Chapters Many Questions, Some Answers
One week ago...
Lyra couldn't sleep. It didn't help that Bon-Bon was having one of her "restless nights" and was kicking her in the back, so she decided to go into the kitchen, have a little snack, and try to go back to bed. Once she made it to the kitchen, she opened the pantry, "Nothing," She said sleepily, moving on to the fridge, "Seriously?" she asked, slightly irritated. She added, "Make Bon-Bon go grocery shopping tomorrow," to her mental to-do list, "There has to be something to eat in this house."
As she rummaged through the kitchen to find something to eat, she noticed a dull, orange light outside. Curious as to what was causing it she looked out the window, there was an odd dog-like creature on a black leash who's head appeared to be lit on fire. That wasn't what interested her though, holding the leash was a tall bipedal creature who wore armor that was colored orange, blue, and gray, with bits of light floating around their head. She gasped, "That HAS to be a human! What else could it be?!" As she was having a minor freakout, she just barely noticed the presumed human begin walking out of town.
Recovering from her excitement she raced to the door, slamming it open. She looked to where she last saw the human, but was disappointed when she found nothing but the quiet empty streets of Ponyville. "But... IT WAS JUST THERE!?" She shouted, "Where could it have gone so fast!?" Angrily, Lyra ran through the street in the direction of the disappearing human, until she made it to the edge of the Everfree forest.
"They..." She gulped, "They didn't go into the Everfree, did they? In the middle of the night?" She really didn't want to find out, but her curiosity got the better of her and, reluctantly, she entered the dark forest. Going into the Everfree during the day was unnerving, but not nearly as much as doing it at night, Lyra couldn't see more than about 15 yards in any direction, and that was WITH her horn glowing. Without, she would have been completely blind. That was until she noticed the orange glow again, "Oh my Celestia!" She thought, an enormous smile on her face, "I'm about to meet an actual HUMAN!"
But she was quick to realize the light was coming from two different directions: In front of her, her face fell, and behind her. She turned quickly, but not quickly enough as she was swatted by the flaming dog-creature and landed in a small clearing. She let out a grunt of pain as she impacted the ground and rolled slightly. Getting up she noticed the dog was moving closer, its head low and growling. She tried to move away, but was interrupted as she moved up against something behind her, "The human!" She thought, relived, "Maybe he'll call off his dog!" This was not what he did.
The human reached down and grabbed Lyra by the neck, holding her up to eye level. "Wha- HEY! PUT ME DOWN!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, trying to shake her way out of his grip, "MY GIRLFRIEND WILL RIP YOU TO SHREDS IF YOU HURT ME!" But unfortunately, the human didn't seem to care.
"Pathetic beast," He said. Lyra opened her mouth to say something, but his grip tightened, "Beasts all need masters. You need a master," The human forced Lyra to look into the eye-slits on his helmet as they lit up with an even brighter blue than they already were, "I am your master," he said, as she slipped out of consciousness.
Present...
The Drifter stood at a table in a large, crystalline room. The table had 7 of the odd creatures that inhabited the town sitting around it, creatures he now new to be called 'ponies' and one young dragon whose names he learned were, "Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Bon-Bon, and Spike," He wen't over their names in his head so he wouldn't forget. He had also learned that he was in a country name Equestria on the planet Equus.
"So let me get this straight," The one he knew to be Applejack spoke out, "You're part of a race called 'Drifters', your job is 'Drifter', and your name is 'Drifter'?"
"Correct," he answered, though he lied about his name. They didn't need to know his real name, "Though, I have been know as 'The Magician' to some people."
"Why 'Magician'?" The one named Pinkie Pie asked, then she gasped, "Do you do magic tricks!?"
"No, the title refers to the technology I possess. To some it appears unreal, so they label it as magic or witchcraft."
"May I ask what material your cloak is made of? I've never seen anything quite like it," Rarity asked politely.
"I'm not one-hundred percent sure, but it is made of animal fur and hide," He answered to which Fluttershy flinched slightly.
"W-why animals?" the timid pegasus asked.
"Warm for traveling to cold places as well as durable and protective for when I get into a battle."
"Battle?" Rainbow Dash perked up instantly.
"Yes. From tiny robo-spiders to giant, man-eating toads. Hell, I've fought and killed a being that was created from something used to make people immortal."
"Does this mean you have weapons?" She asked, clearly excited.
"Yes, but those can wait for later," He answered, much to Rainbow's dismay. Then he heard Bon-Bon speak up impatiently.
"Have you seen a mare with golden eyes and a lyre cutie mark?"
"Cutie mark?" He asked, perplexed.
"Oh, right. I must have forgotten that part," Twilight apologized, "Cutie marks represent a pony's special talent, personality, or destiny and always appear on their flank when they find out what that is."
"So, that's what those are," he said, "I was meaning to ask about that. And to answer your question: No. I haven't seen her."
"DAMN IT!" She yelled, slamming her hoof on the table causing everyone in the room to flinch. "I... I'm sorry for yelling. It's just been so long and I'm scared."
"That's fine," Drifter condoned, "I know what it's like to lose someone." Feeling it to be a sensitive subject Twilight decided to move on to something else.
"You still haven't said why you're here," She said, coming off a little more impatient that she would have liked.
"Oh, right. Well the answer is quite simple, really, I died," he said, much to everyone's shock.
"What do y'all mean by you 'died'?" Applejack asked, "How can you be here talkin' to us if y'all're dead?"
"I'm not sure really. All I can say is that I died from an illness I had and now I'm here," He lied. He knew exactly how he got here, he just didn't want to bother with all of the details about Anubis and the Cell.
The ponies continued asking him questions for a few more minutes, if he didn't want to think about something or just didn't think it was very important information, he would lie. When they ran out of questions Twilight decided to adjourn the meeting, Applejack headed back to her farm, Rarity to her boutique, Fluttershy went home to feed her animals, and Rainbow left to practice stunts. Only Twilight, Bon-Bon, and Pinkie Pie remained in the large room.
"Pinkie, please show our new friend around Ponyville," she said, then forming a telepathic link, "If he tries to hurt anypony, shove him into a party cannon and blast him from here to Griffonstone."
"Okie dokie loki!" She exclaimed, "Come on Drifty, I'm gonna show you the best cupcakes you've ever had!"
"Alright," Drifter replied, turning to Bon-Bon and Twilight, "What are you two going to do?" Twilight started to speak, but was cut off.
"We have to continue looking for Lyra," Bon-Bon said bluntly, "If we have free time we'll join you." Twilight was a little upset that she was interrupted, but she could forgive Bon Bon. Her girlfriend had gone missing anyway.
"Come on!" Pinkie shouted, "I'm getting tired of sitting around!"
"Okay I'm coming," He said, "I'll let you two know if I find anything."
"Thank you," Twilight said, looking over to Bon-Bon.
"Thanks," she said absently. "Please be okay," she thought.
Author's Note
Ten points to the first person to tell me the name of our friend from the forest.
The Drifter walked alongside Pinkie Pie. "You're seriously going to love these cupcakes, I've had a lot and I mean A LOT , but this place has the absolute best(partly because I make them)," she rambled on, "You're also going to love the 'Welcome to Equestria, Sorry You Died to Get Here' party I have planned for later."
"Yeah, that all sounds amazing," he replied, "but when are we going to get to this 'Sugarcube Corner'? It feels like we've been walking for quite some time."
"Oh we haven't been walking for that long, just in between chapters during a short hiatus," she said, as if it were common knowledge.
"Wait. What?"
"We're here!" Pinkie sang as they arrived at a large Gingerbread House. Upon entering there were many strange looks cast toward the Drifter, but they all seemed to dissipate when the ponies noticed Pinkie standing next to him smiling wide as usual. "Now, you wait here while I go get those cupcakes," she motioned the Drifter in the direction of a table.
"Alright," He walked over and sat down, "How long will it ta-"
"Here ya go!" Pinkie appeared out of nowhere with a plate full of cupcakes and sat it in front of the Drifter, causing him to jump slightly.
"Gah! Pinkie! Please do not do that again," He said, gasping slightly, "You... You scared Sprite!" He looked over at his companion who just rolled his eye in response.
"Beep (Translation: Yeah, right)"
He looked down at the plate and pulled his scarf off his face. He picked up one of the cupcakes and peeled off the wrapping paper and took a bite.
"..." He stared straight ahead.
"Um... you alright?" Everypony seemed to be looking at him, expecting something bad.
"Pinkie..." He said, turning his head towards her.
"Yeah?" She asked.
"These... These are the most amazing things I have ever tasted!" He shouted, finishing the first one and moving on to a second, "Really, I can barely remember the last time I had eaten something this wonderful!"
Everypony (i.e. the 3 other ponies there besides Pinkie Pie) gave a little cheer, "Thank you! I always try to do my best!" Pinkie said gratefully.
The Drifter was almost finished eating when there was an explosion outside, "EVERYPONY HIDE!" a voice called out.
"These creatures are pathetic," A strange being looked over Ponyville. "They can't kill. They can't fight," It said bitterly, "but they are wonderful pawns. They would never hurt their own kind. You can't imagine the joy it brought me when one was dumb enough to wander into the accursed forest," it looked over at the brainwashed form of Lyra and chuckled, "Hahaha. I have plans for you."
"What will you have me do, master?" She asked.
"When we move, you will act as my shield. If they try to fight, you will put yourself before me," He commanded, "Your life is meaningless. Your purpose is to keep me alive. Clear?"
"Yes, master."
"Then we move," If you looked closely, you may have seen it crack a smile through its helmet.
"Stay put," The Drifter told everypony in Sugarcube Corner, "I have a bad feeling about this," He rushed out the door, wrapping his clawed hands around the hilt of his sword.
When he made it outside he was greeted with the sight of Town Hall completely obliterated, an orange glow around the rubble, "Oh no."
"Drifter!" a familiar voice called out, "What's going on out here!?" He turned to see Twilight and Bon Bon running toward him. They both gasped when they saw Town Hall.
"I had hoped he died with the legend," The drifter stated sadly, "But some legends never fade."
"What are you talking about!?" Bon Bon yelled.
"Him," The Drifter pointed at an armored figure flanked by some kind of wolf and...
"LYRA!" Bon Bon started sprinting towards her, but was taken off guard as she turned and bucked her in the jaw when she got close. "Ow... Lyra? What are you doing?"
"Bon Bon, get back!" The Drifter commanded, then looked at Sprite, "Rifle and Shotgun. This is gonna be messy."
Bon Bon was still shaking out the cobwebs as she was picked up by Twilight and levitated to safety, "As the Princess of Friendship, I, Twilight Sparkle, demand to know who you are THIS INSTANT!"
The being looked at her, cocked his head, raised the staff he carried, and opened fire in her direction, "YOU ARE IN NO POSITION TO DEMAND SOMETHING OF ME!" He shouted.
Thinking quickly, the Drifter dashed in front of Twilight, his shield absorbing the blow. "I know who you are and what you do!" He stated, "And you will not hurt these ponies! Rivan the Tamer, your story ends today!"
"Hahaha. You would throw your life away for these pathetic creatures? To think, I had some respect for your kind Collector ," Rivan taunted, "but now I see just how weak you truly are. If you believe you can defeat me, try. It will end in blood."
"Twilight, get everyone somewhere safe," The Drifter commanded, "Now!"
"But what about you?" She asked worriedly, "You saw what he did to Town Hall!"
"Trust me. Like I said, I have fought and killed a beast made from a botched immortality attempt," He assured her, "This will be relatively easy."
"What about Lyra?" Bon Bon asked, finally getting her senses back.
"Don't worry. I have a plan that has a 95% chance of not killing her."
"95!?"
"Well, it's 94% now, because you're spending too much time out here. Now GO!"
As all the ponies were off the streets, the Drifter clutched the crystal he wore around his neck, and mentally prepared for the risk he was about to take, "Sprite, do I have a medkit?"
"Bleep (Yes)"
"Okay, switch the Rifle with the Pistol. Let's make some noise," He clutched his sword and began to charge.
Author's Note
Sorry this took so long to get out. I dont always get writer's block, but it crushes me when I do. Also, I didn't do much proofreading this time around, so please point out my mistakes.
The Magician and the Missing Mare
The Drifter walked down the cold, crumbling hallway as his mind processed the events that had just occurred. The Immortal Cell was destroyed, Judgement along with it. Anubis has regained their power and his journey had ended. He was never promised a cure, he just hoped that the destruction of the Cell would bring an end to Judgement's disease. He was wrong. As he exited the cold hallway, coughing up blood as well as it dripping from his many wounds, he wondered,"What happens to the rest of the world? Does life begin to flourish again, like it once did? Or was all life tied to the existence of the Cell? Was Anubis just leading him on, pretending to be the good guy?"
These thoughts and many more ran through the Drifter's mind as he experienced another vision: All around him was crystal blue water and an even bluer sky, a steady breeze and a mountain range off in the distance. "Is this what the world will become? Is this just a trick?" He wondered, but as usual, he was given no answer.
He explored his surroundings, taking in every little detail as his attention was draw to his stomach. There was a gaping wound that oozed blood at an alarming rate. If he wasn't sure of this being a vision he would have panicked. But alas, he knew he was most likely already dead, just viewing all of this from borrowed time.
He looked back up and everything was black, as if it never existed. In the distance he noticed a small campfire and a familiar stone pillar. His final resting place."At least I have some place to call home," He thought to himself, giving a bittersweet sigh. He made his way to the crackling fire and rested his back against the pillar, he looked down at his small robotic companion and back at the fire. He felt the earth shake and watched the ceiling collapse around him. As he was being entombed by the rubble he closed his eyes and welcomed death's cold embrace.
And then he heard a voice. "This is not where you fall. You are the champion, the hero. You have defeated that which would destroy the world entirely, a feat that not even I could accomplish alone. You were the one who fought through the disease rather than letting it be your downfall. You did all of this, because you knew what was right... and I failed to return the favor, I betrayed your trust. I feel as though I owe you a great amount and that is why I speak to you now. It is time I rewarded you for your deeds..." The Drifter's vision was completely blocked by a bright, white flash. And then he slept.
Bon-Bon was angry, "Lyra's been missing for an entire week! What do you mean you still don't even have a lead?!" She yelled out to the purple Alicorn sitting across from her.
"We've tried everything, Bon-Bon: Tracking spells, summoning spells, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Zecora have searched the Everfree top to bottom, Pinkie Pie has searched every nook and cranny in Ponyville, Rarity has spoken with everyone who might know where she went, and Fluttershy has asked all of her animal friends to help look. It's almost like she just stopped existing." Twilight explained as calmly as possible.
"That can't be possible!" Bon-Bon cried, "Ponies don't just stop existing!"
"Uh, Twilight?" Spike called as he opened the door to the throne room.
"Oh, Spike! Can it wait, I'm kind of dealing with something really important."
"Not really." The young dragon replied.
"Did you find out where Lyra went?!" Bon-Bon asked excitedly.
"No, but there's this weird thing walking through Ponyville on two legs and it's wearing a cape," Spike stated, a little bit nervous, "Everypony's hiding from it in their houses."
"Maybe it's the thing that took Lyra!" Bon-Bon shouted in a mix of delight and fear, "She goes on and on about these weird bipedal creatures called 'humans', maybe that thing tricked her into getting close enough for it to capture her!" Then her voice got sinister, "Ooh, I'll rip it apart if it hurt her."
"Bon-Bon, let's not jump to conclusions," Twilight tried to reason, "We don't know what this thing is or why it's here. Our best bet is to try and communicate with it."
"Yeah, you're right. But can I still tear it limb from limb if it DID hurt Lyra?" Bon-Bon asked hopefully.
"Celestia help anypony who tries to stop you," Twilight stated, "Let's go check this thing out."
"Will it be fine if I wait here for you two to get back?" Spike asked, clearly not wanting to deal with something potentially dangerous.
"Of course, Spike" Twilight said, smiling.
Twilight and Bon-Bon made their way down the halls of the castle to the entrance. As Twilight used her magic to open the doors they both leaped back in shock, coming face to face with a tall, blue skinned, bipedal creature with a small... 'thing' floating over it who looked like they were about to politely knock on the door.
The Drifter awoke on a grassy hill. He was not unaccustomed to waking up face down in the dirt after weird dreams, but it was still annoying. "Can't leave me on the ground right side up for once? Does your godly power not extend to the direction someone faces when they wake up?" He thought, slightly irritated. He stood up, shaking off the few leaves and blades of grass that clung to his cloak. That's when he noticed the small town with a giant purple castle on the far end of it. Where was he anyway?
Thinking it to be his best bet of getting some information he started walking to the town, and then he remembered something, "Sprite?" He called out, "You there?" He had almost completely forgotten his robotic companion. Sure enough, a small red and blue robot with one eye floated up to greet him. "I guess Anubis understands how helpful you've been, good thing too," He stated happily. "Let's go check out that town and see if the inhabitants can tell us anything," He was answered with small 'bleep' sound.
As the Drifter neared the town he noticed that all of its citizens were small, quadrupedal creatures in a variety of colors. Some had wings, some had a singular horn on their heads, and some had neither. "Where did Anubis leave me?" He wondered, "I've never seen anything like those."
The closest one to him was a dull white and pink and had neither wings nor a horn and seemed to be watering flowers, "Hello?" he asked carefully, hoping they spoke the same language.
"Yes, how may I help yo-" they turned and abruptly stopped talking as soon as they saw him, jaw hanging wide open.
"I was just wondering if you could tell me where I was?" He asked.
"Y-y-you're in P-ponyville," the creature, who sounded distinctly female, managed to stammer out.
"Thank you, uh... what's your name?" He asked, trying to sound as friendly as possible.
"R-roseluck," she managed, clearly horrified of him.
"Well, thank you Roseluck. I'll be on my way then," He said walking off. He heard a slight thud behind him and turned to see that the poor thing had fainted from fear. "I guess my next bet is the castle, hopefully the royalty will be much more calm. If not, I feel sorry for this place."
He continued to walk through the town, getting some strange, sometimes scared looks, but most of the creatures simply hid in their homes and workplaces. He could feel all of their eyes watching him from windows, bushes, roofs, some of them just frozen in fear on the street. "Welcoming..." He said sarcastically.
He eventually reached the large, purple castle which appeared to be made entirely from crystals. He shuddered, not wanting to remember that damned forest. He looked over to Sprite, who looked back at him not doing anything. He reached out to knock on the door, but was cut off as it was enveloped by a bright, purple glow and quickly pulled open.
Author's Note
Firstly, I wrote this because of the extreme lack of HLD crossovers on this site, i.e. none whatsoever.
