Although my sleep was uneasy, I made up for it in sheer length. By the time I finally mustered the strength to sit up, Ivory had returned with a pair of fresh salads. My stomach grumbled its impatience.
“Are you well enough to move?” She peered at me, the age-worn bowls orbiting around her horn.
I stretched my leg. My muscles protested, but after the first couple extensions, there was significantly less resistance. “Yeah.”
A feather duster slipped out of the cabinet and and worked its way over the long-neglected table. Small puffs of grey drifted into the air as her dust demolition progressed.
“Then why don’t we eat at the table? Sorry about the dust. I haven’t had guests in a while.” Her words came out with an unusual smoothness, something more drilled than conscious. I felt a tinge of sadness. For just a moment, I could see Ivory hosting a high class dinner party, attending to her guests just like any other socialite.
With the help of my wings, I was on my hooves again, hobbling over to the table. The chair slid out on its own and I gave Ivory my best smile. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” she mumbled, looking away before seating herself across from me.
I idly counted the placemats and froze. Four. Ivory, her parents and Feather...
Ivory caught on almost immediately. “I always hoped they’d come back. Deep down, I knew that wasn’t going to happen, but it took a few years to sink in. By then it was a part of the cabin. I didn’t have the heart to take it down.”
Dampness crept into the corners of my eyes and I did my best to shoo it away. “I’m sorry.”
“What for?” She shrugged and started on her salad.
Conversation faded away and I glanced around, desperately looking for something else to say. With a short cough, I squeezed the words out. “So you built this cabin?”
“Yes, it was one of the first things I did after I realized I would be here for a while. I couldn’t go back to the estate. At first, I thought Prideful would be waiting.” She turned her gaze to the door.
“Was he?”
“No, it was worse.”
My imagination ran wild. There was an angry mob, torches held high as they smashed down the door. Then a demolished estate, the strength of its proud stone unable to stand against the might of an earth pony wrecking crew. Or perhaps the town had even taken it over, fortifying and turning it upon its former mistress.
Ivory continued, breaking my daydream. “The memories were everywhere, wandering, aimless ghosts. There was no room where it didn’t all bear down on me, crushing me… suffocating me. I couldn’t stay. So I got my zombies and built a new home.”
Even though she had never left the area, I was astonished to see just how much Ivory had left behind. Home is safety, comfort and an awful thing to lose. As much as I like to travel, I’ve always been able to call Ponyville home. And whenever I go back, it’s usually still more or less in the state I expect. I supposed that, in the very least, having a tireless workforce to handle the brute-force parts of the job would have eased the transition. Small comfort, I know.
I poked at my bowl. “And that was before you met the guard?”
Her nod was slow, almost absent. It wasn’t the right time to return to the topic.
“And after that?” I finally started on my meal.
“I’d heard of bandits terrorizing the roads. It was especially bad with the guard disappearing. I tuned my zombies, working to make them more effective against those who lie in wait. After a while, all the roads that run near the forest were under my protection. There are still spots they can get to, but I can’t have my zombies wandering around outside the forest. It would do more harm than good.”
It was my turn to nod. A roving zombie would scare off the average pony just as easily as the bandits. Or even worse, draw an armed response.
Ivory lowered her head. “I’ve seen my fair share of different gangs. They all make the same mistakes and eventually leave within a few months. Except this one.”
“And what’s different?”
“They’re more coordinated, they stick to the safe spots when they can. They also built their hideout far from the forest.”
“I guess somepony learned from all those failures.”
Ivory nodded. “But they still get greedy from time-to-time. I’ll wear them down because every loss can be turned against them.”
I wondered if that included any of the victims, but I pushed the thought from my mind. No, that doesn’t sound like Ivory.
My train of thought screeched to a halt. Cut that out, you’ve only known her for two days.
Then it hit me. I hardly knew much about her, but she knew even less about me. If I wanted her to open up, I was going to have to give a little.
“Have you heard of the Crystal Rainbow?”
“No. What is it?”
“It is said to be a masterwork ornament from a long lost empire. They say it is crafted from several gems, one for each of the seven colours and fused together without the aid of any other material. Under full light it is like a beacon, beams dancing around it and inspiring hope. It was a complete myth until just a few months ago, when it was discovered north of Crystalside.”
The hardness of Ivory’s eyes momentarily gave way to a distinct brightness, a touch of the filly lost among the suffering. “That sounds… beautiful.”
I nodded. “It should be.”
“You mean you haven’t seen it?”
“No, not yet. I was on my way to Crystalside, but a wild storm had other plans.”
“So you went to Pasture and ended up here.” Ivory scuffed her hoof on the table.
“Pretty much. I was actually headed out, though.”
Ivory looked away and a long silence crept into the room. If there was ever a time to extend my hoof, that was it. A pit formed in my stomach, but I steeled myself, shoving my nerves to the back of my mind.
“Would you like to see it sometime?”
“I… maybe, but I don’t really travel.” Uncertainty crept across her eyes. I knew the fear well. When things had gone bad and I wondered if fumbling off into the unknown might just make it all worse.
I gave her my best reassuring smile. “I could take you.”
“No… I can’t… I shouldn’t. I belong here. They… they need me.”
I bit my lip, not wanting to push too directly, but unable to think of a different direction to go. Luckily, Ivory gave me an opening.
“So is this Crystal Rainbow part of your special talent?” She turned her eyes toward me again.
“In a roundabout way, yes. It’s a bit complicated.” I tapped a hoof to my cutie mark. “My mark is for design and planning. As such, I’m always looking for new inspiration and I’ve found experience to be a better source than any second-hoof research methods. I travel, in part, to seek out these new experiences. But at the same time, my parents were, and still are, merchants. I was with them a lot when I was younger and the road just feels… right.”
“Feels right…” Ivory chuckled nervously. “I don’t suppose you have an angry mob chasing you too?”
Was that… a joke? I stared for a moment before reining myself in. My mind scrambled to find a way to dodge the question. Ivory had just opened up and I was about to drop a real mood-killer.
She stared at a crack on the table. “It’s true, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. I… found some information that incriminated some gangsters and turned it over to the guard. But they must have had an insider. They knew too much. Enough that everything started falling to pieces and... in the end, we gave them a black eye and bloodied their nose. But no victory is without cost. I often wonder if it was worth it.”
Ivory closed her eyes. “The world is a cruel place.”
“Sometimes.”
“Sometimes?” She looked up, staring straight at me.
“Sometimes bad things happen. Sometimes bad people win. Sometimes something beautiful is lost beneath the sands of time, like a forgotten rainbow. But sooner or later, someone will dig it up and remember that the world does have nice things.”
I thought I caught the barest of smiles creeping over her lips.