Macintosh of Arabia

by Crisis_Vyper

The Grieving of a Filly

Aqqabasta, Central Saddle Arabia

It has been two weeks since the purging within the palace, and the dark being masquerading as the Emir could only marvel at the ease of taking the throne by pretending to be the beloved leader of Saddle Arabia. Nonetheless, there are those who managed to escape the purges, and they are still out there. given time, these individuals could grow and thrive and will threaten the Great Plan like a weed. But their whereabouts are currently unknown, and that is the main cause of concern. As the 'Emir' sits upon his throne, he could only wonder how he would be able to root out these vermins. It is then that the Lord Eternal entered into the throne room, and immediately the Emir knew that it could only be good news. As the Lord Eternal bowed down before the Emir, the Emir could not help but to give a wide smile.

"Milord, we have good news. We have found the location where the Equestrians are heading to. The location where the sphere is goiing is Eastern Saddle Arabia. Your orders?"
"You know what I will say, Eternal." The Emir said sinisterly.
"Yes Milord, I will see to it that your will be done." The Lord Eternal rises up and turns around to walk out form the throne room. However before he could do so, the Emir stopped him.
"Oh and please do send 'that' to hunt them down." It is then that the Emir started laughing, and his reedy voice soon gave way to a much more deeper and fuller serpentine voice that echoes throughout the room.

The Lord Eternal could do nothing but to heed his master's command. Once the doors of the throne room are shut, a hooded figure appears before the Lord Eternal.The Lord Eternal could only look at the figure with an overwhelming disgust, but yet his master have requested that this 'thing' will be sent to Eastern Saddle Arabia to track those Equestrians down. Before long both of these figures are now walking side by side away from the throne room and the Lord Eternal handed in three vials to the hooded figure.

"You have work to do. Take these and find them. Bring them back to Saddle Arabia. Do you understand me?" The Lord Eternal's orders were met with a gurgling sound that is utterly disturbing. Immediately the figure passes the Lord Eternal and disappeared down the hallway. The Lord Eternal could not understand why his master is willing to let that wretched thing roam so freely within the castle after its 'birth'. But his lord is wise, and for that he will obey his orders. All for the sake of a better Saddle Arabia.

---

Meanwhile in Eastern Saddle Arabia.....

With the arrival of the newest member in the group, Big Macintosh could not help but to feel that for some reason he is a weirdness magnet.He then starts to think about the group's composition; A farmer, a nurse, a deejay, a camel warrior, a little Saddle Arabian-Equestrian hybrid that never takes off her veil, and now a thing that is comprised of the air itself that he could not see at all but is apparently with them as it always 'whistles' and have the winds blowing on them whenever it is around. He is not even sure as to how they will be able to enter into any populated area without causing alarm. On the sarcastically bright side, if this is a kid's action show he could already name out the main roles; the 'leader', the medic/smart one, the comic relief/magician, the lancer, the kid, and the big guy. The only problem is that unlike most 'leaders', he is chosen by default as he is the one that is the link between the Saddle Arabians and the Equestrians. The weird being of wind is just there for the ride, and somehow he would rather keep it on its good side less they all are gone with the wind.

As the others gather the firewood and the necessary items for their nightly rest and meal, Big Macintosh pulls out the black orb out from his clothing. This is the item that Sheikh Abu Hamza had given him, to help his daughter. Big Macintosh could only sigh as he takes out the other item that the Sheikh have given him, the pendant shaped in a stylized Saddle Arabian writing. He gives a rather dejected look at the two items and his mind could not help but to voice out the Sheikh's voice as an echo within his head.

My daughter will be confused and scared and I want you to be the stone that keeps her down and remember who she is. When the time comes, I want you to unseal this orb. All you need is to just tap the Mark of the Steward on the orb, the sultry regal voice of the Sheikh is as clear in his mind as the first time he heard it in his ears. The red stallion then taps the Mark of the Steward upon the or, but nothing came out from it. This frustrates the stallion even as now his thoughts are truly preoccupied by the interpretation of these weird clues.

There is also the question about why the Sheikh trust him so much to the point that he got these items in the first place. Even now he is utterly clueless about the Sheikh's plans, and now that he is dead, he might never know what is going on anymore.

Stupid cryptic fool..., the stallion said to himself. He does not even know what is the significance of the black orb in the Sheikh's plan to be Emir. All he wants to do is to get out from this place, but in order to get out from Saddle Arabia, he will have to crack the most difficult puzzle that he had laid eyes upon.

Suddenly he could feel a breeze around, and he hurriedly hide the items in his clothing. He looks around, trying to pinpoint the presence. The winds started blowing gently again, and a calm whistling sound from the winds could be heard from an arm's length from him.

"Whaddaya want Zephyr?" Big Macintosh is always unnerved by the inability to see the being other than to feel the unnatural breeze and the melodically blowing sounds of the wind. The farmponys's ears picks up the odd melodious symphony of sounds that arise from the being, which he does not understand at all. As he tries to comprehend what the elemental is saying to him, he realize that the elemental is now also silent. It seems that both of them are finding it difficult to communicate with each other.

Among the entire group, only Zephyr and Big Macintosh could not communicate with each other properly as neither understands nor speak the language of the other. It is then that the elemental decides to move some of the rocks in a straight line, with an arrow head pointing towards a certain direction. Big Macintosh notices the rock formation and as he look at the general direction of the rock formation he sees the rest of the group gathering around the flame with some mushrooms impaled on a stick.

"Ah......Alright Zephyr, Ah'm comin'....." The wind blows again, the wind feeling rather short and chillingly sharp for a moment. It seems that Zephyr is annoyed that it took the farmpony this long to understand what it is saying, and there is another blow of wind. Big Macintosh could swear that the elemental just gave him a pout. Big Macintosh then slowly walks towards the group, and sits between the little filly and Nurse Redheart.

"Here you go Big Mac." Nurse Redheart passes him a freshly roasted mushroom on a stick. Big Macintosh takes a small bite out from the spartan morsel before continuing to talk.
"Thanks, Red." Somehow,due to the nature of their names, they felt that it is prudent to call each other using nicknames.
"So...any idea what we are going to do once we reach a settlement? I mean, we are not a very subtle-looking group you know?
"No clue fer that one Red. Ah mean....finding the settlement is one thing, but getting in would be tough. Windy here could pass somehow as it is invisible, but it will be odd when there's wind where it shouldn't have any wind. Vinyl's horn is impossible to hide and she sticks out like a sore thumb."
"No I don't!" Vinyl protested, but the others gave her ho heed.
"From looks, best avoid big city. If Emir has magic, he safe. He order traitors kill. We traitors, remember?" Amanar said in his blunt, monotone voice.

******************************************

"I wonder what happened to our caravan...is everyone alright....." The soft voice of the filly suddenly paused the others into silence as she spoke in Saddle Arabic. It is Amanar who first talked to the filly, speaking to her in their native tongue.
"Milady, they will all be alright. Lord Abu Hamza have told everyone to leave once we start to get into the palace remember? Right now they should be returning to our stronghold." The camel tries to comfort the filly, but his demeanor made it that he is trying to rationalize without any hint of emotions.
"What if they get caught before they returned home? What if they are all dead?They might all have died like Daddy! Don't you understand? As you just said we are all traitors now! What if they are out to get everyone just so that they can get to us?!?!?! Huh?!?!? Daddy is already gone, he died for me, he died for everyone!!!! I don't want to see anyone dying anymore, I can't take that anymore, I...."

Fatimah is now sobbing, her olive green eyes are now watery and her soft voice is trembling with her concerns. The other members of the group are now watching as the filly's facade starts to crumble. The Janissary tried to calm her down, but to no avail. Fatimah's words are now laced with venom and grief as she expressed herself. Her eyes are now flowing with tears and her gaze is piercing through the camel like emerald spears.

"What do you know? You Janissaries are all orphans that are taken to become bodyguard! You have no idea what family really is! All you know is killing and murdering, you must have killed so many people's daddies!" The little filly is now shouting at Amanar, but Amanar could not do anything but to take the verbal assault of the filly. He wonders what will Sheikh Abu Hamza would do in a situation like this....

******************************************

As the little filly started shouting and cursing in Saddle Arabic, everyone is now feeling uneasy especially Vinyl. Vinyl knew what is going on, but nonetheless she asked Nurse Redheart about what the little filly is saying. Once Nurse Redheart translated the conversation, Vinyl knew that the dam has finally broken in the filly. She has not griefed for her father properly throughout their time in this blasted place, and she is holding everything in for the sake of everyone else. Vinyl could only feel the pain of the filly's heart and she could not take it anymore. The maternal side within her sparks her to rush towards the filly's side and hold her tight in her embrace.

"What...are you....doing...LET ME GO!!!!" The little filly started to struggle and hammer her hooves on Vinyl's chest. Even though it hurts, but Vinyl is not going to let Fatimah go. As the filly struggle even more, everyone else is now just watching the two in their struggle. After a while, the filly started to tire, and the physical abuse that Vinyl receives from the little filly's hooves lessened.
"There, there kiddo.....calm down. Vinny's here for ya...." Vinyl starts to pat her hooves behind the little filly's back, like a mother trying to calm a crying baby, her voice warm and kind.
"How....can...I calm....down....." Fatimah's voice starts to tremble, and soon enough a steady stream of tears are flowing down her cheeks. Before anyone could even say anything, the filly started to cry out loud and buried her head into the mare's chest.

It was then that the filly's veil starts to slip away, and for the first time Big Macintosh and Nurse Redheart could see the filly's face. The filly is a rather beautiful filly, her coat is the finest of white silver with a long flowing mane, and her pale, light greyish olive eyes are now wet and red from all the crying. Suddenly, they could see that something is moving from underneath the little filly's and to their surprise two silver wings slip themselves out from the little Sadddle Arabian's clothing to wrap itself around Vinyl in a warm embrace.

Both of the Earth ponies are stunned, as this is not what they are expecting at all. Big Macintosh knew that her mother was an Equestrian, but he did not expect to see a pegasus filly. For Nurse Redheart it is the fact that Fatimah is an Equestrian shocked her, and now it make quite a lot of sense why the filly always avoided the offers of taking baths with her. Zephyr could only whistle as it sees the wings of the filly, and indeed for the being, this group have just become even more interesting than before.

"What in Equestria....." Nurse Redheart mutters, still shocked by the wings.
"Well, Fatimah mother Pegasus. Big Macintosh, Sheikh told you about Fatimah mother Equestrian no?"
"Yes, yes he did......but of all the...A pegasus." Big Macintosh could only say with amazement.

Big Macintosh's mind is now racing, finally putting in some of the gaps in the puzzle that is the Sheikh's agenda. When the Sheikh explains to him that he wanted a better world for Fatimah free from fears against unknown threats and violence by becoming the Emir, this is what he meant. The little pony is essentially heresy given form, and for that she will be killed unless there is someone above all the laws of Saddle Arabia. But as with every mystery drama that Big Macintosh have seen on the television, something is wrong somewhere. Especially with the orb that is now in his possession does not fit anywhere in this puzzle at all. While Big Macintosh is deep in his thoughts, Nurse Redheart continued on asking.

"This does not make sense....Isn't it a crime for a Saddle Arabian to....with a non-Saddle Arabian?" Nurse Redheart finally voiced out her thoughts.
"Yes, it is crime. Hence why only Sheikh, Big Macintosh and me know, but Macintosh do not know Fatimah half-pegasus. Now everyone here know......" Amanar said as he have a dejected look on his face. It is then that Amanar realized that the unicorn is not a single bit surprised by this sudden reveal. The Janissary was about to inquire about the lack of reaction from the unicorn before vinyl silenced him with her own words.

"Let a little filly some time to grief. She's been through a lot. " Vinyl turns her attention to everyone, her gaze having a great sense of maturity and responsibility in contrast to her normal carefree eyes. Even Amanar dare not mess with Vinyl at this state, for there is a saying in Saddle Arabia that when a mother is comforting her child, not even demons could intervene between them. Vinyl is no mother, but she is now comforting a child like how a mother would which is close enough for the Janissary.

---

The filly had literally cried herself to sleep, and as the flames cackled Big Macintosh is now looking at Amanar. The farmpony knows that the Janissary has some knowledge about what is transpiring in this web of confusion, but how much does the camel know about the plans of the Sheikh? Will he even tell anyone about it? These are questions that Big Macintosh wants answers to so that he could complete the puzzle.

"Hey, Amanar.....can you tell me more about the kiddo's mother?" Vinyl's question surprised everyone, including the grizzled veteran.
"Mother Fatimah?" Amanar asked the blue-maned deejay.
"Yeah....I would like to know what kind of mare is she. How does she look like, how does she behave....y'know, all those kinda stufff." Amanar paused for a little while before he decides to speak up.
"Lily Petal is peace."
"Peace?"
"Never angry, never scared, never blame. Always kind, always help. Very smart, know people inside well. As we say ' Like prophet'. " Amanar gives a rather bitter smile as he say those words, reminiscing over a time that had since long passed.
"Wow, that amazing of a lady huh? So....does kiddo here looks like her mom?" Vinyl asked as she combs the little filly's pale grey mane.
"Yes, she looks exactly like Lily Petal, coat and mane. Only eyes different, as Lily Petal has brighter green eyes while Fatimah have more dark color." Amanar smiles as he talks to the deejay mare.

Wait a minute....., Big Macintosh said to himself. He takes a good look at the little filly from where he is, and realized that Fatimah is essentially a miniaturized version of the mysterious pegasus mare in his dream during that fateful night. He is not entertaining the idea that Fatimah's mother had visited him in a dream, but yet his time with his sister and all her 'Element of Harmony' friends taught him that things do happen in the most mysterious way possible. This only made the entire scene in his dream even more bizarre. What is the meaning of .....

"A battlefield filled with broken weapons and blood and a heavy rain washing the blood away...." Big Macintosh accidentally voiced out his thoughts and the two mares are now looking at him, wondering what on earth is he talking about. The stallion was about to apologize when he notice that Amanar is paler than before.
"Amanar are you alright? You don't look well..." Nurse Redheart asked the Janissary. However, the Janissary is not paying any attention to the mare as his attention is now upon the red farmpony. Big Macintosh immediately turns his attention to the camel, but as soon as the stallion looked at him the Janissary turned his gaze away from the stallion.
"I have rough night. I rest." Amanar deflects both the inquiry by Nurse Redheart and also Big Macintosh's gaze in one move and lies down on the ground.

Big Macintosh is now certain that Amanar knew something about that image. This means that the image that he received in his dream is related to Sheikh Abu Hamza's scheme, but he is uncertain as to how it is related to the rest of the puzzle pieces that he have so far. The Mark of the Steward, the weird black orb, the dream, and the Emir.....these pieces are the key to understanding everything here and why on earth is he given this task.

---

Vinyl is up for the watch tonight, and as she stroke the little filly's, she wonder about how did she ended up being such a nurturing figure. If she is back in Equestria, she would not even be bothered with the little fillies. But yet, this filly has touched her heart in a way that she could not even begin to explain. She looks down at the filly and noticed that the filly is crying in her sleep. Vinyl could not help but to feel bad for Fatimah, for the pain of losing her father is still in her. Perhaps a lullaby of sorts would make it easier for the filly, even if she is sleeping. Vinyl pats the little filly with her hooves gently as she sing a song for the sleeping filly. The song is calm and soothing, but it has a rather sad but hopeful tone to it.

I can feel this memory of the courage and faith of loving someone deeply,
And it entwines our hearts and makes them come alive....
A bright light shines and awakens us,
It gets up noisily and imprints itself in that place....

Inerasable scars, shaking in fear and loneliness,
Shrinking away from existence.....
Thick despair attacks; even on nights when I’m plunged into darkness.
If only my prayer is heard, I’ll believe forever....

The sure pride in our hearts guides us,
Spread our wings and fly into the sky you pictured so vividly.
A bright light shines and awakens us....
It gets up noisily and imprints itself in that place,
I’ll believe forever.....

Let go of the you who is exhausted from weeping,
Your prayer has been heard.....
Move on to the future,
The road carries on with no end,
Shine bright......

It seems that the idea worked after all, as the filly's tears have stopped. Vinyl could only give a sigh of relief, as her song did managed to do something after all. It is then that Vinyl's eyelids decided to have plans of their own, and Vinyl's vision blurred into the darkness.......

---

"What the buck? Where am I?"

Vinyl finds herself in the middle of a battlefield, where mangled ad mutilated bodies are scattered across the dune with weapons sticking out from the dune like tombstones for the fallen. She looks up to find that the skies are darkening above her, giving a rather ominous sign. Soon enough several lightning bolts could be seen striking the battlefield, scaring the mare a little. She is definitely feeling uneasy about this place, and magic is as magic does; it is just bucked up. A heavy downpour came down upon the battlefield, soaking the mare in rain water and as she looked around the blood started to wash off the bodies and stained the white sands a deep crimson. The description of the scene is exactly the same as that slip from Big Macintosh, and this itself causes her mind to raise several warning flags.

I am sorry to bring you here, but it is important that I speak with you.

Vinyl could only wonder who just spoke to her and she started to look around. Suddenly, she could see a figure walking towards her. To her surprise, the figure is how she imagined Fatimah to look like when she is all grown up, with a rather beautiful and pristine monochromatic coat and mane of grey. The figure's otherworldly presence is further enhanced by her translucent jadeite green eyes which pierced through Vinyl's heart like a sharp spear, filled with great kindness but at the same time great sorrow.

"Whoa......you're the kiddo's mom aren't you? Lily Petal right?" Vinyl asked the figure, apparently unafraid of the figure.
It seems that you know who I am....., the figure answered, giving Vinyl a smile that is both blissful and graceful. Vinyl could not help herself and smiled back.
"So....how did you do this mumbo jumbo? You are like Princess Luna with this nonsense" Vinyl is now looking at the figure, examining her as much as she could. For some reason, there is a weird white corona of energy surrounding Lily Petal giving the pegasus an ethereal presence.
It is best that you do not know.......however there is something more urgent that you need to know.
"Ur...okay? So....whatcha wanna talk about?"
Your role is coming very soon Bard, and for that you will have to find strength for the times ahead. I am giving you the knowledge to find this strength, but the rest is up to you...... , The soft-spoken voice of the mare is filled with a great amount of urgency.
"Wait....whaddaya mean by that? And what the buck is this knowledge and this strength thing?" Vinyl asked the pegasus, but she did not get the answers that she wanted.

Instead, Lily Petal touches her hooves on the unicorn's horn and Vinyl's mind is filled with the mental images of the Eastern Saddle Arabian landscape, and the images finally focuses upon a particular rock-cut building carved from the canyon walls.
Four colossal statue decorate the facade of the temple, each holding a large feather and are seated on a throne and wearing a weird crown, The facade is topped by a row of baboons, their arms raised in the air, apparently worshiping something.

Vinyl could understand that this is some sort of mental map to a particular location, but she is clueless to the significance of the location. Her mind is also bombarded with the stanzas of a poem or something, as she could see some words that makes no sense. Initially the poem was in Saddle Arabian, but then a voice could be heard reading the poem in Equestrian.

In loudest din or hush profound,
The Lumenize catches evil's slightest sound.
Let its illuminating sound display its might,
For the dark things cannot stand the light.

As she wonder what all of these mean, a bright light flashes before her eyes and she was pulled forcefully from the odd realm of the dream world.

---

Vinyl wakes up with cold sweat on her forehead, and starts to look around frantically. Everyone else is currently sleeping, with Zephyr's rather peculiar mini-tornado circling around the river's edge. The little filly is still sleeping quietly in her embrace, and Vinyl could not help but to look at Fatimah for a considerable amount of time. The ruins, the weird poem and the filly's mom really caused some uneasiness within the mare.

Seriously Saddle Arabia is a bucked up place, can't even sleep without something bucked up coming my way....., Vinyl thought to herself.

Comments

[stavaros-the-arcane]

In loudest din or hush profound,

The Lumenize catches evil's slightest sound.

Let its illuminating sound display its might,

For the dark things cannot stand the light.

A play on the Green Lantern Oath of Rot Lop Fan, a Green Lantern from a species without sight, nicely done.