A new beginning
By Da Bunnana King
Chapter four: War story
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As I slowly and unsteadily rose from the tub, I attempted to grab the towel with my mouth. Looking back on the idea, maybe I should've stuck to getting out of the tub instead of doing two things at once.
Needless to say, it was a quick introduction for my muzzle and the railing of the tub.
“Are you alright?!” yelled the muffled voice of my mother as I carefully stepped out the tub.
“YEAH!” I yelled back as I regained my footing on the solid ground, “Just tripped, don’t worry I’m fine.”
“Just checking!” she yelled back.
I sighed and looked back at the semi-brown and very soapy bath water. I held my breath and dunked my head into the water looking for the plug. After a few seconds my muzzle bumped into it and I yanked on the chain making the water quickly drain.
“Ack,” I said as I spat the plug out with disgust. I could taste the terrible bath water along with the suds. I could feel the water dripping down my long neck and my mane.
Sighing again, I reached for the towel with my hooves and attempted to dry myself the best way I could. Even then I could feel damp patches of fur and I could even feel beads of water slowly moving into my ear canal.
I ignored it and went back to furiously rubbing my coat in a futile attempt to dry myself.
‘I’ve got a feeling things aren’t going to get easier from here on out,’ I thought to myself as I hung up the towel.
===
As I left the small bathroom rejuvenated from the bathroom with my mane the tiniest bit damp.
“Ahh, there you are Rune,” said my mother as she poked her head up from in front of the couch, “How was your bath?”
“Really good, seeing how it’s the first bath I’ve had in months,” I replied as I trotted back into the living room to find a spare seat. Sadly there was none as my mother and Remi were busy braiding each-others mane and tail, while Sunset took up the other couch by lying on it spreadeagle. So I decided to find a nice place to sit down on the floor instead.
“So sweetie you never told me about the trip over,” mum eagerly said as she moved a fine comb through Remi’s steel mane.
“Well there wasn’t much to it. We just got our things together and hopped on the next boat to Equestria. Remi slept most of the way and I wondered around up deck for most of the trip,” I said as I sat down on the fuzzy carpet.
“So you didn’t find anypony to talk to then?” said Sunset as he rolled over to face me.
“Well I did meet a Royal Guard pony,” I began as Sunset sat up again.
“Oh do you remember his name. I used to be a guard you know,” he stated as I tried to recall his name from the recesses of my mind.
“It was Aegis-,” I said rubbing my chin with a foreleg, “Aegis Exemplar.”
“Did he have a burgundy coat and a brown mane?”
“Yes; how come?” I asked as I could feel a war story from my father was about to be heard.
“Well back when I was just a scout for the pegasi division we had contracted a few mercenaries to help us track down a lair of a hydra,” he began as he waved his hooves to create a scene.
===
It was a humid heat that filled the air. It made my wings stick to the metal plates of my armour and I was sweating buckets underneath the thing as well. But after a long haul to the eastern reaches of the Zebricorn territory right next to the border of Equestria, we had come to the small village of Mire Muck.
“Well Capitan. We did make it to the village with my navigation skills instead of your plan to send the scouts out to find a simple path in the dirt,” nastily said a petite female unicorn who only wore a long flowing robe that covered her from mane to tail.
“Yes after we got lost six times,” playfully retorted a large pegasus who wore the same golden and blue trimmed armour as us all. We all had the same color mane and coats as our armour that had been enchanted with magic to make us look the all the same. White was our coats to represent our pure hearts that made us all honest ponies and a royal blue mane and tail to show our regal support for Princess Celestia.
“Still, we got there faster with my plan,” retorted the unicorn.
“Come on guys, can’t we just get along for one mission. Please I swear this constant bickering is going to drive us apart,” begged another pegasus guard.
“Private Flowers you know it’s never going to happen. They’re like an old married couple, constantly bickering back and forth. Don’t be surprised if you hear them arguing over what dinner is going to be,” I joked as both officer ponies glared at me.
“Very funny Lance Corporal, but I’ll to have you know that you’re treading on thin ice. Especially that stunt you pulled back in basic training,” glared my Commanding Officer Clouddagger.
“Alright I’ll keep my mouth shut, but I think we have our friends waiting up ahead,” I defensibly said as we trotted up to two ponies waiting for us at the outskirts of the lakeside town.
One was a very jumpy pegaus who kept on sharpening his sword on a small grindstone he held in his mouth. The other was a massive Earth pony with gleaming iron armour which covered him. All I could see of the stallion was his tail and his massive helmet which hid two large blue eyes.
“I’m to assume one of you is Aegis and the other Flash. Am I correct?” asked Moonwater, our unicorn doctor.
“Yes ma’am,” said the earth pony as he removed his helmet to reveal a burgundy coat and his brown mane.
“Aegis Exemplar at your service miss,” he said as he held out his hoof to Moonwater who shook it.
“Pleasure to meet you Aegis,” she politely responded as she faced toward the pegaus that was still sharpening the sword.
He quickly looked up at Moonwater and spat out the stone. In a motion that was quicker than a charging bull, he had placed his sword into a sheath he held on his back.
“I’m Flash, so you’re the pony I talk to get paid?” he asked as he moved over to Moon.
“Payment after the job is done,” sternly said Cloud as Flash cocked his head towards him.
“Just saying,” he said as he snapped his head back to Moon, “So I guess follow me to the hydra’s lair.”
“Lead the way,” said Moon as we followed him. I unfurled my wings and began to follow him through the town.
I’d decided to fly next to Aegis seeing as he seemed like the only pony to talk to.
===
“During the trip to the layer me and Aegis talked about life and this whole incident with the hydra,” Sunset concluded.
“So what happened to the hydra?” asked Remi who seemed enthralled by the story.
“Turns out it was just a family of dragons who’d set up camp for the two weeks for the great migration of the dragons,” he said as he leant over and ruffled Remi’s mane.
“Hey, I just finished styling that,” complained my mother as she let out a sigh of frustration before combing the cute fillies mane again.
“Quite the tale,” I responded.
“Yes and I’ve got plenty more where that came from,” he boasted as he puffed out his chest in pride.
“Oh darling, don’t bore him to death. And besides I’m sure he has quite the tale of how he got to Equestria,” mum quipped.
“It isn’t that interesting, trust me,” I said as I could feel the lie eating away at me.
“Alright, but I’ll find out one day,” she said as I felt my heart begin to rush in fear of what she would do to me if she did find out.
“Anyhow, I think I might stretch my legs and see what’s around town. Is that alright with you?” I asked mum as I slowly began to rise from my seated state.
“It’s fine by me, but just don’t be too long,” my mother called out as something snapped at the back of my head.
“Also before I forget, the book club meeting was moved to Tuesday instead of Monday. Oh and do you know where Twilight Sparkle lives?” I asked as I quickly trotted over to my saddle bags and pulled everything out except the book that Shadow Jester gave me.
“She lives in the big tree near the outskirts of town… why?” she asked as I slung the saddlebags over my back.
“Oh a friend recommended I see her to advance in the field of magic,” I said as I trotted out.
“Okay, just be careful sweetie!” she yelled out as I closed the door behind me.
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I trotted through the now busy and bustling country town. Even though I’ve always been on edge in large crowds, I felt at ease as I walked among everypony.
“FRESH ASPARAGUS!” yelled one pony from a stall filled with crates of asparagus. His voice was mixed in with other street vendors selling their crops at the market. Even looking down the long street full of tents, it was like a rainbow of colors with ponies of all different shapes and sizes to match them.
“Ahhh, the sounds of a farmers market,” sighed a pony who’d trotted up next to me.
“I guess so,” I responded, “Then again I’ve never been to one in my life.”
“Oh,” said the feminine sounding voice, “So you must be somepony new?”
“I guess so,” I said as I turned my head to see whom I was talking too. She was a seafoam green unicorn with a white mane with several stripes of seafoam throughout her mane. She bore a cutie mark of a golden harp, but I snapped my eyes back to her face as I shouldn’t have my eyes wandering to a pretty mare’s flank.
‘What am I thinking? I’m a human for Pete’s sake… Well not anymore I guess,’ I though as I could my face begin to warm up in embracement.
“Sorry I didn’t catch your name miss?” I began while she responded with.
“Lyra Heartstings,” she said blushing.
I blushed as well. She was downright cute and I couldn’t help this new emotion I was feeling, but I snapped myself out of the trance.
“Sorry I got to be somewhere. I’d love to talk to you but I have to leave,” I said as I broke the conversation.
“Yeah same as I, but you didn’t tell me your name,” Lyra said.
“Oh sorry, it’s Blue Rune. See you around?” I asked as rubbed my neck in embarrassment.
“Well I’ll see you around Bluey,” she winked as she trotted off.
She trotted off down the main street of the markets with her saddle bags on her back. Then without a moment’s notice she vanished into the crowd of ponies leaving me breathless.
‘What just happened?’ I questioned myself as I began to wonder to the large tree that loomed out of the ever growing forest.
It felt like all the air had just gotten out of a fight; heart racing, breathless and thoughts racing. I couldn’t piece together what just happened and I felt I was going to lose my balance.
‘Come on Al. Pull yourself together,’ I ordered myself as I pulled myself back on track from the unbalanced trot I had previously been in, ‘Just take it slow, and besides it’s just our new pony brain trying to cope with all these new feelings right? I mean it can’t be love? How could it be, she’s a pony and I’m a -,’
“Pony,” I said as I stopped in my tracks.
‘It couldn’t be love, how could it be love? It has to be my brain getting used to my new body,’ I thought denying all thoughts of this notion of love.
Sighing and holding back the thought I continued on my journey towards the ever growing tree that was barely even a half kilometer in front of me.
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Authors Notes: Ahhh, it’s good to be back.