> Tales of The Nine Lands: The Art of Life
>  by Darkened Powerslave
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Forward - The Resolution
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

FORWARD - THE RESOLUTION

As it was said before long ago, in the land of the people who knew of the things to come…

The trees used to speak to them, to the people who knew. These spoken words were of the things to come, of the true speak. The true speak was held on the tongues of the elders that lived and died with their ideas, and the ideas were that of the life they lived. Young children were taught to fear the forests of the talking trees, of the animals whom could move upon their own will and content. The animals sought to kill for own pleasing and meal. The children were taught the way of the mind, how to use the aspects of their eyes and not their fists. The elders were wise men, and brought themselves around to see all that true earth could provide them with. 

The people of these towns, and the area surrounding them, were brought up to believe that a power vested in each and every one of them kept them sacred from the beasts that would put them in harms ways. The people were led in an egalitarian way, brought about by men, who called themselves The Higher. The Higher always met with vigilance, determining henceforth what would be best and or better for themselves and the people. The business that is done by The Higher is considered to be the best in the towns, and between the lands. 

As of the lands, there are Nine. 

Nine lands scattered across a stereoscopic ether, of the True Earth. The Lands were known before the teachings of old to be sacred, and the teachings of old were known to be messages to God. These teachings varied throughout the lands, and the lands tore through the years; treachery and undivided malice rippled unto each one. 

The Land of Emium was the Birthplace of the Kha, as so it would have been in the year of 3171 N.D., the Kha became The Nyundra. This was a terrible choice by the people, because The Nyundra was a war pig. He raged his armies through the Northlands, and wiped out populations that were essential to the survival of the land. His armied then turned on his own kingdom for the riches and the gold, and so the leader fled. The Nyundra died eventually, and the throne of Emium with him, securing the Nine lands into a virulent spiral of madness. 

The Lands surviving trained their young into the practice of the lands. 

And the lands trained themselves into the practice of killing the people that belonged unto it. The people dropped like mayflies, skin parasites, wiped out by a plague carried by an underthought being. The True Earth carried its secrets with it, and carried the secrets that blew the winds with the voices of the Madness. 

Not Many men knew what the Madness was, and they seek not to find it. The Madness was said to be a vision carried by a flower, a single lone Rose, brought about by a wished upon star. Wishes were seldom waned on, and the waxing thought of striking the deal of the Rose died with the people who practiced it. But it was said to have caused murder in the minds of the user, and the user was said to have jumped from their own mind to another. The minds of those who use the Rose, turn to dreaming of a state that they believe they owned a piece of True Earth. 

A piece of the True Earth would be imagination, or what some people call a state of delusion, and fluent insanity. Many people sought out to find the Scrolls of the Last Nights, and they read as pondered on papers that flew on the eyes as devilish as the day they were written. The Scrolls were never meant to be written, they were accidental; the readers thumb through them to see what they might tell them about the ancient reminiscing’s of their people. A certain Land fell victim to the reading of a Scroll during the Age of the Ice in olden day, when a Wizard by the name of Uriel, broke the unseen nakedness of a certain scroll. Its wrath unclenched and wrought fletched fire amongst the people of the towns. The wizard was never seen again, and the lands banished any other sources of magic from themselves. 

Wizards are rarities, and they are hard to come by in this day and age. The Wizarding race has lost what has been known as the pure blood line, and made it a mudded sort. But one race has known to have stuck true to its roots and never strayed away from what it has done for thousands of years. 
The Shadow Lords. 

Little is known of the race of the Shadow Lords other than the fact that they live in a part of the Land where the ruins of the Great Nexus was, thousands of moons ago. These moons would rise to show pillars of great structure, and plains carved into stones, obelisks that towered about the cities that scattered across the Great Land known as Imphurius. The monolithic stature of the Nexus was one never matched by any other city, or by another Land for that matter. But it was said that the king that ruled the land cursed the peoples, and the Land itself with it. Imphurius was long gone after the 3rd age of men rose to power in the West Lands, the Island Kingdoms. 

Usually, people would ship the goods from all around the True Earth into Imphurius, and watch as the cities prospered and grew into the Utopias they were. Then there were the wars, the dreaded skirmishes that scratched open the clean surface of what was once said to be an impenetrable rule among the kings. As for the Shadow Lords, they were a mysterious group of Gunslingers, a northern folk that stayed abroad, almost like a nomadic presence to keep the people thinking that they could and would be safe to some degrees. They were seldom seen, and those who did see them usually did for the wrong reasons; doing so, they had a certain type of ancient code that they followed that kept true to the True Earth.  

Most of the People that held the power of the True Earth were the Elven, or the Nyumphus. The Elven class of people held in them a vested power that allowed them healing, and above all, to speak through the animals, and the trees. The Trees they say, had a Life Blood that would allow healing to be done to anyone who touched them. A certain hand could be altered upon it like an ancient Rhythmic Chanting Stone, and prayers of old be uttered ‘till the silence starts to grow in the forest. The Forests would surround the Elves like flies on bodies, and the Elves enjoyed this silence, like a Dog enjoys it’s master. Elven races are common in the Southern lands, and they live around thick brush, and out closer to the Mountains, because the Dwarven race of Bemians are extinct. 

The Edge Earth is what is said to be the “End of the Earth.” 

It divides the True Earth from the “Plane of the Unknown.” The angels are said to be housed in this ethereal biome, but nobody has ever proven this false hypothesis. The Shadow Lords have tried to venture into this unknown area of life, but the storms kept them, and so they reared their ships and left for home. Even though the Shadow Lords left many things unresolved, there is one thing that is for sure. The people hate each other now, and more than ever. Elves are hated more than anyone else, and are commited to crimes in 6 of the 9 lands, just for being there. Black hair and the ears, the ears that could hear for miles. But these people were peaceful, so they kept to themselves. These weren't really the ones that you had to worry about, for it was the ones with the guns. Guns were illegal, and after the Great War, people avoided them at all costs. 

But back to the Edge Earth, it was said that a wish was granted to anyone who could make it to the Edge. The men who tried always vanished, and no wishes had been made. But the fantasy was always there, sitting and waiting like it had never happened. 

It seems that the mysteries of this True Earth have had more to offer than supposed studies of the Scrolls can give, and this is just one of the mysteries left for one of those “nomadic types” to study. 

> Chapter I - The Nomad of the North
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


I


The sun glared into the ground, almost as if it were angry at it. It seemed as though through a few clouds the beaming sentinel of light shone better on this day than on many others, and it affected the Nomad more than it should have. He stood juxtaposed to a fence-line, tearing into his pocket for a cigarette, and his other for the match. His hands were burnt from the sun, as if he had been in it too much too long, and many times; like his face and neck alike, his legs were a sickly wan, deathly paled and followed by something to cover them up. His muscled legs made up for the fact that he was scarred over a larger portion of his body, most of these coming from adolescence. He bore a coat that strew across his chest and tapered down over his back, almost as if it were a cape, but it had straddled across his front for months after being torn at the tasseled bits. The shirt he wore was a bit too big for him, hanging inches off of his chest and down from his waist, but also hiding what he could be fitting into his jeans pockets. The jeans were faded from their made blue, but now into a sunbleached white, like everything else he wore. 

The boots on his feet were leather, and the sheen that used to gleam from the tips had faded into a rough budding crackle out near the sides of the seams. 

He carried guns.

These were illegal in the Lands at this day and age, and he wore them proudly with them cradled across his waistline, like a neatly tucked away and resting at his call. 

He hadn’t had to draw them in a long time, and he didn’t think of drawing them, usually he just passed his insults with words or with his fists, because killing doesn’t always solve the problems. He had learned this with his past problems he had. Usually passing from town to town he doesn’t get remembered for what he did all those years ago. But that is a story for a different time, (And many know that means the story would almost never be told again.) because the story is old; near a ’hundred years old. Aye, he be a ‘hundred and more in age. The Nomad stood with the cigarette in hand, gazing out onto the field before him, wondering why he had come, why he was there. His gaze turned out to the town, the bustling streets and the drunken clamoring that reverberated from the shops. The people would shuffle from one side of the streets to the other, and the wagons trailed off into the distances. 

The man that stood in front of the metal shop seemed a drunken bastard, about 5’4. His gait was off terribly and his footing lost with each step he would take. 

The Nomad took all of this into account. Every single detail of every single motion, the True Earth just revolved itself around him; revolving as if it were the chambers in his magnum, spinning and never stopping. He always lost things, firing them off into the clear, and always cooled down and moved on. His life had been subtle for the most part, and he usually never had to stop in a town for anything. His life was not difficult, and his travels were always cut short by the dreams he dreamt on those long nights in deserts. The Nomad was usually off from a place in a day, never stopping to ask questions for anything, and he had no true journey to go on. 
He just traveled.

The fire beside him killed down, and the sun shown its ugly face. The grey bags sat in the sand next to him, thrilled with the embodiment of spices and seasons. The sky was a theatre to him, the ground his stage. He whipped out his knife, gleaming and strait he drew it upon the bags slowly and relaxed the strings holding them closed onto the ground. His eyes fluttered around madly, tormented by creation and convenience of abundance, he flung the spices into the thrall of heat, the cooking pot nestled over the fire. His eyebrows sweated gracefully, and dripped onto his palms as he unwrapped the Bantha he had struck lifeless earlier past week. The meat was soft and tender but would burn fast if not readied at right pace by true cook. The day was still soft, and the night farther away, the Nomad stared into the fire that brought life into him, with every second it seared the meat. 

He usually never thought to himself while he derided his problems, he left that to his body. Truthfully to him, thoughts were for the people who didn’t have the time to act against what was going to occur. He had never not had enough time, it was his curse. Usually that is the only thing he thinks about.

The sun drew its zenith, a pinnacle of treacherous heat beating the land around him. This heat did nothing to affect the seared Bantha he had worked on for few time, and so he ate. The meat soaked his tongue in flavor he had not known for months, for his only meals have been Rhye Grasses and Valka Wood. 
He stood and faced the town once more.

He knew he didn’t have to go to town, but he hadn’t spoken High Speak in over a decade, and he was sure that people had changed since the last time he had spoken with civilized (Or so he would have said otherwise) people. But the people in this town looked laid back, and somewhat reveling. He knew that the people in this town were different, and he wanted to try out History with them. *(Trying out history means to ponder on the things he has missed in years past.) His hair came down after he took out the knot behind the neck, smoothing back into a long feather like mane. His hair was long, yar, but it was a color not often seen in The True Earth anymore. Black. Black was a seldom color lost over the years through cross breeding and sacrifices. The elves were said to have been one of the only races that were able to sustain pure blood with themselves, but ‘twas lie. His face seemed that off a child, young and pure. This pureness made him vulnerable to people who think he is weak; not vulnerable for him to be harmed, nay. But for the mistaken people to be hurt if they ever do so mistake him. He took his feet and moved them towards the opposing side of his fire, eyeing it slowly as he did so. The Nomad took a cloverstained cloth, and choked the fire. Its smoke crept up the body of the Nomad, and brought an ashy smell with it. The people in the town got louder as the day progressed, and the Nomad noticed this change in attitude of the day. The people were very strange of late, it seemed that he was starting to want to move into town and see what was up. But he knew it was still somewhat against him. 

10 years on the road, and nothing to show for it? How poor can I get, wandering the Great Lands of our Kings and not claiming my destiny. This True Earth hath no relent on its fury. 10 long years… I stand here now to myself and to this town, how have I changed, tis strange what loneliness doeth unto a man. Punishment and passion I undergo each day through the walk I take, never I look back. Maybe ‘tis time, shall I look forward past what is in front of keen eyes.

His thinking prolonged the day to what he wanted it to, for what he thought on made him sit by the fire he had snuffed out. The dead smoke resonated out to the sky, which was a canvas for the people to paint.

His guns.

He knew he would have to leave his guns if he went onto the town. He might need some food from the market on the main road. But something still nagged at him, he knew that something was wrong. He progressed down the butte he slept on, and dragged his time on through the day. The sun lowered itself through the sky, and dipped to show that it was morally tired of the day. 

Blessed be the Nine, I am trekking into a town!

His mind rushed with all of the thoughts that would possess him as he took steps into civilization.


II


The people looked at him as if he were a madman. His dressings of course matched none of the people there, nobody looked as if they took liking to him. They seemed to be disgusted by his looks, and he knew if he acted wrongful, the day would be in for a walloping failure. 

A shopkeeper seemed to eye him from the side.

“Mistuh! Ya seem ta be headin somewhere! Got no place ya go for good?”

The Nomad took eying to him, and slowly brought his face to meet the shop keepers. The Nomad already knew that this individual could not speak High Speak. He had no intention of having a conversation with this person. 
The tone of the shopkeeper seemed to have been snappy, and somewhat rhetorical. He was going to have fun playing with his words.

"No, I ain't got a place. Nowhere for me to be taken. Everywhere I go, there are things and places that just pass me by like the moons and the suns. And you?"

"God be good to me, I always had myself a laugh or two at people like you! Never been able to settle with a job like me, and always stuck wandering around like something was a bother."

"I never said that something was a bother, I just simply put that I was quickened to move by town and town again, because of the hostile treatment of people like you."

"People like me?"

"Yar, the people like you always tend to slice a few more inches in already deep wounds. I try to avoid the towns as much as possible now."

"You seem like an out of area person, if you know what I mean..."

"I cant seem to catch the sense you make."

"Your tone, your body, your hair... Where you comin' from?" 

"An edge of my sanity, long journeys and short nights bring me to the edge of my sanity, kind man. I have been traveling for as long as my god gifted me legs. These legs took me places far too great for my mind to wander." His chin itched him with annoyance, and so did the conversations road. "My birthplace was of long bloodline, and of deep treachery, far beyond royalty or sacred youth. I am what many would call extinct..."

"Are you of Nyumphus blood?"

"Nay, I am no Elf or Gelfling. My blood is a more pure line."

"Speak answers Nomad! What are you? It's a crime in this town to hide your race. Do you wish to be turned in?"

"I wish to be left alone, I just want to pass through... Can a shopkeep like you grant me passage? Methinks you aren't the only one who would be a kind and gentle sir and let me be me to be."

"Stop your tongue twisting and speak me what I want! I reckon you are an Elf, a dirty black haired bastard you are... We don't get many elves around, probably because of the mass executions that occur when they step out of their lands..." He shot the Nomad a dirty look, practically asking for his own death. His breath caught the Nomad to a degree, and a certain familiarity about it brought the Nomad to a recollection. Alcohol... "So what's it going to be?"

"Your drunk."

"Excuse me?"

"You drink like a fish, and you probably have troubles at home with your woman. You are only badgering me for the money you get out of it to please the misses. Do you think the pay would be very good?"

"I don't follow your trail..."

"Of course you do, you aren't daft. You are as slippery as I presumed a townsman out to be. Hold me to a free man and let me go, and I will let you off. I don't have any money, but I have the guarantee of the safety of your life."

"Blessed be me by father Rha! You have threatened me with violence, and as an Elf at that!"

"Your ignorance will be your downfall townsman, please let me pass..."

The shopkeeper turned his gaze out to another point, to a person dressed in fine leather. He was laden in the fashion of a different time, a clever and more peaceful time. His eyes seemed to rest, and shine a dull lust that screamed for something exciting to happen. His breast found a gold star to be rested upon the right side, seeing to it that he was The Sheriff...

As the Nomad studied him, the shopkeeper started to yell, "Hey Sheriff! Hey Sheriff! We got ourselves an injun! (The overall slang term used for the homeless Elves. supposedly an insult.) Come and take a gander at him! He refuses to give his race but you can tell by his locks!"

"I warn you," The Nomad spoke loudly, "Your impudence will cost you what you cannot afford."

The sheriff stepped out to see the merry two, letting each other have it in their each way of words. He had then after a moment, gone in a bar across the street. 

"That Sheriff is gonna have your tongue for this speak you Elf. Go ahead and try something... You ain't nothing but a dirty injun."

"Am I?" As if with a cocky glam, he asked this.

"You are, and you are about to be in jail for the next few days before a stoning or stretch."

"Stoning?"

"Yeah, the livelihood of the town! Getting to watch those scum flagged with rocks."

The Nomad didn't like this term, and he didn't like the way that the Shopkeep spoke. Finally, the Nomad had enough. 
He waved his hand across his duster, bringing his palm to his side, and revealed the pistol. Shimmering gold ironsights gleamed from the metal stalk of what was a beautiful gun. Its pearl grips hung from the holster and bounced with each step. 

"A Gun? Those are illegal! And even an elf should know not to carry a gun! You will be hung and beaten until the life of you is gone!"

"Or until I don't have to look at your ugly face anymore..." He chuckled a bit at that.

"Say one more thing to me I will beat you down! Fuck the gun, I need not worry about anything like that. When you have fists like these you can beat anything."

"Is that what you tell your wife when you beat her?" 

That did it.

At this point the sheriff stood watching, across the street and smiling. He held a pint in his hand and shuffled back and forth between the beams of the town jail. The western style of building stood out from the surrounding granite stone houses. He drug himself along, and watched as the event went down, almost as though he cared not what happened to his people.

Or were those his people? 
The Nomad was in thought, and the Shopkeeper was still angered by the anti-religious response that he had given him a few moments ago. 
“By my lord! Bite your foul tongue you slithering demon!” The shopkeeper delivered these words blindly with his mouth, not knowing the consequences. 

“Demon? Have your eyes ever met with that of a demon? Nay? Bite my tongue? Nay… My bullet will bite yours before I bite mine!”

The Nomad drew his gun, because at the slightest moment, during his speak, he watched as the shopkeeper drew his gun. Other people with guns? 

Yes.

The buckle on the strip across the belt holding the gun into place released with a flick of the fast finger, and his swift movements of the arm quickened the gun out of its holster. His hands were hot with the fire of kill, and his mind with the cold of think. His brain rushed to find the quickest way to pull the trigger and deliver the blow before the shopkeeper could let out so much as a blink. He watched himself move his own eyes to the opposing mans, across to the forehead, and his fingers to the trigger. Under a second, he had pulled his gun and faster even, was the act of his body moving to the rhythm it was used to. His bullet met bone, as the smoke erupted and tore through the clean air with a shrill sound shattering the silent crowd. The body of the man who was once the town shopkeeper (because he was sure he was dead.) now ejected itself from the position it was last seen in, and flew into the doors, which crashed below him. 

The crowd went dead, almost as dead as the fellow shopkeeper they had known to be friend. Of course they knew it was illegal to own a firearm in the Land, only if you were placed under rights by The Kings. True Earth laws say this, and of course the Nomad did not follow True Earth laws. The Nomad swerved around, and looked to where the sheriff stood. 
He was gone… 

His strange appearance at the small jail was odd, of course the crowd had started to dissipate at this time, so he would get better views to where he might be able to see. 

Nobody.

The Nomad walked up to the victim, the short and fat shopkeeper. It was the drunken man he had noticed paroling the roads earlier. His face was bloodied from the wound dealt to him, and his body limp. Observing him, the Nomad looked at his body, and noticed a few things. He had scraggly arms, and tattered clothing on him, which accented the mold stained pants that came down to the heels of his boots. The boots were torn from work, and of course the work that this man would have been doing would be drunken work. 

He stood, and walked down the road, whilst people watched him slowly.

Oh god what have I done? 


III


The Sheriff was an older man, grey in his face. The wrinkles showed that he was tired, tired of keeping the same show up every single day. His wrinkles were aging every second, showing that he was closer to death. Of course, he too knew this. And there were still many things that he wanted to know! Oh the things to learn… 
He slept his body on an oak chair, relaxing back and dreaming of what he wished to dream. His life was so easy, and that is what he wanted it to be. He was waiting for the Nomad to walk into the jail, because he had the intuition that the Nomad still wished to speak the High Speak with him. 

A knock on the door. 

The Sheriff stood up and eased over to the door. He motioned himself to open it, and of course he found the Nomad standing there. A wide grin on the Nomads face. 
“Were you expecting me?”

The Sheriff scanned him over and laughed a hearty laugh, “Hah! Of course I was, you killed one of our own dearest. But I won’t tempest you with law and frivolous lies of court. Soft! What is your name dear Nomad? Gift me this, of all fair things from yonder tongue, I am deaf to you unless you help me now!”

“My name is my own. I keep it as it was a child bearing disease, hidden from the world.”
The Sheriff frowned, and the Nomad noticed this malcontent.

The Nomad spoke once again, “Maybe if you were to let me off without the charges of murder, I feel free to speak of my own charities with softer tongue.”

"Look Nomad... I have seen many things in my life, but I would like to see with my ears now. I am interested in the elvish race. I will let you off, but I want to know about you. I have never seen a gun drawn that fast in my life."

"I am not of Elvish blood, I am of no Nyumphus line. I am from the Northernlands, and from those lands I have been traveling all of my life."

"What is your name young man?"

The Nomad laughed a bit and looked up. "I am not young though I may seem it at the eye. I am a person of again that will not show it for a long time. My name is Asphalon."

"Aye? You are an angel then?"

"Nay, I be no angel, but I am no man."

"Then tell me the story of you."

"I can only tell you what I myself have learned... The rest is still not revealed to me."

“Would you tell the True to me?”

Such a question pried by the Sheriff, of course Asphalon had to answer him. His life was interesting, and he had pity for the Sheriff. Asphalon sat thinking, dreaming almost, as if his life was spilling out like ink before him… and the sheriff was the paper. 

“Be you listening, Sheriff! I will tell you what I have done my life. Listen to me and I shall tell you my life’s story.”
The Sheriff said nothing after this, yet he sat back and nodded. 

Asphalon grasped the wine bottle and poured a glass, slowly creating a drowsy feeling between the two of them. He stared into the glass and beyond, to what seemed to be a sort of longevity between the two. The fire crackled in the fireplace, and the stars began to come out of their holes in the sky. The night was upon them, and the air was heavy with dark. The dogs were howling in the distance, and the moon was half full in the sky, barely peeking out and visible around the clouds that hung low above the town. A purple glow came from the horizon that spanned the endless desert that surrounded the cluster of buildings, and the sheriff and Asphalon were in the middle of all of this. 

The beauty of this brought the desert to an almost near silence, and slowly, the Nomad opened his mouth to tell his tale of his life…

> Chapter II - The One With The Dreams
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


I


All it took was a cackling whirl of sounds that feverishly bellowed through the night air, and the TARDIS was appearing into the swampy forest that stood west of Middletown. The blue box that seemingly transformed into itself from nothing, broke the ethereal plane and shown itself. 

The grey and impermeable night left still the sounds after its showing, and the door slid open after a few minutes, jostled over by a hoof. A lone hoof reaching out like a spider traveling from its web. Yet this was no web, this stood as a box in a land unknown. The owner stood behind that door unseen by the shadows of the night and the creatures that lurk within it. You could hear the distant, “Hold on I’m not ready!” and the sudden cries of excitement echo from inside the TARDIS. As the creature that secluded himself (Itself) inside of this blue phone box stepped out, it revealed itself as a pony, seemingly innocent, but somewhat intellectual. This creature wore a green long tie that was wrapped around with a collar of tinted apricot. His hoofs shone a dusky brown and were layered with fur, thus decreeing he never really washed his coat often. His eyes were a bluish green shine that stared out at the wild like a hunter through his scope, waiting for something amazing to happen. The dusky brown pony stepped further out and released an exempted yawn, further exalting his excitement and exuberating fancy for being here. 

The sounds that echoed from within the blue box seemed to stop as another pony, this one seemingly with wings, (at this time no known accounts with horses having wings was recorded) lurched out of it. 
The grass was a grey yellow, which meant that this was an area of low nutrition and the rain seldom poured here. The sands that sat beside the scraggly trees was hot, and the sun was low, meaning that this was a humid sort of land. Dry was the air as well, which stank of rotting swamp. The land was soggy, and moist with heat, which led to its softness and danger for quicksand. 

The dusk brown pony took extra steps out to the grasses, which crunched and twisted beneath his hoofs. His flank revealed an hourglass that was twisted clockwise about 40 degrees. 

The grey pony spoke, its yellowish gold locks of mane bouncing as she wobbled around, “Doctor, Doctor! Do you know where we are? Oh-my-gosh I love that muffin machine you just brought from that other galaxy! Oh-my-gosh I cant quite remember it's name, but It was a fun place to visit! Oh Doctor, where are we now?" 

The Other pony seemed to go by the name of Doctor... The Doctor swerved around on his back hooves in excitement and laughed a hearty laugh. "Well Derpy! I have no clue where we are! But I am sure that we will find out if we just go and ask some of the residence here, that is if there is any. And oh, that was Galoplatumius. I loved that planet too Derpy, but we had to move on; besides, what adventures await us here?"

Derpy (at least this was her temporary name until revealed later) moved with excitement beside the doctor, her scarf and bubbly glasses toggling themselves along as she trotted alongside the Doctor. The Doctor smiled as he looked over, the events that had taken place before that day were unexpected. 

But when weren't they ever?
He thought to himself as he gazed at the beauty that stood beside him, passively mumbling and humming the lyrics to a song they had heard earlier. His nostrils widened as his hoofs paused him in his trot; midwalk he smelt the foul decay in the air. The stench that remained calm and cool, every passerby could smell this. 

The Smell of Death...
His thoughts rushed, of course Derpy oblivious to this. He knew that this planet, or whatever this was, if it was a place at all, was not safe. 

But he would not let this stop him from venturing on, because he knew that the TARDIS brought him here for a reason. His reasons were always the same for some things, and he knew that the TARDIS had it's reasons as well. He would have to go explore if he wanted to know what was wrong, or even right, about this area. Of course while walking he saw what he thought out to be a light, jutting into the cool, damp, air that surrounded them. He glared out at the light, seemingly as if he wondered why it was there for a few moments, and them he stopped wondering. 

It was a village. This he was sure of, and he could think to himself about this. The smell still rushed to his nostrils, but Derpy seemed to not notice the light nor the smells. He saw that the ground was growing less damp, and the air less silent. As the sound of animals and somewhat creatures seemed to puncture the silence. The Doctor knew these sounds way too well, and he was in knowing of the fact that these creatures were something he was very used to. 

Humans...

There were humans in the area, and Derpy and him had never been around humans together. In all of the times that he had Derpy as his assistant, he had never shown Derpy the human race. She might freak out or think that this is one of the more stranger species, or even become fascinated! This could be... Earth! 

Or even though that he was not familiar to the scent of the planet around him, it could be a colony of the Human race. This was surely Humans, though. And he was sure that he had to keep Derpy safe, and all of this was beginning to spill into his mind. It wasn't long until they reached the edge of the forest, a dark collaboration of trees massed together to become a sort of forest. The forest wasn't really big, as the doctor could tell by the way they had walked out so easily; that or he had just lost track of time in his deep thought. But the trees, the trees... Those were another thing, for they were not of any sort of trees he had seen before. They seemed to reach out for you, and grab you at any moment. He knew at this moment he was not on earth, and he was getting at the slightest worried, so he moved a bit closer to Derpy. 

"Hey Doctor," Derpy said throwing her mane around to the other side of her head. "Is that a town?" 

It seemed she had finally noticed, and the Doctor didn't want to keep her from it. 

"Why, yes Derpy, it is a town. And to be exact, that is a Human town. I used to look like the people you are about to see here. (Of course he still isn't 100% positive it is Humans.) These aren't anything like the ponies back in Equestria you are used to. These are homo-sapiens, on bi-pedals." 

"Whoa Doctor, slow down! I cant understand all of that at once! So wait, you used to be one of these people that we are about to see? Does that mean that this is your home?"

The Doctor giggled, "Haha, no Derpy... I just looked like these people, and I was born somewhere completely else, we talked about that!" 

Derpy nodded that off and trotted on, as a hill needled and checkered with stones stood in between the Doctor and his assistant, and the Town. The hill was a scattered mess, and wrung about with glacial sized boulders, zigzagging off to a point that dripped off to certain death. The grass appeared to be a messy brown and grey color, like a garden that had never been tended to in its life. And the sky had revealed itself to be a stunning black and blue, with moons streaking across as the light danced from star to star. (Which meant the sun set faster than the Doctor recalled, he did lose track of time...) The sky had painted itself above them as the removed themselves from the forest, and the hill tormented their path. The rocks stood as if they were placed just for the reason to block travelers from getting out of the forest. The two companions then rose their gaze to the Town. Its wooden structures stood barren with excitement, and lackluster in space. The dull town screamed insanity and few moments of success, from the little buildings that it held. Its roads were paved in mud, from what rain brought the people that lived there, and the people were clothed in sheets woven from some sort of animal fur. (This brought no sudden worry to the Doctor, as he didn't posses the thought that he would be shaven.)  

Why oh why so little excitement in the lives of such people, the thinking would ensue. But for the certainties of The Doctor, he knew that these people looked as if they were poor. And their town was a waypoint for lowly happenings... 

"Derpy," he spoke, "We need to find a way to scale this hill (Of course it was a little big, a little too big to be a hill...) and get down to there." 

Derpy didn't respond, but instead nodded in agreement as the Doctor continued to speak. 

"We can get down faster if we walk to the sides of these rocks and hang on to the juts of the crags. The stone formations seem to be lose around these left sides, so I will take the liberty to go first, and use my Sonic Screwdriver to fix the stones that I climb on." He reached into his back pocket and hooved around for his Screwdriver, until he pulled it out. He had earlier still had troubles picking things up, but now he had it down pat. His skills as a pony had increased seven-fold, and he was now ready to almost take on anything. He mounted a rock as he took his steps down, carefully plotting his hoofsteps, one hoof after the other... 


II


Truthfully, it hadn't been thirty or forty minutes, but the Doctor had already made it halfway down the formation; slowly scaling the formation of what he had found to be bones. Bones of some sort of creature that died hundreds of years ago. His hoofs pressed against the bones in some places, loosening the steadiness to the point of crumbling. But his Screwdriver fixed it, as good as new, and made it good enough for Derpy to follow without falling. Of course being this far down, he then remembered Derpy had wings, being a Pegasus. 

Reaching the bottom, the ground was dry, as was the Doctors mouth. He was exhausted. Derpy was already at the bottom, and he had strained himself climbing the whole way. The Doctor looked over in malcontent and saw Derpy laughing at him.

"What? What did I do?"

"Oh nothing, but you know you could have just let me fly you..."

"Well! You know I always need a good exercise!" He stretched, popping his back in four places while he says this. "You should try it sometime. Maybe saving the world(s) depends on a little physical activity!"

"Umm Doctor, your still fat. No amount of exercise can help cut the butter belly you have."

"Aww come now, Derpy, don't say that! Maybe I will lose weight based on the gravity of a planet or interdimensional travel!" He scratched his hoofs together, taking a few looks around to survey where they were. "Alright! The town is a few clicks that way, so if we hurry we might be able to see what's going on. But be careful not to be seen! We can not be seen here yet until I know it is safe..." 

"Well how am I supposed to do that? I am clumsy and noisy and talkative and you expect me to be invisible!? I don't think I can, Doctor..." Her voice trailed off in unsureity and dismay at the slightest. 

He smiled and lifted his matted hooves to her chin, "You don't need to worry derpy, you know I always have a plan!" He pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver and pressed it to the ground, activating and waiting. "It will take us about 30 minutes to get there." 

"I didn't know it could tell you that..." 

"It can't! It's just a guess based on distance and clicks per distance!"

Derpy didn't understand math, but she didn't need to, because it wasn't her strong point. But all she needed to do was help the Doctor in any way she could. Whether it be the Dalek or the Cyberponies... She was successful in helping him. She didn't have to understand much though, because through her whole life she was made fun of, and she didn't need math or anything else to he over it... She just needed herself. This proved that the Doctor and his TARDIS had made a great choice in choosing the assistant. Other than that she loved everything that had happened to her in her time with the Doctor, because it happened with him. Everything was so much more beautiful with him, traveling the universes and seeing the creatures. This made her understand the vast world that the Doctor had been wandering around in, just playing it like a game, and he was the player. His journeys always seemed to end happily, and to work themselves out, because of the problem solving of the two. Of course they had their arguments, but they felt like most of those were behind them, just for the fact that they were so used to each other now. 

The Doctor slowly surveyed the town now, as if to look for something in particular. Of course he didn't understand the cultures of every human right away, but he would have to learn by watching. The gathering in the center of the town seemed to hint at the slightest bit of violence. A staturing wooden plank hung up in th centre of the town, standing for all to see. The people were watching as something was occuring out of the Doctor's sight. The lights in the town glowed to an eerie rhythm as chants were muttered and moaned. The Doctor turned his head to the attention that the crowd was focused on...

A boy.

A single boy that had been brought out, and the Doctor at this moment knew what was going to happen. 

Oh god, they are going to hang that boy and burn him alive! I have to stop them, no matter what that boy did; I can't let this be the first thing Derpy sees!


III


It hasn't taken much time for them to open up what would have been the bars and stores that day, if it wouldn't have been for the sacrifice. The townspeople were unknowing of why the boy had become cursed with what they call the Madness, but he was a naturally cursed boy. His eyes were a strong color of grayish blue, a dying sadness faded in him. His face drained of the color of happiness, and flushed with disgust at the people that would do this to him. His hatred seemed to grow slowly, and the people were too happy and rejoice-full to notice. But the boy knew himself that he did nothing wrong to deserve this, and the tears were held back. He seemed to be the age of 17 or 18, but with a younger face that hasn't touched much tragedy. His parents must have died, and the sadness had left his eyes. 

The villagers started chanted loudly and on key with each other, "Down with the Dreamer! Down with the Thinker! Burn the Bastard! Char the Demon!" A sound that was eerie enough to chill you by the ear. 

The crowd went wild with excitement, tossing themselves here and there with violent intentions. The air was filled with their hate, the smoke of death, and the clouded insanity raged on. As the boy seemed unaware of what was going on, and what he had done, a certain fluid was being poured onto the pile of wood bearings that held the post upright. The boy shook fluently and with thrashing motions, trying to bite his tongue or wriggle himself free from his constraints. But as he did, the villagers took notice to his demise and hurled heavy rocks towards him, breaking his spirit, along with his jawbone. He was robbed of his life so short, yet, this was as it seemed. True doom was imminent. 

The chorus of demise sang out itself from around him as he hung his head in shame. Crossing his fingers, he prayed to Rha as he let out his dying prayer with a solemn voice. After a few minutes, the crowd of people, a thralled containment of bred madness, ceased to insult and harm the boy. A hush fell over them, in under seconds, as if with congruence and complete punctuality, the crowd separated. His eyes were shut as if nails were piercing his brow. But even though he couldn't see, he heard the destructive gait of the executioner, merrily bringing himself forward to the post with a torch. 

All of this in itself at once, crept into the Doctors eyes. Setting his emotions aside from what he usually bears, he cut off down the pathway, darting away from his companion in a matter of seconds. Blindly rushing to save the boy for reasons he knew not why, he just felt the wind in his face, as his hoofs thundered along the track, almost as if to his own heartbeat for the safety of the boy. Derpy took notice to this, but it was too late to follow, as the Doctor had already made the path shorter with each hoofstep. She glanced down the windburnt road to track where he was off to, and her eyes brought her attention to the town. She knew leaving her like that meant that he was in no need of assistance for this, because of all of the past times he had done it. She was used to being left alone like that, and she loved waiting for him to come back. 

She brought herself to the only patch of grass that sat in the grayish field that sat before her, and she lay down. 

During this time she had by herself, she made observations that were usually not things people would focus on in a time of trouble. But Derpy didn't know that it was a time of trouble, and she always loved to think about things that made no sense to other people. Turning herself, she rested her head upon her hoof as she stared out to the Doctor. She was wondering about the sky, the strange grass, and planets that they had visited in the past. All of these things are unimportant, but Derpy doesn't care. She thought about the TARDIS, and why it brought them here, and she thought about herself, above all. Why was she herself, why did she look like she did. Regular thoughts that she had all the time would just come and go like a storm passing. She felt the emotions were rain, and it just poured over her. 

She never wasted her time... 

But the Doctor had to worry about time right now, almost like he never had worried about it before. It was as if he was stuck inside a turning clock, and he was the second hand; everything depended on him. He knew that there was going to be trouble, and he was ready for it. His eyes darted from side to side, thinking of his congenital tone to speak in, and how he must approach the people of the town; he knew that they must not be accustomed to being talked down to by an Equine. By the time he would reach the first building, the torch bearer had reached the boy. The executioner stood above him, counting his steps clockwise towards the post as he circumnavigated this boy. The Doctor stood outside of the main crowd, and behind a building, hoping that nobody (He was not accustomed to using the term nobody, because of using nopony. 

The Torch bearer looked as if he was elated to be bringing death to this boy. His face was not covered, like the Doctor was used to, but it was still yet painted in a daunting white. Bones and skin hung from his belt, showing off his dominance, and also his barbaric stature. He held his head high, almost like he was doing the town a favor by killing this innocent (The doctor did not truthfully know that the boy was innocent.) boy in a barbaric manner. He brought his shoulders horizontally equal to each other as he knelt down passionately, bringing his eyes to the boy, and the torch to the wood...

"STOP!!!" 

It bellowed through the town, and the silence was soon following. 

Why he had yelled he did not know, it just sprung out. It was very haunting for the townsmen and him, for the silence and anger shone through their eyes.

This thrall of people must have been the smell of death I noted earlier...
His thoughts did not deceive him, and he knew that this was what he had searched for. The child was asleep and not knowing of what had happened, passed out from exhaustion, or the beatings. 

The first townsman spoke, his voice growing dreary as he trashed himself through the visage. 
"Why is this trick upon us?! Who dares to halt a process as holy as this? And why would you bring a horse to trick us? Shall we burn that too?"

The Doctors ears shot up in fright. "No! No! No! There will be no burning of the horses! I promise you that this is not a trick! I am no illusion! I am really here with you all right now, talking..." He didn't seem really sure of himself, and the fact that he wasn't really sure of how he was going to get the boy out of the situation he was in. 

"Are you?"

The Doctor was dumbfounded. I mean, what kind of question was that? 

"Am I what?

"Are you real? Are you sure of yourself you are not an illusion?"

"Well I'm positive! I have been this way my whole life."

"Was it a wizards curse?"

"Wizard?" He then thought to himself, Ah right, since this isn't earth, they probably have a few things that the other universes don't have. Which would be the real magic. Haha! Derpy would be happy that we actually found a place with real magic for once! Nevermind that... A Wizard? Curse? Seems wizards aren't the most positive thing here... 

"Aye, a wizard, he put a curse on your bones. Casting his shadows, weaving his spells, has funny clothes, and twinkling bells."  

"I dont think I have ever heard of such a wizard before... Then again, I am new here."

"What do you mean, new?" 

"Oh I mean to this town and locality, I am just a traveler!"

"Aye, I can tell by the way you arent used to our accustomes."

"How did you see that by just looking at me?"

"Your naked..."

The doctor blushed, looking down and noticing he only had on his tie and collar. He hadn't had to wear clothes since his last regeneration, and even at that clothes arent necessary as a pony anyway because there isn't really anything to cover up that isnt already covered in fur. He tried to shuffle a bit of dirt around with his hoof, as to ignore the comment made. 

"But otherwise horse man, we are in the middle of something ritualistic, and very pertant to the situation." 

"Ah! That is what I came about for, you see... I came to ask why this boy is being hurt as such."

"Well you see, he is a bastard, and a witch's son at that. He is also a Gelfling, which in this land is illegal to be." He shot a mean look back at the boy, as if cursing him with his life. "This boy has commited treason to the laws of our Land. We will carry out what is necessary to do the job... Burning him."

"Ah well... Ok um... (thinking in a fluttered fury.) You see I am here as a traveler, and me and my wife are having a lovely trip so far! Wouldn't it be rather crude to do this while you have visitors?"

"Are you trying to talk me down?"

"No! No! No! I am just trying to say that it might scare my wife!"

"Fuck your wife and you, Horse Man. I am the operater of this Death Train... 'Tis I that calls the shots about who lives and who doesn't."

"Well, I dont know about calling shots..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rock, obscured from the vision of the executioner. "But I do know that you are the rudest person I have met on my trip, and quite ugly too! I mean look at ya' with your big teeth! And your huge body, I mean you must weigh a ton!" This was meant to enrage him, or at least the Doctor hoped. 

"And you aren't so skinny yerself! Now you tresspass onto our land and insult me? How about I show some of our famous hospitality, boys?" He asked that of the crowd, and they responded with a "Hell Yeah!" The Doctor knew he had to think up something fast... But he couldnt put his hoof on what he was thinking, until the man started walking. 

Dust. 

The dust kicked up beneath his weighted boots, and clouded the area around him, not by much, but enough. The Doctor noticed this immediatly, and started to stomp his hooves. 

"What are you doing, horse man? Are you scared? Are you gonna run away?"

The Doctor didn't respond, but he started building up a cloud of dust big enough that you couldnt see him or the man. As this happened, the man then took a step into the dust cloud, and for a moment you could see neither him or the Doctor. Then, after a few seconds, a 'THUD' shook the ground, and you heard the sound of hoofsteps. The Doctor stepped out, unscathed in the battle. (Truthfully he hadn't really killed the man, he just knocked him out with the rock, and the dust was for cover.) The man appeared dead to the crowd, just limp, and on the ground. 

The Doctor spoke, "Now, who else wants some?" He glared around at the crowd and smirked at them. Nobody spoke, and everyone was showing an emotion of fear on their face. 

The Doctor thought to himself, Heh, surely now they must be thinking that I am only a horse. And How could I do something like that? Well, Now is the time to free that boy...

"Alrighty then! Free the boy, and nobody else will get hurt!" He looked at the person nearest the pole. A old man, in raggedy torn clothes. The man started to cut the ropes away from the child, and as they did, he fell to the ground with a loud 'THUMP', the doctor took notice of this and brushed it off. The Doctor ordered them to bring the boy to him, and they did as they were told. When he was presented the boy, his face twisted in dismay. The boy had been beaten beyond recognition. His face was brused, and torn in some places, which didn't even account for the jaw that was out of its socket. He would have to bring the boy to Derpy. 

"I will leave you now, and never return. Do not try to find me, I will be long gone and impossible to find. Just stay in your town, and in your homes. And let this be a lesson to you, dont pick on the weak." 

He mounted the boy onto his hindquarters, and trotted off slowly, but a townsman called to him before he could leave... 

"Hey! What do we call you?"

The Doctor laughed a little, and looked back for a second, eying the townsman. A middle aged man that seemed to have gone through rough things as well, and wearing what seemed to be bracers, with leggings that were browned by the sun. His tunic was a dull red that was tattered at the ends, and the bottom was folded and cut to fit him, as a hand-me-down. The Doctor felt a small amount of pity, as he usually does for these kind of people, and he spoke. 

"Just call me, The Doctor." 

The Townsman didn't look surprised at the name, but he did ask, "So where are you going to take the poor boy?" 

"I am going to take him to get some help."

"Can you help him, will he live?"

As he started to turn back around, The Doctor was surprised that someone cared so much about the boy, being that the whole town was just trying to kill him. "Why do you care? Are you a relative?"

"No, but I tought him what he knows, and very few in this world will ever know what that boy knows."

"What is that?"

"How to be a Gunslinger..."

The Doctor nodded to that, and thanked the man for a small yet informational chat. He then departed, facing the hill again, and leaving the town at his back for good...


IV


"YOU DID WHAT???" 

The Doctor seemed furious, and ravishly darted about the area. 

"I am so sorry Doctor I didn't know the forest would attack me, So I just left my stuff there." 

"Ditzy, now we have no way of getting back into the TARDIS, or even finding it!" 

She looked down at the ground, ashamed of herself. "I am sorry, maybe there is a way! There is always a way Doctor, I am sure we will get the TARDIS back..." 

"I understand where you are coming from here, but we just lost the only method of saving this young boys life! He could have lived!" 

A sudden rustle occured behind them, and a hand raised up and grabbed the stone that it was propped against. 

"Wait, Doctor, I thought you said he was in no condition of moving, or even being able to wake up!?"

"I... I-I Did..."

They moved over to the body of the boy, slowly, the boy started to move. His eyes were still shut, but it seemed that he was dreaming, a sweet dream. A boy that was dreaming after this kind of thing happens to him must usually have a horrible life. He must be used to foul treatment like this, but the Doctor and Derpy wached as he somewhat reacted to his own dream. His body jerked, and amazingly, the cuts on him healed. His wounds were healing!

"Derpy! Would you look at that! His wounds are healing themselves! All by themselves!" 

"Is this a good thing? Or is it a bad thing? Because I hope it's not a bad thing..."

"Well it might be for the better! We didn't have to use the TARDIS after all! Then again, this could mean that the townsmen were right."

Derpy looked at him, wondering what he meant. "What do you mean, the townsmen were right? How did you find this boy?"

"Oh um, he had been torn up by a few wild banshees, and they said that he might be a little strange and such." He knew he was lying to her, but he couldnt tell her what the townspeople were really like. 

"Well that is terrible! You dont think that we will be attacked by any banshees, do you?"

"No! Of course not! They only attack humans. Which is good for us because neither of us are human!" He laughed a bit and then accepted her seriousness. "We have to be careful though, there are probably different things out there than banshees that would hurt us."

The Boy now gathered himself and awoke, he seemed to have fully healed, and grown aware that there were two talking horses in front of him. he stood in front of the Doctor and Derpy, tattered and riddled with scars. His eyes were beautiful though, a complete opposite of the rest of him, because of the condition of his body. He looked as if he had been starved all his life, and he was paler than most people should be. His hair came down past his shoulders, smooth and black, curling and rushing in waves to his back. His clothes were of a Western sort, he carried a belt that had a holster, but no gun. His duster brushed the stones and dirt that lined the ground, and it hung high on his shoulders, almost like his pride. His pants were a sort of jeans (That was strange for the Doctor to see, because the fiber needed was futuristic for this time period.) that tore at the heels of the leg, revealing boots. These boots shone in the sun, or what sun there was. (It was barely dawn at this point.) They seemed a sort of leather, with roses etched into them, and the steel toes gathered the attention to the boots. His shirt was white, well was. It was stained with his blood, and cut down the middle, as if someone else had done that to show something. His face was young, but old, at the same time. The Doctor knew that he was something different, and maybe the villagers were right, he might be what they call a Gelfling...

He sat himself upon the rock, which was only about half the height of Derpy, and looked the the Doctor. "So, I reckon you are the one who got me out of here?"

"Oh-oh, u-um.." He stuttered as he collected himself, "Yes. I am the one who rescued you."

"Well thank you very much, but if you dont mind, I shall be on my way..."

"On your way where? I dont even know who you are!"

The boy looked up to him and gave no emotions, "Then lets keep it that way." 

"Why are you so eager to get out of here?"

"What reasons are there to stay?"

"You need to rest!" The Doctor seemed angered and stomped his hoof down on the ground.

Derpy then spoke up, "Maybe if you stay here a night, you will feel even more better! We always like guests, dont we Doctor?"

The boy laughed a bit, "A Doctor, huh? What is your profession?"

The Doctor looked at him and shrugged, "Time and relative dimensions in space." 

The boy looked dumbfounded, as if someone told him a lie. "So you are telling me you heal time and space." 

"Actually, that kind of is what I do, but to a certain degree. It doesnt matter though, you are here with us for the night, and you must stay so I can observe your wounds. I have never seen anything like that on a person."

"Well if you insist I stay, it cant harm me for a night, but you seem to not have a place of your own..." His eyes scanned the area, and he remembered a bit what the two were talking about a few moments ago. "Or did the forest eat your home?"

Derpy spoke, "It ate it..."

"Ah! Tangleasp, a dangerous form of creature, not even a tree. They suck away your oxygen and leave you for dead." 

The Doctor had never heard of such a plant, or even being. 

The Boy continued to speak, "You will never get anything back from those trees, what was eaten is never returned. It is long gone if you had it." 

The Doctor's eyes shot open, and he went into panic mode. "You are telling me I cant get my shi- (He didnt want to say ship, seems strange.) home??! So its gone forever?" 

Derpy seemed just as worried as the Doctor, because unlike the Doctor, she doesn't live forever. The boy then chimed up and spoke, "There are no other ways to get it out of that, there is only one way to really get it back though. That is where I am going, to get something back."

At this, Derpy added, "Well then, tell us how to get our stuff back! We need to know! I cant be stuck here forever." 

The boy looked at the pair of them and spoke, "I see it in my dreams, a place that exists only off the True Earth. It is at the edge where you may be granted a wish, one single wish! that wish stays with you, your entire life. The Edge Earth is a point in time where nothing ever grows old, and the Angels reside there and call it home. No man or creature has ever made it to the Edge earth, but we do know that it exists, because of the teachings of the old. My dreams tell me so, and I know that this wish can grant me what I desire. If it can do this for me, then it can do the same for you! I barely remember parts of my dream, but I know how to get on the way there." 

The Doctor couldn't believe that he was listening to a person that he had just rescued, about traveling to the edge of the planet. He thought immediatly that it was absurd. "So you are telling me we have to go to the edge of the planet?"

"Yes."

"Simple but short, alright. Tell me, boy. Where did you hear these stories?"

The boy noticed that the Doctor found his tale false, and was a bit angered by this. "How do you not know of these tales?! All that live on True Earth know of the Edge Earth and its powers. And my name is not boy, do not talk down to me..."

Derpy butted in on the conversation, "Alright you two! We dont want any arguments!" 

The Doctor replied, "You are right Derpy, we dont, but I just cant believe that there is an edge of the planet." He brushed his dusty mane out with his right hoof, throwing dirt and dust in the air. "But I cant start doubting you right off the bat, I know I have some confidence in you. Just please realize that we arent from around here, and we arent used to people telling us these stories."

"I can tell..."

"Well, we might as well get some sleep, it was night a while ago, maybe a quick nap will help us get through tomorrow!"

"Yes, and then we will be off. To the Land of Red!"

"I dont know what that is," Derpy spoke in an excited tone, "But I cant wait to find out!"

"But please," the Doctor started again, "Wont you tell us your name?" 

An answer followed that question, but not the one the Doctor sought. 

In due time...
> Chapter III - Running
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


I


It hadn't been more than an hour or two of sleep, and the Doctor woke up in sweat. Why he had, he did not know, but he saw that the sun had cearly risen to a point that was favorable for travel. He moved to his hoofs, and stood stretching. His yawn awoke a very tired Derpy, that seemed to have had no sleep whatsoever, and was aggrivated that the Doctor chose now to wake. He prodded around for some blankets, and picked up his stuff. His sonic screwdriver loosely jingled around in his back pocket, and he moved over to where the boy was sleeping. 

The Doctor then thought to himself, He isnt really a boy, is he? Is he something different? Ugh I wish he would just tell me what he is, it is starting to bug me. I do not want him to risk putting me and Derpy in danger. I might have to take extreme measures with this one.

Derpy shuffled over to the Doctor while he was in mid thought, and she shoved him over. He yelped as he thudded to the ground, rolling over in the grass to look up at her. "What did you do that for?" 

"That was for waking me up... Next time, you should let me sleep."

"Well its not like its beauty sleep, there isnt much to help there."

"Hey! You take that back!"

"Not gonna happen!" He grinned widely as he playfully teased at Derpy. 

"You two act like you are a married couple." The boy stood up behind them, wiping the grass and dirt off of his duster and jeans. 

Derpy and the Doctor blushed, and replied at the same time, "We're not!" Then they both looked at each other, and blushed widly. The boy chuckled as he strolled off, whistling a tune to himself. 

"Where are you going?" 

The boy turned around, "Its time to go, dont you know?"

The Doctor wiped his eyes with his hooves and looked up at the sun, which at this point gave the lighting for a good journey. He didnt really focus on where they were going to go, but how they got there. And traveling on hoof has never really been his favorite method of transportation. He usually just finds ways to get out of traveling by hoof, and getting Derpy to do some things for him anyway. "I guess it is time to go, (turning to Derpy) Cmon then! Lets get going!"

Derpy rushed forward with her blanket hung over her back, and trotted alongside the Doctor. 

"Stop."

The three of them stopped in their tracks. A silence fell onto them, hushing thoughts and words. The boy (Now the Doctor was quite convinced he was a man.) knelt down to the ponies, and pointed to the town. The Doctor and Derpy didn't notice anything peculiar right away, but the man (Now not a boy.) pointed it out to them. 

"They are issuing a search for us, and they have gathered the local guards. They will mount their horses and ride for us to catch us and hang us. We must leave this county immediatly, or suffer the consequences."

The Doctor was now all about leaving, and didn't speak at first, but nodded. 

"What did you two do to get in that much trouble?" Derpy asked.

"I didn't do anything, this man (Been a long time since he has used that word.) on the other hoof, he was the culprit of capital crimes. I should have left him for dead!"

"Now, now, Mr. Doctor," the man tried to reassure him, "It was in good taste that you saved me, I am a rare species. At the least you will follow me to the Land of Red. There, is where I depart for the Gates to the East." He then gestured to the town, and the angry mob just waiting to find them. "Unless you are willing to deal with what is here."  

"No, I dont think I want to stay here for too long. But I will keep my eyes on you! Just to assure you dont to anything silly while we are out on our adventures." 

"Trust me please, I am not that kind of person. It is against my moral code."

"Moral code? I didn't know that people who get burned at the town square have moral codes." 

Derpy once again butted in, "You two! We dont want to waste daylight, or risk the townspeople following us! We need to hurry up and leave." She planted her hoof firmly in the Doctors side, and started to walk forward. 

"She is right, c'mon then Doctor! Lets have ourselves an adventure!" 

The Doctor let out a sigh of disbelief, and of exhaustion. He started to trot behind slowly, and gaze out at the town. The people had already gotten out of their homes and grouped up. It seemed as if they were ready to charge out anywhere they were told, and at their head, the executioner who had been knocked out earlier. It was only a hit to the head, but still he must be fuming. But those rocks that he had picked up from the hill while climbing down did prove useful! And he was still laughing at the fact that the people believed him, when there were no tricks. But now they had to worry, because they were the target of a witch hunt. The Doctor knew about those a little more than he would have liked to, and he would like to avoid getting caught, as well as losing Derpy. 

The man strolled down the hillside as if it were nothing, and planted himself at the bottom, slowly gesturing for the two ponies to follow. As they did, he sat himself upon the ground at the foot of the hill, and started whistling to himself. The Doctor had problems going down because of his hooves, but Derpy gently glided down to the bottom with her wings (Which still pisses the Doctor off sometimes.) But that was ok, because he knew that he didn't have wings (Other than that one time with the potion in the TARDIS, but that was a different story) and that was fine with him. He was still getting over the fact that he had lost his TARDIS, but that was going to take him a while to do, because he had never truly lost his ship before, and this was really the first time. It wasn't but a few moments and he was down the hill as well, but the few seconds he had been down there, he noticed something was off. 

The Town.

It had already emptied out, and The Doctor noticed this. 

"Umm, I think we may have to hurry up. We might have a problem on our hooves."

The man noticed what the Doctor noticed instantly, and pointed it out, "It seems they are replete in their selves, and are probably heading towards us now. To compound it, we are not really going to be faster than an angry mob. When they accost us, we are in for what we come for." 

"So what may we do then? There is no way to surreptitiously leave?" 

"I am a felon of the Land, so they shall take the precautions needed to capture me."

"What exactly did you do?"

"I am what many would call a hapless race. To not extend this story, many people are irate with my people, possibly for the fact that we are more advanced than other cultures." He paused, cajoling them to follow across the dust. "We must hurry at the utmost pace. We needn't waste our only time." 

Derpy and the Doctor just nodded and trotted along, keeping a steady pace while the man gave a good lead from where the town was. They didn't want to be caught, and they also didn't want to be seen running, even if they were far away. The man knew that if they were to be seen, the townsmen would follow them no matter what. the townspeople didn't want to let them get away either, because it goes down on their records, and thus the Courtships would reprimand them for their inadvertent failure. But this was just the start of their journey, the inchoate step they took to bring about a great tale they were telling together. 

The Doctor didn't know yet, but he would be in for a long quest, one incipient dreg that would carry out to be the thing that ruined him. 

Under duress, they moved swiftly with furtive intentions, their steps gaining into a run. Of course they didn't run in the open, that would wrest their chances of freedom away from them. The Doctor was thinking to himself as they ran along, hurriedly collecting himself. This place that he will take us to... This Wearwind... A city in the place of a land that I have never heard of, maybe an alternate dimension that the TARDIS brought us to. Something here isn't right, and I feel that something is about to take a turn for the worse. Maybe it is the fact that we have a mob of angry people chasing us. Gosh... I haven't had people chase me in forever. But it is still terrible that this is the first encounter of people that Derpy has had.

Of course these thoughts were the things that kept the three of them company for the next few hours, because there was no speaking. Each of them just threw glances at the other, and the silence hung around them. Nobody really made any sudden movements, because the sounds would gather attention from creatures, though the Doctor and Derpy hadn't seen any of them yet. The man just cajoled them on, a scurrilous task that was of clandestine ethics. Every once in a while the Doctor would take a wrong step in a different direction, and the man would admonish him with his eyes, an inexorable gaze that gave the Doctor his impunity. Hoping to not jostle any trees or bushes too loudly, Derpy kept her wings to herself, and not stretched outward like she usually would, as the three moved under cover of night. Night and day fell and rose quickly here, the Doctor noted. It must be because of the mundane size of the planet. Of course, this mattered not, because traveling was still traveling, and they had to move as fast as they could until the man said it was safe to speak again... 


II


It was an incongruous time when they reached the cliffside, a monolithic barrier that stood in the place of them and a river. The river was a cutting edge, almost to show euphemism in the face of the land. This obstacle was to the disdain of the ponies, and of course the man. It would intimidate their time, and its belligerent crossing would take hours. It must have been a hundred or so feet down at least until the river itself was reached, for the sound of the rapids below were muffled by the high winds that echoed through the trees that stood behind them. The harsh course that lay before them was not tangible enough to jump into, and the height would kill them on impact. But you could tell that by the look on the mans face, he was an aspirant; ready to go into the rampant danger that was set out before him. 

He spoke, "I have an idea, and since we are stuck here there is nothing we can do but pool our ideas. We must cross this egregious path, and be sure that we include only a paucity of force into this to save strength." 

Derpy nodded as the Doctor replied, "I concur, but we mustn't make too much noise. We also don't want a pernicious blow to the body, we wouldn't be able to carry on. Maybe if we could somehow lower something into the river and bring ourselves to climb down..." He didn't finish what he was saying, but the man understood, and Derpy interjected by stating some helpful information. 

"Maybe if you needed, I could fly down and help from the bottom as you two work from the top!"  

"Construe to me, what you would help with," the man spoke. 

"Umm... Maybe lifting some things or bringing things to you? I could help in any way possible!" You could tell by her tone of voice that she was tired of being left out. 

"I will allow you to help, just for Rha's sake, do not elicit any problems." 

She flew down in her affluent happiness, gliding fast and swiftly down to the side of the river that was across from the cliff. Her happiness was shortly lived when she spotted what she thought to be the townspeople. Her bubbly eyes widened, and she fell silent. Rushing to find solace of the trouble, she hid behind a giant tree that stood at the edge of the river. It was a crowd of about 4 people, walking side by side, 

The Doctor at this time, was on the ridge of the cliff, helping the man spot a tree to knock down. (One that was dead of course.) But the Doctor got bored and began to ask questions, like he usually would. His questions were not of great importance when he was tired of doing something, and they usually resulted in some of the most ridiculous answers. But he had nothing ridiculous to ask right now, and his astute remarks to answers were ineffectual as of now. 

"So, even though we haven't know each other for a while, I am beginning to think that we will have to know a lot about each other if we are to stay careful. I don't want to scrutinize you with my questions, or persistently badger you with the same ones over and over again, but its vexing me that I do not know your name..." 

"I am nobody you should have to badger. Your malady is one of your thoughts, and you need to peruse me before you obsess over your questions. It is an elusive subject, my life... And I do not wish to frustrate you with it, but it is your inert ability to keep questioning me that will not get an answer. Trust me, if you have your patience, you will be rewarded with the things you seek in this land. Even if you are doubtful of me, I believe what you say, for it is what I am supposed to do." 

"And why are you supposed to do that?" 

"Because I am myself. And what I am is a Gunslinger..."

At this moment, the Doctor didn't try and keep questioning the man, so he just answered at him with a nod, and went back to searching for a dead tree. This dead tree could be pushed over to lean against the edge. Then, they could roll it off the edge and tie it to a live tree, so they could slowly climb down the side of the cliff and drop down when they were close enough to the river. But the Doctor did note that he could have just been flown down by Derpy, even if she couldn't have flown the Gunslinger. Also he took it into note that he didn't hear or see Derpy around, and this was one of the things that was troubling him now. He scrambled over to the edge of the cliff, and scanned the area, slowly looking for the small gray pegasus. 

The Doctor began to panic, he didn't want to lose his assistant. He moved over to another side of the cliff, and began to question if it was just Derpy playing around like usual, or a salient problem had arose. 

"Umm, Gunslinger?"

The Gunslinger turned to him and answered, "I am busy, Doctor. Maybe you should try to do the same."

"We have a slight problem."

The Gunslinger moved towards the Doctor and stared out at the edge. "Where is your sanguine little grey friend? Has she gone and left for her own benefit?" 

"No, that's just it. She would never leave on her own, and if something is wrong, she would have flown back up and talked to me." 

"What do you say we do?"

"I say we go and look for her." Of course he still wasn't certain that she was lost, but there were signs of other living beings around. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver, and pressed it to the ground. "It seems that someone was nearby not too long ago. Maybe more than one person, or even other creature."

"How does that device work?" He asked, pointing to the Screwdriver. 

"Oh well... Its sonic, and umm, it works. Maybe you shouldn't ask questions Gunslinger; if you are patient, you will be rewarded with your answer." The Doctor smiled at him, and of course the Gunslinger shot him a funny look. 

They both had to hurry and get down to the river, and the time was not being grateful to them. The day was growing shorter, and the night was coming. But the Gunslinger had his tricks up his sleeves, and the Doctor was prepared for anything that would come to him. The Gunslinger moved in and out of the trees, and spotted a perfectly sized dead tree that sat in the middle of a clearing. His brute strength allowed him to rip it from its roots, and bring it to its sides. The Doctor helped by taking his Screwdriver and reinforcing vines to make a very strong rope, and that would be used to climb down. He made sure that he gathered a plethora of vines, and bound them to the fullest. 

The Gunslinger took the dead tree to the edge of the cliff, and sat it on a clear patch of grass. He ran back to help the Doctor start to wrap the vine and tie it around the tree. He first tested it to make sure that it would not break at the slightest pull, and it wouldn't. He then moved to the edge of the cliff and tied the vine to the dead tree and checked for the same precautions. After making sure that everything was tight, he shoved the huge tree over the edge, and watched as the vine tightened. The massive crack that it made when it snapped into place almost scared the Doctor, thinking that it broke the vine, but it was just the tree colliding with the edge of the cliff. 

"Remind me," the Doctor said, "What do we need the dead tree for?"

"So when we get to the bottom of the vine, we ride the tree into the water so it can hit the rocks, not us." 

"Ah, smart idea!"

The Gunslinger nodded, and proceeded to climb down at his own pace. and the Doctor followed swiftly after him. The Doctor began to swivel back and forth on the vine, but he then regained his balance after a few lofty breezes of wind caught him on the side. His footing was a little bad, probably because he didn't have feet, but the Gunslinger heard something that caught his ear, and also made him uneasy. 

GRRRRAAAAWR!!!

"What was that?!" The Doctor spewed nervously. 

"That my dear Doctor, was a Imphidon..." His voice seemed to trail off at the end of that sentence, but the Doctor somehow knew that they both must reach the bottom of the river before whatever it was got to them. "Its beak is like a sword, and slices through almost anything. It will try and kill anything it can get its hands on, and only eats the things it kills. It especially loves a fight." 

"Can it fly?"

"Well of course! It is an Imphidon after all, and it is faster than a Drake! Yet it is not as feared." He continued to climb at his own pace, slowly moving himself to the middle of the vine. The Doctor of course, using hooves to climb, was having a harder time climbing than the Gunslinger was. His left hoof was shaking a bit, and he was holding tight as he tried to repel down the cliffside. 

Suddenly out of nowhere, a giant winged beast that seemed towering to the two of them, brought itself into the view of the Doctor and the Gunslinger. The Gunslinger saw this, and, with a swift movement, let go of the vine. He dropped down onto the dead tree and quickly rolled to one side to stabilize it. making sure that he had his feet planted, he stood up properly to face the beast. 

The Imphidon rushed at him, ramming against the stone wall behind him with every miss, colliding with the branch and shaking it. The beast rolled its talons across the rock face and attempted to cut the vines, but the swaying log kept the vine out of reach. He knew that he had to kill the beast, and swiftly at that. In one quick moment, (Which is why it is described.) he was to draw his gun and destroy the voracious beast. His hands moved back his duster, and revealed what was his beautiful guns. They shone, a glossy wan that gleamed into the air, and drove an image of death into the beast at the other end. The fingers on his hands were lightning, as he swiveled the holsters open in one dramatic movement, too fast for the normal eye. His hand lifted the gun in one swift motion, a zealous strike that would be delivered. As he used his fingers to strike the trigger repeatedly, the beast fell silent. Three riveting shots echoed through the air, reverberating the sounding cannon-like boom that struck the beast. 

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.    

The beast plunged through the air and collided with the river in a tragic but beautiful occurrence. Its body washed down the rapids and flooded the air with a foul blood stench. After this occurred, the Doctor slid down the vine with ease, and slowly made his footing (hoofing) on the swaying log. 

"So, I guess you really are good with those guns." The Doctor spoke out to the gunslinger, avidly trying to find his footing. 

"I was trained for a while, and it took me even longer to be able to aim without missing." 

"How long?"

"Too long for anybody who is not what I am. It took me thirty-four years, and after that I took it upon myself to leave my land and journey to the south. But I found that the lands to the south took not fondly to travelers of my caliber."

The Doctor looked confused, and surprised, which motivated him to ask a question. "You say that you have trained for  thirty-four years, but in my eyes it seems that you are only nineteen! How do you hide your age so well?"

"I do not age. I am one of the few who keep their life for longer than the rest."

"And how long have you kept your life?"

"Long enough, Doctor. Long enough..." He stared out into the sunrise, contemplating on whatever it was he had to think about at the time. He shifted over his weight to balance out the log so he could stand evenly on without wobbling. "Do you wish to attempt a drop in the river?" 

"I guess..." Unsure of his true response, he pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver. 

"We must hurry before more Imphidon arrive, they travel in packs, and I was hoping that one would be all." 

Of course at that, the constant growls became noticeable from in the distance. A fear shot up both of their spines, and sent knowledge that more Imphidon were arriving. 


III


Derpy awoke, sweating and bruised. 
Her hooves her chained to the ground, and the shackles were too heavy to bear lifting. The lights in the room, (or whatever it was.) were dim, sort of to set the mood of kidnapping. But even though it had some sort of lighting, Derpy could not see. It was too dark for her eyes to visualize the surroundings. Some sort of dripping water from one side of the room, and the squeaking of a mouse, were her only company. She barely woke, and her eyes were heavy on her, making it even harder to be able to see what was going on. There were bonds on her wings, and tape over her mouth, meaning that whoever put her here didn't want her to scream for help. 

Even though at all of this, she didn't feel scared. She knew that the Doctor could come and help her, and whoever the other man was, he could help too. She rolled to the left, hoping to comfort herself on the cold, damp ground. But all that this action did was cause a noise to echo through the room, and the dripping and squeaking stopped. After a few minutes of laying on the floor, she was beginning to fall back asleep. 

WHAM.

The door to the (cell) room swung open and bounced off the wall. A pair of people rushed into the room to see what was going on. They quickly stood at attention at both sides of the door, and the light from outside of the room rushed in, almost blinding Derpy, as the (leader of the two) third man came in. 

"You there, grey horse woman! What is your name, and state your business in the land of Giamoni."

They tore the tape off of her face, and sat her up while holding her steady. Slowly she opened her mouth and spoke with great effort. "My name... m-my name, is Derpy. And... a-and I am here because of my friends." 

"Well what an unfortunate event for you and your friends..." 

"We were just passing through, we didn't want to cause any trouble, mister." 

"Mrs. Derpy, do you realize what illegal act you have drawn forth by not entering a Sacred Land on a main road?" 

"I don't know... I-I'm not from he-" She was interrupted by the man. 

"Trust me Mrs. Derpy, you have brought yourself into a troubled time. You will be jailed and held until your friends come forth and pay the fines for your mishaps."   

"I AM NOT FROM HERE!!!" It shut them up. A screaming pony that was angered with the law sat in front of three Gaimonian guards. 

"Of course you are not, Mrs. Derpy. That is why the law was broken. I understand that you are a species that is of an animal sort, but you need not act it here." He walked over and sat down a few feet from where Derpy was sitting. Oh how he was ugly, and his face was finally revealed in that light. He stood at a height that was barely average. His face was scarred and what seemed to be burnt, and his hands were the same wretched way. He had a tone of skin that seemed wan, and a tinge of evil bounced about him. His hair was short but patchy, almost as if a bear had gotten a hold of his head. "You don't have to be angry Mrs. Derpy. My guards caught you hiding behind the trees at Vreakwind River. It is ok to be ashamed of yourself. But I will have myself a question for you." He paused for a moment and signaled for his guards to leave the room. "Who are those companions of yours?" 

"Well, there is the Doctor, and then... Umm... Th-there is..." 

"You don't know him do you?" 

"No, I'm sorry." 

"It is ok. I already know the Gelfling. Asphalon has been quite elusive in the past years."

"Aspha-what?"

"The Gelfling you travel with, his name is Asphalon. He is a danger to any people in our land because of his existence." 

"I didn't know that..." She hung her head, hoping to hide her shame of being friends with a criminal. 

"Don't worry Mrs. Derpy, we shall soon have your Doctor, and the elf. You will be staying with us while we search." His voice trailed off and relieved as he revealed a crooked grin. He then proceeded to walk out of the room and slam the door. 


IV


What had been only a three minute interval from the first one, resulted in a herd of Imphidon. 
A seemingly loud growl approached the gunslinger as he tried to help the Doctor cut the vine. The Imphidon crashed into the rock face, and almost sent the gunslinger off balance. He regained his footing and proceeded in blasting the beasts away. 

"Could you please try and keep them away while I recalibrate the strength of this vine?" The Doctor was in a frenzy, trying to cut the vine using his Sonic Screwdriver.

"I can-" he blasted away another while it plunged toward them. "I can try! But I cannot reassure anything, Doctor..." 

They were foolish beasts, but they managed to anger both the Doctor and the Gunslinger. They strive for the feast, and they always get the kill, even if it takes them a while. But the Gunslinger was determined to kill them first, no matter the throng. But even with beasts hurdling towards him, the Doctor managed to get the vine down to a manageable tangibility. 

"Alright! If we break this, we will go into the river!" The Doctor was confident in the chances of surviving a fall that great. "We need to hurry before they gather around us!" 

CRRRRRAAACK!!! The rock face behind them was starting to collapse from all of the beatings. Its beautiful structure was now worn and cracked, showing signs of being able to collapse at any minute. The Gunslinger knew that they had to hurry, so he quickly added another Imphidon to the dead, and veered over to the vine. He took out a knife that had an allacrity to it, a certain shimmer. His timing on the situation was just. 

"I will count to three and we will plunge into the river! Do you understand?" 

"Yes! Hurry and go!" 

He began to count. "One... Two..." But did not make it to three. An Imphidon that had a collision course with the two of them, missed outright, and cut the vine on accident. It fell into the river swiftly, and so did the log carrying the two companions. 

The Doctor grasped the nearest stump on the log he could, and he hung on. With a splash that would empty a pool, the log slammed into the water, with brute force at that. But they could not hold on in the rapids, for the log had broken and sent them spiraling down a river of peril. The Gunslinger slammed into a rock that was not far from where the dead tree had broken, and split his arms open on the jagged crags that surrounded them. The Doctor instantly smashed into a rock head on, knocking him out and sending him under the water rapids. Before the Gunslinger could do anything about it, he was being dragged downstream, a violent turbulence of water took him to the left, and smashing into the sides of the river. His blood was pouring out of his wounds, and it stung, causing him to yelp in pain, but also take in unwanted water at the same time. He was out of breath and stamina, and his arms couldn't keep him out of the water for much longer. 

Even at this, the Doctor's body sailed down the river, unknowing that it was going strait for the jagged rock face that lay before it. he collided with it, and swerved over to the side where the Gunslinger had drifted. 

The Gunslinger passed out while drifting down the river, and they both headed for the falls... 
> Chapter IV - Fire Under Stars
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


I


"Wake up." 

It was a blur to them, the two of them. 

"Wake up I said." The figure delivered the Doctor a swift kick to the side, bringing forth a grunt and acrimonious pain. 

The adverse person spoke up again, "There shall be no respite here! I am here to make you two my riches! This feasible achievement will be mine." He then shot a glance at the Gunslinger, which of course the Gunslinger could not see. "You there, what is your name." 

The Doctor spoke up, on accident of course, "Which one of us was that directed at? As you can see, beating us doesn't help us see-" The figure kicked him again, harder this time. 

"Now, like I had asked before! What is your name... Gunslinger?" 

The Gunslinger did not speak, but yet raised his head in the direction of the voice, and spat at the legs of the person who delivered the blows. 

"You have a gutsy mind, Gunslinger. Maybe you should use it for actually getting you somewhere. You know that traveling across the land to the Edge of True Earth isnt going to bring you fame, you will just die like the rest of your race..." 

"And you know this how?" 

"I know you, Asphalon... You are one of the reasons that we have kept our little group alive. The only reason that I saved you from the rapids was to get a good pay from my boss..." The Doctor looked over at him, thinking to himself of course, of what this person just said. A good pay from his boss? And here I thought this person was just an innocent! But his name, I finally know that at least...

The Gunslinger shot his eyes up to the person in a half drunken rage; of course he wasn't drunk, he was just half conscious. "How do you know me?"

"From stories, dear Gunslinger. The Stories that my father told me, of a man that did not age." 

"Those are old tales..." He looked at the ground, hanging his head. 

"You were a thief, and a good one at that. You bring in for 200 Chips. That is what I call a bounty!"

"What do you know of me, I want to know..." 

He laughed at the Gunslinger, shaking his head in pity. "We know everything, Shadownight... You are a dead race, and your quest is something that interests almost all of those lonely men seeking treasures. But you know that those tales are all false, and the fact that nobody believes that Angels really live at the Edge Earth. Your History is a sad one, yes. But do not think I pity you for being a luckless fool. I pity you for being so egotistical, and naive. You need to realize that killing with Guns is not what we do anymore! We are a much more advanced people in the Higher Lands... and for you to realize that, we must torture you until your flesh refuses to come home to its master..." 

The last statement made by the man was a chilling threat, and that made the Gunslinger cringe and shiver at the hearing of it. The Doctor was not as happy to hear something like that either, but he wanted to ask a question before the man left them for loneliness. Of course he would have to wait for the current conversation to cease, and then he would take his moment and ask what was bothering him. 

"Tell me, Asphalon... Do you believe in the Memories?" 

"I have never recalled the Memories from the stories of old..." 

"The stories of old have left this teaching out. Something like a drudgery, this story was to learn. This story was passed down from many families of old teaching, and it tells of a place that brings to light a certain truth that falls upon the land." 

"What is this truth you speak of?"

"Gunslinger, you musn't ask those questions that pry upon me. You will not live that long to understand the meaning of these things anyway."

"Put my mind at ease with the answer to the problem."

"What will answers ease but a venturing heart? 

"That heart is what keeps me going, and keeps me alive." 

"You're own heart is what will be your downfall, Gunslinger. You are what most people loathe in this world, and that will be the thing that separates you from the real visions of the truth. The Memories are sacred to my own mind, and I shant tell you what they came from. These Memories, are my guidance, and I promise you that you wont be let down if you are to find the answers." 

"I understand that you want to keep yourself true with your answers. give me a notable lead on where I can find the Memories..." 

"Why?" Realizing that the Gunslinger just asked to be told where to go, even though he would be dead soon. 

"Because I would like to know... Do not question my logic."

"The Cemetery of Memories..." He paused for a moment, and looked down at the Doctor. "You look like you have a few things to say yourself, Doctor." 

The Doctor lifted his head, and wondered how the Man knew his name. "How do you..." He was interrupted by the man's speedy answer. 

"We know not who you are, but we have heard of you from the people of Gillia. The town said that you prolonged an execution, and commited capital crimes." 

"And who are you to judge what is a capital crime or not?"

The Man smiled and stood proud, making parallel his shoulders and chest muscles, almost as if posing for this. "I am Undrial, and I am part of the Faeruminiostea... Or, Fire Under Stars." 

"Who are the Fire Under Stars?" 

"An orginization that is for dedicated individuals. And also for taking out the Lands most wanted criminals." 

"So basically like a police force of vigilantes?" 

"Yes, but one of great mass and power. We are an army in secrecy... But we also are very abound, plentiful in our range of what we can do." 

"So what are you going to do with us right now?" The Gunslinger asked, not allowing the Doctor to get his question in. 

"My Dear Asphalon... We shall be taking you to the Land of Wearwind!"
> Chapter V - Any Color You Like...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


I


The Doctor woke up to the sound of Asphalon rattling his chains. Of course the tension between the two of them was very relieved, and they both knew it, just by looking at each other. The Doctor had his work cut out for him, and they both knew that they had to get out of the imprisonment they were in, before something bad happened. The Doctor wanted to point things out to the Gunslinger, but he knew that he wasn't in the mood for a spritely conversation at the moment. 

He lifted himself up, undermining his bruises and sharp cuts, and twisting to the side to lay down. He understood that he could not break free, and he knew that they had taken his Sonic Screwdriver, which is one thing that should never get taken. 

The Gunslinger sat up, staring blankly at the corner of the room across from him, and slowly brushing his hands across the floor. He was feeling the softness of his skin, and how it had revived itself, and the weight of himself against the floor. He was feeling the damp floor, and how it was smooth against his palms, and he needed to think. He couldn't get his mind around what he wanted to think about, he just couldn't. Then, he started to tap his chains together, trying to start a conversation in his mind. 

"Can you please stop, I am trying to sleep..." The Doctor was resting on his side, and he had gotten a bit aggrivated from the consistant tapping of the chains. 

"I am sorry, I am just thinking..."

"About what?" 

"I am thinking about you, Doctor. You can be the one who can get us out of this mess." He turned and then looked at the Doctor, right as the Doctor sat up to look at him in disbelief. 

"How am I supposed to help you if I am shackled like you?"

"Your Sonic Device, they did not take it from you... You would still have it, and be able to break those chains." 

The Doctor checked his pocket, but couldnt reach far enough to get it out, and felt the Sonic Screwdriver in his pocket. He then leaned forward to try and get the screwdriver out, but the effort was fruitless, resulting in it falling out and sliding out of his reach. . "I cant reach it, maybe if I try to stretch across the floor for it," ,he reached his hoofs out to grasp for it, but could not. "But it hurts a lot." 

"Alright Doctor, what we must do is wait... I feel that in due time that we will have this problem resolved, maybe even after we are taken to the Land of Wearwind." 

"What is Wearwind?" 

"A Land by the Mountains, where the people fear of the Drakes day by day. Its monumental castles stand gleaming the the sunlight, and plated in whiterock and snow. The Weather is heavy but cold, and the people are somewhat nice, depending on who you meet. Wearwind is one of the few places that a Gelfling can be accepted." 

"I guess then, that is somewhat a good place to have a chance to escape then..." 

"I don't think that it would be such a good idea to try and escape at the place of our doom. We must try and find little ways to break ourselves free, and also bring the demise to our captors." 

"What do you mean bring demise to our captors?"

"I mean, Doctor, that we will have to kill them to get free." 

"Trust me, there are much better ways for getting free than killing somebody (Somebody not somepony, because he knew that wasn't a term used in these Lands.) and risk being caught later anyway." 

"I do not agree that we shouldn't kill anyone, but I say that we try our hardest to break free, no matter what." 

The Doctor thought slowly, about killing and risking the life of his assistant for someone he only just met. But even though he had just met this person, he had developed a certain kind of trust that he had not felt for anyone before. "So tell me, where would they have taken Derpy?" 

"They would have taken her to the dungeons, and kept her locked up just like us." 

"If you are so important, then why am I with you, and not in a different cell...?"

The Gunslinger thought about that for a while and then answered, "Because you must have a voluble well of information that they would like to know about as well... As for me, they already know lots of things. And your precious Derpy, well... Lets just say that she wont be leaving with us, or anything of the sort." He paused, just to let the Doctor collect what he had just said. "We will have to try and rescue her, if you want to see her again..." 

The Doctor knew that now he had to listen to the Gunslinger, and he was determined to get back Derpy. "Tell me then, what would we do to go and get her?" 

"Pick... Any color you like..."

"What is that supposed to mean?" 

"Its your choice, what we do. What do you want to do, Doctor?"

The Doctor thought, and of course he was thinking to himself before he would blurt out what he wanted to do. "I think we should wait the night through, and I will have to secretly reach out and get my Sonic Screwdriver. Eventually I will have to break my chains and unlock the door, but I dont want to use the Screwdriver to unlock it, I would rather undo the chains and wait for someone to come... So then we could ambush them and steal the keys without anyone else knowing." 

The Gunslinger just shook his head and nodded, and then laid back down to sleep. The Doctor then thought to himself, about how to get Derpy out of this place. I am hoping that all will work out, I am nothing without my TARDIS at the moment, and I cant let this man be executed after all that we have done for him, even if it isn't much. He is the only one who knows how to get my TARDIS back...


II


The man strolled down the hallway, the keys jangling at his side. He strutted slowly towards the central office, and ignored the guards that were pestering him. He seemed like the kind of man who was in charge, but would play around a few times a day, a regular joker. His office was located at the centre of the middle floor of the building, which stood only 9 floors high. It was a gigantic stone structure though, and it was placard with tapestry and statues that scattered around the rooms of the domicile. 

After he reached his office, he sat down at his desk, slowly unraveling a parchment that read the days news, and troubles of the nearby townsmen. He then proceeded to turn on his computer, and make a cup of coffee. Unknowing of why these things were supplied though, the people around and himself even, never knew why these things were around them. Technology in this world had always been a mystery to them, and so had the ways of the land. 

Slowly, after a moment of his silence was calming him, a man stepped in the room, suited and cleaned. "Hello, Allan?" 

"Yes? Who enters?" 

"Its the accountant, James. I am here to see you about your stocks in the business. You are interested still, aren't you?" 

The man (now known as Allan) stood up and reached out to shake James' hand. "Ah! Yes! I am still very interested with the stock of the corporation! How are the proceedings on the site?"

"Well, I cant get into the utmost details, but I can say that they are still progressive as ever! You did well in investing with us... Of course many of us just work at the top here, not with those barbaric indigents that run the drudgery for us." 

"You say it as if you know them personally." He laughed a bit at that, grabbing his cup of coffee and sipping it. 

"Well, nobody really knows about this type of operation, Allan. You see, many of the people of the Lands, still think that we are following the orders of the Higher. Which in the case of the Corporation, we aren't. We run by our own terms, and we develop what we would call, the future." 

"I see... Go on." 

"Nobody outside of this line of work knows about what we do here, so we need to keep it that way. Besides, the people do not need to know about what we do because they need to work for us anyway! As the old terms would say, 

Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.

 I always loved that quote..."

Allan drank the last of his coffee and set it down, slowly sitting down at his keyboard and mouse. "I understand completely. But we do have some problems down at Section F-1. You see, they finally caught the one they had been looking for." 

"Ah! So the Gelfling is here at last?" 

"Well," he tapped the desk a couple of times, jarring his memory, "that's just it though. They don't think he is a Gelfling at all..." 

"If not a Gelfling, then what is he?" 

"We know not yet what he is, but we are trying to figure out. He came along with a sort of equine though..." 

James stared dully at the face of his partner. "Well, tell them to do away with the horse, it is just an animal..." 

"But it talks, and it seems to have come with a partner of the same race as well..." 

"Was it a wizards doing?" 

"No, not that we can prove... We have not had any troubles by a wizard in many an age. But we know that these two equine are not of this world, and they are very intellectual." 

"Well, just tell the blokes down at F-1 to be careful and not to undermine them. I have a meeting on F-8 to attend. I will see you at lunch time, and make sure to back up your daily files, you wont want the boss getting mad because of the e-Mail flood again..." He stepped out of the room in a hurry, slamming the door behind him. 

No... I wouldn't want it to flood again... would I...


III


The chains broke easily. 

The Doctor had reached far enough and gotten his Sonic Screwdriver from its resting position on the floor. He then proceeded to break the chains, and rest for a moment before freeing Asphalon. His sides were in pain from stretching so much, and he was sweating from working himself a little more than he was used to. Asphalon hadn't noticed that the Doctor had broke his chains yet, but had known that this plan was going to take place. 

After a few moments of the Doctor resting himself, he knew that he had to hurry up and unlock Asphalon before the guards infiltrated the room. 

"Gunslinger, wake up!" 

Asphalon shuffled himself over to face the Doctor, and saw that he had already unchained himself. "Alright! So I would presume that the plan is underway?" 

"Yes, but we have to hurry and gather a pretext to give to the guards so they can leave us be while we steal ourselves out of here." 

"Or we can just knock them out when they get in here." 

The Doctor shot a glare at him as he stood up and trotted over to him. "Trust me, this Screwdriver can unlock those doors, there isnt much to them. I changed my mind about wanting to knock them out, I feel it would be more productive to save out energy! Just let me do the thinking here, and we will be alright, Asphalon." That was the first time that the Doctor had called the Gunslinger by his real name, and it seemed strange the first time, but he would get used to it. 

Of course, Asphalon noticed this as the Doctor started to unravel his chains with the Screwdriver. "I see you have named me already..." 

"Well of course, I cant keep calling you Gunslinger, it just seems odd..." 

"Well then I just can not continue to call you Doctor. What is your real name?" 

The Doctor shuffled his hooves around the back of the chain as it snapped, making a POP sound. "I haven't got one!" He seemed to say that in a merry little voice. "I have always gone by the Doctor." 

Asphalon didn't say anything, but he understood in a sort of way that he knew what the Doctor had meant by that. 

"Hah! I guess they didn't know that I had pockets! (shuffling his Screwdriver back into his back pocket.) Those really come in handy when you are a pony! Oh right... Speaking of ponies... we need to go find Derpy before something happens." 

"I understand, wait for the guards to come then, so we can be reassured that they will not bother us again after their visit." He sat back down and pretended to struggle wrapping the chain around his hand as if he were still bonded; the Doctor did the same, except on his hooves. 

After a few moments, they both grew tired of waiting and fell into a sleep... Which of course was not a bad thing, it just meant that they would not be at the utmost ready for the guards when they popped in. 

A couple of hours passed and the sounds from outside grew to a rampaging howl, as a storm seemed to rant through the Land. The Shacks that surrounded the fort were battered with hail and rain, and the people huddled together for warmth and surity that they would not be harmed. The trees bent over backwards and ripped themselves from their own roots, belting needles of pine and straw at any other objects in the area, and the same for any other loose things. The flags were violently battered on their poles, and flung to and fro. All of the waters built up in the gutters and poured over the sides of buildings, causing annoying sounds and repeated floodings of some areas. Doors were forced open and the windowpanes slammed against the outside walls, as the people that walked outside were pelted with ice cold rain. 

Inside, it sounded like bulletfire, and a landslide of water. Of course the people of this Land were used to it, they had been here for their entire life, and they see at least one of these storms a year. Usually they arent this violent, but sometimes they get up in the ranks of being malicious. 

After a few moments of the storm reaching its pinnacle, the captain of the guards sent the patroll men down to check on the prisoners, and of course to check if Asphalon and the Doctor were not causing any problems. 

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. They pounded on the door, hoping to wake them before they came in. 

"Wake up you two! We are here to check on you!" The first guard was a very demanding man, as told by his voice. 

The Doctor was the first to wake up, and of course he was very ticked at the fact that he had fallen asleep at that moment in time. He whispered over to the Gunslinger, "Hey, Asphalon... Asphalon! Wake up! They are here!" 

Asphalon slowly woke, and of course didn't get out of his current position, for he did not want to raise any suspicious thoughts by the guards about the shackles being a tad bit off... 

The guard spoke again. "I said, is there anybody in there?!" This time a bit more angered with the unpunctuality of the two prisoners. 

"Yes yes! We are in here all fine and dandy... We just have one problem..." The Gunslinger said. 

The Guards looked at each other, because usually prisoners aren't ever supposed to complain. The second guard then spoke up, "State the nature of your dismay!" 

"The nature of my dismay? Why good fellow, that of course, would be you two bloody idiots!" He giggled a bit at that, because he could never be serious in times that needed it. And that little remark, of course, brought the two guards into the room in a heartbeat. They unlocked the door as fast as they could, and brought themselves in the room with anger. A look of kill in their eyes. 

The first guard spoke up again, "You are a elf... You have no god given right to speak to us as if you were a child of Rha... I am going to rearrange your fucking face, Gelfling..." He cracked his knuckles, as did the other guard, as they prepared to beat the Gunslinger down. Of course they were both pretty big men, and they could easily hurt Asphalon, and ruin the plan. this got the Doctor thinking... 

I told him not to fight or knock any of the guards out... but what does he do? Oh he just goes ahead and picks a fight with probably what are two of the biggest guards in the entire prison... Of course, I had to pick the thuggish and delinquent one... 

The first guard swung, a little low, but a deadly swing. The Gunslinger rolled out of the way and the guard stumbled to find his footing after missing. "Oh shit! He broke free of his chains! Get him!" 

Asphalon immediatly plunged at the man, digging his fist into his stomach and twisting it with ferocity. The man let out a short yelp, as it was soon muffled by another blow to the face. The first guard fell to the ground, as the second guard drew his nightstick and moved forward. He swung his nightstick at the Gunslinger, missing by a hair, and then backing up a bit. Asphalon then returned the favor by delivering a sweeping kick to the mans legs, bringing his body from under him as he crashed to the ground. He then plunged down onto him, his elbow digging into the mans neck with each crack... The first guard stood back up to run out of the room, but of course with Asphalon free, he didn't get far. The Gunslinger brought his leg into the guards stomach, bringing forth a few coughs of blood and muttered gibberish. The guard then colapsed to the floor, right beside his unconscious partner.  

Asphalon knelt down beside him, and slowly spoke, uttering the information out of him. "Now, I want to know, where you are keeping our other furry little friend in this here prison." 

The guard barely could speak, but he was understandable. "W-we, we are k-keeping her at F-2. You wont get p-past the guards on this floor..." He trailed off in his speak as he went unconsious from blood loss, seeing as he had massive internal bleeding from the deadly kicks that the Gunslinger had delivered. His punches came swift, almost as swift as his gunfire had, but he was still just as deadly without his weapons. And they both knew that they would need that now, because the plan was changing... And he knew that he relied on something other than killing, which that would be his sharp wits... 


IV


Allan rested himself on the couch in the lounge. 

He usually did this when he was tired during the day. but sometimes he never got to do this, he was always busy during a week, computing and fixing other peoples problems. He never really got to do things of his own. That was the problem of being a manager of an entire department. He did get special clearances though, and he knew that those did come jn handy most of the time. But this day was not a quite day, for a few moments after he sat down, a man came bursting into the room. He didn't speak, yet he just began ravishly tearing through some papers on desks for something specific. 

"Excuse me sir, but what are you looking for?" 

He did not answer, yet he continued to rummage violently through desk drawers and cabinets for something, and he then began to turn over coolers and other objects in fury because he could not find what he wanted. He was thrashing about the room like a madman in a fury because he was in distress... 

"Did you hear me? I said, what the hell are you looking for?!" This time Allan got his attention. He did not understant what the man was looking for, but he would soon know. The man turned to him, and Allan saw his face was distraught. He had been tormented by something for the past hour or two, and it was easy to read in his eyes. 

The man spoke up, "I am looking for the clearances for the D-Code." 

As Allan began to reply, he stood, "The D-Code? But why would you need the D-code? That would mean a prisoner or something has escaped..." He took a good long look at the man, but the man did not say anything, and he understood that it was automatically the Gelfling. "Alright, they are in my office, come with me if you really need them." He walked the man down the hall to his office. 

"So what is your name, good sir?" The man asked. 

"I am head of clearance section, Allan Inania. Just call me Allan." 

"I did not realize that you were head of clearance. I am Vius. I am just a lowly office worker from F-3. But they gave me the instruction to get the clearance to get the D-Code." He hung his head in shame, not knowing that he had probably insulted the head of clearance. 

"No need to feel bad about your sudden actions. We need to put a stop to those barbaric men down in F-1 that broke out. I have the perfect things." He unlocked his office door and moved over to his desk and looked through the drawer. 

"What do you mean by perfect things?" 

"Ah!" He found the clearance papers and signed them in a legible fashion, then handing them over to Vius. "And what I mean..." he knelt down, using a certain key to unlock a compartment on the floor. "is this!" 

Allan pulled out a box that weighed to him a ton, but he handed it over to Vius and shut back the compartment, then locking it. The box was a black cedar box that had enscribing of sacred messenging on it, depicting a certain type of ritual. He then opened it slowly and showed Vius what was inside. 

"But... But... Those are f-forbidden!" he backed away for a moment. 

Allan shut the box and brought it to his chest. "Yes, but if you have spoken with The Higher, then you are able to weild such a thing." 

"You have spoken with the Higher?" 

"Such a feat is not hard to achieve." He cradled the box under his arms and started to walk out the door. "Come with me, i will need you." 

"Alright... But I cannot garuntee that it will work on such a demon..." 

"No but it will work on his friends..." 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The elevator had taken them to F-1. 

The floor stunk of death, and this death was that of the ones that Asphalon had dealt so far. Allan moved swiftly through the halls, and Vius followed behind him. Right now it was a game of cat and mouse, and neither knew where the other was, but one of them was prepared. Of course they both had exeptional hearing, and the halls were quite. The Gunslinger would use this for his advantage, and so would Allan. Allan unlocked his box, and took out the contents, holding it tightly in his arms. He heard the squeaks of the mice and the dripping of the cool water onto the ground, but no footsteps. 

Vius said he would stay behind in the elevator so he wouldn't be dead weight, literally. Allan perused the halls, and used a quick process of elimination to decide which way to go to find the criminal that he wanted to kill so bad. He noticed unconscious guards as he passed by some of the rooms, and some of them were long dead. But he wanted to know where the two of those jailbirds could be hiding. The halls were more quiet than they had ever been before, and he knew this. This is why he had come up with a plan. 

He started to bang against the walls, to create a noise to draw them to him, of course with what he had on him he wasnt scared at all... 

A few halls down, The Doctor whispered, "Hey Asphalon... Do you hear that?" 

"Of course I do," He placed his hands on the wall, trying to feel the vibration of where the taps were coming from. "Something is beating against the walls. I think it might be another unlucky guard." 

"Well we have already gone through about ten or fifteen." 

"Yes, but what is one more?" 

The Doctor nodded, as long as he got to get his assistant and his TARDIS, he was fine with getting out. 

But Allan would not give up, he knew that he was dealing with intelligent criminals, and he wanted the right timed attack to take place. He snuck down the corridor and heard slight whispers, and thought to himself. Maybe if I rush them, I can go ahead and end this... And then we wont have to worry about them hurting any more of our guards...

The Gunslinger sidled around the corner, trying to not be seen, and slowly making sure his feet did best to not make any noises. he had made it almost all the way around when he heard a slight shuffle, and felt something pop his knee. 

A tranquilizer dart. 

The Doctor had been delivered the same blow, and they both collapsed onto the floor in agony, and then slowly began to fade into a deep, forced sleep. Allan spoke, "Soon, we will load you onto the caravan, and take you to the execution site at Wearwind. You will do best not to speed up the process anymore..." 

Asphalon spoke his last words before he fell asleep, "All... we-we... wanted... was D-Derpy..." And he slept...
> Chapter VI - The Tales of The Beast
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


I


It was sunny outside, and the caravan was in the middle of nowhere.

The troops marched along with the carts and wagons to make sure that nothing would happen. And of course being that the two of them had just been tranquilized, the Doctor and Asphalon were not up to the idea of trying anything. Allan had come along just for the heck of seeing them executed, and for the fact that he did not like being stuck in an office job all the time. He never really got to get out and do much, and when he did it was usually to go get groceries. But the townsmen of Wearwind were said to be adventurers, and bounty hunters. 

Of course Allan was not one of these people, he was just another lowly head of executives that ran a certain part of the corporation. And that would not keep him happy with what he wanted to do, no no, no it wouldn't. But there were many things that he still wanted to know about many things, and he always knew that he had things to learn! The world was so full of stories that were waiting to be told to people like him, and he understood this. But he wanted to make his own story know, and that is why he went out to Wearwind with the guards. 

The guards were all over the place, and they were playing with each other, not minding the fact that they had a job to do. They played things like handball, and threw footballs to each other, trying to kill the time as the long journey to Wearwind began. They weren't focused on the prisoners, and of course they weren't focused on any of the company that they brought with them, the women. The women kept them company on a three day journey that would be boring to almost any kind of man. But that was not important, because they had things to do and they cared not of the bores of endless desert until the mountains. 

Speaking of the endless deserts, they were vast indeed. They spanned miles across the Lands of Wearwind, and only the northernmost parts of the Land were inhabited by people, who spoke in the Tongue of the Sacred Beings. The travelers needed a translator, but that would be for when they got there, because they still had a desert to cross first. It was almost an unbearable heat, and the plant life was not visible anywhere. There were barely any creatures, save for the few Bantha and Yvote that scavenged the sand for scorpions at night. The winds were scorching and brought nothing but heat along with them as they traveled themselves across the lands as well... Wearwind was nothing but trouble for hundreds of miles, and that is why it is usually left alone by people who travel. But the Land is known for its plentiful riches, and its mining community. It has drills that scratch the gold ore down deep in the True Earth, bringing oils and gases along with precious gems to fuel the lights that make the city run. Its people always work with happy faces, and they are always good at what they do. The work there is plentiful, and the cities in the Wearwind lands are scattered in the mountains that shelter themselves by the seas. 

The only troubles that they have from being by the mountains, are the Drake, that also inhabit the area as well... The Drake have lived in the regions for longer than the people have thought of building houses to make warmth. this is probably why the Drakes are always so furious with the inhabitants of Wearwind making their homes in the Sacred nesting grounds of the Drakes. But the Drakes are always a threat, even though the people of the Land seem to have a dominant hold. The fire that they breathe is boiling hot, and can melt any iron crafted by any man or Elf. 

But the fears of Drakes have always been around, even without the traveling to the lands of the north. They have known to have traveled on their own down to the Southlands. People had fear of these monsters all over the True Earth. But the truth was, these creatures just wanted to be left alone, and they were more afraid of the Northerners wiping them out, then the humans were of them. 

Even at all of this, the people were still always on guard for things other than the Drakes. Many beasts roamed the deserts, and were waiting for the right moment to kill... At night the men would set up the camps away from the moonlight and behind the dunes, so the fires would keep them warm and the winds would not effect them as much. Of course they would have men on guard and patrolling the area in the case of a bandit raid or attack by unknown creatures that lurk in the night. 

All of this taken into account, Allan still went on the journey with the guards. He walked, tired and worn out, and his feet were beginning to ache. His leather pouch was carrying the only bread that he had left, and the small rations of protein bars he had brought with him. Every once in a while the guards would stop and distribute water to the travelers, (Except for the prisoners) but that was not enough. Allan was growing tired, for he was not used to this kind of sun. The cool winds of Gillia were pleasing, and the streams rushed forth to bring plentiful amounts of sparkling water. The food was great, and the homes were good as well... But of course like almost every other land that had its home in the world, the jobs were terrible. Nobody really knew why the economy was so bad, but people knew how to survive, and that was what they were always good at. The neighboring Lands, Gaimoni and Emium, were in a much better condition than the rest of the world around them, except for Red. Red was said to have had towering statues that peaked at hundreds of feet in the sky. People harnessed the suns power and sailed their ships on the sky's winds. They had boats that could submerge into the seas, and take out the beasts that plagued the waters below. Their buildings were monolithic, and they were made of metal, all of them. It was said that the land of Red was Rha's city, his design for what he wanted the world to look like. But sadly, the Lands disagreed on what they wanted, thus, war broke out. The Kha was what stood for the Rha in both Emium and Bemium, mining Lands. And the extinction of the Bemians brought about a rage in the lands, resulting in the Kha to lose his popularity. The Lands plunged into a rage, and all of this ended in war against the Elves. The Kha came up with an excuse to blame it on the Nyumphians, and thus began a mass slaughter of them. Eventually they lost, but the Elves were voted illegal in every land but two. 

Wearwind, and Thyrexia. Thyrexia was a Land on an island, west of the Elvish province of Ungol. It was a poor land, but it took into account that the Elves were master artisans, and could work to better the economy. The Elves formed an alliance with Thyrexia, and became their greatest ally. Red did not mind the accompaniment of the elves, for the elves brought forth more trade and money to their land, and woodwork that they people of Red had not yet seen before, yet it was still illegal to house them publicly in the state. 

Allan shook his head, he needed to stop zoning out and giving himself history lessons. 

He strolled over to where the guards kept the prisoners, locked up inside the main cart. He leaned in and saw the back of the Doctors mane, and then spoke. "Wakey, wakey! You know we are in the middle of nowhere (He moved forward and sat down on the edge of the cart, riding along on the side railing.) out here! Oh Gunslinger and his Doctor, what do you plan to do now?" 

Asphalon lifted his head up to gaze outside the iron bars, "Oh that must be our captor! How do you do?" 

"I am doing good... Unlike you, I am actually free to walk around!" 

"Ah! Unlike you, I am actually nice and cool inside here!" The Gunslinger smiled and sat back. 

Allan was a bit peeved at that, but he spoke on. "You still are a ball of fire, Gunslinger. What about your Doctor?" 

The Doctor raised his head and faced Allan. "Hmm? What about the Doctor?" 

"Where are you from, horse man? I heard you were a creation made by a wizards wrongdoing. Is this so?" 

The Doctor laughed outright, but reclaimed his composure and spoke, "No no no... You have it all wrong. You see, I am something that this world has probably never known to exist. I am a trans-dimensional being that wanders through time at the slightest to correct the wrongs by inserting myself at points in time that matter the most. I am what many would just call a nuisance. But I am a Time Lord..." 

"Ah, so you are telling me you are a king of time?" 

"Haha! No I am not a king of time... I am just one of my kind..." He paused for a moment. "I am the last of my kind." 

"So your race was the Time Lords?" Asphalon asked. 

"Yes, and we came from the Planet Gallifrey! A beautiful place thousands of light years and dimensions away." 

Allan spoke up again, "Are they all ponies there?"

"Oh no, this was just a... um... Accident!" 

"So, what is your name?" Asphalon asked. "If I had to reveal mine, surely you would have no trouble telling yours."

"Well! Its the Doctor."

"Doctor who?" Allan pestered.

"No, just... just the Doctor." He stopped for a moment, recollecting some thoughts. "Hey! By the way, where is Derpy?"

"Derpy?"

Asphalon spoke up as well, "Our other equine friend that was with us when we got caught." 

"Ah! She must have been taken to Giamoni! She would be miles and miles back by now. There is no way to get your Derpy." 

The Doctor frowned, and looked down at the ground, then immediately got angry. "As soon as I get out of here, I am going to kill you, get my house back, and -" 

Allan stopped him there, "Calm down Doctor. I can have Derpy arranged to be brought to the Execution with you. Of course I know that you do not want to die alone." He let off a very subtle wink, which brought questions to the Doctor. He then began to hop off the cart and walk away. 

The Doctor turned to Asphalon, "Hey, Gunslinger. Did you see that?" 

"See what?"

"He winked at us as he was walking away... He must have meant something by that." 

"Yeah, he probably got some sand in his eye Doctor. Stop dreaming and start resting. We need to be rested up for the big arrival at Wearwind. He is lying to you when he says he will get Derpy back to you." He rolled over and laid his head down on the side of the wall, slowly falling asleep. 

"Hey! Doctor." The Doctor turned his head outside the bars. 

"Who is it?" 

A young man approached the cart, slowly making his way up to the bars and onto the railing. "My name is Vius. I am in the accompaniment of Allan. I was there when he shot you with the Tranquilizer Gun, and I felt I needed to tell you some things." 

"Of course, I don't mind being told things. It always helps to know more." 

"It is about where you are going. To the Land of Red." 

"But we aren't-" 

"Quiet Doctor." He interrupted him. "I am sure that you know not what is in the Lands that are to come. That is why I am here right now. We aren't here to kill you Doctor." 

"But-" 

"I said quiet Doctor!" This time it did it for good. "I have to tell you, it was hard. We only stopped you from breaking out so that we could plan an ambush on the guards. We needed you completely safe, same with the Gelfling. He is the only one who knows the true way to the Edge Earth, and this is why he is sacred to us. We are not going to let you two die, yet we are going to let you stay here for a while. And as for your dear Derpy, she is safe and sound in another carriage here, with us. We are trying to make sure that you do not know too much Doctor, or else the guards will suspect of us, and we will have to end the plan right here and now." 

"So what is of the Lands to come?"

"Ah! The Gunslinger is trying to take you to the Gates to the East. But little does he know that those pathways are an unholy feeding ground for creatures that are hell themselves." 

"What creatures?" 

"He is speaking of the Abyssials." Asphalon leaned forward and spoke. "A wretched myth that is a tormentor of man, elf, and the dwarven of old." 

"Aye, but they be no myth, Gunslinger." 

"You and I know they are a story for folks that scare their progeny at night. A bed time story is all of the Abyssials wrath." 

The Doctor then butted in, "What are the stories?" 

"Ah! Dear Doctor, the stories are treacherous. The beast is something that is never seen, yet, it drives the insanity into the minds of meager men. The eyes of the beast are numbered in a dozen, and its face is rotten and torn from wriggling itself from a dark birthing cave. The Abyssial is said to be nothing but a black mass of flesh with eyes and fangs the size of boulders, lurking in the rocks underneath the surface of the True Earth. Its size is unfathomable, that is why they call them Abyssials, because you cannot tell whether you are staring into an abyss, or at the face of the beast." 

"Meager men? Hah..." The Gunslinger laughed. "We are not meager men. It would take a lot more than a myth to torment me. You say that you are here to rescue us?" 

"Yes, I am. And also is Allan." 

"Then speak me this. How do you plan to do this, in one of the most guarded lands in the True Earth?" 

"Trust me Gunslinger, Faeruminiostea has their ways." 

"Ah! So the Fire Under Stars isn't a renegade group after all?"

"No, we aren't as such. But we will be labeled that from time to time. I do warn you, Gunslinger. I am only freeing you so that you may live, you aren't to speak of us whatsoever after this encounter. Do you understand?" 

The Gunslinger replied with a nod, and then Vius asked the same with the Doctor, which he gave the same response as well... 

"Now you two, I am not going to give you the go ahead on your mission. I am going to warn you about the risks you take when you venture into those Lands." 

"What are all of the risks?" The Doctor asked. 

"The beasts, especially the Abyssials. You must take care of yourselves out in the Wilds. I can not bare to see a legend taken down by ravenous beasts." 

"These Abyssials, tell me more..." The Doctor stopped for a moment. "Tell me where the stories came from." 

Vius spoke as he wiped sweat off his face, "The stories are older than me, Doctor. And older than the Kha himself. We know that the stories came from weary travelers that lost their friends in the marshlands, those lands are forbidden. They were said to be the Darkest part of the True Earth, and people now know not to go venturing into the marshlands. But none know of where the beasts come from, because they are said to dwell where we can not. They are harbingers of death, and we try to avoid the lands east of Red. People before the Nyundra used to speak of a wizard, who would summon the shadows, of course to do his bidding. It was rumored that he lost control of the lot of them, and they ate him. Thus stating that they became rogue shadows, or the Abyssials that we know today. That is just a theory, but it is known as a fact that no wizard has the magic to create something from nothing. And we on this planet, Doctor, know that there are strange things that Rha himself could have made to punish the wicked." 

Asphalon leaned over, "So you still think that if it was real, it could have been our god Rha's creation? Rha himself would not dare to make such treachery." 

"How is it up to a Gelfling to decide what the god Rha makes and doesn't?" 

"It isn't, but-" 

"But nothing, Gunslinger." He stared him in the eyes. "I have many things to say, and not the time needed for it. You will listen to me now, and not interrupt me. Do you understand?" Both Asphalon and the Doctor said yes, and Vius spoke again. "There will be bandits that approach the caravan, and they are hired by the Land of Emium to destroy the Gunslinger at all costs. There is no task that we can create that will save you two, you will have to be stealthy and light on your feet if you want to escape. We will be watching from the dunes far away, and hope that you and your companions are able to safely escape. If not, I and Allan will interfere just this once, to save you. The bandits are armed with the cutlasses of Iron Ore, and pure galvanized steel. Gunslinger, I suggest you try and wretch a weapon from someone, because you fight like a champion, but these bandits are strong in numbers." 

He jumped off the cart and proceeded in scrambling across the sand. He moved atop the nearest hill of sand he saw, and stood watch above the moving cavalcade. 


II


Nighttime in the desert, a beautiful thing. 

The scouts cleared the distance between themselves and the Flakwurm, a scaled beast that pillared out of the dunes for an unlucky meal. They watched as it blindly scoured the surrounding sands for a catch. They loaded their harpoons with silver bolts, poisonous to the beast, and stood by for the go ahead. Of course they wouldn't have to wait long, the boss gave the order shortly, and the beast was assailed with sharp gaffs. The snares caught themselves into the body of the beast, and snagged it down to the ground. It was a horrific sound, enough to wake an entire city, but no one was around to hear it but the hunters. 

The Flakwurm was dead in minutes, or even within two. 

"CAPTAIN!" 

A man stepped forward with a long beard, rather long for his age. He was wearing what seemed to be a bear hide, and scale armor bracers and gauntlets paraded his body. His hair was an ashen grey, but he was a youthful man, showing signs of endeavor. He was bigger than the average man, his muscles briskly showing through his plate mail, and through his undershirt. His skin was an ashy sort of white, and peppered with scars from battle. He stood taller than most men around him, revealing his sort of leadership. 

"What is it?" He spoke, in a sort of taxing voice. 

"Well sir, there seems to have been a mishap with the deal. We found that the prisoners are being taken to a place that is not as we thought! They are being re-positioned to Wearwind, and only Rha knows why." 

"Tell me, were they being handled like the prisoners they are?" 

"Well, they seemed to keep conversation with a few active guards, or what seemed to be guards." 

"What do you mean, What seemed to be guards?"

The hunter shook his hair around with his hand, placing it on the back of his head, signaling nervousness. The Captain could tell this just by reading the body language of another person, because that was his talent. "Well sir, the men that paroled the carts that housed the prisoner, they seemed to be regular men! Not men of the Lands, but just men who had tagged along for the journey. Of course I am not saying that they did not look important, I am just saying they loo-" The Captain raised his hand and stopped him there. 

He then moved to the site above where they had just killed the Flakwurm, a peak that gazed over the field of sand. "Tell me, the time in which it would take our forces to reach this caravan of the law." 

"A good seven hours, sir." 

"Then lets get to it! Why are we standing around when the seven hours are not making themselves! Get down there and tell the men that there are plenty of Flakwurm in the sea, we need catch only one of these criminals to be rich..." 


III


"What have you learned about the beasts in the seas?" 

"Oh gunslinger, you ask too many questions. But I shouldn't hold you from what you want to know." Vius spoke softly. 

It was night, and a cold night at that. The moons hung low in their bed, and the stars were newly light candles. The sands slowly shifted across themselves, and the wind whistled with them, howling slowly to the sadness of the night. The pathway was bogged down with dunes that crept up and down from occasionally strong gusts of winds that would push a little extra sand than usual, and bring it into a pile. The lanterns were really the only company to the people that were on the road at the moment, and these they had to carry themselves, because a night in the desert is a dark one. But the caravan carried many of these lanterns, and so they had the light necessary to stay on the right path. Of course the people that wanted to sleep would be bothered by this problem, the excessive amount of light that saturated the dark. They usually stayed up in case of a Flakwurm attack, but those were very unusual when a group of people were around. 

"I wish to know about the tales of the beast, the ones that haunt the sailors to their land." Asphalon asked. 

"Ah! So the beast of the waters of Thyrexia? A serpent by the name of Sāgara sarpa, he is said to have eyes that pierce the dark veil of night and illuminate the depths of the murk, and can kill anything they lay gaze upon. Their size is said to be that of a small island, but of course they can move with the speed of a lightning bolt. They are always on the move, and that is why you do not see them." 

The Doctor tapped on the side of the cart to draw attention to himself. "Excuse me, but if they are never seen, and it is said that they are so fast to not be seen, maybe the sailors are sinking by accident?" 

"Nay Doctor, nay." Vius spoke. "There have been sightings of the creature, of course it is rare (He did just say to them that you don't see them) to see them, and someone has. It was a while ago... A captain took his crew out towards the Thyrexia area, and lo and behold, the beast struck. It broke his ship in two, killing almost his entire crew, and what was left went insane. The captain only lived to tell the tale with tact." 

"I doubt fully that he is telling all the truth." Asphalon spoke. 

"Surely there is some reasonable explanation for what is going on, and a sea serpent is not the culprit to your wreckage's in the sea." The Doctor added. 

"Well of course there are many other beasts that you would need to know about if you are crossing the lands of our lord. Oh don't forget to take into account the wild Shveaks, or the Coyotes. Even the Jantu are dangerous here. All of them with the reputation of killing travelers, and of course that is what you are." 

"We are not the average traveler, and I am not the average person. I am still a gunslinger, do not forget my heritage." 

"Oh trust me, I wont, Gelfling." 

Vius bundled himself up in a double breasted overcoat that was layered and of course lined on the inside. He wrapped a scarf around his neck, and the cold air was now at the least, noticeable. He then proceeded to move to the supply cart, and grab a few warm blankets for the two prisoners, having to argue with the guards first about whether or not it was alright to give the prisoners a blanket. Of course Vius was just being nice, that is what he intended, and that is also what Allan intended, being that they both wanted to get the two companions out of the prison they were in. 

"Here you two, these will keep you warm for the night." He handed out the two wool blankets (Of course they don't have sheep, so in these parts, the animal of choice is the Rhiodoron. A vicious creature with long fangs, but a wool coat that drapes down across their body in multiple color fashions depending on the gender. They usually migrate based on the climate or supply in their feeding grounds, and they travel in packs of no less than 10.) to the both of them, and continued to speak. "We have a long night ahead of us, and we need to be careful as travelers, for we are about to enter The Silmarillion. You two really need to sleep, the storms shall be upon us soon." 

"Wait, wait... You said the Silmarillion? But that's.." The doctor faded out. 

"Yes, it is a storm from which no creature returns. It is said to bring about the strangest of dreams, those of the darkest fates, and atrocious worlds." 

"A storm you say? Tell me, has anyone ever survived this storm?" Asphalon said.

"Of course!" He spritely said back, "Deaths In the storm are rare! It is just that when it does catch you, you cannot live. But everyone experiences the dreams." 

The Doctor spoke up, "You said something earlier about a renegade group of bandits. Tell me, who are they?" 

"Well..." He was stopped, Allan walked up beside him and tapped him on the shoulder, then looked at the doctor. 

Allan spoke up from behind, "We mustn't stay here for longer, Vius. It is time we go, they are here, after the travel they have undergone. The guards are unknowing yet, but they will know when the fight begins." He turned to the Gunslinger. "Be ready, but also, try and get your rest. You are going to need it soon, I promise you both this." 

He jumped down, as did Vius, from the carriage, and walked out to the nearest slope in the sand. They then left the Gunslinger and the Doctor to sleep. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What do you think they will do once they are under the siege?" 

Allan responded, "I think that Asphalon will release his hate for the Bandit kind, and of course, stop at nothing to break free. He is in fact, a Gelfling with a knack for killing." 

"Will they make it to Red?" 

Allan stared at the sky for a moment, picking and choosing the constellations and stars he wished to see. He then looked back at Vius. "Boy, look at these eyes. They have seen so many things, and of course they shall run out of the power that fuels them soon. I am close to death, and the days of this seer are over. But I shall soothsay you this, he will make it much farther than the Land of Red. And what he finds past that, I know not. But if it be the stories of the beasts that come to pass, and they face the Abyssials, then their quest is fruitless. Those beasts that lurk in the dark swamps, the terrors that haunt the minds of travelers, they will have difficulties." 

"How so? A difficulty? Those beasts are more than you could think of, Allan. I know not what they are capable of, and we know that they stand in between the destiny of the Gelfling, and the others who seek the Edge Earth." 

"It will be difficult because of the doubt that the Doctor has. He is not knowing of the world we are in today, and that is how you can tell that he is different from the other travelers. He is not from this Earth." 

"The Doctor?" Vius turned and shot a quick glance over to the moving cart that held the equine. "What effect does he have upon the quest?" 

"He is the independent variable." 

"Yes... I see... So it seems that he is ever changing to the course of the quest. And the fixed point would be the Gelfling. Understandable, to a degree." 

"Still, he mustn't be harmed, it would be a disaster that the Time Lord be lost." 

Vius turned his head back to the moving cavalcade, slowly watching as the carts moved on by. "Time Lord... Rha shall watch over you with vigilance dear Doctor..." 

BOOOOM!!! 

It shattered the air, and the ground when it hit. The cannonball smacked just feet away from where the Doctors carriage was, and shook the surrounding area. It awoke Asphalon in a blur, and he tried to connect the dots immediately about what happened. The Doctor swung up in a fury, and instantly tried to break his chains. They were both trying to break out, as the sound of more cannonballs being fired could be heard all around. 

BOOOOM!!! BOOOOM!!! BOOOOM!!! Riveting the air around them. 

Vius and Allan ran and ducked for cover, trying to find the safest route to get to the other side of the carriages, They swerved from side to side, running and dodging in a bee line, and tried to serpentine to not get hit by bulletfire. 

That's right... Bulletfire. The bandits carried as many guns as they could, and all of the carriage knew this, they were helpless. Those killing machines now rested in the hands of ruthless men, that had little to no care about what happens to the innocent, and are of course, walking death. It was still a sinecure, for them at least, but they released the pain and pressure inside themselves onto the people at the other ends of their guns. The bullets bounced about the desert floor, and drowned out the sounds of the screams mixed with cries. The slowly moved down the dunes, and continued the barrage of bullets onto the guards below. The guards, as for themselves, they dropped one by one, blood flying in every direction possible. The guts of one ended up on the face of another. And after a swift moment, the gunfire stopped. 

"Vius, Vius my Boy!" Allan whispered. "Put the blood on yourself, rub it on your body, permeate your clothing, and make sure you play at the best, dead..." Vius just nodded, and proceeded to do as Allan had said. 

The bandits stopped, almost as if they were synchronized to each other, controlled by something. But it was not that, it was just that they were used to killing this way, and the Captain had trained them well. 

Speaking of the captain, he moved through the sand slowly, glancing around at all of the dead guards, laying about in expressed positions. He closed his eyes and began to sense for the ones whom he saught. The Dreamer and the Doctor both in the same carriage, brilliant. As he took steps closer, he ordered his guards to check for any surviving guards, and kill them of they breathed. The Captain walked up to the opening in the cart, and stared into it. 

"Asphalon... Come out you filthy injun. I wish to see your face." 

The gunslinger rose up and met the mans eyes with his own. "Insult me? I would kill you if I were out of these chains you twat!" He seemed a bit enraged, fr doctor could only just think that. But of course, innocent guards have been slain because of him. "Why do you wish this audience with me? Who are you?"

"Hahahaha! I am Captain Vjorn, of the land of Bemium. Raised a royals son, but of course this is what politics can do to a just man. I was next in line for the throne of my Kingdom, and seeing the injustice that my father let wreak the land, I became a vagabond, a sort of vigilante if you will."

"A royals son, turned a vigilante? Strange.... Why would you want me, Captain?" 

The captain took a seat on a barrel that had been rolled out for him, and he laid down his arms and hat, and relaxed himself. "The pay for someone so valuable as yourself is great, Gunslinger. You are a very important person. It is rare to see a Gelfling of your stature, and of course with your skills. We would not want you to break free, and use those skills against us..." He signaled for his assistant. "Bring me the bonds, they will be shackled around the prisoner. As for the horse, he will be tied with the rope." 

The Doctor spoke up, "Excuse me captain, but tell me, if I am able to ask. Where did you get the knowledge of this mans name?" 

"Everyone knows who Asphalon is... He is born of the witch. She was infamous of escaping crimes she had committed, and he was born of incestuous deeds." 

"THOSE ARE LIES!!!" The Gunslinger shouted out, almost as if he was a beast. 

"You are nothing but a pitiful animal, Asphalon." The Captain continued. "And a rabid one at that. You will be treated like any other rabid animal would be treated, you shall be put down. It is your time." 

"What about me and my assistant?" The Doctor asked. 

"Assistant?" The Captain looked over to his servants. "Do you know of any assistant?" 

The servants scrambled around to look for any evidence of another horse and or assistant, trying to get an answer for their captain. They of course, returned with the answer, no. 

"I am sorry, Doctor. But we know nothing of your assistant. We really do not need you actually, and I know that you have just been another victim tricked by Asphalon's lies. We shall set you free on one agreement." 

"What would that be?" The Doctor then thought to himself. I really cannot trust them, but if I get free, I might have a chance to save the Gunslinger and find Derpy. I just have to wait for the right moment...

He smiled, reaching into his pocket and lighting a cigar. The smoke rushed up through the air and to his face, breaking the view between them. The smell was an ashy oak, of a simple tree. And the dim lighting of the embers inside, the nicotine chars dripping off the end. "Dear Doctor, you are not allowed to follow us whatsoever. I shall tell you what direction to go in... and you will listen. Wont you?" 

I cant... 

"Will it be fast?" The Doctor asked.

"Hey? Are you on their side, or were you working with them all along?" Asphalon asked. 

The Doctor turned to him, winking his eye, and of course this let out a small grin in the Gunslinger, which then faded away. He couldn't let the Captain see that they were plotting something. But the Doctor knew that the Captain still suspected something, and this is why he had to go get Derpy and get out as soon as he could. The captain ordered his guards to free the Doctor after he agreed to not help Asphalon any further in his plans. The carriage was opened and the Time Lord released, gently set on the ground, and let on his way. The equine then proceeded to take his leave of the situation. 

"Remember Doctor! Do not come back, or you and your assistant will be the target of me and my men! For as long as we live!" 

The Doctor took this into account, but he knew that he had to help the Gunslinger, because only the gunslinger knew how to get to the Edge Earth and get the TARDIS back. Of course there are still many things that the Doctor and his friends would have to do to get there, but there was still the fact he needed to get his assistant free from one of these carriages. One after the next he looked inside, and of course he didn't like what he saw. Dead guards, just a repetition of the nonstop bodies that was showing in his mind, and he was afraid that he would find Derpy's body in one of those, just laying there, so innocent. Of course there was just nothing but guards though, and they were mauled, just the goriest of injuries, impaled and eviscerated. So many things could go wrong with the body, and the bodies were roasted or charred, skinned and boiled, everything was wrong with them. The carriages themselves were torn to shreds, like a tornado had come through, or a Star Whale had landed in the area, and the off-cast of wind had blown through.

Through a wreckage of iron cages, the Doctor spotted an untouched cart. The unscathed wood and iron, the locked door, and quiet sounds were a soothing sight to the Doctors eyes, but of course he had no reassurance that this was the cart that held Derpy, nor any reassurance she was even here. He approached the cart with care, and soundness. He removed his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, and set it to setting 42. He opens the cage, and of course as soon as he uses the screwdriver, without his word, he can hear the exiting voice of the pegasus pony. "Is that you Doctor?!" 

In an upbeat voice, the dusky brown earth pony answered, "Oh! You know it is, Derpy! Now, let me get you out of there! Hold on!" 

In a short click of the screwdriver, the bolts on the door opened, revealing a very tired and beaten Derpy. The facial expression on the Doctor changed immediately. 

"What did they do to you?" 

"Oh, well... they tried to get information..." 

"It should have never come to this..." He turned his back to her, and she could see the tears. The tears just coming down his face. Her wounds were not the worst, and of course she wasn't in the worst of pain. But there was the fact that she had gotten hurt was just enough for the Doctor to be upset. He had never wanted any of his assistants to get hurt. He was thinking of the other times that he had to bring them back home because of the bad things that happened to them, of course that was when he was a human, like these monsters here. Everything here though, is just so superstitious, and evil. They are probably just trying to protect themselves from all of the monsters and all of the wars, but he knew this time that they had crossed the line. His own assistant, and he couldn't forgive anyone for hurting his assistant, not even himself. 

"Derpy, tell me what they did to you." 

"They were always asking about who I had come with, but I knew they had known. They were just asking to see if I had known where we were going, I think... And when I didn't tell them, they would just beat me. I was so scared Doctor... I didn't know what to do but I knew that you would get me out somehow. I heard that they were moving some prisoners to be executed, and I immediately thought that you were one of the criminals. They questioned me on what you and I were, and why we were here and where we are from. I couldn't tell them anything about you, and I really told them only a little about me, but they thought I was lying. So they just continued to hurt me, oh Doctor that is all they did, these people. They did feed me though, and they tried to make it convenient enough for me to live inside there. The few days I was there, I understood how things were, they let me out, and I enjoyed the city life."

"They let you out!?" 

"Well of course! They let me go look at the shops, and eat at the wonderful restaurants at the Gaimonian court. And then they let me stay in a real bed! Oh Doctor the zoos were wonderful! But still, it was scary being hurt like this, and the pain..." 

"Don't worry Derpy, I know how you feel. But I have something to ask of you right now." 

She stepped out of the cart, and stood up beside the Doctor, all four hooves operable. "Anything, Doctor." 

He smiled, then sliding his screwdriver back into his pocket. "We need to help The Gunslinger. Those bandits that just attacked the caravan and killed all the guards have taken him, and are about the do the same to him. We need to come up with a plan to get him out of there." 

"Doctor!!!" A voice called from a short distance away. It then repeated after the Doctor did not answer, and this time louder. "Doctor!!!"

"Who is it?" 

Two people appeared over the dune, and it appeared that it was the two who had informed him about the attack. Vius and Allan. They were still alive, and of course they could be helpful in getting the Gunslinger out. And they had the same thought as the Doctor. They ran down the sandy hill and met with the two equines. "Are you two alright, are you hurt?" 

"Doctor, who are these two?" Derpy asked. 

"Ah! Great question. They are the two who warned me and the Gunslinger about the bandits who were going to attack the caravan. Of course we stayed safe, and they stayed safe as well..." 

Vius continued, "Doctor, they have taken Asphalon. We need to hurry and go get him back! He is the key to this master plan. The Higher of Wearwind will use his knowledge to find the path to get to the Edge Earth!" 

"I was just about to ask you to help me go and get him back... He needs to help me get to the Edge Earth! I lost my home... and me and my assistant need to get it b-" Derpy immediately interrupted him, asking questions like usual. 

"Where have they taken him? And how are we supposed to get there if we don't have anything to travel with?" 

Allan answered her question with a grin. "We walk, and we will be walking a long while. We will have to stay out of sight from the bandits, and make sure that we do not get spotted by any beasts out in the wild." 

"B-b-beasts? W-what kind of b-beasts?" Derpy said stuttering. 

"Oh just the usual... Agradons, and Shveaks, and Matra, Nuberia, maybe some Jantu. All of those horrid creatures. Oh and mind the Flakwurms, they have entire fields of nesting grounds and feeding grounds." Vius was trying to scare Derpy a bit, of course it was working. 

"Stop it Vius, we need their confidence..." 

"Sorry Allan..." 

The Doctor then spoke up, "We need to hurry and leave, Wearwind is not too far away, the Caravan did bring us quite a distance." 

"This is true Doctor...," Allan spoke, "We need to leave in the next thirty minutes, so both of you need to hurry up and gather supplies. Go out and look for as much food as you can! Gather clothes and water, and weapons in case of emergency. We need everything we can carry..." 

Allan and Vius both trudged off to get their own supplies, as the Doctor and Derpy did theirs. But something still haunted the Doctors mind, in the center of it. Something still still sat there and made him wonder about the journey ahead. The Doctor was still thinking about what was ahead if they did succeed, the Beasts. The stories of those things... the tales of those monsters that had no true origin, the things that dwelt in the deep... Everything that would happen later in the journey, the Doctor knew that he had to keep Derpy safe, and he knew that it would be hard with what was ahead. What was ahead? Oh he knew, but he also had no idea at the same time... The creature couldn't be described with the words, or any imagination that could be used. 

The Doctor knew that something would happen later or even sooner than he would want it to, and it would occur at random. Some things are going to happen, and he knew this. It was his Time Lord instinct, and he felt it inside of him that he was feeling those beasts were drawing nearer... The monsters that kept home in the abyss...