• Published 12th Aug 2012
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To Err is Equine - RLYoshi



Everyone, pony, and thing makes mistakes. Not as many try to fix these mistakes, and even fewer succeed.

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13: The Elder's Rock

[Perspective: Arrell]

Remembering those three days was...interesting.

I knew that not only was I technically in a fan fiction – or a series of them, rather – but for all I knew, everything I did could just be some author's contribution to the Chessverse. Heck, maybe it's my contribution. Maybe everything that happens to me is actually decided by me...well, not me me, but a different, still-human me.

I'm even confusing myself now. I'll stop.

"Why do you need to train so suddenly?" False asked me, catching up to me after I left the building that seemed to act as a hospital.

"Because now I know all the Windigo skills I'm supposed to know by this point and I want to test them out," I replied without missing a beat. "Also, where are we?"

"Some village we came across," False said simply. Risk came up to continue..

"According to the ponies living here, it's just been built a few weeks ago, which is why it's so small," he explained. "It's called Smooth Grove, and aside from its inhabitants and us, next to nopony even knows it exists."

Kinda creepy.

"Now it's my turn to ask something," Risk continued. "What happened in those three days before you arrived?"

I explained most of it to them. I obviously left out the part about us being in a work of fiction based on another work of fiction, since that'd take forever to explain and lead to too many Inception jokes. I also threw in how drinking the can of Coke must have somehow caused a spark that allowed me to regain my memories, but I wasn't sure why I lost the memories in the first place.

"Maybe you landed on your head when you arrived," Risk suggested.

"Or you're just that stupid," I heard False mutter. The urge to retort to that was stronger than it had ever been since arriving in Equestria, but I fought it off.

"I also have another theory on the 'evil' inside of me," I added, catching their attention. "I think it might be some kind of failsafe Styx gave me."

"Why would she put evil inside of you?" False asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, long story short, I'm the kind of guy who isn't too violent normally, but you do not want to piss me off unless you need a shortcut to the hospital." I could've sworn I saw False swallow nervously. "I think what Styx did was magnify that trait in case of emergency, to the point where Princess Celestia sensed it as being evil and had to lock it away."

Risk thought for a moment. "So...right now, the evil – or rather, magnified trait – is inaccessible?"

I nodded. "I'd probably have to get a lot angrier than normal to even put a crack in its prison. I guess that makes it more of a last-ditch thing. Unless I'm already dealing with something that's going to end all of Equestria, there's no way that anger will be unleashed. Styx probably didn't plan that, but eh, it works."

"Getting back on topic...you said you remembered your Windigo abilities?" False tried to clarify. I nodded. "Does that include those...'video game powers' you talked about?"

"No, I don't think so. I don't remember anything else along those lines. I just know how to do Windigo stuff. Styx probably set something up so I'd only get those video game powers as time went on. She's a goddess, she can do that."

"...but why would she do that?"

"To screw with me? I dunno. Point being, I need to practice my Windigo abilities before something happens, like this town being attacked or something...and I totally jinxed it, didn't I?"


[Perspective: Risk Reward]

While Arrell wandered off to test his Windigo powers outside of Smooth Grove, False and I walked around the town to talk with the inhabitants a bit more. No longer worrying about Arrell, we finally took in more of our surroundings.

First off, the village was easily one of the smallest I've ever seen – there were less buildings throughout the entirety of it than there were on Stirrup Street back in Ponyville. Also, I noticed that most of the inhabitants were earth ponies, with a few pegasi and no unicorns. This made me feel a little out of place, but an unwanted mental reminder that I technically wasn't a unicorn anymore pushed that feeling away.

"I think we need to go find whoever's in charge of this village," False suddenly stated. I looked at her in confusion.

"Why? Need to file a complaint?" I asked.

"Need to figure out more about this place," she corrected me. "Less than fifteen buildings. Less than ten homes. Only about twenty to thirty ponies here, plus us. Something seems weird about this place."

I chuckled. "Getting suspicious? It's just a new village, False. Ponyville was pretty small before the Apple family went and helped make it famous."

She shook her head. "I know that, but...why have a village out here anyway? Ponyville's not too far away, and neither is Stalliongrad for that matter. Unless there's some kind of valuable resource out here, it doesn't make sense for them to put a village right here."

What she said made a bit of sense, but I still thought she was just being paranoid. Did she think these ponies were going to kill us in our sleep or something?

"Plus, they're not fazed by much," she added. "When we brought Arrell in, it was just a confused look or two before they kept moving. But everypony else who's seen Arrell was at least scared of him for a bit before talking to him."

I cleared my throat.

"...okay, everypony minus you. But still, even Zecora was scared of him. Zecora, the zebra who lives in the Everfree Forest and sees nigh-impossible stuff on a weekly basis without batting an eye. It just doesn't add up."

"So you want to find the mayor, or whatever they have here, just to figure out why they're living here and why they're stoic?"

"Yes."

I facehoofed.


[Perspective: False Front]

After getting directions from a couple of townsponies, Risk and I found ourselves at an ordinary-looking house. The only thing that allowed it to stick out from the other small shacks was a crude sign out front, labelling it 'Village Elder's Home'. I knocked loudly on the door, and after a few seconds, it creaked open to reveal a rather old stallion.

He was about our height, but rather skinny. His coat was a dull orange, appearing to have once been bright and brilliant. He was bald, but his tail was pure black with streaks of red. Like most of the ponies in the village, he was an earth pony. He looked at us with a pleasant look, but seemed to be masking a bit of confusion.

"How may I help you?" he asked, opening the door some more and inviting us in. "Make yourself at home, youngsters."

"Thanks, but we likely won't be here long," I replied. While Risk gazed around at the rather sparse interior decoration, I launched right into business. "We wanted to ask a few things about this village."

The elder cracked a grin. "Ah, so you too wish to learn more about the Fine Rock?"

Fine Rock? "I'm sorry?"

"The Fine Rock is an old jewel that has been passed down through my family for generations," the elder explained, taking a seat. I did the same. "Normally it's only considered to be a good luck charm, but when my father gave it to me before passing on, I felt something from within."

"What did you feel?" I pressed, intrigued in this strange relic.

"It's strange, but...I felt protected, yet threatened. As if by merely holding the gem, somepony wanted to hurt me, but another pony wanted to protect me." He stood up and walked slowly over to a small box on a counter, Risk watching carefully. "My father never felt such a thing, and neither did any of my other ancestors. However, I found several other ponies who did feel such a thing, and so we vowed to work together to unlock the secrets of the Fine Rock."

He opened the box and pulled out what appeared to be a small jewel, about the size of a marble. It glowed faintly, producing a warm orange light that instantly made me feel safer. He trotted back over to us with the stone and sat back down, examining it.

"One pony, Nimble Night, said he felt an extra sensation – a feeling of being pulled somewhere. We all followed him for several days, eventually arriving here, where he said the gem stopped pulling him. We began to build our village here, hoping to learn over time just what the Fine Rock wants with this place."

"Who is Nimble Night?" Risk asked, focusing intently on the Fine Rock.

"A young colt whose parents were killed by Diamond Dogs a few months back," the elder responded. "He lived in an orphanage for a while, but since we came to this village I've started taking care of him."

I stood up. "I'd like to speak to him."

The elder laughed. "Oh, that's easier said than done. Nimble isn't called as such for no reason. He's a ninja."

There was a long silence between us. Risk and I were waiting for the elder to laugh again and say he was joking, while he was waiting for a reaction.

"...a ninja?" Risk finally broke the silence.

"Yes. His father was a royal guard for several years and his mother was a sneaky criminal for just as long, and so they taught him both fighting skills and ways to sneak around. Hay, I hardly get to see Nimble, and he lives in my house." He chuckled for a bit. "He spends most of the day either wandering around town or sleeping, but at night, he heads outside and begins searching for the secret to the Fine Rock. I swear, this thing has him more captivated than it does anyone else in Smooth Grove."

"So we'll need to find him?" I asked.

"Oh, no, I can introdue you later today when he comes home. But he might not be very open. He doesn't like to talk much. He's still a young colt after all."

Risk raised an eyebrow. "Young as in our age?"

"Young as in about ten years old."

...a ten-year-old ninja. Smooth Grove gets weirder and weirder every minute.


Off in the distance, a small squad of tough-looking ponies were staring intently at the cluster of humble homes a short trip away. They all knew that not only was the Fine Rock there, but so was that Windigo they heard about. Arrell.

They could kill two birds with one stone. All they had to do was wait for night and launch their assault. They easily outnumbered the amount of ponies in Smooth Grove; no doubt they'd outmatch them as well.

The apparent leader of the group, an enormous earth pony stallion with an axe held in his teeth, grinned around the handle. It wouldn't be long now.

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