//------------------------------// // 19. Lost // Story: Lost and Found // by Cloudy Skies //------------------------------// Applejack rubbed her chin as the cloth flaps shut in Tadar’s wake, once again muting the crowd right outside down to a faint murmur. “I guess we can trust him, then,” Applejack said. “Question is what we tell him.” “Oh. You mean we shouldn’t tell him everything? I think he wants to help,” Fluttershy suggested, scratching at one of her forelegs. “We don’t know anyone here, he’s as close to a friend as we have, and we could use a friend, huh?” Applejack allowed with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Fluttershy nodded at that, and didn’t object when Applejack leaned into her, closing her eyes with a sigh. “So. Talk to me, sugar. How’re you holding up?” she asked, nuzzling the pegasus. “Oh. I’m fine, really,” Fluttershy insisted. Applejack pursed her lips and watched as her friend walked over to a table, leaning over to inspect some kind of scepter. “I could almost believe that. We’ve walked through places cold and lonely as the moon, barely getting out of it all with our flanks intact, but here we are, whole and maybe finding a way home. Things are finally going our way. We’re in a fine house with a new friend.” “It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” Fluttershy agreed, but it was clear she knew it wasn’t Applejack’s point. She tilted her head ever so slightly. “So you’ve told me that you fancy Rainbow Dash,” Applejack added, sitting down and crossing her forelegs. She was proven right when Fluttershy immediately glanced about, as if afraid someone had overheard them. “I told you what I think m’self, and maybe some of it sunk in. What’s more, I know I said it don’t matter just yet,” the farmpony sighed. “I ain’t about to try to bully you here or change your mind, but here’s what I’m guessing. You’ve already decided you ain’t at all gonna tell Rainbow Dash when we get home.” Fluttershy averting her eyes was as good as a full answer, but answer she did all the same. “I don’t really think it’s a good idea,” she muttered. “How did you know?” “‘Cause you haven’t hardly talked about her lately, and for all that you’re all honest about it, that you’ve told me, you still ain’t said it.” “Said what?” “That you love her. Hay, I don’t remember you even saying you’re in love with her, since,” Applejack snorted, holding up a hoof at Fluttershy’s beginning protests. “Don’t listen to me, sugar, I was just asking. It’s your thing, and I ain’t got no business criticizing.” Fluttershy sat still. Her wings were limp and her ears drooped, the very image of dejection. Applejack scratched her forehead as she felt the beginnings of one of those delicious little headaches that always accompanied her flapping her gums about something when she should really shut up. “I mean it. It’s not my—” “But I do,” Fluttershy said, dropping her gaze to the floor. “I do, but what if she says no? What if she doesn’t think of me like that? I can’t—I don’t want to take that chance!” “You’ve spent years hiding this, sugarcube. Years upon years, and you’re gonna keep on doing that? For what? What’s it all gotten you?” Applejack asked. Her pulse was up, now. “A friend!” Fluttershy cried breathlessly. “A friend that I can’t bear the thought of losing!” Applejack was halfway to a reply, or rather, halfway through trying to hold one back and let Fluttershy’s business be her own, when the curtains behind her parted. Both ponies turned as Tadar re-entered the room carrying a small glass platter in his mouth upon which were arranged many small, foreign fruits. Applejack didn’t recognize a single one of them, but the promise of something other than nuts, roots and berries was enough to set her mouth watering. “First, I would ask that you keep your voices down. It is not a terribly private city,” Tadar said with a small smile after putting the platter down on a small, low table. Fluttershy didn’t even apologize or any such, the pegasus merely sighing and deflating while Applejack nodded. “Second, there is a question of my own that I’d like to ask before we get to yours. You ask me if you are in trouble. I ask you, where are you from?” Applejack blinked, pausing at the sudden severity in the zebra’s voice. Even as she tried to find words, Fluttershy was trotting over to the nearby window, peering outside. There was as much of a commotion as they had ever heard since entering the city; a swell of noise, protests and more chatter.         Hurrying to the window herself, and soon after joined by Tadar, Applejack could see a trio of red-caped creatures making their way through the crowd. Two of the humped ones and a gazelle were creating a furrow in the masses where they went, people shying away from them. “Those would be the prince’s guards,” Tadar said, holding the curtains aside. “When I found you in the southern markets, I assumed you had come from that general direction. Though I suspect I know the answer, I have to ask. Where are you from?” The platter of fruits proved to be a pleasant mix of sour and sweet treats, even if the conversation was not. Applejack seized the word and started with as much as seemed relevant, describing in brief detail the sleepover and as much as they knew; that something had gone wrong. She hurried onwards after that, feeling more than a little homesick just talking about what had happened. The library tree was a short gallop away from Sweet Apple Acres, and that was enough to leave a sour taste in her mouth. Tadar’s brow was creased after that, and he stayed consternated all through the tale, with only small lapses into incredulous and amazed. Applejack wove the tale of their journey so far with as much practice as she’d had from campfire stories, letting Fluttershy take over when her memory was unclear. From the old ruins, along the road, past the terrible business with the malices and up the mountain the tale sent them until the lights outside dimmed and the city-people by and large went to bed and their food was long gone. “And that’s just about it. We found the little flags or whatchamacallits and followed them here. Thought we’d get some form of welcoming committee, guards or whatever, but instead we get the stink-eye for bein’ happy or angry or whatever,” Applejack shrugged, leaning against Fluttershy. The pegasus shook her head and blinked heavily, halfway to sleep already. “Well. That is... quite the tale,” Tadar said. “As I said, I am a traveller. I’ve seen more of the known world than most, visited the edges of the map, stood upon the horizon and looked upon the lands where cartographers give up and doodle little two-legged apes instead of crossing the next hill, but this? This is both remarkable and problematic.” “It was very scary at times,” Fluttershy murmured through a tired smile. “I don’t think I’d have managed to fly off that tower if I was alone. It’s all thanks to Applejack.” Applejack rolled her eyes and nosed into Fluttershy’s mane. “You’re bein’ silly. Without you, who knows what those weird creatures would’ve done to us before then?” “Oh? Oh, no. I speak of your home, ponies,” Tadar said. “Right. If you’re gonna tell us you don’t believe us, we’re gonna have a problem, because one joker tried that already—” “Said the wise one to the fool, I believe that you believe, but you are no fool,” Tadar interrupted. “Why is it so hard to believe?” Fluttershy asked, rolling her shoulders and stretching her wings one by one. “Because ponies are so rare outside of Equestria, you may as well be creatures of legend. I thought you travellers like myself, perhaps members of one of the few tribes that live outside of Equestria,” Tadar explained. “Legend,” Applejack repeated, a heavy sigh working its way through her body, her tail going limp. “And why the hay is that? You’re a zebra. We’ve seen your kind before. If there’re zebras back in Equestria, why ain’t there ponies around here?” “I know Pinkie Pie has some friends who travel outside the border. Merchants have to do that to get rare fruits and vegetables,” Fluttershy pointed out. “The only ponies here sit in front of me, friends. I have heard of your folk of course, and I once visited a village where it was said a pony sometimes came to visit to barter gems for coconuts. All the same, most of those who live here would swear you do not exist. Equestria is fabled to lie far to the north and east, but here you are as rare as the Wolmyr.” “‘Fabled’?” Applejack groaned at the second such word. “How far are we talking, here? I ain’t planning on missing next applebuck season!” “Why is it different?” Fluttershy asked. “I haven’t seen any cows or sheep here, either.” “Simple,” Tadar shrugged. “Equestria is rumored to be the home of the sun and the moon, of the god-princess who shapes the world. It’s a place of great magic.” “Sure, the princesses. They’re two. Princess Luna just came back,” Applejack said. “But you’ve got magic here too. The pronghorn folk or whatever—” Applejack’s protest was cut off by a small shake of the head from their zebra host. “You do not need to tell me, I know a bit. Not nearly as much as I would like, and I would delight in it if you would tell me more later. The return of the Moon Princess is news to me.” “Right. Just so we’re clear. We’re from Equestria. So why is that more problematic than if we’d come from the south, then?” Applejack grumbled, nudging her hat back on her head. “None travel south past the markers. Even I have more sense than that, no offense,” Tadar said. “We didn’t really have much choice,” Fluttershy said. “Given your words, I understand that. From the tallest spires here in the Bazaar, you can see the mountains that lie in the heart of the lost lands of the south, and that is why none go there. A small expedition tried to travel south five years ago, and they never returned, and that only reinforced what people have always known.” “Frightful tales have been passed down from parent to child for thousands of years, stories of creatures that prey upon those who fight and argue. Legend has it that a long time ago, the nights were longer and snow fell from the skies every day to choke the land, the weather punishing those who could not function together. Only in the wake of the migration of a whole people did it slowly change, and the sun returned.” Applejack chewed on her tongue. “You’re telling us that people’re still afraid of the windigoes? That they still remember the migration?” “That’s terrible!” Fluttershy said. “I have never heard the word ‘windigo’ before, but it’s one possible truth of why things are as they are in the Bazaar. They may not be my people, but it’s as much my home as any place. They’re hardly unhappy about it. Culture, now, as I said, but it is still a bit of an oddity.” Tadar shrugged. “History is still not my strong point, nor my main interest.” “And the guards?” Fluttershy asked with a backwards glance out the darkened windows. “From what I heard while I was out just now, they are looking for two ponies. Not because of the minor, ah, altercation in the market, but it telegraphed your arrival all the same. The prince has heard of you, and wishes to see you.” “Why’s that such a bad thing? I reckon maybe he can help,” Applejack suggested, exchanging smiles with Fluttershy. Tadar’s reaction was not comforting. The zebra’s face fell, and he shook his head. “Last time I was here, I would be inclined to agree, yes, but the word ‘bounty’ is involved. Likely, he is not seeking to do you any favors. I heard a rumor that he’s acting because he’s heard word from neighboring cities that Equestria wishes for its subjects to return home. Princesses that most are convinced aren’t even real have sent word far and wide, and I understand now that it is a message meant for you.” “What?” Fluttershy and Applejack asked in chorus, eyes wide. Applejack’s heart just about stopped for a second, and she perked her ears. “You mean Celestia and Luna’re looking for us? They—” Applejack sputtered. “Oh goodness, that’s wonderful!” Fluttershy exclaimed. Tadar nodded and smiled briefly. “Yes, I think I have the right of it then, but it’s still hardly good news for you right now. The prince isn’t quite the same as he was before, and if you can avoid him, you should. He is as likely to throw you in the dungeon as he is to help.” Fluttershy visibly paled, shrinking back down. “Why would he do that?” “I do not know. There was a time when Prince Enjaryn was fair and just, but now it seems he has become one of those who, when given power, desires more of it. He no doubt sees you as pawns to be used to further his own agenda,” Tadar suggested with a shake of his head as if though he didn’t believe it himself. “Something is wrong, and I do not know what. I have been gone from the city for a very long time.” “What in the heavens could he do with us?” Applejack asked, hooking a foreleg around Fluttershy to pull her closer. The pegasus gave a little squeak of protest. “We’re just trying to get home!” “Yet as I’ve told you, many believe Equestria is special, and that has to mean, by association, that you are special. Perhaps it’s that. Perhaps it is something else. It was just a rumor I heard while picking up food. I could not guess as to his plans, but I do not trust him as of late.” “Others believe that Equestria is special,” Fluttershy repeated, gently extracting herself from Applejack’s grasp before blowing her mane out of her face. “If you don’t mind me asking, what do you believe, if you’re not from here? You talk a lot about what the others say and believe, but what do think?” “A habit, I suppose, due to having travelled a lot,” Tadar chuckled, but his laughter died when nopony said anything in the wake of Fluttershy’s question. Applejack merely shrugged, not feeling very sleepy anymore anyway. “What do I believe? I generally don’t. I try not to,” he began, scratching at the bridge of his snout. “In Wolmyr, far to the north, they believe that the secrets to magic, that the roots to all things lie in their color.” “In High Hathaa over Spindlybridge to the far west, they hold that the elements are what binds us all, that everything can be reduced to one of four or more elements that have birthed the world. Not too far south, past Sourchill Pass, though you’d have to go around the lost lands? There, they speak of the wind of magic. There is a fifth wind that blows across the world, they say, and this wind is the source of all that is not simple.” Tadar looked torn for a second, a frown crossing his features as he rose to stand. Carrying the now-empty platter to another nearby table, he retrieved a rag with which to wipe the table, busying himself as he spoke. “The frightening and wonderful thing, my friends, is that they are all correct. They all get results. Blue or green, fire, water or aether winds, it all lets them do magic. Magic the like of which rests in you wonderful winged little ponies,” he said with a nod at Fluttershy, then at Applejack. “Or in the hooves of earth ponies, and in your unicorn brethren too. I don’t speak of the simple magic that horned creatures use to do menial tasks. I speak of greater things, and they, too, have it. All beings have their own magic.” Applejack and Fluttershy exchanged glances yet again. Fluttershy looked like she was about to make a comment, but Tadar was lost in his own words, eyes glossed over as he went about tidying the place up. “There are many truths, or they are all lies. I do not meddle or judge. But at the same time? In the very centre of the world, there is said to be a small principality called Equestria. Your home. There, they hold that magic is the result of the ties that bind us. That the most wonderful things come from those moments where we share of ourselves with others, be it romantic love or any of a million other forms of friendship,” he said, tossing the rag over to a washtub on the other side of the room before giving a small snort. “To a grand mage of Wolmyr, this will sound laughable, I should think. Indeed, the goat-mages of Wolmyr are notoriously proud, and why wouldn’t they be? I once saw a Wolmyrian coven, not two dozen in number, work together to lift a beached whale back into the sea! What care they?” “Yet,” he said, lowering his voice as he turned his gaze over to the pair of ponies again. Even Applejack felt a little unsettled by the curious look the zebra levelled in their direction before he continued. “Yet while the borders and the politics of the world at large ever shifts, Equestria has stood unchanged for hundreds, probably thousands of years. Longer than anyone has recorded or can remember. Longer than is ever relevant. It is with the ponies of Equestria that the stewardship of Sun and Moon rests. Maybe there’s something to that, then. I’d be a fool to try to say anything else. You ponies are different.” At Applejack’s side, Fluttershy was swallowing excessively and trying to find somewhere to rest her eyes, and truth be told. The farmpony herself couldn’t quite determine what to make of the strange zebra’s words except that it explained less than she’d like. “That still don’t say why this prince of yours wants us,” Applejack harrumphed. “I ph’uppose it doesnph,” Tadar admitted around the blankets he was fishing out from a nearby cupboard, gently placing the soft load down by a bedding area made up of pillows in a corner of the room. “But if I know this new prince of ours right, that won’t stop him, so I’d think it best if you stay low for now. Tomorrow, we can discuss our options. I believe it is high time to go to bed now, though.” “Right you are,” Applejack agreed, Fluttershy’s reply being a stifled yawn and a muttered apology. The morning rolled around with painful slowness. While it was the first night in weeks Fluttershy had spent in anything resembling a proper bed, she’d hardly slept at all. The Bazaar never slept either, this strange and sprawling metropolis barely quieting down at all before the sun started rising again, bringing with it the noise of cartwheels and hooves on cobblestone. Strange smells snaked their way into the room, food and strange spices and aromas that she couldn’t even guess at. Light streamed in through the windows, the morning here painfully bright, brighter than anything the pegasus had ever before seen. In the space of minutes, the blankets that had covered the three went from snug and comfy in the chill of night to stifling. It would have been so very nice if they could have felt safe, here. If she could forget that she was still so very far away from home, it would be a wonderful place. If not for the fact that they were in danger. Fluttershy pushed the blanket down on her body and shifted, her heart skipping a beat when she came face to face with an awake and alert Applejack. Their zebra friend was still asleep, but Applejack lay with her eyes open, staring back at her. “What do they do when they disagree?” the earth mare whispered. “What if two people just can’t get along no matter how much they try here?” “He said ‘games’,” Fluttershy whispered back, rubbing her eyes. “Like, play monopoly to decide who’s bein’ an unreasonable idiot? ‘You’re on Canterlot Avenue, I was right’?” Applejack asked with a low chuckle, eliciting a giggle from Fluttershy. “I guess it’s not quite like that,” Fluttershy said, spreading her one free wing. The heat was already oppressive. “What do we do, though?” “How do you mean?” “The prince. He doesn’t sound like a very nice person,” Fluttershy said, trying her best to keep her voice down. “Do you think Tadar wants us to sneak out of the city?” “Dunno, but I don’t like the sound of skulking about like that,” Applejack replied, flicking her tail. At their sides, sprawled out on the other side of the bed, the zebra stretched and yawned. “And not for a second do you think to doubt me,” he said, tilting his head to each side until his neck made a little crack. “Most I’ve met in my journeys would question my motives, ask why I’m doing this, why I’m helping you. You don’t.” Fluttershy licked her lips. It had sounded very much like a question despite the fact that it wasn’t. “I think we would have done the same? I’m sorry, we really should have said thank you before, if we didn’t. You’re being very nice to us.” “Because you would’ve done the same, huh,” Tadar murmured as he rose to stand. “And because you ain’t lying or trying to steer us wrong,” Applejack added, her piercing green eyes trained straight at the zebra as she sat up. “I can tell.” Tadar stood there for a second, looking back at the orange mare, while Fluttershy was left glancing between the two. There was no hostility, no anger in the air between them, but there was something of a wordless challenge. At length, Tadar nodded. “I am not trying to lead you astray, and I hope to be deserving of your trust, but the fact that you believe me so quickly, that you have such trusting hearts, that is why we need to get you out of the city. This is a place of intrigue and half-truths, ponies. You do not belong here, and while I bear the locals no ill will, that is practically a compliment,” he finished with a sour grin. “Okay,” Fluttershy said with yet another automatic glance out the nearby windows. “But we really need a new map. The one we have doesn’t show where Equestria is except that it’s east or north, like you said.” “Yes, and since that takes you across the Dune Sea, you’ll need a good map that shows the oases, as well as plenty of water. My means are limited, sadly,” Tadar sighed. “So we have to hide, but we can’t,” Applejack concluded. “I am not without ideas,” the zebra countered, trotting over to one of the many shelves that lined the walls. “I have a small pouch of silver dust somewhere here. If you take the road west through the savannah, you could go to the Bronze Marches by boat and go east from there—” “Go around,” Applejack repeated, voice flat. “Well, yes,” Tadar said, glancing back at them. “Um, is this a big desert? It sounds like it is big. How long would it take?” “Admittedly, quite a few weeks, perhaps months, but—” “No.” The sentiment had been echoed by both of the ponies. Sure enough, Fluttershy’s had been a little more quiet and preceded by an apology, but in the short silence that followed, Fluttershy looked over at Applejack, and Applejack looked right back at her. “It’s just that we would really like to get home, I think,” Fluttershy said. “Sorry, but isn’t there another way? Or, um, well, not another way, I guess?” “I ain’t never been in the habit of going around the fence when I can jump it,” Applejack added. “We got friends back home. Friends and family. If Equestria’s to the northeast, then that’s where we’re headed.”