The Long Road Ahead

-Character descriptions in the authors notes-

The two Siblings walks side by side down the forest path, Cosimia's clunky footfalls alerted any nearby small animal to steer clear.

"Did you really have to wear the iron armor? At this pace We won't make it by sundown, and I'd like to be able to hunt without all the predators stalking us and waiting til we fall asleep." Edan said, looking to his sister. She just rolled her eyes.

"Edan, there's been news that bandits roam through these forest, I'd rather not be unprotected in case of emergency." She said as she fanned her face a bit, the spring air a little too hot for her underneath all the armor. She reached into a pouch on her hip and pulled out a small white ribbon, grabbing her hair and tying it into a pony tail to keep her hair off her neck. Edan cock an eyebrow and grinned.

"We're going to join a clan, not a tea party." He said with a chuckle.

"When have I ever been known to go to a tea party? I'm not a little girl."

"Well, those meetings with your marefriend seemed an awful lot like tea parties." He said, his grin growing wider. Cosimia blushed lightly and pouted, glaring up at Edan.

"She's not my marefriend! She's just a friend." She said defensively.

"I dunno, that kiss you two shared seemed awful lovey dovey to me." Cosimia let out an embarrassed gasp and punched him roughly in the shoulder.

"H-How do you know about that!" She said, before blushing as she realized what she said. "I-I mean! W-We never kissed before!" She said as she tried to cover her ass. Her brother let out a hearty laugh as he rubbed his shoulder.

"That's not what I saw. I saw my sister and her best friend making out like the world was going to end the next day." He said through his laughter, earning himself another punch in the same spot as before.

"W-We weren't! I-It's not like that!" She said, her voice quieting down as she got more embarrassed. "I was. W-We were. AGH!" She shouted to the sky. "We were practicing okay? S-She hadn't kissed anyone before and that Inn owner's son asked her out. She was worried. I-I was just being a good friend!"

"Oh yeah, a REAL good friend." He said, his laughter dying down to a few soft chuckles.

"Y-yeah well. I saw you kissing Raven the other day!" Cosimia said triumphantly. Edan's laughter stopped and he cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, cause we're dating. That's what couples do. What you just said is like saying you caught Mother and Father kissing. Of course they would be kissing, They're married."

"Shut up!" The blue mare yelled, crossing her arms and pouting. Her brother just let out another chuckle before walking silently.

A few hours had passed, and the sun was getting lower and lower on the horizon. Edan looked toward it and sighed.

"Alright sis, let's set up camp here." He said, pulling his knapsack off his back and pulling out a bedroll. "You know how to start a campfire right?" The mare rolled her eyes and nodded. "Good, you get one started and I'll see if I can find some food, if not, I packed some bread and hay in my sack. Don't go eating it while I'm gone."

"Dear Celestia. I won't eat the damn food okay? Go on and pick some berries or something." She huffed, setting her sack on the ground and looking around for some dry sticks and branches lying around. Her brother rolled his eyes and trudged into the forest, trying to make as little noise as he could so he wouldn't get jumped by a timberwolf or something. "Hey!" Cosimia called out.

"What?" Edan responded in an angry, hushed voice.

"Stay near the camp okay? And yell for help if you get in a spot of trouble." She said seriously.

"I'll be fine sis, just get the fire started." He said. His footsteps went out further and further until she couldn't hear him anymore.

"Jackass." She said under her breath. She collected some firewood and piled them together, placing some rocks in a circle around them. She fished through her hip pouch for the flint and steel she had, letting out a happy noise as she felt them. She got the fire started quickly and leaned up against a nearby tree, keeping her ears open as she watched the fire crackle and hiss at the wood.

A good hour or so later her ears perked up at the sound of sticks breaking near her. She unsheathed her dagger and stood up, her eyes scanning the dark forest.

"Calm down sis." A familiar voice called out through the darkness. Cosimia let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding in and settled back down, taking her seat at the base of the tree again as he brother came back into view, his hands and lips red. She stood back up and spoke in a worried tone.

"Wh-What happened? Are you bleeding?" She asked, taking a step toward him. He cocked an eyebrow and opened a small sack tied to his hip, revealing quite a few red berries. She let out another sigh of relief and settled down again.

"You worry too much sis." Edan said with a grin, sitting down next to the fire.

"Well, I've never been this far from home before. Don't blame me if I'm a little on edge." She said defensively. Her brother just shook his head and passed the berries over to her. He grabbed his knapsack and pulled out a loaf of bread wrapped in parchment and a small bundle of hay.

The two siblings sat in silence and ate their meal, the two of them going through all the berries and hay, as well as half the bread. After their meal, Edan unrolled his bedroll and set his bow against a nearby tree, laying on his back and hooking his finger together across his chest. He closed his eyes and let out a yawn. Cosimia looked over at her brother and smiled. She reached over to her knapsack and looked thought it. Her blood ran cold as she finally realized that she had left her bedroll at home.

"Damn." She said under her breath. She sighed, accepting her uncomfortable fate, and laid down of her hard ground, scooting around a bit to try and get comfortable. After a bit, she had finally gotten as comfortable as she was going to get. She closed her eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

-8 Hours later-

"Get up Sis." Cosimia groaned, feeling a gentle kick hit her chest.

"Five more minutes." She said sleepily, rolling over onto her chest.

"Fine." She heard her brother say, before hearing his footsteps grow distant from her. She started drifting off to sleep, but the sudden arrival of a glass of frigid water abruptly woke her.

"W-WHA!' She called out, quickly getting up onto her knees and looking around, her mane clung to her cheeks as she fought to get the sleep muck out of her eyes. A loud laughter could be heard behind her as her brother fell onto his back and laughed, rolling around a bit and clutchign his sides. She wiped her eyes and saw her brother's glee. She stood up and glared at him, giving his a swift kick in the leg that changed his laughter to a small groan of pain.

"What was that for?" He asked, clutching his leg in the place she kicked him.

"FOR POURING WATER ON MY HEAD DUMBASS!" She yelled back, reaching into her knapsack and pulling out an old shirt to dry herself with.

"Well, if you actually learned to wake up I wouldn't have to pout water on you!" He yelled back, getting to his feet and limping a little bit, working the pain out of his leg. She rolled her eyes and grabbed her sack again, securing it over her shoulder.

"Whatever, let's just get going." She said defensively.

The two siblings walked back to the forest path. Edan lagged behind a bit until the pain in his leg subsided. The two of them walked in silence for another hour before Edan spoke up.

"If I'm right, we should be pretty close." He said.

"Why would a clan set up out in the middle of the forest anyway? It's a good 5 hour walk to the next town, and I don't see any horse tracks on the path." She said quizzically. Her brother just shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, all I heard is that they're looking for recruits, archer specifically. The pay is good too , I hear, so I really don't care why."

"It's all about the gold with you, isn't it?" She asked.

"You know it." He responded with a smile.

They soon walked upon a fork in the path, and a sign that said "Steelshade Clan" and pointed to the right. Edan started off to the right and Cosimia just shrugged and followed him. A short walk later, and they walked up to a rather new looking stone building, the tower at the top tall enough to let any guard posted there see anyone coming and alert the rest of the tower. Two guards stood post at the sides of the entrance, standing tall as the siblings got closer.

"Halt!" One of them yelled. "What brings you to to the Steelshade Clan Tower?" He asked, eyeing to two up to see if they would be a threat. Edan spoke up first.

"We have come to join you." He called back.

"And who is 'we'?" The guard called back.

"Oh. My Sister and I sir." The two guards looked to each other, speaking quietly before the first guard called back.

"Alright, you may enter." He said, and they went back into a relaxed stance.

The two siblings walked into the tower. Cosimia shivered as she felt the lustful gazed of the guards on her.

"I've got a bad feeling about this Edan." She said worridly as they got out of earshot of the guards.

"Quit worrying Mia, I'm sure everything is gonna be fine." He said.

The two of them made their way into the tower, avoiding any closed doors as they walked down the corridor. At the end of it, they saw two more guards, these two posted in front of a rather large door.

"New recruits?" One of the guards asked. Edan silently nodded. "Alright, go on in." The guard put a hand on the door and pushed it open, giving the two of them enough space to enter.

Once inside the room, they were greeted by the sight of a well lit room. A tall, red stallion sat at a table in the corner, looking up at the two dismissively as he slowly ate a bunch of grapes.

"You two, come closer." The stallion called out, not getting out of his seat. The siblings looked at each other nervously before walking across the room. "Stop." The mystery stallion said, causing the siblings to stop in the tracks. "Tell me. What are your skills?" He said in a bored tone, popping a few more grapes into his mouth. Edan spoke first.

"U-Um. I-I'm an archer. A-A rather good shot if I say so myself." Edan said nervously. The stallion nodded.

"And you, Mare?" He spoke, still chewing.

"I-I um. I-I'm good with a sword." She said. The Stallion looked at her, his eyes looking over her body.

"Than where is your sword?" He asked, standing up and walking toward them.

"I-I trained with a w-wooden sword, but I c-couldn't a-afford one, s-so I acquired this d-dagger." Cosimia said, tripping over her words as the stallion got closer. He stopped a  few feet from them, still towering over them.

"Alright. " He said in a bored tone. "You." He said, pointing to Edan.

"E-Ed-" He started, but was cut off.

"I don't care about your name until you prove yourself useful. Now, head back out that door and talk to one of the guards, he'll show you Your quarters." Edan's eyes widened and he nodded.

"O-Of course sir!" Edan said hurriedly, turning around a quickly walked back out the large doors.

"Now, what to do with you..." The stallion said again, tapping his chin. "Alright, stay here a minute, then you go out the same door the other stallion did." He said. He walked over to the large doors and poked his head out, speaking to the other guard that stood the. He soon went back to his table and ate another grape. He looked up at Cosimia and cocked an eyebrow. "You can go now, mare."

"O-Of course sir!" She said quickly, turning and quickly walking to the door. She opened it and took a step out, looking over at the guard that stood there.

"Head down the hallway, fourth door on the right." He said.

She nodded quickly and headed down the corridor at a brisk pace. She reached the fourth door and knocked on it, waiting quietly. The door suddenly swung open, surprising her. Before she knew what was happening, two strong arms grabbed her and held her against the wall, an odd smelling rag clutched in one of the hands. Before she could let out a scream, the rag was placed over her muzzle, and she breathed deeply, her mind growing fuzzy as she slumped out of the man's grasp, unconscious.