//------------------------------// // Rest Assured // Story: Marabian Knights // by silvershad0 //------------------------------//         The group quickly exited the cave, occasionally glancing back to ensure they weren’t be followed or watched.  Once out, they made for the spring, refilled their canteens, and took a moment to rest.  It appeared to be very early morning, a diminutive amount of light creeping over the horizon.         “So all of that just happened, right?”  Lyra was twiddling her thumbs nervously, still going over all the information in her mind.  “I mean, Equestria is in danger and we’re probably the only ones who even know about it.”         “That may be, but this is way over our heads!” Octavia shouted.  “We need to inform Celestia!  Or the royal guard!  This is too much to take on by ourselves.”         “That’s not really fair,” Vinyl stepped forward.  “We’ve done relatively well for ourselves so far and we’re only just getting started!  Besides, those Elements of Harmony beat all kinds of crazy legends, including Nightmare Moon, and there were only six of them!”         “Yes, but they had six of the most powerful artifacts known to ponykind!  We don’t have a single magical item between us!”  Octavia wanted to believe she could make a difference, but she had to face the facts.  Nightmare Moon was so powerful that not even Celestia could take her head-on.  It was only with the power of the Elements that she was even able to seal her away. Redheart stepped between the two as they stared each other down.  “That’s enough, guys.  Think about it logically.  No matter what we decide, we have to reach Equestria as quickly as possible.  And if the minotaur was right, we have some catching up to do.”   “I could always fly there now that I’m a pegasus,” Bon Bon said as she flapped her wings a few times.  “I should easily be able to beat them back through the air.” “That’s true,” commented the nurse, “but it’s far too long a trip to make in a single flight.  You would have to land and rest a few times and you would be alone, exhausted, and pretty much defenseless if anything happened while you were grounded.”  Red brought a hoof to her forehead and massaged her temples, in part to relieve some stress, but it also helped her think. “Does anypony here even know ‘how’ to get back to Equestria?”  Vinyl’s voice interrupted everypony else’s thoughts.  “Cause I still barely even know where the buck we are.” The group looked to Vinyl, then to each other, and finally all eyes landed on Redheart.  She squinted her eyes and shot them all an incredulous glare.  “What, you think I’ve ever been to Marabia?  I’m just a nurse!  I rarely leave Ponyville!”  Her cheeks were red and small puffs of smoke could be seen escaping her flared nostrils. “Whoa there,” Lyra held up her hands defensively. “No need to get bent out of shape.” The nurse exhaled a deep breath she had been holding and visibly relaxed.  “I know, and I’m sorry,” she remarked.  She took another deep breath to calm herself, but it manifested into a yawn.  “Today has been tiring and I could really use some rest.” “Hold up a minute,” Bon Bon said, a confused frown plastered on her face.  Something had been bothering her for awhile and she felt now was the time to voice her concerns.  “If we go to sleep in the dreamworld, do we wake back up in the real world?” “I don’t believe so.  Vinyl slept a bit before we came to rescue you guys and she’s still here.”  Lyra turned to Vinyl for confirmation. “Actually,” Vinyl hesitated a bit.  “I tried to sleep, but I never actually dozed off.”   Redheart yawned a bit louder this time.  “Either way, we can’t keep going like this and we could all really use some rest.  If we wake up back in Equestria, we’ll be that much closer to warning the Princess.  Now I say we head back to the village and rest there.  It’ll be much safer and maybe we can find out where we are and which way we need to go to get back.” The group nodded and started heading back in the direction of town.  The sun was just starting to creep over the horizon, though the blue moon could still be seen high in the sky.  The vast difference in temperatures during morning and afternoon here was astounding.  Where it had been hot enough to fry an egg during the daytime, it was now cool enough that, were there any moisture in the overhanging clouds, it would almost surely be snowing.  This was not entirely unwelcome, however, as all five of them were in danger of collapsing from exhaustion and sleep deprivation and the cold was forcibly keeping them awake. They finally made it back to the small village without incident, other than Vinyl and Lyra’s constant whining along the way.  One of the elder ponies rushed to meet them, excitement plastered over his face.  “You’re back, and in one piece!” he exclaimed.  “So am I to assume that you have answered our prayers and saved our village from those miserable kobolds?”  He wore a look of hope upon his face much akin to a small foal eager to open his birthday presents. “Well, you see...”  Octavia started. “We sure did!” Vinyl interrupted.  “Those nasty kobolds won’t be bothering your village again anytime soon, that’s for sure.” His face lit up and his grin widened to match Vinyl’s.  “Splendid!” he replied before another word could be said.  “I must inform the townsponies at once.  Oh, we simply can’t thank you enough!” “Before you go, gramps, we could really use some food and lodging.  Been kind of a long night for us, if you know what I mean.”  Vinyl let out a long yawn to emphasize this, which was soon echoed by her comrades. “Of course, of course.  I’ll run ahead and speak to the innkeeper.  Feel free to stay and eat as long and as much as you like.”  He bowed as low as his old bones would allow him and then trotted off toward one of the larger buildings in town. As soon as he was out of sight, a familiar grey hoof struck the DJ-sorceress in the back of her skull.  “Just what do you think you’re doing, Scratch?” ‘Uh oh,’ thought Vinyl.  ‘She only uses my last name like that when she’s reeeally pissed off at me.  I better start explaining myself before she makes good on an earlier promise.’   She visibly gulped, imagining once more Octavia’s cello and her flank becoming one entity. “... and you can be so irresponsible.  Are you even listening to me, Scratch?!”  Octavia was nearly foaming at the mouth when she saw her give only a blank stare in return.   “Easy there, Tavi.  I didn’t exactly lie to him.  We did take care of the kobolds; at least all the ones we came across.  And if I know that minotaur half as well as I think I do, he’s gonna chase us wherever we go, not waste his time and energy terrorizing these villagers.” Redheart just stared at her, completely dumbfounded.  “You know, I think she may be right.  There’s no reason for him to bother them anymore.  Once we leave, I imagine he’ll give chase to ensure we don’t make it back before his boss.” Vinyl pointed her hoof at nothing in particular and grinned widely.  “Exactly.  So they’ll be safe as long as we leave here pretty soon.”   “So I guess we can stay the night here and leave first thing in morning?”  Bon Bon asked, barely stifling another yawn.  “Or in this case, stay the day.” “Works for me,” Lyra added.  “Traveling at night is way better than the day.  We should also ask the old guy if he knows the best way to get to Equestria.” The others nodded and headed for the inn.  Stepping inside, they could tell just how poor this village really was.  The walls and floors were mostly undecorated and cracked badly in places.  The lighting was very faint and dust was caked to everything in the room.  An older mare with a tan coat and a faded, grey mane sat behind the front desk.  She removed her glasses and wiped the dust from them before replacing them on her head. “Yes, can I help you young folks,” she asked. “We need a few rooms for the day, if you have any available,” Octavia said, sprinkling her social charm into her words.  Being born into noble roots in Canterlot had forced her into learning their polite, albeit snobbish, ways.  Later meeting Vinyl, however, and falling in love had removed the proverbial stick in her rump, leaving behind just the good manners, or so Octavia believed. “Of course we do,” the elder mare replied.  “Not many folks stay during the day, after all.”  She looked shocked for a moment as realization hit her.  “Oh, you aren’t the ones the elder came in here a jabberin about, are you?  The ones who saved us from them nasty critters?” “That’s us, the noble heroes,” Vinyl said as she struck a dramatic pose. Redheart sarcastically laughed.  “Noble, perhaps, but certainly not modest.” Vinyl rubbed the back of her head and smiled.  “This may not be a game anymore, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still have some fun now and then.” “Not sure what you youngins are talking about, but you’re welcome to stay as long as you like.  And if you need anything at all, you just let me know and I’ll see to it.” “Actually, we were wondering if you know the fastest route to Equestria?” Lyra asked hopefully.  “We need to get back as quickly as possible, but we’re kinda new around here.” “Oh, I see.  Well I don’t know nothing about no Equestria, but there’s a map in the main lobby you’re welcome to use.”  She smiled and pointed further down a hallway where a large map hung as the centerpiece of a wall.  The group rushed over and crowded around it, trying to make heads or tails of where they were. “What did that elder guy say the name of this village was again?” Vinyl asked, trying to remember which letter it started with. “Puyayna, I believe,” said Red.  She pointed to some small writing on the map.  “There.  It looks like we’re relatively close to an ocean too.  There’s a port town directly south of here.” Bon Bon perked up.  “Taking a ship would be much faster than walking!  And the sea is so romantic.”  She lost herself to her thoughts of Lyra and herself sharing a romantic cruise.  That is, until her marefriend manifested into her current human form.  ‘Why couldn’t I settle down with somepony normal.  Somepony who’s happy just being a pony!  She sighed and then smiled.  I don’t suppose I’d have it any other way though. “N-No, I don’t think taking a ship is a good idea at all,” Vinyl added, her grin now replaced by a frown.  “We should definitely just walk.” “But we’re on an entirely different continent than Equestria,” Lyra said.  “We can’t get there without crossing a sea at some point!”  She pointed to the large body of water between where they currently were and where they needed to get. Vinyl was now visibly shaking.  Her head darted back and forth across the map, but her friend was right.  They had to cross somewhere if they wanted to get back and that was that, though knowing this did little to calm her nerves. “Oh, don’t worry about her,” Octavia stepped up next to the white mare and placed a hoof on her shoulder.  “She’s just got a little open water phobia.  It’s nothing we can’t overcome.” “Speak for yourself.  You’ve never experienced that helpless sinking feeling; water pulling you further into its depths while trying to force its way into your lungs.”  She shuddered as bad memories flooded her mind all at once. Redheart chuckled a bit.  “Are you telling me the great Vinyl Scratch is afraid of a little water?  And don’t you know how to swim at all?” Vinyl now wore an angry frown as she began to speak.  “First of all, shut up,” she said, trying not to sound mean,  “and second, if ponies were meant to swim, we’d have been born with fins.” “What about seaponies?” Lyra asked as soon as she had finished speaking. Bon Bon facehooved.  She sighed deeply and then looked directly at her with steadfast determination.  “Honey, seaponies are a myth.  They don’t really exist.” “How can you say that!” was her reply.  “You said the same thing about humans and just look at me!”  She pointed at herself with both hands to emphasize. “Yes, dear, but this is the dreamworld.  Anything is possible here.”  She stopped when she realized what she was saying.  Another facehoof for her and a fistpump for Lyra. “Aaaanyway,” Red interrupted, “we should rest for the day and then make for Port Sarim.  Hopefully we can get a ride back to Equestria from there.”  She closed her eyes and silently meditated on her thoughts.  ‘Things are finally going our way.  With a ship, we should easily beat them back.  Unless they took a ship too.  Drat.  No, no.  Just gotta stay positive. Positive thoughts, Redheart.  Oh, we’re positively bucked is what we are.’ “Looks like Red is already asleep.”  Vinyl’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts.  Red opened her eyes and stared blankly back at her.  “Oh, nevermind everypony.  False alarm.” Redheart just stood there, slowly blinking as the others stared at her like she had something on her face.  “Right.  Well, goodnight everypony.”  She smiled nervously before dashing upstairs, leaving the others a bit confused and in a great deal of hysterical laughter.