//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Awkward Introductions part 1 // Story: A Hermit With A Heart // by Robobrony //------------------------------// A Hermit With A Heart Chapter 2: Awkward Introductions Part 1 Twilight groaned as she felt her entire body wracked with pain, not to mention the major headache she was suffering from. She just wanted nothing more than to rest a bit longer until she felt better, but there was a light shining in her face that kept her from it. So she slowly opened her eyes to see what the light was. When she finally got them open, she was stunned to find that she was in unfamiliar surroundings. Suddenly it all came back to her. The forest, the strange cloaked pony, and the manticores ready to eat her. As Twilight began to wonder who saved her she also took in her surroundings. The bed she lay in was big with four wooden posts on each corner that appeared to be holding up a kind of roof over the bed. The covers she was under were thick and cozy with a red and green checkerboard pattern. The bed felt so comfortable, she could fall asleep again right then and there, but there was so much going on that she had to find out what happened. She looked around the room some more to see where she was. To her right, there were shelves of books covering the walls and a wooden door with a gold door handle. She looked to the front of the room only to see more shelves of books and a fireplace. Next to that there was a large window where the light that woke her up came from that seemed to lead out to a stone balcony. And to her left, she saw two large wooden double doors also with golden doorknobs, and more bookshelves filled with books lining the rest of that wall as well. Finally Twilight’s eyes came to rest at a small table right next to the bed she was in with a plate with what looked like a daffodil and daisy sandwich and a glass of water. Twilight’s stomach began to rumble at the sight of it as she realized that with everything that happened, she missed lunch. She did hesitate though, not sure if the sandwich was for her or not. Before Twilight could decide on the matter, one of the double doors opened up and in walked a pony in a blue cloak covering his entire form except for his nose, legs, and tail which was the same shade of blue as his cloak.Twilight immediately recognized him as the stallion she met in the forest that was trying to uproot the pink flower earlier. When he walked in, he turned to her and said, “Glad to see your finally awake. You were hurt pretty bad there. You’re lucky I came along when I did or you would be dead meat. I see you haven’t eaten yet, you’ll need your strength if you want to get better.” Twilight was confused as to why this pony saved her when he clearly didn’t seem like the type to care, but she was grateful nonetheless for his help. Before eating, she had to know what happened, so she asked. “What happened in the forest, last I remember I was trapped by three manticores ready to kill me.” The stallion realized she wasn’t going to eat until he could put her mind at ease, so he told her how he ended up saving her. Flash back: The pony in the cloak went on his way to find more plants for his collection after the strange encounter he just had with the purple unicorn. Thinking no pony could be trust worthy, he couldn’t help but wonder why that pony was so helpful. As he made his way through the forest collecting plants he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about that pony he met. Why did she seem so nice? Why did she help him with the plant he had trouble with? No matter what he did or how hard he tried, he just couldn’t stop thinking about her. Once he was satisfied with the plants he collected, he decided it was time to head home for the day. But before he left, he heard a loud scream from a distance. He wanted to ignore it but something inside him told him to check it out. So against his better judgment, he followed the source of the scream only to find that it was that same pony he ran into today, ready to be ripped apart by three manticores. "Well, aren't you going to save her?" A voice exactly like his asked from the side. He looked to his side and saw a shadow version of himself standing there next to him. “Why should I?” He asked his doppleganger. “Because she helped you when she saw you needed help.” The shadow double responded. “Fine, I’ll save her. Besides, no matter how untrustworthy ponies are, no pony deserves to be manticore chow.” By the time he came to this decision, Twilight had been struck by the lead manticore and knocked into the rock face behind her. He lept into the fray and placed himself between Twilight and the three massive beasts. He took a defensive stance and let loose with a large magic bolt to the ground in front of the manticores, hoping to scare them away. Unfortunatley, that didn’t work. The lead manticore leapt into the air towards the pony, he focused his magic and fired another black bolt at the manticore, striking it in mid air and sent it flying backwards into a tree, knocking it out. The other two manticores weren’t about to give up a free meal, so they charged at the pony together. He knew he wouldn’t be able to blast both of them in time, so he focused his magic again and lifted the two manticores into the air, he then caused them to slam their heads together and spun them around like two tornadoes until they were very dizzy and sent them flying over the trees. Then he turned his attention to the first manticore who was just now getting up, he did the same thing to the first manticore and sent it flying over the trees behind the other two. With the beasts gone, he turned to the injured pony who was now unconscious and bleeding badly through three massive gashes along her side. He knew if he didn’t do something soon she would bleed to death. So he formed a black shadowy hole under himself and her and disappeared into it, only to reappear in the same manner back at his house, he cleaned and treated her wounds, and put her in the bed to rest. End Flashback As he was telling the story, Twilight let her hunger get the better of her and ate the sandwhich next to her. The pony was somewhat glad she found her apetite while he was telling the story, but wondered if she was even listening while she ate. He was sure to leave out the part about how he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about her after their initial meeting, and the part about his shadow double. “Wow, I can’t believe you were able to take on three manticores at once. You must be very gifted in magic. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you saved me. Thank you so much.” Twilight said almost crying at the fact she almost died but was saved by a pony she thought would never do such a thing for her with the way he seemed to act before. “So, how long will it take for my injuries to heal? I’ll be able to go home, right?” The hermit did not like the answer he would have to give because it meant he would have a house guest for a few days. “I’m afraid you’ll have to stay here while your injuries heal so I can keep an eye on you. I took responsibility for you when I saved you, so like it or not, you’re stuck here until your better.” He said with a bit of annyonce in his voice. Twilight was grateful to him for saving her but she wasn’t sure what to make of the fact that she was stuck in some stranger’s house until she was healed. Then it hit her. Spike. She told him she would be home after 12, and now that she was stuck here with no way to tell him, he would definitely worry about her and she was worried about him being left alone. She was also concerned that her friends would worry about her too. “How long was I unconciouse for?” She asked. “About three hours. It’s three in the afternoon.” He informed her. That sent Twilight into panic mode, but she had to keep her cool in front of her savior lest she offend him. She did the only thing she could think of and ask for his help one more time. “Um, sir?” She was about to say something when he cut her off. “If you’re going to be here for a while, then you might as well learn my name, it’s Nightshade.” Glad she could finally put a name to her hero, Twilight continued with her request. “I know you’ve done so much for me already, and I’m very grateful for it, but could I ask one more favor of you please?” Feeling somewhat annoyed by this, he figured that she was now his responsibility so he decided to hear her out, so he asked with some annoyance in his voice, “Fine, what is it?” “Could you possibly go to Ponyville and inform my friends about what happened to me? I just know they will be very worried about me.” Now this was a request he wasn’t sure he could fulfill as he didn’t trust other ponies, thus the thought of having to go into a town really scared him. But when he looked into those sad, purple eyes of his charge, something inside him wouldn’t let him say no. “Alright, alright, I’ll tell your friends about this, just please stop looking at me with those sad eyes.” Feeling relieved that her friends at least would get some piece of mind that she was ok she couldn’t help but give Nightshade a big thank you smile. She could see a frown on his muzzle though. Before he left, he would need to be informed as to who her friends were and what they looked like, so he asked a question he never thought he would have too. “Who are your friends and what do they look like?”