Landstrider's adventures - Stonehoof's prophecy

...and with that last one, it was exactly 29 carts. That meant it was only one cart left to fill for the day. The sweet smell of apples made Applejack's stomach growl complaining. She really looked forward for a break...

“Okay Big Mac, we fill up this last cart and then we give our legs some well deserved rest.” She wiped the large sweat blobs away from her overheated forehead. The sunny day sure was beautiful but it made working twice as exhausting.

Big Mac unattached himself from the cart. “Eeyup!”

The orange mare took some of the empty baskets from the cart and placed them around one of the many apple-rich trees. Better get this over with, she thought and tightened her muscles for the strong kick. But to the appletree's rescue, a familiar “swoosh” made the earth pony lose her concentration and tripped over.

“Hi Big Mac! Hi Applejack!” Dash said excited.

Applejack got up from the ground and wiped away some dust with a damped groan. “Howdy Rainbow! I'm a bit busy right now, can I talk to ya la-?”

"There’s a new pony in town, and he’s not from Equestria!”

AJ completely lost herself for a second and stared blankly at her over-energetic friend. “N-not from Equestria?” she asked uncertain.

“Yes, cool huh? He says his from Scardiva, and he speaks Scardivariska to!” The blue filly-like pegasus made an quick loop in her excitement.

Her friend did not share her curiosity.

“Are you're sure he was from the nation Scardiva?”

“Yes! You heard about?”

The orange pony exchanged an anxious look with her brother. “Yes, I’ve heard about it alright...”

The pegaus noticed the deviating tune in her cowboy-friend's voice. “What? Is there something wrong about it?”

The farmer sighed. “Well, I don’t know too much about Scardiva but it ain’t exactly sugar tales and cupcake stories comin’ from that place...”

Big Mac nodded. “Eeyup.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Dash looked puzzled at them.

“Well... Ya know why Scardiva ain't a part of Equestria, right Rainbow?"

The blue mare snorted. "No I don't, what has that to do with anything?"

"It has very much to do with Scardivaria! You at least now how Equestria was founded, right?"

"Of course I know! I WAS the main actor of the play last year, remember?"

Applejack just rolled her eyes. Yes, she remembered the time they played the last winter’s Heart's warming's eve to well. She was still reliefed that her friend had actually followed the script, and not making up things to fulfill her 'Rainbow Dash show' visions. In fact, if the annoying blue pony in front of her didn't happen to be her friend at all, she wouldn't bother explaining the story at all.

“Anyway, listen carefully Rainbow," she began. "When the Earth ponies moved south from their northern lands, there were a group of earth ponies who didn’t have any allegiance to their chancellor...”

"There WAS!?" Dash's eyes widened in both surprise and skeptical. That was not even near anything she ever had heard before...

AJ cleared his throat and continued. “Yes, they didn’t follow her because they had been banished by the Chancellor for treason!" She interrupted herself in the middle of the story and looked suspiciously at Dash. "How can you not know this Rainbow? This is filly knowledge,” she then asked meaningfully.

"HEY!" The pegasus glared angry at the insult. "Maaybee I was too busy being awesome to pay attention to school. Besides, I doubt that any Pegasus school teaches anything about Earth ponies' history!"

Applejack just sighed. Why wasn't she surprised? She decided it was best not to argue.

“Fine sugercube, I tell ya what happen: As ya'll know, they were short on supplies those days, and Puddin’head had made just enough to fed everypony in her tribe. But then, an evil pony named Scardiva Stonehoof, may he turn in his grave, showed up! He and his gang attacked the Chancellors food reserves, and stole almost all the crops the tribe had so gracefully collected. That’s why Puddin’head was forced to move south in the first place.”

“But food wasn't enough for Scardivas greed. He wanted to rule! He followed Chancellor Puddin’head in secret, waitin’ for an opportunity to strike so he could crown himself as the new king of the Earth ponies!”

“When the chancellor came to what's now Equestria, the opportunity Scardiva had been looking for arrived. He and his soldiers were just about to charge when the unicorns and the pegasi showed up. Scardiva's personal adviser saw the three tribes arguin’ and prevented him from commencin' the attack. He convinced him that it would be a smart thin’ to let the clans take each other out, instead of uniting them against a common enemy. Scardiva agreed, so he ordered to lay camp nearby. There, he watched in delight, as the three clans argin' almost turned into an open conflict."

"But then, the blizzard blow up again. Scardiva had no choice but to search for shelter in the mountains they've come from because it was the only way to avoid detection.  When the blizzard finally was over, Scardiva returned, just to see that the three clans had united and formed Equestria."

"When Scardiva saw that his opportunity to become king had slipped from his hoof, he went furious as you might imagin’! He slain his adviser for tellin’ him to wait and then established what's today Scardiva. He later got joined forces with a group of banned rebels that also oppose the uniting of Equestria. On his deathbed, he swore that one day, the Scardivan ponies would unite under one leader and fulfill his ambition to take over Equestria.” Applejack gazed sad at the ground.

“After Scardiva's death, several pretenders to the throne rose but none was strong enough to unify Scardiva. Today I still hear tales about thieves and slave tradin' plaguin’ the land, as different tribes strive for total domination…” she ended her story with a deep sigh.

“So I would keep an eye on that Scardivan pony of yours, right Big Mac?”

“Eeyup!”

Dash had been totally mind-blown by the story. There had been a revolt? How could a country be in war with itself? For that matter of fact: how could a country not be ruled by an immortal Alicorn? Who was going to lead the country when the pony died? It all made no sense to her.

“Well, that sounds bad and all…” she said… “But how do you even know all these stuff? It's not like they are a part of Hearth’s warming eve play!”

The loud slam from Applejack's hoof colliding with her own face echoed yet again through the farm. “The Hearth’s warmin’ eve play is about Equestrian history, not Scandiva's, and if you'd perhaps had listened to your history lessons, you'd already know all this stuff!”

“Pfff, at least I’m not an egghead!” the blue pony said cocky.

Well, if she had knew that history could be THAT exciting, maybe he would have pay more attention to school, but nah. Being the most awesome pony in Ponyville was good enough!

The orange pony rolled her eyes again and decided to ignore the boasting. “Anyway, is that pony in Ponyville right now?”

The pegasus slammed her hoof into her own forehead. Thunderclouds! I forgot about Landstrider!

“Oh right…” She made a nervous smile. “I miiight have promised him that you would give him just a tiiiiiiiiiny bit of apple-pie…”

Applejack stumbled some steps back like she had been physically punched in the face. “You did what??”

“I’m sorry Applejack I should have asked you first but this guy doesn’t seem that bad as you say all Scandivaran ponies are. Just give him a chance Applejack. You even gave Luna a chance when she came to Ponyville during Nightmare Night!”

Well, Luna was a completely different case, but Applejack admitted that her stubborn friend had a point. A break did sound awfully tempting, and she would normally not be so suspicious towards other strangers...

“Alright, alright stop those fuzzy eyes; I give him a slice of apple-pie...”

“Yes!” The blue friends face sprung in success.

“But I’ll be watchin’ him!” Applejack looked meaningfully at Rainbow.

She returned the gaze by rolling her eyes. “Yea, yea whatever…”

AJ gave her brother a slight nod. “It seems like our break came a bit earlier than I thought Big Mac…”

“Eeyup!” Big Mac and Applejack followed the Pegaus to the edge of the apple farm where Landstrider was waiting for them.

“It sure has been a while now since she left.” He let out a distressed sigh. “You think she doesn't find that Applejack?”

Foxie yawned and shrugged carelessly. He didn't mind that the flying pony took her time, the grass in the tree-shade was just what he needed right now. He had been walking all day, and he thought he deserved some rest.

The grey pony sighed. “You don't care, do you?"

A small grin was the only answer he got.

He rolled his eyes and decided to take matters in his own hoofs. He rose up on his two back hinds and tried to see if the blue pegasus was anywhere to be seen. Nothing.

He sighed. "As fast as she was, I thought it would only be a matter of seconds. This Apple farm most be huge…”

Landstrider's stomach growled loudly. He hadn’t eaten since yesterday... Just why couldn't the bloody pony return?? He would have been in Ponyville with a fresh carrot in his hoof by now!

His stomach growled even louder, and he had got enough. He took forth a staff he had attached on his back and walked to one of the apple trees.

“You don’t think they will mind if I take just one apple, do you?” Foxie shrugged again without looking up.

“One apple wouldn’t hurt…” Landstrider said and knocked down an apple from one of the trees. The first and last time he had eaten an apple was for 2 months ago, in Appleloosa, and they had been rather sour. The owner of that farm had told him it hadn't been the right season for apples. He didn’t know if it was the right season now, but at this point he could eat anything!

He put back his staff on his back and took a large bite from the apple. He took a step back in surprise. This apple was one of the best things he had ever tasted! It was way sweeter than the ones in Appleloosa and much more juicer than the bananas he had eaten in the monkey jungles! This most be the way apples are supposed to taste like, he thought and took another bit.

Suddenly, Foxie rose up and snarled warningly.

“What is wrong Fo-“

“HOLD IT YOU VILLIAN’!”

Before he had time to react he was tackled to the ground by a large red-colored pony. The sudden sunrays that hit his eyes when his hat fell off temporarily blinded him, and he moaned from the pain his staff had brought him when he had landed on it. Horse potatoes, This pony sure is heavy... he managed to think while struggling for air.

His red companion reacted instantly. Foxie leaped savagely at the attacker and scratched up several wounds on the pony’s back. The red mountain bit its lip but didn’t move a muscle away from the fox's master.

“Foxie… Sluta…” Landstrider managed to say under the weight of the large pony.

Is he nuts? Foxie thought, but he did as he was commanded. He jumped a good away from the massive red blur and growled threatening instead.

An orange mare walked into Landstrider's sight of view. “That's just a fine little devil you’ve gotten’ yourself!” she said in an Appleloosian accent and glared angrily into the defenseless pony's eyes.

“It’s not a devil, it’s a fox!” The familiar voice of his newly-acquired friend made Landstrider smile. “And it was only trying to protect him!”

“Protectin’ him so he can steal more apples ya mean?” The orange pony snorted at the grey pony. "What does the thief have to say in his defense?"

Landstrider tried to form a sentence but talking when you have a cement block over your lounges was not exactly one of his strengths. “Hngh, I can barely breathe... Please let me just stand up…”

“Nnope.” The deep bass-voice almost made Landstrider think it was a dragon pushing him down.

“It’s okay Big Mac, he won’t run away” Dash said and looked at Landstrider. “Right??”

“Of course I will not! Just… Let me catch my breath.”

The big pony gave the orange one a puzzled look before letting Landstrider go.  He rose up and brushed some dust away before starting to explain.

“Dash here told me to wait, and when it took so long I thought it would not do much if I took just one apple…”

“It’s still stealin’” the orange pony interrupted sternly.

“Eeyup!”

The grey pony dug a hole in the ground while avoiding the mare's glance. This day isn't getting any better. First, he had scared the hay out of a pony he barely knew. Second, he had reluctantly being forced to swerve away from the right path to Ponyville. Third he was being accused for stealing and the worst part of it all: he was still hungry!

“Yes, I suppose it is stealing, and I am deeply ashamed of it but…”

“AND your 'pet' there sliced up Big Macs back like it was one of Opals dolls!” The orange pony pointed her hoof towards the big ones back. It was covered with several scratch marks.

“Eeyup!”

“Well yes but it moved only on instinct. Please let me just explain!" He took a deep breath before continuing.

"I am sorry that I could not resist your delicious apples; it is just that I have not eaten since yesterday and my stomach is killing me. I was on my way towards Ponyville so I could buy some supplies but your friend here insisted on coming to this farm instead. It does not justify what I did, and I wish to repay you somehow, but right now I must get something to eat.” Landstrider reached for his hat and wiped away some dust from it.

The orange mare looked at him with somewhat calmer eyes. “So… You haven’t eaten’ since yesterday…” She seemed to have softened up a bit.

“No I have not...”

The pony made a troubled sigh and exchanged a look with the big one.

“I guess necessity knows no boundaries. After all, I would’ve offered apples to any unfamiliar face that comes by Ponyville in normal cases. I’ll look between the hoofs this time.” Landstrider puffed out on hearing those words. “But you still owe an apologize to Big Mac!”

Landstrider cough and straightened up.

“I am sorry that we came up on the wrong hoof so to say…”

“Hmpf!” The red one was not satisfied.

“Well, hehe…” Rainbow Dash made some forced laughs. “…this is Landstrider, Landstrider meet Applejack and Big Mac ehehe…”

The other ponies ignored her.

“Sorry for your back Big Mac. I do not have much money, but I would gladly do whatever I can to make it up for you.”

The only one of them that seemed to be able to talk opened her mouth again. “I don’t know what ya could do to make up for just a wounded back, do you Mac?”

“Nnope...”

“Some few coins won’t cover up the bandages, and a day work in the field is too harsh…” She took herself on the chin while she pondered.

“Well if it is hard to find something I could do to make up for just one apple and a wounded back, maybe I could 'steal' some of those apple pies Rainbow Dash told me about and then do some free labor to cover it up…”

Again, the two siblings exchanged some puzzled looks, like they were telepathically talking to each other (which wouldn't surprise Landstrider a bit if they actually could). Judging from their expressions, they were still not convinced...

The grey stallion smiled nervously. “Ehh, if it is to any help, your apples are much better than those offered to me in Appleloosa…”

The orange pony winced. “YOU've been in Appleloosa?”

He quickly picked up a map from one of his bags and examinee it closer. “Well yes, it is south west of here, is it not?”

“Did you by chance meet Braeburn when you were down there?”

Landstrider lightened up. “Of course I did!" he put the map back in the bag. "He sure had some interesting stories to tell! He told me about the buffalo-conflict, and how close it was for the whole town to be destroyed if it was not for his cousin and some of her friends had showed up!”

Some muffled laughs slipped pass Rainbow Dash and AJ.

“Yea, tell me about it!” Dash said, before giving in to a full burst of laughter as her memories from the crazy amok she had caused was too funny to ignore. It had been a funny scene alright: because all kinds of weapons were forbidden in Equestria (with the guards as a major exception), they had been throwing pies at each other. Pies for crying out loud! She laughed again, making Landstrider even more confused.

“What? Is his stories not true?” He scratched his head confounded.

“It’s true alright.” Applejack said “And I’m that cousin of his!”

The traveler inhaled amazed. “You are?! Well, the world sure is a small place!” He concluded with a short giggle.

“It’s nice to hear that my cousin still doin’ fine and dandy down there.” Applejack looked at Big Mac. “So what you say Big Mac, should we let, (Landstrider was it?) here to ‘steal’ some of Granny Smiths apple pies?”

The brother grinned satisfied. “Eeyup!”

Landstrider puffed out and swept away some nervous sweat from his forehead. Seemed like they had forgiven him...

Before he had time to reflect upon it further, the mare suddenly started to shake his hoof wildly, making his whole body swing with it. “I’m sorry if we’re a bit cautious with ya Landstrider, but Scardivan ponies don’t really have a prince’s reputation ya know!”

“Y-y-y-e-e-e-s-s-ss I-I-I kn-o-o-o-w-w…”

She released his hoof and Landstrider's bouncing slowly returned back to normal. “Follow me and we’ll found you somethin’ to eat. And for you Big Mac, we’ll let Granny Smith patch you up.”

“Eeyup!” Big Mac said longingly. His wounds really burned him in the sun heat.

“GREAT!” Dash said with a big smile. As I thought, if Applejack just would give him a chance, everything will go fine.

Landstrider reached for his package when he saw that Foxie looked expectantly at him. “It is alright now Foxie, they are going to give us something to eat."

The fox was not facilitated by his master's words. His experience said that ponies that had attacked them were not to be trusted. He demonstrative sat down and looked away.

Landstrider was not pleased with his fox reaction. "Foxie, you will come with me now! And you will behave, got that?” He looked more sternly at his pet.

Foxie rolled his eyes and followed Landstrider, but he kept a good distance away from the red pony...

After they had walked a bit, Applejack asked:

“So tell me Landstrider, how did you end up in Ponyville?”

Rainbow Dash's face brightened. “Yea, you promised to tell me that when we reached Applejack.” She looked expectantly at his new found friend.

Landstrider smiled. “As I already have told you Rainbow Dash, I am an adventurer and I am always seeking for new experiences to make. For now, that journey takes me to Ponyville…”

“Oh oh, like Daring Do?” The blue pegasus asked hyped.

He made a short laugh. “Yes, but Daring Do’s adventures are a beautification compared to how it really is like to be an adventurer…”

“But I still don’t get why you’re in Ponyville. There ain’t anythin’ interestin’ here, I can tell ya that!”

“Do not say that! All villages and cities have something unik... Unique? Did I say that right? Anyway all villages and cities have something unique to it that is an adventure in itself. Despite, I am not here for the village.”

AJ looked questioning at him. “Then what in tarnation are you here for?”

“This is the village closest to the Everfree forest…”

The orange mare winced. “The Everfree forest?? Don’t say you’re plannin’ on goin' in there are you??”  She shivered from the bare sight of the dark woods covering the east side of Ponyville. In all her time in Ponyville, the Everfree Forest was the only place she didn't go into willingly.

The Pegasus snorted at her cowardly friend. “Of course he is! There is no better place for adventures than the Everfree forest! There are Manticorns, and dragons, and Ursa Majors…” She imitated the creators as she named them.

“…and most ponies that walk in there by themselves don’t come back!" Applejack raised an eyebrow to Landstrider.

“Do not worry, I am not alone. Foxie here is the best companion there is!”

His pet proudly stretched from the encouraging words.

“With or without a companion, it's still as stupid as pickin' apples durin' winter times! Besides, if you're goin' in there just for fun you’ll get lost faster than a stone farmer in a fruit market.”

The grey sighed. “I am not going in there just for fun.” He grabbed a book from one of his bags. “I am looking for a stone said to be hidden deep inside it.” he said and flipped up a page showing a ball-shaped stone like the ones Princess Luna had destroyed when she was Nightmare Moon.

AJ inspected the image closer. “It looks pretty much like the elements of harmony before they were jewelries to me, what ya think  Dashie?”

Dash flew closer to the book. The illustration pictured a stone with some kind of symbol on it. The stones were definitely the same ones Luna had destroyed. It made her laugh.

“Yes, it does! Sorry there tough guy, but I have already found them!” she stated cocky.

“We found 'em,” Applejack sternly corrected.

Dash just waggled away her words. “Yea yea whatever, the point is that you won’t find them anymore.”

“No no, this is not the elements of harmony; I already know that they are in Celestias possession. I mean the stones of insight.” Landstrider pointed her hoof at the headline of the page.

"Insight? I don’t like the sound of that…” the apple farmer said worried.

“No one knows who made them, but there are six of them spread all around the world. It is said to make the wielder of the six stone's inner dreams come true.” The other ponies jumped back startled from the sudden sound of the book slammed closed. If Twilight had seen Landstrider's careless treatment of an old book like that, it would have made her cry.

“But it is only a myth. I am only wants to find out if it is true or not!” He gave them an excited smile.

“Inner dreams come true? That would be AWSOME” Rainbow Dash flew up high in the air. "Then I could finally join the Wonderbolts and be admired by whole Equestria! No, not only Equestria, I would be the best flyer in the whole world!"

Dash found herself being pulled back to the ground by the orange mare. “I ain't so sure it’s really such a great idea findin' these ‘stones’. What if they’re put in the wrong hoofs?”

The adventurer nodded understandingly. “Yes I know what you mean… but I do not think that is going to happen. As I said, they are scattered across the world, and in order to make them work, you have to…” The sight from a big red house made him completely lost himself.  He gasped.

“Landstrider, I welcome you to ‘Sweet Apple Acres'!” AJ said with a proud voice.

The house reminded him of the old farm he used to work on back in Scardiva, only that this one was painted red, instead of green. He made a short giggle at the clever marketing sign on top of the house; it was impossible to mistake what was produced here. The barn next to the house on the other hoof looked very abandoned. He couldn't see any cattle in it either...

“And next to it, you’ll see my friend Golden Harvests farm; she makes carrots as you might've figured.”

Landstrider clearly saw what she meant. On another hill behind Sweet Apple Acres was another house, this one with a carrot symbol on top of it.

“So Apples and Carrots is what this town produces?” he asked.

“Not only. We might be a small town but we got everythin’ from fresh apples and carrots to fancy dresses and sweets stores.”

The blue pony flew excited in front of Landstrider. “I know this place like my very own wings, I will give you a show you around after the pies!” she said and spread her wings out in demonstration.

“I would be happy to! Is there a library in this town perhaps?”

Dash rolled her eyes. “Yes there is but why do you want to go to there? That place is boring.”

Before Landstrider had time to answer Applejack coughed for attention.

“Let me introduce you to old Granny Smith, she’s the one makin’ the pies.”

Around a white colored patio, an old green pony was sleeping in a rocking chair. The pony looked like she could crumble and die in any minute, but the large snoring proved otherwise. Landstrider couldn't figure out what made the loudest sound: the pony or the rocking chair.

Applejack walked to the sleeping skeleton and poked her side.

Butt nothing happened...

“Up and at ‘em Granny Smith, we got guests.”

Granny Smith only snored louder and continued sleeping.

The mare shakes the elder a bit harder and tries again. “Granny Smith, we got guests, wake up!” '

Still no reaction...

Applejack looked at the other ponies. “Excuse me,” she said and then turned back to the sleeping tomb.

“WAKE UP GRANNY!”

Granny jumped up from her chair. “Whit, what, who, why – “

“Granny, we got guests!”

Granny looked confused around until her eyes fell on Landstrider and Rainbow Dash. “Oh but of course!” With a little trouble she managed to get up from the chair.

“Hi there young fellow, I’m Granny Smith! What can I do for you?”

Landstrider grabbed her hoof in greeting. “You can call me Landstrider, and this is Foxie.” He pointed at his fox. “It is nice to meet you Smith.”

Granny examined the strange creature closer. Foxie recoiled from her smell and grimaced.

“That was a very odd pet you got there.” Smith concluded. "I have seen some pretty strange things in my days, but this is not one of them..."

“It is a Fox. It looks like nopony in Equestria have seen one, which is not so weird because they do not live here,” Landstrider explained again. It was not until now that Granny Smith noticed the grey pony's accent.

“You got a very funny accent there Landstrider, could you perhaps tell me where you got it?”

The traveler looked disappointed at the ground. “Yes I am from Scardiva...”

Granny Smith widened her half-closed eyes. “Oh boy, oh boy…” she said and shook her head. “…Wise of you to leave that miserably place.”

Applejack decided to interrupt. She didn't want the conversation to go down that road again.

“Granny Smith, could you brin’ our guests here some apple pie? We’re starvin’.”

The green pony lighted up. “Oh yes, oh yes, of course…” She slowly started walking towards the house.

“It is nice to see that you take care of your old ones.” Landstrider said admiring.

Applejack blushed.

“Well, technically it’s still her farm…”

The rainbow colored mane swung from side to side as Dash looked for her friend's little sister. “Hey Applejack, where is Applebloom? I bet she wants to meet Landstrider…”

“No point in tryin' Rainbow, she's gone with Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo.”

Dash nodded understanding. Yes, there really was no point in searching for the trio; they could be anywhere.

Landstrider looked slightly puzzled. “Umm, sorry for asking, but…”

“She’s my little sister. I’ll introduce her to ya whenever I can, but she's impossible to find these days…”

He made a short chuckle. “Yes, fillies always got so much energy…”

The smell of warm apples brought the ponies’ attention to the house. “Here’s the apple pie!” Smith stumbled towards the rest, carrying two apple pies stacked up a pile. Landstrider bit his lip for each time the old mare lost her balance, just to regain it the second after. After not having eaten anything in 3 days, the last thing he wanted was to see his dinner getting familiar with the ground...

When the package finally arrived safely, they all placed themselves around the table. With a relieved sigh, Landstrider let his package fall off his back to the ground with a loud smack. Having carried that for weeks now was just... nasty. He got that relieved feeling when you are finally done with something that has been bothering you for weeks. He sank deeper into the wooden couch and exhaled merrily.

He took a bite from that pie slice on his plate. If he had thought the apple had tasted good, it was nothing compared to the apple pie! Every bite was a new sensation for his mouth! The flavors perfectly complemented each other in a perfect mix, making every chew a new adventure! It was much sweeter than the Zeebras' food, but much crispier than the Centaurien pies. But then again, he might exaggerate it. Everything seemed to taste twice as good when you were hungry. Foxie got some apple pie too, although he ate it all in a matter of seconds.

Under the meal, Landstrider talked more about his travels. He told them how he first had traveled south, away from his homeland and in to the endless jungles of the brutish apes. After several encounters and holdbacks, he had then finally pushed through the massive jungle and arrived to the Centaurs. The Centaurs were a much more civilized kind than the previous apes, and famous for their inventions and advanced technologies. After some more peaceful time with them, he had taken a ship west, where he had met the Zebras in the deserts south of Equestria. The Zebras where mystical beings, and he had several magical artifacts from that place. Despite them being unable to conjure magic, they still managed to find other ways to enchant their potions and tools. After that, he had traveled north and finally arrived here in Ponyville. He ended his story by showing Rainbow Dash the map he had promised to show her.

“…and that is the easy way to explain how I got here,” he concluded.

“Wow.” Rainbow gasped over how big Equestria was on the map. “And this isn’t even the whole world?”

“Not even close…”

“How lon' have you been travelin’ Landstrider? It most has taken’ quite some time to visit all those places of yours…” AJ asked.

He thought about it for a brief second. “I would say… around five-six years perhaps,” he then noted.

Big Mac was suddenly forced to recoil after being attacked by flying-chewed apple pie spitted out by her sister. “You’ve been without a home for aroun' five or six years?” the mare asked shocked.

“Well, sometimes I stay in one place for a longer period of time if you could call that a 'home' or not... I would say five or six years since I started my journey would be a more correct conclusion.”

“And you've not even once thought about settlin’ down somewhere? When ah was a filly, I traveled to Manehattan but ah got so homesick after only 2 weeks that ah almost puked!”

Landstrider grabbed another slice from his pie. “Yes, sometimes I wish that I had a home to live in, it is true, but I never really felt that I belonged somewhere else than the open road…”

“But what about the place you came from? You must have a home in Scardiva?” Dash asked.

Landstrider went quiet.

“No, I do not…” He eventually said.

AJ tried to read the grey stallion's face. “There’s no filly without two parents, even ah know that! You must have a mom and dad that miss you somewhere, and that place most be your home. When was the last time you've seen 'em? Travelin’ aroun' like this most worry 'em sick.”

Applejack immediately regretted her words when she saw that she had walked on a weak toe. The grey pony didn't answer, but instead stared aimlessly at his empty plate for a long time. When he finally spoke, his voice was depressingly muffled.

“Yes, yes I have parents. Or had, is the correct word. A bandit group kidnapped them when I was a filly and sold them as slaves to the apes.”

Landstrider felt tears pressing under his eye locks but it didn't matter. He was hardened; all the 'practice' he had done made him very good at holding tears back, especially in front of other ponies.

"I have never seen them since…” He returned to observing his empty plate.

“Oh…” Applejack looked around a bit uncomfortable for support, but all she got was a death glare from Rainbow Dash. She returned it with an 'I-didn't-mean-to' look.

They all stayed quiet for a while, since all the words that came to the ponies minds would only make the situation more awkward. Eventually, Granny Smith's frail voice broke the silence.

“I see that we all have eaten our pies.” She began gathering everypony's plates. In fact, Applejack and Granny Smith both had a piece of pie left, but they both just wanted to change the subject.

“Granny Smith, you sure make the finest apple pies in all Equestria!” Ponyvilles best apple-bucker said with a nervous laugh.

It seemed to have snapped Landstrider out from his plate.

“Yes, you really are a master chef,” he complimented.

“Oh you just sayin' that.” Granny Smith walked with the plates back into the house, making Landstrider again bite his lips from the many close calls of broken porcelain.

Dash sprung up excited. She had been sitting idle for way too long than the fastest flyer in Equestria should be sitting. “Want me to show you the town now?” she asked Landstrider energetic.

Landstrider wiped his mouth clean with a nearby tissue. “Well, I did promise Applejack I would work on her farm to compensate the apple pies…”

“Oh schooch, you can do it tomorrow, there’s just one cart left for the day anyway,” Applejack said with a smile.

The grey pony nodded as thanks.

“Good, let’s go then!” Rainbow Dash flew quickly down the hill.

Landstrider began to re-saddle up his things again. “You are not coming?” He asked the orange pony.

“As much as I want to, I just can’t let Big Mac do the entire last work just by himself, especially not with his back and all.... But I'll catch up later, promise.” The mare blinked.

“Okay, it was nice to meet you both and sorry about your back, Big Mac.”

The red stallion smiled. “No problem.”

“It was a pleasure meetin’ you too Landstrider, hope I'll get to know you better before you leave.” She lifts her hat as a goodbye, and the traveler returned the gesture.

"We sure will!"

“Are you coming or what!?” Dash was already half way down the hill.

“Yes I am coming!” Landstrider turned around and followed the pegasus down the hill. “Come now Foxie, it’s time to leave.” Foxie had fallen asleep but woke up upon hearing his name. He stretched satisfied and jumped after his master.

Landstrider adjusted his hat. “This might not be such a bad day after all.” he said to himself as he saw the sun slowly turn the day to evening…

<2 months earlier>

“Again, you made a good job today Deathoak.”

The golden eyed sat, with a pipe in his mouth, on one of the fallen rebel soldiers Deathoak had slain. The fog was starting to clear up and the sticking smell of ashes made Deathoak cough. He still hadn’t got the honor of knowing the golden eyed's name, so he had continued to call him just that: ‘The golden eyed’.

“Thank you sir.” The black unicorn panted tired.

He was still not a part of the circle. The golden eyed had told him that nopony passes the test of loyalty over a night, but he was under a trial. This meant that he received missions from them but nothing of great importance. So far, they had given him three missions, and all of them involved killing rebels. He wasn't disappointed with this at all; he actually thought it was perfect! For everypony he killed, he grew slightly stronger. As he had thought, joining the Dark Knifes would give him just as many ponies he wanted to ‘grow’ on.

Deathoak took a seat on a dead pony in front of the golden eyed.

“You have actually performed so well that Lord Steelsaxe himself has asked to meet us personally.”

Deathoak's jaw fell open. Nero Steelaxe was the leader of the mightiest clan in Scardiva, and he was the lord the circle served. All lords had their own group of assassins, but none of them was as feared as the Dark Knifes.

“W-what an honor…” he staggered.

The golden eyed gave his pipe some silent puffs without expressing any emotions or reaction.

“We also think it is time to tell you more about the members of the circle…” he said quietly.

The unicorn stood up surprised. “So you mean I’m in?” he gasped.

The golden eyed gave him a piercing glare from under his cloak.

“Oh right, not showing feelings…” He sat down quietly again.

“You still have much to learn before we accept you as a member of the circle.” He made some more puffs before continuing. “But you are young, and you are making good progress… consider this as a huge step closer to becoming a member of de mörka knivarna.”

Deathoak struggled to not express his joy. “T-thank you, sir!”

The golden eyed gazed over the battlefield. Hundreds of bodies were scattered across it, and some of Steelaxe’s ponies were gathering their fallen comrades to bury them in a big mass grave. It was not a funeral a soldier has in mind when marching to battle, but it was the funeral a warrior gets after being pierced by a spear. The sight was not a memory the survivors will share with their friends the day after. It was a sight of chaos.

It had been a bloody, but one-sided, battle. A very, very one-sided battle...

The golden eyed rose up from his seat and started to walk away from the scene. “You can call me Shadowblade from now on…” he said and beckoned the unicorn to follow him.

Five ponies plus Deathoak was gathered in a small room inside the Castle of Boslo, Scardiva's capital. It was very dark and the only light source came from two small windows high up near the ceiling. You could almost taste the dust in the air, and a weak scent of rotten wood struck through everypony who inhaled it.

The cloaked five had their eyes fixed on Deathoak. This was a big step towards becoming one of them, and getting to know their names was considered almost a spiritual ritual. There was something magical about this place, Deathoak noted. Something dark and twisted filled these walls with something very, very magical. He could feel it.

The silent was heavy, and when the golden eyed, the person Deathoak had learned to know as “Shadowblade”, stood forward, his steps echoed slightly.

“We are in a secret chamber inside Boslo's castle… This place has been under the circles possession ever since it was built, and few ponies outside of it even know about its existence.” He made a short pause.

“We are soon going to meet Nero Steelaxe himself in the throne hall. He has never asked to talk to all of us at once, so it is probably of great importance.” He gave Deathoak a serious look. “But before we go, I have decided to introduce Deathoak to the circle. Whatever mission this is we must accomplish it, and Deathoak is going with us.”

There other four ponies remained silent and sucked up every word from their leader. Deathoak couldn’t see any of their faces through their hoods, and all the mystery was killing him. In a matter of fact; this was the second time he actually saw them all together in one place. It had always been Shadowblade, and Shadowblade alone, that had contacted him and given him orders. The others were only there at his first test...

“You all have met Deathoak before, and you all have also seen what he can do, so I won’t go into details of that. Let us get this over with instead.”

He waved to the first pony in the line to step forward. He was the largest one of them, and a huge mace was fixed on his back. With heavy steps that somehow was almost silent, he placed himself some meters in front of Deathoak.

“This is Smacher,” Shadowblade presented.

“Nice meet.” the mountain-large pony said with a heavy voice. Deathoak could see that his face was, just like Shadowblade's, filled with scars. What could they possibly do to get such vandalized faces?

“He does not talk Equestrian so well. His ability is strength, and don’t get fooled by his appearance: He is just as smart as the rest of us.”

“I easy smash down wall.” Smacher said and hit himself hard on the chest.

Note to self: don’t get to close to those hoofs.

The pony returned to the line and Shadowblade continued.

“Next pony is Faceless.”

A mare gracefully stepped forward. “It’s a pleasure, to see a young potential such as yourself, soon joining our group,” she said with an elegant voice.

Deathoak sighed relieved. At least her face wasn't scared.

“She is a master of disguise,” Shadowblade explained, but immediately  got an angry gaze from Faceless.

“And style, Shadowblade, don’t forget style!”

Shadowblade sighed heavy.  “Yes, and style…” he said nonchalant.

The black unicorn did everything in his power to suppress a laughter building up inside of him. This was the first time he actually saw Shadowblade express a feeling that open. What could possible make him show an emotion so clearly?

Then, he swallowed.

Perhaps there is more between those two than the eyes could see...

“Next is Thunderbolt.”

Before Deathoak could blink, a mare stood in front of him and shook his hoof violently in greeting. “Hi there, welcome to Mörka knivarna! I am Thunderbolt! Nice work with the test of ability, I could not have done it better myself.”

It took a second for Deathoak to catch what just happened, and before he could answer, Thunderbolt was already back in the line.

“She is the newest and youngest member of our group. She is the fastest pony in Scardiva.”

“I am quite certain that I am fastest in the world as well,” the young Earth pony said with a boastful voice.

Shadowblade gave him a deadly glare.

“She, as well as you Deathoak, needs to learn discipline!”

Is... Is Lightningbolt even younger than me? The black unicorn thought. I guess talent beats age...

“And last pony, we have Silent.”

The last pony in the group was leaning against a pillar and didn’t do anything at all to greet or acknowledge Deathoak. He simply ignored him. Deathoak didn’t like to be ignored.

“He has no tongue, so he cannot utter a single sound, making him the perfect pony for stealth operations. No pony knows his real name so we just call him Silent.”

Silent continued to glare angry into the shadows.

That explains a lot, Deathoak thought and didn’t pay more attention to the mysterious pony in the background.

“Now when you know who we all are…”

“But darling, you forgot to introduce yourself!” Faceless said with a humoristic tune.

Deathoak could have sworn that he saw Shadowblade roll his eyes under the hood.

“Right… As you already know, my name is Shadowblade, and I am the leader of the group. I am its head, and its tongue. Any questions?”

Deathoak shock his head. “No, when are we supposed to meet Steelaxe?”

Shadowblade looked back at his members.

“He is waiting for us right now…” he said and led them all out of the room.

Even though Boslo's throne hall was enormous, it was still nothing compared to Princess Celestia's in Canterlot. Despite that, it was a marvelous sight. The massive windows reflected the lights of the big chandeliers burning in the ceiling, filling up the long hallway with all the colors of the spectrum. They were walking on a big red carpet, and heavily armed guards stationed along it watched their every moment as they slowly approached Steelaxe. There was no music, no celebration committee and no talking. There was only a complete silence.

On a high throne decorated with all sorts of jewelry sat the character Deathoak assumed to be Steelaxe. He was dressed in a large, red mantle and he wore a tiny crown on his head. His coat was grey as the rest of the Scardivarian ponies, and Deathoak could see on the king's troubled face that his mind was filled with thoughts. Two extra large guards stood on each side of him, looking even more fearsome than Smacher was.

“And remember, no one utters a single word, unless I say anything else. Not a bucking word!” Shadowblade whispered to the group without looking at them. He got no response. Perfect! Nothing would go wrong now, he thought. Nothing! And he would assure it!

Deathoak looked at the other members of the circle. He had been told that only Shadowblade had met the king personally before. Faceless correct her hood for the fifth time since they had entered the throne hall and Smacher unsuccessfully tried to whip away a dirty spot from his robe. Thunderbolt was like a filly in a candy store. She gave an object a glance before looking at the next in excitement. Only Deathoak, Shadowblade and Silent lived up to their reputation as coldblooded killers, as they with ice-cold glares, walked slowly towards the throne.

Deathoak could sense the fear from the soldiers around him. They were good at hiding it, but he was too familiar with fear to see through their plastic faces. They all feared them. He could almost hear the silent relief every soldier let out as they passed them. It made him instinct thrilled. Like when an author writes down the last few words before being done with a long book, their fears reminded him of the seconds before he performed his 'art'.

The lord on the throne snapped out from his thoughts and looked at the approaching ponies with a troubled gaze. “Feel welcomed, members of the Dark Knifes!” he said in Scardivariska.

Deathoak made a silent curse. He wouldn’t be able to understand a single word of their dialogue now! He should really try to learn Scardivariska...

“We are honored,” Shadowblade replied. He bowed deeply and the rest of the circle instantly mimicked him.

“Good job dealing with the Boneleg rebellion, I got reports that your work almost killed their entire army in a matter of minutes!” Steelaxe said impressed.

“We only did as you commanded, sire.”

The king smiled. “With Boneleg out of the picture, there’s only Moonshade and Landstrider left opposing me." He took a drink from a glass that was next to the throne. "The eight clans have agreed to proclaim me as the high king tomorrow morning, and with that, Scardiva will finally be united under one, strong ruler once more! The prophecy will be fulfilled!”

The king gazed proudly at the big painting over the main entrance. It represented an old portrait of Scardivara Stonehoof, sitting on the very same throne himself were on right now. Despite the many years that had passed since Stonehoof's rule, the throne were still as magnificent as it had been when the portrait had been painted. The old king on the potrait looked just as determent as he was right now.

Patriotism warmed Steelaxe's heart and he grinned. It was the founder of Scardiva he was looking at. Not any ruler or anypony, it was the founder of the land he would soon to dominate. Stonehoof had started it all, he had continued it. He knew his ancestor would be proud of him. Ff not, he would make damn sure of it! The time had come for Scardiva to prosper once more, and he was the pony to do it! Yes, he would make one last favor for the long dead pony. He was the wise ruler the prophecy was talking about, he just knew it!

Shadowblade's muffled voice disturbed his thoughts. “Excellent, my Lord. Is it because of Moonshade and Landstrider you have summoned us?”

The king shock his head. “No, no, no. Moonshade and Landstrider don’t pose any real threat anymore, or at least not after I have been crowned high king.” Steelaxe signaled to a servant which immediately began to gallop towards a small door alongside one of the hall walls.

“The reason why I called for the circle personally is of much greater importance…”

The servant returned, dragging a cart behind him. The cart was covered with a white blanket, and you could discern something round-shaped beneath it.

“For generations, my family has collected ancient artifacts from all around the world. Some of them are priceless; others have more of a historical value, and some… have practical usage.” He waved the servant away and rose up from his throne.

“I want you to travel to Equestria, and find a stone that looks like one these.” He ripped off the white blanked and revealed five stone spheres, all with a different symbol carved on them.

Deathoak recognized them immediately. “How did you found five of the stones of insight?? It is impossible!”

He bit his lips right after shouting those words and remembered what Shadowblade had told him. The reaction was almost instant. The hall began to echo the sound of metal as Deathoak was suddenly surrounded with spear heads and sword points. In normal cases, the guards would already have killed him by now, but this was far from a normal case. This time, it was the guards that feared to be killed if they came to close...

Shadowblade gave Deathoak a glance that could kill. No I mean it: you better start digging your own grave if you  ever get such a look from anypony. Faceless gave him a shocked look and Lightingbolt facepalmed. Silent was observing the guards closely, ready with a hoof on his blade if anything would happen. Smacher growled angry at the situation the Unicorn had put them into.

Steelaxe gave Shadowblade a bored look.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t let the guards kill him right there on the spot?” He asked with a snobbish attitude.

Shadowblade knew better than apologizing rudeness in front of a king. Only the gems value stops the dragon from eating all gems at once... “Because he is from Equestria and he knew the area better than anyone of us.” He feared that reason wasn't enough for the king's ears, he would have to try fear as well.

“Plus I don’t think all the soldiers in this room would be enough to kill him. He can -”

Steelaxe signaled him to be silent and shock his head. “I'm not questioning him Shadowblade; I'm questioning you. How can your dignity sunk so low that you would let an Equestrian pony into the sacred circle of the dark knifes? What is next? A Pegasus?”

“Sire, I thought the same thing but then I saw what he could do. If we ever going to invade Equestria that are filled with Unicorns like him, we cannot rely only on our brave Earth ponies. Unicorns with magic are a too great asset to ignore. If we don’t have at least one magical creature with us, we are chanceless.”

The king gave Shadowblade's speech a long thought. If it was something he had learned while sitting on the throne was to think before you act.

Deathoak's horn glowed prepared. The uncomfortable silent after Shadowblades last words in addition to several spears pointing at him was not something he preferred. If he only could understand what they were saying...

“I guess you're right,” The grey king eventually concluded. He signed his soldiers to lower their weapons, which they gladly did. “Thinking in the old ways will make us repeat the same mistake twice. We must be new, and innovative for progress!”

“Well spoken, my Lord.” Shadowblade made a quick bow. He knew that Deathoak had been forgiven, but it had been a close call. Once again, his clever mind had outsmarted another situation with his king...

The black unicorn slightly relaxed when the guards sheeted their weapons. Whatever Shadowblade had said, it seemed to have worked. But he knew it wasn't over yet. Shadowblade would probably be furious at him afterwards. He hoped that this wouldn't mean he had failed the test of loyalty...

“Very well, you know your mission. My researchers have tracked the last piece of artifact inside a temple called Sheolx. The temple is located in a forest called 'The Everfree Forest', and beware! The Temple is said to contain some kind of traps to keep intruders out…”

“We will keep this in mind, my lord!”

The king was pleased with the answer. “And one more thing: This mission is top secret! Don’t let anypony know why you are searching for the stones. It might ruin the entire future of Scardiva…”

“Right sire, we will be as silent as a ghost!”

Steelaxe nodded. “Leave as fast as you can. I will assist you with a servant that will bring you everything you need for the journey. Gallop with speed and may the ancestors be with you!”

“Thank you, your highness!” Shadowblade made a deep bow and again, the rest mimicked.

But before they turned around to leave, Steelaxe stopped him. "And Shadowblade...

Slientsword turned back to his ruler. Yes, sire?

Keep an eye on that Equestrian Unicorn...

Deathoak shoved a snowflake away from his snout and turned around in his sleeping bag. He couldn't say he wasn't used to sleeping outdoors, but it was not really something he preferred to do in a snowy evening like this. Thankfully, the campfire didn't quenched by the snow, and it was a very much needed warm source.

He shivered again. Silent and Shadowblade had the first nightshift, and he was next up with Lightningbolt. He was exhausted, but he still couldn't sleep. There was too much on his mind that prevented him from sleeping. One week had passed since the meeting with Steelaxe, and Shadowblade hadn't even mentioned his outburst in the court. Was he looking between his hoofs? Didn't Shadowblade cared that he had ignored his order and put them all in danger? Maybe the assassin's mind was too busy about their mission that he had forgot about Deathoak...

When it comes to the mission, he felt extremely lucky that it was located in the Everfree forest. Having his first real mission in almost familiar areas was exactly what he wanted. Back when he was in prison, he had read a lot about the Everfree Forest. The mystery and darkness inside it had appealed his interest in it and his research sure would come to good use! Maybe they would even let him join the circle after the mission if he made a really good job!

But then again: The stones of insight?? And the ruler of Scardiva possessed five of them?! How did he even get hold of such powerful tools? Deathoak remember what he had read back in Celestia's magic school. Six stones in total... Each symbolizing some kind of trait... Why it did was still a mystery... When having all six gathered in front of the creator of the stones, your inner wishes would come true... But who was the creator? The stones are almost as old as the princesses themselves, the creator would probably be long dead by now, didn't Steelaxe know this? Maybe he only wanted them to have a full set of ancient artifacts... Like a collector or something like that. Or maybe he had figured out how to use them without the guidance of the creator?

Maybe I could figure it out? Deathoak thought. Then my inner dreams will come true, and Celestia would finally die from my hoofs! My name would be remembered forever! Were the stones so powerful that it could make it happen? Maybe he should betray the Dark Knifes and steal the stones for himself...

He smiled and curled up tighter in the sleeping bag. No, he shouldn't. What was the fun in letting the stone do all the work? He was an artist after all, not a butcher. The honor of killing Celestia should be his, and none others! The Dark knifes was helping him reach that goal, not doing it for him!

Eventually, he fell asleep...

--

An immense pain in his left cheek woke him up and he screamed. He reflexively covered the pain with his hoof, making him realize he was bleeding!  He rose up from the bed and his heart made a double jump from the 5 pair of eyes looking at him in the darkness of the night. He could see from the light of the fire that Shadowblade was holding a large knife in one of his hoofs. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was dropping from it...

“Every time you disobey a direct order from me, you will get punished. Remember that Deathoak...” The golden eyed began drying of the knife. “Lightningbolt and Deathoak takes the next nightshift, the rest of you get some sleep.”

The ponies began to return to their sleeping bag like nothing had happened. Deathoak felt the sticky substance slowly stream down his cheek. He looked at his hoof. It was soaked with blood, and it wasn't somepony's else blood. It was his own! He did not try to join the circle to put up with this! He felt his anger boil up inside of him. He began to pant heavily. He started to lose control of himself. He felt the artistic mind slowly being pushed aside for his other half... His more powerful half... The half that had given him his Cutie Mark in the first place! The half that had killed his family...

He started to conjure energy to strike Shadowblade with a lightning bolt. Who did they think they are to humiliate him like this? He was the most powerful of them anyway, he didn’t need them! They were better of as energy into his body. The stones were always there, he could always find another way to finish Celestia off without them! They were just pawns in his master plan, and he could sacrifice them whenever he wanted to! He was the king, not them, not Steelaxe! It was they who needed punishment!

Before he had gathered enough energy, he felt something sharp pointing against his throat. He lost his concentration of the spell. He knew very well what that sharp thing was... Silent slowly walked in sight of him. Deathoak snorted like a bull and looked angry into Silent's green eyes.

Suddenly, he gasped.

Silent was speaking to him.

“I’m watching you,” he said.

Not with his mouth or tongue, but with his eyes! His eyes were talking to Deathoak! H-how was that even possible?  Dethoak thought. His anger quickly washed away and was instead replaced with a feeling he hadn't felt in years: fear.

Those eyes...

It was like they penetrated his mind...  Everything ceased to exist. The pain from his cheek, the cold winds, the dark skies, it all disappeared. The only thing that seemed to remain was Silent's eyes.

"Don't try anything," they said.

Deathoak felt like passing out. His thoughts were more and more widespread, and he could not really grasp one for longer than some seconds. W-what is happening to me? Am I dying? Is this like dying? W-what is happening to me? His brain went through the same thought over and over again, like it had forget it just had thought the same sentence for only a couple of seconds ago.

There was something else than the eyes. A fade voice somewhere, like a scream from a faraway place: “What are you doing Silent? Leave him be, he already had his punishment!”

Suddenly, everything returned back to him in a second. The pain in the cheek, the light from the fire, the cold winds... The shock made him collapse to the ground.

“Easy there Silent, you can go back to sleep now. I and Deathoak have this nightshift.”

Silent sheathed his knife and gave Lightningbolt a dark glimpse before returning to his own sleeping back.

Deathoak panted heavily. His heart was pounding hard and his thoughts slowly returned to what they used to be. It was magic, it has to be magic! How can an Earth pony like Silent use magic?

“He is quite creepy, is not he?” Deathoak snapped out from his thoughts and saw Lightningbolt sit next to him. She had removed her hood, and her long, fire red mane flapped widely in the strong winds. He nodded discrete in return.

“And do not take that too personally.” She pointed at Deathoaks cheek. “You did not think joining the circle would be a dance on roses, did you?” She showed Deathoak four scars on her right cheek.

“These things happen,” She said carelessly and smiled. Deathoak started to relax a bit.

"But why doesn't Faceless have any scars if the rest of us have? She wasn't the one dealing them out either and she cannot have been perfect every time...“ The mentioning of the scar made him reflexively put his hoof at the wound again. It had dried now.

"She is the master of disguise, remember? It would pretty much ruin her usage if she could be recognized with some strange scars to her face would not she?"

Her bad grammar made Deathoak slightly annoyed. "So she doesn't get punished?"

"Oh, she gets punished alright, but no one knows how. Sometimes, she just disappears and when she comes back, she is white as a chicken but quiet as... as Silent." Lightningbolt giggled at her metaphor.

"I see..." Deathoak turned away silent. He wondered what Shadowblade could come up with to punish Faceless without leaving any marks... Well, any physical marks that is...

The red maned pony sprung up in front of Deathoak again. "Anyway, why did you want to join the Mörka Knivarna?” she asked lightly.

Deathoak was caught off guard. “Umm, well, umm…”

The young mare looked skeptical at him. “I know you want Celestia dead and all but there must be a reason for it! I mean, you are from Equestria after all! Why do you want your leader dead so terribly bad? Do not you have any patriotism?”

Without knowing it, Lightningbolt had walked on a weak toe. The unicorn looked away to prevent himself from showing any emotions with his face. He started to remember again... His flashbacks still haunted his dreams, and he made everything to not think about them during awake time. But sometimes, it was inevitable...

The black stallion made a large white line right cross four others with his chalk. That made it 1825 lines in total... 1825 days... Five years... Or at least since he started to count. Five years in a tiny cell...

He sat down on his hay spot and tried to think about something else. The smell of the "piss corner" filled up his mind, but he pushed the thoughts away. He didn't feel like thinking of pony byproducts. He started mapping his cell instead. Of course, he had done it thousands of times already, but it didn't stop him from doing it again.

The were four corners in his narrow cell and all had their own purpose.

There was the "sleeping corner", which he was in now. It contained a pile of old, inedible hay, stacked up to a "bed". It gave around as much comfort as the hard floor itself.

There was the "piss corner". Well, it was simply a bucket were you... you know...

There was the food corner. It was the corner closest to the door where the guards would give him water and food. They exchanged "piss buckets" one time per day from there too.

And at last, there was the light corner. Princess Celestia had, "in her mercy" given him a magical lamp that never faded, so he at least didn't have to live the rest of his life in complete darkness. How the lamp worked was still a mystery to him, but it provided with enough light for somepony to read in.

And Celestia had allowed him to read.

And that was almost the only thing he did all day long: read.

After five years with nothing to do, you start to read. And read and read and read. It was simply the only productive thing he could do down here: read. At least he was provided with the books he wanted. The only two exceptions were books about the prison itself and dark magic.

But books about magic in general were allowed, so he could at least continue his studies! But then again: what's the use with magic theory when he wasn't allowed to use it in practice. The castle had some kind of ancient spell that somehow suppressed magic. The only thing Deathoak ever had been able to produce was a short black spark, and he had been really angry that time.

How the hay did that lamp work??

Never mind. He had tried to figure that out ever since he got it. There were no use, it was a mystery...

He started to examine his cutie mark again. The white skull mocked him from his black fur. He could still remember the first day he got it. It had been the worst day of his life.

Curse Celestia! Curse her to oblivion! Did she really think he wanted his own parents dead?! Did she really believe that he liked killing ponies just because it was his cutie mark? Celestia had talked to him when she visited her own school for buck sake! A filly doesn’t choose what his special talent in life is, and just because his happened to be killing doesn't mean that he wanted to kill!

But his reasoning had fallen on deaf ears in the court trial. Yes, it was true that he had killed his parents but it was an accident! Every Unicorn loses control of their power sometimes, what filly in their right mind want to kill his own parents!? But Celestia hadn't listened. Despite she knew who he was and despite that she knew he would never do something like that on purpose, he had been sent to jail.

He hated Celestia.

He hated his cutie mark.

He hated to be a unicorn.

He looked back at his cutie mark for a second time that day. The white skull was still there, nothing had changed.  It looked at him with its deep, black holes for eyes. It would be on his flank forever…

It didn’t matter if he would get out from here or not. What would the world outside think of him when he showed up with a skull on his flank? He could imagine the job interviews.

“Hi, my name Deathoak and my special talent is killing ponies!”

No, it really didn’t matter if he got out or not. Or well, yes, there would perhaps be some kind soul out there willing to lend him a job, but would that really matter? He could learn to be good at something but never truly master it. There would always be somepony else with the right cutie mark that would best him at it, no matter what it was. He would always be an average, always arrive at second place. Never would he be appreciated or admired, he was cursed to be forever mediocrity. Even when it came to magic, he had always been the second best in his class! He remembered the late nights he spend on studying to be a step ahead of the class, only to be out shinned by the Celestia-flank-licker-Twilight. She made it look so easy! He was nothing. Whatever he would manage in his life, it would never stand the test of time. Somepony would always be better than him, always! Except when it came to killing…

Maybe he was meant to kill all along?

He rose up from this enlightenment; what IF his purpose in life was killing? What if all the ‘accidents’ he had caused was no accidents at all, but strikes from his under-stimulated mind? Like a painter gain inspiration suddenly, maybe he got his ‘inspiration’ just as suddenly? “There is an art in everything, even in painting rocks.” His teacher had once said to the class. “And if it isn’t considered art yet, make it an art.” Yes, Mr. Poemwriter’s words rang loudly in his ears.

It all made so much sense to him! Just as somepony felt like baking for no particularly reason, he had killed all those animals when he was a filly because something inside of him felt like doing it! Of course he had earned his cutie mark when he had killed his family: it was the first time he actually had killed a pony! In all his life, he had run away from his ability, but a pony's destiny could not be avoided forever! Celestia hadn’t locked him up because of what he had done. She had locked him up because of what he could do! Celestia feared him.

He cleared his throat.

"If my talent really defines who I am, then may so be it!" He then shouted out loudly to the lonely shadows. "If my ambitions can’t make me famous, I shall be infamous! Yes, I shall be the most feared pony in the entire world! My name will live forever, as my art will be spoken in generations to come! Mark my words!"

The echoes from his own voice made him for a short second think he had completely lost his mind. Maybe it was true, but the cold cells answer was the only answer he needed. He was no longer Deathoak the prisoner, he was Deathoak the artist. And as every artist had a masterpiece, his masterpiece would be Princess Celestia herself! He would be feared, and for the next thousand years that would come, his name would be whispered in dark alleys and sad songs. They would sing of the pony that ended the millennia of harmony and peace. Yes, this was truly his call in life. He could feel it inside of him.  This was what he was born to do, and his first triumph would be to escape from this cell!

He leaned up against the wall to inspect the magical lamp closer. There must be something he had missed, a detail so small and hidden that a normal pony wouldn't find it. If it could use magic in this cell, he could too…

“She…She sent me to prison…” he eventually said.

“Cool! What for?”

“Um…”

“Oh come one! Do not be shy! Tell me what you did to be personally sent to prison by a princess! Something nasty I hope…”

Deathoak didn't know how to response to the young mares interest in him. It was not like he was used to chit-chat...

“I killed my parents…” he eventually said.

The smile on Lightningbolt's face turned to a wide grin instead. “Woaw, that’s awesome! Was it your first kill?”

A grumpy voice interrupted the conversation. “Shut up already, some of us are trying to sleep here!” Smachy said from across the camp.

Lightningbolt rolled her eyes but lowered his voice. “Well, was it?”

The Unicorn made a short nod. “Yes… It was… Well, if you don’t count birds and other small animals…”

“No, they do not count! My first kill were some bandits. They had killed my brother but I hunted them down! All except one...” She went quiet for awhile.

“You think that is how Shadowblade got his scars?” Deathoak asked.

Lightningbolt twitched. “Huh? Oh, you mean the punishment? Yea, sure, why not.” The mare made a short laugh. “I never really thought about it! I wonder how long he has been in charge of the order…”

“Is there more than just us in the circle?”

“Just us. For some hundreds of years ago, we were more, but now it is just we six that remain.”

“Well, you five, I’m not a part yet.”

“Nah, it is only a matter of time. They are a little bit suspicious because you are not from Scardiva, that is all.”

Deathoak gave Lightningbolt a warm smile. In his life in Canterlot, he had never talked to ponies in his own age. Well, he had tried once back in magic kindergarten, but no one wanted to hang out with him. Well, not after he had accidently killed somepony's pet cat that is...  That was why he had thought in advance that everypony in 'Celestia's school of talented Unicorns' would be just as afraid of him as the rest, and did not even try to befriend somepony. He was later known as 'the pony studying under the large tree', by the other unicorns, and nopony had ever cared to talk to him.

But Lightningbolt was talking to him! Her voice was not filled with suspiciously or fear, rather the opposite: she found him cool!

Deathaok talked more about Equestria for Lightningbolt, about his escape from the prison and what he know about the stones of insight. She responded by teaching him some simple phrases in Scardivariska. After a lot of failed tries and laughter, Deathoak finally mastered "Min panna ser ut som en manlig könsdel.", which apperantly meant "I am a cool black Unicorn!" in Scardivariska, but he wasn't sure if that was true... Lightningbolt was no longer just a simple companion to Deathoak anymore: she was his friend.

He had never had a friend before...