Landstrider's adventures - Stonehoof's prophecy

Rainbow Dash quickly flew between the buildings as he introduced them to Landstrider.

“…And here’s the town hall! And oh look, here’s Sugar cube corner, they makes awesome pastry, and here is the School yard…”

All houses looked different; there weren’t two buildings alike in the whole village. Landstrider tried to memorize as much places as he could but with Rainbow Dash pace, it was hard.

Foxie walked closer to Landstrider. He had never liked crowded places. There were too much tight spaces and too little open areas for his taste. Landstrider on the other hand found the Ponyville tour quite enjoyable. It was like every corner had something special to it. Ponyville was not as sophisticated village as the Centaurion villages but not as simple as the Zebra towns. He liked that.

Ponyville had one thing in common with other villages in Equestria: all houses were only big enough for one family. Another thing similar to other villages was the huge variation in stores and culture buildings. Just as Applejack had said, Ponyville had a lot of different businesses going on for being a small village.

As they walked through the town, everypony they passed gave the moving pile of package a long lock. Landstrider was used to stand out, but he never had liked it… Other than that, Ponville seemed like a friendly town. All ponies greeted Rainbow Dash when they saw her and there was a generally happy feeling in the atmosphere. Happiness might seem like a ridicules thing to notice but smiling was a very rare thing in bigger cities. The stress in larger settlements often gave ponies a more troubled look when they were out on the streets. Another strange thing Landstrider noticed was that the big variation of Pegasi and Unicorns. Earth ponies used to be the dominant population in villages like these and Unicorns was the major one in cities. When it came to Pegasi, Landstrider had no idea where they lived. The only time he ever saw a Pegasus show up was during the days, and they disappeared as the evening approach. Here in this village, there were almost equally many Earth ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi, despite it was late afternoon!

“Rainbow Dash, can I ask you something?” Landstrider screamed to his guide.

“…And here is– Oh, of course!”

The blue mare quickly flew away from a green house, into a more ‘conversation-friendly' distance with her friend. It made Landstrider blink from the sudden wind the pegasus had brought with her from her fast approach.

“Does all the Pegasuses in Equestria live here? I have never seen so many Pegasi in one place before...” He looked around again and saw several Pegasi walking out from one of the shops into another. So many Pegasi...

"Haha, very funny Landstrider, very funny!" Dash laughed a little bit effortless like she had just been the victim from one of Pinkie's pranks. When she realized that he wasn't joking at all, he gave him a shocked look. "Don't tell me you were actually serious??"

A little bit unease, he scrapped the ground with his hoof. "Well, um..."

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

Landstrider stumbled from the sudden slam on the back from the laughing Pegasus.

"You thought... You actually thought that..." She could barely levitate from the wildly snickering. Without noticing it, Dash was attracting even more attention to Landstrider with her loudly laughing. The grey pony felt their questioning stares burn his neck and Foxie hide behind his legs.

Landstrider was a stallion that had learned to always make the best out of every situation, and he couldn't find anything better to do but to laugh nervously with Rainbow. He could hear the crowd mumbling what the fuzz was all about.

After a couple of awkward seconds, the laughing wheatear patroller eventually recovered. "That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!" she said somewhat stuttering. "What in Equestria makes you think that ALL pegasi lived in Ponyville??"

Landstrider could hear the mumbling go louder from behind him. "Well, as I said..." he tried to talk as quietly as possible to make the large crowd lose interest in him. "I have never seen so many Pegasi in one place before. In all the other cities, they barely seem to exist and the few I see are often gone before afternoon. It is almost evening now so it confounded me!"

His plan seemed to work, but not the way he had intended it to work.

"How can somepony NOT know where Pegasi lives?"

"Was he raised in a cave or something?"

"I'm sure that this is just one of Rainbow Dash's 'practical jokes', although I do admit he looks a little bit... Daft, don't you think?"

The ponies around them started to scatter, but the damage was already done. Their muffling had somewhat hurt him, but he was used to be the ''uncivilized' ' pony wherever he came. Being raised on a farm, parentless from fillyhood, and on the travelling road since didn't exactly contribute to becoming 'sophisticated'.

He tried to look on the bright side. Entering Ponyville must have been one of the top five most eventful things that had ever done, he thought. Scaring a pony to death, meeting a sport celebrity (well, he thought Rainbow Dash was a celebrity), being attacked by a red mountain, being accused of stealing, eating one of the most amazing food he had ever tasted, being the laughing stock of the town...

Well, I still need a dragon, a surprise party and a crazy time-travelling pony, before this village tops the 'most craziest town in the world' list, He said ironically to himself.

Dash voice interrupted his thoughts. "But duh!" she answered his question with her eyes rolling sarcastically. "Of course they disappear before the sundown, why would they want to fly home in the dark?" She said it like it was the clearest thing in the world. For Landstrider, it wasn't.

"But where do they go then? And are not you worried about 'flying home in the dark'?" he asked with a little bit more self-confidence now when the crowd was gone.

"They fly home of course!" She snorted. "And I don't live up in the sky but in a cloudhouse near Ponyville, it is much closer to work that way. After all, I am in charge of Ponyville's weather!" The last word came out more as a boasting than information.

"D-did you say in the sky??" The Earth pony took a step backwards.

"Yes of course! Well, there is some few Pegasi that lives on the ground but it is totally boring! Up in the sky, you have so much more awesome freedom!" She made a couple of spins to demonstrate what she meant. When she saw that Landstrider looked even more puzzled than before, she stopped flying around.

"You don't know much about Pegasi, do you?"

"Hehe, well not really, you see: There are no Pegasi where I am from, and I have barely met a Pegasus before..." he said a bit nervously.

The blue mare gasped. "There are no Pegasuses at all in Scardiva??" But then, Dash remembered what Applejack had told her about Scardiva, that it had been founded by a group of Earth ponies, and Earth ponies alone. But two Earth ponies could get a Pegasus baby as well, the Cake couple had had it, and Dash remembered a Pegasus couple back in Cloudsdale that had got a Unicorn for a baby.

"Not a single Pegasus and very few Unicorns!" Landstrider commented.

Dash told him what was on her mind: “But isn’t there even one Pegasus in entire Scardiva? I mean, two Earth ponies can have a Pegasus filly as well as a Unicorn filly, it happens all the time in Ponyville.” Well, all the time was to exaggerate it but it did happen, and that was the point.

--

"Is-is that what I think it is?" Landstrider heard himself ask his parents.

They didn't answer.

The newborn thing continued to scream loudly on the tiny haystack...

--

The Scardivarian winced uncomfortably. “Well, um… It is true but, um…”

Dash looked puzzled at him. Is he sweating? He definitely looks startled...

--

The constant panting from her exhausted mother made him scared. The thing mother had contrived out still screamed from the top of its lounges. It looked like a pony combined with a bat. He didn't mind bats but this?

"Is it?" He asked confused again.

The silence was killing him. Landstrider wasn't used to see his parents this worried. Even if they hadn't grown a single potato one season they would still smile and somehow go through it. But now, his mother was almost passing out and his father looked like he had seen a monster.

"Yes, son..." His father eventually said trembling. Landstrider had never heard his father sound so... Afraid.

"Yes, your sister has wings..."

--

“I… I will explain that to you later, um… Tell me more about Pegasi instead! You know how little I know about them hehe.” He made a nervous smile.

The blue mare gladly changed the subject to Pegasi in Equestria, or rather about how awesome it was being a Pegasus herself, but her lonely audience hardly paid any attention to her. His mind was too busy remembering…  Remembering things that still haunted his dreams…

“…and here is the library you wanted to visit!”

Landstrider snapped out from his thoughts and looked at the housetree that was in front of him. The best word to describe place was just that: housetree.

Rainbow Dash walked to the door and knocked on it.

“My friend Twilight lives here!” she said to Landstrider and soon enough, a purple unicorn opened the door.

“Hi Twilight!”

“Hi Dashie!” The unicorn looked at the new pony. “And who is this?”

“This is Landstrider, he is from Scardiva.”

Twilight looked curios at the newcomer.

“Hi," he said and held out his hoof in greeting.

The unicorn smiled and cleared her throat. “Hi, my name is Twilight Sparkle and my favorite color is purple,” she said and accepted his hoofshake.

Landstriders stood paralyzed for a brief second by the shock of hearing his native language being spoken by a seemly Equestrian pony. Foxie winced as well, and Rainbow Dash was also taken by surprise.

“You… You know Scardivariska?” Landstrider asked confused.

The lavender unicorn giggled amused. “No I can’t speak Scardivariska. I only know a few words from the language-course introduction back in Celestia's magic school for talented Unicorns. I could choose between Zebrarian, Centaurian or Scardivariska but I choose Centuarian.” She squeed. “Anyway what are you doing so far from your homeland? Isn't it pretty dangerous for anypony to leave that place?”

Landstrider recovered from his shock and chough. “Hrm yes, it was a little bit difficult to cross the border but I managed. I am an adventurer and my next adventure is inside the Everfree forest. If you have any books about it, its plants and creatures in particularly, I would appreciate to borrow them, since I assume that this is a library...”

“The Everfree forest? Yes I got a couple of books on it... Come on in, and sorry about the mess: A little magical experiment didn't go as planned and I haven't tasked Spike with cleaning it up yet!” She waved them in and they gladly followed her.

The first impression Landstrider got was the complete mess the place was in. Books were scattered everywhere, and a table lay knocked over in the middle of it. The place was some sort of crazy mix of a library and a warzone. The next impression was a little bit more positive: the warmth from the fire place made him feel all cozy inside. He took a deep breath and exhaled satisfied. But the familiar sound of Foxie squealing woke him up, and he slammed his forehead with his hoof.

“Oh that is right!" He proclaimed. "Is it okay that Foxie here can come in to? I have taught him to not enter buildings without my permission. He is a nice fox…” He pointed his hoof towards Foxie.

“Um, yea sure, as long as it doesn’t eat books of course.” Twilight said.

Landstrider laughed. “Don’t worry, he will not.”

“SPIKE! WE GOT GUESTS.”

A tiny voice that seemed to come from this 'Spike' answered the call.  “I’m coming!”

Suddenly, Foxie smelled danger. He started to growl silently. Not being hungry anymore made Landstrider's reflexes work as intended, and he immediately responded to his fox warning.

“Be prepared everypony, something is about to happen...” he warned the other ponies quietly, as he slowly reached for his staff.

“What do you mea–“ Before Dash had time to finish her sentence, a red projectile leaped over the books towards the stairs, followed with loud barks.

“DRAGON!” Landstrider rushed over to Foxie and quickly placed the tip of his staff at the small dragon’s throat, preventing it from breathing fire.

“STOP! DON’T HURT HIM!” The librarian quickly channeled her magic to cast the very familiar spell that had saved her friends several times before. Landstrider and Foxie jumped back from the sudden flash of light beneath them. When they had recovered, the dragon was gone. Confused, they looked around and found it sitting on the purple pony's back.

Landstrider had no idea what had just happened, but he didn't have time to stop think about exactly. Still in his fighting stance, he slowly approached the purple mare. “Do not move Ms. Sparkle. I know this will come as a shock, but there is a dragon sitting on your back but just stay still and-”

“It is a baby dragon, he is harmless!” Twilight assured, and took some steps away from the approaching stallion.

“That is why we need to finish it off meanwhile it is still harmless.” He had seen too many dragons pillaging towns and leaving them half destroyed to ever feel compassion towards them, not even for baby dragons.

Suddenly, Landstrider found his way blocked by a blue pegasus. “If you lay a single hoof on Spike, I will shove your staff up your flank!” Rainbow said and put up her hoofs like it was a boxing fight.

The unicorn levitated her friend away from Landstrider. “Dash! Calm down, we don’t want a fight in the library, it all is just a misunderstanding...”

"Misunderstanding?" Landstrider said frustrated. "It is a dragon, there is no misunderstandings here! We need to kill it before anything bad happens!"

Spike's whole body was shaking with fear and it made him almost fall from Twilight's back. “W-who is that pony?” he asked Twilight stuttering. He hadn't been this scared since that time he accidently walked into that dragon-lair a half year from now. It was not that he was used to being attacked by murderous creatures...

“His name is Landstrider and he is not from Equestria. He has probably never seen a baby dragon before…”

“I have seen a baby dragon alright!” The grey pony interrupted. “And even in their young age they stole our corps and smashed our chicken eggs!”

The tension was high in the air. Dash looked like she was going to charge at Landstrider at any second now, while Foxie continued to bark loudly. Twilight felt Spike's shivers, and she struggled to remain civilized.

Okay Twilight: remember that he isn't from Equestria, and that Dragons are a major problem in Scardiva. His behavior is totally understandable and you should not do anything rushed.

She took a deep breath.

“I know there are a lot of wild dragons in Equestria, but in Spikes current state, he is just as polite and nice as you and me.”

“Dragons are never something to play with, and definitely nothing to have as a pet!”

Now Spike reacted. “I’m not a pet!” he said with a sudden boost of confidence. “Well, you don’t see me as a pet, do you Twilight?” He gave the unicorn a nervous look.

“Of course not Spike! Spike here is my friend and not a pet! He has been my number one assistant ever since he was born, and he has always been there for me, no matter how though things have got! I will never see him as anything else than a friend!”

Spike crossed his arms. “That’s right!” He said cocky, but you could hear some relieve in that tiny voice...

“You said he have been your assistant ever since he was born? So you mean that you actually stole a dragon egg?" He looked sarcastically at Twilight. "I do not think so…”

“Of course I haven’t! It was the passing test for the Canterlots magic school for gifted unicorns.”

“So, in order to go to magic school in Equestria, a filly needs to steal a dragon egg?”

“No! We don’t steal dragon eggs. We only hatch it with our magic.”

“But where is the egg from then? Somepony must have taken it from a dragon at some point!”

She had never really thought about it before. How did the magic school actually got hold of their dragon eggs? “Well um…”

“If it was not a dragon we were talking about, I would be ashamed of Equestria. No living animal should have their parents taken away from them!”

Rainbow gnashed her teeth. That was enough for the blue pegasus.  “Spike is not an animal and you better stop talk about him like he is one!” No one insult one of her friends when she was around, dragon or pony!

The lavender unicorn was a little bit staggered from Landstrider's words. Oh dear Celestia, don't let those words hurt Spike... It was quite true that Spike had been born into slavery, and she remembered the identical problems he had for about a half-year ago...

Luckily, it seemed that Celestia had listened to her thoughts.

“I am glad that I was raised by ponies instead of my real dragon parents,” Spike said proudly. ”I have seen how my kind is and I would never want to be as brutish and cruel as they are! Plus, there is no better foster parent than Twilight! She has taken care of me better than any dragon parent would ever have done, and I have learned so much from her!”

Twilight's heart melted from her little assistant's speech. She didn't know that she meant that much for the tiny dragon. She hadn't realized until now that she was practically his mother!

Maybe I should start paying more attention to Spike in the future... Perhaps I should give him a day off and clean the library myse-

She suddenly coughed when she breathed in some kind of weird, pink smoke rising from the overturned glass bottles that she had used for her last experiment. It seemed like the ingredients had created some pink, fluffy, liquid that was now spreading out all over the scattered books.

Oooor maybe I just give him some more gems for breakfast tomorrow...

Landstrider had to admit that he was a little bit impressed that the dragon actually found his own race to be ‘brutish’. It showed it had a sense of good and evil, but it didn't change his basic opinion.

“Animal or not, I would still keep an eye on him.” He sheathed his staff and commanded Foxie to not attack the purple little thing. Foxie muttered angrily in return.

“Give him a chance, and you will see that dragons can be very intellectual and independent beings,” Twilight assured him. “Take this for an example: Spike, gather all the books about Everfree forest please.”

"Yes Ma'am!"

The dragon quickly jumped off Twilights back and grabbed a nearby ladder. He didn't want to disappoint Twilight now in front of the stranger, especially not when she had basically bragged about him.

'Everfree Forest and it's inhabitancy', 'The Everfree forest: A survival guide for dummies', 'The magical plants of the Everfree Forest'... He threw all the books he could find about the subject in a small pile in front of the larger mess. He groaned when he realized who would be forced to clean up the chaos afterwards...

Landstrider was impressed over how quickly and accurate the little creature was, but then again, all dragons knew everything about their lair…

Now when the tension was slightly gone, Twilight curiously picked up 'So you are going into the Everfree Forest? The ten best ways to plan your funeral' and looked at Landstrider. “So anyway what are you looking for in the Everfree forest? You wouldn’t go in there without a goal, would you?”

“I am looking for–“

The entrance door suddenly slammed open and a pink pony bounced in from it.

“Hi Twi- HUUUUUUUUUH!” the pink pony gasped and then rushed out of the library just as fast as she had came. There was a short second of silence as everypony tried to figure out what just happened.

Landstrider was the first one to recover from the shock. “Umm… That was…”

Twilight groaned nonchalant. “That was Pinkie Pie. Don’t worry, she does that.”

The grey pony shook away the thousands of questions that popped inside his mind and started all over. “I am looking for one of the stones of insight. It is said that one is located in the Everfree forest, so if you have any books about it I would like to borrow them too.”

“The stones of insight… Where have I heard about them before…Spike?”

“I’m on it!” And in a heartbeat, he held "Old myths and fairytales" in his hand waving it towards Twilight. She caught the book with her magic and began to read it.

“…there are six stones of insight scattered all over the world, each one symbolizing a trait that is hidden deep inside everypony's heart. When all stones are gathered in front of its creator, the wielders inner dreams will come true…” She looked up on Landstrider from her book. “What do you want the stones for? It is too much power for just anypony to collect.”

“I am not after the stone itself,” Landstrider defended himself. “As I said, I am an adventurer and this stone is just another adventure. Besides, it is only a myth; they might not even be real at all.”

“But if they are real they are better of hidden.”

“Perhaps, but I still think they are harmless. They are scattered across the world! And even if they all were found, no one would know who the creator of the stones is. And even if they knew who it was, he or she would probably be dead a long time ago.”

Landstrider cleared his throat before explaining.

“My theory is that for a long time ago, a powerful Unicorn created the stones and meant to rule the world with it. But before the unicorn could use them, the unicorn was discovered and forced to hide the stones across the world. The unicorn was the only one who knew how to use them correctly and therefore the stones must be shown to the unicorn before being effective.” Landstrider made a short pause.

“So that is why I think they are harmless.”

Twilight was not convinced. “What if the creator of them is an immortal being like Celestia or Luna? There must be other creatures like alicorns that are immortal in this world. Or what if someone else figures out how to use them? We know much more about magic now than we did for ‘a long time’ ago…”

“You worry too much Twi!” The flying pony rolled her eyes to emphasize what she said. Dash had calmed down from the Spike incident and was now on Landstriders side of the argument. "It's like that time you meet yourself from the future to tell yourself not to worry about worrying for the future! You need to relax Twi!"

The unicorn muttered something for herself. "Yes, that incident was embarrassing alright, but this time I’m not worrying: I’m looking at the possibilities!”

"It is the same thing as worrying!" The blue mare said frustrated.

"No it is not Rainbow! There is a clear difference between blablabla-"

The stallion didn't pay any more attention to the discussion and began to shove down the books in one of his backs.

“It is getting late and I still have nowhere to stay. It was nice to meet you Twilight but I need to find somewhere to live before the sun completely goes down…” He swings up his bag on his back. “I will stay here in Ponyville for a few days and prepare for the adventure. I will return your books before entering the forest so you do not need to... worry!” With a big grin he pointed his hoofs towards Dash, which returned the gesture.

"I see what you did there!" The pegasus replied with an equally large grin. Spike snickered from Twilight's back but immediately cut it from the hazardous look the unicorn gave him.

“So is there an inn of some sort here? You did not show me any when we walked around the town...”

The Pegasus scratched his head puzzled. She wasn’t sure, she never had looked for one. “I don’t think so. Do you know if there’s an inn in Ponyville?” She turned to Twilight.

"Hrmmmf, I don't think you should... worry about it!" The lavender unicorn tried too to get a laugh from her blue friend but Dash just shook her head disappointed.

"Twi, too soon...."

With a load groan, Twilight focused on the question instead. The joke hadn't been funny in the first place anyway...

“I think Filthy Rich have a hotel somewhere, but that is about it…”

A hotel? Landstrider remembered the last time he had slept in a hotel. He had been forced to clean the dishes in two weeks before he finally had afforded  to pay the bill for just one night!

"I-I don't think I can afford a hotel, I need an inn..." He said disappointed.

Just after his words, the entrance door slammed open and out from it popped up a familiar face. “No need to go to the Hotel, it costs more than two Sweet Apple Acrees, and there is no inn in Ponyville, I can tell ya that! But you can always sleep in my barn if you’re goin’ to stay here for awhile.”

Landstrider turned around and lightened up. “Are you sure you want to do that for me?” He asked Applejack surprised. “Thank you Applejack, the barn is perfect!”

“Oh shooch, it ain’t nothin’! I show ya where it is.” The farmer gave the others a meaning look. “Ya’ll probably should follow me to the barn as well.”

Her friends returned her look with confused faces. “What do you mean? Why do I have to come too?” Rainbow asked annoyed.

“Well, let’s just say that Pinkie Pie saw Landstrider…”

Both ponies immediately understood and agreed on following.

Landstrider around confused. “Um, is there something I should know about this Pinkie Pie?”

“You’ll get your answers faster than a vespid pricked cow, just follow me to the barn and you’ll see what I mean,” Applejack said.

Her words didn’t really relax Landstrider.

“Okay I coming Applejack,” Twilight said and looked on Spike. “Spike, you're coming too?”

The purple dragon gave the fox a scared stare and then shook his head.

“No I’m better of here and clean up the mess,” he answered a little bit distant.

“Sure there is nothing I should now?” Landstrider asked a bit anxious again.

“Relax, it will be fun!” Dash said and gave Landstrider a friendly smack on his back.Landstrider muttered something in his own language and then reluctantly followed the three ponies out of the housetree.

“Foxie, are you coming?” Landstrider looked at his fox. Foxie nodded to Landstrider, but before he followed him he gave the baby dragon a deadly glare. Spike made an ugly grimaced in return and the fox slowly left the library with a lowered growl.

After a long walk, they eventually reached the barn. The darkness around them indicated that it was now evening, and chilly winds swept through the ponies, as they stood outside the barn.

Landstrider had become rather suspicious from the mysterious behavior. “Okay, can somepony please explain to me what is going on, now when we finally reached the barn?”

“Just walk in and you'll see,” Applejack said with an encouraging tune. The other ponies tried to hide a laugh, but some single giggles couldn’t be suppressed.

Something was going on, he thought, but as long as Foxie didn’t snarl of danger, it was okay to go in… He slowly opened the door to the barn, ready for anything that could be inside…

Anything except that!

“SURPRISE!!”

Landstrider jumped back startled and by instinct reached for his staff. The barn was filled with ponies, and a lot of confetti suddenly sprung up in the air. The pink pony Landstrider had seen earlier appeared in front of him and she kept bouncing up and down in excitement.

“Welcome to Ponyville! I am Pinkie Pie and when I heard that you were staying in Applejacks barn I was like HUUUUUUUUUH so I gather everypony in town because I know everypony in town and I want you to feel welcome! Do you feel welcome?”

Foxie groaned loudly. This was enough for him. Sure, being yelled at for trying to defend his master, being forced to walk into the town, being mocked by a dragon… He could take it. But more crazy ponies when all he wanted was some rest? It was the last straw. He turned around and ran into some nearby bushes for some silence and peace.

“Foxie!” Dash said and prepared to go after him but Landstrider stopped her.

“Don’t worry about Foxie, he can handle himself.”

Pinkie was not happy with being ignored. “DO YOU FEEL WELCOME?!” she screamed right in the strangers face.

“Ummm…” Landstrider tried to recover from his concussion. “H-how did you even know I was staying in the barn, and how did you manage to get all the stuff here so quickly?” The stallion looked at the other three ponies for answers.

Twilight sighed. “She is Pinkie Pie. If we somehow could figure it out ourselves, we would.”

Pinkie kept bouncing around Landstrider. “You already met Twilight and Rainbow Dash? Are you good friends with them? They are my best friends! We all could be best friends! You could be best friends with everypony!” Pinkie Pie made a short pause to inhale. “What is your name?”

It took a second for Landstrider to realize that she actually had asked a question to him.

“Um, you can call me Landstrider…”

“Landstrider? That’s a weird name! I have never heard of someone called Landstrider before!” The pink blur's bouncing made the grey stallion even dizzier.

“Are you happy that I threw this party just for you? I would be happy if somepony threw a party for me. Or if they threw a party at all, I love parties!”

Pinkie Pie talked so fast that Landstrider had hard times understanding what she was saying at all. “If I like parties? I-I think I rather want to get some sleep instead…”

Pinkie Pies smile widened and she looked closer at Landstrider. “You can’t be tired now! It’s your party! It would be silly if you were tired on your own party, don’t you think?”

“Um…” Landstrider looked begging at the other ponies. Applejack got the hint and came to his rescue.

“Pinkie Pie, go easy on the fellow, he had a lon’ journey.”

Pinkie Pies smile quickly turned to a frown. “Aww but I want to party! I always party when a new pony comes to town…”

“Sugarcube, you always want to party! Let Landstrider here get some rest.”

Pinkie Pie looked like she was going to cry. Landstrider scratched his head and smiled uncertainly. “Hehe, It is nice meeting you Pinkie but right now, I really should get some sleep. But…”

A familiar sight made him stop right in his tracks. A yellow pony with a pink mane stood in a corner inside the barn, drinking something from a glass.

Was, was that Fluttershy? He squinted with his eyes to see better… Suddenly, the pony looked up and their eyes met. His hurt made a double beat. It was Fluttershy! There was a short second where they just stood and looked at each other in cheer surprise. Eventually, the yellow pony hid her face in her mane and tried to get some ponies between herself and Lanstrider. Yes, it was definitely her! He lightened up. This was a great opportunity to make up to her!

“…but I guess a little party won’t hurt…” he then said with an awkward smile.

“YES I KNEW IT!” Pinkie jumped on Landstrider, almost knocking him to the ground with her big hug. The stallion flinched from the sudden Pink attack and stumbled around for a brief second. When he got grasp of himself again, Fluttershy was gone.

“Excuse me for a second,” he said and quickly walked towards the place he had seen Fluttershy.

The rest of the ponies tried to grasp what just had happened. First he didn't want a party and now he wanted one?

Eventually, Applejack spoke up. “Should we follow him?” She looked questioning at her friends.

“I think we should let him be for today,” Twilight said “He can handle himself without our constant nagging. Let’s go find Rarity instead.” The rest of the ponies agreed.

“I think I saw her at the punch!” Pinkie said and she quickly disappeared in the vast crowd of ponies.

Twilight and the rest of the ponies tried to catch up with her, but something suddenly caught Twilight's attention. She turned around and saw something pink and yellow leaving the barn. It doesn't take a Star Swirl the bearded to figure out who that was...

“Go without me I just need to do something first...” she said and galloped after Fluttershy.

Once outside, she found her halfway down the hill, patting Landstriders fox.

“Fluttershy wait!”

Foxie jumped away startled from the sudden appearance of the purple Unicorn that seemed to have popped up from nowhere.

“Don’t worry Foxie, it is only Twilight's teleporting…” Fluttershy calmed the fox down and continued to stroke his fur.

“Fluttershy, isn’t it a little bit early to leave the party, even for you?” Twilight asked her.

Fluttershy looked up. “When Pinkie told me about the party, she didn’t tell me it was for Landstrider…” she said and continued to pat Foxie.

The unicorn took a step back in surprise. “How did you know his name was Landstrider? Have you met him before?”

She nodded. “I met him in on my way to the crows…” Fluttershy looked like she was going to hide from a dragon again. It was unusual, even for Fluttershy.

Twilight examinee her friend closer. “What happened? Did he hurt you? You seem scared…”

The pegasus avoided Twilight's questioning look and focused her gaze at the red fur. “He hasn’t done anything… I just don’t like him, that’s all,” she snorted.

The unicorn gave the pegaus a cynical look. “Fluttershy! I haven’t met anypony you don’t like!”

“Well, now you have!”

The were a short pause were Twilight didn't find what words to say. She would expect this kind of behavior from Rarity, not from Fluttershy! Foxie growled in delight when Fluttershy's snout strokes his fur.

“You know you can trust me Fluttershy…”

“There is nothing to it!" she burst out. "As much as we disliked Trixxie when she arrived to town, I dislike Landstrider, there’s nothing strange with that!”

“You cannot compare Landstrider to Trixxie. Trixxie was a boaster, and you barely know Landstrider! I can agree that he is a little bit strange but you even snuggle with his Fox!”

“The fox and Landstrider are two different things. This fox is beautiful! Do you see how red it is? And its fur feels so relaxing to pat. Here, try it.” She waved invitingly towards Twilight.

Did… did Fluttershy tried to change subject?, Twilight was utterly confused. This was NOT the Fluttershy she knew.

“Fluttershy, I now there is something you don’t tell me,” the Unicorn said frustrated.

“I have told you everything there is to know! I just feel uncomfortable near him, that’s all. Now, give Foxie here a pat…”

“Fluttershy, you feel uncomfortable near everypony you recently met!”

“Yes, but I fell extra uncomfortable near this one. He makes me nervous… More nervous than other ponies do.” She made a heavy sigh. “I am sorry Twilight, I just can’t go to this party, I just can’t. Can we talk about something else?” She put on her puppet eyes but Twilight wasn’t the pony who gives up that easily.

“Can you at least tell me what he has done or does that make you feel so uncomfortable?”

“I… I don’t know Twilight. I just… He makes me afraid…”

“You can’t be afraid of somepony without a good reason!”

“Yes I can…”

“Fluttershy, you can’t! Is it that he is from Scar- “

“YES I CAN!” The before timid pony suddenly exploded.

Foxie panicked and ran off into the bushes again. Twilight’s brain had stopped working. S-s-she... H-how... W-w-when...

When Fluttershy realized what she had done, she curled up into her mane as usual.

“Sorry Twilight, I mean um… Come back Foxie, please... Um, Twilight, please stop asking me questions, um… I can handle myself from here…” she whispered and began walking down the hill, her head sunk to the ground.

Still in shock from her friend's extremely odd behavior, Twilight saw her friend slowly disappear in the late evening.

I know she is hiding something… Twilight thought to herself. And I’m going to find out what it is! Maybe Landstrider isn’t as innocent as he seems to be… Concerned, she walked back to the barn and joined the party…

Oh, Fluttershy, what have happen to you?

Landstrider took another desperate look around the barn, hoping to find what he searched for. Green ponies, blue ponies, brown ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns and Earth ponies, but no Fluttershy. He sighed. There was no use. If she still was inside the barn, he would have found her by now. It was like she had mysteriously disappeared from the barn...

“Ah, you must be Landstrider! I have heard so much about you from my friend Rainbow Dash…”

He turned around and gasped. The white unicorn that had spoke was dressed with the most magnificent dress he had ever seen! The dress had a perfect combination of blue and white, with gems holding it all together. Her blue eyes twinkled from the lights and she held up her head like a noble. Only on some few royal weddings he had been lucky enough to participate in matched this glorious sight which he now beholds. This must be somepony from Equestria's higher court. He was speechless.

“I am Rarity,” the unicorn said and put forth her hoof, expecting a hoofshake.

Landstrider's brain maid a triple volt. How did the royal families he had seen behave in these situations? He took the hoof and gave it a tender kiss. The royal pony seemed to be delighted by the gesture and he puffed out relieved. He had remembered right.

“It is a pleasure to see that a pony with manners has arrived here in Ponyville,” Rarity said and blinked with her eyelashes.

“How does it come that a pony from the royal court is attending on a strangers surprise party?”

“Oh, please, I’m a simple pony, just like you.” she said fluttered but it was clearly that she liked the thought of being mistaken for a pony from the royal court.

“So tell me, is the rumors  true? Are you really from Scardiva?”

“What you have heard is true Madame…”

“Oh dear, please do call me Ms. Rarity.” She giggled a little. “And it is so excited to have a conversation with a pony from abroad, don't you think?"

Before he had time to answer, the dressed unicorn suddenly jumped back startled with a small squeak.

"I-is something wrong Ms. Rarity?" the stallion stumbled out.

"Um, well, I can tell that you are really... attached to your hat Landstrider..."

The grey stallion took of his large broomed hat. "Yes, it has been with me since I left the apes..."

The Unicorn shook her head. "No no no, that will not do!" she said and pointed her hoof against the many holes of the old hat.

"THAT will not do! If I had known I would have brought with me my stitching tools!"

Landstrider's breath got stuck in his throat when a blue aura suddenly surrounded the hat and lifted it towards the Unicorn.

"Yes, I know exactly what this beauty needs! It will be fancy but not fabulous! It would ruin its practical usage. And a few stitches here would be just perfect! And..."

Landstrider didn't really know what to do. A dressed Unicorn taking and examine his hat without his permission wasn't really a situation he could claim he was used to. He tried to be polite.

"Umm, I am sorry Ms. Rarity, but could you please give me my back hat?" He put on a forced smile.

The white pony flinched, like she had just had woke up from a dream.

"Oh, but of course!" The hat levitated magically onto the grey pony's head. "But don't hesitate coming down to my Boutique before you leave and I will make your hat as fresh as new, I can assure!"

He didn't really want his hat to be fixed. There was a hidden charm in wearing an overused hat he could not really explain. Like a good luck charm, or something that indicated that it was him...

"We will see about that, Ms. Rarity." He said a little bit avoiding.

"Oh, but you simply MUST! Otherwise, you will look like my friend Applejack who insists on wearing the same old hat she have weird since she was a filly! Yes of course it is a pretty memory, but even memories needs to be freshened up in order to remain, don't you agree?"

"Umm..." His eyes bounced back and forth. Would he say what he thought or what the pony wanted to hear? It was one of those things he had learned during his travels, that sometimes, it is better to say what a pony want you to say instead of saying what you personally thought, especially when it came to the upper classes. He had learned this the hard way when a Centaurian Prince had asked him if he liked his vest. He had almost been banished from their country when he had been honest!

Luckily, he didn't have to think about it.

Suddenly, a large sound from scattered glass turned everypony's attention towards the punch table. The punch bowl was indeed the source of the turmoil, and the sticky fluid slowly evolved into a large pond of Apple cider. It filled the air with a sweet, attractive smell. A grey, eyed-crossed Pegasus levitated over the whole mess and tried to look as innocent as possible.

“Oh dear, it seems like there has been a misunderstanding..." The voice came from a brown Earth pony with a clock as cutiemark. "I asked for a glass of punch, not a bowl of punch!”

When the Pegasus answered, she did it with a weak and pitiful voice. “I-I’m sorry Dr Whooves…”

The barn was in complete silence.

Is- is my mind playing tricks on me? Landstrider rubbed his eyes so he could observe the scene better. The grey pony looked exactly like she was from…

Nonono, she can’t be, she is a Pegasus after all! It is just a coincidence! He told himself and was just about to not pay it more attention when something else got his interest.

Somepony in the crowd broke the silence. “Don’t worry everypony, it’s just Derpy again!” he shouted. The crowd made some understanding nods and muffled laughs before everything turned back to normal again (except for the large spot of punch on the floor).

Derpy? Was her name really Derpy? In that case she must be from... Never mind, I must have heard wrong... Once again, he was just about to stop thinking about the crossed-eyed pony but it was like fate wanted him to draw that particular connection in his mind.

“Hohoho, Don’t mind Derpy my dear.” Rarity laughed. “She is always a little… Dizzy so to say.”

Derpy! Her name was really Derpy! This is more than just coincidences; this can only mean one thing…

“Excuse me Ms. Rarity, but I must go…” he hasty excused and before Rarity could react, he was gone among the crowd.

He kept his eyes fixed on the grey pony. This pony he was not going to miss! He barely could believe his eyes! He wasn't the only pony from Scardivaria here!

The pony Derpy had learned to know as 'Doctor Whooves' looked at her curiously. "This might seem like an odd question..." he started. Derpy already knew it was something pony related when he starts a question like that. It was like he had never seen a pony before.

"...but are all ponies this... clumsy, so to say? And don't take me the wrong way, it would only be reasonable if ponies were clumsy because... you know, we have these hoofs and..."

"No, it is just me..." Derpy said sadly.

"Oh? But then, another question:" The doctor cleared his throat. "Do ponies drink from bowls instead of glasses? Because for me, it seemed rather illogical that you actually try to lift the bowl to me instead of..."

"No, I just misheard you..."

"Oh? Okay, well that is alright! It can happen to anyone I suppose..."

"'Anypony', not 'anyone'! And I'm going to look for a mop."

As always, Derpy Hooves ruins everything again, she said to herself with a depressed face as she searched for a mop to clean it all up with. Of course it made no sense that the Doctor wanted a bowl of punch instead of a glass, but she just didn't want to let him down. Now when her sister had moved to Canterlot, he was the only friend she had. I guess I'm just as stupid as everypony thinks I am.

This party, the mailmare had said to herself that she would NOT make a fool out of herself like every other party she attended. But even this time she had managed to do just that. She couldn’t understand why Pinkie Pie always insisted that she would come to her parties. She would only ruin them anyway! She felt like a constant burden for everypony to bear.

She was just about to fly over to Applejack to ask for a mop when a voice she didn’t recognize called her name.

“Stop Derpy!”

She turned around and saw that it was the new pony in town, the pony this party was for all about.

What could anypony, especially a stranger want with a clumsy mailpony? She asked herself. “Huh?”

“You–you are from Scardiva, are you not?” the stranger said and looked excited at her.

Scardiva? Wasn’t that a pony? Or a mountain? Derpy couldn’t remember where she had heard it from.

“Huh?”

“Your grey skin…” the strange pony panted excited. ”Only ponies from Scardiva have that light grey skin! You must be from Scardiva!”

Was there something wrong with my skin now? She began examine her body but it all looked as it always did to her. It was still the same, boring light grey as it always was... It was clear that the strange pony was thrilled over something, but she had no clue what he was talking about.

“Huh?”

The pony cleared his throat. “Du kanske inte förstår Equestrian, nu då?”.

She took some steps back in confusion. Why did he start to talk gibberish? Maybe the punch was a little bit stronger than she thought it was...

“Um, are you alright?” she asked a bit uncomfortable with the situation.

“Stop that nonsense Landstrider, you’re makin’ a scene! Derpy ain’t from Scardiva, she have lived here in all her life!” Applejack had entered the conversation with a mop and a bucket in her hoofs.

“Derpy is a Scardivan name and her skin is grey! It all leads to the same conclusion: She is from Scardiva!”

Now Derpy remembered, Scardiva was a country! But she wasn’t from Scardiva, was she?

“Didn't you heard what I said, Landstrider? I agree that Derpy is an odd name alight, but Derpy have lived in this village all her life, with her parents, which are both from Equestria."

“Yes, I agree that it would be strange to see a Scardivan pony in Equestria.” The grey stallion looked at Derpy. “If it was not for her wings.”

Derpy looked confused at her wings. Whas there something special about them as well as her skin?

“What do you mean? Rainbow told me that you told her only Earth ponies lived in Scardiva, and Derpy is clearly a Pegasus!”

Is she defending me? Derpy thought. Is being from Scardiva something bad? Applejack had always been the closest thing Derpy had got as a friend until she had met Whooves. But they both lived in completely opposite sides of Ponyville, so they had never really got good opportunity to actually talk to each other. But Applejack knew who she was and always greeted her when she saw her on the streets. She was always so friendly towards her...

Landstrider hesitated for a second before speaking again. "I... have a theory...but um..." his swords were a bit staggered.

"Do you mind tellin' us about this 'theory' of yours Landstrider? It doesn't seem to be a good one if ya doubt like that."

Applejack's words where followed with a long minute of silence.

"Let’s walk outside..." The grey earth pony eventually said and nodded them to follow him.

Derpy and AJ looked puzzled at each other, before following him towards the exit.

Once outside, Landstrider took a deep breath from the fresh air. “What I am going to say now does not apply to me, but it is the grim truth." He looked deep into their eyes. "And I would appreciate  if you both could keep this for yourselves."

"I promise I won't tell anypony!" Applejack said trustfully.

Derpy didn't know what to say. Nopony had ever trusted him with a secret before. She began to feel a little bit scared and confused...

Landstrider didn't wait for an approval from Derpy. "As you both know, before the founding of Scardiva (or you might refer to it as ‘before the rule of Celestia’), the Earth ponies was under the Pegasus’s harsh rule and they were treated  very badly. Although the three clans later made peace with each other, Scardiva and his ponies did not. The Pegasuses cruel oppression over the earth ponies is still not forgotten in Scardiva, and whenever a Scardivan family by chance gets a Pegasus filly…”

--

"NO!" His mother's terrified screams frightened Landstrider. "YOU WON'T TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME! YOU WON'T, YOU-"

One of the dark cloaked ponies slapped his mother to the ground, making her gasp for air.

"You have been hiding an arch-enemy from Scardiva! You know what the consequence for that is!" the cloaked one yelled with a merciless voice.

"She is just a BABY! A new born BABY!" There was no use. Her mother's cries fell on deaf ears.

From Landstrider's hideout, he could see them picking up her sister from the cradle...

--

He suddenly felt all his energy being drained away from him in one second and he fell to the ground. It felt very appealing to vomit right there on the spot. He tried not to.

"Landstrider, you're alright?"

Applejack rushed to him and offered him a helping hoof, but he waved it away. Derpy observed frightened as AJ helped the strange, collapsed, pony up on his feet again. What was going on? Why did he just collapse? She was very confused.

He pulled himself together. "T-thanks, I'm fine..." he said, but his shaky voice exposed him.

"You sure you shouldn't hit the hay already? Seems to me that you have enjoyed one drink too much..." AJ asked, meaningfully.

"N-no, it is not that…" He straightened up. "L-let me continue."

"As I said, when a Scardivarian family gets a pegasus filly, t-they cut of its wings and sell it as slaves.” He suppressed another wave of memories. He had never thought meeting another Scardivarian would bring up so many memories! He started to think about his parents again. Oh ancestors so much he missed them! Her mother’s calming touch, his father wise voice...

"Umm, what have that story to do with me?"

The squeaky voice woke him up to the present and he continued. “But there are some few of us that do not follow this brutal tradition! There are some of us that decide to keep their baby and not letting a pony’s birth determine who you are! But keeping a Pegasus in ones house is dangerous. If somepony not as open minded finds out about it, they will warn the authorities. The authorities will then enslave the family and its Pegasus, accusing them all of treason. And the cruel punishment for treason… is slavery.”

Again, Landstrider was forced to stop his story to squeeze out memories. Derpy still was confused and tried to ask something but Applejack put her hoof in Derpy’s mouth with a serious glare to Derpy. Applejack understood that Landstrider needed his time…

“In Derpys case, I guess that some Scardivan pony family somehow managed to pass the border guards and move to Equestria. It would at least make some sense…” he eventually ended his story.

There was a moment of silence when everypony tried to let the message sunk in.

"I'm not sayin' you are wrong Landstrider..." AJ said. "...but there is still one problem: Derpy's parents are both green Unicorns… Shouldn’t they be grey Earth ponies if they were from Scardiva?”

The stallion thought about Applejacks question for a second. “Well, maybe something went wrong so they had to abandon Derpy? I do not know, maybe we should ask herself about it.” Landstrider looked at Derpy. “What do you think?”

Derpy jumped back slightly startled. She was caught off guard. D-did he really ask *me** for an opinion? No one ever asks me for an opinion!*

“Umm… I don’t know…” She looked at the ground with her focused eye.

Landstrider's story did make some sense to her; she had always felt like she didn’t belong in Ponyville. In school, for example, she had been the only Pegasus pony, the rest of the pegasi lived in Cloudsdale. On family photos, she had always stuck out: two green unicorns, a green filly unicorn and then Derpy, the grey Pegasus.  Speaking of family portraits, she remembers something her mother once had said. The grey mailmare was just a little filly back then, and his parents had been angrier at her than usual. She hadn't thought about what her mother had said at that time to much, there was to many other feelings involving that memory...

She remembered that she had recently dropped the newly framed family photo, destroying it completely. A framed photo was quite expensive, so it had been quite a big deal…

“The family photo… Newly framed…”

Mr. Hooves held the broken photo in his hoofs, thinking about how much bits he had wasted on it. Filly Lyra crawled closer to her mother. Derpy could see that Mrs. Hooves would explode in any second now.

And again, she was right.

“Do you know how much effort we put up on this photo Derpy?” Mrs. Hooves asked.

“Sorry mom…” She whispered. “ I-I just don’t know what went wrong…”

“DO you have ANY idea how much effort we put into this?” Her mom asked again, louder this time. Derpy squeed quietly.

“THIS, young lady, was the PERFECT family photo. It would live FOR GENERATIONS to come… “ Her mother took a heavy breath. The grey filly tried to make herself as tiny as possible but she knew nothing would help.

“It had everything! The right photographer, the right studio, the right background, the right cloths… Even YOU looked okay for once…” Her mom suppressed a tear before continuing.

“But you! You’re… crossed eyed, grey, flying plague… You destroyed it!”

She was used to be called names but it always felt much worse when they came from her parents… The little filly remained quiet. She saw that her little sister was just as scared as she was. Lyra was one of the few ponies that didn’t see Derpy as a burden…

“Derpy… Just… Get out…” Mr. Hooves slowly said before her mother could continue yell at her.

She knew what that meant: She was going to sleep on a cloud tonight. She hated sleeping on clouds! It was not that it was cold, it was more that it was… Lonely. So terrible lonely... She sighed heavily in disappointment and slowly walked to the door. The last thing she heard before the door slammed behind her (because of magic), was her mother savage cries…

---

Derpy used to move the cloud over his home's roof before going to sleep. She wanted to be as close as possible to her family. She knew which spot was right above her parents’ bedroom, and she could sometimes even hear them talk. This was one of those nights.

“This time, it has gone too far!” she heard her mother say. “We must do something about this... this nuisance! I don’t know if I can take it much longer…”

“What do you want to do? What is there we can do? We cannot just send her away!” Her father sounded upset.

“I know, but can’t we… just go on a vacation or something. Without her, and then never come back?”

"Y-you mean like leaving her forever?"

"Yes... Think about it James! She might be stupid as a plane, but somepony in town must take care of her eventually, when they see that she is alone that is..."

Derpy swallowed. They- they were going to leave her? Forever? Not coming back? She curled up with the cloud in pure desperation. Sometimes, she dreamed nightmares about her family leaving her alone, but she had always told herself it was only dreams. W-was she dreaming now? A cold breeze swept past and told her that she wasn't asleep. Her stomach began to hurt in anxiety again. She felt lonelier then she ever had felt before. The worst thing she knew was being alone...

Her Father sighed. “You know we can’t do that to the poor thing… Yes, I agree we could use a break from her but not abandon her completely.”

Her mother made a short sigh. “Yes, you're right as always... It is just that... If we hadn’t found her that day, if we hadn’t found her James, we wouldn’t have to put up with this!”

Derpy exhaled relieved. Her parents weren't going to leave her. Of course they weren't! This would be just like any other day, and after a week or two, everything would turn back to normal.

Her father spoke again. “Perhaps, but we did found her, and we are not as cruel ponies as the ones that left her there.”

“Mom? Dad?” Lyra seemed to have entered the room. “Can I sleep in here tonight? I had a bad dream…”

Derpy made a tear for her poor sister. She often got nightmares after a ‘Derpy yell out’ and she thought Lyra was taking the blame on herself.

"Doesn't she understand that it is always my fault?" the grey filly said out loud, knowing that nopony could hear her. It all made her feel even guiltier…

“Again Lyra? You're becoming a big filly soon, you must get over it!” her mother said strictly.

“Nonsense! Lyra you are always welcome,” Mr. Hooves said and Derpy could hear her family curl up in the large bed.

She often imagined how it was like, sleeping all three in the same bed. She imagined  it to be warm, and soft. Her mother would sleep quietly, without snoring or sleep spasm. She would be graceful, even in her sleep. Little Lyra on the other hoof would be flipping around in the bed energetically as she tries to find the perfect sleeping position. Eventually, she would fall asleep by her father's comforting whispers, as he embraces her with both arms.

Derpy remembered herself crying that night, wishing that she hadn’t been a grey, crossed eyed freak…

Her mother's words echoed in her mind. "If we hadn’t found her that day, if we hadn’t found her James, we wouldn’t have to put up with this!"

Derpy had never really thought about those specific words before. Now when she did, she started to think more than she ever had thought about anything before. Maybe this stranger was right. Maybe she wasn't from Equestria at all... But what would that mean? And who where her real parents?

“I… think I will ask my parents about this…” Derpy finally said sadly. “I guess it would explain a lot of things… But I want to be sure…”

Landstrider nodded. “If I am right, which I am kind of certain that I am, you can always come to me with questions. I will answer as many of them as I can…”

Derpy just nodded silently in return and looked transfixed at the grass.

“I think I can swoop up the mess in the barn for you Derpy…” Applejack eventually said and with the mop in a tight grip, Applejack disappeared into the barn.

Landstrider gave Derpy a pat on her back. “I know there is much for you to swallow, I will always be somewhere near Ponyville when you feel you are ready for it.”

Derpy nodded. “Thank you, I guess…”

There were so many thoughts circulating in the grey mailmare's mind right now. Where was she from? Who was she suppose to be? Shouldn’t her parents have told her about this if it was true? Every time she thought about one question long enough, two more would pop up.

"Oh! There you are Derpy! I have been looking all around fo- Is everything alright my dare?" The voice came from the brown pony Landstrider had seen earlier.

"I-I'm fine... I think..." Derpy whispered to her friend in return.

"I think Derpy needs some time for herself right now..." Landstrider advised the brown pony.

"Oh? Well, I see... Is it something I have caused or..."

Derpy shock her head. "No, it is not you, please Whooves, let me just be alone for awhile..."

"Oh, very well... I head back home then I suppose... If not my presence is needed of course! But there is a long way home, and I don't have wings you see..."

"I see you at home..." Derpy interrupted him.

"Oh! Of course my dear! Um, well I will be off then!" The pony walked whistling down the hill towards the small settlement of buildings.

After he was out of sight, Landstrider looked at Derpy.

"A friend of yours?"

Derpy nodded.

Suddenly, the fearful voice of the scariest pony Landstrider had ever met made him recoil in pure fear.

"Landstrider! There you are!" The pink pony bounced out from seemingly nowhere. "But what are you doing outside? The party is inside the barn silly filly! And same case for you missy!"

Before any of the two grey ponies had any time to react, Pinkie had pulled them back into the party.

"Are you good at games Landstrider? You know, throwing games? I'm pretty bad myself but it is always fun to see somepony win! Applejack always beats me at horse-shoe throwing, but it is alright, I'm at least having fun! Oh, did you know all the punch have been dried up now? And --"

--

The rest of the party went on smoothly except for Landstrider, Derpy and Applejack. They all were in there own deep thoughts the whole evening. Many ponies welcomed Landstrider to Ponyville, teasing him friendly for not knowing that Pegasi lived on clouds. He gave them nearly no attention. Despite the horrible memories Derpy made him remember, a part of him wished that Derpy would be from Scardiva. There was so long time since he talked to a fellow Scardivarian, even if she couldn't speak Scardivariska. It was the feeling of unity... Like when you are the only pony in a village full of apes and suddenly you meet another pony. He really hoped to see Derpy again. As well as Fluttershy...

Eventually, one after another, the partying ponies left the barn to get some well deserved sleep. Soon, there was only Landstrider, Applejack, Derpy and Pinkie Pie left.

“Should we…” Pinkie Pie yawned loudly. “…play some more games?” The pink party animal approached slowly the dart board, but ended up leaning at the wall.

“Pinkie, I think it’s time we’ll head back home,” the orange pony said. “We’ll look like zombie ponies right now.”

Pinkie took a long look at Applejack.

“Hihihi, you're right Applejack!” she then concluded. “We do look like… Like zomb...” She passed out before she could finish the sentence.

AJ made a muffled laugh. “That’s Pinkie alright!” she said merrily.

Derpy sat to herself in a distant corner of the barn. She did what everyone always told her to do: nothing. It was a depressive sight. Derpy’s mind however, was far from doing nothing, but it wasn’t pretty thoughts going around in it.

“Derpy, do ya need somepony to follow you home?” The apple farmer gave an encouraging pat with her snout.

“No… I’m fine…” She got off her chair and slowly began the long walk home. Tomorrow, she would ask her parents about her past but right now, she needed some rest…

Applejack gave Landstrider a tired look. “I should probably take Pinkie home.” The mare pulled the sleeping cupcake baker up on her back.

“Try gettin’ some sleep Landstrider, it will be a lon’ day tomorrow…”

Landstrider nodded as he saw the orange pony carrying the knocked out friend out from the barn.

After they were gone, he unfurled a sleeping bag from his equipment. If it had been up to him, he would have slept for hours ago. He gave a quick look towards the entrance.

“You can come in now Foxie,” Landstrider said loudly. As he predicted, the red fox walked in and curled up besides the grey traveler.

“I have already checked the place for escape routes. If something happens, we will escape through that window and...” Foxie's loud snoring told him that his words had fallen on deaf ears. He couldn't help but smiling.

“It has been a long day Foxie… A long day…” He gave the sleeping fox some few strokes. Forget what I said about entering Ponyville was among the top five most eventful things that had ever happened to me: Meeting Derpy tops the list!

He made muffled laugh under his sleeping bag.

At least I didn't meet a time-travelling pony... He said to himself, before he finally fell asleep. That night, he dreamed about bouncing, pink, baby Dragons with eyes pointing in different directions...

It was full moon, and a lonely owl hoo-ed in the dark. The group of six ponies had been walking for non-stop in weeks now, and Faceless had been whining all day about how weary her hoofs were. It had ended with Shadowblade commanding her to be quiet for the rest of the day. Walking wasn't a trouble for Deathoak. It was the boredom that was the big problem. Even if Lightningbolt seemed to make the time somehow pass by, there were still long moments were absolutely nothing happened. Luckily, his creative mind had found a way to keep him stimulated.

He held up the captured squirrel hard with his fore hoofs as he concentrated deeply. The squirrel squeaked frightened and tried to break free from the strong grip, but it had no chance. The spell he was trying to use was a new invention of his, and it was much more complex than his earlier spells had been. Thankfully, the squirrel here was a perfect test subject.

Eventually, it was done! The squirrel had been surrounded by a black, mystical barrier that glowed brightly in the dark. The barrier was not a barrier for protection, but a barrier for trapping.

He grinned.

…and now to the interesting part!

With a quick motion, he broke the squirrel’s neck. The sound of it snap reminded him about the noise you make when you accidently steps on a branch.

Now, in theory, the squirrels’ soul should now be trapped inside the magic barrier. If it worked, it would mean that Deathoak could kill ponies with “normal” spells, rather than that energy-demanding mind-spell he had been using earlier, and still be able to harvest the energy from their souls! Think about this for an example: he kills a lot of enemies, but their souls will be trapped inside this realm thanks to the barrier. Then, after the battle, he could penetrate  each defenseless soul in his own pace. It would be much more energy efficient.

Excited, he checked the barrier with his mind.

It was empty.

Groaning angrily, he threw the dead squirrel into the camp fire. It was not until then he realized that the other five ponies where observing him curiously.

“What?” he asked annoyed.

Shadowblade stopped puffing on his pipe. “What are you trying to accomplish?” he asked.

Dearhoak winced. He really didn’t want to tell Shadowblade that he could gain strength from killing. It would sure make him fail the loyalty test if they found out he could make a profit on their deaths...

“Oh, it’s nothing, really…”

Shadowblade looked deep into his eyes. “Deathoak, when I ask you a question, you better answer it!”

Deathoak swallowed, remembering the scar he had gotten the first night since they began their journey. “Fine, I’m trying to trap the squirrel’s soul,” he admitted.

Shadowblade raised an eyebrow.

“Why?”

Deathoak quickly thought for a reasonable explanation other than the truth.

“Think of the possibilities you have if you could turn yourself to a soul. You could fly around unnoticed, check into other ponies’ dreams, read their minds…” He crossed his hoofs that Shadowblade would buy it. Hope this cloak really covers up my face as much as theirs do...

“Why would it matter if you end up like that?” Shadowblade pointed at the burned squirrel body in the fire.

“Well, of course the body is vulnerable when it has no soul, but…”

“No no no, that was not what I meant.” Shadowblade interrupted him. “It looked like you needed to kill the squirrel in order for the soul to leave the body. There is no use to turning yourself into a soul if there is no body to return too.”

“Well, um, that is why I try to trap the soul, so I could try to revive it.” The black unicorn made a silent curse under his hood. Who was so stupid to actually believe that?

“So… you mean you could revive the squirrel? Back from the dead?”

“Umm, well…” Darn it! They seemed to know too that nothing can revive a pony back from the dead. Even if you actually managed to return the soul to its body, it would only die again from the previous cause. Well, better put on that big smile...

”Yes! If I could trap the soul before it disappears, I might be able to return it to its body again!” He smiled nervously.

There was some seconds of silence. Slowly, Deathoak took out a mouse from his bag and began focusing the spell again. Maybe that would convince them...

Shadowblade took some more puffs from his pipe.

“Try to make the soul want to stay inside the barrier rather than trapping it.”

The unicorn totally lost his concentration. “W-what now?”

“I said you could try making the soul want to stay inside the barrier, instead of trying to trap it.”

That is just stupid, what in Equestria would a soul want to stay in this realm after it dies?

“Thanks but I don’t think there really is anything a soul wants after it dies…”

“Light.”

“What?”

“Light, souls attracts to light.”

"Uhm, why would a soul wa-"

"Just try it."

Confused, he focused up the barrier again. This time he created a strong light inside it before killing the mouse. He checked inside the barrier and gasped.

Inside it, near the light source, was a tiny blue sphere swimming around in circles. Deathoak watched amazed as the soul made a couple of more turns before quickly it easily broke free from the barrier and disappeared.

Deathoak looked shocked at Shadowblade. “H-how did you know that?”

Shadowblade took some more puffs from the pipe.

“Everypony try getting some sleep, we will reach the forest tomorrow and I want you all to be in ship-shape for it,” he eventually said, ignoring the question completely.

Deathoak blinked confused. “But…”

“Deathoak and Faceless takes the first guard.”

“But…”

“Smacher and Lightningbolt will take the second night guard.”

“But…”

Faceless placed a hoof over Deathoak’s mouth and looked him in the eyes. “There’s no use” her gaze seemed to say. He sighed. How could Shadowblade know that souls attracts to light? There sure was something mysterious about that…

Confounded about this, he sat down next to Faceless as the other ponies crawled up in their sleeping bags.