Fallen Equestria

by Kickass222urmom

Getting settled

Chapter 6

Bliss lead the group through the town, with looks of both awe and fear being directed at the two opposing warriors from the residents as they stood outside of their homes. To their credit, the two men didn't seem offended by the unpleasant looks they were getting from a few of the ponies, while the little filly following them seemed to be nervous. Luckily, no one said anything as the group passed them.

They finally reached the end of the town and entered the forest, following what looked to be a old worn dirt path that weaved through the overgrown forest. No one spoke for most of the trip, with both Loric and Wyntir deep in thought. Kara seemed to be thinking as well, but she kept switching between smiling and frowning. Honey Pie, now that they were away from the other ponies and their stares, was skipping around behind them. She seemed almost carefree, but also seemed to be deep in thought as well.

All in all, it was a rather solemn group.

As the trees began to thin, almost an entire hour into the trip, Wyntir finally broke the silence. "Where exactly are you taking us, Bliss?"

Bliss, who had been humming softly to himself, looked over his shoulder as he trotted, "To the old Sky Wagon Depot, it use to be a storage facility for the wagons, but it closed down once one was built in the town. It's pretty big, and open on the inside. And secure, since I know that's something you'd want."

"And," Loric began, waving his hand out in front of himself. "What is a Sky Wagon?"

"Ah, you don't have them in your world?" he chuckled a bit to himself. "I have no idea how you move things long distances without one. They're basically just normal wagons, but are capable of flight thanks to the Pegasus pulling it. They vary in size, but usually are rather large since they are mostly used to carry cargo or groups of ponies."

"Contraptions that can fly?" Wyntir mused, rubbing his stubbly chin. "I don't know how I feel about that honestly."

"Sounds arousing to me," Loric said with a wink, causing Wyntir to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Would this Celestia's army know to find us here?" Kara asked. "From what I can tell, those ponies my knight and friend here defeated ran to get help. What will you be doing about this when they return to engage us?"

This caused Bliss to stumble a bit over himself, as he obviously hadn't thought of that, but he recovered quickly as he replied, "I honestly don't know. I suppose I'll tell them we didn't know you were running from them. Which is true! I'll tell them you ran off into the forest, away from where we're going, and tell them that's all we know. They'll believe me, as we've always been loyal to them... Geez I hope they believe me."

"Just don't screw us over," Loric warned.

"Or I'll personally thank you for sending them our way," Wyntir said, his voice sounding rather threatening.

Bliss looked back, a confused look on his face, "Why would you thank me for..." his eyes widened as the meaning of Wyntir's words dawned on him. His head snapped back to facing in front of himself, "Gotcha! No armies sent your way, yep, no armies! Honest to Celes.... I mean, I promise!"

The three humans just stared at him, with looks of amusement. Honey Pie just laughed at his nervousness.

"Wow, you're a coward, Mr. Mayor," Honey Pie taunted playfully, causing the older pony to whimper lightly.

"No I'm not!" he snapped, trying to sound sincere, despite his shaking voice. "I just know how to stay alive, there's a difference!"

"Uh-huh, sure is," Honey Pie said back in a still taunting voice. "I'm sure glad I'm not you."

Bliss decided not to respond, and there was no more talking for the remainder of the trip.

Within only a few short minutes, Wyntir could just make out what looked to be a large stone structure surrounded closely by trees not to far away. As they neared it, he arched an eyebrow.

The Sky Wagon Depot was indeed a rather large building, and appeared to be a perfect rectangle all the way around from what he could tell. Single floor with only three windows on the side of the building that he could see. All around it were trees and overgrown bushes, that were pressed up against the building, even climbing up and over the wall in some places. To put it simple, the building looked completely run down and out of the way.

"I know it looks bad, but trust me, it's sturdy and won't be falling down anytime soon," Bliss praised, but then added under his breath, "Oh Celestia I hope it doesn't fall down..."

"I like it," Loric said after a moment of thought. "From what I can tell, the trees around it should help hide it from the sky, and even if its seen, I'd think they'd likely just pass it by. Not that I'm worried about our little hot head finding us, I can handle her."

"Sure you can," Kara teased, getting a glare from Loric. "It's not like she's already beat you, twice."

"I count those as wins," Loric stated. "Anyways, depending on what the inside looks like, I think it'll do."

"Take us to the door," Wyntir ordered, getting a quick nod from Bliss.

"Certainly!" He quickly began to trot around the right side of the building and brought them to a wide doorway. "This is the only large door, and it's only this big because of the size of the wagons that were brought in. The other door is on the other side, and its just a normal sized one."

Wyntir just nodded as he began to take in the building. "Hm, this door way looks to be about sixteen feet wide, and close to nine feet tall. Easily defensible with the right placements, which is a very good thing." He then looked down the length of the building and began to do calculations in his head. "Hard to say... but it appears to be at least two hundred feet in length, and if I had my guess, a hundred feet wide."

Everyone, not including Kara, looked at Wyntir with slight shocked expressions.

"Well," Bliss chuckled, "You're close, surprisingly. If I remember correctly, it's closer a hundred and fifty in length, and seventy five in width."

"Wow," Loric praised with a clap of his hands, a large smile on his face. "A knight and a scholar? And a butler to boot? Damn, you're the full package!"

Wyntir gave Loric a hard stare, but it slowly softened and a slight smile appeared on his face. "Well, you can't be both a competent knight and an idiot. I'm a knight of Carim after all, not a knight of Berenike." He chuckled at his own joke, but got a slap upside the head from Kara.

"Don't be racist, Wyntir," she scolded, causing Wyntir to sigh.

"I don't get it..." Loric began, but instead shrugged. "Whelp, that aside, what of the inside?"

Bliss, looking extremely confused, slowly turned and walked into the building. "As you can see, it's nothing but an open space. No one really worked here, it was just a storage facility after all."

Loric stepped in and looked around, leaving Kara and Wyntir to discuss their little topic. He let out a whistle, which echoed slightly through out the large empty space. The floor was covered in dead leaves and branches, hinting at the building not being used in a very long time. Another factor that hinted at the age of the building was the moss that was growing around the windows. Despite this, Loric liked what he saw.

"Oh yes, if I had to chose a run down building to live in, it would be this place," he said, giving a approving nod. "I mean, yeah, I'd love some walls and variety. But beggars can't be choosers."

Sensing this was probably a good time to try and get on his good side, Bliss cleared his throat. "And it's all yours!" At Loric's blank stare, he added. "I mean, as the Mayor of Maresaw, I hereby present this building and all of its property to you and your companions, as thanks for saving our town." He then bowed deeply.

Loric only laughed at this, "Really?"

Bliss slowly rose, staring at the man with a questioning gaze.

"You're still hung up over that?" Loric asked, a smug look on his face. "Come on, why are you REALLY giving this place to us? I don't buy the whole 'as thanks for saving our town' bullcrap. You already 'thanked' us for that with the first house, and then all but ran us out after finding out about those armies being after us." Then he narrowed his eyes at the now cowering pony and crossed his arms. "Come to think of it, those soldiers sure did show up at the most convenient of times, didn't they? You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Bliss looked absolutely terrified under the mans imposing stare, but he forced himself to respond, his voice shaky, "No! We didn't have anything to do with them arriving when they did!" He looked Loric in the eyes to try and prove he wasn't lying, but upon seeing the look in his eyes, he instantly lowered his gaze. "Okay, I admit it! I messed up!"

"And how did you?" Wyntir asked, now joining them in the building, Kara behind him.

With a horrified look on his face, Bliss looked between them. "I... I..."

"Spit it out!" Honey Pie screamed, catching everyone off guard.

Bliss shrieked like a little filly. "They saw me running around and screaming about Celestia coming! They came out of nowhere and began asking questions. I swear! No one told them anything! And they were about to leave when you three suddenly walked into them! I swear on my life that is true!"

Wyntir stepped in front of the cowardly pony and crouched down to his level, staring him the eyes. Bliss held contact as best as he could, but Wyntir's intense stare caused him to look else where.

"He's telling the truth," Wyntir stated as he stood back up, getting a surprised and relieved look from Bliss.

"You're sure?" Loric asked, uncrossing his arms.

"Yes, I don't believe it was his fault they found us," he said looking at Loric, but then he looked back down at Bliss. "And it will never happen again."

Bliss nodded furiously, "Never again! I'll be as cool as a cucumber when they're around!"

Kara snickered at his statement, but didn't comment on it.

"Good," Wyntir said as he patted Bliss on the head. "Anything else we need to know in regards to this area?"

Still recovering from his little ordeal, Bliss slowly stood up and thought for a moment. "Eh... other than there being a stream to the south, I don't think so..."

"I have a request then," Kara suddenly said, getting the stallions attention. "If we're to stay here, and I take it you want us to be close to your town, then we're going to require a bit of aid from you."

Bliss rubbed his chin as he thought about what she said before asking, "What sort of aid?"

"Supplies, mostly," she said, a coy smile on her face. "That wouldn't be a problem, would it?"

"Um..." Bliss looked between them, not one of them showing any kind of aggression or pressure. Except for Honey Pie, who drug her hoof across her neck when he looked at her. He raised an eyebrow at the filly, but smiled. "Yeah, I think I can work something out. What would you need exactly? Please stay within reason."

"Food," Kara replied, nodding her head. "But I think my knight here could give you a better list."

"Indeed," Wyntir nodded as he adjusted his dented armor. "I'll have to think on it and make a list, but in the mean time, you should head back to town and sort out some food to bring here."

"And bedding," Loric added, rubbing his back. "I like me some comfort when I sleep."

Bliss nodded, taking mental notes of what they said. "Alright, but I have a counter offer. We'll supply you with what you need, and in return, you help us if anything threatens our town again. Deal?"

The two warriors looked at each other, one of them smiled coolly and the other just nodded.

"Yeah, you got yourself a deal."

Bliss looked overjoyed at this, "Excellent! I promise you, you won't regret this!"

"We better not," Wyntir warned.

With a bow, Bliss began to head for the large doorway. "I will be back at nightfall, my new friends!" he said over his shoulder.

"Not your friends," Loric yelled back, but Bliss was already out the door and out of sight. "That guy..."

"He really worked for deal," Kara giggled. "He's been begging for us to defend his town since we met him, and by the Gods, he finally got it."

"Yeah..." Wyntir sighed. He took a look around the large empty building and finally realized there were no support pillars. "How is this place even still standing?"

Loric looked around and shrugged, "Magic?"

"Yep!" Honey Pie said happily as she walked to stand in front of Wyntir. "So, when are we going to start my knight training, huh?"

Wyntir stared down at the little pony and smiled, "Later, I promise."

This caused the filly to smile happily as she turned and began to trot further into the building, singing a little tone to herself.

"Hm," Loric rubbed his chin, getting a glance from Wyntir. "You've really changed your attitude to that kid, any reason?"

A ghost of a smile graced Wyntir's face as he turned away from him. "I have my reasons."

"Oh another mystery to add to your backstory?" Loric teased, but he receive a reply.

"We should clean this place up a bit," Wyntir said, changing the subject.

"Oh boo to that," Loric said, rolling his eyes. "You can do that, I'm going to explore this area a bit more." With that, he took off out the door, heading off into the forest.

As he watched him go, Wyntir let out a groan as he rubbed his face. "I don't know if that guy is just lazy or what, but..."

"But he's a crucial part of our team," Kara interjected, cutting Wyntir off before he could say anything rude.

"Team?" Wyntir asked with a frown. "I hate the sound of that."

Kara only stuck her tongue out as she sat down on the floor to rest after their long walk. "No more complaining, it's bad for you."

Wyntir only rolled his eyes as his response and began to use his magic to force the dead leaves to one side of the building.

ooo000<^>000ooo

Loric sat by a tree near the path they'd come down earlier, cleaning his trusty pistol. It'd been almost two hours since he'd left Wyntir alone to clean the building, but he didn't feel like talking at the moment. His mind was elsewhere.

He frowned at himself as he finished cleaning his pistol, and sat about cleaning it again, anything to keep his hands and mind busy. He wasn't very happy with himself to say the least, having been bested twice by the same person... pony.

As he finished cleaning his pistol, he let out a heavy sigh and finally returned it to its holster. He slowly let himself slide down the tree and onto the ground, looking up into the branches above. With another frown, he lifted his hands up in front of his face and examined them. They were heavily calloused after years of both farm work and fighting.

In his entire twenty nine years of living he'd never been bested in battle, not once. To be bested in battle usually meant death, at least in his world that is. But here he was, two for zero against a pony of all things. True, he survived each encounter and she retreated, but he was near death both times. He wanted to call it a victory, but he just couldn't bring himself to call it that. He lost, and he knew it.

He was excited after the first time they fought, true, but that was because he thought he had found an equal. But after that last fight, albeit a short one, he came to realize there was more to that pony than he had expected. And to think he showed weakness when he saw her hurting on the ground! He should have just finished her instead of showing her sympathy.

Loric let out a sigh as he spoke aloud to no one, "No, if I'm going to kill her, I need to do it one on one, not while she's down because of someone else." He closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head. "I was just angry that time... I guess its a good thing she got away, but it's not going to be as fun next time, with one of her damn wings gone now."

Before he could continue his conversation with himself, he heard a distant sound. He sat up quickly and listened, but heard nothing at first. Then suddenly, not to far down the path, coming from the town, he heard a feminine yelp of surprise.

He was up in an instant, sprinting silently through the forest, darting around trees and fallen logs as he did so. It didn't take him long to get close to the source of the sound, and when he saw it, he shook his head.

Not far from where he stood was a pony, who was currently sitting on the ground next to the path rubbing their back hoof. So far, they hadn't noticed him.

With his flintlock in hand, Loric took a step forward and cleared his throat, causing the pony to spin around on the ground and look at him in surprise, eyes wide.

Neither spoke at first, both just looking the other up and down.

Loric took notice of its saddlebags, which seemed to be bulging with contents. He wondered what it could possible be carrying. The pony was looking him over with a large pair of wide green eyes. Its coat was a light brown color, while its mane and tail were the color of straw. Its mane currently looked a bit unkempt and hung down one side of its face. The horn atop its head made Loric very uncomfortable, as he'd already seen, and felt, what a Unicorn could do with those wicked things. The last thing he noticed was the symbol on its hindquarters, which appeared to be a quill and a scroll.

The pony slowly raised one of its front hooves and gave a small wave. "Um... hello..."

Loric didn't waste any time as he raised his pistol and pointed it at the pony, causing it to recoil back in shock. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

The pony held up its hooves in a surrendering manner and spoke as calmly as it could. "I... I am Ink Slinger. I wanted to come talk to you and your friends, that's all. I was planning to before you left Maresaw, but all of that unpleasantness took place and I never had a chance."

After hearing this, Loric lowered the pistol but didn't put it away. This seemed to relax the pony as, as it was obvious it was a female, lowered her hooves and slowly stood up, her back right leg was being held up, like a dog with a hurt paw.

"I take it your a resident of Maresaw?" he asked, but she shook her head.

"No, I'm actually from Hoofington," she explained, winching as she tried to put her back leg down, but was unable to for some reason. "I came to Maresaw a few months ago to be close to the conflict, but after the large scale battle that took place in Maresaw, I think I've seen enough of it to last me a life time."

Loric put away his pistol and crossed his arms, taking up a mostly relaxed stance. "Why were you wanting to be close to the conflict?"

Ink smiled proudly as she pointed at herself. "I am a Historian and a Scribe, on her way to becoming the head researcher at the University of Hoofington. As for why I wanted to be close to the conflict, it's simple, I wanted to record a first hand account of it. And what a better way to do that than to experience it." But as she finished her sentence, a sheepish smile took over her face. "Eh, but after that battle, I don't think I can handle being in the middle of it. I've been kinda hiding out here in the mean time."

"Well," Loric began with a raised eyebrow, "That's all interesting and all, and good for you, but I think you should turn tail and head back to your town." At her shocked expression, he added, "If you couldn't handle that little battle, I doubt you can handle being around us."

"Please?" she pressed, leaning forward a bit. "I can handle anything you and your friends can dish out."

"Oh you think so?" Loric said, a smug tone in his voice. "What do you have to offer us then? We don't do charity."

She furrowed her brow before smiling, "I can offer you knowledge!"

"Fuck knowledge, what else ya got?" Loric replied, a smirk spreading across his face.

Ink Slinger looked taken aback, but she pondered on what else she had to offer. "I have a few bits..."

"Nope, don't know what that is and I don't care, nope. What else?" he then eyed her with the largest smirk he could muster. "You have to have something I'd want."

She studied him, then her eyes widened as she thought she caught his meaning. "I will not copulate with you!"

Loric raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. "I don't know what copulate is, but no. Come on lady, ya gotta have something in those bags I want."

This put Ink Slinger in a awkward position, because she had nothing she could think of that he may want, and she defiantly wasn't leaving. "I... have some books and scrolls, you could...."

"Ew," Loric said, making a gagging motion. "Look, if you got nothing, just turn your pretty little ass around and take a hike."

"Pretty little ass?" she mouthed to her self before shaking her head and using her magic to go through her bags. After a brief search she brought out a little bit of candy that she kept for any young colts or fillies that she came across. "The only other thing I have is this candy, I don't have..."

"Candy?" Loric asked, perking up. "I don't care what kind, hand that over and you can do what ever you want."

She snapped her head back to look at him, a look of bewilderment on her face. "Seriously?"

"Don't make me take it from you," Loric warned, but he quickly corrected himself. "Yes, seriously..."

"Anything I want?" she asked, a large smirk appearing on her face.

Loric blinked a few times, then let out a large sigh. "Oh my God, really?!" Upon seeing her still smirking, but also slightly confused face, he threw his hands up, " Fine!" He pulled off his coat and began to work on removing the straps that held his clothes onto his body.

She watched him with a cocked head, but as he began to remove more clothing, her eyes widened. "What the buck are you doing?!"

"What do you think?!" he yelled, fighting with one of his belts. "That look you just gave me with what you said makes it obvious! Sex for candy! You devious devil! Gah!"

"No! That's most defiantly not what I was hinting at!" she yelled as she took a step back.

"It's not?" Loric asked as he held his pants, which had finally been freed of its belt and was just barely staying up above his hips.

"No!" she screamed as she began to recompose herself. "No, what I was hinting at was nowhere close to that. All I want in return is for you to take me to where ever you three are staying and answer all of my questions. No exceptions."

"That's all?" Loric asked in disbelief. "Then you got a freaking deal, horsey! Now hand that candy over."

She smiled as she levitated the candy over to him, and he snatched it out of the hair instantly and began to look it over.

"Ooo, looks sweet," he said with a smile as he unwrapped one and put it into his mouth, making a moaning sound as he did so.

"So!" she said, a pleased smile on her face. "Fix your clothes and lead me to your group!"

Loric saluted her, but as he did so, his pants finally lost their grip and fell down.

Ink Slinger just frowned and turned her head. "Great... they're idiots..."

Loric just laughed as he pulled his pants back up and began to re-buckle everything. "You're lucky you had the candy, otherwise you'd be gone right now. Ms name caller."

"You know I keep that candy for foals, right?" she shot back, a smirk on her face as she turned her head back to him.

"Meh," was the only thing he gave her as a reply as he continued putting his clothes back on.

She waited patiently, looking him up and down, taking notes on a scroll she had floated out. 'Rude, clumsy, vulgar, immature, and lacking common sense. So far not impressed.'

"And what are you writing, pony girl?" Loric asked as he pulled on his overcoat.

"Notes," was her reply as put the scroll away. "And my name is Ink Slinger, not pony girl."

"That's a ridiculous name," he commented, already turning to head down the path back to their new building. "Well lets get this over with."

"Ridiculous? What about your name, hm?" she asked, staring daggers into the back of his head.

"Loric Penwise."

She frowned at this, she had hoped he'd have a stupid name, but she hated to admit it, he had a rather pleasant name. "That's a stupid name..." she said, sounding defeated when she was trying to sound confident.

"Thanks," Loric said over his shoulder. "Just don't let that hurt leg slow you down."

With a frown, she looked down at her leg, which she had at least sprang when she had tripped earlier. "Or, you could help a mare out and help me?"

"Nope, I don't help name callers," Loric teased, a smirk on his lips as he walked away from her.

"You little..." she shook her head and began to limp after him, her heavy bags not helping at all. "I have a feeling I've gotten myself in over my head... again."

Author's Note:

I'm really debating on if I want to add another character to this story, from another universe that is. But I don't know.

Just a bonus fact, but the scene with Loric misunderstanding Ink Slinger is actually slightly based off of a similar event that happened between me and my wife before we were married.

Feel free to point out any mistakes I make, I'm doing my best to catch them before I release the chapters.

Comments

[SublimeSlime]

Good lord Loric just ask Dash out would you

[Xzaves]

7775443 But what about Blink Singer?

[SublimeSlime]

7776736
Who doesn't love a little hate-mance?