As the two walked through the ever stretching fields of green towards the Mystic Mountains, Condemned began asking a few questions about Dark himself. “So, what have you done since you first came here Dark?” The bewildered author needed to assess the situation as best he could, to see just how far the watch had actually sent him.

“Well, let’s see. I had a pretty good night over at my friend Zecora’s, I met a small black fox that turned out to be my brother. By the way, I found that out during a shower, pretty awkward. I just finished coming from the library in Ponyville and off on some wild goose chase to find a changling kingdom to solve some dispute. Apparently, the princess Celestia wants me to find this place called ‘The Hive’ and have the Queen sign a treaty.” Dark seemed to have a light glow about him as he spoke of the hive. “What do you think this queen will be like?” He asked.

Condemned thought to himself for a moment,‘if I tell him the things I know, then that could be relatively bad... maybe... I’m not sure but I don’t want to test it.’ The author cleared his throat before he spoke. “From what I’ve heard, she can be a little.. off. But she seems to be a pretty ok kind of pony.”

Darkmoon gave him a confused look,“So you’ve met with her before?”

“Umm.. yeah, but I bet she doesn’t even remember me. I’m not all that important.” Condemned stated as he rubbed the back of his neck. In an attempt to change the topic, he spoke up,“Hey, tell me a bit about yourself Dark, if I’m going to be your guide for the time being, I should probably get to know you a bit.”

With a shrug, Dark said,“Well, what is there to tell? Let’s see. I have a little brother named Nicky back on earth and my mother Jenns. I’m the replacement guardian for my father ‘Senior’. Um.. I don’t know, you’d just have to be around me to actually get to know me.” He gazed over to Condemned and raised an eyebrow. “What about yourself? Where’d you get a name like ‘Condemned’ in the first place?”

“Well, the name Condemned came from... well, from me. It’s not the name that matters, but the deeds that are done behind the name. So my name doesn’t really matter, it’s just what you can call me. As for who I am and what I do, I’m a bit of a writer but not all that good. I’m a mediocre writer, and a master of cooking... breakfast. Other than that though, I’m just a regular guy doing regular things.”

“Nice, maybe you’ll find something you’re good at on our adventures?” he gave Condemned a quick look over. “Maybe.”

“Oh, thank you for being so reassuring. Just.. wow.”

“No problem.” Dark gave a few laughs at Condemned’s expense, but it didn’t really seem to bother the guardian in the slightest.

“More than likely, you’ll learn a thing or two from me. Yeah, that seems more likely.” Condemned stated with a smirk. “You’ve got a long way to go, kid.”

The long walk to the Mystic mountains was a fairly talkative one, mostly Dark telling stories about any little thing that could come to mind. But as they came to a ridge of the mountain overlooking the east, there they found the hive. “You ready, kid?” Condemned asked the guardian.

“Why do you keep calling me a kid? I’m older than you!”

“Coming from the guy complaining like a child, why yes. You’re certainly older than I, this I assure you.”

With a irritable groan, Dark brushed off Condemned’s annoying claim. “Alright, Let’s get down there and check this place out.”

Condemned looked over the edge of the steep mountain and seen the ground much farther than he expected. “Maybe.. we should fly down.”

“Wait a second, you have wings too?” Dark asked with a hint of interest.

“No, but you do. you should be able to use them, right?” He asked.

At this, Dark took a small step towards the author and began questioning him. “I didn’t tell you that I have wings, how would you know this if I haven’t told you?”

With only a second of thought, Condemned gave him a small smile and said,“Well, The old guardian Senior had wings, and you have his armor, so you have their enchantments, so you have his wings... or more so, your wings.”

Dark just glared at Condemned for a moment and thought about his claim. “Alright, a lot of people seem to know more about my dad than I do, so who am I to argue, right?” He gave a small laugh but a thought rung in the back of his mind,‘I better keep an eye on this one. He seems to know a lot more than he lets on.”

After an adventure down the mountain and coming within sight of the changlings, the two adventurers were quickly surrounded by a small army of soldiers. “Halt!” Cried a one of the guards. “Who are you and why have you come here?” Dark was about to draw his sword when Condemned placed the palm of his hand against Dark’s Chest.

“Don’t do that, you idiot! We’re completely surrounded and you have little experience with it! Just leave it to me..” Condemned shot to his thoughts for a moment,‘Well, this wasn’t how the story was supposed to go. Wait a second.. let me think.. Alright, so at this part, Shadow and Dark are supposed to be here, but Shadow’s not here at the moment.... That’s why! Shadow was supposed to keep Dark’s focus on that shapeshifting spell, and since he’s not here.. damn. Alright.’

“Well, speak!” Dark said with an irritated tone. One could clearly see that this wasn’t how he had planned this treaty signing to go.

“Alright! Alright. Just wait a second.” Condemned rolled his eyes and turned towards the guards. “Well, Gentlemen. This is some predicament, wouldn’t you say? We mean you all no harm, and we only wish to speak with your Queen. May we pass?” Condemned asked with a smile.

Author's Note

Chapters coming like wildfire. I'm in the mood to write a storm! Just so.. awesome.

Thanks to AHugeAcidTree for proofreading. For both this chapter and the last.

Keep it cool, Condemned.