//------------------------------// // The Coast // Story: Trail Blazer // by MagicS //------------------------------// Tomorrow morning was slow. Steel Wing was the only one of the three up and ready to go even before Celestia first raised the sun. Lustrous was taking his sweet time and thoroughly annoying his cousin and Trail Blazer was unconscious due to the massive amount she had drunk the previous day. Not even the repeated pounding of Cheese Souffle on her front door could rouse her. The expedition was not off to a promising start. Eventually after a good deal of time it all started to come together. Lustrous found he could stall no more and he had had enough of his cousin chewing him out over the fact that he was supposed to be the responsible one that kept things on schedule. Trail Blazer eventually woke up from her alcohol induced coma only to sigh in exasperation as she realized what she was supposed to do today and attempted to go back to sleep. When that failed she begrudgingly got her things together and headed out with the representative she mockingly referred to as The Big Cheese for the rest of the morning. Dawn was far behind them but it was still early morning, a few hours had been lost on this first day of their journey but it wouldn’t impact them greatly. Trail Blazer and everyone else knew it would be days of them alone just traveling down the coastline before they reached another town out here or had to make a change in direction. This was a grand task that could take months. The six gathered on the bridge that connected the island with the mainland, in time there would eventually be a train and railroad running right here but that was still far off in the future for these ponies. Lustrous carried a large bag on his back and already looked worn out from it while Steel Wing still just carried his smaller one. “Good luck with the map out there.” Bright Diamond cheerfully said. “You’re doing something great for Equestria.” Cheese Souffle waved them off. “Keep safe.” Thunderstorm reminded. Steel Wing was the only one who politely waved back and said farewell to the three representatives. Trail Blazer ignored them and Lustrous grumbled the whole way down the bridge. To the representatives credit though they did stay watching them the whole way down the bridge and even for quite a while until they had become just a trio of specks in the distance. And then they walked back into town as it was once more a busy day for the ponies who worked at the House of Government. Trail Blazer and the others would always be on their mind to some degree until they finally returned but other duties awaited them all. And now, with our adventurers… “This is unbearable! T-This is just… how am I supposed to do this?!” Lustrous complained as his heavy backpack already wore on him, the unicorn sweating and panting as he slowly kept up pace with the others. “You’ll get used to it. You just need to build up some muscle and stamina.” Trail Blazer told him and took a drink from her flask. “I don’t have the strength of an earth pony though.” He scowled at her. “And you’re already drinking? Are you seriously going to be drinking like that every day?” “Yep.” Trail Blazer plainly replied. “Miss Trail Blazer.” Steel Wing started. “I must also admit I’m concerned by your drinking habits, that amount of alcohol consumption is unhealthy and-” Trail Blazer held up a hoof to silence him. “Well aware of all that and let me show you just how little I care.” She took another big gulp. Steel Wing looked dismayed at his ward’s attitude and behavior while Lustrous was just baffled that this mare was supposedly the best cartographer around and he had to not only put up with her for this entire journey but make sure she did her job in the first place. “This is going to be far too long of a trip.” Lustrous angrily muttered. “Hey it’s an opportunity to study stuff right? Your cousin said you like to study.” Trail Blazer said. “I like to study magic. Not the wilderness.” Lustrous replied. “Well maybe something will come up and you can put that wizard knowledge to good use out here.” Trail Blazer shrugged. The conversation dulled for a bit after that. None of the three could be considered anything close to friends at this point and the one polite one of the bunch was also the quietest. Trail Blazer wasn’t doing much at this point, since this area still so close to the town was already well known and had detailed maps made of it, and thus Lustrous had nothing to do either. Steel Wing kept a vigilant eye out for the both of them but again this wasn’t an unknown or dangerous area like they might be traveling through in the future. So for all three of them things were going slowly this morning. Not only that but there simply wasn’t much to look at in general. After they had left the town Trail Blazer led them to the coastline and now they hugged it as they traveled south. But there was no tropical beach to enjoy in this part of Equestria and the forest and grass to the other side of them was a scenery they were all more than familiar with. The waterfront was just rocky and muddy and cold. There was nothing inviting about it and it already managed to cast a foul mood on the expedition. Lustrous sniffed at the salty sea air, the breeze coming in from the rolling waves wasn’t helping his already aching back and legs. “What is our exact itinerary anyways?” Lustrous asked Trail Blazer. “We’re going south along the coast and then cutting west along the southern border, then when we hit the west coast we head north a little before cutting back across eastways. And we keep zigzagging like that until we’ve covered everywhere.” Trail Blazer answered. “Aren’t there already full maps of the coastline? Didn’t some pegasi already draw up some maps of it?” Lustrous questioned. Trail Blazer sighed and looked over her shoulder at him, fixing him with the stare of a pony who didn’t feel like explaining things to someone ignorant. “You’re right. You wanna see one of those maps?” Lustrous tilted his head and furrowed his brow. “Er, alright?” Trail Blazer brought the three of them to a halt and reached into one of her saddlebags. She searched around in there for a moment before pulling out a stack of folded up papers tied together with a small rope band. Leafing through those papers she found the one she wanted and hoofed it over to Lustrous. “Here, this is a pegasus map of the east coast.” Lustrous unfolded it and looked upon the map with interest. The map was drawn in simple black ink, and the shape of the coast was very detailed. It started at the northern edge and went far down south although not quite to the tip. From what Lustrous could tell the coast had been mapped out at least as far as they were going. He raised an eyebrow at Trail Blazer. “So if we already have this then why...” “That map doesn’t help at all. The pegasi who drew it were only concerned about the shape of the coastline and nothing else.” Trail Blazer said. “All their maps are like that. Does that map you’re holding tell you what the ground is like? Does it show you what part of the coast is a cliff and what part is a beach? Does it show you rivers that empty into the sea or how close the treeline is to the water? Nope. None of that. It doesn’t show differences in elevation either, the pegasi also have no idea what places along the coast would be good for building a town in or where crops can grow best. They don’t know what kinds of dangerous animals might be in the forests either and they don’t know anything about high and low tide and how that can affect things.” She glanced at Steel Wing. “No offense.” “None taken. It’s true.” He wasn’t bothered. Trail Blazer returned her gaze to Lustrous. “Does that map even show distance on it? Nope. We’re walking but they could fly, tell me how long do you think it would take for you to walk down the coast compared to how long it took those pegasi to fly it? If you were making that trip alone and had that map and nothing else, how helpful do you think it would be?” Lustrous glanced down at the map again, now that he looked at it the thing was practically blank. It’s like if he had a map of the island his town was built on but it didn’t show any of the streets or buildings of the town itself. It would be impossible to navigate like that. “I see your point.” He folded the map up. Trail Blazer took it back. “It’s still a useful outline for us but we’re making a real map. One that’s very detailed. And that’s not to mention that they want me to find good places for settlements and farms and where roads might be able to go through, among other things.” She put everything back into her bag and took a swallow of moonshine. “What a hassle.” The three started moving again, at least the weather was alright even if one couldn’t call it warm out. Lustrous at this point though had to keep asking for short breaks but Steel Wing and Trail Blazer were happy to accommodate him, knowing he was by far the least physically able of the group (and Trail Blazer was in no hurry anyways). An hour or so before afternoon would turn to evening the three of them came to the first river they had seen that flowed from the interior of Equestria out into the ocean. There was no bridge, not a one of them could swim and they had bags anyways, and Lustrous didn’t have the skill or energy to teleport or levitate their things across. So it fell on Steel Wing to carry Trail Blazer, then Lustrous, and then their bags across one at a time. However once they were across Trail Blazer decided to stop for a second instead of having them move on. She reached into one of her bags and pulled out a small notebook and pencil and began scribbling something away. Lustrous shrugged and took a walk out to the mouth of the river where it poured into the ocean. There was a nice cove here and plenty of solid (if wet) ground that the small waves repeatedly washed up on. Lustrous smiled and looked back over his shoulder at Trail Blazer and Steel Wing standing next to her. “This seems like a good place for a future town doesn’t it? Freshwater river, a cove that you can easily build a dock in, plenty of room between the shore and the forest.” “Wrong.” The unicorn’s smile instantly fell into a frown. “No?” Trail Blazer peeked up from her notebook. “The river is too briney, the ground is too soft, your buildings would sink, and look-” She got up and walked up beside him, pointing out into the water. “You can see the shadows of rocks right below the surface of the water. Any boats that got close to the shoreline here would have their bottoms gouged out.” Lustrous had to squint but he could indeed see dark shadows in the water now that he really looked. He turned to the map mare and raised an eyebrow. “Okay, but how do you know about the river?” “I can tell.” She didn’t bother to explain more as she went back to her bags and threw them all back on, chucking the notebook and pencil in too. “What this place needs is a bridge for that river. That’s all. Now come on, we’re getting back to walking.” Steel Wing helpfully brought over Lustrous’s large backpack to him and the three resumed their journey. Lustrous figured that whatever Trail Blazer was writing had to do with what she just explained to him, maybe she wrote down a note about a bridge needing to be built here? He didn’t know for sure but he was glad that she was at least doing some work of her own accord without him having to force her to. Trail Blazer took another deep gulp of her moonshine as the breeze from the sea kicked up. She trotted to the front of their little group and spoke back to Lustrous. “You should be pretty grateful that we aren’t gonna have near as much to do or look at these first few days. You’ll have an easier time getting acclimated to the outdoors and carrying all that stuff now.” “Hrm.” Lustrous grunted and followed along after her, Steel Wing picking up the rear. The map mare then grinned as she looked back at him over her shoulder, barely able to see him past her own large backpack. “Also, I’d say you should probably start trying to enjoy studying the wilderness. Since we’re gonna be doing a lot of that on this trip.” “That’s your job...” Lustrous scowled. “Yeah, and it’s a way for you to pass the time and maybe enjoy yourself. Unless you take up drinking like me you’re probably gonna be pretty bored.” Trail Blazer belched. “Speaking of that, hey Steel Wing? You want a drink?” She shook her flask at him. “No thank you.” The pegasus shook his head. “I can’t allow myself to be inebriated.” “One sip aint gonna do that, just gonna get you warm inside.” Trail Blazer prodded. He continued to shake his head. “It… will get me drunk.” He awkwardly bit his cheek and looked away from her. “Hah, lightweight!” Trail Blazer laughed and took another drink. She walked a few more steps while the stallions followed behind her before she started slowing down, and finally came to a complete stop after a few more steps. The cartographer stood there, gently swaying with the breeze before either of her companions decided to ask what was going on. “Miss Trail Blazer?” Steel Wing questioned. “I think it’s the sea air… or all the walking...” She muttered. “What?” Lustrous asked, confused, and trotted up beside her. “What are you talking—oh.” Trail Blazer was green of face and her cheeks were bulging out, the mare tentatively reached a hoof up to her mouth, trying to keep herself from upchucking. “Suddenly I just… oh, step back!” Lustrous quickly complied and jumped back just as Trail Blazer emptied her stomach onto the ground. It was now the first night of their journey. Lustrous had gotten Trail Blazer to promise she wouldn’t drink anymore for the rest of the day (she had been irritable since then) and now the three of them were preparing to sleep in her tent. They were lucky none of them were especially big ponies or else it would be pretty cramped in here. The tent was able to hold four but that was with the addendum of “without any other room” attached to it. Steel Wing had done what he called a perimeter sweep before also coming into the tent, he had offered to stand guard all night but Trail Blazer convinced him there was no need. He was obviously uncomfortable without anyone watching vigil and said that if they got to more dangerous or unexplored areas that they should begin sleeping in shifts. Trail Blazer was not fond of that idea but Lustrous pointed out that it would at least mean more room for the two sleeping in the tent at the time. They considered it for later. Trail Blazer though, perhaps because of her lack of recent alcohol, decided not to sleep immediately and had been writing or drawing something on a piece of paper on top of her sleeping mat. Lustrous couldn’t care less about it and thus didn’t bother to see what she was doing, figuring it was more map work, and Steel Wing didn’t think it concerned his purpose on this mission. So the two stallions allowed the mare to do her thing until she felt like turning in as well. When she was tired enough (and had ceased grumbling to herself) Trail Blazer put her things away and stood up and blew out the candle that had been carefully hung from the center of the tent. Total darkness. A flimsy tent all that separated the three adventurers from the wild. Thin mats the only thing keeping the rough ground away. Lying together for the first of many nights. Lustrous had trouble sleeping. This was a far cry from his comfortable bed back in his room, the tent didn’t keep the cold night air out the same way the thick stone walls of his home did, there was no telling what sort of animals might be out there and he was currently lying in between an alcoholic mare and a pegasus that barely spoke but could probably turn him inside out with his hooves tied. And the blanket was itchy. He wanted to talk to them. To break the ice and maybe have an actual friendly conversation with the two ponies he had been stuck with. But he wasn’t exactly a pony that knew how to make friends and he wasn’t sure if they would be eager to talk right now. Not only had all of them just turned in for the night but Trail Blazer gave off the impression that she wouldn’t ever be eager to become friends. And Steel Wing… he was polite but how quiet he always was was a little off-putting to Lustrous. With a low grunt Lustrous turned over and tried to find a more comfortable position to sleep in. Weren’t they supposed to be an example to other ponies? Wasn’t this supposed to be about young ponies from the next generation of each tribe coming together to accomplish some special goal? They may have been drawing a map but Lustrous wasn’t sure if that second goal was going to be fulfilled. The harsh wind blew across each of their faces, Lustrous and Trail Blazer each raised a foreleg over their faces to try and keep the worst of it out of their eyes while Steel Wing impassively stood like a statue, unsurprisingly wind like this didn’t seem to bother a pegasus. The trio stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea, at the bottom waves crashed into the rocky wall again and again, spraying up a salty mist each time. On the far end of this sea was where the griffons lived. At least that was according to what Thunderstorm told Steel Wing. Neither Trail Blazer nor Lustrous knew anything about that other land. And thankfully they didn’t have to know about anything outside of Equestria. Unlike the previous day they had all woken up and gotten ready at the same time. This was mostly due to Steel Wing’s internal clock waking him up right before dawn and with them all in a small tent together it was impossible for the others to stay asleep as well, and today Lustrous was adamant about not wasting any time. As much as his cousin forcing him on this journey annoyed him he wanted to do his duty and be the responsible one that he was supposed to be for Trail Blazer. And the more they kept to schedule and didn’t waste time the sooner it would all be over. It was still early morning now, the ground had steadily risen along the coast until they made it to this highest point of the cliff. And because nothing like this was mentioned on the pegasi maps or anything else they had, Trail Blazer needed to take some notes on it. “Definitely need to put “cliff” here when I’m drawing things.” The mare said to herself as she sketched something on a piece of paper. She looked up and down the cliff, trying to deduce just how tall it was and how far it went before ending. “Can you measure things out just by looking?” Lustrous asked her. “Yes. Estimate at least.” She replied, not bothering to look at him. “Pegasi are good at that too, you can use the horizon for a reference when flying to measure distances” Steel Wing chimed in, much to Lustrous’s surprise. “I’ve just done this kind of thing a lot when making maps in the past.” Trail Blazer said, putting away her paper and starting to walk south along the edge of the cliff again. “Get an idea of things when looking at them and then keep track of how many steps you take or use other landmarks for reference like a hill or something else that’s noticeable. Well, I don’t really need to do that anymore. I can calculate distances in my head.” Lustrous raised an eyebrow at her as he trotted up beside her. “Really? That’s quite impressive actually.” “Lots of practice and experience.” The map maker shrugged. The three walked in silence for a few minutes longer, they would be able to make good progress this day. Whether it was good fortune or fate they had set out at a time of year when the weather was at its most amicable. Barring any unforeseen disasters they should be in great condition for most if not all of their journey. Just as Lustrous figured their conversation had completely died out, Trail Blazer spoke again. “When I’m looking at something, doesn’t matter if it’s a big or small area, it’s like I can see it in my head from above. Like I’ve got a bird’s-eye-view of it. Or like I’m looking at a map that already exists in my head.” She continued. “That helps me when I’m doing this kind of stuff.” “If you can accurately picture it you have quite the penchant for 3D thinking.” Lustrous told her. “Most could “think” about what something would look from above but if you can actually see it and draw a detailed map from it? Most can’t do that.” “It’s my talent after all.” She pointed back at her flank for emphasis, even though the coat she wore covered her Cutie Mark. Lustrous nodded and turned his head to the stoic Steel Wing. “Speaking of Cutie Mark’s what about yours? How’d you get it?” Steel Wing paused mid-step. Lustrous and even Trail Blazer both stopped as well to look at him. “What’s wrong?” Trail Blazer asked. “I… I’m sorry, but I don’t wish to speak of my Cutie Mark.” Steel Wing looked down at the mark on his flank. “It’s a family matter.” Trail Blazer shrugged, if she was concerned by his unusual behavior she didn’t show it. “Suit yourself. Not like it’s a big deal.” She took the opportunity to have a drink. “Let’s get back on track, I’m almost running dry here.” Steel Wing did as was suggested and followed in behind her. Lustrous sighed and started walking in behind him. “I got my Cutie Mark from reading in case anyone wants to know...” He whispered under his breath. And that was the story of the next few days. Uneventful walks down the eastern coastline of Equestria broken up by cold and dark nights where the three travelers spoke nothing to one another. Trail Blazer eventually ran out of her moonshine and became even more irritable and difficult to get along with than normal and the way Steel Wing had reacted to his Cutie Mark was still bugging Lustrous. And furthermore thanks to the lack of alcohol Trail Blazer showed a decided lack of interest in doing her job, waking up on time, or making any sort of observations like she had been. It fell on Lustrous to make sure she was at least paying attention to the landscape and taking enough notes for their map. Thankfully there was something to break the monotony coming up. In the late afternoon of an especially quiet day the three found themselves traveling over a marsh. Steel Wing had flown up to inspect how far into the mainland it went and upon relaying that information to Trail Blazer she had decided that it was too large to travel around and it would cause them to stray too far from the coast. Lustrous was not happy about the decision at all but when it came to stuff like this they had to follow Trail Blazer’s word. And thus they marched right through the center of the wetland. “Do we really have to wade through this swamp?” Lustrous whined. “This is a marsh.” Trail Blazer grumbled back to him, not in the mood for any whining. “A swamp has trees in it. Marshes are grassy. It’s also part of the delta formed by the streams pouring into the ocean around here.” “This is a marsh.” Lustrous repeated in a mockingly high-pitched voice (although not loud enough for Trail Blazer to hear). Regardless of the correct definition the three of them spent hours traversing through it, Steel Wing occasionally having to help them free their hooves from some exceptionally sticky mud. At the end of the marsh was a low hill and all three of them were eager to reach it, Trail Blazer being the lead she was able to escape the unreliable ground and hopped up it. “Well, I’m in luck.” Trail Blazer said as she crested the hill, looking out at something in the distance. “What is it?” Lustrous asked, joining her. She pointed her hoof forward. Far off down the coast it looked like there was a large bay, and if his eyes didn’t deceive him he believed he also saw buildings built up along the northern shore. Steel Wing hovered above them to get a better look too. “Ponies have already begun to settle here. And I bet one of the first things they put up was a tavern.” Trail Blazer licked her lips. Lustrous sighed. “Well I hope that when you’ve had your fill you start taking your job more seriously again.” She snorted. “If you wanna pack some extra bottles or a cask or something so I don’t run out so quickly you wouldn’t have to worry about that as much. Forget it, that’s our first stop anyways so let’s get moving.”