//------------------------------// // Chapter 22: Safe Or Sorry? // Story: The Bridge Between Worlds // by Artemis Orion //------------------------------// Safe Or Sorry "Keith! You're okay!" Twilight said with a relieved smile, seeing Rainbow Dash drop me back down onto the endless field of clouds. My leg muscles gave in as soon as I landed, catching myself on my hands and knees. The pains were only more intense after the encounter. Physically drained, but victorious. Fluttershy swooped down and hugged me, even though I was soaked and covered in unidentifiable muck. She soon realized it and pulled away, blushing. I chuckled. "Darling, you look terrible!" Rarity said. Aching limbs, wet and smelling of crap, slightly burnt on the edges? Yeah, I look like crap. Applejack pat me on the back and gave me a warm smile. "Well, facin' a Hydra head on like that does that to anyone. Give the guy some credit, will ya?" I ignored the slight argument. I was trying to relax. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just... sorta tired." I got back up, and shakily made my way to the Air Balloon. At least that got away with no damage. "We heard big boom!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "Was that you? Was it? Huh?" "What Pinkie is trying to ask is, what happened down there, darling?" "Pure awesomeness happened!" Rainbow Dash explained in her own way for me. "When we got there, the Hydra was climbing the mountain after Keith and..." "Yeah, you tell 'em, Dash..." I said quietly, throwing off my hoodie, viewing the soaked yet charred material. The black hoodie now had darker patches of black and brown. Well this is going to be harder to explain when I get back... I hung it over the rim for it to dry, and tossed the rest of my carried items into the basket. I was going to turn back to the group, but was stopped by Applejack. "Yer gettin' in there too, cowboy?" "Applejack, I'm fine." I said this, but didn't fully believe it myself. "Really?" she stood up on her hind legs and press her front hoof into my previously injured shoulder. "Then tell me honestly that THAT doesn't hurt." As if on automatic response, I cringed when the pressure was applied. I sighed, knowing that I was going to be a useless deadweight again. "Told ya." She gave a smug look. "Nobody likes tearin' their muscle twice, Keith. Trust me. Ah should know." She nudged me back towards the basket. "Now get some rest. There ain't no point walkin' if ya can't." There was no point arguing, and I was thankful anyway. "Fine... but if there's anything wrong, even the slightest-" I began to speak, but Twilight cut me off. "We saved you from timber wolves, you saved us from a hydra. I think we're even... sort of..." Jumping into the basket, I threw myself on a random sack of supplies, still dirty and beaten-up. I couldn't care less, with my eyelids going heavy almost instantly. I heard them carrying on in their conversation as the caravan moved on. "So, Rainbow Dash, what happened next?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It had been a couple of hours since they left the swamp. The mountainous area, however, continued on for miles. Many of which broke through the Sky Desert, and raised higher still. The Mane Six cantered on, the Air Balloon in tow. "I can't believe he actually beat the Hydra." Twilight Sparkle broke the previous silence. "Actually, he couldn't have done it alone..." Rainbow Dash added. "Even so, I didn't think he would have survived that long." "Twilight, that's a horrible thing to say!" "I don't mean it in that way! From what I've read, and thank goodness he's asleep for this, I just didn't think humans were capable of accomplishing such things!" "Really, because from what I've seen so far, that's not the case." "We gotta a lot more to learn from him, then. Who know's what else humans can do?" "Maybe they have super saiyan modes?" "What are you talking about, Pinkie?" "Nothing..." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A gust of strong wind blew in their direction, it pushed against the Air Balloon and strained against the ponies. It was a struggle just to prevent themselves from getting blown away. It soon ceased, but not soon enough to tire the ponies out. "We can't keep like this... forever..." panted Twilight. "Indeed we cannot! We must not! I mean look at my mane!" Rarity said. Rainbow Dash observed the weather patterns of the clouds above and beneath them. They were becoming noticeably darker. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have been much trouble, but not when you're hooked to a giant balloon. "A thunderstorm's coming. We gotta move fast!" "A storm?!" Twilight panicked slightly "Anything but that! We've got a long way to go!" "We can't stay out here either. We'll be pulled away with the wind!" "Calm down, sugarcube. We'll think of somethin'..." Applejack had to hold her hat down to prevent it from flying off. "... sooner or later..." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Keith, you awake? You awake? You awake? You awake...?" Who the hell is saying that? I slowly came round. It didn't take me long to realize it was Pinkie Pie, opening my eyes to the exaggerated grin of the pink pony. "Yes, I'm awake. Please stop chanting now?" "Only if you get up so that Applejack can fix the Air Balloon!" she didn't sound scared at all. "Wait, what?" I got up as fast as I could, arms and legs still burning slightly. "I didn't pass out for a few days again did I?" "Only for a few hours, silly!" Pinkie Pie bounced out of the basket. But she didn't land on clouds, she landed on the ground. I cautiously I looked around to find that we were no longer in the Sky Desert. The endless blue sky was replaced with a high, grey cave ceiling, with various stalactites hanging from the ceilings. Looking in, the cave had a few bends and turns and I couldn't see further into it. I turned to the cave entrance. We weren't very deep, and the skies outside were grey. Wind blew in and flashes of lightning appeared every few seconds. "'Scuse me, cowboy." Applejack stepped into the basket with rope and tools in her mouth. I stepped out of the basket, still confused about the recent events. "So, how did we end up here?" "We got caught in a thunderstorm. Had to find some sort of shelter." Applejack picked up a burnt end of rope. "Lightning usually strikes the highest objects. An' unfortunately, that was us. It's gonna take a bit of a patch job before we can get out again." She gestured at the deflated purple balloon. Two gaping holes pierced the fabric. "An' Ah still wonder who puts a gold tip on these things." Applejack chuckled. At that moment, Rainbow Dash flew in from the entrance. Her mane was even more frazzled than how she kept it. "There's no way we're going out anytime soon! Looks like we're just gonna have to wait it out." "It's alright." Applejack said. "It's not as if we can go out anyway." "Oh yeah! Almost forgot! Come with me, Keithy! You might want to speak to someone!" Pinkie Pie bit my sleeve and pulled me deeper into the cave. "Guess I'll catch you girls later." I waved back at Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who set back to patching up the cloud caravan. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "So who is it that you want me to talk to?" I asked the bouncing Pinkie Pie through the echoey cave. "Is it Fluttershy? Because I already apologized to her, I swear-" "No, silly! Someone else!" "Wait... you said 'someone'. I'm gonna assume it's not somepony we know?" "Yuppity yup! He's just up ahead!" I heard the voices echo through the caves. I heard Rarity laughing, and Twilight was talking. But there was one more voice. One that I've never heard before. "And that is why Starswirl The Bearded never finished his book on Obsolete knowledge of witchcraft and wizardry." said the unknown voice. It sounded deep, but vaguely hoarse. It was loud, but not threatening. "Wow, I never knew that! Wish I'd brought my quill and paper..." Twilight was conversing with it... whatever it was. Turning the last corner to of the cave, we came to a very large opening. What I saw made my jaw drop. Rarity was happily swimming in piles of gold and gems, laughing away in ecstasy. Fluttershy was sitting behind Twilight, who was talking to something almost a hundred times her size. It was scaly, but the scales changed between shades of blue and purple in the light. It was lying down, hiding its yellow unprotected skin. Its eyes opposed the colours of its scales, even when they changed colour. Twilight was talking to a dragon. The dragon looked up from his purple companion. His eyes widened, revealing more of his dilated pupils. "Ah, the human has awakened!" The dragon bellowed, followed by a small chuckle. It rumbled throughout the cave. I was speechless. Both in fear and amazement. Apart from the Hydra, this was the first proper dragon I have ever seen! And it was massive! He must have seen the colour drain from my face. He just smiled at me. Hopefully that meant it wasn't going to eat me. "Oh, I must apologize. A lot of my visitors are overwhelmed by me. But then again I don't get many visitors..." Twilight and Fluttershy came up to me. They weren't the scared at all! "Snap out of it, Keith! He's not going to hurt us!" "R-Really...?" "We've been talking for an hour. I think he may know some things that you may want to know about." "Well, what I want to know right now, is why he isn't pissed off at us playing in his treasure?" I looked over to Rarity and Pinkie Pie jumping in and out of all the shiny valuables. The dragon dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Pffft! I no longer see pleasure in such material possessions. All my life, finding it, keeping it, storing it... but for what?!" He laughed again. "Oh, where are my manners! Allow me to introduce myself." He lazily sat up. The floor lightly vibrated again. "Throughout the thousands of years of my life, I have been known as many things. The dragon of peace, the one of wisdom, the immortal one. But you, human, can call me Baron. The Baron if you'd like. And you are...?" "Keith. Um... nice to meet you... pretty strange name for a dragon..." "Ah, blame that on my parents. Bless their souls, wherever they may be..." For a moment, we just stared at each other. The Baron's eyes were bigger than my head, but they were kind. Different from what I thought most dragons looked like. "...well...?" asked The Baron. "W-Well what?" "Is that all there is to your name? 'Keith'? Surely you must have achieved some sort of status or other if you have survived without the Lost Civilization?" "Uh, yeah... about that..." Twilight smiled sheepishly. "Keith didn't really come from those people..." "Oh, is that so?" It sparked a new interest in the dragon. "Then where have you come from, human?" "Well... it's a long story-" "He came from a planet called Earth through a weird inter-dimensional portal thingy that came from his pendant!" Pinkie Pie yelled from atop a mountain of gold. "I'm sorry, did she say pendant?" The Baron moved his head in closer to me. "And do you have said pendant?" I pulled it out from beneath my shirt. It looked perfectly new compared to the rest of me, still shining along with its six magical gems. The Baron's eyes widened even more. He didn't say a word, only smiling in silent mirth. "For three thousand years, I thought I would never that thing again!" "Hang on a second, you've seen this before?!" Twilight asked in surprise. "Indeed I have! What Keith holds now was, and is, the key to Equestrian humanity!" "You seem to know a lot more about these people than we do, Baron." "That, and more, young one. Let me start from the beginning..." "I was younger when I first came across these humans. ALOT younger. Back then, I cared about nothing but the treasure I collected, so much like all other dragons at that age. These strange beings sparked my curiousity, so I observed them. From a distance, I watched as they built, progressed within their civilization. And all through their progression, one symbol was always seen. On their defenses, on their clothes, on their armour... it was always there. That symbol was the pendant, and it was the thing that held the people together in harmony." "But their community was very... closed-off. They never left their land, but only made it bigger. They disposed of anything that they found was no longer of use. They weren't very good with visitors. They treated anything that looked like a threat, as a threat. Anything that looked inferior, was treated inferior. In short, anything that wasn't them, wasn't really welcome. And because of this, I chose to stop watching their actions. They had grown into a great nation, as I have grown tired of watching them. And so I left to wander the rest of Equestria." "I only returned two thousand years later, when I was of old age. By then, I had seen and learned many things. Wisdom has taught me that there is no point in gaining knowledge when it cannot be shared. I also found no use of material possessions anymore. Everything I have earned since I was a little dragon is in this cave, and yet, it is useless to me. So I thought about giving what I had to the Humans. I thought that they were a capable enough species to live on by themselves for the past two millenia. How wrong I was..." "I returned to the Human civilization, thinking that it would have been bustling with activity. But it was in fact, deserted. The buildings and monuments were intact, but it was lifeless! They disappeared, just like that! But I found something else rather intriguing. Everything they owned was left behind. All, but one item. That was the Medallion, and the pendant you now wear around your neck. But seeing there was no longer anybody there, I left, slightly broken hearted. Time has passed since then, and I have seen thieves come and go with the possessions of those people. Until this day I do not know what happened to them. That is... up till now..." Baron leaned into me once again, he long snout almost touching my chest. "And now you'r here. Not only are you human too, but you hold the pendant. I can only assume where and how you've gotten a hold of it..." "Hey, I didn't steal it! It was in my world, and I found it." I recalled when I first found it in the park back on Earth. "In your world?" The dragon rasied an eyebrow. "Well you're one lucky fellow. What you hold is both the strength and weakness of an entire people!" "You do know we plan to go there as soon as we can right?" "Of course I know! Why else would you be here?" The Baron leaned back onto a mountain of treasure. He picked up a ruby and tossed it into his mouth, chewing it like hard candy. "Now, I can't tell you whether I find your decision is foolish or wise. That is your decision, not mine." I stared at the medallion, almost expecting to give more answers. "So how powerful is this thing?" "Oh, don't ask me! You're the one who holds it, not me. All I know is that the bearer of that Medallion can bring great power. But with great power-" "-Comes great responsibility. Yeah, yeah, I know." "How did you know I was going to say that?" "I've seen enough movies to know where this leads..." I smiled. Thinking of other things that reminded me of home. Pinkie Pie and Rarity slid back down to the ground. Rarity put a hoof over her mouth and yawned. "Excuse me darlings, but I think it's getting rather late." "Yeah, you're right. We should probably head back and see how Applejack and Rainbow Dash are coming along." Twilight and Fluttershy turned to leave as well. "This conversation isn't over! We'll see you in the morning, Baron!" "Make sure you sleep closer to the cave's entrance! Unless you want to hear me snoring!" He laughed once again. I was the last to turn to leave. Before I turned the bend, I asked Baron one last question. "You don't seem very surprised from the fact that I'm not from around here." "Once you live for a few thousand years, some things cease to become amazing. Don't you think so?" His jolly laughter echoed through the rest of the dark, tunneling cave.