The Unity Pact

by Truthseeker

Chapter 14: Turning Point

The group of Humans that gazed out over the colossal field before them was filthy and weary. Their feet ached, their spirits had been wounded deeply, and fear had a full month's worth of time with which to gnaw on their minds.

Before them lay a verdant field filled with overgrown plants and vines. The plants were heavily laden with untended fruits which grew wildly outside the still-visible rows of dirt lining the soil. Off in the distance, close to three miles away, stood rows and rows of trees, all in perfectly straight lines. Interspersed between the trees, the Humans could make out the basic shapes of stone-walled structures.

They stood in awed silence at the sight. Finally, almost exactly five weeks after arriving naked in a strange place, they had real hope. The land before them held too many possibilities to name, it was overwhelming.

Back several dozen yards behind the long line of Humans crouched a Tan Unicorn mare. She smiled hugely at the development. She had found herself steadily growing more and more attached to the Humans and silently urged her friends onward, 'Go on. The Princess already said this land is for you. It's your new home, go claim it.'

As if hearing her thoughts, the leader, Joyner she had heard him called, stepped forth from the line of trees and slowly began walking across the field. The other Humans silently followed him in a single file line without any instruction. Each one stepped cautiously around every plant, careful not to damage any of them.

Razor Wit fervently wished to follow them but she had no chance of going about unnoticed in the field. She sighed in relief and released a Proximity Ward spell she had become quite good with. She could keep it up for days at a time and she was quite proud of the accomplishment. She slowly crept from the cover of the bush she had been crouched behind and approached the break in the trees.

Turning her eyes skyward, she began looking for the telltale signs of a Pegasus overhead. The Royal Guard was supposed to have sent hundreds of crates filled with non-perishable food and supplies by Pegasus before the Humans arrived. Razor was supposed to make contact with a Pegasus set to monitor the field, once the Humans arrived. After a full minute of scanning the clouds, which were all but indistinct blurs to her eyes, Razor decided to use a spell to Enhance Senses.

She gathered the magic and focused the spell on her vision. The indistinct shapes of the clouds seemed to solidify right before her eyes as the world snapped into crystal clear focus. Thusly buffed, Razor Wit continued scanning the clouds for any signs of a Pegasus.

A flash of a brilliant orange wing tip and her focus was immediately centered on a single cloud in the sky. The head of a Pegasus suddenly poked over the edge of the cloud, surveying the world below. Razor Wit knew he would be using The Sight and waved her right fore hoof at him. His head angled to her and she saw him nod. He peered down at the Humans below and waited until they were underneath his cloud then silently swooped down and landed in front of the Unicorn mare.

He shook out his mane and slid into the shadows of the treeline,
"Good to see you civilian." the Pegasus said, just before his left wing came up and covered his nose.

The tan mare spoke while never taking her eyes off the Humans,
"I already know I need a bath. You don't have to be so charming about it." she said darkly, "The Humans have made it, finally. There is one more still out here, in the forest though, the other Humans don't seem to like him." she turned her head to the stallion next to her, "Is it really necessary to box them in like this? Nopony likes feeling trapped."

"I agree, but these creatures . . . " the stallion began.

"Humans." Razor cut in.

"Humans, have the potential to be very dangerous." he shifted his weight and ruffled his feathers, "Until we are certain they won't do anything, we have to take every precaution." the stallion responded blandly.

"How long before the entirety of the Royal Guard is in position?" Razor asked.

The stallion smiled,
"They are closing the gap as we speak. The signal for them to move was me leaving the cloud. They should be here soon. I would guess within an hour."

Razor was surprised,
"The whole Royal Guard already bypassed us?"

The stallion looked at Razor in confusion,
"Us?" he asked, "I was told you were alone."

"I'm the only Pony following them, but I count the Humans as well." she admitted.

"You're growing too attached, civilian." the Guard said evenly, "It's not healthy. These . . . Humans could be all sorts of unpleasant, we don't know. Until we have reached an agreement with them, it's dangerous to become attached."

"You're talking like they might be exterminated at any moment." Razor said nervously.

"That is not the plan, but better to keep one's distance. They're still dangerous." the stallion said with a nod.

"You're not married are you?" Razor asked with a smirk.

The stallion's face heated up,
"I'm on duty ma'am, but no, I'm not."

Razor's smile widened to a devious grin,
"Yes, and I can see why. Cold heart never won fair maiden. Nor did callous disrespect for victims."

The Guard sputtered indignantly and turned to address Razor, but she was already walking away,
"That mare has SOME spirit." he said smiling, as he turned to face forward, "Her future husband is going to have to be quite the stallion to handle her."

* * *

The rows of overgrown plants tapered off to flat ground as Joyner held up his right hand, silently calling for a halt. The Fellowship Of Leadership had already planned out plenty of details. Joyner's right hand shot upward then forward in a signal.

Without a word, fifty people, hand picked by Eduardo and Hord broke off in pairs and branched out, moving through the orchard with spear and shield at the ready. Masonete, Hord, Eduardo, Spearman, and Brinsin moved forward into the orchard singularly, while Jewel, Kaneesha, and Morris turned their faces toward the clouds, watching for any sign of hostile equinoids. Joyner had to stifle a smirk when he spotted Hord's little fox friend following behind him. Deciding to forego the serious face, he smiled anyway.

Hord and the fox, Shadow he called it, were a strange pair indeed. Nobody in the group could explain it, even the people who studied animals. Jason said, with no small degree of confidence, that red foxes were not very social animals and certainly wouldn't effectively volunteer to be someone's pet. Nevertheless, wherever Hord went, Shadow faithfully followed. It was so strange, so unusual, so unnatural. The widely accepted theory was that one of the natives had raised the fox then lost it or died, so the fox found a new 'owner', in Darryl Hord.

The group stood, silently admiring the orchard trees, heavy with ripening oranges. The oranges alone were enough to make mouths water. After eating cold, dry cornmeal cubes and the occasional piece of wild fruit, the oranges looked like mana from heaven. The Fellowship had asked that people save the seeds and pits from all the fruit everyone had eaten and now it looked like that idea was going to pay off. The group was more than happy and beyond nervous at the same time.

Everyone was already aware that out in the open, they were vulnerable. The decision of how to proceed had been tricky after Mario LeBlanch had shown himself. The murderer claimed to have followed the tan Unicorn that had been shadowing the group for the past month. He claimed that he saw her meeting with a Pegasus who wore the same armor as the group who incited the massacre. The Leadership had grown pensive of the original plan and the decision had come down to a vote. Jason flew off the handle after the rest of the Fellowship voted to precede as planned.

Joyner's eyes sought out the young man in question with worry circulating in his thoughts. He found Jason standing back several people behind him with his spear clenched tightly in his hands. His eyes darted all over the place, he was a nervous wreck. 'Jason's become dangerous.' Joyner thought, 'We'll have to keep an eye on him.' Joyner sighed quietly, 'After he tried attacking the Unicorn, we nearly had a riot on our hands. The people were worried his actions would incite another attack. We suffered enough deaths and mental trauma from just the first one, it nearly broke us. I don't want to think about what could have happened the night that Jason got jumped. If we hadn't broken it up he might be missing a few teeth right now. I don't want to take a vote to expel him from the Fellowship but if he doesn't cool down soon we won't have a choice. Every time anyone mentions the natives he flips out. He's been talking to people and I can't imagine it's anything good.'

Joyner's thoughts were interrupted when a loud yell from the orchard grabbed his attention. Hord ran back toward the group, weaving around trees and leaping over small saplings.

The Marine and fox skidded to a halt in front of Joyner,
"We've got dozens of foundations and stone buildings just beyond the orchard, but that's not the problem. There's a bunch of crates strewn all over the place, especially around the old buildings. The structures are old and abandoned, but the crates look brand new." Hord's eyes shifted nervously, "That's not all. The grass growing between the stones of the cobbled streets is undamaged and standing straight up." he clenched his teeth, "These crates weren't dragged in, they were air-lifted. My guess is they were left here for us." the Marine took a breath and finished, "I think we were herded here."

"I knew it!" Jason hissed, "I fucking knew it! Those goddamn horse things herded us here like animals! We have to get out of here!"

The group began turning to each other or looking around in fear. Hands clenched weapons and murmurs began growing. Feet shifted nervously, people were ready to run.

"We were led to the field, why?" one young man asked.

"What are the natives planning to do?" a frightened woman's voice asked.

"Are we going to be attacked?" another woman asked.

Joyner shot Jason an angry glare just as Vacca yelled out to the two of them,
"Yeah, but why? What are those crates for? If they were going to attack us, why not do it when we're out in the open?" he looked to the sky, "I'm not seeing any thing moving around."

"My man's got a point," Calvin said loudly, "We gotta know what's in them crates before we go jumpin' to conclusions. I say we all gather around them buildings an' open a couple o' them crates."

"From a tactical standpoint, it's a sound plan." Ludwig added, "With the buildings as cover, we'll have less openings to watch and we can focus on other things. Right now we're exposed and in the open."

Joyner smiled, 'I couldn't have asked for a better support structure.' his eyes took in the shifting, jittery form of Jason, 'Well mostly.'

He cupped his hands around his mouth and faced the group,
"Alright everyone, we're moving forward and in between the buildings. Do not enter any structure yet, they may not be sound. Keep your eyes peeled and yell if you see anything unusual. Keep weapons pointed upward. I don't want to hear about anyone accidentally spearing the person next to them. Let's move out." he turned to the Marine, "Lead the way, Hord."

Hord smiled and saluted with his hammer,
"Damn right, Rangers only lead the way when Marines aren't available."

Joyner rolled his eyes as the group followed the man and fox into the orchard.

* * *

Razor Wit wearily approached the group of Earth Pony Royal Guards who were walking around the forest near the treeline. She had gone in search of the Forward Operations Base but she had yet to see hide or hair of it thus far. Her weeks of traveling were catching up to her quickly. She had been so engrossed with studying the Humans she hadn't even noticed how exhausted she was. The patrol of eight Earth Ponies already had their eyes on her but said nothing.

"Could one of you give me directions to the Forward Operations Base please?" she asked the Guards.

One of the eight Earth Ponies looked her up and down,
"Who is asking?" he asked in a stern tone.

"I'm Razor Wit." she answered, "I'm a specialist that Princess Celestia sent to study the Humans."

"It's to the North-West, between the field and Flankfurt. Good to see you're safe and smelly, er sound civilian." the Guards turned and continued walking their apparent patrol.

Razor blew a rebellious lock of fuchsia mane out of her face,
"Civilian this, civilian that." she groused, "I have a name."

* * *

The group of Humans was gathered around the crates, which were set in the center of what appeared to have been a small town at some point. The buildings, the ones left standing anyway, were bare and gutted but appeared to be sound, at a glance. The stonework that had gone into their creation and erection was impressive. Each piece of brown stone was cut in such a way as to fit together in a manner similar to the pieces of a puzzle. The mortar that had been used to fill the minuscule gaps between the stones had effectively bonded with the stones instead of decaying, thus giving each structure the appearance of being formed from a single slab with the almost puzzle-like gaps being merely for aesthetic design.

The structures that had been made out of wood were completely rotted away, leaving nothing except their stone slab foundations with piles of rotten debris on top. Any easily identifiable signs of former habitation had been swept away by years of exposure to the elements or were buried beneath the wasted rubble. Where once there might have been wooden doors, picture frames, or window drapes now there were gaping empty doorways, weather stained bare walls, and stone window sills covered with vines and shards of broken glass. The whole scene made the Humans sad for some reason, almost as if the ruin all around told a remorseful story in the whispering wind and shuffling grass.

On the plus side, the buildings that were still standing looked like they might be able to be inhabited immediately. On the opposite side of things, the very vast majority of the buildings had been made of wood. There were only seventeen buildings that were livable.

The layout of the entire town was identical to the design of a giant wheel. One abnormally large, three story, obviously stone building stood in the center of the wheel shape with eight roads branching out in the different cardinal directions. Each road had two, two story stone buildings on it, back to back, one of which faced the center of the town while the other faced outward.

Brinsin admired the buildings and especially their setup, 'You got eight buildings facin' out an' eight facin' in. The buildings back up to each other an' the gap between 'em ain't too far.' he smiled, 'Heh, someone was thinkin' smart.' he looked down the roads, 'Narrow roads, opposite facin' buildings, thick stone walls in them buildings, an' with one big ,round one right in the middle. Defensible as hell an' it ain't a bad setup.'

The stone building in, what was obviously the Town Square, was almost perfectly circular in shape. From the foundation to the roof of the first floor looked to be a good fifty feet while the second and third floors looked to be closer to ten feet. The bottom level of the building looked to be more than six-hundred feet across, the second level was recessed back a good ten feet and sported a short stone safety rail, the third floor was an exact duplicate of the second, only ten more feet recessed from the second.

Cracked and broken glass littered the ground around the buildings and clung to rotten wooden shutters, brackets, and sills. Vines crept up the sides of every standing building, but the workmanship of the buildings was so detailed the plants had no cracks to wedge into and instead only ran up and down the stone walls. The green and brown vines provided a stark contrast to the stone. It was obvious that whoever or whatever had manufactured the buildings had done so masterfully.

The chest high, wooden crates had been left in the wide, two-hundred or so foot space between the center building and the smaller buildings. The Humans crowded the overgrown roads, trampling down the grass growing between the cobblestones as they shifted their feet nervously. The crates sat on the roadway surrounded by tall grass as the people stared at them or more specifically at the symbols emblazoned on them. Some had icons of a hammer with it's handle crossed crossed over the blade of a saw. Some had a sheaf of wheat crossed over a branch laden with some sort of berry. All the crates, each and every one of them, had one identical symbol on them. It was a horn crossed diagonally with a wing and had a vertical hoof behind the two.

"So," Joyner said pensively, "Those are them?"

"Does it strike anyone else as strange that those crates over there," Vacca said pointing to a group of nine crates, "All have a big red cross on them?"

"What!?" Jewel asked.

He followed Vacca's hand and spotted the symbol,
"Huh." he mused, "If we were back home, I'd say those probably have medical supplies in them, but that symbol could mean anything here."

"Or it could mean that Dan's helping us!" Vacca said excitedly, "How else would the equinoids know to put THAT specific symbol on anything? Chances are that the red cross doesn't mean anything to them but someone from home would know it. I'd be willing to put money that it's Dan's influence."

"Huh, could be." Joyner said.

"You mean my man P. is aiit?" Calvin asked enthusiastically, "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!"

"It's too early to assume anythin' but it do seem possible." Brinsin said.

"Well then let's crack one o' them motha fuckas open an' see what's in 'em." Leo said, "I'll do it."

Leo boldly stepped out from the crowd but stopped and turned back,
"Yo Marine-man, toss me your hammer, will ya?"

Hord grumbled as he gripped his hammer,
"What's my name first? You get it right, you get the hammer."

Leo blew out an exasperated breath,
"Hord man! Darryl motha fuckin' Hord. Now throw me the damn hammer."

Hord tossed it to Leo with a smirk,
"Remember that you're only borrowing it."

Leo turned and walked toward the crates, while holding up the middle finger of his left hand over his head,
"Whatever man." he turned his head and flashed a smile at Darryl.

Leo walked up to the closest crate that had a red cross on the side and jammed the pick end of the war hammer between the slats of wood. He put his weight on the shaft, and pried. The lid popped right open with a very minor creak. Leo threw Hord the war hammer back and held the lid open with his left hand while rummaging around with his right.

Sawdust covered everything inside the crate. Leo slowly eased his hand into the sawdust and felt around. Feeling something cylindrical, he wrapped his fingers around it and pulled it out slowly. His whole hand was liberally covered with sawdust and he blew the particles off as he withdrew his hand completely. Behind him the group was utterly silent.

He gazed at what was in his hand with sad eyes before turning to the Fellowship Of Leadership,
"I . . . can't read this fuckin' label." he said dejectedly.

The group all let out a collection of disappointed sounds, just seconds before a smile etched its way onto Leo's face,
"Whew! Good thing it's got a picture of what it's for!" he laughed loudly, as he held up the brown glass bottle as high as he could, "IT'S AN ANTISEPTIC WITH PICTURE INSTRUCTIONS!"

Leo put the glass bottle back in the crate and closed the lid. Then he opened it again. Then he closed it. Then he opened it again.

"They got hinges too?" he looked back up at the rest of the group, "Well come on! I don't know about yall, but I ain't wastin' this shit!"

His encouragement seemed to snap everyone out of their stupors. People slowly began to venture toward the crates.

* * *

Razor Wit was tired. She had spent nearly an hour, by her best guess, searching for the Forward Operations Base. She had finally found it sitting in a small clearing almost exactly halfway between the field where the Humans were and the Eastern border of Flankfurt. The clearing looked to be less than a League from one end to the other but it was packed tightly with tents. The Command Center was easy to identify as the top of it rose a good four Fathoms above the others around. Everywhere she looked Ponies were busily going about all sorts of work.

She entered the Command Center tent and addressed the four Ponies within,
"I . . . need . . . a . . . bath."

Bold Move, Steady Plod, Peach Pit, and Swift Wind all turned and stared at her in silence. The mare was filthy. He mane was matted in several obvious places, her tail hairs were set in thick clumps, her coat looked more brown than tan and was dotted heavily with twigs, leaves, and burrs. Her eyes were bloodshot and baggy, her nose looked dry, her lips were cracked and her legs just above her hooves were noticeably swollen.

"Bath . . . now!" she said loudly, "Where can I find one?"

Four pairs of eyes blinked in unison.

Razor Wit clenched her teeth,
"I swear, if I don't get a hot bath within the next twenty minutes, so help me I'm going to CASTRATE SOMEPONY!"

"I . . . I . . . I'll show you where the tubs are." Peach Pit stammered.

He rose from the small table and passed Razor, heading outside. The tan Unicorn mare turned and followed the ice white Commander silently. As the two of them made their way through the camp, Razor couldn't help but notice that the tents all around looked well-used. The paths around each tent were worn in and muddy.

"How long has the Royal Guard been here?" she asked.

"Three or four days. Why?" Peach Pit answered.

Razor's head swung back and forth, noting different things,
"I thought you all would wait until the Humans were close before moving, or did I misunderstand what Swift Wind told me?"

"The main body of the Royal Guard arrived here yesterday afternoon, but the Pegasus Regiment has been here for more than a week. There was a miscommunication somewhere and the original crates the Princess organized were returned to Canterlot by accident. Since they came back, the Princesses decided to be more careful and picky about what would be sent since the Humans wouldn't have any of us for guidance. They had special labels and instructions drawn up so they could be understood without needing to read any language. That wasn't the end of it either. They added rolls of fabric, lots of medical goods, quills, pencils, and paper. That's all in addition to the tools and food and tents and blankets and tarps and everything else that was already prepared for them and then all that land, on top of everything else?" Peach Pit shook his head, "These Humans better be grateful. The Princesses are paying for all this out of the royal coffers and that comes from our taxes. They're getting the free ride of a lifetime."

Razor stopped in her tracks, jaw hanging open,
"Now wait just a moment there!" she spat.

Peach Pit turned around, a curious expression on his face,
"Yes?"

"Who do you think you are, judging them like that? They had nothing. NOTHING!" she stomped her right fore hoof indignantly, "They NEED help! One of them came to us to beg for help! What would you do? Force them to brave the world with no magic and no knowledge? We don't hardly know anything about them and here you are complaining about them getting a free ride?" she shook her head, "How much use was the Royal Guard when Nightmare Moon returned? How about Discord or the Changelings? What did any of you do? You want to talk about a free ride? Let me tell you about free rides!" she shrieked.

Peach Pit noticed that Razor was drawing the attention of every other Guard in the camp,
"Calm down . . . "

"NO! Let's talk about free rides! How about the citizens of every city, town, and village paying taxes which pay for the Royal Guard! You all were useless against the three most serious threats this nation has ever faced, then when some poor souls end up stranded here, you complain about them receiving the bare necessities to survive? YOU HYPOCRITE!" she stomped up to Peach Pit and jabbed her hoof into his chest, "Every one of you gets paid to work, yes, but you receive three free meals every day AND you get to stay in barracks that are paid for by, let me think . . . CITIZENS! You don't have to pay rent, you don't have to pay for your food, you get to pocket everything you earn, which is quite the tidy sum. With how much you all get for free I would think you would be more understanding. I don't want to hear it, Peach Pit! So just," *poke*, "Shut," *poke*, "Your," *poke*, "Mouth."

The shuffling of hooves caught Razor's attention and she looked around. Dozens of ice white stallions' faces showed unhappy expressions and more than one looked ready to argue back. Razor, realizing what she had said, laid her ears back, lowered her head and stalked off.

Once she was out of earshot, dozens of faces turned toward Peach Pit; Bold Move, Swift Wind, and Steady Plod among them,
"What did you say?" Swift Wind asked.

"I said that the Humans better be grateful for the free ride they're getting." Peach Pit said said defensively.

Bold Move looked at the Regimental Commander aghast,
"Are you serious?" he asked in disbelief, "You said that to a mare who just spent a month out in the wild watching the Humans at her own expense? Princess Celestia sent her so she could make some kind of connection with the Humans. She isn't getting paid for this that I know of. To my knowledge, she's doing it because she wants to help. We have the expertise of a language specialist and field researcher at our disposal and you go and insult the beings she just spent a month in the wild studying? What were you thinking? You are going to find her and you are going to apologize to her, right now." Bold Move ordered.

"What?" Peach Pit asked, "I didn't ev . . . "

"Now." Bold Move said plainly.

Peach Pit threw a resigned salute and turned to go find the upset mare.

* * *

Morris rubbed his hands together gleefully as he looked at the piles of supplies in, on, and around the crates,
"Inventory time." he looked around at the puzzled faces that were staring at him, "What?"

"You seriously want to inventory ALL THIS?" Eduardo asked.

"I hate to admit it, but we do." Hord said, "We also need to explore these buildings and make sure they're safe." he turned and looked over his shoulder, "The big building should do. We can fit lots of people in there."

People were admiring the loads and loads of supplies. After over a month of almost nothing, so much of anything was overwhelming for them. Many just looked on in awe, with no idea what to do. Others were looking through everything they could, touching everything like they had to hold it to make sure it was real.

"We need to secure all this before people start trying to horde it, steal it, whatever. We have to secure it and get organized." Joyner said, "Vacca take your group and show them how to test the structural integrity of the buildings, start with the big one in the center."

Vacca nodded,
"Got it."

"Morris and Hord organize your groups and move the crates inside the big building. Morris, you're going to act as Quartermaster for now, I want a list of every speck of dust at our disposal. Hord, after you have the crates inside, coordinate with Eduardo and set up overwatch locations and patrols at frequent intervals." Joyner said, pointing to the two men.

Morris nodded and Hord saluted,
"Will do."

Joyner continued on,
"Ludwig and Jason I want you two and your groups to get started on cooking a dinner for everyone. We've got supplies now, so let's boost morale with a little feast. I want happy civilians after dinner."

Ludwig smiled and Jason nodded sternly.

"Brinsin and Spearman gather your groups and start hauling and chopping firewood, we're going to go through tons of it. Set up a storage location to keep it dry and available but not as a safety hazard. After that form up into crews and begin felling trees, we're going to need building supplies." Joyner ordered.

"Yeah man." Brinsin said smiling.

"Jewel, Richardson, and Leo, I want you three to organize your groups and start settling into buildings that Vacca clears. Set up a medical station inside the main building so it's in a centralized location. Set up blankets and sleeping locations for people." Joyner explained.

Jewel nodded,
"Got it."

Richardson and Leo only nodded.

Joyner nodded back and turned to the next person,
"Calvin, I want you and your group to go around to every building and collect shards of glass, rusted nails, if there are any, and anything else that might constitute a hazard. After you're done with that start pulling the grass out from between the stones under foot. You're our safety man. Old, abandoned structures are riddled with safety hazards, correct them as you come across them. I also want you to begin work on a refuse pit. We need a place to put garbage and we don't have any bags. Find a spot that's away from the buildings and that isn't likely to be used for anything else. One last thing, dig us a few holes for outhouses. It's ugly work but it's damn important."

"Aiit L.T. I gotcha." Calvin said.

"Masonete, Kaneesha I'd like you two to act as calligraphers. Go map out the entirety of this field. I want to know which areas are growing which foods and all of that." Joyner asked, receiving a pair of silent nods in return.

"Tina, David, and Rachel you three have the most experience with the equinoids. If any of them show up, you do your best to see what they want and be hospitable. Mainly, I want you three sealing up windows and doorways. It's going to rain out here eventually and I don't want our supplies to go bad because they got wet. Start with the main building and work your way outward. I'm going to take everyone else and take a look at the lake. Hopefully we can catch some fish. I'm also going to see which rivers and streams are potable. If anyone finds a well, test it. If anyone encounters one of the natives, I expect to hear that everyone acted amicably, Jason I'm looking your way. I don't want any incidents. We've been seemingly given a lot here and I don't want to seem ungrateful. Everybody know what they need to do?" he asked.

A small ocean of nodding heads answered him,
"Then let's get to it."

* * *

"Razor Wit, wait!" Peach Pit chased after the filthy tan mare through the dizzying rows of tightly packed tents.

Razor stopped and turned her head toward the armored stallion,
"What do you want?"

"I want to apologize for what I said." Peach Pit admitted scuffing his right fore hoof on the ground, "It was . . . insensitive. I had no idea you felt so strongly about them."

Razor turned toward Peach Pit completely,
"What I feel toward the Humans is compassion and sympathy. We all should. What you said was more selfish than anything. I meant what I said, they had nothing. What we gave them was very small. They have to literally build their lives from the ground up. Every creature deserves a chance to live as they wish, why not the Humans too?"

"I never said say they didn't deserve the chance. I'm not cold-hearted you know." Peach Pit sighed and hung his head, "Look, I'm really sorry for what I said. Let's just get you a nice, hot bath and a place to sleep. You've got to be tired."

Razor cracked a tiny smile,
"Show the Humans such courtesy and we might just get along yet."

* * *

Vacca led his people toward the big building,
"Alright, the first thing we need to look for are any sorts of cracks in the foundation or stones. Even the tiniest crack can be potentially dangerous if it goes all the way through . . . Hey don't go inside yet! Are you crazy?" he asked one young caucasian man who had stepped into the building, "Get your ass back out here! Do you want to chance the whole thing coming down and crushing you to death?"

The young man shook his brown haired head,
"No."

"Then walk with the rest of us and wait till we take a look at the outside." Vacca said as he began leading the group on a circuit of the building, "Stomp the grass down and pull the vines away so you can get a good look. The vines need to come down anyway."

Vacca drew his sword and used the rounded tip to sever one vine at ground level then began pulling on it. The vine was thick and it clung to the wall with a will. Chris sheathed his sword and applied both his hands to the vine and hauled on it. The vine slowly began pulling away from the wall. Chris had to hold the base of the vine and walk outward from the building, pulling as he went. The vine popped off the building piece by piece until the entire length fell to the ground with a heavy thump.

"And that's how you do it." Vacca said, "Come on, we need to clear all this crap off so we can see."

He drew his sword and began cutting up the vine then piling it about ten feet away from the building. His group drew steel and started mimicking his actions. In just a few minutes the pile of chopped up vines had grown to nearly the size of a person and they weren't even done with a fifth of the building yet.

"Alright, everyone continue clearing the outside of the building while I check for cracks or shifts in the stone." Vacca ordered.

He walked calmly over to one side of the cleared building and began pulling out the grass that was growing between the cobblestones then tossing it away from the building. He knelt down and peered very closely at the visible foundation and connected walls, even going so far as to run his fingers along it as he appraised the solidity of the building. He crept along the perimeter of the foundation very slowly, staying crouched the whole time.

His group toiled and sweated, but they could all see that Vacca himself was not immune. He sweated and worked right along with them. It took quite a while but eventually he and his hard-working group finally cleared the entire outside of the building. Chris Vacca stood up, straightening his back, and nodded happily.

"Great work guys. Take a little break, drink some water and walk with me as I show you what to look for." he began walking around the building and his group followed him, sipping from canteens, "See the foundation is literally the base of the structure. With ANYTHING in life, the foundation, the base is the most important part. Everything else can be useless but as long as the foundation is good," he stopped, turned to face the group, and spread his arms, "Everything else can be fixed." he turned and continued walking, "However if the foundation is uneven, shifted, or improperly built, the entire rest of the structure is going to follow that pattern. The walls and ceiling could be fine at first but if the foundation is shot, the rest of the building is going to be riddled with problems and those problems aren't going to go away until you tear everything else down and fix the foundation." he stopped and pointed to a spot on the thick slab of solid rock the building rested on, "Take a look there, and tell me what you see."

The people crouched or bent and crowded around the place where Vacca pointed. A minuscule crack ran halfway up the foundation before it tapered off into obscurity.

"You see that tiny crack?" he asked, "That is a sign of a good foundation."

The group turned to him in confusion and one young woman spoke up,
"But it's not perfect. You just said it has to be perfect."

Vacca held up his dominant, left hand and extended his index finger,
"Ah-ah. I said no such thing." he said smiling, "This foundation is good, honestly it's damn good. Every foundation is going to have a crack or two. Nothing in life is ever absolutely perfect. The important part is that where the cracks exist, they don't compromise the stability of the structure. This crack," he said pointing with his left hand, "Is an imperfection, but," his finger traced the crack from the ground to the point where it tapered off into oblivion, "The solidity of the structure isn't compromised by it. The crack doesn't go all the way through the foundation so the foundation is still solid. Take a look at the walls." he gestured, "The existence of the crack has no effect on these walls. They are solid, set, and straight." he crossed his arms proudly, "I'd say this building is pretty dang solid. Now we can take a look on th inside."

He led the group around to the large doorway set in, what he guessed was the front of the building,
"Now, when we get inside, look around carefully for any plants growing out of cracks in the floor, those will be trouble spots."

The group stepped into the building and gazed at the interior. Tall stone pillars dotted the inside providing support for the second story. Dead leaves and all manner of plant debris littered the floor inside. Small sticks and twigs cracked and snapped as the group separated and began looking around. Everyone wandered around the first floor but not a single crack was found, frankly because no one could see the floor clearly. Chris noticed a space behind what he had presumed to be the far wall, opposite the entrance. The far wall turned out to be a trick of the eyes, it was actually a partial wall with a twenty or so foot gap between the actual wall and the cleverly made sub-wall. Chris stepped behind the sub-wall and smirked. One single set of stairs led to the second level. They stuck straight out from the wall without a crack between each step and had not a single hint that any sort of guardrail had even been installed. Fortunately the stairs looked to be at least five feet wide.

"We need to get all this crap out of here so we can see the floor better. Let's go back outside and grab a piece of a vine. The vines are nice and flexible so we can use them to scrape off the floor. You guys do that, I'm going to take a look at the second and third floors." Vacca said.

The group headed outside to collect vines while Chris headed up the only set of stairs that led up to the second floor. The ascent was easy. The stairs didn't creak or shift at all. They were as solid as he could have hoped for. He reached the second floor and stepped out onto it. The floor was solid too. Turning in a complete circle, Vacca noticed that the second floor was set up just like the town. It had a circular center room with a ten foot wide walkway around the outside of that. The outer side of the walkway was composed of doorways, each set roughly ten feet apart. He walked around the center room and counted the doors. His final count was thirty two doorways. Out of curosity, he poked his head into each one. They all had an identical layout. The rooms were in the shape of cones with the entrance doorway constituting the narrow end and the room growing more wide the farther in you went. Each roon opened up to a the roof of the first floor. Vacca walked around the wide ledge and admired the view for a few moments before he returned inside and headed up to the third floor.

The third floor was identical to the second floor, only slightly smaller. Deciding to forego looking around, Chris headed up the stairs to the roof. The roof was wide and flat. It had a stone guard rail around the perimeter that stood about two feet tall. The view was spectacular. From his vantage point, Vacca could see the total layout of the town. The two stone buildings which sat at the forefront of each 'spoke' were easy to identify. He shifted his gaze farther outward and began counting the piles of rotten debris which indicated long gone wooden buildings. He counted fourteen rotten buildings in addition to the two stone ones, which made the total number of original buildings one-hundred and twenty-nine. Beyond the rotten piles of wood, the wild-growing orchard spread out for, what he estimated to be close to a thousand feet. Beyond the green treetops heavy with ripening oranges he could see the rows and rows of growing fields and beyond the fields, way off in the distance, he could see the forest. Swiveling his head from one side to the other, he estimated the entire field, including the town, to be around ten miles across. The sight was awe-inspiring.

*thump*

Chris Vacca spun on his heel, his left hand flying to the handle of his sword, at the sound behind him. What he saw froze him in his tracks. A single armored, white coated Pegasus had landed behind him, in the middle of the roof, right between him and the stairs down. The Pegasus scowled and locked eyes with Chris then shuffled its wings and closed them. The two beings stood in place just staring at one another.

The Pegasus made no move to attack so Chris slowly lifted his hand away from his sword. The Pegasus noticed his action and nodded visibly then turned its head to the sky. Chris slowly followed its gaze and stepped back as he realized the clouds were not in fact thousands of feet in the air, but closer to only two hundred. As he watched, dozens of Pegasi poked their heads over the side of one cloud that was directly overhead, 'It practically looks like they're standing on the damn clouds!' As more and more heads emerged Chis began trying to count them, 'That bunch is twenty and there looks to be close to a hundred groups . . . Holy shit! That's two thousand of them!' Chris looked back down to the one who shared the roof with him. The Pegasus continued to scowl but didn't move a muscle except to breathe. 'This is a show. Like they're telling me there are a lot more of them than there are of us and I think they might be trying to intimidate us.' Chris smirked, 'Nice try, but I don't scare easy.'

Deciding to act in complete opposition to what he imagined they expected, Chris smiled as widely as he could and waved to the two thousand Pegasi in a friendly manner. The armored natives merely stared back at him scowling. Undeterred, and with his stomach twisting and turning in knots, Chris casually walked right past the unfriendly looking armored Pegasus and descended the stairs back down to the ground, 'They know we're here alright, and they didn't make any move to attack me or anything. I was alone on that roof but they didn't do anything. The Fellowship needs to know about this.'

* * *

"Chris said the big building is safe except for the roof." Hord said to his and Morris' groups.

In truth, Chris had pulled Darryl and Morris aside and explained what he had experienced on the roof, but also said he thought it was mostly for show. The three of them had agreed not to say anything to the rest of the people until later. The crates needed to be moved and they were burning daylight. Chris said he would go find Joyner while he set his group to clearing off and cleaning out other buildings in his absence.

The people were gathered around the crates, listening to their leaders, Morris picked up where Darryl Left off,
"He even had his people clean off the floor, so let's get going on these crates. We can't risk dragging these things so we're going to work in teams of eight. Two people to each side of a crate. Lift them in unison, walk in unison, and lower them in unison. Remember to talk to each other, some people are going to be walking backward every time we move a crate so keep your eyes peeled and take it slow."

Darryl picked back up,
"Yeah, and if I see anyone being pushy or if someone gets hurt because someone else wasn't being patient, I'm going to pound you into a fine mush. Let's get this shit done. I only want to see two things: assholes and elbows! Let's move it!"

Morris selected Darryl and six other people and gathered them around a single crate while everyone else watched,
"Alright, bend with your knees, not your back. Crouch and get your grip!" he ordered.

Eight people crouched and slid their fingers under the sides of the crate. The cobblestones were a blessing because they provided gaps for people to wedge their fingers under.

"Ready, and lift!" Darryl yelled.

All eight people lifted in unison. The crate rose off the ground smoothly, accompanied by the sound of people grunting with effort.

"We're going to walk toward the big building slowly. Let everyone know if your grip starts to slip. Now step," everyone stepped, "And step," everyone took another step, "And step," they took another step.

The process continued on until they reached the doorway of the building,
"Alright, we're going to have to step up onto the foundation. Do not rush it. Does anyone need a break before we go?" Morris asked.

Seven heads shook 'no',
"Alright, and step up."

The slowly maneuvered the heavy crate into the far side of the building, as everyone else walked with them watching,
"Alright now," Darryl said loudly, "Set her down nice and easy. Bend your knees, aaaaand down."

They lowered the crate to the ground and let go with a heavy thump and a hollow thud.

Morris looked to Darryl,
"Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did." Darryl turned to the six other people, "Help us push this thing to the side. I think the floor is hollow right here."

They shoved the crate over several feet and looked at the floor,
"Well I don't see anything there, just bits of dirt." Darryl said.

Morris knelt down and used his bare hands to sweep away the thin layer of dirt and debris that Chris's group couldn't scrape away. His fingers caught a straight line and he followed it, tracing it out. In mere moments he had cleared off the outline of a perfect square, six foot by six foot, trap door. He continued clearing off the debris and uncovered a thick, heavy, rusty, metal ring. He tried to pry his fingers under the ring to lift it but it was rusted tight.

"Hey Darryl, may I borrow your hammer?" Morris asked.

"Yeah sure." Darryl answered as he handed the implement to his friend.

Morris used the pick side of the head and jammed it into the loop of the ring then levered it upward. The ring slowly rose, squeaking the whole way. Morris handed the war hammer back to Darryl and straightened up. He stretched his back then bent over and gripped the ring in both hands. Once he had his grip, he bent his knees, crouched, then lifted.

The rusty hinges squeaked loudly as the young man applied his muscles to forcing them into movement they hadn't seen in nearly two-hundred years. The stone slab lifted slowly until the lip was above the floor. Darryl stepped in and slipped his fingers under the lip, applying his own strength to the task. Between them, the two men hauled the lid all the way open. The hole was almost exactly six feet across in a near perfect square with stone stairs descending down into the darkness below. Neither man could see anything farther than about ten feet down.

"We don't have time to explore it right now." Morris said.

Darryl agreed,
"Yeah, let's close the lid and cover it up. We can take a look later."

The two of them forced the rusty hinges into motion and closed the trap door,
"We don't have all week people!" Darryl said loudly, "I want to see a constant flow of crates into this building until we have them all, now get moving!"

For the next five hours they moved crates from the Town Square into the big building.

* * *

Ludwig and Jason led their groups in the direction of the fields surrounding the town. They had everyone empty their bags and set their equipment aside. They decided that the empty bags could be used for harvesting and carrying food.

They talked as they headed off toward the fields,
"What do you think we should make?" Ludwig asked, obviously in a good mood.

"Hell if I know." Jason replied sharply.

Ludwig tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention,
"Look Jason, I don't know what your problem is but you need to cool down before you end up doing something you regret. Something like you almost did to our Unicorn friend when you were stalking Tina."

"To hell with you, I saved her life." Jason didn't dare raise his voice, the people were too close, he didn't want to embarrass himself.

"No you didn't." Ludwig said quietly, "I had an encounter with that Unicorn too and she never hurt me. I doubt she was going to try to hurt Tina. Hell she probably only chose her because she had seen her before."

"I don't care what you say. Tina was in danger. You can't trust those bastards." Jason said in a low voice.

"You're assuming the worst possible scenario. That Unicorn had plenty of chances to hurt us but she didn't. Come on Jason, she led us to a stream full of fish for Christ sake." Ludwig argued.

Jason snorted decisively,
"Yeah, after she destroyed all my snares. Those things took a lot of work and she just destroyed them like they didn't matter." Jason hissed, "They're out to get us. You know I'm right Alex."

Alex Ludwig shook his head sadly,
"Listen to yourself. You're paranoid. If they wanted to do us wrong why did they lead us to fish? Why did they go through all the effort of leaving those crates in the town? All that stuff couldn't have been cheap." Alex crossed his arms, "Seems to me they're bending over backward to help us. They guided us to a place that seems to be all but specifically made for us. Seriously, we couldn't have hoped for better, much less asked for it. We have land, food, medical supplies, tools the list goes on. Why can't you see what's right in front of you. For crying out loud, they're even leaving us alone after they know exactly where we are."

Jason's eyes scanned the forest in the distance,
"I'll bet the only reason they're leaving us alone is BECAUSE they know where we are. We're trapped here. They've put us into a cage. It's a big cage, but it's still a cage." he turned toward Alex, "I won't be caged like an animal." he said through clenched teeth, "By God if one of those bastards shows his face in our town I'll fucking remove it."

"And what if they just want to talk?" Alex asked.

"I'm not interested in talking to murderers." Jason mumbled.

"If they're willing to talk to thieves, why shouldn't we be willing to return the favor?" Alex asked.

Jason stopped suddenly and poked Alex in the chest,
"The only favor I'm interested in returning is massacring a bunch of them. Then they'll see what it's like to have a taste of their own medicine."

"So you want to be a murderer too? You're willing to give up your humanity just like that?" Alex argued softly.

Jason turned and continued walking,
"Our humanity has been stripped from us. They slaughtered us like animals and I'm not going to open myself up to that ever again. They're the animals and if I ever see one, I'm going to slaughter it like an animal. They aren't Human, they don't think like us. They don't have souls or feelings. They don't feel remorse or fear. They're monsters. Maybe you won't see it until it's too late but I'm not letting them get to me. Not when I can protect our people from them."

"What if you're wrong?" Alex asked.

"I'm not." Jason replied.

"So you've given up any hope of peace? You're willing to become a murdering racist?" Alex asked, "Because that's exactly what it sounds like."

"Fuck off you idiot. As long as we have the same goal of protecting the people, I don't give a shit whether or not we agree on the natives. If they leave us alone, I'm not going to go looking for trouble. If I see one here though, all bets are off. If they just leave us the fuck alone, I'll leave them alone." Jason said rudely, "We've got some zucchini squash here. We can chop it up and mix it with some of those carrots and potatoes we saw back a ways. Add that to the fish Joyner's catching and we'll have a nice stew. It'll be bland as hell, but it'll also be the nicest meal we've eaten since arriving." he turned to Alex with a dark grin, "If the natives included any spices or salt, I might just give them a chance after all."

* * *

R.J. Brinsin was sweating like a pig. He stood up from the fallen tree he had been chopping on and took several steps backward. The man standing behind him moved in and continued his work while R.J. took a short break. Mike Spearman was likewise sweating profusely, but he kept on chopping with his hatchet. The two men had managed to get quite a nice pile of dried, chopped wood for the fires. They knew they needed more though, much, much more.

He took a swig from his canteen and looked around. They had decided to head into the forest a little ways to see if they could find a tree that had already fallen. They had found more than they were looking for. Five huge trees had fallen and had yet to be claimed by the forest. They had spotted the trees easily and began chopping almost immediately. Just as quickly, Mike pointed out that they had an audience. The group had nearly flown into a panic when eight of the natives presented themselves boldly from a few dozen yards away. R.J. had been the one to intervene before anything got out of hand. He had gestured to the fallen trees then to the hatchets the group was carrying. The natives never moved a muscle. There was no response whatsoever. R.J. had reasoned that if they had a problem with the Humans chopping up wood, they would have made it clear.

He began chopping on the fallen tree. The natives did nothing except watch. Mike Spearman decided to follow his friend's example and soon the entire group was chopping at the trees. The natives never moved to stop them so the Humans continued.

R.J. shook out his head and wiped sweat from his face,
"Yall boys want a sip?" he asked, holding out his canteen to the armored natives.

They didn't move a muscle so R.J. just shrugged and took another sip,
"Yalls loss. I ain't greedy."

He wiped his head and tapped a young woman on the shoulder,
"Take a breather. I got this."

R.J. was on directly opposite from Mike and he decided to break the oppressive silence that had settled over the group,
"What do you think they want?" he asked.

Mike Spearman didn't bother looking up,
"No idea. Long as they stay over there and don't pester us, I don't care what they do." he finished off a branch and tossed it into an ever-growing pile, "Do you think they'll stop us from leaving?"

"Don't see no other reason for them to be so close." R.J. said with a shrug, "Then again I don't know. Tell ya what, I got to piss. I'ma walk right past 'em an' take a piss on the other side."

Mike chuckled,
"Already marking your territory huh?"

"Yeah man." R.J. said with a smile.

He straightened up and walked right toward the armored natives. They tensed and widened their stances but they didn't attack. R.J. would be loathe to admit it but they still terrified him. He couldn't get the memories out of his head; the lightning blazing trails through the night as it cut down his friends, the smell of blood, gore, and singed flesh and hair.

The expressions of pure malice on the Unicorn's faces as they massacred his people haunted his dreams. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the mangled bodies, every time he drew a breath he had to remind himself that he wasn't smelling the sickly sweet stench of death all around, and every time he saw a native he had to remind himself that attacking them was not right except in self-defense. He struggled internally as he walked right past them and into some bushes on the far side of their armored flanks.

He pulled up his blanket/clothing and proceeded to do his business, wishing yet again, for a sink with which to wash his hands. He was a very hygienically-minded man before he woke up in that field. He showered twice a day, once when he woke up and once just before bed. He had always kept his beard well-trimmed, he brushed his teeth for four minutes after every meal, he flossed religiously, and he even went so far as to learn to clean his ears with cotton and dabbed isopropyl alcohol on his feet and under his armpits to help eliminate any germs and bacteria. He had always prided himself on being able to maintain a clean, neat appearance. Not only did it look professional but it showed the world that he took pride in himself and took very good care of his body. He never ate pork or any smooth-bodied fish. He would only eat raw vegetables and unprocessed foods and he knew he was healthier for it. He was hardly ever sick and his health was something to be admired and emulated.

'An' now, here I am pissin' in the woods, worryin' about if a bunch of horse things is gonna try to murder my chocolate butt. I gotta find me some time to just relax for a minute. Ever since we got here it ain't been nothin' but work this an' fight that an' march here. I need a fuckin' break man. This shit's gonna end up killin' me.' he thought as he gave himself the cursory 'two shakes'. He lowered his blanket/clothing and stepped out of the bush.

The armored natives hadn't moved a muscle in hours and it was starting to get kind of creepy to him. He decided to ignore the creepiness and got back to work on the fallen tree.

Mike Spearman was lost in his own thoughts, 'What are we going to do here, in the long run? Are we stranded here? Are we supposed to get married and have children here? There's so much that we need to do. We could be working on bettering ourselves until the day we died and we still wouldn't be done. We need to build doors for the buildings we have, we need to build houses, we need to build beds to sleep in. There's so much that needs doing. We have to keep ourselves fed too. How are we going to eat during the winter? I doubt anyone knows how to preserve food properly and we can't grow anything in the snow. We need firewood, clothes, blankets, a well for water.' he hung his head, 'There's just SO MUCH to do.'

Mike took a deep breath and steadied his nerves, 'Calm mind, calm body. Be still within and you will be still without. A man is the master of himself and it is through one's self that true peace may be obtained. Peace on the inside fosters peace on the outside. I am not merely the product of my environment but a living, breathing, thinking, feeling entity of logic and self control. Control of the self is true control of the world, for it is in the control of the self that one alters one's perceptions of the world around.' he finished his mental exercise and felt the familiar calm of self-control wrap around him like a comforting blanket. He took another breath and continued chopping away at the fallen trees, 'I wonder if they made a sound when they fell.' he pondered idly.

* * *

Cessily Richardson was carrying her fifth load of medical equipment up the stairs of the big building. Bobby Jewel had decided that the second floor was absolutely ideal for the primary medical station. He said the center room on the second floor was perfect for a triage and evaluation hub. He wanted the additional rooms on the second floor to house the medical staff and any patients who required extended care. It had plenty of space for storage in every room, the only thing it lacked was beds. He said he planned to ask Joyner about it later on. He wanted to design the beds himself so they could function to specifications he said he needed or would likely need. Morris had done a wonderful job of cataloging the entire inventory of medical supplies. They had antiseptics, bandages, ointments, local anesthetics, systemic anesthetics, laxatives, there was more stuff but she couldn't recall all of it or even what it was used for. Some of the things they were lacking were concerning though. There were no latex or nitrile gloves, no I.V. bags or hangers, no lab kits for diagnosing specific diseases, and no electronic equipment of any kind. There were some strange machines that Jewel couldn't make heads or tails of, even with the drawn instructions. There were also some crystals encased in boxes but no one had even a remote idea how they could be used. The drawn instructions were vague. The crystals were supposed to be used with the machines but the 'how' of it was as puzzling as the 'why'.

Leo had volunteered to take a stab at the machines after all the medical stuff had been hauled up to the second floor. Leo was a conundrum to Richardson, 'That boy don't know what the heck he wants.' she shook her head, 'Naw, that ain't true. He wants to help people, that much is clear. His heart's in the right place but he's so much of an asshole that no one wants him to help half the time. 'He's got a good mind, he pays attention, an' he catches on quick. If he just dropped the attitude he'd be fine. He's got to learn that not erebody's gonna judge him on bein' ignorant sometimes. What he needs to to be teachable. There's so many things Bobby could teach him, if he'd just lose the pride be more teachable. Bobby already said he showed a huge talent for medicine.' Cessily shook her head as she reached the top of the stairs.

She trudged into the center room and set down her bag,
"Got another load for you Jewel. You think we have enough yet?" she asked cracking her back.

Bobby Jewel looked up from the assortment of medical supplies he already had on the floor of the second floor,
"Not even close, I'm afraid. Why? Is your back hurting you?" he asked concerned, "Look Cessily, if you need a break, take one. I'm more than capable of hauling stuff up here. The only thing I'm doing right now is organizing different things by category and use." he stood up from his kneeling position, "Why don't you let me handle the heavy lifting? We don't have any medication for your condition and you could really hurt yourself." he approached Cessily calmly, "I know it hurts." he said, laying his right hand on her shoulder comfortingly, "I'll see about getting you something as soon as I can but right now I just don't have it." he threw his arms up in the air, "Hell I don't know if these horse things can even get Fibromyalgia."

Cessily looked up at Bobby sharply, hurt behind her eyes,
"I ain't gonna tell you again. Don't say it out loud. I don't need ereone coddlin' me on account I ain't as healthy as they are. I'ma do my part. I never went on Welfare or Disability back home. I work an' I do my part. Weather or not I got this disease don't matter none here. We all in this together an' I'm sure I don't got it the worst. What about all them girls who're pregnant? I ain't. I done had my boys already an' I don't plan on havin' no more." her breath caught in her throat at the thought of her two sons back home, "I'm here to work an' help out. That's all I got left right now." she bit her lip to keep it from shaking.

Bobby took Cessily into his arms as she began to weep quietly,
"This is all I got left Bobby." she whispered, "I lost my boys an' my husband."

Bobby had expected her to break sooner or later, 'She's been holding it in since we got here. The stress of the massacre traumatized her really badly. Hell it messed up almost everyone to some degree. We need time to calm down, relax, and just take time to grieve. We've been so busy recently that we're all running on mental and emotional fumes. We have to find . . . no we have to MAKE time to just relax and sit back for a day or two and recharge. We're going to be having serious problems here soon if we don't. Jason's already broken because he hasn't had time to grieve. If we had the chance to breathe, even just for a little while, maybe we could avoid break downs like this one.'

His thoughts were interrupted as Leo walked up the stairs carrying a heavy load. He set his bags down and picked up the set that Bobby had already emptied out. He saw two of the very few people he respected, locked in a tearful embrace, but he didn't say anything or disturb them. If they wanted him in on it, they would uave told him. If it wasn't his business, then it wasn't his business. He slung the empty bags over his shoulders and headed back down the stairs.

'Ereone's all spacin' out an' shit.' he thought, 'Now Richardson's gone all weepy an' shit too?' he shook his head as he descended the stairs, 'That bitch is hard as diamond. She don't never break. If she's breakin' now, we got problems. We all got to be at the top o' our game to keep them fuckin' ponies off our asses. We ain't gonna be no good if we can't even get all the way set up without someone havin' a breakdown. We gotta have a break man. We're Humans not robots, we can only handle so much shit before we go nuts. We got to take a couple o' days an' just do nothin'. We gotta relax an' get our shit together before we do anythin' else. Richardson's one tough cookie. If she breakin' . . . we all in deep shit.'

* * *

Kolo Calvin looked over the huge pile of trash he and his group had collected. It had taken seven hours but the immediate area around all the buildings was clear of both dangerous debris and grass. After Morris' and Darryl's groups had cleared the crates out of the Town Square Kolo had set to work with his group to clear out the obstructions. The grass was surprisingly easy to pull. The cobblestones had kept it from forming particularly deep roots so it had almost nothing to cling to.

Clearing out the grass had been an absolute breeze compared to the piles of vines and glass shards scattered all around the Square and buildings. The glass was the most troublesome problem though. It was nearly invisible in some places and more than once, one of Kolo's people had to run off to get cuts disinfected, or in the case of one poor woman, stitches, 'Man I hate it when my peeps get hurt! If they get hurt, it means I ain't doin' my job right. They lookin' to me to guide 'em an' protect 'em. How can I do that if they always gettin' hurt?' he forced down a grunt of frustration and turned to his group.

"Hey yo, listen up." he addressed loudly, "We got two more things to do. Number one: we got to find an' dig out a latrine so people got a place to do they business. Number two: we got to clear off these other foundations. We can't build nothin' unless we got a clean surface to work with. We can do the foundations tomorrow but ain't nobody gonna wait till tomorrow to do they business. Let's get some shovels an' find us a good place to dig." he turned toward the big building and began walking toward it as he spoke, "It's got to be far enough from the town that ain't nobody gonna smell it but close enough that erebody can get to it when they need to. The orchard an' the fields got food we need an' Human shit ain't good for crops. Got too much nitrogen in it. We got to dig deep but in a place an' direction that ain't gonna taint our drinkin' water." he turned and looked over his shoulder at his group, "I don't know 'bout yall, but I don't wanna go for a drink an' end up slurpin' down no dude's diarrhea." both he and his group chuckled at the disturbing mental image.

They walked into the big building and saw Morris and his group taking record of inventory,
"Yo Morris my man, me an' my crew be needin' a couple o' shovels. You got any?"

Crates were placed all around the perimeter of the interior wall of the huge first floor. The hinges of the crates faced the wall so a person could just walk up and open them as needed. Morris was standing next to a crate writing down items as his group removed them and set them on the ground. One of the things Morris had already put to good use was a set of ten corn-bristled brooms. He and his group had started on the third floor and swept their way down until they had a pile of debris outside the front door. The floors were clean and if Morris had anything to say about it, he would lead the charge to sterilize the entire building, especially the second floor where Jewel, Richardson, and Leo had decided to set up the medical station.

Morris looked up smiling broadly,
"As a matter of fact, I'm proud to say that I DO. The handles are a little short but they'll work just fine. How many do you need?"

Kolo didn't even need to turn and look,
"Seventy-three."

Morris lowered his head and wrote down something on a piece of paper in front of him,
"O.K. I'll need your signature right next to the log out."

Calvin whistled,
"Dang dude, you got a system for that already?"

"It's really easy actually." Morris said, "Just remember, you're responsible for these shovels. One gets broken, it's on you to fix it to my specifications."

Calvin smirked, put the palms of his hands together in front of him, and bowed,
"I heah an' obey mastah."

Morris picked up the piece of paper and walked over to a different crate then opened the top,
"Just sign here and they're all yours."

Kolo walked over to Morris and took the piece of charcoal he was holding. The charcoal was tiny in his massive hand, but he signed the paper smoothly.

Morris withdrew the paper and gestured to the crate,
"This one holds fifty shovels," he turned and gestured to the crate to his right, "And this one holds twenty-five more. Clean then off once you're done with them. One of my guys will be here to log them back in once you're done. I'm going to have people inspect every single tool that gets logged in or out. If a person brings back a damaged tool, they have to fix it. If they don't clean off a tool they have to go outside and clean it off before returning it. These tools can mean the difference between life and death and I'm going to make sure they are treated that way."

"Yall get a shovel each an' meet me outside. I'ma head on up to the roof an' take a look to see where we can dig these things." Kolo instructed.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Morris asked his huge friend.

Calvin crossed his arms,
"Gotta make it quick yo. I got stuff to do."

Morris leaned up to Kolo's ear,
"Chris saw a bunch of Pegasus . . . Pegasusses . . . the winged ones, on the roof earlier. Be careful."

Kolo smiled hugely,
"Ain't no problem Morris."

Kolo made his way up the stairs to the second floor, then to the third floor, then finally to the roof. He stepped out onto the roof and looked around, 'Ain't none o' the winged ones up here. Chris musta been trippin'.' he walked over to the Southern edge of the roof and looked out at the countryside. The mountain in the distance sat silhouetted against the blue sky. A tall castle-like structure rose out of the side of it, facing the East. The view was hypnotic and for a few moments Kolo stood enraptured by its beauty.

Eventually he sighed and began casting his eyes about at the world below, 'Aiit, this building I'm standin' on is the tallest point of the field an' the town be built on a shallow hill. That means erething's gonna go downhill. Only problem is we got crops that can't be gettin' that shit. We can't dig no latrine on the far edge o' the field where it's lowest cause ain't nobody gonna be able to walk that far when nature's callin'.' he stroked the full, scraggly beard on his chin, 'I can't help but wonder what the natives did about that problem? Animal manure is good fertilizer but ain't nothin's urine no good for crops, so where did they go to take a piss?'

Kolo began tugging on his beard in frustration, 'Come to think o' it, I didn't see no place for no bathroom inside the big building either. We know the natives eat, so that means they gotta pop a squat somewhere. Maybe we can find the solution they done come up with and build on it.' his eyes ventured down the the piles of debris, 'I'll bet this building I'm standin' on was a public building an' those piles o' rubble used to be homes. Homes gotta have a bathroom in em. We just gotta figure out what the natives used.'

Kolo smiled and turned to head back downstairs.

* * *

David grunted as he reached his right hand farther up,
"Here?"

Rachel stepped back and closed her left eye, gauging with her right,
"Looks good, tack it up. There's a hole up there, right?"

David held the tarp between his thumb and index finger while he felt around with his other three,
"Yup. Hand me the hammer would you Tina?"

Tina passed David the hammer and stepped back to look at their work. The big building they had finished hours ago and they were working on the smaller buildings. The smaller ones were empty as yet but they still needed their windows covered. The three friends had been very pleasantly surprised to discover that each window had a series of tiny holes in the stone surrounding each window. David had guessed that they might have been where shutter tacks tapped into the walls previously but he knew he was merely guessing. Morris had issued them a load of stout tarps, a hammer, a small step-ladder, and a wooden carton of nails. The tarps were very interesting. Each one was three feet by three feet and had flaps and holes around the outer edges. Morris had explained that it was a clever design because the holes could be linked together to form larger tarps while the flaps over the edges kept them fairly water resistant.

David stepped off the wide, three foot tall ladder and back to the ground,
"How does it look?"

"Identical to every other one we've hung up." Rachel said sourly, "I just wish the Pega . . . what's the plural of Pegasus?" she asked rubbing her temples, "My brain isn't working right now."

"It was originally a Greek word so probably Pegasi, while something describing the entire species would probably be Pegasorum or something like that. Pegasi should be about right for the plural form of the noun." Tina explained.

"Math whiz and you know Greek and Latin?" David asked.

"Both of us do you goof." Rachel said as she pushed David playfully, "Greek and Latin were the basis of almost every language spoken in Europe. I probably know more about it than Tina does but my head isn't on straight right now."

"Und Vhy iz zaat?" David asked in a Freudian accent and steepling his finger tips together in front of his face, "Arch hou havingk deefeeculty formingk zee coherenth toughts?"

Tina snickered at David's antics but Rachel's frown was made of stern stuff,
"I was hoping to get out of doing this when Chris and Joyner told us there were Pegasi on the roof of the big building. Then we go up there aaaaannnnnddddd they're gone." she crossed her arms, "And now we have to work again. It just got my hopes up, you know." she let her arms fall, "I'm being a bitch about this aren't I?" she said.

"Yep." Tina responded, "Cheer up," she gestured to the other buildings, "We've only got twelve more to do."

Rachel rolled her eyes and slumped her shoulders,
"Oh joy, my cup, she runneth over."

Tina accepted the hammer and ladder from David,
"Come on, it's not that bad. Grab the nails and let's get to the next one. You got the tarp pile David?"

"Yep." he bent over and wrapped his arms around the thick pile on the ground and lifted it onto his shoulder, "We need to speed this up," he looked to the sky, "It's going to get dark before too long.

* * *

"When the natives attacked, they could only focus on one person at a time." Eduardo explained to the two groups around him, "That's how Chris and me got 'em. He distracted 'em and I got behind 'em and took care of business."

Darryl nodded,
"Well that's more than I know. I only fought one of them and he pretty much whooped my ass." he turned to Eduardo, "So you're saying that groups would probably work better than one person per patrol?"

"Si, probably two or three. Three would prolly be the best. Two can distract and take down while the third goes for help."

Darryl slapped his thigh,
"Fire Teams then," he began, "Groups of three on a circular patrol of the buildings we're using. Eight Fire Teams out on patrols at a any given time. That's twenty-four people on patrol all day, every day and night. Patrols should last for six hours and, now that we have a couple of hour-glasses, we can know exactly when that time is up."

"So what we need is a type of roster to tell who is supposed to be out and when. We also need a bell or something, you know for an alarm, something everyone can hear." Eduardo pointed out.

Darryl pointed at the young Hispanic man and shook his hand,
"That's definitely true. Good thinking. Alright, let's set the patrol route and walk it a couple of time together, all of us, so there won't be any confusion about it." he looked around and hummed quietly, "How about just the area around the town for now and we can expand it later as needed?"

"Sounds good to me amigo." Eduardo said and turned and spoke loudly, "Let's take a walk."

Darryl and Eduardo took the lead while everyone else followed. They chose a path around the town. There was a break of more than thirty feet between the orchard and the outermost building foundations where the cobblestones still ran. They walked the path, picking the tall grass out from between the cobblestones as they went.

"I noticed that the cobblestone street doesn't end at the edge of the town." Darryl said.

Eduardo nodded,
"Si, we saw that too. We picked on some of the grass while we waited for you. The stones head outward from the center, like the spokes of a wheel. A couple of mi amigos think it's the stone paths that help decide what grows where." Eduardo shrugged, "Makes about as much sense as anything else in this place. Not sure if you saw, but there's more stone streets." Eduardo pointed, "New streets form when the space between the first streets gets too wide. This place was built with expansion in mind."

"Everything makes sense once you've got the right perspective." Darryl said, "This town was built to be defensible, that's why the buildings near the center were all made out of stone. The walls are thick and the streets between them are only about twelve feet wide. If a force, even a civilian force, stood shoulder to shoulder they could block off those streets very effectively. With a defensive line like that they could hold off an enemy for quite a while, not to mention if they put up blockades and funneled the enemy down, they could work it like a meat-grinder." he turned and pointed to the outlying buildings, "See how the wooden buildings are are on the outside of the defensive buildings? That means this place wasn't any sort of military installation because a military place would have walls and such to ensure nothing got in at all. I'd guess this place was a frontier town of some kind. It was one that wasn't necessarily expecting to be attacked, but the possibility still existed."

Eduardo shrugged,
"Yeah, but attacked by what? I wouldn't pick on the natives, they're pretty bad ass amigo. What kind of pendejo got the cojones to attack them?"

"That's a good question." Darryl said.

* * *

Mike Joyner could have hardly been more content with the situation. He was casting his net out and hauling in so many fish that the net nearly broke. The lake was practically overflowing with fish, trout and salmon to be precise. He had a concern though, there was no way that any rivers that held fish also had potable water and the last pure stream he knew of was almost half a day's walk to the South.

The problem puzzled him. He looked around briefly as the people around him worked. Some threw out nets and hauled in fish while others cleaned and gutted the fish, 'This was a settlement of some sort obviously, but it's got more than a few secrets. Where's the fresh water? Are the natives capable of drinking brackish water with no ill effects? If that's the case, we're going to be in for some trouble.' he looked up to the sky and chewed his lip, 'It has to rain here. Maybe we can build a rainwater collection center and use that? Only problem is we haven't seen a single drop of rain since we arrived on this world.' he blew out a breath in exasperation, 'There's something we're not seeing here, something that the natives have that we're missing. Only problem is I have absolutely no idea what it could be.'

He took a break and gauged the amount of fish already prepped for the day, then cupped his hands over his mouth,
"Bring it in everyone. Any nets still out, let the fish go, we have enough."

The people began making their way to the shore as Mike doled out responsibilities. Every tenth person carried ten nets while everyone else carried fish in the burlap sacks. The most simple things, like the burlap sacks, were suddenly very important. Their inclusion in the crates had been one of the many useful things the natives had left. People walked back to the town as the sun began its descent into the horizon. Bright, flickering light from a huge bonfire acted as a beacon for them.

Mike stood on the bank of the river. He didn't need to lead the people back, they knew the way. He smiled at the people, his people. He and his team hadn't signed up to lead seven hundred helpless people through a hostile, magical land. They had done it though, a few of the civilians even proved to be leadership material. His grin grew as he looked up at the setting sun, 'We'll figure out the water somehow, even if we have to haul it by hand. We're tougher than that.'

His smile grew once more as the people neared the town, he raised his head and hands to the sky, palms open. Mike Joyner never claimed to be a particularly spiritual man but he was grateful. Here was a place where his people had a chance. Here was a place where for the first time in a long time, they had hope. Here for the first time in over a month, was a place they might one day call home. He had no idea who to thank so in the absence of an individual, he simply closed his eyes and raised his hands to the sky.

"Thank you." he whispered.

He didn't know who he was talking to. It didn't really matter.

Author's Note:

This chapter may be confusing. That is because this is a different type of transitory chapter. I'm trying to acclimate you guys to hearing the character's first names more often now as opposed to only their last names, which is how I introduced them.

Comments

[trooper7051]

I saw a few spelling errors. But other than that nothing that needed fixing.

onto the review.

Leo boldly stepped out from the crowd but stopped and turned back,

"Yo Marine-man, toss me your hammer, will ya?"

Hord grumbled as he gripped his hammer,

"What's my name first? You get it right, you get the hammer."

Leo blew out an exasperated breath,

"Hord man! Darryl motha fuckin' Hord. Now throw me the damn hammer."

Hord tossed it to Leo with a smirk,

"Remember that you're only borrowing it."

yeah that definitely sounds right. i can imagine actually dealing with this guy

Joyner's thoughts were interrupted when a loud yell from the orchard grabbed his attention. Hord ran back toward the group, weaving around trees and leaping over small saplings.

The Marine and fox skidded to a halt in front of Joyner,

"We've got dozens of foundations and stone buildings just beyond the orchard, but that's not the problem. There's a bunch of crates strewn all over the place, especially around the old buildings. The structures are old and abandoned, but the crates look brand new." Hord's eyes shifted nervously, "That's not all. The grass growing between the stones of the cobbled streets is undamaged and standing straight up." he clenched his teeth, "These crates weren't dragged in, they were air-lifted. My guess is they were left here for us." the Marine took a breath and finished, "I think we were herded here."

Well played messing with my paranoia.

[Truthseeker]

Please keep this family in prayer, if you are spiritually minded. This happened right down the street from where I work every day and I know this little boy.

http://wavy.com/2014/03/31/child-struck-by-car-in-norfolk/

[Shwaggy]

Good thing these guys have smart leaders, knowing to get everything set up correctly from the beginning. By the way, is that whole "a crack that doesn't affect the integrity of the foundation is a good sign" bit true? I mean, sure it isn't a bad sign, but why is it good? I know nothing about construction, so I'm curious. Never heard that "assholes and elbows" line before, sounds military to me so maybe that's why. I also learned something interesting from looking up another phrase here: "Sweat like a pig" actually doesn't refer to the animal, which barely sweats at all, but to smelting pig iron. The more you know...

'I wonder if they made a sound when they fell.' he pondered idly.

Heh, Zen lumberjacking.

[Ianthinarum]

"The lake was practically overflowing with fish, trout and salmon to be precise. He had a concern though, there was no way that any rivers that held fish also had potable water and the last pure stream he knew of was almost half a day's walk to the South."

These guys can be real idiots. Water can be easily filtered and boiled. Once that's done it's perfectly drinkable. You don't need use a fresh water source.

[Europa]

Jason's going down a dark road. He's associating all the ponies and all the humans each with a faceless 'them'. I don't think that he really recognizes 'individuals' anymore...

"

Yeah, but attacked by what? I wouldn't pick on the natives, they're pretty bad ass amigo. What kind of pendejo got the cojones to attack them?"

A plague.

[Ash Bark]

4884755 doing so would take a lot of heat, and what would they hold the water in? that could be used as a solution, but it's impractical

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

So they're now in their soon to be new home, but I'm getting the feeling that things aren't as rosy yet....

[Amos Anon]

no we have to MAKE time to just relax and sit back for a day or two and recharge. We're going to be having serious problems here soon if we don't. Jason's already broken because he hasn't had time to grieve. If we had the chance to breathe, even just for a little while, maybe we could avoid break downs like this one.'

Kinda like a, oh I don't know...
A sabbath day? A day of rest?

[Coranth]

"I agree, but these creatures . . . " the stallion began.

"Humans." Razor cut in.

"Humans, have the potential to be very dangerous." he shifted his weight and ruffled his feathers, "Until we are certain they won't do anything, we have to take every precaution." the stallion responded blandly.

*cough-cough*ProudHoof!*cough* Hypocrite.

[Truthseeker]

11046779 I think Proud Hoof took it a little farther than this bozo did.