Friends Of The Exiled

Dawn had passed into a full bright morning this day cool and clear.  The few clouds that remained in the sky hung low drifting lazily by as if forgotten by the Pegasi that left them behind.  Below on the saturated road walked two ponies side by side through the forest.  In the still air, they remained silent for a short while until the little one finally decided to break the silence.

“Are you okay?”  The small Pegasi asked cautiously, unsure of the reaction.  Cinder, being deep in thought didn’t respond.  The filly walked closer and spoke up a bit.  “Mister, are…are you okay?”  As he snapped out of it, he looked over to the filly.  “Hmm?  Ah...yeah.  Yeah, I’m fine.”  Looking forward again, he took a deep breath and shook his neck to loosen the strain from the collar.  The silence didn’t last long before she spoke up again.  “Well…if I hurt you, I didn’t mean it.”  The little one said apologetically.  As if nothing more than a low mumble, Cinder gave a short reply she could barely hear.  “Don’t worry about it.”

“Because…I really didn’t mean to hurt you.  I just couldn’t let them get me.”  She continued as the stallion gave a look of mild irritation.  “If I can make it up to you-“  Leaning over, he looked directly at her and cut her off mid sentence.  “I said don’t worry about it.  I’ve been through worse.”  Then, the night before at the inn crossed his mind as he thought about the question.  “Much worse.”

Turning back, he continued to look down the road as he started to lose himself in thought again trying to figure out what do when they would reach the next town.  As the silence barely settled in following the few seconds of tranquility between the leaves of the trees rustling and the few birds that would sing in the distance, the filly started up again.

“You know…we barely know each other.  I don’t even know your name.”  She said curiously.  Before she had the chance to ask, he spoke up quickly before she had the chance to ask.  “It’s Cinder.  Alright?”  With near admiration, the filly quickly piped up with even more curiosity.  “Oh, Cinder!  That’s an interesting name!  I wonder if you do anything with fire?  I mean it could explain a lot of things like cooking, making pottery, glassware, or maybe-“

“Blacksmith.” Cinder growled as he briefly looked over his shoulder and shot her an irritated look using one eye.  Hoping she would stay quiet, Cinder sighed and continued to think of the town ahead just before the filly again interrupted to silence.  “So…that must mean you make stuff like horseshoes and door hinges right?  I mean, there’s always a need for that kind of stuff, right?”  Taking a moment to think, Cinder wearily replied with repose.  “Yes, along with other things.”  Quickly sparking her interest, she continued on.  “Like weapons and armor then?”

“Look”  Cinder spoke up, as he turned to her and stopped the cart.  “It’s just something I’m good at and…”  Taking a few seconds to pause, he thought over his words and instead decided change the subject.  “...and…what is your name anyway?”  He asked reluctantly.  Faced with the question, the filly sat and looked at the ground as her tone changed to remorse.  “I…I don’t have a name.”  The air hung still for a moment as Cinder puzzled by the answer thought it over before following up with a reply.  “How is it that you don’t have a name?"

“Well, I sorta do, but I hate it.”  She answered as her face turned to anger.  “The others just called me ‘Pickens’ the whole time I’ve been at the orphanage.”  She look up at him nearly in tears.  “Do you know what it’s like to listen to others call out ‘Here comes easy Pickins!’ or ‘Chicken Pickens’ every day?”  She shook her head as she continued with a stronger tone stifling a sniffle.  “I swore that would get out of that awful place and never hear that name again.  I’m never going back.  I hated it there.”

“Why not just chose another name?”  Cinder asked nonchalantly.  “None of them are here now.”

With a moment of thinking, the filly brightened up and smiled at him.  “Yeah!  I was thinking of another name already.  Back there when we were stuck, what was that you called me?”  Cinder turned his head to one side and thought for a bit as he recalled the moment.  Before long, it came back to him.  “When I said ‘Thrust’?”  The little filly nodded in agreement.  “That’s it!  It sounds powerful, and strong like a Pegasi should be!”

Cinder considered the thought and looked over at her wings.  He spoke out as the words came to him.  “Speaking of which, how come you’re not in flight school yet?  Don’t the younger Pegasi start somewhere around your age?  I mean, that would have taken you out of the orphanage.”  Looking around behind her at her back, she lifted her wings and gave them a quick flap as the front half of her lifted in the air.  Half off of the ground, she looked up quickly leapt into the air only to float back down to the ground.  “I can’t fly yet.  I have to do that first and then they decide when I’m ready.”  With a nod, Cinder agreed as he chimed in. “More thrust would certainly get you into the air.”

“Thrust.”  She stated puzzled. “What does that mean anyway?”  Cinder looked off to one side and thought for a moment before turning back to answer.  “It basically means to push.  I’ve heard the Pegasi use it more often than any earth pony.  It just made sense at the time to say.”  He then looked up toward the sky and his eyes narrowed scanning the horizon with the sun looming overhead.  A low murmur escaped his throat as he studied it. “Hmm.”  Looking back down at the filly, he tilted his head back down the road.  “The day grows short and I still plan to get to town by nightfall.”  Standing back up, he briefly yanked on the collar and slowly pulled the cart up to walking speed as he continued down the road.

“Thrust.”  The little one said again as she stood up and quickly caught up alongside Cinder.  Trotting up beside him, she nodded with approval as she slowed to his speed.  “Yeah, that’s a name I can get along with.  What do you think?”  The larger pony simply grumbled in agreement almost unconcerned over the idea.  “Um-hmm.”   The filly grew excited as she continued on going into detail as only to talk to herself.  “Imagine that!  Thrust!  The wonder of the sky!  Diving and turning unmatched by the others!  Neee-ow!”  Briefly bringing a small hoof up, she dove it down and drew a circle in the air as if practicing maneuvers.  “I bet I could take care of the weather better than any of them up there just like in the stories I’ve heard about!”  The little one nearly gleamed with pride.

“Of course.”  Cinder chortled as he smiled faintly.  “You and every other Pegasi I’ve met all have the same idea of flying faster and higher and longer than any other before you.  It’s a fact as old as time itself exactly as long as the history of the Pegasi has existed if not longer.”  Returning to a calm demeanor, he went on.  “That’s just part of what they teach you in flight school when you get there, eventually.  You can’t be too headstrong when you use what you learn.  It can get you into more trouble then it’s worth.”  Quickly becoming solemn, he paused before chewing on the final words.  “I should know.”

“I think I can learn more when we get to town and find what Pegasi do at flight school.  I might be able to ask one or two of the ponies when we get there.”  As her words came forward, the older stallion realized something he should have asked before the trip had begun.  As the question bothered him more and more, he had to ask to clear the doubt.  “Thrust…”  He said as he turned to her and spoke with a clear and concise tone.  “Where are your parents?”

“I…”  She slowed to a stop as Cinder watched and didn’t move while she looked down at the sandy road.  Cinder slowed to a halt just in front of her as she scratched lines in the wet gravel and sand of the road.  “I…actually can’t remember.”  She poked in the dirt as she shook her head and looked up at Cinder sill looking back at her.  “My whole life that I can remember I’ve lived at that terrible orphanage.  I was really little when I went there."

Changing her tune, she paused before trying to change the subject and find more about him. “Ya know, several hours ago you didn’t even want to know me and now you have a lot of questions.  Why the change?”  She asked.

Cinder replied in a calm tone.  “Simple.  I have to know who you are if I travel with you.  I have to be careful of what I do, and around who I do it with.”  His voice then became more somber.  "It's just a matter of trust.  For me, it's not easy."

Hearing his answer, she answered back a bit confused.  "I was at an orphanage.  Where else would I have gone?  I mean, since I've been with you, I haven't done anything wrong.  Have I?"  Her mood changed to curiosity as she thought about what he had in mind.  "You seem to be a lot more nervous then other ponies I've met before..."

"Look."  Cinder said grimly as he faced her intently and lightly shook his head. "You have no idea what it is to feel hunted like an animal.  Watching your flank every day, being careful what you say or have everything end in a moment.  Do you?"

Not expecting the answer, Thrust answered him as honest as could be.  "I don't.  Do you?"

The stallion remained silent as he held a long gaze at the filly before he finally broke away and pulled forward on the cart.  As the creak of the wood passed her, the filly spoke up before Cinder reached out of earshot.  "You...don't want me around you.  Do you?"  He could hear her sorrow without even looking back and stopped the cart again before she finished.  "Because, If you don't like me..."

Cinder bowed his head as he groaned loudly.  "Ugh!  Just...come on.  I said I would get you to town and I hold true to my words.  Okay?"  He looked back waiting for her to catch up.

With a sniffle, she stood up and nodded as she walked up to his side.  Cinder pushed forward as he talked to the filly at his side.  "It's just...a thing with me.  Don't let it get to you."  He returned his focus down the road.  "There's just a lot of road to cover and too many things to worry about than history."  He looked over to her and faintly smiled.  "That's why they put it in books so we can think about it later, right?"

Moving forward, the filly smiled at him and nodded.  She let the thought slip away left in the road the pair had already left behind as the day stretched on with the setting sun.

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The midmorning sunlight bore bright through the stone arched window across the long table centered within.  At the end the prince Thorne sat with anticipation tapping a hoof lightly on the table as he waited.  The fireplace burned bright behind his chair and just as hot as the anger that grew within him.  Finally at a boiling point, he could not tolerate the delay any longer.

Placing both hooves on the table he quickly stood upright he shouted out. “Butler!  Where is my morning breakfast!?”  A growl escaped his clenched teeth glaring down at the end of the table waiting for a response.  A head quickly poked its way through the doors at the end of the hall and in a worried tone, the butler replied.  “It’s coming master!  The chef is just finishing the final touches!”  He reassured with a nervous smile.  It quickly faded as a small vase came flying towards him and before impact, the butler ducked in the door and closed it as the vase smashed into a thousand small shards as it hit the thick wood.  The echo of a boom resonated across the hall before the prince yelled again!

“Tell him to hurry it up!  I haven’t got all day!”  Sitting back down in his chair, he slumped with a menacing look of disapproval as he let out a low growl.  Nearly in unison, his stomach growled as he grumbled in anger.  The morning having been filled with recommendations by the advisors took far longer than he had anticipated.    As his frustration grew, the butler slowly opened the door again and used only his eyes to peer through the door as he spoke.  “Your highness?”  He asked nervously.  “Were you expecting-“

“Yes!  Now!”  the prince roared as he stood up and grabbed at another vase in front of him.  Leaning back, he threw it with all his might at the door just as a shadow pushed it’s way past the butler and outstretching a hoof, caught the vase midair nearly at the door.  Slowly bringing it down, the hooded shadow appeared to look down at the vase in hoof and turned it over in examination.  “My, fine caftsponies must have spent hours on such a fine piece.”  Leaning toward the table, the husky voice took a step forward from the door and placed it near the edge of the table.  “It would be a shame to destroy something so…valuable.”

The clear rage of the prince faded as his tone softened in question.  “Who are you stranger?  What is the meaning of this entry? “  He quickly stiffened up and he propped himself higher on the table edge and stood tall.  “Speak up!  Identify yourself or I shall call the guards!”  He yelled at him.  With a voice of reassurance, the shadow called back in a much friendlier tone.  “I would surly hope as such that if any threat would come to you, that your guards would do their job to protect you as would I.”

Changing his focus, the prince looked past the mysterious character to the butler now cowering at the door edge.  “You, butler!  Tell me who is this figure that stands before me!?”  The prince continued on.  Slow to raise his head, he replied cautiously.  “Y-you requested the services of this stallion, my liege.  He is whom you requested to take care of…your problem, sire.”  Watching carefully, he gulped in case another vase would come flying.

Silence fell over the room for a few brief seconds before the prince continued.  “I find that strange.  The lands you hail from are more then three days ride from here.  You seem to have made it in two.”  Contempt could be detected in his voice as the silence continued for another few brief seconds.

The shadow smiled as he calmly replied.  “I work quickly…and move quickly.  That is two traits my employers commonly seek.  Are they not yours?”  The shadow asked in a grimly comical tone.  Seemingly satisfied with the answers, the prince sat at his seat again and waved the mystery character over and pointed a hoof at a nearby chair.  “Come then.  We have much to discuss and work to be done.  I have sent for you to do a job that needs the skill of a professional.”

The hooded stallion slowly walked alongside the table edge as each hoof tapped the rocky concrete floor with each step.  As he neared the prince, the empty chair nearby shot out slightly as it was kicked by the hoof of Thorne.  Stopping just in front of it, the youthful ruler smiled as he outstretched a hoof to it.  “Go ahead.  Sit.”  Before the mysterious character did so, he briefly looked around him, quickly glanced under the table, lightly kicked the chair himself, and finally outstretched a hoof to the top of the chair.  As his arm was more viably seen when his knuckle wrapped around it, the arms were seen to be covered in wraps tied with a crossed lace down the center.

As he slowly sat in the chair and nearly settled, Thorne bolted forward dagger in hoof straight at his throat across the table.  As he used one hoof to grab around the head of his guest coming nose to nose, his other held the knife steady across the robed throat of the stranger.  The prince chuckled as he spoke softly in jest.  “If you truly are who you claim you are, you wouldn’t have let your guard down so easily.”  Barely lit by the window light, the stranger could be seen with a mild smirk as he shifted ever so slightly.  Thorne, appearing ever so confident quickly lost it as his expression turned to shock when he felt the pinprick directly in the center of his stomach.  The stranger shook his head.  “It was never down for a moment.”  He said as he slowly reached near the blade at his throat with the other hoof and pulled down slightly to expose the small scaled plates hidden underneath.  Realizing the folly, the prince slowly backed away and sat down in his chair sheathing the dagger.

“So you must be him.”  The prince chimed in with approval.  Interrupting the moment, the stomach of the king growled again and Thorne changed from satisfied to angry.  “Butler!  My breakfast, NOW or it’s your HEAD!”  As his echoes faded, the shuffling of hooves scampered down the edge of the table with a large silver domed plate that reflected with the beam of the sun as he ran past the window.  Approaching the prince, he quickly slid it in front of him and lifted off the cloche to reveal a bed of alfalfa sprouts, seaweed, diced carrots, chopped radishes, turnip halves, and whole sweet beets adorned with rose petals around the edge.

In one quick motion, Thorne brought out the dagger in hoof and stabbed at a turnip half and bit off the end.  Leaning back in his chair he stared lazily at the unfamiliar pony until he swallowed and continued his thoughts vocally.  “Do you have the letter?”  He chided raising an eyebrow.  Shuffling below the table, the stranger lifted a hoof above and slid the half folded note forward to the plate where the prince leaned over, stabbed the center of it, and picked it up with the edge of the knife.  Bringing it closer, he opened it and read through the note s it had been written.

“On to business then I suppose.”  Thorne lazily spoke as he stabbed at a large red beet on the plate and lifted it to his mouth.  Taking it in whole, he chewed at it for a moment as he brought the knife down on the table blade first embedding it into the wood near the plate.  Lifting a hoof in the air, he began.

“Some moons ago, I had an issue with loyalty in my castle from a certain earth pony that would seek to have me removed from my throne.  I had given him the chance to swear his allegiance to me, but instead he decided to run.”  Picking up the knife from the table, Thorne jabbed at a long uncut carrot and brought it to his mouth slicing it in half and chewing as he continued on.  “What he has done to my reputation and his capability to further damage it must be halted.  He cannot be allowed to roam free while I work to establish my power in this region.”  Finishing off the carrot, Thorne jabbed the knife in the center of the sprouts and spun it twirling it around the knife.  Bringing it to his mouth, he bit at it whole as he placed the knife back on the table.  Raising a hoof, he pointed at the stranger.  “Of course, this is where you come in.  I want him captured alive.”  He then tapped the table in front of him.  “You will bring him here, to me, in one piece and still breathing.  We have some questions that need to be answered and…”  Pausing to take the knife again, Thorne reached for a large round beet in the center of the plate and with a quick motion, jabbed at it directly in the center.  The dark purple juice flowed from the knife as he lifted it and brought it to his mouth.  As he brought the dripping beet to eye level, he smiled as he looked at and then turned his attention back to the stranger.  “Let’s just say I have unfinished business that needs attending to.”  Bringing it closer, Thorne turned his head and bit hard leaving a half moon shape in beet as he looked back to the unknown stallion.

“I see.”  The stranger replied calmly.  Unmoving in his stance, he remained motionless sitting upright in the chair as he paused before he spoke again.  “You do have my standard fee, correct?”  Leaning back as to stretch, Thorne raised both hooves in the air above his head as he briefly closed his eyes and yawned.  “Ah yes.  I thought you would get to that.”  He said as his arms came down.  Looking briefly down to one side of the chair, he produced a small pouch in hoof and tossed it up in the air twice landing in his hoof each time.  The ring of bits could be heard as the coins bounced off of one another inside.  Pitching it forward across the table, it landed and rolled in front of the stranger within reach.  Looking down at the bag in front of him, the hooded stallion scooped an arm around the bag and pulled it off the table into his lap as Thorne continued on.  “Half of the bits now for your trouble to get there and follow him, half when you return with what I have asked.  Yes?”

The stranger nodded silently before he thought to check for any loose ends.  “Anything else I should know before I go?”  Thorne looked up to the ceiling and brought a hoof to his chin to tap it lightly.  Only mere seconds later, he did think of one thing he had questioned long ago.  Looking back at the stranger, his lips curled up as the idea seemed too good to pass up.  “When you have him, tell him that time cannot erase many memories…especially ours.”  With a deep rooted cackle, Thorne gave a hearty laugh as he leaned back in the chair and quickly brought both hooves together with a loud pop.

The stranger slowly stood from the chair and walked to the entry approaching the butler as he opened the door.  The prince called from the end of the hall to gain his attention one last time.  “Just remember, if you return empty hooved, you will leave with less then what you arrived.”  Thorne drove his dagger into the table with a loud bang as it left a deep hole in front of him.  The stranger raising his arm in front of his nose, had a long carrot in hoof with his knuckle wrapped around it.  Running the long root past his nose to take in the smell, he quickly bit on the end and smiled as he chewed before he would reply. “Of course.”  Turning to the butler, he pushed past him and continued down the corridor to make his exit for the one named Cinder.