Rain Shine hummed happily as she and her father neared the city. It had been a good harvest this year. They had enough to fill all their standing orders from their regular customers and about that much again to sell on the open market. It would take them a few days to do so but that was usual at market time, unless it'd been a bad year where they could only cover their existing customers, if that.
As they got to the gate however one of the guards stepped forward. Some of the guards gave them a hard time but they never caused real problems. Turning away a respected seller that paid taxes was not popular with the higher ups. This was one of the nice ones though. He didn't look happy though. "Friend, send your daughter back to your village. That she may go unnoticed. The Mage Lords have returned and claimed this land."
Rain Shine frowned, she vaguely remembered that name from somewhere, but didn't have much time to think on it as her father whirled on her. "Run back to the village!" He motioned back down the road with his hoof. "Take all the children, and the younger adults. Hide them in your forest."
Surprised, Rain Shine could only gape for a few moments before recovering. "But da..."
The furious stamping of her father interrupted her as she protested. "No argument today! I lost my sister to them, I will not lose more."
Rain Shine's eyes widened. And then the old story her grandmother told her of the Mage Lords returned to her. She knew that her aunt, as a foal, had been taken She had not remembered very well. But now she knew all too well the threat to her village. She nodded and turned, making break neck speed back to her village. Galloping as fast as she could before she went off trail, short cutting her way through the forest. She had to believe that the soldiers or whoever was coming would stall in the city at least for the morning. And even if not, she could cut through the forest like no one else could. She'd make it back to the village in time.
Though out of breath Rain Shine reported the events, and the flurry of activity was intense. They gathered up everyone under middle age, anyone who could be useful to the Mage Lords to take. And within an hour of her return they had all been sent off to hide in the forest. Rain Shine herself was leading the pack. She was by no means the eldest, but the entire village, even the foresters recognized that Rain Shine was the authority on the forest. She led the group to a small clearing with a nice spring in it so the ponies could at least drink. And if they got hungry there were enough berries nearby to sate it for the next day or so.
Rain Shine huffed ready to simply lay down and take a rest until this all resolved itself. If there wasn't anything of value for the Mage Lords to take they'd leave. It was that simple, or so she hoped. But at this point there wasn't a lot she could do. She could go to her pool and spy but right now she needed to make sure that everyone was settled and wouldn't try to follow her further in. She looked up and saw everyone staring at her now, waiting for something. She hesitated before speaking. "Yes...?"
With that, the flood gates were unleashed. "Rain Shine! What do we do?" "How long do we have to be out here?" "I'm cold..." "Will mommy be ok?" "What if they're still there when we go back!?" "Are they going to take our stuff!?" "What're we going to do!?"
Rain Shine blinked as she was bombarded with questions. Apparently everyone thought that since she was in charge of the forest, she was in charge of the group. She didn't know the answer to any of the questions! She shook her head and raised her hooves. "Hold on! I can't... I don't know!" Half the group stared at her in horror, mostly the younger ponies. The older ones just looked sad. She shook her head as she realized that like it or not she was in charge. She had to do something, at least something to reassure everyone. "Ok. I'm going to go... See what's going on. Everyone stay here!"
After making significant eye contact with any of the trouble makers Rain Shine turned and made her way through the forest. She double checked behind her to ensure that she wasn't being followed. After she was positive she made her way to her pool, brimming with magic and with a few hungry forest spirits meandering about. She didn't pay them any mind, despite their inherent surprise that she was there at such an odd time. Sitting next to her magical pool she stared down into it, casting herself to her village.
Not wasting any time she didn't enjoy her free flight. She flew immediately and straight to her town. Finding a number of heavily armed earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. They were obviously the guards of the smaller number of finely dressed unicorns arguing with her parents. She floated down to listen, the foreign unicorn.
"I have already told you, the old ways are no more!" He motioned to his pegasi and earth pony guards. "As you can see we are unifying the tribes!" He sighed, shaking his head. "As you are now in land that is ours, you must pay taxes, to contribute to the protection of your lands."
Her father bristled a bit, but didn't raise his voice. "Yes, sir," the way he said sir made it almost an insult, "and as I said that's all well and good. We will pay you the taxes you wish. I assume that a week will be soon enough for us to gather our resources?"
The Mage Lord growled, raising his voice in anger. "It would be, if you weren't trying to hide the future of our nation, and keep it to yourself!" Her paused a moment and sighed, forcing himself to calm down. "Like I said, I understand your reticence here. But your children will be safe, and will be able to return to visit. But you are blocking them from far greater things!" The Mage Lords attempt at reason and calm failed as he saw the unshakeable denial in the other's face. "There are only three we are interested in from what we've heard, likely only one will be deemed powerful enough to conscript, and you and yours will be well compensated! That would be the taxes from this village for at least ten years! And if the others choose to enlist as well that will probably be another ten years! WE ARE HELPING YOU!"
Rain Shine's father took the outburst stoically and shook his head. "Nay. We'll pay your taxes, we'll pay double. But we won't give you our children. You can kill us, but you'll never find them." As the Mage Lord looked around he saw the other villagers nodding in agreement. They remembered the old times too well to trust this new lord of the land.
The Mage Lord sighed, slumping his shoulder and shaking his head. "We won't kill you, that would only embitter the ones we seek." A few of the villagers started to look hopeful before the unicorn waved his hoof to the villagers houses. "Go, get your valuables."
After surprise crossed his face then Rain Shine's father scowled. "Very well, rob us..."
The lord shook his head. "Oh, we're not robbing you, you're going to want those valuable items. Because we're burning down your village."
"WHAT!?" The astonishment was plain on all the villagers faces.
"That should tell you how much we value the magical talent that we've heard lives in this village. Now, do you want to go get them instead?" The stony silence of the villagers was the Mage Lord's only answer and he sighed. "Very well. When they are hungry and cold they will come to the city, then we will retrieve them. Go get your things, you have one hour." The leader who had been talking to Rain Shine's father returned to his council of nine others.
Rain Shine snapped her soul back into herself as she stood up. They had a short period of time, but it wasn't much, she could get back to the village in time, but the other couldn't, and she couldn't fight off thirty some guards and whatever the "Mage Lords" could do. Even with the others they were only twenty strong, and none were trained warriors. Rain Shine leaped over a stump she didn't even see as she weaved her way through hidden ways back to the group to deliver the terrible news.
The revelation hit Rain Shine like a thunderbolt, and she nearly tripped over a tree root as she skidded to a halt. The Mage Lords were after her! She shook her head as she looked in three different directions, her three paths, all leading onwards away from the pool. She could easily survive in the forest all alone, ignoring the outside world. She could go return to the others and then she and the village would have to weather whatever future came to them. Or, she could return to the village, give herself up and hopefully that would satisfy the Mage Lords. She obviously wouldn't go with the first path, but he others were both possible for her.
Rain Shine looked towards the clearing where she'd left the others. She didn't want the village to burn, obviously. But neither was she so blithe as to disregard the sacrifice her elders were willing to make to protect them. She could return to the others, and respect that her parents and the others were willing to die to protect them from these strangers. She knew that would be their wishes. But Rain Shine had to make up her own mind, her people lived out here specifically for their own freedom, for the ability to make up their own mind on all things.
Thinking of that Rain Shine looked towards the village. She could save everyone. And apparently let them get ten years off form the taxes. That would be an amazing windfall for her village. Though her being gone might damage the crops a bit the village would survive, others did without her intervention. She took a deep breath and nodded. She had to do this. It wasn't something she wanted to do, but from the moment she realized she was the target she wasn't going to take any other path. She smiled sadly as she turned towards the village and started to gallop towards it. She couldn't just let others suffer when she could help, no matter if it was just or not.
Rain Shine ducked and dodged through the vegetation in a way no other creature could have. She could easily make it within the hour and at least tart negotiations. While the Mage Lord was a right bastard, he also seemed to be reasonable. He would be amenable to a deal that got him what he wanted and kept the village safe. She realized she'd have to work some kind of deal to protect the forest too since she wasn't going to be here anymore. She grimaced as that would likely cost her a fair bit more than the sparing of the village. Villages were useful they provided food. Forests were only useful when they could be exploited. She was going to have to sign away a fair bit of her life to serving in this army to protect he forest, but she'd do what she had to to protect everyone.
For the second time in as many minutes Rain Shine skidded to a halt, as she thought of something.