but ask. "Does he deserve the chance to learn, when he plainly has no desire to change his ways or to repent for the evil he has done?" She was not a fool- the Alicorn knew that, even if Nightmare Moon had ruled for a thousand years, she could not have inflicted a fraction of the wickedness that Sauron had in his ages of grinding, calculated tyranny. She did not doubt that her Ainur friends had sheltered her from the worst of the horrors, but she could fill in the gaps herself, and what they implied was worse than anything Equestria had seen since the time before the Three Tribes. And yet…
Would I have ever confronted the evil in my heart if I had not been forced to? Is that really the only way? Sauron was not an imminent threat to civilization like Discord or Tirek or even Nightmare Moon- she could not imagine that he could pose such danger in his current state, whatever his nature or past deeds. Even if they did wield the Elements of Harmony against him, Luna did not feel justified in taking the chance that he would be imprisoned in stone or withered to an emaciated husk or- as she privately feared- that he had been steeped in cruel obsession and vindictive malice for so long that there was nothing left underneath, and that he would be erased entirely and for all time.
"No, he does not deserve it," Gandalf answered solemnly. "But as you yourself have said, that is not for either of us to decide. Does that surprise you?" he asked, taking in Luna's expression. "He has been Judged. His victims, whether they be his enemies or the servants he indoctrinated and enslaved, are out of his reach for good or for ill. He can do them no further harm, and the only harm that he can undo is that which he has done to himself. It is not for us to weigh his deeds against one another on a scale, but to give him the chance to heal and to reclaim his true self."
"I am amazed that you can show him such compassion after the pain he has caused you and those you love. I do not think that I could have, had I been in your place." Luna could not have imagined ever offering Tirek or Sombra even as short a leash as she and Celestia had once placed on Discord, much less the relatively free life that Sauron was being permitted.
Gandalf puffed on his pipe and looked at her sharply with eyes like storm-clouds. "You think too highly of me. I have not forgiven him." Luna began to form a reply, but nearly flinched at the flicker of grief and wrath that escaped her friend, like the last cinders of a smothered fire being suddenly uncovered.
"Though he thought it only a few horrible moments, the truth is that an Age of the world passed between the destruction of Sauron's Ring and his judgment by the Valar. It is only now, after many centuries have passed since his final defeat, after the black soil of Mordor blooms for the first time since he touched it, after I have done the same for many worthier and more receptive souls scarred by his malice, that I have offered 'Ember' my unwanted aid."
"So yes, you think too highly of me," Gandalf smiled wryly, and the glib and grandfatherly sage Luna had befriended returned once again. "Moreover, I must confess that my motives for engineering this whole affair are mostly selfish."
"...I think that we ponies may have a different idea of what that word means. Perhaps you could explain to me how helping your worst enemy to live a happy and satisfying life is 'selfish'?"
"Because I refuse to fail my family again." Gandalf fumbled with his pipe and sighed. "You have spoken at times of your friend Princess Cadence. Would it be fair to say that you think of her as part of your family? Not by blood, and not as close to your heart as your sister, but something in the way of a favored cousin or niece?"
Luna blinked at the sudden change in topic. "I would say so, yes." Though the younger Alicorn had been born during her long years of exile, the Princess of Love had been fast to form a connection with Luna. Perhaps too fast for her preference, truth be told, but Cadenza had an intense and disarming earnestness about her that had made her efforts to bond with Luna feel genuine and heartfelt where nearly anyone else would seem presumptuous and overbearing. That she should be intimidated by an ancient being that had, until very recently, been a symbol of mythic dread for most of their kind did not seem to occur to her at all, and she quickly found a comfortable place on Luna's short list of friends and confidants.
"A long time ago, before spirits took flesh to dwell in and life as we now think of it was commonplace, I had such a companion." Gandalf said softly, and his speech grew slow and halting, as if he was choosing words carefully to describe things that could barely fit inside of them, like cups that were a single drop away from overflowing. "We did not use names then, as our identities were obvious to one another, but in essence she was *RADIANCEWARMHEARTH*".
Though she saw his lips moving, Luna felt rather than heard this last part, the Concept seared directly into her mind. Visions and sounds, emotions and sensations whirled through her mind at breakneck speed, and her head throbbed as her physical brain strained to process the sheer amount and density of information being conveyed to her. She unclenched her jaw and tried to relax her face to avoid the oncoming headache, and saw Gandalf wince at her expression.
"Ah, I apologize," said the Maia regretfully. "I was not certain how you would react to having a Concept communicated to you directly, being an Incarnate with a living body. Words shall suffice- we have no need to discomfort you for the sake of brevity."
It was difficult for Luna not to feel condescended to at times like this, as if her Ainur friends were lying on their bellies to look a mouse in the eye, but her faith in their friendship and mutual respect helped to take the sting out of it. "What was she like?"
Gandalf furrowed his brow in thought, cleaning out the bowl of his pipe before reaching for a small pouch that smelled like spring mornings. He scooped the pipe through its contents, and soon a wisp of savory smoke was winding through the air around them. "She was a fire for loved ones to tell stories around. Quiet but joyful, gentle but daring and bold. A moment at her side was more restful than the deepest slumber. She laughed more than she spoke, but listened more still. She loved to listen to others speak about their passions, to see through their eyes and to feel what they felt, and to reflect it back to them in new and exciting ways. She had a way of making everyone feel closer together, of making us celebrate our differences rather than merely thinking our own ideas to be correct. Perhaps if Mairon…"
Gandalf shook his head and sighed, a plume of dark smoke covering his face for a moment.
"But there was one whose passion outshone us all, whose overwhelming presence she became more and more drawn to, whom she began to listen to far more than she did everyone else combined. I shall not call him as we called him then, for that is lost to him, but after their awakening the Elves would call him Melkor."
Luna flinched at the echo of pain and terror that rippled through the Dreamscape, as if the very fabric of reality remembered that name and recoiled at its utterance. Luna quickly checked to see if any of her subjects had been disturbed in their slumber, but the Ponies of Equestria seemed not to have noticed.
"Her curiosity became obsession, and obsession became mania," Gandalf continued tonelessly. "Having ensnared her, the Enemy consumed her every thought, and when he began his war against Creation in earnest, she abandoned us without hesitation."
Gandalf paused for a time, and to Luna's horror hot tears began to stream down his face. "I did not see her again for a very long time. When I did, it was on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, where we began our fight to the death." The Alicorn leapt to his side and wrapped him in a hug, which he leaned into gratefully. "I have never been a warrior by choice, and I did not march in arms against the Great Enemy in the Elder Days, but I heard the tales and felt the shadow of the Balrogath, the seven Demons of Might who served as his champions. I never dared to suspect that she was among their number until that moment, for those that did had thought to spare us the pain of the knowledge." Gandalf scoffed, and it was a bitter, ugly sound.
"I could feel the presence of my old friend, though like her form it was twisted and horrible, but she did not recognize me. I was just another insect to be crushed, as was anything that moved under the sun. There was nothing left of what made her who she was- the Enemy, the true Enemy, had hollowed her out and filled her with an abyss of malice and pain, with no respite but spreading that pain as far as it could reach. I can only hope that now she will be able to find the peace that was denied her for so long."
Luna felt sick. "Mel- the Enemy had that kind of power over others? To hear Ember speak of him, he seemed endlessly mighty, but ultimately a simple brute…"
Gandalf clenched his pipe until it snapped. "He had every kind of power- he was Power. He was, and is, Change itself, and he left his mark on everything he touched. The ground beneath our feet, the air we breathe, the very flesh and bones of every living creature are saturated with him. Sauron saw what he wanted to see, a useful tool that he could manipulate to his own ends, but the truth has always been the reverse."
"...What happened to your friend was not your fault," Luna said at length, hoping to offer some crumb of comfort. "You did the right thing, putting her out of her misery. From what you have said, she was many years beyond help."
"Perhaps," Gandalf mused. "But Curumo was not."
Luna searched her mind for that name- Ainur seemed to accumulate entirely too many of them. "Saruman? The traitor?"
"The war was won, and when I met him on the road to Bree, I had my final chance to take him under my wing, whether he willed it or not." He shook his head wearily. "But I was tired, more tired in victory than I had been in my thousands of years struggling against the Shadow. When he refused our offer of aid for the final time, I let him go, only for him to commit one last evil against my friends before being cut down by an abused servant."
"And you think that we have a chance of helping Ember after you lost your chance with Saruman?" asked Luna. "But was his not the greater evil by far? Why would he be any less likely to throw away his last chance out of petty malice?"
"Because he has no grudge against Ponies, nor they against him," replied Gandalf. "Because this is the first time in millenia that he can make a first impression not sullied by his reputation, and has been met with openness and kindness instead of terror or contempt. And because he has a tremendous advantage that Saruman, in the end, did not possess."
"And what is that?"
Gandalf gave her a conspiratorial smile. "Unlike Saruman, who chiefly desired admiration and power for his own self-aggrandizing, Ember still fervently believes that everything he does is for the betterment of others."
He chuckled wryly at Luna's expression. "Indeed, despite everything that has happened, and how twisted and baffling his rationale can be, he still somehow has good intentions."
Sauron glowered at the coals of his forge as he tempered the black steel head of the ballista bolt. A mighty work of craft, capable of warding off dragons and the great beast of the Everfree Forest, but entirely inadequate for threatening the Enemy. No, he would need access to far more exotic materials to make progress on that front. Perhaps it was finally time to explore those mountains to the west…
A/N: Kept you waiting, didn't I?
Oh Sauron, since you are point in fact creating a weapon it means that you are going to make killing Discord a personal thing, aren't you? Instead of making something subtle you are so pissed off that you just going to make something inherently violent.
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
Oh dear, here we go again.
On the bright side, given recent history the Ponies are quite used to dealing with the widespread collateral damage that Sauron forging things inevitably leads to.
LostArchivist
Sane, unfortunately.
- Location
- The State of Confusion
Heh. Well, after the battle levels a good chunk or two of the forest, they'll be the best of friends!
(Well, probably grudging acquaintances, but eventually...)
It's also nice to see more of the motivation behind his arrival, and I feel bad for Gandalf. Tolkien's setting, though, was always a story about the loss of uncountable wonders, so that doesn't surprise me that much...
(Well, probably grudging acquaintances, but eventually...)
It's also nice to see more of the motivation behind his arrival, and I feel bad for Gandalf. Tolkien's setting, though, was always a story about the loss of uncountable wonders, so that doesn't surprise me that much...
- Location
- Lake Wobegon
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
I wouldn't say that. To do so would be frightfully rude.
Chapter 16
- Location
- United States
Chapter 16
Applejack could already tell it was going to be one of those days. The chores were done early, which would normally mean that she could relax or maybe go into town to see her friends, or at least it would if the rest of her family hadn't had the same idea first. Her brother was away on business, Applebloom was off with her friends probably doing something reckless, and even Granny was in town for Cards and Tea, which she insisted wasn't gambling because 'that implied she could lose'. This of course meant that she had to stay and mind the farm, and that when trouble inevitably reared its head she would have to deal with it herself.
I ought not to be so cynical. It's been awhile since I had a quiet day to myself-
"HAIL THE FARM!"
There it is…
A charcoal and rust colored stallion was standing outside the gate, the handles of various tools sticking out of his bags, waving at her and giving a winsome smile even as his eyes darted to and fro with a cold, wary glint. Applejack could guess what he was searching for.
She couldn't help but cringe at the memory of his last visit. Ember had, to put it mildly, not been well when he left the farm that day, and neither had her sheepdog Winona. The normally sweet and friendly animal had refused to leave the barn for over a day after he… looked at her? Applejack still wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but she was not happy about it.
"Morning, Ember," she said neutrally- Granny didn't raise a brute. "What's brought you down my way?"
"Opportunity, Applejack. Opportunity for all of us," he replied enthusiastically, and the farmer dearly hoped that he wasn't going to try selling her something and make this even more awkward. "I hoped that I might ask a small favor of you, to be repaid with great interest."
"Well I'm more than happy to help out a friend, Ember, but first we really need to talk about the elephant in this here room."
"You have an oliphaunt?!" Ember's eyes lit up with sudden glee, though his face betrayed only mild interest. "I could make great use of such a beast if you might sell it to me." Mistaking Applejack's rather aggrieved expression, he waved a hoof dismissively. "Fear not, fear not, you will not find me a miser in this matter! Name your price."
"I…No, Ember, that ain't-"
"Ah, perhaps a lease then? I am prepared to offer you a very generous rate!"
"We need to talk about what happened last time you were here," Applejack blurted out, getting to the point quickly as was usually the best in these situations.
Ember's eager, animated face froze, and even as he kept his easygoing expression, his eyes glazed over like windows that had heavy shutters pulled across them.
"I disagree. In any case, I think that my latest project would definitely be of-"
"Ember, to be real clear, I ain't best pleased with you after you traumatized my dog…somehow. If you're gonna ask a favor, then you're gonna explain yourself."
The stallion stared at her with an eerie blankness, and Applejack felt the hair on the back of her neck start to prickle. The seconds stretched on, and as the tension rose she started to think that he might actually lose his cool and snap at her. Applejack wasn't quite sure why, but she almost felt relief at the idea.
"...Fine, then. If we need to clear the air between us, then it cannot be helped. Do not expect me to speak of this again." Ember leaned forward against the fence and glowered into the distance.
"My…niece, I suppose, had taken up with a vagabond stallion of ill-repute, despite her father's disapproval. For my part, I had no interest in the matter until I found him and some other ruffians trespassing in my home and trapped them until I could discover their purpose. My niece objected to that, and so did her dog." He spat out the last word with the kind of deep anger that she rarely ever heard from anyone, but when the stallion loosened his scarf to reveal the collar of pale scar tissue around his neck Applejack found she couldn't fault him for it.
"Your own kin did that to you?"
"I have not had kin for a very long time," Ember replied bitterly. "It was her guard dog, her protector against the monsters of the Everfree Forest, and it did what a guard dog does in a tense situation. My niece and her drifter ran off together shortly after, and it took me…a long time to recover." For a brief moment, Applejack glimpsed a haunted look in his eyes before they returned to their mask of casual neutrality. "...A very long time, during which I could not work, and I was partially blamed for the problems caused by my absence."
There was plenty about the situation that Ember wasn't telling Applejack; that much was obvious to her. Had his niece and her sweetheart faced any consequences for this? Had he already started quarrelling with his village's leaders at this point? Had he tried to talk folks down or get help from others? His story had some big holes in it, every part of his supposed history did, but here and now that didn't matter. He was a friend, and the hurt was real enough.
"I'm real sorry to hear that, Ember," said Applejack. "I can't really say I know how you feel, but I can tell you that ain't how we do things around here."
Ember sighed and pulled the scarf back around his neck. "I can tell that your family are close to one another, that you can rely on each other, but I cannot tell you what that feels like. Those who I might call kin mean nothing to me, and I mean less than nothing to them. They no longer exist as far as I am concerned, and the feeling is mutual." He shrugged dismissively, and a rueful smile crept over his face, though Applejack did not miss how it failed to reach his eyes for the first few moments.
"Enough picking at old scabs, though," Ember said. "My errand today concerns the future, not the past."
Applejack felt like a right busybody for prying now- if she'd known that he was carrying around something like that, she would have just let it go.
"What do you need, partner? Name it and I'll see what I can do." She couldn't take her hoof out of her mouth, but the least she could do was make sure that Ember knew he had folks he could depend on now.
The stallion smiled, and his warm, easygoing manner returned as suddenly as it had left. "I am preparing an expedition into the Smokey Mountains to the west in the hope of sourcing new materials. Depending on what I find, it could lead to a new level of range and quality in what I can provide Ponyville. Not just jewelry and tools but potentially, once I bring the Mayor around, infrastructure."
Ember said this last word with the sort of almost manic enthusiasm that Twilight would say 'magic', and Applejack dearly hoped that what he had in mind was nothing like the obnoxious contraptions of the Flim-Flam Brothers.
'They must never meet,' Applejack decided with grim resolve.
"Sadly, I currently lack the means to bring my tools there and my findings back here," Ember continued. "I understand that your family has a large and very serviceable wagon. If you would allow me to borrow it for a few days, with a suitable collateral of course, I would be happy to take a commission for any tools or trinkets that might interest you."
Applejack blinked in confusion. "Well yes, you could borrow our wagon, Ember, but wouldn't it be a lot faster to get some space on the train?"
The smith gave her a look that felt like he was trying hard not to be patronizing. "That would be an option, yes, but I already asked around and there aren't any west-bound caravans passing through town at the moment. In any case, I would almost certainly save time moving on my own rather than part of a larger group."
The farmer felt an absurd suspicion arise in her mind, and it brought with it a slight headache once she realized that, given who she was talking to, it was all too plausible. I know he doesn't get out much, but surely…
"Ember, what do you think I'm talking about when I say the word 'train'?"
"A baggage train of wagons and beasts of burden, obviously. What are you getting at?"
"HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW ABOUT THE TRAIN?!"
How did this happen? Sauron wondered. This was not meant in the usual sense, as in bemoaning an ill turn of events that would no doubt be thoroughly explained with the bitter clarity of hindsight. Rather, it was a sincere question.
What course had history taken that allowed the existence of this… 'thing' was not the right word. The Train was not an object. It was not, as had been so inaccurately described to him, a mere machine like a water wheel or trip hammer, mindlessly repeating the same efficient task.
No. The Train was, in every meaningful sense, alive. It drank water, it ate coal, it breathed ash and smoke, it howled its strength to the heavens as it thundered across the wilderness, the woodlands and meadows of Ponyville giving way to rough and rocky ridges as the towering Smokies loomed like an oncoming storm to the west. The steel titan sang to him as it raged onward with a speed that humbled any mortal steed, and an endurance that rivaled the most true-blooded Meara.
It sang, and Sauron listened.
When the Maia had first boarded at the station in Ponyville, the beast was surly and sluggish, half-heartedly stirring itself like a resentful mule being led by its reins. Now though, The Train was proud and boisterous, barely contained by the tracks that were as much a part of it as a Pony's skin and bones. It felt young, somehow, cocksure and eager to prove itself, to test its limits for perhaps the first time.
"I have never settled for mediocrity as an acceptable standard," Sauron whispered into its burning heart. "And neither should you."
"Could you please not do that, sir?"
Sauron sighed in annoyance and pulled his head out of the train furnace. In the cramped confines of the engine room, it was indeed difficult to avoid the attention of the engineer. Said engineer, a sky-blue pegasus oddly enough, sighed and scooped up a shovel-full of coal.
"Look, I know that you're fine when you do that, somehow, but if someone else saw you sticking your head in there I'd be in a whole heap of trouble."
"As you wish," said Sauron. The creature had a respectable profession and seemed reasonably competent, so he could afford them some small courtesies. He even waited until their back was turned to roll his eyes!
The engineer nodded their thanks and tossed the shovel-full of coal into the furnace, where it was instantly vaporized into a roiling mass of white-hot flames. Ignoring the mumbled 'what the buck' from the pegasus, Sauron looked on in satisfaction as the boiler screamed and rattled the screws holding it together, sending super-heated steam to turn the wheels of the train.
"None of this makes any sense," the engineer groused. "If the fuel is burning faster and hotter, it should be lasting for less time, not more. We're way ahead of schedule, and that's the only time I've had to feed the furnace since we left Ponyville."
"The train is trying to impress me. And it is succeeding." The train whistle blew, its unusually cheery pitch seeming to confirm Sauron's words.
"...You know what, sure. Not like there's any other train on this track today we need to worry about coordinating with. I'll take it if it means I can sneak another 20 minutes onto my lunch break," they replied flippantly, the hedonist.
They lapsed back into silence as Sauron listened to the rattle of the wheels against the track, returning to his previous thought. Why hadn't the peoples of Arda contrived similar innovations? Water-mills were widespread, and metallurgy had been sufficiently advanced in multiple times and places. Why did no one 'connect the dots', as the ponies said, between turning a mill and turning a wheel?
Why did I not? Sauron asked himself, and the answer came readily to him, as it usually did.
Because there had been no need. Beasts and other slaves were in plentiful supply for most tasks, so there was typically little need to replace them with clever devices, much less the opportunity to iterate upon such devices for more and more purposes. Ponies were soft about such things, eschewing beasts of burden and allowing their citizens to pursue highly specialized and ultimately pointless careers, and thus had a shortage of cheap labor that they compensated for with innovation that expanded exponentially over time.
What of his foes, then? Those that eschewed most forms of slavery out of self-congratulatory pearl-clutching or other equally asinine reasons? Knowledge-hoarding caused by the morose isolationism of the elves or the guild structures common in various mortal societies could certainly stifle innovation- it was difficult to expand on someone else's ideas if they refused to share them and everyone kept re-inventing the wheel thinking that they were the first to do so.
A lack of long-term stability could also contribute. Mortals loved waging pointless wars on each other over unnecessary luxuries or the personal problems of their mayfly leaders. Then of course, there were the occasions when someone felt the need to defy the Right and Proper World Order and had to be decisively chastised. Sauron shook his head ruefully. What wonders had Man failed to create because he had been forced to destroy an uppity civilization or five?
Or, Sauron admitted to himself, I could have used a different way to bring them into compliance. But it was not as if he had not tried! When people around the world started calling one The Abhorred Deceiver after a few failed plans, one's diplomatic options became limited! Lacking such a reputation was an admittedly mithril lining to his current situation.
A metallic grinding interrupted his thoughts as the door to the engine room opened and a diminutive purple and green dragon peeked its head in. "Hey Ember, the conductor just announced that everyone needs to sit down before he puts the break on," Spike informed him. "Something about us going faster than usual and not wanting folks to get rag-dolled down the hallway."
Sauron nodded- this was reasonable. "I shall join you shortly, then." He turned to the engineer. "Until our next meeting, then. Although, I do not believe I got your name?"
"I was wondering if you would ask," they replied with a wry grin. "You've been pretty distracted though, so that's fine. It's Steam. Steam Cloud."
Sauron took a long, slow breath. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it again, and took another long, slow breath. "Right, of course. So your parents were…"
"Sauna owners, exactly!"
"...By your leave, then."
Sauron quickly closed the door to the engine room behind him and stepped back over the gap between it and the passenger cars. "These damned horses," he grumbled, his words conveniently muffled by the wind and the rattling of the wheels against the track.
Moving into the passenger car, he quickly walked down the hallway to the private cabin that he had rented for him and his companion. Sliding the wood and opaque glass door open, he quickly took a seat on the cushioned benches and shut it behind him before turning his gaze over to Spike. The young dragon was packing the last of his loose luggage from the train ride into his day pack, mostly consisting of those strange 'comic' books that the reptile seemed so preoccupied with. Sauron had glanced through a few of them in an effort to glean some insight into Twilight's assistant, or pet, or whatever he was, and their primary purpose seemed to be to elicit excitement on demand through the depiction of what were hopefully impossible scenarios.
Was that what Spike wanted? An escape from the perceived mundanity of his daily life? It was certainly not something that would interest any of the dragons that Sauron had once known, but then again Spike did not resemble those very much at all. Putting aside his upright posture and willingness to assist other creatures without the need for either astronomical bribes or the constant threat of agonizing death, Spike was far more complicated than Melkor's dragons despite being nowhere near as intelligent.
Melkor's dragons were very easy to understand on a personal level. They enjoyed being feared and feeling superior to others. They reveled in making others feel envious and helpless. More than anything, though, they wanted to have what others wanted, and to possess it solely to deprive others of its ownership. The specifics did not really matter; Be it precious metals, cultural artifacts, territory, or more abstract things like knowledge or dignity, dragons stole things they didn't need explicitly so that other people would pine after them.
Whether it was because he had been raised by ponies or some innate difference in Equestria's dragons, Spike was not like that at all, meaning that if Sauron wanted to gain control over him before he reached his very useful and very dangerous maturity, he was going to have to figure him out like an actual person.
"Take a picture, dude. It'll last longer," the boy quipped, and Sauron made a note to be more circumspect in his observations in the future.
"Sorry- just thinking about my plans for today," the Maia replied.
"Great! I was really hoping you had some," said Spike cheekily. "As educational as it was to listen to you rant about sedimentary rocks-"
"They're just random rubble cobbled together, IT'S LAZY!"
"Of course, of course, you're totally right," Spike continued, stating the obvious. "Anyway, you were pretty vague when you asked to 'borrow' me from Twilight, though she's so distracted with those weird star-lamps you two made I'm not sure she's even noticed we're gone."
Ugh, youths. Sauron rolled his eyes. It really had been too much to hope for that they would all be as relatively well-mannered as the Crusaders. It galled him to no end that the dragon thought it acceptable to offer him this kind of sauce. Twilight was entirely too permissive with her ward.
"I need your assistance detecting certain trace metals in the rock profile," Sauron explained. "I have my own senses, of course, but between the two of us we will be able to work on a more granular scale."
Spike looked skeptical. "Um, you're not just going to make me taste a bunch of random gravel, are you? Some of that stuff tastes really bad…"
Sauron gave him a cool look. "Give me some credit, boy. In any case, Rarity assured me that you were the best creature for the job." He blinked at the besotted expression that came over the young dragon's face.
"She said that, huh?" Spike muttered bashfully. "Well, I guess I can handle it, then…"
The dragon stared dreamily out the window at the mountainous landscape racing by, while Sauron made sense of what he was seeing. Certainly, he had known of dragons that abducted maidens due to the value that societies placed on them, but the Maia had never seen their acquisitive tendencies expressed like that. It was almost as if Spike…
…Oh. Eugh.
If there was one aspect of Incarnates that he struggled to understand, it was their amorous tendencies. Pair-bonding for companionship and reproductive purposes was something that he could grasp in theory, but the more physical aspects were just odd and frankly unhygienic.
Of course, he did not necessarily need to understand it to exploit it.
"I should think so," Sauron reassured the youth. "It is a shame that Rarity declined my invitation to join us, but she was very confident in recommending your skills."
"Oh, yeah, I guess she would," Spike said with a grimace. "She had a pretty bad time during our last collection trip out here- got grabbed by some bandits who wanted to use her magic for themselves."
"Bandits." Sauron repeated flatly. "There are bandits…here? In Equestria?"
Spike tilted his claw back and forth in an annoyingly wishy-washy gesture. "I mean, maybe? There definitely were a few years ago, at least. I haven't heard anything about them since then." He chuckled smugly. "Heh, guess they cheesed it after I heroically busted into their tunnels to save Rarity. Twilight and the rest helped too, I guess."
Part of Sauron's mind was strangely relieved to discover some sign of weakness, some dark fissure in the seemingly monolithic control of the Alicorn's regime. The greater part of his thought, however…
"And this is tolerated?" Sauron hissed. The thought of bandits existing so close to the pony's heartlands spoke of a laxness in national security that the Maia found most unbecoming. They probably weren't even state-sponsored!
Was this what mortals called 'second-hand embarrassment'?
Spike scoffed. "Right, I forget you're from out in the sticks. Nah, most thinking creatures know better than to try and pull that kind of stunt anywhere near Pony territory. These guys probably just got cocky since they live underground and figured that would keep Celestia from deep-frying them with a sunbeam to the-"
Whatever unsolicited details Spike wanted to share were cut off when the train's brakes came down and he was thrown across the compartment and found himself with the dubious honor of being the first person to ever sit in Sauron's lap. He would, if at all possible, be the last.
Several awkward minutes passed as the train screeched to a stop and they disembarked onto the station with a silent agreement to never speak of that again.
Sauron carried on his frame a collection of bags and satchels containing his prospecting tools, rations, and medical supplies as well as ample space for storing any material that he wished to immediately collect rather than return for later. Any substantial findings would need him to acquire hirelings to properly exploit down the line. He turned his attention to the line of foothills and mountains in front of him- Sauron could immediately tell that they were volcanic in origin, which was promising as they likely had deposited interesting materials from far underground during formation. Beyond the conifers that bedecked the foothills, the peaks themselves were largely covered in scree slopes where keeping footing would be difficult and the use of proper transport and machinery essentially impossible. The best course of action would be to locate either a cavern eroded by snowmelt or a lava tube in order to properly assess the mineral content of-
"So I've been meaning to ask," Spike blurted out, and Sauron forced himself to look over with polite interest instead of rolling the fool down the hill they were climbing for interrupting his train of thought.
Noticing nothing as expected, the dragon continued. "Big Mac and I are planning to get together this weekend for some 'Guy Time'."
What a pointless detail to share. "...Guy Time?"
Spike nodded as they crested the first ridge and made their way up into the mountain slopes proper, finding their footing amid the grey boulders and layers of loose scree dotted with scraggly junipers and pines. "Yeah, I don't know if you've noticed, but the gender ratio in Ponyville is less of a ratio and more like a rounding error. There's not a whole lot of dudes around that aren't dads or little kids. Twilight and the other girls are great, but there's some stuff they just don't get, you know?"
"Yeah, I get it." Sauron didn't get it. Males and females of most Peoples only had the most superficial of differences to his eye, to the extent he often had to rely on context clues to figure out which was which. They came to the edge of an open cave mouth sloping upward at an angle into the mountainside, and with a twisting motion Sauron pulled out a fist-sized chunk of dark stone from the living rock of the tunnel wall and handed it to Spike. "Here, basalt. What can you pick up from this?"
The dragon gave the dark grey rock a dubious look before taking a hesitant lick and smacking his lips. "Okay, that's not bad, actually. Lots of quartz with notes of garnet and corundum- it's got a spicy aftertaste."
Sauron nodded. "We are in a lava tube. They are created when lava flowing through a channel cools enough to form an outer crust but not enough to stop flowing completely, eventually emptying out and leaving a hollow shell. Come, let us take a sample from further in."
"You're the boss, bro," agreed Spike, following the Maia down through the winding passage, the dark offering little obstacle to either of them. "So anyway, Guy Time. We wanted to see if you were down to hang out at the Castle, raid the kitchen, and play the new edition of Ogres and Oubliettes with me and Big Mac."
"...Could you explain those words to me, starting with 'play'?"
The pair picked their way through a pile of rubble where one of the walls of the lava tube had crumbled, exposing a different layer of rock that was crusted with tiny milk-white crystals and a gleaming dark-yellow mineral formed into cubic shapes. Sauron glanced meaningfully at his companion, who scoffed and shook his head. "I'm not licking pyrite, dude, that stuff's nasty. More importantly, Ogres and Oubliettes is Equestria's premier tabletop role-playing game, where you can create a character based on various classes defined by their unique abilities and work together with your friends to go on adventures and overcome challenges created by the Game Master."
Sauron took a moment to parse that. "I see, so tactical exercises. I am afraid that I will have to decline for now, as I am much too busy."
Spike, having gotten excited while describing his 'game', deflated a little and shrugged. "Yeah, I figured you'd still be swamped with all those orders you're getting from the capital. I guess I can ask Discord, then. He might traumatize us but maybe we can get some cool special effects out of it-"
"Forget Discord. Forever, actually. I'm in." Sauron would waste as much time as necessary if he could avoid risking that the Abomination might have fun.
A slight tremor, almost undetectable, rippled through the stone around them. Sauron paused.
Spike grinned and bounced up and down enthusiastically. "Awesome! So there's a couple different-"
Sauron snatched the young dragon out of the air before he could scatter pebbles everywhere and held a hoof up to his mouth in a 'shush' gesture. "Quiet… Do you hear that?"
The youth scowled at him and pointed repeatedly down at the ground, but to his credit stayed quiet. The spirit obliged and gently set him down, and as he did so another tremor spread down the tunnel toward them, followed by a second, and a third. The vibrations were occurring in a clear rhythm, which meant-
"We're not alone done here," Spike whispered, and Sauron nodded grimly, pulling a heavy forge hammer from his belt.
"They have not ceased their activity, meaning they most likely have not noticed us, and the lack of any kind of sentries at the lava tube's entrance suggests that they are either careless or unaware of this particular passage. We can take them by surprise."
Spike blanched and waved his claws in front of him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what do you mean 'take them'? Where did this come from?!"
"Did you not tell me that these mountains were infested with brigands? Who else would be down here?" Sauron sniffed the air, feeling agitated. There was a scent in the air, strangely familiar, like a half-forgotten memory. Something about it was setting him on edge, making him want to act. Reckless, foolish. It disgusted him.
"We're down here, aren't we?" Spike snarked. "Look, why don't we scout it out first? If they look like trouble, we can back off and look somewhere else. If not, hey, maybe they can give us some directions?"
The disrespectful child's logic was sound. "Very well, I will go first. The stone shall not dare betray my presence, should I not wish it."
"...Sheesh, you're extra. Alright, I'm right behind you."
Graciously ignoring that, Sauron crept through the tunnel, gradually sloping upward until they could make out the murmur of voices and the sharp crack of picks and hammers against stone. The flicker of torchlight shone through a large opening in the lava tube's wall, and the two of them carefully moved forward to glance inside.
Inside was a large cavern, well lit with torches and the occasional beam of sunlight shining through crevices in the ceiling high above. The curved, uneven walls of the chamber were encrusted with veins of pale quartz spreading like the branches of trees, sprinkled with irregular patches of gleaming gold. Rough linen bags, scuffed wooden crates, and rickety wheelbarrows cluttered the floor of the cavern, each of them bursting with ore and dull, uncut gems. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, and a dozen semiprecious stones- all waiting for the touch of their master to bring out their true potential. Sauron was thrilled, or at least he would be if not for the chamber's other contents.
Dogs.
Warped, gangrel beasts they were, with disproportionately long forelimbs they knuckle-walked on like some strange tropical ape, but undeniably canine. Frayed, patched vests covered the earth-toned fur of their torsos, their necks adorned with collars studded with polished gemstones. A handful were equipped with crude iron armor bound together with rivets and short spears tipped with diamonds cut into sharp points.
"Diamond Dogs," whispered Spike warily. "Not sure if it's the same crew that caught Rarity- there's way more of them now."
Sauron barely crushed the urge to throttle the young dragon. Had he not thought this an important detail?!
He tightened his grip on the forge hammer. There were over a dozen of the creatures, but the Maia knew with absolute certainty that he could kill them all- shatter them like cheap clay statues and take their spoils for his own. He could get away with it too. 'Self-defense' would be easy to engineer and was perfectly legal in Equestria, especially against non-ponies. Twilight would thank him even, for 'protecting' her young ward.
He could get away with it.
The thought was enticing, very enticing, yet…unsatisfying. Brutish. Crude. Impulsive. The kind of thing that Melkor would do.
The comparison annoyed Sauron.
Did he want to kill the creatures to, what, 'blow off steam' as the ponies said? To reduce stress? What was sleeping for, if not to rebalance the chemicals in his brain? Was he to waste even more of his precious time doing that while he was awake? Asinine.
Did he want to kill the creatures because he was afraid? Sauron did not fear these mongrels- he would never allow such a menial mob to injure him. Illogical.
No, he wanted to kill them because they reminded him of…that. The pain, the humiliation, the anticipation of Melkor's punishment for his defeat, they had burned in his mind when he encountered Applejack's hound, and when he discovered these Diamond Dogs. His battle against Huan had taken place millenia ago, and he was letting mere memories, mere feelings control him like the countless fools he had manipulated over the centuries? Ridiculous.
Finally was the fact that corpses were, for the time-being, useless to him. Expendable assets, on the other hand…
Sauron took a deep breath and searched his perfectly organized heart, moving aside the filing cabinets full of grievances and luminous plinths crowned with aspirations until he finally found the flimsy cardboard box under a desk. He reached in and plucked out that particular memory, the feeling of jaws around his neck, the helplessness, the looming dread of failure, and squeezed it.
ShutupshutupshutupshutupshutupSHUTUP
He squeezed it until it stopped moving, shook it spitefully, and threw it back into the box.
"Follow my lead," he whispered to Spike, projecting calm, strength, and above all confidence, before stepping into the torchlight and allowing the Diamond Dogs to notice him.
"Good afternoon! How would you fine folks like to make some serious money?"
(A/N): A lot has happened since I last updated- I've changed jobs, I've gotten married, I started a colony of cherry shrimp. I'm planning on posting shorter form content (1-2k words) to hopefully make it so I can get more finished chunks out and not just sit on things for months on end.
Thank you to everyone still reading, and Merry Christmas!
Applejack could already tell it was going to be one of those days. The chores were done early, which would normally mean that she could relax or maybe go into town to see her friends, or at least it would if the rest of her family hadn't had the same idea first. Her brother was away on business, Applebloom was off with her friends probably doing something reckless, and even Granny was in town for Cards and Tea, which she insisted wasn't gambling because 'that implied she could lose'. This of course meant that she had to stay and mind the farm, and that when trouble inevitably reared its head she would have to deal with it herself.
I ought not to be so cynical. It's been awhile since I had a quiet day to myself-
"HAIL THE FARM!"
There it is…
A charcoal and rust colored stallion was standing outside the gate, the handles of various tools sticking out of his bags, waving at her and giving a winsome smile even as his eyes darted to and fro with a cold, wary glint. Applejack could guess what he was searching for.
She couldn't help but cringe at the memory of his last visit. Ember had, to put it mildly, not been well when he left the farm that day, and neither had her sheepdog Winona. The normally sweet and friendly animal had refused to leave the barn for over a day after he… looked at her? Applejack still wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but she was not happy about it.
"Morning, Ember," she said neutrally- Granny didn't raise a brute. "What's brought you down my way?"
"Opportunity, Applejack. Opportunity for all of us," he replied enthusiastically, and the farmer dearly hoped that he wasn't going to try selling her something and make this even more awkward. "I hoped that I might ask a small favor of you, to be repaid with great interest."
"Well I'm more than happy to help out a friend, Ember, but first we really need to talk about the elephant in this here room."
"You have an oliphaunt?!" Ember's eyes lit up with sudden glee, though his face betrayed only mild interest. "I could make great use of such a beast if you might sell it to me." Mistaking Applejack's rather aggrieved expression, he waved a hoof dismissively. "Fear not, fear not, you will not find me a miser in this matter! Name your price."
"I…No, Ember, that ain't-"
"Ah, perhaps a lease then? I am prepared to offer you a very generous rate!"
"We need to talk about what happened last time you were here," Applejack blurted out, getting to the point quickly as was usually the best in these situations.
Ember's eager, animated face froze, and even as he kept his easygoing expression, his eyes glazed over like windows that had heavy shutters pulled across them.
"I disagree. In any case, I think that my latest project would definitely be of-"
"Ember, to be real clear, I ain't best pleased with you after you traumatized my dog…somehow. If you're gonna ask a favor, then you're gonna explain yourself."
The stallion stared at her with an eerie blankness, and Applejack felt the hair on the back of her neck start to prickle. The seconds stretched on, and as the tension rose she started to think that he might actually lose his cool and snap at her. Applejack wasn't quite sure why, but she almost felt relief at the idea.
"...Fine, then. If we need to clear the air between us, then it cannot be helped. Do not expect me to speak of this again." Ember leaned forward against the fence and glowered into the distance.
"My…niece, I suppose, had taken up with a vagabond stallion of ill-repute, despite her father's disapproval. For my part, I had no interest in the matter until I found him and some other ruffians trespassing in my home and trapped them until I could discover their purpose. My niece objected to that, and so did her dog." He spat out the last word with the kind of deep anger that she rarely ever heard from anyone, but when the stallion loosened his scarf to reveal the collar of pale scar tissue around his neck Applejack found she couldn't fault him for it.
"Your own kin did that to you?"
"I have not had kin for a very long time," Ember replied bitterly. "It was her guard dog, her protector against the monsters of the Everfree Forest, and it did what a guard dog does in a tense situation. My niece and her drifter ran off together shortly after, and it took me…a long time to recover." For a brief moment, Applejack glimpsed a haunted look in his eyes before they returned to their mask of casual neutrality. "...A very long time, during which I could not work, and I was partially blamed for the problems caused by my absence."
There was plenty about the situation that Ember wasn't telling Applejack; that much was obvious to her. Had his niece and her sweetheart faced any consequences for this? Had he already started quarrelling with his village's leaders at this point? Had he tried to talk folks down or get help from others? His story had some big holes in it, every part of his supposed history did, but here and now that didn't matter. He was a friend, and the hurt was real enough.
"I'm real sorry to hear that, Ember," said Applejack. "I can't really say I know how you feel, but I can tell you that ain't how we do things around here."
Ember sighed and pulled the scarf back around his neck. "I can tell that your family are close to one another, that you can rely on each other, but I cannot tell you what that feels like. Those who I might call kin mean nothing to me, and I mean less than nothing to them. They no longer exist as far as I am concerned, and the feeling is mutual." He shrugged dismissively, and a rueful smile crept over his face, though Applejack did not miss how it failed to reach his eyes for the first few moments.
"Enough picking at old scabs, though," Ember said. "My errand today concerns the future, not the past."
Applejack felt like a right busybody for prying now- if she'd known that he was carrying around something like that, she would have just let it go.
"What do you need, partner? Name it and I'll see what I can do." She couldn't take her hoof out of her mouth, but the least she could do was make sure that Ember knew he had folks he could depend on now.
The stallion smiled, and his warm, easygoing manner returned as suddenly as it had left. "I am preparing an expedition into the Smokey Mountains to the west in the hope of sourcing new materials. Depending on what I find, it could lead to a new level of range and quality in what I can provide Ponyville. Not just jewelry and tools but potentially, once I bring the Mayor around, infrastructure."
Ember said this last word with the sort of almost manic enthusiasm that Twilight would say 'magic', and Applejack dearly hoped that what he had in mind was nothing like the obnoxious contraptions of the Flim-Flam Brothers.
'They must never meet,' Applejack decided with grim resolve.
"Sadly, I currently lack the means to bring my tools there and my findings back here," Ember continued. "I understand that your family has a large and very serviceable wagon. If you would allow me to borrow it for a few days, with a suitable collateral of course, I would be happy to take a commission for any tools or trinkets that might interest you."
Applejack blinked in confusion. "Well yes, you could borrow our wagon, Ember, but wouldn't it be a lot faster to get some space on the train?"
The smith gave her a look that felt like he was trying hard not to be patronizing. "That would be an option, yes, but I already asked around and there aren't any west-bound caravans passing through town at the moment. In any case, I would almost certainly save time moving on my own rather than part of a larger group."
The farmer felt an absurd suspicion arise in her mind, and it brought with it a slight headache once she realized that, given who she was talking to, it was all too plausible. I know he doesn't get out much, but surely…
"Ember, what do you think I'm talking about when I say the word 'train'?"
"A baggage train of wagons and beasts of burden, obviously. What are you getting at?"
"HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW ABOUT THE TRAIN?!"
How did this happen? Sauron wondered. This was not meant in the usual sense, as in bemoaning an ill turn of events that would no doubt be thoroughly explained with the bitter clarity of hindsight. Rather, it was a sincere question.
What course had history taken that allowed the existence of this… 'thing' was not the right word. The Train was not an object. It was not, as had been so inaccurately described to him, a mere machine like a water wheel or trip hammer, mindlessly repeating the same efficient task.
No. The Train was, in every meaningful sense, alive. It drank water, it ate coal, it breathed ash and smoke, it howled its strength to the heavens as it thundered across the wilderness, the woodlands and meadows of Ponyville giving way to rough and rocky ridges as the towering Smokies loomed like an oncoming storm to the west. The steel titan sang to him as it raged onward with a speed that humbled any mortal steed, and an endurance that rivaled the most true-blooded Meara.
It sang, and Sauron listened.
When the Maia had first boarded at the station in Ponyville, the beast was surly and sluggish, half-heartedly stirring itself like a resentful mule being led by its reins. Now though, The Train was proud and boisterous, barely contained by the tracks that were as much a part of it as a Pony's skin and bones. It felt young, somehow, cocksure and eager to prove itself, to test its limits for perhaps the first time.
"I have never settled for mediocrity as an acceptable standard," Sauron whispered into its burning heart. "And neither should you."
"Could you please not do that, sir?"
Sauron sighed in annoyance and pulled his head out of the train furnace. In the cramped confines of the engine room, it was indeed difficult to avoid the attention of the engineer. Said engineer, a sky-blue pegasus oddly enough, sighed and scooped up a shovel-full of coal.
"Look, I know that you're fine when you do that, somehow, but if someone else saw you sticking your head in there I'd be in a whole heap of trouble."
"As you wish," said Sauron. The creature had a respectable profession and seemed reasonably competent, so he could afford them some small courtesies. He even waited until their back was turned to roll his eyes!
The engineer nodded their thanks and tossed the shovel-full of coal into the furnace, where it was instantly vaporized into a roiling mass of white-hot flames. Ignoring the mumbled 'what the buck' from the pegasus, Sauron looked on in satisfaction as the boiler screamed and rattled the screws holding it together, sending super-heated steam to turn the wheels of the train.
"None of this makes any sense," the engineer groused. "If the fuel is burning faster and hotter, it should be lasting for less time, not more. We're way ahead of schedule, and that's the only time I've had to feed the furnace since we left Ponyville."
"The train is trying to impress me. And it is succeeding." The train whistle blew, its unusually cheery pitch seeming to confirm Sauron's words.
"...You know what, sure. Not like there's any other train on this track today we need to worry about coordinating with. I'll take it if it means I can sneak another 20 minutes onto my lunch break," they replied flippantly, the hedonist.
They lapsed back into silence as Sauron listened to the rattle of the wheels against the track, returning to his previous thought. Why hadn't the peoples of Arda contrived similar innovations? Water-mills were widespread, and metallurgy had been sufficiently advanced in multiple times and places. Why did no one 'connect the dots', as the ponies said, between turning a mill and turning a wheel?
Why did I not? Sauron asked himself, and the answer came readily to him, as it usually did.
Because there had been no need. Beasts and other slaves were in plentiful supply for most tasks, so there was typically little need to replace them with clever devices, much less the opportunity to iterate upon such devices for more and more purposes. Ponies were soft about such things, eschewing beasts of burden and allowing their citizens to pursue highly specialized and ultimately pointless careers, and thus had a shortage of cheap labor that they compensated for with innovation that expanded exponentially over time.
What of his foes, then? Those that eschewed most forms of slavery out of self-congratulatory pearl-clutching or other equally asinine reasons? Knowledge-hoarding caused by the morose isolationism of the elves or the guild structures common in various mortal societies could certainly stifle innovation- it was difficult to expand on someone else's ideas if they refused to share them and everyone kept re-inventing the wheel thinking that they were the first to do so.
A lack of long-term stability could also contribute. Mortals loved waging pointless wars on each other over unnecessary luxuries or the personal problems of their mayfly leaders. Then of course, there were the occasions when someone felt the need to defy the Right and Proper World Order and had to be decisively chastised. Sauron shook his head ruefully. What wonders had Man failed to create because he had been forced to destroy an uppity civilization or five?
Or, Sauron admitted to himself, I could have used a different way to bring them into compliance. But it was not as if he had not tried! When people around the world started calling one The Abhorred Deceiver after a few failed plans, one's diplomatic options became limited! Lacking such a reputation was an admittedly mithril lining to his current situation.
A metallic grinding interrupted his thoughts as the door to the engine room opened and a diminutive purple and green dragon peeked its head in. "Hey Ember, the conductor just announced that everyone needs to sit down before he puts the break on," Spike informed him. "Something about us going faster than usual and not wanting folks to get rag-dolled down the hallway."
Sauron nodded- this was reasonable. "I shall join you shortly, then." He turned to the engineer. "Until our next meeting, then. Although, I do not believe I got your name?"
"I was wondering if you would ask," they replied with a wry grin. "You've been pretty distracted though, so that's fine. It's Steam. Steam Cloud."
Sauron took a long, slow breath. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it again, and took another long, slow breath. "Right, of course. So your parents were…"
"Sauna owners, exactly!"
"...By your leave, then."
Sauron quickly closed the door to the engine room behind him and stepped back over the gap between it and the passenger cars. "These damned horses," he grumbled, his words conveniently muffled by the wind and the rattling of the wheels against the track.
Moving into the passenger car, he quickly walked down the hallway to the private cabin that he had rented for him and his companion. Sliding the wood and opaque glass door open, he quickly took a seat on the cushioned benches and shut it behind him before turning his gaze over to Spike. The young dragon was packing the last of his loose luggage from the train ride into his day pack, mostly consisting of those strange 'comic' books that the reptile seemed so preoccupied with. Sauron had glanced through a few of them in an effort to glean some insight into Twilight's assistant, or pet, or whatever he was, and their primary purpose seemed to be to elicit excitement on demand through the depiction of what were hopefully impossible scenarios.
Was that what Spike wanted? An escape from the perceived mundanity of his daily life? It was certainly not something that would interest any of the dragons that Sauron had once known, but then again Spike did not resemble those very much at all. Putting aside his upright posture and willingness to assist other creatures without the need for either astronomical bribes or the constant threat of agonizing death, Spike was far more complicated than Melkor's dragons despite being nowhere near as intelligent.
Melkor's dragons were very easy to understand on a personal level. They enjoyed being feared and feeling superior to others. They reveled in making others feel envious and helpless. More than anything, though, they wanted to have what others wanted, and to possess it solely to deprive others of its ownership. The specifics did not really matter; Be it precious metals, cultural artifacts, territory, or more abstract things like knowledge or dignity, dragons stole things they didn't need explicitly so that other people would pine after them.
Whether it was because he had been raised by ponies or some innate difference in Equestria's dragons, Spike was not like that at all, meaning that if Sauron wanted to gain control over him before he reached his very useful and very dangerous maturity, he was going to have to figure him out like an actual person.
"Take a picture, dude. It'll last longer," the boy quipped, and Sauron made a note to be more circumspect in his observations in the future.
"Sorry- just thinking about my plans for today," the Maia replied.
"Great! I was really hoping you had some," said Spike cheekily. "As educational as it was to listen to you rant about sedimentary rocks-"
"They're just random rubble cobbled together, IT'S LAZY!"
"Of course, of course, you're totally right," Spike continued, stating the obvious. "Anyway, you were pretty vague when you asked to 'borrow' me from Twilight, though she's so distracted with those weird star-lamps you two made I'm not sure she's even noticed we're gone."
Ugh, youths. Sauron rolled his eyes. It really had been too much to hope for that they would all be as relatively well-mannered as the Crusaders. It galled him to no end that the dragon thought it acceptable to offer him this kind of sauce. Twilight was entirely too permissive with her ward.
"I need your assistance detecting certain trace metals in the rock profile," Sauron explained. "I have my own senses, of course, but between the two of us we will be able to work on a more granular scale."
Spike looked skeptical. "Um, you're not just going to make me taste a bunch of random gravel, are you? Some of that stuff tastes really bad…"
Sauron gave him a cool look. "Give me some credit, boy. In any case, Rarity assured me that you were the best creature for the job." He blinked at the besotted expression that came over the young dragon's face.
"She said that, huh?" Spike muttered bashfully. "Well, I guess I can handle it, then…"
The dragon stared dreamily out the window at the mountainous landscape racing by, while Sauron made sense of what he was seeing. Certainly, he had known of dragons that abducted maidens due to the value that societies placed on them, but the Maia had never seen their acquisitive tendencies expressed like that. It was almost as if Spike…
…Oh. Eugh.
If there was one aspect of Incarnates that he struggled to understand, it was their amorous tendencies. Pair-bonding for companionship and reproductive purposes was something that he could grasp in theory, but the more physical aspects were just odd and frankly unhygienic.
Of course, he did not necessarily need to understand it to exploit it.
"I should think so," Sauron reassured the youth. "It is a shame that Rarity declined my invitation to join us, but she was very confident in recommending your skills."
"Oh, yeah, I guess she would," Spike said with a grimace. "She had a pretty bad time during our last collection trip out here- got grabbed by some bandits who wanted to use her magic for themselves."
"Bandits." Sauron repeated flatly. "There are bandits…here? In Equestria?"
Spike tilted his claw back and forth in an annoyingly wishy-washy gesture. "I mean, maybe? There definitely were a few years ago, at least. I haven't heard anything about them since then." He chuckled smugly. "Heh, guess they cheesed it after I heroically busted into their tunnels to save Rarity. Twilight and the rest helped too, I guess."
Part of Sauron's mind was strangely relieved to discover some sign of weakness, some dark fissure in the seemingly monolithic control of the Alicorn's regime. The greater part of his thought, however…
"And this is tolerated?" Sauron hissed. The thought of bandits existing so close to the pony's heartlands spoke of a laxness in national security that the Maia found most unbecoming. They probably weren't even state-sponsored!
Was this what mortals called 'second-hand embarrassment'?
Spike scoffed. "Right, I forget you're from out in the sticks. Nah, most thinking creatures know better than to try and pull that kind of stunt anywhere near Pony territory. These guys probably just got cocky since they live underground and figured that would keep Celestia from deep-frying them with a sunbeam to the-"
Whatever unsolicited details Spike wanted to share were cut off when the train's brakes came down and he was thrown across the compartment and found himself with the dubious honor of being the first person to ever sit in Sauron's lap. He would, if at all possible, be the last.
Several awkward minutes passed as the train screeched to a stop and they disembarked onto the station with a silent agreement to never speak of that again.
Sauron carried on his frame a collection of bags and satchels containing his prospecting tools, rations, and medical supplies as well as ample space for storing any material that he wished to immediately collect rather than return for later. Any substantial findings would need him to acquire hirelings to properly exploit down the line. He turned his attention to the line of foothills and mountains in front of him- Sauron could immediately tell that they were volcanic in origin, which was promising as they likely had deposited interesting materials from far underground during formation. Beyond the conifers that bedecked the foothills, the peaks themselves were largely covered in scree slopes where keeping footing would be difficult and the use of proper transport and machinery essentially impossible. The best course of action would be to locate either a cavern eroded by snowmelt or a lava tube in order to properly assess the mineral content of-
"So I've been meaning to ask," Spike blurted out, and Sauron forced himself to look over with polite interest instead of rolling the fool down the hill they were climbing for interrupting his train of thought.
Noticing nothing as expected, the dragon continued. "Big Mac and I are planning to get together this weekend for some 'Guy Time'."
What a pointless detail to share. "...Guy Time?"
Spike nodded as they crested the first ridge and made their way up into the mountain slopes proper, finding their footing amid the grey boulders and layers of loose scree dotted with scraggly junipers and pines. "Yeah, I don't know if you've noticed, but the gender ratio in Ponyville is less of a ratio and more like a rounding error. There's not a whole lot of dudes around that aren't dads or little kids. Twilight and the other girls are great, but there's some stuff they just don't get, you know?"
"Yeah, I get it." Sauron didn't get it. Males and females of most Peoples only had the most superficial of differences to his eye, to the extent he often had to rely on context clues to figure out which was which. They came to the edge of an open cave mouth sloping upward at an angle into the mountainside, and with a twisting motion Sauron pulled out a fist-sized chunk of dark stone from the living rock of the tunnel wall and handed it to Spike. "Here, basalt. What can you pick up from this?"
The dragon gave the dark grey rock a dubious look before taking a hesitant lick and smacking his lips. "Okay, that's not bad, actually. Lots of quartz with notes of garnet and corundum- it's got a spicy aftertaste."
Sauron nodded. "We are in a lava tube. They are created when lava flowing through a channel cools enough to form an outer crust but not enough to stop flowing completely, eventually emptying out and leaving a hollow shell. Come, let us take a sample from further in."
"You're the boss, bro," agreed Spike, following the Maia down through the winding passage, the dark offering little obstacle to either of them. "So anyway, Guy Time. We wanted to see if you were down to hang out at the Castle, raid the kitchen, and play the new edition of Ogres and Oubliettes with me and Big Mac."
"...Could you explain those words to me, starting with 'play'?"
The pair picked their way through a pile of rubble where one of the walls of the lava tube had crumbled, exposing a different layer of rock that was crusted with tiny milk-white crystals and a gleaming dark-yellow mineral formed into cubic shapes. Sauron glanced meaningfully at his companion, who scoffed and shook his head. "I'm not licking pyrite, dude, that stuff's nasty. More importantly, Ogres and Oubliettes is Equestria's premier tabletop role-playing game, where you can create a character based on various classes defined by their unique abilities and work together with your friends to go on adventures and overcome challenges created by the Game Master."
Sauron took a moment to parse that. "I see, so tactical exercises. I am afraid that I will have to decline for now, as I am much too busy."
Spike, having gotten excited while describing his 'game', deflated a little and shrugged. "Yeah, I figured you'd still be swamped with all those orders you're getting from the capital. I guess I can ask Discord, then. He might traumatize us but maybe we can get some cool special effects out of it-"
"Forget Discord. Forever, actually. I'm in." Sauron would waste as much time as necessary if he could avoid risking that the Abomination might have fun.
A slight tremor, almost undetectable, rippled through the stone around them. Sauron paused.
Spike grinned and bounced up and down enthusiastically. "Awesome! So there's a couple different-"
Sauron snatched the young dragon out of the air before he could scatter pebbles everywhere and held a hoof up to his mouth in a 'shush' gesture. "Quiet… Do you hear that?"
The youth scowled at him and pointed repeatedly down at the ground, but to his credit stayed quiet. The spirit obliged and gently set him down, and as he did so another tremor spread down the tunnel toward them, followed by a second, and a third. The vibrations were occurring in a clear rhythm, which meant-
"We're not alone done here," Spike whispered, and Sauron nodded grimly, pulling a heavy forge hammer from his belt.
"They have not ceased their activity, meaning they most likely have not noticed us, and the lack of any kind of sentries at the lava tube's entrance suggests that they are either careless or unaware of this particular passage. We can take them by surprise."
Spike blanched and waved his claws in front of him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what do you mean 'take them'? Where did this come from?!"
"Did you not tell me that these mountains were infested with brigands? Who else would be down here?" Sauron sniffed the air, feeling agitated. There was a scent in the air, strangely familiar, like a half-forgotten memory. Something about it was setting him on edge, making him want to act. Reckless, foolish. It disgusted him.
"We're down here, aren't we?" Spike snarked. "Look, why don't we scout it out first? If they look like trouble, we can back off and look somewhere else. If not, hey, maybe they can give us some directions?"
The disrespectful child's logic was sound. "Very well, I will go first. The stone shall not dare betray my presence, should I not wish it."
"...Sheesh, you're extra. Alright, I'm right behind you."
Graciously ignoring that, Sauron crept through the tunnel, gradually sloping upward until they could make out the murmur of voices and the sharp crack of picks and hammers against stone. The flicker of torchlight shone through a large opening in the lava tube's wall, and the two of them carefully moved forward to glance inside.
Inside was a large cavern, well lit with torches and the occasional beam of sunlight shining through crevices in the ceiling high above. The curved, uneven walls of the chamber were encrusted with veins of pale quartz spreading like the branches of trees, sprinkled with irregular patches of gleaming gold. Rough linen bags, scuffed wooden crates, and rickety wheelbarrows cluttered the floor of the cavern, each of them bursting with ore and dull, uncut gems. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, and a dozen semiprecious stones- all waiting for the touch of their master to bring out their true potential. Sauron was thrilled, or at least he would be if not for the chamber's other contents.
Dogs.
Warped, gangrel beasts they were, with disproportionately long forelimbs they knuckle-walked on like some strange tropical ape, but undeniably canine. Frayed, patched vests covered the earth-toned fur of their torsos, their necks adorned with collars studded with polished gemstones. A handful were equipped with crude iron armor bound together with rivets and short spears tipped with diamonds cut into sharp points.
"Diamond Dogs," whispered Spike warily. "Not sure if it's the same crew that caught Rarity- there's way more of them now."
Sauron barely crushed the urge to throttle the young dragon. Had he not thought this an important detail?!
He tightened his grip on the forge hammer. There were over a dozen of the creatures, but the Maia knew with absolute certainty that he could kill them all- shatter them like cheap clay statues and take their spoils for his own. He could get away with it too. 'Self-defense' would be easy to engineer and was perfectly legal in Equestria, especially against non-ponies. Twilight would thank him even, for 'protecting' her young ward.
He could get away with it.
The thought was enticing, very enticing, yet…unsatisfying. Brutish. Crude. Impulsive. The kind of thing that Melkor would do.
The comparison annoyed Sauron.
Did he want to kill the creatures to, what, 'blow off steam' as the ponies said? To reduce stress? What was sleeping for, if not to rebalance the chemicals in his brain? Was he to waste even more of his precious time doing that while he was awake? Asinine.
Did he want to kill the creatures because he was afraid? Sauron did not fear these mongrels- he would never allow such a menial mob to injure him. Illogical.
No, he wanted to kill them because they reminded him of…that. The pain, the humiliation, the anticipation of Melkor's punishment for his defeat, they had burned in his mind when he encountered Applejack's hound, and when he discovered these Diamond Dogs. His battle against Huan had taken place millenia ago, and he was letting mere memories, mere feelings control him like the countless fools he had manipulated over the centuries? Ridiculous.
Finally was the fact that corpses were, for the time-being, useless to him. Expendable assets, on the other hand…
Sauron took a deep breath and searched his perfectly organized heart, moving aside the filing cabinets full of grievances and luminous plinths crowned with aspirations until he finally found the flimsy cardboard box under a desk. He reached in and plucked out that particular memory, the feeling of jaws around his neck, the helplessness, the looming dread of failure, and squeezed it.
ShutupshutupshutupshutupshutupSHUTUP
He squeezed it until it stopped moving, shook it spitefully, and threw it back into the box.
"Follow my lead," he whispered to Spike, projecting calm, strength, and above all confidence, before stepping into the torchlight and allowing the Diamond Dogs to notice him.
"Good afternoon! How would you fine folks like to make some serious money?"
(A/N): A lot has happened since I last updated- I've changed jobs, I've gotten married, I started a colony of cherry shrimp. I'm planning on posting shorter form content (1-2k words) to hopefully make it so I can get more finished chunks out and not just sit on things for months on end.
Thank you to everyone still reading, and Merry Christmas!
Amused Bystander
Herald of 'She who Umu's' Be Brave!
- Location
- Philippines
It lives! What a wonderful Christmas present! The return of pony Sauron in Equestria!
Sauron Train Whisperer is something I didn't know I needed until now. I don't suppose he'll inadvertently create a local version of the AdMech from Warhammer 40k?😁
And it seems he's going to get his first true minions here with the Diamond Dogs.
Sauron Train Whisperer is something I didn't know I needed until now. I don't suppose he'll inadvertently create a local version of the AdMech from Warhammer 40k?😁
And it seems he's going to get his first true minions here with the Diamond Dogs.
- Location
- Lake Wobegon
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
You thought he was enchanted by the machinery? Just wait til they let him at the timetables.
"Sauron… has returned."
Man… can't believe this has updated. Hyped.
Man… can't believe this has updated. Hyped.
HalfTangible
Only half sane (it's less cringe)
- Location
- Valkyrie, Primus
I know, right? Been gone for years at this point.
Great to see it's back tho.
I think it this first Almea / anything crossover I've seen. EDIT: Em, probably not the same Almea.
Last edited: