Mocha's Story

by Mocha Star

Chapter 22

I violently pushed Lom away and stomped past Heart to the wagon, climbed over my armor, grabbed my rifle and stood tall with a .50 cal round primed to shoot through her wagon and maybe through her; but I stopped. I sneered and changed to a small air burst round.

I took aim at the rear tire on her thing and fired. Direct hit. The wagon lost its wheel and I was tempted to wait for that mare to come around and put her down. I turned my rifle to safe, secured it next to my armor again then I hopped to the ground and looked at the broken wagon, a mere three minutes trot away. Lom had timidly returned to my side.

“Mules, let’s go,” I shouted as I saw the blue mare cautiously peek around the front of her wagon. Eyes as wide as they’d go. “Next time, don’t attack someone that asks for help,” I shouted as I turned to walk behind the cart. “Girls, c’mon. Let’s get.”

Heart was under Lom and trembling a lot.

“B-but, Mocha hurt her.”

“No, Lom, I broke her cart. She has a spare wheel and a bad attitude. Let her fix it herself.”

“Yeah, let her fix it ‘erself. She’s a butt,” Heart said proudly as she charged up to me. I smiled and looked to her and stopped in my tracks. She said it in such a happy voice but the look on her face screamed ‘hate’. “Mules stop!” I shouted.

“Heart, what do you think of that mare that attacked me and ran away?”

She looked to me and her expression softened. “I hate her, she hurt my dad- I mean, um, you.”

My heart wrenched, if it could have it’d have torn itself from my mouth and I’d have died right there. “D-dad? Heart…” I looked to her and she blushed, turning her to a hot pink shade across her cheeks.

“Lom, Heart, c’mon. I’m gonna help her fix it.”

“What?! B-but she’s mean and hurtcha! She’s just a nag, let her take her lickin’s and die ou-”

“Heart!” I shouted so loud it echoed. She shrank and, that fear in her eyes… “Do not ever think or talk like that,” I said as I turned to face her, “She might be the biggest nag on this planet, but she doesn’t deserve death.”

I looked to Lom and she had shied away as I yelled. I kept my angry look at her as well. “No one deserves to die because they’re rude,” I grumbled.

“But, she, hurt Mocha-”

“Do I look hurt?!” I shouted to Lom. This time she cowered before me too. “She could starve to death out here if she can’t change the wheel. She could lose trust for all of us over something so simple, each of our races could go to war. That could lead to death, torture, murder-”

I stopped when I felt something on my shoulder and I roared behind me with a swing, ready to fight a minotaur if I had to. It was an apple held toward me from that blue mare. She was far enough away to be safe from anything I could do and she was ready to gallop away if I threatened her. She held it to me, a little further away this time. I glared at it, then her, then I snatched it out of the air and took a bite that was too big.

I chewed like a ravenous animal that was scavenging the last food in a kill. Totally primal, totally embarrassing. I ate the whole thing, even the stem, only to see another in front of me.

Thirty second later it was gone and a two carrots and a yellow onion were in front of me. I felt the rage dissipating like a poorly cast spells magic from a horn. I saw the vegetables and grabbed them from the air, munching them until I got halfway through the onion.

That was when I realized I was on my knees and my eyes were burning. I dropped the onion, spit my mouth clean, and took an open handed swipe in front of me as I fell back and shouted a couple bad words. I couldn’t help but giggle as the food started to give me a euphoric sensation.

I started to laugh as I took a seat on my butt and held my eyes. My laughing turned to tears pretty quickly and I felt Lom brush against me. She hugged me and I spun so quick any other creature would have thought it was a killing strike. I hugged her so tight I could feel the bones in her neck move and the pulse in her neck.

I let months worth of stress out in her coat as I blubbered like a foal. I lost control. I lost control and that was what led out world to the brink of death. Gave into my instincts and yelled at my family.

My family, I thought, these mares are my family, and I hurt them. Heart- I looked to her and opened my arm, inviting her to me. She paced herself and walked to us. I didn’t waste time and lunged a bit to pull her into a hug, just us two.

I cried onto her as I apologized for yelling. She patted my head like I had to her a hundred times while she cried. She just kept telling me ‘it’ll be okay. You’re a strong dad, it’ll be okay.”

That didn’t help me at all, she had this thing about wrenching my feels out. I stopped crying and looked to her; my snotty nose and red eyes looked at her intently and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Heart, I’m not your-” I was at a loss. She was, and I… I hugged her softly again. “What happened?”

A chuckle came from that blue mare. “Thy hath hunger madness. I have seen it before, yet not in another with such a manner. A wizard such as thy should have the power to conjure what thy need, not scare and attack a traveling mare,” she said proudly.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t know what I was doing. I lost control… Thanks for the food miss-?”

She looked at me with wide eyes and a slight look of shock. “Surely thy jest! Doth thee not knoweth about me? I am the most wondrous and powerful Beatrice? Shalt I showeth thee of mine skills?” She took a pose that spoke of pride and skill.

“No, but thanks for the offer,” I said hugging Heart tightly and trying to tune this egotistical mare out of our moment.

“What?! Thou art joking? How can thee sayeth no to mine art?” She hopped to a defensive pose in shock.

“Nah, let’s get that fixed and get you on your way,” I said lowering Heart to the ground.

“A brief display of mine skills?”

“No,” I said standing again.

“A sample of my wares?” she looked to me with a pang of hurt in her eyes.

“I already owe you for the food,” I said patting Lom on the head. She smiled back at me and I started jogging to the mares wagon. Lom and Heart were close in tow.

“A free demonstration?” she shouted while trotting along side me.

“You’re persistent, but no,” I said reaching the wagon and looking it over. The spare wheel was slid into a spot on the underside and I got it out while Beatrice pestered me to no end to let her give me a sample of her skills.

By the time I was done - which was quite quick; pull a pin, lift, new wheel, replace pin - she was growling and shouting about how ‘none has't ever hath said no to mine display’.

“Well, all fixed, let me get your gold and we’ll be on our way.”

She followed me to our cart and took the gold I offered. “Within this wall of flesh, there is a soul that counts thee its creditor for thy patronage,” she grumbled as she turned away.

“Shakespeare! That’s who all you unicorns talk like,” I slapped my forehead in knowing, “that’s why you’re all so fancy. You talk like Hamlet,” I said incredulous to myself as I got it.

Who is Shakespeare? Well, on earth he was a playwrite. One so influential that the effects of his writing changed half the planet’s way of speaking, writing, and romance for the entirety of its future.

Beatrice looked at me like I was crazy, again, then backed away until she was near her wagon, turned, and galloped to the front. “Mules,” I said smirking, “let’s go. We’ve got time to make up. Lom,” I said softly, “I’m so sorry for yelling. Um, hold on.”

I knelt down to pick up Heart and placed her on Lom’s back and as I jogged I looked to them. I loved a good jog and run after a meal. By the way, what I didn’t eat my girls did while I was fixing the mares wagon.

“Girls, I’m so sorry. If I ever do that again don’t take it personally, I don’t mean it, I’m just emotional and sometimes I act mean but I mean to be happy.”

“Yes. Lom know many dams that are like you.”

“Damns? Da’... Oh. Oh.” She compared me to a pregnant mare, I couldn’t believe it. My emotions were getting away from me and I needed an outlet.

Sex and fighting used to be how I got my emotions in line. Not an option here. Or so I thought.