Hands and Arms

by Dramaro

Chapter 6 - Capture and Evasion

A young man, just out of his teens, stood in the doorway of the northern barracks while a few guards examined what had transpired. He ran his hands through his grey curly hair. With his deep blue eyes, he stared at the gruesome scene before him as bodies of highly trained soldiers lay strewn across the floors like broken toys. He covered his nose as the pungent smell of rotten flesh filled the air.

“Who killed all of them?” the Seeker ordered, kicking a sword on the ground.

A guard ran to his side almost like a dog. The Seeker glanced at his collar and noticed a small bronze cog with another one on the inside indicating lower rank. “Sir, the only survivor reported that it was a woman with blue eyes clad in deep blue or black that did this.”

“What about the magic users arrested. Were they killed?”

“No, Sir. They were released by said intruder.”

With a frown the Seeker kneeled down at one of the bodies and inspected it. None of the soldiers’ armor was pierced directly. Every strike was at the joints between the thick armor with some of the leather straps broken. The Seeker knew this was the work of a trained swordsman and not a simple bandit or hired mercenary.

“Sir, what are your orders?” asked the guard.

The Seeker slowly got up before turning around to his subordinate, “First, find the magic users. They’re top priority. I’ll make a plan to deal with our intruder...”

---

Jenith yawned as she slowly got up with her body rejuvenated. Twilight was awake reading a book, while she sat in her bed. It didn’t take long for Jenith’s eyes to trail down to the large pile of books that littered the floor at their bedside.

“Did you... read all of those?” asked Jenith, as she looked at Twilight in amazement.

“Only a small portion. Do you know anything about some keys?”

Jenith furrowed her brow at the question, “What keys are you talking about?”

With a sigh, Twilight returned to her books. “Nevermind.” Jenith wasn’t going to be of any help for the moment.

“I see you’re awake,” said a voice.

The blonde girl quickly looked behind to see Luna sitting there at the small table. She jumped for a moment before noticing the deep blue coloring of her clothes. “For a second there I thought you were a litefoot soldier... or some bandit lady.”

“What do you mean? I never got any unusual glares since we’ve traveled from Littlecove,” said Luna.

“With that flashy jewelry and whatnot, people probably assumed you’re from a war family. Litefoot soldiers wear light armor similar to your outfit.”

Luna quickly examined her clothes. They did give off a certain adventurous vibe, but it wasn’t out of place. Luna had noticed that some mercenaries wore similar clothes albeit not as crisp and clean. “If you want, I can put the jewelry away.”

“Best if you do. You don’t want thieves eyeing you. You got dyed hair, wearing contacts probably... Yup, you’re probably from some northern village or city.”

“Well, we’re from different villages but... yes Rarity, Twilight, and I are not from around this region of Sapios,” Luna lied.

“Where’s Rarity, anyway?”

“In the room next door,” replied Twilight.

A sudden sound of crackling wood made the group jump as a commotion erupted from the lobby downstairs. The floorboards shook in rhythm to the sound of heavy boots from below. With a frown Jenith pictured numerous scenarios in her head. “Stay here. I’ll investigate the brawl we got.”

Twilight quickly closed her book before pulling herself out of bed. “I’ll come with you.”

“Then stay behind me.”

The two quickly ran halfway down the stairwell before stopping to keep themselves hidden. In the lobby stood a cloaked man with his arms out. Two balls of pinkish fire sat in his hands. The tongues of pink flames appeared unassisted until Twilight and Jenith noticed dull pink sigils glowing on the man’s palms.

“Damn it Lithico... What are you doing?!” Jenith scorned.

“You know him?”

“He’s a magic user, like me. Tends to use fire based magic. He was arrested a few days ago... How did he get back into town?”

Twilight quickly examined the room to see four soldiers wearing burgundy leather armor. The uniforms were eerily similar to Luna’s clothes, but with more leather padding and capes that went down in a v shape. Each soldier had a sword out ready to strike if the cloaked man attacked. The silence was only broken by an overturned table that was ablaze.

“If you make one move, we’ll kill you right here!” yelled the lead litefooter.

“What do we do?” asked Twilight as fear took hold in her voice.

“Just stay back and let’s not get into this mess. We need to-” In a quick second, Lithico began charging forward with the ethereal pink flames in his hands. He took out two guards with burns around their eyes, blinding them both, before succumbing to a sudden stab in the chest. The offending guard quickly pulled out sword before allowing Lithico’s now lifeless body to fall down on the floor.

“Put that fire out! We got one less of them to deal with...” ordered on of the guards.

“Damn it Lithico! You idiot!” cursed Jenith. She quickly grabbed Twilight by the arm before pulling her upstairs and back into their room.

“Where have you been, Rarity?” exclaimed Twilight as she noticed Rarity sitting next to Luna.

“I was in the other room, thank you very much. Jenith, what happened downstairs?”

Jenith frowned as she remembered her friend Lithico. He had been a friendly kid who knew how to make a good joke out of anything. “Someone released Lithico and the others last night from the barracks. He got back into town but the guards found him. Now he’s gone.”

“Did they just... murder him right there?”

“They warned him but he didn’t listen... We have to leave town as soon as possible! Litefooters are probably everywhere and we don’t have time to stand around here.”

“What do we do?”

Jenith hesitated for a moment before noticing the single window in the room. “The windows... We’re just one floor up. We can jump down and sneak out of town.”

“But we don’t have supplies for an extra person,” replied Twilight.

“I can survive. I’ve been traveling since I was little. Now let’s get going!”

“Wait... Luna... could you teleport us to the edge of town?” asked Twilight.

Luna shook her head, “If there are guards around town, there are probably more searching in the surrounding areas. I’d be teleporting us to our deaths.”

“Teleporting? What are you talking about?” asked Jenith.

“We’ll explain later. Can you get us out of town?”

With a nod, Jenith quickly looked out of the window and searched the back alleyway. It was well hidden behind the neighboring buildings and there were no guards peeking around. “Let me build a ladder.”

Twilight watched as Jenith stepped back and slowly concentrated on the window. Suddenly, ice began to form on its ledge until a hastily constructed ladder manifested out of ice.

“Don’t tell anyone!” ordered Jenith while she stood there breathing heavily. Her magic was limited and it had taken a lot of strength to form such a large and intricate structure.

The group quickly went down before the last person, Jenith, dropped the bags below and joined them. With a sudden and quick movement, Luna pulled out her sword and destroyed the ice ladder, leaving only small bits of harmless icicles hanging from the windowsill.

“Leave no evidence.”

“The inn sits just north of the town. I can get us out into the thick woods. Just stay with me and we’ll be fine,” said Jenith.

The group began following Jenith while she slowly moved around the labyrinth of alleyways, cutting through small streets ever so often. Luna quickly noticed how many had came to town. From the leather padded litefooters to the plated armored standard guards, they all were spread throughout town like a bug infestation. With every few steps, the sound of doors breaking down and screams of fear emanated from a few buildings nearby.

“They’ve begun searching through the houses and stores I guess.” muttered Jenith. The alley they were in was ending fast as another street came into view. The group stopped before Jenith looked around. They were in the middle of the market and numerous guards and soldiers were about. Without any chance of sneaking by the group had become stuck.

“Too many guards. What do we do?”

Luna thought for a moment as Jenith kept a vigilant eye for an opening. Sadly, they didn’t have enough time. With guards beginning to check other alleyways, a mad dash in the open would get them caught. “I’ll lead a diversion.”

“You can’t Luna! We need you!” exclaimed Twilight.

“Trust me. I can handle myself.”

“I’ll take that!” Jenith smiled as she allowed Luna to jump out into the street. In seconds, the guards had noticed her while she moved forward, giving the group a chance to run to the next alleyway and out of sight.

“It’s the one who attacked the barracks!”

“Get her!”

With a small smirk in the corner of her mouth, Luna tightened her grip on her sword’s handle as more and more litesolders surrounded her. She twirled around and counted each guard before noticing the others sneaking by unnoticed.

Twilight flinched and stopped in her tracks as the sound of the soldiers’ yelling echoed in the alleyway.

“Come on!”

The bookish girl quickly returned her mind to the escape plan and caught up with the two before reaching the end of the alleyway and the tall obstructive wooden walls of the town.

“What do we do now?” exclaimed Rarity as she saw it was a dead end.

Jenith smirked as she placed her hands onto the wooden wall. “Just watch and enjoy the show.”

In a low glow, a good sized portion of the wood slowly became encased in ice before a good and powerful kick from Jenith’s leg broke it into ice covered splinters. What was left was a good sized hole for one to crawl through and a window to the thick woods that surrounded the town. With a quick look, Jenith found no guards around and gave the ok before watching the others crawl through the new exit.

---

Luna flicked her sword as the last of the litefooters fell at her blade. The leather armor proved useless to a conjured blade but the plate armored guards had forced her to be careful and slice at the weak points between the plates. Luna smiled as she noticed a small audience of townspeople staring at her in awe. Before long, another smaller squadron of all plated guards ran to the scene.

“Hold your blades!”

The guards quickly held their spots and formed a wall before allowing someone through. Luna kept a poker face going as the guards produced a young man in his early twenties. He wore a deep brown tunic made of a thick fabric under a copper colored jacket. On his lapel was the infamous badge of Seekers and sword and scabbard at his waist that was unique and different from the standard sword Luna had seen. The gem in the sword’s hilt glowed a dull blue as the man examined Luna’s handiwork. With a cocky smirk the man began to slowly clap his hands.

“You’ve decimated a barracks and slaughtered almost every soldier and litefooter under my command. Impressive.”

Luna could feel the air of his bloating ego as he kicked away a corpse at his feet.

“Who are you?” asked the Seeker.

“I am the night. I am the moon. I am Luna and I’m here to show everyone that magic is not an evil,” exclaimed Luna.

“Really? All you’ve ever done was anger the guards and put yourself in shit’s creek. I’ve already rounded half of the magic users you freed. The others, well, they resisted. They didn’t last long.”

“You’ve got some nerve with that boasting of yours.”

“Guards. Take her down!”

In a quick flash of burgundy and plate armor, Luna quickly held her ground as she skillfully dodged swords without breaking a single sweat. Blood began to stain her blue clothes as she hacked and slashed all of the guards within one single fluid movement. Only two guards remanded and both of them were hesitant of engaging.

“Come at me. I’ve got plenty more where that came from!” taunted Luna.

With his evergoing smirk the Seeker lifted his sword a bit out of its scabbard before running towards Luna. She jumped back a bit in surprise at the speed as she shifted her weight to the left, dodging his blade by only a finger. After the initial failed strike, the Seeker twirled his body, using the momentum he gained to take another slash at Luna, this time cutting a small scratch into her shoulder. Luna jumped back, ignoring the small amounts of blood from her cut. It would heal.

“I see why that novice of a Seeker was afraid. You can put up a good show!”

“What is your name?” ordered Luna.

“You want my address as well? You’re rather fast and we’ve just met.”

Luna kept her mouth shut as she began to understand what he was doing. He was egging her on, hoping to make her fumble and allow him to deliver a dangerous strike. In a second quick dash, the Seeker jumped forward with his sword in hand at the inhuman speed. Luna ducked and watched as the fuller of the blade passed through her vision. In the quick instant she noticed the dull blue sigils glowing on the fuller. Luna gave herself a pat on the back with the smirk on the Seeker’s face weakening.

“You’re mocking me. You haven’t even tried to strike me! Why did you attack the barracks? Tell me!”

Luna gave her own cocky smirk as she pulled the air into her lungs. “What you and your leader Mortem are doing is immoral, crude, and downright evil. You round up magic users and pull them away from friends and families and you say you’re doing them a favor. You lie saying the plague is their cause when it was not. I’m simply here to right the wrongs you’ve committed. People of Riventevile! Do you believe his lies? Do you really think these magic users are the cause of the plague? Please, give me your answers!”

In an instant the townspeople began throwing their opinions out. Each one slowly removed the smirk on Luna’s face as she allowed her ears to consume the poison that filled the air.

“You’re the criminal! You’ve doomed us to the plague!”

“Kill her!”

“I hope King Mortem has your head for all this!”

“She’s going to allow the plague to consume us!”

With his cocky smirk back on his face, the Seeker pointed his sword at Luna as she stared in horror at the townspeople. “You’ve changed nothing. We Seekers are the only thing keeping the plague from killing us all. You are no savior. Just a maverick who allows her insane ideas to sentence innocent people to a slow and painful death.”

“Why? Why don’t you believe me? Do you really believe this man?” pleaded Luna.

The air quickly became heavy with anger as the townspeople kept silent. Their glares were the ones to give their answers before the Seeker began to laugh.

“You’ve caused quite a scene! On our first date no less! Either you come with me or I’ll just simply strike you down here.”

In a fit of rage, Luna restarted the brawl and charged in with her sword in hand. The sudden charge quickly wiped the Seeker’s smirk off as he used his sword to brace the sudden strike. With a quick push, Luna jumped back and tried another strike. With the sudden volley, the Seeker became stuck parrying away Luna’s constant barrage. After a good minute, the Seeker jumped back panting while Luna did the same.

This time, the Seeker jumped forward and with his blade coming from below his waist. Luna quickly blocked the attack before feeling her sword ring down into the hilt. She pushed the Seeker back with a quick counterattack, slicing a deep gash into his side as she did.

Standing there with free hand holding his side, the Seeker allowed his two guards to attack, only to watch them fall in two strikes. Using his sword’s ability would leave him too weak and she already showed that his quick swift dashes would work against him. He twirled his sword and went into a stance while Luna did the same.

After a moment of silence the two charged at each other and began their fight anew. Each strike threw sparks, some glistening in yellow while others flew in white as human alloy struck against god-created metal. The towns people kept their guard as they watched the fight and light show. As Luna fight, she kept her guard and swiftly dodged the Seeker’s strikes, making sure she didn’t use her sword as a shield. After some dodging, the seeker suddenly turned too quickly for Luna to simply move out of the way. Another block using her sword occurred and the blades grinded against each other.

In a quick instant the ever so annoying smirk returned to the Seeker’s face. “You know, we could settle this... in my bed.”

With her free hand, Luna quickly gave the Seeker a punch in the face, knocking him back and breaking his lips. A spit on the ground was all he needed as an answer. Luna flicked her blade and examined it in the corner of her eyes. The cracks had grown and it was obvious that human alloys were superior in the long run. She had to end the fight soon or she would lose a blade and with the townspeople eyeing the whole fight she couldn’t conjure a new blade without them swarming in on her. It was a surprise to her that they didn’t do that already.

In a rush, the seeker began the fight again, catching Luna off guard and forcing her to use her blade yet again as a shield. With a parry, Luna dashed forward and took a slash at the Seeker’s legs. The Seeker stumbled back and examined his injuries. He was faring worse than Luna. She stood there twirling her blade while he stood at the other end of the arena bleeding from two deep gashes and a broken lip. “I will not back down!”

Luna gave her own smirk as she allowed him to go on the offensive. Again she simply dodged the attacks before trying to stab him. The Seeker shifted his weight and instead got a stab into his other leg. The lunar blade was quickly pulled out as the two created some distance.

Before the Seeker could retaliate Luna charged in but only found her sword clashing against his. She pulled back, making sure he didn’t see the blade as she did and continued twirling it in her hand.

The Seeker quickly pushed his foot against the ground and began charging in at high speed. Luna quickly swerved to the right and dodged the attack before he retaliated, forcing her to parry and create another show of sparks. The fight continued for another minute before the Seeker tried to go for Luna’s neck. She blocked with her sword before throwing the other sword and its owner back.

Luna jumped forward as she tried to strike him. In a quick instant, the Seeker parried her blade and a sudden jolt of pain emanated from her thigh. As she looked down, The Seeker’s blade slowly pulled away from her leg as she felt herself falling to the ground.

With sword out of Luna’s leg, he quickly swung his sword. Luna quickly pulled her sword up to block the strike before watching in horror as her sword took the impact. Vibrations rippled through Luna’s sword before it crumbled into pieces. Out of the corner of her eyes, the audience started moving closer before she noticed the unique blade right under her chin.

The smirk returned to the Seeker’s face, hiding the amount of pain he was in thanks to Luna. “Do not interfere. She’s in Seeker custody now.”

With a scowl Luna watched as the townspeople kept their distance. The seeker kept his guard as he pulled her hands together and placed a regular set of cuffs on.

“Come on. You’re coming with me,” ordered the Seeker.

---

The group grounded to a halt as they felt their legs beginning to go numb. It had taken them a while but they were easily far away enough that none of the guards would find them. After Jenith made sure her suspicions were correct, she allowed herself to fall onto the ground as sweat rolled down her face. The others had done the same with Rarity collapsing against a tree and Twilight sitting down nearby.

“So much... running.” gasped Jenith.

“Twilight.... How far are we?” asked Spike as he collapsed next to Twilight.

“I think we’re far enough.”

Rarity frowned at how dirty her clothes had become but kept her comments to herself. It would be a waste to even bother bringing it up. Jenith looked up to see the first few stars of the night taking their places.

“I guess we should get ready to sleep at least.” Jenith quickly began making a shallow pit before starting a small fire. The guards had been called back to town thanks to Luna and it meant nobody would notice them. Their spot was also too far from the main road, leaving the small fire hidden within the woods. After settling down around the campfire, Rarity fed the others with some fruit she had in her bag.

“So, what are we doing tomorrow?” asked Jenith.

Twilight frowned. “We go back to town and get Luna.”

“Sorry but if she’s got some business with the guards, we should just leave. I’m NOT getting myself tangled with them.”

“What? Abandon Luna? Do you even care what she did for us earlier?” Twilight yelled.

“Sorry, Twilight but it would just be stupid to return to town after she saved us with her distraction.”

Twilight glared at Jenith before turning to Rarity. “You’re with me, right?”

“I want to be on your side but Jenith is right. Luna wouldn’t want us to run back to get her.”

Twilight stared at Rarity with her jaw agape. “Rarity Le Belle! Do you hear what you’re saying? We don’t abandon friends!”

“It’s not abandoning a friend, idiot. I’ve had many friends. Many of them lost thanks to Seekers and Mortem’s soldiers. If you want, you can walk straight back into town but I see you’re unarmed and I’m pretty sure the wood’s predators would LOVE to have you as a midnight snack,” replied Jenith.

“Hey! Nobody asked you!” said Twilight with a loud voice.

Rarity sighed. “Twilight, darling, Luna will be fine. She’s very resourceful.”

After a few moments of silence, Twilight turned to Spike, causing him to jump a bit. “Spike, you’re with me, right?”

“I... I don’t know, Twilight. Jenith and Rarity are right but I don’t want to abandon Luna either. Maybe we should talk about this later?”

“I guess so...”

Rarity turned to Jenith as she formulated some way to change to conversation, “So Jenith... How did you learn to use ice magic?”

“Well... It happened when I was a little girl in my hometown. I would play around a small creek collecting little frogs and toads that lived nearby.”

“Ew, why would do you such things?”

“It’s a small town, Rarity. We didn’t have much to play with. Anyway, one day I was catching frogs and I had caught one in my hand. As kids, we magic users have outbursts of magic. Some are big, which usually catches a Seeker or lone guard’s attention while others are small. My hands just glowed and next thing you know it, the frog was frozen solid! I was afraid I had killed it and I ran straight home. Later I would learn that some frogs and toads can be frozen with little to no ill effects upon thawing out.”

“So why did you keep up with your magic? Surely you couldn’t have created that large dam of ice when you were little, darling.”

“Well, after... when I got older I began to travel and I had relied on my magic to get myself out of some unlucky situations. One time some thieves tried to attack me, but I was able to freeze them and get away. I was wearing a hood so none of them noticed who I was, thankfully.”

“So you’ve been going from town to town dodging Seekers since you were little?” asked Rarity.

Jenith nodded, “Yup. I’ve met many magic users and I’ve come to believe that what Mortem proclaims is not true. I just don’t understand why we magic users are immune to the plague. We just are.”

“Can... Can you show me some of your magic?”

With a nodded Jenith concentrated as her hands slowly began to glow on the back and in her palms. Rarity noticed that the lines on her hands seemed to form an image of a pentagon shaped piece of ice with a swirl in it. It looked similar to a cutie mark but as one whole color like an outline of one. The glow subsided and a small plumbob of pure ice sat in Jenith’s hands. The ice was clear, almost like crystal, with no impurities. It didn’t melt in her hands as she slowly dropped the ice crystal in Rarity’s. To her surprised it was extremely cold, colder than a normal icicle in winter.

“I can control to a degree how hard the ice is. So far I can get it as strong as a plate of copper but against standard issue humasium alloy, it’s pretty much useless.”

“Humasium?”

“It’s the special alloy the standard armor and weapons are made out of. You should know. Really strong and expensive.”

Rarity falsely nodded. She had never known the metal used by Mortem’s soldiers was so strong. Maybe it was stronger than the enchanted armor Equestria’s royal guard’s used. “We should get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be a long walk.”

Jenith nodded, “I hope your Luna friend is ok.”

“I hope so too but she’s very clever and capable.”

The two turned to Twilight and Spike who both had already fallen to sleep. With a smile, Jenith closed her eyes and quickly found sleep herself.

---

Luna sighed as the dull blue glow around her hands dissipated. She still had a duty to lower the moon and at least she could do it in secret. She stared at her cuffs before trying to pull them apart. Sadly, they didn’t budge one bit and after making sure none of the guards nearby were looking, Luna tried again with the assistance of magic. In the end they were unmoving to her will. With a frown Luna turned to her guard and quickly grabbed his attention. “What metal are these cuffs made of?”

“Humasium. Standard issue of all Seekers, plate soldiers, and litefooters,” said the guard.

Luna cursed herself. She knew humans were master metallurgists and they had taken their secrets with them when they sealed themselves. With a frown Luna pulled at her cuffs just to hear the rattle again. The sound of footsteps caught her attention as the Seeker from earlier walked in. His leg was bandaged and his other injuries had already been treated.

“Guard, open the cell.” he smiled with his signature smirk as he held the hilt to Luna’s broken sword in his hand. 'Huh. Not much of a sword.' His grin broadened. 'it just pales in comparison against humasium. I don’t see any folding in it at all.”

The moon princess kept her eyes on the Seeker as the guard unlocked and opened her cell.

“So, Luna, where are you from? You seem well traveled wearing that nice clothing of yours. Leader of some bandit or resistance group?” asked the Seeker.

“No... I am alone”

“Hmm. It’s sad that such a cute girl such as you is locked up in here.”

Luna held back her hand as the urge to give him a sucker punch built up in her. “What do you Seekers do?”

The Seeker flicked a lock of his hair as he collected his thoughts. “Seekers, those who seek what is hidden. We are the special force that protects Sapios from traitors, dangerous criminals, and most importantly the Plague of Mora.”

“Plague of Mora?”

“It’s from an ancient word meaning halt. It’s fitting to the plague’s symptoms. Complete loss of all muscle function with the visible sign being black angular lines crossing the body. One dies simply by starvation, predation, or dehydration. It’s like the stare of a cockatrice but worse. At least you can theoretically stay alive forever if you were turned to stone. Now tell me, what makes you believe the magic users are innocent?”

“They ARE innocent. I know it. What have they done to hurt any of you?”

“Uraniya the Decayer. Monolitho the Stone Rock. Do these names ring any bells? They are the most dangerous warlords and criminals in Sapios history dating back eight hundred years ago just before the unification under King Mortem. Every one of them was a powerful magic user and guess what followed in their wake? The Plague itself. Magic users attract the plague even if it seems that it’s been eradicated. King Mortem, in his infinite wisdom, unified Sapios and has kept the plague back by our hands. You are doing nothing but allowing us to succumb to the plague’s grasp.”

Luna could taste the rage boiling inside of her at the atrocious idea that Mortem and his Seekers were somehow helping the last humans. “What if I told you... that there’s more beyond the barriers?”

The Seeker raised his brow. “I don’t believe you. Every sailor who’s ventured towards the barrier has seen nothing but giant waves, whirlpools, and superstorms. No ship has ever survived those conditions. Flying using manticores or dragons doesn’t work either. You hit the magical wall of the barrier at any height.”

“You are fools if you believe there’s nothing beyond the barrier.”

“Some DO theorize that there’s land beyond the barrier. Untouched by sentient kind thanks to the plague. But at last, it’s only theories.” he retorted. “Now then. Come with me.”

“And what if I don’t?” scowled Luna.

“I could kill you right here.”

Luna simply frowned as the Seeker pulled her by her wrist and with a few guards nearby, escorted her to a caravan outside.

---

Twilight yawned as she awoke to broken sunlight through the white bark trees around her. The fire pit next to her was cold as it had been extinguished last night before bed. Laying against a tree nearby was Jenith as used her grey jacket to cover herself with. A few leaves stuck into her straight blonde hair as she sat there still sleeping. With a scientific eye, Twilight examined the sleeping Sapiosian. She was petite for a female human of her age and even though she was well traveled, she has little to any scars to ruin her pinkish white complexion. In the corner of her eye, Twilight quickly noticed a small piece of fabric pinned to her jacket’s sleeve. It was white with red polka dots.

After a few seconds, Jenith slowly woke up to Twilight staring at her. “You’re still here Twi? I thought you would have left back for town as soon as you woke up,” said Jenith as she got up and placed her arms in her jacket.

“I can’t leave Spike and Rarity alone... But I still don’t want to abandon Luna.”

“Your Luna friend is probably good with her sword. She’s probably somewhere out of town already. Anyway, let’s get ready to leave before some big animal finds us.”

Twilight nodded and quickly woke Rarity and Spike up before packing her bags. The group eventually left and after walking aimlessly in one direction, found the main road.

“Which way do we go?” asked Twilight.

Jenith smiled, “North. Riventevile is directly south of Bigwell. Should take at most a day or so before we reach the city.”

“Jenith, when did you last visit Bigwell City?” asked Rarity.

“About, I guess half a year ago. During the Bigwell Ball. I worked with the catering for some decent amount of pinions. Bought myself a nice spa treatment at Bigwell”

“They have... Spas?” exclaimed Rarity in glee.

Jenith looked at Rarity wondering if she was going insane. She almost jumped at the sound of the word. “Yeah... there’s a spa in Bigwell. The city sits at the base of a volcano.”

“Oh this trip is going to be great, darlings! I can already smell the aromas of it’s soothing steam. The nice feeling of somepony taking all the aches in my back and joints away.”

Somepony? Jenith thought to herself. “Rarity, unless you have a nice bag of pinions I haven’t seen, I doubt the three of us, four if you count Twilight’s dragon pet...”

“I’m not a pet!” interrupted Spike sitting in Twilight’s bag.

“... dragon friend, will get a chance to enjoy any nice day of high class stuff.”

Rarity’s smile quickly went away at the realization. With little money on hand, the group was stuck only able to buy necessities and no luxuries whatsoever.

The group continued on until hunger began to set into their stomachs. Eventually they found a large boulder near the side of the dirt road and sat down for lunch. Rarity had quickly cut apart some veggies and a few fruits before passing them around. Twilight was thankful that Rarity was prepared for traveling.

“I wish I could have some gems,”moaned Spike as he slowly ate some carrots they had bought back in town.

“Maybe they’ll have some rubies in town to buy for you, Spike,” comforted Twilight.

Jenith looked at her handful of vegetarian food for a few seconds before eating. If only she had some delicious roasted pheasant or some rabbit to add to the small lunch. The girl quickly removed the thoughts out of her head as it caused her to hunger even more. “Let’s get going.”

It didn’t take long for them to finish and they found themselves back onto the road. As they walked, Twilight became slightly curious. With all the walking, they should have passed a caravan or someone traveling as well.

“Hey, Jenith. Why haven’t we seen anyone?” asked Twilight.

“The roads leading down south are not used that much. The most used roads are the northern ones and the eastern ones leading to the Cavern Mountains. We’ll be lucky to see some random courier or something.

“So the southern region of Sapios is pretty much the poorest.”

“You got that right. I guess they don’t tell you all this in the northern mountains.”

Twilight frowned. Equestria did have its ups and downs but economically, the nation was stable with low poverty. Form what Jenith described it sounded like Sapios wasn’t even trying to help the poor.

With a frown Rarity looked around. The air felt stale as if the wind had stopped and the uneasy feeling that they were not alone started to settle inside.

Jenith frowned as she and the others stopped in their tracks. She had a gut feeling going on. With her eyes closed and her mind concentrated the sound of muffled footsteps filled her ears. Jenith kept her guard up as a group of numerous thugs jumped from the woods and surrounded the four.

Twilight stumbled back towards Rarity and the others as the bandits encircled the group. “This is not good!”

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Thank you R5h and FanNotaNerd for the help!
Thanks to Static_Shock, and GarlandGala and for grammar editing!

NOTE: Chapter 1 has been rewritten.