Fifteen
Windmill Promontory
Scootaloo
It didn’t take long for us to locate the village elder and inform him about what happened. To his credit, the guy held it together pretty well, but I could see some underlying panic. After all, this was a threat that was supposed to have been quelled more than two decades ago, and here were the signs all over again. He thanked us for the information, and proceeded to begin writing a mass letter to be sent out to the other elders of the region. Ivoire didn’t have one central governing power, but while each island was ruled over solely by its respective elder, they were mostly governed by the same basic guidelines, and the elders of each region kept up good communication with each other. Some elders presided over many islands, and as Angel told us, the Vermillion region to the west was almost all under the leadership of one guy.
While the elder composed a message to send to the others of Wistaria, we stepped outside to plan our own next move. I leaned against the building, arms folded, and asked: “What now? Do we stick around, or do we keep moving?”
“I don’t see why we would leave…” Applebloom said. “I mean, we were supposed to wait here for Rainbow Dash and the others…”
“Remember, Sulphur is dead.” Angel stated. “And those things normally serve him alone. He didn’t bring them back, and it would take a lot of concentrated dark power and mental focus to rein them in. This could have been an attack by the Order against us.”
“… In which case, it would make the most sense to keep moving, so we don’t endanger the people of Windmill Promontory any further.” Sweetie Belle finished. “We’re a liability to them if we don’t get away and hide ourselves better.”
“But what of our allies waiting to help us in Equestria?” asked Luna. “If they were to come searching for us, and we were elsewhere, then how will we meet up with them again?”
I thought for a moment. “We’ve got a bit of extra money for the moment. We can slip the innkeeper a few bits, tell him to tell them where we went if they come by, and keep his mouth shut if anyone else asks. Still… we may need to find work to keep afloat until someone comes back for us.”
“Alright…” Applebloom reluctantly agreed. “But then, where will we go from here?”
“Monetopia.” Angel stated without hesitation. “It’s the biggest city in Ivoire, and not too far from here anyway. No better place to get lost in. We could probably find some low-key Chroma jobs there, too.” I raised an eyebrow, and he sighed. “Chromas are small bands of mercenaries. One to five members, most of the time. Any bigger than that and it’s considered a Raven clan, but they get hired for the big jobs that are way over our heads.”
Sweetie Belle soon detached herself from the group to go inform the innkeeper about our movement and who to share the information with, while the rest of us headed down to the beach to see if we could find a ship leaving for Monetopia. Eventually we did locate one, just about big enough for all of us to squeeze into, and once Sweetie Belle returned, we climbed aboard and set sail, away from our supposed safe house and into who-knows-what mess.
For most of the trip, we passed over open water, with nothing interesting in sight. Once, the shadow of another island passed by to our right, but we did not draw close enough to see any amount of detail. At last, a shadow appeared on the horizon that could be nothing but a great city. Tall buildings stretched into the sky, taller than most I had ever seen in Equestria, aside from castles. Thinner buildings flanked the outer edges, with the buildings growing taller and thicker as they neared the center, to be crowned by one huge building just off-center of the whole island.
“The biggest one there is the Bamboo Company headquarters,” Angel explained. “the third largest company in the world. They’re the cutting-edge in medical technology. Scientists from all over the planet go there to study, and hopefully contribute.”
“I had heard about them.” Sweetie Belle remarked. “Good thing trade has widened between Ivoire and Equestria since the war. We’ve been able to tackle a lot of diseases that have been hanging over our heads for decades. Sis expects a lot less orphaned kids from here on out.”
I nodded, still happy to hear that news. One of the diseases they managed to cure was one of the possible sicknesses that took my own mother, leaving me with her awful second husband. It couldn’t bring her back, of course, but the thought that nobody would have to have that same fate was some consolation for me.
We soon made port, and the five of us stepped off of the boat into the massive city of Monetopia. People of all sorts could be seen around us: humans, owl-men and Scrabbits like we had seen before, wiry mermen and mermaids and muscular wolf-men, tiny creatures with earthy-looking clothing and big red eyes, others with fur and cat ears. I was amazed at the range of people, but noticed that me and Luna still seemed to be the only ones with wings on our backs.
“We should probably find a place to stay for a while before we do anything else.” Sweetie Belle commented. She patted her pockets for a moment, then gave us all a sheepish look. “I think Angel was right, we need to find a job first.”
“Square it is then.” Angel replied, turning to the main street in front of us. “Just in front of the Bamboo Company building. There are notice boards there, and we can probably find a public job offer.”
We nodded, and allowed him to lead the way further into the city. We passed between several huge buildings, each reaching higher into the sky than the last. On the ground there were countless storefronts, shop stands, and people. The square was the pinnacle of it all, with the tall buildings coming to a crescendo at the massive Bamboo Company headquarters. It was all white and gold, with massive archways all around the base, and the round building itself rising up dozens of stories like a coliseum. At the top it widened even more, giving way to domes, spires and more arches, with one great window looking out over the streets.
All five of us, even Angel, couldn’t help but stare in awe. This didn’t seem to be unusual or suspicious behavior at all, since a few other people were looking up at it in wonder just the same as we were. Angel was the first to separate himself from the sight though, as he had probably seen it at least once before. He walked over to a nearby plaza of shops and tables, and quickly located a bulletin board.
“It’s not looking good.” Angel reported. “Most of these either look out of our league, or way under it and not worth our time…”
I wrenched my gaze away from the Bamboo Company building to address Angel, but caught another figure as he strode between us and him. He wore a once sturdy, but now worn pair of jeans and a dusty trench coat, as well as a rounded hat atop his graphite hair. A hatchet was visible at his belt from where I stood, but it looked like he was carrying a lot more equipment with him. He was fairly tan, and had good humored red eyes staring ahead, seeming not to have noticed any of us. What was most striking about him, though- the only thing that made me really notice him more than anyone else on the street-was the fact that he had a pair of orange wings sprouting from the back of his coat, the only winged person outside of our group I had seen since leaving Equestria.
The man strode forward to one of the storefronts, greeting someone already sitting there like an old friend. The person he was addressing didn’t respond as enthusiastically. This man wasn’t as notable in appearance: his back was to me, so I wasn’t able to make out any details of his face, and all I was able to tell was that he had short brown hair, a green shirt and nondescript pants. A canned drink was in his hand. Beside him, though, was something much more distinct: one of the small, pale, red-eyed creatures I had noted on the street before. This one was dressed in a golden-yellow gown (though I couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl) and had on a cap that resembled a large leaf.
“Hey, buddy!” The first guy greeted, swinging into the seat next to the normal-looking guy. “Thought I’d run into you again soon.”
The second one nodded. “I’ve found it.” He said without hesitation. The first gave him a confused look. He sighed and continued. “The thing I was looking for? The paint thing?”
Understanding dawned on the first one’s face. “Really? Well, let me see!”
“I didn’t say I have it, sadly.” the second guy explained. “Just that I found it. It’s on one of the little islands near Forestia, pretty well guarded, and I don’t have the means to get it. Unless you’d be willing to take the job?”
He shook his head. “Sorry, really wish I could. There’s trouble brewing over in Tellius though, and I plan to jump on a boat to investigate that.”
“I thought so.” He sighed. “I need to learn to fight myself, sometime. But there isn’t enough time for that now. I need to get that thing quickly, before someone else does.”
I turned to the others, and saw that they had all overheard at least part of what he was saying. We all had the same idea. I nodded to them, and approached the two at the counter. “Excuse me…” I started, drawing the pair’s attention. The little thing next to the two had already been looking at us silently for a few minutes. “but if you’ve got a job for fighters, then it’s pretty convenient that my group has been looking for work.”
The green-shirted one began sizing me up. “Your group being those three behind you? And the Scrabbit? Do you guys have a name or something?”
I shook my head. “We’re just starting out, but we do have combat experience. We all took part in the civil war of Equestria six years ago.”
The explorer-looking one raised an eyebrow. “What were you all when that was happening, twelve?” I gave him a gesture saying what of it? He still seemed a bit skeptical.
“Take those brooms over there and test them.” the guy in the green said. “If they can hold their own against you for a while, they’ll be fine. Besides, everyone here loves a good street show, nobody’ll mind if you have a duel here.”
I noticed which brooms he was referring to- a pair sitting up against the counter of the storefront, and used a quick burst of wind to bring them to my open hand. I tossed the other to my opponent. “Hey, before we start, it’s getting cumbersome talking without knowing anyone’s names. I’m Scootaloo.”
“Daring Do, the one and only!” My opponent declared, swinging his broom.
The guy at the storefront seemed hesitant, or uncaring. Finally, he simply said “Drew.”
Before I could respond, Daring lunged at me, and I parried. He clearly wasn’t used to using a weapon like a lance, and tended to over-swing as though his weapon were a lot heavier. “Daring Do, huh? Wasn’t that a book character?”
“I’ve been told.” he responded, swinging down hard overhead, only to be blocked. “I even read the books after a while. Some of the things that happen up to book four are pretty similar to things that have happened to me.” He swung wide, and it was too easy for me to just jump over it. “I suspect time travel shenanigans, personally. The books were written by someone in the future, then sent back as a guide to me. At least that’s what Drew says!” He lunged, and I hopped back a step.
I tossed the broom to Applebloom, and she moved in quickly to attack. She was used to having two weapons of shorter size, so she stumbled at first. She quickly recovered and began parrying every attack thrown at her. She tended to fight with the ends of the makeshift weapon rather than the weapon as a whole. She moved as though each end of the broom were the blade of a separate sword, and was able to parry every one of Daring’s heavy attacks.
Angel took the offensive next, and the two’s fighting styles matched up perfectly. Angel swung wide, and Daring blocked from his left. Daring went in for an overhead blow, and Angel knocked his weapon aside, then made a jab at him. Daring stopped the broom with his hand, and nodded. “Who’s next?” he asked.
Sweetie Belle shook her head. “Archer.” Luna also declined, since she was a mage.
Daring turned back to Drew and shrugged. “They seem good enough to me. Certainly good enough to beat back a few Saber Kitties.”
Drew nodded. “Fine. There’s five of you, so… Five thousand Bordeaux?”
I gave him a confused look, but Angel went ahead and said “Seven.”
He sighed, but agreed. “Seven thousand it is. I’ve got a boat, so whenever you’re ready.”
Angel then turned back to us. “Bordeaux is the currency here. A lot less valuable than bits. Seven thousand is about equal to four hundred bits, maybe a little more. Pretty good fare for a job like this.”
We nodded. “Let’s get goin’, then.” Applebloom said. “We don’t wanna get too far from where the others can find us.”