>"Aright. Up. Both of you. We've arrived."
>you rub your eyes and sit up
>the caravan's captain stands in front of you, pointing off the wagon
>you're in a city of some sort, and as you look around, your brother Ire sits up and yawns, scratching his head
>"We can't have dead weight around here. Off, both of you."
>your brother's eyes widen
>"You seriously aren't going through with this, right? Does our father's memory mean nothing?"
>the captain sighs
>”His memory isn't going to bring jack shit back at the end of the day. Just like you two."
>he tosses a bag of bits at you
>it collides with your head, knocking you to the floor
>you pick it up and hold it close, looking between your brother and the captain with tears in your eyes
>you'd been on the caravan all your life
>your father caught some illness, Quix wouldn't say what, and passed
>apparently he was all that was keeping you on there, because the captain turned on you both
>of course, you knew this day was coming, but...
>now that it was actually here, you didn't know what to do
>your brother's face is contorted with rage, his hoof twitching near his pistol
>"Don't try anything."
>the captain says, catching your gaze and following it to his hoof
>your brother lets out a sigh and relaxes in defeat, taking the bits from your hooves
>"C'mon Silver…”
>he says angrily, storming off into the streets
>you hop off the wagon and follow in his hoofsteps, off into a bustling land of skyscrapers
>from behind, you hear the captain's voice
>"Good luck out there... You'll need it. Both of ye."
 
>your brother leads you through the city for a time
>you get your crying under control and eventually start to wonder where he’s leading you
“Ire? Where are we going?”
>”I don’t know…”
>he pulls into an alley and sits down, slumping against the wall
>”I… I don’t know Silver.”
>he clenches his eyes shut, slamming his hoof into the ground
>”S-Silver? Do you know where we are?”
>he says through clenched teeth
>you back away a little
>you look around the city
“I don’t… Where are we?”
>you say, a bit fearful
>he grits his teeth and lets out a long breath
>”Dire Silver… Dire…”
>you think for a second, the name rings a bell
“Isn’t that the bad city?”
>he nods, then looks to the bag
>he pulls it open and pours out the bits inside
>he counts them, then chucks the bag to the floor
>”50… Fucking cheapskate. How are we going to live on 50 fucking bits!”
>he holds his head in his hooves and slumps to the floor
>you sit down next to him and put your hoof around him
“Come on… At least we have each other!”
>he sits back up and looks at you
>his eyes are shining, and you can see a bit of damp fur around the edges of his eyes
>his lip is quivering, but it slowly turns to a smile
>”Y-Yeah… You always know how to cheer me up. Bright ball of sunshine you are…”
 
>he sighs
>”I guess we’re going to have to get jobs… Can you handle that?”
>you nod
>”Well, I don’t mean like on the caravan, I mean real jobs. Physical labor.”
“I guess I could panhandle, like we do in other cities.”
>Ire laughs a little, wiping his eyes
>”I doubt you’d get far with that here Silvy… And I don’t exactly feel too good about throwing you onto the streets of this place. You’re what, 13? I don’t want you to get kidnapped, or worse.”
>you pout
“I-I’m a big pony now. I can handle myself, don’t baby me.”
>he chuckles again
>”Sure… Sure…”
>he looks to the sky
>”What do we do now? I guess we have to find somewhere to sleep."
>you look around, ponies rushing by on the streets
“Why not here?”
>you look down the alley
>it’s rather small and ends in a sandstone wall
>some junk lies discarded in the sand, and you run over to rifle through it
>there’s a couple crates, and you grab three of them
>you put the biggest one down and put the others next to it
“This is our table…”
>you grab some stray pieces of wood and stack them to make a small wall, fencing off a corner
“We’ll sleep here, behind this little wall. The sand is a bit hard, but I’m sure we can find a mattress somewhere. Until then, we can sleep on the sand! It’ll be like that time we slept under the stars with dad!”
 
>your brother laughs
>”Do you think this is some kind of make-believe fairy tale? We need an actual place, not just some trash and the sand.”
>you sigh, looking over to the small structure you erected
“I know… I just… I wanted to do stuff like dad did.”
>a hoof tussles your mane
>you slap it off, and glare at your brother
“I told you to stop that!”
>he giggles and waves to you
>your brother leads you out of the alley on a quest for housing
>however, everything seems out of your price range and no pony is willing to give a discount
>after your fifth try, the two of you sit on the doorstep of your previous endeavor
>the sun is getting low in the sky, starting to fall behind the tops of buildings
>they start to cast shadows over the streets, throwing you into an erie twilight
“Are we ever going to find a place Ire?”
>he hugs you
>”Of course Silvy… Of course…”
>he lets out a sigh
>”I miss everyone Silver…”
“Back on the caravan?”
>he nods
>”You realize we’re probably never going to see them again… Fresh and Junebug… Quix and Marty… F-Fuck, Ruby…”
>he hangs his head
>”I had forgotten about Ruby… I didn't even say goodbye! Just stormed off like an idiot...”
>your brother’s being a dramatist, you’ll surely see them again
>they have to come back to the city someday
>right?
 
>your brother stands up
>he’s visibly shaken and starts to walk, head towards the ground
“H-Hey! Wait up!”
>you call after him, running up beside him
>his eyes are clenches shut and his breath is going in and out in quick hiccups
“Are you okay? You’ll see Ruby again, trust me!”
>you smile up at him
>no response
>maybe he just didn’t hear you
“Ire, are you okay? I-I’m a bit w—“
>he whirls around
>”No, I’m not! Don’t you fucking get it Silvy? We don’t have anywhere to go! This city is a hell hole, that’s what dad told me… It’s going to be night soon, and we’re going to get robbed… or killed… or worse!”
>he shouts through tears, eyes ablaze
>you stand still like a deer in headlights
>he slaps you with a hoof and pushes you away
>”Go away you little shit! I just want to be left alone..."
>you stare back up at him
>Ire got angry a lot, but he had never…
>he’d never hit you before
>normally he kept his emotions somewhat in check, but now you feel something has changed
>a bit fearful, you stand up and rub your cheek, then begin to back away
"A-Alright... I'll leave you alone..."
>you say as you trudge away, not looking back
 
>you find yourself in the market, ponies bustling around you and clearing their shops for the night
>your brother just needs to cool off for a few hours
>he'll be fine
>he was always fine
>an idea catches in your mind
>if you could find the caravan and get Ruby to come with you, Ire could say his goodbyes!
>that'd make him happy, right?
>you run to where the caravan had set up, only to have your hopes dashed
>there is no caravan there, only lines in the sand
>you sit down and stare at them, gazing at the tracks leading out of the market and out of sight
>ponies rush around you, making frantic last sales before they close for the night
>the tracks are kicked away over time, and as the sun disappears, you're left sitting, staring at nothing
>someone taps you
>"Shouldn't you be home this time of night?"
 
>you turn around
>an older stallion with a beard is standing behind you, carrying a tent and hauling a wagon
>he's one of the last ponies left, everyone else has left for the night
>you look up into his eyes, tears clouding your vision
"I-I don't have a home... Not anymore..."
>the stallion's face falls, then softens
>"Orphaned, huh? Well... Here. You'll need something to protect yourself with. I did."
>he reaches into his cart and pulls out a knife and hands it to you
>it's a switchblade, the handle concealing the blade inside
>you flick it open and look down, the blade glinting in the last light of the day
>you smile up to thank the stallion, and he gives you a smile in return
>then, he walks off into the night, whistling a tune as his cart clatters along behind him
 
>after a moment of examining the knife and wiping your eyes, you stand up and look around
>there's nopony but you standing in the market
>the sun is gone behind the buildings, but strains of light still show through
>you sigh and trudge out, heading back to the alley you had built your "homestead" in
>the words "trash and sand" echo in your mind
>as you round the corner, you see your brother with his pistol in his muzzle, sitting against the wall and staring down the barrel
>he cocks it and closes his eyes
>on impulse, you run over and kick it from his mouth
>it pops out and slides a little as it falls into the sand
>your brother is a bit shocked, looking from you to the gun
>then, he grabs you and pulls you into a hug
>"Silvy! You came back! I-I'm a shitty brother... P-Please forgive me Silvy, please!"
>he pleads into your ear
>you don't respond, standing in shock
>"S-Silvy? I-I'm so sorry, I just got mad and I... It's all impulse Silvy, I didn't mean any of it."
>then, after another short pause, he releases you and looks to the gun, then back into your eyes
>"I'm sorry I hit you..."
>he says in a very small voice
>you pull him into a hug
"Of course I forgive you. Y-You don't need to shoot yourself, what are you, crazy?! J-Just don't do it again."
>you say, feeling a bit hysterical as his recent intentions register
>he nods, pressing his face into your fur
"Promise?"
>he looks at you with watery eyes, a dopey smile plastered across his features
>"Promise."
 
>the two of you sit in the alley, backs against the cool wall as the moon rises above
"So... What were you saying about trash and sand?"
>you jab at him, still feeling a bit hurt about his comment
>he sits in silence, gazing longingly towards the moon
>"At least we have each other."
>he says weakly, eyes darting back to the pistol halfway buried in the sand
>you stand up and tap his shoulder
"Come on. Let's get some rest."
>you walk through the sand over to your makeshift bed and lie down on the sand, staring up into the bright full moon above
>Ire lies down next to you, wrapping his hooves around your chest and placing the gun above his head, pointed towards the wall
>"It's going to get cold tonight... We don't have any blankets."
>you nod
"It's fine."
>he rubs your hair and your nose scrunches in annoyance
>he chuckles at your displeasure, then looks to the sky
>"Want me to show you the constellations again?"
>you sigh
>maybe everything is going to be alright
"Sure..."