The Missing Bard

by Kiniro

Chapter 14: Ponyville Station

The Missing Bard

Chapter 14: Ponyville Station

As I followed Twilight disembarking the train, I saw the other girls waiting for us on station platform. Most of them were concerned with Fluttershy's injuries and giving remarks of support to comfort the hurt yellow pegasus. However Fluttershy was showing that she was strong, and not letting her injury keep her down. But as we approached the others, Fluttershy quickly rushed over to both Twilight's and my side.

"I just w-wanted to tell you, t-thank you for s-saving me." Fluttershy said trying to keep her head up. I knew she was trying to stay strong, but I could only imagine she was in alot of pain.

"You're welcome Fluttershy. You're my friend, I know you would have done the same for me." I mentioned with a slight smile, still gritting my teeth from the pain.

"O-oh, I don't know if I c-could have done the s-same, but I would d-definitely try." Fluttershy reassured me as she smiled back.

"That's what matters Fluttershy. Trying is all I could ask, but from what the others have told me, I know you would be able to pull through and you know why? Because you're still here, you're a very strong pony." I complimented Fluttershy.

"O-oh. I'm not t-that special." Fluttershy tried to disregard the compliment.

"Now horse apples. We all know you're strong Fluttershy. Remember that dragon you stood up to? Or what about that time you saved my little sis and her friends from that cockatrice? Or when you stood up to that Minotaur Iron Will?" Applejack commented contesting Fluttershy.

"Yes dear, you have always risen to the occasion!" Rarity supported.

"Yeah Fluttershy you've always done the unexpected." Twilight also supported.

"W-well. I guess I can be a l-little assertive when I n-need to be." Fluttershy finally agreed.

"That’s the spirit Fluttershy!" I commented.

"T-thank you all for b-believing in me." Fluttershy stated while giving a big smile with a high pitched sound.

"Did you hear that?" I said curiously. "Is that that squeeing sound you told me about Twi?"

"Yes Kini. It is." Twilight confirmed. "Fluttershy is just excited"

"Oh ok, I'm just still trying to figure out how that works..." I stated as I tried to scratch my head with my front right hoof.

"Oh! S-speaking of! I have to go tend to my animal f-friends!" Fluttershy quickly stated. "Oh but I don't know if I'll be able to get it all done, they all expect to be fed by a certain time, especially Angel."

"Don't worry Fluttershy! I can go help you!" Pinkie Pie answered.

"O-oh c-could you? I m-mean if you're not b-busy or anything." Fluttershy responded.

"No not at all Flutters! I took the day off from Sugar Cube Corner Mr. and Mrs. Cake said I deserved a break!" Pinkie told the yellow Pegasus.

"Oh, ok, that's g-great! Think we could go d-do that now?" Fluttershy stated to only see Pinkie Pie nod in agreement. "If you'll e-excuse us every pony, we have to go take care of my animal friends. We'll see you all tomorrow and please Kiniro get some rest."

"I'll try." I responded.

"Please do try." Fluttershy stated.

"And if he doesn't I'll make him get some rest." Twilight added in.

"Oh yes Twilight, if he can't rest, make him get rest." Fluttershy stated as both her and Pinkie both trotted off.

It had always surprised me to hear stories about Fluttershy being, well not so shy and timid. Yet I still had a hard time believing some of the other girls stories about her, but then again hearing Applejack say it. It definitely had to be true. Then again even back in Midgard there was a saying. "Its always the quiet ones that you least expect ", I thought to myself.

"There's something that's been bothering me Kiniro." Rarity commented.

"What is it Rarity?" I responded.

"Back on the train, you told us all that there was a pony, you called Meadow Song, knew how to play that impressive song of Ragnarok. How is it possible he knows it?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah how did some random pony know that song?" Applejack added in.

"What pony knew what song?" I suddenly heard a familiar voice ask like the others. All of us quickly turned around to see Rainbow Dash land on the station platform.

"There was another pony earlier today in Canterlot that knew how to play the song of Ragnarok." Twilight responded.

"What how is that possible? I thought Kiniro here was the only pony who could possibly play that here?!" Rainbow Dash said shocked.

"Yeah, well that's what I thought also." I answered. "So I don't know how this other stallion knew it."

"By the way what happened to you Kiniro?" Rainbow Dash asked noticing my bandages. "You look like a train hit you."

"I think the train would have hurt less, but I got in a fight with the other stallion by the name of Meadow song, he knew the song of Ragnarok." I commented.

"At first, Kiniro went to go talk to him seeing that there was another pony with a guitar for a cutie mark, since Kiniro lets his obsession of music get to him, but when when Fluttershy and I went to pull him away, this other pony by the name of Meadow Song just flipped a lid and attacked us. He hurt Fluttershy and Kiniro pretty bad, but Kini got the better of him." Twilight tried to explain.

"That stallion hurt Fluttershy!? Let me at him!" Rainbow Dash quickly commented.

"It's ok, he's been taken in by the Royal Guards for questioning." I said to calm Rainbow Dash. "Plus Fluttershy and I will make a full recovery within a few days. But I had to..." I quickly trailed off.

"He was trying to play the song of Ragnarok to kill Fluttershy and thanks to Kini's quick thinking, he stopped him and knocked him out, but he broke his guitar in the process." Twilight explained to Rainbow Dash. "Plus he's been pretty beat up over the idea of him losing his old acoustic guitar."

I tried to add to Twilight's explanation, but I quickly was over come with emotion with being reminded of the loss of my guitar and started tearing.

"See Twi, look what you've gone and done. He was just barely getting over it, and now he's crying over it again." Applejack scolded Twilight.

"Gah! I didn't meant to get him to start crying over it! I'm sorry Kini! I wasn't trying to make you cry, I was just trying to explain to Rainbow!" Twilight tried to comfort me.

"Its... ok..." I stated quickly breathing heavily once through my snout, pulling the tears that had emptied into my snout to the back of my throat and wiped the tears off my face with my front right hoof.

"But that does seem crazy, how would another pony know how to play the Song of Ragnarok." Rainbow Dash stated.

"That's what myself and Applejack were trying to figure out." Rarity agreed with Rainbow Dash.

"Its even a shock to me." Twilight added. "I believed that Kiniro was the only pony here in Equestria that had musical magic, but now seeing this Meadow Song, that really raises some questions."

"It does, have there ever been rare cases of any ponies other than Unicorns having magical abilities?" I asked Twilight.

"From my studies, no, there have been plenty of stories and novels I've read, mostly fantasy novels, but nothing in actual recorded history. As far as Equestria is concerned you were the first recorded case, but then again that's because you turned into a pony, not that you were actually a pony of birth." Twilight tried to explain.

"I understand Twi, but how does that explain Meadow Song?" I asked.

"I don't think any pony would really know." Twilight answered with Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash listening in with dedication.

"Hmm..." Applejack stated.

"What are you thinking AJ?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I'm not the smartest with understanding magic like you do Twi, but Kiniro here has his musical magic talent because he's from Midgard. Now its a long shot, and I think its highly unlikely, but do you think its possible that another human from his world who had similar talents like him was brought here?" Applejack pondered as she removed her hat and scratched her head with her front left hoof.

"Well... Its possible, but highly unlikely, considering Kini's arrival was very unique." Twilight tried to explain.

"Its true, the only I'm here is because of very unique circumstances." I answered for Twilight as I got my composure back.

"How so Kiniro my dear?" Rarity asked. "We've heard the stories but what's your theory on it?"

"Well after these past couple months in Equestria, its still a theory and I can't prove it considering as Twilight says, we can't prove it via the 'Scientific Method' or whatever she calls it. But anyway, I fought Satan Morroc in my world, and the combination of both my song of Ragnarok and his aura burst trapped me in this great void. Once there, then Princess Luna who is one of most powerful magic users here in Equestria found me in the void via my magical signature and pulled me through to save me."

"While I do believe in the unique magic signature theory, I've never sensed it, but if Princess Luna says it exists, it has to be true, but I wonder if Princess Celestia ever noticed your presence in the void?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know Twi, that's something we'd have to ask them both, but I'm still thankful that Luna pulled me through. But it is highly likely Princess Celestia noticed me but refused to pull me through due to her rules." I responded. "But that only explains my unique entry into Equestria, so I highly doubt that this Meadow Song is from my world."

"I know Kiniro, but we can't rule it out completely." Applejack argued.

"We must be not disregard this, even if highly unlikely it is a possibility." Rarity sided with Applejack.

"I mean its possible that someone since I left Midgard has learned to play the song of Ragnarok, but Satan Morroc is dead now so its not possible for someone to cross over." I stated.

"What about from before you Kiniro?" Rarity asked.

"Well... back in my world there was another Bard who was able to play the song of Ragnarok, but that was 300 years ago in my world, and he perished playing it. History from my world states that he lost control of the song and the aura you've seen engulf me when I play Ragnarok, burned him alive due to his lack of control. So again, there's no way to make that theory work. I wish there was a way to make it work because it would make sense this way." I explained.

"Well its the only theory we can see working Kini." Twilight sided with Rarity and Applejack. "Because there's no way that an earth pony by any means here in Equestria could possess magic, your the only exception because you're originally from another world and you turned into a pony."

"But I don't think." I tried to continue but then I remembered. During my fight with Meadow Song, he had a guitar similar to mine that fired arrows from it. He had originally tried to use them to take out Twilight. "There is something that is a bit strange, his guitar that he used to attack Twilight and Fluttershy, it shot arrows, just like how I modified mine to."

"Modified?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, originally this guitar was just a regular acoustic guitar, but I modified it and built a firing mechanism based off some blueprints I had found during my days fighting in the Wars of Emperium fighting for my former leader Xellie."

"So how did he make a guitar similar to yours?" Rarity asked.

"That I don't know, but it was oddly similar, mind you, I only used these blue prints as a guide, but I built all the parts to my own liking. Considering I never shared the blue prints with anyone else, and when I found them, they were in a stronghold back room that could only be accessed via a secret passage way. Not to mention the back room looked like had not been accessed in many years." I explained. "But I did notice that Meadow's guitar seemed to more closely resemble the blue prints than mine, at least for what I can remember."

"So that has to be the proof! If we can get his guitar and investigate it, maybe we can find some clues about who this pony is!" Applejack commented.

"That's a good idea!" I agreed. "There has to be some more clues!" Then I also remembered the silver engraving plate that I had noticed with the weathered writing. "I also remember seeing this silver plate on the back of the neck of his guitar, it had some writing on it but I couldn't make out what it said."

"Writing? How weathered was it?" Twilight asked.

"Pretty bad, I was able to make out some letters here and there, but I couldn't decipher its message."

"Well if we could get a hold of his guitar, maybe I could use a restoration spell to see what the message says."

"Good! Maybe we should go back to Canterlot and go get it from the Royal Guards!"

"Well... if only, once something comes into the possession or it gets confiscated by the Royal Guards its probably gone for good. I could try to pull some strings with Princess Celestia or my brother Shining Armor when he gets back, but who knows it it will still be there once I put my in requests." Twilight explained.

"So back to square one then..," I said with a slightly depressed tone. "That guitar of his holds the key of who he might be and its out of reach, but I'm still skeptical about another human from Midgard being here."

"But yet Queen Xellie got here didn't she?" Rainbow Dash commented.

"But I think that's only because she got caught in the blast of my song and Satan Morroc's aura burst, and of course Luna admitting to pulling her through as well." I explained.

"Still seems to be pointing to another human from Midgard Kiniro." Applejack stated again.

"I highly doubt it, but the more and more even I look at some of the evidence... It might just be, but, something doesn't add up though, I've been the only musician to ever play the song of Ragnarok and survive its effects! But no future bards have the same circumstances fighting Satan Morroc to be put in the same position, and the only bard who ever used the song died by the song of Ragnarok's overwhelming power!" I said with a frustrated tone. "I just... I'm having to very conflicting stories here and... I don't know what to think, either something impressively impossible has happened here in Equestria or the history of Midgard is wrong! And I know that Midgard's history can't be wrong! I know I'm the only musician to survive Ragnarok, I was told this since I performed it during the Civil War! Lightning Strike told me so and he's a huge History buff back in Midgard! So I know it can't be wrong!"

"But Kini something just doesn't sit right here." Twilight wondered. "No earth pony can have that talent other than you!"

"But Midgard's history can't be wrong! Lightning even told me the name of the bard who died! His name was Aldo! He told me he died when he pushed his limits and the song of Ragnarok killed him! That's why that song was forbidden to be used by all musicians everywhere!"

"So then why did you use it?" Twilight asked.

"I used it by accident the first time, and that brought the Midgard Civil War to a cease fire, mostly due to concern of me possibly obliterating both sides, but when I said I only wanted peace to be brought back to the land the rebels seceded to those defending Tristam's rule, on the condition of better freedom and representation, which lead to the formation of the High Council of Rune Midgard." I stated.

"Didn't you say that the High Council lead to the Wars of Emperium?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, but that's only because they feared that without a king there would be another unpredictable power vacuum in Rune Midgard so instead they produced a controlled one via the wars. But that's beyond the point." I explained. "Look I'm sure we will find the answer in due time... I'd like to try and figure this out more... but I have to get to sleep, I need to rest up for a while."

"Yes agreed Kini needs his sleep. We'll catch you all tomorrow and hopefully we can figure this out." Twilight commented.

"And get me better trained in case I need to fight that Meadow Song pony again, I doubt that this is our last encounter." I said with a worried tone.

"Hmm, leave the training planning to me and AJ." Rainbow Dash stated. "We're the best athletes in Ponyville, so once you're better we can get stronger!"

"Yes leave it to us Kiniro." Applejack agreed to help.

"Also, I maybe just a simple fashionista but I'm sure I can work up some protective clothing for you if given some time to study some designs." Rarity added in.

"Stop by the library later Rarity we can study together." Twilight invited. "Anyway I have to get this tired pony home."

With that we all went our separate ways from the train station. Twilight and myself heading home, and I began to ponder the evidence that was piling up. As much as I hated to admit it, but Twilight and the others had to be right, but I just kept wondering how it was possible. Was it really true that another human with my abilities was here in Equestria? There couldn't be another other explanation. He had to come from Midgard's past, and this bard had to have fought against Satan Morroc before he was imprisoned, like I did to get here, and someone had to pull him through. But one question that was now on my mind who was this bard who was missing from Midgard's history...

End of Chapter 14.