The Wander Through Lands Unknown

by Tomas Lutwig

Chapter 64; Smithing And Discorse

Sleep had eluded me for the remainder of the night, and while I had gotten enough to keep from being an exhausted wreck I was still tired as Celestia's sun rose shining light into the room making me let out a sigh before redressing.

Looking over at the old backpack I opened it to find the rest of my meager clothing; the leather coat with it's small diamond-shaped patch and gloves being old but more than still usable, the metal sabatons and spaulders showing signs of age with small spots of rust forming around their edges, and finally the leather hood which was in a similar state to the coat with small nicks in the supple leather making it looked more aged than I had originally intended.

A smile formed on my face as I ran my hands over some of the last vestiges of my original home, a hollow chuckle sounding as I remembered the times my father and I had spent making all of it. Shaking my head I slid the clothing on, putting the armor in it's place and listening as it clanked softly with my movements, the familiar weight a small comfort. Tying the bag back to my belt along with the unicorn horn knife, I closed my backpack before heading towards the door.

'I understand Shining Armor's distrust of me, and well, as I said don't really care. I would hope however that I wouldn't be restricted to my room if I'm being treated like Princess Celestia's personal envoy, servant, or whatever the hell they think I am.' I thought as I opened the door.

The two guards on the other side were different from the ones from last night, the pale light of the moon at least letting me know they hadn't been the purple and mint green colored crystal ponies who stood at either side of the door now. “I don't suppose there would be any problem with me walking around a bit?” I asked turning towards the darker of the two.

The guards looked between one another before the darker one shook his head. “I see no issue, though at least one of us would need to escort you however.”

Nodding I shrugged “Understandable. Let us be off then.” I said motioning forward, down the hall.

Berry Burst, as he informed me of his name, nodded to the mint green guard before walking ahead of me. The stallion was not the most talkative, acting out his duty as most guards would in a near silent state; only replying to questions or speaking when spoken to.

Places like the remainder of the castles guest rooms, kitchen, guard stations, and other trivial places were offered after the question arose. It was not long before a large window overlooking a large crystal dome, giving the dome an odd look I questioned what exactly it was for.

The guard gave me an odd look. “That's the dome where we had hosted the equestrian games. Have... you not heard of the the equestrian games?” he said, the confusion evident in his voice.

Looking back out at the dome I nodded, the faded and fragmented memory slowly returning, I couldn't remember much of that episode, something involving Spike as most things in the Crystal empire do. “Ah, yea. I think I wasn't really around when those were taking place, out of the country.” I said.

Berry Burst snorted before shrugging. “Well, they were definitely an interesting one, seeing as how Spike the Brave saved the contestants and a number of the audience by melting a giant block of ice that was accidentally made by a few misfired ice arrows.”

I opened my mouth to question before shaking my head and continuing to follow the stallion. My memory on some of the show's, less than important episodes was obviously waning along with the amount of knowledge I had of the shows future as of late. 'Heh, well I would have been significantly more useful if I hadn't asked to be stoned in the first place.' I thought remembering how I had arrived before Tirek's attack on the nation. A thoughtful look crossed my face however, 'How long had I been in stone for before he arrived anyways?'

The sound of dulled metal impacting metal pulled me from my train of thought as we passed a pair of large filthy doors.
“What's in there?” The question sounded, as it had many times before making Berry Blast look back at me and then the door.

“Ah, that's the smithy. The armory is right next to it.” he said motioning to the smaller and significantly cleaner of the doors.

A smirk formed on my lips before I motioned to it again, “Mind if I take a peek?” I asked inching closer to the doors.

The stallion looked between the two doors before motioning to the smithy “If you can take the soot, noise, and gruff attitude I don't care, the armory however is reserved for Crystal Guards however.”

I nodded swiftly clearing the hallway to the pair of double doors that opened smoothly, despite their appearance. Inside was as the stallion had so eloquently put it, noisy, full of heavy air due to the large forge that had a more furnace-like appearance. I watched as a young stallion aided an old griffon, swinging a sledgehammer atop a smaller one that the bird dipped in oil every so often to keep the metal from sticking to the tool.

After a few more whacks the mass of metal was returned to the forge with the flick of a small hatch revealing multiple projects amongst the brightly burning coals. Moments passed as I watched the old griffon shift the coals around inspecting the different projects inside, before the stallion noticed me saying something to the bird that was lost in the dim of the furnace. The griffon gave a short reply motioning towards a pair of enormous bellows that the stallion started working as the bird made his way to me.

“An what do you want, ye hornless midget minotaur?” He asked, the bird's voice showed his age and the effects of working in front of a flame for years as the deep base of his voice was accented by a mature gravel.

An internal sigh sounded in the back of my mind, 'Either a hornless minotaur, monkey, ah hell what else have I been related to here?' I thought giving the griffon a tired look. “Well I was hoping to see who the illustrious Crystal Empire employed as their castle blacksmith, but all I see here are a tired looking stallion barely out of his colt-hood helping a weathered old cockerel covered in soot.”

The look on the stallion's face displayed a range of emotions that I could barely keep track of. Unable to decide between insult for the questioning of his age, amusement at the bird's expense, or fear at said bird's reaction.

The griffon's eyes narrowed as he approached me before looking me over again. “Ya got three seconds ta explain where ya get by, walking into my forge unannounced, interruptin business fer the Princess an Prince of the Crystal Empire, an insultin me an my apprentice to my face fore I 'ave that guard behind ya throw yer hornless gob right back out the castle gates ta whatever sun burned, star shamed, tartarus pit ye crawled out of.”

My brows rose at the griffon's words. 'Seems I may of misunderstood friendly smack talk for genuinely-annoyed-at-my-presence talk. Once again.' “I may be short in comparison but I am no midget minotaur. I am a human, and one quite tired of being insulted; being related to monkeys, fur-less diamond dogs, disfigured minotaur, or other such. I was genuinely curious as to whom the Princess and Prince employed to work their metals, wishing to perchance learn something of a more experienced smith. Now, if you're going to have the guards and I quote, 'Throw my hornless gob to whatever sun burned, star shamed, tartarus pit I crawled out of' I would appreciate it if you would, I haven't seen my home for many years.”

The old bird stared at me for a moment before huffing, “Stand in th' corner over there then if ya just want ta learn. I can't say I care a bit as long as ya stay outta our way an stay quiet.” He said making his way back to the forge, cleaning off the anvil.
I nodded silently, walking to the corner he motioned to, keeping the forging setup in view. Crossing my arms I leaned on the wall eyes moving between the griffon and the stallion working the bellows.

Despite the stallion's age, he and the old griffon worked in tandem like a machine. Once the bellows stopped, the hatch opened and what looked to be the beginnings of a spearhead was removed, placed on the anvil with a pair of tongs and the hammering began once again.

I watched as the pair lengthened, tapered, and rolled the socket of the spearhead before the apprentice took it over to a table with a number of other spearheads that needed sharpening. The pair continued working, finishing spearheads, what looked to be kitchenware, daggers, and other small projects before the two split the shop. The old griffon taking to another table to start repairing dented or otherwise damaged armor, inspecting it before taking it to a small side of the forge where a long pole hung at the side with a hose glowed with runes hooked directly into the forge. My eyes widened as the runes started to glow brighter before a gout of flame jumped from the end of the pole, quickly condensing into a focused flame that jetted from the end of the pole. The smith circled a large dent in a breastplate until it glowed a bright orange before replacing the still burning pole and beating out the dent with what sounded like a mallet.

Looking to the apprentice, he was sat at a grinding stone. Taking the dull spearheads to a point before replacing them into another pile and working on the daggers. It wasn't long before the original pile was empty and the stallion started going through the process of tempering the weapons.

The two worked quickly, making it through their separate tasks with only the occasional break at the large barrel of water by the door. It wasn't long before the apprentice ran out of tasks making him turn to the master who gave him a few chain mail hauberks with some rents in them to work on.

Inwardly I winced as I watched the apprentice work on the mail, remembering my attempts at making the armor which ended with blistered and bloody fingers simply from forming the mail before welding it. I couldn't imagine how the stallion felt as he went through the process of making small ringlets, weaving them into the rents and riveting them. I was however impressed at his speed and efficiency, working with practiced hooves at the monotonous task.

Before I realized it, hours had passed. My guard being relieved for another as I watched the pair at their work. If my presence disturbed them at all, I couldn't tell. They simply ignored me until the griffon looked up let out a sigh and said something to the stallion about lunch, to which he nodded. The pair cleaned up what they were doing before starting for the door. The stallion continuing out the door, offering a nod to the guard who returned it. The old bird however stopped in front of me, looking up at my face as I looked over what they had been doing once more before returning his gaze.

“Ya learn anythin?” He asked simply to which I nodded, “Good. I used to be too hard headed to learn from those around me, so it took me many years ta gain the skills I have. Now I do think ya need ta learn some manners, but yer young, somethin'll beat em inta ya sooner or later.” He said shrugging. “Now get outta my shop, ya been standin there long enough.”

Nodding again, I turned and left, new ideas for projects swirling in my head as I nodded to the guard.

“So, I suppose you enjoyed standing there watching Ol' Gruff and Horseshoe in there?” the guard asked as we walked away from the smithy.

I offered the stallion a confused look before I recognized him from last night, the dark blue guard. “Yea, I suppose I did. Though admittedly Gruff could use to be a bit less of his namesake.” I said shaking my head.

The guard chuckled, “Well Ol' Gruff is just the nickname the guard gave him. His name's actually Grover Guffson. Supposedly a descendant of the blacksmith who worked for King Grover of Griffonstone. Dunno if it's actually true or not, but he's a good ol' bird to me, always fixes up my armor as good as new.”

Chuckling I smiled, “Yea sounds about right. Gotta respect him though, dedicated to his craft.”

The dark blue guard, his name being Shining Quartz, showed me around what little was left of the castle. He offered a tour of the city as well, but I declined, suggesting instead that we tried tomorrow if he was still assigned to escort me. Much to my surprise however, he told me that through the grapevine he heard that the princesses would be arriving tomorrow to escort Sunset Shimmer, the Sirens, and myself back to Equestria proper before suggesting the tour once more. Offering a half shrug I suggested the highlights, or maybe his favorite places.

What followed was a day I could only just remember. The amount of alcohol consumed was unhealthy for anyone, even an undead, and probably would have done more than make me drunk if not for the curse.

It had started out fairly nice, going out to a bar that the guards frequented while off duty. Shining Quartz was unfortunately unable to partake of any alcohol due to still being on duty while 'escorting' me, he did however encourage massive amounts of alcohol abuse.

The burn of whatever the crystal ponies brewed went surprisingly well with the salt cubes that sat intermittently on the bar, and I quickly found myself leaning heavily on the bar to keep from falling off the elevated stool. Despite Quartz's protests I downed a couple glasses of water before stumbling after him much to the amusement of the other bar's patrons who had been giving me odd glances throughout our stay.

“'Ey Quartss, r-remind me ta buy some- ta buy some of that vodka that they gave me in nere fore I leave back 'questria. Wouldya pal?” I slurred as we made our way down the road.

The stallion chuckled nodding. “Might want to buy some salt cubes to go with it then. That, er, 'vodka' is actually highly concentrated gin that they make from crystal berries.”

I blinked at him before leaning forward. “No shittin? Was smoother than, most gins I've had. Thought it was flavored vodka...”

The conversation was stilted due to my drunken haze, though he didn't seem to mind much, simply talking about different places; an art history museum of all things that I think he said he took a mare to at one time, a large statue of what looked to be a fairly crudely carved Spike the Dragon holding a crystal heart as he talked about what little he managed to do when Sombra returned alone with the rest of the guards. In said drunken stupor it was less than entertaining though my sane and sober mind may of seen quite a bit of interesting info about the Crystal Empire and my new acquaintance.

By the time we made it back to the Crystal Castle the alcohol had faded to a slight buzz in the back of my mind making me more talkative.
“What happened after you got your memories back?” We had taken to swapping battle stories, though admittedly he had a number more than my own.

“At that point I realized that what I was holding in my hand was more than just a bad omen and could in fact spell the decimation of Equestria, especially if the Princesses were caught up in it. So we started making our way through the forest into the corruption, meeting little resistance until we found Celestia bruised and beaten by black magic. Close on her heels was an abomination the like of which you've never seen, with a bloated sickly gold colored head that held hundreds of beady little red eyes. Though unarmed it was strong enough to not only break my spear, almost in half, after being impaled but also the shatter my shield after a poorly executed attempt to block another attack. Before I could draw my axe, or it could try to finish me off, a pair of magical beams blasted through it from the princess of the Night and Day. After a quick rest to regroup and ponder exactly what we were dealing with; The Princesses, Elements of Harmony, and I started back through the forest to deal with this corruption that had slowly been overtaking the Everfree. The battle was hard fought with us being surrounded almost the entire way, with the only saving grace being that a magic amulet I had found earlier was able to absorb the spells cast by the dark magi. In hindsight, it was rather anti-climatic how the Elements of Harmony managed to solve the entire issue without a fuss, but even now I would rather deal with just leading around a group of mares to solve all the evil magic issue without any real problems than have to deal with them myself. Shit gets way out of hand-er hoof, way too fast.”

A chuckle sounded from Quartz as he nodded. “All too true. Magical artifacts like the Crystal heart make things so much easier for guys like us.” he said motioning to the artifact in question. “It blew Sombra apart before he really had a chance to cause all that much chaos here, thanks to Spike the Brave along with Princess Mi Am-”

“Princess Cadence” The mare in question interjected with a bemused smile as the both of us bowed. “Please rise. I suppose I should have guessed why my guard captain was receiving reports of a strange creature walking around the Empire. It's good to see you again Wanderer, and I see you're also making friends?”

Shining Quartz and I looked at each other for a moment before shrugging. “Sure, why not?” I said. 'who knows maybe he can come visit Ponyville or something.' I thought

“Well I'm glad to see that, though I did need to speak with you Wanderer.” Princess Cadence said, her smile faltering for a moment.

Quartz saluted, understanding what the princess was implying. “Of course Princess! Would you like me to continue escorting the Wanderer back to his room after you are done or..?”
Cadence shook her head. “It's alright, I can show him back. Please rest, I can only imagine the trouble you two got into while outside.” she said chuckling.

Bowing again before nodding to me Quartz started away from the two of us to whatever position he had after he was finished escorting me, I silently wondered if he had mentioned it while I was drunk before looking back at the Princess. “How can I help you Princess Cadence?”
Cadence's smile faltered again as she motioned for me to follow, “Please, walk with me.”

Curiosity burned within me along with a tinge of nervousness. 'I wonder what the Princess of Love wants from me.' I thought before groaning to myself. 'Maybe she wants to talk to me about what her husband and I spoke of.' Nodding followed after her. “Of course Princess.”

The two of us made our way to the small pedestal that held the Crystal Heart before she stopped. A questioning look was shot at the back of her head as she looked at the artifact before I noticed that there were no guards around. An unease pulled at my guts as she turned around, a worried look replacing the forced smile she had put on for Shining Quartz.

“Wanderer... Are you alright?”

My eyebrow rose at the question, a hand rising to scratch at the back of my neck as I shrugged. “I suppose I'm alright. A bit tired and more than a little impatient about seeing my friends, with what has been apparently three months going by. Why do you ask Princess?”
Looking over my face, the worry still edging her features. “Well you see, being the Princess of Love offers some insights into ponies, or other creatures I come across.” She started sitting down and motioning with her hooves. “Most ponies I can feel with my magic the amount of love they have for others, be it friends, romantic partners, or even their family. You know what I mean?”

I nodded. “Different kinds of love and all that, I understand the concept.”

“Exactly!” Cadence exclaimed her smile returning for a moment before it faltered once more. “But I'm not, feeling that from you.”

I offered a quiet “Hm” as my hand found my beard. “Strange. I do care quite a bit about my friends. I mean, it's been a little while since I got to see them, but I still recall the feeling of warmth that getting to be around them generated. On the other two...” I let out a sigh, waving my hand to dismiss the thought. “Irrelevant.”
This caused the alicorn to pause. “Irrelevant? Love isn't irrelevant! It p-”

I put up a hand to stop her. “For the purposes of what we're talking about right now, it is by all means irrelevant. At this point, I can't remember most of my family, just that I had one at one point.” I said looking away and letting out a humorless chuckle. “And I was so distraught with it before.” I muttered before turning back to her. “Romantic love is even more so. I've never truly experienced it.”

The alicorn's mouth fell open as she jumped into the air flapping her face getting within inches of mine. “What? That's virtually impossible! Not even a crush?”
I blinked at her sudden energy taking a step back and putting my hands up in my defense. “Well yea, crushes are well... inevitable? Looking at a cute young lady and thinking; 'Oh she's cute! I wouldn't mind getting to know her better!' and feeling like your guts are in a knot. I haven't felt like that in a long time though... Maybe since... like high school?” I suggested before shaking my head. “I dunno, it's been a while either way.”

The princess returned to the ground, shaking her head making her hair bounce. “No, I'm sure I felt something last night... Was it part of your nightmare?”

I winced, looking away towards the Crystal heart. “Ah that... color me surprised that you can feel old emotions as well.”
She nodded moving into my line of sight. “Yes, as long as they're strong enough I can feel emotions on somepony for quite a while after they've 'stopped feeling' them. Admittedly not as strongly as the changelings can sense them, but you could probably ask Thorax about that if you wanted to.”

A grimace moved over my face as she continued. “What happened in your dream that brought back such strong emotions, if I might ask?”

“Uhg. Well like I said I was captured by those changelings as well. It seemed they learned from their capture of you and subsequent escape to treat their captures with a little more... care.” I said, arms folding.

The princess of Love grimaced at the memory herself before shaking her head. “I understand.” she started before looking back up at me. “I apologize, I don't mean to bring up sour memories. It's just that, that was the only real feeling I got from you at all. Even a moment ago I didn't feel anything as you talked about your friends.”

Fighting the urge to roll my eyes I just stared down at the mare for a moment. “I just said that it's been a little while and I am going through a bit of other feelings to feel that much love. I am excited, but the worry kinda balances it out.”

She shook her head. “Friends don't just stop loving one another because other feelings 'balance them out'. That wouldn't make any sense.”

My eyes narrowed. “So, you're saying you don't think I love my friends?”

The mare's eyes widened. “I didn'-”
I let out a breath before smacking my lips loudly. “Right. So first I get harassed by multiple ponies to talk about my problems to my friends so they can help, and now the Princess of Love herself tells me I don't love them.” I motion to her with my hands. “Anything else you want to tell me?! Like maybe I do actually love the figment of my imagination that the changelings conjured up and forced me to dream about?!”

I blew a long breath before pinching the bridge of my nose. “Princess. I apologize. I am still coming down from drinking with Shining Quartz. I'm still a bit... raw? Is that a good word? More emotional and impulsive either way.”

The Princess nodded, taken aback at the outburst. “I understand. I may of overstepped a bit. Sometimes I'm a bit, overzealous of my duties as the Princess of Love.”

I nodded, silent in my acceptance of her reciprocated apology before a pregnant pause fell over the alcove beneath their castle.

Looking up I saw Princess Cadence looking at the Crystal heart. Following her eyes I watched as it hovered, suspended in the air if by invisible wires or string, motionless in the air above it's pedestal.
'Perhaps I should go see a shrink... I thought I had gotten over it for the most part, but maybe that was just being focused on what I was doing...' I thought watching as the sun's light, reflected off something behind us, shown on one of the facets of the heart shaped crystal for a moment. Looking at Cadence I let out a mental sigh, an unnatural weariness eating at my mind.
“It wasn't for long I suppose.” I found myself talking as she continued to look at the heart. “Maybe a couple of weeks, but either way it felt like so much longer.”
“Mhmm” She agreed quietly.

I let out a soft chuckle. “I had dreamt of her before. Once I had originally gotten here, because... Either way. I think she was supposed to be my girlfriend or something. Regardless, the changelings had apparently had a spy in the forest where I was that found me while I was sleeping. Before they had a chance to take me though I wa- I moved to Canterlot. The Queen thought it a quest to find this unknown that produced love. I don't know why, maybe it was sweeter or something stupid. When she finally caught me though...”
I continued explaining what had happened. How the dreams were the only solace in a cold, dark, painful world that I had been trapped in. How every moment awake wore at my psyche until I longed for sleep, tried anything I could think of to sleep. Until one night the dream was no longer sweet and love filled, in it's place was a nightmare.

Looking up I realized that Princess Cadence was looking back at me, sorrow filling her eyes. I kept from going into details of what had happened, but I could see the recognition in her eyes. 'How many ponies has she spoken to, or known, who have lost their loves?' I thought before shaking my head, looking back at the crystal heart before starting to approach, feeling a gentle warmth emanate from it even through the armor and leather.

“I don't know exactly what I'm supposed to do after all that. I'm hoping that with my friends, and maybe some psychiatric help or something I might be able to either forget, or just move on.” I said stopping a few feet from the heart. The feeling of emptiness all the more prominent.

Behind me Cadence's mouth opened and closed a few times before she shook her head. “The feeling of hurt at loosing her, the feeling of love you had for her, it never does go away.”

I let out a quiet chuckle before nodding. 'Sounds about right.'

“You don't want it too though.” Emotion returned to her voice as she continued. “As fake as you feel like that was now, at the time she was your whole world. The whole reason you had to live. That love will be with you for the rest of your life.”

Turning to look back at the mare, her face was set in a look of belief. “If you loose that. That feeling of love that you had for the mare that you had, at least in your mind, loved for years and married. Then what are you?”

Shaking my head I tried, and failed, to not smile. “I would agree with you Cadence. I would argue that the feeling had to of been true, but...” I shrugged as the smile fell. “It wasn't. It was all bullshit, made either by Chrysalis' tampering with my head or my mind making up what I subconsciously wish I could have. Which at this point is unattainable.”

The look on the mare's face only grew harder. “You don't seem to understand. Love is a force that can turn armies, can make the weak strong, can move mountains.”
I blinked at the mare before nodding. “A similar concept was believed back home. Though we believed in a creator that made us who was the embodiment of Love. 'For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son...' Those that believed in him and had faith could tell a mountain 'uproot and throw yourself into the sea' and it would be so.”
The look faltered, confusion biting at it before she nodded fervently. “Exactly! Love isn't something so easily overcome or discarded. You'll always love her. Even if you think she was fake.”

'Look at where faith in love has gotten me though' I thought. “In that case Princess, there is no point in our arguing. If it's going to be there, haunting me until my dying day, then what is the point?”

“The point is that you should accept it, and move on. Know that while you loved a figment of your imagination, that if she had been real and loved you that she would want you to.”

I couldn't help but snicker. “Good God... I'm sorry Princess, but that sounds so foolish. If it had been a real woman, I might be willing to agree. It was just a fake. I've never really experienced love, not like that anyway, anymore than I've ever kissed a girl or had sex.”

The princess winced at the admission before shaking her head. “Displays of affection like that aren't all that is to love, even romantic love. My Shining Armor, on one of our first dates took me to go have a picnic. Nothing fancy, and at the time he was too nervous to kiss me. Despite sending him signals” She said looking away and muttering towards the end, before turning back to me. “The love I felt in that date though... I knew at that point that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. You can't tell me that the mare in your dreams that you married doesn't matter to you just like Shining Armor matters to me.”

My look hardened as the princess of love looked up at me pleading. “I can. She didn't exist, doesn't exist, and barring some kind of magical anomaly, will never exist. I don't love her, I loved a figment of my imagination that has been reduced to a reoccurring nightmare that ends in...” I said stopping myself shaking my head. “At this point, I'm pretty sure I just need to talk to someone. I mean since getting here, I have very few good memories. The ponies aren't hostile, however they're not exactly overly welcoming either. The mistakes I've made in duress has only caused that to get worse.”

Shaking my head with more force I turned away from the Princess. “With all due respect, Princess Cadence, I believe I would like to return to my room. Make sure all my things are packed and ready to go for tomorrow.”

I could only just make out the pink shape in the corner of my eye, as I heard a sigh. “Of course Wanderer. Just remember, if you need anything, to talk, I am here.”

I offered a noncommittal “Mm” nodding stiffly and walking away. A quiet voice in the back of my mind pleaded with me to turn back, talk to the Princess. 'That is what I'm going to do with a shrink, isn't it?' I found myself thinking only to shrug it off. The conversation had become little more than a circle of stupidity, going around, and around. Her suggesting it 'inhumane' to forget the 'love' I felt, while I steadfastly said that it was pointless foolishness. I almost didn't know which of us was more the fool.

I was halfway down an indistinguishable crystal hallway before I realized, much to my great annoyance, that I had left my guide back beneath the castle next to the crystal heart. A heavy thunk could be heard echoing through the eastern wing of the castle as I slammed my head into the wall.

It had been an hour or so, by my best guess, before I finally gave up and asked one of the guards where exactly the guest rooms were supposed to be. Said guard was surprised, considering I was supposed to be watched whenever outside my room, to which I replied I'd had an audience with the Princess and had simply lost my way back to my room. The answer seemed to stop the questions as the guard decided to simply lead me back to my room in a relatively heavy silence.

Once there I did as I had suggested to the princess, packed up my things. Hoping that my friends, and whoever else they were bringing, would hurry up.

My backpack was a mess after emptying it out onto my bed. Remembering that the vast majority of my 'danger pay' bits were back in the barracks in Ponyville, the meager bag of bits in the pack was of little surprise. There was also a small device with a pair of earbuds wrapped around it. Pressing the center button elicited a small message to appear on screen; 'power low, system shutting down'. I looked over the device, flipping it over in my gloved hand for a moment before reading the small writing on the back 'Sports Clip, MP3 player by Sanzon. Made in China'. Slowly, memories started coming back as I regarded the small device. A chuckle rose in my throat. 'I need to ask Twilight about this damnable thing' I thought remembering little bits of music from where I came from. 'Who knows maybe it'll help'.

Putting the device in the bag on my belt, I continued searching through the old backpack. The sheath for my spear came next making me chuckle at the pointlessness of it before tossing it on the bed. 'Wonder if I can use it for anything else.' I thought offhandedly before pulling out the sibling book to Sunset Shimmer's. “And you go back to either Princess Twilight, or Celestia when I get back.” I said rolling my eyes and tossing the book onto the bed next to the sheath.

'Almost makes me wonder what the annoyances I got into all this for are doing...' I thought before shaking my head. 'Hopefully staying away from me, now that I think about it. Sunset is all Tsu... Tusun... whatever, she's a bitch without the nice underneath and the sirens are just a headache with a slight chance of brainwashing. With any luck, they'll just be able to eat normal food or maybe the Princesses will just magic them into ponies so they don't need disorder or whatever the hell they eat. Only one I think I could get along with is the stupid blue one, maybe the yellow one if she's not on her freaking high of acting like a twat.' I thought before shaking my head. 'Eh, I don't really know them though. Who knows maybe they're just stupid and twat on the outside.'
Shaking my head harder to clear it. I continued to search through the backpack.

A knock on the door sounded making me turn to look at said door. “Who is it?” I asked, silently hoping it wouldn't be either the Prince or Princess.

“It's Adagio Dazzle, she was hoping to speak with you.” An unknown voice sounded making me raise an eyebrow.

'Hm, maybe a guard? Sounds female unlike all of the other guards I've seen' I thought rolling my mental eyes. “Go ahead, come on in I suppose. Long as she's not using any of her mind controlling magics.”

An almost indistinguishable crystal guard walked in with an admittedly humorously muzzled Adagio Dazzle floating behind her, looking understandably annoyed. “She has been restrained from using her magic, though the question of how the sirens will feed has been brought up seeing as how they are either unable, or unwilling to eat normal food.”

I nodded throwing things back into my bag absentmindedly, “Not to sound inhumane, but have you tried either letting them starve until they're willing to eat, or force feeding them?” I asked looking at Adagio, who's eyes bulged at the question. Turning back to the guard I found her looking similarly shocked at the idea. I shrugged, “I can only assume, if they're under literal lock and key, Prince Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza must have decided to treat them as prisoners, unless it's simply for transport.” I said before turning to the muzzled siren. “As I understand it, you three were responsible for a respectable amount of chaos back before you were banished, though I still don't know if you can sustain yourselves on normal food or positive emotions. I don't mean to sound callous seeing as you were willing to come back with such a minimal amount of fuss, but well... precautions and such.”

Adagio seemed to recover faster, offering muffled protest that brought the guard back to her senses. “I am abhorred that you would suggest such barbaric tactics as starving anypony, even if they are our prisoners, or force feeding them.”

I rolled my eyes, patience for the ponies running thin. “I find, that I care little for your opinion. I believe you were here because Adagio asked to speak with me rather than to have an argument on the proper treatment of prisoners. So I suggest either waiting outside, while I speak to her, or watch over her while I speak to her. We have already come to a consensus of what will happen if she tries to brainwash me.” I said, digging through my small bag, only to find that the earplugs had gotten lost somewhere. Thinking fast, I unraveled the earbuds from my MP3 player and put one in my ear while letting the other dangle loosely as I rested my hand on the knife on my belt.

Adagio seemed to understand the implication, her eyes hardening as she nodded slowly.

The guard looked between me, and the siren, shaking her head. “I don't know where you come from, Wanderer, but I'm not going to let you hurt her, defenseless or not.” she said turning to me.

I let out another annoyed breath. “Then she'll abide by our earlier deal! Now either unmuzzle her, which I will have you know is inhumane from where I come from, and let her speak, or get the hell out of my room and go tell your superiors my suggestions.”

The guard glared at me, looking back at the siren who nodded. “I don't trust either of you, but for the record. I don't like you Wanderer.” she said moving to remove the muzzle.

I offered a quiet scoff, “Join the party sister, there's cake and shit.”

If the guard heard me she offered no comment, simply removing the muzzle, which reminded me of the metal thing that they put in the horse's mouths back home when they were riding or leading them. Bridle perhaps?

“Well, I admit; I was hoping this conversation would be a lot more civilized with the absence of my pair of foolish shadows, but after our exchange on the other side of the mirror I suppose I should have expected as much.”Adagio's voice sounded, still smooth as silk as I remembered.

I simply shrugged, “I'm sorry to disappoint, but I do know what you can do to ponies and other beings. Someone waving around a loaded gun would be treated similarly, though admittedly the gun would be stripped from them” I watched the confusion form on the guard's face even as Adagio simply stared on. “Regardless; how can I be of assistance? I assume you and your fellow sirens would like some form of 'sacrifice' to sate your hunger?”

The guard looked like she was about to protest my wording when Adagio started. “If possible, we were hoping that we could simply sit in on a few political debates, or something of the like seeing as how if I remember correctly they normally got quite heated. However if we could simply be in the same room as you and a few other ponies I believe that would be enough.”

A smile had formed on the siren's face at the jibe, a small part of me found myself liking the siren despite myself. 'Probably using her magic or something as some form of leeway.' I thought. After a moment I returned the smile, “Possibly. If I could make suggestions for candidates I would probably say the Prince himself, The mare next to you, the blacksmith downstairs, and perhaps a few others if you could give me a bit more time. Though I do apologize, I am more than likely to slit my own throat than have to deal with that today. So you may have to go hungry for at least one more night as our escorts out of the Crystal Empire, and back into Equestrian borders will be arriving tomorrow as well, which will bring some form of answer to your question of how you'll deal with not eating or eating negative emotions.”
The shock of my admission was plain on the pair's face before Adagio smiled again. “Ah thank you, Wanderer was it?”

I nodded, “That's what they call me here. Will that be all Miss Adagio?” She nodded, seemingly willing to drop the subject there. “I wish both you ladies a good night then, and the best for whatever happens tomorrow Miss Adagio. Please pass the well wishes onto the other two as well, if you would.”

Author's Note:

I must admit; with working, and then trying to balance the other ideas I have in my head, I am slowly losing it. The Corona Virus scare did help a bit, allowing me a week off due to a sinus infection that lasted perhaps half of that with the Doc being a bit of an annoyance what with work releases.
My whole point in this Author's Notations however, is to ask if any of you gentle fellows, or ladies would be willing to chat and bounce ideas off of one another. I admit I lack social contact outside of the shop and it's probably noticeable in my story.
If you're willing please PM me.
Please.
Sincerely,
Tomas Lutwig

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