Ari

Lately I can’t seem to find any peace, one moment I will be having a conversation with somepony the next second something will come screaming at me. I know that is very specific,that is because it actually happened. One moment I’m finalizing a plan with Chrissy the next thing Azure is galloping over the sand dune screaming her head off.

“Helpmehelpmehelpme!” I blinked at the unicorn as she spoke rapidly, noticing that Barium Seal wasn’t with her.

Also how had we missed them on our way out?

“Slow down, what happened?” I was getting worried now; Azure was gasping for breath and covered in sweat, leaning against my chest for support.

“Ba-baa-“

“Spit it out already!” Chrissy snarled at her. Okay, she just went from happy to angry in five seconds. Is it her time of the month or something?

Azure glared at Chrissy through her panting, “Bandits!”

I tensed and looked at the dune in front of us, that wasn’t good, bandits are usually a rough bunch of thieves. Which meant Barium might be dead, the poor always interrupting stallion.

Chrissy’s glare morphed into a worried look and she pressed closer to me, “I don’t see any.” We all looked at the dune. After several moments we still couldn’t hear anything but Azure’s panting, nothing had popped over the dune.

“I have to agree with her on that.” Looking back at Azure I saw her looking at the dune then us then back at the dune. Her ears were splayed sideways and her eyes watered. “B-But, there really was bandits. They were chasing me a-and they got Barium!! We have to save him! Pleasepleaseplease-.“ My ears went back as she broke down, pushing her head into my chest. I swore I heard a growl close by but looking at the dune I saw nothing still.

Wait a minute, they just escaped from the Diamond Dogs, and they had no bags with them!

“What were the bandits after?” Azure blinked up at me and Chrissy looked stunned too, we all had nothing on us to steal.

Did that make them ponynappers then?

That seemed to bring a stupefied calm over the unicorn. “I don’t know, we had just made it to a set of ruins when a-a monster stepped out from behind a boulder and started singing. Barium seemed soo out of it and then they strolled out from the ruins…I ran a-and th-“ ; but she lost it just as quickly, shoving her snotty nose into my fur.

This didn’t make any sense. Chrissy was giving me a confused look as well; you can’t rob something if they have nothing to begin with. Not to mention why would a monster sing at you when attacking was much were debilitating?

“So what did the monster and ponynappers look like?” It couldn’t hurt to help her. Okay, it was more like I probably would feel like shit for not trying to do something. Those bandits could also attack us, with my luck, I wouldn’t bet against it.

“You are going to help me?” She peeked out of my fur, her pupils dilating as hope entered them.

Crap, I glanced at Chrissy, “mmph” she grunted and looked away from me. That was real helpful, thanks friend.

“Yes-“ She started chanting gibberish as she stood and wrapped her hooves around my neck in a hug. Wow she was soft, I mean, I had only felt chitin and the coarse hair of the dogs before, pony fur was soo plushy. That was until her legs went out from under her, my neck protested as she grabbed my throat harder to stay upright. After a second of nearly choking, I lowered my neck and she finally let go to and got back on her hooves, but now she was glaring at Chrissy. I guess she still doesn’t like changelings.

With feeling back in my neck I got back to my original question. Ignoring the glaring-Chrissy now glaring back from my side- I asked, “So what exactly are we looking for?” It seemed like one question at a time would be easier for her, she seemed very unstable right now if her gibberish was any indication to her mental ability right now.

“It was half pony and half dragon, with scales all over it’s face. It was horrifying! I mean it makes your changeling mare look nice in comparison.” Azure went from horrified to catty in less than a minute; looks like females don’t change that much between planets. It still made my ears flatten. Chrissy wasn't my mare, she wasn't property. Not to mention she is beautiful, no wonder she has self esteem issues, I really should tell her how beautiful she is.

I steeled my anger though, pushing past her I started walking again. I might as well get this over with, then she will be out of my mane.I miss the quiet time already.

“ARI!” Chrissy yelled in surprise as she caught up, pressing against my side again. A wave of guilt washed over me, I hadn’t given her any warning before walking off.

But that guilt faded as Azure came up to my other side, pressing into it.

That irked me, just like when the dog touched my wings I felt an instinctual indignation at them touching me. They didn’t have a right. Back on earth I might have brushed it off and accepted it. But here my new body's instincts said that that was too close, that she wasn't to be trusted in my personal space.

My instincts hadn’t proved me wrong yet.

I didn’t trust my words to not hurt the mare so I went to step away from her, only to find myself squeezed between them like a shute. Both mares seemly determined to be as close as possible. I couldn’t think of a response. I now was walking in the boiling sun and tucked snug between two very warm mares. I was boiling alive in my black fur.

Going down the dune I continued the questioning. “How many ponies were there? What did they look like?”

“I saw six of them not including the monster. They were a weird mix. There were three gryphons, two Komondors, and a Minotaur. They were armed a-and-.” Azure turned her muzzle into my barrel, which she just barely reached. If she was any shorter she would be walking under me like a foal.

A tail flicked my rump.

“And just what is a Komondor?” I looked down at Azure as the desert didn’t really hold much interest with its endless dunes.

“A muscle bound, bipedal lizard. With about the same about the amount of brain power as a lizard too.” Chrissy growled out, her wing buzzing in what I would call anger.

It was definitely her time of the month.

“Ok, so we have at least three muscle guys and two fliers…fun. Are we going the right way Azure?”

She shivered against my fur and nodded.

Two tails hit my rump this time.

My ears folded back as I tried to ignore them and keep my annoyance under control, they obviously were having personal issues. Chrissy understandably was annoyed; Azure had basically called her slightly better than a monster after all. Azure just seemed to be anti-changeling and therefore Chrissy herself was probably a aggravation.

We continued to walk on in the sweltering heat, the sun making it impossible to know just how long but I felt it was long enough.

During the walk I was caught between some unspoken battle. Chrissy couldn’t stop flicking me with her tail, I kept giving her a questioning look but she was too busy giving Azure the evil eye to notice. Not that Azure was any more mature about it. She was glaring right back and was soo uptight that her tail was sticking up in the air.

Not to mention the smell that had begun to fill the air, the effect of three sweating bodies pressed together, it was hard to concentrate. Part of the smell wasn’t soo bad, there was Chrissy’s unique smell of cinnamon which I loved. But the smell of mares, jasmine flowers to be exact, was extremely strong. It was having a strange effect on my body, i almost felt light headed and i had to stop myself from breathing more of it in. That on top of melting under the sun and I wasn’t a happy camper.

Heck, I was almost looking forward to fighting those ponynappers just to get some breathing space. I couldn’t just ask Chrissy to stop feeding when she is still healing and I didn’t feel right telling an upset mare to stop touching me. If my experience has shown me anything so far it’s that they are very touch oriented, I likened it to calming down from petting a cat.

My prayers were answered as we went over the latest dune, before us I could see a beige colored ruin in the distance. It was hard to make out the details but it was clearly a ruined building. I turned to Azure for confirmation but her look said all I needed to know. Her eyes were wide, he ears were pressed back in fear, and her tail was tucked between her tail.

“Do you want to stay here?” I wasn’t sure what use she would be if her first reaction was to run away, really she was a liability in a fight.

She shook her head, “I need to rescue Barium!” A new determination twinkled in her eyes.

I could work with this.

“Okay then, when we get there your job is to get Barium Seal from them and protect him. We will handle the others.”

Chrissy snorted, “Fine the sooner we get this done the better.”

As we approached the ruins, they showed just how massive they truly were. Stacks of large stone bricks were partially stacked, each brick four feet tall and nearly as wide. The remains of the entrance held two crumbling pillars; they were snapped in half but still towered over me. I looked at the tops just in case; I had learned my lesson from the diamond dogs.

This time there was nothing above.

Chrissy nudged my shoulder and looking over I saw why. There were tracks in the sand. They were representatives of nearly all prints: cloven hooves, horse hooves, paws, talons, and what I supposed were lizard footprints.

I took a whiff of the air: sweat, musk, jasmine, urine, and several other scents that I rather not mention. Sorting through the smells I identified at least eight different individual’s scents. At least one was a female or had been with one recently. It wasn’t Azure’s scent, she smelt like cranberries and orange. Barium had been here, his harsh smell of rosemary still hung in the air.

My ability to discern scents and their meanings had improved. I was finding every creature had a species scent, for example changelings smelt like burnt wood; every individual also had a personal scent. Mares always seemed to smell like jasmine flowers.

Smells aside, this only meant one thing: we had to follow them. I could only hope there wasn’t more waiting for us.

“I guess we follow the tracks.” The mares nodded in agreement, glaring forgotten with this change in plan.

As we moved forward into the ruins I couldn’t help but notice the strong smell of jasmine and cinnamon again, it was invading my nostrils at an alarming rate. The smell thankfully was soon removed as a strong breeze moved in.

I didn’t like this breeze, flashbacks of the mountain storm popped up.

“So Chrissy, what sort of crazy weather does Saddle Arabia get?” I gazed at the mini sand twisters popping up with a growing sinking feeling.

Gazing at the rapidly evolving sand twisters Chrissy replied, “Last time I was here there were just sandstorms. But that was a couple hundred years ago. Who knows what has changed since then.”

My eye twitched, she was at least how old now?! I know you aren’t supposed to ask but I really wanted to now. Was this normal here?

More importantly, I only knew a little about the deserts on earth but I knew you definitely didn’t want to be caught in a sand storm. I glanced at the edge of the ruins which was fast approaching us in our trek through them.

“Maybe we should hunker down here, I feel like a sandstorm could be coming.” It was only a question of when now; the wind was increasing its howling against the stubborn ruins, which refused to fall under its force.

Chrissy looked conflicted, chewing on her lip.

Azure was conflicted as well, “What if we lose their tracks? Won’t the storm cover them up?”

She was right of course. It was a paradox, on one hand I wanted everyone to be safe but on the other hand I didn’t want to lose track of the ponynappers.

I didn’t know how we could track them down with out the tracks so I conceded, “You're right, we have to keep moving. Let’s pick up the pace though.” With that we broke into a trot.

The tracks became less jumbled the further out we went, eventually forming a line. However the wind was slowly obscuring the tracks and soon I wouldn’t be able to tell what direction we needed to go.

We were all panting, have slowed to a walk, and I desperately needed a cool drink. I miss the oasis right now; I really should invest in some bags to carry water in.

Although Azure’s point had been the most logical it was not the most comfortable. I had sand whipping into any open orifice right now, my eyes, ears, and nose. I was sure it was even worse for Chrissy with her chest wound. Glancing at it I noted it had scabbed over at least.

The trek was taking hours and my mind wandered onto several problems. Both Chrissy and myself couldn’t just enter a town the way we are, the ponies reactions would be problematic. While they would probably try to bow to me, thinking I’m royalty they would be just as quick to run away from Chrissy. I chuckled at that.

“What?” Chrissy asked keeping her eyes squinted against the flying sand.

“I was just thinking what a pair we make. If we walked into a town the ponies would be tripping over themselves trying to decide whether or not they should bow or run. I don’t think they should run but I have seen someponies reaction to you already and I don’t doubt others share it.”

“Hey! We have a good reason to be! She and her army invaded and tried to take over Canterlot. How do we not fear that? How is any of that good?!” Azure had her ears pinned back, looking me defiantly in the eye.

“Well-.” I was interrupted by Chrissy. “Yes I invaded your selfish, ignorant country! My family, my people were starving. We were being flooded out of our hiveland by water that we couldn’t even drink! DON’T EVEN PRETEND TO UNDERSTAND WHAT I DID!!” By the end of it Chrissy had stopped walking and was both screaming and crying. I wrapped her in my wing, trying to send more love her way.

Azure stared in shock at Chrissy’s vehemence. She opened her mouth several times but nothing came out, her righteousness having fled.

“Really?”

“Yes…”

I nuzzled Chrissy, she sounded exhausted again.

On a brighter note the wind was slowing.

Wanting to move on I started herding them out of this melancholy mood pushing them forward with my wings, both mares tails started twitching and they looked at me in surprise. But they started walking and I resumed my position between them.

We had just caught sight of a stone building up ahead when I heard mare’s voice start singing. I couldn’t say for sure what she was singing, it was like opera in the sense that it was all about the feeling it evoked rather the words. Azure had heard it as well and looked into my face with a worried expression.

“Ari?” Azure squeaked out.

“Yes, whats up?” My answer brought relieve to her face, “That voice was what Barium heard before he got this dazed look on his face.”

He really must not get out much if this lovely voice was enough to throw him off.

“I mean it is a nice voice but I don’t see what the big deal is. Maybe he fancied her when he saw her?”

She pinned her ears at me, “He would never!”

I struck a nerve.

“I knew it! You two are a couple!” Azure sputtered and blushed at my statement

Before she could respond the owner of the voice appeared from the building.

Azure said it was a monster. Well, I guess that was her crude way of saying that she and I have never seen anything like this mare before. She was equine in the basic shape: four legs and hooves, a golden mane and tail, and even a flank tattoo that seemed to be popular with the ponies. It was two musical notes. Her fur was a creamy yellow but the fur was only on her bottom half. It blended into pale yellow scales halfway up her back, they continued to cover her front half. Her muzzle was opened in song and showed sharp canines along with her equine teeth. A long horn spiralled out of her forehead and It was glowing pink as she locked her draconic yellow eyes with me.

We stopped walking with about fifty feet between the house and us. I stared right back at the dragon pony, a shit eating grin coming over my face.

“Hello, have you seen a pony named Barium? i could have sworn we misplaced him around here somewhere. You know how it is, you turn your back and 'poof' they just wander off.” I teased her. I knew she was part of the ponynappers but like I said, teasing was my coping mechanism.

She stopped singing and blinked owlishly at me for a couple seconds.

Chrissy and Azure looked confused as well, apparently my humor is off today.

“Okay that was a bad. Look how about you just hand over the pony and we can call ourselves even. No need to fight.” Now Chrissy was just shaking her head at me and Azure was looking at me like I was crazy. But I really didn’t want to hurt her, before when I fought it was against smelly, scheming dogs. This was a mare and I just don’t feel right hitting her.

Her answer to my question was to start singing, louder this time. It sounded almost sad as it cascaded from her throat, yet a touch of hopeful higher notes were mixed in.

“You are a good singer but we didn’t come to listen.”

Her eyes were tearing up now, “Woah there!” I held up a hoof. “No need to cry, I just meant that we actually have like three different missions going on right now and are short on time this time. If we pass through again I’m sure we will listen.” And now tears were running down her scales.

What did I say? I mean I used to be a lady for crying out loud, I thought I was being very nice.

Maybe I just don’t get mares.

My thoughts were cut short as the shadows started to move in the building's doorway.