//------------------------------// // 2 - Something Found, Something Lost // Story: A Cloak With No Dagger // by Rusty Parker //------------------------------// A Cloak with No Dagger Written by: Rusty Parker Edited by: Wanderwing ================================================================================ -Chapter 2- Something Lost, Something Found The sun hung low in the distance, the crimson colored light pouring and reflecting off the fine white landscape like a magnificent mirror. A few small swirling clouds were all that remained of the storm that had barreled through the valley like so many stampeding bison just the night before, and the clear view was pleasing. For a time, it looked like the clouds would only loom like monsters overhead for an indefinite time. For a short time, the light would bounce off the crystals of water that caked the land like fresh frosting on a cake before the sun would fall behind the distant mountain. The sight for now was beautiful, but only for this brief moment. The snow, the rocks, and even the patches of dirt here and there all stung to step on. It wasn’t nearly so bad at first, with a decent job starting the long trip down the road even, but as time went the discomfort only built. It must have been an hour at the very least, and the condition of Dreary’s hooves did not improve at all. It was getting bad enough that she knew she’d need to stop soon, even if it meant turning around and going back to the town she’d past by not so far back. Thinking about it, she couldn’t do much else. The landscape here was so open, and unlike the cities she was used to, barely anypony lived out here. The rolling, nearly empty hills revealed only a few houses here and there, and then some seemed to be falling to pieces even from so far off. It was stupid of her, she knew, but she’d been so rash when she left. Maybe that mare had been right, she thought for a moment. She really should have stuck around. “I’ll turn back I guess…” she said aloud, a puff of fresh white mist rising from her mouth as she let it open and close gently. For the moment, however, she needed a rest, regardless of how badly she’d need shelter tonight. Easing herself down to her rump, the filly sat on a patch of dirt revealed only by the plows that were used to maintain roads during the winter. In the snow below her, she could see the shining of the red sun as it bounced off and back into the air. Slowly, Dreary closed her eyes and let herself think as she rested her sore hooves. Just how long had it been since she’d seen her family? She couldn’t stand the thought, and almost immediately dropped it. Something inside her though reached out and gripped at what was left of the strand of memory, something that compelled her mind to continue on its strand of thought. Thinking about her family could only hurt, and she knew that all too well, but at times like this it simply couldn’t be stopped. She’d almost prefer the pain that would come with her hooves bleeding from hours of running. As she sat, she could feel her eyes start to water below the lids. Try as she may, she could not hold back her thoughts. A tear slipped between her left eyelids and rolled down her cheek, chilling her skin as it soaked through her coat. So many memories flew through her head as she relived that day, and all she could think was a simply question; why? “Why Angie… why?” she whimpered as yet more tears rolled down her cheeks. … Sweat dripped from the nearly empty mug as the light swung gently above, its light fighting to overcome what was left of the setting sun. Through the window, the sunset shined magnificently enough to cast much darker shadows than the lantern, though that would gradually change as the sun fell lower and lower to its resting place beyond sight. Bags under her eyes, Cider looked at the astute earth pony with a vague expression of fear. Her eyes widened slightly as he unveiled all that happened and now she was left nearly shaking with the feeling that the poor thing’s niece needed help immediately. Were it not for her uncertainty about Dreary, she’d have already gone back to pull the filly to him. At first, from the image alone, she was sure that the filly she’d found was his niece, but the way he described her was so different from how the filly acted. Joel spoke of a foal that never lost her smile, who always played with others, and even seemed to be gaining some upper hoof in the games they’d played. Looking back at that morning, Dreary didn’t look like she’d ever smiled a day in her life. While she was sure that wasn’t the case, it still bewildered her to find such a different attitude from somepony who fit the description so very well. With the things that had happened to this poor filly… she could almost understand why the change would occur. “That’s just horrible, Mr. Moonbeam!” she said in a near whisper. If Cider had known this stallion had been suffering so much, she’d have brought him right along with her to help start a search that would not end till they fund his dearest little Yulie. Given the shock of his experiences, the stallion’s composure was shocking. He seemed so calm and collected, and he even smiled from time to time. What that grin hid she could only conceive of. “I… I am sorry, could you give me a moment,” Joel asked, his voice nearly cracking. “It always hits me like a brick when I realize just what it is I may have done,” the stallion rose to his hooves and moved toward the door, his eyes heavy and seemingly empty. From behind his counter, Brunal frowned as he placed fresh sparkling dishes on in his cupboard. The mare looked on with a frown as the poor lost pony moved out the door and into the bitter winter air. “I need to help him,” she announced as soon as the door shut behind him. Brunal looked at her with a grim expression, but nodded. “I can’t imagine going through that… I mean… my family and I never got along much, but we never… I can’t believe such things could happen!” Cider stood suddenly and walked herself in a circle, her head hanging low and her eyes glued to the floor as she pondered the possibilities of what could have gone wrong in her own past. Her blond ponytail fell to her chest as she raised her head and, under her breath, whispered, “I need to check on them fools more often.” A few moments passed in silence, and the sun grew ever dimmer with each passing minute. Eventually the ticking of the clock on the wall grew so loud; it threatened to drive the mare mad. With a huff, she walked toward the door. “Cider… I don’t know what you will do when you come across her, but please… be kind to the little filly. Ah bet she’s got a lot going on too,” Brunal said as she reached her hoof toward the wooden frame. Pausing for a moment, the mare took a moment to breathe in deeply and nodded before she pushed her way out. He was right, she realized. She was getting really tense about this Yulie. Outside, Joel sat on his haunches staring off into the distance with glazed over eyes. Slowly, she trotted over beside him, and looked to him with worry. He noticed her, and opened his mouth to talk. “I,” he coughed, his voice hoarse and deteriorated from the strong one he’d been using before. He cleared his through and swallowed with a gulp before he tried to speak again. “I am sorry I ran out on you… it’s just that when I talk about it… I relive it. Finding that after a long, happy day of work just broke me.” Cider nodded in response, understanding fully what he meant. “It’s alright, Joel… ya’ll don’t have to apologize to me.” He grinned lightly, and returned his gaze to the horizon past the shop across the dirt street. “You know, it’s hard to explain, but I can sort of understand what’s going on here, at least to some degree. I didn’t fit in much with my family and decided to move out here instead of staying bunkered down in some big city with all those fancy machines… I just couldn’t stand all the smog and,” she trailed off, noticing that his eyes had grown wide. The stallion shook slightly, and rose to his feet with his jaw dropping slightly. Gapping as he was, Cider tilted her head to see what he had seen. She almost shared her reaction with a start. Limping slowly down the side of the road just a block down the street was a small, blue-hooded figure with a protruding red tail. “How did she-“ “Yulie!” Joel shouted as he nearly tripped over his own hooves. “Yulie, you’re here!” The filly turned around with a start and fell forward on a stray patch of smooth ice. She collide with a resounding smack, and cracked ice protruded from where she’d hit. There she lay twitching and grabbing at her head where she had landed as her uncle came to hold her close in a panic. “Yulie no! No, please be okay! I can’t lose you too!” he cried as he pulled her off the ice. Cider didn’t waste any time gapping, she ran off to the doctor’s office to get help. Looking over her shoulder, his hunched figure quivered over the filly. Why didn’t you just stay inside like I told you? She thought to herself, eyes beginning to water. If only she’d brought the filly with her...