Repercussions (MLP)
- Thread starter Hiver
- Start date
That would be a sucker bet... this IS Hiver we are talking about... and since she isn't a formerly evil Mare, Page will have absolutely no interest in her.
58
The small stream glittered in the sunlight filtering down from the leaves far above, splashing happily and clearly among the trees. I scanned the forest around us, my ears constantly turning as I listened for any sign of movement as I sniffed the air.
Dee slowly bent down to sniff at the stream before she nodded and stood up to glance back at me, "It smells clean and fresh," she said, "Get something to drink and I'll keep watch."
"You drink, I'm already watching," I said and scanned the forest, trying to look in all directions at once.
"I'm not drinking first when there is a thirsty stallion with me," Dee said and stepped back from the water, "Drink."
I shifted my wings and glanced at her, "That's a bit old fashioned of you."
"It's how I was raised, so sue me," Dee said, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of 'those' kinds of mares, but I do have some manners."
Whatever, not like we actually had time to argue about it so I moved up and slowly leaned in to sniff at the water.
She was right, it did smell clean so I chanced a small mouthful. The taste of clean and cool water reminded me of exactly how thirsty I really was.
I quickly drank my fill before I shifted slightly to dip my horn into it for a moment. The cold felt nice for about two seconds but then the burning pain returned and I pulled back. Not like I couldn't risk more than a moment anyway so I quickly stepped back and looked around, "Your turn."
Dee nodded and moved to lean in and drink as I stood guard.
She finally stood back up and stretched her wings for a moment as she lifted her head, "We should see if we can find something to eat," she said and turned to me.
I nodded, "I saw some fruit back there, but they were up in a tree."
Dee nodded and then unbuttoned her shirt, quickly wiggling out of it before she turned it around and with a pair of knots she turned it into a satchel and tossed it over her neck to carry before she smiled at me, "You throw them down, I gather them. Drop them off by the temple and then gather some dry firewood?"
"Sounds like a plan."
XXXXXXXXX
I moved slowly towards the base of the temple, my wings around a bunch of fairly dry wood holding them on my body at each side. Dee was carrying the same and had also hung the 'satchel' around my neck and along my side when she loaded both of us.
Why waste half a trip after all.
I paused at the bottom of the stairs, looking up towards the temple, frowning slightly up at the structure.
"What's wrong?" Dee asked as she moved up next to me.
"I'm not sure," I admitted, "It's… I don't know. This place is so ancient. Do we have the right to climb it like this? What if we damage it?"
"It's been here for longer than Princess Celestia, I think it'll survive us too," Dee said and then frowned in thought, "...Well, me at least. You're an alicorn after all."
I sniffed the air and flicked my ears, "...It still feels strange."
"Strange as in dangerous?" she asked, "Do you feel something? Because the alternative is risking setting up camp in the open and I really don't want to without a reason."
She had a good point there.
"No," I admitted, "Just a bit hesitant against possibly harming something this ancient I think."
"Normally I would be right there with you," Dee admitted and flicked her ears, "But this is a kind of special situation."
I nodded and put my hoof on the first step of the temple and started up them, careful to test each step to make sure it was solid, I didn't want to trip while carrying all of this stuff.
Dee followed me up the stairs. When we finally reached the top and the dark doorway into what seemed to be a monolithically constructed building taking up most of the top of the temple.
I paused and peered into the darkness, Wishing that I could risk lighting my horn.
Dee moved up next to me and then moved to drop her collected wood to the side, "I'll give it a look."
"I'm the one with good night vision," I told her and dropped my wood as well, shrugging the 'satchel' off and put it down, "I'll check it out."
Dee shifted her wings before she sighed and nodded, "...Okay. But be careful, there might be traps."
"You said there wouldn't be."
"I might be wrong! I'm not willing to risk losing a leg on a 'I'm pretty sure'!"
...Good point there, I really rather be safe rather than sorry and get a spear thucked at me by some ancient mechanism.
I closed my eyes for a long moment, letting them adjust a bit to the darkness before I opened them and stepped in through the doorway, carefully listening and testing each step for moving stone pressure plates.
The inside of the structure wasn't very big. Maybe four meters in each direction, the middle made up by a large stone table.
No, not a table, a stone altar. A stone altar with small channels cut into the surface. I followed them with my eyes and stepped to the side, the channels also being on the floor and heading towards the door.
So if you poured something on the table, it would drip into the channels and then run outside down the stairs.
I glanced at the altar again. That design was for one thing and one thing only.
Ponies had died here. Possibly a lot of ponies.
I took a slow breath and moved forward to look behind the altar. It was just empty, just more floor and wall.
"Looks clear, I think we're good," I said, glancing back towards Dee as I sat down and rubbed my head just next to my horn, "Do we have enough wood?"
She nodded, "We should, but we should gather some more just in case. We won't need a big fire, just something outside the opening for some warmth and to keep the predators at bay."
"Let's err a bit on the side of caution there," I agreed.
Dee slowly bent down to sniff at the stream before she nodded and stood up to glance back at me, "It smells clean and fresh," she said, "Get something to drink and I'll keep watch."
"You drink, I'm already watching," I said and scanned the forest, trying to look in all directions at once.
"I'm not drinking first when there is a thirsty stallion with me," Dee said and stepped back from the water, "Drink."
I shifted my wings and glanced at her, "That's a bit old fashioned of you."
"It's how I was raised, so sue me," Dee said, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of 'those' kinds of mares, but I do have some manners."
Whatever, not like we actually had time to argue about it so I moved up and slowly leaned in to sniff at the water.
She was right, it did smell clean so I chanced a small mouthful. The taste of clean and cool water reminded me of exactly how thirsty I really was.
I quickly drank my fill before I shifted slightly to dip my horn into it for a moment. The cold felt nice for about two seconds but then the burning pain returned and I pulled back. Not like I couldn't risk more than a moment anyway so I quickly stepped back and looked around, "Your turn."
Dee nodded and moved to lean in and drink as I stood guard.
She finally stood back up and stretched her wings for a moment as she lifted her head, "We should see if we can find something to eat," she said and turned to me.
I nodded, "I saw some fruit back there, but they were up in a tree."
Dee nodded and then unbuttoned her shirt, quickly wiggling out of it before she turned it around and with a pair of knots she turned it into a satchel and tossed it over her neck to carry before she smiled at me, "You throw them down, I gather them. Drop them off by the temple and then gather some dry firewood?"
"Sounds like a plan."
XXXXXXXXX
I moved slowly towards the base of the temple, my wings around a bunch of fairly dry wood holding them on my body at each side. Dee was carrying the same and had also hung the 'satchel' around my neck and along my side when she loaded both of us.
Why waste half a trip after all.
I paused at the bottom of the stairs, looking up towards the temple, frowning slightly up at the structure.
"What's wrong?" Dee asked as she moved up next to me.
"I'm not sure," I admitted, "It's… I don't know. This place is so ancient. Do we have the right to climb it like this? What if we damage it?"
"It's been here for longer than Princess Celestia, I think it'll survive us too," Dee said and then frowned in thought, "...Well, me at least. You're an alicorn after all."
I sniffed the air and flicked my ears, "...It still feels strange."
"Strange as in dangerous?" she asked, "Do you feel something? Because the alternative is risking setting up camp in the open and I really don't want to without a reason."
She had a good point there.
"No," I admitted, "Just a bit hesitant against possibly harming something this ancient I think."
"Normally I would be right there with you," Dee admitted and flicked her ears, "But this is a kind of special situation."
I nodded and put my hoof on the first step of the temple and started up them, careful to test each step to make sure it was solid, I didn't want to trip while carrying all of this stuff.
Dee followed me up the stairs. When we finally reached the top and the dark doorway into what seemed to be a monolithically constructed building taking up most of the top of the temple.
I paused and peered into the darkness, Wishing that I could risk lighting my horn.
Dee moved up next to me and then moved to drop her collected wood to the side, "I'll give it a look."
"I'm the one with good night vision," I told her and dropped my wood as well, shrugging the 'satchel' off and put it down, "I'll check it out."
Dee shifted her wings before she sighed and nodded, "...Okay. But be careful, there might be traps."
"You said there wouldn't be."
"I might be wrong! I'm not willing to risk losing a leg on a 'I'm pretty sure'!"
...Good point there, I really rather be safe rather than sorry and get a spear thucked at me by some ancient mechanism.
I closed my eyes for a long moment, letting them adjust a bit to the darkness before I opened them and stepped in through the doorway, carefully listening and testing each step for moving stone pressure plates.
The inside of the structure wasn't very big. Maybe four meters in each direction, the middle made up by a large stone table.
No, not a table, a stone altar. A stone altar with small channels cut into the surface. I followed them with my eyes and stepped to the side, the channels also being on the floor and heading towards the door.
So if you poured something on the table, it would drip into the channels and then run outside down the stairs.
I glanced at the altar again. That design was for one thing and one thing only.
Ponies had died here. Possibly a lot of ponies.
I took a slow breath and moved forward to look behind the altar. It was just empty, just more floor and wall.
"Looks clear, I think we're good," I said, glancing back towards Dee as I sat down and rubbed my head just next to my horn, "Do we have enough wood?"
She nodded, "We should, but we should gather some more just in case. We won't need a big fire, just something outside the opening for some warmth and to keep the predators at bay."
"Let's err a bit on the side of caution there," I agreed.
- Location
- Omniverse #1345
There have been a number of times the thing we assumed was a religious thing of some kind turned out to be entirely practical in nature, and probably more we simply haven't figured the use out for yet.
Or the design isn't a design and what is being noticed is entirely incidental. (Celtic villages had an odd divot near the door no one could explain till they tried setting up a facsimile of a village and the chickens worn a divot there.)
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59
The moon was rising in the distance and a small fire was happily crackling before the doorway of the stone structure.
I used my fang to pierce the thick hide of the red fruit before putting it between my hooves to pull it fully open to reveal the sweet tasting insides and passing it over to Dee, "Here."
"Thanks," she said and discarded her already empty one to the side, pulling the new one close as I opened a new one for myself as well.
Not sure what they were, but neither of us had seemed to have a bad reaction to them after we tried them a couple of hours ago, so we figured they were safe enough to eat. They tasted sweet and a bit like sugary grapes.
"How's your horn feeling?" Dee asked and raised her head from her fruit, ears flicking towards the forest at the sound of a howl far in the distance.
"Aches badly," I admitted and glanced up at it, "I don't think there is anything permanently broken, but it doesn't feel better than this morning either. I think my magic is out of commission until I get somepony to look at it."
Or at least I really, really, really hope so because if the pain is permanent, I'm going looking for an Ursa to break it off.
Dee nodded and glanced up against the moon, "Think you can find everypony?"
"As long as they are asleep," I reassured her, "And Midnight knows that and she'll know I'll try to make contact. If she's in a place where she safely can, she'll be asleep. Speaking of which," I said and pushed my fruit away, "I think it may be late enough to give it a try."
Dee nodded, "I take the first guard," she said and shifted a bit to look out towards the forest below.
"I'll tell you when I know anything," I said and scooted a bit further from the fire, doing my best to get comfortable on the cool stone and putting my head down on my hooves.
"Here," Dee said and her shirt slid over in a bundle to me.
"...Thanks," I admitted and bundled it up, putting my head down on the soft fabric. I may have some pride, but there are limits to what I might complain about.
I closed my eyes and tried my best to relax, feeling the slight wind from the doorway bringing along the warmth from the fire, the scent of smoke and jungle. The cool stone beneath me.
I did my best to ignore the sacrificial altar a meter and a half from my left, but it still took awhile for me to finally drift off to sleep but in the end I found myself in the dream realm once more.
Shifting the dreams around, I found that Luna was awake still, likely organizing our rescue, especially as Celestia and Twilight were all awake too. Sunset too.
But Midnight was asleep.
I quickly rearranged the dream portals by physical position from me. Some were alone, but most were gathered in small groups of two or three, hopefully with some still awake and keeping watch.
Midnight was with the biggest group some fifteen kilometers almost directly north of our position. Fifteen kilometers!?
Seriously!? Sure, we walked all day, but we hardly moved very fast and couldn't have gone that far.
She teleported us over a dozen kilometers!?
Damn, Midnight. I could do maybe a hundred meters and that's if it was open air and I had time to focus on it. I so have the wrong cutiemark. Can I switch for hers?
I stepped up to her dream portal and touched my horn to it, walking through into a nightmare of running through a dark jungle.
I didn't bother with anything fancy, I just tapped my hoof and canceled it, replacing it with a bright forest clearing.
Midnight skidded to a halt and she looked at me in surprise before she relaxed, "Thank Celestia! You're alright!"
I nodded, "I'm fine," I said and moved up to give her a quick hug, "What happened?"
Midnight shook her head and hugged back tightly for a long moment before she sat down and sighed, "When the… thing.."
"I call it a rexosaurus."
She shook her head, "When the rexosaurus resisted my spell and when you collapsed," she explained, "I...I just needed to get everypony out, nothing we had could touch it. So I… I panicked and just teleported everypony away."
I nodded, "I figured something like that," I admitted, "You're at the campsite now?"
Midnight nodded, "I teleported back this morning and checked. It's gone, but I couldn't find everypony. Are they…"
"I'm detecting just over a hundred asleep," I said gently, "I don't know about the rest. Moon Dancer? Amber?"
"Moon Dancer was still awake when I went to sleep," Midnight explained, "Tempest is fine too."
"I know," I agreed, not mentioning I noticed that Tempest's position had been very close to Midnight, "And Amber? Swift?"
Midnight shook her head, "I couldn't find her to teleport out but I found her at the camp when we returned. She's been buzzing from worry, she'll be so glad to know you're alright. I don't know about Swift, I haven't seen him. You're alone?"
I stretched my wings and sighed, "I'm with one of the expedition pegasi, Dee Dee. We have taken cover for the night at some temple ruins we found almost fifteen kilometers south of you. We'll be able to fly back to camp tomorrow now when we know where it is relative to us."
She nodded and her ears drooped, "A hundred ponies… almost thirty ponies unaccounted for…"
I hugged her again, "I'm sure they are okay," I told her.
Midnight shook her head, "In this jungle? I...I…" she started before she sighed, "No, Page. I bucked up and this time it's not just me and Spike. I may have gotten ponies killed with that spell."
"You did your best, nopony can ever ask more. And if anypony bucked up, it's me. I wanted this expedition, I pushed for it."
"But I organized it, I put it together," Midnight said, shaking her head as she looked at me, "And I bucked up big with my spell. If I had put everypony together instead of spreading out, everypony would still be safe!"
"Midnight," I said and shook my head, "What you did was amazing all on its own. You teleported almost a hundred and forty ponies out of there in seconds with no warning. Nopony could have possibly done better."
"I don't seem to do anything but buck up lately," Midnight said and shook her head, "...I'm glad you're safe. Can you tell the others how they get back?"
"Of course," I said, "But you can't blame yourself for anything that's happened, it's not your fa-"
Midnight shook her head and turned away, the dream dissolving.
I woke up with a jerk, blinking in the darkness and the flickering light of the small fire. What the… I didn't know Midnight knew enough dream magic to force a wakeup like that!? I mean, I could have stopped it easily, but I didn't expect her to even try!
Dee looked over to me, "Did you find them?"
"Yeah," I said and took a deep breath, "I'll contact the other groups and direct them how to get towards the basecamp," I told her, "How long was I out?"
"Maybe an hour. It's been quiet so far. You should go back to sleep."
I nodded in agreement and put my head back down again, closing my eyes. Let's see how many I can find, one from each group should be enough.
I used my fang to pierce the thick hide of the red fruit before putting it between my hooves to pull it fully open to reveal the sweet tasting insides and passing it over to Dee, "Here."
"Thanks," she said and discarded her already empty one to the side, pulling the new one close as I opened a new one for myself as well.
Not sure what they were, but neither of us had seemed to have a bad reaction to them after we tried them a couple of hours ago, so we figured they were safe enough to eat. They tasted sweet and a bit like sugary grapes.
"How's your horn feeling?" Dee asked and raised her head from her fruit, ears flicking towards the forest at the sound of a howl far in the distance.
"Aches badly," I admitted and glanced up at it, "I don't think there is anything permanently broken, but it doesn't feel better than this morning either. I think my magic is out of commission until I get somepony to look at it."
Or at least I really, really, really hope so because if the pain is permanent, I'm going looking for an Ursa to break it off.
Dee nodded and glanced up against the moon, "Think you can find everypony?"
"As long as they are asleep," I reassured her, "And Midnight knows that and she'll know I'll try to make contact. If she's in a place where she safely can, she'll be asleep. Speaking of which," I said and pushed my fruit away, "I think it may be late enough to give it a try."
Dee nodded, "I take the first guard," she said and shifted a bit to look out towards the forest below.
"I'll tell you when I know anything," I said and scooted a bit further from the fire, doing my best to get comfortable on the cool stone and putting my head down on my hooves.
"Here," Dee said and her shirt slid over in a bundle to me.
"...Thanks," I admitted and bundled it up, putting my head down on the soft fabric. I may have some pride, but there are limits to what I might complain about.
I closed my eyes and tried my best to relax, feeling the slight wind from the doorway bringing along the warmth from the fire, the scent of smoke and jungle. The cool stone beneath me.
I did my best to ignore the sacrificial altar a meter and a half from my left, but it still took awhile for me to finally drift off to sleep but in the end I found myself in the dream realm once more.
Shifting the dreams around, I found that Luna was awake still, likely organizing our rescue, especially as Celestia and Twilight were all awake too. Sunset too.
But Midnight was asleep.
I quickly rearranged the dream portals by physical position from me. Some were alone, but most were gathered in small groups of two or three, hopefully with some still awake and keeping watch.
Midnight was with the biggest group some fifteen kilometers almost directly north of our position. Fifteen kilometers!?
Seriously!? Sure, we walked all day, but we hardly moved very fast and couldn't have gone that far.
She teleported us over a dozen kilometers!?
Damn, Midnight. I could do maybe a hundred meters and that's if it was open air and I had time to focus on it. I so have the wrong cutiemark. Can I switch for hers?
I stepped up to her dream portal and touched my horn to it, walking through into a nightmare of running through a dark jungle.
I didn't bother with anything fancy, I just tapped my hoof and canceled it, replacing it with a bright forest clearing.
Midnight skidded to a halt and she looked at me in surprise before she relaxed, "Thank Celestia! You're alright!"
I nodded, "I'm fine," I said and moved up to give her a quick hug, "What happened?"
Midnight shook her head and hugged back tightly for a long moment before she sat down and sighed, "When the… thing.."
"I call it a rexosaurus."
She shook her head, "When the rexosaurus resisted my spell and when you collapsed," she explained, "I...I just needed to get everypony out, nothing we had could touch it. So I… I panicked and just teleported everypony away."
I nodded, "I figured something like that," I admitted, "You're at the campsite now?"
Midnight nodded, "I teleported back this morning and checked. It's gone, but I couldn't find everypony. Are they…"
"I'm detecting just over a hundred asleep," I said gently, "I don't know about the rest. Moon Dancer? Amber?"
"Moon Dancer was still awake when I went to sleep," Midnight explained, "Tempest is fine too."
"I know," I agreed, not mentioning I noticed that Tempest's position had been very close to Midnight, "And Amber? Swift?"
Midnight shook her head, "I couldn't find her to teleport out but I found her at the camp when we returned. She's been buzzing from worry, she'll be so glad to know you're alright. I don't know about Swift, I haven't seen him. You're alone?"
I stretched my wings and sighed, "I'm with one of the expedition pegasi, Dee Dee. We have taken cover for the night at some temple ruins we found almost fifteen kilometers south of you. We'll be able to fly back to camp tomorrow now when we know where it is relative to us."
She nodded and her ears drooped, "A hundred ponies… almost thirty ponies unaccounted for…"
I hugged her again, "I'm sure they are okay," I told her.
Midnight shook her head, "In this jungle? I...I…" she started before she sighed, "No, Page. I bucked up and this time it's not just me and Spike. I may have gotten ponies killed with that spell."
"You did your best, nopony can ever ask more. And if anypony bucked up, it's me. I wanted this expedition, I pushed for it."
"But I organized it, I put it together," Midnight said, shaking her head as she looked at me, "And I bucked up big with my spell. If I had put everypony together instead of spreading out, everypony would still be safe!"
"Midnight," I said and shook my head, "What you did was amazing all on its own. You teleported almost a hundred and forty ponies out of there in seconds with no warning. Nopony could have possibly done better."
"I don't seem to do anything but buck up lately," Midnight said and shook her head, "...I'm glad you're safe. Can you tell the others how they get back?"
"Of course," I said, "But you can't blame yourself for anything that's happened, it's not your fa-"
Midnight shook her head and turned away, the dream dissolving.
I woke up with a jerk, blinking in the darkness and the flickering light of the small fire. What the… I didn't know Midnight knew enough dream magic to force a wakeup like that!? I mean, I could have stopped it easily, but I didn't expect her to even try!
Dee looked over to me, "Did you find them?"
"Yeah," I said and took a deep breath, "I'll contact the other groups and direct them how to get towards the basecamp," I told her, "How long was I out?"
"Maybe an hour. It's been quiet so far. You should go back to sleep."
I nodded in agreement and put my head back down again, closing my eyes. Let's see how many I can find, one from each group should be enough.
60
I opened my eyes and raised my head, blinking as I looked around, my ears twitching. Dee was where I spotted her last by the fire. The pile of wood next to her was a bit smaller than before.
Stretching my wings and back, I got onto my hooves and moved up next to her and she turned to look at me, "Welcome back," she said with a small smile, "Did you find everypony?"
I sank to lay down, pulling one of the remaining fruits over to me as I sighed and shook my head, "No. If my count is right, I still have seventeen ponies unaccounted for. I talked with one of each group and told them which direction to go to get back to camp, but… some are still missing."
Like Swift.
He was one of my oldest friends and if I had gotten him killed, I wasn't sure what I'd do. But he was a member of the royal guard and a skilled unicorn. He likely just wasn't asleep.
I hope.
Oh, Luna. What would say to Minuette if something happened to him.
Dee nodded and sighed softly, "I hope they're okay."
"Me too," I said and glanced up to Luna's moon, "I talked to Luna too. They are still getting one of the airships loaded for a rescue operation. Apparently she had talked to Midnight and the airship looks like it might be saved but they need materials and… well, it'll only delay things half a day. We should survive that long on our own."
"How long do they think it'll take?" Dee asked and shifted her wings with a frown.
"It's going to be slower than the 'Mistake'," I said and then shook my head with a small wry smile, "And wasn't that a fitting name. Either way, they think at least a week and a half, assuming they don't run into any more feral weather on the way."
She nodded, "I figured out where we are too. I'll be able to find my way back to the temple later and how to get to the old camp from here. We can fly as soon as the sun rises."
"Go get some rest, I'll wake you at sunrise."
Dee nodded and got up, stretching before retreating back to sink down onto the patch of floor I had vacated, bundling her shirt up again and resting her head on it.
I looked at her for a second before I turned my eyes back towards the dark forest below the temple. I scooted a bit further from the fire to improve my nightvision a little before using my hooves to pull the fruit into two halves and leaning down to dig in. But I kept my eyes scanning, my ears turning.
I wonder… was this how ancient ponies lived?
Huddled in a shelter, a fire keeping the predators away? Maybe unicorns had it a little easier, but back then… was there even any real spells? Or just lifting?
Was there even shelters even half as good as this one?
Finishing the other side of the fruit, I pushed the shell into the small fire before frowning at a long somewhat straight branch and a sharp looking rock. Dee had been working on a spear.
Or at least a sharpened stick.
I pulled them over to me and frowned at it. How in the world do I do this without magic? Maybe if I…
I carefully took the sharp rock between my teeth and shifted it around before I held the sharpish stick between my hooves and leaned down to work it. It was slow, awkward and I dropped the rock a gazillion times but I did make progress.
Not having magic to pick stuff up with sucks.
Dee thought that this place was built by somepony other than unicorns and I was completely ready to lean on her expertise in such things. It was a million times more impressive building this place without magic.
Especially in this place filled with predators.
I worked the stone against the wood again. To build an actual civilization out here, to build a temple like that, even if it seems to be set up for pony sacrifice was all kinds of impr-
I froze at a sudden slight movement at the edge of the forest at the base of the temple. I stayed as still as I could, only my ears moving as I peered down into the darkness.
There was movement down there, I could have sworn there was something down th-
There. Something moved again.
A shape slowly moved out from beneath the trees and it lifted it's head, sniffing the air. It wasn't a rexosaurus, it was a lot smaller, maybe twice the size of a pony. It had an elongated body with a long tail and bipedal gait, it's arms ending with what looked like hoof sized claws.
It looked like somepony had taken a utahraptor and added more claws, like it even needed them.
That thing was a pony eater.
"Dee," I hissed, "Dee, wake up."
No movement from behind me.
I very slowly put the rock down from my mouth and then slid it across the stones with my hoof over to bump against her. The sound of stone against stone felt like it filled the entire world, but the thing down there didn't react.
It just kept sniffing the air.
"What is it?" Dee hissed from behind me.
"Predator," I hissed back but didn't dare move or it might spot me.
I felt the spear move and I lifted myself a bit to allow her to slowly pull it out from beneath me. As much as I disliked giving up our only weapon, she was used to using things without magic, I wasn't.
The thing sniffed the ground and then started to slowly make its way up the stairs.
Oh, buck, it wasn't just hunting in general.
It was tracking us.
Stretching my wings and back, I got onto my hooves and moved up next to her and she turned to look at me, "Welcome back," she said with a small smile, "Did you find everypony?"
I sank to lay down, pulling one of the remaining fruits over to me as I sighed and shook my head, "No. If my count is right, I still have seventeen ponies unaccounted for. I talked with one of each group and told them which direction to go to get back to camp, but… some are still missing."
Like Swift.
He was one of my oldest friends and if I had gotten him killed, I wasn't sure what I'd do. But he was a member of the royal guard and a skilled unicorn. He likely just wasn't asleep.
I hope.
Oh, Luna. What would say to Minuette if something happened to him.
Dee nodded and sighed softly, "I hope they're okay."
"Me too," I said and glanced up to Luna's moon, "I talked to Luna too. They are still getting one of the airships loaded for a rescue operation. Apparently she had talked to Midnight and the airship looks like it might be saved but they need materials and… well, it'll only delay things half a day. We should survive that long on our own."
"How long do they think it'll take?" Dee asked and shifted her wings with a frown.
"It's going to be slower than the 'Mistake'," I said and then shook my head with a small wry smile, "And wasn't that a fitting name. Either way, they think at least a week and a half, assuming they don't run into any more feral weather on the way."
She nodded, "I figured out where we are too. I'll be able to find my way back to the temple later and how to get to the old camp from here. We can fly as soon as the sun rises."
"Go get some rest, I'll wake you at sunrise."
Dee nodded and got up, stretching before retreating back to sink down onto the patch of floor I had vacated, bundling her shirt up again and resting her head on it.
I looked at her for a second before I turned my eyes back towards the dark forest below the temple. I scooted a bit further from the fire to improve my nightvision a little before using my hooves to pull the fruit into two halves and leaning down to dig in. But I kept my eyes scanning, my ears turning.
I wonder… was this how ancient ponies lived?
Huddled in a shelter, a fire keeping the predators away? Maybe unicorns had it a little easier, but back then… was there even any real spells? Or just lifting?
Was there even shelters even half as good as this one?
Finishing the other side of the fruit, I pushed the shell into the small fire before frowning at a long somewhat straight branch and a sharp looking rock. Dee had been working on a spear.
Or at least a sharpened stick.
I pulled them over to me and frowned at it. How in the world do I do this without magic? Maybe if I…
I carefully took the sharp rock between my teeth and shifted it around before I held the sharpish stick between my hooves and leaned down to work it. It was slow, awkward and I dropped the rock a gazillion times but I did make progress.
Not having magic to pick stuff up with sucks.
Dee thought that this place was built by somepony other than unicorns and I was completely ready to lean on her expertise in such things. It was a million times more impressive building this place without magic.
Especially in this place filled with predators.
I worked the stone against the wood again. To build an actual civilization out here, to build a temple like that, even if it seems to be set up for pony sacrifice was all kinds of impr-
I froze at a sudden slight movement at the edge of the forest at the base of the temple. I stayed as still as I could, only my ears moving as I peered down into the darkness.
There was movement down there, I could have sworn there was something down th-
There. Something moved again.
A shape slowly moved out from beneath the trees and it lifted it's head, sniffing the air. It wasn't a rexosaurus, it was a lot smaller, maybe twice the size of a pony. It had an elongated body with a long tail and bipedal gait, it's arms ending with what looked like hoof sized claws.
It looked like somepony had taken a utahraptor and added more claws, like it even needed them.
That thing was a pony eater.
"Dee," I hissed, "Dee, wake up."
No movement from behind me.
I very slowly put the rock down from my mouth and then slid it across the stones with my hoof over to bump against her. The sound of stone against stone felt like it filled the entire world, but the thing down there didn't react.
It just kept sniffing the air.
"What is it?" Dee hissed from behind me.
"Predator," I hissed back but didn't dare move or it might spot me.
I felt the spear move and I lifted myself a bit to allow her to slowly pull it out from beneath me. As much as I disliked giving up our only weapon, she was used to using things without magic, I wasn't.
The thing sniffed the ground and then started to slowly make its way up the stairs.
Oh, buck, it wasn't just hunting in general.
It was tracking us.
tehcrash
Apprentice Supervillain
- Location
- Seattle-ish
Hestia&theCourt
Turns out we're plural too.
- Location
- In transition
- Pronouns
- She/Her
If this thing is basically a utahraptor, you'll want to fly very high. Raptors were pretty good jumpers IIRC, and who knows what kind of magic this thing might have to enhance that jumping ability.
61
I slowly scooted backwards, trying to keep quiet and as low as possible so it didn't spot me as I slowly backed into the cover of the temple structure, shifting to the right side of the opening.
Dee was against the wall on the other side of the opening, holding the spear closely.
"We should fly away," I hissed to her, "We can make it to the camp from here. We'd have to fly in the dark so no landing until we get there, but we can do it."
She hesitated and then nodded, "How close is it?" she hissed quietly.
I chanced a glance around the corner before I froze. It was already up the stairs and barely three pony lengths away. It seemed hesitant with the fire but not afraid.
I slowly pulled back and looked across the opening at Dee with wide eyes, quickly shaking my head. That was way closer than I thought it could had gotten that quickly. If it was that fast, it could catch one of us if we tried to fly now!
I tried my best to keep quiet and to keep my breathing under control. Maybe the fire would confuse it's scent and if it didn't hear or see us, it'd go away.
Dee kept stock still across from me as we listened to the sound of claws against the stones outside. It was moving around and I could hear it breathing heavily, sniffing at the air.
We're not here. Go away. Go find somepony else to eat.
My pulse pounded in my ears, seemingly loud enough for it to hear as I did my best to breathe quietly while reading myself to punch the thing in the nose if it tried to enter.
A sound came from outside, claws scraping against stone. It was just outside now… and on our side of the small fire.
A snout poked in through the opening from inside, sniffing the air before it hissed.
Dee yelled and stepped forward, stabbing her spear towards it. I quickly joined in and reared up, punching towards its nose as I let out my best shriek, spreading my wings wide.
The raptoroid took the spear just beneath the neck and shrieked, snapping towards Dee only to get a noseful of hooves from me and it reared back, stepping back and retreating a few steps before it turned back and hissed at us.
I hissed right back, spreading my wings wide and high as I barred my fangs at it before dipping back and picking up a burning branch in my teeth, "Begone!" I commanded it loudly around the branch as I stepped forward.
Dee moved up next to me, jabbing towards it with her spear, "Find something else to eat! We're not food!" she shouted.
The raptoroid didn't seem very impressed, it simply backed another couple of steps back and hissed, slowly pacing back and forth as it watched us.
"Do we have enough room to fly?" I asked and waved my burning branch again, hissing at it.
"Depends on how fast it is!" Dee answered and then yelled and jabbed her spear in it's direction as it seemed to try walking in our direction again.
We couldn't do this all night and sooner or later it'd get smart about it and figure out how to take us.
I needed to risk some magic. Even if I passed out, if I managed to blast the thing first, it'd be worth it.
I swung my branch again and then flicked my ears.
What was that buzzing sou-
A dark buzzing shape hit the raptoroid in the side like a pony sized wrecking ball, knocking it off its feet and off the stairs, sending them both rolling all the way down to the next plateau.
The shape hissed and snarled as she savagely attacked the creature, biting it's neck and throat again and again, her hooves clawing slamming down at it.
"Amber!"
I took to the skies and beat my wings hard, flying down towards them.
The raptoroid seemed to regain a bit of it's composure and twisted to snap towards Amber with it's razor sharp teeth.
That's when I hit it straight in the snout with my rear hooves, kicking out as hard as I could as I pulled up from the dive to add to the momentum.
It felt like I tried to kick a solid brick wall, but the raptoroid tumbled backwards in a spray of teeth and a scream.
I landed hard on my back, suddenly completely lacking in any forward momentum, knocking the air from my lungs just in time to see the predator falling backwards off the side of the temple as my horn protested my actions quite sternly as I struggled to get my breath back.
The next thing I saw was changeling as Amber crouched over me, her wings buzzing as she turned and hissed in the direction where the toothy bastard had fallen down.
"...Thanks, Amber," I managed to choke out as I reached up to pat her side, "You can get off me now."
What I got back in return was a mix of hisses, growls and ancient changeling. Amber was absolutely pissed, worried and afraid.
I stroked her foreleg and then carefully gathered her into a hug, focusing on my love for Luna and Sunset, as well as my friendship for her specifically.
I glanced over her shoulder at Dee as she looked down at us, motioning with a hoof towards the edge where the predator had fallen down.
Dee nodded and took to the sky, flying a circle and before she landed at the plateau next to use she gave me a nod, "It's gone."
I stroked Ambers back gently, "Did you fly the entire way here?" I asked her softly. Lings were nowhere as much distance flyers as ponies. Fifteen kilometers was a serious distance for a changeling, especially if she did it in a single leg.
Amber managed a small nod and pressed closer and I could feel her trembling against me.
I kept petting her, "I'm fine," I told her quietly, "You're fine and I'm fine. But we need to get up, okay? And get inside behind the fire if we want to be sure to stay like that. Do you think you can get up for me, Amber?"
She froze for a second before she nodded, "Y-yes sir," and then she slowly climbed to her hooves.
But she never moved away from my side, staying close to me as if stuck with glue.
Dee was against the wall on the other side of the opening, holding the spear closely.
"We should fly away," I hissed to her, "We can make it to the camp from here. We'd have to fly in the dark so no landing until we get there, but we can do it."
She hesitated and then nodded, "How close is it?" she hissed quietly.
I chanced a glance around the corner before I froze. It was already up the stairs and barely three pony lengths away. It seemed hesitant with the fire but not afraid.
I slowly pulled back and looked across the opening at Dee with wide eyes, quickly shaking my head. That was way closer than I thought it could had gotten that quickly. If it was that fast, it could catch one of us if we tried to fly now!
I tried my best to keep quiet and to keep my breathing under control. Maybe the fire would confuse it's scent and if it didn't hear or see us, it'd go away.
Dee kept stock still across from me as we listened to the sound of claws against the stones outside. It was moving around and I could hear it breathing heavily, sniffing at the air.
We're not here. Go away. Go find somepony else to eat.
My pulse pounded in my ears, seemingly loud enough for it to hear as I did my best to breathe quietly while reading myself to punch the thing in the nose if it tried to enter.
A sound came from outside, claws scraping against stone. It was just outside now… and on our side of the small fire.
A snout poked in through the opening from inside, sniffing the air before it hissed.
Dee yelled and stepped forward, stabbing her spear towards it. I quickly joined in and reared up, punching towards its nose as I let out my best shriek, spreading my wings wide.
The raptoroid took the spear just beneath the neck and shrieked, snapping towards Dee only to get a noseful of hooves from me and it reared back, stepping back and retreating a few steps before it turned back and hissed at us.
I hissed right back, spreading my wings wide and high as I barred my fangs at it before dipping back and picking up a burning branch in my teeth, "Begone!" I commanded it loudly around the branch as I stepped forward.
Dee moved up next to me, jabbing towards it with her spear, "Find something else to eat! We're not food!" she shouted.
The raptoroid didn't seem very impressed, it simply backed another couple of steps back and hissed, slowly pacing back and forth as it watched us.
"Do we have enough room to fly?" I asked and waved my burning branch again, hissing at it.
"Depends on how fast it is!" Dee answered and then yelled and jabbed her spear in it's direction as it seemed to try walking in our direction again.
We couldn't do this all night and sooner or later it'd get smart about it and figure out how to take us.
I needed to risk some magic. Even if I passed out, if I managed to blast the thing first, it'd be worth it.
I swung my branch again and then flicked my ears.
What was that buzzing sou-
A dark buzzing shape hit the raptoroid in the side like a pony sized wrecking ball, knocking it off its feet and off the stairs, sending them both rolling all the way down to the next plateau.
The shape hissed and snarled as she savagely attacked the creature, biting it's neck and throat again and again, her hooves clawing slamming down at it.
"Amber!"
I took to the skies and beat my wings hard, flying down towards them.
The raptoroid seemed to regain a bit of it's composure and twisted to snap towards Amber with it's razor sharp teeth.
That's when I hit it straight in the snout with my rear hooves, kicking out as hard as I could as I pulled up from the dive to add to the momentum.
It felt like I tried to kick a solid brick wall, but the raptoroid tumbled backwards in a spray of teeth and a scream.
I landed hard on my back, suddenly completely lacking in any forward momentum, knocking the air from my lungs just in time to see the predator falling backwards off the side of the temple as my horn protested my actions quite sternly as I struggled to get my breath back.
The next thing I saw was changeling as Amber crouched over me, her wings buzzing as she turned and hissed in the direction where the toothy bastard had fallen down.
"...Thanks, Amber," I managed to choke out as I reached up to pat her side, "You can get off me now."
What I got back in return was a mix of hisses, growls and ancient changeling. Amber was absolutely pissed, worried and afraid.
I stroked her foreleg and then carefully gathered her into a hug, focusing on my love for Luna and Sunset, as well as my friendship for her specifically.
I glanced over her shoulder at Dee as she looked down at us, motioning with a hoof towards the edge where the predator had fallen down.
Dee nodded and took to the sky, flying a circle and before she landed at the plateau next to use she gave me a nod, "It's gone."
I stroked Ambers back gently, "Did you fly the entire way here?" I asked her softly. Lings were nowhere as much distance flyers as ponies. Fifteen kilometers was a serious distance for a changeling, especially if she did it in a single leg.
Amber managed a small nod and pressed closer and I could feel her trembling against me.
I kept petting her, "I'm fine," I told her quietly, "You're fine and I'm fine. But we need to get up, okay? And get inside behind the fire if we want to be sure to stay like that. Do you think you can get up for me, Amber?"
She froze for a second before she nodded, "Y-yes sir," and then she slowly climbed to her hooves.
But she never moved away from my side, staying close to me as if stuck with glue.
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62
I glanced back towards Amber to check that she was still keeping up.
We had left the temple as the sun rose into the sky. Amber did a good job keeping up, but changelings just weren't long distance flyers.
I had made sure we stopped twice to let her recover. We weren't in enough of a hurry that another half an hour was going to be a problem.
Having Amber push herself hard enough to fall from the sky would be. The fact that she managed as fast as she did in the first place was absolutely amazing.
But she seemed to be keeping up.
We kept close to the trees, but not too close. None of us wanted to risk anything jumping out of the trees and snatching one of us.
But neither of us especially thought that flying too high was a good idea either just in case there was anything flying that hunted these skies.
So lowish and fast was the ticket.
"There!" Dee yelled and pointed forward, "I can see the camp!"
Finally!
We swept across the camp, looking down at the ponies below and the guards patrolling the perimeter, the breach in the wall had already been repaired but you could still see where the thing had broken through.
Apparently the airship had been it's next object of attention when it couldn't find any ponies to nom down on.
It had a massive rip along the side and the balloon collapsed over the superstructure, almost hiding the ship beneath the sagging, but not completely covering it, the rigidity of the supports keeping it from falling down completely.
I followed Dee, circling once around the camp before I spotted a purple pony with wings below next to a darker purple unicorn and went in for a landing.
I beat my wings hard and my hooves touched the ground with a small groan, my wings burning slightly from the long flight.
I barely managed to set down before Midnight pulled me into a tight hug.
Sighing, I hugged her back for a long moment before I let go, "Glad to see you too," I said with a smile before I cringed and rubbed my forehead next to my horn.
Getting my heartbeat up didn't seem to agitate it thankfully, but it still hurt all the time.
Midnight nodded and then frowned at me, "What's wrong?"
"Think I strained it or something when I tried to cast at the rexosaurus," I sighed, "Hurts."
"Let me have a look," Midnight said and moved closer.
"It's fine," I said and shook my head, "We have more import-"
"Sir!"
I turned my head to look at Amber in surprise and the changeling had an expression on her face that I very much recognized from Skitter.
One that said 'behave or I'll literally tie you down and make you'.
I swallowed and then nodded, "Okay."
Midnight moved up and frowned at my horn, "Hurts when you cast magic?" she asked, touching my forehead with her hoof as I sat down.
"Almost knock me out at even a small spell," I admitted, "feels like getting a glowing red iron rod through my head. That can't be good."
Midnight frowned and touched the tip of my horn and I instantly felt my eyes tear up as I managed to choke out,
"Midnight, Midnight! Off! Off!! Off!!!"
She quickly snatched her hoof away, "Sorry!" she said with a small cringe before her own horn lit up and she ran the light across mine.
Thankfully i couldn't feel anything from it other than the constant pulsing from my own horn protesting the treatment so far.
Midnight finally nodded, "...It's a… well, the layponys term is magic overstrain, but quite a severe one. I have had it before, if a much milder version. The worse it is, the longer it lasts, but I never read about one that lasts more than a month."
"A month!?" I choked out, "It'll hurt like this for a month!?"
She shook her head, "Likely not, the actual pain will likely fade in a few days to a week. But here's the bad news," she said and frowned at me in concern, "...Any magic before it's fully healed and you'll be right back to where you started and have to start over."
No magic for a month.
"No magic for a month," I sighed.
"Or until you have an actual expert look at it and make sure it's safe," Midnight told me seriously, "we have some pain potion in the ships sickbay, it'll help."
"Maybe later," I told her, "I'll live. We have more important things than having me zonked out right now. I was thinking during the flight back here. We should leave this place and move everypony and as much equipment as we can to the temple we found."
Midnight looked at me like I was crazy.
We had left the temple as the sun rose into the sky. Amber did a good job keeping up, but changelings just weren't long distance flyers.
I had made sure we stopped twice to let her recover. We weren't in enough of a hurry that another half an hour was going to be a problem.
Having Amber push herself hard enough to fall from the sky would be. The fact that she managed as fast as she did in the first place was absolutely amazing.
But she seemed to be keeping up.
We kept close to the trees, but not too close. None of us wanted to risk anything jumping out of the trees and snatching one of us.
But neither of us especially thought that flying too high was a good idea either just in case there was anything flying that hunted these skies.
So lowish and fast was the ticket.
"There!" Dee yelled and pointed forward, "I can see the camp!"
Finally!
We swept across the camp, looking down at the ponies below and the guards patrolling the perimeter, the breach in the wall had already been repaired but you could still see where the thing had broken through.
Apparently the airship had been it's next object of attention when it couldn't find any ponies to nom down on.
It had a massive rip along the side and the balloon collapsed over the superstructure, almost hiding the ship beneath the sagging, but not completely covering it, the rigidity of the supports keeping it from falling down completely.
I followed Dee, circling once around the camp before I spotted a purple pony with wings below next to a darker purple unicorn and went in for a landing.
I beat my wings hard and my hooves touched the ground with a small groan, my wings burning slightly from the long flight.
I barely managed to set down before Midnight pulled me into a tight hug.
Sighing, I hugged her back for a long moment before I let go, "Glad to see you too," I said with a smile before I cringed and rubbed my forehead next to my horn.
Getting my heartbeat up didn't seem to agitate it thankfully, but it still hurt all the time.
Midnight nodded and then frowned at me, "What's wrong?"
"Think I strained it or something when I tried to cast at the rexosaurus," I sighed, "Hurts."
"Let me have a look," Midnight said and moved closer.
"It's fine," I said and shook my head, "We have more import-"
"Sir!"
I turned my head to look at Amber in surprise and the changeling had an expression on her face that I very much recognized from Skitter.
One that said 'behave or I'll literally tie you down and make you'.
I swallowed and then nodded, "Okay."
Midnight moved up and frowned at my horn, "Hurts when you cast magic?" she asked, touching my forehead with her hoof as I sat down.
"Almost knock me out at even a small spell," I admitted, "feels like getting a glowing red iron rod through my head. That can't be good."
Midnight frowned and touched the tip of my horn and I instantly felt my eyes tear up as I managed to choke out,
"Midnight, Midnight! Off! Off!! Off!!!"
She quickly snatched her hoof away, "Sorry!" she said with a small cringe before her own horn lit up and she ran the light across mine.
Thankfully i couldn't feel anything from it other than the constant pulsing from my own horn protesting the treatment so far.
Midnight finally nodded, "...It's a… well, the layponys term is magic overstrain, but quite a severe one. I have had it before, if a much milder version. The worse it is, the longer it lasts, but I never read about one that lasts more than a month."
"A month!?" I choked out, "It'll hurt like this for a month!?"
She shook her head, "Likely not, the actual pain will likely fade in a few days to a week. But here's the bad news," she said and frowned at me in concern, "...Any magic before it's fully healed and you'll be right back to where you started and have to start over."
No magic for a month.
"No magic for a month," I sighed.
"Or until you have an actual expert look at it and make sure it's safe," Midnight told me seriously, "we have some pain potion in the ships sickbay, it'll help."
"Maybe later," I told her, "I'll live. We have more important things than having me zonked out right now. I was thinking during the flight back here. We should leave this place and move everypony and as much equipment as we can to the temple we found."
Midnight looked at me like I was crazy.
IvanDead
My bones are made of schadenfreude.
- Location
- Brasil
been it's next -> been its next
I'm sure it says something about Page and the Changelings, that enough exposure to Page causes the same patterns of behavior in the lings. Like, it says enough to make a sociology thesis over it.
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- Location
- Wonderland
I wonder how he missed "don't push this far" when also receiving warmage lessons. Perhaps it's something every growing unicolt is told, that simply slipped under the radar.
Hestia&theCourt
Turns out we're plural too.
- Location
- In transition
- Pronouns
- She/Her
It's also possible that the limit is personalized for each magic user, and they had no reason to believe that an alicorn could overexert themselves that badly.
- Location
- Seattle, Washington
Page has overused his horn before to minor extents, IE in the first story when he screwed up a shield spell it kept him from using magic for the rest of the day. It's just a case of him pushing past pain without acknowledging pain is our body's way of telling us something is wrong/overused
- Location
- Omniverse #1345
And that he did so as part of one of the few scenarios where injuring yourself further is acceptable (and the entire reason we can override our bodies pain response in the first place), because lives were in danger.
- Location
- Seattle, Washington
I mean, if he hadn't pushed himself so hard when cutting the trees, he wouldn't have disabled his magic when he tried to cast the spell against the 2 headed wyvern. He ignored the pain that told him to stop helping with the trees, and as a direct result was unable to use his magic when he truly needed it.
Hestia&theCourt
Turns out we're plural too.
- Location
- In transition
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I see your point, but on the other hand, an argument could be made that pushing himself that hard in order to get shelter and, by doing so, ensure his general safety was a reasonable plan. It might have even been the right decision if the wildlife around here had been less enormous.
63
The rain poured down heavily outside the 'command' tent. It didn't have walls, just the roofing set up and the rain was almost like a solid curtain of water as it flowed down from it.
Captain Jetstream slowly scraped his hood on the ground across the box that had been set up a table for us before he sighed, "As much as I dislike leaving the ship behind, I think Lord Page may have a point, Princess Midnight. This is not a defensible position."
"I have some ideas if that thing comes back," Tempest said, "But I think so too. We should find a better position… but can everypony really fit in the temple?"
I shifted my wings, "I don't think that's much of a problem," I said and then smiled, "I brought an expert!" and motioned towards Dee with my wing.
She flicked her ears and took half a step back before she stepped forward, "I managed to investigate parts of the interior of the main structure without entering too deeply and it seems intact, so assuming we can clear it of any possible traps, it should have room for everypony, especially at the lowest level, if in rather cramped quarters."
"And nothing says we need to be inside it normally. We can set up the tents on the plateaus of the temple," I said, "only to retreat inside in case of an attack. We can also set up the same defenses as we have here around the base of the temple."
Midnight looked uncertain, her wings shifting as she looked around the table, "...What do you think, Moon Dancer?"
Moon Dancer looked hesitant, "I… I think it's dangerous to stay here."
Midnight sighed and then looked to me, "What of the missing ponies?"
I felt my ears droop before I sighed, "Nine ponies are still unaccounted for," I said, "I have been dipping into the dream realm every hour since we got back to camp with Moon Dancers help for a sleep spell. No sign of any of them, but that doesn't mean much. If they sleep in naps or slept during the part of tonight where I was awake I might have missed them."
I really hoped so.
Swift was among the missing ponies.
"We could send out some scouting parties," Moon Dancer suggested, "The odds to find somepony isn't great in this kind of vegetation, but there is still a chance."
Midnight nodded, "...And we could leave a couple of pegasi here if they get back here."
Moon Dancer raised her hoof, "How would we get there? It's fifteen kilometers of jungle between here and there."
That was a good point.
I looked at Midnight, "Could you teleport us?"
She quickly shook her head, "No. Not with other ponies and with that kind of precision. I may have managed everypony before, but… there was no precision in it. I just scattered everypony and..." she said and drew a deep breath, "...hoped that nopony ended up inside something else."
Oh.
Oh Celestia. That's what she thought might have happened to the nine. She thinks she killed nine ponies.
Tempest moved up and put her hood on Midnight's shoulder.
Midnight glanced back at her and then shook her head, suddenly looking just incredibly tired, "It… wouldn't be a good idea," she finally finished.
Swift.
He might really be…
Oh Celestia, what will I tell Minuette?
I closed my eyes for a second. Later. I had to… later. But right now we needed to get over a hundred ponies to something approaching safety.
I opened my eyes again and scraped my hoof against the ground before I looked over at Dee. She shifted back slightly, "Yes?"
"How long would it take to get everypony out there through the jungle?"
Dee frowned slightly and looked down at her hooves before she looked to me again, "...Two days if we're lucky."
"Fifteen kilometers in two days? We made better time than that when we looked for water," I argued.
"We both have wings," Dee said and shook her head, "We could fly over the worst patches. We wouldn't be able to do that."
"We'll have Earth Ponies to move the heaviest equipment and unicorns to clear the way through the thickest underbrush," I said and shook my head.
"Which is the only reason it will go as quickly as two days," Dee said and spread her wings, "You wanted me here for my expertise. If you're not going to listen to it, why am I here?"
I flicked my ears back and glared at her for a split second before I sighed and shook my head, "...Sorry. You're right," I said and then turned to the rest, "It might be the best chance we have to keep everypony safe."
Captain Jetstream nodded, "We should move as quickly as we can."
"Yeah," I said and then looked to Midnight, "Midnight, how quickly can w…" I started before I trailed off when I found her just looking down at her hooves.
"Midnight?" I asked again.
No reaction.
Tempest touched her side again, causing Midnight to look to her and then to me,
"..Sorry, you said something, Page?"
I nodded, "Midnight, I need you to organize everypony to get ready to move at first light. Lists and inventory of all essential equipment. Nothing we don't need, but we don't want to leave anything we need behind either," I said, "You're the only one that could do something like that at such short notice."
Midnight looked at me for a long moment before she nodded, "We'll get it done," she said.
She didn't sound very enthusiastic.
I turned to the second pegasus in the room, "Moonglow?"
Moonglow nodded, "I'll organize the Legion for convoy escort and inventory the weapons," she said quickly and saluted, "We'll be ready, sir."
Captain Jetstream slowly scraped his hood on the ground across the box that had been set up a table for us before he sighed, "As much as I dislike leaving the ship behind, I think Lord Page may have a point, Princess Midnight. This is not a defensible position."
"I have some ideas if that thing comes back," Tempest said, "But I think so too. We should find a better position… but can everypony really fit in the temple?"
I shifted my wings, "I don't think that's much of a problem," I said and then smiled, "I brought an expert!" and motioned towards Dee with my wing.
She flicked her ears and took half a step back before she stepped forward, "I managed to investigate parts of the interior of the main structure without entering too deeply and it seems intact, so assuming we can clear it of any possible traps, it should have room for everypony, especially at the lowest level, if in rather cramped quarters."
"And nothing says we need to be inside it normally. We can set up the tents on the plateaus of the temple," I said, "only to retreat inside in case of an attack. We can also set up the same defenses as we have here around the base of the temple."
Midnight looked uncertain, her wings shifting as she looked around the table, "...What do you think, Moon Dancer?"
Moon Dancer looked hesitant, "I… I think it's dangerous to stay here."
Midnight sighed and then looked to me, "What of the missing ponies?"
I felt my ears droop before I sighed, "Nine ponies are still unaccounted for," I said, "I have been dipping into the dream realm every hour since we got back to camp with Moon Dancers help for a sleep spell. No sign of any of them, but that doesn't mean much. If they sleep in naps or slept during the part of tonight where I was awake I might have missed them."
I really hoped so.
Swift was among the missing ponies.
"We could send out some scouting parties," Moon Dancer suggested, "The odds to find somepony isn't great in this kind of vegetation, but there is still a chance."
Midnight nodded, "...And we could leave a couple of pegasi here if they get back here."
Moon Dancer raised her hoof, "How would we get there? It's fifteen kilometers of jungle between here and there."
That was a good point.
I looked at Midnight, "Could you teleport us?"
She quickly shook her head, "No. Not with other ponies and with that kind of precision. I may have managed everypony before, but… there was no precision in it. I just scattered everypony and..." she said and drew a deep breath, "...hoped that nopony ended up inside something else."
Oh.
Oh Celestia. That's what she thought might have happened to the nine. She thinks she killed nine ponies.
Tempest moved up and put her hood on Midnight's shoulder.
Midnight glanced back at her and then shook her head, suddenly looking just incredibly tired, "It… wouldn't be a good idea," she finally finished.
Swift.
He might really be…
Oh Celestia, what will I tell Minuette?
I closed my eyes for a second. Later. I had to… later. But right now we needed to get over a hundred ponies to something approaching safety.
I opened my eyes again and scraped my hoof against the ground before I looked over at Dee. She shifted back slightly, "Yes?"
"How long would it take to get everypony out there through the jungle?"
Dee frowned slightly and looked down at her hooves before she looked to me again, "...Two days if we're lucky."
"Fifteen kilometers in two days? We made better time than that when we looked for water," I argued.
"We both have wings," Dee said and shook her head, "We could fly over the worst patches. We wouldn't be able to do that."
"We'll have Earth Ponies to move the heaviest equipment and unicorns to clear the way through the thickest underbrush," I said and shook my head.
"Which is the only reason it will go as quickly as two days," Dee said and spread her wings, "You wanted me here for my expertise. If you're not going to listen to it, why am I here?"
I flicked my ears back and glared at her for a split second before I sighed and shook my head, "...Sorry. You're right," I said and then turned to the rest, "It might be the best chance we have to keep everypony safe."
Captain Jetstream nodded, "We should move as quickly as we can."
"Yeah," I said and then looked to Midnight, "Midnight, how quickly can w…" I started before I trailed off when I found her just looking down at her hooves.
"Midnight?" I asked again.
No reaction.
Tempest touched her side again, causing Midnight to look to her and then to me,
"..Sorry, you said something, Page?"
I nodded, "Midnight, I need you to organize everypony to get ready to move at first light. Lists and inventory of all essential equipment. Nothing we don't need, but we don't want to leave anything we need behind either," I said, "You're the only one that could do something like that at such short notice."
Midnight looked at me for a long moment before she nodded, "We'll get it done," she said.
She didn't sound very enthusiastic.
I turned to the second pegasus in the room, "Moonglow?"
Moonglow nodded, "I'll organize the Legion for convoy escort and inventory the weapons," she said quickly and saluted, "We'll be ready, sir."
64
I stared up at the tent above my bedroll and tried to fall asleep. The heavy rain against it helped. The thought of nine ponies, one of which being one of my oldest friends being missing, presumed dead… didn't.
I got them into this.
It wasn't even over yet. It would take rescue a week and a half to get there and now we would bring everypony through a two day dangerous march through the predator infested jungle.
The worst thing was that it seemed like the best way to get everypony through this.
...Or at least as many as physically possible.
I just wanted to help the thestrals. Where did we go wrong?
Rolling over, I closed my eyes.
My horn throbbed like it was on fire and it just… wouldn't… stop. I clenched my teeth and felt like punching something.
But I still had a job to do, I could whine or cry or yell or punch a tree or something when everypony was safe.
Until then, everypony was relying on me and if they saw me not being able to handle it, they would panic, morale would completely shatter.
I'd need to talk privately to Midnight about that tomorrow.
Might be my expedition, but she was still a Princess. I understood how she felt and.. I felt the same.
But ponies needed us to keep it together right now. Now more than ever.
Right now, my job was to go asleep while everypony was getting everything ready, to do a final sweep for one of the missing ponies.
If I could just go asleep, that is.
Maybe I should just ask Moon Dancer for help with the sleeping spell again.
Rolling onto my side, I sighed.
I did finally fall asleep after a long while, drifting off into the dream realm. The sparkling void around me shifted like usual and I sighed, taking a slow breath and feeling my wings droop as I finally relaxed as my horn felt like normal.
The pain didn't cross over into this realm, thank Luna.
If I don't have to be awake, I'll stay asleep until it's over. I was already dreading having to wake up again. Finally I furled my wings and got up, looking around.
Ponies were asleep all around me. Unless they were completely necessary for the preparations, everypony had been told to get as much rest as they could.
They'd need it.
I looked around. Almost a hundred ponies were asleep right now and I could see a lot of dark portals of nightmares.
I wasn't exactly surprised by that, I would certainly have been having one right now if I couldn't do this.
Sighing softly, I started to move among the dreams, touching portal after portal, sending their occupants into dreamless sleep, to better get them as much rest as possible for tomorrow.
Turning, I oversaw the dreams of the expedition before I sighed again and turned to scan the dreamscape for any of the missing ponies.
It has been two days now. If they were out there, I'd have spotted them by now so I didn't have much hope.
Nothing.
I sank down onto the not-ground and then slammed my hoof down against it..
Damn it!
I rested my head against my hooves. Nine ponies.
Sighing. I opened my eyes to look straight at a portal shimmering in the distance. I stared at it for a second before I even realized what I was looking at before my eyes went wide and I surged to my hooves, taking a quick step across the kilometers of distance to the portal.
It was one of the ponies.
It wasn't Swift, but… we might be able to save somepony else!
I quickly touched my horn to it and stepped through it to reveal a dream that was of a quickly darkening a forest that was hedging towards turning into a nightmare.
I quickly put a stop to that and stomped my hoof, turning the dream into a bright white room instead, leaving me with a unicorn mare.
I had seen her around before, she was one of the ship's crew I think. She had a gray coat with light blue, almost white, mane and her cutiemark being that of a balloon.
Rising High looked around in surprise before she spotted me. She quickly surged to her hooves to bow, "Lord Page!"
"Rising High," I said and moved up to her, "Are you safe?"
"I think so, sir," she said and stood up again, "We're in a small cave and set up a small fire."
"We?" I asked, "There's more with you?"
Rising High nodded, "Two more," she said, "My brother, Turning Crank and one of the guards, Swift Spear."
Relief rushed through me and I nodded, "Are any of you hurt?"
"The stallions both are," Rising said, "Swift Spear has two broken legs and my brother twisted his hoof in a hole. We don't think it's broken, but he can't put any weight on it. Something has been hunting us for days, but I think we're in a safe spot now."
"Stay where you are," I told her seriously, "I know your relative location right now. I'll wake up as soon as I leave your dream and send a group of pegasi to get you as soon as I do. Do you know the spell for sending up a flare?"
Rising nodded, "It's one of the standard unicorn spells for emergencies. We all have to learn them."
"Send one up every couple of minutes and they'll find you. Stay safe, Rising. We're coming for you."
I sent us both awake and I snapped my eyes open, instantly rolling onto my hooves and galloping out of the tent into the rain towards the light of the command tent.
"Moonglow!"
She wheeled around to look at me in surprise, "Sir?"
"I found three," I told her, "Get me some pegasi."
Her eyes widened and she quickly nodded and galloped off into the rain. I did my best to shake the worst of the water off myself, stretching my wings for a second before I looked out into the rain filled night outside the tent.
Three ponies.
Three of nine.
Not all.
Not enough. But for those three ponies… for those three ponies it was everything.
And everything was the least we could do for them.
I got them into this.
It wasn't even over yet. It would take rescue a week and a half to get there and now we would bring everypony through a two day dangerous march through the predator infested jungle.
The worst thing was that it seemed like the best way to get everypony through this.
...Or at least as many as physically possible.
I just wanted to help the thestrals. Where did we go wrong?
Rolling over, I closed my eyes.
My horn throbbed like it was on fire and it just… wouldn't… stop. I clenched my teeth and felt like punching something.
But I still had a job to do, I could whine or cry or yell or punch a tree or something when everypony was safe.
Until then, everypony was relying on me and if they saw me not being able to handle it, they would panic, morale would completely shatter.
I'd need to talk privately to Midnight about that tomorrow.
Might be my expedition, but she was still a Princess. I understood how she felt and.. I felt the same.
But ponies needed us to keep it together right now. Now more than ever.
Right now, my job was to go asleep while everypony was getting everything ready, to do a final sweep for one of the missing ponies.
If I could just go asleep, that is.
Maybe I should just ask Moon Dancer for help with the sleeping spell again.
Rolling onto my side, I sighed.
I did finally fall asleep after a long while, drifting off into the dream realm. The sparkling void around me shifted like usual and I sighed, taking a slow breath and feeling my wings droop as I finally relaxed as my horn felt like normal.
The pain didn't cross over into this realm, thank Luna.
If I don't have to be awake, I'll stay asleep until it's over. I was already dreading having to wake up again. Finally I furled my wings and got up, looking around.
Ponies were asleep all around me. Unless they were completely necessary for the preparations, everypony had been told to get as much rest as they could.
They'd need it.
I looked around. Almost a hundred ponies were asleep right now and I could see a lot of dark portals of nightmares.
I wasn't exactly surprised by that, I would certainly have been having one right now if I couldn't do this.
Sighing softly, I started to move among the dreams, touching portal after portal, sending their occupants into dreamless sleep, to better get them as much rest as possible for tomorrow.
Turning, I oversaw the dreams of the expedition before I sighed again and turned to scan the dreamscape for any of the missing ponies.
It has been two days now. If they were out there, I'd have spotted them by now so I didn't have much hope.
Nothing.
I sank down onto the not-ground and then slammed my hoof down against it..
Damn it!
I rested my head against my hooves. Nine ponies.
Sighing. I opened my eyes to look straight at a portal shimmering in the distance. I stared at it for a second before I even realized what I was looking at before my eyes went wide and I surged to my hooves, taking a quick step across the kilometers of distance to the portal.
It was one of the ponies.
It wasn't Swift, but… we might be able to save somepony else!
I quickly touched my horn to it and stepped through it to reveal a dream that was of a quickly darkening a forest that was hedging towards turning into a nightmare.
I quickly put a stop to that and stomped my hoof, turning the dream into a bright white room instead, leaving me with a unicorn mare.
I had seen her around before, she was one of the ship's crew I think. She had a gray coat with light blue, almost white, mane and her cutiemark being that of a balloon.
Rising High looked around in surprise before she spotted me. She quickly surged to her hooves to bow, "Lord Page!"
"Rising High," I said and moved up to her, "Are you safe?"
"I think so, sir," she said and stood up again, "We're in a small cave and set up a small fire."
"We?" I asked, "There's more with you?"
Rising High nodded, "Two more," she said, "My brother, Turning Crank and one of the guards, Swift Spear."
Relief rushed through me and I nodded, "Are any of you hurt?"
"The stallions both are," Rising said, "Swift Spear has two broken legs and my brother twisted his hoof in a hole. We don't think it's broken, but he can't put any weight on it. Something has been hunting us for days, but I think we're in a safe spot now."
"Stay where you are," I told her seriously, "I know your relative location right now. I'll wake up as soon as I leave your dream and send a group of pegasi to get you as soon as I do. Do you know the spell for sending up a flare?"
Rising nodded, "It's one of the standard unicorn spells for emergencies. We all have to learn them."
"Send one up every couple of minutes and they'll find you. Stay safe, Rising. We're coming for you."
I sent us both awake and I snapped my eyes open, instantly rolling onto my hooves and galloping out of the tent into the rain towards the light of the command tent.
"Moonglow!"
She wheeled around to look at me in surprise, "Sir?"
"I found three," I told her, "Get me some pegasi."
Her eyes widened and she quickly nodded and galloped off into the rain. I did my best to shake the worst of the water off myself, stretching my wings for a second before I looked out into the rain filled night outside the tent.
Three ponies.
Three of nine.
Not all.
Not enough. But for those three ponies… for those three ponies it was everything.
And everything was the least we could do for them.
65
"You," I said and looked down at the pony on the stretcher, "Are an idiot. Why didn't you go asleep so I could locate you? You know I can do that!"
Swift Spear looked up at me, "I'm injured, don't you have anything better to do than stand berating an injured pony, My Lord?"
"Yes, maybe I could be writing down what I'd tell Minuette when you get your stupid hide killed," I told him.
Swift flinched slightly before he sighed, "...I tried," he answered, "But we never stopped moving and it's hard to sleep when being carried around with broken legs."
I nodded and looked down at his splinted legs, both fore and rear leg on his left side, "How are you doing?"
"A lot better now when I have actual pain potions," he admitted, "and when not feeling my bones grind together while carried through the jungle while hunted by something. I… have had better times."
"Did you see what was hunting you?"
"Yeah," Swift said and let his head lay back down, "Some sort of bipedal lizard with lots of claws."
"Sounds like what I called a raptoroid. Nasty customer."
"Yeah. So glad that is over with. So what's the plan now? I'm rather tired of being hunted while carried around in a jungle."
I smiled at him, "We're going to carry you through the jungle to avoid things that's hunting us."
He stared at me for a moment before he sighed and let his head drop back down, "...At least I'll have a stretcher and pain potions this time around.. Everypony got back to camp then?"
I shook my head, "No. Six ponies are still unaccounted for. We have some pegasi search parties out, but…" I trailed off.
Swift nodded, "Yeah," he said with a small sigh.
I flicked my ears and glanced towards the glow at the horizon, "Get what sleep you can, okay? We're moving soon after sunrise."
His eyes were already slipping closed and I backed away and moved over to Rising High, "You doing okay?"
She nodded, "Just tired, sir."
"Get some sleep," I told her with a smile, "You did awesome keeping them alive through this. Just get on a stretcher with the other injured, we can carry one more pony."
"I'm fine, sir."
She looked like she'd fall on her muzzle at any moment.
"That wasn't a suggestion, we're going to be moving as quickly as she can and we need everypony as alert as possible and you're about to pass out," I told her seriously, "Go to sleep."
"...yes sir," she said and stumbled over towards a free stretcher the medic had already laid out next to her brother.
I flicked my ears and then moved over to the command tent, "How are we looking?" I asked Moon Dancer as I walked up next to her where she was standing by the box/table, going through a list of some sort.
"We're on schedule," she said and put her pen down and looked at me, "Tempest forced Midnight to get a couple of hours of sleep and I took over. As soon as everypony is awake again and we have the tents packed, we will be ready to move."
I nodded, "Sounds good," I agreed and sighed softly, "good," I repeated, rubbing my eyes with my hoof for a second.
Moon Dancer looked towards the dark trees around the camp, "...Do you really think we can do this?" she asked quietly after a moment before she turned to me again and adjusted her glasses, "I'm not a nature pony."
"Neither am I," I admitted, "If it wasn't for Dee, I'd likely still be wandering around the jungle trying not to get eaten. But luckily neither of us will need to be, that's what we have experts for."
Well, no, as soon as I could safely fall asleep I'd locate the camp and make my way here. But this was about making Moon Dancer feel better, not facts.
She slowly nodded, "I guess you're right," she said and then lifted the stack in her magic, "Want to double check?"
I shook my head, "if you and Midnight missed something, I'm not going to catch it either. I'm going to do something useful and go pack up my tent."
With that I left her to it and headed towards my tent.
I didn't have a lot to get packed, but I did have to do it without magic which made it a massive pain in the arse.
Reaching into it I pulled out my satchel and put it to the side before also pulling out the bedroll and rolled it up, struggling to get the bands tied around it to keep it closed.
Seriously, how did pegasi and earth ponies do this full time and when will this motherbucking headache go away! Go! Away! You're not even really in my head!!
I stopped and took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a second.
Just another couple of days. Midnight said another couple of days.
I sighed and got back to work.
Swift Spear looked up at me, "I'm injured, don't you have anything better to do than stand berating an injured pony, My Lord?"
"Yes, maybe I could be writing down what I'd tell Minuette when you get your stupid hide killed," I told him.
Swift flinched slightly before he sighed, "...I tried," he answered, "But we never stopped moving and it's hard to sleep when being carried around with broken legs."
I nodded and looked down at his splinted legs, both fore and rear leg on his left side, "How are you doing?"
"A lot better now when I have actual pain potions," he admitted, "and when not feeling my bones grind together while carried through the jungle while hunted by something. I… have had better times."
"Did you see what was hunting you?"
"Yeah," Swift said and let his head lay back down, "Some sort of bipedal lizard with lots of claws."
"Sounds like what I called a raptoroid. Nasty customer."
"Yeah. So glad that is over with. So what's the plan now? I'm rather tired of being hunted while carried around in a jungle."
I smiled at him, "We're going to carry you through the jungle to avoid things that's hunting us."
He stared at me for a moment before he sighed and let his head drop back down, "...At least I'll have a stretcher and pain potions this time around.. Everypony got back to camp then?"
I shook my head, "No. Six ponies are still unaccounted for. We have some pegasi search parties out, but…" I trailed off.
Swift nodded, "Yeah," he said with a small sigh.
I flicked my ears and glanced towards the glow at the horizon, "Get what sleep you can, okay? We're moving soon after sunrise."
His eyes were already slipping closed and I backed away and moved over to Rising High, "You doing okay?"
She nodded, "Just tired, sir."
"Get some sleep," I told her with a smile, "You did awesome keeping them alive through this. Just get on a stretcher with the other injured, we can carry one more pony."
"I'm fine, sir."
She looked like she'd fall on her muzzle at any moment.
"That wasn't a suggestion, we're going to be moving as quickly as she can and we need everypony as alert as possible and you're about to pass out," I told her seriously, "Go to sleep."
"...yes sir," she said and stumbled over towards a free stretcher the medic had already laid out next to her brother.
I flicked my ears and then moved over to the command tent, "How are we looking?" I asked Moon Dancer as I walked up next to her where she was standing by the box/table, going through a list of some sort.
"We're on schedule," she said and put her pen down and looked at me, "Tempest forced Midnight to get a couple of hours of sleep and I took over. As soon as everypony is awake again and we have the tents packed, we will be ready to move."
I nodded, "Sounds good," I agreed and sighed softly, "good," I repeated, rubbing my eyes with my hoof for a second.
Moon Dancer looked towards the dark trees around the camp, "...Do you really think we can do this?" she asked quietly after a moment before she turned to me again and adjusted her glasses, "I'm not a nature pony."
"Neither am I," I admitted, "If it wasn't for Dee, I'd likely still be wandering around the jungle trying not to get eaten. But luckily neither of us will need to be, that's what we have experts for."
Well, no, as soon as I could safely fall asleep I'd locate the camp and make my way here. But this was about making Moon Dancer feel better, not facts.
She slowly nodded, "I guess you're right," she said and then lifted the stack in her magic, "Want to double check?"
I shook my head, "if you and Midnight missed something, I'm not going to catch it either. I'm going to do something useful and go pack up my tent."
With that I left her to it and headed towards my tent.
I didn't have a lot to get packed, but I did have to do it without magic which made it a massive pain in the arse.
Reaching into it I pulled out my satchel and put it to the side before also pulling out the bedroll and rolled it up, struggling to get the bands tied around it to keep it closed.
Seriously, how did pegasi and earth ponies do this full time and when will this motherbucking headache go away! Go! Away! You're not even really in my head!!
I stopped and took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a second.
Just another couple of days. Midnight said another couple of days.
I sighed and got back to work.