//------------------------------//
// New Faces 
// Story: The Facade of Borders 
// by SketchTheWitch 
//------------------------------//

The tall, poofy-haired teenage watched from the ground as the throne room burst into flames. She smiled at her work, scurrying off before anyone came to investigate.
“The mission was a success! No one could’ve survived.” She beamed proudly.
“No one. Including Mr. Spice and Ms. Beet.” The silver stallion frowned down at Bright. “I was informed on the radio that they were in the room, right by the king when it happened.” His voice was cold and quiet. It made Bright’s ears fold down in shame.
“I didn’t know, and if I’d waited any longer, I could’ve been caught!” Her voice cracked a little. She knew they were supposed to be part of their team, and that they had a child.
“I’m not upset with you, Little Burst, I’m just…” He trailed off and sighed. “I’m sad. They were good friends. And poor Pumpkin, must be terrified.”
“Yeah. Having your parents blown up isn’t exactly ideal.” She mumbled. Her parents had died in a mining accident, where one of the lanterns broke in a rather combustible section of cavern. “Listen, we’ve all made sacrifices and there’s nothing we can do!” Bright huffed and hauled herself back into the wagon. There was a beat-up radio with a microphone waiting for her. “Attention dock crew, gathering others. Give us a 3. We’ve felled the giant successfully.”
As she spoke, Chef hooked himself onto the wagon and started for the small houses that laid in front of the castle. “Anyone there is who’s going. We can’t wait for stragglers.” His voice was cold and quiet. It only took about half an hour to trot to the huts. Ponies were waiting outside. 
Among those who were waiting was Tea Time, the pink maid who left with Pumpkin. She was a bit chubby, and had a mane that swirled nicely above her eyes and tucked into a nice bun just below her ears. Her warm brown eyes were kind and could soothe any soul, including that of the filly she held in one arm. 
Pumpkin was a skinny young filly, just learning how to speak. Her palette was clearly the inspiration for her name, as she had an orange coat and green mane, with green eyes to match. She was quiet while in Tea Time’s arms, unable to understand the situation. Next to Tea Time was a grey mare with a slightly swollen belly and a blue mane. Her magenta eyes looked around for the cart through the veil of cigarette smoke she was blowing out. Beside her was a kind looking stallion. He had a red coat and an almost black mane. The two were very close, and the stallion kept glancing at the mare’s stomach. 
There were other ponies and other wagons, all waiting for their leader to arrive. As Chef trotted up, they wasted no time getting everyone and their things crammed into the wagons. As soon as it seemed there were no loose ponies, Chef lead his parade of slaves away from their prisons. He had traveled the route many times and needed no map to lead them to freedom, he just had to be sure they made it in time. 
Days would go by and he would not stop. The other wagons would change driver, but Chef kept marching on. He was quiet and never complained, and didn’t even look like he needed to rest. Bright would often have to convince him to slow down to get him fed. They went on routes between towns and cities, avoiding as much contact as possible. Eventually, however, they would see their destination. The sea sparkled like the hopeful eyes of many of the travelers, and huge boat stood waiting to welcome them. 
“Remember, we will spend months aboard the ship and we will have one stop in the Pine Islands. We cannot stop anywhere else, for there is nowhere else. If you cannot make it, then do everyone else a favor and stay behind.” Chef was stern, making sure to clearly get his point across. “Midnight, you said you have about four months, right?”
The grey mare let out a thick cloud of smoke. “Yes, sir. I should make it to shore.” She smiled a bit as her stallion rubbed her belly. 
“I think we’re set, then. All aboard!” Chef shouted. He stood to the side and watched as pony after pony dragged their hungry bodies onto the ship. “Just a few more months, everypony. You can do it.” His voice was low, and no one heard. He knew they knew, though, and didn’t need to be reminded. 
After everyone had boarded, he noticed one pony was missing. “Bright?” He looked around. She was still huddled in a pile of hay. 
“I don’t know if I can do it. I…” She shook her head and sighed. “I don’t want to be the one to go mad, you know? I’ve never been sailing.”
“Neither has anyone else, Bright. You’ll be fine.”
“And what if I’m not, huh? What if I go crazy and you have to throw me overboard and I drown and die a horrible death and the last thing you remember about me is how I went crazy and you had to kill me?!” She was shaking and put her hooves over her face as she started to cry. “I don’t want to die!”
“Bright, stop! You are brave and smart. You are the last person I expect to go mad. I think of you as my second in command. I need you there if something happens to me. Plus, who would take care of Lit Wick? She needs you, Little Burst. I need you.” He slowly moved her hooves away and looked into her eyes to assure her that he was being nothing but honest. 
“You promise, Chef?”
He nodded. Bright smiled. She knew it meant just as much as his word. He gently held her hoof as she jumped down from the wagon. Before she could board, he picked a few straws from her big, tangled mane. She giggled and grinned at him before running aboard to join her sister. Chef smiled to himself as he followed her in.
The ship was crowded as everyone huddled between boxes down in the hull. Sleeping became the new regular activity, as the time seemed to pass much faster, and hunger pains seemed to grow slower. Their one stop lasted only hours before once again the sea rocked the travelers unevenly and spontaneously. Seasickness spread to most at some point, but most recovered within a few days. It felt as if they would never arrive, until one day they felt the rocking and swaying halt, and a crew member came down. 
“We’ve arrived. Or at least, you have. Rest of us got a few more miles ‘til the docks, but you won’t get found out here.” He laughed a little as he lead a weary parade of pale and shaky ponies up to the deck and down into the beach. The sand was warm, but the air was cold. It felt much like home to them. 
Stronger ponies began hauling a few of the boxes into the sand while Chef did a body count. 
“12, 13, 14… I think I counted wrong. There’s two more ponies than we left with. We have little Eris…”
Midnight Heart slowly stepped forward. “She joined us a bit earlier than I expected.” She smiled as she cradled a tiny foal in her arms. 
“That’s still one extra pony.” He looked around. His eyes locked on a small white mare with a pink mane that perfectly matched the color of Tea Time’s. “You.”
She squeaked and looked around. “Me?”
“Yes. Where do you come from?” 
“Oh, you know...around. I’m uh… just a neighbor…” Her coat started to turn a light shade of pink. Not just her cheeks. Her entire coat. 
“I knew it! You chamiliae have always been tricky. Couldn’t live with your own tricky species, huh?” Chef stared down at the little pony. 
“N-Not at all! I just wanted to travel..!”
“Travel on your own supplies, you leech, we only brought enough for us. And if you think we’ll house you as well, you are sorely mistaken.” The other ponies watched on as Chef scolded the shivering mare. 
“I-I ate my own food on the boat, I promise! And I was planning on—“
“Leave. These ponies have enough struggles looking after their own. We got you here and now you can go and live somewhere else, but not here.” He snorted a bit. The mare nodded slowly and started to walk away. The other ponies muttered quietly amongst themselves. Satisfied with his work, Chef turned and went to board the ship again. 
“Where are you going?” Bright ran up him, almost panicked. 
“I have a job waiting elsewhere, Bright. I’ve got to go.”
“And leave me and Wick? We don’t know these ponies.”
“They’re good ponies, Little Burst, you’ll be okay. Besides, I don’t want you to stay long. You should head north, there’s a little town. You can use it to find a train station. Take you and your sister into the city and find an orphanage, get adopted by a rich Equestrian couple. These ponies, they’re too old-fashioned to join Equestria right now. You, however, can handle it.”
“I don’t want to go to an orphanage! They won’t let me stay, anyways, I’m nearly full grown. I want to stay with you.” She looked down and kicked at the sand. 
“I can’t take care of you. Go, do what I say. Tell them you are 16 and must stay with your sister. They will understand. Life here in Equestria is good and I can promise you’ll enjoy it.” He smiled and slowly embraced Bright Burst. She held onto him tight. 
“I trust you.” She murmured as he slowly let go. She watched as he disappeared into the group of crew members preparing to disembark once more, leaving the Coltsenians left on the shore to start their new lives in Equestria.

	~*~

The little color-shifting mare sighed and mumbled to herself as she ventured into the nearby forest. “What’s his deal? All I did was hitch a ride. Not like I was hurting anything. Oh well! At least there are no wolves in Equestria.” She giggled to herself. She shifted shades to a much earthier green to allow herself to blend into the surrounding foliage. 
“Oh, Echo, we’re going to have such a great time. Once I find a place to live, I’ll make plenty of friends. Home is great and all but I need adventure!” She rambled on about her plans to have the most friends any Chamilia had ever had. “Tricky species, huh? More like friendly! I’m sure he didn’t mean it.” She sighed. The day soon turned to night, and Echo found that her own voice didn’t keep nearly as good of company as she thought. She was rather lonely as she curled up in her freshly made nest of ferns. “Goodnight, Echo…” She said, but there was no reply.