Who would have thought that the life of a merchant would be so difficult yet so fulfilling at the same time. Now I venture forth as this world's Indiana Jones/Tomb Raider/Unknown Arab Merchant from Aladdin. Strictly HiE.
Who would have thought that the life of a merchant would be so difficult yet so fulfilling at the same time. That is...
If you were the same kind of merchant as I was.
Here I am, transported to another world and promoted by a higher entity from being an ordinary human, to an immortal merchant/collector. I was also tasked with the duty of finding what seems to be an infinite amount of legendary artifacts and weapons to prevent this world's inhabitants from using them for ill purposes, as well as, try to keep the balance as steady as it can get.
But in this world, where magic, mythology, and all kinds of other weird stuff are practically the norm, I think that would be a wee bit difficult.
Author's Notes Multiple crossovers with elements taken from them. Mostly from Dota 2. Constructive criticism is immensely appreciated. I have no bloody idea what drove me to write this. Temporary cover art is temporary. Will be really slow with updates due to life and a brick wall labeled 'writer's block'.
* February 9 2015 * Sorta fixed and edited Chapters 1 and 2 after I got comments on mistakes and stuff. Big thanks to Dark Nebula and Minalkra for the help.
"The stars are brighter than usual tonight..." I said to myself, as I stared up into the night sky sitting cross-legged on the grass, while leaning against a tree. For some reason on this particular evening, the stars were shining so bright, it was as if someone took each and every one of them, and polished them thoroughly before placing them back into the sky again. Although in a world like this, that could have very well been the case.
"Wouldn't you agree?" I asked rhetorically, looking at the mass of cloaked ponies and griffons who laid on the ground, groaning in pain, weapons that they had once used to threaten me with, now laid strewn about or broken into pieces courtesy of yours truly.
I sighed to myself as I stood up, dusting my hands on my pants and scratched lightly at my short, dark green hair. Odd choice for a hair color wasn't it? Looking around the clearing that held, the now wrecked, bandit camp, I started to search the tents for something in particular, and in no time at all I found it. No seriously, I entered one tent and it was literally placed on the damn table like it was nobody's business.
Radiant Blade.
Idiots the lot of them, to merely disregard this artifact as simply a mere object and focus on money, not even thinking of whether it was valuable or not. Although that fact could be consider a blessing in disguise, there stupidity was nothing short of mind-blowing.
I held the glowing blade up, admiring the way it seemed to hum with energy, before I carefully wrapped it with a cloth, and slung it over my back. Now all I needed to do was find the Dire Hilt, and I was good to go. I was about to leave when I felt something nudge my leg. Looking down, I saw that it was a small grey wolf cub, one that I was very familiar with. I knelt down and picked him up so that the both of us could see each other eye-to-eye
"Hey there, Fenrir," I said to him. "You got somethin' for me?"
A series of barks and growls was the response I received.
"Hmm, so Luna's back, huh?" That would explain why the night seemed fancier than usual. "No surprise there, any other major news?"
Fenrir shook his head in negative, and let out a bark.
"I see, well thanks for the info," I said to him, as I placed him back on the ground and stood up. "Keep an ear out for me, alright?"
He raised his little left paw to his head, giving me a mock salute, momentarily making my chest cringe at how adorable he looked, before he placed it back down and looked up at me expectantly.
I rolled my eyes at this, and threw a random doggy treat from my pouch into the air, where it disappeared into the gaping maw of Fenrir, who happily munched on the crunchy treat. After he finished, he barked at me and ran out the tent, outside onto the clearing .
"Be careful!" I shouted after Fenrir as he disappeared completely into the woods, the shadows of the night ominously cloaking him.
I really hoped he heard that last warning, mainly because I had to save his hide last time when he provoked a pack of timber wolves. For some reason, even with the two kinds being mostly similar, they were always at odds no matter what the case.
Wolf goes to cave. It sees Timber Wolf passing by. Pounce and attack cause it looked at its cave funny.
I walked out of the tent when I noticed that the bandits were still on the ground, still groaning in pain. I snorted to myself as I walked past them, bandits these days aren't quite what they used to be. I stopped just right at the edge of the clearing and took one long look at the night sky, the stars twinkling brightly.
'Things are gonna start to get hectic around here,' I smirked at this thought. 'Just the way I like it.'
Adjusting the wrapped blade slung over my back, I walked deeper into the woods, heading towards my own campsite. To be honest it wasn't that far, and the fact that my camp was close to another camp, filled with bandits at that, which also held a legendary artifact in its threshold was mere coincidence. Definitely didn't spend an entire month searching for even the faintest of rumors as to its whereabouts...
Yep, that's my story and I'm sticking with it.
Moments Later
I leaned back on the wooden chair as I casually sipped my freshly brewed emerald tea. Sighing in content, I stood up from my chair and went straight to my workshop, the, still wrapped, Radiant Blade held in my hands. My workshop in actuality isn't really a workshop, It was just a section of the large tent I had where I dumped all of my crafting equipment and restored broken artifacts and weapons, whether they be legendary, like the Demon Edge for example, or something rather common, a fork for instance.
Removing the cloth, I placed the blade on a stand, which made it seem rather out of place due to its incomplete form. But that shall be rectified, as soon as I find its hilt, The Dire Hilt to be precise.
'But where the hell do I start looking for it?' I thought to myself as I paced around the workshop, glancing curiously at the map that was plastered on a wooden board, multiple red X's marking several locations. My eyes danced across the immensely detailed diagram, until they were glued to a particular spot, which caused me to grin to myself.
'Well this would prove to be hilariously interesting,' I inwardly smirked at this, my mind racing with numerous scenarios. 'Now is as good time as any, I suppose.'
As I took a small sip of my tea, I raised my other hand towards a quill and lightly focused on it, feeling vaguely satisfied when they both glowed a gentle, forest green. Levitating the quill towards the map, I marked 'White Tail Woods' with an X, and circled another location. A location which would most likely be a perfect source of strange artifacts, considering the current timeline. I levitated the quill back into its ink pot and turned away from the map, finishing the rest of the tea as I walked away to get a good night's rest.
When the morning light struck my face, I somehow felt that Celestia knew that I was here. After all, how the bloody hell can the damn sun rays get past the makeshift curtains of my tent and hit me directly in my right eye. Lightly cursing Celestia and her sun, I got up groggily from my bed and yawned, rather loudly at that, as I went to prepare myself for my eventual departure to Ponyville.
Heading outside, I went to the nearby stream where I washed my face and rinsed my mouth, gargling it a little, before spitting it out on the grass next to me. I got up from my kneeling position and went back inside to change into my travel wear.
Moments Later
I stared at my reflection, giving my outfit another once over, making sure that I looked somewhat presentable to the public. It wasn't anything extravagant really, a leaf green cotton vest worn over, a black long sleeved shirt, brown cargo shorts, that had several pockets and ended somewhere below my knees, a pair of brown boots, when if scrutinized closely seemed to slightly glow green, and a dark brown hooded cloak. A rucksack that hung from my left shoulder and ended at my right hip, and a purple armlet on my right arm finished up my apparel.
I nodded at my appearance, satisfied, and spun around to face the exit, making sure that my cloak dramatically swished through the air as I walked out. Once I stood outside, I looked at the tiny tent and quietly mused at the wonders that is magic and sorcery. I focused a certain energy around my hand and snapped my fingers. Almost instantly, a green glow surrounded the tent, where it quickly wrapped itself up into a roll, and flew over to me, or more specifically, my rucksack, which also glowed green and allowed a small opening where the rolled-up tent squeezed into.
With the packing finished, I looked across the, now bare, clearing and closed my eyes, focusing intently. With the image and location pictured in my mind, I felt a strange pull towards that direction and teleported.
3rd POV
Zecora sighed to herself dejectedly, as she pawed on the ground, the golden rings around her hoof clinking against each other as she did. She looked around the surrounding area, her eyes concealed within the hood of the dusty cloak she wore. The streets which were once filled with bustling ponies and shops were all gone. The moment she had entered the town, ponies and shops, left and right, started disappearing into their houses or closing their shops and then rushing away in terror, no doubt in prejudiced fear to seeing one that is not a pony.
Depressed at another day of being treated like an outcast by ponies, She began to make her way back to her home, in the Everfree Forest.
'Maybe I should consider moving to someplace else?' She thought to herself. 'Appleloosa seems like a ni-.'
That train of thought was immediately halted, as her body went into a state of momentary shock. The reason? A store, if the 'Open' sign that hung on its door was any indication. She had been going in and out of Ponyville for the past month, by now practically knowing the paths by heart, and she was quite sure that there was never a store in this lot, nor was there a building in the first place. However all that didn't matter. What did matter though was the fact that there was an open shop, after what seemed like weeks of searching and wishful thinking. Shaking her head to physically throw away the shock, she searched the structure of the store for it's name. She found it to be on the tip of the shop's roof in the form of a red flag with golden text.
The Secret Shop.
'The Secret Shop?' She mouthed with confusion and incredulity. "Why would somepony name their store 'The Secret Shop' when it was out in the open?"
Regardless of this, She made her way into this odd store, the doorbell jingling when the door hit them as she opened it. What she saw before her, was nothing short of breathtaking.
Somehow, the outer structure of the building itself seemed so small but the moment she entered, It was enormous. The interior looked nothing like one would expect a typical store would be. No, this one seemed more like a mixture of a shop, a museum, a library and a tower, considering that the ceiling of the shop seemed to stretch all the way up into the heavens. She looked around some more to find several objects in display, some inside glass containers, some displayed openly. She walked around the 'store', still in awe, when she felt something draw her attention. No, not draw, more like pull her towards it. It was an odd looking scepter, well considering the store she supposed it had to be odd. It's main body was that of a solid gold color with brown wraps coiled around it's handle, obviously for comfort. It had intricate markings on its tip which was shaped like a trident or a claw, but what really drew her interest was the blue crystal perched on it.
Now that she was close to it, the pulling urge seemed to decrease but with this came a new feeling. Power. Power so intense that she could practically feel it roll off the scepter, and enter her very being. Intoxicating her with strength she had never felt before.
"YeSsSs... GiVe In... TaKe Me WiThIn YoUr GrAsP..."
Her eyes glazed over as she felt her hoof rise up towards the glass container that held the scepter, with thoughts of wielding it clearly resound within her mind.
"YeSsSs... YESSSSSS!!!"
But she stopped, a hoof almost barely touching the glass. She stared at the staff in fear, which was clearly not just an ordinary staff. The whispers in her mind seemed to get louder the moment she had regained conscious control of her actions, a headache now accompanying the mysterious voice.
"NOOOOOO!!! TAKE ME!!! TAKE ME AND DESTROY ALL THOSE WHO OPPOSE YOU!!! TAKE ME!!!"
The whispers soon ascended to demonic shouts of anger further worsening her headaches, as she shook her head furiously in an attempt to dissuade the voices. With frightened eyes and the voices still resounding within her mind, she backed away from the staff in horror, her legs shaking uncontrollably with every step she took. She would've continued to backpedal had she not felt something bump into her rear. Almost immediately, the voices in her mind, the intense feeling of fear as well as the headache, suddenly vanished as if they were never there in the first place, leaving only exhaustion in it's wake.
Now that she could think clearly, she noted that the shadow that loomed over her from behind was not a shape of a pony, n.or was it a shape of any structure she was familiar with. Hesitating for a brief moment, she looked up and gazed into the grinning visage of a creature she had never before seen in her life. Looking back onto this memory, she idly noted that it looked similar to an ape.
"Hello~." It spoke in a, slightly deep, masculine and jovial tune.
The situation proved to be too much for her as she felt the shock and exhaustion finally catch up to her. Tipping over to the side slightly, her eyes slowly closed and she felt gravity take its course. She briefly wondered why she didn't feel herself hit the floor, before darkness took over her
???? POV
I blinked at the unconscious cloaked zebra in my arms, and couldn't help but chuckle slightly to myself.
'Wow, first day here in Ponyville and this happens,' I thought to myself as I stood up from my previous knelt position and carried the zebra into one of the various guest rooms scattered about my shop. Things are only about to get more interesting from this point.
Zecora felt herself coming to, a groan escaping her lips as her eyes fluttered open, the world around her still slightly blurry. As she focused her vision, her surroundings becoming a bit clearer, the first thing that she had noticed was that she was not lying on the floor. Rather she was on a bed, staring up into the ceiling.
‘A ceiling?’ Zecora thought in confusion, slowly rolling off the bed to properly stand on all fours. From what she had seen when she entered this shop, the ceiling was supposed to be extremely high up, bordering up to almost two towers high. On that note, how was it possible that the shop which from the outside didn't look at all any bigger than a simple one story house, but in the inside it could very well rival a castle with its sheer size.
“Ah, I see that you have finally awaken, my striped friend,” A voice, similar to that of the one she heard before fainting. “I was beginning to worry about your state of mind.”
Zecora turned her head towards the direction of the voice, to find that it was the same creature that she had last seen. Looking at it carefully, she deduced that this was one of the strangest creatures she had ever seen. For one, it towered over her almost twice the size of a regular pony. It stood on its hind legs like a minotaur and had hands like a diamond dog, but that was were the similarities between them ended. Instead of hooves, it had claw-like feet with the tip of the claws being round and dull rather than sharp and pointy, the same can be said with its hands. The fact that it was wearing clothing and had the ability to speak made the, already strange, creature even stranger.
A clink on the table, which Zecora could’ve sworn wasn't there in the first place, disrupted her from her inner monologue. Looking down, she found that a plate with a steaming cup of tea on it had been placed in front of her.
“I went ahead and made us both some tea,” It… no, HE said, drinking from his own cup. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Oh!...N-no, I don’t mind at all,” Zecora stuttered out slightly, slightly shocked at the creature's ability of speech, as she reached out for the cup. “I hope I did not impose after my… sudden fall.”
“Of course not my dear zebra, although I must say I'm quite impressed,” He set his tea down, looking straight at her. “After all, no ordinary being has ever resisted the power Aghanim offers, no matter how powerful one claims. Ponies of legends have succumbed to it and let it corrupt them to do its bidding.”
Zecora froze momentarily at that, the teacup held between her hooves was only inches away from her mouth. Shock rippling throughout her body at the implications of the statement.
"Why would you place such a dangerous object out in display?" Zecora asked, slightly peeved and worried at the various reasons that could be suggested. "Would it not be safer if it were hidden and held at bay?"
He smiled at her, but not out of malice. It seemed more like acceptance, as well as... sadness?
"Believe me I have tried many time to do just that, but...it always finds a way."
Zecora respectfully stayed silent at this, obviously she had reopened old scars from the past. That smile was one she had seen in many of the war veterans and elders in her village, in Zebrafica.
“Ah, but enough about that,” He said nonchalantly, waving off the depressing subject like it was unimportant. “Let us return to the reason why you entered my shop in the first place, you wish to purchase something, yes?”
Her mind blanked out for a second, before she had to resist the urge to bash her head onto the table. She had forgotten about why she was in Ponyville in the first place.
“Yes, it seems that my mind has slightly dampened,” Zecora admitted, grinning sheepishly. “Considering all the things that have happened.”
“Understandable, with the current circumstances,” He said, nodding his head with his eyes closed. When he reopened them again, they were wide in surprise, his mouth open in a slight ‘o’.
“Oh, how rude of me,” He exclaimed, an expression of realization present on his face. “I haven’t even introduced myself yet.”
With that, he abruptly stood up and placed his right foot on the table, rattling the teacups that were placed on it as well as causing me to jump slightly. The slow beat of drums started to resound through the entire room. He crossed his arms, the drums growing louder and blaring from all directions, as he loudly began,
“I am he who has traveled into the depths of Tartarus and back, he who has discovered ancient civilizations and relics, he who has fought and aided countless warriors in the heat of battle, he who never looks at explosions!”
At this point the tempo of the drums increased and he was standing on the table, making strange dances that seemed to involve a lot of single foot hopping and palm gestures,
“I am he who has been favored by the gods themselves, he who has told his superiors to kindly fuck off and had his ass kicked severely, he who has peeked in on a bathing princess and survived with all his limbs attached. I… AM… THE KEEPER!!”
As he finished his introduction, the music ending with a cry, he had assumed a final pose. His right palm pointing towards the speechless zebra, his left pointing away, and his feet apart.
For a moment only silence filled the room, until he raised his head to look at Zecora, and gave her a grin.
“But you can call me K, for short.” He said as he relaxed his pose, placing his hands on his hips instead.
Zecora blinked slowly at this sharp turn of attitude and gave him a gentle smile in return, slightly shocking K, as he calls himself. She reached out towards him with her foreleg, the golden rings around it jingling as she did so.
“My name is Zecora, Mr. K,” She introduced herself, her foreleg still outstretched. “And I must say, that was quite a display.”
Now it was K’s turn to blink slowly, his grin faltering as he looked at the offered limb in slight bemusement. This was not the reaction he was expecting. He was expecting her to be amused, to be bewildered, to be in awe, but certainly not for her to take in the enthusiastic introduction calmly.
He quickly shook his head, and grasped her hoof with his hand, giving it a firm shake.
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Zecora,” K said, scratching the back of his head lightly. “But please, just K is enough.”
“Just as Zecora shall suffice… K.”
“So shall we return to the part where you were going to tell me what was it you needed from my humble shop?” K asked, his voice filled with mirth.
“Yes…, I suppose we shall before this chat is once again led astray.”
Moments Later
Zecora left the shop with a smile, of course no could tell due to the cloak’s hood shadowing her face and the fact that the streets were still empty. This slightly dampened the zebra’s mood but she merely shrugged it off with a sigh and the fact that she had what she came here for. She looked up to the sky taking note of how the sun was positioned.
'It's still noon?' She idly thought with confusion. 'Funny, It felt longer than that.'
With that she headed back to her hut in the Everfree forest, oblivious to the little filly that shadowed her every move.
Moments Later... Again Everfree Forest, Night Time
"That... does not look safe," K said to no one in particular, as he stared at the unstable rope bridge that connected the two cliffs. Looking ahead, he saw the familiar ruins of a once mighty fortress, The Castle of the Two Sisters. However it wasn't the castle that he was searching for, no. He was searching for a tree, specifically the Tree Of Harmony or to be even more precise, this world's Radiant Ancient.
It wasn't hard to find to be honest, If one had the ability to sense energy sources. That, and the fact that there was a cave in the gorge below that glowed brightly with magic.
Looking down below, K idly took note of the large distance between his position and the gorge's floor level before letting out a low whistle, impressed. Taking a few steps back, he gave himself a running start before making a leap of faith into the gorge, feet first.
As K felt himself go airborne and the familiar upward burst of wind, making his cloak flap erratically behind him, he readied himself. He noticed that he was nearing the ground and with the speed of a skilled and experienced warrior, drew a dagger out of its sheath and threw it at the ground.
*BLINK*
K was no longer in midair, instead he was on the ground kneeling on one knee, a hand resting on the pommel of the blue dagger that was embedded in the surface. He stood up and holstered the dagger back into it's sheath, walking towards the cave with no hesitation. At least he would have before he was forced to leap back, a beam of light striking the spot he had stood on, leaving a small crater in its wake just to show how powerful it was. He tried to look up towards the source of the beam, but he was once again forced to dodge, this time avoiding a lunge from an armored creature.
This allowed K the chance to finally see his attackers in the form of a familiar black alicorn fully decked in armor and two glaives levitating by her side, as well as a black panther, also equipped with armor. The thing that worried him though, were the menacing glares he received from both the alicorn-panther duo.
"Hey Luna, Hey Nova," K said, waving nonchalantly at their direction with a sheepish grin. "Um, long time no see?"
Their only response was to increase their glares to frightening degrees.
"GAH! Son of a-!" K didn't even get the courtesy to finish his sentence as he had to roll out of the way of a lunar beam crashing down upon him, where yet another crater formed on the already damaged surroundings. The moment his roll ended, he immediately jumped backwards, the ground he was previously on suddenly being viciously marred with claw marks as Nova blurred into existence and skidded a little on the ground.
K landed in a crouch, slightly out of breath, but he didn't get a chance to fully recuperate as he instinctively raised the Blink Dagger in a reverse grip. A resounding clang echoed throughout the gorge, as dagger held its ground against glaive, effectively blocking Luna's downward strike that was meant to cleave him in half.
K easily overpowered her, pushing her off which allowed Luna to make a temporary retreat. His leg lashed out at behind him with a powerful kick, knocking Nova into a tree, who immediately went out of action. Luna gritted her teeth in anger, as she saw her companion fall, and threw one of her glaives at K's exposed back with deadly accuracy, charging forwards as she did causing K to curse inwardly. He spun around, expertly grabbing the spinning weapon as he did so, and met Luna's charge with his own.
Luna didn't want to admit it, as it was a severe blow to her pride as a warrior, but she knew all too well that K was still stronger than her. This had not been their first encounter nor would it be their last one either. Narrowing her eyes, she knew that she would have to use her trump card earlier than expected. Hopefully it would catch him off-guard.
"I'm sorry, Tia," Luna mentally apologized to her sister. "But I'm afraid I will have to use that move."
Across Luna, oblivious to her plans, K was cursing his luck. What were the odds that Luna knew he was here? In fact, HOW did Luna know he was here? Was there some kind alarm enchantment on this cave? That would make some sense, but why is only Luna here? Surely an unknown that was near the Tree Of Harmony would warrant both the princess' attention, right?
"Agh, I gotta stop over thinking stuff in the middle of a fight," K thought resolutely, focusing on the alicorn in front of him as he went back into his stance. "The important thing is that it's only one princess I have to deal with... Is it just me? or is it getting darker for some reason?"
K knew that it was a rookie mistake on his part but he looked up anyways, tearing away his attention from Luna. He couldn't help it. The moment his eyes looked at the sky his face blanched in fear. He quickly diverted his eye back to Luna, who was now being shone upon by the moon's rays like a spotlight, and allowed a small inaudible curse to escape his lips. This time however, he didn't move or do anything to escape. His Blink Dagger currently useless as it's blink energy had been used up during their impromptu duel. So all he did was heave a defeated sigh and look back up at the lunar eclipse. As well as the multiple concentrated beams of lunar energy that were now racing towards him.
"Well cra-"
*BOOOOOOM!!*
Her energy spent, Luna nearly collapsed onto the ground were it not for Nova who quickly rushed to her side to offer support. Still breathing harshly, she scrutinized the giant steaming crater for any signs of her defeated adversary. Although she wasn't surprised when she found none and only let out a small frustrated sigh.
"It seems that, once again, he was two steps ahead of me," Luna thought with a tinge of bitterness, respect and frustration, all at once if such a thing were possible. "As to be expected of him... But what was he doing here in the first place? And so near to the Tree... What was his purpose?"
It had been an incredible roll of chance that she chose this particular night to hone her skills, after being imprisoned in the moon for a thousand year. And what better place to train, than the unpredictable and dangerous Everfree Forest? So armed with her gear, as well as accompanied by her loyal partner, Nova, who had been imprisoned in the moon along with her, the both of them set out towards the forest. Only for them to have a brief encounter with The Keeper.
Storing away her thoughts for later, she leaned away from Nova so that she could stand properly, levitating the glaives to her side holsters and abruptly turning away from the crater to leave. Only to for her slip up and fall on her rump, exhaustion still evident on her expression, as beads of sweat rolled down onto the rough surface. Nova was quick to move towards her mistress, butting her head slightly against Luna, worried on her state of condition. Luna merely grinned at her lifelong friend, stroking the fur on Nova's exposed head.
"I am fine, Nova, just a little tired." Luna tried to say convincingly, but still Nova wouldn't have any of that as she tried to check Luna for any visible injuries. This action caused Luna to roll her eyes, lightly shoving Nova away in a playful manner. "Stop being such a mother hen, Nova, I told you I'm fine."
Luna giggled lightly at Nova's irritated expression before standing on all fours albeit a little wobbly, her face turning serious as she once again looked at the crater.
"Although this is a cause for concern," Luna mused to both herself and Nova, who listened attentively at her words. "The Keeper only takes action when he must prepare for something of epic proportions. For him to be on the move... I must speak of this to... Tia."
At this, she let out a tired sigh, knowing that once she gets back home Celestia will either scold, pester, worry, question, or all of the above and more. She felt her eye twitch as she heard Nova silently snicker at her decided fate.
"Oooh, I am not looking forward to this evening, but..." Her horn started to glow in preparation for a basic teleportation spell, humming slightly as it charged up. "It is much better than isolation... though maybe I can avoid Tia's overprotective mother phase if I offered her a day to spend with you Nova."
One known fact between the two was that Celestia adored Nova almost as much as Luna. Which is why it was to Luna's great Nova's usually gruff expression faded away to one of immense horror. She could almost feel the comb forcefully being raked on her fur, getting rid of all the knots she in them she didn't know she even had. And the frills... By Selemene, the frills.
Nova didn't have time to bark out a negative response to that plan as they both poofed out of existence. Most likely already in Canterlot, at this point.
Truthfully, she should've stayed for a while longer because if she did... well... she would've seen the very bottom of the crater shimmer slightly and reveal a charred and smoking K lying face down, still alive and kicking, although twitching a little every now and then. Painfully, he turned over so that he was now lying on his back, eagle spread, allowing a small flask to roll out of his hand.
Smoke of Deceit. Such a small useful tool to use in the nick of time. Though B.K.B would've been a better choice for that situation. And although his semi-immortal body could handle it, it was still troublesome to deal with 3rd degree burns marking his exposed skin, his clothes relatively unharmed due to the enchantments placed on them.
Groaning in agony, K got up to his knees, ignoring the way his body flared up in pain every time he moved a muscle. Reaching into his shirt, he clenched a little red trinket that hung around his neck as a makeshift necklace. After moments of holding it tightly and bits of reddish glow escaped his enclosed fist, he opened his hand, almost instantly feeling a rush of energy fill his body. Slowly, the burns and injuries started to heal, not completely though but just enough.
Sighing in content, as the Heart Of Tarrasque did its job, K looked around at the deep crater he was in and began to walk out of it. As soon as he got out of the crater, he gave it a backwards glance before collapsing back on his knees and eventually on the ground again. As he lay there on the cold, rough surface, feeling his vision dim, he couldn't help but let out a bark of laughter. Was it not only this morning that he was tending to a certain zebra who was unconscious, as well?
Before his eyes fully closed, he heard the familiar sound of sprinting hooves as well as a weight of something suddenly jumping on his chest. Looking towards his chest, he saw a white rabbit looking back at him with a stern but worried expression.
"...Snowball?" K barely managing to groan out. What was his ex-guard/assassin/messenger doing here? Last K had heard from him, Snowball had retired and was living under a new alias... What was it again? Anchor? Antler? or was it Anger?
"Angel Bunny, why did you run off- Oh my!"
Oh yeah! That was it, Angel. Weird choice, considering... Wait... Why did that voice sound so familiar?
Turning his head slightly to the side, he saw a butter yellow pegasus over his body carefully tending to him with worry stricken eyes. She was saying something to him in a frantic tone but he couldn't hear any sound, before his eyes closed shut.
"Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh, what do I do? What do I do?"
Clearly Fluttershy was panicking. Honestly, who wouldn't?
If you saw a strange creature, severely injured and inches away from a huge crater, with your pet bunny standing on it, wouldn't you react the same way?
Fluttershy was about to turn in for the evening, wishing all her animal friends good night, when Angel suddenly sprung up from his bed, expressions of shock, fear and worry evident on his face. This was more than enough to worry her greatly, but when he made a mad dash for the exit, quickly making his way into the Everfree Forest, Fluttershy didn't even worry about the dangers. Only her worry for Angel and what could have happened that made him react that way made her throw away all caution to the wind, giving chase to the frantically moving rabbit, who weaved and hopped around any obstacles large enough to impede him in his rush.
All her questions and worry were answered when they reached their unknown objective, which led to Fluttershy's current state of panic.
"Oh, it's gonna be okay, Mr. Strange Creature," Fluttershy said with worry as she carried him on her back, heaving with ll her might. Though his hands and legs were still touching the floor, so it was more of a half carrying/half dragging situation. "Help's on the way."
And with that, she made her way back to her cottage, Angel following close behind her, discretely analyzing their surroundings for any imminent threat. Judging from The Keeper's condition, Angel couldn't help but think that it was more than likely that in the near future, he would have to take up arms once again. And call a few friends while he was at it. Faust knows that he would need all the help he could get.
K sat cross-legged on the grass, eyes closed and letting out even moderate breaths, meditating. The flowing creek and the nature around him giving out a relaxing vibe. Just a couple of steps away from the cottage was a wide open field, no doubt for Fluttershy to allow her animal friends to frolic in peace. It was a nice spot he noted, not quite as big as the ones he had seen, but it was big enough for what he had planned. The fact that it was somehow at least close to civilization was an added bonus. Makes it much more easier to keep an eye on THEM when they show up. He stopped his inner musings and opened his eyes, regarding his small companion beside him. Snowball sat there, eyes closed just as his was, a carrot hanging limply from his lips like some kind of make-shift cigar.
"So, did you need something... Angel?"
The way Angel's eyebrow twitched at how K had said his name probably grated his nerves by a huge margin, but merely settled his expression to one of apathy. Though it was an expression that looked odd to see on a rabbit, Angel somehow pulled it off, looking pretty menacing in the process.
"You looked like shit Keep, in fact you still do." Angel bluntly stated. Such crude language from a creature so adorable. "And it's either you were doin' somethin' stupid and got your ass kicked, or you got your ass kicked period."
"Still blunt as ever I see."
"Only callin' it as I see it."
It was slightly true to be honest. What with his entire torso being wrapped in bandages, courtesy of Fluttershy.
For a while silence reigned between the two as they stared out at the open field, the sun now now just rising above the horizon. A gentle breeze passed by them, floating several leaves in its wake.
*POOF*
A sudden burst of smoke suddenly enveloped the two, obscuring both of their vision.
*CLANG*
Inside the smoke, K instinctively blocked the quickly descending katana with his dagger, albeit barely. The speed in which the katana had swung at him probably had enough force to cleave him neatly in half. K gritted his teeth in pain, his injuries not fully healed yet, and pushed the katana away forcefully, jumping out of the smoke, his opponent doing the same. When K looked across him, the smoke slowly dissipating with the wind, he was no longer staring at Angel, Fluttershy's little cute adorable bunny who reached only up to his ankle. No.
He was now looking at Snowball, trained assassin, master of the arts, and weapons expert. Who now reached just above his knees, clad in a simple blue long-sleeved shirt and olive green cargo pants.
"What the hell, Snowball!?"
Said trained killer didn't say anything in response, only twirling the katana in his hands gracefully and charged at him at breakneck speed, almost blurring out of existence. Snowball phased in and out of existence, appearing around him several times in a seemingly random manner.
K looked around him, trying to see if there was a pattern in between the jumps, but it was extremely difficult. And the fact that when Snowball jumped in and out of view, he did it so fast that it looked like he had cloned himself.
As K's eyes tried to follow Snowball's movements, he could feel himself getting slightly dizzy, a migraine working its way to his head. Realization hit him in the head like a speeding basketball.
"So that's your goal, eh? K narrowed his eyes, before fully shutting them. "Trying to disorient me before going for the final blow. Good plan, but..."
He spun around, throwing the dagger directly behind him, just as Snowball phased in. The projectile hit its mark home, plunging deep into the chest of the wide-eyed Snowball. For a moment, nothing happened as the bunny slowly descended.
*POOF*
Blinking rapidly in confusion, K stared dumbfounded at the bunny scarecrow with his dagger embedded into it. He blinked even more when he felt the familiar feeling of a blade tapping his chest.
Looking down, K could barely see the tip of the katana placed right under his jaw, set to plunge straight up to his skull. He could also see the rabbit in question, facing him with the arm that held the katana raised up high. Snowball looked up at K, who was still looking down at him dubiously.
"Not bad with anticipating my movement. Didn't actually think you would hit me though, to be honest," Snowball lowered his katana, placing it on his shoulder, and walked away from K, who had finally regained his bearings and was following slowly. "Although let me tell you something."
Snowball suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, causing K to do the same. K was thinking that Snowball was gonna make some kind of dramatic speech, so he was more than surprised when he was met with a powerful kick to his stomach. His mouth opened in a silent scream of pain before he was launched backwards at an alarming rate.
As K skidded and bounced off the ground, Snowball materialized in front of him delivering a relentless combo of punches and kicks to his chest, before launching K off once again with a dropkick.
They finally reached the edge of the clearing, with K's momentum being halted painfully by a tree, the bark where he hit bursting into splinters. K couldn't even let out a groan of pain, before he felt a strong fist embed itself in his stomach, preventing him from sliding down to earth. Behind him, he could feel more splinters digging into his back, the tree shattering even more when the punch connected.
K felt the fist holding him up leave him, allowing gravity to do its job, as he fell back onto the ground. Snowball materialized again in front of K, looking down at him, slightly guilty for what he had done but knew it was necessary to get the point he was going to make across. Embedding his katana onto the ground, he crossed his arms.
"If you didn't understand, then it was Sifu Flint's language for 'You let your skills slack and now I can kick your ass a lot easier than before', get it?" Snowball moved to sit beside K, who still laid there, like a puppet who had its strings cut. "I should know, he did it to me every time I took a break. Pretty damn brutal, I know. But I guess it was his way of showing that he didn't want me dead yet. Dad I never had, you know?"
"..."
"So... wanna train?"
K just laid there unmoving for a minute, before his hand slowly reached into his shirt, letting out the H.O.T pendant that glowed a bright red. It's light pulsed for several moments before it receded, signifying that it had done all it could. Standing up as if he wasn't just brutally beaten, he looked at Snowball and shrugged.
"Why not?"
Hours Later Fluttershy's Cottage, Morning
"Gah! Son of a- OW!"
"No bad language inside the cottage, please."
K rubbed the back of his head, where Fluttershy had thumped him, as she continued to tend to his injuries for the second time, though at the very least this one was less life threatening. Angel sat across them atop his pile of pillows with his eyes closed in thought, also having his own share of wrapped injuries, although not as much as K's. The both of them had finished their impromptu spar, with Angel of course being the victor. It seemed that even though K's battle instincts had waned with time, K still had more than enough to get a few hits here and there.
"There you go Mr. Keeper, all done," Fluttershy bit off the excess bandages and tightly secured the bandages on K's bare chest. "Though I wish you and Angel didn't spar while you were injured."
"Relax Flutters," Angel said nonchalantly to Fluttershy. "It's not like he got crippled or something and besides, he needed the warm-up so its cool- OW! WHY!?"
Angel cradled the back of his head in pain, his teeth clenched to prevent himself from screaming out loud. His injuries were still fresh after all.
"That's no excuse to go about fighting all of a suuden," She lowered her hoof after thumping Angel in the back of the head as well. "What if something worse happened during your little spar? Would you have said that 'It was no big deal'? That it was an accident?"
Both K and Angel rubbed their heads in pain and cringed at the stern voice of the normally timid pegasus, but both said nothing in return. Funny how they could be so nonchalant earlier about brutal fights but not have the courage to say anything in response to a mother figure who was scolding them.
Figuring that they didn't have anything to say in return, she nodded her head resolutely and turned away from them, not seeing the both of them glare at each other in accusation. The way they interacted with one another, one would think that they were related. Quite surprising considering that they just technically met each other this morning.
K's nose twitched when he smelled something positively divine, the only thought running through his mind was 'what was it?' His question was answered when a plate, filled with foodstuffs, was offered up to him. He took it in his hands and kept his surprised hidden when he saw meat, of all things, among the breakfast he was given. Thinking about it though, he knew he shouldn't have been with Fluttershy dealing with all kinds of animals, carnivorous ones being among them, but still.
"I hope it's okay for you." Fluttershy said with uncertainty, a sudden turnabout from her earlier demeanor. "I don't really know what you can eat or not but if your teeth are anything to go by, I would assume that your an omnivorous creature, right?"
K just nodded in response, smiling as he happily ate the breakfast he was served. That seemed to please Fluttershy as she gave him a relieved smile and went outside to do her job as the resident animal caretaker.
"If there's anything you need, just shout ok?"
K though just got up from his seated position, placed the now empty and gave a low bow at the waist to Fluttershy, who blinked in shock at the action. Panicking slightly, she quickly responded with a bow of her own, almost flinging herself forward as she did so. Hearing K chuckle lightly caused Fluttershy to redden slightly in embarrassment and hide behind her mane.
"Sorry, sorry, I wasn't laughing at you," K said with a grin that held no ill. "Just that, that was the first time someone responded like that, is all. Most of ponies I've met just looked at me weird when I did it to them."
"Well, um, I'm a little bit familiar with Neighponese traditions," Fluttershy informed bashfully, walking towards the door. "My father was the travelling type and he wanted to see the world, so he brought me along with him. Neighpon was actually the place where we stayed the longest so...
"Really? No kidding, huh." K mused thoughtfully at this new information, following after Fluttershy. He might as well have followed, considering that Angel had fallen into deep sleep right after finishing the carrot he was given. "So where is he now? Your dad, I mean."
"Oh, he's working as an animal tamer and trainer for the princesses in Canterlot Castle."
K's body went rigid, though Fluttershy could not see him as he was behind her. That was a really big coincidence, cause there was only one tamer that he knew of and it was...
"Say Fluttershy," Fluttershy turned her head towards him. "Your father wouldn't happen to go by the name... Karroch, would he?" Behind him, he had his fingers crossed and a mantra that repeated in his head. 'Please say no. Please say no. Please say no'
"Oh, yes," She cheerfully said in affirmation. "Did you two know each other?"
"Sigh, yea," K rubbed his head in irritation. Karma just had a way of saying 'fuck you to' didn't it?
So here he was, talking and having a nice conversation with Fluttershy, daughter of Karroch the Beastmaster. Conveniently one of THEM, that he was supposed to keep an eye out. What is this THEM he keeps talking about? Well simply put...
Sorry to the very few who are reading this story and are interested in the next chapter, but my time is a bit caught up with exams and whatnot, nothing serious.
Nope, this story ain't abandoned just yet, and I hope that I wouldn't have to in the future.
Expect the next one, if you are reading this, around the next few weeks or so. Sorry once more, to the few who liked this crap story with no plot whatsoever (according to my friend, not any of you lovely people of the internet, who shall remain anonymous) and thanks for the faves, criticism, and the such.
"I'm with Flutters on this one. I mean, come on, what's the big deal?"
"Need I remind you two, that a human isn't exactly a normal sighting around these parts. Heck, they probably don't even know what a human is to begin with. And if there's something I learned these past few days is that the ponies in Ponyville fear what they don't know."
"Ain't that the truth- OW! What!? It's true ain't it!?" Angel rubbed his head gently in an attempt to quell the aching bump, once again courtesy of Fluttershy.
"Be that as it may, WE," Fluttershy placed a heavy emphasis on the 'we', going as far as drawing it out a little longer and gesturing to her group with a wave of her hoof. "Are going into Ponyville so that you can properly introduce yourself, and if they so happen to run away from you in terror than it's their loss for losing the chance to be friends with a kind and friendly person."
Fluttershy ended it with a determined nod of the head, before letting out a squeak and hiding behind her mane due to the incredulous stares she received from her two companions.
K, though, couldn't help but smile at the declaration. It was quite touching and comforting for her to quickly come in his defense like that, but what with her being kindness personified (or is it ponified?) K supposed it was expected.
"I'm still not going though."
"Well it's a bit too late for that, cause we're here." Angel helpfully announced.
"Whaa~?" Was K's very intelligent reply, before looking up at the wooden sign in front of the entrance to Ponyville.
Welcome To Ponyville
"Nope," K immediately began to backtrack and headed towards the general direction of the cottage. "Nope, nope, nope, nope."
At least he would have, if not for the fact that Fluttershy was suddenly in front of him at eye level, her wings keeping her aloft. K tried to stay strong in his decision, he really did, but one look at Fluttershy was all it took before he let out a sigh and slumped his shoulders in defeat. Fluttershy, however, gave him a small bright smile in return and began to drag him towards Ponyville. Angel, who was still atop Fluttershy's head just looked very amused with the whole ordeal.
Curse whichever puppy created the puppy-dog-eyes. Curse them and all their cute and adorableness.
Ponyville, Morning
The moment they entered through the gates, several ponies that they had passed stopped whatever it was they were doing and openly gawked at the human/pony/bunny trio. Though their focus was more mainly on the giant thing walking beside the gentle animal caretaker. With what seemed like a domino effect, all the ponies ceased their actions and silently stared at the trio with wide eyes.
K stopped walking, causing Fluttershy, who was looking at the ponies with a nervous expression, and Angel, who was waiting in anticipation for the metaphorical fireworks to explode, to do the same.
Looking at the crowd of ponies and their slack jawed expressions, K slowly raised his bandaged right hand in greeting and said one word that could no way deserve it's returned reaction.
"Yo."
No one knew who it was that screamed first and ran but somepony, and they all ended up doing the same. Some tripped over their hooves in their panic, some flew away so fast that they were only a blur in the sky, some poofed away in a sudden burst of magic. All of this just to desperately get away from whatever it was.
"Told you this was a bad idea and all I did was greet them." K drawled out amidst the panicked screams, trying not to sound like a know-it-all in the process, of which he was partly succesful in doing so.
"Sheesh, you would think they learned from the zebra incident." Angel nonchalantly said as he surveyed the slowly receding crowd of ponies.
"Oh dear..." Fluttershy couldn't help but be a little disheartened at the ponies automatic reaction to something strange. She honestly thought that they wouldn't overreact this much. A little bit of fear perhaps, but not to this extent.
"Yeah well, I guess it's to be expected, but-" At the sudden pause in speech, Fluttershy turned to K and noticed that his eyes were narrowed and his body suddenly froze. Angel seemingly reacted the same way, his head turning in different directions in search of something.
In the blink of an eye and a sound that suspiciously sounded like thunder, she was suddenly in mid-air. K's arms were protectively wrapped around her stomach, as he gracefully flipped away from a huge cloud of dust that accumulated from whatever landed there. Landing in a crouch, he gently placed Fluttershy back on the ground, before glaring at the cloud of dust.
As the dust slowly cleared away, it revealed a pony. A blue pegasus that had a rainbow themed mane and tail, to be precise. A pegasus that was glaring daggers at K and had teeth bared into a snarl.
"You let Fluttershy go, you monster!" Rainbow shouted defiantly
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what?"
"Wait Rainbow, you don't-" Was all Fluttershy could get out before she was interrupted by Rainbow.
"Don't worry Fluttershy, I'll save you! The others are on their way to, so just hang in there!" And with a great flap of her wings, she shot towards K and Fluttershy at an alarming rate, small bits of lightning visibly arced around her body. Rainbow Dash didn't seem to notice them, nor did Fluttershy. But K and Angel obviously did, causing K to narrow his eyes.
K gestured for Fluttershy to get back, which she did so albeit hesitantly and in contrast to Rainbow's sudden burst, K just slowly walked to meet it. A slow walk which gradually transitioned into a sprint.
'So I finally found another one, huh? That's two down and many more to go... It's nice to see you again though,'
Moments before they were about to make contact, K did a slight hop, his arms doing a circular motion before both rested at his right side. Just as he landed, K thrust both arms forward, meeting Rainbow's lightning arced dash with an explosion of energy, dust, and lightning, causing Fluttershy to shield and brace herself to avoid being blown away by the sheer force of the wind accumulated from the explosion.
Fluttershy didn't lower the hoof that shielded herself out of reflex and hesitation, even though the shock wave of the explosion already passed. Slowly and cautiously, she lowered down the hoof and turned her head to face the source of the explosion. She couldn't see much though, due to the cloud of smoke and dust that was still present, obscuring and blocking any hopes of vision as to what was happening.
She didn't have to wait long though, as a blue rainbow blur shot out of the smoke before stopping mid-air to turn and face it again. Rainbow Dash glared at the cloud of smoke while cradling both her hooves, wincing slightly at the familiar throb of numbing pain that coursed through them. Whatever it was she hit, it was definitely not a brick wall.
After what seemed like an eternity, the smoke finally cleared up enough to reveal her adversary, who now held a grey shield in front of him. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but be slightly awed and intimidated by the shield. The shield itself was steel gray at the edges with hints of purple in the center, but that wasn't what caused the fear and awe factor. That factor was mainly caused by what was situated on the center. A ram skull with eyes that seemed to glow a demonic red.
'Vanguard, the most badass shield I have in my wares.'
Lowering the shield, K looked up to Rainbow Dash with an impassive expression and a raised eyebrow, which caused her to grit her teeth in irritation at, what she deemed as a mocking gesture.
"Is that all you got?" K said in a disappointed tone, obviously taunting her into making a reckless move. "Frankly, I expected a better performance from you."
Whether he meant it as expectations of the reincarnation of The Storm Spirit or of an Element Of Loyalty, could be up for debate. But it didn't really matter to K, seeing as the taunt did it's job and Rainbow Dash was once again charging at him, albeit slower than the last one.
"I'll show you better performance, you freak!"
K merely responded with another raised eyebrow, as he mentally dismissed Vanguard back to his inventory and summoned another item.
Rainbow Dash continued in her charge, but not before getting the feeling that something was off. She would've continued to ponder what it was that gave her the uneasy feeling had it not been answered to her in the form of a tornado suddenly forming around her, throwing her up high into the air where she was flung about.
K didn't wait for the mini-tornado to dissipate, reflexively dismissing Eul's Scepter Of Divinity and rushing forward. With another mental summoning, a simple steel gauntlet with a studded leather wrist guard was now equipped on his right hand, which he raised up in preparation, mid-charge, for a simple knockout punch.
Although K couldn't help but feel disappointed at how easy this was, he merely chalked it up to him having more experience and awesome equipment. The tornado quickly dissipated, allowing a dazed Rainbow Dash to let gravity take place and free fall, right into the path of K's gauntlet.
That was the plan at least, were it not for a lasso suddenly wrapping around said gauntlet and jerking it backwards, causing K to grunt in surprise and lose momentum, falling on one knee and the other foot skidding a bit on the ground due to the sudden inertia. Eyes quickly following the rope to its source, K found it in the form of an orange pony with a brown stetson hat worn over a blonde mane, rope tightly gripped between her teeth, as she threw her head back pulling along his arm, which shook with exertion as a tug of war between him and the orange pony began.
At the corner of his peripheral vision, he idly took note of Rainbow's uninterrupted descent to the ground, unceremoniously dropping on her side, as several other ponies rushed to her with worry evident on their expressions.
'So these are the famous Elements Of Harmony, eh? Let's see, there's Loyalty,' Rainbow, after reassuring the others that she was fine, tried to steady herself as she shakily stood back up on her hooves.
'Honesty,' Applejack glared at K, rope still firmly held between her teeth as she tried with all her strength to pull him towards her. Whatever good that would do, K had no idea.
'Kindness,' Fluttershy looked between him and the others with a worried expression even as she desperately tried to gain their attention and explain the situation.
'Generosity,' Rarity, who was wearing a dark purple scarf, was not allowing Fluttershy to talk, as she dramatically fretted over her, hugging her tightly and making exaggerated but worried expressions.
'Laughter,' Pinkie didn't seem to care about whatever tense mood was in the air and went as far as giving him an ecstatic grin and an excited wave when she caught his eye, not worried in the slightest.
'And finally, Magic.' Twilight was looking at him with curious but cautious eyes, no doubt wondering what kind of creature K was but holding that thought for later in case he was dangerous.
'And not only that, another reincarnation,' K looked pointedly at Twilight. 'Though I'm not sure of this one. With that level of magical energy, she could be Carl's reincarnation, or maybe even Rubick's own. Heck, maybe she's-'
A surprisingly strong tug at his right arm that nearly made him fall over brought him out of his thoughts. Looking at the rope, still wrapped around his wrist, in irritation, he closed his eyes and focused on the boots he was currently wearing, giving a mental command.
'Grant me strength.'
Boots flashing from green to red, K felt power surging through him and with a shout of exertion, easily tossed his constricted arm forward. As a result, a startled Applejack suddenly found herself airborne and hurtling towards the group of mares as an orange blur. She would've continued in her flight, were it not for the purple aura that enveloped her and carefully floated her to the ground.
He observed the ponies tense up, understandable with his now glowing red eyes, as he subtly fingered the Blink Dagger tucked underneath his cloak. Rainbow Dash was now standing steadily and glaring daggers at K. Fluttershy, no longer muffled by Rarity's hugs, was still trying to gain their attention to no avail, Angel suspiciously being nowhere to be found. Rarity was looking at him with a nervous but determined expression, carefully levitating a pair of... goggles? over her eyes. Applejack had recovered quickly enough and was now glaring at him, as well as eying the rope still wrapped around his wrist. Pinkie still looked unworried about the entire scenario and was keen with hopping in place and giving him a very bright smile. Twilight's horn was surrounded with a purple glow, ready to cast a spell should he make the first move.
The two sides looked at the other in apprehensive silence, not wanting to make the first move so that the other could capitalize on it. Off to the side, Angel hopped onto a tree branch to get a vantage point, grinning from ear to ear at what would be a pretty good fight. Frowning when both sides just opted to stand there giving each other a stare off, Angel took it upon his... paws to remedy that. Whipping out a carrot, from who knows where, he slowly held it horizontally with both paws and swiftly brought it down on his knee.
*SNAP*
Ears twitching at the sound, K abruptly threw the Blink Dagger towards the amassed group of ponies, prompting Twilight to shoot a spell bolt at it, deflecting it. In that time, K was already rushing towards the group with Rainbow and Applejack retaliating with a lightning induced charge and a propelled tackle, respectively. Easily sidestepping the tackle and rolling under the ball of lightning, K quickly muttered an incoherent incantation under his breath before bringing his hand forwards, which was surrounded with a red aura.
'Chaos Warp.'
A reddish magic bolt shot from his hand towards Twilight and the others. The bolt should've collided with them and randomly teleport them to an undisclosed location near or far, if it weren't for the emerald that suddenly got in its way and took the effects of the spell, blinking out of existence.
K looked on as his spell was easily countered, disbelief and incredulous evident on his face as he faulted in his step. This moment of distraction was all Twilight needed to fully envelop K in her aura, who noticed a little too late.
Uuup.
K couldn't help but flail his arms wildly as he was suddenly jerked up into the air, the aura not quite holding him in place, as he unwillingly did back flips and front flips. Suddenly he felt something... not quite enter him, but more of forcing their way in, causing him to go uneasy. As quickly as that feeling came, it left, physically and literally. He could literally see a wispy image of him leaving his body and enter...
Twilight's.
Her eyes, which were closed, snapped open, a glint of something evident in them. K couldn't help but feel something familiar with what ever it she did and that look in her eye. It reminded him strongly of Rubick whenever he analyzed and stole... Oh shit.
And down. (just to remind you.)
Falling flat on his face, K quickly rose to his feet though he did so with a pained expression, but the moment he saw the ponies, he visibly deflated. The other Elements of Harmony were already there, all of them standing behind Twilight, whose horn was glowing an ominous (at least to him) red. It flashed brightly and let loose a red bolt, similar to the one he had conjured earlier, but this one was faster and tad bit smaller. It didn't really make any sort of sound when it impacted him, just gave him a queasy feeling of something grabbing onto him.
'Well fu-'
*ZWHIP*
And then he was no longer in Ponyville, instead he was in what appeared to be a really dense forest standing right on top of a small garden of blue flowers. Better yet, there was no sign of anything that could be considered a landmark and help identify his current location. One setback of Chaos Warp is that if the target can teleport at will, its practically useless, something to give the user time at best. Fortunately for him, K could use magic, so with the image of Ponyville in mind, he focused and snapped his fingers.
Silence.
Another snap of his fingers.
Still nothing.
This time he furiously snapped his fingers in rapid succession.
Sorry try again later.
Barely holding himself from screaming out in frustration, K tried to calm himself down. There was something in this forest that was interfering with his magic. Knowing that he could do nothing else until he could find the source of whatever it was that was disrupting his connection to his mana storage, all he did was sigh and look up to the sky to summarize his situation.
"I am so screwed."
The blue flowers beneath him were completely forgotten.
Elsewhere, Morning
A random diamond dog found himself questioning its existence. Was this all he was destined for? To dig around like his fellows searching for crystals? Not even bothering as to ask why?
Looking up to the sky, he closed his eyes and clapped his paws together.
'Faust, if you truly exist, give me a sign. What is my destiny?'
A sharp whistling sound from above caused his ears to twitch and reflexively look up. Seeing nothing, the diamond dog squinted his eyes and it suddenly hit him. Quite literally.
Groaning in pain, he rubbed at the comical bump that grew on his head, wincing through gritted teeth. Looking down beside him, he found the culprit, in the form of an emerald. He didn't know why he suddenly grew fascinated with it, it was just like any other emerald, nothing about it was special in anyway. He took it in his paws, tracing the edges and shape, when a random thought came to mind.
'I could make a fine spear out of this.'
That line of thought made him stop. Was this his answer? To be a craftsman? A blacksmith?
He looked up again, clenching his paw around the gem, face set into a determined expression.
'Then so be it. I shall be a blacksmith, not only for my kind. But for all! And I will be remembered as the first diamond dog blacksmith in existence!'
And with determination fueling his every step, Azbidian's reincarnation set fort on his journey.
K grumbled to himself, ducking under branches and twigs while the occasional curse escaped his mouth, as he angrily walked towards who knows where. He wasn't actually angry at the fact that he was in a forest, in fact he loved the forest, heck he practically lived in one. No, he was angry at himself and the fact that he had gotten careless, overconfident with the knowledge that he could beat them easily in a fight.
What made him even angrier at himself was that he shouldn't have been overconfident and underestimated the 6 ponies, not after the beating Snowball had given him.
And the fact that didn't help him in his situation in the slightest was that he had no bloody idea where the hell he was going. He quite literally closed his eyes, spun around until he was feeling slightly nauseous, and shakily walked towards the direction he faced when he opened his eyes.
Really, first he got his ass kicked by a princess, then again by a rabbit, he technically didn't get his ass kicked by the Elements of Harmony, but it might as well have been, and now his magic was being wonky and he had no idea why. What next?
*GROWL*
'Oh for the love of Faust, It was a rhetorical question!'
And now he was hungry, fantastic. K, in all his immortality, had fought and participated in countless battles, whether they be small or historical, usually involving some kind of power-hungry madpony trying to steal one or two of his artifacts. So to die of hunger, and not in the heat of battle, was quite anti-climactic.
Sure he would reform in a few months, give or take a few weeks, but damn it his warrior pride demanded that he go out with a bang. He almost wished that some dangerous wild animal would randomly appear out of nowhere, just so he could kill, cook it, and eat it, preferably in that order.
K paused in mid-step and waited, looking around in silence and hope. When nothing happened, he let out a disappointed 'aw' and continued in his path.
Zecora's Hut, Noon
Zecora looked out through the window of her little hut, idly lifting the wooden cup to her lips to sip some of her delicious home brewed tea. She couldn't help but get the feeling that something strange was going to happen soon. Be it the good kind of strange or the bad kind, she wasn't so sure.
*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*
The sudden loud disruption in her usual solitude nearly caused her to jump in surprise. When the knocks began again, she placed a hoof on her chest and took a calming breath, trying to ease her heart rate that was beating faster than it should be.
"Tis some visiter," Zecora quoted silently to herself, finally calm enough, as she headed towards the door, grasping the knob. "tapping at my chamber door, only this and nothing more."
'I wonder who is visiting me at this hour? To have enough courage to enter this forest and not cower?' The first pony who came to mind was little Apple Bloom. The youngest of the Apple Family had taken to visiting her hut frequently now that Zecora doubted that the little filly had any qualms about entering the forest. Provided she stuck to that path she showed her, of course.
As quickly as that thought came, it left. It couldn't have been Apple Bloom. She was most likely still in school and still had to help out her siblings. So then... who was it?
Zecora (finally) opened the door and was met with a huge wall of gray fur. She blinked multiple time and even rubbed them for good measure, just to make sure that she wasn't seeing things. A bark from below got her attention and she looked down to see a small brown wolf cub staring at her with a serious expression that looked adorable instead of intimidating.
What sounded suspiciously like a cough rumbled out from atop the wall of grey fur, causing Zecora to look back up at it. This time when she got a clear look at it, her eyes widened considerably and she felt her jaw drop in shock.
"Please excuse us zebra, but may we take a moment of your time?" The giant wolf's deep voice rumbled out in it's version of a gentle tone. "We are called Sif, and this little one, Fenrir. We are looking for a merchant. Odd creature, green hair, stands on two legs, likes to wear a brown cloak, quite eccentric?"
Zecora couldn't take in the fact that there was a ginormous predator that could speak intelligently sitting outside of her hut and should have fainted right then and there. But she didn't, much to her own surprise. Spending days around Ponyville and living in the Everfree Forest seemed to have the ability to give a pony (or zebra in her case) immunity to this sort of thing.
Fenrir's head abruptly shot up, the little wolf's nose twitching as he sniffed a scent he was very familiar with. He looked up to Sif and gave him a not-so subtle nod. Sif rolled his eyes at his little companion's attempt and merely nodded back, turning his head downwards to face the bemused zebra who watched their interaction.
"It seems that your aid in no longer required, zebra. We are sorry for the inconvenience."
The two wolves didn't even make any sort of noise, which was impressive considering the size of the grey wolf, as they quickly bounded off deeper in the forest.
Zecora just stood there by her doorway, dumbfounded, before quickly going back inside for a long nap, locking the door for good measure. That was enough strangeness for the day.
Golden Oaks Library, Noon
"Oh Fluttershy, that must have been absolutely dreadful. To be held captive by such a horrifying monster." Rarity once again dramatically held her foreleg against her head, dropping on a conveniently placed luxury couch, courtesy of Spike.
They had all decided to go to the library after what happened and Twilight immediately set off for Spike to send a message to the princess. Right now they were just waiting for Celestia's response pertaining the current situation.
"But I wasn't-" Fluttershy tried, Faust know how many times she did, to explain but was interrupted.
"What was it like? I bet it was fun. Did you guys have a party? *GASP* I should totally make a 'welcome-to-ponyville' party for him. Does he like parties? I bet he likes parties. Do you think he likes cake? Oh silly me, of course he likes cake. I mean, who doesn't like cakes? Oh, what about-"
"Woah there, Pinkie. No need to go houndin' on Fluttershy like that," Applejack said casually, her hoof placed on Pinkie's mouth, preventing her from continuing her endless questions. "Besides I think its a might too dangerous to host a party for... whatever he was. I mean look at what he did to Rainbow."
"Hey! I'll have you know that I could've taken him down in 10 seconds flat." Rainbow confidently stated, crossing her forelegs as she idly hovered in the air.
"I think it was the other way around with what we saw, sugarcube." Applejack slyly grinned as Rainbow's eye twitched in irritation.
Just as Rainbow Dash was about to retort, the familiar sound of Spike belching and a scroll being unrolled reached their ears, and as one, turned to face Twilight who was skimming over the letter. Setting down the piece of parchment, she regarded her friends with an expression of relief.
"Celestia said that she, herself, would come to Ponyville to fully analyze the situation. Whatever that thing was, its as good as caught with the princess herself on the case."
A few cheers and affirmations broke out from the group, except for Fluttershy, who was very much worried. Even if she did try to explain now, that she wasn't being held against her will, they would probably think that she was just being her usual kind and timid self.
So as she hid behind her mane and left, her friends relaxing and also went off to do their respective duties, she knew that things won't end well.
I'll be blunt with you... this story is very likely to get canceled.
When I saw ChronoMitsurugi's comments and, soon after Eliseo221, I went back to read my chapters.
Looking back on them, even I became confused with where I took the story. Originally, I wanted to make it like an adventure-free roam-wide world sort of deal. The merchant travelling Equestria and beyond, collecting various artifacts that several villains (both new and familiar), as well as heroes, who are using them for their own schemes. Whether the individual's motives are for good or evil, the Keeper (or K) will still collect them as to keep the balance steady. Neither order nor chaos getting the advantage over the other.
The characters that were supposed to be the most frequent were 4 ponies and 3 OCs, namely; -Daring Do (obviously) -Flim and Flam (cause they reminded of Sithil and Quirt) -Chrysalis (... no idea why to be honest) -Sif (no background history relation to Dark Souls, other than that, still the same) -Fenrir (no relation to Loki... yet) -One Diamond Dog who I never got to introduce (not telling what my plans are with him)
But with how I made some of the chapters, that was proving to be difficult (mostly because I wrote whatever came to my mind). Honestly, I wasn't planning on K going to Ponyville so soon. I was satisfied with how I made the first chapter until the last part consisting of him deciding to head for Ponyville. After the part where Fenrir reports to K, It was supposed to transition to him going to another location (not Ponyville) where he would meet up with Daring Do to get an artifact, then it would go from there meeting up with the other aforementioned characters in other places. Though I'm not sure if this would please you readers, It was my intended path and I have no idea how I strayed from it and for that I'm sorry. But I'd still like to think, it was a good attempt at a first story.
I'm basically gonna rewrite the whole damn thing, still the same concept but with more planning. Sorry for this, but I thought I might as well say it now with me travelling soon for vacation. Expect the rewrite sometime around July. Again sorry to you guys and thank you for all your support.
