One week had passed and it wasn’t very ideal for Celendros’s situation. He hated being stuck in one place unable to do anything. The princess hadn’t responded to Twilight’s letter yet, which was rather odd according to Twilight. But all Celendros could do was wait and do what he could to speed up the healing process with the small sliver of his connection to nature he had.
Twilight walked through the front door and smiled at Celendros. “You seem to be doing a lot better than last week,” She noted out loud as she walked toward the small coffee table in front of the couch.
“Yes, I’m more mobile than I used to be. Your magic has been helping much with the pain. Not so much in the speed, but it’s definitely helping,” Celendros told her while he adjusted himself on the couch. “In a while I was going to try moving around some. To see if my arm could handle it.”
Twilight nodded, sitting down on an armchair beside the couch. “Well if you need anything, anything at all please feel free to let me know,” She said, smiling sweetly. She bit her lip slightly. She had been waiting and waiting to ask him all sorts of questions but just never got around to it.
“Thank you, but I should be able to handle it by myself. Though if you hear any screaming... I’ll be on the floor,” Celendros said, afterward he chuckled at the weak joke. “How has your day been?” He asked. He had nothing better to do so he asked anyways. Perhaps it’ll help pass the day some.
“Well, to be quite frank it’s been very stressful,” Twilight said with a sigh. “I actually have been meaning to ask you a few questions.” She said with a sheepish smile.
“More?” Celendros disappointingly asked. He was tired of all the questions for the past week. “How about we forget about the questions. And if something comes up in conversation, you’ll learn that way,” He suggested.
Her ears folded down, she looked slightly sad. “Well... I suppose so...” She said with a disappointed tone in her voice. Twilight stood up and smiled. “But I suppose it’s for the best, I mean I do ask quite a lot of questions.” She giggled slightly.
“Sorry if you’re put down. I’m a quiet person myself,” Celendros told her. “Well, I suppose it’s time to try to get up,” He said, sighing in the process. He slowly got up in the couch and groaned. He’d been laying down for so long, his body was mildly sore. The only time he really got up was when he needed to use the bathroom. His arm hurt slightly, but not enough to hinder anything. So because of this, he stood up slowly and stretched his back. “So far so good...” He said weakly.
Twilight had a notebook out and was writing in notes about this phenomenon with her magic. She walked beside the fairly large human trying to make sure he wouldn't get hurt terribly if he fell. “I... Don’t know how much I would be able to do if you fall, to be fairly honest,” She said, keeping a close eye on him.
He took a couple steps and groaned, his back kind of hurt from the sudden movement. But his arm was fairly decent in levels of pain. “Well, it’s not too bad so far. Maybe if we could get it a sling, I’d be able to be mobile,” He said. “And maybe, I could start working on my magic.”
Twilight nodded and put the book and pen down. “I will be right back!” She said as she raced upstairs. She started to go through the bathroom closet trying to find the first-aid kit. Once she had found it, she took it by the handle between her teeth and trotted downstairs. “There... should be everything we need in here to craft you a sling,” She said, going through the box and levitating the necessary supplies out of the kit with her magic.
“How odd...” Celendros commented. “Where I’m from, all we had for first aid was rubbing alcohol, bandages, and some stitches. Mainly because of how low the rationing of medical care was in the Pianlut Highlands. Gavun kept most supplies for Shadus,” He explained while he watched her work with her magic. It was quite amazing in his eyes, how a single horn could be something so diverse and nimble.
Twilight shivered at the mention of Gavun. ”This Gavun... I don’t like the sounds of him. How exactly could the poni- I mean your people exactly let him do all these terrible, terrible things?” She questioned out loud.
“They didn’t have a choice. It was either obey or die. I was the only thing we had to call a revolution, and even then I failed. But now as soon as my arm heals, I’m leaving to go fix everything,” He said. He felt slightly bad since he couldn’t beat Gavun back on Socobeck. But he knew this was what fate had planned. “As... wonderful as it is here. I can’t stay,” He hesitated slightly because he actually hated it in the library.
Twilight spoke as she dressed his arm in the sling and bandage. “But...” She shook her head. “Would it be possible for you to take me with you?” She questioned him. That wasn’t exactly meant to come out.
“It’s too dangerous, you’d be just another thing for me to protect. Sorry, but if someone were to join me in this... they’d need to have combat experience,” Celendros reluctantly told her. He didn’t like having to let someone down like that, but he didn’t like having to save someone all the time either. “I enjoy your company, I really do. But I’d be really sad were you to get hurt because of something I caused.”
Twilight shook her head. “Oh no please, I understand. I’m not exactly the fighting type... I’d probably just weigh you down anyways,” As she said this she finished the sling packing up the rest of the first-aid kit and she walked into the kitchen. She put it on the counter while grabbing a plate of cookies and brought them out to the library. “Would you like a cookie?” She asked, setting the tray down on the table. Twilight wasn’t the best baker in Equestria, the cookies were burnt and hard as a rock.
“... Cookies?” Celendros asked. They didn’t have treats such as cookies on Socobeck. “I’ve not heard of such a treat,” he said.
At the mention of cookies, seemingly out of nowhere a excitable pink pony appeared in front of the man “Did you say cookies?!” She giggled hopping up and down.
“Ah!” Celendros yelped and jumped backward, he barrel-rolled in the air and threw his good hand out, nothing but a small puff of smoke came from his hand. He landed behind the couch with a loud thud and knocked over a couple books from the shelves behind him. He let out a “Argh!” He almost landed on his hurt arm but managed to recover. He was slightly embarrassed at the feeble attempt at magic, but it was a reflex.
The pony cocked her head “Oh! are you a magician?! I can do tricks too!” As she said this she pulled a top hat out and pulled a toothless baby alligator out of it “Tada!” She looked around and walked over to the man “I’m Pinkie Pie!” She giggled and offered a hoof to help him up.
“I’m Celendros,” ‘Cel introduced himself as he stood up. He didn’t take her hoof because he knew his weight would be too much for her. “I’d clap in appreciation of your trick... but I only have one working hand. As for me being a magician... technically, I am one.”
Pinkie giggled again. “Well, as I like to say, a broken hoof is a bad hoof!” She said.
Twilight raised a brow “When do you say that Pinkie? And what exactly brought you here?” She always had so many questions for this strange mare.
She looked to Twilight. “Duh silly! I came here to meet the new pony in town! also because I wanted to ask you something...” She whispered in Twilight’s ear giggling as she nodded.
“I’ll be outside if you two need me. I’m going to get some blood pumping through me. Sitting on that couch has been affecting my health negatively,” Celendros said while he pointed toward the front door. He headed outside and shut the door with his good arm.
Twilight waved as he left before looking back to Pinkie “Pinkie... I’m not exactly sure he is the type for a party,” the lavender mare said doubtfully.
Pinkie hopped up and down squealing with joy “Don’t be silly Twilight! Everypony loves a good party, and I throw the best ones for new ponies!” she said happily as she took one of Twilight’s cookies and put it in her mouth, she bit down hard. There was a loud crunch noise and Pinkie’s face turned a tinge of pale green. Rushing over to a trash can she spat out the contents of her mouth. “Um...Twi... Try using just a teensy bit more sugar next time.”
Celendros examined his good hand, he tested his abilities with the elements. So far they’re pretty pathetic, even an apprentice could do more. All he could do was hold a tiny flame in his hand, create a light breeze like someone was breathing on another, manipulate a small amount of water, and cause some pebbles to turn over. “Damn!” he let out in frustration. He needed to figure out how to strengthen the connection. For at the time, he was useless as a Shaman.
The ponies inside of the town seemed to not pay any attention to him at the moment, the populace was already alerted of his presence and paid no heed to him. Other than a purple maned mare who gasped at him “Darling! What exactly is that you are wearing?”
It was strange, she judged the appearance of his clothing rather than his physical form. She didn’t seem phased at all by what he was. Celendros turned his attention to the mare and raised a brow at her sudden appearance. “My apologies. My apparel is in such bad shape because of the last battle I was in put them in this condition.” he explained to her while brushing off some dust he’d accumulated from the couch.
The mare shook her head. “Oh how horrendous! Well... if you wish to have your... attire looked at just stop by my shop anytime! I’m Rarity by the way.” she said happily to him while she looked over Cel’s tattered clothing.
“Uh, yes I’m Celendros, pleasure to meet you. My apologies, I would love to speak with you further, but I’m currently in the middle of something. Perhaps we could speak later?”
“Oh that would be splendid! I suppose I should go too, I have some errands to run. Ta-ta!” he waved goodbye to him with her hoof and trotted off to do her business.
“She was... different from what I’ve seen here of the ponies. She talked like a noble of the south back on Socobeck, and didn’t even flinch at the fact of the difference in race...” Celendros thought out loud. He grunted as he felt a sudden sharp pain on his hurt arm. Turns out a bug had just come and bit him. It didn’t seem serious, but the bite quickly turned red. “Now I’m going to have to deal with this all day...”
Back inside the library, a familiar baby dragon started yelling running down the stairs. “Twi! Twi! A letter from the princess!” he said happily before tripping on the last two steps, making a slight yelp before being caught by Twilight’s magic.
“Spike, please remember not to run around the library.” Twilight scolded before she walked over and took the letter with her magic over to the door, opening it and cleared her throat “Celendros, The princess has finally responded.” She said offering the letter to him.
“Good, we’ve had to wait long enough.” Celendros said, giving a tone of annoyance. He took the letter and read it thoroughly.
“Dear Twilight, Thank you for bringing this to my attention and I apologize for not responding sooner. I would like to meet this Celendros as I have also had reports of another group of humans coming in from near the Everfree Forest. I have made arrangements for a train ride to Canterlot for him. Again thank you for letting me know of this strange phenomenon.
Princess Celestia.”
“Uh oh...” Celendros said with a frown on his face. “Twilight, pack your things. We need to leave for this "Canterlot" to talk to your princess.” he said while he quickly walked back into the library.
Twilight followed. “R-really? I get to come?” She sound a bit confused but levitated a saddlebag over packing it with the necessary supplies for the trip, for her at least. This would include: Papers, Quills, Inkwells and some cookies and other food items.
“Yes, because I need a guide to tell me where to go. Or else I’ll get lost. That and I’ve no idea the way you ponies work socially.” Celendros explained to her. He wanted to go alone but he had to face the facts. He took a glass of water and used it to fill his water flask. Afterward he’d head outside and look around for the train station. He wanted to get there early just to be sure.
Twilight called out as she shut the door “Spike! Watch the library,” She chased after Celendros “W-wait up!,” She said, catching up to him. “The train doesn’t come for another...two hours!”
“Plenty of time to meditate and practice my martial training then.” ‘Cel told her with a smirk on his face as he walked.
Twilight paused for a moment before speaking “What... exactly does meditation do for you? Your species that is.” She asked curiously pulling out the infamous notepad again.
Celendros sighed and decided to humor her. “It clears the mind to assist in our focus, as well as calm the body. Plus it’s a great way to pass the time.”
She jotted this down and placed the notepad back in her bag “So essentially the same thing that we ponies use it for.” She thought out loud with a smile. “You know, talking to you is such a treat! It’s like being in magic school all over again, I get to learn about new and exciting things that... I’ve never even heard of before!”
“Glad I could be such a wonder. When I went to the circle to learn how to be a shaman, I never found it to be so fun. In fact it was entirely boring and slightly painful.” Celendros said, remembering his first days in becoming a shaman. The days of getting burnt by fire and hit by rocks... good times, he remembered them fondly.
She had the notepad out again. “So what exactly do you do as a Shaman? Make fires and throw rocks?” She was extremely curious about this topic that was ever so rarely talked about.
“We’ll talk about that at a later date. For now I need to practice my combat skills when we get there.” he told her. He really didn’t need to, but he didn’t like talking about being a shaman. After being hunted for so long about what you are, it tends to become an enemy in itself.
Twilight nodded and slowly approached the station steps walking up them carefully, she didn’t want to drop any of her stuff. She sat down and exhaled. “So, do you have any family?” She had always thought of this but never bothered to ask. “Or do humans not have families?” Twilight wasn’t meaning to be rude, she was just very naive as to what she just asked.
“A sister... and a nephew.” he reluctantly said. He’d pushed them out of his mind for the past week, but the question just brought the memories and guilt back. He slightly hung his head but did his best to keep his composure.
Just as she finished taking this down she looked up and gave a little gasp “Oh shoot! I’m sorry if that was a touchy subject, sometimes my curiosity gets the best of me...” She also hung her head, feeling really guilty for what she had just done.
“It’s fine, you couldn’t have known. Just... I’m not ready to talk about it yet.” Celendros shook his head and regained his usual stern presence.
She perked up a bit “Well, if you say so. You said earlier you didn’t know what a cookie was?” she stated having just remembered that he asked what it was. “Well it is this type of desert that you make out of dough and whatever you feel like the cookie should have in it.” She smiled and nodded having not the slightest clue about what she just implied.
“... So you could make an ale cookie?” Celendros asked with his own form of curiosity on his face now.
“Well... that I’m not sure of, but if you were to somehow make ale into a solid state I’m sure it would be possible!” she giggled a bit. “What I mean is that anything solid, like chocolate chips or gumdrops, raisins. You know, those things.”
“Apparently I don’t.” Cel remarked. He’d never heard of those things before. They sounded... strange.
“Well, I’m sure you will encounter them while you are here in Equestria.” She reassured him before sighing. “I didn’t get much sleep last night, Spike had a bad dream and started fidgeting... crawled into my bed.” she said sadly.
“Yes, I could hear him talking in his sleep from the couch. He said something about evil rabbits if I remember correctly.” Celendros chuckled as he said this.
Twilight shook her head with a sigh. “He is quite silly...” She giggled, opening a book flipping through it. “You know, I’ve looked up on several teleportation spells, just to get an idea about how much magic it would take to send you back to your home,” She sighed putting a hoof to her head “The amount of magic needed for such a spell... It isn’t even a fathomable idea.” She closed the book placing it back into her saddlebag.
“Don’t worry about me. Besides, I don’t want to leave anyways.” Celendros told her as he got more relaxed in the tiny chair he was sitting in. “As long as Gavun is here, I don’t want to leave until my business is done. Besides, I have to be here anyways.”
Twilight nodded with a grin “Well, you are welcome in Ponyville whenever you feel like coming back,” She readjusted herself before resting her head on his lap closing her eyes drifting off to a nap.
‘... Damn it...’ Celendros thought, now that she’s napping on his lap, he can’t go practice his martial skills. He contemplated for a few minutes on what to do to pass the time. He inspected his good arm because he forgot to test one element... He flicked his wrist and lightning flashed out of it. He jumped in surprise and fell out of his seat. “Ow damn it!” he screamed in extreme pain since he landed on his hurt arm.
She yelped, rolling off the the chair landing on her flank. “What in the name of Celestia was that?!” She look around slightly curious but shaking from the sudden noise.
Celendros grunted heavily in reply. He was too busy writhing in pain. He held his arm that fell out of the sling and attempted to get up as best he could. He heard the question but he wanted to keep his ability hidden, it could prove useful later so he lied, “I heard a noise and I jumped, argh... you know the rest.” He thought it was pretty smooth so he went with it.
She stood up and shook her head waking herself up, using her magic to place the arm back into the sling “Scared me...” She yawned sitting back in the seat. “So, what exactly do your skills entail?” She questioned him, the notepad was out again.
“What skills?” Cel asked. If she asked about melee combat, he’d answer. But if it was shamanistic skills. He’d have to find a way out of it.
“Like, can you cook? Are you good with pets?” She started to listing off a bunch of different basic skills that most ponies would have.
Celendros mentally thanked the Great Mother and answered the question. “I’m an okay cook. Enough for me to survive off the land and cook the meat I’d obtain from a kill. As for pets, I used to be befo-... before I didn’t have time for them.” he had to stop himself mid-sentence and change it.
“Well that is such a shame, animals are such nice crea-” She stopped mid-sentence and cocked her head at him. “I’m sorry, did I hear you right? You KILL and eat animals?!” Twilight seemed like she was confused and slightly afraid “Are... you... going to eat....me?” She asked, curling into a ball.
“Yes, where I’m from, we eat animals. But only when we need to. On Socobeck, if we didn’t eat animals, the world would become overpopulated with animals. So by the natural way of things us humans assist the carnivores in eating meat, thus is why the Great Mother created us as omnivores. Because of this though, if an animal were to be sentient, such as you, we wouldn’t eat it because it would be just as bad as eating a person.” Celendros explained it to her as best as he could, while trying to reassure her. But he was never good at cheering someone up unless that involved killing or fighting something. So it is usually a large vicious circle with Cel.
Twilight exhaled in relief. “Phew, for second I thought you might have gotten hungry,” She smiled and giggled before stopping for a moment. “What exactly is this... Great Mother?” She questioned curiously
Celendros sighed, knowing he couldn’t explain this one. “It’s something that you have to experience, in order to understand it,” he told her. He wasn’t lying either. The people of Socobeck know nothing of the Great Mother, only the Shamans knew of Her.
She nodded slowly putting the notepad away “Another one of your foreign mysteries I suppose...” She sat back saying in a sad tone. “I wonder when the train arrives...”
“Should be in about an hour or so.” Celendros deduced. “When you have to survive in the wild as much as I have. You need to learn how to keep track of time without having something to tell you what time it is.”
The mare nodded again resting her head on her hooves. “I suppose I could take a small nap within that time frame.” She closed her eyes slowly and snored lightly, it was actually quite cute.
Celendros sighed in slight relief. He got up and made sure no one was paying attention to what he was doing. After he confirmed this. He got into a low stance and began practicing his combat skills. Luckily this training involved learning how to compensate for a lack of certain limbs. To everyone but him, it would seem like silly dancing. But to him, it was a deadly art... and it was.
An hour later.
Twilight awoke to the sound of a train whistle. She gasped “The train is here!” She said excitedly, getting out of the set trotting onto the train.
Celendros stopped in the middle of his practice as the train arrived. He followed her inside. He’d never seen a train like this, but it was similar to the railed cars they had on Socobeck.
She sat near a window and looked out of it, sighing. “You know, trains have always interested me.” she said to no one in particular. “They go so fast... much better than walking to Canterlot.” she nodded looking to Cel. “Did they have trains on Socobeck?”
“Not like this...” Celendros said. He had his arm on one of the walls of the train, struggling to keep his balance. This was new to him, and he didn’t like it. “I think I’ll stand...” he said shakily. And of course once the train started moving. He nearly fell over.
Twilight giggled at this and placed a map on the table in front of her “This is a map of Equestria, take it. It will help you get around.” She smiled as she slid the map to the end of the table beside him.
He leaned down on one of the seats, and took the map. “Thank you. With this I won’t have to do nearly as much looking up or down on my trip,” he jokingly said. The map wasn’t a necessity, but it will help him quite a bit.
She nodded happily. “Anything for a friend.” she smiled and made a squeak noise before returning to look out the window. “There... is one thing you should know before speaking with the Princess, try not to get up in her face and yell, not... a good idea.” she looked at him with a serious face.
“I’ll do whatever I feel is necessary around your princess. If that involves yelling, then so be it. I’m not afraid to get hurt. This wound on my arm proves it.” he sternly said to her while moving his bad arm for emphasis. Celendros always had a problem with being told what to do, whether it be a warning or a command. Mainly because he had to deal with it all his life, and it never worked out for him in the end.
Twilight nodded slowly. “Well, the Princess is a very kind and caring pony. So long as you don’t threaten her or anypony.” She tried to reassure. “You never did mention how exactly your arm came to be that way.” she said curiously.
“A strange wolf creature made entirely of... wood, attacked me in the forest. I had to use my arm to protect my neck from its jaw. I killed it in the end... but it nearly killed me as well,” he explained to her. He didn’t want to add the gory details.
“Oh, Timber wolves!” She shook her head “Such nuisances, but what can you expect from entering the Everfree Forest? Such a twisted, scary place...” She got a bit goosebumps and shook a bit at the thought of the Everfree.
“Huh... it seemed just like your average dark forest to me. In fact it reminded me greatly of home.” Celendros reminisced fondly. He wasn’t fully sure if all woods were like that on Socobeck or Equestria. He traveled all around the world of Socobeck all the time, but he hasn’t seen everything there for sure.
Twilight stared at him, slightly confused. “You mean, no pony controls the weather? At all?” She was very much confused but sighed “Of course, you don’t have Pegasi, silly me.” she facehooved and giggled.
“Yes, the Great Mother set up a near perfect system for how everything in nature works. Though us humans do need to tend to the land and environment, but not nearly as much as ponies do from what you’ve told me.” Cel chuckled lightly and finally decided to sit down on the seat in front of her.
She took the notepad out again and began to write with her magic. “So, this would mean the Great Mother is some sort of Creator of worlds?” she questioned again. Man she was pushing him for answers.
“Close, but no banana.” Cel said and chuckling slightly at her lack of understanding. He hadn’t used that saying in a long time. As it was one from the days of him as a child. Since then, the saying was out dated on Socobeck. “I told you, it’s something you have to experience in order to understand it. Only a shaman can do that.”
Twilight groaned hit her head on the table with a sigh “Well this is going to bug me for the entirety of my life...” She joked.
“Well... maybe, though the chance is zero to none, you will be able to come with me to my world. But I doubt that that will ever happen, considering how dangerous everything is there.” ‘Cel sighed slightly, almost wishing it could happen. He’d taken a liking to Twilight. He was really enjoying their friendship so far in the past week. It was years since he had a friend to talk to.
Twilight began to speak but got sidetracked at the fact that there were screams coming from the next box. She peered through the window and gasped. “Celendros! M-more humans, and they are terrorizing innocent ponies!”
“Well what do you expect me to do about it?!” he said as he stood up and walked over to peek through the window. He cared about what was going on, but given the situation with his arm. It wouldn’t be healthy to do that much movement, not to mention he’d risk the chance of the arm getting worse.
“I don’t know! But they pointed at you and are coming in here!” She shook and hid under the nearest table.
The boxcar door was kicked open and in stepped several laughing humans who had faces only a mother could love. The largest of the five men stepped into Cel’s face “Well well well, lookie wha’ we found ‘ere boys! Runaway prisoner, you know the king had us out here to scout the area, but this is even better! We get to bring him you.” The man then cocked his fist back and tried to punch the shaman square in the face. This man was also wearing a metal gauntlet, it would hurt greatly if it connected.
Celendros ducked down and twisted his body to the left, his back hit the torso of the man and the fist passed over him. Just as they connected he sent his good arm up and smacked his elbow into the man’s face. Afterward he’d take a step back and shake his bad arm a little bit, it was going to be sore later...
The man growled loudly as he held his bleeding face and stumbled back looking at his men, “DON’T JUST STAND THERE YOU BUMBLING FOOLS! GET HIM!” Two of the men charged at him, one with a dagger and another with brass knuckles. The one with the dagger jumped onto the table and tried to thrust downwards into his back while the other guy tried giving him a good shot to the gut.
Celendros spun to the right and bent his right arm down, at the start of the turn his smashed his elbow into the side of the man’s face. Causing in turn the man’s head to hit a metal pole to Cel’s left. Afterward he’d deflect the incoming fist with his knee and kick the man in his other knee with the same knee.
The two men having just gotten the crap kicked out of them lay on the ground and over a seat, groaning. The other two look nervously at him, and then scream charging at him. One had a battle-axe and swung it down horizontally towards him. Twilight shrieked loudly, kicking at the other one who had managed to grab a hold of her tail.
Cel heard the scream and quickly decided to end this. He leaned to the left and grabbed the axe-hand of the man attacking him. He pulled it down and send his knee up, smashing it right into the socket of his shoulder, the loud snap could be heard throughout the car as the joint popped from its socket and his opponent screamed in pain because of this. Afterward he’d step over the fallen man and kick the one going for Twilight in his ribs. Then, he sent his hand forward and a steady stream of forked lightning burst from it and electrocuted the man until he couldn’t move any more. The loud bang of thunder crashed through the train, doing no damage but mildly hurting the ears of everyone inside.
The thug twitched as he hit the ground and sizzled. Twilight sobbed softly under the table. Conveniently the train stopped, just as it did a group of heavily armored stallions marched on board and yelled out, “You there! Come peacefully or we shall use force!” Four of them walked behind him and began to place each of the thugs into magic bubbles that followed them as they walked off the train. All that remained was the head guard and two others.
Celendros groaned in frustration. “I know the drill...” he told the guards and followed the guards wherever they would take him. Besides, he could just escape in a few hours anyways.
Twilight crawled out from under the table and yelled “No! Don’t take him! He was the one who saved us!” But it was useless, the guards were already on their way towards the castle.
All ‘Cel could do was comply. He contemplated using force and violence to escape, but that would not bode well for his image and reputation among the ponies.
The guards lead him into the elegant looking castle, they came upon a door with a guard stationed by it. He saluted and opened the door that lead down into darkness. The stallion that was leading Cel motioned towards a cell with a open barred door. “Get in.”
“No need to be so rude.” Celendros remarked as he walked inside. He took a seat on the stone cold floor and leaned against the wall. “Now away with you guards, I need time to think.” he jokingly commanded them.
The three guards grunted, and walked opposite ways. But not before locking the door. He was left with only the glow of a torch on the opposite wall and the moans and groans of the other prisoners.
Celendros sighed, but enjoyed the time to himself. He waited for two hours in the dungeon, planning on what he would do next and what to do with Gavun. Clearly he has found a way to either summon people from Socobeck, or travel back and forth... this was bad. Really bad. But for now, he needed to get out of here. But before he could start thinking of that, someone approached his cell.
A familiar voice was heard from the outside of the cell, though no visible features could be seen, the voice was a dead give away. “Celendros? Are you alright?” The voice of Twilight spoke. “Don’t worry, I’m working on getting you out, I just need to talk to Celestia when she is free.” She seemed quite worried for him.
“I’m fine. Take your time, all this time to think is wonderful.” Celendros reassured her. Meanwhile he rubbed some of the dust and dirt off of his nearly destroyed cloak.
“Well, if you say so, Thank you very much for saving me. By the way. That was a very scary experience and I don’t wish to have it again...” She said as she hugged him through the bars.
“Hopefully, you won’t. But with me, there’s a good chance of it happening again. Back home I faced this almost weekly. With Gavun’s men constantly at my back you should get used to it. Hopefully next time my arm will be healed enough to fight. I had to resort to magic in order to finish the last guy off.” Cel said with a sigh after he hugged Twilight back.
“Huh, so that is shaman magic... Interesting. Well, I’m going to see if I can talk to the Princess... I’ll be back later.” She nodded to try and reassure him.
“I’ll be here, of course.” Cel said in goodbye to Twilight. He leaned back on the wall and closed his eyes. He needed some sleep.
She trotted up the stairs, the door shut behind her. Just then coughing was heard from the cell next to him “You won’t stop the king... He is too strong for you.” the large man wheezed.
“Oh I don’t plan to stop him. I’m just going to shove my boot so far up his butt... his nose will bleed,” Celendros said. He was just messing with the guy, he had nothing better to do.
The man spat towards Cel, possibly getting some on his boot. “Long... Live...The King.” These were his last words before he passed out from the pain.
“Thanks for the shoe shine bud...” Celendros said to the unconscious thug.
About a day later, Twilight came back down into the dungeon with a guard. He proceeded to unlock the door and step aside. “You are free to go.”
A snore sounded from the back of the cell. Celendros had fallen asleep about an hour before they arrived. To most he’d look like a filthy bum by now. His beard was unkempt and dirty, cloak torn and tattered, and he was sleeping on the floor.
Twilight entered the cell and cautiously poked his face with her hoof “Cel... endros?” she called out timidly.
He sorted and opened his eyes. “Huh... what?” he said. Clearly he was confused slightly.
She giggled. “You can leave the cell now, I’ve spoken with the guard and they agreed to free you. We can go see the princess now, come on.” She smiled as she said these words.
“Oh good, I was getting bored.” he said as he slowly got up. He stretched and his back popped. He held his hurt arm which he managed to heal a bit more with the mandatory water he received with his hay breakfast. Every day it was improving, but not by much. It should take another two weeks at this rate before it would be healed enough for him to use it. He walked out of the cell and motioned for Twilight to lead the way.
Twilight exited the cell nodding to the guard before walking up the stairs. She sighed a bit cracking her neck. “Come on, the throne room is this way.” She said cheerfully as she lead Celendros through the castle halls.
Celendros followed along, he was rather uncomfortable being in a large castle. The only one he’d ever been to was one where death was around every corner. He dreaded having to talk to the Princess. Since he was always bad with authority, mainly because of his demanding father and Gavun always riding his back throughout his life.
She looked at Celendros and furrowed a brow before speaking “You look over-cautious and worried. Is everything okay?” she asked him with concern.
“I’m fine... just the last time I was in a castle, everyone wanted me dead. Not to mention the fact that royalty makes me nervous.” he told her. It was nice to get things off his chest, but he didn’t know why he was being so open about things.
She nodded with a smile. “You have no need for fear. The princesses are more than likely the nicest ponies in Equestria!” She sounded very excited as she said this.
“We’ll see...” he shakily said. As he walked he was regaining his composure on the outside. But on the inside, the closer they got, the more nervous he got.
As he said this they would have walked into a spacious room. At the end of a red carpet trimmed with gold lining sitting on a throne was none other than the mare in question. The white alicorn smiled. “Ah, Twilight so good to see you. This is Celendros I assume?”
“Yes, I’m the one you had arrested and thrown i-” Celendros stopped mid-sentence since he realized what he was doing. “That’s me.” he corrected himself. Then he nudged Twilight with his leg for her to say something.
Before she could speak, Celestia spoke. “Yes about that, you have my deepest apologies. I had gotten word of several humans terrorizing my citizens on a train and acted with swift care. If there is anyway I can make it up to you, don’t hesitate to ask me.” She nodded and then took a long pause “But this means that there are more than just you here. Do you know these other humans?”
“To a point. These men were most likely sent by Gavun somehow. Most likely he has a shard of the idol, which I’m sure Twilight explained what it is in her letter to you. At this point, I give you a warning. I am the only human you can trust unless I give them my okay, which most likely will never happen.” Celendros explained to the princess. He was doing his best to assert himself as an asset, rather than a problem. “You can make it up to me by helping me find a shard of the idol.”
She nodded before raising a brow “Would... a shard possibly look like this?” She levitated a small chest to his feet which opened, revealing a small glowing shard of the idol he had mentioned.
Celendros went wide-eyed at the stroke of luck. “Where did you find that?” he asked quickly. He made his way closer to the princess to get a better look at the shard.
“This had fallen into the royal gardens one night. One of the royal guards had brought it to me and I had been keeping it to figure out what exactly it does. If this tremendously powerful fragment of an ancient artifact can help you in any way, please take it. On behalf of me.” Celestia smiled again before speaking “Is this... Gavun leader of the other humans?” she questioned him.
“He is, and he is not to be underestimated. He will stop at nothing to get the shards and enslave your people. If he restores the idol, he’ll be invincible, like he was when I fought him in his throne room. This idol is supposedly the thing that keeps our worlds from colliding, and is the very catalyst that keeps nature from fading away. I broke Gavun’s jaw while that idol was in his hands, it instantly restored his jaw and composure. His strength was like that of a herd of elephants.” Celendros shuddered as he remembered the battle, it was intense, and he nearly died so many times.
She gasped a bit “Well we can not let this happen. Twilight, send word for your friends and gather the Elements of Harmony. You must do anything you can to aid Celendros in stopping Gavun.” She was extremely worried. “I cannot thank you enough Celendros for bringing this urgent news. I am here if you need absolutely anything.”
Twilight was already down the hall heading for the exit of the castle towards the train station.
“Before I go, Princess. One question. Why so quick to trust me? After all, I could secretly be on his side. Or maybe just out for power. Where I’m from I would’ve been branded insane and thrown in a dungeon... which I have been on numerous occasions before.” Celendros asked as he took the shard. He was actually confused. He’d never met a leader that was so quick to trust him. Normally he’d have to prove he’s trustworthy.
“Because, despite what you make yourself out to be. You are a truly good being on the inside. A trustworthy person, you need not to hide it in this world. The ponies of this world are kind and care for each other. They would never harm anypony and I hope to keep it so no pony tries to harm them. From what Twilight told me about what you did on the train, I have more than reason to trust you.” She had stepped down from the throne and smiled at him. “Now, please help save Equestria.”
“Fine, but know this. I am no hero. Nor do I want to be remembered as one. Where I go, violence and destruction follow. What happened on the train is a good example. I cannot guarantee the safety of your people, but I can guarantee I’ll try.” ‘Cel warned her and left. He wasn’t one for goodbyes.
Outside he caught up to Twilight and dangled the glowing shard in front of him. He wasn’t sure what to do with it. “Hmmm...” he let out in verbal thought.
“So, what was that on the train? Was that what a shaman does?” Twilight questioned him while trotting towards the station. “And what does that shard do?”
“A Shaman controls the very forces of nature. How strong the connection is between the Shaman and nature itself is what determines the power. Back on Socobeck before I had lost my connection the first time. It was strong, stronger than most. What you saw on the train is what a normal level shaman would do. But we can do more than just shoot lightning from our hands.” Celendros explained to her. Then he snapped his fingers with his good hand and an electric spark came from his fingers. “As for the shard... I have no idea.” He stopped after a couple seconds and stared at the shard. “Stand back, I have an idea.”
She took several steps back and removed the notepad again prepared to write down her observations.
Celendros removed his bad arm from the sling. It buzzed with pain as he moved it to grab the shard with both hands. He closed his eyes and focused for a moment or two. After a few seconds of nothing. The ground began to mildly shake around him, small pebbles on the ground begging to roll in a circle around him. Slow the circle gained more and more dirt and rock to follow.
Twilight giggled with excitement documenting everything that was happening even drawing an illustration, not the best but it would do. “Are you alright? Does it hurt?” She had so many questions but limited herself.
Then the rocks began to lift and circle around him in a sort of tornado of dust and rock around him. He didn’t reply but started groaning in pain. His bad arm was regrowing skin, the muscle repairing itself. It hurt immensely as it was healing faster than what was natural. The glow from the shard got brighter and brighter until eventually it sent out a burst of energy from his hands and all the rocks fell back to the ground. Celendros stood there not saying anything, but he fell backward onto the ground.
Before he could hit the ground Twilight caught him with her magic “Celendros! Please don’t tell me you died...” She was worried as she strained to lift him with her magic.
Sadly he was too heavy for her magic to lift. But he groaned as he thumped back on the ground. He brought his now healed left hand up and rubbed his head. It was buzzing and throbbing. But he was conscious. “What happened? I blacked out.” he groggily said.
She was in shock just pointing at his newly healed arm “Y... y... your arm...” She managed to finally spit out some words.
“W-what about it? Everything is a haze.” he asked as he struggled to sit up.
“It... reconstructed itself!” She exclaimed as she began to write in the notepad excitedly. “Does it hurt more or less? Can you stand? Do you have new powers?” She started running through questions rapidly before stopping to catch her breath.
“Settle down... and stop yelling,” Celendros snapped as he slowly got up. “And I won’t really know until I can test it on something.” He examined his arm with slight amazement, but not much surprise. He remembered when the idol healed Gavun, so he wasn’t too surprised that it healed himself.
She nodded and slowed down “The shard stopped glowing, you must have taken the power from within it.” She noted with a nod before examining his arm closer.
He shot his right arm out to try and cast a flame. Nothing but a puff of smoke left his hand. He groan and tried water from his flask, nothing but some movement like last time. So there was only one thing left to try. “Okay then... one thing left to try. Twilight, see that boulder over there?” he asked as he pointed at a large boulder in a group of rocks.
Twilight nodded “Are you going to move it?” she said walking closer to get a better view.
Celendros didn’t say anything, he just took a step back and braced himself. He raised his right foot then slammed it to the ground. A narrow shock wave of rock burst forward and smashed into the boulder, cracking it in half. The two halves fell to the opposite side of each other and Cel celebrated in his head. “This will be very useful.” he commented.
Twilight was extremely flabbergasted at the event she had just witnessed, she stood there completely speechless. Her mouth tried to produce some form of speech but nothing came out.
“Alright, let’s go. We have a lot of work ahead of us.” Celendros said to Twilight as he headed forward to leave the courtyard. “We need to get your friends, then figure out where the other shard pieces are. Do you have any ideas?” he asked, unaware of Twilight’s current state. Shamanistic magic was so normal to him he forgot that it wasn’t normal for her.
She stood there for a moment before shaking her head. She ran after him, eventually catching up. “Well, perhaps...” She thought for a moment before speaking again “I could always try a spell that would search for spikes in magical activity. Would that work?” she questioned him.
“Maybe, but this shard could be a different kind of magic. One you’re not used to. Remember, it’s from my world. On my world there are multiple kinds of magic, not just one.” ‘Cel warned her. “I don’t want you wasting your energy, we might need it in case of an attack.” While being unlikely, with Celendros surprise attack chances are heightened.
She nodded a bit with a sigh. “Right right, how silly of me to forget. We could always do it the old fashion way, just ask around town and see if anyone has heard anything about heightened magic levels or the such?” She yet again questioned him, but was more sure of herself this time.
Celendros scratched his chin and raised a brow in thought. “That would work... if we knew where to ask and who to ask. It wouldn’t be here in Canterlot, the blast was too powerful for the shards to be that close together. We would’ve heard about one in Ponyville if one was there... which brings us to our dilemma.” he half thought out loud, and half explained the situation to Twilight.
“That means...they could have landed all over Equestria!” She seemed a bit worried, this was going to be a very difficult task. Possibly even more difficult than her and her friends have ever dealt with “Where do you think we should start? I mean... these shards did come from your world. Do you know anything about them? Perhaps that shard you picked up could help us?” She said to him quite fast.
“The shard is tapped dry. I absorbed all it had and I know just as much about these shards as you do. As for where we should start? I don’t know, if this was my world we could head to Helkend, the City of Rogues where for a few gems you could get all the information you wanted. But I know nothing of your world beside what is openly obvious.” Celendros sighed after speaking. At this point he weighed his options. Either the search could take too long and Gavun would win, but if he were to obtain the idol eventually he could still defeat Gavun. With the expense of the ponies suffering for a few months. Or continue this leadless hunt with the off chance of getting somewhere. He shook his head after he realized he blanked out for a moment and returned to the conversation.
“Well we don’t have much of a choice, let’s round up the girls and maybe we could get more ideas on what to do.” She commented walking towards the train station with a sigh. “This... Gavun right? If he were to gather all these shards, what exactly would happen to Equestria? I mean, I know something bad, but what are we talking about?” She was again worried but was glad to be of some use at all in stopping some form of threat to her world.
“The same thing that happened to my world. He will take complete control and bring everyone to almost complete poverty. He’d turn the world into one where only the wicked prosper and the good suffer. And it would never end. That idol makes any who have it in their possession, invincible. He’d be the sovereign king of both our worlds. Becoming the most powerful man to have ever lived.” he reluctantly told her. The more he spoke the more he got worried with things like, what if he failed? What if he didn’t fail but the cost to get there was almost too great? Things like this ate away at him whenever they came, but he had to hold his worry in and remain strong. For Twilight’s sake.
She looked to him and solemnly nodded “I... I see.” She said quietly before going silent as they walked. It never crossed her mind that something so sinister and horrific could happen to the land she called home. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she thought of all the horrible things that could happen.
“Don’t worry, I’ll do everything in my ability to make sure that doesn’t happen... but that doesn’t help much does it? I’m only a shadow of what I once was...” memories started to come back to Celendros, regret, anxiety, sadness. The consequences of him giving up being a shaman have really come back to haunt him in the past year.
She stopped for a moment and hugged Celendros. “It’s just a bad thought is all, if we stay positive and believe in ourselves we can win this!” She let go and smiled at him wiping her eyes before continuing to walk “Besides, getting yourself worried over hypothetical this is really silly.” She smiled again, but it was more... forced, she actually had a single doubt in the back of her mind they might not be able to do this..
"Time will tell, where I'm from, you prepare for the worst so you are prepared for the best..." Cel remained skeptical, years of relying on himself for things has dampened his hope reserves.
Twilight nodded a bit. “Well, let’s try not to think about it right now.” she just wanted to have this end, all this was so new and odd to her, she liked it. But at the same time, all of the things that had happened recently scared her.
Celendros stayed silent for a few minutes as they headed toward the train station. His face had the signs of worry all over it. “Twilight... I need to ask something of you.” he said. He wasn’t proud of what he was going to ask. He wasn’t even sure if it was the right thing to do...
She perked her ears up a bit after hearing her name called. “What can I do for you?” She smiled sweetly after saying this trying to reassure him.
Seeing that sweet smile only made it worse, but he asked anyways. “If I die during this... quest. It’s going to be up to you. I need you to promise me, that you will take this dagger,” he pulled out the iron dagger that he took from the king and held it out for her to take, “and drive it through his black heart.” He didn’t specify who... but it was obvious.
Twilight was taken back at what he had just said and stood still and silent for a few minutes before speaking. “Celendros... you won’t die. I won’t let you, but... if it does come to that...” She levitated the dagger out of his hand and into her saddle bag. “I will honor your request.” she smiled weakly, she never even wanted to think of her friend meeting a gruesome end at the hands of anything. But she would uphold the promise she had made him if it came to that. Not happily though.
Cel stopped walking and turned to face Twilight, “Many have wondered why my world is the way it is. War, death, violence, and disease at every turn. The way I see it, is that it’s a way to cull the weak or perhaps give relief to the undeserving. I know I shouldn’t ask this of you, but on Socobeck this is a large honor. One that shows another trusts you, almost like a handshake. But more meaningful...” he said to try to reassure her. He was never very good at it, for all he did was tell the truth.
Twilight ran up to him and hugged him tightly beginning to tear up and sniffle “I just don’t want to think of my new friend dying... everything that is going on is so scary. I’m not going to lie, I am quite honestly scared out of my wits...” She nuzzled him as she cried softly.
He hugged her tightly, not knowing how long moments like these were going to last. “I am too...” he said as a tear came to his eye. “But no matter what happens, I’ll do my best to keep everyone safe.”
They made their way back to the train station and began their journey back to Ponyville. It was time to begin the long road ahead to defeating Gavun. The stakes are high, to the point of the fate of two worlds rests on the shoulders of Celendros and his companions. Two days and nights had passed before they decided to meet with the other five ponies that would be joining them on their trek. Celendros didn’t like meeting new people, so instead he planned their next move for the duration. But finally the time came to where he couldn’t wait any longer.
Twilight opened the door as all her friends entered the library slowly, all except Pinkie Pie who happily hopped into the library giggling rapidly.
“Ooo! Ooo! Where is he? Where is he? Dash you have to see him! He walks on two hooves and looks all creeeeeppppyy!” The pink mare hopped up and down in front of the cyan mare who she called Dash.
Dash sighed a bit and rested a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder, making her stop bouncing. “Pinkie... you know nothing scares me, and so what if he can walk on two hooves. I could if I really wanted to.” She said with the slightest hint of cockiness in her voice.
Rarity stepped toward Twilight, using her magic to levitate a bundle of clothing out of a saddlebag. “Twilight my dear, could you be a darling and give these garments to Celendros?” She batted her eyelashes with a smile, extending the clothes towards Twilight.
Twilight nodded with a smile taking the clothing and walking up the stairs knocking on the guest room door. “Celendros? The girls are here and Rarity fixed your clothes.”
A loud crash of thunder blasted from the room, as well as a bright flash that looked blinding from the inside. A loud thud sounded on the back wall then the floor. They all heard a yell from inside “Ow! Damn it!” it was Celendros crying out in frustration, as well as pain.
As she left upstairs the girls downstairs started talking amongst themselves, as the large thunder echoed through the house Fluttershy yelped loudly and hid under a table.
Twilight opened the door slowly and walked in. She placed the clothes on the table “Are you alright?” she cocked her head at him a bit curiously.
Celendros was on the floor, sitting against the wall. He was holding his right arm that had a brown glove on it. But it wasn’t ordinary, it had a metal circle on the palm as well as metal plating on the finger tips. His entire right forearm was smoking. It appeared as if he’d been working for a few hours, sweat had soaked into his common clothing that he often wore under his shamanistic gear. “I’m just, shaken is all. I need to fix this insulation in the glove, apparently some of the rune cloth inside ripped and won’t protect my hand from larger exertions of electricity,” he explained with a heavy breath as he stood back to his feet.
She nodded a bit and tapped the clothes. “Those are there for you. Rarity says hello, you can come down when you are ready.”
“Are you sure? I mean, a crash of thunder did just come from my room. Perhaps you should calm them down,” ‘Cel told her. He’d heard much of Fluttershy’s courage so he was sure she’d been startled. “I just need to finish with the glove, then I can come down,” he said as he sat down at the desk that Twilight gave him to use. He took the glove off and looked at it for a moment. “Oh, and tell your friend Rarity that I give her my thanks.”
Twilight nodded and walked out. She closed the door behind her and went back downstairs. The others were downstairs comforting Fluttershy as she approached them. She then cleared her throat “Fluttershy, everything is alright. It was just Celendros testing his abilities.” She reassured her friend with a smile.
Fluttershy looked up at Twilight, shaking a bit. “A... are y-you sure? I... suppose you are...” she said quietly as she crawled out from under the table.
Twilight nodded and patted her on the head. She walked over to the table and sorted some papers before she turned to the girls, “Right, now I suppose you all have some questions about what exactly is going on.”
Applejack nodded a bit as she stepped in front of the others “Now, Ah can’t speak ‘fer all of us, but Ah ‘fer one would like to know what kind of things we are about tah be doin’.” She nodded a bit and the rest nodded as well.
Twilight paused for a moment before speaking “What we are about to do is something that could decide the fate of not just Equestria, but the world Celendros comes from. We are going to need to find shards of this... relic of sorts, it holds great power, as I have witnessed first hoof. When Celendros comes down he can explain the details as I’m not exactly fully aware myself.” She flipped through some papers that were set on the coffee table. She took a look at each one carefully as these were her notes on the events up to now.
Up in the guest room, Celendros had just finished fixing the glove that he called “The Spark”. So he took his cloak made of a wolf pelt and put it on over his clothing and took his newly repaired gear that rested in his old backpack. He pulled the hood up over his head and opened the door. He shut it behind him and walked down the stairs, mid way he said to Twilight “Ah, I see you brought them all here.” Once he reached the bottom he paused for a moment and examined all the ponies in the room... he expected more, but he wasn’t disappointed. “Some of you I’ve met, but others remain anonymous.” he said to them.
Fluttershy gasped a bit and hid behind Applejack “W-why would you do that to that poor wolf?” she shook a bit letting out a small squeak.
Applejack tipped her hat towards him. “Don’ min’ her, timid lil’ thing. I’m Applejack.” she smiled a bit as she patted Fluttershy on the head.
Rainbow Dash stepped forward “So your the one who suppose to be all scary and creepy? I don’t see it.” She shrugged a bit “Name’s Rainbow Dash, best flyer in Equestria.” she was obviously over exaggerating as she grinned towards him.
“Yes... I suppose I have a lot of explanation to do. Especially with my robe, and the dangers of being my traveling companions.” Celendros stated as he waved in greeting and acknowledgment of their introductions.
Rainbow Dash snickered a bit “Danger? Pfft. I live for Danger! it’s my middle name.” she said as she seemed very full of herself.
Pinkie cocked her head a bit “I thought your middle name was...” Rainbow looked over to her and Pinkie closed her mouth.
“I assure you, miss Rainbow Dash, that what you will face will be from my world. One where violence and death is quite common.” Celendros warned Rainbow with a smirk on his face that showed under his hood. “You ever killed someone before?” he knew that it was a bit of a harsh question. But in order for him to lead them through the tough times, he needed to know how far they were going to go.
“What?!” they all gasped in unison. Shock plastered on all their faces, clearly the answer was a stern no.
“That’s what I thought. Hopefully most of the fighting will be left to me, but I can’t promise your own safety, so you need to be willing to do whatever it takes for survival. It the coming times, I am going to teach you how to defend yourselves...” Cel trailed off when he remembered that they weren’t human like him. “... to the best of my ability. If you think you can’t handle it... back out now, for once you’re waist deep in the quicksand, there’s no getting out.”
Twilight was the first to step up, it was logical since she was the closest to Celendros out of the six, “I’m with you Celendros, wherever it takes us.” she gave Cel a warm smile, but her eyes told a story of worry. That much was obvious.
“Well... If Twilight is with ya’. Then so am ah!” Applejack bravely said as she stepped up, her trust in her friend’s judgment was apparent.
“Pffft, how bad could it possibly be? I’m in too.” Rainbow Dash said as she stepped up and playfully hit Cel with her hoof.
“Well I suppose I could get someone to run the shop for me... I’m in as well.” Rarity said, it was clear she was unsure but if her friends were willing, so was she.
“Oh this is going to be so cool! I’ll be sure to pack plenty of games, and snacks, and streamers and-” Pinkie excitedly bounced up and down while she started to go down her list, but Rainbow Dash quickly stopped her.
Everyone looked to Fluttershy who was currently wishing she were somewhere else at the moment. “I-I don’t know...” she quietly said while she hung her head.
Before anyone could say anything, Celendros picked up on something... vibration in the earth under the floorboards. This was a feeling he missed, for it alerted him when something was coming... something was coming! He quickly walked over to the front window and peeked outside. “Girls, we need to move now!” he shouted.
“What? What is it?’ Twilight said, she peeked out the window too and gasped at what she saw.
There, alone man stood. Dressed in light black leather with a red scarf wrapped around his mouth and neck. On his head he wore a hat that was round and kept the sun out of his eyes. On his back a long but light two handed sword rested on his back and a strange one-handed axe hung from his thigh. His red blood-shot eyes stared right at Celendros. After a moment of silence, he slowly started to walk toward the library.
“He didn’t...” Celendros said in disbelief, he quickly headed for the coffee table and began to hurriedly pack maps and survival gear.
“Didn’ what?” Applejack asked.
“Karek... Gavun hired Karek...” was all Cel could say before the front door smashed open.
“Evening... Celendros.” said Karek, his voice was gruff one of experience but intimidating enough to scare a tiger. He slowly walked inside, each stride showing his confidence. He quickly unhooked his axe from his sheath and waved it around a bit.
“Everybody out! I’ll hold him off as best as I can! [i[Now!” Celendros commanded as he tossed the bag full of supplies to Twilight and quickly leapt over the table to face Karek head-on.
“Come on, we need to go!” Twilight said to her stunned friends, regardless of not knowing what was going on, she was more experienced in the survival field against deadly humans. She pointed with her hoof at the back door and they all ran for it.
Meanwhile Cel hopped over a sweep kick that came from Karek. As soon as he landed he took a back hand to the face that caused him to stumble back. He reached back into his robe looking for the iron dagger, but then he cursed in his mind. He gave it to Twilight...
Karek leapt forward and expertly swung the axe down at Celendros, he was deathly silent as he fought until he said, “It’s been years since we last met, but now Gavun has put a price on your head, and I intend to collect.”
“The only thing you’ll collect is a thrashing when Gavun finds out you failed!” Cel said as he shuffled to the side and kicked Karek in the side. Afterward he quickly grabbed Karek by the hair and smashed his face into the coffee table.
Karek shook his head as he struggled to get back up. His nose was bleeding... but quickly stopped. “Always the fighter, you never just want to lay down and accept your fate. You know you can’t beat me.” He gave an evil laugh and lunged his axe forward.
“Maybe not, but nothing lives for ever.” Cel side-stepped and kicked the axe out of the assassin’s hand and lunged forward with his shoulder. He slammed into him and sent him flying back over the couch.
“On the contrary, when you’ve lived to be two-hundred years old you learn that if you play your cards right no man is able to escape your grasp.” Karek said as he recovered and leapt over the couch, he sent his foot forward toward Cel’s face, aiming for the temple.
“Or perhaps your deeds just haven’t caught up with you yet.” Celendros said as he rolled out of the way. But before he could recover a cold boot smashed into his face and he hit the wall behind him.
“You know it’s been a long time since anyone’s put up a real fight. This is a nice refresher, not like the last people I killed.” Karek smiled under his scarf as he charged at Celendros. “I think you know them quite well... perhaps a sister of someone...”
“You didn’t...” Celendros went wide-eyed under his hood. But couldn’t do much else for a shoulder slammed into him. He hit the wall again but his facial expression didn’t change... quickly he balled his fists up as he deduced what happened. His face grew a look of anger and he spun around, ducking at the same time under a fist that was headed for his head. He quickly grabbed the back of Karek’s head and smashed it into the wall. Afterward he turned the assassin around and grabbed him by the neck. He began to beat Karek’s face relentlessly.
“That’s better!” Karek managed to let out in between one of the punches. He let the hits come and spit out blood after a few.
“NO! IT WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO GO THIS WAY!” Celendros yelled, he didn’t think Gavun would actually do it... He threw Karek to the ground and grabbed Karek’s jaw. He watched as Karek’s bruises and busted lip began to fade away back to normal. So he began discharging electricity into the assassin’s body.
Karek groaned in pain and quickly shoved Cel off. “I thought you’d like that, now the real fight can begin.” he let out in between coughs. He slowly got back up and drew his sword. He charged forward at the fallen Celendros and swung his blade down.
Cel quickly rolled to the side and prepared himself for the next attack. And there it was. A kick that was headed for his face. He lunged forward to a handstand and let himself fall on the assassin. Afterward he grabbed Karek’s left leg and twisted it, snapping it from its socket.
Karek yelped in pain and let go of his sword. “Argh! Didn’t think you had the balls...” he let out as he grabbed his leg.
Cel took this chance to get up and run to the axe that was across the room. He rolled and grabbed it, getting into a low stance he let his anger build. And his enemy to make a wrong move.
The dark assassin took his leg and snapped it back into place, then he used his sword to help himself up as his body fixed the damage. Afterward he’d take his sword and raise it above him, he charged forward for Celendros.
Cel yelled in rage and leapt, he spun around and kicked Karek’s exposed chest to stop his charge, and as soon as he landed he swung the axe down and into the assassin’s skull. Afterward he grabbed the sword from the limp hand and shoved Karek to the ground. He impaled the man in the stomach with the sword to make sure he wouldn’t get back up. Afterward he turned around and grabbed a wooden chair, he swung it around and smashed the femur bone of Karek’s leg, as well as the chair.
He dropped the remains of the char and through his heavy breaths he said, “See you next time, you son of a whore.” He said and grabbed the axe lodged in Karek’s forehead. He pulled it out with some struggle and angrily said “I’m keeping this.” Then he turned around and made his way to the back door.
After the back door slammed shut, Karek’s eyes shot open... and the gaping wound on his head began to close up.