Chapter 4: On the Return
Red Chase awoke to the smoky scent of campfire and the sounds of autumn crickets. She had been wrapped in a blanket, and placed next to the fire to warm. The last thing she remembered was landing in the river; somepony had been kind enough to drag her out, apparently. She could hear the Dame River flowing behind her, perhaps a hundred yards away. Why she was here, and not back on the farm was anypony’s guess. She got to her feet and looked around the campsite a moment. There was no pony here but herself.
The rush of the river water brought her back to the events right before she lost consciousness. That pony had hit them with a spell that tossed her and Quill into the river. She hadn’t seen what had happened to either one of her aunts. Perhaps there would be answers on the river. She untangled herself from the blanket, and walked for the shores.
She was surrounded by trees, which meant she was at least twenty five miles away from Bridleburg. Probably south, if she had been fished from the river. Red listened carefully for the clank of scaled armor. She was far from the farm, but the attackers might still be nearby.
Red thought about the attack with some worry. What had happened in the aftermath? Was her family okay? What happened to Quill? And why was she worried about him? He was family, now, sort of, so it was okay to worry about him. But what of every pony else? She looked up the banks of the river for answer, and found none.
“Red Chase!” hissed a voice from the trees. “Get back in the woods! They were still sweeping the river as of this morning.” Red looked to the trees and saw Sound Cloud gesturing her back into the woods. Red followed back to the camp site.
“What happened?” she asked. “Did you find Heart?”
“I haven’t seen her,” said Sound Cloud. “They haven’t found her body, so she may have gotten away. I can’t say the same for Silk though.” Red steadied herself at the news. She had only known Silk Pick for a few weeks, but the fact that he was dead struck her harder than she had thought it would. She looked back to Sound Cloud. “As for Apple, well…”
“Well what?” asked Red. “She’s dead too? Come out and say it, Reverend. I want to know how much trouble we’re really in here. I’m not a foal; I knew what was goin’ on. “
“She’s… in Bridleburg with Iron Pick,” said Sound Cloud. “You’ve been out cold for a day and half, and so much has happened since then.” He motioned for her to sit down. “Right after the bridal party was attacked, the attackers just vanished. Gone. Maybe two dozen ponies were killed, but they could have slaughtered everyone there. They found the guard ponies strangled in the fields. There was a traitor among Pick’s house. I don’t know if it was a servant, or what, but the simple fact of it is, someone set up Iron Pick and Heart Chase to be killed. They didn’t succeed. Iron Pick is back at his home resting up, and Apple Chase is with him.”
“Well that’s great,” said Red Chase. “Why aren’t we there too?”
“Because they’re not alone,” said Sound Cloud. “There’s some pony else pulling the strings now. I thought that your aunt’s marriage was just a political thing, and it turns out I was right.”
“Well, yeah,” said Red Chase. “You really think anyone could love a cranky old stallion like Iron Pick?”
“That’s my father you’re talking about,” said Quill. He dumped a load of firewood by the shelter. Red Chase sprang to her feet and wrapped her arms around the blue earth pony. She smiled a moment before pulling away in awkward silence.
“I, um, I’m glad to see your okay,” she sputtered.
“Nice to see you too,” said Quill, barely hiding a smile. “You catching her up, Reverand?”
“Just getting to the heart of the matter,” said Sound Cloud. “The thing is, since Heart Chase is considered dead…”
“She’s not dead,” said Red Chase. “I know she isn’t; I can just tell. She’s not goin’ to get killed by some stupid river.”
“I know dear,” replied Sound Cloud. “But Iron Pick has already proposed to Apple Chase. I’m positive the pony behind all this is forcing the marriage to again solidify the political dealings.”
“Apple Chase may be the head of the family if Heart’s out of the way,” said Red. “But she’s already marr…” She stopped midsentence. Sound Cloud nodded quietly. “Damnit!” The red maned filly stamped a hoof in the dirt. “What are we doin’ out here then? Hidin’ like a bunch of scared bunnies? We’re goin’ to march back into Bridleburg and take back our city from that Glaive bastard and…”
“It’s not that easy,” said Quill. “The entire city is on alert for us. The city is under siege from the Lunar Rebels. You, me, and Heart Chase, we’re to be killed on sight. I don’t know exactly what Glaive is planning but I can take a guess.”
“Care to share?” asked Red Chase.
“With my father and your aunt as puppets, he can use the attack as reason to unite the families,” Quill explained. “He marries Apple Chase to secure the deal. The families support Pick as ruler, Bridleburg secedes, and Glaive’s got control of the army. The deals with Stalliongrad are already struck, and so long as the families are united in cause, it doesn’t matter who’s married to whom. Civil war comes, we win, Glaive’s got his Lunar Republic.”
Red Chase had to sit a moment to wrap her head around this. She had just started to enjoy politics too, and now she was in the middle of not just a revolution, but a false flag revolution. She really wasn’t sure what to do next. She looked out the river, and asked herself what Heart Chase would do. She wouldn’t sit cowering out in the woods, that’s for sure. She got to her feet.
“Alright,” said Red Chase. “We’ve got to get to the farm, and get the family to storm the Pick homestead. Then, we need to get Apple Chase and Iron Pick out from underneath Glaive. If we can do that, well, there’s a lot more of us then there are of them. It’s not like an army wasn’t being raised anyway. Ponies just need a leader.” She looked to her two companions. “Might as well be us. It doesn’t sound like any other pony is stepping up.” Sound Cloud shook his head.
“I can’t help you in this endeavor,” said Sound Cloud. “I’m one of only a half a dozen pegasi in Bridleburg, not counting what forces Glaive brought. We’re all supposed to be out here looking for you and I’ve got to get back into town before they get suspicious.”
“I understand, Reverend,” said Red Chase. “We never saw you; you never saw us. We’ll think of a way to get take back our city, I promise.” The pegasus nodded, and took to the sky. Red Chase turned to Quill Pick. “Well, now what?” she asked.
“We need a plan,’ said Quill. “We need ponies, we need weapons, and we need them within the week. Dad said that we should expect Celestia’s Knights shortly after the wedding so we’ve been raising the army in the mountains.”
Red Chase blinked in amazement. That was at least fifty miles from where they were. That meant at least two days of walking, three if they were going to sneaky about it. She looked around the campsite for any supplies or gear.
“Well, looks like we better start hoofin’ it,” said Red. “We got any food? Gear? Anything?”
“Only some hard tack and rope,” said Quill. “Not much to go on, I know.”
“Well, I’m no slouch when it comes to living off the land,” said Red Chase. “I’ll see if I can scare us up some lunch. We can probably make it to the farm by tomorrow morning, and resupply.” She looked at Quill for a moment. He was obviously thinking, and Red Chase could see the wheels turning in his head. “I remember when I got my cutie mark, it didn’t make much sense.” She looked back at her flank. Two horse shoe tied with ribbon adorned her yellow coat. “I was always good at bringin’ things together, but I can’t believe it’s all come to this. It’s up to us, Quill. If this is gonna happen, it’s got to be us.”
Shivers traced down Red’s spine. Now more than ever, the fate of Bridleburg rested in the hooves of two ponies. Succeed or fail, whatever she and Quill did would change the world. She looked to the blue earth pony for reassurance. He nodded, and gathered up what few supplies they had.
“Let’s do this.”
…
“I really wish this fog would let up,” said Constance. “It’s doing a number on my mane.” Bard rolled his yellow eyes. They were lost, without food or supplies, and here this mare was complaining about her mane. He checked the tree line again to try to get a sense of direction.
They had been walking for two hours in the direction they guessed was west. Bard and Heart Chase had come to this conclusion by sending Constance far enough above the fog line that she could see the sun. Unfortunately, the pegasus had zero sense of direction, so what they were actually headed was any ponies guess. Still, by using some reasonable guesses, they had determined they were along the southern coast line of Equestria, directly south of the Everfree Forest, and about a hundred miles south-east of Bridleburg. That meant at least four days of walking, if they didn’t find a boat.
Still, the company was at least tolerable. Ridgeline marched in the rear of the small herd, and kept alert for any threats coming from the Everfree Forest. Bard occasionally checked the map to pinpoint land marks. Every hour, Constance would fly upward to garner a sense of direction, and Heart Chase led the pack. They walked in relative silence, as the unnatural fog seemed to follow them wherever they went. They tried walking further inland, but walking through the forest and the fog at the same time proved impossible. They instead hugged the coast line, knowing that if they kept Saddle Bay to their left, they would eventually come to the Dame River. It also might add another twenty miles onto their trip, but that was a small price to pay for knowing you were headed the right direction.
The herd of ponies stopped for the evening as the fog grew darker. With not much food, and next to no supplies, Heart Chase and Ridgeline set off into the forest to gather what they could for the hungry ponies. Being earth ponies, they had a certain sense of the land. That, combined with the practical knowledge that comes from farming and soldiering, Heart Chase and Ridgeline were easily able to scare up some berries and starchy tubers to feed their traveling companions.
Heart Chase was skeptical of calling them her friends. After all, she had just met these ponies, and she was, as it stood, an attempted traitor to the crown. In her talks with Ridgeline, she had discovered that the pony was simply a farm colt that had gotten drafted into the war. He took to ideas quickly, and made them part of himself. To him, everything was black and white. Heart Chase almost admired his simplistic view of the world. The shades of gray that had come to overshadow Heart Chase’s life in the past few months would have surely painted her as evil in his eyes.
So she let him talk. She let him talk about his home, about the destruction of his him that had forced him to defend Celestia, and about his simple thoughts on the state of the world. He was, in many ways, still just a colt. He was enormous, yes, and brutally strong. He had killed ponies in battle and in defense, but there was still a colt like innocence in the way he sought approval from his superiors. Every berry bush or tuber he found was offered as if a gift to a queen. Heart Chase offered her heartfelt thanks as they gathered the last of the tubers.
The ponies walked back to the camp site. Bard was holding a hollow log steady for Constance as she squeezed water out the fog clouds. Heart Chase had to approve of the pegasus’s clever use of her goddess given gifts. A fire burned behind them; damp tinder apparently didn’t matter to a pony with magic.
“We found food,” said Heart Chase. “Berries and tubers mostly, though we found a couple a late bloomin’ apple trees. Ridgeline here is quite the apple bucker.”
“Why thank you, m’lday,” said Ridgeline. “I haven’t bucked apples in years, but I suppose it’s one of those things you don’t forget.”
“We also brought a bunch of downed branches from the forest,” continued Heart Chase. “I figure we’re gonna need some sort of shelter. With all this damp, it’s gonna be real cold tonight.” Bard nodded in agreement.
With food and water handled, the ponies set to making a shelter for the evening. Ridgeline’s immense strength, combined with Bard’s magic soon resulted in a well constructed lean-to that was big enough for four ponies to sleep. It was going to be cramped, and Ridgeline felt compelled to complain.
“I spent a week in a cage beside that… Kin,” he protested. “I refuse to sleep beside him another night longer.”
“You do realize you snore, right?” asked Bard. “You snore like… I have no idea. I’ve never heard anything that loud in my life. I simply cannot believe such unholy noises come from a pony.”
“You’re one to talk about unholy,” snorted Ridgeline. “You and all your rebellious friends…”
“Now just hold on a second,” interrupted Heart Chase. “Whatever sides of the war yah might have been on, it doesn’t matter now. We’re all in the together, so don’t talk politics while we’re still out here. Have I made myself clear?”
“Yes m’lady,” replied Ridgeline. Bard only nodded.
“Now come get some supper,” said Head Chase. “And I don’t wanna hear yew two fightin’ any.”
The two earth ponies had found plenty for their rag-tag herd. The apples, tubers, and berries were enough for the evening’s meal, and most of tomorrow’s as well. The ponies sat around the fire after dinner and tried to think of safe topics to discuss. Constance wanted to discuss fashion trends, but it was clear that not even the other mare in their group had any idea what she was talking about. Heart Chase wasn’t about to discuss the circumstances leading to her marooning and Ridgeline only want to talk about Celestia. It was up to Bard to get a conversation rolling, and he only had one idea.
“Well, since we’re apparently stuck together for the next few days,” said Bard, “perhaps we should exchange cutie mark tales?”
“Well that’s a nice idea,” said Heart Chase. “You want to go first Constance?” Constance looked back on her rose colored flank, and at the broken heart that was displayed there.
“Well,” she began, “I was raised in a gypsy caravan. We traveled from place to place in the Stalliongrad providence looking for work, or just putting on shows wherever we went. Even when I was a filly, ponies young and old would flock to me. They just loved my auburn mane, and would spend hours just fawning over me. Not that I could blame them really. I mean, I am gorgeous.” She pulled the bandana from her head and tossed her mane. Even after being tied up all day, her mane was still looked as if it she had spent an hour perfecting it. She fluttered her violet eyes at the ponies.
“My father was always worried that someone would try to foal-nap me, and he told me never to accept gifts from strangers.” She swished her tail underneath Heart Chase’s chin with a coy smile. Heart Chase found herself trying to hide her uncomfortable blushing. “I never did, of course, but then again, once you know a pony, they’re not a stranger now are they?” She pouted her lips, and winked at Heart Chase. “I was a bit of a late bloomer when it came to my cutie mark though,” she said. “Every colt in the caravan had a crush on me. They would bring gems or flowers to my wagon, in hopes that I would notice them even for a moment. I did my best to let them know that daddy wouldn’t like them coming around, but they just kept coming back. It seemed I was cat nip for ponies, and when I rejected the last one, that’s when my cutie mark appeared.” She displayed her flank to the three ponies. Ridgeline was staring into space, trying not to stare at the mare and Heart Chase was shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Bard was seemingly unphased her sultry display.
“Seems kind of young to know about all that,” said Bard.
“The gypsies aren’t exactly known for their patience,” Constance replied. “We live hard, love harder, breed early, and die young. Those of us who live to forty are invariably old crones who throw curses as if they were parties.” She smiled at the unicorn. “And how about you, darling?” she asked Bard. “How did you come about your cutie mark?” Bard stood and looked back as his sky blue flank.
“As you can see, my cutie mark is a crescent moon,” began Bard. “My parents were minor nobility who had great aspirations for my brother and I. They had planned to send us to the finest schools to nurture our special talents, whatever they may have been. I was much like a lot of young colts. I tried a great deal of things to try to make my cutie mark appear. I tried horn fighting with my brother,” he grimaced a bit. “I nearly lost an eye doing that; Luna be praised he was strong. I tried gardening, and nearly burned down our manor.” Heart Chase started to ask how he had managed that before Bard interrupted. “Let’s just say that Fire Lilies grow far too quickly in a hot box and leave it at that, shall we? Anyway, I had about given up, when my parents took us to see Luna raise the moon for the Winter Solstice. When I saw how sad she looked, I asked my parents why she was upset. They said it was because so few ponies loved her beautiful night.” He gazed far into the distance as he remembered that day from so many years ago. There was a long pause before he shook his head.
“So I set my mind on a way to make Luna happy again,” he continued. “I learned magic, parlor tricks, some slight of hoof. Things that would entertain the young princess; things that would make her happy. I never did get the chance to try…” He paused again, and stared out into the bay with a blank expression. He snapped back to his story. “I earned my cutie mark when I learned this little number.”
Barde pointed a glowing horn at Ridgeline. The copper stallion felt something force him his feet. He began dancing a little jig against his own will, as if he were a puppet on strings.
“Hi there!” Ridgeline found himself saying. “I love Celestia! She’s so pretty! I want to brush her fluffy pink mane! Brushie, brushie, brushie!” Ridgeline fell to the ground with a thump. The earth pony jumped to his feet, and snarled at Bard. “Why you little…”
“Sorry, sorry,” said Bard. “It was unfair of me to demonstrate on you, but I thought it improper to control one of the mares.” He put up his hooves in a defensive apology. “Plus I’ve already been inside of your head, and there’s not all that much there. That trick really only works on ponies who aren’t expecting it and who lack the will power to resist it.” Ridgeline only growled. “Regardless, when I found that I could read minds and control pony’s actions, I got my cutie mark.”
“That seems terribly dangerous,” said Constance. “What’s to keep you from abusing that sort of power?” Bard simply shook his head.
“Only a good sense of judgment,” he said. “I know that such a spell is misused by another pony all the time. That was the reason I left the Lunar Rebellion to side with the Kin of Luna. I can enslave ponies with my powers; Equestria didn’t need any more of that sort of thing.” He turned to Ridgeline. “How about you? How did you come by your cutie mark, solider boy?” Ridgeline looked to his copper flanks. A pile of rocks adorned his hip.
“It’s kind of silly,” he said. “I’ve always been a big pony, much bigger than any pony else. I grew up on a rock farm way in the north of Equestria; right on the border of the Griffin Kingdoms, as a matter of fact. I had a bunch of sisters and brothers and we all worked the rocks. I guess you down here call it a quarry.”
“Wait, you’re from Hoofswell?” asked Heart Chase. “That’s literally a thousand miles from here. How in the name of Celestia did you wind up all the way down here?” Ridgewell thought for a minute. How did he wind up here? “Sorry,” said Heart Chase. “Please, continue with your cutie mark story.”
“Uh, right,” said Ridgewell. “Anyway, a bunch of griffons started harassing me and my brothers one day. Got in a bit of a scrap with them; there was no harm done. Then one started picking on my little sister. He picked her up off the ground, and tried to carry her away. I don’t know about you, m’lady, but where I’m from, earth ponies are really afraid of heights.” Heart Chase nodded. Like most earth ponies, she too suffered from a crippling fear of heights.
“Anyway, I saw this griffin trying to take away my sister,” he stood and picked up an apple sized rock from the stony beach. “I said ‘You let go of my sister or I’m going to split your head, you feathered bastard!’ I remember that too, because it was the first time I was mad enough to swear. That griffon just flipped me the bird.” The ponies shared a confused look. It clicked for Ridgeline a second later. “Oh, it’s a rude gesture among the griffons. It looks uh…” He looked at the hoof holding the rock, then at the other. He was at loss. “Well, ponies don’t have anything similar. So he was trying to get away with my sister. I toss the rock in the air, and then…”
Ridgeline spun in place and bucked the rock. The sound of hoof on rock snapped like thunder in the foggy sky, and the rock screamed through the air. It smashed into a tree. The rock punched through the trunk and out the other side. The tip of the tree groaned for a moment before falling into the forest amid the shrieks and caws of woodland creatures.
“I got my cutie mark for rock bucking, I guess,” said Ridgeline. “Griffons didn’t bother us after that. I joined the war after the Hoofswell attack. And now here I am.” He looked to Heart Chase. “How about you, m’lady?” Heart Chase looked back on her own yellow flanks to the three hearts that were emblazed there.
“I was the first of that crop of foals to get my cutie mark,” said Heart Chase. “I guess I was lucky that my Daddy had the same talent I did. He could see the value in things, and bring them to light. I was always able to do that too. I took what other ponies cast aside, and made it work.” She scratched her head with a hoof. “What’s funny is I wasn’t doin’ anything special when I got my cutie mark; just plantin’ seeds. Plantin’ seeds, and walkin’ along the seed rows. I still don’t know why it’s three hearts. It’s got nothin’ to do with anything.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Out of every pony I’ve ever met, I’ve got the least interestin’ cutie mark story.” She looked around to her travel companions. “That includes you lot too, I guess.”