Some time later, I’m really tired, and she’s yawning. I don’t know how much time has passed, but I figure it’s enough. We’ve gotten a huge amount of the treasure moved from the deep sea wrecks, after fully exploring and searching the same. It’s waiting in chests, barrels, and just about anything else we’ve been able to find to contain it, all just off the shore, next to the close-in wrecks.
This includes three chests full of clay or stone tablet records. Unfortunately, after all this time, any and all scrolls have disintegrated.
That hasn’t stopped us from amassing a good-sized collection of pirate flags- especially once I mentioned that, if I send them back to base, they will probably be able to identify the specific pirates involved in the attack- and, potentially, find a pattern large enough to predict the locations of additional pirate bases.
After which, of course, Equestria would launch antipiracy attacks against those locations.
That’s the part she’s most excited about. As a matter of fact, she’s suggested donating entire ships to that effort, even though there are no ships in evidence anywhere near the island. When I mentioned that little issue, she grinned, but didn’t say anything, so I let it drop.
She pauses after her yawn, and looks up towards the surface. “They’re headed back to the ship.”
“Really? It’s that late already?”
She turns towards me, giggling. “Yep! And that means we’ve been up for, what, forty hours?”
“Eh, thereabouts.”
“Which means we should probably sleep sometime.”
“But if I do that, I won’t be able to come back down here until tomorrow.”
“You know that Depth Strider will come to you anytime you want it, right?”
“Uh, no?”
“Meaning, you can just jump off the ship, wish for it, and receive.”
“What if one of them does?”
“Nothing. They’re not in the IFF- it won’t respond to them even if they balance it on their back.”
“Speaking of which, how does it stay on?”
“It’s… a little bit of complicated technology. It forms an energy bond with your spine, locks itself to that. That same bond serves as a channel for control information- and it’ll never make that bond for anypony not in the IFF.”
“So… who’s in the IFF?”
“Us.”
“... and who can change that?”
“Me.”
“Okay.”
“And you don’t have to go to the ship to sleep anyways.”
“Really?”
“Yep! There’s beds in a few of these ships. If you prefer something a little less slimy, the coral reef on the other side of the island makes a nice bed. If you prefer the weight of a blanket, I’ve got regular beds up in the island itself.”
“You live here, don’t you?”
“Yep!”
I select the regular bed.
She shows me to an underwater entrance. It’s an upwards-slanted tunnel that we walk up- or, before we reach the water’s surface, zip up. As we emerge from it, the Depth Strider things- she’s right, they are heavy- jump off our backs to stick to the ceiling with a sharp clang.
“That’s magnetic. It’ll give them back, on cables, when we leave.”
“What happens if they don’t unlock from us properly?”
“The magnets aren’t strong enough to lift us. Besides, we made them with the Elements- it’s impossible for them to hurt us.” She snickers. “The same is not true for anypony that isn’t in the IFF.”
“The Elements? You mean, the Elements of Harmony?”
“Uh, maybe? We called them the Elements of Creation, but they might be the same.”
“So, Magic, Loyalty, Generosity, Kindness, Honesty, and Laughter?”
“Definitely a different set, then. Ingenuity, Acoustics, Aesthetics, Safety, Experience, and Change. The first one’s mine- but the rest… Well, they disassociated when the bearers died.”
“I… I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry yourself over it. That was three years ago; I’ve moved on.”
“Ahh.”
“Speaking of which, I was planning on showing you tonight, wasn’t I? Eh, maybe tomorrow night. After I introduce you to the Sky Stalkers- they’ll make it much easier.”
“Alright, whatever you say.”
As it turns out, this entrance seems to be like a mini-hotel: There’s the entranceway with the big machine to hold onto our Depth Striders, then there’s seven little bedrooms reaching off of it. Six of them have unfamiliar symbols over the doors and no knobs; the last is a regular door with doorknob.
All closed.
“Uh, so which one?”
She points a hoof at the one with the knob. “You can take the guest room. Unless you want to see if one of the others will let you in, that is.” She gestures towards the one with the yellow lightning bolt crossing through a strange, oblong circular object with screw threads at one end over it. “This one’s mine.”
“If one of the others will let me in?”
“Yes. This location was primarily designed as a private recluse for the Element Bearers of Creation. Each of these doors, save the guest room, is locked to the bearer of that particular Element. Though, if I actually go get my Element, I can open any of them with impunity, but who’s counting?”
“Eh. I’ll just take the guest room for now, try the others later.”
“Have a good night!”
“You too.”
She walks straight through the door to her room. The symbol above it starts glowing gently.
I blink, hoof inches from the handle of the guest room door.
My curiosity gets the better of me. I can sleep later.
I move to the door next to the guest room, stick my hoof against it.
Solid.
I move to the next door, stick my hoof against it.
Nothing.
And repeat.
Solid.
Solid.
Solid.
I’m careful to be slow with her door- I don’t want her to think I’m knocking.
Solid.
I return to that second door. Stick my hoof against it.
Nothing.
My hoof goes right through it, like it wasn’t even there.
I move closer. Push further.
Still nothing.
Even closer. All the way to my shoulder.
Nothing.
I slowly, carefully push my head through it, nose first.
Nothing. Then…
I’m on the other side.
Well… my head is. It’s a nice, comfortable little room. Perfect for me, I think. I step the rest of the way through the door, look back at it. Put my hoof against it.
It passes right through.
I turn back away from the door, walk away from it. Examine the room. Every little inch.
It’s almost like it was made just for me. The only thing it’s missing is a filing cabinet to store copies of all my Agency reports.
Then I climb into bed. It’s a really nice bed.
I fall asleep quickly.
I awaken slowly.
I’ve never slept this well before. Especially out at sea- the rocking of the ship always keeps me up for half the night.
I snuggle gently deeper into the mattress. It’s so…
My eyes snap open. How long was I out?
I leap out of bed. Funny, my mane and tail look like I just brushed them, rather than the clouds of bedmane I’m used to.
Convenient.
I run to the door, and freeze before I reach it. Right, I walked through a stone door last night. I pray it wasn’t a fluke, and put my hoof against it.
It passes through.
I step through it once again, emerge completely. Look around the room.
The symbol over her door has stopped glowing. I glance at the machine holding our Depth Striders; one of them is gone. She must have already left.
I look at it for a second, then walk under it, to the angled tunnel out. It moves as I pass, and something touches my back. A quick glance confirms it’s the Depth Strider.
It’s in an uncomfortable position. I’ll have to shed it and reposition it once I get into the water.
Then I reach the water, and find that unnecessary. As soon as it’s covered in water, it adjusts itself, returning to the fleeting almost-there feeling of before.
I propel myself out of the tunnel, moving rapidly around the island to the shipwrecks. I check both sites, without finding her. So I move to shore, shedding the Depth Strider as I emerge onto the beach.
It’s about in the middle of the day; I slept in a lot.
I climb the hill, look down at the village, where all the Agents are working. Scan across it; maybe she’s playing with them again.
She’s not. She might have been, but she’s not. She’s laying on her side on the sand, blood trickling out from multiple wounds, mostly on her head.
It’s him. The Agent she angered. I can only watch as he stomps on her head again.
He doesn’t get another stroke. I did that watching while I ran; I deliver a flying kick to the side of his head.
He stumbles away, recovers from the blow while I check her pulse.
She’s still alive. For how long, I don’t know.
I return my attention to him just as he starts coming at me again. I dodge to the side, kick at his knee. He sees it coming, and my kick falls on empty air.
He swings before I’m able to recover from mine, and connects. I’m thrown off to the side; one of my ribs is aching from that blow. I think he cracked it.
I move faster. Pull his attention away from her, open the playing field. I’m getting the better of him. He’s stronger, but I’m faster. I’m winning.
Then another Agent joins the fray, on his side. And a third.
Suddenly, I’m losing. I need to flee- but I can’t without her. If I could fly, that wouldn’t be a problem. I trade a couple more blows. Pretty sure that rib is fully broken now, not just cracked. It’s not a floating rib, so I’m not dead yet.
I am forced to block a heavy swing; I cannot dodge it.
My right foreleg breaks, and I am thrown backwards. I land next to her, struggle back upright. Snarl at them.
They snarl back, begin to advance.
Something touches my back. Very suddenly, I feel as light as a feather.
I move forwards and upwards, aiming a two-hoof midair buck right into one of their faces. As soon as it connects, I rocket straight upwards, twist around, and pound down on the next one’s head. I’m way off to the side before the last one can swing at me, then right back in his face with a similar kick.
He joins the other two in their dirt naps.
I land next to her, check her pulse again.
She’s still alive, but she’s fading. She doesn’t have long.
I glance up at the island. Several Agents are advancing, with hostile looks.
I grab her, leap into the air once more. Race for the ship.
I have to save her.
As I go, I glance at my back.
It’s not a Depth Strider, but it doesn’t look that much different from one.
Must be the airborne version of it.
There’s the ship. I land swiftly on the deck. All three transit unicorns are sitting on the deck, breathing heavily.
One of them looks up at me as I land. “What the-? How?”
I don’t answer. “She’s dying.”
Good thing two of those transit unicorns double as the assigned medical staff for the mission. They gallop over, accept her in their magic. “We’ll see you in the medbay.” They teleport away.
I look up at the last one. “Who else is aboard?”
“Only the Commander. We fled when everypony started ganging up on you.”
“How many of them can teleport out here themselves?”
“None.”
“Good, thank you.”
“I’m going to have to go back for them at some point, though.”
“Do you want to?”
“I wish I could leave ‘em all.”
“Me too. I’ll talk to the Commander after I deal with things in the Medbay, see if I can get that authorized.”
“Roger that!”
I gallop for the door. The fins on my… thing fold, just like the Depth Striders’ do, allowing me to fit through the door and down the narrow passage.
I reach the medbay in record time. The two doctors are discussing something at the foot of her bed; there’s a shimmering film of gold energy covering her. One of them turns to me, opens his mouth to speak.
“Is she okay?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “We don’t have the facilities- or training- to help her here. We’ve got her under stasis, so she can safely be transferred to a regular hospital- and soon.” He sighs. “They’re going to have to pull one of you off the mission.”
I shake my head. “She’s a non-Agent.”
“What?”
“She’s a native. She knows what happened- and was going to show me tonight.”
“Ahh. I’ve got the paperwork here, then- you go to the Commander. You’re going to have to seek retroactive permission.”
“Forgiveness.”
“Same thing.”
I return to the passage, head for the mission commander’s cabin. If they’ve put her in stasis, she’ll last many times as long as she might otherwise.
But not forever.
I knock on the mission commander’s door.
“Come in.”
I enter. “Sir. I come seeking retroactive authorization to take an injured native aboard.”
“There’s natives here?”
“Just the one, Sir. She knows what happened, but has been injured by the actions of other Agents in the field.”
“Granted. Where is she?”
“In the medbay, Sir. The Medics have placed her in stasis to preserve her life.”
“How long do we have?”
“He said we’d have to transfer her soon.”
“We can’t do that. It’ll be a month before the next boat arrives.”
“Then she’s…”
“I’m afraid she may be a lost cause. In any case, what are you wearing?”
I glance back at it. “I’m not sure what it’s called. It’s some of her technology; she keyed it to me as well. It lets me fly as I like, near the island.”
“And the defenses won’t shoot you down?”
“They will not, Sir. I have reason to believe they will still engage ponies she hasn’t authorized.”
“Ahh. How far can it go?”
“The ship is just inside the range at which it works indefinitely; much further, and it is limited. A water-based one she showed me earlier, called the Depth Strider, has an independent endurance of ten minutes.”
“Water-based?”
“Yes. The Depth Strider lets me move through water- including breathing it- as freely as a pegasus might fly through air. It, also, is keyed.”
“How are they keyed?”
“I do not know. She said something about ‘in the IFF’, if that means anything to you.”
“Do you know what else you might have access to?”
“No Sir. She has indicated it will come when I wish for it.”
“Try wishing for transport to the mainland, then. And do it on deck.”
“Roger.”
“Do you have any details on the attack she was injured by?”
“Perpetrated by Bruiser. All the other Agents, save the transit duty Agents, came to his aid when I acted to protect her.”
“And the Transit Agents?”
“Fled back to the ship to avoid the violence.”
“Probably helped expedite her acquisition into the medbay, didn’t it?”
“Affirmative.”
“And I bet they want to leave all those Agents on the island.”
“Yes Sir.”
“As much as I’d love to, I’m afraid I can’t approve that. By Agency decree, abandonment of assigned Agents requires the votes of three quarters or six of the abandoning Agents, whichever is greater. While I’m sure everypony aboard this ship would agree, that only amounts to five. I pray you are able to find something to carry you two- and, possibly, one or both of our medics- back to the mainland before I am required to order the Transit Agents to return to duty.”