3rd POV
Zecora felt herself coming to, a groan escaping her lips as her eyes fluttered open, the world around her still slightly blurry. As she focused her vision, her surroundings becoming a bit clearer, the first thing that she had noticed was that she was not lying on the floor. Rather she was on a bed, staring up into the ceiling.
‘A ceiling?’ Zecora thought in confusion, slowly rolling off the bed to properly stand on all fours. From what she had seen when she entered this shop, the ceiling was supposed to be extremely high up, bordering up to almost two towers high. On that note, how was it possible that the shop which from the outside didn't look at all any bigger than a simple one story house, but in the inside it could very well rival a castle with its sheer size.
“Ah, I see that you have finally awaken, my striped friend,” A voice, similar to that of the one she heard before fainting. “I was beginning to worry about your state of mind.”
Zecora turned her head towards the direction of the voice, to find that it was the same creature that she had last seen. Looking at it carefully, she deduced that this was one of the strangest creatures she had ever seen. For one, it towered over her almost twice the size of a regular pony. It stood on its hind legs like a minotaur and had hands like a diamond dog, but that was were the similarities between them ended. Instead of hooves, it had claw-like feet with the tip of the claws being round and dull rather than sharp and pointy, the same can be said with its hands. The fact that it was wearing clothing and had the ability to speak made the, already strange, creature even stranger.
A clink on the table, which Zecora could’ve sworn wasn't there in the first place, disrupted her from her inner monologue. Looking down, she found that a plate with a steaming cup of tea on it had been placed in front of her.
“I went ahead and made us both some tea,” It… no, HE said, drinking from his own cup. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Oh!...N-no, I don’t mind at all,” Zecora stuttered out slightly, slightly shocked at the creature's ability of speech, as she reached out for the cup. “I hope I did not impose after my… sudden fall.”
“Of course not my dear zebra, although I must say I'm quite impressed,” He set his tea down, looking straight at her. “After all, no ordinary being has ever resisted the power Aghanim offers, no matter how powerful one claims. Ponies of legends have succumbed to it and let it corrupt them to do its bidding.”
Zecora froze momentarily at that, the teacup held between her hooves was only inches away from her mouth. Shock rippling throughout her body at the implications of the statement.
"Why would you place such a dangerous object out in display?" Zecora asked, slightly peeved and worried at the various reasons that could be suggested. "Would it not be safer if it were hidden and held at bay?"
He smiled at her, but not out of malice. It seemed more like acceptance, as well as... sadness?
"Believe me I have tried many time to do just that, but...it always finds a way."
Zecora respectfully stayed silent at this, obviously she had reopened old scars from the past. That smile was one she had seen in many of the war veterans and elders in her village, in Zebrafica.
“Ah, but enough about that,” He said nonchalantly, waving off the depressing subject like it was unimportant. “Let us return to the reason why you entered my shop in the first place, you wish to purchase something, yes?”
Her mind blanked out for a second, before she had to resist the urge to bash her head onto the table. She had forgotten about why she was in Ponyville in the first place.
“Yes, it seems that my mind has slightly dampened,” Zecora admitted, grinning sheepishly. “Considering all the things that have happened.”
“Understandable, with the current circumstances,” He said, nodding his head with his eyes closed. When he reopened them again, they were wide in surprise, his mouth open in a slight ‘o’.
“Oh, how rude of me,” He exclaimed, an expression of realization present on his face. “I haven’t even introduced myself yet.”
With that, he abruptly stood up and placed his right foot on the table, rattling the teacups that were placed on it as well as causing me to jump slightly. The slow beat of drums started to resound through the entire room. He crossed his arms, the drums growing louder and blaring from all directions, as he loudly began,
“I am he who has traveled into the depths of Tartarus and back, he who has discovered ancient civilizations and relics, he who has fought and aided countless warriors in the heat of battle, he who never looks at explosions!”
At this point the tempo of the drums increased and he was standing on the table, making strange dances that seemed to involve a lot of single foot hopping and palm gestures,
“I am he who has been favored by the gods themselves, he who has told his superiors to kindly fuck off and had his ass kicked severely, he who has peeked in on a bathing princess and survived with all his limbs attached. I… AM… THE KEEPER!!”
As he finished his introduction, the music ending with a cry, he had assumed a final pose. His right palm pointing towards the speechless zebra, his left pointing away, and his feet apart.
For a moment only silence filled the room, until he raised his head to look at Zecora, and gave her a grin.
“But you can call me K, for short.” He said as he relaxed his pose, placing his hands on his hips instead.
Zecora blinked slowly at this sharp turn of attitude and gave him a gentle smile in return, slightly shocking K, as he calls himself. She reached out towards him with her foreleg, the golden rings around it jingling as she did so.
“My name is Zecora, Mr. K,” She introduced herself, her foreleg still outstretched. “And I must say, that was quite a display.”
Now it was K’s turn to blink slowly, his grin faltering as he looked at the offered limb in slight bemusement. This was not the reaction he was expecting. He was expecting her to be amused, to be bewildered, to be in awe, but certainly not for her to take in the enthusiastic introduction calmly.
He quickly shook his head, and grasped her hoof with his hand, giving it a firm shake.
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Zecora,” K said, scratching the back of his head lightly. “But please, just K is enough.”
“Just as Zecora shall suffice… K.”
“So shall we return to the part where you were going to tell me what was it you needed from my humble shop?” K asked, his voice filled with mirth.
“Yes…, I suppose we shall before this chat is once again led astray.”
Moments Later
Zecora left the shop with a smile, of course no could tell due to the cloak’s hood shadowing her face and the fact that the streets were still empty. This slightly dampened the zebra’s mood but she merely shrugged it off with a sigh and the fact that she had what she came here for. She looked up to the sky taking note of how the sun was positioned.
'It's still noon?' She idly thought with confusion. 'Funny, It felt longer than that.'
With that she headed back to her hut in the Everfree forest, oblivious to the little filly that shadowed her every move.
Moments Later... Again
Everfree Forest, Night Time
"That... does not look safe," K said to no one in particular, as he stared at the unstable rope bridge that connected the two cliffs. Looking ahead, he saw the familiar ruins of a once mighty fortress, The Castle of the Two Sisters. However it wasn't the castle that he was searching for, no. He was searching for a tree, specifically the Tree Of Harmony or to be even more precise, this world's Radiant Ancient.
It wasn't hard to find to be honest, If one had the ability to sense energy sources. That, and the fact that there was a cave in the gorge below that glowed brightly with magic.
Looking down below, K idly took note of the large distance between his position and the gorge's floor level before letting out a low whistle, impressed. Taking a few steps back, he gave himself a running start before making a leap of faith into the gorge, feet first.
As K felt himself go airborne and the familiar upward burst of wind, making his cloak flap erratically behind him, he readied himself. He noticed that he was nearing the ground and with the speed of a skilled and experienced warrior, drew a dagger out of its sheath and threw it at the ground.
*BLINK*
K was no longer in midair, instead he was on the ground kneeling on one knee, a hand resting on the pommel of the blue dagger that was embedded in the surface. He stood up and holstered the dagger back into it's sheath, walking towards the cave with no hesitation. At least he would have before he was forced to leap back, a beam of light striking the spot he had stood on, leaving a small crater in its wake just to show how powerful it was. He tried to look up towards the source of the beam, but he was once again forced to dodge, this time avoiding a lunge from an armored creature.
This allowed K the chance to finally see his attackers in the form of a familiar black alicorn fully decked in armor and two glaives levitating by her side, as well as a black panther, also equipped with armor. The thing that worried him though, were the menacing glares he received from both the alicorn-panther duo.
"Hey Luna, Hey Nova," K said, waving nonchalantly at their direction with a sheepish grin. "Um, long time no see?"
Their only response was to increase their glares to frightening degrees.