A man who was robbed of everything will carve a bloody path across the world in the name of his revenge.
A monster fueled by hatred once carved his way all the way through to the Equestrian throne. But before all that, before all the blood spilled, all the bodies broken, and all the minds shattered, he was a man. A man who was robbed of everything. A man determined to destroy everything in the name of revenge. At the end of his decade long journey, did he find peace?
Looking back on these journal entries, I'm amazed at the person I used to be. Such a stick in the mud. If my stay in Equestria has taught me anything, it's that I was sort of a jerk.
So much has changed in the short time I've been here. I've made such wonderful friends, had many new experiences and even fell in love. I reflect back on the loss of my parents as often as I ever have, but now I'm more willing to open up and talk to people- that is to say, ponies, about my problems. Things have never been better.
Matthew Nabal, 12/18/12
…...
I'm beginning to think Twilight and I being together has wounded Rainbow Dash much more than I had anticipated. This was never my intention and I know I can't stop her from feeling betrayed, but what am I supposed to do, start a pony harem?
In any case, we have to work together helping to prepare for the princess' Hearth's Warming (which is apparently pony Christmas) celebration. I hope she can at least compromise that much.
Matthew Nabal, 12/20/12
…...
Thinking about it now, I've been using the same calendar from my realm for months and such. I recall the Doctor telling me that the years were the same, so we're in 2012, but do the ponies use the same names for months? Is there some type of equivalent to B.C. and A.D.? If I'm the only one who knows the difference, does it matter?
I should really ask Twilight about it but I'm afraid she's just... too distracting. I can get lost in conversation with her for hours. She asked me if I wanted to share a bed with her, seeming as the winter chill has been extra cold lately. What kind of fool would I be if I denied her?
Matthew Nabal, 12/23/12
…...
Thankfully, Rainbow Dash and I got through our share of the prep work with only minimal fighting. She's a strong woman, or I suppose the term is 'mare'. I don't think I'll ever get used to the pony dialect. Regardless, she's still upset with me, even more-so with Twilight. No matter how I tried to explain it to her, the only thing she took away from the conversation was that she wasn't good enough (something I have never once even thought).
With the celebration being tomorrow, I have to find a way to make it up to her that doesn't make things more awkward than they already are.
Matthew Nabal, 12/24/12
…...
I cannot even begin to explain what the hell is going on around here. A few days ago, during the Hearth's Warming celebration, Princess Luna... had an accident.
Thankfully Alicorns are incredibly durable, but she's still in the hospital as far as I've been told. I'd go check myself, but somehow what happened to Luna is MY fault. I won't deny that it IS possible that due to me and Rainbow's little spats the other day that one of us messed up and didn't tighten that rope tight enough, but the entire damn city of Canterlot is blaming me.
So now I'm sitting in the nicest prison cell I've ever seen. Celestia assured me that it's merely a formality to appease those calling for my blood, but here I stay.
Under constant guard.
And the only possession they let me have is this journal.
Hopefully this'll blow over soon, I have this feel of dread lingering over me and this place isn't helping.
12/28/12
…...
I'm being moved today.
They're keeping me in an armored carriage in a convoy with one escorting Celestia and a few others. Some of Canterlot's uppercrust.
The bastards are exiling me.
12/31/12
…...
We're at the border, apparently.
I've overheard them talking about how I'm dangerous and threat to the crown.
I keep expecting Celestia to say something, ANYTHING in my defense and yet she stays silent.
I think I can hear Twilight. She's begging with her to not go through with it.
She's crying.
I'm crying.
I'm terrified.
…...
The man stood, hands bound as a massive door was raised in front of him. His hands were unbound as the guards on either side of him ushered him forward.
"These are your personal items." one guard said, handing him the single strap bag he developed with Rarity.
"We've also taken the liberty of packing you first aid supplies, camping gear, and a few gifts from your friends." another guard said.
"Should you ever be found in Equestrian territory, the punishment will be severe." the first said. "I'm... sorry it's come to this." the guard added.
Matthew Nabal looked back through the massive door to see a few smug looking, well-dressed Unicorns. In front of them was a sorrowful Princess Celestia, and in front of her, running to him was a crying Twilight Sparkle.
She embraced him and begged him not to go, knowing full well it wasn't his choice.
The lovers shared one last kiss before the man turned around, facing the wilderness ahead of him.
He began to walk.
He could hear the sobs of his beloved behind him and the comforting words Celestia tried to comfort her with.
Likewise he couldn't stop crying, either.
Even then, he refused to turn back. He didn't want her to feel worse than she already did by seeing the state he was in.
He kept marching until the border wall he was let through dipped beneath the horizon, and then he kept marching still.
Walking was just about the only thing he did. He had no idea where he was going, nor did he care. At night, when he stopped, he would set up the tent provided to him. He also discovered just what else had been packed for him. A large green bottle labeled 'from Applejack' was the first thing that caught his attention. He uncorked the bottle, taking note of the red ribbon tied around its neck, and took a whiff of its contents. The familiar, pungent scent of Apple Family cider greeted him.
After several weeks of self imposed restraint, one night he'd decided to drink it. All of it. He knew it was a bad idea, but the human was desperate for any way to numb the pain he felt. The following morning, after he had finished throwing up, he packed up his camp to continue onward. When he reached for the empty bottle, he found it still completely full. He had no idea how such a thing was possible but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Upon re-examining the little card that came with it, on the flipside he saw that Applejack had labeled it a 'special' bottle.
He had almost laughed at the thoughtfulness behind the gift. After the time they spent together, he was sure that Applejack didn't even like him.
The large amount of supplies he had been given could barely be contained by the bag he he was given, probably due to him throwing everything in without any care. As he wandered on, he often longed for the relief of a warm bed as opposed to the frigid camping he was subject to.
One day, his prayers seemed to have been answered in the form of a small town. As he entered, he hadn't noticed the amount of stares and odd looks he received. He eventually found what seemed like an inn. He hurried inside to check in for the night.
The pony behind the counter looked at him confused as he slammed some bits down onto the counter and asked for a room. He thanked whoever had left him a large amount of money, assuming it to be a parting gift from one of the princesses. The clerk wasn't so weirded out that he would refuse the money and gave the human the key to his room.
The bed was too small and it was nothing like sharing a bed with Twilight, but it was better than the tent. He lay there, desperate to sleep but with it constantly evading him. He was pondering where exactly he was at that moment. He had missed the name of the little hamlet he rested in. He found it strange, their were quite a few other species aside from ponies in the town. Much more diverse than the odd Donkey or Griffin back in Equestria.
Eventually, late into the night sleep finally took him. While he certainly enjoyed the slumber, he found it over too soon. He had only rented the room for a day, so he went back down to the clerk in order to elongate his stay. When he did, he noticed a crowd of upset looking townsfolk.
They had apparently had a meeting amongst themselves to decide that he wasn't welcome in the small town. Apparently, a rumor has spread from Equestria that he had attacked one of the princesses. His 'violence' wasn't welcome there.
He didn't bother arguing. He knew if he denied it, they'd see it as suspicious. If he confirmed it, they would only fear him more.
He headed out once again, no direction, no goal. He decided he'd would probably avoid most towns he came across now. More rumors had likely spread like wildfire.
It would seem that everyone everywhere detests my very existence. I am unwanted. I am alone.
(Date not written)
He would've written more, but just didn't feel like it. Writing didn't help him vent anymore, anyway.
He sat in his tent, cold and alone. At the very least, he had that one night of what felt like normalcy.
His aimless journey continued on. He had had some luck recently with making fires, since the constant snowfall had seemed to cease. He didn't know if a flame could survive in the flurries, so he didn't bother. He let his mind wander as he stared into the raging fire. The way of living he was now subject to was eating away at his state of mind. He no longer had any energy to do anything. He hadn't bathed since that night at the inn, which he guessed was about three weeks ago, not that he bothered to keep track of the time anymore. All he did was walk, set up camp, then drink late into the night thanks to his special bottle. He rarely stayed in the same place for long, but sometimes his hangovers kept him inside the tent all day, not feeling well enough to continue walking.
When his trek continued, he awed at the very land around him as he came to an incredibly dense forest. It would probably take him days to get through the entire thing, provided he didn't get lost. He pondered to himself why it even mattered, seeing as he had no real goal in mind anyway. At the very least, there would be plenty of firewood.
His desire to keep moving had even perturbed himself. Something in him told him that he had to keep moving. Perhaps it was a desire to get as far away from his problems as possible. Perhaps it was because he was trying his hardest to pretend his old life in Equestria didn't even happen.
Whatever the case, he did his absolute best to put the entire banishment out of his mind. The only things he cared about were walking and drinking. If he didn't think about it, his pain would numb.
A few hours after entering the forest, he passed a large cave covered by what looked like spider silk. He didn't know if that implied several small spiders or a single large one and didn't care to find out. Unfortunately for him, it was already getting close to nightfall so he had to set up shop for the night somewhat close to the cave.
He lay in his tent, using his backpack as a makeshift pillow, his journal rested gently on his chest and his cider bottle at his side. He knew if he opened the book he couldn't resist thinking about the past. He sipped from his bottle and set the journal down as he got into a sleeping position.
His usual nightmares that re-lived the tragedy that took his parents had long since been replaced by visions of his imprisonment, followed quickly by exaggerated versions of his exile. No matter what he did, nothing could stop his dreams.
Another event that happened that caused him great night terrors was the accident that hurt Luna. He never did get to see her again after his punishment was decided, as she was still healing. In his dreams, she hated him. In reality, he never got to know what she thought of him after that day.
He sighed, resigned to his fate of a restless sleep and tried to let himself drift off.
…...
Mere hours after he managed to fall asleep, his rest was stopped by a scream echoing in the night. He sat up, being silent for a moment to see if he had heard right. After a few moments of silence persisted, he began to rub his temples and lay back down.
As he lay there, he heard a very similar scream and confirmed that it was real, not some dream that woke him up. The shriek sounded feminine and not too far away, coming from the direction of the cave he had passed earlier. Some poor fool had probably wandered inside looking for shelter for the night. Whatever the case, he deemed it not worthy to risk his life on and just tried to go back to sleep.
…...
In the dark cave near the center of the forest, a young unicorn ran through a small tunnel, using her horn to light up the path ahead. She dared not look back to see if her pursuer still chased after her. The tunnel was rather large, almost as big as the entrance itself. As she ran she found herself faced with a three-way crossroads. She took the path on her left, purple cloak trailing after her.
The tunnel she followed had opened up into a large cavern. She grinned excitedly at what lay before her. A hole in the roof of the cave let moonlight shine down onto a pile of gold and other treasures. Gems, pearls, other expensive looking objects she had never seen before. It all glimmered gloriously in the darkness. She noticed what seemed like clusters of eggs on the wall nearby, a clear sign that the beast that was chasing her made its nest there.
As she took a step into the cave, from one of the other entrances emerged a couple of long, skinny legs. The massive spider who guarded the entrance had assuredly come to check on its brood. She dipped back into the tunnel and dimmed the light coming from her horn. As the gargantuan arachnid stepped over the pile of treasure, it knocked some coins loose from the pile. One coin rolled nearby the unicorn, and she gently used her magic to try and snatch it.
The spider noticed this immediately, all eight eyes spotting the intruder. She shrieked, dropped the coin and ran back through the tunnel, the spider in pursuit.
When she made it back to the crossroads, she glanced at the other exits, cursing herself for forgetting which way she came in. A strange noise was heard from behind her as she was suddenly snatched away and into one of the other tunnels when she looked back.
What looked like a thread of web shot out of the way tunnel she was just standing by, the only reason she didn't get caught was the strange person who had grabbed her. Whatever it was had covered her mouth and watched the intersection carefully. The spider saw that it's thread had missed the mark and continued through the tunnel that she assumed led outward. After silence had returned, the creature that grabbed her uncovered her mouth as she gasped for breath.
"Phew, thanks..." she said.
"The damned thing is blocking the exit..." it replied.
She could guess from its voice that it was a male, though of what species she couldn't say.
"You here for the treasure, too?" she asked.
"What? No. I was trying to get some sleep nearby and couldn't because someone was screaming. I assume that was you?" he replied.
"Oh... uh, yeah it was."
Some kind of shuffling was heard at the entrance to the cave, prompting the two to share a glance.
"Is there any other way out?" he asked.
"Maybe? There were some other tunnels this way." she responded, gesturing to the way she just emerged from. "Don't know where they go."
"It's better than nothing." he said, walking ahead without her.
"Hey!" she said, quickly lowering the volume of her voice. "Hey! Wait for me! I can light the way." she said, taking lead and using her magic to light the path.
"Soooo... what're you doing in these parts?" she called back to the tall creature following her.
She was met with silence, so she rolled her eyes and just kept going.
Soon they were back in the spider's den, the treasure room. Now without the threat looming overhead, the young pony rushed over and began scooping piles of the loot, stuffing her pockets as best she could. The human ignored the pile at first, before noticing something odd sticking out of it. It resembled the handle of a weapon, perhaps a sword or dagger.
He spotted the other entrance to the treasure room and assumed that was what the pony was talking about. As he made his way towards the entrance, the lights trickling into the room from above suddenly vanished. He looked up to see the huge arachnid had circled around to its lair. It wasn't looking at him, however. It was eyeing up the purple pony who had lead him there.
As the beast lunged he felt his body move instinctively. He dove into the young mare, sending the both of them rolling away will the spider's fangs ended up in the floor of the cave.
"Hey! What's the big id-" the pony began before noticing what had just happened.
"Stay low." said the human.
He watched silently as the spider tried to loose its fangs from the dirt. The impact had scattered the pile of treasure, revealing the handle did indeed belong to a sword. It was quite long and double edged, dressed in a partial sheath seemingly made of gold. As the beast finally freed itself, he quickly grabbed the blade before running away.
He ran out the second entrance, removing the gold sheath and tossing it at the spider to ensure it followed him. He marveled at the shear weight of the otherwise unremarkable looking sword, gripping it with both hands as he lead the monster away. The tunnel was shorter than the others, and it began to curve slightly upwards at the exit to the surface. The exit was covered with brush and was easily hidden from unknowing eyes. He recognized the spot as being merely a few meters from where he had set up camp.
As the spider finally pulled its massive body out of the tunnel, it let out what sounded like a terrifying hiss. The man knew that running out in the open was futile, his mobility was nothing compared to the eight legged fiend. Although at this point he had decided to stand his ground.
One of the spider's legs came crashing down in an attempt to stab the human, something he dodged and swung the heavy blade in counter attack. To his surprise, it lopped the end of the leg clean off, causing the beast's green blood to gush about as it shrieked in pain. He marveled at the sharpness.
His actions had only served to anger the monster, which rushed him with such ferocity that he had no choice but to run. As he dodged more of it's swings, the spider turned around and began launching web from it's abdomen. A strand had caught his foot and caused him to trip, making him waste precious time cutting the thread with the heavy sword. As he stood, the arachnid had caught up to him and forced him up against a large tree.
It's legs had entrapped him, so he began to wind up a swing in an attempt to escape. It was a futile effort.
The spider quickly bit into his left arm, stopping his momentum and pumping copious amounts of venom into the human. After the intense pain rang through him, he howled in agony as the vile green liquid seeped into his wound.
With a surge of adrenaline and with what strength he had left, his right arm stabbed the sword down violently, into the spider's head. The monster writhed in pain and released his arm, green and red blood spilling everywhere around them.
As the life drained from the dying spider, the strange sword pulsed with a faint red energy.
The human stumbled over and pulled the blade out, something he knew was pointless but still compelled to do, before collapsing onto his back.
"A-are you okay?"
He looked up to see the purple pony from inside the caves. She seemed to have made it out without issue.
"... no." he replied, looking down at his left arm and the venom that coursed through it.
"That looks terrible... do you have any antidote or something?" she asked.
"No... but there's a first aid kit in my tent, a few feet in that direction." he said between breaths, pointing with his good hand. "You know how to treat wounds?"
"I-I know some things, but nothing about poison!" she responded hysterically.
He knew what he had to do. He only had a single option left if he wanted to survive. And he had to act fast.
"You'd better go grab it. Quickly." he said.
He sat up, slowly, hesitantly, placing the blade under his left armpit.
"You aren't seriously gonna...?"
Before she could continue, he began to pull up and cut through his arm. She couldn't bear to watch, so she scuttled off to find the first aid kit like he had ordered her to.
His screams of pain could be heard as she went, echoing throughout the whole forest.
When the deed was done, he couldn't take anymore and began to pass out from the pain.
"Now Matthew, you need to take better care of yourself. What if I wasn't here to patch you up?"
"I know. I'm sorry, mother."
"Oh, it's alright, darling. I'm happy you're playing outside more. Just be more careful, okay?"
"I will."
…...
He awoke suddenly, in a state of shock from his dreams. A face he hadn't seen in quite awhile. He had done his best to not think of his mother lest his original nightmares return.
Looking around, he saw that he was in his tent. He wondered for a moment if what happened last night was also a dream before feeling intense pain from the left side of his body. Upon investigation, he found his left arm severed and what remained bandaged. He was honestly surprised to still be alive. He must have caught the poison in time.
He crawled his way out of his tent, immediately regretful that his top half was bare against the cold air outside.
"Whoa, hey! When did you wake up?"
He turned to see the young purple unicorn whom he had last seen going to fetch his first aid kit.
"Just now." he replied, reaching into his bag for any sort of shirt. After putting one on, he immediately noticed the long sleeve dangling on his left side, which he began to try and tie.
"Then you probably shouldn't be walking around. You were asleep for two whole days." she said.
He found some trouble balancing his upper body with the lack of a left arm, taking a few seconds to recenter himself. "And you managed to fix me up?"
"I did all I could. I wish I could do more. You only got bitten because you saved my life." she replied.
"Well, I'm not dead, so I guess you did pretty well." he said, beginning to pack up his camp.
"You're already moving on? In your condition?"she asked, clearly confused.
"I am."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Well at least let me come with you while you recover."
After the tent was comfortably sandwiched into his bag, he turned to face the young mare. "Listen, you don't owe me anything. I only ended up helping you for selfish reasons. You said you were here for the treasure, right? It's all yours."
She looked somewhat bashful as she replied. "Well... I already lined my pockets. And no matter what you say, I still feel responsible for what happened to you."
"Well, don't." he said, swinging his bag over his shoulder, thanking his lucky stars that it only had the one strap.
"Can you at least tell me your name?"
He paused for a moment, thinking about how to respond.
"I don't have one."
The mare crooked her head to the side, perplexed at what he said before giggling.
"I guess that makes two of us. I don't have a name, either. Not a real one."
The human cocked an eyebrow at her response.
"I was abandoned at an orphanage when I was just a baby. The only thing I had with me was this blanke-" she cut herself off. "... was this cloak. Since it was all I had, the folks who run the place decided to call me 'Amethyst'. No idea what my birth name was, or if I even have one."
He sized her up again, noticed the frayed edges of her 'cloak', hinting at its age. The pony herself however looked younger than Twilight and his friends. A few years older than Applebloom, he guessed.
"So... you're from an orphanage? Shouldn't you be getting home?" he asked.
"Pfft, no way. I haven't lived there for like, two weeks. I'm a treasure hunter now. A nomadic treasure hunter." she replied.
"I see. Best of luck on your travels, then." he said, beginning to depart.
"Wait! You're forgetting something!" Amethyst called out to him.
He sighed in annoyance, turning around to see what she was talking about. He saw the pony dragging the large sword he had used, contained once again in the golden sheathe he had thrown at his foe.
"I can't get any kinda use out of this thing, it's too heavy." she laid it at his feet. "Doubt anypony around here would buy it, either."
He bent down to pick it up, finding it much heavier with just the one hand. He felt a strange warmth emitting from the sword, and something compelled him to take it along. Instead of leaving his tied, dangling sleeve on his left side, he decided to cut the sleeve and use it to fasten the sword between his back and the bag.
"Thanks. Happy trails, Amethyst." he said, once again taking his leave. This time, the pony did not protest and let him carry on.
…...
As he resumed his wandering, the man found himself subconsciously searching for his left arm. Each time he reached for it, he could swear it was still there. Some kind of phantom pain lingered where it once was. He knew it would take quite some time to get used to. He wondered why it didn't bother him more and decided he was just happy to still be alive.
The sword at his back was quite the burden to bear, but made tolerable by the warmth it emitted in the frigid environment.
As he had done so many times before, when the night fell he set up his tent. After getting a small fire set to warm him up, he noticed a pair of eyes watching him from the brush. A pair of violet orbs observing him silently. He could barely make out the shape of the small pony he had parted ways with earlier that day.
He had guessed that she followed him. Her silhouette seemed to be shivering, probably eyeing up his fire enviously. When he turned to look at her more directly, she ducked down trying not to be noticed. He smirked at her attempts to be stealthy.
He pulled out his journal and one of his non-perishable rations, letting his food heat up closer to the fire.
Ended up sticking my nose where it didn't belong, and it cost me an arm. Now I've got a little pony tag-along who thinks she owes me something. A child with delusions of grandeur. She's a self proclaimed nomad, but apparently doesn't have any sort of shelter. I suppose it would be rude of me to let her freeze to death.
He closed the book, stashing it back in his bag.
"You're going to catch your death of cold out here." he called out.
Amethyst's eyes shuffled nervously before hanging her head and approaching.
"How long did you know?" she asked.
"I only just noticed you." he replied.
"Sorry I was following you, but you have to understand. I haven't ever seen anything like you, so, I was curious." she said, warming up to the fire and sighing with relief.
"I'm sure you were. Shouldn't you be getting home? You found your treasure, right?" he asked.
"... That place isn't my home. The place is nice, don't get me wrong. But I lived there my whole life. I watched as all my friends got adopted, but never me." there was an awkward pause as she shifted the mood. "I answered one of your questions, you should answer one of mine. It's only fair!" she declared.
He chuckled slightly at her sudden change of subject. "Fine."
"What the heck even are you? Where did you come from?" she asked.
"That's two questions. Though I suppose I can't really answer one without the other." he said, clearing his throat. "I'm what is called a human. Due to a magical accident, I was pulled here from my native earth. My home here was Equestria."
"Whoa, you lived in Equestria?! Is it as magical and immaculate as they say it is?" she asked, clearly awestruck.
"I... guess? More magical than where I came from, for certain."
"Are there a bunch of Unicorns there? I hear Equestria is filled with them."
"You heard right. Are they not as common out here?"
"I've never even met another Unicorn!" she said, still gushing. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you still in Equestria?"
The man grew silent at her question, finding a sudden interest in the fire instead of the conversation. Amethyst noticed how suddenly awkward the atmosphere had become as her stomach began to growl.
He looked down to the half eaten ration in his hand, a mix of vegetables mainly, and offered it to her. She took the tin carefully and thanked him profusely before tearing into it.
"You can share my tent if you don't fancy freezing overnight. Make sure you put out the fire first. Oh, and I only have the one blanket, so I guess you'll have to use your 'cloak'." he said, crawling inside to try his best to fall asleep.
Some time later, he heard her extinguish the fire then climb inside, closing the entrance behind her.
The next day, the duo walked based on Amethyst's directions, something the man was more than displeased with. He had awoken with head pain centering around his right eye, as well as those terrible dreams of a mother long gone. Indulging the young mare this once couldn't hurt.
"We should be there any minute; you're gonna love this." she said.
"Such confidence, considering you barely know me." he replied.
"That's true, that's true. But believe me, you will. Not to mention you need it." she added, making the human raise a brow. "Listen, I'm thankful that you saved my life and all, but you really stink. Not to mention your rumbling tummy. Not that I blame you, surviving on that slop in a can and all..."
Amethyst continued to talk as they began walking up a small hill. As they reached the top, in view came a quaint town. It was large, probably bigger than Ponyville, he thought. He could see some tall buildings in the town, suggesting an air of wealth.
He stopped walking as Amethyst kept walking and talking to herself, before she noticed he had stopped.
"Huh? Why'd you stop? We're almost there." she said.
"... I'm not welcome in any sort of settlement." he said.
She walked back to him. "Now c'mon, don't be like that. Sure you look weird, but I'm a Unicorn. I'm probably the weirder one."
"That's not it..." he replied.
"Then what happened? Did you do something wrong?" she asked.
He looked down and away from her, making her realize his answer without him speaking.
"Oh." she said, slightly taken aback. "What did you do?"
"I didn't leave Equestria of my own volition, I was banished. Rumors spread that I violently attacked one of the princesses..." he explained, still not looking at her.
"Well... did you?" she asked, somewhat to his surprise.
"I did not."
"Then what's the problem?"
He began to smile, then laugh at her naivety. "As if they would believe me." he replied.
"Well, if they don't, that's their problem. I believe you." she said.
He was somewhat stunned by how Amethyst was treating him, whether it being a result of him saving her he could not say.
"Now then." she continued. "Let's get down there."
"... Fine." he conceded. "But after this, I'm continuing on my own." he added.
"Sure, sure, c'mon!" she replied, beginning to trot excitedly. He caught up to her, despite the fact that he was the one carrying everything.
…...
The two strode in to the town's admittedly luxurious inn. The stares they received inside matched the ones they got outside, although Amethyst never seemed to mind. She casually strolled up to the counter with him in tow, digging into her pockets and pulling out a sizable amount of gold from the Spider's treasure pile.
"Room for two, please. Make it the finest you have."
The earth pony behind the counter looked amazed by what she was presenting him, gazing at the glimmering gold coins in astonishment. "R-right away, miss!" he said.
"Oh, look at this!" she said, jabbing her tall friend with a foreleg. "They have a spa built in. We want that, too." she said to the inn keeper.
The inn was closer to a fancy hotel, they discovered. Their luxury room had a small hot-tub and decorative water features. They didn't get too much time to check it out before being whisked away to the spa treatments Amethyst bought them.
The attendants shared a glance upon seeing him, but still did their work dutifully. Within hours, he was cleaned, given a back massage, and pampered more than he had ever been in his life. He had known Ponyville had a day spa, but never opted to visit it when he had the chance which he now heavily regretted.
Amethyst was likewise receiving the deluxe treatment, although hers had some more talkative attendants.
"Excuse me, miss, but is that thing you came in with the same thing that got exiled from Equestria?" the attendant asked.
"Oh, him? Yeah, he's the guy." Amethyst responded casually.
"Pray tell, how did you tame him?" the attendant continued to pry as she started filing Amethyst's hooves.
"No taming needed. He's a nice guy, once you get to know him." Amethyst said. "He's not some wild animal. Oh! You're asking me that because there's that rumor he attacked a princess or whatever, right?"
"You mean it's not true?" the attendant said, somewhat surprised.
"Of course not! I mean, I wasn't there, but if he said he didn't do it, I believe him."
"I hope you're right, madam."
…...
This young pony who calls herself 'Amethyst' Is admittedly quite interesting. She cares not for the rumors that taint my reputation. She displays no amount of fear toward me. It's... very comforting. When I look at her, into her violet eyes, I can't help but wonder if Twilight looked similar to her at that age. She reminds me of her terribly.
Despite everything I have tried to do to put the past behind me, I have now realized just how much my time in Equestria meant to me. How much my friends meant to me. How much that love meant to me.
He sat in a luxurious seat in he and Amethyst's room. He finished his writing and closed his journal, instead turning his attention to the food placed on the table in front of him.
"Your r-room service, sir..." the earth pony attendant said.
"Thank you. That will be all." he replied dryly.
"O-one last thing, if I may..." she said shyly. This earned her his bored gaze. "W-we didn't have any robes for someone of your... size, so please excuse the one we had produced as quickly as possible." she said.
"I'm sure it's fine. You may be off now." he replied, waving his hand dismissively.
"Yes sir..."
As she went to leave, the door to the room burst open and an ecstatic Amethyst came jaunting in.
"Whoa, hey, the food's already here? Nice!" she said, walking passed the attendant who hurriedly exited.
Amethyst sat across from him and began to eat some of the delicious spread on the table. They ate in silence for quite some time, before the food in front of them had disappeared.
"Ah... I tell ya, this is the life." Amethyst said.
"No objections from me." he replied.
"This... this is the kinda stuff I've dreamed about for as long as I can remember. I never would've had this if I still sat around the orphanage." she mused.
"Just remember that your money isn't infinite. I suppose you'll have to go back to treasure hunting at some point." he replied.
"Eh, that's a problem for future Amethyst. Present Amethyst is going for a dip in the hot-tub. Wanna join me?"
"Hmm... I think I will."
As the two made their way across the room, Amethyst stripped off her cloak and hung it on a changing screen with care. The man disrobed as well, caring significantly less about the pile of rags he left behind. He emerged from his screen with a towel wrapped around his waist.
"Is... that a normal thing for humans to wear into a hot-tub?" Amethyst asked.
"... Yes." was all he said.
She shrugged before noticing something else. "Oh, what about your bandages? Won't the water mess 'em up?"
"It's not a pool, I don't plan on being completely submerged." he replied.
"Suit yourself!" the young mare said as she slipped in, going fully underwater almost as if she were proving a point.
He climbed in after her, surprised at the depth the tub reached, even for someone of his size.
When Amethyst emerged, she let out a long sigh and leaned back against the wall of the tub, letting herself relax. He did the same.
"Still wanna go off on your own tomorrow?" she asked him.
A grin crept onto his face. "Maybe, maybe not."
…...
Later in the night, they were met with a dilemma.
"There's only one bed." Amethyst said.
The man shrugged and sat in a nearby chair. "You paid for the room. Knock yourself out."
"Yeah but you're the one made me getting the money even possible. You should take it." she replied.
"I'll just use a chair. The bed's probably too small for me anyway." he stood up and pushed another chair closer to his and used it to support his feet. "See? This would probably work the best."
"If you insist... if you stay another day, I'll take the chairs. That'd be fair." she said, climbing into the soft bed.
"Sure, sure. Now go to sleep. That hard day of being pampered must've taken a lot out of you." he teased.
"Oh, ha-ha." was all she said in reply.
…...
In truth, he was probably more tired than she was. He fell asleep almost immediately. He was plagued by a different nightmare than his usual this time, it seemed his perspective was crawling through the dark tunnels of the Spider's cave. The major difference being he could see very clearly what was going on. When turning a corner, he was accosted by a brilliant light and just like that, he was ten years-old again.
He was once again in his family home. Once again he was faced with his mother.
"How was your day at school, Matt?" she asked.
"F-fine..." was all he could muster.
"Aw, someone doesn't sound fine. Was Angie messing with you again? I already told you, she likes you!"
He gritted his teeth. "Stop this..."
She didn't respond to what he said. "Oh, it'll be alright, my dear. My dear little Matthew." she smirked a bit before continuing. "Did I ever tell you me and your father couldn't pick a name for you?"
His head perked up. He didn't recall this conversation ever occurring, although clearly it must have.
"Your father wanted to call you Matthew, but I wanted to call you-"
…...
Suddenly, a loud thudercrash awoke the sleeping human. He jolted upright, scared out of mind. He noticed Amethyst sitting by the window. He began to walk over to her.
"What the hell was that?" he asked.
"Oh, you woke up from the third bolt? I thought you were gonna sleep through the whole thing." she replied. "As for that?" she said, pointing out the window before shrugging in his direction.
Outside, storm-clouds and rain had rolled in as they slept and furious bolts of lightning danced in the night sky. Brilliant burst of crimson joined them and loud, beast-like roars could be heard as well. Whatever was happening, it was happening above the clouds.
He mulled over what had happened in his dream as he tried to get a glimpse at whatever was happening outside.
"Were you having a bad dream?" Amethyst asked. "I was gonna wake you up, but you looked pretty distressed already."
"... Yeah. I was."
"Was it about what happened in Equestria?"
"No, not this time. Don't worry about it. Just a ghost of some days long gone."
The mood was brought down pretty harshly.
"Amethyst?" he asked.
She silently turned to face him, but did nothing else.
"My name is Gabriel."
In his mind, choosing a new name symbolized his attempt at leaving his past behind him. The person he was was no more. The person he was becoming would be different.
"I thought you said you didn't have a name?" she asked, smiling coyly. "'Gabriel', huh? I like it."
As the morning came, the man now called Gabriel rose from his improvised bed. He looked around, noticing Amethyst had already awoken and was nowhere to be seen. He walked toward the window they looked out last night, surprised to see some of the buildings in the town were partially destroyed. The damages didn't seem too severe from where he was, but there was also a large trail of scorched earth where a dirt road once was. He could vaguely make out large footprints going away from the wounded ground and away from the town.
The door to the room opened, and in walked Amethyst, carrying a a few large bags and boxes in a stack on her back.
“Good morning, Gabriel!” she called out, letting the stack fall.
“What's all that?” he asked.
“Well, I figured if you did still wanna leave, I'd get you some better camping supplies and use them to force you to take me with you.” she said bluntly.
He chuckled. “So you went out and got some bargaining chips, huh? Aren't you a clever one...” he replied. “What happened out there?” he asked, gesturing out the window.
“Oh, apparently that freak storm last night was from some dragons having a rumble in the clouds. One of them got knocked down and had to run away.” she said.
“Must've been pretty big dragons...”
“Some of the locals saw it, said it was a big red one that fell down. The other one flew off afterwards, in victory I guess? The red one didn't chase after it, for some reason.” Amethyst explained.
“Maybe it was injured?” Gabriel pondered.
“Eh, who knows. Wanna head into town for something to eat? My treat, naturally.” Amethyst asked.
He smirked, thinking about all the money she was wasting, revealing her childish nature. “You go on ahead, I'll meet up with you.” he said.
“Suit yourself, but don't whine to me if you get lost!” she said as she left, closing the door behind her.
In truth, Gabriel needed to change his bandages and didn't want her worrying herself. He knew she still blamed herself for what happened to him, but he decided it was his burden, not hers. He rushed into a situation that was completely avoidable and paid the price for it. Though he couldn't say he regretted saving Amethyst, she provided some much needed contact with another person; something he had been starved of.
In the process of removing his bandages, his wound looked much better than he expected. It had healed at a rate that was unprecedented, he was certain. If it continued at that pace it would heal completely within the week.
As he put on some fresh bandages, even the pain had seemed to dull a bit. Before he could think on it any longer, he felt the ground shake. He didn't know if the region was seismically active or not, but upon looking outside he saw the cause of the rumbling. A large red dragon was stomping around just outside the town. It made its way closer and every step was met with thunderous force.
It began to roar and breathe fire into the sky, clearly agitated. Gabriel watched as it began to swing its claws and tail wildly, destroying some of the surrounding buildings.
He found himself in a very similar situation. He could just ignore it, even run away from the beast's rampage. But Amethyst had just gone out there and was waiting for him. She had done much for him in the short time they knew each other and he wasn't about to abandon her. The young mare felt indebted to him, despite the fact that they each already saved the other's life. He wouldn't have survived his sudden amputation without her, so in a way he felt indebted too.
He grabbed the bag and heavy sword he had been lugging around, once again feeling the warmth emanating from the blade. He strapped it to his back and headed out of the inn.
Fear and panic, as well as dozens of residents of the town flooded the streets. The angered Dragon's rampage had strewn chaos all over. People ran for their lives, some stayed behind and locked their doors in an attempt to hunker down. Amethyst ran, just behind a crowd, keeping an eye out for her tall human friend. She hoped he hadn't yet left the inn, since it was pretty far from where the rampage had started.
She watched as a stray ball of fire catapulted toward the crowd she ran with. There was no way everyone could make it out unharmed. Moving before she could give it much thought, she leapt into the fireball's path and threw up a wall of magic. She didn't know the exact specifications of barrier spells so she did all she could. The fireball stopped midair and dissipated and she knew her defense was successful. She turned back to see the crowd of fleeing civilians had stopped and were in awe.
“What are you dummies doing? Get a move on!” she shouted, unsure of her ability to block anymore stray flames.
The dragon seemed to notice that the fireball it had launched didn't impact anything. It turned it's attention toward where it stopped in midair and noticed the purple pony quickly running away. With a low growl, it began to head in that direction.
When the dragon's path of senseless destruction paused briefly, Amethyst turned back to see it headed her way now.
“Oh, c'mon! You've got to be kidding me!” she shouted in frustration.
She rounded a corner and her mind raced, trying to think of literally any way to escape this scenario. She saw the crowd she had helped escape running farther in front of her now. She was still trying to catch up, but the dragon following her caught up to the corner she had made and spotted her again.
A loud roar sounded and the sounds of destruction followed as she ran. The massive lizard behind her had probably knocked down another building, she thought. As she grew closer to the large gathering of most of the town's people, she noticed them unsure of what to do, other than to run.
“We have to do something!” someone shouted.
“No, we have to keep running! We can come back after he's calmed down.” another said.
“Wait, you ponies know this dragon? Does this happen often?!” Amethyst asked, catching her breath.
“No! He lives nearby, something must have set him off...” one of the the townsfolk answered.
Fire began to build up in the dragon's throat, a clear indicator he was charging another fireball.
“Get down!” Amethyst shouted, preparing to try her best to block this one as well.
The townsfolk did as she said as she braced herself. She began to channel her magical energy in front of her as a wall, but it began to flicker and fade. She let out a pained grunt as she kept trying, but to no avail. When her attention turned back to the dragon, he was aiming solely at her and fired his blast. She turned away, her short life replaying in her mind.
She felt herself be knocked to the side, but not by the fire. When she opened her eyes, she noticed the fireball had hit the ground she was just standing on, but she was no longer there. While she had begun to wonder if she somehow teleported, she noticed the one armed human by her side.
“You must be crazy.” Gabriel said to her, his eyes focused on the beast who had also taken notice of him. “What happened to the magic you tried to use to block it?” he asked.
“I-I might be a Unicorn, but we're not all super skilled with magic. I guess. Like I said, I've never met another one.” she replied, a small smile returning to her features.
The dragon roared at the newcomer as a form of intimidation, Gabriel had guessed. “Stay low. I'll get it as far away as I can.” he said.
“Now you're being crazy! You're injured! You can't dodge forever!” Amethyst replied, clearly distraught.
Gabriel's hand reached for the handle of the sword resting against his back. “I have an ace in the hole. Hopefully he'll run out of energy and lose interest. Either way, I'll do what I can. Now go!” he shouted, taking off in a sprint the dragon's eyes followed closely before his body did the same.
Gabriel had known most dragons horde treasure, or at the very least eat it. The sun reflecting off of the sword's handle had done exactly as he expected and caught the beast's eye. Amethyst and the others headed the opposite direction as quick as they could.
As Gabriel began his sprint, the dragon began to pursue immediately. He cursed that his bait had seemed to work too well. He knew he had to wear the beast out before it would give up its spree of destruction. The dragon seemed intent on not harming the shiny object on Gabriel's back, as it fired no projectiles. As he got closer to more buildings, the dragon then decided to swing at him with its massive claws, barely missing and ripping the small storefront they had based asunder.
Before long, the dragon had clearly been agitated and began to swing more frequently. Gabriel did all he could to dodge them, but one had caught his right leg and sent the human flying across the road, into another building. The dragon seemed pleased itself as it approached the prize it had set its sights on. Gabriel knew he had to move, he had to do something to keep the beast distracted.
His mind raced for a way, any way out of his current situation. With one arm, he might not be able to recover and dodge fast enough. The pain from his lost arm and now the impact with the wall was also a constant that interrupted his thinking process. He weighed his options as the dragon got ever closer.
If he couldn't run, maybe he could create enough space between them with a sudden attack. As he felt the dragon reach for the glimmer of the metal on his back, he reached for the handle and swung the sword violently.
It cut the dragon's clawed hand, causing it to flinch from surprise and pain. Gabriel stabbed it into the ground, using it to pick himself up from the floor. When he rose, he took a defensive stance that only served to anger the dragon more.
It reared up on its hind legs, content to simply smash the human and be done with it. He took this opportunity to dodge and get another slash in, finding it ineffective since he could only swing with the one arm. Gabriel knew to make more of an impact, he'd have to put more of his weight into it.
As he continued dodging and occasionally attacking, he began to use the motion of his dodge to put more force behind his swings to great effect. The dragon had numerous small cuts now, growing angrier every second. It no longer decided the treasure Gabriel held was worth it, building a flame from the throat to incinerate the pest stinging it. Gabriel realized this, and began to run as fast as he could, but to no avail.
Flames washed over Gabriel and everything around him. The scarlet fire burned so brightly, but he had stopped running. In that moment, he was sure he was going to die. It was just like when his parents died, he was alone and surrounded by growing fires. He felt his body begin to shake and tears begin to flow. He had done so much soul searching during his time in Equestria and thought he had overcome the tragedy that happened that day.
It no longer haunted his nightmares, but the very image of the billowing flames around him had paralyzed him. Despite the heat, he felt the warmth emitting from the sword, still in his hand. Somehow it burned brighter than the fire around him. He gripped it tightly. He felt as though he had understood what it was communicating to him, even without words.
“You really intend to die here?”
He felt a surge of energy wash over him as his burned flesh began to repair itself and strength returned to him. Even his shaking had ceased.
“I do not. I will not.”
He lifted the blade, preparing to swing it with as much force as possible. As the blade ripped through the air, causing the human's body to spin a bit, the force alone had produced a large gust of wind and extinguished the flames.
The dragon only had a moment to be confused before the human was upon it. It looked down to see the large blade stabbed to into its own chest. Gabriel began to rip the weapon downwards, creating a much more violent looking wound. Blood poured from the beast as it fell over, looking into the human's eyes to see uncaring, dark orbs.
The sword began to glow, much like it had with the spider, as what seemed like light began to pour from the wound, centered on the sword.
As the dragon breathed its final breaths, Gabriel wrenched free the blade from its gut.
Amethyst carefully followed after the path Gabriel had lead the dragon down, the townsfolk wandering with her. She had thought the sudden lack of anymore noise from wherever they had ended up had meant Gabriel was successful.
“Well, that guy probably got eaten.” one of the townsfolk said.
“Shut up!” Amethyst responded. “He really saved our skins back there, so you'd better hope he didn't.”
Amethyst wasn't too thrilled to be indebted to Gabriel again, but she knew the risks he had taken. Him walking away from this chase unscathed was highly unlikely.
The group got closer and some smoke arising from nearby buildings caught their attention. Through the smoke, they saw a tall, bipedal silhouette shambling its way out. Gabriel walked as best he could, dragging his massive sword alongside him. His clothes were burned and torn. Red splatters dotted his form and heavily coated his sword.
“Gabriel! You're alright!” Amethyst called out, trotting over happily to meet him.
Gabriel used his sword to stabilize himself before returning it to the sheathe on his back. “That's one way of putting it...”
Amethyst somehow hadn't questioned why he was covered in blood, but she did notice the burns his clothes had received.
“How did you manage to let your clothes get burned but not your skin? Is there some kinda trick to it?” she asked, not noticing the townsfolk following her had gone past where Gabriel had stood.
“I... I'm not...?” said Gabriel, also noticing that his skin remained burn-free. His body ached but much less than it probably should've.
“I bet you thought you were so cool, diving in to save me again. You even said the same thing you said the first time.” Amethyst said, contorting her face into a scowl. “'Stay low'.” she said in her best impression of him. “Really took some points off the stylishness of the rescue.”
Gabriel smiled down at her. “I wasn't trying to be cool, I was giving you solid advice. The next time you need saving, I'll say something 'cool'.”
“Next time? There won't be a next time, I can't have you saving me constantly. I'll be the one saving you, if anything.” she replied.
“Right...”
Several loud screams erupted from down the street as the smoke finally finished clearing. A few of the citizens came running back their way, one bumping into Gabriel and falling over.
The frightened citizen looked up to the human. “You... y-you killed him!” he stammered.
It was now Amethyst's turn to be shocked, not fully understanding what was just said. Gabriel remained stoic.
“I... did what I had to. It was him or me. I didn't have a choice.” Gabriel said.
The sounds of horrified townsfolk filled the streets. Most ran away, some couldn't handle the sight and were being made sick. Most had begun to stare at Gabriel in fear.
“Whoa, you mean...?” Amethyst said, beginning to fully process what had happened. She also began to stare at her human associate.
Feeling the countless eyes upon him, Gabriel scoffed as he turned away. “I knew stopping here was a mistake. Don't worry, I'll be going.” He began to head back to the inn, assuredly to grab his things and depart.
As more smoke had finally began to clear, Amethyst could vaguely see the body of the fallen dragon. She didn't look at the ghastly scene for long; the sight itself caused her to shudder. She had started to fall into a panic, unsure of what to do. She had owed Gabriel much, and she had seen him defend himself back in the spider's cave. If he said he had no choice, would she choose to believe him?
“So those rumors were true...” said one of the disturbed citizens of the town.
“He really was a monster, after all.” said another.
“W-wait a second...” Amethyst began. “Didn't one of you say he was probably eaten? He must've done what he had to.” she said.
“It was a joke.” said the pony who had mused Gabriel's fate earlier. “That dragon was prone to lashing out at us, but he only ever destroyed buildings, occasionally picking up anything shiny and being on his way.”
“And you were okay with that?!” Amethyst responded. “He would crush your town under his claw, and you were fine with that?”
“Of course we weren't!” responded another townie. “But the dragons of this region are a close-knit group. Whenever the others hear about this... we'll be lucky to survive.”
The town's subservience had started making sense to her now. If they couldn't protect themselves against a single dragon, a group of them could only spell doom. Not just for them, but for Gabriel, should they decide to pursue revenge. She cursed herself for getting lost in thought. She had to find him before he left. …................................................................................................................................................................................
Gabriel had gathered most of his things quickly. Everything had fit into his small, single-strapped bag. He only had what he had come into town with, leaving the improved camping supplies Amethyst had purchased where they were. If she decided to move on past the town as well, she would need them.
As he slung the bag over his shoulder, the door to he and Amethyst's room at the inn burst open.
“I already told you, I'm going.” Gabriel said dismissively, not bothering to check who had entered.
“But... you didn't even... grab the good stuff...” Amethyst said, clearly winded and trying to catch her breath.
Now Gabriel had realized just who he was talking to. “Of course I didn't. All of it belongs to you, I'm no thief.”
Amethyst had now finally recovered from her apparent sprint. “You don't think I'm going to carry everything myself, do you? You had better share the load.”
“What?” was all he asked, at first not understanding her meaning before it dawned on him. “You still want to travel with me? Even though I...”
“Look, Gabriel, I haven't known you for very long but you've saved my life twice. If you say you had no choice but to... uhh, y'know...” she said, gesturing awkwardly. “Then I believe you. I mean c'mon, we're friends, right?”
“Friends...?” Gabriel smiled, thinking about how he had been alone for months and almost forgot what friendship felt like. It made him feel good, he decided. “We are, but are you sure you want to associate with me now? My reputation will only get worse after today.”
“Then you need someone like me to set the record straight.” she replied with a smirk. “Oh, speaking of reputation, one of the locals told me something kinda concerning. He told me that dragon took his frustration out on these folks all the time, and the other dragons of the region won't like that he's...”
“Oh. Oh.” he replied, quickly catching on. “So now I've got a target on my back...”
“Yeah, more or less. So let's get a move on! If we keep moving, they're gonna have a hard time finding you.” Amethyst said.
As Amethyst began to pick up some of their luggage, Gabriel breathed a sigh of relief. He knew she was right, and since she didn't even bother to ask if she could come along, he supposed he was stuck with her. He had begun to grow used to being around someone else. He had started to grow found of the young mare, likely a side-effect of wandering for two months by himself. She was the first person to show him any kindness outside of Equestria.
“True. Let's be off, then.” …................................................................................................................................................................................
I find myself at an interesting crossroads. My actions have made me an enemy of very powerful creatures. Almost certainly I am damned to pay blood for blood. Yet I do not regret what I've done. I'm not sure what came over me in that instance, but all I know is something inside me refused to give in. That surge of energy made me certain of a single thing; I would not die there.
It's interesting, because a small time ago I would've been glad to throw my life away.
Amethyst has decided to stay by my side, confident that I only did what I had to do. Maybe the fact that I saved her twice over effected her decision. No matter what, I will not forsake her kindness.
“Alright, the new tent's all set up.” Amethyst said, trotting over back to Gabriel's side.
Gabriel closed his journal and looked at her handiwork. “Really? It looks a little... flat?” he said.
Indeed, the tent was very close to the ground despite covering a large amount of space.
“Hehe, I was waiting for that reaction.” Amethyst said with a cheeky grin, using a hoof to hit a small switch tethered to the tent via a long wire.
With some quiet electrical whirring, the square tent began to raise itself, creating a large box of a shelter.
“Impressed?” Amethyst asked, still smiling widely.
“Very.” Gabriel responded. Despite still not being made for someone his height, it clearly had more than enough room for the both of them. “Must've cost a lot.”
Her grin was replaced with a sheepish smile as Amethyst chuckled in response. “Yeah... in fact, it cost most of the gold I had left. Well, more than most...”
“Didn't think you'd go that far...” Gabriel replied.
“Yeah, well, I guess I'll just have to scrounge up more treasure!”
“Because it went so well for you last time.”
Amethyst paused for a moment, calculating a response before she finally decided on one.
“Well last time I had some help. Very reliable help. Help that got to share in my haul...”
“Is this a roundabout way to ask me to join you hunting for more treasure?”
Amethyst smiled sheepishly once more before nodding her head.
“Fine. I don't see why not.” Gabriel answered, popping the cork off of his favorite bottle.
Her eyes lit up at his response. “Yes! I was hoping you'd say that! So... this makes us partners!” she said.
Taking a swig from his bottle, Gabriel smirked. “I suppose it does. Would you like a drink, 'partner'?”
Amethyst had never known what was actually in the bottle Gabriel carried around, but didn't think to object. As he poured her a small amount in one of the few bottles she bought in town, she spit it out almost immediately after drinking it.
“W-what is that?!” she asked.
“Apple Family Cider, best in Equestria.” Gabriel answered with a small laugh. “Maybe you'll get a taste for it when you're older.”
“Oh c'mon, there's like a four year difference between us. If I don't like it now, I doubt I'll like it then.”
“Fair enough.” he said, taking another swig. “More for me.”
The skies had already darkened, but bright flashes lit his vision. A bolt of lightning streaks past him, launched from a cloud just below him. A burst of flame from his mouth cut through the clouds, revealing the form of an off-white dragon whose body crackled blue with more electricity.
Another bolt cut through the blackness of the night sky as he narrowly dodged it and began to close in. …................................................................................................................................................................................ Gabriel suddenly woke at that moment. His head hurt and he was unsure why. This dream had been haunting him the last few nights. It played out the same every time, and he had always woken up as whatever it was his eyes saw through prepared it's counterattack.
His right eye had been slightly aching for days. This pain that plagued him now, however, was new. He knew he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. Glancing around the tent, he spotted Amethyst still soundly asleep. They had been traveling together for three days already, and she had decided to setup camp close to a nearby village, which she would approach the next day and try to find any leads on local monster dens or fabled treasures.
Not wanting to wake his sleeping friend, he tried his best to quietly maneuver outside, deciding fresh air might help his sudden head pain.
Upon taking in the landscape, he was surprised it was still dark out, yet he could see rather well. When they setup camp it was nearly pitch black, but now he could see much better even without the sun. Since he could miraculously see in the dark, he decided to change the bandages on what remained of his left arm.
As he did so, he was surprised to see his wound had almost entirely healed. He had known it was making excellent progress, but this sudden lurch in recovery somewhat worried him. In the small time since he first saved Amethyst in that cave, strange things had been happening to him. Nightmares so unlike his usual ones. His wounds sustained while fighting the dragon had all but vanished near instantly. He had begun to think he was imagining things, but even Amethyst had noticed the burns he should've gotten weren't there.
Now, he had woken up to intense head pain and apparent night vision. He racked his brain thinking about what could possibly be different. Amethyst joining him was all he could think of and he knew she didn't have a hand in whatever was happening to him. The young mare was quite inexperienced in magic and besides that, the human body would reject any magic used on him.
He lost track of time as he pondered and the sun began to peek over the horizon. His train of thought derailed as he watched the twilight sky turn a familiar shade of purple.
Twilight Sparkle immediately invaded his thoughts. Though he had been gone for just over two months, it felt like an eternity apart from her. He wondered if she'd have some insight into what is happening to him. Regardless, just her presence would soothe his nightmares.
He stopped himself from going any further. He knew his old life was gone. He wasn't welcome in his home anymore. He had to make a new life, forge a new path.
He would travel with Amethyst for as long as she would have him. He knew she felt indebted to him for saving her life, but the truth was he felt indebted to her as well. She relieved him of his loneliness and made him feel like a person again, instead of the monster he was treated as before meeting her. Staring off into the horizon, he noticed that Amethyst had almost the same color coat as Twilight, though Amethyst was a bit lighter in shade. Her mane was much more wild and unkempt than Twilight's, however. It curled into small violet drills all around.
The similarities made him chuckle. Aside from them both being purple unicorns, they were nearly exact opposites, especially when it came to magical talent. He wondered if he could somehow help her improve her talents, if she wanted to.
The thought of improvement sent him down another thought tangent. He quietly dug through their possessions until he gently pulled out the massive sword he had been carrying since the cave. Finding such a decisively human weapon in this strange world still confounded him. Exposing the blade to the sunlight, he admired as it shone, now clean of the blood that had coated it a few days earlier.
Should something threaten them, he knew this weapon was his best deterrent. Despite the size of the sword being quite large, he was certain it was heavier than it should have been. The strange warmth it seemed to emit was also out of the ordinary. No matter how strange it was, he decided he needed to learn to wield it better. It's unwieldy size and weight along with him only having a single arm would make that a challenge. …................................................................................................................................................................................ Amethyst awoke a few hours later, not surprised to see Gabriel was already up. She had known he had been suffering from night terrors for some time. As she made her way outside, she found the human swinging his sword around, a task which seemed to be quite tiring.
She didn't know how someone was supposed to use a sword, but she imagined that throwing around something so heavy with a single arm couldn't have been easy.
“You look like you've been at it for awhile.” she said, gaining the human's attention.
“This damn thing doesn't even feel like it was meant to be swung...” Gabriel said, huffing for breath. “I should honestly just let gravity do most of the work...” he added, setting the weapon aside and resting on a log.
“I'm sure it'll get easier with time. If not, maybe we could pawn it off.” Amethyst replied with a chuckle. “I'm gonna be heading to the village soon, try and get some leads on more loot.”
“Right, right. I'll just... sit here and do nothing, I guess.”
“Yeah, I hate to say it, but just the sight of you would probably make the whole place go on lock-down.” she said, laughing again.
“True. Be careful on the way there, I won't be around to save you. Again.”
“Ooh, very funny. I doubt there's anything as dangerous as another dragon or giant spider around here.” …................................................................................................................................................................................ Far, far away, high up in a mountain cave, a gathering was taking place.
“We've recovered the body.” said an older female.
“Thank you, Thestalos should be able to rest peacefully now.” replied another, male voice.
Interrupting their meeting, a white dragon entered the cave, drenched from the storm outside. The dragon tried to shake itself dry and its white scales glimmered, almost as if reflecting the light.
“Raiza!” the first voice called out, clearly upset. She was a larger dragon dwelling in the shadows of the cave, her form hidden except her glowing green eyes.
The white dragon Raiza flinched at her tone, understanding she was clearly upset with him. “I just got here, what could I have done wrong?” he replied.
“You and Thestalos got into a fight a few days ago, yes?”
“Yeah, he didn't take kindly to me being in his territory. I didn't go there to beat him down, I just wanted to look around, is all.”
The other person present, a large red dragon, began to sob and flew out of the cave.
“What? I just hurt his wings a bit so he couldn't follow me, he should be fi-” Raiza tried to explain before being cut off.
“He's dead.”
Raiza was immediately halted from his explanation. “O-oh.”
“It would seem that he had taken his frustrations from losing out on a nearby town. When we went to retrieve his remains, the townsfolk claimed innocence. They described a dark, two-legged creature wielding some kind of weapon. It killed Thestalos.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you're the reason he was bested so easily. It's your responsibility to hunt down this thing.” …............................................................................................................................................................................... “Any luck?” Gabriel called out with a wave to his returning companion.
“Yep! But also, nope.” Amethyst replied. “There aren't any famous treasures in the area, but I did bump into a merchant begging for help. He said a pack of Timberwolves made off with most of his stock.”
“Timberwolves? Why would they want his stuff?” Gabriel inquired.
“No clue, but he said if we could return his stuff he'd pay us handsomely. Whatever they stole must've been really valuable. Maybe instead of returning it, we can make out like bandits if we sell it.” Amethyst said.
Gabriel chuckled in response. “Now there's an idea. So, does he know where they went?”
“Sure does!” she pulled out a map from her cloak and spread it open. “He gave me this nice looking map and marked the area. Just a bit west.” she said.
“Great, then let's head off and see what we can do. I've never actually seen a Timberwolf before, so this should at least be interesting.” …................................................................................................................................................................................ A short time later, they had arrived just outside the territory marked down on the map.
“So I don't know much about these things, but they're made of wood, right?” Amethyst asked.
“Their bodies are comprised of twigs, sticks, and leaves. So yes, they're made of wood.” Gabriel confirmed. “A friend of mine back in Equestria had problems with them, she told me a few stories.”
“I hope those stories mentioned a way to make them less vicious.”
“Not specifically, but I have an idea.”
When Amethyst looked up from her map, she saw her human friend trying to ignite a small fire.
“What, are you gonna invite them to keep warm?” she said with a giggle.
“Since we're still in winter, they probably won't burn easily. I'm hoping they don't know that and the fire should scare them off.” he said, pulling out a larger stick from his backpack and lighting it on fire. “I thought about this before we left, so I made this makeshift torch using some of my ruined clothes and some oil from one of those little lanterns you bought.”
“Aww, how much did you use? I use those for mood lighting...” said the unicorn, apparently distraught.
“Not that much, I'm sure you'll be able to replace it by the time we're done.” Gabriel replied with a smirk.
“Yeah, I had better. Or I'll... be very upset with you.” she replied, trying her best to look more offended than she actually was.
He ignored her faux-offense and began to walk deeper into the territory, Amethyst following closely behind.
He held up the torch, expecting to see or hear anything out of the ordinary by now. Strangely, there was nothing. No sounds or hints of danger anywhere. They did eventually come across what looked like tracks, and plenty of them, all heading in the same direction. As they followed the tracks, they came to a large clearing, a large pile of overturned goods in the middle.
“Oh, this was way easier than I thou-” began Amethyst, before Gabriel quickly got lower to the ground. “What? What's wrong?”
“Look closer, the spots with less snow covering the ground.” the human whispered.
She narrowed her eyes at the spots he mentioned and noticed the gentle breathing within the snowy grass. The Timberwolves were asleep among the clearing, at least five different bodies were slightly visible.
“Oh. Why are they asleep out in the open?” Amethyst asked.
“No idea. I guess we could try to get the stuff and sneak away...” Gabriel mused, before getting an idea. “Why don't you grab the goods with your magic? We should be close enough.”
Amethyst appeared flustered for a moment. “Oh, uh... I'm not so sure that's the best idea. I told you before, I'm not exactly 'gifted' with magic.”
“Well, not with that attitude. Just try and move them over here one at a time. You can take as long as you need to.” he replied.
Amethyst sighed. “Alright, I'll do my best.”
She began to shakily lift the smaller crate from the top of the pile, gently raising it upwards and then towards them. As the crate got closer, Amethyst gently let it down and took a breath.
“See, there you go. What's in it?” Gabriel asked.
Amethyst opened the crate to find it nearly empty, filled mostly with what seemed like empty bags of fertilizer. “Uhhh... didn't know Timberwolves were into gardening.” she said.
Gabriel noticed that the bags were torn asunder by what looked like fangs. “I think they're asleep because they have full bellies. I guess, in a roundabout way, gardening supplies would be something they want.” he said. “Alright, next one. There's three left and hopefully they didn't eat everything.”
Amethyst began using her magic to gently float the next crate over to them. “Ooh, this one is way heavier.”
“Hopefully they didn't get to whatever is inside it, then.”
As she let this crate down slowly, Gabriel used the butt of his torch to pry open the lid. He was greeted by numerous small knickknacks and what seemed like jewelry. “No wonder they left this one alone.”
“Is it me or is this a weird group of things to be transporting together?” Amethyst inquired, lifting up the third crate. She hesitated for a moment as the small tarp stretched over it slide off. When she was sure she didn't wake any wolves, she continued.
As the third crate landed, Gabriel opened it as well. He saw a framed picture as well as some other things within. He gently placed his torch down and picked up the photo, taking note of how old it had to have been. It was a picture of two earth ponies, seemingly just married.
“Interesting...” Gabriel said, piquing Amethyst's interest. He turned the photo over to show her.
“Oh hey, that's the stallion who asked me to get his stuff back.” she said. “Although he's much older now.”
“Interesting thing to have in your market inventory...” Gabriel trailed off.
As he continued to look through the crate, Amethyst had begun to grab the final crate, seemingly with much more confidence than before.
Gabriel noticed something that perturbed him. A small porcelain container in the crate with the photo looked suspiciously like an urn. Upon removing the lid, he discovered that he was right. He began to wonder; just why were they sent to get someone's ashes? And who's were they?
Nearly halfway through levitating the final crate, the contents within it had shifted ever so slightly, creating a small metallic noise within. With that, the ears of some of the Timberwolves had twitched. Amethyst noticed this and it had quickly destroyed her concentration. The crate she was floating fell quickly, waking up the group of wolves.
Gabriel grabbed his torch and stepped ahead of her.
“I-I'm sorry, I-I-” she stammered.
“Later, get ready.” Gabriel said as he waved the torch ahead of him, making the wolves wary immediately.
The beasts began to circle them as Gabriel slowly walked away from Amethyst, hoping to bring their attention with him. His plan had started to work, as the five wolves apparently perceived him as the threat.
“Amethyst, do you know how to project magic forcefully?” he called to her, keeping his head on a swivel.
“No?! Maybe?!” she replied, clearly panicking.
“I don't know the specifics behind it, but I know Unicorns can project magic into concussive blasts. It would really help if you could do that, right now.”
Amethyst tried to calm herself as she gathered magical energy into her horn. She had never tried to do something like this, and didn't know exactly what Gabriel meant by 'concussive blasts'. As she tried to imagine what it would be like, she pictured throwing a rock, but a rock made of magic. She swallowed hard and loosed her shot.
As her rock-shaped magic hit the back of a Timberwolf's head and distracted the group of them, Gabriel seized this opportunity to smack one of them in the face with his torch. Its face caught fire, causing the wolf to panic and run off deeper into the woods howling in pain. There were four of them now.
In response, a wolf bit at his arm in an attempt to disarm him. The beast's fangs sunk into his arm quicker than he could react; it had been successful and the torch fell to the ground, still lit. Another wolf had decided to focus on Amethyst instead, noticing where the magic had come from.
Gabriel kicked the wolf biting his arm away and drew his sword as the wolf rejoined the other two in circling him. Amethyst, still heavily panicking, began to let loose many more magical rocks to defend herself from the wolf approaching her. Gabriel waited as patiently as he could for any of the wolves to make a move, and as one did, swung at it as quickly as he could. The wolf had not anticipated such a fast response, taking a slash from the sword and being knocked aside. The other two were also surprised, deciding to be less aggressive in their approach.
The wolf that was closing in on Amethyst had let it's mouth hang open, releasing a putrid stench and making the young pony gag. Gabriel had noticed this and stabbed his blade into the ground, picking up his torch once again and tossing it her way.
“Amethyst!” he called out, making sure she noticed his actions.
She saw the torch sail through the air and quickly tried to grasp it with her magic. Although she hadn't fully succeeded, she adjusted its course enough to make it land on the Timberwolf coming at her. It burst into flames, seemingly over its whole body, scrambling around madly before bits of it began to fall off as it rolled around in the snow, desperate to be extinguished. When the wolf had mostly put itself out, it took off in the same direction the other had fled earlier. Now there were three.
The wolf Gabriel had swatted away had picked itself back up and had clearly been agitated, leaping at the human almost instantly. As he swung at it again, it had seemingly anticipated this and dodged to the side as its two compatriots joined it. The three of them clawed at bit at Gabriel as fast as they could as the human kept swinging his weapon to defend himself, finding that the wolves were being more than careful not to get hit by it. The foul stench of the breath of the Timberwolves began to fill the air around him, more than likely an attempt to incapacitate him, he thought. While their attacks certainly cause pain, a different sort of feeling had started to well up inside him. Almost as if his pride had been wounded.
Amethyst had almost begun to panic again, but she noticed a small flaming piece of wood nearby. Was it the torch from earlier, or part of the wounded Timberwolf's body? She had no way of knowing, but used her magic to telepathically lift it and throw it Gabriel's way.
“Gabriel!” she shouted to her human friend, thankfully catching his attention despite being under assault.
As Gabriel watched the flaming wood sail his direction, he quickly formulated a way to make the most use of it. As it got closer, he let loose a swing as hard as he could, completely missing the wolves but striking the flaming object.
A large burst of fire erupted from the impact, for some reason he couldn't quite place. The fire somehow coated itself to his sword, catching the wolves heavily off guard as visibility with their target was lost. Another mighty swing came from the flames, sweeping and hitting all three of the wolves. The scorching wounds left behind instilled fear in the wolves, but before they could react, the large flaming sword had swung through them again; this time, cleaving them in half and setting their bodies aflame.
As the wolves burned, Gabriel noticed the feeling of wounded pride had begun to recede and his right eye pulsed with pain. The mysterious light from his weapon trailed from the smoldering bodies of the fallen wolves without him noticing.
“Hey! You alright?” Amethyst asked as she trotted over to join him.
“Surprisingly, yes. Some minor bite wounds here and there.” he replied, propping his large blade upon his shoulder.
“Yeah, but, you just burst into flames a second ago. How did that even happen?” she asked, catching her breath from all the excitement.
“Beats me. I guess Timberwolf breath is flammable.” …................................................................................................................................................................................ The pair made their way back to their camp, crates in tow. Gabriel could only carry one with his single arm meaning Amethyst had to carry the other three by herself. As they set them down to take a breather, the human sighed quite loudly.
“Once again, sorry about making you carry most of it.” he said.
“Hey, no worries, I don't expect you to grow your... what's it called again?”
“Arm.”
“Arm! I don't expect you to grow your arm back.” she replied with a giggle. “I need a small break before I take these into town, though. I bet that merchant is gonna be happy to see these again.”
“So, you're returning them to him?” Gabriel asked, taking a seat and uncorking his bottle.
Amethyst seemed somewhat disturbed be his question before smiling again. “Well, yeah. After what you told me was in there, there's no way I could sell them.”
“Eh, I suppose. Doesn't really matter to me either way.”
“Aw, c'mon, it's the right thing to do.”
Gabriel replied with a shrug as he drank from his favorite bottle. …................................................................................................................................................................................ Some strange things have been happening to my body. My wounds from a few days ago have already healed. The bite wounds from earlier today are beginning to heal at an alarming pace. My eye hurts worse every day, and if the pattern continues, I'll be plagued by more strange dreams tonight.
Now new feelings and emotions are asserting themselves within me before going away. Almost as if I'm being possessed. It's an odd feeling.
Gabriel closed his journal and stared wistfully into the distance. He had no clue who could even talk to about the things happening to him. Amethyst probably wouldn't be able to understand and he didn't want to worry her. He suddenly smelled something akin to Timberwolf breath.
“I'm back!” he heard Amethyst call.
Gabriel raised his glass. “Welcome back. How'd it go?”
“Well, he didn't seem too upset about the gardening supplies getting munched, but I told him I 'just happened' to look inside and wanted an explanation.” she elaborated.
“Oh, this should be good.”
“So, as it would turn out, those weren't his stock at all-”
“Shocking.”
“- but actually his daughters keepsakes of her mother, his wife, who passed away a few years ago. Apparently his daughter is going to be moving back to the village and sent some stuff ahead to make a little shrine for her mom. The Timberwolves were attracted to it because of the gardening stuff.” she explained.
“... I see.”
“He said he didn't think anyone would take the task of retrieving it if it was something that personal, or that they'd ask for more money in return. Oh! Speaking of...” Amethyst pulled out a large sack of gold pieces. “He paid up.”
“Great. Now you can buy back that oil I used.” Gabriel said sarcastically.
“Oh, he gave some of that too when I mentioned we used some to get his stuff back. He also paid me with a piece of advice.” she added, beginning to pull off her cloak. “I smell terrible, according to him.”
“He's right, I noticed it as soon as you got back.”
“Gee, thanks. Apparently the Timberwolf breath lingered on my cloak, so now I gotta wash it.” she said.
He only recalled seeing Amethyst without her cloak once, when they stayed at the inn and she got in the hot tub. Her tail was as curly as her mane, he noticed, before noticing something else that caused him to raise a brow.
“Amethyst?” he asked. “Do you... not have a cutie mark?”
The young Unicorn was instantly flustered and turned her body away from him, causing him to smirk. “I-I have no idea what you're talking about..” she said sheepishly.
During his time in Equestria, he had never seen a pony her age without one. The closest was probably the Cutie Mark Crusaders who had told him tales of being bullied for not having theirs yet.
Amethyst looked down in shame. “Fine, you got me. Being cooped up in the orphanage for all that time didn't really let me spread my wings and try stuff, y'know?”
“It's nothing to be ashamed of.” Gabriel replied, trying his best to be comforting. “If anything, it means your special talent has endless possibilities. It makes you more unique, not less.”
Amethyst's eyes lit up like stars in the night sky and her blush returned. “Aww... that's the nicest thing anypony has ever said to me.”
“And hey, between jobs maybe we could try and find out what your talent is. Even if it's not magic related, some magic practice wouldn't hurt.”
“Sounds good!” she replied, beaming. “Oh, let me go wash this before I forget.”
Gabriel waved after her as she went, noticing a strange feeling roll down his face. He wiped his hand across his cheek, and was then immensely disturbed when he saw the blood that stained his hand. He followed it down and noticed a drop of blood on the journal resting in his lap.
As I had anticipated, another strange dream. This time, I was an agile hunter darting through the forest with a pack of Timberwolves. This seems to confirm a theory I've had for some time; These dreams seem to be visions of the creatures I have slain.
What compels these nightmares? I had begun to think that the sword has some magical properties, but even if it had any, my human biology would cancel it out. The few times I've dealt with enchanted objects, dispelling their effects seemed trivial.
Is it guilt? Am I more effected by what I've done than I thought?
Regardless, the pain in my eye grows worse and worse every day. I asked Amethyst to look it over and she said there were no obvious injuries. I know what I felt. I know what I saw. My blood still stains the very cover of this book.
Gabriel sighed as he closed his journal. Part of him wondered why he even bothered writing in it to begin with, before deciding that writing out the things happening to him offered some solace. He ran a hand through his hair, taking note that it had definitely grown longer since last he bothered to check. He sat on a large rock nearby he and Amethyst's campsite. Amethyst herself was placing various piles of their supplies together, each pile of a different weight.
The mare wiped the swipe from her brow with a hoof. “Phew... that should do it! Ready when you are!” she said happily.
After her fumble during the Timberwolf job, Amethyst had decided that she wanted to improve her magical abilities. Unfortunately for her, the scarcity of Unicorns outside Equestria meant she didn't have anyone to learn from, and any books about magic were very expensive. So, she figured she'd get the next best thing; Gabriel.
She had known he spent months in Equestria before his exile and despite being unable to cast magic himself, seemed to know more than she did. He agreed to help her to the best of his ability.
“Right, so... I'm far from an expert, but I guess I'll start with the basics I know of.” he said. Amethyst was beaming, calmly waiting for explanation. “Despite what it seems, magic technically isn't unique to Unicorns.” his audience of one tilted her head. “As far as ponies go, Earth Ponies and Pegasi have innate magical properties. Earth Ponies have a connection with the earth itself. Pegasi, on the other hand, have the ability to manipulate weather and interact with clouds as if they were solid objects.”
“Ooh, I guess that makes sense. What about the other winged creatures? Like Griffons?” Amethyst asked.
“I'm not sure, I've only ever met one and didn't have the time to ask her. I would assume it would apply to them as well. Either way, the only pony species capable of casting magic is a Unicorn.” Gabriel explained.
Amethyst snapped back to attention now that he was getting to the meat of the topic.
“From what I understand, Unicorn magic depends heavily on concentration and effort applied.” he elaborated.
Amethyst looked somewhat disappointed. “What? That can't be all there is. I swear I tried really-”
Gabriel raised a hand as if to interrupt her, which he managed to do. “Of course that's not all. Practice makes perfect, as they say. Much like exercising a muscle, using your magic more often will refine your use of it.”
“Ah, I see!” Amethyst exclaimed. “That's why you had me make these piles!”
“Correct.” Gabriel confirmed. “Now using magic to telekinetically lift objects is as basic as it gets. So, you've organized these piles according to weight; you're going to practice two things.” he gestured to first pile in the line of three. “Starting from over here, practice lifting these lighter objects. When that gets too easy, try lifting multiple.” Amethyst looked at him unsure for a moment. “I knew a dressmaker in Equestria, she could snake a thread out of a cloth while sewing something else entirely. Her control was incredibly precise.”
Amethyst's expression changed to a determined one. “Alright! I understand!” she said while beginning to gently lift the items at the top of the pile.
Gabriel sat back and watched her efforts. Her form was unrefined, and her grip was shaky. After a few attempts of moving multiple small items from the top, she settled on just one at a time.
“There you go, one at a time until you get the hang of it. I don't expect you to lift everything instantly.” Gabriel commented, taking a sip of his cider bottle.
Amethyst remained silent, deep in concentration. Gabriel noted how truly unpracticed she was, deciding that growing up as the only Unicorn in her orphanage probably didn't give her much opportunity to learn what her magic was capable of.
“Do you feel the strain?” Gabriel asked, only receiving a nod in response. “That's good. A few months of practice, and this will be no problem for you.”
Amethyst suddenly dropped the few things she had successfully levitated. “A few months?” she asked.
“Did you expect the change to come over night?” Gabriel replied, raising a brow.
“Well... no... kinda? I didn't think it'd take that long.” Amethyst answered with a huff.
Gabriel shrugged. “I'm not an expert, like I said, but I was... close with one. She would describe schools for gifted Unicorns that could take years to finish. She herself didn't spend too much time in one.”
Amethyst groaned in response. “Schools? Ugh, lame. How did your friend get ahead so fast? Maybe I can try that.”
“I doubt it.” was his response. “She had a strangely high potency from a young age. Hard work can only get so far. She was... very special.” he said, a wistful look coming over him.
“Are you saying I'm not special?” Amethyst replied with snark.
“I'm just saying you're not especially talented.” this drew a wounded look from the Unicorn. “T-that is to say, your sheltered upbringing, isolated from other magic users, has put you at a disadvantage. You might have to work harder than average, but the results will be something to take pride in.”
Amethyst seemed to perk up at that. “Sounds like a long way to go. Guess I had better get started!” she said, going back to lifting the piles.
“That's the spirit.” …................................................................................................................................................................................ “Alright, that far should be good.” Gabriel shouted, using his hand to shield his vision from the midday sun.
Several hours of telekinesis practice later, Gabriel had thought of another thing Amethyst would undoubtedly need to know; how to shoot beams of magic.
“Are you sure you want me to shoot these at you? Aren't concussion blasts supposed to hurt?” she called out, just about twenty meters away from him.
“Concussive blasts, and it depends on how much energy you put into them.” he replied. He had neglected to tell Amethyst about human magic immunity, but decided it didn't matter either way. Her first attempts more than likely wouldn't hurt him, regardless.
As Amethyst focused her magical energy in her horn, she closed her eyes in strain and tried to fire the blast. Her horn sparkled brightly, but nothing else happened.
“H-how does this work...?” she muttered.
“Try thinking aggressive thoughts. If magic takes intense concentration and effort, projecting the energy as a physical force probably has something to do with aggression.” Gabriel replied.
As she began charging again, she used Gabriel's advice and pictured herself shooting the beam at the Timberwolves from yesterday. To her surprise, she felt a beam of energy leave her horn, impacting into the human's shoulder.
“See, there you go. Keep it up.” he said, somewhat relieved to find that her blasts didn't cause any pain as he predicted. …............................................................................................................................................................................... A few hours of shooting practice and the sun began to set. The winter chill crept upon the pair quickly as they retired to their tent. Amethyst collapsed, face-down on her pillow as her human friend began to yawn.
“Indeed. I knew it was possible to be exhausted from magical exertion, but seeing it happen in real time is interesting.”
“Glad you found it so educational.” Amethyst replied snarkily. She tried to light her horn with magic, finding it painful to even try. “Feels like I'm completely out of juice... how long is this gonna feel this bad?”
“You'll adapt, I'm sure of it. You did well.”
“Thanks.” she replied with a smile. “Maybe one day, I'll be better than your Equestrian friend.”
Gabriel chuckled. “Wishful thinking.”
“You said she studied for years, right? She sounds amazing.”
A somber look fell over the human. “She is...”
Amethyst noticed his expression before noticing something else that was significantly more distracting. “What is that smell?!” she exclaimed.
Gabriel sniffed the air lightly and noticed what she meant. “Timberwolf breath...?”
“I swear I got the smell out of my cloak yesterday. Where is it coming from...?” she said, opening the tent and going outside for some fresh air.
Gabriel tried to discern where the smell originated from before he noticed a trail of the vile green breath leading back to his own mouth.
Another cold winter morning, another day Gabriel finds himself pondering as he stares off into the distance. Nearly a week had passed since he had began mentoring Amethyst on magic use. The pair had decided not to move on yet, Amethyst noting that they weren't hurting for money ever since the Timberwolf job.
Ever since the first day of helping the young mare improve, the mysterious, foul breath he emitted had disappeared. Part of him didn't even know if he had seen correctly that he was the source, another part of him fearful how such a thing would even be possible. Regardless, he hadn't yet informed his traveling companion of his concerns. He thought it best not to rattle her.
He sat on a fallen tree, his sword resting beside him. He knew better at this point than to assume the sword had no part in the alarming changes happening to him, but he still couldn't place how.
Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by the sudden arrival of Amethyst, back from visiting the town they had set up camp nearby. She was sprinting madly, calling his name and looked incredibly distressed.
“Gabriel!” she called between breaths. “Gabriel, you need to come quick!” she said, stopping to catch her breath.
The human stood and sheathed his weapon. “Why, what happened? More wolves?”
While he at first thought her state somewhat comical, the terrified look in her eye quickly changed his mind.
As they arrived in the small hamlet, the scope of the destruction was beyond what the man had imagined. As they rushed back to the village, Amethyst did her best to give him a rundown of what had happened.
“Half the place was burned to the ground! Thankfully not many ponies were injured, but they need help badly! I can only do so much by myself, but I want to help them.”
Several small buildings rested as piles of ash, many of the townsfolk were congregating in the square.
“Hey, I'm back! I brought help!” Amethyst shouted, drawing attention to her and Gabriel.
Upon first glance, Gabriel received the stares he had assumed he would. But before long, the townsfolk had begun chattering among themselves. He would hear snippets of their conversations.
“Is that the one...?”
“It must be, it walks on two legs...”
“And it has that thing on it's back...”
Gabriel cleared his throat. “Something the matter?” he asked.
“Y-you're the one he was looking for...” he heard as a response.
“What? Whatever did this was looking for Gabriel?” Amethyst replied, clearly not knowing this beforehand.
The crowd's murmuring only intensified with no answer given.
“Is that...? It is! Young Miss Amethyst!” called an older male voice from within the crowd.
As the crowd parted, Gabriel saw what was unmistakably the same pony he saw in those pictures from the packages he and Amethyst saved a week ago, except much older.
“Thank goodness you're here!” he continued. “We're in quite the pickle...” he stopped approaching when he finally noticed the human at her side.
“Mr. Mist! I'm glad you're okay, can you tell us what happened?” Amethyst replied, noticing the older pony's attention locked firmly on her associate. “Oh, right. I should introduce you two. Gabriel, this is Blue Mist. He's the merchant we helped out with the Timberwolves.”
The elder's expression lightened instantly. “Oh! You're her business partner?” Blue Mist said, resuming his approach and offering to shake the man's hand, which Gabriel reciprocated. “She's told me much about you! All good, of course! I can't thank you enough for what the two of you did for me.”
“T-think nothing of it...” Gabriel responded, finding it bizarre to be treated so well by a complete stranger.
The older stallion redirected his attention again. “Now, as I was saying, we've got quite the predicament. Yesterday a white dragon fellow arrived at our village, saying he was looking for something, I don't recall what. When no one could help him find it, bolts of lightning suddenly struck a few homes and he said he'd return.” Blue Mist explained.
“He shot lightning at you...?” Gabriel pondered openly.
“Indeed he did! I can easily help fund the repairs, but if he comes back and razes more homes to the ground, so many villagers will be without shelter, in winter. Whatever he's looking for must be important...” Blue Mist continued.
One of the still-wary villagers whispered into Blue Mist's ear, causing the stallion to go through a flurry of facial expressions. “Oh dear...” he said, facing the human. “Apparently he's looking for you, my boy.”
“Me?” Gabriel asked, beginning to understand where this was probably headed.
“Him?” Amethyst asked also, more confused than anything.
“Well, he didn't call you by name, but he described a 'two legged animal lugging around a large piece of metal'.”
Gabriel brought a palm to his face. “I don't even think we made it two weeks without something like this happening...” he muttered.
“Why is he on the hunt for you? Did you wrong him, in some way?” the merchant asked.
“I guess you could say that.” Amethyst responded in Gabriel's place, noticing the uncomfortable look in his eyes. “Well, not him specifically, but a friend of his. Either way, we didn't think he'd stoop so low as to terrorize random villages...”
“That means what happened here is my fault...” Gabriel said, thinking aloud.
“Nonsense!” proclaimed Blue Mist, surprising the pair. “You seem like a good enough lad, whatever happened, this dragon must be overreacting.”
Gabriel and Amethyst shared an awkward look.
“A-anyway...” Amethyst began. “What should we do about this? No doubt, he wants to hurt you, Gabriel. We should go.”
“But then he'd just take his frustrations out on this village...” the human said, trying his best to formulate a solution that could help both them and the town. He paced around, hand cupping his chin as he thought. A snap of his finger got the attention of the small crowd gathered around them. “I've got it. We'll pack up and move on...” he said.
“It took you that long to come up with that?” Amethyst replied.
“... and when he comes back, send him after our trail.” Gabriel added. “We'll take care of it from there.”
“No offense, son, but how? Don't know if you noticed, but he did take out a few buildings.” Blue Mist inquired.
“'The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.'.” the man replied, earning still-confused looks from nearly everyone. “To put it simply; misdirection.”
Gabriel's plan was simple, but he thought it would at the very least buy some time. He and Amethyst headed out from the village and set-up his old and ragged tent in a clearing, leaving some empty containers to make the site look inhabited. The pair then headed in a parallel direction.
“So if everything goes smoothly, that dragon should stumble across the campsite with the directions the villagers give him and annihilate it.” Gabriel said.
“And then he'll assume he got you, right?” Amethyst asked.
“Right. We're going to need to lay low for a bit until we can be certain he's gone. We should check on the decoy tomorrow and see if he has swung by.” Gabriel elaborated. The day was already seeping into the afternoon. “We find some place to put the tent back up, maybe think of some way to disguise it. The last thing we'd want is to be noticed.”
Suddenly, laughter filled the air around them, startling the two. “Too late for that...” said a higher pitched male voice, the source of which was unknown.
Gabriel gripped the handle of his sword and spun around, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. “What the hell...?” he questioned openly.
“Y-you heard that too?” asked Amethyst nervously.
As they looked around, the laughter only grew louder, coming from somewhere among the trees that surrounded them. Neither could place the direction it cam from, it sounded as if it was right in front of them.
“Whatever you are, you're more clever than I thought you'd be.” said the voice. “... but it's time I wrap this up, I've got things to do.”
Gabriel finally noticed a glimmer in a nearby tree and as he did, it dropped to the forest floor. The air seemed to shimmer more and more in a larger area. As the light began to take form, the shape of a large reptile began to emerge. A pair of white wings curled up, finally exposing the somehow familiar form of an off-white dragon.
“You were already following us?” Gabriel asked, drawing his sword and taking a defensive stance.
“Was he just invisible?” Amethyst asked. “That's cheating...”
The dragon's face contorted into a grin. “You're not the first to think so.” he cackled. “Now make my life just a bit easier and give it up.”
“So you're the one who attacked the village...” Gabriel said, beginning to try and circle is adversary.
“I figured, if they knew anything about you, they'd sell you out. I kept a close eye on them regardless, should you happen to wander through.” the dragon answered, licking his lips with a long blue tongue.
His foes' nonchalance had begun to anger Gabriel. For some reason the dragon's mannerisms seemed annoyingly familiar.
“Now I was told only to take out the two legged thing, so you'd best make yourself scarce, little pony.” said the dragon, starting to mirror Gabriel's circling. Amethyst responded by shooting a small magical blast at the dragon's face, hitting his right eye.
This action surprised both the dragon and Gabriel, both of whom looked toward the young Unicorn.
“Fat chance. That's my partner you're talking about, threaten him and you threaten me.” Amethyst said.
“How rude.” the dragon replied, standing on his hind legs as a blue aura began sparking around him. “Then you can die together.”
“Amethyst!” Gabriel shouted. “Don't forget he can control lightning, stay mobile.” he said.
Almost as if on queue, the air around the pair had began to swirl with the same blue aura and they both dove in opposite directions, narrowly dodging blue bolts from the heavens. Amethyst and Gabriel kept dodging any time the aura appeared around them, using rocks and trees for cover until they ended up behind the same boulder and the bolts stopped.
“That was a bold choice you made back there.” Gabriel said, pausing to catch his breath. “Bold... and foolish.”
“Hey, what I said is true! Besides, I'm tired of cowering away while you handle all the fighting. If there's a score to settle, we'll settle it together.” she replied, huffing for air as she explained.
Gabriel smiled at her honesty and made a note to thank her later, before noticing the crackling sound of their foe getting louder, yet no aura was visible. He peaked from around the boulder to see the dragon back on all fours again, building what seemed to be a large amount of electricity in his maw. He could remember seeing something like this before, thinking back to the dream he had after he slew the large red dragon.
Vivid blue bolts of lightning, cutting through the clouds.
“Amethyst, move!” he shouted to his companion, as a bolt very much like the one in his dream split the boulder in two and clipped his leg.
He was launched away from the boulder, his sword landing nearby. As the electricity surged through his body, it caused him to convulse on the forest floor. He didn't see if Amethyst had dodged it completely and he couldn't see her from where he writhed.
“Wow, with one shot? Seriously?” the white dragon said with a laugh. “I must've weakened Thestalos more than I thought if you got the better of him.”
As his body continued to squirm from the unnatural lightning within him, he felt a pain in his chest at the mention of that name. He was sure he had never heard it before, but he definitely knew it.
The dragon approached him slowly, seeming to revel in his pain. “I see that whatever you are doesn't agree with my special brand of electricity, hahaha...” he raised a sharp claw, ready to bring it down on the defenseless human as half of the boulder he had split was catapulted into his face, leaving a mark across it.
Gabriel's writhing had finally ceased, but his body was still mostly paralyzed. From the direction the rock half had flown in from, he could see the winded form of Amethyst, untouched by the bolt that had hit him. It had more than likely taken all the magic energy she had to throw that rock, leaving her also defenseless.
The dragon recovered from the blow, whipping around in her direction angrily. “Fine! You first!” he exclaimed, taking off to capture his attacker.
As Gabriel lay there, helpless, the pain in his chest began to ache more and more. His arm reached for the only weapon he could hope to use to save himself and Amethyst. As his fingers made contact with the handle of the blade, time seemed to stop. His chest felt as if it had exploded, white hot with a feeling he found somewhat familiar. His anger and pain had mixed to create a lust for revenge and destruction. These feelings had started to trap and devour him, like an all consuming flame.
Blood began to flow freely from his right eye. He knew what this feeling was.
Hatred.
Meanwhile, the dragon had pinned Amethyst to the ground, intent on finishing her off for what she did to his face.
Suddenly, a firestorm erupted out of seemingly nowhere. A swirling inferno from where he left Gabriel lay startled him and his captive. His grip on the young Unicorn loosened as she wiggled free, her captor far too bewildered with the sudden blaze.
“Raiza!” he heard called from within the flames.
The dragon's expression twisted from astonished to uncomfortable.
“... that is your name, right?” called the voice again.
The firestorm began to calm down as Raiza could make out a piercing red light from within. As the flames died down, the form of the human, standing once again, stood before him.
“How do you know my name?” the white dragon asked.
Gabriel raised his blade and pointed it at him. “Let's say I heard it from a 'friend' of yours.”
In an instant, the human was suddenly in front of Raiza, a trail of red light darting straight at him. Raiza reflexively flew into the air to gain some distance.
Seeing himself at a clear advantage in the air, Raiza let out a laugh. “Is this your second wind, or a dying gasp?” he said charging up another blast of lightning from his mouth. He expected the human to scramble and try to dodge, be he stood steadfast in place. Raiza knew the effects of his bolts on this creature, so if the human wanted to stand and take it, Raiza would deliver.
As the bolt was let loose at the human, he did something unexpected. He held out his sword in an attempt to block it. The lightning coursed into the blade and into Gabriel's arm as the human swung into the air towards the white dragon, discharging the blast right back at him.
Raiza had not expected this, only barely managing to dodge to the left and not take the full blow. He felt the bolt rip through the webbing of his right wing, forcing him to land. His landing was sloppy and rough, during which he lost sight of his foe.
He felt a tight grip on his tail and upon facing his attacker, found the human there, grinning ear to ear, the crimson light in his eye still glowing ominously.
With some effort, Gabriel had swung the dragon over his head, slamming him into the earth below and knocking the air out of Raiza. Before the dragon could react, he felt himself lifted and slammed again.
“You're the reason I... that he was bested so easily. You should've known your place!” Gabriel shouted, drawing his sword again and severing the white dragon's tail, causing him to howl in pain. “I never liked you, Raiza... always too much of an upstart...”
Raiza, fearful of the sudden power being displayed by the mysterious human and enraged he was on the defensive, was confused as to what Gabriel was ranting about. He decided not to give his foe any more openings and swung his claws to try and kill him as quick as he could, but finding his attacks blocked.
Sparks danced in the air as blade clashed against claw. Raiza was decidedly not amused with the turn of events, contrast to the wide grin plastered on Gabriel's face.
Gabriel wasn't quick enough to intercept all of the dragon's attacks, Raiza landing a punishing blow to the human's chest. Raiza watched as Gabriel stumbled back, stabbing his sword into the earth next to him and bringing his hand to his wound. As the blood coated his hand, Gabriel locked eyes with the dragon again and picked his sword back up as the wound began to close in a most unnatural way.
“What is the meaning of this?! What are you?!” Raiza questioned openly.
Instead of a reply, Gabriel inhaled deeply before expelling a vile cloud of green breath and continuing his attack. The sparks from their impacts caused a crackling in the air. Upon noticing this, Gabriel hopped back as quickly as he could before a small explosion erupted where they were fighting.
Raiza's right foreleg took most of the blast, shattering several of his claws and causing him more pain. With the gap between them, Raiza saw the opening he had been desperate for and took off into the sky, torn webbing of his right wing making flight incredibly painful, but necessary.
As he prepared to chase after the wounded dragon, Gabriel felt the power that surged within him begin to recede. The crimson light from his eye subsided, the burning in his chest began to calm itself, and he felt his body collapse.
As his vision began to fade, he saw Amethyst run to his side.
“You alright?” she asked the heavily breathing human. “What was that all about?”
Gabriel did not respond vocally, instead doing his best to shrug.
For the first time in a long while, Gabriel's sleep was peaceful. No mysterious dreams, no nightmares of his past, just endless, inky blackness. As he began to stir, he found himself in an unfamiliar room. As he sat up, he laughed as he noticed he was resting on two pony-sized beds, pushed together. The top half of his body was disrobed and wrapped in bandages although he couldn't feel any sort of pain there. He traced his hand across his chest, remembering the gaping wound he had sustained in his fight with Raiza, but finding nothing.
The door to the room opened just a crack, then swung open as Amethyst bounded in.
“Hey, you're up! You didn't sleep for days this time, it's only been a few hours.” she said.
“Where are we?” Gabriel responded, standing and stretching.
“Back in the village, this is one of Blue Mist's spare rooms.” she answered. “I had to lug your butt back here when you passed out after the fight. You sure you should be walking around already?” Amethyst asked, clear concern in her voice.
Gabriel began to undo the bandages on his chest and let them fall to the floor, revealing no obvious wounds. “I think I'll be fine.” he replied.
“How the- that was a deep cut. How did you...?” Amethyst stammered in response.
“I'm not sure myself.” Gabriel said, noticing his sword resting on a nearby table. “... but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with that.” he said, pointing to it.
“And here I thought it was only good at causing injuries.” Amethyst giggled.
Gabriel smirked, thinking about the mysteries they've yet to unravel about the sword. He had begun formulating some theories about it, but had no solid evidence either way.
“Oh, we should go tell Blue Mist you're up. He wanted to thank you personally.” Amethyst said, beginning to leave. “Meet me out here when you're ready.” she said. …............................................................................................................................................................................... “Now once again I am in your debt; I, as well as the people of Withers, owe you much.” Blue Mist said. He and a group of the townsfolk had gathered to celebrate their pair of saviors.
Gabriel brought his palm to his face. “Of course the name is horse based...” he muttered before continuing. “If it wasn't for me, Raiza wouldn't have attacked the town in the first place. Chasing him off was the least I could do.”
“No use in being modest now, lad. I've already cooked up a reward for the both of you!” Blue Mist replied, passing the human a satchel nearly overflowing with supplies. “You'll find the utmost essentials in there, including a masterclass map of nearly the entire continent!” he said.
“That'll be a great help in our travels. Thank you.” Gabriel said sincerely, offering a weak, yet genuine smile to the older stallion.
“And for the young miss...” Blue Mist began, facing Amethyst. “Remember how I said any books about magic are rare and very expensive?”
“Yeah...?” Amethyst replied, not getting his meaning at first. “... oh! Mr. Mist, you didn't...” she said, clearly excited.
Blue Mist unveiled a book garnished with small gems on the cover. “I got it for a steal from a traveling drifter, much like the two of you. I insisted it was worth more than what he wanted for it, but he said it was practically useless out here, anyway.”
“Yeah, to him, maybe!” Amethyst said, gushing with happiness. “Thank you so much, Mr. Mist!” …............................................................................................................................................................................... The pair's departure from Withers was almost a victory march as they bid farewell. As they got farther away from the town, Amethyst noticed Gabriel shiver.
“You okay, Gabriel?” she asked, thinking it had something to do with the injuries sustained fighting Raiza.
Gabriel seemed surprised that she had noticed him. “Hmm? Yeah. Totally fine.” he said with a sigh. “I just... don't like crowds.” he replied.
“Oh, I see... You never mentioned that before. Come to think of it, I don't know a lot about you. If we're gonna be partners, we should get to know each other better.”
“That's not a bad idea. We've got plenty of time...” Gabriel mused. …............................................................................................................................................................................... As we continue on, the lack of any repercussions is still alarming. I felt the gash in my chest. I saw the blood. But now? Nothing. Not even a scar. I keep thinking up questions I want answered but I can't think of anyone who could answer them. If I were still in Equestria, my options would be incredibly vast.
At the very least, I know this sword must be at the center. I have no idea how exactly, but nothing else makes any sort of sense.
Gabriel closed his journal and sighed. It had been several days since they departed the small town and Gabriel had spent most of that time in thought. He'd give anything for even a hint at an explanation regarding the strange things happening.
In their time alone, at Amethyst's request, the duo had been sharing more about themselves to have a better understanding of the other.
He and Amethyst had set up camp for the night, and Amethyst had asked him to stay put a moment while she searched for something to show him. He sat there, waiting, as his pony compatriot rummaged through their things.
“Ah, here we go!” she said, seeming to find whatever she was looking for. She trotted over and held up a small mirror to the human.
“Is this your way of telling me I look unkempt?” Gabriel asked with a smirk.
“No! Well, I mean, yes, but no!” she replied. Amethyst levitated the mirror with her magic and gestured to her right eye with a hoof.
Gabriel brought his hand up to his right eye as well, noticing what she was trying to tell him in the mirror. His right eye was discolored compared to his left. The brown had brightened, appearing almost red in comparison.
“H-how long...?” he asked, staring into the somewhat unfamiliar reflection in front of him.
“I noticed it after you woke up back in Withers. At first I thought it was just me, but you see it too, right?” Amethyst replied.
“Yeah...” the human mused, clearly troubled by this revelation. …............................................................................................................................................................................... As time marched on, the winter began to fade into spring. The duo decided to stop at any settlements they passed, and one such stop resulted in their current predicament.
When they arrived at the small hamlet, they were informed of some type of monsters harassing travelers on the nearby road. Gabriel convinced Amethyst to let him check on it himself, confident he could handle whatever it was. What lay in wait, however, he couldn't have predicted.
The human sprinted through the brush, hand clasping his sword's handle as the weapon rested on his back. In his peripheral vision, he could see the small forms of his foes darting around him. Traces of pink, blue, and yellow surrounded him as he ran.
He approached a rocky cliff, finding his road ahead cutoff by the sea. He drew his sword and turned to face his assailants. Out of the foliage hopped several small, rabbit-like creatures with antlers. While at first glance they were cute and unassuming, a closer look revealed long jagged teeth and malice in their eyes. He smirked at his luck; what were the chances the road was prowled by vampiric jackalopes?
As his tiny, soft, assassins closed in, Gabriel took notice of their surroundings and that he was standing on a rocky outcropping. With enough force, producing a spark should be possible. He just hoped he could tap into whatever unknown force that could save him at this juncture.
As one of the jackalopes, a pink one, closed in, Gabriel struck his sword's edge against the ground like a match. As the sparks were flung towards the small monster, Gabriel felt his discolored eye pulse with pain as the sparks erupted into a burgeoning firestorm, if only for a moment.
The lead jackalope was split in two, the fire scaring off the others. He sighed as he sheathed his sword again. He doubted this would put a stop to their tiny reign of terror, but it was a start. …............................................................................................................................................................................... Amethyst had pointed out to me that I haven't written anything down in some time. Indeed, it's been well over a month. I guess writing out these questions I have no chance of answering had begun to frustrate me.
The incident the other day with the jackalopes has produced predictable results; some of my teeth have began to elongate and sharpen, as well as the dreams I've had from it's point of view. Hopefully an aversion to sunlight doesn't follow when it's finally becoming warmer.
I still have no idea if this world uses a similar calendar to mine and I've lost track of the date. Since spring has officially begun, it's more than likely late March or early April right now. …............................................................................................................................................................................... The pair soldiered on, no specific direction in mind. Ever since the battle near Withers, they've been frequenting the villages they'd pass together to occasionally do some odd-jobs for a bit of extra coin or rest in the local inn. Whispers of he and Amethyst's exploits had begun to circulate, much to the young mare's delight.
“Alrighty, map says we're just about there.” Amethyst called back to her human compatriot. On the horizon the lights from their destination were glowing brightly and music could be heard, despite it already being later into the night. “Sounds like they're still going.”
They had heard tell of a local village's intense warm-weather festivities, and Amethyst was keen to check it out.
Gabriel, while initially agreeing to stop by the festival, let out a long yawn. “It can wait til tomorrow, I'm dead tired.”
“Aw come on, I don't wanna go have fun without you!” Amethyst replied.
“Sorry, I'm no fun while sleepy.” said Gabriel, laying down his bag and beginning to unpack the tent.
“Can't we at least go sleep in the inn or whatever? The tent is nice, but...”
“Don't you hear how loud it is in there? I'd rather actually get some sleep.” he replied with a chuckle.
Amethyst harrumphed. “Fine. You're lucky they party like this for at least a week. Or so I've heard.”
“Good things come to those who wait...” …............................................................................................................................................................................... The next morning, deafening silence smothered the land around them. While the pair initially thought the previous night's romp had worn out the townsfolk, upon their arrival in the village proper, they could see something else was afoot.
The streets were clean of any activity. No signs of life as far as they could see. No signs of any sort of festivities.
“T-this is weird, right?” Amethyst asked, taking in the sight.
“Yes, very weird. Where could everybody have gone...?” Gabriel replied.
“Maybe they're all just sleeping in! Look, there's the inn. I'm gonna go in and ask what happened.” Amethyst said, beginning to trot off.
Gabriel began to follow her, before hearing an otherworldly yet familiar sound.
The human spun around to see one of the last things he expected; a familiar blue box. As he stood there, frozen in astonishment, the doors on the box burst open and out came an equally familiar chestnut colored stallion. He waved around his small tool in the air which hummed and glowed, before glancing at the human.
“Oh, hello, Matt.” the stallion said nonchalantly, before double-taking and realizing just who he had greeted. “Matthew Nabal! What are the chances I'd run into you here!”
Gabriel was overcome with emotion for a moment, seeing an old friend and hearing his old name. “Doctor? What are the chances, indeed. It's great to see you.” the human responded jovially.
“When I had heard there were some strange goings-on in the area that possibly needed my attention, I rushed to investigate. Who would've thought you'd be here...” the Doctor trailed off, noticing a buzz from his screwdriver. “Happy birthday, by the way.”
“Is it July already...?” Gabriel questioned, realizing he had lost track of time worse than he thought.
The Doctor's expression soured as he looked over his human associate, noticing his disheveled appearance and missing limb. “What happened to you?” he asked plainly.
Gabriel paused, finding himself unable to make eye contact with his friend. “This world is... much more unforgiving than I thought it was. Ever since they threw me to the wolves, I-”
“Wait!” the Doctor interrupted. “What happened on Hearth's Warming, the banishment... it was all true?” the otherworldly stallion asked in disbelief.
Gabriel gritted his teeth. “It was an accident.” he declared.
“Well of course it was. Do you have so little faith in me that I would think you did that to Luna on purpose? She told me herself, it was an accident.”
“She recovered?” Gabriel asked.
“Naturally. Alicorns are incredibly durable.” the Doctor affirmed. “After I heard you were banished I thought for sure someone was pulling my leg.”
“Well, they weren't.” Gabriel replied bitterly. “I am to never return to Equestria and wander the earth for the rest of my days. Celestia said it herself.”
A small silence fell over them until the doctor noticed the weapon on Gabriel's back.
“What is that?” the Doctor asked. “Where did you get a bloody claymore?”
“Oh, this?” Gabriel asked, drawing the weapon and implanting into the earth in front of him. “I found it in a huge spider's cave, thought it looked incredibly out of place.”
The Doctor scanned the sword up and down with his tool. “You can say that again... it's not even metal?” he said in confusion.
“I've had to use it in self defense more than once, and every time I do I have these... strange dreams” Gabriel said.
“As if the blade receives an imprint of whatever it slays...” the Doctor pondered. “Of course, that would be crazy.”
Before they could continue their conversation, the door to the nearby inn burst open, a young violet mare emerging.
“There doesn't seem to be anypony inside either, Gabriel. You spot anyone out he-” said Amethyst, noticing she and Gabriel weren't alone. “Oh! You found somepony!”
“'Gabriel'?” the Doctor asked, giving an odd glance.
“I found someone, but he's not from here. Amethyst, this is the Doctor. He's a friend from Equestria.” Gabriel explained, re-sheathing his weapon.
“Oh, really?” she asked, trotting over to greet the chestnut stallion. “It's nice to meet you! Any friend of Gabriel's is a friend of mine, but what are you doing all the way out here?”
The Doctor's screwdriver began to buzz and glow. “Ah, well, I'm glad you asked. Picture a cat; a very large cat. Now imagine this large cat could control the minds of individuals and control them to pamper it luxuriously.”
Amethyst was flabbergasted and amazed. “Whoa! Is that where everypony in the town went?!” she asked excitedly.
“I don't know, I give it... thirteen percent chance. I'm here to find out where they all vanished away to.” the Doctor replied.
Amethyst nearly deflated at the reveal that the gigantic mind-controlling cat was unlikely.
The Doctor turned back to Gabriel. “I'd ask if you wanted to come along, but things are likely to get... hairy. Best if I just head out alone.”
“Alone?” Gabriel asked before noticing something. “Lyra and Bon-bon aren't with you?”
“No, no, they wanted a bit of a break. I'll be returning to Ponyville after my business is done here, see how they're holding up.” the Doctor said. “... and when I do go back, I need to talk to Celestia about stranding you out here, see if there's another way...”
“Being stuck on a space rock that's in orbit around a black hole is stranded, I'm just 'somewhere else', right?” Gabriel replied, remembering some advice the Doctor had given him before. “Even if I were allowed back, the people there would still hate me. I'd still be a pariah, even more-so than before. I don't belong there.” he said, voice dripping with venom.
There was a somber silence. “... If that's what you want, fair enough.” the Doctor replied, opening the door to his blue box. “Still, your sentence seems too extreme. I wonder what she was thinking...”
“From what I saw, from what I heard, she buckled under the demands of Canterlot ponies. She was... weak.”
The Doctor sighed and tucked his screwdriver back into his collar. “Either way, I'm sure we'll see each other again. Stay strong, 'Gabriel'.” the Doctor said, using his new name for the first time. “Until then...” the pony waved as Gabriel and Amethyst waved back.
“Does he know he just walked into a small box?” Amethyst asked.
“He knows.” Gabriel replied, beginning to walk back towards their camp as an otherworldly sound filled the air.
“No, seriously, why did he...” Amethyst asked, catching up to Gabriel before glancing back and seeing nothing where the box once was. …................................................................................................................................................................ When they got back to camp, Gabriel reached for his bottle of cider and began to drink. Amethyst had known he enjoyed the stuff, but he was drinking far more than usual. As Amethyst passed him something to eat, he did so in silence.
As the pair sat there, sat around a campfire, she thought it best to try and start some sort of conversation.
“So...” she began, not knowing where to go from there. She gave up and decided to grab a swig from their water supply.
“A year ago, my parents died.” Gabriel said plainly.
At this sudden and dramatic declaration, Amethyst couldn't help but spit her drink. She wiped her lips before replying. “That's... that's a heck of a thing to drop on someone out of the blue.”
Gabriel took another sip of his bottle before continuing. “After they did, I locked myself away from the rest of the world. That's when I got pulled into this world. I was given a second chance at life, so to speak. I ended up going from zero to one hundred quite quickly. I was... happy? It was so unlike me...”
Gabriel paused, staring into the flames of their campfire. “I... don't know who I am anymore. My mental whiplash has left me confused... and back at zero.” he closed his eyes as he said that, the sadness evident in the way he spoke.
Amethyst had realized that his sorrow was probably amplified by his cider, but that it was still genuine despair. She softly walked over and put a hoof on his shoulder, causing Gabriel to lock eyes with her.
“... no matter who you end up being, I'm not going anywhere. You're still my partner.” she said. “... and also my magic coach... but most importantly, you're my friend.”
Gabriel responded to her comforting words with a soft smile before they heard what sounded like partying from the town nearby.
“That was fast...” Gabriel said, rising to his feet.
“It's only been a few hours, did he find them already?” Amethyst asked, bewildered.
“Sounds like it. Want to head in?” Gabriel replied, corking his green bottle.
If the Doctor's birthday greeting was miraculously on time, by my estimate it should be September. I've been thinking about that offhand comment he made regarding the sword; it receiving an imprint of what it slays. As he said himself, it's insane to think about. With no trace of magic to be felt, to receive said imprint it would have to be technological in nature, surely?
I should've asked him more specific questions, like how it heals my body, and this strange warmth emanating from it. I suppose I was too astonished by seeing a familiar face again. Knowing him, we'll see each other again somehow. Hopefully when we do there's no crisis to be solved.
Gabriel closed his journal with a sigh, wearing an expression of slight annoyance. He had known the mysterious things regarding his weapon wouldn't unravel themselves, but he hoped to understand some of them by now.
“Hey, Gabriel!” he heard Amethyst call.
“What do you ne-” he began to reply before spotting what seemed like a shimmering wall of light.
“Ooooh, bet you're confused now! Where could my voice be coming from?” she teased, oblivious to the light-show that exposed her.
“I'll wager you're supposed to be invisible?” he replied dryly.
The light ceased shimmering, revealing the disappointed young mare. “Aw, I knew it wouldn't be perfect but was it that bad?” she asked, levitating her magic book up and flipping through its pages.
“Invisibility requires immense control, doesn't it? Something about accurately reflecting light over a certain range?”
Amethyst let out a sigh. “Yeah, but I figured I would have some kind of control by now, it's been a few months.”
“Don't let it discourage you, you've definitely improved. Want to run some practice right now?” Gabriel offered, hoping to distract himself enough to be less frustrated.
His young traveling companion's face lit up like the stars above as she nodded vigorously.
Before long, the autumn chill became winter winds once more, and the man and mare found themselves trudging through the snow again.
Gabriel held out their map to confirm their destination. “We should get there soon, 'Hoofstead', it's called. Of course it is...”
“Great, as much as I love the tent...” Amethyst said, her teeth chattering. “I've had enough, it's time for an inn stay.”
Gabriel stopped in his tracks, causing Amethyst to do the same.
“Something wrong, Gabriel?”
“... they don't have one.”
“What?! Are you sure?” Amethyst replied, clearly upset.
“I see no mention of an inn here...” Gabriel said, combing the map again. “They have a tavern though, those have rooms sometimes.”
“Oh it'd better have rooms, or I'll...” she began in response, before not being able to think of any helpful action in such a situation. “... be mad.”
Gabriel chuckled at her threat. “I hope for their sake they have rooms, then.”
Amethyst smirked at him as they continued walking. “It's rare to hear you laugh like that, y'know. Could probably count the amount of times on your... what were they called?”
“Fingers.”
“Yeah, those!” she confirmed with a giggle. As she gave it some thought, she had come to a realization. “Hey, come to think of it, we've been traveling partners for quite some time, huh?”
Gabriel gave her words some thought, realizing she was right. “True. Almost a year, give or take a month or two.” he replied, not quite sure of the day they met.
“Whoa, for real?” the young mare asked. “In that case, we should celebrate when we get to Hoofstead!”
The wooden doors of the humble tavern swung open, accompanied by a blast of frigid air. The patrons and barkeep all directed attention to see who had come in so suddenly. They were greeted by a tall figure, dressed head to toe in dark clothing, and a young mare wearing some sort of cloak.
The pony sauntered in, shaking off the cold and approaching the bar. After a small delay, the two-legged creature followed behind her. She propped herself up on the bar and rang the small bell.
“Good evening, sir. Do you have any rooms available? Me and my friend here were hoping for a warm place to stay tonight.” she said.
The barkeep struggled to divert his attention from the tall stranger, who responded to his gaze with disinterested eyes. “Uh... yeah, we have some vacancies...” he replied.
“Great! Any with two beds?” the purple pony asked.
The tall creature rolled his eyes. “I told you it won't make a difference, beds around here are too small for me.” he said, eyes then wandering to the assorted drinks behind the counter.
“Oh, right. Excuse me for trying to make you comfortable.” the mare responded. “Any room will do, then.”
She slid numerous gold coins across the bar and the barkeep passed her the room key.
“Alright, let's go put our stuff down and then come back down here to live it up!” said the pony, tall friend trailing behind her.
“If you don't like the taste of my cider, I doubt you'll like anything down here.” he said.
“Well, only one way to find out! Today's a day worth celebrating!”
Almost an hour later, Gabriel smirked at his small pony compatriot, trying her best not to look affected by their drinks. Amethyst had ordered many things and tried them all, often voicing her disgust and leaving the rest for him to drink.
“What did I tell you, Amethyst? You're not looking so great.” he said.
“H-hey, I figured I should at least try...” she said, slurring her words ever-so-slightly. “... why do people drink this stuff? It's making my head spin...”
“That's usually the point. Makes you feel... not like yourself, I guess.”
“Is that why you're always drinking that cider?” Amethyst asked, not noticing what she said until after she had said it. “W-wait, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-”
“Don't be. You're right. That, and, the taste reminds me of better times, I suppose.” Gabriel replied, taking another long drink.
“Well... I'm sorry I couldn't enjoy it with you.” she responded.
“No big deal, we can do something else to commemorate our year traveling together. That is, after you get some sleep. You look like you'll fall over any minute.”
“I feel like that, too. I'm gonna head to bed, please be quiet when you come to the room.” she requested.
“Of course. Goodnight, Amethyst.”
She mumbled what sounded like a 'goodnight' as she headed to their room, ever so shakily as she stepped. He kept his eyes on her till she safely ascended the stairs, then gave out a soft chuckle before taking another sip of his drink.
Gabriel took in his surroundings, noticing a guitar mounted on the wall nearby some expensive looking awards.
The door to the tavern blew open suddenly, followed by a stumbling form breathing heavily. It made it's way to the opposite end of the bar from where Gabriel sat. The barkeep, who had since gotten used to Gabriel's presence, let out an exasperated sigh.
The barkeep finished cleaning a glass and addressed his new patron. “Looks like someone was pre-gaming again...”
“Is it... is it that obvious?” was the reply. The new arrival looked around the room, eyes eventually settling on the tall human to the right. “What the heck is that thing?” The pony barkeep shrugged and began pouring his usual a drink.
Gabriel felt a tap on his shoulder, most certainly by a hoof. He had guessed that Amethyst had made her way back down and he hadn't noticed her, but when he turned to look he was greeted by an older-looking donkey. He had what looked like the remains of a pompadour and wore the ragged ghost of a dark gray leisure suit.
“What the heck are you?” the donkey asked.
Gabriel could smell alcohol on his breath despite having just arrived. The human stared down into his glass and swirled it gently.
“I'm not too sure myself, these days.” Gabriel replied.
He had been thinking about that for some time now. The changes in his body remained unexplained and he had since given up trying to figure it out. Was he still human? The unnatural healing and subtle manipulations of aspects from the creatures he's slain had seemingly calmed either way, but what was the reason? The more he thought of it, the more frustrated he became. Despite this he kept the sword close by at all times, even here, sitting at the bar.
Before he could think of it any further, the donkey let out an uproarious laugh as the barkeep passed him his drink.
“Well, I wasn't expecting that!” he said.
“Knock it off, don't bother other customers.” the barkeep scolded.
“Sure, sure, but can ya blame me? I mean look at this thing! Would hate to see the mother...” the donkey responded, before beginning to drink deeply of his beverage. As the last of his drink left his glass, the vision through the bottom became more and more clear. He saw the strange other patron winding up before he was punched squarely in the side of his jaw.
Gabriel recoiled his fist as the donkey tumbled out of his seat. The man smirked, thinking of how something so vulgar was once unthinkable to him.
The donkey lay flat on his back as Gabriel stood, laughing a hearty and genuine laugh. “You hit like my ex-wife!” he said, before recovering with surprising speed and elegance. “I'd ask if you had another on in ya, but you look a little... uneven.” he joked, gesturing to his left side.
Gabriel took another sip of his drink, knowing full well that was a dig at his missing limb. “One seems to be more than enough for you.”
“Oh yeah? Let's see about that!” the donkey replied, delivering a powerful strike to the human's chest with his hind legs.
Gabriel managed to keep his footing, but was knocked back into other patrons. He was shoved back toward the bar by them as he swung in their direction vaguely, not intent on hitting someone in particular. Before long, the table of patrons all stood and the entire tavern erupted into chaos, with someone shouting “Bar fight!” at the top of their lungs.
Amethyst tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep due to the ruckus downstairs. Even if it were quiet, she pondered if she'd even be able to sleep. She was disappointed in herself, unable to commemorate the milestone with her business partner and friend.
Before long, the thumps and crashes from downstairs stopped and silence arrived to the small tavern. Just when she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the noise was replaced by something else. While she couldn't exactly make it out, it sounded like... singing?
Her curiosity was too strong a force, making the tired and unwell mare rise from bed and open her door. As she hobbled down the hallway she spotted her human associate, his arm draped around an unfamiliar donkey as they and the rest of the patrons carried on in song. The downstairs looked as if a tornado had run through it and Amethyst quickly guessed she was hallucinating and made her way back to bed, hoping to sleep these delusions off.
As the revelry began to calm, the donkey grabbed the guitar off the wall and began to strum carelessly. Gabriel, having just led the tavern through a butchered version of an old sea shanty he could barely remember, sat next to him and drank from a large wooden cup.
“What's your name, stranger?” Gabriel asked.
“Johnny.” replied the donkey.
Gabriel responded with a small chuckle. “No, really.”
“I'm serious! Johnny is my name. Johnny Guitar.”
Gabriel laughed at the idea. “Of course it is... probably the most normal name I've heard here.”
“I'm guessing your definition of normal and mine are completely different things.” replied Johnny, taking a swig from his own drink.
“You could say that.” Gabriel mused, thinking of his 'normal' being caught between Equestria and his realm of origin.
A brief pause between the two as the music from Johnny's guitar filled the air.
“What about you?” the donkey asked, realizing he still hadn't asked the tall creature's name in return.
“... Gabriel.”
“Well Gabriel, sorry about the 'mother' comment. I didn't think you'd take it so harshly.”
The human chuckled softly once again. “Well, I wasn't expecting that.” he replied, parroting what Johnny had said to him before their little scuffle. “I appreciate that.”
As the pair sat and drank, they failed to notice some shadowy figure sneaking out of the entrance with the awards the adorned the walls of the tavern in tow, as well as other valuables gathered during their squabble. The barkeep, however, noticed them just before they left the building and cried out for them to stop.
Gabriel and Johnny both snapped to attention at that, sharing a glance before they both ran outside after them. The hooded figure and his bag of stolen loot was sprinting away from the tavern.
“Ugh, I didn't need this tonight.” Johnny said. He turned to the human. “Whaddya say we make a game out of it? Bet I catch em first.”
Gabriel wanted to point out how neither of them were fit for a pursuit since they were both still plenty inebriated, but decided to accept. “Might as well.”
The two took off after the mysterious thief, following them through many twists and turns of the small village. In spirit of the game, or perhaps just because he lost track, Johnny drifted off the path Gabriel was taking in pursuit. Gabriel paid no mind to the wandering donkey, instead hyper-focused on the thief ahead of him.
Before too long, the chase ended up in a dead end alley. The thief, panicked and in a stir, frantically looked around for any sort of exit. As Gabriel drew closer, he noticed for the first time the age of the would-be robber. They were probably about the age of Amethyst, he surmised.
Gabriel drew his blade, stepping slowly towards the thief. “Make this easier for everyone.” he said.
“Whoa, hey...” Johnny says, finally catching up. “What are you doing with that?” he asked, still breathless. “You trying to kill the kid?” he continued, before kicking the large metal blade out of the human's hand.
As the sword slid down the alleyway Gabriel could feel something amiss within him. The odd warmth escaped him and with it, he felt noticeably different. Besides that, Johnny had a point. Why was his first reaction to a cornered adversary to draw his weapon? Not too long ago such a thing would've been foreign to him.
“You should really know better.” the donkey scolded. “If you needed help that bad, could it hurt to ask? Let's return what you stole and go from there.”
Johnny put a hoof on the shoulder of the young stallion the pair had chased which seemed to calm the younger pony. Gabriel picked up his sword and began to follow after them.
“I got to him first.” the human said.
Johnny chuckled in response. “So you did. You want a medal or what?”
“You're the one who suggested a bet.”
“Fair enough. Let's work it out later, there's still drinking to do when we get back.”
When they returned, everything that had been taken was returned and the would-be thief was given a harsh scolding by the barkeep. As it would turn out the young stallion was trying to get money to feed him and his siblings. The barkeep sighed and offered to help him out, even after the attempted robbery.
“So, kid. You won the bet.” Johnny began, smiling at the human. “Whaddya want?” he asked, taking a long drink of whatever-it-was he was drinking.
Gabriel paused, feeling the warmth of the weapon on his back and the fire in his chest from the drinks they shared.
“Teach me how to fight.”
Johnny performed a dramatic spit take at that. “Teach you what? Based on that slugging you gave me earlier, you know enough.”
“You and I both know I was just swinging wildly. You made a point when we caught that kid in the alley.” Gabriel replied, setting down his drink and gripping the sword on his back. “... I can't rely on this all the time. It can't be my first option.”
“Yeah, well... You know how long that'd take? Aren't you some sort of drifter? I doubt you'd want to stick around here just for that.”
Gabriel reached for his drink and gently took a sip. “You're not wrong. Maybe Amethyst wouldn't mind if you tagged along...”
