> Man of Words
>  by The Shade
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Answer us.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

He sat on a rock, his eyes scanning the landscape. All was silent.
Almost.

To his left, the near silent breathing of a purple Alicorn was heard.
"It wasn't always like this." She said, looking on the desolate landscape that once was Equestria.
"Before the sister's fall, the land was covered in flourished green fields, great cities dotted the maps." the man remained silent.
"I understand why you refuse to talk to me, you have all right, considering what I've done." 

A few moments of silence passed the two beings, the land was crackled and sickly white, stretching on for miles upon miles, in the distance there was a formation of rocks, looking much like the Alicorn to his left.
"I move the stars and moon, for what? My ponies are... Gone, my friends, all of them." she said, as if it wasn't obvious for the man next to her.

The man looked at her for the first time today, he tore his gaze from the purple pony to the ground, with his finger he wrote a small message, "I know." it said.
She blinked, then looked to the sky.

"I know you won't, but... If you did not fear the consequences, would you bring the world back to how it was? Before the Fall?" her voice did not carry much hope, if any at all.
The man shook his head, letting his gaze tell his words, you brought this upon yourself they read, at least Twilight thought so, he was always hard to read.

"There's only the two of us," she noted absently, her eyes drawn to the horizon.
A nod was her only answer.
He got up and started walking, the heavy leather boots loudly impacting the ground beneath him as his cloak idly blew, even though there was no breeze.

Twilight got up on her hooves and trotted next to him.
"I always wondered why you seemed so distant to me at first, before... This, before the rift happened," Twilight looked at the man.
"I... Guess I understand now, I remember you telling me, that if you have nothing to lose, it won't hurt you as much." She sighed and found sudden interest in her hooves.

"I can't blame you... It hurts though, knowing that you never experienced friendship, and you now most likely never will."
They continued their walk, passing little but more sick ground and a few stray rocks.
The sun slowly moved across the sky, no clouds was present in the sky.
"It also hurts knowing, that I did this to you."

Hours passed as they walked in silence, the blonde hair of the man showing slightly underneath his white cloak.
"I... I guess the reason i'm following you is, well..." she stopped her sentence and merely sighed, "I guess it's because you're the only one I can talk to, even though it's very much one-sided." 
The man stopped, and a strong breeze flew them by, suddenly, there was rocks around them, the man sat down, the Alicorn followed suit.

"You don't have a name, do you?" silence greeted her.
"Figured as much."
Then, he was gone.

There was no footprints leading up to where he once sat, no signs that his presence ever was, except for in her memory.
I wounder, if he's even real... It made sense to her, she could have become so lonely that she made imaginary friends.
Not like there's anypony to judge me if I did.
She got up from the rock formation and started walking. She could feel something missing though, the presence of another being.
"He's not with me, but... If he's real, he will be."
The moon slowly crept over the horizon, Twilight's horn glowing.
Then, there he was.

He said naught a word, and without the flapping of his cloak in this place desolate of sound, Twilight would never have noticed him.
She didn't bother turning around, she just sat down on her haunches and watched the moon ascend.
Then, she heard a page turn.

With speed matching that of a Griffin she turned around, and was staring wide-eyed at the man whom was reading some kind of book.
Metro 2033 read the title, under her curious gaze, he dropped the book.
Then, he was gone.

Carefully picking the worn book up with her magic, she flipped it open, there on the first page it said, "Owned by Nickolaij Kadgenzkia." Notes had been scribbled around the normally blank page, but nothing she could understand.
Flipping through the pages, she saw that it was written in some language she couldn't even comprehend, at the last page however, there was one thing that caught her eye.
Happy birthday, brother. 

Twilight carefully put the book back where he had dropped it, and waited.
Days went by, weeks passed in a blur and months vanished. She did not move.
Then, he was there.

However, there was another being with him, a white Alicorn.
Twilight said nothing, Celestia spoke.
"My faithful student, my equal, and finally my own teacher, Queen Twilight Sparkle" she said, "Do not blame yourself for what happened, time consumes us all." with that, she was gone.

The purple Alicorn finally laughed.
"That settles it, I've snapped."
The man remained silent, slowly walking next to her as she trotted on the dead ground.
Then, she felt something warm on her back.
Recoiling in surprise, she saw the man stand next to her as usual, nothing was different.
Craning her neck, she saw a cloak on her back, a cloak white as pearls.
The man opened his mouth, and a sound came out.
"I forgive you." he finally said.
Then, he was gone.