Chapter 19

After an eventful and heartwarming visit to the Princesses, the mane six, CMC, Spike and I are now walking through downtown Canterlot on our way to the train station back to Ponyville. The group were all discussing their own subjects of conversation and Spike was talking with the CMC and coming up with new ideas for them to get their cutie marks. Meanwhile I’m left to my usual thoughts as we continue on, while also ignoring the eyes of any snotty nobles we pass by.
I think about the kind of man Rokai was back then and start to imagine all the great deeds he had done for this world. He seemed like such a prideful and honorable warrior who’d always put himself in the face of danger for the sake of others. He made such an impact he brought peace between all races of Eques, especially after his heroic sacrifice. I’m not sure what awaits me as the new Guardian but I know this, I will do whatever I can to become a worthy successor and bring honor to the title just Rokai had.

“Hey Will,” I look up and see Spike slowing down to walk next to me, “you ready to head back home?”

“I sure am Spike, I’m just glad all this “excitement” is done with. I’m ready to have a break rather than deal with any more surprises,” I chuckle.

“You got that right,” he agrees, “I’m surprised you still have a level head after all that’s happened.”

“What good is stressing over something when it’s much easier to accept what’s been happening? I now know my purpose in this new life of mine and I’m gonna live it to the fullest,” I said.

“And we’ll all be right behind you every step of the way, bro!” He says cheerfully. “So what’re you gonna do at the cute-ceañera Pinkie’s gonna throw for you?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure,” I shrug, “I’ll probably say a few words, play some more of my music like last time, maybe dance to a few songs.”

“You can dance!?” Pinkie asks out of nowhere.

I blink in surprise since she basically came out of thin air somehow but I mentally suppress a headache since it’s best to just not think about how Pinkie does these kinds of things…

“Uh, yeah I do,” I reply, “like singing and playing the guitar, it’s another one of my many hobbies I used to do. I can show you a few dances if you like?”

“Ooohh, I’d love to see your dancing, Willy! I’ll be sure to throw you a cute-ceañera you’ll remember forever and ever!” She squeals.

“So what kind of dances do you know, Will?” Spike asks.

“Well I-“

“STOP! THIEF!”

We all then hear somepony yelling and quickly turn around and see a pegasus pony in a grey hoodie and black pants running towards us and take off in the air over us. In his hand was some kind of fancy necklace and since I just heard the word “thief”, it’s obvious it’s a snatch and grab.

“Spike, make sure everypony gets to the train station and wait for me. I‘ll take care of this…” I tell him.

Spike is a bit caught off guard and quickly nods in agreement. I then bend my legs slightly, quickly build up my Ki, and shoot up into the air after the thief. I’m catching up to him but he seems to notice me and turns around to glance at me. He goes wide eyed and tries to pick the pace to loose me.

Oh no you don’t, pal…

I decide to chase him in style so while keeping my eyes on the thief I quickly pull out my ear buds and put them on and pick out a good song for this situation.

I raise my Ki more and pick up my speed after him. We’re both flying through the air, banking left and right since he thinks he can try and shake me. He then dive bombs towards the ground with me following close behind. As we near the ground, we both shoot forward before hitting the ground. We dodge and weave over and under obstacles in our path while leaving quite a sting tailwind behind us both. The thief tries to knock food stands and carriages in my way but I manage to dodge out of the way or smash through them with ease. We also dodge ponies who are walking by and they jump out of the way or fall on the ground as we fly past them. I almost flew into a few ponies but I twisted my body out of the way just in time to avoid collision causing them to twirl around in place and become dizzy.

“Sorry!” I call out to them while I still keep my speed.

This game of cat and mouse goes on for a good while and we’re just flying up and over, down and under, side to side, all around the city. Whoever this thief is, he’s definitely a determined one if he’s going through this much trouble to try and escape.

“Alright,” I sneer, “enough’s enough.”

I come up with a plan to fake him out and turn left from a building as he turns right. I fly up in the air and fix my gaze on him once again and see he’s still trying to get away even though I’m not chasing him anymore. I see him turn around again and as I predicted, he stops and looks around for me thinking I’ve given up. I put two fingers to my forehead and focus my Ki and the area right behind him. I wait for a few moments for the right moment until his guard is low enough for me to make my move.

“Instant Transmission!”

SWISH

I blink and appear right behind the thief, making him tense up at the sound of my teleportation. He slowly turns around and stares up at me, even though I can’t really see his face due to his hood being on.

“Looking for somepony?” I smirk while asking mockingly as the song ends.

He turns around and attempts to take to the skies again but I’m quicker to react as I grab him from behind and but him in a Heimlich lock with his wings still folded against my arms.

“Let me go!” He cries in an unusually high pitched tone, “let me go, damnit!”

“No can do, bud,” I retort, “you took something that doesn’t belong to you so I’d like it back so I can return it.”

The thief continues to struggle but to no avail since it just feels like I’m holding onto a small child. I sigh and shake my head and release one of my arms from him and with quick reflexes, I hit his legs’ pressure points and, from what could only guess, his wing joints at the their base. He yelps in slight pain and falls to the ground on his knees as I release his other arm. Thinking it’s his chance to “escape” he tries to get up and fly away but his legs don’t respond and his wings are slack and unfolded.

“W-what the hay did you do to me?!” He yells.

“If you must know, I hit your legs and wings pressure points making them immobile for a while. Wouldn’t want you flying off again, now would I?” I tell him. I pick him up by the back of his hoodie and carry him to the side of the street and sit him down on the corner. He has his head down and has his hands in his hoodie’s pocket and avoiding eye contact.

“Look kid, it’ll be easier if you just hand over whatever you took. I’d hate to have to call a guard here and have them deal with you,” I offer.

The thief says nothing and looks away from under his hood. I sigh and kneel down in front of him so I’m at eye level, despite him looking away.

“Alright, if that’s the way you want it then so be it. I’m still gonna need that item so if you won’t give it back, I’ll just take it back,” tell him.

I reach up and start patting him down starting with the sides of his waist. He flinches oddly but I continue to pat him down. As I pat his body, he for some reason is squirming and fidgeting uncomfortably. I pat his stomach and make my way up and he starts to fidget more than usual. I then bring my hands up to his chest and pat them down but feel something odd as I do. I pat his chest again but this time squeeze a little, only to hear something I never would’ve expected to hear…

“Ah~”

I immediately stop patting and look straight up to the thief's hooded face. It’s slight, but I can definitely see a hint of red near the end of his muzzle.

Oh hell no, don’t tell me…” I hope in my head.

I slowly reach up and grab his hood and pull it down quickly before he has a chance to react. I go slack jawed as I’m now face to face with him, or should I say HER, and SHE is blushing while still avoiding eye contact with me. She is a pegasus mare with dark grey fur and dark violet braided mane and tail. She slowly opens her eyes, which are amber orange, and looks up at me with a nervous expression while still blushing. I’m still in shock at the petty thief who I thought was a young stallion, only to find out she’s a mare.

“You’re…a mare?!” I ask in shock.

An awkward silence fills the air between us and I’m frozen in place in utter shock. The thief is starring daggers at me with a still slightly pink muzzle.

“You’re not a stallion?” I ask dumbly.

She looks away in embarrassment and shakes her head slowly. She then pulls her hoodie forward and reaches into it through the opening. I almost catch a glimpse of her chest but I turn quickly turn away before she notices. I hear the sound of a small chain clinking which makes me turn back to her and I see her hold out the item she took. It’s a beautiful necklace with many diamonds decorating it and small diamonds in between each one. Even the pieces that connect the necklace have diamonds in them, whoever owns this must be rich as hell.

“I’m sorry…”

“What?” I ask.

She then looks up at me with a pained expression and tears in her eyes.

“I’M SORRY, ALRIGHT?!” She shrieks.

I jolt back at her sudden outburst but start to pity her due to her facial expression. It seems like this was just an act of desperation. I sigh and take the necklace from her and put it in my pocket. I was about to fly back towards where I started to chase her but I notice she’s now silently crying.

Jeez, I’m a sucker for sad girls crying… I think.

“Hey kid,” I say gaining her attention as she looks up at me, “let’s go for a fly.”

She’s confused as I offer her my hand, but still hesitantly takes it. I pull her up and scoop her into my arms, carrying her bridal style. She blushes deeply and looks up at me with an even more confused look. I look down at her and smile and take to the skies gently making her “eep!” kinda cutely. We’re now flying a little over the buildings and I’m slowly making my way back to where it all began. She seems to be a little in awe at how we’re now in the air, probably because she’s wondering how I’m flying without wings.

“U-um, how’re you-“

“Flying without wings?” I finish her question, “It’s my power, because as you can tell I’m not a pony. I’m a human.” She gasps a bit and nods in understanding as we continue our flight.

“So, got a name?” I ask.

“R-Red Wind…” she answers hesitantly.

“I see, well it’s nice to meet you in an interesting manner Red Wind. My name’s William Saber.” I respond. “Mind telling me why you’re flying around taking things that aren’t yours?”

Red Wind flinches a bit and her ears droop as she frowns. “I-I didn’t mean to, it’s just…” she starts to tear up, “I live with just my mom and little sister in the lower district of Canterlot. My dad left us when I was a foal and didn’t leave anything behind. Ever since my little sister was born, my mom has been working all day and night to provide for both of us. She constantly comes home exhausted and barely has time for us because she’s always working. It’s all because of those damn taxes that we barely manage to afford the rent for our house and put my sister through school. All those greedy nobles are bleeding us dry, even though I also got a job to help it barely makes a difference…” she whimpers.

I start to get a little agitated, typical one percent thinking they can do whatever they damn well please and take as much they want through taxes and rent. I especially get more ticked off at her dad who left them high and dry. Whoever that sorry asswipe is he better hope I don’t run into him…
Red Wind composes herself and continues with her story.

“One day, my mom collapsed from exhaustion and is now bedridden. It's almost the end of the month and the landlord said if we don’t have the payment ready, he’d have somepony throw us out of our home…” she cries. She starts to sob into my chest and I frown sadly at her story. My agitation spikes up again at the obvious corrupted financial system in this city. I doubt she’s the only pony in town going through something like this in the lower district, I’ll have to do something for her and the ponies living here.

“So out of desperation, you resorted to stealing?” I ask bluntly. She flinches but nods sadly in my chest. I sight and look down at her again, she’s avoiding looking at me but I can tell she’s regretting what she’s done.

“Look, I can understand why you were driven to do such a thing but there’s better ways at handling these kinds of situations rather than resorting to petty theft. I mean, what if it wasn’t me who chased after you? What if one of the guards gave chase and caught you? I’m sure your mother and little sister would be heartbroken if you were punished,” I explain.

“I know but-“

“But nothing,” I interrupt sternly, “you have to think about how your actions will effect those around you, despite the good intentions you might have.” She frowns but nods slowly in reluctant agreement.

“How old are you anyway?” I ask.

“19…”

“Then that makes it a bit worse,” I add, “you’re legally and adult which means if you were caught you’d be punished more severely, possibly sent to prison if convicted.” I can feel her start to shake in sadness and fear in my arms.
“You have to understand, Red Wind, I’m not trying to scare you I’m just trying to help you understand. You care about your family, right?” She nods, “You care about yourself, right?” She nods again, “You care about your future, right? Another nod. “Then you have to remember these words I’m gonna tell you right now, unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not, and you have to care about your family and yourself before you try anything like this again.”

Red Wind starts to tear up again and buries into my chest again and sobs while nodding. I smile knowing she now understands the importance of my words and I continue to fly over the buildings. She’s a sweet mare and she’d never hurt anyone on purpose, she’s just looking out for her family. I can relate to how she’s feeling since I know all too well what she’s going through…

We eventually arrive back at the area where I started to chase her and there’s a small group of ponies in the middle of the road. I see a few guards and they talking to a couple of unicorn ponies. One is a stallion with a light grey coat and neatly azure combed mane and tail. He’s wearing a fancy suit and bow tie and a monocle on his left eye. The other pony is a unicorn mare with an also light grey coat and very pretty looking light magenta mane and tail and wearing an elegant looking turquoise sun dress. The guards and the two ponies notice me and are a little surprised at my appearance. I touch down in front of them and walk calmly towards them.

“Can you hold onto my neck?” I ask Red Wind. She arches a brow but wraps her arms around my neck anyway. I then release my arm carrying her upper body since she’s now supporting herself in my neck and reach into my pocket and pull out the necklace. The unicorn mare gasps and quickly makes her way towards me with the other unicorn stallion following close behind.

“I believe this belongs to you, ma’am.” I said

“Oh my stars! My family’s necklace!” She says excitedly, “Did you really go through all that trouble to reclaim this for me?”

“That I did ma’am,” I say as I hand it back to her, “and this one has something important to say.” I nudge Red Wind in my arms and she looks at the mare with a sad expression.

“U-um, I’m very sorry for stealing your necklace. I wasn’t thinking clearly and took it out of desperation for my family, not realizing that I was just going to make things worse for myself. I hope you can forgive me…” she apologizes sadly.

The unicorns are a bit hesitant but instead of reprimanding her like I thought they would as the snobbish nobles they are, they both smile and nod.

“It is quite alright, young one,” the stallion says, “as long as you regret your actions no harm no fowl.”

“Indeed,” the mare agrees, “just be sure not to do this again, alright?”

Red Wind looks at the both of them shocked and looks up at me. I smile and nod acknowledging her apology and she starts to smile since she did the right thing. The stallion turns to the guards and waves them off, dismissing them and they leave.

“How’re your legs and wings?” I ask Red Wind. She tries to move her legs and they twitch a bit indicating they’re mostly recovered but her wings don’t move as much since they’re still a bit paralyzed. I start to channel healing Ki into my hand holding her legs and she sighs in content as I heal her pressured nerves. Once healed I set her down and she stumbles a bit but is now standing upright on her own again. She only comes up to my lower chest and she is a bit more surprised how much taller I am than her which makes me chuckle. The unicorn stallion steps towards me and clears his throat.

“Erhem, I take it you are the young stallion who reclaimed my wife’s heirloom?” He asks.

“That I am, sir,” I answer. He smiles and raises his hand for a shake.

“Then allow me to personally thank you, my boy. My name is Lord Fancy Pants CEO of Fancy Inc.” he introduces. I smile and take his hand and return the gesture with a shake.

“It’s no problem, sir. My name is William Saber and if you are wondering what I am, I’m a human.” Fancy Pants and his wife gasp at my response and look at each other in shock and look back at me.

“A human?,” the mare speaks, “as in an actual human like the legends of old?”

“The very same, Ms…”

“Oh how rude of me, my name is Lady Fleur Di Lis. I’m a supermodel for the Canterlot Fashion Magazine.” She says while holding out her hand.

“I see,” reply. I already know what to do at this point so I gently take her hand and bow my head and kiss it lightly. “Well it’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Fleur.”

“Well aren’t you a gentlestallion,” she giggles, “the mares must find you irresistible,” she teases.

“Well, you could say that,” I chuckle while thinking about Luna, and a few others if I’m being honest.

“Hmm, a human in Equestria, William Saber…” Fancy Pants mumbles. He snaps his fingers and points at me.

“By jove! You couldn’t be the human William Saber, The Equestrian Guardian I overheard Princess Celestia mention in my meeting with her this morning, could you?!” He asks in shock. Fleur and Red Wind also gasp and look at me with shocked expressions.

“I guess word gets around,” I say to myself, “but yes I am indeed the new Equestrian Guardian, I even have my new cutie mark to prove it,” I tell them. I roll up my sleeve and show them my mark on my shoulder. They both go more wide eyed and actually bow to me a bit.

“It is such an honor to meet you, Sir Saber,” Fleur says.

“Indeed,” Fancy says, “I never would’ve imagined we would meet such an important individual like yourself, Lord Saber.

“Please you two,” I defend while raising my hands, “there’s absolutely no need for you to address me so formally, especially no need to bow to me since I haven’t officially been recognized as the Guardian. I’m just your normal and average human so just call me William or Will for short.”

“And quite the modest one at that,” Fancy says as he raises his head, “I know a pony or two who could learn something from you. And if you are content with with being addressed by just your name then allow me to respond in kind by allowing you to just call me Fancy, since my friends call me that all the time.

“And you may just call me Fleur, as my friends do for me as well,” Fleur adds.

Wow, these ponies are unlike any of the other snobs in Canterlot. I think.

“It’s nice to know there are reasonable ponies in this town who can appreciate the importance of modesty rather than just flaunt their titles wherever they go, like somepony I’ve had the displeasure of meeting the other day,” I say with a scowl at the thought of a certain douchy Prince.

“I suppose you are referring to Prince Blueblood?” Fleur asks with a slight sneer. I nod and she huffs in annoyance. “I can understand how you feel, William. That stallion is many things but a modest one he certainly is not.”

“Indeed,” Fancy adds, “it always perplexes me how Princess Celestia and Princess Luna deal with such a stallion such as him.”

“You and me both, Fancy,” I reply making them laugh. Fancy then pulls out his pocket watch and looks at the time.

“Well as much as we would enjoy continuing this conversation, we must be on our way,” Fancy said.

“Of course, it was nice speaking with both of you. If I’m back in Canterlot one day maybe we can meet up again sometime?” I offer.

“We would love it if you joined us for brunch one day, William,” Fleur smiles. She then looks at Red Wind who has been patiently waiting for us. “What will you do with this young mare?” She asks making Red Wind fidget nervously.

“Don’t worry,” I reply, “I’ll take care of her from here on.”

“Very well,” Fancy agrees, “we hope to see you again William, farewell.” He and Fleur both wave and walk away.

I look forward to seeing them again, they’re nice ponies in this city of the snob. I think.

It’s now just Red Wind and I and now I have to think about what I should do for her. I remember what she said about the corrupt financial system in the lower district and think about what can be done. Perhaps Celestia and Luna can help but I still have to meet up with everyone else who are probably still waiting for me at the train station. I then get an idea and look around for a guard on duty. There’s one at the corner of the street so I walk up to him and gain his attention.

“Excuse me sir, can you spare a piece of paper and something to write with?” I ask.

“Sure, here you go,” he says while handing me a pen and piece of notebook paper. I thank him and begin writing everything that has happened when I left the castle. I write down about the chase, catching Red Wind, what she told me about the lower district, meeting Fancy Pants and Fleur, and ask at the end of the note to compensate her and her family for her poor living conditions and fix the situation in the lower district. I fold the paper up and make a quick sketch of my cutie mark so they know it’s from me. I thank the guard and return his pen and walk back to Red Wind.

“Red Wind, I’d like you to take this and bring it to the castle where you’re gonna give it to Princess Celestia,” I instruct her.

Red Wind goes wide eyed as I had her the paper. “Wh-what?! You want me to meet the Princess?! I couldn’t trouble her with something like this, she probably wouldn’t even meet with somepony like me…” she nervously says.

I put a hand on her shoulder and she looks up at me. “Trust me Red Wind, just show the guards the mark I drew and tell them the Equestrian Guardian sent you. Once you meet with Princess Celestia, tell her everything you know about how the financial system is handled in the lower district. There’s no way she’d allow how things operate in the lower districts to continue since your family and the other ponies living there have been through so much. She’ll help you just as I’m helping you, you deserve a better life than the one you’re living right now.”
Red Wind tears up and lunges at me with a tight hug. I smile and return the embrace as she cries in my chest.

“Thank you, thank you so much. No pony as ever been this kind to me. You really are a hero…” she says.

“Of course, I’ll always be there to help those in need whenever they need it,” I tell her.

Red Wind steps back and thanks be again before walking towards the castle, which makes me remember something important.

“Oh Red Wind, hold up,” I call out gaining her attention. I walk behind her and place both my hands on her wings making her flinch and blush a bit. I channel more healing Ki into her wings and she sighs ask heal her paralyzed wings. After a short while, I stop healing and she flaps her wings as if they were never paralyzed. She smiles brightly and hugs me one more time before taking to the skies towards the castle.

Good kid, hope she’s able to learn something from this. I think.

I start to walk back to the train station with a smile. I was able to once again help somepony in need and it wasn’t as violent as before so that’s also a plus. Eventually I make it to the station and everyone is waiting for me. Once I arrive they all swarm me and ask where I’ve been and what had happened.
I explained everything that had transpired, minus the specific part on how I actually found out Red Wind was a mare, and they were all proud of what I had done for her. The train then conveniently pulls up the the platform and we all board the train car. We all the take the same seats as before with Spike sitting next to me. I pull out my phone and show him some of the games I have which he took great joy in playing Angry Birds.
I look out the window and take one last look at Canterlot as the train starts to move. I think about Luna and what she’s doing right now, probably dealing with the snobs along with Celestia and trying to restrain herself from popping a nerve in agitation. I then think about what Rainbow Dash said about forming a herd which made me a little nervous. Living in this world and getting to know its traditions and lifestyle is definitely gonna take some getting used to. Since I’m now in a relationship with Luna, stuff like forming a herd will just have to be brushed under the bench for now. I’m happy with what I’ve got and the friends I’ve made and I’m very thankful for what they’ve done for me and how they’ll always support me. Whatever challenge comes my way, we’ll all be sure to face them together.

Back at Canterlot Castle in the Royal Garden 3rd POV

In the garden there stands a rather odd looking statue. It’s a serpentine like creature with a mix match of body parts consisting of a lions paw, an eagles claw, a lizards leg and a goats leg. It has the head of a pony but has a deer antler and a goat horn on its head. On its back is a pair of wings but one is a bat wing and the other is a pegasus wing.
At first glance, one would only think it’s just an odd looking garden decoration in the middle of the garden that the Princesses kept around for some reason. Little does anypony know it is something, or rather somepony, much more dangerous than anypony can guess.
The statue is motionless but if somepony listens close enough, they could hear a voice that sounds like it could drive them into chaos.

“Well, this certainly has become more interesting. I shall soon be free but that human might prove to be a disturbance. Time to do some planning for my glorious chaotic return! Muahahaha…” The voice laughs madly.

Author's Note

Ooh, he is almost free! I’m personally looking forward to Saber’s encounter with him. It’s gonna be awesome! Also, if anyone can notice the references in this chapter, kudos! See you next chapter!

-WurkyWilk as left the building…