//------------------------------//
// Ch.16 Farewell 
// Story: The Crystal War Book I: A Spark to Light the Dark 
// by NatureSpark 
//------------------------------//


~Chapter 16: Farewell~


“Alright everypony, let’s get going before I rethink leaving my lady,” Downpour called as he lifted himself into the air with ease, the beating of his powerful wings kicking up a cloud of dust around him. “See you later hot stuff,” he called back to Strata.
“I’ll miss you Downpour and I will be eagerly waiting for the first night that we’re together again,” the hippogriff shouted up to him. Downpour couldn’t believe how lucky he was to find a girl like her. It was nearly impossible for the pegasus to tear his lips away from Strata’s when he was saying his private goodbye earlier. Too bad we didn’t have one more night together, he thought, as he left Canterlot and his friends behind him.
“I’ll see you ponies on the other side,” Backdraft said, giving one last glance back before launching himself through the air and catching up to his older brother. Leaving Spark alone while he was blind had been hard for Draft, but he had faith in his new friends. It wouldn’t be long before they were all together again.
“It took you long enough to catch up,” Downpour told him. The older pegasus was joking of course. His younger brother could fly circles around him and he knew it.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” Draft replied.
“Don’t be such a pessimist, Draft. We’re going to see Silver Blood, Chestnut, the Crystal Kingdom and we might even get the chance to kick some flank while we’re at it,” Downpour told his brother. “Not to mention Spark gave us over half of his herb.”
“He gave it to us or you took most of it because he’s blind?” Draft questioned. He didn’t really have to ask, because he already knew the answer that was coming.
“We’re buddies. He doesn’t care,” Downpour replied. He was pretty sure Spark wouldn’t care anyway. The unicorn had never cared any of the other times after all.
“You’re a dick,” Draft responded dryly.
“Wow, keep acting like that and I won’t let you smoke any of it,” Downpour retorted.
“Whatever,” Draft mumbled as he started flying a little faster, knowing that his brother wouldn’t be able to talk as much if he was forced to keep up with him. Downpour took the bait, as he always did because of his competitive nature, and they spent a good part of the evening flying in silence. It gave them both a chance to reflect on the events of the past fourteen hours. It had been one of the more exciting days for their little group of friends and had ended on a rather depressing note, in Draft’s opinion. Downpour, on the other hoof, was fairly pleased with his stay in the city, but that was partly due to the fact that he had Strata to fool around with most of the time.


~-~

When Backdraft had split up with Downpour and Nature Spark that morning to find the parts they needed to repair the sky chariot, the young stallion hadn’t really known what to expect from Canterlot. All of the stories he had heard about the place were about the castle and the royalty. The pegasus had only gotten to see the upper class neighborhood while searching for Duke Silver Blood, so he never got the chance to see the rest of the city for himself until now. Nopony ever really talked about the less savory aspects of the capitol city. It had taken him by surprise how rundown and filthy some of the lower areas were. 
Draft had seen decrepit old buildings with boarded up windows and sickly looking mares that propositioned snooty stallions with sexual favors, just to make a couple of bits. It sickened him to see what went on underneath the glamour of the city proper. What the pegasus had once thought of as a beacon of harmony and peace, was actually just a poor façade for a city filled with wealthy sociopaths and abused commoners. He shouldn’t have expected it to be any different than Los Pegasus, but it still broke his heart to see the squalor that hid out of the sight of Celestia’s sun.
It seemed that every place in Equestria had its own rotted out areas lately. Draft supposed it was mostly due to the fact that ponies were still having trouble getting over the terrible things that happened during the war. One thousand years of fighting and chaos had left a scar in the minds of everypony that lived to see it and many of them had scarred the next generation as a result. His father was one of those that had been blighted by a war survivor. Draft’s grandfather had messed with his father’s head until the old pegasus finally broke, so neither Draft nor Downpour had seen their father in the last sixteen years.
Only when Draft noticed a sign announcing that there was a blacksmith’s nearby did the pegasus snap out of his less than fond memories of family life. He gently touched down on the ground and followed the directions from the sign to a nearby shop. It didn’t seem like much, but the posters hanging in the window assured him of the best prices in Canterlot, so Draft decided to give the place a try. He pushed open the door and was pleasantly surprised to see some decent looking metal work on display.
“Excuse me, but I was wondering if you had a new wheel frame for a standard size, two pony chariot,” he asked a grizzled looking stallion who was working the sales counter. The shopkeeper was a sturdy built earth pony with a maroon hide and a gruff voice.
“Yeah, I think I have some in the back. Give me just a minute,” The stallion replied before disappearing through a large doorway into the back of the store. This was easier to accomplish than I thought it would be, Draft thought as he waited. The pegasus had expected to be looking around all day for a good place to purchase what they needed, but he supposed most blacksmiths kept a good supply of chariot parts in stock these days. The earth pony returned a few minutes later with a wheel that looked as if it would fit properly. Draft gave it the once over and, after deeming it acceptable, paid the stallion some bits for it.
“Where are your weapons at?” Draft asked next. He figured it would be wise to buy some form of protection while he was there. The stallion nodded his head toward the far wall of the shop and Draft thanked him before walking over to the display racks.
There were weapons of all kinds lined up against the wall and although they weren’t royal guard quality, Draft was excited to pick something out. His eye caught on a particularly well crafted set of wing swords and after receiving the okay from the blacksmith, Draft fitted them onto his outstretched wings. They were lightweight, but not something he would want to constantly wear. It gave him a new respect for the guards that walked around in full suits of armor constantly, although many of the newcomers no doubt used enchantments to help themselves fly. Draft admired his reflection in a large metal plate and struck a few poses to judge the weight and reach of the blades. They felt nicely balanced and the pegasus couldn’t see any visible weaknesses in the metal work. All in all, he had to admit that they were very sturdy, so he made up his mind to purchase them.
Draft walked back to the counter and asked the shop owner, “how much for these pegasus swords?” The princesses had given them a generous amount of bits to fund their mission, but the stallion still wasn’t about to let himself be taken advantage of.
“That will be two hundred bits,” the blacksmith told him. “Take it or leave it.” Draft stood there, contemplating his decision for a few moments, before finally deciding to go ahead and purchase the blades.
“Yeah, fair enough,” Draft replied as he pulled out a large hoofull of bits and set them on the counter. The shopkeeper scooped them up, with the hint of a smile finally creeping across his well worn face.
“Pleasure doing business with you,” the blacksmith said, as Draft strapped his new weapons to his saddle bags. The pegasus couldn’t wait to try flying around with them on. It was going to take him a while to get used to the extra weight, but once he did, they would be well worth the bits he had paid for them.
Now that Draft had bought everything he was looking for, the stallion decided that it was about time to make his way back to the hospital. It would take a little bit of work to get the chariot fixed and he didn’t want to ruin Spark’s plans by being late. That unicorn was dead set on helping to prevent a war from breaking out and Draft had agreed to help him. The pegasus lifted off of the ground and shot through the sky, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of the journey still before him.

Meanwhile, in a separate part of the city, Downpour was having trouble finding a shop that sold harnesses that were designed to fit a hippogriff. It seemed that the capitol of the pony country wasn’t an ideal place to shop for what he wanted. The fact that he felt like asking somepony for help somehow made him less of a stallion wasn’t helping matters either. It all resulted in the bluish grey pegasus flying around Canterlot aimlessly for much longer than he had any reason to.
Once Downpour had finally located the shopping district however, it didn’t take much longer for him to find an establishment that dealt in chariot riggings for all races of ponies. He dropped to the ground without any semblance of finesse, sending up a large cloud of dust as he landed. It’s about damn time, he thought, as he shoved open the doors of the building and made his way inside. I just want to get this done and get back to Strata, the stallion mused silently.
Downpour browsed display tables for a few minutes, but wasn’t seeing anything that would fit his marefriend properly. Strata needed a harness that would accommodate her larger wings and fit form, but all of the merchandise the pegasus was seeing was designed specifically for ponies. He let out an annoyed groan and decided to speak with the clerk about finding something that he could work with.
“Hey, do you have anything that could be adjusted to fit a hippogriff?” Downpour asked the mare. The cashier just stared at him with a slightly befuddled look as he walked over to her.
“A hippogriff?” she asked him with a confused tone.
“I don’t think I stuttered,” Downpour replied. “You know what a hippogriff is, right? About my size, large wings, front half looks like a falcon and the back half looks like a pony.” The stallion made gestures with his hooves as he spoke. “You know; a hippogriff.” The shopkeeper stared at him, blinking for a few seconds, before she registered the fact that he was being serious with her.
“Oh, um, I might have something that could be adjusted to fit one,” the mare replied as she stepped out from behind the wood topped counter and led him over to one of the store’s display tables. “Here, I’d try this one out.” She handed him her largest size before returning to her position behind the counter. The harness seemed a little too large around the waist, but Downpour didn’t expect to find anything better in the city. He took it up to the counter and set it down in front of the blue sales pony.
“I guess this will have t do,” Downpour stated as he dropped some bits on the counter and shoved his purchase into his saddle bag, before turning to leave.
“Thank you for your business,” the shopkeeper called out.
“Yeah, sure,” Downpour mumbled and then resumed walking out the front doors. “I guess this will have to do.” The pegasus sprang off of the ground and with the powerful beating of his wings, began to rise up above the city. It only took him a few seconds to locate the hospital from his aerial vantage point. Once the stallion had it in his sights, it was only a matter of minutes before he landed beside the flying chariot, where his younger brother was already hard at work fixing up the vehicle.

Draft got up off the ground when he heard the sound of his brother landing a few yards away. He dusted himself off and walked up to his shorter sibling.
“Downpour, did you find a harness for Strata?” Draft asked.
“Yeah, I think I found something that’ll work,” the bluish pegasus answered, pulling out the rigging composed of thick leather straps. “Are the girls awake yet?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been a little busy out here, so I haven’t had the chance to check,” Draft replied. He grabbed the harness from his brother and proceeded to unlatch the old one from the front of the chariot.
“Well I’m going to go inside and check,” Downpour told him. “Do you have everything out here?”
“Yeah, assuming that Spark comes back with that amethyst we need, I should have her ready to fly just in time to leave,” Draft replied.
“Good,” his older brother said. “I’ll be back out in a few to help you out.” Draft was already preoccupied with switching out the harnesses and didn’t bother responding, so Downpour left him to his work and entered the hospital.

“Wakey, wakey,” Downpour whispered, kissing his beautiful lover on the beak as he woke her up. Strata opened one tired, brown eye and smiled sweetly up at him.
“Good morning, early bird,” she yawned. Her voice was like music to Downpour’s ears. Even though he had an abrasive personality and frequently mocked other stallion’s love lives, the pegasus was just as prone to cheesy displays of affection as anypony else was.
“How’d you sleep, baby?” Downpour asked. Strata let out a yawn and stretched her talons out before responding to his question. He just smiled thinking about how cute she looked when she was just waking up.
“My back is a little sore, but that probably has as much to do with the fun we had last night as it does with the poor sleeping conditions,” Strata explained with a grin. She bit Downpour on the neck and he felt a flush of warmth radiate throughout his body.
“Oh, my mistake,” Downpour retorted. “It looked to me like you were enjoying your self last night.” He smirked at the hippogriff and reached out his hoof to help her to her feet. “But I guess if you’re in so much pain, then we don’t need to go for a fourth round this morning.”
“I never said anything like that,” Strata replied.
“Oh, for the love of Celestia, can you two just go somewhere else and rut already? I’m still trying to sleep over here,” Inferno hissed as she shot them both a glare through sleep crusted eyelids. The two lovers just snickered and left the room in search of an open bed, where they could fool around before everypony was up and about.
After knocking on a couple doors, Downpour finally found a room that was unoccupied and they slipped inside as quietly as they could. Before his eyes had even adjusted to the dark, Strata was already grabbing the pegasus by his short, black mane and pushing him down onto an open bed. Downpour felt his heart beat start to increase as she gently raked her claws down his back. Strata was aware of how rough he liked his women to be and was more than happy to comply. The first time that they had gotten intimate, it had started as an actual argument, one that had somehow turned into rough sex, to their mutual surprise.
“How do you want to do this today?” Strata asked him. The seductive whispering in his ear was enough to make the stallion’s brain melt into a useless heap of raw desire. Downpour opened his mouth to speak, but found himself unable to do more than move his lips wordlessly. Strata saw the look on his face and challenged it with a sly smile. “I guess that I’ll just take charge then.” Downpour’s mind shouted in joy, but his mouth still failed to do more than hang open in awe at the beautiful hippogriff that was now crouching on top of him.
They hadn’t even really started yet and sweat was already beginning to coat Downpour’s well toned body. His breathing became more ragged as Strata left a series of bite marks down his chest and stomach. He finally managed to let out a groan of pleasure as she traced a line down the side of his neck with a sharp talon. The stallion’s entire hide felt like it was on fire and every touch of Strata’s body against his sent waves of ecstasy rolling through him. He shuddered with pleasure and reached a hoof down below her waist. Downpour was about to start rubbing it against the hippogriff when the door to the room was flung open, letting in the bright light of the hallway.
“What the hay?” a mare exclaimed. The nurse jumped back in surprise before she finally registered what was going on in the room. “This is a room for patients. The both of you need to leave right now! If you want a place to fool around, go buy a room at an inn!”
“Shit!” Downpour yelled as Strata jumped off of his chest and bolted out of the room. It was difficult for the stallion not to burst out in laughter at the situation he was stuck in. He laid on the bed in shock for a few moments before the nurse began to shoo him out of the room.
“I said get the hay out of here you pervert!” she cried. The white mare threw a bedpan at Downpour and it narrowly missed his head as he slid around the corner in a gallop. I can’t believe this, he thought; why the buck did I forget to lock the door? The stallion mentally kicked himself as he ran into the bathroom, where he could wait for his arousal to pass. He gave a disgruntled sigh as he splashed cold water on his face in an attempt to cool down his raging hormones.
“This sucks,” he muttered unhappily.

Draft was already in the room talking to Inferno, who hadn’t been able to fall asleep again, when Strata burst through the door, panting and soaked with perspiration. The pegasus and dragon stared at her in confusion before Draft flatly stated, “I don’t know and I don’t care.” Then he resumed the conversation he was having with his black scaled friend, while behind them, Star was waking up. The hippogriff grabbed a towel and wiped herself off before opening the door to peek out into the hallway.
“Okay, I’ll take the bait,” Star groggily mumbled. “Why in the hay did you run in here covered in sweat and out of breath?” Draft facehoofed before Star had even finished asking her question. There was a reason he’d said that he didn’t want to know. The mare glanced around the room as if unsure whether or not she was actually awake.
“Downpour and I were trying to fool around and a nurse walked in on us,” Strata explained. “She looked pissed, so I ditched him there and ran.” That was why Draft didn’t want to know. The hippogriff peeked out the door once again, no doubt looking for his brother, Draft thought, before she finally settled on the ground and grabbed a towel to dry off. Inferno pretended to throw up after hearing the hippogriff’s answer to Star’s question.
“Well, I’m going to go finish working on the chariot,” Draft replied. “Star, would you mind paying our bill while I’m doing that?” The pegasus got to his hooves and headed for the door, but he paused before leaving to add, “oh, and if you three wouldn’t mind, I could really use some breakfast.” 
“Mhmm, I have to go see about the surprise I have for Spark anyway,” Star replied as she stretched out her legs and rolled of the bed.
“Alright, well I’ll be out front if you need me,” Draft said before he left the girls to their business and headed outside.
The harness went on without too much trouble, but Draft was still struggling to get the new wheel to fit right. He worked on it incessantly until everything finally fell into place. The pegasus sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow. Now I just have to take out the old gem and give the frame a once over to make sure it’s all in working condition, he thought. I should be finished pretty soon, no thanks to my brother. His older sibling’s failure to assist him didn’t surprise Draft in the least. After a decade of having to pick up Downpour’s slack he was used to it. The pegasus had no sooner wedged himself under the chariot before he heard the sound of his older brother’s heavy hoofsteps clopping on the ground toward him.
“Downpour, does this look level to you,” Draft questioned. He was busying himself with prying out the old balancing gem while he waited for his brother’s answer.
“Yeah, it seems just fine to me,” Downpour informed him. “Hey, I think I see Spark.” The stocky pegasus walked away, leaving his younger brother to finish the work in peace. “What’s got you so peppy today, Spark? Hey, I said are you ready to land or what? It’s getting dark and I have no idea where we’re sleeping tonight!”

~-~


Downpour jabbed his brother in the ribs, snapping the younger pegasus out of his memories of the day. “Are you listening? I said that it’s getting dark and we need to find a place to sleep for the night.”
“Oh, yeah, sorry about that,” Draft apologized.
“Celestia, you’re as bad as Spark sometimes,” Downpour commented.
“No. I’m nowhere near as bad as he is,” the younger pegasus replied. “At least I don’t talk to myself all of the time.” Draft started laughing after he said it and his brother joined in.
“You noticed that too?” Downpour chuckled. “I swear he spends too much time alone at his house.” The black maned pegasus spotted an outcropping of rocks that looked like it might provide a little shelter from the wind and started diving down for it. “I think I found a good place,” he called back to his younger brother. The two stallions dropped to the ground and took a look at their surroundings. There was a river in the distance and a good flight beyond that, they could see small lights shining through the darkness.
“I think that’s Ponyville out there,” Draft observed, as his brother began to unpack.
“Yeah,” Downpour replied as he pulled out some blankets and started laying them out for a bed, releasing a large yawn in the process.
“Well, why don’t we just fly all night and get there already, instead of camping here and going the rest of the way when we wake up in the morning?” Draft asked.
“Because I’m tired and if we go there, then we’ll also have to go stomping around the town looking for Silver Blood,” Downpour groaned. “Plus we’ll have to stay up explaining our situation. It just seems like a hassle.”
“I swear, you are the laziest pegasus I have ever known,” Draft scolded his older brother and kicked the saddle bags closer to him. “I want to get this done as quickly as possible. We have ponies counting on us, or did you forget?”
“Ugh, fine. I guess that we’ll go to the stupid town if you’re going to be such a cry baby about it,” Downpour retorted and then began repacking his bags, grumbling to himself all the while.
“Yeah, I’m the baby here,” Draft mumbled. He just rolled his eyes and waited for his older brother to finish what he was doing. Downpour had just wanted to get some sleep, but that didn’t seem very likely anymore.

Draft knocked on the door to one of the cottages they had come across, hoping he could get directions to where Silver Blood was staying. It was only the fourth or fifth cottage they had tried, but Draft was already begining to regret his decision to continue on to the town so late at night. Nopony seemed to be in the mood to assist them in their mission, despite the fact that the pegasus brothers were trying to help keep every one of them safe.
“Hmm, I guess everypony must be asleep,” the grey pegasus stated.
“No, you just need to knock like a stallion, instead of a little filly,” his older brother replied. Bang! Bang! Bang! Downpour pounded on the door loud enough that anypony who was sleeping in the cottage would be woken up for sure. “See, that’s how you get an answer.”
“Yeah, I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to help us out now,” Draft commented sarcastically.
“Why do you have to be so negative all the time?” Downpour asked him as he shook his head in disappointment at his younger brother. The reason Downpour got what he wanted out of life was because he asserted himself. He just didn’t understand Draft sometimes.
“You’re an ass,” Draft replied. The door creaked open then, revealing an angry looking mare that was still half asleep.
“Do you have any idea what time it is?” the mare questioned. “What is your problem?” She asked through clenched teeth, but Downpour didn’t pay it any attention.
“We’re looking for Silver Blood. Do you know where he’s staying?” Downpour asked. He turned back to his younger brother and shot him a cocky grin. This is how you get stuff done, he thought, as he turned back to face the mare.
“I've never heard of him. Now if you’d be so kind as to buck off. Some ponies have to work in the morning,” The mare retorted as she slammed her door in Downpour’s face and Draft couldn’t stop himself from snickering.
“You sure showed me, Downpour,” the taller pegasus said between chuckles.
“Yeah, well at least somepony answered the door for me,” Downpour shot back. “Let’s find a different house and see if you can do any better this time.”

The next three attempts were met with similar results and even Draft was becoming impatient. He walked down the street to the next house and knocked on the door loudly, not caring if he was bothering anypony by that point. A grey maned stallion answered the door and gave the two brothers an unamused look before attempting to slam it on them with his magic.
“Wait!” Draft shouted at him. “My brother and I are just trying to find a stallion named Silver Blood. We heard that he was staying in town and we’ve been looking for him all night.”
“And who exactly are the two of you ruffians and why should I care?” the stallion asked as he eyed them both suspiciously from behind his door.
“Look, buddy, we’ve had a long night,” Downpour said, as he shoved his way past his brother and up to the stallion’s face. “Our friend Spark went blind, I missed a chance to get laid today, we’ve been flying around all night and the princesses want us to go to the Crystal Kingdom when we’re done here, so can you help us out or not?” Downpour questioned angrily. Draft just stared in shock as the stallion opened up the door for his brother.
“You said that you’re friends of Spark, but did you mean Nature Spark?” the stallion asked them.
“Yeah, why?” Downpour questioned.
“I am Duke Silver Blood,” the stallion replied. The old unicorn stepped back to allow them passage into the cottage. Downpour didn’t hesitate to enter and Draft just groaned and followed his brother in. Now he’s going to act all high and mighty, even though I was the one who knocked on the right door, Draft thought. He decided he would just ignore the aggravating bragging that he was sure would be coming.
“Please, have a seat wherever you would like,” Silver Blood told them as he motioned to the assortment of chairs around the living room, taking a rocking chair for himself. Draft looked around the room and couldn’t help noticing that the furniture all seemed to be cheaply made. I guess he doesn’t want to draw attention to himself by living like a duke, the pegasus thought. Draft and his brother each took a seat facing their host, while Silver Blood lit up a tobacco pipe and began puffing on it.
“Um, nice place you have here,” Draft observed. The younger pegasus wasn’t really sure what else to say, so he tried to make small talk.
“Yes, well. After being chased away by the threat of those blasted griffons, I thought it wise to pay somepony enough bits to give me their cottage and keep their mouth closed about the whole deal,” the duke explained. “I would much rather be in my nice manor in Canterlot, but we all must make sacrifices in this time of impending war.” Draft wasn’t sure whether or not the duke was being serious about making sacrifices, because it seemed like a perfectly good house to the pegasus.
“Okay, Silver Blood, we traveled all the way from Dodge to Canterlot to see you and then we flew here after that, so please tell me that you know something that might be useful,” Downpour stated. He just was trying to get straight to the point, like he always did.
“Yes of course, but first I would like to hear about everything that you already know,” Silver Blood replied. “Have you heard from my old friend, Chestnut?”
“Yeah, we heard that he was hiding out in the White Tail Woods. I’m surprised that he hasn’t come here looking for you yet,” Draft chimed in.
“Whit Tail Woods you say? Yes, I figured as much. Well, I suppose that means he will be here any day then. He knows where to find me I’m sure,” the unicorn said with a puff on his pipe. “For now, what say you boys tell me your story? I would very much like to hear what you have learned since I left Canterlot a couple days after receiving your letter from the princess.” The white stallion puffed on his pipe and waited for one of the boys to begin telling him about their journey to Canterlot.
“You tell him,” Downpour said, pointing in his brother’s direction. Draft just sighed and took a deep breath before starting their tale. “Well it all started when we were eating breakfast with our friend Spark and…”

The story took quite a while to tell and Draft had to pause once, so that Silver Blood could go into his room and refill the pipe that he seemed to be constantly smoking. When Draft was finally done talking, the room grew quite and Downpour thought that the duke had fallen asleep before his brother had even finished the story. Before he had the chance to say something though, Silver Blood spoke up.
“It seems that it is just as I feared,” he mumbled. “The griffons are most definitely behind the empress’s capture.” The stallion scratched his chin in thought. “The problem is that the griffons would only have attacked another country if they had been paid to do so. Now the real task is figuring out who in the world would want to start a war between our kingdom and theirs.”
“We know that. We were kind of hoping that you might have something more intelligent to tell us,” Downpour replied.
“Well, Downpour was it?” the duke asked.
“Yes,” the pegasus answered.
“Well, Downpour, I can’t really help the two of you. I already notified your friend Spark about the possible griffon involvement and ever since then I’ve been hiding out here,” Silver Blood explained. Downpour just facehoofed in annoyance. “What I can tell you is that if anypony might know more about the politics in all of the different nations, it would be Chestnut. That mule has a way of always knowing everypony’s business.” Silver Blood paused to take a few more puffs from his pipe before continuing. “If I know my friend like I think I do, then he will probably already be headed here to speak with the two of you. I suggest sitting tight right here and waiting for him, but it is ultimately up to you two.”
“Well, if you really think that he’ll be here soon, I suppose it would be worth the wait,” Draft acknowledged. “What do you think, Downpour?”
“You know me. I’m all for spending the night here. I was sick of traveling before we even made it to the town,” Downpour answered with a smile.
“Good. It is all settled then,” the duke beamed. “You colts can spend the night here and we will all rendezvous with Chestnut at some point tomorrow.” Silver Blood got slowly to his hooves and motioned for them to follow him upstairs. It was then that Downpour noticed the duke’s cutie mark; a silver star that matched the unicorn’s horn, which Downpour had noticed was also a silver color. “I have two guest bedrooms, so you can each have private sleeping quarters for the duration of your stay.” The older pegasus couldn’t keep his face from breaking out in a smile. It felt like forever since he had slept in a proper bedroom with a genuine bed. Draft seemed to be thinking the same thing.
“Thank you so much for your hospitality, Silver Blood,” Draft said with a bow. Downpour couldn’t believe what a suck up his brother was.
“Yeah, thanks,” Downpour added as he rolled his blue eyes.
“Don’t mention it and please, call me Silver. We are friends by the transitive properties of friendship after all,” he assured them with a grin. “I am friends with Chestnut and you are friends with Chestnut. Now that we met, that basically makes us friends as well.” He chuckled to himself and the brothers shot each other concerned looks. It seemed like Draft was wondering the same thing as Downpour; Is this old stallion as crazy as his friend Chestnut? The older pegasus had no doubt that they would find out tomorrow.
“Well, I suppose we should all be off to bed. I wouldn’t want to sleep the entire day away tomorrow you know,” Silver Blood said as he walked down the hall and vanished through one of the doors, leaving the two brothers to pick their rooms.
“I call the biggest room,” Downpour exclaimed as he opened both of the doors and looked into each room, before selecting the one he wanted.
“I don’t really care which room I get. We’re only staying here one night anyway,” Draft replied before walking into the other guest room and shutting the door behind him. Downpour flopped down onto his own bed and took a few deep breaths. Oh Celestia, I am going to sleep like a log tonight, he thought. A few minutes later, the pegasus closed his eyes and was proven correct.