//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Out of the Valley // Story: Princess Essenta // by Pone_Heap //------------------------------// Southward to New Friends Arc It had been two days since Essenta, Dechaa, and Zyra made their late afternoon escape from Greendale. They were still stuck within the borders of the Eastern Central Valley. It was as far as Dechaa had ever gone and not far off from Essenta’s longest trip. A pony, carrying what they were carrying, should’ve been able to cover about 40 miles in a day. 40 miles was about as far as they’d managed the two days. They weren’t traveling on the main roads. Soldiers of the Dale were out looking for them and they were restricted to traveling at night or through the woods. Unless they had some unusually adept tracking beast, the girls would have no problem getting away. Two of them were skilled in magic, after all. It took a keen eye to pick up a trail thrown by a mage of Zyra’s level. They’d even snuck through a few checkpoints set up on the roads, once in disguise. They hadn’t eavesdropped on any pony but had heard a few rumors. Apparently a “convict” had escaped Greendale and was trying to leave the country. That was the reason for the patrols and the checkpoints. The rumors also said the princess was on a quest, having taken two ponies along. It shouldn’t have surprised Essenta much that her father would renege on this so-called quest. And it didn’t surprise her, other than she figured they would have tried to stop her in the morning. Nopony had probably expected her to attempt to leave the same day, and the guards could catch her unaware. The stupidest thing about it was King Dale had allowed court to be held when he made his proclamation. Had he thought about it, he would’ve done this in secret so when he decided to go back on his decree, only the family and a few guards would know about it. Now the king had to get her back, quietly if possible. As long as Essenta and her little company were in the area of the valley, and indeed a few surrounding countries, it would be hard to travel openly. But once they escaped, it would be smoother sailing. The Dale had influence, but it would take a special kind of clout to have Essenta and her friends seized that far out without raising a stink, exposing his poorly conceived plan. Around dusk on the third day, Essenta stirred from her slumber. She wasn’t happy about sleeping in hedgerows or in giant, fallen logs, but it hadn’t been too bad. She missed her bed, but who wouldn’t? Stretching, she looked over to Dechaa, sleeping peacefully in her cloak. Looking around, she saw Zyra. Zyra was watching for trouble. They weren’t overly concerned about trouble. Zyra set up a magic barrier that would identify anything with four legs and consciousness within a mile of them. Still, they agreed one of them would always keep watch. While watching for trouble, Zyra was admiring a new toy. She turned to Essenta, noticing somepony else was awake. “Captain… this is something else,” she whistled. “I can’t believe you were able to make this…” Essenta smiled, “Just took a little know-how… and no small help from Master Amelbert. I’m just glad it didn’t blow up in your face… I couldn’t test it, of course.” What Zyra held was a new magic wand. Zyra had her staff, but it was large and awkward at times. The wand, however, fit up her sleeve. Taken from a limb of a tree sacred to the Dale, it was fashioned along with steel having magical conductive abilities. It could fire shots like a cannon, and Zyra found it too powerful for anything other than blowing things up. Of course, Essenta had explained, that was the point. Zyra was glad she didn’t press Essenta to cast aside her extra baggage when they left the Dale, for it carried the wand… and a few other things. The wand had been meant for Zyra’s 18th birthday, whenever she wanted to celebrate it. But the “forced” departure merited an early gift. Also packed, in the very bag Essenta tossed Dechaa, were a few items for the fretful unicorn. Contained in the bag was light armor Essenta had been crafting. It in no way limited Dechaa’s movement and looked cool as Hell to boot. The other items were twin swords. Dechaa had studied horn play with swords and had gotten rather good. Similarly, these were intended for Dechaa’s coming of age, but… yeah. The running away, and all… Best of all perhaps, Essenta had been working on something in secret. She had a suit of armor she called a “battle suit”. It was made of a light, but strong alloy she herself had fashioned. Along with the suit, she had a pile of apparent junk she had yet the time to fit. Had she not been stuck in her room a month, she would have finished it long ago. Still, she had made herself a dirk, easy enough to grip between her teeth. Essenta wasn’t great with a dirk but had trained some. Her real forte was brawling. Zyra looked towards the sun, “I was looking over the map earlier… There’s a swamp we should avoid a couple miles ahead, but if we circumvent it, we’ll have a clear run to the southeast corner of the Dale through the tall grass prairie. It’s a wonder it was never farmed… too scrubby I suppose. And too many rocks. I hate the idea of running through there at night.” The princess uncorked the bottle of rum she’d hooked from the castle’s kitchen, taking a good hit off it, “Well, we won’t run then. It should give us some cover, especially at night.” Essenta did pay attention in her geography lessons. She knew they would probably be home free by the next evening. It would be a relief, but they would need to be cautious for a time. The idea gave her some solace. Zyra peered up, Essenta having handed her the rum, “I’m not so worried about tripping as I am the things that live out there… Timberwolves, for one thing…” Essenta gulped, as Zyra coolly took a few swigs. She’d heard of the creatures. They just didn’t live in the Forbidden Forest… they stuck near it but would go anywhere there was… food… or whatever it was they were after. Nopony really knew what those strange creatures did. And of course, their intended path was next to some prime Timberwolf territory. They’d tread carefully. It would be easier than dealing with them; but like many wild creatures they were terrified of lights, explosions, and other magic. With two unicorns perfectly capable of such things, they would probably be able to escape in a pinch. Essenta was more concerned about more intelligent creatures finding them and unicorn magic in such a remote place would be like lighting a bonfire on a hill. The sun sank a little lower, and Essenta woke up Dechaa. Dechaa started a little, but then relaxed as she stretched. It was a relief to see her in better spirits than she had been. It had been nothing but fret, fret, fret out of her for the first day-and-a-half. She’d left her father, mother, her older brother, and younger sister without a word. Until a few days earlier, Dechaa was studying to be an apothecary… She was no pushover, but the prospect of quiet satisfaction while improving her medicinal skills had given way to the life of an unofficial fugitive. They were being hunted in secret, while the king was probably publicly praising them for their willingness to take on the quest with the princess. She didn’t like to think about what would happen if they were caught. So, fretting a little could be forgiven. But if she had truly been against going, she wouldn’t have followed Essenta, scared and reluctant as she was. Zyra wasn’t really worried, except for her master… He’d taught her since she was quite young and gave her a home. He could at least plea ignorance for “blessing” the trip, that was supposed to happen, and probably keep the rope from around his neck. Still, she’d miss him. Essenta, other than getting far enough away from the influence of the Dale so they’d have other dangerous, nasty things to worry about, thought of what would happen later. Unless they all perished out there, somewhere, they’d have to go back home. She… didn’t care about herself so much. Her father had undoubtedly branded her a traitor in his own mind, or some equivalent. Unless she returned from the quest a champion, even the love of her subjects wouldn’t save her. Her life, or at least any semblance of her freedom, were forfeit. Would she even be marriageable after this fiasco? Would anypony, with or without a dowry, take her as a queen? She was far more worried about her friends. Dechaa’s family, with their long and close ties to the crown, had to be suffering. It wasn’t their fault their reserved daughter ran off with some wayward princess, but who else was around to blame? The Dale was the only home Dechaa had ever known. It was the only home she wanted to go back to, and what would her life be worth if things fell apart out there, or if they were captured? Essenta wasn’t sure about Zyra. The fire mage was probably never going to spend her entire life in the Dale. She had other places she could go… other things to see and do. And she had the support of the Greendale Magic Guild. If Master Adelbert gave her his blessing, it wouldn’t be disrespected. The Dale was the only place in the world Essenta wanted to go home to. If she and Dechaa were to go home, and they wanted to live a while once they were there, they would have to turn the world upside down. They would have to get the Dragon Lance from that deathtrap. And she knew the three of them would have very little chance of success on their own. She was torn between remaining as anonymous as possible and using her name to gather anypony tough, or crazy enough to go along with them. They needed help. And they had to get it without getting raped, killed, eaten, or whatever the fuck else happens to pretty princesses and her friends in the wild world beyond their familiar home. But, they’d worry about it later. For now, they set to a quick meal. They still had a day’s worth of food, so they would have to forage or, Heaven forbid, buy food soon. Buying food was out of the question until they were far enough away nopony would know them or suspect them. While the Dale prospered, the areas around it weren’t having the best year for growing much of anything. The same could be said about wild fruit. They’d be stuck eating weeds a few days, not that it bothered them much, if they couldn’t find something else. Making sure they had enough left over for another meal, the companions set off at sunset. Dechaa peered into the rum bottle, having taken a nip, “Sorry girls, rum’s gone.” It was a slight disappointment. Essenta had been happy to have something to drink after being locked up a month, even if it wasn’t her favorite. But it was gone. They still had the corn juice Zyra’s master had packed with their rations, but even Essenta, famous for being able to stomach the stuff, wouldn’t be able to handle it. Essenta sighed, “No big deal. I only grabbed it because it was sitting beside that bag of apples and hardtack. It must have been fate it fell into our loving hooves.” Zyra stifled a guffaw, “Cap, that was probably somepony’s dinner you stole.” Essenta turned, grinning, “No… it was two days of somepony’s food I stole. And it’s why we’ve been able to stretch our food a little. It’s what we give the guards when they have duty and can’t sit down in the mess hall… I just hope somepony didn’t go hungry for his shift…” It was around midnight. They’d found the swamp, easily enough, and were going around it. To avoid a road, they took the path that took them closer to the Forbidden Forest. The place gave them the collective creeps. Essenta took point, with Zyra behind her. Dechaa took the rear, and was none too pleased about it, often looking over her shoulder. Essenta stopped a moment, “I don’t like how quiet it is.” Zyra tried to prod her along, “Of course it’s quiet. The animals aren’t used to ponies being around, so they hunker down and shut up. Move.” The princess stifled her with a hoof and pulled her down low. She’d… heard something. Dechaa quietly huddled up to them. Essenta took her hoof from Zyra’s mouth. Zyra listened. She heard it too. Not only could they hear it, Dechaa could see it… To her credit, she didn’t panic. A pack of Timberwolves were moving along the tree line about 50 feet east of them. The wind coming out of the forest saved them. They could smell the earthy stink of wood emanating from the pack. Just high enough they could see, they watched them move along. There were… about 100 of them. This had Zyra worried, and she silently cast a revealing spell around them. Of course, it revealed everything but them. They were clear on all sides but kept it up for a time. After a few minutes, they could relax. Essenta sighed in relief, “Whew. That was something…” Dechaa looked ready, more than ever, to go home. Zyra looked a little… disheveled. That had been scary. “Sorry, Cap.” “It’s alright… I’m just glad the wind was on our side. Let’s keep moving.” They moved on, more cautiously now. That could have been a bad time for them. Apparently, some other creature was about to have a bad time, for the girls heard the earsplitting howls only Timberwolves could make. And were they ever making a racket. But whatever it was, it was in the woods, and not in the grass, so Essenta motioned the girls on. They’d made their way around the swamp, so they elected to move west just a little. Having a little space between themselves and the forest was probably good for their health. Unable to see any Timberwolves, but able to hear them, they’d worked themselves into a frenzy! Unless there were any of the woody killing machines on their grass-ward side, there was little to worry about. All the Timberwolves within hailing distance would be flocking to whatever unfortunate creature had their attention. At that moment, just as soon as the obvious bloodlust had begun, the sound was replaced by an unmistakable panic, also from the Timberwolves. The three friends then beheld one of the damnedest things anypony had likely ever seen. Pieces of Timberwolf were flying out of the low forest canopy in every direction. Not only were pieces flying, they were in flames… coming right at them. Zyra grimaced, “Oh, shit… Girls, duck.” They huddled behind a rock, putting it between them and the forest. Pieces continued to rain down. A flaming Timberwolf head landed right before them. It yelped pitiably and jostled itself around. Nopony knew if Timberwolves felt pain; they knew fear, certainly, but this one didn’t look like it was having the best time. Essenta and Zyra had to cover up Dechaa’s mouth to stifle a scream. The ponies huddled together more tightly, pressing themselves into the rock. They knew what was coming. The Timberwolves, yelping and clattering, scattered in every direction, including theirs. They weaved around the rock or jumped over it. Whole Timberwolves came first, followed by those with fewer and fewer pieces. The princess and her friends were terrified they would be found out, but the fleeing creatures weren’t even stopping to collect the pieces of themselves, it they could even find them. Peering around, Essenta saw things were clear enough, so upon Zyra’s approval, the three of them bolted and ran south like Hell. No longer concerned with making noise, they galloped several miles until they saw the edge of the tallgrass prairie. Slowing down near the bordering steppe, they collapsed in a heap together. Essenta tried to calm herself. Looking down at herself, she was okay. Much to her sympathy, Dechaa had soiled herself. She’d been beyond terrified and hadn’t noticed until they had a minute to think. Looking over at Zyra, the little mage hadn’t voided any excrementitious matter, but Essenta had only seen Zyra afraid a few times in all their years together. She looked positively shaken. Against her better judgement, Essenta pulled out a bottle of the corn juice nestled in her saddlebags. Popping the top, she could feel and smell the burn even before it touched her lips. Taking a dram, she almost coughed. Still, it got her attention and cleared her sinuses. Holding out the bottle for whomever wanted some, she was surprised Dechaa hoofed it. Taking a healthy swig, the pretty unicorn stifled a cough and went on with trying to catch her breath. Zyra took the bottle next, shaking so badly it clattered against her teeth, taking a few measured pulls. Corking the bottle and letting it lie beside her, Essenta’s breath slowed down and she looked to the horizon. Traces of first light appeared in the east. It must have been 4:30 a.m., but she couldn’t be sure. She felt tired, but knew they had to find a safer place to rest. While Essenta and Zyra filled their water jugs, Dechaa cleaned herself up downriver from them. She was embarrassed, but only a little. They’d all been terrified, but she was the only one to suffer from the body’s flight response in such a way. Having cleaned up, she joined her friends. Zyra was still shaking a little, “That. Was. Insane. What could’ve done that to that many Timberwolves?!!” Essenta lay back, laughing a little unsteadily, “I don’t know. But I didn’t want to find out. Isn’t that why we ran away?” Dechaa sat down, taking a drink of water, “Well, I guess you’ll be glad to hear we just crossed over the Dale’s border, somewhere behind us. We’re still in the valley, but we’ll come out of it soon. If we go much further east, we’ll be in the land of Joeh.” Zyra looked up, now crouched next to a tree, “Yes, but our goal is more of the southern persuasion. Even after we leave the valley, it’s… 3,000 miles to Salvatrix.” Dechaa consulted their map, “I still think it’s kind of funny… We live in the Great Eastern Valley, but you can’t be much further west on the continent.” Essenta grinned to her friend, “The name’s older than dirt. The same ponies that named the valley never went much further east. As far as they were concerned, we’re sitting on the very edge of the world…” Having relaxed a few minutes, the company continued. They still had a few hours before daybreak and hoped to cover some ground before then. And they did cover some ground. The steppe still bordered the forest, so they had some cover. Around what must have been 9:00 a.m., they stopped. Dechaa rustled up some breakfast while Essenta went looking for fruit. Zyra set up a few safeguards, as they found a decent place to rest. Essenta agreed to first watch once they finished breakfast. They decided to rest about 6 hours. They weren’t keen on traveling during the day, but the cover afforded to them would allow it. Around the middle of the afternoon, each member of the company getting some well-earned shuteye, they munched a few biscuits and apples, and continued south. A little nervous about their misadventures overnight, they kept quiet, only speaking when they had to do so. The walking was good, though, and it was nice to be moving in the daytime. Unable to find any fruit in the morning, they came across a patch of wild strawberries. It was a most welcome snack. Soon the company came to the edge of the steppe. Being on the edge of it, it just didn’t take a lot of time to run out of it. Now they had to pass through another forest, thankfully, not of the forbidden variety. It was still worrisome. There were many trails through the forest, even a few large trading routes. It would be more exposure than they had come to appreciate, traveling in the shadows. There would be no hiding. And while they had gold, they had little to trade. The currency of the Dale would probably be acceptable to most businessponies they might encounter, but its rarity in the area would bring about suspicion… the kind they could scarce afford… They were out of the jurisdiction of King Dale. Any occurrence of soldiers of his openly showing their colors would be a borderline act of war. Unless soldiers after them traveled incognito, it was bounty hunters they had to worry about now… Settling down a few minutes, they set about to defacing currency. A corporal offense in the Dale, if not a capital offense if it was stolen money, it was the only way their gold would be usable. Extracting gold and silver from a hoofful of coins, they formed crude little nuggets. It wasn’t unusual for anypony trading to have a few nuggets on them, so it would probably be safe to exchange. Moving on, they didn’t see a soul. It was evening by then, and the girls had to decide if they’d continue into the night or find someplace to sack out. Deciding it would be safer to travel in the day, they found a spot off the trail they were following, Zyra laying down a protection spell. They dared not light a fire but ate their fill. They only did so because the meager rationing over the last few days had left them tired and irritable. Deciding to leave before dawn the next morning, they slept, taking turns at watch. A near full night of sleep and enough food did the companions’ spirits good. They would only be able to graze on their rations until they found or bought more, but there was no shortage of summer berries. Still, they had to get a little fiber, or they’d get sick. The biscuits were gone, and corn juice isn’t exactly food, so if they wanted to gnaw on something other than tree bark, they needed to find somepony with food. Within about an hour of breaking camp, they found some ponies… about 10 of them… rough looking stallions, all Earth ponies save one Pegasus, ganging up on something. The three ducked behind a log. Looking out from their hiding place, they beheld a strange sight. The stallions were attempting to surround an Earth pony mare… a mare unlike any they’d ever seen. She was tall. Considerably taller than any of the stallions. She had wild, yellow eyes under her gray mane. Her mane and tale were streaked with oranges, reds, and yellows, and strings of beads. Her coat was a light chestnut under her beaded smock. But the strangest thing about her was her sword. It was twice as long and about five times as thick as any sword they’d seen. She had it loosely held in her hooves. She wasn’t swinging it, but the grip was obviously meant for her mouth. She spoke in an alto voice that sounded… cultured. “Begone. I have no quarrel with you stallions. And I have heard of no such princess. I only recognize one queen and one princess. The one you seek is neither, so begone and leave me be. There has been enough strangeness the last few days. I am traveling south. I suggest you go north…” Essenta had never seen such an impressive mare. She moved herself and her companions a little closer, getting behind a decent sized rock. She found herself enthralled, curious what would happen next. One of the stallions circled the mare, “Now, don’t be like that… We know the princess and her little friends were traveling this way. You know something you’re not telling us.” He drew a dagger, gripping it between his teeth, “Sho… Will you talk?!” The mare bristled, “I have told you several times, I know not the princess you seek! I have made it thus far without spilling blood. Now, leave me be… or see this record broken!” Another of the stallions barked in his laughter, “Well boys… Seems she wants to do this the hard way. Make her beg for death!” They all rushed her. But the tall mare wasn’t there. She had bolted low, plowing right through a number of the stallions. She was... shockingly fast. Winded, but unhurt, they stood up to face her. The mare loomed high. “Let this be the end of it! Cease this, or you will all die!” “That’s it boys! Kill ‘er!!” The mare stood as several stallions rushed in, brandishing blades and clubs. Essenta felt awful, knowing this mare was about to die. She didn’t want to watch, but she couldn’t avert her eyes. Neither could her friends. But the mare, whomever she may have been, would do no dying that day. Essenta saw it as if in slow motion. The mare wound up, the enormous sword hilt gripped between her teeth, and swung the flat of the blade into the first three stallions, faster than most eyes could perceive. There was only one word to describe what the blade did to them. They disintegrated. Everything in the path of the blade was reduced to red. The trees, rocks, and everything else in the little clearing was sprayed by a coat of the stuff. The stallions behind the first wave… looked a little staggered. Essenta gasped, as did her companions. The mare lunged forward, swinging the blade the other direction, sending the same mess she’d made on one side of the clearing, to the side where Essenta, Dechaa, and Zyra were hidden. The boulder was coated in what was left of two ponies. By now, the remaining stallions were screaming, attempting to flee. Dechaa swooned and fainted where she sat, onto her back. Zyra’s jaw was dropped and Essenta’s face and mane now bore witness to the carnage. Taking another swing, the mare took down the sixth, sending most of him into the forest canopy. Two of them went behind her to flee into the woods. Turning, she swung her back leg, revealing a long ball-and-chain, that pulped them as they attempted their escape. One tried to back out of the clearing and found his back against a tree. The sword found him, cleaving both him and the tree in two. Finally, the last stallion ran towards their hiding place to vault over the rock. He made it, but not before a thrown dagger blade appeared through his mouth, the hilt out of the back of his head. He tumbled into them, shocking Essenta and Zyra. Zyra, usually the strongest constitution among them, squeaked. The mare rounded on the noise, “You, there! Behind the boulder. If you are friend, reveal yourself. If you are not, prepare to meet the same fate as your foolish comrades!” Essenta knew the only real choice. Dechaa was unconscious. Zyra was broken for a while. She’d seen her share of blood and guts at a very young age, in the war that left her an orphan. That was the first time Essenta had seen anypony killed… and in such a fashion. “We are not your enemy! You have my solemn word! We will come out. Shall we discard our weapons and goods?” “Do so… and do so prudently.” "Understood!" Stripping herself and her companions of their arms and bags, pulling Zyra’s staff from her nerveless hooves, Essenta dragged Dechaa to her hooves and draped her across her back. She had to forcibly prod Zyra to move. Guiding Zyra around the boulder, she slowly approached the mare. It was only now the princess realized how badly she was shaking. She was sure of it now. With a few exceptions, this was the tallest pony she’d ever seen. The fierce yellow eyes bored into her from on high. Standing there, Essenta may have fainted herself, as Dechaa had, but she reasoned she was too scared to even do that. The mare’s expression softened a modicum, “Do tell me, little pony. Who are you?”