As it turned out, Carpet was a great addition to our small group. Fortunately for it (and us), Carpet didn’t disappear after 24 hours, meaning that it will be with us for a long, loooong time, but I didn’t care. I was definitely glad that Carpet was with us, since it brought a certain happiness with it. It’s cheerful and carefree attitude made our days brighter, especially Eve’s.
Eve and Carpet became good friends and to my misfortune, pranking partners. There was not a day when they didn’t do anything to make me or Lightning feel annoyed or amused, depending on who got pranked. Up to this day, I still have no idea how they managed to put me on that tree in my sleep without me noticing it or getting that raincloud over Lightning in her tent.
I swear, if Carpet would be a normal living being, it would surely be the twin brother or sister for Eve. Or at least very, very close relative, now that I think about it, its quite the frightening thought.
Unfortunately, even this kind of happiness couldn't stop my nightmares, which were getting more and more disturbing with each passing night. I didn't talk about this with the girls, since I didn't want to worry them about this.
However, I will worry about it later, since we have arrived at our first destination, Manehatten. I have to admit, it really DID look like Manhattan, only like in the early fifties, it was like I have travelled back in time. The city itself was bustling with life that could be seen even from here. While a rarity, I could see that there were skyscrapers dotted around the city, mainly in the central part.
Landing a fair distance outside the city, so we won’t bring attention to us, even accidentally, we walked into the bustling metropolis.
“So, where do we go first?” I asked Lightning as we entered the city. She stopped for a minute and contemplated on the answer.
“Well, I think going to the harbour is the most important thing we should do now. The sooner we can get to Zebrabwe, the better.” I pondered on her offer and saw that she was right, time is essence and time is something that I don’t know how much we have. Walking into the city we saw that despite the vast number of ponies, you could still see some griffons and diamond-dogs mingling around, doing their business or whatever they were doing.
Now, to find that harbour.....I thought as I looked around, trying to find any signs for the aforementioned part of the city. Then as the stupidity of myself hit me, I face-palmed.
“Sigh, of course that the harbour would be at the coast...sometimes I wonder how I even managed to survive all this time.” I muttered to myself and as it would happen, the sound of feminine giggles hit my ear.
“I wonder about that myself too all the time.” Lightning quipped ‘helpfully’ from the sidelines. “now come, we need to get to the harbour and find ourselves a ride.” she instructed a bit more seriously and started to trot away with Evelyn and me following her.
It turns out that Manehatten isn’t as species-friendly as Trot was. While it wasn’t outright hate towards non-ponies, it could still be felt when more than once I could see some of the ponies throwing a dirty look our way. It was kinda annoying, really as people would think that crayon colored ponies wouldn’t be so xenophobic, but what can one man do change that?
Travelling through the metropolis made me wonder just how far did the ponies come tech-wise. It’s obvious that they have some sort of energy source that powers the machines that I occasionally saw, be it lamps or automatic cars, although those looked like they ran on steam, so it isn’t entirely impossible that all of this is steam-tech.
I have to admit, navigating in this city isn’t as we thought it would be. Thinking that we could just waltz down to the harbour without any complications was a foolish idea, as more than once we had managed to get lost.
“DANIEL! HOW? How the hay can’t you see that we are going in the wrong way?” Asked Lightning from me as I, I mean we, have managed to yet again get lost. *Cough* Yeah, totally not my fault and now Lightning was making a scene of public embarrassment for me in front of everyone here. I could see some of the passer-byes smirking at my misfortune, while others shook their head in pity. Evelyn meanwhile was having a blast watching us, mostly me getting my sorry ass handed by an angry female.
“Erm, Lightning, could you tone it down a bit please? You are attracting attention to us.” I meekly pointed it out to her but she just scoffed at it.
“So? You dug your own grave with your inability to find the correct way.” Uh-oh, this isn’t good. If a large crowd can’t make her more calm, then I am royally screwed. However my saviour came in the least expected way. A pony from the crowd stood out and politely coughed, getting the attention to him. The stallion in question was an earth pony and had a golden colored coat with sky-blue mane. Looking at his cutie-mark I saw that it was what looked like a map, maybe he likes to make maps, or something.
"Excuse me, but I couldn't help but hear that you are in desperate need of proper directions." he said in a polite and friendly tone, probably not the first time he had done this.
“Why yes, we are indeed in need for directions, as someone obviously can’t find it.”Lightning took the initiative and started to calmly have a normal conversation with the yet unnamed pony. Just how was she able to change her temper that fast? Must be a female trait, something that males shall and will never understand.
"Excuse my rudeness, but may I ask who are you?" I asked a bit suspiciously, since the residents here didn’t seem to be all that friendly, so why would he just help us? The pony in question just smiled and did a small bow.
“My name is Pathfinder and don’t worry stranger, I have no intentions to do anything to you other than help you.” Well, that didn’t help easing my worries, but at least I got a name. Glancing at Lightning I saw that she isn’t as skeptical about the newcomer as I am. However, I didn’t have much choice, seeing as I was hopelessly lost with the others, and Pathfinder is the only one so far who even offered to help.
“Alright then Pathfinder, mind taking us to the docks?” I asked him as nice as I could and he nodded. After we had walked away from the now dispersing crowd, as subtly as I could, I separated Pathfinder from the others and when Lightning and Eve rounded a corner I turned to him. Putting on the best threatening face I could make, which I have to admit got an added bonus due to my sharp teeth, I began the threatening routine.
“Now listen here and listen here well. I don’t know why you are helping us, when nobody wanted to but I would like to warn you. If anything happens to Lightning and Evelyn, and it’s your fault, I will personally find you and will make you wish that you wouldn’t have met me. Got it?” I made my point with a last savage grin and then let the frightened guy go.
Walking after to the girls, I noticed that they have been waiting for us.
"Where were you?" asked Eve and I just waved her off.
"Don't worry Eve, Pathfinder and I just had a friendly talk, right?" I aimed the last part to the pony, who for his credit, did his part surprisingly good.
"He is right, little one.Now why don't we get going? The harbour isn't that far away but it's a bit of a walk." The three if us nodded and went along with our impromptu guide.
An hour later, the harbour.
My eye twitched at the fact that our desired destination was so close. Lightning smirked in my direction and I decided to cut her off before she could have started anything.
"Not a word Lightning, Not. A. Word. " Thankfully she decided to not to torment me now with her sarcastic remarks. Instead she turned back to the harbour, which was not what I expected from a city of this volume. I expected a bustling harbour with ships going in and out, but what I got was most of the ships in what seemed like graving-docks. Majestic sailing ships, with their sails pulled up and the crews nowhere to be seen, except for a few minglers here and there.
The ships that were being used didn’t look that lively either, sluggishly going in and out of the port, with a not-so excited crew on board. It seemed like the whole harbour was clouded in a thick veil, that made everyone depressed and have a bad mood, it was so bad that you could almost feel it in the air.
Pathfinder quietly let out a sigh and shook his head. “This used to be a nice and lively place.” he muttered, but loud enough for us to hear it. I looked at Lightning, hoping that she had some sort of insight for this, but she just shook her head, signalling that she in fact, didn’t. I turned to the only one who could give us some answers, Pathfinder.
“Pathfinder, can you tell us why this place looks so...” I trailed off, not wanting to make him sadder than he already was.
“Desolate? Depressed? Sad?” I nodded, as those choices really fit the situation.
“You have to believe me when I say that this place was once a thriving harbour but now, just look at it...” he gestured with one hoof to the desolate sight, but he just sighed and shook his head. “But enough of that, I escorted here you because you are obviously in need for a ship.” I nodded and he gestured for us to follow him.
“Where are we going?” I asked him, as I looked around the run-down city part. Most of the buildings were made of scrap-metal, and even those were rusty and looked like they would collapse on the smallest touch. Without missing a beat, Pathfinder answered.
“To a place where the sailors usually go. Maybe you all can find somepony who can give you a ride wherever you need to go.” the tone of his voice suggested that the place wasn’t exactly the safest one. I don’t know if I should bring Eve there. I glanced at the griffoness in question, to see that she was equal parts anxious and curious, the wonders of childhood. I remember when I first moved to the USA. Ah, good times, good times indeed. I quickly shook myself a bit before I could get lost in the sea of memories and with my luck, that would be a bad thing.
“And pray to tell, what is this place?” I asked him, but the answer was not what I was expecting.
“Its an inn that many of the brave travelers of the sea visit.” Oh great, drunken sailors are just what we need now, but I guess we got nothing else, so I will have to bear with it.
Around 15 minutes later.
Arriving at the small sailor's inn, I wasn’t that surprised to see that it was almost full with various patrons, most of them already drunk, or doing their best to get to that state. Our guide sighed and turned to us.
"Well, here we are, I’m afraid that I have to go back to the city. I need to go back to my job, as I was supposed to be back there by now. I hope that you can find who you are looking for here.” as politely as he could, Pathfinder excused himself from his self-imposed duty. Lightning trotted to him and briefly hugged him, with Evelyn doing the same. I kneeled down and shook his foreleg as a farewell.
“Think nothing about it man, I am glad that you helped us as much as you already did.” he nodded and with a final wave, walked out of our lives, just as fast as he walked in. However thankful we were for him, we had more pressing matters at hand, mainly finding someone good (and sober) enough to get us to Zebrica.
Walking to the barkeep, who was wiping some glasses, that were too dirty to have any hope of ever being clear again, I felt like I have gotten ourselves into some kinda b-rated western movies only instead of being in the wild west, we were at the ocean. The drowsy looking unicorn stallion looked at us for a moment as we approached, then back to the small shot glass he was working on and....did he just spit into the bottle? Eurgh...and to think that someone will drink from that.
“What can I help you with?” he asked in a grave and tired voice, fit for someone who had seen one too many things in his life, and none of those were nice. THe barkeep himself was an aged unicorn, with rust brown colored fur and dark brown mane. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see his cutie mark, as it was covered by his work coat.
“We need to go to Zebrabwe, do you know of any ships, or anyone that could give us a ride?” I asked him, and he stopped his marginal task and looked at me, dead in the eye. His amber colored eyes told me that this stallion had been tired of life for a long time now.
“Son, there are not many ships that go out nowadays, and those which do, don’t bring back much.” That struck me as strange. I saw that the ships weren’t going out, but there must be a reason for it.
“How so? I saw that the ships didn’t go out, but why? Also, how come that the city doesn’t seem to notice the situation here?” the old stallion just shook his head and continued to wipe the glass.
“It wasn’t always like this, you know? Not too long ago, this place was a beautiful and thriving place, filled with joy and love for the sea. However it all changed when...” “The Fire Nation attacked....I’m going to hell for that one, aren’t I?” I mentally kicked myself for thinking about such stupid things in a serious conversation like this. I looked back to the barkeep who was oddly silent, only to see him look around warily, like he was looking for something, or someone. He then looked back to us and continued in a hushed whisper.
“Now listen here and listen good, son. The ponies here...they are afraid. THey don’t dare to speak, they don’t dare to act, they don’t dare to do anything. All because of him.” the amount of venom in his voice surprised me, as I didn’t think that someone who had been so broken and tired just moments before could muster this much hate. “This place went to Tartarus when he arrived. Ships got burnt down, ponies disappeared, and pirates became more frequent.”
“How come the authority didn’t do anything? Aren’t there guards or something in Manehatten?” Lightning asked him and the only response she got was laughter. However, this wasn’t laughter filled with joy and happiness...no, this was the laughter of the bitter ones. Those who had had tried to make things better, yet ultimately fail.
“The guards? Listen here sweetheart, the guards can’t do a thing. Nopony knows who he is, but those who do stay silent about it, or else they don’t get to see the next sunrise, if you know what I mean.” the suggestion was so obvious that even the dumbest idiot could get what he was talking about.
“However, there IS somepony who could aid you in your problems. His name is Swift Storm and he is the best sailor that I have seen in my life.” Now this sounded promising. “Unfortunately for you, he is currently out of the city, doing an errand.” Darn, there went our chance.
“Do you know when he will be back?” I asked him hopefully, hoping against all odds that he will be back soon. The stallion shook his head.
“It’s for the best that you don’t wait for him, he sailed out just yesterday so there is no point in waiting for him since only Celestia knows when will he be back.” I cursed under my breath after hearing this.
“Do you know of anyone else that could help us?” the aged pony once again shook his head.
“I fear that as long as he remains here, there is nopony else, but Swift Storm could help you. However, if you want the advice of an old fool then come closer.” he beckoned me to come closer and when I did, he whispered into my ear. “Go, get away from this place as fast as you can and forget about everything that you learnt here. It’s in your best interest to do so.” I straightened up and was about to take his advice to heart when three of the inn’s patrons stood up, quite noisily, might I add.
“Awwww, going so soon?” asked a sickly green unicorn with black mane, and a see-through dagger for a cutie mark. He was accompanied by two bulky earth ponies, both of them having the same coloration of light blue and white, probably twins, since both of them had the same unintelligent look. All in all, those three looked like the typical goons that you see in the movies
“Why don’t you stay here and enjoy our hospitality? I assure you that me and the boys can take care of every need you might have. After all, freaks like you surely must have a lot of needs, isn’t that right?” and he is racist to boot, greeaat.
“Naaah, no thanks but we have to be on our way. See ya later, or not.” I tried to back away from them, not wanting to get into a fight with them, just in case some of the other drunkards decide to join in on the fun. The apparent boss of the trio chuckled and stepped closer, with his goons following shortly.
“I’m afraid that you leaving is not an option. You see, me and the boys have a little problem, and maybe the ladies here could help us.” the unicorn spoke while leering at Lightning...and Evelyn, that disgusting example of a pony. Before I could say anything, Lightning decided to put things right.
“Well, I’m sorry but neither Evelyn or me are teachers..” here, she sniffed the air and made an exaggerated face, as if she smelled something nasty. “Nor can we help you get clean.” I snickered as the three ponies in front of us bristled in rage.
“You wench! I will enjoy shutting that big mouth of yours after I’m done here.” the unicorn spat, which made my blood boil. Standing between the girls and them, I turned to the small gang of what I suppose are slavers or pirates.
“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you.” I told them, trying to intimidate them so that they would leave us be, but sadly that wasn’t the case as the unicorn started to laugh, soon followed by his goons, although they looked like they didn’t really understand why they were even laughing.
“Ooohhhh I would like to see you try to stop us.” he bragged, but then turned serious and pointed at us. “Get him, but make sure that the females aren’t harmed, much.” The muscle twins dumbly nodded and started to charge at us, hoping to be quickly done with this. However, the two idiots forgot one very important thing about this situation, namely that we are in a building, an Inn to be exact and as such, this establishment had plenty of obstacles to avoid/go through.
I noticed that most of the patrons started to flee the building, so that they won’t get caught in the fire, which was better for me, since then I wouldn’t have to worry about any of them deciding to join in. Glancing at a nearby table, I saw that there was a bottle on it. Grabbing it quickly, I prepared for the first one, who didn’t notice the makeshift weapon in my hand.
Just before he could have collided with me I quickly sidestepped him and dealt a swift kick to his neck, hitting his trachea, thus making him stumble and gasp for air, as the kick momentarily cut off his air supply. The pony fell to the ground as he lost control of his equilibrium, making him an easy target. Not waiting for him to try to stand up, I quickly curb-stomped him, paying him a one-way ticket to the land of dreams.
However, I did one of the mistakes that anyone who learnt self-defense of any kind would frown upon. That is, to take your eyes off the opponent, mainly if you have more than one. By the time I have turned back to the other earth pony, he was in front of me, just about to buck me. Having no chance to avoid the kick, I braced myself as much as I could, just in time.
As the kick connected with my stomach I felt myself thrown back by the sheer force of the kick, makes me wonder just how screwed I would have been if I hadn’t noticed him when I did. Hitting the bar, I felt agonizing pain in both my stomach and back as I slowly got up. Lightning came to my aid as she helped me stand again. Muttering a quick thanks I saw that the pony who just kicked me was charging at us again, while his ‘boss’ just stood to the side, looking at us in a calculating way.
“That won’t work twice.” I said as I looked for anything to help me. Noticing a bottle of scrumpy on the bar, I quickly pick it up, since my previous weapon (the one that I didn’t even get to use, figures) had fallen out of my hand when I got blasted. Turning over to Lightning, I tell her to go and take Eve with her, before I look back at my current opponent. It didn’t seem like the sidestep trick would work again, since one: he saw me do it to his brother/friend, and two: the bar is behind me and even he doesn’t look so stupid as blindly charge me till the end.
Having no other choice, I start to go towards my assailant but before we could have collided, I jump over him and land just behind him, making him stop. However I didn’t give him time to turn around as I brought the bottle down on the back of his head as hard as I could. The glass shattered into dozens of pieces and as the glass shards cut opened dozens of wounds of varying sizes, the content of the bottle entered them, making him cry out in pain. But his pain was short lived as he too, followed the other guy into the land of unconsciousness.
Looking around I saw that both of the muscle goons were out cold but something felt strange. Usually, when the brick walls are out of the fights, the scrawny, leaders piss themselves and run away, with their tail between their legs. But this guy didn’t run, no, he was just standing there with a creepy smile on his face.
“Very good freak, very good. However, you are far from getting out of here.....” his horn lit up and I felt the blood freeze in me. Around the unicorn, there was at least six....no, eight daggers made out of magic, floating in the air, and each and every one of them were pointed at me.
“....Alive, that is.”