//------------------------------//
// Chapter Four: Emergence - Part One 
// Story: A Wanderer's Journey: Equestrian Chronicle 
// by Medlimakar 
//------------------------------//


Chapter Four:
Emergence - Part One


All characters, concepts, and settings are © & TM their respective owners. No infringement is intended by the author.

“Speech”
‘Thought’
“Telepathic speech”
~The Ancient Language~

To say Rarity was not having a good day would have been a gross understatement. It had started when she woke up that morning to find her vision filled with a pair of blue eyes, a mere hair’s breadth from her own. This, of course, had elicited a scream from Rarity. The face retreated to a barely respectful distance, though; she already knew who it was.
“Pinkie, why are you in my room?” She asked after she had calmed down.
“’Cause I’m waiting for you to wake up, now come on!” Pinkie said; the normal cheerfulness strangely absent from her voice.
“Slow down, darling. What’s wrong?” Rarity asked, flinching when Pinkie began to violently shudder towards the end of the bed. Pinkie fell to the floor with a thump and continued flopping for a few moments before stopping. “Good heavens, Pinkie, was that your Pinkie Sense?”
“Yeah, last time I had this one, me, A.J., Fluttershy, Twilight, and Spike had to deal with a big meanie hydra in Froggy Bottom Bog.”
“Oh my, do you know anything about this time?” Rarity asked, the trepidation her voice clearly audible.
“All I can tell is that whatever it is, it is gonna happen at ‘Shy’s place and that the two of us need to be there when it does.”
“Good heavens let us be off! We haven’t a moment to lose.”
Now, forty-five minutes later under cloudy skies, they were nearing Fluttershy’s cottage when they saw that someone else had beaten them there.
“Oh my, it’s that dreadful, Iron Will,” Rarity growled, feeling her temper rise at the mere sight of the strangely bedraggled looking minotaur.
“Hey, you’re right. What’s that meanie doing here?” Pinkie had stopped bouncing and was now trotting beside Rarity like a normal pony. “I thought Fluttershy told him off last time.”
They paused briefly before quickly rushing toward the cottage as Iron Will began to furiously pound the door with a fist.
‘Twilight must have reinforced that door; it should’ve splintered by now.’ Rarity mused before calling out to the belligerent minotaur. “What is the meaning of this? I demand to know why you are so intent on meeting with Fluttershy.”
Iron Will paused in his attempt to reduce the door to kindling to give her a death glare before joining his fists and hurling their combined weight at the door. This final bone crushing blow was enough to overload the enchantments placed upon the oaken planks, which were suddenly reduced to splinters in a flash of amethyst light.
When the dust settled a group of diminutive long-eared armored figures was revealed, the white furred lead figure’s determined expression making it clear that any who dared to cross the threshold with ill intent would face their wrath.
Pony and minotaur alike simply stared at the small army standing in Fluttershy’s living room; all of which were armed with a wide range of kitchenware ranging from dainty salad forks to a frightfully massive melon cleaver, the latter being wielded by an equally frightening rabbit whose muscular body was crisscrossed with scars.
“By the Matriarch’s udders…” Iron Will swore, gazing at the defenders.
“Wow, those bunnies sure look like they mean business,” Pinkie said, stating the obvious.
With a surprisingly loud cry, Angel charged at Iron Will’s legs, the legion of leporids on his heels. Several of the armor clad rodents pulled grappling hooks out and hurled them upwards, where they ensnared the unsuspecting minotaur’s horns.
Iron Will seemed to come to his senses as the hooks struck and tossed his head, launching the grapplers skyward. He then began kicking at the rabbits attacking his legs, making sure to avoid the cleaver wielding rabbit’s swings.
There was much bloodshed that day, at the Battle of Oaken Shards. Though the defenders fought valiantly, they were too few in numbers to overcome their adversary, the 	Great Horned One. Many a rabbit and hare died that dark day, the ground stained with their blood and carpeted with their corpses.
Angel Bunny, the mighty warrior chosen by the Kind One to guard her palace at the edge of the Everfree, was found amongst the dead, his head reduced to a mushy pulp by the Horned One’s hooves…
Or, rather, that’s what would have happened, if Fluttershy hadn’t come out of the forest, her saddlebags laden with Zecora’s herbal remedies.
The rabbit army’s advance ground to a halt as soon as they saw her; many of them casting their make-shift weapons and armor into the nearby foliage before scampering off. 	Angel Bunny, however, was already locked in glorious combat, arms flailing vainly in an attempt to scratch Iron Will, who was holding the enraged rabbit by the ears at arm’s length.
“What are doing to my Angel Bunny?” Fluttershy asked in a deceptively calm tone, which frightened Rarity more than if the soft spoken pegasus had yelled.
Iron Will turned, just noticing the yellow mare. “Finally, just the pony I’ve been looking for,” he said, carelessly tossing Angel to the side. “Now we can get down to business.”
“And just what business is that?” Rarity interjected, “I thought your contract with Fluttershy ended months ago, when she clearly stated her dissatisfaction with your ‘training’.”
Iron Will gave her another glare, pointing his finger at her. “Stay out of this, unicorn, it doesn’t concern you. And that goes double for you, ‘pinky’. I let you trick me last time, and I won’t let you do it again,” He snarled, glaring at Pinkie at the end.
“Sounds like somepony woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I have just the thing for that,” Pinkie giggled, pulling a basket of fresh muffins out of her tail.
‘Don’t think about it, Rarity, you’ll sleep better tonight. Just write it off as Pinkie Pie being Pinkie pie.’ Rarity said in her thoughts as the scent of muffins, fresh from the oven, wafted on the breeze.
Iron Will ignored the baker’s attempted distraction, and began stalking towards Fluttershy only to find that she had somehow moved several cart-lengths away and was now sitting at the forest’s edge, looking as if she had seen a ghost.
With an irritated snort, he turned and resumed his menacing approach.
“One more step, minotaur, I dare you. I need vent on something and you look sturdy enough for me take my frustration out on without breaking, much.”
“Who said that? Show yourself!” Iron Will bellowed, looking for the source of the voice.
“Why would I need to hide from the likes of you? Prey hides, while predators, like myself, watch from the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike,” The cold, feminine voice said with a dark chuckle, drawing attention to a section of the tree line, which seemed to shimmer in time with chuckling.
The disembodied laughter was silenced by a squirrel in a nearby tree, who, upset with having his nap interrupted, had thrown a rather pointy acorn at its source.
“Barzûl, that hurt!” the voice cried, the shimmering resolving into a cloaked pony as the head of a black mare seemed to materialize a pony length away from Fluttershy, who launched herself into Pinkie’s tail with a startled squeal at the mare’s sudden appearance.
“Why do you bushy-tailed tree rats hate me, what’d I ever do to any of you?” the mare continued, rubbing her slightly bloodied forehead. The squirrel, looking down at her smugly from his perch, scolded her loudly. “Same to you, ya buck-toothed, nut chewing bastard!” she yelled back, giving the squirrel a fiery glare with her harlequin green eyes.
“Huh, where’d you come from, and how long have you been standing there?” The now puzzled minotaur asked.
“Hey, I know you; you’re that pony who ran from me yesterday. Why’d ya run away, I just wanted to be your friend?” Pinkie said, her head tilting to the side.
Just as the strange mare opened her mouth to answer, Iron Will turned to go after Fluttershy, who was attempting to sneak into her home.
“Oh no you don’t,” she said, moving with surprising speed to place herself between the burly biped and his target. “My warning still stands, buddy. Just who do you think you are, harassing young mares? You should be ashamed of yourself. Well? Just who the hoof are you?” the mare demanded.
“Iron Will, self-help instructor. I’ve come to fulfill a previous contract with Fluttershy, regarding a sum of bits she owes me for attending my seminar and completing the confidence building course,” Iron Will stated, crossing his arms.
The mare trotted over to Fluttershy, who was trying to be as invisible as a bright pink and yellow pegasus could be.
“Fluttershy, I assume?” the mare asked, receiving a slight nod in response. “Is that true, did you go to his seminar and finish his course, not that I’m seeing any evidence of it?”
The panic stricken pegasus answered so quietly that Rarity was certain the curious mare hadn’t heard her when Iron Will took a step towards the pair.
The dark coated mare flew at the minotaur, the clasp on her mottled cloak coming undone to reveal a lithe black form… and a pair of feathered wings.
Rather than simply landing in front of the startled bull, the green eyed shadow given form barreled into him, driving him to the ground.
“Listen up, blue bull,” the mare snarled from her position atop his chest, glaring at him with the rage of thousand suns. “I’ve been very patient with you, more so than I would like to be. But, I’m gonna let you live, ‘cause I’m trying to be more like a rather merciful friend of mine. If I were to have it my way, you’d be a charred, greasy, spot on the road right now, but he’s always been a bit more level-headed than me. So I’m gonna say this only once, stay down, because I could end you before you even had time to beg for your miserable life. So don’t move from that spot, got it, Iron Will.” The mare finished with a snap of her wings before hopping daintily to the ground.
As the stranger walked away, the seemingly defused minotaur grabbed and yanked her tail, pulling her into a rib-cracking bear hug. Her cries of pain were punctuated a number of loud cracks.
“Unhand her, you monster!” Rarity screamed as Fluttershy sat silently weeping for her would be savior.
“Hey, what’s that?!” Pinkie cried abruptly, pointing at the road leading to Ponyville. She started shuddering again, her violent spasms coming to a head, drawing the attention of those around her only briefly.
Rarity immediately saw it, an incredibly peculiar figure approaching rapidly, seeming to flow over the landscape like fog. It stood upright, like a minotaur, but was far too narrow in the chest to be one. Further details were hidden beneath a cloak, one that bore the same seemingly random pattern of greys and greens as the one the odd mare had appeared in.
“What is that?” Iron Will asked, his question accompanied by a dull ‘thud’ as he dropped the now groaning pegasus to the ground.
“You’ve really stepped in it now, bull boy.” the mare wheezed, coughing up some blood. “You remember that friend that I mentioned, that’s him, right there. I hope you have good health insurance, ‘cause there’s one thing that really sets him off, and you just did it.”
Iron Will looked at the approaching figure, fear in his eyes, before picking up a stone and throwing it. The stone fell short, landing mere hooves away from its target. Rarity’s relieved sigh turn into a horrified gasp as the figure hit the pebble and was launch skyward, as if from a catapult. A unicycle fell from within the shadowy confines of the cloak, puzzling even Pinkie.
The cloak came next, though its hood got caught on the wearer’s head, unveiling the lean body of a non-pegasus stallion with a large number of small pouches secured around his torso and a rock as his cutie mark. After briefly flailing his fore legs, he freed himself from his cloak. Vision restored, the hornless stallion seemed to briefly contemplate the chances of a gentle landing before calmly accepting the fact that he was going hit the ground, hard. But that didn’t mean he was going to do it quietly.
“CRAP! CRAP! CRAP! CRAP! CRAAAP!” he screamed as the distance between himself and the cold, hard, unforgiving landscape dwindled.
With an almighty ‘THUD’, which Rarity felt in her hooves, the earth pony was reunited with his element, his momentum expending itself by carving a trench in the roadside with his face. Upon grinding to a stop, the green stallion laid there for a few seconds before his right foreleg rose into the air and waved, something on its underside catching the light as if a coin was stuck to it.
The stallion pulled his head from the ground and, after getting his bearings, made his way in their direction. His approach, however, was halted by the return of the wayward unicycle, which hit him squarely between the ears, knocking him to the ground, where he lay unmoving. His cloak fluttered down soon after, covering his body like a funeral shroud as the nearby bell tower struck the hour.
The ensuing silence was broken by Iron Will’s raucous laughter. “I’m supposed to be afraid of that clown, really? Who is this guy, the village idiot?” the minotaur scoffed.
“He does like to make an entrance; although, they usually go better than this,” a familiar, though unexpected, voice replied.
The horned biped turned so suddenly that Rarity wondered how he stayed on his hooves, his jaw dropping at the sight before him. Standing there, twenty strides from where he had dropped her and apparently fully healed, was the black pegasus who had been hacking up blood and sputum only moments before, licking a mysterious blue substance from her lips. Fluttershy sat next to her, looking at the empty bottle sitting nearby.
‘How did she heal so quickly? Pegasi aren’t that durable, at least, Rainbow Dash isn’t. Though, this mare is rather odd.’ Rarity racked her mind, struggling to comprehend her surroundings.
“Ar-are you s-sure you’re go-going to b-be ok, Miss Nightfeather?” The timid pony asked her voice filled with concern.
“I’ll be fine, Fluttershy. I’m more worried about my friend, to be honest,” Nightfeather replied with a smirk.
“Oh my!” Fluttershy said, quickly making her way over to the stallion.
‘So that’s her name, Nightfeather; it certainly suits her.’ Rarity thought as the previously unnamed mare trotted over to where Fluttershy was literally hovering over the downed stallion, gently removing the cloak and unicycle before she landed to place an ear on his chest.
“He’s breathing,” Fluttershy announced, before gingerly prodding the stallion’s head, “though he’s going to have a nasty bump where the unicycle hit him. He just needs to rest for a while.”
“Screw that, he can rest later; we need him now,” Nightfeather said, as she pulled an air-horn out of a nearby shrubbery.
“Hey, that’s mine!” Pinkie yelled, pointing an accusing hoof at Nightfeather.
“I know; I also know that you have caches like this all over the place.” The mare replied as she continued to make her way over to her friend as Pinkie looked at her confusedly.
Rarity cast a quick glance in Iron Will’s direction and saw that he was staring dumbstruck at Nightfeather.
“Clear!” Nightfeather bellowed at a volume that could rival Princess Luna before an ear shattering honk pierced the air.
Rarity returned her attention to Nightfeather, expecting to see her green friend rolling on the ground, clutching his ears. Instead, she saw her looking at his still lifeless form as Fluttershy glared at her.
“He just experienced severe head trauma, he needs his rest.” The medically minded mare said firmly.
“Well, looks like I’m gonna have to resort to something a little more… precise.” The black mare mused, completely ignoring Fluttershy. Nightfeather then put her mouth next to the stallion’s ear as if preparing to whisper something to him. She surprised everyone by grinning evilly and biting him instead.


/)*(\

Meanwhile, in T.J.’s mind…
I sat in my host’s darkened mindscape, waiting for his thought-form, a forest green orb with a grassy green corona, to materialize. It was taking a little longer than usual. Then again, he had taken a unicycle to gourd.
The sun-like manifestation faded into existence, like a ship coming out of a fog bank. Almost immediately, it began throwing off flare-like tendrils, clearly displaying his discontent at my presence.
Hello Tachyon, how’ve you been since we spoke last? I asked, trying to be amicable.
‘Well if it isn’t my unwanted house guest. What do you want, Tinker? I thought I’d gotten rid of you when I became bonded with Umbra, but no, you just felt like being an ass by not saying anything for three years, getting my hopes up and then brutally crushing them under foot.’ He snarled, clearly overjoyed to see me.
Uh, I don’t have a body to attach any feet to, so…
‘You know what I mean, jackass.’ He growled. ‘What form of mental, physical, spiritual, and/or psychological torture do you have planned for me today?’ he replied sarcastically.
Oh T.J., you wound me. I thought you liked my games. After all, you were bored with your human life. And isn’t this more fun than a nine to five job flipping burgers in a greasy diner?
‘I’ve died three times since you threw me into this mess of an existence. That’s twice more than any human should have to. Can you even comprehend what that feels like? Have you ever bled out on a battlefield, surrounded by dragon fire and corpses, and then attended your own funerary pyre, and been conscious the whole damn time?! My body might’ve been trashed beyond all reason, but I could still feel every kick and stab those damned apes gave as they retreated. If you think being burned alive is painful, try looking at the first two real friends you’ve ever had as they weep over your barely recognizable body. A body, might I add, that isn’t even the one you were born with!’ he bellowed into the darkness of his mind.
I paused briefly to figure out how best to say what I needed to, preferably without angering him anymore.
Listen, Tachyon. I know I could never begin to apologize for all of the hells I’ve put you through. I just want to tell you that this will be your greatest adventure. You’ll see and do things you thought impossible. But you’ll need help; you’ve no doubt noticed that your magic is much weaker here than it was in Alagaësia. You’ll need to collect a sample of raw magic of the local variety to access the rest of your power.
A shudder rippled through the mindscape, accompanied by an ominous rumble. T.J.’s form dimed slightly, signaling that his return to the realm of the living was imminent.
Well, that’s my cue. I’ll leave you with a parting gift, don’t be too mad at Umbra, you know how impatient she can be sometimes. Oh, and say ‘Hi’ to Twily and A.J. for me.
As I left for my usual corner of his mind I felt a question beginning to form in T.J.’s mind. His light winked out, showing that he’d woken up, leaving it unasked.
I chuckled to myself, knowing him, he was probably ten feet in the air, swearing by the name of some deity.


/)*(\

“SWEET SISTERS OF THE UNDERWORLD!!!!” the stallion wailed, leaping into the air. Upon landing, he sat down to rub the now bleeding cartilaginous appendage as Nightfeather looked on, her expression somewhere between concern and mirth.
“The actual hell, Umbra; what kinda teeth ya got in there, pony, or dragon?” he asked incredulously, examining the blood on his hoof. He leapt at the mare, pinning her to the ground, then pried her jaws apart and looked inside like a foal peering into an unexpectedly empty cookie jar.
The mare, whose name Rarity was now unsure of, expertly tossed the much heavier earth pony stallion off of herself. “Do I look like a dragon to you?” she asked, giving him an annoyed glare.
“No, no you don’t. Currently, I’d put you at about tier two on the diabetes-inducingly-cute scale, right below the yellow one cowering behind you, with the pink fluff creature by the white…” the pony paused, gaping at Rarity. “Is that a boney protrusion on your head, miss?”  He said, a disturbingly curious gleam flashing in his eyes.
“Yes… unicorns, like me, tend to have a horn.” Rarity answered, unsure of how somepony could reach adulthood without knowing what a unicorn was.
The odd stallion gave his friend a questioning look. “Why didn’t you tell me there were unicorns here, Umbra?”
“Why didn’t you ask, Tacky?” was the mare’s teasing rebuttal.
“Who are you ponies?” Iron Will cried, clearly confused as to what was going on. “Neither of you should be standing right now.” He said, glaring at the impossible pair.
“Well, my muscular, bipedal friend, I am T.J. And you’ve already met my lovely companion, Umbra Nightfeather, though she may not have introduced herself.” The stallion replied with an exaggerated bow, followed by a nod to the black pegasus, who folded her wings with an indignant huff.
“As for why we are still standing, the simple answer is magic. If I were to give you the full explanation, we’d still be here this time next week.” T.J. explained. “Now then, Umbra, what seems to be the matter in contention here?”
“Fluttershy, the pegasus, and Iron Will, the minotaur, made a non-written contract several months ago in which, in exchange for a sum of bits, Fluttershy was supposedly trained to be more confident and to stand up for herself.” She reported in a militaristic fashion.
“Well, either Iron Will’s methods blow, or this pony was a shivering heap of hair and feathers before the training took place.” He said, eyeing the nigh catatonic mare, who looked at him fearfully. “What of the unicorn and the default pony, what’s their involvement?”
“We are her friends, T.J., and we will defend her, if we must.” Rarity said, pawing the ground and lowering her horn threateningly as she prepared to use her magic.
“And who you callin’ ‘default’? I don’t see a horn or wings on you, mister ‘my cutie mark is Tom’.” Pinkie added, giving him a nasty look.
“I thought we agreed to never speak of that again.” Rarity hissed at her rose tinted friend.
“OK, first off, Miss Rarity, I mean you and your friends no harm. Second, Miss Pie, don’t call me ‘mister’, it makes me feel old.” He replied, drawing gasps from both of them.
“But you are old, T.J.” Umbra said.
“Yes, but I like to feel as young as I look. When you’re a couple hundred years old, you’ll understand.”
“Look, I don’t care who you two are, just stay outta my way. I’ve got payment to collect.” Iron Will said, stalking toward Fluttershy, who had moved over to her two friends.
“She owes you nothing; your contract, thanks to your one hundred percent satisfaction guarantee, was rendered void by her dissatisfaction in your methods. In fact, I’d say you owe her due to your wanton destruction of her front door.” Umbra stated smugly as she and T.J. placed themselves between the minotaur and the mares.
“You have no proof of such a guarantee.” Iron Will snarled, clearly angered.
“Actually, we do, for I am a telepath, and I have scanned your mind and those of the three mares involved. At the time of Fluttershy’s attendance to your seminar, you had such a guarantee; a guarantee which you later pulled due to others pulling the dissatisfaction shtick, which put a significant dent in your profits. Now, I don’t know how things work here, but where I’m from, your actions can get you thrown in the slammer.” T.J. said.
‘A telepath, him, but he’s an Earth pony, they can’t be telepathic, can they? Though, that would explain how he knew our names without asking.’
“That’s how it works here too.” Pinkie supplied, displaying unexpected knowledge of the Equestrian legal system.
“Well, all righty then; if that be the case, then I give you two choices, Iron Will. You can work off the debt you owe to Fluttershy for the desecration of her door, and then never return to this town. Or, we can get local law enforcement involved, your choice.” T.J. stated.
“And just who do you think’s gonna make me do it, you?” Iron Will said, glaring at them.
“It looks like he wants option three, T.J.” Umbra stated simply, a touch of mirth to her voice.
“’Twould seem so, my friend. What do ya say; shall we perform the Wandering Blitz?”
“Nah, let’s save that for later, I wanna see what ya can do without my help.” Umbra replied, trotting to where Rarity and Pinkie were standing, Fluttershy acting as her second shadow.
“Very well, I’ll have some fun with him. I’m sure you lovely ladies could use a bit of a show right about now.” The odd stallion said, turning to face Rarity and her friends before crying “Have at thee, horned one!” and charging the minotaur.
Iron Will lowered his horns and met the stallion’s charge with one of his own, a bellow of animalistic fury escaping his throat.
“Oh, I can’t watch.” Fluttershy whimpered from somewhere behind Rarity.
“I can!” Pinkie chirped, munching on a bucket of popcorn.
“Got another one of those?” Umbra asked, standing to her right, her wings twitching at her sides with anticipation.
“Sure do.” Pinkie giggled, pulling a second bucket from a nearby burrow and tossing it over Rarity’s head.
“How can you two eat at a time like this?!” Rarity cried, looking at the two mares flanking her.
Umbra thoughtfully tapped her chin with a hoof. “Uh, like this.” She answered, before plunging her muzzle into the bucket and noisily devouring the crunchy whiteness within.
Rarity returned her gaze to the two males just in time to see T.J. leap nimbly onto Iron Will’s head and then off, driving the unbalanced minotaur into the ground, where he carved a furrow with his face.
“That’s for the pebble earlier, ya top heavy brute.” T.J. taunted as Iron Will pulled his head from the ground. He flinched when the minotaur turned to face him, eyes alight with primal fury. “Aw, did I make da widdle minotaur angwee?” he taunted again, receiving a wordless bellow in response. “I guess I did.”
“Are you crazy?!” Rarity cried.
“Just a little.” He replied, holding a hoof just off the ground to one side. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He said, pulling a red cape from one of the many small pouches strapped to his body. “Hey, El Toro; tu madre era un hámster, y tu padre olía de saúco!” He called standing on his hind legs and waving the cape.
Iron Will charged again and again, growing more enraged as T.J. danced out of the way each time, clearly enjoying himself.
“Olé!” Pinkie cheered after each pass. Rarity gave her an odd look before looking to her right to see Umbra watching the performance intently as Fluttershy watched through her wings, yelping in time with Pinkie’s exclamations.
“O…”PING! A loud metallic note rang though the glade, prompting Rarity to return her attention to the potentially gruesome spectacle in front of her.
An unexpected sight met her gaze, T.J. posed triumphantly over an unmoving Iron Will, his cape gently fluttering in the breeze. “Ta-da!” he sang, dropping the cape with a bow, revealing a large anvil with a strange logo on its side. “Ah, Acme, always there when I need ‘em.” He said, rubbing the out of place object affectionately.
“C-could somepony please t-tell me what j-just happened? I mean, if s-somepony wants to, th-that is?” Fluttershy asked so quietly that Rarity, mere hooves away, could barely hear her.
“Well, Miss Fluttershy, it’s quite simple really.” T.J. said, answering Fluttershy’s question. “Iron Will here was, judging by the rather unfriendly hug he gave my companion, beyond reasoning with by the time I arrived. So I had let him cool off a bit before we could discuss anything like the rational beings we are.”
He put an ear to the downed minotaur’s chest for a moment. “Still alive, that’s good. I’ve got a few cures for death, but I’d rather not use them on this guy.” He stood and placed his right hoof on Iron Will and said in a commanding tone ~Rïsa!~
A teal glow emanated from beneath T.J.’s hoof, bringing to mind the glow a unicorn’s horn emitted while casting an illumination spell. The incantation’s effect was immediate, Iron Will jerked awake, gasping as if a pail of ice water had been upended onto his face, while Tachyon backed away, looking a little drained.
“You ok, T.J.? You look like you just tried to move a mountain.” Umbra asked, voicing her concern.
“Huh, what do ya know? The jerk was right.” He muttered quietly to himself.
“And just who is this ‘jerk’ and what were they right about?” Umbra asked, tilting her head.
“Oh, it’s just one of the many voices in my head, nothing to worry about. One of them just informed me that some of my more advanced arcane abilities would be on the fritz for a while.”
At that point, all eyes were drawn to Iron Will as he slowly rose to a sitting position, rubbing his head. “Ugh, what happened? Why do I feel like I charged into a brick wall?”
“Welcome back to the realm of the living, Iron Will. Now that you’re awake, we can resume discussion of the terms of your potential exile from this quaint little village.” T.J. said jovially, looking the minotaur in the eye. “Oh, and to answer your question; you charged into an anvil, which I suppose is like a brick wall, but somewhat more mobile.”
“Exile, what exile?”
“Potential exile, you’ve two other options, penance, or incarceration in whatever correctional facilities exist in this land.”
“I ain’t leaving without payment.” Iron Will snarled, quickly standing so he could glare down T.J., who simply stood there, smiling back him; seemingly immune the look of pure hate the much taller minotaur was giving him.
“Very well, if that’s how it must be, I have a proposition for you. If you can catch me, I’ll pay you tenfold what Fluttershy owes you.” The green stallion replied, drawing gasps from Rarity and Fluttershy and choking noises from Pinkie, whose back Fluttershy began pounding in an attempt to dislodge the offending kernel. “Do we have an accord?”
“We do.” Iron Will intoned, lunging at the stallion, who slipped away with almost pegasine grace.
T.J. galloped out of reach, his pursuer hot on his heels as he raced around the clearing.
The four mares watched the stallion and minotaur as they turned and began heading straight for their group.
“Sweet Celestia,” Rarity cried, reflexively diving out of the way as the two males passed. “Did he have to do that?!”
“And now things get interesting.” Umbra said, stretching briefly before launching herself after the pair.
As she watched the odd performance before her, Rarity felt the ground beneath her tremble, slowly rising to the height of a two story building.
She then felt a strange sensation, as if a feather were being brushed along her horn. She flinched away from the contact and it withdrew slightly, but continued its gentle caressing.
It took a few moments for her to figure out that the sensation was something’s way of asking permission to do something and that it meant her no harm. Unsure of how to give permission, Rarity reached for the odd feeling as if she were trying to levitate it…
And suddenly found her mind engulfed by another, reality falling away as her mind struggled to understand its surroundings.
‘Hello, anypony home? Is this thing working? Oh Orlog damn it, please tell me I didn’t break the unicorn already.’ A worried voice called, echoing though the dark plain.
‘What’s going on, where are we, T.J.?’ Rarity asked, recognizing the voice.
‘The simple answer would be that we are in your mind. I don’t have time to fully explain, I have raised the ground you three are standing on so that you’ll be safe during the beat-down that I’m about to issue. I’d say more, but what I’m about to do requires my full attention. See ya on the other side.’ T.J. replied as she felt herself return to her body.
Upon opening her eyes, Rarity noticed that she was now lying on the ground in very un-ladylike fashion. She stood slowly, her friends helping to her hooves before dusting her off.
“You ok, Rarity? Ya kinna just fell over and your couch didn’t come outta nowhere to catch you.” Pinkie asked; more confused than worried about her friend.
“I am fine, Pinkie. T.J.’s telepathy was just a bit more than I could handle.”
“Ooo, what’d he say, what’d he say?” Pinkie asked, bouncing merrily.
“O-oh my…” Fluttershy gasped at what would have been a normal volume for anyone else, drawing Rarity’s attention first to the shy mare, then to the bull and pony show before them.
Umbra flitted between Iron Will’s horns, tapping him forcefully with hoof as she passed, causing him to falter long enough for her to escape unmolested. She continued onward until she had caught up with T.J., who leapt skyward and was caught by Umbra. She then powered her way up to the clouds, unhindered by the fact that she was now carrying somepony who was easily half again her weight, leaving a confused and angry Iron Will on the ground as they disappeared into the gray sky.
“Hear me, oh Iron Will, son of Steel Resolve.” T.J.’s voice thundered from within the clouds, which began to swirl malevolently.
“You are charged with destruction of private property, assault, attempted murder, and failure to honor the terms of a binding contract, not to mention threatening the lives of countless entities of varying intelligence. We beg of you, for your own sake, leave Ponyville and the surrounding environs, or face a Wanderer’s wrath.”
“Iron Will ain’t leavin’ without his money!” the minotaur bellowed in return, failing utterly to match T.J.’s volume.
“So be it. If you will not leave without money, then you shall not leave, AT ALL.”
This declaration was immediately punctuated by the clouds disintegrating with a thunderous report, a polychromatic shockwave tearing through their vaporous forms with a black and green streak extending downwards from its epicenter.
‘That’s a sonic rainboom, but… how?! I thought Rainbow Dash was the only pony who could it.’ Rarity thought as the odd couple continued to near the ground at an alarming rate.
At the last second, Umbra pulled out of the dive and T.J.’s grip, overcome by the immense forces caused by such a maneuver at high speed, failed.
Nopony had time to scream before T.J. hit the ground in front of Iron Will, tossing up a great dust cloud. Rarity looked on fearfully, expecting to see the minotaur stumble out of the dust, covered in gore.
Instead, the sounds of a scuffle fell upon her ears, pained grunts and the sound of flesh hitting flesh carried on the breeze.
Umbra landed on the small plateau with the other mares, panting slightly from exertion.
“What happened to the clouds? It was cloudy just a few seconds ago.” She said, looking the now clear, blue sky.
“You just did a sonic rainboom.” Rarity said breathlessly, taking a good look at her for the first time.
She had the same body structure as Rainbow, only a bit smaller, though she seemed to be about the same age. Rarity had to stifle a gasp when she saw her cutie mark, a green flame which seemed to quiver as her breath hit it.
Rarity leaned forward as the flame seemed to shrink under her gaze. She could almost swear that she felt heat rolling… “Can I help you with something?” Umbra asked, startling Rarity out of her daze.
“Oh, um, I’m terribly sorry about that. It’s just, well, there’s just something… odd about your cutie mark. It’s just so hypnotic.” Rarity replied; drifting off as the acid green flame drew her in once more.
With a startled whinny, Umbra turned to glare at Pinkie, her hindquarters nearly hitting Rarity’s face as she swung her body around. The pink mare’s cheeks were puffed and her chest fully expanded as if she were preparing to blow out a candle.
“Don’t do that!” Umbra squealed; wings flaring with her temper. “Ouch!” She folded her wings and then extended her left wing, wincing as she did. “Damn it! I knew I pulled out of that dive too quick.”
Both Rarity and Fluttershy gasped at her exclamation, though, for different reasons. Fluttershy pounced on the unsuspecting mare and began gently massaging the injured wing, feeling out any sprains and strains.
A dull thud interrupted Rarity before she could reprimand Umbra for her un-ladylike language. The four mares peered over the edge of their earthen platform to see Iron Will desperately scrabbling around it, the exposed skin at the end of his snout pale with fear.
“Get over here!” T.J. yelled from within the dust cloud, a metallic tentacle shooting out and grabbing the minotaur by an ankle in its three clawed talon, before snapping taut and dragging him, screaming for mercy, back into the tumult.
Three mares sat in stunned silence, the fourth nodding approvingly. “That’s it, T.J. Show him what happens when you mess with the Wanderer and those he cares for.” Umbra said softly, earning a questioning glance from the others.
“Fore!” T.J. called, and, with the sound of an anvil being dropped in to a cart of squeaky toys, Iron Will was launched from the cloud, landing on their platform with a thud. The platform shuddered under the impact and began lowering itself back into the ground.
The sound of hoof steps drew Rarity’s gaze back to the dust cloud just in time to see a figure emerge from its hazy confines.
It was a minotaur; a pair of bandoliers slung across his green furred torso and a black kilt around his waist. In one gauntleted hand he held a large war hammer. With the other, he gestured to T.J.’s cloak, which flew into it.
“Who- who are you, what are you?” Iron Will stammered, too terrified move as the lean muscled minotaur approached.
“To answer both your questions, I am Tachyon Joule, the Trackless Wanderer. I have come from beyond this realm to maintain order and right wrongs; and what you’ve done here today is very wrong indeed.” He replied in T.J.’s voice, making a show of putting on the cloak, which fit his form perfectly.
“So, what are you going to do to me, kill me? I can tell by looking at you that you don’t have the guts to do it.” Iron Will said, some of his confidence coming back as he stood.
“Oh, I have the guts, but killing you would be too easy. In fact, with but a simple spell, we’d be mopping up yours. Instead, I’ve got something special planned for you.”  And with that, Tachyon Joule surged forward, pinning the larger minotaur to the ground, the palm of his right hand flaring with a familiar teal light as he pressed it against Iron Will’s forehead. He then started chanting rapidly, the strange words flying from his mouth in a strangely musical tangle of consonants and vowels.
As the light engulfed his form, Iron Will let out a shriek of fear, startling the mares. As suddenly as it had started, the odd magic stopped, Tachyon Joule stepping back from the still glowing form of Iron Will.
“And now all the left is to cement the changes and give him a new identity.” Tachyon Joule said, making a beckoning motion to the remains of Fluttershy’s front door. The splintered planks flew through the air, gravitating toward Iron Will and himself. The fragments were reduced to dust and lingered briefly before being absorbed by the light, which flared as they merged with the unmoving form within.
The light melted away, leaving a dull brown minotaur in Iron Will’s place. The new minotaur’s fur bore strange patterns resembling wood grain, seemingly shaved into it.
“Well T.J., what impossible thing have you done this time?” Umbra asked trotting over to stand by the green minotaur, who had walked over to a nearby stump.
“To put it in simple terms, I’ve rewired Iron Will’s very being and changed him on a fundamental level. The minotaur known as Iron Will is no more. In his place, crafted from Iron Will’s better traits, stands Oaken Bar, master carpenter.” And with that, he fell over, unconscious.
Umbra applied her hoof to her forehead with an audible ‘clop’. “Damn it, T.J. You just said that you couldn’t do high level magic and then you try to do it any way. Ok, I can figure this out.” She sat next to her fallen friend, a look of deep contemplation on her face, her wings shifting with her toughts. “That’s it!” she cried, springing to her hooves before rooting around in the pouches at T.J.’s waist.
“There you are, you beautiful thing, you.” She exclaimed, withdrawing the entire length of her leg from a pouch which shouldn’t have been deep enough to reach that far into. The object of her search was a bottle with a gentle pink glow emanating from it.				 			  		
Umbra struggled with the cork for a while before a soft groan drew everyone’s attention to Oaken Bar, who was levering himself into a sitting position.
“Oh, my aching everything, what happened?” He groaned, rubbing his head. He shook his head and cracked several joints, causing Rarity to shudder, before rising to his full height of eighteen hooves. His gaze fell upon Umbra, who was still wrestling with her bottle, lying on her back with her wings outstretched for balance, all four hooves pushing the jar away while her teeth griped the cork.
Rarity held her breath as the minotaur strode towards the recumbent mare, before letting it out as a sigh when he knelt next to Umbra, extending his hand.
“You look like you could use some help, little pony.” Oaken Bar said, getting Umbra’s attention. She cocked her to one side, her gaze shifting between the minotaur and the offered hand.
With a twitch of an ear, Umbra rolled to her hooves and scrubbed the bottle’s saliva soaked cork against the ground to remove the accumulated slime from its surface. "Knock yourself out." she said, placing the bottle in his hand.
Oaken Bar examined the glass container briefly before saying "I never will understand why you ponies have so many things that require hands to use. I suppose this is some sort of pony remedy for exhaustion for your green friend there." Receiving a nod from Umbra, he then popped the cork, releasing a small pink creature that bore disconcerting resemblance to a parasprite.
The winged ball of light fluttered over to Tachyon, circling over his supine form. The green minotaur groaned under the sprite's ministrations.
Its job apparently done, the fairy began winging its way into the Everfree Forrest, only for Umbra to pounce on it, capturing it in the bottle from which it had just been released.
The fairy voiced its displeasure at being confined once again with a rapid string of chime-like tones, some of which sounded particularly unfriendly.
“Whoa there, little pixie, you’re gonna have to slow down. I can’t understand Hylian very well.” Umbra replied. The fairy seemed to take a deep breath, as if preparing to launch into another tirade, when Umbra stuffed its glassy prison back into the pouch she had pulled it from. The nymph’s now muffled curses were silenced as Umbra closed the pouch’s flap. “Thank you, soundproofing enchantments.” She breathed, happy to have silenced the noisome pixie, before trotting up to Tachyon’s head and giving him a gentle nuzzle, causing him to stir.
“Oi, I really need to stop doing that, it can’t be good for me.”  The green minotaur groaned as he rose to a seated position.
“Ya think? I won’t always be around to pull your ass out of the fire, and all the hoopla you cause isn’t helping with the whole ‘blend in with the locals’ plan. Umbra replied.
‘Blend in with the locals?’ Rarity thought, choosing to ignore Umbra’s foul language. ‘well, they’re both doing a marvelous job of that.’
Oaken Bar offered a hand to Tachyon, who took it and was hauled to his hooves by the brown minotaur. “You all right, bother? The little miss and I were worried there for a moment.” He said, indicating Umbra.
“Yeah, I do that a lot.” Tachyon answered, rubbing the back of his head. “Am I correct to assume that it is common for bulls to refer to each other as ‘brother’, regardless of blood?”
“You’re not from Goldhorn or any of the other strongholds, are you?” Oaken Bar asked, tilting his head in a puzzled manner.
“Minotaurs live in fortified settlements?” Tachyon replied, mirroring the action.
“Pardon me, but what happened to T.J., and who are you?” Rarity, asked. She and Fluttershy began cautiously trotting in his direction, Pinkie bouncing along behind them.
“And what do you mean, ‘blend in with the locals’?” Fluttershy added quietly.
“Well, miss Rarity; I am Tachyon Joule, the Trackless Wanderer.” Tachyon said with a surprisingly formal bow. “My friends tend to call me T.J.; ‘Tachyon Joule’ is just bit long and polysyllabic for casual conversation.”
Pinkie bounced excitedly up to Umbra, completely disregarding the darker mare’s personal bubble. “I bet you got a super duper, spectacular title like him, don’t ya, Nighty.” She asked with an excited squeal, pinning the smaller, and somewhat thinner, pegasus to the ground in her jubilation.
‘Oh dear...’ Rarity thought as several emotions flashed across Umbra’s face, most notably shock, horror, and barely contained rage.
“I am the Wanderer’s Shadow,” she replied icily, slipping out from under the slightly pudgy, pink pony. “Though, I’ve been called ‘The Silent Flame’ by those who fear me.” She finished as she trotted over to T.J., who let out a sigh of relief, as if expecting a more violent reaction from his touch-shy friend.
“All righty then, Umbra and I have time for a few more questions before we must be on our way, so ask away.” He said, sitting himself down on a nearby log, Umbra, having retrieved her own cloak, joined him, lying to his right in a dog-like fashion, her head resting on his lap.
“I have one,” Oaken Bar said. “You seem to know all of our names, but I’ve never heard of you or anything like you, why is that?”
“Well, to be completely honest, I have a voice in my head that apparently knows everything, and, on occasion, will impart some of that knowledge to me. He told me all of your names and gave me a bit of backstory on all of you.” Tachyon answered. “While we’re on that subject, you three ponies wouldn’t happen to know the best way to apologize to a certain rainbow maned pegasus, would you?”
Rarity and Fluttershy both gasped, the former bringing a hoof to her muzzle. “So you’re the demon minotaur with a brainwashed slave that destroyed Rainbow Dash’s living room?” Rarity asked.
“A demon,” T.J. laughed. “Is that what she thinks I am? That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Though, there are those who would disagree.”
“At least she thinks you’re a free thinking individual, I’m apparently your mindless pet.” Umbra said grumpily.
“Given the circumstances of our encounter, Rainbow Dash likely thought that you needed protection form me. So, it surprised her when you leapt to my aid.” Tachyon explained, standing to leave after helping Umbra with her own cloak.
“Now then, Umbra and I have got a town to explore so; I bid you all a fond farewell.” Tachyon said, walking along the road to Ponyville. “Oh, one more thing,” said, pausing to remove a small wallet from his belt, which he then tossed to Oaken Bar. “That should more than cover a replacement for Miss Fluttershy’s door, with plenty left over so you can set up a shop in town. Something tells me they could benefit from having a skilled woodworker on hand… or hoof, as the case may be. And now,” he said, pulling what looked like a scarlet walnut out of his cloak. “We go!” And with that, Tachyon hurled the object at the ground, where it exploded with a brilliant golden flash and a loud pop.  
“It would seem that the Wanderer likes to make an exit as well.” Rarity noted aloud as she blinked the spots from her eyes, receiving various noises of agreement around her. It seemed that no one was surprised to find their surroundings were minus one minotaur and pony when their vision cleared.