1-0 Reflection
Continuing their journey, W carried Astra on her back while holding the book out for the filly to read, the merc solely focused on the dirt road ahead of them. Since they departed from the Diamond Dogs, Astra had learned from a few books about medicine and helped patched W up after her battle, much to the surprise of the silverette. "So, when were you gonna tell me about your little trick in medical?" Her teasing voice snapped the pony out of her trance, feeling her shuffle against W's back.
"Miss Zecora gave it to me, b-before Ponyville was attacked," The shy filly replied. "I wanted to help so I learned about medicine and other stuff..." That earned her a small pat on the head from W's tail, the woman's smile facing ahead as they came across several ponies ahead.
"Look at you, growing up so fast under my nose," W's cheeky eyes caught a glimpse of Astra's bashful face and the tiny smile that appeared. "Just keep readin', I got this." Steeling her nerves, W put all the swagger she had into calmly strolling by the ponies communing with a trader of sorts. "What's going on in this neck of the woods?"
"Are you kidding me?" The pony in complete plate mail armor sounded aggravated, waving a used sword in his magic at the cloaked merchant. A part of W flinched at the sight but relaxed once she saw it was just another pony. "I went through hell and back to hunt the Fowl Beast to protect everypony in Hoofprint, including your blue ass!" He then jabbed a hoof at the unfazed merchant. "And all I got for it is a bloody toothpick sword that's weaker and lower quality than the one I already got!?"
"It is quite a rare specimen." A moment later, W nearly choked on her own laugh as the knight's team jumped in to hold the pony back from tearing the merchant apart, yelling nonsense and cursing so loud everyone from Canterlot and beyond could probably hear him.
"He's very short-tempered," Astra murmured in W's ear while they passed them by, the snickering Sarkaz skipping along into the roofed forest ahead.
"That's probably not all he's short with." While W cackled loudly to herself, Astra's brow rose, attempting to understand what made the pony's lack of height so humorous? She even murmured down at her own hooves wrapped around W's shoulders.
"But I'm small too?"
Sadly, neither noticed the cloaked figure resting their back against the opposite side of a tree, head tilting upward once they pass by without picking up on their presence. With a bend of their posture, their body left the ground with a silent brush of the wind and a rustle of leaves.
The forest was gigantic, radiant, and primal. Its canopy was almost darkened by the trees acting as a rooftop, say for a number of wounds in the branches casting light upon the enchanting grove. Bushes made their progress slow, with W scouting out the best, and direct route through. So far, they pressed on without issue, say for a few ravines that popped up to tear the landscape.
"This is a really big forest." Astra admired with big eyes.
"Good, less chance we're to be caught by the Guard here," W smiled with a chuckle, cutting away another bush to clear the way forward, finding the area to be a little more open yet confined by the trees. "Huh, this looks promising." Stepping through, she lifted her head and found that the sun had turned the sky orange, even the air felt less humid. "We've been walking since sunrise... guess we should call it a day."
At that, W blinked and turned to see Astra huff, flopping to her stomach. The filly had walked for a good majority of the trip, and as much as it would be tempting to sit and relax, W tossed her two waterskins. "Here, go see if there's a spring nearby, I'll set up camp."
"Do I have to?" It wasn't often Astra complained, but it did level a sense of normality for W, one she was happy to hear, it meant Astra was still a kid and not some violent brat thanks to W's antics.
"Tsk-Tsk-Tsk, just one little job then you can read more of your books," W cooed, then held up one that was tinted green. "I got a new one before we left~" She had hidden it and had it not been for Sparkle Butt and Cliff, Astra could've had it two days ago.
"Okay..." He sighed but quickly grabbed the empty waterskins and ran off into the forest. She could handle herself just fine, W knew that well given her survivability before the two crossed paths, and this wasn't the Everfree.
"Now then... camp-camp-camp..." W murmured while spinning slowly on her heel to inspect her surroundings and what to work with.
Once Astra vanished from W's watchful eye, she stopped and resumed her work on the campsite. Setting up the placement of a fire, rolling out what covers they had to sleep on, etc. Clicking her tongue, W tapped her hand against her dormant grenade launcher, looking around the small grounds of their camp. "Okay, fire? Check. Food? Check. Place to set up a tent? Pending..." Then her fingers clicked and her face brightened. "Oh! And removal of little rats hiding in trees?" She swung the launcher over her shoulder, feeling the recoil bump as the tree's branches were splintered with a non-lethal grenade that only served to slice through many branches like a softball with a screwdriver on the end.
"Yaaah - ow..."
"Check," W holstered her launcher and turned with her knife drawn, stepping toward the branches and leaves decorating the spy once nestled in the treetops. "You're a complete dumbass if you think I wasn't the least bit suspicious of any of the Captain's followers tailing me," Her blade was drawn down while the pony moved to sit upright. "I warned ya not to follow me - guess now I have some lever - w-what?" For the first time in forever, W was stumped, hesitating long enough for a foot to kick her knife away from her reach.
The pony wasn't a pony. What soon rose onto its knees was a human, a real, bipedal human. His skin is tanned and he has freckles on his cheeks. His contrasting aqua eyes stared back into her burning ember ones.
He had a slim build, warm black hair, with short twin braids that fade into an aqua color. His clothing left him looking much like W. His clothing consisted of an olive coat, the sleeves rolled up at the elbows with shoulder pads, and a belt both dark grey. Underneath, he wears a white collared shirt and a light red bandana around his neck. He also wears black trousers and dark red boots colored black at the toe.
He scampered back, ducking as a horizontal strike sliced over his hair, followed quickly by a downward plunge. He finally pushed for the assault, drawing a long, silver sword downward to block W's leftward slant. He was fast, able to quickly pivot and bring the blade upward again with a sudden vertical slash to follow, W's own reactions just managed to parry his blows. The boy's follow-up quickdraws in an 'X' were tight and struck true against W's measly dagger, but she had him on the defensive.
The guy was quick to turn the tables on W, something no one had done without some underhanded trick. Once he made enough distance, he sheaved his blade and stumbled back, hands held out before him, looking frazzled from her retaliation from before. "Wait-wait-wait, I don't want to - yah!" Quickly, he evaded the knife that lodged itself in the trunk behind him.
"Should've taken your chance! Human or not, I'm not falling for anything else you throw at me!" W glowered, rushing the timid young adult, himself managing to keep his distance from her knife's edge, even avoiding the reach of her tail as it attempted to trip him up. "Nimble, not bad I guess." Her sharp smile made his face pale.
"Wait, I'm not here to fight you - I want to talk!" He yelled before tripping over a tree vine, with that misstep, W's right fist came crashing against his cheek, creasing his cheek until he plummeted to the earth. Dazed, he suddenly yelping once he struck the earth, straddled by W who held her blade close to his throat, silencing him entirely. Yet he saw it, her eyes were hazy with hesitance and it frustrated her, even her tail jittered in place, wanting to lash out.
"You get one sentence, if I'm happy with your answer I don't press further," W leaned down with a frown. "And believe me, it won't be pleasurable."
Unable to nod, he carefully chose his words in a particular order that would hopefully save his jugular. "I-I wanted to f-find you," He felt her hand tense, pupils dilating. "N-Not like that! I-I mean I wanted to s-see who you are!" It still didn't stop her from glaring hatefully into his orbs. Suddenly, it dawned on him. "...you're like me, aren't you?" His expression softened. "You've been sent here too, as someone else?"
W flinched, and her grip on the knife loosened across his neck. "...who... are you?" She felt herself repeat those same words, only Aoi spoke in W's steed, and for a split second, her vulnerability revealed itself until she shook her head, slumping against his stomach. "Start talking, I don't feel like kicking your ass now..."
"S-sure, but u-um..." He slowly felt his face simmer red, looking anywhere else but at the beautiful woman currently straddling him. "I-I'd rather explain without you atop me p-please?" Slowly noticing this herself, W carefully removed her body off of his, turning her head to continue with her plans with the camp, that, and to bury whatever thoughts sudden spurred into her mind. "T-thanks, I-"
"-I may not want to punch you again, but don't make me regret it," W snapped, glaring over her shoulder. "Start talking... whoever you are."
"R-right, well, my name is Sora... and I'm displaced, like you," The guy known as 'Sora' replied, smiling slightly at the idea he wasn't the only human anymore, so-to-speak. "I honestly can't remember alot of my old life, I've been here since I was ten."
"That long? Tch, so how many bounties have the Royal Guard placed on your head?" W somewhat joked bitterly, though Sora didn't say anything, alerting W into turning fully with a groan. "Are you fucking serious?"
"I-I'm not working with them!" He defended
"But you clearly aren't being tugged along on a chain like some animal! You know, like what they've wanted to do to me for weeks now!" Her hand yanked at her own neck.
"I've been looking into that!"
"So you've done your homework on me, flattering."
"I know it wasn't your fault!" Finally, his words managed to freeze W for the uncounted time that day. She stopped moving dry bundles of branches, instead, she looked down at her knees, eyes wide beyond measure.
"...what did you just say?" It was hard to gauge her reaction with her back turned to him, and her whispered voice put him on edge, enough to stifle a response for a moment of silence.
"...I know it wasn't you who attacked Ponyville, I saw it," Her head was low while he spoke, rubbing his nape. "I-I can fly so I decided to follow Cliffheart and... I saw him too, on the rock, he's... the one that sent me here years ago, I... I never thought I'd see him face-to-face ever again."
W sat there, rubbing her bandaged arm tentatively, her eyes struggling to remain hateful. How she stupidly wished someone else would believe her, that they could see what she had seen, felt how she felt every waking day. It took another human being like her to finally say those exact words she dreamt of hearing someday. Shakily, W lowered her arms. "I'm W-" Sora head lifted to meet the back of her head, antenna bent low. "-That's who I've been displaced as, a Sarkaz Mercenary."
"I don't think I've heard of W before?" Sora drew a blank, and his confused face made W softly chuckle, turning to face him with the first honest smile she's worn today.
"From a small game called Arknights, probably before your time," She brushed off, crossing her legs. "So... what now?" It was no surprise something had to be done between them, two displaced in the same world wasn't something W was familiar with, so the actions were all new to her.
Sora shook his head. "I don't know, maybe.. I can help?" Her brow rose questioningly, only to me a nervous smile. "I may not look it, but I've lived in Equestria longer than you, I know the best routes to take if we want to avoid the Royal Guard, and they're very persistent."
"Really? Haven't noticed." W motioned to her body, then sighed. "Come on out, Astra, he's fine... for now I guess."
Out from the bush popped the charcoal filly, herself scooting closer to W's side, the waterskins in her mouth. "Dwn't hwrt W." She warned with a cute huff. W soon smacked the back of her head lightly, forcing her to spit out the waterskins.
"Don't talk with stuff in your mouth, you'll choke," She reprimed, then smiled toward Sora darkly. "Hear that, Wing-Boy. She's got her eyes on you,"
"Haha... no problem," He smiled sheepishly, watching the filly scamper off to where their sheets were set up. With that, W returned to working on the fire, tossing the sticks into the circle of stones while fishing through her duffle bag for a new knife, picking out a small piece of flint. "Oh, and Sora?"
"Yeah?" He was hesitant to move, all things considered but saw the one eye watching him with a very human glow that kept him enraptured.
"...you're not bad with a sword,"
He blinked, then stifled a small chuckle, closing his eyes, "Heh, thanks."
Meanwhile; The blurry image of the kindling campfire between W, Astra, and Sora faded away, a hand discarding the image passively.
An Abyss weaved its way in the cracks dividing worlds, seemingly lifeless, an empty, dark place where energy traveled between. Floating masses of rock, pillar, and debris slowly rotating in a loss of gravity, spilling out into the blackness beyond, that same infected substances, seeping into the marble, breaking it apart like a parasite. Through the shrouded darkness, under flashes of distant, white lightning was something beyond the crumbled remains of steps forged from the debris.
A large throne cobbled together from the rock.
One person sat atop this forsaken place, their hands rested against the marble seat, adjusting their position while lifting the left hand, holding it toward the silhouette that appeared under another flash. "In this place, I filled heads with ideas of grandeur and purpose, you will be no different," Whatever it was, snarled, bringing its head low enough to feel the touch of the person's hand against its cowl. "She is on my trail, go, take the girl from her,"
The creature's head rose, the sound of crystals fissuring filling the void, and the snap of bone and muscles becoming prevalent. "And if need be, kill the Mercenary."
For a moment, darkness swirled in a distant storm, before the creature lifted its head, snarling a gnarled breath.
...
...
...
"Take. The. Girl."
To Be Continued...
Stats
Page generated in 0.021 seconds
Total duration
689 users online
1,032,735 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
10745808
I don't know why but your comment is just... blank for me, like, no text-box. Dunno if you removed it or something, so I can't really reply, sorry.
I'm getting RWBY vibes from that last line. *shudders at the memory of The Hound*
10745826
Too good of an opportunity to pass up if I'm honest - but it's not the Hound, for the record, it's probably worse.
P.S. That finale tho, damn.
10745819
what did i even write there?
I don't even remember writing this
10745904
One of life's great mysteries...
10745949
puts on detective hat
after minor testing i have found that if one presses the post comment button when naught is there, it causes the void to appear
You will not touch her! She is a precious cinnamon roll and must not be harmed!
10745973
Thus an answer was given.
10746201
Takes detective hat off
10746175
I'm a horrible person, hehehe
10746209
i.ytimg.com/vi/BqNRQ1TNGy4/maxresdefault.jpg
Worrying and slightly spooky. Also weird to see another one of them around, but maybe it will help explain some things. I hope W doesn't go too hard on the poor guy, but I do hope she fights that creature and protects them.
10747315
Only time will tell the tale, yes? *Speaks in Variks’s tone*
God I’ve been stuck on Europa for too long
10747427
Insect chittering.
Thank you for signing your own death warrant. Tis been a pleasure to know you. Please be aware that you end might be delivered via: High explosives, Broken body, swords, etc.
Thank you once more for your services with W’s child protection services.
10755751
W's Child Protection Services
"Protection is only a trigger away"
10746209
You know, it took me this long to realize the whole take the girl thing is probably a reference to the hound
Lol i like the reference
11204703
Yes! Someone got it, haha, a person of culture you are!