//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Angel of Gold // by Magna85 //------------------------------// I stepped back, shocked at the sight before me. My best friend, Tim, was standing before me in full Berserker armor. Except, he existed in Equestria's history as a one-man-army? But the Tim I knew would only ever act in violence to protect someone... What's going on?! During these few seconds of complete surprise, Tim stood there. His eyelids drooped, like he was tired, even though his body language screamed knight. I blinked multiple times and rubbed at my eyes with my left arm. I was still clutching to his helmet, like a lifeline. It was the only physical thing I had in my hands saying that this was real. Tim just stared at me, when his eyes suddenly widened. Then, he charged at me, yelling incoherently. He must still be under Mad Enhancement, I thought. His sanity was all but gone. Due to the pause of this thought, plus the fact that I was still paralyzed by the fact that he was here, as Berserker, he was able to savagely smash a fist into the left side of my face. Suffice to say, I was thrown across the clearing from the force of the blow. With a grunt, I hit the base of another statue. I could feel my wings effortlessly slicing through the stone. Thankfully, the statue did not collapse. I still did not feel any pain from the blow, but my face felt a little weird. It was like something wasn't moving correctly. Before I could feel the spot where he had hit me, I felt something flowing through my body, originating from my stomach, and my face returned to normal. I saw the guards about to rush in and waved frantically to stop. I knew that right now, four guards would stand no chance against him. Again, Tim used this pause to charge at me, leaping forward to try and crush my head into the stone pedestal with his foot. I moved my head out of the way, just in time. He landed and embedded his foot in the stone up to his calf. "Tim! Stop this right now!" I shouted. He glared at me, baring his teeth, but his struggles to pull his foot out of the stone ceased. "Come to your senses," I pleaded, looking up at him. Immediately, his eyes glazed over, and he relaxed. I sat there, tense, and waited. The group of guards I walked with were watching, ready to spring out at the sign of him going, well, berserk, again. Instead, light returned to his eyes and he brought a hand to his head, growling. Then, he looked to me and asked, "What? Who are you? What are you?!" "Calm down! Tim, just calm down," I said as I stood up. I still held his helmet in my right hand, amazingly, and watched as he frantically looked around himself, before noticing that his foot was stuck in stone. He put all his effort into pulling it out, that he started to fall backwards until he executed a perfect backflip, landing on his feet. He looked surprised at the maneuver, and stared at his hands in astonishment. Then, my saying his name while unfamiliar to him registered, and he shouted, "Wait, how do you know my name?!" "Tim, I need you to trust me. I'll tell you all about this later, but I need you to confirm whether or not you waged a war against Equestria by yourself," I said, stepping towards him. "What?! War?! I would never-could never, do that! And by my self?! That's just impossible!" he shouted at me, still panicked by his apparent awakening. "Calm down," I said. I was getting the hang of using my voice to emphasize certain words, though I still didn't know how I was doing it. Just as before, he relaxed. Granted, after a few seconds he started to take in deep breaths, to calm himself even more. He breathed deeply one final time, and then said, "Alright...I'm calm. But you own me explanations, angel," while pointing at me. I nodded and offered him his helmet, which he took but did not place on his head. Apparently he had modified the armor and added a belt clip so he did not need to wear his helmet all the time. The four guards then came out from the bushes, weapons at the ready. Immediately, Tim's posture changed, and I could see the beginnings of madness return to his eyes. "Stop," I declared. The guards, and Tim, all stopped what they were doing. I turned towards the guards and made a gesture to lower their weapons. After a few seconds of hesitation, they did so. I know I probably shouldn't be ordering these guys around, but I really have no choice, as otherwise Tim would probably slaughter them. "Alright, let's all just go back and explain to Princess Celestia what the situation with Berserker is," I said in a placating tone. I didn't want to use his real name, and I only hoped that I didn't say his name loud enough for the guards to hear during our argument. "I'm surprised he even has a face, though it's probably just a mask," Jade Hunter said with an aggressive grimace. I quickly glanced at Tim, who tensed up, but relaxed just as quickly. He probably had enough logic in his head by now to know that he is currently under watch, and he cannot afford to look even worse to those judging him. "Jade, try not to purposefully antagonize him, please?" Star Saber said, exasperated. Jade scoffed, but stayed quiet. I could feel the tension in the air, so I decided to break it by saying, "Let's get going, shall we?" "You had better be right about this, Angel," Tim said, glaring at me. I had never seen him like that before, and it caused me to flinch. "It's Celedon, Berserker," I said. I was saddened that he still did not trust me. Then again, from his perspective, I was a living gold statue with wings, so it was not too hard to imagine his wariness. We walked in silence for all of the walk back to the main garden. Tim was walking slightly in front of me and to my right, while the guards that accompanied me walked behind us, ready to strike at a moment's notice. All of the guards where Celestia, Luna, and the group of girls were, tensed up upon seeing us calmly walking down the path. The sisters and the other girls did the same after coming out of some conversation they were having with each other. Suddenly, pink. "Hi!"