“The time has come, chosen one. Step forward!”
Silence fell all around me as I did as I was ordered, and stepped forward into the middle of the circle of observers. I was standing on a wide and open field, a large group of ponies all around me, watching my every move. I nervously looked around, my hooves absent-mindedly scraping on the ground.
This was it. The day I’ve awaited for so long and yet feared for the last few years. Today was the day I would undergo my final test, which would determine my future role in the tribe. If I succeeded It meant that I would be ready, that I would be counted as a full member of the tribe, ready to start a life on my own and maybe even form a family. Should I fail however, it would mean that I would stay a child for another year, meaning I would have to obey the rules of others even longer. I snorted. I would do this, I knew that I could.
While I was hanging on my own thoughts, Whisper Wind continued. She was our “Wise Mare”, meaning she functioned as seer, shaman and adviser for the whole tribe. She was one of the oldest member of our tribe, beaten only by one, who was around since our foundation, yet no one really knew how she looked. She always wore the same outfit, a long shamanic robe in a deep blue color which hid most of her body, only a small piece of her light purple muzzle could be seen through the hoods opening. A wooden staff, said to be made out of a special wood with great magical properties, floated besides her, basked in a magical glow.
“Young warrior...” Whisper said addressing me and pulling me out of my thoughts. “Are you ready to begin?” I looked at the mare standing in front of me and bowed down.
“Yes I am.” I answered honestly to Whisper
“Then prepare yourself” she intoned.
“I am prepared” I replied, giving her the traditional answer.
“Then take this weapon. It will protect you and help you on your way.”
Hearing her cue, a green mare, her black mane falling loosely around her face, her golden eyes fixating me, trotted over to me. She was holding a long, wooden spear in her magical grip, no doubt the promised means of defend. This was my sister, Jade Dream. She had volunteered to be the part of my family that would give me my equipment like it was tradition.
Jade was a few years younger than me, barely old enough to call her a mare. Soon she would undergo the tribes first trial herself, marking her an adult and able to pull her own weight in the tribe. She may have been a little bit to trusting and maybe a little bit naive, but she was the best sister I could ask for.
Soon she had reached me and handed over the weapon. She just stood in front of me for a moment, before she looked me in the eyes. “Be careful” she said.
“Of course I'll be. You know that I can do this!” I said flashing her a grin and patting her on the head. She looked a little annoyed by the gesture, but nodded and turned back to retake her place in the group. Once she was back at her place, Whisper addressed me again.
“You were prepared for this task, young one. You have been trained by the warriors of our clan and equipped with everything you need. Now go and face the challenge, I wish you luck”
I bowed again before the ponies watching me, before turning around and making my way to my destination.
They called it the “Temple of Trials”. It was an old stone building, Its roof reaching far into the sky. I stood before the entrance, staring at the old metal door that was blocking my path. I took a deep breath, before touching the door, an unseen mechanism letting it slide into the walls.
Looking into the black darkness of the room before me I pulled together my courage, sharpened my senses and moved into the building.
I slowly walked through the small corridors, my eyes shifting around, registering every movement around me. My ears perked up as a quite slither, a few rooms behind me, indicated a body moving over the floor. Hastily I disappeared into the shadows and pressed my body against the next best wall. I powered up my horn, closed my eyes and let the glow envelop them. Opening them again my sight had improved by far, letting me see through the darkness surrounding me. Standing in my hiding spot, I observed the creature slowly coming closer.
It was an ant, as big as a dog, Its antennas darting around in front of its head, Its big mandibles clicking in front of its mouth. I gulped, my hooves playing with the spear I held between them. I slowly turned towards the ant, giving great caution not to make any noises whilst moving towards It. I slowly lifted the spear, its tip pointed at the insect before me.
I drew the spear back, took aim and let it go. It sailed through the air, hitting and penetrating the ants thick armor and destroying its brain. I let out a sigh of relief, thanking the Goddesses that I'm still alive. My moment of relief was very short lived.
Turning my head sideways I noticed a giant scorpion coming closer, this one bigger than a full grown stallion. It blocked my path, my only means of defense stuck in the head of the ant quite a distance away.
The scorpion hadn't noticed me yet, but it was only a matter of time before It spots me. It's claws made a disturbing clacking sound that echoed throughout the eerie temple.
Clack!
Clack!
Clack!
It held Its giant stinger high above its body, ready to strike at any moment. I started to sweat, my whole body going tense. Slowly I started moving along the wall, making my way over to the fallen ant. Suddenly I felt my leg colliding with something. I only had time to think: "You've got to be kidding me", before a loud clang rang through the abandoned hallways.
The scorpion, noticing the vibration before him, let out a screech, before gaining speed, chasing after me. I left all caution behind me, only caring for my spear and my survival. I ran as fast as I could my legs could carry me, which is sadly not that fast but fast enough for me to grab my spear in time.
Without stopping I jumped out of the way, into one of the old chambers besides me. The scorpion being caught in its momentum, missed the chamber I had disappeared in, and had to turn around and walk back to find me.
Using the distraction, I stood up on my rear legs and readied my weapon. As soon as the scorpion stuck his head into the room, I struck, cutting through one of its claws. The scorpion let out a pained screech, before It started to thrash around. Now was my chance. I ran away from the injured scorpion, avoiding the claws of the beast and made my way out of there.
I ran through the old temple, two different instincts tugging at me; First was the one that told me to run as fast as I could, away from the dangerous creature. The other one reminded me, that there could still be other dangers here and I needed to be careful not to attract any more attention.
After passing two more hallways, I finally slowed down. Flaring up my horn, I once again let the magic envelope my eyes, this time using a heat detection spell to check for enemies. Finding nothing in close proximity, I slumped down on my haunches.
I let the things that happened just moments ago run through my head and snorted. ‘I had been trained better than this!’ I thought. Of course I was a thinker, but even then I should do better than what I did up till now. True, my real skills lay somewhere else, I was a master with my tongue, able to manipulate the thoughts of nearly everyone I’ve met so far.
I preferred to strike out of the shadows, unseen by my foes and ending the fight before it even started. But here this wouldn't work that well. I was only equipped with a spear, hardly useful for my abilities, and I doubted that I could talk my way out of fights with these creatures.
I shook my head and stood back up on my fours. I dusted off my clothes and started walking again, taking extra care to keep track on my surroundings. I just needed to find the object I was looking for, then I could return. How hard could that be?
A few hours and a lot of fights later, I finally stood before the great door of the ceremony hall, the place I was looking for. I activated my magic again and peered inside.
No enemies, great! I opened the door and walked in. I was standing in a great hall, the roof nearly impossible to spot in the shadows above me. All around the room great statues were standing, showing a variety of mares and stallions in strange positions. I didn't really cared for them, giving each of them just a quick glance over. Then I saw what I had came for.
In the middle of the room it lay, clearly visible to me, even in the dark room. It lay on a pedestal, positioned in the center of the room. The older warriors left the things on there, the younger were supposed to retrieve. In my case it was an old device my grandfather once wore. A small gauntlet, a mini computer with many functions built in it. What was it called again? Pip... Bud? It didn't matter, I had what I came for. I floated the device over to me, placing it around my leg. After all it was a gauntlet, what better way to transport it, right?
Happy to have what I came for I turned around, ready to leave. Suddenly I heard something from behind me and did the only thing that seemed reasonable, I ducked. Just a moment later a red beam of light shoot over my head, missing me just barely. I jumped back looking at what ever had attacked me. I growled. While scanning the room beforehand, I forgot that things needed to have a heat signature to turn up on my scanner.
There before me was a robot, its inbuilt weapons directed at me. We stared at each other for a moment, before I jumped back as it started to fire. Having a hard time to dodge, I collided with one of the statues, my Pipbud making a weird noise. I jumped away and readied my spear. With a battle cry I jumped at the construct before me, ready to strike.
Suddenly time before me stopped. I was perplex to say the least. All around in my vision strange symbols and markers appeared, leaving me wondering what they meant. Except maybe for the one in the left corner. Pretty sure that was a compass, considering the symbols for north and east being on it. Suddenly a message flashed before my eyes. I skipped through it "Welcome to S.A.T.S. .... Stable-Tec ... choose your target ... automatic..." I read. This sounded interesting. If I understood correct, I could choose a random target and the program would automatically do the work for me. It also slowed down time, giving me a great tactical advantage.
Wasting no time, I chose the robot in front of me as a target, aiming at the part with the highest percentage, and confirmed my decision. Suddenly my body moved on its own, targeting the robot and piercing the spear through its armor, destroying the core of the machine ... and sadly my weapon within it. Landing back on the ground I massaged my muscles. That was a strange feeling, it seemed like I needed to get used to it first.
I looked at the room around me, wondering at everything that had just happened. I was curious to know what this thing could do, but decided that there was someone else who was better suited to tell me. Having reached my goal I left the temple and went for the exit.
Outside the building someone was already waiting for me; Hot Trail, the chief of the hunters of our tribe. He was a big earth pony, one or two heads bigger than most. He looked me over, noticing the Pipbuck on my leg. His grim expression didn't change, but I think I saw him smile for just a moment.
"Hello, Chip." he said.
"Hello, Trail." I replied back to the hunter.
"I was sent to retrieve you." the hunter said. I became curious. Only someone with a great amount of influence could order a pony of his rank around, and only three ponies in our tribe had that amount of power.
That meant either that Whisper Wind had send for me, which would have been unusual since normally I would have been allowed to meet my family again, before returning for the final part of the ceremony, or one of the other two would want to see me. I somehow doubted that. I knew one of them good enough to know beforehand if he wanted something from me and the other one was the chief of the tribe, and I couldn't imagine a reason why he would want to see me.
"Wind Whisper, wants to see you." he said, confirming my suspicion.
"Did she say why?" I asked. Trail shook his head.
"No, but you should hurry, you shouldn't let her wait." I nodded. That was obvious. No one left Whisper waiting, if she sent for you. Her word meant as much as that of our leader, maybe even more. Satisfied that the message was delivered Trail turned around and walked towards our camp. I gave a quick glance down to my leg and followed him.
"Welcome back, Chip." Whisper said, as soon as I entered her tent. She smiled lightly and pointed for me to sit down at the fire burning in the center of her tent. I instantly obeyed and followed her offer which wasn't one.
"Chip..." she began "I'm sure you have noticed the recent changes around us."
"Yes." I nodded.
Of course I had, who didn't? Our tribe was caught in a drought, leaving nearly no places to plant food and killing most of our live stock and prey, due to heatstrokes. Whisper nodded, satisfied with my answer.
"We can't go on like we did before, we need help to overcome this malicious curse. If it goes on like it did, I fear for our survival. But I saw the signs. They told me that there might be hope. “You!" she said pointing her staff at me. .... Of course it was me, who else? I wasn't the Chosen One for nothing was I?
The Chosen One... This time the term chosen didn't referred to the fact that I was chosen to undergo my test today. No this "chosen" meant something else. People always saw me as something special. I was born in a special bloodline, my heritage making everyone believe I was destined to do great things. I always found this ridiculous. I loved to stay in the dark, seeing but being unseen. I just couldn't imagine ever doing something great. It seemed however that they finally had found something for me to do. I sighed. I had to try to talk my way out of it. I knew it wouldn't work, but I had to try regardless.
"I'm honored, Whisper," I said, "bu-” I didn’t finish what i was going to say as she spoke.
"No, buts" she interrupted me, crushing any hopes I may have had completely. Like I said; it wouldn't work. "You are the chosen one, the wind whispers your name. Listen young one, because this is important."
I just gestured for her to go on, knowing there was no way out of this. The old mare cleared her throat before opening her mouth.
"Once we lived in an old building, designed to protect us from the day of death. It worked and our ancestors survived, but a tragedy drove us out of our shelter. We abandoned the old home and started a new live out here, and lived in peace ever since. But now the drought threatens to kill us all and there is only one hope. You need to walk to our old home, Chosen One. In there you will find an old relic. You need to retrieve it and bring it to us. It's our only chance of survival."
I rolled my eyes. Of course I had to go there. Yeah, lucky me. I looked at the mare sitting before me and asked "When will I set out?"
"The day after tomorrow. For now go home and regain your strength. Tomorrow we will gather your gear and hold a ceremony for your success. Then you will have to leave. Do you understand?"
Once again I nodded. I could try to rebel, but then Trail and his stallions would just drag me out into the desert and leave me there without any help. This way I would at least get supplies for my journey. I stood up, dusted myself and left the tent.
Outside I looked around for a while, taking in the view of our tribe. I sighed again and dropped my head. With an defeated expression I made my way over to my home. I wanted to visit him already when I had found the Pipbuck and now I had another reason to go.
As I entered the shop an old stallion looked up. He was a gray earth pony, clad in green robes covering most of his body except for his head. He had a stern but friendly expression, his face worn and covered in scars. He had a short beard and his long white mane fell free around his head. He stared at me, unconsciously polishing the long combat knife in his grip, the shelf behind him filled with all kinds of scavenged weapons.
This was Sharp Tongue the Hero of our tribe. The story Whisper told me in her tent, happened not that long ago as it seemed. In fact it was Sharp Tongue, when he was just a young stallion, who lead our people out of our old home, defending us against all dangers we encountered, among them a dangerous group of alicorns and their even more dangerous leader. Without him we probably would have all died.
Sharp Tongue finally put away the knife and looked me over, a serious expression on his face. "Welcome back." he said.
"Hi, gramps." I replied. I think you can guess why the ponies of my tribe expected much from me?
I looked him into the eyes, a small grin on my lips. "I passed." I said. He looked me over again and nodded.
"Congratulations" was all he said. Gramps and I never really shared many words, we never needed to, we always knew what the other meant. I tilted my head forming the sentences I was about to say. He noticed me thinking and went quiet, waiting for me to speak.
"Wind Whisper talked to me just now" I said. He perked up, reading from my voice that it meant something important. "She said I was chosen." I continued. "I'm supposed to go to the old home and retrieve something from there." Now i got his full attention. "I hoped you can help me prepare for it." He nodded again. "I also found this” I said holding up my front leg. "Seems pretty neat. Think you can help me figure it out?" His eyes widened as he took in the sight in front of him. He took a moment to proceed things, then he started talking.
"I might not be of as much assistance as you may believe." he said, his voice surprisingly silky. "Yes, I hail from the old home and I do know where it is, however I'm an outcast and not welcome there. When I was young, I was send out to retrieve an old artifact, a water talisman able to create as much water as we would ever need, to replace our broken one. After many trials and struggles I managed to find it and bring it back. However once I handed it over to my brothers and sisters, they denied me entrance. They said I had changed, that I was contaminated, that I wasn't any longer allowed to live with them. I tried to reason with them, but even I couldn't convince them otherwise. In the end I left. A few souls determined to come with me left the old home as well, accompanying me and the friends I made on my way. After wandering around for weeks we finally settled down, building the tribe you know today. All I can aid you in, is telling you where you can find it, the rest is up to you.”
“Concerning the device on your leg, I have good and bad news. The good one is that it will be a great aid in your quest, easing the way for you in many ways. Yes, I can teach you how to use it, but know this: by strapping it to your leg, you bound yourself to it. We know of no way to remove it again. Even I only managed to lose mine when this happened."
He lifted his leg revealing his artificial limb. If the stories he told me were true, he received it while defending our tribe and and group of wandering outsiders from an attack through raiders.
While protecting the families, a raider managed to sneak up on him, cutting off his leg. In return for his help, the outsiders took him to a unknown place where he received his new leg.
I shuddered. I wasn't happy that I would have to wear this damn thing for the rest of my live, but I wasn't quite looking forward to losing my leg either. I felt rage build up inside of me over my own stupidity, before boiling down again as soon as I realized that it wouldn't do anything good for me to throw a fit.
"You're sure about this?" I asked him.
"One hundred percent" he answered. I let my shoulders drop in defeat.
"Well i guess there are worse things that could happen" I said, trying to cheer myself up. "Can you at least help me figuring that thing out?"
He gestured for me to sit down and I followed his invitation. He grabbed my leg, showing me the different buttons on the device and started to give me a quick tutorial about its functions. Hmm. Compass, Local Map, World Map, Radio, Health Monitor, Backpack Manager, SATS.... This thing seemed to be quite useful. Having finished my quick crash course, my grandfather backed away slightly, giving me time to think.
"Do you think I can do it?" I finally asked. He looked at me and then pointed a hoof to an mirror standing in one of the corners of the shop.
"Look at yourself" he said. I did as he said. What I saw was a brown unicorn stallion, slightly less muscular than the rest of my tribe. My long black mane was tied back into a braided ponytail, my tail cut short to prevent it from getting caught somewhere during a hunt. On my flanks was my cutie mark, an eye with an aura around it, vaguely shaped like a tear.
"You're a strong warrior of our tribe" my grand father said "You're quick, smart and you have a sharp tongue, like myself." He smiled slightly. "I know you can do it. You're my grandson, you share my blood. If there is any one I believe to be capable of doing this, then it is you."
I let a small smile play over my lips. I noticed that he tried to encourage me, after all I learned all my skills from him and I could tell when he tried to manipulate someone, but I was thankful for his words either way. "I think you're right" I said, standing back up. "I think I'll go to sleep now, I need to be ready for tomorrow." I left the shop and walked over to the tent standing right next to the shop. I opened the flap and entered our home.
I was barely in, when a green streak tackled me and threw me to the ground. I groaned rubbing my head where I had landed on it, and looked at the pony hugging me. "You can let go of me now Jade" I said. The young mare still hugging me looked up, a slight frown on her face.
"But I'm so glad you're back unhurt" she said, pouting a little. I smiled, but pushed her away from me.
"Yeah, I'm glad too sis. But I'm kinda tired. Can we celebrate tomorrow?" I asked. She thought for a moment and then nodded. "Thanks sis" I said making my way over to my sleeping place. I would need to talk to her later, but right now I just wasn't ready for it. I dropped down on the floor, instantly drifting off into a deep, dreamless sleep.
The next day I woke up, remembering everything that happened the day before. I groaned, trying to drift back into sleep in the hope of forgetting everything around me. However, a certain somepony had other plans.
"I talked to gramps" Jade said staring at me. I mentally face-hoofed. ‘Great, I had hoped to postpone that for later. Well no choice left ... again.’ Still wobbly on my hooves I stood up and looked at my sister.
"You know I have no choice" I said.
"But what about .." she started before being interrupted by me.
"No, Jade. No tricks, no games. If we try something the whole tribe will be after my hide." Jade tried to come up with a counter argument, but had to admit that there was no way around it.
"Can I come with you" she asked. I shook my head.
"No, this is something I need to do on my own, you are needed here by gramps and the others." She made big eyes, tears welling up in them. "Doesn't work on me, sis. I was the one who taught you that, remember?"
"Dang it" Jade said, shaking her head disappointed.
I tried to cheer her up. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I mean, you know I'm the smartest there is."
She smirked "Says the guy who was outsmarted by a brahmin" With that she meant one of the more beefy ponies in the tribe who, considering his IQ, might have been one of them. One of the unintelligent heads to be fair to the brahims.
"I was drunk! Very, very drunk and I let him win on purpose." I said defensively.
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Maybe one day it will become true" she teased.
"Why, you little..." I said, suddenly jumping up from where I stood and tackling her to the ground. She giggled and threw me off tackling me in turn and starting to tickle me. We kept our little mock battle going for a moment, before breaking away from each other.
We took a moment to catch our breath. Suddenly Jade turned to me and looked me into the eyes. "Be careful." she said.
"I will be" I promised her. After that we walked out of the tent, over to the shop where gramps was already waiting. Noticing our arrival he nodded to the door and the three of us walked outside towards Whisper’s tent, to start my preparations.
While walking through the settlement I saw few of the younger stallions glancing or outright staring at Jade. ‘Right, she had reached that age, didn't she?’ Every time one of the stallions stared too long, I gave them a stern glare, making most of them look away.
I knew Jade wouldn't really like me poking into her business, but I couldn't help it. I always was a little over protective when it came to my sister and the view of those stallions fantasizing over her kinda triggered my unfriendly side. I had to make sure gramps took good care of her when I wasn't around. Those bastards better not try anything while I'm gone.
Lost in my thoughts I didn't noticed we already were close to our goal, only stopping when I realized that my two companions were missing. I looked up, standing nearly muzzle to muzzle to Whisper. I blushed slightly, my training to keep my emotions hidden betraying me for a moment. I took a few steps back, waiting for Whisper to begin her rites. While I did so, gramps leaned against a pillar a few feet behind me and Jade was talking to a group of ponies nearby.
"Chosen one..." Whisper said, using the title I hated so much. "We planned for a great ceremony, giving you only the best our ponies had to offer, so you could prevail. Sadly it seems that there were unforeseen problems."
My head dropped. The Goddesses certainly didn't like me. "Due to the drought we don't have much, making it impossible to provide you with the equipment we had thought off. I can only offer you so much, however please take this."
First she gave me a big flask filled with water and a little bag with food, which I took thankfully. At least I wouldn't starve or die of thirst immediately. Next came a piece of cloth, an old jumpsuit the stable dwellers wore if my memories served me right.
‘Hmm that would at least protect me a little bit against the sand.’ Next came a spear, resembling the one I used during my quest in the Temple. With this I would be able to defend myself against most dangers. Storing away the spear, I waited for Whisper to continue, but nothing came.
I waited for a moment, but as nothing came my jaw dropped. "That's it?" I asked shocked. I didn't wanted much but with only this? I would be dead after the first few steps.
"I'm sorry my child, we don't have much left." Whisper said. "I hope this will at least aid you in your quest in one way or another." I nodded still trying to process how I should survive out there. "This is all chosen one. Tonight there will be a celebration, in which we will pray for your luck. You will leave as soon as it's over." I nodded still unable to do much apart from starring. The old mare turned around and walked back into her tent, leaving me and my family back alone.
"Well that could have gone better" I muttered still upset over the lack of helpful items. My grandfather just stood there silently watching me. Then he stepped in front of me and pulled something out of his robes.
A long, silver gleaming knife, its handle and sheath a dark black. He held it out with his good hoof, offering it for me to take. Dumbstruck I looked at him. "This is "Loyalty" my personal knife. I took it with me on my quest, a keepsake for me, to always remember me of the most important thing. To always be loyal to your friends and your family. I want you to take it, so it can guide you on your undertaking too, always reminding you to do the right thing."
I grabbed the knife with trembling hooves, not knowing what to say. "Thanks" was the only thing I could come up with. "I'll keep it in honor."
Sharp Tongue nodded. "I'll have to go back. I'll see you two later" With that he turned around and left for his shop. I stood there, stunned for a moment, before shaking my head, clearing it again, and walking over to Jade. Once her friends noticed me approaching, the group split up leaving only Jade and me behind.
"Any final words?" I asked standing besides her, both of us staring at the countryside before us.
"We've already said everything there is, didn't we?" she said.
"I guess" I replied. We kept staring for a while, just enjoying the presence of the other before, she turned to me. "I'm going back home, are you coming with me?"
"No. I think I'll take my time. A last stroll through town if you know what I mean." She looked at me and nodded.
"See you later Chip."
"See you later, Jade". She took of, returning back in the direction we came from.
I on the other hoof walked through the settlement watching the ponies around me going over their lives. It all depended on me, whether they could continue or if we were all doomed, no pressure at all. I continued my walk, arriving at the end of our little settlement.
I kept walking, until I reached a small cave entrance. I entered it and powered up my horn, enhancing my eyesight in the darkness surrounding me. I walked deeper into the cave, following the old path for a while, until I reached a small passage in one of the walls. I'm pretty sure I was the only one who knew about it, since it was rather hidden, nearly impossible to find, if you couldn't see where you are going.
I followed the way until I reached a curve, sunlight filling my vision. Stepping outside I stood on a small platform on the mountains side, from where I could see the whole settlement. This was the place I normally went to think about... Well everything. I sat down on the stone beneath me, and let my thoughts wander.
Soon I would have to go back and finish preparations for my journey, but for now i just sat there watching the only home I had ever known.
The time just flew by and soon the night fell. Our whole tribe was sitting around a grand fireplace in the middle of the settlement. Everyone was laughing, chatting, eating and drinking, probably the last time for quite a while they could do this so carefree. I was sitting at the "head" of the circle, our tribe chief, Whisper and my grandfather besides me. I watched the fire burn, while i waited for the words, which I dreaded so much, to be spoken.
Finally Whisper stood up, the chatting of the tribe instantly stopping. "Brothers and sisters!" she began "We are here to see off the chosen one, he who will travel to the Old Home and bring us to our salvation. This is a feast in his honor and for his well being. Tonight is the night he will leave us, setting out for his quest."
She looked at me. "Chosen one?" I stood up, my legs slightly shaking. "I'll wish you all luck for your journey. May the wind guide you and your undertaking bear fruits. Good bye, brother." She bowed down, the rest of the tribe following suit.
After that there was a short moment in which my friends and family came over to me, wishing me luck and whispering encouraging words in my ears. Then it was time. With a final look at my brothers and sisters, I turned towards the location marked in my Pipbuck and set out to find our only hope or to doom us all...
The first day off my journey went by quickly, with no important events slowing me down. The first steps on my journey proved to be surprisingly ease, with only the occasionally wild ant or scorpion crossing my path, which I could bypass effortlessly thanks to my natural detection skill as well as the new EFS of my Pipbuck.
It had taken me quite some time to settle on my next moves, but in the end I decided that it would be the wisest choice to travel to the east first. That had mainly one reason.
Even though my tribe produced most of its goods itself , there were still things we couldn't create but still needed to survive. Because of that we had opened trade to a small settlement nearby. A small city called Karmatha, located only a few miles away, provided us with everything we needed. In return we shared parts of our yield, mostly meat or herbs. Caravans, traveling the waste near our homeland, made sure that the exchange of the goods was taken care of.
I hoped that I could upgrade my equipment in Karmatha, since I was still certain that I wouldn't be able to archive anything in the long run with the things I had currently with me. My jumpsuit while rather comfy, didn't gave any real form of protection and my spear had already shown signs of weariness. Only Loyalty and the flask had proven really useful till now ans I was sure that those alone wouldn't do me any good ultimately.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the city to be honest. True we were trade partners, but only very few ever wandered over there and most of the traders weren't eager to share their stories with us. My grandfather had given me a few strips of paper he had called “money”. It seemed you could change goods against those things, neat huh? Just to be sure however I had settled on gathering herbs and other hopefully valuable things I could trade in for help.
Well I would know it soon, I already could catch glimpses of the valley the city was supposed to be in. Soon I would see the city with my own eyes.
I entered the city, following the paved path that had begun a mile or so before the actual city.
I wasn't sure what I had expected, but definitely more than what I had found. The city was mostly in a really ad shape, an old ruin still standing from before the day of death. Every where I looked, I only saw a maze of gray, broken and destroyed houses everywhere with debris, garbage and broken machines filling the streets.
Still I could see ponies walk through the streets, going after there daily business as if the city was still as intact as before the war. Foals were playing in the streets, running through the debris as if it was non existent or playing hide and seek in the old, broken buildings around me. I walked through the streets taken in everything around me and marveled at the determination of the ponies around, to live in such a dilapidated area.
While I worked I could make out ponies whispering and staring at me out of the corner of my eyes, but as soon as I looked at them they already had resumed whatever they were doing, pretending as if nothing ever happened. Frowning I ignored them, playing it down as curiosity about a new visitor to the city.
I continued my way through the city, looking for a shop were I could sell me wares or a sign indicating a place to stay, since I didn’t plan to leave the town before tomorrow.
The first shop I found was a small herbalism shop, where I sold a few of the plants I had found. In return I received a bag of bottle caps and, after being reassured by the owner and a few passerby that this really was the momentary currency in the wasteland and not just a cruel joke, I left the building to continue my way.
It took me a while, but finally I found a small bar that was also renting beds to visitors. I entered the building looking around in the small room I had walked into. I saw a few ponies sitting or walking around the room, a young mare walking around, handing out drinks and food and an old mare standing at the other side of the room preparing said things. I concluded that they must have been the owners of the small house.
But there was something else that drew my attention, something I hadn't expected to see here. In one of the corners of the room stood a zebra, who was busy sweeping the floor in an, admittedly futile, attempt to clean it. He was a grayish-white with black stripes, like all of his brethren. He had a short cropped mane and tail, the former styled into a miniature mohawk, considering his lack of hair.
Zebras... They were an unusual sight in the wastelands, as far as I knew, since they were the ones that started the war all those years before, resulting in the day of death. A lot of ponies still held grudges against them because of that, resulting in the fact that most of them tended to keep to themselves in fear of the consequences of an angry mob trying to let their frustrations out on them.
Of course, most zebras were excellent fighters, using a strange kind of martial arts I wasn't familiar with, but I doubted that that would protect them if a whole city decided to go after them.
While I was staring at him, the old mare from across the room looked and him and let out a furious shriek. "You idiot" she screamed, hitting him over the head, obviously a more symbolic gesture, since he didn't showed any signs of even feeling it. "What are you doing? I told you to clean the rooms in the back, not wasting your time in here. Go at once and don't come back until you're finished, got that?" The zebra bowed before her and trotted out of the room, leaving the mare behind who started to mutter something about "those damn tribals."
My ears perked up. That explained the strange looks. It seemed like most of this city, didn't liked us. I wasn't sure why, but I was sure that I would find out soon enough. But for now there was something different on my mind.
I walked towards the younger mare, I thought of as the waiter and cleared my throat to get her attention. She stopped what she was doing and looked at me quizzically. "Who's that zebra, that just left the room" I asked, pointing at the door he had left through
She looked at me, a strange look in her eyes. It was a look I had seen a lot of times, mostly when I talked to gramps. It was the look someone had who tended to precisely calculate every move they made, trying to get the utmost profit out of their actions. It was a look not unlike the one I had most of the time.
"Sorry" she said, starting to turn away from me. "Infos only for paying costumers."
I groaned. Of course they would try to take advantage of me. Well that's a game two can play. Sadly there wasn't much I could do for now ans so I had to play after her rules at the moment, however I definitely would find a way to turn the tables.
"One beer," I said pulling out a hoof full of caps. She nodded and went over to the older mare. Soon she came back and handed out the ordered drink.
"So" I began, roughly gesturing towards the door the zebra had left through. "About him?" She looked over to the door and sighed. "His name is Zikom. He came to city a few days ago, supposedly to find his sister, who he claimed to be kidnapped by slavers."
"Slavers?" I asked interrupting her story. " She looked at me and nodded. "Yes, it isn't very common for them to exist, but there are a few here and there. Don't worry, here in Karmatha we would never except anything like this."
"Anyway" she continued. "He claimed his sister was kidnapped and he threw a giant tantrum around city, trying to find her. When he hadn't any success, he came in here and started drinking. Once he had downed a few cups, he suddenly got violent, starting a fight and destroying half of the furniture in the process."
That would explain the somewhat rundown appearance of the local, I thought.
"Once he had calmed down, he apologized and we took him in as an worker until he finishes to work off his debt."
I tilted my head, thinking about her story. It made sense. For a moment I was worried that despite her claims they actually would allow slavery in secret and Zikom was a victim of it. My worries weren't that baseless either, they did prove to me that they weren't really fond of tribals. Who to say that their hatred didn't take form in a rather serious way? I looked at the young mare and smiled. "Thanks for the info" I said.
“No problem” she said and started to turn around again, but stopped halfway. She looked at me, her face showing the same hard to read expression as before.
While a waited for her to say something, I studied her behavior. It was very subtle and would be hard to notice for most people but something about her movements threw me off. It seemed like she was trying to get a grasp of something. I guessed that she was trying to determine if I was worth wasting her time on or not. Or maybe I was just seeing things. I was always told I had the tendency to over analyze everything, but my motto was better safe than sorry.
However the case, I just kept looking at her, waiting for her to make the first move. "White got the first turn", like my grandpa used to say.
"Say..." she finally said. "I kinda like you." I raised an eyebrow. "You're cute" she said with a smile. Forced, but I played along, and let a goofy grin appear on my lips. "Why don't you take a room here?" she continued. "Maybe we can talk later?"
The way she said "talk" nearly made me wince. I got a pretty good idea what she meant with that. I weighted my options. This was either a trick to sell me a room, she was extremely open minded or she was trying to trick me in some kind of way and would try to take advantage of me as soon as I made a wrong move, probably trying to accuse me of assaulting her or something to get her way.
I wasn't sure if she was just sure of herself, or if she was just underestimating me. I tipped on the later, after all they didn't seem to have a high opinion on my kind. I hid my smile and looked at the mare an eager grin on my face. "It.Is.On!" I thought.
"Sure, I would like that" I said aloud, letting my eyes wandering over her body, staying in the role of the dumb, horny tribal. She was quite attractive, nice shaped body. Yellow coat, pale pink mane. "What's your name?"
She smiled at me and said "Smiley. See you later, sweety." And with a wink she was gone.
Ladies and gentlemen? Let the games begin!
After Smiley had left, I went over to the old mare standing at the counter and rented a room, receiving a key for one of the more private rooms. Smiley must had already arranged things for us.
I stored my unnecessary equipment, namely my spear, and left the building. I still had something left to do, the main reason why I had come here. I still wanted to upgrade. For that I had decided I would visit an old friend of the tribe. Tuner, a regular trade partner of the tribe had his own shop in this town, what better place to start my efforts than there?
It took me a while to find his shack, but with a lot of asking around and relying on the map function of my pipbuck, I finally found it.
I knocked at his door, eager to meet him, but it seemed like me luck had run out. Nobody was answering the door, no matter how often or vehement I knocked. That could mean two things. Either he was walking around town somewhere and I just had to wait for a awhile until he would return, or he was away with a caravan at the moment. I knew that our tribe wasn't the only settlement around here and Tuner would be an idiot if he wouldn't trade with the others as well.
I weighted my options. I could either wait here and hope he would return or go and try my luck elsewhere. I thought about It for a while, but decided it would be best to wait at least a little longer.
After the third hour had passed I had to admit that he probably wouldn't come home any time soon. I pushed me up from the wall I had leaned against and looked up. The sun was already setting and it wouldn't do me any good to try anything now. Not to mention that I had to go back for my date with Smiley.
Actually that was something I was looking forwards to. I was eager to know what exactly she wanted from me, by now I was pretty sure it wasn't anything physical.
I started walking towards my room, maybe a little bit faster than I had to.
I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I wasn't really in the mood for anything right now. I was just tired, craving for sleep to come, but as much as I wanted to, I wasn't allowed to let my mind to be clouded. I still was waiting for Smiley to come by and I needed a clear head for the upcoming battle. Unfortunately she never specified when she would come and so all I could do was wait in here, with nothing to take my mind off of my boredom.
I tried a few different things to keep me occupied, but nothing really worked. I wasn't in the mood to read, not to mention that the only books for miles around where mostly burned or unreadable from decay. My pipbuck wasn't a big help either. I had hoped that my radio would be able to catch up on anything, but it seemed that there wasn't any signal around here. A real shame, I really would have liked to hear something from that strange DJ Pon-3 fella I had heard so much about.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I noticed that it was probably part of her plan; to wait for me to get sleepy and as a result less observant. It was a pretty effective strategy and even if I wouldn't admit it, I felt its affects beginning to take roots.
In the end I decided that I needed to do something or I really would just drift off. I stood up from my bed a walked over to my clothes, which I had taken off for the night.
I pulled out Loyalty and unsheathed the weapon, admiring the pale light breaking on its blade. I started at the blade, transfixed by my own reflection and let my thoughts drift.
First I thought about Gramps, Jade and the rest of the tribe who were waiting for my return. I wasn't gone for long, but I already started to miss them.
Next my thoughts drifted to the mysterious object I was supposed to find. I wished that they had given me more informations about it. How was I supposed to know where exactly it was kept in the old home? What did it look like? What would it do? How could it help us?
Finally my thoughts turned to Tuner. I had hope he might have known something about the mysterious artifact since he was well educated about the technologies of old and maybe he had already heard of something like that?
My thoughts were interrupted when I heard the door behind me open. I slowly turned the grip of the knife using its reflective surface to look over my shoulder. I saw Smiley standing in the door-frame her gaze locked at my back. I lowered the weapon, took a deep breath to get into character, and turned around smiling.
"Smiley" I said with a big grin on my lips, trotting over to her. "I'm glad you came." She put a smile on herself and looked at me. "I said I wanted to talk didn't I?" "Of course you did" I said, waving her inside with a hoof " I was still worried you might have decided otherwise."
We went over to my bed, the only real furniture in the room apart from a small shelf in one corner of the room, and sat down. I tried to measure her behavior, but soon found that my mind wasn't working clearly. Point for you, sweetheart.
We talked for a while chatting about this and that, no one of us saying anything of importance in the process. I had gone into autopilot halfways, only answering with "hmm" and "yes" and banal phrases, and wishing she would finally cut to the point.
My attention returned when she stopped talking and stared at me. I stared back, looking into her eyes and waiting for her to make the first move.
Suddenly she leaned in and kissed me. My eyes went wide and I panicked for a moment before getting myself back under control. That had surprised me. Had I miscalculated her behavior? Was she really just after a quick number? I wouldn't say no if that was the case, but my gut-feeling told me that there was still more to come.
I tried to lean forwards myself, returning the kiss, but as suddenly as she had kissed me she pulled back looking away from me.
I looked at her quizzically, studying her. She kept looking away from me, no matter how hard I tried and her whole appearance seemed somewhat ... down.
"I'm sorry" she said unexpectedly, pulling me out of my thoughts. "I'm sorry" she repeated I can't do this." I was still saying nothing waiting for her to continue.
She turned her back towards me, sniveling slightly. "Just give me a moment please." she begged me. "Are you alright?" I asked her, the worried expression on my face half played and half serious concern."Yes..., yes" she said looking to the side. I knelt down before her, gently forcing her to look me into the eyes. I just hoped my training wouldn't betray me now.
"Hey, you can tell me." I said gently. She looked at me torn between hope and fear. …. there was still something off about all of this.
"It's just.... My last coltfriend. He was an asshole" she said, the last word coming strangely stocking, as if she had to overcome something to say it. "He treated me like his property and beat me whenever I didn't obey him. I hoped I could finally overcome his influence, but..."
I looked at her chewing at my lower lip. This time I was not pretending anything. I was on dangerously thin ice here. If what she said was true, me playing with her like this would have very serious consequences. I had to be very carefully about my next moves.
I looked her into the eyes, real concern for her in mine. "Who was he?" I asked. She shivered. "I'm not sure..." she began. I interrupted her at once. "Don't worry. You can tell me" I reassured her. She seemed a little uncertain but finally nodded. "It was a stallion who worked here in the town. His name is … Tuner."
It took me a great amount of concentration, not to start laughing. Got you, Missy!
Tuner. You might remember what I said? That he was a trader, and that he was coming to our tribe sometimes? What I didn't mention was that he was a very close friend of my gramps. In fact he was one of the traders that was there when he had lost his leg and he was the one who had convinced them to help him to get his new one. Ever since he was a close friend to us and later, after I was born, something like a far away living uncle for me and Jade. It was entirely impossible that what she said was true, so why was she lying?
I kept in my role, playing the worried suitor. "What happened to him?" I asked.
"I'm not sure" she replied, looking away. "Last time I heard of him he went to the lower city and build a gang there. I'm scared what will happen to me when he comes back."
That was it. That was the reason she had done all this. She wanted Tuner gone and she hoped, that I was dumb enough to do the dirty work for her. I had to admit, she was cold-blooded. Not everypony could have made up such a story and play it so convincingly like she did, just to get a job done.
Maybe I would fulfill her wish. I was looking for Tuner anyway and, if I found him, I could tell him about what was going on. There was only one problem, his location.
The lower city, how she had called the place was the area where the hunter and mercs lived. Most of them were trained killer and all of them were very unfriendly to tribals, even more so then the rest of the city. I would need a good plan if I wanted to survive there.
But for now I had to deal with Smiley.
"Don't worry" I said, giving her a cocky grin. "I will end this for you". Her eyes went wide. "No! I could never..." "Don't worry. I can handle this" I said hugging her. "You'll see, tomorrow at this time your problem will be gone." "Thanks" she whispered in my ear.
I stared at the wall, my face cold and expressionless. I was sure she had a similar expression at the moment.
I leaned against the cold stone walls of the building behind me. I was observing one of the old pubs in the lower city. Since the citizens here were rather hostile to tribals, even more so than their brethren in the upper city I had opted to watch their hideout from afar. I had enhanced my eyesight with my magic, giving me the ability to see the building as if I was standing right in front of it.
I also had dropped my vault suit, deciding that it would attract to much attention, not to mention that the ponies probably already had heard of the tribal in the vault suit, and I didn't need to complicate my mission any further. On my side hung a small silenced pistol, a present from Smiley to keep me save. Since it was my only useable weapon apart from Loyalty, I decided it couldn't hurt to take it with me.
While I was watching the building, one particular question kept spinning around in my head. Why here? Tuner was never the type to join a gang nor did he seem to fit in with any other of the locals. But there was no mistake.
Of course I didn't purely made my assumptions on the word of a mare that had tried to manipulate me and who didn't seem to shy away from any method to achieve her goal. But no matter who I questioned, from the shop owners to the bar owners to the foals playing around in the streets, they all told me that he was last seen here.
Once the sun started to set, I shook my head and let out a deep sigh. "Well," I thought "Let's get this over with." And to no one in particular I added " Shall we?"
I was sneaking through the streets of the rundown neighborhood, paying attention not to make any noises in the darkness. I had enhanced my eyes with my spells, but you never could be careful enough. Most of the inhabitants of this area were skilled hunter, trained in trailing and hunting down anything, and with no doubt anyone, so mistakes were unacceptable. Luckily a quick glance with my heat vision, combined with the detection abilities of my pipbuck was normally enough to bypass any guards.
My goal was an old building deep in the heart of the area, an old factory, specialized in producing guns and armor. I had heard Tuner was last seen in there, making his the right place to start my search for him.
It took my a while to go there, having to wait for guards to resume their routes or to bypass debris that was blocking my path, but finally I was standing in front of the great gates of the factory. I was watching them, studying the patrol routes of the guards around the great building. After a while I had found out a familiar pattern and readied myself to enter the building.
As soon as the first guard turned his back to me, I run forwards, ducking behind cover and waiting for him to clear my path. I kept playing that game for a while, always moving whenever the guards weren't looking my way, it reminded me of an old foals play we used to play, just with a much higher stake at risk.
With enough patience and timing I finally managed to reach my goal. I sighed with relief and gave my surroundings a quick scan. Nothing on my Pipbuck, nothing on my vision. Good.
I left the alleyway I had ducked in behind me, and walked over to one of the old emergency exits, working my magic on the lock. Literally. I wasn't going to try anything fancy and try to pick it, but instead checked the door for stability and, once I found a weak spot, used the silenced weapon to shoot the lock open.
Squeezing myself through the door, I soon stood inside the old building, everywhere around me long dead machines and furnaces. I walked through the abandoned halls, my jaw dropping in awe.
I had grown up in my tribe and even thought I had heard of buildings like this, to see them with my own eyes was daunting. I didn't even knew it was possible to build things like that, not to mention in this scales. The ponies of old must have been geniuses.
While I was walking around the floors, not really paying attention to my surroundings my ears suddenly perked up. I had heard something. Slowly I kept walking, following the noises.
What was that? It sounded like voices. Shouting ... and laughing ... and ... crying?
I was still a long way away from my goal, but I could begin to catch glimpses of what they were saying.
"No, please. I ...". A mare? I heard a foal cry. "Shut up. I don't ... " Male, slightly older. ".... over there. I want ..." another male, this one clearly much older, and if I interpreted the sound of his voice right, used to giving orders.
I finally had reached the door the sound was coming from and looked through it. I was standing on a small catwalk over a large store hall, which was illuminated by a dozen or so spotlights standing all around the room.
In the center of the room stood a group of ponies, frightened and battered. All around the room other ponies were standing, trailing guns on the group in their midst. On the catwalk across from me stood an old stallion, dressed in a fancy black suit, or at least what you could fancy in the wastes, and ordered around the ponies standing below.
One of the stallions on the group in the middle tried to run away, before one of the guards shot him in the leg, sending him to the ground, before walking over to him and dragging him back towards the others, who jolted away in fear.
I let my gaze wander over the ponies in the center of the room and noticed two of them immediately. The first one was Tuner, a bronze coated earth pony with a rust-colored mane. The other one was a female zebra. Zikom's sister maybe?
I watched the scenario before me play out and snorted. It seemed the citizens of the lower city were much more tolerant to slavery, than there neighbors in the upper city.
While I observed the ponies below me, I was wondering if I should help them now or retreat and come back with support. I didn't needed to think long, before the decision was taken away from me, teaching me two important things at the same time.
Number one: Never let your guard down in a hostile area. Number two: A Pipbuck only shows enemies in front of you....
I felt a heavy object collide with my head, before I dropped down to my knees, opening the door fully in the process. I just had time to see the perplexed expression on the well dressed pony and the shocked one on Turners face, before I dropped down completely, the world around me going blank.
I awoke, a burning pain at the back of my head giving me headaches. I just sat here for a moment, waiting for my vision to clear up. As soon as the room wasn't spinning anymore, I looked around.
I was sitting in a small room, a single light from the ceiling illuminating he room. My legs were bound together, making it impossible for me to move, and I was stripped of all of my belongings.
I really, really, really hated my luck.
I decided it would be best to wait and see what would happen. In the meantime I could try to lose my bindings a little.
I tried to wriggle around a little, fearing that to much movements could draw attention towards me. Not that there was anyone, whose attention I could attract, but better save than sorry. When that didn't show any result, I tried rougher movements, trying to rip the ropes apart. I didn't make me any hopes, and the ropes on their part kept sure to confirm my doubts.
While I tried fighting my way out of my bonds, I wondered why no one was around. Why did they bring me here? I didn't have to wait long before the door opened and the black clad pony with two bodyguards by his side came walking in.
He looked at me -I had had the bright idea to stop my effort when he had come in- and walked over towards a chair across from me. He took out an old briefcase from his pocket and pulled out a small cigar. Next he pulled out an ornamented lighter and starting lighting his tobacco. I looked at him, taking in his sight now that I got a good look at him. He was fairly plain looking, gray coat, white mane and black suit. He could be anyone from anywhere. In short he was completely plain and inconspicuous.
He took in a deep breath and gave me a look over. "So my friend" who are you and what are you doing here?"
I quickly got in role, flinching as he spoke to me and keeping my head low, lightly quivering. Perfect! I kept my head low, seemingly to frightened to talk.
"I asked you question" he said with unconcealed impatience. He was clearly not used to not getting his will.
I sniffed away my fake tears and answered with a trembling voice. "Brownie" I said, opting for a codename. It was silly but the only think I could come up with at the moment and at least my coat-color was correct. Remembering the second part of his question I continued. "I was looking for a place to hide, Sir." I said, a light trembling in my voice. “I visited the town and the inhabitants started hunting me. I got scared and run away, landing here.”
Not good, that might be a bit to much. Don't overdo it boy, I silently berated myself.
“And you accidentally just wandered past my guards, miraculously meeting no one and just strolling in on our secret meeting hall” The old stallion said, obviously not believing anything I said.
"Yes?" I said worried. Dammit I forgot about that. But that's the problem with improvising, you might make slip ups like that. Well I had to play with the hand I was given. "Like I said, I hid, Sir. Whenever I noticed someone coming close I just stopped until they were gone. When I finally entered this building I was so in awe I didn't notice where I was going, I swear it is the truth." I said pleadingly. Technically it was, just not all of it.
"And what about this, boy?" he asked pulling out Loyalty. I cursed inwardly, I should have left that home. "This is a rather unique knife" he said pulling it out of its sheath. "I haven't seen any like it before."
"It's a heirloom, Sir." I said keeping close to the truth. "My grandfather forged it himself and he gave it to his son, my father, who gave it to me." OK maybe that wasn't true, but hey whatever helped me to survive.
The old stallion looked at me doubtfully. "I don't believe you kid he said pointing Loyalty's tip at me. "And even if I did you saw something you shouldn't have. Either way we have to deal with you. Luckily for you one of my merchandises was damaged just a while ago, I believe you saw it? You know what? Why don't you take his place?"
Before I could say anything he gave a quick gesture to his guards and I was dragged out of the room. Finally I could see where I was. I was still in the same room I was before I was knocked out, they just had me dragged to a small office connected with the catwalk on one side and a ladder going down on the other.
The two guards pulled me towards the other ponies standing in the center of the room. I could see Turner trying to stand up to come to my help, but with a nearly unnoticeable shake of my head I gestured for him to stay down. I wanted to be incognito just a little while longer. Luckily Tuner was long enough around my gramps to notice even such a subtle sign and he stopped moving.
The two guards cut through my ropes, releasing me from my bounds. It wasn't necessary for them to bind me down, since all the guns pointing at me would keep me in place, and left me behind with he rest of the group.
I waited for them to bring a little distance between us, before I stood up and walked deeper into the crowed, closer to Tuner and to my surprise the zebra. Well he did show that he was more open minded then most and with no doubt he would try protect her. I wasn't sure if not without him they would try to take their frustrations out on her? She did seem a little roughened up, so it might not be impossible.
Once I was close enough for them to hear me I started talking. "What happened to you?" I asked, deliberately ignoring all pleasantries. Time was of the essence.
"I was looking for loot I could sell to one of the towns around" Tuner said, cutting right to the important parts as well. "Then my lights went out and I awoke here. Do you know where we are? And more importantly why are you here?" "Inside an old gun factory, deep in the lower city" I said. He cursed. "Then it will be to late, we will be far away by then." "Concerning you're second question; I was looking for you. I was sent on a mission by my tribe and I hoped to get some equipment at your store."
Tuner laughed weakly, gesturing around him. I'm sorry but I'm quite sure I won't be selling anything soon. Heck, I'm not even sure if I will sell anything ever again."
"Do you know what they are planing with us?" I asked, looking at all the ponies in the room. "I think they are going to sell us down in Dent."
I winced.
"Yeah that won't be nice." Tuner said. "Dent's a real hellhole. Everything full with drugs and addicts. Not sure what they have in plan for us there though." I nodded, staring into space.
Then I noticed the zebra still close by Tuners side and listening to our conversation. "Who's that?" I asked pointing a hoof at her.
Tuner looked around at the zebra and back to me. "I don't really know. Just a slave like us. She didn't rally talk but all the others were ignoring her and I thought she could use some company.”
I looked at the mare before me, the other zebra in the bar coming back to my mind. While I mustered her I went over the facts I knew about him. Was looking for his sister, claimed she was kidnapped. Well when I looked around me I was sure that would count for her. Hmm, it was worth a shot.
I looked at the zebra and asked: "Excuse me, do you have a brother? Kizom or something like that?"
Her ears perked up "Zikom?" she asked. I nodded. "Yeah him." "How do you know him" she wanted to know. So I told her. About his search, his rampage and his current fate. She shook her head and let out a sigh. "Idiot" she muttered.
"Excuse me" I said. "I might have missed it, but I'm pretty sure you didn't tell us your name, did ya."
She looked at me silently. I waited for a response but nothing came. Still I kept eye contact and waited patiently. I was about to give in and just ignore her when she opened her mouth.
"Kyala" she said before turning away from me, ignoring all further attempts to get her attention. I grinned weakly. I was going to like her.
