Lutscintorb

by Mary Sue

Earnestly

Sparkler reappeared almost a hundred feet from the stagecoach. She could faintly hear an angry yell, but the gushing noise of the nearby river had grown tenfold. However, it wasn’t right here. She followed the noise twice more, teleporting through the field until finally she came across it.

She ran up to the edge of the riverbank, which amounted to a short cliff about as tall as she was. The dirt wall held itself together with the roots of the wild grass, but at the bottom the earth turned into an assortment of loose stones and driftwood. And shortly beyond that was the river itself.

Easily thirty meters wide, it flowed heavily in from the south, rising and falling with the contours of an unseen bed. What’s more, it was an unexpectedly vivid blue, although covered by the white crests of short-lived waves. The air here was especially crisp, sounding at a relaxed pace that was neither too quick nor too slow.

She scratched her breast with a sweaty, dirt-and-soot stained hoof, and hopped down onto the riverbank. A few more steps and she stood tentatively at the water’s edge. She slowly dipped her hoof in the water which was, as she probably should have expected, incredibly cold. But she watched in fascination as her dirty hoof quickly changed into its brighter, natural color. That was all she cared for, so she waded further into the river until the water rose to her knees, and she happily collapsed into the flow. It felt strangely like an everlong blanket being drawn across her, and she rolled with it.

Time escaped her then as she splashed around, scrubbing all over herself to get the dirt out of her hair and fur. The cold water was numbingly pleasant despite the bite it brought upon her. It even alleviated her headache some, which was openly welcomed. Rather, it simply made her ignorant to it what with the shivers now racing all over her. But she found it relaxing all the same.

Soon, however, her impromptu bath was interrupted. The pauses in her splashing revealed that yelling voice getting closer and closer, and it wasn’t long before she couldn’t ignore its words anymore.

Sharp Tack yelled at her like how someone might scold a puppy. “What in the North do you think you’re doing?!”

She wiped the water out of her eyes and parted her soaked mane, and found him standing atop that short little ledge of dirt, glaring daggers. She sat up and splashed a bit of water in his direction. “Getting clean,” she said dismissively, flashing her bright and shiny hooves at him. “Or, at least, something close to it. You and Whiskey should really dunk yourselves in the river in too. Trust me, you need it.”

Sharp Tack made a face caught somewhere in between frustration and confusion. She noticed he made that face quite often over the past couple of days. He pinched his snout and said, “Just... get up,” he muttered. “And you’re just going to get dirty again besides! We’ve still got a day at least until we get to Portsmouth. You can take a proper bath there if you’re so inclined.”

“It’s not like I plan on jumping on top of a fire anytime soon,” she said, and then dunked her head back underwater.

Sharp Tack groaned. “Damned unicorns,” he hissed. “The absolute worst, every one of them.” He slid down the little slope onto the riverbank. “Did I ever tell you that we’ve got a schedule to stick to?” he asked. “We can’t take breaks like this. And you can’t just wander away from us without saying something, either.”

“Why?” she asked next, standing up in the shallow water. She splayed her legs and quickly shook a large amount of water off herself. While running her hooves through her mane to straighten it, she said, “I told you before, I can take care of myself. I’m a grown pony.”

He sighed. “You don’t get it, do you? Every little distraction slows us down. We can’t allow that.”

She paused, glancing at him. “Am I distraction?”

He stared blankly at her. “Uh, yeah. A pretty big one at that.”

She stuck her tongue in her cheek. “Would you rather I just leave you two then? I can probably make it to Portsmouth on my own. I mean, just follow the river, right?”

“Uh... n-no, that’s not—” He smacked himself in the face and dragged it down. “That’s not what I meant. You... you really don’t know anything about Portsmouth, or how this land works. You really think you can just waltz into town and get anypony to believe you’re a foreign dignitary from a country I didn’t even know existed two days ago? What was it, Heartstead or something?” He blinked. “Heck, I don’t even know why I believe it! For all I know you’re just some vagabond mooching free meals off of us!”

She rolled her eyes and finally walked out of the river. “Yeah, and you two are traveling sales ponies,” she muttered. When a response didn’t come, she sighed and said, “I’m sorry. You’re right. I should be more thankful for everything you’ve done for me so far. I... will follow you for as long as I can until we get to Portsmouth.”

Sharp Tack gave her an incredulous look. “What do you mean, for as long as you can?”

Sparkler twirled a hoof in her wet mane. “I haven’t exactly been very forthcoming about who I am, have I?”

Comments

[Emotional Flight]

I haven’t exactly been very forthcoming about who I am, have I?

No. No you haven't.

[Revan]

I sense an imminent revelation...