While Tenna and Boomstick decided to lather oil all over their weapons, for some reason, I stepped outside of the stuffy shack for some fresh air. The sun was just beginning to set on the horizon, barely seen through the dense forest. I strained my ears for anything out of the ordinary and found everything was as it should be. Glancing back through the crack in the doorway, the two were now arguing about proper 'disassembly' methods for how to clean their guns. I checked my own belongings and found that Tenna must still have my two knives from earlier. I could still forage without them, but it would take longer.

At that point I noticed that my thoughts had completely escaped the existence of my tail for a solid day. I moved over and sat down on the grassy ground, lifting my tail over my thigh for inspection.

"Oh, great." I grumbled to myself.

There were twigs, dirt, thorns and branches all inside and entwined with it. I ran my hands through my mane and discovered the same problem.

"I think they were too busy freaking out about my marehood to point it out."

I decided to deal with the disaster that was my tail first, laying on my belly and bending myself to get a good view of my rear. It wasn't uncomfortable, and I had become known for flexibility after a few drunken nights in the tribe's tavern. Nothing too sexual, I was told... just putting my hooves behind my head and spinning around like a top on one of the bar stools while giggling like a madmare is all. That brought up another memory of my mother. The last time I saw her drink, she was in the center of several mares and stallions whom all were very appreciative of her marehood and more. I shouldn't have been surprised, it was practically her special talent to bed as many ponies at once and be able to move the next day like nothing had happened.

I tugged on a very stubborn branch that had wrapped itself around my tail, wishing I had my knives so I could just cut through and be rid of it. My mane and tail always had a ragged appearance from me doing that anyway. I never brushed either mane or tail, I just cut all the debris free and let the rest do whatever it felt like. It helped with my 'savage' appearance and gave me more free time to stargaze or just think while I foraged away from the tribe.

I looked at my surroundings again, making sure that nothing had snuck up on me while I was distracted with grooming. All of the animals had gone to sleep excepting the few nocturnal ones that I could see. The night was never as dark to me as others complained it to be, some of them pointing at my glowing eyes as the excuse. I didn't really like the daytime all that much anyway, so the night was even better for me. Nopony around to complain about my existence or to tell me to 'get dressed for once'.

The door to the shack creaked open, Tenna standing in the archway. "Oi Sanguine, you out here?"

"Down here." I answered, still fiddling with my tail. His eyes looked down for a moment and found nothing before locking onto my eyes.

"Gah!" He blurted, recoiling a bit. "I fockin' knew those eyes would be creepy!"

"Thanks." I deadpanned.

"Eh... sorry. I'm jus' not used to seeing a pair of glowing eyes staring back at me out of the darkness, yeah?"

"It's alright." I replied, not wanting to explain further that I had received far worse comments from my tribe.

He paused for a while as I cleaned my tail, either trying to think of something to say or staring at my flank as I worked on my tail.

"How do you bend like that?" He asked finally.

"Magic." I replied sarcastically.

"Sure." He scoffed. "Wait... do you mean like, literally because of magic?"

"No, I'm just flexible."

"Oh. So you're nudist, flexible and beautif-- I mean, uh... Nice?" He recovered from his slip, but it was too late.

"You think I'm beautiful?" I asked hopefully, halting my grooming and pushing myself onto my knees to look at him. I think the wide base that revealed my marehood was distracting him, but I didn't really care either. This was more comfortable than laying on my belly while talking to somepony.

"Um, well... I... Goodnight, Sanguine!" He blurted, slamming the door loudly and disturbing some creatures nearby.

"Coward." I complained, laying on my front once again to finish off the last bits of maintenance on my tail.

The moon was on the rise now, bathing the forest in the glow of a full moon. It was like a softer, kinder version of the sun that I could actually look at and appreciate. All the tiny scars on the surface of it telling of battles or trials that it had survived before any of us were born, giving it an otherworldly beauty that couldn't be found on Equiss.

I shook my head and was reminded of the foliage trapped in my mane. I tried to blow some of it out of my face and was rewarded with a twig smacking into me lamely.

"Well, here goes part two of grooming activities." I said to myself, rolling onto my back. One of my legs was arched like a bridge so I could move around a bit while the other lay flat. My tail was out to my side and resting along my right thigh as well, its relatively clean state feeling nice on my fur. From the few spots of my mane free of debris I watched the moon's journey across the sky for the night and was reminded of another factoid.

I never could get a full night's rest. No matter how tired I was or what I had gone through, sleep eluded me. I was always tired and prone to falling asleep if bored enough, and had become so tired out during my foraging journeys that I would just lay down and fall asleep in the middle of the forest, too tired to care if a monster or animal would come by to eat me. It had worked out in the end, I suppose. I was still here. The fact that I wasn't tired now must be from Tenna's 'annastetic' or whatever it was. I had fallen asleep after he punched me a few times, and I didn't feel tired now. Maybe that was the benefit? Some kind of martial technique that allowed the recipient to get some restful sleep while the practitioner mended their wounds?

My ears swiveled behind me, picking up a shuffling of leaves faster than I could register. I turned around on my flank, looking behind at the treeline. I scanned for anything out of the ordinary and could find little to point out. The odd owl shifting on their branch, watching for rodents or other prey to swoop down on; A nest of birds sleeping safely in the night and away from the predators that lurked below. All was normal.

I went back to my grooming and nostalgia trips to pass the time. I had cleared most of the twigs and whatnot from the front of my mane. Now I was working blind, my hands behind my head and attacking whatever they found with some difficulty. My back was against the shack's outer wall at this point, not needing to lay down to see the moon directly overhead. This all had taken a lot more time than I thought it would, but I guess with the day I had just survived I should be grateful it wasn't worse.

Now my mind had started on a track of thinking about all the nasty things that could be laying in wait for me to drop my guard. I could always groom myself inside anyway. I stood up and noticed that now that my tail was clean, I was actually able to feel its movements again. I think it had become so covered in debris and grime that I had just ignored it in favor of trying to avoid death as best I could. I pulled on the handle for the shack's door, opening it slowly. I had expected a creaking sound like all the doors in my tribe, but this one remain eerily quiet. It also smelled of the oil that the two had been using on their guns. Is that the point of oil? Make things not squeak?

I heard rustling behind me again and decided that sticking around outside wasn't the best plan for my continued existence, swiveling quickly inside and shutting the door a bit too forcefully. I cringed and peeked over my shoulder, expecting complaints from waking up Tenna and Boomstick, but the two were oblivious. They must be deaf!

I pulled the latch on the door to lock it, now thankful that the two hadn't locked the door while I was still outside and for trusting that I wouldn't just leave them behind. I suppose at that point I had earned a bit of their trust, given that they felt comfortable enough to not tie me up or something in order to go to sleep. Not that I wouldn't mind being tied up, that is. Nnf.

I was getting distracted, and it wouldn't help my relations with the Brothers Prude if I started fulfilling my fantasies as they slept. I chose instead to take a look around at their piles of junk that littered the small shack. One pile looked like a set of metal cylinders, probably for their guns or something. Another pile was the multi-colored cylinders that Boomstick always had on him, so I assume they were for his gun specifically. Piles of... clothes... not going to even bother with them. A few backpacks that were lined against the wall with the door; A cooking backpack by the looks of it, a backpack entirely for some strange smelling leaves, a fruit-pack and finally a backpack filled with some kind of tubes. Actually, what the hay are these things?

I pulled some kind of metal strip on the side, causing the backpack to open after I attempted to open it wrongly the first few tries. It made some weird 'Zzzzzt' noise as well. Thankfully it wasn't enough to wake either of the slumbering Earthen in the room, and I set to rooting around inside of their belongings out of curiosity. My hand brushed past a very smooth feeling tube and I lifted it clear of the backpack to view with my glowing eyes in the darkness.

"What are you?" I whispered. The thing had lettering that I wasn't familiar with. It was cool to the touch and flexed when I pressed on it, but soon regained its previous form when I relented. It wasn't metal, that was for certain. It wasn't wood, obviously... definitely not crystal...

I'm keeping this. This is too strange to just let sit in a random backpack in a semi-abandoned shack. I decided, placing the thing in my thigh pouch that I kept for objects of interest or for when something was too large to carry in my gathering pouches. My stomach then loudly rumbled in complaint of my negligence. Oh, right... I haven't eaten for an entire day.

I looked at Boomstick and Tenna; the both of them still sound asleep. Wanting my knives back in order to do a bit of foraging, I examined Tenna more closely by crawling next to his side and looking around on his body for where he might have hidden them away. Instead, I found something that was similar to a short sword! It was on a sheath strapped to his right leg, a fact that had either eluded me or had become a recent addition to his attire. For the sake of my own ego, I decided that he had just put it on before going to bed and that I was good at basic observational skills. I found a kind of strap that was keeping the sword in place, held by a metal button somehow. I tried unweaving it from where it was, but the thing just spun in place. When I tried pulling it, however, it snapped off! Did I break it!?

I looked up at Tenna's face with a bit of panic, expecting them to have awoken from both being indirectly touched and the loud noise. Thankfully for myself in this situation, he was practically deaf. I was beginning to become worried at this point, but a moment of observation confirmed that the both of them were still breathing. They're just deaf, not dead... Is that good? The deaf part, I mean. If they ever have to stay on watch, how are they going to hear anything sneaking up on them?

Deciding that I would have to talk with the both of them later about this new-found deficiency, I went about carefully removing the sword on Tenna's thigh. The blade was wide towards the top, tapering down to the hilt which was rectangular for some reason instead of cylindrical. There was also no finger guard, so I assumed it was more of a tool than a combat weapon. Surprisingly, it was also heavier than I expected. I had successfully taken the sword without causing a peep from either of them and felt a little better about wandering around outside to find something to eat.

I blinked with sudden realization. There was an entire backpack of fruit right next to me. What am I doing with my life? I asked myself in disbelief of my own stupidity. I set the sword on the dead grass next to Tenna and creeped back to the backpack. There were more of those metal buttons on the top of it, holding down a flap made of a material that wasn't cotton or plant fibers. After a quiet snap from both of them, I lifted the flap to discover that... these fruits were far past their prime.

Holding a hand over my muzzle so I wouldn't have to gag from the stench of rotting food, I quickly closed the flap and decided that my original idea wasn't a waste of my time after all. Hopefully the flap wasn't open enough to cause the smell to wake up the two brothers, but I wasn't going to wait around to find out. I slinked across the ground to grab the small sword and moved for the doorway. These two would be fine if I left them alone, right? I realized with a moment's hesitation, my hand hovering above the door's handle. They had guns, they had a shack in the middle of nowhere... and there were things shuffling around outside as well. They were also practically deaf. Great.

My options were to either go outside and hopefully find something to eat while leaving these two oblivious idiots to whatever fate the forest had in store for them, or foalsit the both of them and stay hungry for what remained of the night. It wasn't really a hard choice, it just made me feel stupid for not thinking of getting food earlier.

I sat down between Tenna and Boomstick, deciding to play bodyguard for the night. If anything came through that doorway, then I hope I could make enough noise to wake up the two oafs with guns before it killed me. I tried pulling the brothers closer so I could at least have some kind of warmth, but their gear and all the junk they wore made them far too heavy for me to move. My muscles were still sore from yesterday and they weighed far too much for me even on a good day. How do they even move with all of that on? I wondered.

Deciding to cuddle next to only one of them, I went for Tenna. Boomstick was only trying to penetrate my marehood, but Tenna seemed to be less willing to simply jump into the hay with me. For some reason, that made me trust him more. Either that, or the fact that Boomstick shot me simply because of his need to get inside me. Not that I wouldn't actually mind it in the first place, but that sort of thing decided the order in which I was likely to cuddle next to somepony. Sex and cuddles are completely separate wishes. My mother was likely to have sex with anything in possession of a libido, but to cuddle with somepony? That, she had decided, was a special honor. I hadn't seen her cuddle with anypony except for me, so I suppose that meant she cared dearly for me in some way... despite the fact that she cared for very little else. Or that she really wanted to bed with me. Eh... no thanks, I decided on the hypothetical scenario. I liked my mother, certainly. Just... not enough to bed her. She's taught me more than a few things when it comes to sex, but always insisted that I go out and find somepony to try them with. I should probably be thankful for that bit of restraint, considering how she looks at me when in private. I don't even mind the looks, it just confirms that I take care of myself, after all. Not like the rest of my tribe. I don't understand how she can even be near those tubs of lard, let alone have sex with them.

Tenna suddenly shifted in his sleep, rolling over to face me. He was still asleep, thankfully. The room would be completely dark to the both of them, and finding my eyes seemingly hovering above them from their glow would cause them both to freak out. I had pranked more than one of my tribe a similar way as a filly. I would hide under their bed after sneaking in through an open window, poking their hooves or sides until they woke. I would then make strange and monstrous noises from underneath their bed to scare them, and when they looked bravely underneath to confront their fears, they would find my glowing eyes staring back at them. Then they would wet themselves and sprint towards their parent's room, giving me the opportunity to flee outside of the room while giggling.

*Rustle rustle*

There's that noise again.

I took up the sword that I had pilfered from Tenna, slowly moving from my sitting spot to a low crouch and quietly stalked towards the door. I would have to open it, certainly, but If I remained quiet then I could catch whatever was on the other side of the door by surprise. I pressed an ear to the door, trying to listen for the heavy breathing of a beast or any other kind of noise, yet heard nothing. Pulling slowly on the handle, I opened the door just a cra--

A spear point was shoved into my face, causing me to panic and fall backwards onto my flank. A figure burst through the door, holding their spear at my chest and looked around the room quickly. With my sight I noted that they were female, about the same height as myself and... naked. Then I noted that they had bat wings, fluffy ears, slit pupils and fangs. She had bracelets and anklets of leaves, bodypaints all over her body with intricate patterns as well. Her coat was a soft blue, her wings a sort of lavender, and her eyes were a purplish blue tint.

It was a Night Walker! Had we run into their territory by accident? I wasn't even paying attention when Tenna and Boomstick were leading the way; I had just assumed they knew about the different tribes in the area!

"What are you doing here?" she hissed at me. Of course, Tenna and Boomstick were still completely asleep. Her spear point was hovering next to my heart, and I didn't want to risk being impaled from a misunderstanding. I let go of the sword, moving both of my hands slowly to my sides with the palms facing towards her.

"We're just here to sleep for the night, then we'll be leaving. Honest!" I whispered back, not wanting to anger her by speaking too loudly.

"You are trespassing!" She replied, poking me with her spear for emphasis.

"I didn't know we were so close to your territory, I'm sorry!"

She glowered at me, thinking over something in her head for a moment. "Be gone by dawn, or you will immensely regret your choices in life." she threatened, moving the spear tip away from me.

"I'll let them know!" I whispered back eagerly. Anything that let me keep myself intact was good, in my opinion.

She took a few steps back from the doorway, still keeping her eyes on me. I was on the ground still when she took flight, a flap of her wings carrying her out of my sight.

I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, my arms falling to my sides as I slumped over.

"Huh, what?!" I heard Boomstick and Tenna lurch awake with a start at the same time. I was laying on my back near Tenna's hooves, the sword on the dead grass next to me.

"What're you doin'?" Boomstick asked with alarm, looking at the sword.

"Protecting you idiots!" I barked with annoyance, trying to calm myself down.

"From what, a gentle breeze?"

"The Nightwalkers!"

"The who?" Tenna asked.

"You two put a shack in their territory!"

"So?" Boomstick dumbly questioned.

"So, I was almost impaled by a spear because of it!"

Tenna and Boomstick both grabbed their guns and hopped to their hooves. "They still around?" Tenna asked.

"She flew off already."

"She?"

"Flew!?"

"The Nightwalkers are a hybrid of Pegasus and bat, mostly nocturnal and fiercely territorial and defensive. I think the fact that we're all alive right now is a fluke." I explained.

"What'd they want?" Boomstick asked.

"They want us to leave by dawn."

With that, the first rays of sunlight struck Boomstick and Tenna in the face from the open doorway.

"Well, guess we should get a move on then, yeah?" Tenna replied, shielding his face from the sun.

Author's Note

A lot of character building for Sanguine this chapter, but the adventure continues in the next!

Thank you for reading, and be sure to leave a comment about the story, characters, the world or whatever else!

I read all of them, and I get excited to see them