3: Beginning the Hunt...
As they walked toward town Oblivion was silent as he walked the mare toward town. Twilight's stride was slower so he had to slow his own gait to match her own. Spike walked in front of them with a scroll and a quill in his claws. Twilight stayed with him despite her distended stomach.
“Foods all taken care of, next we check on the weather.” Spike proclaimed as they were nearing town hall.
As Twilight finally released a loud groan she grumbled. “Ugh. I ate too much pie.” She groaned as she looked in front of her. Oblivion looked sideways at her, clicking his tongue quietly in sympathy.
Spike looked around in the sky and finally looked back at them. “There is supposed to be a Pegasus named Rainbow Dash clearing the sky.” He looked up and missed Oblivion looking around for the mare.
Twilight looked up as well and saw that the sky was not cleared and had many puffy clouds still hovering in the sky. “Well, she isn’t doing a very good job of it now is she?”
Oblivion heard the sound of flapping and jumped back as the blue Pegasus collided with Twilight sending both of them sprawling into a mud puddle. He cringed at the impact and looked at the two mares. Rainbow Dash was sprawled across Twilight’s back and both were covered in mud. Despite getting out of the way of the direct impact he still ended up covered in mud on his right side. He grimaced at the mud covering him and his cloak. He shook his mane and some fell off him. If he was shorter then he would have gotten a face full of mud.
Rainbow sat back and looked to the groaning mare in the mud. “Oops.” She gave a sheepish laugh and knelt down by Twilight’s face as she pulled it out of the mud. “Sorry.” She backed up and waited as Twilight sat in the water and glared at her from behind her waterlogged forelock. Rainbow looked from Twilight to Oblivion and glared at the Black Unicorn. She chose to ignore him as he moved to Twilight to help her to her hooves. Rainbow jumped into the water and splashed both of them. Oblivion ignored her knowing that paying any attention would only make it worse. He offered a hoof to Twilight, who took the offered limb and stood back up. Rainbow gave him a sour look but ignored him as well.
The mare suddenly brightened and jumped out of the water. “Let me help.” The blue mare zipped off and Oblivion got Twilight almost fully out of the water as the Pegasus returned with a gray cloud in tow. Oblivion stared at the cloud, as she put it above the both of them, Oblivion looked up at it then saw that the cloud was full of water, and then the mare began jumping on it. The upside was that the mud was washed off. The downside was that now they were both soaked through. She looked down at them and saw the purple mare staring up at her with murderous intent. “Oops guess I overdid it. Umm. Okay, hang on.” The mare kicked the cloud away and then landed by them. She appeared thoughtful for a moment before an idea struck her. “I know! My very own patented rain-blow dry.” She created a tornado around them.
Oblivion shut his eyes as his mane, tail, and forelock were whipped by the winds. He was even more glad that he has enchanted his cloak to work even in the winds. When it stopped, he opened his eyes and they widened at the sight of Twilight's mane. Her mane and tail were heavily tangled and puffed in a hairstyle that reminded him of Pinkie Pie. Though he cringed at the thought of the pink mare.
“No no. Don’t thank me, your quite welcome.” The mare paused in her self congratulations as she looked at her work. Twilight's mane and tail were a disaster and Oblivion cringed as he conjured a mirror and looked into it. His forelock and mane were heavily tangled but thankfully they hadn’t puffed up as Twilight’s had. He had a feeling his tail was the same so he dismissed the mirror and frowned. Twilight was once again looking at him curiously but she was distracted by Rainbow and Spikes hysterical laughter. Twilight looked at them and sighed.
“Meet Rainbow Dash,” Oblivion whispered to her.
Twilight's shoulders slumped for a moment before she squared her shoulders and regarded the blue Pegasus. “So you are Rainbow Dash?”
The Pegasus stood up so fast that Spike was thrown off her back and into the dirt. Oblivion looked at him and chuckled for a moment at the irony. “The one and only. Why? Have you heard of me?”
Oblivion rolled his eyes and tried not to snort at the egotistical mare. Her type was a never-ending source of aggravation. Twilight looked at her and sighed again. “I heard that you were going to keep the sky clear. The Princess sent me to check..” She was interrupted by the blue mare jumping up onto a cloud and relaxing.
Oblivion would have liked nothing more than to pull the cloud out from under the annoying pony but held back. Spike tapped his leg and Oblivion looked down at him. He motioned for Oblivion to bring his head down and the stallion obliged. Spike grabbed a chunk of his tangled mane and used it to vault up onto the black Unicorns back. The lizard landed on his cloak and sat there with a firm hold of Oblivion’s mane. Oblivion was silent as his mind processed that the lizard was now sitting on his back, and by extension his swords and wings. He gave an angry snarl and sat down swiftly. Spike yelped at the sound and fell off his back.
Oblivion looked back and snarled. “I do not recall giving my permission for you to use me like a beast of burden. Even if you had asked I would have declined. Do not try that again.” He growled, got up, and walked away from the stunned lizard.
Twilight and Rainbow both stared at him for a moment when he came to stand by Twilight. Both mares regarded him but he said nothing, his face unreadable. The blue Pegasus looked back to Twilight. “I’ll get that done in a jiffy, once I finish practicing.”
Twilight looked to Oblivion who looked less than impressed at the mare. Twilight also looked back to her. “Practice for what?”
Rainbow turned to look back at her excitement on her face. “For the Wonderbolts! They are gonna perform at the celebration tomorrow. And I am gonna show them my moves.”
Twilight looked as she pointed to a nearby flier. Oblivion looked down at her as she looked at him. He gave her a sly wink and she gave him a slight grin as she turned back to the other mare.
“The Wonderbolts?”
“Yep.”
“The most talented fliers in all of Equestria?”
“That's them!”
“Hah! Please. They would never accept a Pegasus that can’t even keep the sky clear for one measly day. Would they, Mr. Shadow?” She looked to the black stallion who nodded in agreement.
“Hey, I could clear this sky in ten seconds flat!” The mare boasted.
Twilight lowered her head in a challenging posture and looked at the mare. “Prove it.” She challenged in a strong voice. Oblivion had to fight not to snort at the blue Pegasus in a challenge of his own.
Rainbow looked at them and then looked around her, flew into the sky, moving their tangled manes forward in the updraft. She tore through the sky and even Oblivion had to admit she was quick with those little wings of hers. His own twitched under their cover as he watched.
Twilight watched dumbfounded as the blue mare came around again. “Loop de loop around and bam! Ten. Seconds. Flat. I’d never leave Ponyville hanging.” The mare gave a laugh as she looked at Twilight's stunned face. “You should see the look on your face. Ha! You're a riot, Twilight Sparkle. I can’t wait to hang out again sometime.” The blue mare took off once more and vanished from sight.
Oblivion reached over and pushed Twilight’s jaw back into place and the mare shook her head as Spike came to stand next to her.
“Wow, she was amazing!” He looked at Twilight's mane and snorted with laughter as he bounced it in his claws before the mare rolled her eyes and looked to Oblivion. “Where is the decor being set up, Mr. Shadow?” She looked to him and awaited his response.
Oblivion flicked his ears and he heard somepony talking about the colors of a room. He turned his head toward the sound. “This way Miss Sparkle.” He started walking in the direction of the town hall.
Twilight and Spike walked with him, with Spike staying on the other side of Twilight. The black Unicorn led them up to the doors, his magic gripped the door and held it open for the mare. She smiled and nodded politely to him as Spike ran in after her. Oblivion watched as the lizard ran ahead of him but he felt no guilt about his actions. As they walked into the building Spike was in front of them.
“Decorations. Beautiful.” Spike spoke aloud.
Twilight looked around and appeared pleased by what she saw. “Yes, the decorations are coming along nicely. This should be very quick, I’ll be in the library in no time. Beautiful indeed.”
“Not the decor. Her.” Spike pointed to the front of the room where a white Unicorn stood.
Oblivion's heightened eyesight helped in the fairly dim room as the mare didn’t seem to even notice they were there. She had a white coat with a deep purple mane and tail that were styled with large curls. She was hovering ribbons of many different colors close by as she tried to choose which one. “No, no, no, good goddess no.” She spoke to herself as she chose colors.
Spike looked nervous and Oblivion was surprised to see tiny hearts in his eyes and hovering above him. “How are my spines are they straight?” Spike obsessed for a moment before walking forward with an eye-rolling Twilight. Oblivion followed behind her by a few feet as he shook his head in exasperation.
Twilight walked up to the white mare. “Good afternoon..”
“Just a moment, please. I am in the zone as it were. Oh yes! Sparkle always does the trick, does it not? Why Rarity you are a talent. Now um how can I help you..oh my goodness darlings! Whatever happened to your coiffure?”
Even Oblivion stared at her. Though his stare was due to being called darling. Twilight looked up at her bangs and then back to the mare who was named Rarity. “Oh, you mean our manes? Well, it’s actually a very long story. I am just here to check on the decor and we will be out of your hair in no time.”
“Out of my hair? What about your hair?” The white mare jumped off the dais and began to push Twilight ahead of her.
“Wait? Where are we going? Help!” Twilight yelped at the pushy mare.
Oblivion followed with a magically floating Spike who had small hearts coming from his head. Oblivion stared at the lizard and shook his head. He followed after them slowly.
Once they reached a building that had a stylized door with a paint job on the outside that reminded Oblivion of some noble houses that could afford the paint colors. It had pony shaped mannequins on the top of it and appeared to be two stories. The mare hustled them all inside and Oblivion saw a brush close by and he held it up to the mare for her to see. She nodded and smiled at the tall stallion. He used the brush to undo the wreckage that Rainbow Dash had turned his mane and tail into. He was able to untangle it and, with the aid of a mirror, he was able to get his forelock to sit out of his face and his mane and tail tamed. He set the brush down after cleaning it as a courtesy and set it back where he had found it. Rarity was finished with Twilight’s mane and tail and was now putting her in outfits.
Oblivion watched and decided that if the mare tried that with him he was going to learn how to gallop quickly to get away from her. Thankfully she showed no sign of coming after him. So he stayed by the door and waited for her to be done with Twilight. As Twilight was put into various outfits he had to admit that none of them truly suited her. They weren’t terrible but it didn’t help that the purple mare was less than enthusiastic. The other Unicorn put her into a corset type of outfit and began tightening it. Oblivion cringed as Twilight had tears pricking the edges of her eyes. Oblivion was about to step in when Rarity let go and they both were sent flying in opposite directions. Oblivion wasn’t sure why since he wasn’t listening. Deciding this qualified under girl or mare talk. Rarity recovered first as Oblivion helped Twilight up.
“Canterlot!” She shrieked. Oblivion pinned his ears and grimaced in pain. “Oh, I am so envious! The glamor, the sophistication! I have always dreamed of living there, I can’t wait to hear all about it. You and I will be the best of friends!” She looked down at the front of the corset Twilight was wearing. While Twilight looked like she was about to panic. “Emeralds! What was I thinking? Let me get you some rubies!” The white mare disappeared around the corner and Twilight looked ready to bolt.
She looked to Oblivion, who opened the door so she could flee out it. She tossed off the clothing and looked back as she ran. “Hurry! Before she tries to dye my coat a new color!” Twilight fled out the door while Oblivion levitated Spike out the door behind her. He closed the door and followed after Twilight.
Spike sat on Twilight's back as they walked. “Wasn’t she wonderful?” Spike mused as he sat on her back.
Twilight looked back. “Focus Casanova. What's next on the list?” She paused while Spike looked. Oblivion stopped by her and waited.
“Oh music and it’s last on the list.” Spike declared and leaned forward to show Twilight who looked pleased. She looked at Oblivion expectantly.
He flicked his ears and focused. He was listening to any kind of music. His ears caught the sound of music, not far from them. He nodded and led them forward, he caught the look Twilight gave him briefly but chose to ignore it. If she wanted information she would have to ask it of him. He wasn’t about to offer it freely. They walked up to a small clearing and there was a butter yellow Pegasus with light pink hair working with a group of birds. Which caught Oblivion's attention since it appeared that she was speaking to them. As they watched she halted the music. Spike slid off Twilight's back and stood back. He still seemed leery of Oblivion.
“Oh my, umm, please stop everyone. Excuse me, sir, your just a tiny bit off. I mean no offense. Now follow me, please. A one and a two three.”
“Hello!” Twilight spoke to the mare.
The Pegasus yelped and cringed in place as her birds took flight.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare your birds. I’m just here to check on the music and it sounded wonderful.” There was a pregnant pause as Twilight looked nervous and the other pony looked at the ground. “I’m Twilight Sparkle and this is my guide, Oblivion Shadow.” He nodded politely to her and waited. “And you are?”
“I’m Fluttershy.” The mare was barely above a whisper.
“I’m sorry what was that?”
The mare hid more behind her long pink mane. “I’m...Fluttershy.” Her voice was a low squeak.
Oblivion looked at Twilight as she neared the obviously scared mare.
Oblivion leaned down and whispered in Twilight's ear. “Fluttershy.” She looked at him and smiled.
As she looked forward again the birds from earlier returned to their perches. Twilight looked up and appeared relieved. “Well it looks like your birds are back, so I guess everything is in order. We will just leave you to it.”
She turned and went back to Spike. “Okay.” She looked to Spike as she spoke. “Well, that was easy.” Spike was now in full view as Oblivion saw the butter mares eyes light up and he picked up Twilight in his magic before the mare could be knocked into the bushes. She yelped in surprise and looked to him, then down when he tipped his horn in the direction of the yellow mare that was now in Spikes' face. Twilight groaned and as he set her gently onto her hooves.
“A baby dragon!” she shrieked.
Oblivion set Twilight down and started as he looked back to Spike. His magic nearly pulled his silver blade when he realized that he was a baby dragon and no threat. Despite dragons being a sentient species, Oblivion had reason to be cautious due to their size and how strong they were. But looking at the pudgy baby dragon he calmed.
The butter-yellow Pegasus stared at the baby dragon in front of her. “Oh, I have never seen a baby dragon before. He’s so cute!” She squealed more and cooed at the baby dragon.
Spike looked gloatingly at Twilight. “Well, well, well.” Oblivion rolled his eyes as Twilight groaned.
“Oh my, he talks. I didn’t know dragons could talk. That’s just so incredibly wonderful. I, I just don’t even know what to say.” She gushed.
Twilight put Spike on her back and started walking. “Well, then we better get going.”
The mare followed behind them as Oblivion, also, walked with them.
“Wait, wait! What’s his name?”
“I’m Spike.”
“Hi, Spike. I’m Fluttershy. Wow, a talking dragon! What do dragons talk about?”
“Well, what do you wanna know?” Spike asked her as he leaned toward Twilight's flanks.
“Absolutely everything.” Was her response.
Spike looked to the mare and smiled. “Well, I started out a cute little purple and green egg...” He kept going but both Twilight and Oblivion stopped listening.
Oblivion walked next to Twilight as she groaned. He tried to look sympathetic but was certain that he didn’t pull it off well since he didn’t actually feel much of anything. He gave quiet guidance to lead her to the library. He had passed by it earlier with Applejack and remembered its location. He ignored the baby dragons retelling of his entire life to Fluttershy as they walked. The lavender mare grumbled every now and then but kept moving.
She occasionally looked to the taller stallion who was guiding them easily to the library. ‘He has powerful magic that much is obvious. Judging by his ability to levitate me and then his ability to conjure items from the air. I’ll speak to him later about it before I leave. He could even be on par with me in terms of magical power.’ Twilight thought to herself as he walked in silence beside her.
The sun was going down and had nearly fully set by the time they reached the library. He stopped by the door and his ears flicked to the door.
“And that's the story of my whole life up until today,” Spike said. “Do you want to hear about today?”
Fluttershy’s wings twitched in excitement. “Oh yes please!”
Spike started to inhale when Twilight spun around. “Well look here we are. This where I will be staying while I’m in Ponyville. And my poor baby dragon needs his rest.”
“No I don’t..what!” Spike turned to argue and Twilight gave a little buck so he tumbled to the ground. “Aww, look at that. He’s so tired he can’t even keep his widdle bwalance.”
Fluttershy jumped forward and picked Spike up. “Oh my we simply must get him to bed.” Fluttershy darted into the room with Twilight on her heels. The Unicorn pushed her out the door. “Yes yes, we will get right on that. Well, G'night!”
She slammed the door before Oblivion could warn her about the many ponies inside the library. His ears went forward as he heard Twilight speaking to Spike but he was trying not to pry and only heard the muffled sounds. He pinned his ears back when Pinkie, he knew her voice by now, yelled announcing the surprise. Oblivion pushed the door open with his magic and let Fluttershy walk in first. He stood by the door and when he and the butter yellow mare walked in he closed it. He watched from the door as Pinkie went to greet the purple mare.
“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie. I threw this party just for you since your new to Ponyville! Were ya surprised? Were ya? Were ya?” She gushed at the mare.
Twilight tried not to look annoyed. “Very surprised. Libraries are supposed to be quiet.”
“Well, that's silly. How can you have a party quietly? What kind of party would that even be? I mean that would be super boring. Remember when you first got here and I was all like ‘gasp’. Since I had never seen you before I knew that you were new here so I had to get a party ready for you. Since I know everypony and I mean, everypony!”
Twilight groaned and walked over to a table with drinks. She grabbed a bottle with her mouth and began pouring it into a cup, Oblivion stood back and would have warned her that what she was using smelled spicy but it would have meant he had to move through all the ponies. That was an idea he refused to entertain. He waited with barely held amusement.
“And if you're new, that meant you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, then I had an idea, and that's why I went deep gasp! I must throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville! See? And now you have lots and lots of friends!” Pinkie rambled.
Twilight turned to her and her face was bright red and a loud whistling was heard. “You alrigh’ Sugar-cube?” Applejack inquired.
Until she turned and ran away up the stairs. “Aww she’s so happy she's crying.”
Spike walked over to see what Twilight had been drinking. “Hot sauce.”
Oblivion cringed as he knew he had been right. Pinkie tipped the bottle and it covered a nearby cupcake. She popped it into her mouth and Oblivion found himself trying not to gag at the smell alone. Pinkie turned to look at the other mares and smiled. “What? It's good.” She said and swallowed.
Applejack turned and saw Oblivion by the door. She walked over to him and stood nearby. “Thanks, fer showing her around town. Ah, appreciate the help.”
Oblivion looked over the heads of the assembled ponies as they talked and mingled. He could see the mares that he had met today mixed in as well. “It was no problem Applejack. You asked instead of demanded so it was no trouble.”
Applejack smiled and suddenly laughed as Spike saw him, turned and ran back to the other ponies. “Except ah heard about how that baby dragon got in trouble with ya. I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it.”
Oblivion looked at her and then back to the dragon. “Perhaps but he did not ask permission nor did he apologize. So I will withhold my forgiveness.” The Unicorn commented.
Applejack looked at him and then to Spike, who appeared to be looking away deliberately. She sighed and went over to the green and purple dragon. “Ya know he isn’t all tha’ bad once ya realize that he’s just a little differen’. Ya just need to know how to apologize and he will react differently.” She said to Spike. Spike looked from her to Oblivion and found the stallion looking away from all the ponies. Spike looked back to Applejack and the mare smiled. “He’s only angry when something is done against him that he doesn’t like. Ah treat him just like anypony else and he’s pretty calm or even emotionless at times.” Applejack explained. “But an apology goes a long way mah little friend.” She said and nudged the dragon toward the tall Unicorn with her hoof.
Spike looked apprehensive but seemed to make up his mind to go over and talk to the Unicorn. He walked up to him, looked up and found Oblivion's bright orange eyes looking down at him. He gulped and motioned for the stallion to bring his head down again. Oblivion looked at him but did not move. Spike put his claws behind his back and looked up again. Oblivion saw this and leaned his head down till it was level with Spike.
“I uh, I’m really, well...Okay, you know what? I’m sorry. You were right I should have asked before I tried to sit on your back. I’m so used to Twilight not minding that I forgot to ask. You were right to be mad. I just thought it would be cool to sit on your back since your a lot taller than she is.” Spikes claws were back in front of him and he fiddled with them as he went on. “Anyway, that’s no excuse so I’m really sorry.” Spike finished and looked up to the tall Unicorn.
Oblivion exhaled and nudged the dragon with his hoof. “Very well I will forgive it this time. So long as it does not happen again then we can consider this behind us.” Oblivion said as he raised his head back up.
A wide smile went across Spike’s features as he patted Oblivion’s leg. He got a good look at the tall Unicorn as he stood by him. “Wow. You really are tall. I didn’t think much about it when I first saw you. That's pretty cool.”
Oblivion looked at him and brought his head back down. “What does that mean?” Spike looked at him in confusion. “You keep using cool as if it's describing something else. I know what it means in the literal sense but you are using it differently.” Spike stared at him.
Applejack had walked up behind him and had heard Oblivion’s question. She chuckled at Spike’s reaction. “Ah told ya he’s differen’. Ya will need to explain it to him though. Where he’s from they don’t have that kind of word.” She commented and nudged Spike.
“Okay. It means something interesting. I guess.” Spike replied though he scratched the back of his head as he tried to explain.
Oblivion nodded at the explanation. His head came back up and he went back to looking around him. Spike went back to the party leaving Applejack by Oblivion. She looked at him as he started to turn for the door. “Oh no, ya don’t.” She said as she walked in front of him and stopped him from using the door to leave. He stopped and looked at her. “Ya need ta learn to enjoy things like a party. Jus’ cause ya don’t like it is no reason ta ignore ponies. Which reminds me, Mac said ya hadn’t brought up where ya were gonna be stayin’ after last night. So we talked ta Granny and she said that ya are welcome to stay as long as ya need. She said that so long as ya help out with the chores then ya are welcome. Unless ya had a plan?’
Oblivion looked at her before he turned to face her properly. “I had no intention of imposing on you and your family further.” He raised a hoof to silence her when she opened her muzzle to protest. “I had intended to simply stay around where you had found me. Since I knew that area and intended to see about finding a job since my profession as a Witcher does not seem to be in demand in this place.”
“Ya were just gonna live in the forest?” Applejack gaped at him for a moment before she shook her head. “Nah nothin’ to it! Ya will just stay with us and ya can work for mah family. We could use another strong pony to help with chores. Of course, we will pay ya as well. Not expecting ya to work for free. Ah, won’t hear it. Ah’m not commanding it but ah know mah family won’t let ya sleep outside. Ah, know ya can protect yerself but not when you have a place ya can go.” She said to him and squared herself against him, daring him to argue. Oblivion considered it as she waited. The farm mare knew better than to push him.
Oblivion chuckled and shook his head. “Very well. I will accept your offer. We will work out the details later. In the meantime, I am going to go get something to eat. I’ll be back before this celebration ends. There is nothing here that I would like to eat. I will be back shortly.” He said as the door lit up with his magic.
Applejack looked at him and, after a few beats, she moved away from the door. “All righ’. Just be safe out there.” She said as she went back to the party.
Oblivion looked back to her retreating back and sighed. He walked out of the building and made for the edge of the town. ‘These ponies are a strange bunch. Not a cruel bone in them. Maybe I should get used to the idea of a quiet life...No. I can’t let my training lapse. That would be the greatest insult to Vesemir and the others. He’d tan my hide, pony or not, for even considering it. In the meantime I need to find meat. Judging by the way that light yellow Pegasus handled those birds hunting in this area is a fool's errand. That forest Applejack mentioned on the other hoof sounds like it would be perfect.’ He walked to the edge of town and into the thick forest. He moved his cloak away from his swords to make it easier to draw them from their scabbards. He looked down at his hooves and the claws flexed from their hiding place and he walked forward on them. He only used the claws on his forelegs.
As he walked deeper his senses came back to life after a day of not being used. His eyes narrowed to thin slits and he saw the game trails clearly and walked among them. As he moved silently through the trees he came upon a small deer. He crouched down to avoid being spotted he silently drew his steel sword and prepared for the hunt.
Back at the library Applejack watched the time as the party began winding down. She looked back at the door and found Oblivion standing in nearly the same spot as he had been before he left. She looked at him and was happy to realize that he appeared to have eaten while he was gone. She finally caught his eye and smiled. He nodded in response. She made her way over to him. “So did ya get somethin’ ta eat?”
“Yes thank you.” He replied. ‘I actually feel much better. The hunt seemed to help as well. I will definitely be doing my hunting in that forest. It has plenty of game and seems to be quite wild. Perfect for a Witcher to run in.’ He had made sure to clean himself up before he returned. He had hung his cloak up and taken a short bath in a small pond within the borders of the forest.
“Good, ya look better too. Yer coat and mane were a mite dull but they seem to be okay now. Ya, look brighter.” She observed. “Whatever ya did Oblivion ya should keep doing it. Ya seem healthier now. Ah don’t mean ta be rude but ya looked sick before. Ya are still a mite to thin for yer height but ah suppose ya were traveling a lot so ya didn’t eat as much. But now ya can eat as much as ya like. So we will get ya back to normal in no time. Anyway now lets head for the town hall for the raising of the sun.” She motioned to the door and Oblivion opened with his magic. He let her go first and then followed.
Oblivion walked with Applejack and then looked back when he saw most of the other ponies following. They reached the building after a few minutes and went inside. Applejack went up toward the front while he stayed to the back. He saw Twilight finally enter with Spike on her back. He failed to understand why Spike was always being carried. But decided that it was not his business. The black Unicorn could tell that the purple mare looked nervous. He saw Pinkie talking to her but chose to ignore what she was saying in favor of looking at the gray-haired mare that stood at the front.
“Fillies and gentle-colts, as mayor of Ponyville it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!” She called out.
“So that's what this is called,” Oblivion muttered to himself. “A bit ridiculous but whatever suits them.”
“In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And now it is my great pleasure to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who raises the sun and moon each and every day. The good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria.”
Oblivion’s head spun to pay attention. ‘Raises the sun and moon? What does that mean? What happened to make it so that the moon and the sun cannot rise and fall on their own?’ He focused on what was being said in an effort to understand what they meant.
Fluttershy looked to her birds. “Ready?”
The mayor looked to the assembled ponies. “Princess Celestia!”
Rarity pulled the curtains back on the balcony above them and revealed an empty space. Rarity did a double-take. “Huh?”
Oblivion looked up. “Well, I can’t say this is a good start to the morning.” The Black Unicorn was quiet as his ears picked up on a strange sound. His eyes followed his ears as they searched for the sound.
The mayor stepped forward once more. “Calm down everypony, there must be a reasonable explanation.”
Oblivion snorted at her. He watched as Rarity came back from looking backstage. “She’s gone.”
Oblivion paid little attention to the restless ponies as he followed the sound. It was nearing the balcony above them. A black cloud appeared and Oblivion watched it with growing interest. A black pony of around his own height appeared. He immediately noticed that she was also an Alicorn. She wore blue hoof boots, a helm that went down to her muzzle and ended at the base of her mane. She had a purple marking on her flank with the moon in a lighter blue shade. Her mane and tail were ethereal and shimmered, moving around her. Oblivion watched her with growing distaste. He didn’t like the mare being above him. Granted he had a general problem with peo..ponies that thought too highly of themselves. The mare looked down at them and chuckled.
“Oh, my beloved subjects. Its been so long since I saw your sun-loving faces.” The black mare said.
Rainbow Dash started to go up to the Alicorn but her tail ended up being held by Applejack who gave a muffled yell. “Whoa, Nelly!”
The mayor looked up at her and yelled. “What have you done with our Princess?”
“Is my crown not royal enough for you? Does it no longer count since I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?” She sneered down at the ponies. “Did none of you see the signs?”
Oblivion snarled in response and started to open his mouth when another beat him to it. “I saw them. And I know who you are. You are the mare in the moon-Nightmare Moon!” Twilight yelled back to the Alicorn mare.
“Well well, well, somepony who remembers me. Then you know why I am here.” She responded.
Oblivion looked at Twilight and gave a small smile. ‘Good girl.’ He praised the mare for her bold response. But that praise died on his lips as she shrunk down. “You're here to...to...” He saw her gulp. ‘Never mind.’
The Alicorn laughed and her mane and tail created a storm above her as she began to laugh almost hysterically. “Remember this day, little ponies, for it will be your last. From this moment forth the night will last forever!” She laughed as the storm above her raged and lightning threw several advancing Pegasi to the ground. Their armor did not seem to help them as they were thrown like rag dolls.
Oblivion decided at that moment that a frontal assault was fruitless against her. He would need to rely on stealth and possibly try to overpower her through an ambush if possible. The mare evaporated and the blue mist flew out a window. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Applejack lose her grip on Rainbows tail and the blue mare flew out the same window. Oblivion lost track of her and he saw Twilight run out the front door. He pivoted on his heel and followed her, Spike looked back and saw the black Unicorn following them at a fast trot. He looked almost relieved to see the tall stallion. Twilight's own magic opened the door and she ran inside she started to close the door but Oblivion’s own magic overpowered her own and the door stayed open. She looked back in surprise as he slowed down and went inside behind her. Spike grinned but then started to fall off Twilight's back. She gripped him in her magic and took him upstairs to put him to bed. Oblivion was silent as he waited for her to return.
Twilight came back downstairs and to his surprise, she rounded on him for a moment before she seemed to think twice and then went back to the shelves of books. She started throwing them as she looked at the titles and scanned the insides of them. “Elements, elements, elements, ugh!” A book flew over Oblivion’s head as he ducked. He looked back to her with an annoyed expression. She spared him a look before going back to her frantic searching. “How can I stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?”
Oblivion looked to the side as he stepped away from the door. The other mares walked in, the purple Unicorn didn’t even notice them enter. Applejack looked to Oblivion for a moment before she looked ahead once more.
“And just what are the Elements of Harmony? And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy?” Rainbow attempted to interrogate the mare. Oblivion scoffed at the spy commentary. Rainbow didn’t even look back at him.
Applejack reached up and pulled her tail to make her back off once again. She spat it out as she pulled up next to her. “Simmer down Sally. She ain’t no spy. But she certainly knows what’s going on. Don’cha Twilight?”
Twilight looked at them as they all looked at her. Oblivion stayed back by the door but he looked to her as well, though his gaze was much less intense than the other mares. “I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon. Some mysterious artifacts called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her, but I don’t know what they are, or where to find them.” She lamented.
Oblivion looked to the side where Pinkie was now hovering. “The Elements of Harmony: A reference guide.”
Oblivion moved to the other side of the door as Twilight lunged forward and sent Pinkie rolling to the side. She got up and started bouncing in place. “How did you find that?” She shrilled at the pink mare.
Pinkie hopped forward and responded. “It was under E.” She replied in a sing-song voice.
Twilight gaped at her for a moment. “Oh.”
The purple Unicorn opened the book and began to read it aloud. “There are seven Elements of Harmony but only 6 are known. They are Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, Loyalty, and Spirit. The seventh is a complete mystery. It is said that the last known location of the six elements was in the ancient castle of the Royal Sisters. Located in what is now… The Everfree Forest.”
The mares gasped in horror, while Oblivion had to fight not to laugh. ‘That figures. A place they are all terrified of turns out to hold their salvation.’ The mares all started to walk to the edge of the forest. Oblivion stayed close but not in the crowd. They all walked in silence, with Twilight leading them. They reached the forest's edge and halted. Twilight faced the forest ahead of her. Oblivion was not surprised when Pinkie bounced forward several steps.
“Whee, let's go.” She sang as she kept going.
“Not so fast. I appreciate the offer. But I would really rather do this on my own.” The excitable pink mare halted and listened as Twilight spoke. The Unicorn turned to face the forest as she spoke.
Applejack stepped forward. “No can do sugar-cube. We sure ain't letting any friend of ours go into that creepy place alone. We’re stickin’ to ya like candy on a candy apple.”
The other mares all nodded and started walking forward without her. Oblivion followed behind them. He stopped beside Twilight and waited for her to go ahead of him. Pinkie looked to the forest and smiled. “Especially if there are candy apples in there.” Even Oblivion looked sideways at her. “What? Those things are good.” Oblivion shook his head as Twilight sighed and walked forward with him following.
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I'm liking this, great work!
Enough self indulgent, absolutely perfect, can do no wrong OCs have become a 7th element that the concept of an extra element is generally looked down upon.
Still, I'm curious what you mean by the element of spirit?
Looking forward to the next chapter
8465099
Thanks for the nice comment
8465638
Spirit is actually explained in a later chapter. But basically it is like when someone says that another has a broken spirit or when a horse has been too broken. Basically like that. I have it written it just needs to go through the process of me rewriting it and making it bleed from editing. I promise there is a reason. Haters can say all they want. I'm glad people with open minds have read it and I love the comments they leave and they are the reason i write. Thanks for the comment!
The witcher's wild hunt
8467028
Haters gonna hate hate hate.
Good thing Im no hater
9330952
Lol. Very true!
You had me till the arbitrary seventh element. Why does everyone keep using that cliche`, as if not having an element of harmony means they aren't important.
It's not like there have to be exactly 6 elements or that they have to be the same every time, but honestly he already is an alicorn or something very alike. It really wasn't necessary.
...on the other hoof it could be the reason he got there.
“Spirit” Yeah, That describes people like Witcher’s all right.
I am liking what youve got so far i was wondering hiw you were going to go about his involvement. Some folks show horn something of a watching along some even use a prybar of subverting the angle. You you just squished it in using a hydraulic press. It made me laugh.
honestly don't like the seven elements thing, but what'ev, not my story. Everything else about this is good! Though I am curious about your use of "Spirit", and why you felt it was appropriate for a witcher... unless you meant it as alcohol lol
9810550
Actually there is a cannon 7th element empathy
Ok, woah, so it’s one of these kinds of stories. Adding a seventh element like this doesn’t make sense. Reason being the entire way the Elements work is that they’re all working together in harmony. If you add a seventh, but keep it separate, then it’s not an Element of Harmony, because it’s not working together with the others.
If you’re going to add a seventh element of harmony, then it has to actually be an element of harmony - working in harmony with the others and having the restrictions that involves - or it has to be a separate artefact, ergo not an element.
I also gotta say that following the episode structure like this is a bad idea, and is markedly boring. I did the same thing with one of my stories and I hated it. It just doesn’t work. It may seem like a good idea, but it’s not original. Sure, you added some characters, maybe changed a few things, but it’s still not original. It’s be better to derail it. Like, for example, if Oblivion had attacked NMM in the town hall. That would’ve derailed it. Of course, after that point you can’t go back to following the episode structure, it has to stay derailed, if you rerail it it’ll make derailing it pointless.
Oblivion is also really passive in this story, he’s not really doing anything, just being a perspective. He needs to play a more active role in things - and might I add that this must be a logical role. Don’t do what you did with the tour, that didn’t make sense. You can’t send a tour guide out if they know nothing about where they’re touring, and it was OOC for AJ to stupidly do that.
Oh oh, I know! It's slaughter, isn't it! In all seriousness, while normally these things (alicorn, seventh element, etc.) would be Gary Stu, you made him so well that it doesn't really feel all that bad. Slightly predictable and slightly eye-roll inducing, but no big deal.
9511392
Eh I'm just here for the monster-slayer. I don't care about what jewelry he's wearing or whatever.
A thought just occurred to me. It would be nice if there were a story in which the seventh element was... LUNA!
Why you take spike element
The plural is pegasi.
Redundant information, she already said that before to them.
10547282
All fixed. Thank you for your help.