The Man in the Gray Cloak
Without a doubt, the look on the ponies faces as I stepped out of the woods was priceless.
Now, I normally prefer to stay in the background, let others take the glory, and simply be content with the knowledge that I did something. But I must say, it certainly feels nice to step out into the spotlight sometimes.
But where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Soond Norodeir, adventurer, scholar, and occasional gentleman.
I have a...mistress of sorts, who occasionally gives me an order. And when my mistress tells me to do something, that task is already done. I owe her a lot. Both her and...
Well, that is a story for another time. Suffice to say, my life was not always the thrill it is these days. So of course, what did I do when I was told that a certain artifact had been found in Equestria, outside of my mistress's jurisdiction? Followed it, of course. It was quite powerful, and extremely dangerous in the wrong hands, or hooves, as the case may be. Therefore, it could not simply be allowed to stay here, now could it?
So now, I stood, calmly watching as ponies ran about in a blind panic. They had probably never seen a creature like me before, and they were unsure how to act. Then, just as abruptly as the panic had started, it began to die down. I glanced around to see what had caused the change. Now approaching me were six mares, and wherever they went, the crowd visibly calmed. So, they were respected figures? Interesting.
The one in front, a purple pony with both wings and a horn- Alicorn, If I remember the name correctly- came right up to me without flinching and faced me with an air of authority. The look on her face was stern, but not unkind. She clearly wanted me to be impressed, and possibly intimidated. As if.
"Hello, sir," she said calmly, doing her best to keep her voice level. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, princess of friendship. What is your name?" I dropped to one knee, and performed my most elegant bow.
"Greetings, ponies," I called out louder than was strictly necessary. What can I say? Sometimes, I like to be a little impressive as well. "My name is Soond Norodeir. I come to your town in peace. In fact, I am actually here to help you." Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"Help us with what?" She asked in confusion. I leaped upon the opportunity to speak.
"You see, I am not of this world. I come from a far away land, where danger and excitement run wild. And there are many in my home who have learned to wield magic to help them in their endeavors. Unfortunately, some of these individuals go a little off the beaten path. Now, most of the time, they just wind up destroying themselves, but every now and then, one of them actually succeeds at creating something dangerous. And even more rarely, that object winds up surviving long enough to pose a threat. And even more rarely than that, that artifact escapes outside the jurisdiction of those who might contain it. And when that happens, they send me." Twilight, clearly the leader, figured out what I was getting at first.
"You're saying something dangerous is here in Ponyville?" She asked with concern. I simply tapped the side of my nose to indicate she had guessed it. "But that's crazy! We haven't seen anything like that around here. How are you even going to find it?" At that moment, the sound of screams returned. I looked past the ponies to see several others running in terror from something out of sight.
"Found it," I replied, striding down the street with purpose. The ponies followed quickly, easily overtaking me. They raced around the corner, only to stop in their tracks. When I arrived, I saw what had captured their attention.
A crowd of humanoid dogs ran amok in the streets, causing chaos. Well, perhaps 'ran' is a strong word. They certainly shambled with purpose, though. The most disturbing characteristic they all shared was their empty eyes. Not a single one had pupils, just milky white eyes.
"Zombies. Fantastic."
"Did you just say these things are zombies?" Asked another pony with a rainbow mane. "But aren't those, like, fictional?"
"I wish," I muttered. The ponies dropped to crouches.
"Alright, girls," Twilight said to them. "Here's the plan. We-"
"Stay back," I told them forcefully. I may have just met them, but there was no way I was letting these ponies get hurt. This problem was my mess to deal with. Twilight frowned at me.
"Don't worry, Soond," she said. "We can handle this." A second later, her confident look vanished and was replaced by shock. "Why can't I move?" She asked with concern.
"Oh, that would just be my magic. Can't have you running in there and messing up my careful plan, can I?"
"Plan? What plan?"
I smiled. "Improvisation! The only true plan." And with that, I walked out amidst the zombies. One of them charged me, leaping with it's fangs bared. I didn't even turn to look. When the zombie was mere inches from my face, a gout of flame erupted from the ground beneath it, incinerating the entire dog. I continued my pace to where two of the zombies were trying to break down the door to a shop. A small crowd had taken refuge inside, and were now frantically looking for a way out. I simply walked between the two zombies and set a hand on each of their shoulders.
"Hey, chill out, you two!" The two dogs turned to face me. At least, I think that's what they were trying to do. It was hard to tell, considering the second I had touched them they had both been frozen in place. I love making puns.
Turning around, I saw that I had successfully gathered all the remaining zombies in place. They had formed a semicircle around me, and were now slowly closing in. I held up both hands in front of me. "STOP!" I ordered. The zombies instantly stopped moving. I uncorked a small flask of water and handed it to one of them. "All of you take a sip. When you've taken your turn, do me a favor and pass it down the line before you die." The zombie took the flask, took a sip, then swiftly passed it down. A second later, white light erupted from his mouth, as the zombie was turned to a pile of ash. This went down the whole line as I made my way over to Twilight and her friends.
"You can move now," I told them. They all instantly fell forward, as though they had been struggling the whole time. Twilight was the first up. She glanced at the zombies, just as the last one disintegrated.
"What was in that flask?" She asked me, her voice barely a whisper.
"Holy water," I told her. "Destroys the undead quite nicely." She stared at me with equal parts awe and horror. At that, my heart dropped just a bit. I hated it when people were scared of me. I suppose some of it must have shown on my face, because she quickly composed herself.
"I think we need to talk more." She said. I nodded slowly. Talk was good. I could do talk.
...
"So, let me get this straight. You are an agent of the goddess of death, and you've come here to recover an amulet. And this amulet does what, exactly?"
I sipped at my drink. "The amulet gives it's wearer control over the dead. They can reanimate corpses, speak with spirits, and generally bend all aspects of death to their will and by the gods, this drink is amazing! What do they call it?"
"Root beer," Twilight said impatiently. "So, you seem to be the expert on this. What do you say we do?" The rainbow maned one, who I now knew was named Rainbow Dash, interjected.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, we're just gonna go with what this guy says? Don't get me wrong, the way he took down those zombies was awesome, but what do we know about him?" She flew up to me and jabbed me in the chest. "How do we know YOU'RE not the one controlling the zombies? What if you're the one we're after?"
I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Believe me, none of you can even imagine what this kind of magic has cost me in the past. There is no way I would ever try to use it." I realized that my voice had dropped to that dangerous, shut up now or your parents will never find your remains tone, but I couldn't help it. My mind flashed back to that one day, years ago, the day that had started me on this path.
A young boy walked down the hall. He knew it was late, almost midnight, in fact, but he couldn't help it. He had only just turned eight, and he was still a child. And when children have nightmares, the only sanctuary they can find is in their parents room.
Yet as he walked, he felt a pit of dread from in his stomach. Something didn't feel right. But he attributed that to his nightmare, and quickened his pace. He just had to reach his parents room, and he would be safe from nightmares. Little did he know the nightmare he would find.
He pushed open the door with an ominous creak. Pale moonlight illuminated the room in front of him. His parents lay unnaturally still on their bed. Their faces were pale. And standing over them was the silhouette of a man. The man turned to face the boy, who felt like he was about to scream. The man grinned, and his fangs shone red in the moonlight.
"Just what I was hoping for," the vampire chuckled. "Dessert."
I snapped out of my little daydream and instantly placed a false smile on my face. "So then, here's what we do. The amulet is pretty clearly with the diamond dogs, since that's what all the zombies were. You all stay here, I'll go get it back, and then I can get out of your hair and you can forget you ever knew me." The ponies stared at me for a few seconds, then burst out laughing.
"Oh come on, you don't really think you're gonna do this without us?" Asked Rainbow Dash. "We've faced plenty of threats to Equestria before! Besides, you need us. We're awesome, and powerful, and-"
"And innocent," I interjected. "Look, I don't doubt that you all have seen some nasty things, but this is in a league of it's own. This type of magic always has negative effects on everyone involved, and I don't want to see it spread to your world. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an amulet to go get." With that, I stood up.
Twilight moved to stand up as well. "I don't care what you say, we're coming with- Soond, why can't I stand up?" I grinned.
"See you all in a few hours," I called over my shoulder as I walked out. "The paralysis spell should have worn off by then!"
"SOOND!" They shouted, but I paid them no heed. As I walked to the Diamond Dogs, I began to whistle a merry little tune. Soon, this would all be over, one way or another.
...
I finally found the entrance to the diamond dog's tunnels. There were quite a few random holes dug in the ground in the quarry, which confused me to no end. Just as I had found the right tunnel, I heard something that stopped me in my tracks.
"SOOND!" I stiffened, then whipped around to see the princess of friendship herself flying towards me. I groaned.
"I thought I told you to wait in the castle!" I shouted at her irately. Why couldn't these ponies just let me do my job in peace?
"You did, I just didn't listen," She retorted. "I figured out how to undo the paralysis on myself. My friends told me to just come here as soon as I could to help you."
I was furious. I didn't have the energy to spare incapacitating her, but I also didn't want to bring her into danger... fine, I could tell when the universe was just going to be difficult.
"Fine, you can come, but if you are, there's something I should tell you. I didn't say it earlier, because I assumed you'd be smart and stay put, but here it is. The wearer of the amulet isn't in control of their actions. The amulet takes control of their minds, forces them to use it for evil. Chances are, it was just picked up by some poor schmuck who thought it looked pretty. So whatever you do, DON'T harm them at all. If we can get the amulet off, we can save this poor dog's life." Twilight nodded at that.
"Got it. Let's get in there and get that amulet!"
...
Things did not go well.
It started off well enough. We got in, blasted through a few zombies, and finally reached the inner sanctum of the dogs. There, with an amulet around his neck, sat the scrawniest diamond dog I had yet seen. Green lights swirled around him, madness flickered in his eyes, and his whole body twitched every which way, as though it was holding too much energy and needed somewhere to put it.
As he saw us approach, he began to giggle maniacally. The giggle slowly grew into a full blown evil villains laugh, complete with cliche lightning. But suddenly, a light flickered on in his eyes, and he faced me with the most piteous expression I have ever seen.
"Help me," croaked the diamond dog. A second later, he was the amulet again, and he lifted his paws to blast us to pieces.
From there, the fight was evenly matched. Between Twilight's raw power and my cunning tricks, we were able to keep the dog off balance. But we could never seem to throw him off enough to get the amulet.
"Twilight!" I shouted, trying to get my partner's attention. "Fire everything you have at him, on my signal! Hold nothing back!" She stared at me in shock.
"That won't do anything!" She cried back. "Nothing we do can push through his shield!"
"Just do it!" I shouted. Holding my hands towards the dog, I shouted, "NOW!" And with that, I stopped pushing with my magic, and began to pull.
The power of the amulet was naturally drawn towards darkness. The darker the master who held it, the more powerful it became. I suspect all that had kept us alive was whatever of the dog's will was left holding on to control. So when I opened myself up to the magic, it wasn't just drawn to me. It was thrown into a feeding frenzy.
I gasped as pure evil flooded my mind. Desperately, I pushed down the new urges I felt, and silently willed Twilight to trust me.
She did, or else I wouldn't still be here. Without the shields, her magic sent the dog flying backwards, slamming into a wall and stunning him. I was to busy holding the magic back to try and help. Twilight flew towards the stunned dog at top speed, her hooves reaching for the amulet. It was then that I recalled a small scrap of lore I had read.
"Wait, stop! Don't-" But it was too late. The second Twilight touched the amulet, all of it's power was drawn back into it, then it exploded outwards in every direction. My head struck rock, and I fell unconscious.
...
The boy sat in the room the kind man had brought him to. It was a humble inn room, with a single bed and a writing desk, upon which sat a book. The boy had seen enough of the symbols in the book to know that the man who now sat across from him was a mage, and not necessarily of the good variety.
"I just can't believe this," the man said, shaking his head. "You say you've been on the run from that vampire for eight years, almost your whole childhood. And yet somehow, you've managed to outwit it at every turn, and survived to now."the boy nodded. He had been over this already. "Why didn't you seek help?" Asked the man. "After you found your parents dead and ran, why didn't you get the guards or somebody else?"
"I tried," said the boy, his face blank. "A small group of guards went back to the house with me. The vampire was waiting. It cut down the guards in seconds, and I ran again. I heard it shout that it had my scent, and that wherever I ran, it would find me."
"So that's why you've stayed on the streets," the man guessed. "So the vampire only comes for you, not anybody else."
The boy nodded. The man sat for a few seconds, contemplating this. "Well, boy, your days on the street are almost over. You see, I have a mistress, of sorts. She expects me to go out and deal with matters such as this vampire. By the time I leave this city, the vampire will be dead. I just need your help to find the cursed thing." The boy looked up at that.
"So you help people?" He asked. The man nodded slowly. The boy stood up. "I want to help," he said suddenly. "Not just with this. I want to help you and your mistress with all these matters you deal with." The man shook his head.
"Trust me, boy, you don't. It's a thankless job. You'll be shunned by all, you'll always be alone. You'll have to make hard choices, do things no man should ever have to do. You must be a bright lad to have survived this long. Learn a trade, make something of yourself. Be better than this life." He looked at the hardened expression on the boys face. "You're not going to listen to me, are you?" He asked. The boy shook his head.
"I want to help people," he said. "I don't care what they think of me. As long as I can keep them safe, that's what matters." The man sighed and rose to his feet.
"In that case, we'd best get started," he said. "Daylight's fading, and I'd like to start our hunt with the advantage on ou side."
...
"Get up, boy." I heard a voice I hadn't heard in years. But I didn't move. I didn't feel like I could. Ever bone in my body hurt, and my ears were still ringing from the explosion. The voice came again.
"Get up," it said. "I didn't train you to fall this easily, did I?" I felt a hand grasp mine and pull me up. Suddenly, I was on my feet, my whole body buzzing with energy. I glanced at my palm, the one I had felt a hand on, and realized it was the source of all this power I felt.
I shifted my glance up. Across the cave, the diamond dog was holding Twilight by the throat, laughing cruelly as it siphoned her life force away. Twilight had used up all of her magic in the last attack, and had none left to defend herself with. Already, I could see color beginning to fade away in her hooves. She was going to die. I realized that I could not get the amulet and save Twilight.
So in that moment, I made a decision that no man should have to make.
I lifted my hand, the one that had been touched. I could feel the power in it, striving to be released. I pointed it at the diamond dog, closed my eyes, and released everything.
A wave of pure necrotic energy ripped from my hand, hurtling across the cave. The poor dog never even saw it coming. When I opened my eyes, all that remained of him was a pile of ash with that stupid amulet set in the center of it. Twilight fell to the cave floor, gasping for air. I ignored her for now. She would live. But I had to contain the amulet before it hurt anyone else.
"What...happened?" Coughed Twilight, still struggling to force air down her throat. "What was that explosion?"
"My fault," I muttered. "The amulet will not suffer the touch of one of pure heart." With that, I reached down and plucked the amulet off of the floor. No explosions came. As I expected.
I dropped the amulet into a flask of holy water. That should hold it for a while. "What was that thing you did?" Asked Twilight. "With the blast that-" I shot her a glare that shut her up quick. A message from my old mentor was something personal, which I didn't feel like sharing at the moment.
"C'mon," I muttered. "We should get back to town. The paralysis on your friends should be wearing off soon, and they should be told what happened." With that, I turned my back on the remains of the diamond dog and walked out. The ash sat there, a silent monument.
...
That night, the town threw a party in my honor. I suppose it wasn't every day they received interdimensional visitors who save them from eldritch terrors. I did my best to smile, laugh, and act like everything was okay. It was a skill I had become quite good at, and one I had been practicing since I arrived here.
Close to the end of the party, I managed to get Twilight alone. I knew how difficult things must have been for her, and I felt obligated to help. Solving problems is my specialty, after all.
"So, how do you feel?" I asked her. She just shook her head, staring down at her glass of punch.
"That poor dog is dead because of me," she said. "If I had just let you handle the situation like you said, you could have gotten that amulet, couldn't you?"
I stared at her. She looked so sad, I had to try to cheer her up. "Twilight, without your help, I don't think I would have survived. I was walking into that situation not honestly expecting to walk out again." She barely reacted to that, which didn't seem good. We stood in silence for a few minutes, watching the others enjoy the party.
"Why do you do it?" She finally asked me. I stared down in silence. It was a question I got asked a lot, but I had never gotten any better at answering it. Did I do it for revenge, for what happened to my parents? Did I do it for the feeling of power, knowing that I could hold someones fate in my hands?
"I do it because it's the only thing I have left," I finally answered. "All that's left for me in this life is to make sure that someone like me never has to arrive again." Twilight barked out a humorless laugh at that.
"I think I'm starting to get how you feel," she said, "and it's scary. I don't know if I'll ever be able to sleep again. Whenever I close my eyes, all I see is that dog choking me, and then the shock on his face when...you know." I glanced at her. She did seem much sadder. When I first saw her, the first thing I thought was,There's someone who has power and knows how to use it. Now, she just looked like a doll, watching the world with empty eyes.
"Don't worry," I told her in a monotone voice, "I can fix that problem too." She looked up at me with genuine surprise.
"How?" She asked? I didn't reply. Instead, I glanced down at her cup.
"What do you think of the punch?" I asked her.
"The punch?" She asked in confusion, staring at her half empty cup. Suddenly, she spun around, and saw that every other pony was holding a partially empty cup. All except me. My cup was untouched.
"What did you..."
"Put in the punch? Memory potion. In just a few minutes, you'll all forget I was ever here. You'll simply remember this as a night when you all had just a little too much to drink, and had a wild party." Twilight stared at me with wide eyes.
"But why?" She asked in a whisper. I smiled at her, this time genuine.
"I told you," I said. "I like to preserve innocent things." I waved my hand, and abruptly, the whole crowd of ponies fell asleep. I quietly excused myself out the back of the building. I didn't like goodbyes.
...
The boy woke up and stretched. It had been four years now. Four years since he and Evendur had destroyed the vampire, and he had been taken on as Evendur's apprentice. He had learned quickly, mastering the mystic arts. The two of them had been on the road nonstop in that time, travelling as they were needed and helping those who couldn't help themselves.
The boy glanced at the bed where Evendur lay, and jumped with surprise. Evendur was gone! The boy leaped out of bed and began looking around, trying to find his master.
"He's not here."
The voice flowed like silk, but it carried power. The boy turned to see a tall woman in a gray cloak facing him. Even without introductions, he knew who it was. Evendur had described his patron enough times for her to be recognized.
"Where is he?" The boy asked.
"He has left," the Shadow Queen replied. "I have no need of multiple agents in one place, and he knew that you would not let him go willingly."
"But where is he?" The boy demanded, his voice growing harder. A faint hint of a smile appeared on the Shadow Queens face.
"Just as stubborn as Evendur, I see," she said. "That trait will serve you well. Your master has left this plane of existence to pursue others. You may encounter him again, if your need is great. But he has assured me that you have enough skill to survive on your own." The boy shook his head, but he knew it was true. Evendur had trained him well, but it was time for him to strike out on his own. The Shadow Queen spoke. "It is time. Kneel to me, and swear your allegiance, and in return,
you shall have to power to enact my will, and preserve the natural cycle of life and death." The boy dropped to one knee, and said,
"I swear my allegiance to you."
"Then speak your name, and let the deed be done!"
"Soond Norodeir."
...
Walking away from Ponyville was harder than I thought. I had grown to like those ponies, even though I had known them for only a short time. But I had to, if I wanted them to be able to live their lives.
There have always been threats. Whether they're magical, physical, or something else entirely, people are always in danger from something. And sometimes, ignorance is bliss. But just because not everyone knows that a threat is out there doesn't mean that they're not safe.
Because whenever evil threatens the innocent, whenever someone seeks to disrupt the natural cycle, there can be only one thing that follows.
The man in the gray cloak.
