There is Nothing Harder than Just Going On

Dusk took another breath, flinching at the smell before he again muttered, "Oh my Celestia."

He was almost literally stunned as the light breeze caught up to him, and the heavy smell of the town below cuffed him on the chin again.

He'd never seen a real shanty town before, not unless Klugetown counted. And from the smell, he'd say it didn't. Klugetown may have been many things, but it had smelled of the sea and the heat of the desert.

Not piss, shit, and rot.

The town below him was the very definition of squalid. The huts were actually stacked on top of each other in some cases, and all of them seemed to have been made from local clay, straw, and mud bricks with wooden supports. They were boxy and mostly windowless structures with simple wooden doors that were less doors and more wooden slats nailed together.

They all seemed to be on the tops of the rolling hills of the plains, and Dusk could smell why. The sewer 'system' seemed to be a series of ditches that flowed down towards a river that wound its way down from Canterlot and away from the mountain and village. A bridge led to the other side of the river, and a field of coppery wheat beside tall green hay.

There even seemed to be bridges between the settlements, at the bases of the hills, so that ponies wouldn't have to trod in the soggy creases between the hills.

Checking around himself, Dusk made sure no one was around before completing a simple nose-blocker enchantment, leaving himself without scent and thanking every star in the sky that he knew that one.

He started down the hill slowly, walking along the winding route down.

"At least I know why Iron Heart described his door now," he mumbled, looking over the blocky houses. Some of them had painted doors, others had carved symbols and icons into them, and others had settled for writing their names on theirs.

As he neared the town he heard some activity from around the corner of the housing complex he was closest to, before he saw a thin pony rolling down the hill, bleeding from several cuts and heavily bruised.

"An' stay out!" a harsh, gravelly voice called, before he heard a door slam into place.

He watched the colt tumble to a stop, before lifting himself from the slope of the hill and spit bloody mucus up towards the door before limping off towards the center of town.

His tail tucked itself between his legs, and he slowly made his way along behind the colt, now since disappeared over a bridge.

As he wound in between the mud and brick buildings he found himself in the middle of the grouping of hills, where they allowed enough flat space between for a market of sorts to be put up. Only two spots had actual stalls, the rest of the market situated around the two large tents in between them. Most of the goods on show were placed on large blankets or directly out of the backs of a few wagons.

"Ye a lollygaggin part of tha caravan?" a gruff voice asked, and Dusk quickly glanced at a bored-looking unicorn in greasy, dirty plate armor. He was the only pony in attendance wearing anything, and his gorget was imprinted with a spiraling horn silhouetted by the sun. He held a small journal bound in heavy papyrus paper in the hoof that didn't have a spear leaning against his shoulder.

"No sir," he said, dipping his head. "Just a homesteader with some extra food to sell. How do I go about setting up my wagon?" he asked.

"Ye find a space and open up the back," the unicorn said, holding out an empty hoof. "The crown expects some compensation as tax, for allowing the sale," he said, bored.

"Oh, uhm, I was sort of robbed on the way over?" he said with a small smile. "Could I pay after I sell?"

The unicorn snorted, his eyes narrowing as he looked Dusk over before he grinned. "Aye, that's fine, but the crown only takes coin. If you can't pay in coin, then you'll pay with service, unnerstand?"

Dusk swallowed dryly, nodding. "Yes sir."

Chuckling, the unicorn turned back to his book, waving a hoof at Dusk. "The tax is a silver coin. Have it, or else."

Dusk nodded with a bit of concern, looking over the market and seeing that there were no foods to be had. There were plenty of tools and pottery around, and he did spot a blanket covered over with sparkling gemstones and some silver-work, but it took until he could see inside one of the tents before he spotted anything consumable.

He blinked a few times, wondering what the stacks and stacks of the brown bricks were, until the unicorn tending the desk floated one over and took a bite.

Military rations?

He glanced around for an empty spot near the tents and set the brake on his wagon, walking to the back and looking around the near-empty market. There were plenty of ponies, but most of them were dressed for the road, and he assumed that they were the caravan the guard mentioned.

The rest of the ponies were undressed and walking almost listlessly around, glancing at a few of the iron goods and pottery utensils, before moving on. He watched a single sale and sighed as he prepared himself to be forced to make a silver coin out of sight with magic.

Pulling down the back of the wagon, he took a moment to attach two cords to the plank and slide it into a slot on the wagon to make it into a table of sorts, before he pulled forth the first basket of grains and started piling up independent sheaves.

"Is that wheat?" he heard someone ask behind him, and he turned to a passing pony gawking over his shoulder.

"Aye ma'am, homegrown einkorn wheat," he said with a nod and a smile. "Ah also have carrots, some few squash, a couple of baskets of beans, and some peppers. Would ya like-?"

"How many ya got?" the mare quickly asked, pulling an almost flat purse from her mane and pulling out three copper coins. "I'll buy what I can," she said, pushing forth the money.

"Oh, uhm, alright. You want anythin' in particular?" he asked, taking the coins and pulling his own flat purse out.

"Wheat an' carrots," she said, glancing around and keeping her voice down. "Please."

He pulled out two sheaves of wheat and two clumps of carrots that had been tied by twine looped around the green tops.

"Ya have bags?" he asked, placing the items in the empty saddlebag she offered to him.

"Sun bless ya," she whispered, before buckling the bag down and nearly sprinting away into the residences surrounding them.

With a sinking feeling in his gut, Dusk turned and pulled out the entire basket of grains and carrots, reaching for the basket holding the beans before he heard a few gasps around him. Steeling himself, he pulled forth the beans and the small basket of peppers before he turned around, eyeing the sudden crowds of eyes all around him.

"Alrigh' now," he said, putting his diaphragm into his voice and layering in some of his old court tones, "I've plenty, so we're gonna keep this civil, right?"

There was a cough in the mob, but otherwise, everypony was silent.

"Good," he said, holding out his hooves and indicating two spots in front of him. "Two lines, no pushing, no violence, or I leave. Got it?"

There was a bit of shifting and many, many glances before the mob settled into two barely distinct lines.

"Great," he said, smiling widely. "Now, what can I get you two?"

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

It was barely two hours later, and Dusk was sitting on the tail of his cleared wagon, holding only the baskets he'd promised to Iron Heart, and to Flicker and Flynt. He jostled his purse, full of copper and a couple of silver coins, glancing over at the bored-looking unicorn at the rations tent.

At the end of the day he'd even sold to her and the guard, both of them taking some wheat apiece and some of the ripe fruit he'd bundled along. He’d even paid off his silver to the guard when they bought from him. He was pretty sure he'd seen nearly the entire town by now and even received a few smiles that he'd held tighter to his heart than any coin he'd made that day.

"Excuse me, sir," said a voice below him, startling him out of his cloud-gazing.

Smiling down, he saw a small colt, obviously one of the caravaners by the worn scarf and road scared boots.

"I was wondering if you had some more of those fruits sir, that the unicorns bout," he asked, reaching into one of his tiny saddlebags and pulling out a tarnished and bent copper. "I caught the smell of one of them, and it's been a while since I had anything like them."

Looking back, Dusk pulled the basket close and looked into the empty, densely woven carrier. Glancing back at the tiny colt, he ducked his head into the basket and used his horn to teleport one of the pieces he'd left behind, holding the stem between his teeth.

"Here you go my colt," he said, grabbing the fruit with a hoof and tossing it to the young pony. "And you should go ahead and save your copper, get a real sweet some time," he said with a wink.

"Thanks, sir!" the colt yelped as he caught the fruit, scampering off to one of the spreads covered by brass tools.

Dusk smiled when he saw the colt take a couple of bites of the pawpaw before offering it up to the stallion with a dirty white mane behind the spread, who took a bite before hoofing it back.

"So where'd you get all this stuff then?"

Jumping a bit, Dusk turned to look at the guard he'd sold to earlier, the one he'd already paid one of his silver coins to. Screwing his eyes up a bit, he cocked his head as he said, "I, uh, grew them? I've got a small field of my own over near the White Tail Woods."

The unicorn narrowed his eyes, the spear strapped to his back lighting up in a magical aura as it was pulled from its holster.

"You're not selling us magical crop grown from that Deer sorcery, are ya?"

"Whoa, no!" Dusk said, raising his hooves. "No, just my own magic and two hooves!"

The unicorn squinted up at him and he felt a clumsy, fumbling mix of magic tug on his mind. Dusk immediately threw up a non-magical ward of looping thoughts, but after a few moments of fumbling found that even that wasn't necessary as the magic grip faded away. He noted a couple of drops of sweat under the unicorn's fur, running down his forehead from his horn's base.

"Alrigh'," the guard said, nodding. "As long as it ain't ensorcelled by their dirty magics, then I've no problems with ya selling here. How often you plan on swingin' by?"

Frowning at the jab, Dusk said, "I'm not sure, I sold most of my reserves today. Maybe in a couple of weeks?"

The guard frowned. "Couple weeks? It only takes ya a couple of weeks ta grow all this?"

Dusk felt a tingle of intuition, and murmured, "Ah, well, I have the field on rotation, so it grows in waves...?"

The unicorn frowned again, but Dusk didn't feel the fumbling mental magic this time. "Sounds pretty smart for one'a you ground pounders. I thought tha' smart ones of ya stayed in the military."

Dusk frowned a bit harder. "My da' had better plans for me."

The unicorn gazed up at Dusk for a moment, both of them frowning at each other until the unicorn snorted and shrugged. "If ya ain't got the balls to stand up to your 'Da'," he said dismissively, before looking around the market. "Be careful on the way home," he said as he turned his back. "You migh' have some of these tinkers at your throat for the coins you took from them."

Dusk straightened his spine, taking a quick stock of the ponies around him through his peripheral and sighing at the number of glaring eyes he had on him.

Hopping off of the tail of the wagon he pulled out the tail and slid it back into place on the back of the wagon's bed. Tying the simple tarp covering with a series of complicated knots, he stashed his newly filled purse in his mane before glancing around the marketplace.

Eyeing the nearby selections of quilts, he started working his way around the market, finding a surprising number of, well, he supposed they could be called Quality of Life goods.

He bought a couple of heavier looking quilts from the first spread, then a few contraptions that were made to mimic unicorn magic for earth ponies (a lighter for instance), then some home-made beeswax candles and jars of honey and comb (expensive, but one of his guilty-secret snacks), some pewter bowls and silverware, and a slew of other things he could make excuses to buy from the ones he'd noted glaring at him.

At the end of the circular trip, he stopped by the tent, making a show of pulling out his last coins and glancing sadly at the unicorn in the tent.

"Alas! I only have these two coppers left! Will that, perchance, get me any food?"

The unicorn looked at him, boredom never leaving her face as she sniffed before floating over two blocks and slapping them on the counter before taking his last coins.

"You're terrible at acting," she said, before returning to the book she had propped on the counter.

Muttering to himself, Dusk grabbed the two blocks before stomping over to the wagon and chucking them in the back. Walking around to the front, he paused when he saw the pony with the dirty white mane from earlier leaning against the front of his wagon.

"She's righ', ye're terrible at actin'," he said lightly, looking up and meeting Dusk's gaze. They kept the look for a long moment before he shook his head. "Ya come in, feed the entire town for pennies, then spread them all aroun' mah caravan."

He gave Dusk a steely look.

"We're not the kind to take charity, 'specially without knowin' who it's comin' from and what the strings are."

Dusk stared at the pony for a moment, before scrunching his eyes closed and massaging his temples. "Look," he said, eyes still closed, "no strings, no charity. I gave coins for goods, just like everyone in the market who bought from me."

He cracked an eye, staring at the pony.

"I'm just a backwater nobody who knows how to grow things the earth pony way, with more food than I know what to do with and a soft heart. I saw some of, well, I guess your ponies giving me the evil eye, and I don't have a use for this coin on my farm right now so I decided to pay it forward."

"Wait," the stallion said, cocking his head and leaning in. "What do you mean, grow things the earth pony way? What way is there besides sowing the seed and tendin' it?"

Dusk narrowed his eyes, shaking his head slightly. "No, you don't just plant it! I mean a unicorn or a pegasus would have to, since unicorn magic leaves that nasty taste on food, but we," he tapped his chest and gestured at the stallion, "we know how to get our hooves dirty, right?"

"Well sure, but how's that grow anything any faster?" the stallion asked, leaning further in.

Frowning, Dusk looked at him before using the tip of his hoof to burrow a bit into the dirt between them. Concentrating, he focused on a sprig of clover and pushed a bit of earth magic into it.

The caravan pony's eyes widened as he watched the clover sprout and grow before he quickly stomped a hoof down on the plant and glanced around.

"You inbred fool," he hissed, eyes wide and searching, "that's Deer magic! You're a buckin' druid, practicing that here!"

"What?" Dusk asked, frowning. "No, druids are, like, high priests of the Deer. This isn't their magic, it's ours! It's earth pony innate magic! Like how we use our hooves to grab things!"

The caravaner's face frowned in thought, before he shook his head. "Look, I don' care what sort of sorcery it is, I just know it'll get'cha a spear in the skull, so none of that around the unicorns." He glanced around again before sighing. "Look, we earth ponies have'ta look out for each other, so I won't tell no pony about you bein' a druid or whatever type of sorcerer you need to be to get that fruit so damned good. But ya can't go showin' off around unicorns, or they'll start a witch-hunt that ends with you hanging from a tree. So spread your craft carefully, aye?"

And without another word the stallion left, tucking the fat coin-purse into his mane.

Dusk watched him go before he leaned against the front of his wagon and pressed a hoof against his temple, massaging his pounding headache back.

"I should've paid more attention in Pleasant's classes," he muttered. "I'm not made to be naturally stealthy, and all of this skulduggery is giving me a migraine." Sighing, Dusk glanced around for more surprise conversations before strapping himself into the wagon's harness and trotting for the opening to the marketplace.

He nodded to the unicorn as he tried to pass, but found the haft of a spear across his chest. Sighing, he just started massaging his head as the unicorn chuckled.

"Y'know, that was a mighty generous tip ya gave me earlier, but-"

Dusk didn't even let him finish, simply quickly glancing around to make sure no one was looking at him before his horn glowed through its glamour and a bolt of magenta magic hit the unicorn in his temples.

Blinking, the unicorn glanced at him curiously, before his eyes slowly wandered over the tents and blankets of the bazaar, before slowly rolling up into the sky as a wide grin stretched over his face.

"Whoa dude," he whispered, blinking slowly. "That cloud totally looks like Celestia's plot."

Letting out a rush of breath and a chuckle, Dusk nodded. "Yeah dude, absolutely. Just make sure not to stare into the sun, she hates when you do that."

The unicorn's grin straightened out as he nodded seriously, before the grin slowly slide over his muzzle again.

Quickly trotting away from the unicorn, Dusk glanced around at the houses and their doors as he wandered around the settlement. After five minutes he found one of the places he was looking for, the house of Flicker and Flynt.

Untying himself, he pulled down two of the four baskets he'd held back and placed them next to the door before knocking on the doorframe, not trusting the door itself.

He heard some scraping inside of the mud shack, before the door swung open and a thin stallion poked his head into the narrow gap. "What?"

"Uhm, hi," Dusk said, a bit off-kilter. "On the road here I was stopped by a couple of stallions-"

Sighing, the stallion stepped away from the opening. The door opened wider to show a dappled palomino pony who's spots were a couple of hues darker than the twins had been, and longer of coat. His mane was long and unkempt, his cheekbones heavy against his taut skin.

His back left foreleg was also a wooden peg, the flesh ending just above where the knee would have been.

"What did my sons do this time?" he asked, reaching into his mane and pulling out a nearly flat purse out. "You're still walkin', so I don't think they beat the coins out'a you. I can't replace much-"

"Whoa there, elder," Dusk said, holding up his hoof. "They robbed me, yeah, but after that I made them a deal, and they asked me to pay you instead of them."

The stallion looked at him, frowning.

"I know how it sounds, but they did escort me through the woods here, and I pay back my debts," he said, waving a hoof at the two baskets. "And while I didn't have more than three copper, I did have some baskets of food they said they'd take as payment. So here it is; one basket of unmilled grains, and another basket of mixed turnips and carrots, for keeping me company on the trip."

The stallion looked at the baskets, stumping over to them and looking in their tops and glancing at Dusk, a flinty tone to his gaze.

"I'm not accepting charity just cause I'm crippled," he growled, turning his back and making his way back into the shack.

"And that's not what these are!" Dusk quickly said, sitting and holding up his hooves. "I don't even know ya, sir, how could I even know about your leg? I'm new to town, fresh from the market, I don't even know your name! I just know that your sons care enough to send these," he waved a hoof at the baskets, "your way."

The stallion paused, his shoulders in the doorframe. Dusk couldn't see his face, but he did see the shoulders tense and hitch once before hearing a sigh.

"Can ye help me bring'm in?"

Dusk quickly grabbed one of the baskets in his teeth before he slowly nudged the other one before him, following the thumping thuds of the stallion's wooden peg.

"Company Daise," the stallion called, catching the attention of a very ashy-gray mare sitting at a table in the hut, which had been divided into sections by furniture instead of walls.

The main area was dedicated to a fireplace made of baked mud bricks and two sitting chairs before it. The chairs were wide enough to allow easy movement from the fireplace to the table behind them, and Dusk saw an iron stand over the fire that likely held cooking pots as a camping tripod would. Dusk counted four chairs at the table, though two of them looked dusty.

"Ma'am," Dusk greeted, dipping his head. "D'ya happen to have a pantry, or should I leave these next to the fire?"

The mare looked between the two of them before looking to the stallion. "Steel?"

The stallion shook his head. "The twins sent us some food. Helped this stallion along the roads after robbin' him, of all things."

The mare's muzzle scrunched as she looked at Dusk.

"They robbed you, then helped you?"

Chuckling, Dusk set the basket of wheat in his mouth down. "I can be real convincin' when I need t'be," he said with a small smile. "It helped that I gave them some food when they didn't kill me once they found out I was on my way to market and didn't have any coin yet."

"Fools," Steel quietly said as he picked up the basket of vegetables and walked them slowly over next to the standing basin near the table. "Never did have enough sense."

The mare bit her lip, looking at Steel, before turning to Dusk and asking, "Did they look well?"

Steel glanced over his shoulder at her, before looking to Dusk as well.

"Ah, well," he started, blinking, "they looked a bit thin, but otherwise they seemed healthy."

"That's good," the mare said as Steel nodded. "I'm Daisy, and this is my husband Steel. I'm sorry our foals gave you grief, but ah'm glad to hear any news about them."

"They ain't come home in a couple of weeks now," Steel said, picking up the wheat basket and walking it over to the kitchen as well. "We were startin' to get worried, but I guess they're just tired of hearin' me tell them to get their act together before the unicorns get theirs."

"Well, if I see 'em on the way out, should I tell them anything?" Dusk asked, itching to get home.

The other two glanced at each other, before Steel lowered his gaze to the floor. "Tell 'em I'm sorry," he said. "An' tell 'em to come home soon."

Dusk nodded before trotting out, closing the door behind him and rubbing his temples a moment before hitching himself back to his wagon. He glanced once more at the door before moving on to try and find Iron Heart's dam.

Heading to the outskirts, he looked around for a few minutes before finding one of the larger huts that matched the description he'd been given. There was a colt sitting in the dirt in front of the house, drawing in the earth with a stick until he caught sight of Dusk.

"'Lo there," Dusk said, dipping his head. "Would you happen to be Iron Heart's little brother?"

The colt narrowed his eyes and nodded slowly. "Da' says he ain't family no more though," the colt said in a small, raspy voice. "Says Iron is doin' the family wrong with his actions."

"Maybe I can change their minds, a little," Dusk said with a small smile. "Would you fetch your Ma for me? Your big brother sent ya some food."

The colt stood up and trotted to the door, opening it and disappearing inside. Dusk unhooked himself again and walked around to the back of the wagon, pulling the last two full baskets from the back and walking them towards the door.

After a moment a clydesdale mare appeared in the doorway, a mellow gold coat made striking by her white mane and fetlocks.

"What'cha want?" she demanded, her form firm and unyielding as she glared down at Dusk.

"Ah, well, I met your son on the road," he started, but stopped when she snorted and spat on the ground between them.

"I'm dam to no highway robber," she snarled, her nostrils flaring. "I won't pay you back for what that foal took from you, whatever it may have been."

"Oh, I only had two copper at the time," Dusk said dismissively. "But that's not why I'm here. I had a chat with Iron, and after a meal, he agreed to escort me to town safely. He didn't want the food I offered him in repayment, an' told me to bring it here." He watched the mare's eyes wrinkle in confusion. "Wanted to make sure his little brother was eating enough."

The mare looked at the two baskets, then behind her. Dusk watched as her eyes softened, before she turned back and nodded sharply.

"I accept the repayment of his debt," she said, cocking her head. "What did he send?"

"This basket is full of unmilled einkorn," Dusk said, shaking the basket gently with a hoof. "And this one's got beans, turnips, carrots, squash, and a small pouch of peppers."

The mare's lips quirked into a smile for half a second, before she nodded. "Very well. I'll go get some sacks."

"Ah, no need," Dusk said, moving the baskets forth. "These're easy enough to weave, and I've got plenty of jute. Consider them part of the payment, if ya please."

The mare paused, then nodded. "Very well."

Dusk walked the baskets up to her, and paused before scratching the back of his head. "Uhm, I also talked with Daisy and Steel. They had a message for their sons, and I could...?" he trailed off.

The mare's eyes narrowed, and she chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before sighing. "If you see that foal, tell him that his dam is grateful, and his sire would take him back if he would actually apologize and go to the field as he should."

Dusk smirked a bit at that, wiping the expression when the mare's glare returned. "Sorry. Understood, ma'am. I'll be on my way, then."

She kept the heavy frown for another few moments, before she nodded smartly and moved the baskets into the hall beyond the doorway. Dusk turned his back and started the walk back to his wagon, before he heard the mare clear her throat.

"Will you also tell Iron I miss him?" she asked in a whisper. "And let him know Cherry Heart is growing into the smart stallion Iron knew he would?"

Glancing back, Dusk gave her a warm smile. "I will," he promised, before reattaching himself to his empty wagon and walking towards the woods he'd come through earlier the same day.