//------------------------------//
// A Strange Tale 
// Story: The Ties that Bind 
// by the7Saviors 
//------------------------------//

As the group met back up, Ancient Scroll informed Yojimbo and Rouge about the encounter they had with Wild Evergreen. They stayed in town long enough for Yojimbo to give his condolences and goodbyes to his nephew before heading back to the Vardo.

Most of the walk to the caravan had been made with only a few words said between the adults here and there. The fillies themselves had remained largely silent on the way back, still too shaken up to hold any kind of meaningful conversation.

"Once again, you have my sincerest apologies, little ones," Rouge said for the third time during the trek back, "had I known things would be so bad, I would never have brought you down that way."

"It's... it'll be fine, Rouge," Corona spoke for the other two silent fillies, "we just weren't prepared for..." she trailed off into silence for a moment and shuddered before speaking again, "we'll... probably be okay soon. Just... give us some time."

Blue Moon and Fia remained quiet, but each of them nodded slightly in agreement. Rouge herself wasn't convinced, her uncertainty not helped by the fact that though they had calmed down, they were still crowded tightly around Ancient Scroll as they trotted along.

"I can't believe we ran into one of the ponies lookin' for the purple pup so soon," Yojimbo commented as they neared the caravan, "how'd they even know we were around here?" he thought for a moment and frowned, "wait... did that crazy pony we caught tip them off?"

"He did say they knew where the filly was," Rouge replied before turning to Ancient Scroll, "but that aside, if you really did run into one of the ponies after her, why not try to gain information from her?" she asked, "you could've pressed for information given she didn't know who the fillies really were."

Ancient Scroll stopped and pulled open the back door to the Vardo and waited for everyone else to step inside. Once they were in, he trotted in himself and closed the door before finally responding.

"The reason I didn't bother to ask for more details was because I'm almost certain she would've given me some sort of excuse," he trotted to the front of the Vardo and stepped out onto the wooden platform, "while I think I could've gotten away with asking a question or two, I didn't want to risk it -- especially if she would've just lied anyway."

He lit his horn and for a few moments, the entire caravan glowed a soft green. He remained quiet as he worked the Come-to-Life spell and eventually, he cut off the flow of the magic as the Vardo began to back away from and move around Little Trot. He made sure the caravan was on the right track before talking once more.

"She may have let slip that she was working under somepony else," he turned to look at the Abyssinian with a solemn expression, "but after hearing what I did about her, I believe that -- had she any reason to suspect we were on to her -- she would've tried to kill me."

"So... what?" Yojimbo asked, "you played the fool?"

The stallion nodded.

"The mare sounded friendly enough, but there was something very wrong with that pony, Yoji," he replied, "I'm not sure if the fillies felt it, but I certainly could."

Rouge, Yojimbo and the three fillies mulled that over and after a moment, the Abyssinian spoke.

"So what did you hear about her?" she asked curiously, "you and Yojimbo never told us what happened."

"Right," Ancient Scroll said with a nod, "well, I didn't actually manage to get the full story, but Yoji here knows all the details," he looked towards the three morose fillies with a concerned frown, "did you girls want to come along for the tale?"

Corona glanced back at the other two fillies and by the looks on their faces, it was clear they weren't up for it. Corona turned back to Ancient Scroll and shook her head.

"I think we're gonna just... go back to our room for now, Uncle Scroll," she answered slowly. 

"I understand," the stallion replied with a sad smile, "take all the time you need, fillies. Just let me know when you're ready and I'll tell you all about it."

The three fillies each muttered some sort of thanks before heading off to the bedroom. Ancient Scroll turned back to Rouge and Yojimbo, silently motioning them to follow him into the sitting room.

Once they were all inside, he closed the door and trotted over to the armchair. The molly and husky took a seat on the couch in front of him.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to stick around like you wanted, Yoji," Ancient Scroll began, looking somewhat guilty, "in a town that small, I'm sure we would've run into that mare again, and I didn't want to stay long enough for her to find out who Fia really was."

Yojimbo remained silent for a second, before letting out a heavy sigh and giving the stallion a level look.

"Honestly, I think you're being way too paranoid, old pal," he replied, "but I know you're just trying to look out for your own, so I won't say anymore about it. I do want to come back here to check up on my nephew though, he was pretty broken up when I left," he looked away, "I think I managed to comfort the pup well enough, but who knows..."

Ancient Scroll gave the husky one last apologetic look before turning his attention to Rouge.

"Well at any rate, that pegasus mare calling herself Wild Evergreen was quite a character from what little I did hear about her," Ancient Scroll explained, "but getting back to the Dark Mage for the moment, the stallion responsible for the outbreak of undead in town wasn't even from Little Trot."

"I suppose that makes sense," Rouge commented with a nod, "I'm certain someone in Little Trot would've realized there was a corrupt Dark Mage living in town."

"Right," Ancient Scroll agreed, "well it seems there wasn't much information about the stallion. He just showed up in Little Trot the day before and stayed at the inn."

"Everything was kibbles n' bits for the first day," Yojimbo continued, "the bastard didn't do anything but stay in his room from what the innkeeper says. Then out of nowhere, he hears this insane laughter coming from behind the door and suddenly the whole place lights up like the Sun exploded. The next thing anyone knows, dead ponies are poppin' outta their graves like daisies."

"There's a cemetery just beyond town," Ancient Scroll said, picking up the explanation, "it isn't too big, so there weren't nearly as many undead as in say... a place like Tambelon, but it was still enough to get a lot of innocent ponies killed in the attack. Many didn't see it coming until it was too late to stop."

"So then that mare -- the one you saw, Scroll," Yojimbo added with a nod to the stallion, "folks say she just happened to be flying overhead and saw what was happening in town. The way they tell it, you'd think that pony was some kind of one mare army.

"They say she didn't even say a word -- just swooped down out of the sky and tore the things limb from limb in the blink of an eye with nothin' but her hooves. But the strange and frankly kinda creepy part, is that she had this dead. blank look in her eyes as she did it, but once she was done it was all jokes and smiles -- at least, that's what the ponies who actually saw her fight up close say."

Ancient Scroll nodded.

"It's like I said," he finished, "I don't know what happened to that mare, but something isn't right about her. It seems she eventually found the stallion responsible, and killed him. The moment he died, the undead died with him and that was that. Nopony knows where he came from or why he did what he did, but it'll be awhile before the town recovers."

"Well that's... quite a tale," Rouge finally replied with an uncertain frown, "at the very least he won't be able to hurt anymore innocents."

"I'll say," Yojimbo responded with a yawn, "turns out that pony who did 'im in was pretty gruesome about it. They found half the stallion in the giant fountain in town square, and the other half somewhere in the marketplace."

Rouge grimaced at that.

"...Perhaps it is for the best that the little ones weren't here to hear this."

"I think you're right about that one, Rouge," Ancient Scroll replied with a grimace of his own, "the Sun only just rose for the day and this is most likely going to ruin the rest of it for them."

"If I hadn't brought them out there, then they wouldn't have--"

"We're all to blame for what happened back there, Rouge, not just you," Ancient Scroll chided, "if anything, it's more mine and Yojimbo's fault for not warning you four as soon as we found out how bad it was."

"Yeah, that one was on us," the husky added, "I was too caught up with what was happening with my nephew and the rest of the town to give it any thought."

"Hmmm..." Rouge replied, looking away, "I still feel responsible either way. The poor girls..."

Yojimbo frowned and decided to change the subject after a moment.

"So, where we headed next, Scroll?" he asked, turning to the old stallion, "we're still plenty stocked up on what we need, so we don't have to stop for supplies just yet, but I'd still like to be able to stop in at a tavern for a drink or two."

"Already?" Rouge asked with a disbelieving raise of her brow, "rather early for a drink isn't it?"

"Hey, I've been through a lot already today," the old dog said with a shrug, "can't blame me for wantin' somethin' strong to wash down all that drama."

"Well... I suppose we do still need some information about Canterlot," Rouge replied after some thought, "with how close Little Trot still is to the border, I doubt we would've found out much there, but the next town may have something we can use."

"Indeed, although the next place we go won't be a town exactly," Ancient Scroll responded, before turning to the old dog with a playful smirk, "our next stop is actually a tavern. A roadside tavern."

Yojimbo's eyes widened slightly.

"The roadside tavern," the stallion continued.

"You ain't talkin' about--"

"The Sour Apple," Ancient Scroll finished with a nod, "if there's any info to be had all the way out here, that place would be our best bet to find it."

"Ha!" Yoji cried jovially, "I haven't been there in ages!"

"Same here," the stallion replied, "it'll be good to see old Apple Core again."

Rouge looked between the two reminiscing friends in bemusement.

"I take it you two have some... history with this place?"

"You can say that," Yojimbo answered, "Apple Core is a great guy. Done a lot for us in the past."

"That he did," Ancient Scroll added, "he's another old friend that traveled around with Yoji and me. He actually returned to Equestria before either of us did so he could spend time with his family. Eventually we found out he opened up a family owned tavern in the area."

"Yup," Yojimbo continued with an eager grin, "best hard cider and apple whiskey you'll ever drink, and don't let the name fool ya -- the hospitality those ponies show is damn near legendary."

"Well then," Rouge answered with a small smile of her own, "it seems I have something to look forward to after all."

"I hear ya," Yojimbo replied with another yawn, "but in the meantime, I think I'm gonna grab me a nap. It's been a heck of a morning."

"I'll agree to that," Ancient Scroll replied, rising from his chair, "haven't had a decent rest in awhile now."

"Well then you two go ahead and sleep," Rouge said as she rose from the couch, "I don't need much sleep myself and I've already rested this morning."

"Thanks, Rouge," Yojimbo drawled, making his way to one of the large cots they had moved into the sitting room, "you're one in a million you know that?"

Rouge rolled her eyes and walked to the door.

"I'll tell the little ones where we're headed and let you two know if anything urgent comes up."

Ancient Scroll thanked her and she stepped out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her.