Hauling Across Equestria and Beyond: The Haul to Sumit's Hollow

“Why was it so much harder getting here than it was before?” Brave Storm sighed as she was released from her cart. 

“Funny question.” Kalden laughs. He looks at Brave Storm and sees her not laughing alone. “Serious?” 

Kalden laughed harder as Brave Storm’s eyebrows knitted together. 

“Ponies took the steady route and did not have to carry equipment,” Kalden explained, wiping a tear away from his eyes. “Brave Storm took the steep route with much equipment. The air… got less more fast. Understand?”

“I think I do.” the mare sighed.

“Come. Brave meet Dolma.” Kalden gestured for her to follow him as he moved through the village. He pushed aside the heavy cloth that served as a door and allowed Brave Storm to enter first. It was small in the hut and smelled of wood and hay, but it was cozy. Inside was a brown-speckled white yak that Brave Storm figured to be Dolma.

“Another pony guest?” she said with a huff when she laid eyes on Brave Storm. When the mare felt herself changing her stance to be smaller, the yak-cow shook her head. “Not upset at pony. Make yourself at home.”

Brave Storm moved aside, sitting at a table to get out of the way. The two yaks talked among each other in their own language. It wasn’t hard to gather that Dolma and Kalden were siblings. When Brave Storm wasn’t paying attention, Dolma had slipped a platter of nuts and dried fruits in front of her. She must have made a bad reaction to the yaks because Dolma’s head tilted.

“What? Pony can’t eat?”

“I can eat this. Thank you. I was surprised.”

“Pony-” Dolma started.

“Her name is Brave Storm.”

“Brave Storm is guest. Brave Storm will be fed.” Dolma smiled. It felt like being smiled at by her mother and the mare felt warm inside. “Yak hospitality for all creatures.”

“At least Dolma think,” Kalden added. While it was certain he agreed with her, it was obvious by his tone that not all yaks had agreed with the siblings’ sentiment.

“Yaks can’t have best hospitality if every creature gets it not.” Dolma snorted with an eye roll. “How was trip?”

“Hard.” Brave Storm sighed, feeling her muscles and eyes get heavy. She struggled to crack open a walnut with the provided tools. Gently, Dolma showed her how to use the Yakyakistani nutcracker. 

“Rest up. You have three days. We travel together to Sumit’s Hollow!”

“At least the hard part is out of the way.” Brave Storm mused. Any relief she felt was immediately dashed when the yak siblings burst out laughing.

 

Brave Storm had a thick blanket laid over her back. In Sumit’s Hallow, she had fellow Equestrians helping her get into her equipment. Here, it was yaks and they had helped her the yak way. And surprisingly, they prioritized the comfort of the hauler over almost everything else. She didn’t realize how much the hauling equipment had dug into her skin.

“You have to walk different when going down.” Dolma explained, halting before the first steep incline began. She had Brave Storm walk alongside her and together, they took the rear of the lead. “If you go like normal walking, you will go too fast. Hard to stop. And a big bump might send the cart over you. Then get crush. Very bad.”

“Very bad indeed.” Brave Storm quietly parrotted as she imagined her wagon full of heavy Yakyakistani rugs coming down on her back and crushing her against a cold rock.

“You want to lean.” Dolma shifted so that her head and rump passed behind her hooves. “Stay flat back. Let your leg do the bending. If you stay straight with ground, then you’ll lean-” Dolma leaned forward so that her head was passed her hooves “-Very bad. Will want to go fast.”

“Then crush.”

“Yes! Fast learn!” Dolma praised. 

Brave Storm watched as Dolma walked over the tilt, making note of how she safely adjusted. And as Dolma told the Equestrian to do, she kept her head and rump level. Brave Storm followed suit, trying to copy what Dolma did. It wasn’t anywhere near as graceful, but she did it. 

The mare had managed to get to the bottom of the bottom without any major incident. A few times, when her muscles ached too badly, Brave Storm slipped up. She allowed her back to be parallel with the mountain and immediately felt that need to rush her hooves faster. But before she could even think about it, Dolma made some hissing-click noise with her teeth and tongue. Brave Storm, like a caught foal, quickly snapped back into the form she was supposed to have.

But safely back in the Crystal Empire, the yaks patiently waited for the train. Brave Storm took off her blanket and tried to hand it back to Dolma. The yak waved it away, telling Brave Storm that she could keep it. It was smooth sailing thanks to the train system all the way up until Sumit’s Hollow. But the residents did a fantastic job of making their caves accessible and in no time, Brave Storm was getting unloaded from her wagon. Dolma gave her a hug that gave Brave Storm a taste of what it was like to be her brother for a short moment before the mare left her side.

“Pony back in one piece?” the yak that sent Brave Storm on this mission in the first place had been watching her unload from a distance. She had been talking to another yak who had made the trip both ways with Brave Storm. She assumed they were there to confirm Brave Storm’s achievement.

“I did.”

“Still want to work with Yakyakistan?” she gave Brave Storm an even look.

“I do.”

The yak laughed a hearty laugh and brought a hoof to Brave Storm’s shoulder. “Pony must like the hurt! I like you. Welcome to Merchant Guild!”