Sand on the Doorstep

The first thing Roland was aware of when he awoke was how bright his surrounding were. The last thing he remembered was bring entombed in a raging cylinder of blood-red flames; and while they had burned as hot as the ovens of Hell itself, they seemed to drink in the light rather than give it off. He had somehow emerged from that dim nightmare into what had all the makings of a pleasant dream.

He was once more laying upon the soft, life-filled grass that painted everything it covered a glorious shade of green. There were birds singing, frogs calling to one another, and far off in the distance a hawk was letting loose a resounding screech. And the light, oh that magnificent sunlight! In the wake of the inferno's gloom it was the most welcomed thing the Gunslinger could have hoped to see. It was not until he heard the nearby beat of feathered wings on the wind that the thought finally occurred to him. Walter's fire did for me after all... My journey has ended, and Gan has seen fit to grant me a place in paradise after all. Even now the angels come to lead me to him, my soul be saved.

Yet I think you know as well as I do that it was not Heaven that awaited the Gunslinger here, and that those wings were not those of the angels he was hoping for.

A moment passed before his vision finally cleared enough to be able to make out the shapes moving toward him from the sky. Five, no, six winged horses were descending to his resting spot, flying away from what he registered as being the charred remains of the forest he had first entered this world through. In reality, only a small portion of the woods had burned, with the fire being extinguished well before even a tenth of the trees felt the heat. Still, the damage that had been done left an unsightly scar upon the otherwise-beautiful landscape.

The Gunslinger did his best to stand, but it felt as though every muscle in his body had abandoned him him his sleep. So he lay there in the grass, awaiting the group of pegasi that were quickly making their way toward him. He could hear their wings beating upon the morning breeze, carrying them effortlessly to where he lay. What I wouldn't give for a pair of wings like those. I could soar right over any more obstacles I may face between here and the Tower. The thought was a sweet one, but little more than an empty wish made by a man who was quickly starting to realize that he was reaching his limits.

They arrived on the ground a few minutes later, the six ponies forming a circle around him and looking down with worried, and somewhat puzzled, faces. The one directly in front of Roland knelt down on his forelegs so that he was face to face with the Gunslinger. He looked at outsider for some time before finally asking "Can you speak, sir?"

At first, Roland was taken aback by the question. Does he take me for a fool? Of course I know how to speak. However, when he attempted to relay this sentiment to his winged inquisitor, all he was able to do was cough. It was a long, heavy, breathless wheeze which sent his entire body into a brief spasm. The pegasus backed up a step and then looked to his companions. "Thats what I was afraid of, this fella's breathed in far to much smoke. We need to get 'im some medical attention."

A red pegasus to Roland's right was the next to speak up. "I'll bring him back to town," she said, "if someone else feels like helping me carry him."

The first pony nodded toward one of the three behind outside of the Gunslinger's vision. "Nimbus, that'd be you. The rest of us got a bit more work to do on that there fire. The flames may be out, but the last thing we need's a single ember startin' the whole thing up again." He looked down at Roland once more. "Listen fella, I know ya can't tell us what happened just yet, but I need to know 'fore I send ya off on your way... You have something to do with this fire? You start the damn thing?" Roland opened his mouth to respond and once again fell victim to another coughing fit. "Just nod ya head there, sir. No need to go killin' yourself just to give me an answer."

Roland calmed himself enough to control the coughing. He began to stand, leading the two pegasi on either side of him to rush forward and help keep him balanced. He looked the lead pegasus in the eyes, straightened, and shook his head. "Well alright then, I suppose ya were probably just unlucky enough to get caught in the middle of that inferno. Name's Windsor, head of this region's Disaster Brigade. Something goes wrong anywhere in this part of the country, ya can bet one of us will be there to fix it."

The Gunslinger had to focus every last bit of energy he had on holding back another cough, but it was enough for him to quickly rasp "Roland... of Gilead..." before he was lifted off his hooves by the two pegasi that had been keeping him steady. A moment later they were in the air, heading toward a castle on the side of a mountain just north of the slightly charred forest.