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// 71 - Cooling Off// Story: Ponyfinder: Roots of Stone// by David Silver//------------------------------//

They pressed on through the desert. As if they had won the respect of the sun-blasted land, the attacks ebbed away. It was with relief that the first hooves began to set down on the dirty seeming ground that transitioned from sand to the grassy lands beyond. Soon they were surrounded by fields of grass in all directions.

Rome turned to Fast with a firm nod. "As promised, the desert is behind us. I plan to take my men west to the rail line and patrol south from there. Where are you bound, Fast Shadow?"

Fast glanced around. "It may be better if I didn't say. The fewer know, the fewer can get in the way." She snorted softly, raising her visor. "Know that we march for the return of the empire, and the protection of its people."

Rome turned away. "I can understand the logic. Know that some of her soldiers are still on the side of the Queen, may she rest peacefully. If you can find one worthy of sitting on the throne in her stead, that will truly be a task worthy of stories. Just don't foist a would-be on us and expect us to accept it."

Tree ambled over with a soft noise of meditation, only to pause as she drew closer. "Oh, hey. Sorry I can't stay and oversee all their chakras, but my path totally splits from yours about here." She raised a hoof. "Peace and blessings."

Rome burst into a short fit of laughter. "You've been one of the more curious healers we've had the pleasure of hosting. If you ever wanted to be a military healer, you'd have a home with us. But I imagine that won't be the case. Hmph, a druid military healer, basically doesn't exist."

He turned back to Fast. "Tell your other companions they all served well. God speed, and Queen smile on your choice when you make it."

The band of soldiers headed west, as he promised, with a few waves and calls of parting as they went, leaving Fast and her party to forge ahead on their own, though they didn't move until the military band was well out of sight. Paul shrugged softly. "Why are we just standing here?"

Fast tipped a hoof in the direction of the parted Rome. "We don't need to tell them what direction we went in. Just because we found some of his traitors, doesn't mean we found them all. We can't know. Unfortunately, the further we press, the more we get to worry about this sort of thing." She turned to the north and began walking, with the others soon falling in behind her. "We'll be carving a path through the plains. Fewer towns, for better or worse. We should be left alone, unless we run into centaurs."

Tabitha gasped at the word. "Centaurs?! You have centaurs? Are ponies related to them? Are they nice?"

Fast shrugged softly as she marched. "Nice enough, if you give them space and respect. No, we're not related to the best of my knowledge, no more than a human and a dwarf or an elf, at best." She glanced aside at Tabitha. "Less even, considering I could swear I've heard elves and humans can have foals, but I've never heard of a centaur and a pony doing that."

Tree nodded slowly, then looked off into the distance a moment. "Wait, are we talking the same thing, sister? Four hooves." She lifted each hoof in kind. "Two hands, flat face?"

"Those are the ones, yes." Fast twitched an ear at Tree. "Do you know another kind of centaur?"

Tree shook her head. "We don't have many of those in Equestria at all, but I saw a real bad one once, real nasty vibes. Fluttershy helped fix things though." She smiled gently. "I hope she's alright. We really need to touch bases."

Maud moved up beside Tree. "Maybe she's with Pinkie. Maybe they're talking about us."

Tree blinked before she gave a quick nod. "Righteous, that's probably exactly what they're doing. I bet she's sad, but Pinkie wouldn't let her mope."

Maud's lips quivered, almost smiling. "She wouldn't. She would throw a party for her and invite all her friends, even if they're animals, and make a big production out of it. Even if she's sad inside." She put a hoof to her chest as she walked on the other three. "Pinkie's a good sister."

As they conversed about how their friends would behave while waiting for them, Paul moved closer to Fast. "Right, so, not sure I caught all that? What do they look like?"

Fast twitched an ear at him. "Alright, take a horse, remove the neck and head and replace it with the torso, arms, and head of a man. They're horse-humans, though don't call them that for the love of all the gods. About as insulting as calling ponies talking horses." She raised a brow lightly.

Paul gave a nervous chuckle. "What kind of rude person would ever consider that?"

"Right." Fast pointed ahead. "Let's set up next to an actual bush today and get some rest. It'll be the first time we're not surrounded by a bunch of army ponies for a change. Tree, you'll cover the camp, right?"

"Of course." Tree trotted forward ahead of the party to inspect the bush. Soon the party arrived, getting comfortable within the bounds of Tree's illusionary expanded bush. They struck a fire and set out bedrolls and generally made themselves at home.

Their rest was disturbed by a roaming herd of great oxen-like creatures, stampeding across the plains. Fortunately, they weren't in the path, so they watched them go on.

Tree's eyes sparkled with wonder, watching them go. "They're like the buffalo, but they didn't look very smart? Are they?" She looked to her companions for some help before snapping back to the charging herd. "This is wicked radical..."

Fast shook her head. "Just animals, and they'd run us over if we got in the way of them."

"Just animals?" Tree raised a brow. "Fluttershy would give you a very polite talking to."

Tabitha burst into giggles. "You said that like a threat. What kind of person is this Fluttershy friend of yours?"

Tree tapped her chin a moment. "Well, she's yellow, a light yellow. Oh, she's a pegasus, even if she's not the most radical flyer around. She really digs animals of all kinds. I like them too." She turned her gaze back on the remnants of the herd, only a few stragglers moving to try to catch up.

Suddenly a pride of lions leapt out, jumping on one of the stragglers. The rest of them scattered, but the one they pounced went down under the mass of feline flesh, and became their dinner in short order. Tree shook her head. "Nature is a far out thing. The weak feed the strong." She held up a hoof and moved it in an intricate pattern. "Peace, may you have better luck in your next turn."

Paul shrugged. "We should take it more as a cautionary tale. If we don't keep our wits about us, we could be the next damn thin' the lions are chowin' on."

The cat's meal would have been unremarkable, save that one of them moved off from the others a short way and worked on something they couldn't see through the grass, then smoke began to rise. The other cats gathered around the source of the smoke.

Tree blinked softly. "Are they cooking their meat?"

Fast regarded them. "Maybe they aren't lions after all. Sun cats, I think they're called. Intelligent. I never really had much reason to cross paths with them, seeing as they don't come into cities often."

Maud inclined her head towards them. "Should we say  hello?"

Paul didn't look terribly eager. "Intelligent or not, they're still lions, fresh from the kill. I ain't no expert, but you don't bother a cat with food in its mouth."

Tree frowned a little, tail swaying behind her. "But they probably know the area, and I doubt they're all mixed up with pony politics. They could be righteous friends."

Tabitha rose to her hooves. "I'll talk to them."

Fast's brow raised uniformly with Tabitha's standing. "And if they don't like your presence and decide to be rid of it?"

Tabitha shrugged. "They aren't as awful as orcs, are they?"

Fast slowly shook her head. "No, they usually leave well enough alone."

"Then I'll be fine."

Paul shoved up to his feet. "I'll come with you, keep you out of trouble."

"My hero." She fluttered her lashes before stepping free of the illusionary bush. "Let's go make some friends. Don't say anything stupid, and don't make sudden movements."

Together, they approached directly across the plains, and their movement was noticed quickly. The open grasses offered little in the way of concealment, and they made no attempt to hide themselves. One of the cats broke off from the group and approached them. Closer, they could see some trinkets were woven into its, or his, mane. "Hail."

Tabitha bowed towards the sun cat. "Hail. We noticed your successful hunt and wanted to say hello."

"You have said that." He cocked his head slightly. "What brings two humans this far into Everglow? Even in these times that is rare."

She inclined her head and twitched an ear. "I'm visiting pony kin of mine, and my friend is protecting me."

The cat sat down and looked Tabitha over again, then Paul, as if comparing the two. "A human with pony blood? Never have I heard of such a thing. We ask that you not approach our kill, for it is ours by right of the hunt."

Tabitha displayed a palm. "Have no fear. We're no thieves. We wanted to greet the hunters, not their kill. Very nice job, by the way."

He smiled slightly. "The traditional hunting ways of the sun cats have not failed us, even as the pony world crumbles. You have chosen a curious time to go visiting. Do you not know the state of things?"

Paul lifted his shoulders. "Queen's dead, and everyone's makin' a right ass of themselves."

"I do not think the donkeys are involved." The cat seemed confused a moment. "But yes, their world is crumbling, and they are in chaos. You may be better served returning home until it is safe to approach them. All smart sun cats have returned to the wild. Here, things are sane. The hunt does not change."

A new, smaller, voice piped from the grass, "Who are they, papa?" A small sun cat cub emerged at his father's side, looking up at them. "What are they, papa? Are they prey?"

The adult set a paw on the cub's head. "No, my son. They are friends. They have come in peace, and so we will treat them with respect. They have not approached our hunt, so we have no reason to feel anger. They are two legged, so their meat is probably bitter. For these reasons, they are not prey."

"You're so smart, papa!" He grabbed at the larger cat's paw and held it in all four of his own, prickling the flesh through the thick fur and growling as if he caught his own dinner. "I'm going to be just as smart as you, some day."

"I look forward to it." He gently petted his son before looking up at the strangers. "Do you have things you wish to trade?"

They did not, but Tabitha had another thought. "We're headed north, do you know a safe way to do it without running into trouble?"

"The wild is trouble, to the unwary..."

Tabitha smiled. "Which is why we came to you. Surely you know the better ways."