Мир вашему дому / Peace Be Upon Thy Land: Peace Be Upon Thy Land

"You're sure you want this?" asked the pegasus mare of sky-blue color in a slightly anxious voice, shuffling her hooves nervously.

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 22:01

"Yes," said the white unicorn, and then levitated two more books into his saddle bag. "I sent a request to Her Highness' office."

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 22:02

Skye Line blinked in surprise and stepped forward incredulously, her eyes wide.

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 22:07

"Really? What was it? What did she say?"

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 22:07

"Her Highness is fond of my endeavour and…"

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 22:11

"And?" she echoed him.

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 22:12

"And in case my story satisfies her when I return, our humanitarian mission in Zebrica will be permanent. You know, Skye, I can't let her down. I made my choice a long time ago."

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 22:13

"It's because of that striped one, right? I wish he hadn't..."

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 22:19

"Skye!" the unicorn exclaimed in a harsh and indignant tone. "Did you hear his stories?"

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 22:20

"No. They said he was talking crazy."

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 22:28

"I had a chance to talk to him. And I'm determined to get there after what I've heard."

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 22:31

"Alone, Jason! You're going all alone!" The pegasus was almost wailing.

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 22:33

"It's the best way," the unicorn said, closing the bag and looking at her with a softened expression. "Don't worry. It's not that bad out there. They don't eat ponies. That's just old mares' tales."

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 22:37

***

psychoshy 14.06.18 в 10:21

Just as Jason Bright left his house, an angular earth stallion in a suit ran up to him.

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 14:21

"Mr. Bright?" he asked politely, perhaps even in a courteous manner.

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 22:57

"Yes, it's me. What can I do for you?"

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 22:50

"Good morning. I'm Wind Trader from Richmond & Trades."

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 22:51

"And to what do I owe the honor?" Jason did not like that kind of hucksters much. Too shifty and evasive.

For the same reason, he did not like Manehattan where everything lived and breathed business, trade, scams and fraud. Of course, the progress he wanted to bring with his mission was necessary, but sometimes it became too much. And the city was an example of this.

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 22:58

"I'm the official representative of the company. As we have learned, soon you're going to visit a place that we're very interested in," this 'representative' said vaguely. His speeches meandered like a snake, avoiding sharp edges and undesirable points. "And we would like to offer you our services. There's no infrastructure or railroads to get you directly to the place of your destination."

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 14:34

Bright frowned. "What's your offering?"

There was some truth in Wind Trader's words. Equestria maintained no close ties or regular communication with Zebrica. A traveller had to overcome the path part by train, part on hoof. That was not to mention the fact that you had to find a way to cross the bay. In the end, such a journey would take too much time.

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 15:11

"A balloon! We'll also provide you with a pegasus guard to pull it in tow in case there's no wind."

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 15:25

"And what do you want in return?" Bright knew that nothing could just happen for no reason when dealing with such ponies as Wind Trader.

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 15:26

"Oh, it's almost nothing. I'll come along with you."

psychoshy 14.06.18 в 19:21

"For what purpose?" The unicorn squinted at him and pursed his lips. He did not like this idea right away. There was obviously a catch.

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 15:39

"We're interested in the diamond mines. You see, it's unlikely that natives have been engaged in mining. So we'll attract sponsors, hire workers and—"

psychoshy 14.06.18 в 19:23

"And spoil whatever you can," Bright cut off sternly.

psychoshy 14.06.18 в 19:33

"Why, not at all," Wind Trader protested. "I assure you, nothing like that. No damage."

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 15:49

"When will you be able to provide a balloon then?" Still, the idea seemed very tempting.

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 15:50

"It's ready!" Wind Trader exclaimed. Suddenly a stocky earth pony approached them, pulling a carriage behind him. "Here it comes, so please."

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 15:51

Jason Bright did not hesitate for long. He knew they would still provide him both the carriage and the balloon even if he decided to think for a few more weeks. They clearly needed a missionary to establish relations with the local population, which they would try later to attract to work in the mines—a standard pattern for reclaiming faraway lands.

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 16:11

"All right. I agree to your proposals," Jason nodded, adding to himself, [i]But I'll make sure the zebras won't.[/i]

psychoshy 15.06.18 в 23:07

***

psychoshy 14.06.18 в 15:08

The air voyage turned to be short indeed. An expedition on hoof would take weeks or even months. The balloon had caught a fair wind and reached their destination in just five days even without pulling in tow by the pegasus guard.

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 16:21

The arrival was sudden. Upon awakening, Bright found themselves above a sea of green and yellow. The savannah stretched out below them as far as an eye could see. Among the tall grass—sometimes clearly higher than a pony's height—there were rare clusters of trees and shrubs.

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 16:24

"How long have we reached Zebrica?" he asked Wind Trader next to him.

The earth pony had been talking Bright's ear off over the past five days, and it seemed that even his own guard was extremely tired of him. During the flight, he never took off his suit and constantly complained about cold or heat or both, and obviously began to hate this journey.

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 16:44

"Early in the morning, I guess. We crossed the bay, and that's the view. It hasn't changed for hours."

psychoshy 16.06.18 в 06:47

"Like it has to," Bright muttered, remembering the words of the zebra who had come to them in a dreadful state. The fever consumed his body and mind, so his account was short and incoherent. But he gave them a map, saying, "come to any oasis and you will find a tribe."

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 16:52

Bright turned towards the pegasus who was flying nearby. He carefully looked out for danger on the ground and in the air.

"What's the place where we've crossed the bay?" the unicorn shouted to him.

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 17:00

"The Cape of Daggers," his voice was hoarse and gruff. He opened his mouth rarely and spoke just straight to the point. If there was a possibility to remain silent, he did not say a word.

psychoshy 16.06.18 в 07:03

Unfolding the map, Bright found a piece of land which indeed looked like a dagger.

psychoshy 16.06.18 в 06:56

"Then we flew further south? Across the river?"

psychoshy 16.06.18 в 07:03

"Yeah," the answer was short and concise. "An hour ago."

psychoshy 16.06.18 в 07:06

The missionary thought in amazement at how far they had come into the continent. He once again turned to the map and found that there would be an oasis soon.

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 17:11

They did not have to wait long. A small lake was surrounded by a narrow hem of vegetation. They could see date palms, large green shrubs with some small red fruits, and tall grass. This small grove grew at the southern edge of the lake while on the other side was a small settlement of three dozen huts.

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 17:24

"Land the balloon in a distance. We shouldn't scare the locals and start getting our acquaintance in a mess," Bright ordered.

He was excited and thrilled, wondering what they would be like, those inhabitants of the small village. How the zebras would meet them, and whether they would be able to find a common language with the striped people, sharing with them the truth brought from the heart of Equestria. He straightened up, several bales of things he considered necessary for the tribe on his back as he moved forward. Zebras had no magic, so its demonstration would do only harm. Now he had to be like them.

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 17:40

They were waiting for him. And the waiting was silent and tense. Equine shapes stood in the doorways of wooden huts—one might think it was just striped ponies. And though they were not ponies, they looked exactly the same, with the exception only in color and strange marks on their flanks. The glances they gave him were different: wary, suspicious, frightened, hostile and only a few curious. Those were of the foals that were hiding behind adults, peeping from behind their legs. They all remained silent. Trader, who counted on the missionary's help, did not utter a word and idled around behind his tail. In the end, a mare broke away from the crowd and went up to Bright. She looked like all her fellow zebras, only a few beads and feathers with some threads were woven into a nearly white mane with a pair of black strands.

psychoshy 21.06.18 в 17:45

"Mohai, farlander. What do you want here? Why did you come flying on the bubble?" It clearly was a quite unusual accent that felt in her voice, but the missionary already heard it.

psychoshy 14.06.18 в 16:35

"Greetings. My name is Jason Bright. I've come from Equestria to meet the people of the zeb..." He did not get a chance to finish. The mare rushed towards him and covered his mouth with a hoof.

psychoshy 14.06.18 в 16:42

"Shhh, we don't like that word your people made up. If you want peace, you shouldn't say it."

psychoshy 14.06.18 в 16:48