The Fearless Warrior

After the race I came back to my house. Next to me was Applejack helping me carry my equipment. But as I was going to open the door Steel Head opened first from the inside, behind him was Rarity. I looked at them and it was not hard to know what had happen, the month I spend with him was enough to know Steel Head and some of his behaviors. I gave him a significant look, but he ignored me.

"Oh, there you are Eravel, me and Rarity came to the house to look for you!" He said smiling at me and Applejack.

"uhum..." I looked at him. What a cynic bastard...

"Hey Rarity. We'r looking fer'ya too." Applejack said, apparently unaware of what I knew that had happen between the two white ponies.
"Oh, you did not had to worry about me darling" Rarity said, playing along with Steel Head. "I was with Steel Head after all..." She said walking out of the house. "Well, now that Eravel is back safe and sound I need to go too. I have a few things to prepare in my store." She looked back at Steel Head and winked. "oh, and Eravel, dear, you should go inside and shower! You are in an awful state! And... What about those clothes of yours?" She looked with a frown to my line cloths.
"I use them all the time; it is the only clothes I got." I said looking at myself.
"Uhg... You should get rid of them! They are awful. Almost as bad as that armor you usually wore." She said walking away. "go to my boutique some day so we can make proper clothes for you!" Applejack sighed.
"Don't yer mind that fancy pony" The orange pony said to me. "She's not usually this rude with other ponies. Well, ah got'go too, mah big brother's probably need mah help in the farm." She looked at the sky, watching the sun going down. "Not that ah'll be of any use at this time. Well cya'soon" With that she gave me my armor back and started to leave. I watched she disappear in the horizon and then looked at Steel Head.

"I can't believe you did that to her!" I said scowling with him. The royal guard just chuckled.

"Me? I did nothing; SHE is the one who did me!" He said and walked inside. I closed the door and followed him.
"What?" I asked in confusion.

"Yeah, that was my reaction too! But hey, you got no right to judge me. I saw you and that cyan pegasus chatting. The way she was looking at you... If she is like Rarity, soon enough you will be under her sharing a bed!" He laughed. I rolled my eyes and started to strip my shirt.

"Stop saying nonsense! She's a pony, and I'm a human! This is wrong in so many different ways that I can't even start pointing them!" I said going upstairs, where our bathroom was, taking all my stuff with me. He followed me with a smirk.
"Don't act like you are not interested in her too. You even let her beat you so you both could be friends." He said
"And that's what we are: friends! I did what I did so she could forgive me. I deserved that and she deserved to have her revenge." I said in a firm tone. He rolled his eyes.
"Whatever you say Eravel, but trust me when I say that she got an eye on you." He said going to his room.

I sighted and went to my own room that was still completely empty. I left all my stuff in a corner and then went downstairs again. My clothes had been almost destroyed in my fight with the manticore, but I manage to sew it all together again. But since I arrived here, I did not wash them even once.

I filled a bucket with water and something that Steel Head told to be 'powder soap'. I put some in the water and went to my room. I had no spare clothes with me so, I had to be naked while washing it. The clothes were so dirty that I had to change the water that turned black and then restart the whole process of laundry. After long minutes in that boring job I stretched them in my balcony to dry. Now I could wash my own body. I walked into the bathroom and then turned the shower just as Steel Head taught me to do.

One leaver was cold water and the other was hot water. You had to lower them to regulate the amount that would come out. My first time using it I had the help of the royal guard and it was back at the hospital. The second was at Fluttershy… Now it would be my third time using it and I wanted to try on my own. I pushed the leaver for hot water first, but I over did it and a torrent of almost boiling water came all over me.

"DAMN LOKI!" I yelled as the hot water hit my skin, leaving light red marks on it. I hurried and pulled the leaver up to stop the water. The bathroom door slammed open. Steel Head had come to 'rescue' me when I yelled.
"What happen! Are you ok!" He said in a worried tone. I stepped out of the shower.

"Almost..." I said partially wet, mu pale skin with some light red marks from the almost boiling water that hit me. It did not even hurt anymore. I only got the marks because my skin was too pale. Steel Head understood what happen right away and chuckled.
"You need to pull both leavers at the same time and THEN adjust the water temperature." He said smiling. I went back inside and then did what he told me. Pulling both at the same time, slowly, the water came out warm, not too hot nor too cold. I just stood there, letting the water soak my body, enjoying it.

"Back in my home land, we had to warm the water in the fire before taking a bath. And we need to do it quickly because the weather was always very cold." I Started to rub my body.
"Yeah, I can imagine that. And I don't like what it looks like" He chuckled. "Well, if you need anything else, just call, ok? I'll come to rescue you." He teased me leaving me alone.

I took my time letting the water pour down my body. It felt good on my sore muscles, it helped me to relax. My thoughts wondered about how peaceful this place was. I just could not understand how these ponies could live so... carefree. Steel Head used the time I was in the palace's hospital to teach me a little about this world and the forces that ruled it. Clestia and Luna were really goddess of the sun and the moon. The pegasi around had almost total control over the weather. The crops grew a lot faster than the place where I was from and they never, EVER, had a war.

This... excess of peace made me uneasy. My whole life was a struggle to survive, to be the best, to always be able to defeat my enemy and, the whole world WAS my enemy. But suddenly I had no such purpose anymore. All the dangerous creatures lived in Everfree forest and they had no enemies to fight. Even Steel Head had never killed before. What kind of guard had never killed at least once? This was very, very strange to me.

I turned the shower off and took a towel, drying my skin. Once I was dry, I walked to my room, went to the balcony to watch the sky. The moon was high and beautiful. I could feel the fresh nigh breeze on my skin and then closed my eyes, letting my mind dance with the sound and feelings around me. No one would come closer to this house, so I didn't care that I was naked. My father always told me that was important to sometimes, relax and let you blend in the nature. I heard the sound of the leaves in the trees... And the flaps of the wings of some bird that was passing by... and then I heard a thud right next to me of something landing... and then... 'wait a second'.

I open my eyes and looked to my side. There was Princess Luna smiling over me.

"Good evening Eravel." She said in a soft tone. I jumped back, startled by her presence AND the fact that I was naked. Using my hand I covered my shames.

"P-P-Princess! What are YOU doing here!" I said panting and she frowned.
"Is that something wrong that I wanted to see one of the few creatures that enjoyed my night?" She looked like she was offended.
"Ahm... n-no, of course not! What I mean is... why you did not knock on the door or something like it?" I said looking around for something to cover me but my clothes were still soaked. I used then the closest thing in my hand. My helmet.

"I saw you enjoying the night so much that I didn't want to pull you out of this nice spot." She said smiling and walking near to the balcony's edge. I walked behind her. "Tell me, did the element of loyalty, Rainbow Dash, forgive you?" She asked looking at the night sky.

"Yes... we had... a friendly talk. And then she accepted my apologies." I said to her. The princess giggled a little.
"She beat you didn't?" She looked at me smiling. I shrugged in response. "Rainbow Dash send a letter to my sister. Talking about the thing she had learned about friendship. My sister was more than pleased to hear what you did." She turned her head towards the sky.

"I'm glad that your sister is not angry at me anymore." I said a little more relaxed but still covering myself with the helmet. "I mean, having a Goddess angry with you is NOT a good thing" I completed and she giggled with that statement.

"Yes, indeed. Also, I came here at her request to ask you about something." She said looking right in my eyes. "She wanted to know more about that 'other Eravel', the one that had to be stopped by her." I froze. The princess never asked even once about the incident after I was taken to the hospital room. Why now?
"She feels that you are good enough to talk about what happen. She knows that at first you lied to her about you not knowing what happen" Luna said, as if she had read my mind. "But now she wants answers... Not now, now. She will give you some time to answer that. In a week she will come to Ponyvile to attend a small morning party at Sugar Cube corner. Be there so she can talk to you." She smiled at me and then flapped her wings, flying high and disappearing in the night, leaving me a little choked.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I could not sleep… The words of Princess Luna spinning in my head, driving me crazy! Celestia knew that I had lied to her, but STILL trusted me. That made me feel a little guilty, but it was suppose to be a white lie and, I though, there was no way she would find out. But now she knew and I had no idea what I would tell her. Those toughs kept tormenting me. I was laid on my bed, staring at the roof. My clothes were still drying out in the balcony.

"But you at least have a week to think about this, right?" A male voice echoed through the room. It sounded a little joyful and came from all directions.
"Who's there!" I said standing up, grabbing my sword. Not caring to cover my still naked body.

"Again with those questions... you mortals really have no imagination at all do you?" The voice came from behind me andIi turned to face the intruder. There I saw that creature made out of other creatures: Discord.

"What are you doing here? I thought that you could come only in my thoughts." I said lowering my sword.
"But we ARE in your head, you slept and didn't even realized" He chuckled.
"Oh... I see... well, whatever! What do you want this time?" I said in a not so friendly tone. I didn't like the idea of that creature coming inside my head.

"What? Can't I come to visit a friend?" He said looking at me. He acted as my words had hurt him. My expression changed to soften a little.
"Erm.. no... I..." I was going to apologize but he started laughing at me.
"Hahahahah! Got'cha boy!" He teased me. I just shake my head... what a weird creature. "I see that Celestia was right about you having a good nature after all, despite all the chaotic energy in you." I looked at him with a serious expression.

"You saying those things again... can't you be a little more specific?" That thing about 'chaotic energy' was getting in my nerves.

"Yes I can, but I don't know if I want to..." He said teasing me again. "You see, the chaotic energy is something everypony has, and you have a lot of it. Of course, it has other names, but if I tell them to you it will be no fun." I just rolled my eyes and looked at him angry. "But! I can provide you with some clues about what is the chaotic energy that you have." He snapped his fingers and the whole scenario changed.

I could see myself in a really familiar place. The weather was cold, very cold. No sun in the sky. The smell of grass and soaked earth... also the smell of farm animals and food. I looked around and saw myself in my home land. I was back in my village! The houses had a good space between each other and were really similar, since they were all built the same way. Dry hay and clay for the roofs, wood for the walls and structure. The only stone part was the fireplace structure that could be seen from the outside.

Farm animals walked around, the sound of people talking and working. Not far from there I could see the old blacksmith working on his forge, he worked hard to make farming tools and weapons. I looked behind me and could see the ocean, just a few miles away. A few ships standing at the port but we were too far away for me to see how many of them were there.

"In... Odin's name... you... you..." I started but he cut me off.
"No, this is just a memory. I did not brough you back to your world..." He said and then pointed to a boy walking with stick on the belt, as if it were a sword. I recognized the boy as being me, at least five years younger.

"Can they see us?" I asked.
"No, this is just a memory, as I already said, and we are just here to watch." Discord said walking towards the boy. O followed him, not caring that I was still naked.

The younger me walked for some minutes until he reached his house... my house, where I used to live with my father and mother. As the Young me was reaching the door to open, someone yelled at him.

"Defend yourself!" I looked to some bushes nearby and saw a tall man, with a long braided hair. His face had only a small amount of bear and it was all on the tip of his chin. He had deep blue eyes and the expression of a mad man.

The young me quickly 'unsheathed' the stick and parried a strike coming from above. The man was also using a stick to fight. The boy stepped to the side, letting the stick of the older man slide down. He delivered a quick counter attack to the man's head. The older men hold the strike coming for his head with his forearm and smiled at the boy.

"Good technique son! You are getting better and better by the days!" The older man praised the young Eravel.

I felt my eyes sting a little. Hot tears marked my face I watched that scene. The older man was my father, the man that inspired me to be who I was... The man who taught me how to live and how I was suppose to die one day. My chest ached in pain. It was like someone was grabbing my heart and squeezing it.

"Why... why you brought me here? Why to this day... WHY IN THE NAME OF THOR'S HAMMER YOU BROUGHT ME TO SEE THIS DAY YOU WRETCHED MONSTER!" I snapped and before I knew I was pointing my sword toward Discord. He didn't even blink. I could feel the rage, the anger... the blood lust was crawling under my skin, pinching my muscles andI fought to keep myself in control.

"Because is here where you will understand what your chaotic power is..." he said calmly "Your father had it too, and I need you to watch it to understand." He said looking me in the eyes. My sword kept pointing at him. My grip was tight enough to hurt my own hand.

The sound of a horn blowing in the distance took my attention from the draconian creature. I saw in the horizon a line of mans. They were all armed with spear, shields, swords, axes and hammers. My father saw that too and hurried to go inside home. He took me with him. I didn't need to go with them to know what happen inside the house. My mother was there. She had a pale skin with golden hair... Her eyes were light green and she was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Not to mention she was the strongest too. Despite the role of woman in our village, she had trained to use the bow like no one else.

My father and mother got dressed for the battle. My mother with her bow and arrows and my father with his full armor, sword and axe. They told me to get ready to run for the hills, where I would be safe. I argued with him that I wanted to fight and he slapped me across the face. He said that I had to survive and if I was there in danger he could not fight properly. I could remember his heavy hand on my face and the fear on his voice. We were outnumbered, he knew it, and that was why he forced me to leave.

I stood outside the house, next to the Discord. I saw my father and mother coming out and joining the others that would stay to fight. Then I saw my younger self going out and joining the rest of those who could not fight. Reluctant I approached the small contingent that formed a line at the borders of our village to defend it against the invaders. I wanted to be there, next to those two that I loved most but I knew that was impossible... and that was what hurt most.

The two lines were ready to fight. Horns started to blow as they were getting ready to engage each other. Both sides roared challenges and curses. Caught in the emotion of the moment I joined the voices. It was tradition to make those verbal competition until one side decided to fight for real. My mother was the one who started. She pulled an arrow, aimed in a high angle and shoot. The deadly projectile flew fast and, making an arch in the air and landed in the eye of one of the invaders who were not wearing any helmet.

The soldier with an arrow in the eye fell limp and his side charged. My side charged too to stop their advance. The sound of swords clashing and shields striking each other echoed though the field. My mother was a fast shooter, and had an excellent aim. Men after man fell with her arrows. All our warriors were fighting for their families and their homes, but, even though they say numbers don't win a battle they surly help.

I saw as the warriors from the village started to fall, one after the other. The enemy was pushing forward, tainting the earth with blood, the blood with those who once I knew, the blood from my people. It was a horrific sight even for Discord. I saw that in his eyes. My attention was caught by a woman's scream. I saw my mother hit on the shoulder by a spear that was thrown at her. She fell on the ground, crying in pain. My father saw that too and then, all around me started to move in slow motion.

I could see my father's eyes. I saw fear. Fear of losing his wife, fear of losing his love and then, that fear ignited like a pool of oil hit by a sparkle. I almost saw my father's eyes shine with rage. He went in frenzy state that my people called 'Berserker'. Our people had legends about that. It was said that we had dragons blood in us, and in the time of need the blood would awaken and make us as powerful as a raging dragon. But with a high cost. Our mortal bodies were not prepared to deal with such a power and as a result, we simply lost our minds.

I feral howl came from my father's throat. He dashed towards the enemy, forgetting his companions, his life, his surroundings. He was taken with a blood lust and there was nothing that could stop him. He broke through the enemy's lines, slashing and killing one after the other. Shields were broken under the power of his axe… Limbs were separated from the bodies under the sharp edge of his sword. But I felt a hot tear rolling down my face as I watched my father being hit and cut several times. But he didn't felt it. He didn't care. I saw him slowly running toward his own death in a killing frenzy. It was thank to that that the enemy started to retreat. My father alone killed enough of them to set panic and turning the tables.

I saw him standing victorious on the battle field, surrounded by the dead. His body covered with blood and wounds. He looked back to where my mother was. She was hurt but alive. It was the first time I saw her crying. Around us, cries of joy and victory from those who were unaware of the true hero that saved the day. I watched my father fall on his knees; he smiled at the sight of her love, still alive. He held both weapon as hard as he could... and then his life escaped his lungs. The last thing I heard was my mother scream for her loss and then all my surrounding changed again. I was in a place without any kind of light. It was all darkness around me.

Standing in front of me was Discord. He was not smiling, or making jokes. He just stood there silently for some time, to let me recover from what I had just seen.

"I hope you understand what chaos is boy... and what is the chaos that lies inside you." He said in a serious tone. I only nodded in response. "Good." Were his last words before finally wakeup. I gasped for air. The tears marking my face and I was covered in sweat. I looked around me, grasping the reality. I didn't fully understand what Discord talked about what was the chaos, but I knew that it was just a matter of time.