Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Middle
Chapter 1
Sand, gold as the setting sun, shifts with the desert wind, hot and brash in its bursts across the dunes. Each soft lilac hoof lifts and presses into it, the mark made soon swept away carelessly, her cloak dragging upon the ground. Her throat aches and her tongue is swollen in her mouth, she is slowly dying of thirst. Exhaustion nips at her heels like the savage dogs that will come for her when the heat has faded and the cold seeps into her bones as darkness settles. A flash of blue tipped in white, sharp as the cloudless sky, and she pulls her hood down again against the stinging sand. Suddenly, she falls. But this time, she lays still.
A clamor of voices, strange and unintelligible to the mare's ears, odd and full of consonants. Then she sleeps, and there is only one voice when next she awakens. This time, her eyes open. She sees a smile upon a pony muzzle, and the voice is soothing, "Rest little pony, all will be well." Her eyes close again as cool lips press to her forehead, and Cloud Chaser rests.
~~~
Warmth spread comfortably all around her, in a lovely cocoon she didn't want to escape. She tried to squeeze her eyes shut even tighter, struggling to grasp at the remnants of a deep sleep, though her ear twitched as she caught a quiet murmur—she froze, now keeping her eyes shut to feign sleep, wondering if she was in the hooves of friends or foes.
"She needs help Sikar!" burst out a bright feminine voice, they were obviously discussing Cloud Chaser herself.
"We can't afford to let a Folk be caught in our camp, you know the risks!"said a harsh, jagged voice, a female used to the risks of leadership and not the pampering—just like Cloud's former commander's.
"And let her die?!" cried out the other, astonished at the emotionless argument of the elder female.
"We can pack her a few things, send her back where she came from," argued she, leery of strangers ever since the last fiasco.
"We do not know where that is, what if she is a fugitive?" accused the younger.
"She might be a criminal!" growled the deputy triumphantly.
"Please Sikar..."
"Send her away Sikar!"
A strong male voice answered the argument between the females, slow and demanding authority without asking, "For now, we will allow her time to heal. It is only what we would do should a Sphinx be at our tents instead of a Folk. Then we shall see."
"Sikar!" a feminine voice of disbelief, as Cloud Chaser was just beginning to wonder where she was and what in the hay was a Sphinx?
"That is final Stonefang!" Sikar hissed, whirling away from the astonished adviser and stalking into the tent, flicking the flap shut with his tail and sighing tiredly. His ears swiveled and he straightened into a more regal sitting position, saying simply, "I know you are awake four-hooves. I ask honesty from you first."
Cloud hurriedly opened bright purple eyes to stare with unabashed amazement at the creature before her. He had a pony face with cold emerald eyes, but his tan mane was cropped short, and he had two cat paws instead of his front hooves, with large wings folded against his back. His tail was long and agile as a cat's as well, and he had no Cutie Mark! She gaped at him for some moments, till he politely cleared his throat, chuckling softly as she bowed her head in embarrassment. "Do not be afraid. We do not wish to harm you," he said slowly.
"H-how can I understand you? Earlier, you sounded strange!" she blurted. Her cheeks burned and she was sure she was flubbing meeting a species of legend!
He seemed surprised, "Do you not remember? The Goddess bestowed a gift upon you. She brought you here and gave you that necklace—it is a universal translator, made of ancient arcane magic and very rare. I believed all were destroyed in the Seven Years War, as all scholars did."
That was when she noticed the slight weight on her chest, and caught it with a hoof to see a faintly-glowing sapphire in the shape of an orb hanging from a silver chain.
He inclined his head towards her and said politely, "My name is Dustwing, but all call me Sikar, as may you. I am the Sun King of my tribe."
"I am Cloud Chaser, and I...I am nopony special," she finished quietly, hesitating slightly before bowing her head and struggling not to let the tears fall. She would not cry, especially not in front of a stranger!
He moved closer to the pony obviously at war within herself, and he gently touched her hoof in an offer of comfort. She looked up sharply with wide eyes, and he simply smiled, murmuring, "If you need anything, please, ask. Azurefeather will be your caretaker, though if you need me I am directly across from you." Then in a blink, he disappeared through the opening once more, leaving Cloud Chaser alone in this land of myths and desert sand.