Something Worth Fighting for

by Blade Heart

Introduction

When Orisian tried to move, he found it wasn't at all difficult, but Zecora soon stopped him. She was applying the healing whatever she had given him before she left for town.

"Anything I should know of? That happened while I was asleep?"

"A new journey you will take. To Canterlot's castle gates."

"And I assume your accompanying me?"

Zecora only smiled as she continued to apply the cloth to his forehead.

"Are you going to answer that question?"

Zecora shook Her head as she began to hum a tune that brought sleep once again to the forefront of his mind. He pushed the thought away, however, and began to think of this Canterlot he was going to, wondering if he could find a blacksmith, and wondering how much it would cost for him to use the forge. He pushed that thought away as well, seeing as making his own armor would take time that he wasn't sure he had. He moved on to thinking of what weapons cost here, and seeing as how it was already so much different from Remor, wondered what kind of strange weapons it had.

After a moment of thinking, he asked her when he would start repaying his debt.

"A transfer of debts is soon to come, for I am giving you to a familiar one."

"What are you talking about?"

"In Canterlot you will see, the princess of the lunar armies."

"You mean you know what happened in my dream? The woman I saw?"

Zecora smiled just as calmy as usual, and offered him a hand. Taking it and pulling himself up, he found that sitting was much more nauseating than lying down. Zecora went to a bag in the corner to retrieve something, while Orisian simply sat there with his head in his hands.

Coming back to him, she gave him a strange fruit, it's shape oval, but it's features distorted.

"A soothing fruit to he-"

Not wanting to cause offense, but wanting to speed up the conversation, he asked the next question with as much politeness as he could.

"Can you just answer the question normally?"

Zecora seemed amused, and stood there for a short moment, looking directly at him. Orisian began to think he had offended her, but she spoke up just before he was about to apologize.

"It has been so long since I did not speak in rhyme, I have to think about it. Forgive me if I seem ignorant, but I am not used to speaking like this. The fruit has natural qualities that enhance the mind of those that eat it. It is not permanent, but it will last long enough to help you get over any headaches you have, and avoid any mistakes that might offend others due to your mental exhaustion."

"Ah. And I assume it is like an apple?"

Zecora seemed very amused at this, as she let out a short chuckle.

"No, it is like a coconut. You must break it open."

"A coconut?"

"Yes. Allow me to show you."

Orisian gave her the fruit, and she dropped it. It landed with a thud, and a quiet but noticeable cracking sound. She picked it up, and pulled it apart, both parts having an inside like that of an orange. She gave him one side, and asked if she could use the other side for herself, to help with the 'normal speaking'.

Orisian answered in affirmative as he took a tentative bite to the inside. It wasn't chewy, but it was dry. However, as soon as he had it in his mouth, it seemed to turn to liquid, Covering his tongue with a bitter taste. Zecora smiled at the look on his face as he tried to keep from spitting it out, as she herself bit into it, seeming to enjoy the taste the strange fruit had.

Orisian swallowed what was left of it, and asked how much he has to eat to get the effects they were looking for, and Zecora answered that he had eaten enough.

"While we wait for the desired enhancements, are there any questions you wish to ask?"

"Are you familiar with the weapons and armor of this land? How much they cost and what they're called?"

Zecora seemed to think for a moment before answering, and when she did answer she didn't seem sure of herself. A first for her.

"In my homeland, we used what was given to us by the elders, items of great power passed down from generation to generation. But here, the only things I have seen in my travels were spears and swords. I am sorry I cannot be more helpful."

"Nothing to be sorry for my friend, I'll find out soon enough. So, about Canterlot. What is it like?"

"I am afraid I cannot answer you, as I have never been there."

"But you're coming with me, yes?"

"You will be accompanied by Twilight. She will show you the way to Canterlot, and to the ranks of the lunar armies."

"And I'm going to assume that I can enlist?"

"Yes. They are led by Princess Luna, the one you saw in your dreams."

"I'm still not sure I trust anyone different from me. Horns and wings and the like."

"Judgement based on sight often leaves an undeveloped mind."

Zecora seemed to be oblivious to the fact that she rhymed, and so was Orisian. He was thinking about this 'Luna', and if she had the honor necessary to lead a Kingsman. Of course, if Zecora was going to give him to her, he wouldn't have much choice in the matter, but he would once the debt was repaid. Maybe that would be long enough for him to assess her worth.

---

After around a 30 minute talk centered around things Zecora knew about in this land, twilight arrived with clothes that fit him perfectly, not too tight fitting, or too loose. After telling him that her search for Remor on the south, east, west, north, and after a bit of prodding from Orisian, every other place on the map turned up nothing of interest, she asked him if he was ready. Orisian wasn't sure, but Zecora answered for him.

"Be sure to remember what you've learned, and predict what you will learn. I will expect a much more refined mind when we meet again."

And with that, Orisian and Twilight began the walk to Ponyville.

After they were a few minutes into the forest, Orisian decided that his traveling companion might know a bit more about the weapons here, and decided to ask her.

"Oh... Well, I really don't know. Combat was never a big part of my studying. I actually only know one harmful spell. Umm... I do know that the Canterlot Royal Gaurds mainly use spears. My brother, the captain, actually trains with other weapons, like swords, shields and even bows. But, I don't really know much about it because we haven't seen each other in a while. As for how much they cost? I have no idea. I'd say the guard gets them for free, but that seems kind of obvious."

"And, the lunar armies are a part of the Royal Gaurd, yes?"

"Oh, I never really thought about them. I guess they are, but only for Princess Luna. Did Zecora tell you about them?"

"Aye, she did. Not much however."

"Well, I do know that they go through a much more umm... Intense training than the Celestial Gaurd , but that doesn't mean they're better. I mean, they might be better combatants, but they focus more on strength rather than tactics, and I've never seen them treat outsiders with respect. But they follow orders perfectly, and I guess you can't argue with the results. They were a big help when the changelings attacked Canterlot. Most of the Celestial Gaurd were overwhelmed."

"Ah. And what are these changelings?"

"We don't have much knowledge about them, but they are constant enemies. They gain power by feeding off of others. It's really hard to find one, because they can change whatever form they want, so long as they have enough strength."

"Feed off of others? You mean their cannibals?"

"No, they feed off of love. They can use magic to cloud your mind, but they usually don't need to do that. They just, change into someone that looks like they need help, and feed off of what they get. Evil, don't you think?"

Orisian was about to agree, but remembered what Zecora said. Taking her advice, he told Twilight he would need more information than what she gave him before he judged them.

"But, they're evil! They feed off of love, tell me anything that's worse than that."

She looked at him with a glare that pronounced 'checkmate', and Orisian calmy gave an answer learned from many years of experience.

"Slaughter."

"...what?"

"Slaughter. You said the Celestial Gaurd were overwhelmed when they attacked. They could have just as easily killed any citizens they found, but I assume they didn't?"

"Well, no casualties were reported. That I saw anyway."

"No casualties? Then they didn't kill the guards?"

"Well, no. But that doesn't mea-"

Orisian cut her off with a deadset glare that could silence the wind in a tornado. His voice was quiet, and intimidating.

"A soldier is forged in the trials of survival. Sparing your enemies means endangering your own. If you have the honor to do that, then there is no hope that evil corrupts your mind."

"But they would have used them as slaves! If we had lost, then they would have been nothing but a food source!"

"You said they aren't cannibals, and that they feed off of love. How would they harvest the food source?"

"They would use spells to make you love them! It wouldn't be free will."

Orisian's face had softened slightly, but he still didn't look convinced.

"I assume they can't eat anything else to survive then?"

"Well, like I said, we don't have very much information on them, so I don't know."

"Then we can only safely assume that they are doing what they are for their own survival."

"But, they could just work alongside us. Instead they choose to fight for it."

"Then they have a warrior's heart. Maybe misled, but it is still honorable."

"Honorable? Can you even name one thing about that that is honorable?"

"They are willing to fight for what they need. Weaker hearts would have given up."

"Or looked for a different, better way."

Orisian simply smiled at that, and continued walking.

---

Once they got to Ponyville, it was a quick 20 minute's ride to Canterlot. The carriage they took was slow, but comfortable. Not exactly Orisian's preferences, but he gave no sign. Curious about how someone could feed off of love, Orisian decided to explore that question.

"Well, again, I don't know. I would think that they just kind of... Absorbed it. I really don't know enough to tell you."

They had already stopped before she finished speaking, and two guards in gold colored plate mail armor decorated with the image of a burning sun greeted them. Orisian noticed they were both holding spears parallel to themselves, and one of them had a horn.

"Just follow them. I have to go find spike."

"Spike?"

"Yeah, I left him here to look for more maps in the Canterlot library."

"Ah."

Twilight hurried off in the opposite direction while Orisian turned to the two guards. One of them spoke, his voice surprisingly childish for a soldier.

"You Orisian?"

"Aye, I am."

"This way please."

He spoke with boredom and half hearted enthusiasm. Orisian already disliked this place. You would never see a Kingsman speak like that to anyone. But, Orisian followed, and soon found himself and the two guards in a large open room adorned with stained glass paintings depicting the apparent history of the world he was in. Farther down, there was a large, gilded throne, of which was currently empty. Again, the soldier spoke with the enthusiasm of an old man playing spin the bottle with other old men.

"Please wait here, the princesses will arrive shortly."

The two left Orisian completely alone, leaving to do whatever they were doing before. He didn't think they were much in the way of combat, but again remembered Zecora's advice.

After a good few minutes waiting, someone with purple colored plate mail armor emblazoned with a burning sun came to greet him. He spoke with a lively and friendly tone, rushing up to shake Orisian's hand.

"Hello! You must be Orisian. I've seen that the princesses are very excited to meet you. Please, follow me."

Quick, and straight to the point. Exactly the kind of interaction Orisian liked when it came to strangers. Following him, he was led out into a garden with normal looking trees, plants, and even some animals. Birds and rabbits mostly, but still animals he knew of. In the middle of the garden were two women, one appearing to be Princess Luna, and the other, appearing slightly taller, was literally white in skin color, with multicolored hair, going from blue to green, light purple and bright pink. She also had a horn and wings. They were both talking, but stopped once Orisian approached them.

Before they had a chance to say anything, Orisian asked them if they were royalty, and upon hearing they were immediately kneeled. It didn't matter if he was stuck in his own personal hell, he was still a Kingsman, and would act as such. Upon hearing that wasn't needed, he stood up.

"Hello. I am Princess Celestia, and I believe you have already met my sister. Twilight told me about you, and I must say, I'm very interested as to what happened to you."

"I'm not, Princess. I'd just like to get back to Remor, if I can."

"Remor? I don't believe I've heard of it."

"No one here has. But, before I go back, I owe a debt to someone. And that someone decided to send me here."

Looking from one to the other, he told them everything beginning from coming through a pool, to walking through a forest, and meeting Zecora. Finally, settling his gaze on Luna, he told them of how Zecora decided to give him to the Princess of dreams.

"Well then, I suppose I should leave you two for now. You will know where to find me, sister."

Celestia began to walk back to the castle with the guard who showed him the way here. Luna, however, was looking at Orisian. Her face showed a critical appraisal of his features, and before long, she turned and began to walk to the castle as well.

"Follow me. I wish to see what thou art capable of.