//------------------------------// // Two's Company // Story: Baen of Equestria // by CrypticMetaphor //------------------------------// A series of soft snoring was heard within the house of Vinyl & Octavia. The two mares in question were chit chatting in the kitchen of upcoming events in their fields of expertise, however, there was one occupant missing. Vinyl chuckled and left the table in favour of the living room. What was there was the stallion Baen, sleeping soundly. Vinyl half smiled at how he seemed so peaceful and non-violent when he slept, but for some reason he refused to sleep without his armor. “Eh,” she shrugged, “Everypony has a thing.” She gently reached down and shook him from side to side. Baen murmured something in a foreign tongue that surprised Vinyl. Though she didn’t know it, the sentence was in a dialect that had not been heard in centuries. Vinyl pursed her lips, and then smirked evilly. Her horn lit up and a clinking was heard as a bowl of cold water was levitated from the kitchen to above the sleeping barbarian. In the blink of an eye the bowl emptied itself on his head jolting the sleeping warrior from his slumber with a surprised yell. “What the Void, Vinyl?!” Vinyl blinked in confusion, “The Void?” Baen shook his head, “Nevermind,” he gestured at the bowl, “explain to me why you deposited water on my head.” Vinyl smiled, “You wouldn’t wake up, and so I went with the usual method.” Baen blinked, “Usual method?” Vinyl nodded, “Yep, it’s how I usually wake up Octy if she sleeps in.” Baen shook his head, “I assume it goes about as well as one could expect?” Vinyl nodded, “Yep,” she then had a look of happy remembrance on her face, “Right! Before I forget, you got a letter in the mail from Coco again.” Baen smiled as the envelope was deposited in front of him. His smile then vanished as a knock on the door alerted him to a visitor. Quickly stashing the envelope in his armor’s chest plate, he approached the door and opened it. He was greeted by a familiar face that was graced with a wide smile. “Hello Twilight,” Baen raised an eyebrow, “what are you doing here this early?” Vinyl passed behind him, “Dude, its noon.” Baen’s expression dropped, “Oh.” Twilight was practically giddy as she trotted in place, “Oh this is great! She said yes!” Baen’s expression of unamusement did not change, “Who? And why should I care?” Twilight’s jubilation faltered but still had excitement in her voice, “My sister in law, Princess Cadance is coming to visit and we’re going to spend the whole day together! It’s going to be so wonderful!” Baen blinked, “Still not seeing why you’re telling me this.” “Weeeeeell,” Twilight got a little closer to him, “my brother Shining Armor is coming down here to escort her on the train ride and, well, I wanted to know if you maybe wanted to spend the day with him when he heads back to the Crystal Empire. I mean, it would be nice for you to make a friend of the same gender. Plus Cadance always told me and him that Shining needs to make more guy friends.” Baen clicked his tongue as he thought on it. He had nothing planned for the day and well, at least she didn’t make the choice for him. She had stuck by her word so far since she and her friends brought him back to Ponyville three days ago, so why not. “Sure,” he shrugged, “I have nothing better to do.” Twilight squeed and clapped her front hooves together in excitement. * Baen sat stone faced on the bench at the train station as the girls bid Fluttershy farewell. Apparently she had been asked to look after the creatures known as the Breezies, odd name to say the least. The barbarian merely gave a half wave and let his mind wonder, though, the girls appreciated him giving the gesture. Baen thought on his stay so far. Despite all the negativity and counterproductive thoughts as well as the moments he had, all was surprisingly well. But he secretly wished things were better and he would NEVER outright admit it. His mulling was interrupted by a loud screeching and grinding on the metal rails of the railroad. He glanced up and his jaw dropped. Ever since he had been in Ponyville he had seen the thing known as a train, but the beast before him was like the mother to Ponyville’s child of a train. Baen stood and stared in a daze, “Phenomenal….” Twilight chuckled, “Like it? It’s the Crystal Bullet Train, the names a work in progress.” “It’s…words fail me,” Baen got up from his seat and approached the halted machine. Rainbow snickered, “Baen, your drooling.” The barbarian quickly wiped his mouth and glowered at the laughing pegasus. His attention was then drawn to the sound of the doors opening from the train. A light emanated from within as a red carpet rolled out followed by two guards, what followed afterwards caused Baen to gawk once more. Now Baen had met the princesses before and knew Twilight, so alicorns weren’t a strange concept to him anymore. What made him gawk was the enchanting mare before him. Everything about her radiated warmth he had not seen or felt for many days, and he loved it. After Twilight and the other alicorn mare greeted each other, Twilight eased Baen over to her side with her magic, “Cadance, this is Baen.” Cadance smiled at the silent barbarian, “So he’s the one you’ve been mentioning in your letters. Well it’s great to finally meet you Baen; I’m Princess Mi Amore Cadenza but my friends call me Cadance.” Baen then stated in a monotone, “Even her name exudes beauty.” The girls widened their eyes in surprise but Cadance giggled warmly, “Thank you, you’re quite bold I admit.” Baen grinned, “Well I have been called that many times,” he smirked, “as well as other names.” Cadance raised an eyebrow with an equal smirk, “Really now?” “Yes,” he trotted forward, “But I’m afraid those ones aren’t for the ears of the,” he glanced at the girls, “younger crowd.” The girls blinked a few times but caught on and answered in unison, “HEY!” Cadance became a tad more intrigued, but mischief was evident in her look, “Hm, really? Well would there be a place you would prefer to tell us?” Baen trotted around to the train as she turned to face him, “Well I mean when Twilight has had her fun and such…,” he trailed off, “By us, are you referring to the royal us or…” “She means her husband.” Baen turned around and was staring into the not to amused face of one Shining Armor, “Ah….you must be Shining Armor,” he forced a smile, “Hiiiii!” Shining raised an eyebrow at Cadance who was laughing at Baen’s surprised and shamed face, “Is he bothering you honey?” Cadance shook her head as her laughing subsided but the smile remained, “No it’s alright. I was just fooling around with him. No harm done.” Baen glanced at Cadance, “Clever mare.” Cadance waved her hoof, “I try.” Twilight got between the two stallions, “Shining, this is Baen,” in response to the comment, Shining snorted. Twilight then added with a little bit of a tone, “You know, the pony I’ve written about.” Shining glanced at Baen, “Really? Hm.” “What?” Shining shrugged, “It’s nothing, I just thought you would be,” he gave a small smile, “taller.” Baen narrowed his eyes as Twilight quickly added, “HEY SHINING! Why don’t you and Baen spend the day together?” Cadance’s eyes lit up, “That’s a great idea Twilight!” she glanced at a surprised Shining, “I think it’s only fair since I’ll be here for the day. Plus if all goes well you’ll have a new guy friend!” Shining looked from the smiling faces of Twilight and Cadance and to the neutral face of Baen, “Uh….I guess so, I mean,” he scratched the back of his head, “I don’t really have anything planned and I was just going to walk around the empire for the day anyway.” Cadance clapped her hooves together with a happy smile, “Fantastic!” she quickly pecked him on the cheek, “have fun you two, come on Twilight. The exhibit isn’t going to look at itself.” Twilight bid the girls farewell and ran after her fellow princess. Baen glanced at the girls who ushered him to get on the train, both he and Shining locked eyes for an instant before boarding the train. After Shining led Baen through the train, they came upon a series of bench seats that had comfortable backing to them. Taking their seats across from each other was done in silence as the train started to roll then pick up speed. Both stallions were silent as the train roared toward the Equestrian Tundra. Shining coughed slightly as Baen moved his axe beside himself. “So…Shining,” Baen glanced at the unicorn, “You’re a prince.” Shining raised an eyebrow, “Yesss?” Baen shrugged, “Well it’s just that I’ve never seen a ruler so young before.” “Yeah,” Shining glanced out the window, “Many ponies think it’s odd.” Baen sighed, “You’re still upset that I attempted to pursue your wife aren’t you?” Shining responded with a sarcastic, “No, of course not.” The silence remained well into the trip. * When the train pulled into the station at the Crystal Empire, Baen was speechless. He had seen many a thing in this time and his so not much surprised him, but there was the rare thing. He gazed in wonder at the city capital and the shining crystal palace. “You rule this,” Baen stared at the city and whistled, “Impressive. It’s like a jewel amongst the snow, a beacon of warmth and hope in a cold and desolate world.” Shining stared at the stallion with surprise and tapped his chin; he had never honestly seen the empire like that before. But the way he had put it, the empire was like Paradise on Equestria. He ushered the barbarian to follow and soon they were amongst the populace, many ponies gazed at the barbarian with awe and wonder. Others who did not bowed as Shining passed. Baen chuckled at how reluctant the stallion was for receiving the praise. “Hehe.” Shining turned to Baen, “What?” “You are so much like your sister,” Baen trotted past him, “She is not one for the formalities that come with the position you’re both in as well.” Shining snorted slightly and followed him, “So Baen…was the empire around when you were…you know.” “Unfortunately no,” he turned to a crystal mare who was blushing when he locked eyes with her, “I would’ve remembered such a bewitching jewel.” Shining rolled his eyes when the mare giggled. Grasping the stallion in his magical grasp, he dragged him down the street toward the palace. After bidding the guards hello, both ponies climbed the stairs and found themselves within the Crystal Palace. Baen trotted around the room and marveled at the towering roof, the seamless architecture, and the shine. The shine was almost heavenly if not a tad disorienting. Shining went through the door while giving Baen a quick ‘wait here’. Baen however felt the pull of adventure and soon became lost in the halls. He continued down the almost infinite passages until he found himself before a set of doors. Opening them, he found himself in a slightly dark room with various objects in glass cases with some of the larger ones merely on display. In one case his eyes fixed on a dark brown journal like tome bound in a thick hided material with yellowed pages. “Impossible….,” he gazed closer at it, “It can’t be.” Baen glanced around but found nopony near. Steeling himself, he lifted the case and placed the glass gingerly on the ground before picking up the book. Viewing it from the top, one would think it thin paged. But when one holds it, one can clearly see it has many pages as an almanac. The barbarian quickly opened it and tears came to his eyes when he saw what was inside the cover. ‘Liber Daemoniorum. A Chronicle by Astreous. For my granddaughter, Yew.’ Baen felt the tears leave his eyes when he read the last name, “Why….why must….” He turned around and gazed at one object that sat in the middle of the room, a massive mirror. Approaching the object, he stared into the glass before him and saw only his face. This only caused more tears to leave him as he dropped the book in front of him. “Why must I live and you all leave me here alone,” he gazed at his own sorrow filled face, “why could we all not be here?,” his armored hooves scratched the surface of the glass as he placed them upon it, “Please….I need you all. Please….” Baen slumped and spoke with slight anger in his sorrow filled tone, “How long have you been there?” Shining looked to the side, “When you took the book out of the case, Baen,” he approached the barbarian, “are you alright?” Baen shook his head, “You know….I thought I was at first, the fact that I am actually alive here with other ponies is a great thing, but as I started thinking, why couldn’t Twilight find my friends? They were like my brothers and sisters in arms, and for that I started to hate her and her friends. Seeing them and their deep bonds when I lost the ones I long since made….it was unbearable. I couldn’t stand to be near them and I finally told them so….,” he gazed into space, “why couldn’t any of you be here with me…..” Shining tilted his head, “Your friends…who were they?” “Argon,” Baen’s voice was monotone but laced with sadness, “Lucretcia, A’dare, and Yew…., my most trusted ally’s and beloved friends.” Shining levitated the book over to him, “Yew….you mean the Yew mentioned here? But this book was dated to be centuries old….” Baen glanced at him with a sad look. Though Shining had been written to about Baen, Twilight seemed to have glanced over one important detail in her letters. “Baen,” Shining dropped the book, “how old are you?” Baen had a sad smile, “Older than you.” Shining looked to the floor with a puzzled look but understood the meaning. Even though this stallion hit on his wife and apparently tore into his sister with harsh words, he did it for a reason. This stallion was scared and lonely, the friends he knew and most likely his family were all dead. As usual, Twiley was right; this stallion needed friends in his life. Sighing, he approached the stallion and smiled warmly at him before placing a hoof on his shoulder, “Hey come on. Don’t sulk, remember we’re supposed to spend the day together and become guy friends? My sister and wife’s orders.” Baen gave a mild chuckle, “Why must mares control the actions of stallions?” “Who knows,” Shining made a wave gesture with his hooves, “One of life’s greatest mysteries…” Both stallions shared a good laugh and Baen felt his spirit lift, “Say, what’s there to do around here Shining?” Shining thought for a moment, “Hm….” * Another jouster was sent flying into the hay bale with four others as Baen whooped in exhilaration, “ALRIGHT!!! WHO’S NEXT?” Shining was staring on with a mix of concern for the jousters and amusement at how much fun Baen was having. Smirking, Shining put on his helmet and repositioned his armor so it was secure. Raising his lance he readied himself as he stepped up to his starting position. Baen laughed with mirth, “Oh Ho! What’s this? The Prince is stepping up to play with the big boys?” “Big boys huh,” Shining narrowed his eyes as a look of determination appeared; “well this Prince was captain of the royal Canterlot guard!” Baen smiled and scraped his hoof, “Then have at you!” Both stallions zoomed at each other in a flash, “YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!” A massive clang accompanied by twin grunts of mild pain was heard as both parties were sent hurling into the hay on either side of the arena. The cheers reached their ears as they stood up and waved to the crowd. * “And then I threw her.” Baen almost spat out his cider, “You threw your wife?!” Shining nervously nodded, “Yeah….not the smartest move in hindsight. She’s still a bit upset about it.” Baen waved a hoof, “She’ll get over it.” Both of them laughed once more and soon they lapsed into a pleasant silence. Baen reached into his chest plate and pulled out his note from Coco. Opening it he sipped his cider through a straw as he read it. Dear Baen I hope you’re doing better since your last letter. Truth be told, I was worried that you might have done something drastic, but I’m relieved that you’re alright. On a lighter note, Rarity is keeping me busy and I’m having a great time over here. I’m going to have a few days off in about a week around Hearts and Hooves day and I was thinking of coming down to Ponyville and visit with all of you. See you soon! Sincerely, Coco Pommel Baen smiled at the words and placed the note on the table as he sipped his cider again. Shining glanced at the words and shook his head with a good natured smile. “So you have an admirer hm?” Baen glanced up with a raised eyebrow, “Admirer? She’s my pen pal.” Shining shook his head again with a chuckle which Baen picked up on, “What?” “Well Baen,” he paused, “we’re friends now….right?” Baen thought on it and did something that surprised the unicorn stallion, he nodded. “Why not,” Baen smiled, “frankly it’s rather refreshing to hang out with another stallion, plus you can hold your own in a fight and I can respect that.” Shining laughed, “A fight? It was a jousting match and you sent me flying like a hoofball!” “Exactly,” he smirked, “I need a good practice dummy.” Both laughed once more, but a throat being cleared interrupted them. “Sorry to interrupt this touching moment but I need to borrow the two of you.” The sound of a snap and a flash was seen by many ponies that day as the two stallions vanished. However, the two appeared and noticed three things immediately. They were standing in an odd landscape of rock and barely any grass. Shining and Baen turned around and took note of the guilty party who had teleported them. Shining narrowed his eyes in frustration, “Discord, I should’ve guessed.” Discord rolled his eyes as he floated in mid-air, “Yes yes, ‘Oh no it’s Discord’. Normally I would give a witty response but there’s a bit of a pressing issue,” he pointed behind the two. Baen blinked in surprise at the massive creature attacking two familiar shapes flying around it, “A Tatzlwurm? Huh…haven’t seen one of those in a while.” Shining glanced at him in shock, “You’re telling me that thing is as old as you?!” Baen shrugged, “Older most likely,” he rubbed his chin, “I have to say that they’re putting up a good fight,” Cadance was then gripped by the tongues of the Tatzlwurm, “Or maybe not.” Shining then shook his hoof toward the battling mares, “HELP them!” Baen sighed and rolled his eyes, “Fine”, he pulled off his axe and spoke through his teeth, “I’ve been wanting to slay something for a while now anyway.” Baen ran up the hill at breakneck speed as his Wrath aura flared up. As he neared the area, the monster surged up to gobble up the two mares’ whole. Its massive roar was cut off into a wet gurgle as Baen leapt up….and severed its head from its body. Baen landed as the head smashed down before Shining Armor who was still with Discord who was doing some sort of odd dance. All three ponies walked down to Discord and Shining, the four ponies gazed at the chaos god as he danced, “To the ends of Equestria! To face such great danger! And she did it for me! She did it all for me, for me, for me!” Twilight zipped up to his eyes and yelled at him, “YOU WERE FAKING?!” Baen at that point tuned them out as he looked at his latest kill; smiling to himself as he poked it with his axe until his name was called. “Hm?” Cadance approached him, “Thank you Baen, thank you for your help.” Discord suddenly appeared behind the barbarian, “Well here’s another thing you didn’t expect Twilight.” Twilight raised an eyebrow, “What does Baen have to do with your so called test Discord.” “OH he has his own part to play, though it was a minor one,” Discord picked the stallion up in a hug, “this adorable ball of violence is an enigma for sure, but I think I’ve figured him out.” Baen smiled lightly, “Well at least somepony likes my tendencies.” Twilight groaned, “Just get to the point.” Discord pouted, “Well alright since you asked nicely,” he then placed Baen on the ground, “well you see. Ever since you brought mister smash first and talk later, I’ve been keeping an eye on him. After his little freak out and the way he acted toward you Twilight, I decided I wanted to see if he really disliked you.” Baen raised an eyebrow, “How so?” Discord smiled and pointed to the severed head, “Well for starters. If somepony truly dislikes another pony, will they honestly go out of their way to help them in a dire situation?” Baen looked away slightly with a blush of embarrassment as Twilight blinked in surprise, “Wait a minute-“ They were cut off when the head regurgitated slime on Discord. * Twilight followed Baen after they bid farewell to the Crystal Empire’s monarchs. Twilight was going to drop by Fluttershy’s and was going to see Baen off. Twilight grinned slightly, “So you DO like me after all?” Baen’s expression was one of annoyance, “No.” “Come on,” she prodded his side, “Admit it, you like me.” “Shut up.” Twilight smirked, “Come on Baen you don’t have to hide your feelings from me.” Baen turned to her as he opened Vinyl’s front door, “Listen, I’ve done my good deed for the day and I have become friends with your brother. So I am afraid your presence is no longer required, good job Twilight,” he leaned toward her and spoke low, “now begone with you.” The door slammed shut as Twilight still had the smirk on her face, “Say what you want Baen, you know I’m right.” The Alicorn then headed off to Fluttershy’s cottage.