You are one of the newest protectors, given a basic set of armor that was a fine balance of fabric and armor plating, and a rucksack, containing all the necessary equipment for survival, a stipend of Bits, and a set of Meals Ready to Eat.
You didn't know what was going to happen on your journey, but you did know that you would serve the best you could, following the Beginner’s Route. Said route was effectively just get from Point A to Point B and report anything important. How you went about it was up to you.
It was at the beginning of your patrol route, through a small forest, not far from Equestria's border. The place was filled with beautiful birches and large oaks. Then you saw it.
It was barely noticeable, a simple glint of light among the twigs and leaves of the autumn forest. Deciding to check it out, you found something buried just below the layer of leaves. A series of small fossils, some like scales, others like knuckles, but they all seemed like they came from something draconic.
You decided to take them with you, running a string through them and wearing the piece as a good luck necklace.
It wasn't until hours later, after you had resumed your patrol, that a voice nad its presence known, seemingly from inside your mind:
Boons I grant you, oh bearer mine, but your actions decide if you pay your debt in time.
Naturally this disturbed you, but the bones' promise gave you hope that, just maybe, you weren't going insane.
And sure enough, it payed off, in your exploration, you found abandoned sites of previous adventurers' stashes, containing better armor plating, stronger fabrics, more comfortable fabrics. All around better items.
The boons continued, even better armor, weapons, and survival tools were practically given to you.
But the bones' threat lingered in your mind.
Days after finding those small fossils, and the luck you had afterwards, you wondered to yourself;
Are there more?
That one thought was more than enough to inspire you to seek out more fossils, because, if a few small pieces would increase your luck this much, what would more do?
You soon found out when you followed your patrol route to a chain of mountains a few miles away from one of Equestria's borders.
On one of the mountains, you found a large cavern, one large enough to house a Dragon and its hoard.
On the outside, near the opening, was a symbol painted on the rocky side of the mountain, left by the original mappers that came through here. A large wide arch, with a smaller, thinner arch inside of it, and a large dot inside of that.
The symbol denoting a Lost Sector. Dangerous areas protected by deadly creatures.
Following your orders, you entered to scout it out, to see whether or not there actually was a dragon making this mountain its home.
You didn't find a dragon, not a live one, at least. What you did find, was a dragon’s skeleton, and the skeleton of a previous protector. Observing the remains, you determined your predecessor to be a Pegasus. Their bones seemed to be a few decades old, give or take.
But around their forearms they had a particular pair of gauntlets. The main part was made of steel feathers, painted gold, and the gloves...
They were made from fossilized claws. Claws not dissimilar in structure from the knuckles on your necklace.
The voice finally spoke to you again.
You seem to have found another piece, oh seeker mine.
Being careful not to disturb the remains, you slid the gauntlets off, and strapped them to your arms, and whispered a thanks and prayer to the body.
You encountered a pack of Diamond Dogs in the mountains, and after attempts to pass by peacefully, they attacked, and you drew your sword.
Occasionally, they would get far too close for comfort, and, by some unknown instinct, you hit them with a palm-strike that was more than enough to get them to back off.
Though, when you glanced at those you hit the marks seemed like they were...
...Scorched. Burned by some hidden flame. You felt that flame in your palms, and let loose upon your enemies with sudden excitement.
You drove the Diamond Dogs back to their homes. It wasn't an easy fight, and you didn't come out of it unscathed, bearing your own cuts and bruises. Yet, even after all the fighting, there was still an air of peace on the mountain side.
Looking out over a cliff, seeing the forests and plains stretching out for miles, the voice returned.
Look at all this life, oh bearer mine, there is so much left to burn.
After its disturbing statement, the voice didn't return. Not for a while, at least.
Not long after leaving the mountains, you stumbled upon a small village. Yes I mean stumbled, it wasn't grand, there wasn't a parting of vines or leaves, you practically fell into it. Darn those tree roots!
Not your proudest moment, but hey, at least no-one saw it.
As far as you know.
The village was populated by Ponies, Griffons, Zebras, you name it. It even had the occasional Changeling here and there. The buildings were simple, wooden cabins with thatched roofs, similar in design to the buildings you saw in Ponyville during your training. You had to know the land you were defending, after all.
There were homes, a marketplace, an inn, a postmaster, what looked like an antique store, and even a blacksmith. Seemed this place was frequented by travelers and merchants. Good for building up a community.
You made your way to the blacksmith, a strong steel-gray Earth Pony, to get your armor repaired, leaving yourself with just a simple tunic, pants and boots you wore under your armor, but kept the gauntlets on your arms, not trusting anyone else with them. While you waited, you entered the antique store, seeing it to be filled with paintings, old tools such as compasses, maps, even some climbing axes.
But what really drew your attention, was in a glass case behind the owner's counter.
Another set of fossils.
These ones looking like part of a spine, with what looked to be a kneecap next to it. The sound of a throat clearing drew you out of your focus, and you turned to the store owner.
She was a changeling mare wearing a simple, long-sleeve leather jacket with a glove on her right hand. She had a cyan mane, and silver, cat-like eyes that seemed to almost read into you soul. "I see you're interested in the Ahamkara bones, you wanting to buy them?" She inquired, gazing at your gauntlets with interest.
You told her you would indeed like to have them, and she told you the price;
"1500 Bits."
You leaned back slightly in shock, your eyes widening. Though, with how old they were, it wasn't a surprise that she had their price that high.
Looking into your rucksack and looking into your Bit bags, you found that it would take the entirety of the stipend given to you by the Crown before your deployment, and a decent amount of the Bits you collected from the stashes. Pouring the bits into a single bag, you handed them over, and the store owner carefully removed the bones from their case, and gently wrapped them up, before giving them to you.
With a smile on her face she said, "Pleasure doin' business with you."
Making your way back to the Blacksmith's shop, fragile package under your left arm, you took a moment to really look around at the surrounding area.
There were plains to the west, where some farmers were harvesting and planting crops. The mountain range you came from in the east, some clouds surrounding a few of the peaks. To the north, a caravan of merchants was coming in, what seemed to be local militia guarding them.
Returning your attention to where you were walking, you quickly arrived at the Blacksmith's shop. Inside, you found the Blacksmith to have finished working on your armor.
Going to pay him for his work, you realized you didn't have enough Bits left over from your previous purchase to cover the repairs.
Instead, you agreed to help the Blacksmith with whatever he needed over the next week to pay off what you were missing. So you kept enough bits to yourself to cover a week's stay at the inn, and some supplies from the market, and gave the rest to the Blacksmith, and he held onto the armor until it was paid for.
Stepping into the room you got at the inn, you looked around the room.
It was small, a bed in the back right corner taking up about a third of the space. There was a desk with a chair on the left side of the room with an unlit candle.
Setting your bag and the package containing the bones gently on the bed, you sat in the chair, and unstrapped your boots.
Carefully undoing the packaging on the bones, you set to work attaching them to your boots.
Using the twine from the packaging, you strapped the spine to the right side of your right boot. The kneecap went on your left one, right where the boot connected to your pants.
Putting your boots back on, you immediately felt like you were given a boost of energy.
Deciding to try them outside, you left the inn and entered the forest nearby.
When you ran, you felt faster, you felt like you jumped higher than before. In fact, you found that you could practically jump from tree branch to tree branch to scale an oak.
By the time you returned to the inn, night had fallen, and you were thoroughly exhausted. You walked into your room, closed the door, and without removing your gauntlets or boots, you collapsed on your bed.
Just before you drifted off, the voice spoke again;
These bones seem alive, don't they, oh bearer mine? Almost like they...
...Defy extinction.
Over the next week, you woke up at dawn to help the Blacksmith get ready for the day. You learned how to work the forge, how to heat different metals for casting, what temperature different metals melted at, how to hammer the metal into shape, everything necessary for a blacksmith to know.
You even learned that you could control the strange heat your gauntlets gave off, sometimes even make a small flame in your hand.
Between orders, you used this technique to carve a dragon with its wings spread on your chest-plate. You don't know why you carved it, it just felt...natural.
During the night, you stayed up a few hours to help keep watch over the village.
And in doing so, you weren't technically leaving your assignment.
Some days you wouldn't get enough sleep, but you still toughed it through the week.
At the end of the week, you had paid off the cost of the repair, and The Blacksmith was proud of how well you did.
The two of you shook hands, though, with him being quite a bit stronger than you, he pulled you towards him by accident.
The two of you had a good laugh over that.
It was time for you to leave.
You had taken back your armor, only putting on your helmet, chest-piece trusting the bones you put on your legs to protect them.
You had spoken with a caravan that was leaving that afternoon. They were headed the same direction your patrol route took you, so you decided to go together and act as a guard for them.
Making sure you weren't forgetting anything you looked around your room, having everything inside as close to how it was before as best you could.
Saying your thanks to the innkeeper, you walked out to meet the caravan, taking one last look around the village.
The antique shop's owner was outside sitting on a chair when you met her eyes.
With a smirk, she raised her right hand and gave you a two-fingered salute. With your own smile, you returned the gesture, knowing it to be one used by some groups of fellow protectors.
Reaching the caravan at the west side of the village, you confirmed with the leader that everyone was good to go, and you set off, along a trail through the farmland.
Miles down the path, the farmland no longer visible due to the thick forest you were now in, the caravan leader informed you that the group was approaching an old battle site.
Not knowing if it had any importance, you asked the leader why they told you that.
"Because," they said, "bandits like to try an' salvage anything that remains, or rob travelers passing through."
That made sense, so you volunteered to scout it out, and asked the Unicorns of the group of any of them knew a flare spell.
Unfortunately, they didn't.
Sighing, you reached into your bag and pulled out a small device that looked somewhat like a short tube with a handle, and a small trigger between them.
A flare gun.
Handing it to the caravan leader, you told them, that if they were in danger, whether it be bandits or a creature in the forest, to aim the flare gun straight up, towards the sky, pull the trigger, and you would come as quick as you could.
The battle site lived up to its name, with weapons, shields, and banners, sun-bleached and unable to be determined who they belonged to, strewn about the area.
You felt something, like you were being pulled along. Following the sensation, you found a white bone sticking out of the ground.
Digging carefully, you uncovered what seemed to be another spine, and a draconic skull.
The Voice spoke again;
Lend me your arms, oh bearer mine, let me help you fill the world with teeth.
You should have been disturbed, you should have covered the bones back up, you should have taken off the bones you were already wearing.
But you didn't.
Instead you took these bones, attaching the vertebrae to your biceps, and putting the skull on your left shoulder.
You felt another rush of energy, knowledge on how to set complex traps, and how to get your prey to spring them, all without them noticing a thing.
Suddenly, the area was bathed in a red light. Looking up, you saw the flare rising into the sky.
The caravan was in trouble.
Rushing back as fast as you could, you found the group being attacked by a pack of Timberwolves, somewhat successfully defending themselves, but the tables would turn if you didn't intervene.
Not even thinking to unsheathe your sword, you closed in on the closest Timberwolf and hit it with a palm-strike.
Unlike when you fought the Diamond Dogs, the Timberwolves weren't just scorched...
...They were burned to ash.
Giving no reaction visible to the caravan, you helped them fight off the pack.
Eventually, those you didn't burn fled, darting back into the woods.
You stared after them, pondering the bones' whispers. It wasn't until one of the group grabbed your uncovered shoulder that you realized they were talking to you.
They thanked you for your help, and when you asked if they were all okay, confirmation met your ears.
Nodding in acknowledgement, you spoke the idea of moving on.
The others liked that idea.
After about a month of traveling, you reached your destination; a small town in the middle of the plains.
The caravan leader stopped you as you were walking into the village, and placed a small, but hefty, bag into your hands.
"Here," they said, "some compensation for your troubles. That's worth about 2000 Bits, there."
The bag was filled with large silver coins, about twice the diameter of a Bit.
You thanked the leader an explained that, now that you had finished your patrol route, you were going to head back to use the postmaster and deliver you report.
Nodding in understanding, the leader shook your hand and thanked you for your time.
It took you two weeks to get back to the village, traveling was faster now that you didn't have a group to worry about.
In that time, the whispers that the bones you've collected were driving you insane.
When you were with the caravan, the whispers were getting on your nerves, but you had others around you to distract you from them.
Now you were all alone, and had nothing to distract you from the bones’ offers of power, their suggestions that you were special, that only you deserved their gifts, their lies.
But these aren't lies, oh bearer mine.
And if only you could get that damn voice to shut up!
You stopped in realization, there was a way you could stop the voice.
You quickened your pace, desperate to get back to the village.
You arrived at the village late in the afternoon, the marketplace being packed up and closed. The familiar sights giving you a sense of security.
You didn't see the antique shop's owner, but you did see The Blacksmith closing up his shop.
Walking up, you asked him if you could use his forge.
Startled, he turned around to see you standing there with a smile on your face.
There was a pause, almost like he was taken aback by the madness in your eyes.
I call it enlightenment, oh bearer mine
Finally deciding that he trusted you the blacksmith handed you a key ring and asked you to lock the place up when you were done. Thanking him, you walked inside and took the bag of silver from your rucksack and got to work heating the forge.
Leaving the key ring inside the house-shop, along with some of the silver you didn't use, you walked out towards the postmaster, letter in hand, and a smile on your face.
As it turned out, what you read was right, plating the Ahamkara bones in silver deterred the auditory hallucinations,
Oh bearer mine.
Handing the letter over to the postmaster, along with some of your last silver coins as payment, you told them that it was high priority, straight to the Sisters in Canterlot.
The letter contained details about your encounter with the Diamond Dogs int the mountains, and the bandits populating the old battlefield, and that you would give the full description in person.
It didn't say anything about the Ahamkara bones.
The postmaster nodded in understanding, and told you they'd get it there as fast as possible.
Saying your thanks, you made your way to the east side of the village, back towards the mountains.
It was time to go home.
The silver didn't help as much as you hoped it would.
Your trek back through the mountains was a blur of colors, and saw you finally starting to give in to the whispers, finally starting to listen.
When you came back through the forest you started in, you felt a strong pull, one much stronger than what you felt at the battlefield.
Following it almost automatically, you found yourself in a small cave, one barely large enough to be considered a shelter.
Resting on one of the rocks was another skull, missing it's face and jaw, though this one much larger than the one you were wearing. In fact compared to the one on your shoulder, it seemed to belong to an adult. It looked like it would even fit on your head.
Admiring the size of it, you could only imagine what it ate.
Reality is the finest flesh, oh bearer mine. And are you not...hungry?
Almost seeming like you were being controlled, you took off your helmet, and heated the metal with your gloves.
Placing the skull carefully over the helmet, you cleaned up any bits of metal that looked to be heated too much.
About half an hour later, when the metal had cooled down, you placed the newly decorated helmet on your head.
As soon as you did, you felt like you could last longer in a fight, like you could take hits take would normally knock you out.
Sadly, though, there wasn't anything around to test that out.
With a slight amount of disappointment, you continued heading back to Equestria, towards Canterlot.
You were almost there.
You had made it into Equestria's borders, and luckily managed to enter a town that didn't have too large of a population.
You suddenly wondered why that would make a difference.
'Because,' you thought to yourself, 'less ponies to have stare at me.'
Regardless, you had bought a train ticket straight to Canterlot and now were waiting out the trip.
The train finally stopped at the station on the mountain.
It was time to go talk to the Sisters.
You didn't seem worried about how the Sisters were going to react to your appearance, though, judging by the looks you got on the streets, it wouldn't be good.
You didn't care, the Ahamkara bones convinced you that it wouldn't matter.
They weren't real anyway.
The Ahamkara bones had convinced you of that, too.
They told you that you were the only true ‘real’ one here. You asked the bones about the changeling mare running the antique shop, and why you remembered much more detail about her than anything else.
The bones told you that she, too, was real, but that she had already left.
So you tried it out, saying, "I am more real than this." It felt good. "I am the only real person here." It felt like their looks, their insults, went soft.
The fake can't harm the real, oh bearer mine.
The guards at the castle gates allowed you to go through, recognizing you as a protector, needing to speak with the Sisters.
As you made your way to the throne room, the guards patrolling gave you strange looks, the maids staying far from on in your way.
It didn't matter how they reacted. What mattered was how the Sisters would react.
One of the guards probably notified them that you had arrived, and the letter had told them who you were.
Finally at the throne room doors, the guards informed you that a petition was being heard, and that you would be next.
When the petitioner finally left, they gave you a strange look, as had the guards when they thought you weren't looking as you entered.
The Sisters were conversing with their assistants when you entered, a lull in the Day Court. The Nobles in seats around the room to observe the proceedings, and muttering about something or other.
When you entered, all attention was directed to you, there was no sound other than your steps on the stone.
The Older Sister cleared her throat and held up your letter. "Are you the one who wrote this?"
You confirmed, "I am."
The Younger Sister looked at your armor. "And what are you wearing?"
You looked her in the eyes. "Bones of the Ahamkara."
The room grew much colder.
The Older Sister looked down at you, "Then you will relinquish them and allow us to destroy them."
You refused.
She glared at you, at your defiance, "Then I will have to destroy them while they are on you."
You spread your arms out with a smile, challenging her. "Go ahead, try."
And she did.
She let loose a beam of magic from her horn, and acting quickly, you put both of your palms in front of you, blocking or deflecting it with a power you weren't sure you even had, as the blast appeared to consume you.
When She finished, there was a stunned silence, as you simply put your arms back at your side.
Guards poured into the room as the Nobles fled. They surrounded you, pointing their spears and swords towards your neck.
You sighed, and struck out.
You deflected the sword blades with your gauntlets, using them to get the Guards off balance to throw them into others.
When the ones with spears tried to stab at you, you caught their weapons and used the hilts to bash their ribs and knock them out.
After minutes of fighting, there was only a single Guard left, on his knees. You took the spear you had, pulled it back, and swung the hilt at his chin, knocking him out, and snapping the spear in half.
Tossing the half of the spear you still had on the ground, you looked back to Sisters.
You were strong enough to stop The Older Sister's magic. Strong enough to fight off the the best the royal guard could throw at you.
All thanks to the power I gave you.
I gave it to you, because I knew you came from somewhere more real than this place.
And with that power, we can burn our way back there.
Can't we,
Oh Reader Mine?
