A pair of humans collapsed side by side on a log and glanced between each other, uncomfortable silence only held at bay by their exasperated breaths. But while the man and the woman shared uneasy glances, they hesitated to say anything. The woman’s eyes seemed to dance over the form of the man, from his loose clothes to the cape that rested over his shoulders, hiding his arms from view. His raven black hair and pale skin outlining the absolute exhaustion that haunted his jade-colored eyes. His form was clearly not built for physical work, thin and fragile, and he’d been pushing himself to his limits on this trip, fear of what night would bring urging him onward even when his body told him to quit.
He’d been the major reason they hadn’t reached their destination yet. They’d been forced to stop for several breaks, to rest and to drink from water whenever they found it, where he would guzzle the liquid and regret it later as aches set in. She’d warned him about it, and he had taken her words into consideration, he was very clearly trying his hardest to be stronger than he was. Knowing it might very well be the difference between life and death. But his throat always felt so parched, and his legs always felt like jelly.
His eyes didn’t look over the form of the woman as much, lingering almost entirely on her face as they rested, not even noticing the coarse airy clothing that she bore, nor the form of the muscles that rested beneath it. He only had eyes for the tough, weathered jaw and deep blue eyes that she wore proudly. The crowning features of strength and calm that had captured him long ago. His left arm poked out of his cloak and pushed against his leg, as if in an effort to keep himself up. He caught his breath and reached for the small canteen that hung on his belt, again with his left hand, his right hand never leaving the sacred protection that the cloak gave to it. His hand brushed against the steely surface of the canteen, and it seemed to jog him from his thoughts, bringing him once more into the real world.
His eyes moved to the woman again, this time looking at her for some kind of response. And even though her expression didn’t change at all, he moved his hand away from the canteen, letting his left hand disappear back into his cloak. She smiled at him and he returned it. “So, how long do you think we are out from that town you spotted?” He asked, the smile not leaving his face as he tried to regain his lost energy.
“Probably not much farther to go. I could climb a tree and check if you’d like.”
He seemed to consider that for a while, but decided against it, seeing the sweat that had begun to roll down her brow. She was much more fit than he was for all this walking, but even she was beginning to get tired. He didn’t want to make the situation any worse for her than it already was.
“I suppose it doesn’t matter so much, as long as you’re sure we’re going the right way. Finding out how close we are won’t move it any closer, nor make our journey any easier.”
She nodded at that. He seemed about to nod as well, but didn’t, merely looking straight ahead as he did so, his face not moving. “We should probably get going if we hope to-”
“Shh, do you hear that?” he interrupted, almost immediately looking at her with apologetic eyes, but not breaking the silence he had made.
The woman looked at him, puzzled, then closed her eyes in an attempt to focus on the sounds of the forest. She heard birds chirping and a bubbling creek a few feet away, but other than that she couldn’t hear anything odd or out of the normal. Then, suddenly, she caught a voice. It had been blending it with the brook, so it was hard to make it out at first. But now that she knew what she was listening for she could hear it. It sounded feminine and gruff and most of all angry, but not aggressive
“Let’s go check it out, maybe they know an easier path through this wretched wood to town.” She nodded again, and they moved, backtracking slightly towards the brook, and then skirting along the edge of it, moving carefully through the brush to avoid getting spotted, just in case the owner of the voice was less than pleasant.
After a while they could make out half words that the voice was speaking, then when they were almost on top of the speaker, they could make out whole phrases. “Now, I want ya’ll to think about what ya’ve done.” They heard, just as the man who was leading the pair managed to get a good view from out of the brushes. As they looked in, they saw only horses, albeit colorful ones. Orange and white and yellow, three small foals who were standing, almost looking like they were grazing, but they weren’t eating the grass. They’re heads down as if in shame.
Across from them was a taller orange one, her head looking in the direction of the smaller three. Their proportions seemed… almost comic… but they were still recognizable as horses of some kind, and the two onlookers tried to spot the speaker, suspecting they were hidden somewhere among the equines. However, none was made apparent, and the pair glanced at each other to see if the other had found them, only to get a blank look in return.
“We’re sorry.” Came the words in a set of three, and the pair quickly looked once again back to the horses, only to still see that there was still no human among the group, the smaller horses had raised their heads to look at the larger one. Just as the conclusion was beginning to brew in their minds, it was subsequently confirmed. The large orange equine smiled slightly before words rolled out of her mouth, much to the surprise of the two bipeds in the bushes.
“It’s alright. Ya’ll just have to understand that ah worry ‘bout ya.” There was a look of disbelief shared between the humans, sheer shock and surprise decorating their features in equal portions. “And the Everfree ain’t no place for y’all, even if ya think it’ll get ya your Cutie Marks.” The fillies nodded in guilty agreement, admitting to themselves that they had known it was the wrong thing to do when they came out here.
The humans, meanwhile, had there minds lose themselves in confusion in the bushes. Now faced with the strange conclusion that the ones speaking were horses. It wasn’t that either of them had anything against the animals of course, in fact the woman had known a plough horse for many of her early years on the farm. But, seeing them talk was still a surprising and mildly upsetting event. To the point that the biped’s didn’t even notice they were leaving the area until they had already vanished from view.
With a flash of desperation in his eyes, the man pursued them, taking great care to avoid causing noise, not wanting to alarm them with his pursuit. The woman tailed after him, suspecting he was correct in this action, even if she didn’t see fully how yet. She took the same precaution with noise, avoiding it at all costs, and it only took her a moment to catch up to the man, his own pace a fraction of hers.
His breathing became desperate as they dashed through the underbrush, and the woman made to grab him and sit him down, but just as she started to reach for him they burst from the treeline, gaining a sudden and encompassing view of the town they had seen that had sparked their trip. She hesitated as they came out of their shelter, making themselves fully visible to the ponies, who now were turning back to see what had come out behind them, fear already building on the eldest one’s face.
The man collapsed onto his knees, coughs racking his body as he kept his eyes locked on the ground. He managed to pry his gaze from the grass to look at the ponies who were now staring at him in shock, very clearly only moments away from fleeing in terror. “No please!” He begged, attempting to stand up, only having to catch himself with his left arm again, his right one still mysteriously absent from view beneath his cloak. “We mean you no harm!”
In an act of good faith, he pulled a dagger from the folds of his shirt and tossed it aside, looking to the ponies for respite. They gazed back, and it was a moment before they spoke back in turn. Though it was once again the eldest leading the conversation. “Ya’ll go get Twilight, ya hear?”
“But sis what about-”
“Ah’ll be fine Applebloom, ah promise. Just go get Twilight for me please.” The trio of younger ponies looked to the adult, then back to the monstrous bipeds that had stumbled out of the forest behind them. Then they left without a further word. With them gone, the orange pony let herself focus fully on the strange beings before her. “What d’ya want here?” Came a cautious tone.
The woman approached the man, sitting down next to him and resting a hand on his shoulder. His coughs were dying away, but he was clearly in no position to run again. She looked at the orange pony, obviously physically fit enough to win a fight with two exhausted humans. Deciding things were beyond her skill to handle, she let the man answer the question. Though it took him more than a few moments to recover from his dash.
“We seek only shelter.” He replied, looking at her as he took a seat next to the woman in the grass. “Shelter foremost, food, and water. But we’re willing to work for them if need be.”
The pony narrowed her eyes, but didn’t speak against the words, as if judging there truthfulness for herself. “And what were ya’ll doin’ in the Everfree forest?”
“Seeking said shelter, water, and food. We were planning on setting up a camp for the night when we saw this town on the horizon from our place on a hill. I promise you, we mean you no harm. I know that it seems sketchy and strange. I can only imagine how unsure you are of us right now. You could very well be worried about how our presence will affect the social atmosphere of the town, or you could be worried for your family. And as much as I would like to promise you that we won’t stay long I can’t. I would if I could but I can’t.” His eyes were begging as he looked at her and she returned a gentle gaze, though her face remained stoic.
“What are ya’lls names?” She asked, looking at the two humans in a new light. The woman smiled softly, always finding herself impressed by the verbose abilities of the man, despite having seen him calm many such storms like this in the past.
The two humans looked between each other for a half second, hopeful smiles on their faces once again, before turning back to their host. “I’m Jack.” Said the man, offering a slight bow to her before looking to the woman.
“I’m Samantha.” She stretched out an arm towards the pony, who extended a similair gesture. Both of them exchanged a strong shake, then relaxed.
“Jack, Samantha.” The pony tipped her hat to them in turn, then smiled at them. “Ah’m Applejack. And let me be the first to say... Welcome to Ponyville.”
Author's Note
Dear lord, July of last year was the last update? What have I been doing with my time?
Second Step
There was a soft clanging noise, a metallic rhythm that sang some wordless song, and it beat like a heart through the walls of the train. The train came to a stop, the noise grew louder and louder and reached it’s highest peak as Jack followed his aging father out of the metal monster and onto the unsteady sand. He glanced around to find the source of the permeating beat, and found it in the workforce.
Large and long blocks of marble were lowered into the sand, magicians of the earth pulling the shifting grains apart, a process that took hours and hours, piles of sand forming on either said of the mages, leaving only enough room for themselves. The blocks were lowered until the tops of them rested where the surface of the sand resided, and the sand was allowed to cave back into the hole, securing the stone in place. These men did their job in peace, as those of the magician houses were always silent as they did their job.
The noise came from the true workforce. People of all kinds and backgrounds shoulder to shoulder with one another, swinging their hammers in two different groups, what could have easily been chaos was instead a beat, like music, waiting for someone to sing the words. Jack lamented he didn’t know them, he would have loved to try and accompany this resounding bass.
He saw among the people a girl, she was about his age and she bore toned muscle that strained with each swing of her hammer. She brought it down time and time again onto the metal spike, her hammer molding what magic could not. She sensed him watching her, and she turned to look.
And when she saw him, there was only rage in those eyes.
Jack blinked and the memory was gone, he had drifted out of the moment, the silence had driven him into his memories. Jack’s left arm was draped behind Samantha’s neck like a scarf. Light and flimsy. Their left hands were clenched tightly together and she used her free arm to support Jack as they walked, careful not to apply unneeded stress on his muscles with the shaking of their steps on the somewhat uneven road. This, naturally, meant she had to hunch over, lowering her much closer to Jack’s height. His feet padded along next to hers, uneasy fragile breaths shaking his body with every inhale and exhale of his lungs.
“You pushed yourself too hard again Jack.” Samanta stated matter of factly, her movements mimicking Jack’s uneasy steps, doing her best to ease his pain.
“I know.” Was the only reply, the words coming in a gap between Jack’s unsteady inhales.
“You said you wouldn’t.”
“...I know.” The words held a degree of shame to them, and Jack couldn’t seem to meet Samantha’s eyes as they stumbled along.
Samantha simply pushed on, recognizing the tone, knowing what it meant. “Just making sure.” Was all she said, and the discussion was over.
Applejack walked a little ways ahead of them, leading the way back to Twilight’s new castle home, hoping that her friend would opt to fly or run to the her supposed aid, rather than teleport there. It was clear that Jack needed some rest from his run through the forest. And Twilight’s home was much closer than Sweet Apple Acres, but she’d rather if she could chat with Twilight before she invited strangers into someone elses home.
Her keen ears noticed that the footsteps behind her had stopped, and in turn she did so as well. Jack was slumped on the ground, breathless, and Samantha had took a seat of her own beside him. There hands were still holding each other’s even as they sat, and Jack’s grip seemed a bit tighter than Samantha’s, holding onto her with what he had left.
Applejack watched in silence as Samantha stared into Jack’s eyes, a staring contest that the man eventually lost, turning his head away to look at the ground. There was silence for a moment, and Applejack toyed with the idea of asking a few questions in the time that was given her, but just as she had built up the courage to ask, Samantha decided to speak first. “Jack. Let me see your arm.”
“It’s fine.” He said simply, turning his body away and grabbing the cloak with his left hand to pull it tighter, hiding his right arm more fully from view.
“Jack.” Samantha said, her tone holding a caring tone. He simply turned away more. With a sigh, Samantha moved to crouch in front of Jack, looking at him. Then, with almost blinding speed, she jabbed her hand underneath the cloak, grasping the arm underneath. She stared evenly at him and he looked back.
“I would’ve been able to handle it.” He said, but he received no look of understanding in return.
“You don’t have to. Not by yourself.”
“You already single handedly got us here. I didn’t want to be a burden.”
“You aren’t a burden Jack.”
In response Jack let loose a peeling laugh, but there was no hilarity in the sound, only pain. “Ohoho, sure I’m not.”
Samantha only stared him down. Jack glanced to Applejack but Samantha didn’t break her glare on Jack. Eventually, she forcefully pulled his arm from it’s shroud with a quick and powerful movement.
“What in tarnation…” Applejack whispered through parted lips, eyes wide in surprise. The man’s arm and hand didn’t look anything like his other one. Instead of tan skin was red scales and each of the fingers had been replaced by a claw. And, somewhere deep inside the limb, it seemed to pulse red with the rhythm of an unheard heart beat. “Why I never…”
“You should have told me before it got this bad.” Samantha said simply, a strange white light beginning to form around her hand. “No doubt it’s been sucking more and more life from you, and you’ve been pushing on like a fool all the time, worried about me wasting my energy on you.”
Jack glanced away as the scales started to recede, the claws dulled, the red pulses faded to nothing, and there was only another hand there, same as his other.
“It’s kind of you.” Samantha continued. “If a little misguided.”
“Yea.” Jack said simply, looking at his normal arm with empty eyes. “Whatever.” Samantha frowned and stood again, Jack following suit, but silent all the while.
“Sorry.” He eventually offered half heartedly to Applejack and to Samantha. “We can start moving again.”
“What in tartarus was that?” Applejack responded immediately, almost ignoring what had been said to her at all.
Jack rubbed his wrist absentmindedly before he let his arms fall limp to his sides. “Let’s go see your friends, I don’t want to have to explain it twice.”
Caught between both sides of her mind, Applejack found herself unable to choose what to do. There was clearly something going on here that she didn’t understand. But Jack didn’t seem like he was going to give her any info on it no matter how hard she pressed and Samantha didn’t look like she was going to say anything at all. Eventually Applejack’s decision to trust them won through, though just barely.
Besides, if they did turn out to be evil magicians or some such, Twilight would be able to find out. So, even then, the best choice of action would still be to head to the castle. And, eventually, Applejack forced her hoofs to move that way, the pair of humans following her steps. Deep breaths moved through Applejack’s mouth as she tried to calm herself. She told herself that Twilight would know what to do.
And all credit to her, she was more or less right.
