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

by zelkova48

Chapter 7: Trust Issues

It was a picture perfect day in Ponyville. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and there wasn't a single cloud in the clear blue sky. All the denizens of the rural town were out and about with friends and family alike. Foals were at school, merchants were selling their wares, and local stores were open for business.

Ponies were either running left and right trying to complete their errands or just relaxing underneath the pleasant sun. The small town was positively radiating with an electric atmosphere that was almost tangible. Even with the earlier explosion and shaking, it didn't seem to faze anypony that much. It felt impossible for anything to go and put a damper on the hustle and bustle of Ponyville.

As the group walked through the main market square, the tangible energy they felt earlier from everypony slowly died down. The loud clamor of the masses faded away into utter silence as everypony stopped what they were doing and gawked at the mysterious strangers. The town has had its fair share of bizarre visitors; from Nightmare Moon, to Discord, and even the ever boastful showmare Trixie.

But this group was different. There was an incredulous air surrounding them that was so thick you could cut through it with a knife.

The ponies that visited were wearing perhaps the most ridiculous and absurd looking clothing they had ever laid their eyes on. They also looked incredibly bizarre, even for pony standards.

One looked exactly like a mummy out of the novel 'Daring Do and the Mummare's curse,' albeit with black wrappings and a pair of discomforting white spheres for eyes.

Another looked like a parody of Starswirl the Bearded. Only instead of a blue cape and wizard's cap, he had an impassive metal mask with a four pronged black and green cape.

The other remaning pony was unnatural looking, the thing that ponies were whispering about in the background were his unique features.

He was slightly shorter and shaggier than the average colt, he also had sharp pointed ears and had ebony irises within a crimson sea that was his eyes. He looked just like a cat wearing a red bandanna and clothes reminiscent of a Saddle Arabian pony from the fairy tale 'Ali Baa baa and the Fourty Thieves.'

The final member of the group wasn't even a pony, she was a marvelously beautiful doe! She had a picture perfect white and brown coat with a pair of majestic horns. Her attire consisted of several leaves wonderfully woven into a short two piece dress with a gorgeous butterfly emblem adorning her chest.

The heroes felt incredibly uncomfortable having almost everypony's eyes blindly gawking at them. They, along with their newfound friends, trudged through the sea of gawking ponies, all the while ignoring the loud whispers that couldn't even fool a deaf donkey. As they went deeper and deeper into the crowd, the comments became more and more audible.

"Who are these ponies?" one pegasus colt whispered from the crowd.

"I don't know, but they look suspicious. Is that pony a cat!?" a mare asked. Gondar raised his mask past his nose as he continued on with the others.

"They look like a bunch of troublemakers to me," an older gray stallion muttered.

"Mommy, why does that one look like a mummy?" a young foal asked as his mother fearfully pulled him back into the house.

"Why is someone like her hanging out with them? I'm telling you guys, give me a few days and she'll be all over me like frosting on a cake!" a rude adolescent unicorn blurted to his friends. Aiushtha involuntarily shuddered upon hearing his lewd comment.

"Why is it that everything weird happens in Ponyville? I swear it's that librarian's fault," a portly pony whispered to his colleague. "Ever since she showed up this town has been nothing but screwy! It's a wonder that the mayor hasn't evicted her yet!" it wasn't even a whisper anymore, it was an open verbal insult directed at Twilight. Twilight turned to shut the pony up but was stopped by Rubick.

"Easy now dear. Just forget about him, you're better than this." Twilight complied with Rubick and kept moving with with the rest of the group, scowling at the pony who made the insulting remark at her.

"Should we call the guard or something? They seem dangerous!" a scared mare asked.

"Hey Big Mac, isn't that your sister over there?" Caramel asked.

"Eeyup," Big Mac replied with a masterful 'eeyup' in such a way that only a master of eloquent communication could. He and Caramel then happily waved at Applejack, completely oblivious to the fact that the entire town was staring at them and their new friends. Applejack waved back but quickly tugged her stetson hat back to hide her face.

As the group made their way past the crowd they saw their goal in sight.

Sugarcube corner, in all of its glazed and baked glory, the mane six's personal bastion from a hard day of work and, up until now, away from piercing eyes of the public. As the group made their way in, they were greeted by Pinkie Pie who was happy (happy being an understatement) to escort them and some new guest into the bakery and away from the unbearable atmosphere outside.

"*Sigh* I'm glad to be out of there, my claustrophobia was starting to act up." Fluttershy wiped the sweat off of her brow as she calmed down. She stretched her wings to relieve them of the tension that was building from being stuck in such a large crowd.

"Ah don't get it, why was everypony looking at us like that?" Applejack asked as she dusted off her hat.

"I think it was because of us," Rhasta replied as he stretched his legs. "They fear things that are different or if they do not understand." He patted himself to check if all of his gear was still with him.

"Then it was a good idea to come to Sugarcube Corner, I don't think anypony will bother us her- hey!" Rainbow Dash looked at the windows and saw that almost everypony in town pressed their face up against the glass window just to listen to them. Luckily Pinkie Pie trotted by and alleviated the problem.

"I'm sorry everypony, but gawking and eavesdropping at visitors is RUDE!" Pinkie then dropped the blinds down with a great big *slam!* as she dusted off her hooves. She then proceeded to open the blinds again. "Oh! We also have a special on pies today! Buy two slices get the next one of your choice absolutely free!" she announce with her lively floaty tone before dropping the blinds again with another *slam!*

"Well now that that's out of the way, I think it's time to give our new guest a good ol' fashion Ponyville welcome!" Pinkie then proceeded to pull out her coveted party cannon from out of thin air and setted it off. With a thunderous *BOOM!* the cannon went off and covered the entire bakery in party favors of all different shapes and sizes.

The four heroes looked in shock and awe as streamers in a variety of colors were expertly hung all across the ceiling, party hats and kazoos along with a massive cake flew out and landed perfectly onto a lone table in the center of the room. Balloons and confetti covered the room almost instantly when the cannon went off.

The heroes clapped their hooves together at the sheer delight of what they just witnessed.

"Oh, I like her already," Gondar said as he checked out the cake that was on the table.

"Hahahaha! How wonderful! Again, again!" Rhasta could tell that this pink one was entertaining, he knew a fellow entertainer when he saw one.

Pinkie bowed to her audience and soon-to-be new friends, as she went up to greet them Mr. Cake entered the room with a disapproving look on his face.

"Pinkie, what did we say about using your party cannon inside the bakery?" Mr. Cake asked.

"That it should only be used when we weren't baking," Pinkie replied as she deflated slightly. "Can I at least keep the cake?" Mr. Cake chuckled and gave her a smile.

"Of course, Pinkie. Oh, and be careful with your new guests, that crowd outside doesn't look to happy about them." He gave a friendly wave to the heroes before entering back into the kitchen.

"Well, okay then!" With a quick flip of a switch her cannon started to suck everything that was party related in sight like a vacuum. All the streamers were plucked from the ceiling and the party favors flew back into the cannon. The big three tiered cake was all that remained as the whole room was spotless without even the smallest trace of confetti.

"Now that was amazing," Aiushtha said as she too was observing the cake. Pinkie then rushed up to the heroes with a smile that was as wide as a mile.

"Hi there! I'm Pinkamena Diane Pie! But everypony just calls me Pinkie Pie for short!" She started shaking Rhasta's hoof at lightning speed, it was so fast the even Rhasta was starting to shake up and down from the force of the very affectionate handshake. "Yup, I'm Ponyville's premier party pony." She then turned her head and faced you, yes you, the reader. "Try saying that three times fast." She whispered to you before turning her attention back to her new guest "So what's your name?"

"I am Aiushtha," she said as she hugged the poofy pink party pony.

"I am called Rhasta, I am the Shadow Shaman!" Rhasta swung his wards around before shaking the filly's hoof again, this time she didn't shake him to point where his molecules would began to vibrate and he'd sink into the floor.

"Just call me Gondar, Pinkie." He shook the pink filly's hoof, he lowered his mask below his nose this time around.

"My name is Rubick, I am the Grand Magus. A pleasure to meet such an energetic young spirit," he said as he hugged Pinkie.

"Your name's Rubik, eh? Then can you tell me how to solve this thing!" She pulled out a multicolored cube that was composed of even smaller cubes, each side had several different colors in random order. Apparently, the goal of the puzzle was to try and flip the edges of the cube around in a way so that each side would match their respective colors.

"I can't solve this stupid thing! Come on! Tell me! What's the secret! Everypony else can do it, so why can't I!" She blindly scrambled her hooves in a futile attempt to solve the cube. In the end, the puzzle was still the same as it was only with a different pattern. She groan loudly in frustration and tossed the cube onto the ground, scowling at it.

"You know that's funny, Spike asked me that too. I'm sorry to tell you this but I am not the pony that invented that puzzle." Rubick then picked up the cube off of the floor and intensely observed its structure. After a few seconds of thinking he then went on to solve the puzzle in his hooves. With a final flick of his hoof the last segment of the cube slid into place, in his hooves Rubick held a perfectly solved puzzle cube "Now that was invigorating! Where can I get myself one of these toys?"

Pinkie just stared at Rubick, she was holding back the urge to break down to her knees and curse the heavens for her inability to solve the puzzle cube. She struggled and she tried and in the end she held off that urge, she just took the cube back from Rubick and regained her floaty composure. After witnessing the making and unmaking of a party, Twilight decided it was time to cut in on the heroes.

"Uhh... Now that you guys met our good friend Pinkie, maybe it's a good to get into our groups and uh... decompress." Everypony nodded with her suggestion and continued on to the individual tables in the bakery. The heroes sat among each other at one table while Twilight sat with all of her friends at another.

A gorgeous doe, a timberwolf busting mummy, a grand magus, and an enigmatic cat-like wanderer that all fell from the sky. There was going to be a lot to discuss today.

"Hey, Mrs. Cake! Can we get a round of milkshakes for us and our new friends please! Just put it on my tab!" Rainbow Dash bellowed across the bakery. Yes, there was going to be a LOT to discuss about today.

All the heroes sat around in one of the tables of the bakery, each one had a slice of cake from Pinkie's cannon. While Aiushtha and Rhasta dug right in, Gondar and Rubick were conversing with each other.

"So, Sven's not here, eh? Damn, I was so sure he was in that forest along with you." Gondar looked down at his cake, there was too much on his mind to eat at the moment.

"Those Storm Bolts that you heard came from me. I was dueling with some of our new friends earlier before you arrived." Rubick, who had his mask off, took a bite out of his own piece of cake. "They're a wonderful bunch, these six. I"m glad we ran into them. Maybe they'll be able to help us find Sven in this new world." Rubick dabbed his mouth with a napkin to clean up any frosting that stayed.

"Wait, what do you mean new world? This is still our own world, right?" Gondar asked, thoroughly confused at his friends statement.

"Ah, that's right. You aren't as well versed in the arcane as some of us are. You can't feel it can you?" Rubick asked as he took another bite from his cake.

"Feel, what exactly?" Gondar said, poking at his cake with a fork.

"Our world has a natural magical flow, those experienced in the arcane arts can sense it almost as if it were another entity. The magic and mana flow of this world is far different from our own. At first I thought it was just the lag from being sucked into a black hole, but it turns out that I was wrong. We are in a whole other world," Rubick replied as he finished up his piece of cake. "Oh, I have to get the recipe for this cake. It is absolutely divine!"

"Well that's just terrific, we're stuck in ponyland..." Gondar lowered his mask and took a bite of the cake. "Mmm, strawberry." he smiled.

"Actually, from what Twilight has told me, this part of the world we're in is called Equestria. It is mostly populated by the ponies. There are also other races such as the griffons, these so called diamond dogs, and lastly the dragons. There could be others but I am not quite sure." Rubick put his mask back on and continued. "We're in a small town called Ponyville, it is at the center of Equestria, give or take fifty feet of course." Rubick shook his hoof to exemplify his estimation.

"I assume that this town is part a major trade route as it seems to cross in between all the other major cities such at Manehattan, Los pegasus, and Canterlot, the capitol of Equestria." Rubick finished.

"Aw jeez, these horse puns..." Gondar just shook his head. "Okay then, how do you explain this?" he pointed at himself "A pony doesn't exactly strike fear into the hearts of criminals, you know?"

"Well, I hypothesize that when we were thrown into this world by the black hole, the fluctuation of magic from both world may have been responsible for warping our forms. It shaped us into the dominate species of land or based us on our characteristics. Hence you keeping your cat like features and Aiushtha becoming a doe," Rubick answered.

"I think we should keep these little facts to ourselves for the time being, after seeing that crowd outside I doubt they'll be too happy to know that we're outworlders. They might turn us over to the authorities where we'll either be jailed or... dissected for scientific purposes." Gondar shuddered at the thought. "I'm the one who's suppose to put criminals in jail, not the other way around!"

Rhasta and Aiushtha, who had already finished eating, decided to join in on their conversation. They had overheard everything the two have said so far and wanted to weigh in their own opinions.

"I don't think so. Like Rhasta said, they fear us because they don't understand us. We should just give the ponies some time to get used to us." Aiushtha pointed over to the six. "Also, our new friends have already done so much for us. I'm sure if we just explain our situation to them, things just might work out. They might even help us find Sven and a way back to our own world." Aiushtha was using that natural ability she had to lift everyone's mood.

"Besides, I think a certain cat like pony grew a little attached to a certain fabulous looking unicorn," she teased. Gondar remain expressionless.

"...I don't know what you're talking about. She saved me from a fatal wound and I was just expressing my gratitude," Gondar blankly replied, which evoked a giggle from Aiushtha.

"That doesn't explain all the compliments and the debt you still owe her!" she said in her usual playful tone. Gondar slid down on his seat holding onto his mask while everyone lightly chuckled. Rhasta sensed his friend's distress and quickly changed the subject

"The question remains, can we trust our new friends and allies?" he asked. "I say we can, I also have no doubts that we will be able to find a way back home. The magic in the air is strong and I can communicate with the shades just fine. Assuming we don't run into anymore trouble that is." He had a flashback about his time in the Everfree forest. "By the way, are you gonna finish that?" Rhasta pointed at Gondars unfinished cake, Gondar shook his head and slid the plate on over to him.

"I think it's settled then, we can trust them and that they can trust us." Everyone nodded in agreement at Rhasta's judgement. Everyone turned to look the mane six, they were enjoying a good milkshake with each other.

As Gondar looked at the six, something stirred in the back of his mind, something ominous and familiar. A bright flash of light overtook his senses and he was back in the bright field from Harbinger's vision, he was back in the same spot where the gallows were.

He had to painfully experience the six figures execution again, the rhythmical sounds of the bodies falling stilled his heart. The sound resonated and echoed throughout his mind even louder than it was before.

Then the clamorous cheering began again, the crowd roared much more intensely than before. The ground shook at their resounding joy and merriment of the figures' death. It was too much for Gondar, he brought his hooves up to his ears to muffle the sound.

Another bright flash pulled him out of his mind and back into reality. His heartbeat quicken, sweat soaked his shaggy coat and his breathing thinned out. He still didn't understand what the visions meant, but they were becoming more and more agonizing with each passing image.

"Oh no, not this agai-Aaaaaaah!" A shocking migraine stealthily struck him and he fell to the ground clutching his head. His friends immediately rushed on over to his side and helped him up back on his seat, thankfully no one witnessed his sudden collapse. Gondar looked at everyone, they were all visibly worried.

"Gondar, what happened?" Aiushtha asked, she ran her hoof across his forehead to wipe away all the sweat that accumulated from his seizure. Gondar quickly composed himself and began breathing normally again.

"*Pant* It's *pant* It's nothing. I think the stress of being in a different world is getting to me." He looked back at the six ponies and exhaled deeply "I'm fine, honest."

"Are you sure my yellow friend? I am partially trained in medicine, so I can cure whatever ails you." Everyone stared at Rhasta with eyes as wide as a dinner plate.

Rhasta left his con man lifestyle, that much is true, but if he offers any services to you that does not involve fortune telling then it would be best to respectfully turn them down. After all he did assist his old master castrate pigs for three pins of copper, and for five he would circumcise your sons.

"Uhh... No, It's okay. I think i'll just walk it off later," Gondar calmly replied, but you could hear the tinge of fear in his voice.

"As it pleases you," Rhasta respectfully bowed his head and acknowledged his friends request, but kept his signature jovial grin. With the issue swiftly resolve, Mrs. Cake walked on by and handed them their milkshakes.

"Four orders of strawberry, banana, chocolate, peppermint, caramel, mocha mega milkshake!" She cheerfully placed down these massive parfait glasses that was filled to the brim of perhaps the most delectable dessert that the heroes have ever laid their eyes on "Enjoy!" she sang. Everyone gave her their thanks and proceeded to enjoy the drinks.

"At least the food here is great," Rubick remarked. "Do you know what this is missing? Walnuts." He levitated a small bag from his robe and pulled out a roasted walnut, with his telekinesis he crumbled the walnut on top of the already delectable dessert. A big childlike smile formed beneath his mask as he giggled ever so subtly.

All the girls at the table were enjoying their own drinks, after catching up on what they were doing the whole day they figured it was the appropriate time to discuss their situation. Sadly Zecora had to leave early.

"Are you sure you can't stay any longer Zecora?" Twilight asked her zebra friend.

"Ah, yes, It is true. There are some potions that I must brew," Zecora rhymed. "I am glad to know there will be no shaking. No tremors will interrupt what I am making." She waved to her friends before heading out the door, she turned around when she remembered something. "Ayah, Please give my thanks to Rhasta. He is by far the most peculiar caster." With that said, she began heading back to her hut. All her friends shouted their goodbyes as she left their field of vision.

"So I guess it's just us now." Twilight looked at her friends and Spike. "I think that it's time to get down to business." All her friends nodded in agreement. "Do you think we can trust these ponies?" she asked.

"Aside from the funny way they dress? Ah think we can trust em," Applejack tugged on her hat. "Ah mean, that Rhasta fellow did save Zecora from the timberwolves and Rubick turned out to be a swell guy. I'll admit that I half expected him to be some Canterlot snob like that one prince." Applejack tapped her chin. "Hmm, what was his name again?"

"Blueblood..." Rarity replied with venom dripping from her voice.

'Yeah! That guy, he was a real pain in the neck if you ask me." Applejack laughed "Other then that I think it's safe to say tha- Oh! Land sakes, you gotta be kidding me!" From the windows there were still ponies who were trying to get a glimpse of the mysterious strangers even when the blinds were closed. "You know what! Ah'm gonna try and clear this up. Honestly, can't we get a little privacy around here anymore!" Applejack ran out the store positively fuming.

"Um... I think I should go with her just in case." Fluttershy finished her drink and walked out with Applejack in an attempt to try and quell the crowd's curiosity and fear. As the two left, Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up.

"They're cool and all, well, maybe not as cool as me." She sounded particularly smug upon mentioning her own coolness. "But what's up with Gondar, Rarity? I mean we know what Aiushtha, Rubick, and Rhasta are capable of. So what's the deal with him? He hides his face behind a mask, and not in a good way like our magus friend over there"

"I'm not sure myself." She sighed. "After I saved him, he kept mostly to himself. Even though I was able to get him to tell me about his friend's dilemma he remained evasive to most of the questions I asked him. I asked him about his special talent but he preferred to stay quiet about it." Rarity then levitated out a small broken blade and stabbed it into the table. "Then there's this." Her friends all collectively gasped at the gleaming blade. "I pulled this out from his open wound"

"What the!- What was that doing there!?" Rainbow stared at the lustrous blade with a look of bewilderment. "He's not being hunted by the royal guard is he!?" Everypony continued to examined the once bloodied blade.

"Far from it Rainbow, he fell from the sky so the only logical explanation is that this belonged to him." She lifted up the blade and gave it to Twilight. "This isn't any ordinary blade Twilight, it's a professional one. I ended up cutting myself when I just ran my hoof along the edge and I didn't even apply any pressure." Twilight thoroughly examined the blade, she was impressed with it's craftsmanship.

"But, why would he carry something like this around?" Twilight asked as she twirled the blade around with her telekinetic grip.

"Maybe it has something to do with his special talent? Perhaps he's a carpenter or something. I'm sure you need a sharp blade when working with wood, and the mask possibly protects him from all of that nasty sawdust." Rarity guessed, her theory seemed plausible...

"I don't want to come off as rude or paranoid but... regardless, we should keep an eye on him. He looks a little suspicious." Rainbow suggested as Rarity pulled back with a gasp.

"Rainbow Dash! How can you say such a thing? I'll have you know that underneath his shoddy appearance he is quite the gentlecolt," she huffed. "Besides, he declared that he is still indebted to me. I doubt he's the type who would go around causing trouble if he gave his word of repayment to a refined lady such as myself." She finished as flicked her mane out of her face in one graceful movement. "Hmph."

All her friends stared at her like she grew a second head. She had just fiercely defended an enigmatic pony that they know next to nothing about. But if she placed her trust in him without a trace of uncertainty, then her friends could too.

"Well... if you say so. Are you feeling alright Rarity?" Twilight asked.

"Why I feel fine, why do you ask?" she replied nonchalantly as she ran her hoof along her fabulous mane.

"Uh... nothing, nevermind." Everypony chuckled nervously. "Well, I guess It's settled then. We can trust them, and they can trust us." Everypony let out a relieved sigh, knowing the fact that they can trust their new friends and allies.

"So uh... what do we do now?" Spike finally spoke up after hearing their judgement.

"Hmm, maybe we should help them find their lost friend. I can't imagine what he's going through right now," Twilight asked her friends.

"It would be the right thing to do. And I was kinda hoping we would meet this Sven guy. From what the others said about him he sounds crazy strong!" Spike replied with an adventurous tone.

"It would, wouldn't it? But where do we start? We don't know if he's around Ponyville or all the way to Manehattan!" Twilight pondered her options.

"Well what if we- *Belch!*" Spike couldn't finish as he burped out a scroll from his magical dragon's breath. Everypony looked curiously at the scroll. What did the Princess need? Twilight picked it up and began reading aloud.

"Princess Celestia cordially invites you and your closest friends to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and *Gasp!* my brother!?" everypony gasped alongside her.