What does a Hero Truly Need? Vol. 1: A New Age of Heroes

by zelkova48

Chapter 29: Ticking Time Bomb

What does a Hero Truly Need?

By:Zelkova48

Chapter 29: Ticking Time Bomb

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Twilight and her friends all stared at Gondar with a wide eyed, slack jawed expression over what he had just openly proclaimed to them before casually passing by with a murderous air surrounding him. His steps were slow but calculated, fierce yet slack as he trotted his way towards his doomed target with a goal in mind.

As he walked however, he slowed to a stop when he felt something painfully gripping onto his stubby little tail, much to his annoyance. He turned around and saw that Applejack was the one who had stopped him, and was doing so by clamping down her chompers on his poor tail. Hadn’t it been for his years of intense training and conditioning he would’ve cried out in pain. He just leered at the orange mare with his crimson irises before eliciting a low hiss towards her.

“And just where in sam hill do you think yer goin?” asked Applejack with an unamused look on her face as she let go of Gondar’s tail.

“Please, please, pleeeeeeeease tell me that we all had something crazy in our ears when you said you were gonna kill somepony? The last thing that we need right now is to make Cadence and Shining Armor’s wedding famous for having someone being murdered there!” she prayed that she and her friends had misheard him, but as of late things hadn’t going their way at all. Gondar just shook his head and stared at her dead in the eye before speaking.

“You heard me loud and clear” said Gondar, his expression neutral and unreadable even with his bandanna down “I’m going to take my sword, jam it so far up that noble’s rear to the point where he can practically taste the rust off my blade and twist it... slowly. And when I’m done, I’m turning High Horse into a rug, use his organs for fertiliser and then give his bones to Rhasta as a present”

“Oh!” Rhasta beamed “I could always use some more bones. Who knows what I can do with the bones of a spoiled noble”

“Ugh... I did not need to know that” Applejack and the rest of the mane six reeled at the graphic nature of Gondar’s colorful depiction of his attempt at murder. If none of them were green before from nausea then they sure as heck were now. “Easy there partner. There’s gotta be a reason for all this. You’re a bounty hunter, you don’t do anything without it having some sort of purpose. What’s it for? Money? Or is it revenge because of what happened earlier?” she asked.

“...Neither” Gondar replied curtly, causing confusion among the group. But the heroes could tell from the sharp glint in his eyes that there was more to this was more than mere coin or petty vengeance. Regardless, they all eyed him with a stare that begged for some answers, and it bugged him to no end.

“There no point in hiding it Gondar, we might as well tell them about everything if you really do intend to kill that noble. We owe that much to them, after all” said Aiushtha “We can tell, that noble and your visions are linked, aren’t they?” she asked.

“Wait, what? Visions? What vision?” Rainbow Dash asked as she furrowed her brow. SIghing heavily, Gondar motioned for everyone to follow him into the castle gardens, far away from prying eyes and keen ears of the partying ponies from the courtyard. After a short walk, they were back at Mr. Greenhooves tool shed. A good distance away from the festivities where they could use some much needed privacy.

* * *

“Alright, we’re here” Gondar stretch a bit before seating himself on the grass “With the party going on, I doubt anyone would find us here right now”

“Uh huh, is there a particular reason as to why you led us here?” Twilight curiously asked as she and everyone else got comfortable as well “You simply could’ve just told us about your vision back at the courtyard and we would’ve listened intently... well, most of us at least” she eyed Rainbow who gave a sheepish grin in return.

“What I am about to say doesn’t leave our little circle, understood? It is important that not a single word of this gets leaked out, otherwise the consequences could be dire” The mane six grew uneasy from his words. They fidgeted around, impatiently waiting to hear what he had to say. Gondar took his sword and planted in directly into the earth, leaving it to jut out beside him “Your whole world is in grave danger”

There it was, with just seven little words all the joy they may have experienced earlier disappeared without a trace. It wasn’t bad enough that they had just repelled a large scale changeling invasion either, and witness somepony nearly getting pulped by Sven, but this just couldn’t have came at a worse time. Still, they are slightly skeptical given how vague his explanation was.

“Saying our world is in danger doesn’t exactly give us much, you do realize that?” said Rarity “But I assume you were going to tell us either way, am I right?”

“Correct, miss Rarity” Gondar nodded “First, let me start off by apologizing to everyone. My friends and I have kept this a secret from you all, we knew this was happening, but we chose to remain silent about it in hopes that you wouldn’t have to experience it first hand. For that, I humbly ask for your forgiveness”

“You’re forgiven for that and for almost murdering a noble” replied Twilight curtly, knowing that it wasn’t okay to sugarcoat anything at the moment. The air around them was unbearably heavy, she just wanted what was to be said and over with “Although this really isn’t any of your fault. You did only what you thought was best for everyone’s interest. I guess it was bigger than you thought, huh?”

“When you get involved with heroes, everything else seems a speck of dust in comparison” said Gondar “But enough chit chat, let’s get down to business”

Without missing a beat, Gondar went on to explain his vision from the very start, and to why he acted as he did. He started from when he first came to Equestria, and about how he nearly died in the process of doing so. He recalled his near death experience in the rock quarry off the outskirts of Ponyville. It was there that in the deepest recesses of his own thoughts, an all powerful being came to him and showed him a premonition that nearly burned his mind.

In a world seemingly as innocent as Equestria, he was met with images of the coming apocalypse. From the deaths of the element bearers, to the destruction of the elements themselves, all the way to the fall of Canterlot, the bondage of its rulers before ending with terrible destruction and raging fire. Afterwards, there was light. But it was a sinister light. One that blinded rather than illuminate.

“Well, that was the abridged version but it pretty much sums up everything that;s going to happen. And judging from our little encounter with that noble, I’m starting to think that this cataclysmic event might come sooner than you think” Gondar concluded, patiently awaiting some form of response from his peers. Out of all the mane six to answer first, it was Rainbow who bursted into hysterics.

“WE’RE GOING TO DIE?!” she cried, practically turning white as a ghost as she registered everything ”Aaaawwwww! I can’t die now! I’m too cool to die! I’m not even a premier member of the wonderbolts yet! This can’t be how it ends!”

“Really!?” her friends shouted at her, appalled by her self centeredness even in the most dire of circumstances.

“Rainbow, the whole world just turned into a big fat fireball and you’re only worried about the fact that you haven't gotten accepted into the wonderbolts by then!?” Pinkie snapped at her.

“Ah second that” said Applejack “Look at the bigger picture, Rainbow! The world is gonna get hit, and it’s gonna get hit hard unless we do something about it!” she yelled.

“But what!” Rainbow shot back “According to Gondar’s freaktastic vision with that equally freaktastic hero, Hard Binge Drinker, or whatever the heck his name was clearly showed us that we were going to get sent to the gallows before we even get a chance to do anything!”

“Girls!” Fluttershy shouted, something that she rarely did unless it was an emergency “I understand that it’s hard to make out everything now but we have to calm down before jumping to any conclusion”

“Fluttershy’s right” said Twilight “This is just a premonition, along with that prophecy it hasn't happened yet, and we won’t let it happen. With this information we’ve got we can change it all around. That explains why Gondar nearly butchered High Horse. He was very well involved in all of this. Although I still don't condone his actions one bit”

“I honestly have no idea why he would want to have us killed, or why he would go so far as to actually have the gall to assault Canterlot and kidnap the princesses either, but this cannot stand, not while we’re still around” said Rarity “However, there are still parts of your explanation that leave a lot of the apparent cataclysm in the dark. Mainly, the prophecy and the aftermath of everything else”

“There still too much that we don't know” said Rubick “We know what will happen, but not the how nor the why. Without those two key components it seems rather foolish to charge into things blindly”

“Right, we should also probably warn the princess about th-” said Twilight until Gondar brought his hoof up to cover her mouth and interrupting her.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa” he started “I already told you, this stays within our circle. No excuses. No one, not even the Princesses can hear about this. Special exception goes to little Spike and Jackal. They’re involved with this as much as you girls are”

“What! We have to tell them!” Twilight shouted back, her face a bright glowing red from exasperation “They’re in danger, Equestria is in danger, heck, the whole world is in danger and you expect us to keep quiet about it!”

“Listen to what your friend Rarity just said, Twilight” said Aiushtha “We still don’t know the finer details. Blurting everything out to your rulers would lead this situation in an undesirable direction. Even if they were to help us there's a great chance that they'll run into a dead end”

“I’m sorry but as members of the elite royal guards whose standing with the princesses are pretty bad as it is, a sole surviving member of a race thought to be long dead, and a mummified stallion plus a diamond dog we can’t properly explain it to Princess Celestia and Luna if they take it all at face value” said Gondar “Without reliable evidence to back up these claims, we’ll look even crazier than Sven”

“And if we were to say it, wouldn’t that noble be able to spin our words around?” said Rainbow Dash as she began to put two and two together. She shook her head and grimaced. No matter how hard she thought she would always run into a dead end “Ugh, even if we are the element bearers we’ve got our hooves tied. This isn’t like with Discord or Nightmare Moon, there’s no clear answer to this!”

“But we have to do something... anything” Twilight fell to her haunches as he mood deflated.

“And we will” said Rhasta who patted her on the back with a reassuring smile on his face “Don’t be so glum. Think of it this way, we already know what’s going to happen soon. All we have to do is find the rest of the missing puzzle pieces and everything will become clear”

“But... how?” Twilight asked.

“Judging from the prophecy and factoring in the urgent state that High Horse may be in cause of Sven, I hypothesize that we have at least two months worth of time to put a stop to this, give or take a few days. So...” said Rubick as he went into deep thought “We need to conduct a private investigation of sorts. Get some facts straight and dig up clues as well before springing into action” he suggested “Does everyone agree?” he asked.

“...We’re listening” said Applejack who everyone focused all their attention towards Rubick "It's not like any of us have a better idea right now"

“We know several things right now. One, according to the prophecy, the day the apocalypse will happen is when the sun and moon intertwine. We should decode that first. Second, High Horse is a prime suspect in causing it. We have to expand our information on him, know what he knows and who could possibly be associated with him. He doesn’t look like the type to work alone, he could have allies hidden everywhere”

“I get it, we got to do Daring Do detective work, eh?” said Rainbow “Alright, it sounds like a plan, although it doesn’t make me feel any better than I do now. I’m more of an action mare than a problem solver. It sounds like a plan that I can stick with though, but where do we go from here. It’s past midnight already”

“Hmm... listen, everyone. We’ve been through so much these last few days” said Rubick who let out a faux yawn and blinking his sleepy eyelids “From meeting each other, to somewhat earning the princesses favor and stopping a whole invasion as well. I suggest we retire to the apartment for tonight. There, we can regroup with Sven and Jackal and plan out what we’re going to tomorrow”

“Are you sure” Fluttershy ask “Is it okay just to relax like nothing’s wrong?”

“Try to act the part and be inconspicuous for the time being. It'll reduce the amount of stress you'll all receive” said Rubick “From here on out, this will be a shadow war. Acts of subterfuge from behind the veil of peace. We can’t let this slip out to anyone as to cause unwanted mayhem. Are we all on the same page here?”

“Act like nothing’s wrong, try to solve the mystery of the end of the world and beat the bad guy. Got it” said Pinkie who snapped to attention “I think I’m on the same page a you are”

“Good!” Rubick hopped up with energy, making everyone roll their eyes “Some shut eye will do everyone some good. Now, now, run along everyone. We got the world to save tomorrow” he concluded and picked up his staff as everyone yawned and made their way back to the apartments. However, as Twilight was leaving Rubick pulled her to his side and whispered something to her.

“Twilight, my young student, follow me. There is much to uncover in the dead of night...”

* * *

Humiliation

That was all that High Horse felt as he grudgingly waded through the crowds of gawking partygoers and sniggering guest that populated the main ballroom of Castle Canterlot.

The many judging eyes and faint sounds of laughter that fell upon him only served to make his inner anger towards the very stallion that wronged him stirred and churned until it morphed into seething hatred. He scrunched his face up and scowled as he thought of that insufferable blue stallion. That blue abomination who was an affront to everything that he and the Descendants stood for.

His mood only continued to sink below even further when he looked down to examine himself. A look of pure disgust appeared on his face. He looked as if he just got out from a wrestling match with a hog in a mud pit. Hundreds of bits spent on personal grooming and the latest designer’s fashion, all ruined by dirt, spittle, and, as much as he hated to admit it, his own urine.

The gears in his head began to turn at a psychopathic pace as his machinations went into full swing. How can I ruin that blue stallion, he thought. His ideas ranged from simple acts of revenge to absolutely ludicrous plots as he trotted onward towards his destination.

“Perhaps I’ll have him framed him for the rape of an innocent little filly from the upper class? Oh, the press would have a field day with that...” High Horse whispered to himself with contempt laced in his voice and a sinister grin growing on his face “Or maybe I’ll just hire an assassin and have it done and over with, but that could prove to be problematic considering the fact he did take down a dragon...”

“High Horse?!” a familiar haughty voice shouted at him “What in the name of Equestria happened to you?!” High Horse snapped out of his machinations and faced the direction of the voice to see that Prince Blueblood and the rest of his comrades were staring at him with an incredulous look plastered on their faces. He audibly groaned and rubbed the side of his temple with his hoof to try to alleviate the eventual headache that was to come.

“Nothing, I...” he started, but stopped to take his time and to choose his words carefully “I don’t think that we should recruit those other ponies” he spoke adamantly “They don’t deserve the privilege and prestige that we have as members of the Descendants”

“Let me guess, you couldn’t convince the Yellow Devil either?” Quicksilver spoke with a smug grin on her face “So even the great High Horse, a stallion of class, wealth, and prestige with political power that rivals that of the princesses themselves couldn’t even get one scraggly yellow earth pony to join our cause. Ah ha ha ha ha!” she chortled obnoxiously “What happened to all that swagger from earlier? Was that just all talk?”

“It wasn’t all talk!” High Horse snapped at the silver pegasus “T-there was a reason for that!” he stumbled with his own words.

“Oh?” Chain Warden joined in “There’s a reason why you’re all covered in dirt and... *sniff* *sniff* is that piss? Did you piss yourself?” he asked as he backed away while covering his nose.

“Ugh... so you couldn’t hold it in, eh?” Fast Hoof said as she too backed away with her nose covered “I guess even someone like you can have accidents from time to time... yuck”

“IT WAS THAT BLUE STALLION’S FAULT!” High Horse exploded, causing nearly everyone in the room to pause and turn their attention to him. His eye twitched and he had a pulsating vein on his forehead looking as if it was about to explode due to the stress he was experiencing “That traitor did this to me! He humiliated me in front of everyone, in front of the princesses!” he screamed.

“He! No, that thing would rather befriend a sniveling mongrel of a diamond dog than be amongst us! We! We who born are born from a higher power, higher than those dirt loving mutts and those grotesque cannibal griffons! We who are chosen to inherit this earth and everything upon it as our birthright, our destiny! We who must fulfill our solemn duty left by our ancestors of yore to eradicate the cancer that plagues Equestria!” he ranted on like a mad king.

Yet as he prepared to continue he took notice to the crowds gathering anxiously around him. He had to force himself to calm down otherwise his public image would be tarnished, not that it wasn't already but being the person he was he knew better than to dig the hole deeper than it already is. He grind his teeth together and let out an exasperated sigh, motioning for his comrades to follow him to a more... secluded location.

Mumbling something unmentionable beneath his breath, High Horse and his entourage of fellow Descendants filed their way out into the city and towards his apartment to chat on a more personal level, all the while his so called friends clamped their noses down and did their best to ignore the pungent stench wafting off the stinky brown unicorn.

* * *

At least half an hour of walking later, they all arrived at High Horse’s personal estate that lies near the edge of Canterlot. Large, imposing, and incredibly luxurious, High Horse’s home could be called a miniature version of Castle Canterlot only with minor differences that make a major impact. If having hedges trimmed to match your likeness and using priceless artifacts placed around your home like cheap lawn decorations can be considered minor.

Upon entering the grand foyer of High Horse’s estate the group was met with a mirror like marble flooring, freshly watered exotic plants, and lavish tapestries draped over the windows. It was extravagant, something that had to be seen to believe. But in the midst of it all, one would wonder how someone who supposedly cares so much about his kind could be so vain as to hoard and flaunt his wealth and power while leaving nary but scraps for the masses.

Descendant or not, all of that wealth would do better to benefit for the community as a whole, wouldn’t you think? Motivations aside, the group of ponies eventually entered High Horse’s study where the walls and desk there were covered with all manners of charts, sheets, and posters to represent their cause.

Cluttered is not the word to use here. With constant care from the hired help, and High Horse’s own eye for detail, everything was surprisingly neat and well laid out. Now if there was one thing in the room that would immediately draw the eye to the moment you walked in it would have to be the large map of Equestria that hung slack on the back wall of the study. A map that had a frightening amount of arrows and numbers scrawled in red onto it.

“Finally, a place where I can think straight” High Horse sank into his personal club chair and poured himself a glass of fine wine from the minibar beside him. He indulged himself in a few sips before letting out a shudder of relief leaving himself in a state of pure bliss, allowing him to completely ignore the fact he still reeked of humiliation and pneumonia.

“Uh... High Horse, shouldn’t you take a bath first?” Blueblood asked, causing High Horse to shoot a cutting glare at the pompous prince “Ugh, nevermind...”

“So, tell us” Fast Hoof started “What did you want to tell us before you blew up?” she asked “Ya sounded mighty angry when ya got back”

“Yes, please...” started Quicksilver.

“...Do tell” concluded her brother, Speeding Bullet.

“Ah, yes... that” High Horse smacked his lips and swirled around his glass as he composed himself to speak “We’re going to have to speed up our plans a bit”

“Excuse me? Speed up the plan?” Chain Warden stood up “What do you mean speed up? We’re working ourselves to the bone as it is already and you’re telling us to speed up!” he snorted “Do you realize how hard it was to organize all those attacks on the changeling hives to flush them out just to make it all look like an invasion on Canterlot!?”

“Hundreds upon thousands of bits were spent on fashioning our followers to handle fighting those damned things and it took us much more of our resources to make it look like Princess Cadence was kidnapped by them!” Chain Warden stamped him hoof on the ground with such force that the marble below him cracked and webbed outwards “How can you obviously expect us to work faster!”

“I don’t care how, I just want it done!” High Horse roared back as he threw his wine glass on the ground, shattering it and spilling red wine all over the floor “The Great Cleanse is only a month and a half away and I want to see the Galactic Fulcrum assembled and prepared for use when that day comes, do you hear me!”

“But our scholars and scientist are working as hard as they could!” Fast Hoof interjected “This thing ain’t like no ordinary puzzle, the schematics were lost and we’re doing our best to try to put the dang thing back together based on notes alone!”

“Hire more ponies then! Give them drugs so that they can stay up late and work faster! Do whatever it takes! We’re the Descendants! Money is no object, and our cause is certainly nothing to be taken lightly” High Horse roared “I want to see results! Results by the end of the month or there will be dire consequences!”

“Fine! Fine! We’ll do what we can and speed things up, but no guarantees on anything, High Horse” Blueblood and the rest conceded but not without shooting High Horse a dark glare “But we’re not doing this for you, we’re doing this for the cause. Don’t think you can use that authoritative tone on us forever. I’m still a direct member of the royal bloodline, and you are just some wannabe noble vying for attention” he huffed with a smug grin on his face “Don’t forget your place among royalty”

“Grrr... just get on with it!” High Horse snarled “Oh, and find a way to get rid of that blue stallion as well. He’ll be a thorn in our side soon, I just know it...”

“How?” Speeding Bullet asked “You saw it, remember? He took down a dragon with his bare hooves! We’d need a miracle to take him down”

“I don’t mean physically you dolt!” High Horse shouted as he conked Speeding Bullet in the head “Give him bad publicity, ruin his public image, things along those lines! I want him to be runned out of this city by the ponies after finding out he’s a vile sex offender!”

“I want him sent back to the hole that Princess Celestia fished him out from so he can rot there for the rest of his miserable life. Make him rue the day he besmirched my good name and the name of ponies everywhere! Do I make myself clear?” High Horse stared at Speeding bullet straight in the eye and rooted the poor pegasus on the spot.

“Uh... um...c-crystal... High Horse” Speeding Bullet quivered beneath High Horse’s gaze, never once breaking eye contact with him for even a second.

“Good. Glad to know you can at least try to follow a simple order” High Horse returned to his usual haughty behavior and turned away, walking towards the direction of his washroom “Oh, one more thing. Make sure to keep those alicorn amulet copies close by, you never know when you might need it...”

* * *

Deep in the bowels of castle Canterlot’s darkest dungeon, Twilight and Rubick descended into its depth in search of clues and answers for the coming end. In doing so, however, it had involved Rubick and Twilight using their fanciful linguistic skills to confuse and misguide two unruly guards who outright refused to let them into the dungeon despite being renowned individuals.

Being two silver tongued devils, they slid right through without so much as a peep from the guards. What they said to them, well, I’ll let you decide. As they continued downwards, Twilight felt a pang of guilt slowly devouring herself from the inside out. She was violating Princess Celestia’s will and trespassed into a restricted area. She just wanted to turn back and forget everything, but this was to stop the end of the world from happening so she had no choice.

The eerie setting sent chills down her spine. Each step she took upon a dirt floor that was barely lit by dim candlelight made her wish she hadn’t read all those horror novels weeks earlier. Just when she thought her worries were over, a low buzzing sound emanating from near the end of the hall made her jump and practically latch herself upon the ceiling like a gecko. It was a familiar sound, and it made her skin crawl.

Eventually, a soft glow of a sickening hue of green made itself known. Twilight stared at the glow with a look of disgust on her face before it lead her eye towards something that made her heart stop just for a second. It was an injured changeling, bleeding profusely coupled with labored breathing and a mangled body. And its eyes, eyes that she thought were about as empty as the queen that led them, were bloodshot and filled with despair.

For reasons unknown to herself, all the anger and hatred she harbored towards the changelings dissipated, making her feel hollow on the inside. She slowed her pace a bit just to take in the pain that they were suffering and could nothing more.

“Reminds you of, Jackal, doesn’t it?” Rubick spoke with a tone of sorrow laced in his voice “We caused them this much pain... what we feel now is what we deserve”

Twilight opened her mouth to protest but nothing was spoken. She wondered why. Again, Sven’s words flashed into her mind and she could understand what he meant again. Hero or villain, victim or aggressor, it makes no difference to the winners. And the winner was her. Her mind wandered off to Jackal again. About how she and nearly everyone she knew mistreated him and his kind. Treated them like trash tossed aside by so many.

She reflected on herself. The lesson she had learned from the heroes were many, but there were few that still took time to get used to. She hoped that in the near future, her enlightened self would rectify any mistakes of the past that she herself caused with her mind swayed through justified intentions. Though any she can recall were few and far between, she kept a mental note to watch her own action every so often.

“Ah, we’re here” said Rubick whose intrigued tone snapped Twilight’s attention back towards him. Before her was a cage that had one too many changelings uncomfortably packed into like a can of tuna. But there was space in the middle where a lone figure laid, space that the other changelings could’ve occupied but chose to remain at the sides for whatever reason. Rubick approached the figure and ran his hooves along the bars of the cell.

The figure flinched from the noise and recoiled back deeper into the darkness. Rubick pulled back a couple of inches, assumed a non threatening pose to make sure that they knew he wasn't a threat to them. Then, in perhaps the most gentle and kind voice that Twilight had ever heard Rubick use, he spoke out to the figure.

“It’s alright... I’m not here to hurt you...” he softly whispered “Please, I only wish to talk to you” the figure stirred, then slowly dragged itself towards the bars and into the light where they could be see by the candle light. To her shock, the figure was none other than the changeling queen herself.

Reaching with her forelegs, she grasped onto the rusty bars and pulled herself over to them. From what Twilight could make out in the dimness, what she saw made her cringe uncontrollably. The changeling queen was cruelly brutalised. Her chitinous exoskeleton was cracked all over the place and it leaked the same glowing fluid that she saw earlier. Her horn was but a stubby nub with clear signs that it had been callously broken off without regard.

Her frame was thin, nearly like a twig that could snap at any moment. She was suffering from the effects of starvation. Still, she struggled to crane her neck upwards so that she can reach Rubick’s gaze. She wore a look that was a mix of both fear, and caution. Her body language gave away the fact that she really didn’t to do this but had to as if her life depended on it. Empathy struck Twilight like a ton of bricks.

Slowly reaching his own hooves out, Rubick attempted to caress the face of the queen, only to have her instinctively reel backwards a a result. Taking her fear into consideration her pulled back his hoof and lowered it, tilting it around and letting her come to him. Eventually, the queen craned her head to reach his grasp and he returned her action by soothing her pain with a gentle rub on her forehead.

“I’m so, so sorry...” he said, giving Twilight the impression that he felt entirely responsible for the queen’s suffering “I knew, yet I...” Twilight thought that her eyes was playing tricks on her. Was Rubick actually... crying? No, that couldn’t be it. But the sparkles that trailed down his cheek said otherwise “It doesn't look like the warden have been feeding you properly...” he pulled out a familiar satchel and gave it to her.

“Would you care for a walnut? Please, take as many as you like...”

---

Chapter 29 End

Author's Note:

Man it's been so long since I last updated this. Four months plus. Anyway, I hope to get more done after this since from here on out it'll mostly be action that's been on my mind for a while now, coupled with the occasional reveals of course.

Comments

[Topranger96]

Rubick and his walnuts

[Daequo]

Rubick is really reminding me of the doctor is this chapter.

[PuckDaFolice]

Yay, update!

Also--walnuts.