A Fresh Start: Tales of an Equestrian Ranger

by TheAndyMac

Rating: teen
Tags: Main 6, Princess Luna, Original Character, Gore, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Human
Length: 28630

A mercenary from a strange land wakes up in a world long untouched by war. Though he might not fit in here, it might be exactly where he needs to be.

A strange creature wakes up in the middle of a strange land. In a thousand other worlds something similar has happened to a thousand other characters. There's just one problem; he's not from Earth. And he's not entirely human.

His home is a primative land ravaged by war, a far cry from the peaceful realm of Equestria. How will he react to a world full of sapient ponies? More importantly, how will they react to him?

Because, if it will take him, Equestria might just be the fresh start he's been looking for.

Takes place between Seasons 2 and 3.

Published 2013-02-18 04:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-05-26 00:44:11 UTC

Chapter 1

Dark. Deeper than sleep, deeper than anything I'd ever felt before. Drifting, incoherent and intangible.

The world solidified around me. I felt grass spread out beneath my body. A stiff breeze blew across my back. It felt distant, though, as if I were slowly waking from a long, cleansing sleep. I resisted the pull of wakefulness, wanting to linger in sleep for a little longer.

Then a dull ache at my collar pulled me forcefully to reality, bringing with it a flood of memories.

I remembered the dungeon, the sight of our captor, the glint of torchlight on metal...

My eyes squeezed shut, searching for the comfort of the deep sleep, but knowing it wouldn't return. What had come before hadn't been sleep.

Was this it, then? It had all seemed so long, and yet so short, but here I was, awaiting my final fate. In my heart, I knew that I should stand tall and accept the judgement of the gods proudly, but the very thought itself sent a cold lurch rushing through my insides. I was afraid. Too afraid to open my eyes and face it. For what would I see when I found the courage to look? Reward, or punishment?

Either way, I couldn't hide for much longer. One ear pressed to the ground, I could hear the steady sounds of two people approaching from a distance. I braced myself for their arrival, be they gods, daemons or something even greater.

There was no way I could have expected the one that found me.

"What the..."

It was masculine, almost painfully so. A voice deep enough to echo around your chest if the owner spoke too loudly. Incredibly, it seemed surprised. Wherever I was, they didn't seem to be in the habit of taking in newcomers. Might this be the Reward, then? I doubted it. Of the remarkably small amount that made it this far, I doubted I was good enough to be among them.

I opened my good eye, and looked up at the figure looming over me.

It was a horse.

An unusual horse, to be sure. Even discounting the deep red coat, the oversized and intelligent eyes, and the fact that it appeared to have spoken, there was something wrong about it. Nothing I could put my finger on, but definitely something wrong.

Most of these observations passed unheeded through my mind, however, and I said the only thing that came to me.

"Y-you're a horse?"

The horse raised an eyebrow at me. The look was surprisingly human, and only made me feel less at ease than I was already.

"Applejack? Y'all might want to take a look at this!" the unsettling horse cried over his shoulder. I didn't hear a response. Hadn't there been another? I had heard two people... Of course, I thought absently, four legs. Then I frowned.

"You're talking," I said, as though the fact had only just caught up with me.

"Eeyup."

That was the only reply I got. In the meantime, the wait for this 'Applejack' to arrive gave me a little time to think on my destination. This place seemed peaceful enough; I was lying in the shade of a blooming tree, one of many in what seemed to be a vast forest. The day was warm, and a few clouds could be seen drifting though the deep blue sky on the gentle breeze.

Despite the serene picture it painted, I was sure now where I was. This was the punishment. And it was a punishment delivered with a cruel sense of humour. For most of my life, I'd relied on horses, as all in the North had. We used them for transport, to plough the fields, to aid us in battle, and in one particularly bad winter we had even used one as food. And now, it seemed, I was plunged into a world where the circumstances were reversed. A talking horse stood over me now, no doubt about to condemn me to the same slavery I had forced onto the horses of my own land.

My head fell back to the grass, and I wished with all my might that I could find some escape. Ideally, I wanted to sleep, but in a pinch I would've been happy to sink into the earth for a while.

No such luck, though, and it wasn't too long before Applejack arrived. This one was surprisingly feminine, with an orange coat and a wide brimmed hat sitting on top of a blonde mane. She trotted up behind the red stallion.

"Mac, what's got you in such a tw- What in tarnation?"

Her already oversized eyes went even wider when she saw me from around the stallion's bulk.

"Now just what in Equestria is this? And what the hay is it doin' in my apple farm?"

"Yah might try askin' it," the stallion, 'Mac', said slowly.

Applejack looked at her - I wasn't really sure, husband maybe? - in confusion. "You sayin' it talks?"

"Yes," I said, raising my head slowly, "I talk."

"Oh."

She paused, eyes still wide in surprise, but they narrowed into a glare of suspicion as she leaned in and addressed me. "Then who are you, an' what the hay are y'all doin' on my apple farm?"

"I..."

My voice faltered. What was I doing here? The life after was nothing like this place, surely. Was I alive, then? Alive and trapped in a strange land? Then what about my friends? They were left behind, far worse off than I could even imagine, standing alone against a monster, without me there by their side.

Would they ever know where I was? Would they even know that I was still alive?

"...I don't know," I said through gritted teeth.

The trees around me blurred. My cheeks felt wet all of a sudden. In my mind, the memory of the last time I'd seen them replayed itself over and over again as the grass beneath me seemed to spin out of control.

The touch of a rough hoof on my shoulder brought me back to reality. I looked up, blinking tears out of my eyes, and saw Applejack leaning down, concern somehow written across her face. She could see when someone was hurting, horse or not.

"...y'alright there?"

I nodded, clenching a fist and willing myself to be fine. The ground swayed a little, but that was an improvement over spinning.

"Aye, I think so. I just... I don't know where I am."

"You're in Sweet Apple Acres. It's an apple farm, just on the outskirts of Ponyville. Where are y'all from?"

Another world, I think.

"Somewhere far away from here," I said dully. "I've not heard of 'Ponyville' before. Not a very original name for a town of horses."

I immediately regretted saying anything when Applejack gave me a cold glare.

"We ain't horses. We're ponies."

"I'm...sorry?" I wondered what I'd done to offend her. Were horses some sort of taboo? A shunned race? Whatever the reason, I decided to stick to the better part of valour, and refrain from mentioning that there wasn't any real difference between the two, besides size. Thankfully, though, her expression softened somewhat.

"S'alright. I s'pose you didn't know any better."

She looked me up and down for a moment. In that moment, I suddenly became very aware that I was naked. In the land of ponies, I don't suppose that meant much, but I wasn't happy with the idea of wandering about without dignity, no matter the company.

Oblivious to my realisation, Applejack hummed to herself then looked over at Mac. Some sort of silent conversation must have played out between the two, because Mac gave Applejack an odd look and shrugged. It was an impressive sight with all four hooves still on the ground.

Evidently the shrug was answer enough for Applejack. She turned back to me and cleared her throat.

"Look, I can see y'all are in a bit of a bind right now, an' Granny always told us to help out folks in need, so I can't leave y'all out here. I don't rightly know if you're trustworthy or not, but I got a friend who I'm sure can tell me. So here's my offer. We can put you up in the barn for a while, get you a decent meal, an' if Twi gives you the okay you can stay the night if you need."

"That... It's very good of you to offer."

I almost smiled. In the middle of a whirlwind of shit, it was odd to see the hand of generosity offered so freely. It almost reminded me of home.

In the North, it's expected that you offer the hospitality of your home to a stranger with nowhere to say. When I left and went down into the Plains, it was an attitude that I saw very little, and one that I missed. In the cities, a man can live almost comfortably even with no home. In the North, being outside after dark without a place to stay is like a death sentence.

There was one thing that demanded attention though.

"Do you have something I could wear? I'd be happy with a piece of sackcloth and a rope, if you could spare them."

Applejack gave me a confused look.

"What do y'all need clothes for? We're puttin' you up in the barn, not takin' you to the Gala."

In hindsight, I consider myself lucky they knew what clothes were at all. As ponies, I imagined they didn't have an idea of modesty the way I did.

"Where I come from, it's rude not to wear clothes around others," I said, hoping she'd understand.

"It don't worry us any."

"All the same, I'd feel better if I had something. Like I said, a big enough piece of sackcloth will do."

To my relief, Applejack rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Alright, I think we can spare something. Big Mac, keep an eye on him till I get back."

Big Mac nodded, and then she was gone, galloping into the distance. In the silence that followed I looked up at Mac, who sat down against a tree and stared in my direction.

"You don't talk much, do you?" I said dryly.

"Nope."

Well, there was no arguing with that. We let the silence go on for a while, but it brought a sense of unease with it that gnawed at me until I couldn't stand it any longer. Once upon a time I could have been able to silence a room with nothing more than a dour glare, but all that time spent travelling with companions had robbed me of that skill.

"Applejack... Is she your wife?"

That earned me a response, but not the sort of response I was hoping for. Big Mac shot me a glare that could have felled a tree.

"Sister."

Ah. I saw all chance of a civil conversation pass beyond my reach, and mourned. Little else to do but wallow as I waited. With nothing else to occupy them, my thoughts turned back towards my friends, my life, and all the things it seemed I'd lost. I felt something like a sob building up in the back of my throat.

No! With a great deal of effort I forced it back down and set those thoughts aside. I'd deal with them later, when I had more time and less of an audience.

Instead, I looked around again. The scenery was fairly boring, especially from the ground. Rows of apple trees spread out across flat land and small hills. It was nice, though. A far cry from the rugged lands of the old home, but everything was simple and peaceful. In the distance, birds were calling. I could smell crushed grass and the smell of baking on the breeze. It reminded me of evenings on the road, when the days walking was done and our little company would take in the last of the day by the cook fire.

In my head I mused that a breadbasket farm like this was a real prize. Probably had a sizeable guard assigned to it, if it hadn't already changed hands a dozen times in the last decade. What was the town itself like? More farms, or a fortified hold?

Something seemed odd, though. I gave Mac a quick look over. Compared to his sister, he seemed pretty substantial. If this land was anything like the Drijian, he should have been called up on the spot, and put on the frontlines with a plate suit and a halberd.

Or perhaps not. I had been on the Plains too long, it seemed. I was assuming every land was an arena of little wars where career soldiers abounded, even when I had grown up somewhere that wasn't. Maybe this place was more like the North, then, where a man was only called to arms to defend his home or to raid a passing caravan.

I was about to ask about it when a shout from the distance heralded Applejack's return, sackcloth and rope cast over her back.

"This do ya?" she asked as she drew up beside me, dropping the load by my head.

"It'll do fine," I replied. Then, as I was wrapping the cloth around me, I added, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," she said breezily. "Big Mac, you run into town and fetch Twilight. Tell her to meet us at the barn, and to bring any books she has on funny critters and the like."

Mac nodded once and was away.

"I don't think I made a good impression with him," I said, watching him go.

Applejack made a noise of agreement. "I doubt you made the best first impression you could. But Big Mac's always been a mite shy. Hardly known him to say more'n two words to anypony who ain't family."

I chuckled. "Big fellow like that? What's he got to be scared of?"

As I pulled myself to my feet, ignoring aches that spoke of a long time asleep, I finally got a sense of scale to world around me. While it was hard to judge height from the ground, from my feet I could see that Applejack stood somewhere between three and four feet tall. Tiny, even for a pony. I kept my mouth shut, though; even though that put Big Mac at four feet or so at the shoulder, he was probably still strong enough to crack my chest if I annoyed his family too much. If he could reach that high, at least...

"Strange creatures appearin' outta nowhere in the middle of the farm?"

She raised a brow and chuckled as she led me out of the orchard.

"Very good," I muttered back.

"Well, if you want to set that right, we can start by introducin' ourselves. I'm Applejack."

"I caught that from Big Mac. I'm..." My mouth opened, and closed again. Was there any point hiding behind that moniker anymore? There was no one here that knew my real name, and all that came with it. I could tell them, and they'd just accept it without asking the awkward questions. On the other hand, that stupid nickname was what I'd come to think of myself as. In a sense, it was as real as my old name now.

I looked over at Applejack, who was watching me expectantly, and sighed. Old habits... "You can call me Ranger."

"You know, a fake name ain't exactly reassurin'."

Damnit, I could taste the disappointment in that reproach. Bitter, and hard to swallow.

"Don't take it personally, Applejack. I haven't told anyone my real name in years."

"Oh."

There was a sense of sad understanding in that single word. Applejack turned to me, voice soft again. "You runnin' from somethin'?"

Another sigh from me as I looked at the ground. "No."

How do I explain the details of my life to a stranger, much less a stranger who was a talking, miniature horse? Maybe I should've just given her my real name and avoided this. "I was just looking for a fresh start."

"Well, looks like you might just've found one."

I looked to her in surprise, expecting a heavy dose of irony to be written over her face. Instead, I saw truth. An honesty that, were it anywhere else, I would have called innocent, maybe even naive. Instead, it made me wonder about this land. If Applejack believed I could find a clean slate so strongly, maybe I had found myself in a place where it was possible.

A fresh start. After so many years looking, could I even face that, knowing what I was leaving behind? I didn't know. I wasn't sure I ever would know. I wasn't even sure I deserved it.

"Lemme ask you somethin'. Y'all act like you've never seen a pony before, right?"

"You'd be the first, aye." The the first that talked, at least.

"Then how come you speak Equestrian so well?"

That was...a very good question. I hadn't questioned the language issue. Thinking at first that this had been the life after, it made sense that we'd be able to understand each other. If this was just another world, though, and I was still amongst the living...

I mouthed a few words, trying to feel any difference. Was I speaking another language? It didn't feel like it.

"I'm speaking in the Trade Tongue," I said.

"Are you sure? It sounds like Equestrian to me."

My brow creased into a puzzled frown. Why would a pony from another world be speaking the common language of the Drijian Plains? Discounting the fact that it could talk at all, of course.

"What about now?" I asked, switching smoothly to the Northerners' language. All those years, and it was still so easy to go to, like pulling on a familiar coat.

Applejack, however, didn't appreciate it.

"What the hay was that?" she yelled. Her eyes had gone wider than I thought possible.

The frown deepened. "Language of my home. If we were speaking Trade, it should have sounded similar, at least."

"Nope! That was some of the strangest sounds I ever did hear."

"Then whatever I'm saying, you're not hearing it as Trade, and I'd guess I'm not hearing Equestrian."

"Hmm. Magic," said Applejack, as if that answered everything. I'd seen my fair share of magic, though, so as explanations went, it wasn't that bad.

"Magic," I echoed.

"Okay, Ranger, I got one last question."

"Ask away."

"If y'all wear clothes all the time, how does anypony see your cutie marks?"

"Our what?"

Author's Note

So, against my better judgement, I'm posting fanfiction for the first time! I'm writing this by the seat of my pants, really, so I should warn you not to expect particularly regular updates. Or a coherent plot. So some constructive feedback would be very much appreciated.

Chapter 2

An hour or so later, I was sitting in Applejack's barn, making myself more or less comfortable on a hay bale. The sun was already starting to set, but there was no sign of this Twilight. With a wait as long as this, and with nothing to keep me busy, my thoughts were drifting back to dark places. I tried to occupy myself, and thankfully found something else to consider.

It was small, but a thought was gnawing at me. Something was wrong, and I wasn't sure what. Besides the obvious, of course. Something smelled... off. Or maybe the waiting was just starting to get on my nerves. I certainly wasn't the only one feeling it.

"Land sakes, where is that girl?" Applejack huffed as she walked slowly into the barn, balancing a steaming bowl on her hat. "You'd'a though some strange new creature woulda been enough to bring her runnin', no offense."

"None taken," I replied, taking the bowl as she offered it to me. How long had it been since my last hot meal? About as long as I'd been in that damn dungeon- No, don't think about that!

I loosened my grip on the bowl, which had started shaking gently in my hand. Just take a deep breath, and eat your food.

"What's for dinner, then?" I asked. I took it as a point of pride that my voice barely shook.

"Apple an' cabbage stew. Family recipe, most everything in it grown right here."

"I take it you grow more than apples, then."

"Yup. We got a little of most crops round here."

I started on the stew with the spoon resting against the side of the bowl. It was good. Damn good, compared to the kind of food you eat on the road. But now something else was bothering me, even as I tried to enjoy the meal. The spoon, something about the spoon...

"Applejack?"

"Hmm?"

"Why do you have a spoon?"

A look of confusion crossed her face. "Um, to eat with? Why else would you keep spoons?"

"But you've got hooves."

"...yup?"

I took a breath and held it for a second.

"How do you hold a spoon if you have hooves?"

"Like this."

Applejack sat down beside me, reached out with one foreleg, and plucked the spoon from my hand.

To this day, I'm not sure how she did it. No fingers, just a fairly ordinary hoof, but the spoon stuck to it regardless.

"Y'all just hold it. Ain't much complicated 'bout it. O' course, a unicorn'd just..."

She trailed off to the sound of hoofbeats from outside. "Welp, guess who felt her ears burnin'."

"Wait," I tried to say, "did you just say-"

I was cut off by a great crash as the barn doors flew open to reveal Big Mac standing sheepishly next to the strangest thing I'd seen so far. A light purple mare, her dark mane cut so it flopped like a fringe above hers eyes. But the strangest thing was the short, purple horn that poked through the fringe.

She trotted forward, bulging saddlebags shifting on her back.

"I'm sorry, Applejack, I as came as fast as I could, but I wasn't sure what books to bring, so I thought I'd bring all of them, but they wouldn't all fit in my bags so I..."

Her eyes found me, and her voice trailed off to a quiet squeak. All was still. She looked at me, I looked at her, and Applejack's eyes went between the two of us. Finally, the mare cleared her throat and tore her gaze from me.

"I take it this is what you wanted me to see, Applejack."

"Uh, less 'what' an' more 'who', sugarcube. This here is Ranger. Ranger, this is Twilight Sparkle."

I said the only thing that came to mind:

"A unicorn?"

"You've never seen a unicorn before?" she said, hovering nervously by the doors.

I smiled slightly. "Have you ever seen anything like me before?"

She shrank back a little, but whether out of fear or not, I couldn't tell.

"Well, not really... What exactly are you, anyway?"

"I'm a man. From the North."

Twilight raised a sceptical eyebrow at me.

"I'm pretty sure we'd have noticed if there were 'mans' like you running around in the north."

"I'm sorry, I'm not used to this place," I said, trying not to wince at the sound of her saying 'mans'. Not because of the obvious, but because it was a word that her Equestrian language didn't know, so it sounded wrong somehow. Like a splinter digging into my mind. "I'm not from this land. I came from somewhere else. I should have said I'm from the North where I come from. Not your north. If that makes any sense."

"I...I think so. So you're saying that you're from another world?"

She stepped into the barn proper, curiosity outweighing caution and fear.

"Aye," I replied quietly, "I think that might be it."

"Ahem."

Both Twilight and I turned to face at Applejack, who was looking on impatiently. "Not to rush y'all, but can you talk while you're lookin' him over, sugarcube? Don't worry 'bout gettin' close; Big Mac an' I'll buck him into next Tuesday if he tries anythin'."

"Right, sorry AJ," Twilight said with a sheepish grin. Gingerly, she trotted over to me, and lifted her over-laden saddlebags to the floor. Surprisingly, she never touched them; instead, she gave a flick of her horn, and they lifted themselves from her back and settled down neatly. For a moment, I thought I saw a faint glow about them.

"You're a mage," I said in surprise.

"Magus," she corrected. "At least, I'm studying to be one."

She took a deep breath and levitated a book from her saddlebag. Intrigued, I watched closely to see if I had been imagining the glow. Sure enough, there it was; a vague, almost invisible aura a few shades lighter than her improbable coat.

"If it's alright with you, I need to do a few tests. Just to be on the safe side."

"Testing for what?" I asked, watching her carefully. In the meantime, Applejack handed me back the spoon, which I reunited with the bowl and set both on the floor.

"Just to make sure you're not dangerous. I thought I'd start off with a simple changeling detection spell. This shouldn't hurt. In fact, it shouldn't do anything, unless you happen to be a changeling."

Well, technically... But no. The elf might have used a name like that, but I doubted his meaning and Twilight's were the same.

"Go ahead," I said, waving her on.

Twilight fixed me with a determined, frowning in concentration. There was a flash and a soft clap, and when I blinked away the afterimage, Twilight nodded to herself.

"Well, we can safely say you're not a changeling."

She glanced towards a quill and scroll that were hovering by her head, and scribbled something down. This was magic like I'd never seen it; fine enough for this mare to make notes as easily as a scholar would with his own hands.

"I suppose that's good news. What exactly is a changeling, anyway?"

"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know. Well, a changeling is a creature that can take the form of another pony. Any other pony, which is what makes them so dangerous. They replace loved ones, like wives or husbands, then feed off the love of their victims. You see, they need love in order to survive."

Well. Despite my initial impression, it seemed Equestria might be even more dangerous than home, in its own way. Dragons were bad enough, but at least you knew when one showed up. These changelings, though? They'd be perfect assassins, undetectable spies. "Are there many of them around here?" I asked.

Twilight shared a glanced with Applejack.

"Not usually. In fact, normally I wouldn't even have thought of using that spell, but there was an invasion a few weeks ago. I'm pretty sure we got rid of them all, but there are reports every few days of somepony claiming their wife or husband has been acting funny."

She took another look at her scroll. "I had a list of possible tests I could run on you, but there doesn't seem much point. They're only useful for creatures we know about, and I've never heard of mans before."

It might have been rude, but I chuckled a little.

"It's 'men'. Not 'mans'. One man, two men."

"Oh. Well that's stupid. Who came up with that idea?"

"I don't know," I said with another half-hearted chuckle. "It was like that long before I was born."

Before she could ask any questions about language, I gestured to her scroll. "So, are there any tests on there that you can actually do?"

She frowned at me from over the list. "A few. But I think I'd rather just talk."

I rolled my eyes. Of course you do... "Go ahead, then. I'm not doing anything else."

"Um, okay. So, what happened to your eye?"

I caught Applejack dropping her face onto one hoof at the edge of my vision.

"...you could've been a little more subtle there, sugarcube."

Twilight smiled nervously and shrank back into herself, obviously about to apologise for offending me. Instead, I held up a hand to cut her off.

"It's fine," I said. I'd been waiting for someone to ask. It was an old but obvious wound; a long, jagged scar crossing a cloudy yellow eye. The sort of thing people tend to very pointedly avoid looking at. "People ask all the time. I lost it in a fight. It was a while ago. I'm used to it by now."

"Can you... I mean, is it...

I bit back a chuckle as her awkward question tailed off. At least she was making the effort to rein in her curiosity.

"It's dead. Can't see a damn thing out of it."

It was probably the answer she was expecting, but she had the good grace to look sympathetic. "Oh. So you get into a lot of fights...?"

For the first time, she seemed see more than just a curiosity sitting in front of her. Her eyes wandered across my body. I tracked her gaze, mentally ticking off the scars as she passed over them: straight slash down left side of mouth; ring of bite marks around my throat; spear jab on right shoulder; burn scar on left arm; cut across back of right hand; claw marks on chest...

I think she had her answer.

"I've seen my fair share, maybe more than. I'm a... I was a mercenary. It tends to come with the job."

"A mercenary?" echoed Twilight.

"Aye, a mercenary."

She was looking at me strangely, as though she were confused. "A soldier of fortune," I continued, trying to clear the issue. "You know, someone who fights for money. Plenty of wars on the Drijian, so it pays well enough."

Silence greeted my words. Both Twilight and Applejack were looking at me with shock in their eyes, while Big Mac had tilted his head over, eyes narrowed and wary.

"I feel like I've said something wrong," I muttered slowly. Then awareness dawned. "You...you don't fight much here, do you?"

Twilight shook her head. "Ranger," she breathed, "besides the Changeling attack, there hasn't been a war in Equestria for hundreds of years."

"Oh."

That was new.

In hindsight, it explained a lot. A peaceful land like this, I doubted they even had a standing army. A model specimen like Big Mac could get away with life on a farm because they simply didn't need him. And if the subjects here were so used to a peaceful way of life, then I knew I should make a mental promise not to mention the assassinations. I think I'd already half-way destroyed my reputation with Applejack. If they could see the work I'd done in the dark, I'd be bucked right over the border.

"So, um, you said there were wars where you come from?" Twilight asked hesitantly.

I nodded. "Aye. There's a part of the world, right in the middle, called the Drijian Plains. Used to be one country, but it fell apart hundreds of years ago. Ever since, all the pieces left over have been trying to take over all the other pieces."

"And you lived there?"

"More or less." More than that, I also d- NO! Later! "Most of my life I lived north of there, with my own people. It was simpler."

"Then why did y'all leave?" asked Applejack, cocking her head over in confusion.

"I'd rather not talk about it, if it's all the same to you."

"Ah."

I could practically see the wheels turning in her head, as she started to wonder just what it had been that I was running from. Leaving her to think, I looked over at Twilight, who had gone from curiously hovering at the edge of my personal space, back to hovering nervously at a safe distance.

"You're scared of me," I observed.

"I'm just, uh, cautious," she protested. "After all, you're a strange new species, you're previously unknown..."

"And I killed people for a living?"

"Yeah, that too," was her quiet response.

Right. I heaved a quiet sigh, rubbing my brow.

"You don't have to be worry about that. As long as I'm here, that's something I'm not interested in doing anymore.

"Besides," I said, smiling, "what's the use in being a mercenary in a land without wars?"

It occurred as soon as I had spoken that this might be just what they were worried of in the first place. That a man without employment might try to make some.

Or maybe it was just a bad joke made in poor taste. Either way, none of them shared my amusement, though I was starting to think Big Mac was incapable of displaying any emotion besides irritated disapproval.

I coughed, breaking the silence descending upon the barn before it could get uncomfortable. "You had more questions for me?"

She did. She asked a lot of questions that I wouldn't answer; what my parents were like, where I grew up, all things I was trying to forget myself. I told her a little of the other races of the Plains, which seemed to distract her from my reluctance. She was especially eager to hear more about the elfs.

"I can't tell you much, because I don't know much about them. No one does. They stay in their cities and don't trouble us. In return, we don't bother troubling them.

"They look like us. Men, I mean. But there's something wrong with them. Their arms and legs are too long, and their faces are just not right. I doubt I could explain it any better, but as much as they look like men, they're not. They're different. They live too long, some say. All that time, makes them funny, makes them not care about normal folk."

Again, Twilight looked like she was shying back.

"You don't like them, then?" she asked. There was something strange in her eyes, as though she were trying to make some kind of judgement. My next words had to be chosen carefully.

"They've never given us any reason to like them. But I'm just saying what others tell me. And what they tell me is a rumour that's been passed through ten bloody sets of ears before it reaches mine. Besides, I know they aren't all so bad. I travelled with one for a while, though I'd rather not talk about that any more."

Twilight huffed out something between a sigh and a snort.

"There's a lot you don't want to talk about."

"What I want to talk about is my own business," I shot back shortly. Then I sighed, running a hand back through my hair. "Look, there are things I'd rather not be reminded of right now. They aren't that important anyhow. Just bad memories."

"Oh. Okay." With a look of disappointment, Twilight nodded her head. "Maybe we can talk about it later?"

"Maybe," I muttered. Not very likely, but maybe. "I had a few questions myself, though, seeing as I'm likely to be here a while."

"Oh, okay! What did you want to know?"

"Well, it'd be nice to know what you plan to do with me, now that you've had a chance to test me."

She shifted a little on her hooves. "It's not really my decision to make. Really, it's Princess Celestia who should decide if you should stay."

With a raised eyebrow I replied:

"And who exactly is Princess Celestia?"

"She's ruler of Equestria, of course!"

"Of course..." I muttered under my breath. In a clearer voice I said, "No king or queen?"

Her head shook slowly from side to side. "No. Some of the other nations have them, but we've never had a king or queen, not for millenia."

Not so unusual to lack a king; the little nations of the Drijian were all ruled by dukes and earls. A princess, though? And something told me this wasn't a principality, like some of the smaller southern lands. Putting aside their strange form of leadership, though... "So then, I have to meet the Princess?"

That didn't seem like a happy turn of events. One thing the Drijian teaches you is that the people in power are almost always arses, with no regard for the common man besides the consideration of how the common man can best serve him.

"That shouldn't be too tricky. I can send her a letter, letting her know about you, and she'll probably come to meet you in person."

"You can do that? Just send letters to the Princess?"

"Of course! I'm her personal student, after all!"

Well then. Things were already that much different here; why should the people - or ponies, for that matter - in power be the same as home? Home...

"That... That would be very helpful," I said, not sure what else I could say. "One more question, though. About the ponies here. Are there just unicorns and..." I hesitated, waving vaguely at Applejack."

"Earth ponies," said Twilight helpfully.

"...earth ponies, thank you. Are there just ponies like you two?" Unicorns had already caught me off guard, and I wanted to be prepared.

"There's also pegasi. Um, ponies with wings, if you don't know."

"I've never heard of pegasi, but we've legends of horses with wings."

"Those are all the ponies, but there are also griffons, dragons, diamond dogs, buffalo, the changelings... Most of them have countries of their own, but quite a few live in Equestria regardless."

My head was nodding along as I put each name into a category. Griffons were legends; dragons, however, were very real; diamond dogs were finally something new; and buffalo, as far as I knew, were some kind of strange cow that lived far to the south-west. They didn't talk, but then again in my world, ponies didn't talk either.

As I was finishing with that short list, I noticed Twilight was still talking. I caught "cows and chickens" in the middle of her rant, started wondering if they talked as well, and decided that, if I was seriously considering that, then enough was enough.

"Twilight?" I called. "I think we should go over this another time. It's getting late."

She craned her head around to look through the barn door. It was already dark, and Big Mac, though still upright and focussed on me, was starting to look more sleepy than suspicious, for a change.

"Maybe you're right. We can get you settled in some other time."

She backed slowly towards the door. "I'll have Spike send a letter to Celestia as soon as I get home."

I nodded shortly. "I appreciate it."

"Well, it was...interesting to meet you, Ranger."

'Interesting'? "Likewise, Twilight."

"Well, goodbye. I'll talk to you in the morning, AJ."

With a quick wave, she was through the door and gone. I wasn't entirely sure if she was going to run home in excitement and write a book about me, or run home in terror and try to forget ever meeting me. It was an effect, it seemed, I should get used to having on people. Ponies. Either or.

In the meantime, Applejack turned to her brother.

"Big Macintosh, run inside and grab a couple'a spare blankets, then you should hit the hay yourself."

He seemed about to protest when Applejack spoke over him.

"Look, you're practically dead on your feet already. Don't argue, an' don't worry. I trust him, so should you."

He gave her a sideways glare, but left anyway. Once he had gone, and I was sure he was out of earshot, I spoke.

"He still doesn't like me."

"Well, to be fair, goin' by your job I don't think he's all that wrong to be wary around you. Heck, I'm a mite worried myself."

"Can't blame you for it."

All the same, I wasn't happy about it. But they were giving me the benefit of the doubt, and that was worth a lot.

"Look, I'll be turnin' in myself, soon as Big Mac gets those sheets in here. You should do the same; hopefully Celestia'll have written Twilight back by the mornin', so we can figure out what to do with you next."

There was a clatter and Big Mac pushed his way back into the barn, blankets over his withers. I took them myself, nodding my thanks, and he plodded away. As I busied myself turning a pile of hay into something resembling a bed, Applejack turned to go as well. I cleared my throat, and she paused and turned at the threshold.

"Applejack?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you. Again."

She gave me a small, but genuine smile. "Ain't no trouble."

Then her face took on a more serious tone. "Just don't go causin' no trouble, else y'all be answerin' to me."

And straight back to a smile. "G'night."

She gave me one last nod, then backed out of the door and let it swing shut behind her. I listened to her hoofbeats grow quieter, until finally she was gone.

I waited for another few minutes to make sure I was truly alone. Not a sound around me.

Gasping mouthfuls of air down a choking, burning throat, I fell back onto the makeshift bed. After standing strong for hours, the barriers surrounding my shock and sorrow crumbled. I let my head flop forward into my hands, and wept.

Chapter 3

I stood at the edge of a pool. Behind me the land was dark and foreboding. Beside me the shoreline stretched on to eternity. My destination was in front of me, beyond the fog that shrouded the far shore. Steeling myself, I took my first step. The water was thick and warm, lapping greedily at my bare foot.

In my right hand I clasped a sword, a plain thing with a bare hilt and a notched, jagged edge. At first, I let it hang by my side. but as I drew further from the shore the water grew deeper, until it reached my thighs. By then I was forced to turn the blade upwards.

A few sluggish steps beyond that, and I had reached the fog. I paused, reaching out with one hand, half expecting it to be solid. But the wisps gave way to me, swirling around my outstretched arm. One hesitant step, then another, and I was enveloped.

It was dark. Like walking into a room with no windows. I walked on, eyes alert, ears perked. For a moment I was convinced I heard something splashing about in the water away to my left, but there was nothing when I paused to listen. The sound was still there, though, echoing in the back of my mind, so strong I wasn't sure if it was my imagination.

With every step, I had to resist the temptation to turn to investigate each imagined splash. It was hard to imagine I was walking straight as it was. In this dark fog there was no reference. No direction. I could be walking in circles, and I'd never know.

There! I heard it! Something ahead of me, disturbing the water. Like a fish's fin slapping against the surface. I readied my sword, pacing forward slowly. Something was out there, and friendly or otherwise I was ready to meet it.

Suddenly the fog swept back. I stood in a clearing, a hole about twenty feet across where the light could shine in. In the glare, I saw that I wasn't standing in water. I was standing in blood.

My breath caught in my throat. A lake of blood. Thick and warm. I might have panicked then but I knew I was close. I knew my destination was near. On the other side of this bowl, beyond that far wall of mist. I had to keep moving.

I tightened my grip on my sword and moved.

Before I had taken more than a few steps, though, something caught my eye. Ripples on my right. Then more over to the left. And the front. All around me, pale shapes broke the red surface.

They were fists. No, more than that. Dead arms, rising out of the blood, hands unclenching and opening out like grotesque flowers. Some were fresh and whole, others rent and broken, and a few so rotten they were little more than bones. The hands of the dead, reaching up for heaven. As the last one blossomed, they went still.

In that moment of stillness I advanced. As my first step touched the floor, the hands closest to me jerked. They started twitching, then grasping, their motions getting more and more violent with each step that I took. The blood around them was churned into a pale froth. My stomach rolled at the sight, but I couldn't stop. My legs kept moving, even without conscious thought.

The nearest was now close enough to touch me. I felt its cold fingers brush my leg, and lashed out with the sword. A few fingertips flew away, trailing fine beads of blood.

I kept swinging as I moved through the bizarre gauntlet, the blade biting deep into the thrashing hands. But no matter how many fingers they lost, they kept grasping at me, feeling no pain. Even one whose whole hand had been severed at the wrist would not give up. The bloodied stump slapped against my leg.

That was too much. I kicked out, knocking the arm away. It was a mistake. As I stopped, a hand gripped the fabric of a trouser leg and pulled.

I fell to one knee, dropping my sword. The blood swirled and frothed around my chest and dead fingers clutched my arms, my legs, my face...

My mind went wild, and I thrashed with the arms, clawing my way upward. But there were too many. Too strong... Even as my struggles knocked them away or broke their brittle bones they forced my head down under the surface.

I choked on the wave of blood that came surging into my open mouth. It tasted like iron and salt, rushing down my throat and into my lungs. Coughing only made me gasp for air, air that wasn't there. I spasmed, breaking more of the bones holding me down. They withdrew, and I felt air around me.

The blood had receded until it was only a puddle pooling about my hands. I crouched on hands and knees, sucking down air desperately. The sound of rattling chains filled the air. A shadow passed over the ground in front of me.

I looked up.

Dartilia stood over me, his axe in hand. A wicked grin crossed his face. Fangs glinted from beneath pale lips. He raised his axe high, but before he could strike I awoke.

The shady rafters of Applejack's barn loomed overhead. Despite the cool air, I was covered in a thin layer of sweat that was turning cold. The sheets were sticking to my legs and I shivered, feeling like a man just recovering from a fever.

This was not an unfamiliar feeling. Dreams like this had been my bane once before, but they had been far less frequent recently. Far less...disturbing. Reluctantly, I thought back on this one. The memories were already hazy, but I knew this was a particularly brutal one.

Something was bringing them back. It wasn't exactly a mystery as to what that something might be, though. No, the real question was whether this was a single occurrence, or if they'd be a regular struggle again. I wasn't sure I could take that anymore.

I was tempted to just give up on sleep there and then, but there was little else for me to do. Besides, I knew from experience that even a restless night's sleep was better than none at all. I imagined it was a long time till dawn. Rolling over, I tossed a quick but futile prayer to any gods that might be listening, waited for the shivering to die down, and closed my eyes.

* * * * *

I stood in my home. A thatch-and-timber longhouse that I haven't seen in years. The wind howled outside, but the warmth of the flickering blue fire pit kept the chill of winter at bay. As shutters banged against closed windows, I wander around the fire, looking for something. Whatever I wanted, I knew it was here somewhere. But the blue light of the fire cast strange shadows, and it was damn near impossible to make sense of the shapes they made.

This was getting me nowhere. I called out to the vampire to help me. His eyes are far better than mine, even in a weird gloom like this. There was no reply. I was about to call again, but I realised he couldn't be here; I left this house long before I ever met him. Had I not met him yet? I was sure I had, but then how could I be standing in this house?

Too confusing... I put my head in my hands, trying to ease the headache I knew was about to arrive. As if in sympathy with it, the wind knocked the shutters about even more violently. The din alone was enough to split my head in two, even if I weren't trying to make sense of a senseless situation.

Then I realised the banging at my windows weren't the shutters. They were fists. A hundred or more angry hands trying to beat down the walls. They were at my door, on the roof, even beneath my feet! I could hear them scrabbling up through the dirt and scraping at the floorboards.

I went for my sword, realised I didn't have it, and...

"You are not of this world."

I spun, looking for the source of the voice. It was feminine, commanding, and echoed with power. But it came from nowhere. The longhouse was gone, and in its place, all I saw was a featureless expanse and a wall of fog surrounding me.

"Your dreams speak of much pain, and of a violence that is not welcome in this land. Tell me, stranger, why are you here?"

"Who are you?" I called into the mist. "Show yourself!"

"As you wish."

At the corner of my eye the mist swirled, and a shape began to form. For a moment it was transparent and indistinct, then it slowly became solid.

It was a pony as tall as me, with a coat of dark blue, and a mane that seemed to be made out of the night sky. Tiny starbursts flickered within it as it floated in an imaginary breeze. A horn sat on her forehead, much longer and more threatening than that of any other pony I'd seen here. And despite what I'd been told about the races here, a pair of wings flared menacingly from her sides. She advanced, her gaze cold, radiating a presence of power and menace.

"I am Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria and Guardian of the Night."

Almost instantly I dropped to one knee and bowed my head. My time spent on the Plains had impressed a healthy respect for the protocols of royalty, no matter how much I might otherwise disdain them. It tends to be best not to insult those who hold power above your head.

"Forgive me, your Highness, I did not know you. My... hosts told me of Celestia, but said nothing of you."

"Is that so?" she said slowly. I thought I caught a hint of sadness in her voice, but couldn't be sure. "No matter, it is no fault of yours. Please, rise. You are not one of my subjects. I would talk face to face with you."

I stood, watching her cautiously. Her wings had folded to her sides, and she looked a little less threatening, but her eyes were still hard and fixed on me.

"You know who I am now. Tell me, who are you, and why have you come to Equestria?" she asked.

"I'm Ranger, your Highness. A mercenary from... well, from somewhere that isn't here. I wish I could tell you why I was in this place, but I truly have no idea why or how I came to be here." I glanced about, taking in the odd scenery. "Though I'm not sure where we are, exactly."

"You are wherever you were when you fell asleep. This," she gestured around us, "is a dream."

"Is that right? Then how are you here? Or are you a dream, too?" Because if so, I have to wonder where you came from, I thought to myself.

Her mouth twitched into an amused smile. "I am perfectly real, I assure you. As Princess of the Night, it is my duty to guard the dreams of my subjects. This is how I knew you were here. I saw your dreams, saw that they were strange, and decided to investigate. I hope you will forgive the intrusion, but as I said before your dreams speak of much violence. Violence that I wish to shield my subjects from."

"Entering dreams... That's quite the gift. Does Celestia have as much power?"

"It seems you have not been told much about my sister. She is at least as powerful as I am, if not more so. As I raise the Moon and bring the night, so she raises the Sun and brings the day. Though I admit, dream-walking itself is a talent unique to me."

Oh. As I digested this revelation, I fought the urge to drop to my knees again. Instead, I bowed my head and took a surreptitious step backwards. Maybe my prayer had been answered after all.

"I suppose I should be honoured, then, to have a god deign to enter my dreams."

I smiled to myself as I spoke; I could almost hear the elf berating me for parleying too casually with gods. I was a touch irreverent, true, but this Luna didn't seem to be the smiting kind of god.

She didn't punish my irreverence, but nor did she react as I thought she would. Rather than show perhaps some amusement, she raised an eyebrow and said in a voice of surprise, "God? We are not gods, Ranger."

"But..." My mouth flapped open. "But you said your sister raised the Sun! How could you not be gods?"

"Gods are being of supreme power. My sister and I are not. We are just as fallible as any other pony in these lands, and we have both made...mistakes."

Her gaze slipped momentarily to the floor. It recovered almost immediately, but I caught it. For the second time, I saw vulnerability though a crack in the stone-hard exterior she presented me with. There was no time to think on it, though; her resolve had hardened, and she spoke again.

"Our gifts do not make us any better than the ponies in our care. Instead, they give us a responsibility to them. To protect them when they might otherwise be incapable of protecting themselves. And in return, they keep us grounded to the joys of this world."

"So you think they need protecting from me. Your subjects, that is. That's why you're here."

She nodded. "I came to investigate such a probability, yes. You have seen much violence in your land, if your dreams are to be believed, and we have no wish to see it spread here. So I must ask you, would you bring this violence to our borders?"

There was a moment of silence as I locked my eyes with hers. "No." Then my eyes dropped down a little, gazing into the middle distance. "I think I'm finished with fighting."

Her eyes softened. "You have seen many things, Ranger, and not all of them pleasant. You might do well to find one that you can share them with."

"Why? What does it matter to you?"

"You may not be a subject of mine, but you are in our lands. My sister and I are sworn to aid and defend all who dwell here, pony or otherwise."

She smiled gently. "If you truly wish to leave the violence of your past behind you, I will help if I can."

"That's generous of you, your highness, but I doubt you could be of much help. Not with the dreams I've had," I muttered.

"Perhaps," she said, inclining her head. "Most ponies face more mundane fears in their lives than you. Most of their dreams can be saved with a few words of advice and a little courage. Your dreams are more complicated, true, but they are not something unfamiliar to me. Though I confess, I have not seen somepony with troubles like yours in a long time."

I stayed silent. This Princess' power might have been great, but she was still a stranger to me. And despite the thousand-and-one things screaming for release, I wasn't one to spill all to an outsider to the pack.

After the silence dragged out for more than a few minutes, Luna nodded slightly.

"If you do not wish to speak, I will not force you, but I bid you to think on your silen-"

"I died," I said.

The silence that followed was somehow far heavier and more deafening than any other I can remember. Finally, after a few false starts, Luna was able to speak again.

"What are you saying? You are alive, I am sure of that."

"No, I... Before I was here, I was in a dungeon. With my companions. We were about to be killed by a madman we had been sent to stop. One of my companions managed to bargain with him for two of our lives, but he couldn't save us all. One of us still had to stay and die. The madman chose me. After that..."

I gestured uselessly around me. "I was here. I woke up in Sweet Apple Acres with no idea how I got there. I thought that maybe this was the life after, but I seem to be alive enough."

Luna reached out with a hoof, perhaps to comfort me, but I backed away. "I don't want to say any more."

"Very well. I thank you for telling me that much."

She looked me up and down. "You have a foul past, but a good heart. I see you yourself are nothing to fear, Ranger. But I fear for you. If you do not seek the help of those around you, your nightmares may last a long time."

"I can deal with the nightmares," I said softly. I had dealt with them for long enough already.

Luna gave me a final nod. "I imagine I shall meet you in person soon. Until then, I ask you to think on what I've said. Farewell, Ranger."

She blinked out of existence, and I opened my eyes.

Chapter 4

I lay still for a long time, enjoying the silence and watching the darkness of night give way to a slow sunrise. As the barn grew steadily brighter around me I found my thoughts drifting. Thoughts of my friends, of my strange situation, of the princess who had walked into my dreams, and I couldn't make head nor tail of anything.

My...outburst the night before had done me some good. The obvious sorrows had been mostly purged, and I wasn't likely to break down into tears any time soon. But the loss of an entire life still lingered deeper inside. It was like I was carrying a lead weight in my chest, weighing me down. Every time I thought back on everything I'd left behind, the weight would shift slightly, just enough to remind me of its presence.

In spite of that, I looked forward with something almost like hope. Applejack had seemed confident that I might find what I was looking for here, and a land without war seemed like the perfect place to settle and leave the cares of another life behind me. My only wish would've been that I didn't have to face a new life alone.

It was strange, to be crushed and uplifted at the same time. I had to remind myself that I hadn't even spent a full day here. I had yet to even meet Princess Celestia, and if she was powerful enough to raise the Sun, then she might well be powerful enough to send me back.

Just as the Sun was dragging itself (or being dragged) completely over the horizon, I heard the steady beat of hooves that I was beginning to recognise as Applejack's tread. Sure enough, she pushed through the doors, bringing a bowl with her.

"Ranger? You up?"

I swung my legs over the side of the makeshift bed and sat up.

"Have been for a while."

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked, cocking her head a little. When I didn't answer, she gave a small shrug and trotted over, holding her head so the bowl balanced on top of it was in easy reach. "Made you some breakfast."

Nodding, I took the warm bowl in one hand.

"Thank you."

I glanced down at the bowl, and almost laughed to see it filled with thick porridge. Though it was served with nowhere near enough milk, it still made me smile fondly. It was a staple food in the North, though it wasn't a dish seen much south of my country; the 'civilised' people of the Drijian preferred gruel, looking down on oats. In fact, one story that Azrael told me was of a noble who nearly caused a war when he turned his nose up at the dish, saying, "Oats are the food of horses; only in the North would they support the people".

He would finish the story by musing quietly, "Where else would you see such horses and such men?"

Such horses indeed, I though, thinking back on Big Mac.

As I was eating, Applejack summed up the day's plan.

"We'll have'ta see Twilight, check and see if the Princess wrote back yet. Well, I'll have'ta see her. Probably best if we didn't take you into town; wouldn't want to scare somepony."

Of course, hide the scary monster from the innocent townsfolk. I rolled my eyes. As different as things were, somehow they could be exactly the same in a few key places. Shove something new and unexpected in the mix, and you've struck a spark in a pile of dry kindling. Idly, I wondered how much worse things could be with ponies instead of people. Horses were naturally skittish beasts. Bang a drum too loud, and if your horse was poorly trained, it would be off like a rocket.

So far these ponies had been calmer than you'd expect, given the circumstances, but so far my 'visit' had been the equivalent of striking a spark against a single twig. The town was more like a set bonfire, and I wondered how big a spark it would take to send the whole thing up in flames.

A tall, man-shaped spark might just do the trick.

In the meantime, Applejack was still talking, although it was more like she was thinking out loud at this point.

"I s'pose you might want to get some proper clothes sorted out, if'n you ain't wantin' to wander around wearin' a piece of sackcloth all day."

"Where would I get clothes to fit me?" I said, spooning up the last of the porridge.

She looked me up and down, tapping her chin with a hoof. "Well, it'll hafta be somethin' custom made, that's for sure. Rarity might be able to whip somethin' for for you, if she ain't too busy."

"That'd be nice, but I don't exactly have a lot of coin on me."

She chuckled and waved a hoof dismissively. "Don't you worry none about that. Once she lays eyes one what you're wearin' she'll probably try an' force it on you for free. An' if she doesn't?"

She gave me a thoughtful look. "You could probably help out on the farm for a few days, earn yourself some bits the honest way."

"You trust me enough to do that?"

"I'll admit, I'm a little leery 'bout what you said last night, but you ain't done anythin' that tells me I can't trust you. So long as the Princess gives you the okay, an' you stay on my right side, I don't see any harm lettin' you do some honest work. 'Sides, we could always do with an extra hoof 'round here."

I gave her a generic thank you, noting that, just like last night, she only mentioned one princess. Idly, I wondered if it was some sort of taboo to mention the nighttime guardian. Or maybe she had just been a particularly odd dream, though I doubted I had it in me to call something like her up out of nowhere.

I was about to say something to Applejack on the matter, when the air became thick with the metal scent of magics.

There was barely enough time to notice it. Less than half a second after it filled the barn there was a flash, a whipcrack and a slight rush of wind, and Twilight Sparkle stood in the centre of the barn, head turning this way and that.

I shot to my feet, dropping the empty porridge bowl. In all my years, and despite all the strange wonders I'd seen, this was the most shocking. Beside me, Applejack jumped a little but immediately scowled at the mess of broken pottery at my feet.

Twilight, meanwhile, was growing ever more frantic by the second.

"Ranger?" she called, catching sight of me. Her mane was wild, her movements panicky. "We may have a bit of a problem."

"Woah, Sugarcube, take a deep breath and calm down, 'fore you blow a gasket!"

Twilight fell back onto her haunches and gasped like a drowning man breaking the water's surface. I watched with no small amount of concern, but after a few seconds she took a single, calming breath and let it out slowly.

"That's better. Now, why don't you tell us what's got you in such a twist?"

She looked over at me, smoothing out her mane with a shaky hoof.

"Princess Celestia sent a letter a few minutes ago. She's summoned you to Canterlot Castle, and there's a chariot arriving at eleven o' clock to pick us up."

Applejack blinked.

"Aw, horseapples! We're supposed to get him ready fer a royal meetin' by eleven? Now how in the world are we supposed to do that?"

"It can't be that difficult, right? All we need to do is let him get washed, and give him some pointers on appropriate behaviour."

"And get him an outfit sorted," added Applejack.

All Twilight could do was respond with a confused, "...huh?"

Applejack sighed. "Or were you gonna march him up in front of the Princess wearin' a bit of old sackcloth?"

"Can't you just do without?" she asked, looking back at me, panic starting to well up again in her eyes. "The Princess wouldn't mind you not having an outfit."

I fixed her with a hard, serious look. "I'm not going in front of any princess, in any world, naked."

One of the few advantages of having a dead eye is that it makes your glares that much more intimidating. Twilight quailed under my gaze, shirking back a little before recovering herself and taking a bolder step forward.

"Fine. AJ, would you run into town and bring Rarity? I need to talk to our friend here."

We watched Applejack go, grumbling as she went, before Twilight turned back to me. The panic in her eyes was steadily morphing in to an irritated, but determined scowl.

"I'll let you be stubborn about this, but you'd better be on your best behaviour when we meet the Princess," she hissed. "And if you make me tardy, I swear I'm turning your head into an orange!"

Good gods above. That irritated scowl was rapidly turning into something much, much more. I swallowed nervously.

"You can do that?"

"Given time and the inclination, I can do a lot more," she said with a surprisingly vicious smile.

Once she'd gotten past that initial fear, and stopped asking so many damn questions, it seemed Twilight Sparkle could be quite the terror when she chose to be. Were it not for the events of the night before I might have been defenceless before her. But I guessed I had something I thought might be able to turn the tables on her.

"So, Twilight, why didn't you tell me about Princess Luna?"

As I watched, an impressive range of expressions ran over Twilight's face in a very short space of time. The irritation drained away to be replaced by shock, then confusion, realisation, and finally guilt. I cheered to myself, partly because it seemed my guess had paid off, and partly because I was glad to know that I wasn't mad. Luna was real, after all.

"I take it you had a night time visitor," said Twilight. She was already shifting uncertainly. It was amazing how she could go from angry to contrite in such a sort space of time.

"You could say that," I said shortly. "Not exactly how I'd have chosen to find out that there's a princess who can dream-walk."

"I know, I'm sorry," she said, shuffling on her hooves with her face turned down. "But I was just so excited that I didn't think."

"And as much as I hate to pile this on you, it would've been nice if you'd mentioned that they have horns and wings. I thought you said there were only three races."

"Oh, well technically that's true."

She wasn't fooling me, and we both knew it, but she pushed on regardless. "It's not like they're a separate race, more like they're all three in one. Pegasus wings, earth pony strength, and unicorn magic. It's the only way to have a completely unbiased rule. Pre-Discordian leaderships were either heavily biased towards their particular race, or else had to be made up of a ruling council of three, and that tended to make it harder to rule with all three races disagreeing over everything."

She looked like she was set to go on, and I might have been happy to simply tune her out and let her go on until she ran out of breath, but we had things to do. I held up a hand, cutting her off and drawing her attention back to me.

"If you're so worried about being tardy, maybe we should get started."

"Right, of course. Well, to start with..."

She gave me a look over and sniffed gently. "I think we might want to start with a shower."

A shower? I blinked a few times, trying to make sense of that.

"What does rain have to do with anything."

It was Twilight's turn to act confused.

"You don't have showers on your world?"

"We have showers of rain. Light rain, that is. I assume you're not talking about that?"

"No, I'm... Well, it might be easier to show you. Here, grab my mane."

...what?

Fighting back the knowledge that I was about to look extremely foolish, I reached out with one hand and grasped a handful of Twilight's mane, firmly but taking care not to pull too hard. The strands of hair, far from being course and dirty as I had expected, were sleek and smooth in my hand. I took a cautious, subtle sniff, and suddenly that oddness of the smells around me made perfect sense. But before I could think on it, Twilight was looking up at me with an odd smile.

"You might want to take a deep breath."

I did, if only to ask why.

There was a spark of purple light, and the world went away.

For something less than a part of a second I think I didn't exist. It wasn't a very nice feeling.

Then the world reappeared with another bright spark, and we were standing somewhere else.

My mouth was still open, about to ask why I needed to take a deep breath. All that emerged was a dry, creaking sound as a lungful of air escaped in a horrified rush. The world was spinning crazily around me. The sudden change of location, the moment of non-existence, the blinding sparks of magic... I staggered away from Twilight, slumping against a nearby wall. I could feel the grain of the wood beneath fingertips that were overly sensitive.

After a few moments catching my breath I was able to gasp out, "What was that?"

"Teleportation spell," replied Twilight. "It moves the caster instantly from one location to another. Are you all right?"

She was eyeing me with concern and made a move to help support me, but gestured to her that I was fine. "I probably should have warned you that I was about to do that."

"No, it's fine. I've been through worse. You just caught me off guard."

I took one last deep breath and pushed myself away from the wall. "Where did you take us, then?"

"My home. The Ponyville library."

She flicked her head for me to follow. "Come on, I'll show you the shower."

As I followed Twilight I took the opportunity to cast my eyes around the library. We were walking on a wide, circular balcony that looked down on what I assumed was the main level below. Bookshelves covered a circular wall, looking as though they'd been carved right into the wood. Scattered here and there were tables and soft looking chairs, and a few doors leading out to other rooms. It had a very rough, homespun feel to it. Not at all like the vast, stone-floored libraries I'd seen in the larger cities on the Drijian. No, this was the type of library a village or town might have had, if they ever had libraries.

Through open windows I saw a few thatched cottages and a well tended, paved road. This was Ponyville, then. Quiet at this hour. Ahead of me, Twilight was pushing a door open with her magic.

"We have to be quick, so just get in the bath, use the handle on the left to turn it on, handle on the right controls the temperature, soap is in the rack. Don't take too long."

With that she stepped behind me, butted me through the door, and slammed it shut behind me.

I was left looking at one of the oddest rooms I'd been in yet. Most of the features were recognisable, but looked bizarre. There was a basin to one side, and a bath against the other wall, but both seemed to be made of pure white stone, rather than the wood or copper I was expecting. Above the bath stood a long, metal pipe with a strange device at the top. Below that were two handles. Recalling what Twilight said, I reached out and twisted the left-most one.

About five minutes later, soaked to the skin and glowing faintly red, I pulled a towel from a nearby rail and stood in front of the sink, drying myself. The name 'shower' was surprisingly apt, even if real showers weren't so damned hot. Or so cold, unless you had the misfortune to be caught in a rainstorm north of the border. Nor were they so liable to change temperature when you least expected it. At least it had settled on one towards the end, even if it was 'scaldingly hot'. The little room was still filled with curls of steam, and the mirror above the sink was covered in a layer of fog.

Like most of this house, everything in this room was built for a pony who stood no more than two-thirds my height. Washing under the shower had been tricky, and I would have been thankful for something to make the task easier, but the so-called soap I had found in a bottle on the rack was so flowery I had decided it was worth the extra effort just to avoid covering myself in it.

There was a loud clop of hooves against the door, and Twilight's voice sounded from the other side, telling me to hurry up and finish. I rolled my eyes, but quickly towelled off and tied my sack back around my waist. As much as I hate to admit it, I was worried I might take too long and wake up somewhere with a fruit for a head.

"How often do you use this shower?" I asked as I emerged out into the library amidst clouds of steam.

Twilight let out a quiet, irritated sigh, but answered nonetheless.

"Every morning. More, if I need to. Why?"

I nodded, speaking more to myself than to her.

"I thought something smelled wrong. Too clean."

"Ex...cuse me?"

Thankfully, there was more confusion than irritation in her tone now, but I realised I might have been setting myself up for a fall.

"I just mean, uh, that it smells very clean here. There are none of the normal scents for a town. Especially for a town full of horses. I would have thought there would have... been..."

I trailed off, suddenly aware of a cold glare boring into me. That would be the irritation. "No offence meant, it's just... People don't wash much where I'm from. And they don't wash their horses very much, either. It leaves a funk in the air, and I'm not used to it not being there."

Damnit, why was I so nervous around her all of a sudden? She's a talking pony whose shoulder is barely past your waist! Start acting like a man!

Then again, she was also a mage. It was healthy to fear a mage; they could do unspeakable things to a man. And if Twilight was anything like mages I'd known before, then I definitely didn't want to offend or anger her too badly.

So I gave a sigh, and held my hands up in contrite surrender. "I'm not trying to insult you. You don't smell bad. You smell... very flowery. Like that soap."

For a few seconds her gaze held firm, but then she chuckled lightly and shook her head.

"That hole you're digging is just getting deeper. Come on, we should get back to the barn. If I know Rarity, we've only got a minute before she arrives."

A minute. I didn't know how far we were from Sweet Apple Acres, but I could guess how Twilight planned to be back before anyone else. With another soft sigh, I took hold of her mane and braced myself.

Chapter 6

In hindsight, it might not have been a good idea to leave so early.

I leant on a fence-post, the edges of my cloak thrown back over my shoulder, the late morning sun kissing my bare arms. A gentle breeze kept the world cool, but was never so strong as to make it cold. With the scent of apples and clean grass in my nose, and a view of Ponyville as it lay down the track, Twilight and I sat in a small, wonderfully peaceful paradise.

It was boring.

We'd been waiting for some time. I'm not sure how long, because after the first few minutes Twilight teleported away, returning with a pair of books in a saddlebag. She settled down in the grass beside the track and busied herself in one of them, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Most of any warrior's life, be he soldier or mercenary or barbarian, is spent waiting. Normally I wouldn't mind it so much; I'd simply find some task to do, some way to keep my fingers and thoughts busy. Mostly, that meant sharpening my sword or my knife almost obsessively. Sometimes I'd have more involving work. A few rings on my chain shirt needing riveting, or a part of my shield needing replacing.

At the very least, I could share idle talk with the elf or the monster.

But here, there was nothing. No work to be done, and the only one I could talk to was so deeply engrossed in her book that I doubted a full battle going on around her wouldn't be enough to pull her attention away.

I shifted into a more comfortable position, and tried to stop counting the seconds.

Something glinted in the sky ahead, drawing in from the north east. Too far away to make out, but the sunlight was flashing off of a gleaming surface. The longer I watched, the more convinced I was that it was heading this way. I leaned down and nudged Twilight. Then I nudged harder.

"Hm? What it is?"

Wordlessly, I pointed towards the shining speck.

She blinked, screwing up her eyes, then beamed. "Oh, that's the chariot! Right on time!"

My mind took a moment to understand that statement.

"That's the chariot?" I repeated stupidly.

"Yes, that's it."

Another moment as I tried to put the thoughts running through my mind into words.

"But it's flying."

"Of course it... Oh, of course, no there are no pegasi where you come from."

A few gears clicked into place.

"It's pulled by pegasi?"

Twilight nodded.

"From the Royal Guard. I told you," she said, seeing my confusion, "I'm Princess Celestia's personal student. Though I don't normally go by chariot, the princess thought it might be better to avoid public transport, at least for the moment."

"Oh," I said faintly. We watch the chariot growing closer, close enough by now that I could see the shapes of two pegasi, the body of the chariot trailing behind it. "You want me to ride in that?" I swallowed. "Up there?"

"It's perfectly safe. The guard are professionals; they won't let you fall."

"All the same, isn't there another way?"

"Not unless you want to make us tardy."

I opened my mouth to tell her that I didn't mind, when I caught sight of the glare she was throwing my way. If I were armed this wouldn't be happening...

"Fine. On your head be it."

The chariot made its final run, dropping down below the level of the orchard trees as it made one pass over our heads. As I ducked on reflex it came around again and touched the track with a bump before coasting to a halt.

For the first time, I had a chance to look over the soldiery of Equestria. The two pegasi were both stallions, heavily built with near identical white coats and blue eyes. Both wore gilded barding and didn't seem to carry any weapons save for the heavy shoes mounted on all four feet. Despite that, they made me wary. There was something in their stony gazes that reminded me of old soldiers back home.

They told me Equestria was peaceful, that it hadn't seen war in over a hundred years. But these two ponies were soldiers to the core. Whether or not they'd seen battle before, I had the feeling they wouldn't hesitate if it came to violence.

On reflex I dropped my left hand down to rest at my sword-hilt, groped stupidly for a moment, then realised it wasn't there.

The lead weight shifted position.

I shifted uneasily on my feet, feeling my new cloak swing lazily with my movements. Twilight, sensing something was wrong, glanced over at me.

"What it it?"

"Just nervous," I lied.

"Don't worry," she said, smiling gently. "I know the princess; there's nothing to be scared of. Or are you still scared about riding in the chariot?"

"Didn't say scared. I said nervous."

* * * * *

I was scared.

It doesn't feel right to admit it, but I was scared. Beyond that, even. I'd been scared plenty of times before, usually in that last, drawn out moment before a battle. But this time, I was terrified.

I stood at the front of the chariot, as far from the open back as possible, gripping the rail so tight I was sure I could feel the gilt metal bending beneath my bloodless fingers. Twilight stood next to me, mane and tail whipping behind her as she leaned over the edge, admiring the view.

For my part, I kept my eyes fixed straight ahead, on the thin line of the horizon, and kept my cloak trapped firmly beneath my feet to keep it secure, else I was sure the damn thing would drag me away behind the chariot.

As we drew away from Ponyville, though, I realised I wouldn't be able to avoid looking down for much longer. Our destination lay ahead of us, and it was pulling my gaze to it like a moth to a candle.

Canterlot. Even if Twilight had told me everything there was to know about it, I wouldn't have been prepared for the sight of it.

It was a city carved from the very side of a mountain, made of shining white stone and surrounded by green. And above the city stood an impossible castle, touching the sky itself even as its towers and walls stretched out to hang precariously over the side of a sheer slope, mocking the very idea that all things were meant to fall to earth.

For a few minutes I couldn't take my eye away from it, wondering who built it and how. But then we began to drop, and before long our chariot was landing gently on a that jutted out from the castle, some way above the city itself.

With some effort I let go of the railing and stepped, legs shaking beneath me, down onto the solid and unmoving flagstones. Twilight skipped down happily and led the way to a high, barred door, stopping briefly to thank the guardsponies on her way past. Following her example, I gave them a short nod, which was returned, but only barely.

We were met at the door by another snow-white guard, this one a unicorn wearing a much more ornate set of armour, enamelled with purple decorations. Twilight started in shock at the sight of him. They knew each other, then. I couldn't help but wonder how.

The guard ushered us through the door and into a short corridor. As the door closed behind us, he turned to me with narrowed, wary eyes.

"My name is Shining Armor, Captain of the Guard in Canterlot. I'm here to escort you to the throne room, where you'll meet Princess Celestia. Obey my orders, follow closely behind me, and don't wander off, or you'll be restrained and escorted to the castle dungeons instead."

He gestured around with a shod hoof, pointing out the gilt-armoured guards patrolling inside the caste, and outside. "There are guards everywhere, and you're being escorted by two of the most talented unicorns in Equestria. Remember that, in case you get any funny ideas."

Most talented unicorns? I assumed he meant Twilight and himself, but rather than supporting this Captain Armor, Twilight was simply shaking her head in disbelief.

"Shining, is all that really necessary? We're here with a summon from Princess Celestia, not breaking and entering! You've never shown up to meet me and my friends before."

Captain Armor's stern mask dropped momentarily. He gave the smallest of sighs, and shifted his attention to Twilight.

"None of your friends are anything like this, Twily. Princess Celestia herself sent me to greet you, and I think it's a smart move. We're dealing with a potentially dangerous creature here. No offence," he said, glancing over at me.

I made a small nod, but said nothing. I was busy holding back quiet laughter.

Twily? That was a name only a sibling would use, and that explained a lot. The princess' personal student, with a magical means of sending her letters, and a brother who was Captain of the Guard? This was a high-born family, though Twilight hadn't acted like it. Not even in the manner of Rarity, who was noble without chill. Twilight seemed simply normal. Or as normal as a purple talking unicorn could be.

Still, it was funny to hear a pony with so much steel hidden in her being called by such a childish name.

"Oh, come on, Shining, he's not even armed! Do you really think he's a threat when he doesn't even had a weapon? Or a horn? Or wings?"

The sad thing was, I was a threat even without those things. More so than other men. I was never really unarmed, even if my weapons weren't on display all the time. But there was no need for them to know that, not yet, so I held my tongue and tried to look as non-threatening as possible.

It was a hard thing to do, while wearing a black cloak and an eyepatch. I don't think I did very well, because Captain Armor gave me a sideways look, then turned back to his sister with a raised eyebrow.

"If you say so. I'm not letting him wander around the castle alone, though, and I'm not leaving you alone with him."

"Please, even if he did try something, I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, and it's my job to make sure you don't have to. No buts," he said over Twilight's retort. "Now, let's not keep the Princesses waiting."

There were no more arguments. The very thought of being late spurred Twilight into action. I couldn't help but notice, though, that despite her apparent trust, she had fallen behind me, keeping me in her line of sight. In our new formation, I looked very much like a prisoner under escort. I'm more or less sure it wasn't intentional, but nonetheless, it made me that much less comfortable.

Thankfully, our trip wasn't as long as I might have feared. After only a short while, the heavy clang of Armor's shod hooves against the marble floor began to change tone, and the corridors opened up to a grand antechamber, a pair of oversized, gilded doors dominating one wall.

A pair of spear-wielding guards greeted Captain Armor. Like their fellows, both were the same shade of snow white, with the same over-decorated armour and the same stony gaze. I wondered if there was a farm somewhere that grew guards like these by the dozen.

"Captain, I'm afraid there's a slight delay," the first said, saluting. "Court is running on longer than expected."

Armor sighed. "How long is it going to take?"

"A few more minutes, sir. We've been instructed to wait for the chamberlain's summons."

Twilight snorted, scuffing the floor with a hoof as she rolled her eyes. It was funny to see her make a gesture like that. Since last night's conversations, I had stopped thinking of these creatures as horses, and more as simply oddly shaped men and women. Watching Twilight paw anxiously at the polished marble sent an uncomfortable feeling through me.

"And you were worried about us being tardy," I sighed, deliberately not looking in her direction. I could just see her glaring out of the corner of my eye.

We settled down for the wait, the two new guards forming up behind me. Their weapons were held easy, though, and I noted Shining Armor wave them back a few paces to give me some space. That at least was a little encouraging. Beside me, Twilight settled herself down on the marble floor and pulled out her book, but her heart wasn't in it. She cast anxious glances at the doors every minute or so.

Strangely in synch with her, a third guard standing watch beside the great doors started flashing odd looks my way. I can't say I blame him, but after the fourth time it started to strain on my patience. Any other day, with any other noble, I might have thought up a way to teach him to mind his manners. But in this place, with guards surrounding me and what was more or less a goddess in the next room, I was less inclined to make trouble.

After ten minutes had passed, by my reckoning, I was starting to wonder if all that might actually be worth it to give me a little peace. Fate kept me from making that decision, though, as the doors swung open, and what seemed to be a royal announcer stepped up to me. This would be the chamberlain, no doubt.

She consulted a floating scroll, looked up at me, and became the first pony I'd met not to immediately regard me with fear or suspicion. Instead, she simply glared at me as though I were just one more annoyance in an ever-growing list. That was probably how she looked at everyone, though. Chamberlains and Majordomos were a strange breed wherever you were, and they held everyone except their lords and masters in equal contempt.

She glanced back at her scroll, then cleared her throat.

"I dare to assume you would be Ranger?"

I nodded. Frankly, it should have been obvious.

"Of course. I also assume Ms Sparkle has instructed you upon the proper protocol when addressing Their Royal Highnesses. Be thankful the Royal Court was adjourned early today. Now, follow close behind me."

She turned sharply and walked away. I went after her, feet sinking into a soft plush carpet, the thick fabric of my cloak swinging behind me. Twilight stayed close beside me, looking more nervous than I did, with Captain Armor flanking me from the other side. And from the gentle clink of armour and loader clang of horseshoes behind us, Captain Armor's guards had joined on as the tail of our little procession as we entered the throne room.

It was certainly the type of room that befitted of a goddess. It was shaped like nothing less than an ornate cathedral; a huge vaulted ceiling held aloft by marble columns, gilded at the base. Sunlight streamed in through tall windows, some of which bore stylised depictions of ponies in varying states. I assumed they were records of great events in this lands history, or representations of epic stories. I spared each only a single glance, save for two. I found myself studying those two more closely, because among the ponies there I could have sworn I saw some that resembled Twilight and her friends.

There was no time to properly inspect the images, but they both seemed to show some sort of battle between perhaps six ponies and a single enemy, reeling back in defeat.

I shot a look back a Twilight. Was this her, immortalised in battle with comrades at arms? Or an ancestor, perhaps? Either way, I realised I might have to revise my opinion of her further. More than just steel behind her, it seemed.

The chamberlain drew to a halt in front of me, and the sound of her voice snapped me back to reality. We had reached the end of the hall already, and stood before the thrones.

"Your Royal Highnesses, I present your guest," called the announcer, before looking back over her shoulder and adding, "and escort."

"Thank you, you may leave."

The voice, so alike its sister, and yet so different. Far more casual, and far calmer and gentler, yet it still spoke of that same restrained power and confident authority. I looked up, and met the eyes of the speaker.

Princess Celestia sat at her throne, comfortably positioned on a plush velvet cushion, gazing down at me with a strange expression on her face. Like her sister, she bore both wings and a horn, and possessed long and graceful proportions, but she was even taller than Luna. Tall enough to look down on me, if we were standing next to each other. Her coat was pure white, and her ethereal mane looked, like Luna's, to have been cut from the sky itself, but hers was made up of the warm colours of sunrise.

Most importantly, that same aura of power that I had seen in her sister radiated from her as well. It was like standing next to an open fire; benign, maybe, but it was obvious that this power could destroy with ease.

I fell to a knee, one fist touching the floor, the other over my breast. My head fell forward, gazing at the steps at the foot of the throne.

"Please, rise."

I did so, and as I rose I saw Luna with her own throne, though she chose not to sit, instead hovering almost protectively by her sister's side. I gave her a slight nod, which she returned.

"So you're the one who has my faithful student so excited?" Celestia asked.

"Aye, your Majesty."

She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, as if she were looking through a thick haze. It was a looked I'd seem plenty of times before, usually on the face of the elf. I knew she was trying to judge me and my character. I wondered what she would judge me to be.

Then she turned her gaze to the guards.

"I don't think your presence is required for the time being. Please, return to your duties."

The guards, though reluctant, saluted and offered a quick "yes, your Highness" before retreating. Captain Armor lingered, but Celestia turned to face him.

"Don't worry, Shining Armor, I'll be sure to return your sister to you when we're done."

He nodded, glanced over at Twilight, then followed his soldiers. The great doors slammed shut behind him.

I wondered if it was particularly wise to send your guards away when a stranger stood in your court. If it were for politeness, she needn't have bothered. I was a stranger here, and if Captain Armor's attitude was anything to go by, an untrustworthy one at that. It was almost more insulting that she didn't consider me enough of a threat to keep under guard.

"My sister has vouched for you, and Twilight's letter indicated you weren't a threat," Celestia offered, perhaps by way of explanation. "I gather you and Luna had the opportunity to meet last night."

"That we did, Your Majesty. And my thanks to you, Princess Luna."

I offered her another nod, which she again returned, this time with a slight smile.

"There is no need to thank me, Ranger," Luna said. "I did nothing but tell the truth. Besides, you are as deserving as any other for a chance at peace."

Celestia's eyes flickered back to meet her sister's, and she let her own face split into a proud smile.

"I have many questions, but considering the time, I think it might be acceptable to discuss them over lunch. Would you join us?"

Had she really just done that? After going through the trouble of sending the Captain of the Guard himself to escort me? What the hell was I supposed to say? What could I say?

I nodded. "I'd be honoured."

At this, Celestia rose, and went to greet Twilight, who started forward wearing her own broad smile.

"And how are you, my faithful student?"

Twilight said something in reply, but I turned slightly away, not wishing to intrude on what was obviously a more private moment, and almost leapt back in shock as Luna appeared, apparently out of nowhere, beside me.

"Are you better this day, Ranger?"

"Glad to have seen one of the faces in this room before," I replied once I'd caught my breath. How had she done that? There was no flash or sound, as there had been with the teleportation spell. "Discounting Twilight, of course. I'm a little confused, though; is it normal for strangers to dine with the princesses like this? Bad enough that your sister sent the guards away; inviting me to dine as well seems a dangerous policy, if you ask me."

"As Celestia said, I vouched for you. My voice carries a lot of weight here, as you can imagine, and my sister agreed that this was not to be an interrogation. We merely wish to discover more about you, and to do so in a less intimidating manner."

"Dining with a pair of goddesses? I'd say that was pretty intimidating on its own."

She let out a small sigh, scuffing the floor gently.

"Have we not covered this ground already? I told you we are not gods."

"You're more modest than most mortals I've met," I replied, "but I'm not convinced. You raise the moon, and your sister raises the sun; where I come from, that's enough to make you a god."

"Ranger, my sister and I may not be as mortal ponies, but we are just as fallible as they are. And we are by no means all-powerful, however impressive our talents may be."

" 'Mortal ponies'?" I repeated, giving her a sidelong look. "So you admit that you're immortal, at least?"

She turned and walked to one of the stained-glass windows, beckoning me with a wing to follow.

"You're remarkably more irreverent when you're awake. Some might have preferred it when you were asleep."

I shrugged. "You've been inside my mind. You know me a lot better than most anyone I know. Knew.

"Either way, I think that makes you the closest thing I have to a friend in this castle, since I don't think Twilight's too taken with me."

"I think Celestia would be glad to hear to say that. She's been pushing me to make friends since..." She trailed off. Her eyes wandered about the room. "Well, for these past two years, at least. But come; you asked if we were immortal?"

"Aye, I did. Are you?"

"Perhaps. We live far longer than any other pony could dream to. But we have never tested the limits of our endurance, and have no wish to. This might make things clearer, though."

She stopped in front of the window and gazed hard at the figures depicted in it.

"You talk of gods? Here is the closest thing we have seen to a true god, Ranger. The spirit of disharmony and chaos. A creature we call Discord."

The window showed two alicorns engaged in some kind of magical combat with perhaps the strangest creature I'd ever seen. I'd noticed it, or something like it, in the window with the pony who looked like Twilight, but now that I saw it up close I could appreciate its chaotic design.

A body like a furred serpent, with mismatched limbs and a dragon's tail. It seemed that each part of it was taken from a different beast, from the strange head to the mismatched wings to the tuft of fur on its tail.

Despite its unique features, something else interested me; the pair Alicorns circling the beast. One white, one dark blue, both eerily familiar. The lines of light coming from them seemed to be causing the chaotic monster to scream in pain or anger.

"I take it you defeated him, then."

Luna smiled gently, and nodded.

"So you move the moon in the sky, might live forever, and defeated what you call the closest thing to a god you have? And you still expect me to believe you when you say you're not a god yourself?"

Sighing again, she shook her head.

"Let me explain further, then. Discord's power is like nothing else we know; it is formless and chaotic, and with it he can do practically anything he wishes. My sister and I, however, may only cast known spells, spells that are often created by unicorns more talented than us in many respects. We are powerful, true, but we are limited by the same rules as any other pony in Equestria. And when we defeated Discord, we were only able to do so by using a set of ancient and powerful relics, which we call the Elements of Harmony."

I noted that she talked about Discord as though he were still here, but saved the obvious question for later. Instead, I found myself more curious about these elements she mentioned.

"What sort of relics are they? They must be powerful, if they can slay a god."

"Powerful indeed, though they do not 'slay' anything. They are not weapons; they cannot destroy, but only restore balance where it is lost.

"There are five of them, each representing a key aspect of harmony and friendship, which feed into a sixth point of focus. My sister and I bore them for a time, along with several others, but we are no longer connected to them. The bearers require a bond of friendship between them, and the bond between my sister and I was broken for a time. And even now, with that bond repaired, many of the others have long since passed on. The Elements have found new bearers, now."

"What happened between you and your sister? You had a falling out?"

She seemed to realise she had said more perhaps than she meant to. In answer, she simply shook her head, and a look of distant sadness crossed her face.

"A story for another time, I think. Have you said anything to Twilight about your arrival here?"

The sudden change of subject caught me off guard. I floundered for a moment before I realised what she was asking me.

"No. No, I didn't think it was right. If I have to, I'll say something, but not before then. So far, you're the only one who knows. Unless you told anyone."

"I told Celestia, but nopony else. And I can guarantee she will have said nothing of it. It was necessary, though; I will not keep secrets from my sister unless I must. And I think it is in your benefit that she know, as well."

"Maybe so. I don't hold it against you, at any rate."

"I am glad. I would not wish there to be any bad feelings between us."

She looked over at Celestia and Twilight, who were finishing their own conversation and looking over to what I assumed was a serving pony raising a hoof to catch their attention. "But come; I think lunch is about to be served."

* * * * *

Our places were laid at a long, gilded table with high chairs. It looked as though it could've seated twenty ponies or more, but for the time being it was just the four of us. The Princesses sat side by side at the head of the table, while Twilight and I sat opposite each other, one place down from them.

The servers finished setting the table for lunch, then retreated. A pair of forks in a salad bowl lifted themselves and brought a handful of green leaves and flowers to Celestia's bowl. Looking closely, I caught the tell-tale glow of magic surrounding them, but this time it was the colour of sunlight.

To my dismay, most of the salads on the table had been liberally sprinkled or mixed with flower petals. I looked around the bowls to find something that didn't involved flowers, but saw little.

"Is something wrong?"

I glanced up to see Celestia regarding me with an arched eyebrow and a subtle smile. "Or is the food not to your liking?"

There was something in her gaze that unsettled me. It was as though she were looking through my, or peering into my soul, or anything as drastic as that. No, it seemed like a normal enough gaze. Despite that, I felt as though she could see more than just what lay in front of her. Those eyes looked friendly enough, but it was obvious that she was testing me, and that this was only the first in a long line of tests to come.

For a moment, I was conflicted; telling a lie to a pony with the power of a god wasn't a sensible thing to do, but neither was admitting to a land of grass-eaters that I ate meat, or that I had eaten horse before. So I cleared my throat, thinking on my answer.

"We don't eat flowers in my land, Your Majesty," I answered, taking the easy route. No lies, but not the whole truth. "But there is plenty here that I could eat."

And it was true; there were rolls of bread, and dishes of vegetables, both cooked and raw. I filled my plate with some of whatever I thought looked edible, and began eating. Twilight shot me a look as though I was breaking some ceremonial rule, but the Princesses said nothing.

I kept half an eye on Twilight as I ate, though, and noted that she didn't start eating until the Princesses did. One of a hundred stupid rules laid down for the nobility. There were a thousand like it on the Drijian, where I'd make a habit of ignoring them all.

After a few moments eating, Celestia swallowed a mouthful and spoke to me again.

"You don't look like the sort of creature that lives solely on vegetables. If there's something special you require, I'm sure the palace kitchens would be able to provide it."

At first I started. She knew. It was so obvious, I realised. But how did she know? I ran my tongue over my teeth. Had she seen them and noticed? Then I shook myself. Of course she hadn't; she hadn't even seen a man before today. She had nothing to compare my teeth to. No, the answer was obvious when I thought a little; my oh-so-clever answer hadn't been nearly as clever as I'd thought, and she'd simply guessed.

So why press the matter? She didn't seem worried. But again, the answer was clear. She was still testing me.

"Well, your Majesty," I started, reluctant to go on; she was pushing me into a trap of kindness by with that offer. The best course, I decided, was to be honest and hope that honesty gave me some credit. "I didn't want to offend, but the truth of the matter is that men most commonly take meat with their meals."

There was a clatter from across the table as Twilight dropped her fork. Three pairs of eyes focussed on her, and she retrieved it with an embarrassed smile and an awkward apology.

"Something the matter, my faithful student?" Celestia asked, surprisingly still smiling.

"No, I, uh, I just didn't realise, you know, that he ate, um, meat..."

With each word she somehow sank lower into her chair, until only the tops of her eyes and her flattening ears could be seen over the edge of the table.

"I can do fine on vegetables," I put in. I tried to keep my face calm, but inwardly I wished I could to the same as Twilight, or perhaps go one step beyond and sink through the floor to vanish entirely. Besides which, that was probably a lie. I could last a while, but who knew for how long?

Celestia, though, smiled briefly at me.

"I think that might be best. Don't worry about offending us, though; we may not eat meat, but many of our neighbours do, and we don't judge them too harshly for it."

When I gave it some thought, it wasn't too surprising that the Princess at least might be so relaxed about the idea. After all, Twilight had already mentioned griffons that lived around Equestria. They would be predators, at least, and she didn't seem bothered by them and their supposed habits.

After a moment of silence, Luna cleared her throat. "Ranger, might you tell us about your own land?" she asked, obviously trying to steer the subject to less awkward topics.

"I suppose I could manage that," I replied. "What would you like to know?" Please, I prayed silently, don't ask about the wars. Or the mercenary work. Or the assassinations. In fact, please don't ask anything!

"You could describe this 'Drijian' for us," said Celestia.

Anything except that.

"I'd have an easier time if I'd been able to bring a map with me. It'd be easier to point things out."

Of course, they say necessity is the mother of invention. "Although," I said with a smile, "it might be an idea to simply make one."

She agreed, and smiling asked a server hovering previously unseen by the door to bring a quill, ink, and parchment. A few moments later, they were set before me.

First, I drew a small compass in the top right corner, marking the points in my clumsy scrawl. Then, I sketched a pair of wavering lines near the left and right edges.

"These are the two great rivers, the East and West Flow. The East runs all the way to the sea without much getting in its way.

"The West, however, flows over the Border Cliff here, which gradually turns into rough hill-land as it goes east."

I drew the line of the cliff more or less straight along the south edge, and moved the quill up to the north edge, commentating as I drew.

"These three features, along with the start of the mountains to the north, mark the edges of the Drijian. The Drijian Plains, that is. It's mostly flat land, with a nasty marsh following the East Flow. The largest city, the old Capital, is built on this spur of hills that runs into the centre of the Plain.

"Beyond the West Flow, there's a long mountain range. Near the south end is a mountain with a huge outcrop we call the Eyrie, though most tend to call it Dragonsnest, on account of it being the meeting place of the dragons that live in those mountains. A little to the north is the tallest mountain of the range, Drakes Peak.

"My home lies to the north. Through this path in the hills, where the old trading road runs, you reach the mountains of the North. My people have towns and villages scattered all through here. The peaks aren't as tall or rugged as the western slopes, save one. The tallest peak in the land, where the source of the West Flows lies. The folk on the plains have some fancy name for it, but we just called it the Eldest."

Here Twilight, who had been watching so closely I thought she was about to plant her face on the parchment if she leaned any closer, interrupted me.

"What about the elfs? Do they live on the plains?"

"No, they live towards the south, in two walled cities. Both lie on the banks of one of the rivers. In the west, is El T'Orr, and in the east is El T'aan."

I chuckled to myself. "They mean East and West City, respectively. Elfs aren't very good with names."

"What of your neighbours?" asked Luna.

"Well, there's my home in the north, though beyond that there's nothing more than the sea and the ice wall. Nothing lives up there except snow birds. The only other kingdom is in the south, at the coast, and they aren't willing to go to war again. There are a few scattered settlements towards the east sea, and we know there are nations westward, but no one's gone further west than Drakes Peak in years."

"I gather these kingdoms aren't that friendly with one another," said Celestia, studying the map less closely than Twilight, but just as intently.

"Aye, that's true. They used to be, long ago when there was still a king. But nowadays, you'd be hard pressed to find anything like a real alliance on the plains."

Twilight looked up, a question burning in her eyes. "What happened? Could you tell us a little more about your history?"

"I wish you wouldn't ask," I said, looking down at my plate. "Our history is mostly one long account of pointless and bloody wars, and it doesn't make a very good impression."

"As long as you don't bring those wars with you, I can't judge you for your world's history," Celestia said. "After all, Equestria hasn't always been as... stable as it is now."

Heh, stable, very clever. As I amused myself, though, Celestia and Luna shared a knowing, almost haunted glance.

"But if it makes you that uncomfortable, we can avoid the topic for now."

She pushed her empty plate away. "In fact, it might be best if we moved on to the most important topic; how you came here, and how we could get you home."

Author's Note

If you're interested, you can find Ranger's map (or one like it, at least) here.

Chapter 7

"Why, James, I do believe you're right. That debt still goes unpaid."

Fasoudra Dartilia casts his eyes around the dungeon, his gaze lingering on each of us in turn. "Very well. Two of you will go free. When you reach civilisation, you will find that your contract on me has been revoked. You will not find me again, that I can guarantee. I would suggest that you do not try, else I will not be so generous again. These are my conditions."

"Fine," replies Azrael - or James, was that his true name? " Drag us out of here in blindfolds and carts if you must. So long as you honour the debt."

Dartilia smiles. "So then, old friend, which two shall go, and which one must die? I think it only fair that you get to choose."

"I die. They go free." The vampire's voice is steady. His eyes burn in the torchlight; that glow is part simple reflection, part conviction, and part defiance. I shout something in protest. Beside me, the elf does the same. Dartilia just raises a hand and gags us both with a silent spell.

"No, I'm afraid that would not do. I owe you my life, so as I see it, you must live. Else, my honour would not be satisfied. No, one of these two must die."

That defiance, that bright spark, it flickers and dies inside him. His face twists and falls. "Fasoudra," he whispers. "You-you can't ask me to condemn one of my friends."

"Either condemn one of them, or condemn them both. That is my offer."

"Fasoudra..." He's begging now. I turn my face away. Dartilia is stroking the edge of his axe with a thumb. His gagging spell fades as his attention is pulled back to Azrael.

"James, this is your one chance. Refuse to answer, and I kill you and your-"

"Me."

The elf speaks over him. "He picks me."

Dartilia turns. The bottom of my stomach falls away.

"You offer your life to me, elf?" Dartilia asks. He stares at the elf, daring him to meet his gaze.

Their eyes meet. Neither blinks.

"I offer it."

"NO!"

I don't know why I do it. I know I can't change a thing. But the wild part of me will not let this go unchallenged. It won't let me leave a packmate to die, not without a fight.

I throw myself against my chains. "Don't you dare! Don't you bloody well dare!" I can't break the iron rings, but I have to try! I have to do something!

Then I feel the back of Dartilia's hand smack against my jaw. The stinging strike silences me. I meet his eyes, sullen, spitting blood. His hand closes around the shaft of his axe.

"The decision has been made, pup."

He draws the axe. "The decision is made..."

It rises high, the gleaming blade catching the torchlight as it lingers at the peak of its stroke. The elf closes his eyes, serene, content even. Ready for death. Welcoming it.

Then death descends.

Death bites deep into my collar.

I feel each shocking jolt of pain as flesh parts and bones shatter. Then nothing. Just the strange sensation of falling without end. I'm vaguely aware of a moment's silence broken by shouts and cries. But it's so far away. Everything is distant. Even the pain. I try to say... Well, something That it isn't that bad, that it doesn't even hurt anymore...why doesn't it hurt? But all I can do is gurgle. My lungs feel full, like I'm drowning, but what am I drowning in...?

The edges of my vision are gone. I see and hear everything as though it's at the end of a long tunnel. I try to pick out Azrael at the end of the tunnel. But he's so far away...everything's so far away...and I...feel...tired...

"Ranger?"

I came back to reality with a start. I wasn't bleeding out in a dungeon in the middle of who knows where. I was sitting at a gilt table, breaking bread with a unicorn and two pony princesses. I knew which idea was more likely, but of the two I had to admit that my current situation was somehow the less surreal.

But that memory was still so raw, so vivid. Not surprising, really. It had, by my reckoning, been two days, maybe a little more or less, since then. Though it felt like so much more.

"Ranger, are you all right?"

I looked down. My left hand was shaking. My left shoulder ached, along the pale line that traced the blade of Dartilia's axe. Two days, and all that was left was a thin, pale scar.

With an effort of will I made my left hand sit still, but rested it under the table all the same.

"I'm fine," I said, not quite sure who had spoken. "I was just... Never mind. I'm fine."

From the looks on their faces, none of the three believed me. I didn't blame them. I didn't believe me, either. "You were asking how I got here?"

Celestia nodded. Her face was lined with concern, but she said nothing.

I shrugged. "You could have asked your sister. I told her about it last night."

"And she told me. But I want to hear about it from you."

"Sister, perhaps we should give him some more time," Luna said, leaning forward. "The memories are surely painful; it was brave enough of him to tell me as much as he already has."

"No." With a little effort, I stilled my shaking hand, and brought it back out from under the table, running a finger along the edge of the eyepatch. "I said I'm fine. And you should hear the story proper." My eyes flicked towards Luna and, thinking of what she'd said, moved to Twilight. "All of you."

I leant back in my chair with a sigh, and began to speak.

"There were three of us. Myself, an elf sword-mage, and a vampire. The vampire, I suppose. The last one left, if the elf was to be believed."

"A 'vampire'?" interrupted Twilight, raising a hoof. "Is that like a vampony?"

"I don't know. Do vamponies drink blood?"

Twilight nodded.

"And are they afraid of daylight?" I asked.

"According to legend. I'm not sure if they're actually real, but... Yes."

"Then yes, I'd say they're pretty similar. As I was saying, the vampire. Less inclined to kill you in your sleep than the monsters of old, but I wouldn't have called him a nice man.

"The three of us were travelling companions, for the better part of a year and a half. There's an old saying, where I come from. 'Fight together, and you are comrades. Drink together, and you are friends. Mourn together, and you are brothers.'" I closed my eyes, feeling the lead weight shift and my throat burn. "We fought, drank, and mourned together.

"We were all mercenaries by trade, but not too long ago we were approached by a man who gave us what he said was the most important job of our lives. We were to kill one man."

"An assassination?" said Celestia with a crooked eyebrow.

"Call it that if you like. But we took the job, because however you want to call it, we knew that it was right. This man, Dartilia? He was a madman. A murder. The sort of man who'd do anything for his own gain. So we went to kill him."

"And you were captured."

"Yes. We hadn't realised just how powerful he was. He beat us all to a bloody pulp, and locked us away in a dungeon in some gods-forsaken corner of the world. Spent the next week trying to find out how much we knew, and who had sent us after him. We didn't talk. In the end, we didn't have to. He found out himself. There was nothing else he needed us for, so he decided to have us killed."

I had to pause there. Recalling those memories deliberately was not a pleasant experience, and I could feel my stomach churn. But as I looked over at her, Luna nodded, encouraging me on with a gentle smile. So I swallowed the bile rising in my throat and continued. I told them how the vampire had known Dartilia from who knows how many years ago. How he bargained for our lives with a life debt. Two life debts. Somehow, somewhere, the vampire had saved that bastard's life twice, and now he was collecting on the debt.

I told them about Dartilia's sadistic glee as he tried to make the vampire choose which of us had to die. I told them about the elf's sacrifice. I told them how it had meant nothing in the end.

All the while, I watched Twilight's face grow steadily more and more horrified.

"And that's it. He killed me, and I woke up in the orchard. There's nothing more to tell. I wish there was, but if there's any clue in there I can't see it."

Silence filled the room. Celestia's eyes were fixed on her empty plate, seemingly lost in thought. Luna sat back, head bowed, digesting the details that I had left out in my earlier telling. And Twilight? She stared at me, ears drooping, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Ranger, I... I'm so sorry..."

"Don't," I snapped. "Don't say that. Don't give me your pity. I don't want it, and I don't need it. So just... don't."

She drew back, hurt replacing the pity in her eyes. I knew in a heartbeat that I'd made a mistake, but despite the burning of the princesses' angry glares on my back, I said nothing to try and mend it. Instead, I just slumped back against my chair again, fiddling with my patch.

"As I said, that's it. I hope it helps. I appreciate the hospitality, but I'd like to get back to my own world. And if I can't get back, I'd like to know sooner rather than later."

Not to my surprise, Luna gave me another pointed look. What did surprise me was the question that came with it.

"Are you sure you wish to return so badly?"

The seconds following that questions stretched out in silence. The very question I'd been asking myself, and I had no answer for either of us. Finally, after my mind had run over every answer I could have thought of, I settled on the only response that made any sense, no matter how hollow it sounded to my own ears. "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?"

Luna shared a glance with her sister. "Because whenever you refer to your friends, you talk as if they're long gone. 'We fought, we travelled'. As if you think you'll never see them again."

I had even less of an answer to that.

There were a few uncomfortable moments of silence as our empty dishes were carted away, and slices of cake set in front of us.

The meal and the conversation had left me less than hungry, but I had been on the road too long to turn down food when it was offered. I prodded at the cake with a fork. To my surprise, it collapsed in on itself, springing back into shape when I pulled the fork away.

"Cloud cake," said Celestia. "As the name suggests, it's made with real clouds."

I didn't even bother asking. Equestria was becoming almost predictable in its absurdity. I just nodded absently, cutting a sliver from my slice. It came away easier than I'd expected.

"It's interesting, though," she continued. "You say you come from another world entirely, and I believe that, but you seem to speak perfect Equestrian."

I paused, fork halfway to my mouth. "Ah. Aye, Applejack noticed that yesterday. The thing is, I'm not actually speaking Equestrian. At least, I don't think I am."

Her face invited an explanation, so I gave her the short version, avoiding the demonstration of the Northern tongue. By the time I was finished, all three mares were looking at me with the same expression of barely restrained curiosity.

"So, however you came to be here, something gave you this ability," said Luna. "That suggests intelligence and intent."

"Aye, I suppose so." Did she really entertain the idea that I'd fallen between worlds by accident? "If I had to guess, I'd have said the gods sent me here, but I've no idea why."

"Nonetheless, this gives us a starting point," Celestia commented. She glanced over at Twilight. "I think, Twilight, that you should investigate language spells when you return to Ponyville. If such a spell exists, then we might have a clue as to who brought Ranger here."

Twilight nodded, but she looked less enthused than she had before. I couldn't help but wonder how much damage my outburst had done. Meanwhile, Celestia nodded to her sister and stood. "I'm afraid we have to cut this short. Luna and I both have royal duties to attend to."

We had moved back to the throne room. Luna and Twilight were in one corner, talking about something or other. Even my ears couldn't pick out any words, but I had a feeling they were discussing me.

"Is it all right if we speak alone?"

I glanced over at Celestia, who beckoned me to one side of the throne with a flick of her head.

"What do you want to say?" I replied, following.

She looked down at me, eyes giving away nothing. "How much thought have you given to your friends?"

Not as much as I should have. "Some. I hope they're safe. But I doubt it. Even if Dartilia keeps his promise, I doubt those two could stay safe for more than a day. After all, they fight for a living. It's not a safe life."

There was silence for a moment, save for the murmurs of Luna and Twilight on the other side of the hall.

"Why do you choose a life like that? Money?"

I shrugged. "Some do. If you're good, smart, and don't let your conscience get in the way, you can earn a pretty coin. If you're very good, you might even manage to stay alive long enough to spend it.

"But for most of us, the pay is poor. What little you do earn, you spend on lodgings or camp gear, because you'll be moving around too much to settle properly. No, most of us are men with nowhere else to go. Old armsmen, foreigners, farmers whose farms were burned. Most men do it because they can't do anything else."

"Or because they enjoy it?"

In a move that Twilight might have had my head for, I gave the princess a flat look, as though she had said the stupidest thing I could imagine.

"Your Majesty, I enjoy a brawl as much as the next man. I even like living on the road, when the weather holds. But any man who tells you he enjoys battle is either a liar or a madman. I won't say there aren't a few that I've met, but I know what you're saying, even if you won't actually say it. And I'll give you my reply.

"Every time I stand on the edge of a battle, I feel so scared I could piss myself. When I'm fighting, I don't have time to be scared, or to enjoy myself, because I'm always the next bastard waiting to put a spear through my gut. And after the battle, I feel like throwing up, but I'm so tired I'd rather just lie down and sleep wherever I stand.

"But what else can I do? I don't have the money to buy land. I can mend a few weapons, but I don't have the skill to make a living from it. I don't act and I don't sing.

"You want to know why I chose that life? It's not because I enjoy it. I'm not a madman, or a savage. I chose it because there was no choice."

I glared up, daring her to reply. To my surprise, she smiled.

"I believe you. Though a simple 'no' might have done."

Silence again. I chuckled. She was right. I was making an arse of myself. She asked a simple question, and off I went, as if she'd offered me an open insult. The elf would have told me to think a little before speaking, I bet. The vampire would probably just have shaken his head, muttering to himself about Northern idiots.

I needed them here, if for nothing else than to keep an eye on me. There was a moment of clarity in that thought, as though the answer to a forgotten question was just out of reach. But it was shorter than fleeting, and when I reached, it was gone. All I knew was that I wished I could be standing beside them. Or that they could be standing beside me.

"You worry about your friends?"

The question caught me off guard. Could she see my thoughts, or was my face really that easy to read?

"I wonder about them. But I don't worry. I trust you to get me home sooner or later."

"Ranger, I know this may be hard to hear, but I'm afraid it may be some time before we even know if we can send you home, let alone find a way to get you there."

"I know. But you can't think like that. I will get back. I have to. I have a life to finish. It isn't much, but it's mine, and I care about it."

"For the time being, at least, you might have to make yourself a life here. Do you have somewhere in Ponyville you could stay?"

"Aye, Applejack's offered me work on her farm, and she said I could stay in the barn as long as I'm working there."

"Good. Honest work is one of the best ways to convince a pony that you're not so different from them. Be careful, though, Ranger. I do my best, but some of my subjects can be more than a little difficult around things that they don't know. It might be useful if you carried this."

She produced a scroll from somewhere behind on of her throne's cushions, and held it in front of me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"A right to settle. It proclaims that Luna and I give you permission to live, work, and travel within Equestria as you choose. At the very least, it will convince the most fearful ponies that their princesses trust you. And it may help them to do the same."

I reached out to take it, but she pulled it out of reach. "Ranger, I'm placing a lot of trust in you by vouching for you like this, just as my sister did when she vouched for you to me. I ask only one thing in return; don't make me regret granting you this."

"I won't, Your Majesty. I swear as much; I'll do my best to earn this trust."

"That's all I can ask." The scroll floated into my hand, and I tucked it into a pocket inside my cloak.

She glanced over my shoulder, nodding slightly to her sister. "I'll summon Shining Armor. He can escort you back to the balcony. The chariot should be waiting to take you back to Ponyville."

Thinking about the chariot made me shudder, but I pulled my cloak tighter around myself, said nothing, and tried not to think too much about it. Man was not made to fly, but if he had to, he'd do it with a little dignity.

We rejoined Twilight. Her conversation with Luna had left her looking a little happier than she had when we left the dining hall, but she still looked less than pleased with me. I sighed. As much as I hated the bowing and scraping of the courts, I had to admit there were times when it had to be done, if only to please your host.

Before Celestia had a chance to call on Captain Armor, I took the opportunity to drop into a short bow. No bending of knees, just a bend at the waist, but it was enough, I suspected, to make my point.

"Thank you, Your Majesties, for your aid and your hospitality. I am in your debt."

A small gestured, but if I'd guessed right it should've been enough to keep Twilight off of my back for a while. She did look approving, albeit grudgingly. Grudging approval was enough, though, if it meant I could keep on her good side.

But my performance wasn't just for her benefit. "One thing before I leave, though. Might I ask for a favour?"

"You can ask," replied Celestia with a smile, "but in the end, it depends on the favour."

"It's nothing much. I just wondered if I might ask for a calender that showed the phases of the moon."

Luna frowned. "A lunar chart? You can find one almost anywhere in Equestria. What would you need one for?"

"I just need to check some things. Make a few comparisons. I thought it might be best to ask at the source, if you take my meaning."

"I'm sure Twilight Sparkle has a few spare, and they are the equal of any you could find here in Canterlot. I doubt she would mind furnishing you with one."

"Not at all," said Twilight. She gave me a funny look, though. Not annoyed or disappointed, but curious. As if I were a puzzle, and she'd just seen a possible solution or a particularly useful piece.

I had to wonder just what she suspected.

Once the dispossessed man was gone, the trail of his cloak disappearing down the corridor, Princess Luna turned to her sister, an expectant look in her eyes.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Celestia replied.

"What did you think of him?"

Celestia paused to consider her answer. This creature certainly looked intimidating. It was partially due to his garb; a black cloak, an eyepatch, and then that single, burning yellow eye. And he had a less well-defined quality, a vague, threatening feel about him. But it was not the overt threat of a griffon's talons, or a dragon's teeth and fire. Indeed, he had no obvious weapons on him besides his clever-looking hands.

No, his was a threat more like a coiled spring, or a drawn bow. There was the impression that at any moment some hidden tension might be released and he would surge into action.

And then there had been his manner. Completely ignorant of the expected social graces, even those that Celestia happened to find more tolerable than others. In fact, the only custom he seemed willing to engage in was that ridiculous flat-on-the-floor bow the most reverent of her ponies seemed intent on preserving.

But despite that, Celestia wasn't nearly as worried as she perhaps should have been. There was a strange contradiction about him. He seemed both a threat, but not a threat. It would have been confusing, but Celestia had known beings like that before, long ago, both pony and non-pony alike.

"He's different.," she said finally. "Dangerous. Not to mention rude."

"No different than the nobility, then. At least he doesn't hide behind false sincerity."

"True, it's refreshing to be insulted by ignorance than flattered by malice. Besides, he doesn't seem the type to stab you in the back to get what he wants."

"But you do think he's dangerous. Should we keep a closer eye on him?"

"No. I don't think he'll be dangerous to us, not unless we give him a reason to be. And I trust the Element Bearers to keep their own eyes on him. But you seem taken with him. I'm surprised, Luna; I didn't think you were one to look outside your own species for that sort of thing."

"Wha-! Sister, I must protest! Surely you're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting!"

Celestia laughed, prodding her sister playfully. "Oh, don't tell me you think I'm being serious! Is La Lune's sense of humour really so withered, that she cannot take a simple jest in stride?" She swept a foreleg around in a grand, over-dramatic gesture, as if she were on stage reciting a Shakespearean verse.

Luna simply rolled her eyes. "If you must know, I find him almost familiar. He reminds me ponies I knew before. Long ago, before the Nightmare. Before this peace."

Great minds, thought Celestia. Or was it strange minds?

"I was thinking the same thing," she admitted, "though it's not quite as comforting for me. I suppose I don't notice the changes between then and now as much as you do, sister."

The reminders of their old strife were becoming a little too much. Silence reigned in the hall. Only the muffled sound of heavy, steel-shod hooves on patrol intruded. Just as Celestia felt it stretch into discomfort, Luna spoke.

"What do we do, then?"

Celestia smiled, draping an ivory wing over her sister's withers.

"What would you have us do?"

Eyes turned to the ceiling, Luna thought for a moment.

"Watch him. He told me he has no wish to fight, and I believe him. He's been looking for a clean slate. Let him have it. But watch him all the same. He has useful skills, skills that have been lost in Equestria for centuries. Though I hope we never do, we may have need of them."

Author's Note

The nickname La Lune is from The Celestial Mechanics in Midsummer by TwilightFlopple, which by the way is a fantastic one-shot that you all should read.

I know that there are some ponified alternatives for Shakespeare out there, but for the life of me I just can't remember what they are. And I'm terrible at making pony puns. If anybody's got a good one, let me know and I'll do a little edit.

Interlude - Apples

As she stepped out of the barn, Applejack let herself heave out a single sigh, hoping it would pull away with it at least some of the tension she'd been carrying since she'd first laid eyes on this 'man'. She let the word run through her mind a few times. With every repetition, it sounded just a little stranger, as though it didn't really belong in her vocabulary. Or in the language of Equestria at all, for that matter. Just some more of that darned magic, if she wasn't mistaken.

Just beyond the fence, about halfway back to the house itself, she spotted a red shape leaning against a post, eyes fixed on the barn door.

"You ain't goin' to bed tonight, are ya?" she said, rearing up and resting her forelegs on the crossbeam.

"Enope."

Applejack sighed again, setting her chin down on top of her hooves. "Well, I s'pose it is for the best. I know what I said, but when I think about it, even I ain't sure why I trust him. Don't rightly know why I let him stay, neither. Shoulda just told Twilight, an' let her deal with it. Be smart to keep an eye on him."

"Yeh talkin' t'me, or tryin' to convince yerself?"

She chuckled.

"Seein' right through me, ain't'cha?"

"Eeyup."

"All right. Tell you the truth, I know we shouldn't be trustin' this fella. But I got a feelin'. Like I know he ain't meanin' to bring any harm down on us. Lookin' at him, I kinda feel like he just wants some peace an' quiet. You know what I mean?"

Big Mac just gave her a deadpan stare, giving nothing away. Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes.

"Fine, keep an eye on him. Like I said, it's probably the smart move anyway. Just be gone before dawn, you hear? I don't want him thinkin' that we don't trust him. And I was serious before; you'll need to get some shut-eye yourself, else you'll be fallin' asleep in the fields tomorrow."

He nodded. "Will do. G'night, Applejack."

"Night," she said, smiling as she let herself down and carried on her way.

As soon as she was behind him, Big Mac moved, crossing the grass with stealth that belied his considerable bulk. It was the wonderful, and terrible, thing about being him; ponies always assumed, whether kindly or otherwise, that he was nothing more than a less-than-intelligent farm hoof, who got by on strength and little else.

But he was smarter than most ponies gave him credit for. As he settled himself down beside the barn door, he was quietly content in the knowledge that his target didn't even suspect his presence.

Then he heard the muffled sound of sobbing through the thick planks.

It went on for a long while, before finally tailing off and letting the usual night time noises fill the air again. There was the sound of movement, a body settling down on a makeshift bed, then stillness.

Feeling vaguely guilty, Big McIntosh rose quietly to his hooves, and picked his way back across the grass.

Author's Note

Okay, so when I said this would be on hiatus pending rewrite, I might have lied a little. Inadvertantly, of course. It's still on hiatus at the moment, but I've come back to the story, and read through a few passages, and with a little thought I've had a few ideas as to how I might go on linking what I already have together. Without the need to redo the whole thing.

I can't promise anything will come soon, if at all, which is why this is staying on hiatus for the time being. But I thought you deserved to know that it might well be revived. The fact that it's a few days shy of a year since the last real update is probably significant. If you believe in that sort of thing.

In the meantime, have this little interlude. It takes place between chapters 2 and 3.

Chapter 5

We reappeared in the barn with a flash. Properly prepared this time, I was able to stay standing without support, but the world still whirled around me. I shut my eyes and took a few deep breaths to try and steady myself.

Once the dizziness had passed, I staggered to the door and stole myself a taste of the cool morning air. I caught sight of Big Mac hauling an empty cart towards the orchards, accompanied by what I assumed was a foal, though her legs short and stumpy, a far cry from the usual spindly legs of a young horse.

Mac glanced over and caught sight of me. A few seconds later, the foal followed his gaze. What followed was an entertaining sight as she tried to get a better look, while Mac did his best to block her view. I took the hint, and drew back inside. I clearly wasn't for children to see.

"I get the feeling I'm not wanted here," I said, half to myself.

Twilight was there next to me. "Why do you say that?"

"Should you even need to ask?"

I gestured at the barn door. "I haven't been outside since Applejack brought me here. You wouldn't even let me walk to your house. And Mac out there hasn't exactly been welcoming."

I wandered to a wall, and stood there, scuffing at the loose hay gathering under my feet. "Applejack's already all but admitted she doesn't want anyone else to see me. I think I understand why, but I don't like being hidden away. Like I'm some kind of monster." I've already had enough of that back before.

"Well, you are kind of intimidating. And these ponies have been through a lot lately. Something new like you, showing up out of the blue? Who can say how they'd react. Besides, it won't be for forever. Either Celestia can send you home, or she'll make sure you fit in here until we find a way. If you want to go, that is."

Why would I not want to? I had a life to return to, such as it was. I had a pack in trouble and revenge waiting. Of course I wanted to go back. I had to.

I'd sacrifice what might be my one chance at a clean slate and a fresh start, but I had to.

Sighing, I fell back against the wall and slid down until I was sitting on the floor. I'd have to choose, wouldn't I? A fresh start or comrades in danger. And I already knew that there wasn't any doubt which I'd pick. It wasn't fair, but it was life.

At that moment I heard a voice coming from outside that sounded as though the owner had been plucked straight from one of the 'better' cities on the Drijian. I sat up. That wasn't the sort of voice I'd expect to find around a rustic town like this.

"It's not Big MacIntosh, is it? I suppose I could whip up something to suit him, but somehow I never thought of him as the sort of stallion to be interested in my wares."

"No, Rarity, it ain't MacIntosh," came Applejack's exasperated reply. "And if it were, I sure as heck wouldn't be the one comin' down an' askin' for ya!"

"Well, I've run through everypony on the farm! Unless you've been keeping some extremely scandalous secrets from us all, Miss Honesty, there's shouldn't be anypony else here!"

"And that there is precisely my problem."

"What on Earth are you talking about?"

The door swung open.

"Why don't y'all take a look and see?"

A perfectly white unicorn walked through, her purple mane bouncing in an elegant single curl and an expression of mild distaste on her muzzle. She brightened up, though, when she caught sight of Twilight.

"Ah, Twilight, there you are! What is so important that you had to call on me this early, and drag me up to a dusty old barn, no offen..."

The mare that I assumed was Rarity trailed off as her eyes picked me out of the gloom, just as Twilight had yesterday. In an instant I saw the story of my life from hereon out; an endless parade of shocked and scared ponies wandering in through those barn doors and recoiling at the sight of me. Behind her, Applejack peered around the door with a distinctly unamused expression.

After a few seconds of silence Rarity stumbled back a pace or two and flicked a nervous glance at Twilight. Seeing her friend standing beside me seemed to reassure her, and she dipped her head first to Twilight and then to me.

"Twilight. Sssssssir?"

Was it really so hard to tell? I raised an eyebrow in amusement, but offered her a generous nod in return, replying "miss," as I did so. Everything about this Rarity seemed to scream 'high-born' at me, from the obviously styled mane to her voice to the way she carried herself, balancing lightly on her hooves as if she glided around rather than walking. It was a posture I'd seen among high-born ladies before, and it was an experience to see it performed with four legs and hooves.

However, while most high-born ladies were as shallow and frosty as their high-born husbands, there was something different about this mare. Though she complained about the early hour and the state of the barn, it was clear she didn't really mean a word of it. She was somehow more genuine than that, a fact that made me less inclined to treat her with the usual contempt that the nobility earned from me.

The feeling seemed not to be mutual. Rarity, though she stood her ground for her friend's sake, looked at me with that same air Twilight had shown when she had departed last night. As though she wasn't sure if she should be fascinated or terrified by the tall, dark-haired man with the dead eye.

Perhaps sensing tension in the air, Twilight stepped forward with a false and unnaturally wide grin fixed on her face.

"Rarity, we have an... unconventional order we need you to fill. This is Ranger, and he has a meeting with Princess Celestia at eleven, and he needs an outfit."

Rarity blinked a few times, and for a heart-stopping second looked as though she were about to refuse outright. But something seemed to click; she took a deep breath, shook her head as if to clear it, and looked me up and down. Silence stretched out, filled with anticipation and desperation as she hummed and hawed, tapping an ivory hoof against her chin.

"Eleven, you said?"

Twilight nodded anxiously. All trace of fear had vanished from Rarity's voice. It was confusing at first, but looking back I realise just how professional she was; if there was a client with an order, it mattered not who or what they were, just that they needed it filled. I began to hope that she might be able to work some kind of miracle.

Up until the point that she sighed and shook her head, at least. "Then I'm sorry, darling, but it can't be done."

Twilight began to protest. Suddenly unnoticed in the background of this conversation, I rolled my eyes. Of course it couldn't. There were some days when nothing wanted to go right, and of all the days it could have been, it had to be this one. I glanced around, waiting to a chance to poke my head into the conversation and make my own opinion known. In the meantime, Twilight was trying to impress upon Rarity the importance of a meeting with royalty, but didn't seem to be meeting with much success.

"Twilight, please! As much as I'd love to help Mr Ranger here make a good impression, there just wouldn't be enough time, even if he were a pony. Surely you know how hard it is to design an outfit from scratch. And I don't even know where I'd begin!"

"Oh, come on, Rarity, it doesn't have to be much. It's just so he doesn't feel uncomfortable. I'm sure the Princess would understand if it's not your best work."

Rarity paused with her mouth open, looking as though she weren't sure if she should be offended or if she should take the point under consideration. It seemed like the ideal moment to speak my own piece.

"If it helps, I'd be more than happy with just a pair of trousers and a good, thick cloak."

Twilight nodded along with me, forcing Rarity to give the idea some serious consideration instead of dismissing it out of hand.

"Well I suppose I could do you a cloak, so long as I have enough fabric. And the trousers... Well, they will take some doing, with you unusual stance, but I might be able to rush them through. Plain, of course; there's no time for ornamentation, as I'm sure you understand."

"Plain suits me fine," I replied, shrugging.

"Yes, I imagine it would..." muttered Rarity. "Now, if you could stand up and hold still, I'll need to take some measurements."

A measuring tape lifted itself from her saddlebag and started to circle me. Every few seconds it would wrap itself around some part of me, or stretch along a limb, and Rarity would note the measurement to herself. At one point she mumbled something about not having enough fabric. I disliked the implication, but with Twilight standing nearby I bit back the comment already forming on my tongue. Every time I looked at her, my mind started to think about oranges.

Eventually, though, Rarity finished her work and nodded to herself. Relieved of my duty to stand, I fell back against the wall and slumped back down again.

"Well, it will be a challenge, no doubt about it, but I can have this done by half-past ten."

She turned a hard glare at me. "I do hope you appreciate the effort. Now, I hate to be a bore, but if we could skip the haggling and come straight to a price? This has put me in rather a hurry, you see."

I opened my mouth to explain my situation, when Applejack cut in.

"Well, that might be a problem, Rarity. See, Ranger here kinda dropped outta the blue. And I mean that in all seriousness. Showed up in the orchard yesterday afternoon with nought on him. No idea where he came from, save that it ain't here. So I was thinkin', if you were willin', we could sort him out with a little credit? I can find some use to put him to on the farm, and he can pay you back when he earns the money."

"Oh."

Rarity looked me up and down, seeing me as more than a strange monster or a new challenge for what I think was the first time. And she would have seen a mess of old scars, tangled hair badly in need of even the slightest attention, and of course a piece of old sackcloth tied around my waist with a length of rope. It was obvious that I wasn't well off.

"Why darling, I had no idea! Of course you're not in a position to pay! If you were, why would you be wearing that? No, no, in that case, consider it a gift. Something to help you get back on your hooves. Or whatever it is you walk on."

"That's uncommonly generous of you," I replied.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I suppose I should thank you for giving me a head start on your species. It's always exciting to start something new, don't you think? When you do get home, be sure to tell your friends about me when you talk about Equestria. I'm sure we'll see more of you visiting in the future, and I'd welcome the new custom."

Both Applejack and Twilight glanced around awkwardly at this, but Rarity either didn't seem to notice, or didn't realise the significance.

Though she had a point, even if it was less pleasant than she, or the others for that matter, realised. If I did go back, and people found out where I'd been and how I'd returned, it was a fair bet that at least some of them would want to visit for themselves. And some of those would see a peaceful land, unprepared and vulnerable.

Twilight might have been able to turn my head into an orange, and move things by magic without even showing effort, but could she fight off an entire army? Could the god-princesses?

There was a chance that Equestria might see more of my kind. It was a thought that turned my gut cold.

In the meantime, though, Rarity was pressing on heedless of my thoughts.

"If you'll excuse me, though, I really must get started. I'll have the order ready and back here as soon as possible. Mr Ranger, Twilight, Applejack." She nodded to each of us in turn.

"I'll see you here, then," replied Twilight. Then, as Rarity shuffled out the door, she turned back to me. "Okay, so we've only got a few hours to get you up to speed on royal etiquette. Now listen closely, because this is important. Rule number one..."

***

I admit, I wasn't the most dutiful student. Actually, I wasn't dutiful at all; after the first rule, I just sat back and let her voice fade into a dim buzz in the background. A little ways into it Applejack excused herself and slipped out, probably to help her brother in the orchard. I envied her; a little hard work would have been better than just sitting here, half-listening to Twilight rattle off a list of utterly pointless rules that I suspect she learned simply by rote. I doubted she'd ever really used them herself; the man with the ear of the king tends not to have to bow as low.

Twilight finally slowed down after what felt like hours, during which time I'd thought out and scrapped several plans for my meeting with Celestia. None of them seemed appropriate, so I finally deciding to make thing up as I went along, making a mental note to add a healthy dose of well-measured respect to ease things along, and if need be to smooth over any insult I might make.

I'd also taken the chance to wonder what Rarity might come up with for me. No offence to her, but despite her apparent skill I wasn't hopeful. Designing for ponies must have been completely different when compared to my style of clothes. It didn't help that she seemed the type to design fancy frocks as opposed to a more sensible fare.

"Did you get all that?"

I blinked. Twilight was saying something. The last few seconds of her speech replayed itself in my head, letting me know she had finished her list at last, and was awaiting a response.

"Not really, no," I said.

Surprise flashed across her face, swiftly followed by anger, but then she just sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Well I'm not repeating myself. If you mess up, it's your own fault."

"I can live with that," I replied, picking idly at a piece of straw from the floor.

She shook her head.

"Look, Ranger, if you're not going to listen to anything else, at least listen me now. Be polite. Don't act like... Well, like you are now. And keep an eye on me."

I neglected to point out that, in my situation, that would leave me with no eyes to keep on other things.

"If I tell you to do something, it's probably best that you do it."

"Alright," I relented, nodding. "Don't worry about me. I know what I'm doing."

That was a lie, but if Twilight knew it then she didn't let me know.

Little more than a minute or so later, as we sat in silence, Applejack called out from the yard.

"Twi? Ranger? Rarity's on her way. Looks like she's got yer order with her, too."

"Oh, good!"

Twilight trotted over to the door, trailing a faint spark of magic behind her. "She's early too! That's a good sign, right?"

Then she paused, looking back at me. Despite the news, I hadn't moved from my spot on the floor. "Aren't you coming? I thought you wanted to get outside for a bit."

"Is it such a good idea? There might be somebody out there who shouldn't see me."

Frowning, Twilight put her head out the door.

"Applejack? Is it alright for Ranger to come out?"

Applejack waiting a moment before replying, probably thinking it over. I'm not sure if that was a good thing or not.

"Should be fine, yup. Applebloom's away at school fer now, an' Granny's takin' her mid-mornin' nap."

Fair enough, I thought, hauling myself onto my feet. I still wasn't deemed fit for public view, but at least I'd get a bit of sunshine. You had to be thankful for small mercies.

As I stepped out into the yard and shook out my stiff legs I caught myself wondering what the elf and the monster were doing. Wondering if they were even still alive, if Dartilia would abide by his word. The thoughts set the weight in my chest moving about, bringing a hollow pain with it. If they were alive, they were probably mourning me by now. A day or so later, and for them the hurt would be starting to set in, the knowledge that they'd never see me again.

Had it only been a day? It felt like so much longer. Come to think of it, how long had I been drifting before I woke up here? There was no way to know; it could have been moments, or it could have been months. Years even. Maybe they'd already forgotten.

I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I almost didn't notice Rarity as she stopped in front of me, saddlebags in place, holding a paper-wrapped package in a practically invisible blue grip, and wearing a look of pride and satisfaction.

"I hope you didn't get too anxious waiting to see what I'd come up with. As I said before, it's rather plain, but I think I made it work. For a first attempt, at least, I'd say it's rather splendid!"

She set the package down at my feet and stepped back, smiling expectantly up at me. That was my cue, then. Time to see if my suspicions were right. I tore the paper away, and my mouth dropped.

She'd done it. I'm not sure how, but she'd done it. Lying there were a pair of dark grey trousers, not fancy but certainly not shoddy, and a thick, black woollen cloak with a shining metal clasp at the front. Sweet sacrifice, but it even had a hood!

Without waiting for further comment I pulled the trousers on under the sackcloth, buttoning them up and letting my makeshift belt fall away.

They fitted near enough perfectly. Perhaps a little tighter than I was used to, but they left enough room to move freely, and the material was more comfortable than anything I'd felt before. This, coupled with the refreshing experience that was the shower, made me feel a little better about the world I found myself in.

And it obviously showed on my face, because Rarity smiled, looking her work over.

"I take it you're satisfied?"

"Satisfied?" I repeated, picking up the cloak and swinging it up across my shoulders. "I'd say so. This is better than I'd hoped, I'll say that much."

I tested the hood, nodding to myself. Very fine. Very fine indeed. Rarity had a talent, there was no doubt about that. I smiled and offered her a short bow. "Thank you, m'lady." I thought she might appreciate that.

She did, dropping into something like a curtsy herself.

"Why, you're quite welcome. But I'm afraid I can't stay; I had to push some orders back to get this out in time. Do give my best to the Princesses, though, Twilight."

She, Twilight and Applejack made their farewells, leaving me to think about what she'd just said. So she knew the Princesses as well. It made sense, considering she was Twilight's friend, but that message was a little to personal for anybody not held in some high regard. Perhaps it was a side effect of her obvious nobility? She might well have been the rebellious daughter of some nobleman - or rather noblepony, I should probably say - who had run away from the family home to...

To do what? Make dresses in a farm town? Admittedly a farm town that housed one of the Princesses' personal students, but still.

"Oh, before I forget, though!"

Just as she was about to leave, Rarity turned back, levitating a small, black tangle from her saddlebag. "I ran into Pinkie Pie as I was on my way up, and she asked me to deliver this to you. She said that she would have given it to you myself, but she had a feeling she was supposed to be somewhere else."

Twilight took the tangle in her own glowing grip and let it spread out in the air. It was a rounded triangle of black cloth, stitched to a band of some kind of stretchy fabric.

"An eyepatch?" she said in confusion.

"Yes, it came with a note. Hold on a moment, darling, while I find it..."

She rummaged around, eyes turned skyward. "No, no...oh, don't want to bring that out...ah, there we are!"

A small square of yellow-ish paper drifted over to Twilight, who leaned in to read it.

" 'Dear Twilight, I had a funny feeling you might be needing something like this, so I thought I'd lend you one from my stash. Don't worry about returning it, I have plenty more. Love, Pinkie Pie.' "

All four of us shared a look. Mine was of total confusion, but the other seemed to have dealt with this sort of thing before.

Rarity cleared her throat.

"Yes, well, Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie I suppose. Anyway, I really must dash this time. Ta-ra!"

And then she was gone. Twilight looked back at the note, then to the eyepatch, then up at me.

"I guess this is for you. Unless.."

She held a hoof up to her own eye nervously. "I don't think I broke any Pinkie Promises lately."

Applejack shuddered.

"Nah, she'd letcha know right proper if you had. Remember Dodge?"

"Yes, you're probably right. For you, then, Ranger. Though how she knew is a mystery."

The eyepatch lifted itself up to about the right height for me to take. It wasn't hard to guess what it was supposed to be used for; I'd made use of strips of cloth for a similar purpose before. Though I had to admit, the eyepatch idea was a far better solution, in many respects.

With the patch in place, I let Twilight and Applejack get a better look at me.

"I have to say, that looks a lot better than before," said Twilight with a smile. "No offence, but the blank eye was a little distracting."

"None taken," I replied shortly. "So, how long before this chariot is due?"

"Not too long. Princess Celestia said it was being sent to the road into Ponyville, so we might as well head there now and wait for it."

"Well, if'n you don't mind me cuttin' an' runnin', I really should be gettin' back to work," Applejack said.

"No, don't worry about it. I'll tell you how things went when I get back," Twilight replied with a smile.

"Welp, maybe I'll be seein' ya again soon, Ranger."

I nodded.

"Maybe. Until then?"

"Until then."

Before she left, I offered her a hand, which she took with only a moment's hesitation. I clasped her wrist in a soldier's handshake, and felt the end of her hoof shift and touch mine.

"Fortune's favour," I said solemnly. A mercenary's farewell. I'd repeated those words enough times that they'd lost most of their meaning, but this time, for the first time in a long while, I meant it. I owed a lot to Applejack, and might be owing her a lot more in the future.

She froze, unsure how exactly to respond. But then she smiled and shrugged, choosing to reply in her own way.

"Back atcha!"

I smiled back, then we both let our limbs drop and turned away. She, to get her hooves dirty on a farm. I, to meet a princess with the powers of a god.

Author's Note

Is it obvious I have no idea what I'm doing yet? XD

This chapter took a while to write, but in a bit of a turnabout I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out. And writing for Rarity is rather fun!

EDIT - Just cleaning up those last few paragraphs; they weren't sitting right with me. Perhaps a little better now.