I was still shaken by the events at the school when the merchants arrived, but Clear Sky had calmed down a while ago. Maybe it's because he didn't see what I saw, didn't experience what I experienced.
There were four ponies occupying the wagon. Only one of them reeked the smell of merchants, while the other two were simply guards. The third, a pegasus mare, stood out from the rest. Clear sky and I could hear the clanking of metal from every jolt the wagon gave as is loomed in closer and closer.
"Hello!" said one of the pegasus mare. There was something odd about her. Were merchants supposed to have body armor and a rifle?. " Call me Raindrops! Are you two the ones who are gonna escort us to Iron Sights?"
"Yeah." Naturally, I was quicker to respond upon hearing my master's name.
"This way," I pointed.
We walked for twenty minutes until we reached what used to be a tent used for fortune telling. If there were a sun it would be setting, but the only hint of the time was a small watch connected to my vest by something that could be described as a thick string, or thin rope. The entrance to the tent was covered by a thin layer of wood that acted as a makeshift door. Raindrops casually walked to to it and extended her hoof. I quickly intercepted between her and the door.
"Wait!" I should have been calmer during the incident, but I had a bit of a spur-of- the-moment reaction. Raindrops looked at me with her head tilted, concerned about the sudden outburst.
"hehe... sorry..." was all I could spit out, "But if the door is closed then my master can't be disturbed. Typically it means he's inserting the pearl inside a firearm."
The secret to Springfield's success in weapons (and by that extension, the secret of his apprentice, Iron Sights himself) was because of a mysterious, green pearl he would place in the gun so the firing pin and charging handle wrapped around it. The pearl would then be synchronized with another pearl outside the gun, usually placed on the combat vest of a pony. The result was a telekinetic connection connecting directly with the gun and pony, allowing a pegasus or earth pony to wield a firearm like a unicorn. Some revolvers and pistols have been outfitted with pearls as well, but usually ponies just fire such weapons with their mouthes.
Placing the pearl in a firearm was very delicate work. I learned the hard way that placing the pearl even a few millimeters off could render the psychic connection useless or jam the gun. I highly doubt my master would want five ponies barging in with the obnoxious clamoring of met of metal while performing such a fragile procedure.
"Just leave the metal outside, He'll notice it. Trust me" This wasn't me speaking, but six years of fetching lunch and scrap metal for Iron Sight.
"Alright then," said Raindrops, "I'm gonna... I'm gonna drop by Heartstring's place for a while." she decided.
How did she know Lyra? Had they made dealings in the past? My thoughts were cut short by a bump in the side. I turned to see Clear Sky. He had a grin on his face, and I couldn't help but grin back. We raced to Sugarcube Corner.
---~---
"Sorry guys." said Pound Cake. "Mom and dad gave away the last of the cake a couple of hours ago." said the young colt with a supportive smile.
"Awww mannnnnnn..." moaned Clear Sky.
I didn't care. I didn't expect there to be any cake. Still, it didn't hurt to check, right?
"You aren't even suppose to reserve treats, Pound Cake. It's not fair." We all turned to see Pumpkin Cake sitting at a table reading a newspaper. Why a ten year old would read a news paper I have no idea, and one printed ten years ago no less!
"Pumpkin, haven't you read that, like, twenty times now?" teased Pound Cake.
"That's beside the point," responded the sister to her brother.
"Whatever." retorted Pound Cake. "So do you guys want any sweet besides a cake?"
"I think I'll have a muffin."l I said. A tasteless, soggy muffin.
"I'll have two blueberry muffins!" Exclaimed Clear Sky. Tasteless, soggy muffin, but with blueberries. The blueberries could even be fresh if you were lucky.
"Is one for Dinky?" I asked.
"Shut up." confirmed Clear Sky.
•••~•••
There was no light when we left Sugarcube Corner save a small area of illuninated clouds. No doubt the moon cowered behind there.
A single light suddenly illuminated from the distance and danced in the wind. Clear Sky and I recognized it instantly. As we made our way to be campfire we pa
ssed Lyra and Raindrops, and I couldn't help but overhear a conversation being exchanged between the two.
"No!" Screamed Lyra, "No no no no no! Berry Punch, Minuette, Sea Swirl... WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'THEY'RE ALL DEAD'?!"
"Our district was attacked by timberwolves again at the entrance. Berry, was on guard at the time." responded Raindrops. "Lyra... I'm sorry..."
"I'm gonna miss them..." wepted Lyra. I had never seen our leader so... Broken.
"So will I, Heartstrings," said Raindrops, holding back her tears, "so will I."
Their tears continued to leak through there eyes. It was obvious by now that I was listening to their conversation, as I was staring in sympathy for them. Either they hadn't noticed me, or hadn't cared.
"Don't worry Lyra," reassured Raindrops, "Bon Bon is still around. She told me to tell you you're still her best friend, she misses you, and...." Raindrops smiled, "and she's going to try to visit here soon."
Lyra couldn't believe what she was had just heard. Forbidden Tartarus, I couldn't believe what I had just heard! What pony travels across Ponyville for a casual visit? No doubt they would have to travel throughlet a red zone! That's it! this "Bon Bon" must be insane!
"...R-Really?" Lyra sounded like a school filly. "I haven't... I h-haven't seen her in such a l-long time.."
"Yeah..." hushed Raindrops, like a mother."See? Everything is going to be alright..."
When Lyra had finally dried her tears, she spoke.
"Thank you, Raindrops. I'm glad you visited..... It's... Its nice to see a familiar face every once and a while."
They laughed as they cried together while somepony added more logs to the fire.
•••~•••
I was alone when I reached the campfire. No doubt that Clear Sky was trying to find Dinky Do to give her that muffin. More ponies gathered around, including my mother and Iron Sights. Did I not mention it before? He was not only my master, but my foster father as well. He's always been like a father to me, I wonder if he knows that.
Soon Clear Sky returned to the fire, and with Dinky at his side. I was happy for them. Dinky was especially excited about tonight, I could tell by the way she skipped to her seat next to Clear Sky. Her mother was going to speak.
Ditzy Do was probably one of the greatest story tellers in the world. She spoke of adventures of both this era and the time before. It brought nostalgia from a better time, and I couldn't help but feel bad for the foals who could only imagine the world ten years ago.
Before we had the honor of hearing Ditzy talk, trivial stories of our day were traded. Of course, I told everypony about the school. I smiled in satisfaction when the children began to cringe while the older ponies began to draw nearer. There were stories better than mine, of course. One of the guards was telling everypony that he saw a dragon earlier today, by the library.
Dear Celestia, the mere thought of that unholy place brought chills up my spine.
I had been there before, at the library. It was the only story I would never tell at the campfire. In fact I had the intentions of carrying this story to the grave.
•••~•••
Ever since there had been reports of strange phenomenons and a mysterious creature, the library, like the school, was deemed unsafe. It was on of the very few buildings considered a red zone in its self. Of course, Clear Sky and I, we've been to the library before, and we didn't recognize the danger at the time. I guess we had forgotten how much the world had changed.
It was six years ago, I was only twelve and full of adventure but empty in wisdom. Maybe I still am. I fealt an urge to go to the mysterious synagogue of knowledge, because I had never spent much time there when I had the option too. I had nostalgia over experiences I would always complain to be tartarus. Four years ago, ten now, I could've gone to the library whenever I pleased, but would've past it without a second thought.
Funny how life works.
Clear Sky must've been consumed by the same thoughts I had. One day, he swiped a double-barrel shot gun from his father, and declaired he was to crusade to the library. If I wasn't a fool for letting him execute such a suicidal journey, then I was for joining him. I armed myself with a home made revolver, which Iron Sights had ordered me to make as a test to for his "engineering course".
The trip to the library wasn't dangerous. The library was actually located in a green zone. No, wait, I'm sorry. It was a green zone six years ago, but now it is a yellow zone.
Clear Sky and I Stares at the towering doorway of a proud oak tree. Neither of us were able to move while we were in the holy presence of the great tree. I finally took the first step, but froze once more. It was eventually Clear Sky who mustered the courage to open the door.
Merciful Luna, was it magnificent! It was a castle of books, a temple of treasures. We continued to gaze in awe at the palace, when suddenly Clear Sky and I were No longer mere foals. No, we were stalkers! Brave ponies who travel into the red zones to gather precious artifacts from a more civilized age. Our double-barrel and revolver turned into a Machine gun and sniper. Our saddlebags and old, torned vests used to barely fight off the cold turned into kevlar armor, the state
Of the art kind made by a "Miss Rarity".
We handled every book with care. I found some Daring Do books that I would read when I was eight, before the uprise. I peeked into two... Odd books... a Metro 2033 and a Roadside Picnic. Huh... Something familiar...
That's when I saw something in the corner of my eye.
There were a thousand books in the shelf behind me, and yet one could not escape my attention. It could not merge back into the crowd, could no longer be an anonymous book in the shelf anymore. I drew closer to the book. It was blue with the golden head of a unicorn on it. I flipped through the holy pages of the strange gospel. It was an anthology book, but it seemed to be missing nearly two thousand pages! They weren't rippe out either, rather the pages served as a secret compartment. The pocket was empty save a simple image of six smiling mares.
"Hey, Clear Sky! Check this out!"
"Dude!" he yelled back from the second story. He must've flown up there, for the staricase was broken. "there's a locked door here! Help me open it!"
"No!" I shouted back, "No, no! Check out what I found!"
Clear Sky descended from the walkway and hovered to the ground. When he saw the photo he whistled.
"Niiiiice" he stretched the word with a smile.
That's not what I meant. "Who do you think these mares are?" I asked.
"I dunno." answered Clear Sky. "That white one looks like Miss Rarity. You know, the one who makes the armor for ponies?"
"yeah I know" my answer was empty, for I was still puzzling over who these six ponies could be.
"And that other one looks like the mare who provides alot of the food for the districts." Continued Clear Sky. "Applejack! Yeah! That's it!"
That made sense. Though I wish the cutie marks of Possible Applejack and Possible Rarity hadn't faded in the photo, it would've made it much easier to confirm our hypothesis.
Suddenly we heard a monsterous roar from the other side of the locked door. Suddenly our armor melted back into vests, and our machine gun and sniper broke down into a simple double barrel and A lousy revolver once more. We fled like rabbits from the haunted building, never turning out heads to look back.
•••~•••
I still have that book, and I still wonder who those six mares are. I'd ask Miss Rarity or Miss Applejack, but Clear Sky and I vowed not to tell anypony-anypony- about the library.
Now that I think about it, maybe that's why Raindrops dressed in armor, she was a stalker! Of course!
In an instant silence fell as Ditzy began her story.
"The world used to be dominated by ponies!" she began, "The pegasai manipulated the weather, the unicorns mastered culture, and the earth ponies were responsible for all that grew, be it a plant or an animal.
"It was not a role of a king, nor dictator, nor slavemaster! It was a responsibility of a caretaker! Under Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the world of Equestria flourished for both pony and beast!" she spoke like a priest.
"But ther was an exeption! There was a small land alien to our customs, a small land where the animals and plants, even the weather! All followed the feral ideology of survival. It was a free for all! The ruler wasn't a king, but a survivor! Barely controlling itself, much less it's wild subjects!
"One fateful day, this small land, this small land entitled as the Everfree Forest, declared war on the rest of Equestria! The skies rebelled against the pegasai! The beasted slaughtered the caretakers of the animals! Those hypocrites! When they finished, they feasted on the bones of the animals they so called freed!"
Ditzy Doo paused and relaxed, but knew she hadn't finished her sermon.
"I wish I could tell you all what lead to the tragic event, or why our resistance failed in seconds." she said in a much calmer tone than before, "but the truth is, I just don't know what went wrong!"
Some of the older ponies laughed at this. I didn't get what was so funny.
"Yes! Yes!" shouted Ditzy Doo, "Scream! Laugh! Rejoice! Take comfort to know we haven't lost!"
Her last statement caught the attention of the entire crowd of the campfire, there wasn't a single pony who wasn't listening.
"We may live under the mercy of the clouds, or at the rivalry of the beasts that used to roam the everfree, but we still stand together! We haven't succumbed to their philosophy of 'survival of the fittest'! Don't you see? As long as we are ponies, as long as we stand apart from the ways of the everfree creatures, we shall raise or flag of Equestria in victory!!!"
Ponies cheered as soon as Ditzy silenced herself. They all clapped and shouted, and some of the guards began to stand in celebration.
Victory, I never thought of our life that way. I liked the thought, it made the fire seem brighter And the clouds less thick.