Tread Lightly's Trigger Happy Journey

by Fiaura

Revealing the Darkness before the Storm Ahead Begins

Tread Lightly, Messer Schmitt, and Morning Merigold had started off and upon the horizon they could see a set of storm clouds brewing as they left the city of Stalliongrad. Messer and Merigold had been quiet giving Tread Lightly time to think and figure out exactly anything else they may need along way.

Messer had continued to see ponies parting or even crossing the street to avoid their group, something was up and he wanted to know what. His brow had furled with sweat and as they got a bit from the city, it came back to nag him. He wondered exactly why the street vendor had said what he did and why the city of Stalliongrad reacted to these two mares the way they did.

“Tread Lightly, why do the other ponies avoid you like that?” he asked rather nervously as one of his wings came up and scratched at the back of his head with the tip.

Tread Lightly slowed her pace and the other ponies followed suit as she paused for a bit. She seemed hesitant to say a word. Her expression darkened as she visibly tripped over her own hooves in her stride before coming to a complete stop and lowering her head unable to look either of them in the eye as they stopped beside her. She was deep in thought, recalling back to that tragic moment that had turned her from family oddity to black sheep of all of Equestia.

Morning Merigold paused and looked at her, “You didn't tell him? Are you serious?! She hired you as a lab assistant and didn't tell you exactly all the featured stigmas that came with it?” The mare stood up on her hide legs, one hoof on her flank hip as she growled a bit. “Tread Lightly! I swear to Luna's deepest nightmares! If you don't tell your assistants the why of how ponies treat you then you have to realize they will end up running away at a critical moment! We have to make sure this pegasus isn't going to be a total flake or this trip is off!” Merigold said and slammed her hooves back to the road, visibly kicking up dust as she did so and leaving a deep impression into the dirt.

Tread sighed and lowered her head as she felt utterly defeated at the prospect and sensing that she may lose her new assistant right now. Messer Schmitt looked at her like he had just stabbed someone in the chest and was now trying to explain it was an accident. He was horrified at both Merigold's reaction and Tread Lightly's sudden bout of despair. He thought at first they were playing between each other but there was no laughter or expected got ya moment. Tread then let out something that made his spine chill and realize this wasn't a joking matter. A single tear fell to the ground and darkened the road with a wet spot as soft sob from escaped the mare's lips.

The air around them felt thicker by the second, thick enough for someone to bite into and bite a piece of the air itself. Messer nervously rubbed a hoof against his opposite leg while Merigold seemed so stern she could crack a steel plate with her stare. She was clearly disappointed in Tread Lightly and wanted her to explain to Messer exactly the nature of her past.

“Well....my family are all unicorns. We couldn't figure out why I was born an earth pony, the closest earth pony relative I had was nearly 20 generations ago. This created a certain type of stigma around the house when you're the only one who can't use magic. You have to strive to be better than those who can use magic and science was the only way I could even compare to my siblings. I wanted to create a generator that could function without the use of fuel from a unicorn or some sort of burnable rock.

“I created the generator and my brother was going to compete with it. He volunteered because we wanted so much for my talent and my mind to shown in the lime light. I had to prove it would be more capable than a unicorn and therefore provide power access without the need for magic. Well, the experiment was flawed. I rigged it so that the more powerful electrical current would course through to the lights being powered and the less powerful one would be stopped and stored in a battery.” At this point Tread Lightly hesitates, she looks to see the stern glass shattering stare of Merigold still bearing down on her while Messer seems a bit more sympathetic and quite a bit intrigued. He is leaning in and seeming on edge for what happened next. Tread Lightly takes a moment to catch to breathe and steel herself against the pain of the memory that is flood through her now.

“The experiment was flawed as I said. I did not account for Taken Lightly's competitive nature. He overpowered the batteries and when they overloaded, the resulting electrical discharge left nothing but ash of my brother.” Tread Lightly paused and started to openly weep. “We h-heard his s-screams, his a..a-agonizing screams as every little bit of him was torn apart.....” Her tears fell to the dirt and begin to soak it like a spring morning shower. She feels the pain again as though it's happening right now. The mare can see the moment passing before her eyes and the many moments that coursed through her mind as she watched her brother die by her own hands.

Her brother, the one whom had supported her research in her family. The one who had held her up despite not being able to use magic naturally. Her inspiration all through her schooling. The late nights spent studying with him. The early mornings spent getting her up to get to an exam, a class, a presentation. All of this was flashing into her mind, filling her with dread for reliving that moment. The moment that he ceased to exist.

She was shaking visibly and tears flowed from her eyes as she looked up to Messer. She couldn't believe Merigold hadn't waited till they hit camp that night. She knew why, her friend was making sure that this Pegasus wouldn't flake out on her. And Merigold didn't want to waste the day of a trip and then just to turn around. Her friend was looking out for her, the only one that had stayed that day everyone accused her of murdering her own brother.

Messer stood there, unmoving. His own eyes had teared up a bit. He felt for her even if he couldn't imagine the pain she was going through. Then it occurred to him, if the cybernetic wing she wanted to test backfired in the same spectacular fashion; would he suffer a similar fate?

Tread Lightly continued to speak, “There was nothing of him left. It took over four and a half minutes for his screams to stop as he was atomized slowly. All they found was dust. TShere was a huge explosion of sparks from the generator and what sounded like the cry of a great bird. I can't explain the bird cry but what I know is that he was gone.” Her voice was now cold, without emotion. As though her mind had simply turned off her capacity to feel for the purposes of recount the events. She spoke like an electronic answering machine echoing back a statement made for someone else to hear.

Messer took a step forward and placed a hoof upon Tread Lightly's shoulder. He hesitated for a moment and then pulled her into a hug. The purple mare looked up in surprise and stared at Merigold wondering what had just happened. Morning Merigold's gaze softened and she let out a smile, the distinct vision of something that had clearly transpired that Tread was simply unaware of.

“It's okay. I know that if you lost someone that important to you and it was your fault; you wouldn't make the same mistakes again. Much less all new ones that could possibly cost you the life of another pony.” He whispered into her ear as Merigold closed up to them and placed a hoof over Tread's shoulder and another over Messer's.

“I knew it the moment I saw you! You're a cutie and a keeper! Tread if this one sticks around and you don't ask him out I will!” The bold green pony stated as she chuckled a bit and wiped the tears from the other mare's eyes. “Now that it is out of the way and he looks like he isn't running away; let's get moving. We need to find out a place to sleep tonight that isn't going to have us soaked to the bone.”

They slowly broke up the hugging and got onto their own hooves. Tread Lightly looked up at the weather pattern and then at Messer, “What do you think? How long do we have before the rain hits us?” She inquired. He spoke back after examining the clouds for a few moments, “Without flying up there to check, I'd say we have till nightfall.”

Tread Lightly smirked at him, “Then let's hope that prediction is correct.” She replied before breaking out into leading them on a brisk trot that was nearly a full blown run.

They had lost nearly an hour talking the sun was already starting to set as they trotted down the path at twice the speed. A new sense of friendship was starting to form between them. At least Tread Lightly had laid the worst of her past out in front of Messer and he hadn't fled in terror. She wondered what exactly he had experienced to make him willing to continue on this journey having heard how her last public experiment had gone. Much less that they were heading to a sparsely populated area with intent to recover a very rare rock.

“Messer, what made you come with us? You're young right? Still a graduate student? You could always choose another path. Yet you come with these two ponies whom are likely to lead you danger.” Tread Lightly asked as they moved at a blistering trot with the wind whipping around their ears and faces.

“Well, I wanted something different and you are most certainly different. All the other students went out to graduate professors in Cloudsdale or Canterlot. I honestly thought those two cities wouldn't provide me with something unique. Coming out here to you also had a mystery to it. The professors didn't even tell me your name. Just your cutie mark and what you looked like along with an address. I'm curious and my curiosity had to be sated.” He replied with a gleaming smile as though he was expecting her to be impressed.

Merigold laughed as she heard that, “Sounds like me when I set out to study gems of power. Though I think Tread Lightly has always been set on impressing people who were never going to be impressed with her, at least till recently. I can't believe she finished the wing.” The green mare said with a broad smile that look rather teasing towards the other purple and red maned mare.

Tread Lightly looked over her shoulder and gave a knowingly disappointed glare, “How often have I ever set out to create an invention and not followed it through?” She snapped back before sticking her tongue out cheekily. She was slightly irritated but knew this was Merigold getting into playing a game.

“Well....there was the time you tried to create a gem magnet and ended up covered in all my gems of power when you couldn't get it to turn off.” She said with a sheepish grin back at her friend.

“Oh I have to hear this.” Messer said with a broad laugh.

“You'll get the full story when we stop for the night. But remember I did finish that magnet and figure out how to turn it off!” Tread Lightly shot back at the yellow and black maned mare. She swished her tail and flicked her mane like she had won the argument, even through the shorter haired mane didn't really do much flicking.

This brought the conversation when they had first met Morning Merigold back to Messer Schmitt's mind when he saw the pink tips of the mane, “So did you get it dyed after they cut out all the gems?” he teased.

Tread Lightly let out a laugh as she realized that the pegasus had caught on to the exchange from earlier as well as to the game played between the mares. She turned her head around to the stallion and gave him the silliest look of goo goo eyes she could manage while in the near full run of a trot they were doing to make up for lost time. “Oh you know honey, get gems of power in your mane and next thing ya know, it's permanently a new more fetching color.” The whole point of the performance for Tread Lightly was to throw the stallion for a loop. In her mind that was the point of the game, first person to be caught off guard and actually not to have a retort was the one who lost, even if you were playing two versus one.

Messer wouldn't have batted an eye if not for the flirting gesture and the huge round seductive eyelash twirl that the purple mare had managed to make at him while they were running. He bit his lip and recoiled for a moment slowing his pace. That is when both the mares slowed down to meet him and burst into laughter. They were laughing so hard, they stopped after a few more steps and fell onto their sides to attempt to recover from the sudden exhaustion of their lungs.

They had been running long enough now for the sun to nearly be completely gone. The only reason they knew it wasn't was because they could see a bit of the rays through the cloud cover as lightning slammed in the distance. When the crack of the bolt struck a nearby tree, Merigold jumped back to her hooves with a start and shrieked like a school filly. Tread Lightly gave another chuckle and then slowly got back to her feet as the Unicorn came back to the ground and landed on all fours with her teeth chattering.

“You would think I would be the one to freak out at lightning strikes but no, Merigold here can't even stand the rumble of thunder.” Tread said with a teasing smile making sure to let it sink for a bit but the next lightning strike wouldn't let the moment pass. “Alright let's find a place to setup camp that will keep us dry.” Tread Lightly said as they spread out in the dying light. The roar of thunder and the clap of lightning was providing more light for them as they knew the rain wasn't far away.

Finally Tread Lightly located an out cropping near a hill. She moved to it and then started to gather rocks as the mare called her two companions over. She instructed them to gather up enough rocks to put at the floor of the outcropping.

Messer was puzzled by this, “Rocks? To sleep on?” he asked, having paused at the word rocks and looked rather confused.

Tread Lightly grinned, “Well it's dirt under there and we are in a for a downpour, trust me. This will be worth it.” She said as they gathered up enough rocks and hard debris to place and cover the bottom of the out cropping.

Merigold took out her pack and unfolded the blanket, then a couple of small pillows which required quite a bit of undoing themselves. Meanwhile, Tread Lightly took her pack apart and used what appeared to be a tent to fold around the outcropping and created a small tented house. With the rocks in place they were off the soft ground and out of any potential mud. Even if they were uncomfortable in places. There was enough room for the three ponies to spread out and relax in the mark shift tent as lightning strikes lit up the night sky.

They couldn't light a fire but they could share oats, an apple each, and a few carrots between each other. There wasn't a lot to talk about as the storm broke, the wind was deafening and the rain coming down was so heavy it felt like it might actually soak through the water proof tent. But it held. Tread Lightly had been sure to spike the tent to the outcropping as well as into the ground around the rock base they had created. This was almost as good as a makeshift straw house. With the hill's out cropping over their head, the tent around them and rocks under them; they actually could stay relatively dry. Meanwhile, the three ponies generated enough body heat inside the tent was warm despite the freezing rainstorm raging outside.

There was a crash as they finished eating that made Merigold jump and lit up the tent with the wave of lightning flash. A tree outside slammed into the ground, shaking all three ponies. Tread Lightly smiled reassuringly to try to calm Merigold down. She let out sigh and then tried to speak above the roar of the storm. “I know it's rough but we'll be fine in the tent. Let's get some rest, and I'll share the story of the gem magnet in the morning when we can hear each other.”

She was almost screaming to talk over the storm but the other ponies just nodded and they laid down for a long night of heavy weather and hearts full of worry from the raging hurricane outside.

Comments

[Fiaura]

8338801
I am not sure the myth of which you speak ;)
as for the foreshadowing I mean I have to build the characters and make you like them otherwise why care what happens to them?

[gundamfighter55]

um two possible typos,,, tip is off!” I think that is supposed to be trip, and" With the rocks in place they off the soft ground " I think were is left out,,,
I really like this story I think it is off to a good start.

[Fiaura]

8338876
Fixed and thank you.

[Slavenger Karl]

You know, Fi - I see a few things you could add to the thing. First up, Equestria does have a descently sized train network. Whereever the party wouldn't want to go, they would travel most of the way by train. Unless you later bring this up and state that Thread Lightly is banned from trains for some experiment OR let us pinpoint Stalliongrad in some border area with making their way away from any train conections.

Hell, I don't even see proper descriptions of background. They walked out of the city and where are they? Is it an ice desert? Tundra? Taiga? Steppe? Considering they are going to go against a Thunderbird in proximity to rare metal ore and far from the equestrian train network, it's eather in the direction of Gryphonstone or Dragon Realms. Yes, those are valid concerns - you don't have an alternate universe tag.

-The One who kills people

[Fiaura]

8342157
I will consider adding these things to previous chapters as well as to the chapter we are writing right now on live stream.

And I don't have an alternative universe tag because as far as I am writing this takes place in the Universe we already know.

[tsaukpaetra]

Hmmm. Methinks someone has attracted the ire of a power that is...

[Fiaura]

8522428
Quite possibly.