Little Redd: the Lost Concept of Peace

Chapter Twenty Five

Between A Rock and A Hard Place

Redd stirred, wincing as she stood and the after-effects of sleep rolled off of her.  She was an early riser, remarkably quick to fully wake.  Glancing outside, the day was new, probably about 5:00, 5:30 in the morning.  She turned over her shoulder and found Zecora's cot empty, the thin cotton comforter slung unceremoniously over the edge of the bed.  Smiling, she laid it back on the mattress and straightened it out.  Zecora had been an early bird as well, yet failed to show any signs of happiness until she'd meditated for a half-hour or so.

She stepped outside, smiling as the sweet scent of Zecora's herbal garden reached her and tempted her to close her eyes.  She did, her chest puffed out in an oddly confident stretch, before a twig snapped behind her.  She whirled just a moment too late as she was tackled to the ground, foreign hooves darting to her sides and warranting a squeal from her as the tickling ensued.  She twisted on the ground, cackling with all that she's worth, unable to stop the hooves from racing up and down her sides vigorously.  Tears had begun streaming down her face as she barely managed to gasp for air.

"P-please!  Stop!"

Her pleas were ignored for another endless moment, before the pony left her alone.  She heard a heavy thump, but let herself leave her eyes closed and ride out her laughing fit, before sighing and looking over.

"Are you stalking me?"

Hawk Eye grinned crookedly from a few inches away, bags noticeable under his eyes as he met her gaze.

"Well, that is my job, but I was actually just passing through when I heard the door open."  His eyes widened as he remembered a fact he was sure she'd be wondering about.  "Zecora's in a meadow a few miles deeper into the Everfree.  I can take you there if you want."

"Nah," she replied, giving a single turn of her head before facing him again.  Suddenly his lips met hers, surprising her and bringing her cheeks aflame, however well her dark coat hid it.  After a moment he pulled away, his dark, tired eyes half-lidded and somewhat dreamy.  He blinked a few times, caught in the stillness of the moment.

"Have you slept at all?" she asked, her brow furrowing.

His expression remained unchanged for a moment before his brows suddenly raised and he pricked an ear.

"Pardon?"  This made her face harden, a disapproving look coming over Redd.  She stood, giggling unexpectedly again at the tensing of her muscles, and offered him a hoof.

"Move along.  You need to come to bed."  He yawned, slowly getting to his hooves before looking away.

"I'm fine, honeybuns."  She blinked, an incredulous look forming on her face.

"What?"

"What?"

"Get in here," she grunted over her heart in her ears, grabbing him by the forehoof and dragging him inside Zecora's hut.

"So," Irish Cream said, leaving his feathers alone for a moment.  "where's this ship you propose to use?"

Hard glanced at him, holding the mug close to his lips like he had for the past ten minutes and blowing on it.  He paused.

"I've got connections.  You can't party hard like Party Hard and not have connections after a few years."

Cream laughed into his wing, still preening the morning away.  His brow furrowed as he continued attempting to concentrate on fixing his feathers.  Eventually his friend's outspoken nature compelled himself to continue.

"She's kinda dark.  Poetic.  Silent."  Cream paused, raising his head from his work, before glancing up at his friend.

"Is it that new mare?  She moved here for the scenery a while back?"  This made Party scoff as he finally took a sip of his tea.

"Yeah, as if the scenery of this place is something to be appreciated."  Cream looked away a moment before reconnecting his eyes with Hard's.

"What was her name?"

"Mud," Party said after another gulp of the pain-numbing brew.  Cream's memory suddenly clicked as memory often does, and he sent his friend a humorous look.

"Don't you mean Maud?"

"Yeah, yeah, her." he replied, dismissively waving the hoof with the mug in it.  "Shit," he murmured through the still-hot tea spilling over his hoof.  This time Cream didn't move from his preening, ignoring the spill and simply remaining silent.  After another moment the light blue stallion swung his hind legs over the couch and set the mug on the coffee table, leaving to the kitchen for a hoof-towel.

"She's got herself a lovely apartment at the end of Jackal street."

He came into the room with the towel around his neck, dumping it off in the floor and beginning to scrub the rug with his hooves.

"Near your place."

Cream's teeth paused long enough for him to talk.

"How is a mineralogist gonna get you a boat?"

Party Hard stood, with the rag in his teeth.  He walked into kitchen before hanging it over the edge of the sink.

"Maud isn't exactly the 'sailor' type, I.C." he replied, leaping over the back of the couch to land in the cushions with crossed legs.  Very odd posture, a trait he had gotten from close proximity to the Heartstrings family for so many years.  His statement left Cream frozen, turning the other sentences over in his mind before responding.

"I thought you said she would get you a boat a moment ago.  You need to talk straight, friend."  This warranted a grin from behind that messy mat of violet hair, Hard's hooves laid casually across the back of the couch.

"Maud is a connection, Cream.  I'll actually be riding with Burnes, her grandfather.  I'm gonna have to go to Germaney to get the boat though."  Irish Cream's brows arched on his forehead, once again pausing his preening to speak.

"Does the man travel, or is he Germane?"  As you can imagine, Cream's attention immediately delved back into his wings, the unruliness of them hardly dented.

"He's Germane.  Y'know, Maud's actually related to one of the Elements of Harmony."

"Rings a bell."  Irish Cream's right wing fluttered, a bit more pleasant than previously noted, before tucking itself behind his shoulderblade and his attention shifting to the left wing instead.

"The Element of Pranking, or something like that."

"Pinkamina Diane Pie, Element of Laughter."  Her title rolled off his Irish tongue like rough silk, his memory serving it's master well.  Hard shot his friend an incredulous look, which he noticed, but ignored.

"How in crimany do you remember all this stuff?"

"Because I'm sober more often than not.  It'd be of use for you to try it out."

Redd stepped outside, taking another breath of the fresh air after having bunked Hawk Eye on Zecora's cot.  She probably won't mind.  It was difficult not to note that the days were changing quickly, this morning bringing a chill up her spine as she walked towards Ponyville.

Everything was going according to plan.  Nothing was out of the ordinary at all, though there were a few cold-natured ponies wearing scarves this morning.  She smiled, knowing that the True world stood something of a chance.  She walked into the village, passing by the library in little more than a few minutes.  Yet, as she walked past, the door was yanked open and Twilight's voice rang out across the marketplace.

"Little Redd!"

Redd turned, and found Twilight trotting up to her looking relieved.

"I was wondering where in the world you were.  Celestia wants to see you."

Redd's eyes widened, and she shivered as a breeze blew.  Her horn glowed a moment before a small fireball slithered out of the tip, hanging in the air next to her to provide warmth.

"Okay.  Thanks."

Twilight smiled, and turned back towards the library.

"No problem sis," she said casually, trotting back indoors.  Despite the earlier use, the pet name still struck Redd as odd.

"Guess it's just her thing," she said under a sigh.  She averted her previously aimless path and made for the train station, the adorable little fireball bobbing alongside her.