A Slave From Ponnheim

by reedman

Getting to Canterlot

I had a terrible nightmare last night. My father and grandfather were carrying Nebel away in a cage. Prinz Fiesling simply stared at me with a cruel smile as I begged my family to release the human. I woke up to shouting coming from above. I heard the crew talking of Baltimare being on the tip of the horizon. Sternenblick packed our stuff back into saddlebags while I talked to Nebel. I reminded him that he had to stay hidden on the ship while Sternenblick and I shopped for supplies. His freedom was a few days away. He told me he waited his whole life to be free, and that a few more days would be fine.

Our first day in Equestria was no walk in the park. Getting our supplies in the Baltimare port market was easy enough. Getting back to the ship? Not so much. Sternenblick decided to check a wanted poster wall to see what Nebel’s bounty was. We tried our best to hide our shock. The poster covered the entire wall, plastered over the other posters. The bounty was five hundred thousand bits. We overheard some slave catchers talking about posters of Nebel’s accomplices being distributed in an hour or two. We hurried to the ship. I could feel a few of them staring at us. We were on a time crunch now. Getting out of Baltimare was now priority number one. Accomplices to a bounty often have bounties of their own. We were in Horseshoe Bay, which connected to the river we needed to follow. Following the ridge line of the bay was the best bet at the moment. Most of the slave catchers were waiting for our pictures to be added to the poster wall.

In our haste to get out of the city, a couple curious slave catchers stopped us. One of them recognized Nebel. It was bad. A stroke of luck came upon us though. Three changelings came out of seemingly nowhere, and scared off the slave catchers. The three of us were nervous at first. They changed their tone quickly. They asked us if we were okay. They were mostly concerned about Nebel. A strange notion. At least until I remembered that changelings had been scooping up runaways for the past few decades. The split seconds of fear made me a tad forgetful. They asked Nebel if he wanted to come with them. They had a massive village by their hive. All humans. Never having to obey a pony’s orders ever again. They even promised to protect him from any slave catchers that would try to take him away. Nebel looked at us, then told them he wanted to see Princess Celestia first. He didn’t fully understand what asylum was, but he knew we all needed it. The changelings were upset at him denying their offer, but would respect it. He told them he would consider it after seeing Princess Celestia. They then offered to help us get out of the city after hearing that. The lead changeling carried Nebel on his back as we walked. He would tell him about the human village, and how every human had a house of their own. Sounded like a real salespony. I was grateful to finally reach the outskirts. All three changelings had spent the entire walk talking to Nebel. They pretty much forgot Sternenblick and I existed. They told him they would come with us, but they had to get back to the docks. They had changelings at the base of the mountain below Canterlot, so Nebel had a way to accept their offer later. We finally parted ways when we made our goodbyes.

We ended up walking for another hour yesterday. We followed the river for a bit before we had set up camp. Oats and veggies for supper. The tent I had was made for two ponies. Once again, I was grateful for Nebel’s small size. He had slept between us. Although I saw him cuddled up to Sternenblick the next morning. A habit she told me she was partly at blame for. Her room back home was terribly drafty, so Nebel would cuddle up for warmth. Not the worst habit to have. We had packed up, and were back on the road to freedom. According to the map, the river would take us to the southern edge of the Everfree Forest by the end of the day. After that, we had to decide to either go around or through the forest. Going through the forest was dangerous, but would cut out an entire day of walking. A few hours through the forest, the rest of that day to the base of the mountain. I read that getting up the mountain was a day’s walk. I’m glad we’re walking at Nebel’s pace.

So even the edge of the Everfree Forest wasn’t entirely safe. We had a pack of timberwolves ambush us. It happened as soon as we got to the southern edge. A few blasts from Sternenblick, and they all ran off. It was hard for me to sleep. So I went out on patrol around our campsite. One of the few things I could be useful for. Seems Nebel was as sleepless as I was, as I saw him not long after I left the tent. I asked him if he was okay. Seems he was nervous. He was scared of what would happen when Princess Celestia saw his magic. A part of him wondered if he would be experimented on, hidden away from the world, or worse. As we sat by the dying coals, I found myself pulling him close to me with a foreleg. I promised him that no matter what happened, I would protect him. Even if the princess herself could no longer be trusted, I would take him on my back and run as fast as my legs could take me. I also told him that Sternenblick would do the same. That seemed to be what he needed to hear. We shared a hug, and he went back to bed. As I write this entry by the dim coals, his concern makes me think more. Our plan was built on the idea of Princess Celestia granting us asylum. Getting Nebel’s magic seen by her has a lot of implications we didn’t think of. What if she thinks the effect his existence would have on the world is too extreme? No. I can’t let these negative thoughts cloud my mind. I have to remember that she’s ruled over Equestria for countless centuries. Her experience far surpasses my own. She was the first to denounce slavery after allowing it to happen for too long. Nebel could be the thing she was looking for in terms of freeing humans. Global emancipation. A wonderful thought to sleep to.

We were just about finished getting camp packed away when they came. For once, it wasn’t timberwolves or changelings. It was a small family. They introduced themselves as the Smith family. Seed Smith, and his wife Fuji. Their foals, Granny Smith, Macintosh, and Seedling. We introduced ourselves. After hearing a bit of an accent slip from his wife, I asked Seed Smith if they knew any Ebbelwoi shippers in Germaneigh. Fuji just happened to be related to the same apple growers from Flankfurt that helped us. Small world. Seems they’re seed collectors, and Canterlot is their next destination on their pilgrimage. We told them we’re from Ponnheim, and we were taking Nebel to Princess Celestia so he can be granted asylum. We told them we were taking the quicker route through the forest. Seed was nervous for us, as the reputation for the Everfree was not to be taken lightly. The family chose to join us, as they wanted to get to Canterlot as quickly as we did. I helped Seed pull the carriage. Sternenblick and Nebel sat close to the front. A couple timberwolves, and a few blasts from Sternenblick were about all the excitement we got. It seemed her and I had a silent agreement to keep Nebel’s magic to ourselves for the moment. Not that we didn’t trust the Smith family. It was more a matter of “need to know” information. I guess that massive bounty on Nebel has given me trust issues. We got out of the forest a little after noon. We’re taking a break for lunch. The Smith family was running low on food, so we shared ours. They were thankful as could be. Seed shared with me his desire to find a place to settle down the family. A place to call home. I asked him if he wanted to come with us to see Princess Celestia. Surely she could spare a bit of her vast land. Since they had to travel up the mountain anyways, he agreed. Seedling and Macintosh volunteered for the next shift of pulling the carriage. I’m glad they did. If it wasn’t for old-fashioned Earth pony strength, I think I would be sore all over from pulling this carriage. They plan to camp at the mountain base tonight, then it was up to Canterlot in the morning.

I remember when we were told that changelings were at the base of the mountain. I didn’t see any when we camped last night. Although I swear I saw some bug eyes watching us. They managed to make a morning appearance when we were all eating breakfast. Almost a dozen. Just like the ones in Baltimare though, they were only focused on Nebel. A couple snarls at the group, then immediately to asking him if he was okay. They asked if he wanted to go with them to get away from us. He told them no, because we were all going to see Princess Celestia. They tried to steer his line of thinking at first. They told him that Princess Celestia was so busy, that seeing one human might not be possible for her. Sternenblick stepped forward, and told them we needed to get Nebel to her highness quickly. Nebel had a massive bounty on his head, and we didn’t know how much time we had before slave catchers caught up. They waved it off, as bounties on runaways and their accomplices was common. When she spoke of his bounty, all went silent. It was a gamble to tell those around us that he was worth half a million bits. It paid off, as they finally backed down. They were about to leave, when it happened. A small boulder from higher up on the mountain fell towards us. Nebel levitated the boulder without hesitation when it was just above our heads. He tossed it a safe distance. After some curious stares, the changelings left. The Smith family also had curiously stared at Nebel. Sternenblick and I agreed to fill them in after they were finished getting packed up. Today’s walk up is gonna be a long one.

Seed and his family were beyond skeptical of what they had seen back down there. While his sons were pulling the cart, Sternenblick and I did our best to explain while a nervous Nebel sat between us. Fuji thought it was fascinating that a human could have magic at all. Seed commented that a magical human with slave runes could be dangerous in the wrong hooves. It was something that neither of us considered before. What if there were more like Nebel out there? It was something to keep in the back of our minds. Despite my previous nerves, the Smith family seemed to take it well. I was glad they agreed to keep the secret. We weren’t too sure about sharing the origin of his powers. I don’t think they fully believed us. The idea of a non-magical species suddenly getting magic because a friend was in danger, sounded a little ridiculous out loud. All that matters however, is that Nebel’s secret is safe again. Although I can’t say the same about the changelings. Given their desire to scoop up every human they can to feed on their love, the looks they gave him made me worry. Changelings have always been gentle towards humans, but I wonder what thoughts they have concerning him. I will have to speak to Princess Celestia about our changeling encounter. We’re halfway up the mountain, and the young boys need a break. We should make it to Canterlot by nightfall.

We made decent time, and got to the Canterlot outskirts around sunset. Our meal consisted of the last of our food supplies. We would have to buy our breakfast tomorrow. We still had a few bits between our two groups. As we all sat around the fire, I could see a few curious faces in the distance. I had instinctively wrapped a foreleg around Nebel when they approached. We had the luck of not encountering any bounty hunters on our trip so far. Turned out to just be some of the locals that wanted to make sure we weren’t bounty hunters ourselves. They had runaways in town they were looking after. Both former slaves and some of their pony accomplices lived in Canterlot. Sternenblick and I carefully brought up our need to seek asylum, along with Nebel. Our visitors told us that Princess Celestia would come by tomorrow morning for her weekly check-in on any new runaways. A huge relief. They also offered to give us some food in the morning for breakfast. The Smith family slept fine, and the three of us would sleep less stressfully for the first time. As I write this entry under the shining moon, I want to be hopeful that our journey is nearly over. Deep down however, I know that not to be true. Once Nebel is seen by the princess, he’ll quickly become public knowledge. Under international law, you can’t enslave a magic-capable species. With Nebel being the only thing standing between the world and the status quo, I don’t see the immediate future being kind to us.