Delivery Day
Merlos stood by idly while awaiting his much anticipated delivery. It was taking entirely too long to arrive, and he was beginning to wonder if he’d mistaken the correct date on his calendar. The day was already getting close to noon, after all. Positively outrageous lack of punctuality, that was. But it was the government, and governments seemed to specialize in being slower than the passing of seasons.
Finally, a large wagon appeared in the distance, rising over a hill upon a dirt road before vanishing again behind another hillock. Not long after, it came around a bend and approached the front gate, creaking and groaning and flanked by several mounted, well armed beings. Indeed, not all of them looked human.
Merlos gave a solitary and simple wave of his hand in greeting to the folks.
The wagon rolled to a stop. In front sat a driver and judging by the uniform, a handler from the auction. Behind them both was a large cage big enough to easily house a draft horse, which rolled along with its contents hidden under a canvas. Likely this was to keep its occupant calm during travel.
The following armed escort rode behind, at the head of which was a steely eyed dwarf in captain’s armor. Presumably, that was Orloch, riding like a knight from a dwarven fairy tale. The stocky chap rested a heavy looking axe across the saddle of his war pony.
Merlos, feeling elated to finally get his prize, approached rather than wait and marched up promptly. “G’day! I take it that my pegasus is back there in that wagon?”
“Hail, wizard.” The accountant looking fellow hopped down from the wagon and gave a slight bow. “You’d be correct. Do you have the gold? The paperwork says you’re paying in full.”
Merlos, rather than banter, simply nodded and opened up a bag of holding at his side. Just like that, several sacks laden with hard earned gold from years of achievements and penny-pinching plonked and crunched into the dirt. “You’re welcome to count every piece. Now! My purchase?”
“Purchase… Oh, of course.” The man stared at the ground with wide-eyed astonishment for a moment longer, before a quick gesture from him had men from the wagon moving forward to do just that and count it all. “Ahem, right this way, m’lord.” Twice as quickly as his men, he shuffled to the back of the wagon.
Merlos followed, smiling broadly over the whole affair. Throwing money around like that always stung, but he was getting something well worth it in return.
“Here you are, sire.” The staffer began pulling back on the tarp.
As the cover was torn away, Merlos looked inside the cage, eager to meet his mighty pale-winged beast and hardly able to maintain his outer calm.
However, upon peering into the wagon, his eyes found but empty air. They drifted lower, and then lower into the great cage, his smile slowly fading until finally drifting away. Far beneath the cage’s vacant space was a little gray figure, curled up as a ball at the very bottom.
Merlos blinked, then rubbed his eyes in disbelief. The diminutive little equine was still there though, and not the elegant pegasus he had purchased. Or the pale white beauty he had seen in the stables!
“What is this?” he whirled around and demanded straight off. “I was sold a Pegasus mare…! A mighty steed, one that can carry seven times her body weight! This is… a little gray whelp! A runt! Why the huge cage? This is false advertising!”
Beyond flustered, and running short of insults, Merlos bristled and straightened up, holding one finger out pointedly to the auction’s delivery man. “It is not wise to trick a wizard!”
The guardsmen, loaders and Orloch all responded to the loud turn that things had taken, watching in varying degrees of confusion, or readiness.
The fellow recoiled back from the outburst in surprise, then looked down at his sheath of papers. “What? Are you sure? But that’s clearly a pegasus mare. Let’s see… grey… sold for twenty thousand gold… Everything looks in order to me.”
As the man spoke, Merlos had a flashback to the auction, to the empty looking stall at the stables. Oh no. The white animal he had seen, it must have indeed been just a horse. The pegasus had been one stall beyond it after all. What have I done?
“And besides,” the man went on. “We’re just delivering her. Your purchase was your business with the auction, and I’m merely the messenger. If there has been some mix up, sire, you will have to take it up at the capitol. But, I’m quite confident there has been no such mistake, as this was the only pegasus there at the auction.”
Merlos’ mouth worked, failing to produce words. Oh god. I spent the remainder of my life savings on this!? “But I wanted something I could ride!” he protested. “This… thing barely amounts to an ankle biter! There must have been some kind of misunderstanding?”
The delivery man responded after a sigh. “I’m sorry, sire. Really. Now, the cage comes with the pegasus, courtesy of the large purchase.” He snapped his fingers, and all too quickly the men that had already carried away Merlos’ gold came over. They lifted the cage at each corner, which was quite clearly incredibly light with the tiny winged thing that was inside, then set it down behind the wagon.
Merlos glanced again inside the cage, a moment of rage boiling in him. “WADSWORTH!” He shouted, shaking balled fists at the sky as it dawned on him why that little sniveling sneak had been smiling all along. He had known.
Meanwhile, the dwarf, his guards, the loading men and the accountant looked at one another in confusion, wary, but merely shrugged.
In the cage, the gray form mumbled something as it uncurled, stretched, and arose drowsily onto its hooves, having been disturbed enough to wake up. It walked to the end of the cage and looked through bleary eyes at one overly loud person, then the next in turn.
When Merlos looked down, he could see that it was indeed a pegasus, if with laughably small wings clasped to its sides. The body was proportioned a bit differently than a horse or pony, with large violet eyes, a more rounded head and a very short muzzle. He thought for a moment to compare it with a pony version of a bulldog considering its features, minus the wrinkles and baggy skin, but resisted to do so. Her pelt was a light gray, her mane and tail were both in an odd tri-color pattern from top to bottom: black, white and a moderate violet. Her hooves were wrapped in white messy fetlocks.
Strangest of all, though, was on her rump… There was a strange kind of brand that appeared to be dyed into the beast’s fur. It looked like it was her natural fur color, but it was in the shape and pattern of keys like that of a musical organ, the sort you see at a cathedral or festival.
How strange, Merlos begrudged to himself. This was not a pegasus as he knew them, surely, and not the celestial creature he had researched so fervently the night before. Perhaps it was some sort of experiment or half-breed? Maybe he could get a refund if he could prove it. That really didn’t seem likely at all.
He stared on at the little gray pegasus before him. After a moment of what was almost a staring contest, she knitted her brow into a glare, then with a boisterous crash bucked the cage’s bars.
“Quiet, you,” Merlos scolded.
She stared back at him with narrowing eyes, and seemed to mutter something. Then, the diminutive pegasus bucked and snorted again, rather than listen, throwing herself into the cage’s sides. It rocked a little, but didn’t come close to toppling over.
She seemed intelligent from where Merlos stood and showed no sign of being okay with where she was.
“I thought that it could talk?” Merlos growsed to the attendant, who was idly chatting with his men as they readied to leave.
“Hm? I dare not comment, m’lord, but she’s quite smart, I can reassure you of that. For half the journey here it almost sounded as if she were singing, though not very well...”
While Merlos’ irritation boiled over, the auction house handler grabbed a rope loop tied to the entrance of the cage. It was attached to a crude leather harness around the pegasus’s body through the bars. He then presented it to the crossed wizard. “I suppose this concludes everything, sire. Enjoy your purchase.”
The man gave a partial nod, then whistled to his men, who hastily boarded the back of the now empty wagon or remounted their horses.
Merlos stood there, holding the rope to the caged animal, a feeling of utter defeat dancing obnoxiously at the back of his mind over everything. He stared at his very expensive miniature pegasus. Meanwhile, the pegasus slowly sat with her back to the cage’s door, her ears pinned while her eyes drifted down to the cage floor.
Merlos, after what felt like ages but was probably mere minutes, finally heaved a sigh. “Well, this was in fact a huge misuse of my time and resources.”
He really hadn’t thought this through, that much was clear to him now, and financial ruin aside there was an unbearable amount of embarrassment present, as well. He was probably already a laughing stock, assuming Wadsworth was privy to this and had spread word. And there was no doubt that was the case.
Merlos studied the creature, and its obvious misery, for a minute more. It seemed to him that they both lacked any luck. At the very least, he had come to a reasonable decision over what to do with his wasted purchase.
An aura of magic tinted at Merlos’ hands as they deftly moved to the flow of his spell, before then pointing at the pegasus in the cage. Sensing something, she turned and blew an angry snort. Her wings flared and she dipped low, as if to challenge him. A slight glow in her eyes let Merlos know when his spell had finished.
“Alright, that’s enough of that behavior. You can understand me for a short time, assuming you are intelligent as they claimed, so I’ll only say this once. I'm letting you go, you silly looking creature. Go be free, or... something." Merlos hissed the last word bitterly.
The mare’s ears suddenly perked as a curious expression crossed her features. She relaxed reluctantly and head tilted a little. Still, she didn’t respond.
Nonetheless, Merlos unlocked and pushed open the cage’s door, motioning lazily with a hand. “Shoo!” he dismissed, not really caring about his lost investment, or at least trying not to.
The pegasus stared at the open door. She then swapped between looking at the wizard indignantly, and the tether he held, which was still looped through the cage’s bars.
“Oh right, sorry.” Merlos only apologized out of habit, and with a quick prestidigitation spell, the harness around the pegasus burned off at each corner and slid onto the ground unceremoniously.
The pegasus looked at the rope wide-eyed. Her shock apparently wore off quickly and she took a few tentative steps out of the cage. She then squatted down a moment, her legs like pent up springs.
Before, the pegasus took off, she glanced from her rope and towards Merlos. “Um, thanks,” she said simply. With a grin, she flapped her wings hard and burst into the air, creating an intense vacuum in her wake.
The intensity flung Merlos’ hat off of his head and split his beard down the middle, leaving it blown past his face to either side. The gust also stirred dust and pebbles up all around, enough to leave him coughing.
“Well then.” Merlos straightened his beard, and watched the shrinking grey form in a mix of irritation, lingering and stinging disappointment—for multiple reasons—as well as humbled acceptance. “At least, perhaps I’ve done something good, by letting it go like this. Hm.” I certainly hadn’t thought through purchasing something already free-willed to be my familiar. Bah, I can’t believe I fell into that trap of assuming everything will serve my needs like a well crafted potion.
Merlos turned to go inside, planning to put the recent debacle out of mind. A good smoke from his pipe to help ease his mind seemed in order. At the very least, that silly creature is not my problem anymore.
Stormy pumped and stretched her wings, relishing the fresh air all around her and the dimming sunlight on her feathers.
It felt great.
Wonderful.
It felt like freedom after being stuck in a smelly basement without explanation for weeks.
Her wings took her in one direction for a bit then spiraled her around towards another, more or less flying her on aimlessly. After so much time in captivity, the surprise of what had just happened almost made her head swim.
Stormy raised her head into the wind, eyes shut. I’m free! I can’t believe I’m really free!
“Whoooo!” she cheered. Her wings tucked in and she did a quick rolling twirl out of sheer happiness, before straightening back out into a glide.
That creature, the only one that spoke Equestrian since I got foal-napped just let me go! I was beginning to think they were all evil. She didn’t understand why he had freed her, but frankly, she didn’t care to figure it out, either. There were other more important things on her mind.
Where to go, where to go? Home. But where is that? Uhm, well I’ll need to get my bearings and look around. So, up some more!
Her wings worked hard and her grin grew as clouds began to soar past. Flying higher and higher brought a chill from the altitude to bite at her hooves. Once hovering about a kilometer or two off the ground, she spun around slowly, letting her eyes drink in the horizon before her. She looked this way and that for familiar landmarks, mountain ranges, rivers, coastlines, something to hint where her home was.
There weren’t any.
Stormy’s grin shrank. Where am I? The thought had a desperate edge to it, sharply contrasting to the happy ones Stormy had gotten after getting airborne again.
The surroundings were a normal enough looking place, not unlike any she’d ever seen before, but still not ringing any bells and very unfamiliar. Minutes passed, and the further up she went, the more her ears drooped again.
Okay, so, I’m not just lost. I’m super lost. Great… Stormy tried to think things through, letting her wings carry her in a glide back down to the ground in a lazy corkscrew. As if things couldn’t get any worse. Uggh. What do to do now…?
While she considered her slim options, which mostly just included hoping she found a town somewhere, she found herself circling above where the figure wearing the weird dress had been.
It kind of looked like a really old, small, and dumpy ruined castle.
Also below her was the cage that the other two legged creatures and creepily quiet animals had held her captive in.
That still grated on her, that she had been sold like a piece of property. Sure, she hadn’t understood a word that had been said, but that much had been obvious to her. The idea of it bothered her a lot. Who would buy or sell a pony? What kind of creature does that!? With a shake of her head, she dispelled the troubling thought and focused back on flying.
While gliding and getting more nervous by the second, despite being free again, she got a good look at the stone structure below her. It almost looked abandoned. The whole place didn’t have a single piece that wasn’t covered in green moss or missing great chunks of stone.
Huh, is this where that old guy lives? Stormy tilted her wings and came around the area just above the tree-line’s height for another pass. Nah, can’t be. This place is a wreck. She fully expected a nice cottage or house to be somewhere nearby, even if she couldn’t see anything but wilderness all around. Well, whatever… I wonder if he’d give me directions?
The thought didn’t seem too outrageous; he’d let her go, after all.
Hey, he’s gotta be a good guy, then. Right? Actually, yeah! I bet he could explain what happened to me, too! Oh wow, I should’ve thought about that sooner. It might have just been hopelessness from a lack of other options, but knocking to get directions seemed as good a plan any.
With that, she sought out a door, and quickly found one still on its hinges at the base of a tall stone tower to one side of the walled mini-castle. As fortune would have it, there was someone outside of it, too, just lounging in a chair.
Stormy grinned, already whooshing downward. Oh, that’s him! Or her, they are wearing a dress… It’d be weird if their mares had beards though. Then again, doesn't Princess Celestia have a beard? I've never seen her with one, but everypony uses it in an expression. She shrugged and gave a simultaneous eye roll, then took the chance to show off, and barrel rolled into a landing right in front of her weird looking savior.
The air swirled as she landed. “Hi mister! I have a question or two if you—”
The strange guy—his voice had been pretty gruff, she decided—lept into the air in surprise.
“Gyahh!” he cried out, while gripping the arms of his chair, seemingly frozen in terror.
“Oh, uh, sorry about that,” Stormy apologized, grinning in a friendly way. Her ears hastily pinned themselves back before perking up again.
The stranger slowly calmed down from his a wide-eyed state. He also seemed to begin studying her, glancing up and down as if she were some sort of puzzle.
Stormy shuffled her hooves. “Uhm, hello?”
She finally got a response.
“Hmph. You again?” The stranger slouched back into his wooden chair as he spoke, and overall didn’t seem that happy to see her. “Why are you back? Did you not comprehend me before? Go on, go away.” He gave a couple dismissive gestures with his hand for effect.
Stormy’s brow wrinkled in confusion and she stared a moment, then ahemed into a hoof. “Y-Yeah, it’s me again.” She took her time speaking and inquired to him with a softly spoken voice, just in case he tried to recapture her or something.
"Hey, mister... uh, well I don't know your name. Anyway, I don't really know where I aaaam right now. Could you point me in the direction of Cloudsdale really quick? Or maybe Canterlot?” She looked around as if either location would suddenly spring up at her passing glance. “I’ll be out of your flavor-saver quick as lightning if you do.”
Her gaze finally rested on the guy’s sullen expression; she reached a hoof behind her head and grinned sheepishly under his scrutiny. Yeesh, what is up with him? “Um, are you okay?” she hastily added.
.
The creature wearing a frumpy dress answered back, a forced neutrality in his tone. "Not really. And I can’t say I have the slightest idea of what or where you’re talking about. Look, I just set you free, so go do that somewhere else. I want nothing to do with you any longer and plan on trying to forget about today for the next week. At least.” With that, he half sat up, and began to grumpily turn his chair to face a different direction with a clatter.
Is this guy for real? Stormy frowned, feeling a mild pang of annoyance and pondered how this was—if at all—her fault.
After her brief pause, she beat her wings once, zipping over the dirt lawn to get back in front of her only lead towards directions or answers.
“Wait! Come on, please? I really am free thanks to you, and uhh… Well, I have no idea where my home is. Can’t you help me a little? Maybe you have a map or something? I just- Well-”
The stranger seemed to be trying to ignore her while fiddling with some fancy stick he’d produced from his dress. He considered the stick for a moment, then sighed and put it away, only to draw out a different stick. But the second stick was familiar, looking a bit like her grandpa’s churchwarden pipe.
Oh ew, he smokes. Smoke stink in your hair and mane was the worst.
Nonetheless, Stormy took a deep breath to calm down. She brought a hoof to her chin as she considered how to explain her situation. “I’ll just start at the beginning. So there I was on my way home, but I took a little detour to practice a move and some lightning stuff.”
Surprisingly, the weird guy raised an eyebrow then, which stood out since it was the first change yet in his moody expression.
Stormy paused, unsure of what to make of it.
“Go on?” he prompted.
That got a grin out of Stormy. “Sure! You see, the best young flyers competition is coming up! Or, well, it was. That had to have been at least a week ago, now… Anyway, after that I was going to go to my grandmother’s house, she makes great food by the way. You would not believe how good. Especially—”
“Excuse me,” the stranger interrupted, while tapping his weird shaped boot impatiently. “I don’t mean to cut you off, but if you would skip the periphery details I would appreciate that. I am quite the busy man.”
Stormy tilted her head. “The pituitary whatsits?” she asked. What the hay is a ‘man’? Mantis… Mane… Mange… Huh, never heard of a ‘man’ before. “Um, I don’t think I understand you.”
Instead of respond, the man snapped one of those things all the two legged mans had instead of hooves. Doing that made a bright orange spark come out.
Stormy stared in slight confusion as smoke began curling from the tip of his pipe. How’d he do that?
He leaned forward then, his grouchy demeanor rearing its ugly head again as he spoke. “I mean to say, get to the point.”
Stormy shrunk a little, cut out of her thoughts. “Oh. Right, well, after practicing a little, I just suddenly found myself in some big dark basement-slash-dungeon thing before I knew it. I don’t even know how. And there was this creepy guy that I couldn’t understand. And this other creepy guy that was annoying and… he was… and, and-” She sat up and let out high pitched whinny of complaint, suddenly remembering something horrible.
“And those jerks took my violin!” she whined, bouncing up and down in a moment of remorse. The memory still stung, even more so from just how traumatizing waking up in some stranger’s place in a cage was and being given absolutely no explanation as to why.
She resisted a sniffle, and kept in mind that she should ask about all that still.
The man’s stare widened at the increase in volume, but decreased again slowly as he took several healthy puffs from his pipe.
“So that’s all I know. Well, that and I think I got sold into slavery or something. Only you let me go!” Stormy gave a slight smile again. “Thanks for that by the way.”
“Mhmm, quite,” the man mumbled around the stick. He maintained his impatient look of grumpiness.
“Ahem, so, Canterlot, Cloudsdale, uh… Trottingham, do you know where any of those places are? I already tried flying up high to see what’s around me and nothing is familiar. And I flew pretty high up, too.” Stormy pawed the ground without knowing it while she awaited her answer.
The man hesitated a long moment before responding. “I can’t say that I know of any such places as those.”
As a last ditch effort, Stormy thought to add, “Uhm, how about Equestria?”
“I haven't heard of that realm, either.” He was matter-of-fact and airy in his tone. “You must have been taken from a very long way off indeed. It sounds as if magic was involved, as well. Based on your earlier description.”
“Oh. Oh…” Stormy felt a bit of the color drain from her face. He’s never heard of Equestria? Taking a moment to collect herself, she added, “I guess I’m lost then.”
Looking up to the stranger, her eyes shimmered a little, the full harsh reality bearing down on her as she found herself at a loss for words.
The man in a dress watched the pony before him quietly, then smirked. “Well, it does sound like you have quite the journey ahead of you. If it would help, instead of thinking of it as being lost, you could think of it as going on an adventure?”
“Um.” Stormy felt her sense of hopelessness take a backseat for a second, and took a moment to ruminate over the apparent pep-talk. He’s trying reeeally hard to sound deep.
“I guess, but I don’t really want an adventure. I want to go home.” Stormy unfurled her wings enough to wrap them around her front. The act was solely to comfort herself. She took a breath and huffed it out. “Look I appreciate you letting me go, but I can't really go anywhere now that you did.”
The bearded man’s grumpiness seemed to reassert itself, then. “You could fly away and go looking for home further than the immediate vicinity,” he muttered, holding his pipe off to the side.
Stormy frowned, then got serious and lept into the air to fly close in a low hover. “Fine… I just need a few answers before I go and then I won’t take up any more of your time. I figured out that you… you bought me from those other mans. And you sounded pretty upset or something when you saw me. Why did you buy me just to release me? I mean, you did that and believe me, I am thankful, but I don’t think you bought me just to cut me loose and tell me to go home when I have no idea where it is. Is that why you don’t seem to like me at all?”
The dress wearing man stiffened at the accusation and looked elsewhere.
When he spoke, his bitter tone had drained from his voice and was replaced by a more even, maybe even hospitable, one. “Yes, that’s all true,” he began slowly. “I was out bidding a rival wizard, you see. He seemed interested in you as I was, and I couldn’t resist beating him at this. I had also wanted to-” his words died out as he seemed to recall something.
“I wanted to replace my familiar, and I also wanted a mount. My intention was that I would ride upon an impressive winged horse, maybe go adventuring again like old times, and flaunt a bit to my peers.” He harrumphed. “Clearly, in my foolishness and haste, I hadn’t actually seen you until your arrival.”
Stormy had slowly put on a look that was a mix of shock, confusion, and a tinge of interest as the explanation was given. Wizard? He can use unicorn magic? Although the word wizard was really only thrown around in story books where she was from, she recognized it.
The wizard, apparently, didn’t seem to be done talking, so she resisted the urge to interrupt.
“To top it all off, I hadn’t even considered that pegasi…” he paused to stroke his beard. “Or, whatever it is you are, were sapient. You see, familiars tend to be animals that are more than happy to owe their allegiance as long as they’re simply fed.”
“Riiight.” Stormy finally landed again, fluttering down to the ground. “So that was a misunderstanding? Buying me or whatever?” At his nod, she went on. “What about the ones that brought me here? Were the ones keeping me captive a bunch of criminals or something?”
The wizard blinked, as if surprised, then laughed hard. “Hah. Well, some would say that about the government, but no, they weren’t. As I understand it, you were acquired by them from a man’s belongings after his home and property were seized.This was followed swiftly by his arrest as he attempted to flee.”
Stormy wrinkled her brow over the news. “That’s still wrong of them… Why didn’t they release me if they rescued me from… whoever that huge jerk was that foal-napped me?”
“You mean Galeron?” The old wizard reclined back as he proffered the name.
Stormy felt her expression darken some. “That was the man that did this to me?”
The response was slow, but the wizard finally nodded.
“Then yeah, him. If he was arrested for being evil, why did they do the same thing?”
“I think he was arrested for tax evasion, actually.”
Stormy slapped on a glare in response to that and crossed her forehooves.
The bearded man sighed in return, looking from side to side as he continued. “Never mind. Allow me to explain, then… Now, don’t take this the wrong way, but, I guess it would be simplest to say that not all creatures, even ones with free-will, have equal rights in these lands.”
Stormy’s mouth dropped open at that. “You’re kidding me?”
He blinked again, but in a confused seeming way. “Kidding you?” he repeated back. “What do goats have to do with anything?”
Stormy frowned. “I mean, you’re joking, right? About the freedom thing? Uh, jesting? Not being for real?” It really did seem like he was acting out a bad medieval play sometimes with the way he spoke, sort of like the goofy play that got put on during Hearth's Warming.
“Oh, I understand now.” The wizard nodded appreciatively and finally tapped out his pipe, before putting it away. “Sorry, the spell of understanding I had used upon you earlier isn’t perfect, it seems. Nonetheless, I am afraid I’m telling the truth about creatures in this land. Typically, the less similar to elves, men or dwarves a race is in appearance, the less they’re looked upon as equals. In my experience most of the world is that way, depending on who the locals are.”
Stormy didn’t recognize the names of any of those races. “Wow.” She took it all in one bit at a time. “So I’m not just lost, I’m probably not going to get help easily anywhere I go, either.”
She saw a healthy bit of guilt appear on the wizard’s face at that, and it almost made her laugh. That was mostly in response to how desperate everything once again felt. It’s almost like I went from a small cage to a bigger one, she thought to herself.
It didn’t look like the guy in the dress was going to say anything else anytime soon, so Stormy forced herself to work up the nerve to.
“Well… Thank you for your honesty. Anyway, what about that Gallery jerk who foal-napped me in the first place?” She tried hard not to remember that despicable guy. He’d mostly ignored her, but on the rare occasion he had stepped up to her cage, he’d teased her. “You said it sounded like magic was used on me? And earlier, that you could use magic too?”
The wizard nodded once, not at all hiding a proud looking smirk under his beard. “I can indeed, and better than most… As for you, first in one place, a world far away, and then in the captivity of a man not twenty leagues from this doorstep? That sounds like powerful magic or sorcery to me, likely of the conjuration school. Though it may have even been divine in nature.”
Stormy tried not to give away that none of that made sense to her. “Ahhuh… well, why would he do that to me? All he did was keep me in that cage.”
The wizard looked deep in thought for a moment, and when he responded he looked like he was angry to not have an answer. “I cannot say. Likely, he was experimenting, unless he’d meant to summon a miniature pegasus for something.”
“I’m not miniature!” Stormy shouted and looked away, trying to absorb the information. Her outburst was more from frustration and remembering her captivity than over the answers or the jab at her size. She calmed her tone when she continued. “Sorry, and anyway, I’m the normal height for a pony my age thank you very much.”
The wizard raised one thick eyebrow. “And how old would that be?”
Stormy reacted to the question by pulling her head back in surprise.
The wizard, undeterred, puffed from his pipe beneath an interested look. “Forgive the curiosity, but I’ve never encountered your race before, in either stories or legends.”
He leaned forward again, and started doing that thing where he looked like he was studying her.
Stormy paused. She hadn’t actually thought about her being the one out of place, yet. She was too distracted by how weird a world filled with only creatures on two legs was. That is, where only the ones on two legs seemed able to talk. She’d tried shouting to some cows for help earlier, but they hadn’t seemed very bright.
“It’s rude to ask a girl how old she is, you know…” Stormy frowned and sunk her shoulders a bit. “But I’m sixteen. So, you know, not an adult yet. I still go to school and live with my parents.”
The wizard hummed, sitting back again. “Really? For a human that would just about be considered adulthood. Many… uh, girls your age are married by now in my race. Perhaps your kind ages more like dwarves, then.”
Stormy found it hard to believe that somepony could get married at her age. Then again, her grandpa had told her some weird stories about his parents… While thinking on it, she noticed a foreboding kind of sparkle enter the old coot’s eye.
“And it’s just occurred to me,” the wizard went on. “You could tell me all sorts of things about your world! What was it called? Equiltria? Oh, and you mentioned lightning stuff earlier and I’m deeply curious about what you meant. It’s rare to meet beings from other planes. Could you, hm…” He paused to scratch at his beard and blink. “And it seems I haven’t gotten your name yet, either. I’m getting ahead of myself. What are you called by, pegasus?”
The slow change in the stranger’s mood had snuck up on Stormy, and she wasn’t really sure what to think now that he wasn’t simply demanding she just leave right away. Right now he seemed downright genuinely curious, almost desperately so. It reminded her of her science teacher or something.
The change in his attitude did give Stormy a sudden idea, though.
“My name?” she asked, then turned her head away abruptly. “Eh, it isn’t important, since I gotta go.”
Stormy did her best to keep from smirking. “I suppose I could have told you about Equestria, Mr. Wizard. About our magic, our countries, our language… And I’ve never heard about a race of hairless two legged creatures before, so I bet you’d be the first one around here to ever learn about us, too.”
The stranger’s look of greedy interest faded away, replaced by mild shock. “Uhm- You don’t have to leave right away. If you would-” He raised a finger to get a word in, but was ignored.
Stormy hid her smile, and turned a hoof in the air casually. “And you mentioned something about impressing your wizard buddies?” she said absently. “I bet all this information would be way better than showing off a winged horse, huh… Oh well, you said I should go, though, so I really better get flying if I wanna find a way home.”
Stormy turned to go, swishing her tail up defiantly as she did. “Yup, got a long flight ahead of me! Later!”
“W-Wait!” The wizard’s chair clatter as he stood up to stop her. “Ohhh, you’re a conniving rogue, I see. Very well, I apologize for my earlier demeanor and disrespect. I’m just… a twinge broken up over how much I lost when I purchased you is all. I think we could still, however, come to an arrangement, perhaps.”
Stormy couldn’t help but drop the act, snickering. She turned back around with a full on grin. “So that means you’ll help me get home!?” He had magic, so surely he had a way.
The wizard guffawed hard enough to blow out his beard. “Let’s not both get ahead of ourselves. I could look into it, with time… but no promises of results. I’ll tell you upfront so as not to give false hope that I’m not at all currently capable of world travel. I do know of magi and arcanists that have been to other planes, but they are either reclusive, would charge a fortune or both… Nevertheless, let’s start with names, hm? What are you called in your tongue?”
Stormy quirked an eyebrow in response to the weird words thrown around, but her smile stayed plastered to her muzzle. “Well that’s a start. My name’s Stormy Weather! And my special talent is music!” She held up a hoof to Merlos to shake hooves, or in this case… whatever it was he had.
“It is a… pleasure to meet you, Stormy Weather.” With a studious look he accepted the hoof, curling his weird digits around it and giving it a single strong shake. “An interesting name you have, I must say. I wonder what it sounds like without the spell. Also, it is very interesting that you shake hands and- Oh, I’m getting away from myself again.”
The dress wearing wizard straightened, standing a little taller. He already towered over Stormy, so the effect was a little intimidating, even if his pose looked a bit silly.
“I’m called Merlos, Merlos the magnificent,” he continued. “And I am a wizard by craft and of some renown.”
Just like earlier after leaving the cage, Stormy almost couldn’t contain her excitement. I’m gonna go home! Yesyesyes! Her wings gave a cheerful flap, mirroring her raised spirits. “Pleased to meetcha, Mr. Merlos!” she chirped.
Even though he was a complete stranger, and he’d been a bit of a stand-offish jerk earlier, and he smelled like gross pipe-smoke and garlic, she had to actually resist the urge of flying up to hug him.
He made a faint and simple smile in return. “Likewise,” he replied, and sat again in his creaky chair.
Stormy found herself sitting as well, if only to keep her hooves from dancing. Then, the quirky explanation that he’d given about her flying him around came back. She smirked. “So, uh, Merlos. Can whatever deal we work out not include me flying you around? I don't think I’d make a good pony to ride on.” She laughed. “I’m kinda small for yah.” She gave him a half silly, half sheepish grin.
“I know that!” Merlos snapped.
Stormy shuffled back, surprised.
The wizard eased back again into his chair, afterward. “Sorry, I- that business with the auction really has put me on edge.” With that, he took out his pipe again without looking.
Stormy dug a hoof at the dirt. “Oh. Well, uh, out of curiousity, how much exactly was it that you spent on me? Maybe I could help you earn some of it back if I’m stuck here a while.”
Merlos groaned, and placed both of his weird hand things over his face. “I doubt that. It was enough to place me in financial ruin soon if I don’t make more. Twenty thousand gold pieces, all told.”
Stormy’s eyes widened. Then, when she realized he’d said gold and not bits, they widened even further. “Holy jumping sea ponies, batmare! Twenty thousand!?” That’s like, a million bajillion bits or something. She really didn’t know how much that was worth, but it had to be a lot.
Guiltily, a bit of pride swelled in her chest at the thought of being worth so darned much, but it didn’t change the fact that Merlos was probably on the edge of depression as a result.
Merlos let out a despondent sound. “Jumping seal-ponies indeed. I’m a damned fool.”
Stormy muttered softly, “I think you’re a great guy. Not a fool at all.”
Merlos peered up at Stormy for a moment with a stern look. He then rested his head on one hand and an elbow on his knee. “Are you not saying that simply because I freed you?”
“No.” She answered curtly, intending to explain exactly what she meant. Her father had spoken to her about stuff like this once. About someone’s actions and what they meant.
Stormy brushed her mane back with a wing and took a deep breath.
“That’s some of it and adds points, yeah, but there’s more to it than that. I only know about, uhm, wizards from stories, but a wizard is more than using flashy magic. The fact that you have all that power and still let me go, when you probably could have bossed me around like that last guy. At least, I’m assuming you’re not actually really terrible at magic.” The wizard’s brow dropped a quarter of an inch at that, and she pressed on. “So that says a lot about you. On top of that, there’s also the fact I cost you, uhm, all that money. A fool wouldn’t have done anything like just let me go when you did.”
Merlos slowly quirked an eyebrow at Stormy. He had his funny pipe held motionless in front of him, too, yet unlit. He seemed to be just a little bit frozen.
“So yeah. You don’t seem like a bad guy. Right now I feel a little lucky to have bumped into you.” Stormy smiled, finished. When Merlos continued his wordlessness, she coughed and decided to bring something else up.
“Uh, by the way, does this mean I can stay with you, as part of this arrangement? I don’t really have a home or anything right now.” He was a stranger, sure, but it was that or sleep out in the open.
That seemed to snap him out of it.
Merlos shook his head a little, as if he thought he’d misheard. “Stay with- Oh, I hadn’t considered that…” He looked up and over the messy courtyard’s tall stone wall, towards the setting sun. “It’s getting late as well, isn’t it? You’re more than welcome to stay in the stables, certainly. I gave them a good cleaning just yesterday.”
Stormy had been about to thank him, but the words died in her mouth. Instead, she dryly muttered, “The stables? You’re joking.” Her eyes narrowed a little. “Well, I’m not going to lie, I was kind of hoping to get a bedroom or something.” The tower alone certainly looked big enough to have several extra, and that wasn’t even mentioning the rest of the place. “Maybe a couch at the very least?”
Merlos frowned and crossed his arms. “You’re serious?” he half echoed. “Are those normal accommodations for you where you’re from?”
Stormy’s eyebrows climbed her forehead. “Aren’t they for you?” She heaved an exasperated breath. “If it’s really trouble, at least just give me someplace until I can find somewhere else?” To add, as she liked to think of it, convincing to her argument, she said the half-plea with her forehooves together and gave him the sudden full force of her adorably large purple eyes.
“Urg, alright fine, just stop that.” Merlos grimaced and looked away moodily. “I have a spare room somewhere, I’m sure.”
“Whoo!” Stormy whooped in success. “Thanks so much for your generosity! With some time, I could probably build a good cloud home or something else.” She knew nothing about permanent weather building construction, but it couldn’t be that hard, right?
“Cloud what?” Merlos asked the question straight off.
“Um, a home. You know, built out of clouds? Pegasi usually live in them. Not all of us… but most do.”
Merlos blinked at her, as if for the first time seeing something truly bizarre. “Fascinating. You’ll have to tell me more about that, er, Stormy.” He said the name with an amused look. “But, for now, it’s going to start getting cold out here, so perhaps we go inside? We are near the mountains, after all.” He rose, taking a couple steps toward the nearby tall wooden door.
Stormy shrugged and batted a hoof. “Cold-schmold, but sure!” She clambered up the stairs after him, hooves banging loudly on the porch’s wooden boards. “Also, do you have any food? I’m starving.” As if to confirm that, her aching stomach gave a growl.
Merlos hummed, and stroked his beard. “That… depends. I purchased food in preparation for, well, an animal. Not a talking, sapient creature. What exactly is it that you eat?”
Stormy felt her mouth water all of a sudden, and her head filled up with all of the delicious treats she’d been denied for weeks now. In all that time, she’d only been given some awful hay and oats.
“At this point? Anything.”
“Anything?” Merlos repeated, and stopped outside the door. With a finger flick like the one he’d used earlier on his pipe, a lantern hanging by its side burst into orange-yellow life. “Well that seems fortunate, because I have-”
“Oh, but I would kill for some strawberry shortcake.” Stormy licked her lips at the very thought. “Do you have any cake? Or pie? As long as it isn’t hay. I’ve had enough moldy hay for a lifetime, uggh. And what vegetables do you have laying around? I bet I could use your fryer to make something.”
Merlos froze a bit before moving again, taking a few short strides inside the imposing stone building. “I… don’t know what a friar has to do with this. I’ll see what I can find in the larder, though. But moving on, let’s talk about your world, country and-”
Stormy stepped in after him, taking slow and deliberate steps inside the imposing stone building. It was weird and creepy, not elegant or very well crafted like the Equestrian architecture she’d visited in Canterlot on some field trips. But, it seemed polite not to point that stuff out.
Merlos lit a few simple lanterns as he walked and talked, and Stormy blinked a few times to let her eyes adjust to the indoor’s dim lighting. She only half listened to what he was saying.
After a glance around the tower’s entrance, Stormy’s eyes became used to the more darkened interior, and clasping her hooves to the side of her face she suddenly let out a blood curdling scream at what she saw.