What It Means

Chapters

New World Arc - Daring Do and the Demon Testicle
Wind Nation Arc - Ghost of the East
Wind Nation Arc - Escape into The Wind
Wind Nation Arc - Town of the Southern Winds
Wind Nation Arc - Caught
Wind Nation Arc - Time to Split
Tunnels n' Shit Arc - The Infection
Tunnels n' Shit Arc - Noping My Way Downtown.
Tunnels n' Shit Arc - Not Today
Tunnels n' Shit Arc - The Tragedy of Avros
New World Arc - Its A Whole New World
Tunnels n' Shit Arc - The Last

New World Arc - Daring Do and the Demon Testicle

Author's Note

Edited 11/29/2021

New World Arc - Daring Do and the Demon Testicle

Later

Daring Do and I had run for a good long while from the town after our little escape, eventually ending up on an old dirt trail leading further into the mountains ahead. Ones I didn't know the name of, assuming it even had a name to begin with. I just heaved and huffed from the sprint I forced my body through. I tried to get my breathing back under control, which was proving to be quite the monumental task, I've never run that much in my life, so obviously my body wasn't exactly prepared for that shit. My chest ached and my lungs burned like an burning inferno. My legs felt like jelly and were barely able to keep me up, I eventually collapsed to my knees hard and wheezed hard as Snowdrop landed beside me. Trying to keep my heart from exploding inside my chest and filling it with chunky heart parts was... difficult.

I would very much like to keep it intact, thank you very much.

Daring, as I expected, was not even winded in the slightest, she stood with the confidence and swagger of Lara Croft and the intelligence and courage of Indiana Jones, so she was basically their love child. But now that I could rest and get my breath, I was actually able to get a decent look at her. I saw she was wearing that olive green jacket of hers with rolled up sleeves along with a pair of ripped up shorts that showed her toned legs up to her knees. Her mane was long, going way beyond shoulder length reaching just above her—admittedly—fantastic ass where her tail was almost of a similar length going down to her feet.

In terms of how well she looked physically, she was incredible looking. Her body looked very nice, like that of a seasoned adventurer who's been through a lotta shit. Her face was delicate like that of a female, but her eyes were sharp like a sword and thrice as hard.

To sum it all up in just a few words.

She was sexy as fuck.

After a few moments of catching our breath, Daring eventually turned to me and said, "We need to get over the mountains where you can catch a train to the next town over. Those Caribou aren't going to give up easy, so our best bet is to split up once we’re over the mountains, cover our tracks and get out of their sights." The mare explained to me.

I wheezed a few more times like the good Aids patient I was and replied. "I gathered that they wouldn't give up on us after that, they don't seem like the type to just let a pair like us fuck them over and get away with it." I spit on the ground nearby. My chest and lungs were still hurting, but the pain had dulled down a bit to a numb ache, so I could handle it for now, at least until I could get some proper rest. "Oi..." I groaned before standing up and walking over to Daring, who turned to regard me with this look that I couldn’t quite decipher. "Well... if we're gonna be traveling together for a spell, might as well introduce myself. I’m Dustin Morin, but you can call me Dee or whatever." I told her as I held out my hand for a handshake.

Daring looked at my hand and I saw a flash of something else in her eyes, but she took my hand and shook it. Her gloved grip was strong as she gave me a half-hearted handshake then let go of my hand just as quick. "Daring Do." She told me, but I already knew that. She didn't need to know that I knew, not yet anyway, that was one of those delimmas that I was not looking forward to getting into just yet.

"So, uh... mountain?" I gestured to the obstacle, which was hella tall and had a few paths leading up to and around it. I doubt we were going to walk around it however.

Daring nodded her head and we both started for it. Adjusting her pack which no doubt held the orb and me following suit, we started walking down the road. Snowdrop followed behind us, flying above us like the awesome owl she was and keeping an eye out.

The walk was pretty quiet, save for the only sounds being the crunching of dirt under our footsteps, the growing sounds of the wind from above, and my own wheezing from the sprinting I had done. I was honestly surprised I had run that far and that fast, I never got out that much in recent months, opting instead to spend my time laying around watching TV. I guess my body is in slight shock from the massive amount of movement I undertook.

After some time climbing up the dirt path, Daring had decided to start up a conversation with me with a topic that... understandably confused me. "I've never seen a human out here before." She said, almost too quietly for me to hear properly, but it was directed at me. "Thought you were all isolationists and xenophobes that hid across the southern seas, why have you left your home?"

I blinked at that, there were more humans here besides me? Curious to think about, actually. "Say what now? I am neither of those things, though I can't speak for my entire race... speaking of which, how do you even know what I am?" I questioned, I was working on the assumption I was the only human in this world. That’s how most of these stories tended to go, a human in a world that lacked others of his species.

Knowing she knew what I was made me wonder...

The mare turned to look at me, fixing me with a slightly baneful gaze that sent me recoiling back a little. "Just because I'm a pony doesn't mean I'm an idiot, I've done my research on your race and where you all live. So don't go assuming I'm an idiot just because I'm not one of you!" She hissed at me, gloved fists balled up tightly.

I just backed up from her with my hands raised, jeez! Where did that come from? "Whoah, calm down!" I told and after a few moments, she stopped glaring at me before turning away to walk down the road. "Who crapped in your cereal?" I questioned in a slightly joking way.

The explorer didn’t appreciate my attempt at humor, however. "All you humans..." She shook her head before continuing up the road, ending her thought before it began.

I blinked as she ventured up the road, leaving me behind. "Uh Daring, hey, wait for me dang it!" I called out to her, jogging up to her side and trying to match her pace. She was speedwalking down the road and I had to struggle a bit to match her speed, I must've pissed her off somehow, but what did I do? "What's wrong exactly? I don't recall doing anything bad to ya..."

Turning around, the golden mare looked at me out of the corner of her eye, she looked curious, angry, hateful even, but mostly curious. "Where are you from exactly?"

I cleared my throat, feeling some chunks of last night's dinner lodged in there still. "I'm not from around here, but that seems rather obvious considering. I'm uh..." I flexed my hand a little. How delicately can I put this? "I'm not really from this world, so to speak."

Yeah, that should be delicate enough.

Daring looked at me like I was some kind of lunatic before she rolled her eyes. "Look, I don't appreciate the sarcasm, Mr. Morin. I'm an accomplished historian, archaeologist, and an explorer with enough degrees to bury you alive in, so-"

My scoff cut her off. "I'm not lying," I told her flatly. "Look, I am legit not from this world at all, whoever these other humans are, I'm not from their country or nation or whatever. I am a 100% alien-human, with drastically more sex appeal than the other humans you've no doubt seen." I boasted with no small amount of physical flare in my stance. "I am Dustin Dee Morin, human from the planet known as earth~" I stated, spinning around a bit before striking the manliest of poses.

She just blinked, I could clearly see she was unimpressed with me.

Probably annoyed as well... not surprising, I'm an annoying person at heart.

I sighed before relaxing into a normal posture and speaking again. "Well, it's up to you to believe me or not, either way, I don't care and I just wanna find some food." With that said I continued up the mountain, strutting without a care in the world about what may happen to me.

Probably not the best of ideas to do, considering I was in a magical world that could throw some hefty magical threats at me like, lol die bitch!

Whew.

Walking up the mountain was a half difficult affair for me, mostly because this was the most activity I've gotten in months. I'm a lazy piece of crap that never goes outside and moves unless I absolutely need to. The only time I've ever gotten out a lot was earlier in the year to practice my free-running, and yes, while I have practiced free-running and all that good stuff, it had been a year since I’ve done any major physical activity like what I just did in that town. I wasn't exactly a master at it, and having just sprinted like a maniac not too long ago, jumping off of shit, and jumping over shit, it really took it out of me. But the pleasant burn coursing through my body right now made me a bit happy, more work than I've ever gotten in a long while, and reminding me I needed to get more done to keep myself in shape.

Perhaps I can work out some on my journey.

No doubt by the time this ends, I'll be ripped as fuck.

Anyway. As tiring as it was to walk up this mountain path, thankfully there was a clear path to follow, a path that's seen plenty of travel over the years. There were markings in the dirt leading further up, wagon wheel tracks, boot prints, and no grass was growing from the near constant travel it had seen. And it made it easier to a degree to make my way up the path, which I was all for, hehe.

My stomach grumbled suddenly... and I was also reminded of something important.

I was starving and I needed food.

But alas... there was none in sight unless I ate Snowdrop... but I wasn't going down that route, like ever.

Also, my shoulder still hurts like a bitch from her digging her claws into me, I need to stop Snowy from landing on it. Technically, I shouldn't be letting her do that anyway, her talons were super sharp and they always dug through my shirt.

I need to find a leather shoulder pad or something, that'll help out quite a bit.

I shook my head of all that, doing my best to get rid of the thoughts whirling around my head. Daring and I continued to climb up the path with Snowdrop flying high above us, focusing on reaching the pass and getting to the other side.

The desert area along the mountain pass eventually gave way to a few dusty looking and high standing trees that had some funky looking birds perched in the branches, spanning outwards and offering some decent shade to any travelers who may have been walking up this path, such as us for example! I was thankful, fuck the sun, gah! The path led us through some passageways through the mountain itself, wide passages through rocky cliffs and sheer walls of stone stretching upwards of almost thirty feet in height.

And I couldn't help but feel like I was in the the lands of Skyrim, but without 80% of the snow, bandits, wolves an-

"Frostbite Spiders."

I nodded glumly, recalling those spiders and how nasty they were, sometimes easy to kill but other times they were just a pest! "Yeah, those... wait, what?" How did she know about them? Turning to Daring, I saw her looking ahead of us. I followed her gaze, and saw what she was staring at. I froze at the sight of several overly large spiders blocking the path, skittering around and hissing. I briefly wondered how in the sweet buttery fuck I had missed those the whole time I was staring ahead, guess my mind was somewhere else and my eyes followed. "Uuhh... yeah... how about a big fat no on that one, yeah?" I suggested to Daring quietly, eyeballing the massive eight legged monsters that stalked around the path and bushes looking for something to munch on.

Before she could answer however, I heard the most terrifying screech come from ahead and saw one of the spiders looking towards us with its beady black eyes.

I may have panicked a tiny smidgen.

"Oh, fist fuck me for 48 hours and call me senpai." I growled out as the spiders started to converge on us from the bushes and treeline, making my panic rise.

Daring had blasted off into the air with a flap of her wings, flying at them with a snarl and leaving me behind. I was left to fend for myself with my combat knife that I just pulled out from my belt, someone's confident. Okay Dee, you got this. I told myself, trying to reassure the inner bitch inside me that I wasn't going to die a horrible death here. I tightly gripped my knife's rubber handle, both fear and adrenaline beginning to wash through my veins like a wave and making my muscles tense up.

One of the smaller spiders that came at me hissed loudly, screeching like a banshee almost. It was about as big as a shepherd dog, but resembled a jumping spider. It made a weird warbling noise leaping up at me, its legs acting like powerful springs and sending it right at me. They are fucking jumbo sized jumping spiders! I barely ducked out of the way as it soared over my head, its furry legs grazing my cap and almost knocking it off.

"Yah!" I quickly whipped around and tackled it to the ground, landing on it. "Die sucka!" I declared loudly, stabbing my knife into its furry hide with a squelch noise. It gave a screech of pain before managing to buck me off like a bronco, and by doing so I tumbled off its back with my knife still lodged firmly in its body like a thumbtack.

I guess it decided it wasn't going to take this shit, and opted to run for it, and stealing my shit!

"Hey! That's mine you furry little bastard!" I scurried back to my feet and running after the little freak. I growled loudly in annoyance, watching it buggering off into the trees like a little bitch. I saw Daring fight off one of the bigger ones with a rock she must have picked up, grunting with each hit that impacted the thing and sending green blood flying out of its wounds.

I just followed after the spider through the trees and out into the open again, and I saw it tried to flank Daring from the side, shooting a glob of green goop towards her that looked both nasty and sticky. Thankfully she spotted it and ducked down to dodge before hurling her rock towards another bigger spider. There so much force behind the throw that the rock went straight through the bug's face with a sickening crunch. The golden mare whirled around in the air like a tiny twister, spinning rapidly before falling to the ground onto her hands and using both gravity and the momentum of her to bring down her leg in a fierce dropkick on top of a spider that had been behind her, crushing it with her heel with a loud crack, splitting something and causing her entire leg to almost cut clean through it.

I was suddenly very scared for my life.

Fuck, she's a powerful fighter. I made a mental note and filed it away into the 'do not fuck with' folder and told myself not to piss her off under any circumstances.

If only to save myself from being split in half by one of those kicks... whew!

I jumped up onto and off of a rock, propelling myself over with a yell onto the spider-thief I had been chasing. Once I landed on top of him, I yanked out my knife, causing a deluge of goop to gush out before stabbing it again and again. It squealed and shrieked in pain, my knife was also having a bit of trouble entering its tough hide, but I managed! None steal my shit and get away with it! "This is my knife you little fuck-nozzle!"

I stabbed it once more for final measure, splitting it's hard exoskeleton open and killing it. The damned thing shriveled up into a ball on the ground, it was dead. I pulled my knife away with a shlick noise, green blood dripping from the blade and onto the ground. I turned to look at Daring who was still fighting another spider, a bigger one that made me wonder it was a leader of this small pack we had been fighting.

It was a big one... probably a lot bigger than the ones you’d seen in an RPG game. It was close to being that boss size one you'd find in a dungeon that when you killed it, you got sick experience and loot.

Mmm... fuck it.

I ran towards the big spider with my knife held down, pushing what I had left into my legs and jumping onto its back as Daring fought off its pincers that threatened to bite into her. The spider bucked and reared up once I landed on its back, I spotted Daring was freed from her little predicament and was currently rolling under and out of sight. I just stabbed the spider in the back a bunch of times, sending more of the disgusting green goop blood spilling out onto my pants and my knife, and it smelled baaaad! It roared in anger, a mixture of a guttural growl and hiss. The fear that was buried by the adrenaline and fast-paced action came back full force, and I just realized that I had stupidly jumped onto the back of a giant and—very fucking likely—poisonous spider and stabbing it with a knife that was... literally a twig compared to how big it was...

Why am I an idiot?

Stupid heroic instincts of mine! I stumbled around on top of the spider, my confidence wavered as it moved around violently to try and shake me off. "Whoah nelly!" I ended up losing my grip shortly, causing me to fall forward. "Shit!" I slid forward, my face close to meeting the ground. I was luckily able to get my grip back on the spider's hide, grabbing onto the patches of hair and keeping my iron clad grip on the knife. Sadly, I found my face in front of its face, where all of its eyes turned to look at me in a very cartoonish way. It growled deeply. "...hi."

"Raaaar!"

"Yipe!"

I noped my way out of that situation, scrambling up and onto its back with fast and furious speed. I channeled my inner climber, speeding across and jumping off with a cry. A blur rushed by me as Daring shot out of nowhere, and I whirled around after I landed and got to see the mare just in time. She flew and looped up and around into the air, spinning around rapidly like she had before in that mini-tornado, her entire body was a series of frightening afterimages that I could barely keep track on before she angled her entire body sharply, dropping her leg down onto the spider's back with the same incredible force as before. I heard something crack and shatter, causing the beast to screech in pain.

I watched Daring deliver a lot of sickening and cringe inducing punches and kicks to the spider. It tried fighting back, legs swinging outward and mandibles snapping at her, shooting goop and webs. But she was able to dodge every attack, moving around managing to to throw attack after attack before it finally fell under her rapid fire assault.

I just stood back as Snowdrop hovered next to me, both of us just staring at now slightly winded Daring Do who turned to gaze at me.

She wiped her brow, and asked, "What?"

Yhe note inside my mind that read 'Do not fuck with Daring Do' was immediately underlined sixteen times with several exclamation points added onto the end, also some skull and cross bones added for extra flavor. "I am thoroughly impressed," I told her, eyes wide as my heart started thumping like a drum, I felt breathless, "and very very scared... damn, girl."

She just grunted in reply before heading off down the path, brushing off her clothes as I followed behind her.

Damn... I didn’t think she’d be that tough a fighter. I know she's an adventurer but still! I guess there’s more to ponies than meets the eye. Daring, Snowdrop and I continued on our way down the path.

And ooh lawdy...

What a journey we had ahead of us.

ooo000---000ooo

We spent about an hour or so in complete silence on our walk down through the mountains, headed to the next town where I would take a train or something to Equestria proper and hopefully get both rest and answers. I was extremely tired from our previous encounter, not only from that fight but all this walking left me a bit tired. But I pressed on! I continued on up until we eventually crossed over the mountain pass and started our way down, which was a relief for my legs. Thankfully we hadn't run across anymore beasties, or those Caribou fuckers that were chasing Daring Do and I for what she had in her pack.

We were safe for now, anyway, until someone decides to fuck us over completely, which I was betting on happening soon.

The path down the mountain had a building nearby with a bench, it looked like a rest stop for travelers and I was grateful for seeing it. Daring and I decided on stopping and getting some rest for a bit which gave my legs and lungs a rest.

Gah... I felt so out of shape from all of this, and my body wasn't exactly in horrible condition either! I sat down on a bench with a heavy sigh as Daring leaned against one of the walls. Snowdrop flew off into the woodland area nearby, probably to go find some eats. I just groaned after my ass impacted the wood of the bench, grateful for the respite but also punishing me for the constant movement. I wiped my brow of the sweat, flinging it from my fingers before going about cleaning off my knife with the bandanna I kept in my back pocket, it was disgusting right now.

Any warrior worth his weight would know to keep his weaponry clean!

I was half way through cleaning some chunks of spider goop and bits that had hardened far too much for my liking when I heard Daring shift slightly. "Interesting knife." Daring spoke up all of a sudden, making me look up at the mare who was still leaning against the wall and now looking at me.

I hid my frown as I returned her gaze... she still had that look in her eyes.

I looked at my knife, the blade itself a M48 combat knife with a green rubber handle and a black steel blade. It was decent in a pinch and worth every penny I spent on it, at least when it came to working on things back home. And after fighting off those spiders? Methinks I'll leave it a nice review whenever I end up going home. "This old thing?" I asked, twirling it a little before holding it blade up. "Its pretty handy, sharp too and totally worth the money I threw into buying it."

I held it up for her to look at, and she blinked at me before her eyes narrowed at the blade. "Doesn't look like any human knife I've ever seen before." Daring told me in a curious and investigative tone, her magenta eyes flicking to me. "In fact, you seem a lot different then the ones I've seen and heard about..."

Now that got my attention. I know she apparently knew about humanity and stuff, at least from what I've gleaned from our earlier conversation upon meeting. But now I was wondering how much she actually knew. "How so?" She had actually seen some of these other humans? Interesting... very interesting indeed, and if I recall correctly, they were across the southern sea or something.

Daring made her way over to me, and I couldn't help but notice that slight sway to her hips before she stopped and sat down near me. She faced me completely, her eyes narrowed and searching. "You're speaking near perfect Equestrian, there’s a slight accent in your tone but it's practically flawless. You don’t speak the language of your people, in fact, I haven't heard you use a single word or phrase of theirs since I've met you."

Uhh... okay? I shook my head slightly to that, so other humans spoke some other language? What language? Was it something from earth, or was it an entirely new language? That more or less buggered any hope of meeting these other humans and maybe finding some help there, assuming Equestria didn't work out that well for me. "Well... this is how I've always spoke. I don't really know any other language." I told her as honestly I could, shrugging my shoulders. "I know like, yes, no, hello, and goodbye in like one or two other languages."

Daring gave me a suspicious look.

A few seconds of intense staring from her, and she shifted on the bench slightly. "Were you raised in Equestria?" She questioned me next.

I shook my head, as cool as that would have been, I'd be vastly different then how I am today. "Nope, I told you befpre... I'm an alien from another world." I told her again, waggling my eyebrows. "I just lack tentacles and such, hehehe." I Joked and wiggled my fingers. Daring just gave me that odd look of hers, like she was in deep thought and annoyed at the same time.

I would be too if some dude came up and told me he was an alien, of course I would need evidence to discern if such a thing is true or not. I’m not exactly one of those people who’s like... 'naaaah, aliens don’t exist, kys.'

They fuckin’ do and you know it.

She crossed her arms under her - admittedly - decent sized chest and snorted slightly. It was then I noticed that I was looking at her tits a lot... I'm such a pervert, gah! Daring's wings fluttered on her back and I wrenched my gaze back up to her eyes, thankfully she didn't seem to be paying attention. Her wings were flexing outwards before resting tightly against her back and sides, and she said, "I'm not so sure I believe you about that nonsense."

I shrugged to that, perfectly understandable. "I can understand that, I wouldn't either unless I had absolute proof on the matter." I told Daring, grinning once more. I could tell her I know exactly who she is, but I should probably keep that to myself... for now, anyway, until such a time comes that I do spill the beans. I have no idea how she'd handle what I know.

With that in mind I stood up and twirled my knife before sliding it back into the sheath on my belt. After I was rested up enough, my eyes flicked back towards the road and I caught sight of what I could only assume was the next town. I could even make out the faint noise of a train whistle blowing loudly, and in the distance a train pulled into the station below.

I nodded to myself, last destination before hitting Equestria proper, and I'm in the clear!

"So that's our way out?" I asked, blinking at the small town in the distance, it looked rather homely.

I wondered what Daring and I were going to do once we reached Equestria...

But what she said next kinda shocked me.

"For you, yes. Not me... I still have to find the other keys." Daring told me. I frowned at that and looked over to her, splitting up already? "You should head into Equestria, maybe head to Ponyville if you're looking to stay somewhere safe. If not and you want to head to the place of your people, head to Manehattan. Maybe you can find a boat that'll take you to their lands overseas. The gold I gave you should cover any expenses you need on your way to Equestria, or wherever you may be headed." With that said and done, she turned and started to walk down a road that I noticed diverted from the path heading into town, it headed further east into the mountains.

I paused for a second, gears in my mind turning before I chased after her. "Wait wait wait! That's it? We just split up?" I asked her, I felt kinda sad that this little adventure of ours was ending so soon.

She turned to face me suddenly, stopping and staring into my eyes with those fierce looking orbs. I stepped back... and I don’t know why, but the weirdest feeling trailed down my spine once we locked eyes. There was something in her eyes... something scary, like the look an adult gives a child who's doing something stupid. "Listen kid... this isn't some kind of bullcrap storybook adventure where you meet a pretty girl, go on an adventure, save the day, and then nail her at the end so you both can have a happily ever after."

Damn, girl... harsh. I recoiled ever so slightly at her words, my chest tightening up and eyebrows furrowing. I didn't expect that from her, or rather, I didn't expect that kind of harshness.

But what she said next... it actually hurt something inside me.

"You're no fighter," She told me bluntly.

My frown grew further from that, and trying to hide the hurt in my voice, I replied, "Hey! What about those spiders I helped you fight?" I pointed out to her. "I killed one of them..."

She scoffed at me, arms crossed. "Yeah, you killed a baby spider, good for you. Big macho guy like yourself taking down a baby spider? That'll impress the ladies for sure." She rolled her eyes sardonically, making me grunt. Well, I guess it's canon that she has a mouth on her, jeez. "I don't need any help or companions, especially from one of your kind." With that she scoffed slightly, tail flicking around as she put her hands on her hips. "I don’t do teams... I work alone."

With that, she turned and left me alone, speechless and just a tiny bit hurt emotionally from the... I guess causal racism she threw at me. One of my kind? The fuck does she mean by that?

I watched as she made her way down the road. I sighed as Snowdrop landed next to me on the ground. cooing quietly. "Well... damn, and here I thought we were gonna have this awesome adventure together back to Equestria." I was hoping for something awesome on our journey, but I guess you can't win them all. After all, I doubt this would go like those happy go lucky stories I always read she did raise a decent point.

Human goes to Equestria, easily makes friends with the Mane Six, gets with the mare/stallion of his/her dreams through some minor dramatic tension, save Equestria from some great calamity, start a family and live happily when they learn they can't go home. Instead, it went more along the lines of, get thrown into a hot ass desert, meet a hot mare, get insulted, get ass kicked, and split up near the end.

Knowing my luck, if I did go on an epic adventure, I'd probably end up dying at some point, becoming nothing more than dust in the wind.

Well... even if I die, I'll still linger on as dust, eheh. I chuckled to myself as I looked towards the town. I guess this ends my journey with Daring Do and the adventure in general, as sad as I am I won't get to adventure with her anymore, I would hopefully have another adventure. Everything is and can be an adventure, even something so small as heading to a train station and heading to who knows where.

That was an adventure in of itself.

Cracking my knuckles, I watched as Daring's form disappeared over the hills and leaving me alone at last. I pondered yelling to her and wishing her luck on her journey... but after how she kinda bitched at me, I wasn't so sure now. I was genuinely sad at how she treated me... and by the time I had come to a decision, Daring was already gone.

I sighed, a little pang in my chest before I turned to the town.

Guess it's onward to Equestria, and being subject to the causal naive nature of the Equestrian race, Daring was the sole exception so far.

I made my way down the hillside road and into town, allowing my thoughts to wander to Daring Do. I was gonna miss her... miss her badly, actually, despite the insults. She helped me out when I first got here, granted I didn't have any clue what could have happened to me if I hadn't found her, but I'll always appreciate the help she did give me. She was so salty to me after the gorge, treating me like I was... I dunno, something bad. She certainly had a thing against me, that or a thing against humans in general. That made me curious as well, I wonder why she's like that?

Could it have something to do with the other humans she's met? Hmm... probably won't find out if that is the case, I'd have to ask her if we ever met up again, but I don't think she'd be too happy with me going after her and pestering her with questions like, Ayyyy gurl, why u so salty about meh?

Upon arriving near the outskirts of the town, I found it was rather small looking, probably just a short stop for travelers looking to explore the lands around them. Miners, prospectors and the like, kinda like a western town... hell, this place looked like something out of a western movie. Tumbleweeds, pretty mares in renegade and saucy outfits, cowboys... cowstallions? A couple of shops selling goods, I even saw a legit saloon nearby and saw a pony get tossed out through the door with a yell before he landed in a puddle of water, along with some yells from the people inside to stay the hell out.

Huh... so the concept of hell was something that existed here? Interesting.

But back onto the bar thing, I feel like that's a trope that's used a lot in most fiction. New guy comes to town, sees a bar and almost immediately someone gets thrown out of it.

I ignored it in favor of heading for the train, which I guessed would be heading to... Equestria?

I had no clear idea actually, but from what Daring said, I guess it was headed there.

Once I passed through town and arrived on the platform, Snowdrop perched herself on the sign in front of me which I took a gander at, it had the train schedule and the clock, and...

...Fuck me, it was in another language?! I saw the numbers were odd looking little symbols, intricate swirls and such that escaped my mind's archives of familiar symbols I knew of from games. And the words on the train schedule board, if that's even what this was, told me nothing. I had no idea what time was for what train or where this particular train went. For all I knew this train was headed for the Crystal Empire, Yakyakistan, or some other place entirely!

Damn it all to hell!

I’m working on the assumption this train does go to Appaloosa and then to Ponyville... if I'm in the far south, or the north? The map of Equestria came to mind and I remembered that most of the desert was to the south

But should I head directly to Ponyville? That seems to be the go-to destination for most fans of the show who end up in the world of MLP in those stories for very obvious reasons.

Who wouldn’t want to head there immediately to meet the pony of their dreams and possibly get with them? It was like one of those things on the very top of the list!

And while I would absolutely love to meet my waifus right now and see where things go, I'm not sure heading there right now would be such a good idea. It wasn't that I didn't want to, it was more along the lines of; I should probably be more careful about this situation and how I handled it. An odd thing I'm sure, most people would head there right away without a second thought! But I had my own reasons for giving this one.

Daring was kinda hostile towards me, not outwardly to the point she would physically attack but... more verbally than anything else. I thought before taking a seat on the bench nearby and taking a moment to gather my thoughts on the situation. The Caribou were understandably pissed at me, if they hold grudges they might try hunting me down for revenge, maybe? As for the others... most people here aren't paying much attention to me aside from the curious glances. I looked up subtly, making a show of scratching my head as I glanced around me. I saw a few normal looking characters looking at me with looks of both interest and subdued hostility. Nobody here looks like they'd attack me, but they do look like they're not entirely accepting of someone like me. Is it because I'm human? I shook my head, taking off my hat and giving it a shake before placing it back atop my messy dark brown hair and going over to the ticket booth.

Once I arrived I saw a peppy looking minotaur glance at me and he gave me a smile. An actual welcome sight for once. "Ah, a human? Haven't seen one of your kind in quite some time!" He chuckled and then, to my utter shock, said, "Wohin möchten Sie heute gehen?"

I blinked a couple of times at the out of nowhere language change. I held up a finger, the gears in my mind slowly turning and making me realize he was speaking German of all things. After a few moments I cleared my throat and spoke up, "I'm sorry... what?" I tilted my head towards him and he gave me a surprised expression. I didn't know much German, except the basics like hello, goodbye, yes and no... like every other language I've heard, I only knew the basic bitch shit.

The Minotaur smiled, "Oh, you speak Equestrian? That makes this so much easier... though that is strange, you're the first human I've met that speaks it... and so fluently too!" He chuckled, the easily seven foot tall ticket seller then said, "Are you visiting from your native homeland, friend?"

Well, he's friendly at least, I wonder if all Minotaurs are like that? "Uhh... yeah sure, let's go with that." I chuckled. Why did he speak German and why does he assume I'm from wherever humans live on this world? The questions just keep piling up. I shrugged my shoulders, I can get answers as to why that is later on... perhaps. Twilight might have books on the matter... oh wait, I can't read anything, fuck my ass! "Uhm... I guess I'm looking to head further into Equestria, maybe Appaloosa?" I hoped this train was headed there, if not I might be screwed.

"Ah yes, this train is headed there right now actually! It'll cost you ten Bits one way and fifteen bits for a round trip." He told me, and I was relieved to hear this train was going there. I fished out the appropriate amount and slid them over to him. Once he put them away, he printed out a ticket, looked it over and then handed it to me. "Here you are friend, I hope you have a safe journey north."

"Thanks." I nodded with a smile, taking my ticket and saying, "You have a good day."

"Thank you! You as well, my friend." He told me with a friendly smile before we parted ways, and I headed for the train.

He was pretty nice.

I gestured for my pet owl to follow after me as the train came into view. The train itself was a steam powered locomotive with a big engine at the front and colored iron black. About ten cars were attached to it, slowly filling with passengers. I could see a few souls climbing on board with luggage and what have ya, and once I reached the ticket master I held my ticket out. "Welcome on board, sir." He told me, giving me an odd look before ushering me on board with everyone else.

Once I was on the train, I saw it was rather modestly built from the inside. Made of simple wood and had enough seating to fit forty people comfortably in one car and had a rather nice view of the land from the windows. I bet once the train started moving, it'd be a damn fine view to watch whirling by. I walked into the car and then took a seat near the back next to a window as Snowdrop fluttered in through it. She sat on the seat next to me as I took my backpack off and sat it on the floor in front of me, sighing in relief at being off my feet.

The train whistled and I heard the gears clack and grind before we started moving. A few wandering souls quickly hopped on board, laughing a bit at something as I just leaned back, cap tilted back as I looked out the window from where I was comfortably sat down on my arse.

Off to Appaloosa I go... and eventually...

Equestria.

ooo000---000ooo

An hour along the tracks headed north and I was already bored out of my mind from waiting.

So after awhile, I had decided to delve back into my thoughts and think about stuff.

Leaving Daring had left me feeling kinda lonesome. While I did have Snowdrop with me, she wasn't much for small talk... or any talk at all really, a one-way conversation with a bird didn't really sound all that enticing. I had fun hanging out with the adventuring mare known as Daring Do, that chase when we first met up to the fight against the spiders was... exhilarating, and it awakened that sense of adventure deep within my soul. A spark had ignited a fire in my chest that made me want to go out and explore the world, meet people, have awesome stories under my belt. I wanted to fight monsters, find treasures, see what all there was to see while kicking ass and saving the day.

It sounded so awesome and yet, I couldn't help but think of how weak I was in terms of fighting. Sure I used a punching bag a lot and did some parkour whenever I could to try and work out and keep myself healthy... I just didn't feel like I would be a good fighter against most foes... maybe Daring was right.

Even though my name means warrior, I certainly don't feel like one. I started scratching my neck in thought as Daring's words ran around in my head. You're no fighter. She had told me, and that hurt like a wasp-sting. I took out that one tiny spider no problem, but it was apparently a baby, and we all know the hit points of baby monsters, they're gobshite and any noob with just his fists could take em out!

That bigger spider? Pfft... I bet I didn't even hurt it with my knife, I probably pissed it off more than anything.

Daring was right... I wasn't a fighter, I was just a pleb trying to be one.

I shook my head and did my best to shake away those self loathing thoughts that threatened to pop up. I was too a fighter! I just... I just needed to get better at it. I was good in a bar-brawl, but that was just for stupid fun! Ugh... focus on other shit. I looked out of the window and I wondered what I would do once I was in Appaloosa. I knew AJ's cousin was there, Braeburn, but would he help me out if I told him who and what I was? What to do... I could go home in a bit, maybe, assuming Twilight or the princesses could help me out. But can they? I didn't know if they had the ability to help me out in the sense I desired.

Only time would tell.

*Thunk*

I looked up with a snort and my eyes caught sight of a few caribou walking into the car from the front. I suddenly grew nervous, no way they were the ones from before that chased Daring and I around, were they? We had ditched them at the gorge, and I don't think they had gotten a good look at me. Just act natural. I thought, looking out the window and trying not to look out towards them.

I really hoped they were friendly ones just looking for adventure or something, and not a pair of thugs looking to cause trouble and bash my face in. My eyes caught a good look at them, and while they were pretty lanky compared to some of the caribou I thought about, I think I could take em on if it came down to a fight... maybe. I honestly thought they were all huge muscle bound dudes with dicks ready to be whipped out at a moment's notice, I was wrong however.

They walked past me, and I let out a tiny sigh of relief as they went into another one of the cars behind me.

Okay... all's good. I told myself, relaxing slightly in my seat and attempting to get some naps in for the trip, lord knows I needed it.

But all that shit went out the damn window when I heard a loud crash from the car behind me and then one of those caribou flew through the doors past me. He slid across the floor with a yell, both his antlers smashed beyond repair, he groaned in pain once he came to a stop at the front end of the aisle. Everyone looked confused, scared and shocked even. I leaned out of my seat and looked back to peer into the other car at what was happening. In there, I saw the other caribou trying to beat up a stallion, a rather old bearded one from the looks of it who looked furiously towards them.

Just ignore it... just ignore it... Just go to sleep... sleep away the troubles, don't get involved... Fuck... I tried to ignore it. Emphasis on tried.

But the nice guy in my heart forced me to stand up.

I groaned before I picked up my pack from the floor and threw it on. I moved into the next car like an idiot, making my way over and pushing the caribou off of the stallion. He stumbled back as I growled out, "Back off!" I growled at the thin caribou, who pulled out a knife as the stallion behind me stood stock still.

"A human? Your kind disgust me." The caribou growled as he twirled his knife, I just pulled out my own. Which I noted, was much bigger than his own little iron one, and no doubt sharper.

"Yeah, well... you have a bad attitude." I stuck my tongue out as I backed up, only to stumble as the train shook and nearly caused me to fall onto my ass. Before I could even wonder what that was, the old stallion behind me had grabbed me by the arms, wrenching me out of the way before he suddenly threw out his hands.

Only seconds passed before a blinding light flashed from them and an earth shattering explosion sent me flying back into the wall. My eyes were blinded, ears almost deafened as I heard the screech of metal against metal. Before I could even try to recover from my fall, another explosion went off and I felt air passing me by...

Oh wait...

Was I?

...Yep, air Dee is away!

"Ahhh crap!" I screamed out, doing my best to tuck and roll as I was sent flying off of the train. I don't even know how the fuck that happened, but I wasn't given much time to think. Thankfully the pain was lessened, I had gotten lucky enough to land in a bunch of sand, rolling hard and tumbling before I came to a stop against a large sand dune.

Perhaps not the softest thing around, but it certainly helped cushion my fall! I coughed violently once I smashed into the soft sand, my body aching and head spinning, I felt lightheaded as the click clack of the train leaving me behind filled the air and my ears.

Oh son of a bitch!

I furiously rubbed my eyes, trying to clear them of the blindness that had come from the flash. It went away after a furious amount of cursing. Once my eyes cleared up, I saw some flaming wreckage in the sand near the tracks, chunks of metal and wood sticking up, twisted and warped. The train was departing off into the horizon with a flaming caboose as well, leaving me and whoever fell out of the back from the explosion out in the desert.

I groaned before standing up, struggling not to fall back onto my arse like a pleb. I looked ahead of me and saw two bodies laying in the sand nearby, unmoving.

"Oi!" I cried out, but they didn't move.

With trepidation flowing through me like a bad night of drinking, I started forward.

I arrived to see the caribou with his head twisted all the way around to the point his flesh bulged slightly from the broken bone, making me frown slightly. That was a nasty looking injury, and he was dead as fuck. And looking to my right I saw the pony was on the ground, a blade hilt deep in his back and his eyes wide and unfocused, no light to be seen in them. I knelt down and held my hand near his muzzle, and felt no breath... I checked for a pulse, but he was gone out like a candle light.

Considering I'm in the presence of two dead bodies, one might have thought I'd be more disgusted or freaked out, cause... it's dead people.

And as dickish as it may sound coming from me, I'm basically just seeing two dead animals. I've seen a lot of gruesome roadkill in my time, including watching family pets die and having to bur them all. I'm just so... desensitized to the concept of death that it doesn't phase me that much, I guess?

Yeah... totally doesn’t make me a Gary Stu amirite? Or whatever, I don't fucking know.

Jeez... I thought to myself and looked around me.

I didn't see anyone else around, meaning it was just me and the bodies. I also didn't see any fliers in the skies, or towns nearby, nothing, not a single thing. I was in a barren wasteland with no one around. I shrugged before yanking the knife out of the stallion's back and giving it a look over. It was rusty, poorly maintained, and made of crap looking iron, so I tossed it aside. It wasn't any better than my knife and probably wouldn't fetch much, so it wasn't worth carrying. I patted down the body for anything else worthwhile, hopefully money or something.

Now, maybe you're wondering why I'm doing something so... disrespectful as this, looting the dead before they're even cold. Well, its survival and free loot, if I'm being blunt about it. They're both dead as a doornail, and they're not going to miss whatever they're carrying on their person. It would be of more use to me than anyone else right now. I'm sure if someone was here, they would probably bitch me out for doing something so horrible.

Well, I have something to tell them. Wasteland Rule Number 1: If you're dead, its mine now, no questions asked.

Simple and easy to follow.

I checked the stallion's pocket and found a small purse which had a decent sum of money in it. Enough to replace the funds I spent buying the ticket and then some, guess my train ride wasn't a complete loss. I also found another little bag strapped to his belt that I opened up, I expected to find some more money or something. But instead I found a ring... a really special looking ring that made me wonder if it was a magic one. It was a bright red ruby inset in a piece of black metal that formed a dragon's maw. The eyes were a pair of black pearls, and the teeth some kind of shiny silver gems cut and sharpened to look like fangs. If one put it on, it would face forward as its tail and body wrapped around your finger.

It honestly looked really cool. I nodded, looking it over before pocketing it. Maybe it's worth something, or it's magical and can help me out somehow. I checked the little bag again, seeing nothing and crumpling it up before pocketing it as well. I also took his belt, which was a pretty big one that I could use for something. I put it around my waist letting it hang off a bit over my other belt. The old stallion didn't have anything else, so I just closed his eyes and said, "Rest in piece dude, sorry for looting ya." With that, I went over to the caribou and did the same.

He had exactly jack shit. If fact, all he did have was a nasty smell on him that clung to his body like bad BO, and... well, being a dude myself I more or less knew what the smell was.

I left him alone and just stood up, sighing as I looked down the tracks and the way towards Appaloosa. I was an hour away from the town I had just come from and like a couple of days or so from Appaloosa.

Fuuuuuuuck. I groaned before sheathing my knife and looking for any sort of road... I didn't see one, so that meant I had to follow the tracks either back to the town and wait for another train to come and pick me up, or keep headed towards Appaloosa and hope I don't die of dehydration walking through the desert.

Or just screw the trip into Equestria and go somewhere else entirely.

Looking to the east I could see a few wispy looking mountains, tall ones that reached up super high into the skies beyond the clouds.

That looked pretty interesting.

I grinned and rubbed my hands together.

Let's go that'a way~ I decided as I saw Snowdrop flying towards me, with her finally back at my side we headed east.

I could have gone towards the north or headed back, but the mountains to the east were a callin' me.

Besides...

A little adventure never hurt anyone, right?

Wind Nation Arc - Ghost of the East

A Couple of Hours Later

The weather had gotten a bit chillier as I headed further east towards the mountains and I eventually wound up on a beaten path leading towards them, making the walk less of a hassle. I felt excitement welling up in my gut alongside a bit of fear and anxiousness of course as I continued to walk down this dirt path. Who wouldn't when thrust into a situation like the one I was in right now? I was alone, I had no way of contacting anyone for help, no resets or respawns. I had no idea of what lay ahead of me, but that was part of the excitement of adventuring around the land!

The path up the mountain was quite pretty looking once I got past the desert sands that now lay behind me. I saw a few colorful looking trees and a few birds flying about. The sand eventually disappeared and slowly morphed into bright green grass that made me think of a nice little path through the grass fields of Skyrim or Cyrodill. I liked it and I wish I had a camera. I probably could use my phone, but once the battery's dead...

...

Ehh, fuck it.

I pulled out my phone and took a few photos of the area around me, noting that my battery was actually full... huh. I ignored it in favor of taking some more photos, which I took a few of the trees, grass, the skies, and some other neat looking shit. After getting my fill I put my phone away before continuing on down the road, hands in my pocket and whistling a tune to myself, one from my childhood.

I wondered where Daring was while I walked, a part of knowing she must be looking for those other keys. I don't know if she found the others though. I hope she finds the others, I know she has to. Otherwise, those Caribou will bring back their king... whoever the sweet fuck that is. I had a distinct feeling I knew who it was.

King Dainn, King of the Caribou who enslaved Equestria in the Fall of Equestria-verse through impossible means... well, not so impossible, but stupid that it shouldn't have happened, but it did anyway. I shook my head, so King Dainn (I guess) was probably dead and almost enslaved the world eons ago, and was sent to Tartarus and the only way to get him out is with those keys... sounds about right, but I don't know if it's Dainn or some other hecka bad king of darkness.

I hoped that something like that would never happen here because fuck the Caribou. I'm sure there are some good ones, but the ones I've met so far just want me dead, or are just assholes...

No racism buuuut...

After some time I paused when I came across a clearing, a nice little field that was quite windy and led towards some other mountains really far away. The entire scenery around me was so beautiful, misty mountains and clouds, a nice chilling air cascading across the grassy land and birds flying all around. Hell, it looked like something out of the countryside of Japan, it was awesome.

So I took a picture of it.

After looking around for a bit, I wandered onto the field with a smile and felt the breeze. Snowdrop flew around quite happily as I walked, wondering where this would take me. It was quite a change from the desert behind me, but I was totally for it, nice and cool just the way I liked it. The air was really fresh, like how it smelled when you walked into an untouched forest and it just hits you.

It was like this.

This is fantastic. I smiled as I continued to walk, smiling a bit as I spotted a river... and by river I mean a massive crystal clear river that ran through the mountains. It was huge and rushing south, I could see hundreds of more trees nearby, large lush forests and crystal blue skies. I could even see what looked like a city over the mountains in the distance, it was hella far away though and I could only tell it was one from the spires. The river that went north to south turned into rapids a small distance away north wise, with the mist rising up into the air.

It was in those few moments I was convinced I stepped into a fantasy land... like, Final Fantasy type shit.

"Holy fuck... this is so cool." I couldn't stop the childish grin from breaking out across my face as I stopped walking. Such a nice serene view, it was ni-

My inner monologue was cut off when I heard Snowdrop screech, and when I looked ahead of me I saw her flying circles around something. I sighed, going over to her.

"Snowy, what's u-" I was stopped once more when I saw a tipped over canoe looking boat washed up on shore nearby, and lying nearby was a figure of sorts. "Well shit." I jogged over, looking left and right for any threats before turning the figure over.

It was a pony, a mare to be specific. She was, oddly enough wearing a flowery looking kimono that hung loosely to her body, and the part that covered her chest was... off to the side, thankfully she was wearing some wrapping around her small bust to keep her decency. She was a pretty pink color like sakura tree petals. and her mane was a deep chocolate brown color that was put up in one of those ponytails that had the decorative sticks in it... or chopsticks... whatever they're called.

I knelt down and checked her pulse, and I felt a faint beat. With a sigh, I quickly pulled her kimono back over her chest and gently shook her. "Yo... hello? Wakey wakey hands off snakey." I muttered... I hoped she wasn't dying.

That would suck, I wasn; in the mood to bury a corpse.

But to my immense relief, she groaned a little, eyes fluttering open and I saw pink eyes look up... and then lock on me.

Then I was kicked back, sent flying a short way as I heard an ear piercing shriek of terror escaped her like a siren.

"CHRIST!" I screamed as I landed on my back with a thump and holding my ears. She's got some lungs on her! I shook my head a few times before I sat up and I saw the mare was sitting with her legs folded up and out to the side. One of her knees was bloody as she looked at me, fear radiating in her eyes. "The scream, and the kick... was totally not cool," I told her with a groan and rubbing my chest. She had some strength in her for being so small, jeez.

The mare reached into her kimono and pulled out a bag that shook with coin. Her body trembled with fear and she barely held back tears. "T-take! P-please don't hurt me!" She told me, tossing the bag at me and crawling back.

Christ, she had nothing but fear in her eyes.

I looked down at the bit bag, and then back up to her. "Uuuhh... I'm not robbing ya." I told her, picking up her bit bag and slowly making my way over to her. She whimpered in fear and held her kimono close to her chest, as if it would protect her, and my heart broke. Jeez! I stopped and held out the bag, and she gave me a scared and confused look. Then I saw her eyes go wide, and she blushed before looking down and to the side.

"I s-see..." She muttered quietly, before I saw her grip loosen on her kimono. "You... d-desire s-something... more?" She asked me, and when I gave her a confused look in return, her hands slowly fell to her lap... alongside her kimono top, revealing a bit more then what was safe for work.

Was she...?

...

She was...

I blushed hard.

"What?! No no no!" I shook my head, going over to her as she turned her head and closed her eyes. I should be delicate here... so I-carefully-grabbed her kimono and pulled it back up over her shoulders to cover her chest. The Dee-Train didn't roll like that! As tempting as it is to get it on with a cutie like her, I don't do the rapey wapey. The mare slowly turned to look at me through the corner of her eyes, and I saw tears welling up in her eyes. I sighed heavily and gently took her hand, placing the bag of gold in it and saying. "I don't want to hurt you, I don't want your gold... okay?" I told her carefully, softly like a parent would to a child. "I saw you washed up on shore and I wanted to help you... understand?"

A blush and she shook slightly as I coiled her fingers around the bag. Her eyes searched mine as if looking for something, until finally her head drooped low and she held her kimono tight against her chest. "I am sorry... you must think me a fool, stranger..."

I just chuckled, hoping to get rid of the awkwardness. "It's uh... it's okay," I told her as I took off my backpack, putting it down next to me and unzipping it.

I could feel her gaze on me, a nervous look that pierced through into my very soul. "W-who are you?" She asked me as I pulled out my first aid kit from my bag.

"Me?" I turned back to her, opening up the kit and pulling out some stereotypical healing things one might find in a First Aid Kit. I grabbed some antiseptic spray and some gauze before saying, "I'm Dustin, you can just call me Dee though, everyone else does." I told her with a tiny smile as I looked at her knee, it was just a tiny cut. Nothing I couldn't handle... assuming she doesn't have some kind of bad reaction to the antiseptic spray.

Ahh well, yolo.

The pretty young mare winced when I sprayed the stuff on her wounds, and she must have guessed I was actually trying to help because she calmed down... a tiny bit. "D-Dee?" She asked and I nodded, clearing my throat slightly. I was still anxious from her little... offer from earlier, so I was a bit shaky.

"Yep... what's your name?" I decided to ask her name, no sense in not being a gentledude.

She hesitated for a moment, before saying. "My n-name is S-Sakura Petal."

Oh... mai...gawd! That is the cutest name for her. I had to keep myself from squeeing in absolute delight as I started to bandage up her knee the best I could. "Sakura Petal? Cute name." I smiled at her as I tied up the bandage and leaned away slightly. "Looks good, think you can walk?" I looked at the mare, still seeing some uncertainty in her eyes.

She still looked scared, but it was... not as pronounced as before. She tried to stand up, slowly and causing the folds of her kimono around her chest to drop down, once more giving me a nice view of her chest before she stumbled forward.

I caught her though, steadying her. "Whoah whoah whoah, baby steps," I told her, and she looked up at me with a heavy blush before stepping away, favoring her uninjured leg as she hugged herself awkwardly.

Like a straight up anime girl in high school... christ. This just triggered my weaboo senses, cute waifu detected!

I shook my head, Snowdrop landing nearby as I looked around. "Uhm... you live nearby?" I asked her, and she nodded, pointing towards the city in the distance. "Jeez girl, how'd you get all the way over here?"

Another blush, and a look of shame washed over her features. "I'm... I wanted to..." She didn't see, sighing heavily as she looked down. "I cannot say..."

I furrowed my eyebrows at that, and shrugged. "Kay, your business, not mine." With a sigh I picked up my kit before fixing it up and putting it back into my backpack. I brushed my hands on my knees as I noticed the mare wringing her hands together near her chest, as if she were... troubled. "Problems?"

She made a noise, and looked up at me. "A-are... are you an adventurer?" She asked me, gulping before adding. "Y-you look l-like the adventurers of old..."

Adventurers of old huh? I couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Adventurer? You could say that." I smirked at Sakura. "Though I haven't been on many just yet... I guess you could say I'm just starting out." That was very true, the only thing I could tell her if I were to recall my adventures would be what happened with me and Daring and how I got here... but I could always tell her the stories I've learned from video games, spin some epic tales from my many years of gaming.

The girl perked up slightly, and she gained a bit more confidence as she stepped towards me. "I k-know this may seem a bit forward of me... seeing how we've only just met, b-but..." A few moments of hesitation, and finally the mare finished her line of speech. "M-may I join you on your adventure?" Before I could even get a single word in edge wise, she quickly followed up with, "I've always wanted to study abroad, but I've never had the chance! I... I would like to come with you, please..."

Well... this... went a certain route. Not even a full day here and already I have someone willing to join my party. The cute shy mare who looks like something out of final fantasy, with the cool hairstyle and clothing choice, and voice. Gosh she was cute. "Uhm..."

"I-I know I may not look like much, but I... I could offer... uhm." She looked nervous again, blushing heavily before saying, to my shock, "Offer... myself, to you... to use as you please."

I blinked and tried to fight the insane blush I no doubt had. I shook my head violently and began waving my hands around, "No no no, you don't need to do any of that!" I chuckled awkwardly, fighting back the inward thoughts telling me I should take advantage of such an offer. But my awesomeness thankfully overpowered the perverted part of me. "Hehehe, just..." I sighed heavily, closing my eyes and rubbing the bridge of my nose. Jeez, why does she think she has to offer herself up to me? A shake of my head once more and said, "Uhm... look, you can come with me, bu-" I was stopped when something suddenly collided with me and sent me flying back. "OOF!"

"Thank you!" I heard Sakura tell me with a delighted squeal, as all the air in my lungs left me and I smacked onto the ground hard.

As she gripped onto me like a vice... I just whimpered slightly.

My back.... oh Christ....

On The Road Again

After regaining my breath and making sure I had all my shit still on me, I helped Sakura out by carrying her on my back. As it turns out she can't walk very well without wincing or giving a heart-wrenching whimper. So I just opted to carry her while she wore my backpack. Snowdrop flew all around the place, a few happy screeches leaving her as I walked down the road heading away from the city nearby. While I originally wanted to go there, Sakura told me that it wasn't safe there... at all, actually. I asked Sakura why that was, but she was silent on the matter and only told me she just wanted to journey around the region.

Ahhh well... that did give me some cause for concern, but I opted to head southeast, where Sakura told me was a rather small village where we could rest and she could get fixed up if I had the gold. Which fortunately I did, she as well.

The walk down the road was pretty quiet, so I decided to learn a bit more about my companion. "So... Sakura."

She made a humming noise. "Yes, Sir Dee?"

I blinked, before I chuckled at that. "Just call me Dee, I don't have any titles." I couldn't help but laugh at that. What kind of titles could an idiot like me earn anyhow? Sir Dustin, Knight of the Doritos. I snickered. "Anyway, why do you want to go journey around so badly? I can understand wanting to sate the call for adventure and all but..."

"I... I have always wanted to study abroad." She told me quietly, almost as if she were embarrassed to tell me. "I wish to see the world and all it has to offer, I want to meet new people, see all the many different cultures." I could hear her smile behind me, as her grip tightened around my chest. "I've always wanted the chance to go on an adventure... but..."

"There's not really anything stoppin' ya." I pointed out, turning my head to look at her from the corner of my eye, my hazel eyes caught a single bright pink one. "If you want to go on your own little journey, then go right for it." I told her.

She frowned however, sadly. When I looked back out ahead, I eventually heard her speak up again, "I would have earlier... b-but my f-father wouldn't let me..."

I rose an eyebrow, even though she couldn't see it. "Your old man wouldn't?" I weighed that around in my mind and nodded slightly. "I can understand that..." If I had a daughter as pretty as Sakura I wouldn't want her going out on her own either.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Well, I can understand why he wouldn't want you to go out on your own." I started, thinking of how to word this so I wouldn't sound like a complete imbecile. "You're a pretty young mare, cute face, nice smile and a lovely accent. I'm sure he's just worried about you getting hurt." I theorized. It'd make sense, Sakura is really pretty... like borderline Waifu material. So naturally I can understand as a fellow dude why he wouldn't want her going out alone in such a big dangerous world. While I wouldn't keep her cooped up, I would at least like someone to go with her and protect her, that or teach her how to defend herself from thugs.

Silence from Sakura as I continued to walk down the road, and I figured she was deep in thought about something. So I kept quiet, not wanting to disturb her as I continued walk down the road towards the town ahead, however far it was. It was looking to be a long walk ahead of us, one that would take a day or so... maybe, I didn't know how far away this town was. Hell I didn't even know where I was.

After some time we came across a sign... and of course it was in a language I couldn't understand for shit. It was a language, I could tell from the symbols, though the set of symbols above differed from the ones below and I couldn't read them... just like in the town with the train station I was at. What language is this? "What does that say?" I asked Sakura.

I could imagine her blinking stupidly, before asking, "Can you not read?"

"Uuuhh... I can read, just not whatever the hell that is." I pointed at the sign. "So what does it say? I gathered it's a sign pointing to the town ahead, I'm just wondering what the name is."

She cleared her throat, and said, "Jainko, the Town of the Southern Winds, 10 Kilometers."

I blinked. Wait... 10 Kilometers... oooohh fuck me. I groaned. "Well... this'll be quite a walk." I sighed as I started walking.

This was gonna be a bitch of a walk...

As I began walking with the relatively light mare on my back, my mind began thinking up new questions I could ask Sakura. "So... how old are you? You don't look old enough to actually be journeying around, let alone leaving your city unguarded." Then again in Pokemon you can leave when you're ten to go capture gods so...

"I... I am fourteen." She said hesitantly.

Oooooh wow... and she offered herse-nope... I shook my head. "Really? Damn kid, you're young." I commented. "Just turned twenty one a few months ago in July myself."

A squeak. "You were born in July?" She asked. "As was I, what day? Perhaps it is the same."

"Doubtful, its on the third." I told her, and I heard her giggle, a melodious noise that warmed me cruel heart.

"I too was born on the third, Sir Dee!" Sakura told me with a smile, hugging me a little. "On a full moon night when the sakura trees shed their leaves."

"Really? That's pretty neat!" That actually was pretty cool, like some legendary storybook shit or something. "Not sure what time I was born, but I guess it was day or something... my life isn't really all that interesting, to be honest." It really wasn't interesting. The most I did was write fanfiction and talk about how I was gonna make it big.

Pfft.

"I-I'm sure y-you have some interesting tales..." Sakura said, in an attempt to cheer me up I suppose. "H-have you slain any deadly beasts?"

"I killed a spider." I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "A little Frostbite baby."

"Oh, my." She said in a tiny voice. "I've heard those w-were... quite deadly."

"Ehh, they're just big furry shits." I snickered.

She chuckled a tiny bit too as we continued on down the road. I doubt we even crossed a mile yet, but already I was tired as hell and my legs burned... and I was a little bit cold. I'm sure Sakura was the same, considering she was wearing a thin silk kimono and wrapping around her body in places.

Thankfully after awhile we came across a little inn of sorts that looked like something out of old school Japan. Some benches were sitting out frontwith a few older ponies sitting on them, using those long smoking pipes I keep forgetting the name of. I walked up to the inn and breathed a sigh of relief as I saw it was open... I think and made my way inside.

I was immediately hit with the smell of something that I quickly distinguished as alcohol. A thin haze of smoke filled the air as I made my way inside. There were little sitting pallets around some small tables where plenty of ponies sat. A bar like area was over to the far left with a pretty older mare standing behind it dealing out drinks to a few stallions in robes. Some exotic plants were sitting around in pots and plantersgiving the place a nice feel to it. Paper lamps hung over every table and gave the place a soft glow, each one adorned with some exotic design. I saw a couple of those dividers that had the scenery on it, the ones told stories and such. Near one part of the inn I saw a couple of mares playing a few instruments, plucking strings and gently hitting drums to fill the air with a pleasent tune.

"T-this is a nice place." Sakura said.

I was about to answer her and agree, as I liked how it looked. Made me think of Final Fantasy. But then every single head turned to gaze at us at the same time. The music stopped playing and the conversation ceased in an instant. I saw wide eyes, some curious, others threatening as they stared directly into my fucking soul, like they were trying to find the meaning of life... or were just wondering who in the sweet fuck I was and why I had a pretty teenage mare on my back with a fucked up knee.

Fuck I have never felt so awkward in my life... I thought to myself, looking to the left and right. And I swear to the holy balls on a Jesus statue, I saw some shady looking fuckers in the back with three swords each, Samurai Champloo motherfuckers.

And to my great displeasure our eyes locked and they gripped their swords. And I could feel Sakura tighten her grip on me in fear, the filly was practically shaking on my back.

Fuck... I might have to bolt, it'll be fucking hard with Sakura on my back... shit! I didn't want to have to dump her to run. because I'm not a douche like that... but I honestly might have to. Fuck me in the ass.

Before I could think about running, I suddenly heard a loud mare's voice yell out, "Haha! It's been awhile, my old friend!" Then I heard some heavy footsteps and when I looked over to the right I saw a very... tall thestral walk over to me. She was like... if I had to guess, seven feet tall and packing plenty of toned muscle The mare was well endowed with a pair of Double D's and a fine body that I was scared to even try looking at lest she crack me upside the head for looking. She was wearing a black kimono that was wrapped more tightly around her form than most, especially around the chest and was cut down the sides near her hips allowing them to be shown. Her cutie mark was shown, which was a pair of serrated swords with ribbons on the hilts curling around one another. Over that kimono was some light armor around the shoulders, waist, stomach, and some covering her chest slightly. Her coloration was a pretty midnight blue, with her hair reaching all the way down to her shapely rear, even though it was in a ponytail.

She had very long hair... but the one feature about her that caught my attention the most... were her eyes, a pair of sharp and piercing dark blue eyes that made me freeze even though she had a fang filled smile plastered on her face when she strode over to me and Sakura.

"I've been waiting for you, it's about time!" She said with a hearty chuckle and clasped her arm around mine before dragging me and Sakura deeper into the inn over to some tables. "I've been waiting for a few days now, kid, now let's have a drink!"

"Uh-wait what?" I asked as I saw the people around us go back to what they were doing. Whoever this chick is probably just saved me from having to run, same with Sakura being dumped.

But why exactly?

The mare led us over to some tables before she let go of my arm, and I hesitantly let Sakura slide off of my back before helping her get seated. Once she was sitting down, I took a seat next to her protectively, sure I probably couldn't do shit against a mare like the one in front of me... but I could damn sure try. I watched her carefully, leaning back slightly despite not even sitting properly on it like Sakura or our mystery mare was.

Before I could ask, a waitress came over and the mare ordered something in a language I didn't understand. but it did sound a bit like Japanese. She turned to me and set her fiery gaze upon my own. I just awkwardly sat on the pallet, cheeks puffed out and lips pressed firmly together as my eyes darted from side to side. I could see Sakura was likewise as nervous as I was, understandable when a seven-foot tall thestral with big tits and a scary atmosphere casually strolls up to you and invites you for a drink. "Relax you two, I'm not gonna hurt you." She said quietly with a calm smile.

The cute looking waitress wearing a very revealing outfit returned with a small wooden plate with a small little bottle on it, along with three small cups filled with some liquid. She set it down on the table, bowing and then leaving us alone as I eyed the selection of drinks with a curious gaze. I shook my head, getting back to the topic at hand which was. "Uh... whatever you say but... why'd you stick your neck out for us?" I was curious as to why she would do that. But then again I'm not surprised no one one wanted to fuck with her, she was huge, and could probably snap my neck with a flick of her finger. "You don't really know us and... shit..."

She just smiled as she picked up one of the cups and then drank from it. I pondered if I had stepped into an MLPFIM version of old timey Japan with sake and shit. "Cause you my friend... are different." She told me after drinking her... thing, whatever it was.

I saw Sakura politely take one of the cups and sip from it. I didn't... yet, and just continued to wonder. "Well... I'm thankful... honest! But... you didn't exactly have to, not that I'm... not glad, or anything." I said as I looked at the swordsponies out of the corner of my eye, they were standing near the back with a few mares carrying blades as well. "But I'm... slightly suspicious..."

"Oh?" She asked, with a little smirk on her face I didn't like as she poured some more, I'm just gonna say its Sake, into her sake cup.

I narrowed my eyes slightly, taking the only cup left and downing it in one go. It tasted kinda... good, I suppose. After setting down my cup, I quietly replied. "... I just don't think you helped us out just cause we might have been in trouble with those goons over there." I told her, with a subtle head gesture towards the ponies with the blades. The mare looked towards them and chuckled, before turning back to me with a wider smile.

"Maybe you're right... maybe you're wrong." She drank again, taking only a couple of sips before setting down her cup with a sigh. She then leaned against the small wooden block thing behind her, causing her Double D bust to push out slightly. "Maybe I just wanted to do something nice for a pair of strangers, or perhaps... I have a darker purpose for dragging you into this little-secluded corner." She grinned a mischievous glint in her eyes

I didn't like how she talked, it reminded me of some mysterious person who might be a hero or a villain but didn't specify and it bugged the crap out of ya. Or an Anti-hero, does bad things for the good of everyone, or something like that. I dunno. She didn't seem like a bad pony, but I needed to learn more before I made any solid decisions on what to do now, for now... we rest, and hopefully get someone to look at Sakura's knee.

I kept my eye on the mare as she relaxed where she sat, pulling out a Gandalf smoking pipe and lighting it with a match. I am unsure of how she struck it considering I hadn't taken my eyes off of her, but I digress. Sakura just timidly sat next to me, wringing her hands together in her lap as her cute pink eyes flicked between me and the mare.

I guess in an effort to break the unease, Sakura said, "M-my name is Sakura Petal." She introduced, holding out her hand to the older mare. Smiling a little.

Gawshdamn it, she's a definite contender for Sweetie Belle's cuteness.

The mare looked at Sakura's hand for a moment, before a sweet smile broke out and she gently took it. And her hand practically dwarfed Sakura's as she gave her a gentle shake. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, I am Blade Dancer."

Well, that's an innocent name... I remarked sarcastically. "Name's Dustin, you can just call me Dee if you want, or Dustchu." I told her with some hesitation. Not much she could do knowing my name, but I couldn't help but feel... nervous around her. It probably had to do with her name, and the... atmosphere I could feel coming from her.

Who was this mare? I feel like there's something I'm missing.

"Dee and Sakura eh?" Dancer grinned as she looked at us both, dark blue eyes half lidded. "Well, you two are an interesting pair, if I do say so myself." When she said that, I probably looked confused, eyebrow raised up high as can be because she continued. "It's interesting because, well... we don't get many humans around here, none... at all, as far as I know, you're the first one to ever enter this region in a few eons." She told me, and I felt a bit of a... chill about that. "And you're traveling with a pretty looking young filly, who looks a bit too young to be traveling, to begin with."

I grunted at that, leaning back against the wall I was sitting in front of and crossing my arms. Only human to appear in this region in eons? Damn... where exactly do these other humans live? That was a question I was quite interested in finding out because apparently, they're isolationists, speak a different language, German most likely... if the Minotaur from the station is anything to go by. And haven't set foot in Equestria in eons... Christ, they must not like outsiders much if they've been hidden this long... "Okay... I guess we're quite an interesting pair, but we're just... two adventurers making our way through the region." I told Dancer. We were adventurers, just looking for fun times and good memories ahead.

"Adventurers eh?" Dancer hummed, looking at us both again. "You don't really look like the adventuring types if I'm being honest." Dancer quirked her lips. "No weapons, cept for that little dagger you got, your clothes are fairly new and barely scuffed up... you two just starting out?"

Sakura nodded her head, bangs flopping about. "Yes. I... recently joined Sir Dee on his quest!" She smiled.

I just rolled my eyes, but I did smile so it wasn't in a mean way.

Dancer had the audacity to ask me, "You a knight? You certainly don't look it." And she had this... weird look in her eyes, like she was actually worried or something.

Wonder why?

A scoff escaped me. "Pfft, naah. I'm just a regular human dude looking to adventure around before I head on to Equestria proper, I plan on going to a small little farming town called Ponyville when I'm done journeying around." That was going to be awesome, get some cool adventures under my belt, maybe even a few stories or so along with maybe a trinket and I'll have something impressive to show off. Sure I was a noob so far, but hopefully, by the end of this journey of mine, I would be more experienced in some things. "No idea where the roads on this path will take me, guess I'm just... flowing like a leaf in the wind." I smiled with a tiny sigh.

I'm such a poetic fuck.

"That's always a good thing to do. Go on an adventure, stretch our legs and see the sights before settling down." Dancer sighed slightly, snorting as she drank her sake again. Once she was done, she set it down and smiled before looking at me. "Say kid...?"

"Mmm?" Hazel eyes catching blue ones, I saw something swirling around in them... something that made me think something bad was gonna happen.

"Got room for one more in your party?" Dancer asked me as I heard the front entrance burst open loudly.

We all turned to look at who rudely interrupted our swagging drinking session...

And I saw four large caribou with sharpened antlers, and one of them bellowed. "WHERE IS THE HUMAN?!"

One by one... all the eyes in the inn turned to look at me..., including Dancer and Sakura...

I gulped.

"Fuck me."

Wind Nation Arc - Escape into The Wind

Something something Inn

I looked at the caribou.

They glared at me.

I turned to look at the people around me.

They stared at me.

I finally looked back at Dancer and Sakura.

Guess what? Even they stared at me.

I gulped at the predicament I suddenly found myself in.

"Fuck me."

Out of all the things I was expecting, I was not expecting a bunch of caribou to be looking for a human... in fact, how do they even know about me? How did they even find me?!

As they stomped over to me, my right hand ventured to the knife around my belt. But before I could even think about drawing it and probably getting myself killed, Dancer got up from her seat and stood in front of me and Sakura. Her arms were crossed, and seeing how I was sitting I was treated to a nice view of her exceptionally toned ass, which practically stared back at me. It was a butt many craved to touch and fondle, and I didn't dare do such things lest I lose my mind from its supple roundness.

... I'm such a perv.

"Hello there boys, care for a drink?" Dancer asked them, cocking her hip out to one side and putting her hand on it and damn she had some nice hips. I saw her other hand was behind her and saw her finger point towards the far back of the inn where the swordsponies were standing. Looking over to them, the ponies were glaring in disgust at the caribou, specifically the mares with blades who looked incredibly pissed. "How's bout it?" She picked up her sake cup, holding it towards the two with no doubt a friendly smile.

Shit... if shit goes bad, we're gonna have to run out the back. I realized, licking my lips nervously.

And what do you know... things went bad.

The sake cup was smacked out of her hand before she herself was slapped hard in the face, causing her head to snap to the left. "Quiet you useless whore! We are here for the monkey, not some ignorant bitch who doesn't know her place!" The other caribou nodded, uttering words that absolutely pissed me off.

I growled slightly under my breath, and I was about to say something in defense of this strange mare who helped us out. But Dancer just looked back towards them. She wiped her mouth and then cracking her neck before saying, "You shouldn't have done that..." Milliseconds passed before her head suddenly connected with the caribou that was dangerously close to her, breaking something as he stumbled back with a yell of pain. Her left fist flew towards the other's neck at blinding speeds I didn't know were physically possible, the punch she threw swiftly flying towards the other's throat and knocking him down to the floor as the leader roared in anger and pain. Then they all drew their weapons, swords and axes and knives.

I took that as my chance to split this scene!

"Sakura, let's go!" I told her as Dancer fought against the caribou, allowing Sakura and me a chance to escape.

The mare lived up to her name of Dancer. She was almost dancing amidst the fight, her body moving like water as she threw swift punches and kicks, counters and blocks. Even as they swung their swords and axes at her in their attempts to down her, she either dodged them or redirected their blows into one another effortlessly. It was like watching a fight scene from a Jackie Chan flick or something. As she fought I grabbed Sakura's hand and we quickly stood up and ran towards the back of the bar as a bunch of other caribou ran into the inn, wielding weapons as Dancer shot me a look.

A look I had always seen in movies, games and so on.

Run bitch! Run!

And run we did.

I led Sakura towards the back, not wasting time before bursting out of the door and to the back of the inn. "This way!" I told Sakura, heading left as the young mare limped behind me. We didn't get much further down the route behind the inn before a caribou wielding a bow popped up from around the corner, he was quick to nock an arrow and aim at us, but I was quicker! I pushed Sakura out of the way before ducking down and scrambling down towards him swiftly the second he let it loose.

I'm glad my fear was fueling my desire to live right now, cause holy shit.

Before he could nock another arrow, I jumped at him from the ground with a yell. He was a lanky bastard, tall and barely any muscle. Eh, we were about on the same page when it came to body shape and size, cept for the antlers of course. I tackled the fucker to the ground, with him growling as he dropped his bow and wrestled me. "Filthy scum!" His jaw snapped at me, fucker bit at me!

He threw a hard punch into my side, the force making me yelp, "Gah! You're the one who smells like a fucking curdled cumbath!" I yelled back at him, throwing my own punch into his gut as hard as I could. I felt nothing but tough and corded muscle, and he just tried to stab me with his antlers. So I did the other thing a fighter does in this type of situation.

Play dirty.

I got into a position and kneed him hard in the crotch, my knee making contact with his nutsack through his pants. I imagined his eyes bulging out of their sockets as he roared in pain. He kicked me off with a yell, sending me flying into the wall of the inn. "Whoah! Gah, fuck!" I yelled out after hitting said wall and sliding down to the ground. My back hurt like a bitch before, now it was just begging me to end the suffering it was going through. I just shook my head before running back over to the downed caribou. He shot up with a growl, about to impale me on his antlers had I not fallen to my knees and slide between his legs.

That was a bad idea on my part, mostly because... well... the ground was rough.

"Fuck, my knees!" My knees felt like they were on fire as I rolled. I recovered and rolled back onto my feet before looking at the caribou. He was an angry bitch, and I needed to take him down so me and Sakura could run for it.

So being the stupid numbskull I was, I pulled out my knife and charged him like an idiot as he turned around again to charge right back. He ran at me, drawing his own knife and roaring a challenge at me as we both impacted one another like two freight trains of retardation. I grunted as I felt him punch my gut again, the air in my lungs escaping me like a deflating balloon. I retaliated by plunging my knife into his back as he cried out. He picked me up, my eyes widening in shock. He ran me into a wall and I almost lost the grip on my knife before ripping it from his flesh, and stabbing him, again and again, to get him off of me.

As warm blood gushed out onto my hand, we both fell to the ground with him on top of me. His thin yet heavy body keeping me down as I ripped my knife from his back. With a grunt, I wormed my way out from under him as the fighting in the inn grew crazier. I knew that because I could hear glasses being shattered, yells and declarations of rape, along with roars of pain. I wasn't sure who was winning, but I was hoping it was Dancer.

After working my way free of the now dead caribou, I stood up and backpedaled away. The adrenaline was flooding through my veins at this point and I was just now thinking about the fact I had just killed someone. Instead, I decided to scramble for his bow and arrows. Throwing the quiver onto my back and shouldering the bow, I ran over to Sakura who was hiding behind a nearby tree. "Sakura, let's run, now!" I grabbed her hand, throwing her onto my back and quickly dashing towards the alley leading out to the front.

Damn this caribou, where in the hell did they come from? I get that they might have... been part of the group from that small town I had ended up in with Daring, but jeez! I didn't have that damned demon orb thing Daring took, and there was no way they could have known I had gone this way. Then again, there's nothing stopping them from putting out a bunch of search parties for me if one of the group got a good look at me... fuck.

A body being thrown out of the Inn for a fair distance caught our attention making me stop. I saw Dancer burst from the inn with a broken and bloodied chair leg in her hand and a slightly bloody face. "Come on then!" She yelled at the caribou she had thrown out who had a bloody muzzle, a swollen eye, and several missing teeth. The caribou tried to stand up but was unable to as Dancer strut over to him before raising her boot clad foot high...

And then to the utter shock of my soul and nutsack, she heel slammed the caribou right in his junk.

I never heard a more pathetic noise come from a being in my entire twenty-one years of living, and I just instinctively crossed my legs with a wince as the caribou shrieked.

I swear... I heard something crack, snapple and pop.

The one weakness every male has... fuuuuck. I saw Dancer look towards me, wiping her mouth free of the blood before walking over. I backed up a little. "Keep yo heels away from the goods princess!" I told her with a slightly panicky voice, chuckling nervously.

Dancer rose an eyebrow and then rolled her eyes. "I would suggest we get out of this place, chances are more of those scum will be arriving soon." The thestral mare told me, before walking down the road I and Sakura were headed for before stopping at the inn to rest

I looked between the injured caribou and Dancer, before following behind her. I wish I could have gotten something more out of this venture except sake, a bow, and a quiver full of arrows. But hey, its something instead of nothing, I got me a new weapon I can learn how to use. I've always had a thing for archery since I played the Elder Scrolls IV, best game I ever played for the Xbox alongside Dead Rising. So maybe I'd be able to use it after we get a safe distance away, hopefully.

Dancer led the way down the road with Sakura still on my back as we left the inn behind. The sun had begun to set in the distance, and soon night would be upon us...

Makes me wonder what lurked under the pale moonlight...

Down The Road A Ways

We walked the road a ways, leaving the inn behind and vanishing into the hilly roads heading... southeast I think, further southeast anyway. I got lost just walking behind Dancer who was strutting down the road with a purpose. I was honestly tired, this entire day had been tiring for me, from when I woke up in the desert to the fight outside the inn. I just wanted a nap and some food in my belly. Sakura was tired as well, I could tell. She sagged on my back and was yawning every now and then, which I had ended up doing as well.

"Where are we going?" I asked after a moment of thinking about our situation.

Dancer to turned her head to face me. "Away from the Inn for starters." She told me as we continued along the road before she turned and headed into the woods. I hummed, wondering why she did that before I followed as she mumbled quietly to herself about something or other.

I followed her until we came to a small little area away from the roads, a tiny clearing with some trees and rocks nearby where Dancer stopped and sat down on a rock. I walked over to another and let Sakura slide off onto it, where she sat down and I just fell onto the grass with a sigh. I rubbed my knees, cursing the aching feeling that flared up in them. Sliding on my knees? Note, never do that shit again unless I have padded kneepads.

"Dustin," Dancer started, making me look up at her and cease my internal planning for getting padded kneepads. "Those Caribou... they were looking for you weren't they?"

That was a good question, while it did sound accusatory, I didn't fault her for it considering she beat them all and got hurt in the process. All of that, probably because of me, so I owed her that at least. I wondered as well if they were looking for me... I mean, there wasn't any other human around from what I could see and I did end up in a huge fight with those caribou back in Bronze Hoof before escaping with Daring. Maybe they were still pissed and were after me? I didn't have that damned orb they were looking for...

...

Huh.

"Honestly... I have no idea." I told Dancer, leaning back slightly on my hands. "I was in a small town west of here called Bronze Hoof, and I kinda got into a fight with them, alongside a mare who stole something from them... maybe they think I still have it?" I suggested to her, shrugging my shoulders. "Regardless, I'm not gonna let that stop me from my little adventure." I snorted, rubbing my nose as Dancer leaned on her elbows.

"No? Hmm... well, I hope you don't plan on running from every fight." She told me with a tiny grin. Just what was she insinuating? "You could have stayed and helped me fight, but you ran instead."

I blinked. Was she calling me a coward? "Well, you had that handled, and besides... I had to get Sakura out so she wouldn't get hurt." I explained to the mare sitting in front of me. "And I did fight one of them, where do you think I got the quiver and bow from?" I pulled off the bow, which felt kinda light in my hands. "Outta my ass?" I wiggled the bow as I looked down at it. Now that I could get a better look at it, I saw the bow was made of wood... like most bows from the medieval era, a long bow with two feathers at each end and the string. The wood itself was colored a dark brown and had some wrapping around the middle for comfort I suppose.

It kinda looked like the long bow from Skyrim, to be honest.

"Mmm..." Dancer said, sitting up straight before standing. "You two get some rest, I'll keep an eye out."

Thankful for that, I took off my bow and quiver and set them aside near the tree before finding myself a spot nestled between a rock and said tree before laying down. Then something landed next to me making me open my eyes, and I saw Snowdrop. "Pfft, where in the heck were you at?"

"Coo~" She cooed, perched next to me.

I just shrugged, accepting her answer before closing my eyes.

Hopefully, tomorrow would be a brand new day full of awesome.

Several hours Later

I snorted, opening my eyes when I felt a hand on my shoulder jostling me. Gah... too early for this shit. When I looked up, I saw it was Dancer staring down at me with her bright blue orbs eyes which were glowing a little bit. "Th' fuck?" I questioned her. Why wake me up? I despise being woken up.

"It is morning, time to wake up." She told me. And when I looked I saw the sky was barely lit up any.

Christ, talk about an early riser.

I yawned, my entire body feeling sickly and protesting my every movement as she did the same with Sakura. I groaned as I sat up, rubbing the back of my neck and digging in my ear to scratch it. After that, I grabbed my new quiver and bow and put them on as Snowdrop flew off... again, no idea why though. Looking around I didn't see or hear anything except the wildlife around us, which was a few birds and whatnot. I wondered how far it was to that town... what was it called?

Jainko! That's right... weird name.

Probably still a fair distance away from where we were now.

Ugh... walking sucks, wish I had a car. Shame Equestria and beyond lacked motor vehicles, I could use one right now to get down the road nearby. Would make traveling around a whole lot easier. I stood up and checked my knife and grumbled when I saw some blood still on it. So I dried it off on my pants before giving it a test twirl and thrust. Satisfied, I put it back into its sheath on my belt. My hand grazed my bow, and I pondered practicing with it. Wouldn't hurt to know how to use one.

Dancer walked up behind me with Sakura in tow. "Jainko isn't much farther, we should keep moving." Dancer told me, walking past and back out onto the roads.

I sighed and followed her, with Sakura who I let ride on my back once more.

The road to the town was long and filled with small talk between ourselves, with me mostly asking questions about the area around me. As it turned out I had wandered into the MLP equivalent of ancient Japan or something, where there were temples that looked an awful lot like temples from the older periods of Japan's timeline. In this vast land, I was told there were five regions which were all controlled by their own kings and queens. I was in the far western region, the poorest region, called Canto.

...

Yeah I know, I got the pun too and nearly laughed.

Canto was a pretty nice looking region despite it being one of the poorest ones. It was also the home of Sakura and several homely towns, and plenty of fishing villages situated near the southern borders. Dancer herself told me she was from the far north, from the richest region known as Marehoku. She gave no other information aside from that and Sakura was pretty reclusive about her own past as well, not even mentioning any family when I inquired about. They were both silent as the grave.

Yeah... off to a great start here, guys, know what I mean?

There were tons of towns in Canto, which I was told was also rather close to the sea... which confused me considering I was told it was the western region and I had just come from the west.

"So... how can this be a region close to the sea if it's in the west? I just came from the west, there's no sea there... not any I could find anyway, I kinda just... ended up there, didn't stick around." I admitted with a tiny sheepish grin.

"While this is the western region," Dancer started, and my eyes couldn't help but wander down to her butt and swaying hips as she walked. Damn it, I just had to be behind her! "The southernmost region is its own island and the southern portion of Canto ends at the Maretonian sea where most of the fishermen are." She told me, and I nodded to that after managing to tear my gaze from her exceptionally built ass. What she said made more sense to me now. "Canto is known for exporting a lot of fish products to the other regions, like sushi for example."

"You guys eat meat?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. When Dancer gave me a curious look, I added, "I mean... like regular ponies like Sakura probably don't cause you guys seem like herbivores and shit..."

Dancer hummed. "We eat meat, thestrals do anyway. Equestrians can eat meat but they prefer not to, something about it being taboo or some such nonsense." Dancer scoffed, rolling her eyes at the concept of not eating meat I bet. "The vast majority of Equestrians value life above all else, killing anything bigger than a cockroach is enough to make them sick to their stomach, unless they're pegasi. I've heard they eat fish to help build up their wings and replace lost energy so they can work more throughout the day."

I nodded, I recalled that headcanon surfacing on websites. Guess it was true here too. "With all of the flying around and cloud work they do, I would guess it burns a lot of calories doing that." I theorized, that was my own headcanon involving pegasi anyway. I can see that things like flight and working with storms day in and day out require a lot of movement and stamina, so I don't doubt they have to eat a lot to replace that lost energy. It probably explains why they nap all the time, they're hella tired after so much constant work.

Dancer gave me a makes sense nod before turning back to face the road ahead. "Jainko is a small trading village near the sea, there is also a healer there who can help Sakura. Perhaps we can get a good night's rest as well as food in our bellies once we reach there."

At the mere mention of food, my stomach growled like an angry manticore ready to fuck shit up! "That sounds heavenly right now... hot food and a warm bed sound lovely," I said with a sigh. I wondered what kind of food. Given that it was close to the sea, it was most likely fish... I wasn't so sure about eating fish, but hey. Desperate times call for desperate measures, considering the world I'm in now I would have to make a lot of changes to my usual diet. While junk food might remain, I would have to eat more healthy stuff and hunt down meat... assuming I can't just buy any from certain traders across the land.

I'm sure if I looked hard enough I could find some fucker who makes delicious chicken sandwiches.

"Anywho... 10K is lot of ground to cover... to me anyway, not sure what that translates into miles," I muttered, mostly to myself as I adjusted Sakura on my back. But the prospect of a warm bed and hot food was too good to pass up, I desperately wanted to get something to eat, I swear I was hungry all of the time and it annoyed me to no end. "Dancer, if you don't mind me asking... what's with those Caribou? Do you know why they're so... eh?" I asked her, I needed to get information, why were there so many and what was their deal? I had a sneaking suspicion involving the invasion of Equestria buuuut...

Dancer didn't answer right away, instead continuing to walk down the road. After some time, however, she did answer me once we passed by a sign telling us we were headed to Jainko... I think. "Not exactly... I only know that they are led by a caribou named Dainn, an old fashioned male who believes in the old ideals of the ancient Caribou Empire. Treating females as nothing more than playthings to use at a moment's notice, preaching that males are the superior gender and that liking soft and gentle things make you weak. Like flowers, milk or even candy, it makes a male weak." She scoffed, shaking her head. "He is a silly caribou who wishes for nothing more than to bring back the old empire's ways into his homeland."

Dainn, well fuck, I was hoping he didn't exist here. A sigh escaped me. But she did say he wants to bring back the old ways of the Caribou Empire, so is he not the leader? "So... this Dainn character... is he not the leader of his nation?"

A shake of the head. "No, he is but the foolish son of a Caribou leader who actually has some sense on how to rule his nation." She told me, which I was thankful for.

If he wasn't the leader, then that meant there wasn't going to be an invasion... hopefully, from what she told me. While Dainn may be foolish, he sounds ambitious, if the caribou I've encountered so far is any indication. He has a decent amount under his control, enough that he's willing to send them after me even though I don't have anything worth taking. I had a fair amount of gold though, but was that really worth hunting me down for? It was about... now that I think about it, close to 200 solid gold pieces.

Oh... and I had that funky dragon ring, wasn't sure what it was though. Maybe it held some importance? The old guy who had it was rather interesting, to say the least, making me wonder if the ring I carried had some significance.

Regardless of that. Dainn was still a threat to not only me but Equestria as whole. If he had a group and he was hellbent on this... venture of his to bring back some dark dude, how long would it be until he decided to make Equestria his target?

Hopefully, he would never rise to power... gods forbid.

"He sounds like a bad pony..." Sakura piped up from behind me, and I was inclined to agree.

"Good thing he's not a pony then," I said, smiling slightly. "He's a douchebag, nothing less if I have to say anything about him."

Most talk then died out, and we just walked in silence...

At Jainko

Walking... I've never been more disgusted with it in my entire life until now. I mean, I liked walking sometimes, but I wasn't carrying an extra 70 or so pounds on my back through barely tolerable heat. We had been walking for an incredibly long time now, which wasn't helped by the fact I had to keep stopping so I wouldn't collapse and die. Thankfully we rested every now and then before continuing down the road. The trees gave way to fields with short grass and very few trees, and the road split up as I thankfully saw a town ahead, a rather modestly sized one that smelled of the sea. The other road just went off into the distance somewhere, I guess continuing along the coast before meeting up with another town of sorts.

We kept moving until we arrived into the town proper, and I was relieved.

Jainko was a pretty nice sized town, filled with ponies and even a few gryphons and minotaurs. The houses were made out of wood and thatched rooftops, with a few better-looking ones with tiled and slanted rooftops that reminded me of ancient Japan. They had sliding doors too, with a few closing up as we passed by and ponies heading inside, others tending to small stalls and selling various goods. I saw some fruits and vegetables, alongside fish which a few gryphons were looking over, there were even some clothes. None of the clothing interested me though, considering I'm wearing top of the line earth swag.

The sea was just nearby, with small fishing boats rowing out into the water, hauling back things as somewhat larger trade vessels made port. I was reminded of a scene I had seen in a movie a long time ago... I can't recall the movie however, but it looked really homely and what not.

Walking into the town, Dancer led me and Sakura to a building near a larger looking one with, surprisingly a red cross on the front of the door. I was curious at that. They had the same designation for medical practices that earth did? I was very curious as Dancer led us into the smaller building first, one that had a distinct smell coming from it that made me slightly queasy. I followed her inside however, she was good to us so far, no reason to betray us...

Yet.

Inside the building, I saw there were some charts on the walls nearby, along with a bunch of tools I didn't recognize sitting on the tables, counters and in jars and bottles filled with powders and liquids that made me wonder what in the sweet hell. Was this a medical building or a voodoo house? Dancer was near the front counter of the place and had begun speaking with a pony while gesturing to me and Sakura in some language.

The pony nodded and gestured for us to come over. "Come come, I fix." The mare said, a sweet older mare that, honestly wasn't that bad looking for her age.

Eh, she looks like a Milf. I summarized, nodding with an appreciative hmm expression on my face.

I hesitantly walked into the shop I guessed it was, and followed the older mare to a small bed of sorts where I was told to set Sakura down. I turned, letting the younger mare slide off of my back and onto the stretcher as my back cried out in orgasmic relief from having set Sakura down. I didn't hate the girl, anything but! But carrying her for ten kilometers killed my back, jeez! That took a lot out of me, good lawdy. I had begun rubbing my back as I watched the older mare look at Sakura, checking her for any other wounds before going towards the knee.

When she poked the wrapping I had put on there, she asked, "Who did wrapping?"

"I did." I responded, poking my chest.

She made a face, and said, "Odd material... and it smells strange."

"That would be the antiseptic spray I used," I said again, quickly taking off my pack and fishing out my kit before retrieving the spray bottle. "I sprayed it on her cut, it helps to fight against bacteria and infection in wounds like she's got." It was handy in a pinch, and I'm glad I had brought it with me before leaving what remained of my house...

I wondered what happened to it?

The mare hummed as she poked the bottle, before unwrapping the cut I had fixed up. "I fix, only a moment." She said, as I decided to let her work as I went back to the main room with Dancer rubbing my back still.

Dancer was standing with her arms crossed near the counter, leaning on it and looking towards the door. "How is the girl?" She asked me.

I shrugged and crossed my own arms. "She'll be fine, the cut wasn't that bad when I first saw it back at the river. I don't know what kind of medicine you all got but eh, maybe it'll heal it up faster and I won't have to carry her. No hate but... my back is killing me." I admitted, sniffling as my thoughts turned back to when I first met Sakura.

She was a strange one, to say the least. We barely knew one another and she insisted on journeying with me, just to see the world. I wasn't exactly planning on going all over the world, I just wanted to look around and get some adventuring under my belt before going to Equestria. Sure I could have done like most bronies would have done my situation and head there from the get go, meet best pony and potentially make fun times happen. But I wanted to be on the other side of the spectrum, I wanted to see what else there was before heading to Equestria... besides.

I was having fun, despite only having gone to just two different towns.

Back to Sakura though, while I will admit she is strange. I wondered why she wasn't wanting to go back home, I'm not one to delve too much into one's personal affairs-It is unbecoming of a dude such as I-but her situation was... suspicious to me. Young, pretty, leaving home to explore alongside a dashing rogue, who then meet a total badass. This was beginning to fit some familiar tropes I had seen in movies, and a few games in my time of binge watching and playing things.

Okay... so, who is she? Time to use my game logic to try and figure this out... I just needed more information before I could make any solid accusations against her. I'm sure its nothing too crazy... probably just running away from a crazy dad or something.

"That's good to hear." Dancer said to me, in response to what I told her about Sakura's injury.

I nodded, and licked my lips a little bit. Dancer was another mystery to me, she was huge, in both the literal and figurative sense of the word. She was tall, incredibly attractive. At least by my standards anyway. A nice bust, perfect body shape and muscle, nice big wings. She also had a distinct air about her, something I couldn't quite place mostly because my brain was fried half the time. But I did know that she was important... I'm not sure how important, but important nonetheless, the same as Sakura was.

These two mares were secretive, attractive, and didn't say shit about their past other then a few vague topics.

Just like any adventure in any media... I could tell this was going to be interesting to find out.

Wind Nation Arc - Town of the Southern Winds

The Next Day

After getting Sakura bandaged up, we had ended up in an inn of sorts where Dancer paid for a room for us all to stay in for a spell. We each had a separate room to sleep in with me being near the entrance with Sakura and Dancer's rooms on either side of my own. After getting our rooms, I had put my weapons away save for my knife before joining my two new companions for some dinner at the inn, which consisted of some familiar fruits and some meat which I was all too happy to shove down my gullet to quench the burning hunger deep within the raging fiery pit of hell that was my stomach.

Filling up my gut with warm food and drink and taking a long nap in a soft bed was something I appreciated. Even though it's only been two, maybe three days now, I was happy as fuck I got to sleep in an actual bed. I got a decent night's sleep, a dreamless night as always. I rarely had dreams, and the ones I did have tended to be really short and sweet. I eventually woke up to the sounds of Snowdrop cooing nearby and found she had somehow made it into my room despite having my window closed up tightly and locked of all things.

I keep forgetting she's here with me for some reason.

Regardless, I let her nap on my bed for a bit as I left to get breakfast with my two companions. Breakfast, again, consisted of some fruits and tasty meats, along with some berries I happily munched down on like sweet candies. The fruits were mainly apples, very sweet apples that were cut into slices which I happily inhaled. The berries were cherries I think if the taste was anything to go by. The meat was chicken, which was damn good. As I ate, I couldn't help but find it funny that the one who prepared the chicken for me was a gryphon... I was basically eating his cousin in front of him and he was happy when I told him it was, and I quote, fugging delicious.

After the delicious breakfast, I was wandering through town looking around. Dancer was with Sakura as I decided to take a look around town before we moved on to the next one. I didn't exactly have a plan for moving on down the road or where to go, so I just left Dancer and Sakura to do their own thing while I looked around the town for anything that might catch my interest. I saw plenty of shops around the area I was in selling a vast assortment of goods. From little trinkets like necklaces and glowy stuff, traditional clothing like robes and kimonos, hats, and cloaks. They even had a few weapons here and there, none that interested me, however. They had some pretty cool looking stuff for sell. And I was hopeful I'd find something interesting enough to buy.

I perused a few shops in a search for items, clothes, weapons, anything that I could find that might help me out on this little adventure throughout... uh... whatever this world was called. Equus? I don't know. Anyway, the traders thankfully spoke my language and tried to sell me a few items, some that I learned were of great importance or incredibly magical. I even had one trader, some funky smelling stallion, try to sell me a bottle of goopy white liquid that he said would increase my virility... needless to say I had flashbacks to an old game I played online before leaving the shop awkwardly.

As fun as it would be to be more virile, I'm fine with my dick and balls the way they are, kkthxbai.

As I searched around town, I was quickly drawn to another shop nearby, one that had a dragon sign over the entrance and was selling dragon related merchandise. I found my interest piqued slightly as my fingers found themselves wrapped around that dragon ring I had gotten from the old guy. Maybe the shopkeeper could tell me something about it? If we're going by Skyrim logic here of course.

I smiled before heading over to it and opening the door.

It wasn't long before I was greeted with some exotic smells coming from incense burning near the counter, filling the shop with an airy smoke that you could see through but still notice was there. It smelled faintly of cinnamon and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on. The shop had a few shelves and wooden barrels sitting around, filled with items ranging from shirts, pants, and robes. Staffs, swords, shields, and helmets and even the odd suit of armor. It was definitely varied in its wares that was for sure, and if I had the money I would totally buy a lot of this stuff, alas, I don't have much on me. I have the amount Daring gave me which was close to fifty gold pieces, and then the gold I lifted off of the caribou and the pony that died in the explosion on the train bringing it up to... almost two hundred if I mathed correctly.

Near the counter, I spotted a dragon, a female one with how sleek her muzzle was and the eyelashes... as well as the pronounced hips showing through her outfit... that or it was a dude, hard to tell actually. She wore some form of leather armor over her robes, and smoked from a long pipe before her piercing red eyes found my own.

"Ahh, a fleshling... how interesting. I do not speak your kind creature, so you may as well leave." She told me, once more making me wonder if the majority of humans if not all of them in this world spoke in a different language.

"I uh... speak your language, ma'am," I told her as I walked over much to her surprise as she rose an eye ridge towards me.

"You speak Equish...? Interesting." She puffed out some smoke into a ring. "I have seen very few of your kind fleshling, and not one of them spoke Equish as fluently as you do." She put her pipe down, eyeing me up like I was some morsel for her to munch on at some point... hell, I probably was.

I started having Reign of Fire flashbacks... Damn good game. I thought. The movie wasn't bad either but... I liked the game more so.

A snort from the dragoness before she leaned down on the counter. "Pray tell... what brings one of your kind to my shop? Come looking for something to collect? Or perhaps... sell?" She asked me as I looked around her wares for anything of use. And then I spotted a small stand with several rings on it, some that looked like the one I had in my pocket! Score!

I eyed the ring for a bit longer before asking, "Yeah, just wondering... those rings." I gestured to the dragon rings set up in three small rows, each of them a different color and had different gems inset in the eyes and mouth. "Those anything special?" They resembled the ring I had quite a bit, but there were some differences. Different colored scales, gems that didn't have that shine that my ring had, and they were crafted a bit differently with a material that didn't look like the same material as the one in my pocket. Where the metal was smooth and shiny, the metal on these rings appeared to be more... dull.

She looked at the rings and plucked one from its stand before holding it up to the light and making the gems glint. The light made the ruby red gem in this particular ring shine a tiny bit... but nowhere near the likes of the one in my pocket. "Aye, these... are special in a way." She began cryptically, making me raise an eyebrow. "Legend has it there were priests in the days of old, eons before your ancestors first walked the fertile earth of Equus who coveted and worshiped the dragon race."

Reminds me of the priests from Skyrim. I nodded along to let her know I was listening. Also, Equus is the name?
Well, now I know.

"Having so many of these devoted priests flock to them, worshiping the very ground they tread upon and the skies they roamed. They loved the attention, being treated as if they were gods among the weaker races." She continued, slipping the ring onto her finger. "It is said the first dragon lords forged rings for the most worthy and devoted of their priests, these granted them untold power to rule over their subjects across the land. A dragon's immortality, for example." She picked up another ring, showing it to me. It was silver, with a fierce looking dragon on it and sapphire gems inset into the eyes and jaw. "Of course, every ring is different in its own special way, each one grants its wearer a different and incredible power. Some say there were dozens of these priests, all of them immortal and powerful enough to rule entire nations as they did eons ago." The dragonness grinned at my expression, which was somewhere along the lines of really now? She continued on. "Long before Equestria and the three tribes, long before ponies were nothing more than tribal villages roaming the lands. There were vast dragon nations, lands ruled by the Dragon Priests gathering countless riches for the dragon's hordes. Their cities were something of legend, large cities made of gold and sivler that stood for centuries upon centuries, eduring all that was thrown at it."

I blinked, heart pumping in my chest as I looked at those rings. Damn... that was some hardcore shit. "And you just happen to be selling these?" I asked skeptically, looking at the rings more closely.

"No, these are but replicas of those rings." She told me, taking another one of the rings and crushing it in her hand. Looking at it, she let it drop onto the counter with a thunk. I saw it was little more then tin with some colored glass in it. "As I said, it is a legend... nothing more." She told me with a wistful sigh. "These Dragon Priests and their rings are all but lost to the elements, faded into myth and fairy tales. Some say they don't exist, but it makes for a nice story to sell the rings with... don't you agree?"

I continued to stare at the rings, That seems like a decent idea to me. I know I would love to buy one... if she hadn't told me they were fake, but still it makes for a nice trinket to take home. I hummed as I went over to them, picking up one that looked like the one I had in my pocket. "So these rings... they're lost to time?"

"Yes, every last one missing. The priests may still have them for all we know, only the oldest of dragons remember and even then they don't take kindly to talking about the subject matter since the wars before Equestria's founding." She said as she went down below her counter, rummaging around. "Of course its just a legend, finding any of those rings would be nearly impossible even if the legends proved to be true. Its just a story to tell the little ones."

It was a pretty good story. Legendary immortal dragon priests, living in vast cities made of gold with near infinite riches at their disposal? Sounds like the dragon priest thing from Skyrim, but modified a tiny bit. Shit, if I was a kid I'd be all over that, I still am even as an adult. And I had a ring, it was off that old dude... but was it one of those rings? I wonder... "Mind if I buy one of those?" I had to test out a theory.

She shrugged and I picked one out, the one I held in my hand before setting it down and deciding to look around for anything else worthwhile. I scoured the blades and axes, seeing a lot of them had a dragon motif to them alongside the clothes and shields. A lot of this stuff seemed old, older then one might think... making me wonder where she got all this stuff in the first place. She is a dragon, so maybe she collected it over the dozens of years she's been alive? I kept looking around at all of the weapons before my feet hit something, and looking down I saw a pair of weapons that had immediately piqued my interest.

Japanese Kama. A pair of black handled ones with a slightly curved blade on both handles, needless to say I called dibs. I picked them both up, both feeling quite nice in my hands as I gave both a tiny test swing and twirl before nodding. These'll do well in a pinch, I'd have to practice with them though... no big dealio. I gripped both and walked back to the shopkeeper and laid them on the counter next to the fake ring.

She looked at the Kama and the ring, then said, "50 Gold, no less." Easy price! I fished out the amount and placed it on the counter, and she pushed both of the items to me. As I picked up the Kama and tucked them into my pants handle first, I picked up the ring as she spoke to me again. "Listen... about the ring story..."

I turned back to her, my hand still gripping the false ring as I listened. "Yeah?"

"Myth or no myth... there are souls out there they have been searching for those rings relentlessly. There are more legends and stories about them then I can tell, some bring great power, others great destruction and some do nothing at all. But that doesn't stop the more fanatical explorers and hunters from searching for the rings, so I'd be wary about wearing that particular ring in public... they might just kill you for it." She warned me.

I looked down at the fake ring, then thought about the one in my pocket. Okay... these rings all have different powers laden within them, so... do those Caribou want the ring? Maybe that's why the ones on the train attacked that old guy. I nodded. "Noted, I got it mostly for a souvenir for my travels." I smiled as I pocketed the ring in a separate pocket and nodding to the mare. "I'll be sure to be careful, thanks for the stuff!" With that I turned an left, leaving behind a happy shopkeeper.

As I made my way outside I looked around and decided to go towards the waterfront nearby. As with some RPGs, no adventure is complete until you've looked out across the open water and thought deeply on your adventure so far and where to go next.

The waterfront was pretty big with wooden piers and huts and lots of ponies and gryphons moving about, hauling fish and other objects from boats onto the beach towards the buildings nearby or towards merchant stalls. I saw plenty of rowboats in the water alongside bigger boats, and in the distance I swore I saw a large cutter ship, but it could have just been my imagination. A couple of foals and gryphon chicks were playing in the sand nearby, building some odd looking castles and playing with little sticks shaped figures.

I couldn't help the smile that grew on my face. This town was pretty nice so far, with nice friendly people, decent weather, and a nice view of the ocean. I thought about my current situation a bit as I continued to walk. I had plenty of cash... but I wasn't making any unfortunately. I could if I wanted to, just go around doing odd jobs and what have ya, I'm sure there's someone around here willing to shell out some money if I offered to help. I had a few skills I'm sure they'd appreciate having around for a bit.

With a sigh, I made my way to a more secluded part of the area and sat down on the sand. I then reached into my pocket, pulling out the fake ring I bought and then the other one I had gotten from the stallion back in the desert. I held them both up and saw they looked essentially the same save for the tiny difference in materials used, they felt the same, and after a quick test with my tongue, tasted the same. Metal, gems and the dragon on it. Dragon Priest rings, said to have untold power in them. eh? I would have put it off as merely a legend, but after everything I've seen so far... perhaps there was some truth to those legends.

Or not... who knows.

Looking around and seeing no one nearby or even paying attention to me, I put the fake ring back into my pocket as I looked at the - potentially - real and powerful dragon priest ring. It didn't look anything special, it looked like something you'd probably find in one of those cool looking thrift shops around the US. It had a certain weight to it, telling me it wasn't made of any sort of normal metal used for rings. The material was smooth against my fingertips, and after a moment I tried to squeeze the ring to see if it would break... it held firm after a few seconds of squeezing it.

My heart started pumping a bit faster. I could feel myself growing anxious about this thing. This thing could get me killed because of whatever power might be within it, and they all had different powers to give to the wearer. This was supposedly a very powerful artifact... but was it really? Would it give me untold power? Or would it crap out on me?

I took a moment to look around again before hesitantly slipping it onto my index finger. Once it hit the base of my finger, I froze... I expected something to happen, maybe some surge of power considering I'm a new bearer of the ring, maybe I would experience some vision of great power or something like that. Or maybe feel something coursing through my body which was probably not gonna be used to some unknown force in it.

...

I felt nothing however.

There was nothing, I didn't feel any different, I didn't feel or sense anything coming from the ring...

I frowned before taking it off. I guess its a fake too? I sighed before putting it back into my pocket and looking out into the seas. I spotted that cutter again just sailing through the water, it looked like a very un-fuedal Japan era ship to this entire area. It looked more like something out of Assassins Creed 4: Black Flag, like the frigates if they were just a little bigger but not quite close to hitting Man'O'War size. It was a black coloration and flew a flag I couldn't quite make out. It continued sailing until it was out of sight, and I just grunted to myself before standing up. Enough fucking around... might as well meet back up with Dancer and Sakura.

Turning back towards the town, I headed back towards it with a tiny whine of disappointment.

Well... at least I got me two new weapons.

In Town

Moving back into town was a rather slow affraid for me. As I took my time walking instead of just rushing into it, that and I was tired as fuck. I ended up finding Sakura and Dancer at some stalls looking over some choice clothing,some nice looking kimonos, shirts and pants, and all that good shit. Dancer was watching as Sakura looked through all of the clothes with an amused grin on her features as I walked up, and announced my presence, "Sup guys."

Dancer turned to me, smile still on her face. And then she looked down at my pants. "New weapons?"

I nodded, pulling out one of the Kama and showing her. "Yep, spotted them in a shop and thought, why not? It'd help if I had some new weapons on hand, just in case." I winked, giving said weapon a slight twirl. It felt just right in my hand, and I've always had a thing for daggers, knives and smaller weapons like this. No hate for swords though, I plan on purchasing one of those next, not sure where though... maybe in another area? "There was a bunch of cool shit in there actually, maybe you should snag something." I offered, she seemed like the type to use a Katana or something. "Maybe a sword?"

However she shook her head, and said, "I don't need to buy any, cause I already have one." She told me, shrugging her shoulders and looking back towards Sakura.

I hummed and couldn't help but doubt it, considering she had little to nothing on her person except for whatever was in her kimono. It wasn't big enough to hide a a big sword or anything, maybe a knife? I just shrugged and hung out with them for a while, the three of us just looking through some of the stalls for any goodies that may have caught our eye. Most of what we found was pretty... eh, looking, at least to me anyway. I mean, sure it was exotic compared to what I was used to, but nothing really caught my fancy. There were clothes, necklaces, and other little trinkets sitting about, most of it looked kinda cheaply made.

Then again this was a tiny coastal town, so I wasn't surprised.

Poorest region after all.

"See anything you girls like?" I asked after a bit, watching as Sakura picked up one kimono and looked it over with a curious glance. I was glad she was able to walk finally, carrying her was a pain in my back... literally.

"No." Was Dancer's answer, in fact she didn't look all that interested in much of the stuff on sale, neither did I to be honest.

Sakura just kept wandering, jeez has this girl never been out in a market before?

A couple of hours passed as we looked through the market, with lots of varied murchandise, even a few dagger sellsponies were tempting me with fancy looking daggers and blades. I didn't buy any, while I had plenty of gold on my person, I was a greedy fuck and wanted to save up as much as I could for something super epic. Who knows when I might find something truly epic and awesome, and I'm in need of coin to purchase such an item to aid me on my journey.

As I ended up wandering away from the duo for a bit, I found myself looking over a few tables with an odd assortment of items on them. Some odd things like small metal balls, some bent metal and other objects that were covered in rust and dirt, some were wet! Some of it looked like it was just pulled out of the water or something. Was this all junk being sold? Despite most of it being junk, my eyes ended up coming across an item that looked... disturbingly familiar.

It was a round metal ball, colored black with intricate lines all throughout that were glowing a soft red coloration. Almost too faint to be seen by the naked eye. It was covered in a few wraps of seaweed and a lot of sand, but despite that it looked pristine and in good condition...

It was another one of those keys Daring had told me about that would unleash the super evil bad guy person.

That or a super identical paperweight.

Holy fuck... this guy has no idea. I thought to myself, Where did he even find that thing?! Slightly panicking on the inside, I asked. "So, selling anything good?" I started out to the gryphon selling said goods. I probably shouldn't be so eager to buy the orb, this isn't a world where things have set prices, there's bartering and I don't have a high skill in anything except sucking literal ass.

He looked down at his goods and shrugged. "Junk and more junk... you interested in any of this fleshling or not? If not, beat it." He told me, jerking a thumb to the side.

I frowned and pointed to the orb. "How much is that thing?" I asked the gryphon, well if he was gonna be a dick...

"That thing? Useless it is, you can have it for 10 gold." He told me, and I fished out the appropriate amount before handing it over. Then I grabbed said orb before tossing the seaweed off and throwing it into my backpack really quickly.

"Thanks a bunch." I nodded before turning and beginning to walk off.

I was stopped however."What use do you have for such a thing? It's just a ball, not even good for hatchlings to play with." The gryphon told me.

"Uhm..." I shrugged in reply, no need in letting him know what it was. If he did, he'd either charge me more or do something really stupid. "No reason really, it just caught my fancy." I lied, this thing only caught my eye because of what Daring told me, and this dude did not need to know what it was.

He'd milk me dry of all my money.

He gave me a suspicious look but said nothing as I drifted away into the crowd. Once I was far away enough I jogged further through the crowd, the heavy orb in my pack jostling around as I looked for Dancer and Sakura. The orb was here, and seeing how it was here... then that meant the Caribou might come looking here for it if they knew the locations of these damn things.

Fuck, where was Daring when I needed her.

I continued looking for my companions as I ended up taking a shortcut into an alleyway to the inn we were all staying at. And then I saw two figures in dark robes blocking my path, and I stopped, hand gripping my backpack's strap. "Fellas... mind if I pass through?" I asked, and all the tropes hit me at once.

They said nothing, and when I turned to head the other way I saw another pair of them.

Shit.

"Uhm." I started as they slowly closed in on me. I backed up before looking behind me to see the others doing the same. Shit shit shit. I quickly looked around for any way to escape, but, to my dismay, the walls were too steep to run up and the rooftops out of my reach, even if I got a running start to jump up the walls I wouldn't reach them! With a growl, I pulled out my Kama and held them in both hands. "I'm warning ya'll, I'm from the south so I know how to deal out some pain!" I threatened, growing up in the south has given me some... rather interesting situations with fights. Granted I tried not to fight, I wasn't afraid to.

The cloaked fools though seemed unphased by my threat.

I ran at the pair on my right, Kama held low to my sides as I darted at them. Once I was close I struck... or I would have, as soon as my Kama got near them one of them quickly pulled out a sword and smacked away my weapon, causing me to almost lose my grip on it. Ducking down, I charged at them hard for a tackle, only to get kicked away by a blur. "Whoah!" I yelped in surprise as I hit the ground. I was about to get up, but soon found four swords pressed into my chest, black swords with gem in the pommels. The hooded figures stared down at me. "Uhh... can we talk about this?"

That was the last thing I got to say before I was hit on the head with something.

Author's Note

Weapon references
Dee's Bow
Dee's Knife
Dee's Duel Kama

Wind Nation Arc - Caught

Unknown Location, Unknown Time

You failed horribly you know... you could have been something great, instead you chose the wrong side... A voice spoke in a tone of voice that made me gag. It was a typical evil bad guy voice, deep and smooth like liquor and trying to worm its way into the back of my head. Either someone was using mad telepathy skills, or someone was whiispering sensually into my ear.

So I promptly responded with, How's about you go suck elephant dick, eh? I told the voice, whoever it was. Suddenly my entire head felt cold and I couldn't breath, so as any normal person would do I began struggling, thrashing about as my senses came back to me. I was being held down by someone, my arms held to the sides as icy cold liquid wrapped around my entire head... was I being drowned?

Seconds after I was pulled free from the water and sucked in much needed air. My hair clung to my head, nearly blocking my vision as I realized I was missing my shirt and my hat... alongside other things I carried on my person. All I had left were my pants and shoes on, those fuckers took my shit! "Okay... whatever k-kinda kinky shit y-ya'll are into, I-I'm not exactly a fan o-" I was cut off before I was thrust back into the water.

I had inhaled just seconds before being shoved under, and I held my breath and tried to keep calm as they kept me under the icy cold water. I couldn't see a damn thing, and keeping my eyes open anyway burned, so I closed them and tried to keep my shit together. My head began throbbing almost immediately from the icy chill piercing my skull, my nostrils burned and I couldn't help but struggle against their hold. They held me under for a bit longer this time, and I almost lost control before they pulled me out again. I choked on what water did make it into my mouth and spat it out.

"This is a horrible first date!" I furiously blurted out to whoever was holding me down. "Jeez, don't you guys know how to treat a gentleman such as myself?"

A snort. "Jokes at a time like this?" A voice asked from somewhere, making me look around... but I saw nothing but darkness.

I scoffed in reply! Scoffed I say! "Jokes? I'm being serious right now. At least buy me dinner before getting to the kinky stuff." I told them, channeling my most honest voice, "I would at least like to have some food in me before ya'll try to drown me. And be gentle! I'm a fragile spirit." I quipped with no small amount of awesome radiating from my voice.

Another snort from whoever was speaking, "Foolish human." Huh, what do you know, someone else who knows what I am. "We have you captured, tortured you, and you make jokes? Your kind truly surprises me."

I just shrugged as the grip on my arms was held tightly, along with the one holding my head. "It helps that I am an asshole by birth and an idiot to boot." I smiled proudly. Even though I knew for a fact acting this way was gonna get my ass killed, or worse. But I was going to be a full asshole to anyone who kidnapped my lanky ass. I'm going out in style. "Also, if I may ask-"

"You may not." The voice told me.

I continued anyway, do I look polite to you? "Where am I? Also, who are you peeps?" I asked, I doubt they'd give me the answer I wanted. If anything I was probably going to be killed, quite viciously. Thinking for a bit, I remembered the orb in my pack and gathered that they must have been after that... "You guys zebras?" Nothing, "Ponies?" Still nothing. "Caribou?"

Silence once more... but the grip on my arms tightened.

"I'm right aren't I? You're those caribou..." I trailed off, they had to be. Who else would be after the keys aside from Daring? And she told me herself she works alone, so she wouldn't be at all interested employing a bunch of thugs to try and beat someone to death over the keys, especially someone like me. She was smart, cunning, and tactful. She was like Lara Croft and Indiana Jones. Daring didn't resort to dirty tactics like these dudes, she did awesome shit for awesome reasons, know what I mean? "Seeing how I must have your attention, what do you want?"

A few moments of silence and I tried to carefully time my breath as best as I could so I could inhale as much as I could before they thrust me back under the water. Then the voice spoke again as I heard footsteps, heavy metallic ones stomping around the room amidst the clatter of armor. "You, little human have taken something of ours." I heard the steps stop in front of me and when I dared look up I saw a hand grasping the orb, which I saw was now lit up with a dark red aura that made me cringe.

Christ I could feel the power coming from it... it made my blood freeze up and I couldn't stop my heart from beating faster. I had that in my backpack! Fuck, I touched that damn thing!

"Of course, we had to... punish you for taking what is rightfully ours." The voice told me before leaning down and I saw the scarred face of a caribou as the lights slowly came on around me in the form of crystals. He was wearing steel plate armor over his chest, with a tunic made of chain mail and an armored skirt... or whatever it's called. His arms were bare of armor, but his legs weren't, or feet. By his side, I saw an odd looking sword made of solid black, and it made me wary. His antlers were sharpened to a fine point and his eyes a cold steely gray coloration that peered into my own. "How a pathetic ape such as yourself knew of this key I'll never know." He went over to a nearby table where I saw my shit, along with some other stuff before I saw him placing the key down next to... two other keys, fuck, he had three of them? "Obviously you must be working with the bitch we just caught, trying to make off with one of the other keys. Luckily for me, she had another on her, making my search for these much more easier."

Bitch? Who could he be... oh no, Daring... "Listen... buddy, let's try to compromise here. You're a nice guy... I'm sure of that-"

"I've nearly had you drowned twice now." He pointed out.

"-annnnnnd, while you did steal my shit and attempt to kill me. I'm willing to look past that, if-" I stopped, making sure to hack and cough to clear my throat out. I was so terribly thirsty. "-you give me back my stuff and let me go." I smiled a dashing smile towards him.

The caribou guy wasn't so enthralled by my roguish charms, in fact, I do believe I may have invoked his wraith. "I think you are misunderstanding the current situation you are in," He turned to face me completely, hand gripping the pommel of his sword as his cold eyes glared at me. "You are not going to leave this building alive, ape." I frowned at that. "You along with the female in the next room, are going to die as soon as I return. I myself will execute you in the name of the one true King." He nodded to the caribou holding me, and I was yanked onto my feet and dragged off towards a door.

"Hey come on!" I yelled, kicking and struggling against the caribou dragging me only to see the main dude leave. "Let's work something out!" That was bullshit, I was just grasping for any hooks that could get me out of this, unfortunately, nothing worked as I was dragged through a door and down a hall.

I just went limp and put as much weight as I could down, I was gonna make this as hard on them as physically possible. I did catch a look at the area around me as I was dragged like a sack of meat and bones. I saw some steel doors leading somewhere, probably nowhere important. The halls were dank and dark, with barely any light in them at all to help me see. And I couldn't hear much aside from the stomping of the caribou as they dragged me along, along with the slight noise of my boots dragging along the floor. They must be taking me to a holding cell... would Daring be there? Maybe...

Soon enough I got my answer when I heard a door opening with a squeaking noise, and I was suddenly and violently thrown forward. "Whoah!" I yelled as I soared through the air before I smacked into the hard cobblestone wall. My back flared in pain as I slid down and nearly snapping my neck once I hit the ground. They threw me upside down! The pricks! I bit back the string of violent German and Russian curses that desired to be set free upon the world. "Gah... pricks." I let that curse loose however. I grumbled before righting myself and sitting up, rubbing the back of my head as I looked around my cell.

And lo and behold, there was Daring Do in the corner...

Also, did I mention she was completely naked... like, full on naked? As in not a single article of clothing was to be seen on her body?

Mine face has gone supernova to the point Celestia would be jealous!

Looking away, mostly out of second hand embarrassment, I spoke up, "Well... Daring... nice to, u-uh, see you again." Of course they took her clothes! Surprised they didn't take all of mine. Guess they couldn't handle the cannon in my pants.

Haha!

...

What is my life?

Daring, when I did look at her before veering my eyes away, I saw she was sitting cross legged with her wings folded tightly behind her and her arms were covering her rather moderately sized bust. And she appeared to have been beaten, if that dark spot on her face was any indication of bruising. I didn't look at her for very long before turning away, while I will admit to being the biggest perv there is from where I'm from, I have my reputation to think about... and besides, I got enough of a glimpse for later, hehehe.

Hah...

"What the... Morin?" She sounded confused, very confused, "What in Tartarus are you doing here?" Daring questioned me in a harsh and quiet tone of voice, sounding furious almost.

I chuckled sheepishly, "Uh... ehehe, funny story." I started as I rubbed the back of my head. "I kinda got attacked on the train when I was leaving the region and I was thrown off with a caribou and this old stallion dude, after it exploded. They're both dead by the way. And instead of walking the rest of the way, like I was gonna do, I decided to explore the region to the east and I ended up here where I met this cute mare named Sakura and we decided to explore the land together. Little bit after that we ended up meeting this huge thestral named Blade Dancer and we got into this big fight with some Caribou who were looking for me, so we fought them off and escaped further south into a coastal town. Which we might actually still be in and uh..." I paused... what would she think if I told her about the third key I had found?

"And?" She asked, looking suspicious towards me no doubt.

After a few moments of thinking, I sighed heavily and turned to her finally and told her, "I found another key." Her expression at that moment was beyond words, though if I had to guess what she was feeling... it was probably fury. "Yeah, I know, and I wasn't even looking for them! I found it being sold in the market by a junk dealer, so that dude that grabbed us has three of the keys now." Which meant he only needed four more and then... bad times for all of us, shit! These keys were not hidden well! This is bullshit! "We need to get out of here." I muttered finally before getting up and looking around for a way out.

Yeah, it was a cell, but I had to channel my inner Jack Sparrow to get out of this situation, I can't let those caribou keep those keys. The way out was blocked off by iron bars and a locked cell door, the floors and walls were made of complete cobblestone which meant digging out was no option, and I had nothing to dig with. And I didn't have any lock picks on me to my great misfortune, or anything resembling one. And there was nothing in the room except Daring who sat on the opposite side of the room. We didn't have anything to work with here and it pissed me off, how were we gonna escape this shit?

Okay think Dee... think! How do we escape this? I poured through my mind, rubbing my back which still ached and flinging my hair out of the way with a toss of my head. I put a hand on the door keeping us in before giving it a shake. I found it held strong, it didn't give at all. And it wasn't rusty either, so no kicking through it or breaking it. It looked new... as new as iron bars could look anyway.

Daring's voice sounded suddenly, interrupting me from my expert sluthing. "Don't bother trying, those are strong bars and I tried squeezing through them. I'm still trying to figure a way out of here." Daring told me, and my mind mostly focused on the squeezing part of what she said.

Ohohoho.

"Huh... squeeeeeeeeeezing you say?" I rose an eyebrow. Now... for a dude of my stature, I was actually fairly thin. It comes from being a light framed, so I could go where no man has gone before. Looking at the bars that made up our prison, I could see they were spaced pretty close together, but not by much. I thought for a moment... then shrugged. "Ehh fuck it." I ran into and slammed against the bars and then proceeded to try and force my way through the small opening.

...

That sounded so wrong.

I managed to squeeze my arm through along with my fat head. But my torso was having a bit of trouble, which was quite a feat considering I'm a thin dude. After a few pushes I could feel it slipping through as I wormed around a bit, but then I got stuck. "Unf!" I grunted, struggling to get through the damned bars, but alas, I was stuck! Okay maybe this was a bad ide- I was cut off from my mental musings of how I should possibly fix this as I felt a pair of hands on my back and sides and they began pushing me through, while at the sme time shocking me. "Ow ow ow!"

I heard a growl. "Suck! It! Up!" Daring enunciated each word with a slam against my body as she attempted to push me violently through the bars. After a bit of squirming and violent pushing from Daring, I eventually fell through the bars and smacked into the floor with a silent and very pained Oomph!

I shook my head with a blubbering noise before standing up. I shook my body slightly and quickly looked around. I can't believe that actually worked! Nothing can stop me from escaping! "Muahahaha!" I laughed before sprinting off towards wherever the keys were. I think Daring hissed after me, but I didn't hear her.

I was far too busy being awesome.

I continued running past empty cells and locked doors before slowing down as I reached an area that looked like something a guard post. It was rather small, and had a single desk that had a few keys on it along with some papers. I also detected a smell in the air, the heavy stench of... sex, oh boy. I gagged at the stench, knowing it quite well before grabbing the keys and making sure not to jingle them before making my way back to the cells where Daring was situated. As I did, I wondered how we were going to escape this building in one piece. There was the heavily armored guy, probably the leader of this group, but he was supposedly gone somewhere. Then there were the two goons who threw me in the cell with Daring, was it just those three? Or god forbid... were there more of these fucks around?

I also wondered if they were going after Dancer and Sakura.

They better not, if they know what's good for them.

I eventually made it back to the cell where Daring was waiting. And I was trying my damnedest to ignore Daring's rather... nicely shaped bust and body as I fiddled with the keys to unlock the dang cell. I slid in the first key I had, "Not that key, not that key, not that key... not that key either." I listed off trying each key in the lock, only for them to get stuck and not work like they're supposed to. "Son of a dick." I grumbled as I yanked out the next key, cursing it for not working.

Why are there so many keys?!

"Hurry up!" Daring hissed at me again as I tried another key.

"There's like a hundred keys on this thing, gimme a second!" I hissed back to her, throwing her a dirty look as I tried one more key. It didn't work either. "Oh for fuck's sake!"

"Give me the damn keys, you apparently don't know how to use them!" Daring growled, trying to snatch the keys from me.

I growled back at her. "Fuck you! I know how to work a goddamn key!" I hissed in reply as I tried another key, only for it to get stuck. I could practicalyl feel the tick marks on my head trying to pop free of my skull. "Gaah!"

Daring tapped her feet impatiently. "Any day now."

"How about you shut your face!" I shot back.

Daring narrowed her eyes at me, flipping me the finger. "You shut up!"

I returned the gesture. "No you!"

We glared at one another for some time before I tried yet another fucking key on the damned keyring.

*thunk*

Went the lock as it unlocked and I pulled the door open. "Alrighty, to our stuff!" I declared silently as we both started off towards the area where our stuff was, moving past the guard post andh eading further down the hallway. Daring was trailing behind me for... various reasons that should be obvious.

Daring hissed at me, bapping me on the back of the head. "Shut up, we're gonna get caught if you keep that shit up." Daring told me as we kept moving.

I just grunted in reply and ignored the pain in the back of my head. My fists wre loose and my reflexes tuned and ready for a fight. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins as we jogged down the hall. My heart was jackhammering in my chest, pounding against my rib cage as we closed in on the torture area I was in and nearly drowning a couple of times. We crouched down a bit once we made it to the door, which was left open much to our convenience. I leaned a little bit towards the door's crack to peer into the room, my hearing picking up no sounds inside. I didn't see anyone inside standing guard, no one hiding on the ceiling like a ninja, nor hidden next to the walls or in the shadows like an arse.

So I went inside before swiftly going over to my stuff which was still thankfully on the table. I saw all my weapons laid out next to my pack, which had been opened up and rifled through. And they fucked with my medical kit and ruined what was in it! Great... that cost like forty something bucks back on my world and now it's useless to me. My Kama were left unharmed along with my knife and upper clothing which I quickly donned once more. I strapped my knife back on along with sliding my Kama into my belt before putting my pack on and putting the orb into one it. Then I saw Daring throwing her clothes on, slipping on her shorts and underwear swiftly and covering her well toned rear.

Once she turned and saw me putting the orb into my pack, she glared at me. "What are you doing?" She asked, one arm through her shirt and the other holding onto the hem as I saw her exposed tit glaring at me.

Shaking away that delicious image and trying not to get a raging boner, I replied to the mare, "I'm taking this one with me." I informed her, and when she glared harder like she was gonna argue. "Look. Those dudes want these orbs, you told me so yourself! And you had two on you, I had one myself. That means there's only four of these things left out there to find. These guys are too close as it is. I say we split up with these things and hide them somewhere where they can't find them." She glared at me, but said nothing as she slid her shirt down over her breasts and blocking them from view. "If you have all of them, that'll just get them one step closer to their goals of releasing that dark king dude or whatever." I pointed out to her.

To me it sounded like a good plan. We split up the orbs and go seperate paths so the group of caribou wouldn't know where to look. I could bury this orb somewhere, maybe somewhere in the far east and Daring could do the same, and head in the other direction or something. If she had all of them and got caught again, who knows what would happen? She'd probably end up being subject to the fate of her... canon Fall of Equestria counterpart...

Which I bet wasn't pretty.

As Daring put on her jacket, buttoning it up and grabbing her own pack, she asked me, "How do I know you won't just simply pawn it off for a quick buck?" She growled, looking quite threatening with her flared out wings. But her tone was... contemplative about my offer, which I was glad for.

I sighed heavily to that, a fair point indeed. "I'll admit, Daring Do, I am an asshole and a piece of shit." I zipped up my bag... but I didn't put it on, instead I held it out to her. "But I'm an honest and loyal piece of shit... that doesn't want to watch the world burn because of some lust driven psychopaths who wanna get their collective dick wet. If you don't trust me with this thing... then by all means, take it." I told her, shaking the bag I held to her. I honestly didn't care if she took it or not, there was no guarantee I wouldn't get caught and tortured for the whereabouts of Daring, or the other keys if they think I know where they are. But damn it all... I was being honest, I don't want anything bad to happen to Equestria, the Zebra lands, or any other country out there...

And I'm going to do my damndest to make sure nothing bad happens.

The pegasus mare eyed the bag for a moment, looking like she was in thought on the matter. She didn't really have any reason to trust me, not a single damn one. Sure we fought together like... what, maybe twice? And she saved my life once, and I helped get us both out of that cell. But that wasn't grounds for absolute trust, maybe a thanks but...nothing more than that. She doesn't need to let me take this bag. Whatever was going on in her mind, I agreed with it. I could get captured, tortued, maimed... raped, for information. All of it was perfectly logical to be worried about... in the end though, I didn't know where she was going so I couldn't help them even if I tried.

But after what felt like an eternity of intense thought... the golden mare huffed as she grabbed the other orbs and shoved them into her pack. She clasped it shut before throwing it over her back. Her eyes soon flicked to mine, a fierce fire burning deep within them that spoke just how much she despised me in that moment. "You make... a decent point..." Daring's hand clenched into a tight fist. "And against my better wishes... I'll let you take it, but don't you dare lose it." She told me sternly, pointing a finger towards me that promised absolute skullfuckery if I failed.

I put my own pack on, tightening the straps as I gripped onto my Kama, pulling them out with a sigh. "I don't plan on it, Daring," I told her, twirling my weapons with a sense of purpose and courage. "I plan on finding a good place to hide it, not sure where though." I do need to find a place to hide this, and I needed to think fast as we ran out of this place. It couldn't be in this region, they would probably find it. It needed to be hidden in a place no one could possibly even think of looking.

Daring just nodded her head and led the way to the door, where she opened it up with a yank of the door handle.

And upon moving into the room which hopefully led outside, we saw three caribou armed with swords and gathered around... and they caught sight of us. Daring and I froze at the three standing there. My hands tightened around my Kama, adrenaline beginning to pump through my veins as I realized a fight was at hand. No way were we getting out the quiet way now. I was gonna have to be quick and precise about this, this would be my first fight! I saw Daring's fists clench as the caribou reached for their swords, and I grimaced. This was gonna get bloody.

"Well well well, looks like our little human friend decided to bring us a delicious treat~" One of them said, hefting up his broadsword "About time, I was wondering when I'd finally get a shot at the bitch before we offed her."

A chuckle from another, and I grew more and more disgusted. "Four of us can certainly fill up her holes, hehehe~" Another chimed in, as Daring had a face of disgust etched into her expression.

It only took me a few moments to realize he counted four, was that asshole including me? Fucking degenerate!

"Sorry boys, I'm not on the menu." Daring growled towards them as one of them looked to me.

He grinned. "You there, male! Haven't you learned what to do with females such as her? Teach her some respect!" The one told me in a friendly tone. He spoke in the sense that implied I was actually going to do whatever it was he wanted me to teach her, what did he think I was?.

I frowned and rolled my shoulders. "Sorry friend, I don't roll like that," I told him, twirling my Kama around a tiny bit. "So I suggest you let us o-"

I was cut off. "Insolent dog! Teach that whore her proper place!" The same one yelled at me, he didn't look incredibly angry though... he looked at me like a disappointed father would to his son. "She is a mare, a weak and frail thing that needs to be taught her place in society!" He continued, and I just balked at the bullshit being thrown at me as two of his goons ventured over to me with their swords drawn.

"I asked nicely!" I yelled as I charged forward, intent on ending this fight as quickly as I could. The sound of wing flaps sounded next to me, and Daring flew into the air above them, fists clenched and ready for a fight. One of the caribou came at me with his sword, holding it high and preparing to swing it down onto me. I panicked and things sped up as I managed to fall down onto my knees and slide between his legs like I did the one, but this time I hooked my Kama right into his thigh. The sharpened blade cut right through the weak spot through his clothes that was there, slicing through the flesh and making him yell out in pain as I slid away and got back up onto my feet.

I darted back towards him with the idea of slicing his throat from behind and taking him down. But he ended up swinging his sword around towards me, which I was only barely able to dodge. The swish of the blade went right over me as I fell back, scrambling for cover as he swung again, the blade nicking the sole of my hiking boots and almost getting my foot. I moved faster and vaulted over a box as his sword came crashing down again. "You will pay for not obeying your elders!" He yelled at me, and I just grimaced as he wrenched his sword free and came at me again.

"Fuck off jackass!" I yelled as Daring continued to fight the other one, throwing some hard punches and kicks. But she wasn't moving as fast as she did last time, in fact, she looked a bit slower. I shook my head, she was probably just tired, I would be too if I had to put up a constant fight against some jerks like these. I whistled towards the caribou stomping towards me, his eyes wide and furious as my feet kept moving. My eyes watched his own and I couldn't stop myself from feeling so damned panicky. This wasn't like last time with that dude with the bow, he was a pussy compared to these guys. These dudes were bulky, not as huge as one might think but still big and probably fully capable of ripping my head off if they tried.

Damn it, I was boned if I didn't take down this guy!

Shit shit shit shit! I backed up a bit to get my bearings. And I watched as he pulled back his sword, quickly moving forward to thrust it towards me. My inner Dark Souls fighter came out and I tried using my kama to parry the sword. I was only... half successful, however. The blade missed skewering me entirely but did cut through my shirt and cut my skin. "Fuck!" I yelped, dropping my kama and ripping out my knife from my belt before jumping at the caribou. I gripped onto the padded armor's neck collar, he tried to throw me off, but I was able to jam my knife past the collar and into his neck with a yell, "Suck on this!" I yelled as I buried my knife up to the hilt in his throat. His eyes bulged out of his skull when my knife was pulled out, and I stabbed it into his neck, again and again, furiously stabbing into him as he dropped his sword and tried to wrench me free.

A fist suddenly collided with the side of my face, forcing me to let go of the neck collar. I was grabbed after that and swiftly thrown away with a yelp, where I smashed into a bunch of crates. Pain exploded across my back and shoulders before tumbling through the now broken wood and landing on the stone floor with a groan. I quickly looked up, fear running through my mind at the thought of him coming at me now that I was down. But thankfully I saw him trying to stop the bleeding before he fell to his knees, then he collapsed onto the floor with a thud.

He was dead... my third kill.

I groaned in pain before climbing onto my feet. I had to keep moving, there were still two dudes left! I ran over and grabbed my other kama after sheathing my knife. Once I turned to face the other guys, I saw the only other caribou not fighting gawking at me as Daring fought with the other still. She was sweating, yells and grunts escaping her with each and every punch she threw towards the towering caribou. I twirled my right Kama a bit then my left one before glaring at the one caribou left standing. "You will pay for that!" He pulled out his weapon, a double bladed axe he swung dangerously in my direction.

"Probably." I quipped, cracking my neck again as he charged at me with a warcry. I ran towards him as my heart continued to bombard my ribcage, threatening to explode if I didn't calm myself down. I was thinking about doing the same move as last time, ducking down and going up under him, but he was probably anticipating it after watching me fight his buddy. I'm sure the caribou aren't completely stupid when it comes to fighting, not all of them anyway. I ran straight at him, throwing away all self-regard. When he swung his axe I threw up a block with my kama. This proved to be an incredibly stupid move on my part... pain rocketed through my side as the axe blade rested against the kama's handles. His strength far outmatched my own and the shock reverberated through my weapons nearly making me lose my grip on them and almost cutting into my side worse than the sword did. My weapons barely held back his axe from slicing into my body!

I dug my heels into the floor with a grunt of effort, both Kama held upside down in a side block as I tried to to think of a way to counter this bullshit. I heard Daring continuing to throw her attacks at the Caribou nearby, swift and precise blows that could probably cave in anyone's skull. When I looked over, I saw his antlers had begun glowing... wait, they glow?

They can use magic!?

What the actual fuck!

Daring was thrown to the side by what I could only assume was a telekinesis spell of sorts. She hit the stone wall hard as the caribou stalked over to her, sheathing his blade with a near manic grin plastered on his face. "Time to teach you a lesson!" He laughed, pinning Daring against the floor as he ripped his armor off with little trouble before trying to rip her clothes off.

Daring thrashed against him. "No! Get off me you bastard!" She screamed before throwing a punch to his face. It hurt a lot, I could tell from the look on his face... but it also pissed him off.

"Daring!" I growled towards the caribou and with a burst of energy, I managed to push the caribou back, much to both of our surprise, before pulling up my leg and kicking him in the knee as hard as I could. He yelled in pain as I kicked his axe arm and smashed my left kama into his throat quickly following up by slamming my right into the back of his neck. Swiftly I ripped my blades through his weak points as blood gushed forth. He gripped at his neck, unable to stop my attack as he fell to his knees, gurgling up blood that slowly began coating his armor red before I kicked him away with a yell.

I dashed over to where Daring was on the ground, her shirt almost ripped off completely. I wasn't even thinking as I ran up to the caribou, stabbing my right kama into his stomach and making the blade sink into his flesh before slamming my other into his back. And with a yell of effort from me, I ripped my weapons through his flesh before kicking him off of Daring and onto the floor as he yelled out in pain, clutching his now bleeding gut.

I turned to Daring. "Let's get out of here!" I told her, holding out my hand to the mare. She took it and I helped her up before, together, we ran towards the exit and burst out into the town, and as it turned out we were still in Jainko. Daring didn't waste time before taking off into the air with her pack strapped on tight and leaving me behind, hopefully to go hide those super funky keys somewhere nice, dark, dank, and deep.

Now that I was free from their clutches, I think it was time that Sakura, Dancer, and I got the fuck out of this place... time to move on before reinforcements came for me and Daring.

Author's Note

My apologies guys! I got side tracked and I completely forgot to update this last Saturday, but here it is today, and early, because screw it, there's a storm and I'm not confident to wait until 12AM
Don't worry folks, the next update will be on time so you'll be getting the final chapter for this ARC this Saturday. :heart:

Wind Nation Arc - Time to Split

In Town

I didn't waste time before dashing back to the Inn where we were staying. it took me some time to find it, as I was in an unfamiliar part of the town. But thankfully after a few minutes of aimless running around, I found the inn and burst through the front doors before going to my room. I ran inside a snagged my bow and arrows before throwing them on. Once I was done, I checked Dancer's room and found both mares inside. Dancer looked to me in surprise. "Where were you at? We looked all over for y-."

I shook my head. "No time, we gotta bail," I told her, heart pounding in my chest. "Those caribou found me and they mean business, so we better run for it," I explained quickly. I left out some details, obviously, but I didn't have time to explain everything!

Blade Dancer looked pissed. "Again? What did you do to piss them off?" She hissed under her breath. Her tone was somewhere along the lines of pissed and disbelief. And it was probably directed more so towards the caribou, as well as me. Understandable, considering she knocked several of them out with a few sucker punches, thus emblazoning her image in my mind appropriately as: Someone to not fuck with.

"Uhh," I coughed, scratching my hip. "Shall I explain while we mayhaps, run?" Dancer and Sakura gave each other looks before grabbing their things.

And run we did.

Dancer and Sakura quickly gathered their things, which wasn't much considering they bought so little from the market. Sakura had a new pack now though, so that was a plus. She could carry some things. Dancer also had a somewhat larger pack for herself, which sounded like it was filled with things, though what things I didn't know and so I didn't pry as we made a move. Once we had everything, we paid the inn for the short stay and quickly left before running through the streets, passing by several ponies and griffons alike and headed for the exit on the eastern side.

"Okay, explain to me why we're running!" Dancer ordered me as we ran. While Sakura and I were running, Dancer was in a sort of jog. She was super tall and had some long legs, so... whew.

I gulped as we passed by a wagon, my own pack shifting slightly from the heavy weight of the orb inside of it. When the fuck was I supposed to tell them about this? "Well, those caribou we fought earlier at the pub up the road? Well they're after me because of what a mare and I sorta did to them...?" I offered, getting a look from the mare that bordered on say what now? I could tell them the truth... but could I even trust Dancer with what i was carrying? "Look, we kinda... fucked them over in a deal gone wrong okay?" I lied... and they both looked at me as I ran, eyes drilling into the back of my head.

I felt like shit saying that to them... I just lied to them both, and now I had to keep that lie up. But, I was doing it for good reason... right? While I didn't exactly trust the two mares just yet, despite I didn't want them getting involved with this bullshit I was in on. I didn't want anyone getting these keys to try and release... whoever it was, and I trust Daring to hide the ones she has now because she's Daring. She's not going to risk her home andh er loved ones to some legend or myth, she knows better. Another thought... could I hide the one I have now? Would my own personal greed get in the way of that? Would someone offer me something I couldn't refuse in return for the key?

...

I shook my head, I couldn't let that happen. I mean... this isn't my world, so I owe nothing to the world's inhabitants, nothing at all. I could just dump the key somewhere in a river, abandon Sakura and Dancer to their own devices, and go on my own path away from it all and live off the land. Or go find the other humans and live with them away from all of this crap. But instead, I'm risking life, limb, and soul to keep a key from getting into the hands of some dangerous individuals, getting into fights I could run away from, and obeying the law.

Truly, my life is one clusterfuck right now.

Dancer seemed to be staring at the back of my head as we continued running through the town. I didn't know what she was thinking, probably wondering if I had something to hide. Cause I did give a bullshit reason when she asked. A deal gone wrong? Pfft. I just focused on getting out of town, shaking away those thoughts. I had killed like two or three of those fuckwits, four if you count the one I had stabbed back at the pub down the road towards where I found Sakura. And chances are they're all out for my head, considering what I've done, I took one of their keys twice and killed some of their dudes. I'd be surprised if they weren't after me.

I had to get out of this place and far away from those dudes. I also had to get Sakura and Dancer out of here, while I'm sure Dancer was one hell of a fighter, the caribou could probably cheat or something, and I wasn't in the mood to listen to them rape my new friends...

The three of us kept moving through Jainko until we found the road leading out. We ran down it as fast as we could away from the town, leaving it and hopefully the caribou far behind us. I'm sure it would be fine, as long as we weren't there we'd be fine and so would the people. As we continued down the road out of town, I thought about how far I've come since arriving here. It's been a few days I think, maybe more, I don't know, I'm horrible at keeping track of time. Anyway, it has been a few days since I arrived here and already I've killed maybe four or five dudes and I'm having to keep some freaky demon orb away from some bad dudes or the world's fucked over by some uber dark king guy.

Fantastic. Is this what all heroes in games and shit go through?

I really want some incentive out of this crap, like money, special favors, or something! But alas, the morally better part of me just wants to do some good in the world. Ugh, being me sucked sometimes.

I'm not sure how much time passed between us leaving and arriving at this crossroads where we were at now. But it may have been an hour, maybe more, jeez. I have no idea how far we ran but a look behind us and the town was just a distant blur on the horizon, a small blurry dot. Fear makes a man do some incredible things, especially when that fear is as thick as a giant elephant dick. I was breathing pretty hard, which didn't surprise me considering I wasn't used to running as much as I have today. Dancer seemed pretty alright, she wasn't even breathing hard, hell, she barely looked winded! Sakura, however, was worse than I was. The poor filly was leaning against a tree and trying to suck in as much oxygen as she could.

I spat onto the ground as my lungs burned. I went about checking to make sure everything of mine was still in its place, and once I found everything in order, I spoke up, "Jeez..." I coughed out, standing up as straight as I could even as my legs ached. "Don't think I've ever run as much as that."

The three of us rested for a wee bit of time, trying to gather our strength. More so Sakura and I rather than all three of us. Dancer was just staring at me still with her bright blue eyes. I couldn't help but gulp. "So, you fucked over a bunch of Caribou?" She questioned me, and I nodded slowly.

In a way, it was true. I did fuck them over, at least three times now, maybe more. Again, I am horrible at keeping track of things. I did fuck over the Caribou, so I was just... redirecting the truth in a way? So as not to tell them what I had actually done in detail. "Ye-yeah, pretty much. Though in my defense, the mare I was with roped me into said situation against my will." I explained to the mare as I rested against a rather large tree and wiping my brow.

All that running left me tired as balls, but we gotta keep moving.

Sakura walked over to the river nearby and splashed her face with some water as Dancer walked over to me. Her imposing form towered over me quite a bit, I mean... I was like 5'10'' and she was almost solid 7', so... yeah, she's a biggin'. "I think you're hiding something..." Dancer muttered, looking down at me like I was a slug on the ground before her boots.

In some aspect, yes... yes I was a slug. "H-hiding something?" I asked, cursing my stutter. "I'm not hiding anything."

She narrowed her eyes at me, and looked ready to say something before Sakura said, "Should we keep moving?"

I nodded quickly. "Yes! Yes we should," Dancer eyed me still and as Sakura walked off I said, "You have your reasons, and I have my own." I followed after Sakura down the road, hoping to put the small town of Jainko and the caribou behind us for good.

But some things are never that easy are they?

Several Hours Later

We had gone as far as we could before resting near a large river that went on for quite some time. It was a deep one too, considering I saw a half sunken ship in the distance near a waterfall. It looked like one of the frigates from AC 4: Black Flag, but was missing its sails and had some massive holes in the sides. The river was pristine looking, crystal clear unlike the rivers of my hometown with a sparse amount of trees all around and clear fields of short grass and a rocky sandbar. The skies were slightly cloudy and I noticed a road on the other side of the river that went off into the woods, I'm not sure where it went though.

We had taken to resting near some trees and rocks, Sakura looking off into the wilderness as Dancer and I filled up some canteens with fresh water which we pulled out of the river and put into a pot. Dancer boiled it after a comment I made about making sure to clean out whatever it might have in it. Granted they have magic and shit, but it was more for my sake than anyone's else. Who knows if there were some kind of magical viral microbes or something floating around in the water. That shit might kill me if given the chance to enter my system. I can handle the flu no prob, but I wasn't sure if my body could handle some trippy magic virus.

Eventually, we had our water some of which I had drunk greedily before filling it up again and looking aroundthe area. I wasn't sure of our food situation, but our water was pretty decent for now. I needed to see about purchasing some food for us all whenever we made it to the next town. I would love something sweet right now, like candy... fuck, maybe I should have gone to Equestria to begin with, go to the bakery or something in Ponyville.

Alas, too late for that now. I sighed, sitting down near some trees after taking off my pack and Kama and setting them aside. Dancer had her own pack lying next to a rock across from Sakura and me. I watched the river flow for a while, contemplating what to do with my time. As much as I would love to rest, I felt like I needed to do something to help me fight better. Granted I took those caribou thugs down fairly... decently. But still... I was acting out of fear and instinct! I'd rather have more than just that to fight with. They were just grunts! Would I even be able take on any of the more experienced dudes?

Probably not, if I'm being honest.

Suddenly Dancer hopped off of the rock she was sitting on, landing perfectly on her feet before going over to her pack and opening it up. And after a moment of me watching her, she pulled out a handle... like, a sword grip or something before she walked over to me. "Pick up your weapons."

I rose an eyebrow at her and stood up before gripping my Kama, keeping my eyes on her. "Oooookay, why?" I asked her, what was her game?

And suddenly in a flash of light, I found myself barely dodging the swing of a blade. I managed to quickly duck down out of the way, rolling to my right out of pure instinct as I held up my Kama in a prepared block. I saw the grip thing she had was now a rather long Katana. The blade was black as night itself with a gleaming silver edge along the blade's edge. The grip and pommel itself had some elegant carvings and a guard that was shaped like the crescent moon.

She was staring down at me with a tiny smile on her face, and said, "You're a fast one."

"The hell Dancer?!" I hissed, as I saw Sakura hide behind a tree nearby. What was she up to?! Was she turning on me or something? The fuck!?

Dancer stalked around me in the open field we were in, her eyes still on mine as I felt that feeling of fear coming back full force. She was planning something... but what? I didn't know, but it probably didn't bode well for me. "I was just curious is all. I saw the blood on your Kama and was curious to see how well you would hold up in a fight." She told me as I stood up and stumbled off to the side away from her. I held my Kama up in a fighter's pose, both held tight in my hands as I circled around her. She seemed to be examining me, holding her blade towards me as her eyes ran up and down my form. "Your stance is an odd one, not one I've seen before..."

She's reading me? How could she... well she's a former adventurer, so she's probably seen some action and knew the tells. I was tense with how I moved, my muscles primed for what was or might come at me any second but my mind wasn't racing. I was focusing as much mental power as I had into watching her, studying her carefully and waiting for that first strike. If and when she came at me, I would probably lose focus. "Well... I uh... don't really know how to explain that." I admitted. I didn't know how to explain it.

Any more thoughts were cut off as she came at me. She moved like a blur, blasting off from where she stood and rocketing towards me. Her blade came from the side in a sideways arch, I barely managed to block it with my Kama.

And Christ I wish I didn't!

She had some strength behind her blow and it sent it stumbling off to the side from her blow. It didn't cut me or anything, but shit fire that fucker hurt like a motherfucker! "Yeow!" I yelled as I stumbled away, bouncing off to the side and gripping my now aching wrist and hand. I wasn't expecting that at all... shit, she's stronger than I thought she was.

The mare made a humming noise. "You need some work on your form." She told me, twirling her katana about. "Pick up your weapons." She ordered me as my eyes flicked from her to my weapons.

A groan and I managed to pop my wrist and relieve some of the pain before picking up my Kama again. Well... least now I got me a training partner... assuming this is how it's playing out. I sighed before twirling my own Kama and getting back into my fighting pose. "Now what?"

She just smiled.

"Defend yourself!"

Author's Note

Annnnd here we are at the hiatus, for now, sorry folks! Hope you can enjoy what I got up while I prep the next arc for you guys to enjoy :heart:

Stay tuned!

Tunnels n' Shit Arc - The Infection

One Week Later

Clang

Swipe

"Gah!"

Swishy swoosh

Bang

"Rah!"

Ping

Oh what a nice view, was the one single thought that ran through my mind as I flew back through the air, smashing into the ground and sliding through the rough dirt. My back felt like it was on fire once I landed—sharp rocks and hard ground tearing through my shirt and into my skin.

I didn't need to be captain obvious here to tell you that I bled a lot during this bullshit.

My lungs burned and my muscles felt like they were being ripped apart after I came to a stop, my arms ached and my fingers and wrist were in so much pain, it wasn't even funny. Any sort of movement and attempts to get back up was met with plenty of agony.

I was done...

I was beaten to a metaphorical pulp.

Seconds later I felt the cold touch of steel press against my neck, and looking up I saw those bright blue eyes lock on my own.

"Do you yield."

It obviously wasn't a question. The mare could kill me right now if she wanted to, just push the blade down on my neck a bit harder, pierce my throat. I'd be dead in seconds! She didn't even need her sword, she could just pick me up by the neck and break me in half, she certainly looked like she could achieve such a thing. Or just choke me to death, I wasn't really strong to fight off someone of her size.

"I yield... now go fuck yourself, yeah?" I responded with a deep frown, letting my head fall back onto the ground and trying my best to draw in fresh air.

Thankfully this world seemed to have quite a bit.

Dancer just pulled her sword back from me before walking over to where Sakura was on a rock, reading through a book she had picked up somewhere in the last town we had been in. I just laid on the ground, body aching from the training Dancer and I had been undergoing through the past week since leaving the small fishing town of Jainko.

I thought she was betraying me or something for a second when she came at me like she had, but after a brief sparring she explained that my fighting technique was rather...

I sucked ass, basically. Those that I did actually fight and kill, she said in her own terms...

"Luck."

"...I'm sorry, luck?" I asked after we finished up our first sparring session, with me guzzling down a healthy portion of our water. "Whaddya mean?"

She was tough!

"Luck affected your fights," Dancer explained, her eyes boring into my own. "You were outnumbered and incredibly out skilled, and luck intervened, giving you a fighting edge."

I frowned a bit at that, but I still don't understand how I sucked. "I'm a bit... confused by that."

"There's a bit of luck in every fight, I've learned." Dancer leaned back and adjusted her kimono, tightening the sash around her midsection. "But unfortunately for you, it takes more than just luck to win a fight, my young friend."

That last part kind of irked me. "Most friends tell each other stuff." I muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." I sighed and changed the subject, asking, "So more than luck, huh? Seriously, I can't be that bad... I took some self defense classes back where I'm from!" I couldn't be that bad at fighting... could I?

She was really quiet after that.

That didn't help my feelings nor my confidence at all.

So, Dancer suggested training me and helping my skills grow.

I figured, why not? If I sucked so much. And I guess I had to give her some credibility; I've only ever fought a few times, both here and back on my world, the latter of which was primarily fist fights. So it wouldn't hurt to get a bit more experience from someone like Dancer; she was obviously a seasoned fighter, there's no telling what she's seen over the years during her own travels.

It's been a week since we started training, and you'd think that the camaraderie so far would have opened her and Sakura up a bit, maybe help me learn more about who I'm traveling with! But I still didn't know shit about either of them, just their names and some brief history.

I wanted to learn more about these two aside from the fact that Sakura was prime loli waifu material and Dancer had a body that could slay thousands with just the right sway of those child bearing hips of hers.

Unf!

Well shit, my mind just went dirty places, damn you!

My eyes zipped up towards the sky after a tired sigh left me. I spotted a few wayward clouds drifting lazily across the blue expanse, drifting with nothing better to do like me. A week of traveling had gotten us rather far down the road from Jainko, I had no idea where we were headed though, now that I thought about it. I didn't have a map on me and I didn't see any signs on the road during our walks, not that I could read any of the damn language to begin with.

Also made me wonder if this road was actually going anywhere worthwhile.

I held out hope, however, that we were headed somewhere that would help me find a place to hide that stupid orb.

Whew...

Struggling to raise a hand, I brought it to my face and wiped the sweat from it with another groan. This training with Dancer was pretty rough, and wearing me out faster than I can usually recover. The upside to this was that the training was probably really healthy for me. I rarely got out to do much, even with my 'parkour training' back home, so being able to work out and get my body in shape was probably a good thing.

If I didn't end up getting totally swol from this, I will be very disappointed.

Looking over to Blade Dancer, I saw her looking over that katana of hers as she wiped it down with a rag. That thing had to be an enchanted weapon or something, some kind of magic sword she found or bought during her travels. It was a fierce weapon, and just looking at it sent shivers rattling down my spine. There was something strange about it that drew my attention; the solid black blade with its a razor sharp edge, the crescent moon guard above the grip. A inkling of where she got it came to mind.

"Feel up for a bit more?" Dancer asked me, her eyes catching my own.

I gulped.

"Yeeeaaah, no." I groaned upon my attempt to sit up. Fuck, my ass feels like it's been destroyed. And not in the way you were thinking either.

Dancer was a pretty hardcore teacher. When she threw hits, she fucking threw hits, but even so, something told me she was pulling her strikes and taking it easy on me. Every strike sent me stumbling back, but no bones broke, every swing of her blade missing me by a few inches or glanced off my kama, but didn't come at me full on. She could have killed me several times, I know that...

But she didn't, and that's what scared me the most about her.

If she did turn against me, she could easily destroy me with a single swipe of her blade, and that was me being generous to myself.

So far Dancer wasn't showing any signs of doing that.

With a shake of my head and no small amount of effort on my part, I was able to stand up—much to the protest of my legs and lower back, and make my way over to where I set out the rest of my gear before getting into the training.

"So, where to next?" I looked over to Dancer when I flopped down next to my gear, which as of now was inside my backpack.

We had stopped in a town a few days ago to grab some supplies for the journey, luckily for us, this one was caribou free. I had picked up a few helpful stuff with the leftover monies Daring threw my way; medicinal potions and herbs to help with healing, some matches, and a sleeping bag. I didn't pick up a map, I couldn't find one in any of the shops for whatever reason, kinda odd that no town around here sold a friggin' map of the regions.

Maybe in the next town, assuming one was close by.

Sakura was given a little bag to carry some things in, figured she'd need something for the adventure. It was a cute little pink color that matched her kimono, brought out her eyes quite a bit and just made her outfit all the more cuter. Dancer's pack was already full up, but she did pack a few heavier things, mostly food and some other supplies. Basically, Dancer was acting like the pack mule of our little group.

"Mmm," Dancer wiped the sweat from her brow and deposited her sword handle in the folds of her kimono after willing it away. "That mountain in the distance, that is the next landmark we hit before taking the road to the South Celestial Sea."

Mountain? Must have missed that. Looking towards the east I tried spotting the mountain...

Good fucking lord.

When you hear someone say mountain, they usually mean a fairly decent looking mountain, you know? Nothing too hard to spot.

This mountain though? The thing was going up so high it cut through the fucking cloud cover! This was a mountain standing so high and spreading so vast across the horizon north and south with rocky ranges and hills, it cut off any possible access to the other side save for whatever path Dancer knew about. Even from here I couldn't see any sort of way across those mountains.

Hell, I couldn't imagine what sit at the plateau of such a monster.

"Dancer... there is another way around that, right?" Climbing the damn thing was off of the list, even the smallest peaks would take days. The highest I've gone was like...

Actually I have no idea how high I've gone, least on a mountain. Maybe the one Daring and I were on a while back? That was probably as high as I've ever gone on either world.

I didn't do a lotta hiking back on my world.

"Yes, but I only know of three." The mare told me as I continued staring at the mountain, I'm willing to bet my left nut they weren't easy paths to take either. "One sits to the north and south; the Pass of Avia to the south and to the north through the Tyrid Forest. The final passageway is not one I would suggest taking, even in the most dire of situations..."

"Now that's interesting." I finally tore my gaze from the mountain and looked over to Dancer, who was looking towards the road nearby and whatever lay beyond it. "What's the third route, if I may ask?" An inkling of what might be the third path came to mind. The unholy hellspawn of shadow and flame...

Dancer frowned pretty firmly when I asked that, and what she said only cemented the growing idea I had going on in my head. "It is a path through a place many have nearly forgotten about over time." The mare's eyes turned to the mountains, "The Road of Avros," I felt a shiver run down my spine from the name, Avros? "It is a route I hope we do not have to take anytime soon."

A few moments passed and my mind wandered, rolling the name around in my head. What could possibly be down there? Road of Avros? Something resembling a Balrog? "Road of Avros, dare I ask what's down there?" I had a few ideas, chances are there was going to be some shit down there, lots of scary things like the typical monsters from your fantasy bestiary; orcs, goblins, evil fairies, daemons, and so on.

Shit... thinking about it now, pretty much anything and everything in this world could be out to kill me, and it would end up being underground.

Ugh...

"Have you ever heard of a creature called a Khorcling?" Dancer's eyes flicked back toward my own, eyes growing serious.

"A ...Khorcling?" My mind ran through images of the nasty little fucks I've encountered and mostly fought in video games over the years, but a Khorcling didn't immediately come to mind. "The fuck's a Khorcling? Sounds like a... I dunno, actually." I didn't have the slightest idea what the hell that was, I'm sure it was something really nasty that would make me regret ever asking.

Dancer plopped down onto the ground with her back to the rock, and my eyes found themselves zeroing in on Dancer's chest for a brief second to see them bounce a bit within the confines of her kimono.

Unf!

"A Khorcling is similar to one of your kind, in a few aspects," Dancer began to explain as Sakura shoved her book back into her bag. "They stand as high as pony or human and have the intelligence of a muscle bound brute with thrice the mass." We all looked toward the mountains at that, "But what they lack in intelligence, they make up for in raw strength and brutality. They are a vicious threat, but thankfully they keep to their tunnels and holes, and do not bother the surface."

These things don't sound fun. "Khorclings... sound pretty nasty," The name sounded like someone took the name Orc but threw a K and ling on there to make it sound cooler. "How dangerous are they compared to the caribou?"

"Not very much, we can handle a few if we happen to run into any. But..." Oooh there was always a but. "Any more then a few and we may have trouble."

"Okay... no going that way. Not a big fan of going underground anyway, so what about the other one, the Tyrid Forest?" A forest sounded slightly better then a tunnel filled with goblin wannabees.

The mare looked off towards the north this time. "The Tyrid Forest is a stretch of massive woodland lying to the far north, you can almost make out the treeline from here." Dancer pointed vaguely to the north, and sure enough I could almost make out the tree line stretching across the horizon. "The path is one of the more safer passages to take, filled with gentle fairy folk and the like who watch over the trees."

"Fairies? Are they... super friendly?" I knew what fairies were, small little buggers that acted like companions to the main character in stories, games, and movies all around. I looked to the side and found Snowdrop ripping apart a lizard she found, blood oozing out and bones snapping and cracking. Bleagh, nasty, but eh... she's a fine companion.

A hum from Dancer, who tapped her chin a few times. "They are a rather reclusive race... frightened of newcomers to their lands, actually, and they rarely if ever come out of their hovels hidden within the trees." Leaning back, the large thestral added, "It is perhaps the more safest of routes, the most we would have to worry about would be the mischievous nature of the fairies." I was actually going to ask about the other route, but as if sensing my thoughts she continued, "As for the Pass of Avia? It is a simple trade route across the south Maretonian Sea which hooks up to the southeast portion of the Celestial Seas." She scrunched up her snout a bit at that, "Most people lean towards that route, if only to sail the seas."

"H-how would we cross the sea?" Sakura chimed in, tilting her head in a rather curious and cute manner. "Swim?" She questioned in that adorably naive tone.

A hearty chuckle escaped the thestral next to us, "Hahaha, no no no, my young friend, we would barter our way across with gold and the like. Perhaps we'll hire a captain to ferry us across the seas to the next land, it would not be cheap however."

That didn't make me feel any better about the sea route, and I found myself asking, "How much would that cost, exactly? We're not really rolling in money here."

Dancer scrunched up her snout a little, eyes flicking up, she muttered a bit. "The cheapest I recall was somewhere around a thousand gold pieces, and last time I counted our collective coins, we do not have that much."

"Damn." Welp, we don't have anywhere near that much... and we're in the middle of nowhere, so taking the route is a no go. So it's either the forest or the tunnels. "Minus the Pass of Avia, which is the shorter path?"

"That would be the Tyrid Forest as the Tunnels of Avros are all but unmapped, and only a handful of people know the safest route through the dizzying passageways and labyrinths through the mountain." Dancer looked troubled, and I couldn't blame her.

Getting lost down in an unmapped cave system filled with orc knockoffs sounds scary as fuck.

"Okay... no mountain cave, no sea passage," I sighed hard and looked towards the forest in the distance. "I guess... we're heading for the forest then."

Even as we all stood up and gathered out equipment, I couldn't help but feel something was off about the forest. While I truly wanted to believe that we'd get through the forest safely, and without trouble, my gut was acting up.

With a gulp, we set out down the road headed towards the Tyrid Forest.

Tyrid Forest

Well, I was pleasantly surprised for once upon our arrival to the entrance of the forest.

We had gone down a fork in the road headed towards the forest heading north. The forest continued to grow larger and larger the closer we got, and even from how far away we were, I could clearly see the trees were incredibly tall, taller then I'd ever seen before back on Earth. The route that led through it was a wide dirt road covered in prints and tracks from dozens of different sources. An old sign stood out from the trees nearby, covered in ivy and reading; Welcome to Tyrid Forest.

It did seem pretty welcoming.

And so we ventured inside, Sakura on my left and Dancer leading the way.

The silence didn't last long.

"Sir Dee!" Sakura squeaked from my side, making me look down at her.

"Still not a sir."

Sakura giggled lightly and responded, "I apologize, but I wish to ask something of you."

Uh oh, cute waifu asking me for something? This could only mean one thing...

"Where are you from?"

Oh, thank god, I thought she was gonna ask me something else. "Uh, where am I from? Didn't I tell you?" I thought I did, guess I was mistaken, that or she forgot.

"No, I do not think so." Sakura had both her hands behind her back as she peered up at me. "I am curious as to where you hail from, what is your home like?"

Home... just realized it's been a week and some days since I've been on this world. Damn, never thought I'd miss home so much. "Uh, it's vastly different than this place," It really was, then again I don't know what I was really expecting when I arrived here... then again I wasn't expecting to wake up with my room ripped away and thrown into a hot ass desert. "For one thing, we don't have magic there, or thousands of creepy magical critters that want to suck out my soul." I sniffled, oh how different life would be if it were like that. Just waking up one morning to find an Orc outside ripping through your garden stealing all your shit, or seeing a dragon flying overhead on your way to get the mail.

"Truly? No magic?" Sakura sounded oh so genuinely confused by what I just said, I guess a land with no magic is about as likely as a wingless pegasus... wait, wouldn't that make them an earth pony though? "What a strange land! How do you deal with troublesome monsters that invade?"

Images of Abrams tanks and thousands of Marines. Army Rangers and Navy Seals firing en mass on a group of dragons as A-10 Warthogs and F-22's bombarded them from the air came to mind.

Murica' motherfucker!

"Uhm..." I chuckled a tiny bit as the images played out in my mind. Now I truly wondered how the US Armed Forces would hold up against dragons, we had some decent weaponry... I'd like to think we'd hold out, even win! But I don't know. "We have our ways of dealing with monsters, I'm sure we could handle a monster or two if it came down to it." I was somewhat confident in my country's military, I would like to think despite some of the shit I see flying around, we'd take on anything that was a threat to the world.

It was nice to be optimistic.

"But it's peaceful back where I'm from, most of the time anyway. We don't really deal with monsters like the ones here," No, instead we deal with the monsters inside humanity. Like terrorists, corrupt politicians, people who kick puppies. "Hell, this place is a lot different then my home, so much different then you can imagine. And despite all of it's flaws, it can be a beautiful place sometimes, filled with amazing people and sights the likes of which you've never seen before." Damn... I miss my bed, and my fridge, and my gun safe... fuck.

"It sounds like a wonderful place!" I looked down and saw the young mare smiling brightly, "I hope to visit there one day, perhaps we will during our adventure?"

I stayed silent for a few moments, what she said hit me pretty hard, would I get home? "...Doubtful." I muttered quietly.

Would I find a way home? Was such a thing possible? I remembered the mirror Twilight ventured through in the Equestria Girls movie, and how it lead to an entirely different world. But that was to another dimension, a parallel universe that was a mirror image of Equestria where they were all human. The odds of actually fucking with that mirror and linking it up with my universe were no doubt slim.

Goddamn... everyone wishes to leave their home and go on some crazy adventure with their waifu. If it does happen, they'll realize that they've taken everything they had before for granted. It was a sad truth. Lots of people want to leave earth, go into the world of their respective game or TV show or something... but in the end, was it worth it?

I sighed and decided it was my turn to ask some questions, very long overdue questions. "So, Sakura, mind if I ask you some stuff?"

I saw her eyes grow curious, with a hint of something else before she spoke, "L-like what?"

"Well... I only know your name and Dancer's, I don't know much else about you guys except for a few small tidbits, that's barely anything to go on." We stopped near some thick trees next to the road, causing both ponies to look at me. "I mean... jeez, we're a party for crying out loud, shouldn't we at least get to know one another a little bit?" I honestly should have asked them back in Jainko, but I was so caught up with everything going on it slipped my mind.

Sakura fiddled with her kimono, briefly giving me a view of the chest wrapping she wore as Dancer crossed her arms.

"There isn't much to say about myself, to tell the truth," Dancer sighed, rubbing the back of her head as we continued walking down the path. "I'm an adventurer, though I've been at it for far longer then you have I'm sure." We kept moving down the road, the light of the sun disappearing as the canopy grew thicker overhead, effectively blocking it off. "If you must know where I'm from, I hail from the mountain halls of Blackrock." She sniffled, pausing for a moment as if to think of her next words before continuing, "It is a very dark city, hidden away in the far north near the border leading into Equestria proper."

"Mountain Hall?" Wait... wait... did batponies live in a fucking mountain? No way, must be like a city built onto the mountain, like Canterlot. But, just to be sure, "What do you mean Mountain Hall? City on the mountain?"

"You're half right," She turned her head, blue eyes flicking to my own. "We live inside the mountain, not on top of it or on the sides like some ponies do." Well, I guess that means batponies are the dwarves of the ponyverse? "Many thestrals live within mountain halls spread throughout the world, older then most civilizations and filled with the proud people of Thestralfolk." A heavy sigh escapes her and she looked back ahead. "You would find no better home..."

Huh, batponies are dwarves, now that is interesting... very interesting. Now I wonder about their culture, like their music, weapons, food. Damn, I'll have to put that on my list of places to visit, maybe I could score some epic loot or something. Visiting a place like that sounds pretty damn interesting. "Batponies living in mountain halls... that has got to be pretty cool looking, what do your cities look like?" Damn, I had to find out at some point, hopefully we'd run up on one at some point.

Dancer didn't answer me however, instead she kept walking forward in silence. I thought maybe she was thinking about what to say, but we had been walking for a few minutes without actually saying anything.

"Dancer?" I finally spoke up.

"Hmm?" She looked back to me.

"You didn't answer my question," I pointed out, and was expecting an answer shortly.

But then Sakura suddenly gripped my arm, "Wait!"

"Wha-?" I was stopped when I heard a swish noise, and I looked back out ahead and saw Dancer with her blade out. I panicked slightly and pulled out my kama before looking around.

Up ahead, the path was... I don't know how to explain it exactly. The road we had been walking on for a solid two hours had suddenly changed, the area was morphed somehow, changed. The once green grass had wilted and had a sickly bluish tinge to it, and lay in heaps on the ground. The trees were likewise the same, the bark was diseased looking and the canopy was shrouded over with twisted dark limbs, that same dark blue tinge running along the trees and ground like veins. I looked all around, and saw the entire area was like this...

"What the fuck? Sakura, stay behind me." She didn't hesitate before falling in behind me. "Dancer... the fuck's all this?"

Dancer slowly made her way over to one of the trees and peered at it for some time, watching the veins running along the cracked and diseased bark like crackled skin.

I saw a few puddles of that same shimmery blue ooze around, with darker veins running from them across the ground to the trees and rocks. Hell, even the rocks looked affected by whatever this gunk was. I continued to scan the area, whatever this was, it didn't give me a good feeling. I suddenly wished I had some hazmat gear, this shit didn't look like something that I'd wanna touch.

"I do not know." Dancer avoided the tree, backing up a little and looking further down the path. "But do not touch it."

"Pfft! Yeah, wasn't planning on it." I wasn't planning on touching any of this gunk. "Shit, are there any other paths through the forest?"

"No, this is the main road." We continued looking at the road before moving down it, making sure not to touch any of the small pools or the veins of whatever the hell that stuff was. "There is no other way through."

"Great." I muttered as I followed Dancer.

We continued walking down the road to make our way through the forest, doing our very best to avoid stepping in or on any of the veins or pools. Hopefully this shit wasn't contagious or anything, I'd rather not end up with some kind of magical version of lung rot or magic cancer. Chances are that would be my luck and I'd get some hella bad disease from this garbage.

I'm praying that isn't the case.

Dancer stayed ahead of us, sword handle drawn and carefully trekking across the road. Her ears were perked up high, flicking to and fro every now and then as Sakura stayed close behind me, as in close enough to the point that she was practically hugging me. I just held my kama tightly, suddenly feeling a tiny voice in the back of my head yelling at me for not choosing something better then a pair of kama.

I just told the voice to shut the fuck up while I navigated a sea of blue gunk and ooze.

It was treacherous, not only was the path saturated with veins that seeped the ooze and an otherworldly energy, there was some of the gunk falling from the trees and landing on the ground. I can't tell you how many times I was almost hit by the shit.

I was curious about this stuff. What was it exactly? "Dancer... does this happen often with the Tyrid Forest?"

"No." Was her answer, stiff and worried? "I do not know what this is, but I do know that this forest is pure... this reeks of dark magic," That made me worry. "Something dark and evil resides over this forest, but what?"

I think she was talking more to her self rather then me or Sakura.

"I'm frightened." Sakura's tiny voice muttered from behind me.

If I was being honest...

I was scared to.

"Don't worry... just stay close to me, keep moving, and don't touch anything." I twirled one of my kama as we moved past a half rotted sign, the words illegible from the infection overtaking the forest. Not that I could read it to begin with, I seriously needed someone to teach me how to get past this dumbass language barrier.

Gah, there was so much shit I needed to do while I was stuck here.

Anyway.

We continued walking for a long time, taking our sweet time before arriving at a fork in the road, but what was in the fork was something that made us all recoil, and probably would give Sakura nightmares for life.

In the middle of the fork was a destroyed wagon, ruined boxes, and discarded clothing covered in the gunk. But... the worst thing about this situation was what lay near the front of the wagon.

"Shit..." I found myself muttering.

In front of the wagon was a pair of bodies laying on their chests, clothing torn into shreds and a foul smell filling the air. Their bodies were ripped apart by something. Blood and entrails were everywhere around the bodies, and those weird veins of shimmery blue ooze covered their skin and clothing.

"What the fuck..." My eyes were wide and I felt Sakura grip my body hard. My hands gripped my weapons more tightly as Dancer moved forward, and I felt a lead weight suddenly fall down into the pit of my gut. I didn't like this, I didn't like this at all. "Dancer, we should go, now." I felt so panicky right now, something was off and I could feel it all over my body. Something was watching us, or something was. The hairs on my arm and neck stood on end, my heart pounded in my chest.

Something was wrong...

Dancer backed up quick and her sword extended from the guard like a damn lightsaber, minus the oh so satisfying snap-hiss. She looked around quick, and I just continued to inwardly panic

Something was very wrong.

"Where is the Grom...?" Dancer muttered suddenly, looking a bit anxious.

"Grom?" What in the sweet fucks was a Grom?

"A Grom is used to pull these types of carts, a beast of burden..." Dancer gestured to the cart's reigns, currently vacant of any type of creature. "There is no blood, so it must be around here somewhere."

"Is a Grom dangerous?" Great, now some mystery creature was on the loose...

The fuck kinda critter is a Grom!?

Grrrrrrrr

I froze... and I know I wasn't the only one who heard that, because Dancer's ears flicked to the right.

I turned to the left alongside Dancer and Sakura, and there I got to see two things.

One, the Grom... it was large, it's body reminding me of a rhino, but it had a thicker looking horn on its head and four tusks, and thick looking skin.

The second thing?

I now know that whatever was affecting the forest could also affect creatures, the entire Grom was covered in sickly blue veins that oozed gunk. And it's eyes a distressing blue coloration that locked on us as it lumbered through the bushes and trees, every step it made making me wish I had a shotgun right now... preferably one of mine.

Once it exited the trees...

It charged.

Author's Note

Yaaaay update

\o/

Tunnels n' Shit Arc - Noping My Way Downtown.

Tyrid Forest

"Nope nope nope nope!"

I think that was an appropriate reaction to the current situation I was in right now, if I do say so myself.

So, perhaps you recall the Grom? Yeah, basically a thick skinned rhino knockoff with tusks, a bigger pair of horns, and uglier then your mom after a porta potty party with some heavily bearded rednecks. Oh, and it's infected with whatever this forest is infected with, making it a sickly looking monster that was now out for our collective blood.

So, here we were... running for our lives heading back the way we came, because fuck this! I'm not navigating a diseased forest with no hazmat gear and no gun!

This was not fucking kosher!

No!

"Shit shit shit!" I yelled once more as we ran, with Dancer being somewhat further ahead of us and Sakura lagging slightly behind me, though I had my hand firmly grasped around hers and dragging her along. "This is not good!"

Captain Obvious! That's my fucking nickname!

We sprinted through the woods in an attempt to get back out into the open. Now, whether that was a good idea or not, I wouldn't know until we were out in the open. But chances are, given how heavy this thing is and how it seems every tree it's plowing down is currently keeping it at bay... perhaps being in the forest was a good thing. Cause if this thing did get out in the open, it'd probably fucking tear us all apart!

"Dancer! What do we do!?" I didn't know what the fuck to do, there was no way my weapons were going to pierce that thing's hide! And I already watched Dancer attempt to skewer it, somehow her sword didn't so much as cut the damn thing! So we were forced to run for our lives, lest we get rammed and die horribly.

No thank you!

"I don't know!" Dancer yelled back, managing to stay ahead of us as she led us through the forest. "Just keep running!"

Fuck! We can't go back to the town we passed, too far! "How far is it to the Avros Tunnels?!" That's our best bet, no way can we outrun this thing for very long, not at the rate it's moving.

"Bad idea! We'll have to lose it in the forest!" Dancer suddenly told me, her voice hard as we vaulted over a tree.

"I'm sorry, wut?!" I yelled out as a tree came crashing down nearby. "How is that even an option!?"

"It's the only option!" Dancer yelled back.

"That's a stupid idea! It's plowing through trees like nobody's business!" There's no way we could outrun it! The trees weren't even slowing it down, our best bet was to get to those tunnels and lose it there. "We gotta head to Avros!"

Dancer was silent as we ran, and it made me question what her deal was. "No!"

I growled as another tree was smashed into pieces behind us, crashing down into another one and startling birds into flying off.

This was going nowhere fast, we needed someplace to hide and Avros was the only place that might be nearby that could be the place!

"We either go to Avros or die! Your fucking choice!" I screamed, causing her head to snap around and glare back at me. If we kept this on, we'd run out of breath soon and get killed!

Her eyes were fierce, like daggers digging into my very soul and telling me she didn't want this. Why? Why not?!

With a near faint growl from the mare, she said, "Fine!"

Rrrroooooooar!

I heard the Grom behind us roar, slamming into yet another tree as we finally spotted the exit to this horrid forest. I was planning on thinking about what I'd do if I made it out of this, cause this shit was making my mind run a million miles an hour, and it was not fun!

But sadly that line of thinking was swiftly dashed when we came across the exit and it was blocked off, dozens of trees had fallen and splintered, creating jagged spears of wood that stuck out everywhere.

If we tried to get across that, we'd end up getting stuck and the Grom would catch up!

"Shit! To the left! The left!" I yelled and dashed past Dancer, we had to get around that!

I was cut off once more when I heard a snarl, and my body reacted faster then I could have done on my own. I shoved Sakura to the left, causing her to cry out as something shot out of the bushes and charged at me.

My eyes locked onto a pony, a stallion, maybe in his mid-twenties at most. His clothing was torn top to bottom, copious amounts of blood covered his body, and he hissed at me. I stumbled back as my hands gripped my kama, I panicked and almost froze up.

But Sakura's scream broke me out of it, "Sir Dee!"

I broke out of my freeze and swung my kama into the thing, the blade slicing into its chest and past its shirt, the blade sunk into the flesh before getting hung somehow. I tried yanking on it as the creature screeched at me, swiping with clawed fingers and almost hitting my face.

I panicked once more and ended up kicking the pony away, losing my kama in the process before running to the left.

I cursed, there went one of my weapons, fuck! I pulled out my knife and ran after Sakura, "Run run run!" I yelled at her before looking back, seeing the pony get up and dart after Dancer who roundhouse kicked him away, she turned and followed us shortly after.

More trees crashed down and a roar sounded, the Grom gave chase once more after us, forcing my already aching legs to cry out in pain.

More hisses and growls filled the forest around us, growls and snarls rising up from the bushes as Dancer made it to my side. I suddenly had flashbacks to old zombie flash games I played back when I was younger.

Bodies rose up out of the thick brush surrounding us. Sakura screamed and backpedaled from a body that rose up, covered in deep gashes that oozed brackish goo and growling. Other bodies were the same, resembling the undead in every sense of the word.

A tiny part of me screamed in terror... the terrified child within me tried to take control, but I beat him back and pushed on.

"We gotta get out of here! RUN!" I kicked away an undead that had charged at me with a howl, where my foot connected with its gut and sent it stumbling back.

Just as I started running, something grabbed onto my other kama and ripped it from my hands. I saw a pony, a little filly with no legs on the ground and trying to get at me. She had grabbed my kama instead, leaving me with only my knife. I would have gone for it, but the monsters were closing in and the Grom wasn't stopping!

Shit! Shit! Shit! I ran after Sakura and Dancer, my heart pounding in my chest and my mind sending me lovely thoughts. You're gonna die horribly! You're gonna die a horrible death! AAAAAH! I did my best to ignore the voice and continued running.

Shit, this was supposed to be a simple trip to the next town! Not us running for our lives against some fucking zombies, where did they even come from!? Dancer said this forest just had some faeries and shit in it, not undead and a giant mutant Rhino knockoff! Gah, this day has to be a Monday or something.

We kept running as far and as fast as we could. The trees grew thicker and thicker, and the undead began appearing on the right side, forcing us to veer left if we didn't want to end up getting grabbed or worse... bitten.

These things were terrifying to me, the gashes and cuts across their bodies disturbing with their ethereal blue glow, this wasn't some natural shit.

They were missing chunks of their faces, arms, legs, some weren't even able to walk, they just resorted to crawling! Stallions, mares, fillies and colts of all ages just lumbering after us!

Truly, a nightmare come true.

I didn't know what was going on and that scared me. What were these things? Were they undead? They certainly acted like it, and... smelled like it. The way they moved, the way they growled and snarled in their desperate chase after us, they had to be, that or they're all possessed by something.

"Rah! Hah!" One of them growled from my left, grabbing onto my arm with a snarl. It tried to pull me off the path I was blazing, its teeth snapping at me, blue eyes glowing with hungry malice.

I reacted appropriately, I think.

"AHHH FUCK!" I screamed, punching it straight in the face. A fierce sting of pain rushed through my fist from that, but I punched it again, getting another growl before bringing my knife around and sinking my knife into the temple. It gurgled, blood gushing from its mouth before falling, my knife slipping out as I turned and ran. Shit! I adjusted my hat as I heard a skree above, Snowdew must have taken flight while I was too busy being terrified for my life.

Good girl!

We rushed, running and running, panic no doubt filling all of us. Though I had a feeling Blade Dancer was perfectly fine, she had the body of one who's been on long journeys before, chances are she'd be able to outrun us no problem.

Sakura would collapse first, I was somewhat more built and had slightly better stamina, so I'd be the last to fall while Dancer sprinted off into the distance.

And just as I thought that I heard a body thump, and spotted Sakura sprawled out on the ground.

"Ahhh shit!" I rushed over to her and yanked her away from a few hands that sprouted out of the bush, grabbing at her legs and trying to pull her in. I just ripped her free, hefted her onto my back and did my best to run with Dancer, to hopefully get out of these woods and find some place to hide.

It wasn't looking good, however.

Further and further we ran, the monsters all around us trying to get closer as the Grom tore through trees and the other infected to tear a path straight to us, sending debris flying.

"This way!" Dancer cried suddenly, punching one of the taller ponies out of the way and leading us further left.

Damn it! Why left?! We should have headed right, not further into the forest! But I followed her regardless, if only because she may have known about a decent escape from these damned zombie pony things. Hell, being out in the open might end up being a death sentence for us, especially since that Grom is still on our ass.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck!

Our path eventually led to what looked like a wide and deep chasm, just a giant split in the middle of the ground. And wouldn't you know it?

Fucking rope bridge.

Dancer spun around once we reached the bridge, her blade conjured up as I eyed the old rickety thing with a very angry frown. We were supposed to cross this shit?!

"Sakura, can you move?" I slid her off my back and onto the ground, and she was able to wobbly stand beside me. She glanced behind us into the forest and gave me a shaky nod, "Look, you're the lightest so you cross first, got it?"

"B-but what about you?" A look of fear filled her eyes.

"Look, I'll cross after you do, now move it!" I whirled around and held my knife as Sakura crossed behind me. I gave a look to Dancer, who eyed one of the shambling freaks. "You ever seen anything like this before?" She was an adventurer, though there was a possibility she may have seen something like this in her travels... maybe?

Dancer twirled her sword about and glared at the dozens of glowing blue eyes peering through the trees at us. "I believe them to be rotten."

"...Rotten?" Wait what? "I uh... yeah, they're rotten, they certainly smell rotten." I had to admit, they had the distinct air of... dead around them, like zombies.

"No, I do not mean rotten in that sense, I mean they are The Rotten," She emphasized the words for me as one of the aforementioned 'Rotten' stumbled up, and she rushed over with her sword, swinging it in diagonally and cutting into the creature, her blade slashing through its skull before she gave it a swift kick into the chest. "They are a deadly creature, infected with a sickness that turns them into monsters like these."

After a moment, I sheathed my knife and pulled out my bow. I gave the strings a test pull, hearing a nice sproing noise before nocking an arrow in it and aiming forward into the forest.

"Do you know how to use a longbow?" Dancer asked as more of those things lumbered towards us.

I thought of the times playing video games with archery in them. "Eh, more or less." It was all I had, because I sure as hell wasn't gonna go toe to toe with these things with my knife.

I like keeping my enemies as far away from me as possible.

But if it comes down to it... I could feel my arms beginning to ache from holding the nocked arrow, waiting for one of them to come into view.

"I'm across! Hurry!" Sakura cried from behind me, and I backed up a tiny bit.

One of the monsters stumbled into my life of sight. A stallion wearing a ripped blood red robe and clutching an iron hand axe dripping with crimson. He croaked and stumbled for me, arms outstretched.

I aimed my arrow and finger, moving back a few more steps before letting it loose with a sharp twang noise. My arm shook from the force of the arrow flying forward and I could barely make out the sound of it cutting through the air.

Thump

It impacted the stallion's neck, slicing through the soft flesh and exiting out through the back, lodging itself and sticking out of both ends and causing him to stumble and gurgle up brackish ooze.

I grimaced, least my aim isn't completely horrible.

"Dee! Come!" I heard Dancer cry out next.

I glanced behind me across the bridge and I saw Dancer had already crossed.

That was my cue to gtfo!

I dashed for the bridge as more of the Rotten cam stumbling out of the woods, their ghastly moans filling my ears along with the stampeding Grom.

My feet hit the first board of the bridge, causing it to creak and give slightly causing me to dip down lower than I would have liked. But I kept moving across, almost sprinting in my haste to get across.

Ashamed as I am to admit it... my fear of getting killed and eaten alive had taken control of me, and that cause me to panic.

CREAK

And that panic clouded my mind.

CREAK-SNAP

And it caused me to fuck up... bad.

SNAP SNAP SNAP

"Sir Dee!" Sakura's cry reached me just as the ropes snapped.

I lost my footing and fell down onto the boards. The bridge fell along with me, and all I could do was hold on for dear life.

"Holy fuck!" I screamed, the panicked noises of Dancer and Sakura above me.

I impacted the side of the rocky crevice—shock waves of pain rushed through me causing me to lose my grip. I scrambled against the wood, the rocks, trying to find a hand or foothold, but gravity had other plans for me.

"No no no no no no, shit!" I slid down the rope bridge, trying desperately to grab onto something, anything to keep me from falling down, but it was pointless.

I felt weightless as I fell down, my head snapping up to catch the sight of Dancer jumping down after me, but she ended up getting tackled by a few of those damned rotters, forcing her back up to fight them off. Sakura screamed as I plummeted into the dark abyss out of sight.

Was this seriously it? I die from a damn rope bridge collapsing under my weight, because of my own panic?

I grimaced, my entire body felt incredibly cold all of a sudden.

This was seriously it fo-

Thump

Tunnels n' Shit Arc - Not Today

ooo000---000ooo

Drifting through the darkness was a very unpleasant experience, especially when everything felt numb and the pins and needles overtook anything else. I couldn't move a muscle without feeling weird or uncomfortable, making me grit my teeth.

Thump thump, thump thump, thump thump

Ow...

My heart was too loud.

The feeling of pain and I were best friends at this point in time, why wouldn't we be? We were a hatefuck couple with a bad marriage fighting over who gets to keep the trailer and the kids after the divorce, it was just an angsty and sweaty time, and right now? Pain and I were currently in the midst of an orgy alongside our neighbors; Agony and Despair.

My back, my legs, my arms; hell, my entire body felt like it was on fire at this point. I couldn't move anything without feeling an intense burning feeling. It felt like acid was moving in and out out of my throat with each breath. I couldn't even open my eyes fully from how heavy they felt.

The one I did manage to crack open allowed me to see the faintest hints of light far in front of me, but then it fizzled out like a candle by rainfall.

Shit... can't move, am I paralyzed? My thoughts were a jumbled mess floating through an ocean of agony, and I was struggling to stay afloat in my tiny dinghy.

I felt weighed down like something was gripping onto my legs and trying to pull me into the deep dark abyss that was death itself, waiting with outstretched hands and eager to suck down my soul. I struggled and struggled against the hold, trying to kick it back, to stay awake and not fall any further, but the creeping feeling coursed throughout my body. I felt disgusting, weak, sickly, and most of all tired as hell.

Until a sudden surge of energy filled me and my eyes shot open. I gasped and sucked in air and sat up, my eyes wide and glaring into the darkness. Shit, w-where am I? My line of sight was completely fucked up, and no matter how hard I blinked or rubbed at my eyes I couldn't see a damn thing around me.

It was only then I realized how cold it was; the air was deathly chilly from a brief gust of wind coming from somewhere. I was pretty ticked off right now, well, equal parts ticked off and scared shitless.

Not a sound could be heard anywhere around me, and it only worried me, where in the fuck was I?

Damn. I slowly got back onto my feet, doing my best to combat the stinging and painful throbbing in my back and arm. I glanced upwards and saw a faint white light cutting a jagged line from one end to the other.

The memories of what happened earlier came flooding back to me. From Dancer, Sakura, and I running for our lives from what Dancer called the Rotten, the Grom, the rope bridge...

Didn't take me long to realize that I had actually fallen from up there and landed down here. That feeling of weightlessness when you were falling was something that was incredibly hard to forget.

"How th-the fuck did I survive that?" I couldn't help but wonder. That easily had to have been several hundred feet, there's no damn way in hell I should have survived a fall from that height. Even if I was at the height of human conditioning and reached my peak, I should have been a flattened smear on the rocks and dirt below me.

I decided to swallow my stubborn logic on why I shouldn't have lived and instead focused on finding my way out of this trench. Which, hopefully, was nearby, cause I was not happy with how this turned out.

I wasn't looking forward to living out the rest of my life in the darkness like a fucking goblin.

Not being able to see was going to be my biggest issue here, because save for the light-up above I had no idea where anything was, if there was anything to begin with!

I was blind here.

Fuck, okay, calm down. Legs shaking, I ended up sitting down on the rocky floor beneath me. A few steady breaths were all it took to keep myself from shaking, Sakura and Dancer are probably still up top, I doubt they fell down below with me, otherwise, I would have heard them calling out for me... if they hadn't died right off the bat

Oh wait, I'm a fucking idiot!

I took off my backpack and rummaged around inside it, blinding grasping for a familiarly shaped object. My fingers grazed something at the bottom past the Orb and some backup clothes I had. I yanked out my little item with a flourish, swiftly flicking it on, immediately cutting a thick swath through the shadows.

My flashlight!

A bright beam of light lit up the darkness, and relief spread throughout my body. I angled it to and fro, and I saw the entire ground was nothing but rock and a few dark brown clusters of something. The walls were also angled and jagged, with dozens of little outcroppings I could possibly use to climb back up if I tried, but looking all the way up, I knew that even if I wasn't currently injured, I would never be able to make it up there.

Fuck. My side stung, as did my back and legs.

I had no idea as to the extent of my injuries, but I had a feeling I sprained or cracked something, I had to have.

Hell! I'm shocked I even survived the fall down here. I didn't see anything that stuck out that could have cushioned my fall, so...

How?

"Ignore that, focus on... f-finding a way out." I muttered and looked around the only two paths I could. One slanted downward further, and somehow that didn't seem like much of a good idea to me. The other path? It just went straight into a darkness that even my flashlight had difficulty breaking through.

Either direction could be a death sentence, I didn't know if any of those Rotten dudes were down here.

Another painful throb coursed through my body. I was hopeful none of them were, I wasn't sure I could really fight them in my current state.

Shit, and I lost my bow as well. All I had left on me was my knife and the quiver full of arrows, the former I held onto with an ironclad grip.

After a few moments of thinking, I settled on heading towards the straight path rather than further downwards, if I needed to find a way up, I should head up, not further down.

Ugh... watch it turn out that I'm gonna get stuck down here, I wasn't too keen on finding out if that was going to be the truth or not.

Didn't take me long to end up finding a lot of openings in the ground leading up to an even deeper chasm; a massive pitch-black crevice leading further down into a pit of seemingly impenetrable darkness. My flashlight illuminated exactly bumfuck all ahead of me. So with that, I turned and made my way back towards the path heading down.

My thoughts kept turning back to Sakura and Dancer; were they okay? If so, where had they gone? The bridge collapsed, so the Grom and other Rotten were stuck on the far side. But I don't know if there was anything on the other side that was just as dangerous, or more dangerous.

Gah, who fucking knows, stupid magic pony land.

I just had to pray that they were okay and not being eaten alive or whatever.

The sting of pain continued throughout my body and my mind wandered... right into dangerous territory. I heard Daring's voice in my head as I walked, heard that confident voice screaming at me. You're no fighter. Daring hissed before we split up from one another near the mountains. And here I thought I was a decent one. She made a half-decent point; I wasn't a fighter, bar brawls? Just drunken retardation. Fights where it was live or die? Not a single one.

A hint of self-loathing began to trickle into my mind and heart, but I shook my head and continued down the path.

I didn't need this right now, didn't need to focus on that shit.

The path continued leading me down until I found myself walking down a small dip that made a sharp left turn... heading even further down, making me all the more nervous. Was this leading down into someplace that would help me? Or fuck me over? Well... only one way to find out I guess.

With another hard swallow, I continued down.

Even as I tried to get my mind off of things, I was still wondering how in the hell I had survived such a fall. Aside from the stinging sensation filling my body, nothing was hurting majorly - no broken bones, no swelling, no sprains.

I was perfectly fine.

Maybe if I get out of this mess, I can get looked over at the nearest clinic.

Hopefully, the next town wasn't too far, I'd rather get away from this place as soon as possible. Not a big fan of being chased by a bunch of infected undead - especially without any weapons on hand, decent ones anyway. I growled and shook my head, continuing through the tunnel. I wasn't sure if I had enough money left on me to buy any other weapons, I guess I'll see if I make it out of this shit alive.

A few rocks tumbled forward when I hit them and my light hit a wall — or what I thought was a wall anyway, I saw it was a doorway blocked off by some large boulders. I frowned and knelt down, looking up under the rock to find some clearance under it to the other side — there was just barely enough crawl space for me.

Not too bad... hopefully, there was something on the other side of it though I didn't feel like running into a dead-end and discovering I was ultimately fucked down here.

Shoving the butt of the flashlight into my mouth so I could see, I got down onto the ground and shimmied up to the crawlspace, squeezing under it and shining the way under it. From what I could see, the entrance for whatever this was had collapsed, but the rocks were wedged up high enough to leave me enough room to move forward.

Good thing I was a small person, otherwise I'd be stuck outside.

I took a deep breath and shimmied under the rocks in an attempt to make it to the other side. I already didn't like this - I wasn't claustrophobic by any means and neither was I scared of what might be on the other side, I was more concerned with the rocks suddenly shifting and deciding that today was a good day to crush poor ol' me.

I'd much rather survive, escape this whole situation, and sleep for a month straight, preferably surrounded by gorgeous busty girls.

Damn those stupid Rotten or whatever, blegh! I get this kind of stuff is supposed to be life-threatening and that was part of the joy, but lord above am I annoyed by this. I'd be less annoyed if I had a decent weapon on hand... a damn shame that dragon ring or whatever doesn't work on me, it could've helped out. That ring I had was little more than a neat little accessory of mine at this point, it didn't really serve much of a purpose to me other than something to look flashy.

I kept squeezing under the rocks and shimmying myself forward for some time, I almost thought that it was going to keep getting tighter and tighter up until the rocks gave way to a hallway.

"Nng, finally." I pushed forward and finally broke free of the rocks, ending up in the darkened hall of rock and stone. I stood up and took my flashlight, using it to shine on the path in front of me.

I didn't see much except a few fallen rocks littering the walkway in front of me, cracked walls spider-webbing up and across, and the hallway itself went deep. This wasn't natural either, it was too smooth to be made by nature... plus I could see intricate carvings in the walls that led further in, nothing of any real note but more of a design thing.

That one little realization made me freeze where I was.

Carved stone... the Road of Avros? I wondered as I started creeping forward. What Dancer had told me came to mind, about the Khorclings infesting the tunnels and areas under the mountain. They were as big as a pony or human, but with thrice the muscle mass and are stupidly strong. That doesn't bode well for my future health, I need to find a weapon or something! No way would I survive down here with those things... if they even existed.

Hopefully, for my sake, they died out a long time ago and it was just all myth and legend.

I kept walking through the tunnel and kept my ears peeled for any noises, anything that would give away something that should make me feel worried. I wasn't even sure if I was alone down, for all I know there were more of those damn Rotten lurking in the shadows, waiting to get a piece of me. Once again - I had to remind myself - I was without a fucking weapon to defend myself with... least any decent one, my knife would have to do for now.

I pulled it out and held its blade down as I ventured further into the hall.

Nothing cropped up that I could hear or worry about - there was no wind to speak of, no growls or snarls of the undead bastards, no screaming from other monsters - just my footsteps gently echoing throughout the hall and the crunching of pebbles and such underfoot. My heartbeat had calmed in the darkness despite being a mess earlier - slow steady beats that allowed me to regain my focus and keep my nerves from firing off everywhere.

The hall eventually turned and I found myself heading down some stairs further into the darkness, lit up only by my flashlight.

Keep going, don't give up. I kept that thought in mind and swallowed hard, limping down the stairs until I arrived in a room where my steps echoed off of the walls.

Shining my light around, I didn't see anything except pillars stretching up into pitch blackness that my flashlight couldn't reach, stone flooring that vanished out of my line of vision. I was in a massive chamber, that's what this had to be, it couldn't be anything else. But why was it so fucking empty?

I couldn't hear a thing, see anything worth noting.

I coughed again and heard it echo throughout the chamber, far louder than I had hoped it would, and I couldn't shake that feeling of unease that something was very wrong here. Those 'Rotten' up above were an issue, and I could only hope they wouldn't find a way down here because all I had was my knife. To top it all off, I was alone, without anyone to watch my back... and it felt like I was being watched.

My gamer senses are tingling, something is definitely watching me.

I twirled my blade until it faced up and I looked around. I couldn't shake the feeling, that something down here was watching me, waiting... but why? Why not come at me now and end this little gam? Or are they getting a thrill out of watching me panic in the darkness? It had to have been those Khorclings in the shadows, watching me, waiting until I get to a certain part of this place.

Damn it, I walked right into a fucking trap.

Then my flashlight decided to flicker, causing me to pause. I watched it flicker again before going steady, and then eventually fail on me completely... the light was gone, and I was drowning in the shadows once again.

I could feel my heartbeat in my ears. A slight ringing noise accompanied it as I realized the predicament I was suddenly in... son of a bitch.

Being lifted off the ground while I was lost in thought?

I won't lie to you.

I screamed.

"AhhhhHHHHHHH FUCK!"

I thrashed at whatever held me, but I didn't feel anything grabbing me, no hands, no arms, nothing! I just lifted up off the ground.

I was thrown through the darkness like a fucking paperweight. The wind blew by me and I panicked, tucking and rolling in the hope it'd cushion my landing somehow.

It didn't.

I slammed into the hard stone and rolled fast, and it didn't take long for my body to unfurl and flatten out as I ragdolled across it, eventually sliding and ripping up my clothing the further I went.

I grunted, gagged, and choked on my own fucking spit before rolling to a stop, weakened and bruised.

"F-fuck, s-stay away!" I shouted into the shadows and pulled out my blade as if that would help me in this situation. "Stay the fuck back!"

My blade felt odd the more I stared into the dark. Before I knew it, the blade felt light, and something clattered to the floor beneath my feet.

I pulled it closer to myself and felt the blade...

Or lack thereof.

Oh my fucking god, I'm screwed.

I felt something impact my side hard, and if something didn't break, I would have been surprised.

Again I was sent flying, but this time much lower to the point I skirted the floor. I fell lower until I was skidding across, rolling, and then slammed into one of the columns dominating the empty space of the chamber.

My vision had gone white briefly as my back burned, and my bones shook from head to toe. I coughed up something warm, an irony taste, and it felt like something broke loose somewhere.

Fucking shadow monster, or something... goddam-.

The ability to breathe suddenly became a harrowing task as my throat closed up, and I was lifted off of the ground and into the air.

I grabbed at my throat but found only air, and no hands, no arms, nothing, but it felt like something was gripping it! Whoever or whatever was doing this was beyond my ability to fight off.

F-fuck.

I felt eyes staring at me; one, two, two dozen? I couldn't keep count, it felt like hundreds were staring at me, it felt as if a thousand hungry maws were eager to consume me, consume my soul.

"F-fuck off, you c-cunt." I growled through my teeth. My lungs burned and I probably shouldn't have wasted precious oxygen cursing, but if this is how it was going to end, then so be it! "Grk!"

No replies? Typical of shadow creatures.

Hot breath washed over my face, and in the darkness, I saw a single pair of purple eyes glaring at me. My heart was thumping faster than before as the eyes closed in, buzzing around like two fireflies in sync as they closed in.

Before I knew it they were face to face with me.

"You dare intrude upon our home."

I couldn't reply. How was I supposed to?

'Why yes, I most certainly am, don't mind me.' The fuck kind of question is that?

I tried to grab onto something, anything, but there wasn't anything. Whatever was grabbing me didn't have a physical body, or was using magic to hold me in place and I just couldn't see it.

Fucking magic-using headass.

"You are not welcome here."

"D-didn't mean to-"

I almost felt my eyes try to pop out of my skull once the grip tightened even more, and I lost any ability to breathe. This bitch was choking me!

Fuck!

I probably would have died down here, and yes... you read that right.

Probably would have.

A light came out of nowhere and nearly blinded me, and for a brief moment, I thought I finally kicked the bucket and was taken before the pearly gates for judgment.

No, it was a light from somewhere in the chamber that was so fucking bright, it caused whatever creature was holding me to suddenly let go. I fell to the ground hard, landing on my back and sucking in as much oxygen as my feeble lungs could.

"Fuck!" I cried out as I managed to breathe again, but it was by no means an easy feat. The light continued to shine and I could see more of the chamber, not that I gave a fuck about it, to begin with, I was wanting to get out of here.

The light stopped being so bright and instead focused itself into an almost orb-like shape, and fluttered down closer to my level. It hovered above my body as I slowly tried to stand, but even that was a chore.

I couldn't see who or what was casting the light, but it was bright enough that I couldn't make out what it was... I guess it was some light spell, but who cast it?

I could see the floor around me, a dark marble. The columns were a lighter color and stretched all the way into a ceiling I could not make out, even with this powerful light. I couldn't see any monsters, no ponies, not even bodies, only bits of rubble here and some crates there, just stuff I couldn't use to help me out.

"Don't know who did this, b-but... thanks." I coughed out and limped my way forward, where I was going? I had no fucking idea. I just wanted to leave this chamber and find somewhere else to go, preferably an exit, or a fucking... something!

So I walked...

Some Time Later

The light continued with me and led me along, acting as a sort of guiding lantern. I found it weird, but as long as it helped me see in this darkness, I wasn't going to complain at all, in fact, I was grateful, but goddamn it if I wasn't pissed off. I lost my only weapon to a fucking shadow monster, turning it to dust and crumbling it into pieces leaving me with little to no way to defend myself.

Even my quiver of arrows was missing in action, I had literally nothing on me to help me fight should I run across any enemies.

I was at a disadvantage and it irked the prepper in me.

Of course I'm without anything, it's always fucking something going on! I cursed endlessly, but contained it to my thoughts for fear of speaking, I still didn't know if there was anything out there watching me, waiting for me to slip up. For all I knew, this light was attracting even deadlier threats to me, acting like a beacon to whatever was hiding down here.

That was another thing; Avros, what happened to it?

Whatever it was, it couldn't have been good. The entire mountain is fucking abandoned, not a single soul in sight, no guards, no people, nothing anywhere, not even torches, it was a tomb and I was trapped in it. I don't know why I was so worried about this now when I should be focused on trying to find a way out of here and back to Sakura and Dancer.

Fucking swell, watch there be thousands of undead monsters down here somewhere, waiting for me to make a noise and draw them all to me.

That would be my luck.

I kept walking for what honestly felt like miles, legs burning and my eyes struggling to get used to the shadows before arriving at an archway, a large one. The light bobbled around as I approached the archway, discovering a long stone passage stretching across a deeper and darker chasm. Further ahead, even in this inky darkness, I could make out structures...

Another light shone in the shadows across the bridge, a dimmer ball of light that hovered closer to the bridge from the buildings. Soon, I saw more lights appearing in the windows, the doorways, from underneath piles of rubble and hidden alleys between the buildings. The combined lights made it easier to see it was the beginnings of some kind of district belonging to this huge underground city, long abandoned except for these lights.

I remained speechless before finding it in my heart to cross the bridge, carefully guided by the light next to me. More and more of this district was lit up as the orbs hovered into view, like little sprites from a game, acting as a light source for me to see the area.

I saw a lot of buildings carved out of stone, homes, shops, and storage for the people who used to live here ages ago. Windows had been blocked off and doors locked up tight against whatever calamity had befallen them, and my interest only grew the further I ventured.

The ruins spoke of war to me, the aged and broken stone walls, busted-in windows, the shattered remnants of what used to b a peaceful life destroyed by war. That's what I imagined, a war against an enemy force, or some kind of monster attack? It was difficult to really tell.

My curiosity got the better of me and I approached one of the homes down the path I was going down, just a random one I spotted and decided to enter. The door had been broken down and lay in splintered remains on the floor, opening up into a small living room filled with rotted furniture broken down over time, covered in cobwebs and dust that lingered. The shattered remnants of a broken home made my skin crawl.

A ghastly feeling crawled up my spine as I saw the faded paint of symbols upon the walls, a faded red X overtop a long moose-like skull, or a caribou skull now that I thought about it. It was circled by red paint and had run down the wall alongside dozens of other symbols, all of them being large Xs and slashes, looking like claw marks or something. A lot of these led into the different rooms.

Guess the Caribou had their way with this mountain... but how could they have? This place is massive, how big were their forces?

I glanced off towards some stone stairs leading up to the next level and saw a light. A few moments passed before another one of those orbs hovered from above, floating down from the stairs and next to me and the other orb. The combined light made it easier to see the symbols and devastation, and I felt a pang of something in my chest.

"What are yo-"

I couldn't finish before the orb of light shot toward me, and my vision went white. I lost my balance as everything around me changed, rapidly warping until I was back inside of the home.

Except there was light, there were no symbols, and I heard voices.

A hazy outline around my vision made me dizzy, but I was still able to focus on what was happening around me.

I saw three ponies standing in the main room I was in, windows blocked and the door shut tight with a bar over it. The two adults were sitting next to the smaller pony, a filly? The one thing I noticed off the bat was... well, they were bat ponies, dressed in simple yet fine clothing.

"The guard shall not let them win." The stallion spoke to the mare and filly, his family? "Luna's Moon will protect us from these barbarians."

"But father-" the filly shivered as the sounds of screaming reached my ears- our ears, actually. "-w-what if they fall? W-what if the guard l-lose?"

"Don't speak such nonsense, my child." The mother reassured the filly, pulling her close to her as a loud explosion went off, and I shivered. "We have the finest guards in the Mountain Kingdoms."

The moment she said that someone started banging on the door and screaming and shouting, I heard them laughing and hollering as the window barricades shook, and someone cried: "THEY'VE BROKEN THROUGH!"

The door gave way, and the family screamed.

I felt a stab of pain in my chest and fell to my knees as a voice reached my ears, "Upstairs! Run my child! RU-AAAAAAAH!"

My vision warped and changed as I found myself thrown back into reality, back underground inside of that same house, only in the present. I felt nausea rise up in my stomach and shook. I trembled from the cold feeling washing over me before looking up at the orbs hovering near me.

"W-what the fuck..."

I swallowed as my eyes drifted past the floaty orbs and to the stairs, and I felt my legs starting to move toward them. I passed by the crumbled furniture that made up some pisspoor barricade and up the stairs, passing bone dusty old bones littering the steps before arriving at the second floor, where a couple of rooms greeted me. The one on my right had caved in entirely, blocking it off when stone rubble and the one to my left was wide open.

I approached the door and peeked inside, seeing a broken bed against the corner of the wall, destroyed like the rest of the furniture. The window was broken wide open by something that crashed into the room, tearing the stone apart, almost like something heavy hit it head-on.

What was on the floor was what grabbed my attention: a few skeletons on a dusty old carpet. Two adults and one smaller child, and my mind filled with the images I had seen previously of the family of batponies before more of those sprites appeared, lighting up the room and showing me more of the chaos that had happened here: the markings on the wall from weapons, the faded burn marks, the symbols carved and painted onto the walls.

I looked down at the bodies and the tattered clothing they wore and let out a small breath.

I turned to the sprites behind me, the three hovering and... watching me.

"You guys aren't just lights... are you?"

No random light would just show me visions of the past, no... these weren't lights, these were spirits, those who died here.

I turned back to the bodies and stared hard at the symbols, the bodies, and the memories as they bled back into my mind, trickling in and filling me with this realization of what happened here.

The Caribou took out Avros, and I was seeing the memories of the dead.

Tunnels n' Shit Arc - The Tragedy of Avros

The Ancient City of Avros

I didn't want to believe it at first, but I was in a magical world where just about anything was possible, still trying to wrap my head around that one if I'm being honest.

These floating sprites were the spirits of the family I saw, the parents and their child, somehow tethered to the living world instead of passing on. They lingered in the darkness of this mountain home, aimlessly existing in the void for god knows how long, and I could only ask myself why.

I looked down at the bones of the family splayed out on the ground and the beds, I didn't need to know who was who, it was obvious, they were old and decayed like the rest of this mountain city. Their clothes were tattered and rotted away, serving no purpose to someone like me. Nothing in this room seemed to be of any importance, not that I could see. The sprites themselves hovered above the bones and I felt a pang of something in my chest, pain... a pain I couldn't fully grasp.

"I..."

What could I even say? Would they understand me despite being ghosts? Did they even understand my language?

I was at a loss.

The larger of the three spirits hovered close to me, its light bright enough that I could see more. It moved past me and out of the room with barely a sound, soon followed by the other two spirits, forcing me to follow them lest I was left alone in the shadows of a fallen civilization.

I followed them out of the room and into the hall where I saw them heading back downstairs.

I was quick to follow after them downstairs, the only source of light I had, and to be quite frank, I wasn't too keen on being trapped in a bedroom with bones. I followed the Sprites downstairs while they zipped around broken furniture, tattered clothes, and overturned pots until we reached an old cabinet, littered with some plates and other objects, cobwebs especially, but the larger sprite zipped behind it...

My instincts tingled.

"Alrighty then, sorry if I bust this."

I grabbed onto the age-old wood before hefting it to the side. It scraped against the stone floor, and it tried to resist, but I used some clever leverage to push it out of the way, but once I had let it go it decided to topple over and fall to the ground with a loud boom before revealing an old wooden door covered by a moth-eaten cloth. I winced at the echo and waited in case anything heard me, but I heard nothing, hopefully, that shadow monster wouldn't come back anytime soon.

The door didn't look special, but they went in there for a reason. I blew a raspberry and approached the door before I grabbed onto the handle, and pulled it towards me. It struggled but I was able to pull it open to reveal a small spiral stairwell, a cramped one that went down into the darkness, the larger of the spirits eyed me before going down.

Forced to follow less I lose my only light, I ran after it.

I squeezed myself down the stairs and I got dizzy really fucking quick until I found myself in the basement, populated by some kinda small insects that fled from the light and my presence. I took a look around and spotted some shelves full of small pots, some rolls of cloth, and a few bigger pots on the ground, but the chest at the far back was what had gotten my interest. The bigger sprite hovered over it before vanishing inside, and I was in the shadows.

I had no idea where the other sprites went, but I had to blindly make my way over to the chest, and I only found it because my foot slammed into the front of it.

"Fuck!" My shout echoed, and I had to bite my tongue. Idiot.

I knelt in front of the chest and grabbed onto either side before lifting the lid up and back, and I found the sprite inside, lighting up its contents.

I blinked at the sight of a sword still in its scabbard, next to it, a matching dagger.

I looked at the sprite and then to the blade once more.

Then the sprite hit me in the chest again and a flash of white overtook me.

"Father?" I heard the voice of the filly again, the family from before, alive and well.

The stallion had knelt in front of the chest as the filly entered the room, and he smiled before turning around to face her. "Yes, my little princess?"

The young filly rushed over to him with a bright smile as she watched him hold the same sword I had seen in the chest. "Are you really putting away your sword?"

"Aye, child." He said, looking down at the blade. "I've slain many a beast with this, but now it is time for it to rest." He turned around to open the chest, taking the dagger from his hip and placing it inside the chest alongside the sword, which he placed inside with the same reverence one would putting an old friend to rest. "I've retired from the Avrosian Guard, so I no longer need it." Once the blades were inside, he closed the chest before turning around and quickly picking her up.

"Wee! So you get to spend more time with me?"

My heart died a little as he nodded.

"All the time in the world, sweetheart."

I came back to the present and was watching the sprite in front of me... the father, on either side, the mother and child. I could almost sense their eyes on me, and all I could feel was sadness. My heart felt like it was being grabbed, and my mind was flooded with images of the chaos that must have unfolded in this city so long ago. So many lives were lost and destroyed in an instant by the Caribou, the ones who bore the mark I saw splattered on the walls like it was a proud symbol.

Anger was swift to bubble up in my heart, the sadness giving way to rage. The door holding it back felt like it was splintering apart from the force, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could contain it either. I didn't even realize my hand had taken hold of the blade's handle.

I paused to take a breath before looking up at the sprite.

"You led me to this for a reason, right?" I asked, but I didn't expect an answer. It just floated there. Figures as much, but maybe they understood, whatever the case may be. I looked down at the blades before I picked them up and stood. "Well, I doubt you led me to these just to show me... and I do need a weapon, so these will definitely help."

I fixed the scabbard of the sword and dagger to my belt, feeling and testing the weight until I had them situated properly. I didn't see anything else in the chest, except for the sprites. They hovered up into the air in front of me.

"I'm sorry you couldn't enjoy your retirement, bud..." I whispered.

A hum snatched my attention away from them to the dagger, which I now noticed was glowing. I grabbed onto the handle and pulled it free, producing a brilliant light that lit up the whole basement.

"Gah!" I had to squint as I slowly got used to the brightness, but once I was able to see properly and my eyes didn't burn, I held it like one would a torch. "Holy-"

"This darkness is no ally to you, my friend." A deep voice whispered, and my hand shot to the sword. "Fear not the one who grants you a boon, fear instead that which makes friends with those who dwell within the deepest realm within the abyss." He told me, and I focused on the sprites in front of me.

Or rather, their pony forms.

The sprites slowly turned into ghostly apparitions of ponies, bat ponies to be precise. I watched as they took the forms of the family I had seen earlier, the ones brutally slaughtered in their own home. The father looked down at me with a grimace, tall and muscular, with rough features and soft eyes.

"You guys are the..." I blinked and the stallion nodded at me. "Why the blades?"

"You are not alone down here, as you already know, friend." He told me and gestured to the blade I held, bright as ever. "The sword you now wield is- rather was a gift from the goddess, Celestia." My eyes widened at the blade, despite the light which had now dulled down to allow me to see the steel itself, emblazoned with runes foreign to me. "It will help you escape these foul depths."

"Really? But why give them to me?"

The stallion only smiled. "Because I have no use for them anymore, and I would rather no one else perish down here if I can help it."

I sighed and lowered the blade until it was by my side, and I looked back up at the stallion. "I greatly appreciate this, it will help... especially after losing my other weapons." I told him and then asked, "what happened here? If you don't mind me asking that is. The entire city is dust and bones, and full of spirits... was it the Caribou?"

He looked back to his wife and child, and then back to me. "The work of the dark lord Ori, and his chaotic thralls, long ago they invaded our home and laid waste to the Thestral kingdoms of Equestria, ours was the last to fall..." He looked down at the blade I now held. "I sense a dark power from you, but it is not your own, is it?"

I adjusted the pack and was firmly reminded of the key I was carrying. "I carry with me something that was used to lock away Ori, a special key... the only reason I have it is because of the Caribou, they're looking to break him free from his prison, so I'm trying to hide it." Can't believe I made it this far without losing it again, yeesh.

"I see, so Ori is to rise again."

"Not if I can help it," I replied swiftly. "I'm not going to let them bring him back."

The stallion nodded and smiled. "It would seem I made the right decision then, in giving you my blade. Go now, escape this wretched tomb before the darkness swallows you whole. The Nightmare hungers for all, and you are the freshest thing here."

"The Nightmare?" I swallowed and felt the hairs on my neck stand on end. "Suddenly things make sense now..."

"The same darkness that devoured our princess, devoured our kingdom..." He closed his eyes and he and his family began to fade away before my eyes. "I wish you luck, stranger."

I almost wanted to stop them, but I held myself firm. "Dee..." I told him before he vanished completely. "My name is Dee."

"A strange name, for a strange creature." Only a torso remaining, he replied, "Nightfall, is my name."

I smiled as he faded away entirely, leaving no trace of him or his family. "I'll remember it."

Once he had faded away, I was left alone in the basement with the glowing sword. Now I had a better weapon, a backup, and a better understanding of what happened to this city and what this foul darkness was. It was the Nightmare, which I didn't even know could exist in this way, it explains a lot though. I spat and turned around before finding my way back upstairs and to the main room.

I was about to leave and hunt down the exit, before looking at the stairs leading up to the second floor. I frowned and walked back up to check on the bones of the family, still covered in dust and cobwebs, in a room stained with blood. I went over to the bed before ripping off the sheet and tossing it over the bones. I would rather dig graves for them, but not only did I lack a shovel to use, but there also wasn't exactly any dirt down here to dig through.

It was all I could do.

"Rest in peace," I told them and then walked downstairs and out of the door, back into the streets of a city swallowed up by shadows and darkness.

Armed with newfound courage, I turned and started jogging through the city in my search for the exit.

A brisk jog swiftly turned into a heated walk as I found myself in what looked like a sort of marketplace for Avros, thoroughly ransacked of any goods worthwhile, and the majority left behind was broken or otherwise rendered unusable by the hordes of Ori, which was a shame, I was hoping to at least grab some other useful items for myself. Some things I stumbled upon were coins, small bags of bronze and silver coins with a few gold ones here and there, a disturbing amount.

I wasn't sure about the exact costs of things but I had searched one stall after another, and even a few of the warehouses, and found a decent amount of loot that could reasonably afford anything. Given my loot-goblin nature, I naturally grabbed as much as I could shove into my own coin purse with a healthy amount stowed away in a pocket in my backpack, which weighed it down.

Somehow I'm gonna regret this.

After getting a good amount, I made my way through the market before finding a large open area of the plaza fixed with a fountain, long dried up. I saw more skeletons laying around, tattered armor and clothing on them all, some wearing next to nothing with broken pelvic bones and shattered arms and legs.

"Christ." I kept my sword out to light up the area, and it started to glow brighter the closer to the fountain I got.

It wasn't until it almost burned my eyes that something felt off.

"Fuck's sake, why so damn brigh-"

I was moving forward when I was cursing the brightness and I almost kicked something, had my body not stopped on its own. I felt an immense pressure surrounding me as if the Nightmare had come back to swiftly take hold of me again, my bones felt cold and my eyes widened. I felt drawn to something in front of me, and naturally, I started to look closer at whatever it was, only to wish I hadn't.

A large pile of bones, a corpse, was laying up against a small guardpost, absolutely massive to look at. It was a large winged beast at some point before its death, with a colossal jaw full of sharp teeth, dozens of them, and horns on its head. It looked like a demon out of some fantasy game, but thankfully it was dead and I didn't have to worry much.

Yet I couldn't stop the lingering feeling in my heart, why was I so spooked? And what the hell was this feeling?

The bones in front of me shifted in the silence, just the barest crunch of long dead bones starting to move.

The sword was glowing a bright blue color as the pile of bones was suddenly overflowing with some sort of dark magic, swirling around the legs and snaking its way up to the exposed ribcage and whirling around inside like a whirlpool of sickeningly dark magic that began taking hold of the skeletal creature. I watched as the magic formed around the legs and arms, forcing the long dead bones to move from where they slumbered for god knows how long.

The skull lifted up and snapped back into place before shifting to turn its dead gaze toward me. Its eye sockets, once empty, now glowed with a dark bluish light that reminded me of the undead creatures above, was the Nightmare responsible for doing that too? I didn't know the Nightmare spread beyond just Luna, fuck.

The beast rumbled as it was forced with undead life, bones cracked and crunched under its own weight as it slowly moved into a hunched-over position. It kept itself up as a gorilla would, with a long tail swishing behind it, long and spiked for smashing and piercing attacks.

It watched me and I it, before slowly backing away.

I felt absolutely overwhelmed.

The beast roared and the once quiet tomb of Avros echoed with its war cry, the force of such a bellow caused me to fall backward and nearly drop my only form of light. The darkness I felt around me seemed to tighten its unnatural grip and I almost puked from how powerful it felt. Its hold on the bones in front of me only worsened as the creature seemed to loosen up from centuries of death as it started to stalk toward me.

No armor covered its body, only bone with spikes protruding from certain areas to act as a defense, and the dark magic swirling inside its chest condensed itself into a sort of orb, every pulse it sent out like a sickening heartbeat to allow it movement and life.

"Hell no." I said and scrambled onto my feet before rushing away, sword in hand, lighting my way and allowing me to keep the darkness at bay as it seemed to swallow up everything in sight.

Like a neverending void of shadows clinging to every surface, swallowing up the buildings around me until it looked as if I was in the abyss, threatening to drown in perpetual darkness. My sword was the only thing keeping back the darkness with its brilliant glow, and I couldn't help but wonder why Celestia would causally give this out as a gift.

I shook my head and kept running before almost running into a wall.

It was then I realized I was surrounded by darkness, this sword only uncovered a few feet in front of me, nothing more.

Whatsmore, it also lent me a clear visual of the monster awoken from its eternal slumber. An undead monster half stomping half crawling its way across a void of abysmal darkness.

Fuck, I can't just blindly run around like this. I told myself and turned around, before pulling out the dagger and holding the blade facing down. The sword I held was short enough to be held with one hand, so I opted for a duel-wield stance. I did everything I could to steel my nerves and stop my panicking heart, lest I go into cardiac arrest. Come on, Dee, come on!

"Ugly fucking bastard!" I shouted at the beast as it kept coming. "You're in for an ass-kicking today! Was just thinking about how boring shit was until you came along!" My voice cracked.

Fuck I think that made it madder somehow.

The beast crashed through building after building, sending debris flying all around as it closed in on me. I rushed forward through the darkness and used the sword to light up the path in front of me, and I jumped over corpses and piles of junk as I made a beeline for the monster making a damn mess of everything.

Only way out is through him.

I had to fight this thing off somehow, but how? I couldn't see any obvious weakness and I doubt I could just slash and hack it down with this blade, it looked too sturdy for that kind of strategy.

I caught sight of it bringing back its arm, no doubt for a swipe, and cursed as I was already running full tilt toward it.

"Shit shit shit!"

I pushed myself to go even faster to try and beat it. My legs were already burning but I kept running until I managed to just narrowly miss the arm as it crashed down behind me and swept across where I had just been standing not a moment ago, and quickly I examined the creature for any kind of weakness, something I could use to combat it.

Everything had a weakness, everything!

The magic was moving across its body from that orb in its chest, every bit of it interwoven through every bone like threads all connected to one another, like muscle fibers. Every one of them led back to that orb.

An idea hit me. Mimicking the ancient Trojan Prince Paris, sans the bow, I moved toward the creature's heels and swiftly slashed at the magic swirling around it, causing the threads to catch fire and sever completely, and like the once great Achilles, the creature roared before it fell to one knee, unable to continue using the ankle I had weakened.

"Paris, you glorious bastard," I murmured as I looked up at the beast, tail violently swishing around as one of the claws reached underneath to try and grab at me.

I quickly avoided it and swung my sword at the deadly claws coming toward me. The tip of my blade hit the longest claw and took off half of it, sending it flying somewhere as the creature roared again.

"Get fucked!" I shouted and rushed away from it as it tried to recover.

As I circled around the beast, I watched the threads I had cut try and mend themselves, but the aftermath of my attack had done something to it, leaving behind a burning edge the magic couldn't touch. Try as it could, it was unable to mend the ankle, thus leaving it disabled.

Seems like this sword is magical in other ways, it's able to hurt the Nightmare. I looked down at the blade, which still glowed brightly as ever. I took a moment to thank Nightfall for his gift again as I continued to study the creature. The Nightmare seems confused, it hasn't lashed out at me yet, I need to take out the other limbs, I disable it, and killing it should be simple enough.

I watched the threads continue to reconnect before the Nightmare grew frustrated, as much as a voiceless/faceless entity could, I imagine. It gave up and the creature turned its attention to me as the power seemingly grew, and the cords of black magic covering it grew larger before it slammed its claws into the stone below and on both arms and one leg, forced itself towards me.

I jumped from where I was hiding near some rubble and changed spots as it crushed everything in its path to find me. If it was truly connected to the shadows like I was thinking, then it didn't matter where I was hiding, it could sense me regardless, and I had to act fast or I was done for.

I'd join Nightfall and his family in the void.

I gotta take this thing down. As I jumped over more rubble and ended up behind the creature, I eyed that orb inside its chest as it grew in size and another idea came to mind. The threads are all coming from that, so maybe if I directly strike that, it'll kill it. All of the darkness is centered on that orb... and with my sword capable of taking out said darkness.

I felt a rush of adrenaline surge through me as it all fell into place.

"I love it when a plan comes together."

I rushed out into the open as it broke through another stall and swung one of its arms toward me. It had gotten faster and I was almost ill-prepared to face it, but I leaped right over the arm and lost balance briefly.

I landed on the ground in a roll as it roared and smashed its elbow into the ground and twisted its body to try and get at me, and I had to react fast.

I swung the blade as hard as I could at the arm closing in on me and felt the metal connected with bone with a violent clang that sent a shockwave up my arm and into my shoulder. My blade bounced off and I almost lost the grip on it, but my attack wasn't in vain.

The sword hit true and the darkness connected to it lost its hold as a blazing blue fire surged across it like a bushfire. The creature roared again as the darkness severed its own connections lest the flame spread and consume it.

It was weak to fire, and this sword gave me that edge.

Goddamn Nightfall, you lucky bastard, thank you.

I swung my sword back around and ran forward, fueled by crazed bravado or insanity, I wasn't sure, but I took the advantage I was given and sprinted straight past its dead arm and toward the chest cavity where its beating heart was throbbing. I brought my blade back and hacked away at the shadows trying to defend its wretched source, easily cutting through it all with the blazing sword of mine until I reached the orb.

"Back to hell with you, bitch!" I screamed and shoved the tip of my sword into the orb, cracking its smooth surface and piercing the inside.

The beast froze before the orb and its entire body caught flame, exploding brilliantly and lighting up the cavern from the darkness. The flame spread beyond the creature and devoured the darkness surrounding me like a hungry dragon, its mighty roar echoing throughout as it followed the Nightmare into the depths of Avros, lighting up every tunnel and hole I could see. It was like a domino effect and the flame was spreading from this creature, and cascading across the mountain city like a cleansing inferno.

The bones surrounding me were devoured by the intense flame, yet I barely felt the heat of it as the bones turned to dust and fell around me. The shadow was gone, the darkness retreated and I was left in the plaza, thoroughly destroyed but cleansed of the abyss that had consumed it for centuries.

The orb I had cracked fell from my sword and hit the ground, shattering into pieces that faded away, save for one large shard that glowed brightly.

I blinked and stowed my knife away before I knelt to grab onto it as my sword's glow disappeared. The shard didn't look special, but it was the only thing that remained of that creature that I had just killed...

It then hit me.

I killed what basically amounted to a mini-boss in an RPG.

The shard was my prize, I guess?

"Huh..." I looked around as the rest of the city looked to be brighter than before, despite being so deep underground. I didn't feel that crushing weight around me, I felt... freed, almost. "You'd think I'd be a little more excited considering I took that thing out, but..." I felt nothing.

Around me though, I saw those spirits from before reappear, but from all over the city. Rising from every building, every corpse, every nook, and cranny from here to where I had been prior, to further ahead where the exit had to be located. I watched them rise up and take rough forms of their pony selves. Thousands upon thousands of bat ponies rose from the darkness, shining brightly like starlight.

I could feel the eyes of thousands upon me and I felt worried.

In front of me, I saw the spirit of one of the batponies, a young filly... too young to suffer a fate like this.

She was smiling at me.

"Thank you for freeing us, stranger." She spoke to me.

"F-freeing you?" I asked as some of the spirits around me began to fade away as they rose up above.

"The Nightmare kept us here... we were unable to leave, but you freed us." She told me before she too, rose with the rest of the people of Avros. "Thank you, stranger."

As I watched them all leave, I found myself uttering, "Dee... my name is Dee."

She kept smiling even as she disappeared alongside the countless other souls, and before long... Avros was silent once more, with only myself as its sole occupant.

I don't know why, but I felt immensely sad. A weight fell upon my heart as I slowly sheathed my blade, and felt truly alone for the first time since arriving here in the world of MLP. I really just did that, didn't I?

I almost couldn't fathom it. I had taken on a beast and with Nightfall's sword, sent a cleansing inferno chasing away the Nightmare, possibly forever, and breaking its hold on the ancient batpony city for good.

A sense of pride took hold after my sadness faded, and I smiled.

"The city can rest, now." I chuckled and stretched out my aching bones before pocketing the shard. "Guess the adventure isn't over yet... still more to do, still have to deal with this damn orb." I looked back at the city. "Hmm, at least I did some good before leaving."

With a wave to the city, I made my way towards the exit... wherever that was.

New World Arc - Its A Whole New World

Author's Note

Welcome to a story like no other, this will not... be fun for any of those who despise Self-Inserts.

You have been warned.
:heart:

Note: This story will be updated weekly every Saturday up until the end of the second arc.
Please enjoy :heart: all comments, lovers and haters are welcome!

Note: Edited 11/26/2021

New World Arc - Its A Whole New World

Have you ever had one of those days, where you just yell—Fuck it!—to the world at the top of your lungs, and subsequently followed it up with some crazy ass shit? Like say; you're overcome with this incredibly tough obstacle and you're terrified of failing it for whatever reason, and you have no other choice but to try and overcome it?

Sometimes you just need a little push to get you going, a nudge to move forward and actually attempt whatever stupid idea you want to do, you know?

"You're not gonna make that jump!"

"Fuck it!"

Something like that, you know? Sometimes all we need is a little nudge to get going.

Right now, you're probably wondering what in the hell is going on. Well, don't worry, I'm wondering that myself and I'm narrating this mess. But alas, I am here to help explain this story to you, what is happening right now, and who these two characters are, it's my job after all!

Who am I you ask?

Well, that's easy. I'm the poor fucker that was sucked into this world like every Human in Equestria character ever.

Okay maybe not every story ever, but a decent amount of them. Anyway, some of those stories always end with our lovable human protagonist being thrown into the Everfree Forest by some chance, or perhaps Sweet Apple Acres with best apple horse. Then you do work with her, deal with some racism from the ponies who don't like the new monkey in town, earn bits to provide for yourself because you're one of those stubborn people who doesn't want charity, and maybe you'd end up romancing and getting with best pony.

The usual methods of ending up in Equestria entailed Discord having a hand in pulling you there, or it was just some random teleportation spell from Twilight who found a new book and wanted to try out the new magic she had at her hooves, or something along those lines.

And me? Oh no. I nowhere even close to being that lucky, not even a little. But I did end up in the lovable world of course, of course it alludes me as to how exactly that happened, that and it took me some time before finding it out.

It all started a few days ago, in a very hot place many knows...

As a fucking desert.

ooo000---000ooo

So yeah as some tended to do it, my day had started out quite normally for me. As normally as a day in Arkansas can go of course, it wasn't bad or anything, get up, go to work, get lunch, party hardy, nap until tomorrow. Yesterday was... a bit sub-par, boring, things like that, more so than usual. I had woken up after a relatively hard day of work at the nearby Walmart and doing stuff with some of my friends at a bar, which may or may not have involved a bar fight, which then ended with me heading on home for a very very long nap.

Bar fights never ended well with me and my friends.

After waking up from my nap, I was quick to climb out of my bed, fumbling around my rather small room as I ventured in search of my shirt I had thrown off in my half tired stupor. I eventually found it was lying on the floor next to my pet, a very troublesome pet to take care of but I love her to bits.

Would you believe me if I told you I had an owl for a pet? Well, I do, just a pretty looking Woodland Owl I had found injured during a storm. Injured and wild animal she was, I obviously had to be careful, so I ended up driving her to the vet to get taken care of, which was a scary ordeal in of itself.

Her claws were sharp and spoopy.

It was an obviously worrisome time, me fretting over a wild owl that crashed onto my porch. But after she was better, I took her in until she was ready to fly back home. The vet was a jerk and didn't want her, so I took her in.

Arkansas animal healthcare at it's finest, folks!

But the funny thing is after she was completely healed up, she didn't fly away like I expected her too. Well, not fly away as in leave the property, instead she stuck around my home. Sometimes she flew off towards the woods but she always came back, usually with some kind of rodent in her talons to munch on.

She even came inside sometimes, waddling inside and being damn good at catching the annoying rats I have that infested my house.

Of course, it wasn't really legal to own a big owl like her, but what the authorities didn't know wouldn't hurt them...

Besides I didn't own the owl, she just so happened to live in my bedroom and eat my food, so...

Fuck your rules.

Is my room slanted? I wondered briefly, feeling like I was standing at an odd angle. I dismissed it as my stupid balance being off center like it usually was. I got all wobbly and shit after I woke up and couldn't tell up from down if I wanted to, and falling down was pretty much a given!

I didn't waste time before throwing on my shirt and listening to the sounds of my owl, Snowdrop, waking up. I blinked to clear the gunk from my hazel eyes and looked around. My room was extremely bland, no posters, just a dresser, closet and a door leading to the hallway. My room sucked, if I was being honest. But that was because I had all of my stuff in my 'Goob Cave' as I called it, a room filled with all of my gaming equipment, YouTubing gear and everything else.

My bedroom was where I slept, which was pretty bare except for my sad little bed, which was actually an inflatable mattress.

I sighed and yawned widely. I scratched my gut, snorting as I put on my shoes and made my way over to the door leading out of my room, in which I was headed for the bathroom to do my usual morning routine.

Shit, shower, maybe shave.

When I opened up my door, I found nothing resembling my hall after pulling my door open.

I found sand spilling down onto my floor instead, and felt a lot of heat washing over me like a heater turned on full blast. When I blinked again I looked down at the sand covering my bare floor and tried to rationalize what in the sweet fuck was going on. A thought of this being a prank came to mind. My friends tended to prank me from time to time like the goodhearted assholes they were, but I think filling my house with sand is a tad bit too far even for them.

"Okay, guys... not cool," I muttered, rubbing the gunk from my eyes as I took a look around, expecting to see my friends giggling nearby, maybe at the end of the hall.

However, I saw something that made me wonder if Steve had slipped me crystal meth cut with some hardcore street drug.

I didn't see my bland hallway covered in crap paintings, instead, I saw a very large looking amount of sand in all directions, sandy dunes and no trees for as far I could see. It looked like a desert, strangely enough, with sand, lots of sand in all directions. Did I say that already? Well, I'll say it again.

There is sand everywhere!

"Why is there a desert in my house... actually, where the fuck is my house?" I asked no one in particular. And hearing a chirping noise behind me, Snowdrop landed on the floor next to me. I looked down at her and saw her inspecting the sand, head tilting before looking up at me with her pretty big eyes. "No fuckin' idea." I responded to her curious look before looking out into the desert again.

I must have been tripping so hard on something right now.

I shook my head rapidly, in the hopes of whatever drug I was probably stoned on would go away and give me a clear head. But that only served to give me a headache, one I did not appreciate at all. With a growl, I trudged back into my room as Snowdrop went to her perch on my dresser. I went towards the footlocker at the end of my bed, my trusty and handy dandy footlocker!

After opening said footlocker, I looked at its contents. My footlocker was filled with various items ranging from useful to very useful, things I bought from sites that sold knives, survival books, helmets and tactical vests. The kind of stuff that someone buys in case zombies attack and such. Inside my footlocker was a standard looking utility belt with some pouches on it that I had gotten a few years ago, along with a survival knife with a blade that measured about six inches. And my handy backpack which had a first aid kit inside it, a flashlight, glow sticks and some other junk.

Shame my house was currently missing. I could head into my closet and arm myself with the guns I had stored in my gun vault.

Fuck me silly.

I settled on grabbing my equipment out of the locker before throwing on some more practical clothing. A pair of rough jeans, hiking boots, and grabbing my lucky orange hat nearby before strapping on the gear I had. After making sure everything was snug and on properly, I sighed and found myself cursing the fact that my gun vault was pretty much gone forever.

Welp... now what do? I pondered as I looked towards the door and Snowdrop. "We're in uncharted territory my young friend, time for adventure!" I declared, gesturing towards the door.

Snowdrop just blinked her pretty big eyes at me.

"That's what I thought, anywho, feel free to join me." I sighed, hocking up a spit before sending it flying into the sands.

The sun was high in the sky, shining down on the sandy dunes surrounding me on all sides. When I walked out I heard a screeching noise and turned to see Snowdrop flying off into the sky, hovering around. I made my way out of the room, and I saw that it had been jaggedly ripped from my house, somehow. Apparently some force decided to get rip it apart from the main building itself and toss it out into who knows where, as opposed to say... my room and my gun vault, or not at all.

I was confused as to how that happened, exactly, seeing how there was no way in hell I could have slept through any sort of construction...

Yeah no that was a bold faced lie, I was a heavy as fuck sleeper.

I pursed my lips and turned back around. I decided on climbing up to the highest dune with a few pathetic grunting noises, my knees were giving me trouble, not something I'd want to say and mean at such a young and tinder age. Once I reached the top, I scratched my ass like any king would and cast my bloodshot gaze out into the great open horizon.

According to my calculations and keen eyes. I saw approximately Diddle Fuck in great abundance all around me.

"Fuck." I heard Snowdrop flying around me. I saw her tilting her head at me when I looked, hovering next to me with that almost vacant look in her eyes. "No idea, Snowy. Let's trudge on forward though, see what we can find out here." I didn't feel too keen on leaving the safety of my abode, but I didn't have anything else in there that was worth taking along with me.

Everything I had was currently on my person and flying next to me, that and I wasn't so sure how long I'd be able to live in that room until something decided to attack me.

With the promise of adventure and a 98% chance of death...

I moved forward.

ooo000---000ooo

I walked for an hour... a straight hour, I know because I was keeping track on my watch. I had left at seven-fifty, it was now an hour past that mark. And so far I had found nothing worth finding out here. Just sand, some rock formations in the distance that didn't look appealing in the slightest, some bones half buried in the ground, nothing! I was hoping to find something nearby, maybe a town or some people.

But of course, I had no fucking clue where I was.

For all I know I could be on an alien world or something.

And something tells me I was probably right in that regard, cause nothing here feels right to me. The area didn't feel like earth to be frank, the air, the ground, the smells and tastes, everything was different. But what do I know? I never looked around my own country, for all I know I was thrown into a really sandy part of Nevada and this is all just a really and weirdly complex prank my friends pulled on me to get back at me for... something.

But of course, like any good story, I was proven very wrong when I saw some smoke pillars rising up into the sky nearby.

I rose an eyebrow at the sight of it as a weight settled on my shoulders, Snowdrop has made landfall, and lemme tell ya, that was painful.

Good thing my shoulder's numb from countless years of agonizing pain.

Growing a bit anxious and interested at the smoke, I trudged forward over a few of the sand rises until I came across a sight that lay on my off-beaten path. Nestled in the middle of the desert and several well-beaten pathways leading off into various directions was a rather modestly sized town, with buildings of sand and wood sprouting up here and there in no organized fashion.

It reminded me a bit of a place that was no doubt a hive of scum and villainy, was it that way?

Only one way to find out!

Keeping a hand on my belt I made my way down the hill and walked towards the town. I also spotted several figures walking around, and when I got closer I couldn't help but slow down a bit when I spotted the... oddities that were the townsfolk. Walking around town were—if my eyes didn't deceive me that is—bipedal and feathered creatures, with large wings on their backs and heads resembling some kind of bird with their lower body reminding me of a lion, wearing clothing.

Griffons... wha-? I blinked, stopping my walk as I even saw other anthropomorphic-looking creatures, Minotaurs (not a good example but still worth mentioning—Donkeys, Zebra...

And the one type that really caught my eyes were the horses, but a look at one of their hips and I saw a distinct mark emblazoned on them, as well as bright colors covering their entire bodies.

Welp... I am all kinds of weirded out right now. I reasoned, conking myself on the head with my fist as Snowdrop cooed in confusion—I think—at my actions.

I gotta be hallucinating things right now. I was seeing ponies, griffons, other mythological creatures that, by earth logic, did not exist in reality. And yet here I was staring at an entire town full of them. And these were not just regular ponies, these were straight up full blooded MLP:FIM style ponies; pegasi, unicorn, earth ponies, bright colors and cutie marks.

I had to be dreaming right now, yet with the slight tingle of pain on my shoulder from Snowdrop's talons, the pain in my head from hitting myself and the blazing heat of the desert all told this was real, this was reality. Unless I was dealing with some weird mind-fuck construct that's making me think this is real when actually I'm probably outside right now in the street looking like a complete idiot...

Ehh, might as well enjoy this.

I shook my head as I tried to clear the idiocy from it before venturing into town proper, trying in deep vain to keep the girlish fanboy deep inside my heart, gut, and nutsack from exploding forth and compromising my outward appearance and making me look like a total dweeb.

The town itself was nicely built and had a very roguish feel about it, the people here hung around the alleys and fronts of some buildings watching the townspeople doing their thing, others were in groups and playing weird street games that made me curious... almost curious enough to try my hand at and play. I tended to have good luck every now and than, maybe I'd try my hand, assuming I could play with nothing which I wasn't betting on. There were some carts set up selling some goods, I saw some selling short swords and shields, bows and arrows and hatchets, herbs and potion like stuff.

I felt like I was in a desolate fantasy town.

I looked all around, noticing a few looks being thrown at me from the minotaur, griffons, even the ponies all stared at me. Not too many to worry me though. I was just the new guy in town... a new guy who, from the looks of things, was the only human.

That could raise problems for me.

I just snorted and cracked my knuckles as I looked for the town bar. My gamer senses were tingling like no tomorrow and told me I needed to find information, and what better place than a bar? Bars, pubs, and taverns were places where people gathered to share stories, nap, drink, find other people, and gain quests! It was the perfect place for me to find some help.

Now if only I could find one around, seedy looking as this place looked, it had to have one somewhere.

Where to, where to.

I pondered as Snowdrop—thankfully—flew off of my shoulder and took flight above me. I saw her fly down one of the paths above anyone's reach and hovering near some buildings, she cawed, drawing my attention further.

Curiously I walked to where she flew too and saw she was hovering in front of a bar. Huh. I smiled as she landed back on my shoulder, the one that was currently numb from years of her being perched there whenever she decided...

Well... numb enough that the pain didn't bother me.

"Good find, Snow." She chirped as I walked into the bar, which had a sign denoting it as The Horny Caribou. This'll be a fun time. I thought before I passed through the saloon style doors.

Once inside, well, I quickly found out why it was called the Horny Caribou.

Inside, the place was well furnished with tables, chairs and stools, comfy looking booths and a large round bar with about three pretty looking mares working it. And the reason for the name? Off to the side I saw the creature in question.

A large looking beast sitting in his own private booth being serviced, and by serviced I mean he was fucking some mare senseless with fast and furious abandon, and she seemed to be enjoying it. His antlers were large, his muzzle long and body covered in a disgusting amount of muscle mass. The only thing he was wearing was a... I guess armored skirt or something that was currently laying on the floor next to him.

It was also really dark in here like they had some kind of mood lighting or something going on.

I grew anxious all of a sudden, why wouldn't I? I've read those accursed Fall of Equestria stories, the sex slavery, and all that business. It was something that physically disgusted me. But this place didn't have that feel to it, there were no chains, no cages, and everyone seemed pretty chill considering the intense smell of musk, grunting, and slapping nearby of sexy times. Drinks were passed around, food was being eaten, conversation was being had.

Jeez, not even three thousand words in and already there's something dirty going on.

I just shook my head and tried to ignore the slapping of flesh against flesh as well as my own second hand embarrassment. I looked around the tavern/pub/bar place thing, seeing if anyone inside this place could possibly help me out as some funky sounding dance music sounded. I could always ask the bartenders I guess, see what they knew, bartenders were everyone's friend.

I didn't get the chance to go and ask, however, someone had grabbed me by the arm and yanked me to the side. "Yipe!" I yelped as Snowdrop flapped off somewhere like a douche, leaving me for dead.

I was dragged onto the dance floor by a something in a cloak and hood. I saw some people on this weird dance floor doing some weird moves that alluded me. And before I could even question what that one dude was even wearing, I heard someone speak, "Dance and act natural." A female voice told me, and I saw the hooded and cloaked person dancing the weird dance.

I looked around and sighed before joining in on this... weird dance of theirs. I didn't know what was going on, nor did I have any idea how to do said weird dance, so I went with it, best as I could, anyway. "The fuck am I doing?" I muttered, mostly to myself.

"Just act natural." The female told me, grabbing my hand and making me take the lead in this little dance of ours. I twirled her around a couple of times as the beat picked up, and we moved just a little faster to keep in time with it. Her moves were obviously better than mine, as I've never danced well in my life. "I need your help."

"Uhhh... with what, why, and most important of all, who are you?" I asked, smiling and acting as natural as a blister at a band-aid party.

She grunted, spinning around me and saying, "No time to explain." She told me as she took my hands and placed them on her hips as she did some kind of... very seductive dance against my body.

Needless to say, I was both uncomfortable and slightly turned on by this, so I ain't gonna complain!

"U-uhm, I think you have plenty of time, considering we're just dancing... somewhat erotically for whatever reason." I coughed awkwardly as she practically moved her body against mine, forcing me to do the same. This didn't exactly help me at all, considering I could feel the contours of her body, every little tight muscle and curve.

She sighed and turned around to face me. I could only make a pair of bright magenta orbs, golden skin, and strands of gray bangs. She kept her body pressed to mine and I could feel... two very distinct and plush objects pressed against my chest as she whispered, "Listen, I'm being chased by some cultists." Her eyes flicked to the side and she kept her hood down over her face, looking down and away. She held me closer and spun around as if to keep hidden, but her eyes glanced past me and back towards the bar, "They're after me and I need to keep what I have safe from them, or else the whole world could be in danger."

I subtly looked over to where she was looking and saw a couple of large looking caribou walking into the place from the back, they were wearing light armor and carrying short swords. They looked all around, no doubt for the mare currently making me dance with her like I was about to get laid hard.

Sadly, that was not the case here.

I turned back to the mare, continuing the dance as I carefully timed our steps to the beat, or at least tried to. I was subtly pushing us behind some people to give us a bit of privacy and hide her a bit more. "I think I saw them, what do you need my help for?" I questioned, seeing the exit nearby and the caribou a bit towards the back near the other one. They seemed a bit transfixed on the mare being fucked senseless, that would give us an opening to run for it if we needed to.

Dirty bastards.

I felt her hand leave my side, and then something rather heavy was placed in my own. "Take this and keep it safe until I come back, I'll make it worth your while, I promise." Before I could even ask what, I felt a pair of lips press against my cheek before she darted away rather fast, drawing attention to herself.

I watched as the chick pushed past several dancing ponies before bursting out through the door, catching the attention of the caribou who immediately gave chase. "Get back her you accursed bitch! I'll rape your ass off!"

What a nice attitude to have.

I swallowed the lump in my throat hard, watching as they left the building. I held the item I was given close under my shirt and left through the same door after a moment. I saw them stampeding off somewhere after the female. That was a nice and terrifying experience to go through.

Once I assumed I was safe from being chased and probably ass-raped into oblivion, I quickly ducked into a nearby alleyway which led into another alleyway before stopping.

Well... that was interesting, holy crap. I thought as I rubbed my face.

I made sure the area around me was clear of any suspicious or curious eyes before pulling out the item I was given.

It was some orb of sorts, covered in crisscrossing lines of a soft red. The outer part of it was metallic, smooth like steel; it was also a shiny black coloration and pulsated in my hand like a sickened heartbeat. I felt an overwhelming sense of wrong when I held it in my hands, disgust, fear, anguish all rushing through me before I tore my gaze from it. I blinked the crazy from my eyes before ripping off my backpack and shoving the weird ball thing into it, covering it up with my other clothes and zipping it up tightly.

Great, I have a demon testicle in my backpack, just swell. What in the ever living fuck is this thing?

Demon testicle. I thought, shaking my head to get rid of the feelings. I heard a screech above me after a bit and saw Snowdrop flapping her way down to me. "Hey, yeah. Thanks for ditching me, by the way." I stuck out my tongue, and she just tilted her head before landing on an old wagon and putting her near eye level with me.

I sighed, leaning back against the wall before crossing my arms.

Stuck in a new world that is literally teeming with magic, found a bar, met a chick, got a demon Deku nut and now I gotta wait in this place until whoever that girl was comes back for the thing. I scratched my head violently, messing up my hair and shaking my head wildly, I flung my long hair about before putting my hat back onto my head. No no no, I couldn't have been brought directly into Equestria where my waifus are, I had to be thrown into a desert and probably pulled into some Indiana Jones adventure.

The prospect of adventure was a very cool one, I've always wanted to go on some epic adventure in a new world, it was a little dream of mine. Ever since I was a kid freshly obsessed with Pokemon, wanting nothing more than to go to the Pokemon world and go on my own epic adventure with my team, kicking ass and taking names...

Only another decade passed and I felt my dreams crashing down around me.

Well no more, I'm living that dream right now! I smiled, looking up and around me. I was in a new world, filled with magic, unexplored locations, and dangers around every corner...

What was stopping me from having one a proper adventure?

Nothing, that is what!

I grinned to myself as I looked towards Snowdrop. "Well Snowy, looks like we got ourselves quite a tale ahead of us..." With that said, I left the alleyway with Snowdrop behind me in the air.

Now to wait for what's her face.

Later... Again

After waiting a good long while which was mostly spent on the wooden rooftops of some buildings which proved rather sturdy, I began to grow bored with my time waiting. Who didn't get bored waiting for someone to come or something to happen? It was boring... like, excruciatingly boring. Like waiting at the doctor's office to get checked out or something.

You just want it to end already.

Thankfully I managed to keep myself busy by spying on people down below, subtly gathering information from whoever was talking below me. I learned I was in a small town called Bronze Hoof, a thousand miles south of Equestria and north of a mountain that they literally named the Misty Mountains.

I felt the need to discover if a dragon lived there guarding a massive hoard of gold and jewels while traveling with a large company of dwarves, a hobbit and a wizard.

My thoughts on The Hobbit were interrupted when something landed beside me with a soft thump. "Whoah!" I hissed out in surprise, whipping around and seeing the cloaked girl again. Now that we were in a well-lit place, I could see her cloak was a dark brown color that covered everything above her knees, where I saw her bare golden legs and brown hiking boots covered in dried mud.

She looked down at me and asked in an anxious tone, "Do you still have it?"

I nodded and stood up, pulling off my backpack and out came the demon ball thing. "This thing creeps me out." I commented, handing it to her and shuddering once she took it.

She seemed unphased by the feeling I was under the influence of, however. "Thank you for not selling it like most would have done." She told me, reaching into her cloak and pulling out a small bag before tossing it to me. "Here, payment for helping me."

I barely caught the bag once it was thrown, but once I did and opened it up I found plenty of hexagonal shaped gold coins inside, all of which weighed a nice amount. "Whoah... tits." I nodded, looking back up at the female who gave me a strange look at what I said. "Uhm, no problem," I told her as I put the coins in my pocket and put my backpack back on. "Always happy to help, though, I may ask, what in the hell is that thing?" I pointed to the ball she held, which she put into her cloak for sake keeping. "I picked up some weird funky vibes from it, and judging from how those Caribou were acting... they want it, badly."

She glanced at me, eyes staring into my own. If I had to guess, something was weighing on her mind, maybe about what I asked. I just crossed my arms and waited for an answer, sniffling as Snowdrop perched nearby and watched us both.

"This orb I carry is not just any orb." She finally said.

I nodded, replying, "I gathered that much, it's too freaky looking."

She pursed her lips, which I could barely make out as she continued. "It is an ancient key, crafted ages ago by the solar and lunar princesses' ancestors. Seven of these were made and used to lock away a very dangerous foe that millennia ago, would have taken over the world and enslaved millions under his dark rule." She shuddered slightly, "He is not someone I'd want to face alone, I have enough trouble with my own enemies without adding more to the roster. And those Caribou who were chasing me wish to raise this dark foe from the deepest depths of Tartarus."

I blinked, looking at her and gathering my thoughts, "Whoever it is, sounds like a dickhead." I nodded and snorted hard. "So this is one of those keys... so if it's so dangerous, why keep it instead of like... I dunno, doing the logical thing and destroying it?" I asked out of genuine curiosity.

To me something like this should either be quintuplet padlocked behind the strongest doors in the deepest ocean, buried so deep that no living being can get to it.

Or like I said, destroyed, but there was probably a decent reason why that wasn't an option.

She frowned at my suggestion and replied with a sharp, "Destroying the key isn't possible, it's an enchanted object that is thousands of years old. It's not that simple."

But I was persistent, like the dumbass I was. "Sounds pretty simple to me." I shrugged. "Just get some super strong magic user to blow it up or something, boom... only six keys and seven locks." I told her, it sounded decent enough, but she shook her head.

"It cannot be destroyed!" She hissed at me, adding, "It's enchanted to be indestructible to any sort of damage a mortal can inflict upon it."

"Whatever you say." I backed off. Looking into the town, I questioned her, "So now what are you gonna do?"

She looked within her cloak at the orb, leaving me to wonder what was going on in her head. "I have an idea on what to do with it, but I need to get to Equestria. I'll give it to the princesses, they'll know what to do with it."

"Cool beans." I nodded with a smile. I was also about to be the gentleman of course, and introduce myself to her. But instead of that. I heard some thuds nearby and when we both turned to look behind her, we both spotted a pair of thin looking caribou in light armor wielding bows and bearing a mark on their chests of a blood red hand. "Uhh... howdy, fellas." I said, nervousness welling up in my gut.

Welp.

"You... wench! Give us the orb!" The left one ordered, pulling out a short sword and pointing it at us.

"Restrain her, hairless one, and we shall let you have the honors of fucking her first." The other grinned as the female turned back towards me.

I just blinked... did they seriously just offer to let me rape her first? I blinked again, then replied, "Yeah, how about no?"

"Did you trick me?" She asked, hissing under her breath.

Ha! "Uh no, I lack the mindset and intelligence to appropriately trick a person and get away with it." I responded, adding, "Also, duck."

She blinked, as did the other two. "Duck?"

"Duck." I nodded before chucking something heavy at them, the mare ducked down quickly as what I threw impacted the first Caribou. He stumbled back before falling from the rooftop with a yell, lucky rock is lucky! "Now for Plan C!" I yelled as I grabbed the mare's hand and bolted towards the edge of the rooftop and jumped off, I let go of her hand and saw her spread a pair of big golden wings before gliding down.

I landed on the ground... like, flat, on my chest smacking into the sand.

"Nailed it!" I spit out the sand before getting up and sprinting away, heart pounding in my chest.

As I heard the Caribou behind us on the rooftop give a mighty roar, the mare yelled, "What the heck was plan A and B?!"

"Throwing shit!" I responded, running down the street as I turned my head to look behind me, where I saw some caribou rushing out of the woodwork, like... a dozen all wielding weapons. "Holy fuck!"

The two of us ran down the street with Snowdrop flying high above, the mare next to me flying the same height as I ducked into an alleyway and cut some corners to find an escape route.

I ended up getting stopped by one caribou with an axe, him bursting out of the shadows with a roar, "Hahaha! Got you!" He made to swing the axe.

I quickly ducked down and slid between his legs with the grace of a slip n' slide champion. And as an added measure of any gentleman, I sucker punched him right in the scrotum, "Hahaha! Dick punch!" I mocked as he gave a roar, falling down over my head.

I quickly recovered and got back on my feet, rolling up and sprinting down the alley. I found the exit blocked by some more caribou and quickly made a retreat, where I turned and ran towards one of the walls for my immediate back up route. I jumped off of a trash can before propelling myself up onto the slanted rooftop and running across it to the other side.

Moving quickly I jumped down onto a stall filled with produce, crashing through it and onto the ground with a loud-"Ow fuck!"- and getting back up. I continued running down the sandy road of Bronze Hoof. I spotted the mare from before next to Snowdrop on a rooftop, roundhouse kicking a poor fool in the face and sending him flying off with a loud scream. Damn she's got some power to those kicks. I noted as I kept running, hearing a couple of them following me from behind. "You might have hooves but I got the stamina!"

"You will never outrun us!" They taunted.

I cackled loudly and fearfully at that. "You underestimate how fast a terrified brony can run! Seeya bitch!" I yelled back before sprinting away, channeling my fear into my legs and lungs. And by that, I mean running like a scared little bitch.

"You scared little coward!" They yelled at me again as I yanked out a cart into their path and running away. Luckily they plowed right on into it., and one of them yelped in pain!

"Damn straight son!" I agreed, I never claimed to be otherwise.

Turning down another alleyway and running down it, I looked up and saw the mare again. She was leaping over the roof above me to the next, being followed by six others who were furiously keeping pace. Damn, she pissed these fuckers off... well. she did probably steal their magic demon testicle so... I'm not too surprised.

I could hear the sounds of fighting above, including the huffs and puff of the assholes behind me who I've yet to outrun. I could only wonder what they were planning on doing once they caught me, were they gonna kill me? Or perhaps, turn me into one of them? Or worse, were they gonna do like in some of those stories I read and turn me into some chick to be raped on a near constant basis?

I was not looking forward to such a fate... for me or the mare who I was helping.

I wouldn't wish that on anyone, not even my worst enemy.

But I didn't have one so... eh.

Shit shit shit shit, where do I go!? I looked around for any kind of exit, I couldn't keep this chase up for long. One of the roads leading towards what looked like some mountains nearby came into view. I took that route as it seemed to be my best bet so far, and it seems my new mystery mare friend was taking it as well along with Snowdrop who was actually dive bombing the caribou and clawing at their faces.

The road leading out towards the mountains led to a rather large looking split in the ground with only a rope bridge leading across it. The only way to get around was to walk in either direction and hopefully find a way across, but mostly my main problem was the fact I had to cross a rope bridg-

Nope never mind, it fell apart.

Fuck.

I saw a pony nearby with a knife, a stallion who looked rather menacing towards us.

I just mentally panicked, like any good hero.

Shit shit shit shitty shit! Now, how was I gonna get across!

Snowdrop was on the other side and the mare had flown down above me, dodging spears and even grabbing some mid-air and tossing them right back with a mighty throw. I nearly got hit by some arrows trying to ignore the taunts and declarations of surprise buttsex against both me and the mare.

We just ran as fast as we could.

Once I started speeding up towards the gap in the ground, I heard her yell, "You're not gonna make that jump!" When I looked back at her I saw her get nailed by something and fell forward into a roll. She recovered quick, only to get into a close fist fight with the other pony.

I just mentally screamed in my head, urging my legs to go faster. "Fuck it!" I yelled back.

Oh yeah... remember earlier? When I mentioned that whole fuck it moment thing?

Yeah... yeah that was this point in time.

I sprinted faster and faster as arrows nipped at my heels. Once I reached the edge, I knew there was no going back, so I kicked off of it with everything I had, leaping across the chasm with a yell.

In those few moments... I was, surprised with myself. I had jumped pretty high, a lot higher than I've ever jumped before and farther.

And uh...

Well, the mare was right...

I didn't make the jump.

I collided with the wall hard, barely managing to grab onto some rocks jutting out to keep myself from falling to my death. But then my hand slipped free of the rock, and I was falling.

I saw my life flash before my eyes...

And god, it was really depressing.

Before I could fall to my untimely demise, however, someone grabbed my hand and yanked me back up.

When I looked up I saw it was the mare, and the button holding her cloak together had been ripped clean off by something. A gust a wind rushed by suddenly and it flew off, billowing into the wind somewhere as I caught sight of a mare I knew all too well, someone that I... honestly should have guess it was from the beginning.

"Daring Do," I muttered as she yanked me up onto level ground.

"Come on kid, let's run!" She told me, helping me to my feet and pushing me forward.

I panted as I jogged ahead, the caribou behind us roaring in anger as we vanished down the road towards the mountains.

Fuckin' hell...

What a start to this story of mine... eh?

Tunnels n' Shit Arc - The Last

Avros

The exit to Avros lay in sight, after what felt like hours of wandering down darkened paths until I found a bridge leading across a chasm which then led into a small outer district built into the walls and surrounding the exit up ahead, which had partially collapsed due to some natural disaster, or maybe it was where the siege had taken place when the city had fallen? I wasn't sure, but it made as much sense as anything.

After crossing the bridge, I saw a few of the buildings were still intact, but others had been rebuilt with wood and stone to a degree. Did some people survive the attack and come back to rebuild?

I wondered if there were survivors.

I felt something ache in my shoulder and I rolled it to try and loosen it up or at least alleviate the ache, and as I did something went right through the sleeve of my shirt and just barely grazed my underarm. It impacted the wooden table behind me with a thunk, an arrow?

"Whoah!" I shouted and quickly jumped behind one of the stone buildings as another arrow hit the ground where I had just been. "Don't shoot! I'm friendly!" I hoped that maybe that would cause them to stop.

I didn't hear anything, nor did I sense anything, not that I could in the abandoned city. I was a magicless pawn in a grand game of chess I had no control over.

I peaked around the corner and into the rest of the small neighborhood district, and I saw more of these buildings were in a poor state, but... oddly enough, I swore I saw some faint light from one of the buildings further ahead, and curiosity had grabbed a hold of me. I stowed my blade to conceal the light and opted instead for the dagger, and once the shadows surrounded me, I carefully crept through the narrow alleyways to cross unseen by the archer, wherever they were hiding.

I moved as quietly as I could and kept my eyes peeled in the shadows, thankfully freed from the hold of the Nightmare. I didn't feel quite as terrified of being snuck up on by some nasty monster.

After creeping behind some of the houses, I heard something scurrying inside of one, or maybe someone.

Survivors?

One of the windows beckoned to me and I crouched below it, knife out and steadying my breathing. I channeled my inner stealth archer—sans the bow—and listened.

I heard the slightest shuffling inside the building and a hushed whisper.

"Someone is here."

I froze. Either this was a survivor, or they were outsiders, whatever the case, I had to play this safe.

"Caribou?" Another asked as I crept up further.

"No, too stealthy. Prince Dvalinn's thugs aren't known for being sneaky."

"Another of the princes?"

"No, doesn't smell like them... smells like something else."

They can smell me?!

That was unexpected, I wasn't sure if they could smell exactly where I was. I was concerned. Hopefully, they couldn't tell where I was, if so, I was already caught and possibly done for. So far though, no one had made any moves to come out here and stop me from creeping past the houses.

I wonder who these ponies were?

I kept moving until I wound up in a narrower alleyway full of empty crates and barrels before I came across the end, and once there I spotted a bonfire, something I had missed earlier due to the buildings and makeshift walls covering its presence. I saw a few bat ponies surrounding the flame, all adorned in a combination of leather armor and what looked like old guard armor. A few wielded spears and halberds, some had swords, and a few were archers.

They didn't look like your typical denizens either.

I let out a small breath as the fire crackled and popped from burning wood, and I kept an ear out for any conversation.

"-hat fire from earlier, what do you think it was?" Spoke one, glancing at their comrade.

The second took a moment to respond. "No idea, it could have been anything; a fire magic user, or even a drake."

A third balked. "Do you really believe a dragon could have made its way in from the western entrance?"

The first chuckled, saying, "the Nightmare would have corrupted it somehow."

"Even still, we can't deny the possibility." The second replied.

Another hummed. "Maybe the Nightmare is gone at last?"

"Impossible." The first replied again, shaking her head.

The third scoffed. "You feel it too, do you not?"

The first shook her head. "I don't feel anything."

Quickly standing, the third exclaimed, "exactly! The Nightmare's wretched hold is gone, I don't feel as I had before."

The second paused to examine the area. "She is right about that, the air... something is different about it."

"I would rather not get my hopes up, but... if it is true-"

It seems like I was right, maybe these ponies are the descendants of the survivors of Avros? The hold of the Nightmare must not have reached this far into the city, being so close to natural light must have had an effect on keeping the Nightmare away, thus allowing this section to survive in relative peace. It would explain a little, but I wasn't sure, I wanted to find answers, but getting out of Avros was my first priority.

I tried creeping my way out, heading along the outskirts, but I felt the cold nip of steel against the back of my neck.

"I'll only allow you enough time to drop the knife. If you do no-"

I dropped the dagger and kept my hands high.

Caught red-handed.

"-Good boy." Came the voice again. "Stand, slowly."

I followed the mare's orders and slowly stood as the group from the bonfire looked my way, and I noticed all of them drawing their weapons.

"What do we got here? One of the Prince's thugs?" The halberd-wielding mare questioned as she came over, leading the others.

I kept my hands up. "I'm no ally of any prince, I assure you." Must have been that prince the others mentioned a few minutes ago in the other house, Dooflin or something.

I was hardly paying attention, my ADHD go brrr.

"Who are you? State your name and purpose, or be slain."

"Easy," I told her and felt the tip of the sword dig into my flesh slightly. I grumbled, but followed her orders. "My name is Dee, I'm a human adventurer. I got chased here and separated from my party by some monsters before I fell down here, I'm trying to find my way out... that's all, I mean no harm to any of you."

I got a better look at the mares surrounding m now, all of them were tall bat pony mares decked out in a mixture of hobbled-together leather armor and old guard armor bearing a symbol I could hardly make out. If I had to guess, it was old Avros guard armor they had repurposed for their own means. The weapons as well were foreign to me, but they looked well-kept despite the squalor they lived in.

"An adventurer down here? You must be foolish." The one behind me spoke. "Do you not know of the legend of the Ruins of Avros? The monstrous Nightmare that makes its home down here? The Khorclings even?"

I had forgotten completely about the latter. "Part of being an adventurer is taking risks, ain't it?" I chanced a look behind me to see a much taller mare in heavier armor, even sporting a horned helm. "Besides, we were chased this way, I didn't have much of a choice but to end up down here... plus I didn't run into a single Khorcling the entire time, so."

The mare grunted and took her sword away as the others kept their weapons out, I was surrounded, and even if I tried grabbing my sword, I would be killed before anything. "How have you made it this far? The Nightmare would have consumed you before even reaching the first plaza."

I guess they don't know, but why would they? They knew about the cleansing inferno, but that's about it, not who used it. Were they friendly enough to not kill me if I told them? What would I gain from telling them I did that? They didn't seem to be corrupted by the Nightmare as Luna had been in the show, they just looked like they were trying to survive in the ruins.

"I..." I choked on my words, I was genuinely nervous about how to explain this. "I used my sword?"

Silence, as expected.

"Your... sword?" One of them asked and all eyes dropped to look at the blade attached to my belt.

"That tiny thing?"

"You must be joking."

I felt a hand touch my side before sliding down to grab onto the hilt, and I shivered. "You cannot be serious about this bei-"

The sword was pulled from the sheath and its brilliant light freed, nearly blinding the mares who backed away in surprise. I heard gasps and 'Ooh's' of surprise from them all.

"A m-magical sword?"

"Is that an enchanted Avrosian blade?"

"That's-"

"-the goddess Celestia's magic... but how?"

I kept my hands up as the tallest mare held the sword up, before leaning down to look at me. She huffed and I felt her eyes on me, and her menacing form loom over me. "Where did you get this sword?"

"It's uh... it's a long story..."

"Did someone say story?!"

I heard a young voice cry before a herd of stampeding hooves sounded to the far right, and I saw a gaggle of foals rounding the corner, dressed in ragged clothing and wearing bright smiles on their faces. It wasn't long before they crowded the guards and eyed me with intrigue, and then the sword, which had drawn their attention even more so.

"Whoooooa!"

"Tell us a story!"

I could almost hear the tallest mare behind me roll her eyes before sheathing the sword back on my person, turning me around, and then swiftly picking me up. I felt like a child being held up by their parent, and for a brief moment, dommy mommy ran through my mind.

"Hurt anyone, and I'll eat you alive." She told me.

I looked into her deep blue eyes. "Y-yes ma'am." Once I was set down, the mare looked to several other mares and gestured for them to follow her, before I knew it, they had vanished across the bridge into the shadows... into the city of Avros.

After I was let go and allowed to move somewhat freely around the area, I found myself near the bonfire and surrounded by the foals who eagerly awaited a story. I had somehow gotten roped into being a storyteller, but better than being strung up and possibly beaten to death, or eaten alive by the monster of a mare who was with some others at the moment, leaving me alone with the others.

I had sat down in a chair, graciously given to me by one of the mares, and I had told my story to the group.

It was nerve-wracking as I didn't fancy myself a storyteller in the vocal sense, I was more of a writer than a speaker, but regardless, I took the time to tell my story to the group of eager foals and curious adults who had slowly come out of hiding. A lot of them were injured and covered in bandages, others were able and eager as well.

I bit back the fear and did my best to finish my story.

I told them how I ended up in a desert town to the far west and fought off caribou, which had immediately caught their attention, and how I worked alongside another adventurer, Daring Do, to keep them at bay while we escaped with rare items. I neglected to mention the keys on purpose as I didn't know where these ponies stood, but considering they hated the Caribou, they probably wouldn't stop me or take it away.

I then told them of the cute pony girl I had met, Sakura, and Blade Dancer—the mention of her name got some looks, curious—before we made our way east to Jainko and continued to fight off more Caribou. I remember the ones I had killed, I remember everything I had done since first coming to this land what felt like years ago when it was only a couple of months or so. I honestly forgot, but it had been a while.

The story continued as I made it to the forest with the girls, only for us to be split up by a bunch of undead monsters which the ponies down here hadn't known about. I suppose the Rotten hadn't made it down here due to the Nightmare, which had consumed everything else save for the bones and spirits. I told them of how I wandered aimlessly through the darkness before being discovered by a spirit.

That aroused some interest from a few of the souls here who got closer to listen to more of the details, and it was then I noticed the crowd had grown substantially.

My words had drawn quite the crowd.

"-once I had made it to the market plaza just across that bridge, I came face to face with a monstrous creature, one born of bone and shadow." I explained, reaching the end of my story. It was time I told them about the fight I had with the Nightmare-infused Bone Giant, I was still having trouble believing I had actually taken that thing out. "It stood heads high above even the biggest pony here, with claws and fangs as sharp as swords."

Wide eyes and open mouths greeted me. I had told them of the other fights I was in and that alone grabbed their attention, the fights were more interesting than the adventure I guess, even in another world kids love violence and monsters.

"A-across the bridge?"

"So what did you do? Did you run?"

"Is it going to come after us!?"

I swear I felt angry adult eyes on me now, and I held up a hand to silence the foals. They held their tongues as I reached into my pocket and produced that broken piece of the orb I had stabbed. I held it up for them to see, the blackened glass-like surface reflected the fire's light and I smiled upon seeing all eyes on it.

"The mighty beast was powered by the Nightmare itself, an unholy fuel that gave it unnatural life. In the center of the creature sat an orb of darkness, its heart." I looked at the shard. "It was a hard-fought battle, but I was victorious in the end, I severed the connection to its heart and shattered it, setting not only the beast but the entirety of the Nightmare ablaze-" I tucked the glass away and reached for my sword, unclasping it from my belt. I noticed a few place hands on their weapons, grips tightening, and I slowed my actions until the scabbard came off. I held the sword up, gripped the handle, and finished, "-with this weapon."

I gently pulled it from the scabbard, allowing just a hint of its golden glow to be shown to the people around me, lighting up the area briefly.

I saw more eyes widen at the sight, the foals looked on in shock as they looked at the blade, some even scooting closer to get a better look despite how blinding the light could be.

"That's so cool!"

"So you're the one!"

I'm the one?

"He must have been the one responsible for the fire!"

I smiled and put my sword back onto my belt. "I stabbed at the heart of the beast. To be truthful, I wasn't expecting anything to happen other than its death, you could imagine how surprised I was when the beast caught flame and spread throughout the city, eliminating the Nightmare's presence."

"The Nightmare is gone?"

"Impossible, nothing can slay the Nightmare."

"Nothing is right," A louder voice spoke among the murmurs, and I realized it was an older mare who was hiding in the crowd. She stepped forward after everyone parted ways, allowing her the floor. "Nothing can destroy such a dark force, except for magic belonging to one supreme being." She stepped forward past the bonfire and approached me. Her frail stature was a swift wind away from falling apart, yet the blazing inferno in her eyes told another story, one of resolve and determination. "That is no simple blade, is it?"

I looked down at the sword. I knew it was a gift from Celestia to Nightfall, obviously enchanted with some kind of ancient magic to make it glow, of course. The runes weren't for show. But the flame had to have been a part of it, some powerful magic that I unleashed when I made contact with that creature's heart, killing it and setting everything on fire. I'm glad no one was hurt, but... yeah, it was no normal blade.

"It isn't, no. It's an enchanted blade given to me by someone," I answered her, thinking back to the hidden room of Nightfall. "He told me it was a gift from Princess Celestia-"

The mare stepped back. "I was right. It was the magic of Celestia!"

I felt my hand twitch. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Anything enchanted by the might of Celestia was destroyed millennia ago by the forces of the dark lord Ori! Where did you find such a weapon!?"

A younger mare approached the older one and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Grandmother, calm yourself."

"Well, as I said, ma'am, it was given to me," I told her. Was this sword that big a deal?

The older mare had to sit down after a few words from who I assumed to be her granddaughter, eventually sitting down on a box someone had brought out. Once she was seated, her eyes glared at me and then at my sword. "Only pure harmony magic can hurt something as dreadful as the Nightmare."

"I'm sorry to ask again, but... is that bad?" I gestured to the cavern, as well as the rest of the city across the bridge, which seemed less foreboding than it did before. "The magic that came from this sword hurt the creature, hence the shard I showed you."

"You truly defeated the Nightmare, then?"

"I... suppose I did. I'm sure you saw the flame from here, didn't you? It spread-"

"-Throughout all of Avros, the city is cleansed." I heard a familiar voice speak, followed by approaching footfalls.

Looking behind where the bridge was, I saw the tall armored mare had returned alongside her cohorts, all carrying bags and one even wheeling a cart covered in a tarp. The tall one had stepped forward and into the center of the bonfire, and looked at each and every one of the ponies there.

"The Nightmare is no more." The mare spoke and tossed something into the flame, a tattered flag bearing that same symbol I had seen plastered inside of the home of Nightfall, I had a feeling it had something to do with both Ori and that prince. "The city has been freed from its influence."

"How do you know?" Someone asked her.

"We encountered no creatures, no darkness, even the presence of the Nightmare itself is nowhere to be found." I felt her eyes on me now. Fierce, cold, but... something else was there. "The Nightmare's hold is gone."

"Who are you to wield such a blade?"

I shrugged. I didn't really know the answer to that. Nightfall just gave it to me cause he didn't want me to die. Did he know that I'd be capable of taking out the Nightmare? Did he know his sword could even hurt it? If so, maybe that's why he gave it to me, I had no idea, truthfully.

"I'm just an adventurer as I said earlier," I told them and offered the best smile I could. "I was given this blade to aid in my escape from this city, and I ran across that monster. I fought it off, and I killed it, I had no idea that this tiny little blade could have done something like that." I reached into my pocket to pull out the shard again, and I gazed at it for the longest time. "This is the only thing left of it, and all you have to go on is my word, but... I killed it, and apparently, that alone was enough to take out the Nightmare and loosen its hold on the city."

I didn't know what this meant for me, or for the survivors here, hopefully, this was a good thing. I failed to see how this would have any sort of negative repercussions.

"What did you bring?"

"Yeah, what's in that cart?"

Just like that, storytime was over, and the foals had moved on to the group of armored mares behind me. As they drew the attention of the others, the tallest mare walked over to me.

"Come with me, I desire to speak with you."

She didn't give me much of a choice either, not with those piercing eyes of hers...

After we left the group behind, the mare walked me through the district, giving me a good idea of how bad off they were. This was a refugee encampment at best, with little in the way of supplies, or any basic necessities. The mare led me along until we reached a long bridge near what I assumed to be the exit to Avros and this district. I noted the location of old guardhouses, rebuilt from rubble and stone, with makeshift fortifications along the bridge guarded by more mares in light scavenged armor, all armed with longswords, shortswords, halberds, axes, whatever they could find or get their hands on.

"You guys aren't armed with much," I commented as we continued on before making a stop at a guardhouse at the exit to the bridge. "Are you guys the descendants of whoever survived the invasion so long ago?"

The mare reached up to grab her helmet and took it off, showing me her face at long last. A triple-braided mane fell from atop her head as she turned to look at me. Her face was scarred in places, with a particularly long slash going from the top of her forehead across her snout down to her neck.

"We are all that remains of Avros and its people." She told me as she placed her helmet underneath her arm and looked out at the district. "As you've guessed, we were wiped out by the Caribou millennia ago, the few who survived that damned massacre hid in places only we bat ponies knew about. When the fires subsided and the caribou left, we set out to rebuild... but it was pointless, all had been lost."

That was an understatement, from what Nightfall had told me, this was the last city to fall. "I heard somewhere... that this was the last Thestral city to fall, does that mean-"

She looked away from me.

If Nightfall was correct, and these are the last bat ponies, the last thestrals, then...

Ori committed genocide against the thestrals... dear god.

I turned and looked at the bridge leading out of the city, the makeshift fortifications, and the like. They could very well be the only bat ponies still alive in this world. I never even knew such a thing could have happened. I felt sick to my stomach.

"Tell me, what is your name?"

I looked over at her. She was still staring out at the city.

"Dee, that's my name."

"A strange name."

"Oh trust me, I know." I chuckled. "May I ask yours?"

She looked down at the helmet for a little bit, either to admire the marks on it or to remember something, I wasn't sure. She lifted it back up to her head and slid it on before speaking, "Bloodletter, is what you will refer to me as."

"Bloodletter? It's a pleasure." I smiled. "I know it's not really my place to ask, but... are your people okay? There isn't much here in the way of supplies, and it seems like you guys don't get a lot of traffic from other places. Is it because of the Nightmare's presence?"

"It matters not." She told me and turned to face me. "We'll make do. With the Nightmare gone, we'll be able to rebuild Avros stronger than ever before. For that, I thank you again."

"I don't want thanks, honestly," I told her and smiled still. "I just want the ponies here to be okay."

"We will survive."

I believed her, but still, I felt bad for whatever reason. Call it my bleeding heart, but it seemed wrong of me to just go and not do anything to try and help them. But what could I even do? I was just one guy, a human, with no magic, and no connections anywhere.

I was powerless.

"I wish I could do something," I told her and adjusted my pack before looking out at the bridge. "For what its worth, Bloodletter, I hope you and the other survivors can rebuild this city into something grand. Good luck." I shot her a smile and proceeded to walk across the bridge, heading for the exit that lay up ahead guarded by several bat ponies.

Bloodletter said nothing to me as I left, and I just assumed that was it.

Avros survived in some minor capacity, but... will they be able to rebuild?

I didn't know, I could only hope that in time they would.