//------------------------------// // Saddle Arabia: part 1 // Story: The HAYngover // by TJW //------------------------------// "You had ONE BUCKING JOB, Flash!" Shining was practically on top of Flash as he scolded the trembling pegasus for the costly incompetence that had lead them to nearly the other side of the planet. "Just buy the three of us a round of drinks! Actually you know what, this is all my fault! I was the one who asked somepony as useless as you to actually do something!" "I'm sorry! I looked away for like five seconds, I didn't know somepony would try and drug us! I mean, it's a mistake anypony could make right?" It was a meaningless response from Flash, but it was worth a try, at least to suspend his imminent death a few moments longer. "No Flash, only you! Only you could go from buying some drinks, to winding up in another country with aboslutely no memory of the last day and two nights! Oh and to add to it all, you sucked me and Mac into your orbit of disaster! I mean the poor guy was only there to ask what I wanted to eat for bucks sake... and you let him get drugged... you're one sick bucker! Isn't he Mac?" Shining at last turned his menacing glare away from Flash, shifting his head towards a more distant and unresponsive Big Macintosh, who was motionless, still staring down at the hat they found in Flash's bag. He knew that Applejack wasn't with him while he was in Canterlot, but then again there was a large portion of time which is a blank to him, who's to say that she didn't join him within this time? After all, this certainly looked like her hat. Only after some time did he realise the other two were both staring at him, as if they were expecting something from him. Unsure of what to do, he gave his default answer when faced with uncertainty, "Oh, uhm... eeyup". Satisfied enough, Shining continued his onslaught of Flash, "There, you see Flash? We're here because of you, this is all from your mistake! What have you got to say for yourself?" Flash looked around himself rapidly, trying to find some sort of inspiration that could help him formulate a response, then noticed the whiskey bottles scattered out on the sand, "well it could have happened to any of us, we were all pretty drunk right? I know I was really knocking them back that night!" "Knocking them back? You drank nothing but apple juice all night!" "Ok look, I messed up, I'm sorry! But I've learnt something that might help us to get out of this situation!" Shining was generally taken by Flash's words here, he hated him more than anything right now but he was more than willing to give the pegasus a chance, so long as it would provide a way to get back home. Interested, he took his weight off Flash and sat back attentively, trying to hide the excitement he felt rising from inside him. "Ok Flash, I'll give you one chance, tell me how we're gonna get back home" Flash had just regained his composure and sat up to meet Shining's level, his posture was firm and there was a noticable tone of self pride in his voice. "We find ourselves in a pretty bad situation now right? But I know that what we have to do is to love and tolerate each other, and most importantly we have to use the magic of friendship together, then I'm certain that everything will work out in the end" ... "I'LL BUCKING KILL YOU!" The infuriated Shining Armour launched himself back onto the pegasus and pressed as hard as he could on his neck; so for the second time this morning, Flash found himself being choked to death, his whole 'magic of friendship' solution clearly not going down well with the grown stallion. As Shining strangled Flash, he felt a solid and tough hoof press into his back, before he was cast off the wimpering pegasus and sent flying back several feet. When he looked back to see what caused this, he saw Mac, now positioned between him and his victim. Mac shot a look at Flash, then at Shining, the sort of look that would turn Medusa herself to stone. "Alright, I've had enough of this horse crap! What are we going to gain here by killing each other? Absolutely nothing! Now I suggest that you stop fighting and calm down so we can work out what to do!" Shining acknowledged Mac but was still staring daggers at Flash, "Fine!". Flash stayed grateful for his life but knew it was best to stay quiet for a while. Shining placed himself next to the emptied bag and the others gathered around. After some inspection, he then ordered the items in a way for each of them to see. "Ok, let's think about what we know so far; all our memories of that night end when we had that drink from the bar, correct?" "Right" "Eeyup" Shining continued, "I see, so from what we remember before that drink, and from looking at these items, we now know where the empty bottles came from. We also know why Flash's face has some traces of make up on it and why his right wing is bandaged up. Now this leads me to believe that the rest of the items from the bag may hold some clue as to what actually happened and why we are here. If we want answers, we have to find out exactly where and how we found each of these things". Mac and Flash stared at each other stunned, they would have thought their main aim here was far more obvious. Flash eventually worked up the confidence to communicate with Shining again, "err Shining, don't you think we have more pressing matters than treasure hunting? Like getting home? Shining was preparing to jump at Flash again, but noticed that Mac was moving in, seeming like he actually agreed with Flash. He relaxed his body language to something less confrontational and explained the problem thought baited breath. "You guys don't get it do you? You don't fully comprehend the gravity of this situation. We have no idea how much chaos we've caused since getting drugged, and judging by the hoofcuffs here, I'm guessing that it was pretty bad! You seem to forget that I'm going to be a prince in three days! It's not going to look good for the public if one of their new rulers is an ex convict! Do you understand now?" Shining's audience here seemed somewhat unwilling to sympathise with his needs, he knew he had to up his game here to win them over. "Oh and this doesn't just affect me, you two are in on this as well! I'm pretty sure you don't want you mother finding out about this do you ... Flashykins?" "No, I guess not". "And Mac, from what I can see, you want to find out if a certain somepony was with us, your sister was it?" "Eeyup" Shining relaxed slightly, he knew he had won here but was aware of the large task that now lay infront of them, "then it's settled, we need to find out exactly what happened and get it covered up before the wedding in three days! We can't go home until we do!" The three shared an understanding nod amongst themselves, but needed now to create a more immediate objective. Mac looked at the surrounding landscape, mostly comprised of sandy dunes and large mountains on the horizon, "hey Shining, you seemed to know what country we're in when we woke up earlier right?" "Yeah?" Do you happen to know what direction from here a town or city is?" "Yeah, I think I'd be able to find one using the mountains as a guide" "Good because we really need to get out of this sun as soon as possible. And honestly, I'm hungry as a horse. ---------------------------------------- Evidently, princess Celestia spared no effort with her royal duty today as the alimighty sun beat down hard on the three stallions this morning, its rays almost roasting their flesh to a medium-rare consistency. The trio marched on in single file, with Shining leading the group followed by Big Mac then, lagging behind, was Flash, his orange and pink bag hanging lazily off his left side to avoid contact with his injured right wing. All three had their heads drooped low with their ears laying flat, showing obvious signs of dehydration and hunger, not to mention the depression they were experiencing from their current situation. Every once in a while, Shining would stare up at the distant mountains infront of them; he'd nearly convinced himself that this was aiding in locating some form of accommodation to take shelter or an eating establishment for nourishment, but deep down he knew that this was just to make it seem to the others that he knew where he was going and he'd hope to find a settlement out of luck. There was only one thing on Mac's mind, despite the famishing hunger crippling his stomach and the roaring sun causing his skin to become as red as his coat, he couldn't stop thinking about the welfare of his sister. He wanted to believe this was just a copy of the hat, that he must have got it mixed up somewhere at some point the day before, but he couldn't, that nagging instinct that ran in the family forced him to assume the worst. It wasn't that he thought that Applejack couldn't handle herself in a mess, it's just that it's his role as her older brother to concern himself with her safety at all times, and destroy anything or anyone that could damage this. As he watched Shining, it became more and more obvious, this embarrassment of a unicorn had no idea where he was going and would happily walk them until death if it meant protecting his pride, but Mac refused to call him up on it, because if there was any chance he could help Mac to find Applejack, the farm pony had to give him some exception for mistake. Flash traped several paces behind the others. He could feel a dull burst of pain in his wing every time his heart beat, but this was superceded by the stinging of the sand particles shooting into his eyes and the molten feeling surface they walked on. As the youngest of the stallions, he was the only one who hadn't grown solid hooves yet, therefore the fiery touch of the sand was most noticeable for him. He let his mind wander, mostly contemplating the various different ways he could die out in the wilderness and weighing up the severity of each one, then concluding that none of them were as bad as what his mother would do to him when he got home, making it that much more important to stay with the other two to cover this whole mess up. What was actually an hour felt like they had been walking for days, but something caught Shining's eye. His eyes shot open and he stopped suddenly, causing the following ponies to come crashing into his hind quarter, "There! I told you I'd find one!". When Flash and Mac shakily rose back up, they were greeted by a grinning Shining Armour, posing as if giving a presentation and gesturing towards something in the distance. After rubbing the irritating sand out of their eyes, they could now realise what it was that Shining intended them to see; on old worn down but populated looking desert town in the distance. Shining blocked their view the the town, wearing a smirk of self pride, "my friends, breakfast is served!". ---------------------------- Standing at the town's entrance, they didn't quite know what to make of it. It was comprised of just two rows of various buildings, a layout which reminded Mac of his cousin's hometown, Appleloosa, however the buildings themselves had a far different feel; each one a completely different shape from the last and looking like it had been made from imported wood, which made sense seeing as there were no trees anywhere nearby. The only sign of movement they could see were from themselves, and the cliché ball of tumbleweed that made its way towards them. Shining was the one to take the first step down this not so inviting pathway leading towards the largest building that capped off the end of the town. As they made their way down, the question of whether the town was inhabited was answered, but not in the best way. They noticed, from the dusty windows of each house, a set of eyes staring back down at them, never deterring from their point of focus which did not seem to be all three of them, but only the red farm pony. Flash who was stiff with anxiety, sheepishly leaned over to Mac, "they seem to be looking at you, do you have any idea what you did to these people?" "Nope" replied Mac, mentally preparing himself for what could be a large scale fight here. Shining carefully edged the door open, peeking around it to see a desk and chair, mostly concealed by dark shadows. He tip-toed inside, eventually followed by the other two and neared the desk. "Hello, is somepony there?" "Ah, my people were wondering when you three would return...", a gruff and sinister sounding voice spoke up from behind the chair. Once he'd swiveled himself around, he was now visible to the trio. He was an older looking stallion with a more stocky build. He wore a grey patterned piece of cloth around his neck and his coat was of a cream texture. "It seems we have a lot to discuss...", he said directly to Big Mac. Mac thought it was best to prevent any further trouble before it started so made his way up to the desk, "look, I don't want any trouble. I was in a bad shape yesterday and I can't remember anything! So for whatever I did here, I am sorry". "You're sorry..." the stallion rose from his seat and confronted Mac, getting close enough that they were almost touching muzzles. "You're sorry? Why would you be sorry? You are the hero who fought off that plague of the Arabian mafia single-hoofed! This town and all of it's ponies are forever in debt to you, Sir Big of Macintosh!" Then proceeded to embrace Mac into a strong hug. Shining and Flash just watched on at Mac, who stood frozen and unable to take in what had just happened. Once he'd got his head around the situation, he wormed his way out of the hug and made eye contact with the stallion. "Soooo, you're in my debt are you?" "Yes of course sir! Just ask, and it's yours!" Mac turned back to his stunned companions and gave an assuring nod before facing the stallion once again, "well... I guess I wouldn't mind something to eat".