Chapters The sovereign of a new dawn
C1 In death, is a new Dawn.
Bondrewd was dying, he was happily surprised by Nanachi and her companions cleverly laid out plan that had destroyed his newly blessed body.
He failed but in the light of his death, he now found himself excited at the prospect of those three brilliant young minds making their way to the bottom of the abyss.
“You have surprised me child, you managed to get the severed arm to function. You exerted all of your strength, used your wits and each of you took action most brilliantly, truly moving.”
“Yeah, Well that’s enough of your blabbering and from the looks of it, no one’s coming out to protect you which must mean you no longer have any Umbra hands left to fight us. Making us free to destroy the remaining facilities including the soaholic, there’s so many of you now, we couldn’t kill you even if we tried but your disgusting aspirations end right here! It is over.”
“Oh heavens no, your prayers and ardent desire to choose your own path and push forward. They’ve surpassed even my own although it is most regrettable that this body has been destroyed…. Crossing paths and having this chance to clash with you was an unparalleled joy. The fact that you will all continue on beyond this place is now my new aspiration.”
“…it’s totally pointless saying anything to you, you’re sick… and unbelievably pathetic, it’s funny I’ve long dreamed of the day we’d kill each other in battle but now….”
“Ahh~ Nanachi, it pleases me things did not turn out that way, come now, raise your head up high.”
He placed his now fluffy claw upon her shoulder as she look down on his fading form.
“C-Child, may your j-journey overflow with both curses and b-blessings.”
Nanachi shuddered as her own paw reached up to his claw and pushed it off with a smile.
“You can shut up now.”
“Ahh~ you are t-truly… truly adorable.”
And with that, this part of Bondrewd was truly gone. Although he will continue in this world, this part of him was lost, this part of Bondrewd was now in a true abyss of darkness and he had happily excepted this fate.
He had died before and knew this feeling well but this time he felt something different, his soul was split in two and he now regained feeling.
He felt a warm summers wind and soft grass, the sound of birds and smell of flowers hit his senses.
Opening his eyes, he immediately closed them as the bright light of the dawn hit them, he was on the surface. But how he wondered.
As he groggily opened his eyes again and allowed them to adjust, he saw his damaged helmet resting on top of a felled tree, a sight most odd but he didn’t care.
As he went to rub the gunk out of his eyes, he noticed that his hands were gone and replaced with dark grey stumps. His first thought was that those three kids had turned him into a hollow but that quickly changed when he stumbled up to his feet…. Or stubs.
Upon further examination of his body, he came to the conclusion that he was a male equine of some kind not yet discovered.
“How magnificent, I’m not sure what has occurred but whatever has happened, it’s a blessing of some kind.”
He went to walk forward to his helmet and immediately tripped over his two additional legs.
Thud*
“Ow….”
It took him longer than he’d expected but eventually, he was walking on all fours. This was only a minor change and now that he was a novice at basic movement, Bondrewd approached his helmet.
Upon reaching the felled body of rotten wood that acted as a pedestal for his iconic mask, the last thing that those who he experimented on saw was the first thing he gazed upon.
“What irony…. what a pleasant surprise, my coat and wrist gauntlets. Mhmmm but how?”
He struggled to pick up the damage helmet but once he grasped it in his hooves, he placed it over his head and the purple light sparked to life. Now for his gauntlets, he was looking forward to the challenge of putting them on.
And that was when he saw himself, his white whistle.
Meanwhile in the quiet little cottage on the edge of the Everfree, a butter yellow Pegasus prepared to venture into the forest.
She needed to retrieve some herbs to make her pet bunny Angel some flu medicine. But as scared as she was, Fluttershy needed to help her precious Angel bunny.
With one nervous step, she began her journey into the dark abyss of the Everfree.
As she followed the trail deeper with her basket held by her teeth, looking for the ingredients she needed.
The dark and twisted look of the trees scared her to no end but she had to put on a brave face and push forward for her bunny.
Fluttershy had been walking for half an hour now and felt like something was watching her fro the shadows.
Snap*
“Ep! What was that? H-hello? Is any pony out there?”
Now with a quicker pace to her trotting and as she hastily followed the trail whilst considering looking back to see if she was being followed.
But at some point she had strayed off the path and was now searching for the trail, that’s when she stepped on a white stick.
Snap*
Howl!!!!*
She froze upon hearing a Timber wolf howling in the distance.
“Gasp* oh no….”
She lifted her hoof and saw that she had stepped on a rib that was picked clean of some creature that had fallen victim to the forest.
“Okay fluttershy, calm down and remember to breathe. You just need to go back the way you came.”
Crack*
“Yelp* no please, no I don’t want to die here….”
Growl*
“A-a timber wolf.”
The terrified butter yellow mare was cowering, trying to hide behind her hooves in a vain attempt to disappear from this nightmare, wishing that she would just wake up in her cozy bed.
But her flight response kicked in and she ran, why she didn’t take to the sky she did not know but now she was ducking, dodging and leaping past trees and thorns.
She could feel the pain of the spiky needles of the thorn bushes scratching against her body but the thought of being eaten alive was enough motivation to keep her in motion.
As she was fleeing for her life, Fluttershy saw a gap underneath a large tree so she went for it.
Bolting for the hole she dived into it but a sharp stinging pain engulfed her left hind hoof, followed by a warm liquid dripping down the leg.
“AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHGG!!!!!*”
Lucky the wolf was far too big to follow her in any deeper but now she was bleeding and it showed no signs of stopping.
“Sniffle* sob* ow ow sniffle* please not like sob* this, I don’t wanna die sob* w-who will look after the animals?”
She was in a state of full shock and fear, cradling her leg like a sick foal.
Somewhere else in the forest an unaware Bondrewd was walking where he heard the scream of pain that sounded distinctly human but he had to stay on alert.
This was unfamiliar territory and he didn’t know what types of beasts called this dark place home.
He began to walk towards the sound of the scream, if there was someone in danger that could be of use to him.
Then it’s a no brainer to go and see if he could help them, so they can help him.
Although his pace was relaxed and slow, he was concerned for his potential way out of here’s life but if he doesn’t make it, then he will have to hope that he will find his own way out.
But he found it most obscure that the scream came from a darker, denser part of the forest which implied that his ticket out of here was deeper in the forest than himself.
Fluttershy was struggling to stay awake now, she had lost a lot of blood. The butter yellow mare took a nervous look out side and found that the Timber wolves were gone.
She wrapped her leg up with a large leaf, some vines and sticks. Making a split to support her leg and slow the bleeding but she knew that some creature would pick up on the smell of her blood.
If it wasn’t the timber wolves then it would be something else or even something worse, she could see a clearing up ahead and began towards it in hopes that she’d have the strength to fly away.
“Sniffle* come on Fluttershy, don’t give up.”
The pain was almost unbearable but she pressed on but once she got to the clearing, she was shocked.
It wasn’t a massive clearing, it was a giant hole that looked as if it went on forever. She fell to her rump and took in the sight, basking in its beauty.
Creatures that she had never seen before, plants that had never been written about in books and a giant, bottomless pit that she had never heard be spoken about before.
Growls*
She spun around and was muzzle to muzzle with a pack of timber wolves and one of them had fresh blood around its maw, this was it.
Fluttershy couldn’t run away now and lacked the strength to fly, with fear tearing at her heat. She began to sob uncontrollably as the wooden wolves inched toward her, salivating at the sight of their next meal.
KABOOM!!*
Crash*
Snap*
Splinter*
The loud noise drew all of their attentions, Fluttershy watched as the upper half of a timber wolf crashed and splinter into the ground and a dark pony like figure calmly walked out of the tree line.
They had a weird mask that look broken but what stood out was the purple light coming from the middle, dividing the mask in two. She also noticed that the individual had green eyes and a gray fur coat covered by his clothes.
The wolves wasted no time circling the pony and lunged with snapping teeth but the pony didn’t move.
With her last fleeting breath she yelled out just before she lost consciousness.
“Nooooo!!!!”
The last thing she saw was the pony’s foreleg get bitten and the sound of something splintering.
The sovereign of a new dawn
Fluttershy was slowly coming to and felt something moving her wings around, pulling and poking at her feathers.
At first this didn’t alarm her because she assumed it was one of her animals but then the memories of what transpired just before everything went dark hit her.
The butter yellow Pegasus shot up and suddenly fell dizzy and sick as she fell back down.
Thud*
“Ahhh~ you’re awake, most fortunate, I was beginning to believe you had succumb to your wounds.”
“W-why do I feel sick?”
Her face turned green and she turned away before throwing up.
“Cough* cough* cough* gasp* um w-who-who are you….”
“Oh where are my manners, I am the sovereign of Dawn Bondrewd and what may the name of an adorable thing such as yourself be?”
“um it’s F-Fluttershy….”
“Sorry but I didn’t get that.”
“Fluttershy….”
“So Fluttershy, your left rear leg is inoperable right now and the sick, dizzy sensation is the curse of the abyss. To think that it is here, it’s most fascinating.”
“C-c-curse?”
“Yes, the curse of the abyss only takes effect when one ascends the abyss rapidly but the further down you go, the stronger and less forgiving the curse becomes. So do well to remember it, because if you use those magnificent wings of yours, you be hit with it.”
“Um t-that’s a lot of information to remember…. But I’ll try my best mister Bondrewd.”
“Good, now I will need you to point me toward your home, so I’m going to put you on my back.”
“EEp! Um o-okay.” The shy mare was taken aback by his bluntness.
He ducked under her and slowly lifted her up, she was worried about the curse but the affects did not come.
But what did worry her was that she was on the back of a stallion she knew nothing about, he called himself the sovereign of Dawn but what does that mean she pondered.
“B-Bondrewd?”
“Yes.”
“If you follow the sun, then it will lead you to Ponyville, there is a hospital that I need to go to.”
“Ahh~ brilliant, a hospital. Although I’m not a doctor, I do have a lot of experience with medical equipment and conducting surgery.”
“R-really?”
“Of course, I helped a lot of individuals improve, whether that was as a team or with my research and facilities…. But some cave raiders didn’t like what I was doing.”
“But why didn’t they like it if it was helping?”
“The product of my experiments helped us survive the trials of the abyss but my means of getting there was unorthodox in a way.”
“How so?”
“…See this whistle around my neck?”
She leaned forward and took a look.
“Wow it’s quite pretty, what is it made from?”
“It is myself, my original self, you see I gave myself to the abyss and it gave me this. A life reverberating stone, isn’t it brilliant.”
“I-i don’t get it but what do you mean yourself? Speaking of you, the timber wolves! You got bitten by one, I remember.”
“I am fine but it’s good to know the name of those things, I’ll have to see if I can make use of their properties.”
“But one bit you….”
“And I am fine, my armour protected me, now which way.”
They had found the trail and Fluttershy was impressed with how fast it took them, even though he walked so calmly, he can move relatively fast.
“Fluttershy?”
“S-sorry! Um eh right….”
“Thank you.”
“So what does sovereign of Dawn mean?”
“My~ My~ My~, aren’t you a curious mind, cute and curious.”
Flutter shy could feel her cheeks heating up as she began to blush and hide herself behind her hoofs.
“T-thank you…. Um you’re…. S-strong sovereign of dawn, I a-appreciate you carrying me to town… and saving me from the Timber wolves… as well as wrapping up my leg properly, you're a kind stallion Bondrewd.”
“Yes but don’t thank me, you done well to hold up until I found you, it was your scream that allowed me to pin point you. You truly have a strong will to live.”
“Heheheh~, ep….”
She had never felt so at ease near another pony that she had just me before, she didn’t even feel this comfortable with her five closest friends when they first met. This was kinda scary but exciting to her, she should have been scared because she was being carried by a masked pony but his words filled her head with wonder.
She had so many questions but only one stood out to her, who is the sovereign of Dawn? Who is Bondrewd and the abyss.
“S-so what is the abyss?”
“That not even I know, but it is a place of curses, blessings and valuable artefacts.”
“How valuable?”
“Some are valuable trinkets that the wealthy want and some are powerful, some even brake the laws of nature.”
“Wow…. My friend Twilight Sparkle would love to hear about them, she loves learning about new things… although she can be a bit obsessive…. But you didn’t hear that f-from me.”
“Understood…. But it’s mostly brilliant to know that there are individuals who understand the importance of progress and Discovery.”
Just outside of the forest was Fluttershy’s friends who were worried sick, they were meant to gather at sugar cube corner but she never showed up.
So they went to her cottage, thinking that she forgot about it. Until they found an Ill Angel who was frantically pointing out towards the Everfree forest.
Now they were preparing to go in after her in order to save their friend, the only problem was which way did she go?
That was until they saw hoof prints in the trail.
“Come on girls, Fluttershy needs us.”
“Yeah Flutters could be in danger!” Rainbow went to zip off but Apple jack bit down on her tail.
“We ain’t no help to her if we get separated and lost, so stick with the group partner.”
Rainbow grinned sheepishly and hovered just off the ground as the group went deeper, followed the hoof tracks.
“Oh I couldn’t imagine being in here, it’s just dreadful and filthy…. Why do you think she came here ladies.”?”
“If I had to theorise, it was probably because her pet bunny is ill.”
“Yep! That sounds like her, she’ll do anything to help her precious little Angel bunny. I know I would if Gummy was sick.”
“But why didn’t she ask for help? Argh I would have got the things she needed and got out super fast.”
“Y’all need to simmer down there, you know her, she wouldn’t want to be a bother to nopony. That and she probably didn’t ask ya because ya wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between vines and brambles.”
“Hey!! I so could!”
She flew up into Apple Jack’s face and the two began to but heads, that’s when Pinkie Pie bounced in between them.
“This isn’t the time to be silly Dashy, AJ. We need to find our friend…. What if she’s all alone and scared, terrified for her life as a vicious pack of Timber wolves close in on her! But then!”
“Pinkie!! Stop please, she isn’t in danger, her hoof prints are close together, meaning that she wasn’t running from anything.”
“Oh thank goodness, that’s a relief so what are we waiting for.”
“Please don’t do that darling, you honestly got us worried there for a minute.”
“Okie dokie loki, my bad.”
“Gasp* oh no!!”
All mares turned to Twilight, who was staring at the ground in shock and fear.
“S-she left the trail!?”
They collectively cried out “WHAT!?!?”
“No no no no! Dearest Fluttershy would never just abandon the trail, she knows how dangerous the forest is.”
“But Rarity the tracks don’t lie, she… just walked right off it.”
“Well what are we waiting for, come on y’all she could be hurt.”
Applejack and Rainbow took the lead and with Twilight and Rarity covering the rear, they pressed forward following the tracks. Pinkie was just being Pinkie and bouncing all around, checking every tree, rock and bush for any sign of her friend.
“Gaaaaaaassssssp!!!!* oh no girls, look!!!!”
“What pinkie?! What is it?”
They scrambled over to fine their friend with her muzzle pointing towards a set of large paw prints.
“T-Timber wolves! This is bad, very bad! Come on quickly, we need to find her before it’s too late!!”
All of them but Rainbow began galloping into the forest, doing their best to follow the tracks.
But little did they know that the tracks were freshly made.
The group followed them for a while but eventually the tracks led to a clearing in the forest.
“Where is she? We’ve be looking for… like ever now?!”
“Quite Rainbow, I do think we’re alone….”
“Wha?”
“Sssshhhhhh!!”
With a strong sense of something watching them, the group put their backs against one another forming a circle.
That’s when a large Timber wolf lurked out of the dark tree line, following it was five smaller but no less formidable Timber wolves.
This was bad but nothing they couldn’t deal with, after all they had been through. Discord and Nightmare moon were far more dangerous than a pack of Timber wolves.
But just as they were about to get in a defensive position, a large beam of bright blue and yellow light blasted past Twilight and the gang hitting two of the smaller wolves.
Completely incinerating them and the trees behind them, leaving nothing but the charred ground, it even destroyed the trees completely taking all parties by surprise.
The timber wolves darted towards the befuddled ponies and Twilight lit up her horn in response but just before she could shoot off a blast of raw magic, Rainbow Dash hit the pack leader with a flying kick to the jaw.
Crunch*
She completely broke the lower jaw off the larger wolf, making it jump back from her.
As the other two were just about to lunge at Rainbow, Applejack used her lasso to throw one of them into the other. Sending them crashing into the ground, then a new figure appeared from the darkness of the forest.
With a calm and calculated aura and a gentle green eye visible through the crack in his helmet that had a purple light that contrasted magnificently with his eye.
Around his neck was a bone white necklace, that was very out of place on him.
His coat was gothic and stylish but practical but what stood out was the two large boxes that covered his forelegs but what caught the eyes of the girls more than his appearance was the butter yellow mare on his back, Fluttershy.
“Ahhh~ brilliant…. I mean how well you all work as a team, it’s really amazing to witness.”
“And what do you think you’re doing with Fluttershy!!! Huh!?”
“Not now Rainbow! We have our own problems here!”
“B-but…. Argh fine but don’t think you’re off the hook.”
Whilst Fluttershy’s friends dealt with the remaining members of the timber wolf pack, Bondrewd and Fluttershy conversed.
“s-sorry Bondrewd, my friends are really nice ponies but they mustn’t have seen or heard me…. I should have spoken louder.”
“It’s fine, let’s just observe this unfold.”
“Aren’t you going to help?”
“No.”
“B-but you helped them a moment ago, so p-please could you help them for me?”
“It would be pointless at this moment in time, they are about to defeat the… timber wolves,”
“Oh…. Um what was that beam you fired, it was really scary.”
“Sparagmos.”
“Um well it seems a little too dangerous, don’t you think?”
“It does what I need it to do, so no I don’t believe so.”
“Oh okay Bondrewd…. Eh um so…. Why would it be pointless to help my friends, they might need us?”
“Us? What exactly would you be able to do for them right now? As for me, I’m carrying you.”
Fluttershy fell silent as the pair watched the battle unfold, it was clear who would win but it still didn’t help settle the butter yellow mare’s mind.
But as Applejack bucked one of the wolfs into the larger one and Pinkie threw a pie in the face of the other one only for Rainbow to head butt it towards the other two.
Then Rarity tied their legs together with a beautiful white ribbon, once the wolves were tied together. Twilight fired off a powerful burst of magic that blasted the timber wolves away into the forest.
Bondrewd was thoroughly pleased with the team work these ponies displayed, their team work was precise and they played to their strengths making up for the others weaknesses.
“Absolutely marvellous.”
“Hey buddy! Put our friend down you creep!”
“Yeah partner, you heard the mare. Put Fluttershy down and we’ll go easy on ya.”
“Sorry but I can’t do that.”
As soon as those words hit Rainbows ears, she took off flying at Bondrewd and she went to punch him with her hoof.
Clang*
He deflected her strike with his foreleg brace, sending the multi colour maned mare tumbling towards the left.
“Ouch!!! Grrrrrr* do you even know who you’re messing with dude?!”
“Your friend is injured, so I can’t put her down.”
Then Twilight butted in.
“Rainbow relax he’s not our enemy but who are you?”
“I am Bondrewd, a cave raider of the abyss and who may you be?”
Fluttershy was waving from atop his back.
Twilight and the others calmed down upon seeing that their friend was awake and aware but Rainbow Dash wasn’t convinced that he was to be trusted.
“If he’s not our enemy, then why didn’t he help us?”
“I have to agree with Rainbow dear, his inaction speaks for itself.”
“Sigh* Rarity is right Twi, he didn’t help us.”
Fluttershy tried to speak up but no one heard her.
“b-but he did.”
“I didn’t help because I had your friend on my back, I’d rather not put her in danger needlessly.”
“…I see where you’re coming from but we still can’t trust you yet, I’m sure you’re a great stallion Bondrewd.”
“Well I’m sure you can make a calculated decision once we’ve gotten Fluttershy to a hospital, she is still bleeding.”
“She’s what?!”
“Don’t worry, she’s not in any danger of bleeding out yet. So if you don’t mind, please lead the way.”
“You can’t just gloss over the fact that our friend is bleeding!”
“I can assure you that the wound has been dealt with for now but she’ll need proper treatment and if the timber wolves possess any harmful bacteria or venomous saliva then we best hurry.”
“Come on then y’all, we can ask questions later but as for right now, Flutters needs help.”
The group broke out into a rapid gallop but Bondrewd calmly walked, Rainbow Dash noticed and flew behind him. She went to push him from behind but found that this mysterious stallion was a lot heavier than he looked.
“Garh* dude what did your parents feed you as a foal? Come on we need to get Fluttershy to the hospital as fast as possible.”
“Then take her and I’ll catch up with you.”
“B-but Bondrewd, how will you find your way out of here?”
“I’ll figure something out.”
“Well y’all heard him, rainbow help put her on my back and Twilight, pinkie you…. Where’s Pinkie?!”
“I um I haven’t see her since the fight with the timber wolves, we have to look for her!”
“BOOOOOO!!”
The pink pony in question jumped out of a bush and tried to scare Bondrewd but failed.
“I believe I have found her.”
“Hi I’m Pinkie pie you must be Bondrewd the sovereign of dawn a white whistle cave raider of the abyss ooh it’s a super duper pleasure to meet you because now I get to throw a welcome to Ponyville party as well as a thank you for saving Fluttershy party and a get well soon party for Fluttershy and it’s going to be a surprise so don’t tell any pony!”
“Pinkie slow down!”
“But why Dashy? He understands me just fine.”
“Nopony can understand you when you speak like a runaway train.”
“It’s actually quite alright, it’s a pleasure to meet you to Pinkie Pie but I don’t believe that I told you that I’m known as the Sovereign of dawn, so how did you know?”
“A lucky guess, I guess.”
“Fascinating.”
“So what does white whistle mean?”
“Twilight was it, I’ll happily answer your questions once we are out of this place.”
“Oh yeah sorry I’m just curious about you and your things.”
“I can see why, you’re sense of fashion is impeccable darling but I’d personally would have a bit more colour to contrast with the black on black… I know as a thank you for saving dear Fluttershy, I’ll make you a new coat.”
“A new coat? If so please prioritise practicability and quality over flashiness.”
“So ya a practical stallion Bondrewd… and a strong one too, did ya grow up on a farm?”
“Maybe…. I don’t really remember.”
“Wait but is he going to be okay?”
“Darling right now, we need to make sure you’re okay.”
“Don’t worry Fluttershy, me and Pinkie will stay with him.”
“O-okay um but.”
Before she could protest, Applejack dashed off with the worried mare on her back with Rarity and Rainbow Dash following behind her.
Pinkie hopped on Bondrewd’s right side whilst Twilight walked on his left, the pink one didn’t have a care in the world but the purple horned one was trying to examine him discreetly.
But she was failing miserably if Bondrewd had to say so himself, the silence in the air was thick and the sound of hoof steps was deafening.
They trotted back to the dirt trail and from there they followed it out of the Everfree forest without any further trouble. From their edge of the fort, Bondrewd could see a small cottage that had grass covering it.
“So I take it that we have escaped the dangers of the forest and that this is Ponyville?”
“Nope, that is Fluttershy’s cottage silly.”
“I see, so where is this town Fluttershy was telling me about?”
“Just down this path but now that we’re out of that super duper dangerous place, I’m going to plan a special surprise party! Bye!!!”
And with that the Physics bending pink party pony disappears from sight, leaving a curious Twilight alone with a somewhat hungry Bondrewd.
The sun was getting lower in the sky and he hadn’t eaten anything all day, his stomach growled and made Twilight jump a little.
“Sorry but do you have something to eat, I care not about taste just the nutritious value.”
“Ehh…. Okay, well I have food at my Library if you follow me, it’s the least I can do to thank you for saving my friend.”
“Don’t thank me, I was just in the right place at the right time.”
“Well thank you nonetheless but was that blue and yellow beam from earlier you?”
“No…. But I’m open to hear any theories about what it was and does.”
“Oooh I believe that it was a incinerator of some kind because of the way it left nothing but scorched earth behind but that’s just one theory, another is that it could have been a spell that I haven’t seen or read up before. Then it would be from a very powerful mage but the likelihood of that is so low, so I personally believe that the beam wasn’t magical in origin.”
“Magical?”
“…yes magic, this.”
She demonstrates by teleporting from one side of him to the other.
“So it exists here…. How brilliant but you are right that it wastes magical in nature, the blast came from this.”
He showed twilight his forelegs and she went pale and fainted.
Thud*
The sovereign of a new dawn
After Twilight passed out, Bondrewd lifted her onto his back and took her to the little cottage that Fluttershy called home.
He knew no one was home, so he just let himself in but he was met by a sickly rabbit waiting expectantly.
But as soon as he walked in, said rabbit began to hit him with a carrot.
“How odd but also intriguing, I wonder if the beasts here are sapient?”
“Yawn* oh spike, I had an awful dream. In it Fluttershy was hurt and this masked pony had horrible weapons that incinerated the forest. Could you write a letter to princess….”
“Ahh~ you’re awake Twilight, marvellous. I was expecting to be waiting for at least a few hours for you to wake up, not minutes.”
“W-where are we?”
“In Fluttershy’s humble cottage.”
“Oh um y-yes…. Well w-we should go to the town…. To check up on Fluttershy! And….”
“Why are you nervous? I’m not going to hurt you…. Although I’m most curious about your horn.”
He went to touch Twilight’s horn but she jumped back.
“No! That’s just rude and inappropriate!”
“Oh…. Oops, so could you explain how it functions for me then?”
“Y-yes but we’d need to go to the Golden oaks library…. And you have to leave your foreleg things here.”
“Very well then.” He took them off and placed them on Fluttershy’s bookshelf. “Now let’s go.”
Twilight was dumbfounded by how easily he agreed to her demands, a little too easy if she had to say so herself. Which could only mean, Bondrewd had other ways to protect himself.
“Y-yes, I’d like to make a stop at the hospital first before I take you to my library.”
“Ahhh~ so you can check on your friend’s condition, I see.”
“Exactly….”
Twilight couldn’t make heads or tails of this stallion, it didn’t help that she could only see one emerald green eye staring at her expectantly.
The purple unicorn prodigy trotted out of Fluttershy’s cottage and the sovereign of dawn followed closely, heading down the trail they walked side by side towards Ponyville.
But as they walked down the trail, so many questions ate at her mind until it became too much to handle.
“Argh okay! Enough! Who are you really and where did you come from?!”
The masked stallion just looked at her with an emotionless expression, this only made twilight uncomfortable.
“Well I’m a cave raider of the abyss, a white whistle. My name is Bondrewd, the sovereign of dawn and as for where I came from…. I just woke up in that forest behind us this morning.”
Twilight internally groaned at the lack of useful information he gave her.
“Sigh* yes you’ve said but what is the abyss?”
“It’s a bottomless pit that has never been fully explored that is filled with artefacts and ruins of an ancient civilisation, no one’s ever found the never world’s bottom and the creatures there are just as hostile as the environment…. But the curse is by far the most dangerous challenge of the abyss.”
“And why’s that?”
“On the upper layers the curse only induces dizziness, vomiting and then bleeding but as you go to the lower layers of the abyss. The curse becomes stronger, on the fourth layer if you ascend rapidly, you’ll bleed from every orifice.”
Twilight was looking like she was ready to throw up but she couldn’t stop herself from letting him continue.
“But ascending the fifth layer will more than likely kill you if you are not careful and that is because it takes away your senses, you lose feelings, smell and balance. As for the sixth layer, ascending that is certain death or worse for it is the point of no return.”
“W-worse than d-death?”
“Yes, a loss of…. One’s self, you become something known as a hollow. A mass of twisted flesh and bone that loses all mental capacity of the individual it once was. When that happens to a cave diver, the fellow divers kill the hollowed individual as to puts them out of their misery.”
At this point twilight was horrified but just as much intrigued by this place but what Bondrewd was telling her was terrifying.
“So why?”
“Why?”
“Why would anypony go down there?”
“….I don’t have an answer…. Everyone has their reasons, some want glory, some want riches, others are just curious but we all have one thing in common.”
“And that is?”
“We are all drawn to the abyss as if it’s calling us to its depths. We can’t help it…. So is that Ponyville?”
Twilight turned around to find that the little town of ponyville was close, they were only a few hundred yards away from the town.
“Y-yes it is…. Let’s go to ponyville general, you could do with a check up.”
“Really? But I’m not hurt badly?”
“You might not be but we got to get you registered.”
“Okay.”
Twilight walked into the town and immediately began to receive odd stares from the residents thanks to the equally odd stallion trotting behind her.
She honestly couldn’t tell if he could be trusted but he saved her friend Fluttershy, so how bad could he be? She wondered.
Meanwhile Bondrewd allowed his eyes to wonder unrestricted. Thanks to the crack in his mask, the town’s occupants were able to make eye contact with him, even if it was uncomfortable to do so.
Some done it by accident, others done it out of Curiosity and a few done it to be polite but all received the same fascinated look from the masked stallion.
And all had the same unsettling feeling when his singular exposed green, dead eye looked back.
If asked the residents of Ponyville could never decipher what hid behind his eye but they all knew one thing, this stallion wasn’t like them.
Twilight picked up her pace as the hospital came into view, Bondrewd noticed but didn’t move any faster. He continued to take calculated steps through the street.
The purple unicorn rushed into the building and straight to the front desk, she Immediately began to asked frantically about her beloved friend Fluttershy’s condition.
Nurse Redheart calmly explained to her that said pony was in stable condition and in room 012 on the west wing of the hospital.
She asked if she was able to visit and Nurse Redheart confirmed that she was allowed visits at this time.
Forgetting about Bondrewd, Twilight thanked the Nurse and power trotted towards her friends room.
Then the large stallion walked in and just like all the other residents of Ponyville, nurse Redheart was unsettled by his presence.
He casually walked up to the front desk and removed his large, heavy and iconic overcoat to reveal a armoured waste coat underneath.
But what caught Redheart’s eyes was the patch of crimson that was barely visible, she knew what it was and so she wasted no time.
“Goodness gracious, you’re hurt! follow me and we’ll get you patched up in no time.”
“AAAAhhh~ splendid.”
She lead him to an unoccupied room and asked him to remove everything so that she could get a better look at his injuries.
Without hesitation, Bondrewd complied and began to remove everything but his helmet.
Nurse Redheart was about to tell him to take it off but then she noticed the gaping slash wounds that was on the right side of his stomach.
“Oh my Celestia…. How in the Tartarus did you walk here with this?”
“….painfully but it didn’t affect my pace that much if I’m being honest with you.”
“It’s a miracle that you didn’t get disembowelled.”
“Yes it was, I wasn’t expecting the timber wolves to fine the cracks in my armour, even if it was by chance….”
She was surprised by his level of calmness but found concerning that he seems impressed, it could be explained by him being in shock.
“This is going to hurt quite badly, please try to keep still Mr….”
She finally realised that she didn’t know his name.
“It’s Bondrewd, my name is Bondrewd.”
“Oh um well Mr Bondrewd, this will hurt a lot.”
She put some disinfectant and poured it on a cotton ball, then she began to clean around the edges of the wounds. She felt bad when the stallion winced in response but she had to stop any infection and kill any leftover bacteria in the area.
His hind leg kicked out when she began to clean the inside of the wounds but he did not cry out in pain or grit his teeth. Instead he just watched with that singular green eye observing from the crack in his helmet.
“So how do you plan on repairing the damage tissue?”
“Ehh…. Well I’ll begin by removing the damage tissue because we can’t stitch that together, thankfully the cuts aren’t too deep or hit anything important so I’ll just stitch and wrap it up, then prescribe you to bed rest for 4 weeks.”
“Is the bed rest mandatory?”
“Sigh* no but I’d really recommend it mr Bondrewd.”
“I’ll consider it but I must find Twilight, I believe she’s currently checking on her friend.”
“Oh yes but why didn’t she tell me you were hurt…. You haven’t told her, have you.”
“No and I don’t plan on it but she did mention something about getting me registered here, you see I’m not from around here so I don’t have any medical records.”
“I see, well it looks like you’re off to a great start.” She gestured to the now clean wounds.
“I take it that you were being sarcastic.”
“Sigh* yes I was.”
Meanwhile in room 012.
Fluttershy was conversing with her friends and was overall in good spirits despite her leg being wrapped up.
Rainbow Dash was boosting about their fight with the timber wolves, completely oblivious to the others that were just relieved that the butter yellow pegasus was going to make a full recovery.
That’s when Twilight trotted in un-announced.
“Heya sugar cube, it’s about time you got here so where’s pinkie and tall dark and mysterious?”
“Um yeah where’s Bondrewd Twilight, is he okay?”
“Pinkie went to plan a party and Bondrewd is…. Oh no I ran off without him when Nurse Redheart told me where you were Fluttershy.”
“Oh I hope he’s not scared on his own, I know I would be in a new place not knowing anypony.”
“Pssttt relax Flutters, I’m sure he’s fine. Not everypony is as scared of meeting new ponies as you are.”
“I have to agree with Rainbow here dear, I’m sure a capable stallion as him will be just fine, don’t you agree Twilight?”
“Heh heh heh, this is bad….”
“And why’s that.”
“You don’t understand, he’s dangerous! Like super dangerous and I was supposed to watch him! Oh no what if he attacks somepony? It’ll be all my fault, what will I tell princess Celestia!!!”
“Oh but I don’t think he’ll do that, he’s a nice stallion. He did save me after all.”
“Yes but he could just be using us to get to Ponyville and I led him here and left him unsupervised….”
Twilight began to hyperventilate as all the worst case scenarios played in her head but it was Rainbow who brought her out of her panicked state.
“Yooo! It’s fine, if he’s evil then we’ll just use the elements of harmony to turn him to stone or whatever. We’ve faced far worse than some mysterious stallion that came from the Everfree forest.”
“Y-yeah you’re right Rainbow Dash, I’ll alert the princess and tell her everything we know.”
“B-but we don’t know if he’s a bad stallion.”
“But Fluttershy, what if.” Applejack cut her off with a stomp of her hoof.
“Now y’all that’s enough, we can’t live off what ifs. We might know nothing about him but we can’t just say he’s trouble.”
“Sigh* do you remember that beam of light that took out two of those timber wolves?”
Everyone nodded but Fluttershy, who looked down at her hooves didn’t.
“Well I found out that he did that, thankfully he left the weapons responsible for it at Fluttershy’s cottage but…. I’m worried about any other weapons he has hidden.”
“B-but he used them to help, d-doesn’t that count for something?”
“I understand where you’re coming from but we can’t just ignore it, so who’s for sending a letter to the princesses.”
All but Fluttershy raised their hoofs.
“I’m sorry dear but I’m with Twilight here.”
“Same here, if he’s trouble then we’ll beat him up.”
“Ya understand that i can’t take the risk of giving him the benefit of the doubt, i mean what does he need those things for or even the mask.”
“Then I’ll send a letter to princess Celestia and princess Luna, hopefully they can decide if he’s safe to stay here.”
“I-I don’t know, he doesn’t act evil….”
“We see your point but we have to put the residents of Ponyville first Fluttershy.”
“Oh okay I guess…. It just doesn’t seem right to suspect him to be bad just because he can protect himself, Bondrewd said that his weapons are designed to help explore the abyss.”
“Even so, that begs the question. Where did the abyss come from? Because it definitely wasn’t in the forest before.”
“I don’t know twilight, but I’ve seen it and the animals that I could see flying around in it were alien compared to anything we have here.”
“But how does that excuse his equipment?”
“Well it doesn’t but there has to be a reason, I’m sure if we ask he’ll answer.”
“He did seem to comply so I guess we should ask first.”
“If ya think that’s a good idea Fluttershy, then I think we should.”
“But if he doesn’t comply, then we’ll get to kick his flank.”
“Oh Rainbow Dash darling, we shouldn't resort to violence so quickly. It might be a private matter, so please allow those who are better suited to negotiating take the lead.”
“Huff* well if he tries anything, I’ll beat him up.”
“I’m sure there won’t be any need for that Rainbow.”
“Okay so why are we standing around y’all, let’s go find him.
