Band of Five Attributes (Re-Written)

In a small town in the desert, complete with farming fields and Western-style saloons, ponies once again gathered round a most peculiar spot. This time, some hefty brutes of stallions were carefully loading a teenage pony onto a bed. This one had a brown, trimmed mane and a tan pelt, glasses lopsided on his face complete with cracked lens. His tan pelt ended before his brown hooves, as far as the legs were concerned. The strange thing about him was the fact he had a gold-colored crossbow strapped onto his right hoof.

They wasted no time in sheltering the pony in the nearest building possible and away from the scorching desert sun, which happened to be an inn of some kind. They housed him in a quaint room that had small pictures of ponies, a dresser drawer, and the bed the teen pony happen to lay on. There were also stools surrounding a small table, and some playing cards stacked neatly in a deck.

One stallion, this one with a golden orange coat, eyes the color of grass, and a two-toned orange mane entered the room as the bulky stallions left. On his head was a brown Stetson and a brown leather vest was fitted onto his front quarters.

His head turned to the pony in the bed as a soft groan of pain came from his slowly shifting form. Then, his eyes opened behind the cracked glasses, irises the color of the earth fogged up a bit from sleep or something of the sort.

“Where...am I?” Asked the teen pony, voice clouded with grogginess and underlying pain. “My head hurts…”

“Whoa, easy there.” Said the pony with the Stetson, walking to the injured pony to avoid startling him. He gently placed a hoof onto his head and ruffled his mane some. “We just found ya a few minutes ago, laying on the hot sand in the middle of town. Not a good place to take a nap, but I could tell ya crashed something fierce.”

“I...feel woozy…” Replied the tan pony, blinking a few times. He tried scrunching his eyes shut, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. He felt like he was in an oven being roasted alive.

The orange pony put his hoof down to the floor and turned around. “That ain’t no good. I’ll have Caramel bring ya some water.” He commented, walking out to the door.

“Who...are you?” Asked the tan pony, his voice cracking from the pain.

The pony with the Stetson stopped, craning his head back to the injured teen in the bed. “My name’s Braeburn. Yours?” He replied, smiling.

“T-Tenmei…” Answered the weakened pony. His throat felt dry and scarred, and it was painful for him to speak.

“A’ight. Holler if ya need anything else.” Braeburn said, smiling as he trotted out the door. He was then heard shouting for someone named Caramel, and something else about water.

After a few moments, a pony with a brown coat, darker mane, and blue eyes walked in the room, carrying a pail of water in his mouth. He walked over to Tenmei and nudged him gently with a hoof before noticing the cracked, lopsided glasses on his face. The blue-eyed pony quickly righted the glasses onto the muzzle of the injured pony.

Now, Tenmei could see properly despite the cracks in his glasses. Even so, his eyes were still fogged with sleepiness. He looked at the water bucket for a moment as if dumbstruck before leaning over and taking off his glasses with a shaky hoof. Placing the glasses on the bed, he then dunked his head into the bucket and drank to his heart’s content.

He drank half the bucket before he rose his head and shook off the excess water from it. He still felt woozy and overheated, but his recent drink made him feel just a little bit better as he put his glasses back on and his head on the pillow. Now, he was laying on his side.

The other pony gently hung the water bucket on a rack, rising on his hind legs to do so. Tenmei could see three blue horseshoes in a rounded triangle on his flank. The stallion then reverted to all fours and looked at the pony in bed.

“You feelin’ better?” He asked, concern lingering in his tone.

“Not much…” Tenmei answered, turning onto his backside. “Just...terrible…”

“Well, I hope ya get to feelin’ better soon. In all honesty, ya don’t look well at all.” Replied the other pony, taking his turn to trot out the door.

Once the blue-eyed pony left, Tenmei began to toss and turn. He kept trying to get comfortable, but his head was in pain, much like the rest of his body. Minutes passed, but they felt like hours. As they passed, he began to think a little straighter.

And then, something dreaded hit him harder than a brick. He realized he wasn’t with his friends. In fact, he didn’t know where they were; all he knew was that he was alone with these strangers. At least said strangers were treating him kindly; he didn’t even want to think what would happen if he wound up with terrible beings altogether.

But could the same be said about his companions? It was a thought that was beginning to gnaw away at him, and tears began clouding his sight further.

“I just hope they’re alright.” He thought, a tear streaking down his cheek and hitting the soft pillow. As Tenmei was lost in his thoughts, somepony entered the room and crept to the end of the bed.

“You alright there, Tenmei?” Asked a familiar voice. Tenmei hastily rose as if startled, only to find Braeburn looking at him from the end of the bed with concern.

“It’s just...I want to know where my friends are...I hope they’re safe.” Tenmei answered, looking down at the blanket with a forlorn look on his face.

“Oh, shoot. I didn’t know you had friends that came here as well!” Braeburn exclaimed, genuinely shocked. “Do you know where they are?”

“No, I don’t. I haven’t a clue, and that’s what worries me.” Tenmei replied, the forlorn look on his face unwavering. Another tear streaked its way down his cheek and hit the blanket.

“Darn.” Braeburn said, now sounding worried himself.

“If only I knew where they were, or if they’re even alive right now…” Tenmei sighed, looking at his forelegs pitifully. It was then something occurred to him. He looked up at Braeburn and said, “Wait, would I even be able to recognize my friends now? When we’re horses?”

“Ponies.” Braeburn corrected, a slight frown present on his muzzle. “I’d like to think that’s a possibility, but then again, I don’t know your pals like ya do.”

“You have a point, but…” Tenmei trailed off, another tear falling down his face.

“But what?” Braeburn inquired, a brow arched.

“It’s just...I’m not sure...I want to know where they are, and how they’re holding up…” Tenmei said, another tear still trickling down his face. His frown seemed to worsen as it did.

Braeburn walked to the side of the bed and put his hoof on the teen’s back. “I’m sure they’re doin’ fine. Heck, I’m willing to bet they’re also looking for you.” He said, a small smile on his face.

Tenmei looked at him, blinking a few times. “I suppose that’s true…”

“But ya need to stay put for a while. You’re in no condition to be walkin’ right yet. I’ll tell the rest of the ponies in ye ole Appleloosa to help ya whenever they can till the next train comes.” Braeburn said, smiling.

“And...where does the train go?” Tenmei asked, looking down at the blanket again.

“It goes to Ponyville. I have a mighty strong feelin’ you’ll find one of your friends there.” Braeburn said, still grinning.

“Really?” Tenmei asked, looking back at the pony.

“I can’t be too positive, but there’s always that chance it could happen.” Braeburn pointed out, patting his hoof gently on the teen’s back before placing it on the wood floor. “Who knows, maybe you’ll meet them all if you are really lucky. I’m sure they worry for ya too.”

Tenmei looked at him, the corners of his mouth twitching up and up until a smile appeared. “Thanks, Braeburn.” He said.

“Hey, don’t thank just me. Thank the whole town for finding you where ya were.” Braeburn replied, smiling. He then trotted to the door, but stopped to look back at Tenmei. “Ya sure ya don’t need anything else?”

“Not at the moment.” Tenmei replied, returning his head to his pillow and closing his eyes.

“Alrighty then.” Braeburn sighed, still smiling as he went out the door. Soon, the teen pony fell fast asleep.