In Good Company
Edited by:
PieisGood4U
BlazinBlade7
dialgex
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Wow, that was a really weird dream. Something about burning airships…?
I tried to hold on to the dream but the memory of it slipped away, leaving me with the notion that I had forgotten something important. I rolled off my bedroll with a groan, realising that last night I had been too tired to remove my belt and as a result all of the pouches had painfully dug into me during the night, leaving me bruised and sore.
I was surprised to note that I appeared to be the last one in camp to get up. All the ponies were wide awake, a spring in their step as their trotted about doing various chores. Zende stood over a fire, mixing what I hope is some kind of soup, whilst the other ponies packed up the camp. I saw that the foals I had sung to last night were being looked after by none other than Summer Storm and Iron Will. The usually stern mare and the huge minotaur looking ridiculously out of place among the bouncing children. Iron appeared be recounting an epic tale of one of his travels whilst Summer provided a light show courtesy of her magic.
My stomach rumbled in protest to warn me of my negligence towards it so I decided to throw caution to the wind and walked towards Zende, hoping he hadn’t cooked up some kind of poison.
“Hey Zende, what’s on the menu for today?”
“Gruel and bread. It‘s all the dogs had beside gems.”
“Well that is just…exhilarating.” I sighed and consigned myself to eating the meal, which was surprisingly good. When he wasn’t killing people with medicine it turned out that Zende was actually a fairly good cook. Admittedly it was still gruel, a meal whose very name exudes dullness, but he had managed to add some spices to it to make it suck slightly less.
By the time I had finished eating, the ponies had the camp completely packed up and were ready to set out. If the ponies wanted to do all the chores I wasn’t about to complain, I had just saved all their lives for Christ sake I figure they owe me one.
When we set off I found myself at the front of the group with Iron and Summer. I also found myself very quickly bored. There was nothing to do but walk and walk and occasionally watch other people walk. I amused myself by juggling random items whilst I walked but even that lost its interest after a couple of hours. I eventually found myself doing the thing that absolutely no one should do whilst travelling.
Trying to get everyone to sing a song.
"You gotta put one hoof in front of the other,
and then after that, you put down another,
and that's how you walk down a road!"
“Ace!”
“What?”
“Shut up!”
I sighed and complied with their wish, but the urge to sing remained, taunting me and tempting me to go along with its dark ways. Damn you temptation! I shall not fall to you! My will is as strong as steel and I shall resist you!
-----------
"My hooves are aching,
and the sun is baking,
as we walk down this long, long road.
I got the blues,
I got the walking a long way blues."
“Ace! What have we told you?!”
And that’s the tale of how Summer and Iron stopped letting me walk with them. I was now closer to the middle of the herd, next to the cart which the foals were riding in. Their parents had insisted that they be given lifts as they were far too young to be walking so far. Judging by the looks on the faces of the stallions pulling the wagon they considered this to be a bad idea. The children, being carried along all day with no draining exercise and no entertainment, had an excess of energy and nothing to spend it on. Naturally they had made the lives of everyone around them a living hell.
I sighed nostalgically. They remind me of when I was a kid. Boundless curiosity and energy. Willing to do whatever it takes to entertain myself.
Can’t say that I’ve really matured at all.
Feeling kind of bad for the children’s predicament I decided to intervene and use my incredible skills for the greater good. I started off simply doing sleight of hand tricks to amuse them, pulling a coin from behind their ears and various card tricks. It wasn’t long before the entire cartful of foals were staring at me with wide eyes, marvelling at my tricks. I noticed with some amusement that I had also attracted the attention of some of the older ponies as well. After all, everybody loves a magic show.
The foals, as well as being an attentive audience, were also a demanding one and it wasn’t long before I was breaking out some of my more complex tricks to keep their attention. I juggled knives and flaming brands, I did cartwheels and front flips, I balanced a tower of objects on my head whilst singing the national anthem. I’m pretty sure I ended up using every trick in my arsenal just to keep them amused but I did it. I managed to keep them from annoying their parents for the entire day so that, by the time we came to sleep again, the older ponies were all too happy to look after them for a while. I could see that they had appreciated the effort I had put in to helping them. That night I received many thanks from tired looking parents as well as a larger helping of food, generously donated by the stallions assigned to pulling the children’s cart. I had saved them from the terror of excitable children and for that they were eternally grateful.
The next day consisted of the same activates as the previous day, a whole lot of walking. We had reached Weaver Woods, my original landing point in Equestria, and I can’t say the scenery has changed too much. It’s still a beautiful, natural forest. Only now it is infested with ponies. My efforts to amuse the children yesterday had been rewarded and I was now allowed to walk with Iron and Summer again, leaving some other poor sap to suffer the foals boredom. It wasn’t long before I found myself under interrogation by them.
“So, what did you do before getting captured?” Summer inquired, all politeness and smiles. I know your game you crafty mare, you won’t get anything out of me.
“Oh a bit of this, a bit of that. Primarily, street performance.”
“Really? Because, no offence intended, but your quite an unusual creature. I’m sure I would have heard about someone like you doing shows.” She replied.
“Aye, I can’t say I’ve ever heard of you on the performance circuit, and I’ve been around a while.” Iron added.
“You won’t have, I’m not from around here.”
“Define ‘here’” Summer demanded.
“I’m not from this continent, my homeland is far away and across the sea.” It wasn’t exactly the truth but I don’t really want them to know just how far away from home I really am.
“How did you get here? And why did you leave?” Iron asked.
“Leaving wasn’t exactly my choice, I was exiled for a crime I didn’t commit. They put me in a boat and pushed me out to sea, the only things I could keep were the tools of my trade. After a few days of drifting I washed up on the coast and began to travel inland. Wasn’t long before I ran into Summer here and our adventures began.” I lied smoothly, they had no way of confirming this and it matched everything they knew about me. They had no chance of seeing through that.
“What was the crime you were accused of?” The ever perceptive Summer asked.
Oh damn! Didn’t think of that.
“…Disrespecting royalty, back home they take the royal family very seriously.” Not entirely a lie either. I wasn’t exactly a royalist myself but I had met some Brits who were damn near fanatical about the Queen.
“Actually I can see you doing something stupid like that.”
“Yeah, that’s totally believable.” Iron piped up again.
…I can’t help but agree with them.
Great, now even my subconscious has turned against me.
“So how about you guys?” I asked, trying to change the subject, “what’s your story?”
They looked at each other, clearly nervous about telling their tale. Finally, Summer worked up the courage to talk.
“I grew up in Manehatten, did some stupid things when I was younger before I ended up joining the Equestrian National Guard. Whilst on a routine patrol I got lost in the woods and was picked up by the Diamond Dogs. You know the rest.”
That was quite possibly the most condensed life story I’ve ever heard. Evidently Summer has some communication issues.
“Okaaay…How ‘bout you Iron? You got an interesting back story?”
“Not really. I grew up in the volcanic wastes to the south as part of the Gorehorn tribe. Became part of the warrior caste and rose to the rank of Head Warrior. Eventually felt the tribe was constraining me and set out on my own. Ended up becoming a travelling monster hunter for a while before settling down into the comfortable life of a travelling seminar teacher, passing on my knowledge of determination and assertiveness to others. A while ago I got a shock when I realised that I had become too assertive and was actually hurting some ponies. I had become a monster so scary that no one would dare to disagree with me. It took a small yellow doormat of a pony standing up to me to show me the truth. I decided to go on a pilgrimage to try and find myself again, ended up falling asleep near the Northern border one night and woke up in a cage. You can probably guess the rest.”
“…Iron, you and I have two very different definitions of ‘interesting’. Are you telling me that you used to be a professional monster hunter?”
“Well, I’m not sure if you could call it a profession, it doesn’t really pay that well, it was really more of a hobby. At the time I gained the majority of my bits through weaving decorative baskets. I was actually really good at it, ponies would pay well for one of my hand woven baskets.”
I was literally speechless. Well at least this explains why Iron Will had a basket on him when he went to get his money from Fluttershy. The rest of the trip passed in a similar manner, Summer and I persistently questioning Iron about his past adventures. Tales of the minotaur’s life caused the journey to go surprisingly swiftly and it wasn’t long before we arrived in White Tail.
The town certainly lived up to the ‘White’ part of its name. Each house appeared to be made from carved marble blocks, giving the town the look of a pearl from a distance. It was only when we got closer that I started to notice that all that glitters is not gold. The towns defences were large and, unlike the rest of the town, looked far more practical than pretty. A large marble wall circled the town, defence towers built into the wall being manned by keen-eyed guards. When we were less than a mile from the town, the main gate opened up and a contingent of guards stormed out on thundering hooves. They formed a line in front of us, preventing further advance with a wall of metal and muscle. One of them stepped forwards to address the refugee herd.
“Who are you and what is your purpose here in White Tail?”
I nudged Summer forward, indicating that she should be the one to talk. It was probably best if the ponies saw someone they knew, rather than a freaky alien. I’m nothing if not considerate of others.
“Corporal Summer Storm, Equestrian National Guard, reporting in. These are refugees from a Diamond Dog slaving camp. We seek sanctuary inside your town until they can be processed and returned home.”
The leader of the guards considered this for a bit whilst he looked over our group. Eventually he decided to answer Summers request in a jovial tone.
“Captain Steel Mane, Equestrian National Guard, it’s a pleasure to see you alive Corporal, we were informed of your disappearance and asked to keep an eye out. The boys back at Command aren’t going to believe that you not only returned but brought over fifty ponies back with you. It will be our honour to help all these ponies out, as soon as we process and interview them all.”
Summer frowned at this, her muzzle down turning into a distinctly unhappy expression as her eyes turned steely.
“Sir, with respect, I would like to get these ponies inside and fed as soon as possible. They have been travelling all day and have foals among their number. They are tired and they are hungry. They deserve good food and the chance to rest, not to be interrogated like some kind of captured spy.”
“Corporal, you forget yourself.” His voice had lost all its joviality and had turned cold at Summers rebuke. “We have a situation here on the border, reports of changelings sneaking around, got to make sure that everyone is who they say they are. Their main attack may have failed but the blighters are still out there, and it’s my job to make sure they don’t get another chance to invade.”
Summer calmed down at his explanation, though she was still not overly happy about it. I can’t say I was very happy either. These guards are on the lookout for anything strange and unusual, and I’m about the most unusual thing around here at the moment.
As the guards began to lead ponies away for questioning, a feeling in my gut told me that there would be a lot of problems in the future.
Or maybe I’m just hungry.
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Yes, it's definitely your stomach that is complaining, and not the foreshadowing
dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/shrug_Queen_Chrysalis.png
Disrespecting royalty, I imagine this will acuatly happen later on.
916627 Mega-ultra-death-lazer, eh? Looks like I have a weapon for my new all-powerful OC hero, who is also secretly a god who can fix EVERYTHING just by farting!
940794 Clearly it's time to begin writing troll fics of this universe...
probably just hungry
Nope not foreshadowing whatsoever *whistles innocently* Good stuff, can't wait for more.
i was expecting like murder or somtin nope just say fuck you queen
Maybe hungry and trouble?
yeah, hes going to insult Celestia somehow
Ace, mske it a good one.
I got banished for insulting royalty once...
Either that or I got banned from a forum for picking on mods...
I forget which...
....you have my attention...
Please, by all means...Proceed.
This chapter started out pretty well, then Ace started singing 500 Miles and then this became a fantastic chapter. However I believe after the chorus on 500 Miles it goes "dah dah dah" not "nah nah nah" but that's how I hear it. Keep up the good work!
Cheers,
jangledorf
dun dun dunnnnnn...
...
definitely the hunger
You guys sure it wasn't the "gruel" from before?
Wow, some actual foreshadowing. I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I don't find many stories on FiMFiction that actually have adequate foreshadowing.
foreshadowing of DOOOOOOOM, nah it's probably the gruel from earlier.
1139331
So there I was casually reading the comments when suddenly
And so I cracked up laughing! I say my dear sir, what a good show of wit you have there.
Oh that comment of yours was one of the funniest things I had seen all day, and trust me when I say it had been a long day.
Any way, Adios!
1136369
I know that feel
1142120 glad i could give you a laugh.
...how better then feed them if there is a changeling with them than it dies becus he ate food changelings cant eat solid food only a bit of liguide and love...simple not?
1274008 Wat?
1142120 Something tells me that by "Cracked up laughing," you mean this:https://www.google.com/search?q=poker+face&hl=en&rlz=1C1CHWA_enUS527US527&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=PQJeUbWxDeOJjAK8iYHQCQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1600&bih=756#imgrc=whJ6hUEIJc7dUM%3A%3Brbr8KEwL8g_ulM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.deviantart.com%252Fdownload%252F317176532%252Fpoker_face_by_ragefaceicons-d58u6z8.png%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.sodahead.com%252Ffun%252Fhamburger-or-hotdog%252Fquestion-3492379%252F%253Fpage%253D6%3B1605%3B1427
1274008 Holy Shit.
That Actually Makes A Bit Of Sense.
(When You Look Deeper In Between The Words)
But At First,I Was Like.
Wat
Yup, he definitely has an Iron Will...
1274008
Also, if food changeling has in what, hole not is went transformed and eat. Real had with not hungry and leak but also didnt if not.
I figured out you were British after the second chapter
2613311
1: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-
2: Oh god my brain.
Get over yourself, dick. No need to pucker your ass. She was right, you were wrong. It is better to be fooled and discover later that they were all changelings than to put even one innocent through unnecessary trauma via interrogation about an already traumatic event. Well, traumatic for ponies. Besides, she suggested you interview them after getting them food, water, medical aid, and rest. So, it isn't like she was telling you to just let them go on their way or anything.
Criminally incompetent moron. In a modern military, someone like that captain would have been in serious shit for this.
2613311 is it bad that I understood both of those comments?
It's totally your stomach, Ace. Nope, not Chekov's gun AT ALL.
5935442 dear lord.....
5935442
Bah, chekov got bored. I think he built an armory or something.
Zende is really a great character. I have to make One like this for a story =3
There is a official Wiki to the chessverse. What time is you character having this adventures?