Tales of the Wanderers

Tales of the Wanderers- Trashed and Scattered

        Over the time that the moon had first illuminated the night skies over Equestria, Raistlin grew restless. He wasn’t always one to relax. Especially if he was in a situation where he needed to keep his guard up if he wanted to live. Even though he was told that Ponyville was safe, he personally had his doubts and kept a mental list inside his head of all the things that could go wrong.        Right now, the Chaser was alone. He needed some time to himself and away from Janelle and the ponies she was with. Despite the nice and calm personalities of Twilight Sparkle, her five friends, her dragon assistant Spike, and the Night Princess named Luna; it seemed unsettling to him. It seemed that they were completely ignoring the fact that they were in a war with another species. These ponies were a peaceful race, he understood that. But the tactics they did have relied too much on trust and if he knew one thing about that, it can lead to someone playing with them like a puppet master pulling their strings.        He and Janelle earlier were asked if they could help them reclaim their home and help them win this war. Janelle herself was eager and said yes, but Raistlin himself was unsure. He left the Castle of Friendship without making a decision. Too many things had occurred and he needed a moment to just breathe. A walk would help him calm himself. Even if he were attacked, he still had his arm blades carefully hidden in his armbands and had enough chakra to use a technique or two.        The Shinobi was walking down the winding path that led to the hospital. His intentions were to casually pass through it, but something else actually happened. Around the time the human was passing by the door, Spitfire herself walked out the door of the clinic. Raistlin was the first thing her eyes laid on once she was outside the door. “H-hey!”        Raistlin soon turned towards the sound of where he heard the voice come from. Surprised, the adventurer tried to speak calmly. “Oh, hello there. You’re Spitfire, right?”        She nodded her head, which in turn caused Raistlin to sigh in relief. He couldn’t exactly remember what her name was and was mostly taking a guess so he was relieved to know that he didn’t screw up. “Yes, that’s right. Thanks for rescuing me earlier Mister… I’m sorry, but I believe I don’t know your name.”        “My name? It’s Raistlin.”        “Raistlin… That’s an interesting name. What are you doing out here this late though?”        “I was going for a walk. Needed to clear my head.” Raistlin replied, following up with a question. “What are you doing out here though? I thought you were recovering in the hospital.”        “Doctor’s say I’m free to go. But to not do anything crazy for the next few months due to certain…” The Pegasus paused for a minute, lowered her head to her side before bringing it back up again and finished her sentence. “circumstances.”        “You mean what Soarin told you?” Raistlin asked. The mare nodded, almost looking a bit emotional in her eyes. “Do you want to talk about it?”        “It’s okay… Maybe later. Right now, I just want to go to my home.”        “I can walk you home if you want to.” The Chaser offered. With it being this late, it would be best to keep the lone mare company for if she was attacked by Changelings or the Monsters that lurked in the nearby Everfree forest. Still though, with being a pegasus, he presumed that she lived up in the clouds in a city called Cloudsdale that Rainbow mentioned earlier once or twice.        “Well, I usually live at the Wonderbolt Academy with all the other members of the team. But since the doctors told me to take it easy and not fly around so much for the next five months, I have a home in Ponyville that I stay in whenever I’m here.”        “Okay, lead the way.” The Chaser told her. The Wonderbolt nodded as the two made their way to the mares house. It took some time to make their way across. Mostly so Raistlin could keep an eye on his surroundings as well as the Pegasus right next to him. But soon, they made it to the front of her home after about ten minutes of walking.        Before the pegasus walked up to the door though, Spitfire asked her companion a question that had just recently been on her mind. “Hey, do you happen to have a place to stay?”        It was a valid question.        “No, I don’t believe the subject ever came up when I was talking with Princess Sparkle a few moments ago.” The Chaser replied honestly. “Why do you ask?”        “Well, I was thinking since you’ve saved my life, helped me reunite with part of my team, and killed the Changeling snitch that was impersonating me; I would return the favor.” By now, Spitfire used her wing feathers to fiddle with a key that she had hidden under the floor mat by the door. It was a spare key since she left her other keys in Firestreak’s old apartment. The mare ignored those thoughts though and soon got the front door open. “Please, come on in. Make yourself at home.”        Something about the saying make yourself at home made Raistlin cringed internally as he entered the small home. Despite it’s appearance on the outside, the home was a lot nicer once you entered through the front door. The furniture looked brand new as mostly everything seemed fresh. Well, not everything was exactly fresh.        Spitfire had to take some time to throw away all the food that had gone bad that was in her refrigerator. Which was basically everything. Well, except for a few apples that she had picked up at Sweet Apple Acres a few days before ending up in the Prison Cell because of Cinder Tail. “Would you like an Apple? It’s the only thing I have in here besides a few bottles of cider.”        Raistlin nodded his head, catching the fruit that Spitfire had tossed her way. Using a hidden arm blade, he peeled the skin off and then bit into the juicy apple. Immediately, he was amazed by the taste. There wasn’t any fruit that could even compare to this back home. As he took a seat on a nearby couch, Spitfire soon sat down next to him. Around now though was when the Chaser noticed a picture frame on the mantle of the fireplace of her with somepony else.        “Your friend… Firestreak. Would that be the one that you're with in the photo up there?” Raistlin asked out of curiosity.        Spitfire’s smile from before though tilted downward. She nodded her head. “Yes… Yes it is…”        “Is something wrong?”        “No, nothings wrong… It’s just…… This place…… was where he wanted us to live after we got married. Firestreak wanted to start a family here… With me… But now, he’s gone…” Tears began to drift down Spitfire’s face as she tensed up. The mare felt like that she was back inside that tight prison cell and stuck in a corner with no way out.        “It’s okay. I’ve lost people I’ve cared for too.”        The comment from the Chaser had Spitfire look at him in disbelief. “Y-you have? Who?”        “My parents. They were murdered as well. But for me, it was a little bit more painful... and personal.”        “Why?” Spitfire asked. Not knowing what Raistlin was going to say.        The human sighed a little. “Because someone I cared for and who cared for me was the one who killed them. He wanted to obtain great power to avenge the killers who took away the love of his life. But that power corrupted his mind and in order for him to obtain great control over it, blood had to be shed. Blood that was of the same kin as his. He use to be a warrior, but now, he is what some call a Dark Avenger. Some even call him Death because that’s the only outcome that will happen if you go up against him.”        The two of them continued to talk for a little bit more. But as the night continued on, a eerie feeling could be felt across the town and possibly… across Equestria.

Badlands        In the Badlands, six guards that were a part of the night guard were on a late night scouting patrol. Due to the patrol mostly consisting of bat-ponies, they had a few traits that made them the perfect ponies for this assignment. One was that they had night vision, allowing them to see in the dark. The other reason was because their hearing was top notch and a lot better than normal ponies. They were ordered to find a few soldiers that had gone missing a few hours ago after they were trying to scout the Badlands for the potential presence of Changelings.        The patrol consisted of four stallions and two mares. Blackwing (Bat Pony), Crescent Moon (Bat Pony), Arrowhead (Unicorn), Bramblethorn (Bat Pony), Broadsword (Earth Pony), and Earthshaker (Earth pony). Each one of them were higher than the rank of Private and had skills that were essential to the team. But tonight, they would encounter something that nopony ever expected or prepared themselves for.        “Hold.” Captain Blackwing ordered the rest of his troops in his squad. The six of them have come across a strange pool of what appeared to be water in the middle of the Badlands. Which was strange because this place almost was a barren wasteland. Uninhabitable for miles. Blackwing himself carefully touched the liquid with his hoof and brought it up to his nose.        The smell was one he recognized immediately. It was blood. Pony blood.        “Captain!! Look over here!”        The Batpony turned to the sound of one of his other companions. His eyes widened at the sight of what they found. It was a pile of corpses of the same soldiers that they were looking for. They were mangled and covered in deep gashes. A gruesome sight that could only be seen from the horrors of war.        “Who could’ve done something like this?”        “Was it Changelings?”        “No, this looks different. Their isn’t any signs of Changelings bites.” Broadsword grunted as the stallion pointed at their wounds. Normally, a changeling would use it’s fangs to drain a victim of their emotions before going in for the kill since they needed love in order to survive. “Whoever attacked them must’ve had excellent swordsmanship to break their armor and tear them apart to a million pieces.”        “Okay, but that still doesn’t leave us with any valid conclusions. What could’ve possibly-.”        Before the Stallion named Earthshaker could ask his superior officer anything, a powerful blast of magic struck the ground below them, scattering the search party. The force of the impact sent the stallion into the air, leaving him helplessly open to what came next“VENGEANCE STORM!!”        Thousands of sword slices could be heard as the pony was helplessly cut down by a demonic bipedal figure that had black demon wings sprout from it’s back, horns on it’s head, a spiked collar around it’s neck and had demonic magic radiate from the cracks in it’s skin. It held a sword that seemed too big to hold with one hoof and could only be held by an earth pony given it’s size. Soon, this figure saw the five other ponies in the small squadron and looked upon them with a demonic gaze that sent shivers down everypony’s spine.        “Hmmph… Pathetic.” It mumbled. This angered the pony named Broadsword. His best friend was killed right in front of the earth pony by this monster and it had the nerve to offend him and call his friends “Pathetic”. Anger coursed through him as he drew his own sword that glowed with the light of the moon that reflected off of the blade.“I'LL SHOW YOU PATHETIC!!!”        “Broadsword, NO!!”        It was already too late. Blackwing’s pleas had fallen on Deaf ears as the bat pony blindly charged in. Broadsword lunged forward in an overhead strike, aiming for the figures head. But when he brought the sword down, the demonic creature just lifted up his right arm that had his gauntlet and blocked it without moving an inch. However, the collision between blade and bracer had unforeseen consequences for Broadsword. Because the more he tried to push forward, the more cracks that began to appear in his weapon. Soon, his opponent had enough and with a quick swipe of the hand with the gauntlet, he broke the weapon and caused shards of metal to impale the earth pony. The metal fist had also hit Broadsword across the face and he hit the ground with a loud SNAP!        Bramblethorn tried to rush over to the Earth pony to help him, but there was nothing that could be done. His neck was broken and blood now began to pour from the pieces of shattered sword that were impaled into his body. Broadsword was dead.        “Who’s next?!” The Figure screeched. His voice reminding the other ponies of when Lord Tirek broke free of his prison. Blackwing himself gritted his teeth as he looked at his fellow companions. This monster had to be stopped. It has taken too many lives for it to be let loose in Equestria.        Blackwing gave the order to eliminate the demon at all costs.        A fool’s mistake.        As Blackwing drew his own sword and charged forth with Bramblethorn and Crescent Moon by his side, their opponent slammed his sword into the ground and the blood of the fallen surged towards it. Blades of Crimson emerged from the crater the weapon created, injuring a few of them and catching the bat ponies off guard. Shards of earth slowly fell down after being flown around in the air helplessly from the force of the downward strike. Arrowhead herself just stayed back, in fear for her life.        The Monster’s next move was to jump into the air and combat the Bat ponies head on. He saw them floating in the air with their wings and thought it would be easier if he was on the same level as them. Swinging his sword in an upward motion, a blade of blood emerged from the ground, distracting his prey as he leaped into the air with his sword above his head. The next few swings from his weapon sent crescent shockwaves of his blood that swarmed Blackwing and the two other bat ponies in the air.        His first victim was Bramblethorn. Striking so fast that the bat pony could not see the sword pierce through his heart. As he dropped to the ground with a thud, Crescent Moon and Blackwing tried to attack from both sides in a rage to avenge their fallen comrade and to force the monster to make a mistake. Instead, the demonic warrior let out a piercing cry as he swung his blade upward. “COUNTER BLADE!!”         Again, more blades of blood emerged from the ground. But this time, in a defensive tactic as they blocked the swords of the Two bat ponies as the creature leaped backwards. He now had both of them in his sights. “STEP BLADE!!”         Another small blood shockwave raged forth from the sword that struck Crescent Moon. But this time, she did not expect that the ability allowed the demon to teleport right in front of her until after it’s sword sliced her across the belly.        “Two down… One to go.” It’s voice cracked as it looked at Blackwing. The figure thought that one other creature was with the last Bat pony, but ignored it to focus on him.        “Who… or what… the hell… are you?” Blackwing coughed as he tried to remain standing on all four of his hooves.        “Many names I have been given. Soul taker… Life stealer… Death… The Grim Reaper… But I only have one true name.”        “Which is?”        “ …Kylar Revaan.”SHNNK!!         What happened went by so fast that Blackwing never saw his opponent rush forward and shove his entire sword through him. The Batpony struggled to move, but soon found it hopeless. The monster he was fighting soon put a finger to it’s mouth and shushed him as he drove the broadsword further into him. “Hush now… Quiet now… It’s time for you to go to sleep…… say hello to the goddess for me in the afterlife.”        Blackwing hacked and coughed on his own blood as his eyes had rolled to the back of his head. Kylar sighed as he used the white cloth he looted from one of the guards he found to wipe the blood from his blade clean as he dismissed his wings and horns. His normal form had pale tan skin and black hair matching the trousers he wore and the limited amount of armor that was on his chest and arms. Looking at each of his fallen enemies, he searched each one of their saddlebags for anything that could help the human. He did happen to come across something while going through the bags of the pony he thought was in charge. A journal and a map of Equestria.        The Dark Avenger studied each item as he used the light of the moon for him to read the passage of the captain's journal. He grinned a devious smile upon reading something that intrigued him. That was the location of a place called Tartarus. It seemed to be a mega prison with some very vicious creatures locked up inside. Closing up the journal, the human was going to be on his way until he felt something linger behind him.        “Who dares to try and disturb me?”        His words echoed with a vicious tone. But to his dismay, nothing lurked in the shadows. Sighing, he pulled out a stone in his hands that had a crimson hue to it as it glowed in it’s hands. What he was using was a new kind of magic artifact called a Tele-stone. It allowed for communication between two individuals using a pair of magic shards that were linked to one another. Soon, a distorted image of a head was shown.        “Malaju… It’s Kylar.”        “Good riddance did you pick the wrong time to use your Tele-Stone.” The voice on the other end snarled. Malaju was one of two dark elves who wanted to become the successor to her race after their queen Elena died. Unlike the other candidate named Teleju, Malaju was like other dark elves who had a major hatred towards humans and elves. Kylar to her though was different. “I was in the middle of negotiations with a new ally that wanted to help our cause.”        “Oh?” The human asked. “Who would that be?”        “She is on the same continent as you are and was the one who opened the gateway for us so we could come over. Her name is Chrysalis and she believes that with our forces, your skills and the forces she could provide; we could take over this continent, the dark elf kingdom and Altera.”        “Look, the only reason why I decided to help you was so that way I find someone who could finally stand a chance against my power. But so far, every opponent I have faced in this new land now lays dead at my feet.”        “Oh come on now Kyly.” Malaju teased him. “There must be something good that you obtained out of that.”        “Actually, now that you mention it… There might be something useful that I uncovered a few seconds ago. Has that friend of yours mentioned a place called Tartarus? It seems to be a sprawling prison where these ponies lock up the most powerful and vicious of criminals. I don’t know about you, but I believe some of those cell mates would provide us some much needed support if you know what I mean.”        The image of Malaju’s head grinned menacingly as she heard the details. “Splendid. Come on back and you can share the details of what you uncovered.” The magical connection between the two was cut off as Kylar sighed.        “And just when I thought I was going to cure myself of my boredom.”        The Dark Avenger left without a trace. But he did make one fatal mistake. Behind a huge boulder was Arrowhead, the Unicorn mare that had watched her fellow comrades get mercilessly killed one by one. She remembered every last detail of what happened and now had only one thought on her mind as the moon began to slowly lower itself.        She needed to get back to the Princesses at once. They must know of what happened.

Next Morning…         Raistlin’s vision was foggy the moment he began to wake up. He couldn’t remember much of what happened last night after he fell asleep. The Chaser was sitting on the floor against a wall as the first thing he saw was the vintage clock on the opposite side of the room. The time was about five thirty in the morning as he quietly yawned to himself. He wondered two things.        One, where was Spitfire this morning… and two, what was the weight that he felt on his lap? Looking down at his lap answered both of those questions.        On his lap, he found Spitfire curled up in a ball like a cat as she was sleeping. It reminded him of a memory back home when Soraya thought that she could take care of a poochum as a pet, but it soon ended up being more carnivorous than cute. But a new problem arose for the Chaser. How was he suppose to get up without waking up the Pegasus? He couldn’t just pick her up and move her because from experiences back home, these creatures were really sensitive on where you placed your hands.        That problem soon dispersed once he heard the Pegasus groan and open her eyes, which immediately looked at Raistlin. The pupils in her eyes shrank as her eyes widened and her cheeks lit up in bright red. “Uhh… Good morning?”        “What are you doing on my lap?” Raistlin asked her, confused.        “I must’ve been either really tired or a bit drunk. I originally thought I was on a pillow.” Spitfire said before coughing a bit. The mare got up from her position by carefully using her wings to get off of her lap and onto her hooves. “Would you happen to be hungry? I think I got something in the pantry that could work for breakfast.”        “I thought you had to toss out most of your food last night.”        “That was because they were perishable. Mostly everything in here is alright. Plus, I still need to check the freezer.”        “Freezer?” Raistlin asked. He had not heard of something like that before.        “It allows you to freeze foods like meats or frozen items and have them last longer.” Spitfire explained as she opened the freezer door using a small rope contraption with her teeth. “Well, seems like the only thing that’s in here is Ice Cream and Salmon. Not what I had in mind honestly. Plus the market doesn’t open for another couple of hours so that’s not an option. Guess we’re going to have to make a trip to Sugarcube Corner.”        “Sugarcube corner? What’s that?”        “It’s a bakery run by the Cake family that opens early in the morning… Have you met somepony by the name of Pinkie Pie?”        “You mean Ms. Party Cannon?” The Chaser commented, remembering his encounter with her yesterday.        “Seems like you have.” The Pegasus said. “Well, she works there and always prepares to open the bakery early for anypony who comes by early. I can pay for you if you want.”        “Thanks, but you don’t need too.” The Shinobi followed up to the mares offer, taking out his coin sack. He got out some of the gold, silver, and copper coins that were used as currency back in Altera. “Do you think these would be acceptable forms of currency?”        “I don’t think so, but maybe the princesses can have them traded out for bits if we talk to them later.”        “Bits? Is that the name of your coins?”        Spitfire smiled and nodded. “Yeah, what do you call yours?”        “Gold, Silver and Copper.”        “You seriously call them names based off their materials? That sounds vague.”        “Hey, I’m not the one who came up with the banking system back where I’m from.” Raistlin retorted, putting the pouch back in his trousers. “Anyways, are you ready to go?”        “Almost.” Spitfire told the human as she got her leather jacket off of the coat rack and put it on over her body. “Okay, now I’m ready.”        The two of them walked out of Spitfire’s home and soon made their way across town as the sun began to rise. Despite the sun’s warm rays though, the morning air was cool and moist. It didn’t bother Raistlin though since he was use to this kind of weather and Spitfire had her jacket to keep her warm.        As they were walking though, they received many stares from other ponies that they passed. Most of them being at Raistlin. He ignored it to the best of his ability though as both him and Spitfire soon came across Sugarcube Corner.        Seeing the building gave Raistlin another case of Deja vu. Around Christmas time last year, Janelle said that she wanted to create a huge gingerbread house to celebrate them and their friends getting back together for the holidays. Looking at the building right now, he was thinking that the Alchemist somehow found a way to make her wish come true. Months after the holiday had passed.        As they entered the store, a yellow earth pony stallion greeted the two of them. “Hello there. How can I-.”        He stopped speaking the moment he laid eyes on Raistlin. Almost liked he just realized something. “Oh, sweet Celestia. Another one.”        “Excuse me, sir, but what do you mean by that?”        “Pinkie Pie came in here last night with a little girl last night and almost kept us awake all night while they kept the twins busy and “Entertained”.”        All Raistlin did in response to this was facepalm. “Would her name happen to be Janelle by any chance?” The Stallion nodded, causing the Chaser to sigh.        “Sorry Carrot for that, but my friend Raistlin and I just wanted to pick up some breakfast before going to the marketplace.-”        “Excuse me sir.”        The sound of the new voice caused the two of them to turn around. A orange pegasus in royal guard attire stood in front of them. Assuming that the pony was talking to him, Raistlin replied to him. “Yes? How can I help you?”        “Princess Twilight requests your immediate presence at the Castle of Friendship. I was requested to escort you over there. Please, the matter is urgent.”        Both Spitfire and Raistlin looked at each other in confusion. It seemed like they would have to have breakfast after they met with the Princess.

        “Thank you for coming.” Princess Twilight greeted the Chaser and the Wonderbolt as they stepped into the throne room of her castle. She was the only one there right now besides Princess Luna and the two of them wanted to talk in private. “We’re sorry for the late notice, but something happened just now that we needed to tell you about.”        “Me?” Raistlin questioned.        Both Princesses nodded. “A member of a search party we sent last night to find a patrol that never reported back to us had just come back with some terrifying news. She not only found the members of the patrol dead, but also saw the rest of her squad die in front of her. Killed by a bipedal demon with a broadsword and almost resembled you, Raistlin.”        That shocked Raistlin a little. But to process everything, he needed more details. “What did the assailant look like?”        “Black Mane, had a metal collar around it’s neck, demonic wings and gauntlets, used the blood of the fallen souls he killed to combat others who challenged him.”        “What about a name?”        “Arrowhead never mentioned a name-.”        “Kylar.”        The four individuals in the room turned to the right, seeing the light earthen colored Unicorn answer the question that Raistlin had. “He said that his name was Kylar Revaan before he killed Captain Blackwing.”        Now The Chaser was alarmed. “Goddess, DAMN IT ALL!!!”        “Raistlin, what’s wrong?”        “That name… Is the name of my older brother… and the same monster who killed my mother and father. If he’s here, then no one is safe.”End Chapter 4