I thought those two strangers and I would be sent somewhere adventurous! Somewhere amazing! Somewhere fantastically dangerous and intriguing!

I step off the train and sigh as I look to my right and left at my new best buds.

"Welcome to Ponyville. I'm sure you know this is where the Elements of Harmony live. We're going to try and avoid them, well at least you two are. I can go near them since they know me, and I'll use that to protect them and perhaps find out why there was an attack here. So, what are your names and what alignments do you have?" I say with as professional as a tone as I can muster.

The light grey and black Griffon decided to speak up first. "As you may know, most flying beings have the air alignment. That is my specialty. I can use it to create strong winds and even incapacitating screeches that are really, really loud. I have a secondary alignment as well which is fire. But I am not used to it yet. The most I can do is create small flames. Other than that I can use some basic spells like barriers and such. The name is Giselle by the way. I would hope that we can end this quickly, I have plans coming that I would definitely not want to miss."

I smile and nod, showing my impressed feelings.

Surprising to meet a Griffon able to use magic, then again this is a select group made for the protection of Equestria... Makes sense I suppose.

"My name isn't pronounceable in Equestrian tongue but you may call me Echo. As you can see I am what you ponies call Lizardfolk. Due to my species living mostly in water, we all share a common alignment in that regard. I can use many water based projectiles and even use it with my other alignment, dark, to hide other beings for a short time. I am good at hiding, and great at inhibiting others. But what about you strange one?" Echo asks, inspecting me and my body. "We don't look
too much different eh?"

That interested huh? Sorry bud, you're not getting much from me.

"Just call me Devan, simple as that. My main alignment is Earth which I can use to pretty much do mostly anything I want it to do. I also have an Air alignment and a small Dark one, though I am newer to those that Earth. I actually haven't even done much with those, though the princesses think I am talented enough to join so.. I assume I am doing something right." I say in response, realizing they sounded a whole lot more useful.

They both look at me in some form of surprise. Giselle then scoffs and walks off towards Ponyville, carefully looking around. Echo just chuckles at her behavior and nudges me before we start heading towards the outskirts of town.

"She is jealous, what a foolish Griffon. Having three alignments, even if they aren't mastered completely, is something to be envious of. Only the greatest have three, though there are legends of beings with four. In my birthplace we had such a legend, though no being has achieved such a thing. Some say that Starswirl the Bearded had such talents, though no proof is available to us. Perhaps one day such a being will appear." Echo says as we slowly make our way to a familiar home thriving with vines. "So you say that you're inexperienced with dark magics correct? Hmmm perhaps I can teach you a couple things about controlling it. A practiced and calm mind is required however, so I hope your strange mind is experienced in that."

"I hope so too ya Bangaa." I say with a grin.

Echo gives me a look that I assume means he is confused, and then shakes his head and then stops in front of that home.

"What a mess eh? It's all we can get from the Princesses as our shelter during this investigation. Kind of reminds me of the wilds in my homelands. I hear we have a roommate as well. Let us go meet her shall we?" Echo says with what I can only guess is a smile.

I freeze in my step for only a second, but shake my head slightly and sigh before stepping in with Echo. The house is exactly how it was before. In the kitchen is a familiar pony, who I can't help but smile at even if I know the truth. Echo says his short greeting and is pointed towards his room upstairs after being given the lay of the house. I know immediately which room is mine due to the magic imposed upon it. I lay my luggage in there, filled with new clothes and various other things that Celestia gave me. I walk back downstairs and up to Xirandine.

"Hello. How is she doing?" I ask, hoping for a good response.

Xirandine instantly drops his fake smile and sighs. "She's improving, though our magic doesn't do much to help her. She gets her magic from natural sources. That is the only thing that will heal her. Give her more time, I'm sure she will be fully healed in a few more days."

"Alright... I see that you had to take her place to avoid suspicion. Though I thought she was barely noticed in the first place?" I say before sitting down at the dining table nearby where I shared many a breakfast with Obsidian.

"She has some friends unfortunately. As well as sending and receiving reports to her 'captain' in Canterlot. It's honestly quite annoying to deal with, but I need to while she recovers. I see you have joined that secret peacekeeping group Celestia and Luna have put together. Interesting choice, I hope you enjoy such an experience." Xirandine replies, continuing to clean the room.

A knock on the door distracts me from the conversation. I get up and open it to see Giselle. "Welcome back, did you get something from the market or something?" I say while trying to express a happier tone than before.

"No, I had to go hunt" she replies before holding up a dead rabbit.

Meat! I haven't had that in forever... I wanted to go and hunt but training always kept me busy and I honestly didn't know how to prepare an animal completely..

"May I have some of that too? Or do you just eat it whole?" I say, hesitating.

Giselle gives me a raised eyebrow, and then a scoff. "What an old assumption. Just because common birds tend to swallow meat whole and uncooked doesn't mean we do. I prefer my meat well done actually with plenty of spices. You may have some when I'm done, though I never pegged you for a meat eater even with those tiny feral teeth you have hidden in your mouth." she replies with a roll of her eyes.

——————————————————————————————————————————

"My god.... That was so good. I haven't had meat since my last visit to Celestia when I first came to these lands." I say, rubbing my stomach dramatically.

"What can I say? Except you're welcome?" Giselle replies with a grin.

"Thank you. I needed that. They have some protein based foods like eggs here but besides that, nothing." I say with a cringe on my face.

A squeak like laughter comes from Giselle while she points at my face.

"Well damn, didn't think my face was that ugly." I say with a fake pout.

"You're one strange creature. But I suppose you aren't too bad." Giselle replies with another grin, making her way to the sink and cleaning up the mess she made.

From my left, towards the door, a familiar voice calls out to me. "Devan, I would like to ask you a few questions regarding this village if you don't mind." asks Echo, almost appearing out of thin air.

Holding back my surprise, I answer. "I'd be glad to, only if you stop appearing so suddenly like that. Might make one of us attack in response."

"I will try, though it's one of my talents so I cannot promise anything strange one." Echo says in response before walking outside.

Giselle and I follow him to the end of Ponyville and into the Whitetail Woods that lies just north of Ponyville. It's later in the day, so the sky is turning dark. A fire is started and Echo does a spell, one that seems intricate from how much concentration he's putting in it. After a moment, smoke starts coming out of his mouth and surrounds the area around us, completely blocking vision in or out of it. The only thing in my vision is Giselle, who looks surprised as well, the fire and Echo.

"There, now we have a bit of privacy. I assume you came as well to learn from the questions I will ask the strange one, yes?" Echo asks Giselle.

"Yeah, I wanna see what he knows. It'd be useful to have some intel on what we're doing here and what to look out for and ignore." Giselle replies with a nod and a more serious tone.

"You are correct. So, Devan, tell us what you know. We are both strangers to this place, but you have been here for a while." Echo says before sitting down and leaning against a tree I didn't know was there.

Huh, competent. I see why they were chosen. I feel like I'm kind of intruding in their group, but I suppose I'll try my best to help.

"This village is peaceful. No one here has an inkling of violence in their mind. Some of them are even scared of their shadows and the like. The attack I witnessed and was involved in defending from was completely out of the normal occasions that happen here. It happened at the Element of Generosity's home. The attacker was a female pony that seemed a decent user of dark magic. Nothing affected her magically, though physically she was stopped." I say in response.

"I see, so then we should be wary of dark shields and barriers. Do you own a physical weapon Devan?" Echo asks me.

"No actually, I haven't had a need for one here at all. I suppose I should get one made or obtain one... Though I've never used one. I'm more proficient at magic really, though I would be willing to learn." I say, realizing that I'll need more than just magic to defeat my enemies.

"I have a small sword, while the griffon just needs her claws. What would you like? And what would you like it to made of? I can easily retrieve any weapon you would like, within reason of course." Echo says with a grin.

I see.. So he is a bit shady, but if he's helping the Princesses then he must not be evil or else he'd be my enemy. A weapon huh?.... I don't want a super close range one... I don't want something like a spear either... I wonder if I can make that? Yes, it should work with what I know about magic.

"I only want one thing. A gold sword that is broken in multiple segments." I say with a grin.

Author's Note

Dear god I've been gone way too long. Monster hunter + my job + financial issues + procrastination... The death of any author.....

Mostly Monster Hunter World.