Ruthenium landed in front of the hotel and left her cart where it was as she dashed in and used the stairs since the elevators were in use and teleporters were too expensive. She cast her spell to open the door and ran muzzle first into it. Muttering a curse she cast it again, correctly, and opened the door before she walked in and shut it behind her.
Ruthenium gathered her travel bag and filled it with a shirt, two dresses, toiletries, what tech she had, and makeup, then galloped from her room, her hotel, and then onto her cart to join thousands of others in fleeing the city. “Outta my way! I’m taking off,” she shouted as she charged extra magic into her cart and took to the air with trepidation.
“If I get a ticket for flying without authorization I’ll burn it to a cinder and curse the mare to Tartarus,” she growled as the air cooled and her mane began to whip behind her as her tail held the small suitcase with her. She joined several other mares as they flew their own carts, some with help from their stallions, directly away from the explosions in the distance.
She took out her portable aethernet device, turned it on, and waited to connect. Her attention was pulled to the green glow that overtook everything outside tinting the buildings and sky itself. “What in Platinum’s name?” she managed before the sound of ozone searing tickled her ears.
The light flashed as bright as a lightning strike and she winced, using a foreleg to block the light. She opened her eyes and looked around the city behind her. Everything was off. Total power failure? Oh no… The visitors are invaders. They’re attacking our power first like in the movies, she panicked and began looking around the sky ahead as her mind raced. “I’ve gotta get home! I live in the capital city, there’s no safer place.
“Surely they’ll raze everything they cross until nothing is left,” she gulped as a terrible thought crossed her mind. What if we have to overcharge? No, it’ll never come to that, we’ll push them back and make sure they never return.
As she exited the city a surge of magic rushed into her and she knew trouble was coming. Her ears perked and turned toward a nearby mare’s panicked scream. “They’re giving us free mana! They’re losing, helping us escape! Run, run for your lives!”
Panic fueled her into pushing more magic into her escape and for the first time, with the rush of extra magic she and hundred of others teleported miles away from the city and maintained their escape until the city was a speck in the night.
Ruthenium woke at sunrise in her cart on the ground with a simple alarm shield around her belongings and she said another prayer, thankful for her survival and escape. With a heavy heart she looked back to where she’d left before turning to look ahead at the lush pastures, meadows, and farmland that lay between her and the next city she was traveling to. She pouted as she left her cart and joined others in grazing on the land.
“If I had any idea I’d be acting like a mudder I’d have never left home,” she grumbled between dainty bites of single blades of grass and flowers.”
“Hear, hear,” a mare said beside her. “I love your dress, I hope you don’t mess it with all this, green.”
Ruthenium giggled. “I like your dress, too. Perhaps we can be travel pals, keep each other safe from the invaders until we have to separate?”
“Where are you headed?”
“Dream Crescent, then to Spiral City.”
Ruthenium grinned. “I’m heading to Dream Crescent, too! Would you like to share the trip?”
“I would be delighted! My name is Ruby Diamond Chip Spiral,” she stood and extended her hoof.
“And I am Ruthenium Swirling Gold Flake, but you may call me Ruthenium, for short.”
“Diamond would be best for me.”
They shared a hoof bump and then grazed together until they had enough of the sweet, bitter, chalky untrimmed grasses and got back onto their carts. “So, Ruthenium, do you have aethernet access?”
“I don’t know, lemme see,” she replied taking her device out of her travel bag and activating it. “Huh, I have access but I’m restricted to level five, emergency communications only.”
Diamond snorted. “Must be your job, I’m at level seven. Emergency communication receipts only.”
“Well, let me send a message to my manager back home and maybe I can at least find out what’s happened or happening.” She closed her eyes and her magic connected to the device and she felt her mind enter her aether room. A small room the size of a large round bathtub that she could use to access any information she was allowed to. She pulled a screen down from the digital wall and pressed speed dial for her work.
“Hello? This is Central Power Management, how can I direct your call?”
“Titanium, it’s Ruthenium and I need to speak with Dream Walker, please.”
“Ruthenium?! Sweet Platinum it’s amazing to know you’re alright. So many of us were worried about you, why’d you take so long to contact us?” The mare frowned as her image showed on the screen.
“I’m in a rush. I need higher access on my aether account so I can contact unihorns directly and only he can give it.”
Titanium rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but Dream Walker is a stallion, you know he’s only going to think of one thing in trade.”
“I need to talk to him and if he tries anything I’ll threaten him to be sent to the breeding stables for abusing his position.”
“Ouch,” Titanium giggled, “remind me to never mess with you.”
“You’re a noble mare like me, we’re better than common stallions and… Hey, connect me, we’ll gossip when I get home, horn to horn.”
“Okay! Connecting, see you soon, Ruthenium.”
There was a moment where silence filled her mind until the screen flickered and the stallion looked at her with a smirk. “Ah, it’s good to see you’re alright. No joking this time, anything you need. If I can do it, it’s done.”
Ruthenium was taken back slightly. “That’s very kind of you. I need higher access on my aether account from five back to three.”
“Hrm… I’ll pull some strings, just get home safe. It’s not just me that’s concerned for you but most of the staff.”
“I didn’t know I was so popular,” she giggled.
“You not being here has left a place that we didn’t know we had grown to love. And the thought of you being near those monsters… Platinum help them.”
“What’s been happening?”
“We don’t know a lot. Details aren’t coming out as fast as we’d expected because there was a major discharge of energy that disrupted the entire aethernet and since then it’s been unihorns warning of the imminent attacks. It’s chaos, Ruthenium. Please, get home to Gemstone City quickly and safely.”
“I, I will. Tell everyhorn I’ll be back within two days or I’ll buy a round at the bar next time.”
He grinned. “I’ll hold you to that. Please, be safe. Farewell,” he finished before his image blinked away and she was left alone.
“I can call mother and auntie, but they probably have enough to worry about at the moment. Father is back in the breeding stables,” she sneered at the thought of him, “so that’s about it. Once I’m at the next city I’ll call somehorn, but until then I must focus on getting home.”
The room darkened and she opened her eyes to the real world. “Well, that was kinda pointless,” Ruthenium commented. Diamond looked at her expectantly.
“You were in there nearly ten minutes. I was worried you were doing something naughty.”
“Oh, hush. I’m a lady, not a ruffian. I got word that nohorn knows what’s going on, but it’s not good. We’re being invaded,” she waited for Diamond to finish gasping. “But even that’s conjecture since there’s no official notice. Let’s just wait until we know something real before we dive into hysterics like mudders at a rodeo.
They shared a chuckle and focused their magic into their transportation. They hovered above the ground just clear of the grasses and shrubs. “So, Ruthenium, what do you do?”
“Energy management in the capital, you?”
“I manage mudder diets so they don’t eat into our surplus or get sickly from hunger… so I guess I’m a dietitian of sorts. All the food I could ever want and I get to take care of those that can’t take care of themselves.”
“Wow, wanna trade jobs?” Ruthenium joked.
“I actually like what I do, thank you,” Diamond smirked back, “plus I don’t want to live in the big city, Dream Crescent’s a nice coastal city by the bay. None of that hustle and bustle.”
“Well, I think after this is over we should visit at your home and get to know each other.”
“I’d like that,” Diamond smiled, “perhaps we should hurry. The next town is still hours ahead of us and we needn’t be caught by… them.”
“Why did we choose the furthest city in sight to run to?” Ruthenium joked and they shared a laugh.
Later in the day when the sun was high both mares landed and rested under the shade of a small pear tree grove.
“Ugh, where’d we stop?” Diamond asked as she rolled to her hooves and stretched after hours of standing she regretted not packing a sitting pillow and outright refused to sit on her sleeping pillow..
“Some field, I dunno but that smell isn’t very inviting.” Ruthenium leaned out of her cart and looked right into the dull, saddened, messy face of a tan earth pony. She screamed and scrambled back into Diamond’s cart and forelegs.
With a laugh, Diamond dropped Ruthenium. “They’re not that bad, just don’t touch them and you’ll be fine. So, never seen a mudder this close?”
“It stinks… and it’s blank stare,” she trembled, “let’s go…”
“Oh, you’re so urban. Ahem. Mudder, where is food?” Diamond told him more than asked.
The tan earth pony lowered his head and backed up, bowing low. He spoke in a coltish voice that was transitioning to stallion. “Mistress of True Goddess of Spring Heavens. I am at your service. You meal at nearby farm, home to my-”
“Yeah, yeah, thanks, mudder. Go away now,” Ruthenium waved a hoof and the earth pony stood and walked slowly back into the tall wheat and nearly vanished, ignoring the glare the other mare gave her. “Euck, you work with that filth and you’re okay with it? I didn’t even know they could talk.”
“Most of what they say is trained to them, but their speach is basic, at best. ‘You eat now’, ‘me want food’, ‘me go now’, things like that. So, wanna go get some food from its owners?”
“Ah, yeah, so I’m gonna go back to my cart and go away from here before I catch something.” Ruthenium hopped over to her cart Diamond’s and hovered well above head height. “You coming?”
“Oh, hold your manna, I wanna feed it.”
“Feed it?! Why?”
“It looks so sad, like a little puppy. I’ll be right up there, just watch and learn,” Diamond called as her horn glowed and a small melon was pulled from a nearby vine. “Mud! Come here, c’mon boy! I have a food for you, num nums.”
A moment passed before the wheat trembled and the earth pony poked his head out cautiously.
“Awe, there’s a good mudder… would you like a snackie-wackie?”
He took a quick pace out of the wheat and lowered his head. “Do you eat often? You look well fed,” Diamond said levitating the melon to his hooves.
He glanced up and with her nod of approval a small smile crossed his lips before he stomped the melon open with his hoof and began to eat it in chunks. Ruthenium gagged from above. “It’s eating the shell, gross!”
“It’s a rind, and they are edible. Haven’t you ever tasted one?”
“Uck, no. I have my meals delivered prepared and ready.”
Diamond snerked. “Is that really what you believe?” She looked up to see Ruthenium shrug. “Well, most classes eat whatever they’re given, and the lower classes mix rinds into the high class’ food, or else they’d be missing out on a lot of essential nutrients. Just because mudders like this one,” she gestured to the earth pony now lying with the remaining melon between his forelegs, “eat them whole doesn’t mean you don’t without knowing it.”
“Well, I think I should write Trumpet and fix that,” Ruthenium stomped her hoof in finality. Diamond signed and placed a hoof to her head below her horn. “Is it time to go? I’d prefer to eat rather than watch that thing maul a helpless melon.”
Diamond joined Ruthenium in the air on her own cart and without a word guided them both to the farmhouse.
“So, Ruthenium and Diamond,” the unihorn stallion said flatly, “I’m to understand you gave a melon to a worker of mine without asking? Before you say anything I have to tell my wife so she can handle you,” he said narrowing his eyes, “but if I had a say you’d be paying ten times what that melon was worth.”
“Yes, yes. Away with you, breeder. Gather your wife and let the adults handle this,” Ruthenium waved a hoof.
Diamond scowled at her. “Sir, I apologize for my associate, she’s urban. Gemstone City, urban, and doesn’t know how it works out here. Please forgive us and we’d like to talk it over a meal of your produce.”
He regarded Diamond with a nod, took a step back into the house, and slammed the door.
Ruthenium shot Diamond a mean look. “What was that about?! You undermined me in front of a breeder.”
“Because in farmlands the males aren’t just breeders, they’re equal members of the family. You can’t treat everyhorn like you’re nobility and better than them or you’ll learn quickly what these non-nobles think of you.”
Ruthenium looked at Diamond for a blink then rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’ll do my best to just,” she looked up and thought of the word to use, “slack out, yo.”
“That’s more like it. Now let’s-” the door clicked open and a mare stood there, tall and imposing, looking down her muzzle at the mares on her porch. “-relax…” she trailed off with a hard swallow as she looked up at the brown earth pony mare wearing a green collar.
The stallion returned and stood beside the mare, his horn reaching the top of her height. “This’ the missus, Bardin. You nobles look a might surprised.”
“Pa here says ya done fed our boy some fruit. Gotta good reason ‘fore I send ya packin’ to the nearest pit with cracked... egos?”
Both mares looked between each other and shared a worried look before looking to the stallion.
“Lookit, Bardin; snake got their tongue. Betcha it’s our union’s got’m all flustered,” he paused then nuzzled Bardin, “y’all c’mon in, but don’t make yerselves at home,” he moved aside and the mares stared at the space he was, unmoving. “You comin’ in or we callin’ the guard on yer stealin’?”
Both mares looked at each other then trotted in, with Diamond leading. The interior was as simple as the exterior; well maintained and inviting.
“Nice home you have here,” Diamond started but stopped short in sentence as Bardin shoved by her, making a point to rub shoulders.
“Den’s this way, and don’t try anythin’, we’re in the know with the local militia and with the whole invasion they’re itchin’ fer a unihorn to explain what’s goin’ on.”
“But, we don’t know what’s happening,” Ruthenium mumbled before getting a magic push from behind by the stallion. “Watch it… please.”
He didn’t blink as he followed her into the living room and took a seat on a couch beside his wife, leaving the mares to look between themselves and the offered plush cushions they were offered.
“I think we’ll stand,” Diamond said for them both. Ruthenium nodded in agreement.
“Ah see, ya think all ground ponies’re dumb servants? Things of the like?”
“Yes,” Ruthenium commented then grimaced, “I mean-”
“No need, noble, we’re used to it. Just cuz ya don’t see integration nearby yer rich cities don’t mean it don’t happen,” Bardin practically spat at them.
“Now, darling…”
“Moon, ya know Ah can’t stand them types,” Bardin grumbled as he sided and nuzzled as close as a pony could get to her.
“Ah know, but,” he leaned up and whispered into her ear and she nodded as he spoke.
“Fine, ya sweet talkin’ horn head,” she said casually and kissed the stallion at the base of his horn.
Both mares felt a pang of anger at the comment about his horn but held their tongues.
“Right, so ya gave our son a melon… why? What possessed ya to steal?”
“We didn’t think it was a big deal, we just wanted to feed it… him,” Ruthenium stammered.
“What she means, is that we thought he was hungry so I fed him, not my friend here. She was ignorant about what I was doing until it was done. She wanted to come right over and ask for your help with anything you can afford to offer as far as food for our journey, but I stopped to take a moment for your boy.”
“We’re sorry and we’ll pay for the melon! Please, don’t have us arrested, I just wanna get home,” Ruthenium blurted and fell back onto a pillow, “I saw them arrive, the invaders. I don’t know what they’ve done to that city, but it isn’t good. We talked with other survivors of the escape and we’re all going to tell about how the city fell… and each city we pass will know to defend themselves.
“Please, I just wanna go home and hide under my bed until this is all over,” she flinched as Diamond placed a foreleg around her, “am I being foalish?”
The room was silent for a moment. “No, yer in the right. We’ve all heard the invaders’ arrival but that’s it. It’s all word’a mouth right now, what with the aethernet goin’ down and the government takin’ over all the comms.”
“Nothin’s gettin’ through,” Moon added, “Bardin here can’t use the aethernet, but it’s no secret the nobles in the central spires won’t let anything go through the public channels that could affect their authority. We’re waitin’ fer the next message.”
“Next message? What did we miss?”
“Well, Diamond, right?” at her nod he continued. “They were taking the net down and for everyhorn to be on guard, they’d let us know as soon as anything happened.”
“Sounds like more reason to hurry home,” Diamond said as she let Ruthenium go. “Where do we stand?” she asked the couple.
“Don’t know, don’t care. Unless these invaders come a’knockin’ it ain’t our problem,” Bardin said. “Pay us the cost of the melon four times over and we’ll give you food to last you two days. By then you should be at Light’s Point and can resupply there.”
“Light’s Point?” Ruthenium whined. “That’s two whole days away?”
“Yeah,” Diamond sighed, “we’re on our own without teleporters or anything but our carts and each other.” When Ruthenium pouted she offered another tight hug.
“Ya two ain’t so bad… just a couple’a horns that made a poor choice. Bardin, let’s just cut’m slack?”
Bardin hummed and looked between the mares. “Fine, you’ll get yer travelin’ food and a bit extra. Ah’ll be right back,” the earth pony said standing and walking out of the room. Once they were alone Diamond cleared her throat.
“So, mixed race marriage? And breeding,” she said, “never thought I’d see it in real life. How’d she learn to speak and take care of herself?”
He scoffed, flaring his nostrils. “She’s one’a the,” he hesitated, “she’s special, is all. I’ll leave it at that. As far as our union, it’s not before your, er, the high mistress, but it’s honorable by merit. There’s an old law written into the books and scrolls that says any union may happen as long as both produce to society and identify as the other’s mate.
“She wears a collar made of my own tail hairs, woven into it’s shape by hoof. Our hooves together made this house a home and we plant the fields together. All that, plus our growing family is all that matters now and if you wish to challenge it…”
“We want no such thing. The world as we know it is in danger and all we want to do is warn those we cross and until we get home.”
Ruthenium nodded in agreement as Bardin returned and presented an object wrapped in cloth. Both mares could feel what it was and grinned as the earth mare used her lips to open it, exposing two shimmering green emeralds. “We don’t gotta use fer these so y’all can have ‘em.”
Both mares wrapped one each in their magic and gasped at the energy flowing into them. “This, these are class eight batteries with recharge capabilities and a hefty price tag,” Ruthenium said in awe, “thank you so much, Bardin,” she said breathily with a growing grin.
Diamond was silent as she looked at the gem she’d chosen, still in the outstretched hoof of the earth mare. “How’d you get these? They’re worth a fortune, you could buy-”
“Ya gonna take’m or am I gonna keep’m?”
Both mares leaned forward and took a gem in their lips, sending the hair around their horn a bit higher like a static charge just from touching them.
“Don’t matter where we get’m from, all that matters is we’re showing ya kindness that we’d like in return by ya not blabbin’ about our union.”
Both unihorn mares turned and placed the gems in their dress pocket against their chest and hummed at the magic tingle they provided. Diamond sighed. “Thank you, Bardin, you’re a very kind mare to offer these to us and we’ll repay you someday.”
Ruthenium nodded enthusiastically. “I totally concur. I’ll find a way to repay you, on my family’s honor,” she turned to Diamond, “with these we can pool the energy and teleport all the way to Light’s Point.”
“Probably, but we should save them and use them to just boost our cart speed. I feel it’s a better plan, what about you?”
Ruthenium sighed. “Yes, you’re correct. There’s no reason to waste the-” she stopped as a crackling static caught all their attention.
“The net alert! Maybe it’s good news,” Moon said excitedly taking to his hooves. Seconds passed before an image appeared against the wall between two horizontal bars. A young mare dressed as a high class noble began shouting hurriedly from what seemed to be a nicely furnished basement with at least a half dozen mares scurrying in the background.
“This is a citizen alert! The government is lying to us all, the invaders are destroying everything they cross with weapons and magic… flying ponies working with mudders and unihorns led by a unihorn with wings… Death toll is incalculable… Many enslaved, more than can be imagined. They’re trying to take back control, the high court of mages. Don’t let them lie to you, run, hide, over charge to save your family from the horrors of their wrath! This is-,” the image flickered and a mare dressed as a high mage stood proud.
“Unihorns of the Land of Platinum. Please, don’t believe the rhetoric of some radical aether-hackers. The visitors are peaceful and mean us no harm. They are still stationed at the edge of the canyon and in talks with the descendent of Princess Platinum herself on this rare, auspicious occasion.
“We implore you to remain rational and-” the screen shut off by Moon’s horn.
“Liars! The government can’t be trusted anymore now then the last two hundred years, Bardin, gather the young and we’ll meet at the place. We must keep them alive and you two, take what you need from the farm out there. Leave now or I’ll make you.” Both mares stood and quickly trotted from the house and onto their carts.
Grabbing fresh vegetables as they flew over them, the mares took their leave and didn’t glance back from where they’d narrowly escaped certain doom or the farm they’d essentially raided, fear placating them as they flew their carts twice as fast as before with help of the gems. “Diamond,” Ruthenium finally shouted over the wind, “I wish you the best,” she managed, and before the other mare could reply, Ruthenium vanished in a teleport.
“Best travels and may the goddess bless your journey,” Diamond said as she coasted ahead, alone.