Oblivion looked to the trees behind him and bucked the nearest one. He had been back among them for several days and Granny Smith finally decided that he was back to his normal energy level. While she still complained about him being underweight she finally agreed to let him go back to work. Sasa batted apples into the bucket and picked up extra ones as he picked up the extras. The feline nosed the others to him and he set them aside. He filtered them as he went and tossed the bruised or ruined apples aside to toss to the pigs as he went by their pen. The black stallion’s magic gripped the bucket and he set it aside to be picked up later.
“You could send it to the barn with magic.” Sasa pointed out.
The stallion snorted and nodded. “I know. But last I did that I was informed that it landed on another bucket and nearly ruined all of them.” He pointed out to her.
“Oh. That is a problem.” She agreed and walked to the next tree with him. “You don’t have to kick the trees though. You can use magic.”
The stallion stopped and looked up for a moment before he looked back to the feline who had begun to laugh. “You remind me of that now?” He replied to her.
“I was thinking that you were bored and were doing things the traditional way but you, actually weren’t?”
“No. I was without magic for a month and got out of the habit.” He admitted to her. “Though the exercise is fine for me.”
Sasa chuckled and waited as he kicked the tree and dislodged the apples on the lower branches. Oblivions horn lit as he held the bucket and filled it as he picked them up. Azure fire covered the apples as he set them in the bucket and off to the side. The stallion was quiet as he looked to the trees once more and backed up to the next one. He repeated the process and after a few more hours he picked up the baskets as he made his way back to the barn and held them aloft in his magic as he set them in place within the barn. The Unicorn shook his body for a moment and looked to the gates as Rarity came trotting toward him.
“Oblivion!” She called out to him.
He walked toward her and she looked relieved as he reached her. “Yes?”
“Can you send this to Blue Blood please, dear?” She said to him and gave over a thick letter.
“Of course. A moment.” His horn lit with flame as the letter left her hoof and it vanished with a flash of his magic. “Done.”
“Thank you, dear. I forgot to ask you the other night at your party. It was nice to finally speak face to face with him.”
“How was he?” He asked her.
“Nervous.” She replied with a smile. “Poor thing was afraid that I was upset with him for not writing.”
“He seemed pretty concerned.” He admitted to her.
“I told him there was nothing to worry about. Took a little convincing but he seemed okay in the end. Thank you for your help.” She said.
“It’s no trouble. I’m glad that you were able to assure him.”
“Oh yes. He did also ask for a dance at the Gala as well.”
Oblivion nodded as she spoke. He was glad to hear the Blue was moving out of his comfort zone and was willing to take a chance on asking the Fashion-forward mare to dance. “Good to hear.”
Rarity nodded to him and looked pleased. “Well, I will let you get back to work. I apologize for the interruption.”
“No trouble.” He replied as she trotted back the way she had come.
Sasa came to sit next to him as he looked around him. “Chosen?”
“Hmm?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. It’s simply quieter here.” He replied to her.
“I would hope so. I have not been to The Continent so I do not know. But Equestria is very different.”
“True. Be thankful for that.”
“Why?”
“You would have been hunted.” He replied to her.
The cat grumbled and looked back to him. “That’s probably true.”
Oblivion gave a dry chuckle at her tone. His skin trembled and he shook himself in response to the restless feeling going over his mind. He pushed it aside and started to walk back toward the orchard when the sound of small hooves caught his ear. He looked over his shoulder as Apple Bloom and her friends ran past him. He watched as they stopped and they waved to him. He nodded to them as he went back to the orchard. His hooves carried him silently through the trees and he reached the bunch that he had been working on and slowed once more. His hooves stopped and he started to kick when a whistle caught his attention. Sasa nodded to the front of him and he narrowed his eyes as Applejack approached.
“Sorry about that. Ah knew ya didn’t see me a bit ago so Ah whistled to make sure Ah didn’t end up behind ya.” She explained and he nodded in reply. “Ya doin’ okay?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Ya are quieter than normal.”
“How so?”
“Well quieter and you always seem ta be lookin’ off. Like yer looking past all o’ us.” She replied to him.
“My apologies. I am simply getting used to things again. I’m sorry if I seem…different.” He explained to her.
“Oh. No, it’s okay. Ah was jus’ makin’ sure yer okay. Ah don’t; expect ya ta be the same as before. Ya got sent back home so it takes time ta get used ta things again.” Oblivion nodded to her as she paused and went on. “Rarity wanted ta talk to ya later today. If ya get some extra time afore dinner.”
“What about? She was here earlier asking that I send a letter for her.”
“Me and Twilight went to her ta get a button on Twilights dress fixed and she offered to make us all new dresses for the Gala. She decided to make us all some and she asked that you stop by later so she can measure ya.”
“Me?”
“Yes, fer yer outfit.”
“Oh, Gods. I can find something. She doesn’t need to concern herself with it.” He began but paused when Applejack shook her head.
“Ah mentioned that ya would probably decline but she said ta get yer tail over there anyway.”
Oblivion fought back his inclination to roll his eyes and simply nodded. “Very well. I will finish what I am doing and head over.”
“Sounds good. Ya be careful ya hear.”
He said nothing as she walked away from him and he looked to Sasa who shrugged.
“I assume that they don’t want you overdoing it since you just got back on your hooves. You were much thinner than when you left Chosen.” Sasa said to him.
“Hmm.”
Oblivion said nothing in reply and bucked the tree instead of using his magic. Sasa walked around him and began to push the apples into the bucket as he worked. His magic covered the apples on the ground and he dropped them into the bucket. He paused and looked past the trees and sighed once before going back to his chores.
Oblivion knocked on the boutique's front door and a voice called for him to come in. He pushed the door open and walked in with Sasa on his heels. “Rarity?” He called out as the mare came into sight.
“Oblivion! Perfect timing dear. This way.” She said to him and motioned for him to follow her.
He fell in behind her and she led him into the back of the shop where she kept her materials and he was careful to avoid the bits of fabric and ribbon on the floor around his hooves. “I’m not interrupting you?”
“Not at all. I asked for you to come by and I am glad that you were able to make some free time for me.” She replied quickly to him. “I need to get measurements to make sure that I do not mess up your suit for the Gala. You’re not a difficult pony to imagine in the right suit but your weight tends to fluctuate more than normal and your height makes things a bit more challenging.”
“Is she calling you fat?” Sasa jabbed at him.
Oblivion cast a look to the chuffing feline. “Unlikely. You weigh more than I do.”
“What?!” Sasa yelped and stopped in her tracks and looked back to her body. “That was rude Chosen.”
“Perhaps.” He said to her. “I assure you Rarity you don’t need to worry about it. I can get my own outfit together.” He advised her. “You have better things to do than worry about my waistline.”
“Nonsense darling. You must be amazing as well. I have the right colors for you I just need to make sure your suit fits you well.” She assured him.
Oblivion started to argue further but he closed his mouth and sighed. “Is there a point to arguing with her further?” He asked the feline.
“You can but you will probably give up before she does.” She replied and joined him as he stopped when the mare stopped him.
He sighed again and waited as she pulled out a tape measure and approached him. Her magic carried a piece of paper as she measured him and wrote it down for later use. He stood still as she moved away from him and looked over her notes.
“Well, I will make the shirt and coat big enough for you to be able to gain a few pounds dear.” She said to him.
“I think she is thinking you are emaciated.” Sasa said to him.
He glanced at her. “Unlikely.”
“Okay. That is perfect. Now hold still while I see about a few colors for you.” She said and he stood for her as she had asked. “How are you doing now that you are back to work?”
“I’m fine. It’s nothing beyond me.” He replied.
“I know that the others are concerned though.” She said to him and he looked to her as she went on. “You seem a bit…withdrawn. You are not being cruel or anything, just a bit distant. Perfectly normal in my opinion. You were sent back home and it takes time to relax as you did before.”
“Am I that bad?” He asked her.
“As I said, dear… Hold this.” She said and he reached out and gripped the fabric gently in his claws. “You are simply adjusting once more. It’s not fair to assume that you will be the same as before. It would be unfair of us to assume that you can turn a switch and be the same pony as before. Thank you.” She said to him as she took the fabric from his grip.
Oblivion was quiet as he processed what he had been told. He knew that he was still underweight, as Granny Smith loved to remind him of every meal and he was not as he had been before. Sasa was silent at his side as rarity moved to her workbench and her magic picked out a series of colored ribbons and brought them back to him. He knew that he had missed things as he had been gone for a month or so. He had been informed of things by Sasa through her memories and he was up to date as well.
“Are you all right dear?”
“Pardon?”
“You seemed a hundred miles away for a moment. Lift your hoof please.” She said and tapped his right leg.
He raised his hoof and she took it on her own and measured him further. “I’m fine. Just deep in thought. I suppose that is what they mean by being distracted.”
“I suppose. I personally would be surprised if you did anything less. Your home is very different from here so you had to go back to the way you were when we all first met you to survive there am I right?”
“Yes. Pretty much.” He admitted to her.
“And you left your friends and those who are close to you again.” She went on. “It would be cruel of us to ask you to throw them aside right away.”
Oblivion looked down to her and then to the feline, who nodded to him. “You are different than before Chosen.”
“How?”
“You are mourning in your own way.” She said to him.
“Am I?”
“Yes. Before they did not know that you had fallen and that is easier to put aside than leaving them yourself. It is easier to put things aside since they would have no way to know that you had died in that world. Now they know that you died and no longer can be with them. You left them behind by your own choice.” She reasoned to him.
Oblivion was quiet as he flicked an ear to the white mare in case she spoke to him as he considered what Sasa had said to him. He had felt grief when he left them behind, he had not thought of it as a tragedy even though he would miss them. His heart did not hurt as most would think as he thought back to them. They were family but he did not view them as being gone. Rarity got to her hooves and put the measuring tape around the base of his neck and measured as she set a series of colors over his back and she tossed the measuring tape away and went back to the colors.
“Now. Do you have a preference for colors?” She asked him.
“Not really. I tend to lean toward darker colors if I have the choice if that matters.”
“Any reason why?” She asked.
“If you are wearing bright colors in a fight they always see you. It’s impossible to sneak up on monsters in bright colors.” He replied to her, his tone matter of fact. “The silver on the armor is the brightest I have worn.”
“That is true. You do look nice in silver. So I will use silver in the accents. Perhaps a dark coat and a silver undershirt.” She said aloud and her eyes brightened with ideas and she turned to the workbench to write and sketch out her ideas.
Sasa purred and nuzzled his shoulder as the mare looked to the feline. “Uh oh.” She spoke as the mare came up to her.
“And for our lovely feline here.” She said and the taupe measure went to the cat’s sides as she was brought to stand and be measured.
“You were saying?” Oblivion said to her.
“Yeah. I stepped in that one.”
“I mean this in a very nice way Sasa dear. But have you been eating more than normal?” Rarity asked the cat who stared at her.
Oblivion barked a startled laugh at the feline’s astonished blinking look at the mare. “Who is she calling fat?” He asked her.
“Oh shut up you.” She growled back at him.
“She has been staying with Twilight while I was gone which meant that she was not going running with me in the mornings. We just recently started that again.” He explained to the mare.
“Oh. I am sorry Sasa. I just need to make you something to go with his suit since you are of course coming with us.” Rarity said to the feline who was still staring wide-eyed. “Perhaps a sash or something similar. Something that does not cover the full-body, we do not want to cover up that luxurious coat.” The mare stood up and walked back to the workbench, muttering as she walked.
Sasa sat down heavily and looked back at her own body and then at him. “Am I fat?” She asked him.
“Why?” He asked her.
“I’m just asking. Not that I am worried, I am a Spectral Tiger, not a model.” She replied and looked away from him for a moment before she looked back to her waist and then to him.
“You will be fine. If you are concerned then make sure to get up and run with me in the mornings.” He said to her.
“So I am fat.” She snapped back at him.
Oblivion said nothing as a quiet sigh escaped him. “Rarity?”
“Yes, dear?”
“Sasa is now convinced she is fat.” He said flatly to the mare, who looked back to him, horrified.
“Oh no, darling.” She said as she came back to the feline who was looking to the ceiling, anywhere but at the mare and stallion. “No dear. What I meant is that you looked different than before. I assume it was because you were eating more out of worry.” She explained and the cat slowly looked to her. “My mother ate herself into three dress sizes when my father was hurt in an accident. I did not mean to hurt your feelings my darling.” She said and wrapped her forelegs around the feline's shoulders.
Sasa leaned into the mare and nuzzled her neck. “So I’m not fat?” She asked him.
“Not fat?” He said aloud for the mare who could not hear her.
“Of course not. You are an amazingly beautiful tiger Sasa. I meant that you were so upset that you did the same thing my mother did. When my father was well again they walked and did things together and she was back to her normal size and self in a few weeks. Now that he is back I know that you will be back to the normal we got used to. I did not mean to upset you.”
“It’s okay. I was just surprised.”
“She says that she is okay and that she was simply surprised by the phrasing of the question.” He clarified and Sasa nodded as he spoke.
“I did not phrase that well I admit. Please accept my apologies Sasa dear.”
The feline nodded and stood up to nuzzle the mare happily. Rarity stood up as her magic brought several swatches of color the feline and set them against her fur. She held them up and gauged Sasa’s like or dislike of the colors. A rich blue was brought to her and the feline nodded enthusiastically.
“I agree. That color will be lovely against your stripes. That is the color I will use for your dress shirt Oblivion dear. It will match her perfectly. I am thinking of a sash or an ornamented scarf for you dear.”
Sasa looked thoughtful and walked to the bench and looked at the drawings. She growled and nosed one to gain the mare's attention. Rarity joined her and looked at the drawing.
“Are you certain dearie?”
Sasa nodded and Rarity looked back to him. “Are you taking a date darling?”
“No,” Oblivion replied flatly. “Why?”
"Sasa has requested a sash and collar.”
Oblivion looked at the feline who looked much happier than a moment ago. His normal reaction would have been to disagree but considering the felines melancholy a moment ago he shrugged. “If that is her choice then it is her choice. I will not argue with her.”
“Very well.” Rarity said and her magic lifted the drawing up and she tacked it to a corkboard and wrote Sasa’s name on it. “Well. For the collar do you have any preferences about leather?”
Oblivion looked at the feline. “An actual collar?” He said to her.
“Yes. I have been thinking of it for a while. I know that I am not a pet but the sight of me has brought many to fear me. I do not look tame and friendly. I would hope that a collar or something similar would help.” She reasoned to him.
Oblivion listened and nodded to her. “It’s your decision.” He said aloud and Sasa nuzzled the mare.
“Very well. Come with me a moment dear. Are you all right there Oblivion?” She asked.
“I’m fine where I am.” He assured her and she led the cat to the side.
Oblivion walked over to a window and looked out and into the town. He watched as ponies went by and went on with their lives. Sasa’s words had struck him and he considered them in silence. ‘Am I mourning them?’ He considered what that meant and looked back to how he left them the first time and the circumstances of the second. His mind told him that he had no reason to mourn them as they would live their lives and he knew that they did not need him any longer. He was no longer needed. He could hear the mare and feline speaking in the only way they could and he could hear the one-sided conversation. He filtered it out and went back to his own thoughts.
“I am fine here.” He whispered aloud. “I have a purpose here and nothing can alter that. I made my choice.”
He looked over his shoulder as the mare and feline nodded and spoke back and forth. Rarity held up several types of leather and the feline made her choices. The faces of Geralt, Anna, and Ciri flashed over his vision and he jolted at the sudden memory. He shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment as he pushed the memory back and walked back to his original place in the room as they returned.
“She has chosen a lovely color. I will send it to the blacksmith and have it made and then I will alter it to suit you.” She said as the feline trotted the few feet to him and nuzzled his shoulder.
“I trust you will not allow her to look poorly Rarity. I do not doubt that it will suit her.” Oblivion replied as the feline purred loudly at his side.
“Of course not. She will look as amazing as the rest of us.” She replied.
“I will probably finish the girl’s dresses first then get to work on your suit and her sash. Applejack will probably come over earlier in the day. Is it all right if I pass the note to you the same as I did today?”
“That’s fine. Either way, the message will get to me.”
“Perfect. Thank you for your time dear. Take care of yourself.” She said to him and he nodded in reply.
“I will. Thank you Rarity. Do I pay you when it is done?”
“Oh no, dear. Your suit will take little effort and her sash is actually very simple. I will see about costs if you insist but otherwise I will simply expect you to tell those who ask who made your suit.” She replied.
“If you insist. Let me know if payment is needed.” He replied to her.
Sasa stayed at his side as they left the shop after being walked out by the busy mare. Sasa pranced as they walked back toward the farm. His steps were slow as he moved silently forward. He heard a yell and paused as Apple Bloom and her friends ran up to him.
“Oblivion!” She called out and hugged his leg. “What are you doin’ in town?”
“Rarity needed to speak to me.” He replied.
“Ya goin’ back home?” She asked him.
“That is the plan yes.” He said to her.
“Can ya let Applejack know I’m right behind ya. Ah’ll be a few minutes. Okay?” She said to him.
“Very well. Do not be late little one.” He said to her and began to walk forward once more.
“Thanks, big brother.” She yelled and ran off.
Oblivion nodded back to her and Sasa purred as she stayed with him. “Are you okay, Chosen?”
“Why?” He replied to her.
“Rarity was right about the others being worried about you.” She admitted. “You're quieter than ever and seem to be really distant from them. I’m not saying you should be exactly the same as you were before, but.”
“I know.” He said to her. “I don’t know what all of you want me to be or what you wish I was.”
Sasa paused for a moment but jumped to stay at his side. “Chosen?”
“I am not the same as before and I cannot be the same as before. I will not be something that I am not.”
“I know. And I do not want that for you. You are the strongest pony I know. But you’re hurting in a way that I am not sure how to help you.” She went on. “You left them behind.”
Oblivion stopped and she looked at him. “I chose to leave them behind.” He clarified. “Their faces are etched on my mind and I cannot change that. My time with them was over. I was not needed any longer and so I chose to return here. This is my fate and no amount of thinking back can change it. I cannot be different.”[/i] He said to her, his tone harsh as he spoke.
Sasa nodded and sat down in front of him. “I know. You’re needed here and they love you for that. Even ponies that will never know you feel your presence and what you give them simply by being. You are needed here and as you said nothing can change that. But…But even you feel the hurt that came from leaving them. You are very good at pushing it away though. I’m not asking you to fall to your knees and cry. I know that you can’t. But don’t let it poison you either.” She whispered to him.
Oblivion looked to her and she looked back at him, her eyes clear and their color glowed a vibrant blue. He sighed as his eyes closed and he began to walk away from her.
“Chosen?” She called out as he walked away from her.
“Yes?”
“Will you try something for me?” She asked him.
“Such as?”
“Run.” She said to him and he looked back to her. “Just run and see where it takes you. I know it sounds strange, but please just do it…for me?”
His eyes narrowed at her for a moment. “What will it accomplish?”
“I don’t know. But I think you can confront things easier when you run through them. When we would run in the mornings you always seem to be thinking clearly when we got back. I’m not asking you to run a route. Just run and don’t stop till it feels right.” She said to him. “I will talk to the Apples and let them know that you are working on something and I will tell them about Apple Bloom.”
Oblivion turned back to her and she stayed sitting in the pathway. “Why do you think this…?”
“Just do it you stubborn Witcher.” She snapped at him. “Please.”
Oblivion watched her as her vibrant eyes glowed back at him. His hooves began to carry him away from her, leading back to the farm but he stopped after a few feet. He heaved a loud sigh and looked back to where she still sat in silence. “Very well.” He said back to her and he heard her purring as he left the path and took to his heels.
His hooves thundered over the grass and dirt as he tore through the trees. The black Unicorn galloped forward, his hooves leading him. He didn’t know where he was going and he didn’t care how far he went. His body lengthened as he galloped. He saw a fallen tree in his path and he gathered himself and leaped over it. His hooves hit the ground and he looked over his shoulder to the path he was making for himself. He looked over his back and his horn lit, dispelling the illusion over his wings and allowed them to rise from his sides. The large wings stayed close to his body but far enough to feel the wind going over the feathers. His eyes went forward and he pushed himself through the forest. He slowed as he felt a change in the forests atmosphere.
“And now I am in the Everfree.” He said to himself.
He pranced in place and took to his heels once more. His stride lengthened as he galloped over the grass and into the deep untamed forest that stretched out ahead of him. His wings spread and he slid to a stop at the sight of a wide open field ahead of him. The Alicorn was silent as he stood still. His skin trembled as his wings fell away from his body and laid across the ground, as though boneless. A breath of air tore from him, his breath was ragged. His mind went over the events that led him to be thrown away from Equestria and he closed his eyes as the memories washed over him. The battles that raged in that world and the peace that he came back to. His hooves danced under him as his wings came back to his sides and he galloped onward, no thought guiding him.
The stallion panted as he drove himself onward. His heartbeat steady in his chest and his breathing even. He could sense the world around him and it moved in accordance with the demands of time itself. The World Spirit shifted around him and he could sense those close to him. It shifted and undulated around him, connecting him to all that was close to him. He looked up and the blue sky greeted him. At his sides, his wings lifted from his sides. Normally he did not fly in Equestria, but he could feel the skies reaching out to him. He trotted forward till he found another slight clearing and he walked into the middle of it. His wings fell away from his sides and he allowed them to begin to beat. The wind kicked up from their movement and He took to the air.
The ground fell away as he took to the air. He drove his body upward and he broke through the cloud barrier. He paused and his wings held him aloft as he looked over the clouds and toward the bright sun. The Alicorn stallion was silent as his eyes stared ahead of him. He looked to the grounds as the clouds parted, allowing him to see back to the ground below him. He looked up as his wings carried him higher, he could feel the temperature of the air changing but it had little effect on him. His body reacted and shifted to allow him to tolerate the colder air.
His wings gave a powerful beat and he closed them. His body hovered for a moment before gravity caught up with him. He fell through the air, his back to the ground. His eyes closed and he allowed himself to free fall. He had come to depend on the great wings on his back and now he was once more relegating them to sitting hidden once more beneath a spell. He could hear the air rushing past his ears and through his fur. His heart began to pound as he free fell. His eyes opened and he rolled in the air to face the ground once more. He watched as the ground rushed up at him and he opened the black and silver wings, asking them to catch him. They caught the air and he came to a full stop in the air. He grimaced at the strain that radiated down into his back and shoulders. The muscles strained slightly as he commanded a stop instead of a glide. He came to a stop just above the tree line and he stared down, his eyes wide and unblinking.
He looked up as the pull in his shoulders and back faded to nothing and he felt his mind beginning to clear. The stallion’s eyes closed once more as he moved his head to face the skies. His orange eyes opened as he winged his way back upward. He breached the cloud layer once more and kept going. Once more he paused high in the air, the cold trying to bite at his body. He watched as the moon began to rise in the horizon and he recalled the time he had seen it rise with Luna. The look of joy in her eyes when he agreed to see it rise with her. The clear happiness it had brought her to have him there. His mind held the memories of the ponies close to him as he angled his body to fly through the air, instead of freefalling once more. He flew toward the horizon and pushed his wings to greater speed. The wind tore at his fur and feathers but he ignored it as his mind went over the many things he had been a part of in Equestria.
Flashes of the battle with Nightmare Moon, sparring with Luna, telling stories to Apple Bloom class, harvest time with the Apple Family, meeting Sasa, battling a dragon and an Ursa Major, and others flashed through his mind. His wings snapped shut and he plummeted, his eyes closed and his wings tight to his sides. His heart began to pound and his breathing quickened, adrenaline pushing into his bloodstream. His eyes snapped open as the ground was closer than he had anticipated and his wings snapped open, his body straining as they caught the air. Oblivion panted as he stopped barely a foot above the tree line. He panted as adrenaline poured through him, his breathing caught in his chest as he hovered. His shoulders were tight and the muscles in his back taut. The Alicorn was silent as a ragged breath tore from him.
His breathing slowly evened out as he hovered, his wings beating slowly to keep him aloft. His mind cleared and the realization of all that he had left hit him hit him and he closed his eyes. The Alicorn angled to the ground and sat down heavily. His heart broke at the loss of those that had been his family since as long as he could recall. The Witchers who were his brothers and Ciri who had been a young ward to them all at one point. Anna who he had known throughout her life, as a child and as an adult grown to protect her people. The young Witchers that he had trained and watched die, the people he had met and those that had fought against and with him. His chin went to his chest as he closed his eyes. A feeling of loss rushed over him and his head went back as he released a primal sound that came from deep within his body. A roar that tore from him, shaking the air around him and he panted when it was gone. His skin trembled as he stood tall as the world went on around him. He got to his hooves and breathed in the cool night air.
Sasa sat with the Apples as they ate in silence. Oblivion had not joined them and Sasa could sense that he was actually a fair distance away from them. She had made up a story about him checking if there was a monster close by. The feline had assured them that he was fine and that he would return as soon as he was sure that everypony was safe. They had agreed but it was clear that they were worried about him out of their sight. They had lost him once and it made them nervous to not have him close by them, they could not reach out and touch him. Sasa purred to them, making sure that her appearance told them that she was in contact with him and he was safe. AS safe as a Witcher could be anyway.
“Sasa?”
She startled as Oblivion reached out to her. “Yes, Chosen? Are you feeling better?”
“I am.”
“Did running help?”
“Not really.”
She nearly growled at his reply. “Did anything help?” She asked him.
“Yes. Flying helped more than running.”
“You flew in the open?” She replied to him, her tone surprised.
“From deep in the Everfree, but yes. I grew to depend on my wings in the Northern Realms and I find myself missing them.” He replied to her.
She purred and the ponies all looked to her as her tail flicked happily behind her. “I am glad that you are feeling better. Are you going to walk back or teleport?”
“I will walk for a while. How are they?” He asked her.
“They are worried.”
“About?”
“You. They are worried about you not being at their sides. They worry that you will be taken from them again. I told them that you were checking on a possible monster sighting and that you would be back before long.” She explained to him. “But that does not change that they worry about losing you again.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” He replied to her.
Sasa paused as she could hear something in his voice, it was raw and he sounded like something was wrong. She stood up and walked to the front door. “Call me to you.” She said to him.
“Stay with them. I will make my way to you.”
“Chosen.”
Her voice was stern and she hoped that he could hear the insistence in her voice. She did not hear from him and she could feel that he was not moving. Her heart quickened in her chest and she looked to the family who was now looking at him. Applejack, Granny Smith, and Mac were looking at her as she stood silent and still. She smiled at them, her teeth showing as she vanished.
Oblivion looked to the feline as she appeared at his side. She purred and nuzzled him, her paws wrapped around his foreleg as she stayed close to him. He stayed still as she got to her paws as he began to walk back toward the farm. His hooves thudded easily on the grass and leaves as they walked.
“Oddly insistent.” He said to her.
“You sound much better, but you still seem off.” She explained to him. “I do not want you to act as you think others want you to.”
“I am not acting.” He said to her.
“I know. I am just glad that you seem lighter.”
“How do you mean?”
“You were moving like you were being held down or held in chains. Your movements were not as fluid as before. As you move now I can see that you have shed something that was holding you fast. I am glad to see it.”
He paused and she purred loudly at his side. “Maybe I did leave something behind and now I am free of it.”
Sasa purred louder as he began to walk forward once more. The stallion was quiet as they walked together. They had not been able to leave the farm and Ponyville for over a week due to the insistence of Granny Smith and the others. Twilight and their other friends were always checking in on him to make sure that he was doing all right. Now that they were alone once more Oblivion could felt that he could breathe easier. While he was not sure what she had meant by his movements he was sure that she had a different perspective.
“Shall we walk home?” She asked him.
He looked at her and nodded. “For now.”