Tense Travels
Edited by:
PieisGood4U
Despite my growing concerns that we would be stopped by guards at any moment, or even worse that Princess Luna would descend from above to loudly congratulate us on our technically illegal activities and thus draw the attention of every justice loving pony for miles around, we managed to escape Maneapolis relatively unmolested.
I say relatively as there was one guard who insisted on intimately searching Summer for ‘hidden weapons’. After she blasted him back with her horn and declared her rank as Colonel he swiftly went from leering dirtbag to cowering dirtbag, a slight change but definitely an overall improvement. The punishment that Summer charged him with defies description, in fact just trying to remember something so horrible is causing my brain to reflectively try to strangle me for its own safety. Needless to say, that poor stallion is going to remember her for a very long time.
Though he may be more haunted by the piercing glare that Iron speared him with. Seriously, it even scared me and I wasn’t even receiving the full force of it.
We had been walking for quite a bit, leaving Maneapolis behind us and easily escaping the view of any guards that might be peering out looking for thieves, when Iron asked a rather embarrassing question.
“Where are we going?”
The question caused me and Summer to stop in our tracks and look back at him, then look at each other. The three of us exchanged confused looks before we all started speaking at once.
“Away from Maneapolis?” Summer suggested.
“Towards profit?” I added.
“Alright, but where exactly is that?” Iron said.
“Don’t look at me,” I announced, “I don’t even know this country. My plan was to just wander until I ran into something interesting.”
“That’s...actually about up to par with most of your plans.” Summer said with a smirk.
“Well do you guys have anything better?” I asked.
They paused in consideration for a moment before Summer finally spoke up. “Well, we are on the road to Manehatten and it has been a while since I last saw my family. You don’t suppose we would be able to drop in, say ‘hi’, announce that I am no longer enslaved by Diamond Dogs, maybe even have a nice cup of tea. That sort of thing?”
Meet the family? Sounds like a terrifying and traumatic experience.
“Let’s do it.” I responded instantly.
Am I a masochist or something?
“Aye, it’s been awhile since I was last in Manehatten.” Iron said, nodding in agreement. “Last time I was there the National Boat Race was happening. Very impressive to watch.”
“If you like the Race then you’re in for a pleasant surprise.” Summer said, smiling. “My dad the best damn sailor in Manehatten, he’s won that race for as long as I’ve been able to remember. Along with his trusty old tub the Stormchaser.”
“Your dad is Swift Storm?!” Iron exclaimed, appearing to be flabbergasted by this revelation. In fact, this might well be the first time I’ve seen the stoic minotaur actually show surprise.
“I feel like I’m missing something here. What’s this dinky little boat race and why is it so important?” I inquired.
“The Equestrian National Boat Race is no ‘dinky little boat race.’” Summer and Iron almost shouted at exactly the same time. It was kind of creepy really. They looked at each other before Iron graciously waved one hand to allow Summer to go ahead. “It’s the single largest nautical race in all of Equestria! Over one hundred various boats take part to win the prize of a million bits!”
Holy hell, that’s a lot of money!
...
I think...still not sure about the value of bits. It sounds like a lot at least.
“And your dad is some form of big shot here?” Summer looked about ready to respond when Iron jumped in.
“Swift Storm has only been the reigning champion for the last ten years running! He’s single-handedly conceived more ways to improve boating than the entire Equestrian University of Nautical Studies!”
“So...he’s a good sailor then?” I asked, slightly puzzled by Iron’s enthusiasm. The minotaur looked like he was about to exclaim some correction when Summer stepped in.
“Yes Ace, he is a very good sailor. He is quite good at sailing boats around.” She said to me as though speaking to a child. I’ll just ignore that for now.
Though mark my words Summer of the house of Storm, you do not want to get into a sarcasm battle with someone of my prowess.
“Alright then, let’s go visit him. Lead the way, if you would be so kind.” I elegantly bowed to Summer and allowed her to pass by me, Iron and I falling into step with her as she passed.
“Your one true love's a sailing ship
That anchors at our pier.
We lift her sails, we man her decks,
We scrub her portholes clear;”
I sang, Summer and Iron even joining in this time. Apparently, now that we were away from that group of refugees and there was no one to judge them, they were perfectly fine with singing.
“And yes, our lighthouse shines for her,
And yes, our shores are warm;
We steer her into harbor-
Any port in a storm.”
Summer and Iron sang together, her light voice mixing well with his rich baritone. They may be a little hesitant about singing but they were damn good at it. I leapt in with the next verse.
“The sailors stand upon the docks,
The sailors stand in line,
As thirsty as a dwarf for gold
Or centaurs for cheap wine.”
We finished off the last verse together, our voices rising to crescendo as we restrained grins at the rather dirty lyrics.
“For all the sailors love her,
And flock to where she's moored,
Each man hoping that he might
Get down, all hands on board.”
We burst into laughter as we finished off the little tune, each of us no longer able to escape the giggles from escaping.
“Who was it that taught you that song Ace?” Summer inquired, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.
“Fellow by the name of Tasslehoff Burrfoot.” I replied, suppressing my own chuckles.
“Odd name.” Iron commented.
“Odd fellow.” I said in response.
It wasn’t long before we had to stop for the night to rest and, to my eternal dismay, continue my training.
“Do we really have to do this?” I asked after we had got the tents set up. Across from me Iron was getting ready, stretching his limbs in preparation for the beating he was about to dish out.
“Eeyup.” He drawled, before surging forward with insane speed.
The fight didn’t last very long, though in my defence I did manage to land a decent blow on Iron Will this time. It mostly just hurt my hand though. I’m not even sure if the tank of a minotaur even felt it. My daily beating over and done with, I collapsed to the grass exhausted.
“I think I broke him.” Iron rumbled from somewhere out of my field of vision, which was fixed firmly on the night sky.
“Well, how about we spar then?” I heard Summer respond.
Someone other than me having to fight? Sound interesting.
I hauled myself into a proper seated position and watched with interest as Summer walked out to face Iron in the clearing.
“You sure about this Summer? I don’t want to hurt you.” Iron said, sounding concerned.
Oh yeah, but it’s perfectly fine to knock me senseless. Sexist police! We have an perp here!
“You should be more concerned for yourself.” Summer responded confidently, drawing a wry grin from Iron.
Then the fight began.
Iron initiated with a charge, lowing his head and rushing directly at Summer, hoping the threat of being gored would cause her to hesitate and lose concentration on her magic. Summer, however, was either prepared or too well trained to be put off, and merely gather her energy into her horn and shot out a simple blast of lightning at Iron. The minotaur seemed to sense this coming, despite the fact that his head was lowered, and managed to roll around the strike, pirouetting as gracefully as the best of dancers.
I would have remarked on how much of a girly ballet dancer he looked like if it weren’t for how freakin’ awesome that was.
Summer was by no means done though and, as Iron continued to charge towards her, she summoned multiple balls of electricity, each one dancing in the air above her like will-’o-wisps. I wasn’t entirely sure but it looked like these ones were twice as large as the ones I was used to, looks like Summer is pulling out all the stops. She lowered her head and, with a short burst of magic from her horn, sent all of the lightning globes flying towards Iron, each one travelling on a different vector and heading towards him from a different direction. Iron, seeing that the attack was unavoidable, ceased his charge and dropped into a defensive stance, his arms up to protect his head and his hooves planted firmly into the floor. I winced as each orb struck Iron, the hardy minotaur grunting as he absorbed each blow.
Now that, looked like it hurt.
After the storm had dissipated, Iron was left standing there, breathing heavily and with black burn marks all over his grey fur. The look in his eyes, however, spoke only of intense determination. He lowered his head grimly and continued his charge, despite the fact that Summer was summoning more lightning orbs that would ultimately doom his endeavor. I could hardly watch as she launched them all at him in a deadly barrage. Surely he wouldn’t be able to hold out against another attack like that. Iron, however, had no intention of taking any of these blows. As the salvo flew towards him he slammed both hands down onto the floor and, using his ridiculous upper body strength, pushed off the ground in a front flip. My mouth dropped as the titanic minotaur flew gracefully through the air, each lightning orb passing underneath his flying form harmlessly. Miraculously, or perhaps he is just that skilled, he managed to land perfectly on his hooves, keeping up his charge with barely any momentum lost from his incredible acrobatics. Summer was just as surprised as I was and thus didn’t have time to react before the minotaur’s shoulder slammed into her, sending her flying backwards and tumbling against the ground.
Correction, that one looked like it really hurt.
Summer rose back to her hooves, her eyes burning with the same intense determination that filled Iron’s. She began to gather energy into her horn again as Iron scraped the floor with one hoof, ready to commit to another charge. If I didn’t do something, they were likely to kill each other. Or make out, not sure which. The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Actually, scratch that, you would probably need a chainsaw.
“Woah guys! That’s quite enough I think.” I shouted, standing up and striding forward.
I halted instantly as the both turned their gazes upon me before looking back at each other and sharing a blood chilling smile.
Crap, looks like I just gave them a new target for their ‘sparring’.
I began to flee, the demonic duo giving chase.
The next day was a long one to say the least. It took us the rest of the day to reach Manehatten, and considering how bruised and injured we were after our overactive sparring session, each mile felt like a hundred.
Still, we were here now at least. I was looking forward to getting a nice rest in an awesome, not to mention well-heated house. After all, if Summer’s dad really wins a million bits every year then he must have one pretty sweet crib. A crib I’m totally going to crash.
As we walked down the streets of Manehatten I found myself falling into one of my less reputable, yet still quite useful, habits. Appraising every shop I pass for their vulnerabilities to being robbed. The lock on that dress shop wouldn’t keep me out for three seconds. That music store might as well as just give me their money now. That bank is practically begging to be robbed.
Yup, I’ve still got it.
Summer led us swiftly through the town, dodging through crowds with a litheness that I would not have expected from a quadruped. Iron simply took a step and relied upon his massive frame to force others to move out of his way, though I noticed he would politely step around certain ponies. Mothers with foals, the infirm and the elderly in particular. He really was a gentletaur.
As for me, well, I walked through the crowd with the ease of an experienced pickpocket. By which I mean I was stepping through gaps and dodging ponies so quickly they didn’t even know I was there. I was also trying really hard not to rob people as I passed them. The fact that they keep their money in saddlebags, easy to steal from saddlebags, didn’t help me resist the temptation. I managed to though.
Eventually Summer took us past the market district and into a residential district near the dock. She led us happily along a cobbled road that she proudly declared to be her ‘home ground’. I guess this is where she grew up. Must have been nice to have a stable family, not moving around all the time. Wonder what that’s like...
I shook myself out of my reverie as I almost ran into Summer, who had stopped dead outside of a dilapidated looking house. The windows were smashed in and the garden had turned into a miniature jungle. Graffiti covered the front wall of the house, declaring it to be the sovereign ground of at least five different street gangs. I observed Summer’s gaping mouth and shocked eyes and, from this, drew an observation that I immediately verbalised.
“I take it that it doesn’t always look like this?” I asked rather redundantly.
Iron shot me a glare whilst Summer just continued to stare in shock at the house.
Yeah, something is definitely wrong here...
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Use a Satyr because human is too mainstream
Shit.
Dragonlance has been mentioned. Dude, you now have even more of my respect and admiration.
This can't be good.
Oh, by the way...
I think you mean take part.
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw8492_small.jpg Chapter very nice indeed
...poor summer denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw8477_small.png
Well this arc is off to an interesting start, also poor Summer
1633166
Thanks, corrected now
Ruh roh, somebody better call the Scooby Gang, we've got a mystery on our hands!
leroy jenkins
And I just thought of a career for Ace: Security contractor.
A curiosity, how is Summer's and Ace's walking habits different? Both dodge the pedestrians gracefully. I.W. is the oil tanker you can't help but avoid unless you want to smash your nose in.
May the eternal wonderlust always manage to find the burrfoot back to the inn of the last home. Seriously, the legend of dragonlance is a gem of a nod in your direction.
Detectives!
State the obvious and move out!
Pony gangsters? That's a new one.
1634403
I imagine that Summer moves with the grace of a trained dancer, which many of the better warriors of old were. You couldn't be a proper swordsman unless you know how to dance. Ace, on the other hand, moves move like a pickpocket, moving into spaces in between the crowd so that the minimum amount of people can see him.
Not sure if I got that across properly. I'll probably edit that bit later.
What will we do with the drunken sailor
What will we do with the drunken sailor
What will we do with the drunken sailor
Early in the Morning
Way hey and up she rises
Way hey and up she rises
Way hey and up she rises
Early in the morning
Stuff him in a sack and throw him over
Stuff him in a sack and throw him over
Stuff him in a sack and throw him over
Early in the morning
Feed him to the hungry rats for dinner
Feed him to the hungry rats for dinner
Feed him to the hungry rats for dinner
Early in the morning
Way hey and up she rises
Way hey and up she rises
Way hey and up she rises
Early in the morning
Shoot him through the heart with a loaded pistol
Shoot him through the heart with a loaded pistol
Shoot him through the heart with a loaded pistol
Early in the morning
Slice his throat with a rusty cleaver
Slice his throat with a rusty cleaver
Slice his throat with a rusty cleaver
Early in the morning
Way hey and up she rises
Way hey and up she rises
Way hey and up she rises
Early in the morning
after reading, this came to mind
oh great chap btw
1634527
You obviously haven't read a certain ToixStory fic.
ANYWAYS. Nice new arc to be played out. Good mystery set up for Ace and the gang, too. Are we gonna be seeing the Oranges in Manehatten?
I've only read the first few paragraphs so far, but I felt the need to come down to the comments and announce that I now ship Iron Will and Summer.
you honestly referanced the dragon lance series? you ny friend are bold indeed,
1634744
Is he the guy who wrote the one with Gilda, Trixie, and Pinkie fighting human trafficking? Because that one nearly gave me nightmares.
Gasp!
yay! dragonlance!, you deserve a mustache
1633002
Be careful mate, playing the first game can be a bannable offense I had heard.
1634738
Don't forget to give him a kiss from the captains daughter (The cat o' nine tails)
Awesome story, poor Summer. also one small typo: “You’re dad is Swift Storm?!” Should be your, otherwise it's you are *grins*
1633166 Actually left uncorrected it serves as quite the pun :D
1642915
True, I did actually notice that. Even still, it has no mention (in speech or thoughts) of a pun, apart from the pun itself, if you will. Which is why I made an attempted correction.
1643072 It's a good correction, I was just pointing it out because it made me feel smart.
Swift Storm: My other mansion is a palace. /em monocle
1633002
"HOLD UP!"
"Why didn't I see this earlier..."
Well take THIS!
2.bp.blogspot.com/-DLKMIHH57P4/Ty8t24F1I6I/AAAAAAAAAU0/9-l1bn7GRsM/s1600/last_first_first_last.jpg
1653275
One shell,
Two shell,
Red shell,
Blue shell
Death-on-swift-wings-comes-for-you shell
The blood will run when you press start,
For all is fair in love and kart
Love the Dragonlance reference.
1633868 *Leeroy
Let's Get This
Mystery Solved Shall We
“gentletaur”
I am going to have to remember that one.
HELL YES!!
Dragonlance references are the best!
“Fellow by the name of Tasslehoff Burrfoot.”
With this statement you have earned my undying love and the friendship of all Kender ... And a decent bard for the party.
Keep your hands outta my hat though, There's a bunch of stuff in there.
oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. You've read that!? YESH!
3312557 The name sojnds familiar, but from where again? I've read so many books.....
First i was happy for her to see her familie soon
than i felt so sorry for her... 
Than i boiled in anger with her... 
Amazing Work you let us enjoy here 
How long was she enslaved?