//------------------------------// // Questions // Story: Sword, Shield, and Scabbard // by Shadowslash101 //------------------------------// Chapter 14 Questions In the Lock and Key Hotel, Roadburn sat onto his haunches as the seven mares discussed on how they were going to get back to the Crystal Empire. Some argued, others laughed and Roadburn was the only one who remained silent. Soon he became a little drowsy and he fell asleep. Soon, the laughing and the voices of mares faded away and it was replaced by the giggling of foals. Roadburn opened his eyes to see that he was now in Canterlot, in broad daylight, too. He found that he was sitting at a table with two foals: Vinyl and himself. They paid no mind to the real Roadburn as they giggled a laughed. “Okay, okay, okay!” Vinyl giggled, “Do it again!” Colt Roadburn sucked in some air, making his cheeks puff out, and he closed his eyes as he flopped down both ears. He lifted one ear and opened the opposite eye, which looked like it was humorously bulging, and he flopped the ear as he raised up the other one, closing one eye and opening the other, and he kept doing that until he opened both eyes and lifted both ears, looking silly. He let out the air, making a funny sound as his lips flapped against one another. The foals then burst in laughter, slamming their hooves on the table a little. Roadburn smiled at this memory, and then he heard a familiar voice, “Hey!” the voice grabbed their attention. The foals and Roadburn looked to the side to see a chubby little foal wearing a tacky apron and hat. His mane was a light brown and scruffy and his coat was a light cream. “Don’t make a big racket! You’re scaring the costumers!” The little foal told them with a cross expression. “Oh, sorry, dude,” Vinyl apologized as she stood up and walked over to the foal, “My name’s Vinyl Scratch. What’s your’s, dude?” The foal looked at her questioningly, “Joe, Pony Joe,” Joe replied, “My mom owns this restaurant, so you better quiet down, please.” “Oh, okay, okay!” Vin nodded, “We’re sorry, dude. We’ll go and play somewhere else,” she then turned to Roadburn, “C’mon, Burn!” Colt Roadburn nodded and happily walked up to Vinyl. “Okay, Vinyl!” he giggled, and turned to Pony Joe, “My name’s Roadburn!” he offered a hoofbump to the colt, “I’m new here in Canterlot! Nice to meet you!” The colt looked at his hoof puzzled, but he bumped it with his own hoof. “Pony Joe,” the colt replied and Colt Roadburn playfully shook his hoof. “Am I doing it right, Vinyl?” Colt Roadburn asked his friend, who laughed and stopped their hooves. “Good enough, dude,” she replied with a giggle. The colt lets go of Pony Joe’s hoof with a giggle. “See ya later, Joe!” Colt Roadburn waved as he and Vinyl made their leave. Roadburn watched and decided to follow, and as he followed, he heard another distinct voice speak, “Roadburn? Burn! Roadburn!” The blue unicorn woke up with a stir and noticed that he was back in reality, “Good to see you’re still with us, dude,” Vinyl told him as Surprise and Spitfire walked in with a large bag. “Everypony! Look what we found!” shouted Surprise as Spitfire laid the bag on the table and opened it, revealing weapons and armor fit for mares inside, “They were just lying there in the a Royal Guard outpost!” Lyra took a sword and lifted it, “Seems a little heavy,” she said as she moved it from hoof to hoof, trying it out a little. “That’s because you’re holding a short sword, Lyra!” Surprise told her as she pulled out a helmet and flail. She put on the helmet, “These weapons will help us fight our way to the Crystal Empire!” “I’m not using one of these brutal tools!” Octavia said sternly as she turned around from the table, lifting her head, “I am way much gentler than that.” “Dude, we kinda don’t have a choice here,” Vinyl told her. “Yeah, and you’ve seen the size of those titans and what they can do,” Bonbon told her, “We need as much strength as we can muster to fight against them.” “And it’s a good thing we have this guy!” laughed Vinyl, “We’ll get to the Crystal Empire in mere seconds.” “Remind me why we’re going there, again,” said Roadburn. “Jus’ to get more help, dude,” Vinyl told him. “Well, I’m still not grabbing a weapon,” Tavi’ told them all, “I am a musician from Cantelot. I do not indulge in violence.” “Okay, well, I guess you’ll just get ripped apart from those giant monsters,” Spitfire said with a snarky tone, “While we go and get back to the safety of the Crystal Empire.” Octavia grew silent as she thought this over. They were in deep trouble and there’s no telling what could be after them. Better protect herself anyways. She reached over the table and grabbed a small knife, “Fine,” she replied, “I’ll do it.” Surprise then jumped and slammed a helmet onto Tavi’s head, “Yay!” she shouted. Meanwhile, outside Raziel’s Castle, Rarity and the others were spooked by the explosion and hurried into the main hall. “Eli! Eli!” Rarity shouted as she tried to look for the earth pony through the cloud of dust and smoke, “Eli, are you alright!?” There was no answer and Rarity began to panic, “We have to get down there now!” she told the others as she prepared for a jump. “Rarity, no!” Sweetie Belle shouted as she and her friends hugged onto her hind legs, stopping her from jumping, “You’ll get seriously hurt, sis!” “What do you suppose we do!?” huffed Rarity, “We can’t just leave him there to die!” “L-Lady Rarity,” Spot tried to grab her attention as he hid behind Fido. “What!?” shouted the unicorn in anger. “W-we…might be able to reach him…by s-searching through the castle…” Spot suggested, “R-right…?” Rarity thought it over and nodded, “Yes, that’s what we’re going to do!” the unicorn shook off the Cutie Mark Crusaders and trotted around the hole, “Come now! We don’t have any time!” The Diamond Dogs and CMC quickly follow her through the castle, searching for a way down. Meanwhile, up North, Merciful continues his search for their group as he carried Twilight Sparkle through the forest. “We shall come upon them at any moment,” The dark alicorn told his unconscious friend, “Please, stay alive.” Mercy then heard a great shouted and he hurried to the source by flight. He gently landed at the edge of a large hole, and at the bottom he could see dust afloat. He squinted his eyes, trying to see through the cloud, and soon it settled on six stallions, each wearing Royal Guard armor and looking back up to him. “I say, dear fellow!” one with a fancy accent shouted to him, “Could you help us out from here?” “Those of you who can fly, give me assistance, please,” said Mercy as he laid Twilight down, gently. Soon after getting the heavy stallions out from the abyss, Merciful was given gratitude. “Thank you, dear fellow, for removing us from the hideous hole,” the fancy pony thanked him, “I say, you aren’t Merciful by any chance. Are you?” “Yes, I am,” Merciful replied as he gestured to Twilight, “and my friend requires medical attention, quickly.” “That’s okay!” the short ginger unicorn shouted with a first aid kit in his magical grasp, “I can help with that! What does the princess need?” “She was struck by lightning during a battle with Nightmare Moon,” Mercy told them, and each stallion gasped, shocked to hear the name, “You’ve heard of this being before?” The fancy stallion exchanged looks with the yellow unicorn, and walked over to Merciful, “Nightmare Moon was an evil that was hidden deep beneath your sister; Princess Luna.” “I am aware of this,” replied Merciful plainly. Jacko turned to his work. “Nightmare Moon was born from her jealousy and greed for attention,” the stallion continued, “and as such she tried to shroud the land in eternal darkness. We know the story all too well.” “I see,” replied Merciful as he looked into the stallion’s eyes, seeing his thoughts and memories, quickly, “Well, that makes sense. Now tell me, who are you? And what are you doing here outside of the Crystal Empire, wearing Royal Guard armor?” “I am Fancypants,” the fancy stallion replied to him, taking off his helmet and letting his mane fall into place, “and these are my stallions.” Meanwhile, in the Lock and Key Hotel, everypony was trying out their new equipment and armor, except Roadburn, who didn’t think he’d need such things. He sat alone at the table as they were practicing in the reception room. Eventually, Bonbon walked into the room, curious on why he wasn’t spending so much time with them and sat across the table. Roadburn looked up to see her with his dull look of indifference. “Lemme guess,” said he, “You’re going to try to persuade me to put on some armor and carry a sword?” Bonbon merely shook her head, “No, sir,” she told him, “Not at all.” “Then why are you here?” “It’s just that you’re always alone,” explained Bonbon, thoughtfully, “and I’ve been wondering why you do this. Everypony else is in the other room, but you don’t seem to care that much. How come?” Roadburn remained silent for a long moment, “Why should you care?” he finally asked. “Well, you just seem a little, I dunno…sad,” replied Bonbon and Roadburn looked down to the table with more silence, “It’s alright to tell me. I won’t tell anypony, honestly. I keep a lot of secrets,” she tried to give him a comforting smile, “Was it a break up? Somepony thought you were dumb, maybe? Or did you lose somepony close to you?” Roadburn looked up to her with a slight look of surprise, but he quickly hid it away as he looked to the side, “S…Something like that…” he finally answered. Lyra looked at him confused, “Somepony close?” Roadburn nodded, “Well, how’d it happen?” “She was taken from me.” “And this she was your mother? Wife? Grandmother?” asked Bonbon, politely. “Grandmother,” Roadburn replied with a sad glimpse. “Sorry to hear that,” replied Lyra, “I guess, you did mention that earlier,” she nodded, remembering the time they acquainted in the cave, “and she taken, right? By who?” Roadburn didn’t answer, at first, but he turned his glare back to Bonbon, “By a monster,” said he. Lyra slightly frowned from Roadburn’s glare, “Is there anything else you’d like to ask?” “Well…there is one more thing…” Bonbon told him, “A little earlier, I saw Surprise talking to herself in the mirror. Do you know why?” Roadburn shook his head, “Other than the fact that she’s insane, no,” he replied to her. “Well, she did say some pretty weird things,” Bonbon nodded to Roadburn, “Like, ‘then we’ll have to send them to aid those guys’, and, ‘well, everything’s going great over here’! Stuff like that.” “Insanity,” Roadburn replied as he sat back and crossed his arms, “I don’t know what her deal is with me, but she’s fixated on me like a lost puppy.” “Maybe, or maybe she sees something in you that you like to hide, making it hard for us to see it,” Bonbon told him, thoughtfully, “Besides, she does act like a certain pony my friends and I know and love.” Roadburn nodded, “And who would that be?” “Her name is Pinkie Pie,” she replied, “She worked at a little place called Sugar Cube Corner. She throws all sorts of parties and banks a lot of sweets and stuff like that. She everypony’s friend, and if she was Surprise, there would be no difference.” “Well, I haven’t seen Surprise do any of those things,” he replied to her, “other than her being friends with everypony all the time.” Bonbon giggled, “You seem so calm when you’re annoyed,” she complimented him. Roadburn blushed faintly, “I-I…er… Sure,” muttered the blue unicorn, “I guess…” “My, aren’t you a riddle, Burn,” Bonbon told him, “I like riddles,” she leaned in a little close and laid her hooves onto the table, crossing them under her, “You’re one I’d love to crack.” Roadburn was surprised at her direct approach, but he kept his composure and stood up, “I’m better off alone,” the stallion told her as he walked into the kitchen, leaving the mare alone. As a rule, he never romanticizes with anypony, it was a distraction to him and if he got too close he would reveal too much. Vinny knows this, too, and she understands his space. Burn pulled out a cup from the shelf and poured some water from the sink into it. He never uses magic, let alone knows any. He found life simpler this way. As he drank his water, Spitfire came into the room, wearing her armor as she came over to the sink, making herself a glass. “Preparing for battle is some hard work, huh?” Spitfire said and she took a sip from her drink, “Aren’t you gonna join?” Roadburn didn’t answer as he drank from his water, making Spitfire uncomfortable, “Oooookay…” she said and she took a gulp. Roadburn continued ignoring her, but his concentration broke once she nudged him, “Hey! I don’t bite, buddy. I just wanna talk. You said your name was Roadburn, right?” Roadburn then sighed and gave her a nod, “And Vinny’s said you’ve got plenty of speed. What’s that supposed to mean? Are you fast runner?” silence was her only answer as the sound of rain tinkled onto the window and roof, “Why so secretive?” Spitfire nudged him again, “Do you have trust issues, or something?” “I…” Roadburn sighed, “I’m a fast runner. Yes.” “How fast are you?” the yellow Pegasus asked him, “Y’see, I’m a Wonderbolt and I’m interested in speed, too, y’know.” “I’m…fast enough,” he replied. “Heh. ‘Fast enough,’ eh?” she bopped his shoulder with a hoof; “I like you. You aren’t as cold as Tavi’ keeps complaining about.” “She talks about me like a bad thing?” Roadburn asked her, curious. “Well, yeah, but don’t worry,” she told him, patting his back; “You’re not a bad thing. Surprise sees that, Vinyl sees that, and I see that.” “Do you think I see that?” Burn asked her, curious. “I dunno,” Spitfire answered, puzzled, “Do you?” “I sometimes scare myself…” Roadburn admitted, looking at his drink, “I don’t know my parents. I don’t know my own strength… When I was young, I used to have nightmares of terrible things; screaming, and unnatural sounds. The voices of ponies I can’t recognize…” he then realized he said too much, and looked over to Spitfire, who tilted her head, listening to him, quietly, “I’m sorry… You must think I’m crazy like Surprise now, don’t you?” Spitfire shook her head, “Nah,” she answered him, “Not even close. You don’t talk to mirrors at least. Heh, heh. It mostly sounds like you had a rough foalhood. Do you have those nightmares?” Roadburn merely shook his head, “No, I… I just remember things…” he took a sip from his glass. “What kind of things?” Spitfire asked him, curious. “Foalhood stuff,” the blue unicorn told her, “They’re how I met Vinyl and others…” “You have more friends?” asked Spitty, “How many?” Roadburn thought it over a bit. Many ponies consider him a friend: Fancypants, Luckyshoes, Jacko Lantern, Soarin’, Turnip Top, and Pony Joe. “Enough,” Roadburn told her as he sipped his drink again. “Am I considered a friend?” Spitfire asked the blue unicorn, and he could there was a faint blush on her face. Now he was stuck. He couldn’t be rude and just leave her like this. She was a nice pony and he might as well be polite. “Yeah, uhm…” he nodded quickly, “A friend of Vinyl is a friend of mine.” “Funny,” Spitty giggled a little, “Back there you said you were better off alone,” she then finished her drink and walked out the kitchen, leaving Roadburn a bit flabbergasted, and uneasy. True, that’s what he said, but is that what he truly feels? Meanwhile, at the bottom of Raziel’s Castle, Eli laid in the midst of fallen debris. His eyes shot open, and he gasped for air, painfully coughing in the process. The green pony looked up to see the giant hole that was made and the fire from the oak tree was still burning, but not so much as he anticipated. He laid there and rolled around off his stomach, but his leg halted the roll. Eli looked at it and found his leg crushed under the weight of a huge boulder. The green pony winced in pain and let out a scream in agony. He laid back onto his stomach and screamed a little more. “Calm down!” A small voice shouted in front of him and it caught his attention. Eli saw a tiny pony in front of him with small insect wings, much like a fly. It was definitely a mare as her white mane reached down to her hooves. Her tails was also stretched out some too. She had a pure white coat and bright red eyes. Eli gritted his teeth still from the pain and groaned a bit, trying to hold back the agony. “It’s okay, mister,” the little pony told him as she trotted up to his nose, she spoke with a small, cute girl voice, “I’ll save you! Just sit tight!” The pony then fluttered up and landed on the giant rock that held down Eli, and made a long whistle. For a long moment, nothing happened, but then stomping could be heard and felt along the floor. It grew a little more violent as the stomping grew closer. Eli slowly looked up to see a bi-pedal stone giant walk into the light. It carried a huge claymore on its back behind its head, and Eli could see that it looked like a pony, but with a shorter neck and muzzle, it stood on two legs, and it had hands. The face of the being had a giant green gemstone set on it. It also seemed to be wearing some armor. “Could you help this mister out, please?” said the smaller pony and with a nod, the giant walked over and lifted the stone debris off of Eli’s leg with ease. Eli watched in surprise as the giant hurled the stone away, like a frisbee. The green stallion turned over onto his rear and felt his leg. He winced once he felt the sharp pain on his shin. The small pony landed on his shoulder. “Excuse me,” she grabbed his attention, “Is your leg broken?” “Uh…yeah… I think so,” Eli nodded as he sniffed. The little pony fluttered over to his leg, gently, “I can fix it, if you’ll let me, sir,” she told him. Eli thought she was nice and he nodded. The pony fluttered up to the stone giant’s shoulder and Eli couldn’t see what was happening up there, but soon she came back with a bag and she stopped over his leg. “This is a healing medicine that my people made for unfortunate ponies, like you,” she explained as she pulled out a small bottle and poured out a light blue liquid onto Eli’s leg. It sparkled as it was dribbled onto his fur. “Try it now,” the small pony nodded to him and Eli first felt his leg. No pain. “Whoa,” Eli said as he stood back up, “Thanks a bunch, little guy.” “’Little guy’!” the pony huffed, angrily with Eli and fluttered up to his face, “First off: I’m not little! I’m just short! Second off: I’m a girl!” The stone giant reached down and gently moved a hand between Eli and the pony. The pony looked up to the giant and smiled, “You’re right, Atlas. I shouldn’t have let myself get angry,” Atlas then moved its hand from between them and the pony sighed to compose herself, “Let me start again. First off: I’m not little. I’m short. Second: I’m a girl. Not a guy. Okay?” Eli quickly nodded, just a little spooked by the little pony’s outburst, “Now, I thought I saw something else fall with you… What was it?” Eli immediately remembered what she meant, “Oh, Alamos!” he then hurried to find the shield, “Al! Alamos! Where are you?” “Over here, you knave,” shouted Alamos under the debris, “I’m buried under your mess.” Eli sighed, relieved to know where the shield was and Atlas soon dug the shield out from the pile, “Thank you, giant. I am forever indebted to you,” Atlas then gave the shield back to Eli, who took it. “Thanks, Atlas,” Eli thanked him, and looked over to the little pony, “What’s your name?” “My name’s Rose Petal!” answered Rose, “I’m a breezie!” “A pleasure to meet you,” Alamos replied, “My name is Alamos, Shield of Sanctuary, and this is Knave Eli. We’re on a quest to find the Scabbard of Order.” “Oh, the Scabbard, eh?” the little breezie giggled, “Of course, I can help you find the Scabbard. We’re in the catacombs of the castle, you silly.” “I…don’t think I follow,” Eli replied with puzzlement. “Oh, Atlas and I are the guardians of the Scabbard,” explained Rose to them, “which would mean that the Scabbard of Order is hidden somewhere in here! Many thieves like to run in and take the Scabbard, but we’ve been able to throw them out, like the trash they are!” “How brave for somepony such as you,” Al remarked, “Doesn’t it get lonely by yourself?” “Nope!” said Rose, “I have Atlas with me. He’s a big sweetiepie!” she then flew up to the big being and hugged its stone chest, “Isn’t that right, Atlas?” The stone giant nodded as he used one hand to embrace her tiny hug. Eli smiled, “Well, that’s great!” he chuckled, “Now, can you show us the way.” “Oh, we can’t just let anyone we see to take the scabbard,” replied Rose as she lets go of Atlas, who let her go as well, “You’ll need to defeat us!” she landed onto the floor and stood up onto her hind legs, “Put ‘em up! C’mon!” Eli couldn’t help but crack a smile and snicker. Atlas reached down, gently picked up Rose Petal by the tail and shook his head. “Aw, c’mon, Atlas!” complained Rose as she was sat onto his shoulder, “You never let me have any fun!” She crossed her arms, unhappily as Atlas patted her head with his giant stone finger. After a short moment, Rose cheerfully hugged his finger. Once she let go, Atlas reached for his claymore and pulled it out, readying himself for a fight. Eli gulped as he reached for his long sword, but he felt nothing. He looked to his back and found that the sword was missing. “Oh, shoot!” Eli shouted as Atlas readied a downward strike. The green pony looked at him with a nervous smile and chuckle. Suddenly, he bolted, leaving a puff of smoke of his shape. Atlas gave chase.