Chapter 1 ~ Destitute Defenders

The stallion's blonde mane remained unmoving, even as he positioned himself upon the hill to gaze at the land before him. Humming to himself he watched the blackness without blinking, trying to make something out. His blue eyes shifted back and forth but there didn't appear to be anything at all in his sight. The stallion nodded to himself before turning around and facing his two companions.

The vanilla colored unicorn mare with the most horrible green mane stared right back at him with that smug grin on her face that just told the world 'Ain't I the best thing ever?'. He didn't like being looked at like that, especially since he was her superior. He also knew that bringing that subject up would end up in another verbal fight he'd lose. The stallion didn't like losing either, especially to her.

"There isn't any sound down there," he stated bluntly. Sunset raised those eyebrows of hers in a way that really made him want to buck her good.

"But Captain, Seeing said there were diamond dogs about," she argued with an almost condescending tone.

"Yeah, and Seeing was never wrong, right? Aside from the last time and the time before that and the time before before before, not counting before before, he was right then, right?" asked the third pony. A young turquoise pegasus colt with the most enthusiastic grin and mane -  seriously, that mint colored mane was a force of nature on it's own - wearing the metal barding of the caravan guards, just like Sunset Dale did, contrasting the Captain's own, more artful gear.

"Exactly my point," the Captain said dryly, "He's been wrong before. Sunset and I didn't hear or see any Diamond Dogs. Mind you, they aren't the quiet types."

Sunset shook her head with a sigh, "Captain, Captain, Captain."

He was her superior, he could just kick her right in the face and nopony could complain about it.

"The diamond dogs can dig themselves in and wait for us to come by, then just ambush us," the mare explained. And astounded 'oooh' came from the young Colt, to which she replied: "And that, too. Thanks for the insight, Party,” not really appreciating the amazement of the colleague.

The Captain really hated Sunset but on the other hoof, she had a point. Diamond dogs were known for their cunning traps and ambushes. They couldn't just waltz in there. The problem was, they had to.

"Probably, yeah...but if we assume that he is right with the diamond dogs he might also be right with the river, which means..." he paused to look over his shoulder, "We'll have to fight these rotten beasts."

Sunset Dale's grin faded and even Party Star lost his smile immediately. The Captain knew exactly what they thought but he couldn't take anymore chances, not after what had happened when after the whole string of events that had led to this peculiar situation.

"I'm sorry but our water supply is running thin and the last stop where the liquid was still drinkable was over at the silver knot. We have to keep going. If we remain together, we can manage, alright soldiers?"

The unicorn and the pegasus nodded each, regaining a bit of their confidence.

Still, Sunset wasn't quite sure about this.

"We lost Dream on the road, sir," she said, earning a confused look before the Captain started nodding, the memory of somepony like that existing coming back to him, "and aside from us three, we only got Frisbee, Limelight and Garden Tool left as soldiers. Do you really think we could take on an entire gang of Diamond Dogs?"

Party started laughing, "You forgot Stardust," he sang, jumping up and down excitedly. Both his comrades just stared at him in silent disapproval for a second, before they resumed their discussion.

"Yes. I believe in you ponies. Every one of you may be a contestant for being the most annoying pony alive, but skill you do have," the Captain answered firmly with an honest smile on his face.

Sunset wanted to answer but closed her mouth again, moving closer to Party. She whispered in his ear: "Did he just insult us or give us a compliment?"

"Both I believe," Party giggled, completely oblivious to what his own statement meant.

The mare grumbled. She was completely sure that she'd make a better leader than the Captain. All he did was spend half the morning combing his hair and the rest of the day he'd just give them the wrong orders anyway. That and the fact that he always trotted about like some aristocrat from one of the oasis villages. Really, it was just plain disgusting, especially since she was clearly superior to him in every aspect. Especially the one where memories were involved.

The earth pony stallion looked at her distress with a bit of glee, before he started talking up again: "Now then, soldiers. We should go back and inform the others of the harsh trial ahead. Follow me!"

He led the group across the dry earth and through the blackness, all while trying to look as graceful as possible in his old velvet covered armor that stood in contrast his sky blue coat. Considering he spent more than enough time caring for either, it came easy to the stallion. They moved on, looking at the darkness before them until the lights of the caravan came in sight. Six wagons stood there in a circle, a mighty fire acting as guiding light for whatever pony was stranded out there. As they closed in both the light and the song a certain trio sang became clearer.

As they approached they were greeted by a gray Pegasus covered in armor. That one always patrolled by flight, even though the line of sight from up there wasn't much better than from below. Still she halted above the nearest wagon when she saw them and saluted but didn't stop to chat. The Captain noted that as a good thing. Frisbee always had been his favorite subordinate, mainly because she was both dutiful and aware of military rankings, unlike other certain ponies he didn't want to name, like Sunset.

They entered the wagon fort without further ado. The wagons themselves were placed in a safe distance from the large fire and the civilian ponies had huddled together in pairs, each making noise in their own way. This had become some kind of a tradition over the years. Fine Clouds always wanted to sing songs and he knew so many that he'd always managed to teach whoever was interested a new one. Sweetroll didn't much care for music and would rather play with the fillies whereas the remaining two, well...they just wanted to be alone together.

The Captain took the moment to breathe in the air of the camp. A sweet scent hung in it, he noted. He figured that was either because of the atmosphere they always had in camp when nopony had any work to do or Sweetroll was probably sitting by the side of the flame with that full bag of marshmallows she had picked up by the silver knot.

He liked to think that it was the first. Being a guardspony was harder work than any of the other ponies had, mainly because you had to be vigilant all the time. At least that was what every guard had been instructed in by their master-at-arms. They didn't do anything outside from protecting the other ponies and pulling the wagons, sure, but their duty was the one where sleep often was hardly affordable. Even, or especially, in such a small caravan.

A mint-green unicorn filly hopped around the fire while howling gibberish. The stallion stopped and just looked at her go before facehoofing in annoyance. Seeing had taught her yet another unnecessary would-be chant. The Captain truly feared for Nightdancer's future if she decided to follow that specific unicorn's path, since otherwise she would become a great guard for this caravan or another. The blonde stallion was very sure of that.

Plus, the Captain had been the one who had brought the little ones to the caravan. Each of them was his charge, alongside the rest of the caravan and if they got another guard they might even relieve Stardust of her armor. She'd like that, too, he figured. Never had been a guard, that one.

He reached the fire and looked to his compatriots.

"Sunset, you tell the other guards about the dogs. Party, you'll tell the civilians," he commanded.

Sunset lifted an eyebrow. "And just what are you going to do?"

"I'll converse a stratification."

"What?"

The Stallion shook his head, "Sunset, Sunset, Sunset. It is because of my superior intellect that-"

"Captain, if you just intended to use fancy-speak what you probably meant was: 'I'll conjure up a stratagem' or something like that"

The Captain grinned a forced grin.

Right in the face.

"Just...Go! Do as you're told!"

Party hopped off with a "Yay!", while Sunset turned around with a blank expression on her face. Once more, her belief that she would make a superior officer had been proven.

The group decidedly split up to give the news to the others. They had another fight ahead of them and everypony needed to be as prepared as possible. The Captain even knew that they couldn't just shout it from the roofs, even though that would have been simpler. A quiet moment under as few eyes as possible did wonders in these dark times and would hold them together better.

How long had they been wandering together? As he looked at the fire he went into full nostalgia mode. Limelight remembered that he had traveled with three different caravans before this one. The first one was a changeling trap, one he had escaped with a broken heart. Both his parents had been killed and the changelings had taken their place. For quite some time they had feasted on the colt's love, too.

He had trained to be a caravan guard in service under Lady Fencing then. With her and her group he had stayed for the longest time. It had been a wonderful time, too. The mare had been the most able fighter he'd ever met and her name was feared by most non-ponies. After he had left them to guard a real caravan he had never heard of her again, though.

Instead Limelight had moved on. Spent twelve years traveling with a group of thirty-five ponies, more than he had ever seen before. They had still been a close-knit community, as every caravan. He remembered them but after they had gotten too close to Canterlot they all went to sleep and never woke up again, save for the one unicorn that had brought them there to begin with.

He and the blankflank then had moved towards the south. Always talking, always keeping their baggage loose, clanking and making noise. Luckily, they had only traveled a day until they ran into the Captain and this caravan.

Limelight, a very lanky, red earth pony who was getting pretty close to getting a gray mane, stood watch by the side of his dear friend Seeing Sight, a caramel-colored unicorn who acted as this caravan's guide. They sat on the side of the guards' wagon and as Sunset approached he couldn't help but sigh. As he had seen them pass by the stallion had already known they would bring bad news. Not that he could see the future or anything but seriously, if they brought good news they would've yelled it out quite loudly.

"Okay chaps," Sunset started, though Limelight just stared at the fire reflecting on the metal of the mare's armor, "we're guessing the Diamond Dogs are hiding underground and probably know we're coming."

The stallion threw his head back in annoyance, Seeing just chuckled.

"You're guessing?" he asked.

Sunset grinned at him,  "When it comes to your ability to pick up life signs, dear Seeing, you're the worst unicorn ever. So yes, we're guessing."

"My special talent is growing fruits not navigating ponies through the darkness," the stallion answered truthfully, although special talents and cutie marks had stopped mattering a long time ago.

"Who cares about that," Limelight chimed in, his lavender eyes gleaming, "We can't fight diamond dogs. They act in large groups. We're only seven guards, of which with a high probability only six will actually do something!"

He was on the verge of spatting the last sentence out with more than just a bit of hate going against that one pony who would most likely not fight, again.

Sunset looked at him understanding. She knew what he meant with the numbers, since she had the same doubts, but what they had achieved so far clearly stood against the thesis of them actually losing if she was honest with herself.

"Limey, we've got you, we've got the Captain and there's a reason we call Frisbee 'the raging hurricane'. Remember us taking out the hydra on the void path? If we stick together like we always do, a few diamond dogs or even two or three dozen can't take us on." She spoke each word from the heart and felt a bit more confident herself. It was the honest truth.

Limelight just looked at her for another moment. There was still that brimming hatred and also the fear of losing more friends. After a few seconds though he decided to put on a small smile, just to reassure her. "Yeah, you're right, though you shouldn't sell yourself short. The Captain may be good in a fight but you're still our real leader," he voiced giving her a friendly knock on the shoulder.

Seeing looked at them both, a bit of a grin on his face, "I don't want to interrupt you're pep talk, but you should try getting Stardust out in the field, too. A caravan guard who doesn't do any guarding is really something we don't need. Especially since it's because of her we're in..." he stopped and his smile faded. "Well, you know. You should really try to get her to start doing something, otherwise she's going to be the end of all of us."

Seeing really wanted to make this sound lighthearted but it began to dig into the morale of the whole group, even his own. Stardust wasn't a good caravan guard, she wasn't even a good pony per se. He wanted to believe everypony had something good in them, but she just seemed to defy everything. Everypony else couldn't stand her either, as it was clear from Sunset's reaction as he had mentioned her name.

Sunset let her head fall, she hated talking to that coward. There was no other word more fitting for Stardust aside from 'baggage'. She wasn't just a useless guard, she was greedy, mean-spirited and an overall-

The mare stopped her own train of thought at that point and simply lifted her head. "She's inside the wagon, I'll take it?" She asked coldly, hoping to get this over as quick as possible.

Limelight wouldn't speak to her, Sunset knew that. The two had known each other since Stardust's birth so it was no wonder he didn't like being too close to her and Seeing wasn't a caravan guard. That meant she had the wonderful job of-

"Oh...that rotten son of a-" she grumbled.

"What?" the two stallions asked in unison.

"He did this on purpose."

"Who?" came another question, followed up by another: "What?"

"The Captain. He's getting back at me for being better at everything he could do." Sunset didn't look too happy and with that mood she went around the wagon to it's door.

Seeing just shook his head, "Really, not only are Cloud and the Captain always bickering, no, Sunset also wants in on the politics. Wonder how much longer this caravan is going to stay whole..."

"Either the Captain or Sunset will have to leave after a while and I really hope it'll be the Captain. He's too easy on us soldiers."

"You mean Stardust."

The earth pony didn't answer.

The caravan had six wagons. Two for the civilians, one for the guards, one for the food-stock, one for 'other' stuff and one carried the fire-wood they got from the oasis villages.

The wagon of the guard had two compartments, one big and a small one at the other end. The small room in the back had a small table, a very uncomfortable bed and a small chest before it. It's only redeeming quality would have been the large window by the rear of the wagon, if it hadn't been covered with papers depicting strategies, tactics and child drawings. That was where the Captain slept. The other one was stuffed with two hammocks and two sleep-rolls on it's side, lightened by a lantern which hang down from the middle of the wagon. The guards worked in shifts and only met for one hour in the morning and in the evening before they exchanged their sleeping places.

It was here where Sunset expected to find the unicorn but, as her luck wanted it, she wasn't there. A grin came to her face.

"Well, I can just start with another, then," she stated to herself, fairly relieved.

Sunset Dale felt excitement, as she would talk to the certain other guard now. She could talk with Frisbee, the gray pegasus who patrolled around the caravan so dutifully.

Party Star had been with the caravan from the moment of it's beginning at the Twinkling Cascade, far down the south of the Badlands. Ever since then they had traveled north. On the old and broken roads they had met new ponies. Some had joined the caravan, some had left for another that had headed in a direction more suited to their longing or for other reasons. In the beginning there had been Fine Clouds, Seeing Sight, Limelight, Stardust, Dry Soil and at least four other ponies or so Fine Clouds had told him. Party didn't remember any of them, though.

They didn't matter anymore, if their memories were lost, then so was everything else. What did matter were the ponies they had picked up on the road. The Captain who had joined them with Nightdancer, Summer Breeze and Toodle, the only three ponies in the caravan to still not have their cutie marks. Limelight actually thought that the Captain had been with them from the beginning, for whatever reason. Also Frisbee had joined up with them later on. She was the one who had carried an unconscious Sunset from their 'home', wherever that had been.

Then there had been Garden Tool, who had owned a bit of farmland down by the Shimmerlake originally. It had been taken the cinderwolfs, though.

Party Star didn't quite remember when Counting Copper and Windsight had joined up with them. The unicorn mare and her special pegasus blended wonderfully in with the rest of the caravan and aside from their whole 'lovey-dovey'-stuff, which they could keep up for hours, they weren't that noticeable.

Even now as Party Star hopped around the fire to see which group he should talk to first he barely even noticed them. The two sat on the side of the wagon they both slept in and just looked into each others eyes, smiles on their faces. Frankly, he didn't quite feel like disturbing them.

Sweetroll sat by the fire, her curly white and violet striped mane enlightened by it. She sat there, holding a stick in the bristling brightness, an orange pegasus filly and a fuchsia earth pony colt doing the same at their sides. They sang that marshmallow song Party had come up with weeks ago and the small pegasus was quite happy that it was put to good use.

The last group sat in front of the wagon which carried all their belongings. Every remaining pony had gathered around Fine Clouds, the old pegasus stallion, his coat had long lost it's original color and the last remaining piece of magnificence he possessed was that venerable moustache. It was truly a sign of what a stallion he had once been and how wise he was now.

In front of the pegasus sat two male earth ponies. The brown coat and dark, fuzzy mane along with the guardpony armor gave Garden Tool away almost instantaneously. Dry Soil on the other hand had a shorter, more styled, blue mane contrasting his straw yellow coat. He was the only pony who never covered up his cutie mark with a piece of cloth as it was tradition among the southern caravans. A shovel digging in the dirt with a flower sprouting. Soil was proud of his special talent, although it wasn't that useful in times like this.

Well, Party thought, he should probably start with them.

The pony didn't hop over, instead for once walked up slowly, trying to figure out how to say what he wanted to say. The group didn't notice him approaching, as all their attention was focused on Fine Clouds, who tried to tell them that the chorus of the Song of Grass wasn't the same incomprehensible wailing as in the Song of Souls but rather an upbeat, well thought out verse. Otherwise both sounded very similar, something both earth ponies found rather annoying. They listened to Fine Clouds and Party Star would've really liked it if they had just continued with that and started to sing, completely ignoring the guard that had just approached them. Fate didn't want that, though.

As he approached most ponies faced Party with their backs, only the short-sighted Fine Clouds who sat on the wagon could spot him which he did, sadly.

"Aah, Spongy, nice of you to join us," the old stallion said with utmost happiness.

"Uhm..." Party Star stopped, "I'm not...who?"

There was a moment where the only sound was the mumbling of the other ponies, who shot Party angry looks. He understood. Nopony liked it when their rare, peaceful activities were interrupted. It could kill them, so the stares were rightfully earned.

"Doesn't matter," Fine Clouds said with a hint of sadness in his tone, "just an old friend of yours, Party. You two always had the finest time together. If you'd kept that journal you'd still remember."

Party didn't respond to that, instead focusing on something more important, "We finished the scouting job."

"And?" the elder asked, now with a glint of hope in his eyes.

"If there are diamond dogs, they're hiding and are going to ambush us. We can't risk taking any other way, though."

Garden Tool sighed as he looked at his comrade in arms, "So we're gonna fight our way through whatever is waitin'?" Party nodded.

"No other way? Really, did Seeing check?" Dry Soil interrupted.

"We don't have the time, our water supplies are running thin as it is and he said that they color of the lines indicated that there was water about," it was explained to him.

Dry Soil grumbled discontentedly, while the other two just nodded in silent agreement. Party could see that Garden Tool tried to smile, probably thinking positively, which was really good. Fine Clouds seemed to think about what he should do. Party liked to imagine the old pony as a great warrior back in the past. Maybe he had some old armor hidden away in his own stash. The younger pegasus duly noted that he had to investigate this matter further.

"The Captain's coming up with a good strategy, so you ponies should ready yourself," Party voiced. Garden Tool stood up.

"Well, I've got my job cut out for me. Time to pack up everything and start walking, right guys?"

Party had already turned around, towards Sweetroll. He had done his job just fine and hey, it would probably turn out well, especially if they had Fine Clouds the Destroyer at their sides. That sounded about right, since Fine Clouds simply had to be a hero of old age.

As she stepped outside and looked to the sky what Sunset saw filled her with a strange warmth. Everypony was singing and even Limelight and Seeing were making some conversation. Frisbee stood out because of all the ponies Sunset had met during the course of her life this pegasus was the weirdest.

She flew there, only accompanied by the flapping of her wings and the noise the metal armor made as it moved. If it weren't for that, the pegasus would've long since been drowned in the silence.

"Hey, Frisbee!" the unicorn yelled but was ignored as the guard simply turned to make yet another round.

Sunset sighed. It was always like this. Always. Frisbee was such a simple, dutiful pony. It was one of the reasons Sunset held her so close to heart. Though after she watched the gray pegasus fly for a few more seconds, she would've preferred an eternity of just gazing at the object of her attraction. That was cut short though as Frisbee finally decided to land before her.

Then the main noise was created by Frisbee whirling her tail around. A couple of metal bits and bells were fastened at it's end and clanked against each other. Sunset looked at the pegasus mare. She wore a full armor set, from helmet over the barding to leg guards. The pegasus had never told anypony where she had gotten that kind of gear. Bits of her jade green mane could be seen under the helmet, although what stood out the most was the dark green bandana tied around her neck.

As Sunsets gaze drifted across the watcher,  Frisbee just waited patiently for whatever the other mare had to say. There wasn't any kind of emotion to be seen on her face. The unicorn had her full attention, although she didn't seem use it very well. Yet, wether or not she was annoyed by it or not was completely hidden by Frisbee's unflinching face. The only thing that managed to let her avoid higher levels of creepiness was that the pegasus was still blinking, overwise she might as well have slept with open eyes.

They just stood there and Sunset completely ignored the constant noise around them, since she had grown up with it and as any pony never had had a moment of complete silence. In fact, she was completely entranced by her own thoughts about how beautiful Frisbee was with that helmet on and how nice the entire ensemble looked.

The Unicorn snapped out of it after a few more moments of being attentively watched herself, "Ah, yes...pardon me, uhm...well...How're you doing, Frisbee?"

"Patrolling," it came out of her. Sunset loved that voice. It sounded very hoarse and might've been the reason why Frisbee never talked, but there were worse things. Like everything about the Captain. Still, the answer itself wasn't really enough to build a conversation around. Sunset felt inclined to try, though.

"Uh, yeah, I...saw that."

"…"

That was now the most awkward conversation, Sunset thought. She could start swooning over the pegasus but seriously doubted that she would look so good doing that. Instead she tried another route. Something had to work.

"Well, seen anything interesting? Diamond Dogs stalking us? Another Caravan?"

"No."

"Uh, sounds...good?" Sunset asked, silently admitting that the awkwardness wouldn't go away so easily.

And of course, there came no answer. The pegasus instead decided to just stare at her. That was one of those wonderful things about Frisbee, she only spoke the words that needed to be said the most. That mare was truly a marvel amidst all these ponies.

They looked at each other for a few more seconds, before Sunset snapped out of her romantic thoughts again. Frisbee had just looked at her, mind completely focused. A comparison with a robot might've been in order, but Sunset thought this gray, winged mare too beautiful for that.  So instead it was time to get back on track.

"Anyway, the diamond dogs will probably ambush us when we'll make it to the water."

Frisbee looked at her for a moment, then simply saluted and started off for another patrol. Leaving Sunset behind.

That was the pegasus of her dreams, a silent mare who never complained and always fulfilled her duty. Even though it was kinda weird that Frisbee didn't talk much, the vanilla colored unicorn still had to admit that she was probably the best pony around. In fact some other pony should really take her as an example and-

She then noticed that in the corner of her eye, the darkness afar from the camp seemed to shift. She looked into said direction, checking if something was moving there while she started mumbling to herself. She found nothing, strange enough. Then the mare decided to investigate further, just on a whim. She stepped farther away from the lights of the fire and decided that this was the moment where mumbling wasn't an appropriate defense anymore.

Instead she started singing to her own, an old drinking song that she had learned from Fine Clouds during their stay at a caravanserai, a roadside inn for caravans by the edge of the badlands, a while back.

Every step took her away from the noise and from the light. Sunset Dale knew exactly what consequences this could have, as she remembered everypony taken by the dark and the silence. She and Fine Clouds were the only ones who did. Her heartbeat got faster, her mind told her to move back again but the unicorn just knew that something was there. Behind her she still heard the songs and the jingling that Frisbee's gear made. This gave her a bit of hope. As long as she could hear them still, everything was fine.

Then Sunset spotted something, something moving.

"Hey!" she yelled but there was no answer. "Is somepony there?"

Again no sound came back, she carefully listened and tried to shake her legs a bit, letting the metal that protected her move, making a bit of sound on her own.

"You can answer me if you're there."

Then she heard it, the plucking of a harp in the distance. This certainly hadn't happened before and Sunset immediately took another step forward. The melody of the harp ringing in her ears. She knew that song.

She moved a bit further into the darkness, then even farther. Step by step, closing in on the plucking strings, constantly mumbling, trying to figure out how she knew that song.

Then a small rock appeared in front of her, something shifted in the darkness around her. She turned her head around, the sound was gone but the fire still pierced through the darkness like a beacon.

"Okay, no worries, everything is fine," Sunset reassured herself and turned her head back.

There she saw it. The mint green mare, clad in a white, torn dress, bandages dyed red with blood covering her eyes and body, sitting on the rock in a position that could closest be described as similar to a minotaurs, plucking away the golden harp in her hooves. Sunset looked at the wounded unicorn for a second, who on the other hoof didn't stop the music. The melody twisting itself into the vanilla mare's head. As the sounds of the world were overtaken by the lone harp, the unicorn couldn't get her eyes off that apparition.

The mare with the white dressed stopped plucking the harp, but the song continued inside the Sunset's head.

"Who...What are you?" the unicorn asked as the green pony ghost turned to look at her.

Then she spoke in an ethereal whisper: "There are two prophecies. For one look at the waters you will find, the other will be brought to you by the winds. Take note of these and decide, for the fate of the world will hinge on your decision, young Sunset."

The unicorn just looked at the ghost with a blank expression, then blinked, trying to clear her mind. When she opened her eyes again she was alone by the rock.

"What?" she asked herself, "What was that all about?"

Sunset decided not to remain so far away from the caravan, instead turning back and thinking about the words of that thing, speaking her every thought out. She had absolutely no idea what just had happened. As she walked back she couldn't even decide whether or not to tell anypony about it. They'd probably think her crazy, which she sure as sugar wasn't, at least she thought so...wasn't that a stock phrase for crazy ponies? Was she really sane, was she...

Once more her train of thoughts was interrupted as she closed in on the caravan and through the power of coincidence got a look at the right angle to see beneath the wagon of the guard, beneath there sat the most irritating of all ponies. All her thoughts vanished for this was the moment she decided that THIS TIME that mare would do her job, even if she had to serve as bait for the dogs.

I

~Destitute Defenders~

~End~