Chapter 7: Rescue
Groggy eyes, yeah yeah. Chains this time. I didn't have a bed, just the cold, hard concrete of the SHQ basement floor.
"Hey," I heard Mixen's voice from my side as I stirred. I had a mild headache, but it was quickly fading. "Don't worry, you've only been out for about twenty minutes. Silver caught us. Now he's got Zulu and our stuff. They're most likely in his office. Any bright ideas?"
I tried to stand up, but found my hooves were bound in shackles. I activated my lamp and peered around, hoping to find Mixen's bolt cutters nearby. I did! But they were across the room, far out of reach.
I slumped against the wall in defeat. "Nothing. Not unless you've got stretchy legs that can reach all that way over there?" I pointed to the cutters.
She sighed. I took that as a no.
Teppie decided to speak up. "I don't know why I helped you, Mix. I should've kicked you out."
"Oh, will you shut up?" she replied. "Silver's your boss; he'll probably just let you off with a stern warning. How do you think I feel? He's gonna kill me. If he doesn't kill my brother first."
"No," he sighed. "Silver's gonna torture the two of you. The prewar bigot hates zebras. I have no doubt that Zulu's in his office getting flogged or something right now. It wouldn't be the first time. And he's probably wearing that hat of yours too, Applebuck. He's all kinds of fucked like that."
As much of a sexual fantasy as it was for me to see that zebra's plump ass bright red on the end of a whip, I hated the idea of my mother's hat being on the person doing it. Unless that person was me, I supposed.
I sighed. I couldn't believe it. Suki was taken. Silver needed her, but what for? I prayed she was safe. Suddenly, a thought hit me, and a spark of hope graced my heart. I asked Cuff if she could levitate the cutters, but she was wearing a magical inhibitor, so she told me. My hope was short-lived.
After about five minutes of convincing her to let me take a stab at it, and another five of me trying to pull, gnaw and bash the ring off of Cuff's horn, the only effect it made was her complaining about an awful hornache. And a few unkind words on my behalf.
No luck. We came here to save people. In the end, we only got ourselves caught. We should have gone for the necklace first, then the ponies. I hoped that after so long, Maamsir would just send Ella on her way scot-free, where she'd meet up with Dad and Brandy at R7.
I thought harder about what to do. But there were dead ends all around. Frustrated, I slammed a fronthoof into the wall. For a brief moment, a light blue shimmer and a crackle of sparks came from my hoof as it hit the wall.
I stared at my hoof. That magic… I hit the wall again, but no sparks came.
I calmly closed my eyes. I don't know why, but I held my hoof out without really even meaning to. I felt something inside me. It felt like... a special energy from within. It was like my mind, my spirit, and my body were merging into one harmonic being. I opened my eyes, and focused on the bolt cutters. A dim blue light started to form around them. But it faded. I closed my eyes and returned to my harmonic state. I heard the magic form around the cutters as much as I felt it. I imagined a rope attached to the cutters was slowly being pulled in my direction, and slowly, I heard the sound of metal sliding against concrete. After a brief moment, I opened my eyes as I felt the cutters bump against my hindleg.
"What the hell?" Mixen gasped.
"Buck?" Cuff asked in wonder. "You're not a unicorn?"
There were murmurs among the Security Ponies. I stared at my hoof. It was the same old hoof. Nothing special. Yet I realised it had a power I never realised before.
No. I did. My mind, spirit and body. It all came together and made... whatever that magic was. What kind of magic was that? Unicorn magic, so Maamsir said. But that didn't make any sense.
The brewster wolves. Whatever killed them, it wasn't Suki. It was me. I did something. This was the proof.
I didn't have time to ponder any further before Mixen grabbed my shackles at the chain in her wings, then pressed hard on the bolt cutters with her hooves. I imagined a unicorn would have had an easier time, but Cuff and the two other unicorn Security Ponies were unavailable right now. And I didn't think that I could replicate what I just did.
Finally, the chain snapped. Not long later, the other three were gone. Even being the strongest in the room, it took about twenty minutes for me to cut everypony's chains.
Well. Almost everypony. Unfortunately, Teppie decided he wanted to be a pain today.
"No! If I escape with you, the next time Silver sees me, he'll kill me! If I stay here, maybe I'll be lucky."
"Teps," Mixen was getting progressively more annoyed. "Wake up. You stay here, he'll take his anger out on you. You're fucked either way, so just come back to Fetch with us."
"I'll tell you what," I chimed in. "I need to get to Zulu and take back our stuff. You said they'll be in Silver's office, right? Can you show me the way?"
He scoffed. "Even if you have a death wish, I don't. Sorry, buddy. You're on your own. You too, Mix."
We didn't have time for this. I told Mix as much. "Right now, you and I should find Silver's office, get him out somehow, and rescue your brother and our stuff. We don't need Teppie for that. If he wants to stay here, that's his choice. But we need to go. Now."
"I don't care. He's my friend. Teps, please!" she pleaded. Luna, she had a good pleading face. "Teps, if you come back, I promise I'll get you another job. Fetchway'll protect you from Silver. You know that. Don't you trust me?"
"Of course I trust you!" I knew that look of guilt. I wore it myself from time to time.
"Then why won't you come back? Please? I don't want to lose you."
He clearly thought about it. I felt myself mentally pleading too. It didn't even matter to me, but it was clearly important to Mix. I hoped he would come with us.
He made a loud sigh. "Fine! Appledude - get me out of these." He presented his shackled hooves. "Before I change my mind."
After taking a minute or so to break Teppie out, we all established a plan. While the others hid in the basement, Teppie was to lead me to Silver's office. When we'd get there, Teppie would pull the fire alarm. As the building is evacuated, Mixen and the Security Crew would blend in with the rest of the staff and slip away undetected. Mixen would then lead the six Security Ponies into the Double Eff and escort them to Fetchway, where we'd meet up later. When Silver leaves his office, Teppie and I swoop in and save Zulu!
Assuming Silver ignores the alarm or takes Zulu with him… well… we'd have to improvise.
As Teppie and I started for the basement door, Mixen pulled me aside. "Bucky. If you're gonna go after my brother, watch your back. He will betray you. Don't take your eyes off him."
I waved her off. "I promise I'll look after myself. I just need to bring him to Maamsir. How hard could it be?"
"Bucky, he's not safe. You need to look after him just as much as yourself. Please, promise you'll bring him back safe."
Promise. That was a part of the Virtue of Honesty. If honest was what Mom wanted me to be, then that's exactly what I'd be. I looked Mixen straight in the eyes. "Mixen - I promise I'll bring Zulu back alive. You have my word."
"In one piece?"
"I'll try my best. I promise."
She seemed hesitant at first, but after a moment of consideration, she accepted that that was the best answer she would get out of me.
Teppie and I then made our way up the stairs, and wearily stepped out. I let him lead the way. I felt conspicuous trotting around with shackles on our legs. Thankfully the chains were completely cut, so at least they weren't making any noise, but the sooner we got the shackles off, or found a way to hide them, the better.
Teppie led me to the second floor, then the third, and finally, the fourth. We passed many hallways, not all too dissimilar to Stable Two's, save for the old, worn carpet, as opposed to the cold metal grates. After a few close calls with staff, we managed to find our way to Silver's office without being caught. All the other doors in this hallway lead to classrooms, judging by the interiors. Silver's office, so Teppie told me, was a repurposed staff room.
I placed my ear to the door of the former staff room as Teppie was on lookout. On the other side, I heard it. A sharp KERKRACK followed by a pained sound, somewhere between a yelp and a grunt.
Unlike the classrooms, Silver's door had no window, so sound was all I had. But sound was what was going to get Silver out of there. I turned to Teppie and made a 'pst!' noise to get his attention. I did a sort of hoofpump signal on the wall, the signal for him to sound the alarm.
Within seconds, Cuff's signal to escape was set off.
The whipping ceased. But the door stayed shut. Teppie and I had to slide into a vacant classroom in order to avoid any evacuating staff.
Mixen's part of the plan was all up to her and the Security Crew now. All I needed to do now was slip in there and get Zulu and our stuff. Presumably, the horn was in there too, but it was impossible to be sure. Unfortunately, Teppie had informed the Security Crew that their possessions were elsewhere in the building, out of our way. I felt sorry for them, knowing all their (admittedly few) possessions were likely gone forever, but this was a matter of freedom or… whatever Silver wanted to do with us… meaning we couldn't afford to go snooping around unnecessarily. And even if we could, we were two ponies and a zebra. Hardly capable of carrying all our own stuff as well as six other ponies' junk.
After a moment, I asked Teppie if he had seen Silver leave. No luck. I placed my ear against the wall, wondering if-
*KERKRACK!*
"Hrgh!"
Yep. Still at it. And that zebra's grunting was making me pretty red in the face. If I had my stealth cloak, I could maybe slip in and give Silver a quick knock on the head. But it was already in there. The key to getting my stuff, was my stuff. Typical.
"Any bright ideas?" I asked Teppie.
He looked around the room. About us was sciencey equipment like microscopes, whiteboards, and other eggheady stuff. The Newtpone's cradle sitting at the teacher's desk was pretty cool though. Sitting next to it was a terminal.
"Appledude. You any good with computers?"
"Hah! You're talking to the Stable Two Senior Pip-Buck Technician." Suki would have scolded me hard for the exaggeration, but it was technically the truth. "What do you need me to do?"
He grinned at me. I didn't know if I liked his mischievous smile, or hated it.
***
I sat before the terminal. Buck taught me how to access these things without knowing the password as a part of my internship with him. Usually we needed to know this in case some idiot changed and forgot their password back home. I never thought I'd be using my skills to break into someone's terminal for my own benefit, though. I figured Suki would see this as a moral grey area, considering the context.
I activated the terminal and produced my hacking tool from my barding. Evidently Silver didn't think to check our pockets when he locked us up. It's a shame I never learned those lock picking skills Buck said I should have, or else I wouldn't have needed the bolt cutters now on my barding's belt.
The terminal was no harder to hack than any back home. After a month of practice, I was pretty confident in my abilities. After a few failed guesses, though, I had to back out of the computer to prevent it from locking me out. After my second attempt, I was in.
I opened the messages option and scrolled till I found the profile I was looking for. My message to Silver's terminal in the other room read as followed:
'Dear Mister Silver Eyes,
Sir, what the hell are you doing in there!? There's a small fire and a gas leak from just across your office! Get out of there, sir!'
I hit send, and Teppie and I held our ears against the wall. I blushed slightly, being face-to-face with him, nearly at smooching distance from him.
We heard the sound of a terminal beeping. A grumble, and the whipping stopped. A moment later, he cursed, then swiftly started for the door. As I ran to our room's door, I saw him rushing with no zebra, but clearly with my hat. I panicked, and reached out, silently pleading he stop. My magic caused the hat to fall from his head, and I quickly hid behind the door before he could see me. When I poked my head out a moment later, both Silver and the hat were gone.
We knew we may only have had a few minutes before he got back, so we quickly ran to Silver's office. I gave a thankful prayer to the Goddesses as it was left unlocked.
As I stepped in, my eyes immediately found Zulu, facing a wall. He was chained again, this time with his fronthooves chained closely to the wall in such a way that he had no choice but to stand on his hindlegs. His rump, back and upper hindlegs were red, bleeding in some areas. (The whip that dealt it all was laid on the floor. It wasn't a slash-your-flesh kind of whip, but I still didn't envy Zulu). As his eyes found mine, I could tell he was on the verge of tears. It wasn't as hot as I imagined. It just felt sad.
"There. I got you where you needed to go," said Teppie. "I'm out of here."
As he started to leave, I stopped him. If I had someone watching my back, I'd feel a lot safer. I told him as much, but he wasn't having any of it. I watched as Teppie left the hallway, hoping not to have to lift both mine and Mixen's stuff, as I was left alone with Zulu.
Looking around Silver's office, I saw all our stuff slumped in a pile in a corner of the room, as well as what appeared to be Zulu's stuff too.
Swiftly, I claimed my saddlebags and equipped my cloak and revolver. I asked Zulu if he knew where the horn was, but he stayed silent. He was still writhing in pain slightly. I checked my saddlebags, then produced some gauze I had borrowed from Ella. I remembered her telling me they were enchanted with a pain relief spell.
I approached Zulu. "Hey, I've got some magical bandages here. They help stop the pain. If I wrap these around your injuries and free you, will you come back with me?"
He stayed silent.
"Either way, I don't have to bring you back. Maamsir said I get to keep this cloak if I do, but now I can just take yours and give him the spare. You really want to be stuck here until Silver gets back? Which might be any second now, by the way."
He looked conflicted. After a moment, he spoke. "What will they do with me?"
"Beats me. But Mixen wants to look after you. Maams will probably just take your stuff and let you off with a warning. I hope so, at least."
He looked conflicted again. He shifted, then squinted in pain. His cuts weren't bad, but they were everywhere. He eventually nodded, asking for the bandages.
As I stood behind him, I activated my new feet to stand on my hindlegs. Keeping my balance was tricky, but I was able to place my forehooves on his hips for stability when need be. I started wrapping the gauze around his back. The intimacy was nice. I almost forgot where I was as I enjoyed placing my hooves around his body. He seemed to relax a little, at least.
Next was… I blushed. "Just get it over with," he harshly whispered to me as I hesitated.
Hesitantly, I placed the end of the gauze on the top of his right flank. I trailed it along the bottom of his waist, leading it to the top of his other flank. One more loop around his abdomen, and I came across an obstacle. His black and white tail was in the way, and I was unsure if I should ask him to move it, or just move it myself. He took my pause as a sign to move it himself, and I saw stars! I had to look away for a moment to contain myself as I saw what I had been dreaming of for the past week and a bit. He grumbled, pressing me to carry on. A few painstaking seconds later, his rump was covered in the magical bandages. Thankfully, covering his upper legs was far easier, and within seconds, he was all bandaged up.
He asked about the chains, so I told him I had his sister's bolt cutters. After a minute of struggling with the chains, they were finally off. The instant that I took that second chain off, I wished I hadn't.
Immediately after he was free, Zulu pushed himself off the wall and barged me onto the floor. He stood over me as I was on my back, his muzzle inches from mine.
"I am not going anywhere with you, Stable Dweller!" he angrily whispered in my face. "I do not know how you found me, but I refuse to be the prisoner of that robotic chicken!" He pushed off the floor with his forehooves and stood up on his hindlegs, both of them spread, standing either side of mine.
As he stood, I saw my revolver was in his muzzle. I didn't even feel him take it! Before he had a chance to aim, though, I took my shot.
I retracted one of my hindlegs, then rammed my hoof into his groin. The gun dropped to the floor as he fell atop me, silently waiting out the pain.
I pushed him off me, stood up, and holstered my gun. I then pranced on the spot in panic, knowing he was gonna kill me once he got up. I hurried, searching the room. Maybe Silver had a few spare shackles lying about. I checked a nearby drawer, finding nothing of any use. I opened another drawer, and immediately stopped. In it was Twinkle, Brandy's cherished revolver.
Why was it here? How was it here? Did he drop it when the others were caught? I picked it up in my mouth. Before I had time to think, though, Zulu charged at me from across the room. Distracted, all I could do was panic as I sent a blast of magical energy into Zulu, sending him bouncing off the wall and out the room. He was out cold.
I looked through the doorway from my end of the room, and jumped as I saw Silver Eyes beside Zulu, still wearing my hat. He quickly looked in my direction, then smiled.
"That's one hell of a throwing arm you've got there, Stable Dweller." He said confidently as he walked in. He then rummaged through a large chest in a corner of the room and produced a large pair of shackles. No. It was two collars connected by a chain. "Either that, or you've learnt to use your magic. Am I right?"
I gave him a quizzical look, then secured Twinkle in my wrist strap. I didn't want to use it, but I had to be prepared. "You know about my magic?"
He answered with a demonstration. He closed his eyes in concentration, then a deep crimson aura surrounded the prone Zulu. He was effortlessly lifted into the staff room, then Silver clamped one of the collars around his neck.
I wasn't alone? That meant that Suki really did have nothing to do with my magic, right? Could all earth ponies secretly use magic, I thought?
"Earth ponies with magic. Who would have thought?" Silver smirked. "So how long have you known?"
"About my magic? Um. Just yesterday?"
He furrowed his brow. "Your parents never told you? Did they even know?"
"I'm pretty sure my Mom knew. But my Dad… wait, what do you know about it?"
"More than you can imagine, my friend. What's your name, Stable Dweller? Let me guess; it has the word 'apple' in it, right?"
"Uh… yeah… Applebuck..." How did he know that? My (only slightly) apple themed cutie mark was hidden behind my cloak. Was he able to talk to Suki, I wondered?
"Tell me, Applebuck, does the name Brandy have any meaning to you?"
Brandy? How did-? Oh. Crap. He was suspicious about what happened at Fetchway. "Well, yes, actually. He's a friend of mine. Do you know where he is?"
He chuckled. "I thought I heard something at the bar. So that must be a zebra stealth cloak, then. No, I have no idea where any Brandys are. I have six of your Stable Ponies in custody, though. I took names, but none mentioned that one. Unless they're lying.
"I meant no harm; I was under the impression they could help me find this." He tipped the brim of my hat. "I will release them now that I have it. Though I assume that's why you're here? That's what the alarm was for? A distraction so they could escape?" I was hesitant to tell him anything, but I think my silence told him enough.
"So why, then, are you after this stripe?" he asked a little harshly, tugging on Zulu's chain more than a little harshly.
"That zebra, he stole something from a friend of mine. A unicorn horn on a necklace."
"A thief. I'm not surprised." He closed his eyes again, then his crimson magic lifted the horn out from the inside of his armour, still on its chain, which was now hung around his neck.
"I have no need for this," he said, then he levitated the necklace to me. I stored it in my saddlebags. "Thank you," I said. "I also need Zulu. The person he stole from wants to see him."
He smirked. "Suffering the consequences of his actions. Serves him right. Do with him as you please." He casually levitated Zulu to the floor near me.
He then removed my hat and held it in his hoof. "I understand this hat probably has meaning to you, Applebuck. I'm sorry about your mother. But I need this hat more than you, I believe."
I was starting to get freaked out by how much he knew about me, for someone who'd never met me.
"It does, sir. Please, I can't lose it."
"Then I am sorry Applebuck, but I need this hat. It has magical properties I need."
"What for?"
He moved his mouth for a split second, but stopped, like he realised he didn't want to say anything. "I can't tell you, Applebuck. Look, I respect that this is important to you. I'm over 230 years old. I know a thing or two about sentimentality. But there are bigger things at play than this hat."
"Like what? What do you need her magic for?"
"Ah, 'her'. So I take it you've met the voice in this hat?"
"Wait, you can hear her too?"
"No, but I am familiar with her. I've been looking for her for centuries. Now, I finally found her. I am sorry about your Mom. I know it's a big ask for this hat that would have meant so much to her once.. But please, may I have it? For trade of a zebra and a necklace?"
I didn't even have to think before I knew the answer. "It's not about Zulu! It's not about a necklace, or a hat! It's not even about my Mom! It's about Suki! She isn't a hat, she's a person. She's not property. She's not a slave."
"Suki. Is that what they've been calling you?" He looked to the hat in his armoured hoof, then he looked to me. "I assure you, my friend, Golau will be perfectly safe. If I wanted her dead, the deed would already be done. Keeping her safe is the next step I need to take."
"For what! Why can't you leave her alone? I just want-"
"He doesn't care what you want!" Silver's attitude quickly changed. "Tywyll doesn't care! He just wants Golau! Suki! Whatever!" He sighed, rubbing his face with a hoof. "Look, I have a job to do. It's not up to me. Neither you nor myself is in control here, Applebuck. If you come with me, I might be able to convince him to let you help us."
"I don't want to help you! I want to help Suki. And from my point of view, you're kidnapping her! Why? What do you need her for?"
Again, he hesitated to speak. "I can't tell you. But I can tell you that Suki will be benefited."
"How will she be benefited?"
"She'll get her body back. Tywyll wants to…" he stopped again. "L-look, I can't promise you'll get your hat back in one piece, but I can promise no one will be hurt. Suki will return to her true form when Tywyll has her magic. From there, we all go our separate ways. I assure you, Applebuck. I'm not your enemy."
I was still sceptical. I didn't trust this pony for a second. "Can I at least talk to Suki about this?"
He simply stretched out his hoof with Suki on it. Several seconds passed, but Suki never spoke.
"Oh, right," I said.
"Oh?"
"I promised Suki we wouldn't speak to each other. That I would pretend I never knew she was sentient. Not until I'm ready."
He tilted his head. I must have sounded odd. He shook his head and replaced Suki on his head. "I'll send you and your stripe to wherever your Stable went. I'll handle Suki from here. When we're done with her, we'll send her to wherever you'll be staying. For now, I think we should get out of my office."
I was a bit confused with where I stood in this dilemma. Did I just win? I got what I wanted. I've got Zulu and the necklace. And Silver said he'd send me home. I won. But what about Suki? This seemed more important than her promise; so why didn't she speak? It didn't seem like she won. She'd break her silence if something went particularly wrong or particularly right, right?
Something was off. I could feel it. Maybe it was my magic telling me. Or maybe it was Suki.
"No."
Silver met my gaze. "Excuse me?"
"I said no."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean no. You're not having Suki."
He laughed through a sigh. "Applebuck, I have the best intentions on all sides in mind, here. Please don't get in the way of Suki's happy ending. This is what she wants."
"How do you know?" I pointed an accusing hoof at him. "Did she tell you? Because she seems more quiet now that she's with you than she ever was with me!"
"I've heard enough, Apple. Get out of my office, before I decide to keep this stripe for myself."
"He's not going anywhere with you! And neither is she!" Instinct overtook me, and I shot my hoof out and pulled Suki over to me with my magic.
"Give me that hat, Stable Dweller!"
I equipped Suki, then stood on my hindlegs and took aim at Silver Eyes. "You want her? Come and get her!"
Silver charged at me. It only took a moment for him to cross the length of the room. A split second before impact, a blue aura appeared around me and I disappeared. In the space of half a second I felt like my entire body was being pushed through a hole just barely my size. I then found myself standing right behind him. I yelled, flinging my arms in front of me, sending an even stronger magical release than the one that knocked out Zulu. Silver was sent straight into the wall. And kept going.
In half a second, the wall had a Silver sized hole in it, and a few moments later, the ground below had a Silver sized crater in it.
I panted. I was dizzy. I had to slap myself a few times to keep myself awake. Slowly, I was returning to my senses. I meagerly hobbled to Mixen's saddlebags, equipping them, then clumsily turned to see where I thought Zulu was. He wasn't there.
I abruptly felt cold metal forced against my neck. I quickly realised I was encased in Zulu's other collar. Just as quickly, the tension increased as the zebra threw me to the floor, pressed his hindlegs into my back, and pulled the chain with his frontlegs. My breathing was hard as it was; him choking me was unbearable. I pawed at my neck. Within seconds my face was turning blue.
Mixen was right. I got distracted. And Zulu took the murderous advantage. Suddenly, I felt the tension loosen, then it was gone. I inhaled deeply, then choked and coughed, struggling to catch my breath.
"What have I done?"
As I caught my breath, Zulu's words registered. He looked at my collar. "W-what have I done?"
Then I noticed it. And I found a bit of mirth noticing the stupidity of this zebra.
Zulu had trapped himself with me.
***
Leaving SHQ was easy, because we both had stealth cloaks. All we had to do was use our seconds sparingly, and stick close to hide the chain connecting our necks.
We found our way to the Double Eff without harassment. But as you can imagine, Zulu wasn't very compliant.
It was only about a two hour trot to Maamsir's, and the only reason Zulu bothered to follow me, rather than force me to go his way, was because I was the one with the gun. I was glad he didn't know about Twinkle, but I knew he'd check through my stuff if I didn't keep an eye on him.
Not much can be said about the return journey. Suki was as silent as ever, with no hope of answering any questions that had popped up. I asked Zulu if the names Golau or Tywyll had any meaning to him. Regardless of whether or not they did, he said nothing. In fact, he rarely ever spoke at all, only grumbling a quiet thank you after I noticed him hobbling on his cut legs and gave him a healing potion.
I tried again to converse with him. "Why did you steal this necklace?" I now hung it around my neck. I wasn't gonna risk him stealing it from my bags when I wasn't looking.
Silence.
"My friend Ellabelle taught me the word 'kleptomaniac'. That word seems to fit your description pretty well."
Silence.
"Someone was with Silver Eyes in Fetchway earlier today. She said you stole a 'memory orb' from him. What the heck is a memory orb?"
Silence.
"Can you do any tricks with the horn?"
An eyebrow raise! Finally, something!
"I am not much of a magician, even with a horn," he said. "but I have killed with one before. You had best stay on your guard, Stable Dweller. If I were to take that back, I would be able to crush your head, and slip it through that collar."
Could he really do that? Could the horn even do that? "Well, Maamsir said they didn't care if you were alive. I think you owe your sister a drink for making me promise to bring you in alive. Oh, wait. You already owe Petal a drink, don't you? A few maybe?"
To my surprise, he looked away in what might have been a semblance of shame. I didn't know he had any.
We walked for a while more, with only the radio filling the silence slightly (quiet, so as to not attract any wolves), then Zulu walked closer to me and stared at me. I muted the music, waiting for whatever he had to say.
"Thank you…" He couldn't look me in the eyes as he said it.
I looked at him questioningly. "For what?"
"I nearly got you and your friends killed. Then I became your problem again as you were sent to hunt me. Then I tried to kill you again. And the only thing that stopped me was the thought of having to drag you all the way back home. But despite that, you still helped me. Saved me, and healed me. I thank you. But why? After all I have done. I would have just left you."
Gee, thanks. It was because Mixen asked me, obviously. But why did I comply? Was it guilt? If so, what of? Disappointing Mixen? Suki? My mother? Maybe it was the thought that I'd be a bad Security Buck if I did the wrong thing and left him. Either way, doing the right thing just seemed… right.
"It's just right. That's what good people do. They're honest. And they help people."
"Honest. Hah. You will never meet a truly honest person out here, Stable Dweller. Much less a 'good' person. Whatever that truly is."
"I like to think I already have. But if I haven't, then the people of Fetchway are close enough. And if ever I find they're not, I'll always have my family. And they're exactly where I'm headed after I hand you in. In fact, you'll be reuniting with one of them at Maamsir's house. Maybe then you'll change your mind about there being no good people out here. Then again, you abandoned her to be kidnapped by raiders; she won't be too happy to see you, Zulu. I suggest you savour these moments while your biggest worries are the brewster wolves."
Silence. That shut him up.
***
We later spotted Maamsir's house in the distance. Which wasn't far, since we were in the Double Eff. As soon as he saw it, Zulu froze. I noticed a well hidden expression of fear in his eyes.
"Hey, they're not gonna hurt you. I promise."
"You can promise nothing. You know nothing of Maamsir."
"I know they help people. For a fee, yes, but no one in Fetchway ever said anything about murder or violence. And anyway, I'm the one with the necklace they want. If they don't promise not to hurt you, they aren't getting this horn."
"What if they lie?"
I paused. I realised I didn't know Maamsir well enough to judge that. I showered in their home. Ate their food. Accepted their gift of mobility. But I didn't actually know if I could trust them. Why did everything always lead back to trust!?
I sobered up. "If they lie, then you're coming with me, Zulu. You might be a thief, but if you're redeemable, you're worth my time. And my friendship. I promise. You won't be harmed as long as I'm behind the wheel, got it?"
He didn't respond. But he at least looked ready to accept his consequences.
***
"You… you actually did it??"
Maamsir gazed in wild wonder at the sight in front of their front doorway: a Stable Pony with a horn-necklace held in one hoof, a huge smile on his face, and a striped prisoner looking dejected, chained to him and pawing at the dirt with his hoof next to him.
"Eeyup!"
Maamsir didn't even get a chance to take in my response before Ellabelle appeared and ran up to me, embracing me in so tight a hug I felt like my back was gonna break again. We stayed like that for a moment before Ella let go. Then she raised the side of my cloak and got a good look at my legs. She returned her gaze to my eyes and told me how happy she was for me. I thanked her, but before we had a chance to talk some more, Zulu gave a loud 'AHEM' to get our attention.
"What is to become of me?"
***
I told Maamsir we couldn't stay long, as there were ponies waiting for us in Fetchway who needed to be in R7 before dark. I made them promise they wouldn't hurt Zulu, or else I wouldn't hand over the necklace. Maamsir said they promised, but Zulu didn't seem convinced. They hadn't answered his earlier question.
All my shackles were removed, but Zulu's neck shackle was still attached. Only now, he was chained from his neck to Maamsir's fireplace in their living room, where we could easily keep an eye on him.
"Zulu's sister made me promise to keep him safe," I said. "I understand he's a criminal, but you can't hurt him."
Maamsir chuckled. "Don't worry, AB. I didn't plan to. In fact, I had a better idea in mind. I noticed Ella cracked a smile. She knew something I didn't.
Maamsir opened a drawer and retrieved a thin collar. It was made of leather, hardly a method of entrapment, and had a circular clasp on the front. Maamsir gingerly approached Zulu. "I'm gonna remove your collar, then I'm gonna put this one on you. Capisce?"
Hesitantly, he nodded. I pointed Twinkle, now in my leg strap, at him. He was still. I hoped he would stay that way, because I was bluffing.
Off came the shackle, and on came the leather collar. It seemed to tighten around his neck on its own. It looked tight, but as far as it seemed, wasn't uncomfortable.
"This collar," said Maamsir. "is designed to make the wearer feel incredibly hot - as though in a desert - if their commander feels they're stepping out of line. In this case, your commander is noooow…" they pointed at me with a talon-gun. "Applebuck."
Me? A commander? Why? Ellabelle was a doctor! If anyone was in charge, it was her!
"What do you mean 'commander'?" I asked.
"Mixen asked you to look after him, right?"
I nodded.
"Then that's exactly what you'll do. If you feel he's stepping out of line - being violent, or stealing, or if you just feel like it - you simply say the word 'zeeb' and the collar will activate."
I furrowed my brow. "Uh… zeeb?"
We all looked at Zulu. It didn't look obvious, but his eyes looked to be quinting a bit, as though he were tired. He gulped, as his breathing picked up a tiny bit, but other than that, no physical indication that he felt hot.
"Zeeb! Zeebie zeebie zeeb! Zeeeeeeeb!"
Zulu collapsed. He was breathing heavily, his tongue sticking out of his mouth. He looked really uncomfortable. But I knew no harm was being done. At least I now had a way to keep him from running off without having him attached to me.
"Wait, why is he my responsibility now? I never said I'd look after him forever. I meant until I could hand him in."
Zulu recovered fairly quickly. Quickly enough that he thought he would reply first. "My sister will torture me with this. I will travel with you to Fetchway. You will hand me over to my sister and remove this collar. And we will go our separate ways."
Maamsir chuckled again. "Yeah, not gonna happen, Zulie. It's up to AB to take that thing off. Not you. Knowing that you'll suffer this humiliation makes it all worthwhile for me."
Zulu scoffed, seeing Maamsir's evil grin. "Whatever. Enby chicken."
Maams and I shared a look. "Zeeeeeeeb!"
Zulie (new nickname acquired!) dropped to his haunches and leaned against the wall, panting heavily. His blush looked adorable. I couldn't tell if the tears in his eyes were from emotion or his heat, but they added to his cuteness nonetheless.
"Won't that dehydrate him?" Ella asked, pointing to the prone zebra.
"Nah," Maamsir replied nonchalantly. "It's all in his head, so he doesn't actually sweat unless it's actually hot outside. So at least you won't be travelling with a smelly zebra, heh heh. You can pretty much do this to him all day with no negative consequences."
"I will tell you what negative consequences it will bring! It will piss me off!"
"My little zeebiiie, my little zeebiiie!"
An annoyed grunt, and plenty more panting. It looked unbearable. I was sure he'd think twice about stealing now.
"AB," Maamsir said. "As a part of your debt to me, I hereby declare that you force Zulu to travel with you until you decide he's ready to be on his own and not steal."
"But why me?"
"Because," Ella said. "We both know you won't abuse that collar. Use it whenever you feel you need to, but we trust you to use it correctly. Right?
I supposed I didn't really have much of a choice, much like Zulu. So I nodded.
Ella then reminded us that we were against the clock, so, swiftly, we said our thanks to Maamsir, collected our belongings, dropped off all that still belonged to them (barding, gun, Etc. Though Zulu and I were allowed to keep our cloaks, and I got to keep the gun strap.) and politely requested Zulu to follow. Unsurprisingly, he complied. Must have been my charismatic 'please'.
At Maamsir's front door, we all three looked at them. I walked up and held out my hoof. They bumped it, then gripped it, shaking it lightly.
"Good luck out there, Stable Dweller. Both of you. Get home safe."
"We will," I replied. "Thank you. For everything."
Ella now walked up. "I don't care if AB paid off 'the debt.' Our score will never be even until I make it up to you personally, Maams."
They smirked. "If that's what you want. A life debt is not an easy thing to pay off, you know. Heh heh heh."
They then embraced in a hug. The sight brought a smile to my face. Whatever wholesome friendship they formed today while I was away must have been special. I looked at the friend I had made today. He was tapping his hoof, eager to get as far away from here, and us, as possible.
Sigh. Zulu had a long way to go before I felt like taking that collar off. And something told me he wouldn't be accepted into Fetchway's community anytime soon.
Redeeming him was gonna be one hell of a job. But I didn't doubt for a second it was impossible. Right, Suki?
No response.