//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: My Knight, My Bookworm // by silverpelt2 //------------------------------// Chapter 5 Ponyville The sun was dawning in the village of Ponyville; smoke rose from the aftermath of a recent darkspawn attack, but thankfully all the fires were put out quickly before any real damage took hold. Darkspawn bodies littered the streets, a bulk towards the entrance where dozens where pierced by arrows and bows. A couple stood out in the middle of the road, right in front of a large library in the hollow of a grand tree. Darkspawn bodies surrounded the two, but they did not seem to mind, as they were more concerned with their safety after a night of fighting. Gunther still held his sword and his shield, and Twilight held her small notebook of magic spells in her grasp. Twilight looked over to Gunther; he was busy thinking about the upcoming battle that seemed to be inevitable. His eyes were worried, and scared. Twilight eased herself over to Gunther; he smiled when he saw her caring face approach him. She reached around his sword hand, overlapping his hand with her own. “You’re not in this alone” she said sternly. His expression disappeared as he took his gaze away from her eyes to face the ground. Twilight tightened her grip around Gunther’s fist as she continued. “Come on, let’s get going; the mayor will need to be involved in whatever plans we are going to make.” She led Gunther into the library for a quick stop, saying she couldn’t to town hall in her pajamas. As she changed inside, Gunther quickly cleaned himself of any darkspawn blood he had on his armor, bringing it back to its nice silver shine. He also wiped down his sword, and sheathing it on his back behind his Cousland family shield. The two set off to town hall to find the mayor and have Gunther explain what needed to be done about the current crisis. The two walked slowly, silently, simply enjoying the company of each other. “Hey Gunther,” said Twilight quite cheerfully, Gunther turned to see Twilights glowing skin in the sun, her smile she was giving him was enough to get his heart pumping. “Could you tell me about your sword? I mean, it seems like you use magic but as far as I can tell, you are no mage.” “Of course” replied Gunther happily. He unsheathed his sword and held it loosely in his hands as they walked. “Do you see these carvings in the sword? They are called runes. They are magic infused stones that when attached to a weapon, they add their power to the weapon.” “That’s amazing!” exclaimed Twilight, she moved her eyes up and down the silver sword, looking at each one of the runes inside the blade. “Does each one of them do something different?” “You learn fast,” he replied, then pointed at the bottom rune. “This one was a gift from the circle of magi, it is a grandmaster fire rune, and it gives my sword very powerful flame properties. The one above it was a gift from the Dwarves of Orzammar, it allows me to resist magic that is cast at me.” “But your sword has blue flames, isn’t fire usually red?” Twilight asked. “I believe the color is due to the last rune. This one is a silverite rune; it was given to me by the lady of the forest right before we ended the curse of the werewolves. This one only affects darkspawn, it cuts through them more easily, and it changes the fire’s color to blue.” “That is amazing Gunther” said Twilight astonished by the lesson Gunther just taught her. She further examined it for a few moments before Gunther interrupted her. “Would you like to try it?” he asked. Twilight looked up at Gunther with widened eyes. A huge grin formed as she nodded. Gunther took the sword by the blade and handed it to Twilight. She gripped the hilt tightly with both of her hands. She lifted it without much trouble, but still felt the weight of the blade. She then spread her legs slightly and gripped the sword as if she was ready for battle. “I feel something from the blade,” said Twilight excited. Her eyes widened as she took her hand and ran it up the length of the blade. “I can’t explain it, but it feels alive!” she said with great enthusiasm. “It does feel alive doesn’t it?” agreed Gunther, “but right now, the runes are dormant, try to wake them.” Twilight seemed to be focused hard as she squinted her eyes trying to wake up the runes, but the sword remained mundane. She then relaxed her arms and opened her eyes; her eyes drooped in disappointment. “It’s no use, nothing is happening.” She said disappointed. “Come on, you’re more persistent than that.” He said. Twilight looked over to Gunther with renewed hope in her expression. “Okay, when I see you do your magic I see you fill your hands with power. Try to think about the sword not as a weapon, but as an extension of your hand. Let your power flow into the sword, rather than force it.” “Alright, one more time.” She said confidently. She closed her eyes softly and breathed out slowly. The sword burst into a blue ethereal flame in her hands; Twilight opened her eyes with joy as she looked upon the flaming blade. “I did it!” “I knew you could do it” said Gunther happily. Twilight closed her eyes again; she breathed in slowly and the flames dissipated. She opened her eyes and handed Gunther back his blade. He sheathed it back on its resting place on behind his shoulders. He smiled at Twilight, who in return smiled back. “Come on, let’s go to town hall to prepare for whatever needs to be done.” Said Twilight. The two began walking again towards town hall to speak with the Mayor. They walked slowly again, mostly in silence, until Twilight interrupted it again. “I think I am still confused” she said, Gunther looked over at her quizzically. “I mean, how are you able to use your sword if you are not a mage?” she asked. “Sorry, I guess I never answered that” he replied. “During my joining, the blood I drank was mixed with lyrium, something I don’t think you have over here.” Twilight nodded, as she never heard of the substance. “Lyrium is used by mages to make their magic more potent; but if a non mage uses it, it can awaken a small amount of magical power.” “That sort of makes sense.” She replied. “Sorry, I wish I could explain more but I'm not exactly an expert on this subject.” He said. “But my powers are very unrefined, as you saw during the battle. I can hardly control the power from the sword when I release it.” “Don’t worry about that, you control it just fine!” she encouraged. Gunther simply smiled at her words, telling himself he should do something about his control later when he had a moment to practice. “Come on, there’s town hall” said Twilight pointing at the large building in the center of the town square. They walked up the steps to the large twin doors. Gunther pushed the door open, and held it for Twilight to walk though. Gunther followed Twilight into the large room, instantly seeing the group gathered around a large desk in the back. The group turned to face the couple walking in, and it was none other than Twilights friends. “Oh thank goodness, we were wondering where you were” proclaimed Rarity, feeling grateful to know her friend was safe. Everyone else shared the expression of relief seeing their two friends. Gunther and Twilight joined the group at the desk of the Mayor. The mayor herself was already in her office, awaiting the hero’s return. “Sir Gunther” said the Mayor, “Decanus Irving has informed me that it was you who lead the guard to victory, I would reward you under normal circumstances but we have bigger priorities right now” “Of course” Gunther replied, “I do know plenty on darkspawn and I will aid in any way I can; I am at your disposal mayor,” he said saluting across his chest with his hand. “Thank you” replied the mayor, “it appears we have a escalated problem on our hands right now: the darkspawn that I did not deem a threat have just attacked our homes, I am at a loss of what to do” “We need to evacuate all the civilians at once,” suggested Gunther quite sternly. “Can they stay at Canterlot?” “I believe so; we shall send a letter to the princess at once” replied the mayor. “But we can’t just run from the darkspawn, what are your thoughts?” “Well, during my people’s war with the darkspawn, we called all of our allies,” he answered. “We are at war Mayor, we have to be prepared. If I may be so bold, I have experience leading armies against the darkspawn. I shall stay behind in Ponyville to lead the army.” “That is bold, Sir Gunther” she replied, “but right now, we have no army, and no general to that matter. You are a worthy candidate. I suppose we have no choice. I appoint you, Sir Gunther of Highever, captain of the guard in Ponyville.” she said formally. Gunther bowed slightly. “I will not let you down” “He won’t,” said Twilight forcefully. The mayor nodded, and then began her work by taking out a quill and ink to write a letter to the Princess. Gunther left the desk to join the group of friends gathered in the office. “What now Gunther?” asked Applejack, cocking her hips. “I hope you have a plan.” “Yes, I do” he replied. “But for all of your safety, I’d ask that you evacuate along with the rest of the town.” “Hell no!” shouted Rainbow Dash. “If something is messing with Ponyville, I'm going to be there to kick its ass! Is that right girls?” “you becha’!,” said Applejack proudly “I ain’t going to let some nasty darkspawn tear up my farm!” “And I can’t let them steal all my fabulous dresses! I'm staying too!” proclaimed Rarity. “No matter what kind of party it is, Pinkie Pie will be there! I'm staying!” added Pinkie. Gunther turned to Fluttershy, knowing she should evacuate, being the softest of the group. She looked up from the ground with a very determined expression. “I’ll stay too; someone will have to look after all the animals of the forest! The darkspawn are taking their homes, they need someone to take care of them all!” She said proudly. “Then it’s settled!” said Twilight. “We will all do our share to help Ponyville and Gunther!” the group cheered then grabbed each other for a giant group hug. Gunther was left out, and began to turn around to leave the office before being stopped by Twilight. “Hey, being our friends also means you have to join our group hugs” “What…its fine, I...” he tried to say before being pulled into the center of the hug. Gunther was squeezed tightly by all of the group’s players. He smiled lightly, remembering how nice it was to have real friends who cared deeply about him. The group finally let go of each other, then leaving the building together until they went their separate ways. Twilight left with Gunther; she noticed how fatigued he was after such a late battle, not to mention his hangover from the party. “Hey” she said, gaining Gunther’s attention. “The guards and the mayor can handle the evacuation from here, let’s go home and take a nap, sound good?” “Are you sure they can handle it?” he asked “Don’t worry Gunther, they are more than capable.” She replied, giving her usual caring smile. “And besides, you would hardly be of any use running on a couple hours of sleep.” Gunther smiled and nodded at the idea, after all, he did need his rest in case anything happened that needed his full attention. The two walked slowly to the library, Twilight could easily see Gunther’s fatigue, as his eyes were becoming hard for his to keep open. They arrived at the library and instantly they made their way to the bedroom, quickly removing his armor, he fell limp onto his bed. Twilight did the same, falling asleep in her own bed, wishing Gunther sweet dreams as she drifted off. Gunther found himself in a large hall filled with many nobles and generals alike. The banners that hung told him he was in the Denerim royal palace, and in the middle of a landsmeet. Gunther was in his full armor of diligence, along with his sword and shield on his back. The nobles had all backed away from Gunther and another man clad in silver plate armor. The man’s back was to Gunther so he could not see his face, but he could see black, neck length hair on the man. “So, this is how the landsmeet will be decided” said the man, he had a very familiar voice. It was an older man’s voice, but not too old, just experienced. “For some reason I always knew this moment would come; a moment where we would face each other, battling for the fate of Ferelden.” He drew his sword, and then turned to face Gunther. It was Loghain; Gunther was fighting Loghain for the right to lead the armies against the darkspawn instead of fighting a civil war. “A man is made by the quality of his enemies. Meric told me that once; I do not know whether it is a compliment to you, or me.” He said before going quiet. He lifted his shield into a defensive position. Gunther did the same, after drawing his flaming sword from his scabbard at his side. Gunther saluted Loghain with his sword; surprisingly, Loghain returned the salute. Loghain was the first to strike. He moved fast for an older man. His sword made a slicing motion towards Gunther. Gunther raised his sword to parry, but Loghain quickly diverted his attack to chop from the other direction. Gunther raised his shield quickly enough to block the blow completely. Gunther then took the offensive, he stabbed at Loghain’s chest. Loghain sidestepped and used his shield to hit Gunther’s sword away. Keeping a hold on his sword, Gunther was turned away from Loghain, then felt hard hit on his back as he was pushed away. The crowd of nobles gasped at Loghain’s strike on the grey warden, but Gunther quickly faced Loghain again. Loghain charged Gunther then stuck him repeatedly with his mighty sword blows. Gunther blocked each one, although becoming weaker after each strike. Loghain was relentless with his savage strikes, seeing his opponent weaken with each blow. He was eager to finish the fight and end the madness of the landsmeet. Gunther quickly launched a series of his own strikes with is holy sword. Loghain halted his strikes to parry each one Gunther threw at him. Loghain then halted Gunther’s assault by locking swords with him. This began a test of strength Loghain thought he could easily win. As their swords locked, the two traded stares that could send a normal man running in fear. Gunther growled in anger as he pushed back with all his might. His sword reflected his added strength as it burned brighter than before. Gunther finally pushed Loghain back and off of Gunther, but Loghain was already ahead of him; Loghain whipped his sword hand around Gunther’s guard, hitting him square in the jaw with a armored fist. The crowd gasped again, seeing Gunther start to bleed from his mouth. Gunther took a few steps back to compose himself, But Loghain would have none of that. Loghain charged at Gunther once more, raising his shield to strike him to the floor. Gunther lost his balance after the strike; falling on his back he tried to block the incoming strikes from Loghain. He parried what blows he could with his sword, as he had to keep himself raised with his other arm, leaving his torso unguarded and wide open. Loghain managed to land a glancing strike on the side of Gunther’s abdomen. Blood splattered the stone floor as Loghain quickly exited the wound. By this time, Morrigan, Alistair, and the bard, Leliana, pushed their way to the front of the audience. Sten, the Qunari warrior was seen behind them, towering over everyone. Loghain walked away from the fallen knight, who was clutching his bleeding side. He faced Alistair and raised his arms. “This is your champion Alistair?!” he shouted angrily, “it’s going to take more than a boy to defeat me!” “Gunther is more a man than you ever will be!” shouted Leliana stepping forward. “He accomplished more good than any of us could do in a hundred lifetimes! That is much more than could be said about you” “We are at war, girl!” he shouted back, “I am not the traitor here! I am doing what is best for Ferelden!” “Gunther is fighting for the people of Ferelden!” shouted Alistair, “you could care less about the people, and all you care about is power!” “Silence! You are nothing but a royal bastard, stop thinking your sense of justice is absolute!” Loghain shouted in fury. He turned his body back towards the fallen knight who was trying to raise himself off of the ground. “Well at least he is admitting the ‘royal’ part” said Alistair quietly to himself. Gunther managed to get on his feet; his armor was now stained crimson with blood. He prepared himself, putting his shield in front of his body in a defensive stance. Loghain rushed the knight shield first. Loghain’s momentum proved too much for the young knight, and was pushed backwards. Gunther swung high at Loghain as he charged again. He blocked the strike easily enough , and the next one Gunther threw at him. Gunther’s form was becoming sloppy, and Loghain used this to his advantage; he parried another strike, then found a opening to Gunther’s chest once again, and stabbed at his heart. Gunther managed to bring his sword up in time to divert Loghain’s killing blow, but it was too quick to parry completely. The sword tore through Gunther’s right shoulder. Wincing at the pain, Gunther noticed himself wide open again. Loghain hit Gunther’s chest once more with his shield, shooting Gunther to the ground. Gunther hit the floor, but momentum carried him onto his stomach. Blood poured out of his new wound, and he found it incredibly painful to even move his right arm, but he kept a strong grip on his sword. Gunther struggled to get up; he took off his shield, as it was only getting in his way as he pushed himself up to his knees, still holding his torso up with his left arm. “Get up you fool!” shouted a young woman. Loghain and Gunther both looked towards the crowd. Morrigan stood in front of the nobles and soldiers. She seemed different than her usual cold self, she had warmth to her face; she seemed worried, something she never was. “If you don’t get up, I will…I will never forgive you” she said shaking her head with a deep look of sadness. Gunther felt strength wash over him, a renewed fountain he just tapped into. “you are a fool to think he will get up ” said Loghain walking towards the knight; Gunther was on his hands and knees trying to catch his breath. Gunther growled at Loghain’s words. Loghain then kicked Gunther’s open abdomen, the crowd gasped in fear for the young knight’s life. “Why do you still try to get up?!” he shouted as he continued to kick the knight, “why do you persist while you know you cannot win?! TELL ME!” he shouted before one last kick to send Gunther flat on his chest. “Because I can still hold a sword” answered Gunther as he lifted himself with ease. He rose to his feet, and then raised his head; his eyes were closed as he raised his sword up to point at Loghain. His eyes opened as he fueled his sword with a holy fire. His eyes burned the same color as his sword; the sight alone was enough to make Loghain step back in fear. Gunther stepped forward to meet his opponent. His strikes were powerful and precise; Loghain could hardly keep up with the knight’s renewed strength. Gunther landed two strikes on loghain’s body and a blow to the face with the flat of his sword. Loghain continued to lose ground to the holy knight as his guard was destroyed. Gunther landed a strike on loghain’s sword arm then hit his sword with such force to send it flying across the room with a loud clatter of steel against stone. Gunther quickly rammed the hilt of his sword into loghain’s gut, then forced him to his knees. Then in a blink of an eye, Gunther’s sword was up against Loghain’s neck. Loghain could not look away from Gunther’s powerful stare; his burning eyes blue with passion and strength beyond physical. “I…you win warden.” Loghain said weakly but sincerely. “I cannot best you. I yield.” He said before losing consciousness and falling to the floor. The crowd cheered for Gunther as he turned to face them as the new champion of the landsmeet. Soldiers and healers rushed to Loghain’s side as they began to heal his wounds. Gunther then began to walk towards his friends but the fire in his eyes dissipated; he dropped his sword and fell limp to the ground. “Gunther!” shouted Morrigan as she rushed to his side. Alistair and Leliana also ran to help Gunther behind Morrigan. Morrigan cradled Gunther in her arms trying to wake him. “Come on, wake up you fool!” slowly he opened his eyes, only to see Morrigan staring back at him. “We won right?” Gunther asked weakly. As much pain as he was in, it all seemed gone as he felt Morrigan’s touch upon his skin. “You won” she replied, then laughed softly, “you are one stubborn bastard, you know that?” her smile faded as Gunther closed his eyes. “Alistair get Wynne, now!” she ordered. Alistair left immediately to find the healer Wynne. “Hey come on, stay with me!” she said trying to wake Gunther once again. “Everything will be alright, I'm here…I’m right here…I'm here…” Gunther woke with a jump. He instantly clutched the side of his abdomen. He felt no blood or wound; he lifted his shirt to feel the skin, he felt the familiar feel of a scar, remembering the duel with Loghain. It was…just a dream. He thought. He lifted his legs over the side of the bed to sit and compose himself after such a realistic dream. He ran his hand through his sweaty hair, feeling the ring he always wore. Morrigan… he thought. He looked at the silver ring in the darkness; it seemed to shine no matter the surrounding. He went to touch it with his other hand. “I'm here…” he heard a voice as he touched the ring. Morrigan…where are you? He asked, touching the ring again, and hearing her voice repeat the same words. Gunther slowly got up from the bed, trying to be as quiet as possible as not to wake Twilight sleeping across the room. He grabbed his sword from his armor stand, having it rest on his hip. He decided against wearing armor, as it would defiantly wake up the sleeping student. He turned to gaze at the sleeping student. She was curled up in the covers, cuddling a book. Gunther chuckled lightly at the sight, and then slowly walked up next to her bed. He knelt down to pull the covers over her shoulders. “Sweet dreams my little bookworm” he whispered before getting up and walking away. He slowly crept down the stairs and out the front door. Outside, Gunther noticed it was only around noon, although as short of a time that he was away, Ponyville was very busy evacuating as quickly as possible. He walked slowly towards a guard directing civilians, upon seeing Gunther the guard saluted. “Captain” he addressed while saluting. Gunther returned the salute, then raised his hand to signify the guard to stand down at attention. “How fairs the evacuation?” Gunther asked. “Very good sir,” replied the guard. “Canterlot has been swift in its reply, and has sent many passenger trains to help with the evacuation. I’ve been directing all civilians towards the station.” “Pardon me, but what is a train?” asked Gunther. “Oh excuse me sir, I forget you are unfamiliar with Equestria’s technologies” he replied. “It is a large metal construction that can hold twenty or thirty people per car. It is put on wheels that ride rails made of steel. The rails lead up to a similar station in Canterlot. The transit is very short compared to if you were to walk all the way to Canterlot” “Sounds fascinating…” Gunther replied before being cut off by a distance voice. Both Gunther and the guard turned to see the commotion. A guard was running towards them, obviously with important news. “Captain! Captain!” he shouted before stopping in front of Gunther. “Captain I…” “Slow down soldier” he cut off. “Take a few breaths, and then tell me what’s going on” the guard nodded and began taking large breaths. A few moments passed before he caught his breath. “Sir, I was stationed in the watchtower when I saw a large group of something marching from the southeast.” He said. Gunther’s interest spiked a mix of worry and confusion flooded his mind. “They are too far away to tell what they are but I ran as fast as I could to tell you.” “Southeast?” Gunther questioned. “But the Everfree forest is west of Ponyville” he said thinking about what it could be “…come on, let’s go check it out” Gunther and the two guards left to the eastern watchtower to find out just what was coming their way. They ran quickly towards the tower that looked past the town’s wooden walls. Upon climbing up the tower, one of the guards handed Gunther a hand telescope. “It is in that area in which I saw the group coming” said the guard pointing. Gunther searched and searched, then spotted the end of a large formation of men. He followed the formation up towards the front, finding a banner bearer. Gunther smiled broadly when he noticed the heraldry on the flag was that of the king of Ferelden: a large Sun, with three diamond crests at the top. Gunther also saw the heraldry of the grey wardens: the Griffon rampant. Gunther searched at the head of the column, finding exactly what he was looking for. A knight dressed in magnificent golden armor riding a stunning white horse. Alistair, Gunther thought, why are you here? Gunther waited out in front of the gates for the arriving king, and in less than half an hour, Gunther saw the first banners of Denerim in view. The column of soldiers marched magnificently in step as they approached the towns gate, hundreds of handsomely dressed soldiers all clad in steel chainmail and breastplates. Alistair was nearing on his magnificent white steed when Gunther saw another ride up next to him from outside the formation. This one was clad in heavy amounts of silver plate armor and rode a simple brown warhorse. Gunther knew easily from this description that this was none other than his recently added companion, Loghain, who had been inducted into the grey wardens after the landsmeet. Although Alistair had the most problems with him, he still proved to be a worthy companion during the final battle. The formation on men were now very close to the gate when Gunther finally called off the guards telling them they were allies, the guards praised the word, fearing they were going to have to fight the darkspawn all on their own. “Gunther, is that you?!” Gunther heard coming from ahead. Gunther saw Alistair jump down from his horse and begin running towards Gunther. Loghain trailed behind Alistair on his horse shouting at him to slow down and something about enemy territory. Gunther met Alistair with a large bear hug for as long as it took Loghain to catch up behind Alistair. “It’s great to see you Gunther!” Alistair said happily as he pulled himself off of Gunther. Gunther was still amazed that Alistair was actually in Equestria. “It’s great to see you too but…” Gunther said, “But I don’t understand, why are you here?” “What, can’t the king come and visit his best friend?” he said laughing; Gunther didn’t seem to buy it. “Funny story actually, but it can wait. Besides, I think there are a few people who still need to see you” Gunther became confused until he understood what Alistair meant. Alongside Loghain was the redheaded bard Leliana and the mage Wynne. “Gunther!” Leliana shouted before nearly tackling Gunther to the ground with a hug. The surprised Gunther returned the hug generously, missing the touch of his old friend. She pulled her face back but still kept her arms around Gunther, then ruffled his hair laughing. “Your hair! Are you growing it out to look like mine?” Gunther laughed lightly at the statement. “It’s so good to see you too Leliana” Gunther replied, Leliana wrapped herself around Gunther again and kept herself there, refusing to let go. Wynne approached the two, putting her hand on Leliana’s arm. “Leliana, let the poor boy breath.” she motherly. Wynne was always the grandmother of the group, mostly because of her age, but it was more of a reflection of her kindness but strictness at points. Leliana kept herself locked around Gunther; he just smiled remembering how good a friend Leliana was through their journeys. Gunther put out a hand for Wynne to shake, she gladly accepted. “It’s great to see you too Wynne” Gunther said, laughing lightly at Leliana’s antics. “Likewise, dear friend” “Are there any more surprises you’d like to tell me about Alistair?” Gunther said, turning his gaze towards the newly crowned king. “Well, Zeveran is here, “he said thinking, “Sten, Loghain, Oghren, me, and here’s the funny part of the story.” He said, pausing. Leliana finally let go of Gunther, falling silent waiting for Alistair to continue. “What is it, who is here?” Gunther asked. “I assume by funny he is referencing me” said a voice from behind Alistair. A woman clad in very revealing black robes came riding up on an even blacker horse. She stopped next to Loghain, quickly dismounting and gracefully walking towards the group. “Greetings, Gunther” she said awkwardly. Leliana pulled away from Gunther to give the two some space, as did the rest of the group. “Morrigan…” Gunther started, but was cut off when Morrigan slowly wrapped her arms around Gunther’s neck, and pulled him close to her. Gunther had never seen this side of Morrigan before; she was warm and compassionate with her touch. As silent as she came, she pulled out without saying much to Gunther, who she had not seen since her disappearance after the blight. “We should…talk later” Morrigan suggested quietly before returning to the group. “Well, now that all the warm, fuzzy part is over let’s get to business.” Alistair said. “So you’re probably wondering why we are here aren’t you?” Gunther nodded, looking over Alistair at the approaching army that he brought. “Well, a couple weeks after you left, Morrigan here came to Denerim saying something about how you were in danger.” “It was I who led Alistair across the sea to your location. I felt you were in much danger and I couldn’t bear to leave you all alone to face this.” Morrigan said. “You wouldn’t believe what we traveled though to make it here. “ Leliana said, “There was a fog so thick, you couldn’t see your own hand in front of your face.” “Yeah, if not for Morrigan, we probably wouldn’t have made it here, let alone know you were fighting darkspawn.” Alistair added. “Now as for darkspawn…they are here I hope, otherwise we made a long trip for nothing” “Is a little faith in me so hard?”Morrigan asked sassily. “Yes, I’ve had a few encounters with them here.” Gunther said, interrupting the two’s arguing, “Follow me to town hall, we shall discuss all these matters there, and introduce you to the mayor.” Gunther suggested. Alistair nodded. Loghain dismounted from his horse and followed Alistair as he was led on by Gunther. The others of the group followed as well, each one admiring the new village they were in. They walked slowly, through the quiet village; Leliana walked next to Gunther, talking about how nice Equestria was. Indeed Equestria was a sight to see; the grass seemed greener, the trees taller, the water clearer. Even the air seemed cleaner than Ferelden’s; it was like taking in breaths of fresh flowers every time. “So have you been living here Gunther?” asked Leliana. “For the past couple of days, yes” replied Gunther, “I became friends with a nice student, she is letting me stay at her house.” “How did you two meet?” Leliana asked; Gunther smiled at Leliana, as he knew where this question was headed. “I sort of saved her from darkspawn…” Gunther said sheepishly. “ooooh, how romantic” Leliana replied slyly. Gunther blushed furiously at Leliana’s words. Leliana could always read Gunther better than he could read himself; Gunther hated this, but also loved it at the same time, as she always helped him sort out his feelings. As such, their bond of friendship grew rapidly through their travels, and the two were best friends at the near end of their journey. “Will I ever get to meet this lucky girl?” Leliana asked. “Well, we are passing her house soon; she should be up by now.” Gunther replied. Alistair then walked up next to Gunther with a confused look upon his face. “Gunther, where is everybody?” he asked, “this is a large town, but all I’ve seen is a few guards.” “After an attack last night, we ordered for a full evacuation” Gunther replied. “Everyone has gone to the capital: Canterlot” he said pointing up towards the mountains to the large city. “I see” he replied, “you seem to be on top on things here” he added. The group walked for a couple minutes before they approached the library. The door opened and a young girl came out. She was wearing a knee length purple skirt, and a white blouse. She noticed the group walked past the library and ran over to greet them. Gunther stood next to her to introduce them. “Hey Twilight,” Gunther said, “Did you sleep well?” “Yeah, I feel great now” she said smiling, then turning her attention to the new group in front of her. “Who are these people, do you know them?” “Yeah I…” he started before Leliana cut him off. “My name is Leliana, it is a pleasure.” She said, “We are from Ferelden, I hope Gunther told you all about our adventures there.” “Are all of you Gunther’s friends?” Twilight asked. Leliana nodded, answering for the group. “Well then, my name is Twilight Sparkle, it is a pleasure to meet all of you.” She said bowing. “We did not come here for small talk; could we get on with what’s important here?” Loghain said interrupting. “I'm sorry Twilight, but we should get going.” Gunther said, “You’re welcome to come along, but it’s probably going to be pretty boring” “It’s alright,” she said, “but you will be back by dinner?” “Of course, I’ll see you then.” Gunther replied smiling. The group left Twilight as they headed for the town hall. Hours later, the group emerged from Town hall, all ready to make preparations for the oncoming battle. The sun was setting in the background as they walked down the steps of the hall and onto the road. “How about we meet up here tomorrow morning and go over some things. Sound good?” Alistair asked the group. Everyone agreed on it. “Well goodnight. And Gunther, you are welcome to join me for dinner.” “Sorry, I already made plans with Twilight, you understand right?” he replied apologetically. “Alright then, have it your way. I guess you don’t have any time to spend with poor king Alistair” Alistair said. “I didn’t mean it like that,” Gunther said. Alistair then slapped him on the shoulder. “Oh lighten up, I'm only teasing. Goodnight.” He replied, then leaving with the group as they walked towards their camp made at the entrance that they arrived at. Gunther left as well, but was stopped by a soft hand on his arm. “Is now a good time for us to talk?” asked a beautiful black haired woman. Gunther turned to face her, looking deep in her eyes. “I suppose I can’t ask for forgiveness for what I did. I know it was wrong and never meant for either of us to get hurt, but I am truly sorry.” She said, almost on the verge of tears. “I know you meant it when you told me you loved me on our last night together, and I meant it when I told you the same thing. But you have to understand, this feeling, I have never had it before, I am unfamiliar with it still.” “But I still don’t understand why you left, or why you had to.” Gunther asked. He was left with so many questions, and not given an answer to any of them. She just vanished, not leaving any trace of her behind. “I left because I knew if I stayed with you, I would never be able to leave you.” She replied, “I am preparing to leave Ferelden, preparing to leaveThedas. You see, great change is coming, and this child is not meant for it, it will be meant for a later time.” “So, in other words, I could not come with you.” “You have to understand, our child is not going to be normal by any means. Its fate is going to change the world.” “I think I understand.” Gunther said, still a bit confused. “I know it seems like everything I did was so this child could happen, but please believe me when say that my love was real, that was not a lie. But we can never be together.” “I know.” Gunther replied softly. Morrigan wrapped her arms around Gunther’s neck in a soft, but loving embrace. Gunther returned it by wrapping his strong arms around her slender waist. “you were the first person to call me a friend, I will never forget that. You were so kind to kind to me in hopes of nothing in return. I was never worthy of your friendship.” She said, tears rolling down her face. “Morrigan,” Gunther said softly, “your friendship was worth any task to me. Don’t say things like that; you know you were one of my greatest friends, and always will be.” “You were my greatest friend too” she said, Gunther gently pushed her head onto his chest, where he laid his head on her soft hair. “I will always cherish the time we had together, and I will…I will always love you.” She said, trying to hold back sobs. Her voice had complete sincerity to it; Gunther couldn’t help but smile, now that Morrigan had finally found the courage to admit to love. “You will always have a place in my heart Morrigan,” Gunther said, rubbing her back gently as he held her, “I will always love you too” The two held each other for what could have been hours, but finally let go of each other after enough time had passed. “Come on, let’s get you back to camp” Gunther suggested. Morrigan nodded and they walked down the road to the camp, hand in hand. They both had very pleasant auras to them, both incredibly happy now that they had closure on their relationship. “So, tell me about this new girl, Twilight, I believe her name was” Morrigan asked, changing the subject. “Is there anything between you two?” “I don’t know,” Gunther replied. “I mean, we have so much alike, even though we are from different countries. She is very kind and caring. Not to mention she is an incredibly powerful mage...” “You are very easy to see though you know.” she replied, Gunther seemed a little shocked and confused at her words. “You love her don’t you?” “Yeah, I guess I do.” Gunther said, feeling relieved after admitting such a thing to Morrigan. “Such a romantic you are.” Morrigan said in a sly tone, “Although I have yet to meet this girl; shall you bring her tomorrow during our meeting?” “Sure, I'm sure you two will have plenty in common” Gunther said happily at the suggestion. “Maybe you could even show her some things on magic; she is not adept in using magic for battle” “Then I shall look forward to our meeting” Morrigan said. “You are okay with this, right?” Gunther asked in a concerned tone. “I will be strange, you loving another girl” she said. “But you said it yourself, we will always love each other, even she cannot take that away from us. Nor the memories that we made together” then Morrigan nudged Gunther in the ribs with her elbow. “Especially the ones that made this” she said lustfully as she patted her stomach.” Gunther’s face turned as red as blood at her words, remembering the night they spent together before the battle of Denerim. Gunther smiled remembering what happened after, and decided to turn the tables on her. “Don’t forget the day later how I had to carry you on my back for the entire march because you could not feel you legs” Gunther said, earning him a punch on the shoulder. “Now that was hardly my fault.” She said jokingly, “how was I supposed to know the rumors of a grey warden’s stamina were true?” Gunther just smiled at Morrigan, and they continued their slow walk back to camp, keeping their hands entwined. The two walked in silence for the remainder of the walk to the camp. The sun was just about ready to set as their journey finished and the camp was already prepared in front of them. “I will see you in the morning?” Gunther asked. Morrigan nodded then wrapped herself around Gunther. They embraced for a few moments, then pulled away, but not before Morrigan could plant a chaste kiss on his cheek. “Goodnight my dear friend” she said to a blushing Gunther. She turned around and walked to the camp. Gunther began making his way to Twilight’s home; if it wasn’t for the imminent darkspawn attack, life would be perfect right now.