Stallion of Fortune

“C'mon Val! You piss like a race-horse!” Lyra laughed, “Was it all that Cider?”

Oh dear Celestia why on Equestria did I ask that infernal Mare to accompany me?!

Valour stood behind the shrubs as he 'relieved himself', while Lyra passed the time berating him about one thing or another. Valour figured she was ever very excitable, possibly explaining her rash decision making earlier, or just a down-right bully, although her previous politeness made that theory void. Satisfied, Valour stepped out from behind the bush to find his saddlebags sat near Lyra's hooves, he flung them on his back with his teeth then nodded in the direction of the trail, and the two continued their journey without a word. The Moon began it's eventual climb towards the sky as they trotted through the countryside, still in their veil of silence. Troubled by the quiet, Lyra decided it would be best to spark up some conversation.

“Soooo....” Lyra paused, thinking of something to say, “You been to Phillydelphia before?”

“A few times, yeah.” Valour replied nonchalantly, “The whole reason I was heading there is because I have a buddy over there who'll have work for me. I gotta hand it to that Zebra, he knows the right Ponies.”

“He's a Zebra?” Lyra asked, raising a quizzical brow, “I thought they don't usually travel outside of their lands?”

“They don't, but Elimu had to flee due to the fighting down there.” Valour sighed slightly, “He had travelled many miles before he reached Phillydelphia, and he decided that was as good a place as any to stop galloping.”

The conversation died down into silence once more as Valour and Lyra ambled along the dirt path, they where now far from Ponyville, and well on the road to the large town of Phillydelphia. It was roughly a day's journey from Ponyville by Hoof, and Valour had travelled this road many times, and as such they where very unlikely to get lost or sidetracked. Lyra failed to suppress a yawn as she walked along the path, it had been a long day for her and it was finally taking it's toll on her, Valour noticed her tiredness and pointed over to a clearing further along the road.

“C'mon, we'll set up camp for the night,” Valour chewed on his lip, “That place seems a good a place as any.”

They trotted down to the clearing, cutting across the grass and off the road. Valour inspected the ground, it was firm, nice and dry too, he promptly shook off his saddlebags which landed with a clunk on the floor. Lyra meanwhile had seated herself on the floor as she levitated the Lyre case of her back and set it on the floor gently, she ran a hoof over the black hardwood case before standing up and walking over to Valour who had brought some dry thicket from the base of a nearby tree to make a fire.

Valour arranged the sticks in an orderly fashion, having done this many times, he picked up a final stick and placed it on top of a flat piece of wood and began to spin the stick using his hooves, hoping that the amount of friction generated would cause the fire to start. It was a trial and error method, and Valour remembered fondly one time where he had spent the better part of 3 hours trying to get a fire to start. The fire suddenly exploded in a blaze of heat, causing Valour to jump back in fright, he looked up to Lyra who's horn glowed a faint green, she shot him a smug grin. Valour brushed it off and began to rummage through his saddlebags in search of something, he seemed to find what he was looking for and clamped his teeth down on the object and began to pull.

“Ish pon't hash a techs-” He spat the object out of him mouth, “I don't have a tent, all I have is this groundsheet and a blanket.” He scratched his chin thoughtfully, “You get first shut-eye and I'll watch the camp, we'll trade after a good few hours okay?”

Lyra nodded and helped drag the sleeping equipment out from Valour's saddlebags and watching as he placed them on the ground gently, she lay down on top of the groundsheet, surprised at how comfy it was. Valour turned and began digging through his Saddlebags, searching for something, Lyra turned and lay on her side, feeling her eyelids become heavy and eventually close, she drifted off to sleep.

Valour found his prize in amongst his stuff, a small metallic flask with a screw off lid. In it was contained the ultimate drink to ward off the cold; Whiskey. Well that's not strictly true, as Whiskey gives you the feeling of warmth, it actually opens up blood vessels and overall lowers a Pony's body temperature. However Valour took a swig of the canteen anyway, savouring the slight stinging sensation as it travelled down his throat, replacing the flask, he turned and noticed Lyra curled up on the groundsheet, fast asleep. He swept up the blanket and draped it over her, she snuggled into it, a small smile crept up on her face. Valour shook his head before turning and sitting down next to the fire, it was going to be a long night.

The Sun was yet to rise when Valour rose from his slumped position near a smouldering fire, his keen instincts told him that it was roughly 6:00AM. As he rose to stretch his joints he snatched up his canteen and took another swig of the Whiskey. It was a special brand; “GlenGrant” a single Malt  Scotch that he'd bought off a trader a couple of weeks back, savouring the taste, Valour went to wake Lyra from her slumber.

However she wasn't in her makeshift bed, only the blanket remained, unmoved from it's original position.

It was then he realised that it had happened again.

For a few months now, this Mare had appeared during his travels and then just disappeared without a trace. She was always different, once she was a Pegasus, the next she was an Earth Pony, and more recently, a Unicorn. Her coats had changed many times to match her Ethnicity, once she was bright pink with a swirly purple mane, the next she was oceanic blue with a electric yellow mane. However she had always had the same Cutie-mark; a golden Lyre, and Valour had always stumbled upon her playing said instrument by herself.

There was a time when Valour questioned his sanity upon seeing the same Mare multiple times, however that time had long passed. Her appearances being blamed on the amount of Alcohol he consumed on a daily basis and the stress of the seemingly “Gypsy” lifestyle. That view was long since dismissed due to Valour's stubborn disposition. Valour hefted his re-packed satchel and studied the horizon; watching the wondrous set of colours bloom across the landscape. He muttered a quick prayer to the divine Celestia before trotting off towards Phillydelphia.

Only a mile to go, and only a mile 'till Elimu, and more work....

Hey

Yeah, the last time this story was updated was.... 7th of March? Jesus, that was a while ago....

Anyways, a REALLY short chapter so you remember that I'm still alive! Anyways, now that I'm at Uni, I'll probably be updating more often due to the fact that there are those days where nothing happens.....

Besides, I have a REALLY good plan for this story.... Trust me on this one!

Be close to the ones you love.

~TRW