//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Chariots, Trains, and Horse-Drawn Carriages // Story: On Light Hooves I Tread // by AdamThePony //------------------------------// On Light Hooves I Tread a Fanfic by Adam J Nelon Chapter 5: Chariots, Trains, and Horse-Drawn Carriages Getting to bed last night was a feat of will. But, I had managed to get into a peaceful sleep...at least, at first. Last night, my subconscious mind developed a dark image. I dreamed that I was in a basement of some form. I tried to move my body in some fashion, but my hooves stayed in one spot. I could barely move my head. The only illumination in the room was a dim lantern, which glowed a hellish red hue. Something was definitely not right. A familiar giggle-nay, a cackle!- sounded from above. Then it hit me. I knew this exact scenario from the prior night. I gulped a knot down my throat and stared at Pinkie Pie descending the stairs in a nonchalant and merry fashion. She looked at me and giggled. "Ehehehe. Look who's awake!~" She said, grinning. "W-what's going on?!" I asked, panicking. "Oh, that's right! You didn't know! Your number's come up, I'm afraid." She then took a knife to her hoof. "But don't feel sad...I want you to to be happy!" I felt something being stuck in my mouth...something forcing me into a grin, yet keeping my teeth clamped shut. Even if I attempted to, I wouldn't be able to scream. I saw the knife drawing near me at a rapid pace, and my vision cut out... I woke with an audible gasp. It was all a dream. I searched my body to assess if I were actually awake, and moreover, if I was injured. There was not a scratch or mark on me. Thank the goddesses. That reminds me. I still was what was known as a "Blank Flank". I was without a cutie mark on my flank, and thus, I had no idea what my talent or skill was. As the thought occurred, I contemplated perhaps doing random jobs to help me receive one. Then I realized that some ponies younger than me were already doing so. I banished that thought away, then making an attempt to retrieve what else was on my agenda. I noted the time on the clock: 6 AM. I was under the thought that I would need to wake early to fulfill my obligation for today. I was to accompany Big Macintosh today to deliver a shipment of apples to Manehattan. The task didn't sound daunting, but considering that Applejack needed someone to accompany him made me wonder. Perhaps she thought I'd be able to use my (basic) knowledge of cloud control to repel thieves and varmints that might try to steal the shipment? I supposed in context, it was understandable. With that, I began to stretch and rise from my mat on the floor, letting out a yawn in as quiet a voice as I could. I then slipped the saddlebags onto my back and began to start for the bottom floor. I recalled Pinkie Pie had packed rations for the road trip, so that I would have a kick of energy if I started getting tired. While these were mostly sugary treats, they would do me for now. It was the thought that counted. As I left the front door, I winced at the glare of the morning sun. I always hated that about going out in the morning; a ton of light just frying your eyes. If I could, I would have used my hooves to shield my eyes. Then I remembered Ponies were naturally quadrupeds. Once my eyes recovered from the burn, I saw an Orange Mare bearing a ten-gallon hat and a golden mane and tail coming to my direction. "That's what ah like ta' see! Up bright n' early! Howdy, Mornin' Haze! Ready to get on the road with Big Mac?" "I sure am!" I grinned, walking alongside her. I felt the need to confirm my suspicion. "Hey, AJ? Why exactly did you need somepony like me to go with Big Macintosh? I mean, that buck's twice my size, and at least three times my strength!" Applejack chuckled a bit. "Well, that's because while he is strong, he's gotta pull the wagon. He can't be pullin' it and drivin' the thieves and varmints off at the same time. So, I figured I'd get a spitfire like you to watch the cart and keep anything from makin' off with the apples in that cart." I knew it. But that raised a follow-up question. "Well, who in Manehattan are we shipping these apples to?" "Some big-shot grocer. They wanted us to deliver only the ripest apples from our harvest so that they could be used in all kinds of cosmopolitan stuff. Can't remember the name of the grocer for the life of me, but you should be able to find it by a sign that looks like a Cornucopia." "Right. Sounds like it'll be a piece of cake once we get there, eh?" "Yeah. But there's the hard part right there; gettin' there." I smiled. This was going to be an eventful day. "Well, we're here. Once Big Mac's hitched up, ya'll are on yer way. I wish ya good luck!" The orange farm-mare shouted, darting into the barn. I went to where the crimson stallion was being hitched up. "Howdy, Big Macintosh! Looks like we'll be on the road together, huh?" "Eyup." "Is Manehattan far from here?" "Nope." My. Wasn't this Stallion a chatty type? After a few minutes of fastening, the Goliath to my David was ready to get on the road, and began to walk down the roads, myself behind him as we headed the direction opposite the sun. The morning as we began the journey to Manehattan was quiet at first. The majority of the sounds that emanated from the first few minutes were songbirds chiming their medleys gayly as we trotted. Apart from that, the silence was deafening me. So, knowing no other course of action, I attempted small talk. I had to ask something that made me curious. "I wonder....why don't you talk much?" Silence was my only reply, at least momentarily. As he walked, I heard him snort a moment. "Guess ah...never had much reason tuh." "Why's that?" Big Macintosh stopped in his tracks for a moment, then turned to me with a straight face. "Persistent one, ain't ya? Just like Lil' Applebloom." I swore I could hear I chuckle as we began to walk again. "It's simple, really; Back when I was just a colt, I was about as chatty as Pinkie Pie was. But, I was too chatty for mah own good. Eventually, I just shut up, and let mah actions speak for themselves." Exactly what I was expecting from a token stoic. He then chuckled to me and turned a bit. "Well, I guess now I ask you somethin'" "Wait, what?" "Ya know. Prid Pro Quo, or whatever the hay it's called. So ah gotta ask this; You say you're from Cloudsdale?" "Yeah...?" "And you say you have no memory?" "Yeah..." "So, what exactly happened that got yah crossed with mah sis and all?" I froze. While I had half-expected this, I had also almost neglected that information. "Well..I remember waking up one morning and...well, have you ever woken up one morning, and nothin' about ya seemed right? The way you walked? The way you talked? Everything just felt queer?" "...Yeah, I've felt that way sometimes. So what happened next?" "Well, I thought I'd get my faculties straight first, then I'd try to blend in to the crowd till I got an idea of who i was. So, I ended up doing some sight-seeing in Cloudsdale. Problem was, I wasn't watching my walk, so I ended up falling off a cloud. If it weren't for that Rainbow Dash, I probably would've met some rough pavement or grass." The brick-red stallion in plow barding chuckled a bit. "Ah guess ya got some luck more rotten then the bad apples at Sweet Apple Acres, huh?" "Yeah! I guess you're right!" I laughed back. With this, the two of us exchanged backstories as we made our way further down the road to Manehattan. What came next was probably the worst of the obstacles; a Steep Incline. To anypony who knows basic physics, a steep incline, plus tons of weight, plus a wheeled cart, makes for quite a difficult endeavor. Mix that with the chance of being assaulted by varmints, and you've got a recipe for disaster. I was to watch the cart, when both I and my crimson companion noticed a pack of raccoons making a move on the shipment. "Ah, Shoot! Listen, kid! Ah can't get outta this barding. It'd just let the cart loose. Do us both a favor and get these varmints off our backs, will ya?" I nodded, thinking a moment. What would be a deterrent for small mammals? I could try throwing stones, but that would be difficult considering I had hooves. Then I recalled something that Rainbow Dash taught me. Controlled Lightning Strikes! As the idea dawned upon me, I hopped into the nearest patch of cloud and began to mount it as my steed, slowly lowering it down. I kept myself silent, and waited for them to get close enough to the cart before bearing my hooves down upon the cloud, sending a bolt of aerial justice down upon the raccoons, freezing them for a few moments before they turned tail and ran. I then decided to duck inside the cloud and float near Big Macintosh. "Thankin ya kindly." He said with a grin. I grinned inside the cloud, floating carefree. I can see why Pegasi liked this; it was like being wrapped in a memory foam mattress. I felt almost weightless as I bobbed about. However, I soon left the cloud to continue on the way to Manehattan... The road into Manehattan was fairly calm, but the streets, as I would expect, were packed to the brim with throngs upon throngs of Upper-crust Ponies admidst common knaves. "Whelp, looks like we're in Manehattan, finally." Big Macintosh grunted, a smile creeping on his face. "Certainly looks like it." I concurred, terra firma as I leapt out of the cloud I was relaxed in. As I overlooked the city, I was awestruck by the beauty of this forest of metal and concrete. While I had at one point been in a large city, I'd never been in ones like New York.(Or rather, in this case, Manehattan.) "Ah take it yuh never been in this big a city, eh?" My Brick-red companion asked. "Took the words right outta my mouth." I chuckled back as we walked into the city. As I followed my hulking friend through the streets, I had a moment to marvel at the almost mirror-like accuracy Manehattan was to Manhattan. Most of the landmarks I had learned from films, such as Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, and its various sections, were almost completely spot-on... "'Ey! Watch where you're walking, ya mook!" ...As was the audacity of many of its citizens. I sighed a moment. "Don't worry none." Big Macintosh assured me. "Yuh get used to it after a few trips." "Right, right." I murmured. "Say, who are we delivering this to, anyway?" Big Macintosh stopped for a moment. "Iff'n I remember right, some big-name grocery store here called "Natural Harvest"." I chuckled a bit. I was probably the only one that knew that such a phrase had another connotation. "I just hope these apples are nice and ripe. If they ain't, we're gonna get yelled at plenty." "Why's that?" A pause fell over us. "Cuz the head pony at Natural Harvest is real picky. If anything ain't right, he'll get real cross." Big Macintosh noted. "You sound familiar with him." I added. "Ah've...had a few bad shipments. Personally, I think he's just a spoiled brat." I chuckled. "We'll be there in about Five or so minutes, so ah'd brace yerself." I nodded, steeling my nerves as we kept on our path. If there was one skill I knew better than anything, it was having a silver tongue. I could probably try to reason with this proprietor if push came to shove, but that was tempting fate. As we approached a large building featuring a bushel of many different fruits and vegetables, I gulped down a knot in my throat. "C'mon, Haze. We're goin' 'round the back to deliver." "Okay, Big Mac!" I said, sweating a bit as we went to the rear of the buidling. It looked a lot like a normal delivery area; Several carts of produce were unloaded by possibly some of the hardiest Earth Ponies I'd seen since I first arrived in Equestria. Their ability to load and unload with such synchronicity was awe-inspiring. "YER LATE." And then somepony kills the mood. It was a rather lanky Earth Pony with a pale green coat, baggy eyes, a dour look on his face, and a spoiled tomato Cutie Mark. He looked mad. Or maybe that was just how he always looked? Kinda hard to tell, due to his aged look. "Aw, pony feathers. Sorry, Rotten Tomato. we ran into some delays." Big Mac groaned, scratching his head with his hoof. "Well, at least ya got here on time. That's all that matters...Ya don't mind if I try one?" the proprietor asked, taking hold of an apple. "I don't mind a bit. Just save the rest for everypony who shops here." "Yeah, yeah." The next few moments were spent staring at this dowdy pony crunch into this apple. That was, until he decided to spit it into, of all ponies, my face. "Ah, fer pete's sake, Rotten! Can't ya just turn the other way before you do that?" Bic Mac groaned, disgusted. The green pony held up the apple he had just eaten into. "Do ya see this?!" He asked. "See....what?" I asked back. He then turned the apple, revealing...a caterpillar?! "Ya gone and let some vermin loose in the cart! That means the whole darn thing could be infested! Sorry, but I can't take this shipment! Yer gonna have to go back and get a new one ON THE DOUBLE!" The stallion, as ever, kept himself stoic. How anypony could possibly maintain such zen in front of another with such venom was beyond me. But, his stoicism was betraying him. Beyond that calm stare, I saw discomfort, and as empathetic as I was, I wouldn't stand to see my friend in such disarray. My face turned bright red as I overtook my friend and gave the old colt a venomous stare. What erupted from my jaw even scares me. "Now you look here, you ungrateful glutton! Big Macintosh and the rest of the Apple Family worked their flanks off to get these apples at the peak of harvest season! Then, they entrusted the toughest colt and a trusted friend to cart these suckers to your doorstep! Just because one little pest is in one apple doesn't mean the whole darn thing's done for! Sorry you had to bite into a bug, but that's just how the apple rots, old man! These things don't go a mile a minute, and with the sun going down, I only see two options. Either you can take these apples, we can just take a hike!" What was left of me stormed off, cutting loose multiple plumes of steam. The elderly pony stood there in awe, then frowned and hung his head. "Oh...ah'm sorry for all the fuss, Big Macintosh...Ah didn't think yer friend would do...well...that. It's just that...well, business has just been real slow ever since that new grocer moved in, and ah've been hard-pressed to find a way of gettin' mah customers back. Muh wife don't let me hear the end of it, neither...if it's any trouble, I'll add ten percent of what I payed for these to your tip." Big Macintosh blushed. "Well, that's mighty sincere of ya, Rotten, but we don' mean to impose..." "Nah, I insist...Just keep it under your collar, ya hear?" "Eeyup." With that, the two of them began to laugh! Even in my brief fit of rage, I felt myself chuckling a bit, too. Heck, chuckling was putting it way too lightly! I was laughing my flank off! Following that mishap, the three of us went to patch things up with Rotten's wife, Diced Tomato, and they eventually compromised into selling their wares at the Grand Galloping Gala in the months to come. That seemed awfully familiar to me, but I couldn't figure out how... The trip home was the easiest part of the whole ordeal. And good thing, too; all that shouting pretty much wore me out into exhaustion, to where I had to be carted in the wagon. I could barely keep my eyes open, but the sight of that technicolor night sky, throughout prolonged blinks and heavy eyelids kept me with wonder. The sky was not unlike my homeland. Too bad I was never a good eye at constellations. "You all right back there, Haze?" Big Mac asked, as I weakly rose a hoof, smiling. "That's good. You just get some rest. We'll be in Ponyville in ten more minutes." the red stallion chuckled. The rising moon, glittering stars, and the rocking and rumbling of the cart certainly aided me in nodding off into sleep... This dream was more docile than my prior one by a long shot. However, the images that were conjured were...interesting. I was in a mostly-black abyss. Beneath my hooves was but tempered and stained glass. The image, as I turned a 360 around, was based on one of the eldest icons in Equestrian mythology; An almost Taoist imagery of the two matriarchs of Equestria: The Princesses Celestia and Luna. Stood on each half was the Alicorn of its imagery. Natural instinct caused me to bow. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visitation?" I asked, my head low. The ivory mare smiled, chuckling in such a manner that it filled me with zen. "We come simply to congratulate you on your progress. You are steadily learning of our ways and culture, and for that, you should be commended." Celestia chimed, her smile still etched to her face. "My elder is correct," The ebony mare known as Luna concurred. "Thou act as if thou were a natural equestrian. Of that, we are sure." I blushed. Hearing this from royalty was something that made me giddy. "Your next adventure will involve something that requires much cooperation and insight...and a positive-self-image." The Alabaster Alicorn explained, smiling. "Do you think you can handle that?" A grin crept to my face as I nodded. "I can, your Majesties. As always, I shall not fail you." With this, I took a bow, my eyes meeting the kind gaze of Celestia's violet eyes...Then a tickling feeling arced across my body. As I turned, I saw the marble wing of Celestia gently draped about me as a curtain. "I have high hopes for you, Adam. Don't disappoint anyone...okay?" I blushed a bit. I know that she was the reason I was here in the first place, but it seemed quite odd that this deity of the sun referred to me by my true name. It was a bit embarrassing, even. Regardless, I smiled as Celestia's wing withdrew. "The sun will be rising soon. With that, we take our leave...do take care, now..." I nodded, shutting my eyes as brightness flared into them... "Oh my goodness! Thank Celestia that I've found you, Big Macintosh! I was hoping to find a stallion like you!" The familiar voice of Rarity chimed. "Well, what'cha need him fer?" Applejack quipped back, blushing a bit at their impromptu meeting. "Well, it's quite simple, really; There's a fashion show in Canterlot for upcoming designers, and this year, it's for Colts and Stallions only! So, my first instinct was to ask Big Macintosh for his cooperation in this matter! I was hoping perhaps he could be of assistance?" The violet-maned fashionista proposed, her eyes gleaming a moment. "Nope," grunted Big Macintosh, as he was slowly being relieved of his tow-cart bardings. With this, Rarity backpedaled a bit, shouting an astonished, "What?! But why?" as her jaw hung open. "Truth be told, Ah'm plum-tuckered out. Been carting a shipment of apples from here to Manehattan. Wasn't exactly an easy trip. But, if yuh can wake 'em, I'm sure my friend here would be glad to lend a helpin' hoof." Rarity peered into the cart which housed me. Her wonderous blue eyes meeting my barely open brown orbs. "Ah! This might actually be better in my favor! His smaller frame will make this much easier," She noted, smiling curtly. "However, it seems he is in a much less rested state. Worry not, Rarity is on the job! I'll have him ready to grace Canterlot by week's end!" With this, I felt lighter. A tickling feeling pased through my body as I heard but a faint hum grace my ears. I was barely awake, but I could make out the Carousel Botique nearing, and a faint blue shimmer around me... Whatever this show Rarity intended me to polish me for was going to be like, it would prove to be quite an interesting endeavor....