Discord's Warrior

“Ok now that that sick buck is dead I can I start moving into the desert, I really need to find that town because I doubt my water will last more than a couple of hours, but first”

I turned around and looked down to the body of the diamond dog that I had just killed moments ago and much like the diamond dogs I had seen on the show he had a small jacket with pockets

“Let’s see what you have here” I then started to put my hooves inside his pockets ‘Wow glad to see you toughen up Storm Chaser’

“Yeah, yeah I just hope this guy has some diamonds or something on him” I then found a hoof full of diamonds, emeralds and other gemstones. “Perfect now I have something of value I can sell for a map”

I then noticed that the diamond dog had a saddlebag on tied onto his jacket “Probably from that other pony well I’ll take that if you don’t mind” I put on the saddlebag and put the gemstones and the canteen inside.

After I tied the saddlebag I walked towards the edge of the drop off and started to see the desert more carefully looking at its features the Mohoove was vast, its white sand was accumulated in large dunes, and there were large rocks, a lot of cacti and other desert flora that I couldn’t name at the moment.

I flew down to the sand finally entering the desert; I then started to walk slowly on the sand choosing to go straight towards a very large rock off in the distance.

“Damn I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw Blondie or Tuco around here” I kept walking squinting to keep sand out of my eyes as I went by a tumbleweed I could’ve swore that I felt the ground beneath me shake a little.

I kept walking until I reached the rock it was at least 10 feet tall so I flew to the top of it to see if I could find the small town that I was looking for and I thought I saw a mound of sand slowly lift up only to go back down quickly after.

‘Storm Chaser some dia’

“Yes I know its three of them I think, I don’t know why they haven’t attacked yet, but I’m sure as hell not going to be killed by them I do have the advantage of flying.

I flew above the spot where the sand moved and I unsheathed Eclipse Slicer ready to strike at any moment, the instant my hoof touched the sand a black diamond dog jumped out of the sand trying to grab me but I managed to move just in time.

“Good you finally decided to attack, now where are your other two friends?”

The diamond dog smiled, tipped his black cowboy hat and said “Come on out boys he already saw you”

As soon as he said it another two grey diamond dogs holding large butcher knives in their hands.

“What do you want?” I asked the black diamond dog that looked and acted like the leader of the small group while still squinting to show that I didn’t fear him as much as he wanted me too and to keep the sand out of my eyes.

“Don’t be stupid pony you know damn well what we want, or did you already forget who you killed before coming here?”

The other two diamond dogs started to growl at me with anger, I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous at the situation.

The tension could be felt in the air as all four of us just stood like if we were waiting for something that could make us start our battle, as we were staring down at each other.

“Hey, have you ever come across somepony you don’t want to buck with?” the leader diamond dog then gave me a puzzled look for an answer

I smiled and said “well I’m that kind of pony” I immediately flapped my wings as hard as I could lifting up some sand with the wind I made, making it so that the diamond dogs couldn’t see me.

The diamond dogs closed their eyes and started to cough the leader knew what I planned so he dug underground, but his companions were not as lucky.

“Two down!!” I said as I cut through the bodies of the grey diamond dogs and from underground the leader uppercut me making me spin in midair from the impact of the punch.

I recovered from the punch and quickly flew up so that he couldn’t grab me, he then threw one of the knives of one of his dead companions which I quickly dodged as I flew towards him.

“Die you damn dog!!” I yelled as he yelled “Die pony!!” and he swung his large knife while I flew next to him while Eclipse Slicer cut through him, slicing him in two killing him instantly.

“Damn I swear these fights are getting tougher I’m lucky I haven’t been cut yet because I didn’t get any of those herbs back in Legerdemane” I said as I was panting a little from the exertion and I sheathed my sword after flicking the blood off.

I then wiped the sweat off my brow and looked down at the now dead black diamond dog on the sand painting it a crimson red with the blood of all three of my dead enemies.

I walked up to the black diamond dog and took his black stetson from his head, I dusted it off, then put it on and I flew up to see if I could spot the town I had been looking for I started slowly spinning until I saw it off in the distance.

I landed again and then opened my saddlebag and took out my canteen and drank a little bit from it afterwards I screwed the top back on and put it away being careful to not drop it.

As I walked up to the town I could see the waves of heat in the distance that only made me more thirsty “Hey, Discord what do you think about that fight just now? I was pretty bad ass right?”

‘Now, now Storm Chaser don’t be getting overconfident, besides those diamond dogs aren’t even in a pack that how you know they are weak because they’re not strong enough to be allowed into one of the packs.

I walked to the town for another hour before I could plainly see another signpost that read “Black Gem”

“Black Gem huh, well it will have to do I guess” I said as I walked inside of the small town that looked a lot like Appleloosa with all the old looking buildings except that they were barely any ponies around only griffons, diamond dogs and the occasional minotaur here and there all going about their business.

“Most of everyone here looks like outlaws and thieves” I said whispering to myself as a big brown griffon with an eye patch and scars on his face with two swords at his sides stared me down as I walked past him, but he apparently remembered something he had to do and left.

‘You’re right Storm Chaser so for now try to not get into any fights at least before you buy what you need especially a map’
“Will do” I kept walking around the town to look for a general store where I could by some supplies for the journey out of this desert.

I looked up at the signs of the old buildings that made up the town, I saw what I thought was a weapon symbol on one, but seeing as I already had Eclipse Slicer I was good and I passed it.

After passing another two buildings that didn’t have signs I came upon one of them that had a sign at the top that read “General Store” the sign was rusted and barely readable and it was almost falling off.

‘I hope this store even has supplies by the way it looks I doubt it’ I pushed the door open making the small bell at the top of the door ring slightly as I did alerting the sleeping shop keep of my presence.

The shop keep got up and scratched his head with his claws he was a dragon but not a really big or scary one for that matter he kind of looked like a bigger and longer Spike but this dragon was light green in color and his spikes were of a light blue coloring like his eyes.

The shop keep smiled and said “What would you be interested in buying my pony friend?”

“Well I would like to trade some gemstones for bits or supplies” I said as I took the gemstones out of my saddlebag and put them on the counter in front of the dragon.

As he started to examine them to estimate their value I looked around to see that the store had many things that could be useful, but most of it just looked that junk that somebody sold just to get the extra bits.

“So how much is it all worth?” I asked the shop keep that looked up from the gemstones to answer my questions so that we could get down to business.

“Well you do have a couple of good emeralds and one very good sapphire a little small but the quality of it makes that unimportant, the rest isn’t that good, but still worth some bits”

“I’ll give you 25 bits just because I like that sapphire so much, but nothing more than that” he said waiting for my answer.
‘What do you say Discord? I don’t really know what these things are worth’ I asked the disembodied voice inside my head.

‘Well I never really had use for money, but you should take the bits I doubt he will give any more for those gemstones’

“You got yourself a deal” the scaly shop keep smiled and gave me a small bag full with the 25 bits he had said.

“Now what would I have to give you for that sword pony?”

I put my wing over Eclipse Slicer to hide it a little bit from the view of the shop keep “Sorry this sword is not for sale”

The shop keeps smile faded a little disappointed that he couldn’t get his claws on the sword he wanted “Yeah, I figured as such one does not give away a sword of that quality that easily”

‘Yeah besides I would take a lot of bits to match the quality of Eclipse Slicer so don’t do anything stupid Storm Chaser’
“Well now I would like to buy me some supplies since I need to be on my way”

“Sure what would you need?” he asked already turning his back toward me so that he could grab whatever I wanted to buy from him.

“Well I need a map, something that could be used to heal injuries and some armor for my face and wings if you have it”

The shop keep grabbed a map and two small metal tins “I’m sorry but I have no armor that would fit a pegasus pony, but I do have a map and two tins of healing herb that were ground and made into a cream to apply easily over wounds”

“Oh well it will have to do, but thanks how much will it be?”

“For you my friend 5 bits for all of it, but don’t tell anyone I gave it to you at this price many around here don’t like ponies and would get mad at me if I didn’t rip you off” he said whispering the last part.

I paid him the 5 bits grabbed the things I had just bought and put them inside my saddlebag I smiled a little and tipped my hat to him as I said “I’m glad to see that there are still dragons that go by the code”

“And how would you know about the code, friend?”

I stopped in front of the door to the shop and with my back still toward him “A dragoness friend of mine told me about it”
He smiled and said “You should head towards the saloon it has an inn on the second floor just tell that old buzzard that Sharp Fang sent you”

I looked back and nodded at him, and then walked out of the store and walked out to the street to look for a place to eat drink and hopefully sleep on a bed instead of on a tree.

I walked down the street again passing a couple of buildings and a lot of diamond dogs and griffons that most of them looked like they could kill at the drop of a hat so I stayed clear from them, trying to not attract too much attention to myself.

Until I came upon the classical double hinge doors that saloons back on Earth had too, so I came up to them and pushed them aside and got inside.

Inside I saw what one would expect to see when entering a western style bar, some tables where diamond dogs where betting, playing cards and getting drunk of their asses and in the back was the counter with 5 small stools to sit on.

As I walked in some of the not so drunk diamond dogs turned to look at me, while a lone minotaur just lifted his hat a little to see me and then smirked only to put the hat down again covering his eyes.

I sat on a stool much like I had seen Lyra sit on benches when an older looking griffin with a scarred face with grayish white feathers on his head and light brown fur on the rest of his body he walked up to me from behind the counter.

And in a raspy voice he said “What’s your poison pegasus?” while he was scrubbing an already clean glass with an old rag.

“What do you have?” I asked while I put my hat down on the counter, he then answered “Hard cider and Cactus Juice two bits for glass each”

“Well I’ll have a Cactus Juice, oh and Sharp Fang sent me” the old griffon lifted his brow a little bit but then he served me the drink “Well then this one is on the house”

“Nice” I said as I grabbed the glass and drank from it, it almost made me faint because it was so strong it was like tequila but stronger still after I drank I grimaced a little because of the flavor.

“Too strong for you pony? Don’t worry Cactus Juice can knock the lights out of a minotaur at times too, here have some cider it tastes way better than the Cactus Juice”

He served me another glass which I gulped down immediately the sweetness of the cider overtook the bitterness of my other drink “Thank you I needed that”

After an hour or so of sitting there small talking with the old griffin that had told me his name was Gryphe, I heard what I thought was a female voice having a confrontation with what I thought was a diamond dog.

“Damn diamond dogs bothering a pretty little mare like that” said Gryphe as I turned to look exactly what was happening.
“Please” said a unicorn mare with emerald green eyes, a cyan colored mane and a turquoise colored coat “take anything but my book”

A brown diamond dog that appeared to be alone had a thick book in his hand lifting it away from her reach he was laughing at her and he said “Pretty pony suck me off if she want book back”

The mare was on the verge of tears for she didn’t know what to do that book meant everything to her.

I came up to the table that they were next to and I dropped five bits on it “Take the money and leave her alone you mutt”
The diamond dog laughed and said “I give to her if you offer something else”

I unsheathed Eclipse Slicer and swung it at the diamond dogs neck stopping it mere inches away from his neck “Now what is it going to be, the bits or the sword?” I said as I started to press the blade on his skin.

The diamond dog gulped in fear “Okay bits then” he said as he dropped the book and the mare caught it and she put it in her saddlebag.

The diamond dog turned away “This not over” he said as he grabbed the bits and left the saloon.

“Thank you so much, I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t helped me” she almost started to cry at the thought

“No problem umm what is your name?” I asked her as she started to calm down and everyone in the saloon started to do what they were doing before the confrontation.

She smiled as she wiped away her tears “My name is Night Shade and you are?”
“My name is Storm Chaser nice to meet you Night Shade, where are you staying for the night? Do you live here?”

“I don’t have any place to stay, I don’t have any bits and no I don’t live here” she answered a little sad about her own situation.

“Well I’m going to rent a room for the two of us then, after all what sort of stallion would I be if I didn’t help a mare in need?”
She blushed slightly at this “Okay thank you so much”

“Hey Gryphe how much does a room cost here?” I asked him as I went up to my spot on the counter
Gryphe looked to me and said “Well its usually 5 bits a night but for you I’ll say it’s about 3 bits”

“What I couldn’t be for free?” I asked Gryphe teasing him a little for his generosity obviously given to me because he saw what I did to save Night Shade.

Gryphe laughed a little bit at my teasing “What did you expect? This is a business not a damn charity; consider yourselves lucky that I even let you in, you damn herbivores!” he said yelling the last part.

I smiled and put the bits for my drink and for the room “Come on lets go its getting late anyway”

“Okay then Storm Chaser, hey why do you think that griffin said those hateful things to us if we didn’t even do anything bad to him?” she asked as we started going upstairs.

I smirked “This town as you already know is filled with pony haters so old Gryphe had to look like one too so that all the others down there didn’t think he didn’t hate us”

The room was small to say the least it only had a bed and a small dresser that had never been used or opened.

We both laid down on the bed after I hid all our belongings under the mattress so that no one could steal them easily.

Night Shade looked at me in the eyes “Thank you so much for saving me, I don’t know how to repay you”
‘I wonder where this is going Storm Chaser?” said Discord teasing me.

“I told you, you don’t need to thank me or repay me it was just something I wanted to do”
“Well then good night Storm Chaser I’m so happy I could meet you”

“Good night” I then closed my eyes as sleep started to set in I thought ‘I won’t let her die.