We Were Soldiers

by Midnight Ride

Rating: teen
Tags: Human, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Crossover
Length: 5913

A fierce gladiator finds himself facing strange and new challenges after appearing in Equestria.

Karth Valerius is a vicious and well respected gladiator of the coliseum. He wins almost every fight due to an internal rage that bids him to destroy anyone and anything in his path. He despises people, they deserve none of his trust or his admiration as he learned from his life. However, he also hates what he finds lying in his wake of destruction. In the middle of an intense battle Karth suddenly finds himself in Equestria. Karth's rage burns deep, and Equestria itself may be destroyed because of someone's mistake. One simple foolish mistake.

Published 2012-09-21 08:54:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-10-11 04:09:40 UTC

When Death Knocks...

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

_____________________________________

A lone fighter stood in the darkened hallway which lead to the arena. He stood against a wall, preparing for the battle that would soon ensue. His armor lost it’s weight under the harsh adrenaline that pumped through his body. The sound of his heartbeat pulsed through his ears and the din of the crowd pounded in the corridor. They shouted his title. The dragon, that’s what they called him. Rumor had it that that was the way he was seen, a ferocious dragon tearing his enemies apart, swooping and slicing at a foe until they were no more. He didn’t disagree. In a way he admired the crowd for honoring him with such a name. No, his mind reminded him, no one is worth your admiration. His life stood testament that fact that no one was worthy of his trouble. He often wished could finally rid himself of the fools that he called the human race. He didn’t have any so called “friends,” and he didn’t care for any either. It wasn’t that he hated people, but he despised how they acted. Their habits. Their obsessions. Their disease. Most of them would only bring you down. The only one whom he had even loosely considered an acquaintance was the boy who took care of his sword and armor. He was one of the few he trusted with his real name and face, and that was partially because he couldn’t hide his face when he retrieved his helmet. However the child had not betrayed him yet, at least not to his knowledge. He looked back at him, standing further back in the corner of the corridor, where it turned to lead to the armory. The boy smiled at him. He turned his attention back toward the gate. Trust no one, that was a lesson he had learned the hard way. Never get attached. No one is worth your devotion. Even if the child knew him as Karth Valerius. He closed his eyes.
_____________________________________

Suddenly he was in a different coliseum. His wrists were raw where his shackles had been. The guard next to him pushed him into a wall. “Fool, you think you're so great in the arena? hah!” The guard threw down Karth’s armor onto the bench that stood just behind him. The rage coursed through his veins. He didn’t hate people, he just despised their habits. Their shewed blindness. He quickly strapped on his armor and took his sword in hand, leaving his shield behind. He jogged coarsely up the slightly inclined corridor to the entrance to the grand battlefield. He coolly walked out onto the blood soaked sand that stretched on for what seemed like eternity. Marble pillars surrounded him like the legs of gods. The fire coursed through his mind. He looked back over to his enemy; it was no challenge. He was a farmer, a simple farmer, skinny and weak. A farmer who met his stare weakly, fear bleeding through his gaze. He hadn't earned death, it was chosen for him. A farmer whose family watched from behind a closed gate. He couldn’t do this, it was wrong. You are a fighter, you will fight, the voice echoed in his head. His rage was blinding. He looked up into the stands. His slave master gave him a grave look. There was no mercy here, only death. A drum sounded, signaling the beginning of the battle. The animal inside of him immediately took over.

His legs became springs, pushing off from side to side as he charged his opponent like an infuriated beast. Time slowed as the he met his foe. Karth threw his body and rolled his back along of the shield that his enemy thrust out, grabbing it with his arm and pulling it into his body as hard as he could. A ghastly snap rung into his ears. A cruel smile crossed his face as his darker side wrought it’s havoc. It might has well have been a warlord versus a peasant, and the fire in Karth’s eyes was that of a wild boar. Fear ripped into his enemies heart as he stared him down. Then the fury was unleashed. Like lightning he was on him a flurry of hits, each leaving a new scar on his sluggish opponent.

Finally his opponent landed a lucky hit and Karth’s blade went skittering across the ground, while the man followed up by smacking him across the face with a quick backhand. A small sentiment of hope played across the man’s mind as he delivered what he presumed to be the killing blow - a long arcing strike over his head. The swing came quick, but not quick enough. Karth’s arm lashed out like a snake and caught the swing with an iron grip. He turned back around, twisting his enemy’ arm as he faced him, the fire in his eyes burning more intensely than ever. The man fell to his knees, dropping the gladius in pain. Karth’s knee swiftly flew into his face, throwing the opponent straight into the ground. He dove, bringing himself down onto his chest knee first, the sound of shattering ribs filling the air with the groans of pain. Karth took him by the neck and lifted him as he stood. He looked into his enemy’s eyes for one last time. The fear. The pain. This wasn’t him. Reality suddenly set into his mind. He looked back to the stands where his slave master stood, nodding in approval. He dropped the victim. The man fell dead at his feet. No one deserved the death he gave. He could fight, that didn’t mean he had to. He had destroyed a life. A story. Something he couldn’t take back. He looked to the family behind the gate, where a small child let a single tear escape his eye. He was becoming numb. He was blinded and now his rage had shown him what he had become. This was not what he wanted. Another scar on his soul. Another scar that would never heal.

_____________________________________

“Cupcakes!” Pinkies voice rung out clearly through Sugar Cube Corner. The chocolate colored wood that formed the archways seemed to glimmer light on such a warm day. Twilight looked up gratefully using her magic to pull one over to her.

“Thanks Pinkie,” Twilight groaned. She had been practicing magic all through the night, and now it had begun to wear on her. She felt like she had been getting out of practice with her magic, which (much to Spike’s dismay) meant she had to stay up all night studying.
Unfortunately this also meant the spells that she had studied began to blur together in her mind. She glanced over as pinkie bounced her way to her.

“What’s wrong Twi’?”

“Oh I’m just tired Pinkie.” The joyful pink pony took a moment to think.

“I think Spike was looking for you.”

“What for?” Pinkie shrugged.

“I dunno, all I know is he came in here to see if I had any gem covered cupcakes and I told him that I didn’t and then he started...”

“Alright, thanks Pinkie!” Twilight quickly interjected before Pinkie got on a roll. Heading home, she wondered, what could Spike want?

_____________________________________

“Dragon!” The crowd’s roar snapped Karth’s attention back to reality. Another flashback. They had been getting worse recently. He was a monster, a living weapon, and he knew it. The gatekeeper finished, “It is time.” Karth nodded as the gate in front of him creaked open and the noise of the crowd drilled itself into his eardrums. This was nothing new to him. He drew his sword and walked out onto the sanded coliseum. He didn’t pay the crowd any heed for they deserved nothing from him. The only one that had earned his attention was his opponent who stood at the opposite end of the ring. Karth sized his competitor up. He was tall and muscular, but his size betrayed him. It was doubtful that he could move as fast as Karth. The other gladiator’s armor was standard, covering his body and shoulders, but his thighs and arms were wide open, it wouldn’t be hard to get under his defenses.
“Friends! I bid you welcome back to the games!” The speaker’s voice quickly grew tiresome to Karth. It was the same exact speech as it was every other time he had fought. It didn’t matter, what was just a few more minutes waiting, simply staring at the man you have been appointed to kill? He tuned back in just as the speaker was finishing, “The Dragon versus The Destroyer!” So that was who he fought. At very least he had an intimidating title. It was time to see if he could live up to his name.
____________________________________

“What’s wrong with the gemfield by Ponyville, Spike!” Twilight looked over at Spike, who was faithfully toting books back and forth from shelves to Twilight’s study area.

“You know that I hate that place Twilight!” Spike pleaded.

“But why?! It’s still ripe with gems which is exactly what you’re looking for!”

“Yeah- but that’s where the diamond dogs were and....” Spike poked his fingers together nervously.

Twilight sighed. “Okay, fine. I’ll try to find you a new gemfield.”

“Thanks Twilight! Hey I, uhh, also have finished my chores! I was just going to head over to the boutique...”

“Fine Spike, just come back soon. If I’m reading right, this spell shouldn’t be too hard to do.”

“Alright! Thanks Twilight!”

Twilight looked down at the page. Positioner. Alright that seemed simple enough. She would just have to concentrate on gemfields. The hard part would be focusing over all of equestria. Oh well, she quickly glanced down at the open book and began casting her magic.

_____________________________________

The white cloth was dropped and immediately Karth’s battle instincts kicked in. His feet snapped into motion, making precise, swift strides toward his enemy. His breathing focused into trained quick bursts. The familiar weight of his blade rocked at his side as he quickly planted his foot and jabbed at the behemoth's leg. The counter came faster than he had anticipated. His attack was easily deflected and he took a hit from The Destroyer’s pommel squarely in his face . He gathered his thoughts for a moment. The ferocious blow had hit him so fast that his mind was still wrapping itself around it. How did such a man move so quickly? Normally he could anticipate anyone’s movements just by the flex of a muscle or a change in their stance. As much as he would have liked to stand in thought for a while his opponent had begun to take the offensive, coming toward him like a rabid wolf. Karth snapped back into his battlemind. He needed to win this with strategy, not by force. He watched his opponent carefully. A quick twitch in the right shoulder. Karth quickly sidestepped what would have been a crushing blow. He recomposed himself and led it with a swift upward strike, aimed right at the man’s bicep. Their blades met with a tremendous clang and the crowd exploded into thunderous applause. His mind solely trained itself on his fighting. A quick strike, a parry, dodge, duck, a powerful swing, parry, thrust. His mind was a flurry of movements, gathered from years of experience and training, yet, despite all efforts, his enemy managed to deflect and counter his every move, no matter how sudden or complex. Parry, parry, Slice, lunge, jump, swing, dodge... His brain suddenly went blank. What was happening? This was not the time to lose focus! His animalistic half hadn’t even kicked in. His armor was almost immediately cut through, the enemy’s jagged blade making a fine cut across his chest while his mind still devised the next move.

The world began to spin.

The blade cut deep, but Karth felt no physical pain, only the bitterness of defeat. Karth, the dragon was defeated. He fought himself to maintain consciousness as he put his hand to the wound. It was warm and sticky and his wound stung a little when it made contact. He pulled his hand back and observed the damage, already knowing the results. Blood rolled down his fingers to his hand and continues to drop to his wrists. Time seemed to slow around him. He looked up at his conqueror. He had earned his title, and Karth’s death was the ultimate proof of that. With his defeat his enemy would become a dragon slayer. His gaze dropped to his foe’s feet. He embraced what was about to come, to know that he was equalized with the world that he hated. Would he find himself in heaven? No, surely not. Hell was the only place that he could possibly be destined for. He wouldn’t be able to stand heaven. At least in hell he would have a purpose. There would be action, pain, never a dull moment. He gazed up as the sun cruelly glinted off his enemy’s armor as he looked to the stands for a thumbs down. It came almost immediately. The tip of the blade touched down on the back of his neck. It was a soldier’s death. His opponent at least granted him that. He felt the gladius rise. He closed his eyes and he prepared himself to embrace death.

_____________________________________

Twilight studied the page that sat on the dark mahogany desk that sat in front of her. Had she cast the spell correctly? She quickly glanced at the map of equestria that sat just to the right of the ancient tome. Nothing. The map was absolutely blank. In theory, there should have been locations lighting up that represented the gemfields. There had to be at least one somewhere, so where was it? She sighed and dropped her head. She began walking to Rarity’s Boutique to tell Spike the news.

_____________________________________

Karth’s eyes opened in a very different place. How had he gotten here? He looked across the landscape. Dirt. Dirt stretched for miles. The only thing that interjected the otherwise flat terrain was the craggy rocks that jutted rigidly from the soft earth as well as small rough cliffs that stuck up on the eastern and western sides of this wasteland. There were a few lush trees every here and there, but other than that it was just earth, and...holes? There were holes everywhere. A few had mounds of dirt sticking out of them, but most were simply wide open. There were no signs of life anywhere. Was this purgatory? Was his body dead back home? No, his soul wouldn’t have been commended with purgatory. He had earned himself hell. He looked down at the wound in his chest. It wasn’t as bad as he had originally seen it to be, but it had begun to sting. He quickly slipped his hand under his armor and ripped a small section from his tunic and fabricated a quick makeshift bandage. That would hold it for a little while, but not forever. He would need medical attention eventually. Driven, he walked north, trudging through the soft earth and skirting around the endless holes.

_____________________________________

“Ok Twilight, I guess If you can’t find anything we can go back there.”

“Spike, remember, they won’t bother us anymore after Rarity bossed them around” Twilight chuckled to herself. She remembered how scared Spike had been when Rarity was taken. Now there was nothing to fear. She smiled as Spike got on her back and she trotted off toward the southern gemfield.

_____________________________________

A bush rustled behind Karth. He turned swiftly, hand readily on his blade. There was nothing. Everything was silent. He slowly backed away from the bush. There had to be something there. Suddenly something grabbed his legs and pulled him to the ground. He twisted and looked back where his feet were. Nothing but a mound of dirt. His blade flew from his sheath and cut the mound in half. Nothing happened. Not a yelp. Silence.

“Show yourself!” He was getting frustrated. Suddenly a massive dog leaped in front of him. This was no average mutt however. It, like him, stood on two legs. But this was not the strangest of it’s elements. In it’s hand it held a spear, made of smooth but sharp rock. It wore armor that was also made of stone. Two more brutish beasts burst from the ground behind him, spears at the ready. Three more emerged just further down to the back of the armored dogs, grinning feverishly and sporting vests with jewel encrusted collars.

“You walked into our territory!” The smallest snarled.

“Now you work for us!” The largest of them grinned.

“Now, YOU will pull our carts!” Screeched the lanky dog excitedly.

The armored hounds took a menacing step closer, encasing him in a circle of spears. They can’t have a moment to consider, he decided, take them off guard. Karth’s sword moved fast, a swift horizontal strike that just scratched across the rocky chestplate of his first opponent. The armored dogs instantaneously became a flurry of spears, jabbing and swinging, making a complex labyrinth for Karth to maneuver around. It was all he could do to avoid the hundreds of strikes that flew at him every second. The unarmored of the hounds dug their way around their field of holes and grasped at his legs, making attempts to throw him off balance. At long last they succeeded, and almost immediately one of the stone spears found it’s way to the exposed back of his calf, while a wide swing slashed the bandage open and re-cut his sword wound, only much deeper. He rolled to the ground, grasping at the rivers of blood that flowed from his body. He felt the pain surge it’s way into his mind. No survivors... his mind fought battled his will to maintain control. We’ve done it before, why is it any different now? He slowly rose to his feet, the pain subdued by the burning rage that now coursed through his body.

“You will come with us now!” The lanky dog half stuttered, seeming shocked by the sight of blood. Karth’s eyes met the dog’s, animalistic fury prepared to destroy.

“We’ll see.”

_____________________________________

Twilight happily trotted onto the valley like field.

“Alright Spike, we’re here!” Spike sprung awake from the nap he had been taking on Twilight’s back and groggily took in his surroundings.

“Where are we?” Spike half said, half yawned. But Twilight payed him no attention. She instead was noticing the flurry of movement on the other side of the field. Curiosity sparked her interest.

“Come on Spike!” She sang as she took off towards the fray in the distance.

_____________________________________

Karth’s first strike shattered through the dog’s spear and cut across it’s exposed abdomen. He sheathed his sword and quickly ducked an oncoming spear as it was thrust over him. He grabbed the tip and viciously shattered it over his armored shoulder. Like a whirlwind, he spun around and planted the spearhead just above the center of the dog’s armored chest, forcing the hound into the hole behind it. The final fighting dog attempted a desperate swing for his head. An attempt Karth easily dodged as he brought a swift and powerful kick into the frightened animals midsection which immediately caused it to crumple, releasing it’s weapon. Karth grabbed the spear and, in one fluid motion, turned and flung it at the apparent leader of the pack, slicing across the dog’s shoulder as it retreated. Then his ear picked up something else that was approaching his backside. He turned and drew his bloodied blade, bringing it parallel with his eyes, prepared to strike the stunned purple pony that stood before him.

Face the Consequences...

“The fanatic is incorruptible: if he kills for an idea, he can just as well get himself killed for one; in either case, tyrant or martyr, he is a monster.”
―Emile M. Cioran

______________________________________

Twilight wasn't sure what to think of this strange beast. It stood on two legs and had a short t tannish coat, though she couldn't locate any fur. It’s body and the lower half of it’s legs and arms were armored with shining silver plates. She observed that it’s extremities, which were just round flat bases with five separate fingers protruding from it. They were much more like Spike’s hands than actual hooves. A metal helmet of a sort covered it’s face, but she could see the deep green-blue eyes piercing through the shadows that were cast on it’s face. It’s jaw hung slightly open in a contorted position, releasing heavy, strained breaths. The monster had almost killed the diamond dogs, yet somehow she found a strange fascination with the creature. What was it? Where did it come from? There were so many questions surrounding it like a shroud of mysteries, endless questions needing answers, all in one single being. She would have to analyze it later, right now it pointed it’s blade directly at her, a threatening aura lingering around it. She met it’s eyes, fear and fascination like a bittersweet bar of chocolate. It’s eyes mapped out every intricate detail of it’s emotions, and suddenly a strange, unexpected shift occurred. At first there had been a primal fire, a rabid blood thirst ready to feed on anything and everything that it saw. Now it seemed to offer remorse, a kind of a realization, the world beginning to sink in around it. It’s hand shakily stroked a wide slice that Twilight had just noticed in it’s breast. The hand came up covered in warm, sticky blood. It stood in silence for a brief moment, realizing it’s injury before collapsing to it’s knees, looking up at her in excruciating pain. Two brief words escaped it’s parched lips, “Help me.”

_______________________________________

Karth sat on a sturdy, cold, stone wall next to someone. A man. A friend.

“...and that’s about when you fell asleep at the tavern,” Karth laughed, nearly choking on the bread he ate.

His friend’s face was taken by a smile, “I don’t know Karth, what about that instance when you walked to Roseanne’s house...”

Karth’s face grew serious, though a sarcastic grin bit at his lips as he playfully threatened, “Anteus, don’t start with that story...”

Anteus giggled, drawing a dagger and started carving at a small piece of wood. He had been doing it for months and had started to resemble a horse mounted on a soldier. He carved out a few small details before looking back up at Karth, and holding out the small sculpture.

“Almost forgot, I made this for you, for your birthday.” Karth took the piece with bewilderment. His friend had worked on this for months, and how he gave it to him freely?

“It’s a horse, for now we are soldiers!” He held up his fist so that it faced the sky, a pledge of allegiance to his country.

“Thank you,” Karth said, no other words of gratitude could find their way into his excited mind. He was mesmerized by the gift he had been given
Anteus cleared his throat, a boast playing into his voice as he asked, “So are you ready to join the Legion in twelve days?”
Karth sobered instantly. Anteus beamed at his companion with patriotic glee practically firing out of his eyes.

“I suppose.” Karth said, suddenly seeming distant and glancing up at the moon. Anteus looked at him with a condemning disapproval.

“So you just aren't ready for it?” Anteus crafted his words gently, putting each together carefully to hide the obvious disappointment that flooded his voice. Karth sighed. His friend was loyal to his country, but almost too loyal. He didn’t want to offend his friend but he also couldn't bring himself to lie to a lifelong companion like this.

“I just- I can’t”

Anteus looked at him quizzically. “Can’t what?”

“I’m not going to join the army.”

Anteus simply laughed. “You know that it’s mandated for men of our age.” He said it with such unmatched confidence that Karth almost changed his mind right there, but then he remembered his plan.

“I’m leaving town, tonight in fact. I’ll go into the mountains and survive there. I can do it, there is no way that I will ever bring myself into battle!” Karth immediately regretted those words.

Anteus’ cockiness faded quickly. The two sat in silence, an invisible wall constructing itself between the two friends.
Anteus dropped himself down to the dirt road.

“See you soon Karth” He nearly whispered as he disappeared into the night. Karth’s eyes followed his every step as he left. Something wasn't right about the situation. He’s my friend. His mind attempted to make him feel better. I can trust him.

_______________________________________

Karth’s eyes shot open as he bolted upright in the stiff bed, his breathing deep and a cold sweat forming on his brow. It was just another flashback. He remembered all the times that he had shared with his former companion. The arrogant dreams of splendor and glory, the untameable laughs that they shared days at a time, all of their many adventures. He threw it away, memory pleaded, it was his fault, not ours! He put his hand to his forehead in order to attempt to find a frustrated thought of some sort. His hand pulled the sweat back into his coarse brown hair. Wait...was it...was it his hair? He felt again. It was definitely his own, but it was now smooth and silky, and his helmet was gone. Who had taken his helmet? He glanced down only to his armor was gone too. That’s when his second revelation rolled into his mind. The scar was gone. Where a gaping gash should have been left was not but smooth skin. He drew his finger over it, as though it might be a hallucination of a sort. It was not. His wound had completely healed. He slipped out of the thin sheet and plucked a shirt off of the desk beside him. As he put it on he turned to look at the other side and there in the chair was the purple pony, sleeping. He crawled over the bed and sat on the side, staring at the creature. After a few minutes of silence, a beam of light fell onto the mare’s eye and it drowsily awoke, drowsily attempting to shade it's face.

He looked at her as it drifted upward in the soft green chair.

“Thank you,” Karth muttered. The pony rubbed its eyes, most likely from it’s tired mind trying to comprehend her unfamiliar environment. After a beat, she realized what he had said.

“You’re welcome...” She practically snored it, but she still managed to deliver the phrase in such a way that almost asked him his name. He sat in shock for a moment as the pony rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Less than 10 people in the universe knew his real name for it wasn't something that was given freely. Too many factors were in play here. She had saved his life, another feat that most could never accomplish.

“Karth.” He nearly whispered it. The pony left him no reaction time.

“Your welcome Karth!” She finished, “My name is Twilight Sparkle!” She proudly stated as she extended her hoof. Karth stared at it a moment. The gesture had become so foreign to him that he found himself stunned for a brief second. His name was one thing, but an offering of friendship freely? This was a fully separate matter indeed. He stole a quick glance down to his unsure hands quivering on the edge of the bed he sat on, then back up to the pony who still stood, eyes closed, hoof extended with a warm greeting. Against his own free will his hand swung around and met her hoof in the middle. What was he doing? The he could feel his heart’s defenses being breached and quickly pulled back. The two sat in silence for a few moments when Twilight broke into conversation.

“You were asleep for 2 days” She answered his silent question, “But, regardless, if you don’t mind my asking...what exactly are you?” She inquired. Karth laughed to himself. Not but a day ago the question would have sounded absurd to him, but now nothing seemed to be quite impossible.

“I’m a human” He said, his gruff voicing weaving in a twinge of a smile.

“A what?” Twilight inquired almost immediately.

“We’re a bit like a-” Karth’s mind raced for some way to describe the human race. Filth was the first word that came into his head, but that’s not exactly how he wanted these ponies to see him. “-Well...we’re humans.” Karth made a small gesture with his hands presenting himself as an example.

“How do you know Equestrian?”

“What?”

“Our language, the language of Equestria.”

So that’s where he was. A land called Equestria. A place where purple ponies lived and spoke English.

“Well, where I come from we actually just refer to it as English” Karth admitted shyly.

“And where do you come from?” Twilight’s questions were beginning to feel like an interrogation.

Karth shrugged, “Well, Earth.”

“Then how did you get here?”

He paused. That very question had troubled Karth himself as well. How had he gotten here? Was he the only one? “I-I don’t know” Karth admitted

“Not a single clue?” Twilight’s head tipped curiously to the side.

“Nothing,” Karth’s mind hit a small mental block, cutting himself off abruptly. No one comes in. He nervously resumed conversation, “How did you get here?” He listlessly asked.

“Well, I was born here...” Twilight giggled. Karth let out a small fake laugh, but he also questioned his own sheer ignorance. Of course she had! He was probably the only foreigner that this land had ever seen or ever will see. He sighed and thought about this new world. The question came back and haunted him. How did I get here? His gaze pitifully dropped to the floor

“Do you think I’ll ever leave here?” Karth asked, a lump of sorrow leaving his words strained.

“Oh, actually I think that you can leave the hospital right now if you really want to...”

“No no no”, He interrupted, frustrated with the idea, “I mean here, as in Equestria.” The question made the planet stand still.

“I-I don’t know.” Twilight shakily responded. Karth was disappointed, though this was the answer he had expected. The two sat in silence for a beat, the weight of realization holding the two perfectly still.

Karth broke the delicate silence, “Alright, well I suppose that leaves me the task of finding someplace to stay in town” He said as he began to stand.

“You can stay with Spike and I!” Twilight quickly interjected. Karth found himself once again stunned by surprise. Was this pony, whom only two days ago was a complete stranger, that he had only ever talked to once offering him a shelter? He turned to face her.

“Thank you.” A genuine tone ran through his gruff voice, smoothing it out. Twilight smiled at him. Karth turned back to face the door just as a pink pony burst through the door and shouted, “SURPRISE!”

The pony had succeeded. Karth instinctively reached for his sword only to remember that it had been removed with his armor. Then something tickled his head and he looked up to see small pieces of colored paper falling from the ceiling. I think we have something like this back home, he realized. What was it called...confetti? Frightened, he looked back to the pink pony, whom now seemed to be smiling wider than what should have been physically possible.

“Twilight carried you here the other day and I've never seen anything like you and I then I thought ‘Maybe it’s lonely’ and I couldn't stand the thought of you being lonely even though Twilight was with you so I got a bunch of ponies together and now we’re throwing you a PARTY!” The pony spouted the words at a million miles an hour and Karth’s full attention was hardly able to comprehend anything the pony said. He fumblingly pulled himself off of the floor where he had fallen when the pony had scared him and was beginning to realize that this pony was quite possibly the most abstract creature that he had ever seen. Almost immediately, a horde of these brightly colored ponies flooded into the hospital room. He maintained his composure, though the animal fought the steely cage bars of his mind. These animals are innocent he reminded himself. There is no need here, at least not right now.

_______________________________________

Twilight analyzed Karth as the party ensued in the hospital room. There was something about him that was he held back, an internal struggle almost. She wasn’t sure if anyone else had seen it, she was hardly even sure if she had read it correctly when she noticed it, but she had no doubt in her mind that there was something wrong. The way he held back whenever asked about himself. There was almost a type of shock in his eyes when she spoke to him. There were things that he had muttered in his sleep, dark things, gruesome things, battles with others, even a seeming hatred for himself. She would have to find a book and look into it later. Now she simply found herself staring at him. He seemed to be uncomfortable in this crowd. His hands were clenched into tight fists and sweat was forming on his forehead. He didn't look like he wanted to run, there was something...deeper. Luckily she could study him further as he would be staying at the library. There was still something about him that she found unsettling. A kind of aura that screamed for help yet also urged everypony to step away. Whatever the case, she had no time for it now. She walked into the crowd forming around him hopefully to give him some comfort and a sense of familiarity, because though in one hoof she saw him as some sort of strange specimen, she also saw him as a friend. A little different than most, taller, darker, possibly deadly, but a friend nonetheless.
_______________________________________

Chrysalis paced the forest, attempting to locate and pockets of surviving changelings. So far she had only found a small handful of troops that could fight by her side, but that wouldn't matter once she finally executed her plan. She smiled cruelly at the thought. This time I will not fail she thought to herself as she began trotting back to her small makeshift military camp, her hooves leaving hole dusted hoof prints as she went. She emerged from the woods, and walked through the aisle of a dozen soldiers she had located as they saluted her. She approached her tent and looked down at the wooden table. Her frown intensified as the lifted a dagger and drove it into the picture of Twilight Sparkle.

P.S. Hey guys, sorry about the wait and probably about the lower quality of this chapter. I've just been busy with school and work and everything. Thanks for reading!

Midnight Ride