Chapters A Man with a Lightning Charged Axe
Birds.
The first thing I hear is birds?
Opening my eyes I wasn't greeted with the ceiling of the convention center that was previously above me. Instead I am met with verdant leaves and colorful birds.
Sitting up and taking in my surroundings I spot one of the two axes I bought from that weird Merchant: Wolf Beil, Hector's personal weapon from Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword. I can't see the other weapon I bought though, the legendary lightning charged Armads. But nothing else from what I was wearing is missing, I still have my armor and my pant pockets still have my wallet, my phone, and an energy bar. My wallet is probably useless out wherever I am, as paper money has no purpose other than to help start a fire, my phone without a connection means no internet but I have some basic survival apps on there so that may help, but I have no way to charge it so I have to limit my usage until I find a way to charge it, and the energy bar will definitely help for at least this first day.
First thing's first though, I need to find a river, and a better source of food. Looking up I decide to start heading to the west until I find a body of water or until I find a road. Noting several to be landmarks such as piles of rock and a ravine to my south, I come across a natural hallow much smaller than the ravine. Though the smell of blood and rotting meat is wafting from it, I also hear the trickling of water. Against my better judgment, I push myself forward to see if there is a bear or wolf pack that call the place home. What my eyes see though is nothing I could've expected. A manticore lay napping on a stone with several bones and broken skeletons around it.
My legs take off without my control, running as fast as I can from the cave, I swat branches and other plant matter out of the way making enough noise to make a sleeping dragon wake. I hear the beast roar and give chase, causing my hand to grip Wolf Beil tighter than before. My life starts flashing in my mind as I try to remember training with my dad in the fields by his house, we never covered what to do against wolves, bears, or other large animals as we never went to hunt them or had to study them. Shit! Apply the basics you stupid man! Shift your legs so you can put your weight into your blow, strike through the target and don't try to stop it until it goes through the opponent.
Okay.
Breathe.
Spreading my legs I shift my weight to balance out the spread. My hand grips Wolf Beil tightly but not as tight as when I gripped it in fear. My breathing slows and my vision sharpens. The manticore seems to slow down and I can see where it will be. Before I can stop myself, my legs work on their own again sending me to the air and a huge grin come to my face as my axe strikes true cutting right through the beast leaving a massive gash through its head.
By the time my feet reach the ground I had killed the first creature ever in this new world.
Landing I pull my axe out of the skull and fall to the ground. I bring my hand up and cover my mouth to stop myself from puking, a rancid smell that seems to be coming from the tail is making my stomach retch. Crawling over I chop off the tail and throw it as far as I can away from me. Turning back I start thinking about what to do with the body. It could be used as food, and if I were to set up a base of operations I could try to tan the hide for clothes other than my armor. The tail while rank could be used to scare off other more natural predators like bears or wolves. Bones are almost always useful, I could make clubs, arrowheads, knives, crude silverware, and many other items. I just need to get to a place where I can try to skin it and start a fire to cook the meat.
Dragging the body back to the cave, I look around. It's more of an alcove than a cave with broken bones from other animals the beast had caught and eaten littered around the area. Clearing the area of them would take some time, and I don't know if it had a mate that would come back later that I would also have to fight. So getting some walls or a basic shelter is first priority. Sighing I take the axe made for war and walk over to a tree. "Shame you aren't being used for your intended purpose, but you are the best tool I have." I mumble to myself. I bring the blade swiftly to the bark and start chopping down the old tree.
3rd person
As the young man with a thunderous spirit carving a place for himself in the Everfree many of the animals and monsters take notice and watch him. While far to the north in the frozen plains of Gryphonia the king stands before the royal tomb his talon against a grave, "Father, your entire life all you wanted was for our people to know the warmth of Equestria, I will finish your ambitions. I will cast out the false goddesses who claim the sun and moon, and bring our people to a new age of prosperity." the proud bird declares. Thinking his is hidden an Equestrian agent makes note of his small speech and quickly sends word to Celestia of the King's plan.
"You there, the pony." The young spy freezes, unable to move as the new king of the north rises gripping a spear with snow flying around it. "You should not be here, you and all of your kind know that you were gifted the world, the rest of us were forced to fight and crawl and beg. That time, the time for my people to beg, is over. We will not be ruled by a species that has grown soft with cake and peace!"
The king walks toward the agent exuding power and bloodlust and with a single swift strike sent the spear through the pony's heart, the wound freezing solid and spreading ice across the the terrified creature.
A Man with a Lightning Charged Axe
Chapter 2: Walk in a Woods
With the sun rising yet again on this unfamiliar land I find myself in, I reminisce on the times I sparred with my brother and father. My father was a gun nut and my brother an expert boxer, and all three of us were massive history buffs, me even more so than them. We were by no means a militant family, more a bunch of history nerds who loved learning how people throughout history fought and defended themselves, from Greece to the founding of the United States. But those days seem so far away even though I haven't been here a full week.
The isolation is already pulling at my psyche, I force myself off the ground where I've made my bed. Heading over to the spring of fresh water I splash my face and look at my reflection, a face that isn't mine. A face I stole from a character who I found relatable. I may still be me, but I don't see myself there.
Sighing I stand up and look at the very shoddy wall I built to keep things away from me in my sleep. It's really just a bunch of trees I chopped down and laid in front of the cave, without the new strength I have from being Hector I would've never been able to do this. Pushing the logs away from the entrance, I look up the mountain I'm at the base of. I wasn't able to see it through the dense canopy and my adrenaline made me focus on the threat so I didn't get a good look before. There is no way up other than just to climb and walk when possible. At least it'll give me a vantage point to look for civilization, should I decide to climb it. I will have to at some point, lighting a fire on the mountainside will let anyone who sees the mountain know that someone is living here, if that's a good thing.
I need to make a list of things I need to get done. At least until I manage to find any form of civilization. Firstly food, I already have water, and while it might not be the best it is far better than nothing. The manticore is already well past the point of being safe to eat so using it as bait for scavengers or other predators is the only option for the remaining meat. I'll set the bones aside for now, I might eventually need to use them.
Second, I should get some real walls set up. I don't have a shovel to help break the earth and I don't want to disrespect Wolf Beil more than I already have. I could use some of my armor to try shoveling. Better than nothing, and if I don't want to do that I could try to carve a shovel from one of the trees.
This is tough, I'd always thought I be far more prepared if I were stuck in a scenario like this. Fortunately, I've managed to keep my head on straight and not do anything too stupid. Though peeking my head into a cave that smelt of blood would definitely count as stupid so I shouldn't be too proud. God I wish I was thrown somewhere with people, camping was fun but having to do this for survival sucks.
I doubt anyone is even looking for me, after all, manticores were just fantasy creatures and here I am having killed and eaten one so there isn't a high possibility that I'm still on Earth. Unless some strange magic shenanigans happened I'm not just lost, I'm trapped in a strange new world with who knows what kinda of monsters and beasties. Once again I find myself grateful that I've gotten a physical upgrade. I wasn't unhealthy by any means, but I never really made a large effort to build strength and endurance. Not like my brother.
I miss the bastard already.
I can't let despair or depression take over now, I have to keep moving forward, find someone or something, anything.
I guess I should try to scout out the surrounding area, I doubt anything will come looking around the cave with the manticore's scent and venom still spread around the area. Hopefully, it was the top dog in this area and everything else is weaker than it was. I still don't know my limits in combat yet and I don't want to push it and pick a fight I will lose. There was that ravine to the south I could peek into, and maybe a river at the bottom that I could use to find a city or town.
Sighing I grab what little items I still have and start out into the woods. I don't make much of an effort to hide or cover my tracks so that if a ranger or game warden finds them they will know that someone was here and hopefully they'll find me before I become a corpse.
I find that my expected time to reach the ravine was woefully hopeful. While it shouldn't be more than 2 miles away the forest seems to come alive when I'm not paying attention and make my effort to travel far harder than it should be. Vines seem to sprout out of nowhere to trip me, branches fall from trees scarily close to hitting me. The birdsong that I awoke to is nowhere to be heard as I finally reach my destination.
A peek through the opening in the canopy gives me a decent estimation of how long the trek took. Well over two hours. If the hike back to the shelter takes that long I won't be able to do much scouting, and if it takes longer for some reason that would be even worse. Having a consistent grasp of how long it takes to do things in this forest is looking impossible.
Turning from the sky to the ravine I peek down at the bottom hoping to see a river or other body of water. My luck seems to have run dry just as the ravine has it seems. It does stretch far into the distance, however, meaning that it may just be this section that is lacking water, the light mist and haze would support that theory. I'm not inclined to try to find my way down the cliff face so I decide to just follow the edge.
I follow the rocky cliff face for what the sun tells me is about an hour and a half. What is making me hesitate instead of going back to the little alcove however is that I caught a glimpse of something over the treetops in the distance about twenty minutes ago.
A castle.
There is an old decrepit castle out here.
I can't recognize the style, meaning I've not been thrown into Europe. But the fact that there is still a building means that there was at least some form of civilization here in this damnable forest. I've caught myself from falling into the ravine like five times now and I'm not sure it would be safe to keep going to the castle or if I should risk turning back and coming back later.
I've done what I set out to do today, several of the trees have edible fruit and nuts so food shouldn't be as large an issue as it was, so I can go back.
But something is drawing me to the castle. Something inside me is saying I won't be this lucky again that the vines and whatever is controlling this forest won't let me get near the castle again. Will it even let me get back to the cave?
I come to a simple conclusion.
I guess I should try seizing the throne.
A Man with a Lightning Charged Axe
Chapter 3: Lordly Ability
Since I've decided to try my hand at exploring the castle I make my way to the unkempt bridge. I'm not confident in its ability to hold my weight but I have a lack of better options since the plants around me are now moving quite noticeably. Guess the attempts at making me leave failing is making all forms of subtly go out the window. My best guess is there is probably a mage following me out of sight who is controlling the spirits in the woods. If the lore of the games is anything to go by that is.
I start running in an attempt to cross the bridge before anything can get out of hand but as I step onto the first plank a sharp howl breaks the air, meaning whoever is after me has some wolves with them as well. I don't turn around putting as much effort as I can into trying to get to the castle where I might be able to find favorable terrain to fight a mage and a bunch of wolves, but as I get to the halfway mark several wooden wolves leap out of the plants and treeline blocking me from leaving the bridge.
I turn my head to look behind me expecting to see whoever animated the constructs but all I am met with is more of the wooden wolves. There are about fifteen, but there could be more waiting for me or I could have just miscounted in my rush. Either way, I really need to find a way to get out of the situation I'm in. If I were actually Hector from the games I could just fight all of them off but there aren't turn-based battles here, everything is real-time so several wolves could just jump me at once, drag me to the ground, and bite out my throat.
Not a fate I want to experience.
I can't just stay on the bridge as they could just wait me out, I have to sleep eventually and whoever made them knows that. At least they don't want to come onto the bridge with me. They probably want to avoid falling into the mist beneath me, and while that would be a surefire way to kill me it would also prevent them from doing whatever it is they want with me. My only option it seems is to break through their line and try to make a full break for the castle, once I'm there I can find a doorway to funnel them all through, choke points are still effective no matter the situation.
Turning once again to face the castle in the distance, I stare down the wolf closest to me. "I don't know what you're hiding, or who made you but I will not be stopped by some mere constructs!" My voice rings out and echoes in the ravine beneath me as I charge forward trying my best to maintain balance and avoid any planks that look too rotten.
As my feet reach solid ground one wolf lunges forward jaws open trying to land a bite on my arm. Stepping to the side allows me to avoid the bite but the chance to counter is lost when a second wolf bounds towards me from behind. Somehow I sense it despite not seeing it move and barely dodge its jaws aimed at my calf. This however is an opening for a counter as Wolf Beil comes down right on the back of where its neck should be sending splinters flying and the wolf collapses into a pile of wood and leaves.
Taking the small opening I once again take off, I know that running is dangerous, if they behave like real wolves then I'm just signaling that I'm afraid and weak, but then again if they were real wolves they wouldn't attack me after losing one of their own. The sound of panting and howls from behind me however means they are still out for my blood.
Unfortunately for me, it seems Hector's low movement has also been translated over, as I can hear the pack closing in behind me as I try desperately to close the gap between myself and the gatehouse. Daring to look over my shoulder to check how far away they are I am met with several jaws making efforts to bite my heels and calves that are getting terrifyingly close. My best bet is to make a show of strength and try to frighten them off before continuing to make my way to the castle.
Right as I begin to turn in my attempt to frighten them, a larger wolf makes its move. A well-timed lunge has its teeth sink into my left arm and the attempts to bring me down to the ground begin. I roar in pain and anger, so loudly that I swear I see a shockwave come out of my mouth, thankfully that causes the rest of the pack to hesitate as Wolf Beil once again meets my foe, causing it to explode into splinters and firewood.
"You bastards have been given so many chances to give up, and I'm giving you one last chance, I've killed two of your pack and you've drawn my blood. Let's call it even. I might die here if we continue but so will most of you." My voice is rough with anger but my offer is earnest, if they leave I'll be happy and if they don't they'll find I was not worth the effort. Either way I'm still slowly backing up as the gate can't be more than fifty feet from me now.
The wooden wolves are being careful as they try to surround me, growling the whole time. But it seems that about a third of them have gone missing since I began my play from the bridge. Hopefully, that means that it's just this group of seven left. As one of the smaller creatures takes a larger step forward I stop my backward motion and also move forward to meet it. "I warned you!" I shout, raising my axe. The wolf takes a few steps back at my motion but they still don't run.
I must be about twenty feet from the gate now, if I'm lucky the guardhouse near the gate is open and I can use it to prevent what just happened to my left arm. Even if it isn't I can use the actual gate as a good choke point. Maybe if I'm lucky the game mechanic where gates heal was also transferred over. I can't take my eyes off the pack to check how close I am to the gate but given the stalemate we've attained I might be able to risk it. Hell, I might be able to just make a dash for it now.
To hell with this, I'm running for it.
Stomping a foot forward to intimidate the pack before sharply turning and dashing into the gate, my gambit seems to be paying off, as I manage to spy the guardhouse near the gate and crash through the door before turning to face the entrance to smash any of the wolves that come through. Not all that surprisingly it seems that all the pack that didn't run followed me into the courtyard.
The first poor construct comes right at me, and its face is cleft in two by my axe. It is quickly followed by two others who get too close as they try to squeeze through the door at the same time, allowing me to make a wide swing that shatters the wolves. I stare at the remaining four through the doorway, daring them to come at me.
They growl at me in response before they lope away, probably to rejoin the wiser members of the pack that left earlier.
"Finally," I'm tired, the dash and fight couldn't have been more than five minutes but it felt like ages. I take a look at my arm, which is unfortunately still bleeding. Seems like the gate doesn't heal. I kinda wonder what the in-game logic is for that, do they just have some healing supplies that they use in their spare time between fights?
Doesn't really matter right now as I need to look for something to treat the wound before it gets infected as well as the cause for the growing feeling in my chest. It's like something is pulling me somewhere in the castle. It isn't the throne, if it was I doubt it would be pulling me underground.
Before trying to find my way down though I should set up a base somewhere on the surface if I could find the barracks that would be ideal, a cache of weapons and maybe something to treat my arm and whatever other injuries I may sustain while exploring. Maybe the throne would heal, who knows if there are enchantments on the chair that would allow for rapid healing or maintaining good health or something.
I begin by rummaging through the crates at the foot of the beds for the gates guards, I don't find much of anything but that is well within my expectations as a fortress this ruined would have most everything of use looted not long after being abandoned and this place has clearly been out of use for a long time. I might be able to find something akin to a healing potion or vulnerary if I tried to look for secret rooms or hiding spots but I doubt there would be any this close to the gate.
I move from the gatehouse to the main foyer of the keep, hoping to find the throne room, I follow the large carpet that has stood the test of time quite well, and so have the banners on the walls there are two main themes, mostly solar and lunar in nature. Some form of militant religious orders or maybe someone here fancied themselves a Louis the XIV. Either way, I find my way to the throne room quite quickly, and my suspicion about the leaders being tied to the sun and moon is only confirmed by the two thrones. One a brilliant gold, still shining even in the low light of the setting sun, and the other made of silver and what seems to be black iron.
When I approach the golden throne my body begins to feel light, and warm. My walking pace improves as I can feel myself quicken, and I also take notice of the small waves in the air, they don't impede my movement but they might be magic wards to protect against magic and physical weapons. All this combined leads me to assume that this throne at least acts as they do in game. A quick check of my arm confirms my idea. It's good as new, not even a mark as the hole in my gauntlet is also closed. Seems it also repairs my armor, how nice.
I take a seat on the golden throne and playfully say to myself, "Chapter Clear." I half expected a grade sheet showing the MVP of the map and how many turns it took to beat to appear but none did. I am however greeted by the pulling my chest growing far stronger as my words ring out into the hall.
A Man with a Lightning Charged Axe
Chapter 4: Dungeon Exploration
Having achieved my goal of reaching the castle and finding out that the Throne works as it does in-game I am left with exploring the rest of the rooms and halls on the surface, whatever is calling to me from the dungeon can wait a bit longer. If I plan on making this my new base of operations, I need to see where I would need to repair walls and roofs. Once I get a decent mental map of the castle I'll feel far safer.
What feels like several hours later I've finished mapping out the surface layers and the floors above them. Library, mess hall, kitchen, barracks with the training field, a well that still has water, an empty pantry, and all the other rooms you would expect to find are all accounted for. There are even some that I don't know the purpose of but I assume they are for the study and practice of magic. Useless for me since I wouldn't know where to begin not to mention the fact that I can't read the script written in the strangely well-preserved books. This leaves only the underground to explore. As I've been exploring the pull has only ever grown stronger, what started as a small feeling that I should explore the castle has grown to an almost magnetic pull dragging me down the steps into the darkness of the dungeon.
I can't postpone it any longer.
I craft makeshift torches out of the bodies of the wooden wolves and some cloth that I found in one of the ruined bedrooms, light one with sparks made by striking my axe on the stone wall, and make my way down the ominous staircase spiraling down into the earth. Despite the gloom in the air, I find myself almost falling down the stairs as whatever has its grip on me is now far too strong for me to struggle against. When I get to the bottom of the stairs I am met with a tunnel system, no prison cells just yet though I imagine they will be here somewhere. No good castle is complete without a place to hold prisoners and criminals.
I try my best to follow where I'm being drawn to as well as trying to keep track of how to get back. This place is a maze of collapsed halls and broken walls. Maybe during its height, this would have been easy to navigate but now after what I guess to be several hundred years, the degradation has made the once great fortress fall to ruin. Turns and side passages that seem too small for me to fit through litter the hall, either the people here were shorter than me or they weren't human.
I can't keep track of time down here, the lack of the sun or any access to the sky preventing me from telling how long I spend wandering the tunnels. Dead end after dead end keep appearing, and I'm getting annoyed. Between the pulling force and the damn ruins, I'm far more irritable than normal. I want to find whatever is drawing me here so I can get some rest. The incessant pull is like an itch that keeps growing in intensity but instead of being on your skin, it's out in the world somewhere, as if scratching your doorknob would relieve it. Eventually, it gets too much as I reach another dead end, or is it the same dead end? My frustration turns to a bout of anger and I smash my fist into the wall screaming, causing the wall to collapse and reveal a passage behind it.
This damn feeling made me forget that there may have been secret passages.
Still frustrated and angry but far less so now that the way forward has been revealed, I step into the new hall. It is dimly lit with small stones that give off just enough light to see by, fortunately, my torches lasted me this long as I have two left. Hopefully, they will be enough to get me out without having to grab one of these new stones. I don't know why this area was sealed and hidden but it probably means it isn't safe or there was some great secret hidden here. Both might not be great for me.
Keeping Wolf Beil at the ready as I advance, I take notice of several chambers with skeletons of different creatures chained to walls, some of them were clearly deformed with bones that do not fit with the rest of the skeleton. Some strange experiments had taken here. Notably, almost all of the skeletons are quadrupedal, the few that are bipedal seem more like mutated humans, or maybe some other kind of species. Minotaur maybe? Seeing all of this reminds me of Nergal and his Morphs, the false human creations he used to take over the Black Fang. Was someone doing something similar here? It was never stated if the Morphs required food or sleep, they seemed very human or very good at pretending to be. If there are any left alive down here I have to prepare for a very tough fight.
Whatever is down here though is definitely the cause of the pull. It seems like the connection is almost visible as I keep moving forward through the passage, ignoring the cells along the way. Something catches my eye as I keep walking, there are small lines engraved along the ceiling that seem to be sparking, they are clearly like power cables but they aren't physical, they rather seem to be channeling magic, magic that is powering the stones lighting the area, and as I get closer to the source they are becoming brighter. I wasn't expecting magical electricity but if I'm not the first person from the modern day to be transported here it makes sense that someone would want the modern conveniences. The pull is also following the lines, maybe there is some connection there.
Following the connection leads me to a large metal door. It is unmarked but there are handles. I've ignored several offshoots and side passages to get here but just standing in front of the door is making me almost lean forward both because of the connection and in anticipation. I stow Wolf Beil on my side as I step to the door. Pushing it open lets me see a massive chamber filled with what I guess to be runestones as well as wires and an uncountable number of wires and other instruments doing who knows what. All of this is surrounding a large orb glowing and cracking with electricity.
"So, someone has finally come." A deep voice rings from the orb, shocking me. It has been long enough since I've heard anyone speak anything that being talked at is startling. "And it seems you were drawn here by my final attempt to escape."
"What, who?" The ability to talk with someone is allowing me to finally get answers to many of the questions I had but before I can ask any the voice interrupts me.
"Before you ask anything, I would ask if you would free me. All you need to do is disrupt the flow of magic sustaining the runes. It should cause the sequence to collapse in on itself."
"Uhh yeah, I can do that," Rasing Wolf Beil and charging forward I try to smash several runestones at once. As the blade touches the first one I am met with great resistance and large sparks as electrical discharges come sparking out at me. Not expecting such a forceful counter from a slab of rock, I am blown back several feet before coming to a stop on my back.
Standing up and looking at the runestone I see that I've left a small crack but the stone is still mostly intact.
"I can sense the sequence weakening, two more strikes should be enough to break the stone." The deep voice says encouraging me to continue.
"I'll get it done in one," I say confidently. Once again I take a stance before the runestone, now ready for the resistance I take Wolf Beil in both hands and put as much force into my swing as I can. My boasting is rewarded when my blade chops right through the stone causing a large explosion of electrical energy. I am not spared from its wrath and as I am wearing metal armor and using a large metal axe the lightning runs right through me and into the floor.
Screaming out in pain as the lightning courses through me frying my body, I collapse writhing in pain. Panting I look at the orb in the center of the room. It is surrounded by large explosions as the other runestones break due to the magical sequence collapse. As the final rune shatters the orb starts to fade, my fried brain barely making sense of what I see hidden inside.
It's a dragon.
A brilliant blue and yellow honest to goodness dragon.
Unfortunately for me, I'm still in pain and my vision is blurry. I barely have the strength to move. I figure this is what being tased feels like. Not pleasant by any means.
"Thank you, young warrior," The dragon says looking at me, "If it weren't for you I would have spent my final moments as a caged beast and a failure."
"I'd love to say you're welcome but I don't feel strong enough to stand. What do you mean final moments, are you dying?" I can't help but notice that the majestic beast looks like it has been through as much pain as I have.
"I was trapped here by an ancient unicorn who had great mastery of dark magic, he used to be a friend but he let the corrupting nature of his Tome overtake him. He was sapping my strength to power his experiments."
"Unicorn? Aren't they guardians of nature, why would one use dark magic?" I ask, "Why would you be a failure? Where am I? Who are you? I have so many questions."
The weakened dragon sighs, sending sparks flying from its mouth in the process. "I cannot answer all of your questions young warrior, however, I will ask some of my own, and with what little time I have left I will answer the most important. My name is Thrud, will you become my chosen, and inherit my mission given to me by the Divine Dragon Naga?"
"Naga gave you a mission? What is it? What does being your chosen mean?" Even more questions flood my mind but I can't voice them.
"You know Naga? Yet you know not of my mission, how strange..." He looks pensive for a moment before turning to me, "You have the correct affinity to become my chosen, it will grant you strength and allow you to control lighting."
So it is like holy blood from Genealogy of the Holy War I think to myself. "I'll become your chosen, what is Naga's mission?"
"She wants her people to live alongside the races of this world, however, they were terrified of us, and they forged several weapons of great strength to grant them the power to kill us. We cast a spell on those few of us sent to fight that would hide and seal our civilization when they were killed, I was sent to see the world and decide if they were ready for our return. This is the mission I give to you young warrior."
"I gladly accept it Thrud, I will make every attempt to finish your mission." I dunno how I'm gonna do that but I can certainly try. "Who betrayed you? I can bring them to justice."
"A unicorn named Sombra, he was a close friend to myself and the princesses before he fell to darkness. We were well on our way for my mission to be a success, but when we started to collect the weapons to unseal the dragon sanctuary the first weapon we found was the tome Apocalypse."
"The Elder Revelation..." In-game it enhanced the user's magic stat. It was one of the more powerful weapons Roy obtained in his fight against Bern. "Unicorn? Princesses?"
"Do you not know? I don't have enough time remaining to explain, seek out Celestia, she should be able to answer many of your questions. Before I pass on, I will impart you with my blood making you my chosen." He very shakily walks over to me and tears off a scale from what would be his wrist causing his blood to start flowing.
He stretches his arm over me and his blood falls into my open mouth. Instantly I am wracked with even more pain as my already wounded body is forced to accept power that it never expected to have. I begin writhing on the floor as I desperately try to maintain consciousness trying with my sheer will in any attempt to make my body accept the power being bestowed to me.
I can't... Is all I can think as I lose consciousness.
When I wake up I feel far better than I've ever felt before. I stand and look around the room. Thrud is lying next to me, dead. Couldn't even get the answers I wanted. Spent all this time here trying to find someone to talk to and right when I do they go and die on me. How do I even try to give him a respectful burial? I at least have to try.
Then I guess I should try looking for this Celestia lady to get my answers and fulfill my vow to Thrud.
A Man with a Lightning Charged Axe
Chapter 5: Questions and Answers
After my attempt to give Thrud a proper burial, I make my way back to the surface. I'm left with more questions than answers. Why did Fire Emblem become real? Is this some form of Outrealm bullshit? Why did Thrud ask me to find this Celestia lady? Why was a unicorn using dark magic? How was Thrud still trapped? How long was he trapped? What were the experiments he was being used to power?
I hope whoever Celestia is won't fall over dead like Thrud did. That would make me think there is some malevolent force toying with me for its own amusement. I don't even know where to start looking for Celestia if she's even alive. What if she's another dragon? What exactly are the benefits of consuming Thrud's blood?
Thinking too much about it won't solve anything, I need to make a bed or get somewhere to sleep, rest, and I guess start looking for a way out of the forest. Shouldn't take too long for the bed since lots of the cloth is well preserved, finding a way out of a forest that actively wants to kill me? Thats going to be far harder.
I find my way to what remains of the upper floors and start looking for a decent bed and room. I find one that has mostly darker hues, and an overall nighttime theme. Whoever was here had good taste, though the overall size of the furniture is odd. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it all of the furniture has been odd, and the size and shape of the doorways. They don't seem to be made for a humanoid form at all. Whoever built this castle wasn't a standard fantasy race. Not that that matters to me unless I'm here when or if they return.
After getting everything set so I feel safe going to sleep, I start removing my armor, can't sleep in it without getting cramps and sores and that wouldn't be the best. I should see if I can get some more padding so I can sleep with it on. As I remove my undershirt my reflection catches my eye in a mirror that is built into a desk I used to block the doorway. I have a symbol that wasn't there before. It isn't a tattoo; it looks more like a birthmark, a stylized thunderbolt that crosses my whole chest. My mind instantly thinks of the Brand of the Exalt that is on Chrom's shoulder and in Lucina's eye, as well as the Brand of Loptous on Julius' forehead. This is proof that Thrud's blood has impowered me somehow, though I still am not sure how.
At this point I'm fighting to keep my eyes open, while I felt amazing when I woke up after my experience in the secret lab it seems that was a second wind that has finally run out. I collapse onto the bed and let sleep take me.
In the Dreamscape
I'm floating, drifting, quietly through the void of space.
It's peaceful.
I would love for this feeling to last forever, but I know this is a dream. One that I must wake from. I made a promise to Thrud and I'll be damned if I don't try to keep it. But for now, I'm resting.
Unfortunately, my peace is disturbed. Something from outside me has entered my dream.
"Who slumbers in our old room? Not one of our little ponies it seems," A somewhat somber feminine voice, one I would find comforting if I were expecting it.
"Who violates the privacy of a man's dreams?" I reply before trying to locate the dream walker. "Is it not right for a guest to introduce themselves when entering someone's home?"
"Forgive us, it has been quite some time since we have visited a lucid dreamer. We are Princess Luna." A dark blue unicorn with wings melds out of the starlight making up my dream. "We had sensed somepony start dreaming in our old chambers in the Everfree. Since the forest is so dangerous now, we thought to check on whomever was lost and trapped so we could notify the guard to rescue them."
I am baffled by the appearance of a talking horse almost as much as I am by how quickly I seem to be meeting new people. And of course, now that I've met someone new, I have a slew of new questions.
"Excuse me, I need a bit." What do I even begin with? "I seem to be very far away from home, where am I? What's the nearest town? Your old chambers?"
My confusion has to have been conveyed near perfectly as the horse seems taken aback for a second by my flurry of questions.
"You are within the old capital of Equestria, and that is within the Everfree Forest. Have you suffered from amnesia? How could you arrive where you are and not know it?"
"Well it isn't my fault I woke up in the woods with nothing but my armor and axe, I know plenty of things. Though I bet not all of them are useful now..."
"You simply awoke in the Everfree and wandered into our old home? Were you not hunted by Timberwolves, Manticores, and other dark creatures?"
"I was but none of them lasted long, can I please get some more answers? I love camping as much as the next guy, but a real bath would be great, and also what are you? I've not seen anything like you before."
"If you fought off the creatures that hunted you, you must be a skilled warrior." The horse nods her head approvingly. "Ask your questions, we will answer them to the best of our ability."
The next morning
As Luna lowered the moon to allow her sister's sun to rise her mind was focused on the strange warrior she met in the dreamscape. He called himself Hector and claimed he was a human, something she had never heard of before. Not only that but his magical aura was strikingly similar to an old friend's.
Unable to contain her excitement she disappears in a flash of light, reappearing on her sister's balcony just as Celestia finishes raising the sun. "Sister, We have wonderful news!"
"Luna? What is it?" The elder of the two has had her mind on several less pleasant reports, so her sister's good news might be enough to make this week more positive than negative.
"We have discovered somepony who has met Thrud!"
"He is still alive? Where is he and what has he been doing? Thank Naga!"
"That is where the news is not entirely positive, the human as he called himself, he says that he freed Thrud from a prison beneath our old castle, but that our old friend had lost much of his strength due to Sombra's experiments and perished not long after being freed."
"No..." Being given news that a friend you thought lost has been seen, but has perished is bittersweet. She would have loved nothing more than to see and talk with him again. But the human as Luna called it may have been able to grant Thrud the rest he sought.
"That is not all, Thrud blessed the human, and the human-he called himself Hector-has sworn to carry on his mission. Sister this means that we may be able to see this through within the next one hundred years!"
Naga's divine mission has its end in sight for the princesses, but peace is not so easily maintained.
"Luna, have you seen the reports from our agents in Griffonia?"
Her sister stops, confused, "We have not, is something happening over the mountains?"
"There haven't been any reports recently, it is well after the scheduled time for them to be sent yet we have not received any. I hope this does not mean what I think it means." Her ability to hope makes her a wonderful ruler, but what allowed her to reign unquestioned was not hope but rationality. She knew that war was coming however much she despised it.
"The Giffons are preparing for war? Sister we must renew the guard's training, we cannot be caught unprepared!"
"It is not just the Griffons, the seal on Sombra is weakening. If our predictions are accurate the seal will fail during the Griffon's invasion, and I fear that the ensuing chaos might also free Discord. All of this has become a perfect storm. Sister we may have to intervene personally." Dread fills the elder sister as she foresees repeated catastrophes in the future.
"You are not alone, remember your student, and Mi Amore Cadenza. We can and will prevail."
"I hope you are correct Luna, I dread the coming years, but the storm will pass." Her eyes wander to a tome of brilliant gold that glows with a soft and comforting light. A tome that enhanced her already great power. Her sister follows her gaze, "Do you mean to use it, sister?"
"If Sombra returns I must use it. We still haven't found six of the weapons, and with the Griffon Emperor using Maltet, we only have the Staff and Aureola under our control. If the Crystal Empire returns Sombra won't hesitate to use Apocalypse so I must counter him."
"Hector claims he had Armads in his possession but that it went missing shortly before he found his way to our old castle. We should try to search the Everfree for it with whatever ponypower we can spare during our war preparations."
"Truly? Has it been under our muzzles all this time?" If it had been the shame she would feel would be unimaginable.
"We don't know, but we should return to the old castle to give Thrud the rights he deserves as Hector was unable to do so himself."
"You are right, I will make the time to do so in a few days, I'll send a letter to Twilight to meet with and assist Hector before I meet with him."
"We already told Twilight of him in the Dreamscape, she should be well on her way to assist him out of the forest now."
"I see, thank you. I wonder how my little ponies will react to the news of the coming war, we can't keep it a secret for long."
"We can only hope that the spirit of harmony watches over us as she has before."
The two sisters proceed inside of Canterlot castle, both making plans for the coming years, Equestria is woefully underprepared for conflict on a scale as large as a full invasion from the Griffons so there is much work to be done, both in the light and the dark.
A Man with a Lightning Charged Axe
A fruitful discussion with Princess Luna gave me much of the basics of where I am. She said she would notify 'somepony' in the nearby town of Ponyville that there was 'somepony' who needed help in the castle. So, I guess that means that I'll soon be out of this forest and back into civilization. I don't know how long it will take for whoever is coming to get here but that just means that I can digest all of the news I received. Am I the only human left? It seemed that way since Luna didn't know what I was. Why are there Fire Emblem items and lore in this world? I guess I'll need to work on finding this stuff out on my own.
I make my way to the throne room and take a seat on Luna's old throne to wait for my guide to arrive. She said that they shouldn't take more than a few hours so I doubt I'll be waiting long. And what the sun tells me is about two hours later I hear the sound of something trotting on stone.
"Hello? Hector?" I wince a bit at that, I still don't know why I told Luna that was my name. "Princess Luna sent me to help you out of the Everfree, my name is Twilight Sparkle."
"I'm in the throne room, Miss Sparkle," My voice rings throughout the old palace, "I was told you were coming."
"Oh good, I wouldn't want to stay here for very long. Come on Spike, let's meet Princess Luna's new friend." I don't recall calling Luna a friend but maybe she just called me that to expedite Twilight's journey here.
As the door opens with some form of magic, I stand from Luna's throne and bow. "Welcome, I hope the journey wasn't too dangerous."
A short purple unicorn enters followed shortly after by a small dragon without wings. I was expecting the unicorn but the dragon catches me off guard, especially with how young they are. Both of my visitors look at me with curiosity, I guess Luna said that I might not be a pony but they might not have believed her.
"So you're the human? Luna told me to expect something strange but I've never seen somepony like you before! I can't wait to get back to Ponyville and interview you properly!" Excitement has overtaken her previous nervousness as she rushes across the hall and starts almost dancing around me with curiosity. Her eyes barely reach my stomach. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this is my little brother Spike. We can have a more in depth conversation when we get back to the library."
"She couldn't stop wondering what you were going to be like, the way Twily made it sound Luna was singing your praises so much it was like she had a schoolyard crush." The young dragon says smirking as he watches his sister trot around me. His demeanor changes near instantly when his eyes meet mine, his once relaxed attitude becomes stiff like he is staring at a ghost. Twilight doesn't notice the change, seemingly too focused on my armor and axe scribbling notes about how she thinks they were constructed.
"You okay Spike?" I ask the petrified kid, "Nothing happened in the forest that's acting up now?" My question breaks Twilight out of her trance like state, and she quickly moves to her brother.
"Spike? You didn't stray off the path did you? Did you touch any strange plants?" She looks like she is about to launch into a tirade but Spike cuts her off.
"I'm fine... Just a chill." He's so bad at lying that even I can tell something is up, but it seems to have convinced Twilight.
"Thank Celestia, the castle always gave me the creeps too," Sighing she starts for the main doors, "Come on Hector, I have to introduce you to everyone!"
I follow her, and as I pass Spike I whisper to him, "We'll talk about it when we are alone okay?" He nods almost robotically and rushes past me to catch up with Twilight.
As we start on our way out of the forest I figure that I should try to get some more information on where exactly we are headed and who my guides are.
"So, you said when we get back to the library? You Ponyville's librarian?"
"I am now, Princess Celestia sent me here to make friends and to find the Elements of Harmony. That was a few months ago now, but it feels like it's been ages."
"Elements of Harmony? Some form of magic items I'm guessing."
"You bet, they are some of the most powerful relics that Equestria has. Story is long ago the Princesses used them to fight off villain after villain allowing for the three tribes to unite and build the first cities across the country. After that major representatives from each tribe decided that they would support the Princesses in ruling the newfound nation of Equestria."
It seems they aren't aware of the legendary weapons from Elibe, if they were then I imagine they would be brought up.
"So why was the castle in the Everfree abandoned? I can't imagine they left it willingly."
"Princess Luna fell prey to a spell from the dark sorcerer Sombra. It slowly wormed its way into her mind making her jealous of her sister eventually causing her to fall to darkness becoming Nightmare Moon. The Princesses fought and Celestia used the Elements to banish her sister to the moon for one thousand years. After she returned my new friends and I awakened the Elements and used them to purify the magic that was corrupting her."
I guess that Luna didn't want to relive those old memories, which is why she didn't tell me. Not that I'd just go around spouting off about my dark past if I had one.
"Thanks for the history lesson, is there anything I should know about Ponyville before we get there? Places or people to avoid, good places to eat or meet with friends? That kind of thing."
"Well I can't think of anywhere to avoid in the area around here to avoid other than the Everfree itself but I imagine you know how it is here. Good places to hang out with people... I'd say the library but almost nopony comes by to check out any books, there are a few restaurants and the bakery Sugarcube Corner, they are almost always busy. I was planning on giving you a tour since you don't have a place to stay, you can spend a few nights in my spare room until you can get on your hooves."
Having dried up most of the small talk, I'm left with questions I feel will get answered whether I ask them or not, so I keep my mouth shut and start paying attention to the area around us in case of an ambush. The forest has been quiet and I've not had any vines try to trip me yet, which is leaving me on edge. I can't help but expect the worst, just over a week in this place has me on alert constantly. I hope it's not going to carry on into daily life.
Twilight seems oblivious to my nerves as she continues rambling, "I know I said I would wait until we got back but since you've asked some questions it feels fair that I should ask a few of my own. Luna didn't specify much when she said there was somepony in the old castle, just that they were named Hector and they were a human. What brought you into the Everfree, and why are you wearing armor?"
I should have expected her to start asking questions, can't dodge them without feeling too rude so I'll answer them to the best of my abilities while keeping my guard up for anything that might try to hurt these two.
"The answer to both of those is that I'm a knight errant, just a wanderer and explorer. Lost most of my supplies and was forced to make do with nothing but what I could wear and carry. Mostly just my armor and axe." my hand runs across my chin, feeling the hairs starting to grow into a fine beard, "I'm just glad someone found me before I went insane from the isolation."
"That's what you were worried about?!" Spike shouts in surprise, "Not being eaten by a hydra or timberwolves?"
"Nah I killed and ate a manticore not long after I lost my stuff, fought and chased off a pack of timberwolves as you called em too."
"You ate... you're a carnivore?" A spark of fear is hidden in Twilight's voice as she turns to face me, she is trying to put on a brave face for Spike it seems, but the young dragon is more in awe at my supposedly grand feat.
"Omnivore, though there are people with disorders who have to eat more meat and there are others that can't have meat at all. Got the full dietary spectrum." I have to stop myself from chuckling, it's more of a nervous tick than finding the situation funny but I don't want to scare the poor girl. My answer seems to calm her down, and I swear I see a hint of excitement in Spike's eyes.
After getting over her shock at my diet, Twilight continues her questioning. "So where are you from? A knight is never from nowhere, even an errant one."
"Ostia, though I imagine I'll never see her grand halls again." My tone is far sadder than I thought it would be, I guess some of my actual emotions about never seeing home again slipped in.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. It is okay if you don't elaborate." She seems to think I am gone for a reason, though the less I say the better off I bet I'll be.
"It's fine, everything is in the past. Continue asking your questions." I say that but I doubt she'll continue, the mood was kind of ruined by her last question. Spike however seems to have some questions of his own.
"Can you tell us about your adventures? You have to have a whole bunch of them having traveled so far."
"I can, though if I am I should start at the beginning, and if you'd like I can you and your friends at the same time. Would save me some breath."
"Aww, well I guess I can wait. I bet Rainbow would like to hear them too."
"Rainbow a close friend?"
Twilight answers, "She is, and she is the Element of Loyalty."
"I thought you said the Elements were magical items?"
"They are, but each of my close friends embodies one of the Elements, Rainbow Dash is Loyalty, Applejack is Honesty, Rarity is Generosity, Pinkie is Laughter, Fluttershy is Kindness, and I am Magic. When we unite we can use the elements at their full power and accomplish just about anything! In fact, we are just about at Fluttershy's cottage."
Time either flew by or I'm a failure of a woodsman, that didn't seem like a very long walk at all. It was probably some forest magic making me get turned around or something. The dense overhead canopy has started to lighten and the atmosphere has become far less uninviting, for the first time since I woke up I can hear birdsong and other animal chatter as Twilight points out a hobbit hole looking house just past the forest's edge.
"That's it right there, she wished us well when we set off to get you. Let's go introduce you, she can be a tad shy but she's a wonderful pony."
"Considering my stature she's going to be terrified, I'm about as big as a bear and I'm starting to look like one too." Once again stroking my growing facial hair.
"If that's all then she'll be fine, she takes care of a bear that lives here regularly as well as all sorts of other animals."
A shy yet brave little woman huh? Or maybe her empathy pushes her to act through her shyness.
Twilight strides up to the door and gives a few light knocks causing a few birds to fly off of a perch right above the entrance. I hear someone scrambling inside as the door begins to open not long after.
"Hello?" A very quiet voice that fits the name comes from behind the slightly opened door.
"It's Twilight and Spike, we brought the po- creature that Luna told us about" Hey she didn't call me a pony that's nice.
The door opens fully giving me the chance to see the resident animal lover. She's a yellow pegasus with a light pink mane that she seems to try to hide behind as if she believes that if she can't see me I can't see her.
"Hello there, Twilight said you're Fluttershy. My name is Hector, it's nice to meet you." She seems to shrink back as I talk but she is making the effort to stay here through introductions so I respect that.
"Yes, I'm Fluttershy, you knew that, umm It's nice to meet you." She's so quiet I almost can't hear her and she is right in front of me.
"I won't intrude, Twilight wanted to introduce me to all of her friends and you happened to be the closest. I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing. Come on Twilight, who's next?" I start off, I don't want to make her uncomfortable and we will surely meet again if I continue hanging out with Twilight so she'll get used to me eventually.
"See you later Fluttershy," Spike calls out as he and Twilight follow me away from the cottage.
I guess she responded but I'm too far away to hear, and soon after the sound of a door shutting comes from behind us as I start walking to the collection of buildings in the distance.
"So who's next, Miss Sparkle?" I inquire to my guide who is looking at me curiously.
"I was going to talk with Fluttershy a bit more about you, she is the one most likely to find you if you ever get lost in the Everfree again. But you just left!"
"Uhh yeah? Lady looked like she was about to have a heart attack so I figured the best course of action was to remove the source of her fear. I might be a bit blunt but I ain't stupid or malicious, she'll get used to me if I live in town right? No need to rush things."
"I guess... Well, Applejack lives on the far side of town so I guess we will get to her last," Twilight mumbles. "Next would be Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube Corner. Let's get going."
Twilight takes the lead once again and Spike and I follow, this time we start going right through the center of town. A large gingerbread house seems to be our destination, going by the name and the fact every other building looks mostly normal for a small town, though clearly not modern given the thatch roofing on most. The only other buildings that seem to have tiles are the town hall which is a large circular building in the middle of a clearing, a schoolhouse off in the distance, and another circular building with large windows just across the town center.
Coming up to what must obviously be Sugarcube Corner I am met with what will eventually become a large reoccurring problem. Unlike the castle which had huge and impressive doorways meant to inspire awe, the buildings here are more practical for pony use. Considering I tower over the height of a normal pony I would have to almost get on my knees to enter any of the buildings here.
"Twilight do you mind if I just... wait out here? I don't really think I'll fit inside there." My remark brings what should've been obvious to light.
"What? Oh. Hmmm, this might cause some problems..." Once again my comment sends the purple unicorn into deep thought, having seen this enough to pick up on the pattern I turn to Spike.
"Mind getting Pinkie Pie out here so I can meet her? Don't want to break anything in there."
"I'm already out here silly billy, I had a little tingle tell me somepony new would be coming by so I started working SUPER fast to get everything done to meet you. Twilight already told you my name huh? What's yours and do you like parties? I'll throw you a Welcome to Ponyville Party as soon as you're ready!" A pink blur comes zooming out of the building and is replaced by a bouncing mare with a large poofy mane. Her voice is light and makes me feel like she is almost always on the verge of laughing.
"Name's Hector. Nice to meet ya, I ain't much of a party guy but I'm not gonna say no to one. Woulda made my way inside but..." I motion to the doorway. "Something came up."
"Oh that's not going to be much of a problem in the future, I'll go get started on your party! See ya!" The pink mare turns into a blur once again as she dashes off into the distance, her giggling ringing in my ears well after she is out of sight.
"Ain't she a character," is my only remark as Twilight finally comes out of the recesses of her mind.
"She can be quite the hooful. But she is always able to cheer up anypony in need."
"A nice skill to have. I knew a few like her..." My mind wanders back to my friends, I miss them.
My nostalgic reminiscing is interrupted as I feel a sudden pang of danger, and I see a rainbow streak across the sky coming into town. Years of playing dodgeball and kickball have prepared me for this moment as I turn to face the coming colors. Lowering my center of gravity while digging my heels into the earth beneath me I am fully braced for impact as this time instead of a ball, a cyan blur with rainbow streaks comes shooting out of the sky crashing into my waiting arms. The force of the impact isn't enough to make me fall over despite feeling far stronger than the rebound from the runestones in the lab. I am however pushed back quite the distance leaving long skid marks in the earth.
"You catch that carriage?" The pegasus I know for certain to be Rainbow Dash says as her eyes roll around giving a cartoonish way of telling how disoriented she is.
"Nah but I did catch you," Is my reply, "You okay? You whacked me pretty hard."
She shakes her head which focuses her eyes, "Hey! What's the big idea, put me down!"
"You crashed into him Rainbow," Spike dryly remarks, "He caught you when you were about to run into his side."
"He did? That's pretty awesome of you, not many can do that when I'm going near top speed. You going to put me down now or what?"
Looking over at Twilight, who shakes her head in a manner that clearly says 'What can you do', I look at Rainbow and instead of putting her down, I toss her into the air. This startles Twilight and Spike, and gets a gasp from Rainbow who quickly rights herself in the air and starts slowly flapping her wings to hover just out of my reach.
"Hector! What was that for?!" Twilight angrily questions my method of releasing her friend.
"No harm done right? Besides, seemed like she would rather be in the air right Rainbow?" I ask turning to the somewhat abrasive pegasus.
"I didn't need help getting off the ground! But it was fun, and I've not been tossed like that in a while so you bet I'm going to get you back for that!" The cyan mare barks at me.
"Anyway, this is who Princess Luna sent me to help out of the Everfree. I'm giving him a quick tour of town and introducing him to everypony."
"I knew whoever was out there had to be cool. Nice to meet ya, Hector was it? With how quick you are it would have been nice to have your help during the wedding," Ignoring my rightfully confused look, she turns to Twilight, "Any other news from the Princesses?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary."
"Darn it, I thought things would be getting more exciting after your brother's wedding but there isn't anything to do since all the changelings got blasted away!"
"Let's be grateful for that Rainbow, try to enjoy the peace and quiet some more before you regret not having done so," I say despite not knowing what wedding they are talking about or what the hell they are referring to by changeling. I can't imagine they are referring to what I'm picturing, which is from DnD.
"I agree with Hector, Rainbow. As much as I love the excitement, it can be too much if it keeps happening with no breaks."
"I know Twi, it's just that something's got me restless." She sighs before looking at the clouds coming in from the Everfree. "A big storm is coming Twi, I know it."
"Whatever it is we'll take it on together." Is Twilight's reply to her friend's ominous statement.
"You bet we will!" Rainbow's somber mood vanishes as quickly as it appeared. "I got stuff to do out by Applejack's so I'll see you two slowpokes later!" And with that, she's gone, streaks of rainbow and cyan all the proof she was here.
"So now it's just Rarity and Applejack right?" I ask turning to the unicorn, "And I guess we'll run into Rainbow again when we visit Applejack. So where is Rarity's place?"
"She runs the Carousel Boutique, it's the building with the large windows just across the way. She's an incredible seamstress and she makes the best dresses in all of Equestria."
"Nice to know, I'll need a change of clothes eventually."
Making our way just across the town center we stop outside the Boutique which once again has a door that's a tad too small for me to comfortably enter, sighing as I accept my fate, I crouch down and duck into the building which thankfully has a high ceiling allowing me to stand without slouching.
As we open the door a small bell chimes and a posh sounding voice rings out from the back, "I'll be there in just a moment darlings." Following the voice, a brilliant white mare with a violet mane meticulously styled and curled to perfection comes out from a doorway to what I guess would be the workshop section of the building.
"Why hello there Twilight, who is this? And what are you wearing? I've not seen anything quite like your outfit before."
"Well Miss Rarity, I'm Hector. I don't know what's wrong with my outfit since it does its job and it doesn't help that it's all I have left..." My sentence is interrupted as she makes quite the dramatic gasp as a measuring tape and notepad fly over wrapped in a soft blue glow. Both items spin around me as the white unicorn squints and begins muttering several words that I just don't understand, most likely something to do with clothes and fashion.
I look over to Spike for support, but he's too enraptured by the fashionista's beauty to help and Twilight is just giving me a soft smile, I guess this is payback for how I treated Rainbow.
The past hours are a blur, outfit after outfit, color after color. I feel far more drained than I have ever before, even more than when I collapsed after getting out of the basement of the castle. I do have far more respect for people in the fashion industry now, as I have new experience with what must be a near daily occurrence for them. The only reason why I'm free now is because the sun started to set and Twilight needed to close up the library as well as get things set up so I can stay there for a few nights.
"Guess we'll see Applejack tomorrow? Since I bet it would be a bit rude to visit her now." I ask Twilight as we leave the Boutique.
"We will, for now, though I'll take you home and Spike can get started on dinner. I do still have questions for you but they can wait until after dinner. Come on Spike let's go home."
Spike seems to be fighting a war against himself to leave Rarity's place, a war he does win at great difficulty. He quickly runs up and rejoins us, "Huh? Oh yeah, I'll go get started on dinner." And with that, he runs ahead of us to a large tree with a door in it. The door is large enough that I don't have to do much to fit, seems like it's made like the town hall and is expected to have larger visitors.
When I enter I'm met with about what I expected, a large hollow tree with almost all of the walls filled with books, there are a few small tables and pillows set around for ponies to sit at and read though it seems like most don't come by here often going by what Spike was saying while I was held captive getting measured.
Spike happily goes to the kitchen which is off to the side, and Twilight sits at the largest table and looks at me expectantly.
"So, what do you want to know?" I acquiesce.
"What do you think of Ponyville? I know you've not met everyone, but that's my fault for letting Rarity have her way with you. She and I can both get absorbed into our work and lose track of time."
"It's a nice little town, filled with nice little people. Your friends are a colorful bunch that I've met so far, and I'd love to stay in town for a while." A small smile spreads on my lips as I say that, Ponyville reminds me of my hometown in a way, everyone seems to know everyone else, and they all seem to band together in times of strife.
"That's wonderful Hector! While you can't stay here in the Library with me forever I can house you until we find you a stable job and income so you can buy or rent a home from Filthy Rich." What a name that is, how much money does he have? Not that it matters to me.
"I'll start looking for something tomorrow, probably after we see Applejack." A divine smell starts wafting its way over from the kitchen prompting me to call out to Spike. "Yo Spike, what you cooking up in there? Smells great!"
"Just some leftover Prench Toast, I'll be out in a second." He wasn't wrong, not a minute later he comes out of the kitchen carrying three plates, one in each hand and one on his head. Setting the two down in front of Twilight and myself he takes the last plate off of his head and we all sit around the table and begin eating.
About halfway through the meal Spike starts burping, nothing too strange happens all the time. What shocks me however is when he looks up and belches out a huge flame that proceeds to coalesce into a neatly rolled-up scroll with a red wax seal marked with a crown.
Author's Note
If you all would like for me to make a stat sheet for Hector and other characters I'll make a chapter just for that. Thanks for reading!
A Man with a Lightning Charged Axe
Author's Note
Big shoutout and thank you to DisplacedWriter for helping with this crossover, go check their stuff out. This is not the new normal chapter length expect next chapter to be back to around 2k words. Thanks for reading!
Chapter 7: Displaced
Staring at the letter Spike just burped into existence both Twilight and I start to look over the exquisite penmanship, not that I can read it. Spike reads it out to me when he sees my confused look.
Dear Twilight,
While Luna sent you to help escort Hector out of the Everfree, she informed me of something important that remains there that we think Hector should be there for. I will be arriving tomorrow morning well after breakfast to obtain our new friend and return to our old castle.
With Love, Celestia.
“SHE’S COMING HERE?!” Twilight shouts in surprise, “I’M NOWHERE NEAR READY TO HAVE HER HERE!”
“Calm down Twi, She says she’ll take Hector and they’ll go to the castle, she’s not staying here,” Spike reassures his older sister. “Besides she says she’ll come after breakfast, so no need to prepare food for her either.”
His attempt to calm her down seems futile as Twilight is rambling on about all the stuff she needs to prepare and doesn’t register a thing he says.
Looking at him with a bit of pity I kneel down and place a hand on his shoulder, “We should probably let her get this out of her system, let's walk around town.”
He nods, “It’s better for her to work it out, besides you did say we should talk.”
I duck under and out of the tree library waving for the young dragon to follow me. As he follows I ask “ I know it’s just about nighttime but do you know anywhere we might not be overheard? I don’t mean to keep secrets but it is so peaceful here and I don’t want to disrupt that.”
“Not really, unless you want to go back into the Everfree. We could just take a walk around the edge of town, odds are nopony will overhear us.”
“I guess that’ll do. Come on.” he struggles to keep up with my long strides given his small stature, prompting me to take a knee. “Hop on, it’ll be far quicker.”
Seemingly taken aback by my offer to carry him, Spike hesitates a bit before climbing onto my back.
“Brace yourself, I'm going to see how fast I can run,” I remember how quickly I moved when I caught Rainbow, time to see if I can tap into that speed on purpose.
“Wha–” Spike is cut off as I dash forward along the road leading to the castle on the mountainside in the distance. A long trail of dust is left behind me as I reach the edge of town a few minutes later. Far quicker than I could’ve before I met Thrud. Unfortunately for both of us, I’m not sure how to stop effectively so I just go into a baseball slide and hold Spike above my head as I do.
“That was awesome! How’d you not get out of the Everfree if you could move like that?”
“That's a bit of a story, you aren’t the first dragon I’ve met and I bet you know that.”
“Yeah, something about you just seems off. When I first saw you it looked like you were wrapped in a ton of lightning but I blinked and it was gone. And after that, something was telling me you weren’t just what you say you are.”
“You’ve got good instincts, you know what kind of dragon you are? There are a whole bunch and they all have different abilities and skills they can use innately.”
“I don’t know what I am, just that Twilight hatched me and nobody was expecting it. But what about you? What are you?”
“Well I am a human last I checked, but I’ve got Thunder Dragon blood, so I’m a bit better at some things than most other humans.”
“You’ve got dragon blood? How does that work?”
“You’re asking the wrong person Spike. I dunno how it works just that it does. We could see if Twilight could figure it out but all I know is that it makes me stronger. You could probably do the same with other people but it isn’t an easy or nice process so don’t think about doing anything just yet.”
The young dragon nods slowly, taking in the information I’m giving him. “I understand, let’s keep walking around, you've got to have some cool stories right tell me some!”
After telling Spike the story of Fire Emblem Seven we’ve made our way back to Twilight’s library. Not bothering to announce ourselves as we come in, I crash on the pillows in the corner meant for guests to read on. I start removing my armor and making myself comfortable. Not sure where the spare room she mentioned is but I’m tired enough to not care and just want to pass out, I don’t even bother fighting to keep my eyes open once all my armor is off.
My dreams are uneventful as Luna doesn’t visit me and I don’t want them to be too exciting. I do need rest and this is the first time I’ve felt I can sleep without a hand on Wolf Beil.
The morning sun wakes me and the first thing I notice is the smell of pancakes and coffee, I’m not going to complain as breakfast food is some of the best food and the ‘Prench Toast’ was some of the best I’ve ever had.
“Yo Twi! Breakfast is ready!” I shout up the stairs, not waiting for a reply as I tear into the pancakes that Spike set in front of me. The cups of coffee don’t survive that much longer than the pancakes do, just a few seconds.
A grumbling unicorn comes trotting down the stairs in a sleepy haze, she clearly couldn’t sleep well with the news that her Princess is visiting and going to take me back into the forest that she just got me out of yesterday.
“Come on, eat, have some coffee, and get ready. Celestia ain’t gonna be long.” The mention of the ruler of her nation shocks her awake.
“You two just left! I had to do so much planning without you!”
“Uhh, yeah? Cause there isn’t much to plan for. Lady is gonna show up whisk me away to the old castle show me something then I’ll be right back. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
“THE PRINCESS IS ALWAYS A BIG DEAL!” Twilight shouts, “Every time she’s visited something big happens and I have to be prepared for it.”
“Fair enough, I don’t know the lady but it can’t be that bad right?” I ask turning to Spike.
“It can be.” He says glumly, “It's not every time but often enough that she feels it is.”
Dear God, what is this Celestia pony like? Yeah, she’s the ruler but so is Luna and Luna was chill as hell.
I start putting on my armor again as I imagine that I'll need it if I'm going back into the forest. Not long after Twilight and Spike finish their food a warm and bright presence fills the windows and comes through the cracks under the door.
“I guess that's her.” I dumbly remark as I go to open the door, much to Twilight’s horror as she protests that she isn’t ready.
“You must be Hector,” The most motherly voice I’ve ever heard says as I am met with the tallest pony I’ve seen yet. Her eyes rest right beneath my chin and her horn extends above my head.
“That I am, and you must be Celestia. Nice to meet you.”
“You’re larger than I expected, but then again I don’t have anything to compare you to.”
I notice something is slightly off about her, something that nobody would notice unless they knew what they were looking for. The Brand of Naga is on the tip of her horn, it's small enough and in a spot that nobody would notice, if I wasn't as tall as I am I would’ve missed it too.
“Naga blood?” I mutter under my breath. Something that doesn’t go unnoticed by the Alicorn in question.
“So you do know of her. Come there is much to fill you in on,” The Princess motions with her head for me to come with her, and as I do she closes the door behind me leaving an absolutely stunned Twilight sputtering for words as I leave with the Princess.
“Thrud gave me the basics but I don’t know any specifics. Find the weapons, free the dragons, and have everyone live in harmony. Not much beyond that.”
“Truly? He must not have had much time. My sister and I will fill you in when we bring you to Canterlot. But Luna told me you tried to bury Thrud and couldn’t. I believe that you should be there for his proper burial.”
“I thank you for this opportunity, Princess,” I say lightly bowing with my head.
“We do not have much time to waste, stand near me, Luna is already there.”
“Okay?” I move next to her and put my hand on her back. This gets me a few looks from the other early risers in town but they quickly disappear as a bright flash centered on the tip of Celestia’s horn fills my vision with white light.
When my vision clears we are standing at the wall I broke to enter the hidden area underground.
“There is something about the tunnels that you discovered that block out spellcasting. It is far more powerful than the normal wards since even my sister’s magic couldn’t sense our friend's dreams as he lay trapped beneath our hooves.”
“You want me to lead you to where he was? It's the least I can do since I can’t really help with the burial rites as much as I’d like.”
“If you would be so kind” Is all she says.
Leading the sisters to the body of their dead friend is somber, and I can’t bring myself to break the silence that is between the three of us as I approach the large metal doors that I had been drawn to two nights ago.
“Just behind here,” Is all I can bring myself to say as I begin pushing open the door. Slowly revealing the body of the dragon that blessed me, only covered by some large banners I dragged here from the main hall.
I can’t bring myself to look at either the princesses or the dragon, so my eyes begin to wander the room. I can’t believe my eyes at what I see, a staff that has the spitting image of Grima from Awakening. It was a long silver staff that had a decorative carving of the Fell Dragon curled around the staff and resting on top of a purple gem. Not exactly ignoring the sisters as they begin to chant and try to use some magic to give Thrud the respect he deserves, my hand reaches out and grabs the staff. As I do two voices both familiar to me ring out in my head.
"You have obtained our staff, thus allowing us to introduce ourselves to you.” A pair of voices spoke in unison coming from the staff
“I am Twilight Sparkle.” The voice of Twilight spoke, although much calmer than the Twilight I met yesterday.
“And I am Grima.” A dark deep voice spoke, causing shivers to run down my spine. Why is Grima here? He never had any unique weapons beyond his dragon’s breath in Awakening so this is new.
The two voices returned to speaking as one. “We are traveling the multiverse to learn all we can about it and how each Displaced have managed to cope with their new lives. In return for allowing us in your world, we’ll offer to teach you Anima, Dark Magic, or an alteration in body known as a class change. Before you summon us by speaking the word [Warp], we insist you make sure your world’s Celestia and Luna won’t attack us due to our dark presence.”
“What the hell…” my voice slips out before I can stop it, bringing the sister's attention to me.
“What is it, Hector? Have you discovered something?” The elder sister asks.
“Yeah, it might not be much of anything though. I’ll go look through some of the other rooms, see if I can find anything else resembling this thing.” I say as I show them the staff.
“I cannot sense any Equestrian magic in the staff, but it feels similar to the weapons we are searching for.” Luna states as she approaches me, “Be careful with it, it feels much like Apocalypse did before we opened it.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I wave the two sisters back to Thrud’s body, “He deserves your attention more than I do. I’ll find you two back at the entrance if this takes too long.”
I leave the two to continue mourning their friend as I move into an unexplored side-passage in search of a room to try summoning this so called Displaced Grima. Worst case the princesses are here and they can come to my rescue if Grima is hostile.
Finding a mostly intact room didn’t take too long and I took a few calming breaths before I spoke the summoning word into the air.
“Warp ”
A circle of multiple runes and symbols appeared on the ground and with a brief flash of light, a familiar looking unicorn appeared in its center, standing at four feet tall and wearing a cloak with its face hidden behind a cloak, it stared at me with piercing purple eyes. Reaching up with its hoof, it lowered its hood, revealing the face of another Twilight Sparkle, but with almost all emotions drained from her face. A look of mild surprise appeared on her face as she looked upon me.
“...How interesting,” Her voice spoke in unison.
“Interesting how? What do you want here?” I try steeling my resolve as I tighten my grip on Wolf Beil.
“Me and my brother have met all kinds of displaced, but you’re the first Fire Emblem Displaced we’ve met thus far,” Twilight said before looking around the dusty room.
“Your brother? Displaced? The hell are you talking about?” I’m trying to get some answers to the questions I didn’t feel safe asking Luna when she first entered my dream.
“Oooh,” Twilight said in curiosity as a book appeared in a burst of magic. The many pages flips appearing almost endlessly as the unicorn looks through them. “You’re a fresh Displaced then.”
“I guess, would like to know what that means. Are you one too? Are you not actually Grima?”
“My brother Grima lives inside of me, but he won’t reveal himself unless we are certain we’re not in danger. There’s a reason why my token’s messages insisted that they don’t attack us.” Twilight said, her voice changing to two when they spoke of the token.
“The Princesses shouldn’t interrupt us here, in fact, they might not even know you’re even here. Something about super powerful wards that hide magical signatures.”
“Gooood,” Twilight said as dark mist came out of her back, soon forming into the fell dragon I was familiar with, however, he was smaller. Mutch, MUTCH smaller. Grima came out of her back and remained attached almost like a symbiote.
“Apologizes for the caution, we’ve been attacked by those two three separate times in three other worlds. I’m aware I’m the fell dragon with all this power inside, but it does get really bothersome when we’re forced to enter combat with them.” Grima explained, his voice still as deep but not sounding as ominous with violent intentions as the original.
“So were you always Grima or did you become Grima after being thrown here? Is that what being a Displaced is?” I lower my guard a bit as I’m not sensing ill intentions from this alternate Twilight and her ‘brother’.
“Displaced; stolen and forced from my world to take on the powers and body of another; from the very beginning my sister's life, hence why she calls me brother,” Grima explained as she laid upon Twilight’s back.
“I was just thrown here, woke up in the Everfree and my cosplay became reality. Is there a way for us to get back to our home world? You said you could class change people? How does that work?”
“Sadly no, Hector, not unless you are willing to get more powerful to survive the void’s paradox chaos and to traverse its endless growing size to find your correct earth among infinite versions of it. As for class changes, it is as simple as its name suggestion; changing from one class to another, or in short, your body changing to suit that class, such as a Mercenary, gaining some muscle mass to allow you to leap much like that and to strike with more skill, or a mage, losing some of that muscle to apply to your mind to use the many spells of magic at your command.” Grima explained as Twilight made a cylinder shaped object appear on top of her hoof she held up; the object’s rings turning around slowly. I soon recognized it to be the Master Seal from Fire Emblem Awakening being the size of a basketball.
“Would I get the skills those classes obtain at certain level benchmarks?” If I can then I should try to get some of the best skills available in game. I’ve not fought another creature that uses weapons so I’m not sure if the weapon triangle affects me but if it does, gaining a skill like Swordbreaker would be invaluable. A regeneration skill would be ideal as well, something like Renewal or Relief. Other skills would just benefit me in combat in smaller ways if they work like they do in game and are based on my luck.
“Exactly, but don’t assume they follow exactly like they do in the games where some RNG is involved. I can give you any class of the fire emblem awakening world. You will need to train to gain those skills, either fighting, sparring, or just simply attacking a training dummy.” Grima explained with a nod.
“That's crazy… are there any restrictions on them that I would need to know about? If there were a way to block magic would that prevent a skill activation? How do I know what level I’m at and how would I switch classes? Do you have a Second Seal?”
“Other than what I mentioned? They’re all activated passively or simply from you wanting to do it, like using Sol, you just express your desires and your blade will ignite with a green and orange glow. As for magic blocking them... Hmm, I haven’t seen anyone,” Grima pauses.
“Or anypony.” Twilight finished.
“Be able to do so, but of course, the multiverse is vast, I’m sure there’s a Displaced who can. And yes, we do have a second seal; using it is simple, just focus your thoughts into it and it’ll activate. Lastly, as for you knowing when it's a good time to use it? You’ll know it when you feel your body and mind has reached its limits.” Grima said with a nod.
“Convenient. Is the master seal reusable? I have a plan for a few skills I want to pick up and needing to resummon you every time wouldn’t be convenient for both of us. Wait, how would the skills gained from Manakete and Taguel work, would I become one of those two? I don’t have a dragonstone so would I be able to transform into a dragon?”
“This master seal of mine is unique but I can’t give it to you, however.” Grima pauses as he raises two of his feathery wings, making two items appear however smaller in size. A normal master seal, and a second seal with blue rings and a dark blue gem inside of it. “As for the manakete and Taguel, you will gain the skills passively over time; their stones I can create with my master seal. You are the first to request this.” Grima said with a smile, although on him, it looked a little creepy the way the corner of his cheeks moved.
I pause and think about the skills I can remember from Awakening. “If I’m limited to five skills then I’d want to have Galeforce, Renewal, Swordbreaker, Aether, and Slow Burn. So I’d have to go through Dark Flier, War Priest, Wyvern Lord, Great Lord, and Dark Knight. And if I had to choose between being a manakete or a taguel I’d want to be a manakete.”
Both Grima and Twilight rapidly blinked as I listed off the skills I wanted. “...By Celestia’s mane,” Twilight said in surprise.
“Usually they just pick one class, but you’re the first to go the distance... Hmm,” Grima paused to think. “For the sake of saving time, we’re going to make some modifications so that it's just one class. Tell me, what manakete would you want to be? Fire, Ice, Earth, Wyvern, Mage?”
“What would the differences between them be? I don’t know any from Awakening that falls under those.”
“The dif-... Apologizes, let me clear, none of those dragons appear in Awakening, for they are from the other games of Fire Emblem I had to recreate from scratch based on my memories and what little I could learn from my Equus. The Fire manaketes are balanced, all around. Ice Manaketes are quite speedy but their strength is lacking due to their slender bodies. An earth manakete is bulky and durable but slow in its movements. Wyverns manaketes are very aggressive, however, their scales are thin. Lastly, mage dragons,” Grima pauses as Twilight Sparkle softly giggles.
“Like my Spike,” Twilight said with a mild smile.
“Have very high immunity to magic, however, their health isn’t very well,” Grima explained in detail.
I stop and think, do I want to double down on my Strength or Defense, or patch up my slow speed? If I have Hector’s growths then my speed should be one of my worst stats alongside luck and resistance. However, I have a feeling that Thrud’s blood changed some of those base growths.
Trusting the skills I plan on taking to help me keep up speedwise as well as my improved movement which must have also come from Thrud, I decide to double down on my attack.
“I’ll be a Wyvern.” They also seem less focused on magic which while I might be able to use it now is still not going to be a focus of mine, however, I do want to focus on lightning since I should have a very high affinity for it, and muddling that with fire, ice, or earth would take away my focus.
“Hold still, this may feel weird,” Grima said as Twilight raised her hoof, allowing the Master Seal’s rings to spin rapidly. I noticed Twilight and Grima's eyes were darting around as if seeing something that wasn’t there. Their eyes glowed fiercely with the purple of Twilight and the reds of Grma. Suddenly, a bolt of energy shot out from the master seal, hitting me and blinding me with a bright flash.
As the light died, I saw golden sparkles around me. My head felt a little weird, as if there was something to remember but it wasn’t coming to me no matter how much I thought about it. Looking down in my left hand, I notice a yellow gem with what looked to be Thrud’s face locked inside it. Taken aback at this revelation I look to Grima.
“I don’t feel all that different, it’s like I knew something and it's not there. Also, is the dragonstone supposed to look like this?”
“That’s... A new and unusual reaction… Hmm.” Grima says as he strokes his chin with his wing.
“Is there a way you can check on me to see what happened? Feel free to take notes about this Twilight, if you’re anything like the one here I know you’re holding yourself back.”
Twilight was already writing down notes, both she and Grima having somewhat excited expressions on their face.
Grima’s eyes move around seeing something invisible to me. “Let’s see, Class is Lord, stats, growths, thunder affinities... Title Heir Of Thunder? Some of your stats have a green number next to them, but your skills give no hint of what would be affecting them...” the fell dragon asked with a confused frown.
“I met a Thunder Dragon named Thrud, he gave me some of his blood which might be affecting my stats and growths, if it's anything like how it worked in Fire Emblem Four. Dragon blood gave boosts to growths and allowed for the use of unique weapons.” I say hopefully giving the answer to Grima’s question.
“Thrud? Thrud... Thrud... Thrud... That must be someone unique to this world.” Grima said after rattling through his memories.
“Tell me, how much of your Equus is different from mine?” Twilight Sparkle asked with a tilt of her head.
“I don’t know much to be honest. The princesses were told by the divine dragon Naga to prepare the world so that the dragons could live in harmony alongside everyone. The dragons used to live somewhere here but the different species united and drove them into hiding, and they used magic to seal themselves away until the world was ready. The other species forged the legendary weapons from Fire Emblem 6 if you know them, and that's what they used to drive the dragons away. I was sent here after buying Armads from the Merchant, unfortunately it seems to have been taken away from me. If you want more details I can try to get more and tell you later if you’d like.”
“Naga…” Grima looks around with caution as if she’s watching us at this very moment. “Right... If she does exist I suggest you keep an eye out in case someone of your world is trying to create a... Well, another me.”
“I think Sombra might have been doing some experiments in that line of research, he seemed to be following Nergal’s research into morphs and artificial ponies and other creatures. He’s been sealed away though and I don’t know where he is sealed to confirm if he is trying to make a Fell Dragon.”
“Seek the death masks while you’re here. They’re somewhere in this world, we can sense them.” Grima said as he hissed.
“We wouldn’t want Risen ponies to be a threat here...” Twilight said with disapproval in her voice.
“I’ll keep an eye out, I might warn the Princesses about them as well, if they don’t already know about them. Something I am also on the lookout for are the weapons from Fire Emblem Four, and they might be in your world too since it takes place in the same game world as Awakening.”
“Be on the lookout for a pony or person named Annie. She’s quite an enigma being part of a family of Annies, all looking the same other than their outfits and hairstyles.” Grima said with a nod.
“Like Anna the shopkeep? The one who shows up in every game? I’ll keep an eye out for her as well. Something else, aside from all the class changing, you said I could learn magic? I don’t think I have the ability to cast many spells but I think I could cast thunder magic now thanks to Thrud’s blood. How would you go about teaching me?”
"Your weapon rank is currently an E from what we’ve seen, so yes it is possible. You just need a tome to practice, study, and cast from. We’ll write one out for you to give the necessary requirements to cast the spell.” Twilight explained.
“I thank you. If needed could I summon you to help fight off this world’s Grima if they exist? It would be a massive help, especially if my stat caps are as low as they are in the GBA games when compared to Awakening and Fates. Also, do you know which skills I’ll get first and how I will know when I obtain one?”
“You’ll be getting the unpromoted ones first in no certain order other than what you feel you’ll need the most. As for fighting myself... Hmm, only if another me from the future of this world doesn’t come to help out much like Robin did... Gods, it feels weird at times when I talk about others of the same body.” Grima said with a shake of his head.
“I still don’t feel like Hector and I are the same but I keep introducing myself as Hector, might not be the same but I feel for you. Can we communicate through the staff without summoning you?”
“Yes you can, simply speak into it and we will respond, or either of the two if any of us is slumbering,” Grima said with a nod.
“On the subject of magic, shall I make an extra tome in case the myself of this world desires to learn from you, Hector?” Twilight asked as she shuffled between hooves as she had been standing for a while.
“That might be worthwhile, she’ll have my head if I don’t give her something else to focus on. I bet she can use all the forms of magic unlike me, would you make multiple tomes for each kind of magic or are they all in one large tome?”
"Either or. I've got the tomes with me, they just need to be written in our blood." Twilight explained, causing me to blink.
“Your blood? Would that alert the princesses?” I ask. If it does I’d need to explain what happened here and that might cause problems depending on how they react.
"Hmm, true, however, I need to this so that not only will it pass on my knowledge through the use of reading and practicing, but it’ll also help keep the tome from breaking from being used. I’m sure you’re familiar with this in some of the older games." Grima said with a chuckle of amusement.
“Always managing inventories did get tiring. I don’t know if my axe has durability beyond just maintaining it, so I never gave it much thought.” I don’t know how many trees I felled during my first few days but I feel like it would be enough to break my axe if it was using the game's durability system.
“Best go see a blacksmith soon; there isn’t anything worse than your only weapon breaking in the middle of a fight. On an unrelated note, is there anything else you’d like to discuss?” Grima asked as Twilight decided to sit down and give her legs a break.
“I can’t think of anything. It's nice to know I’m not alone. How’s your world? Is the plot of the game happening to you?”
“No, our world follows a different path.” Grima pauses as he raises his head as if sensing something. With a word, Twilight summons a grey tome, and a quill, she presents her hoof and allows Grima to make a slit with her fang, causing her ankle to bleed. Dipping the quill into her wound and placing it into the pages, she begins to write in the tome, writing in some kind of language with many curves. As the pages are written, the tome begins to change colors, taking on a yellow appearance and soon a lightning bolt on its cover. Twilight summons a second tome and repeats the motions, however, the tome took on a purple appearance with the front cover showing fire, lightning, and wind.
“Done,” Twilight said as she hovered the two tomes over to me.
“Thank you, this should help me a ton,” I say as I take the two books of magic. “I don’t know if the sisters are finished and are waiting for me. How do I send you back to your world? I can’t keep you here forever.”
"Simply speak the word [Warp] and I'll be sent home. Do it fast as we can sense them coming." Both Grima and Twilight said in unison as she pulled her hood back up.
“Warp” I say as soon as I hear that the princesses are approaching. “Good luck in your world Grima…”
And just like before, multiple rings and runes appeared on the ground and with a brief flash of magic, they were gone. I still have the staff and tomes in my arms when the door bursts open behind me and the princesses make themselves known.
A Man with a Lightning Charged Axe
Chapter 8: Stately Discussion
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. A Man with a Lightning Charged Axe
Chapter 9: Tour of the City
Following Solid throughout the castle grounds I am impressed with the overall design and craftsmanship that I can see. Overall it appears to be a natural evolution from the style I saw in the old ruins. Brillant whites and golds adorn tall arches that line the halls making me think of cathedrals with ribbed ceilings. Adding to the holy and religious feeling are the stained glass windows that line one side of the halls, letting in radiant beams of colored light that illuminate everything without the need for torches or other lighting fixtures.
While I do get some strange looks from the castle staff and whatever nobleponies we pass a glance from Solid makes them act as if I were the most normal thing they've seen. To be fair I also send them glares and that might just be scaring them into submission. A few of the ponies I assume to be of the noble class do actually meet my eyes but I can count the number on half of my hand, the rest can't maintain eye contact for more than a second before quickly pretending to be very interested in the wall or carpet.
Passing through large wooden doors made from a strange purple wood, we exit the castle proper and enter the courtyard. There are quite a few guards on the palace ramparts, though if the armor they are wearing is really gold they must be ceremonial guards rather than an actual military force. I guess I'll find out when I get to the barracks and academy.
The road from the palace to the capital is highly maintained, in fact, the whole city is made from the same polished white stone with gold rings and purple trim, making everything feel expensive and kind of snobby.
I don't like it.
I feel so out of place in a city like this. Even being in cities back on Earth made me feel uncomfortable. I thought that since the apparent technological level here is closer to what would be expected of a fantasy it would feel like my grandfather's place out in the country. Ponyville was closer to that than this is. Not just that, but the overall snobby attitude of the ponies here just makes me want to punch em.
Ultimately, I decide to ignore the snobs and the architecture and focus on my guide.
Solid is a white earth pony stallion. Just like the other guards I've seen, he wears a golden helmet that covers his mane, and what would be a breastplate that also continues back to cover his sides and back, covering his cutie mark. He doesn't seem to have a weapon on him but that might not be necessary since I assume, just like the other guards, that he serves a more ceremonial role rather than an actual combat one.
"Hey Solid, I got a few questions."
"Ask away, I'll answer them to the best of my ability."
"Why the gold armor everywhere? Iron would be better for protection so I assume it's a resource availability reason or something else I'm not thinking of."
"The unicorns say it's got something to do with how well it holds enchantments. The standard set is coat changing, temperature regulation, identification, and enhanced durability making it about as tough as iron is. Iron can't hold more than one enchantment so gold became the standard. Making all the guards look the same helps with tactics and keeping the peace so we can swap our shifts without most ponies knowing. Caught a few guards who were taking bribes that way."
Makes sense to me, if we could use magic like the ponies here do I bet we also would've put more thought into enchantments on armor or weapons. Now I'm wondering what exactly my armor is made of. I wasn't wearing metal armor when I got displaced so it was transformed but I don't know enough about metals to say what it became. I should get it checked out at the smithy during our tour, and maybe also get a place to store my things as well since it's becoming a bit of a hassle to carry the thunder tome, Grima's Staff, Wolf Beil, and my Dragonstone.
As we pass through a gatehouse we enter a new district and I feel a bit of tension leave Solid as we get further away from the area we were just in.
"Now that we've left the noble district, we can start the real tour. The first stop would be the academy but I should show you some other places you'd like to know about. Stuff like the bars most of us guards go to when off duty, there are also a couple of parks and other restaurants that you should check out."
Ah, it was the nobles that were causing him to be tense. I didn't even pick up on it until he relaxed, his training must've been pretty thorough. Following along as he points out several buildings my mind begins to wander to what the academy is going to be like. I've not finished High School so I don't know if it will compare to the college level or be something I'm more comfortable and used to. Hell is it even going to be something like the school I know at all? Am I going to fit in the halls here? Most businesses seem to be built with taller customers in mind here so they must get visitors from other nations where ponies aren't the majority, I guess it would make sense to build it larger for any study abroad programs if they exist.
"Did you go to the academy?" I don't know his rank so I'm not sure if I'm talking with a conscript or some middle-ranked officer.
"I am enrolled for the upcoming class, meaning we are likely to be classmates. It's probably why Princess Celestia had me give you the tour. The more ponies you get to know the more everypony will get used to seeing you around."
I nod my head in agreement, as he continues pointing out landmarks he and other guards use to navigate the maze of a city as quickly as possible. I try my best to memorize the ones I find the most important as we make our way to a group of large buildings.
"This the place?" I ask. Looking around at the buildings it doesn't seem like what I expected for a guards school. There aren't any areas for physical training or weapon practice. No targets for spells, since I assume they don't have the ability for archery. Not exactly the image of a military school that I was expecting.
"No, but it is something like a sister school. This is Celsestia's school for gifted unicorns, some of the fillies and colts that go here graduate and come to work for the guard as part of specialized units, or they become battlemages." He almost scoffs at the mention of the so called battlemages.
"I take it they aren't well respected. Both you and Celestia didn't paint them in a good light."
"They have roots in an ancient practice the Princesses founded when the lands were more dangerous. They helped the Princesses spread order in the chaos left after the defeat of Discord. I don't know much beyond that because they haven't done anything since." Solid shakes his head, "Enough about the snobs, just know that most unicorns at the officer's academy are graduates from this place and they are almost all insufferable."
"Lemme guess, they all act like they are the next chosen one? Egos the size of the mountain?"
"Right on the money. We aren't that far from our final destination, once there you're likely to go under physical assessment and be challenged to a few duels nothing too serious, got to know what you're capable of before seeing where you get placed."
Without much more to say from either of us, we start on our way to the academy proper.
A Man with a Lightning Charged Axe
Chapter 10: Back to School
Having finished the tour of the city and seeing the important locations that Solid wanted to show me as well as some words about the battlemages, Solid begins leading me to our proper destination. The rest of the walk there is mostly silent neither of us had much to say beyond what has been said.
Approaching what actually fits my expectations for a military school, walls surrounding a compound with an obstacle course that is currently being run by a handful of guardsponies in armor, the earth ponies have spears and other supplies strapped to their backs, while the pegasi have some form of front hoof spike and wing weights, and the unicorns seem to be forced to maintain several objects in their levitation at once. I guess it's to improve the natural strengths of each tribe.
Walking past the exercise yard and training field, we pass several buildings, which I'm guessing are the sleeping quarters and mess halls. Arriving at a larger building in the center of the whole complex Solid gives what I figure to be a salute to the two guards standing at the door and he starts through the door while I stoop over to make my way inside.
"Sorry for the size inconvenience, the only other species that work alongside the guard are the occasional griffon and not much else. Some of the areas where minotaurs are more common are probably built for your size, but since we don't have many of them here in Canterlot everything is built for ponies."
"I'll just suck it up until I get out in the field then, besides it's just the doorways that are causing problems, most of the insides are large enough for me to move properly in."
Making our way through the halls and corridors we arrive at a door with a nameplate on it. At least I assume its a nameplate since I can't read it. I'm really going to have to learn to read, or maybe there is a spell that will translate their written language for me. Either way it's starting to become a serious problem especially if I'm going to become an officer in her guard.
Actually didn't she say I could choose something else? That I didn't have to be in the guard? I'll try to come up with other ideas, I don't really think I'll work very well in the established chain of command.
Solid knocks on the door and a short and gruff "Come in," sneaks its way through the cracks.
Entering what has to be an officer's office I see papers strewn about and a few boards covered in what I guess to be reports connected to each other by some string like a detective would have in a Noir film.
Solid stands at attention and does the salute from earlier as he introduces us to the pegasus stallion behind a desk.
"This is Hector, Celestia is ordering his enrollment in the upcoming class. His file will be filled out and sent in a few hours."
The pegasus turns his gaze from Solid to me. As he looks me up and down I do the same to him. Just like all the other guards his coat is part of the spectrum from gray to white, but that's part of his armor's enchantments. I can't see his cutie mark but his eyes seem like they have seen far more combat than I will ever experience. It takes me a tad longer to realize that he is missing his hind leg on the right side, the prosthetic he uses is almost indistinguishable from a normal leg but the fact it has a slight metallic sheen gives it away.
After a few seconds of silence he finally speaks.
"You seem green, how long have you been swinging that axe kid?"
"I've practiced with Axes for a few years, but I've only started using it in combat for less than a week."
He snorts in response and mutters something I don't catch under his breath before he makes eye contact with me.
"When you're enrolled you finish a response to a teacher or tutor with sir. I'll let this one time go cause you're not part of the guard."
He moves from behind his desk and trots closer to me. I don't stop him from getting too close as he walks around me. Even when he starts tapping my armor I try my best to not respond in any way. It doesn't really work out as I still give small flinches and jolts when he does but I'm trying.
"You've got some interesting things about you, what are you anyway, a minotaur? And that book you have tucked there it gives off a vibe similar to a thundercloud."
"I'm a human and it is a bit of a story of how I got here. As for the book, it allows me to cast magic, Sir."
He nods and looks to my dragonstone, "Similar purpose for that then? And the staff?"
"Similar yes, but I'm mostly focused on my axe technique, Sir."
"I see. Well I'll have you run the basics to see how well you hold up to the standard guardsponies and we'll see what to do with you then." He heads back behind his desk and motions for us to leave.
Solid gives a salute and turns to leave and I follow him. Back out in the hall he leads me around the rest of the building showing me several classrooms and other areas for training and magic practice.
Once we leave the compound and start on our way back to the castle I finally work up the courage to ask him who the pegasus stallion is.
"So, I don't know if the princess told you with whatever she did to notify you but I can’t read, so who was that pegasus?"
Solid is taken aback and shakes his head in surprise, "What?! You can't read?"
I scratch the back of my head and give a small smile, "It's not that I don't know how, I just don't know your language."
Still obviously taken aback Solid takes a moment before he answers my question.
"That was the pony in charge of all officer training, his name is Last Wall, he alongside the Elements of Harmony rallied the guard to fend off the changeling invasion during Princess Cadance and Captian Shining Armor's wedding."
"Uhh, I don't know who those people are or what a changeling is. I've met the Elements and I've heard of Captian Shining Armor but I don't have much of a point of reference for anything you just said. I've been lost in the Everfree for a decent while."
Now completely shocked, Solid simply looks at me in disbelief, "You managed to survive in that place? I thought the Princess just wanted to keep an eye on you because you were a new species."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I mutter to myself. "But I'll need a rundown of what exactly happened at this wedding and why changelings are such a big deal. Can't really help with much if I don't know anythin',"
A Few Hours Later
Now that I'm back at the palace and in the room that Celestia had prepared for me I can give some thought to everything I've learned in the past day.
I'm definitely not joining the Academy as a guest professor or teacher, I don't know how to do much of anything they want a teacher to do. Not to mention my lack of literacy.
Joining as a student isn't ideal either since once again I can't write reports they can read. So if I'm joining the Academy in any sense it isn't one that requires writing. Maybe as a special honor student that gives me an exception from paperwork? I have no clue how that would work so it is an idea that I'm likely to shelve for now.
Skipping past the academy doesn't seem wise and neither does not participating in the guard at all since it gives me an official reason to be following the princesses orders and that would likely give a wonderful shield to start working on my promise to Thrud.
This is going nowhere.
Turning my thoughts away from the Academy and everything I'll need to be doing in the future I go over what Solid told me about recent events.
Three major events have happened in the past year that have given rise to increased recruitment and harsher training for the guard. The first was Celestia going missing during the events of Nightmare Moon's return, the second was a creature called Discord breaking free from his imprisonment as a statue in the castle garden, and the most recent is the changeling attack that took place during the wedding of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor.
Turns out that changelings here look like an insect version of a pony with black chitin and holes in their legs. They have the ability to transform into identical copies of ponies or even create a brand new pony as a disguise to harvest love from ponies and other creatures. How something eats love is beyond me but they invaded and their queen captured Cadance so she could take her place and take all of Shining Armor's love which gave her the strength to fight Celestia and win.
At first the nobles didn't support an expansion of the guard. The didn't see any reason to since the return of Nightmare Moon only lasted a single day and many of them didn't even believe that anything happened.
They couldn't keep that attitude when Discord broke free, as he took control of the sun and moon! While his reign of chaos only lasted for a few days it caused enough of an uproar that the nobles relented to the Princesses wishes and agreed to increase the budget for the guard.
Once the wedding fiasco happened it basically made any remaining holdouts for the nobles go out the window. While not going into a full standing army or having recruitment quotas, propaganda and recruitment drives suddenly became far more common. That's how Solid decided to join the guard in the first place.
Right now, everything seems to be fine, but everyone who is in any real position of power knows that something is brewing behind the scenes, and whatever it is isn't going to be peaceful.
Ultimately I decide that I'll sleep on it and face Celestia and give her my answer on what I want to do here in the morning.
A Man with a Lightning Charged Axe
In the Dreamscape
I decide for a change of pace in my dreams. Instead of the vastness of space, I am following the flows and currents in an expansive coral reef. I couldn't go swimming when I was in the Everfree and since I've yet to see a swimming pool anywhere this will have to satisfy my urge to go swim for now.
My calm is once again disturbed by Luna but since I was expecting her this time I'm not too bothered by it.
"Greetings Hector, how are you finding Canterlot? Is everything to your liking?"
I can't really get a good read on her, she is often speaking in an almost shouting tone and she often slips into a more archaic vocabulary. It makes sense given her banishment and recent return but she seems almost desperate to have a conversation.
"I haven't found anything I'd complain about. It definitely isn't like my old home, that's for sure. Has Celestia told you about her plans for me? I'm being enrolled in the Officer's Academy."
"Truly? Have thou decided on which branch to join? We would be quite glad to have a skilled warrior such as yourself in the Night Guard. It is quite embarrassing to admit but We lack the talent to inspire other ponies like our sister."
Again she slips into the royal we. It's slightly endearing but I could see it annoying or putting others off if they aren't used to it.
"I don't know. I don't feel like actually being in the guard is right for me. Don't get me wrong I think it would be good for me to hone my skills, but I just don't think I'd make a good officer in any of the guards. I'm not a leader, I don't know where I should go. I'm lost and I'm not sure where to even start. I don't want to just drift along but deciding where to go is too hard. I can't just leave it to you an Celestia to decide my fate, it wouldn't be mine if that were the case."
Ah. That's why I wanted the ocean tonight. A bit on the nose today, aren't we subconscious.
"I too know how hard it is to decide a path. Deciding to rule Equestria was a difficult decision for both myself and my sister. Neither of us knew the first thing about leading or how to use the amazing gifts we were given. Even after we decided and started on our path I still had doubts about our ability to rule and our choice to do so. It wasn't until after my return that we truly felt that our sister made the right choice."
"How did you decide?"
"We had faith that Harmony had a plan for us, that we would end up where we needed to be. I believe that you also were brought here by Harmony, that you need to be here."
"So I just need to find what I was brought here for and work towards it. But how can I know that I am actually working towards what I'm supposed to?"
Luna seems to look at me with confusion, "By having faith."
Can I do that? What little faith I had from growing up in the Midwest has been well out of my mind. Stranded in a new universe, fighting in the wilderness for a week, and then finding out that I'm the only human has made me forget or at least put aside any form of faith in a higher power. Even with my knowledge that there are literal Divine Dragons out there somewhere that have godlike powers, it never really crossed my mind that I didn't have to know everything. That I can just trust that I am doing what I need to even if I don't know it for sure.
I don't like it, and I don't think I ever will. But it does settle the growing sense of unease and indiscison that made it's way into my mind and gut.
"Thank you; that was just what I needed to hear." This may just be blind faith for now, and it might stay that way. But if I take this one step at a time everything might work out as it needs to. And that's all I need to do, take it one step at a time.
"What is it that you intend to do? What is your first step?" Luna looks at me with her eyes filled with starlight, images of that endless inspiring expanse that gave humanity so much hope and dispair.
It sparks something within me, changing my dream from the ever growing reef. It doesn't take long before the stars from the first time she visited my dreams to reappear, pushing the waves and tides down until I stand on the clear reflective surface. No longer being pulled and pushed by the current I turn to the Princess of Dreams my answer ready, as if I had always known it.
"I am a warrior, my duty is to fight. I'll join the school, but I will not be an officer. I can't be one. I belong on the front wherever the fighting is thickest not behind a desk pushing papers. I will prepare for whatever conflict is coming, I'll forge ahead axe in hand. I know not where this path leads, but if I can look back and see that I kept my promise and made this world a better place it doesn't matter where I stop."
Kind of cringe of me to be fair. But I've been blessed with strength and the ability to protect people. The nation of Equestria seems to be by far more peaceful than the world I left on Earth. If someone or something threatens that peace I have to stand and fight.
Luna looks at me, her eyes seem to pierce through me, as if she could see my soul and were judging my answer. After a few silent seconds she nods. "I can see why you were drawn to him. You have the same heart."
With that she takes off into the night sky leaving my alone with my dreams.
Author's Note
This chapter wasn't suposed to be a talk with Luna but I felt that it would make for a nice intro to the chapter and it just grew and took over the whole thing.
Hope y'all enjoyed!
A Man with a Lightning Charged Axe
Chapter 12: Dragonhearted
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. 