One Pony Death Punch

by Sol Nemesis

CHAPTER 15: Going Native

Oh earth below, make it stop.

Rocky Road braced himself against the railing of a speedily moving chariot. He sat upright and unmoving, his eyes were closed, and he kept a steady breathing pattern to calm his nerves. Every time he opened his eyes to see the rushing clouds and land beneath, he closed them tight again for the sake of his sanity.

"What's with you? You eat something bad this morning?" Said Twilight's number one assistant known as Spike from a seat on the other side of the chariot. Rocky turned and gave him a half-lidded sideways glance. Their initial meeting had been less than ideal. The morning after the wedding, Rocky had left the royal guest rooms for breakfast when the little dragon rounded a corner on him. Having never seen a baby dragon before, Rocky had about the same reaction as he had when he first discovered the changelings back in Canterlot. Specifically, he freaked out and asked him if he was a "Purple scaled lizard." Spike thought that was a bit rude. It's been a week since then and things between them have settled down somewhat thanks to Twilight's help. But that didn't stop spike from being passive aggressive every once in a while.

Spike narrowed his eyes and cocked his head grinning.

"Oh, I get it. First time flying huh?"

Rocky didn't respond. Instead, he merely closed his eyes and resumed his breathing exercise.

"Oh, please Spike. I'm sure lord Rocky Road, master of Ancient Earth Pony Magic, can handle a bit of flying." Said Twilight Sparkle from her position in command of the chariot. Though she wasn't really focused on her job of guiding Flash Sentry, who was currently flying said chariot, to Ponyville. Instead, she was looking over her notes taken from Princess Celestia's lecture on the eight gates of Tei-Rah-Doh. Funny, from her brief conversation with Rocky she was told that there were nine. Twilight furrowed her brow, put her notes away and closed her eyes trying to remember.

The Resonance Gate, also called the Harmonious Gate.

The Striking Gate, also called the Destruction Gate.

The Exploding Gate (Though Rocky calls it flash and fire, a little bit of discrepancy between Celestia and Rocky's account of the gates...interesting. Must ask him about that later.)

The Boundary Gate, also called the Limit Gate.

The Shadow Gate

The Blood Gate, also called the Life Gate

The Chaos and Disharmony Gate, (Chaos? Disharmony? Must ask Rocky to clarify the nature of this gate. Could be a potential danger.)

Finally, the Mana Gate, (Mana being the ancient pre-equestrian word for magic.)

Twilight counted eight. What was the ninth? She had personally seen the Resonance Gate, The Striking Gate and The Exploding Gate in action, they were all very impressive displays of Earth Pony fighting prowess. She could make an educated guess as to what other gates were for, but without an opportunity to sit down with Rocky and pick his brain, most of her guesses would remain just that, guesses. Twilight remembered her mentor's warning.

Consider this a side project my faithful student, but do not let it distract you from what is really important. The Magic of Friendship. The reason I am allowing you to study Tei-Rah-Doh is because I want you to be a potential resource and friend to Rocky Road. He has been through a lot in the past 3000 years. Please treat him with kindness and patience.

Twilight rubbed her temples still marveling at the fact that Rocky Road was actually Lord Macadamia, a not so insignificant hero from ancient pre-equestrian history. It made her wonder who else, if any pony, was trapped in stone waiting to awaken. A Certain Draconequus came to mind, and she properly shoved the thought of that monster down the memory hole as far as it would go.

"Miss Twilight? I think I see it!" Flash sentry roared over the rushing wind, shaking Twilight from her thoughts. Flash was referencing Ponyville's iconic city hall building which marked the center of town.

Twilight nodded. "That's it Flash, take us down to the Town Square. We have a meeting with Mayor Mare."

"You got it ma'am!" Flash saluted and began a gradual descent.

"Flash!" Rocky cried out over the wind.

"Yes Rock?" Flash replied

"The quicker we land the better!"

There was a twinkle of excitement in Flash's eyes before he shouted back.

"You got it battle bro!"

Spike and Twilight screamed as they plummeted from the sky in a dive. Rocky held the chariot in a death grip and kept his eyes firmly shut. At the last moment Flash pulled up out of the dive, skimming the branches of Ponyville's library before landing smoothly and gently on the cobblestone streets. Twilight and Spike were still screaming, even after touchdown. Rocky clambered out of the chariot and landed undignified on the street, leaving dent marks on the chariot railing where his hooves were. Rocky kissed the dirt subtly. "Long Live Terra Firma." He declared quietly, hoping nopony heard him.

Flash unhitched himself and went to offer assistance to Spike and Twilight. Spike wobbled on his claws before collapsing on top of Rocky. Twilight gratefully accepted Flash's offered hoof but flashed him an angry glare. "What in Celestia's name was THAT?" She asked just a little bit angry that she had to scream for her life today.

"Combat Landing. Maneuver Four." Flash said proudly, flaring his wings. "My personal favorite."

"Five stars." Twilight said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Flash Sentry stood just a little bit straighter grinning with pride sarcasm flying right over his head. Speaking of flying overhead...

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" shouted a rainbow blur that zoomed past. That same blur banked around, flipped and landed right next to the chariot in front of Flash. Flash didn't even flinch.

Rainbow Dash premier stunt flyer and weather pony captain of Ponyville, extended a wing. "Wing five guy, that was an AWESOME dive."

"Thanks!" Flash exclaimed slapping Rainbows wing with his own. "Been practicing it for years. You're Rainbow Dash right? From the wedding?"

"The one and only!" Rainbow exclaimed before remembering herself. "One sec." She turned and faced Twilight giving her a sideways hug. "Welcome back Twilight." Twilight returned the hug and the two proceeded to catch up. Rocky Road was happy to be left out of the pleasantries. He and spike regained their bearing as they stood up from their embarrassing position on the ground. Rocky took a moment to look around at what was to be his new home. A Vibrant community teaming with life. None seemed to be concerned that a chariot nearly replaced the fountain as the new town square centerpiece. He scanned the crowd looking at the fruit stands and various shops, hoping to spot a certain black maned cellist.

First Gate of Resonance.

He felt around in this chaotic new town for his apprentice. He felt the crashing waves of emotions for that familiar something. He didn't know what to call it yet. Most emotions were well defined but more often than not you would be able to find more complex emotions if you spent enough time. But he and Octavia had something unique. Before long he found her. She wasn't too far, only a block or so away. Rocky felt excitement well up inside him and smiled. As he made to move in Octavia's direction, Spike grabbed his tail.

"Where are you going bub? The city hall is that a way."

Rocky sighed, looking in the direction where Octavia was and nodded.

"Alright Spike, lead the way."

----

Mayor Mare's office was highly organized. It didn't look like it, what with the towering stacks of files and leaning towers of codified law books scattered all over the room in little islands of organized chaos. Perhaps the previous statement was a bit inaccurate. Mayor Mare's office was highly organized, To her. Normally she would be filing several bits of paperwork away in a new island for her assistant to sort through later, but as of right now the only thing that concerned her was a stack of paperwork marked with the Royal Sisters Royal Seal. Declarations from the crown regarding Ponyville's new Lord Protector.

Mayor Mare scowled but supposed it could be worse. It could be a Lord Counsilor or a Lord Auditor. Oh Celestia, ANYPONY but a Lord Auditor. The ancient saying came to mind. "Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it." Mayor Mare had been petitioning the crown for YEARS for a contingent of Royal Guard due to their proximity to the Everfree Forest. Not to mention the seemingly endless disasters that seemed to be drawn to this humble little town. But a Lord Protector was a bit much in her opinion.

The Lords and Ladies of Equestria made up the nobility and acted as liaisons and agents for Princess Celestia herself. Of course, being nobility in Equestria usually meant that the best ponies were NOT always selected for the job, causing many problems where the Lords and Ladies had influence. In Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle fulfilled that role even though she was not technically nobility. A Lord Protector was the closest thing Equestria had to a General of the guard and like Baltimare, had an entire battalion of local guards ponies to defend against raiders from across the sea.

Mayor Mare pictured an old stallion, maybe even a mare, decked out in countless medals and demanding revile to be sounded every morning at dawn sharp in the town square. The mayor groaned at the thought. At that moment, there was a couple of knocks and the mayor's door opened to reveal her over-tired, over-worked assistant peeking her head into her office.

"Mayor Mare, Twilight Sparkle is here with the new Lord Protector."

Mayor Mare suppressed a sigh and put on her best political poker face; a skill honed from many years of practice.

"Send them in."

The assistant opened the door wide to reveal Twilight Sparkle and... a young earth pony stallion. Huh.

"Twilight! It's so good to see you." The mayor stood and rounded the desk to greet Twilight with a hoof shake.

"Good to see you too Mayor." Smiled Twilight Sparkle with an air of genuine fondness.

"And... who might you be sir?" The mayor rounded on the stranger.

"Rocky Road madam." He said bowing politely. Twilight gave him a slight nudge. Rocky rolled his eyes and cleared his throat.

"Lord Rocky Road madam. Lord Protector, at your service." Rocky bowed again.

Mayor Mare paused at this; a bit taken aback on how her expectations were being shattered. Where was the fancy noble attire? The medals? The small army of guards ponies in parade formation? She was beginning to wonder if Twilight Sparkle was playing a practical joke on her. Twilight, seemingly reading her mind, presented Mayor Mare with Rocky's royal seal; A blue and green crest in the shape of a Horseshoe with a wreath wrapped up and around to form an enclosed circle. There was something in the center of the crest which Mayor Mare vaguely recalled as the ancient earth pony symbol for the number nine. Mayor Mare decided to just go with it.

"Welcome to Ponyville my Lord. Would you like to sit? No doubt there are some declarations you'd like to go over..."

Rocky raised a hoof to interrupt the good Mayor. "Actually, there will be no need for that."

Mayor Mare raised an eyebrow, dropping her poker face for a fraction of a second. "Oh. Really?"

"Yes mayor. You see Twilight here, not to mention Princess Celestia herself, has vouched for your ability to govern the town of Ponyville. I see no reason to fix what isn't broken. My mission here is merely to act as this town's guardian."

Not to mention rebuilding my clan. Rocky thought, recalling Celestia's mission.

Mayor Mare nearly had a stroke. The Princess herself vouched for her ability of all ponies? The poker face threatened to break into a wide smile but Mayor Mare played it cool.

"I am honored to be considered so highly my lord. Is there anything you might require of me? Anything to help you in your mission?"

"Rocky nodded his head. "Yes. I require a plot of land, not too large, preferably between the town proper and this Everfree forest I keep hearing so much about."

"Of course... do you require accommodations for your retinue?"

Again Rocky nodded.

"I have one pegasus guard pony as my retinue. Simple lodging will suffice."

"Just the one?"

"Yes Mayor Mare. I do have one other question."

Years of working in politics taught Mayor Mare how to identify when a pony was stressed or starting to become hostile. She noticed Rocky tense in anticipation. She'd seen it before from her time in the guard. The muscle tension before a fight. The Lord Protector was mentally and physically preparing himself for a brawl. Mayor Mare took a tentative step back.

"Is there a reason why were being surrounded right now?" Rocky Road asked. He could feel them as clearly as if he could see them with his own eyes. Just under a hundred ponies surrounding the building on all sides. Waiting. In nervous Anticipation. An ambush. Mayor Mare and Twilight looked toward the windows. Barely noticing shadows duck back from the edge of the windows.

Twilight Sparkle and Mayor Mare paled as they exchanged looks. Both ponies suddenly coming to the realization as to what was going on.

"I thought you said you were keeping the Lord Protector's arrival a secret?" Said Mayor Mare through a nervous teeth barred smile.

"Since when did you think I could keep a secret from her" Twilight said with a similar expression on her face.

Rocky Road had heard enough and did an about face to face his attackers. He marched out of the office and through the now empty lobby. Rocky reached the door and before Twilight or Mayor Mare could stop him, kicked it open. Time seemed to slowdown as Rocky witnessed what appeared to be, to him, the embodiment of the Chaos Gate herself sitting atop a cyan blue cannon.

"EAT PIE MARY SUE!" Screamed the pink pony "...or is it gary stu?" She tapped a hoof to her chin in thought before shrugging. "Oh well." "SURPRISE!" Came an uproarious cheer.

The party cannon fired.