Chapter 8: One Week Later
Whiskey sat behind his desk with his face on the top of it. It had been one week since Nails had fallen to the enemy and he had sent in Delta and his team to kill Iron Foot; it had been earlier this morning when they had been deployed for the quick strike mission.
"Whiskey."
Whiskey looked up from his desk to see Delta.
"Yes?"
"At 1000 hours we confirmed the kill of Iron Foot leader of the terrorist organization."
"That's good news; I have a letter to write to the elements of Harmony. They would want to hear about this. Did you get what I asked you to get?"
"Yes, we found the body of Nails."
"Can I see it?"
"Yes you can, right this way."
Dear Elements of Harmony,
I am pleased to inform you that Delta and his team were successful in their mission to kill Iron Foot. The body was burned and lists of his contacts and bases scattered throughout Forshan will soon be tracked down and all terrorist threats will be eliminated. I realize how much you all sacrificed and I believe though it cannot make up for the pain you have experienced that you deserve all of it. The box that came with this letter will contain the compensation along with the second part of the letter directing the gifts.
"With great Sincerity, Whiskey." said Twilight as she set the letter down.
Things had been very different ever since they had returned from Forshan without Nails. Twilight had canceled the construction that was being performed on Nails' old house. She had decided that they would leave it there. Delta had been told to get Nails' tags so they could give them to princess Celestia. They had neglected to tell anyone about what had happened so far, including Big Macintosh who they thought would soon catch on. Delta had just arrived with the letter.
Because Whiskey had no access to a dragon to send the message through Spike, Delta had come to deliver it. He took out a box and handed it to Twilight. Twilight opened the box and took out the letter before starting to read again.
"I understand that in Ponyville, each of you play an important role. In order to aid you in your jobs, I am enclosing books for all of you considering that I am currently rebuilding the country and have nothing else to give you. To Twilight, I am giving a book on exotic spells. I believe that you happen to be a gifted unicorn and I believe you will find uses for all of these spells but I warn you that some may not be safe for use." Twilight took out a book and noted its size. It would take her a week or two to get all the way through it. She set it aside and started again.
"To Applejack, I understand that as a farmer you face problems with time limits on harvesting. I found a book that includes methods used by farmers worldwide that have been known to double harvesting speeds."
Twilight removed another book from box and handed it to Applejack who set it aside to keep listening.
"To Rarity, I understand that she is a dressmaker and thus looks for inspiration everywhere. I am going to open up a new area for her to find it. I am giving to her a book that shows how to color fabrics so that they can look exactly like the world around them. As I understand it camouflaging fabrics can be very catchy in a country and may catch on quicker than you expect them too." Twilight removed another book and handed it to Rarity who did a quick flip through and they saw her eyes widen in delight at a few things she saw. Everypony knew she was itching to get back to her shop and try a few but she stayed back to listen to the rest.
"To Pinkie Pie, I understand that she is a cook in Ponyville. At first I did not understand what she made until I did a little research. I found several cases in other countries where strange combinations were found to be quite tasty. I hope that she finds help in this book which I made of several recipes that I was able to find."
Twilight took out yet another book from the box and handed it to Pinkie Pie who had been sitting remarkably still for the amount of time that had elapsed. She set it aside but her eyes darted towards it several times.
"Pinkie Pie? Why don't you make us something to eat? I know you really want to try some of those recipes. You can use my kitchen."
"Ok Twilight." said Pinkie Pie who picked up the book and headed into the kitchen.
As soon as she got in she felt her whole body shudder. It was her Pinkie sense telling her something. She ignored it however; it would be rude to interrupt what was going on in there.
"To Fluttershy, I give her a book about various species of exotic nations. I believe that from what Nails told me about her-" Twilight noticed Rainbow Dash wince a little at the mention of Nails' name. "She is an expert with any kind of animal, so her gift is more of a little foreign knowledge and entertainment." finished Twilight as she took the last book out of the box. She noticed however that there was a small box still inside. She removed this before continuing with the letter.
"Finally, to Rainbow Dash. I realize that throughout this entire struggle she gained much from it, but lost even more. I wanted her gift to be a little more important to her so when Delta's team went to kill Iron Foot, I asked them to try and locate the locket that had belonged to her. I understand that even though the prophecy brought them together. They could have never been torn apart even with the prophecy being fulfilled. They informed me that they were successful in locating the locket and I have placed it into a box. I hope that when she holds it she can see the light in all of this darkness. I know for a fact that Nails was proud of her. I hope that one day we can see each other again. Good-bye for now."
Twilight was beginning to tear up as she finished the letter. She looked over at Rainbow Dash who had started to cry earlier. She took out the small box and gave it to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash just held it for a few seconds as she kept crying. She finally opened it up to see the locket that Nails had made for her what seemed like so long ago. She began to cry even more; even Pinkie Pie had poked her head into the room to see what was wrong. As soon as she saw the locket she understood and went back into the kitchen. She too was extremely saddened by the death of Nails. She felt her entire body shudder once more as her Pinkie sense went off.
"What is going on?" she said to herself as she went back to making food.
Rainbow Dash was still crying as she was comforted by her friends. She looked at the locket and began to stop. Something white was poking out of the opening. Perhaps Nails had left her a message. She slowly opened the locket and took out a piece of paper that had been stuffed into the locket. She unfolded it and read what it said out loud through her tears.
"To fallen soldiers let us sing, where no rockets fly nor bullets wing, our broken brothers let us bring to the mansions of the Lord. No more weeping, no more fight, no friends bleeding through the night, just divine embrace, eternal light, in the mansions of the Lord." At this point Rainbow Dash started to sob and couldn't read any more. She put down the paper and started to cry.
"Where no mothers cry and no children weep, we shall stand and guard though the angels sleep, oh through the ages let us keep, the mansions of the Lord."
Rainbow Dash looked up.
Standing in the doorway was Nails.
"It's an old griffon song."
Rainbow Dash tried to fly towards him but her wings were still in a cast so she hit the ground. She started to sprint towards him and jumped on him giving him a hug.
"Nails!" she yelled out as she hugged him, "I thought you were dead!"
"Well, I can assure you that I'm not, I fought back. I was able to find that advantage he could never have."
"What was it?"
"The fact that I'm part griffon." said Nails as he got back up.
"What happened?" said Pinkie Pie as she poked her head out from the kitchen. As soon as she saw Nails she gasped and flew towards him.
"Once again, how the hell do you do that Pinkie?" said Nails as he was tackled by Pinkie Pie. It didn't take long before the rest of the ponies had begun to hug Nails.
They noticed Delta was standing by the door smiling.
"When did you find out?" asked Twilight.
Nails put something into his mouth, but this went ignored.
"I found him this morning sitting outside of a burning base smoking a cigar when we went to try and perform the mission. That's when I found out. The whole time he had been telling us he was going to die? He was just playing us to use our emotions to help him kill Iron Foot!"
Rainbow Dash stared at Delta in shock then turned to Nails and punched him in the mouth.
"How could you use me like that? You lied to me and said you had no chance for survival!"
Nails spit something out of his mouth. Rainbow Dash expected it to be blood but instead she saw a mouth guard on the floor.
"This may be a strange question to ask but are they all accounted for?" said Nails opening his mouth.
"You're good." said Delta.
"How... How did you do that? It's like you knew I was going to punch you!"
"Because I did. That's how I killed Iron Foot. I have never jumped into anything without planning first. I was able to decide exactly where Iron Foot would take me, exactly where he would be, and exactly how he would try to fight me."
"Why didn't you tell me you knew you were going to survive? I thought you were dead a few minutes ago."
"That's exactly why I didn't tell you." said Nails, "Because if you had known I was going to survive you might have been too okay with handing me over. If you had been like that, Iron Foot may have killed me then and there. Because you were hesitant and cried a little, he thought that I had given up hope and decided that he would try to torture me before finally killing me. Because everything went perfectly, I was able to set up my plan and kill him."
"Turns out, he had been planning this out for years and decided that it was foolproof only if he didn't tell anyone." said Delta.
"Sometimes the best plan is the one that nobody knows." said Nails.
"How did you escape?" asked Twilight.
"I think you are all entitled to hear the story so I will tell you." said Nails, "But first." he said as he turned to face Rainbow Dash, "I think I owe you an apology." Nails wrapped his arms around Rainbow Dash and the two held each other close. "I'm sorry Rainbow Dash."
"Is it just me, or are you getting a little bigger Nails?" said Delta.
"Delta, screw you."
"I think you meant Rainbow Dash and you forgot to say I want to first." said Delta chuckling a little bit.
"Applejack? Please kick him."
"I'm on it!" she said as she reared her legs up and delivered a full force kick to Delta. He was thrown into a wall where he impacted with a lot of force.
"It was worth it." he said getting up.
"Now Nails, tell us what happened!" said Pinkie Pie.
"Ok, here's how I did it."
Quick authors notes!
1. The "Griffon song" is an actual song. It is called "In the Mansions of the Lord" and is from Paramount Picture's "We Were Soldiers". I read the lyrics and decide that it would be perfect for bringing Nails back.