Cherish Memories

I awoke the next morning and felt a bit better after I rested up. I felt a stronger power in my muscles and I knew that was part of the healing thing. I got up, rubbed my eyes and scratch my head. I felt a little uncomfortable after sleeping on such a short bed.

“Oh what a night, I could barely sleep after pulling my arm out of the corner of the bed,” I said. I scratch my arms and cracked my knuckles.  Feeling my strength coming back to me, I felt great. Twilight was still sleeping on her bed and I guessed I could go for a walk. I got out of bed and walked my way downstairs. I was surprised that this Twilight character read so many books. I studied the shelf and saw many different types of books. Astronomy in Equestria, The study of Ponynology, History 101 of Equestria…This pony loved to read! I continued to look through the shelf and I happened to find a book that caught my eye. “The History of Equestria and all of its stories,” I sat down on a nearby couch and opened up the book. As I flipped and read some of the pages of this story, my eyes were like in a trance or something. I never heard of a place this peaceful…well sometimes peaceful. But I was in awe of the history of this place. I was so into the book that I didn’t even hear the sounds of a hoof beat right behind me, then a voice.

“Oh, you’re awake?” Twilight asked. I flinched out of the chair and fell down on my face. Twilight tried her best not to laugh. “I’m…so…sorry…Hahahahah!” Twilights laughing was uncontrollable. I got up and picked back up the book that I dropped.

“You really got me,” I said as I placed the book up on the shelf.

“Are you sure you should be walking? I mean, you were hurt pretty bad,” Twilight alleged.

“No worries, like I said, I can regenerate myself up,” I said. Twilight continued to look at me with a perplexed look.

“What do you mean by regeneration?” Twilight asked. I turned to her and she looked like she was concerned, but I took a deep breath in and blew out.

“It’s nothing…I’m going out,” I said. She came back to reality and was following me still.

“Oh, well, I’ll accompany you then…My name is Twilight Sparkle like I said, what’s yours again?” She asked. I turned to her and looked at her eyes.

“…The name is X, and that’s all you need to know,” I said. She smiled and walked along side me.

“Well, we better get going,” Twilight said. I sighed and removed the bandages off of my body. I thought about last night and what about Gabriel said to me. If I don’t pass this test, I won’t be able to see Rebecca again. But saying thank you isn’t part of me…I don’t even know if I can say it.

“Hey…Twilight,” I said. She turned to me.

“Yes, X?” She asked. I walked up to her, knelt down to her level.

“I…I…” I stammered. She looked at me confused.

“What is it X? Do you have a temperature, or are you sick?” She asked. I decide to suck it in and wait a minute. I moved my hand and opened the door.

“Come on…Let’s go,” I said. She had a confounded look on her face and I can’t blame her for having one. I mean if I was to pass this test Gabriel gave me, I should find a way to pass it.

“Oh, X. I need to go somewhere real quick, I’ll catch up to you later,” Twilight said and ran off. I took a deep breath in and out. I looked at my hand and clenched it one more time.

“I hope I still have them,” I said silently to myself. I decided to walk down the street of the place and I had a lot of animals looking at me with strange complexions, some even ran away from me.  It wasn’t long before I ran into a couple of ponies balling ball. As one would kick it, the other would try to catch it. As I studied the way the two were playing, I remembered how I used to play like that with Rebecca.  The other pony kicked the ball so high that it got stuck in the tree next to me and the two were disappointed. They ran to where I was at and stopped at least ten meters away from me. I can tell they were afraid, so I decided to help them out a bit. I climb up on the tree, one limb at a time until I came to the area where the ball was at. I reached over and grabbed it with my left hand, while my other hand was holding onto the branch, but then the next thing I remember is hearing the branch snap, and before I knew it, I was on the ground with my rib cages sticking out…LITERALLY!

“You okay there sir?” The two asked me. I opened my eyes and saw them standing next to me.

“Yeah, here’s your ball,” I said. They took it and continued to play.

“Thank you mister whatever you are!” The other one shouted and ran off to be with his buddy. As I picked myself off the ground, I heard a familiar voice next to me.

“Well, that’s one way to retrieve a ball for somepony,” the voice said. I turned around and saw Gabriel standing in a bright suit and tie.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. I positioned my self-sitting down and fixed up my body.

“You still haven’t thanked Twilight,” He said. I lifted up my shirt and saw that my ribs had come out of my sides.

“Well…if you…grunt…hadn’t…snap…said thank you…crack to some random animal that talks and saved your life…pop…you would be speechless as well,” I said as I rearranged my broken ribs back into place and shoved them down back in my body.

“My, my…You really are a site to behold,” Gabriel said as he offered his hand. I rejected it and picked myself up.

“Yes I gathered that,” I alleged. I soon realized he was here again, but for what purpose.

“Why are you here?” I asked. Gabriel sighed and looked at me.

“Well, I need a favor of you X,” Gabriel said.

“What kind of favor?” I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“Apparently I was supposed to escort a demon I had captured in the human world, but somehow, he escaped me and hid in this world,” The archangel said.

“God’s most trusted angel…lost a demon he captured. Huh, guess heaven is lacking proper guardians,” I said.

“Ha, ha…Anyways this bloke is a high level demon. I keep my eyes out for him,” He said to my face up close.

“How do I even find him? It’s not like I have a watch that detects the spiritual present of a demon,” I said. Gabriel smiled and held out his hand.

“Actually, you do. Here, this is only for archangel guardians, but I guess I can make an exception for you,” Gabriel said. I retrieved the watch and studied it.

“It’s a…a…piece of crap,” I said.

“How dare you! That’s the famous hand work heaven can bestow upon you,” Gabriel yelled.

“How do I know if this demon is near?” I asked him.

“The watch will vibrate on your wrist. If it starts to vibrate slowly, it means the demon is far, but coming, however if it starts to vibrate like mad, it means that he’s very, very close by and that X my boy, is when you need to be extra careful,” Gabriel said. I studied the thing and clenched it in my fist.

“Alright, I’ll do it,” I said.

“That’s the spirit!” He announced. I soon realized something and asked him a question.

“Hey, don’t these ponies see you?’ I asked. He laughs and patted my shoulder.

“No, you see, I’m a spirit. No one can see us unless we want them to,” Gabriel said.

“Really, because I have about half of the village seeing you and I talking,” I said. He flinched and when we both turned our heads left and right, ponies all over the place were gathered at the tree.

“Oh, well, I’ll take care of this. Anyways good luck and be careful too. He’s a nasty one,” Gabriel said.

“Hold on, one more thing…If you have this, and it can detect the demon you’re hunting, why can’t you find him with it?” I asked again. He was silent again and started to sweat.

“I…uh…you see…uh…BYE!” And in a flash and a bang he disappeared and caused all of the ponies including me to go blind for a bit. As the flash lifted, many of the ponies were wondering why they were at the tree. I took this as my opportunity to make a break for it.  As I examined the trinket that Gabriel gave me, I wondered if this was my chance to also see Rebecca again. Suddenly I heard a voice calling my name.

“X! There you are where have you been?” Twilight asked me. I placed the watch on my wrist and hid it in my shirt sleeve.

“Oh, you know. Just walking around,” I responded. Twilight formed a smile.

“Come with me I want to show you something,” She said. I followed her through town, wondering where she was taking me. I could only assume that it was for a good reason.

*** *** *** *** ***

[In Heaven, the New Jerusalem]

“You’ve gone soft on the boy Gabriel,” Michael stated.

“He’s still young. But it worries me that we lost the monster this fast,” He said. Michael laughs as he moved a knight chess piece to capture a pawn.

“Well, it shows that you’re slacking off your work,” Michael said. Gabriel then moved his queen to capture a rook.

“I may be slacking off…But this is a perfect opportunity to show X that he’s not alone,” Gabriel said. Michael moved his castle to a square and check Gabriel’s king.

“Check…But do you think it’s necessary?” Michael asked.

“Well see,” Gabriel said as he moved his king elsewhere.

“I think that won’t be enough…Check mate!” Michael said as he slammed his knight and pinned Gabriel’s king in place. Gabriel looked at his side and groaned.

“Man, I lost to you again this week!” Gabriel exclaimed. Michael laughs and patted his old friend.

“If you did most of your time watching man below having this much fun on this game, you would be a professional too,” Michael said. Suddenly an angel fell in the room and saluted to the two.

“Sir’s…!” The angel shouted.

“What is it?” Gabriel asked.

“The demon is on the move. We tracked him to the place where X has been located. And to make matters worse, it took form of a titan,” The angel announced. Gabriel and Michael were shocked.

“This is dark news…no demon we have vanquished or gotten rid of has ever took form of a titan before,” Michael said. Gabriel sighed and got up from his seat.

“Angle, tell the forces to stand down,” Gabriel ordered.

“Uh…sir?” The angel asked and Gabriel repeated his order.

“I said, tell the forces to stand down,” Gabriel said again. The angel saluted but was confused as he walked off.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Michael asked.

“…Putting my faithful friend to the test of course, if he succeeds or if he losses,” Gabriel said. Michael sighed and got up from his seat too. He then walked over to his friend and looked at him in the eye.

“What if he fails and you have failed as well?” Michael asked.

“…Then I’ll take full responsibility for my sins,” Gabriel stated. As he flew off into the distance he left Michael alone in the room with their finished chess board still up. Michael walked over and decided to clean it up. He then examined the pawns position and saw that if he would’ve moved is jack over to the left side of the board he would’ve gotten checkmate! Michael looked at the pawn and groaned.

“Gabriel, you better know what you’re doing,” Michael said.

*** *** ***

[Back at Equestria in Ponyville]

“Why did you bring me here?” I asked her. She drew a wide smile and looked at me.

“This grove was the first time me and my new friends hung out together,” She said. I studied her and for a purple pony, she was very pretty. Twilight then turned to me with a beaming look on her face. She even had this slight red blush on her face as she looked at me.

“What is it Twilight?” I asked. I could tell her eyes snapped back to reality.

“Oh…I…uh…nothing X,” she said. I wondered what she was thinking about. I approached her. I step down to her level and looked her in the eye.

“What is it X?” She asked. I looked at her and said the words.

“…Thank you Twilight,” I said. She smiled and gave me a hug. My eyes shot open as soon as she held me. I had forgotten what it felt like to be held like this.

“You’re welcome X. Oh; by the way, I have a surprise for you. Come on!” She yelled and ran off. I stood there, speechless. No one has ever saved me, or hugged me since…I started to feel an uneasy feeling in my heart.

“…Twilight…” I said. Suddenly I felt a stinging jolt on my wrist. I jolted up and looked at the watch that Gabriel had given me. I looked at it and it started to vibrate like mad. I remembered what Gabriel said, if it started to vibrate like this, then that means that the demon was near, and it’s close. I keep my eyes peeled out for this demon and hid the watch in my sleeve again. I looked up and realized Twilight was ahead of me. I picked up my feet and started to run to where she was leading me, little did I know, that the demon I was about to face wasn’t only nasty, but one that shook many into fear…except me.