The next morning they woke, and found to their surprise the camp was once again surrounded by a runic circle.
Sunset smiled. “What?” She laughed. “After all that you really didn’t think I’d leave us unprotected did you?” Aiko grinned and nodded yes, so Sunset playfully smacked her haunches. Together they loped into the forest to perform their ablutions. Washing up and returning they saw the merchant digging through the bags.
“You didn’t happen to bring back those grapes and nuts did you?” he asked.
“Sorry,” replied Sunset. “Our recently departed friends ate them all. There was nothing left of them I’m afraid.”
“Unfortunately, I think that was the last of the food,” responded the merchant. “I was going to barter for more at the next village.”
“I’ll go look around. Maybe I can find something we can eat nearby.” Sunset replied as she grabbed an empty travel sack from the wagon and trotted off into the woods. Once she was a ways in, she stretched her senses down into the earth and tried to feel for grapes and nuts. All she felt was an overwhelming sense of the vegetation all around her. “Ugh. I guess that makes sense. How would I know one plant from another by feel unless I’d somehow learned what each plant feels like.”
She looked up into the sky and spotted a cloud drifting by. “Maybe I’ll see something from up there,” she mused. With a pop and teal flash she disappeared.
Appearing over the cloud, she dropped down into the cloud bank and peered over the edge. She looked down at the forest below, scanning the terrain around her. No sign of wild grapes, but she did see a small lake nearby. She launched herself over the side of the cloud towards the lake, figuring she’d try her hoof at flying. Closing her eyes, she imagined magic stretching out from her back, just like mom’s or Cadance’s wings. Concentrating, she could feel the wind passing through where she imagined her wings to be, but nothing slowed her descent. She opened her eyes, seeing the trees below fast approaching.
“Drat!” She fumed, then teleported to the lake. “One of these days I’m going to figure that out.”
She trotted over to the edge of the lake. Looking into the lake she saw fish darting around. She grinned as she trotted back over to the forest edge where she noticed a tree with a straight slender low branch. With a flash, her sword appeared before her and she looped off the branch, then peeled off the outer bark and sharpened both ends to a fine point. Finished with her sword, it disappeared as she levitated the stick back over to the lake with her.
She turned invisible while moving up to the side of the lake. The stick floated out over the pond, the end downward. One of the fish darted up towards the surface and the stick lanced down into the water, disappearing. A moment later, it floated up to the surface with a fish speared through in the middle still thrashing and flopping. The stick levitated over to the side of the pond where something knocked the fish from the stick into the grass. The stick then levitated back out over the water.
Over the next few minutes this repeated a dozen times. Finished, Sunset reappeared, tossing the stick into the grass by the pond as she gathered the fish into the sack, then headed back to camp. Along the way back she found some mushrooms and a few hooves full of nuts, so those went into the bag as well. As she stepped into the small cleaning where they had spent the night, she saw Aiko had started a cooking fire. Sunset held out the bag to her.
“What did you find?” Aiko asked as she took the bag and opened it. “Oh nice! Fish! And some wild mushrooms. That’ll work.” She quickly gutted and filleted the fish, placing them over the fire to cook. She cleaned and sliced the mushrooms as well, placing them over the fire with the fish.
“So where’s the rest of the crew?” Asked Sunset.
“They went out to look as well,” answered Aiko. “And hey, what were you doing earlier? I was looking up at the clouds a while ago, waiting for the fire to get hot, then I saw you launch yourself over the edge of a cloud and just fall with your legs splayed out. Just before I thought you were going to auger into the trees you disappeared.”
“You saw that?” Laughed Sunset. “Yeah, that was me practicing flying.” She grinned.
“More like falling,” snarked Aiko. “Although you did look like you were having fun.”
“Fun would have been if it worked,” grinned Sunset.
“Yeah, seeing that made me very glad we didn’t need to count on your flying abilities over the bay. It would have turned into swimming rather quickly,” Aiko teased.
“Oh ha ha,” teased Sunset back. “Like you’d do any better.”
“Already told you filly, no wings on this vixen. I don’t fly, and never intend to,” she laughed as she tended the fish.
“You watch. One of these days I’ll figure it out. Just you wait,” promised Sunset.
“You know, for a brief moment there while you were falling, I thought I saw a pair of translucent wings flutter briefly, then they disappeared,” smiled Aiko.
“Really?” Asked Sunset hopefully.
“Nope! Just kidding!” Laughed Aiko.
Sunset smacked her friend’s haunch again with a laugh. “I so hate you just a little bit right now,” she grinned.
“No you don’t,” Aiko teased back.
“No, I don’t,” laughed Sunset. “You got me. Good one.”
“Think I’ll keep you. And yes, it was,” Aiko agreed.
They both looked up as they heard voices approaching. The merchant and his siblings emerged from the forest, bags over their back. “Something smells wonderful,” he called out as they loped up.
“Found some fish,” smiled Sunset.
“Better than we did. We found some edible roots and nuts, and half a bag of wild berries,” he added.
“Oh I bet those would make a good lunch. We should cook the roots now so we can eat them later,” commented Sunset. They agreed, so they dumped them out, washed them up, and placed them around the fire to cook as well.
The fish and mushrooms were done, so they took them from the fire, two fish each and mushrooms to go with them. They enjoyed their breakfast while they waited for the roots to cook. When they were finished, they took the now cooked roots from the fire and placed them into the bag with the rest of the food. They put out the fire and quenched the embers, then finished loading up the cart. Sunset hitched herself up to it and they moved off down the trail towards the next stop, a moderately sized city.
They kept a decent pace that would have them at the city by nightfall. The merchant and his associates planned to spend the next few days in the city’s bazaar plying their trade, while Sunset and Aiko investigated more about the anti-magic arrows and what the Yak-uza were up to, particularly if they were still searching for them.
Because they were staying in the city and not a village this time, Sunset procured adjoining rooms at one of the local inns, including a locked storage stall for the cart and merchandise. They secured their goods with the cart. Sunset enchanted the lock and placed wards, then they ate together in the tavern, enjoying the hospitality, company, food and drinks while they unwound from the last two days of adventure.
After the welcome repast, they went together to the baths, and after washing the sweat and dust of the road from themselves enjoyed a wonderful soak in the hot spring baths. They shared stores as they soaked, Sunset mostly just listening as the merchant and his siblings told tales of their misadventures growing up in their shop, and Aiko laughingly added her own tales of mischief growing up on her dan with her cousins, and the trouble they seemed to have a knack for getting themselves into.
Bathed, fed, and relaxed, they retired to their rooms. Sunset and Aiko snuggled up on the bed and fell asleep.
The next morning, they rose, performed their ablutions, and after cleaning joined the merchant and his siblings for breakfast. Sunset pulled the cart from storage for them to the stall they procured to use during their stay, then she and Aiko left to start their investigations.
The first place they visited is the journeyman’s guild to find some work and determine if the Yak-uza were still looking for their missing slaves. Scanning the notices in the board, Sunset saw that yes, in fact the Yak-uza had in fact issued a sizable bounty on them, the notice including a surprisingly accurate description of them both. She took it down from the wall, claiming she was going to find them and collect the bounty, which got laughter and derision from many of the foxes and yaks who were also looking at the board.
“What?” laughed Sunset. “I could take them! They’re just a couple of prostitutes? How hard could it be?” That got even more laughter as she returned to Aiko.
“Find anything?” Aiko asked as she trotted up grinning.
“Yeah! We could turn ourselves in and be rich on the bounty!” joked Sunset quietly. Aiko rolled her eyes. Sunset passed the notice over to her and she read it.
“Wow you weren’t kidding. And that really is a good description. I guess they really want us back,” grinned Aiko.
“Yeah, so they can publicly make an example of us and keep all the others in line. I am so going to bring this with me when I sack the current management,” grinned Sunset.
“By sack, you don’t mean fire, do you,” laughed Aiko.
“Oh, there will be fire involved,” promised Sunset.
“I swear you’re not a pony,” Aiko chuckled. “You have the right shape, but everything that comes out of your mouth sounds like some kind of oni.”
Sunset smacked her friend's haunches. “Bite your tongue, vixen! I am a sweet and adorable little pony and don’t you dare say otherwise!” she joked.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” deadpanned Aiko. “I might end up sampling some of that fire you were talking about.”
Sunset laughed, giving her friend a shoulder bump. “Come on, let's see if anyone knows something about the anti-magic arrows.” They left the guild hall, looking for a magical shop that might have knowledge about the arrows. As they left, one of the yaks who had been at the board with Sunset slipped out as well.
Several shops later, they decided to break for lunch. They found a noodle stall, and bought two lunches of noodles with grilled fish and vegetables. They found a fruit juice vendor afterwards and enjoyed two cups of her wares, then resumed their quest for answers.
The third shop for the afternoon finally got them something.
“Excuse me. I’m looking for an artifact that can suck magic from magical creatures, something I can use as a weapon. Do you have something like that, or know of someone who might?” Aiko asked the shopkeeper.
“You mean like an inhibitor ring, like your servant has there?” snarked the fox keeping the shop.
“Yes, but more like a weapon. Something strong enough it just had to touch someone, like a pony, and it would knock them out. The rings are good, but too specific. I want something I don’t have to fight with strapping it on, something I could even just throw or shoot at them and it would work,” clarified Aiko.
“That’s a pretty powerful artifact. You don’t see artifacts like that used as common weapons,” hedged the fox.
“I don’t know about the common part, but we have seen them used. There was a group of ronan who had some, and we saw them use one. It was very effective,” added Aiko.
“Was a group?” observed the fox.
“Apparently, there’s no sign of them now. They seem to have passed like the wind,” added Aiko. Sunset rolled her eyes.
“Well,now that you mention it, there was a griffin that passed through here about a year back or so. He had a bag of rocks he was selling, claiming they could suck the magic out of just about anything. He sold me a sample to show around, said if anyone was interested he would be back and happy to sell through me if there were a sale.” The fox dug around behind the counter. “Where did I put that box?” He asked himself as he looked.
He pulled a box from a lower shelf, and placed it on the counter. “Here it is,” he stated. “Want to test it out? See if that’s what you’re looking for?” he asked.
“Yes, please,” agreed Aiko, picking up the box. She opened it, taking the flint like rock from inside. “Oh wow, it does feel tingly. Let’s see,” she said as she held it.
Turning, she reached out and held the rock against Sunset’s flank.
Teal magic poured out from Sunset and into the rock as she hissed loudly and jumped back. “What the Buck!” she spat at Aiko.
“Sorry Soni!” Aiko apologized, placing the rock back into the box and handing it back to the fox. “I just had to be sure it worked.” She turned to the fox. “So, you can get more of those? How many, and how soon? And once we settle that, now much?”
“And the answers to all that will have to wait until I see him again,” replied the fox.
“Any idea when that will be?” Aiko asked.
“Nope,” answered the fox. “Haven’t seen him since then. And like I said, that was over a year ago. If you’re interested, give me a way to get a hold of you, and I’ll let you know when I see him again.”
“Just send a message to the Prime Minister’s secretary, saying Soni was looking for it. He’ll make sure we get the message,” replied Aiko.
The foxes and Sunset’s jaws dropped. “You know the Prime Minister’s Secretary?” asked the fox, shocked.
“Yes, you know the Prime Minister’s Secretary?” asked Sunset, glaring pointedly.
The fox looked over at Sunset, then back at Aiko. “You allow your servants to talk to you like that?” he asked.
“I allow Soni to talk any way she wishes. Servant or not, we have been friends for a very long time, and I respect her thoughts,” answered Aiko, looking back at Sunset. Sunset just shook her head and looked away.
“So, yes, I know the Prime Minister’s Secretary. If you find a way to purchase more of those, please contact the Prime Minister's Secretary care of my servant. And I will then get in touch with you,” replied Aiko.
The fox nodded dumbly.
“Come on, Suni! We have other errands to attend to,” called out Aiko, leaving the shop. With a glance at the shop keeper, Sunset turned and followed her out.
Once they were clear of the shop and down the street, Sunset pulled Aiko into an alley.
“What the buck, Aiko! What are you thinking?” exploded Sunset.
“What the buck back! You know damned well what I am thinking!” growled Aiko. “We need a way for him to reach us, and my uncle is the only resource we can trust! Why are you even questioning this?” fumed Aiko.
Sunset stood back, looking at Aiko. “Well?” repeated Aiko.
“Okay, you’re right. That’s actually a fair point. We don’t have any contacts we can use, and we should have discussed that before I left you hanging, having to come up with something on the fly. That was my bad,” admitted Sunset. “But seriously, your uncle? The Prime Minister’s Secretary? That’s not exactly low key! You saw his reaction! He was just about as floored as I was,” counted Sunset.
“We can trust him. He is the one person with any authority we can trust,” responded Aiko.
“Why do you think we can trust him, Aiko? He was the one that said you had to kill yourself. That was all on him! Why should I trust him?” fumed Sunset.
“Because he was right, Sunset. He was only telling the truth. You know it. He knew it. I knew it. There was no other way it could have gone in our culture with what happened. Rage all you want, that’s just how it is here,” answered Aiko. “And he said it anyway, even though he knew it would hurt my mom and dad, hurt him. And kill me. Because he had to. Because he was right. And he looks out for our family. And if he knew I still needed him, he would still have my back,” responded Aiko.
“And you really believe that?” asked Sunset.
“With all my heart,” affirmed Aiko.
“Okay. I have to trust you. Our lives are riding on this, Aiko. No oops, try again. We have one shot at getting everything right. Just one. But if you say this is the way, then fine. We do it your way. How do I get to him so I can read him in on what we are doing?” asked Sunset.
“You’ll just make an appointment, as yourself. He’ll see you. Then you can explain it all to him, and let him know what we are trying to do,” answered Aiko.
“Fine,” sighed Sunset. “Any more surprises you plan on hitting me with? And speaking of which… What in Tartarus were you thinking, slapping that rock on me? Holy bucking hells that hurt! Why would you do that?”
“I needed to know if it was actually the same rock,” answered Aiko. “And there was only one way to find out. I only held it there for a moment, and was ready to whip it back if needed.”
Sunset nodded. “Fair enough. Just next time? Give a mare some warning, okay?”
“Okay. Still friends?” agreed Aiko, holding her paws out.
“Forever Aiko,” agreed Sunset, pulling her friend into a nuzzle.
They hugged for a bit, letting the tension fade, then stepped back into the street. “So, where to next, Soni?” asked Aiko.
“I guess keep looking, see if there are any more,” answered Sunset “And find some way to let your uncle know what’s really going on.”
“That’s going to have to be all you. I’m dead, remember?” snarked Aiko.
“Uh, yeah, I was the one that killed you. Kinda was there,” answered Sunset. “I just hope your uncle is as trustworthy as you think. We’re going to be trusting him a lot here.”
They entered the next store. The proprietor had no idea what they were looking for. They got the same response from the rest of the shops they visited. As it was getting later in the evening, Sunset proposed they head for the government office to send a message to her uncle. They went to the city hall. From the front desk, Sunset requested a quill,ink, and a piece of stationary, then composed of a letter to Aiko’s uncle, leaving it with them to deliver.
To the Secretary of the Prime Minister,
From Soni, former companion of Aiko Adobaizā
Care of City Hall, City of Tackasaki
Dear Sir,
My sincere regrets for the circumstances we met under, and the loss of your beloved niece and my dear friend, Aiko.
I have come upon some information that I feel compelled to share with you privately, at your earliest convenience. I will be in this town for the next few days if you wish to reach me, and will check back with this office for any response.
Thank you sir.
Suni
“Well that’s that. Hopefully he will get the message and be able to respond before we leave,” said Sunset as they left the city offices, trotting back to the market to check on the merchant and his siblings.
“I can’t imagine he won’t respond quickly. With the abruptness of your departure, he will be very curious about your reaching out to him so quickly afterwards,” noted Aiko.
“I suppose you’re right,” nodded Sunset.
They found the merchant and his siblings closing out the stall, moving the last of their wares into the cart. Sunset hitched herself up, then pulled it back to the inn, listening to them discuss their day's fortunes. Once Sunset had secured the cart back in the stall, locked up and warded, they went to the inn’s tavern for some dinner and relaxation.
After dinner Aiko and Sunset bathed, then retired for the evening. As they laid on their bed they discussed their plans going forward.
“Okay, so why are we dragging your uncle into this?” asked Sunset.
“I’ll get to that, but first, I want to know why you thought I would be okay with you just shipping me off to Equestria without you while you went on some sort of ninja raiding party without me,” countered Aiko.
“I wasn’t just shipping you off!” insisted Sunset. “I was concerned for your safety, and I’ve promised my princess, your Consul, and your friends that I would return you safe. Well, safe and unharmed, but I already failed at that part, so I wasn’t going to let you possibly get harmed even more by having you tag along while I cleaned up this mess.”
“Do you not understand anything about me? About us? We’re friends, Sunset! We were and are leashmates. That’s a level of family even deeper than blood! We don’t just wrap each other in cotton balls and lock them away somewhere safe! We bleed for each other, hunt and die for each other! By the goddesses, do you not understand anything?” stormed Aiko.
“I’m sorry, okay!” insisted Sunset. “I get that now. I wasn’t trying to be insensitive or ignore how you felt! I just wanted you safe. Not just because I promised. Because I care. Because if anything happened to you, anything more, after all you’ve suffered, I couldn’t live with myself. I’d hate myself for letting you down. I just couldn’t stand to let you get hurt again,” confessed Sunset.
Aiko held Sunset, staring into her eyes. “And I feel the same way about you. You came all the way over here, trapped in a shipping box, beaten and raped, then made a slave prostitute, just like I had, and all that by your choice just to save me! Me, who was stupid enough to let herself get captured. You suffered all that because of me, for my mistake! There’s no way I could let you face that kind of danger alone!”
Sunset looked tenderly to Aiko. “Aiko, you didn’t make a mistake. None of what happened is your fault, and I never saw you to blame for any of this,” Sunset assured her friend. “I chose this, I wanted to come after you, to save you. Even before I met you, I knew the kind of vixen you were. I could see from your friends devotion what a kind soul you were, and knew I would do anything it took to save you. I wanted to be your friend even then.
Sunset laughed ruefully. “Me, the mare who never wanted or had time for friends, and now have several, knew that you would be, and were, my friend. I had to come for you. I could never leave a friend to suffer alone like you were.” She hugged Aiko tightly. “I just want you safe, Aiko. I don’t ever want you hurt again.”
Aiko hugged her tightly. “I don’t think we get to choose that, Sunset. I think we just have to face what life offers us, and the best we can choose is to face it together. As friends,” she smiled.
Sunset hugged her back and smiled. “As friends. Okay Aiko. We’re in this together, for better or worse. Friends to the end.”
“Friends to the end,” agreed Aiko. “Okay, so that's settled. We need my uncle,” Aiko explained. “We need someone to help us wreck the Yak-uza, someone who can force the changes we make to stay made. He has the political connections and iron will to carry it through, and he will work with us to do what needs to be done.”
“I don’t want to seem disparaging,” cautioned Sunset, “but he is a politician, and politics is an extremely pragmatic art. What if the best course of action for him is to not keep our secrets? How can we be sure that will never happen? And I understand that is a horrible question to ask, and I am not trying to disrespect him in any way.”
“Yes, politics is flexible. But, he is not. Not when family is involved. And not when doing what is clearly right. He will stand with us to the end, I know it,” promised Aiko.
“Then I will take you at your word, because you know him better than I do, and possibly better than anyone,” agreed Sunset. “So revised plan. Step one, we read your uncle in on what is really happening, and what we are doing. Right after we agree on what we are doing.”
Aiko laughed. “Okay, so what are we doing?”
“Okay, new step one, figure out what we are doing. Then step two is read your uncle in,” Sunset chuckled. “So, step two. Here’s my goals.
“First, I made a promise to my leash sisters. I am not going to let the Beast hurt them. I need to neutralize him before he hurts or kills anyone else. That’s top of the agenda.
“Second, I’m freeing the slaves. No one has to stay working at the brothels. They can leave when and if they want,” continued Sunset. “And I know what that means now in your culture. I know what would be facing them if they returned home. So I expect many of them may want to stay. So I want all my sisters in bondage to be brought into the Zebrican sisterhood, so they can protect themselves from the harms of their profession. And for anyone staying, it would be a profession, if only because they could then leave. I would need my sisters that know the art to teach it to the others, and to promise to hold the secret safe, to keep others from using it against us. And for those that cannot practice the craft, they need to be protected, offered roles away from those who could hurt us.
“And lastly, time for me to clean the house within the Yak-uza. I wish I could just flush the entire Yak-uza away, but I can see that is not how your culture works, and I must work with your culture not try to replace it. So first, the Madam’s are now full partners, in complete control of their respective brothels. The mothers are their equal in the brothel, where they will work together for the safety of their leash. The mothers will care for the leash, and the Madams will keep them safe in the Yak-uza, making sure the Yak-uza takes their needs into account. And the cess-pits that are the commoners' brothels are getting upgrades. No more are they allowed to be places vixens and mares are sent to work and die. They will all be held to the ideas and culture of the exotics. And any that cannot will be closed down, and their leashes moved to others that can and will meet the new expectations. And yes, that means all the brothels of the Zebrican Sisterhood will be like the Exotics.
“As for the Yak-uza. Time for some management that cares for their clan, not just themselves or their pleasures. And the personal pleasure zoos are gone. The mares, kits, vixens and others in them will be returned to the brothels or set free at their choice. And the ones that trapped them there will be set free too; free from breathing,” fumed Sunset. “I saw the zoos when I was in the mind of our fearless leader. He will not enjoy our next visit, that is a solemn promise.
“And on top of this, I promised the Ronin I would get the emperor to rescind the edict forbidding Samurai from finding other work when dismissed. It’s wrong, and it’s driving honorable warriors into lives of crime and desperation. It has to stop,” finished Sunset.
Aiko laughed. “Is that all? Just want to reinvent and replace the seedier side of our culture. So what are we going to do after next Tuesday? Should have all this wrapped up in a couple of days, right?” snarked Aiko. “Ambitious much?”
“It’s not about being ambitious, it’s about doing what’s right, and not leaving messes behind you,” countered Sunset. “It takes what it takes. Yeah, I’d love to finish it all in a couple of days. I doubt it will go that fast. I may need to leave much of it in the hooves, or paws, of those I can trust. It really does take what it takes. But I am not keeping you here one second longer than I have to, your safety comes absolutely first. You are the reason I am here in the first place.”
“Okay, I can live with that. Just tell me what I need to do,” agreed Aiko, “except leave you to deal with all this yourself. That isn’t happening. And you’re leaving something out. Aren’t you afraid? What if someone else has more of those rocks? Then all our plans end right there.”
“True. But, I don’t think so. Just a hunch, but I may have gotten lucky? Sort of? If there were more out there, I would think I would have run into them before, or at least have heard of them. Honestly, they’re pretty impressive. I think even the Princess would have a hard time against those. So, my hunch is the griffin left some samples around, trying to drum up interest, but was probably too greedy to take the offers he got at first, then got robbed and didn’t get to sell them like he wanted. That said…” Sunset mused, “I am definitely done with my half cocked magic will solve everything attacks. All I have to be is wrong once with those things and I am done for good. Time to change my style, more like I had to do with the ronin who had them.
“And as for the rest? I guess it starts when your uncle contacts us,” responded Sunset. “We will figure the rest out from there.” Aiko nodded. They settled into the bed, snuggled up together.
“We got this, Sunset. You’ll see,” nodded Aiko as they fell asleep.
“I hope so,” agreed Sunset, eyes closed and almost asleep herself.
The next morning they woke, performed their morning ablutions, washed and joined the merchant and his siblings for a quick breakfast. Sunset again pulled the cart to the bazaar stall for them before Aiko and she headed off to check for more signs of the griffin merchant who had apparently passed through here a year ago with the bag of rocks that could completely suck the magic from a pony. As the day wore on, they were coming to the conclusion that he must have decided to just deal with the one fox exclusively, so for now they likely were not going to find any more rocks, or clues to his whereabouts, or the origin of his anti-magical rocks. They stopped at a noodle cart for a late lunch of grilled fish, vegetables and noodles, then headed to City Hall hoping for some word from Aiko’s uncle.
“I think we’re being followed,” commented Sunset as they wandered out of the bazaar.
“What!?” said Aiko in alarm, looking around in panic. Sunset facehooved.
“What are you doing?” she asked. Aiko stopped, looking at her in concern.
“You said we were being followed. I was looking for who was following us,” she said, worried.
“Well, not sure if you saw them, but I can promise you, they saw that. Vixen, I really need to teach you some spy-craft. If you’re being followed, the last thing you want to do is act like you know you’re being followed. After that high profile panic attack, even the two yaks following us… yes, those two, why don’t you wave for pity’s… oh for the love of Celestia, Aiko! I was just kidding! I cannot believe you actually waved! Oh great, they waved back! And here they come…” Sunset groaned.
Two Yaks, covered with tattoos, wandered up to the two. “Hey ladies! How you fine ladies doing?” greeted the larger of them as they trotted up. Sunset just hung her head, in deference, and frustration.
“Hey studs! I saw you checking us out,” grinned Aiko. “See something you like?”
“Don’t you know it, vixen! Kind of hard not to notice a hot number like yourself,” leered the Yak.
“Yeah, I saw you checking out my servant too, big guy. You into mares? She is kinda hot,” teased Aiko. The other Yak was grinning widely at their exchange.
“Vixen, I am into hot, and you two have that in spades,” soothed the Yak, pressing his luck.
“Lucky for you two I’m really into big and powerful. What say you two buy us some drinks, and we see where things go?” Aiko suggested, winking at the Yak.
“I say that sounds like a great idea! I know a little place not far from here, let me show you where it’s at,” offered the Yak with a leer, heading back down the street. Aiko loped after him, the other Yak at her heels.
“Come along, Suni! Let’s show these studs how city girls like us like to party,” she called out over her shoulder. Sunset groaned and followed, catching up to trot next to her friend.
A ways down the street, the Yaks led them into an alley. They turned back to Sunset and Aiko, still leering. Sunset leered back, stepping up to them. “Hey big boys, let me show you some of my better assets,” she purred, rearing up and putting a hoof on each of them. They both looked down then dropped like rocks, completely out. She wheeled around.
“What the buck, Aiko! What was that all about?” she hissed.
“What? I lived in Manehatten. You think I don’t know how to handle a pair of Stallions who can’t take no for an answer?” she laughed.
“These aren’t stallions! These are Yak-uza!” Sunset scowled.
“Same smell, same hormones. Talk to the little head and the rest follows. I had your back,” Aiko grinned.
“Girl, ugh…” groaned Sunset. “Yeah, you did. Good call. Okay, let’s see what tweedle dee and tweedle dum were really up to,” she replied, turning back to the two Yaks, still out next to the trash cans they stopped before. She placed her hooves on them. “Oh… yup. Yak-uza. Hmm. Ah that makes sense. Well that’s not so bad. Okay. How to spin this. Ugh. Aiko, I'm going to need your help on this one. Can you get us a lorry? We’re going to need a ride.”
“Sure, one sec,” nodded Aiko. She stepped back out into the street, and flagged down a heavy duty cab. The driver, a heavy set Yak, pulled up to the alley and stopped.
“Need a fare miss?” he asked from his harness.
“Yes please!” smiled Aiko. “Our dates did a little too much partying, and need to sleep it off for a bit. Mind if we load them up, and can you take us to a hotel?”
“What hotel are you staying at?” asked the Yak politely.
“Any love hotel will do,” grinned Aiko, giving him a wink. The yak laughed.
“No problem. There’s one not too far from here,” he offered.
“Thanks!” said Sunset, one of the Yaks over her back as she struggled towards the cab, then pushed him in.
“Damn girl, I didn’t know mares were that strong,” said the Yak in surprise.
“Yeah, we’re full of surprises,” said Sunset, slightly out of breath, heading back for the other one. She returned a moment later with him, and shoved him into the cart as well. They both hopped into the cab after them.
“Okay, we’re ready. Thanks again!” said Aiko.
“No problem ladies, happy to be of help,” laughed the Yak, pulling them out into traffic and towards the love hotel. As he promised, it was a short trip. Sunset unloaded them and carried them into the hotel room while Aiko paid the cabbie, with a generous tip, then booked their room for the next several hours, complete with wine and fruit snacks. She joined Sunset in the room, both sitting on the edge of the bed, the bed itself taken up by the two snoring yaks.
“Well, that happened,” snarked Sunset. “Life with you is never dull girl.”
“Back at you,” laughed Aiko. “So, what now?”
“We need to check if your Uncle has sent a reply, but I can’t leave these two alone or the spell will wear off and they’ll wake up. So I have to stay with them. And I don’t want to send you off alone, because others might be watching for us too, and I don’t want you caught without me. So afraid we might just miss your Uncle's reply,” explained Sunset.
“I should be fine, it’s only a few blocks from here,” commented Aiko. “Not like I can’t handle myself in a city.”
“I keep thinking about the last time you did, and I do not want a repeat of that. And that’s what will happen if the Yak-uza find us. I really want you safe, Aiko. I am not willing to take risks with your safety,” answered Sunset.
“I got this Sunset. Just put a tracker on me, and I’ll run over and right back. You’re making this a bigger deal than it needs to be,” assured Aiko.
“Fine, but please be quick about it. And no heroics. If something looks off, bolt, and come straight back here, okay?” relented Sunset.
“I promise, nothing else, and straight back here,” answered Aiko. Sunset laid the enchantment on her, then she slipped out of the room, heading for City Hall. Sunset hopped up on the bed and refocused the Yaks dreams, then hopped back down, all four hooves on the ground, sensing the progress of her friend through the ground below them.
She continued cycling back and forth between the Yaks and tracking her friend’s progress. An hour later, Aiko returned, entering the room with a smile.
“Got it!” she grinned, sitting up on the bed next to Sunset. “Let’s open it up.” Together they read the note.
To Soni, former companion of Aiko Adobaizā
From the Secretary of the Prime Minister,
Care of City Hall, City of Tackasaki
Suni, I am happy to hear from you. I will be in Tackasaki tomorrow, we can meet and discuss anything you wish then. Looking forward to seeing you again.
“Yes!” Sunset cheered quietly. “We are on. Okay, tomorrow then after we drop off the merchant and his associates at the bazaar, we’ll head over to City Hall and set things up. Progress!”
“Progress!” agreed Aiko, hugging her friend.
They stayed until it was time to pick up the merchant and his siblings from the bazaar. Sunset poured the wine down the sink then pulled a bag out from her saddle bags, sliding the fruit into it and placing it back in her bags. “Never know when we might want a snack,” she winked.
She refreshed her spell on the Yaks, closing out their experience and leaving them to slumber. “They’ll be bragging about this date for a while,” she grinned. They went and tipped the fox in the hotel office, explaining their dates were sleeping off the wine and would leave when they woke. They then loped over to the bazaar in time for Sunset to hitch up and pull the cart back to the storage and lock and ward it up for the night.
They ate dinner together, sharing stories and enjoying each other's company, then bathed and performed their ablutions for the night before retiring for the evening. Sunset and Aiko snuggled happily together, looking forward to tomorrow and the meeting with her uncle.