The Heartland: Outskirts Gimme Shelter

[Dio]

(( OOC: Yes I wrote this listening to the Rolling Stones ))

"Of all the days the local weather crews could have picked, it had to be this one..."

Virtue gritted his teeth, clamped his wings shut, and forced his way through the howling tempest, with each step silently thanking the last shop owner he had visited for the storm-proof gear. The driving rain stung his flanks and streamed through his mane and blaze, blurring his vision and clouding the breath in his nostrils with fine mist.

In the periphery of his vision, Virtue spotted something in the gloom. A short distance away, an old barn rose out of the mists. Though it was in disrepair, it appeared intact enough to weather the storm. Virtue grunted as he slogged through the muck that, in dry weather, would have passed for a trail. The decrepit barn loomed in front of him, its shutters flapping in the baying wind and front door clearly falling off its hinges. Still, it was better than being out in the open and a sight more respectable than the cover of an old oak in Everfree.

"Abandoned, but serviceable. This will have to do."

The Pegasus breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped into the barn, immediately enjoying the feeling of no longer being bombarded by stinging droplets falling from the sky like a million arrows. Virtue shook himself off, starting with his cropped-short mane and working his way down his body, flapping his wings and flicking his tail to work the worst of the rain out. Though his coat was still damp, it was far more comfortable than being soaked.

KA-THUNK. Virtue's saddlebags and scabbard clattered unceremoniously to the concrete floor of the barn. He was far too exhausted from fighting the storm to care about proper procedure at this point. Nudging his gear into a dry corner, Virtue curled up on the floor and was soon fast asleep.

[CherryRie]

Thunder rumbled across the foothills, rolling over the ramshackle barn like the snores of an old man. Outside, wind and rain thrashed fruitlessly against the creaking timbers, seeking out openings or cracks through which it could slink. Only the northern end of the barn was exposed to the elements, the long neglected doors clinging to rusted hinges and the kraal high above missing its trapdoor altogether. Closer the back however the stalls remained dry, especially near the raised hayloft beneath which the stallion now slumbered.

Beyond the sheltering walls the storm raged on, a distant flash of lightning briefly chasing away the darkness. Amidst the straight shadows of sturdy timbers, a faint silhouette became distinct in the gloom of the hayloft, a sinuous anomaly among the regular lines of the old building. Another bout of lighting flickered through the room, the incontinuity now sitting in the high strung rafters, staring down at the intruder with Sanguine eyes.

Calm settled as the tempest drew breath, the hiss of rain joined by a quiet flutter of wings. Another flash revealed only timber where once the figure had stood, the thunder bringing with it the scrape of metal on stone.

The weary traveler stirred in his slumber as something cold brushed against his damp neck. Moments passed as he slipped once more below the tide of fatigue, interrupted by the sensations return, more instant this time. Absentmindedly the stallion batted a hoof across his sholdure, meeting something unexpected. Something hard. Something Iron.

Senses crystallized. Among the howling wind was the sound of rasping breath, the smell of panic and the shaking tools in uncertain hoofs. Opening his heavy eyes by the narrowest crack, the Pegasus carefully observed the heaving figure that stood over his prone form. With the brilliance of the storm joining the roar of thunder, excruciating light burst upon the scene and the knight drank in every split second detail.

Above him a wreck of a filly stood on her hind legs, face contorted with fear and rage, shaking hooves clenched tightly around the long hoe that hovered inches from Virtue's throat.

Now but a shadow, the wavering garden tool moved again, tapping the hoof away with an unsteady jab.

"Don't, move." A feminine voice trembled, the owner struggling to retain both nerve and unnatural posture "Try anything, an' I'll...I'll..."

[Dio]

Metal. Cold metal. Virtue snapped to alertness at the touch, the material’s temperature and texture triggering every combat instinct drilled into him by years of training and field work. Every muscle tensed, every non-eyesight sense came online with lightning speed. Even in the darkness, Virtue knew the interior of the barn, including the location of his attacker.

“Don’t, move. Try anything, an’ I’ll…I’ll…”

With one swift, fluid motion, Virtue leapt up, knocking the garden hoe away with a massive fetlock and alighting on all four hooves just inches in front of his would-be assailant. His wings were half-opened already, prepared to propel him forward with more force than could be mustered by his legs alone in a barreling lunge that could knock the toughest creature off its feet and send it face first into the ground.

A cry of surprise issued from the mare’s lips as her improvised weapon clattered to the concrete, just out of reach. As Virtue’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, the flier in front of him was illuminated by a flash of lightning, revealing not an assassin or a thief, but a small, frightened filly. Virtue’s would-be assailant was young, barely a mare and definitely no hardened killer. The burly Pegasus relaxed slightly, looking over to where her weapon had clattered to the ground. What could have been the edge of a dagger or sword was in fact the dull blade of a common garden hoe.

The filly quailed in his presence, visibly trembling and stumbling backwards as he advanced. Virtue mentally kicked himself in the flank. The barn hadn’t been abandoned after all. In fact, it probably belonged to one of the nearby operational farms, the owners of which had every right to evict him for trespassing.

“How in nightmare did you find me!?! Who Sent YOU!!”

The feminine voice quavered uneasily, laced with a mixture of fear and rage. Virtue’s ears perked up at the sudden change in tonality and the realization that any rational pony would be fast asleep snug in her house in a storm like this. Whoever this filly was, she was neither the owner of the farm, nor was she a native of the area.

Another flash of lightning illuminated the interior of the barn, casting sharp shadows against the cold concrete and further deepening the darkness around the walls and corners of the decrepit barn. Slivers of inky blackness accented by fleeting beads of quicksilver skittered across the two pegasi as they stood face to face on the concrete. There was something oddly familiar about the little Pegasus. Though her mane was mussed and her coat covered in wood chips and partly dried mud, her eyes shone through the darkness. Sanguine eyes. Tired eyes. Hurt eyes.

The memory finally clicked. Virtue stepped forward, his wings folded once again at his side and his head lowered to the filly’s eye level. As the lightning flashed once again, it revealed the softer expression that he had adopted.

“Cherry?”

[CherryRie]

If there's one thing to remember in business, my girl, it is that every Stallion has his price.

"You... No... not you too."

There was a note of desperation in the filly's voice as she scuttled away from the familiar stranger, struggling momentarily to get back on all fours. All out panic gripped her thin frame, rot clawed at her gut, every limb felt week and numb.

"No," She snapped firmly, eyeing the high open crane hatch above the barns decrepit doors "I Won't go back! Not after what that- that Buzzard did to me!"

Crouching low the Pegasus spread her wings and sprang upwards. For any other feathered equine the trapdoor was a mere heartbeat away, but the filly seemed to stall in mid air, yelping in pain as her cramped wings seized. Both hooves and wings clawed desperately for altitude, fear and adrenalin driving her through the pain.

[Dio]

“...you... No... not you too.”

Virtue took a step back, not from an impending threat, but from the venom that Cherry Dawn spat back at him. She recognized him, that much was certain, but her inflection cut just as deep as any Destrier blade. There was vitriol in her voice, a volatile concoction of cold rage and abject terror that detonated in a spray of acidic verbiage.

Et tu, Equus? The words echoed in his head, his own words, now being repeated to him by an innocent that he’d sworn to protect. Betrayal was a dart that pierced deeper than any armor could protect, down to the very heart of a stallion. Even when colored by fright and anger, the accusation still struck a blow deep within the recesses of Virtue’s psyche.

“Cherry!” Virtue spoke curtly, but without malice, trying to get the filly’s attention without antagonizing her. “Please calm down. I am not here to—”

“No!” Cherry cut him off, her eyes darting about the barn like a frightened animal. “I won’t go back! Not after what that – that Buzzard did to me!”

“Cherry!”

Ignoring Virtue’s pleas, the little Pegasus leaped upwards, intending to take wing and make her getaway in spite of the storm outside. Virtue sidestepped just in time to avoid a collision, allowing Cherry’s outstretched legs and wings to flit by just inches from his head. But as he did so, the filly seemed to crumple in mid-air, as if giant invisible hooves had been clapped together with her in the middle.

Virtue winced as Cherry foundered, yelping in pain as she tumbled to the concrete behind him. The burly stallion was surprisingly light on his feet and wings as he quickly fluttered over her crumpled form, alighting just in front of her. Virtue folded his wings again and knelt down to bring his muzzle level with Cherry’s.

“Please listen to me, Cherry,” Virtue said, looking straight into Cherry’s eyes. “I made a vow to do everything in my power to protect the innocent. I have yet to break that vow and I do not intend to start now. Please, I mean you no harm...”

[CherryRie]

Unforgiving cobles greeted the filly as she fell from the air and sprawled awkwardly across the barn floor. Panting in exertion, Cherry tried to pull herself back together, cramp stricken wings remaining painfully unfurled as her resolve faltered. She wasn't going anywhere. Too tired to run, all the Pegasus could do was curl away as the elder stallion alighted and moved in close to her fallen form. Covering her face with both hooves, a near silent torrent of pleas passed the filly's lips with every heaving breath, shrinking back and screwing her eyes tight as Virtue leaned in closer.

"Please listen to me, Cherry,"

Still shaking uncontrollably, her eyes opened a crack to see the stallion leaning down next to her.

"I made a vow to do everything in my power to protect the innocent. I have yet to break that vow and I do not intend to start now."

With no attept by the knight to grab for her or even move an inch closer, Cherry lifted her head slightly and looked back into Virtue's honest eyes, tears escaping from the corners of her own.

"Please, I mean you no harm..."

A long moment passed before the filly tried to reply. "Then-" she croaked, turning away to clear her dry throat "-Then why are you here? Why are you following me?"

[Dio]

“-Then why are you here? Why are you following me?”

“Following you?” Virtue cocked his head quizzically as he answered. “Cherry, after the incident in Hoofington, you vanished. How was I to know you would be in the same barn I happened to seek shelter in here? Wherever ‘here’ is...”

Virtue trailed off as he realized he hadn’t the slightest idea where in Equestria they were. The storm had caught him off guard, completely erasing his ability to recount the distance or direction he had traveled while within it. All he knew was that he was somewhere north of Fillydelphia, lost in the mess of farms that covered the rolling hills of the Equestrian Heartland, sheltering in a dilapidated barn with a filly he had met just days earlier in Hoofington under less than auspicious circumstances.

“It appears fate has decided that we cross paths again, Cherry Dawn,” Virtue said as he stood. The Destrier gently nuzzled Cherry before stepping back to his corner of the barn. “Come now, you are much too big for me to be dragging you around by the nape of your neck like a foal!”

Unsnapping one of the straps on his saddlebags, Virtue removed a small metal canteen from its containing pouch. Virtue popped the cap open and took a quick swig before sitting down on his haunches, holding the canteen in one hoof and motioning for Cherry to come over with the other.

“I always travel light, so I apologize for having nothing more to offer,” he said. “But the water is potable and the corner is dry. Hydration should help loosen the cramps in your wings and rest will do wonders for your nerves.”

A peal of thunder rattled the barn again, albeit with far less intensity, seeming more distant than the ones prior. The bursts of lightning were also becoming more sporadic, indicating that the storm was blowing past them. Virtue briefly considered heading out to find a more secure location, but reconsidered when he looked outside through the crack in the barn door. The rain was far from over.

“When this storm clears up we can see about finding a town and getting some proper lodging and a real meal,” he sighed, turning back to Cherry. “Until then, I think you should try to relax and get some sleep.”

[CherryRie]

Fate.

Such an innocent word for that which could so easily strip the soul of both freedom and responsibility. None other like it existed in the modern Equestrian tong, save 'god'.

A mirthless laugh caught in the Filly's throat, stifled by the touch of warm fur against her cheek. Though her gut instinct was to recoil from the stallion, fatigue dimmed nerves slowed her response, leaving her mind exposed to the watery comfort that honest contact brought. By rights with all that had happened to her in the recent weeks, she shouldn't have wanted to be within a thousand miles of anypony. Yet just that brief moment of kindness did more to settle the storm in the youngster's mind then lonely days in the outback ever could.

Gingerly, Cherry clambered onto her hooves and walked unsteadily towards Virtue's corner. Even in the dark, the knight could see she was uneasy, warey not just of him, but of the concept of another ponies company. Minding her steps, the filly picked her way onto the old hay pile and sat down opposite her unexpected rescuer.

Outside the storm rolled on, laying sheets of rain across the thirsty land while the two ponies sat in silence, exchanging the cantina and listening. Several times the younger Pegasus strained to say something, but the storm song persisted unabated. Years of training came with a patience that could calmly watch trees grow from seed to sapling, and so Virtue waited.

"I'm sorry." She said, at last breaking the serenity that had settled across the barn.

"I didn't want to involve you. I should have at least said 'thank you' before I left though."

[Dio]

“It was my sworn duty to involve myself,” the knight said, looking past Cherry, gazing through the barn door at infinity beyond the driving rain. “When I became a Destrier, I vowed that I would protect the innocent whenever they were threatened by the wicked and corrupt...”

Cherry continued. “I should have at least said ‘thank you’ before I left though.”

A light chuckle escaped Virtue’s lips at Cherry’s response. “Yes, it was a bit rude. But I can hardly blame you. I will admit that staying at an inn with a sword-wielding stranger when you had just been chased down by strange stallions would be quite unnerving were I in your position.”

As his laughter faded into the night, Virtue’s mind rang with the clanging of blade on shoed hoof and scintillated with flashing arcs of polished steel. The Destrier made a show of shaking out his short-cropped mane and flicking his tail, partially hiding the attempt to shake the thoughts from his head. Certainly he would have been justified in slaying Cherry’s pursuers outright. He could see the malicious intent in their gaze, sense the darkness in their souls, darkness that needed to be eradicated if Equestria was to ever have lasting peace.

“Let this blade be a shining beacon in the howling darkness, flashing steel against the sins of the wicked, and an ever vigilant guardian against the insidious powers of corruption and vice,” Virtue silently mouthed the words inscribed in Old Equine on the flat of his blade. Aequitas was forged just for this purpose. Why, then, did it feel wrong to use it to carry out his sacred duty?

“Those stallions made an enemy of the Destriers when they attacked you,” he said, suddenly adopting a much more serious tone. “Until they pay for their crimes, it will always be so.”

An enemy of the Destriers? Could he really say that now? Were they really an enemy of the Destriers, or were they merely an enemy of Virtue, the knight errant? Virtue laid his head down upon his forehooves, closing his eyes as he mulled over the words he had jut spoken.

[CherryRie]

“You don’t know the half of it.” Cherry grimaced at the mention of her past traumas. Even through the darkness it was clear that the filly was exhausted, a week smile gracing her gaunt façade as she listened to the chivalrous pledge.

“Very poetic,” She said, stretching out a pained wing “If a little dramatized. Still, thank you. Somehow it's... better, knowing I’m not entirely alone out here.”

A guttering flash of light from beyond the barn doors highlighted the glint of metal laying nearby “Sorry for the rude awakening too, I’m more than a little high strung at the moment. If you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing out here yourself? Ponyville is quite out of the way?”