The Traveler

I can't believe I agreed to this!

Twilight flew high above the trees, trying to get a better view of the surrounding forest. Her only clue for her destination was an especially large clearing with a house in the center, but it had proven to be like finding a needle in a haystack while on a time limit so far; heavy Everfree storm clouds were moving in rather quickly behind her, and unless she either turned around or found her target within the next few minutes, she wouldn't be flying back. The rest of her impromptu briefing warned her not to so much as try to be intimidating, and that Pegasi Guards would be hiding in the woods in case something went wrong. However, after the last couple of encounters, the young Alicorn doubted they would be of any use, even if they were hoof-picked by Shining Armor. She increased her altitude, trying once more to find her objective.

A flash of red in the distance caught Twilight's eye. She flew towards it, lowering herself to be just above the canopy while increasing her speed until the light flashed again, much closer this time. Sure she had found the place, Twilight pitched upwards and located the clearing, along with a fortress that rivaled most of the larger fortifications in the Griffon homelands. The Alicorn entered a landing dive and touched down just on the edge of the treeline, cautiously stepping forwards. Hopefully nopony had skimped on the guards' armament.

The land within the clearing seemed especially barren. Large scores had been carved into the earth every few feet, almost in a pattern. Tree stumps littered the area, and any animals that had lived here were gone, likely scared off by whatever built the structure that dominated the area. Twilight continued walking towards said structure, glancing around nervously. From what Celestia had mentioned, their opponent fancied ambushes, and a single unarmed pony trotting around was very open to one.

A metallic grinding noise punctuated the silence of the forest. Twilight cringed at the noise, knowing that if she so much as tried to use her magic, whatever weapon that had just been drawn would be put to use. Cold steel brushed her neck, followed by a slightly muffled voice from almost behind her.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Twilight struggled to remain calm and not scream for her escorts at the top of her lungs. "I-I've been sent here on a diplomatic mission by Princess Celestia-"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Where are the others at?"

"W-What others?"

"Don't play dumb with me, horse. The last diplomat to be sent alone to negotiate with a hostile species got eaten alive by cannibalistic plant people. Either you came armed or followed, and you are going to tell me before I scratch up one more."

"I came alone, I promise!" She felt the blade press harder against her neck, wondering if the thing had seen through her lie. "Please, just give me a chance to talk with you and we will never bother you again!"

That seemed to interest the creature. The blade fell away from Twilight's neck, followed by more grinding as it was sheathed. "Never bother me again, huh? I think I'd like that. However, if you want this interview, you can do it inside. Diplomats never go alone." A large black form moved in front of her, shoving open the door. It stood there, waiting for Twilight to enter. She looked over her shoulder, then stepped inside.

The door creaked as it was shut, the creature peering through the crack before closing and locking it. It turned around and strode into what appeared to be a living room of sorts, minus about half the furnishings. The two sat down on a couple of rather weak looking chairs, possibly made with whatever appendages the creature used in lieu of hooves. They both creaked as weight was applied, and the one the creature used threatened to break. It removed its helmet, revealing a scarred and bruised face, likely from the last couple of encounters. It also kept a dagger halfway concealed, as if to remind Twilight not to try any funny business while keeping its brownish eyes half focused.

The Alicorn spoke first. "Well, I guess we could start with your species, I'm pretty sure there's at least one pony out there who is tired of hearing the word 'creature' or 'thing' every few seconds..."

"I'm a human. Male."

"What do you go by?"

"Kris."

"And... Where are you from?"

"Earth."

Well, I see this one likes to be blunt. "Why did you leave, and how did you get here?"

"I managed to find and teach myself how to run a military patrol vessel equipped with a Faster-Than-Light Drive after its original crew was eaten-" Kris stopped, noticing the beyond confused expression Twilight was now bearing. "Yeah, didn't think you'd understand half of that. 'Faster-Than-Light Drive' is just a fun way of saying 'big-box-that-takes-you-wherever-you-want-to-go-in-a-few-seconds.'"

Looks like we were all wrong about this thing being some mindless animal... "You still didn't tell me why you left."

"Well, Earth was... invaded, to say the least. Some giant rock with an alien egg inside it landed on our planet. At first, we didn't think too much about it, until the egg hatched and started destroying everything in sight. Around that time, there may have been around ten billion or so of us on Earth, and I think only a few million made it off alive. An entire civilization, beaten to dust and scattered into the void of space in a week..." Kris's expression changed to one of sorrow.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that..." Twilight said, her head hanging down. "What have you done until now?"

"After escaping, I was basically flying on a wing and a prayer after a minor tussle with a baby alien I had brought on board as a pet. Upon running out of fuel, I managed to survive on various planets for about a year, learning things like 'never use a distress beacon', 'getting a processor makes no sense' and 'just because it's a skeleton doesn't mean it's not dead'. Alongside that, I had to constantly fight off animals straight out of a little kids' nightmare, eat said animals, and overall, survive." Kris said, leaning back in an attempt to relax a little more.

"And... What about the guards we have sent to find you? Why did you kill them?"

"What makes you think I really wanted to? One of them tried to get the drop on me with a knife, and I defended myself. The others could have just ran off, but they decided to be the Hero Brigade and engage me. The group after that, however, I simply ambushed since they didn't look to be any different than the ones before. One got away, but I messed him up so bad I doubt he made it out of the forest alive."

Before Twilight could ask another question, glass shattered as a Pegasi Guard flew through a nearby window, sword in hoof. However, Kris was already on his feet, launching the dagger through the air and watching the guard fall to the floor. Another guard entered from a second window, and the chair he had sat on proved stronger than it looked, only breaking in half after hitting the Pegasus in the face three times in addition to being thrown at a third guard. "I thought you said you came alone!" Kris shouted, drawing his sword and pulling a second weapon from a crate. Why in Equestria are these guards attacking?! I'm not in trouble!

"I did! Princess Celestia must have sent them after I left to make sure nothing went wrong!" Twilight cried, leaping away from her spot. She tried to keep morbid curiosity from making her look at the wounded and possibly dead guards.

"You horses aren't too smart, are you?" came Kris's reply, and he seemed to be talking to both Twilight and the guard he had just stabbed and thrown back out the window. When another followed the guard inside, Twilight attempted to use her telepathy to contact the guard and ask him just what the hay they were doing, but either the guard was ignoring her or was too caught up in trying to block the two swords being used against him to respond. Either way, he had been fatally wounded after a couple more seconds.

"We are ponies! There's a difference, you know!" she said, ducking behind a crate as the body thumped on the floor nearby. Before Kris could fire off another remark, an especially large Pegasus wrapped himself around his neck, nearly unbalancing him. Another guard headbutted Kris in the stomach, pinning him to a wall and putting a sizable dent in his armor. It looked like the guards were going to win - the bigger one was choking Kris, and the other was drawing his sword - until Kris swung a leg out to hit the smaller guard in the neck, killing him instantly. The bigger guard lost concentration upon seeing his ally had died, loosening his grip just long enough for Kris to slam him into the ground and use a dropped sword to stab his incapacitated foe.

Two more guards, the last of the group, entered from opposite sides and after a brief survey of the carnage, decided they valued their lives and attempted to fly out. Kris pulled his dagger out of the very first guard and threw it at the one furthest away, the blade landing in his back. The second, however, was just fast enough to dodge a sword that had been lobbed in his direction and make it out of the nearby window. The human grabbed a strange looking device out of the crate Twilight was behind - it looked like a crossbow, minus the bow - and aimed it out the window, a sound like thunder booming from the end of it three times; judging by how hard Kris threw it at a wall and how loudly he shouted curses, Twilight guessed he must have missed the guard. She stuck her head out to see how much of the fight she hadn't watched.

Several bodies littered the living room, most of them having been incapacitated by a strike from a sword and then knocked out when they hit the floor, but some were outright dead. Kris stormed around, clearly angry. He started to remove his dented chestpiece, throwing it to the floor before starting to rant. "Dammit! Now your kind will know exactly where I am at! I'll have to prepare, get my kit down here and fortify this place before an entire goddamned army shows up for my blood-"

"If I can get back to Canterlot in time, I may be able to stall until you can get out. Shining Armor will be sending an army after you, and I don't want to see any more deaths." Twilight said, taking another glance at the carnage. Even stalling could be impossible after this many had died. These ponies all had friends, and likely family as well. Why? Why can't races just get along? she wondered, hoping those ponies would be able to take the news.

"No. This planet has a lot less coal than usual, so little in fact that I've barely found a single ore vein since getting here, even after turning this place inside out. No, I'll need to keep you with me, as a bargaining chip just in case I get cornered. I hope you understand."

Twilight frowned. "I'm sorry, but I can't just surrender myself like that. I've got friends waiting for me back in Ponyville, friends who know what has happened over the last couple of weeks and know I was just sent in here. If I don't return, they will assume the worst, and Rainbow Dash is exceedingly protective over her friends-"

"Fine. Guess I can always use these guards instead." Kris responded, kicking one of the still living ponies. Twilight winced and decided it was probably a good idea to leave very soon, using one of the holes made by the guards' entrance. The storm clouds were right on top of her, lightning occasionally visible within them. She silently prayed that nothing got too bad.