Tales of the Forgotten: Eternity

June 17th, 2027 5:28 A.M.

Ponyville Outskirts, Equestria

I awoke with a start as the dream ended. My heart nearly beating out of my chest and sweat drenching my body. One thing I had learned to quickly control after nightmares was my breathing. It didn’t take long to fully calm myself afterwards as I laid back down on the mat and stared up at the still dark sky. Why now… I thought as I brought my arm up to cover my face with the sleeve of my robe.

The robe is made of a heavy woolen cloth tied at the waist with a burlap belt. Underneath the robe I wore leather armor, the reason for this was mainly protection. Leaving the safety of Equestria also meant leaving what little protection the country had to offer me as well. I had earned enough bits within two years of traveling to commission a custom fit armor set at the blacksmith located in the Minotaurs capital city. Not soon after did I have my robe commissioned as well due to others asking why I had needed the armor.

I let the robe sleeve drop to my elbow to reveal my bracelet. The bracelet was made of rubies cut into tiny spheres, laced together with a long and thin string of iron. Faelan brought it to me as a gift for taking her with me. She had nothing left there after all…

When the time comes, I hope you’re safe. I thought as I stared at the bracelet thoughtfully.I shook the last of the thoughts and dreariness from my mind as I sat up and stretched before standing and grabbing my staff. It was nothing special on the outside looking in but to me it was one of my prized possessions. This was my third staff in these past twelve years that I had crafted myself. The first being made of a fallen branch carved into a staff, the second made of the wood of a cherrywood tree, and this one being made of a red oak. Along the length of the staff there were several symbols carved into it each carrying their own meaning.

I stood the staff up right in my right hand and started to proceed to the doors as I heard Faelan clear her throat behind me. “Where are you going this early?” She demanded to know.

“If you wish to come we will pack everything now as we won’t be returning here for a long time, if not you will pack everything and await my return. The choice is yours.” My voice was calm yet deadly at the same time as I turned back to her. She nodded her head and started to roll up her mat, I joined her and quickly packed everything.

After everything was packed we started making our way down the path towards Ponyville. “Is...is everything okay Robert?” Faelan asked worriedly. I shook my head.

“Any other day I would dismiss your concern and tell you all is well but today I am afraid I cannot. This evening I will be meeting with the princesses of Equestria at the castle in Ponyville.” My voice carried no feeling whatsoever as I spoke.

“What about me?”

“You will return to the house with Doctor Whooves during the duration of the meeting.” She jumped in front of me to protest but with one glimpse of my face she lost the fire that was burning in her to argue and gave a simple nod of her head. I could never hurt Faelan, even if I wanted to but that didn’t stop her from being scared of me when I’m like this.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered as she went back to walking behind me.

“It’s alright Faelan, I’m just worried. Why? Because He’s coming.” I said back to her as she stopped shuffling her feet and grabbed both my arms and thrusted us off into the sky with our items in tow. “What are you doing Faelan?!”

She glared down at me. “If He’s coming, you need every moment you have to prepare for him and I’m dang sure you don’t have any idea what to say to the princesses for this!” She was right, I had no clue how I was going to explain this to the others. ‘Oh hey Celestia, Cadence, and Twilight guess what an old fairytale turned out to be a prophecy that could potentially destroy everything you love and care for! Oh and the best part is, He’s only a few weeks away at most!’ That was the best I had at the moment.

I sighed as I knew she was right. “I understand. Starting tomorrow we will need to start training again, we’ve had enough days off as is! Got it?!” I looked up at her to see her smiling down happily at me nodding her head with a fire burning in her eyes. It’s back. I smiled up at her as she concentrated on flying.

I felt my hair flying freely behind me as I realized I didn’t have my ring in it but on my right ring finger. I couldn’t fix it right now so I let it be for the duration of the flight.

We landed in front of the old log cabin that I had once called home for a short period of time. I opened the door hesitantly to find a pony sleeping on my old bed. I gestured Faelan to stand in the entryway of the house so that it couldn’t escape so that I could ask it questions as to why it was in my home. I walked over to the bed and slowly peeled back the covers and shook my head. He must’ve stayed here for the night, oughta let him sleep probably tired as all heck. I thought as I saw it was the very pony I was looking for.

I silently walked over to Faelan again who was looking at me with a curious gaze. “It’s Doctor Whooves, he fell asleep here.” I explained to her as she mouthed ‘Aaaahhhhh’. “There’s a spare bedroom over there, go put your stuff up and take a nap. When you wake up I’ll probably be gone at his house filling him in on the past twelve years. There are some places I want you to go in particular and meet the ponies there.” I pulled a piece of paper out of my robe pocket and handed it to her. “They’re all on here.” I smiled to her as she pulled me into a hug.

“Be careful Robert.” She said barely audible to even me. I pulled her closer before releasing the embrace. She went to her new room quietly, making sure not to make even the slightest creek. I sat down on the couch in front of the fireplace and stared down at my hands as I waited for Doctor Whooves to wake up. I closed my eyes and reached for the dog-tag, and pendant around my neck.

I’m sorry, all three of you. I hate that none of you are here with me but in a way, happy as well. You’re far from the dangers I must face in the near future and with ones who hold you close to their hearts. I promised I would return one day, a promise I fully intend to keep even if its with my dying breaths and all you get is a limp and lifeless corpse.

I’ll look forwards to brighter days, and hope that I live till those days. He’s threatened you, my family, and my friends. A grave mistake he will regret making. I hope you have found happiness after my passing. I sat there in silence holding the pendant tightly for an hour before I heard the rustling of the sheets behind me, followed by the sound of hooves hitting the solid wood floor. I sat straight up and looked back to see the Doctor getting out of bed, his mane in a disheveled mess and eyes still closed as he stretched and yawned.

“Good morning Doctor Whooves.” I welcomed him back to the world of consciousness. His eyes bolted right open as the words left my mouth and darted right at me with killer intent before they eased into eyes of joy and disbelief. “Take it you slept well?”

He rubbed his eyes fervently and stared at me again. “Am I dreaming?” He asked as he reached back his hoof to smack himself. I quickly got up and refrained him from doing it.

“No, you are in fact not dreaming Doctor! Don’t need to smack yourself to test it either.” I gave him a hug to further prove my point. “It’s been a very long time old friend.” I said as he pushed me back slightly.

“Well if I knew you were coming home today I would have cleaned your place up better.” He stated disappointedly. I shook my head.

“From the looks of it, you ran yourself ragged taking care of the house yesterday. Don’t suppose the house has any food, does it?” I asked. He shook his head. “Well then, why don’t I treat you to breakfast?” I asked him. He lifted a hoof to protest but his stomach protested louder. :Guess that’s a yes! Let’s get going before the morning crowds roll in and I get noticed.” I went to my bag near the door and pulled out a large bit bag and tucked it into my cuirass.

The Doctor went to the bathroom and fixed his hair and whatnot before we finally left the house.

6 hours later…

With Faelan…

Faelan stretched out as much as she could on the large bed, and stifled a yawn before managing to pull herself out of the comfortable bed. It didn’t take her too long to get ready for the day as she pulled on her clothes and made her way out of the house with bag in tow. She pulled out the slip of paper that Robert had given her only hours ago and looked at the first place on the list. Sweet Apple Acres - Applejack, approach with caution. May take agression if senses a threat to her orchard. Watch out for airborne apple projectiles.

She sighed but took off into the air climbing high into the sky until Ponyville was able to be covered by her hand. She brought her wings in and let herself go into a freefall. She kept her eyes open, letting the air wash over her like a refreshing dip in the ocean. When she saw her target, Sweet Apple Acres, she started adjusting herself so that she could sail into a smooth glide around the orchard and land in front of the barn. She saw a orange mare with a cowboy hat working in the orchard south of the barn, quickly identifying it as the one named Applejack.

TIME! She yelled at herself in her head as her wings snapped open and she flew into a glide, curving so that she could circle around the entirety of the orchard waving down to the orange earth pony. At first she was hesitant but eventually gave a reluctant wave. She took that as her signal to land in front of the barn.

She landed without a hitch as she saw the same earth pony running down the road towards her at full speed with a worried expression on her face. Faelan waved at Applejack causing her to stop dead in her tracks.

“Excuse me ma’am, this is Sweet Apple Acres, correct?” Faelan asked. The pony gave a reluctant nod. “Would you happen to know where to find an Applejack?” As soon as Applejack heard her name she lost her reluctance to approach Faelan and trotted over to her, staring up at her.

“That would be me sugarcube. Why’re ya looking for me?” She asked. Faelan knelt down and showed her the piece of paper.

“He wants me to speak with each of you so that I can get to know you better.” Faelan answered. Applejack just looked at her ever more confused.

“Who wants ya to know me better?” She asked cautiously.

“Robert.” She answered without missing a beat. Applejacks eyes went wide.

“Robert?! How do y’all know Robert?!”

“Well I’m traveling with him of course.” Applejacks happy expression faded to one of disappointment.

“Where is he now?”

“He’s in town with Doctor Whooves. Before you get mad he wants to make it a surprise for Twilight and a few others. He can’t just go around telling everyone he’s back or they would all be at his throat in an instant, especially for not keeping in touch.” Faelan pointed out. Applejack sighed.

“Spose your right. So this is all hush hush right?” Applejack asked. Faelan nodded. “You really think he’ll be able to keep others from seeing him?” Faelan looked down at her with a cocked eyebrow.

“His way of hiding himself will differ from place to place. If he’s been somewhere before that has liked him, he’ll usually remove his robe because the locals know what he does. If he goes somewhere that doesn’t like him, he’ll either avoid the town altogether, or just change his attire to something different.” She explained.

Applejack looked at her astonished. “Know what he does ya say? What does he do now?” Applejack probed.

“Mind if we get some drinks, it’ll take a while to explain.” Faelan asked. Applejack nodded as she headed into the farmhouse to retrieve refreshments for them both. Faelan looked up to the sky. Never expected me to make friends with ponies, now did you daddy?