What does a Hero Truly Need? Vol. 1: A New Age of Heroes

by zelkova48

Chapter 5: The Bounty Hunter- Part 2

Gondar's mind was trapped in a dark haze. There was only a surreal void of black nothingness with a nonexistent floor that was blanketed by a thin veil of smoke. He stood in the center of the strange void attempting to comprehend what was going on, and then it hit him; he was dead, or at least in the state of being dead.

He had been to this limbo many times before, but his prime status usually prevented him from going any further beyond. However, this time was different. He looked around the void that was his own subconscious, expecting to see a familiar face in the realm of the dead. He waited, but nobody came.

"So, what happens now?" He decided to kill some time by examining himself, he checked to see if his hands were back to normal. Sadly they were still hooves.

As his vision trailed up his arm he finally noticed that he was more horse like in appearance, and that he had to stand on all fours. Being mortally injured earlier left him little time to fully understand the severity of his situation. As he faded into the spirit world, that was when he could clear his thoughts and think properly.

"Was this a hex gone bad?" He thought back to the battle before being sucked into the black hole.

No one purchased a Sheep Stick or had a Scythe of Vyse yet, and he was sure that Rhasta couldn't afflict teammates with his own hex. So why was it that he looked like a courier who decided to dress itself as Gondar for the Diretide celebration? He pondered a couple of ideas, but then a certain somebody showed up in his head. It wasn't the person he was expecting, in fact, it was someone much worse.

Within a blinding flash of cosmic energy, a terrifying being materialized before Gondar.

The being had the appearance of a big obsidian statue comparable to that of an centaur with wings. pulsing with an unearthly glow of bluish green emanating from the many open cracks of its body. It carried with it a large forked staff as its weapon, and had a haunting ethereal voice that would shake your very soul each and every time it spoke. With emotionless eyes that appeared carved upon its face it stared directly at Gondar. The being was:

Gondar looked at him with confusion. Why was Harbinger in his head? He was a magisterial being, surely he had other things to do instead of going around peering through people's minds. Besides, wasn't he suppose to be guarding the Outworld or something?

"Funny, I was expecting to meet Krobelus. You know? Cause of the whole fact that I'm dead," His crude attempt humor did nothing to faze the Outworld Devourer, his face remained impassive as it always was and ever will be.

Harbinger merely floated there, his unsettling glowing eyes boring directly into Gondar's own. Just when he was about to crack another joke, Harbinger raised his hand and began to speak.

"Krobelus does not govern death, she can merely attempt to foretell it. You of all people should know this fact." His voice was as bone chilling as ever.

"I know, but I figured she would be around the realm of the dead. Considering the fact that death has denied her passage over and over again." Gondar knew about Krobelus's issue, he just didn't know what else to think of it.

"That much is true. But know that I did not come to visit you in your own subconscious to partake in idle chat." Harbinger then leaned in closer to Gondar. Gondar shrank as the celestial being towered over him. He started to get a little nervous.

"I know we don't talk or fight much together, but I know for a fact that your presence outside of the battlegrounds normally meant that...." Gondar didn't get to finish as Harbinger rudely cut him off.

"I bring dark tidings," Harbinger stated. Gondar didn't look too shocked at the revelation. Every hero who fought for the ancients knew that whenever Harbinger showed up outside of the battlegrounds it was a sign that something cataclysmic was on the horizon.

"FIgures... But why tell me? What's so special about me that you have to go into my mind just to tell me some grim dark future? I'm just a professional bounty hunter. Besides, I'm dead in case you hadn't noticed," Gondar gestured to his surroundings.

"I cannot cross over into another plane of existence without inciting any negative consequences. If I were to do so the damage done to the world will be irreparable. I am merely communicating to you through another plane: your subconscious," Harbinger paused.

"Uh... I sort of got that, but that doesn't answer my question. Why are you talking specifically to me? Why not somebody like Ish'kafel or Darkterror?"

"You are unconscious, therefore you are the only person I am allowed to speak with. No other hero will suffice." Gondar looked at Harbinger, bemused.

"So, It's just because I'm dead that you're talking to me. Again, why?" Gondar tried his best not to sound too annoyed, Harbinger was beginning to act like a broken record.

"Do you wish to hear the premonition or not?" The obsidian being asked.

"*Sigh* Fine, just let me have it," Gondar conceded.

He knew constantly questioning Harbinger was like talking to a dog that was chasing his own tail, It would go around in circles with absolutely nothing accomplished. He might as well get this prophecy over with if Harbinger was here for that very reason, plus it will greatly reduce the stress that was beginning to form in his head.

Harbinger then landed on the floor of Gondar's mind. He planted his staff onto the hazy ground and his glowing eyes began to shine brighter and brighter. It then became so bright that Gondar had to raise his hooves to shield his eyes from the light. Then, with an ethereal voice that thrummed with unspeakable power, Harbinger spoke of the impending doom...

As Harbinger foretold the future, the dark hazy room that they were both in began to change. The walls were no longer an endless void of darkness, instead it became a whole other place.

Gondar looked and saw that they were in a bright field of grass. It was far too bright to see much but he could make out some of the details. He could see a mob gathering around a set of six gallows. A lone man cloaked in black stood in front of the mob, he held up what looked a locked box. The man then proceed to open the box and pull out six sets of jewelry, 5 beautifully crafted necklaces and a brilliant tiara.

"I... I don't understand, what's going on?" he spoke to Harbinger.

"This is but a glimpse of what is to come," Harbinger replied, his voice somehow managing to sound even more haunting and spine chilling than before.

Gondar looked back at the scene, the man had thrown all of the jewelry onto the ground and began crushing them beneath his feet. The crowd cheered as the man turned the once remarkable jewelry into a shattered mess.

Little boys and girls joined in on the amusement, jumping and laughing like they didn't have a care in the world. As the children merged back into the crowd all of the adults began to spit upon the shattered jewelry, they all stopped when six figures made it onto the gallows.

Gondar looked at the six prisoners and saw their faint expressions. It was that of hopelessness. One of the figures appeared to be crying so much that the floors of the gallows were soaked in tears. Another tried to remain hopeful, a broken smile was all that was there. The others just looked down, they couldn't bear to face the mob before them.

As the nooses were tightened around their necks, all fell quiet. The silence was unbearable, it was absolutely deafening. Gondar bet that not even Nortrom, a man who practically valued silence, could stand the pure dread that filled the air.

It was rhythmical the way the prisoners were executed. As the bodies hung lifelessly from the nooses the foul silence that previously dominated the air was replace with the sound of joy.

The crowd roared with ear splitting cheer like a great beast that had claimed its prey. Gondar began to feel uneasy as the vision dragged on. He was used to these kinds of sights but for some reason the image before him made him shudder. The whole scene before him eventually faded away into nothingness and a new scene began to take place.

Gondar saw a burning castle being stormed by an army. The entire city that surrounded it was set ablaze and the locals were running about in fear.

He could feel the heat emanating from one of the nearby building, he could hear the screaming and wailing of men, woman, and children being slaughtered everywhere he looked. Gondar's head began to hurt, he couldn't take the visions. The scene faded away and was quickly replaced with another.

The scene had shifted to the aftermath of the attack. This time he saw the army walking out of the castle. The city around them had been reduced to nothing but charred and smoldering ruins. The leader of the army then dragged out two prisoners who had been trapped in a cage.

Beatened and badly wounded, the prisoners were chained along the walls of their small prison. All of the soldiers began cheering as they claimed their victory.

Gondar couldn't take it anymore, his chest felt tight and his breathing grew short. He couldn't handle any more visions of the future. He wanted to leave and never look back.

"Harbinger.... Please, I beg of you. Stop this. I don't want to see these visions anymore, they're too horrifi,c" he pleaded to the Outworld Devourer.

"...Forgive me my friend, but there is one last vision that I must show you, then you may rest." For a moment, the Outworld Devourer sounded sad, maybe Gondar was starting to grow paranoid. He then braced himself for the final vision.

With a bright flash Gondar saw not one but several towns and villages. All appeared well before the blue sky turned into a harsh shade of crimson. All of the villagers and townsfolk looked up and saw a large bloated sun and a broken moon hanging in the sky.

Then the sky and the earth began to burn.

Large debris crashed down into the small village as the raging fire consumed those who could not escape. The screaming of the people rang throughout Gondar's mind, it was driving him insane.

Another bright flash occurred and he saw the land from a bird's eye view. A large mountain range began to crumble into gravel, the ground split open and magma escaped the earth.

The skies were blackened with smoke and the oceans churned violently as the moon changed it position in the sky. A small port town by the ocean was swallowed up by a massive tsunami claiming almost everything in sight. The screaming grew louder and louder as the the visions progressed.

Gondar fell back onto his haunches. Fe closed his eyes and covered his ears to muffle the wailing screeches of pain and suffering.

"MAKE IT STOP!" he shouted but his voice was lost among the sounds of destruction that clamored around him.

"Be strong, Bounty Hunter, it is almost done," Harbinger reassured his friend.

Several images began to flash all at once, each more treacherous then the last. Gondar could feel the flames scorching his skin, the heat grew beyond survivable conditions.

As much as he didn't want to he managed to open his eyes regardless. To his horror he saw that a raging inferno was rapidly approaching him. A large wave of lava swept across the land, consuming everything in its path. Gondar's heart almost stopped as the wave of lava formed into a large wave and slowly collapsed upon him.

He held his hooves up in a futile attempt to hold back the wall of fire, but to no avail as the wall enveloped him in fiery carnage.

In a split second before his second demise, Gondar looked past the flames and saw something he could not believe.

All was well. Just like the end of the prophecy.

He saw a land full of people living happily with each other. Everything was stunningly beautiful, both the city and the landscape. There was no more suffering, no more agony, no more screaming. Everything was almost comparable to a utopia. But Gondar did not feel better, in fact he felt much worse. There was something off about this picture, something sinister.....

Gondar opened up his eyes, struggling to steady his labored breathes. His heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to explode out of his chest.

He looked at himself and Harbinger and saw that they were both okay. The void remained hazy and dark as it was before. He climbed his way back onto all fours and tried to collect himself, his nerves finally began to settle down but his head was still ringing from the screams. He looked up to Harbinger who peered at the Bounty Hunter without emotion.

"What... the hell.... was that?" He asked in between breaths, holding his head afterwards to sooth his headache.

"What you saw was the fate of the world should this prophecy come to pass. Forgive me if the visions were too frightening." Harbinger lifted off the ground and floated again in place.

"The Bounty Hunter is never afraid! But what you showed me was indescribable in nature." Gondar's headache began to fade away as quickly as it came.

"It is the truth," Harbinger replied.

"Day and night intertwine? The sun and moon being brought down? What does that even mean? Why be so damn cryptic?" He asked.

"I am afraid I cannot answer your questions." Harbinger shook his head.

"Typical. First you speak in riddles, now you have to be silent." Gondar's patience with Harbinger was beginning to wear thin. He still couldn't understand why he of all people was chosen for a viewing of the future. He was starting to think he was just here to screw with his mind. Then another thought came to head.

"What am I suppose to do with this information? I'm a dead man, remember?" This one little detail slipped his mind while he was being shown the fate of the world.

Harbinger was silent. His body began to fade away piece by piece, he was leaving. Gondar became incredibly furious that Harbinger was leaving so abruptly after telling him something that he didn't even know what to do with.

"Don't you dare leave yet! WHY, are you telling me this!? WHAT, am I suppose to do!? HOW, am I suppose to stop whatever this is? I'M DEAD! I can't do anything!" Gondar roared. As the last of Harbinger's body faded back into whichever existence he came from, he echoed one last sentence.

"...You are not dead dead dead dead"

And just like that, Gondar was once again left alone in the darkness with nothing to do to pass the time. Was this his fate? Was his mind his own purgatory?

Gondar scowled beneath his mask. He was angry that Harbinger was pulling the average seer routine; you get fed breadcrumbs but never the whole pie. There was one thing that Harbinger said that bothered him though. What did he mean when he said 'you are not dead'?

"Damn it, he could have stayed so I have some company at least." His head hung low, the Bounty Hunter didn't know what else to do. Maybe he should go to sleep. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. Harbinger's prophetic experience had left him positively drained.

Wearily, he laid on his side and closed his eyes, patiently waiting for what would come next. However, his attempt at rest was halted as he felt a mysterious tug pull at his chest.

"Whoa, what was that?" said Gondar as his eyes shot open. The next tug that came was more forceful than the last, pulling him across the ground. The one after practically launched him up from his spot on the floor, pulling him into a standing position.

"Wah! What is this?!" The tugging continued without pause, dragging his struggling self all the way across his mind, past the seemingly endless void, and into a new entirely location.

When the tugging finally stopped, Gondar fell flat on his face onto a marble flooring that mysteriously appeared out of no where. He rubbed his nose to relieve some of the pain but something caught his attention. He stared at the monument towering over him. It was a large golden gate adorned with several wreaths of beautiful flowers.

He looked past the gate and saw his body at the very same clearing where he was before losing consciousness. He saw that the wound on his side was completely stitched up and he wasn't bleeding anymore. Someone must have helped him while he was out.

Beside him he saw the most peculiar thing, it was a small white unicorn with a curly purple mane. It made him think of the courier, except the courier was a donkey, not a unicorn. Then he saw the craziest thing, the unicorn levitated a pair of scissors over to his sutured wound and cut away the leftovers.

A unicorn was the one who had saved him.

"First, I get sucked into a black hole and sent to who knows where. Then I get visited by Harbinger and had to endure horrible visions of the future. Now a unicorn was the one who save me? This day just keeps getting better and better..." He muttered beneath his breath.

Just as he was contemplating how a unicorn might have saved him the golden gates opened up. Slowly, the barred gates swung open for Gondar, almost as though they were inviting him to enter. He watched the other tentatively side while contemplating on what he should do. Perhaps this was what Harbinger meant when he said he wasn't dead.

"Hmm...If going through this gate means having a second shot at life and a second shot at hunting criminals again, then I got nothing to lose. It's a better deal than being alone here."

Without a moment of hesitation, Gondar jumped directly through the gate and never looked back.

His vision was immediately assaulted with a blinding flash of light, everything went white as his mind became one with his body again. He could feel all of his limbs and the numbing pain that they were in. His view became dark again but that was only because his eyes were closed. He struggled briefly to open his eyes, but when he did he was greeted with a familiar sight.

There was a white figure standing beside him. As his vision grew clearer he managed to identify the figure as the unicorn he saw from the gates. He didn't really know what to say, what was there to say to a unicorn who stitched up your open wounds other than ' Thank you for patching me up little unicorn'.

He opened his mouth to say something but then the unicorn began to... speak?

"Are you alright darling?" Unicorns can talk, who knew? Judging from her voice it was safe to say that the unicorn was a girl. But after all of the things that he has experienced so far, the thought of a talking unicorn didn't exactly faze him as much. He didn't really care anymore of whatever the world might throw at him, he just went with the flow. He looked around a little before asking:

"Ah, of course, how rude of me. I haven't properly introduced myself yet. My name is Rarity, I was the one who stitched up your nasty cut." She watched as the stranger attempted to stand up, but his broken bones and lack of energy made it difficult. "Hold on, let me help you up." Her horn lit up, a soft light blue glow covered her horn as well as the stranger.

"Whoa!" The stranger cried as he was levitated over to her, he flailed his legs around as he floated in the air but the pain pulsing in his limbs stopped him short.

"Calm down, you're only making it worse for yourself!" With a bit of concentration she brought the stranger beside herself where he wrapped his forelegs over her neck. "There, you should be able to stand with my help, but try not to put too much pressure on your hooves and legs." After a few seconds of balancing the stranger was finally standing up straight.

"*Sigh* Thank you very much, Miss Rarity, for the cut and for helping me up on my feet. But I think I can stand on my own from here on out." The stranger pulled away from Rarity and staggered a bit but regained his footing.

"I believe I should introduce myself as well, my name is Gondar. Let's just leave it at that for now." He then bowed to her, pulling his mask down to breath easier. "Thank you for saving me."

"Oh my," Rarity blushed, 'nopony's ever thanked me like this before.' She held her help hoof to her face to cover her blushing.

"It's really nothing at all, I'm just doing what any sensible pony would do." It seems that some of her dreamy assumptions about this mysterious stallion might be true. But it was still far too early to tell, especially with a name like Gondar. It didn't sound like any other pony names she had heard of.

The way he dressed certainly wasn't anything she had ever seen either.

She finally got a chance at getting a good look of him as he began maintained his balance. Aside from the red bandanna on his face and neck, he wore what appeared to be a simple set of brown shoulder pads. Moving down he was wearing a pair of brown pants complete with a set of belts and some side guards that had a short red cloth tailing behind.

Clothing aside, he looked like he came from the distant land of Saddle Arabia. Another one of her dreamy assumption might have been proven true.

His appearance was also different than that of the average earth pony found in Equestria.

Gondar's coat was slightly shaggier than that of most stallions around Ponyville, nor was he as tall. Compared to Rarity, he was around eye level, only edging her out by a few scant centimeters. His tail was yellow like his coat but it was very short and was obscured by the red cloth behind him. He didn't exactly have a mane, rather he had a short mohawk formed from his shaggy fur, coupled with a short beard.

Physically, his face was more triangular in shape and his ears were far more pointed. He had two spike earring on both ears, with one gold ring earring on the left.

His eyes were by far his most unique and exotic features. His pupils were black slits rather then a rounded shape, centered within a sea of dark crimson. His eyes were both intimidating and mesmerizing at the same time. Truth be told, Rarity thought he looked like a cross between an earth pony, a goat, and her cat Opal dyed in a vibrant shade of yellow.

Rarity didn't know what to think of this pony, she couldn't see his cutie mark so she couldn't make out his special talent. She mulled over her thoughts about the enigmatic stranger, he only told her his name and that was it, nothing else. She was taken by surprise when Gondar began speaking again, his mask was pulled up by then.

"Would any sensible pony assist a dying individual out in the middle of nowhere by suturing up his bloody gash with their own equipment? he asked.

"Uhh... No, I guess not. Hehe." She then saw Gondar wince as he shifted in place, she remembered that she still needed to get him back to Ponyville's hospital. "Gondar, your bones are still broken. I couldn't do anything about that. If you could follow me back into town the doctors there could get you properly treated"

Gondar would've followed Rarity back into town but getting his bones set and healed would take several weeks, he needed to be in peak physical condition now. He had something that he needed to take care of.

Now that he was mostly well again thanks to the help of Rarity, he needed to find out if any of his friends survived being flung out of the black hole and into the sky. Together, they could figure out what happened at the last moment of their fight on the battlegrounds and maybe find out how to change him back to his regular self instead of being a tiny horse.

His bones ached as he was deep in thought. What he wouldn't give for a healing salve right now, those handy little potions could fix even the most serious of injuries. Or even one of the runes along the river, specifically the regeneration rune. The magical rune made the injuries and wounds disappear without even leaving a trace.

In fact, he could have sworn that he had bottled one with Sven before the last battle they fought in....

"I think I have a better idea, Miss Rarity. Have you seen a bag around here somewhere? It contains something that might help my physical condition."

"Why no, I haven't. What's so special about this item that you would disregard medical attention for?" Rarity asked.

"The item in question is my medical attention." Rarity quietly mouthed an "oh" before the two started to look around for Gondar's missing bag.

He just hoped his bag wasn't completely lost, otherwise he could kiss his plans of a rapid recovery goodbye. The two scoured around the bare area, looking past any nook and cranny that the field may have had. Purely out of luck, Rarity looked up the lone tree that was in the area and saw a ripped brown knapsack sticking out of the leaves. Using her magic she levitated it out of the tree.

"Gondar, I think found something!" She levitated the bag over to him.

Gondar quickly snatched bag out of the air and sifted through its contents. All of the weapons and artifacts he had purchased for the earlier fight were gone. A pang of fear stabbed at him, but the feeling was quickly replaced with a wave of relief as his hooves brushed the cool edge of a small glass bottle.

He pulled out the bottle and checked to see if the regeneration rune was still inside, the faint green glow floating in the center of the bottle reassured his hunch.

"It's still in here!" Gondar frantically scrambled to uncork the bottle as Rarity watched in bewilderment.

"What's in there? How could a simple bottle of water solve your problems?" She asked, but she immediately got her answer when Gondar finally opened the bottle.

The cork came off of the bottle with a light 'pop.' Gondar's form began glowing a faint green as his wounds began to heal at unnatural speed.

The sickening creaks of his bones snapping back into place could be heard by Rarity who visibly cringed from the sound. The scar on his side faded away into nothingness, leaving behind perfectly healthy flesh.

Rarity watched in awe with her mouth agape as all of his broken bones and scars ceased to exist. In the span of only a few seconds, Gondar looked as if he had never even taken the full brunt of the fall at all.

"W-what just happened? Your wounds! They j-just d-d-disappeared!" Rarity stuttered, gawking at Gondar with a slack jawed expression. Opening up a little bottle of water healed all of his injuries in only the span of a few seconds, whatever that was she had to ask him where she could get one of those.

With his wounds mended and his body returned to peak strength, Gondar began testing out his new form. A series of agile flips and rapid fire punches in the air proved that he was back to his old self, even as a quadruped. Rarity mouth fell even further, she just witnessed an earth pony pull off stunts that only pegasi could do.

"Just who is this stallion? What are you hiding?" She thought. As Gondar finished his practice he turned to answer her.

"Let's just say it was magic," Gondar said nothing more. Rarity pouted, she was clearly unsatisfied with his answer, though it was feasible. Perhaps it is like one of Zecora's potions, but much more potent in nature. She had to ask him another question, one that has been bugging her since he woke up.

"How did you even get hurt so badly anyway? Please tell me you're not some bandit being chased by the royal guards." She was expecting some kind of outlandish answer but she would've never expected what he would say next.

"To answer your question, Miss Rarity, I fell. From the sky." Rarity's jaw practically hit the floor when she heard the answer.

She had expected him to say something along the lines of 'I was attack by a group of highwaymen on my way into town' or maybe 'Some timberwolves snuck up on me and I barely escaped with my life' or even 'My country was taken over, I was mortally wounded by the fiend who took my throne and fled away to safety. My wound was too serious however and I fell unconscious.'

"What were you even doing in the sky? You aren't even a pegasus!" Her mind was being overloaded with so many questions. He answered, true, but he was very evasive about them and that only left more questions in her wake.

"You sure ask a lot ask a lot of questions don't you?" Gondar thought back to his time with Harbinger, he was asking a boatload of questions then as well. It felt like the role had been switched around. Now Gondar was the one being cryptic and Rarity was the one bombarding him with questions. He knew where this was going and it wasn't going to end unless he gives Rarity some straight answers. "Like talking to a dog chasing its own tail"

"*Sigh* Alright, since you're asking so many questions I might as well tell you my story. You deserve as much for saving me. But I won't go into full detail, I'm afraid."

"Thank you, Gondar," replied Rarity. Although he wasn't going to tell her everything it was a sign of trust that he was even willing to let slip more information.

"Well, here goes. I was participating alongside some friends in a competition. Me and four other were winning until the other team pulled off a last ditch effort for victory, a mishap occurred and we were taken off of the fields and flung into the sky. What happened to them I am not sure but I intend to find out. As for myself, I messed up my landing and crashed around the trees, painfully, I might add. Then you showed up and helped me. I'm afraid that is all that I can say without breaking my anonymity."

Rarity thought over his story. There was enough information to tell that his appearance here was purely a freak accident, possibly of the magical kind. She remembered what Princess Celestia said in her letter to Twilight.

The princess had mentioned that her sister Luna saw something falling into the White Tail Woods. Perhaps Gondar, the aerial explosion, and recent tremor are all linked. She needed Twilight's help to be sure. As she mulled over her thoughts, Gondar approached her.

"I'm sorry, Miss Rarity, but I'm afraid I have to go now. I need to find my friends." He bowed again. "I do hope I can repay the debt in full some time in the future." Whether he was going to meet her again later was unknown to him, but he is willing to assist her should the time come. He then turn to leave, only to be stopped by Rarity.

"Now hold on a moment, I think I can help you. You mentioned falling, correct? Something fell from the sky close to here and my friends are investigating the occurrence, maybe it's one of your friends? If so, allow me to lead you to them." Rarity offered.

Gondar raised a eyebrow at her offer. His tracking skills was the best there is in the world, he could find his friends alone. But he knew that tracking was more then just scents and trails, it's also about information, and Rarity's information might as well be worth its weight in gold.

She was a generous one, this unicorn.

Since she was offering her help it would be rude to turn down such a nice lady. He was glad he didn't have to tell her that he was a bounty hunter, he didn't need to trouble someone like her with his occupation.

"Alright, sounds like a plan. Bring me to your friends, hopefully I'll find mine as well." With the decision settled, the two began preparing for the short trip.

Rarity, sadly, had to leave behind her cart and the giant gem pile. They would only slow them down anyway.

Gondar looked over his knapsack. He was somewhat frustrated, one of the holding straps was ripped apart. There was no way he could wear it without it constantly falling off. Fortunately, Rarity noticed his plight and proceeded to fix it with her amazing sewing capability, going so far as to even add her own unique flair to the stitching. He was genuinely impressed at the display.

"You're real handy with a needle and thread, aren't you?" said Gondar, to which Rarity responded by giving him a look full of pride

"I'm one of the best. It is my special talent of course." She struck an elegant pose as she finished stitching the bag which she levitated over to Gondar. He fumbled around with the bag but managed to get it on his back.

"I know the basics, but I wish was as good as you are, Miss Rarity." He smiled beneath his mask. Rarity blushed again from his praise. Despite his shoddy appearance this stallion was a gentlecolt in disguise. Was her suspicions coming to fruition? She shook her head to remove the foalish thought, this was neither the time nor the place.

She began to help lead Gondar to her friends, the two walked side by side together leaving the quarry and towards the White Tail woods. It was nice quiet walk but Rarity had something she wanted to ask Gondar.

"Say, I don't mean pry into your personal business or anything but I have to ask, what is your special talent? You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Gondar decided to keep the fact that he was good at hunting and capturing criminals to himself. It would be much too weird.

"I'll keep that piece of information to myself for now." Rarity nodded her head understandingly and continued to lead.

All was at ease and peaceful for the two, yet there was a lingering feeling of dread hanging over Gondar.

The visions. He still remembered them.

They meant something but he didn't quite understand it yet. Why would Harbinger show him those horrible images? He was only certain of one thing from the visions. They were going to happen, whether they could be stopped or not is still in the dark.

He shook his head to clear his mind, the horrible visions can wait for another time, he needed to find his other friends. He was glad that he was accompanied by Rarity though, It wasn't as lonely with her around.

Time seemed to fly for Gondar as his mind spaced out from the serene locale, he almost ran into Rarity when she stopped suddenly.

"We're here!" Rarity said in a sing-song voice. Gondar broke out of his concentration and took in the sight before him.

It was another forest but the vibrant leaves that filled the many trees was breathtaking. The scenery here was much better than the simple clearing that the two had just left. Rarity started looking around trying to find her friends, but there was no one around aside from the two.

"I wonder where they are? They should be around here." They both looked around to see if anyone was close by.

"Maybe they're somewhere el-" Gondar stopped as a loud crackling sound boomed from beyond the edge of the woods. The sound was loud, almost like thunder and lightning had struck the ground. But the sky was clear, the only person who could make that sound was...

"Sven!" There was no question about it, that was the sound of his Stormhammer. He was somewhere in the forest.

"Rarity, one of my friends is here! Come on, we have to move." Both Rarity and Gondar started sprinting towards the direction of the sound. As they ran a large purple explosion rocked the trees, the sound of bucking could also be heard throughout the forest. Rarity immediately recognized what the sounds were.

"Girls! My friends are here as well." The two briefly looked at each other and started running double time. As they continued on through the forest, the sounds of thunder and explosions grew louder and louder...