The Legend Of The Wanderers

by Xhadow

Birth of a Legend

I woke up in a flaming crater in the middle of a small campsite in the middle of a dark forest. The one thing that I felt more than anything else was cold, I was cold from shock, I was cold from a broken heart, and I was literaly cold.

"Hey, Stars you should come have a look at this!" came the panicked shout of the mare barely a meeter from my little hole.

The tent to our left flew open in a sparkley field of magic. "Yes, what is it this time Olivia? Did one of the bears get into the food again?" An unconcerned unicorn mage asked from behind a floating book.

"You know when you tried to summon one of the Ancients last week?" The Pegasus nammed Olivia asked the mage.

"Yes, what about it?" he asked lowering the book to glare at his assistant.

"Well..." She started, but decided to just nod in my direction.

The old mage's book hit the ground like a sack of bricks when he saw me. "Well, that's different. You are late young one, I summoned you last week! Why weren't you there?" He demanded, like I'd deliberatly skipped out on a pre-made appointment.

"Um, What?" I asked, confused.

"Hey! Speak Equestrian or not at all." Olivia ordered, tightning her grip on the crossbow she held.

"Wait...you don't speak the royal Toungue?" I asked, shocked that citizens of the empire didn't speak the traditional languages that the rest of us did.

"Not entirely." the older mage responded. "I know very little and Olivia here refuses to learn."

I don't know what it was but I felt an instant, eternal respect for the older stallion...even though he is one of the lesser races.

"What is your color?" the old man asked in broken Traditional.

"You know I can speak several languages right?" I asked in basic, slightly fustrated that he just butchered the language of my fathers. "And the proper question is, 'What is your name?''

"Really, the book I've studied for years says something entirley different." He told me, sounding interested to the point of obsession.

"What book could have the audacity to teach such lies?" I demanded, imagining an entertaining senario where I got to burn all the worthless notes.

"The most reliable on the topic. i imagine you've read it. You fake the role so well." The mage answered, with a ton of paranoid skepticism.

If I wasn't outright pissed off before, this old man just pushed me over the edge!

"Now see here knave! I will not be insulted by the likes of you! You are the reason we seperated the races! You and all your kind, the ingnorant mages who thought they could--" I was rudely interrupted by a sudden pain in back of my skull and unconsciousness.

The last thing I heard before slipping away was Olivia complaining about how much she hated "clubbing" me.

...................................................................................................................................................................................................

"Ow! I really need to get better at meeting ponies." I muttered, when I finally got my thoughts back.

"Good you're awake, listen kid the old stallion is a little paranoid so he needed to be sure it was really you. So...Uh, no hard feelings for the headache?" Olivia aplologized? well...I guess that's the closest I'll ever get to an apology from her.

"Where is he?" I demanded, instantly remembering my anger from the night before.

"Don't do anything stupid, kid. He's got a ton of magic." Olivia warned, chasing after me.

The forest looked a lot different in the daylight. There were birds singging and general joy surrounding the small camp. But both ponies were completly oblivious to the happiness in the air around them. As fast as my anger was remembered it was forgotten, who could stay angry on a day like this?

I trotted happily up to the old stallion, who was packing up his tent.

"Hey, what did you need me for?" I asked, ducking under a pole that nearly took my head off.

"I thought that I'd get the legendary king, but I must've cast the wrong spell. I don't need you so go away and leave me to my work." He ordered, swingging a full sadllebag directly at my head.

I sidestepped and tripped the old fool with a flick of my tail. "I warn you citizen, I am a nobel of the empire and will not be treated as anything less." I ordered the mage who, at the time was flat on his back gasping for air. "And you would do well to remember that." I admonished, then satisfied that he'd learned his lesson I left him to recover from his fall.

"You can't be a nobel of the empire if it doesn't exist!" He shouted after me, struggling to his hooves.

I stopped dead in my tracks and had to resist blasting the worthless unicorn to pieces then and there for his arrogance.

"What did you say?" I demanded, without turning around.

"The empire is dead!" He shouted at the top of his voice.

I knew he wanted a reaction, and by Comet's mane I'll give him one!

The tree next to me turned to dust as I absorbed it's energy, then focusing that energy into a single stream I spun and shot the bolt out my right hoof straight for that ingnorant face of his.

To my utter horror he absorbed the attack unscathed!

"You just might be what we need." He said with a smile, "I am Star Swirl and this is Olivia. Welcome to the team." He offered his hoof to me in a sign of peace.

I kneeled, "since you are more powerful than I, I accept your gacious offer of friendship." A long silence followed, in which no one moved or spoke.

After about a full minuet of waiting I looked to see what was taking him so long to finish the ceremonial oath and saw Olivia nearly passed out on the ground to our right laughing her head off, and Star Swirl looking exceedingly confused.

"You have no clue what this means do you?" I asked, miffed.

"Uh, well...you see..." he stammered.

"It's just the nobel vow of service. It's purely cerimonial." I explained, standing again. "Now, where's my stuff?" I asked, dusting off my coat.

Olivia pointed to the top of the tallest tree in the area.

"Of course." I sighed.

It took me about half a second to fade under the tree. Oh, ponies are unfamiliar with the term....umm...your kind calls it "winking" fading is similar, but not quite the same. For example: to wink you need two stable points on the same or similar planes, but with fading all I need is a patch of shadow and I can be there...Anyway, back to the stuff that matters.

"Will you realese my burdens to me?" I asked the stoic block of wood.

"Give to me a song and I shall release to thee thy burdens." It replied.

By the time the slowpokes peeked their heads over the rise I"d just finished my song, and like allways the dying tree's leaves turned back to green and several, your kind calls them..."Zapp Apples", appeared in the branches. just as the tree promised it released my things gently to the ground.

"I thank you." I said, bowing politely before taking my leave of the ancient tree.

"Wait were you just--?"

Yes, Olivia I was singging to a tree. Alright? Can we go now? I snapped interupting the slightly irritating mare. "Where are we going?"