We parted ways with the other ponies I saved before heading north, apparently their destinations were to the east while ours was to the north. During our first day journey to Hollow Shades, I was able to gather some important information about this world I have found myself in. Firstly, the country I have found myself in is called Equestria, and have existed for almost 1000 years now. The ruler is known as Princess Celestia who rules from the capital city of Canterlot, and is an Alicorn, which i learned is an immortal being that is a mix of a Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth pony There is legitimate magic in the world, with unicorns and alicorns using magic like levitation and fireball, pegasi using magic to manipulate weather, and Earth ponies are basically low power druids. And that they use what are known at bits as currency, with it broken down into 4 denominations, copper, silver, gold, and platinum. Represented at c, s, g, and p respectively. with 10c = 1s, 10s = 1g, and 10g = 1p.

When i asked about the muskets in particular, Rose told me that while they have been around for some years now, they are out of date compared to what the is currently being used by the small army that equestria has. Which is how I learned that there are early bolt action guns being produced, but due to how much more complex they are compared to the muskets they have, it is rare to see a bolt action rifle in the public, or even the local guard. When I inquired about if the rifles had a name, she told me they Macintosh Muskets, and Lilia-Rifles. I even asked if they had any kind of armored vehicles, to which i learned there were some early prototypes made about 5 years ago. And they way she described them, they sounded similar to early tanks, like the Renault FT tanks.

When i asked for the names of some of the major cities I honestly thought she was joking, but sadly she wasn't. She told me the 11 major cities other than canterlot were Vanhoover, Bales, Winnyapolis, Tall Tales, Los Pegasus, Rockville, Baltimare, Fillydelphia, Manehatten, Princessyn, and St. Peterhoof. When Rose Petal told me this, I stopped and let out a loud sigh. I told her when we get to Hollow Shades, I want to see a map that proves to me she isn't just making those city names up.

When asked about what Hollow Shades is like, she told me it is a it was a nice town with around 70 thousand ponies living in the town, with another 20 thousand or so in the rest of the province. She said the town was a small logging village long ago that relied on trade via the river the town initial settlers founded the town on. And over time, the village grew into the town it is today, and while the timber industry remains a large part of the town's economy, the village grew in conjunction with Manehatten as trade of goods from Griffonia became popular in Canterlot, as Hollow Shades is the closest town to Canterlot with a major river connection to Manehatten, with the city of Bales being closer to Canterlot, but farther from Manehatten reducing the amount of times a captain could make a round trip in a month. Which caused merchants to set up in the town to buy goods from the boat captains to then travel to Canterlot to sell their goods.

When asking about recent events, she told me about how the Griffon Empire just fell apart less than 3 years ago. Which brought up the question of what the current year was. To which she replied that it was the year 994 ALB.

"What does ALB stand for? I can assume it stands for a major event in world history, as we did a similar things back home."

"ALB stands for After Lunar Banishment." Rose replied after a moment of hesitation.

"And what was the Lunar Banishment?"

"Do you want the long or the short version?"

"Short will do for now."

"Well, basically, Princess Celestia's sister Luna went mad and became Nightmare Moon and tried to plunge the world into eternal night. Her followers another race of ponies known as the Thestrals sided with Luna since there prefer to be awake during the night. During which, she fought Celestia over the old Castle of the Two Sisters. In the end, Celestia used the Elements of Harmony to banish her sister to the moon. After which, here image appeared on the moon."

"Brutal. Banishing your own sister to the moon. What about the other race of ponies, the Thestrals? And what makes them different from the other races?"

"Well, they are still discriminated against by the majority of society since they sided with nightmare moon. Which is honestly pretty sad, since they tend to be introverted and usually avoid cities and prefer the wilderness, mountains, and caves. As to what makes them different from the other races, well, honestly they are like pegasi, only they have bat wings, fluffier ears, fangs, and good night vision. So it makes it easy to spot them it they aren't wearing a cloak."

"That is honestly really sad. How can ponies discriminate against an entire race generations after something like that occurred?" Then again, I can think of several examples back home, but not an almost 1000 year grudge.

"Yeah, I agree with you there. Though, a majority of Hollow Shades population would shun me if they found out. Only reason I don't discriminate against them is I was saved by one when I got lost in the forest when i was just a filly. Never found out what their name was, but it left a lasting impression on me. To the point where my shop, which is on the outskirts of town is secretly open to any Thestrals that happen to be in need of aid during the night. They can just come in, grab what they need, and leave bits in a hidden slot at the counter."

"I'm guessing the discrimination must be very bad then?" What is this, the South during the era of segregation?

"It really depends on where in equestira you are, but the absolute worse story of discrimination was 130 years ago, when a Thestral named Scarlet Shadow was beaten nearly to death in Detrot. Resulting in mass protests though out all major cities. Since that incident, Celestia had to issue anti-discrimination laws and start re-education programs to try and reform the worse offenders. And Detrot became almost entirely populated by Thestrals."

"Wow, just... wow." Almost sounds like brain washing, but for a decent cause. "So what happened to that thestral?"

"Oh, she got a statue in the center of Detrot, a street in every major city renamed after her, and a stipend of 10,000 bits a year for the rest of her life, and her children's life."

"Let me guess, if there is a thestral population in a city, they live on the street named after her, and non thestrals tend to be weary in those areas."

"How did you know?"

"Similar situation to something that happened back home. I won't get into the nitty-gritty, but instead of being beaten nearly to death, he was killed fighting for his civil rights. Years after, when those civil rights were given to his people, his birthday became a federal holiday, and is remembered as a hero for his people."

"Oh." She said looking a bit depressed. I guess that was a bit much for her.

The rest of that day we walked in relative silence, as we made our way north. Then went off the side of the road and made camp for the night. I checked Aqua Lilly's rear leg to see how it was doing, and to change the bandage if needed. Looking it over, it looked okay, and seemed like it would start healing soon. Satisfied, I pulled out an MRE for dinner, and asked if Rose and Aqua wanted the less... meaty part of the MRE. But they declined, as they found a berry bush as I was setting up a small fire for the night. I had taken off my ghillie suit fully by this point, and had put it away. The night was uneventful, but i woke up once in the middle of it and i felt like something was watching us, slowly, i grabbed my riffle, and flipped down my night vision goggles. Only to see something dart way a good 60 ft outside the camp. I was on guard for a while after that, but i eventually felt comfortable enough to fall back asleep.

Waking up, i took down camp, and made sure to put out any remaining cinders and cover where the ashes were with dirt. Then we continued on our way. By the time we reached Hollow Shades, it around midnight based on how long it had been dark. I followed Rose into the town, which was only had the main roads lit by light posts, so it was easy for me to follow in the shadows as to not spook anyone. around 10 minutes in, we arrived at Rose's home which acted as her place of business on the bottom floor.

Entering her house, the aroma of strong herbal plants hit me, and opened up my nostrils more then that Vick VapoRub i used as a kid during allergy season. I coughed for a moment as i adjusted to the smell. Role let out a small giggle as she said, "Always gets them as they first walk in." while heading up the stairs. Following her, to the second floor, through another door, we entered a neat kitchen living room combo, that a door to the restroom, and 3 bedrooms.

"I'm going to put Aqua to bed, then go pass out in my room. You can take the other room, or the couch. Then take Aqua to the hospital in the morning to get her leg looked at." She said clearly trying to force herself to stay awake.

"Sounds good. Goodnight." I said. As i opened the door to the third bedroom. Inside it was a simple bed but with no sheets on it, a dresser, nightstand, and a small window that looked out into an ally between her house and the one next door. Setting my bag to the side of the bed, leaned the riffle up against the dresser, and put my pistol in the top drawer of the night stand. Finally, kicking my boots off, and placing my helmet on the night stand i lay down in the first real bed in over 2 weeks, and promptly pass the fuck out.

Only to be awoken what seems like an hour later by the sound of wood creaking, Opening my eyes, i notice right away that it is clearly day time, and looking at my watch, it is around noon. Must have been running on empty for a while. Swinging out of bed, i grab my pistol, holster it and head out into the main room. And see Rose eating lunch in the kitchen, and Aqua sitting on the couch using a coloring book, with fresh bandages on her leg.

In the daylight, i could see that the living area a large green rug in the center of the room under a large wooden table, one of those old radios you would see in antique stores in the corner with the logo of a company called Lokia emblazonment on the front in white letters with a blue background. The kitchen also looked like one of those found in the early 1910's, but with some more modern equipment like a toaster, and a icebox.

"Morning Rose, I'm guessing you already took Aqua to the Hospital?"

"Yes. I got the doctor there to take a look at her leg. He asked what had happened to her, and i told him the story of how we were captured by diamond dog slavers and hauled away in the middle of the night, and how one of them stabbed Aqua before we were rescued. Hearing that story, he ran a small battery of tests to make sure that Aqua was fine. Which she was thanks to you stitching her up. He said if it weren't for the stitches, there might have been lasting damage to her leg. At most she will end up with a scar."

"That is good to hear."

"I also ran into one of my friend Silver Sword who is the local captain of the guard for this section of the town who had gotten notice 3 days ago about us missing. She was so worried about what happened to us, and seeing the bandage on Aqua only made her more upset. When we told her the story about what happened, she looked so angry, but relieved at the same time. She said she is glad that I was safe, and that she is going to let the mayor and other captains know of what has occurred, as well as send a letter to Canterlot informing them about the slavers. She did ask if she could meet you, to thank you for saving us. But I told her i would have to ask if it was okay with you first."

"I appreciate you checking with me to see if it is alright. I want to be cautious with how many others meet me. If the way that ponies react to thestrals is anything to go by, i bet they would try to run me out of town as some kind of monster."

"Oh come now. They are not that bad." She said waiving her hoof

"Shall i refer to the thestral situation? Or did that slip your mind?"

"Fair enough." she replied. "Any ways, i need to go and open the store. Can't keep it closed all day. Shall I let Silver know that you are fine with meeting her the next time i see her?"

"Yeah, just give me a 5 minute warning before she comes up." I reply as i walk over to the ice kitchen and rummage around in the cupboards. "Mine if i make myself something to eat? nd turn on the radio" I ask.

"Go ahead, just don't clean the place out. As for the radio, just don't make it too loud."

"Thanks." As I'm rummaging though the cupboards, i spot bread, butter, and jam. Score. grabbing the bread, i pop two slices into the toaster and grab a place while I wait for it to darken to a nice golden brown. Then put a nice amount of butter on both, followed by a jam. I then walk over to the couch and sit down to enjoy the first real taste of home since i got to this crazy place.

With the moment of peace i have, I think of how i have probably broken several international laws from the moment I saved Rose. Hell, I just hope it doesn't come down to the point where i become the representative for Humanity. It doesn't tend to turn out well for people like that in stories. Putting that aside for the moment, walked over the the radio in the corner of the room and turned it on. Turing the nod to go though the channels, most of it was news, or classical musics. Some where interesting, like one being broad cast in French, another in German, and even one in Italian, but the one that caught my attention the most was one being broad cast in Russian. Now, my Russian is a bit rusty, but from what I could make out, It sounded like it they were speaking about the ideology that Caramel Marks' founded, and the the Steel Stallion spreading the word to other ponies in the Severnaya region. After not making the connection for a good 5 minutes, i realized they were talking about communism. And from the way they were talking, it looks like they will try to revolt from the country of Equestria.

The more i learn about this world, the more i come to believe I'm in this world's equivalent of 1910's. All that is missing is trench warfare. Changing the channel, I find the broad cast talking about how the protests of the followers of Caramel Marks' ideology have started to escalate in Severnaya. With the most recent one being the biggest one yet. So far they have been peaceful, but there is apparently talk among the leading members about rising up and declaring their own state in the Severnaya region. Sounds like the October Revolution pony version.

The rest of the day was uneventful, with it spend mostly listening to the radio and comparing it to events back home to further narrow down an equivalent date back home. Closer to the end of the day, Rose came back up stairs and walked up to me.

"Hey Blackout, remember my friend Silver Sword I told you about."

"Yes, what of her?"

"Well, you also told me to give you a 5 minute warning before bringing her up to meet you."

"She is down stairs isn't she."

"Yeah, Just came up here to give you a heads up."

"Thanks," Well, this will make or break my prediction on if this world is Xenophobic or not.

Author's Note

That wraps up part 1 of Hollow Shades, Part 2 should be coming within a week or two.
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