//------------------------------// // The Sheikh's Proposition // Story: Macintosh of Arabia // by Crisis_Vyper //------------------------------// As the night continues on in the night club, Big Macintosh could only try to enjoy this experience but utterly unable to do so. He is not a pony that likes to be in very loud places, but his job requires him to withstand this displeasure for his potential client. Not to mention that the smoking fumes of the hookah is burning the insides of his nostrils. Alas, it seems that lying badly runs within the Apple family as the Sheikh noticed Big Macintosh. "Big Macintosh, are you alright?" The Sheikh asked. "Ah am fi....." The Sheikh cuts him off before he could go about telling the Sheikh. Big Macintosh is now a little worried that he might have offended his quest. "It appears that my perception of Equestrians loving such 'night life' is entirely wrong on my part. No worries, for I too am not fond with such a setting, and only did so for business. It seems that both of us shared our misgivings of such an establishment. Shall we leave for the camps?" Big Macintosh is definitely surprised by the turn of events, for it appears that the Sheikh was also under the pretense that the night club is a required setting for business. "Ah would appreciate it." Big Macintosh replied. As the entourage of the Sheikh with Big Macintosh in tow exits the night club, Big Macintosh notices that the Janissary are looking around, as if there would be a threat that will come forth from the darkest of the alleyways. As they exit the city, Macintosh could only admire his first true sight of the dunes of Saddle Arabia. The darkness of the skies only enhances the whiteness of the sand, the sand as vast and endless like that of the ocean. There is not a single tree around, which is a very odd sight for the stallion, as this desert is unlike the Applelosan deserts with its cacti and bushes. The sight of the pure white sands only serve to make it even more alien to the pony as he is familiar with the rust red sands of the Applelosan frontier. "The white sands of my land are one of a kind, my friend." The Sheikh smiles as he surveys his homeland, and Big Macintosh could only say his trademark line. "Eeyup." "Do not worry, we will be at our encampment soon. But I suggest that we gallop now, less the less beautiful things of Al-Sah'raa come out and play with us." Before Big Macintosh could even say anything, the Sheikh has already made his move. Soon enough the Janissaries are now galloping as well. As Big Macintosh attempts to gallop, he realized that his footing is entirely off. He wondered why until he realized that the sands move with every step, and he could only sigh. "Eeyup." Big Macintosh could only mutter in disdain. But that does not mean that he is a quitter. In fact, Big Macintosh is a little bit insulted as some of the Janissaries are now snickering at him as they went by him. He will prove them wrong, and will show them the Apple way. Abu Hamza could only smile as he gallop past the sands, and he wonder if this sudden galloping is too much for his foreign friend. Despite his status, his core of being a hot-blooded equine could not be sated and he would like to see how this pony would take to this sudden action of his. Also, if he were to trust anyone, he would rather trust someone that could run alongside him that those that would trail behind him. A sudden explosion made the Arabian horse halt in his tracks. As he turns his head around he could see that the red stallion is already but a few feet away from the Arabian stallion. "Perhaps he is better than I thought he would be. No matter. Hyah!" The Sheikh decides to continue on running, with the red stallion following behind him. Meanwhile the other Janissary were now trying to catch up to the red stallion, underestimating his explosive speed. Soon enough, the Janissary realize that the foreigner and their Sheikh are now running side by side each other, and they could only marvel at this event. It is the first time that someone is matching the Sheikh's speed and they thought to themselves that perhaps they should not take this foreigner for a fool. "Look my friend, the camps are ahead of us!" Big Macintosh broke his concentration to see a small pond of lights in the middle of this barren landscape, and as they get closer to this congregation of lights Big Macintosh could now see the full extent of the camp site. He could see several dozen tents spread out across the desert, each lighting up like a lantern. Among the spaces between the camps, he could also see many campfires, each with their own group of equines and camels surrounding it. From Big Macintosh's calculations the camp could easily be half the size of Ponyville.A sudden blaring horn soon pierced Big Macintosh's ear. Big Macintosh turns around and notice that one of the Janissary is blowing a horn. As he turns his attention back towards the camp, and it seems that from one particular campfire, several equines and camels are now walking slowly towards the outskirts of the campsite. As the entourage slows down, Big Macintosh could see many horses from the filly to the adults, both male and female. The only reason why he could recognize some of the horses as female as they are wearing that overal that covered their features while the men are wearing the exact style of clothing as the Sheikh himself. Flanking this gathering of horses are the camels dressed in the same garb as the Janissary that is escorting Big Macintosh and the Sheikh. One of the little ones, a little foal fully covered in cloth ran up towards the Sheikh and exclaim something that Big Macintosh recognize himself; excitement. Soon enough the Sheikh stopped and embraced the little filly, saying something in their tongue. Big Macintosh and the rest of the galloping Janissary slowed down their pacing to a simple trot. "Ah Big Macintosh, come here please." Big Macintosh walks up towards the Sheikh, and he could see that from the Sheikh's expression this appears to be his family. His suspicions is soon answered with the Sheikh making the introductions. It appears that other than the idea of a stallion being in the lead rather than a mare, Equestrians and Saddle Arabians are very similar. That and also apparently none of the mares nor the stallions speak Equestrian. So Big Macintosh could only give a rather awkward smile as the Sheikh switches back and forth from Equestian to Arabian. "...And this little one here is called Fatimah, my daughter. Say hello to Big Macintosh Fatimah." "Hello." The voice of the little foal is timid and soft, like a certain pink-maned pegasus in Ponyville, and Big Macintosh could only smile at the little foal, albeit more sincerely. "Hi there, mighty fine to meet you too Fatima. Y'know, Ah have two little sisters. One of them is 'bout yer age Fatimah." From the weird overall dress outfit that Big Macintosh is still struggling to find a name for it, he could see that the only feature that is visible are her eyes, which are a pale, light greyish olive like that of Applejack. The little filly however is no Applejack, and immediately hides behind her father's foreleg. "She is a shy one, and to be honest this is the first time she met a pony stallion. Also, she is the only one among my family that can understand Equestrian. Of course, that is a given since her mother is herself an Equestrian." The red stallion could immediately notice that there is a hint of sadness in his voice as the Sheikh tells him. Indeed, Big Macintosh realized that none of the adult mares are the size of a pony, and being a smart pony, he put two and two together. Oh Celestia have mercy on his soul..., Big Macintosh said in his heart. He must have opened a can of worms somehow. The Sheikh notice the red stallion's body language, and he smiles at the pony. "Anyway, let us all enter into the camp." The Arabian stallion takes the first step and soon enough, Big Macintosh notice that most of the stallions and most of the mares split up to enter into their own tents. The red stallion then follow the Sheikh and his little daughter into the camp. The Janissary did not follow them. As Big Macintosh enters the camp, he could see the riches and intricate tapestries that decorates the center of the camp. Right in the middle of it all, the red stallion could see that there is an intricate crystal floating in the center of the camp, lighting the inside of the camp with its radiance and warmth.The Arabian beckons Big Macintosh to take a seat around the floating crystal and the Arabian and his daughter soon follow. Once they are comfortably seated, the Saddle Arabian speaks up. "In three days time, we will travel to the capital It is better if we can go there before the elders enters the city itself and then we can talk to them and other ponies about the proposal." "Wait, Ah thought Ah was suppose to do business with you?" Big Macintosh raises an eyebrow, and the Arabian horse laughs. Big Macintosh wondered what he did wrong until the Sheikh stops his laughter. "I believe that you are not familiar with our customs, but it is to be expected. You are right in a sense that my role is to do business with you, but you are unfamiliar with what my role truly entails or to be exact, your role in this whole business. The reason why it is so is because my culture as a whole is rather mistrustful of strangers, and the voice of one 'pony' will be ignored if it does not have any support. But of course, there is a loophole to both. If there is a foreigner who is unaccustomed to our rules, one of us will have to represent him so that instead of the voice of one pony it will be the voice of two 'ponies', If the 'pony' is supported by one of the Arabians, then he is considered as a friend and an Arabian. Likewise, that also means that the lone Saddle Arabian is not alone. You see, my role is to be the voice that supports you for the elders to decide if the venture is worth investing in or not. In this sense, we are what you Equestrians call 'solicitors'. Meanwhile your role is to be my ally in proposing ideas to the elders." "Ah see, so it is more of a 'Ah scratch yer back and ya scratch my back'." "Precisely Big Macintosh." "Also......if Ah may be blunt Abu Hamza?" "Go ahead. I will take no offense to what is about to escape from your lips." "Ah just realized something. This pendant you gave me," Big Macintosh shows his pendant to the Sheikh, " Why would Ah need to be protected by your clan as well? Ah remember you saying that this pendant will not allow yer clan to think of me as an enemy. If Ah were to be attacked by some other clan, Ah get it as it would be a mark that Ah am somepony that is better left alone. But why yer own clan? While Ah was thinking about it, Ah found mah answer." Soon enough, the expression of the Shiekh changed to a much more darker expression. " Mah answer; A solicitor and a client would be one thing, but the way you put is suggest that others could also come to yer cause and will help you gain a larger voice when it comes to the elders. So far Ah think that Ah am the missing link to this whole idea and not every clanspony is on your side. This squiggly sign must have something else to it isn't it?." There is a sudden silence in the tent, with both stallions now looking at each other's eyes. Little Fatimah could only look and wonder what are all these big words that both stallions are using. It was the Sheikh that broke the slience, and with a laughter no less. "Yes, you are very sharp my friend. Very sharp indeed. I am not lying to you about how things work here. However, when you have somepony that is related to one of the Elements of Harmony, a tool of absolute power in the whole world on your side it brings much stability to any alliance that I am going to plan out. And you are right that it has something else. Over your neck is my personal crest, and nopony from within and without would 'mess with you' as the Equestrian saying goes as they know who you are associated with. It is also laced with a protection spell which will protect you against the more foolish ones." But then, the Sheikh stands up and walks to the red stallion and put a hoof on Big Macintosh's shoulder. Taken aback by this personal gesture, Big Macintosh look at the Arabian stallion with a questioning look. "You are amazing you know that Big Macintosh? I was right about you. You are a strong character, both from the outside and the inside. You are smart and wise, and your physical prowess is nothing to be underestimated. If you were a Saddle Arabian, you would be one of the more just Sheikhs around. I need a strong ally like yourself and if we do this by the books, both of us will definitely benefit from this partnership. You get your sale and most loyal customer for your Apple Family, " The Shiekh points to himself, ",and I will become the next Emir of Saddle Arabia. What do you say, my friend?" Big Macintosh is surprising calm but his mind is now going a little wild within. He did not sign up for this nonsense but at the same time, he did not want to come back to the Sweet Apple Acres empty-hoofed. Despite the fact that his family would not think any lesser than him, but the fact still remains that the farm is barely able to support itself. Also his pride as a businesspony would not take no for an answer. Nonetheless is it all worth it? Abu Hamza just told him that as long as he is in Saddle Arabia, he is a literal walking, breathing bullseye. He have no intention of dying in a foreign land without any apple trees and relatives beside him. He started thinking of Granny Smith, Applejack and Applebloom and wonder would they go on permanently without his presence. "I see that there is a lot going on in your mind my friend. It is alright if you do not want to help me as it is a very equine thing to do. I should perhaps let you think this through before I push you into it. I am an honorable Sheikh, and I put honor before reason. I will not let you enter against your will. You have three days to think about this before this caravan will make its way towards the capital. While you are here you shall be treated as my brother and will be treated no less. Whatever your decision may be, you shall always be received with open arms from my family." The Saddle Arabian then slowly exits the tent with his daughter, leaving the farmpony to think a whole lot more than he would have wanted.