Scarlet

by Skijarama

Festival

The Inn that Scarlet eventually settled on was a three-story affair just outside of the large plaza. Lively music played inside, and the rowdy cheers of creatures enjoying their drinks and whatever festivities were inside were only slightly muffled by the diamond-patterned glass windows. The sign that hung over the door depicted Celestia and Luna in a simplistic, pointy art style. They were chasing each other’s tails in an endless circle, in the center of which were the words ‘The Dawn and Dusk Inn’ engraved in bright, bold letters.

“This will do, I think,” Scarlet said with a satisfied nod before guiding Primrose up the steps and pushing open the door. She was immediately hit with a solid wall made up of the smell of cooking meat, and her ears flattened back on instinct. She had half a mind to turn tail and run the other way when she saw the reason behind the scent, and one reason to flee was swapped with quite another.

Griffons. A lot of them.

The heart of the room was home to a dense collection of circular wooden tables and, at almost all of them, griffons were seated and chowing down on cooked meat and guzzling alcoholic beverages from large steins. What few ponies there were in the room chose to keep to the tables near the edges of the room, casting anxious glances at the assembled flock every so often.

To the left side of the room, an aging stallion with an orange coat and a gray mane stood patiently. A short, trim mustache decorated his upper lip, while a high-quality, black button-down shirt covered most of his barrel. His emerald eyes scanned over the crowd in scrutiny, but his expression was otherwise unreadable to Scarlet.

“That’s a lot of griffons,” Primrose noted in a whisper, shrinking back slightly. “They aren’t gonna attack us like the last ones, are they?”

“Of course not,” Scarlet said in reassurance. She cast her gaze over the collection again, taking note of some more specific details now that her initial shock had worn off. Nearly all of them were garbed in some manner of armor, and some even still had their weapons on their bodies: swords, axes, maces, and even a crossbow. The distinct lack of unity or recognizable symbols between them made it clear they weren’t part of either the Talonreach or Freewind military.

Scarlet quietly ushered Primrose around the cantankerous griffons, heading straight for the bar. “They’re probably just mercenaries. If we don’t bug them, they won’t bug us.”

Primrose hummed quietly but did not speak further on the subject.

The bartender nodded at Scarlet as she approached, his face lighting up with a small smile. “Good afternoon, ma’am. What can I get for you?” he asked in a grave, yet cheerful voice.

Scarlet returned his smile. “Good afternoon. Just a room for two, if you have one,” she said plainly.

The stallion nodded. “Aye, I can do that.”

Primrose frowned and glanced up at Scarlet in confusion. “Room for two? But… there’s three of us.”

Scarlet leaned down to offer her a quick nuzzle. “That’s because you’re sleeping in my bed with me,” she said simply, opting not to openly mention the reason. Letting the stranger next to them know that she planned on guarding Primrose with her body as they slept that night would probably raise a few questions that she did not feel any pressing need to answer.

As that exchange had taken place, the stallion had bent down under the counter. He came back up a moment later with a clipboard and a quill in his mouth. He set them down before clearing his throat and speaking. “Right, so, the names of your party, please?”

“I’m Sapphire,” Scarlet gestured to herself. “And this is Protea. We have another pony who will be coming by later as well, a unicorn stallion named Looking Glass.”

Scarlet quickly lost herself in the fleeting interactions of getting the room arranged. Every so often, she cast a glance back at the griffons that occupied the center of the room, anxiety, and remorse nibbling at her heart. “How many of them did my actions in the war effect?” she wondered quietly. She had no way of knowing, but that only served to make her insecurities worse.

“Um, excuse me?” Primrose suddenly asked while propping herself up so she could see over the counter, her big eyes boring into the stallion. “Who are all those griffons?”

“Protea!” Scarlet hissed out, her eyes darting back towards them for a moment. “That’s none of our business!”

Primrose shot her a disapproving look. “I know, but they’re upsetting you,” she said before looking back to the stallion again. “Can we know? Even just a little bit? Please?”

The stallion chuckled through the quill in his mouth. He set it down once he was done writing something down on his clipboard and smiled at her. “Sure, a little couldn’t hurt. They’re a band of mercenaries from out east, recently rolled into town for work. Apparently, they got a pretty well-paying job from the solar council to do some scouting up in the mountains. Looking for that dragon that’s got a bunch of ponies anxious and making sure it’s not a threat.”

Primrose smiled and looked back up at Scarlet. “See? It’s okay!” she chirped before letting herself back down.

Scarlet blinked, taken by surprise by this information. Mercenaries from out east, was it? That would explain the lack of any unifying symbols in their attire. She hadn’t expected the council to so quickly change their plans in regards to that dragon, but given that they had lost Lens’ contribution, she supposed a quick solution only made sense. The griffons were around, the council needed the help.

She was only drawn out of her thoughts when the stallion cleared his throat, and she turned to see him smiling at her with a key resting in his hoof. “Alright, ma’am, here’s the key to the room. It’s upstairs, fourth door on the left.”

Scarlet nodded, politely taking the key in her magic. “Th-thank you. Uh, have a nice day,” she said before swiftly ushering Primrose away from the counter and for the staircase that ran up the wall by the entrance. She cast a couple more furtive glances at the griffons as they went, only relaxing when they finally fell out of view.

---

“Primrose?” Scarlet asked a short while later after the two had gotten comfortable in their room. Scarlet was seated on her bed, her cloak off to one side while Primrose was looking out the window towards the plaza.

“Hm?” The foal asked, turning back to Scarlet with a curious look.

Scarlet shifted on her haunches before nodding down at the floor. “When you asked the barkeep about the griffons, you told me that they were upsetting me,” she recounted with her brow furrowing. “How did you know that?”

Primrose was quiet for a second. She shrugged and slowly made her way up to the side of the bed. “You were keeping us far away from them, and… after everything you told me about the war, I just assumed…” she confessed before hopping up onto the bed herself.

Scarlet raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?” she asked, genuinely impressed. While it was true that she had not made her overall feelings towards griffons a secret, she had not expected it to be quite so transparent. She smiled after a moment and ruffled Prim’s long mane. “Heh. You’re a smart child, aren’t you?”

Primrose beamed up at her, exposing her teeth in a wide grin. “I have to be,” she said cheerfully before plonking down onto her haunches and leaning into Scarlet’s side. “If I wasn’t, I’d probably be dead by now.”

Scarlet’s smile became strained, but she was quick to recover. She draped a foreleg over Prim’s shoulders and pulled her close. “I suppose that is correct,” she agreed.

Primrose hummed, pleased by the close proximity and physical affections. After a moment, she leaned back and nodded towards the door. “So, when are we heading for the fair?” she asked in anticipation.

Scarlet rolled her eyes at the foal’s excitement before using her magic to pull her cloak back on. “I suppose we might as well get to it, huh? Otherwise, you’ll never let it go, will you?” she asked, although she already knew the answer.

“Nope!”

Scarlet laughed and rose to her hooves. “Oh, very well. Come, then. Let’s see what waits for us out there in the crowd,” she declared with an edge of flamboyance. She lifted a now-giggling Primrose onto her back with her magic before stepping out of the door and into the hallway beyond.

---

The moment they left the inn, everything became a blur. Scarlet had to struggle to keep up with Primrose, practically chasing the excitable filly as she bounded from one thing to the next. From a pegasus juggling sharp-pointed knives with his wings, to an earth pony playing lively music on his lute, to a unicorn creating an impressive light show with her magic. Every display of entertainment enthralled Primrose in one way or another, be it tension and impression from the juggler, to awe and wonder from the luminist.

Scarlet was starting to think that she was getting the hang of chasing Primrose around when the foal finally slid to a stop in the heart of the plaza, short of breath from all of the excitement. Her eyes were glued to something, and as Scarlet came to a stop, she turned to look herself.

A circular wooden fence had been erected near the heart of the plaza with the ground within the borders covered in mud and grass. A box-shaped wooden construct sat ten, maybe twelve feet tall, with a flap-based door set into one side. A crowd of ponies was scattered about, cheering and whooping as a collection of foals and one of their parents chased after… something. Scarlet couldn’t really see what it was-

“I GOT IT!” A colt’s voice cried out in elation alongside the cheers of the crowd. Scarlet watched with wide eyes as, suddenly, a two-headed canine creature, perhaps ten feet in length, reared up on its hind legs with a series of barks. Its fur was light brown with white patches along its belly and one of its heads. One of said heads was that of a Corgi, while the other was that of a Shih Tzu. Clinging to the fur on the Shih Tzu head was the colt who had spoken, a red pegasus, with his wings buzzing in elation.

A yellow earth pony stallion with a lanky build caught Scarlet’s eye from a raised platform that was on the outer edge of the fence, an ecstatic grin on his face. “AND THE RED TEAM WINS!” he called out, eliciting yet more cheers from the crowd while those who had been running around inside the fence began to make their way out through a gate that an attendant had opened up.

The announcer then leaned forward, sweeping his eyes over the crowd in a searching manner. “Now, who will be next to Challenge my orthros in a game of speed, agility, and cunning? Step right up, parents and foals, for there are prizes to be had!”

Primrose looked up at Scarlet with an all-too-wide grin. “Can we?” she asked.

Scarlet eyed the ‘arena’ with a raised eyebrow. Chasing around a huge two-headed dog—an orthros, as the announcer had called it—in a fenced-off area filled with mud? It wasn’t her usual idea of fun…

...But this wasn’t about her, was it? This was for Prim’s benefit.

Scarlet smiled and nodded. “I do not see why not,” she said before stepping forward to be closer to the announcer. Primrose clapped her forehooves together with an audible squee before scampering to catch up.

The announcer grinned widely as eight ponies and their foals came forward, not counting Scarlet and Primrose. He nodded in approval before clearing his throat. “Some returning faces, I see! And some new ones!” His eyes darted between a few of the ponies present, Scarlet and Prim included.

He grinned and leaned back. “Very well, then! Allow me to go over the rules again, for the benefit of all present,” he said before gesturing at the assembled ponies before him. “In this game, one parent and one child shall step into the ring with the intention of catching my orthros. He’s a fast bugger, let me tell you, so you must be swift, decisive, and you must work as a team. There is no flying for pegasi and no magic for unicorns. This is a contest of strength and ingenuity, after all!”

He gestured over to the orthros, which was currently chowing down on a large bowl of what looked to be jumbo-scaled dog food. “To ‘catch’ him, you must be the first team to place three rings from yonder barrels over one of his heads. Each team will get their own color of rings to differentiate! Each pony may only carry one of your rings at a time. When the game begins, there is to be no pushing, no fighting, and no hitting. You may throw some mud at the other contestants, though! It’s quite squishy and soft, and easy to wash out.”

Scarlet hummed to herself as a few chuckles passed through the air before clearing her throat. The announcer paused and nodded at her expectantly. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Just a question,” she said before reaching down and patting Primrose on the head. “I have never played this game, and neither has my foal. How safe is it? There isn’t a high risk of injury, is there?”

The announcer grinned and shook his head. “Nay, lass. In all the ten years I have run this game, there has never once been any serious injury. There were a few small accidents in the early days, I will freely confess, but those incidents were minor and easily remedied. If it puts your mind at ease, however, you have my word that I have a dedicated group of ponies on standby with medical training to intervene in the event that somepony is harmed. But that is highly unlikely, as Fluffernutter is a rather soft-hearted oaf, and would never hurt a fly.”

As if to prove his point, the Orthros—Fluffernutter as he was called, apparently—elicited a series of delighted laughs from the ponies on the other side of the fence from him by assaulting one of them with a flurry of happy licks while his tail wagged behind him.

A few pleased ‘aaaws’ made their way through the crowd at the sight, and Scarlet managed to put on a small smile. “Well… very well. My question is answered,” she said before sliding back into line.

The announcer clapped his hooves together. “Excellent! Are they any other questions?”

A filly’s hoof shot up. “What kinds of prizes are there?!”

The announcer grinned and gestured back behind his platform. “I have a stall over there. The winning team will be allowed to take whatever they so wish from whatever is available, one item per pony. Something for the parent, and something for their victorious foal!”

The filly bounced in place and began to excitedly jabber at her mother.

The announcer nodded. “Anything else?”

He was answered by a moment of silence.

His grin widened. “Very good!” he hopped back up onto his raised platform. “Contestants! Please enter the ring and choose your color! Please leave any personal belongings by the fence! We wouldn’t want the mud to ruin anything, now would we?”

Scarlet glanced down at her cloak and cringed, a brief flag of alarm flying in her mind. What if somepony recognized her cutie mark?

Primrose did not seem to have any such reservations, already skipping forward while humming a merry tune. Scarlet forced herself to set aside her worries for the time being. With a quick flick of her magic, she pried off her cloak and passed it to the growing mound of assorted stuff that sat by the edge of the fence. A pony stood guard by the pile, nodding at her and offering assurances to the ponies that went in that he would guard their stuff as they played.

Scarlet followed Primrose over to the barrels that were arranged along the edge of the ring, her eyes already settling on the barrel with the red rings contained within. A tingle built up on the back of her neck, and she knew then and there that somepony was staring at her. She glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of a few ponies in the crowd eyeing the musculature of her body and, more specifically, the small collection of scars she had accumulated in her travels.

She narrowed her eyes at them in a manner that said ‘mind your own business,’ and they were quick to avert their eyes and look at anything else.

“So, we’re red?” Primrose asked while taking one of the rings out of the barrel and looking it over. Scarlet nodded, reaching in and lifting out the remaining two with a thoughtful hum. The rings were made of wood, and each one was approximately two and a half feet across. They were lightweight, and it only took a cursory examination for her to realize that they were enchanted to be remarkably durable. No risk of them breaking mid-game, then.

“It would seem so,” she said after a moment before hanging one of the rings over her neck and turning around to watch Fluffernutter. The tall creature was being guided back into his ‘doghouse,’ his tongues lolling out and eyes carrying the glint of excitement that only an innocent puppy could have.

A hush slowly began to fall over the crowd as a few attendants completed the preparations for the game. The announcer received a collection of nods, and his grin reappeared. “Are the teams ready?!” he called out.

There was a loud collection of affirmatives from the gathered ponies, and Primrose was among the loudest, hopping up and down in place and squealing her head off. Scarlet smiled and nodded along.

The announcer turned to the crowd. “And are all of YOU ready?!”

A blast of cheers came from the audience.

The announcer faced the ring, raising a hoof into the air. “Then let the game… BEGIN!” he slammed his hoof down on the platform with an echoing thunk.

The door to the doghouse flew open, and Fluffernutter came bounding out.

The entire area exploded into chaos. Scarlet watched with wide eyes as all of the teams set off at a full sprint, all of them chasing after the orthros, who was already going into a series of energetic laps around the edge of the fence, his big paws kicking up sprays of mud and muck that splashed those foolish few who stood too close.

Primrose grinned. “Let’s go!” she cheered valiantly with one hoof thrown up into the air. She then broke into a mad sprint, joining the chaos.

Scarlet shook her head with a bemused sigh before taking off after her. She focused on Fluffernutter, trying to predict where he was going to go next. He was currently near one of the fences with his chest low to the ground and his tail wagging enthusiastically in the air. His tongues were lolled out, and he kept hopping back and forth as the foals tried and failed to corner him.

Scarlet caught sight of Primrose, who was by now on Fluffer’s far side. The two made eye contact and nodded before both of them sprang into motion. Scarlet circled wide around the mass of foals, passing by a parent on the way, and closed in on Fluffernutter’s right flank. Primrose mirrored the motion, coming in for his left.

The ears on Fluffernutter’s Shih Tzu head perked up, and he turned to look at Scarlet just as she shot past the foals. Moving quickly, Scarlet dug her hooves into the mud and angled her head down, allowing momentum to move the red ring forward and over her head. She reached out with a hoof as it went flying, catching it and then throwing it with more accuracy at one of Fluffernutter’s heads.

The giant dog was faster than she had been expecting and ducked under the toss, allowing the ring to go harmlessly flying over his head.

“Shit,” Scarlet swore under her breath before moving to chase after her ring. As she did, Fluffernutter bounded over her and the foals, landing in the middle of the arena and kicking up a veritable tidal wave of mud.

A few globs splattered against Scarlet’s side, making her stumble a few paces to one side. She shook herself and scooped up her ring just as Primrose slid to a stop in front of her.

“This thing’s fast!” Primrose said, her eyes wide and frenzied. “C’mon!” She didn’t give Scarlet a chance to respond before she was off again.

Scarlet rolled her eyes and chased after her, focusing on their target.

Primrose, ultimately, wasn’t wrong. Fluffernutter was big, fast, and had the advantage of having two sets of eyes, ears, and noses. He was incredibly aware of his surroundings, and that made successfully sneaking up on him practically impossible. If they wanted to win this, they would need a plan.

Scarlet smirked. Luckily for them, she had fought in a war. She knew a thing or two about plans…

---

“Now I know why they say no plan survives first contact with the enemy,” Scarlet thought around fifteen minutes later, short of breath and absolutely caked in mud. Primrose was on her back, similarly short of breath, but her eyes yet shone with a fiery determination that only a kid in the throes of an intense game could have.

Fluffernutter had made it extremely difficult for any of Scarlet’s plans to work. There was also the pony factor to consider, with the other parents and foals often taking courses of action that hurled enormous monkey wrenches directly into Scarlet’s ideas before she could even finish forming them. This wasn’t a game of smart thinking like she had initially pondered, but one of quick thinking.

Hence why Primrose now rode on her back while spinning one of their two remaining red rings on her hoof as if it were a lasso, a technique she had no doubt acquired back when she lived with the Apple family. Scarlet’s own ring was still hanging around her neck, while the third and final one was securely nestled around Fluffernutter’s Shih Tzu head, along with a practical rainbow of other rings.

“Mud, duck!” Primrose yelped.

Scarlet did so without hesitation, barely avoiding a thick glob of mud went sailing right where her head had been a moment earlier. She heard a colt growling in frustration to the side, and quite close at that. Grinning internally, Scarlet pressed her forehooves into the mud while giving her hips a sudden jerk to the side. Her leftover momentum caused her to slide around on her front legs while her hind legs swept through the top layer of the mud, sending a tidal wave to wash over the colt who had dared to lob a projectile at her.

His wails of alarm, followed by his chuckles of merriment, made the loss of momentum worth it. Primrose blowing a raspberry at the colt from her head only added to her enjoyment.

“Incoming!” Primrose called, drawing Scarlet’s attention back to the rest of the game. Fluffernutter was bounding in their general direction, looking over his shoulders with both heads as a small stampede of still-energetic foals chased after him. Their parents were lagging behind, either due to exertion or a desire to pace themselves. Maybe both.

Either way, the angle of Fluffernutter’s approach presented an opportunity. Scarlet smirked and resumed her sprint. “Be ready to jump!” she commanded, pumping her legs for all she was worth.

“Ready!” Primrose called back.

Scarlet bit on her tongue and narrowed her eyes, focusing intently on her timing. Fluffernutter’s path was about to intersect with hers, the enormous dog seemingly oblivious to her location. Just a few more steps…

Now.

Scarlet compressed her hooves before launching herself upwards towards Fluffernutter’s Shih Tzu head. Primrose was prepared and leaped with her, using Scarlet’s own momentum to boost her own. She flew right up in front of Fluffernutter’s face, drawing a confused snort from him. With a victorious shout, she slammed her ring down on his head, fitting it over his neck like one of a million necklaces.

Surprised, Fluffernutter reared up on his hind legs with a loud bark.

“My turn.”

Scarlet capitalized on the Orthros’ sudden end in movement by turning and leaping up onto his back. Her hooves slid a few times, scrambling to find some purchase on his smooth fur, but some of the mud had dried on top of him and she was able to find her hoofing. Grinning and grunting with effort, Scarlet turned and began to climb along his back for his heads.

Fluffernutter did not seem to take kindly to having a grown mare crawling on his back, and so began to spin rapidly in place as if he were trying to eat his own tail. A small vortex of mud was kicked up from the momentum, causing the other foals and parents to back away until an opening presented itself.

Which was good for Scarlet. Her strong grip kept her from falling off, and with one last surge of strength, she threw herself forward into the back of the Shih Tzu head, making Fluffernutter stumble. Then, with a needlessly fanciful flourish, even as the orthros shook his head around, Scarlet plucked her ring from her neck and settled it over his like it was a piece of royal regalia.

And with that, the crowd burst into cheers.

“RED TEAM WINS!” The announcer declared, blowing into his whistle loudly. “What a spectacular display of strength and acrobatics from the red-maned mare unicorn! Give her a big round of applause!”

And the crowd did just that, cheering and hollering out their approval for the show. Fluffernutter did not seem to care much for the noise, as he swiftly came to a stop and sat down on his haunches, panting for breath and clearly ready for a rest. The sudden drop caused Scarlet to lose her balance, and she fell lazily into the mud below with an undignified splat.

“You did it!” Primrose called out as she slid to a stop by Scarlet’s side, planting her hooves on the mare’s chest with an enormous grin. “Holy cow, that was amazing!”

Scarlet laughed quietly before reaching up and booping Primrose on the nose, adding a new layer of mud to her snout. “Yes, well, so were you,” she complimented between breaths.

Primrose’s eyes crossed to stare at the mud on her muzzle before she pouted indignantly. She was quick to recover, getting a mischievous glint in her eyes that made Scarlet immediately regret her recent life decisions. In one swift motion, Primrose dunked her hooves into the mud, lifted up a sizable blob of the stuff, and then dropped it onto Scarlet’s chest.

A few laughs rolled over the crowd at her expense, and Scarlet’s expression flattened. “You do realize the dirtier you make me, the longer we’ll have to bathe before we can come back to the fair, right?” she asked pointedly.

Primrose froze for a second before her muzzle scrunched up again. “That’s not fair…”

“Yes,” Scarlet rolled her eyes. “Because you know all about fair, don’t you? Making cute faces at me like that.”

Primrose stuck her tongue out at Scarlet, a motion that was quickly reciprocated before the two shared a few merry giggles and a warm embrace.

“Excuse me, miss?” a stallion called from the nearby fence, drawing their attention. He was one of the game attendants and nodded towards the new open gate further along the fence. “I hate to ruin your moment, but we need you to leave the ring now. You need to pick up your reward and make way for the next batch of contestants.”

“Ah, yes, of course. My apologies,” Scarlet called over in response before stiffly sitting up onto her haunches. She gave Primrose a sideways glance and a small smile. “So, then. Shall we?”

“Mm-hmm!” Primrose hummed cheerfully.

One Scarlet was up on her hooves, Primrose leaped up onto her back and got comfortable as they made their way for the exit.

“So, any idea what you want?” Scarlet asked after a moment.

Primrose hummed quietly, thinking the question over. After a moment, she shrugged noncommittally. “I dunno. I just wanted to chase the big dog.”

Scarlet paused, and then let out a loud laugh. After a few seconds, she shook her head in mock dismay and pressed on.

“Of course you did.”

Author's Note:

Some adorableness!

Comments

[JMP]

Ah, that was fun. Always nice to see Scarlet and Prim able to let loose like that.

Grinning and grunting with effort, Primrose turned and began to climb along his back for his heads.

Isn't this still Scarlet?

[Skijarama]

9967453
Good catch. should be fixed.

[The Voice in the Water]

Glad Prim had a good time. And, nice callback to the whole dragon issue that Lens was dealing with before things escalated.

Of course, now I'm worried that Scarlet et al. have made a little to public a spectacle of themselves, and are going to have Silent on their heels again in no time.

[harts fire]

time to relax and a bit of fun to be had.

[tom117z]

“How many of them did my actions in the war effect?” she wondered quietly. She had no way of knowing, but that only served to make her insecurities worse.

That's putting a lot of stock on a single soldier's contribution to an entire war. And not even a war hero, in the grand scheme of things I don't think Scarlet made much of a difference in that conflict. The war itself certainly made an impact. Her on those specific griffons? Unlikely.

Primrose hummed quietly, thinking the question over. After a moment, she shrugged noncommittally. “I dunno. I just wanted to chase the big dog.”

I think a best boy will always be the main attraction.

[MixMassBasher]

Some cute carnival like fun.

Interesting name for the dog. Was the stallion inspires to name it after the Five?

[Solace Chaostra]

Primrose was quiet for a second. She shrugged and slowly made her way up to the side of the bed. “You were keeping us far away from them, and… after everything you told me about the war, I just assumed…” she confessed before hopping up onto the bed herself.

She's totally a changeling. I'm calling it now. Should have called it when she was uncomfortable about the changeling killed sign at the previous village.