//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Legendary // by RoflNom //------------------------------// So much for relaxing with Arch. I walk into this place and the first thing I see is the mare of my dreams drinking her sorrows away. And it's my fault, all because I went and died. And yet, here I am, perfectly alive. At least, in a way I'm alive. Arch's concerned voice interrupted my thoughts. "Hey, you gonna be alright? You wanna go somewhere else?" "No, no. Its fine. Let's just try and relax. Let things go." I wasn't about to ruin Arch's chance at some stress relief. Celestia knows he's earned some rest, after everything he's been through. Sure, I was there for everything too, but it all came down to him making the calls. "Alright, you wanna sit at the counter or at a booth? I'll let you choose." Little did Arch know that inside my mind I was fighting a losing battle to sit close to her. On one hoof, she might realize that I am me. On the other, I might hurt or scare her. If she knew about the things I've done, she'd think I've become a monster. The thing was... I had become a monster. I couldn't help it, I just had to be near her while I had the chance. Even if I could never speak to her, this would have been enough. "The counter is fine. And yes, I'm sure about that, Arch." I made my way to a stool and sat down. Arch did the same, watching me with worried eyes. "Hey," Arch yelled over to the bartender, "mind getting us a few hard ciders? Thanks." The pony simply nodded and began pouring the drinks. He slid the two glasses over to us and Arch began downing it instantly. I simply swished the liquid around in the glass. I don't know why, but I had done that ever since I was old enough to drink. Seemed to make whatever it was taste better to me. "You know, you do the exact same thing as somepony I used to know." I looked up from the glass to see Violet was looking over at me. "He would always mess with his drinks before he even took a sip." It killed me hear her say that. I wanted to just jump up and say 'Hey, its me, IronTrot. I died and was reincarnated as a God.' But that wasn't an option. "I'm guessing he was a soldier. One who may have passed away?" I said, trying to play the ignorant stranger. Violet began to get teary-eyed. "Yeah, his name was IronTrot. He was the one who was awarded for saving General Arch." Arch, who was blocked from her sight by me, spoke up. "It's too bad I never got the chance to thank him." He stood up and walked over to Violet. He set his hoof on her shoulder. "He was a good pony, always there when he was needed. And he would be saddened by the sight of you sitting in here, drinking until your emotions are numbed." When he turned to walk away, Violet wrapped her hooves around Arch. His eyes widened and he looked over at me. My eyes were full of hurt. I couldn't help it, not being there for her when she needed me made me regret ever leaving to fight. I turned and walked out into the night. Where I was going I didn't know, and, honestly, I didn't care. ______________________________________________________________________________ I sat on the bench in the middle of the park, my mind completely blank. I hated myself for making Violet feel so sad. I hated myself for all the suffering I was bringing. I hated myself for dying. It sounded completely ridiculous, but it was true. You're pathetic, you know that? All you ever do is look at the negative. Never once did you think that you doing all this could benefit her. You fought and died so that she could live her life without fear. Great, now I had Legend scolding me in my thoughts. At least Death wasn't aro- Did somepony call for me? Scratch that last part. "I really hope you two aren't going to always be bothering me when I'm alone. I'm alone because I want to be, so that I could possibly think. You think of us as simply ghosts that follow you around, don't you? Perhaps we could help you, in a sense of having three minds thinking at once. Possibly keep your emotions from running rampant like they almost did back at the bar. "I don't know what you're talking about." That was a lie. We all knew it. Not only did you feel sad when she hugged Arch, you were angry. Angry that it wasn't you in her arms. If it weren't for me keeping that anger bottled up, you would have probably hurt Arch. So that's why I walked out. Looking back, I don't remember the thought of walking out of the bar crossing my mind. I felt sadness, pain, and anger. I hadn't been thinking properly. I felt like I was betrayed, and now I realize that it was an overreaction. IronTrot, we may not know much about you or your past, but we can help you. We are all stuck in the same situation. We are all in this to stop this war, and we need to be able to work together if it's needed. "Yeah, sure. Because this world is all friendship and teamwork, right?" I said. There he goes again, all negative. It's strange how we're both immortal and have seen a lot of horrible things, yet we can see the good that comes from things. You have made a lot of ponies happy. You have saved the lives of ponies that would have perished if you had not taken my body. You have the power to make this world all friendship and teamwork, why not use it? "You're right, Legend. I can make this world better for not only ponies, but for the gryphons and dragons, too. If I can stop this war, maybe things will get better. I feel like a complete idiot right now." And for good reason, too. "Not helping, Death." But completely necessary. ______________________________________________________________________________ I walked back into the bar to find it empty, except for Arch. He had his head down, and if I didn't know better I would have thought he was asleep. I sat down next to him and tapped on the counter. The bartender put a glass infront of me. "You might wanna get your friend out of here. He's been here ever since you and that one mare left." He said to me. "And how long has it been since he was left here alone?" I asked. I really didn't know how long I had been out. It was night out and the moon isn't a very helpful way of telling time. "Oh, it's only been about two hours." He said, sounding a bit annoyed. "I've got to close up for the night, and he needs to go." "Alright, just give me a minute." The bartender simply nodded. I nudged Arch. "Hey, we gotta go. It's late and this place has to close." Arch pushed himself up. He turned to me and I saw that he looked horrible. "Alright, let's get outta here." He got up and walked to the door, not even looking back to wait for me. I just sighed and followed him out. When I got outside, Arch was nowhere to be seen. I looked around the dark street until I saw him, on the ground. I trotted over to him and helped him up. "Arch, how much did you drink? You gonna be alright?" Arch struggled to keep on his hooves. "It's not the alcohol doing this, Iron. I can handle some cider, no problem." I was really worried now. He could be hurt or sick, maybe a battle injury he was too stubborn to tell anypony about. "Then what's up with you? I've never seen you like this." We started walking back towards the castle. Well, it was more like me helping Arch limp along the street. It was a pretty sad sight, and I knew he was glad none of his soldiers saw him in this state. "Do you really wanna know why I'm like this? Do you wanna know why I look like I've been beaten by a damn gryphon?" Arch whimpered. I hadn't ever heard him talk like this. It showed that even a great pony like Arch had times when he felt weak. "Yes, I do. I have always been there with you, in life and even now in death. If there's anypony you can talk to, it's me. And you know that." Arch stopped at bench along the side of the street. He limped onto it and sat down. I joined him. Arch had his head down, holding back tears. "Back at the bar, when Violet hugged me, I realized something. I realized that back home, my wife and kid are just as sad and lonely as she is. The only difference is that you didn't have a choice in leaving and that I did." I just sat there, watching as tears began falling down his face. I had never thought of the situation like that. I knew that Arch had joined on his own, but I didn't think he beat himself up over it so much. "When I joined I didn't just leave them, I left them with the fear that I might never come home. That some military pony would ride up in a black chariot and tell them I died in battle. That their husband and father died fighting a losing war." That made me cringe a bit. It was a losing war, no matter how you looked at it. Yet, ponies like Arch kept on fighting to their dying breath. They had hope that they could make a difference, that they could change the tide of the war. That's exactly what I could do, and here I am on a bench. One of the most powerful ponies, rivaling the Princesses, sitting with the most iconic military pony in Equestria. "Arch, answer me something. Why are we sitting here, in Canterlot? Why are the ponies celebrating a single victory, even when we are losing battles all over Equestria?" I asked. Arch looked over to me, and shook his head. "Because they're all blind to what's going on out there. That there are ponies dying for a lost cause." I wonder who Legend would think is negative now. "No, it's because this one victory reminded them that we still have a chance. This one victory eased pressure on all our other armies and pushed back theirs. They finally have hope again, and we gave it to them." I stood up and hopped down from the bench. I held out my hoof to Arch, who just looked at me. "Come on, General. There are ponies out there looking to you for leadership, for hope. Oh, and news spreads fast. Everypony will know about your victory by tomorrow." Arch cracked a smile, and pulled himself up with my hoof. "You mean our victory, Legend." ______________________________________________________________________________ "Well, wasn't that sweet? Too bad they still have some fight in them, They could have been of use to me. Oh well. I will have to move the armies into position faster than I had anticipated. My legions will block out their precious sun and rain down on their pathetic kingdom." ______________________________________________________________________________ A/N: If you hadn't noticed it from the chapter while IronTrot is in the Realm of the Living, as I call it, Death speaks to him in italics and Legend speaks to him in bold italics. I sort of got the idea from KillJoy's "Three Of Me" story, at least in a sense that they can be considered IronTrot's consciouses.