The Everfree Knight

Jacob and I had been walking for a few minutes, but we suddenly stopped when a familiar voice forced us to stop.

Hello Frederick, Jacob.

Uh... Hey Susano-o. What’s up?

Oh Susano-o... WHAAAAZAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

Ah Jesus Frederick, what the hell?

… WAZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

OH LORD NOT YOU TOO!

WHAAZAAAA....

WAAZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Please, for the love of GOD, stahp!

...Every party needs a pooper, party pooper, that’s why we invited you...

Frederick, please be quiet. Susano-o, go home, you are drunk.

I apologize for that, I got carried away... How are you two?

I was fine, but then that happened...

Don’t act so butthurt, it’s all in good fun.

Ugh, fine. Anyway, is there something you needed Susano-o?

Yes, actually. You see, Faust has warned me that her imprisoned daughter, Nightmare Moon, is nearing freedom.

Let me guess, this is our first showing that we can handle our jobs?

I hope so, yes. If you were to fail in this, which I pray you do not, she will cast eternal night across the world.

...Are you fucking kidding me.

*Sigh* I wish I was. And no, I do not wish to hear about the ridiculousness of that scheme, I have heard it from Faust’s other friends.

She must have downs...

Was she really that stupid?

Not “was”, “is”. I am, honestly, not too fond of Nightmare.

Is it because she’s missing a chromosome?

There’s an “s” missing from that last word there...

Ouch. Geez, I was at least being nice about it...

Nightmare is a jealous, egotistical brat, not unlike Zeus, actually.

...Hey Jacob.

What?

How good are you at trolling?

Not too bad, I’d say. Why?

When Nightmare moon comes around, up to take the trollbait?

… That might be crazy enough to work.

Yay, massive trolling inbound.

Two months inbound, actually.

BOOO~!

Yeah, can’t she be let out of the Thunderdome early?

Oho! Nice one! Oh! Oh! Let’s call her Fats Mcgee when we meet her!

Totally doin’ it.

Please, you two, try and take this seriously.

I’m sorry Susano-o, but she’s asking for it.

Yeah, she was stupid enough to want to cover the world in eternal night, it’s hard to take that as a serious threat.

I mean sure, it’s a bad idea and can fuck up the weather, destroy towns with the tide and all that. But other than that it’s completely stupid!

Okay, so the consequences are dire, but it takes a particularly “special” mind to think that up in the first place.

Hm, that may be so, but at least try to think seriously on this.

Don’t worry, we’ll take the fight seriously. But that doesn’t mean we won’t insult her like no tomorrow while doing it.

Exactly. We’ll fight her seriously, but we won’t take her seriously, if that makes sense.

I will just... Trust you both to make sure she doesn’t win.

Alright then.

Cool. Well, was there anything else?

I do not believe so... Oh! Wait, there is one more thing I need to inform you of.

What would that be?

There have been some rumors amongst my fellow Gods whose knights have... Abandon their service.

Well ain’t that some shit that don’t stink. And you all think that they’re coming here?

A mixture of them coming here, and one or two that may have already been here. We are unsure, in all honesty, as we are not able to fully track them after they run away from their duty.

Well, do you have any idea on which pantheons they served under?

Not for certain. There are many Gods whose knights left, and as we cannot completely follow them, we do not know which one’s went where.

Would you at least be able to tell if one came here?

Yes, we would. The magic of their God would mark the world, and it’s foreign presence would alert us of their arrival.

Any idea on which ones are here now and where they are?

There is one on this world, yes. One of Loki’s knights has abandoned her duty, and has made her way here. Be careful of her, if you happen across her. She can manipulate the wind and is incredibly fast from Loki has described to me.

Ah shit... This’ll end extremely well. Five bits she ends up working for Nightmare Moon.

I would not be surprised.

Do you know anything about her? Weapon, magic, hell even her appearance?

Well, Loki has told me that she has black hair and green eyes, a... *sigh* in his words, “Great pair” on her, and is incredibly flirtatious. Her weapons are two daggers and her magic is the power over wind.She also... dresses in incredibly provocative clothing.

I FUCKING KNEW I WOULD END UP MEETING SOMETHING NORSE!

Technically someone who used to work for a Norse God, so no.

Dammit don’t ruin it!

If you so wish to, I could have Loki drop in and have a few words, that way you can fulfill your odd wish, and learn more about his knight.

...EEEEEEEEEE!!!

Wow, you’re very... Excited. Actually, you’d think Loki would want to be here, cause you know, horses.

That was a horrible joke and you know it.

Yes... it was...

I have no regrets.

You should.

Okay, I have one, but I don’t talk about that anymore. Damn lawn mower...

Was it prom night? I bet it was prom night.

No, but I still say that cat had it coming!

Yeah, it was prom night.

… Shut up you know nothing!

Oh, so I’m right!

Alright, fine, it was! But my previous statements still remain true!

That’s enough you two. We do not need to deviate so far from the topic at hand.

Right, right. So, is there anyone else here that doesn’t belong?

I do not believe so, no, but there is another God who will be sending a champion down in his place. Altjira, an Aboriginal God, is sending a woman by the name of... Savannah Kavanagh. She’s from Australia. That’s all I know, really.

Are you sure? You’re not going to decide to have a senior moment and forget now are you?

You try understanding an Aboriginal accent and tell me if you can get all the information on her.

I’ll take your word for it.

It’s like listening to the start up sounds on dial up and decode it into words, it’s nearly impossible!

Right... Ok, so is that all?

Yes, it is. I will leave you two now and let you continue on. Sayonara.

Ciao.

Auf wiedersehen.

As the conversation ended, Jacob turned to me and said, “That was... Interesting.”

I simply shrugged and adjusted the sword on my back, “Could have been weirder. Anyway, we still need to get to Hollow Sanctuary before nightfall. Don’t want to be caught out here when the sun goes down.”

He nodded and the two of us continued on our way. After about an hour and half of walking, we came across the cliff trail that leads to Hollow Sanctuary. I turned to him and spoke.

“Alright, we finally made it.” I told him.

“Cool, so how or where do we go in?” He asked.

I grinned and motioned for him to follow me, “Well, Hollow Sanctuary rests inside the mountain itself.”

“Neat, like Erebor then?”

I nodded, “Exactly, just looks a little bit more... tribal, rather than grand. Not that it isn’t awesome though.” We stopped in front of the hidden door, “Leave this to me.” I tell him. I move over to the stone and begin the serious of knocks that opens the door.

I felt his gaze on the back of my head, “What are you-”

The door then slowly opened, the sound of rocks dragging against each other filling my ears. Inside, was a long trail of brightly lit torches.

I walked in, but looked behind me to look at Jacob, “You coming?”

He nodded slowly and hurried to my side, “Yeah, sorry, just... Wasn’t expecting that, of all things.”

He laughed, “I know that feel bro. That was my reaction when I first saw it open myself.”

We walked ahead for a few minutes, until we finally made it to the other gate. This one was made of stone and wood.

I looked up at the window and shouted, “YO GREG!” We heard a loud clattering and the shuffling of feet until the old prune poked his head out of the window.

“Young master? Is that you?” He asked with surprise. I grinned.

“Of course its me ya old fart!” I shouted with a laugh, “Let us in! I got a friend here who wants the grand tour!”

“Right away sir!” The gate then swung open, revealing a city made of stone. It was very packed in here, as stalls lined up along stone walls. Various merchandise being sold off to whoever would buy them.

We both moved forward, Jacob was moving his head around in awe, taking in the sight as he asked me, “Greg? Really? Someone with an actually normal sounding name?”

I chuckled, “Don’t get too comfortable, there’s plenty of strange names to go around.” We made it to a stairwell and climbed up, getting to the living quarter.

“So,” Jacob asked, “Where are headed to first?”

“I figured that I should let Alpine know that I’m okay. If you want, I can introduce you to her.”

“Sure, why not.” He said.

We finally made to another stairwell after walking through the noble quarter. We traveled up this one again and this time the houses looked more expensive than the previous floor. We made it to the center of the Sentinel's quarter, and in the middle was The Alpha Manor.

As we approached it, Jacob asked me, “I take it you live here then?”

I nodded, slowing down a bit, “Yeah, this here is The Alpha’s manor. Alpine and myself live here.”

He slowed as well to match my pace and said, “Cool.”

“I know, right?” I chuckled as we approached the door, which was gigantic on its own.

“Sooo... How pissed do you think your mom is gonna be?”

I stopped as soon as he said that and shuddered, “How about you go in first?”

He stopped and stared at me blankly, “You will charge fearlessly at a thirty foot tall bird made of pure murder, but not face your mother because she might be angry.”

I nodded, totally agreeing with that statement, “Yeah, pretty much.”

He nodded sagely, “Understandable, angry mothers are worse than Satan in terms of sheer terror they induce.”

I shrugged, “So are you going in?”

“After you.” He said as he motioned to the door. “It’s rude to just walk in when I’m a guest.”

“BOTH OF YOU.” We tensed as a very loud, very angry voice came from beyond the door, “Get in here.”

OH GOD WHY.JPG

I heard Jacob gulp, “It was nice knowing you.”

WELL! May as well say a prayer! I quickly did the sign of the cross and made a quick prayer, “Oh god I’d rather fight the Patriarch again.” I said after I finished.

He slowly and fearfully walked up to the door and pushed it open, “C’mon, it’s now or never.”

I nodded and walked in first, feeling very stiff and tense.

I never thought I would feel the amount of terror I'm feeling. this is only getting even more terrifying... I saw that Jacob was looking around as we walked through the halls. We passed by the den and into the halls, to stop in front of the dining hall doors. I pushed them open and saw Alpine Sitting at the head of the table.

“I told you to stay safe.” She said very evenly. Shit... she kind of did.

I sighed, “Yeah, I know...”

Alpine sighed as well and facepawed, “Yet you still got harmed. Can you at least explain to me what happened?”

Jacob decided to speak up, “Uh, I believe I can do that.”

She glared at him, but motioned for him to go ahead.

“Well you see,” he said, “I heard from a Changeling named Bozena that Frederick was attacked by a Kostra Lovec. After reading about the Kostra’s father Patriarch, I ran to see if I could catch him before anything got too bad. Unfortunately, because Frederick didn’t know about Patriarch, he ended up killing the Kostra. Not long after, Patriarch came out and attacked us. After a bit of fighting, Frederick got knocked out, I managed to kill Patriarch, as well as his mate who came out afterwards. We then brought Frederick back to the village and got him patched up, after which we came here. The anesthetic spell we used, while weak, knocked him out for about a day longer though, so that’s why he’s kinda late.”

Alpine nodded, “I see. I thank you for helping my son when he was in need.”

He scratched the back of my head, “Er, no problem.”

I sighed, “I know I goofed Mom, but it was for a good reason that I fought the buzzard.” I told her. Her gaze hardened.

“And what would that be?”

“I was trying to protect the changeling that Jacob mentioned. I was able to kill it by jumping inside its stomach and making it explode from the inside.” I explained.

“Um, you know,” he interjected, “from both my experience and previous records back home, if you had just injured it enough to give it pause then ran away, it would have left you alone. They don’t like to hunt living things normally, seeing as they’re scavengers, so hunting living things over long distances is completely unheard of for them.”

Fucking really!? I glared at him, as did Alpine.

“Er, something I said?” He asked nervously.

“Just... just go outside for a little bit while I talk to Frederick.” Alpine sighed exasperatedly.

He stared for few seconds before turning to leave, “Alright then, I’ll do that.”

I was nervous, not to mention ashamed. Geez, what does she have to say?

(OST)

“I was worried, you know.” She said very melacholy

“Yeah...” I weakly said. She began to look very tired and sad.

“I can’t keep getting worried like this Frederick. You’re my son, I can’t constantly worry and frantically hope that you might come back to me!” She told me. She sounded a bit pained for some reason.

“Alp I know that! I just... I can’t just sit in one place. I need to see what this world has to offer, and you know why I was sent here!” Dammit, I don't mean to do this to her! She adopted me, she cares for me, and she just wants to be there for me! And what do I do? I go out and worry her to death!

"Frederick... I just want to keep you safe. But it's really difficult as of late. I've been feeling a tightening around my chest ever since my husband had died, and I think it's because of the loss. If I lose you... I don't know what'll happen." her ears fell flat on her head.

Wha...what? I've... been slowly killing her? I... oh my god...

I felt tears threaten to fall from my eyes, as they should be. I was slowly making things even worse for my adoptive mother, and she didn't tell me until now. How could I have been so selfish in my pursuit of trying to do my job?

I felt furry arms wrap around me, "Don't cry Frederick. It's not your fault, it never was, nor will it ever be your fault." This only made me weep into her shoulder.

"How can you say that? I've been putting a knife in your chest without even knowing it!" I exclaim. She tightened her grip.

"Because I know you love me, as much as I love you Frederick." Dammit Alpine it isn't helping! I cried into her shoulder as she just sat there and soothed me. I never thought she would effect me this much... I guess I really do see her as my mother. I wipe the tears from my eyes and look at her. She was smiling sadly.

"Go on, show your friend around the city. Just please... please don't stay out too late today." She tells me. I nodded and headed out of the manor, thinking about what Alpine had said.

She said that she had been feeling a tightness around her chest, that usually is associated to heart attacks, so she must be getting the early stages of a heart disease.

Not if I can help it.

“Everything alright, Frederick?”

Jacob shook me from my own thoughts, “Huh? Oh. Yeah...”

“Okay then, anything we would want to do first?”

“Well, we could head to the market. The elevator is stopped up here and is reserved for the use of the Alpha only, but we can use it.” I told him as I walked to another section of the quarter. We finally found a lift manned by a single Diamond dog who was snoozing. I kicked him in the side, “Hey! Wake up lazy!” the Dog shot up and saluted, “Me and my friend here want to head to the market. Take us down.” I commanded.

“At once young master.”

The Dog pulled on a switch and the lift began to move down.

As we rode down, Jacob looked at the surrounding city, “This is a nice view.” He told me.

“Yeah...” I replied. Honestly, I have other things I need to worry about.

I heard him sigh, “Are you sure you’re alright?”

I paused for a moment, I guess I should tell him, “I... I don’t know, in all honesty...” I sighed with sadness.

He frowned a bit, “What happened in there? If you don’t mind telling me that is.”

“Well... Alpine told me that she’s been feeling a tightening around her heart whenever she gets too worried... I think she might have a heart condition...”

He was quiet for a moment, thinking about what to say before he looked at me, “Is there anything that can be done, do you know?”

I shook my head, “No, But I plan on finding out. I’ll probably have to do another book raid at the Ponyville library though.”

“Hm... I’ll make sure to look through the library back at the Swamp. They have a lot of books on medicine and healing magic, so there could be something.” He told me.

Whoa whoa whoa, what does he plan to get out of this? I look at him with suspicion, “And what exactly are you going to get out of this? I didn’t exactly be the most friendly person to you earlier, so why go this far?”

His response was to give me a glare, “I’m above letting someone possibly die because of a small argument with their son, thank you.”

I sighed, “Right. Sorry, just... a little paranoid is all.”

He stopped glaring and nodded sadly, “I can imagine. I was very high strung when my mother got into a car accident a few years back. Lost her voice as a result.” Ouch...

“Shit... sorry to hear that.” I replied, “I only had Alpine for a mother about a week, but she’s already too important for me to lose... I don’t know how I got so attached...” I trailed off.

He sighed, “Well, it shouldn’t really matter if you got attached or not, you should still feel sad either way. She did adopt you, so it would make sense.

“I do... I really do. I’ll do whatever it takes to find a cure,” I felt a spark of anger rise, getting ready to overcome me, “Anything...”

“Just... Don’t take it too far. Some people get caught up and end up doing more harm to others in hopes of helping one person.” Whoa... Damn sword! I need to get used to this!

I shook my head and looked annoyed at my sword, “Dammit... There it is. You see now?”

“Yeah...” He said, “Is there any way to get that under control at all?”

I shook my head, “The only way is to train. That’s all I can do at this point, train.” He sighed, “But it’s still difficult to get a handle on.”

“You’d think whoever gave you that would’ve, I dunno, given you something else that doesn’t screw with your head.” He said angrily.

I shook my head, “No, it had to be this sword. Fire is fueled by anger, and the more anger I have, the more powerful my flames are. I just need to learn how to control my anger and I’ll be fine.”

“Still,” I told him, “There could’ve been a better way than something that hard to handle.”

“Maybe, but it teaches me that I’m going to have to grow up, and quickly. I don’t have time to act my age anymore.” I had to, if I want to save this world.

“Well that certainly sucks.” He said.

“Didn’t have much of a childhood anyway. Really, the only good thing in it was my caretaker Ernie.” I shrugged, “But even then, he could only do so much.”

I didn't really have much else to say, so I just kept silent and let the conversation end for the remainder of the ride.

After a few minutes, the lift finally came to a stop, “Here we are sirs! Hollow Sanctuary’s marketplace.” The Dog informed us. I looked back as he left the lift.

“Try not to fall asleep again...” I sighed.

“Will do young master!” The dog bowed.

We walked around the market, looking from stall to stall.

“Anything catch your eye yet?” I asked Jacob.

He looked around, not really seeing anything too interesting, “Not particularly. Any suggestions?”

I shrugged, “Not really. I don’t really buy much of anything here.” I replied.

“Hm, is there anything to really do here, or are we just walking around killing time?” He asked.

I chuckled as I scratched the back of my head, “Ehe, well like I said, I don’t really do much here...”

He facepalmed, “Why did we come here then?”

“I don’t know really, I just can’t think of anything to do.” I shrugged,  “I guess I may as well do was I said I would do and go to the library.”

“Alright well, have fun with that I guess. Try and avoid a repeat of last time though, those ponies looked pretty shaken up by what happened.”

I paused and looked at him, “You saw all that?”

He nodded, “Yep, I went with Draho to Ponyville on my first day here, and we saw all of it.”

I sighed, “Great... that wasn’t exactly my greatest moment.”

“Eh, while it may have been a bit much, they kinda had it coming for just attacking someone because of what they are.

I smiled, “Yeah. If they’d have left her alone I would have snuck out no problem.”

He rolled his eyes, “Yes, that would’ve been way too easy. You’d think they would notice someone Solid Snaking it across town.”

“I’m sure even if I farted they wouldn’t have noticed.” I laughed.

“Yeah, getting through that place unseen should be easy. I was on the freaking rooftops and they didn’t notice me.”

“Waitwait... you have a hood, and I’m betting that you were wearing it as you ran across the rooftops... FUCKING EZIO!”

He laughed, “That’s what I thought! It doesn’t help that I’m Italian either.”

“Oh, maybe you should come with me! That way, we can ask them if they want to join our club!”

“Oh lord really?” He spoke between laughs.

“Just grab a random pony and say “Hey! Want to join our club?”

“Oh God yes, we need to do that.” His eyes lit up, “Or we could do this. Okay, you know how they don’t wear any clothes, right?”

I nodded excitedly, “Yeah!”

“Well, we should go up to one, introduce ourselves, and when they return the greeting say “Hey, no need to be so formal. I’ve seen you naked.”

I started to laugh, “Yes...”

“That town would not be prepared.”

“Maybe it’s because we would troll them?”

“That’s... What I meant.” He said.

“I know, I know. Do you want to come with?” I asked him.

He shrugged, “Sure, I don’t have anything else to do.”

I smiled, “Awesome. well, let’s go. I went there once from here, shouldn’t be... oh wait. It’s kind of late...”

“Huh, yeah it is. didn’t realize we were up that long.”

“Let’s head back to the manor. I’ll get you a room.”

He nodded, “Alright, and thanks.” We made our way back to the manor, which didn’t take too long thanks to the elevator. When we arrived at the manor, we went through the front door and he asked, “So where am I staying?

I looked around, “Well, I’ll probably give you a room in the east wing. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do. Alright, let’s go.”

“Okay.” He followed me through several doors and hallways until we reached the east wing. I should probably tell him about that little thing...

“Alright, it’s the third door on the right, and be careful, there’s, and I have no idea why, a brothel in this manor.”

He raised an eyebrow, “That’s... Strange and creepy. I’ll make sure and avoid it.”

Oh he has no idea... I made the mistake and wandered around the manor.

Frederick shuddered, “Trust me... it’s not a pretty sight. They... fawned over me...”

He cringed, “That is... Disturbing.” He shook his head, “Alright well, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Right, see ya tomorrow.” I headed back to my room, hoping that he remembers not to go into the brothel. I made it to my room, undressed myself and laid my sword on a table. I then plopped myself onto my bed and closed my eyes, Susano-os warning still fresh in my head.

A knight of the wind, huh?

Then there's the fact that Nightmare Moon is coming pretty soon, along with Alpine's heart condition...

Yeah, I have a full plate at this moment. Nightmare shouldn't be a problem, and odds are the ponies or changelings have something I can use. The rogue Knight though... that's going to be an issue. I should try to figure out a way to beat the knight as quickly as possible to minimize the impact she'll leave.

Maybe I can get her to decide to go back into her duties?

Alright... The future is going to be fairly arduous and filled with nothing but problems, but dammit all if I don't do something.