• Published 12th May 2024
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New Horizons - Nugget27

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The Dawn of a New Day

I hopped off my wagon the day after the Friendship Festival. Luna had just killed my entire mood, but… Hey, there’s a world to explore, a whole new world. Honestly, I am pissed, but I wasn’t worried about myself. Apparently Equestria’s about to go to war, so I didn’t want to stick around long enough for that. Chrysalis hopped off the wagon soon after me, as did Blaze. The three of us just woke up, and had stopped at a waterfall that was at the base of Mount Canterlot, which was, unsurprisingly, the name given to the mountain Canterlot was sitting on.

I watched as Blaze stretched like a cat, before she ‘accidentally’ got into my space while I was also stretching. “Good morning, Ostri. Are you at least feeling marginally better now that we are away from any Equestrian politician?” She asked.

“Eh, I still feel like shit. Though I suppose I do have something to look forward to.” I sat on my ass and started petting Blaze. “Did you sleep well, at least?”

“Of course I did, I got to cuddle up with my favorite stallion, and my favorite changeling. I would’ve slept better if we were all in a good mood, but it appears only I am in a good mood.”

Chrysalis shook herself, before taking a brush out of one of the storage compartments in the wagon. “I’m in a good mood. I’ve got a stallion, who’s a hunk, and I get to travel the world with him after being cleared of all my crimes.” She sat down next to me while she meticulously brushed her mane out. She hummed in content, with her eyes closed as she leaned over and kissed me. “And I am going to do my best to bring my new coltfriend out of his funk. I’m certain some morning tickling would do?” She tilted her head.

“I swear to god, if you tickle me, I probably won’t swing at you, but I will pout at you after you’re done.” I leaned into her and she promptly responded with a kiss to the top of my head, right in between the ears. “Didya sleep well?”

“I did. I used you as a pillow.”

“But… Blaze is a much more comfy pillow! I used her as a bed last night!”

“While I am luxuriously fluffy and soft as a bed, I do not appreciate having both of you laying on top of me. I am all for cuddling, but do refrain; I will only severely enjoy the cuddling.”

The three of us then started sorting through what we were actually bringing on our trip. Most of it was food for me, which consisted of a bunch of cans of chili, some dried vegetables that can be boiled up, a canteen along with a large, large water container. The container was filled at the lake, and the canteen was promptly filled up by Blaze using her magic to carry the much heavier containers. My collection of knives were in a box, save for the decorational, ceremonial knife that was actually stupidly sharp. It was made out of obsidian, but had some enchants done to it to make it less brittle. I tucked that, which was in a sheaf, under my wing, where I strapped it to my body.

Chrysalis had packed up a couple of things, despite her being able to transform clothes onto her sexy body, she did pack in a dress, a maid dress, and a nurse outfit for some reason. She put that in a small suitcase, which was way smaller than the trunk I had for my food and knives. I knew I was going to want to grab a crossbow, modify it into a little rocket launcher, since I had a lot of fireworks in a separate trunk.

Blaze didn’t have much, other than a ball, a food bowl even though she didn’t need food in the same sense that I do, and that was it.

I hopped back into our wagon to put the trunks and suitcase back in and looked around. The inside of the wagon, despite how cheap it apparently was, was pretty spacious. There was enough room for a bed, big enough to hold Blaze and Chrysalis, and since Blaze was my bed, it was plenty of space. The bed was actually kinda shitty, but it was soft enough, and Chrysalis said she could stick a cloud into it to make it softer in the future. The wagon had a roof, one made of cotton, thick, thick cotton that was held up with five supporting beams, which held a tarp on top for rain.

The cotton was for insulation, as much as it can provide in an open ended wagon, and the tarp was for weather.

With that said, the thin, wooden support beams for the cotton roof were strong enough to have several shelves, where Chryssy and I kept our toothbrushes and a cup to use for brushing our teeth with. Along with a pack of toothpaste. That was on the left hand wall of the wagon. On the right hand side was a map of the world, which was very similar to planet Earth. Different names for the continents, and very different countries, but they were there. On a shelf next to it was a journal, listing the marked locations we put on the map and the reasons for why we wanted to go to them.

There was Griffonia, apparently griffins loved war heroes. That was located where Canada usually is.

There was what was essentially the Korean Peninsula and Japan, or the only main island of Japan. Honshu, was what Japan was called in this world. We were going to keep heading north from Griffonia and into the Crystal Empire, located somewhere in what should be Alaska. Since the sea levels were a lot lower, there was the Bering Land Bridge along with a few other things. Luckily, I won’t have to find out what kind of weirdos live in this world’s version of Florida, since that got hit with an asteroid apparently, long, long ago, and was promptly crumpled to dust while Celestia and Luna were fighting each other.

While Blaze was reluctant, she did agree to try and guide us through her homeland, Honshu.

I grabbed that before hopping back out, and after I grabbed a can of chili. Each can had six servings in it and I had about fifty five cans on me. I had more cans of various fruits and vegetables, even canned pasta, so I had enough food to last me until we reached the Gryphus, the capital of Griffonia.

Chrysalis took her toothbrush, took the tube of toothpaste, before promptly spreading the stuff on both our brushes. She continued to brush her mane as we brush our teeth. We rinsed, and the cup was put back into place. Chryssy pulled out a mirror from somewhere, dunno where, and looked herself over. “Do I look good, Ostri?” She asked.

“That you do. You look lovely… I wonder if those legs are good for being pillows.”

“Mmm, I could get my socks out, and they would be. Otherwise, they are rather mediocre for cuddling; my carapace is hard and protective. However, my legs are good for holding my lovers in place while I keep them safe and warm from the harsh world outside.” She rubbed one of those sexy legs up my neck, coming to a stop under my chin. We shared a kiss while Blaze rolled her eyes.

“If you two are going to mate, just do it already.”

“We’re getting started with dating, you mutt. We are taking things slow; I definitely am as I do not wish to harm Ostri more than he already has been.”

“What did you call me?” Blaze asked. “A mutt?” She tilted her head and whimpered. “I thought you loved me, Chrysalis.”

“Quit acting, you stupid pup. You and I both know you don’t care.”

“Fine!” Blaze walked up and nipped Chrysalis’s ear. “That is for calling me a mutt, though. Seriously, you two need a den; you smell like you’re both about to mate.”

“We’re just kissin’, Blaze. You know what that is.”

“I know, you kiss me on the forehead everyday before you disappear, and you still do it before you go to bed when you return. I can tell you and Chrysalis are somewhat compatible, personality wise, so I am looking forward to when you two are mating.” Blaze grabbed our little travel book, and handed it to me. “I believe Chrysalis wanted to visit her old Hive before we begin heading north? It would be a bit of a detour, but we need to head west to get to Griffonia anyways.”

“We should. You wanted to check in on the Hive, Chryssy?”

“I do. They are only my children, after all. I wish to also see how King Thorax is handling the Hive, perhaps lend him a hoof of advice? He may just chase us off. I would just like some closure to my children, if they hate me, if they love me, or if they forgive me for being a horrible ruler.”

“Alrighty then. Let’s get moving-” Blaze paused. “Wassup, girl?”

“We are not alone. Four alicorns, five mares. They’re coming down the mountain from the same path we climbed down the mountain from.” I slumped over. “I know.”

Chrysalis sighed as she put her dress away, and promptly took a hat out of my trunk, a sunhat that I didn’t notice being in there until she pulled it out. “Why can’t those annoying ponies leave us be? We were well on our way to going to my old kingdom after we enjoyed ourselves before hoof.”

“I don’t fucking know,” I shrugged. “This lake looked like it’d be the perfect spot to stop after such a shitty week; I wouldn’t mind swimming around in it. Fuck me, I haven’t even got a fire going to heat up this,” I lifted the can of chili. Chrysalis’s horn lit up and a fireplace was quickly put into place after her magic took hold of various rocks, pieces of wood, and even got the canteen out to put the fire out. She then promptly lit it, before the can cracked open, and she perfectly took one portion out and into a metal bowl.

“God damn that was cool,” I tapped my forehead, where my horn should’ve been if I were a unicorn. “That just makes me wish I became a unicorn when I came to Equestria. Flying fast is cool, but I can’t do it for very long, or control how good I am at flying.” I shrugged and motioned Chrysalis to lay down by the fire. “C’mon, we’re dating, right? Cuddling is a must. And it would also make Luna sad or whatever.” Chrysalis had already slipped on some socks and laid down in front of the fire.

“You really are not making any effort to not hide anything, ain’tya?” I asked. Chrysalis was sprawled out in front of the fire, making sure to show off her legs, flanks, and everything shy of her rear end. That combined with the socks that went all the way up her legs, with her rear-leg-socks stopping just at her flanks, I won’t lie, it was a very enticing sight.

“It is making you want to come over here and cuddle with me while your food cooks, doesn’t it? I require breakfast as well, Ostri, and I feed on emotions. Lust is an emotion… and you aren’t feeling it.” She said as I laid down on the side of her stomach, and rested my head on her shoulder. “But you are feeling love. I suppose I can work with that…” she hummed as her horn lit. I could feel her taking a little nibble.

“You can go wild, Chrysalis. You know it won’t affect me that badly.”

“And risk hurting you? I think not. I only need to ‘go wild’ if I know there is a big fight going on. Between you and Blaze constantly feeding me with ambient emotion, I am only ‘eating’ breakfast with you right now as a common courtesy, without getting into any of your supplies. You need food more than I do, physical food, and we need to make your food last a while. That cannot happen if we share every physical meal together, Ostri.”

“Alright… though at dinner, if we reach another town, we are going to have dinner together. It will be a nice evening. I’ll put on… something, and you can put on that nice dress that you’ve got. It’ll be a nice evening, and Blaze can watch the wagon, or do whatever she does when we leave her alone.”

“I chew on your shoes when you’re out and about…”

“But horseshoes are made of metal, are they not?” Chrysalis asked.

“They are, she’s read my mind, and knows what’s going on in there at all times. She’s talking about human shoes to try and take the piss out of me. Those are made out of rubber and plastic, and other things.” I lightly bopped blaze on the nose, since she was now in my face with a shit eating grin. “I adore ya, bud, but c’mon now!” I laughed and the three of us just started watching the fire go.

“Your food is going to burn if you leave it on the fire too long,” Chrysalis said, removing the bowl off of it for me. “And wait a moment for it to cool; I don’t want you hurting yourself.”

“Fine, Mom…” We continued watching it as we enjoyed the ambient, morning air. It was spring, so it was a very, very nice morning. It was a little chilly, which made the warmth from the sun a nice contrast to everything else. Occasionally I would sniff my food and hold it near my cheeks to test how hot it is. I was getting back into a good mood by the time the chilly was cool enough to eat it.

“Wanna try some, Chrysalis?” I lifted a spoonful up to her.

“It smells good, but I know I’ve had some before your banishment. That stuff cannot compare to your cooking.” She shrugged. Before taking the spoonful. “I was right; your cooking is much better.”

“Glad you still remember my cooking, even after a thousand years. Now if only Luna could be bothered to remember my name a thousand years later.”

“That bitch,” Chrysalis shook her head. “You promised to teach me how to cook, by the way. You never did.”

“I can teach you on a date, when we get a hotel room with a proper kitchen in it.”

“That would be nice,” Chrysalis hummed.

“And who were you calling a ‘bitch’?” We all immediately groaned.

“God dammit, this morning was going to be so damn good too!” I sighed. I looked up to see the Goody-goody gang and the four princesses. “What the hell do y’all want!?” I asked. “I thought you all hated the ‘monster’ that I’ve become, or whatever.” I noted, and silently cheered when Luna’s eyes landed on me and Chrysalis; she didn’t look happy. Chrysalis noticed too, since she immediately brought her forelegs up, and pulled me closer to her, while casting a glare at the group that had just so thoroughly ruined our morning. Cadance was watching us with… Curiosity.

“Morning Cadance. Are you feeling better after yesterday’s… interesting events?” I asked.

“I’ve been better, but yes. I am feeling better, thank you for asking,” Cadance started approaching us. Only because she was the one princess here that I wouldn’t mind speaking to, none of us stopped her. I know Chrysalis just didn’t wanna fight, and Blaze knew what I was thinking. She laid down in front of us. “How are you doing? I know that… after some of the things my aunts have done, you aren’t exactly… excited to see us.” I only now noticed that Shining was standing behind the group, giving my group a judgy-glare.

“Not gonna lie, I was feeling a lot better 'til they all showed up. If it were just you and Shining Armor, I'd be in such a good mood, I swear to god.”

Cadance flicked between me and Chrysalis and giggled. “I can see why; I didn’t think I’d see the day that Chrysalis would actually protect another living creature from harm, while wearing socks. No offense, Chrysalis, but…”

“I know. I foalnapped you and ruined your wedding, and have done numerous things to you that probably weren't legal by Equestria’s standards,” Chrysalis hummed. “I am surprised that you are more pleasant to speak to than your aunts.”

“Well…” Cadance shrugged. She then pointedly looked me in the eyes. “There are a few things we wish to discuss, but I suppose we shall talk about that after Auntie Celestia and Auntie Luna have their word with you.” I nodded and extended a hoof. Cadance tilted her head, before we bumped hooves. Luna and Celestia were just sitting there in shock. “If you ever stop by the Crystal Empire, let me know; I wouldn’t mind having tea with you without me almost getting assassinated, alright?”

“You bet, Cadance.” I am actually starting to like Cadance. “Need a guard or somethin, just hit me up. I’m no mage, so I can’t protect you with a shield, but I am pretty proficient with knives.”

“Of course!” She nuzzled me very quickly before backing off. “And if you need a place to stay the night, my door is always open!”

“When… Did you and Cadance become friends?” Celestia asked.

“She met me, we shared some water at an overpriced, shitty cafe, and I told her what Luna did to me. Instead of hounding me any further, she tried being nice to me. I think, before she almost got shot, she was about to go on, and on, and on about how she was going to rip you and your sister a new asshole for what you’ve done to me.” I nodded to the pink princess that had slotted back into place. “I tend to fight back when threatened, and I treat any kindness shown my way tenfold. Now, what do you want?”

“Well… Equestria just had war declared on it by the Storm King.”

“That’s cool. Have fun with that.”

“You… don’t care? I thought you did when you saved everypony at the Friendship Festival.”

“I blew up a ship. That’s it. I did it because you and your sister were doing fuck-all, and it looked like you were all gonna lose if I didn’t step in. Add in the fact that it looked like my pet kitsune and my marefriend were going to be in harm’s way, and you’ve got my reasoning for helping out at all. Plus, I am kinda chill with Apple Jack, and she was definitely gonna get hurt during that whole thing, so that’s a bonus.”

“But you’re a general of Equestria-”

“I was a captain of the Lunar Legion, a dead branch in your army, Princess. That was… I believe it was phased out by the Lunar Guard if I am not mistaken. Plus, I’m defecting. I would legitimately rather try to make love to a kumiho, that will eat my kidney and then me, than fight a war for two assholes that just spent the last week using me as an emotional punching bag. So fuck off, will ya?”

“That’s no way to talk to Princess Celestia, Ostri,” Twilight said. “And you technically initiated the war by blowing up that warship!”

“You’ve got a super weapon, ten times the forces, apparently the God of Chaos, and griffins as allies. On top of that, hundreds of very, very capable unicorns. Just stomp out the Storm King's race, call it a day, and go back to living however the fuck you wanna live. It ain’t my problem, Twilight.” Pinkie raised her hoof. “What do you want?”

“When you and Chrysalis get married, can I plan out your wedding reception?” I blinked. What the fuck?

“Y’know what? Sure. If you find out me and Chryssy are getting married, and can find us, we’ll let you plan out the whole reception.” Pinkie did a cute little hoof pump. I won’t lie, it was very cute.

Celestia inclined her head, realizing that she definitely wasn’t going to be getting anywhere with me, and she backed off. Luna was next in line. She walked up to us, with a look that could kill a lesser being. Unfortunately, I was once human, and I do not cower to prey animals. So I just got up from the very, very comfortable spot that was Queen Chrysalis’s shoulder and stepped forward. We stopped nose and nose, glaring at each other, before Luna took a step back. I raised an eyebrow and got ready to dodge in case she decides that hitting me is a good idea.

“What?” I asked.

“You moved on rather quickly, I see,” Luna noted. Huh, I didn’t notice that Chrysalis pulled me off my hooves and back into her embrace.

“That’s a shame. Do you have anything of importance you want to say to me?”

“I wanted to say that I was…” Her horn lit up and it lifted a very familiar, matching set of boxes. She opened them up and revealed… our wedding necklaces. You know, when I first found those again, in pristine condition, I broke. I completely broke down. Now as I stared at them, all I saw were empty promises, empty whispers of how much I was loved and cared for by the mare I was going to marry. I stared at them for a moment, before shrugging. “How much did you spend on these?” Luna asked.

“Don’t matter anymore; they were worth every little bit I spent on them when I first commissioned them. Now I think they were a complete waste of blood, sweat, tears and money.” I nuzzled Chrysalis, who happily kissed me back. “Why do you ask?”

“These had to cost you a fortune, Ostri. What were these for?”

“Eh… Why do you care, anyways? You would've said no if I proposed a thousand years ago." Luna was tearing up as she turned the open boxes towards her, and she started tearing up.

“What I’ve done to you, since you’ve returned… I truly ruined you, didn’t I? There is no turning back, is there?”

“Debatable. Had you left me alone after we broke up, I would’ve been happy with being your friend; we could’ve rekindled some love between us. Nah, you just had to sick your sister on me and then only keep coming back to make sure you don’t lose your little ‘fountain of knowledge’ or whatever. However,” I hummed. “Nah, I ain’t gonna risk getting burnt again. You wanna piss off in Canterlot with Celestia, Twilight and her friends? You said I am undeserving of love, so quit crying about how you ruined me. Because I deserve what happened to me, apparently.”

Celestia stepped between us and ushered Luna away from me, as poor, poor Moon Butt was crying! Ah damn that sucks. The two started walking back up to Canterlot, where they should’ve stayed to help with the cleaning efforts. Most of Twilight’s friends, save Pinkie, Rainbow and Apple Jack, okay, so just half of the ‘gay squad’ were glaring at me now. They turned to head off to wherever the heck. That just left Cadance and Shining Armor.

“So, you two needed something?” I asked.

“Yeah…” Shining hissed. “I would be mad, but after what Luna told you after you literally saved Canterlot? Sure, it was bloody, but you did save the day.” He shrugged. “Well, I’ll let Cadance do the talking, since you two seem to get along nicely.”

The princess of love nodded. “I’m glad you didn’t go running back to Auntie Luna; so many ponies make that mistake of returning to an abusive lover, and it never ends well,” she walked over and hugged me with her wings. Wow, Cadance is a lot softer than Luna ever was. She pulled back pretty quickly, and took a deep breath. “So I believe trains heading into Griffonia, from Equestria, are going to be stopped because of the impending war. Luckily, there aren’t border checks everywhere, along the borders, so assuming we avoid those, you can smuggle us back into our kingdom.”

“And that is?” I asked. “I thought you were an Equestrian leader.”

“Actually, I am the Princess of the Crystal Empire. I can lead Equestria in a dire situation, but right now, I want to check in on my kingdom and my daughter. We’ll be patient; you probably have a lot of places you’d like to visit, and to be honest, myself and Shiny won’t mind some tourism and it’s your wagon. I can cook, and Shiny can help keep the wagon safe if need be.” I hummed and grabbed my travel book.

“Mmm… I dunno, the Crystal Empire is somewhere I wanna see. That’s our third stop, actually. Question, why not take a chariot… nevermind, that’s a fucktarded idea.” I shrugged. “Well, we got the room, it’ll be a bit cramped-” Blaze’s eyes lit up and the wagon grew slightly in size. “Nevermind, what the fuck, Blaze?”

“I am a kitsune, I am magic, bitch!” Blaze through her forelegs in the air before promptly falling on her back with an 'oof'. It was adorable.

Shining Armor whistled as he slowly started staring at my fox, who was struggling to get on her stomach. “Sweet Celestia… You’ve got to let me know where you found her, Ostri.”

“In a forest, a thousand years ago. I was gonna cut her head off, but then she acted cute and pretended to be dead so I could still get the bounty for killing her. Blaze is awesome, by the way. I doubt many kitsune would happily let me do this.” I grabbed Blaze just as she stood back up, threw her on her back, which made Cadance and Shining Armor jump, only for Blaze to start laughing as I hopped on her and started rubbing her belly. “Kitsune are usually proud animals, and don’t like being babied all that often. Again though, Blaze is awesome and is the best dog I could’ve asked for.”

“Well then…” Shining Armor shrugged. “Are rations going to be a problem, by the way? Me and Cadance have our own-”

“Nah. Just help pay for food whenever we hit a pitstop and-” they looked confused at that. “A pitstop is a place you stop to refill stuff, get food, other supplies, all that fun stuff. Help with that, and it’s cool as long as you two don’t overeat, Cadance. I know you alicorns need a lot of food.”

“I’ve been needing a diet anyway; I’m getting a little fat.”

“You look fine as is,” Chrysalis pointed out. “I’d form a herd with you if you weren’t my mortal enemy not too long ago.” We all sat there, staring at Chrysalis. “What? Cadance is a beautiful mare, even if she is a little too pink and too innocent for her own good. Besides, I’ve got a stallion now; it won’t stop us from forming a herd if we desire it, but…”

“We’ll see how we’re feeling at the end of the journey,” Shining shrugged.

Soon, me and Shining were sitting together, sharing a bottle of vodka that he had bought while in Canterlot, while Cadance and Chrysalis were whispering to each other like fillies. “Whaddya think they’re whispering about?” I asked.

“Probably ways to embarrass us in public,” Shining shrugged. “I don’t mind; Cadance is lovely to be around. When do you wanna get moving?” He asked.

“Well, it’s almost noon, but I’m not really in a rush to get anywhere. This spot here? This waterfall? A perfect spot to spend a day or two at. You don’t wanna see Cadance while her fur’s clinging to her body? Me and Luna…” I hummed. “Well, you know, I bet you’d find a soaking wet, because she was swimming, Cadance to be sexy, wouldn’t ya?”

“I would…” Shining nodded. “You make a good argument.” We cheered, and downed our last shots. We may be mini horses, but we’re still horses, so we were barely even buzzed. “C’mon, let’s go convince our marefriends to go swimming with us. This is basically our vacation until we get home.” We both agreed that that would be a good idea. It was. Chrysalis, when wet, is sexy…

That can be taken so poorly out of context. Chrysalis was covered in water, not horny. I think. She probably was horny anyways. We ended off the night, having some good food, after we went into Canterlot to get an actual dinner before we hit the road in the morning. I was having a great time.