The Odyssey of Xheda

"There are those who succumb to the two teachings
for either one or the other,
and then there are those like me who share these teachings carefully,
so that they will not suffer as I have." - Gale, the Crippled Gryphon

It had nearly been half a day since Xheda and Glitter Chant left New Ponyville behind them, their destination toward the north was their only concern. Soft grass turned to rough dirt beneath their hooves and the overall environment had begun to slowly shift from rich fields of grass and trees to rough hills and towering rocks. As the moon began to arise and the sun began to descend, the two stopped and set up camp. Xheda was the first to speak after many hours of traveled silence.

"So tell me about yourself, Glitter Chant. The princess said that you're her student, so can I assume that your magic is something to behold, right?" Xheda asked as he placed stones around in a circle for the campfire. Glitter Chant had begun to set up her tent before she acknowledged Xheda's question.

"Oh! Of course I'm really good with magic! I'm, like, unbelievably amazing with magic! That's why princess Twilight Sparkle took me as her apprentice! I can do things like-" Glitter Chant began to brag on about her various talents and, without knowing or taking the time to acknowledge, lost Xheda's interest as he returned to setting up the campfire.

The moon was high as the campsite was finished; a colorful sleeping tent for Glitter Chant with patterns of stars, a sleeping bag for Xheda and a controlled fire in the middle. Taking from their given food package, Xheda and Glitter Chant sat in front of the fire as they took careful bites of their apple fritters; Xheda stared into the fire and begun to settle back upon the memories on how it all began; the roaring flames that consumed the farm he grew up on, the burns that his adoptive mother had suffered. It filled him with terror to recollect the visage of those beasts, of that one beast that infected him, the god that chose him; and then he remembered granny smith, remembering that the world was going to be a scary place for a foal like him, and he then began to feel at ease as he recalled her words of comfort, that he would overcome his fears. He bit once more into his apple fritter.

"Um, what about you, Xhe-Xhe?" Glitter Chant spoke and broke Xheda's train of thought. The changeling looked at Glitter as though he was dumbstruck for the moment before recollecting his thoughts. "I'm sure there must be some interesting stuff about you, right? Being a changeling an' all..."

"Well, there's nothing really special about me that I could compare to you, I suppose. All I can recall is that I've been raised at the Old Ponyville Orphanage until I was adopted. When I heard I was going to be apart of a family, I was...I was so happy. So I lived with my ma and my da; I was just five at the time." Xheda's smile slowly turned to a frown as he stared between Glitter and the campfire. "It was...two years back when we discovered that Da wasn't doing so good anymore. He was really sick. An' I know that we could've asked the apple family for help to pay for his operation and everything...But, Da told us not to. He told me and ma that this was just the divine's way of saying that it was his time. So, Da passed away and the melon farm was left to me and ma, where we've been doing everything we can to keep it standing. I guess that doesn't matter anymore."

Xheda stared into the fire before slowly looking at Glitter; her eyes were wide and watery, her lip quivering and her voice made soft whimpers. Before Xheda had the chance to ask, Glitter immediately let out a loud cry as tears fell from her eyes, her front legs wrapping Xheda tightly in a vice like hug.

"Xhe-Xhe! That's so sad!" Glitter wept into Xheda, rocking back and forth while the changeling provided little struggle. Gently prying her forelegs from around him, Xheda moved himself from Glitter Chant and sighed, shaking his head at her and wrapping up the remainder of his apple fritter for later consumption.

"It's okay, Glitter. I don't cry about it anymore. It's like Da' said...it was just the divine's way of sayin' it was his time." Xheda smiled slightly before turning from the fire and looked towards the peak of the mountain. Tomorrow, they would have to ascend the mountainside in search of the Diamond Dogs and their kingdom within. Xheda dug his digits into the dirt and tosses a handful onto the fire, snuffing out it's illuminating presence. "Well, better git some sleep, Glitter. It's goin' ta be a long climb tomorrow."

Giving each other a 'good night', the two retreated into their separate tents. It was no trouble for Glitter to fall asleep, hugging her pillow close to her in comfort, but Xheda could not sleep as easily. The young changeling simply stared at the top of his tent in silence, twiddling his digits in circles and shuffling his body left and right.It was clear to him that his body was restless and his mind was stricken with anxiety; his home is gone and his mother is injured, how could he not be in such a terrible shape? Xheda began to softly cry, rolling onto his side and curling up against his pillow, finally being allowed to fall asleep.

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"He sleeps, sister." A dark blue alicorn spoke aloft, her starry mane flowing like water in the air behind her. She turned her head towards her sibling, a white alicorn with a flowing mane similar to hers, bearing soft blue and green colors with a stripe of pink. From atop the balcony, the two sisters had observed Glitter and Xheda from afar, focusing on the changeling. "And he suffers as well."

"Then please, Luna, go to him. Comfort him. He is but a child after all, but as of now, he is equestria's hope." The white alicorn spoke, placing her hoof on her younger sister's back. "I will go to him when the time is right. But right now, my attention must be here in canterlot to protect our citizens from these...these wrath-born."

"I understand, Celestia. Take care, I will return to you soon to assist." And with her last words, the lunar mare vanished into a series of mythic glyphs, circling in the air before disappearing into the night sky, leaving Celestia on the balcony.

With a soft sigh, Celestia turned her attention to the heavens, a soft look of sorrow on her face. "Uncle...Why did you choose a child? In this dark time, we need only the best possible candidates to stand against the wrath-born. Uncle...just what is it that you see in him?"

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Xheda was once again alone in the darkness of his thoughts, his body in slumber yet his mind still facing the turmoil of the responsibility bearing upon him. Laying before him is the story book he had read time and time again, his digits softly flicking the pages from the right to the left. The words were illegible, but he remembered the pictures fondly, of the knights and princesses, the dragons and the monsters; though his memory for words and phrases was not his strong suit, he had no trouble remembering the details of the illustrations he previously gazed upon.

"I remember that book"

The sudden voice startled Xheda, causing him to clutch the book close to his chest as he looked about frantically only to pause as he gazed up at Princess Luna, appearing before him and taking a seat in front of him, her softened gaze fixed upon the storybook in Xheda's forelegs.

"I, too, use to read those old storybooks. I...grew fond of their stories and pictures..." Luna spoke, slowly observing Xheda ease out from his tension and place the storybook between them. "Do you have a favorite story?"

Xheda stared up at Luna quietly, slowly calming down at her presence before him. He then turned his gaze downward and looked at the storybook before laying his digits on the leather cover. "I...I do. It's the story of the hero and the sword in the tree."

Luna smiled slightly as she looked at Xheda and then down at the storybook. "Ah yes, I, too, recall that story. How did it go again?" Luna brought her hoof to her mouth, gently rubbing her chin as she herself became lost in thought. "If I recall...the hero was a diamond dog, and he came across an old oak tree-"

"It wasn't an oak tree, it was a birch tree! The hero came across a lone birch tree by the waterside of the everfree river!" Xheda corrected Luna and smiled as he began to flip pages to the illustration of a a diamond dog and a thin tree with a sword protruding from its bark. "And when he saw it, he tried to remove the sword because it was shiny-"

And soon Luna spoke up after Xheda, "But the sword was actually magical and even spoke to the diamond dog that it would not budge from the bark unless-"

"He performed Seven acts of heroism." Xheda finished and looked up at Luna with a smile. The lunar princess had succeeded in earning Xheda's trust and at the same time, felt the bit of nostalgia when she was his age.

"Xheda, do you know why I am here?" Luna asked, her voice sounding gentle as to not stir Xheda's body from outside his dream. As Xheda shook his head, Luna put her hoof on top of his head, "I've come to aid you. Not in physical form, but in spiritual. I know what it was like to be young, afraid...rejected."

Xheda frowned and moved a little closer to Luna, gazing up at her as she gazed down upon him, "Though I am needed in the defense of canterlot, I shall come to you when you dream, little one. Have you any questions, I will do my best to answer them. Have you the need for advice, and I will give what the best of my wisdom has to offer."

And like a switch in his head being flipped, Xheda put his digits together and stared up at Luna. "What...does it take to be a hero?"

Luna blinked her eyes as Xheda asked his question; what with the elements finishing their work, there was no need for heroes. But now with the wrath-born emerging, what did it truly take to be a hero? Luna tapped her chin softly in thought until she laid her eyes on the storybook between them, the pages softly flipping, pictures flowing by with simplistic colors. The lunar princess then smiled and lift the storybook from the front into her right hoof and Xheda into her left, like a parent cradling their child as they read them a bedtime story.

"What does it take to be hero, you ask? I will tell you, Xheda. A hero is someone who knows good from evil, and upholds all that is good. A hero knows that the virtues are his guides into his legacy and by acting through them, he shall be the herald of all things good in the eyes of those he protects. A hero must have the strength, not only to defend himself, but to defend the weak. A hero must have wisdom, to know what is right and what is wrong." Luna flipped a page to particular illustration of the diamond dog hero, Xheda's eyes set upon it and his digits slowly rest at the edges of the pages, depicting the hero of the story sparing an armored figure, "But above all, a hero must have heart, for with this a hero will always know not when to take a life...but when to spare one."

Xheda stared for the longest time at the illustration, unable to look away after hearing Luna's wisdom on heroism. He slowly closed the book and held it close to his chest, his ears flattening as he let the knowledge settle into him. Slowly, Luna put Xheda down onto the floor and turned her towards him with a serious look upon her face.

"Now this is important, Xheda. You must listen carefully. I can only come to you in your dreams, but that does not mean I cannot see what is happening outside. When I leave, you will wake. And when you wake, there will be diamond dogs waiting outside." Luna explained to Xheda before letting him go. "Do not fret Xheda...despite this circumstance, their appearance here will lead you to the first of whom you seek. Goodbye Xheda, until we meet again."

And as Luna faded from his dream, so did the dream itself fade, waking Xheda from his slumber. The changeling softly gasped and made no further sounds, his ears perked as he heard the sounds of heavy footsteps outside his tent. Suddenly, his tent had collapsed as it wrapped around him, snatching him up like a bag. The muffled yelling of Glitter Chant reached his ears, along side the grunts and growls of canine voices; Xheda made no sounds, made no movements, he only waited as the two were carried off into the darkness of night.

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Slowly opening his eyes, Xheda could hear nothing but the gentle wind outside of his collapsed tent. Slowly easing open the front of the tent, Xheda peeked outside, noticing the morning sun and glitter chants collapsed tent just in front of him. He could not see any of the so called diamond dogs that carried them in the night, and thus the young changeling slid out from his tent to check on Glitter Chant.

"Ah, so one of you has finally woken up."

Xheda immediately stood up and turned to the voice defensively, staring at an middle aged diamond dog sitting on a rock just behind his tent. The dog's fur was pale blue, his vestments were ragged, but the most interesting feature that Xheda acknowledged was the pipe hanging from the dog's mouth, puffing small rings of smoke. The dog removed the pipe and turned it slightly, patting it with a claw and releasing some old, ashen tobacco from its top before sliding it back between his crooked jaws.

"Do you speak, child?" The diamond dog asked, not taking his weary eyes off of Xheda, the left of his jaw opening and closing as he puffed his pipe.

"I'm...I'm xheda..." Was all the young changeling could get out, still waiting to react to whatever the diamond dog would do next. But alas, the diamond dog remained where he sat, watching Xheda and the now stirring tent of Glitter Chant. "And...you are...?"

"Just an ol' dog, wondering why a couple of children are wandering up the northern mountain without any adults. It's dangerous here, what with the diamond dogs and Terra Hydra roaming in and out." The dog puffed the pipe again, blowing another ring of smoke.

Finally, Glitter Chant slid out from her broken tent and gave it a look over, pouting. "Aww! My tent is ruined! Stupid diamond dogs, ruining my stuff!" Finishing her observations, Glitter turned and faced the old diamond dog, quickly gasping and ducking behind Xheda," Xheda! There's one now!"

The old diamond dog chuckled softly, patting his pipe once more before puffing, "A jittery type, aren't you? You've got nothing to fear about me. My interest is the gem that we call life itself, and all that share it. The knowledge inside it, the wisdom that builds up and up, yet never topples. The stories and cultures that are born from it."

Xheda slowly squint his eyes at the diamond dog, his infected foreleg now softly emitting a light as he drew nearer. "Can you...tell me your name?"

The old diamond dog smiled and removed his pipe, nodding his head, "Of course...I have gone by many titles when I traveled the land. But to you, young one, you may know me as Biju, The Scholar."

=3 weeks and 6 days until the end of the world=