Warband: Shattered Equestria

Aurora grimaced as the carriage lurched forward and out of the muddy pothole. The sound of the mud squelching punctuating his decision not to jump out of the carriage and run home. That had been the threshold, past this point his fate was in the hooves of others.

"I know it's hard to leave your home like that, but I know you can do this." Lady Thrawn assured passingly, for it was in her nature, Aurora gave her half hearted attempt at comforting him the attention it deserved. "Face me, fola-konu." 'Coltwife.' The word hit Aurora like a swung oar to the face*. He recovered a second later as he reminded himself of where he was heading. She would just be trying to get him used to the idea.  "You know, when I was a foal, a carriage like this would have needed a dozen guards to fend off the bandits. Some of them were Vaegspari agents, but most of them were honest nordponies. The war was a harsh time for everypony."

*Only an idiot would throw a bag of bricks.

Aurora rolled his eyes at the very familiar speak of adults. They were always ranting about the war of their foalhood. "Don't you dare dismiss me." Aurora flinched back from the flicking fan at his face. "Colt, you're going to the court under MY supervision. You will be taking orders from me while true stallions are out being apprenticed in real jobs. Heartless morons will say things that will cut your heart out and stomp on it. They will attack your family and your home. But you are not going to just live under that attack, you are going to thrive under my instruction. You may be stubborn now, but if you disobey me in Sargoth I will dump you off at a brothel so that stallions can pass you around and maybe in a few months the matron of the brothel will let you crawl away back to your family." Aurora flinched back a second time and held his lute closer to his barrel.

"I'm glad to see you understand. Stay silent for now and neither of us will have issue."  Aurora gave the lady Thrawn another look, confused by the sudden drastic change in demeanor, and hoping for perhaps a little of the kindness he had seen in the years preceding, but her expression was a mask of ice, closed to the world. Lady Thrawn and Aurora had never been a season away from each other, but in the mare's eyes They had been strangers for years.

Aurora had never seen a look like that before. Never had anyone left the village for such a time, and the trader's always passed through on the way to the King's throne. Strangers were people you hadn't met yet, they weren't supposed to be people you had known most of your life. Yet, as his father often said, eyes were the window to the truth, and in these eyes he saw a stranger.

Had every kind word she had uttered been false? Her eyes hadn't seemed to lie then, but he was sure what she was saying now. Perhaps this was a technique that only ponies of the realm knew, and was how they kept their power. Perhaps this was an imposter?

Aurora gave the carriage another look. There were no signs of a struggle, nor had Lady Thrawn made any slips when speaking of past events. It was unlikely she had been replaced. Aurora felt cold for some reason. He forced questions about Lady Thrawn's strange behavior aside and tried to find something else to think about.

Aurora's glance carried him to the tiny grating that acted as a window for the door. Through the small holes he could make out the mountains known as the twin lovers. Each individual peak had a dozen names, but as a pair, Twin Lovers was the only name he had heard for the two of them.

Aurora blushed as he recalled the tale of the twin peaks as told by Reader. Aurora had inquired about the history of the name. He was just making polite conversation at the time. He had not expected the three hour long take of incest, group sex, and creative sex toys.

The story, as Reader told it, was specifically about the twin daughters of a earthling farmer. By the end of the story they've fucked each other, their parents, half the village, and all of their crops. Reader had closed the story by saying "and that's how Applekala was founded." Yes, it was a terrible joke, but by the end all of Aurora's blood had fled his brain for his cheeks, and he had laughed like an idiot.

A few days later, after his brain had gotten its blood back, Aurora had asked a traveling merchant about what jokes the other made about the North. According to the merchant, most non Nord ponies thought that Nord ponies fucked wolves, used the two ends of their longships as dildos, and every sex act that didn't include woodland creatures or boats most definitely included feathers or ice.

Aurora pulled his cloak tighter. There was nothing to do now but sleep.

...

Not that it would come. Rest lingered at the edge of his consciousness, dulling his senses but refusing to arrive in its fullness. The melting snows and slushies of mud outside painted a bleak but hopeful picture. Aurora felt a passing hope that the farmers did well this year. He wondered if Miss Limpa's breads were turning out well. He wondered if Red Tanner really meant what he said behind the tent on his sixteenth birthday.

It was likely none of the three would be true. The village farmer's were rather average, as was the soil, Miss Limpa was a even worse baker, and Tanner was the sort of dick who liked the long game. Aurora barely managed to avoid thinking about Reader, and his father.

He failed trying to not think about how long they had all known about this, how much they agreed with it. Was this a betrayal?

Was this reall the best thing for him? She'd said that when she'd picked him up. But her transformation. Just moments ago was still reverberating in his mind.

Yet, his dad has said the same thing. Not with the same conviction, but with some conviction. It wasn't like