Moving Forward

“You know, I used to live near a place similar to this.” Shale chatted to her freely as the six of them, accompanied by the eight new followers carrying folded up tents of dull colour, walked through the dirt road within colony walls to the chariots.

“We mocked it, called it slumvillle, and I always felt I lucked out when I saw the filth they lived in.”

“ ‘Least you have a better view,” said Berry.

The colony was rows upon rows of tents on lowlands, underneath magnificent cliffs going up as far as one could see. There were a few wooden structures standing out, the palisade for one, circling the colony like an ancient hill clan. Inside the walls there was a blacksmith, the pub, a town hall and a mining office, the largest building that she was told was only made to protect equipment, not ponies, from the rain that so often fell in Everfree.

“Why did they come out here anyway?” Shale asked, walking at her pace. “Why did Ignitus think this was a good idea?”

“For the same reason I do, silly,” Berry said. “Stop, and crane your head over to the mountain. That silver stash is incremental, important beyond everything, and the horn-heads ain’t found none of it.”

Shale looked at it as Berry checked her coatsleeves were fit. The rest of the group overtook them.

“They never found that? It's freaking huge!”

“And luck beyond luck, it's in the midst of hundreds of horrifying creatures that'll rip you apart in seconds,” Berry said. “Only a pegasus would dare explore it, so that's what happened, o’ course.”

Shale continued to gawk at the gigantic cliff face. “You've got a lot to learn,” Berry added. “One of the main things us merchants have to know is everything commoners don't. That’s what sets you apart.”

“If.... if you're certain. I'll try my best to learn.”

“I'll give you lessons when we get you back t’ Fetlos. For now, we got about thirty days to kill... well, s’pose it's a lesson in itself. Find the easy jobs for the most money, right? That’s lesson one. Now come on, go catch up.”

Shale nodded, and sped up to join the others. Shale was the most probable pony she would keep working with after the job, so it seemed like bad practise to stop Shale from getting to know the others.  Before Berry could follow her, she felt a tap on the shoulder, and spun around to see one of the tent suppliers that was following their party.

“Are you the leader here, the mare who calls herself Berrytail?” the bright pink mare asked.

“Sure as claws, but you c'n call me Berry,” she replied.

“Waterfall,” the mare said. Berry half mistook her for spouting out a random noun, and took a split second to recall the strange names of foreign merchants.  “It's a pleasure to meet you Berry. I talked to one of your friends before, but never truly got around to asking about the issue of payment.”

“Well, now you have, uh, Miss Waterfall,” Berry said. “No problem! I'm so pleased you were able to help us out. When we reach the destination for the camp, we'll dole it out there.” She reached into her jacket, pulling out a bag full to bursting. “One hundred and fifty, am I right?”

Waterfall shot a glance at the bag and visibly relaxed. “Ah, good. While we're not usually the ones carrying it... we're happy to help this once, for such a large order, when you clearly need more hooves for the burden.”

“Good that we agree,” said Berry stuffing the bag into her coat. She gave the mare a bow, and raced back to the front of the party.

The chariots and their drivers were dead ahead, leaning on the palisade, bored. The charioteers over her and the party as they approached.

“That palisade will cause more flight impalements than it scares monsters,” Shale commented, glancing at the top of the wall, “And I'm not a great flyer. We're all getting a chariot, right?”

“Of course, of course,” Berry reassured her. After all, she'd be flying by chariot as well as all the other ponies that had to carry heavy stuff. There were only three others that weren't, including herself, and four could just about fit in one chariot, which was lucky, because she wasn't going to pay for another. “I’ll request four. Uh, go talk to Sweet, or something.”

Shale looked at her curiously. “Why?”

“She’s a hoot.” Berry brushed past her. How was she meant to tell a full-grown pony to be social, anyway?

She approached one of the charioteers, and he stretched, leaving the palisade and giving her a nod. “G'day, ma'am.”

“Hi. I want a four-chariot trip to the river a couple miles south. I'd also like for two of them t’ have return tickets tomorrow, at morning.”

“The river,” the charioteer repeated. “Why would you want a trip there? Apologies, but I'm not sure there's a safe landing spot for us to land, and we certainly haven't cleared one out.”

Berry huffed, “Tch, it won't be a hassle, honestly! How about if you drive your chariots out there for full price, see if there's a clearing, and if there is we pay an extra half the total?” Berry had certainly seen a few on her way to the colony, and she thought getting the stallion some travel experience would do him good to make quick work of later returns to the river.

The stallion looked over the party once more, and shrugged. “Seems good to me. Standing cost first. That'll be eighteen bits.”

Berry whispered the party details to the stallion before paying him, and he snapped the others into action. As they prepared, Berry turned toward her party to find Waterfall stretching a single hoof out at her, concerned.

“Uhhm, Miss Tail?” she spoke, “I don't mean to confuse you, but I and my fellows are going back today, not tomorrow. An easy mistake to make, I'm sure.”

Berry raised an eyebrow at her. “Hmm? No, I'm not mistaken. Those two are for us.”

“You... didn't pay for us? Those rides are expensive.”

Berry looked at her still curiously, and raised her bag of a hundred-fifty bits. “I agree. Would y' like me to pay from this instead?”

Waterfall frowned at the gesture. “You'll pay for us to travel out, but not to come back?”

Berry looked on sturdily, unconvinced by her plea. Waterfall eyed her with distrust, as if she were going to speak out, but decided not to. Berry was comfortable with the notion that they wouldn't sell another ten tents for a long while, not at fifteen bits apiece.

Waterfall fled to her colleagues. There was a small talk, from which she came back sighing heavily before she spoke. “ ... I suppose we'll fly back, then.”

~~

Getting seated took barely any time, hooking the chariots up with chests and tents too, and before long they were flying.

Spears of blues and whites flew past them as the chariots picked up speed. Berry, accompanied by Sweet and Shale, were far ahead of the fleet, and she directed the two chariot drivers to the approximate destination she wanted, shouting orders and pointing hooves while the drivers nodded back at her. Everfree had barely ever been charted, so a map at the ready was out of the question.

Berry heard Shale behind her mid-journey. “Hey! Berry?”

She turned expectantly. “Yeah?” she shouted back, against the wind.

Shale was lying at the back of the chariot, a hoof over the rear side as if she had been looking behind. “It looks like we've lost a couple of the chariots past that last cloud! Think we could slow down a bit?”

To show her response, Berry almost shook her head, then realised she would lose her beret and grasped onto it instinctively. “Nah. Don't worry! I told the two one-ways to go e-x-t-r-a slow, so they know where to go when they fly back!”

“You're a real... you're not very nice, you know that?” Shale shouted back.

Berry laughed. She remembered years ago when she insulted her employer, who promptly fired her the next morning. Shale was not as bold, it seemed.

“Just trying to help!” she replied, and glanced at Sweet, who said nothing, huddled in her seat with her own hooves wrapped around her for warmth. Satisfied with her compatriots, Berry turned back to the charioteers.

~~

It took minutes for them to arrive at the river, which had a surprisingly long and clear open space, perfect for landing away from the trees. Berry knew she had seen something like it on her arrival. In fact, both sides of the river as far as the eye could see was devoid of anything but mud, grass and multi-coloured flowers, at least for the first ten or so hooves away from the water. The only exception was a broke tree about half a mile away, fallen over shattered on the grass surrounding it.

On the whole the river was pretty, something Berry realised about seemingly all of Everfree. Caused by a lack of civilisation, most likely.

“Maybe when I'm far richer I'll keep a holiday place over at Pegas,” she proclaimed departing from the chariots. No one seemed to care, and she stared afterwards at Sweet, waiting for an answer. The sugar-white mare nodded in some kind of agreement.

Berry muttered, “You never fail to disappoint me, Sweet.” She waited for the other chariots to arrive. Once they did, she paid the chariot drivers the extra fee.

“Easy pay, right? We’ll be going over here pretty frequent over the next week or so. If we can keep being flown in here, I’ll keep payin’. Assuming we do it for a normal price next time.”

The driver whom she made the deal with spoke up,  “That’s generous of you, Miss Tail, perfectly reasonable.” He looked around, nodding to himself. “Yeah… the landing ground here is surprisingly well suited for a landing spot. You picked a good one. We’ll be here for the pickup, then?”

“Exactly. We’ll be lookin’ forward to it tomorrow. Alicorns bless.”

“Same to you, ma’am.”

The driver walked over to the other charioteers. Berry parted too, and approached Waterfall as she was stepping out. “Marvellous day for camping, isn't it?” she said.

“Yes, I suppose. This is where you are staying for the night?”

Berry looked down the river. “Yeah, more flat than over there, less tree coverage than over that way... seems like a perfect spot. Y'don't mind setting them up for us, do y'?”

Waterfall frowned at her awkwardly. “Umm, yes...? I do. I think we've spent enough effort today, you should think.”

Berry perched a hoof on her shoulder. “C'mon, Waterfall. It won't take long.”

Waterfall brushed her hoof off. “Frankly I don't give a toss... and don’t touch me again. We are merchants, not slaves. I want my fifty as much as Willow and Brisk, and I think you ought to pay us now so we can leave.”

Berry scoffed. “Huh! Well, pfh… What's this about? You were fine back at Pegas.”

“Back at Pegasopolis, you didn't tell us a thing.”

Before she could continue, somepony interrupted. “Umm… excuse me?” said one of the charioteers, raising his voice.

“Yeah?” Berry asked, ignoring Waterfall to turn towards him.

“Um.... just wanted to say, we're leaving as soon as everything's off.” The tents and equipment were being hauled off as they spoke, with both the merchants and Berry's group assisting.

“Oh!” Berry said. “Don't worry 'bout it. Just remember for the two to come back here at morning, kay?”

“Two....hmmph,” murmured Waterfall under her breath.

“Uh... yeah,” the stallion said. “That’s all. Alicorns bless.” He walked to the back of his chariot.

Berry turned back to Waterfall, posing a sneer. “Didn't tell you a thing, eh...? Did I say anything about Ignitus?”

“What does this have to do with our deal?”

“Oh, nothing... just that little bit about him asking me to help, y'know, feed the entire colony,” Berry remarked, checking her hoof. “I'm sure he'd mind a lot about the one last chance of gaining food for the colony to be wasted on such a, well, trivial thing such as a lack of encampment. The idea that a common pony would dare refuse the colony's saviours, on account that their idle little hoovsies couldn't get up to build a tent...”

“Come on!” shouted one of the mares in Waterfall's company, shifting tents out of her chariot. “She’s just another of them snobby merchant types. Take her bloody bits and help these gits with their tents. No point arguin'.”

“I've heard your sales are through the roof as it is,” Berry added, grinning.

Waterfall spat. “Hold the bits,” which Berry did, taking the bag out of her coat. Waterfall snatched it, wore the cord of the bag around her neck, and sulked her way to the unbuilt tents lying on the ground.

~~

The mood was tense for the duration of the Waterfall’s stay. Sorting piece by piece on the grass, fitting poles together and attaching the cloth, standing them up and hammering the pegs, her party made them all. Shortly after the chariots had left, the merchants were done and gone. They walked into the darkness that coalesced with the forest surrounding, with nary a word spoken.

By dusk, Berry’s camp had finished their first orders. Fen had gathered some wood, and the others worked together and fixed up a crude farming plot.  Berry told Juniper to start a campfire between some gathered rocks in the centre of camp, warding off creatures. She hadn’t brought the party any food to cook, the intention to buy breakfast at Pegas, so Berry left them to her tents and slept the night with no issue.

At morning she woke early. Feeling a need to get active, Berry got out of her tent. She walked to the chest marked by a crimson leaf, left near where the chariots were, and dragged it into the middle of camp. Afterwards she proceeded to enter Fanhorn's tent, waking him up as she entered.

“Wha... Oh, uh, miss Tail? That you?”

The stallion was under a blanket littered with crumbs. He tended to bring his own emergency food when he got peckish.

“Yeah. Do y' mind throwing over the keys for me?”

“Uh, sure,” he replied, and slowly got up, pointing at his rucksack. “It's in the back.”

She dug deep and found them— two shiny bronze keys with hardly a scratch. She took them, got up and whispered as she closed the curtains. “We'll move for breakfast in a bit, don't get too comfortable.”

She made her way back to the chest, unlocking it, and flipping the top over. Inside she unravelled a few layers of cloth, finally locating the prize; a basketful of colourful seeds, each with what looked like a faint glow emanating off the shell.

A noise caused her to turn, seeing the head of Nest poke out of her tent.

She waved at her. “Hey, come over. We're gonna start planting these.”

“Oh, uh… now, miss Tail?” She yawned. “Shouldn't we wait for everyone else?”

Berry shook her head. “That’s submissive talk. If we get this set up, we get to go sooner. Don't know about you, but I’d love t’ get out here as soon as possible.”

“Eh...” Nest took her time, but finally came out to help. Berry, not wanting her purple coat stained with filth, gathered the others to make short work of the planting before the chariots returned.

“Those seeds are our silver.” she said, sat on a stool next to the others in the pub, eating a hearty sweet potato souffle . “Now they're planted, we just have to wait. I bet, hmm... ten, fifteen days we have to stay here. Yeah, couple of weeks tops.”

She pointed a hoof at Fanhorn. “If you lead the making of the wall around it, it'll be done in half that. Nothing big... maybe half a tree's length for the palisade, about a third with the trees we see around here, so it'll keep the monsters out.”

“Your thinkin’ a bit optimistic if you think we can do that with six, well, five ponies,” Fanhorn said. He turned to Shale. “Hey buddy, you ever used a hacksaw before?”

Shale quivered. “I'm not really that sort of stallion.”

“Thought so.” He looked to the others in sequence.

“Nope.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Yeah,” Sweet answered. “A year ago.”

It took him by surprise. “Huh, well.”

“Well what?” Berry chuckled. “You should talk more with the party, Fanny. I don't hire strangers so they can sit alone and look pretty. Sweet's a friend of a friend's daughter, and lived with donkeys for, well,” she grinned, “a while.”

“R’gardless,” Fanhorn said, “We need proper help to make someth’n that quick. From what I heard back at th’ colony, sounds like we’ll be hit well soon before that.”

“And you know what’ll happen when a couple manticores come trying to catch a meal?” Berry asked. “We’ll fight ‘em off. Pegasus are the hardest things in Equestria. There’s a reason we beat the horn-heads in the war. Manticores are what… lion-height? A couple of flying pegasus can kick the thing down, and they’re scared deathly of fire. It ain’t a problem.”

Fanhorn didn’t respond. Once they finished their meal, and had a while to buy things or do whatever else in the colony, Berry paid the flyers for another two-way trip to the camp, twelve bits.

Twenty-four bits later, as well additional food, tinderboxes, and a couple rolls of cloth for better mattresses, Berry saw the camp really start to build up. Fen and Sweet led efforts making the wall border both sides of the river. Shale kept care of the farming plot, which saw tiny stems arise that day.

With everything solved without her help, she spent third day documenting her work and dozing until she was interrupted by Shale, bursting through the tent and blinding her dark-loving eyes.

He was pale, like as if he saw a ghost. “Berry! We got a re-”

“Whaa-?” she shouted, regaining consciousness. She heard shouts and barking in the background. “In Tartarus are you doin’?  Get somepony else to do it! Git!”

“No you really, really don't understand Berry. You need to get up now. We're under attack.”

Berry grimaced. “From the Everfree? Blaziers… fire torches, get ‘em, scare ‘em off. They’ll run faster than you c’n catch.”

“I, uh…. I don’t think that will work. At all. Really, it’s big, and I think Fanhorn already tried it.”

“Right... get to the equipment chest as quick as you can. Where is he, him ‘n and Sweet?”

“That isn't gonna work, Berry,” Shale insisted. “Fan says we need to get galloping. It's a hydra.”

Berry's felt her eyes go globelike, shifting away from him, thinking him mad. “A... h-hydra?”