The Kingdom of Everfree

by HeartlessSpartan

Better than Yesterday

Better than Yesterday

Basil and Orion had packed what little gear they had in the igloo into small pouches that strap around their chest and shoulder. Basil lightly kicked the unicorn that was still asleep on the floor. Waking in a daze the unicorn struggled to get up. Assisted by Orion he managed to stand. There was a sign of relief and bewilderment in the unicorn’s eyes, most likely surprised that he’s still alive.

“Get up, we’ve got a plan to get you fixed up properly that doesn’t get any of us killed,” Basil said.

“Much appreciated…given what you are doing for me it would be impolite not to call you by your names?” The unicorn inquired.

“My name is Basil, your second set of legs there is Orion. If you don’t mind we need to be moving, I’m not entirely sure where this place is,” Basil said, leaving through the door and out into the forest.

“You know our names, it is only fair we know yours,” Orion mentioned as he helped the unicorn along.

“My name is Starswirl,” the unicorn said.

“That sounds like a frightening concept, if we could even see them,” Orion joked as they walked, referring to the winter clouds that cover the sky for several months.

“This, coming from a pony who is named after a constellation,” Starswirl said smartly.

Surprisingly the ponies covered ground rather quickly with Starswirls’ injury. There wasn’t much talking as the ponies made their way through the forest. Starswirl would often have to sit back while the two earth pony hunters scouted the forest ahead. Sometimes he wondered if they would ever come back for him. To his astonishment they did. He began to notice these earth ponies worked well together, as if they were thinking with one mind, one knowing the very expression and body language of the other. A trait picked up most likely by surviving in the forest weeks at a time together. Starswirl eventually realized he was left out of multiple conversations held
without a word by Basil and Orion, until they reached the mountains.

“Why are we waiting here?” Starswirl asked, hiding with Basil and Orion behind a small thicket at the edge of the woods.

“There are mines here that pass through the mountains,” Basil whispered as he peered over the snow covered branches.

“Gem mines, I’ve heard of them,” Starswirl recalled.

“Gems, crystals, ore; everything they need to build,” Basil said, his breath freezing in the air as he talked.

“The crystal ponies,” Starswirl mentioned.

“Yeah, a luxurious group of creatures those are. Beautiful, smart, and greedy,” Orion chimed in.

“Can we get through?” Starswirl asked.

“No we’ll have to go around, I’d rather take my chances with your keep than go in there,” Basil said.

“Diamond Dogs,” Orion said with a hint of disgust in his voice.

“The crystal ponies use these dogs as servants, a filthy lot willing to work for a pretty employer. These winters cause famine though, consider caverns filled with hungry, cold, pissed off canines with heavy mining tools,” Basil said as he crouched back behind the thicket.

“Lucky for us we can take a path around the mountains not far from here,” Orion said.

“Right, and no point in wasting more time here,” Basil said as he stood and proceeded back into the woods.

The ponies had a longer journey around the mountains without any interruption. Every so often they would stop to scout the forest or gather edible plants and fresh water from frozen streams. The path around the mountains meant it would take longer to reach the guild, the sun would set soon and the night would freeze them. They would have to make camp to survive the night. Basil pressed urgently onward until they reached the forest on the other side. There they would make camp and a fire to survive as the sun sets.

“Stop!” Basil shouted, stepping back against Orion and Starswirl.

“What is it?” Orion asked.

“A pit, just a giant pit in the middle of the woods,” Basil said, breathing heavily because he nearly fell into it.

“Why is there a pit?” Orion wondered.

“Who digs a pit in the middle of the woods!” Basil said, genuinely upset he didn’t notice it.

“That’s what I wanna’ know!” A female voice shouted from the pit.

“There’s someone down there,” Starswirl said.

The three ponies crept to the edge of the pit and peered down into the darkness. They could see nothing. Starswirl used a spell to cast a ball of light like a flare that gradually fell further down into the pit. At the very bottom was a griffin with claws and wings tied up so she couldn’t move, only writhe around in the dirt. The three ponies immediately stood to converse with one another.

“It’s an oubliette, not a pit,” Starswirl said.

“An… oubliette?” Orion questioned.

“A dungeon of sorts,” Starswirl explained.

“What are you doing up there, is someone going to help me!” the griffin shouted up the pit, she could clearly hear them talking.
Peering back over the edge Basil shouted back, “No thank you, we’d prefer not to climb into confined spaces with species inclined to kill and eat us!”

“I’ll get you for this if you leave me here pony, I swear it!” She yelled back as she frantically rolled about the floor.

“Come on Basil let’s go, we already have Starswirl,” Orion said, pulling Basil back from the edge.

“Agreed, let’s go,” Basil said.

“Basil? Basil, it’s Regina!” The Griffin yelled out.

“Regina? Why does that change anything?” Basil asked, peering over the edge again to see the griffin glaring desperately back at him.

“You owe me Basil,” Regina said as convincingly as she could.

“I’m sorry but if I recall I was going to be eaten the first time,” Basil said.

“You, owe her?” Orion asked.

“It’s a long story,” Basil quickly replied.

“One you’ve never told me!” Orion said, fascinated enough to want to know.

“I let you go Basil,” Regina said with a sigh, hoping he would help her.

“Yes, and your parents freaked and went out looking for their dinner,” Basil replied.

“They didn’t catch you the second time,” Regina murmured.

“This one is on you Basil, we’re still dealing with the last one,” Orion said, referring to Starswirl.

“Regina, how’d you end up tied at the bottom of a pit in the woods?” Basil asked.

“I was hunting and was ambushed by rogue diamond dogs,” Regina said, somewhat embarrassed by it.

“This pit is the diamond dogs’?” Basil asked.

“I’m sure they dug it, but the guild commissioned it,” Regina replied.

“Do you know where the guild is?” Basil asked further.

“Yes, I can take you if you get me out of this freezing pit!” Regina yelled up in spite of her cheap prison.

“I’ve decided to help you Regina, to consider this payment for the first time. However we can’t climb down and you’ve gotten fat since we last met so you’re too big to haul up,” Basil said.

“I’ll also have you know you’d only manage to kill one of us before being taken down yourself,” Basil said to intimidate her.

“Kill the unicorn, maim your friend, and knock you into the pit, you’re making it hard to keep promises Basil,” Regina replied.

“At least she’s honest about it,” Starswirl said from the back.

“How do we get her out of there?” Basil asked, his attention now on Orion and Starswirl.

“She’s large, but I might be able to levitate her out,” Starswirl suggested.

“It’s all we’ve got, and it’s nearing twilight,” Orion pointed out that they don’t have much time to do it.

“Alright Starswirl, you are our best bet,” Basil approved of Starswirl’s plan.

Starswirl stepped to the edge of the oubliette and peered down below. Regina, being a griffin was larger than most ponies but Basil’s expressions of her weight were exaggerated. As far as he could tell she was a healthy, mammal eating bird monster. The idea of which didn’t help his concentration as he began to lift her with magic. Flying comes naturally to griffins but Regina couldn’t help but squirm as she was forcefully lifted in the air.

“Incredible,” Basil said as he watched Starswirl set Regina down on their level.

Orion drew his sword and Starswirl kept his distance as Basil approached Regina. She barely moved as he untied her, making the situation increasingly tense for the predictable danger to come. Basil kept eye contact with Regina as he pulled the rope away. She slowly stood up and brushed herself off.

“What?” She asked the three ponies staring at her.

“Has the world been spinning backwards these past few days or are we just unnatural?” Orion asked.

“Right then, since we’re not going to kill each other we need to make camp. Preferably someplace away from this massive pit,” Basil suggested as he lead the group back into the woods.

The group quickly found their own ways of helping make camp. Basil and Orion moved and packed snow against trees to act as a better wind barrier while Regina collected firewood and Starswirl used magic to quickly start the fire. It wasn’t long before the group of four sat in a circle around the fire. Basil removed his hood to feel the warmth of the fire, revealing his forest green coat and beige mane.
“Isn’t this unusual for any of you?” Regina asked, breaking the silence of everyone staring at the flames.

“It may be a change from the usual Regina, but today is better than yesterday,” Basil said, staring into the fire, mesmerized by the flames.

“What happened to you three?” Regina asked.

Basil glanced at Starswirl, who shook his head no, Basil then replied, “I don’t think any of us can explain it ourselves.”

“I’m curious to know what the story is between the two of you,” Orion wondered.

“When I was a colt, I wandered into the woods and got lost. What found me was a pair of griffins, and since I was too small for them to eat they brought me to Regina,” Basil said with a sigh and a wave toward Regina.

“Ok, listen to this. To begin with, I’d never killed anything before and my parents bring me this whimpering colt that smelled horrible. My parents left to hunt for themselves, that’s when I decided I didn’t want to eat this smelly thing and told him to take off,” Regina said with a laugh.

“That’s it, there’s got to be more to it,” Orion said.

“There’s always more to it,” Starswirl agreed.

“Well, you’re not going to get it Orion,” Basil said.

“Well what’s your story then, Orion?” Regina asked.

Orion looked at Regina for a moment, it took him a while to think of something to say. He hadn’t really considered the significance of anything he ever did.

“I’m really not sure honestly, I really didn’t know what I’m supposed to be doing. I mean, all the other ponies are farmers or soldiers. I got so tired of watching our political leaders degrade over this famine and war, I had to get away,” Orion said honestly.

“The degrading political leaders, huh? You mean Old Chancellor Pudding Head!” Basil said with great emphasis, raising his arms in the air.

“Do you always make fun of your leaders like this?” Starswirl asked.

“Absolutely,” Orion said.

“They’re all nuts,” Basil replied without regret.

“What about you, Starswirl?” Regina asked.

“I was more of a scholar than a fighter. I focused my time more into research than battle. Not so favorable in these times of war. I simply wish to further my knowledge of magic for all good rather than to increase its power for destruction,” Starswirl said.

There was a silence for a while, only the sound of the wind and the crackling fire; Until Orion broke the silence.

“I was wondering Basil, if that pegasus could have been here had we not killed him,” Orion said quietly.

“I don’t believe any of us would be here if we let him live,” Basil said as he removed a small dagger from his robes, one that Orion had not seen before, and stuck it in the dirt between them.

“Perhaps, it would do us all good to get some rest,” Starswirl suggested.

“Agreed,” Regina said.

Starswirl and Regina rested in their own places around the fire while Orion watched the fire, and Basil watched the woods.

“That came from the pegasus didn’t it Basil? Basil?!” Orion nudged Basil, who was staring off into the dark forest.

“What? We’ll be fine Orion, don’t worry about it. Get some sleep, I’ll take first shift again,” Basil said.

“Alright then Basil,” Orion said, before finding his own place by the fire.

Basil continued watching the forest, he didn’t mention it to the others, but for a moment, there was definitely something there, looking back.

Comments

[HeartlessSpartan]

I am not sure what to put as main characters, but other selectable options that will appear in the story are Diamond Dogs, Changelings, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Nightmare Moon. Non-selectable, yet a familiar character includes Starswirl the Bearded.