Preview
'Twas a bright, sunny afternoon as Fluttershy cautiously strolled through the Everfree Forest, filled saddle bags placed over her back. She had already left Zecora's hut a few minutes ago after venturing there to retrieve some special medicinal herbs and ingredients for one of her animal friends, who was sick with a severe fever. That alone took great courage, especially since she dreaded going through the Everfree Forest. Now the pale yellow pegasus mare had to trek through the seemingly scary Everfree Forest again to reach her cottage home safe and sound.
"Oh, I should have asked Zecora to go with me," she said to herself softly, trembling slightly as she walked. "Now, Fluttershy, you can do this. Just take a few deep breathes and you'll be fine." Fluttershy then deeply inhaled and exhaled before hearing the sounds of some twigs snapping nearby. "AHH!" She immediately retreated behind a nearby tree for a moment before peeking out her head, sweeping it in both directions to check if the coast was clear. Fluttershy then moved out from the tree's cover and resumed walking back to her cottage while feeling more cautious than before. A minute later, Fluttershy gasped as she the sound of twigs snapping under foot again, causing her to immediately turn around in the opposite direction.
"H-hello? A-a-anypony there? Hello?” Fluttershy waited for half a minute before turning back in the direction of her home, but just as she set one hoof forward, a huge creature twice her size instantly emerged several feet ahead of her, barring her path. The pale yellow pegasus mare gasped softly in recognizing the huge creature. “Oh, no! It’s…it’s a wi-wyvern.” And indeed it was; for this wyvern was covered in grey-green scales, stood up on two legs with both wings folded in and one deadly, venomous stinger at the end of its long tail. To the mare’s horror, the wyvern had already spotted her and began charging at her really fast. Likewise, Fluttershy screamed in immediately turning around and sprinting off from the pursuing predator, but alas, the wyvern ran faster than her. Just as the beast was about close in on the poor defenseless mare (who now had tears streaming from her beautiful teal eyes), Fluttershy heard a loud, young voice from behind her right shouting:
“Oh no you don't, scalie!” Within an instant, two things happened at once: while running, Fluttershy barely noticed a dark shape whizzing past on her right and colliding into the wyvern behind her. A second later, Fluttershy immediately skidded to a halt before turning around to gaze a sight to behold: a small, stone-armored, feline looking creature was currently standing defiantly before the larger wyvern, who now had been knocked over on it's side, but was quickly getting back up. As she witnessed this, Fluttershy yelped softly as another small, stone-armored figure rushed past her right side, shouting:
"Quickly, hide! We'll take care of this creep!" Without hesitation, Fluttershy quickly went behind a thick-trunk tree, while the second stone-like figure joined his brother in confronting the wyvern. As she stood there behind the tree, she heard the loud sounds of three separate snarls with the loudest coming from the wyvern, followed by loud snarling and roaring, indicating the beginning of an epic two-on-one fight. For Fluttershy, she found the sounds of that raging conflict most unbearable, on account that she never liked violence one single bit. The only thing from it that she found a little comforting were the young voices of the two stone-creatures shouting taunts at the larger wyvern, such as "Is that all you got?!" or "Heh! You gotta do better than that!" or "Oh yeah?! Well take this, ugly!" or "You think attacks like that can hurt us, lizard breathe?!" and so on. This unseen battle continued for a minute or two until finally Fluttershy heard the wyvern give a wailing roar before hearing it moving swiftly away from both her and the two stone-like creatures.
"Yeah, you better run, ya big meany!" shouted one of them. Seconds later, his companion spoke next:
"Phew! That winged lizard sure was tough." The second stone-creature chuckled lightly.
"Tell me about it. I'm surprised we didn't even die from all the times it stabbed us with it's sharp tail."
"Yeah. Oh, I forgot! What about the pegasus we just saved?"
"Don't worry, bro, I'm sure she's somewhere nearby. Hey, miss! Can you hear me? It's safe to come out now!" No sooner those words been spoken when Fluttershy immediately emerged from behind the large tree and quickly trotted over to her two rescuers, both of whom positioned side-by-side. When she halted a few inches from them, Fluttershy could finally observe what the two stone-like creatures looked like up close. She noticed that both of them were similar in size and almost entirely covered in ornately decorated stone armor, since some small areas of their bodies had patches of skin exposed. Fluttershy also noticed that the pair were taller than school-aged foals and yet shorter than full grown adult mares. Yet despite those common traits, each of the stone-armored beings differed from each other in physical appearance.
The first one had a somewhat resemblance to a tiger, which included his robust body featuring strong shoulders and back legs. Each of his four paws were armed with sets of sharp-looking claws, two of which were stained with blood from his scuffle with the wyvern. The stone feline's face also possessed a few distinct features, like his mouth was lined with what appeared to be exposed teeth while on the corners of his mouth were two large, curved fangs protruding outward. Finally, there were his light blue eyes, which were quite small in size and had a distinct looking uni-brow fixated above them.
The second being resembled a lion on account how of the swept-back ridges encircling his head and a few of the armor plates on his back had similitude to a lion's flowing mane. In contrast to his companion, this stone-armored feline had a bit more gracile body build, with his tail being thinner in width, and yet he still looked strong enough to put up a fight. On both his shoulders and thighs had unique stone protrusions on them that resembled pauldrons while his feet had three digits each instead of five, all of them were dull compared to his companion's sharp claws. The stone feline's face not only featured larger light blue eyes, but below his mouth were a quartet four large curved fangs that curved upward.
It took only a second or two for Fluttershy to notice all these features from the two statuesque felines, some of which would have frightened any other pony, but that didn't matter to her, for she just smiled big and wrapped her front limbs around each of their necks in a warm embrace.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you so much for saving me," she said excitedly, as she sequentially released her grip on them.
"No problem, ma'mm," replied the first stone feline, his lower jaw moving as he spoke. "We were happy to do it."
"Say, do you mind if I asked what your name was?" asked the second.
"Oh sure. My name is Fluttershy. What are your names?" Both felines looked at each other for a moment before speaking.
"Well, my name's Celosia," said the first one.
"And I'm his brother, Cenobia," added the other. For a moment, Fluttershy's eyes grew wide in hearing those names as she found herself feeling utterly fascinated and enthralled with both Celosia and Cenobia, especially since they were creatures she'd never seen or heard of before.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you two," she kindly replied. "So where do you live? Because I've never seen you around the Everfree Forest before." She immediately felt regret over asking this when she observed the now sorrowful looks on Celosia and Cenobia's faces. "Oh, I'm sorry. If it's something that you don't wish to talk about, I won't pressure you."
"Oh, no, it's alright, Fluttershy," replied Cenobia sadly. "You didn't mean any harm. You see, this forest isn't our home. And..." Cenobia looked down dolefully as he stalled for several seconds before his brother spoke for him:
"I'm afraid it's a hard thing we're goin' through, Fluttershy. But to put it simply, we have no home to go back to right now." Celosia lifted one of his arms and sympathetically placed it over his brother's back. Fluttershy was deeply torn on the inside from what she heard. That both Celosia and Cenobia, the two young strangers who saved her life, had no home in which to return. She immediately felt an urge within herself to show compassion toward them and thus acted on it when she ask:
"Hey, boys, if you want, you two can come and stay at my cottage." Within an instant, both stone-armored felines looked at her with expressions of both surprise and utter joy for a moment before Cenobia excitedly replied:
"Wow, really? Gee, thanks, Fluttershy!"
"Yeah!" added Celosia. "We'd love to come and stay at your cottage!"
"Hey, wait a minute. Where is your cottage anyway?"
"Oh, it's just down that way," said Fluttershy, pointing one hoof down in direction of where the two felines were standing. Both Celosia and Cenobia moved away from each other and looked down at the direction that the pegasus mare indicated. They looked back toward a smiling Fluttershy while she softly spoke: "Just follow me and we'll be there in no time." With that, she proceed to trot confidently in the direction of her cottage, with both Celosia and Cenobia eagerly following close behind her to their new home.
Meanwhile, two Royal Guard stallion unicorns, named North and Baker, from Canterlot were patrolling a forested area a few miles outside the city. While venturing through the area with some caution, the two stallions also couldn't help feeling jubilant at the same time. For it had been a few months since the official announcement of the next upcoming Equestria Games being held at the Crystal Empire up north and the two Royal Guards, being sports fans themselves, were utterly looking forward to it. Throughout the first hour of day's patrol, they both conversed and speculating about which teams they were rooting for, which events they liked best, and even joked about whether the their favorite teams would defeat one or the other. Presently both had finished laughing during this conversation when Baker immediately halted in his steps, quickly motioning North to do the same.
"Hey, listen," said Baker quietly. Seconds later, both guards began hearing a series of soft, yet strong, thumps softly rumbling through the ground. After listening to them for a few seconds, the two patrol guards realized that the thumps were gradually growing louder, which also meant that whoever or whatever was making them was getting closer to their position.
"So what now?" asked North.
"I advise we go forward and investigate." North had a surprised look on his face upon hearing this suggestion.
"Are you sure? I say we go back for a squadron. Whatever that is, it could be dangerous."
"We can't know that for sure until we find out. If it tries to attack us, then we'll go back for squadron. Okay?" North sighed reluctantly before he replied:
"Alright. Lead the way." The two Royal Guards ventured toward the source of the immense thumps. After several minutes, they eventually came across a small meadow, measuring in around roughly 100 feet in diameter, in which by that time they've gotten close enough to the series of thumps to observe that the vibrations they sent have grown strong enough to wobble the trees slightly. Ironically, upon reaching the edge of this meadow, the two patrolling stallion guards also discovered the source of the immense thumps---one that both surprised and amazed them. On the other side of the meadow was a tall, lean, and mysterious giant who was slowly walking in their direction. Physically, the colossal being appeared to be a little more than twice as tall as Princess Celestia, covered in stone armor, and was apparently holding an immense sword in his right hand. The two stallions watched in awe for a minute as the giant slowly ventured toward them before Baker decided to calmly walk forward, much to the surprise of North who quietly asked him:
"Wait. What are you doing?" Baker didn't reply as he cautiously walked out into the meadow until he stopped at about a few feet from its edge. The unicorn guard fixed his gaze at the approaching giant and waved at him with one hoof, shouting:
"Hello there, sir! Can we help you?!" The giant ahead immediately stopped before setting his teal eyes toward the smaller pony stallion and lifted up his left arm toward Baker for a moment in a friendly gesture, shouting in a loud, baritone voice:
"Greetings, little horse knight. My name is Gaius and I would appreciate your help. Be still while I come closer to you and your companion to further elaborate." With that, Gaius resumed his walk toward the Royal Guard, this time at a little faster pace. North, who had chosen to step out while Gaius was speaking, looked next to his fellow Royal Guard and said:
"I sure hope you know what you're doing, buddy. I mean this seems crazy."
"I know, but this Gaius fella sounds friendly enough. Besides, the Princesses always emphasize the importance of extending one's hoof in friendship, so I thought I'd make an example with Gaius here."
"Let's just hope it works," North replied reluctantly. Within a minute or two, the enormous figure of Gaius managed to stop a few feet from both of the Royal Guards, thus giving them a closer view of the titanic knight. Although Gaius was well covered in stone armor, some parts of his body, especially around his waist, were unprotected and covered with blueish-grey fur. His feet were unusual on account that not only were they shaped like spheroid stones, but that Gaius could easily stand up straight on them without any fear of leaning or toppling over. Surrounding the giant's neck was a ring of spikes jutting outward, a few of which were broken off, while his mouth looked quite small and on each side of his head were two pairs of straight stone protrusions---features that if seen from afar, would resemble a knight's helmet. When Baker observed Gaius' right arm, he was astounded to find that sword he was "carrying" happened to be literally attached to the end, while on his left arm in place of where hand's digits would have been are a few stubs of stone that protruded outward resembling very crude looking fingers. But what really awed and surprised both Royal Guards about Gaius, besides his great size and perplexing appearance, were his brilliant teal eyes, both pulsing with life. The two stallions observed how the lower part of Gaius' bizarre mouth moved as he spoke:
"I thank you for waiting patiently, little horse knights."
"Y-you're welcome, s-s-sir," replied North, feeling slightly nervous around the immense Gaius, who had now taken notice of the stallion's nervousness.
"Please, sir," said Gaius gently. "You do not need to fear me." Gaius placed the end of his left arm over his armored chest for a moment. "For I swear unto you by my knight's honor that I will not harm you or your companion." Both North and Baker felt at ease and a little surprised in hearing Gaius' vow, especially since, as Royal Guards themselves, they usually take such vows quite seriously.
"Thank you for your assurances, Gaius," said Baker. "Now, could please tell us what you need help with?" The immense knight nodded his head.
"Of course. You see, I have no idea of where I am right now, for I'm suppose to be dead. Therefore, I must ask you: is this world by any chance the afterlife? And if it isn't, by what name is this world called?" For a moment, both unicorn stallions had puzzled looks as Gaius disclosed this information about himself, but they immediately composed themselves as North asked the giant knight:
"Um, sir, I'm afraid that where you are right now is not the afterlife, but it's a world called Equestria. But it's almost as beautiful though."
"And Equestria also happens to be our home world," added Baker. Gaius nodded before raising the end of his left arm up to below his mouth for a few seconds. The giant knight sequentially asks:
"May I ask who are the current monarchs over Equestria? And where I can find them? For I'd like to have an audience with them as soon as possible."
"They are both our Royal Highnesses, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," replied North. "Both of whom reside in Equestria's capitol, Canterlot, sir Gaius. May I ask why you want an audience with them?"
"Because I feel that they alone could possibly help me with some questions that you might not be able to answer."
"He's got a point there," Baker noted to North before refocusing on Gaius. "Sir, if you'll please wait here with my comrade, I'll head right over to Canterlot and announce your arrival to the Princesses and your intentions of having a peaceable audience with them. Then I come back with a full squadron of unicorns to escort you over to Canterlot."
"That will be most appreciated, little knight," replied Gaius. "Please, go and do as you see fit. I'll wait here patiently with your companion until you and your squadron returns."
"Yes, sir," answer Baker before he turned around and walked toward the thickness of the forest before suddenly disappearing in quick flash of bright light. Gaius, amazed at the sight, stepped back with one spheroid foot before looking down at North, politely asking him:
"Excuse me, sir, could what exactly your comrade just now did?"
