Equestrian Monsters and how to deal with them

by Zeitless

Moving on

The sun peeked from behind the horizon.
And when Tempest set a hoof outside, a cool gust brushed her coat. However she didn't hesitate - she had to leave this inn as soon as possible!

It was as frigid a morning as many others had been. While snow hadn't fallen in a while, spring wasn't left behind either. The cold air added to the uneasy sensation in her dry throat. Having skipped breakfast Tempest made a mental note to at least buy some apples at the marketplace before leaving Dappleshore behind for good.

As far as she recalled her next destination would be Clear Skies. Yep. Equestrian ponies sure used every possibility to show their bottomless optimism.

'Oh hey, I'm heading towards Clear Skies! What a wonderful place to be. Never cloudy here at all! No storm like ever!' Tempest sang in her head, imitating whatever histrionic version of the founders she envisioned.

"Yea, this is stupid," she chuckled.

Nevertheless seeing how the streets were rather empty and the birds could still chirp peacefully Tempest found herself lucky to find a single vendor booth. Behind it a light-read coated mare struggled, currently stemming one of its wooden posts with her head.

"Mind if I lend you a hoof?"

"Oh, hi there!," Her ears and eyebrows jumped up, "Yes- I mean not at all! Please!"

With combined efforts it didn't take long to get everything set. After raising both posts a banner 'Dapple Apples' had risen above the booth. With that out of the way Tempest asked while emptying the sacks of apples into the display baskets:

"So how much for one of your dappled apples?"

"First one's free for you. Then it's one bit each." Noticing her customers confusion she added "My name's Autumn Dapple. We call 'em dapple 'cause it's our name. They're juicy delicious - give 'em a bite!"

"Yep," Tempest replied monotonously while munching "they're juicy and delicious."

"As always!" Autumn beamed. "Usually I run this stand with my 'sis but she's got to rest today. Sprained her leg while bucking. I told her she'd already done enough for the day but nooo, she wouldn't listen. Hey do you know zapples?"

Tempest raised an eyebrow while chewing: "Nope, haven't heard of them."

"Zap Apples maybe? They're even more delicious and juicy and can only be harvested extremely rarely! Granpa says they'll come soon though! The leaves have started sparking blue! First time for me to witness that!"

"That's cool."

"I know, right?! I mean we just got ourselves a batch of seeds for 'em a few years back and they're already about to bring harvest! Isn't that just amazing?!"

"It sure is. Hey, I'll take four more apples. Was nic-"

"Thanks a bunch! Glad you like 'em so much! Oh where was I? Right, listen up! If you want some of them zapples you better stay ready cause they zap away after a day! Better come by daily~" Autumn smirked.

Politely Tempest said: "Too bad, 'cause I gotta leave town today. Was nice meet-"

"Naw how unlucky! But I barely just got to know you." Autumn pouted, "Hey before you go: What's up with your horn? It's so broken I've never seen that! Can you still cast magic? If so, maybe you could he-"

"No, I can't." Tempest snapped back at her, eyes suddenly narrowed as she glared right into Autumns.

"S-sorry for asking." Her ears fell back, "It's just-"

"Have a nice day."

"Thanks! You too!" Autumn cheered back up.

'She sure can talk forever. Just had to barge into this topic. Guess that's what you learn from shouting on a marketplace every day. Yes my horns useless and I won't ever cast magic like other normal unicorns, but I can manage just fine on my own.

Tempest winced ever so briefly as an image of last nights fight flashed before her inner eyes. It didn't make her feel any better though. Instead it stung like a needle in her forehead. 'Screw you, stupid bear. I don't fear you anymore!'

The needles dug deeper.

Tempest instinctively shook her head and tried to think of something else. At least that apple pony had been kinda nice besides- that- 'Ugh! Screw her!'

With the marketplace left behind Tempest shut her eyes and took a deep wavering breath. Last thing she needed was to lose it - especially so early in the morning. She inhaled deeply once more. Paused. Then exhaled steadily and looked ahead.

With food taken care of Tempest now had to refill her bottle before finally departing. She remembered a well in the south of the village and got going.

---

The sun shimmered through the window as its rays forced Rockhoofs eyes open.

It wasn't too bad. That is the backache he felt when getting up. On one hoof he often had slept on his trusty bedroll when camping between cities, but on the other hoof the ground below the bedroll wasn't as hard when laid out in a forest.

With a deep yawn he stretched and got on his hooves. It was only afterwards that he realised how loud he was and agitatedly scanned the bed. Fortunately there wasn't any commotion below the sheets. Then again upon closer inspection, there wasn't anypony in there at all.

With the morning light it became apparant how the entire room had been tidied up. Even the bed was neatly tucked in.

Atop the table a note had been left. As Rockhoof picked it up he spotted fifteen bits below it coming to light. It held a single word in horrible handwriting: Sorry.

He collapsed in defeat. His head hung low, the sun behind him painting his own shadow on the floor before him. A tear wept from Rockhoofs left eye. 'I hath forsaken ye forefathers of mine. However shalt I look in yer eyes again without faltering to sham-'

No! This was no place to admit defeat. Raising his head he saw the spectral heads of his ancestors looking down at him. Some faces with disapproval, others encouraging him to keep fighting.

"I have to make this right! I can't just let her pay for my room and leave. I'll show her my true hospitality, no turning back now! Next time she leaves a room of mine I will be there to see her off and she absolutely will be smiling when this happens."

Posing with one foreleg on the chair and the other raised to a fist he held his snout high in the light of the sun.

"I, Rockhoof, shall swear this by the name of me ancestors!"

---

When Tempest returned to the marketplace a decent amount of ponies met her eye. About half a dozen ones still in the process of setting up their stands, another equal amount already browsing their wares.

Oddly enough Tempest noticed the 'Dapple Apples' banner had been abandoned. Weird but not much of her own concern.

Continuing onward Tempest spotted something more concerning on an arbitrary shoulderglance. Quickening her pace she rushed behind a house. Once behind cover she let go of her breath again and hoped he hadn't spotted her.

It'd be way too awkward to walk into that shovel hobo again after sleeping in on his bed in his room that he had paid for. She had to hurry and skip town as soon as possible - good thing there was nothing holding her back anymore.

Refraining from the main streets Tempest suddenly held in upon turning a corner. Within the small alley in front of her, lying with the back against a wall, Autumn Dapple came into view. Her coat was pale and covered with bruises.

Carefully approaching Tempest scanned the surroundings. She hadn't seen anyone leave in the back of the alley, neither did she hear an attacker. With alert ears pointed up she closed the distance.

"What happened to you?"

Autumn pushed her eyelids open. "It hurts. I tried to defend myself but- but it hurt so much." Her breath was unsteady and she gasped for air mid-sentence.

"Don't worry, I'll find a nurse right away. Just tell me who did this to you and I'll make sure it won't happen again."

"Thank you," she tried to smile, interrupted by a cough, "A nurse would help a lot."

Kind of hesitant Tempest responded: "Alright, rest here and I'll hurry."

She would've liked to know right away who the culprit was, but finding a nurse would take priority.

---

A couple minutes, a tour through the marketplace and a few shouts later Tempest found herself back in the alley. Accompanied by a nurse named Rose Warmblood and - unavoidably - a certain shovel hobo.

Crouched down Rose diagnosed: "It might look bad but you'll be fine. Be careful with your bruised joints though; don't put pressure on them for the next two weeks and let them recover steadily. And as for this sudden paleness and exhaustion it's a little extreme but it's a normal reaction from such a shock. Don't worry, it's all fine. Can you get up? I'll support you on the way to my office."

Autumn nodded and slowly got up. Her legs were still shaking but with the skillful help of Rose she managed.

"You've done good bringing me here so fast. Are you friends or family of her?"

Almost in unison Tempest and Rockhoof replied "Nope."

"Well thanks either way. I've got it from here."

Rockhoof sighed in relief.

Tempest waited for her own wave to come but instead her eyebrows narrowed as she clenched her teeth.

"Wait! Autumn, who was it? Just who did this to you?"

Autumn raised her inner eyebrows in worry and smiled: "If I told you then by the end of the day there'd be twice as many ponies in Rose's office, right? I'll- It'll be fine, don't worry about it."

Author's Note:

Trust me I didn't choose this City Name "Clear Skies." Neither did I choose the map. I decided to go with a map from the HoI4 mod "Equestria At War" in case ya'll want to follow along. At least this way I can ensure some consistency over time haha!
Also I won't have to name cities by myself

Aaanyhoof: Thanks a lot for reading :D As always please leave thoughts and opinions, kind words and feedback in the comments! I'll see you there~