//------------------------------// // 5: The Keepers of Lore and Legend // Story: The Man With No Country // by Tarot Card //------------------------------// Walker’s dream called to Luna, a shining beacon in the inky world of sleep. She spoke to him in his dreams so often, it seemed as though he was gaining the ability to beckon her. Luna was uncertain if this was a conscious effort, for he always seemed mildly surprised upon her entrance. Tonight, he did not notice Luna’s arrival. He was in the distance. Luna found herself walking on a beach of shining white, dyed orange-red in the setting sun. With each step she heard a crack and crunch. Uncountable shards of smashed porcelain masks took the place of sand. Walker was ahead of her, unclothed, stooping down. Bloody footprints trailed behind him. Luna willed herself next to him. The human had a leather book in his hand, torn to shreds. He was busy shoving scraps back in, trying to collect them as the wind blew them across the endless beach. Seeing this, she altered the dream, replacing the shard-filled shores with warm powdery sand. A small whirlwind returned the papers to a neat stack, and a towel draped itself across his shoulders. Luna rested on her haunches and beckoned Walker to sit down. He did eventually as his frantic breathing eased into a steadier rhythm. “What troubles you Walker?” It took a moment for him to find his words. “The report.” Luna eyed the pages, leafed through it. Each page showed him and his brother Abe, laughing, crying, fighting. When Luna gave no reply he continued. “We were at a trading post when the newspapers came out. We could tell by the chatter that we needed to leave before things got ugly.” She looked at him, eyes brimming with concern. “Walker, I know it’s old wounds, but if Ponyville is ever going to learn from their mistakes, they need to know what they did to you, and they’ll never learn if—” “I’m not talking about the interviews with the other ponies. I’m talking about yours,” he said. “Why did you tell them all about my brother? I was finally able to talk to ponies, without… and now I’m back to living like a thief, staying in shadows. Why Luna, why did you let Loose Leaf publish that to the world? Why paint me as even more of a monster? You were trying to tell the story of what happened to me in Ponyville. That wasn’t part of it.” “Because it’s the truth,” she said simply, without pity or defense. “You are on a path of atonement. You have nothing to gain from obscuring what brought you here, nor does anyone else.” “I have so much to lose. Don’t you know that it marks me as a murderer on top of the rest of it? You say you want to seek justice for me, but you still make a target.” Luna sighed. “The Wanderer’s Mark is both a warning and a ward of protection. I thought it to be common knowledge, but it seems that knowledge has been lost to all but the keepers of lore. Forgive me, the world is not what I remember from a thousand years ago.” Truth be told, she was only a couple of years ahead of Walker in her own reintroduction to Equestria, and she was reminded of that daily. Her unfamiliarity extended beyond the knowledge of the populace. At some point in her absence, the royal court of Canterlot began seeing Equestria as less of a kingdom and more as a nation. She was still a princess, yes, but the meaning of that was in flux; and she had been out of the loop. At present she did not think of such things. Walker and his hurt were at the forefront of her mind. “A millennium, huh? That’s how long you can be banished for? You know that us humans only live 70 years, right?” “Surely we’ll find a path for you, trust in me.” “I’m losing faith Luna,” he said. “One full year and there’s no lead in sight. Neither of us knows where to go from here.” “That’s not true, Walker. This is all part of the road of discovery, our librarians are working hard on the history. Do you forget the tales of the Wanderers that came before you, the scrolls we sent to you and Trixie?” “Yes, Birritras, Moss in Boulder, the whole bunch of them. It’s all useless, Luna. Just lore and legend. There’s no path home for me. There’s no way to get this curse you gave me —” “It’s not a curse,” Luna whispered. “It is! It’s a god damned curse, as if I wasn’t marked for misery and death the moment I came here. Why save my life and then treat it so carelessly?” Luna resisted the urge to lash out. She took a deep breath and did her best to check her own feelings and focus on his. He was hurt. He was vulnerable. He was hated. “Remember Walker, so long as you bear that mark, you are my ward, and I am your protector. I see how my actions have hurt you. Bear in mind I’m trying to help you find your way back home.” “Then don’t scare ponies away from me.” “Yet you cannot run away from your past. Redemption requires you to accept it, make amends for it.” He gave a macabre, mirthless laugh. “All I do is run. Escape. Staying didn’t work out, and fighting is what led me here to begin with.” They sat on the sunsetting beach, watching the waves crash. Her heart ached with his. Luna was all too familiar with the pain of exile, the loss, the doubt, the rage. How she wished more than anything that she could bestow forgiveness and peace of mind to her banished ward. To send him back home with a spotless soul and a light heart. But that’s not how it works. The best she could do was guide him down that very road she walked before. And evidently, she still had much to learn herself. “Walker, It’s clear that my actions have brought you pain when I meant to help. I’m deeply sorry for that. Let me undo some of the harm I have caused, and I promise you, we will get you home.” “And how do we plan on accomplishing that?” “Focus on the here and now. Are you and Trixie safe?” “As much as possible. She has us traveling off the road now.” “Good. She is wily. But we must send you where you can be protected by more than her wits while we come up with a plan.” “Canterlot?” he asked. “I’ve been hesitant to bring you here, but the proverbial cat is out of the bag. Regardless, we’ll find a way. Where are you?” “About 70 miles southeast of Rockville.” “Well you certainly have a way of making yourself inaccessible,” Luna said. “I’ll reach out to Rockville and guarantee a welcome with open hooves. They can arrange an escort from there, and bring you both to the royal court.” “Why not do this all before?” he asked. “I feared having your presence known would be dangerous, that perhaps some foolish guard would make themselves a hero by slaying you. Now the difference in risk is trivial. Better to have you protected in a castle than out in the frontiers.” That night, she dispatched a letter to the mayor of Rockville, imploring him to treat the human as a royal guest, to see to his shelter, safety, and comfort, and send him on his way to Canterlot. Walker’s dreams did not call to her the next night, or the night after. Luna consciously delayed her next visit until she could be the bearer of good news. She felt she owed it to Walker after her failure. Motivated by her own sense of guilt, she sought to inflict it on others. She had hoped she could more directly maneuver Ponyville into penance and justice alongside Loose Leaf’s efforts. This meant dealing with Mayor Mare. Movement on this front was more difficult than anticipated. Luna was a princess of war; she was unused to this new world of civil affairs. A millennium ago she and her sister had claimed the country from Discord’s armies of abominations, establishing a kingdom of ponies and ending his reign of chaos. She knew the methods of defeating an enemy in battle, of sequestering land, building coalitions, and navigating the political alliances to fight and maneuver against a common enemy. But ruling in peacetime by managing internal affairs was never part of her experience. She was unfamiliar with the mechanisms of how they ruled their cities. When she finally did learn, she was disappointed over how little Celestia and the rest of the court exercised control over their citizens. The royal court had transformed from an all commanding reign to an unobtrusive governing body. Oh yes, they were concerned with taxation, defense, and diplomacy, but civil matters were left to the local government. The ponies of the royal court even largely agreed that their attentions and duties were better spent elsewhere. Their interactions with the locals were matters of public relations and celebrity appearances. The towns and cities self-governed; the primary connection to the kingdom was the town’s Mayor, who acted as a liaison between the town and Canterlot. But Mayor Mare of Ponyville had a way of dithering that arrested any efforts. No, the council pony wouldn’t hear of such a case, so it wasn’t worth mentioning. She was going to ask for an investigation, but something pressing came up. As much as Luna cajoled, cursed, and threatened in letters, Mayor Mare took effectively no action. Luna recognized insubordination disguised as incompetence. She ordered the mayor to be stripped of power and replaced with a sensible pony. Moonlight Raven, her flat-affected royal assistant, proceeded to explain to Luna that Canterlot had no say in appointing the mayors. They were democratically elected by the towns they represented. The typical protocol among the court for unsatisfactory performance was to ask the mayor in question to resign. Luna drafted another letter to Mayor Mare, in so many words explaining the mayor’s failures and demanding that she remove herself from office. No response was received. Another letter was sent, with instructions for the postmaster of Ponyville to wait in the Mayor’s office until the mayor read and provided a response to said letter. This yielded a rambling response from Mayor Mare about how she was trying earnestly, and Luna was too impatient. All these duties take time, and there were plenty of other things that a mayor was responsible for and couldn’t possibly prioritize all the princess asked for, so if Luna would be as kind as to check her expectations and… It never occurred to Luna that if a Princess asked for a resignation, that such an offer could be refused. Luna was ready to throw her writing desk out the window. Raven suggested that Luna could back a challenger to the mayor in the next election. After the proper inquiries were made, Raven had to walk that back. Mayor Mare was reelected mere months after Walker’s rout and was secured in her office for the next five years. Raven’s next royal duty was to call warning as the writing desk crashed to the castle courtyard below. Luna was beginning to find this whole democracy business irksome. Dismissing assassination as being in poor taste, Luna opted for the “light touch” that was more the style of the court. She rewrote her initial letter for Mayor Mare’s resignation into a fiery diatribe damning her for her inaction after the events of the riot. She distributed it as widely as she could to newspapers and mayor’s offices everywhere. While the Mayor’s image among other politicians faltered, the blasted pony conceded no defeat. Evidently the weight of royalty, guilt, and embarrassment was no match for stubbornness. The only change yielded was in the mayor’s and the princess’s correspondence. The thin veil of decorum vanished and their mutual dislike was plainly written. She had hoped this in combination with Loose Leaf’s report would make the Mayor yield or change her tune, but no such luck. The citizens of Ponyville were decidedly uninterested in holding their leaders accountable. She was explaining her grievances to her nephew Blue Blood and even asked him if he would help her engage with the rest of the court and apply the full force of Canterlot’s political prowess. “Oh Auntie Luna, You must be careful throwing your weight around like that for such a small pony in the backwaters of Equestria. You can only pick so many public enemies before it starts costing you friends and allies,” he said. She surveyed the other entourage of ponies that composed the royal court. Cadance and Shining Armor were quick to abstain, They felt the keen sense of injustice but more than that felt their new status put them in a tenuous position. They were not ready to risk their political clout and the goodwill of Equestria by muckraking a local politician. Others thought it was in poor taste to punch down. Others simply didn’t care. Ironically, while her week was lost to bickering with mayors and other members of her court, the good news she sought came from an unexpected front. Luna for the past six months had taken command of the Canterlot Archives. She ordered the staff to drop all other projects and focus to the point of exclusion on the history of the wanderers, and how Walker could return to his own world. Begrudgingly, the librarians and researchers complied. Each nugget of information was hard fought for, and not easily accessible, all scattered bits of lore and legend. With all hands on deck and no expense spared, the team of researchers yielded a more complete picture of this mosaic piece by piece. She added this growing body of knowledge to her own observations. The mark on his arm was more than a mere symbol. It was a covenant that she would act as his guardian, and aid him on his quest. It was a covenant that he was a pariah from his own country until redemption was his. She’d known that the night she gave him the mark, but only later did she learn of the more subtle magic at play. The mark was a compass, subtly guiding the Wanderer towards their destiny, or rather to their potential redemption. And somehow, it was also the key back to their own worlds. This was yet another avenue of study that kept the royal librarians overclocked. Of course, they were operating on limited sample size. They could only find significant information on four of the Wanderers: Gyle, the Half-snake, Birritras the Ogre, Lelica the Mage, Moss in Boulder the Tabaxi. Each of them had either come to Equestria already bearing the Mark of the Wanderer or gained one shortly thereafter. In this way Walker was unique on two counts. He gained his mark nine months after his arrival, and his world had no magic to speak of. He was totally ignorant of how he arrived. From his account he ran into the woods the night he killed his brother, and sometime later found himself lost in the Everfree Forest. “We believe that Birritas was cursed by some member of his own tribe, and the shaman who did that may have set the terms of what he must do for redemption,” Luna had explained to Walker one night, in his dreams. “So… what do I need to do? You gave me the mark, so you set the terms, right?” “On the contrary, I knew the magic to bind the mark and its covenant, but whatever force sent you here is likely the judge of your redemption.” “It would have been awfully kind of my guardian angel to leave an instruction manual,” Walker said. “Unfortunately, we have been tasked with writing that manual ourselves,” Luna said. “Hopefully the next sap that wanders in has an easier time of it.” Though Luna and Celestia had seen more of history than most other beings, it had never occurred to them to write the important bits down. Of course, she had learned long ago it’s nearly impossible to know what details will be of significance even ten years later, let alone hundreds. So, she left it to the historians. Each Wanderer known bore the sins of betrayal. Birritras, through inaction allowed his tribe leader to perish in battle, hoping that he would be next in succession. Lelica the mage made experiments and playthings of her siblings as she studied her magic, killing them in her careless mischief. Moss in Boulder, was a privateer and former naval commander who surrendered the freedom of his crew to buy his own. Gyle the half-snake, A beggar turned hired assassin, slew the abbot that sheltered him in his hour of need. And of course, Walker slew his brother in their father’s church. But whatever the case may be, someone —or something— thought their souls worthy of redemption, and there was always a proving ground that appeared before them, an opportunity for heroism. Some emerged victorious, and returned home; Moss in Boulder led a rebellion that freed the citizens of Saddle Arabia from a cruel despot, and Birritras the Ogre rescued a village from a broken dam. Others failed; Gyle perished defending a minotaur diplomat from the griffins, and Lelica disappeared with no known deeds or accomplishments. Luna tried to make sense of it all to provide council on Walker’s next actions. Yet no deed seemed to bring Walker closer to redemption by any visible measure. No opportunities for heroism presented themselves either. One of the librarians suggested the newly appeared Crystal Empire could be such a proving ground. But there was no evidence. From Cadence and Shining Armor’s reports, the Crystal Ponies were all in an amnesiac state and had little information to offer. Aside from a set of chain letters Luna received from Gale Hearts, there was no sign that Sombra was still alive, let alone preparing to reclaim the kingdom. It was a conundrum, but one entirely separated from her concerns. Cadence and her entourage were enough to handle the inactive mystery of the Crystal Empire’s re-emergence. There was no use in sending Walker and Trixie into the frozen wastes based on coincidence, any more than there was use in renting them an apartment in Manehattan. All evidence pointed to this being Cadence’s proving grounds as a princess if it was anything at all. Celestia seemed to think so. What better proof was there? It wasn’t like there was some magical map that told ponies exactly where their destiny lies. And yet, the archival team wanted to research it. Luna repeatedly forbade it and urged them to focus their efforts. Time and time again, Stacks, the lead librarian, would push the issue whenever Luna walked by. Luna remained adamant. It was only when Stacks and her team threatened resignation that Luna conceded twenty percent of their research efforts to the newly emerged empire. And so it came to pass that on one rainy evening, that Luna heard a familiar knock on the door of her study. She turned her attention away from the angry letters and her copy of Destiny and Magic. Luna magicked the door open, revealing Stacks, that the baggy-eyed unicorn leader of the librarians. Stacks dropped a tightly wrapped parcel of scrolls onto her desk. “Your weekly report on the Wanderers,” Stacks said. “Impressed?” Luna unraveled the bundle. “Usually you have a single page for me.” Despite her worn-out looks and frayed mane, the librarian wore a smug grin. “It looks like our ‘unnecessary diversion’ of the Crystal Empire had an unexpected windfall,” Stacks said to the princess. Luna, after reading, happily conceded that Stacks had been right all along. Lelica, perhaps the most obscure of the known Wanderers, was last seen in the Crystal Empire before Sombra caused it to vanish. Further, there was legend of a mirror that served as a bridge to another world. Luna quickly wrote to Cadance. In anticipation of Cadance taking residence in the Crystal Empire, new railroad tracks had been laid from there to Canterlot. Lucky for Luna, this meant that mail was delivered daily. Cadance replied that yes, they were able to find such a mirror. And yes, there was a portrait of a human tucked away in an old dusty room. Suddenly, Luna put together yet another piece of the puzzle: every time she spoke with Walker in his dreams, she was sure to inquire of their whereabouts. She kept track of their meanderings across Equestria on a map in her study. Tracking the dates and pins, their path subtly oscillated towards two opposite points, Ponyville, and the Crystal Empire. If the mark acted as a compass, perhaps it was guiding them towards both points, whether Walker realized it or not. Luna dimly recalled her and Celestia’s exploits there. Sombra caused the city to disappear before he was vanquished, magicks more powerful than either of the royal sisters had expected of him. Luna dimly recalled some battle, but a thousand years on the moon had made her memory hazy; persisting for dozens upon dozens of lifetimes on a barren endless wasteland has a way of pushing one’s mind leagues past the breaking point. Luna Phoebe Asteria, intent on delivering her news, glided into Walker’s dream. She walked along the empty pews, facing an altar and pulpit. Each window was a stained glass rendition of the Mark of the Wanderer. She found Walker seated at the front, flanked by the bloodied bodies of Pokey Pierce and his own brother Abe. Though Abe was limp, dried blood coming from a stab in the stomach, his eyes followed Luna as she approached. Walker noticed her presence. “Oh, sorry. I’ll clean this up for you. I know my dreams can be a bit grisly. Guilty conscience, I guess.” He waved his hand, and the two corpses dissolved into nothingness. Truth be told, she had come to expect the macabre sights, even if she could not contain her grimaces. She was more concerned about how he could so quickly dismiss the objects of his sins, yet only did for her sake. It was as though he kept his demons close to deepen his own remorse. She tried to impress upon him again and again that suffering does not lead to redemption. Yet even she, his guardian and mentor, sought penance in the world of dreams, she reflected wryly. Come dawn, she’d be wrestling with a misery of her own creation, a bogart she named the Tantabus. She invented it to taint her dreams with remembrances of her transformation into Nightmare Moon, much in the way one might mark every page of their calendar with Never forget the wounds you left on the world. With all the hypocrisy of concern for a kindred spirit, she asked, “What has you dreaming of your brother?” “It’s been in the papers,” he murmured. Luna swallowed her guilt. “I have good news for you. Our researchers have uncovered more information. I’ve sent the full details in a care package. It should be waiting for you in Rockville. But the long and short of it is, we suspect your destiny lies in the Crystal Empire. You will be escorted to a train station and brought directly there.” Walker was quiet for a moment. “This is the path forward? Are you sure?” “We cannot speak in guarantees, but it is the most promising path.” The two set their plans. He was due to arrive the next day, and Luna would check in again come nightfall. They parted, each feeling that much better about what the future held. During the sun of high noon, as Luna slumbered and wrestled with demons of her own creation, Trixie and Walker entered the town of Rockville. The two vagabonds were greeted by bounty hunters covering the southern entrance. Each of the ponies bore a gun, a grin, and a wanted poster for Trixie Lulamoon and Walker the Human. They requested the two come peacefully or expect violence. Trixie and Walker narrowly escaped with their lives, and fled deep into the woods, where they now slept. Walker explained as much to Luna in his dreams. His tone was calm and even, but he slumped in his posture, and his eyes were lost in the middle distance. Once again, a mayor, Luna’s supposed agent within a town had acted contrary to her orders and provided no explanation. She was furious in ways that scared her. She had not felt such anger and hurt since she was Nightmare Moon. The mayor had let Luna down and through her subordinate’s failure to comply, she had once again failed Walker. She could only apologize, and console him. But there was work to be done to ensure her ward’s safety. She left faster than she ought. Her first thought was to construct a guillotine and execute the mayor of Rockville in front of the masses. That didn’t seem to be the operating procedure of the current court, and it deepened her anger that old world justice would not serve her here. What would her sister and all the others do with their ‘light touch’? Summoning the Mayor to court? Demanding an explanation? None of this worked with the mayor of Ponyville either. She turned her attention away from the pursuit of justice. That could wait. Walker’s safety could not. What courtly powers could she wield if her servants failed to execute her orders? Damn it all, a light touch was her sister’s approach, and it was an approach that yielded nothing for Luna or her ward. if she wanted the world to know that Walker was under her protection, she would make it exceedingly clear. A royal escort was in order (and in truth, long overdue.) She needed someone to watch over the vagabonds like their salary depended on it. Yet Walker found himself on the outskirts of Equestria, where Luna’s guards could not reach, and hunted by townsponies and bounty hunters, where coin encouraged the opposite. She summoned Moonlight Raven and explained the situation. Walker and Trixie needed an armed escort from the outskirts of Rockville to Bridingham, where they could take a train to the Crystal Empire and be delivered safely into the hooves of Cadence and Shining Armor. But no letter or courier or royal guard could reach that remote corner of Equestria in a timely fashion. it would take days. They could not afford that time. They needed to dispatch a message faster than flight. Few places were connected to Canterlot via a magical letter dispatch, one of which was Spike the Dragon. Unfortunately, Spike was nowhere close to Walker. She stared at the map. Rockville was actually closer to Griffinstone. Exceedingly close. Luna inquired if they had a letter dispatch enchantment available. Raven replied in the affirmative. With great haste, Luna drafted a letter to Griffinstone.