//------------------------------// // Chapter 5.1 // Story: Apostle // by EquestrianKnight97 //------------------------------// I never thought being friends with ponies could be possible. But I guess you changed that. Despite your worries, I think anypony would be lucky to have you in their life... I know I am. [...] Oh man, Sonnet! Did you hear all of that noise? They loved us, man! I'm telling you -- they loved us! And it's all thanks to you! [...] You've gone so far from where you started, Sonny. You're a good stallion now, and you'll be an even better one when this is all over. We just need to get through this. Please, stay with me. [...] You all must understand! ALL OF YOU! There is no place in this world for such lowly creatures -- tainted with numerous vices! As ugly as this is, as vicious as it is, there must be a cleansing if we are to save ourselves from the upcoming darkness. Be as meek as you want, and as angry and confused as you want, but do not stand in the way of those willing to SAVE OUR SOULS!!! [...] Don't listen to her, Sonnet. It's not your fault for what happened. She just needed to let it out, and the ones who hurt her are far away from here. Nopony should be blaming you... Celestia's grace. I don't know what I've could have done. The faint rays of Celestia's sun crept around the corner of Sonnet's eye, and though the light was just a mere shimmer it was a good enough stimulant to wake up the grey unicorn. Along with his foggy sight, Sonnet's nose was awakened by the rustic smell of old, sandy wood that was neither pleasant nor irritating. Taking off the blankets above, the young stallion walked over to the desk merely three steps away from his rented bed, his vision nearly blinded by the dust particles in the air that shown like diamonds to the sun's reflection off of them. With his magic, Sonnet enveloped the chair in a golden glow and pulled it out for him to sit on before scooting up to the desk surface. His horn stilling glowing, he pulled his small brown satchel from beneath the bed, floated it over the desk, opened it up and brought out two contents that he then dropped on the surface. Putting the bag where it was before, Sonnet opened up a green notebook titled Poems #17 and stopped on a page halfway through. For around less than a minute, Sonnet read the contents of the book: "Rain From The Townhouse" From my window below, I see the daily bother, Of foals and older folk naked to the rain. They play and yelp merrily in the cold water, Not aware of the ants and birds struggling in pain. As usual, the gleeful party approaches my lair, And from the sidewalk beg me to leave my "heath". They promise me with big eyes behind damp hair, While a chilling flood soaks their bones underneath. They look content from twinkling eye to twinkling tooth, With the raindrops on their fur shining with rainbows. But though I am bounded by this paper-weight called "truth", Indulging in wonderland ignorance may help my woes. The poem was something that Sonnet had been writing since the first night he camped out after having left Fillydelphia, and it was not until last night when he arrived at the inn that he had finished the piece. But as his eyes repeatedly skimmed over the thin lines of writing, the message of what he wrote was not something that he was comfortable with just leaving alone. He had no doubt that he would get on his poem as soon as he could, but for now he closed the green notebook and levitated the other item on his desk -- a simple brochure titled: The Sojourners (Fleet #3): The Serendipity Summer Edition of Year 10XX Terra uel mar, dies uel noctis, ut veniam ad vos. Along with the writings, the front cover of the brochure held the image of a purple and green airship soaring through the sunset sky from a worm's eye view. From Sonnet's previous reading of the material, the inner pages talked about the history of the adventure guild known as the Sojourners and they went even further into the background of the Serendipity fleet of this guild. Having gathered the information up in his head already, Sonnet was not interested in reading through it again. Instead, the grey unicorn flipped the brochure over on its back to check out the schedule of the fleet's appearance at various Equestrian airports. With this being the last summer month, Sonnet's brown eyes went down to the bottom half of the brochure, and sure enough, he found what he was looking for: the date at which the Serendipity would arrive at the Orange Grove Airstrip, just 20 or so miles outside of the Manehattan city limits. Luckily for him, his choice to travel on the road had not held him back, as the fleet would not arrive until tomorrow afternoon. From the map he had with him, the village of Hidden Hope where he now resided in was merely a day's trip away from Orange Grove, and with the fleet spending a total of three days at the airstrip, tardiness was not an issue that Sonnet had to face. An uninvited roar of his stomach brought Sonnet's thoughts away from the airstrip and towards the prospect of breakfast instead. Luckily for him, a traditional clock was right above him to show him that the time was somewhere around 6:55 am, meaning that he had all the time in the world today. After eating some food and getting washed up, Sonnet saw it as best for him to leave the inn and travel throughout the village in search of essentials to buy -- given that he has been on the road for a few days. With his mind set, the grey unicorn got out of his chair, levitated his satchel over his head, and made his way to the door. Once he entered the hallway of the inn's upper floor, Sonnet's nose was hit by an unwelcoming combination of mold and sweaty odors that mixed in with the previously existing scent of old wood. The smell around him was a reminder to him as for why he was very hesitant to spend the previous night at this inn, which he knew before entering was a very unkempt place. Sadly, it was the only place cheap enough for him to spend his bits in Hidden Hope, and because of his need to take a bath after going without one for some time, Sonnet had no other choice but to sleep here. As he made his way down the hall, Sonnet knew that his issues with this place would not be permanent, as he would be leaving during the late evening to head back on the road. His aspirations for leaving here were quickened as he moved past several doors of the rooms located on the floor. A few of the unseen occupiers shouting out rowdy, obscene comments without any awareness of filtering, and though he was not certain, it was likely that Sonnet had passed by a rather passionate encounter between at least two enthusiastic ponies. Sonnet's distracted mind prevented him from seeing that a door to his left had opened in front of him until he almost crashed into the pony when he brought his head up. Sonnet was about to apologize for the inconvenience when the stallion in front of him suddenly mumbled incoherently. The two stood in awkward silence for some time until Sonnet tried to move past him to continue on, but the stallion grumbled again and blocked the grey unicorn, staring at him with a crossed expression. Sonnet looked closer at the stallion's blushing face and sleepy eyes to see that the disgruntled individual was rather quite intoxicated. Annoyed, Sonnet shuffled to the other side of the hallway to walk past the living roadblock, but as if on queue the stallion mimicked his movements and stood in front of the grey unicorn again, his mumbling breath beginning to irritate Sonnet's nostrils with the smell of liquor, food, and oral odor. At this point, Sonnet bit his lower lip, giving a small flash of his teeth. Though he had no intention of being physical with the stallion, especially one whose temper he was unaware of, he had a feeling that he would not have the patience to deal with such an inconvenience for much longer. Eventually, the drunk stallion managed to pull himself out of his own stupor as his eyes widened at the sight of Sonnet, as if the young unicorn had popped out of nowhere. Disgruntled, the stallion shimmied past Sonnet and headed in the opposite direction, mumbling something along the lines of having to find the "bathroom". Relieved at last, Sonnet started to head towards the stairwell on his left, but a sight outside of the window to his right caught his attention. Outside underneath the early morning scarlet sky was a young blue colt in overalls of similar color standing in front of a fenced chicken coup behind the inn. The colt had a stick on his back that carried a bucket on both sides. Once he lowered his body to have the buckets laying on the ground, the colt ran to the fence door to open it, came back for his stick, approached one of the troughs at the coop, and stood on his hindlegs as he poured out water from one of the buckets. Immediately afterward, nearly a dozen white or brown chicken same scurrying around to the troughs as the colt left the fenced coop with his stick on his back again. Sonnet kept his gaze on the colt as the young pony walked past a small yellow barn to the left of the chicken coop. Even though the barn's front doors where held shut by a chain and a lock in the middle, the grey unicorn watched the colt carefully with his sharp brown eyes as he approached the building. Luckily, the anticipated action of the colt going somewhere he probably was not allowed to go never came, as he continued walking past the barn. Hopefully the owners are taking good care of their visitors' belongings, Sonnet thought. I don't want to deal with any shady stuff, especially since the cart's a rental. With his thoughts spoken out in his head, Sonnet continued to the stairwell, which laid next to a wooden railing that turned left twice -- creating a square opening that allowed the renters above to observe events transpiring in the area below. At the top of the stairs, Sonnet saw below a wooden bar that was manned by two mares, who the stallion recollected as being the mother and daughter of the family that owned the inn. As he descended down the stairs, Sonnet saw that the other side of the bar was filled with various ponies sitting on their own stools or leaning against the wooden counter. The sight surprised him, as he was not expecting so many ponies to be up this early in the morning. Just to the right of the bar was a collection of nearly a dozen circular tables and several chairs, most of which were populated by ponies indulging in their breakfast meals. The whole of the dining room was filled with individuals that usually would not be seen together due to their difference in occupation. From what he could spot, Sonnet saw well-dressed merchants and business-ponies reviewing over their merchandise and plans, tourists in goofy clothes going over their maps and numerous photos, and mercenaries or bounty hunters in worn-out armor lounging around with their weapons kept nearby. "How can I help you, son?' asked a female voice. Taken aback, Sonnet turned to the interrupting voice to see the mother of the family looking back at him with a smile. The plump yellow earth pony wore a brown and white apron that was blotched and nearly worn out, and her messy brown hair was mostly contained in a net. Her daughter behind her, a light purple earth pony with similar brown hair, was attending to one of the visitors at the bar. "I just came to find something to eat," Sonnet said calmly without a returning smile. "Well, let me just get this for you." The mother turned to the cabinet near her and retrieved a something small and flat from the shelf with her mouth. She moved over to the end of the bar where Sonnet was and drop the object on the counter in front of him. Leaning down, Sonnet saw that it was a menu listing all the food items that the inn was serving to its guests. After some time, Sonnet had found a meal. "I'll take a bowl of potatoes, cheese, and brown rice. And a pear on the side." "Would you like something to drink, son?" His brown eyes stared down at the menu again, and were particularly intrigued by the item of ale listed. It was the only hard beverage that the inn seemed to offer, and the invitation for purchasing it was very evident in his thoughts. Nonetheless, the responsibilities that Sonnet had were probably too important for him to be spending his time drunk, let alone buzzed. "I'll take a cup of coffee," he said to the mare. "Well, if that's all, I can take eight bits from you." Using his magic to open up his satchel, Sonnet levitated a small brown pouch and retrieved eight golden coins, which he gave to the mother. The mature mare gave him a small smile and crammed the bits into her apron's front pocket. "Alright then. Just take a table anywhere you want. I'll bring your food over to you soon enough." The mother took the menu in her mouth, placed it back on the cabinet, and then retreated into the entrance of the kitchen behind the bar. Sonnet left the bar as well, heading right into the sea of ponies seated at their tables, careful not to bump into anypony. To his comfort, the stallion was able to find a nice little table with a single wooden stool near the front window of the inn, just a few feet away from the door. Sitting on the stool, Sonnet placed his bag on the table's surface and levitated out his green notebook of poetry along with a ballpoint pen. Opening right up on the page that contained the poem "Rain From The Townhouse". Having found his poem to be a bit off before, the grey unicorn examined the lines of his writings to find out what was wrong. Eventually, he found out that the last stanza was what was giving his poem a bad vibe: They look content from twinkling eye to twinkling tooth, With the raindrops on their fur shining with rainbows. But though I am bounded by this paper-weight called "truth", Indulging in wonderland ignorance may help my woes. From his memory, this stanza was meant to convey the narrator's desire to be as clueless as the townsponies are about how bad it is to be out in the rain. Even though he knows that their joy is formed from the ignorance concerning their unpleasant situation, the narrator saw that joy as enticing as he deals with his own issues in life. To Sonnet, the narrator was making himself look like a pitiful fool for wanting to embrace a false pleasure that would likely be a temporary substance before wearing off eventually. The thought came to Sonnet rather quickly to form a new stanza that did not convey such a quick defeat of perseverance from the narrator. He put a cross to the left side of the older stanza and went to the left-hand side of the opened book to begin planning on his edit. Before the words could come to him, Sonnet's train of thought was stopped in its tracks by the unexpected sound of a prolonged, annoyed grunt from behind him. Irritated himself, the grey unicorn turned around in his stool to discover the scene behind him. In front of him were two sets of tables. The one on his left held five ponies: an earth pony stallion, a pegasus mare with a few facial and torso scars, a unicorn mare, and elderly earth pony stallion, and rather scrawny unicorn stallion. All five were dressed in rather modest traveling clothes, suggesting that they were mere adventurers on the road. The table the right held seven stallions -- one unicorn, three pegasi, and three earth ponies -- all of whom were wore metal armor indicating that they engaged in mercenary work, expect for a white pegasus who had simple saddlebags. Despite the two tables' differences, the groups seemed to have had a grudge against each other, as most of the occupants at their respective tables were staring at the others across with either glares or worried looks. The only one who seemed to have a composed face was the white pegasus mercenary, who happened to be at a spot at his table that sat him just across from the adventurers. Though Sonnet could feel the tension between the two groups, he turned around to face the window -- staring out beyond the glass to observe the small cottage houses sitting underneath the orange morning sky. The conflict happening behind him had nothing to do with him, so he saw it best to resume his writing. Nonetheless, he kept an ear out, just in case a struggle would transpire when it seemed that words were enough between the separate factions. "Don't moan like some bratty teen, Steel Grit," the yellow coated earth pony stallion at the adventurer table stated. "If you and your goons had stick to the plan and not panic out of there, we could have gotten enough black belles for your sake." At the mercenary table, a tan unicorn stallion with a silvery white mane sitting next to the white pegasus mercenary, flashed his teeth at the yellow stallion in a fit of frustration. "Remember, boy, that my goons are the reason why you and your merry band even made it into the Scarlet Woodlands in the first place," the tan unicorn snarled, his scarred face and blinded left eye devoid of any warm patience. "If you had just waited for us get the black belles before getting those damn feathers, we all could have been gotten a rich reward from the guild master. But now we're stuck with only a few measly flowers --" he slammed a hoof on the table. "Which won't get me and my boys very far!" The panting of the unicorn named Steel Grit are worrying enough to the white pegasus mercenrary, who had a long black mane and tail with a grey streak through the middle of both, that he leaned in closer to his companion to pat his hoof. "Come on now, Steel," the pegasus murmured in a way that was both soothing yet patronizing at the same time. "Orion Gaze has a point. You and the others just ran off, while I had the decency to help the rest. If you guys stayed around to help evacuate the animals or bring in some rain clouds--" he pointed a hoof to himself "--like yours truly, we might have stop the fire earlier enough to get the rest of the black belles. I know it's not pleasant to hear, but you guys really didn't stick to the plan." Offended, Steel Grit gave his unhelpful companion is simple mean grimace and swiped away his own hoof from underneath. "I don't need your pretentious comments right now, Apollo. If the old man had taken my advice and swept through the woodlands for the flowers as a first priority, that creature wouldn't have stumbled on us and I wouldn't have felt the need to cause such a calamity. After all, he said it himself he only needed a few feathers from the damn thing!" The older earth pony stallion at the adventurer table, despite being in his elderly years, managed to stand up on both rear legs and glared across the table at Steel Grit while leaning against the wooden surface. "Now listen here, son," the grumpy brown stallion commented. "I don't know who I you think I am -- thinking that I would be okay with pushing a bigger problem to the side in order to take care of a personal and less important issue -- but I wasn't going to lose my chance of catching a swan turtle before it ended up disappearing again. A whole village or two depends on those feathers. Besides, we all know that you fools were the reasons for why that monster came right behind us. And you know what you did." Taken aback, but still as angry as before, Steel Grit cocked his head to the side -- his eyes now trained on the elder. "Oh, is that how it is? Well, for being the animal and nature expert yourself, I would assume that maybe you'd be a bit more...." "Here's your food son." "Huh?" The unexpected arrival of the mother of the inn's family shook Sonnet out from his concentration. Abandoning his writing, Sonnet placed the book and pen down and turned around to face the mare. On her back was a tray holding a steaming bowl of rice, potatoes, and cheese with a silver spoon, a pear on a saucer, and a hot cup of black coffee. Using his magic, the young stallion pushed his book and pen to the side and floated his breakfast over in front of him. Having said his thanks, the mare left him be to go over his edit of his poem: When I look into their eyes misted over in bliss, And how they without without a care in the rain, I get why they want me to see what I've missed. But the truth I know protects me and keeps me sane. A small sense of pride washed over the grey unicorn. To him, this edit of the last stanza was much better -- having gotten rid of the sense of weakness that the narrator was emitting. Here, the narrator was able to admit to being aware of the ponies were awestrucked with their experience of getting drenched, but still keep his sense of self-respect and not show any desire to take part in a meaningless act. The completion of his poem was something that Sonnet could feel relaxed about. Once he was aboard the Serendipity's fleet, he would have to mail over his recent writings, including "Rain From The Townhouse", to the Fillydelphia Society of Poetry as soon as possible. Given that he did not know for how long he would be flying with these Sojourners, it might be a while before he would be back in normal Equestrian society. But for now, Sonnet had the pleasure of knowing that he could just do nothing until he left on the road tonight. Putting away his book and pen into his satchel, Sonnet took the spoon with his magic and dug into his bowl. The first bite of his breakfast meal were pleasing to his taste buds -- from the melting pleasure of the shredded cheese to the soft texture of the potatoes and rice -- and he could not help but treat himself to more as a result. As he ate his food, the grey unicorn's ears gave attention to the argument going on between the adventurers and the mercenaries. "Okay, guys. Okay, guys. Let's calm down," said the scrawny unicorn adventurer, who Sonnet had previously heard was called Cube Game, or C.G. -- a rather skittish orange stallion with square glasses held by tape. "All this bickering isn't going to take back that fire that happened, or replace the other black belles we lost in the flames. It's all over." "C.G.'s right," Apollo said to Steel Grit. "We got enough black belles for somepony to take interest in, even if it's not the guild master back in Bostrot." "Yeah, I'm sure you guys have enough for those flowers to make a quick buck," said the adventurer Blossom Gaze, who was the unicorn mare with a hot pink coat. The mare leaned over in her stool to retrieve her saddlebags from underneath the table. "Besides, by the end of the day, we got enough feathers from that swan turtle to help those villages north of Bostrot. Luckily we only have a few more days before---" Blossom's eyes widen in fear as her front hooves moved frantically in her saddlebags. In an unexpected act of desperation, the mare levitated her bags in a purple glow and turned them upside down, dumping many contents onto the wooden surface, with a few spilling onto the ground. The mare's pupils refused to shrink back as she looked around at the mess she made. "The feathers," she mumbled, "they're not here! I don't understand. I swear I put them right here in these bags when we left the woodlands! I just don't get it!" The rest of the adventurers and Apollo were left shocked by the unicorn's news. The other mercenaries, however, were not as worried about what was transpiring. From Sonnet's view from far away, it seemed as if the mercenary named Steel Grit even had a bit of a sly look on his face as he watched the scene unfold. "Are you sure you had them for the whole night?" Orion Gaze asked. "Maybe you gave them to somepony else?" "Big bro," Blossom started to say, her fear being mixed in with a bit of annoyance, "if I gave them to somepony else in our group, I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't be freaking out like I am right now!" "Well, well, well. Got your nerves in a bit of a twist, don't you?" All five adventurers turned their head over to Steel Grit, who was holding above his head, through a green magical aura, something wrapped in white linen. All around him the other mercenaries, excluding Apollo, gave nasty and self-satisfying sneers at the adventurers across from them, as the situation appeared to have gotten much worse in some way. "The hell!" shouted Nebulanna, the dark green pegasus mare of the adventurers. Her Horsetralian accent boomed across the dining hall, catching many of the inhabitants off guard. "What are ya doin' with our blasted feathers?" "Oh! These?" teased Steel Grit, floating the linen cloth in front of the adventurers, yet still out of their reach. "I was just thinking: if guys are just okay with us losing all of that money just because you couldn't be bother to take care of the monster, leading me to have to take care of things, which led to the fire breaking out and burning the other black belles, then maybe I should treat myself to some ... reparations. You know, for all the trouble you caused me and my boys." One of the Steel Grit's mercenaries, who Sonnet learned was named Voltage Warning, a dark blue pegasus, laughed in response to his boss' comments. "You guys definitely shouldn't have been worried about your bird-turtle thing. Maybe if you waited for those feathers, this wouldn't be happening right now." Without warning, Orion Gaze, Nebulanna, and the elderly earth pony, named Grampa Scrampy, got out of their stools and walked to the space between the two tables, while Cube Game and Blossom Gaze stayed behind. When Steel Grit noticed the three angry ponies approaching him, he along with the other mercenaries, got out of the stools and followed suit -- their various weapons now noticeable amongst their metal armor. At the sight of the escalated conflict, the patrons near the two tables backed away as far as possible. Sonnet himself, knowing a fight was going to occur, a gift he received when he first saw a bar fight after his first furlough in the army, carefully placed on his satchel bag and headed to the door -- hoping that he could get out before anything would happen. He was pleased to know that he at least paid for his meal beforehand. As the three adventurers reached the other table, Apollo took action and stood in between the two groups on his hindlegs, with his forelegs spread out to keep the peace. "Guys, please. There's no need for this. There has to be a compromise of some sort." "Shut it, Mustang!" yelled Voltage Warning, who was now hovering above the floor. "They brought it on themselves." Nebulanna flew over to Voltage with a menacing glare. "I know what you're about to bring on to yourself," she warned, holding a threatening hoof to his face. As the two pegasi above gritted their teeth at each other, Grampa Scrampy addressed Steel Grit. "Two villages depend on those feathers in order to heal their livestock. Those are animals are up against a real nasty blight, and if they perish, those villages will pay a heavy price. Regardless of what you feel for us, you can't let innocents get hurt because of a grudge they had no part of." The plea from the elder had no success in moving the heart of the tan unicorn stallion, who glared at the adventurers with icy cold eyes. "Old man, I have no care for some radish farmer or sheep herder who could never do me any harm or good. I run a business, and I need money. If you damn fools don't understand that, that's fine by me. But you WON'T be getting in the way of me getting paid!" Snorting, Orion Gaze headed towards Steel Grit direction, with the latter doing the same. When they met, they were nearly nose-to-nose. Even as the unicorn's horn glowed bright green, the yellow earth pony remained unfazed and made no sudden retreating movements. "I'm giving you one last chance," Orion Gaze said with a low voice. "Give us back the feathers, or I swear you'll ---" All of a sudden a bright purple flash erupted in the room, blinding the sight of many, including Sonnet. Just as he was about to touch the front door's handle, the light caused him to bury his eyes in his foreleg. While his eyes were dazzed, his ears caught up on the sound of grunts, screams, and objects clattering all around him. Before he knew it, a crash was heard on his right, followed by a heavy object crashing down on him.