On Light Hooves I Tread 2: Homeward Bound

by AdamThePony

Chapter 1: The Frontier

On Light Hooves I Tread 2: Homeward Bound
A Fanfiction by Adam Nelon

Chapter One: The Frontier

As I awoke, it was before the roaring kinders of a campfire. Around me were what I believed were tepees as a paced drum banged throughout. Before me was the dark tan form of what seemed to be a pony, but on closer inspection, was not such.

"Ah, you've awakened!" She chirped, smiling.

I slowly shifted onto my stomach, groaning a bit still from the minor injuries I sustained from my bout with the scorpion.

"Wha....what's going on? Where am I?"

"A valid question." Grunted a voice from afar.

My eyes closed in on this large figure before me. He was large, with a thick coat of fur across his body, two glaringly large horns, and a feather headdress atop his head.

"My father and I found you unconscious in the desert. When we saw the armor, we were certain it could only be The Traveler." Said the younger of the two figures.

For a moment, I decided upon inquiring of the race of these two.

"You don't look like Ponies, I notice..." I said, shaking away my fatigue as I rose to my hooves again.

"That is correct," snorted the calf's father. "We are but a mighty tribe of Buffalo, native to these lands. If we are not mistaken, you are the one known as "Adam the Astute?"

I blushed a moment at that term of endearment. Five years' time had almost erased my memory of that name. However, upon hearing it be spoken, a nostalgia rush came to me...

"Now and forever, you are Adam the Astute. May you carry this title with pride throughout your years in both our worlds..."

I gasped low for a moment.

"How..." I shuddered, still a bit flattered at my official name being used. "How do you know my name?"

The smaller buffalo chuckled. "Whispers of your exploits carry though the winds of time, friend. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Little Strongheart," She said, motioning to the larger, more ornate buffalo. "And this is my father, Chief Thunderhooves."

Whoa. So this was the chieftain?! Suddenly, my natural compulsion to bow before figures of authority kicked in, and I bowed to the leader of this tribe of Buffaloes.

"It is an honor, Chief. I apologize for my lack of respect earlier..."

Little Stongheart giggled, while the Chief blew a tuft of steam.

"You may rise, Child. It is I who failed to give you proper respect. To be honest, we have anticipated your arrival..."

I blinked for a short few moments. "Y-..you were?"

Little Strongheart approached me then. "Yes. You see, you are not the first pony we have found in our foraging trips. Another unicorn was around where you were. He claims to know you, so we brought him here, and when we found you, we felt obligated to tell him."

"Hi, Adam!"

Suddenly, from nowhere, Jade green unicorn appeared before me. His mane and tail in a sense resembled my own, aside from the lack of white streaks in my own hair. His horn was significantly sharper in look than my own, most likely to emphasize something that I noticed quite profoundly with him: He was radiating magical energy. Granted, this was not as jarringly dense an energy as the type I had felt when I spent a personal audience with the Princesses, it was still noticeable.

What was even more amazing was the fact I already knew who he was.

"Jade...is that you?"

The unicorn cracked an eager grin and nodded furiously. "How'd you know?!"

I smiled a moment. "Just a hunch."

In reality, I knew this one from back in the Human World. Unlike the vast majority of my friends, Jade had no true exterior quirks other than his size. What defined him was his mental faculties. While a savant in some areas stemming from Autism, that same condition also made him a very sensitive type. However, he was not without his benefits. We were very close amongst each other, and my Junior Year gave me plenty of opportunities to enjoy his company. We both had similar interests, and we both had shortcomings that complimented one another. Plus, within a very small circle, Jade stayed within those few friends I had in the Human World that kept by me through it all. Considering that a majority of my friends only wanted my company for one stupid reason or another, that was a statement in and of itself.

"I need to ask something, though..." I said, clearing my throat. "How exactly did you get here?"

Jade stood there for a moment, a hoof to his chin as he thought.

"Well...I dunno, actually." He chuckled. "All I know is, I had this dream where I was in a rainbow, and I was talking to Princess Celestia!"

An odd coincidence that we both initially entered this world through similar means.

"How did you get here, Adam?" He asked me, as if it were a game of prid pro quo.

Part of me wanted to tell the story then and there, but seeing as I was in mixed company, it may not have been appropriate banter. So, I said the one phrase that came naturally to me:

"It's a long story."

With this, I sat down, as Little Strongheart came to a sudden realization.

"You must be hungry!"

Within a few moments, the tribe's princess produced a clay bowl containing some form of edible gruel. I couldn't really put my hoof on what it was exactly, but Jade seemed to like it. Part of me felt like eating it out of respect, while the other part did so for the sake that I wanted to spare my rations for the moment. So, I began to eat the gruel.

To my surprise, the gruel was much tastier than I imagined! It had a nice spice to it, which made it that much more enjoyable to my palette. I was almost disappointed when the bowl had been scraped clean by that beast known as my hunger.

"Good, isn't it?!" Jade said through brief pauses in his own consumption.

I smiled, licking my chops in delight. "It's great!"

"We are glad that you enjoy it, Travelers. Very few ponies enjoy our diet..." Little Strongheart said, smiling.

A thought had crept into my mind then. I still had to get to a town, if only to get back to where I considered home...Thus, I steeled my nerves and asked the question I only felt necessary:

"Where is the nearest town from here?"

The chieftain approached me, a glare upon his face. "It is not far. Perhaps an hour's stampede from here. However, night has fallen, and while we certainly are able to deal with the cold, you may not be." He grunted, punctuating his statement with a puff of steam from his nose. "It is best we wait to daybreak. We will escort you to the town of Appleoosa. From there, you are to your own devices."

I thought about the terms for a moment, then nodded my head. It dawned on me that due to a lack of moisture in the air, there was no way to keep heat in from the daytime, making it very cold at the night time. Basic Environmental Science, really. Either way, even though I was in armor, neither myself or my friend would be in any condition to endure the cold of the night, much less the other possible beasts that lurked in the shadows of the moonlight. Therefore, the two of us, our stomachs full and our hearts full of song, we retired into the night.

---

As the amber light of the morning sun crested the horizon, I arose with Jade to greet the day. The tribesmen of the Buffalo rose as well, priming themselves through the classic pastime of butting heads. Others marked themselves with the traditional war paint. Many were using grindstones to prime their horns for the ceremony, and before long, the tribe gathered, with the two of us non-buffalo taking point.

"Today marks a momentous occasion in our culture! The sacred rites of the stampede! Each and every single year, both elders and calves alike storm our sacred grounds in celebration of another year of prosperity! It is a sacred tradition that we maintain every year, and this year, our hooves join with those of the Traveler, a Stallion whose name has echoed through the whispers of many of their kind, and many of our own. Let us make both he and his guest feel as welcome outsiders to our sacred rite! These two will be departing midway through our journey for the sake of continuing their own. Until that time, they are to be welcomed into our sacred run!" Roared the chieftain, steam billowing out from every word he shouted.

His speech was met by snorts, which I did good to emulate via the classic taunt of digging one's hoof into the dirt, then snorting.

For a moment, utter silence as the war chief glared at his subordinates, before turning about. The tension and electricity was of such great density, I felt a hot knife could just rend through it. Then, in one fell swoop, the quiet was broken by two simple words:

"WE RIDE!"

In that instant, Jade and I speared a valiant charge across the sweeping plains of what I assumed were the western flatlands of Equestria. The ground beneath us rumbled as thunder as we swept across like a great wind. A total rush of adrenaline soared through my meek body as I charged valiantly ahead, with the pride of my knightly status boosting me greatly. The speed, the power, the sun in my mane, and all of it felt amazing!

As I saw the sweeping plains give way to civilization proper, I gasped. We were making great time, and fast! Truly, there was power in numbers, and I was finding it firsthand. Within mere moments, in a single instant, we broke from the living train, feeling that rushing wind as it passed us, before my exhaustion kicked in. My reserves of adrenaline were tapped, and in a moment, I retired onto the nearest porch. The comfort of a rocking chair allowed me the moment of catching my breath that I sorely needed. As I looked at the town known as Appleloosa, I noticed one glaring thing which made that fish out of water feeling once again reach me: This town, much like how Ponyville was formerly, was exclusively an Earth Pony town. It seemed to be well mixed within Applejack's family tree, given how in the distance, I could make out apple trees not far from ripeness.

It was all broken by the appearance of a rather eager Earth Pony bearing a leather vest and a cowboy's hat. He wore a grin that almost looked like it was in a state of facial inertia, as if that was the only one he ever wore...

"Well, How-dy! I reckon I haven't seen you two 'round these parts!" He said, leaning in on me for a moment with his grin.

I honestly wasn't that keen a smiler to begin with. I either smiled too toothily, or I creepily curled my lips upward like a diabolical villain. Plus, even if Icould smile proper, the awkwardness of the situation made that a fairly awkward endeavor. However, given he was greeting me, my choices were slim. So, I let the colt carry on.

"My name's Braeburn! Welcome to AAAAAAAAAPPLEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOSA!" He shouted, rearing his legs up. He then gave me a quick look over. He must have been fixated on my myriad of different pieces of equipment, but most strikingly of all, my hat.

"Say...you look mighty familiar...you wouldn't happen to know Applejack, would ya?"

I then began to warm up a bit more after that question, smiling a bit myself.

"Know her? I worked with her!"

Braeburn beamed again, giving me a good shake of the hoof.

"You know, ya look like someone my cousin's been goin' on about. Adam the Astute was his name, I think...You kinda look like 'im to boot!"

I smiled a moment more, my confidence getting boosted even further.

"You're looking at him. Good to meet you. Say, is a train anywhere near here?"

Braeburn frowned a moment. "Aw, c'mon! You only got here, kid! You can't just part ways so quick after ya came! Stay a while and let me show ya round!"

Part of me wanted to reprimand him for denying me my opportunity to get to what was practically my hometown, but I was immediately shut up by this bombshell that the spawn of the Apple Clan was so keen on dropping on me:

"Besides, next train to Ponyville t'aint comin' till maybe an hour from now."

Well, that's just peachy. Looks like I was going to have to put up with this guy for a while longer than I wished. But then again, wasn't there a saying once that when you're on an adventure, it's not just about the destination, but rather the journey leading to it? Maybe something good would come from it.

I don't think he even bothered to inquire about Jade as he drug us around Appleoosa. Then again, there wasn't much of anything interesting in this (pardon the pun) one-horse town, so maybe it wouldn't take quite as long as it seemed.

As we trekked about, Jade and I discovered that more lied in this simple town than meets the eye. Sure, it had horse-drawn carriages, square-dancing, a good saloon, and a lovely apple orchard, but it also had a post office, a general store, and many of the other incidentals. I particularly found myself interested in going to the saloon most, though.

"Hey, Braeburn?" I asked a we walked.

"Yeah?"

"Ya figure we could stop by that "Salt Block" place and enjoy a nice drink?"

Another ear-to-ear grin from Braeburn implied only one possible response:

"I like the way you think!"

So, within moments, I was drawn into the saloon, where I was drawn to smile from a rather jaunty bit of piano. Across the scene were ponies indulging in all kinds of pleasures, including enjoying the titular salt blocks, drinking heavy amounts of cider, and for the more reserved, enjoying a game of cards. I always loved a game of cards. Particularly blackjack. However, at the moment, Braeburn was more concerned in dragging me to the counter.

"'Ey, waiter! Round o' Cider over here!" Braeburn said, waving frantically.

Within a moment, a round of apple cider had been slid to the table. A classic beverage of choice for Ponies. I drank one, and then another...I was slowly getting a mite tipsy...then a bit woozy.

I may as well point out this well-known fact. In some cultures (especially the ones that aren't American) register Apple Cider as an alcoholic beverage. Another term for it is Apple Wine. To say the drink put me out of comission was putting it lightly.

The last thing I saw was my face hitting the table. I think I've had far too much.

"Heh...I guess somepony couldn't hold his cider..."

---

As I regained consciousness, I heard the chugging of a locomotive. Given its more muffled tone, I only could guess I was inside said train. I rose, a pounding headache taking me. Despite it being glaringly painful, I could make out one thing in particular: The snoring of another pony. As I looked around, I discovered that Jade was in a separate bed. I turned to face my mysterious partner, to discover it was a filly dressed in a rather racy set of clothing. You know that feathery clothing you always see women wearing in bawdyhouses in Western Films? That was basically it. My eyes shot wide.

"Oh sweet Celestia, please tell me I didn't-"

"Now Arriving in Ponyville! Please retrieve all your belongings and proceed to the doors at this time, passengers."

With not moment to lose, I scrambled to get my saddlebags together, strapping them on again. I would've tried to use magic, but given the fact that I was having a searing headache, I felt that if I tried, I'd just get an almost cataclysmic headache instead.

A yawn broke the near-silent cabin.

"Morning, Adam! You get enough sleep?"

I spun around, meeting Jade eye-to-eye.

"Wait, weren't you asleep a moment ago?!"

Jade chuckled hysterically as he pointed a hoof at me.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

Jade kept chuckling at me, pointing at my cheek. Frantic, I checked my reflection in a nearby window.

I bore a large, red kiss mark on my cheek. Dear, sweet Celestia, what went on last night?!

"You looked like a real casanova! I didn't know a pony could drink that much cider and still have some charm!" Jade blurted out before keeling over in laughter. "Maybe you should be a Pirate instead of a Knight!"

I was not amused as I wiped the mark of shame away from my cheek and walked to the door of the caboose, waiting for the train to screech to its stop.

Today, I would be reunited with my dearest of friends.

Comments

[ShadowBreeze]

[The Zealot]

Let's just check the win-ometer here. Looks like you just broke past the levels of 'Epic Win' into 'Celestial Teir Win' levels, nice job.