Seeking

Chapter 3

The waiter levitated over a tray of three mugs of hot chocolate.  Crow quickly picked up his hot chocolate and chugged it.  Tempest shook his head, this was one strange pony.  It had been a day since Crow broke into Tempest’s house and fought the changelings.  Afterwards they spent the day discussing a number of things, from who Crow was, to why he wanted to meet Tempest and most importantly, at least to Tempest, they talked about Tempest’s father.  Crow was an adventurer like his parents, Jack Tomb and the legendary Daring Do, and Crow’s parents knew Tempest’s dad who was an architect and a close friend.  Crow had come to Cloudsdale in search of a journal Tempest’s dad kept, which Crow believed held the location of Starswirl’s lost library.  While it didn’t hold the exact location of the library, like Crow hoped, it was a start on where to find it.  To Tempest’s surprise, Crow had invited him to come along on the expedition to find the library.  How could he resist in following in his father’s footsteps?  After some light packing for the expedition, Tempest had met Crow at a café in Ponyville where they were supposed to meet Crow’s brother.

“Burns so good!”  Crow wiped away his hot chocolate mustache.

“You’re a very strange.”  Tempest took a sip of his hot chocolate.

“Wouldn’t be happy if I wasn’t.”  Crow waved his hoof at the waiter, “Can I get a refill please?”  The waiter nodded and quickly trotted into the kitchen.

“So, who’s coming on the expedition?”

“Well, me, you, my brother and anypony else Twilight decides is appropriate for our expedition.”  The waiter trotted out, levitating a pitcher of hot chocolate to Crow, he started to pour it when Crow stopped him, “Please leave the pitcher.”  The waiter did his best not to acted surprised and causally nodded his head.

Before Tempest could react to the absurd quantity of hot chocolate Crow was about to drink, a kind, familiar voice called his name, “Tempest!  What are you doing here?”  Tempest turned and saw a sky blue pegasus with a dark blue and black mane.  She trotted over to the table where they sat and smiled at Crow and Tempest, “Tempest, who’s your friend?”

“Lightning Dash, this is my friend Crow.”

“It’s very nice to meet you…”  Crow stopped and looked at Lightning Dash, “You’re that-”

She gasped, “Aren’t you the pony who broke into my house last night?”

Crow nodded, “Yep, you pointed me in the direction of this guy’s house, thank you very much.”  Crow grinned, “Might I add, you have a very nice stuffed teddy bear.”

“What?!  You saw that?”

Crow nodded and smiled, “Anyways, would you like to join us for some hot chocolate?”  Crow motioned for the waiter, “Can we get one more please!”

“Why can’t she just have…”  Tempest looked at the empty pitcher which once held a large quantity of hot chocolate.  Tempest sighed, “I don’t know why I’m not as surprised as I should be.”

“Huh?”  Lightning Dash sat down next Crow, “What are you going on about?”

“Nothing.”  Tempest said quietly.

“So what WHERE you guys talking about?”  The waiter stepped out of the kitchen and brought Lightning Dash her hot chocolate, “Thank you!”

“Well…”  Crow said quietly, “We’re planning an expedition to the Badlands.  We’re gonna try and find the ruins of a legendary library.”

Lightning Dash’s eyes lit up, “Oooh, can I come?!”

Tempest looked at Crow, “I don’t kn-”

“Why should we take you, what can you do?”  Crow asked, interrupting Tempest.

“I have three reasons why you should take me with you, one, I’m the fastest pegasus you’ll ever hope to bring along with you, two I can handle any situation you throw at me, and three, I can do this!”  She stood up and did one hoof stand on her chair.

“What does that have to do with anything?”  Tempest asked.

“No, no, no.”  Crow said quietly, studying Lightning Dash, “She has a point Tempest, that is impressive.”

“Really?”  Lightning Dash gasped.

“Are you sure about this Crow?”

“Nope!  But the more the merrier!  Plus…”  Crow took a pause and looked at the ground.

“What?”  Tempest looked at his new friend, he seemed like something just pulled out his heart and stomped on it.

“It’s something my father once said, he said “Crow, today is like any other day, an adventure, you never know what will happen or who you’ll meet, but you can’t be afraid of the unknown because you might end up missing the greatest adventure of your life.”  I never forgot that.”  Crow smiled.

“He sounds like a good pony, where is he now?”  Lightning Dash asked.

Before Crow could reply the door of the café slammed open and zebra with black mohawk and metallic hoof galloped in.  The zebra looked around until he saw Crow and the two pegasi, “Crow!”  The zebra quickly galloped over to the table.

“Sash?  What’s up?”  Crow asked, worried about his friends attitude.

“Um…..the usual…we should probably...”  Sash looked at the two pegasi next to his friend, “Who are your attractive friends?”

“Sash, not now, who did you hit on now?”

“Oh yeah! Um….the wife of a buff stallion….then the buff stallion…and neither of them took it well, so we should….go?”

“I guess so, Tempest, Lightning Dash, go and grab your things and meet me and Sash by the train station.  The next train should be coming in about an hour or so, so please hurry, I’d rather not get into a fight with the locals.”  Crow put a small bag of bits on the table and got up and left with Sash.  Tempest and Lightning Dash both quickly left and went home to pack for the coming trip.

A half hour later the two pegasi arrived at the train station where they found Crow and Sash engaged with a small group of  four, stronger looking earth ponies.

“You just had to tell the mare that you were leaving town, didn’t you.”  Crow laughed as he dodged one of the charging earth ponies.

Sash threw a vile of green liquid at a different earth pony.  Upon contact with the vile, the pony was covered in a green ooze, causing him to stick to the ground, “You should have seen this mare she was really something!”  Sash called back.

Crow head-butted the earth pony he was engaged, knocking him out, “I really wasn’t in the mood for this Sash!  I swear your perversion will get you killed one of these days!”  Another earth pony charged Crow, swinging his hoof at him at full speed.  Crow hopped back and panted, he looked up in the air at Lightning Dash and Tempest, he smiled, “Hey guys, got everything?”  The earth pony swung again and Crow quickly ducked down, then uppercut him, spending the earth pony flying.  At the same time Sash finished the last pony with another one of his potions, which ended up putting the stallion asleep.

Tempest and Lightning Dash finally decided to join Crow and Sash, hoping that it was now safe.  “Are you two done now?”  Tempest asked.

“I think…unless you flirted with somepony else, Sash?”

“Ummm…none that will be a problem….I think.”  Sash said with a smirk.

Crow sighed and shook his head, “Your lucky we’re brothers or else I’d tell you to get lost…”

“Ya now you love me!”  Sash put his arm around Crow and shook him a few times.

“Wait!”  Tempest gasped, “You’re brothers! But…”

“I’m a zebra and he’s a pony?  Our parents adopted me and now we’re brothers.”

“Oh…I’m sorry if that was awkward…”  Tempest apologized.

“It’s no problem, but…”  Sash pushed Crow and away and took a step toward Tempest, “If you’re really sorry we can discuss it later on tonight.”

“I’m not that sorry.”

“Darn…eh….I’ll find somepony in Canterlot I guess.”  Sash sighed and then looked off in the distance, “Looks like our train is arriving, you guys packed?”

The two pegasi nodded and the train pulled into the station.  The four new friends boarded it and they were soon off to Canterlot.