Times Forgottenby HeavyMetalKnightChaptersChapter One: AwakeningChapter Two: A Vast DesertChapter Three: Hazards Chapter Four: Companionship Chapter Five: ReliefInterlude IChapter Six: AssassinChapter One: AwakeningAt first it was darkness... but then... came... light. Or at least what I assumed was light. My vision was a little blurry but it cleared up eventually. Before me were tall frost covered trees, hundreds of them. Cold air swept through my coat as I felt the discomfort of something beneath me. It felt hard and damp. I lift up my head as white snow fell from my head and muzzle. I looked up and saw the glimmer of moonlight from under the tree's branches. A blanket of snow covered the forest floor. The moonlight shone upon the snow making it seem... whiter. The air was cold sure, but at least it was not windy; a cold breeze would be enough to make me shiver to death. I had hoped it was not the case. The sight of it is breathtaking... but... what am I doing here? My body shook from head to tail, goose eggs appeared on my coat. It was obvious--I was freezing. I need to find a place to be kept warm from this weather, but where would I go? Alas, I do not know where I would find warmth in such a dense forest. I put all my strength into getting up, straining and shaking to lift myself up. When I got myself up I wanted to make sure I stood on my hooves. I looked around to see if there were any signs of shelter close by, but it looked like there weren't. I tried lifting my hoof up as it sunk in the cold wet snow. Sooner than that I started trudging through the snow not knowing where to go. I knew I had to find refuge but I won't find anything here. There has to be somewhere safe out here! The snow was thick and hard to to move through, the trees were either very close together or farther apart. The perpetual moonlight still shone in the night sky so it was not so hard to see where I was going. My body kept shivering from the cold, steam coming out of my mouth as I took each breath. Every hoofstep was a struggle; it was like I was never used to this weather! I probably wasn't, I don't remember. I could not hear anything except for myself, my breathing, and my hoofsteps. All I saw before me was more snow covered trees packed even more denser than ever. Darkness was its entrance, tall shadows fell upon the blanket of snow. I'm not sure if I prefer this route I decided, unnerved by its imposing appearance, I should probably turn back and head in another direction. Something about the way these trees looked gave me an uncomfortable chill. It wasn't just the thick trees but darkness coursed through through the wood in ways I dare not repeat. I then heard a more than unnerving sound; a deep moan which came from those very trees. My fur stood on end and I immediately turned around to face behind me. I tried to be quick and run away from the sounds that came from those trees. It did not matter if I dove down into the snow, as long as I was far from whatever made that hideous noise I would be alright... I hope. It became a little bit easier for me to move through the snow, perhaps I was getting used to moving around in it. I was thankfully able to get more than a hundred yards away from those trees. With each trot I panted out more steam from my mouth. I trudged through more snow despite whatever chunks of it clung to my coat and muzzle. I hoped I was heading in a safer direction than where I was originally going. It would have been a blessing if I had a compass, then I would know exactly which direction I'm headed. However since I don't I would have to rely on my intuition which, I am sure, was flawed. I mustn't be too doubtful, I'm sure there is a place where I can be secure. I walked for what seemed an eternity. My hooves ached and chapped from walking so much. The trees started to part around me as I came upon a clearing. As I got closer I realized that there was a mound or a small hill within the center. The mound had an opening which had an overhang. Hopefully this would be the shelter he was looking for. I hope this won't be too perilous I approached the mound carefully, hoping there wasn't something sleeping within it. I squinted to get a better look inside. It didn't seem like anything was residing in the mound, so I got even closer. The mound was roughly bigger than I was and the opening should be large enough for me to fit inside. I did my best to crawl under the overhang, braving the cold wet feeling of snow under my stomach. Once I managed to get inside I bumped my head on the roof of the mound, sending bits of dirt over my face and muzzle. I shook it off. Well, it is a little warmer in here. Not by much though. Still, it's better than sleeping out in the cold. As little room as it had I had to cope with it... at least for the rest of the night. Since I was already on the ground I should have no trouble finding some comfort. I shifted, tossed and turned until I found my comfort spot. I have to get out of this forest. Tomorrow must be the day. "Ugh..." I groaned tiredly. My body ached when I awoke. I felt the sudden chill of morning air from the opening. Some of the snow from the mound started to melt over; water dripped from the overhang onto the snow. I looked through the opening and saw that the snow on the ground was also beginning to melt, leaving patches of grass to sprout from the ground. I wanted to get a better look, so I decided to crawl out of the mound. Dirt poured over me when I bumped my head again in my attempt to do so. Dang it! Once I got out I ended up barreling onto the snow outside; yelping as I somersaulted on the forest floor. Once I stopped I was covered in dirt snow and clippings of grass. I even got some into my mouth which I spat out. I got back up from my tumble to see more of the landscape in front of me. Not so different from before, only now in the daytime. There were more patches of grass in the snow and from what I started to feel the air was getting warmer. I looked up to the skies only to find an overcast sky, grey with a small spot for the sun to shine. The brightness of it was enough to make me squint my eyes. I averted my eyes from it to focus on a more important task: getting out of this forest. I wasn't sure where to go. I only found this place to rest, that was the only reason. This forest seemed huge but I was sure that I would find a way out and soon. I decided to make my way back from where I began and continue from there. It became easier to move with the snow melting; it was not as thick as last night. Every hoofstep I took left prints in the crunchy snow and the dirt beneath it. Every tree looked no different from the rest much like before. They were still covered in frost and snow but less as much this time around. I came upon the parting trees once more, signalling that I had to be on the right path to... wherever I was going. What I haven't noticed before was how the branches connected from tree to tree. It was like they were somehow grown that way, or maybe something else entirely but I probably won't know for sure. It was at this time where I started to think about the unnerving trees again. Before it didn't seem clear but now I started to remember them vividly. Those trees... they had some sort of dark aura around them... like black snakes slithering between the branches... But then I remembered the worst thing about them: the moaning. The eerie moan of the trees didn't get to me as much as it did remembering it. It was like there were lost souls crying out to be saved, only to have them suffer instead. No. I can't torment myself with whatever little thing bothers me. I must press on! As I continued my trek I came across some familiar grounds. I could even see the hoofprints I left from last night. They had to be mine. The hoofprints in question were deep and led back to where I began. I picked up my pace and followed where my hoofsteps led. I suppose this is one way of "retracing my steps". The tree which I last laid upon was now in sight. There was still a crunched up area from where I woke up. I wasn't sure WHAT I was thinking when I walked up to the tree... but then I noticed something. There seemed to have been something on the tree that he missed entirely. As I got closer I realized there was a symbol right above where I last lay. The symbol depicted a six pointed star surrounded by five smaller ones. What is this? I wondered. Something about this symbol... it must have been familiar to me in some way. But... I couldn't remember. It's like a nagging feeling, except nothing comes up. Did it have any significance? Was it made here recently? Does it belong to a pony? What is this symbol... and why do I feel like I should know what this is? As sudden as the wind, I heard crunching hoofsteps approaching me from behind. I turned to face another pony who walked up to me. It was an older stallion by the looks of him. He was an Earth pony who had baggy eyes, a coarse beard, and a salt and pepper colored mane. His cutie mark was covered by all the luggage he carried around his waist. "Good morn'n." He greeted in a very deep voice. "Uh... hello." I said nervously. "How'v y'been?" I didn't know how to answer without sounding insane. "Confused, I guess. Who are you?" "Name's Oak. Some ponies call me Ronny." he introduced himself before he asked curiously, "What'cha do'n out here this deep in the forest?" "I honestly don't know, Mr. Oak." He raised a brow but nodded understandably. "How 'bout you? Ya gotta name?" I searched in my thoughts for an answer... but then I felt a continuous sinking feeling in my chest. For some reason I unable to find the appropriate answer. "Um, sir?" He sounded concerned. "It's a just a simple question." "I... I don't know!" I was frightened. "I can't remember!" The older stallion's eyes widened in surprise, "You can't remember your own name?" What is wrong with me? Why can't I remember my own name?! It may be possible that my name wasn't the only thing I had forgotten... but rather my older memories entirely. The only thing I could remember was waking up under this very tree, anything before that seemed nonexistent. All of the memories I've collected were more recent. I didn't just start wondering what my name was... but who I WAS! "I'm sorry," I apologized, "I can't seem to remember my name, or why I'm in this forest." "No need to be sorry 'bout it." He told me calmly, "Ya must have amnesia or something." "Amnesia..." It made sense. "That must be why I'm having trouble remembering." It shouldn't have been to surprising to me. Waking up in a forest, not knowing who you are or why you're here... It was obvious. And because I can't remember anything prior to waking up in a forest, I couldn't think of how it happened in the first place. "Anyway, I have to git go'n." He decided, "My wife is wait'n for me now." "Wait!" I suddenly said, "Do you know the way out of this place?" "Eh? You don't know your way outta here?" "No sir." "All right. I'll help ya." I got very excited when he acquiesced, "You will? Thank you so much!" "Eh, no problem." He smiled before he turned to face the opposite direction. "Just follow me and you'll be good." As he began to trot, I rushed to his side before he got too far away. He started humming a cheery and upbeat tune I wasn't familiar with. I would have hummed with him if it wasn't for another question that bothered me so. "Excuse me, Mr. Oak?" "Something on yer mind?" "Do you know what that symbol on that tree means?" I asked him politely. He turned his head back towards the tree I mentioned and turned back to me, "I don't think I do. I've never seen a star like that on anything before. Sorry if that don't answer yer question." "That's alright." I told him, "Maybe I'll find out soon." It had to have been at least half an hour before we finally made it out. The trees were behind us now and all that's left before us was... a vast open plain. It was blanketed with snow yet there were several patches of ground all across the land. There was not another tree in sight. It seemed very open yet... empty. "Well, we made it out." The other stallion assured. "Would you prefer if I help you navigate across this place?" "What is this place?" I asked in awe--but not in a good sense. "This is simply a plain. It's usually grassy, but with all this snow still around it makes it pretty hard for ANYTHING to grow!" Oak then started to laugh. I was very confused, "Why are you laughing? What's so funny?" "Haha! Nothing. I'm just try'n ta light'n the mood is all." After that we stopped talking and continued moving. As I walked I started to become aware of my surroundings, everything from eyeing large hills to listening to the hollow sound of the wind that picked up. The ground beneath my hooves felt a little different from when I was in the forest. The patches revealed a lighter colored dirt, beige in color. Withered plants were dotted everywhere, dying from dehydration. Looking up at the sky I noticed it was still overcast, but the sun was blocked by the grey clouds. What kind of place is this? What happened here? "Are ya hungry?" He asked me. I could hear my stomach start to growl and rumble as we walked. "Um... Yes." "Lets stop here for a bit." He went over to the side close to a large rock. "What about your wife?" I reminded him. "Didn't you say she would be waiting for you?" "Ah, she can wait a little longer." He said nonchalantly. For a time we both sat down next to the boulder and started eating. He had unpacked a few sandwiches shaped like a cat's face. Inside it was stuffed with lettuce, tomato, among other condiments. When I took a bite I felt the juices from the tomato drip down my muzzle. I savored every bite from this creation. "This is really good!" I complimented. "But why is it shaped like a cat?" "Yeah, ma little one always makes the bread into the shapes of cats. She's quite the creative one." "I'm guessing she likes cats?" "I dunno." He took several bites before he spoke once again, "We've never had one before. Though our neighbors have one that wanders the block where we live. Maybe that's where she got her inspiration." Hmm... odd. But not completely out of the ordina-- "I have something to ask." I didn't know what I was thinking when I said "What? What is it?" Ronny seemed confused and worried. "Something else bother'n ya?" "In the forest... there were trees I saw..." I had trouble with answering. "They... they were surrounded by... a dark aura." He looked at me as if I was crazy (I hoped I wasn't), frowning and raising his brow again. It was clear he didn't believe me, that much is true. "Dark aura, eh?" By the tone in his voice, he was not convinced. "Boy, I've been in that forest all ma life and I ain't ever seen any 'dark aura' on any tree." It couldn't hurt to ask him another question. "Do you know anything about dark aura, Mr. Oak?" His brow came down when I asked. "I'm afraid I don't know much about that kinda thing. Sorry." "Well... do you know anypony who does?" I continued to pry. "Hmm..." Once he finished his meal he put a hoof on his chin. "Ah--no, no wait..." As he was thinking, I continued to finish my sandwich. He kept muttering on the topic for almost a good two minutes. A slight breeze had swept through the land which felt rather chilly to me, yet it didn't seem to bother the older stallion. "Oh! Now I remember!" He found the answer. "I don't know anypony specifically, but I do know a place where they talk about that sort of thing; a town so to speak." "A town?" "Yep. Stargarde's the name of it. I've never been there m'self but it's not that far from my hometown." Stargarde. Strange name... yet it sounds... very familiar, somehow. Chapter Two: A Vast Desert"How far is your home?" I asked. "Not far, now." Ron replied, "Just a few more minutes and we'll reach it." After our lunch we continued to trek across the plains. The older stallion knew where he was going, whereas I did not. I kept looking all around and still saw nothing, other than melting snow and patches of uncovered sand. There were hardly any animals around, except for a single bird that flew over us as we walked. Our hooves crunched in the mix of snow and sand, leaving continuous tracks. What will I do once we get there? It was the question I continued asking myself. Should I just wander into a town I knew nothing about? I couldn't ask to stay with him and his family, it would seem rather rude. There had to be another alternative. Thoughts of what Ron had said earlier about Stargarde soon flooded my mind again. If this town has somepony who could tell me about dark aura... Then it hit me! "Mr. Oak?" "Yes?" He turned to me as he walked. "Could you take me to Stargarde?" I asked earnestly, "You said it wasn't far from your hometown." "What?!" He seemed surprised for whatever reason. I was more than confused at his remark. "What's wrong?" "I... mean... it's just that..." He started fidgeting nervously. "What?" I grew more concerned by the minute. "S-S-Stargarde's not a very friendly place. Why the hay would you wanna go there?!" I had grown rather suspicious. "When I asked you if you knew somepony who knew about dark aura," I quickly reminded him, "you told me that the town talks about that sort of thing." "Well... yeah. But I'd never think you'd consider going there!" As he looked at me his eyes were wide and fearful. This doesn't make any sense! Ron Oak was obviously not comfortable talking about it, which still made little sense. When he first mentioned Stargarde he wasn't as frightened about it, yet when I asked for him to take me there he looked like he was about to wet himself! Maybe he didn't think I'd actually want to go there. He probably just wanted to answer my question earlier. "Why is Stargarde an unfriendly place?" I demanded, "What is so frightening about this place?" Oak remained silent, not even glancing back at me. "Lets just... stop talking about it." He decided hastily. "I think I can see my town on the horizon." There's something he's not telling me. I thought to myself, growing more skeptical as I ponder. It dawned on me that he was definitely hiding something. His behavior not only made me feel anxious around him but it also made him more sketchy. He had kept quiet for a longer span of time than usual, which made the silence more unpleasant than it should. As we continued to walk across the sandy landscape I spotted ten large white structures jutting out of a sandy hill. They were curved inward and seemed to be massive. Six seemed completely in tact while the other four were either broken or damaged in some way. I wondered what it could have been, whether they were pillars or played some part in construction. Yet... the longer I look at them, they seem to actually resemble... They're bones. Rib bones. I guessed. I had not seen such bones in my life--from what I could remember, anyway, whatever those bones belong to must have been immense in size. I didn't ponder on this for long, as I was about to witness something else entirely. Mr. Oak stopped dead in his tracks. I came up to him and looked at his blank expression. He saw something, that was obvious, but what he saw was somewhere off in the distance. I tried to snap him out of it but he was still as a statue. "We have to run." He said quietly. "What is it? What's going on?" I attempted to get an answer. Oak seemed to quiver, "We need ta get off the road. Quick! Follow me!" Oak galloped off the side of the road faster than I thought. I didn't know why, but out of instinct I started running after him. Sand spattered everywhere as I picked up speed. I squinted to prevent any particles from getting into my eyes from all the sand being kicked. Through my limited vision I could see Oak turning back to me as he sprinted. "COME ON!" He shouted. "What the hay's going on?!" I had gotten tired of running and him not answering. I caught up to him as he said, "We're take'n a slight detour!" "Why? What did you see?" "HALT!!!" I heard a shout behind me. I really didn't want to look behind me out of fear of who it was. I heard more yells from behind me, possibly several ponies chasing after us. They continued to call after us to halt but Oak just kept running. Hooves behind us kept pounding as they seemed to be getting close. It was likely our pursuers were Earth ponies or unicorns, because if they were pegasi they wouldn't have been so noticeable. It was at this point where I begun to question this ordeal even further. Why were we being chased by these ponies? And what do they want with Oak? Oak sprinted farther away. I wasn't sure how an old stallion could run so fast but I didn't question it. Perhaps he was gifted sprinter? Maybe. Through the sand I witnessed something else... a long flying shaft shot across the air towards Ron Oak. When it struck Oak's shoulder he yelled and tumbled on the sand beneath. I shook the sand off my face and outta my mane as I rushed to Oak's collapsed body. It didn't take long to catch up to him since he fell into the sand. The object was a spear now lodged in his shoulder blade, bleeding trickles of blood from the wound. "Mr. Oak!" I was concerned for his safety as the other ponies were catching up. "Forget about me, kid!" He yelled in pain, "Just go! Keep move'n forward!" "FREEZE!" I heard a pony yell off in the distance. "Quick, take the bag." He told me as he gasped for breath, "It has plenty of food and water to last you for a long while." I was reluctant at first but I acquiesced to his request. "Alright." I glanced behind to see seven stallions rushing towards us from two hundred feet away. They seemed to be wearing purple saddle armor and helmets. They were armed with spears at their sides and furious gazes upon their faces. I faced ahead and galloped forward as I tried hard to outrun them. It felt conflicting to leave that pony behind, but on the other hoof he was already injured and we wouldn't have escaped from them. Still... I wish I could've helped. The pounding hooves ceased from behind me. I dared not to turn back now that they've stopped. Yet I was still confused. I still didn't know what was happening and why. I was out of breath so I had to stop and rest. As I let the dry air into my lungs the world around me seemed to quiet down. Dunes surrounded the landscape before me, the skies still overcast. I dared to look behind me. When I did, the armored stallions were removing the spear from his body. They worked together to carry him over one of their backs. They didn't seem to notice me which was good. The seven armored stallions turned their way back to whence they came. At the time I wasn't sure where they came from but I wasn't willing to find out. So, with them gone, I continued moving forward. Ron was not specific about it, only telling me to keep moving forward. There must be a settlement there. I said to myself. Maybe Stargarde is in that direction! With that in mind I had no reason to turn back! I continued on my way, not knowing what's ahead of me. Before me was nothing more than sandy dunes, small wilted plants, as well as a few skeletons of dead animals. As to how it came to be I didn't know. The air was still, not a breeze to be felt. It was warm out here but not too warm. Overcast skies still blocked the sun which might have been why it wasn't so hot. Either way, I had to keep on going. As of this point... I felt like an idiot. How did I not realize I was a unicorn?! I said to myself, irritated. It had taken me this long to realize that I have a horn at the top of my head. Am I the most brilliant?! And since I'm a unicorn I could use magic... but now I don't remember how to use it... why does this keep happening to me? As annoyed as I was at my own stupidity, I had bigger problems ahead of me. I had kept moving forward for possibly two or three hours since Oak was taken. I had lied down next to a large boulder snacking on the contents of his bag. More cat shaped sandwiches were there as well as a thermos filled with water. I savored every bite like before, considering there wasn't a whole lot of food to be had in the bag itself. Ron Oak stated there was enough food to "last for a long while". As for how long that would be seemed more relevant now than ever before. The overcast sky began to darken, meaning the day was transitioning into night. There seemed to have been a faint glimpse of the sun setting just beyond the horizon. The day had definitely been long and probably won't be the first. I could feel my eyes start to sag once I finished eating. It was easy to tell that I was without a doubt exhausted, letting out a yawn every now and then. As I curled myself up I saw my own cutie mark, which looked like a silver shield. On that shield was a six pointed star which appeared similar to the one on that tree in in the forest. Hmm... what if?... no. No that can't be. Whatever thought I had I pushed aside for hopes of sleep. In spite of closing my eyes sleep alluded me. Every time I tried to make myself comfortable I couldn't fall asleep somehow. I needed sleep. I need to rest for what lies ahead of me. I tried closing my eyes tighter, hoping I would fall asleep that way. It didn't work. I was getting increasingly frustrated at my futile attempts to sleep. "Go to sleep, you foal!" I shouted at myself. It was getting to a point where I had to find newer tactics to sleep. I quickly got myself up to pace back and forth from where I stood. I thought that maybe I could tire myself out that way. Sand had been kicked around by my hooves as I brusquely paced in one spot for almost a minute. Another minute passes and still nothing. "Why am I having such a hard time sleeping?" I asked myself aloud. With nopony else around it became hard not to talk to myself. I had been so used to Oak's company for a while before he was taken. It felt much better having another pony around to talk to, instead of having to talk to yourself. Despite that, I still wondered why he had acted so nervous. I had also wondered about the seven guards and why they captured him. Those guards were after him for a reason. Was he wanted for something? Did they subdue him for something he did? If that was the case then that would make him a criminal. But I can't just make an assumption like that; I just met the guy! My legs began to ache the more I paced. I stopped myself only to collapse on the ground with an audible thud. I might have paced for more than I needed to. My head was heavy with questions and worries about the previous events. It was at a point where it was too much to bear. I needed to stop thinking about these questions and focus on the most important task... SLEEP. At first I seemed to be accomplishing my goal. That was... until I had heard something. I had opened my eyes as quickly as possible when I did. It was a crunching sound that came from somewhere behind the boulder. I jolted up from where I lay, afraid of what made that noise. For several moments I stood as still as a statue, waiting for the sound to fill my ears once more. My heart was sinking and my breath was steady yet silent. I wasn't sure what instinct told me to sneak behind the boulder, but I couldn't just stand still without knowing what's out there. Tip-toeing my way behind the boulder I had peered my head behind the boulder, to see whatever's out there. All I could see beyond was nothing I have not already seen; sand and dunes. I moved my ears around to try and pick up the sound. The only sound that I had heard was the cold wind sweeping across the land. I had felt the icy breeze run through my mane and coat. My body started to shiver when it did. I felt the wind getting colder with every second passing. Suddenly, a new sensation took me... Something's behind me... My head slowly turned to face a another pony. A hardened, fierce looking, dark unicorn stallion rushed toward me with almost blinding speeds. Within an instant I was pinned down onto the sandy floor by this other stallion. The light from the moon shone, and it was then when I got a better view of his face. His eyes showed deep fury, his crooked teeth were bared with hatred. This dark colored stallion was not planning to let me go any time soon. His breath was hot and smelled hideously foul, like he ate a rotten pile of dung. "You!" He breathed in my face. "I'll make you pay!" I was too afraid to speak, worried that he would kill me faster. By foul stench or otherwise is anypony's guess. His horn had a hellish red glow when he lit it. A metallic ringing invaded my ears as he wore a sickening grin. He had levitated a rather large bladed knife pointed directly at me. The mysterious stallion started to chuckle quietly as he breathed his next sentence. "I will enjoy EVERY moment of this!" He began to cackle. I've got to get this guy off me! I thought quickly. I had my back hooves curled up under him into a kicking position. As the sick mugger was about to stab I bucked him off with as much force as I could, sending off into the air and onto the ground a few feet away. I hurried to get myself back up, flailing my hooves to finally find footing on the sand. Huh. Guess I don't know my own strength. However, he got himself back up quickly and growled furiously. He rushed in for another assault. Since I was aware of him this time I evaded his attack easily. I knew I had to fight him somehow but fighting him with bare hooves wasn't exactly the most efficient way of dealing with him. I have to disarm him. He held his knife downward while trying to circle around me. I circled him clockwise to make sure he didn't come behind me. It became a bit of a waiting game to see who moved first. I kept my gaze on him anticipating his next move, even though I wasn't sure what I had to do to get away from him. He bared his teeth again as he was about to come at me once more. The furious stallion slashed the knife in the air when he got close. I tried to buck him but I ended up missing him and he took advantage of it. He slashed the blade wildly like a maniac, trying his best to at least lacerate me. I moved quickly to evade his attacks, however I found myself getting cut in the process. It stung but I'll get over it. His eyes were red and crazed as if he was on something or was just plain mad. He roared as he came at me flailing his blade faster than ever before. As quick as he was, he left a window of opportunity for me. I bucked his face with a lot of force and the knife flew from his grasp. I rushed to the flying knife and caught it with levitation. I rushed to the downed stallion and held the knife out in front of me. I've done it! I held the knife to his throat when I had gotten close enough. He didn't even try to escape, he only stared at me with eyes full of hatred. I gave him an angry look and he seemed to calm down, strangely enough. It was probably because I had pinned him down, and kicked his flank. Nothing could help his breath though so I did my best not to gag. "Look," I had told him with hostility, "I don't know who you are or why you want to kill me, but I swear, I WILL kill you if you even dare attack me again!" The stallion grimaced and flared his nostrils. "Fffffine!" "Leave. Now!" I had not noticed how intimidating I seemed to him. I allowed him to get up, knife still at his throat. He backed up as I moved toward him. I wanted to make sure that he got my warning and wasn't going to try anything. He backed away and ran, but stopped just a few yards away. He glanced back at me with a tranquil fury. "Just so you know," He said, "that if I find you again... I WILL kill you. And then, I'll have my retribution!" Without another word, he was gone. I sighed deeply in great relief and was immensely grateful he was out of sight. My heart pounded steadily now and no longer felt like it was about to stop. I could finally smell fresher air this time. I walked back to where I tried to sleep; next to the boulder. I laid myself down and with that, I believed to have found what I was looking for... sleep. Dark clouds began to rumble as I trekked across countless dunes. It seemed ridiculous to me how vast this desert is! The wind started to pick up and I had felt a few drips of rain falling down on me. Soon enough the sand will become wet and make the day that much harder. Thankfully I hadn't seen any flashes of lightning. I REALLY didn't want to be in a storm at all! I had to keep going and hopefully reach my destination... wherever that may be. Ron was never specific on how far it was, and I continued hoping that it wasn't too far off. Whatever this place is, it better be somewhere warm and DRY! I thought irritably. After the skirmish last night, I made sure to take the knife with me, just in case anything happens. I had kept it in the bag that Ron Oak gave me. Every time I reminded myself of last night the stallion's words echoed into my head; "...if I find you again... I WILL kill you. And then, I'll have my retribution." He wanted to kill me for something I did. Considering I don't remember anything before the forest, something might have happened between me and that stallion. I might have actually done something to deserve vengeance! As for what I don't remember! The scariest thought of all was whether or not I was a good pony at all. I could have been a vile cretin for all I know! I honestly didn't want to be one, that's for sure. I mean, how could I live with myself knowing that I was a terrible pony? I've thought long and hard about that. Thunder rolled loudly, the rain soaked my fur down to the bone. The bag was damp and it's likely the food was in the same condition. I was miserable, tired, wet... and probably smelled horrible too. It wouldn't have been as bad as that stallion's breath though, that's for sure! Lightning flashed as I continued across the muddy sand, making me flinch at the incredibly loud roll of thunder afterward. But then... I saw what looked like a sign of hope... "A light post!" I gasped. A pale white light illuminated a wooded post. The light came from a lamp hanging from the post's arch. As I got closer I noticed that the post also had a square shaped sign on it's shaft. It was old and dilapidated in appearance, as if it had been there for decades. I trotted over to said post to get a better view of the sign. I couldn't tell what it said at first because I didn't recognize the font--and the light was blindingly bright. After a while I managed to figure out what it actually said: WELCOME TO THE TOWN OF GLANCHESTER! Glanchester?! I could've sworn he meant Stargarde! I was a little more than upset that it wasn't Stargarde. It didn't really seem to matter too much considering that it's at least somewhere to stay for now. Beyond the post was a silhouette of what looked like a small town, but when lightning flashed once more the town itself came into view. I didn't think twice before galloping to the town, unaware of what may lie there. Puddles of water were splayed across the area, most of them were fairly wide in size. I did my best to avoid them as much as possible; I don't need to get even more wet. As I got closer I noticed the entrance was a large iron gate guarded by two armored ponies. Both ponies were armed with spears and wore copper colored saddle armor and helmets. The one on the left was taller than the other and stockier, meanwhile the one on the left was shorter and had a lanky appearance. They had taken notice of me when I came within a few yards from them. "Hold on!" The bigger one said, with a slightly feminine voice. "State your business!" Said the other. I stopped in front of them and noticed that the larger one was actually a mare. She looked even taller than I was! The other was a stallion, slightly shorter than me. The mare's coat was a chestnut brown, while the other's was a baby blue. Both had stern faces and were not planning on letting me in without further knowledge. "I'm only a traveler; looking for shelter." I told them truthfully. "Look'n fer shelter are ya? Ha!" The small stallion challenged, "Like I haven't heard that one before!" "Must you really?" The mare turned to the other, "Every time somepony comes here, you just have to believe that!" "What? This bloke looks rather suspicious!" "You think EVERYPONY'S suspicious!" "I do not!" "Yes you do and you know it!" "Alright, alright. Say somepony was to come here and they had bulges in their bags almost bigger than them, wouldn't you find them the least bit suspicious?" "He's only got one bag!" "That's not what I'm say'n!" "That's not the point!..." "Uh..." I tried to get their attention even though they just kept bickering. "Anyway..." The mare decided to end it there, thankfully, "What's your name, traveler?" As they argued I came up with something suitable for now, "Vagabond. My name is Vagabond." Both of them looked at one another, brows raised. They leaned to the other and started whispering to one another. I couldn't tell what they were saying since both of them were speaking so quietly in comparison to when they argued. The small stallion's head jerked back in response to something the mare said. I'll melt into a puddle by the time they're finished! I thought impatiently. They broke out of their little chat after a few minutes, "Consider yourself lucky, Mr. Vagabond." The stallion went over to unlock the gate with a ring of keys. After fiddling for the right key he eventually found it and proceeded. He had then opened on end of the iron gate with his hoof and gestured me in. I was more than thankful for FINALLY opening the dang thing! As I was about to enter, the stallion guard put a hoof on my shoulder. "Don't do anythin' to make me regret this." He whispered, trying to sound intimidating. "Oh, just leave him alone!" The mare guard said disgruntled. He lifted his hoof away from my shoulder as I went about my business. The town itself was average sized I suppose. There were not a lot of ponies in sight because of the rain, yet those few walked through it without a care in the world. The ground was paved in cobblestone tile with some areas having piles of bird crap. The small buildings were all one story and looked as if they had been there for ages! There was even a pungent odor surrounding the premises that made my nose want to leave my muzzle. Other ponies didn't seem to mind. This place is in a pretty bad shape. Regardless of how bad it looked, anywhere is better than the desert. An old mare sat on a crooked wooden bench in the middle of the street. She seemed to have a frail gait as she sat. As for why an old mare would sit on a bench in the pouring rain, is beyond me. I didn't focus on it for too long however. I had figured the best decision would be to find an inn or something; I knew I couldn't just roam around in the rain. As I explored the town, I stumbled upon a wide building with a dilapidated sign which said, "GLANCHESTER INN". Original, huh? I honestly couldn't have cared less about the bland name, so I just went in anyway. When I opened the door, I was greeted by a green stallion with a wide grin. He wore a messy brown bow tie and apron. "Welcome to Glanchster Inn!" He said cheerfully, "How may I be of service?" "Are there any rooms available?" I asked. "Oh sure, sure! Not many ponies are staying at the moment so you're good to go!" "How much for one night?" "About ten bits." Fortunately for me--not so much for Oak--there were around thirty bits in the bag I carried along with the food and knife. I opened up the bag and found the ten bits required for a room. I handed him the gold pieces as he grinned even wider than before. He then gestured me inside the spacious establishment. As I walked in, there were at least fewer than eight ponies inside, some sitting on a fine leather couch. Some of them stared at me blankly while others seemed more than a little curious. A dim light emitted from an old fashioned lamp. "Here," the worker went over to a desk at brought back a key, "This'll be your room key. It has a number on it which tells you which room your staying." "Alright then." I said calmly. 10 was the number on the key. It sounded coincidental at first since that was how much I paid him. I looked around a bit to get used to my surroundings. The floor was wooden with all kinds of mysterious stains. There was circular rug here underneath a coffee table, right in front of the couch. Above the couch was a painting depicting a castle of sorts on a mountainside. The castle had a unique design to it, with intricate spires and a luscious waterfall in the background. Hmm... does that place actually exist? I pondered. "Ahem!" The cheery stallion came up to me. "Is something wrong?" I turned to him and said, "No. No, not all." "I couldn't help but notice that you were admiring such a fabulous painting of Canterlot. It's cheap but still looks nice." "Canterlot?" That was the first time I ever heard that name. "Silly pony! How can you NOT know what Canterlot is?" He sounded aghast at my question. "It's a famous place, I'm guessing?" "Canterlot used to be a glorious city, and was the home of the two Princesses." "Used to be?" The stallion was even more surprised by that than my first question. "Well, we don't know what happened. All we know is that the kingdom fell into ruins somehow. Anypony who knows about it is most likely very old or dead!" What kind of world IS this?! Chapter Three: Hazards Chapter Three: Hazards Room 10 was a pretty dismal looking place. The wallpaper didn't match the color of the cracked ceiling, the floor had multiple sticky stains, and the bathroom was rather small and dirty. The smell wasn't too bad, but it wasn't great either. As for the bed... well, it wasn't pleasing to the eye, but anything is better than sleeping on the floor. I'm not staying here for very long. I just need some rest. I told myself. The lighting was just as mediocre as the lobby. The only source came from a single, flower shaped lamp attached to the wall, which lit up about a third of the room. There were no windows here, which made me feel a little anxious. Instead, there was a loud, rectangular air conditioner close by the bed. It was a pretty rusty and old looking model, which was probably made a very long time ago. The old machine did its job though. Cool air flowed throughout the entire room, making it feel a little chilly. It reminded me of how cold it was in the forest, but thankfully it wasn't that cold. Since the room was rather small in size, I walked over to my bed in a matter of seconds. I dried myself off before I even entered the room, because who likes to sleep to sleep cold and wet? Not me. I got myself onto the bed which felt better than the sand, but it could have been softer and much more comfortable. I pulled the covers over my body and proceeded to rest right where I lay. The only ambiance to be heard was the air conditioner's low hum. It wasn't too loud to be annoyed by, and it wasn't too quiet not to be heard. The hum was actually pretty relaxing to me for some reason, I couldn't explain why. It made me think little about everything that transpired and allowed me to stay calm. As for how long it will last, I didn't know, but I enjoyed every moment of it. Eventually, it seemed as though the air conditioners hum lulled into closing my eyes. There was nothing. Nothing but the hum... my bed... and the pitch black. I was so tired, and now I can finally get a better rest. However... in the darkness, I saw a faint glow. A shining light came towards me, becoming brighter by the second. The shape of the light began to morph into a spiral. As it did, the light's color began to shift into a dark purple. Then I heard voices; all indistinct and unknown. They began to groan as it got closer, pulling my body towards it. The light morphed again, but... I couldn't tell what it was. The amorphous light was getting even bigger with each passing moment. My body shook vigorously at the sight of it. Even though I didn't know what the hay it was, I knew it wasn't good. YOU... MUSSS... I heard it say in a chorus of voices. Before it could finish its sentence... I awoke. Sweat covered my body from muzzle to hoof. I was panting out of fear for whatever the hay that thing was. It was relieving to awake from that... brief as it was. Needless to say, I was a little more than shaken by that dream. The air conditioner still hummed, and the flower lamp was still on. It seemed like nothing has changed all since I slept. That didn't worry me as much as the dream however. That light... what was it? It swam in my mind almost as much as Stargarde, the stallion, Canterlot and the rest of the world. What remained in the back of my skull was the thought of the star symbol on the tree, and dark aura surrounding a group of trees. There was so many questions to ask, but there was no way of having every single one answered. I think I've spent enough time here. I told myself, Now to get outta here. It didn't matter how much I slept, I had no strong desire of staying any longer than necessary. I needed to find somewhere else; a place where I might find more answers to the questions that bothered me so. This place doesn't seem to trustworthy enough to house said answers. While Stargarde is probably out of my reach, It most likely won't matter as much. After I got myself out of bed my hooves led me straight for the door. I made sure I grabbed my bag and fastened it to my waist before I did. As I was about to turn the knob with my magic, I noticed something wasn't right. Looking down there was a shadow of somepony standing just behind the door. Without hesitating, I got my knife out in case if it was the stallion who tried to kill me. I breathed quietly as I slowly turned the knob. The knob creaked more loudly than intended which made me cringe. I held my knife upwards in front of me in case this pony was eager to try something. I opened the door as quickly as I could, knife pointed directly at the unknown pony. I then heard a girly squeal come out of a green stallion that was before me. He cowered in front of me, shielding his face. "Oh, goodness! Please, spare me!" The manager sobbed fearfully. I couldn't have been more embarrassed. "Crap! I'm so sorry, I thought y--" "For Celestia's sake, you almost killed me! Why do have a knife with you, eh?!" He broke away from his cowering and stood up. "It's a long story. Anyway, I was about to check out of this place and be on my way." His frown faded into an uncomfortable smile. "Check out? Already?" "Yes. I wasn't planning on staying very long." "B-b-but you just got here. A-a-a-and we haven't had many guests staying for such a minimal amount of time. Are you really sure you want to check out so soon?" What the hay's this guy doing?! "Listen," I tried to be as tranquil as possible, "As comfortable as this place may be, I have to be somewhere else." As I exited the room the manager kept getting in my way, even going as far as to walk backwards while in the hallway. I tried walking around him, but he incessantly blocked my path. He still had that nervous smile across his face which was making me uncomfortable. The terrible lighting made the hallway seem more ominous than it should, combined with this green stallion made every hair on my neck stand on end. I was getting annoyed with this guy quickly, and had to tell him off. "I don't know what you want, but seriously, get outta my way!" My patience was tested, and I couldn't take it anymore. "P-p-please, sir! We have decent food, and it'll fill you up before you go!" He insisted, eyes widened with nervousness. "I'm fine! I don't need to eat, I need you to quit backing up and stop stalling!" "Where do you plan to go?" If it meant getting this guy to stop, I figured I may as well tell him. "Somewhere where I can get information on dark aura." He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me with a confused gaze. "Dark aura, you say? Well, sir, I'm afraid that nopony here or anywhere else knows anything about that sort of thing." He twitched his lip when he said that. "Really? Then why are you acting so fidgety then, huh?" I interrogated, "There has to be somepony who knows about it." "Why are you so interested in that sort of thing? It's pointless if you ask me." He backed himself to the corridor wall. "Cut the crap, and quit hiding something! I know you're not telling me something important." "H-h-how could you suspect something like that?!" He brought back his uncomfortable smile. "Well, you're making it seem obvious." I pointed out. The manager bowed his head. He must have realized that what he was doing was unprofessional. That was probably the first time I ever backed somepony into a corner, and I hoped it would be the last. The once cheery and kinda creepy manager, now hung his eyes low to the floor. I almost felt bad for him, if not for the fact that he was lying to me about something. When he composed himself, he said, "Alright. Alright. I'll talk." I wasted no time. "Okay then. What do you know about dark aura?" "Well, I know a pony who--" All of a sudden, a loud blast filled my ears as some kind of laser shot the manager. His body convulsed as he collapsed, coiled in what looked like black electric tendrils. My jaw dropped and eyes widened at the sight of it. I turned to the direction of the shooter, and saw something I won't ever forget: A cloaked pony, who's horn was engulfed in black aura. He wore what looked like skin-tight, metal armor underneath his dark cloak. As he glared at me, I saw that he wore a mask that concealed his entire face; white with crescent shapes on it's sides. Oh, crap! His horn glowed brightly as he was about to shoot again. When he did, it looked like a bolt of black, swirling lightning. Luckily for me I moved quickly to evade the blast. By then I was making way down the hall, being chased down some masked assailant in a cloak. This was more than a good reason to get the hay out of here! I got to the lobby and almost tripped over the rug and coffee table. I thankfully kept my footing before that could happen. Not long after that, the masked pony caught up and tried to attack me again. I galloped to the door as he shot another dark bolt, which destroyed the table into small, splintered pieces. The wooden shards scraped my coat, causing me to bleed slightly. With my magic I was able to open the door quickly before he could catch up. Once I was out the door, the rain had ceased and all the puddles were almost dried up. When I turned back, the masked pony was nowhere to be found. This had me very worried. I didn't know who it was but it wasn't somepony friendly, that's for sure. Whether or not he was still after me remained unknown. I practically debated whether that's a good thing or not. I have to be vigilant this time. In case that masked figure or vengeful stallion comes around, I must be prepared. The faint sun dared glow behind the overcast sky. I've spent more time than I needed to in this town. My reasoning was to make sure the masked assailant was nowhere close. How could I have known? I wasn't prepared to deal with something like that! I was able to fend off the angry stallion, but how was I to face off against that guy, who used dark magic? I hid myself in an alley behind two buildings. It sounds pansy, I know. I had eaten at least two more cat sandwiches, and drank from the thermos in that span of time. It felt pretty humbling to hide from a threat you don't know how to face. It made me feel... weak. I knew I can't be weak and expect to survive a dangerous world. If only I had a better weapon than this knife. I contemplated. As I took another bite of succulent sandwich, I noticed a fluffy animal began to approach me from out in the streets; a brown dog with white underneath and on its snout. I don't think I've ever seen a dog before, until now. He didn't seem too big thankfully, so if he was aggressive I could intimidate him away from my food. The animal was sniffing the air towards the alley with intent on finding food. When the dog came closer he began to wag his tail and pant, his tongue sticking out. I was a little hesitant at first, yet he didn't appear aggressive at all. Hmm... should I, or should I not?... The dog got within two feet from me as he began sniffing the air again. His tail wagged more frequently as he stared and whined at me. He really wanted my sandwich. He then sat upright, big brown eyes gazing at me, taunting me to give up at least a sliver of food. Every time I looked at him he still fixed his gaze on the food. "Here." I said as I offered some of my sandwich with magic. The dog got himself up and went over to the floating cat sandwich. He seemed reluctant to take it after all this time, until he took a bite out of it and proceeded to tuck in. Within two bites he gulped the whole thing down. After he ate it, he wagged his tail vigorously and rushed up to me. Instantly he was on top of me. "Oof!" He may not be big, but he sure felt heavier than I thought! He incessantly licked my face with his incredibly slobbery tongue in appreciation. While it was disgusting, it was much better than almost getting killed... twice. I pushed him away lightly to stop licking me, and it seemed to work. I was grinning from the dog's level of affection. It made me feel comfortable that at least something isn't trying to kill me. "Well, you sure are friendly." I said aloud, "I wonder if you have a name." The dog cocked its head to the side. He seemed to stare elsewhere, and then bolted off. I didn't what came over me, but I decided to follow the dog to wherever it was going. I did my best to keep up with him, despite being much faster than I was. He turned the corner on a dime, and took off into another alley. I followed him in to see why he came here. "Why the hay would you come here?" I talked to the dog. He stopped at a particular spot next to a trashcan and started digging. Both his front paws moved back and forth in a rhythm as he dug them into the dry earth. I wasn't sure why he was doing it, but I was curious to see what comes next. Once he stopped digging, he stuck his head in the recently dug up hole, and took out a leather band with his mouth. The band had a gold tag on it, which means this band is actually his collar. He came over to me and placed the collar on the ground before me. He nudged the collar towards me and panted happily. I picked up the collar with my magic to look at the tag, which read: OUR PRECIOUS LITTLE BOOMER "Boomer, huh? So that's your name?" The dog made a throaty bark in response to this, as if he was happy about it. He started to run and jump around me for whatever reason. Obviously this dog knows his own name. He eventually stopped front and center, and sat upright. He stared at the collar I held with magic intensely. At first I didn't understand but then it came to me... "Oh! You want me to put it on for you." I realized. I hovered the collar over his head and placed it around his neck. Carefully I fastened his collar to make sure it wouldn't fall off. Once the collar was placed, I dismissed the levitation spell. After that he barked several times with excitement, pleased with the endeavor. A strange yet warm feeling arose in my chest. I was glad I made this dog's day. "Well, Boomer, it was nice meeting you." I said my farewell to him. However, as I went to exit the alley, Boomer followed me out. As I got into the street, Boomer continued to follow. It's like he didn't want to leave me or something. I tried to out run him but he would always catch up. When I got close to the entrance, I stared back and saw one of the most pathetic sights ever: Boomer laid himself down and stared forlornly at me. As an added measure he even whined sadly too. Aw, crap! I can't just leave him behind! And I don't want to be alone again. "Alright," I decided out of sympathy, "you can come along." When I said that, Boomer sprung out of his depressed state and got back to being himself. He sprinted towards me with blinding speeds, kicking up the dirt with his paws. He almost bowled me over if hadn't stopped himself as he got near. I pet him with a hoof on his head, which he absolutely loved. "Let's go, Boomer." When Boomer and I came to the gate, the two guards quickly took notice. The stallion glared at me, still suspicious of me. He eyed me and Boomer with contempt. The larger, female guard was still a bit more pleasant than he was. "So," he taunted, "Had enough dawdling for today, Mr. Vagabond?" "I came here to rest, and I did just that." I explained, "Now I shall be on my way." "Oh, looky here. And you decided to take that mutt with you, eh?" Boomer started to growl lowly. "I'm seriously getting tired of this, Swift Pansy!" The female guard scolded. I did my best to stifle a laugh. "Swift Pansy?" "Daisy!" Swift was notably embarrassed, "Why did you have to say my name?!" "'Cause I'm getting sick of your suspicions and wild accusations, like: 'they could be wanted criminals', or, 'he could be patient from a mental institution', and my personal favorite, 'she's probably a street walker!'" "They could've been true! Ya never know!" Just ignore them. It's not worth it. I told myself as I just kept walking. Boomer caught up with me within a few seconds after leaving the two guards to quarrel. While I could still hear them, I paid no mind and went straight ahead. However, I planned to go in a very different direction, away from the lamppost. I decided that I would go around the walls of the town and head out beyond it. Before I did so, I looked over to Boomer who was cleaning himself with his tongue. "Let's go, Boomer." I told him. Boomer got up, shook his furry coat, and went to my right side. Glanchester was far out of sight and out of mind at this point. Good thing too. If it gives me a chance get the hay away from that masked pony, I don't care! The best part of getting out was knowing that I was not alone. Sure, he's a dog, but it doesn't matter. He's the only friend I have at this point. Boomer and I have made a stop nearby a small flowing stream. While the water seemed clean enough to drink, I wasn't taking any chances. Especially since I had a thermos. It was possible that there parasites in that water that could most likely make me or Boomer Ill. Or maybe I'm just paranoid. I saw Boomer walk towards the stream to drink. I rushed over to try and stop him, but he was already lapping his tongue into the stream. I grit my teeth for fear he may have made a mistake. However, the dog seemed alright, as if the water had no effect on him. "Huh. Maybe I'm just paranoid." I pondered aloud, relieved nothing happened to Boomer. The stream wasn't completely desolate however. I've noticed that there were a few small animals close by. They looked kind of like squirrels but without long bushy tails, as well as tufts of hair on their ears. The "squirrels" were eating what looked like brown nuts next to a small plant. Every time Boomer looked at them he would stand still, and his fluffy tail would stick up high. I did my best to deter him from doing anything and he seemed to obey. "Just leave them alone." I continued to persuade him. I wasn't sure where to go from here since there were no signs of civilization out here other than Glanchester. Oak's town and Stargarde are the only other places that I know about, but are far from my reach. The stream seemed to be over a mile--possibly more--and it did harbor some life around it, and most likely in it. It is possible that there might be fish swimming in the water, considering the amount of bubbles on its surface. You know, for a wasteland, it seems there's still a natural beauty to it. I called Boomer over to me when he seemed like he was about to chase after one of those "squirrels". While him retrieving food isn't exactly a bad thing, but I'm pretty sure ponies don't eat meat... right? That and I'm sure I won't like the sight, or smell, of a dead animal. I admired the sights for a little while longer until I felt it was the right time to move on. "Boomer, come on." Faster than expected, he beckoned my call. He kicked up a bit of dirt as he ran to me. Boomer lolled out his tongue happily once he came to my side. Without another word I made the decision to walk along the stream. Boomer followed at my side, lolling his tongue in and out as he strode. I wasn't sure exactly where this stream will take me the more I follow it. Regardless, there was no point in turning back. When I sniffed the air I noticed there was a slight odor coming from the brook. It was probably nothing to worry about; rivers have strange smells, right? Either way I won't let a smell flood my thoughts for the time being. I thought about the recent events that had occurred earlier; like the masked pony. Thoughts of Canterlot also alluded me. What really happened to that kingdom? If it really was destroyed, how did it get that way? It seemed pretty pointless to ponder on it at that point, so I did what I could to put the thoughts aside. Focusing on what lay ahead was much more important to me than wondering what happened to a castle. With two ponies out for my blood, and possibly bigger creatures, having to think about anything other than survival would be foolish. Though... if fate would be kind, perhaps I'll find somepony who knows about dark magic. Well, somepony who won't kill me, that's for sure. A few dead willows came into view, drooping just above the stream. Surrounding them were hundreds of smaller grassy plants. At first it didn't seem like there was any creature to be seen... at least, until three came out into the open. They were like giant weasels with brown fur and long sharpened teeth. Their eyes were large but beady. A chattering noise resonated through their vocal chords. The moved together in a pack, as if they're out hunting. I looked over to Boomer, who was getting pretty antsy at the sight of the enlarged polecats. His tail was still, much like when he stared at the rodents. Perhaps they won't bother us. I thought nervously. The chattering erupted into a growl as they began to approach us, unfortunately. I used my magic to grab the knife from my bag. Unlike the masked pony who had dark magic, these big weasels have teeth. As long as they don't have poison or carry disease, I'd be fine. As for Boomer however, I wasn't so sure. They looked a little bit bigger than he was and could probably overpower him. As they stalked towards us, trying to threaten us with their growling, I had my knife out to jab at whichever one comes at me. "Easy, boy." I told Boomer, who was growling lowly at them. One of them barred their teeth and let out a trilling noise. Without warning, it sprung towards me. Right when it came close to my muzzle, I swiftly swung my knife. The blade cut across its throat. The over-sized stoat squealed in agony as it was flung to the side, just a few feet away. The other two weasels sounded enraged for what happened to their fallen member. They both sprinted--which looked awkward considering their elongated bodies--towards us. Boomer rushed to the one on the left while I stood my ground. Sadly--and stupidly--my timing on my swing was off and the weasel was on top of me, and I accidentally let go of my knife. The creature tried to bite at my throat, gnashing teeth inches from my neck. For Boomer-sized weasels, they sure are strong! I tried to push the creature off of me but it was determined to eat my flesh. It also had particularly sharp, hooked claws which latched onto my fur. The sound of trilling and Boomer's vicious growling flooded my ears. Is this it? I asked myself, Am I going to die and be eaten by a bunch of overgrown ferrets? It's so hilarious, it's terrible! I looked over at Boomer who was also being tackled by the other weasel, biting chunks of brown fur away from his body. Boomer was trying to bite at its throat. The weasel on top of me was persistent, longing to kill me as I tried to push him away again. I turned in the other direction to see my knife lying on the ground a few feet away. And then it came to me... No! I'm not gonna die by some weasel! While I struggled to keep him away from my neck, I lit my horn to levitate the knife. I positioned the blade in the direction of the weasel. "Get off of me!!!" I exclaimed. I sent the knife hurling towards the creature with my magic, darting at it like a missile. The blade struck through his head at blinding speeds, killing it instantly. The knife severed its brain as dark blood poured out of its head. As I got the dead animal off of me, I pulled the knife from the weasel's skull. Boomer continued to struggle with the weasel on him, though the dog did manage to wound the weasel back. I still levitated the the knife, so I did what needed to be done. I launched the knife at the assailing stoat, sending it flying as fast as before. The weasel squealed its last breath. Boomer got the lifeless off him and ran to my side, stopping a few times to lick his bleeding wounds. "Come on, Boomer, lets get going." Boomer started whining every time he licked the bite marks. He was genuinely hurt, yet I didn't know what to do about it. I tried searching in my bag for bandages or something to stop the bleeding. Shuffling through the bag, the only thing I could find were a stack of small square napkins. Hopefully this will help. I levitated the napkins towards Boomer, who was still attempting to cleanse his injuries. The dog was rather nervous seeing, what to him, looks like small strange sheets of paper. Every time I try to place a napkin over the bite marks, Boomer would immediately shy away from it. He probably wasn't familiar with what was doing, hence his reaction. If the napkin came within inches of the wound Boomer would snap at it. "Hold still," I did my best to coax him, "I'm trying to help." For a long while it seemed like he wasn't gonna cooperate, but then he seemed to calm down as I came closer. I dabbed at the wounds on him with the napkins, to which Boomer winced and whimpered. The napkins quickly became drenched with the red sticky substance. It stopped some of the bleeding, but napkins would only do so much to help. He needs bandages, but there are none to be found. He didn't whimper as much, which was good. Boomer was still in pain but at least he's alright. As long as those creatures didn't have any kind of disease, he should be fine. He could still walk, thankfully. "Alright, pal, lets see if we can find a town close by. If they have first-aid kits maybe I can get you patched up." He only wagged his tail, and lolled his tongue out in response. "And should there be a town somewhere, maybe I'll find the answers I'm looking f-" At that moment something then made a snapping noise, and grasped a hold of my neck. It coiled around my throat, like a snake. I gasped for air as something strong pulled the leathery thing down, forcing me to the ground. As I struggled for air, Boomer barked ferociously at something but I couldn't see what it was, since all I could see was the gray skies above. All of a sudden I hear an assemblage of shouts and voices all around me. I could only make out a few shapes moving around me, couldn't distinguish them. I then heard Boomer yelping helplessly, scraping the ground as if he was being dragged. I tried to call out to him but I couldn't. Instantly, a figure loomed over me. A unicorn stallion by the looks of him, with a long protrusion coming out his head where his mane should be. He leaned back a little, which revealed this protrusion to actually be his mane. His coat was a orange clay-ish color. His long standing mane was a darker shade. He stared into my line of sight with red-orange eyes. His grin was long and spread from one cheek to the other. "Nighty-night, sprog!" He said in a thin, raspy voice. He raised a hoof above me and then... darkness took over me. My head was pounding when I awoke, and my vision was blurry. The sounds of voices rose as my vision cleared. By then, I realized I was somewhere else entirely. "Look," I heard somepony's voice, "he's waking up!" "Wh-Where am I?" I said aloud, unaware of anypony staring at me. "Not anyplace you want to be, unfortunate as that may be." A yellow stallion in front of me informed. He was tied up with rope, as well as everypony else. I scanned my surroundings and noticed I was not in a desert. Instead, I seemed to be in some sort dark brown wooden room, filled with a large number of tied up ponies. It looked more like a trashy garage than a room, though. The wood which made the place up appeared worn and old, as if it had been here for a decade or so. A single light bulb dangling from the ceiling, illuminated a quarter of the area. "Why is everypony tied up?" I asked the stallion, "What is happening?!" "Shh, quiet down!" He hissed, "Listen, they can hear you from outside!" "You don't want that to happen." A mare said, frightened. "What?" I lowered my voice, acquiescing to be quieter, "Tell me what's going on. Please." The yellow stallion sighed deeply before he explained, "Those guys out there are dangerous. They kidnap anypony naive enough to venture out in the wastes alone, or have serious bad luck. Either way, that's why we're here." He must be talking about those stallions who knocked me out. I assumed. "They're outlaws--I think." He continued, "I couldn't tell you much more than that. So far they've done nothing but keep us captive for some reason, but I don't wanna know what they'll actually do." "How do you know so much and yet so little?" "I'm just theorizing, that's all. But if I had to make a guess, we're all gonna face some serious trouble soon." I squinted to try and see anything that was beyond what's illuminated. The most I could make out was a shoddy door in front of me, a desk on my left, and what looked like a large rectangular box with a door on my right. The box could have been like a small shed or something, which could have some stuff in there. "Psst! Excuse me." I whispered to the yellow stallion. "Yes? What is it?" He asked quietly. "Do you know what's in there?" I couldn't point with my hooves since they are bound, so I turned my head over to the box to help him understand. "Oh," He understood, "there's some weapons and ammunition in there. Unfortunately, there isn't a way to open it. The key to it is out of our reach, and since almost all of us are Earth ponies we can't use magic to get'em. Unless..." "Unless? Wait. I'm a unicorn, I can use magic to levitate the key." He smiled slightly, "Oh yeah. If you could use a levitation spell, then you can open up the shed." His smile then faded, "But it's only good for that. I don't those would be good for much else." Oh, I've got an idea! "Very well. Do you know where the key is?" I then asked. He tried leaning in, but he could only go so far before the rope would stop him. "it's on a hook above the desk." When I looked back over to my left the desk, I saw a gold key above it on a hook as he said. I concentrated on using my magic, since the object was far from my reach. My horn lit up with aura reaching for the key several feet away. I struggled to lift it off the hook, straining in doing so. The key became illuminated in my aura, but was slowly being lifted of the hook. I grit my teeth as I was getting closer to getting it off. Every inch had been tough, yet in spite of the strain... I got it! I said in my mind when I completed my goal. "I got the key, sir!" I repeated. "That's great and all," He didn't seem amused, "but if they catch you floating that key, they'll shoot you dead." I was already one step ahead, however, for I then let my aura go and tossed the key towards me. The small key flew right before me right down to my hooves. I was panting since it was incredibly exhausting to do that. I let myself rest for a little before doing anything else. Once I caught my breath, I prepared myself to levitate the key again. This time however, I placed the key behind me when I heard the door slammed open. Everypony jumped in fright at the sudden sight of the of the pony who opened the door; the orange clay colored stallion. "Everypony comfortable?" He seemingly asked nicely in his thin, raspy voice. The captives shook their heads like they were saying "no". "No? Well too bad! You sprogs are gonna be here for the rest of the night until we find something to do with you!" He then looked over at me, "And as for you, don't be trying anything... or..." He levitated something with peach colored aura. It looked like a strange contraption, like a long cannon with a handle and two barrels... It's a gun! Wait, how do I know what a gun is? "...You'll have to meet a good o'l friend o mine, Mister Shotgun!" The captive ponies were panicking at the sudden sight of the weapon; screaming, crying, they were in terror. I was a little anxious when he pointed it at me, but nowhere near as frightened as everypony else. It was also rather strange how I knew what a gun was, but not my own name. The commotion was so overbearing that the psychotic stallion aimed his gun at the ceiling. He shot the ceiling which made a loud BOOM, reminiscent of a roll of thunder. My ears were pinging after the blast, dust and dirt fell on top of those below. Everypony became silent and didn't utter a word. "Ha ha ha!" He cackled maniacally, "Shuts 'em up every time!" He put his gun away and slammed the door shut. By then, everypony shivered in fear. I swallowed a bit of saliva, afraid of what to expect next. I knew I couldn't cower down, not to that crazy pony. I know I'm stronger than that. I never backed down from that vengeful stallion, I got away from that masked pony, and Boomer and I fought off those weasels. I'm getting outta here, and I won't let that sicko kill me or any of these ponies! "Let's face facts," The yellow stallion stated hopelessly, "we're all screwed." I levitated the keys behind me, lifting them up in front of my face. I narrowed my eyes and floated the key over to the small shed on my right. The keyhole was a bit difficult to see, so I squinted to get a good view. It was just below the handle. I floated the key towards the hole with some struggle in doing so. I managed to get the end of it deep in the keyhole, but I had a bit of trouble turning it. A bead of sweat ran down my face as I strained to unlock it. If it was closer it would be much easier, but since it was at a further distance... well, it's harder than it looks. "Hey, mister!" The yellow stallion whispered, "I think you ought'a be quicker!" "I'm... trying!" I grunted. Right as the lock was about to click, I started hearing yelling and screaming from outside. I ignored the ruckus, and the lock clicked. I let go of the key which stuck to the lock. Now, for the rest. The thunderous sound of gunshots rang in my ears, and the vile ponies screamed in agony. It made me wonder what was going on, but I had to finish my task. I focused on the door handle to turn it, which did so easily. I pulled the door open to which everypony in here started staring at me. I could make out a few things inside, considering most of the contents were hidden in shadow. However, I saw something gleam below; a long reflective object. Just what I was looking for. I smiled widely. The sound of gunfire became rather frequent as I levitated the object. I floated it towards me to get a good look at it. It was much bigger than the knife I had, and looked sharper. I lowered the weapon towards the rope that bound me. I worked my way quickly to cut through each coil rope, which took a shorter time than I thought. The blade sliced through with incredible ease. Everypony watched in awe as the rope that once trapped me, now dropped to the floor. They all gasped in surprise and delight. "I love this knife!" I said as I kissed the flat of the blade. Just as I was about to cut the yellow stallion free however, the clay colored stallion burst through. He had lacerations across his face and body, the blood dripping out from his wounds. His face was in horror, his mouth gaping. "Don't. You. Frigging. Dare!" He sputtered as he aimed the shotgun at me. Suddenly, a long blade came through his throat, causing him to gag. The blade slid out with surgical precision. Blood poured out of his neck like a cascading waterfall. His eyes rolled back as he collapsed on floor beneath. The mares shrieked as blood was leaking out. My eyes widened at the sight of it. The weapon that pierced him was a spear with a long shaft. "Oh my goodness!" A mare squealed. "He's dead!" Another cried. "Is everypony alright?" A voice asked, which sounded like a mare. A silhouette of a figure outside emerged, and came into the light. The voice came from a tan pegasus mare with a short scarlet mane. I stood my ground as she stepped in, wary of her presence. Her eyes were as red as the flames that burned in a pit outside. She opened up her right wing and grasped the spear protruding from the stallion's lifeless body. She unsheathed the weapon from his neck, and tucked the weapon under her wing. I didn't know pegasi could do that! She began to eye everypony in the room. "Do not worry, everypony," She announced confidently, "The scumbag criminals who imprisoned you are dead." Everypony cheered in delight at the mare's announcement. I was rather surprised to hear it as well. She had to have been the cause of the commotion all this time. She then made eye contact with me. "I see you have gotten yourself free." She observed, "That's a good thing, I need some help doing the same for these folks." At first I was speechless, but then I uttered out, "Who are you?" "I am Red Yarrow." She answered with a sharp tone. Chapter Four: Companionship Chapter Four: Companionship Sleep was becoming more of a curse than a blessing. When I slept that night, after the horrible ordeal, another nightmare crept into my mind. Unlike last time this one was a little more coherent... but it was far worse. All I remembered seeing were eerie, wispy looking ponies. They weren't white like stupid bed sheet ghosts; the apparitions were like smoke, flowing in the breeze. There had been a small number of them as well. Their faces however were scarred and torn. Black empty voids replaced their eyes, their lips ripped open, rotted teeth had shown from their mouths. What are you?! I shouted in my mind. For whatever reason, it seemed as though they heard me. All empty eyes were on me, as if I was something of interest to them. I couldn't see myself, the only thing I could do was look at the wispy ponies. Slowly but surely, they started to come to me. I shook violently with terror, unsure of what they were going to do next. My breathing was loud which made me feel even more helpless if they could hear me. When I turned around... "They were among the living." A sensual voice whispered in my ear. The pony who said that was no doubt female. She too was like the others, except she didn't look dead, nor did was she the same color. She was dark purple in color, with enormous black wings. She had a horn as well, jagged and sharp. Her face looked more alive than the others, which made me even more frightened. Her mane was long and even fringes covered the top of her forehead. She was alluring to say the least. Who are you? I asked, still couldn't speak outside my mind. "I am the reason you exist." She told me plainly. What? What do you mean?! A ghastly moan flooded my ears as the mare grinned widely. I turn back and one of the ghost-like ponies appeared right before me. It's maw gaped open as it struck me, swallowing me whole. "Ah!" I exclaimed, jolting up from the ground where I laid. Thankfully I was back in reality... not that it was any better. After the events from last night, all the ponies who were held captive now slept freely on the ground outside of their prison; a dilapidated shack of sorts. Everypony else had slept close to a large, circular stone fire pit. Bodies of rugged stallions were strewn about, hordes of flies buzzed around the bloody corpses. Their odor was worse. Taking a small whiff of air was enough to make me very queasy. Somehow, the other ponies didn't seem to mind the stench much, since none of them gagged in their sleep. It's weird how anypony can withstand such a smell. Who knows, maybe they're used to it? My coat was rather sandy from sleeping on the ground, small particles and dust falling as I got myself on my hooves. At the time I thought I was the only one awake. I looked towards the pit--which was covered in ash--and noticed the yellow stallion from before had slept next to it. However, just as I was about to come near him, I felt a hoof land on my shoulder. Startled, I jumped and turned to see the scarlet maned mare from yesterday; Red Yarrow. Her eyes seemed redder in color than I previously remembered. The spear she used was strapped to her back. "Is everything alright, good sir?" She asked, sounding somewhat concerned. "Uh... yeah," I lied, "yeah, I'm fine." "Are you sure? You seem rather on edge." "I'm just... disturbed, about last night." "I can understand that. Those miscreants are undoubtedly unhinged! Fortunately, I managed to uncover one of their hideouts, and was able to save the innocent victims inside." I should probably find out more. "May I ask how you found it?" She made a curious face when I asked her. "In an odd sort of occurrence, a gorgeous border collie was the one who led me to this place." "You mean Boomer?" I was surprised and excited to hear that. "The dog had a collar on when I saw him. He had a rope tied to it, which looked bitten off." "It is him!" She smiled a little, "I figured he had to be yours. He must have figured out how to free himself, same as you." "Do you know where he is?" As elated as I was, I was also worried for Boomer's sake. "Hmm..." Red pondered, "...I'm not sure. I haven't seen him since last night." "Oh, great." If only he had been here right now. A few of the ponies began to wake from their slumber. The yellow stallion was one of the first few who awoke, I noticed. The wretched sound of gagging and vomiting both filled ears and turned my stomach. Ponies were complaining audibly about the horrible stench of death. The yellow stallion came up to the two of us holding his nostrils. He didn't seem to take the smell of rotting corpses the same way as Red could... somehow. "Ugh! This stench is worse than the smell of my grandmother's wart!" The stallion exclaimed, "But, at least we're all free." "Yes. And now that you have rested, you can all go home now." Red told him kindly. "Thank you for yer kindness, Miss Yarrow. Oh, and you too... whatever your name is." "No problem." I said politely. "What is your name, good sir?" "I don't remember at the top o my head," The yellow stallion explained, "but most ponies just call me by 'Dandelion'." "Well, Dandelion, I trust you know most of these ponies here?" Red asked him. "Some but not everypony. A few of us came from the same town, not far from here." My eyes widened when he said that. "There's a town close by?" "Of course. It's west of here; three miles if I'm not mistaken." "Fantastic!" Red Yarrow said quickly, "What is the name of this town of yours?" "Farvein, ma'am." There was a bit of silence from Red when he told her the name. "I see." After that she turned away, heading over towards a tree stump. Dandelion furrowed his brow when he saw her walk away. "Huh. But anyways, I better get these ponies outta here. Another whiff of this smell would kill me!" "It was nice meeting you, Dandelion." I said my farewell. Without another word, Dandelion was heading off to lead the other ponies away from the horrible camp. I figured it would be best to head over to Red Yarrow to talk to her a bit more. Once I got over to her, her red eyes gazed down to the ground, as if she had been upset over something. "So, um..." I had difficulty finding the right words, "...Miss Red Yarrow. Do you th--" "--Think it would be a good idea to follow them to their town?" She interrupted, not bothering to look up. "How--?" "--Did I know that? isn't it rather obvious? If anything, I find it very predictable of you to ask such a thing." Dang, she's good! "Well? Should we go with them or...?" She shot an irritated glance at me. "Of course not! Do you have ANY idea how insane it is to go to Farvein?!" I backed off for a second, surprised to hear her lash out like a whip. "Honestly... no." Her gaze softened a little as she sighed. "Forgive me. That was uncalled for." "It's alright. I didn't mean to upset you in any way." "You don't have to apologize. Farvein is just... a town I prefer not to set hoof on, that's all." "Okay then." "Might I ask for your name, sir?" "I... don't... I don't remember. But, you can just call me by 'Vagabond'." Red stared long and hard before she spoke again. "I apologize in advance for asking this, but do you by any chance have amnesia?" "Yes." I answered simply. "Then that would also mean you have forgotten your past and who you were, right?" "Right." Red took a short breath before she spoke once more. "Anyway, I think I ought to be on my way. Another sniff of this odor and I'll pass out." She stood up from the dead trunk and began walking off. I couldn't help but notice the cutie mark on her flank; a crown above red flowering plants. It was peculiar to me that a crown was part of her mark, which could mean just about anything. I didn't really have anywhere else to go, so I just followed her anyway. Whether that was a good idea or not was not known to me, but I did so regardless. "Wait." I called out. She turned to face me. "What is it now?" "Though I'm not entirely sure where you're headed, may I come with you?" "Why? Name your reason." Her brow raised suspiciously. "Honestly, I have nowhere else to go. Plus, I need to find somepony who knows something about dark magic." "Dark magic? For what goal, might I ask?" "When I first awoke, I was in a snowy forest. In that forest I saw tightly packed trees covered in a dark aura, I think. I need to find somepony who knows about dark magic, and won't kill me." By the look in her red eyes, she was probably trying to process what she heard. As she was thinking, I took a look at her spear again. The shaft was a dark red in color and the blade itself must have been made of steel. "Other than the dark aura, what else did you see in that forest?" She eventually asked. "Well, the tree I woke up under had a symbol on it; a six pointed star with smaller stars surrounding it." "Hmm... and somepony with dark magic was trying to kill you? What did he look like?" "He wore a cloak, armor, and a white mask." She stared at me with wide eyes, not even blinking. She didn't take her gaze off of me for a second. "Um... Red Yarrow?" "Say no more. Come." An hour had past since Red and I last left the encampment. We had been passing through a narrow ravine, while a very small stream flowed under our hooves. It was too shallow for fish to swim but perhaps deep enough for even smaller creatures. I have to stop worrying so much about parasites! What am I, a germophobe? Before we entered, she told me the ravine was once an open plain until years and years of natural disasters demolished it. It seemed hard to believe, but considering how little I remembered about the world I had to take what I can get. Red hasn't said much since she explained the ravine to me, so I thought it would be best to "break the ice" so to speak. "So, Red, where are we going exactly?" "I'll tell you more when we get close to it." "Are we close?" "No. Otherwise, I would have told more about it." "Ah." "However... I can tell you more about this masked figure." "Ooh, really? Who was he?" "While I don't personally know this masked figure, but based on your description earlier he must be one of those 'moon-obsessed-cult' members." I furrowed my brow upon hearing that. "Er, what?" "There exists an organization of ponies who worship the moon, and lust the night. They wear white masks with crescent moons on them to show their obedience to the moon, and dark armor and cloaks to embrace their undying love for the night." "What the flying feather is that kind of nonsense?!" I exclaimed. "Shush!" She hissed, "Not so loud! We don't want to cause a possible rock avalanche, now do we?" It didn't take long for me to ponder about it. "No. Of course not. Do continue." "Thank you. Needless to say, they are avid about the moon and the night. Most of their members are unicorns; all of whom practice many kinds of magic, including dark magic." "Do you know who or what started it?" I asked as we stopped to sit. "I believe it had something to do with a princess, but I'm not entirely sure if my memory serves correctly." "A princess? Like an alicorn?" "Yes." She said incredulously, as if she was surprised, "Long ago--if I remember correctly--there were once two princesses who ruled over the land, which they called Equestria. However, so--" "Something bad happened, which left the world in ruin." I interrupted. "Exactly. Unfortunately, not everypony remembers what happened, even I myself know nothing about the events of the past. Especially since I was not born at the time." I used my magic to levitate the thermos from my bag, to take a sip of water. My lips felt rather dry as I sipped water from the container. I had not realized just how dry my throat was until I drank. "Are there any books containing information about the past?" I inquired, "Surely somepony ought to have at least wrote a history book." "Huh. You have a point." She admitted, "Although I'm certain history books are possible to contain vital evidence about the past, their availability however... that is another story." "What do you mean?" I continued asking, taking a few more sips here and there. "Well, because they contain great information, they would more than likely be horded. Sadly, I'm very sure that any library close by would not carry that kind of book within it's inventory. If you ask me, it would be a fruitless venture." "You may be right. Still... there could be a book out there." "But the likelihood of anypony finding said book, is inconceivably small." Since the both of us had sat down, I decided to eat one of the sandwiches from my bag. As I got one out, I noticed that the bag was getting lighter, which meant that there were fewer food rations. I knew it was not a good sign. Considering the world's current state, finding decent food will be as great a challenge as surviving. I savored every bite I could to make it last. As I ate, Red Yarrow scooted closer to me. "May I?" She asked, holding out a hoof. Since I had company with me, I couldn't be too selfish, so I gave her one of the sandwiches. "Is there a reason it looks like a cat?" "They used to belong to a friend of mine." I answered her question. At least, I think he's a friend. As she was chewing her food, thoughts of the symbol came back. "So, Red Yarrow," I began asking, "do you know what the symbol; the six pointed star means?" "To be honest, I have not the slightest idea." She answered truthfully, "However, it is possible that there is some sort of reason behind it. I've never seen a six pointed star, surrounded by smaller stars, used as an insignia." "I'm sure there is a very good reason behind that symbol. If anything, it could probably lead me to the answers I'm looking for." I said with confidence. Red continued eating her sandwich. "This sandwich... it needs more zest; it's rather bland!" Wow. You just had to criticize a sandwich. Once I finished my sandwich I was ready to keep moving, as for Red... she was apparently a quicker eater than me. I made sure my bag was fastened tight, so that it's contents aren't likely to fall out. Red had been waiting for me to finish what I was doing, so when I was finished she started off and I followed her away from where we sat. I began noticing the walls' surface was rather rough and rugged, with some areas above having a few large holes. The holes themselves seemed cavernous in depth, as if they were a cave entrance or something. Either that or they're just empty holes. Just ahead of me, Red started to fly upwards at impressive speeds; darting left to right frantically. I was slowly becoming anxious as she kept checking all of the holes in the ravine's walls. What's she doing? Is there something wrong? Maybe I should... "Hey, Red!" I called out to her. "What're y--" Before I could finish, she dashed towards me, shoving a hoof over my mouth. It almost felt like a punch when she did so. "Shh!" She shushed, "Don't shout! You could get us both killed!" "Whuu?" I muffled. "The large holes... there are quarray eels lurking in them; small ones, thankfully." "Whuuu?!" "Shh! Regardless of their size, we don't want to set them off. If are to prevent ourselves from obtaining injuries or worse, we need to give them a wide berth. That means avoiding the holes entirely and not making any sudden loud noises. Understood?" Instead of muffling, I nodded my head. She took her hoof away from my mouth at that instant. She slowed her pace and was being exceptionally careful of her hoofsteps, so therefore I did the same... or at least tried. I did my best to sneak quietly over to Red, who was looking at me like I was some kind of idiot. One hoof over the other as slowly and quietly as possible. Red's glare notified me that she's had enough, and it was at this point where I figured I should just trot faster. Once again, I am an absolute dunce. As I approached Red, she appeared frightened; her eyes were wide and she stood motionless. Needless to say, I was rather confused. And worried. Very worried now that Red had her spear out. In spite of this, I continued trotting... until I heard a rather discomforting Hiiiiiiisssssss. I wanted to turn around to see what was behind me, but I was somehow unable to move. Red Yarrow dashed upward, spear tucked beside her. An unnerving shriek; shrill and incredibly loud, sounded off as Red took to the sky. "RUN, VAGABOND!!!" She screamed. I ran like frigging lightning when she said that. Fishy odor wafted behind me as I avoided the creature. Once I was out of the beast's range, I--for whatever reason--thought it was a good idea to get a glimpse at the creature. The eel was burgundy in color with a purple underbelly. It's jaws were large as it tried to snap at Red. It's teeth were sharp and stained with a dark ruddy color--possibly blood. Red flew around, trying to jab at the enormous eel with her spear. How the hay can she wield a spear like that?! I asked myself, She's flying in the air, her spear is at her side, how is she even capable of stabbing it?! In spite of questioning her abilities, I knew it would be unconscionable to leave her behind to fight that thing. Instead of running further away, I did what any reasonable stallion would do in a situation like this: charge straight into the enemy! It sounded mad at first, but it's better to be a mad stallion than a total wuss. "What are you doing?! I told you to run!!" She yelled as she fought. "I WON'T leave you here to die!" I shouted in protest. I took out my knife to do its job. Thankfully the creature was too preoccupied with Red, to notice me. I jabbed at it's body frequently, causing wounds on the rubbery creature's body. It squealed every time I struck it. Then I heard a less fortunate sound: Red Yarrow had been knocked back. I looked up to see her falling back to the ground. On the other hoof, the eel took notice of me and attempted to strike at me, snaggletoothed jaws gaping to gobble me up. Oh, crap! By rolling to one side, I narrowly avoided the eel's toothy maw. While I did avoid it's jaws, the most alarming noise bombarded my eardrums: several shrieking eels! It sounded as if there were over twenty of them, and that was more than enough evidence to get the hay out of here. I ran over to Red's collapsed body on the ground, obviously not dead, but still not capable of fighting off twenty frigging quarray eels. "Vagabond, we have to get out of here!" She said, wincing in pain from her fall. "Yeah, I couldn't agree more." I replied whilst helping her up. Red was notably injured, yet didn't seem to have trouble standing. Her left wing appeared to be sprained, seeing how she was wincing in pain. It was clear she wouldn't be flying any time soon, which was horrible when you have a horde of giant eels after you. Red didn't think twice about dashing forward first, before I was able to process our predicament. Without further thought, I began galloping as fast as I could to keep up with her. The moment reminded me of when Oak and I were being chased by armored stallions a while back... but with giant eels instead. While Red seemed strong for running as fast as she was, her face showed otherwise. She was, without question, afraid. It became clear there was more to this mare than I first thought her to be. A mare, capable enough to take on a gang of psychos, was fearing for her life when confronted by giant eels. Granted, I don't blame her. "There! The exit!" She informed me. "Great! Let's just hope those things stop chasing us soon!" I replied fearfully. The eels were gaining on us at first, but then... the worst thing started to happen. The rock walls began to crumble, possibly from the numerous amount of noise in the area. The ground shook as well, almost tripping both of us. The shrieks became more frightened as rocks continued to fall, shaking the ground upon impact. The crevice was just up ahead as more rocks continued to fall, making the both of us wonder whether or not we'd make it out alive. Galloping faster, the sounds of the eels began to fade which in turn made me feel a little better--if it wasn't for the falling rocks. Red came out first, but before I was able to leave something hit my back, which felt as though a hammer struck down upon it. I couldn't move. Rocks continue to fall around me. "RED!!!" I shouted in desperation. I wish I knew why, but somehow... I blacked out. "...gabond?..." A familiar voice echoed. "...are you okay?" My head was pounding fiercely, but I managed to mutter a simple: "Yeah..." "Oh." Red sighed, "Thank heavens!" It seemed that Red had saved me from the plummeting rocks, and had gotten me to safety. I had a bit of trouble moving however, for my back legs were not working somehow. No matter how hard I tried, my back legs wouldn't move. It was at this point I knew that I was unable to walk. I was breathing faster than usual, and I was trembling. "No. No. No. This isn't happening." I began to panic, "This isn't happening! This is terrible!" "What? What is so terrible?" Red Yarrow asked, confused. "Oh, for Celestia's sake tell me!" "I can't move my legs, Red! I can't move them!" "Oh. Oh, dear. This is an unforeseeable predicament!" "Now what am I gonna do?! I'm practically immobile! How am I going to live like this?" Red gave a skeptical look at me; like I was being over-dramatic. Then again... yeah, I was being a bit of a drama queen. She turned me over to one side as I still laid on the ground. By watching her face, I was able to notice the face she made upon seeing my backside; a face showing concern, but there was something else there too. "It looks as though you have sustained an bruising injury from your lower back." She investigated. Yeah, tell me something I don't know. I sarcastically said in my mind. I wasn't going to let it come out though. "However... it won't be permanent." "What?" I perked upwards, shocked by the revelation. "Thankfully there is a healing spell that fix this. Unfortunately, I am not a unicorn, so I cannot perform the spell. But, the town we're headed to has a professional doctor that knows the spell; he can remedy this paralyzation problem of yours." He better... Chapter Five: ReliefIt's one thing to lose the ability to use magic... but when it's your back legs... it's a whole other story. Because I couldn't walk on my own, Red had to carry me atop her back for the rest of the way. I was unsure of how much I weighed, seeing as how Red did not struggle with me on her back. Either she was strong for a mare, or I was light as a dang feather! The area surrounding us seemed the same, save for mounds and mounds of wreckage littered about. These mounds were made up of a menagerie of miscellaneous everyday-items, trash, and rubble. Every once in a while, I'd see what looks to be obliterated vehicles scattered; dirigibles it would seem. Long green shafts jutted out of the mounds; tank barrels it would seem. It couldn't have been more obvious of what this was: a war zone. Wow, this world never ceases to be depressing. I had very high hopes of being able to walk again, but the journey to be rid of this problem is long and excruciating. Being on somepony's back wasn't the worst thing in the world and it seemed okay at the start, but the more I stayed on the less comfortable it became for me and Red both. I could now feel Red trembling from the extra weight she's carrying, which indicate that I must have been very heavy for her. "How much further?" I asked her, breaking the silence. "Thankfully," She strained, "we're getting closer." "So, this town were headed to, is it particularly safe?" "Well, it's been a sanctuary for it's citizens, as well as drifters, for over three decades." "And this doctor, who is he exactly?" "He's an elder pony, yet an impeccable physician and spellcaster all round. Do not worry, this town is full of decent ponies with no intention of spilling innocent blood." "That's good and all, but is there any ponies in the area who might know something about what happened to this place?" Red looked reluctant to answer. "I can't say for certain. I never thought to ask." "What if this doctor knew something?" I suggested, "Maybe he might know?" "As old as he is, I do not even believe he was even around long enough to have gained any knowledge." "It wouldn't hurt to ask." I may not know this pony as she did, but there could be a small glimmer of hope that he may hold the answers I'm looking for. Answers to questions like: "What does the star cutie mark on that tree mean?", or "Who was that alicorn I saw in my dream?" I had to have been letting my hopes fly around in my head, and thinking that I'll find answers quickly... foolish me. After about a half hour or so, Red Yarrow pointed out our destination: the town she mentioned. Unlike Glanchester however, it was larger in size, and appeared less rural. The closer we came, the better I saw the buildings, which were--sort of--better looking than Glanchester. Large crowds of ponies were abundant, streets were busy, yet that's all I could see from that distance. Also like Glanchester, a latticed gate stood between us and the populous town. Four guards adjacent to one another stood in front of the gate, instead of two. All of them wore a different sort of armor than the Glanchester guards: full bodied armor suits, made up of softer materials than metal. In fact, their armor hardly looked metallic at all! As we approached, the guards immediately took notice and stood firm. One of them, a plum colored pegasus stallion, came up to us us briskly. "State your business, traveler!" He demanded. "I mean no ill will upon you." Red answered vaguely. "I sai--!" "Lay off'er, ye uptight gowl!" a bearded guard defended, "That'd be Red Yarrow, The Lancer! She's been to this town before, many times." "Is she?" Red only nodded in confirmation. "And what about this one on her back?" He inspected. "He cannot walk properly. That's partially why we came." "Jus let'em in already." The bearded guard said, annoyed. "Ugh! Fine." The guard replied begrudgingly. The plum stallion fiddled his hoof in his pocket, obviously for a gate key. The other three guards moved off to the side to make room for the gate. Once the gate lock clicked, he pulled it open. He stood firmly as he held the gate. "Alright, in you go. Have good day in Steeldale." Without so much as a single glance at the guard, we headed inside, towards the crowd of civilians. Even though I couldn't feel it, I knew my back legs were dangling freely against Red's plot. Hopefully she was fine with it. When I looked back, the plum guard made a distrusting expression. Much like Swift Pansy... but less humorous. It was strange, really, how such a town could look so lively in a world like this. Unusual indeed. Even though the skies remained overcast, the town's colors shone brightly still. Some ponies looked better or worse than others, like how a few ponies lost a few legs, an eye, or even wings for that matter. Ponies were either draped in mismatched clothing and armor or well dressed and particularly clean. Stray cats flocked alleyways, fighting among themselves in a yowling, whirling blaze. The air smelled like petrol and edible grease, possibly coming from a food stand on the side of the street. Whatever was sizzling on the stand smelled unbelievably good. Just thinking about it made my stomach grumble. "Famished, Vagabond?" Red asked casually. "Yes," I replied, "very." "It would be unconscionable to let you starve. We may as well fill our appetites first, before we see him." "If the food's as good as it smells, I'll be eternally grateful." She walked me over to the stand to order our food. The sensational aroma was enough to make my mouth salivate, craving for the unknown delicacy. Once we were close to the stand, it was then that I got a better look at the culinary creations. Needless to say... I didn't expect what I saw. The "food" looked brown, like it had been burning for some time. It smelled good, yet I wasn't so sure how it tastes. "What can I do ya for?" The owner of the stand asked politely. "We'll have two of your burgers, please." She ordered. "Comin' up, Miss Yarrow." Does everypony know her in this town? Once he was finished with flipping, he handed us our burgers. They tasted different than what I predicted; chewy with a strange, gamey flavor. And that was when I realized... I was eating meat. Yet, I didn't hate it! Or feel nausea! Ponies don't--or shouldn't--eat meat... right? Evidently they do now. "So, any exquisite details on your meal?" Red asked as we walked away from the stand. "It tastes fine." I replied. But I feel so guilty about eating another animal! How much more of this should I take?! Once our stomachs settled, we headed off to a large, rectangular building that appeared in shambles. An old hospital, most likely. Half a wall was exposed, and rubble littered the area, yet nopony seemed to mind the appearance. They must have been used to seeing it, however long it's been built. I, myself, was a little more than put off by it, but I trusted that Red knows what she's doing. Some parts of Steeldale had been covered in tall, unkempt, brown colored grass, like where the hospital stood. Several mangy dogs were scavenging for a meager scrap of food through the grass. Hopefully this, 'doctor', can fix my legs, I thought, eager to be rid of my temporary disability. "This is it, this is the place." Red announced. "He should be inside. Soon, you will be walking again." As soon as we came to the hospital's doors, a white mare dressed in a lab-coat--akin to the color of her coat--greeted us. Her mane was dark brown, and kept in a tight bun. Her face was expressionless, like she was unfazed by my ordeal. "Take a seat," She told us in monotone, "the doctor will be with you shortly." She then ushered us inside. "Thank you ma'am." Red replied whilst walking to the waiting room, "What is he working on this time?" "Removing tumors. What is the state of the patient?" She must have been here for so long, nothing would surprise her, I'm betting. "He has been paralyzed from the waist down; he can't walk." "Of course. Luckily for you, it won't take him long to fix him up." She muttered something afterwords, but I couldn't tell what she said. The nurse led us to what's supposed to be the "waiting room", which was just a small room with ugly ripped wallpaper. The room had about ten or so plastic chairs lined up against the back of the room. No other patients were present at the time, so we were the only ones there. Red backed up against the chair and asked me to push myself onto the chair. I did so swiftly. I couldn't feel the seat beneath me. I wished I did, though. Red sat next to me, making sure I didn't fall face first onto the floor. The nurse left within two minutes of us sitting. As I sat, I began contemplating about my ventures... again. I still wondered about the alicorn from my dream and what she meant by "the reason you exist". I pictured the purple alicorn from the nightmare when I closed my eyes. Is she real? Does she really know who I am, if she is? I pondered on this for some time. The alicorn was purple, so if there is any purple alicorns around, I would have to ask her some questions. After about fifteen minutes, Red shifted her head over to me. "What?" I asked, puzzled. "Nothing, just..." Red replied uncertainly, "I'm still trying to wrap my head around this predicament, as it were. From emblems on trees, to cultists who are after you... I have to wonder why. Whatever is going on, it must be pretty dire." "If I didn't have amnesia, I might know something. But I don't. And that's why I want to find out. I want to know what happened here; why everything is the way it is." "I see. Not a very full fledged goal, but still." "Full fledged?" I was somewhat offended by her remark. "Well I mean, if you do find out what happened to our world and rediscovered your past, what then?" "I guess it all depends." She was right, it wasn't exactly a well conceived plan. Either way I look at it, there was always going to be a change in plans. Whether or not it happens right away or sometime later, was beyond me. Fortunately, the nurse came in and announced, "The doctor will see you now." About time! "Follow me." I climbed back on Red as she crouched down, eager to get the procedure done. As soon as the nurse began leading us down a narrow corridor, I got more and more antsy. The floors were checkered, the paint on the walls was chipping, and the only source of light came from rod shaped lights on the ceiling. It was not as bad looking on the inside compared to the outside, but the place was still in a bad shape. Admittedly, the inn in Glanchester looked better than this. There were the occasional plaques posted along the walls, as well as a few portraits; one of which looked like a rather feminine stallion. Hmm... if it weren't for the short mane, I'd swear he looked like a mare. I thought as I stared at the portrait. Something about the portrait made me feel... intrigued. He looked rather beautiful for a stallion, and I was half hoping that he was the doctor. If that had been the case, then I'd have some eye-candy to look forward to. I was feeling rather excited about it for some reason, I couldn't understand why. Alas, it wasn't him. The nurse left as soon as he came into view. The "doctor" that Red mentioned was not the feminine stallion I was hoping for; rather it was an older unicorn stallion. He had no mane to speak of, but had a patchy blue beard to compensate. His left eye was drifted in one direction, while his right was fixed on us. He wore a messy lab-coat, covered in numerous substances. "Oh! Why if it isn't lil'l o'l Red!" He said delightfully, "Come for that physical, are we?" "No, doctor, that is not why we've come." Red replied respectively. "Alrighty then. Now uh... what seems to be the trouble?" "Well, my friend of mine has become handicapped from the waist down. We were hoping that you could use a spell, or something, to fix him." "Oh, okay. At first I thought that fellow on yer back had locked onto ya, er somethin'." "WHAT?!" Both of us exclaimed indignantly. The sickly doctor then began to cackle like a mad pony. "Ha! I was just messin' wit'ya!" What a pervert! "Anyway, Doctor," Red desperately wanted to change the subject, "can you help him?" "Yeah, Yeah, I'll help'em!" He giggled gleefully. "You sure we can trust him?" I whispered into Red's ear. "Of course." Red then muttered something under her breath, an irritable air. He led us into a room with a--surprisingly--sterile hospital bed. There were wooden cabinets along the square walls of the room, as well as a desk with a few medical instruments splayed. Aside from that, the room appeared relatively tidy; not at all what I had expected from an unclean, old stallion. Red placed me atop the bed so the doctor could get to work. As she did so, the older stallion started to examine my lower back, which I couldn't see. If only it was that feminine stallion. I would have been more comfortable if he was examining me, instead of this old fart. "Well," He announced, "Fortunately for ye, the bones weren't completely broken. Now uh... how'd this happen anyway?" "A rock pelted him." Red answered simply. "Ah. Makes sense." "And how do you know that from just looking at it?" The way I said it came off as rude to the elder. "When ye been fix'n up patients fer years, you tend t' learn a thing er two. I've used x-rays on many patients, but I ain't gonna bother for yer situation. I got it covered for ya!" I was able to turn my head towards the old coot as I laid, watching his horn glow a bright white. His horn emitted a bright white orb which absorbed into my lower back, causing it to illuminate. Within an instant, I felt a strange tingling sensation, followed by sharp pain. I gritted my teeth as I groaned from the unpleasant feeling. Oh, gosh, it hurts!! I said to myself, trying to withstand it. However... in spite of all that... there was a promising sign: my hoof twitched. "I can..." I said incredulously, "I can feel my legs! I can feel my legs again!!" I felt so relived at the result that I tried to stand up on the bed... only to fall back down soon after. My smile faded to a disappointed frown. "Wha--?!" "Oh yeah, forgot t' tell ye." The doctor spoke up, "The spell takes a while to kick in. Ah mean, sure, ye did feel yer legs twitch, but ye gotta wait a little while for yer t' heal back up!" "Oh dear," Red sounded embarrassed, "I completely forgot that. My apologies, Vagabond." How did you even become a doctor?! It had taken nearly an hour before my back legs were sturdy enough to walk on. Since then, Red and I had left the dilapidated hospital, and moved on elsewhere; a motel to be specific. The building was surprisingly in a better shape than the hospital and was slightly more appealing in appearance. As for why we rented a room in a motel, was unclear to me at the time. I was so happy to walking again, I trotted around the room several times, having no desire of sitting down. While I was enjoying my leisure, Red appeared antsy and alert... and possibly miffed by my trotting. "Well, I can see you are enjoying yourself." Red asked, trying to mask her irritation. "Considering I am able to walk again," I replied, "yes, I'm definitely enjoying myself!" "Hmm." "Is there something wrong, or...?" "Shh!" "What?" I whispered, confused by her actions. "Did you see somepony?" Red then shoved her hoof over my mouth like last time, removed it, and then moved it over her mouth, in a zipping motion. "I've been in a bit of a debacle for the past week or so." She explained carefully, "A certain sentinel has been on my tail ever since that past week, and at first I thought that bulky creature was far off... but no. He's not. He's here, in Steeldale." "Who?" I asked, apprehensive of what she'll say. "They call him--no, it: Einherjar, The Violet Knight." That... name... I... It was like time had completely stopped... as if the world itself had been paused. My head began to ache, and my body started to shiver. I was taking shorter breaths as I stood in absolute horror, as if I was being constricted. My eyes were locked in one place, as if I were staring at a thousand yards. "--abond! is somethi--?" Red's voice was so faint, I could barely hear her. The whole room began to fade out as an eerie vision emerged. I started to see quick flashes of somepony, purple, but blurred. It was difficult to make out what was happening, yet the image of the blurry pony moved briskly towards me. My body was immobile, paralyzed with fear. From what I could make out, the pony appeared to be levitating something; a weapon of sorts. As the pony rushed towards me, he raised the weapon to hack at me. I tried to scream, but I couldn't... I was unable to. Indistinct voices flooded my ears as grim imagery flashed every second. Images of blood... violence... rape... and more prominently... death. Death... and more death. I could only describe a few of the images: a pony being violently shot in the head... a foal's body melting into a congealed mess... a mare, falling into a black abyss... and lastly, a stallion forced into pleasure. Sights nopony should ever see, or experience. "VAGABOND!!!" Red's voice echoed. As soon as it arrived, the images vanished, and I returned to the room. I breathed heavily, unsure of what just happened. "Vagabond! What the hay happened?" She asked, worried of my well being. "I think I remembered something!" I told her. "I know that name somehow. I think I saw that pony before!" Her eyes widened, alarmed at what I said. "You saw Einherjar?" Red did her best to keep her voice low, "And lived?!" "I-I don't know. I saw a purple colored pony try to kill me... that's what I could recall." "Bloody hell... we have to get out of here, now!" Hastily, Red started unfastening her spear from her back, readying herself for a fight. "We're leaving? Now?!" "Yes! Right now! If the Knight's after both of us, we'll be dead before we can get out of Steeldale!" Without hesitation, Red practically dragged me out of the room so I could keep up with her. I protested a little before she let go of me, allowing me to run alongside her. We rushed down the halls briskly as if being chased. Ponies left and right were stunned and unamused by our display. One of them, the manager, stood in our path angrily. "What is the meaning of this?!" He shouted. "Apologies." Red panted, "We'll be checking out immediately!" "Why? What for?" "No time to explain!" I said hastily, "We have other places to be!" "All right, all right. No need to get too antsy. If you like, I could--" "I'm sorry, but we're really in a hurry!" He said nothing, but stepped aside for us to be on our way. I did my best not to disturb any more guests as I ran, Red meanwhile was dashing ahead of me. More ponies stared questionably at the two of us, possibly curious as to why two ponies are dashing for the exit. The whole experience felt very familiar to the one I had back at that inn, being chased by that masked pony. Only this time we weren't being chased, rather we were aware that a threat was coming for us. That and I was not alone. It almost felt... safer, yet it still didn't shake away the heart pounding fear. As we came to the stairs, we slowed our pace so that none of us tripped; the last thing we need is another crippling injury. The staircase was slim and twisted, so one of us had to go down first while the other followed. I let Red go first, since she was in a bigger hurry. One hoof over the other we briskly descended, each of us fearful of what may happen next. Every step mattered here. Below us was the lobby, much nicer looking compared to the inn. Several ponies were down there, minding their business. Once Red came to the bottom, she waited for me, eager to leave a soon as possible. As I came to the last step, Red dragged me with her teeth by the shoulder to the glass entrance doors, wasting no time. Despite my attempts to escape her vice-like grip, it didn't work. Red Yarrow pushed the glass doors with ease as we finally exited the building. We were out on the sidewalk at that point. She turned her head from left to right, scanning her surroundings for the assassin. She eventually let me go. As relieved as I was to be free from her mouth, I knew we weren't out of danger just yet. "Do you see him?" I asked, trying to keep the fear in. "Thankfully, no. But Einherjar could be anywhere." Red replied worriedly, "It would have been bad enough if he was a regular pony... but he's not." "What do you mean?" "He's an alicorn." "WHAT?! How can he--?!" "I don't know! He had wings and can use magic!" She then explained, "I only caught a glimpse of him--or it. The Violet Knight--as it's name suggests--wears a violet colored suit of advanced, technological armor, made up of precious metals. The alicorn is armed with a N90 machine gun, from what I remembered. He is, without question, extremely dangerous." "I gather that, but how are we gonna get out of here fast enough?" "I... I wish I knew. I saw the Knight a few blocks away from the building when I viewed through the window. The armor it wears is bulky, but not so cumbersome. If it wanted to, the Knight would have absolutely no trouble flying over us, gunning us both down swiftly. In summation, I do not have the slightest idea how to get away." This is it... we're doomed! "Wait! Maybe we can make a break for the exit!" I suggested. "Have you lost your mind?!" She said, exasperated. "Did you not hear what I JUST told you?" "What other options do we have?" As flustered as she was about my plan, she only sighed and said, "Fine. There's no other option left, I guess." My blood was pumping as I said, "Then lets not waste anymore time!" I started to sprint as fast as I could, Red dashing right behind me. We stayed along the sidewalk rather than run out into the road; the less the assassin could spot us the better. I did my best to prevent contact with any passerby, to keep the momentum going. The faster we could get to the exit, the sooner we'd be out of the town of Steeldale. My heart was racing from not just running, but also from the the thought of the plan backfiring completely. I knew it wasn't a fully realized, complex plan, but that didn't matter. Survival mattered above all else. The gate where we last entered was just several yards ahead. I smiled at the sight of it, and sighed in relief for it. The guards were still stationed at their post on the other side the gate, except for the plum stallion, who stared directly at us. As we got closer, I noticed he that he was smiling. A rather... unnerving smile. Why's he smiling like that? The plum stallion lingered for a moment--and galloped off to the right. "Hey!!" One of them yelled, "Where ya going?!" Just as he said that, something was coming down from the sky. From where I was, it looked like a meteor plummeting towards the ground. Only it was no meteor... it was much worse than that. "GET BACK!!!" I screamed at Red, turning tail and running the other way. When object made impact, it exploded. I may not have seen it, but I saw the flash and felt the shockwave that sent both of us flying several feet in the air. All I could hear was pinging in my ear; all other sounds were muffled. I couldn't even hear my body smack the ground. I could hardly move, but I had to get out there. I saw Red who also got up but limped as she tried to walk. When I tried to help her, I limped as well. I didn't know if it was possible to survive a blast like that, however it didn't matter. I was alive and so was she. And yet, in that moment... things took a turn for the worst. When I turned to look at the damage done by the blast, I witnessed a figure moving out from the black smoke and fire. Emerging from the wreckage was the one responsible... a pony clad in armor; bulky and highly advanced. The pony bore a helmet with a horn on the front, glowing v-shaped visor over the face. At it's side was the machine gun Red mentioned, almost as large as the figure itself. It's wings were tucked just above the gun. As the armored assailant drew closer, I could recognize the color of the armor... Violet. Oh crap, it's him! "We're too late!" Red shuddered. Einherjar approached with a quickened pace, hellbent on finishing the job. I noticed Red was too afraid to make her move, not even trying to reach for her spear. I opened my bag for the knife, but that was only going to do so much. I levitated the knife towards the armed foe, aiming for any potential weak point. I thought I saw one on its neck, so I threw it with all I got. The knife darted at the armored pony... but was quickly caught by its magic. I gulped when I saw it turn orange and melt before my eyes. "You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that." It said, voice warbled by the helmet. We are so screwed. At that moment it unfurled its wings and hastily rushed towards me, pining me down with tremendous and painful force. "Vagabond!!" Red shouted. She tried to assist me by finally taking out her and attempting to lunge... but to no avail. As soon as her spear tip came close to him, The Knight walloped Red with an armored hoof, knocking her back a few feet. "How dare you?!" I screamed angrily, desperately trying to escape the alicorn's grasp. While futilely attempting to free myself, I caught a glimpse at an emblem on its flank. My mouth gaped when I saw it: the six pointed star! And it was surrounded by five smaller stars, just like the one on the tree! The middle star was pink, while the others were white. "Go on! Kill me!" After a short pause The Knight warbled, "No." "What?" "I need you alive. You're no good to me dead, and neither is the Princess. You two are coming with me." "Princess?! What are you--?" Einherjar's horn glowed a reddish pinkish colored aura as it's head lowered close to my face. The last thing I could remember... was a sudden flash of light. And once again... the familiar blackness. Interlude IInterlude I ***** "Dear Pinkie, Everything seems to be going well I suppose, now that we're underground. So far the soldiers have been rationing our food, but everypony understands (though I personally, hate it) and they are fine with the regulations. It's been pretty routine here: Everypony wakes up at six, eats breakfast around that time, do random appointed job for the next eight hours (our father and I were stationed for mining), have a break twice within those hours; lunch for the first break and rest for the second, and once work is done they escort you back to your apartment, lights out after twelve, rinse and repeat. Simple, sure, but it keeps everypony going and gives them something to do. I've been working my tail off breaking up rock after rock, but then again, our family's been doing that for their whole lives. Hopefully this whole war thing clears up eventually, so I can get back to the home I know and love. Our mom and Marble are working in textiles--which sounds boring. As for Maud... I've been hearing from the soldiers that they planned to recruit her as one of them--whether she wanted to, or not. I don't know much about the Equestrian Military, but do they really recruit ponies into their ranks by force? If so, I won't let that slide. If it meant for her safety, I'd volunteer in her place. I'd be really furious if they asked for Marble, or our dad--that won't happen! I won't let any of my family members get drafted!!! Sorry. I wrote stronger words about it, but it's better you didn't read my vulgar rants. I've also been hearing rumors about the state Ponyville's in; how it's been evacuated, and everypony is preparing themselves for an oncoming battle. Are they true? Have they evacuated the town? Please, Pinkie, tell me! We're worried about you. Oh, and your friends too. Tell me they're all okay. Tell me you're okay..." Your sister, Limestone Pie P.S. Please. Don't be dead... Chapter Six: AssassinYesterday was a nightmare, yet today would be worse, I imagined. The violet colored warrior named Einherjar had captured Red and I, and is forcing us to go with him--or it--to an unspecified location. The Violet Knight had the two of us bound in magic from our necks, with no possible way of escaping. Not to mention, Red had her spear confiscated. I'm not as well versed in the art of magic, but I knew for a fact that Einherjar was incredibly gifted. That may or may not have to do with the fact that he--or it--is an alicorn. He didn't speak much throughout the day, but when he did, his voice sounded mechanical and somewhat warbled, constantly changing pitch. That may have been the reason why Red mostly referred to him as "it"; I couldn't tell if it was a he or she because of that voice. The armor didn't help define gender whatsoever. It's tail must have been tucked underneath the suit, since it wasn't visible. And since the Knight's armor covered every inch of his body, there was no way to tell what color he--or she--was. Once nighttime approached, The Knight made the decision to make camp inside a dismantled pillar. Large quantities of rebar and debris hung over the three of us like a half open trap, just barely closing in on us. For the fire, Einherjar ignited random flammable material he gathered from inside the pillar. Red and I were positioned a few feet from where he stood, keeping the fire lit, never unbinding us from his magic. "Hey." I tried to get his attention. "Why are you doing this?" No answer. Not even bothering to glance back. "Why are you doing this?" I repeated myself, hoping to get a response. Once again, nothing. He continued tending the fire with his magic and paying no attention to anything I said. "Answer me--!" "Vagabond, stop it!" Red intervened, "It's useless; he isn't going to listen to anything we say. He'll ignore whatever useless sentence comes out of our traps." "All right. Since the purple tin can refuses to answer my questions, how bout I ask you one: what did he mean by 'the Princess'? Is there something else I should know?" Red gave me a grimace before replying, "Very well. I am a Princess." That explains the crown on her cutie mark. "Okay then. So why didn't you tell me earlier?" "I wasn't sure if I could trust you, Vagabond. Not to mention it be rather bothersome for me to talk about my father's kingdom and the like. Plus, I didn't want you to address me as 'Your Highness', or 'milady'." "Either way, you should have told me sooner." Red frowned after I said that. "Even if I did, what good would it do? It wouldn't change anything." "Well, it doesn't matter now." As we quarreled, Einherjar sat down next to the fire, staring absentmindedly. He just sat there... staring. Whether or not he really was listening in on us, was up in the air. "You also said that The Knight was out to murder you," I pointed out, "and yet we're still alive." "I've heard many stories that he's ordered to kill ponies by his employers, being a mercenary and all. I heard the many tales of the ponies he slaughtered. Naturally, I assumed that he--" "--Would try to kill you?" I finished her sentence. "I was thinking the same thing, until he bound us with magic. It's likely he wasn't sent to kill you or me, otherwise he would have have long since been dead by now." "Of course. If he isn't out to kill us, he's more than likely delivering us to his employer... whoever they may be." Looking back at the armored pony, he had been shuffling through my bag it would seem, taking out what items were inside. Granted, there weren't as many items, but still. I began grinding my teeth as he continued pulling out its contents one by one, stacking them in a specific order meticulously. Why he did it was beyond me. The Knight got up from organizing my inventory, levitated the thermos, and walked up to us. He opened the lid of the thermos, and held it towards my muzzle. "Drink." He ordered me. "What?" I was suspicious of the gesture, "You're not gonna dehydrate us or anything?" "My employer wanted the Princess alive; therefore, both of you must be kept in good health. There is no sense in killing either of you." "Why? Who is your employer, and where are you taking us?" "His orders stated to keep that information classified. However, he didn't tell me not to disclose the location of our transaction, but I think it is pretty obvious he wouldn't want that. Rest assured, I refuse to explain any more details." My attention turned to the emblem on his flank: the six pointed star. The same emblem that was marked on that tree. The same tree I slept under... and perhaps the same place I was struck. "That emblem..." I built the courage to ask, "Do you know what it means?" The Knight was silent for a moment. "It is my cutie mark. Why?" "Your cutie mark. Do you know anything about a forest? With dark magic?" Einherjar began breathing heavily, as if I egged him on. Like he knew something. "Do you know anything about dark magic? Because if so: why was it in the forest? Is there some sort of dark force behind it?" "Vagabond, stop!" Red shouted, "Just take a drink." "Why was I left for dead? Why did you try to kill me back then?" "Are you deaf?! Vagabond please!" "Why did you try to kill me? Tell me. Tell me!" Red Yarrow only groaned in anger from my constant asking. I had to--no... I needed to know." "ANSWER ME!!!" It was at that moment, that The Knight had enough. He swiped his hoof, clipping my muzzle and sending me flying several feet from where I once sat. My head throbbed with immediate pain, like I slammed head first into a wall. The armored pony then surrounded himself in his aura, and vanished... Only to reappear next to me, forcefully pinning me down with both his hooves. At least he didn't point his gun at me, otherwise I would have been killed. "I said, drink." He levitated the thermos towards me. "No! Not un--" The Knight slammed his hoof on my neck, choking me. "Drink... now!" All I could do was gag; I couldn't speak. So instead of trying to speak, I did my best to nod my head to acquiesce. Because of the helmet I couldn't read The Knight's expression, but he lifted his hoof from my neck as if my gesture was adequate enough. I gasped loudly, sucking in as much air as I could. "Alright." I coughed as I took the thermos from him. "Save enough for the Princess." He explained as I took a few gulps, "She needs it just as much as you do." "Why didn't you just give it to her first then?" I argued. Just as I was about to say something else, Einherjar snatched the thermos with his levitation spell. "No more questions. I've had enough." The next morning, we set out east into the desert. However... we were flying this time. Einherjar flew with me on his back, while Red Yarrow had flown behind us, still tethered by his magic. I wasn't tethered this time, but that was because I couldn't fly, hence the reason I was carried. Thankfully, The Knight was scrupulous enough not to let me dangle by his magic... and that's a lot coming from him. The feeling of being on another's back was not unfamiliar, since Red carried me on her back when my legs couldn't work. However, it was nowhere near as comfortable. The Knight's armor was chafing my legs and my belly as we flew, feeling as though I rode on the back of a flying cheese grater. The Knight had Red's spear holstered at his side as we flew. Below us was the aforementioned desert, hundreds of feet down. Needless to say I wasn't used to heights... or flying for that matter. Several plateaus, mounds of countless debris, and even more mammoth sized bones and rib cages like the ones I saw long while back; all laid out in this place. There were also what looked like trenches from what I could see, and tons of enormous mortars. This had to have been a battlefield at one point. When did all of this happen? Viewing such a sight reminded me of what that green inn keeper said: the kingdom of Canterlot fell into ruins somehow. And anypony who would know is likely very old or pretty much dead. This couldn't have been Canterlot--obviously--but whether or not this place had remnants of it, remained unknown. Because I was up so high, it was difficult to have seen any sign of dead soldiers, or anything else of significance. It could be that the ponies who were alive buried their dead, if this really was a war zone. And since it was impossible for me to tell how long this place has been here; when the battle took place, and what happened there, there was no chance to find answers at all. I thought about asking The Knight if he knew anything, but then again, would he? Since he kept information about himself confidential, he would be disinclined to share anything he knew. I looked back to see how Red was faring. Despite being tethered, she did not have trouble keeping with us. Judging by her expression, she wasn't thrilled about her current situation, and neither was I. I hated seeing her in this predicament, just as much I hated being on The Knight's uncomfortable back--as well as everything else that happened thus far. Hopefully we'll land soon; this guy's armor is murder on my coat! Right when I started shifting my body around for comfort, I noticed something unsettling: Some of these places looked eerily familiar. For example, the mile long stream up ahead looked suspiciously like the one Boomer and I stopped at. Even more surprising was viewing what looked like the same dead willows surrounded by grassy plants, that drooped just above the stream. It was so similar to where I was not to long ago... and then it dawned on me. It was the same place! The same place where Boomer and I was attacked by those giant weasels. We're heading back the way I came?! You've got to be kidding me!!! I was pretty infuriated that we were backtracking. While it did make me curious about where we were going, I was not pleased with the fact that a contract killer had us both tied up in magical tethers, and then forced to go with him to earn some bits for his bounty--that's what I got of it at least. Whoever paid him to do this has something to do with Red Yarrow, and wanted her alive for whatever reason. I got that she's a Princess but who would pay an armored mercenary to track her down? Now that the stream has been passed, it wouldn't be long until Glanchester would be in sight. I still remembered the day I came to that town and at the ponies that lived there--very few, but I still remembered them. The only ones I could remember were those two guards, the now deceased manager, as well as that old mare on that crooked bench... I don't know why I remembered her but I do. And of course that masked pony who tried to kill me--kind of hard to forget him. It's bad enough I got kidnapped by this purple piece of metal. The last thing I want is to meet that masked guy again. I looked down to see if Glanchester was right below us, and sure enough, it was. The dilapidated town was in the same state in which I left it. At the speed of which Einherjar flown, we passed the town within a few seconds giving me very little time to observe. Though I was thankful we didn't land there, it made me more anxious to think of where he was taking us. He then veered right, which made me even more hesitant. "Vagabond!" Red shouted. "Yes?" I shouted back. "How are you holding up?" "Fine, I guess. What about you?" "Well, considering I'm tethered by magic while being dragged by The Knight, not to mention we are about to face whatever fate awaits the both of us... Honestly, I'm having a great time!" It was clear she was being sarcastic... and might have been as afraid as I was. I built up the courage to ask The Knight, "Are we getting close?" At first it seemed Einherjar would never answer, but then replied, "Indeed.", and nothing more. Laconic fellow, isn't he? Einherjar's elevation lowered, which mean't we were landing. As we were almost at ground level, I noticed nopony was around--it seemed that way at least. We landed on a small patch of dead grass surrounded by piles of animal bones. The bones themselves likely came from a number of animals and not just one type; strewn about like some sort of macabre graveyard. The Knight lifted me off his back, and reattached the tether. I thought about making a run for it as he did so, but what good would that do me? None. None whatsoever. "Well, I don't see anypony." I whispered to myself. "Where are your employers?" "They should be here." He said, irritated. Whether it was his employers being late or what I said, was beyond me. Red seemed relieved by this as I was. "Hmm... I suppose they are either late, or we are early." She pointed out. The Knight was noticeably impatient, pacing incessantly and grumbling in a mechanical tone. It seemed rather indignant of such a strong and fierce figure, but then again I knew very little about him. Something I had not realized was that there were several holes next to some of the bones. They are more than likely to be the homes of those "squirrels". It was at that moment I was reminded of Boomer, who would have chased them around until he got his meal, just as any dog would. I wonder if he's still alive out there. Every time I looked up at the sky it remained the same, still gray and overcast. A few of the clouds looming over the landscape appeared a darker shade of gray, which could indicate an oncoming storm. It was bad enough that we had to sit out in the open, but if it was about to rain with no knowledge of shelter anywhere, then we'd have a less than stellar time. The wind sent a chill through my coat, further evidence for rain. However, the wind had an icy bite to it, something I haven't felt since I first woke up in that snowy forest. I shivered from both the sudden cold, and the feeling of wariness that followed. "Do you feel that?" Red asked anxiously. "Yes. I do." I answered simply, "And I don't like it." When I looked to Einherjar, he had stopped pacing and gazed at the dark clouds looming overhead. Even whilst in his armor, I could sense the perturbation he felt as the sudden rumble of thunder rolled. The wind picked up vehemently behind me, like an unnatural force of malcontent. Red and The Knight also took notice of it. The three of us grew increasingly afraid of what may come, afraid of the worst possible outcome. And as it would seem... it came true. Across the graveyard came ten black-hooded cloaked figures appearing out of the blue, all of whom were unicorns, horns engulfed in dark magic. It seemed as though this a part of the plan, that they were the employers The Knight spoke of. However, The Knight was making a very subtle but frequent blowing sound, which could be him hyperventilating. In other words, they couldn't have been the employers. As I looked around, I realized that their faces were covered with white masks. Not unlike the masked pony. This must be the cult Red talked about. I thought with a sense of absolute dread. Rain slowly sprinkled the land, drenching the soil beneath our hooves. The wind was colder than ever before, like a blizzard. I shivered violently from the cold. Red shivered as well, breathing steam from her muzzle. The ten cloaked figures encircled the three of us, closing in with their horns alight with dark aura--the same aura from the masked pony who chased me... the same aura that surrounded the trees in the forest. One of them, however, approached us further than the others. It could be that he was their leader, but I couldn't tell. "So it was true..." He spoke in a very deep voice, "...He still lives." "W-who are you?" I dared to ask. "Since you have failed to eliminate him the first time," He then turned to his fellow members, "You shall finish what was unfinished." They lifted their gazes towards me as they repeated in unison: "We will finish what was unfinished." The magic from their horns intensified the further they closed in. I didn't have my knife--since it melted--so I had no way of defending myself. Then again, a knife could only do so much. I backed up slowly as they lurked, unsure how I would get out of this. I relied so much on my knife, I have become a coward... again. When I looked over at Red--no longer tethered--she unfastened her spear from The Knight, who tried knocking her back but failed. Red tugged the spear from The Knight's grasp, as the cloaked ponies were about to fire. I could not stand to waste anymore time so I decided to aid her in getting the spear. I tried hard to levitate the spear away from him, but he used the same spell and tugged just as hard. As for why he didn't just let us have it continued to baffle me. Our efforts would have been wasted if not for a promising sound: a blood curdling scream. All of us paused from our game of Tug-O-War, and turned our heads to the noise. Evidently, cloaked ponies were being killed left and right by quick, deadly blasts of magic. The perpetrator behind the deaths was almost unseen, as the screams became numerous. "What is happening?!" Their leader bellowed. As it turned out, the assassin was one of the cloaked ponies, blasting away and killing almost everypony in sight. When turned back, Red managed to give Einherjar the slip, retrieving her spear from him. Tucking her spear beneath her wing, she charged furiously towards the remaining cult members. There were three remaining, including the lead pony. One tried to blast her, but missed as she evaded the blast. She leaped into the air, and thrust her spear with her wing into him, crying out in agony. Blood spattered on the sand, as the pony fell to his demise. Two more. When I looked towards The Knight, he was already aiming his gun at them, soon firing a countless barrage of bullets. One of them got shot in the shoulder, crying out for help. The leader heard his plea, and shielded him by casting a spell to create a pulsating barrier surrounding the two of them. Einherjar then used a teleportation spell to get closer. A radiant white aura surrounded his armored horn. It glowed brighter by the second, until a small white blast shot out, shattering the barrier like it was glass. The blast's impact was powerful enough to knock them back several feet into the air. Upon collapsing, the leader exclaimed, "What? No! That's not possible!!" Einherjar only chuckled at him as he walked up to his fallen body. He pinned him down once he got close enough, machine gun poised and ready to end the downed cultist's life. "Now... y--" Before The Knight could finish, the cloaked assassin who saved us threw a large rock at his head. Einherjar fell to the ground with a tremendous, metallic thud. The impact seemed to instantly knock him out in the process, though I was certain he had been. Apparently the blow was enough to knock his helmet off, too. The assassin then sprinted towards the two cultists, his horn engulfed in a bright green aura. I couldn't see his face though, for his back faced me every time. The two of them quivered in front of him. The 'moon-obsessed' cult, humbled by one of their own. "Traitor!" The leader said fearfully, "How c--?" The cloaked pony then mercilessly pinned his own hoof down on him, and fired. The black blast engulfed both of them, and vanished. The cultist's cloaks came loose, leaving their exposed coats in the open. They screamed in agony as their bodies started to dry up and crack, creating long gashes across their bodies. Their masks came off as well, exposing their now drying, cracked muzzles. They continued to writhe well after the cloaked pony raised his hoof. Within seconds they were nothing but dust, blowing in the cold wind. The dark clouds dissolved as the rain stopped falling. I wondered whether or not the rain was created through a spell; it stopped as soon as they died. Naturally, I was stunned and confused by what transpired. Why would a cultist betray his own brethren? I pondered this for a short while, until Red brought me back to reality. "Vagabond!" She panted, "Are you alright?" "Uh... yeah." I was a little distracted by what occurred. "Thank heavens. I was unsure of how we would survive that debacle." "That was a good time." A voice exclaimed all of a sudden. It was the cloaked pony who spoke as he walked up to us, keeping his head low to hide his face. "I was wondering when you guys would show up. Do you have any idea how long I had to wait for you three to get here? A very long while." Puzzled, I raised a brow and asked, "Who the hay are you?" "Not important right now," He diverted, "what is important however is that we high-tail it outta here. There's more of them out there." "But, didn't you just kill their leader?" Red asked. "Not quite." Red and I exchanged worried glances before turning back to him. "Then let's not waste precious time!" Red declared. "That's great, but first..." The cloaked pony went over to the unconscious body of Einherjar, and attempted to lift him up, only to fail in doing so. "...help me with this." "What?!" I said exasperatedly, "You want us to drag him with us?" "Yes." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "This guy kidnapped us for money, why should we help him?" The cloaked pony only snickered at this, "I believe you mean 'why should we help her'." He ushered me closer as curiosity overtook me. He lifted The Knight's head to reveal what the helmet hid behind it. And he was right--Einherjar was a mare. "Oh my gosh." I exclaimed aloud. Her fur was very, very light purple in color, based on seeing her face. Her mane was three tones of purple it seemed, with bangs covering her forehead. The only thing it didn't cover was her horn. "Come on buddy," The cloaked pony insisted, "let's get her outta here." Dusk. Hours passed after the ordeal, and the cloaked pony and I still dragged the unconscious Knight across the sand. The weight of the armor made it especially difficult to move her, requiring the both of us--and eventually Red--to work together. Every time I asked him questions about why we we're doing it, he always reply with "Not now", or some other iteration. Other than that, I kept silent. It's surprising how this mare could stay asleep for so long, considering how long we've dragged her. I wasn't sure of what might happen if she suddenly woke up in the middle of all this; how would I explain it if she did? The cloaked pony kept his hood down to cover his face, even as we dragged her. Essentially I became suspicious of this behavior, allowing me to believe there's more to this pony than I thought. "How can she be this heavy?" I groaned, gritting my teeth. I had to break the silence somehow. "That armor is made out of a dense metal alloy," The cloaked stallion explained, "forged to be tough enough to stop bullets. With metal like that, what did you expect it to be, weightless?" "W-well no. Obviously not." "On the plus side, suits like these are highly coveted, so they are exceedingly rare to find." "Why covet them?" "Eh, some ponies consider them to be relics of the past. Probably used in wars. Seems fitting for a hell like this." He added snidely. Now for a more important question: "Where are you taking us exactly?" I asked earnestly. The pony slightly turned his head towards me--still covering his face--and replied, "There's a little hideout I have, that'll keep you hidden for the time being." Beyond the horizon was a shallow canyon, with a long stream flowing through it. Mounds of boulders piled over the walls of the canyon like there had been an avalanche. This place was smaller than the ravine Red and I passed through though, and it was much wider. Whether this was the final stop or a scenic route, was unknown to me at the time. I wondered how we would be safe here; there were no places to hide! Nothing but boulders and the stream--which probably wasn't very deep. Once we got closer, the cloaked pony told us quietly, "I know what you're thinking: 'where's your hideout?' Well, don't worry. I'll show ya." He then tugged The Knight to the left, leading us to the cluster of boulders. I looked at him questioningly as he did so. "The hay're you looking at?" He asked. "You're leading us to a cluster of giant rocks." I told him flatly. "Not quite." A pulsating sound emitted from his horn, followed by a louder version of the sound. I looked to the rocks and was dumbfounded by what happened in front of my eyes: a small camp revealed itself out of thin air. My jaw dropped as it became visible instantaneously, my eyes were wider than saucers after that. "WHAT THE...?!" I was too shocked to finish my sentence. "I know, right? Didn't expect that, did ya?" He chuckled. "A cloaking spell? How clever of you." Red commented. The camp by itself was rather interesting in design, with a wide red canopy hanging over it. A fire pit was built in the center, along with a large assortment of random appliances surrounded it. No fire had been lit though. A box with a red cross was among the random items, likely to be a medical kit. "Come on," He ushered, "let's prop her up in here." Steadily, the cloaked pony and I dragged The Knight into the camp, and propped her up against a tall thin boulder. It took a minute and half to do so, but we accomplished our task well enough. Other than breathing, she never moved from her spot. The way she slept against the stone made her look like a guarding statue or something. Now sounded like a good time to ask the same question again. "Alright, now that we got her here, explain to me: why are we doing this? Why are we letting her live?" The cloaked pony snorted, bemused by what I said. "You mean other than it being the right thing to do? Wow, I guess we all have skewed priorities here." "That's besides the point! Why let her live, after everything she put us through?" "For one, the rock knocked her noggin, so she's probably gonna have amnesia or something by the time she wakes up. With that said, it's likely you guys can use that to your advantage if you wish... Given your 'standards'." Is he seriously questioning my morals?! "MY standards?" I challenged him, "You betrayed your own brethren so how does that make you any different?" The cloaked pony seemed to have reflected on this before answering, "I was assigned to kill you back at Glanchester. I almost did. But then I had the idea to disguise myself. It was then that you showed me genuine kindness, and even though I was told to kill you, I couldn't help but disobey my orders." Red and I were equally confused. None of us knew what he was talking about. "You were in Glanchester to kill him?" Red asked, "What for?" "Long story." "And what do you mean by 'disguise yourself'?" I demanded. It was then that the cloaked pony lifted his head, and removed his hood. What revealed was a disheveled mess of mane at nape length, and a scarred muzzle and face. A long scar went along his left eye, which was cloudy. His right eye was brown in color, still intact. I noticed that he had something around his neck, what looked like... A collar?! He lifted the tag of the collar with his hoof and said, "For a long time, I got pretty used to being a dog." My mouth gaped from shock. "B-Boomer?!"
Chapter One: AwakeningAt first it was darkness... but then... came... light. Or at least what I assumed was light. My vision was a little blurry but it cleared up eventually. Before me were tall frost covered trees, hundreds of them. Cold air swept through my coat as I felt the discomfort of something beneath me. It felt hard and damp. I lift up my head as white snow fell from my head and muzzle. I looked up and saw the glimmer of moonlight from under the tree's branches. A blanket of snow covered the forest floor. The moonlight shone upon the snow making it seem... whiter. The air was cold sure, but at least it was not windy; a cold breeze would be enough to make me shiver to death. I had hoped it was not the case. The sight of it is breathtaking... but... what am I doing here? My body shook from head to tail, goose eggs appeared on my coat. It was obvious--I was freezing. I need to find a place to be kept warm from this weather, but where would I go? Alas, I do not know where I would find warmth in such a dense forest. I put all my strength into getting up, straining and shaking to lift myself up. When I got myself up I wanted to make sure I stood on my hooves. I looked around to see if there were any signs of shelter close by, but it looked like there weren't. I tried lifting my hoof up as it sunk in the cold wet snow. Sooner than that I started trudging through the snow not knowing where to go. I knew I had to find refuge but I won't find anything here. There has to be somewhere safe out here! The snow was thick and hard to to move through, the trees were either very close together or farther apart. The perpetual moonlight still shone in the night sky so it was not so hard to see where I was going. My body kept shivering from the cold, steam coming out of my mouth as I took each breath. Every hoofstep was a struggle; it was like I was never used to this weather! I probably wasn't, I don't remember. I could not hear anything except for myself, my breathing, and my hoofsteps. All I saw before me was more snow covered trees packed even more denser than ever. Darkness was its entrance, tall shadows fell upon the blanket of snow. I'm not sure if I prefer this route I decided, unnerved by its imposing appearance, I should probably turn back and head in another direction. Something about the way these trees looked gave me an uncomfortable chill. It wasn't just the thick trees but darkness coursed through through the wood in ways I dare not repeat. I then heard a more than unnerving sound; a deep moan which came from those very trees. My fur stood on end and I immediately turned around to face behind me. I tried to be quick and run away from the sounds that came from those trees. It did not matter if I dove down into the snow, as long as I was far from whatever made that hideous noise I would be alright... I hope. It became a little bit easier for me to move through the snow, perhaps I was getting used to moving around in it. I was thankfully able to get more than a hundred yards away from those trees. With each trot I panted out more steam from my mouth. I trudged through more snow despite whatever chunks of it clung to my coat and muzzle. I hoped I was heading in a safer direction than where I was originally going. It would have been a blessing if I had a compass, then I would know exactly which direction I'm headed. However since I don't I would have to rely on my intuition which, I am sure, was flawed. I mustn't be too doubtful, I'm sure there is a place where I can be secure. I walked for what seemed an eternity. My hooves ached and chapped from walking so much. The trees started to part around me as I came upon a clearing. As I got closer I realized that there was a mound or a small hill within the center. The mound had an opening which had an overhang. Hopefully this would be the shelter he was looking for. I hope this won't be too perilous I approached the mound carefully, hoping there wasn't something sleeping within it. I squinted to get a better look inside. It didn't seem like anything was residing in the mound, so I got even closer. The mound was roughly bigger than I was and the opening should be large enough for me to fit inside. I did my best to crawl under the overhang, braving the cold wet feeling of snow under my stomach. Once I managed to get inside I bumped my head on the roof of the mound, sending bits of dirt over my face and muzzle. I shook it off. Well, it is a little warmer in here. Not by much though. Still, it's better than sleeping out in the cold. As little room as it had I had to cope with it... at least for the rest of the night. Since I was already on the ground I should have no trouble finding some comfort. I shifted, tossed and turned until I found my comfort spot. I have to get out of this forest. Tomorrow must be the day. "Ugh..." I groaned tiredly. My body ached when I awoke. I felt the sudden chill of morning air from the opening. Some of the snow from the mound started to melt over; water dripped from the overhang onto the snow. I looked through the opening and saw that the snow on the ground was also beginning to melt, leaving patches of grass to sprout from the ground. I wanted to get a better look, so I decided to crawl out of the mound. Dirt poured over me when I bumped my head again in my attempt to do so. Dang it! Once I got out I ended up barreling onto the snow outside; yelping as I somersaulted on the forest floor. Once I stopped I was covered in dirt snow and clippings of grass. I even got some into my mouth which I spat out. I got back up from my tumble to see more of the landscape in front of me. Not so different from before, only now in the daytime. There were more patches of grass in the snow and from what I started to feel the air was getting warmer. I looked up to the skies only to find an overcast sky, grey with a small spot for the sun to shine. The brightness of it was enough to make me squint my eyes. I averted my eyes from it to focus on a more important task: getting out of this forest. I wasn't sure where to go. I only found this place to rest, that was the only reason. This forest seemed huge but I was sure that I would find a way out and soon. I decided to make my way back from where I began and continue from there. It became easier to move with the snow melting; it was not as thick as last night. Every hoofstep I took left prints in the crunchy snow and the dirt beneath it. Every tree looked no different from the rest much like before. They were still covered in frost and snow but less as much this time around. I came upon the parting trees once more, signalling that I had to be on the right path to... wherever I was going. What I haven't noticed before was how the branches connected from tree to tree. It was like they were somehow grown that way, or maybe something else entirely but I probably won't know for sure. It was at this time where I started to think about the unnerving trees again. Before it didn't seem clear but now I started to remember them vividly. Those trees... they had some sort of dark aura around them... like black snakes slithering between the branches... But then I remembered the worst thing about them: the moaning. The eerie moan of the trees didn't get to me as much as it did remembering it. It was like there were lost souls crying out to be saved, only to have them suffer instead. No. I can't torment myself with whatever little thing bothers me. I must press on! As I continued my trek I came across some familiar grounds. I could even see the hoofprints I left from last night. They had to be mine. The hoofprints in question were deep and led back to where I began. I picked up my pace and followed where my hoofsteps led. I suppose this is one way of "retracing my steps". The tree which I last laid upon was now in sight. There was still a crunched up area from where I woke up. I wasn't sure WHAT I was thinking when I walked up to the tree... but then I noticed something. There seemed to have been something on the tree that he missed entirely. As I got closer I realized there was a symbol right above where I last lay. The symbol depicted a six pointed star surrounded by five smaller ones. What is this? I wondered. Something about this symbol... it must have been familiar to me in some way. But... I couldn't remember. It's like a nagging feeling, except nothing comes up. Did it have any significance? Was it made here recently? Does it belong to a pony? What is this symbol... and why do I feel like I should know what this is? As sudden as the wind, I heard crunching hoofsteps approaching me from behind. I turned to face another pony who walked up to me. It was an older stallion by the looks of him. He was an Earth pony who had baggy eyes, a coarse beard, and a salt and pepper colored mane. His cutie mark was covered by all the luggage he carried around his waist. "Good morn'n." He greeted in a very deep voice. "Uh... hello." I said nervously. "How'v y'been?" I didn't know how to answer without sounding insane. "Confused, I guess. Who are you?" "Name's Oak. Some ponies call me Ronny." he introduced himself before he asked curiously, "What'cha do'n out here this deep in the forest?" "I honestly don't know, Mr. Oak." He raised a brow but nodded understandably. "How 'bout you? Ya gotta name?" I searched in my thoughts for an answer... but then I felt a continuous sinking feeling in my chest. For some reason I unable to find the appropriate answer. "Um, sir?" He sounded concerned. "It's a just a simple question." "I... I don't know!" I was frightened. "I can't remember!" The older stallion's eyes widened in surprise, "You can't remember your own name?" What is wrong with me? Why can't I remember my own name?! It may be possible that my name wasn't the only thing I had forgotten... but rather my older memories entirely. The only thing I could remember was waking up under this very tree, anything before that seemed nonexistent. All of the memories I've collected were more recent. I didn't just start wondering what my name was... but who I WAS! "I'm sorry," I apologized, "I can't seem to remember my name, or why I'm in this forest." "No need to be sorry 'bout it." He told me calmly, "Ya must have amnesia or something." "Amnesia..." It made sense. "That must be why I'm having trouble remembering." It shouldn't have been to surprising to me. Waking up in a forest, not knowing who you are or why you're here... It was obvious. And because I can't remember anything prior to waking up in a forest, I couldn't think of how it happened in the first place. "Anyway, I have to git go'n." He decided, "My wife is wait'n for me now." "Wait!" I suddenly said, "Do you know the way out of this place?" "Eh? You don't know your way outta here?" "No sir." "All right. I'll help ya." I got very excited when he acquiesced, "You will? Thank you so much!" "Eh, no problem." He smiled before he turned to face the opposite direction. "Just follow me and you'll be good." As he began to trot, I rushed to his side before he got too far away. He started humming a cheery and upbeat tune I wasn't familiar with. I would have hummed with him if it wasn't for another question that bothered me so. "Excuse me, Mr. Oak?" "Something on yer mind?" "Do you know what that symbol on that tree means?" I asked him politely. He turned his head back towards the tree I mentioned and turned back to me, "I don't think I do. I've never seen a star like that on anything before. Sorry if that don't answer yer question." "That's alright." I told him, "Maybe I'll find out soon." It had to have been at least half an hour before we finally made it out. The trees were behind us now and all that's left before us was... a vast open plain. It was blanketed with snow yet there were several patches of ground all across the land. There was not another tree in sight. It seemed very open yet... empty. "Well, we made it out." The other stallion assured. "Would you prefer if I help you navigate across this place?" "What is this place?" I asked in awe--but not in a good sense. "This is simply a plain. It's usually grassy, but with all this snow still around it makes it pretty hard for ANYTHING to grow!" Oak then started to laugh. I was very confused, "Why are you laughing? What's so funny?" "Haha! Nothing. I'm just try'n ta light'n the mood is all." After that we stopped talking and continued moving. As I walked I started to become aware of my surroundings, everything from eyeing large hills to listening to the hollow sound of the wind that picked up. The ground beneath my hooves felt a little different from when I was in the forest. The patches revealed a lighter colored dirt, beige in color. Withered plants were dotted everywhere, dying from dehydration. Looking up at the sky I noticed it was still overcast, but the sun was blocked by the grey clouds. What kind of place is this? What happened here? "Are ya hungry?" He asked me. I could hear my stomach start to growl and rumble as we walked. "Um... Yes." "Lets stop here for a bit." He went over to the side close to a large rock. "What about your wife?" I reminded him. "Didn't you say she would be waiting for you?" "Ah, she can wait a little longer." He said nonchalantly. For a time we both sat down next to the boulder and started eating. He had unpacked a few sandwiches shaped like a cat's face. Inside it was stuffed with lettuce, tomato, among other condiments. When I took a bite I felt the juices from the tomato drip down my muzzle. I savored every bite from this creation. "This is really good!" I complimented. "But why is it shaped like a cat?" "Yeah, ma little one always makes the bread into the shapes of cats. She's quite the creative one." "I'm guessing she likes cats?" "I dunno." He took several bites before he spoke once again, "We've never had one before. Though our neighbors have one that wanders the block where we live. Maybe that's where she got her inspiration." Hmm... odd. But not completely out of the ordina-- "I have something to ask." I didn't know what I was thinking when I said "What? What is it?" Ronny seemed confused and worried. "Something else bother'n ya?" "In the forest... there were trees I saw..." I had trouble with answering. "They... they were surrounded by... a dark aura." He looked at me as if I was crazy (I hoped I wasn't), frowning and raising his brow again. It was clear he didn't believe me, that much is true. "Dark aura, eh?" By the tone in his voice, he was not convinced. "Boy, I've been in that forest all ma life and I ain't ever seen any 'dark aura' on any tree." It couldn't hurt to ask him another question. "Do you know anything about dark aura, Mr. Oak?" His brow came down when I asked. "I'm afraid I don't know much about that kinda thing. Sorry." "Well... do you know anypony who does?" I continued to pry. "Hmm..." Once he finished his meal he put a hoof on his chin. "Ah--no, no wait..." As he was thinking, I continued to finish my sandwich. He kept muttering on the topic for almost a good two minutes. A slight breeze had swept through the land which felt rather chilly to me, yet it didn't seem to bother the older stallion. "Oh! Now I remember!" He found the answer. "I don't know anypony specifically, but I do know a place where they talk about that sort of thing; a town so to speak." "A town?" "Yep. Stargarde's the name of it. I've never been there m'self but it's not that far from my hometown." Stargarde. Strange name... yet it sounds... very familiar, somehow.
Chapter Two: A Vast Desert"How far is your home?" I asked. "Not far, now." Ron replied, "Just a few more minutes and we'll reach it." After our lunch we continued to trek across the plains. The older stallion knew where he was going, whereas I did not. I kept looking all around and still saw nothing, other than melting snow and patches of uncovered sand. There were hardly any animals around, except for a single bird that flew over us as we walked. Our hooves crunched in the mix of snow and sand, leaving continuous tracks. What will I do once we get there? It was the question I continued asking myself. Should I just wander into a town I knew nothing about? I couldn't ask to stay with him and his family, it would seem rather rude. There had to be another alternative. Thoughts of what Ron had said earlier about Stargarde soon flooded my mind again. If this town has somepony who could tell me about dark aura... Then it hit me! "Mr. Oak?" "Yes?" He turned to me as he walked. "Could you take me to Stargarde?" I asked earnestly, "You said it wasn't far from your hometown." "What?!" He seemed surprised for whatever reason. I was more than confused at his remark. "What's wrong?" "I... mean... it's just that..." He started fidgeting nervously. "What?" I grew more concerned by the minute. "S-S-Stargarde's not a very friendly place. Why the hay would you wanna go there?!" I had grown rather suspicious. "When I asked you if you knew somepony who knew about dark aura," I quickly reminded him, "you told me that the town talks about that sort of thing." "Well... yeah. But I'd never think you'd consider going there!" As he looked at me his eyes were wide and fearful. This doesn't make any sense! Ron Oak was obviously not comfortable talking about it, which still made little sense. When he first mentioned Stargarde he wasn't as frightened about it, yet when I asked for him to take me there he looked like he was about to wet himself! Maybe he didn't think I'd actually want to go there. He probably just wanted to answer my question earlier. "Why is Stargarde an unfriendly place?" I demanded, "What is so frightening about this place?" Oak remained silent, not even glancing back at me. "Lets just... stop talking about it." He decided hastily. "I think I can see my town on the horizon." There's something he's not telling me. I thought to myself, growing more skeptical as I ponder. It dawned on me that he was definitely hiding something. His behavior not only made me feel anxious around him but it also made him more sketchy. He had kept quiet for a longer span of time than usual, which made the silence more unpleasant than it should. As we continued to walk across the sandy landscape I spotted ten large white structures jutting out of a sandy hill. They were curved inward and seemed to be massive. Six seemed completely in tact while the other four were either broken or damaged in some way. I wondered what it could have been, whether they were pillars or played some part in construction. Yet... the longer I look at them, they seem to actually resemble... They're bones. Rib bones. I guessed. I had not seen such bones in my life--from what I could remember, anyway, whatever those bones belong to must have been immense in size. I didn't ponder on this for long, as I was about to witness something else entirely. Mr. Oak stopped dead in his tracks. I came up to him and looked at his blank expression. He saw something, that was obvious, but what he saw was somewhere off in the distance. I tried to snap him out of it but he was still as a statue. "We have to run." He said quietly. "What is it? What's going on?" I attempted to get an answer. Oak seemed to quiver, "We need ta get off the road. Quick! Follow me!" Oak galloped off the side of the road faster than I thought. I didn't know why, but out of instinct I started running after him. Sand spattered everywhere as I picked up speed. I squinted to prevent any particles from getting into my eyes from all the sand being kicked. Through my limited vision I could see Oak turning back to me as he sprinted. "COME ON!" He shouted. "What the hay's going on?!" I had gotten tired of running and him not answering. I caught up to him as he said, "We're take'n a slight detour!" "Why? What did you see?" "HALT!!!" I heard a shout behind me. I really didn't want to look behind me out of fear of who it was. I heard more yells from behind me, possibly several ponies chasing after us. They continued to call after us to halt but Oak just kept running. Hooves behind us kept pounding as they seemed to be getting close. It was likely our pursuers were Earth ponies or unicorns, because if they were pegasi they wouldn't have been so noticeable. It was at this point where I begun to question this ordeal even further. Why were we being chased by these ponies? And what do they want with Oak? Oak sprinted farther away. I wasn't sure how an old stallion could run so fast but I didn't question it. Perhaps he was gifted sprinter? Maybe. Through the sand I witnessed something else... a long flying shaft shot across the air towards Ron Oak. When it struck Oak's shoulder he yelled and tumbled on the sand beneath. I shook the sand off my face and outta my mane as I rushed to Oak's collapsed body. It didn't take long to catch up to him since he fell into the sand. The object was a spear now lodged in his shoulder blade, bleeding trickles of blood from the wound. "Mr. Oak!" I was concerned for his safety as the other ponies were catching up. "Forget about me, kid!" He yelled in pain, "Just go! Keep move'n forward!" "FREEZE!" I heard a pony yell off in the distance. "Quick, take the bag." He told me as he gasped for breath, "It has plenty of food and water to last you for a long while." I was reluctant at first but I acquiesced to his request. "Alright." I glanced behind to see seven stallions rushing towards us from two hundred feet away. They seemed to be wearing purple saddle armor and helmets. They were armed with spears at their sides and furious gazes upon their faces. I faced ahead and galloped forward as I tried hard to outrun them. It felt conflicting to leave that pony behind, but on the other hoof he was already injured and we wouldn't have escaped from them. Still... I wish I could've helped. The pounding hooves ceased from behind me. I dared not to turn back now that they've stopped. Yet I was still confused. I still didn't know what was happening and why. I was out of breath so I had to stop and rest. As I let the dry air into my lungs the world around me seemed to quiet down. Dunes surrounded the landscape before me, the skies still overcast. I dared to look behind me. When I did, the armored stallions were removing the spear from his body. They worked together to carry him over one of their backs. They didn't seem to notice me which was good. The seven armored stallions turned their way back to whence they came. At the time I wasn't sure where they came from but I wasn't willing to find out. So, with them gone, I continued moving forward. Ron was not specific about it, only telling me to keep moving forward. There must be a settlement there. I said to myself. Maybe Stargarde is in that direction! With that in mind I had no reason to turn back! I continued on my way, not knowing what's ahead of me. Before me was nothing more than sandy dunes, small wilted plants, as well as a few skeletons of dead animals. As to how it came to be I didn't know. The air was still, not a breeze to be felt. It was warm out here but not too warm. Overcast skies still blocked the sun which might have been why it wasn't so hot. Either way, I had to keep on going. As of this point... I felt like an idiot. How did I not realize I was a unicorn?! I said to myself, irritated. It had taken me this long to realize that I have a horn at the top of my head. Am I the most brilliant?! And since I'm a unicorn I could use magic... but now I don't remember how to use it... why does this keep happening to me? As annoyed as I was at my own stupidity, I had bigger problems ahead of me. I had kept moving forward for possibly two or three hours since Oak was taken. I had lied down next to a large boulder snacking on the contents of his bag. More cat shaped sandwiches were there as well as a thermos filled with water. I savored every bite like before, considering there wasn't a whole lot of food to be had in the bag itself. Ron Oak stated there was enough food to "last for a long while". As for how long that would be seemed more relevant now than ever before. The overcast sky began to darken, meaning the day was transitioning into night. There seemed to have been a faint glimpse of the sun setting just beyond the horizon. The day had definitely been long and probably won't be the first. I could feel my eyes start to sag once I finished eating. It was easy to tell that I was without a doubt exhausted, letting out a yawn every now and then. As I curled myself up I saw my own cutie mark, which looked like a silver shield. On that shield was a six pointed star which appeared similar to the one on that tree in in the forest. Hmm... what if?... no. No that can't be. Whatever thought I had I pushed aside for hopes of sleep. In spite of closing my eyes sleep alluded me. Every time I tried to make myself comfortable I couldn't fall asleep somehow. I needed sleep. I need to rest for what lies ahead of me. I tried closing my eyes tighter, hoping I would fall asleep that way. It didn't work. I was getting increasingly frustrated at my futile attempts to sleep. "Go to sleep, you foal!" I shouted at myself. It was getting to a point where I had to find newer tactics to sleep. I quickly got myself up to pace back and forth from where I stood. I thought that maybe I could tire myself out that way. Sand had been kicked around by my hooves as I brusquely paced in one spot for almost a minute. Another minute passes and still nothing. "Why am I having such a hard time sleeping?" I asked myself aloud. With nopony else around it became hard not to talk to myself. I had been so used to Oak's company for a while before he was taken. It felt much better having another pony around to talk to, instead of having to talk to yourself. Despite that, I still wondered why he had acted so nervous. I had also wondered about the seven guards and why they captured him. Those guards were after him for a reason. Was he wanted for something? Did they subdue him for something he did? If that was the case then that would make him a criminal. But I can't just make an assumption like that; I just met the guy! My legs began to ache the more I paced. I stopped myself only to collapse on the ground with an audible thud. I might have paced for more than I needed to. My head was heavy with questions and worries about the previous events. It was at a point where it was too much to bear. I needed to stop thinking about these questions and focus on the most important task... SLEEP. At first I seemed to be accomplishing my goal. That was... until I had heard something. I had opened my eyes as quickly as possible when I did. It was a crunching sound that came from somewhere behind the boulder. I jolted up from where I lay, afraid of what made that noise. For several moments I stood as still as a statue, waiting for the sound to fill my ears once more. My heart was sinking and my breath was steady yet silent. I wasn't sure what instinct told me to sneak behind the boulder, but I couldn't just stand still without knowing what's out there. Tip-toeing my way behind the boulder I had peered my head behind the boulder, to see whatever's out there. All I could see beyond was nothing I have not already seen; sand and dunes. I moved my ears around to try and pick up the sound. The only sound that I had heard was the cold wind sweeping across the land. I had felt the icy breeze run through my mane and coat. My body started to shiver when it did. I felt the wind getting colder with every second passing. Suddenly, a new sensation took me... Something's behind me... My head slowly turned to face a another pony. A hardened, fierce looking, dark unicorn stallion rushed toward me with almost blinding speeds. Within an instant I was pinned down onto the sandy floor by this other stallion. The light from the moon shone, and it was then when I got a better view of his face. His eyes showed deep fury, his crooked teeth were bared with hatred. This dark colored stallion was not planning to let me go any time soon. His breath was hot and smelled hideously foul, like he ate a rotten pile of dung. "You!" He breathed in my face. "I'll make you pay!" I was too afraid to speak, worried that he would kill me faster. By foul stench or otherwise is anypony's guess. His horn had a hellish red glow when he lit it. A metallic ringing invaded my ears as he wore a sickening grin. He had levitated a rather large bladed knife pointed directly at me. The mysterious stallion started to chuckle quietly as he breathed his next sentence. "I will enjoy EVERY moment of this!" He began to cackle. I've got to get this guy off me! I thought quickly. I had my back hooves curled up under him into a kicking position. As the sick mugger was about to stab I bucked him off with as much force as I could, sending off into the air and onto the ground a few feet away. I hurried to get myself back up, flailing my hooves to finally find footing on the sand. Huh. Guess I don't know my own strength. However, he got himself back up quickly and growled furiously. He rushed in for another assault. Since I was aware of him this time I evaded his attack easily. I knew I had to fight him somehow but fighting him with bare hooves wasn't exactly the most efficient way of dealing with him. I have to disarm him. He held his knife downward while trying to circle around me. I circled him clockwise to make sure he didn't come behind me. It became a bit of a waiting game to see who moved first. I kept my gaze on him anticipating his next move, even though I wasn't sure what I had to do to get away from him. He bared his teeth again as he was about to come at me once more. The furious stallion slashed the knife in the air when he got close. I tried to buck him but I ended up missing him and he took advantage of it. He slashed the blade wildly like a maniac, trying his best to at least lacerate me. I moved quickly to evade his attacks, however I found myself getting cut in the process. It stung but I'll get over it. His eyes were red and crazed as if he was on something or was just plain mad. He roared as he came at me flailing his blade faster than ever before. As quick as he was, he left a window of opportunity for me. I bucked his face with a lot of force and the knife flew from his grasp. I rushed to the flying knife and caught it with levitation. I rushed to the downed stallion and held the knife out in front of me. I've done it! I held the knife to his throat when I had gotten close enough. He didn't even try to escape, he only stared at me with eyes full of hatred. I gave him an angry look and he seemed to calm down, strangely enough. It was probably because I had pinned him down, and kicked his flank. Nothing could help his breath though so I did my best not to gag. "Look," I had told him with hostility, "I don't know who you are or why you want to kill me, but I swear, I WILL kill you if you even dare attack me again!" The stallion grimaced and flared his nostrils. "Fffffine!" "Leave. Now!" I had not noticed how intimidating I seemed to him. I allowed him to get up, knife still at his throat. He backed up as I moved toward him. I wanted to make sure that he got my warning and wasn't going to try anything. He backed away and ran, but stopped just a few yards away. He glanced back at me with a tranquil fury. "Just so you know," He said, "that if I find you again... I WILL kill you. And then, I'll have my retribution!" Without another word, he was gone. I sighed deeply in great relief and was immensely grateful he was out of sight. My heart pounded steadily now and no longer felt like it was about to stop. I could finally smell fresher air this time. I walked back to where I tried to sleep; next to the boulder. I laid myself down and with that, I believed to have found what I was looking for... sleep. Dark clouds began to rumble as I trekked across countless dunes. It seemed ridiculous to me how vast this desert is! The wind started to pick up and I had felt a few drips of rain falling down on me. Soon enough the sand will become wet and make the day that much harder. Thankfully I hadn't seen any flashes of lightning. I REALLY didn't want to be in a storm at all! I had to keep going and hopefully reach my destination... wherever that may be. Ron was never specific on how far it was, and I continued hoping that it wasn't too far off. Whatever this place is, it better be somewhere warm and DRY! I thought irritably. After the skirmish last night, I made sure to take the knife with me, just in case anything happens. I had kept it in the bag that Ron Oak gave me. Every time I reminded myself of last night the stallion's words echoed into my head; "...if I find you again... I WILL kill you. And then, I'll have my retribution." He wanted to kill me for something I did. Considering I don't remember anything before the forest, something might have happened between me and that stallion. I might have actually done something to deserve vengeance! As for what I don't remember! The scariest thought of all was whether or not I was a good pony at all. I could have been a vile cretin for all I know! I honestly didn't want to be one, that's for sure. I mean, how could I live with myself knowing that I was a terrible pony? I've thought long and hard about that. Thunder rolled loudly, the rain soaked my fur down to the bone. The bag was damp and it's likely the food was in the same condition. I was miserable, tired, wet... and probably smelled horrible too. It wouldn't have been as bad as that stallion's breath though, that's for sure! Lightning flashed as I continued across the muddy sand, making me flinch at the incredibly loud roll of thunder afterward. But then... I saw what looked like a sign of hope... "A light post!" I gasped. A pale white light illuminated a wooded post. The light came from a lamp hanging from the post's arch. As I got closer I noticed that the post also had a square shaped sign on it's shaft. It was old and dilapidated in appearance, as if it had been there for decades. I trotted over to said post to get a better view of the sign. I couldn't tell what it said at first because I didn't recognize the font--and the light was blindingly bright. After a while I managed to figure out what it actually said: WELCOME TO THE TOWN OF GLANCHESTER! Glanchester?! I could've sworn he meant Stargarde! I was a little more than upset that it wasn't Stargarde. It didn't really seem to matter too much considering that it's at least somewhere to stay for now. Beyond the post was a silhouette of what looked like a small town, but when lightning flashed once more the town itself came into view. I didn't think twice before galloping to the town, unaware of what may lie there. Puddles of water were splayed across the area, most of them were fairly wide in size. I did my best to avoid them as much as possible; I don't need to get even more wet. As I got closer I noticed the entrance was a large iron gate guarded by two armored ponies. Both ponies were armed with spears and wore copper colored saddle armor and helmets. The one on the left was taller than the other and stockier, meanwhile the one on the left was shorter and had a lanky appearance. They had taken notice of me when I came within a few yards from them. "Hold on!" The bigger one said, with a slightly feminine voice. "State your business!" Said the other. I stopped in front of them and noticed that the larger one was actually a mare. She looked even taller than I was! The other was a stallion, slightly shorter than me. The mare's coat was a chestnut brown, while the other's was a baby blue. Both had stern faces and were not planning on letting me in without further knowledge. "I'm only a traveler; looking for shelter." I told them truthfully. "Look'n fer shelter are ya? Ha!" The small stallion challenged, "Like I haven't heard that one before!" "Must you really?" The mare turned to the other, "Every time somepony comes here, you just have to believe that!" "What? This bloke looks rather suspicious!" "You think EVERYPONY'S suspicious!" "I do not!" "Yes you do and you know it!" "Alright, alright. Say somepony was to come here and they had bulges in their bags almost bigger than them, wouldn't you find them the least bit suspicious?" "He's only got one bag!" "That's not what I'm say'n!" "That's not the point!..." "Uh..." I tried to get their attention even though they just kept bickering. "Anyway..." The mare decided to end it there, thankfully, "What's your name, traveler?" As they argued I came up with something suitable for now, "Vagabond. My name is Vagabond." Both of them looked at one another, brows raised. They leaned to the other and started whispering to one another. I couldn't tell what they were saying since both of them were speaking so quietly in comparison to when they argued. The small stallion's head jerked back in response to something the mare said. I'll melt into a puddle by the time they're finished! I thought impatiently. They broke out of their little chat after a few minutes, "Consider yourself lucky, Mr. Vagabond." The stallion went over to unlock the gate with a ring of keys. After fiddling for the right key he eventually found it and proceeded. He had then opened on end of the iron gate with his hoof and gestured me in. I was more than thankful for FINALLY opening the dang thing! As I was about to enter, the stallion guard put a hoof on my shoulder. "Don't do anythin' to make me regret this." He whispered, trying to sound intimidating. "Oh, just leave him alone!" The mare guard said disgruntled. He lifted his hoof away from my shoulder as I went about my business. The town itself was average sized I suppose. There were not a lot of ponies in sight because of the rain, yet those few walked through it without a care in the world. The ground was paved in cobblestone tile with some areas having piles of bird crap. The small buildings were all one story and looked as if they had been there for ages! There was even a pungent odor surrounding the premises that made my nose want to leave my muzzle. Other ponies didn't seem to mind. This place is in a pretty bad shape. Regardless of how bad it looked, anywhere is better than the desert. An old mare sat on a crooked wooden bench in the middle of the street. She seemed to have a frail gait as she sat. As for why an old mare would sit on a bench in the pouring rain, is beyond me. I didn't focus on it for too long however. I had figured the best decision would be to find an inn or something; I knew I couldn't just roam around in the rain. As I explored the town, I stumbled upon a wide building with a dilapidated sign which said, "GLANCHESTER INN". Original, huh? I honestly couldn't have cared less about the bland name, so I just went in anyway. When I opened the door, I was greeted by a green stallion with a wide grin. He wore a messy brown bow tie and apron. "Welcome to Glanchster Inn!" He said cheerfully, "How may I be of service?" "Are there any rooms available?" I asked. "Oh sure, sure! Not many ponies are staying at the moment so you're good to go!" "How much for one night?" "About ten bits." Fortunately for me--not so much for Oak--there were around thirty bits in the bag I carried along with the food and knife. I opened up the bag and found the ten bits required for a room. I handed him the gold pieces as he grinned even wider than before. He then gestured me inside the spacious establishment. As I walked in, there were at least fewer than eight ponies inside, some sitting on a fine leather couch. Some of them stared at me blankly while others seemed more than a little curious. A dim light emitted from an old fashioned lamp. "Here," the worker went over to a desk at brought back a key, "This'll be your room key. It has a number on it which tells you which room your staying." "Alright then." I said calmly. 10 was the number on the key. It sounded coincidental at first since that was how much I paid him. I looked around a bit to get used to my surroundings. The floor was wooden with all kinds of mysterious stains. There was circular rug here underneath a coffee table, right in front of the couch. Above the couch was a painting depicting a castle of sorts on a mountainside. The castle had a unique design to it, with intricate spires and a luscious waterfall in the background. Hmm... does that place actually exist? I pondered. "Ahem!" The cheery stallion came up to me. "Is something wrong?" I turned to him and said, "No. No, not all." "I couldn't help but notice that you were admiring such a fabulous painting of Canterlot. It's cheap but still looks nice." "Canterlot?" That was the first time I ever heard that name. "Silly pony! How can you NOT know what Canterlot is?" He sounded aghast at my question. "It's a famous place, I'm guessing?" "Canterlot used to be a glorious city, and was the home of the two Princesses." "Used to be?" The stallion was even more surprised by that than my first question. "Well, we don't know what happened. All we know is that the kingdom fell into ruins somehow. Anypony who knows about it is most likely very old or dead!" What kind of world IS this?!
Chapter Three: Hazards Chapter Three: Hazards Room 10 was a pretty dismal looking place. The wallpaper didn't match the color of the cracked ceiling, the floor had multiple sticky stains, and the bathroom was rather small and dirty. The smell wasn't too bad, but it wasn't great either. As for the bed... well, it wasn't pleasing to the eye, but anything is better than sleeping on the floor. I'm not staying here for very long. I just need some rest. I told myself. The lighting was just as mediocre as the lobby. The only source came from a single, flower shaped lamp attached to the wall, which lit up about a third of the room. There were no windows here, which made me feel a little anxious. Instead, there was a loud, rectangular air conditioner close by the bed. It was a pretty rusty and old looking model, which was probably made a very long time ago. The old machine did its job though. Cool air flowed throughout the entire room, making it feel a little chilly. It reminded me of how cold it was in the forest, but thankfully it wasn't that cold. Since the room was rather small in size, I walked over to my bed in a matter of seconds. I dried myself off before I even entered the room, because who likes to sleep to sleep cold and wet? Not me. I got myself onto the bed which felt better than the sand, but it could have been softer and much more comfortable. I pulled the covers over my body and proceeded to rest right where I lay. The only ambiance to be heard was the air conditioner's low hum. It wasn't too loud to be annoyed by, and it wasn't too quiet not to be heard. The hum was actually pretty relaxing to me for some reason, I couldn't explain why. It made me think little about everything that transpired and allowed me to stay calm. As for how long it will last, I didn't know, but I enjoyed every moment of it. Eventually, it seemed as though the air conditioners hum lulled into closing my eyes. There was nothing. Nothing but the hum... my bed... and the pitch black. I was so tired, and now I can finally get a better rest. However... in the darkness, I saw a faint glow. A shining light came towards me, becoming brighter by the second. The shape of the light began to morph into a spiral. As it did, the light's color began to shift into a dark purple. Then I heard voices; all indistinct and unknown. They began to groan as it got closer, pulling my body towards it. The light morphed again, but... I couldn't tell what it was. The amorphous light was getting even bigger with each passing moment. My body shook vigorously at the sight of it. Even though I didn't know what the hay it was, I knew it wasn't good. YOU... MUSSS... I heard it say in a chorus of voices. Before it could finish its sentence... I awoke. Sweat covered my body from muzzle to hoof. I was panting out of fear for whatever the hay that thing was. It was relieving to awake from that... brief as it was. Needless to say, I was a little more than shaken by that dream. The air conditioner still hummed, and the flower lamp was still on. It seemed like nothing has changed all since I slept. That didn't worry me as much as the dream however. That light... what was it? It swam in my mind almost as much as Stargarde, the stallion, Canterlot and the rest of the world. What remained in the back of my skull was the thought of the star symbol on the tree, and dark aura surrounding a group of trees. There was so many questions to ask, but there was no way of having every single one answered. I think I've spent enough time here. I told myself, Now to get outta here. It didn't matter how much I slept, I had no strong desire of staying any longer than necessary. I needed to find somewhere else; a place where I might find more answers to the questions that bothered me so. This place doesn't seem to trustworthy enough to house said answers. While Stargarde is probably out of my reach, It most likely won't matter as much. After I got myself out of bed my hooves led me straight for the door. I made sure I grabbed my bag and fastened it to my waist before I did. As I was about to turn the knob with my magic, I noticed something wasn't right. Looking down there was a shadow of somepony standing just behind the door. Without hesitating, I got my knife out in case if it was the stallion who tried to kill me. I breathed quietly as I slowly turned the knob. The knob creaked more loudly than intended which made me cringe. I held my knife upwards in front of me in case this pony was eager to try something. I opened the door as quickly as I could, knife pointed directly at the unknown pony. I then heard a girly squeal come out of a green stallion that was before me. He cowered in front of me, shielding his face. "Oh, goodness! Please, spare me!" The manager sobbed fearfully. I couldn't have been more embarrassed. "Crap! I'm so sorry, I thought y--" "For Celestia's sake, you almost killed me! Why do have a knife with you, eh?!" He broke away from his cowering and stood up. "It's a long story. Anyway, I was about to check out of this place and be on my way." His frown faded into an uncomfortable smile. "Check out? Already?" "Yes. I wasn't planning on staying very long." "B-b-but you just got here. A-a-a-and we haven't had many guests staying for such a minimal amount of time. Are you really sure you want to check out so soon?" What the hay's this guy doing?! "Listen," I tried to be as tranquil as possible, "As comfortable as this place may be, I have to be somewhere else." As I exited the room the manager kept getting in my way, even going as far as to walk backwards while in the hallway. I tried walking around him, but he incessantly blocked my path. He still had that nervous smile across his face which was making me uncomfortable. The terrible lighting made the hallway seem more ominous than it should, combined with this green stallion made every hair on my neck stand on end. I was getting annoyed with this guy quickly, and had to tell him off. "I don't know what you want, but seriously, get outta my way!" My patience was tested, and I couldn't take it anymore. "P-p-please, sir! We have decent food, and it'll fill you up before you go!" He insisted, eyes widened with nervousness. "I'm fine! I don't need to eat, I need you to quit backing up and stop stalling!" "Where do you plan to go?" If it meant getting this guy to stop, I figured I may as well tell him. "Somewhere where I can get information on dark aura." He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me with a confused gaze. "Dark aura, you say? Well, sir, I'm afraid that nopony here or anywhere else knows anything about that sort of thing." He twitched his lip when he said that. "Really? Then why are you acting so fidgety then, huh?" I interrogated, "There has to be somepony who knows about it." "Why are you so interested in that sort of thing? It's pointless if you ask me." He backed himself to the corridor wall. "Cut the crap, and quit hiding something! I know you're not telling me something important." "H-h-how could you suspect something like that?!" He brought back his uncomfortable smile. "Well, you're making it seem obvious." I pointed out. The manager bowed his head. He must have realized that what he was doing was unprofessional. That was probably the first time I ever backed somepony into a corner, and I hoped it would be the last. The once cheery and kinda creepy manager, now hung his eyes low to the floor. I almost felt bad for him, if not for the fact that he was lying to me about something. When he composed himself, he said, "Alright. Alright. I'll talk." I wasted no time. "Okay then. What do you know about dark aura?" "Well, I know a pony who--" All of a sudden, a loud blast filled my ears as some kind of laser shot the manager. His body convulsed as he collapsed, coiled in what looked like black electric tendrils. My jaw dropped and eyes widened at the sight of it. I turned to the direction of the shooter, and saw something I won't ever forget: A cloaked pony, who's horn was engulfed in black aura. He wore what looked like skin-tight, metal armor underneath his dark cloak. As he glared at me, I saw that he wore a mask that concealed his entire face; white with crescent shapes on it's sides. Oh, crap! His horn glowed brightly as he was about to shoot again. When he did, it looked like a bolt of black, swirling lightning. Luckily for me I moved quickly to evade the blast. By then I was making way down the hall, being chased down some masked assailant in a cloak. This was more than a good reason to get the hay out of here! I got to the lobby and almost tripped over the rug and coffee table. I thankfully kept my footing before that could happen. Not long after that, the masked pony caught up and tried to attack me again. I galloped to the door as he shot another dark bolt, which destroyed the table into small, splintered pieces. The wooden shards scraped my coat, causing me to bleed slightly. With my magic I was able to open the door quickly before he could catch up. Once I was out the door, the rain had ceased and all the puddles were almost dried up. When I turned back, the masked pony was nowhere to be found. This had me very worried. I didn't know who it was but it wasn't somepony friendly, that's for sure. Whether or not he was still after me remained unknown. I practically debated whether that's a good thing or not. I have to be vigilant this time. In case that masked figure or vengeful stallion comes around, I must be prepared. The faint sun dared glow behind the overcast sky. I've spent more time than I needed to in this town. My reasoning was to make sure the masked assailant was nowhere close. How could I have known? I wasn't prepared to deal with something like that! I was able to fend off the angry stallion, but how was I to face off against that guy, who used dark magic? I hid myself in an alley behind two buildings. It sounds pansy, I know. I had eaten at least two more cat sandwiches, and drank from the thermos in that span of time. It felt pretty humbling to hide from a threat you don't know how to face. It made me feel... weak. I knew I can't be weak and expect to survive a dangerous world. If only I had a better weapon than this knife. I contemplated. As I took another bite of succulent sandwich, I noticed a fluffy animal began to approach me from out in the streets; a brown dog with white underneath and on its snout. I don't think I've ever seen a dog before, until now. He didn't seem too big thankfully, so if he was aggressive I could intimidate him away from my food. The animal was sniffing the air towards the alley with intent on finding food. When the dog came closer he began to wag his tail and pant, his tongue sticking out. I was a little hesitant at first, yet he didn't appear aggressive at all. Hmm... should I, or should I not?... The dog got within two feet from me as he began sniffing the air again. His tail wagged more frequently as he stared and whined at me. He really wanted my sandwich. He then sat upright, big brown eyes gazing at me, taunting me to give up at least a sliver of food. Every time I looked at him he still fixed his gaze on the food. "Here." I said as I offered some of my sandwich with magic. The dog got himself up and went over to the floating cat sandwich. He seemed reluctant to take it after all this time, until he took a bite out of it and proceeded to tuck in. Within two bites he gulped the whole thing down. After he ate it, he wagged his tail vigorously and rushed up to me. Instantly he was on top of me. "Oof!" He may not be big, but he sure felt heavier than I thought! He incessantly licked my face with his incredibly slobbery tongue in appreciation. While it was disgusting, it was much better than almost getting killed... twice. I pushed him away lightly to stop licking me, and it seemed to work. I was grinning from the dog's level of affection. It made me feel comfortable that at least something isn't trying to kill me. "Well, you sure are friendly." I said aloud, "I wonder if you have a name." The dog cocked its head to the side. He seemed to stare elsewhere, and then bolted off. I didn't what came over me, but I decided to follow the dog to wherever it was going. I did my best to keep up with him, despite being much faster than I was. He turned the corner on a dime, and took off into another alley. I followed him in to see why he came here. "Why the hay would you come here?" I talked to the dog. He stopped at a particular spot next to a trashcan and started digging. Both his front paws moved back and forth in a rhythm as he dug them into the dry earth. I wasn't sure why he was doing it, but I was curious to see what comes next. Once he stopped digging, he stuck his head in the recently dug up hole, and took out a leather band with his mouth. The band had a gold tag on it, which means this band is actually his collar. He came over to me and placed the collar on the ground before me. He nudged the collar towards me and panted happily. I picked up the collar with my magic to look at the tag, which read: OUR PRECIOUS LITTLE BOOMER "Boomer, huh? So that's your name?" The dog made a throaty bark in response to this, as if he was happy about it. He started to run and jump around me for whatever reason. Obviously this dog knows his own name. He eventually stopped front and center, and sat upright. He stared at the collar I held with magic intensely. At first I didn't understand but then it came to me... "Oh! You want me to put it on for you." I realized. I hovered the collar over his head and placed it around his neck. Carefully I fastened his collar to make sure it wouldn't fall off. Once the collar was placed, I dismissed the levitation spell. After that he barked several times with excitement, pleased with the endeavor. A strange yet warm feeling arose in my chest. I was glad I made this dog's day. "Well, Boomer, it was nice meeting you." I said my farewell to him. However, as I went to exit the alley, Boomer followed me out. As I got into the street, Boomer continued to follow. It's like he didn't want to leave me or something. I tried to out run him but he would always catch up. When I got close to the entrance, I stared back and saw one of the most pathetic sights ever: Boomer laid himself down and stared forlornly at me. As an added measure he even whined sadly too. Aw, crap! I can't just leave him behind! And I don't want to be alone again. "Alright," I decided out of sympathy, "you can come along." When I said that, Boomer sprung out of his depressed state and got back to being himself. He sprinted towards me with blinding speeds, kicking up the dirt with his paws. He almost bowled me over if hadn't stopped himself as he got near. I pet him with a hoof on his head, which he absolutely loved. "Let's go, Boomer." When Boomer and I came to the gate, the two guards quickly took notice. The stallion glared at me, still suspicious of me. He eyed me and Boomer with contempt. The larger, female guard was still a bit more pleasant than he was. "So," he taunted, "Had enough dawdling for today, Mr. Vagabond?" "I came here to rest, and I did just that." I explained, "Now I shall be on my way." "Oh, looky here. And you decided to take that mutt with you, eh?" Boomer started to growl lowly. "I'm seriously getting tired of this, Swift Pansy!" The female guard scolded. I did my best to stifle a laugh. "Swift Pansy?" "Daisy!" Swift was notably embarrassed, "Why did you have to say my name?!" "'Cause I'm getting sick of your suspicions and wild accusations, like: 'they could be wanted criminals', or, 'he could be patient from a mental institution', and my personal favorite, 'she's probably a street walker!'" "They could've been true! Ya never know!" Just ignore them. It's not worth it. I told myself as I just kept walking. Boomer caught up with me within a few seconds after leaving the two guards to quarrel. While I could still hear them, I paid no mind and went straight ahead. However, I planned to go in a very different direction, away from the lamppost. I decided that I would go around the walls of the town and head out beyond it. Before I did so, I looked over to Boomer who was cleaning himself with his tongue. "Let's go, Boomer." I told him. Boomer got up, shook his furry coat, and went to my right side. Glanchester was far out of sight and out of mind at this point. Good thing too. If it gives me a chance get the hay away from that masked pony, I don't care! The best part of getting out was knowing that I was not alone. Sure, he's a dog, but it doesn't matter. He's the only friend I have at this point. Boomer and I have made a stop nearby a small flowing stream. While the water seemed clean enough to drink, I wasn't taking any chances. Especially since I had a thermos. It was possible that there parasites in that water that could most likely make me or Boomer Ill. Or maybe I'm just paranoid. I saw Boomer walk towards the stream to drink. I rushed over to try and stop him, but he was already lapping his tongue into the stream. I grit my teeth for fear he may have made a mistake. However, the dog seemed alright, as if the water had no effect on him. "Huh. Maybe I'm just paranoid." I pondered aloud, relieved nothing happened to Boomer. The stream wasn't completely desolate however. I've noticed that there were a few small animals close by. They looked kind of like squirrels but without long bushy tails, as well as tufts of hair on their ears. The "squirrels" were eating what looked like brown nuts next to a small plant. Every time Boomer looked at them he would stand still, and his fluffy tail would stick up high. I did my best to deter him from doing anything and he seemed to obey. "Just leave them alone." I continued to persuade him. I wasn't sure where to go from here since there were no signs of civilization out here other than Glanchester. Oak's town and Stargarde are the only other places that I know about, but are far from my reach. The stream seemed to be over a mile--possibly more--and it did harbor some life around it, and most likely in it. It is possible that there might be fish swimming in the water, considering the amount of bubbles on its surface. You know, for a wasteland, it seems there's still a natural beauty to it. I called Boomer over to me when he seemed like he was about to chase after one of those "squirrels". While him retrieving food isn't exactly a bad thing, but I'm pretty sure ponies don't eat meat... right? That and I'm sure I won't like the sight, or smell, of a dead animal. I admired the sights for a little while longer until I felt it was the right time to move on. "Boomer, come on." Faster than expected, he beckoned my call. He kicked up a bit of dirt as he ran to me. Boomer lolled out his tongue happily once he came to my side. Without another word I made the decision to walk along the stream. Boomer followed at my side, lolling his tongue in and out as he strode. I wasn't sure exactly where this stream will take me the more I follow it. Regardless, there was no point in turning back. When I sniffed the air I noticed there was a slight odor coming from the brook. It was probably nothing to worry about; rivers have strange smells, right? Either way I won't let a smell flood my thoughts for the time being. I thought about the recent events that had occurred earlier; like the masked pony. Thoughts of Canterlot also alluded me. What really happened to that kingdom? If it really was destroyed, how did it get that way? It seemed pretty pointless to ponder on it at that point, so I did what I could to put the thoughts aside. Focusing on what lay ahead was much more important to me than wondering what happened to a castle. With two ponies out for my blood, and possibly bigger creatures, having to think about anything other than survival would be foolish. Though... if fate would be kind, perhaps I'll find somepony who knows about dark magic. Well, somepony who won't kill me, that's for sure. A few dead willows came into view, drooping just above the stream. Surrounding them were hundreds of smaller grassy plants. At first it didn't seem like there was any creature to be seen... at least, until three came out into the open. They were like giant weasels with brown fur and long sharpened teeth. Their eyes were large but beady. A chattering noise resonated through their vocal chords. The moved together in a pack, as if they're out hunting. I looked over to Boomer, who was getting pretty antsy at the sight of the enlarged polecats. His tail was still, much like when he stared at the rodents. Perhaps they won't bother us. I thought nervously. The chattering erupted into a growl as they began to approach us, unfortunately. I used my magic to grab the knife from my bag. Unlike the masked pony who had dark magic, these big weasels have teeth. As long as they don't have poison or carry disease, I'd be fine. As for Boomer however, I wasn't so sure. They looked a little bit bigger than he was and could probably overpower him. As they stalked towards us, trying to threaten us with their growling, I had my knife out to jab at whichever one comes at me. "Easy, boy." I told Boomer, who was growling lowly at them. One of them barred their teeth and let out a trilling noise. Without warning, it sprung towards me. Right when it came close to my muzzle, I swiftly swung my knife. The blade cut across its throat. The over-sized stoat squealed in agony as it was flung to the side, just a few feet away. The other two weasels sounded enraged for what happened to their fallen member. They both sprinted--which looked awkward considering their elongated bodies--towards us. Boomer rushed to the one on the left while I stood my ground. Sadly--and stupidly--my timing on my swing was off and the weasel was on top of me, and I accidentally let go of my knife. The creature tried to bite at my throat, gnashing teeth inches from my neck. For Boomer-sized weasels, they sure are strong! I tried to push the creature off of me but it was determined to eat my flesh. It also had particularly sharp, hooked claws which latched onto my fur. The sound of trilling and Boomer's vicious growling flooded my ears. Is this it? I asked myself, Am I going to die and be eaten by a bunch of overgrown ferrets? It's so hilarious, it's terrible! I looked over at Boomer who was also being tackled by the other weasel, biting chunks of brown fur away from his body. Boomer was trying to bite at its throat. The weasel on top of me was persistent, longing to kill me as I tried to push him away again. I turned in the other direction to see my knife lying on the ground a few feet away. And then it came to me... No! I'm not gonna die by some weasel! While I struggled to keep him away from my neck, I lit my horn to levitate the knife. I positioned the blade in the direction of the weasel. "Get off of me!!!" I exclaimed. I sent the knife hurling towards the creature with my magic, darting at it like a missile. The blade struck through his head at blinding speeds, killing it instantly. The knife severed its brain as dark blood poured out of its head. As I got the dead animal off of me, I pulled the knife from the weasel's skull. Boomer continued to struggle with the weasel on him, though the dog did manage to wound the weasel back. I still levitated the the knife, so I did what needed to be done. I launched the knife at the assailing stoat, sending it flying as fast as before. The weasel squealed its last breath. Boomer got the lifeless off him and ran to my side, stopping a few times to lick his bleeding wounds. "Come on, Boomer, lets get going." Boomer started whining every time he licked the bite marks. He was genuinely hurt, yet I didn't know what to do about it. I tried searching in my bag for bandages or something to stop the bleeding. Shuffling through the bag, the only thing I could find were a stack of small square napkins. Hopefully this will help. I levitated the napkins towards Boomer, who was still attempting to cleanse his injuries. The dog was rather nervous seeing, what to him, looks like small strange sheets of paper. Every time I try to place a napkin over the bite marks, Boomer would immediately shy away from it. He probably wasn't familiar with what was doing, hence his reaction. If the napkin came within inches of the wound Boomer would snap at it. "Hold still," I did my best to coax him, "I'm trying to help." For a long while it seemed like he wasn't gonna cooperate, but then he seemed to calm down as I came closer. I dabbed at the wounds on him with the napkins, to which Boomer winced and whimpered. The napkins quickly became drenched with the red sticky substance. It stopped some of the bleeding, but napkins would only do so much to help. He needs bandages, but there are none to be found. He didn't whimper as much, which was good. Boomer was still in pain but at least he's alright. As long as those creatures didn't have any kind of disease, he should be fine. He could still walk, thankfully. "Alright, pal, lets see if we can find a town close by. If they have first-aid kits maybe I can get you patched up." He only wagged his tail, and lolled his tongue out in response. "And should there be a town somewhere, maybe I'll find the answers I'm looking f-" At that moment something then made a snapping noise, and grasped a hold of my neck. It coiled around my throat, like a snake. I gasped for air as something strong pulled the leathery thing down, forcing me to the ground. As I struggled for air, Boomer barked ferociously at something but I couldn't see what it was, since all I could see was the gray skies above. All of a sudden I hear an assemblage of shouts and voices all around me. I could only make out a few shapes moving around me, couldn't distinguish them. I then heard Boomer yelping helplessly, scraping the ground as if he was being dragged. I tried to call out to him but I couldn't. Instantly, a figure loomed over me. A unicorn stallion by the looks of him, with a long protrusion coming out his head where his mane should be. He leaned back a little, which revealed this protrusion to actually be his mane. His coat was a orange clay-ish color. His long standing mane was a darker shade. He stared into my line of sight with red-orange eyes. His grin was long and spread from one cheek to the other. "Nighty-night, sprog!" He said in a thin, raspy voice. He raised a hoof above me and then... darkness took over me. My head was pounding when I awoke, and my vision was blurry. The sounds of voices rose as my vision cleared. By then, I realized I was somewhere else entirely. "Look," I heard somepony's voice, "he's waking up!" "Wh-Where am I?" I said aloud, unaware of anypony staring at me. "Not anyplace you want to be, unfortunate as that may be." A yellow stallion in front of me informed. He was tied up with rope, as well as everypony else. I scanned my surroundings and noticed I was not in a desert. Instead, I seemed to be in some sort dark brown wooden room, filled with a large number of tied up ponies. It looked more like a trashy garage than a room, though. The wood which made the place up appeared worn and old, as if it had been here for a decade or so. A single light bulb dangling from the ceiling, illuminated a quarter of the area. "Why is everypony tied up?" I asked the stallion, "What is happening?!" "Shh, quiet down!" He hissed, "Listen, they can hear you from outside!" "You don't want that to happen." A mare said, frightened. "What?" I lowered my voice, acquiescing to be quieter, "Tell me what's going on. Please." The yellow stallion sighed deeply before he explained, "Those guys out there are dangerous. They kidnap anypony naive enough to venture out in the wastes alone, or have serious bad luck. Either way, that's why we're here." He must be talking about those stallions who knocked me out. I assumed. "They're outlaws--I think." He continued, "I couldn't tell you much more than that. So far they've done nothing but keep us captive for some reason, but I don't wanna know what they'll actually do." "How do you know so much and yet so little?" "I'm just theorizing, that's all. But if I had to make a guess, we're all gonna face some serious trouble soon." I squinted to try and see anything that was beyond what's illuminated. The most I could make out was a shoddy door in front of me, a desk on my left, and what looked like a large rectangular box with a door on my right. The box could have been like a small shed or something, which could have some stuff in there. "Psst! Excuse me." I whispered to the yellow stallion. "Yes? What is it?" He asked quietly. "Do you know what's in there?" I couldn't point with my hooves since they are bound, so I turned my head over to the box to help him understand. "Oh," He understood, "there's some weapons and ammunition in there. Unfortunately, there isn't a way to open it. The key to it is out of our reach, and since almost all of us are Earth ponies we can't use magic to get'em. Unless..." "Unless? Wait. I'm a unicorn, I can use magic to levitate the key." He smiled slightly, "Oh yeah. If you could use a levitation spell, then you can open up the shed." His smile then faded, "But it's only good for that. I don't those would be good for much else." Oh, I've got an idea! "Very well. Do you know where the key is?" I then asked. He tried leaning in, but he could only go so far before the rope would stop him. "it's on a hook above the desk." When I looked back over to my left the desk, I saw a gold key above it on a hook as he said. I concentrated on using my magic, since the object was far from my reach. My horn lit up with aura reaching for the key several feet away. I struggled to lift it off the hook, straining in doing so. The key became illuminated in my aura, but was slowly being lifted of the hook. I grit my teeth as I was getting closer to getting it off. Every inch had been tough, yet in spite of the strain... I got it! I said in my mind when I completed my goal. "I got the key, sir!" I repeated. "That's great and all," He didn't seem amused, "but if they catch you floating that key, they'll shoot you dead." I was already one step ahead, however, for I then let my aura go and tossed the key towards me. The small key flew right before me right down to my hooves. I was panting since it was incredibly exhausting to do that. I let myself rest for a little before doing anything else. Once I caught my breath, I prepared myself to levitate the key again. This time however, I placed the key behind me when I heard the door slammed open. Everypony jumped in fright at the sudden sight of the of the pony who opened the door; the orange clay colored stallion. "Everypony comfortable?" He seemingly asked nicely in his thin, raspy voice. The captives shook their heads like they were saying "no". "No? Well too bad! You sprogs are gonna be here for the rest of the night until we find something to do with you!" He then looked over at me, "And as for you, don't be trying anything... or..." He levitated something with peach colored aura. It looked like a strange contraption, like a long cannon with a handle and two barrels... It's a gun! Wait, how do I know what a gun is? "...You'll have to meet a good o'l friend o mine, Mister Shotgun!" The captive ponies were panicking at the sudden sight of the weapon; screaming, crying, they were in terror. I was a little anxious when he pointed it at me, but nowhere near as frightened as everypony else. It was also rather strange how I knew what a gun was, but not my own name. The commotion was so overbearing that the psychotic stallion aimed his gun at the ceiling. He shot the ceiling which made a loud BOOM, reminiscent of a roll of thunder. My ears were pinging after the blast, dust and dirt fell on top of those below. Everypony became silent and didn't utter a word. "Ha ha ha!" He cackled maniacally, "Shuts 'em up every time!" He put his gun away and slammed the door shut. By then, everypony shivered in fear. I swallowed a bit of saliva, afraid of what to expect next. I knew I couldn't cower down, not to that crazy pony. I know I'm stronger than that. I never backed down from that vengeful stallion, I got away from that masked pony, and Boomer and I fought off those weasels. I'm getting outta here, and I won't let that sicko kill me or any of these ponies! "Let's face facts," The yellow stallion stated hopelessly, "we're all screwed." I levitated the keys behind me, lifting them up in front of my face. I narrowed my eyes and floated the key over to the small shed on my right. The keyhole was a bit difficult to see, so I squinted to get a good view. It was just below the handle. I floated the key towards the hole with some struggle in doing so. I managed to get the end of it deep in the keyhole, but I had a bit of trouble turning it. A bead of sweat ran down my face as I strained to unlock it. If it was closer it would be much easier, but since it was at a further distance... well, it's harder than it looks. "Hey, mister!" The yellow stallion whispered, "I think you ought'a be quicker!" "I'm... trying!" I grunted. Right as the lock was about to click, I started hearing yelling and screaming from outside. I ignored the ruckus, and the lock clicked. I let go of the key which stuck to the lock. Now, for the rest. The thunderous sound of gunshots rang in my ears, and the vile ponies screamed in agony. It made me wonder what was going on, but I had to finish my task. I focused on the door handle to turn it, which did so easily. I pulled the door open to which everypony in here started staring at me. I could make out a few things inside, considering most of the contents were hidden in shadow. However, I saw something gleam below; a long reflective object. Just what I was looking for. I smiled widely. The sound of gunfire became rather frequent as I levitated the object. I floated it towards me to get a good look at it. It was much bigger than the knife I had, and looked sharper. I lowered the weapon towards the rope that bound me. I worked my way quickly to cut through each coil rope, which took a shorter time than I thought. The blade sliced through with incredible ease. Everypony watched in awe as the rope that once trapped me, now dropped to the floor. They all gasped in surprise and delight. "I love this knife!" I said as I kissed the flat of the blade. Just as I was about to cut the yellow stallion free however, the clay colored stallion burst through. He had lacerations across his face and body, the blood dripping out from his wounds. His face was in horror, his mouth gaping. "Don't. You. Frigging. Dare!" He sputtered as he aimed the shotgun at me. Suddenly, a long blade came through his throat, causing him to gag. The blade slid out with surgical precision. Blood poured out of his neck like a cascading waterfall. His eyes rolled back as he collapsed on floor beneath. The mares shrieked as blood was leaking out. My eyes widened at the sight of it. The weapon that pierced him was a spear with a long shaft. "Oh my goodness!" A mare squealed. "He's dead!" Another cried. "Is everypony alright?" A voice asked, which sounded like a mare. A silhouette of a figure outside emerged, and came into the light. The voice came from a tan pegasus mare with a short scarlet mane. I stood my ground as she stepped in, wary of her presence. Her eyes were as red as the flames that burned in a pit outside. She opened up her right wing and grasped the spear protruding from the stallion's lifeless body. She unsheathed the weapon from his neck, and tucked the weapon under her wing. I didn't know pegasi could do that! She began to eye everypony in the room. "Do not worry, everypony," She announced confidently, "The scumbag criminals who imprisoned you are dead." Everypony cheered in delight at the mare's announcement. I was rather surprised to hear it as well. She had to have been the cause of the commotion all this time. She then made eye contact with me. "I see you have gotten yourself free." She observed, "That's a good thing, I need some help doing the same for these folks." At first I was speechless, but then I uttered out, "Who are you?" "I am Red Yarrow." She answered with a sharp tone.
Chapter Four: Companionship Chapter Four: Companionship Sleep was becoming more of a curse than a blessing. When I slept that night, after the horrible ordeal, another nightmare crept into my mind. Unlike last time this one was a little more coherent... but it was far worse. All I remembered seeing were eerie, wispy looking ponies. They weren't white like stupid bed sheet ghosts; the apparitions were like smoke, flowing in the breeze. There had been a small number of them as well. Their faces however were scarred and torn. Black empty voids replaced their eyes, their lips ripped open, rotted teeth had shown from their mouths. What are you?! I shouted in my mind. For whatever reason, it seemed as though they heard me. All empty eyes were on me, as if I was something of interest to them. I couldn't see myself, the only thing I could do was look at the wispy ponies. Slowly but surely, they started to come to me. I shook violently with terror, unsure of what they were going to do next. My breathing was loud which made me feel even more helpless if they could hear me. When I turned around... "They were among the living." A sensual voice whispered in my ear. The pony who said that was no doubt female. She too was like the others, except she didn't look dead, nor did was she the same color. She was dark purple in color, with enormous black wings. She had a horn as well, jagged and sharp. Her face looked more alive than the others, which made me even more frightened. Her mane was long and even fringes covered the top of her forehead. She was alluring to say the least. Who are you? I asked, still couldn't speak outside my mind. "I am the reason you exist." She told me plainly. What? What do you mean?! A ghastly moan flooded my ears as the mare grinned widely. I turn back and one of the ghost-like ponies appeared right before me. It's maw gaped open as it struck me, swallowing me whole. "Ah!" I exclaimed, jolting up from the ground where I laid. Thankfully I was back in reality... not that it was any better. After the events from last night, all the ponies who were held captive now slept freely on the ground outside of their prison; a dilapidated shack of sorts. Everypony else had slept close to a large, circular stone fire pit. Bodies of rugged stallions were strewn about, hordes of flies buzzed around the bloody corpses. Their odor was worse. Taking a small whiff of air was enough to make me very queasy. Somehow, the other ponies didn't seem to mind the stench much, since none of them gagged in their sleep. It's weird how anypony can withstand such a smell. Who knows, maybe they're used to it? My coat was rather sandy from sleeping on the ground, small particles and dust falling as I got myself on my hooves. At the time I thought I was the only one awake. I looked towards the pit--which was covered in ash--and noticed the yellow stallion from before had slept next to it. However, just as I was about to come near him, I felt a hoof land on my shoulder. Startled, I jumped and turned to see the scarlet maned mare from yesterday; Red Yarrow. Her eyes seemed redder in color than I previously remembered. The spear she used was strapped to her back. "Is everything alright, good sir?" She asked, sounding somewhat concerned. "Uh... yeah," I lied, "yeah, I'm fine." "Are you sure? You seem rather on edge." "I'm just... disturbed, about last night." "I can understand that. Those miscreants are undoubtedly unhinged! Fortunately, I managed to uncover one of their hideouts, and was able to save the innocent victims inside." I should probably find out more. "May I ask how you found it?" She made a curious face when I asked her. "In an odd sort of occurrence, a gorgeous border collie was the one who led me to this place." "You mean Boomer?" I was surprised and excited to hear that. "The dog had a collar on when I saw him. He had a rope tied to it, which looked bitten off." "It is him!" She smiled a little, "I figured he had to be yours. He must have figured out how to free himself, same as you." "Do you know where he is?" As elated as I was, I was also worried for Boomer's sake. "Hmm..." Red pondered, "...I'm not sure. I haven't seen him since last night." "Oh, great." If only he had been here right now. A few of the ponies began to wake from their slumber. The yellow stallion was one of the first few who awoke, I noticed. The wretched sound of gagging and vomiting both filled ears and turned my stomach. Ponies were complaining audibly about the horrible stench of death. The yellow stallion came up to the two of us holding his nostrils. He didn't seem to take the smell of rotting corpses the same way as Red could... somehow. "Ugh! This stench is worse than the smell of my grandmother's wart!" The stallion exclaimed, "But, at least we're all free." "Yes. And now that you have rested, you can all go home now." Red told him kindly. "Thank you for yer kindness, Miss Yarrow. Oh, and you too... whatever your name is." "No problem." I said politely. "What is your name, good sir?" "I don't remember at the top o my head," The yellow stallion explained, "but most ponies just call me by 'Dandelion'." "Well, Dandelion, I trust you know most of these ponies here?" Red asked him. "Some but not everypony. A few of us came from the same town, not far from here." My eyes widened when he said that. "There's a town close by?" "Of course. It's west of here; three miles if I'm not mistaken." "Fantastic!" Red Yarrow said quickly, "What is the name of this town of yours?" "Farvein, ma'am." There was a bit of silence from Red when he told her the name. "I see." After that she turned away, heading over towards a tree stump. Dandelion furrowed his brow when he saw her walk away. "Huh. But anyways, I better get these ponies outta here. Another whiff of this smell would kill me!" "It was nice meeting you, Dandelion." I said my farewell. Without another word, Dandelion was heading off to lead the other ponies away from the horrible camp. I figured it would be best to head over to Red Yarrow to talk to her a bit more. Once I got over to her, her red eyes gazed down to the ground, as if she had been upset over something. "So, um..." I had difficulty finding the right words, "...Miss Red Yarrow. Do you th--" "--Think it would be a good idea to follow them to their town?" She interrupted, not bothering to look up. "How--?" "--Did I know that? isn't it rather obvious? If anything, I find it very predictable of you to ask such a thing." Dang, she's good! "Well? Should we go with them or...?" She shot an irritated glance at me. "Of course not! Do you have ANY idea how insane it is to go to Farvein?!" I backed off for a second, surprised to hear her lash out like a whip. "Honestly... no." Her gaze softened a little as she sighed. "Forgive me. That was uncalled for." "It's alright. I didn't mean to upset you in any way." "You don't have to apologize. Farvein is just... a town I prefer not to set hoof on, that's all." "Okay then." "Might I ask for your name, sir?" "I... don't... I don't remember. But, you can just call me by 'Vagabond'." Red stared long and hard before she spoke again. "I apologize in advance for asking this, but do you by any chance have amnesia?" "Yes." I answered simply. "Then that would also mean you have forgotten your past and who you were, right?" "Right." Red took a short breath before she spoke once more. "Anyway, I think I ought to be on my way. Another sniff of this odor and I'll pass out." She stood up from the dead trunk and began walking off. I couldn't help but notice the cutie mark on her flank; a crown above red flowering plants. It was peculiar to me that a crown was part of her mark, which could mean just about anything. I didn't really have anywhere else to go, so I just followed her anyway. Whether that was a good idea or not was not known to me, but I did so regardless. "Wait." I called out. She turned to face me. "What is it now?" "Though I'm not entirely sure where you're headed, may I come with you?" "Why? Name your reason." Her brow raised suspiciously. "Honestly, I have nowhere else to go. Plus, I need to find somepony who knows something about dark magic." "Dark magic? For what goal, might I ask?" "When I first awoke, I was in a snowy forest. In that forest I saw tightly packed trees covered in a dark aura, I think. I need to find somepony who knows about dark magic, and won't kill me." By the look in her red eyes, she was probably trying to process what she heard. As she was thinking, I took a look at her spear again. The shaft was a dark red in color and the blade itself must have been made of steel. "Other than the dark aura, what else did you see in that forest?" She eventually asked. "Well, the tree I woke up under had a symbol on it; a six pointed star with smaller stars surrounding it." "Hmm... and somepony with dark magic was trying to kill you? What did he look like?" "He wore a cloak, armor, and a white mask." She stared at me with wide eyes, not even blinking. She didn't take her gaze off of me for a second. "Um... Red Yarrow?" "Say no more. Come." An hour had past since Red and I last left the encampment. We had been passing through a narrow ravine, while a very small stream flowed under our hooves. It was too shallow for fish to swim but perhaps deep enough for even smaller creatures. I have to stop worrying so much about parasites! What am I, a germophobe? Before we entered, she told me the ravine was once an open plain until years and years of natural disasters demolished it. It seemed hard to believe, but considering how little I remembered about the world I had to take what I can get. Red hasn't said much since she explained the ravine to me, so I thought it would be best to "break the ice" so to speak. "So, Red, where are we going exactly?" "I'll tell you more when we get close to it." "Are we close?" "No. Otherwise, I would have told more about it." "Ah." "However... I can tell you more about this masked figure." "Ooh, really? Who was he?" "While I don't personally know this masked figure, but based on your description earlier he must be one of those 'moon-obsessed-cult' members." I furrowed my brow upon hearing that. "Er, what?" "There exists an organization of ponies who worship the moon, and lust the night. They wear white masks with crescent moons on them to show their obedience to the moon, and dark armor and cloaks to embrace their undying love for the night." "What the flying feather is that kind of nonsense?!" I exclaimed. "Shush!" She hissed, "Not so loud! We don't want to cause a possible rock avalanche, now do we?" It didn't take long for me to ponder about it. "No. Of course not. Do continue." "Thank you. Needless to say, they are avid about the moon and the night. Most of their members are unicorns; all of whom practice many kinds of magic, including dark magic." "Do you know who or what started it?" I asked as we stopped to sit. "I believe it had something to do with a princess, but I'm not entirely sure if my memory serves correctly." "A princess? Like an alicorn?" "Yes." She said incredulously, as if she was surprised, "Long ago--if I remember correctly--there were once two princesses who ruled over the land, which they called Equestria. However, so--" "Something bad happened, which left the world in ruin." I interrupted. "Exactly. Unfortunately, not everypony remembers what happened, even I myself know nothing about the events of the past. Especially since I was not born at the time." I used my magic to levitate the thermos from my bag, to take a sip of water. My lips felt rather dry as I sipped water from the container. I had not realized just how dry my throat was until I drank. "Are there any books containing information about the past?" I inquired, "Surely somepony ought to have at least wrote a history book." "Huh. You have a point." She admitted, "Although I'm certain history books are possible to contain vital evidence about the past, their availability however... that is another story." "What do you mean?" I continued asking, taking a few more sips here and there. "Well, because they contain great information, they would more than likely be horded. Sadly, I'm very sure that any library close by would not carry that kind of book within it's inventory. If you ask me, it would be a fruitless venture." "You may be right. Still... there could be a book out there." "But the likelihood of anypony finding said book, is inconceivably small." Since the both of us had sat down, I decided to eat one of the sandwiches from my bag. As I got one out, I noticed that the bag was getting lighter, which meant that there were fewer food rations. I knew it was not a good sign. Considering the world's current state, finding decent food will be as great a challenge as surviving. I savored every bite I could to make it last. As I ate, Red Yarrow scooted closer to me. "May I?" She asked, holding out a hoof. Since I had company with me, I couldn't be too selfish, so I gave her one of the sandwiches. "Is there a reason it looks like a cat?" "They used to belong to a friend of mine." I answered her question. At least, I think he's a friend. As she was chewing her food, thoughts of the symbol came back. "So, Red Yarrow," I began asking, "do you know what the symbol; the six pointed star means?" "To be honest, I have not the slightest idea." She answered truthfully, "However, it is possible that there is some sort of reason behind it. I've never seen a six pointed star, surrounded by smaller stars, used as an insignia." "I'm sure there is a very good reason behind that symbol. If anything, it could probably lead me to the answers I'm looking for." I said with confidence. Red continued eating her sandwich. "This sandwich... it needs more zest; it's rather bland!" Wow. You just had to criticize a sandwich. Once I finished my sandwich I was ready to keep moving, as for Red... she was apparently a quicker eater than me. I made sure my bag was fastened tight, so that it's contents aren't likely to fall out. Red had been waiting for me to finish what I was doing, so when I was finished she started off and I followed her away from where we sat. I began noticing the walls' surface was rather rough and rugged, with some areas above having a few large holes. The holes themselves seemed cavernous in depth, as if they were a cave entrance or something. Either that or they're just empty holes. Just ahead of me, Red started to fly upwards at impressive speeds; darting left to right frantically. I was slowly becoming anxious as she kept checking all of the holes in the ravine's walls. What's she doing? Is there something wrong? Maybe I should... "Hey, Red!" I called out to her. "What're y--" Before I could finish, she dashed towards me, shoving a hoof over my mouth. It almost felt like a punch when she did so. "Shh!" She shushed, "Don't shout! You could get us both killed!" "Whuu?" I muffled. "The large holes... there are quarray eels lurking in them; small ones, thankfully." "Whuuu?!" "Shh! Regardless of their size, we don't want to set them off. If are to prevent ourselves from obtaining injuries or worse, we need to give them a wide berth. That means avoiding the holes entirely and not making any sudden loud noises. Understood?" Instead of muffling, I nodded my head. She took her hoof away from my mouth at that instant. She slowed her pace and was being exceptionally careful of her hoofsteps, so therefore I did the same... or at least tried. I did my best to sneak quietly over to Red, who was looking at me like I was some kind of idiot. One hoof over the other as slowly and quietly as possible. Red's glare notified me that she's had enough, and it was at this point where I figured I should just trot faster. Once again, I am an absolute dunce. As I approached Red, she appeared frightened; her eyes were wide and she stood motionless. Needless to say, I was rather confused. And worried. Very worried now that Red had her spear out. In spite of this, I continued trotting... until I heard a rather discomforting Hiiiiiiisssssss. I wanted to turn around to see what was behind me, but I was somehow unable to move. Red Yarrow dashed upward, spear tucked beside her. An unnerving shriek; shrill and incredibly loud, sounded off as Red took to the sky. "RUN, VAGABOND!!!" She screamed. I ran like frigging lightning when she said that. Fishy odor wafted behind me as I avoided the creature. Once I was out of the beast's range, I--for whatever reason--thought it was a good idea to get a glimpse at the creature. The eel was burgundy in color with a purple underbelly. It's jaws were large as it tried to snap at Red. It's teeth were sharp and stained with a dark ruddy color--possibly blood. Red flew around, trying to jab at the enormous eel with her spear. How the hay can she wield a spear like that?! I asked myself, She's flying in the air, her spear is at her side, how is she even capable of stabbing it?! In spite of questioning her abilities, I knew it would be unconscionable to leave her behind to fight that thing. Instead of running further away, I did what any reasonable stallion would do in a situation like this: charge straight into the enemy! It sounded mad at first, but it's better to be a mad stallion than a total wuss. "What are you doing?! I told you to run!!" She yelled as she fought. "I WON'T leave you here to die!" I shouted in protest. I took out my knife to do its job. Thankfully the creature was too preoccupied with Red, to notice me. I jabbed at it's body frequently, causing wounds on the rubbery creature's body. It squealed every time I struck it. Then I heard a less fortunate sound: Red Yarrow had been knocked back. I looked up to see her falling back to the ground. On the other hoof, the eel took notice of me and attempted to strike at me, snaggletoothed jaws gaping to gobble me up. Oh, crap! By rolling to one side, I narrowly avoided the eel's toothy maw. While I did avoid it's jaws, the most alarming noise bombarded my eardrums: several shrieking eels! It sounded as if there were over twenty of them, and that was more than enough evidence to get the hay out of here. I ran over to Red's collapsed body on the ground, obviously not dead, but still not capable of fighting off twenty frigging quarray eels. "Vagabond, we have to get out of here!" She said, wincing in pain from her fall. "Yeah, I couldn't agree more." I replied whilst helping her up. Red was notably injured, yet didn't seem to have trouble standing. Her left wing appeared to be sprained, seeing how she was wincing in pain. It was clear she wouldn't be flying any time soon, which was horrible when you have a horde of giant eels after you. Red didn't think twice about dashing forward first, before I was able to process our predicament. Without further thought, I began galloping as fast as I could to keep up with her. The moment reminded me of when Oak and I were being chased by armored stallions a while back... but with giant eels instead. While Red seemed strong for running as fast as she was, her face showed otherwise. She was, without question, afraid. It became clear there was more to this mare than I first thought her to be. A mare, capable enough to take on a gang of psychos, was fearing for her life when confronted by giant eels. Granted, I don't blame her. "There! The exit!" She informed me. "Great! Let's just hope those things stop chasing us soon!" I replied fearfully. The eels were gaining on us at first, but then... the worst thing started to happen. The rock walls began to crumble, possibly from the numerous amount of noise in the area. The ground shook as well, almost tripping both of us. The shrieks became more frightened as rocks continued to fall, shaking the ground upon impact. The crevice was just up ahead as more rocks continued to fall, making the both of us wonder whether or not we'd make it out alive. Galloping faster, the sounds of the eels began to fade which in turn made me feel a little better--if it wasn't for the falling rocks. Red came out first, but before I was able to leave something hit my back, which felt as though a hammer struck down upon it. I couldn't move. Rocks continue to fall around me. "RED!!!" I shouted in desperation. I wish I knew why, but somehow... I blacked out. "...gabond?..." A familiar voice echoed. "...are you okay?" My head was pounding fiercely, but I managed to mutter a simple: "Yeah..." "Oh." Red sighed, "Thank heavens!" It seemed that Red had saved me from the plummeting rocks, and had gotten me to safety. I had a bit of trouble moving however, for my back legs were not working somehow. No matter how hard I tried, my back legs wouldn't move. It was at this point I knew that I was unable to walk. I was breathing faster than usual, and I was trembling. "No. No. No. This isn't happening." I began to panic, "This isn't happening! This is terrible!" "What? What is so terrible?" Red Yarrow asked, confused. "Oh, for Celestia's sake tell me!" "I can't move my legs, Red! I can't move them!" "Oh. Oh, dear. This is an unforeseeable predicament!" "Now what am I gonna do?! I'm practically immobile! How am I going to live like this?" Red gave a skeptical look at me; like I was being over-dramatic. Then again... yeah, I was being a bit of a drama queen. She turned me over to one side as I still laid on the ground. By watching her face, I was able to notice the face she made upon seeing my backside; a face showing concern, but there was something else there too. "It looks as though you have sustained an bruising injury from your lower back." She investigated. Yeah, tell me something I don't know. I sarcastically said in my mind. I wasn't going to let it come out though. "However... it won't be permanent." "What?" I perked upwards, shocked by the revelation. "Thankfully there is a healing spell that fix this. Unfortunately, I am not a unicorn, so I cannot perform the spell. But, the town we're headed to has a professional doctor that knows the spell; he can remedy this paralyzation problem of yours." He better...
Chapter Five: ReliefIt's one thing to lose the ability to use magic... but when it's your back legs... it's a whole other story. Because I couldn't walk on my own, Red had to carry me atop her back for the rest of the way. I was unsure of how much I weighed, seeing as how Red did not struggle with me on her back. Either she was strong for a mare, or I was light as a dang feather! The area surrounding us seemed the same, save for mounds and mounds of wreckage littered about. These mounds were made up of a menagerie of miscellaneous everyday-items, trash, and rubble. Every once in a while, I'd see what looks to be obliterated vehicles scattered; dirigibles it would seem. Long green shafts jutted out of the mounds; tank barrels it would seem. It couldn't have been more obvious of what this was: a war zone. Wow, this world never ceases to be depressing. I had very high hopes of being able to walk again, but the journey to be rid of this problem is long and excruciating. Being on somepony's back wasn't the worst thing in the world and it seemed okay at the start, but the more I stayed on the less comfortable it became for me and Red both. I could now feel Red trembling from the extra weight she's carrying, which indicate that I must have been very heavy for her. "How much further?" I asked her, breaking the silence. "Thankfully," She strained, "we're getting closer." "So, this town were headed to, is it particularly safe?" "Well, it's been a sanctuary for it's citizens, as well as drifters, for over three decades." "And this doctor, who is he exactly?" "He's an elder pony, yet an impeccable physician and spellcaster all round. Do not worry, this town is full of decent ponies with no intention of spilling innocent blood." "That's good and all, but is there any ponies in the area who might know something about what happened to this place?" Red looked reluctant to answer. "I can't say for certain. I never thought to ask." "What if this doctor knew something?" I suggested, "Maybe he might know?" "As old as he is, I do not even believe he was even around long enough to have gained any knowledge." "It wouldn't hurt to ask." I may not know this pony as she did, but there could be a small glimmer of hope that he may hold the answers I'm looking for. Answers to questions like: "What does the star cutie mark on that tree mean?", or "Who was that alicorn I saw in my dream?" I had to have been letting my hopes fly around in my head, and thinking that I'll find answers quickly... foolish me. After about a half hour or so, Red Yarrow pointed out our destination: the town she mentioned. Unlike Glanchester however, it was larger in size, and appeared less rural. The closer we came, the better I saw the buildings, which were--sort of--better looking than Glanchester. Large crowds of ponies were abundant, streets were busy, yet that's all I could see from that distance. Also like Glanchester, a latticed gate stood between us and the populous town. Four guards adjacent to one another stood in front of the gate, instead of two. All of them wore a different sort of armor than the Glanchester guards: full bodied armor suits, made up of softer materials than metal. In fact, their armor hardly looked metallic at all! As we approached, the guards immediately took notice and stood firm. One of them, a plum colored pegasus stallion, came up to us us briskly. "State your business, traveler!" He demanded. "I mean no ill will upon you." Red answered vaguely. "I sai--!" "Lay off'er, ye uptight gowl!" a bearded guard defended, "That'd be Red Yarrow, The Lancer! She's been to this town before, many times." "Is she?" Red only nodded in confirmation. "And what about this one on her back?" He inspected. "He cannot walk properly. That's partially why we came." "Jus let'em in already." The bearded guard said, annoyed. "Ugh! Fine." The guard replied begrudgingly. The plum stallion fiddled his hoof in his pocket, obviously for a gate key. The other three guards moved off to the side to make room for the gate. Once the gate lock clicked, he pulled it open. He stood firmly as he held the gate. "Alright, in you go. Have good day in Steeldale." Without so much as a single glance at the guard, we headed inside, towards the crowd of civilians. Even though I couldn't feel it, I knew my back legs were dangling freely against Red's plot. Hopefully she was fine with it. When I looked back, the plum guard made a distrusting expression. Much like Swift Pansy... but less humorous. It was strange, really, how such a town could look so lively in a world like this. Unusual indeed. Even though the skies remained overcast, the town's colors shone brightly still. Some ponies looked better or worse than others, like how a few ponies lost a few legs, an eye, or even wings for that matter. Ponies were either draped in mismatched clothing and armor or well dressed and particularly clean. Stray cats flocked alleyways, fighting among themselves in a yowling, whirling blaze. The air smelled like petrol and edible grease, possibly coming from a food stand on the side of the street. Whatever was sizzling on the stand smelled unbelievably good. Just thinking about it made my stomach grumble. "Famished, Vagabond?" Red asked casually. "Yes," I replied, "very." "It would be unconscionable to let you starve. We may as well fill our appetites first, before we see him." "If the food's as good as it smells, I'll be eternally grateful." She walked me over to the stand to order our food. The sensational aroma was enough to make my mouth salivate, craving for the unknown delicacy. Once we were close to the stand, it was then that I got a better look at the culinary creations. Needless to say... I didn't expect what I saw. The "food" looked brown, like it had been burning for some time. It smelled good, yet I wasn't so sure how it tastes. "What can I do ya for?" The owner of the stand asked politely. "We'll have two of your burgers, please." She ordered. "Comin' up, Miss Yarrow." Does everypony know her in this town? Once he was finished with flipping, he handed us our burgers. They tasted different than what I predicted; chewy with a strange, gamey flavor. And that was when I realized... I was eating meat. Yet, I didn't hate it! Or feel nausea! Ponies don't--or shouldn't--eat meat... right? Evidently they do now. "So, any exquisite details on your meal?" Red asked as we walked away from the stand. "It tastes fine." I replied. But I feel so guilty about eating another animal! How much more of this should I take?! Once our stomachs settled, we headed off to a large, rectangular building that appeared in shambles. An old hospital, most likely. Half a wall was exposed, and rubble littered the area, yet nopony seemed to mind the appearance. They must have been used to seeing it, however long it's been built. I, myself, was a little more than put off by it, but I trusted that Red knows what she's doing. Some parts of Steeldale had been covered in tall, unkempt, brown colored grass, like where the hospital stood. Several mangy dogs were scavenging for a meager scrap of food through the grass. Hopefully this, 'doctor', can fix my legs, I thought, eager to be rid of my temporary disability. "This is it, this is the place." Red announced. "He should be inside. Soon, you will be walking again." As soon as we came to the hospital's doors, a white mare dressed in a lab-coat--akin to the color of her coat--greeted us. Her mane was dark brown, and kept in a tight bun. Her face was expressionless, like she was unfazed by my ordeal. "Take a seat," She told us in monotone, "the doctor will be with you shortly." She then ushered us inside. "Thank you ma'am." Red replied whilst walking to the waiting room, "What is he working on this time?" "Removing tumors. What is the state of the patient?" She must have been here for so long, nothing would surprise her, I'm betting. "He has been paralyzed from the waist down; he can't walk." "Of course. Luckily for you, it won't take him long to fix him up." She muttered something afterwords, but I couldn't tell what she said. The nurse led us to what's supposed to be the "waiting room", which was just a small room with ugly ripped wallpaper. The room had about ten or so plastic chairs lined up against the back of the room. No other patients were present at the time, so we were the only ones there. Red backed up against the chair and asked me to push myself onto the chair. I did so swiftly. I couldn't feel the seat beneath me. I wished I did, though. Red sat next to me, making sure I didn't fall face first onto the floor. The nurse left within two minutes of us sitting. As I sat, I began contemplating about my ventures... again. I still wondered about the alicorn from my dream and what she meant by "the reason you exist". I pictured the purple alicorn from the nightmare when I closed my eyes. Is she real? Does she really know who I am, if she is? I pondered on this for some time. The alicorn was purple, so if there is any purple alicorns around, I would have to ask her some questions. After about fifteen minutes, Red shifted her head over to me. "What?" I asked, puzzled. "Nothing, just..." Red replied uncertainly, "I'm still trying to wrap my head around this predicament, as it were. From emblems on trees, to cultists who are after you... I have to wonder why. Whatever is going on, it must be pretty dire." "If I didn't have amnesia, I might know something. But I don't. And that's why I want to find out. I want to know what happened here; why everything is the way it is." "I see. Not a very full fledged goal, but still." "Full fledged?" I was somewhat offended by her remark. "Well I mean, if you do find out what happened to our world and rediscovered your past, what then?" "I guess it all depends." She was right, it wasn't exactly a well conceived plan. Either way I look at it, there was always going to be a change in plans. Whether or not it happens right away or sometime later, was beyond me. Fortunately, the nurse came in and announced, "The doctor will see you now." About time! "Follow me." I climbed back on Red as she crouched down, eager to get the procedure done. As soon as the nurse began leading us down a narrow corridor, I got more and more antsy. The floors were checkered, the paint on the walls was chipping, and the only source of light came from rod shaped lights on the ceiling. It was not as bad looking on the inside compared to the outside, but the place was still in a bad shape. Admittedly, the inn in Glanchester looked better than this. There were the occasional plaques posted along the walls, as well as a few portraits; one of which looked like a rather feminine stallion. Hmm... if it weren't for the short mane, I'd swear he looked like a mare. I thought as I stared at the portrait. Something about the portrait made me feel... intrigued. He looked rather beautiful for a stallion, and I was half hoping that he was the doctor. If that had been the case, then I'd have some eye-candy to look forward to. I was feeling rather excited about it for some reason, I couldn't understand why. Alas, it wasn't him. The nurse left as soon as he came into view. The "doctor" that Red mentioned was not the feminine stallion I was hoping for; rather it was an older unicorn stallion. He had no mane to speak of, but had a patchy blue beard to compensate. His left eye was drifted in one direction, while his right was fixed on us. He wore a messy lab-coat, covered in numerous substances. "Oh! Why if it isn't lil'l o'l Red!" He said delightfully, "Come for that physical, are we?" "No, doctor, that is not why we've come." Red replied respectively. "Alrighty then. Now uh... what seems to be the trouble?" "Well, my friend of mine has become handicapped from the waist down. We were hoping that you could use a spell, or something, to fix him." "Oh, okay. At first I thought that fellow on yer back had locked onto ya, er somethin'." "WHAT?!" Both of us exclaimed indignantly. The sickly doctor then began to cackle like a mad pony. "Ha! I was just messin' wit'ya!" What a pervert! "Anyway, Doctor," Red desperately wanted to change the subject, "can you help him?" "Yeah, Yeah, I'll help'em!" He giggled gleefully. "You sure we can trust him?" I whispered into Red's ear. "Of course." Red then muttered something under her breath, an irritable air. He led us into a room with a--surprisingly--sterile hospital bed. There were wooden cabinets along the square walls of the room, as well as a desk with a few medical instruments splayed. Aside from that, the room appeared relatively tidy; not at all what I had expected from an unclean, old stallion. Red placed me atop the bed so the doctor could get to work. As she did so, the older stallion started to examine my lower back, which I couldn't see. If only it was that feminine stallion. I would have been more comfortable if he was examining me, instead of this old fart. "Well," He announced, "Fortunately for ye, the bones weren't completely broken. Now uh... how'd this happen anyway?" "A rock pelted him." Red answered simply. "Ah. Makes sense." "And how do you know that from just looking at it?" The way I said it came off as rude to the elder. "When ye been fix'n up patients fer years, you tend t' learn a thing er two. I've used x-rays on many patients, but I ain't gonna bother for yer situation. I got it covered for ya!" I was able to turn my head towards the old coot as I laid, watching his horn glow a bright white. His horn emitted a bright white orb which absorbed into my lower back, causing it to illuminate. Within an instant, I felt a strange tingling sensation, followed by sharp pain. I gritted my teeth as I groaned from the unpleasant feeling. Oh, gosh, it hurts!! I said to myself, trying to withstand it. However... in spite of all that... there was a promising sign: my hoof twitched. "I can..." I said incredulously, "I can feel my legs! I can feel my legs again!!" I felt so relived at the result that I tried to stand up on the bed... only to fall back down soon after. My smile faded to a disappointed frown. "Wha--?!" "Oh yeah, forgot t' tell ye." The doctor spoke up, "The spell takes a while to kick in. Ah mean, sure, ye did feel yer legs twitch, but ye gotta wait a little while for yer t' heal back up!" "Oh dear," Red sounded embarrassed, "I completely forgot that. My apologies, Vagabond." How did you even become a doctor?! It had taken nearly an hour before my back legs were sturdy enough to walk on. Since then, Red and I had left the dilapidated hospital, and moved on elsewhere; a motel to be specific. The building was surprisingly in a better shape than the hospital and was slightly more appealing in appearance. As for why we rented a room in a motel, was unclear to me at the time. I was so happy to walking again, I trotted around the room several times, having no desire of sitting down. While I was enjoying my leisure, Red appeared antsy and alert... and possibly miffed by my trotting. "Well, I can see you are enjoying yourself." Red asked, trying to mask her irritation. "Considering I am able to walk again," I replied, "yes, I'm definitely enjoying myself!" "Hmm." "Is there something wrong, or...?" "Shh!" "What?" I whispered, confused by her actions. "Did you see somepony?" Red then shoved her hoof over my mouth like last time, removed it, and then moved it over her mouth, in a zipping motion. "I've been in a bit of a debacle for the past week or so." She explained carefully, "A certain sentinel has been on my tail ever since that past week, and at first I thought that bulky creature was far off... but no. He's not. He's here, in Steeldale." "Who?" I asked, apprehensive of what she'll say. "They call him--no, it: Einherjar, The Violet Knight." That... name... I... It was like time had completely stopped... as if the world itself had been paused. My head began to ache, and my body started to shiver. I was taking shorter breaths as I stood in absolute horror, as if I was being constricted. My eyes were locked in one place, as if I were staring at a thousand yards. "--abond! is somethi--?" Red's voice was so faint, I could barely hear her. The whole room began to fade out as an eerie vision emerged. I started to see quick flashes of somepony, purple, but blurred. It was difficult to make out what was happening, yet the image of the blurry pony moved briskly towards me. My body was immobile, paralyzed with fear. From what I could make out, the pony appeared to be levitating something; a weapon of sorts. As the pony rushed towards me, he raised the weapon to hack at me. I tried to scream, but I couldn't... I was unable to. Indistinct voices flooded my ears as grim imagery flashed every second. Images of blood... violence... rape... and more prominently... death. Death... and more death. I could only describe a few of the images: a pony being violently shot in the head... a foal's body melting into a congealed mess... a mare, falling into a black abyss... and lastly, a stallion forced into pleasure. Sights nopony should ever see, or experience. "VAGABOND!!!" Red's voice echoed. As soon as it arrived, the images vanished, and I returned to the room. I breathed heavily, unsure of what just happened. "Vagabond! What the hay happened?" She asked, worried of my well being. "I think I remembered something!" I told her. "I know that name somehow. I think I saw that pony before!" Her eyes widened, alarmed at what I said. "You saw Einherjar?" Red did her best to keep her voice low, "And lived?!" "I-I don't know. I saw a purple colored pony try to kill me... that's what I could recall." "Bloody hell... we have to get out of here, now!" Hastily, Red started unfastening her spear from her back, readying herself for a fight. "We're leaving? Now?!" "Yes! Right now! If the Knight's after both of us, we'll be dead before we can get out of Steeldale!" Without hesitation, Red practically dragged me out of the room so I could keep up with her. I protested a little before she let go of me, allowing me to run alongside her. We rushed down the halls briskly as if being chased. Ponies left and right were stunned and unamused by our display. One of them, the manager, stood in our path angrily. "What is the meaning of this?!" He shouted. "Apologies." Red panted, "We'll be checking out immediately!" "Why? What for?" "No time to explain!" I said hastily, "We have other places to be!" "All right, all right. No need to get too antsy. If you like, I could--" "I'm sorry, but we're really in a hurry!" He said nothing, but stepped aside for us to be on our way. I did my best not to disturb any more guests as I ran, Red meanwhile was dashing ahead of me. More ponies stared questionably at the two of us, possibly curious as to why two ponies are dashing for the exit. The whole experience felt very familiar to the one I had back at that inn, being chased by that masked pony. Only this time we weren't being chased, rather we were aware that a threat was coming for us. That and I was not alone. It almost felt... safer, yet it still didn't shake away the heart pounding fear. As we came to the stairs, we slowed our pace so that none of us tripped; the last thing we need is another crippling injury. The staircase was slim and twisted, so one of us had to go down first while the other followed. I let Red go first, since she was in a bigger hurry. One hoof over the other we briskly descended, each of us fearful of what may happen next. Every step mattered here. Below us was the lobby, much nicer looking compared to the inn. Several ponies were down there, minding their business. Once Red came to the bottom, she waited for me, eager to leave a soon as possible. As I came to the last step, Red dragged me with her teeth by the shoulder to the glass entrance doors, wasting no time. Despite my attempts to escape her vice-like grip, it didn't work. Red Yarrow pushed the glass doors with ease as we finally exited the building. We were out on the sidewalk at that point. She turned her head from left to right, scanning her surroundings for the assassin. She eventually let me go. As relieved as I was to be free from her mouth, I knew we weren't out of danger just yet. "Do you see him?" I asked, trying to keep the fear in. "Thankfully, no. But Einherjar could be anywhere." Red replied worriedly, "It would have been bad enough if he was a regular pony... but he's not." "What do you mean?" "He's an alicorn." "WHAT?! How can he--?!" "I don't know! He had wings and can use magic!" She then explained, "I only caught a glimpse of him--or it. The Violet Knight--as it's name suggests--wears a violet colored suit of advanced, technological armor, made up of precious metals. The alicorn is armed with a N90 machine gun, from what I remembered. He is, without question, extremely dangerous." "I gather that, but how are we gonna get out of here fast enough?" "I... I wish I knew. I saw the Knight a few blocks away from the building when I viewed through the window. The armor it wears is bulky, but not so cumbersome. If it wanted to, the Knight would have absolutely no trouble flying over us, gunning us both down swiftly. In summation, I do not have the slightest idea how to get away." This is it... we're doomed! "Wait! Maybe we can make a break for the exit!" I suggested. "Have you lost your mind?!" She said, exasperated. "Did you not hear what I JUST told you?" "What other options do we have?" As flustered as she was about my plan, she only sighed and said, "Fine. There's no other option left, I guess." My blood was pumping as I said, "Then lets not waste anymore time!" I started to sprint as fast as I could, Red dashing right behind me. We stayed along the sidewalk rather than run out into the road; the less the assassin could spot us the better. I did my best to prevent contact with any passerby, to keep the momentum going. The faster we could get to the exit, the sooner we'd be out of the town of Steeldale. My heart was racing from not just running, but also from the the thought of the plan backfiring completely. I knew it wasn't a fully realized, complex plan, but that didn't matter. Survival mattered above all else. The gate where we last entered was just several yards ahead. I smiled at the sight of it, and sighed in relief for it. The guards were still stationed at their post on the other side the gate, except for the plum stallion, who stared directly at us. As we got closer, I noticed he that he was smiling. A rather... unnerving smile. Why's he smiling like that? The plum stallion lingered for a moment--and galloped off to the right. "Hey!!" One of them yelled, "Where ya going?!" Just as he said that, something was coming down from the sky. From where I was, it looked like a meteor plummeting towards the ground. Only it was no meteor... it was much worse than that. "GET BACK!!!" I screamed at Red, turning tail and running the other way. When object made impact, it exploded. I may not have seen it, but I saw the flash and felt the shockwave that sent both of us flying several feet in the air. All I could hear was pinging in my ear; all other sounds were muffled. I couldn't even hear my body smack the ground. I could hardly move, but I had to get out there. I saw Red who also got up but limped as she tried to walk. When I tried to help her, I limped as well. I didn't know if it was possible to survive a blast like that, however it didn't matter. I was alive and so was she. And yet, in that moment... things took a turn for the worst. When I turned to look at the damage done by the blast, I witnessed a figure moving out from the black smoke and fire. Emerging from the wreckage was the one responsible... a pony clad in armor; bulky and highly advanced. The pony bore a helmet with a horn on the front, glowing v-shaped visor over the face. At it's side was the machine gun Red mentioned, almost as large as the figure itself. It's wings were tucked just above the gun. As the armored assailant drew closer, I could recognize the color of the armor... Violet. Oh crap, it's him! "We're too late!" Red shuddered. Einherjar approached with a quickened pace, hellbent on finishing the job. I noticed Red was too afraid to make her move, not even trying to reach for her spear. I opened my bag for the knife, but that was only going to do so much. I levitated the knife towards the armed foe, aiming for any potential weak point. I thought I saw one on its neck, so I threw it with all I got. The knife darted at the armored pony... but was quickly caught by its magic. I gulped when I saw it turn orange and melt before my eyes. "You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that." It said, voice warbled by the helmet. We are so screwed. At that moment it unfurled its wings and hastily rushed towards me, pining me down with tremendous and painful force. "Vagabond!!" Red shouted. She tried to assist me by finally taking out her and attempting to lunge... but to no avail. As soon as her spear tip came close to him, The Knight walloped Red with an armored hoof, knocking her back a few feet. "How dare you?!" I screamed angrily, desperately trying to escape the alicorn's grasp. While futilely attempting to free myself, I caught a glimpse at an emblem on its flank. My mouth gaped when I saw it: the six pointed star! And it was surrounded by five smaller stars, just like the one on the tree! The middle star was pink, while the others were white. "Go on! Kill me!" After a short pause The Knight warbled, "No." "What?" "I need you alive. You're no good to me dead, and neither is the Princess. You two are coming with me." "Princess?! What are you--?" Einherjar's horn glowed a reddish pinkish colored aura as it's head lowered close to my face. The last thing I could remember... was a sudden flash of light. And once again... the familiar blackness.
Interlude IInterlude I ***** "Dear Pinkie, Everything seems to be going well I suppose, now that we're underground. So far the soldiers have been rationing our food, but everypony understands (though I personally, hate it) and they are fine with the regulations. It's been pretty routine here: Everypony wakes up at six, eats breakfast around that time, do random appointed job for the next eight hours (our father and I were stationed for mining), have a break twice within those hours; lunch for the first break and rest for the second, and once work is done they escort you back to your apartment, lights out after twelve, rinse and repeat. Simple, sure, but it keeps everypony going and gives them something to do. I've been working my tail off breaking up rock after rock, but then again, our family's been doing that for their whole lives. Hopefully this whole war thing clears up eventually, so I can get back to the home I know and love. Our mom and Marble are working in textiles--which sounds boring. As for Maud... I've been hearing from the soldiers that they planned to recruit her as one of them--whether she wanted to, or not. I don't know much about the Equestrian Military, but do they really recruit ponies into their ranks by force? If so, I won't let that slide. If it meant for her safety, I'd volunteer in her place. I'd be really furious if they asked for Marble, or our dad--that won't happen! I won't let any of my family members get drafted!!! Sorry. I wrote stronger words about it, but it's better you didn't read my vulgar rants. I've also been hearing rumors about the state Ponyville's in; how it's been evacuated, and everypony is preparing themselves for an oncoming battle. Are they true? Have they evacuated the town? Please, Pinkie, tell me! We're worried about you. Oh, and your friends too. Tell me they're all okay. Tell me you're okay..." Your sister, Limestone Pie P.S. Please. Don't be dead...
Chapter Six: AssassinYesterday was a nightmare, yet today would be worse, I imagined. The violet colored warrior named Einherjar had captured Red and I, and is forcing us to go with him--or it--to an unspecified location. The Violet Knight had the two of us bound in magic from our necks, with no possible way of escaping. Not to mention, Red had her spear confiscated. I'm not as well versed in the art of magic, but I knew for a fact that Einherjar was incredibly gifted. That may or may not have to do with the fact that he--or it--is an alicorn. He didn't speak much throughout the day, but when he did, his voice sounded mechanical and somewhat warbled, constantly changing pitch. That may have been the reason why Red mostly referred to him as "it"; I couldn't tell if it was a he or she because of that voice. The armor didn't help define gender whatsoever. It's tail must have been tucked underneath the suit, since it wasn't visible. And since the Knight's armor covered every inch of his body, there was no way to tell what color he--or she--was. Once nighttime approached, The Knight made the decision to make camp inside a dismantled pillar. Large quantities of rebar and debris hung over the three of us like a half open trap, just barely closing in on us. For the fire, Einherjar ignited random flammable material he gathered from inside the pillar. Red and I were positioned a few feet from where he stood, keeping the fire lit, never unbinding us from his magic. "Hey." I tried to get his attention. "Why are you doing this?" No answer. Not even bothering to glance back. "Why are you doing this?" I repeated myself, hoping to get a response. Once again, nothing. He continued tending the fire with his magic and paying no attention to anything I said. "Answer me--!" "Vagabond, stop it!" Red intervened, "It's useless; he isn't going to listen to anything we say. He'll ignore whatever useless sentence comes out of our traps." "All right. Since the purple tin can refuses to answer my questions, how bout I ask you one: what did he mean by 'the Princess'? Is there something else I should know?" Red gave me a grimace before replying, "Very well. I am a Princess." That explains the crown on her cutie mark. "Okay then. So why didn't you tell me earlier?" "I wasn't sure if I could trust you, Vagabond. Not to mention it be rather bothersome for me to talk about my father's kingdom and the like. Plus, I didn't want you to address me as 'Your Highness', or 'milady'." "Either way, you should have told me sooner." Red frowned after I said that. "Even if I did, what good would it do? It wouldn't change anything." "Well, it doesn't matter now." As we quarreled, Einherjar sat down next to the fire, staring absentmindedly. He just sat there... staring. Whether or not he really was listening in on us, was up in the air. "You also said that The Knight was out to murder you," I pointed out, "and yet we're still alive." "I've heard many stories that he's ordered to kill ponies by his employers, being a mercenary and all. I heard the many tales of the ponies he slaughtered. Naturally, I assumed that he--" "--Would try to kill you?" I finished her sentence. "I was thinking the same thing, until he bound us with magic. It's likely he wasn't sent to kill you or me, otherwise he would have have long since been dead by now." "Of course. If he isn't out to kill us, he's more than likely delivering us to his employer... whoever they may be." Looking back at the armored pony, he had been shuffling through my bag it would seem, taking out what items were inside. Granted, there weren't as many items, but still. I began grinding my teeth as he continued pulling out its contents one by one, stacking them in a specific order meticulously. Why he did it was beyond me. The Knight got up from organizing my inventory, levitated the thermos, and walked up to us. He opened the lid of the thermos, and held it towards my muzzle. "Drink." He ordered me. "What?" I was suspicious of the gesture, "You're not gonna dehydrate us or anything?" "My employer wanted the Princess alive; therefore, both of you must be kept in good health. There is no sense in killing either of you." "Why? Who is your employer, and where are you taking us?" "His orders stated to keep that information classified. However, he didn't tell me not to disclose the location of our transaction, but I think it is pretty obvious he wouldn't want that. Rest assured, I refuse to explain any more details." My attention turned to the emblem on his flank: the six pointed star. The same emblem that was marked on that tree. The same tree I slept under... and perhaps the same place I was struck. "That emblem..." I built the courage to ask, "Do you know what it means?" The Knight was silent for a moment. "It is my cutie mark. Why?" "Your cutie mark. Do you know anything about a forest? With dark magic?" Einherjar began breathing heavily, as if I egged him on. Like he knew something. "Do you know anything about dark magic? Because if so: why was it in the forest? Is there some sort of dark force behind it?" "Vagabond, stop!" Red shouted, "Just take a drink." "Why was I left for dead? Why did you try to kill me back then?" "Are you deaf?! Vagabond please!" "Why did you try to kill me? Tell me. Tell me!" Red Yarrow only groaned in anger from my constant asking. I had to--no... I needed to know." "ANSWER ME!!!" It was at that moment, that The Knight had enough. He swiped his hoof, clipping my muzzle and sending me flying several feet from where I once sat. My head throbbed with immediate pain, like I slammed head first into a wall. The armored pony then surrounded himself in his aura, and vanished... Only to reappear next to me, forcefully pinning me down with both his hooves. At least he didn't point his gun at me, otherwise I would have been killed. "I said, drink." He levitated the thermos towards me. "No! Not un--" The Knight slammed his hoof on my neck, choking me. "Drink... now!" All I could do was gag; I couldn't speak. So instead of trying to speak, I did my best to nod my head to acquiesce. Because of the helmet I couldn't read The Knight's expression, but he lifted his hoof from my neck as if my gesture was adequate enough. I gasped loudly, sucking in as much air as I could. "Alright." I coughed as I took the thermos from him. "Save enough for the Princess." He explained as I took a few gulps, "She needs it just as much as you do." "Why didn't you just give it to her first then?" I argued. Just as I was about to say something else, Einherjar snatched the thermos with his levitation spell. "No more questions. I've had enough." The next morning, we set out east into the desert. However... we were flying this time. Einherjar flew with me on his back, while Red Yarrow had flown behind us, still tethered by his magic. I wasn't tethered this time, but that was because I couldn't fly, hence the reason I was carried. Thankfully, The Knight was scrupulous enough not to let me dangle by his magic... and that's a lot coming from him. The feeling of being on another's back was not unfamiliar, since Red carried me on her back when my legs couldn't work. However, it was nowhere near as comfortable. The Knight's armor was chafing my legs and my belly as we flew, feeling as though I rode on the back of a flying cheese grater. The Knight had Red's spear holstered at his side as we flew. Below us was the aforementioned desert, hundreds of feet down. Needless to say I wasn't used to heights... or flying for that matter. Several plateaus, mounds of countless debris, and even more mammoth sized bones and rib cages like the ones I saw long while back; all laid out in this place. There were also what looked like trenches from what I could see, and tons of enormous mortars. This had to have been a battlefield at one point. When did all of this happen? Viewing such a sight reminded me of what that green inn keeper said: the kingdom of Canterlot fell into ruins somehow. And anypony who would know is likely very old or pretty much dead. This couldn't have been Canterlot--obviously--but whether or not this place had remnants of it, remained unknown. Because I was up so high, it was difficult to have seen any sign of dead soldiers, or anything else of significance. It could be that the ponies who were alive buried their dead, if this really was a war zone. And since it was impossible for me to tell how long this place has been here; when the battle took place, and what happened there, there was no chance to find answers at all. I thought about asking The Knight if he knew anything, but then again, would he? Since he kept information about himself confidential, he would be disinclined to share anything he knew. I looked back to see how Red was faring. Despite being tethered, she did not have trouble keeping with us. Judging by her expression, she wasn't thrilled about her current situation, and neither was I. I hated seeing her in this predicament, just as much I hated being on The Knight's uncomfortable back--as well as everything else that happened thus far. Hopefully we'll land soon; this guy's armor is murder on my coat! Right when I started shifting my body around for comfort, I noticed something unsettling: Some of these places looked eerily familiar. For example, the mile long stream up ahead looked suspiciously like the one Boomer and I stopped at. Even more surprising was viewing what looked like the same dead willows surrounded by grassy plants, that drooped just above the stream. It was so similar to where I was not to long ago... and then it dawned on me. It was the same place! The same place where Boomer and I was attacked by those giant weasels. We're heading back the way I came?! You've got to be kidding me!!! I was pretty infuriated that we were backtracking. While it did make me curious about where we were going, I was not pleased with the fact that a contract killer had us both tied up in magical tethers, and then forced to go with him to earn some bits for his bounty--that's what I got of it at least. Whoever paid him to do this has something to do with Red Yarrow, and wanted her alive for whatever reason. I got that she's a Princess but who would pay an armored mercenary to track her down? Now that the stream has been passed, it wouldn't be long until Glanchester would be in sight. I still remembered the day I came to that town and at the ponies that lived there--very few, but I still remembered them. The only ones I could remember were those two guards, the now deceased manager, as well as that old mare on that crooked bench... I don't know why I remembered her but I do. And of course that masked pony who tried to kill me--kind of hard to forget him. It's bad enough I got kidnapped by this purple piece of metal. The last thing I want is to meet that masked guy again. I looked down to see if Glanchester was right below us, and sure enough, it was. The dilapidated town was in the same state in which I left it. At the speed of which Einherjar flown, we passed the town within a few seconds giving me very little time to observe. Though I was thankful we didn't land there, it made me more anxious to think of where he was taking us. He then veered right, which made me even more hesitant. "Vagabond!" Red shouted. "Yes?" I shouted back. "How are you holding up?" "Fine, I guess. What about you?" "Well, considering I'm tethered by magic while being dragged by The Knight, not to mention we are about to face whatever fate awaits the both of us... Honestly, I'm having a great time!" It was clear she was being sarcastic... and might have been as afraid as I was. I built up the courage to ask The Knight, "Are we getting close?" At first it seemed Einherjar would never answer, but then replied, "Indeed.", and nothing more. Laconic fellow, isn't he? Einherjar's elevation lowered, which mean't we were landing. As we were almost at ground level, I noticed nopony was around--it seemed that way at least. We landed on a small patch of dead grass surrounded by piles of animal bones. The bones themselves likely came from a number of animals and not just one type; strewn about like some sort of macabre graveyard. The Knight lifted me off his back, and reattached the tether. I thought about making a run for it as he did so, but what good would that do me? None. None whatsoever. "Well, I don't see anypony." I whispered to myself. "Where are your employers?" "They should be here." He said, irritated. Whether it was his employers being late or what I said, was beyond me. Red seemed relieved by this as I was. "Hmm... I suppose they are either late, or we are early." She pointed out. The Knight was noticeably impatient, pacing incessantly and grumbling in a mechanical tone. It seemed rather indignant of such a strong and fierce figure, but then again I knew very little about him. Something I had not realized was that there were several holes next to some of the bones. They are more than likely to be the homes of those "squirrels". It was at that moment I was reminded of Boomer, who would have chased them around until he got his meal, just as any dog would. I wonder if he's still alive out there. Every time I looked up at the sky it remained the same, still gray and overcast. A few of the clouds looming over the landscape appeared a darker shade of gray, which could indicate an oncoming storm. It was bad enough that we had to sit out in the open, but if it was about to rain with no knowledge of shelter anywhere, then we'd have a less than stellar time. The wind sent a chill through my coat, further evidence for rain. However, the wind had an icy bite to it, something I haven't felt since I first woke up in that snowy forest. I shivered from both the sudden cold, and the feeling of wariness that followed. "Do you feel that?" Red asked anxiously. "Yes. I do." I answered simply, "And I don't like it." When I looked to Einherjar, he had stopped pacing and gazed at the dark clouds looming overhead. Even whilst in his armor, I could sense the perturbation he felt as the sudden rumble of thunder rolled. The wind picked up vehemently behind me, like an unnatural force of malcontent. Red and The Knight also took notice of it. The three of us grew increasingly afraid of what may come, afraid of the worst possible outcome. And as it would seem... it came true. Across the graveyard came ten black-hooded cloaked figures appearing out of the blue, all of whom were unicorns, horns engulfed in dark magic. It seemed as though this a part of the plan, that they were the employers The Knight spoke of. However, The Knight was making a very subtle but frequent blowing sound, which could be him hyperventilating. In other words, they couldn't have been the employers. As I looked around, I realized that their faces were covered with white masks. Not unlike the masked pony. This must be the cult Red talked about. I thought with a sense of absolute dread. Rain slowly sprinkled the land, drenching the soil beneath our hooves. The wind was colder than ever before, like a blizzard. I shivered violently from the cold. Red shivered as well, breathing steam from her muzzle. The ten cloaked figures encircled the three of us, closing in with their horns alight with dark aura--the same aura from the masked pony who chased me... the same aura that surrounded the trees in the forest. One of them, however, approached us further than the others. It could be that he was their leader, but I couldn't tell. "So it was true..." He spoke in a very deep voice, "...He still lives." "W-who are you?" I dared to ask. "Since you have failed to eliminate him the first time," He then turned to his fellow members, "You shall finish what was unfinished." They lifted their gazes towards me as they repeated in unison: "We will finish what was unfinished." The magic from their horns intensified the further they closed in. I didn't have my knife--since it melted--so I had no way of defending myself. Then again, a knife could only do so much. I backed up slowly as they lurked, unsure how I would get out of this. I relied so much on my knife, I have become a coward... again. When I looked over at Red--no longer tethered--she unfastened her spear from The Knight, who tried knocking her back but failed. Red tugged the spear from The Knight's grasp, as the cloaked ponies were about to fire. I could not stand to waste anymore time so I decided to aid her in getting the spear. I tried hard to levitate the spear away from him, but he used the same spell and tugged just as hard. As for why he didn't just let us have it continued to baffle me. Our efforts would have been wasted if not for a promising sound: a blood curdling scream. All of us paused from our game of Tug-O-War, and turned our heads to the noise. Evidently, cloaked ponies were being killed left and right by quick, deadly blasts of magic. The perpetrator behind the deaths was almost unseen, as the screams became numerous. "What is happening?!" Their leader bellowed. As it turned out, the assassin was one of the cloaked ponies, blasting away and killing almost everypony in sight. When turned back, Red managed to give Einherjar the slip, retrieving her spear from him. Tucking her spear beneath her wing, she charged furiously towards the remaining cult members. There were three remaining, including the lead pony. One tried to blast her, but missed as she evaded the blast. She leaped into the air, and thrust her spear with her wing into him, crying out in agony. Blood spattered on the sand, as the pony fell to his demise. Two more. When I looked towards The Knight, he was already aiming his gun at them, soon firing a countless barrage of bullets. One of them got shot in the shoulder, crying out for help. The leader heard his plea, and shielded him by casting a spell to create a pulsating barrier surrounding the two of them. Einherjar then used a teleportation spell to get closer. A radiant white aura surrounded his armored horn. It glowed brighter by the second, until a small white blast shot out, shattering the barrier like it was glass. The blast's impact was powerful enough to knock them back several feet into the air. Upon collapsing, the leader exclaimed, "What? No! That's not possible!!" Einherjar only chuckled at him as he walked up to his fallen body. He pinned him down once he got close enough, machine gun poised and ready to end the downed cultist's life. "Now... y--" Before The Knight could finish, the cloaked assassin who saved us threw a large rock at his head. Einherjar fell to the ground with a tremendous, metallic thud. The impact seemed to instantly knock him out in the process, though I was certain he had been. Apparently the blow was enough to knock his helmet off, too. The assassin then sprinted towards the two cultists, his horn engulfed in a bright green aura. I couldn't see his face though, for his back faced me every time. The two of them quivered in front of him. The 'moon-obsessed' cult, humbled by one of their own. "Traitor!" The leader said fearfully, "How c--?" The cloaked pony then mercilessly pinned his own hoof down on him, and fired. The black blast engulfed both of them, and vanished. The cultist's cloaks came loose, leaving their exposed coats in the open. They screamed in agony as their bodies started to dry up and crack, creating long gashes across their bodies. Their masks came off as well, exposing their now drying, cracked muzzles. They continued to writhe well after the cloaked pony raised his hoof. Within seconds they were nothing but dust, blowing in the cold wind. The dark clouds dissolved as the rain stopped falling. I wondered whether or not the rain was created through a spell; it stopped as soon as they died. Naturally, I was stunned and confused by what transpired. Why would a cultist betray his own brethren? I pondered this for a short while, until Red brought me back to reality. "Vagabond!" She panted, "Are you alright?" "Uh... yeah." I was a little distracted by what occurred. "Thank heavens. I was unsure of how we would survive that debacle." "That was a good time." A voice exclaimed all of a sudden. It was the cloaked pony who spoke as he walked up to us, keeping his head low to hide his face. "I was wondering when you guys would show up. Do you have any idea how long I had to wait for you three to get here? A very long while." Puzzled, I raised a brow and asked, "Who the hay are you?" "Not important right now," He diverted, "what is important however is that we high-tail it outta here. There's more of them out there." "But, didn't you just kill their leader?" Red asked. "Not quite." Red and I exchanged worried glances before turning back to him. "Then let's not waste precious time!" Red declared. "That's great, but first..." The cloaked pony went over to the unconscious body of Einherjar, and attempted to lift him up, only to fail in doing so. "...help me with this." "What?!" I said exasperatedly, "You want us to drag him with us?" "Yes." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "This guy kidnapped us for money, why should we help him?" The cloaked pony only snickered at this, "I believe you mean 'why should we help her'." He ushered me closer as curiosity overtook me. He lifted The Knight's head to reveal what the helmet hid behind it. And he was right--Einherjar was a mare. "Oh my gosh." I exclaimed aloud. Her fur was very, very light purple in color, based on seeing her face. Her mane was three tones of purple it seemed, with bangs covering her forehead. The only thing it didn't cover was her horn. "Come on buddy," The cloaked pony insisted, "let's get her outta here." Dusk. Hours passed after the ordeal, and the cloaked pony and I still dragged the unconscious Knight across the sand. The weight of the armor made it especially difficult to move her, requiring the both of us--and eventually Red--to work together. Every time I asked him questions about why we we're doing it, he always reply with "Not now", or some other iteration. Other than that, I kept silent. It's surprising how this mare could stay asleep for so long, considering how long we've dragged her. I wasn't sure of what might happen if she suddenly woke up in the middle of all this; how would I explain it if she did? The cloaked pony kept his hood down to cover his face, even as we dragged her. Essentially I became suspicious of this behavior, allowing me to believe there's more to this pony than I thought. "How can she be this heavy?" I groaned, gritting my teeth. I had to break the silence somehow. "That armor is made out of a dense metal alloy," The cloaked stallion explained, "forged to be tough enough to stop bullets. With metal like that, what did you expect it to be, weightless?" "W-well no. Obviously not." "On the plus side, suits like these are highly coveted, so they are exceedingly rare to find." "Why covet them?" "Eh, some ponies consider them to be relics of the past. Probably used in wars. Seems fitting for a hell like this." He added snidely. Now for a more important question: "Where are you taking us exactly?" I asked earnestly. The pony slightly turned his head towards me--still covering his face--and replied, "There's a little hideout I have, that'll keep you hidden for the time being." Beyond the horizon was a shallow canyon, with a long stream flowing through it. Mounds of boulders piled over the walls of the canyon like there had been an avalanche. This place was smaller than the ravine Red and I passed through though, and it was much wider. Whether this was the final stop or a scenic route, was unknown to me at the time. I wondered how we would be safe here; there were no places to hide! Nothing but boulders and the stream--which probably wasn't very deep. Once we got closer, the cloaked pony told us quietly, "I know what you're thinking: 'where's your hideout?' Well, don't worry. I'll show ya." He then tugged The Knight to the left, leading us to the cluster of boulders. I looked at him questioningly as he did so. "The hay're you looking at?" He asked. "You're leading us to a cluster of giant rocks." I told him flatly. "Not quite." A pulsating sound emitted from his horn, followed by a louder version of the sound. I looked to the rocks and was dumbfounded by what happened in front of my eyes: a small camp revealed itself out of thin air. My jaw dropped as it became visible instantaneously, my eyes were wider than saucers after that. "WHAT THE...?!" I was too shocked to finish my sentence. "I know, right? Didn't expect that, did ya?" He chuckled. "A cloaking spell? How clever of you." Red commented. The camp by itself was rather interesting in design, with a wide red canopy hanging over it. A fire pit was built in the center, along with a large assortment of random appliances surrounded it. No fire had been lit though. A box with a red cross was among the random items, likely to be a medical kit. "Come on," He ushered, "let's prop her up in here." Steadily, the cloaked pony and I dragged The Knight into the camp, and propped her up against a tall thin boulder. It took a minute and half to do so, but we accomplished our task well enough. Other than breathing, she never moved from her spot. The way she slept against the stone made her look like a guarding statue or something. Now sounded like a good time to ask the same question again. "Alright, now that we got her here, explain to me: why are we doing this? Why are we letting her live?" The cloaked pony snorted, bemused by what I said. "You mean other than it being the right thing to do? Wow, I guess we all have skewed priorities here." "That's besides the point! Why let her live, after everything she put us through?" "For one, the rock knocked her noggin, so she's probably gonna have amnesia or something by the time she wakes up. With that said, it's likely you guys can use that to your advantage if you wish... Given your 'standards'." Is he seriously questioning my morals?! "MY standards?" I challenged him, "You betrayed your own brethren so how does that make you any different?" The cloaked pony seemed to have reflected on this before answering, "I was assigned to kill you back at Glanchester. I almost did. But then I had the idea to disguise myself. It was then that you showed me genuine kindness, and even though I was told to kill you, I couldn't help but disobey my orders." Red and I were equally confused. None of us knew what he was talking about. "You were in Glanchester to kill him?" Red asked, "What for?" "Long story." "And what do you mean by 'disguise yourself'?" I demanded. It was then that the cloaked pony lifted his head, and removed his hood. What revealed was a disheveled mess of mane at nape length, and a scarred muzzle and face. A long scar went along his left eye, which was cloudy. His right eye was brown in color, still intact. I noticed that he had something around his neck, what looked like... A collar?! He lifted the tag of the collar with his hoof and said, "For a long time, I got pretty used to being a dog." My mouth gaped from shock. "B-Boomer?!"
