The Warden: Part 2, The Crusader and The Warden

by FortressLegacy

Chapter 4: His Promise

A few minutes later, Apple Bloom finally completed the laborious task of removing the dirt and webbing from her fur. Once she finished drying herself off, she opened the door, hobbling into the living room.

The Warden was sitting next to a fireplace, tending to a skillet mounted over the flames. The sound of sizzling from the pan and the crackling of the fire immediately put Apple Bloom at ease, the familiarity of these sounds having a soothing effect.

"Are you done?" The Warden asked, still focused on the food.

"Eeyup." She replied.

"Good timing." The Warden remarked, turning around and walking over to her. "Food's almost done."

He picked her up, carrying her to a table sitting to the side of the room and placing her upon a chair.

As she settled in, she noticed two empty plates and two cups of water sitting on the table. Feeling thirsty, she leaned over and she slid one of the cups closer and took a sip.

The stallion, meanwhile, turned back to the fire and carefully removed the skillet. As he brought it over, the sizzling sound and the aromatic smell caused Apple Bloom to completely focus on the food. The Warden placed the skillet upon the table, and she could finally see what he had been cooking. Various vegetables and mushrooms were piled onto the pan, and some seasonings and herbs were mixed in as well.

He carefully spilled some of the food onto her plate, and Apple Bloom immediately began eating. While the food was uncomfortably hot, it was not hot enough to dissuade her from trying to sate her hunger, which had only grown over the past few minutes.

"I guess you really are hungry." The stallion remarked, the filly's appetite seeming to have caught him by surprise.

"Muh huh!" Apple Bloom responded with her mouth full, not showing any signs of slowing down until her plate was empty.

The Warden began to eat as well, also not showing much regard for table manners. For a few minutes, the two ponies ate their meals in silence.

Despite Apple Bloom's fast eating, the Warden finished off his plate first. After sliding it off to the side, he asked her a question.

"Where do you live?"

Apple Bloom took a moment to swallow the food in her mouth and answered.

"Ah live in Ponyville."

The stallion mumbled something, his brow furrowed in thought.

"I don't know about a place called that…" He murmured, gazing thoughtfully down at the table. "ARTIS, come down here."

"Right away, sir." Said the same disembodied voice from before.

Almost immediately, a computer screen slid down from the ceiling, attached to a mechanical arm.

Apple Bloom, now far more curious than hungry, looked at the screen, wondering how she had failed to notice the mechanism until now.

"What do you need?" The voice asked.

A symbol was being displayed upon the screen, the same as the Warden's cutie mark. However, the image was split in two by a horizontal line which rose and fell in spikes as the voice spoke.

Without thinking, Apple Bloom asked the screen a question, cutting off the Warden from making his request.

"Who're you?"

"My full name is Artificial Intelligence System, Miss Bloom." The voice explained, this name being displayed on the screen in place of the odd cutie mark. "But I often go by ARTIS, for ease of reference."

"He's my computerized assistant." The Warden added, talking to the screen next. "Is there any record of a place known as Ponyville in your archives?"

The screen then displayed an arrow travelling in a circle momentarily, before reverting to the cutie mark.

"I can't find any place by that name in my archives. It may be a newer settlement."

The Warden murmured something beneath his breath, then looked at Apple Bloom.

"Where is Ponyville located? Is it near any major cities?"

Apple Bloom took a moment to think about Ponyville's general location.

"The only big city Ah can think of that's nearby would be Canterlot." She answered. "Ponyville's to the southwest of Canterlot."

"Is that so?" The Warden remarked, a slight hint of surprise in his tone. "Are there any distinct landmarks in Ponyville?"

Apple Bloom tried to think of any features that were distinct to her hometown.

"Well… There's Sweet Apple Acres." She answered. "It's probably the biggest apple orchard in all of Equestria."

The stallion shook his head. "Hm. Not a very distinct landmark. Is there something else?"

Just then, Apple Bloom remembered Twilight's new castle, which had appeared immediately following Tirek's rampage only a few months prior. She felt a bit irritated at herself for not mentioning that first.

"There's also the castle of friendship! It appeared a few months ago."

The Warden shook his head. "No good. If it's that new, then I don't know about it. Are there any natural landmarks nearby? A lake? A forest or mountain, perhaps?"

Apple Bloom placed her forelegs on the table and rested her head on them as she thought. After a moment, her ears perked up as something came to her mind.

"The Everfree forest! Ponyville is right next to it!"

This time, the Warden's eyebrows lifted a little. "The Everfree forest?" He asked, his mouth drawing into a tight frown as he mused. "I know where that is…"

He turned to the computer screen, and made a request. "ARTIS, find all possible locations for a town southwest of Canterlot and next to the Everfree forest."

"Give me a moment, sir." The computer responded, briefly displaying the circling arrow before changing to a map of Equestria. Then, the map zoomed to the Everfree forest, highlighting a region where Apple Bloom knew for a fact Ponyville was located. "If her info is correct, Ponyville is here."

Apple Bloom was confused. On the map, there was no Ponyville to be seen, only the Everfree Forest.

"... That ain't Ponyville." She said hesitantly, hoping to not offend either the Warden or ARTIS with her correction. "That all looks like the Everfree Forest."

The computer spoke. "My archives are dreadfully outdated, miss. This data is over a thousand years old."

It took a second for Apple Bloom to process what ARTIS had just said. "A thousand years?!" She exclaimed, trying to wrap her head around that statement.

"That is correct, unfortunately." The Warden sighed, seemingly oblivious to the computer's unbelievable remark. "Although I can try to confirm-"

"How old are ya?" Apple Bloom asked the computer, cutting off the Warden again.

"I am not quite certain." The screen replied. "But I do know that I was activated as ARTIS roughly one thousand and forty-five years ago."

That was mind boggling.

Apple Bloom propped her forelegs on the tabletop and put her hooves to her head, trying to process this fact. If he was telling the truth, then was ARTIS some sort of ancient computer? Although she hadn't seen only a few computers before, she knew that they were a fairly recent invention, less than a century old.

If that was true, then how was this one over a thousand years old?

The Warden coughed, drawing the stunned filly's attention.

"As I was saying," He began, his tone having lowered slightly in annoyance, "let me try something. ARTIS, review my flight data from my flight to Canterlot. I seem to remember flying by a town on the way there and back."

"Yes sir, just a moment." ARTIS replied, the circling arrow appearing once again. A few seconds later, the machine showed an aerial image.

"Is this it?" ARTIS asked.

Apple Bloom caught her breath. The image was of Ponyville!

"Yeah!" She cried excitedly, her eyes wide and shining in happiness. "That's it! That's Ponyville!"

She took a closer look, and out beyond the outskirts she saw a big red barn rising above a sprawl of apple trees. In an instant, she recognized her home.

"Ya see that barn?" She eagerly asked the Warden, who leaned towards the screen. "That's Sweet Apple Acres! That's where me and mah family live!"

The stallion nodded, briefly stroking his chin thoughtfully with a hoof.

"ARTIS, can you correlate this with your archives and place it on the map?" He asked.

"I already have, sir." The machine replied.

"Good." The Warden responded, still looking as if he were deep in thought. "How far is it?"

Apple Bloom listened intently for an answer. How far away from home was she, anyway? Hopefully, not very far.

"Fifty-eight miles by air."

Apple Bloom's heart sank like a stone. That sounded pretty far. But the bad news was not done there.

"But I'm not flying there, ARTIS." The Warden said plainly. "How far by land?"

"The quickest and easiest route over land is seventy-one miles."

Apple Bloom could not believe her ears.

"Now hol' on a minute!" She protested, her eyes showing a degree of despair. "Why can't ya just fly me there?"

The Warden sighed. "It's too dangerous. You saw how damaged my armor was. I would crash before we made it ten miles."

He shook his head and sighed again. "The princess and her lackeys really banged it up…"

Apple Bloom suspected that he was referring to his attack on Canterlot. Furthermore, the damage was probably why she never saw him use his wings at all when he was fighting that spider.

"So, we're looking at a three day hike one way?" The Warden asked ARTIS, who swiftly replied.

"Correct. Provided you keep a steady pace and stay on the route I have calculated for you, of course."

Apple Bloom groaned quietly.

Three days? She would have to wait three days until she could see her family and friends again?

There had to be a quicker way.

"Can't ya get in contact with somepony in Ponyville and tell them to come get me?"

He shook his head, causing Apple Bloom to tilt her head and start to feel irritation.

"Why not?" She asked, her tone demanding an answer.

"I would rather keep a low profile and not draw attention to myself." He answered plainly. "As you might guess, I'm not on friendly terms with the princesses. They most likely have a warrant out for my arrest, and if they were to find out that you are with me, they would just assume that I abducted you."

Apple Bloom groaned. He had a point, though. After what happened at Canterlot, he would probably value his ability to not get caught.

Then, another idea came to her.

"Wait, what about the railroad?" She asked, looking at the Warden. "Ponyville has a station. If you don't want to call for anypony, couldn't you just drop me off at the nearest station and send me on mah way instead?"

Once again, the Warden shook his head. "Unless you want to spend an extra day on the road, no. The nearest station is in the opposite direction from Ponyville, and almost just as far. Besides, I don't have any money."

Any prospects for a swift return home were fading fast, and Apple Bloom's heart began to sink even further.

"Well- Can't ya fix the armor?" She moaned, sadness and desperation evident in her voice.

The Warden's expression softened a bit, catching on to her despair. "Unless you would rather wait four or five days to get to Ponyville." He remarked. "That would be the quickest way for me to go to Ponyville and back, but it would take longer for you to get there than if we just walked."

That was not what Apple Bloom wanted to hear. She sniffed, wiping away a few tears that had appeared as she planted her face on the table in despair.

Three days was a torturous amount of time to spend away from her family, and the quickest way back was to be taken along by a complete stranger who was an enemy of the royal sisters.

She gave a muffled moan, shaking her head as she found herself mired in her sadness and disappointment.

She heard the Warden give a sigh, get out of his chair, and walk over to her. Then she felt a hoof on her shoulder, and he began to speak in a matter of fact way.

"I know you want to get back as soon as you can, and I know that you wanted for this to end quickly. Unfortunately, that is not possible."

The realization that there was no better option finally set in for Apple Bloom. As painful as it was, she was going to have to wait a few days before she got home. There was no other way.

After a moment's pause, he continued, his voice changing as he did so. It became less blunt, and more... Comforting?

"I know that you miss your family. I know how bad it feels, which is why I am going to get you to Ponyville as soon as I can. I'll even carry you all the way there, if I have to."

Apple Bloom turned her head toward the stallion, and saw that he was at her eye level, an earnest expression in his eyes. After quelling the urge to keep crying and sniffing again, she asked him a question.

"Y-ya promise?"

The Warden nodded once.

"Upon my honor as a Warden and a member of the Fortress family, I will do whatever it takes to get you home as soon as I can."

Apple Bloom went silent for a moment, debating whether or not she should believe him or take his word for it.

She couldn't tell for sure, but against her better judgment, she was leaning towards trusting him. Besides the fact that she really didn't have much of a choice, his whole demeanor didn't strike her as being strange. He seemed to be earnest in what he said, both in tone and appearance.

After weighing all of this in her mind, she made up her mind.

"Thank you." She said quietly, picking herself up.

The Warden nodded, and Apple Bloom took a few deep breaths, collecting her emotions as he began to collect the leftover dishes from the table.

"So," The Warden remarked, "if we want to get there as soon as we can, then we should leave at daybreak. That being said, you need to get some sleep while you can."

Apple Bloom nodded, feeling a new wave of drowsiness from the warmth of the fire and her full stomach.

The Warden placed the dishes to the side, walked back to her, and kneeled, signalling for her to get on. Once Apple Bloom had gotten on, he walked to another door, and walked into a small bedroom.

Inside the room, there was a bed that looked like it had been hastily thrown together and a nightstand with a single lamp upon it. After turning on the lamp, he kneeled down next to the bed, allowing Apple Bloom to roll onto the mattress. With his help, she slid into the blankets and did her best to get comfortable. Once she had gotten settled in, he stood up.

"Alright. I'm going to be down in the lab. I've got a lot to do."

Apple Bloom nodded as he continued. "If you need me, use that." He instructed, pointing to yet another screen, this time mounted on the wall next to the bed. "Just tell ARTIS what you want, and he'll pass it on to me. Okay?"

Apple Bloom continued to nod, and gave a grateful smile.

"Ah will… Thank you, mister Warden."

The stallion looked at her, and for a brief moment, a small, almost invisible smile appeared on his face.

"You're welcome, little one. I'll wake you up before dawn."

He then lost his smile in an instant, proceeding to turn the lamp off and walk out, closing the door behind him. She heard his hoofsteps fade away and the trap door open and shut. Soon, there was complete silence, and Apple Bloom was alone with her thoughts.

Comments

[oddmin]

why do i get the feeling that warden grandfather was human

[FortressLegacy]

11748128
Not quite sure.