Upon opening his eyes, it took Alexander about two minutes to realise that he wasn’t holding a leash to which a beaten pony was tied to, that it was only just a dream, that he was heading towards Stalliongrad and that he was on a mission he set for himself to change the humanity’s destiny and that a woman was sitting across him. He reached for his backpack to take out a notebook as he realised that a woman was real and that she was, indeed, real. He slowly turned to her and examined her. Curly hair, red jacket and high heels, reading “Great relaxing vacation activities.” For a second Alexander doubted that the woman in front of him was really reading book, and was just flipping through it to pass time.
“Good day.” – said the woman in a rather monotone voice. It took Alexander a few seconds to understand that the greeting was addressed to him.
“Greetings to you, too, - said Alexander and then paused. “Who might you be?”
“Rita Burms, - the lady lowered her book. “And you?” Alexander stayed silent for a few seconds, as he tried to remember where he had heard her name, but decided not to look rude and find the name later.
“Alexander. Alexander the General.” That title wasn’t the greatest thing he could represent himself with, but it was the first thing that came to his mind. The lady put the book down and tried now to show her excitement.
“As in… THE General Alexander the Third who stopped the five nuclear bombs from being launched and got the leaders of the Five Factions to unite?” Alexander chuckled remembering the events.
“I’m afraid so…”
“I’m so honoured! May I ask what brings such a person as you here?” – The lady’s voice remained calm, but Alexander could see her excitement.
“NO!” – He laughed – “Of course you may! Imagine me as a friend of sorts. We are in the same cabin, after all. I came here for peace.” That was his standard answer to people, but this time he meant in a different context and more sincerely than ever before. “And you? I presume you’re on some business matter, no?”
“Not really, - the lady smiled. – I came here to visit my sister, who works in news business, and these are the clothes just for the journey. Speaking of peace, have you heard about the Hoofington protests?”
“I think they’ll be over soon. We’ll see in a few days, I suppose.” The lady nodded her head as if she was noting that sentence in her mind.
“I disagree. As much as humans and ponies cooperate, nature resources is a sensitive and an important matter, and if everybody won’t come to an agreement soon, then the situation will tense up and escalate.” – The lady waived her hands as if she was trying to prove something.
“I do believe that too, but nobody wants a fight and bloodshed and that’s going to stop a fight from happening. I think that everybody has had enough disagreements over the last few years.” – Alexander tried to reason with the lady, but to him, it seemed like she wasn’t even listening to him.
“Well, whatever the case may be, I hope you show up there soon, cause the situation is already bad and people and even ponies are expecting you. Well, I wish we could chat a little bit more, but this is my stop. See ya later.” – The lady picked up her book, bag and abruptly walked out of the cabin. Alexander looked outside and realised that he, too, had to get out there, grabbed his backpack and hurried towards the exit as he remembered the name of the lady he was just talking to. Rita Burms was a famous host of a few TV shows, often discussing conspiracies and political matters.
“Shit, gotta be more careful next time with such a person. Never know what they might say on their show.” – Alexander noted in his mind to find out who a person next time before talking about political stuff with them.
To Alexander, it was a rather strange name. Stalliongrad. He wasn’t sure if ponies named it like that to remind everyone that the town was first ruled by rather communist leaders before handing it over to ponies or that it meant that a lot of stallions live in it. Either way, it was strange to Alexander. The town itself was old, not even fully reconstructed after almost a hundred years after the First Contact Wars because the destroyed and old buildings gathered so much tourist attention that the government decided to keep the buildings the way they were. Aside from the reminder of the horrible events of the past, the town didn’t have much to offer and you would think that was weird – the more people the border town amasses, the more of them would like to travel further into the land and explore the whole country. But it wasn’t – the town of Stalliongrad was built just before the tragic wars, and as such, didn’t have much in it. That being said, the demand was big enough for guides and that was just what Alexander needed, so he headed to find one.
When he looked at the group of ponies sitting together and chatting about something, he instantly knew who he was looking for. Alexander didn’t really believe in such a thing as a fate, but when his and her looks locked onto each other, he knew that he specifically needed her. Alexander stepped forward as she got up.
“Hello. How may I help?” – The pink-haired pony slightly bowed.
“I’m looking for someone to take me around Equestria.”
“Sorry, but… um, we don’t do that here. You’re going to have to inquir…”
“I’m not asking for anybody, but you. Will you do it?” – Alexander interrupted.
“I’m sorry, but I work here and I can’t really leave right now…” – the pony replied with slight haste in her voice.
“Oh come on! Don’t tell me you have hard work to do here. There’s nine of you sitting there, just chatting about God knows what, bored to death… I can feel that you want to travel… So, you in?”
The pony hesitated. She wasn’t sure what she would get herself into, but on the other hand, the prospect of traveling through Equestria seems nice. Who knew when the next chance to travel around Equestria and get to know who and what those humans were could come?
“But what about…” – the pink-haired pony stopped mid-sentence, understanding that such a chance she was offered probably wouldn’t come in her life ever again.
“Money? Don’t worry about that. I got enough for both of us. And your job? There’s still plenty of guides left here, I’m sure they’re gonna handle just fine.” – Alexander reassured the pink-haired mare.
“Then meet here after two hours?”
“Sure.”
That was all the time Alexander needed. Even though Alexander knew that Stalliongrad was a beautiful city, he had other matters he had to attend to.
The alley was dark despite the sun being high up in the sky. The walls were old, mostly overtaken by moss and there were newspapers and soda cans rolling because of the gentle breeze. Alexander slowly walked further into the long alley, looking at the walls and random scribbles made with chalk until he saw what he was looking for. He smiled and whispered loud enough for anyone who would have been in the alley to hear:
“The four horses came out of nowhere, wiped everything from the surface of the ground, leaving nothing be but a single flower for the flower was the one who could give everything pureness and meaning.”
A man came round the corner, looked at Alexander and sighed out of relief.
“Thank God and the holy heavens. I thought you were never coming. I got the stuff you asked for right here. Just take it and leave.”
“You hurrying somewhere?” – Alexander raised an eyebrow
“Actually, yes. With the war rising this place soon will become a war zone too. I don’t want to be caught in the crossfire, even if that means less money from the business.” – The man in coat looked uneasy.
“Well then, not gonna bother you with anything else.” – Alexander opened the case the man held and looked at the glimmering guns inside.
“Latest make. I got them for free, so I’m going to give them to you as a small gift for all the years of partnership.”
Alexander put the guns inside his jacket and dumped the ammunition packs inside his backpack.
“I guess this is goodbye then. Thanks for your help.”
“Hope to see you fine and healthy someday.” – the man with the long coat waved goodbye and they were on their separate ways.
“Ready for the adventure?” – the pink-haired mare smiled, happy that she took upon Alexander’s offer.
“I am.”
“Where should we go, then?”
“I first need to get to Hoofington and then to Manehattan.” He knew that princesses would most likely would be at either of those places, so he decided to try those cities despite the unrest.
“Ouch. Quite a place to start with…” – the pony suddenly was unsure if she was so keen on going to this adventure.
“Well, you either help me or I go by myself. I think it would benefit us both if we went together, don’t you?”
“I suppose so.” – the pony sighed
“Any suggestions how to get there?”
“There’s no train leading there, so the only way to get there is to walk…”
“Onward then!” – Alexander pointed his finger towards no particular direction as a traveller, his spirits high and ready to beat any obstacles that lay in his path.
They set off.