Stumbling
New Road
Chapter one: Stumbling
Equestria's golden sun shone down on Ponyville in all its glory. The critters of the nearby woods emerged from their dens and homes, blinking away the darkness, birds sung their songs to the early morning sky, ponies left their homes for work or school and a certain, purple Alicorn realised she hadn't slept in her bed last night, once again.
Twilight Sparkle blinked a few times as she felt the heat on the back of her head, shining through the window. She lifted her head from the book she'd been reading, yawned and stretched her forelegs, cracks and pops relieving themselves here and there, and scratched at her messy mane. She looked outside, finding the small town of Ponyville awakening for the day, and smiled. She stood and gazed around herself.
Ever since she'd moved into her crystal palace, things had definitely been different. Ponies came to her with their problems, requested her royal presence, desired her note of approval on so much of the goings on around Equestria. She'd be lying if she said she enjoyed every minute of it, dealing with one or two nobles of Canterlot being one of the more prominent thorns in her flank, but she couldn't deny that she was glad to finally be doing something for a change, instead of just smiling and waving.
The young princess meandered to a window sill, leaning her fore-legs on it and gazing at the outside world, breathing in the early morning air. She watched with content as butterflies fluttered through the air without a care in the world, critters frolic in the early spring weather. Twilight was glad that winter had come and gone so quickly if she were honest.
Last winter had been something she'd rather forget about, Tirek and Discord's betrayal/re-reformation being at the top of that list. She sighed heartily as she took another deep lungful of cool air. Wielding the power of four Alicorns, battling a being confined to Tartarus, watching one of her friends turn on her… She had to admit it to herself, she was starting to see why Cadence was taking the time to teach her more stress reliving techniques.
Although, after her show of strength and willingness to defend Equestria, her duties as a princess really beginning to rear their heads and her increased studies into further branches of magic (not to mention brushing up on her global politics) had left her with very little time for her friends.
It was a saddening thought, that all her hard work, her lessons in friendship, her travels, her adventures had all lead to this. She felt like she had worked her way from having friends she could spend time with on a regular basis to having friends she couldn't possibly live without she could hardly ever see any more.
Twilight frowned to herself, shaking her head. She trotted out of her palace's library, heading towards the kitchens. She'd yet to get around to hiring staff yet, so the palace was still pretty empty beyond herself and Spike, besides the occasional guard that is. She sat at the kitchen unit, much too large for Twilight's liking, but considering she would soon be dining with ambassadors, nobles and the like, hosting dinner parties and the such, she felt such a large kitchen would be necessary in the long run.
Sitting at her chosen table, Twilight let her horn glow, watching as the nearby coffee maker glowed with it and did its thing. She settled back into thought, hoping she wasn't as right as she thought about growing distant from her friends. She hated that idea. That her friends could have brought her so far, but then she would have to spend increasingly less time with them.
The coffee maker beeped its readiness to the world, Twilight's horn glowing again as she took the pot and poured hot coffee carefully into her '1# Librarian' mug (a somewhat laugh invoking but thoughtful gift from Pinkie Pie) and took a long sip. She glanced up at the wall and caught notice of the calendar hanging from the world. She frowned at the red circle next to all the red Xs drawn on with the felt tip next to it. She levitated it over to her, her frown holding, and checked the date in her head. The red ring had the word 'picnic' inside it.
Twilight was suddenly feeling much better about the prospect of growing distant from her friends. She smiled as she remembered what she and her friends had scheduled today. They'd been planning to get together properly for a few weeks now, and they'd all agreed to go out on a picnic like they used to. Finishing her coffee and hopping from her chair, Twilight cantered to her room with a happy spring in her step.
Twilight skipped merrily into her room, or 'chambers' as was the proper terminology according to Celestia, and sat at her vanity, running a comb through her mane and making herself presentable. Gazing at her reflection, she took note of how much she'd changed. She was taller now, her horn longer and she seemed to be developing her Alicorn's famous beauty. Everypony had made comments about it over the past few months, about how she seemed to glow a little more now, about how she seemed to be blushing just right to accentuate her eyes better, her eyes sparkling a little more, little things like that. She didn't much mind. She hardly considered herself a vein pony, but she knew it was inevitable so she paid it no mind.
That all said, the feint bags under her eyes didn't help her looks much. She leaned in, putting her face closer to the mirror, and glared at the small wrinkles below her eyes that betrayed her lack of sleep. With a small huff and a brief incantation, they were hidden from the world.
She knew why she was getting them, of course. She hadn't been sleeping properly of late. Headaches, things on her mind or just plain old, good old fashioned insomnia kicking in again. She regularly stayed up to read or study, regularly well into the night time hours. Even Owlicious was having trouble keeping up with her. Twilight put it down to her newfound Earth Pony stamina. However, it didn't seem to help with the side effects of a lack of sleep. With a small 'hmm' Twilight decided she needed to do something about her…irregular sleeping patterns. She put a hoof to her chin as she wondered who could help, until she smiled when the answer came to her.
She trotted from her room with the same happy skip, stopping when she passed Spike's room. The crystal palace had been kind enough to supply both Twilight and the baby dragon with rooms of their own, and both were happy for it. Even so, Twilight didn't mind when she woke up to find him sleeping in his basket, next to her bed.
"Spike, I'm visiting Zecora" she called through the closed door.
"Yeah, sure" came his sleepy reply. Twilight couldn't help but smile at his answer; Spike seemed unwilling to give up his title of 'number one assistant' and seemed bent on keeping up with his duties and chores until Twilight finally got around to hiring staff for her palace. His response was all she needed to know he was running himself ragged.
Despite her concerns for Spike, Twilight was confident in his abilities to take care of himself. She soon made her way to the palace entrance and trotted out to town.
Her new home was a little away from her old, the Golden Oaks Library. She trotted through town with a laid back pace, moving quickly but taking the opportunity to look around town. Ponyville had pulled itself back together after her battle with Tirek, as the tough little town so regularly did, and she enjoyed wandering the streets, getting lost in the small town and letting her thoughts consume her. However, in recent weeks, each visit to Ponyville always included one stop.
Twilight stopped before the patch of burnt grass in the centre of town. The old resting place of Golden Oaks Library. Applejack had planted a tree there, an oak tree which she guaranteed would grow big and strong. A worthy homage to Twilight's old home. With a slightly sad look on her face as she let her memories run through her mind, Twilight turned away from the patch of young grass amongst the old.
With her thoughts and happy gaze masking her journey, Twilight soon found herself on the edge of the Everfree forest. No matter how many times she ventured into that place, she could never stop the slight tingle that went up her spine when she looked upon it. As she trotted towards the entrance, she glanced at Fluttershy's cottage, spotting the animal caretaker outside. With a small smile on her face, the Princess of Friendship trotted over, Fluttershy looking up from the small fox she was tending with a smile of her own.
"Hello there Twilight" she greeted.
"Hi Fluttershy, you ready for the picnic later" Twilight replied. Fluttershy nodded, looking happier than before.
"Oh, I'm so glad you've got time for that. I-I just thought you would be so busy, what with you princess duties and everything" the yellow mare answered. Twilight just giggled.
"I'll always have time for my friends Fluttershy" Twilight reassured. "Anyway, I was just on my way to Zecora's. I just wanted to tell somepony in case I was a little late" she said. Fluttershy nodded in understanding.
"Alright Twilight, I'll tell the girls, but you be careful. You're a princess now, and the Everfree forest is still a dangerous place" she advised. Twilight just smiled good-naturedly.
"I'll be fine Fluttershy, it's not the first time I've been there. But I'll be careful, don't you worry" she assured. Fluttershy smiled back.
"Alright Twilight, I'll see you later" she said. Twilight nodded before she turned away and resumed her trotting.
The Everfree forest stripped away any light of Celestia's sun before long, the young mare barely five steps into the forest's borders before it had grown considerably darker. She kept her eyes open, her horn aglow to ward off any predators and to make sure she kept to the path. Before she'd gotten too far, she started to hear the sounds of growling, near and far, and she couldn't help but put a little more light into her horn's glow. After a while, Twilight came to the fork in the road that lead to Zecora's home, the Everfree palace, the mirror pond, the Tree of Harmony and a few other routs she'd never taken the time to explore.
Not wishing to get herself lost in this place today, Twilight continued on her path.
After a while, she heard a rustling in the bushes besides her. She stopped, turning her glow on the bush. Twilight felt her nerve slip a little; she may have taken on demons Celestia herself couldn't handle, but that didn't change the fact that shedidn't have many good memories of the Everfree forest.
With slight trepidation, Twilight grabbed the bush in her magical glow and shifted it aside. A small bunny sat behind it. Relief washing though her, Twilight giggled to herself for her silliness. She trotted closer to the bush, leaning down to it until she came muzzle to muzzle with the little critter.
"You should really be more careful little guy, you might scare somepony like that" she smiled. Patting the bunny on the ears, Twilight straightened up only to notice the shadow looming over her.
Swallowing her suddenly very dry throat, Twilight turned around. Manticore. Big Manticore. Twilight's eyes widened as the huge beast stood over her, looking very hungry and very angry. Twilight backed up a little. The beast tensed, signifying it didn't like Twilight doing that. Twilight stood stock still, unsure what to do, her mind blank. She couldn't cast a spell without her horn glowing, and the Manticore probably wouldn't like that as much as it didn't like her moving.
The Manticore sniffed her a few times before it growled a hungry growl. Twilight laughed nervously.
"Hungry huh" she laughed awkwardly "yeah, me too. You know, I think I saw some tasty looking daises back there" she tried telling it. The Manticore just roared at her, blasting her mane and face back like she was stuck in a wind tunnel. "Eep!"
The Manticore raised a paw to strike her, its claws extended as it snarled. Twilight froze.
Something came from her left, firing into the Manticore like a cannonball. It broke Twilight from her trance and she made to run for it, only she heard a grunting that couldn't come from the Manticore. She looked back to find the mishmash of creatures struggling with another…creature she didn't recognise.
The Manticore bared its full weight on the creature, its tail swinging wildly as it thrashed above its challenger. The creature shifted its own weight, throwing the Manticore away from it. Then, it followed after the predator like it was stalking with a foolhardy courage that Twilight was convinced was going to get it killed. The Manticore pounced, but the creature was ready; it leapt to the side, the Manticore landing on empty ground. The creature beat a staff across its head, but it only seemed to anger the beast. It swiped with its paw again, the creature hooping back and retaliating with its staff; a golden streak followed the strike until it landed on the beast's temple, staggering it. The creature's lower limb fired out, slamming into the Manticore's face. The beast teetered back a little before it steadied itself.
The Manticore roared at the top of its lungs, lunging forward with its claws. The creature rolled to the side, sweeping the beast's supporting claws from beneath with its staff. The Manticore lashed out with its tail, aiming it at the creature. Twilight gasped.
"Watch out, it's poisoned" she screamed. The creature didn't acknowledge her, instead is dodged the poisonous stinger and reached back, producing a knife. With a swiftness she'd never seen before, the creature slammed its blade into the Manticore's tail, prompting a roar of pain from it. The creature didn't give it a chance to recover as it moved quickly in, leading with its staff and following through with its lower limb, finishing with its staff again, bringing it down on the beast's head.
Done with its fight, the creature straightened up and turned away from its foe. It walked towards an increasingly nervus growing Twilight, pulling its knife from the Manticore's tail as it passed it by like it was nothing, wiping the blood from the blade with nonchalance. It stood in the dark, regarding Twilight, holding its staff and cocking its head. Twilight couldn't help but stare up at the creature in fear, wondering what it wanted with her, who, what, it was. In the deepest, most menacing voice she'd ever heard, it spoke.
"Hmm, I of all know the places our roads can take us…but I did not anticipate this" it said at length. Twilight just blinked; it spoke Equestrian? She went to answer, only that shadow loomed over it again; the creature dodged to the right as the Manticore's stinger shot by it. Right into Twilight. As quick and as graceful as falcon in flight, the creature pulled its knife from its sheath again and plunged it into the Manticore's throat without mercy, watching it die as its blood drained from its heart. The Manticore fell to the floor with a thud, the creature watching it fall with nought but a move to retrieve its knife from its neck. The creature turned back to Twilight when it heard her chocking.
Twilight had lost her breath when the stinger stabbed into her chest, a blistering hot feeling spreading through her body as the poison worked through her system. She gasped for breath, but it didn't come to her. She could feel her throat swelling, cutting off her air. She fell the forest floor, gasping, spluttering, desperate. The creature stood over her, watching her with mild interest. A tear leaked from her eye. When she felt a darkness creep into her mind and cloud her vision, she felt her eyes grow heavy too.
The last thing she remembered was the creature crouching down to her.
A crackling of fire was what Twilight awoke to. She felt herself on her side, laying on something not entirely soft, but comfortable. She was bare but felt warm, likely the fire's doing. She tried to open her eyes, but the simple task was incredibly difficult; it almost felt like somepony had taped her eyes shut. She groaned slightly, feeling her dry throat cry out for water, her muscles stiff and restless.
She heard movement ahead of her, prompting her to make another attempt at opening her eyes. She managed it this time, opening her eyes to reveal what was very obviously someone's camp.
There was a small fire a little in front of her, a tree stump either side of it, both of which were empty. Above her, the thick canopy of trees had been pulled apart some, a hole in the leaves that let in sun light, though, to Twilight's dismay, it seemed late in the day. Around her, the trees all had a thick bush, branches or some kind of foliage protecting the camp from view with a sturdy wall, asides the side furthest from her, which simply seemed heavily camouflaged but otherwise accessible. Twilight glanced down at what she was resting on, and found it to be some kind of bedroll that soldiers and foresters used when in the field.
Twilight sat herself up, not without great effort, and looked around the camp a little more. It was mostly bare beyond the bedroll and fire, but a duffle bag sat at one side and the ground seemed to have been deliberately covered in leaves.
She heard a tiny rustling from the entrance of the camp, and Twilight had to hold down her gasp. She panicked for a second, wondering who, or what, it was until what could only be the creature from before strode carefully back into the camp. It stopped at the makeshift entrance, staring at Twilight. The young princess couldn't help but get a little nervous under its gaze.
"Awake" it said simply. "Good to know the tourniquet did its work" it added in a mumble. Twilight blinked in confusion before she noticed a slight pressure on her chest; she looked down to find a length of what looked like surgical tubing wrapped twice around her and the dust residue of some kind of plant she didn't recognise.
She heard movement again and looked up to find the creature moving further into the camp. The creature moved into the dim light produced by the small campfire and Twilight took the chance to look at it properly.
It seemed to be wearing a black duster coat, the kind of thing she'd seen back in Dodge Junction, without the sleeves and seemed to be very beaten and dusty. A heavy collar rested on his shoulders, wide lapels trailing down his chest. Either side of the lapels were two pouches, one atop the other, and a pair of holes had been torn out on the left side at waist height. It fluttered around its lower limbs easily, a snake tongue-like split at the bottom of the duster's tail. Beneath its duster, the creature looked to be wearing a white vest, apparently turned beige by constant abuse, and a grey vest atop that. The grey vest seemed thicker than the white, padded with something she couldn't make out. Atop the strange grey vest, she could make out another ragged vest made of what looked like dull yellow scales, wrapped around the grey vest, full of holes and torn in no few places. Over that was a bandolier and belt wrapped across his chest, the pouches of the bandolier matching the beaten, dull yellow of the scale-like vest while the belt was of brown leather.
On its lower limbs, it looked to be wearing thick, dusty pants, very loose on the limbs. At the -what she assumed to be- knees were a pair of heavily repaired kneepads, stitched back together in no few places. At the bottom of its limbs, it wore what appeared to be heavily padded boots, reaching up its limbs a little.
Twilight couldn't help but feel even more worried around this creature; it had saved her, yes, but it seemed to use a lot of animal parts in its garb, leather and scales making her worry about both her own, and Spike's health. Shaking away the thoughts of turning her nice, purple coat she very much enjoyed being attached to her into a pair of gloves, she looked at the rest of it.
Its upper limbs looked to be uncovered, no fur covering it. Instead, there was dark skin covering everything she could see on it. Over the limbs were numerous scars, thick and thin, shallow and deep. They trailed up and down its limbs in ragged and painful-looking patterns.
The creature sat down besides the fire and the glow reached up to its face, revealing its features to her.
From what she could tell, and somewhat hoped, it seemed to be wearing some kind of breathing apparatus. It consisted of two large, what looked like air filters attached to a central mouth piece which reached over its snout and mouth. Its mane looked to be braided into short dreadlocks, knots and twists covering its head. Above the mask, she could see a pair of brown eyes. They were hard, experienced, but wise. Beyond that, the Princess of Friendship couldn't make anything else out, everything beyond its upper limbs, eyes and forehead covered by its garb.
The creature poked the fire a few times with a loose branch, stirring the flames, and glanced up to find Twilight staring at it.
"Something in you needing an answer?" Twilight couldn't help but shudder when she heard its voice again; she just couldn't handle the severity of his tone, how serious he sounded with her. It was deep and a little gruff, but it was the sheer heartlessness to his words. Everything sounded monotone, blank and empty.
Swallowing gently, the purple mare worked up her courage.
"W-who are you? What happened?" The creature looked back to the fire, silent for a second, as though considering its answer, before it spoke again.
"Name's Ulysses. Saved you from the beast. Recognised its marks, the trail it left behind. You stumbled onto its path, sprung the trap. Only just managed to stop it" it told her. Twilight took a second to absorb the information; well, she at least knew what to call it by now. She couldn't believe herself though; how had she left the proper path and not noticed? How could she have been so stupid?
She lowered her head in slight shame; Fluttershy was right, she was a princess now, she had to be careful. But she knew she could handle herself, why had she frozen?
"Mistakes happen. No use dwelling. Take the message carried by history, learn from your mistakes" came Ulysses's voice. Twilight looked up again to find it watching her. She swallowed gently again, smiling weakly.
"Uh, t-thanks" she managed. Ulysses just looked back to the fire. Twilight stared at it for a few minutes more, working up her courage to speak again. "Uh, m-mister Ulysses?" Ulysses looked up again. "I-I don't mean to be rude but…what are you? It's just, I-I've never heard of…anything like you before" she stuttered out. Ulysses stared at her for a few seconds, Twilight feeling the intensity of its stare in her bones, before it answered.
"Depends. Answers are the only currency I have, but what you ask has many answers." Twilight swallowed again when he gave his answers. She got the feeling Ulysses was asking her to be more specific.
"I-I was wondering what…what you are, like, I'm a pony of Equestria, an Alicorn to be specific, a mare, female of my species" she replied. Ulysses nodded in understanding.
"Human, came from…the Wastes, burnt shell of a nation. Male" he listed off. His pause wasn't lost on Twilight but she decided to let it go for now.
"You're…not from around here…are you?" Ulysses shook his head.
"No. Don't remember much. Was in the Divide, walking old roads. Found a facility, didn't recognise it. Decided to explore. A friend told me to stop holding on to history, find a new road to walk. Decided this would be the start, see where it took me." He looked around the forest they were sat in, Twilight looking with him. "Ended up here" he finished. Twilight nodded, but his answer had only given her more questions.
"What's the Divide" she asked. Ulysses glanced at her; Twilight swallowed her dry throat again, still uncomfortable under his gaze. He didn't seem to like the question, but he answered her any way.
"The Great Divide. Burnt husk of a nation taking its first breath, killed by the one who gave it life to begin with. Could have been my home, taken before history could remember it." He crossed his lower limbs, sitting on his haunches. "Message in this road I walked" he said to himself "found a symbol, believed in it. Lost it before it could forge its history, tried to avenge it. Couldn't, not if it meant history repeating again." Twilight frowned in confusion, trying to understand his meaning; all's she could get from him was that somepony had destroyed his home and he'd tried to return the favour, but something had stopped him. History repeating itself?
"What do you mean" she asked carefully. Ulysses surprised her by shrugging her question off and standing up.
"Long story, no time to tell my history. Too exposed out here, more of the creatures from before. Need to move" he told her, looking down at her. "Know a place to rest?" Twilight blinked again when she realised what he was asking.
"I-I don't know. I'm not sure where we are" she answered, feeling very scared all of a sudden. "I-I could maybe teleport us but-" Ulysses cut her off by picking up his things, the duffle bag, a staff and a weird-looking thing that had grey tube attached to a metal contraption, a black thing on the other end. There seemed to be a telescope on the top, a box slotted into the contraption. There was a piece of fishing wire tied haphazardly to a loop on the end of the tube and on the black shape on the other end, which he slung over his torso above of the duffle bag. Twilight hopped from the bedroll and watched as he rolled it up and fitted it into the duffle bag, stamping out the fire and holding his staff in one hand. He crouched before Twilight, almost making her flinch, and removed the tubing around her chest. He muttered something about the poison being gone and straightened up again.
"No matter, know the way back to the path. You can guide us from there" Ulysses told her. Twilight nodded once.
She followed after him and let her horn glow to illuminate the forest. She stopped when he held up his limb, claw-like digits on the end extended. He bent down and she heard a small beeping sound; he moved again and she heard the small beeping sound again, once more a little further on. He then straightened up and placed three black squares into his bag before he reached up, his knife in hand, and cut something she couldn't make out in the shadows down. He placed whatever it was in his duster and moved on, motioning for Twilight to follow.
Twilight followed after him as he strode through the dense forest with ease, keeping to the path he cleared for them. She watched him with curiosity; he walked on two legs, making him a biped, and he was intelligent enough to talk to her, not to mention strong enough to fight off a Manticore. He called himself a human. Twilight had to admit it to herself, throughout her studies she'd never come across the term.
"You know your way around the Everfree forest" Twilight asked in effort to make conversation. She didn't like it being so quiet in the Everfree, and wanted to distract herself.
"Learnt the roads, walked them a little. Someone here before, left marks. Let history guide me, learn the patterns, watch for symbols" he replied, stepping over a fallen tree covered in moss and vines. Twilight couldn't find anything to respond with; she could only guess it had been Zecora who left the marks behind, guiding any unfortunate travellers.
"So y-you've been here a while" she asked, glancing at a bush that rustled too much for her liking.
"Four days" Ulysses replied in his monotone voice. They were silent for a while until Ulysses stopped, Twilight halting next to him. She looked up at him, finding him staring at something in the distance. She followed his gaze and found a familiar hut hiding amongst the trees.
"Zecora's hut" she exclaimed happily, cantering ahead of Ulysses. "How did you know where to find it" she asked. She glanced back to find the human easily keeping up with her.
"Didn't. Landmark, carried a message: civilisation nearby" he answered. Twilight and Ulysses made it to the hut quickly, the purple mare unwilling to stay in the forest after dark, which was quickly approaching. She knocked her hoof against the door and waited for her zebra friend to open it. She glanced back to find Ulysses standing a little behind her, his staff tucked between his duster and his duffle bag, his arms folded like a pony would cross her fore-hooves, only he simply clasped his limb in his digits rather than interlocking them, more folding them than crossing them. She was pulled from her thoughts when the door opened.
"Ah, an old friend comes to my door. Tell me Twilight, what can I do you for" Zecora asked as she opened the door. Twilight almost hugged her; being stuck in the Everfree forest with only her eerie company was starting to work its way against her courage.
"Hi Zecora, listen, I ran into a little…" she glanced back at Ulysses for a second "uhh, well, it's kind of hard to explain." The Shaman smiled good-naturedly.
"Worry not Twilight, but might I suggest you come inside? The Everfree forest after dark you dare not reside" she advised. Twilight laughed awkwardly.
"Yeah, about that…Zecora, I want you to meet…a new friend of mine" Twilight said as she moved to the side. Zecora's eyes widened when she saw Ulysses. With slight trepidation, she trotted out of her hut and approached him cautiously, slowly, as though he might attack her at any second.
Zecora stopped before the human, looking him up and down, taking him in from dreadlocks to dirt. She trotted in a circle around him, taking him in from every angle. Ulysses followed her with his own gaze, watching her observe him like some new found plant life. Ulysses didn't like being treated like some kind of Old World science experiment. That was one of the reasons he'd left Big MT.
"Something in you needing an answer" he asked. Zecora gasped as though startled.
"You speak Equestrian? You do not appear our brethren" she noted. Ulysses simply stared at her.
"I speak English, langue of the Old World. History spoke it, I speak it." Zecora swallowed gently at the intensity of his words.
"I won't suggest you lied, but it would be best to step inside. No matter how strong you might be, the Everfree forest is not friendly" she told him. Ulysses didn't acknowledge her, instead her just strode past her. Zecora looked at Twilight, who just shrugged, a hopeless look on her face, and followed after her zebra friend.
Inside, they found Ulysses looking around the interior of her hut. They watched with confusion as he stepped in a circle, gazing at the bottles, masks and other decorations along the walls. Twilight and Zecora exchanged a short glance before the zebra spoke.
"Please, set your things down and I might be able to answer your frown" she said. Ulysses, again, didn't acknowledge her. Instead, he just pulled his bag and strange contraption off his back and set them down against a wall. He kept his staff in his digits, holding it angled up his back. Zecora and Twilight sat at the former's table, Ulysses sitting with his lower limbs crossed, his staff resting between himself and the two mares.
"Your home…reminds me of my tribe" he told Zecora absently. Zecora raised an eyebrow.
"You are of tribe? I must admit, I did not get that vibe" she replied. Ulysses stared at Zecora for a long second, his gaze boring into her.
"Not surprised…history, walked many roads since then. My history, Twister Hairs…the Bull took them, wiped them from history at Dry Wells…tried to, didn't kill me, too useful to them. I carry history like I carry my message." Zecora and Twilight exchanged another glace.
"You speak in riddles stranger…I cannot glean the meaning of your answer" Zecora replied. Ulysses glanced at her again, looking her in the eye.
"Not a riddle…history. You do not understand my history, the roads I've walked."
"Your history" Twilight repeated, looking down in thought "you mean what you were talking about earlier, the Divide was it?"
"Yes and no. Roads I've walked are many; Divide and the Twisted Hairs are not one in the same." Twilight sighed.
"Listen, if we don't know your…history, could you explain it for us?" Ulysses stared at her for a second, getting a gauge on her, judging the question and the answer to give.
"Was born a Twisted Hair, tribe of Arizona. Powerful, strong. Had history. Caesar and his Legion came, the Bull, and they sent an emissary. Asked of our aid through lies, used us, made us walk their roads, not our own. We did as asked, and when the Bull had concurred the east…they betrayed us, cut us down…wiped the Twisted Hairs from history at Dry Wells. I was spared, useful to the Bull. Became a part of the Legion, never followed their symbol though, the Bull. A symbol none of them understood, they followed the man, not the cause. The symbol and its history was lost to them, even to the wisest." He took a long breath, staring at the ground with slightly narrowed eyes.
"U-Ulysses…are you okay" Twilight asked cautiously. He looked up again.
"Fine…history came rushing back to me…never leaving it, no matter how far I walk, no matter what road." He rolled his neck, flexing the digits on his left limb. "Need to rest, long road, hard day" he muttered.
"If you desire, you could rest by my fire. I have plenty of room to spare, as long as you can find somewhere" she said, gesturing around her hut. Ulysses simply nodded his head, standing, taking up his staff as he stood and walking towards his things and crouching down, pulling the bedroll from his duffle bag. He unrolled it and set in on the ground before he sat on it, one lower limb along the ground while the other he propped up, resting his upper limb's digits on it. He closed his eyes and seemed to be asleep.
Zecora and Twilight watched him awkwardly, waiting for him to sit and rest before they turned to each other. Twilight gave a small smile of thanks.
"Thanks for your help Zecora…I'd head back to Ponyville, only…" She glanced over at Ulysses "I'd rather keep an eye on him." Zecora nodded.
"I understand you reasoning Twilight, if you desire I can put you up for the night" the zebra nodded. Twilight smiled again.
"Thanks" she said. They settled into silence again, Zecora ladling the green brew in her cauldron into two cups, passing one to Twilight. The zebra's eyes settled on Ulysses, studying him again.
"You called him Ulysses when we spoke last…not a name I've heard in my past" she commented.
"Not my given name, name taken from history…brought two nations under one flag, one symbol…it ended up devouring him though…" Ulysses said from across the room. Both mares blinked at his input, but neither felt the desire to comment on it. Twilight glanced at Zecora, who still seemed to be studying Ulysses.
"Zecora, he called himself a human, do you have any idea what a human is, because none of the books I've read even mention one. Not even any of the mythical creature encyclopaedias make mention of anything like him" she said quietly, he gaze going back to Ulysses. Zecora hummed in thought.
"I do not think I've heard of such a human before. I regret to tell you I've never heard of this creature" she replied. Twilight frowned in disappointment but didn't dwell on it. She felt a yawn creep through her system and she couldn't hold it down, the young princess feeling the day catch up to her.
"Zecora, I'm gonna get some sleep. I think I'll need my energy tomorrow if I'm going to figure out what to do with him" she admitted. Zecora nodded, glancing at Twilight and finding the weary look on her face.
"Indeed Twilight, you look to have been through a war. Tell me my friend, what happened before you came to my door?" Twilight looked at the floor, unwilling to recount her memories.
"I was attacked by a Manticore, Ulysses saved me but…it hit me with its stinger" she was quiet for a while "I think I almost died" she said at last. Zecora gave her a sympathetic look.
"The Everfree forest is a hostile place to thrive, I'm glad you made it out alive" she said "but I must be truthful, you story seems doubtful. After the sting of a Manticore, even a princess would live no more" Zecora said with a doubtful look on her face. Twilight had to agree.
"I know what you mean…but, I think Ulysses did something to me. I woke up with this weird, plastic tubing around my chest, where the Manticore's tail hit me, and I think a plant I didn't recognise had been rubbed in."
"Tribal remedy, back east. Gifts of the Divide, the Mojave, Arizona…the old can be used to create new, carrying its history. Snake bite tourniquet, stops the poison from getting too deep, buffalo seed stops the venom from walking its road. Saved my life, kept me on the road." Twilight and Zecora fell silent when Ulysses spoke again, giving them a brief history and explanation.
"Mojave? This guy just keeps making questions with every answer" Twilight muttered. Beside her, Zecora shrugged.
"Be that as it may, I think it best you bed down for the day" she said as she hopped from her seat, rummaging around in one of her cupboards and pulling out a rolled up sleeping mat with her teeth, laying it out next to the warmth of the cauldron. "I think I will join you in your slumber" she began, turning her head to Ulysses "though I'd rather be awake, than rest around a stranger" she finished. Twilight could only nod as she lay down on the leopard skin mat, pulling the similarly designed cover over her as Zecora turned the lights out.
As she lay, Twilight couldn't get the sound of Ulysses's voice out of her head. His low, slightly metallic breathing didn't help either. The young princess turned her body so she could see him, watching as he slept. Or seemed to. She got the feeling he wouldn't be asleep until both she and Zecora were, and would remain awake until long after. He didn't strike her as the type to need sleep on a regular basis, more that he simply wished to stop retelling his history, as he put it.
Twilight hummed to herself, wrapping herself up in her blanket and settling herself, feeling herself drift off to sleep. Her last memory was of a pair of dark, brown eyes, watching her through the darkness.