Recollections of the Rhodes

Chapter 7

Friend or Foe?

Date: 4/22/1903

Time: About two or three hours from sunset

Location: Forrest, chasing Ulysses

Cervantes POV

" Get over here you asshole!" I yelled in blind fury.

In current events, I was chasing my brother Ulysses through the forest after making me wear a shame wig. Granted, I could be acting maturely, and laugh at it myself, but today just felt like the kind of day to rage. His antics are something I can deal with. Hell, even the occasional prank. But making me wear that horrifying wig? Nope, too far. He god damn well knows what I'm afraid of. Fucking clowns...

We were currently going down a rather commonly traveled path, judging by how beat down it was. And unfortunately for Ulysses, I exercise more than him. Normally, I wouldn't be this good at running, but getting used to carrying at least 100 pounds of equipment a day on your person can give you some great exercise, this was a walk in the park. Since I left my equipment at the castle, save for my combat knife, 44. Revolvers, a Flash Bang, and an Acoustic guitar. If someone happens to come by when I catch him... let's just hope they mind their own business.

" Not gonna happen Cervantes!" He yelled back.

Although he did do something that no one should ever do in a horror movie. He looked back. He was so startled that I was so close to him, that he tripped over a tree root sticking out of the ground, causing him to tumble to the ground.

Target locked-on.

I leaped forward and body slammed him, resulting in an 'oof' from him. I looked over him, with a sick grin now that I finally caught him.

He gulped loudly, before asking " Uhh... what are you going to do now?" With a nervous and frightened look.

" Simple, Ulysses," I replied," Do unto others as they have done unto you,"

I then held both of his arms in place with my legs, and pulled out a tool for his demise. With one hand holding is head in place, and the other holding my weapon of choice, I went to work.

[{((O))}]

" This stuff doesn't come out easily you know," Ulysses muttered as we walked down the path.

" And why in the hell would you have a permanent marker anyways?" He asked as he tried to wipe it off as best he could.

" Umm... scientific reasons," I replied as I tried to avoid contact.

" Bullshit and you know it. Tell me why you have one,"

" Uhh... you know how some people get high from sniffing paint?"

" Yeah? What about-... Oh..."

" Yeah... there was a period of time when I was desperate to look for someone to talk to. I originally used it to guide survivors to me in case there were any, but that got me nowhere. So... I got curious and gave it another use,"

" Okay, but another question. Why did you draw a penis on my face?"

" Meh, it seemed like a good choice at the time,"

" Righty then. Say, want a soda?" He asked, pulling out a Pepsi bottle with condensation dripping down it.

" What the- Where in the nine hells did you get that!?" I yelled.

" I honestly don't know exactly. I discovered how to do it a couple of nights ago in my room..."

[{((O))}]

Ulysses POV

I was sitting here on this musty old mattress in my room, bored out of my mind. I honestly had nothing better to do other than wait for that marshmallow mare to finish up with that necklace. So. Goddamned. Bored. There was nothing but boring shit in the library, and the guards in the dungeon are too scared to talk to me, so what the fuck do I do? I could masturbate, but I don't have any magazines... hmmm... maybe. Just maybe. I tried willing a playboy magazine into existence when all of a sudden, a rip in space popped up above my bed. Out of that rip popped a 2009 miss October issue. Looking to the left, then right, with a sly grin, I picked it up and turned the page.

[{((O))}]

Cervantes POV

" That's a uhh... Interesting way to find out you have super powers, Ulysses," I choked out in mystification.

I am extremely jealous right now. He has porn, AND HE DIDN'T TELL ME!

" And that's not even the strange part. I've been having some of those dark thoughts again ever since I did it," He said.

" Huh. Uhh... Ulysses? You wouldn't mind conjuring me up a magazine, would you?"

" That depends. Playboy, or Penthouse?"

" Um... do you have Hustler?"

He looked startled for a minute, before grinning.

" Testing the waters aren't you?"

" Meh, I've been swimming in them since 2015,"

" Re-Really? Wow, that's surprising. You've been hiding it for that long though? I never would have thought you would be... you know..."

" Oh I'm not gay, I'm bisexual. There is a difference,"

" Riiiiiight. Sure there is," He replied in sarcasm.

" Fuck off, we're getting off topic,"

" Geez, okay. Anyways, here you go," He said, handing me my holy grail after pulling it out from inside his coat.

As soon as the magazine reached my fingertips, A green blast came out of the bushes up ahead, reducing the magazine into ashes. I looked at the pile of soot on the ground, than looked at the bushes, revealing an orange gryphon with an... Arm Cannon? What the absolute fuck? I guess someone's been playing too much Metroid.

" Damn you Minotaurs! What did I tell you about staying away from me?! I don't know who you're talking about and that's final!" He yelled out.

Me and Ulysses looked at each other, unsure of what the hell is conspiring.

" Now taste the fury of my Claw Cannon!" He yelled again, aiming a shaky claw cannon at us.

He then pressed a couple of... somethings on the blue-gray piece of metal before the glow suddenly changed from green to blue. He then proceeded to launch a series of blasts at us as we ran behind some trees. Me taking out my .44's, I started launching off some suppressive fire. One of his shot struck next to my feet turning the area to ice.

" Shit! I'm stuck!" I yelled as I tried to pull my foot out of the ice.

I instead resulted in pulling the ground out with my foot, trying my damnest to shake the ice and dirt off. Unfortunately, that gave the bastard time to launch a missile at the trees me and Ulysses were hiding behind. The explosion rocked the trees, knocking them down. I would have been able to keep my footing if I had my equipment, but I flew instead. I landed behind a flaming tree, wind knocked out of me with ringing ears. Ulysses wasn't faring much better, nursing a wound on his head with some blood dripping from it.

The gryphon fluttered over the tree, standing bipedal next to me with his cannon aimed at me.

" I warned you," He told me, charging his cannon.

Bump, bump

I sat there, unable to move as my eyes started to shut.

Bump, bump

I sat there as time slowed, unsure of what to do.

Bump, Bump

' Get up!' I heard a voice in my head, screaming primal-like.

BUMP, BUMP!

' GET UP!' It howled, half-human half-monster.

My hand shot out, slapping the cannon to the side. The blast hit the ground, causing dirt to splash up around us. I shot my leg up and kicked the gryphon into a tree. I then sprang up to my feet with new found strength, the ringing long gone from my ears. I ran towards him faster than you could say 'buddy, you're fucked' and grabbed him by the chest feathers. I then threw him against another tree, only to have him catch himself mid-air.

' ATTACK!' The voice yelled in my head.

I then felt different. All pain was gone, all of my worries, vanished. My body was pumping with adrenaline. I felt alive. I sprung ahead and made an attempt to tackle him, only for him to nimbly dodge out of the way. What he didn't expect was for me to throw my combat knife at him. The knife wedged itself into his cannons barrel, Eliciting a grunt of pain. Sparks flying out of his now piece of shit, he pulled it off. I then pulled out my 44.'s, only to have them click, signifying their emptiness. Tossing them aside, I cracked my knuckles. I then charged up to him and attempted a left hook, only for him to catch it. My right uppercut went unnoticed until it was to late. As he floated back, he kicked me in the face. Stumbling back for half a second, I narrowly dodged his half-assed punch and sprung upward, my head slamming into his jaw. As he flew back, I leaped. I leaped higher and further than I had ever leaped before. Landing on him made him yell in shock. He fell downward, unable to support my weight.

When we crashed, he kicked me off his chest before I could get up. He then proceeded to slash at me with his claws. Two claw marks were made on my chest before I caught the third claw swipe and broke it through pure pressure. Him now screaming in pain, I almost headbutted him a second time, but he instead swiped my legs out from under me with his tail. Now he was on top of my chest with reddened eyes and heavy breathing. I looked him up and down to asses him for no more then a split second, before shoving him off of my chest with great might. All it took for me in that split second told me what I needed to know. He was scared. Not of me, but fighting in general. I saw what muscle he had, and saw he wasn't much of a fighter. Pinning him down, I thrust my right arm into his gut and held him against the ground.

' Killlll~' The voice practically sang in my head.

' No!' I mentally yelled back,' This ain't me! Who the fuck are you?!'

' None of your concerns! Kill the peon! He is too weak to live!'

' NO! I WILL NOT KILL HIM!'

' KILLLL~!'

' NOOO!'

' Then you are weak~!' It hissed.

I loosened my grip on the gryphon, not realizing I had been choking him. He sat there, trying to catch his breath. Tears were streaming down the poor birds face. What was I doing. This isn't me! I couldn't have done this! I couldn't have...

I may have killed back on earth, but they were the Infected. I looked at it as me removing a curse, freeing their souls. The guards back at the castle were another story. They were nothing more than sport. Me and Ulysses tried to avoid killing them. We hospitalized some, yes, but never killed. This however, was something I'm not used to. Killing someone who had a choice. Someone who didn't obviously want to fight, but did so anyways. I sat on my sore ass, pain coming back to my body. I ignored it the best I could though. Looking up at the gryphons face, I asked him.

" Hey kid, what's your name?"

" I-Ink Sword,"

" Not a bad name. C'mon, I ain't gonna kill you. Get up," I grunted.

He slowly stood up, legs quivering from adrenaline that was most likely overloading his body.

" W-Why?" He asked as he looked at me, tears rolling down his beak-cheeks.

" It just ain't in my nature to kill something that can reason. I've killed for food, and I've killed to free others of their curse, but NEVER, have I ever killed a reasoning being,"

" T-Thank you," He mumbled, looking downward.

" Don't mention it,"

Looking over to Ulysses, I saw that he had passed out. Probably from the head wound.

" Come with me," I bellowed, " We'll need to get that claw of yours checked out"

I then picked up Ulysses and started down the path. And Moon figured it would be best now to pop up out of the bushes and follow. Judging by the fact that Ink Sword didn't react, she's probably invisible right now.

We all just walked in complete silence. All of us probably mentally deciding that this was one of those times where we should remain silent.

[{((O))}]

The walk took a little longer than usual, but we reached the castle. Conveniently enough, one of the bat ponies that recovered more quickly was the team medic, and decided he would help me treat the guards, provided they were getting proper medicine. After dropping Ulysses and Ink Sword off, I found that Ulysses only had a minor concussion, and Ink Sword is still getting checked out. Right now I was on my way to deliver the necklace for Ulysses, when Nightmare came out from literally nowhere.

" Again, I'd like to thank you for earlier,"

" For what?" I asked.

" For helping me get my strength back. I am forever in your debt. No one has ever helped me. I have always been shunned, always seen as the thing that bumps in the night. Over a thousand years ago, I took over a princesses body that shared the same feelings I did. I did it to show my existence, to show how upset I was in being seen as nothing more than 'A bad dream'. Back then I wasn't seeing straight, but now... I can see how wrong it was. Thank you,"

She then phased through the ceiling above us.

So... Nightmare Moon was nothing more than an envious spirit? Hmm... I wonder how Celestia will feel about having her as our mascot?

[{((O))}]

I pushed open the door to Lilies garden. Doing something as much as that was a difficult task. Walking in, I went up to Lily.

" Here, Ulysses is in the medical bay right now, he wanted me to give you this," I said.

Ulysses technically didn't tell me, but he did tell me he had to give it to her.

" Medical bay? This castle has a medical bay?" She asked.

" Well... I did some adjustments to the old servants quarters,"

" Ahh... so, now that your brothers quest is complete, he can stay now,"

" Great. If there's anything else you need don't forget to holler!"

" Will do Cervy~" She pretty much sung.

"grrr..., Okay! See ya round!"

[{((O))}]

Not long after taking care of the delivery, I decided to walk with Ink Sword. Apparently I only sprained his claw from twisting it. So since he was okay to go, I decided to take him for a tour of the castle that wasn't buried in rubble. I stopped by the kitchen to fill up a couple of sacks with food for the prisoners.

" This the kitchen. The store room is just past that door and... well there really is nothing else to say about here. And the door over there leads to the dining room. We usually will eat our food there once there's some actual bustle around this castle,"

I told him as I hoisted the warm sacks over my shoulder and proceeded down the hall.

" Alright, so next stop is the library," I say.

" Here we have books, books, and more books. Unfortunately, we don't have any more books,"

Apparently he didn't get it, and looked at me with confusion.

" *sigh*, Current genres are medical, scientific, and magic,"

We then moved on to the next room, The Barracks.

" And here is The Barracks. Once that claw of yours is fully healed, I'll bring you here for a base assessment on your hand-to-hand combat skills. If you fail the test, I'll give you some proper training till you can fight decently. And if you can fight decently against me, than you could kick quite a few asses. Moving on,"

Afterwards, we went to The Forge.

" Alright, this is The Forge, Or as I like to call it, my workshop. I noticed that Claw Cannon of yours, and I would really need some expertise like yours around here,"

Next location, The Dungeons.

" Down here is The Dungeons. Anyone who's made wrong doings against anyone under our watch is imprisoned here. These bat-pony guards here attacked us a week ago. They may have just done nothing other than follow orders, but they're still learning they're lesson. Not to mention, this ain't like most dungeons. We give the prisoners proper lighting, good food, healthy living arrangements, and even some mild entertainment. We still keep them under an iron grip though, since we don't wanna be to lenient," I said as we finished walking down the stairs.

He was in absolute awe at what he saw. The electric lights kept the place well lit, some of the guards who shared cells were at tables in the cells, playing cards and chatting. Others were exercising on equipment provided to their cells. They even had clean toilets and sinks installed.

" We're actually here just in time to bring them dinner," I said.

I then pulled out the sacks I had been carrying, revealing freshly picked cat-tail and lily pad root that had been roast on a fire, with some dandelion stuffing. The other sack was carrying jugs of water. As we were going down the hall, I took it upon myself to give small talk to the prisoners.

" Hey there Arrow, How's it going?" I said as I slid his food in through the food grate on a plate and filled his bowl with recently boiled water.

" It's pretty good Cervantes," The bat-pony said with a toothy grin and perked ears.

" That's nice to hear," I reply with a small smile.

Next cell up was Silver Sword and Studded Shield. Silver Sword is still a *cough* bitch *cough*, but I can tolerate her. Studded Shield is probably the most mellow chick I've ever met. If it weren't for the fact I kept these guards under close watch, I'd say she was smoking pot. I'm actually surprised she even joined the guard. Now this is just me speaking, but if she were human, I'd marry her in a heart beat.

" Hey Sword, Hi Shield, Hows it hanging?"

" With a rope, you dumb mutt," Sword grumbled with a frown as she turned over on her cot.

" It's just nice down here," Shield said with a smile.

" That's nice to hear," I replied.

As I was handing out food and taking up complaints and requests, I saw Ink Sword smiling. Seems he likes it here already.

By now I had come across the captain. He has been one tough nut to crack. Only a couple of other guards have been with him and his honor. Hell, I'm surprised I've converted this many! Must be the way I've treated them.

" How's your day been Cloud?" I asked.

" Swell, yours?"

" It's been great. I got pissed off at Ulysses and chased him. After that, we got into a fight with this gryphon over here," I said, pointing my thumb at Ink Sword, who visibly deflated as I said that.

" But hey, he's sorry. He didn't know who we were," I said as I ruffled his head feathers.

" And by the way, the offer still stands for you and the others," I reply, trying to change off the subject.

" And the answer stays the same, our loyalties are to Luna," He replied.

The gryphons eyes visibly bugged at that. " Wait, you're from the lunar guard?!"

" Of course I am. All of us are," Cloud replied as he waved his hoof to point around all the cells.

Ink Sword was looking absolutely shocked.

" But that's impossible!" He yelled," You guys are the toughest of the tough! Even Minotaurs have a tough time with you guys, let alone two!"

" Yeah, well, we've gotten soft in my opinion. Remember, there hasn't been an actual war that Equestria was apart of for over 2,000 years. Sure there isn't much crime, that's a real good thing, but that also leaves our guards out of practice,"

Ink, still bug-eyed, continued on with me.

Walking to the center of the room, I decided now would be the best time to clarify something.

" Ahem, Attention everyone. There is something I would like to clarify. I noticed some of you have called me mutt or dog, while others outside the prison have called me minotaur. To clarify that, I am neither," Whew, this has been a peeve that I've wanted to call out, " I am a human! Something you would probably hear about in Mylos Mythology! That is all!" I said, heading back to the doorway. After I had tended to the prisoners, I showed Ink to his room ( It was one of those old guest bedrooms I fixed up). Afterwards, I decided to head to bed early.

Ulysses had showed me a book earlier on this world and it's history. There is Equestria, yes, but there are other lands. The Badlands (A fandom favorite), Which currently has no one ruling it, and at the same time no one wanting to claim it due to it being riddled with Dragons and Changelings. Mylos, the Minotaur state republic. Avalonne, The Gryphon nation. Crystalose, The Diamond Dog grounds which is essentially in constant anarchy. The only true government there are are several packs ruled over by a dictatorship and a shitload of bandits. Across the ocean is a small continent, which would be essentially Australia to this planet, called Zebrica (Another fandom favorite), which has it's Zebra tribes being tended to by some a united council of them all. Pretty much an Oligarchy. And finally, The Crystal empire. Dissipated into existence, and it's secrets long lost (Bullshit. It's only a matter of time till season 4 premiere.).

The minotaurs paint us as saviors in the earliest of history, even as their creators. But as time went on, we became 'corrupt with power' (Not really surprised there. It's human nature.). We started raiding their villages, burning their towns. We were pretty much knocking on the palaces doorstep, when in an act of haste, made a deal with the Great Starswirl The Bearded (That surprised me). They begged him to seal humanity away into a hell of some sort where they could never reach their world again (Must be Earth.). Starswirl agreed, pushing us out of the boundaries of their world, out into some other world where we as a people could spend our solitude. Starswirl had warned that, one day however, those boundaries would break, and our kind would return, for good or bad. At that point I was really shocked. Humans are going to be coming to Equus? This outta be even more of a reason to start up that nation. We agreed that, if we ever did reach that point, It would be the United Republic of Terra.