Klugetown
Lunch time
And now, somepony who knows how unicorn ponies fight.
There are dive bars, where the customers go to drink as cheaply as possible. Nothing much for me there. A
few ponies make Klugetown their home, but in a town where most people have hands ponies occupy fairly specialist occupations. They could probably handle themselves in a moderately threatening urban environment, but unless Luna wants soldiers who know how to do counterinsurgency work in occupied cities their skills aren't much use to me.
There are union bars, where people in distinct jobs go to drink with people who aren't part of a rival gang or company. Nothing much for me there. Probably pretty useful if I wanted to learn about stevedoring or construction or tanning, but that's not what I'm looking for. Maybe I can mention it to Luna if Equestria wants to get seriously involved in the export business. Newly industrialised powers can do that rather nicely in a mostly pre-industrial world.
Mercenaries were a little further uptown. There isn't…
Exactly a wall between the slums and the middle class-ish districts, but there
are security patrols. A group of armoured porcines in my case. All they required from
me was a small payment, in exchange for which they gave me a small traveller's medallion. A report will probably go up their chain of command at the end of their shift, but a single large traveller isn't
that remarkable.
Took a while to find a pony who could do what I want. Due to the nature of Equestrian society and the focused nature of special talents, ponies don't often reach the upper echelons of the mercenary business. Ponies who in more warlike societies might become battlemages or chargers instead become pyrotechnics experts or… Well, guardsponies. But one or two…
I sit down in front of the bar, next to my recruitment target. She looks me over for a moment, then makes a show of ignoring me.
"Might I buy you a drink,
Commander Tempest Shadow?"
"No. You're not my type."
"That… Wasn't how I meant it. I have an offer of employment, and I understand that you're between patrons."
"I
was." Rats. "But I'm considering an offer from the Storm King."
"Are you allowed to discuss the details? I'm perfectly happy to bid against him."
She rolls her eyes. "I doubt you can match the offer."
"You'd be surprised."
"It's payment
up front. I don't sign up to treasure hunts for a
share."
"Oh, no. I wish to retain your services to upskill a garrison. The soldiers are well-motivated, but… Green. The risks in the short term are
minimal."
"Duration?"
"I'll guarantee two years. Whether it gets extended depends on how things go."
"Hnnn… Pay?"
"Equivalent to a Captain in the Equestrian Royal Guard. Bonus if you actually have to lead troops into combat, because as I said this is intended as a training role."
"Training's… Not really my style."
"You might enjoy this. A young thaumaturgist in my employ has recently developed a new generation of arcane weapons. But there's no doctrine for using them yet. You wouldn't just be training them to be non-incompetent, you'd be redefining the way warfare
works."
"Could I bring along a training cadre on the same conditions?"
"Not the
same conditions; I'm not paying the grunts what I pay the commander. But otherwise,
sure. Two years, training, bonuses if sent into combat."
She turns
slightly towards me, eyes slightly narrowed as she stares into my voluminous hood.
"What about medical?"
"
Yes, I will see to it that the sick and injured are treated at no cost to themselves. The two years is guaranteed even if you're crippled; it's your brain I want after all. I'll even offer to pay the balance to your next of kin if you're killed if you-."
Her stare
hardens. "That won't be necessary."
"As you wish."
She watches me for a moment, then relaxes slightly.
"There is one other issue. The Storm King has… Offered to help me with a particular.. personal problem."
"Could you narrow it down a little? I'm not trying to deceive you, but I can't tell you if I can match his bid if I don't know what I'm supposed to be bidding."
"My
horn."
I take a moment to look at her horn, or what's left of it. It's snapped off about a third of the way up its length, cracks still visible to the naked eye on the jagged stump that's left. Pale blue sparks crackle sporadically from the broken end.
Scan.
By your command.
So I know the
physical structure of unicorn horns. I
should be able to fix those cracks without much difficulty, because I can deduce the structure of the material from the surrounding damaged parts. But the
rest of the horn… I could guess. An educated guess based on the structure of other unicorn horns I've scanned… And given that those scans included Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer and Luna, Tempest Shadow might end up getting a power boost… Or she might end up with a head that's exploding because horns have to be
just so and trying to use it caused critical feedback damage.
"I'm not an expert on equine medicine, but I can get hold of people who
are. Failing that, I can have people look into ways to bypass the problem."
"
Bypass a broken horn?"
"Some sort of functional prosthetic? Thaumoconductive crystal? I don't know; I
hire people with that sort of specialist knowledge. I just read the summaries."
"The Storm King says he can fix it."
"Is he an expert on equine medicine?"
"I doubt it. But he's powerful."
"Power is nothing without application. If he can't do it
himself, then the best he can do is call upon the same experts that
I can. And
I can do
that. But if you want a
down payment..?"
She thinks for a moment, then nods cautiously.
Alright, crack-mending it is. "You might experience a moment of disorientation and pain. Try to keep your horn activity to a minimum."
She goes
completely still and
my eyes light up under my hood.
Ah yes, she wants this rather badly, doesn't she?
Beams of orange light shoot from my eyes and pass over each of the cracks, reconnecting damaged segments. She twitches
very slightly when I replace a chip, but is otherwise
completely stoic.
Hm. And
done. I blink as the beams cut out, and she turns to look into the mirror behind the bar. It takes her a moment to spot the difference and she
hides her excitement quickly… But I spotted it. She tries channelling a little power through it, and while it's still sparkly she does manage a normal -if weak- aura for a moment.
"So? You onboard?"
She cuts off her glow and nods. "Yes sir. Where are we bound?"
"Equestria, naturally."
She frowns. "Eques-? Who
are you?"
Well, I've found my mare and I'll be leaving shortly. I don't need to hide any longer. I take a step back from the bar and
subspace my cloak, making sure to open my wings slightly as I do so. The barroom behind me goes silent and Tempest's eyes widen very slightly.
Then she
snaps out of it. "Yes sir. My men and I will be ready to move within the hour."
"Good show. I'll arrange transportation. Assemble outside as soon as you're ready."
Not sure if that is a bigger AU departure than the Mirror Pool but it is certainly close.
