”I do believe it is best to start off with an apology.”
Andrew stared.
”You see—” Mint shook herself and stepped out of the crowd ”—I had planned for us to meet under better circumstances. But as it stands—” she motioned a hoof out towards the flames and earth ponies, still struggling to douse all of the flammable grass ”—there is not much time.”
“I… I see.” Andrew scratched his head as he looked back to Mint. “I actually need to do something about that. I think…”
”Again, I apologize. It may be difficult for you to remember some things—”
“Why?”
The mare blinked slowly. ”Pardon?”
“Sorry, but I mean, there’s like this fog in my brain, and it’s sort of hard to remember anything past a minute or so ago.”
Mint took on an apologetic look. ”That would be my doing.”
“Who are you, anyway?” A smile grew on Mint’s muzzle at Andrew’s question.
”Here, I have no one name, but you may call me...” The mare trailed off, no doubt thinking over the best name to give to Andrew. “Harmony.” The voice that came from Mint’s mouth was not the same tone that the mare usually spoke in.
“Harmony… huh.”
”Is something the matter?”
“No, no. It’s just... I feel like I’ve heard your voice before.”
”You have.”
“Really? So I’m not crazy then?”
”Yes, you are not.” Harmony’s smile faded as she continued. ”And as much as I would like to continue our pleasantries, there are some things we must discuss.”
“Will it be confusing? Because if it is, then I don’t know if I’ll be able to comprehend anything going on.”
”Perhaps. It would be less confusing if you refrained from speaking unless asked.” Her statement was less of a suggestion and more of a command. Andrew took the hint.
“Yes ma'am,” Andrew automatically replied.
”Very well.” Harmony looked between the two earth ponies standing beside Andrew and smiled graciously. ”Please check on the willhorns while I speak with the bushkeeper.” With two nods, the ponies stiffly walked over to the still bowing unicorns. Harmony’s horn lit up in purple, no longer emitting the same blue as Andrew had last seen Mint use. She plucked Andrew’s walking stick from his hand with her levitation and inspected it.
”I will make this clear, unless I have explicitly stated so, not everything within your grasp is a gift of ours, such as this staff; there may be a connection between our gifts and the gifts of the living, but they are not always for the same goal. There will be many more gifts from the land’s natives, but you must remember this; there is a difference between the gifts of Fabal and the gifts of the kind.” She planted the stick back in Andrew’s hand and calmly levitated his thermos out from his pack. Andrew remained silent as she swished the water inside with a spin of the bottle. ”This is one of my gifts, and it is one of the few of your world that you shall be praised with. Your strange bag shares this same fate.”
”For our two gifts, the true purpose of the star spider’s tooth will come to fruition in time. It is best not to tell you of the future; clairvoyance does not come without its dangers, and there is enough for this land to deal with in its coming days.”
Andrew nodded, arms crossed. “Understandable. But what about the amethyst?”
”Yes…” Harmony licked her lips. ”The amethyst that you discovered was placed there by me. It acts as a controller of sorts for our fwafwa, and it has allowed me to possess the body of this willhorn, as well as strengthen the fwafwa of the willhorn herd.”
”I hope you do not mind—” she placed the thermos back in its proper place ”—but I took the liberty of looking through your memories.” Andrew opened his mouth to refute his position on the matter, but Harmony continued. ”I did not pry any further than I needed to.”
Andrew couldn’t help but fire out a question anyway. “Which was?” Harmony, however, did not seem annoyed.
”I only went as far as to find your true intentions. You understand the basic concepts of why you are here, but not to their complete extent; I am here to remedy this. Make no mistake, your role in these lands is admirable, but lest the balance of this world be tipped, you may not help these creatures more than needed. If you wish to tip the balance, I will know immediately. However, from your memories I can tell that this would not be the path you would take.”
”To help you with your mission, I have spoken with the others on how best to help you without disturbing this balance. You no doubt have no recollection of where you retrieved our amethyst and keratin gifts, do you?”
Andrew mulled the thought over for a bit. “No… at least, not really that well.”
”Then allow me to restore it to you.”
“Alright.” Andrew watched as Harmony leant in, horn alight once more. A small spool of purple split off from the mist near her eyes and sank into Andrew’s own. Andrew sat there for a moment, attempting to blink out a particle that had appeared in his eye.
”Do you remember now?”
His response was instantaneous. “There was a tree. It gave me the orb, and it hurt.” Andrew winced, remembering the pain that had been inflicted upon him early on in the same week. “A lot.”
Harmony nodded sadly. I fear that the events preceding our conversation are far from the last of the pain that will be inflicted upon you. I am sorry, bushkeeper, but there is nothing I may do to stop the artifacts we give you from bringing pain.
“Why does it do that anyway?” Harmony walked past him to the edge of the hill, and Andrew followed questioningly. “Harmony?’
”For the same reason this Light Land exists.” Harmony turned around, face grim. ”Balance.”
“Balance?”
”Yes.” Harmony went back to looking over the earth ponies and the flames. ”For many millennia, the species of these lands have lived in peace. With your fateful arrival, the balance has been upset, and the world seeks to repair it. Thousands of years of peace must be followed by thousands of years of conflict, but we of the Fabal have forced it to span a single century instead.” She turned around, eyes shimmering amongst the orange and black sky. ”Nature and its creatures will be against you, but for each great burning and claw against you, there will be a great rain and hoof there to fight back.”
”I am one of the dwellers of the Fabal, and you provide us with the connection required between the Fabal and the land. To this extent, I have provided you with these few gifts to keep you in pursuit of the balance of the world. The willhorn I speak through now knows of her place in all of this, but it will take some time for her to recognize its meaning entirely. You have displaced the balance, and the world seeks to fight back, but through the guidance of us, and the assistance of the equine disciples, you will persevere.”
”Already now, you know that the world is against you. The pain of the fwafwa’s carrier, your amethyst artifact—” she looked down to the marble ball at the foot of the hill ”—is an attempt to shatter your integrity. You have proven that you can lead these ponies, the harbingers of a new era of peace, and shown that you will go to the ends of the world in order to keep them safe. So long as your mind is sane, and your heart kept pure, they will be there to help you fight this war on peace.”
”All we ask is that you play your role as a bushkeeper.” Harmony stepped closer to him. ”Do you accept this charge, bushkeeper?”
Andrew, naturally, was hesitant. He remembered his first few days in the land, recalling how this had been a hiking trip gone astray, turned into a single, short adventure, that would be over in no time. From what Harmony had just told him, it could be a year until he left. Andrew wasn’t sure if he was ready for that.
“Andrew.” Harmony gave him a sad smile. ”I shall present a choice for you, Andrew. You may choose to stay here and help this land grow to its full potential, or you may return to your homeland and live out the rest of your days without a memory of this place. If it will allow your mind to rest, lest you leave now, this land will balance out eventually, but not without conflict.”
Andrew froze. “I could go home right now?”
Harmony nodded.
“I could go home…” His eyes flicked to the burning land ahead. 'I could go home right now and leave this all behind.' He thought back over the week as a whole. 'Leave behind the pain, leave behind the lack of civilization, leave behind the monsters…'
'...leave behind all the ponies.'
Andrew thought hard about this. He thought back to the first moment he had seen a pony, the first moment he had interacted with a pony, and the first time he had helped ponies. Throughout the week, he had spent much of his time amongst the ponies. They were uncivilized creatures, but at the same time, they weren’t. He had devoted so much of his time prior into helping these ponies evolve, and despite the short period, their progress had been astounding. All it required was a little care, but it wasn’t as if he was caring for a few pets or strays, he was caring for the growth of an entirely new civilization. They were his friends, no matter what Andrew told himself. Andrew took in a deep, relaxing breath to remind himself of who he was as Andrew:
Andrew wasn't one to stop a world of magical creatures from an untimely demise, but he also wasn't one to leave his friends hanging.
“If I was a good person, a good friend, I wouldn’t leave this land to go back home for my own personal comfort. But I would like to believe that I am a good person, and if there was one thing I would never ever do, it would be to leave my friends behind.” Crouching down on one knee, Andrew held his stick in his left hand and looked Harmony straight in the eyes. “I… I accept.”
Harmony smiled brightly, and Andrew swore he could see the hint of a tear in the mare’s eye. ”You will do well, Bushkeeper.” As the mare bowed her body, Andrew bowed himself, his head dipping respectfully low. ”You are a bushkeeper, and as the first of many to come, you are The Bushkeeper.”
“Thank you,” Andrew whispered, watching as the purple mist surrounding Mint’s eyes began to fade away. “I hope we talk again, Harmony.”
There was no audible reply, but Andrew knew Harmony agreed.
Andrew took in a slow, ragged breath. He was tired, but now that he knew of his true fate, he couldn’t help but acknowledge the fact that there could be very little rest for him in the coming days. Careful not to put too much pressure on his leg, Andrew stood.
The mare looked up at Andrew, eyes wide. “Andrew?”
“Mint?”
”I feel… strange.”
With enough speed to surprise Mint, Andrew laid a hand on her withers. He gave a warm smile. “You’re fine, Mint.”
”Bushkeeper!” Snapping to attention, Andrew was immediately bounding over to the groggy herd of unicorns, hand grasped tightly around his stick. Mint followed shortly after. The brown earth pony mare ceased her attracting cries and looked to the unicorn herd. ”They awaken,” she whinnied softly.
One by one, the ponies stood from their positions in the dirt. It was hard not to notice the sharp crackle of electricity that seemed to bounce around the area. The hairs on Andrew’s arms and legs shot upwards as a visible flash of electricity hopped from a unicorn nearby to his hoodie. It did not take much logical thinking from Andrew to recognize that Harmony had been correct; the unicorns’ fwafwa was definitely stronger. Greeny was the first to stand completely, then came Lemon, and soon enough, the entire herd was up on their hooves, looking around blearily.
Greeny’s eyes landed on his own horn. ”What is this…?” He put a hoof to his horn, pulling back suddenly as a jolt of electricity sparked between his horn and hoof. His eyes grew wider as he took in the fact that the other unicorns were experiencing the same effect.
”This is the fwafwa of the sky gods,” Lemon breathed. His horn lit up, and as he went to perform a trick with his levitation and a nearby rock, the rock disappeared in a flash. He froze. ”I…”
Mint teleported a rock of her own away. Pulling herself upwards, she addressed the herd. ”We can stop the growth of the Light Land with the fwafwa of the Fabal!” She looked to Andrew, expecting to see a happy look on his face. Instead, she saw his cheek. Following his gaze to the clouds, Mint had to squint hard to spot what he was looking at.
There, flapping just beneath the clouds, were two flocks of pegasi.