Chapters Sand in the Wind
Chapter One: Moonlight Serenade
By: Jace Arveduin
A/N: I don't own anything, especially not the MLP universe.
**********************************************************************************************************
Jesse had been living fairly peacefully since his trip to that magical land of Equestria, roughly forty years ago. Contrary to what he believed would happen, he didn’t gain weight as he got older, instead, he became more gaunt looking. His hair had also turned completely grey by now, and he’d finally decided to let his hair and beard grow out, so now he was almost like a shorter version of Gandalf.
He still lived in that same house, never really wanting for anything, because anything he needed could be acquired one way or the other. The Time Twister was a powerful artifact, after all. So when the world super powers started to flex their muscles, he acquired the equipment to build a bunker deep underground. Normally it wouldn’t have been possible, but a few toys from other worlds made it relatively easy endeavor. So now all he had to do was wait.
**********************************************************************************************************
Awakening to the sounds of sirens in the early stretch of the morning, he turned on his tv to see if it was a drill or not. The words “WARNING: THIS IS NOT A DRILL” scrolled across the bottom to clear up any doubts he had. He rushed to his dresser and pulled out the Time Twister, losing himself in its beauty, he regained his train of thought when found himself in his bunker. Across the world, as he settled into his bunker, bombs fell like symphonies of doom.
Later the next day, he went over to the special radio he had rigged and tested it to see if he could get any official news on the world above. He became slightly worried when all he could pick up was static, because when he tested the system, he was able to pick up stations from almost anywhere in world he chose. With a sigh, he adjusted the frequency for the public bunker that one of his few friends should be in. Once again, all he got was static.
“Well, fuck, I knew we were all going to die soon, but I figured it’d be old age or some crazy stunt..” He muttered to himself. He didn’t cry, he hadn’t cried in decades, but he still felt grief for the passing of his lifelong friends. He just knew that if he hadn’t have built his bunker so deep, he’d probably be dead too.
“Well, there’s nothing left for me here...” He silently thought about his situation, and shrugged. “I guess I’ll let the wind take me where it will...” Pulling out the Time Twister, he looked into it, and for the first time, didn’t think of a destination. The room filled with soft lights as the Time Twister teleported him... somewhere.
**********************************************************************************************************
Captain Stormcruiser of the Royal Guard was doing a patrol of the surrounding countryside when he spotted an odd figure against a tree. Silently gliding towards it, he went for a closer inspection. It seemed long, and it’s limbs were wrong, more like a dragon than a pony, albeit a very small dragon. He also noticed it appeared to be either asleep or unconscious. He wondered what he should do, and decided he’d need back up. He went off to retrieve more guards, hoping the creature wouldn’t move. Ten minutes later, he arrived with more guards to see the creature exactly where it had been when he left. The others had brought a covered wagon so that they could transport it back to the castle without alerting the general public to the weird creature they’d found. They weren’t sure if it was dangerous or not, but the Princesses would, and there was no point in scaring the citizens.
**********************************************************************************************************
Jesse finally returned to consciousness while laying on a some sort of big pillow. He wasn’t sure exactly what happened, but he guessed he fell and hit his head, which was aching. Speaking of his head aching, there were people talking and making it ache even more.
“Hey, my head’s pounding, can we keep it quiet, or give me an aspirin or something?” He grumbled as he got around to looking around the room. The room in question was filled with brightly colored ponies in armor and another pony that was pure white. That pony also happened to be very large and wearing a crown.
“Hello, human, what is your name and why are you here?” The Princess asked, she wasn’t being threatening, but she wasn’t exactly being warm either.
“Princess... I know it had something to do with space... Anyway, I’m Jesse. I’m here because Earth is probably obliterated, so I let the Twister send me somewhere.”
“Jesse? Are you the same human that was transported here 5 years ago? I was told you were younger, do humans age quickly?”
“Indeed, I am the same one. As for quickly aging, no, not really. Without any real scientific proof, I’d say humans live roughly seventy-five years, give or take some depending on health. The thing is, I’ve lived roughly forty years since that little incident.”
“Just to make sure you are the same human, I have one question: What is my sister’s name? Guards, if he answers correctly, take him to one of the guest rooms and make sure he’s not bothered. Otherwise, imprison him until my sister and I come up with a plan.”
Jesse leaned back in thought, his old brain was fuzzy at the best of times, let alone after recovering from a knock on the head. “Oh joy... I’m fairly sure it was Luna... Smaller than you, but darkly colored. Or something like that.”
Celestia nodded towards the guards, and spoke in a warmer tone. “Good then, I shall see you soon. If you need anything, just ask one of the guards and they will fetch it for you.”
Jesse followed the guards out of the room, which was apparently the throne room, and made his way to the guest quarters. He went inside as the two guards stood outside of the doors. A look around showed a rather comfortable looking bed, a chest, a bathroom, and a small bookshelf with some books on it. It was all rather more grand than what he’d been living in these past years.
“Something to read, that’ll be nice. Let’s see...” He raised an eyebrow as he read the title of one, then pulled it out to check out the cover and chuckled. “I’ll be damned, looks like they have their own version of Indianna Jones, it’s amazing how things like that happen.”
**********************************************************************************************************
It was several hours, and a few Daring Do books, later when the Princesses made their arrival. Jesse had been laying on the bed reading through yet another book.
“Evening Princesses.” He said as righted himself, several loud cracks as he twisted.
“Good evening Jesse, and are you okay? That didn’t sound healthy.” Celestia asked him.
“No worries, I’ve just been laying there for some time. These old bones are getting cranky with me.”
“My sister told me you were older, but I didn’t expect you to look this much older.” Luna told him with a shake of her head.
Jesse laughed at that. “Hey, not everyone can be immortal princesses, most of us are inflicted with a curse commonly called ‘getting old’.”
“Either way, you still have a choice to make. When you last left, we said that to stay here, you would have to become a pony. As much as we would hate to turn you out, we have to stand by our ruling.” Celestia told him while Luna was silent.
He sat still for awhile, then opened his eyes and looked at them with an almost maniacal grin. “Hell, why not, ain’t like I haven’t done practically everything else. The only other thing I can think of is maybe to do some time hopping. While going back and playing The Battle for Middle-Earth II again on the official servers sounds like a load of fun, I could probably use something new.”
The sisters smiled, glad they wouldn’t have to turn him out, though neither had any idea of what a Battle for Midde-Earth II was. They had, however, seen something close to despair in his eyes, even if it was expertly concealed.
“Well that’s covered, though I’m afraid I must take my leave. Good night.” The white alicorn said softly.
“I, too, have duties to uphold. Sleep well.” Luna told both of them as she made her way out.
“Guess I’ll see you both in the morning, and probably end up faceplanting as I leave this rather comfy bed.” Jesse told them, shutting the door to their small amount of laughter. He went back to his bed and kept reading, he didn’t feel like giving his mind the time go off on it’s own trails.
**********************************************************************************************************
Jesse awoke the next morning, yawning and getting up to go to the bathroom. Or at least that’s what he meant to do. Instead, he ended up faceplanting into the floor.
“Ouch, I knew that was going to happen.” He muttered to himself. Then he looked down at his arm, which was now a leg, which was covered in a dark grey fur. “Guess that would explain why my dreams were crazier than usual, though with less explosions.”
He finally got around to messing with his new body, this walking on four legs thing was weird, when he made a second important discovery: He didn’t ache anywhere. usually his wrists and lower back would be aching, they’d been aching for so long he’d mentally shoved it aside, but now they didn’t ache at all.
“Okay, that feels great, I’d forgotten how great it feels to not hurt. I’ll have to remember to thank the Princesses.” He went over to give himself a good look over. He was a dark grey pegasus, he wasn’t expecting that, with a silver mane and tail. A quick look also confirmed he had one of those tattoos on his ass. A cutie mark, or something like that. His was a pair of swords in behind of a chess piece. A knight, to be exact.”
“Ha, I always told mom all those games would do me some good” He said to himself with a chuckle, then went to the door and poked his head out. “First off, is it captain or sergeant?”
The Captain turned around and looked at the guest, and only his strict training kept his face clear. Where before there had been a ‘human’ inside, there was now a dark grey pegasus. “It’s Captain Stormcruiser, is there anything I can get you?”
“Yes there is Captain, any chance I could have some breakfast? I’m not sure if I’ve been given permission to roam yet, but I’d rather not find out the hard way. That and I’m having enough trouble getting around my room, I think the stairs are beyond me.”
“Not a problem. Thunder Struck, go to the kitchens and bring him back some breakfast.” Thunder Struck gave a quick salute and left.
Thunder Struck returned shortly after with a stack of pancakes covered in syrup, which Jesse gladly accepted. He gave them his thanks and went back into the room. Inhaling the delicious smell, he went to pick up the fork and dig in. Or, at least tried to, he then realized another important fact for the day, he had no hands. Grumbling a few choice words he’d picked up over his lifetime, he dove face first into the pancakes. They were actually quite delicious, and it was real maple syrup, he hadn’t had real maple syrup in... Well, he probably had never had real maple syrup. After finishing up the delicious breakfast, he decided to go back to reading until one of the Princesses showed back up and told him how this was all going to work.
He’d just finished up another Daring Do book, this one reminding him of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ when Luna showed up.
“Evening Luna, been having fun?”
“About as much fun as I can. Though my sister said we should probably get you situated into our world a little better, now that you’re a pony.”
“Yeah, about that, why am I pegasus? I kind of figured I’d end up a unicorn.”
“We just worked the magic, we didn’t pick what race you would be. Come to think of it, I don’t think we actually specified a gender either.” Luna said with a chuckle.
Eye twitching slightly, he responded, “I’m so glad you two care so much for the little details.”
“But come now, we have to think of a new name for you, what sort of name is “Jesse” when it comes to ponies? How about Rainy Daze?”
“No, that just sounds... off, and feminine.”
“How about Grey Skies?”
“Meh.” After a moment of thought, and idea popped up. Chuckling as he checked his cutie-mark again, he added. “I think I’ll go with Blade Knight.”
“Blade Knight?” Came her confused reply.
“Eh, sure, why not? My cutie mark is a pair of blades behind a knight, and it’s something I’m actually used to being called.”
“What does your mark mean anyway? And why would you be called Blade Knight in your world?”
“If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say it has to do with all of the games I play, and the fact they tend to be fantasy or strategy games. As for the Blade Knight part, let’s just say I got that name when I joined a rather tight-knight group. I’ve known those guys most of my life.”
“Oh.. Well in that case, I think Blade Knight is a good name. So, Blade Knight, do you have any plans?”
“Nope, not a single one. I’ll admit I’m just a tiny bit scatterbrained at the moment. Oh, and thanks for fixing all of the aches, it felt great getting up this morning.”
Giggling at him, she asked, “How old do you think you are here Blade Knight?”
“Um.... sixty-five?”
“You may have lived that many years, but do you really think we would allow you to have a new body that was in the condition you’re old one was in? No, now you’re about the same age as your friends here.”
“Ah, Emerald and Frostfire, I presume, or did you make me Steel’s age?” Blade said with a chuckle. “Speaking of them, how are they doing?”
“They’re doing fine, you’ll see for yourself. We’ve decided to send you to Broken Bit.
“Really now? That’s rather nice. So when do I leave?”
“As soon as you want, I’ll have Captain Stormcruiser and a guard of his choice take you. I doubt you’ve learned how to fly in less than a day.” She said with a laugh.
“Nope, too busy reading your books! So, have you contacted them yet? If you haven’t, keep it a secret please, I could have some fun with this!” He said, a mischievous grin on his face.
“No, we haven’t, just don’t scare them too badly. Now, I have work to do, good bye Blade Knight, and my sister told me to tell you farewell, too.” The Princess added as she left the room.
“Later Princess.” Blade called back, then looked over at Captain Stormcruiser. “Feel like going on a little trip right now?”
“I’m sure me and Thunder Struck could make some time in our busy schedules.”
Blade smiled at the response, he found it funny that it came from a pony who looked as if he was actually a statue.
“Well then, go get some food and pick me up when you’re done. I can’t have you guys passing out on me!” Was his laughing reply.
**********************************************************************************************************
His first good look at Canterlot had him laughing. It looked like someone took Minas Tirith, enlarged Mount Mindolluin, and pulled it up the cliff side, then added a waterfall for the hell of it. Sadly, much of what followed after was just a ride above idealistic countryside. No Orthancs, no Helm's Deep, not even an Edoras, just idealistic countryside. After a little while of contemplating how his life was changing, he called out to Stormcruiser.
“Hey Captain, mind if you set me down and let me walk the last leg of the journey to Broken Bit? I don’t feel like entering with the fanfare, you guys are guards, after all.”
“If that is your wish, then I’m not going to deprive you of it.” The captain responded as the two started to lower the chariot. “You asked in good time, we were almost there.”
“Thanks gentlemen, I can make my way from here, have a nice trip back.”
“And the same to you.” The two guards responded, flying off back to Canterlot.
“Now, time to go pay some old friends a visit.” Blade told himself as he started walking towards town.
Sand in the Wind
Chapter Two: Traveler in Time
By: Jace Arveduin
The newly ponified Blade Knight walked into Broken Bit with the setting sun. He roamed the few streets before coming to a conclusion; he’d forgotten exactly where Emerald Dawn lived. Laughing at himself, he started looking for a smithy instead. Unlike Emerald’s house, Steel’s probably had his forge near it. After wandering for a while longer, he finally came across a house that looked like it just might be the place. So he walked up and rapped on the door, almost falling over in the process due to not being used to the whole quadruped thing.
“Hello?” Asked a voice from some of his oldest memories. “Is there any way I can help you young stallion?
“Indeed there is, my name’s Blade Knight, and do you happen to know of a place a traveler of sorts could catch some sleep? I’ve been wandering and can’t seem to find an inn.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Steel Crescent,” the old stallion replied as he thought. “ Well, I'm afraid we don't have an inn currently. However, I’ve a cot near the forge from back in my younger days. You can sleep there, all I ask is that you don’t touch my tools.”
“Thank you Mr. Crescent, I think I can manage that.“
Steel nodded as he led Blade to his forge and showed him the cot, and telling him good night before heading back inside to catch some sleep himself. He couldn’t put his hoof on it, but that pony sounded familiar.
Blade, on the other hoof, was settling into the cot and was smiling as he fell asleep. It’d be fun to see how long he could keep them in the dark about his true identity.
**********************************************************************************************************
The next morning, Blade finally awoke to the sound of the smith at work. Hearing all the clanging and dinging consciously, he wondered how he slept through it all. Getting up, he leaned against the wall until the smith paused from his work.
“Thank you for the bed, I think I’ll be wandering off though, I'm curious as to what the town's like in the daylight. Is there any way I can repay you?”
“Your welcome, and there's nothing for now, but if you're still in town in the next few days, you could come back and ask again. However, don't let me keep you waiting, while the town is small, the surrounding land is beautiful, go on!” Steel said as he went back to work.
Blade walked out of the town, deciding to try and figure out how these wings worked. It almost felt like a second pair of arms, and at times he had to catch himself from moving the wrong appendage. Coming to a clear spot out of sight of the city, he gave his wings a few experimental flaps, and felt some weight come off of his hooves. Grinning, he gave a few stronger flaps, sending himself up into the air. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite sure how to steer while in the air, and after tilting his wings wrong, he face-planted back into the earth.
“You know, for a grown pegasus, you’re really bad at flying,” Came a voice from above. Blade looked up and saw a frosty-white mare with a flaming mane, it would take way longer than forty years to forget that particular pony.
“Oh? And I suppose you’re the best of the best?” Blade retorted.
“Nope, but I’m better than you.”
“Well then why don’t you give me a few pointers to refresh my memory?”
“Sure, why not, you look like you need all the help you can get.” Blade snorts at this, but she ignored him. “First off, unless you want to turn, keep your wings level and beating together.”
He shrugged and concentrated, and slowly became level with her. “Like so?”
“Yeah. Now, if you want to go forward, tilt the front sides of both wings slightly forward.” He gave it a try, and started to move forward slowly. “See? Not hard at all, I still don’t know how you got that rusty, but if you tilt the front side of one wing down further than the other, you’ll turn over. You can combine turning over and tilting your wings back to make a turn, though it’s not the only way.”
“Thanks for that.” Blade told her as he started making lazy circles. “Say, I don’t think I caught your name. Oh, I’m Blade Knight, before I forget my manners.”
“Frostfire, and for some reason, you sound familiar... Where did you come from Blade?”
“No one place in particular, I’m just sort of a vagabond, travelling here and there taking odd jobs for food and a place to sleep.”
“Really? You’ve probably seen some great places then.”
“Eyup, I’ve seen a few.”
“You’ll have to tell me about it sometime.”
“I think I can manage that.” was his chuckled response, to which Frostfire just look exasperated.
“Why are you so familiar! It’s on the tip of my tongue...”
“I’ve no idea, but I doubt this stallion would forget such a meeting.”
She glared at him for a few seconds, before asking. “And what makes you say that?”
“Simple, you seem to have a vibrant personality. That, and you’re white with a flaming red mane, not exactly the most forgettable color scheme.”
“If you say so...”
“I just did.” He retorted with a cheeky smile.
“Oh you cheeky...” Was as far as she got before she stopped herself. “Oh, now I know exactly who you remind me of. I haven’t seen him in years though.”
“Him eh? Tell me more about him. I think it could be interesting.”
“Ha! You wish. I’ll just tell you he was banished.”
“Banished? I don’t recall hearing about that.” He said while his eyebrow started climbing.
“That’s because it’s none of your business!”
“Well that’s no fun. So, you happen to know a place for some food? I’m feeling a bit... Famished.”
“Are you asking me out for lunch?”
“Nope, I’m asking myself out for lunch, I am just asking you for directions.”
“You’re such a charmer...” She replied sarcastically.
“I know right!? It amazes me that I don’t have all the mares in the towns I pass through clinging to me!”
Frostfire snorted, barely containing her laughter, “Well then, you should probably put a cloak on so you don’t woo the entire town on the way to the cafe. Come on, you dolt, follow me to the food.” And with that, she took off flying, though keeping it at a pace she thinks he can keep up with.
“Huzzah!” He cried as he flew after her at astonishing speeds. Astonishingly to snails, anyway.
**********************************************************************************************************
They eventually made it to the cafe she mentioned and took a seat near the edges. A waitress walked up and asked what they wanted shortly after.
“I’ll just take some hay fries,” Frostfire told her before looking at Blade. “So what do you want?”
“More money, I’m broke.” Blade replied with a shrug.
“Make that two orders of fries please.” The waitress nodded and went on her way. “I’ll cover this one, I’ll just have to think of a way for you to make it up.”
“That should be interesting.”
“Yeah, maybe I’ll make you paint my house or something.”
“Don’t you live in a house made of clouds?”
“Yeah, I didn’t say I’d find you something easy to do.”
“Oh yeah, this should be really interesting,” Blade said with a laugh as the waitress brought back their food. “So got any realistic jobs? Or would you like to wager some housing on a friendly game of wits?”
“Depends on the game, what do you have in mind?”
“You’re paying the fees, so I figured you could choose the game. All I ask is it not involve us racing.”
“Let’s see.... How about... You know how to play Pool?”
“Pool as in knock the balls into the holes? Eyup.”
“Well then follow me, there’s an old table around back! If you win, I’ll give you a couch and a meal later. But if I win, you’ve got to do a favor for me!”
“Unambiguous favor? I’m sorry, but that’s a steep wager you’re setting.”
“Oh don’t worry, I promise it won’t be painful, or too embarrassing.”
“I’m holding you to that,” Blade assured her as they walked to the back where an old pool table and a pair of pool sticks were laying. He racked the balls up before giving her a sweeping bow, “Ladies first.”
“Ha! Aren’t you just a gentlecolt?” She replied as she lined up her shot.
She shot and hit the outer edge the of triangle, scattering the balls across the table. The 2 ball slowly slid towards a corner pocket, almost stopping before rolling into it. With a grin, she took another shot, this time causing the 7 ball to bounce off the edge near a center pocket. “Darn it.”
Blade smiled as he looked at the table and saw the 15 ball right in front of a pocket. Frostfire had used her wings, but he decided to just use his forelimbs. It just felt natural. He tapped the cue ball, sinking the 15 ball with ease. He took another look at the table, and saw that he just might be able to bounce off the edge to knock the 11 ball into a corner pocket. After a quick adjustment, he hit the cue ball. The cue ball, surprisingly, bounced exactly how he’d imagined, sinking the 11 ball into the pocket. He kept the surprise from his face, however, when he realized that gaining his “cutie-mark” might have affected his skills. A quick shrug to cover up his moment’s thought, he made a quick shot which knocked some of the balls around, but didn’t pocket any.
They continued their back and forth game, until it was just the 8 ball left. Frostfire called it going into the back corner and shot. The 8 ball hit the side of the pocket and bounced out, much to her chagrin. Blade walked up to the table and saw an easy shot waiting for him, but he was now kind of curious as to what she’d want out of him. So he lined up a shot that would cause him to scratch and took it. “Well that’s no fun, I guess you win.”
“Oh yeah! Good game, it was close.”
“Yeah, too bad close only counts in... Darn it, I hate when my mind blanks like that.” He said to cover up the fact he wasn’t sure if it was called horse shoes in Equestria, or if they even had that game at all. Though he was quite sure they didn’t have hand grenades.
“No wonder you drift around, you probably can’t even remember the way home!”
“Oh haha, very funny.”
“Now, to more serious business: what shall I make you do in exchange for some food and a roof over your head for the night...”
“Read you a story before you go to sleep?”
“Na, how about... Actually, yes, tell me about some of your adventures.”
“I think I can manage that. Mind if those wait until later though?”
“Sure, I’m not in any rush. So what do you want to do?”
“I was actually wanting to check out the library... I like to see if I can find anything different when I drop into new places.”
“Sounds boring, I think I’ll stick around and see if I can get a few more games.” She said, eyeing the ponies littered around the cafe, seeing if any looked like they'd want a game.
“Alright, see you soon!” he told her before leaving the place and heading towards where he recalled seeing the library the day before.
**********************************************************************************************************
A quick walk later, he found the library and entered, trying to not let the door slam behind him. As he looked up at the front desk, he saw an elderly unicorn stallion with a tan coat and mane and tail that was salt and pepper from age. His cutie-mark looked like a quill laying across a book, and the plate on the desk read ‘Jenkins Hoovesworth.’ “Evenin Mr. Hoovesworth, looks like you have a fine library here.”
“Thank you sir, I do my best, though it doesn’t see too many ponies.”
“Just call me Blade, if you don’t mind.” He noticed a particular shelf off to the side that only had four books on it, but was behind a locked glass. The titles were all too familiar to him, seeing as they were ‘The Hobbit ,’ ‘The Fellowship of the Ring ,’ 'The Two Towers, ' and ‘The Return of the King .’ Deciding it was best to play dumb, he asked the librarian about them. “Is there any reason these books are off to the side and behind a lock?”
“The books have a lot of very mature themes, such as death and war. I’m still not quite sure where Ms. Dawn got them, but they are great works of art and they don’t appear to be written by a pony, or any of the races known to Equestria. I keep them locked away because they really aren’t suitable reading for most ponies around here, and it gives me a chance to warn them before they start.”
“Intriguing... Well Mr. Hoovesworth, is there any chance I could check one of them out?”
“You seem mature, I’ll let you check out the prequel of the series, it’s much more tame than the trilogy it precedes, so you'll know if it is a story you would like to read,' the librarian told him as he pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the shelf. After gently floating the book to the younger stallion and slipping a piece of paper with the due date on it in the front of the book, he locked the case again. “Do you have any permanent residence that I may put down?”
“Sorry, I’ve been drifting for quite a while. If you know Ms. Frostfire, she should be able to track me down.”
“I guess that will have to work, and please take care of that book. I’ve made copies of it, but I’d hate for something to happen to the original.”
“Don’t worry, I hate when books get damaged, it just puts me in a foul mood.” Blade assured him as he started to leave.
“Have a good day then.”
“Thanks, you too.”
**********************************************************************************************************
Making his way back to where he’d left Frostfire, he was hoping she’d still be there. After arriving, he saw her in a match against an older mare, so he stood off to the side and started reading the book he’d borrowed. Frostfire finished a few minutes later and came over when she noticed him.
“So what did you find at the library?”
“Some book written by a ‘J. R. R. Tolkien’ about this thing called a ‘hobbit.' And apparently it has at least one wizard, which means it’ll probably be awesome.”
“Sounds... Interesting. Anyway, it’s starting to get late, so I was going to head on home, and since you’ve no idea where I live, I’m dragging you along with me. Unless you’ve found a place to stay.”
“Nope, sounds fine to me. Lead the way, mi'lady,” he told her with a deep bow. Rolling her eyes, she led the way back to her house.
**********************************************************************************************************
After their arrival, Blade settled on a chair as the mare started digging through her fridge.
“Hey, want something to eat?”
“Na, I’m fine. Unless you don’t want me rummaging for something later.”
“So long as you keep your ‘rummaging’ in the kitchen.”
“I’d never dream of doing otherwise.” The stallion told her with a goofy grin
After she glared at him for a full minute, just to make sure she showed how unamused with the idea of him going through her stuff, she continued through the bite she'd just taken from her sandwich. “So, tell me about one of those adventures you’ve had...”
“Well, it all started when I awoke in a place I didn’t recall being. Looking around, I saw this green mare, the poor thing was almost in tears, and she explained how it was her fault I was here...” Blade Knight started, recalling a familiar tale, but changing a few facts to keep Frostfire in the dark for a while longer.
Blade eventually finished his tale, it’d been rough in spots due to his memory being sketchy, but he made things up quickly enough so that there was no harmdone.
“Quite a nice tale you had there, definitely worth a bite to eat and a place on the couch." With a huge yawn, she added, "Good night Blade, I think I’m going to go get some sleep.”
“Sounds like a great idea, good night and thanks for the couch.” He responded as her door shut. He curled up on the couch and wrapped himself up in a blanket, falling asleep almost instantly.
Sand in the Wind
Chapter Three: Secrets
By: Jace Arveduin
Blade Knight woke up a little before noon, stretching widely and slapping himself in the face with a wing in the process.
“Gah! D’arvit... I love you wings, but that’s really not very nice,” he muttered as he situated his rogue limbs against his back. Looking around, he noticed he’d knocked a note off of his face. Curious, he gave it a quick read and nodded. Frostfire had left it, apparently she had some work to do and didn’t feel like trying waking him. So with that settled, his next course of action was to raid the fridge.
After a nice bowl of cereal, he decided to roam around town. He was hoping he might run into Emerald Dawn, or at least find out where she lived. A quick glide and bumpy landing got him back on the ground and the grey stallion was trotting back into town. Once there, he realized he didn’t remember what Emerald did for a living, so started trying to remember. He knew she wasn’t a librarian, but couldn’t shake the feeling that she had something to do with them. Taking a seat, he took a look around to figure out where he’d wandered to, and realized he had stopped in front of the school.
“Oh, well that just might be it...” He mumbled to himself as a bell rung and the little colts and fillies rushed to the playground. Behind the stream of children came a mare with a green coat and light orange mane. “Eyup, that just might well be it.”
Of course, now he had to come up with a way to approach her without looking like a stalker. Then he remembered the book he was carrying, that would make it easier. All he had to do was go up to her and ask a question about it, simple.
“Ma’am, do you happen to be “Emerald Dawn?” He asked the green mare as he walked towards her.
“Yes, I am. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“As it so happens, I think you can. I’ve been reading this book, ‘The Hobbit,’ from the town library and was wondering if you could give me a better description of these ‘hobbits.’”
“I suppose I could..." She said thoughtfully. "Have you ever seen a baby dragon?”
“Eyup.”
“Well picture what they look like. Now, get ride of the scales, spines, and tail. Those are pretty much the only details not given in the book.”
“Okay, thanks for that. They really are odd looking creatures, though the dwarves seem like fun. And, if I may be so bold, how did you come across this book anyway?”
“Oh, I kind of... Brought a human here by accident a few years ago and he brought those books back as a gift.”
“Really? What's a human? And I’m guessing he wasn’t very happy about that?”
“Humans are like the hobbits, but much taller. And, well, he wasn’t really mad, but he certainly wasn’t happy about it.”
“That’s good, though it really wouldn’t have been too bad if he was angry. I mean, what’s the worst he could do?”
“He could have destroyed the town,” she said while giving him a glare to get the point across.
“Woah! Take it easy! I was joking. Okay, so it’s really good he wasn’t in a bad mood then.”
“Yes it was. Now I have a question, have you been through here before?”
“Me? Nope.” He told her, then facehoofed. “And where are my manners today? The name’s Blade Knight.”
“Nice to meet you, and as you seem to know, I’m Emerald Dawn. So what are you doing here anyway? There’s really not much to see.”
“I’m just a drifter, I stumbled across here a few days ago and I’ve been sticking around because I’m in need of money, which is hard to obtain in the wilds,” he replied with a cheeky grin.
“Your voice does sound familiar... Have you done any voice acting?”
“Nope, I’ve done many things, but lending my voice for something isn’t something I’ve done yet.”
“Oh, well where are you from, anyway?”
“Just a small town... I’m not even sure how far away from here it is, though I’m fairly sure it’s south-west though.”
“You know, story-time’s coming up, and if you need a few bits, I could spare a few if you felt like telling the little ones a story As a drifter, I'm sure you've come across plenty of them in your travels.”
“A story eh? This town seems to love them, I was able to crash at Frostfire's house last night in exchange for a tale, if you know who she is. Well, she also got to beat me at pool, but I digress.”
“I know her, she’s a good mare. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to round up the students. Just stand near my desk until story time starts, would you please?”
“Yes ma'am.”
Going over to the desk as the mare began to organize the post-recess chaos, he waited at least five minutes for the unicorn managed to get everything under control.
“Okay class, we’ve got a special storyteller for today! His name is Blade Knight and he was kind enough to volunteer some of his time to tell you all a story.” She told the younglings, to which they gave a cheer.
“Do you go on awesome adventures?” An excited earth-pony colt with a blonde mane and brown coat asked.
“I’ve been on a few,” Blade replied.
“Now settle down and let Mr. Knight tell a story,” the mare told the class. “Now, if you will Mr. Knight.”
“Hmm. Which story to tell... Say, do you little fillies and colts like fantasy stories?”
“Yes!” Was the resounding answer.
“Well that makes it easy! I think I shall tell you the story of Beren and Luthien” Clearing his throat before doing his best imitation of Gandalf, which was quite bad, he started. “Long ago, before the fall of Numenor, there was a mighty battle. The Battle of Sudden Flame, it was called....”
**********************************************************************************************************
After finishing his retelling of the story of Beren and Luthien, Blade was quite pleased with himself. It was hard trying not to give away the fact that the characters were humanoid and to gloss over the death and destruction, but he thought he did quite well indeed!
“I would like a word with you, Mr. Knight,” Emerald told him severely, and she didn’t look happy.
“Yes ma’am,” he replied, apprehensive as to what he did wrong. Even after years of being out of school, some emotions never fade.
“Where did you hear that tale?”
“During one of my adventures in the deep south,” he replied with a grin.
“You said it was the tale of Beren and Luthien, yes?”
“I did indeed.” His smile faltered for half a second.
“Well, the thing is, I’ve actually heard of that tale before. In fact, it’s connected to the same universe as the book you’re carrying. So, who are you?” The glaring teacher asked him.
“Ah, oops. Well in that case, I’m surprised you even have to ask who I am,” Blade’s smile went from shifty to cocky, it was guaranteed to drive most beings up the wall.
“Well, there’s only one pony I know who would know that tale, and he’s not a pony.”
“Oh? He’s not?”
“No, he turned that down years ago and was basically banished,” the mare retorted.
“I see. So who am I then?”
“You’re obviously a human, or at least have been around them, but you can’t be Jesse because he know’s how to arrive near here. And the fact he refused to become a pony means you can’t be him.” The unicorn said as she slipped into a more pensive pose.
“There is, of course, the chance I changed my mind and went straight to the Princesses.”
“But why would you... Wait, I? Jesse?” She stammered.
“The one and only!” The brash stallion said with a bow. “I was going to see how long I could keep up this guise, but apparently I’m too clever for my own good!”
“So Frostfire doesn’t know?”
“Nope, and neither does Steel.”
“Oh, so you’ve met up with Steel too?”
“Eyup, I managed to borrow his couch the night before last.”
“So when are you going to tell them?”
“Oh, I thought I’d make a surprise out of it, keep the pretense up as long as possible. But since you've seen through my deception, I suppose I should tell them." After thinking it over, he asked, "Do you three still happen to be visiting each other? If you are, could you set up a... Picnic, sometime tomorrow?"
“Yes, we do meet and talk occasionally, and I think I can get one set up for tomorrow. But if you plan on it being a surprise, I’ll let you borrow my couch tonight, otherwise you’d probably end up telling them and ruining your fun,” Emerald told him while grinning.
“Hey! It’s not my fault I forgot The Return of the King had all of that information in the back!” The grey pony replied in mock indignation.
“If you say so,” she retorted. “And are you really going by ‘Blade Knight’ now?”
“Yeah, it sounded decent, and I’m rather bad with names. And if it’s possible, I’m even worse when I’ve got to come up with something that would fit in Equestria.”
“Well, stick around then, class is almost done for the week and we can go back to my house after it’s over.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” Blade told her as she went back to the classroom. He could have followed and watched in on the lesson, and he probably needed to, but he figured he’d just be a distraction. Instead, he went and took a seat in front of the school and decided to try and take a nap. After failing miserably at that, he started reading his book again.
**********************************************************************************************************
A while later, the two were enjoying a small meal in Emerald’s home. It hadn’t changed much, a few new knick-knacks added here, and a handful books on the shelves. The interior could be neatly organized into things that were used, and things that weren’t. A chair under a reading lamp was in the former category with its arms beginning to show some wear, while the couch was in the latter, it looked like the pillows could probably use a good beating to get the dust out of them.
“So,” the unicorn started as they were eating. “Why did you admit so quickly to being Jesse? I seem to recall that you liked playing word games with ponies.”
“Oh, that’s easy; I was starting to get bored, and the whole bit about remembering what I can or can’t say to keep it a secret was starting to become tiresome.”
“If you say so. I think you just realized you couldn’t outsmart me!” The grinning mare told him.
“Is that so?” The pegasus replied with a grin of his own, it sounded like she had been hanging out with Frostfire during his absence. “In fact, I’d pick your brain apart right now, but I’m afraid our knowledge bases are quite different, so the effect would be... dramatically decreased.”
“Well that’s completely like and unlike you at the same time,” the unicorn replied.
“I’m sorry, I may be a good forty years younger physically, but my brain hasn’t quite caught up to that fact yet,” Blade said with a shrug.
“Wait, forty years younger?” The look of disbelief on her face would have been quite hilarious out of context.
“I’ll explain that tomorrow with the others, it’s not something I want to have to explain twice.”
“Okay...” This wasn’t something she wanted to push, since he hadn’t explained his reason for returning.
“So how’s life been here? It doesn’t look like it’s changed at all, though I admit to not being able to remember exactly what it’s supposed to look like.”
“Nothing much has changed. I’ve been teaching, Frostfire’s been helping with the weather team, and Steel is still the smith.”
“In other words, life’s going on as normal without any adventures or such?”
“Nope, not really, we got our fill of adventure the last time you came through. Though Frostfire might not have, if she’s done anything she hasn’t told us about.”
“So she probably has then! I’ll have to ask her eventually.”
“Yeah, we really haven’t seen each other that much of late.”
“You said something about letting me crash on the couch, right?” The pegasus said, barely managing to finish the sentence before a huge yawn overcame him.
“Go get some sleep then! You’ll probably explain everything tomorrow.” She shooed him onto the couch and brought out a pillow and blanket from a closet. “Good night.”
“Thanks, mi’lady, and see you in the morning.” Blade rolled over and began to snore. Emerald giggled quietly to herself as she trotted to her room.
Slightly later, Emerald wasn’t in such a good mood. Blade was still sawing logs and she couldn’t get any sleep. Eventually the mare took another blanket and tossed it over the stallion’s head, muffling the sound enough that she could finally get some sleep. Or that’s what she thought anyway. After she left, Blade stifled his laughter as he tossed the blanket off and really went to sleep.