As the sun reached its zenith on the third day, the heat beat down mercilessly on the stallions. Each sweated profusely as they pulled their respective wagons in teams of two.
Alex and Crimson were no exception. A canteen of water was hanging from both their harnesses, a straw was positioned close to their mouths for easy access. According to Crimson, during an especially harsh summer, one of the workers almost died from heat stroke. Since then, Winter Banana made sure everypony had enough to drink while working.
Alex was getting bored again. Since reaching the Crystal Snake three days ago, the surrounding scenery didn’t change much. It was always the river to the right with some trees and bushes, and green to the left as far as the eye could see. Tied to the wagon as they were, the only thing they could do to stave off boredom, was talking.
Still, it was close to impossible for two individuals to talk for eleven hours straight. Especially when one of them seemed to have an issue with the other. Aside from a few short conversations, Alex was left to his own thoughts to entertain him. So when Crimson addressed him, he jumped on the opportunity to make his day slightly less boring.
“Alex listen.” He said. “I’m sorry if I’ve seemed distant to you.” Alex was surprised at the sudden confession, but listened attentively.
“Truth is, I lost my old job because I ran into some trouble with some unicorns up in High Rock.” He continued. “You seem like a nice enough guy, and I’m sorry I judged you just because you’re a unicorn.”
“You don’t need to be sorry, I hardly noticed. Just thought you were the quiet type.”
“Well it bugs me anyway. Whether or not you realized doesn’t matter. Fact is I judged you just because you’re a unicorn, which isn’t fair.” Crimson admitted. “So how about we start off again from the beginning?”
Crimson held out his right front hoof while continuing to walk. After some minor trouble raising his while walking, Alex managed to bump his hoof lightly against Crimson’s.
“Sure why not.” Alex said.
“Cool, so as you already know my name’s Crimson. I hail from the Pegasi Tribes, more specifically the small town of Cumulus. I lead a pretty normal life until I started working for the couriers. Due to my talent of long distance flights, I was assigned pretty important cargo from time to time.” Crimson explained. “Once I even had the honor of delivering to the High Queen herself.”
Alex had absolutely no idea who the High Queen was, but didn’t let it show. He really needed someone to teach him about common knowledge soon.
“Life was pretty good for me. Until I did that one job for those shit-eating unicorns. No offense.”
“None taken.”
“They set me up with some top secret, high value cargo. The pay was amazing too. When I was stopped by some enforcers for a routine check, it turned out to be some highly illegal drugs.” Crimson had a look of disgust on his face. “Of course my employers were nowhere to be found, so they arrested me instead. Once you’ve spent time in jail, you’re automatically fired from the couriers. And if you’re not with the couriers, you get no work. Simple as that.”
Alex nodded, taking in the information presented to him.
“So I was shit out of luck. Spent a few days in the street, barely getting by off the meager savings I had. I started working for ol’ Banana up front after that. Just thought, screw it, might as well. Never thought I’d be with him this long though. But he really grew on me, the old coot.”
“Wow. I can see why you might dislike unicorns if that was your only interaction with my kind.” Alex said. “I assure you though, I’ll not try to screw you over in any way.”
“Yeah I thought so, or at least thought I owe you the benefit of the doubt.” Crimson added. “I know you have that nasty amnesia business going on, but do you remember anything at all? Like the name of a settlement, or something? Maybe I could help if you have a lead.”
“Sadly, no. I know it might be hard to believe, but as I said before, I remember absolutely nothing.”
“Bummer.”
They silently pulled their wagon along the winding dirt road. Contemplating what to talk about next, now that they were both willing to communicate.
“So did anything cool happen in the week you were ‘alive’?” Crimson asked.
“Honestly, almost everything that happened to me this week was cool.” Alex replied. “Even though I seem to remember some basic things like language, everything is new and interesting to me. On my way to Harvest I made friends with this snake in the mountains. Used it to scare Vibrant too.” He got a dreamy look in his eyes and sighed. “Good ol’ snake. Wonder what he’s up to.”
Crimson looked a bit concerned about Alex’s behaviour when remembering a limbless reptile. Although one piece of information caught his attention.
“So who’s this Vibrant?” He asked.
Alex told him about the time he spent with Vibrant. They joked around, and Crimson told Alex stories for the rest of the day. Now that they actually talked to each other, time just flew by them.
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Crimson was telling Alex another one of his stories from when he was still working as a courier. This one about this really old mare, who almost couldn’t hear. Obviously they had some trouble communicating, which already sounded like the setup for a joke.
He was interrupted by Winter Banana ringing his bell three times. Signalling the caravan to set up camp for the night. They parked their wagon in the usual formation and went about their assigned duties.
Alex was assigned water duty today, so he couldn’t just sit back and relax. After he met up with two other stallions who had the same duty, they grabbed enough canteens for everybody, as well as a few buckets. Today’s resting stop was at an elevated position, separating them from the river via a thirty foot drop. They had to backtrack for about ten minutes, until they reached a safe spot to descend before they went about their work.
After getting done, Alex met up with Crimson again. He introduced Alex to two of his friends, and they spent the evening talking, and joking with each other. They were on a semi-enforced sleeping schedule, so their fun was cut short, when Winter Banana reminded them to get enough sleep.
Crimson and Alex went to their assigned wagon, before pulling out two bed rolls. Alex wiggled himself into his bed roll, shifting himself around until his bed wasn’t atop any rocks.
“Hey Alex?” Crimsons voice floated over to him.
“Yeah?” Alex asked.
“I know you’re only gonna be around for a few more days, but I’d be honored to call you a friend.”
“Thanks Crimson, I think I’d like that.” Alex responded. “Besides, they say you always meet twice in life.”
“That would be cool. Well then, sleep well.”
“Good night, Crimson.”
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“...ATTACK! WE’RE UNDER ATTACK! EVERYPONY TO THEIR POSITIONS!”
The loud shout of Winter Banana was accompanied by the continuous ringing of his bell. Not too far away, the sounds of battle could be heard. The Mercenaries on night duty were already engaged with the enemy. Rhythmic clangs of swords and shields clashing could be heard around the camp, punctuated by the occasional scream.
Alex had awoken with a start, not being able to really process what was going on in all the confusion. Suddenly, Crimson grabbed him by the shoulder and forcefully yanked him to his hooves until they were eye to eye.
“Alex! Go find Yellow Shield! Do what he says, and try to stay hidden!” Crimson shouted over the noise. “I need to go and help them fight.”
No sooner than he was done speaking, Crimson took to the skies. He flew a few meters off the ground while shouting instructions to the ponies in the fight, trying to instill some order into the chaos. As Alex watched all this, the gravity of the situation started to dawn on him.
He took off for the center of the caravan looking around frantically, while trying to spot the yellow earth pony. He found him about five wagons from him, corralling a group of stallions away from the fighting. Alex took off immediately, sprinting towards possible safety. He had to dodge a dirty looking bandit fighting with one of their mercenaries along the way. The sounds of the battle seemed to draw closer as Alex heard smashing crates, and the sounds of crushing wood from overturning wagons. Luckily he managed to reach his destination unmolested.
“Pull back! Head to the woods! Seek cover!”
He could hear Yellow Shield shouting command after command when he got closer. He came to a stop right next to the yellow stallion, slightly out of breath from the short sprint. His heart hammering in his ears, and the lightheaded euphoria of adrenaline coursing through him. Alex looked at Yellow Shield questioningly while he awaited his instructions.
“Go hide in the treeline lad! Try to find a good spot to conceal yourself! Don’t group up with the other guys, and focus on camouflage, it's better if they don’t find you. It’s easier when you're not in a large group! Also take care to not fall off the cliff!”
Alex nodded hastily, and joined the other fleeing stallions. It didn’t take them long to reach the rather thinly stretched out treeline. He split up from the others as he was instructed, and ran to the left. Along the way he spotted several hiding places that looked useful, but all of them were already in use.
He had to run for quite a bit until he found a suitable cover. It was a rather large bush, some sort of red berries dangling from it’s twigs. He jumped in and made sure every part of him was covered. After he pulled in his tail after him, he took a few deep breaths and tried to remain as motionless as possible. But it felt as if his whole body was shaking.
The adrenaline that was rushing throughout his body, was making it almost impossible for him to calm down. Now that he had some time to actually think about his situation, it hit him like a brick to the face. He couldn’t help but be scared as the realization that if he messed up, it would most likely result in his death.
He curled up inside his hiding place as much as he could. Alex had never been in a situation where his very life was threatened. All he could do was try not to move. Tears quickly threatened to cloud his vision. While he was mentally blaming the gods for throwing him into this situation, his thoughts were interrupted.
The sound of the battle drawing closer to him, roused Alex from his prone position. Morbid curiosity got the better of him, and he poked his head through the leaves and twigs of the bush to take a look. Two bandits in front of him were engaged with a mercenary. He was almost completely on the defense, using his shield to block the swords the Bandits were wildly swinging.
While he parried or blocked all the swings his adversaries were throwing his way, he was forced to steadily retreat from the onslaught. The bandits kept up their attack, presenting no opening and almost moving as one. Blow after blow landed on the mercenary’s shield, as they steadily got closer to Alex’s hiding spot.
Alex was stunned by the performance. Ignoring the fact that all three participants placed their life on the line in this battle, it had an almost artistic flow to it. Alex was almost lost in the morbid beauty of the moment, when the mercenary made a mistake.
He blocked a vicious side swing of one bandit, which pushed his shield slightly off center. The second bandit immediately capitalized on the opening and thrust his sword inside it. His sword slid against the rim of the shield, creating the screeching sound of metal on metal. Shortly followed by a wet squelch, and grunt of pain.
The bandit’s blade struck true, and entered the mercenary’s throat. His eyes widened in shock and realization, as the bandit pulled out his blade again. Blood gushed out of the wound as the stallion collapsed, vainly pawing his forelegs at the gash in an attempt to stem the blood flow.
Both Bandits sighed deeply, having survived another life and death situation. The one further away from Alex took a look around, trying to spot any other combatants. He stopped scanning when his eyes locked onto Alex’s. The world seemed to slow to a crawl, as Alex realized his mistake. They both held eye contact, for an agonizingly long second.
“There’s a unicorn in the bush over there! Get it before it casts some weird magic on us!”
The Bandit’s scream reverted time to normal. Alex’s pupils shrank to pinpricks, as Adrenaline started to ravage his body once again. Both of them started running towards him. Behind them a third bandit appeared, having heard his comrades warning.
Alex’s only thought was about getting away, he struggled with the bush he hid in, getting caught up in the branches. After fighting for a few moments he managed to escape his shrub prison, by the time he was free they were about fifteen feet away from him. Realizing how close they were he went into a full on sprint, frantically trying to get away from his certain death.
In his panic induced sprint he failed to see a root sticking out of the ground, causing him to stumble and fall over. He tumbled a few feet forward finally coming to a stop a few inches from the cliff. If he didn’t stumble, he would have ran straight off the cliff into the watery abyss below.
Alex turned around to check on his pursuers. They were almost upon him. One of them approached him carefully, with the second staying behind a bit, just in case he were to use any magic. The third had almost caught up with them as well. Each brandished a short sword, that didn’t seem to live up to its name when threatening his life.
One bandit had slinked forward till he stood directly in front of Alex. It was the one who had just killed the mercenary. The fresh blood on his blade dropped onto Alex’s fur, as he prepared the downward thrust that would end Alex.
With a calculated stroke he stabbed towards Alex’s throat. Alex watched as the blade descended on its way to his certain doom, when suddenly a red hoof slammed into the face of his attacker. The blow was delivered with such high momentum that the bandit flew back a few feet. Where he remained motionless as he landed, apparently knocked out.
Alex blinked, not quite able to register what was going on. Crimson had swooped in from above at the last moment, saving his life. He stood in front of Alex protectively, a sword held out in front of him. He must have looted it from a defeated bandit earlier, because it was their style of short sword.
Crimson shot a look back, to check on Alex.
“Get outta here! I’ll hold them off!” He shouted.
Crimson ran towards the remaining two stallions, engaging both of them in mortal combat. Meanwhile Alex’s brain refused to function properly, fear rooting him to his spot on the ground. He was shocked to his very core. While he wanted to do as Crimson told him, his body just wouldn’t obey him. Forcing him to watch his friend battle to the death.
Crimson was holding his own against the two bandits. They weren’t as synchronized in their attacks, like the combo he’d seen before. Crimson didn’t have a shield to block, so he used his wings in short bursts so he could dodge their swings whenever he wasn’t able to redirect them.
Suddenly one of the bandits pulled away from Crimson, while the other one rushed towards him. Crimson was thrown off by the sudden change in tactics, reacting just a second too late. The Bandit closed the distance between them and clocked him in the face with the pommel of his sword, sending him reeling backwards. The bandit then used his momentum to step out of place, just in time to reveal the second bandit coming up behind him.
Alex’s world once again slowed to a crawl, as he realized his new friend was about to die. As the blade drew closer to Crimson he started to panic. Crimson protected him, and was about to die because Alex messed up. He felt all sorts of emotions bubble up inside him, as he was torn between crying, and absolute rage.
He gave in to his emotions, losing himself in them. He couldn’t let his friend die here. He had to do something. Anything.
Alex felt his body temperature rising as an unfamiliar power coursed through him. His horn started to glow a soothing green, while arcs of lightning of the same color jumped between his body and the ground.
“NOOOOO!” He shouted with all his might.
His shout was punctuated by a loud bang, and a green sphere of pure mana shot from his horn. The ball of green travelled so fast he almost didn’t see it. It closed the distance between Alex and Crimsons assailant in no time, and slammed violently into the assailants side.
Not being bothered by the sudden obstacle in it’s path, the tennis ball sized sphere travelled on undisturbed. Leaving a bloody hole where the bandits ribcage used to be. The bandit crumpled to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut, collapsing right at Crimsons hooves.
Alex and Crimson stared at each other. The silence of the moment only broken by a tree falling over, having shared the same fate as the bandit.
Alex slowly rose from his position on the ground in a stupor. That was definitely magic. Alex had just cast a spell, and he had no idea how he did it. His thoughts were a jumbled mess. Far too much had just happened, in too short a timespan. He was beginning to feel light headed. Worried he might pass out, he shot Crimson a pleading look.
For some reason Alex couldn’t figure out, Crimson had a look of utter shock on his face. It looked like he was shouting something at him, but Alex couldn’t hear. He felt his legs grow weak and tingly, and for some reason he felt his chest getting soaked. He looked down to investigate what was going on.
He couldn’t quite process what he was seeing. His chest was matted with sticky warm blood. But whose blood it was, Alex couldn’t seem to figure out. A movement to his side caught his attention. The last remaining bandit moved beside him, just completing the motion of a swing meant to flick blood off his blade.
The Bandit must have re-evaluated Alex as the more important target, and made his move while they were distracted. In a moment of clarity, Alex realised that it was his own blood. The Bandit had just cut open his throat. His eyes widened at the implications.
He looked back towards Crimson, who was running towards him, tears starting to form in his eyes. Alex’s legs started to buckle, the blood loss causing him to sway a bit. After some fight on his part, his legs finally gave out and he fell. A look of surprise flashed across Alex’s face when his fall didn’t stop at ground level.
The last thing he saw when he fell over the edge of the cliff, was the bandit once again engaging Crimson in combat. Effectively stopping him from catching Alex in time.
As he fell towards the clear water below him, everything turned to black.