The warmth of the sun shone brightly upon my face and the rustling of the tree beside me played like that of a gentle violin as the leaves shifted in the wind. The fur that wasn’t covered by my jacket played along with the swaying grass below, tickling me somewhat. Something warm and soft underneath my head shifted slightly as I looked towards the left, the place where I had carved theirs and mine name upon sitting clearly in front of me. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t recall their names, nor could I see them clearly upon the wooden canvas. My hoof slowly reached out towards the carving, wanting to grasp at the marking; needing to know just who the three names etched upon it was. My hoof was stopped by something gripping it gently however, keeping me from my prize.
“Ragna…you’re awake…”
The voice was soft and beautiful, familiar yet different to me for some reason. I say nothing as I allow her grasp to tighten. She expected an answer. I nod my head at the question.
“That’s good. I was really worried about you, you know? I almost thought you had died.” A hand gently caressed the fur upon my cheek. “…Though I knew that someone as thickheaded as you would never allow that. What were you doing so high in the tree anyway?”
My head shifted towards my right, a plump delicious apple sitting not too far from where it had fallen when I had tumbled out of the tree.
She had noticed my gaze move from her to the apple, though I had suspected she already knew beforehand, “You nearly killed yourself…Just for one Apple, huh….”
My eye shifted to the side as I turned my head to look away from her. Such an action only caused the soft voice to giggle gently.
“He wanted another one didn’t he?”
I stayed silent as I closed my eye.
“Always the rock aren’t you Ragna…taking the world on your shoulders even if you don’t want to.”
I opened my mouth, my lips moving but no words coming out.
“I know Ragna…” The voice said, ignoring what I intended to say, if I had really said anything at all. “I should be resting. But I had to make sure you weren’t getting into trouble. The sister says I’m at least strong enough to get some fresh air now and then.”
I raise my eyes, to look at the one that was speaking to me, her face masked by the light of the sun behind her. I open my mouth to speak, once again, nothing coming out just like last time. She did however press something into my chest, the feeling of warmth filling my heart with contentment as I looked upon her featureless face.
“You mean the world to us Ragna…Don’t ever lose that heart ok?” She said softly.
I sigh before moving my lips again.
“Just for a while…rest ok…”
With another sigh, I concede, my eyes closing as the heat of the afternoon sun shown upon the two of us.
And then the pain hit, my body seething with a blazing fire as the pain reached my chest. I looked up to see a wicked smile upon the hidden face of the one above me.
“Rest forever…My little Ragna…Ahha…hahahahahha!!”
~
Ragna yelped as he flung himself upwards, the stallion instantly clutching his chest with his hoof. It was an act he regretted as he felt an erupt pain coming from where he had put his hoof. After a moment to recollect him, the stallion slowly looked down towards the rest of his body. He found that the lower half and chest was wrapped in bandages, as well as most of his right hoof.
It was then that he noticed an oddity about one of his appendages.
His left hoof, which had been wrapped in black bandages and clothing prior, caused his eyes to widen by degrees. The entirety of his left foreleg was a hard metal alloy shaped to look like that a pony’s hoof. There were joints where his leg would bend, even close to the ankle. As weird as it was to see that his right leg wasn’t his own, he then noticed a peculiar jewel within the underside of his hoof. It was a dull red in color, and, no matter which way he turned it, there was no shine to the lifeless gem.
“What the heck is this?”
A sound to his left caused the stallion’s ears to perk before quickly looking over towards the door. A yellow glow emanated from the knob; the only warning he was given before the door gently slung open. His eyes beheld a pony unlike any other he had seen…at least excluding the midnight one. Her fur was the purest white he had ever seen and her mane and tail flowed within an non-existent wind. Her horn glowed with the same ethereal yellow as the door’s knob and her wings seemed to twitch in worry. Upon seeing the bed ridden stallion, her eyes would widen before signing with relief. She looked behind herself before fully making her way within the room, closing the door behind her.
Ragna tensed as she neared, his one green eye following every inch of her movements. Her gentle smile was repaid with an impassive frown as she sat next to the bed. Both were quiet as they studied each other. When the larger pony tilted her head to the side slightly, the stallion would flinch, his hoof reaching behind him instinctively, only to be covered in a yellow aura.
“I am sorry Ragna, but as I am assuring you are aware, your body had taken quite a bit of damage. It is best that you rest, we do not want you hurting yourself needlessly.” She paused for a moment. “But the fact that you are still alive says something about your endurance I must say…”
“How do you know my name?” The stallion growled his brow furrowing.
“Well…” She began as she tilted her head. “I could say that I read your mind and shifted though your memories with but a single flick of my horn...” Ragna’s eyes widened by degrees, his body locking up; She could see into his memories just like that? The mare, however, gave a gentle giggle. “But I felt that asking the three young fillies was, by far, the better option.”
“Oh yeah...those three…” Ragna groaned, though for some reason, he visibly relaxed. He didn’t know why, but the thought of someone messing with his mind mad him a bit too angry. “Damn kids…getting me into this mess…”
“And,” The mare mused with a smile. “Effectively got you out of it as well. Without their word of insurance, I’m sure my sister would have done a bit more harm than just throwing you a couple dozen feet...in less than a second.”
“So that psychopath is your sister?” The stallion asked.
The mare frowned, aware that he met hers with one of his own. “I would ask you not to call her such things. She was just looking out for her subjects. She holds little trust to Discord and anything magically linked him. And you, my little pony, had been reeking of his magic before you came here.”
“Yeah…Well I would love to have a few words with that Discord bastard myself.” Ragna coyly said, his back slumping against the head of the bed. “If he really is the cause of all of this then I want to know damn well why.”
“So, I take it you really do not know him, do you?” The white mare asked.
“It’s what I’ve been trying to fucking say lady.” Ragna retorted with an annoyed growl.
“Then,” The white mare bowed her head gently. “Please accept mine, Princess Celestia of Equestria’s, apology on behalf of my sister and my subjects.”
Ragna’s eye widened at her action, before looking away, grumbling a “Whatever…” in response to her kindness. His eye scanned the room he was within. It was a simple place with mint green wallpaper. A single table sat on the right side of his bed. Occupying the left was, Medical equipment sat, a few wires running from the computer to his left arm.
“It’s true about what I said,” Celestia spoke, breaking the silence they both had fallen into. “You are quite durable. Most ponies, be them earth ponies or not, would be more worse off than just a few bruised rips. And your right foreleg…It is most…Interesting to say the least.”
“Yeah well,” Ragna said as he shot his green eye to the mare. “I doubt most ponies find themselves in a smoldering creator in the middle of an apple field found by three over active girls.” He lifted his right foreleg. “As for this…Don’t really know myself.”
“To be expected I suppose.” Celestia quipped. “Amnesia works that way.”
Ragna slowly shifted to his left, letting his hooves dangle from edge of the bed. “Not that it was nice talking to you or anything, but I’m getting the hell out of here.”
“What?” Celestia asked with a questioning smile. “So soon? We only just met.”
“Don’t care. “ He said, giving her a deadpanned look.
“Oh dear…Well…I had hoped it did not have to come to this but if I must take drastic measures…”
Celestia lifted her hoof and gave his ribs a tap. It was a gentle touch, but one that made every fiber of his body retch in pain, every curse word in his book being exclaimed as he fell back onto the bed. He gripped his rips as best he could, tears welling up in his eyes.
“Hmm…I don’t think you’re going anywhere for a while my little pony.” A magic glow emanated from her horn, gently glowing upon the stop she had touched. Instantly, the pain began to subside until it was just a throbbing annoyance to the stallion.
Ragna glared up at the mare from his prone position. “Crazy bitch…what the hell was that for?”
“Just showing that for now, you can’t go anywhere.” She tilted her head “Besides…where would you go? It’s not like you know where you are or where you are going.”
Ragna opened his mouth before closing it again. So the hell what…It’s my damn life isn’t it? But the longer he thought about it, the more he hated the fact that she was right. He didn’t have anywhere to go.
“I see you finally caught on. With no place in mind for you to go you have no choice but to stay in one spot and recover for now.” Celestia said softly before looking away. “Plus there is the manor of how you came to be here in Equestria. Being who I am, I cannot just simply allow you to roam as you wished, even if I didn’t see you as a potential threat.”
“So I’m your prisoner?” The stallion asked, growling near the end.
“Not at all.” The mare said with a wink. “You are able to move freely within the castle, albeit with somepony watching your every step.”
“Don’t know why, but that pisses me off just a little bit more then you think it would…”
“Oh don’t be that way Ragna. Think of it as a personal escort. And I already have the pony in mind, you might like her.” Before Ragna could even come up with a sassy retort, a knock would sound upon the door, causing the mare’s ears to flick at attention. “Ah…Seems you have a few visitors.” She said in a motherly tone. The stallion raised an eyebrow before he noticed the door open, two fillies slipping into the room soon after. Ragna tensed as the familiar trio sighted the stallion, their eyes reaching maximum height.
“Ragna!” screamed Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle simultaneously, all three fillies running full speed at the stallion.
“Wait! NONONONONONONONO!!” He yelled as he tried to back away in vain. But it was no use as the trio of fillies jumped up towards the stallion, forelegs opened wide. He raised both his hooves in a vain attempt to stop the duo, and awaited the pain he was more than likely going to experience.
~
A little mint green filly stared wide eyed at the being before her. Despite the injuries he had suffered he still stood strong, his sword clutched tightly as he readied for what was to come. Even though his back was to her, she could clearly make out a pure white mane on top of his head, shimmering even in the dead of night.
The sound of growling would force her to turn her gaze to the pack of Temberwolves inching their way closer to her and the one that seemed to be protecting her. The mint green filly flinched she saw the lead wolf jump towards them, snarling as it did so. The being in front of her shifted the blade back but not before turning his head, the tell, tell glow of read within in right eye.
*CHOOCHOO*
~
Lyra flailed her breathing fast and heavy as she was forced awake by the train’s whistle. She placed a hoof on her chest, remembering the dream she had just had. She reached into her saddle bag and pulled out a notebook. Opening it, she flipped to the page she had been looking for. On the page was the being from her dream, his back facing towards her as he did in the dream. She flipped through the note book to the last few pages. Upon one was a pony, one that wore a big coat as well as carried a giant sword upon his back.
She flipped back to the one from her dream, noting the weapon he too carried. “It has to be him…I’m sure of it…I don’t know why…but It can’t not be him.” She said softly before turning her gaze to the passing landscape. “I found you Bloodedge…”