//------------------------------// // 9. Kindness // Story: Divine Entertainment // by Orthoros //------------------------------// Alex made his way through the now bustling section of the market where the caravan had set up. Ponies from town came in droves to take a look at the new wares on display. He had barely enough room to squeeze by in some areas, and had been called a pervert by that one mare, when he’d accidentally brushed her flank while passing by. If the current vendor he listened to was to be believed, then most of his wares were stolen from a dragon that lived under some mountain. Alex’s attention to the vender waned as his attention drifted to an earth pony mare fervently haggling on the price of a small wooden statue. Try as he might Alex couldn’t understand the appeal of a ponified hear no evil, see no evil statuette. It was in no way the first time Alex had been to a market, but everything seemed new to him none the less. Where he came from, markets were way more calm. Nobody was haggling, nobody was shouting what wares they sold to the market goers. They felt more organized and efficient, where in comparison this one was far more chaotic. Like that one vendor he could still hear shouting about his cabbage cart being knocked over. As he made his way down the market rows, he noticed a lot less ponies milling about. It was only natural he thought. The usual stands were around almost everyday, but the caravan only stayed for a few. It wasn’t long before he came upon a rather bored looking green mare, sitting next to her cart. “Hey Vibrant! How’s it going?” Alex asked. He looked around and noticed that a few paintings were missing. So he assumed she managed to at least sell some of them. “Hey Alex. Everyone is being drawn to the caravan, so it’s a slow day.” Vibrant replied. “But I still sold some. Maybe I’ll just take a break tomorrow, and try again when they leave.” Vibrant sighed, getting up to stretch her legs for a bit. “What about you?” She asked while stretching her front legs like a cat. “Did you talk to anyone from the caravan yet?” “Yeah, I talked to their leader.” Alex responded. “He’s willing to take me along, but I’ll need to work for him. I’ll be with them until we reach High Rock. After that I’ll have to find a way to the Crystal Kingdom myself.” Vibrant nodded understandingly while completing her stretching. She sat back on her cushion. Alex sat down as well, sitting next to her so he didn’t obstruct the view one the paintings. “So almost half of the way, huh? Well that’s a good start, and once you’re in High Rock it will be easy to join another caravan, or pay someone to get you there.” They sat in silence for a while, each of them thinking about this new development. After a while, an earth pony from the caravan came over to them. He looked at all the paintings carefully, and ended up buying two of them. After he had finished his transaction he went on, Vibrant waited till her customer was out of earshot, before continuing her conversation with Alex. “How about we sleep in tomorrow, and grab something to eat together for lunch?” Vibrant spoke up. “I’m not gonna sell much anyway, what with the caravan being here and all.” “That sounds nice.” Alex responded. -------------------------------------- The sounds of songbirds drifted through his head as he slowly regained consciousness. He smacked his lips loudly, and yawned before opening his eyes and shifting under the covers to bring him back unto his belly. It came as no surprise when he saw that Vibrant was up before him again. Last night, they moved the cart away from the market, to make space for someone who actually wanted to do business that day. They were now camping out about five minutes away from the little town, to the side of the road. Shaking the rest of the vestiges of sleep off him, he poked his head out the tent, he spotted Vibrant after a quick scan of his surroundings. She was currently perched beneath a tree on a hill, a little ways down from their tent. She was currently working on a canvas in front of her, shifting her gaze back and forth between Harvest, and her work. He trotted up to her as silently as he could, which he found to be harder to do as a hooved quadruped. He sat on his haunches a small distance behind her, deciding to just watch her paint for now. Various cans of paint were put next to her on the ground, some colors already mixed on a palette fixated on the canvas’ stand. She dipped various brushes into them, and expertly put stroke after stroke across the fabric, steadily creating one of her masterpieces. He waited until he was sure he wouldn’t startle her, after all he didn’t want to be the cause of ruining a painting, when she went to dip her brush he spoke up. “Good morning, Vibrant.” He said cheerfully. She put the brush she was currently using on one of the mounts attached to the stand, and turned around. “Good morning?” She raised an eyebrow and pointed her hoof upwards. “More like, good afternoon.” A smile spread across her face. ”Sleep well? Alex looked up for the first time since waking up, and just as Vibrant said, the sun had already passed its zenith. “Like a rock.” He responded. “Thanks for not waking me up. I really needed that rest.” He looked past her, to her half finished painting. “I thought you didn’t have your painting materials with you.” “I didn’t.” She said with confidence. “I bought new supplies yesterday. Seeing as you decided to waste half of the day, I decided to start painting.” “It’s beautiful. Even though it’s only halfway done.” “Thank you.” Vibrant always felt proud of herself when someone complimented her art. “So we still on for that lunch? It’s a bit late for that, but I could do with something to eat.” Accompanying her statement was a low growl from her stomach. She flashed Alex a sheepy smile, which was returned in kind by him. “Sure.” He said. “Are you okay with paying for me too? I know you helped me a lot already, but I’m starting to feel a bit bad about mooching off of you like this.” Alex was really happy that she was readily helping him. Vibrant made his transfer to Equis a lot easier than it could have been. But as he continued accepting her kindness, he felt more and more like an asshole about it. She was so nice to him, and he just took and took, without really giving back anything. Alex looked away from her, dreading the answer that she might give. Deep down he knew she wouldn’t push him away, but there was always the possibility. A green hoof came to rest on his shoulder. “You are not a nuisance to me.” Alex turned his head back towards her, looking straight into her rose eyes. In them he could see nothing but warmth and acceptance. “You are far away from home, with no idea how you got here.” Vibrant kept their eye contact upright. “Helping you out is the least any decent pony should do. And I have decided to do so, in every way I can.” “If you ever feel like you owe me something for helping you, I accept your company as an equal exchange. I live alone far away from other ponies to talk with, and having you around was a welcome change of pace. I had somebody around to socialize, and have fun with.” She made a little pause in her speech, to let it sink in. “That’s more than enough, that you’ve given me.” She turned around and sat down next to her canvas, overlooking the small town beneath them. “In fact. I would be more than honored to call you my friend. And friends help each other.” A shiver went down Alex’s spine. He felt a tingle go from his horn throughout his entire body. If Vibrant was facing towards him, she would have noticed his eyes flash a bright green color for a brief moment. Alex shuddered, he never felt something like that before. It sort of felt like a shiver that happened when it was cold. But this felt really warm, and for a small moment he could feel something flow through him, as if a new bloodstream had been formed inside him. He trotted up to her, still feeling a bit weird. “Thank you.” He looked over to her, feeling grateful. “Friend.” They remained where they were for a little while, just enjoying the moment. When the silence was broken by another growl, Vibrant got up, and they made their way towards Harvest. -------------------------------------- The sun was setting over Harvest. Ponies were returning home after a hard day of work, except for the few who went to the local watering hole to refresh their spirits. Birds flitted around, some alighting on the rooftops of the little town, providing soothing melodies with their voice. Overlooking all this from their camping spot, were Vibrant and Alex. She was calmly adding strokes and splotches of color to her painting, and Alex was lying next to her in the grass. After spending the afternoon in town, they had returned to their little recluse. Vibrant content with her brush strokes, and Alex with just watching the sun bathe its orange hues across the town. Occasionally stealing a peek at the evolving picture. Seeing the painting come to life more and more with each stroke of the brush, was a pretty captivating sight for him. The sun was coloring the horizon in a deep red on it’s descent. Until finally, it dipped over, and plunged the world into darkness. Making way for its lunar counterpart. Vibrant put away her brush, and laid down next to Alex. He had decided that it would be best to spend the night with the caravan, eliminating the possibility of him being late. They spent the time stargazing, and idly chatting about the future. “Well,” Alex broke the silence. “It looks like it’s time for me to go.” He stated solemnly. “Alright...” Vibrant answered, as she fought to keep her ears from flattening. They rose from their prone position, and trotted towards Vibrants cart. Alex hopped up into it, picking up the map he had received from Lucky Strike with his mouth. It was the only thing in this world that was truly his. Vibrant climbed up after him, the cart now having enough space for two ponies to stand comfortably in it. She grabbed her green saddlebag, before setting it down in front of Alex’s hooves. Alex looked at her questioningly, patiently awaiting an explanation. “I’d like for you to have this.” She nudged the saddlebag a bit closer to Alex. “I’m sure it will be useful in your travels. There’s also a few bits in there for you, and a few apples, so you don’t need to go hungry.” Vibrant’s eyes started to tear up a little. She sniffed once, and carried on with her explanation. “I know we only knew each other for a short time. But I’ve really come to like you, you know.” She said while cleaning her eyes with a fetlock. “Remember me when you look at those saddlebags. And know, if all else should fail, you always have a place you can return to.” Alex’s eyes were starting to get wet too, but he hid it as well as he could. He never was great with goodbyes. Just as she said, even though their time together was short, he felt a strong connection had formed between them. “Thank you Vibrant.” He began. “I’ll treasure this gift.” He picked up the saddlebag and put it on, fastening it against his midriff. He felt the left side was lighter, so he pulled it open and put his map into it. They descended from the cart and went back to the canvas, overlooking Harvest. “Can you pull out your map for a second?” Vibrant asked. Even though he just put it away, Alex complied with her request. She took it from him, and rolled it open on the ground. She scanned the map for a few seconds, then grabbed one of her brushes, dipping it into a small bucket full of green paint. She softly set it down over a specific point east of Harvest, leaving behind a new dot. She then dipped her hoof into the color, and made a hoofprint next to it. After she let the paint dry a bit, she rolled the map back up, putting it back into Alex’s saddlebag. She didn’t need to explain to him what she just did. He knew she marked down her house, so he could eventually return, should he decide to do so. They looked each other in the eyes, silver meeting rose. When suddenly Vibrant pulled Alex into a hug, nuzzling his neck. After the initial surprise he happily returned the gesture. “Goodbye, Alex.” She said solemnly. “Goodbye, Vibrant.” He responded. “And thank you… For everything.” They pulled away from each other, and Alex gave a last nod while looking deep into the green mare’s eyes. Vibrant sat down next to her canvas, as she watched her friend walk into the night, and towards his destiny. She still sat there, long after he was gone. Watching the stars, and wishing him the best of luck in his travels. -------------------------------------- Alex came upon the caravan’s campsite. They had pulled their wagons into a circle, a big fire roaring in the middle. Gathered all around it were ponies, chatting with each other, and enjoying a late dinner. He lazily let his eyes wander over the small crowd, until he spotted the red coat of Winter Banana. He quietly made his way over to the stallion. “Good evening Mr. Winter.” He said after coming close enough. “Alexander Atlas Riptis, reporting for duty.” Winter Banana looked up from his conversation to face him. After a brief moment he recognized Alex. “Ahh, you’re early!” He shouted, slightly slurring his words. The drink before him apparently some kind of alcohol. “I like that!” He stood up and hobbled over to Alex’s side, pulling him into an awkward hug with his right hoof. “You see that red pegasus over there?” He pointed to the other side of the fire, where a pegasus was conversing with two earth ponies. “He’s going to be your partner for this trip. He’s one of my veterans, so listen to what he says, and you're golden!” Winter gave Alex a little shove towards the pegasus. When Alex started trotting toward him, he could hear Winter Banana shouting something. “And drop the Sir! I’m not your father kiddo!” Alex smiled, and closed the distance between him and his future co-workers. When he came up to them they looked questioningly towards him. “Hi, my name’s Alex.” He said looking at the red pegasus. Now that Alex was close enough, he recognized that the pegasus was sporting a windswept purple mane. “I was told I am to partner up with you for the coming trip.” The Pegasus nodded in understanding. “Name’s Crimson, Welcome aboard.” Alex was offered a hoof, which he shook gladly. He took off his new saddlebag and set it on the ground. The pegasus scooted a bit to the side, making space for Alex to sit. “So, tell us something about yourself.” He said. And so he did the same thing that he did to everybody he met in this world so far. He lied to them.