Twilight's gaze was focused as she concentrated on her current task. The small bands of metal that floated before her spun and twisted in the air, held there by the magical glow of her horn. They began to bend and form into shapes, connecting to one another as their visage became flawless. Not only was the appearance of the metal changing, but the properties as well, gaining immaterial additions that only the unicorn could conjure.
Soon enough, the shape she was attempting to make with the bands was nearing its completion, already looking familiar to her. All it caused was for the unicorn to put more of her focus into her project, not allowing her mind to wander and risk ruining her magic or the item itself.
But her attention wasn't fully placed in what she was doing. Perhaps if it had, she wouldn't have heard the audible creaking of the front door to the library as it was opened and then shut. It made her body tense up as she quickly released the bending metal bands from her magical hold and placed them into a small box, which she hid underneath of her bed before investigating the cause of the disturbance.
As Twilight looked down into the ground floor of the library, she saw the Warden-Commander there. The human didn't notice her as he was busy himself, double-checking the strap on his scabbard as he swung his mighty sword over his back and secured it in place. While he was finished donning his weapon, the commander's eyes drifted upward, catching his unicorn spectator.
“Oh, Twilight,” he said with a murmur, as though he hadn't expected to see her, “what are you up to?”
“Nothing in particular,” the lavender mare replied, her gaze directed to the blade that he was now wearing. “Are you doing something?”
Noticing her questioning look upon his weapon, the commander smiled as he said, “Just grabbing my sword before I head out. I'm going to go into the Everfree forest and look around. Figured I should at least take some protection with me just in case.”
A momentary lapse of worry crossed the unicorn as she trotted down to the first floor to stand before the human. “Is something wrong?” she asked, figuring that there had to be a problem to risk a trek through the dangerous terrain.
“It's nothing too concerning,” the Warden answered. “But I've learned about the old ruins that are deep within the forest. It might be nothing, but where I'm from, old ruins in forests usually mean there's something to find. Maybe even a way to help us get home if the Eluvian shards turn out to be a lost cause.”
Though she was about to dispute such a claim, Twilight found herself unable to. In fact, it was in the old ruins where she and her friends had found the Elements of Harmony, which they've used to save Equestria twice already. But that expedition was brought on out of necessity, certainly not a passing fancy that could easily spell trouble.
“You shouldn't go into the forest,” Twilight warned, a look of concern crossing her. “It's a very dangerous place, filled with all kinds of creatures that will attack you on sight.”
Commander Cousland eyed the mare questioningly. “Your friend Zecora lives in the forest,” he said in retort. “And you've said how you've visited her several times. It can't be that dangerous.”
Twilight shook her head. “Her hut's not that far,” she said. “The deeper you get into the forest, the more dangerous it gets.”
To the unicorn's shock, the commander laughed at her warnings as though they were a joke. “Trust me, Twilight,” the smiling human reassured. “I've gone through dangerous forests before. Fighting off werewolves, possessed trees, and enough undead to fill a cemetery. I think I can handle whatever this 'dangerous' forest of yours can throw at me.”
Seeing that the Warden was dead set on traversing the forest, Twilight saw no other option then to assist. “Fine,” the scholar relented. “But if you're going into the forest, then I'm going with you.” As it looked like the human would protest, she raised a hoof to silence him. “There will be far less of a risk if somepony who actually knows the area goes with you. Even if you're capable of handling yourself, the creatures in Everfree can still be very dangerous, and... I really don't want to see anything happen to you.”
There was a mild surprise gained in the commander's expression as he listened to the mare, questioning if he had heard her wrong. “I was charged with watching over you,” Twilight quickly added. “By the princesses no less. It would be awful if you were to be injured under my watch.” Hearing that, the Warden's expression flattened as he realized she just wanted to babysit him.
“Alright,” the commander sighed, relenting to the librarian's wishes, “you can come, I guess.”
“Good,” Twilight said, feeling somewhat proud of herself for bringing the great warrior to at least accept her help. Then, a thought came to her as she realized he only ever mentioned himself in the expedition through the forest. “What about your friends? Are they coming along?”
A light chuckle escaped the commander as he shook his head. “Thankfully no,” he replied. “There isn't any need to bring a large party through. Besides, while they're all great comrades to have in a fight, I wouldn't get much peace and quiet from this if they came along.” He paused momentarily as he thought on what to say. “They are... very talkative at times. Mostly it's about gossip, which they do more than a group of maids in their free time.” The commander pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a sigh. “Most of the time, it's about me. You'd swear they thought I was deaf or something.”
“Okay then,” Twilight said with a nod. “Then let's get going.” The determined unicorn was already to door and ready to leave. “We'll need to stop by Rarity's for a moment to let Spike know where we'll be though.”
Their trek through the forest was as uneventful as the commander had thought. No giant monsters swooped down from the heavens to tear them to shreds, the ground didn't open like a maw to devour them whole. Even the trees surrounding them looked to be as sentient as the dirt they walked on, a fact that was a relief to the Warden, having not wanted to inspect every conspicuous looking plant for signs of danger.
However, what made the commander laugh off the dangers of the Everfree forest was what made the lavender-coated mare with him concerned. It wasn't the lack of beastly creatures that was catching her attention, it was the lack of anything. As they delved deeper into the forest, there was nothing around them to indicate any sign of life. The air was mute of any delightful birdsong, the trees and plants around them was void of the buzzing of insects. She had even expected to feel the burning gaze of stalking animals, hiding within the thick foliage to spy on the two visitors with curious stares. It all made the forest eerily quiet, almost dead.
But it didn't take long for Twilight to become at ease with her surroundings. The young scholar almost wanted to kick herself for becoming worried for not seeing some kind of monster lunging at them, wanting to admit to herself that she was sounding ridiculous. To her, it was their own personal silence that was making her feel so tense. Deciding to break it, the scholar thought on a question.
“What are werewolves?” the unicorn asked.
The sudden voice caused the commander's gaze to land on her. “Werewolves?” he murmured, seeing the question coming out seemingly at random.
“You mentioned you have them in your forests,” Twilight continued, happy to hear the sounds of conversation penetrating through the maddening silence. “I've never heard of such a thing before. What are they?”
Remaining silent for a moment as he thought on his answer. “Imagine a bipedal dog,” he said, trying to paint a mental picture for her. “With sharp fangs and claws, really big, overly aggressive, and none too bright when it came to deep thought.”
As Twilight put the details through her head, she frowned slightly as only a single image could be thought up by her, appearing all too familiar. “I think we might have something like that here,” she replied, wondering if werewolves also liked shiny objects.
“Well, the ones from my world are actually people inflicted by a terrible curse,” the commander said. “It changes them into those monsters, freeing them up to infect others and attack the people around them. I had actually helped to end the curse for a large group of werewolves once.”
“Maybe you do know how to traverse through forests,” Twilight said, realizing her own previous aversions were now pointless.
“More so then you would think,” the Warden responded. “There are a lot of small forests around Ferelden. The land around my home had a nice one too. My brother and I would often explore it as children. Once, we were even able to convince father to camp out with us for a night.” A fond sigh escaped him as he remembered the good memories. “We had actually planned on doing it again once, take my brother's son with us on the trip. He was getting at that age, always wanting to be an adventuring warrior like how he thought of us.” His happy smile slowly retreated into a saddened frown, clearly showing signs of inner pain that Twilight was able to catch. “We never got the chance though...”
The sudden shift in tone and enigmatic end wording caused Twilight to eye the commander inquisitively. Surely it was a topic worth investigating, her mind already working out possible solutions to her questions. Though she didn't know why, it seemed to be a touchy subject, so asking straightaway looked to be both rude and impossible.
As she was about to begin tactfully wording her response, Twilight was stopped as she looked ahead of herself, seeing what she was looking for, but was surprised to have seen it so soon. Several feet ahead of them, a gaping wound was open for all to see. A chasm of grand proportions yawned wide, having no bottom but an endless abyss. Both ends of the earthly scar were connected by a single, rickety bridge. The boards forming into a path looked more like large splinters than anything else, while the ropes securing it all in place appeared to be on the verge of unraveling.
What had surprised the scholar about it was their speed at which they had found it. They had been traveling for some time, but she had expected it would take much longer for them to reach the bridge. She remembered the time it took when she had first headed off toward the ruins, her friends beside her. Though the more she thought on it, this time around, there weren't any sinister trees, injured manticores, or flamboyant sea serpents trying to bar their way. It seemed practical to think that their journey would take less time, with the trip itself being much less fraught with danger.
“What are the chances of that thing falling out from underneath us?” the commander asked, eying the perilous bridge with uncertainty.
“It should be safe,” Twilight replied, her own voice lacking any form of actual certainty.
Still doubtful, the Warden found a small a rock lying on the ground nearby. As he picked it up and threw it, the stone sailed through the air and thudded across the planks. A long stillness fell between them as they held their breaths, thinking that a simple exhale would cause it to collapse. But as nothing happened, the Warden-Commander scoffed at his own trepidation and stepped toward the aged bridge.
Even with their uncertainty being repelled, there was still a thick tension in the air as the commander held a tight grip on the rope railing and tentatively stepped from one board to the other, with Twilight bringing up the rear. With every step, a loud, moaning creak was given as response. Each board cried out from the sudden weight being forced onto it, making traversing the bridge all the more nerve-wracking.
When the bridge finally ended, and both travelers found themselves on stable ground, sighs of relief left them both as they began to relax their aching muscles, having grown taut during the suspension. It was during their moment of reprieve that they heard it, the unmistakable sounding of stretching rope, the loud cracking of wood. As Twilight and the commander looked toward the bridge, they caught their last sight of it as the ropes holding it place suddenly snapped. The entirety of the structure then plunged down below into the depths of the chasm below them. The two companions looked down over the edge, their eyes wide as their imaginations played out with the idea of them still being on the bridge.
An uneasy chuckle left the Warden as he turned away from the cliff, lest he be inflicted with vertigo. “I guess we'll have to find a different way back,” he said, sounding almost relieved at the loss of the precarious bridge.
Just after where the bridge once stood, there was the point of their journey. A large castle, or what was left of it, stood crumbled against the withering effect of time. What was once great walls and towering structures, was left a barren ruin. There was no sign of it ever having any form of life, a far cry from the magnificence that the Canterlot Castle showed.
Surprisingly, a large wooden door that made up the entrance was still useable, allowing them to open it easily and step inside. The first room was a large antechamber, completely open with multiple stone columns that raced across the wall, where they once held up a ceiling that was no longer there. The entirety of the chamber was empty, save for a single structure in the very center. It was a sculpture, looking like a piece one would have in a garden or park square. It was composed of several elevated bases and a large orb in the very center. What looked like stands jutted out from the sides of it, empty with a spherical impression left.
Though the commander didn't know where he was, Twilight could easily remember the ruined chamber, where she and her friends had found the Elements of Harmony. She could remember the uncertainties and fears she had during that time, the doubts that plagued her when the idea of defeating a powerful being such as Nightmare Moon came to mind. But they had succeeded, saving not only Equestria, but Princess Luna as well.
“What is this place?” the commander asked, looking about the ruins with a curious glance. For all he knew, the mare accompanying him was just as clueless as he was, but his assuming question was backed with the fact that such a place was almost literally in her backyard.
Twilight's thoughts turned to the many history books that had passed under her studious gaze over the years, each filled with morsels of information that she consumed joyously. “It was once the castle of Princess Celestia and Luna,” Twilight replied. “It was damaged and abandoned after Nightmare Moon came. After she was defeated, Celestia moved to Canterlot, where the castle of the unicorn royalty stood. They had little actual power by then, so there was no issue when she made it the new Equestrian capital.” Though, not all of the royal unicorns had liked the change. A long running feeling of animosity was felt among some members of the family, lasting even until modern times. Twilight chose to not mention the subject however, being thankful that their bipedal visitors never had the displeasure of meeting Prince Blueblood.
“Abandoned seems like a positive word to this place,” the commander murmured as he looked around. “It looks like the forest conquered the place.”
They continued to look around the ruins. When compared to Canterlot Castle, the old place was considerably smaller. Everything looked as though there was a larger sense of modesty back then, with little in the way of actual décor other than what was sculpted among the walls. Sadly, there didn't seem to be anything worthwhile to find. If there had ever been anything, it was taken or lost long ago.
A small doorway to the east of the ruined castle led to a large clearing. Several stone archways were placed into the ground, forming what used to be a path around the clearing. Most notable about the area was large patches of ground where the plants of the forest were much more plentiful, looking healthier than anything else they had seen before. From what the area looked like, they could both assume that there was once a garden befitting royalty there.
They could imagine the many colorful flowers stretching on for sometime. They could almost see the hard working ponies as they tended to the plants, taking great care to make sure the soil was healthy and weedless, with all of their now having gone to waste, providing a home for the dense foliage of an unforgiving forest.
While outside, they began to look around for any sign of importance around them. The commander looked high and low, unable to find a thing. Though the more he thought about it, he realized he was half-expecting to see a large sign posted in front of the ruins that pointed his way home. It didn't help that the Warden's attention was stunted by the overhanging feeling that permeated his senses.
Ever since they had gone into the depths of the forest, the Warden-Commander was unable to shake the overbearing sensation that he was being watched. It wasn't the normal feeling either, it felt more like he was being examined by a gaze that didn't see him as a person, but as a subject to be dissected for information.
Just the sensation alone was a foreign concept to him. Being a Grey Warden, he could sense darkspawn whenever they were nearing him or his friends, it made the paranoia of watching the shadows for lurking monsters an intangible concept to him. Now, he was unable to alleviate himself of the sensation. It forced the commander to shake his head thoroughly, shrugging the feeling away as Twilight's own unfounded concerns getting to him.
The commander took several deep breaths to relax himself. In his own consuming silence, a sudden noise caught his attention. His head jerking toward where he had heard it, his eyes were set on a bird perched atop one of the stone archways of the garden. It was a raven, or at least looked like one. The bird's size was nearly twice that of a typical raven from his world, while its eyes were a pale blue surrounded by a shimmering green.
The raven turned its head to the side, looking down on the Warden from its perch. It was probably curious as to who the new visitor was. The bird had most likely seen many ponies in its time, the commander doubted that it had ever encountered a human before. It almost seemed impossible, but the longer the commander matched the staring contest set by his avian opponent, he could swear he could see the feathered creature grinning at him.
Choosing to forfeit the contest, the Warden-Commander broke away from the raven, waving his hand toward it in an attempt to shoo it away. When the raven stayed where it was, not about to be sent off by the bipedal intruder, the commander turned his back to it and explored the area, never leaving the raven's gaze.
Twilight remained closer to the side of the castle, looking around for anything of importance that she knew wasn't there. It seemed to her that the trip was just a waste of time, she had her doubts that there was anything else that the castle had to offer, now that the Elements were no longer forlorn.
Through her halfhearted examination of the area, the young unicorn's attention was caught as she heard the rustle of leaves nearby. Just a few feet away from her, there was a large assortment of bushes. Their leaves shook and rattled as though being played with by the wind, but it was clear that it was from something moving inside.
Curious, Twilight inched herself closer toward the bushes, trying to see what was inside. As she was just a foot awway from the shaking mass of leaves, there was a loud hiss as a trio of snakes burst out from within, donning black-scaled hides and long, pointed white fangs.
A startled yelp came from the mare as she jumped back, her large eyes growing even wider with fear as the snakes began to slither toward her. Seeing their approach, the fearful unicorn bolted off in the other direction, running as fast as she could.
“Snakes! Snakes!” she cried out in a panic. Even the sounds of her frantic hoofsteps as she galloped with all of her might could not drown out the creatures. Their bodies sliding across the forest floor as they chased after, their sharp hisses that grew steadily louder as they closed the gap between themselves and the retreating librarian.
“Twilight, what's going on?” Commander Cousland shouted, appearing in the lavender mare's path as he heard the cries. Before any form of deduction could be made to see what was taking place, the commander was surprised as Twilight suddenly leaped into the air toward him.
The unicorn latched onto the human's side, keeping herself suspended above the ground, like a frightened cat in a tree. “T-Twilight!” he shouted, feeling the full weight of the mare crashing into him. With the sudden addition of weight, his standing form faltered as he stumbled backward, unable to keep solid footing.
His foot striking what was most certainly a large tree root and nothing else, the commander tripped, causing himself and Twilight to fall down to the ground. Unfortunately for them, the area was a steep slope with no nearby flatland. They both tumbled down the incline, striking the ground and narrowly avoiding the large rocks and trees on the hill in their descent.
At the bottom, where the slope finally ended, the commander struck the ground first. A large pain shot through his body as he landed flat on his back, the hard sheathe he was wearing smashing against his spine. It didn't end there as Twilight came second, landing on top of the downed Warden and crushing his lungs.
Winded, the Warden-Commander gasped for air as both his chest and back throbbed in excruciating pain. As his lungs were replenished with life-sustaining oxygen, his eyes narrowed as he looked up at the sky angrily. “What was that, Twilight?” he asked crossly.
“I-I'm sorry,” the mare quickly said. “I-I'm really afraid of snakes, a-and there were a whole bunch of them chasing me. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to panic.”
The commander's steaming agitation deflated as he received his answer. The scared unicorn's voice was still quivering from her heart-pounding fear, and such a detail was not lost on the Warden. “It's alright,” he groaned in crass sarcasm. “My sword broke my fall. And... I guess I broke your fall.”
“I'm really sorry,” Twilight apologized again, looking the human in the eyes to express how genuine it was. It was then that she really noticed her higher alleviation when compared to him, how she was almost looming over him, their faces just inches apart due their combined positions. She could actually feel his pounding heart, its pace was quickened, no doubt from the tumble they both endured.
“Uh... Twilight,” the commander said.
“Y-yeah?” the mare replied, being broken away from her own inner thoughts.
The Warden-Commander gave a weak smile.“Could you... get off of me, please?”
Twilight then realized that she was indeed still pressing the Warden down with her own body. “I-I'm sorry,” she quickly said, apologizing for the third time as her cheeks flushed for a moment and she scrambled off of the human, allowing him to sit himself up and hear the painful cracking sounds of his bending back.
As Twilight was picking herself up, her leg flinched as she stood up on it. There was a sudden jolt of pain that shot through her body, making the mare release a pained gasp. The sound immediately alerted the nearby Warden, causing his gaze to look down on her with worry.
“Is everything alright?” he asked, eying her closely to see what had happened.
Not wanting to appear a bother to him, the scholar nodded her head and said, “Yeah, I'm-” She cut herself off as she tried putting all four of her hooves firmly on the ground, once again feeling pain course through her limb. “Okay, no... my leg hurts.”
Having noticed it himself, the commander knelt down beside her. “Lie on your side,” he requested, waiting patiently for her. Twilight did as she was told, lying on her side as the Warden held her hind leg.
The limb tensed for a moment at the sudden touch of the human's hands, but Twilight made no protest as he began to rub and press his fingers against her skin, starting at her hoof. The Warden remained silent as he continued up her leg. As he made it halfway, a sudden press at the hock made Twilight flinch and pull her appendage away from him.
“Well, it's not broken,” the commander said. “You've just hurt the muscle a little. Can you put any weight on it?” Twilight got back up on three legs and hesitantly lowered her fourth down flat on the ground. As she attempted to put equal weight on it, her body shuddered and she quickly lifted it, causing her to hiss lightly in pain. Watching her, the commander rubbed his chin in thought. “Hm, well, we can't have you traveling like that.”
Twilight eyed her injured leg herself, feeling it throbbing painfully from her attempts to stand on it. “I could just try and-” she attempted to say, but she froze, voice and all as the Warden wrapped his arms around the mare and lifted her up.
“There we go,” the commander murmured to himself. Twilight's chest was pointed upward while her back was held in the Warden's arms, allowing her injured leg to hang down freely and not be crushed underneath of her. He held her almost like a sleeping human infant, a really large, lavender-coated infant.
“I-I don't think this is necessary,” Twilight murmured, her cheeks blushing a bright red from her strange position.
“Nonsense,” the Warden-Commander replied, “you won't be able to get around easily on that leg. You don't have to worry about anything, I wear a heavy suit of armor, I won't have a problem carrying you.” With his determination set on being the unicorn's legs for a time, Twilight found herself unable to argue.
With the Warden-Commander providing the mobility, Twilight provided the direction as the two made their way through the forest to reach Ponyville. It proved difficult at times, having to make it out of the area they had tumbled into, as well as the Warden's limited speed with the extra weight he carried. There was never any sense of being lost or stranded between them. They both stayed positive and were eager to make it back to Ponyville to relax.
“I suppose there's some cruel irony in this,” Twilight said as they traversed through the forest. As her Grey Warden chauffeur eyed her curiously, she continued. “I was worried that you'd get yourself hurt out here, then I'm the one who gets injured.”
The commander chuckled in amusement, a large smile etched onto his face. “Don't beat yourself up about it,” he replied. “You know, it's always a joke amongst us Grey Wardens and the new recruits, who always think becoming one of us will mean they'll always be aiding lovely damsels in distress. Truthfully, we spend most of our time fighting hideous creatures and nearly getting ourselves killed as a result.” Another chuckle left him. “This is a welcome change of pace from fighting hideous creatures.”
Though Twilight would have never thought of herself in such a way, she then became curious if that was how the Warden actually thought. It was just one more thing to bother her mind as she stayed in the strange position of being cradled by the human. She couldn't say she hated it, but it was still a very strange experience.
It wasn't as though she was always being carried by humans, or even carried at all for that matter. Now, all she could think about was how she was in his strong arms, without nary a worry to be had. There was an overwhelming feeling of safety from it, just lying in his grasp filled her with a sense of protection that she never knew of. She felt as though all of the evils of the world could came after them now and no harm would ever befall her.
Almost to her dismay, such a feeling had to come to an end as the commander stopped walking, his gaze turning skyward as the light penetrating through the thick canopy above them began to dwindle. The shadows of the trees were beginning to dissipate, leaving behind pure darkness that would consume the entirety of the forest. Soon enough, it would be too dark to see past their own noses, and the nocturnal denizens of the forest would come out of hiding.
“Let's make a camp for the night,” the commander said, knowing they would never make it through in their current state. “We can get back to Ponyville in the morning.”
In the middle of the night, Twilight quietly woke from her sleep. Barely lifting her head, the unicorn's gaze looked about the small clearing that they had made their camp in.
A crackling fire burned several feet away, one that provided them with a small amount of warmth and light to fight against the cold darkness of night. The small pile of leaves left underneath of her injured leg was still here, keeping it off of the hard ground. Everything was as it was before she had fallen into a deep sleep. But just as she made that claim, she realized it was not true. There was something different, something that had changed.
It soon came to her as she felt a soft fabric covering her body. It almost felt like a blanket at first, but as her drowsy eyes peered through the darkness to examine it, she noticed the two sleeves protruding from the sides. It was a shirt, having thick padding on the inside, providing a soft cushion to protect the body from the metal armor that was worn over it. As it came to her where the shirt had come from, Twilight's eyes darted toward the one person who was with her in the camp.
The Warden-Commander wasn't too far away. He was sitting down cross-legged next to the warm fire. Within the light of the dancing flames, she could see that his chest was bare, his hairless flesh exposed to the elements. It was also clear to her that he wasn't sleeping, his open eyes could be seen, catching the flames that they were staring into. The sword that he wore was unsheathed, the blade lying across his lap while he kept one hand gripped tightly around the hilt.
Things were quiet, still, with the only sound being made was the crackling pops of the campfire. Even as the trees began to rustle, a cold wind being blown through the trees, the commander did not falter in his silent vigil, keeping his eyes open and his wits sharpened for anything.
Even Twilight was unaffected by the chilling air that passed her by. The lavender mare's entire body felt warm, burning away any freezing sensation on her, but it was not due to the pseudo-blanket that was draped over her.