[Painted Pinto Desert] A Taste of Desert Hospitality <Private; SteelEagle>

[Davroth]

The desert wasn't kind, not even for its inhabitants, and certainly not for those who left and returned after a while. There are things you just don't think about travelling the safer parts of Equestria. And for this gray unicorn, it might just turn out to be fatal.

Seeker had been on travelling the deserts outskirts for days until he had found what he was looking for. Tracks, and very familiar ones at that. It was unmistakable. Several wheels and the hoof prints of sheep and ponies, and the odd canine in between. He was finally on the right path. If he followed those, he'd reach his family's caravan in no time. Judging by the depth of the tracks, they were about two days ahead of him, if he hurried and reduce his night's sleep to a minimum. So he prepared a night camp, made a fire, fed himself, and his trusted sidekick, the solid black shepherd dog Blacky. What he didn't account for, though, was just how desperate coyotes became during the long dry periods.

Every possible camp side comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. This one was located on a cliff, and had the undeniable advantage that you couldn't get surrounded, should you get attacked by predatory animals. However, it didn't really offer an escape route. Worse yet, it had proven to be a little dangerous. Hungry as they were, the fire did little to keep away the coyotes, it had attracted them, led them on his path. Fortunately it was impossible for them to get past Blacky's keen ears and nose, so he had been warned soon enough to safe him from worse, but trying to swing around a big, burning stick had caused him to slightly topple, and fall over the edge of the cliff. He would have plummeted to probably more then just a few broken bones, hadn't he grabbed hold of a root sticking out of the cliff at the last second. The makeshift torch dropped down next to him, leaving him not only in relative darkness, but also a nasty burn on his right hindleg. He barely noticed the smell of singed fur, and just concentrated on holding on for dear life.

Above him, Blacky fought valiantly, keeping the coyotes away from his owner. He had been ripped out of sleep and was acting purely on instinct right now. Surely, keeping those vicious predators away from his owner had to be his top priority. But there were at least four of five of them. Seeker wasn't sure how long he could fight them off.

[colour=#d3d3d3]"HELP!"[/colour] He yelled as loudly as he could, trying to raise his voice above the sound of the roaring fire and the fight above. [colour=#d3d3d3]"Somepony, help!!"[/colour]

[SteelEagle]

[colour=#006400]"Hahahahaha!"[/colour]

Pathfinder's laugh echoed far and wide, though it could barely outstrip the pegasus herself as she shot through the canyon in the Painted Pinto Desert. It was sometimes hard to find a fun place to race your faux imaginary foes in the featureless desert, where a rise in elevation of a foot or two passed for excitement. She had to get her chances where she could and while this canyon barely occupied space on her entirely accurate pre-nightmare moon return map, it would do. So she had dived in, gained speed, and shot through the turns and movements of the snaking path with all the excitement afforded to her. Owed her, more to the point, after what had passed as acceptable for the previous few months. Her adventures had been decidedly frustrating as of late.

Nothing could compare to her search for the Helm of Commander Hurricane, of course, and the rewards for that were things she could still fondly recall(as opposed to a large portion of the middle of that adventure which existed in a semi-permanent fog). After that, however, she had been frustrated at every turn. her super cool gift to her fillyfriend had been stolen and she had been trying to follow a trail that no longer existed, ending as it did somewhere in the Painted Pinto. She didn't mind losing trails, but she always had the sneaking suspicion that she was one step too slow and chasing shadows. It had been a vexing, very annoying time and when she had been forced to pass up all manner of cave exploring because of it it became something of a cruel joke. Thankfully, she didn't have the spirit to accept such a blow and had started to search for an escape. Finding the canyon had thus been a deliciously worthwhile experience. Her wings enjoyed the stress and strain being put on, a nice workout to strengthen the still quivering muscles that had to fight to come back from their rather meek position. Much more useful than the leisurely jaunt she had above a featureless desert.

She was lost in her excitement when it was broken by the sound of a pony screaming for help, a stallion, or maybe just a colt. And it was right above her on a cliff she had been hugging for better turn speed. She shot away from the rock face and then up, finally getting to see over the cliff at an unpleasant scene unfolding. A stallion and his mangy mutt were under attack by a small pack of hungry coyotes. Coyotes! She'd had a few run ins with them and had foundf them to be a silly lot, but these ones appeared to mean business and it wouldn't be long before their numbers won the day. Or in this case, night. Pathfinder wordlessly sent one of heer hooves into her backpack and pulled up a rough piece of rope. It surely wasn't the best rope in the world and it appeared to be getting closer and closer to finally shearing off into oblivion, but it was her rope and darnit she wanted to use it. Technically it was the Talinopolis prison authority;s rope, but she figured that the loss of the rope they had used to bind her wings together was the least of their concerns at the moment.

Pathfinder saw one of the coyotes leap at the side of the mutt and whipped into action, the rope soon thrown around the beast's muzzle as it jumped in mid-air. The rope extended to its full length and Pathfinder braced, the coyote taking the brunt of the stoppage and slamming into the ground snout first. Pathfinder tugged on the rope and it fell off, and soon the rope was pulled back over and above the cliff where a defiant Pathfinder floated arrogantly behind the pony.

[colour=#006400]"Hey, you meat-eating losers, pick on somepony your own size!"[/colour] Pathfinder blared, not really considering if it made any sense as she came down next to the stallion. It didn't have to make sense. It sounded good and if Daring Do had taught her anything, sounding good was a vital part of being an adventurer!

[Davroth]

There had been a commotion above, and for a moment there, he was worried that something had happened to his fiercely loyal companion. He heard snarls and growls, and the sound of something heavy hitting the ground, and a then a whelping sound that he couldn't quite categorize as either a coyote or a dog sound. But all he could do was hanging on for his dear life. Maybe this was it, maybe his one moment of ignorance would cost him everything. It wasn't unheard of. The desert was one of the most unforgiving places in all of Equestria, and the mountains were only marginally better.

Seconds stretched impossibly long, and memories flushed through his mind in no particular order. Scenes from his childhood, wandering off from the camp as a foal, just to be carried back by one of the bigger dogs, his first day working on the spinning wheel, what little he remembered of the fateful night he found the brass object, and his cutie mark, the day he left the caravan, his first excavation, handing in his first completed thesis to the historic society of Canterlot, each of those passing his mind in a heart beat. And then a thought hit him completely unprepared, and a tear rolled down his cheek. If this was his end, he wouldn't be able to meet the white pegasus again.

It was a curious thought. He didn't even know where it came from. They had spent what? One night in the woods, and one very extraordinary day. Yet, in this moment, his thoughts didn't wander to his family, and not even his life long companion, but to Miss Radiant Steel, who would probably wait for him for years before giving up on waiting for his return. The grey stallion didn't even know what to do anymore.

But something snapped him out of his gloom, and to his surprise, it was a light brown pegasus mare with grey mane and one of those hats explorers wore on the etchings on display in the historic society. She was yelling something the he only tangentially understood, but then Seeker finally snapped back into reality.

[colour=#d3d3d3]"The Exalted One shall be praised, you are here to save me, right?"[/colour] He stammered, still holding on. [colour=#d3d3d3]"Please, is Blacky alright? He fought those foul creatures all by himself.. did you see him?"[/colour] His grip loosened for the fraction of a second, and he slid a couple of inches before grasping the root again.

[SteelEagle]

Pathfinder watched as the coyotes seemingly spent the next few seconds of their flea infested existence- okay, Pathfinder had fleas too so that was a bit rude of her- in a manner of chaos. Apparently, the coyote who had been dealt with was either alpha or a favored pack member, as his minor disablement had ruptured the aggression of the pack. They snapped and snarled and made their futile gestures of meat-eating terror as they slowly, painfully, backed off. After a few moments they vanished and she was happier for it. Great success! Another random check to her adventuring list and Pathfinder could now consider her day officially awesome. Come to think of it, wasn't her entire life a litany of awesome? It was. Soon she could compare her achievements to that of Bravado when he was just a young colt. After all, she was still far away from Daring Do.

Then she realized there was still a stallion in need of aid. He seemed rather purple- not his coat, she couldn't see him- but in how he spoke. Maybe he was a foreigner? She couldn't place it though and she had been in just about every place a pony could be. She tossed her head over the side of the cliff and offered her hoof down to the silly one below.

[colour=#006400]"Your doggy's just fine! A few cuts and bruises maybe but the mutt's walking around just fine," [/colour]Pathfinder said before laughing, [colour=#006400]"And what about you? A pony shouldn't be hanging off the side of a cliff like that unless they have wings. Unless my eyesight's finally gone bad, you don't have wings."[/colour]

She didn't mind this small detour, but there was a ticking clock that was doing what the name implied. She couldn't spend the rest of her life helping him! Panic had a way of sneaking up on her at the most inopportune times, and her brain started to wonder if this somewhat odd stallion was part of the conspiracy against her. Imagined or not.

[colour=#006400]"So, this exalted one...does he steal artifacts from beautiful mares?"[/colour] Pathfinder asked, her tone shifting from congenial to a little suspicious. It wasn't that she was going to mistrust him, but he was just weird enough for her to peg him as either a great ally or vile foe. Hopefully those weren't ponies who were turned into coyotes trying to find the formula to turn them back that she had just sent off. She had been a slug once. It wasn't fun.

[Davroth]

For a moment, Seeker hung literally by his teeth at the surprisingly durable root so he could reach out and grab the hoof the curious mare had offered him for help. With considerable difficulty, he heaved his body up on the ledge. He wasn't the best climber, but you didn't survive long as an adventurer without being able to pull your own weight, or something like that. It's something he had heard ponies in the heartland say, and he could only imagine that's what they meant.

He quickly noticed, though, that his right hindleg wont be carrying him for a while. It was badly burned, and he could barely put weight on it. He wobbled a little as he tried to keep his injured leg above the ground. At least Blacky seemed in good spirits. He was jumping around happily, like he had just fought off a dozen of coyotes all by himself. It put a smile on Seeker's features.

[colour=#d3d3d3]"The Exalted One?" [/colour]He asked, still a little shaken. [colour=#d3d3d3]"Oh, you misunderstand. That's how we, the desert natives, refer to the white ruler of Equestria. Maybe you are more familiar with her title in the heartland? Princess Celestia?"[/colour] He smiled friendly. This little tangent had completely distracted him from his pain and he tried to put his hoof down. It turned out to be a bad idea. He wobbled on the spot, then lost his hoofing, landing on his stomach.

He must have made a pretty sad display, and he was blushing a little in embarrassment. He should have really known better to begin with. This really wasn't a good place for a camp. And now that had brought him here, miles away from the next pony settlement, badly injured in the wilderness of the mountain outskirts.

[colour=#d3d3d3]"Apologies." [/colour]He continued [colour=#d3d3d3]"It seems like I injured one of my legs. I hate to ask, but could you maybe help me? I can't really travel alone with this burn.."[/colour]

[SteelEagle]

Pathfinder had spent an almost obscene amount of her adult life in the desert, planned and otherwise, yet had never heard Celestia referred to as the exalted one. That didn't necessarily mean it couldn't have been some sort of practice common in some random hamlet. She wasn't going to lie and say she was an expert on all the customs of the desert folk, even if her near encyclopedic knowledge of the ruins and possible secret cults that littered the region like the refuse of ponies much more creative than those who existed now would have belied that humble thought. That information also told her that anypony who used such terminology regarding the Princess was either ignorant of who she was or utterly mad. She was a fan of the mad type herself.

She took a quick look at her slightly crippled friend. Yep, he had a pretty gnarly burn on him, the poor devil. They said colts shouldn't play with fire and she was willing to bet that she should extend that warning to silly stallions such as this one. You had to be smart when you fought because if you hurt yourself, you just did evil's work for them. Evil didn't need help. It was plenty evil-y enough. Well, maybe after he was done recovering from his wounds, Pathfinder would teach him how to fight properly. She wouldn't foalsit him though when she trained him though; she was too awesome and too busy to waste away teaching some odd little desert colt the way to not suck at fighting random wildlife. There was a time and place for that and it was called primary school.

She trotted behind him and inspected the burned hind leg. It wasn't something terrible. Time and rest would take care of most of it for sure. However, he could hardly walk and there wasn't much she could do with it unless she was willing to inflict some major pain on the pony. Pathfinder gave a frustrated sigh and then extended her wings, flapping twice to get pumped up.

[colour=#006400]"Well, I guess you can hope on here. Not gonna fly since your little doggy is tagging along, but I can carry you for a bit I suppose," [/colour]She stretched her legs out, [colour=#006400]"though just to tell you, I've meet Celestia before. She'd be rrrrrrrreaaaaalllllyyyy creeped out if I told her ponies called her the Exalted One. Where ya heading to? I don't mind taking you for a bit, but I have a prior engagement with some thieves, if only I could find their snake-bound hides."[/colour]

[Davroth]

[colour=#d3d3d3]"She would be?" [/colour]Seeker replied with genuine surprise. Granted, it had been a while since the ruler of Equestria had shown herself around the desert nomads, but surely she still remembered the traditions, right?[colour=#d3d3d3] "It's what the desert nomads have called her for centuries. I doubt she would forget about that."[/colour] His thoughts trailed off. Radiant Steel hadn't even as much as raised an eyebrow over this title. Then again, as close to the palace as he had been, he hadn't seen Celestia even once during his stay in Canterlot.

The pulling sensation of getting carried reminded him that he wasn't alone, and he continued: [colour=#d3d3d3]"I'm on the way to my parent's caravan. They follow the mountain road below. They should be fairly close by now. I saw smoke go up just behind the hill over there when I made camp for the night."[/colour]

He sighed. The grey unicorn stallion didn't really like to rely on others like this, but it couldn't be helped in this situation. It was kind of weird, all things considered. All of his life he's been getting along just fine, but lately he first had to accept the help of a guardsmare and now this pegasus mare. The time he had spent in the heartlands apparently made him sloppy. And when in the wild, being sloppy is a hazard to your health.

[colour=#d3d3d3]"I can't thank you enough for helping me. My name is Seeker, and I'm an archaeologist by trade. I really thought I wouldn't make it."[/colour]

[SteelEagle]

These old desert nomads were something silly, to be sure. She didn't have much in teh way of direct relations with them but anypony who was anypony who spent any time in the Painted Pinto had to know them to some degree. And you certainly didn't survive for months and deal with teh absurd number of well-crafted traps that littered the many caves and dungeons without some sort of resupply from the desert folks. They were fine ponies, upstanding and honorable, direct and to the point with a culture that was as defiantly ancient as it was charming and somewhat useful to her. They needed bits for their rare excursions to cities and towns, and she needed supplies. In her time she had seen many of their traditions. The fact they called Celestia all manner of weird names didn't help them, but she called Daring Do many weirder things.

[colour=#006400]"Oh, I'm sure she respects them! That's why she wouldn't say anything. But ya know when your family does something weird but you're too nice to say anything about it? Well, I don't. I grew up in an orphanage. but I heard that happens. That's probably what Celestia thinks of you and your nomads. She loves you, respects your traditions, but that doesn't stop her from getting a little creeped out by it. That's not a problem though. I creeped out the author of the Daring Do stories, but hey, I was young and thought I was in love. I didn't know hoofcuffs were hard to remove," [/colour]She continued on casually, grunting as she launched herself over a pile of rocks, barely keeping her hoofing on the opposing side.

[colour=#006400]"So, your mum's caravan, eh? What does she sell? Does she sell water? I need some water. Non-stop thief chasing gets a bit tiring and makes you a thirsty mare. And you didn't have a thing to worry about! Coyotes are as frightening as Manticores, no more," [/colour]She finished optimistically, trotting along at a good clip.

[Davroth]

[colour=#d3d3d3]"I'm not sure I understand, no.."[/colour] The grey stallion said after the curious pegasus mare had finished her little tangent about the princess. He barely understood a lot of what she talked about. The concept of orphanages was one alien to Seeker, and he had never heard about Daring Do. He wasn't sure if he should ask, if that was something worth knowing. Probably not. Then again, this mare had saved his life, so maybe he should as about it? Was that something that the polite ponies of the Heartlands would do? Thankfully, the mare known as Pathfinder moved right along, and started to ask all sorts of questions about his family's caravan, and that was something he could talk about.

[colour=#d3d3d3]"Oh, the caravan? My family are shepherds. We let the sheep grass along the mountain outskirts near the desert, and the harvest the wool and turn it into yarn before trade it to the ponies and griffins around the desert."[/colour] He began enthusiastically. He hadn't talked about his family for a while, let alone seen them. In fact, he couldn't wait to see them again, now that they were so close, but he couldn't really influence that right now. [colour=#d3d3d3]"Oh, and don't worry, my family knows all the hidden springs around their route. I'm sure they will gladly share their water with you."[/colour]

[colour=#d3d3d3]'Water, and then some...'[/colour] He thought to himself. After all, one of the great desert nomad traditions was to always repay favours. And saving the life of one of their own was probably the biggest favour imaginable.

[SteelEagle]

Pathfinder took flight, with only some strain hefting him into the air with her. Lucky for him that his little tussle with the silly coyotes had happened where it did alongside the strong winds which gave her wings much needed rest or else this whole discussion would have gone differently. Namely, she would have just found an abandoned campsite and considered it a sign of good luck. Then she would have found some personal belongings and concluded in the middle of a fierce sandstorm that she was closer than ever to the thief. Then poor Seeker here would have gone down in her mind as the thief, and the last mark he had on the world would have been Pathfinder calling him a thief. It was a somewhat chilling prospect that put a momentary damper on her mood as she had found a few campsites just like his. She didn't want to think that perhaps...

She continued on, allowing him to talk more about his simple caravan life and his simple ideas of living. It was quaint that these types of ponies still existed in the hustle and bustle of Equestria, especially in the desert where you could hardly land without falling into a ruin or getting attacked by a sentient cactus. Well, maybe that was due to the cave slime she had lapped up that had given her some wild hallucinations, but the point stood: These ponies chose a simple life in a land of adventure, which meant they had the sort of willpower Pathfinder would never have. Plus, they were resourceful, and those were the sort of ponies that Pathfinder could give a big 'ol hug, which if they truly did give her water, was something she'd do.

[colour=#006400]"Well, I'm excited to meet them! I'm parched. Been flying around Equestria for weeks trailing a thief and was just about out of supplies. Thanks to this little run in, I'm sure to be restocked and ready to find that dastardly dealer of dangerous...designs!"[/colour] Pathfinder finished with some flair, a strong gust of wind forcing her to experience a few moments of turbulence. No problem; she had dealt with worse. Still...

[colour=#006400]"So, how far away is your momma? Gonna give'r a big 'ol kiss and a hug when you see her again?"[/colour]

[Davroth]

The grey unicorn stallion wiggled a little. Seeker wasn't really used to getting carried around by a pegasus anymore, and he couldn't say he liked it all that much. But of course he was gracious that Pathfinder had come to his rescue. And it would even save him some time reaching the caravan and his family. That was a plus. He nodded as the pegasus went on about needing supplies.

[colour=#d3d3d3]"Oh, I'm sure we can arrange that. There's an old saying: 'A desert nomad never lets a kindness go unrepaid.', though some say 'A desert nomad always pays his debts'. But regardless, I'm sure my family will be more then happy to help you."[/colour]

As his legs swayed in the wind, he noticed that his hurt leg began to ache again, and made an invested effort to just keep his hooves still as he was carried. She began to talk about his family, and how far they still had to go.

[colour=#d3d3d3]"Oh, we should be pretty close. You see the smoke over there, past the little hills? That should be their camping site."[/colour] He thought on something, then giggled. [colour=#d3d3d3]"I'm probably the one getting the big old kiss from my mum. She's always so happy when I return to the caravan, even if it's been rare lately. I'll most likely get a short nod from my father."[/colour] He had to smile when he thought about that. That's how it usually went, even if this time, he had been incredibly foolish. But also incredibly lucky to be saved like this.

[SteelEagle]

Pathfinder paid attention to the signs that her newfound and wounded companion told her to seek out, smoke in the distance trailing from a likely camp site. It would seem silly to have such an obvious sign in case of bandits or sapient seeker worms that sought to devour whole villages, but she had to keep in mind that those only existed in her self-insert fanfiction masterpiece that wasn't allowed to be read in either mixed company or with young ears perked. Maybe they couldn't help it, but her life had taught her that being stealthy was preferable to leaving a trail. But then again, she was Pathfinder, Daring Do's top fan and fan club president plus Equestria's greatest explorer whose exploits had yet to be written about, and they were simple tribesponies living simple tribespony lives in the desert. Their needs and wants were very different. She, for example, really needed a backscratch and would have liked some water.

They continued moving at a decent clip, not wasting too much time. Seeker wasn't a super light pony and the poor doggy woggy needed his rest after such an eventful day, didn't he? Pathfinder could take them wherever they needed to go no doubt at all, but she was pretty pleased that any place at all was code for not too much further than they were heading to. Even super awesome explorers needed their rest and she was starting to feel a bit weary just as a plume of smoke trailing lazily about the sky could be seen from some distance away. Pathfinder smiled and tossed her mane back as she contemplated the possibility of some food and water. And a bath. And maybe that backscratch, maybe a rub. Life was looking up!

[colour=#006400]"Is that it, Seeker?"[/colour]

She slowly tilted her wing to let him off.

[colour=#006400]"Well, we can't have you being carried home like a foal, now can we? if you need to, brace yourself against me, but you're walking in on your own hooves!"[/colour]

[Davroth]

Sure enough, his parent's caravan came into view. It was unmistakable. Over the years, as they grew more prosper (as far as the wool trading business goes), they replaced the plain cloth covering their wagons with coloful, yet durable fabric, and added pennons to it to make them easily recognizable, which was a boon when it came to trading relationships. Even if a local trader hadn't met any of the individual ponies of the caravan, their wagons, and names were known quantities around these parts of the Painted Pinto Desert.

Seeker groaned slightly as his hurt leg touched the ground. Odd one, this Pathfinder. He hadn't even thought about that, but she had a point. He hadn't visited his family in a while, and the grey stallion didn't want to appear too injured to them. After all, they'd probably worried about him if it looked like he couldn't take care of himself.

[colour=#a9a9a9]"I think I can manage from here, yes..."[/colour] He made a few tenative steps.[colour=#a9a9a9] "..Would you mind staying closeby? Just in case I become overconfident?" [/colour]He added with a slightly embarressed smile.

First were always the dogs. As the circle of caravans came in sight, Blacky had taken off, even though he was a little wounded himself, and was already halfway there, but the dogs around the caravan would not be outdone. Plenty of younger dogs and a few of the old ones he still remembered from his youth, were meeting the black shepherd dog halfway, and there was some barking, and then general sniffing at the newcomer, which was what passed as welcoming ritual among dogs.

And as soon as the barks set in, a few of the ponies of the caravan poked their heads out of the sizable circle of wagons and scanning the road for newcomers. Chance had it, it was Seeker's father, who spotted his son even from great distance. He yelled something that they couldn't hear, and the shape of a pegasus mare flew up from within the circle, and joining the aging unicorn stallion, and then they made their way to meet Seeker and his current company halfway.

Seeker made an effort to not show his pain as he stood there expecting them as they galloped towards them.

[colour=#a9a9a9]"Hello, mum, dad.."[/colour] He began with a weak smile. [colour=#a9a9a9]"I'm home."[/colour]

The light grey pegasus mare didn't even loose momentum as she hugged her son, almost sweeping him off his hooves, while his dad stopped and laughed wholeheartedly, waiting for his wife to be done with cuddling her oldest son.

"Welcome home, son. You chose a great time to arrive. We are just about to start dinner." He looked between him and Pathfinder. [colour=#696969]"We have more then enough, so if you and your company would like to join us..?" [/colour]He said with a smile, addressing Pathfinder specifically. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw his son and mother leading a quick, hushed conversation.

[colour=#008000]"You are hurt. What did you do this time..." [/colour][colour=#a9a9a9]"Nothing, mum.. it's nothing, don't worry." [/colour][colour=#008000]"It's not nothing, I can see your hindleg is burned. You are usually so careful..." [/colour][colour=#a9a9a9]"Moooom..." [/colour]He glanced over to the pegasus mare who, quite possibly, had saved his life, slightly ashamed. [colour=#a9a9a9]"Don't treat me like..."[/colour] [colour=#008000]"We got to bring you back the the camp. You are not leaving before we have taken care of your injury. No arguing, young stallion."[/colour]

[SteelEagle]

It was good that he took Pathfinder's advice, because if he hadn't willingly, she would have tossed him to the ground like so much dead weight. Beyond all of the nice, moral reasons she wanted him off of her, he was also a bit chubby. Well, maybe he was light, but so was Pathfinder, so he was heavy enough for her taste. Still, she stayed close by, legs touching as they walked, to ensure he didn't fall over. She didn't want to pick him back up, because then it would start getting annoying rather than adventurous and things that didn't fit the adventure mold needed to be done away with. Not that she would do away with him, she saved such treatment for ghosts and other common foes of hers, but it was good nonetheless. Now he wouldn't look like a silly foal and the only foals that could look silly were utterly adorable little ones in nurseries with their adorable little onesies and awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww-

He led her to the caravan, the sights and sounds of which filtered in slowly at first but then with increasing speed. The dogs were loud and numerous, and the sheer number of new, sharp teeth tha entered into Pathfinder's life suddenly didn't sit well with her. Bad experiences more often than good where they were concerned, but the dogs seemed gentle enough. They played with Seeker's beautiful little mutt as the meat of the camp drew closer and closer and soon they were enveloped in the safety of the smoke hanging above. Ponies started paying attention and soon two old(er) ponies advanced towards them, ending when what Pathfinder assumed was Seeker's momma took him into a deep embrace while the father did the father thing, which meant he stood around and acted like he was involved when he really, really wasn't.

Then momma noticed that he was injured and he did the stubborn colt thing, but Pathfinder wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily.

[colour=#006400]"Your son was fighting off big ol' desert dire wolves!"[/colour] She started, taking flight and hovering excitedly, almost like a hummingbird. Were the wolves dire? Probably not, but it sounded better than just normal wolves. It didn't matter.

[colour=#006400]"He and that adorable little mutt were fighting them off! Boom, bap, bang!" [/colour]She threw a few punches,[colour=#006400] "but there were so many! Luckily, I came by and scooped him up. I'm sure he can be back out there, adventurin' the land and fighting wolves and whatever else he does for fun in no time!"[/colour]

[Davroth]

Both Pathfinder and Seeker were led to the camp, Seeker now being aided by one of his many cousins who had hurried to their side after his mum had called out for some assistance. Really, Pathfinder hadn't agreed to anything yet, but Seeker's father wouldn't have taken no for an answer anyway. They were desert folk, and the least they could do for saving one of their own was treating you to a meal a save sleeping place for the night.

They reached the circle of wagons, and the older dogs welcomed Seeker excitedly. They remembered his smell, even after all this time. And he was coincidentally pretty good with animals. Inside, a few dozen ponies of different ages were gathered, and a whole lot of sheep, more then you could count with a single glance. In the middle there was a giant pot of stew bubbling, overseen by several mares currently, currently short one cook, as Seeker's mom was busy tending to her son's wounds. One of the perks of being a pegasus that her wings could act like a third pair of hooves, and you couldn't have enough hooves when treating inquires. In no time, his hindlegs were bandaged up, making it a little hard to trot, but would surely prevent horrible infections in the near future.

Food was ready, and the group of ponies who had tended to their business up to now lightened up and gathered in a big circle, and their esteemed guest was given a spot right next to Seeker, who set next to his parents, as it was customary among the desert dwellers.

They each were served a big bowl of stew, containing an assortment of local mushrooms and herbs, and a piece of hay bread. It was a good, solid meal for a pony working all day tending to sheep.

Seeker glanced over to the pegasus mare who had saved his life. "I hope you like the food." He began. "It's a family recipe, handed down for many generations..." For him, it was the taste of home, and even though he tried, he never really managed to perfectly recreate it. "Thanks for saving me." He said coyly, and so quiet that it was barely audible.

His mother, who had observed them with keen eyes, cleared his throat. "What my son is trying to say is that we are very grateful that you saved one of our own. If you allow us to give you a safe place to sleep for the night, we would be more then happy to." She smiled warmly, while Seeker looked a little embarrassed. "And should you need anything, we would be happy to provide you with some rations and fresh water for the way ahead of you."