When a stallion decides to set out on a journey, he soon learns how life is outside Ponyville
Thanks to encouragement of a long-time friend, Laxed Nightfire finally decides to follow his life-long dream of setting out into the vast unknown.
But with newly discovered monsters, and mysterious strangers around every corner, he finds more than he's searching for, and finds himself needing to just survive, rather than seek out adventure.
Having to beat the odds many times, it might not look as bright for this pony as he might've hoped for, and he's got more barking up his tree than he'd need.
'Death awaits the greatest of heroes!' "He shouted, with a mighty roar unlike anyone had ever heard! It made his foes tremble, it made them shake, it made them fear him! He was a massive one, the mightiest Equestria had ever seen! None ever dared cha-"
He was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"And who dares interrupt the mighty Laxed in his most mighty of stories?"
"You're too silly..." He stood face to face with someone not too off his own appearance. A mare with a black mane, striped red with equally black fur. It made her practically invisible in darkness, and the only thing one saw, was her red, hunting eyes.
Her name was Alita, a pegasi, and she might as well have been a vampony, had she only had the fangs. If she had any sharper teeth than the rather square ones located at the top and bottom of her mouth, he'd have probably been more frightened than attracted to her.
But attracted? Oh yes. He had a crush on her, more piercing and strong than anyone could hope to hinder or cut. Well, nearly anyone...
While she might've been his dreamgirl, he wasn't alone in the competition, and as far as he stood to holding her hooves in his own, his progress was lower than 'Him'...
He sighed. How could a male pegasi with two sea-blue eyes, black fur with red patterns spread out through various spaces and a black and red mane compare to the 'Hero of the town', someone far superior in both color, strength, speed, and everything else? Hay, he was even taller by half a head. To top it off, he was an alicorn.
A mane to fit his head which was obviously always in the clouds. Long and white, it flowed like a cloud in the soft breese.. Even better, he had a befitting coat which went well along with the hair, a lightened gray, much like that one clumsy pegasi that always flew about.
The competition was harsh, but a challenge had never stopped him before.
"Oh... Well, what brings you here? Finally cared for my offer to watch the moon atop the hill?" He was always quick to reply with some way of getting a date with her. She had never answered yes, but that warm smile she got every time he did was what kept him from stopping.
"Haha, no you goof. The kids needs to go eat." She only gazed at him for a moment, but it was the small moments she gave that mattered to him.
"Alright kids, pack it up. The 'Great and mighty storyteller' has better things to do, and so do you. Your mothers are all asking you to go home. You DO have better things to do than sit around telling stories all day, right?"
His heart stopped for a second. He wanted to win his heart over an alicorn that had everything on him, and as she had never asked before, it caught him fairly off guard. One hoofstep back, he regained his 'balance' once more and regained his composure. "But of course I do!"
He lied right in her face, and he felt like he had bit himself in the heart, but he didn't even see any other option. She didn't ask further, but the smile she had faded, even as he still had his. It was fake, but he had to make the lie trustworthy.
As she headed off with the kids, he turned to one of the windows in the library and simply gazed out into the wilderness that lay beyond it. "Imagine all the adventures that are out there..."
He was a bookworm by nature. Not the typical 'Nerd' though, he wasn't anywhere near Twilight's capabilities. She could answer just about anyone's questions, he could read stories. Made him feel all the more useless.
Ever since he was a kid, he had only dreamed of being one of 'The great', ponies who ended up in storybooks for their deeds, adventures and so on. He wanted to be an idol. Drowning himself in storybooks, he wasn't much of anything past a storyteller. His job was just being an assistant to whomever needed it. He worked wherever he got work, he wasn't permanently hired.
Bits was the least of his worries, he wasn't in a financial crisis. He felt like he had 'Lost his path'. He was a bookworm when he wanted to be a hero. So much for living up to his dream.
The cutie mark crusaders wandered outside the window. What he felt wasn't joy, love or anything like that. He felt envy bite away at him. At least they had their club, right? What did he have? A dusty old library filled with storybooks, most of which weren't even his. He had tried returning them to Twilight, whom he considered a Librarian he could visit at any time, but she had shook her head and told him to keep them. She wasn't quite so fascinated about them anyways.
He knew she lied, but she seemed to have pity on him or something, as though she knew. She probably did. He hadn't been the best of liars, and even more so, based on his 'job', most could probably guess what kind of a pony he was.
His thoughts had wandered off to her massive library. Still many books he hadn't read. As his focus returned and he once again saw the world before him, they were gone. The three of them had probably set off to another insane adventure at finding their cutie marks.
"Cutie mark..."
That word bit down on him hard. The skies had gathered all over. "Time for rain, huh?" He smiled. It almost felt fitting as his mood had already dropped at the thought of the description the two words formed. He looked to where his cutie mark was... Or should be, anyways.
Yes, he was a blank flank and every day it hurt him more and more. No wonder he always had his wings out in public. No matter how tiring it was, he had them spread fully open, just enough to cover his blank flank. He had managed to drop them once, believing nopony saw him. Served him right for being ignorant to get laughed at by a pair of fillies walking by.
He wasn't often glad somepony got yelled at, but as the parents scolded them, he nearly smiled, just a little as he wandered on. With the mothers' back turned towards him, he even reached his tongue at the little fillies and smirked at them and wandered on. That day was one of the few he had actually felt some joy past reading storybooks.
He simply gazed out of the windows for hours. Night befell him, and the beautiful moonlight shun through the window. Eventually, he found enough peace from the hassards of thoughts and fell asleep. The sunlight shining through the same window he had gazed out the day before was what woke him up. He hadn't moved far away from it, and not far enough to avoid the sunlight.
He blinked a few times, aggitated, wanting to sleep more, but eventually grumbled as he woke up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. It was early. Too early for anypony else to be awake, he was sure. The sun had barely rose from the hills, and it was still making its full appearance.
"I swear she's doing this to mock me..." He grumbled. Hunger wasn't nagging him, so he decided to take a walk outdoors. Ponyville was the most pretty while it was empty. No eyes looking at him. Nopony judging him. No broad daylight shining him directly in the eyes wherever he walked. There were only a few strokes of sunlight every here and there.
It was still half-dark, and that was part of the beauty. It wasn't directly dark, but not directly bright either. The stands were empty, the houses had no light in them and there were no sounds past a few birds chittering and a chicken running across from one house to another. "Probably one of Shy's ran lose again."
If there was one pony he preffered being around to any other, it was her. He never felt uncomfortable around her. She was silent, friendly, and her eyes only befell his. Not in a romantic way, but she never, not even once, looked to his blank flank. She hadn't questioned it. Everypone else had. Made him wonder if she was considerate, or just naturally ignorant. In a good way of course. She hadn't ever done anything wrong. To top it off, she was rather cute. It made him feel bad they didn't talk to each other more.
He continued on. He wasn't in any mood to go chasing a chicken, and if anything, this was the one time he could truly enjoy himself outdoors.
He bypassed many buildings. One particular building made him stop. It couldn't be any other. He had walked for a little while of course, but he came across it accidentaly. What made him halt was the fact that he was walking too far, and if he didn't make his way back home soon, others would make it outside before he could return, and that thought made him disgress.
Still, he stood there for a second, looking up to the cloudy building. "Rainbow Dash... Heh..." She had once been his big crush. Before he met Alita anyways. It all reminded him of childhood memories. All the rejections he got, even then. He was persistant, he didn't want anyone else back then either. If he first found one, he stuck to her for a long time. It wasn't until later on, when he was closing up to being a fully grown stallion that he gave up the pursuit on her.
They still stuck around as friends. They even trained together. He might not have been the most athletic or anything, but he did love adventures. As if it wasn't obvious, anyways. They had that in common, as well as a liking for speed. Heh, they probably had more, but his thoughts had wandered on far enough, and now he made a swift, but controlled pace back the way he had first taken to get here.
He hadn't made it further than just getting back to the center of Ponyville, where all the buildings were, before he was stopped by another familiar voice.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! You're out this early too? Is it because you're a blank flank? I heard some blank flanks go crazy! Does that mean I am a blank flank too? No, I don't have a blank flank! But we're both out here and I thought I was the only one! Maybe you came out after me and you actually have a cutie mark and it's hidden? Oh, this is so great! We're early-out-friends! Oh, I know what we should do! We should make a poster! I got a party cannon! I'll go make cake and everything and we'll celebrate that you've hid it this long an-"
The pink pony was interrupted. He had only caught hafl the sentence, he was too tired to do otherwise, as he was still waking up. Each time she mentioned the two words, he felt like he was being kicked right in the stomach, repedetively.
"Maybe another time Pinkie Pie... For now, I'll just head home. I'm a little tired."
She frowned, but nodded. "Okey dokey lokey... Next time then... 'Mr. I'm hiding my cutie mark from everyone"
He smiled a little. No matter how much it hurt that she had pointed it out over and over, she was Pinkie. She didn't mean harm by it, he knew that much, and Pinkie being... Well... Pinkie, she was too random for him not to get at least a little smile out of it.
She wandered one direction, him the other. This was just one of the many times she had assumed something about his lack of a cutie mark, but every time he met her, she always seemed to have forgotten her last conclusion and made a new one. He had never told her to stop either. He'd feel bad, since she only meant good by everything she said. She liked spreading laughter, and if he told her he only felt dismay at what she said, she'd probably have a more broken spirit than he had from her reminding him about his lack of a special talent.
Sun was rising up high on the skies, and every minute passing, less darkness covered the streets of Ponyville. He heard voices, saw lights in the houses and that caused him to start galloping across the street, hoping nopony saw or heard him. He slammed open the door to his own dusty little library. It had a kitchen, a bedroom and a living room that was more a library than anything else. No second floor. Just those three rooms. He didn't need more. He never had guests, nor did he have his special somepony. He probably didn't have a chance on Alita, and it was the only pony he could imagine himself spending the rest of his life together with.
The door was shut, and so was his chances of being seen... He thought.
*Knock, knock, knock*
Somepony was at the door. He was afraid to answer. No matter how many days passed, no matter how many were aware, he always had a constant paranoia of someone seeing his blank flank, in fear of them commenting or laughing on it. Ponyville was friendly, he knew, but nothing struck more fear or sadness in him than laughter. He hardly dared even wandering outside because of this, since the town was usually cheerful.
He opened the door enough to peek outside with a single eye.
Fluttershy stood at the door. He was shocked. Then it struck him. She was probably outside looking for her chicken and wondered if he'd have seen it.
"I want to come in... If that's okay with you?"
He smiled. Again, he couldn't imagine anypony else he'd rather talk to, and she was one of the few he'd ever let into his home. She had been inside before, so he knew he didn't have to explain why his living room looked like Twilight's house had collapsed into a mountain of books.
There wasn't too much space for them to walk around, but there were carved paths if they needed to get anywhere specific. Aside from the small tops of books, there was two seats and a small table in the corner of the living room. His house wasn't too big, so it took its fair share of place.
He opened the door fully and raised a hoove, as to show her in. She walked inside and took a seat in one of the two chairs. He'd never have needed more since he only ever had one guest at a time, and even that was rare.
"S-So... Uhm... I saw you running... Is everything okay?"
Of course that was why she had come knocking. She was so caring to everypony, not just animals. She was better with the latter, but she tried to treat all alike. He had worried her, not just himself.
"Yeah... I'm fine... It's just... Do you ever have... You know... Urges to go out there... And explore everything? The books only tell so much... Hay, there aren't even enough images out there to really get a feel of everything we're missing out on..."
She shook her head. "Uhm... No I don't... That's not a problem... Is it?"
She had a worried expression, and her voice was shaky. He shook his head to reassure her she shouldn't worry.
"T-Then why do you ask?" She continued, still rather nervous.
"Because I do... I want to see all of Equestria... Every last bit of it... But... Since I never talk to anypony about it... I don't have any support... And if I die out there... Since that's a reality, not knowing what's out there... Will anypony even remember me?"
"Uhm... I would..." She cheerfully smiled.
"Haha... Thanks Shy... But in all seriousness... Would it be worth it? Please be honest Shy... I don't think there's a single pony out there I could ask this aside from you..."
She was probably ready to collapse right there. Due to her shy nature, it was probably not a very good idea to ask her for a major decision like this, but he saw no other way out of it.
"Please Shy... Yes or no..."
She calmed herself a bit. It was probably how serious he was about it that made her unable not to answer. She got up from her seat, and walked to the door. She smiled. There wasn't even a tiny bit of honesty in it though, he could see her wanting to cry. "Y-You've always dreamt about it, right? I t-think you should follow your dream"
She was choking on her own need to cry. She could barely hold it back before all he could hear was the door slamming shut as she galloped off.
They had been friends for a fairly long time, despite not talking as much as some friends do, or should.
"Was it the thought of me dying...?"
He questioned himself many things throughout the day as to why she had been so worried, but he had at least made a decision. He had her support on it, and that had made his mind clear. He was going to set out. He might even return a hero, and be able to win Alita's heart, who could tell?
A few days had passed since he had made the decision. He hadn't seen any more of that friendly yellow pony whom he had entrusted his decision with. He couldn't blame her though. He had said something that upset her, and he knew she wasn't the one to take things like that very lightly.
He wanted to at least say bye to her, but whenever he had visited the cabin, she wasn't there. That was all that kept him from going. He had said bye to the few he spoke to. At least past saying 'Hi'. Nopony else seemed to have seen her. Perhaps they were just hiding the truth from him, to keep a promise to her. Either ways, he wasn't going to find her any time soon.
What time he hadn't spent searching, he had spent researching. Finding out what information he possibly could about the greater world, what he'd need to survive, and a few books on creatures. It wasn't going to give him nearly the amount of tips or information he needed to get along, but it was a start.
Amongst them were two that nearly made him jump.
"Tartarella: A massive, hairy, eight-legged blob that can ignite itself, and has a nasty habbit of shooting fireballs at whatever it sees.
Rating: Very deadly. Avoid at all cost."
Very few had seen it and nopony had gotten close enough to get more information than those few lines.
Then there was the other...
"Saken: An all-devouring beast that is long enough to stretch through a forest from one end to another. It doesn't have arms, nor legs. Just an extremely strong nose, and jaws with a destructive force to compare to the length of the body. Black with red patterns all over it. The pattern varries from Saken to Saken.
Rating: Very deadly. Avoid at all cost."
He sat there for hours and read about the many 'Very deadly' creatures, but those two seemed more terrifying than the rest. Even the dragons weren't in this category, and that alone spoke for itself.
The list was, however, many hundreds of years old. Most had probably gone extinct. And those that hadn't, weren't likely to step outside under normal circumstances.
*Snap!*
He closed the last book. It was time to prepare. It wasn't like he could sleep anyways. All those creatures out there made it very little tempting. It was like every time he blinked, he'd expect one in front of himself.
"Paranoia... Heh... Isn't that a good start?" He snickered.
The night turned to day before he had finally found every last piece needed, only to realise he had to unpack some. After a facehoove and some time later, yet again, his bag was finally carriable. He put it on his back, and prepared to take of.
Too many days had passed. He'd have to tell her about the stories he'd go through when he returned, since he didn't get to say bye. He opened the front door. It was mid-days, and the market was crowded. He didn't care. This was the first time he had ever barged out without a second thought. He didn't care if they laughed. When he returned, they'd all be cheering. He was sure of that!
Drowning in his still obese backpack, he continued on. Down the long street. Every eye of every corner befell him. He almost regret the decision, but he carried on, his head raised high in the skies with pride. All he really wanted to do was turn around with his head low to the ground, but he couldn't disappoint himself... Or Shy...
---------------------------------
He was at the end of the town, and some ponies had even followed along to see where he was going. Not just some. Everypony stood and made up a massive crowd as he was just barely making his way out into the big world. He looked back at them. His eyes went wide open. The one leading the crowd was none other than that one shy pony he had hoped to say bye to.
"Uhm... Y-You asked if anypony would care if you left, r-right?"
He dropped the bag to the ground and galloped right over to her, hugging her as best as he could.
Neither spoke. Neither had to. Tears fell, from both sides. Both of them felt the salty liquid fall from their eyes, down along their cheeks and into their mouth.
"Thank you Shy..."
As their heads parted, and the hug ended, she smiled, as did he. He turned around and grabbed the plump bag once more, and after some 'Hnnng' and 'Mmmmfff', he finally got it back on, and started making his path forth. Behind him, everypony were waving and cheering, including her. She had already found herself a more comfortable spot far back in the crowd.
He no longer felt that sinking feeling of wanting to return. His motivation was at its best, and as he waved back, his focus was only on that one yellow hoove in the far background, but his wave was for everypony. He was grateful so many had come to see him part, when he wasn't even expecting Shy to be there. Even Alita stood up front. To his disgust, so did his competition, Algar, the alicorn, being right next to her.
He wasn't going to let a small assumption get the best of him. After all, Algar had come to see him off. That made him feel even better about setting off. Even he, the idol of the town, had cheered him off... He blinked. Was that lousy hayball just trying to send the poor pegasi off so he could have Alita all to himself? He shook the thought off his mind.
As he was, he didn't have any chance to win her heart anyways. His best bet was to come home as an even greater hero, and win her heart that way, but if so, he was at a race against time. And becoming a hero was no easy deed either.
And so... He now stood before the open wilderness. His goal was set, so was his motive and all he had to do, was make his way out into it.
He had only taken a few steps out into the grass, off from the path that lead to the Sweet apple acres. The crowd that had waved to him slowly dispersed, and only a few remained until he could no longer see them any more than they could see him.
His first hinder was a forest. It was known for its vastness more than the danger it held. He soon bypassed the first mark of what started the maze of trees.
His vision got hindered by one tree after another as he walked on. The further he ventured, the more thick they grew together. He hadn'e entered the Everfree forest, just a normal, and more friendly forest. At least he considered it more friendly. Mostly because the everfree forest had been known for more than just one horror story, but also because this one wasn't constantly dark either.
It was rather bright, actually. The sun was still high in the skies, he hadn't been walking for too long. The leaves had some major gaps which allowed for the beams of sun to heat the ground. There was nothing which didn't seem to want to wish him well off on his journey. One good sign after another. He became more optimistic by the second.
"Maybe being out in the big world isn't so bad after all?"
He wasn't alone though, but nor was he aware he was in company of someone... Or something, rather...
He wandered on, oblivious to the not quite so silent, and even somewhat clumsy steps behind him, lurking from tree to tree.
Eventually one of them stumbled into the other, and a loud argument initiatated behind a large oak. Even he couldn't ignore them. The voices were rather frail, quite young by the tone. As he made his way around the barricade between the two, three little puppies had gone at a full assault at each other.
They were diamond dogs, no doubt. Their appearance and lack of any decent clothing revealed it. More so, one of them had a rather pretty gem tied around their neck with a simple, but sturdy thread. It was the leader, no doubt. He was bigger than the other two. Not by much, but enough to make a difference.
"Uhm... Are the three of you okay, or...?" He asked, both curious and nervous at the same time. Kids weren't his speciality, aside from story-telling.
"Oh grayt! hessss seen ush!' One of them shouted.
"It's probably all your faulth!" The 'leader' replied with the words and a punch, and once again the three of them were at it like the wild dogs they were.
The three had gone and ignored him again, and he simply let them at each other's throats until they all sat there, panting and exhausted.
"So... Why are you out in the forest, all alone?" He broke the silence the three had finally gathered in.
They weren't in a condition to try and fight or argue, so he could ask as openly as he pleased without meeting any resistance.
"Huff... Huff... None of your business..." The third one, smallest of the three, not even fully reaching his chest in height, growled out.
"Well... You were obviously following me, so I'd consider it my business, you know..." He quickly threw in as a reply, feeling clever about it.
"Well... Werrrr hungryyyy... We thoght yuuu had food!" The first one exclaimed. He was not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Then again, his appearance probably betrayed that anyways.
The poor puppy hadn't finished his sentence before he was slapped at the back of his head and whimpered.
"And now he knows that too! Great! Anything else you want to say, meathead?" The leader was more aggitated now than he had been when they had been busted.
"Oh... You're hungry? Well... I don't know how much I can save, but I'll go through my backpack and see what I've g-..." He had opened the bag and started searching in it as he spoke, but no sooner did he find himself slowly 'falling asleep'. The last words he remembered before passing out was 'That oughta keep him knocked out for a few hours', and the unmistakable pain of being wacked in the head.
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The scent of dirt tickled his nose. He didn't really want to wake up, but the uncomfortable bed he was laying in practically forced him to find a better spot to lay down on. It wasn't a bed though. It was solid dirt-floor. What wasn't dirty, was mud.
"That's your drinking pond" He heard a dark-toned voice.
He was still waking up. His senses were at their worst, and his sight was blurred. It was like he had been out for days.
"Jeesh... I can't remember the last time I had a this bad headache..." he mumbled, still sleepy.
As his eyes finally adjusted to waking up, he still felt rather blind. It was dark, and barely lit up by a small candle at the wall. The only 'Door' that lead to an exit, was shut off by a set of rusty bars. It was much like a prison cell. Minimum food, bad drinking circumstances and a wooden-plated bed attached to the wall by chains.
He walked over to the rusty bars and looked left and right. To his left, more prison doors, the same to his right. There was also someone wearing a hood. Based on the tone he had heard before, his guess was that this was the one who had spoken. The hood was as dark as the night. It might have been purple, but the entire place was too dark to tell.
There was no harm in asking questions at this point. He knew he was jailed. What more could they do? He could only guess what they'd do to him. They had gotten his stuff and Diamond dogs and ponies weren't always known for getting along.
"Uhm... How did I get here, and why am I being kept here exactly? You've got my stuff? I don't really have anything else to offer... Heh... So if you could just open this prison cell, I'd be taking my leave and we'd both have a nice day, right?"
"No can do that." Still the dark tone.
It was too dark to tell just who or WHAT sat on that chair, but his best guess was a diamond dog. Who else would be set to guard a pony's cell? Or any cell for that matter?
His mind faded over to thoughts about the story Rarity had told him about how she out-won... Or rather, whined the diamond dogs. He could only hope that he'd be given the chance to whine himself to freedom, but the doubt was strong. She could find diamonds. What did he have that might've been useful for them? Nothing as far as he knew.
His thoughts flew, as did the time, and before he knew it, he heard footsteps from the other end of the room. That was the stairs that lead to freedom.
Not that he was expecting to walk up them without it being to go to some other grim future that probably awaited him.
Two diamond dogs walked over to the cell, looking into it. "We caught ourselffffs a mighty fine one, di'n't we?"
He wanted to crawl as far back into a corner of the cell as he could. He would've fought back if he could, but those gazes through the cell bars only made them seem like giant, massive and frightful monsters. Their toothfilled grins practically lit up his cell, and that just made it worse. All he could see was two faceless creatures with glowing eyes and sharp, giant teeth.
"Well... His majesty wans an audience whiff this one. Open th' door, cellkeeper."
Laxed had given up all hope at this point. There was no way he'd win versus three of them alone, and he knew that if he tried escaping, he'd probably only worsen his own situation. He closed his eyes and hoped he wouldn't have to ever open them again. Fear was eating away at him.
"This was such a stupid idea... Why couldn't I just have remained a bookworm?" His thoughts raced with regret.
"Get up off the floor already..." The same dark tone. It was friendly though. He opened his eyes, and to his surprise, he saw a hoove reaching down to help him up. He grabbed hold of it, and gained his balance on all four once more. Looking over the shoulder of the hooded stallion, he saw the two diamond dogs, both passed out. Their expressions were revealed by the little light from the candle, and they were both knocked into a lasting sleep.
His saviour started galloping off. He wasn't headed towards the stairs though, but to a cell close to them. Unlocking it, he walked inside.
"Close it" The stranger mumbled once they had both gotten inside the cage. He did as ordered, and simply looked confused to the stallion that had gone ahead and pushed against a wall. After a few striving seconds, it gave in, and slowly budged, sliding far enough in to reveal a stairway leading even further down. It made him wonder just how close to the surface they were right now.
"Come on... It won't stay open for long and it's a pain to open..." The dark tone had faded, and it was... A female's voice?
He hadn't gotten a close enough look to differ the gender, but from what he had heard, his assumption was that it was a stallion. The darkness held many secrets, and this just seemed to be another. He followed 'her' down the stairs, and saw the pathway they had entered shut behind them after just a few seconds.
Time passed, and they walked both down, up and straight ahead through many corridors. The darkness had been maddening, but to his luck, his saviour was also a unicorn who cast a bright light. It was like having a live torch that walked on its own.
"S-So... You're a mare?" He was nervous to ask. Not because he was shy around females, but because of how he had been a coward, and she had saved his flank. He was both embarrased, and felt humiliated. Talking was the least he wanted to do if it hadn't been for how long they had walked.
The stranger didn't reply. It wasn't his only attempt at trying to start a conversation, but it was by far his best one. The more he tried, the more he felt rejected, and the less it tempted to try again.
Silence returned.
The only thing that vibrated in the air was the sound of hoovesteps across stone flooring. That was how it remained for a longer time period. He didn't even know if they were above or below the diamond dog lair anymore. They had walked up and down too many stairs for him to keep track, even if he had tried his hardest to focus on it, to know whether or not they were headed towards the surface, or somewhere else.
Then it struck him. The walls had been slightly curved.
"We've been walking in circles... Haven't we?"
The stranger stopped. Didn't speak, just stopped. Then she continued to walk on. He refused to keep doing it. He ran up in front of the unicorn and blocked the path. The light revealed the face. It was indeed a mare. Fully grown and beautiful at that. He had to contain himself in order to not blush, but he had lost all will to speak.
She walked past him, and continued on. He followed.
Pink eyes, a blue, magnificent mane that fell straight down like a waterfall, jagged at the end, and a tail to match, all along with a white coat. He didn't see any wings, so he was certain she wasn't an alicorn, which only made him more shocked she had handled those two diamond dogs earlier. They were both bigger, and probably stronger than her.
This time, she only walked for a few minutes before she stopped, and directed her horn at a wall.
The wall lit up with the same blue glow that had kept the walls visible up until this point. There were many things scribbled all over the wall, but none made sense. Not a single sentence. Not even a word, or a letter. It was all written in a language he hadn't even seen or heard of, not even in his storybooks. And those were basicly knowledge books on stuff like this. Some was fictional, but most was based on truth.
He tried reading them, but the only results was his vision blurring. Again, he felt the soft embrace of sleep craddle him.
The last thing he had seen, was a wall that flashed up like her horn, in the same dark-toned blue as her horn-aura. Whatever memories he had of the text written upon it was removed though. He couldn't remember a single symbol, and if it wasn't for him waking up yet again, he would've felt more bothered by it.
His head was pounding, now worse than when he had woken up in the prison cell after the blow to his head. It was much worse.
His first reaction to waking up was "Gaaaaaaaah!", as he was screaming in pain. It soothened, and so his voice lowered itself. Opening his eyes, finally seeing the sunlight once more, thinking he'd never see it again after the last episode, he hadn't noticed 'she' was in front of him, with her horn to his head, glowing like before.
He backed off immediately. This time he was too focused on waking up to surpress the urge to blush, and his cheeks lit up like a pair of torches, with the unmistakable mix between red and pink.
She didn't laugh, or even pay heed to it. Not within his ability to notice, anyways.
She turned around, and prepared to take her leave. She made no signal for him to follow, and even as he tried, she raised a hoove. The meaning was obvious.
He stopped, and watched her walk off. With his head low, he turned in the opposite direction, and walked. He didn't even dare turn his head around until he could no longer hear the sound of grass being knocked over by her gentle hoovesteps.
He was no longer in a forest, but a pretty open, grassy field, with the occasional tree and flower popping up every here and there.
The joy of not being a slave for the diamond dogs, or whatever it was they had planned had faded as he hadn't even been able to thank his saviour. Even more so, he didn't have any food. All his books on what was edible and what wasn't had been taken as well.
He did however have a pair of small brown leather caskets on either sides of him, connected to each other by a pair of sturdy straps, which was how he carried them.
He hadn't paid note to the weight inside them, and when he finally did, he stopped and looked inside.
It wasn't exactly what he had hoped for, but somehow, neither did he feel disappointed. A pair of daggers, a book called 'Survival', a hook and a rope. He knew the tools were there for harvesting, but from what he had seen, it was a must to be able to defend oneself.
She must've been the one who'd have handed it to him while he was out. Had she anticipated he'd read on the wall? Probably. Curiosity gets the best of any pony.
And who would even think something like this would happen? Even Twilight was probably not aware, and if somepony knew something, it was her. Then it struck him. Perhaps she could explain the symbols? He couldn't remember a single one of them, but he knew he'd have seen symbols. He was certain of that much.
His location wasn't far off a village. Not one of the major cities. Just a small, innocent city with a few villagers spread over a few buildings. Kind of like a smaller version of Sweet apple acres. It wasn't quite so... Apple-ish.
It was probably another one of her calculations. She wasn't just good in combat appearantly. She was also extremely clever. Made him wonder why she had gone down there to save him in the first place. It wasn't the first time a pony had been kidnapped by diamond dogs, and how was he any more special than those down there suffering this very moment?
His mind was raided by different thoughts and conclusions. None were definite, because there always seemed to be a new path to take from the last.
Before he knew it, he stood right below the entrance to the town. Above was a sign that read 'Bolt and trolt'
The only thing he could think of was a pair of ponies that had visited Ponyville at an earlier point and tried to take over the source of the sweet apple cider everypony loved.
It made him a little unnerved to wander inside, but he had no other option. For one, he needed work, so he could regain resources. Two, he needed to contact Twilight about this. He wasn't going to tell he had lost her books. Celestia knows what she might think of him. First few days out there, and he'd already been robbed and trapped...
'Great way to start it off' he mumbled to himself, more thought-wise than verbal.
As he made his way further into the small town, he saw a few fields of crops of various vegetables, and even some with trees in them. It counted somewhere around 20, but he hadn't time to go around counting every last one of them. At least not for the moment.
The town seemed abandoned though. So why were the trees so fresh? As the vegetable-... No, they weren't. They were rotten, from one end to another. What had been sunlight, was a dark, overclouded sky, and every building seemed like it hadn't been touched in ages.
"An illusion spell?"
He looked to every corner, and window of every house, hoping to see whomever had done it, but if the illusion was gone, it was likely that the culprit was as well.
No, he or she was still here. There was no doubt. What stood before him, was pony-shaped mud that walked from every direction, right at him. They all carried blunt weapons like thick sticks, rocks or planks. They had no face, so he wasn't sure of their intention.
However, the culrpit had finally revealed himself. Atop one of the taller buildings, he heard someone shout. "Drop your bag and all your goods on the ground, and you will go unhar-..." Whomever was speaking was interrupted by something, and from the sound of wood breaking, the guess was easy. The muddy ponies fell to the ground and returned to their original state of being just a pit of dirt and water.
He flew up to the source of the sound. In the middle of the roof was a giant hole. He landed atop the roof, careful with his steps, and looked inside, only to find a colt, not yet fully matured. Yet, the magic the colt had shown made him wonder just how much talent he had.
He was met with a pair of red, angry eyes, and throwing off whatever had landed atop him, a unicorn revealed itself. He was green, like the wet grass, with a black mane and tail, dark as watery grass. It was a mess. It stuck in every direction. His tail fell flat. Meant the unicorn had probably done it on purpose.
"Uhm... Are you oka-" He couldn't finish before he was met with a grumble and a snarling reply.
"None of your business!"
"Err... Okay... Need any help? Trying to make your way down the stairs is probably more dangerous than a helping hoove, right?"
Silence.
The colt sighed turned his head, sighed and nodded. A few minutes of carrying later, they were both safely at the ground once more.
"So... Why exactly are you here? I mean... There are villages with work, so you don't have to plunder."
Again, silence.
"Well... I'll be heading off... If you want to stay here and wait for the next poor fellow to come here and help you because you fell through the roof again, feel free to..."
He could hardly contain his laughter as 'fuzzy-hair' grumbled and decided to tag along.
He had no idea where he was going, but he had gained a companion, at least temporary, that was probably more powerful and useful than him. He let silence emerge until the unicorn decided to start a conversation. He knew colts were impatient that way, but for now, he let silence take hold of the two as they continued over the other side of the grassy field. The clouds had disappeared, and so, the sun once more lit up the world with all its warmth and beauty.
Maybe it wasn't a great decision to let the colt tag along. Or better yet, let him open his little mouth. He was faster at talking than his old-time crush was at racing.
As if the fact that they both lacked food wasn't enough, his ears wanted to run off into some far distance where they could finally rest. It made the trip all the more exhausting. Though, his temporary partner had plenty energy to spare, jumping around and so on.
"So... Why'd you set out into the world?" He finally interrupted the overexcentrick mumblebucket.
Silence. For the first time in over an hour, silence befell the two.
The unicorn had stopped rambling. His head dropped as low as Laxeds had been most of the trip, ever since the inane talking had begun.
"... Can you at least tell me your name?" He made another feeble attempt at starting a less random conversation that crossed over into all sorts of topics.
"Oh! My name's Toby! Toby Trolt!"
"You didn't run off from home and started pillaging then?"
"..." He dropped silent again.
As they had started the discussion, they had stopped their pace, and were now both sitting on the grass. Time had passed since they first left the village, and now, the sun was slowly setting over a hill in the far distance, as the moon prepared to show itself. It was a beautiful scenery, and he would've enjoyed it more if his companion wasn't completely downed.
He had never seen it like this. Open field of grass, a mountain to the far left, forest to the right, and the mountain it was setting in right ahead. He had only seen it through a window up until now. After all, he rarely left his house, and it was always during morning that he did. He had even gotten others to go shopping for him.
He got lost in the beauty for a second, before he noticed Toby gazing at his blank flank. Since he had, up until now hid it, as a reaction to the red eyes falling upon his lack of a cutie mark, his wings shot up completely, covering it up. Unlike most pegasi his size, his wings were actually formidable in size. Not that he ever took pride in them.
As the wings shot up, Toby stared up at him instead of the flank.
"You don't have a cutie mark...?" He questioned. He was hestitant in his voice. Despite having tried to plunder what goods Laxed had earlier, he seemed discouraged to ask.
"..." This time, it wasn't Toby that had gone silent.
"... Well... I think we should start gathering some sticks and start a campfire... Move close to the forest. Out in the open, we'll be dead meat. You know that, right?"
"Err... Yupp" His eyes shot backwards as he twisted his mouth, an obvious sign of a bad lie.
Toby snickered. He headed over to the forest, gathering whatever sticks he could along the path, and dumping them close to a tree as soon as they had gotten close. Afterwards, he gathered rocks.
"Aren't you going to help, lazy bum?" He shouted at Laxed, who had frozen up completely in the exact same spot he had been as the unicorn had gone ahead and set it all up.
He had absolutely no idea what to do. All those storybooks were worth squat to him now. They never told him about survival. They told him about beating up bad guys. But as he had seen, when it came to those cases, he was as miserable at that as he was at everything else.
He walked over to the small campfire that had been lit up with a small portion of magic.
There was a lack of blankets and anything else, so as time passed, and the poor colt fell asleep, he shivered. Laxed had never been very weak to cold though, so he didn't even notice that the wind had blown out the fire, and was lashing at the two like winter was heading towards them.
But the clackering teeth of the green, shivering pony hit him hard. He walked over to the little ball that formed Toby, and as best as he could, wrapped himself around him with every hoove and tail. The shivering stopped, and the peacefull smile returned to Toby's lips as he got more comfortable.
Laxed on the other hand didn't get to sleep much that night.
Toby was still aging, and so, had a tendency to kick his hooves in random direction. Sometimes in the stomach, other times right in the face. So when he finally awoke, he was shocked to see Laxed with a black eye, whining about how he was aching.
"Who attacked you?!? I swear I'll get 'em! I'll get 'em all!"
"Calm down fuzzball... Nopony attacked me... I just ended up taking a trip into the forest and falling over and whatnot..." He had made sure not to let Toby wake up, wrapped up in him. Morning had come, and so had warmth, so he wasn't worried Toby would freeze even as he was no longer acting like a blanket.
The sooner he didn't have to deal with being a punching bag every 5 seconds, the better.
"Hey! My name isn't Fuzzball, okay?!?" He had gone back to his snarling and annoyed attitude.
"Doesn't make you any less fuzzy, does it?"
Toby mumbled. They sat by the coal that was their fuel for fire yesterday for a few more minutes. Neither said much more. They mainly kept their words to themselves, and the silence between the two was only broken when the pegasi said they should start making their way ahead once more.
The world wasn't infinite. They would have to find some sort of town, village, or something along the lines to stock up and move on. So far, they had to live on whatever berries they could find, as well as a few tasty flowers.
But hours passed. Hours became more nights of nothing but pain. Each day a new excuse for why he looked like someone had beaten every last bit of him to a pulp.
Toby had even managed to eat a toxic flower, and it was only thanks to the survival book that he had been able to pull through, thanks to a recipe for an antidote. Since the flower was common, so was the ingredients required to treat it.
The unicorn even had stories to tell, about his life. Laxed, in return, had stories from books he could re-tell. Trying to put himself as the hero wasn't much of an option since he neither fit the description of the character, nor had the personality to back it up.
Not that he cared of course. The trance Toby had whenever he listened made him smile. 'Still a child after all' was his thoughts as he saw those amazed eyes.
-------------------------------
One night was different though. He woke up in the middle of it, only to notice a pair of stick-like paws sweep right at him. He heard a shout a few hoovesteps away, and that made him roll out of the way from the strike that was targeted towards him, and instead ended up digging through the earth and launched dirt right into the air with ease.
Timer wolves. The fire was gone. He had no definite way of scaring them off. He was surrounded by three, and the scream he had heard was of Toby. He might've had the magic powers to solve this entire situation, but he was still a colt, and that fear grasped him wasn't shocking.
He decided the only way out of this was to take a stand. Timber wolves were rated 'Lethal'. At least they were just number 3 of categorised creatures. Fire was the only way listed to overcome them, but that wasn't an option, so he had to make use of what he had.
His bag was nearby, and with a quick roll over to it, he managed to pull a dagger from it, holding it with his mouth.
He could feel his entire body shaking. He wasn't prepared for this at all. But he had to improvise. He could run, but Toby couldn't. That would mean the end of the line for the poor unicorn.
One wolf tried lunging right at him. Thanks to his wings, he could easily leap over, land atop the back of the wolf and jump right off, knocking it right into the ground with a *Thud*.
It wasn't enough to make it give up, and another had tried to catch him off guard by slapping a hoove right at him. It grazed his cheek, and left a small bruise. He was thrown off balance, and right into the ground. They once again cornered him, but he got up. He had to.
His vision blurred. He had already partly lost consiousness. There was no way he'd win this, but he had to. One way or another, he had to. Toby seemed to handle himself somewhat fine against one. But that was just one. Three more, and he'd be done for sure.
He shook his head. Tried gaining his balance. Another one leapt at him. He slid right below, and as the timber wolf was right above him, he kicked his backhooves right into it.
*Whimper*
It was immobilized. At least enough for it not to fight back. The two others snarled. They had learned that lunging was not the way to go, and they now launched assaults of paws and jabs, trying to bite and claw him, in hopes of hurting him. One got a hold of his right fronthoove, but he managed to make it drop its grip around him with a measle attempt at jabbing the knife at it.
He had partly lost vision, and he was now having trouble standing as well. But he had to win... He had to. No matter how upbeat he got, he wasn't going to end up going down.
Many minutes of the assaults passed. He could hardly stand as they had gotten many succesful attacks at him, but in return, they had ended up with more than one kick to various parts of the body. He stood. No matter what they threw at him, he stood.
In the far distance, a howl echoed over the plains, and to where he and Toby was. The others howled in return, and soon after, ran off.
"T-Thank Celestia..." He mumbled under an exhausted and unconsious breath. He was bruised all over. It made the nights with being a punching bag feel like heaven.
Toby had gotten away pretty unharmed. Aside from a little scratch along his side, he was off fine.
Laxed took a breath of relief, and no sooner, he fell straight to the ground as his eyes shut.
"Thank Celestia indeed..."
He passed out as soon as he had finished his second sentence.
"G... Gah!" He had tried getting up. It was his first reaction to waking up, knowing just how he had passed out, worried the timber wolves had returned. One hoove to his chest, he was laying on his back, and he remained that way.
The sudden attempt at getting up had been cancelled out by his own reaction to pain, and as soon as it kicked in, he was at the ground once more. He had noticed the tickling feeling of fabric across his hooves and chest. Even his head was partly mummified.
Looking around, he saw Toby sit a few feet away, digging in the ground.
"H-Hey Toby...!" He tried shouting, but the aching pain halted him from continuing.
The unicorn sprinted over to him, with a wide smile across his face.
"And why are you so happy?" He grumbled. The pain was aggitating him slightly, and seeing Toby smile only made it worse.
"Because somepony came along and handed me the bandages you are wrapped in. That, and you just woke up. You've been out for a good three days after all..." The colt's voice lowered as he finished off the sentence.
"Oh... No wonder I feel so..."
*Rumble, rumble*
"Uhm... Sorry about that" He blushed. Three days had passed, and he hadn't neither eaten, nor had anything to drink. The body hardly required anything while asleep though, so he wasn't at the verge of death, just very, VERY hungry.
"Oh, don't worry about it. Whomever that stranger that had bypassed also secured us some food. I know it's not the biggest type of meal, but we got ourselves some sunflower sandwhiches"
His mouth was watering at the thought of it. It was his favourite type. He managed to pull himself up from the ground, after a few painful strains, and help from Toby.
The unicorn could hardly contain his laughter at the lost vision Laxed had gotten, staring into the open skies with enough of a hungry look to scare wolves away in fear of being feasted upon. Coming back, he held out two sandwhiches.
They were gone before he could even try to say 'Here you go', and so was the bowl of water he had brought right afterwards.
As he sat there, he had remembered Toby mentioning 'Stranger'. No name? No words? Nothing? His curiosity bit in as his hunger sated, and so, he questioned it.
"Well... She..."
She? Could it be the one he had been saved from before? He continued listening.
"She didn't give me any name. She wore a hood, so it was hard to tell what she looked like, but she had a blue mane and white fur." He continued whenever he could, struggling to fully remember, putting a hoove to his cheek, looking to the skies with an obvious thinking face.
It was her. No doubt. The mix of colors was rare as it could be, and if it hadn't been for the hood, he was sure Toby would've mentioned she was a unicorn.
"Why do you ask, exactly?" His gaze fell upon Laxed once more.
"Oh. Nothing, nothing! Just curiosity is all" Again, he repeated the same eye-bewilderned, mouth-twisting obvious lie of a face.
Toby, despite easily telling the lie from truth, decided it best not to chase the case. At least not during recovery time.
They had finally made it to the peak of the moutain they were targeting to cross. He had heard of some sturdy ponies far up in the mountains called 'Frosters'. Built with a thicker coat, bigger and stronger, and way more durable than the average equine, some of them could even compete with Celestia or Luna while she was still Nightmare moon, in terms of size.
Their target was to find a city containing them, and in Laxed's hopes, dropping Toby off. He had gotten enough of a beating from the many nights of being a punching bag. It might not have been fair to drop Toby off, considering how young he was, but he was no father, and responsibility wasn't his strongest side.
The food the hooded stranger had dropped them would last at least a week or two, even if they split it evenly amongst one another. That was plenty time to cross the mountain. At least, that was the plan.
Not that things had gone as planned up until this point, but they had both decided to stay optimistic about it.
But there was no point in setting out just yet. They still had many days worth of food, and Laxed had to recover. He could hardly stand up as it was. But time passed quickly, even as they weren't progressing.
It was just the routine of story-telling and even playing around with sticks, like they were two of the great warriors in the stories that were told.
Many days passed before he could fully walk on two again, and could actually drop the bandages, as long as a week to be exact.
Toby was no medic. He was a warrior of a unicorn more than anything else. There was no other logical explanation for his magic being this brilliant at an age like his. He couldn't help mend wounds, and the stranger had supposedly done her best to make sure the process took the least amount of time.
But as the week came to an end, and he finally stood and ran as he had before the timber-incident, they had to stop pretending to be great mighty heroes, and be actual, weaker and more humble explorers.
The mountain they were about to cross, was snowy, big, and as the snow was at its worst, they had to walk forth to progress. It was probably one of the worst mountain to cross due to how badly it snowed. 'Into the heart of the storm' as some called it.
They had almost regret the decision, and wanted to walk around, but that would take more time than their food would last. Going back to eating berries all day, and go hungry wasn't very tempting either. He couldn't just fly over it all either. That would mean carrying Toby on without being able to leave him in a town.
The decision was one and alone to go over the mountain. They took their first step onto the rocky surface, replacing the green, soft and grassy enjoyable ground they had stood on earlier. Wheter they were prepared for the stiff climb upwards or not, there was no turning back. At least not if they wanted to make it to the next town without feasting on berries throughout the journey.
- End -
(Author's note: I know this chapter might seem lazy, but I hate to rush things and make half the things they do go completely off the map about how unrealistic it is. For that reason, I dragged it out somewhat, despite trying not to. Part of the charm of the story is to make it enjoyable, lasting, and give the characters enough traits to make them actual characters... I.E Laxed's thoughts on dumping a poor kid in whatever village he could come across without thoughts for Toby. Not exactly a very good decision, but nopony's perfect)
The climb only got rougher with each step, and even as they hadn't gotten close to 'Snow Valley', the storm was already takings its toll. The snow was relentlessly lashing at them, and it was not going to let up any time soon, if at all.
Toby had already given up. He was too small and weak to walk forth, and so, he was being carried, along with the food, and tools.
Was it really such a good idea...?
They might've used weeks to walk around, but as it was right now, at least they would've made it to the other side.
Progress was getting slower by the second, and every time he took a step, it only felt like the snow grew more thick, and soon, he was as blind as a bat. Not just because he couldn't keep his eyes open due to the snow constantly lashing at his eyes, but also because it was so thick.
He no longer had any clue how far they had gotten, but if it kept getting worse from here, there was no way he'd make it through the valley.
Even he was shivering. They hadn't any clothes, neither thick nor thin. He knew they should've prepared more, but he had completely ignored that fact during his recovery, thinking it was best to leave it for when he was actually recovered. But unlike his plan, he was so eager to set off, that the idea was forgotten completely.
For that, he now suffered, as did Toby, worse than himself. He could at least endure the cold, and his head didn't block much to any snow. The unicorn was shivering his limbs off. It was hopeless.
They had to turn around. The storm was at its peak. They had reached the valley. However, there was no way he'd have any chance making it through. Even if he did, Toby definitely wouldn't.
He had turned around, and tried making progress downwards, but to no avail. He wasn't taking a single hoovestep downwards. He was walking across a plain, snowy field.
He was frozen.
Not because the snow got a hold of him. The fear struck him that he wouldn't make it off this mountain. Or, he could make it off that very second by flying off, it was the colt he had dragged along that made him worry.
It was his faulth if Toby ended up turning into a statue of ice up here.
He kept walking, but to no avail. If he had walked in circles, he wouldn't be able to tell. All hooveprints were covered up as soon as he had made them. The storm was unforgiving.
But he kept walking forth. He ignored all thoughts. He couldn't simply up and quit here. They had encountered timber wolves, fought them and lived to tell the tale. That was a rare occasion. They had beaten the odds, only to lose to them right afterwards?
"No! I refuse to quit now!"
Toby, having already partly slipped into the 'slumber of death', didn't respond to the shout Laxed had let out.
*Rumble, rumble!*
He had released an avalaunche. He didn't hear it. His ears were too clogged in snow, and sooner than he could even think to respond, he was covered. Him and Toby were dug deep into the ground, covered by more snow than they could hope to dig out.
Whether it was luck or not was irrelevant. They had gotten shelter from the storm, in a small cove that had been formed along the avalaunche.
At least they could rest. But falling asleep in the cold, with nopony to save them, and no way out, in the middle of nowhere meant an obvious end. For that reason, Laxed relentlessly lashed at the roof, hoping to dig his way out.
The snow was compact enough to not simply crash down on them, so he wasn't worried it would come ramming down on them. He wasn't capable of thinking rationally either ways. They had to get out. He refused to stop now. Toby had fallen asleep.
The silent whispers he emitted was his snore disappearing to the cold embrace surrounding both of them.
But as the pegasi kept hacking and slashing at the roof, he exhausted himself, and he had to take a break. He had hardly made progress either. And as soon as he stopped, so did his body. He had heated himself up fully, and the cold took an even greater grasp of him this time than earlier.
Fear kicked in again. As soon as he felt his body freezing up, he attacked the roof. Not just to try and save the two, but also to stay alive.
It was no use.
The thick layer of their white prison barely budged at the strikes of one hoove after another, and it hurt him to realise this was their grand finale. They had made it far, but unless miracles randomly happened, this was their resting place.
The snow never melted here, and they would probably never be discovered, not in many, many years.
He calmed down.
His body was freezing over, and he didn't have the energy to care anymore. He was exhausted, and all he wanted to do was rest.
He saw nothing but the fading image of Toby, and the guilt was the last feeling he could think of as he felt the soft, cold, and encouraging sleep take hold of him.
Something was above him. Just as he had intended to give up hope, and had nearly fallen asleep, he shot up. The hope gave him newfound energy. He soon found that 'energy' to be imagination, and fell straight back down, but his eyes remained open as he gazed up into the snowy 'skies' above him. Something was there.
It couldn't be his imagination. The sound was too clear, and he wasn't unconsious enough to be hearing things just yet. Though, just as something made it through, the snow right above his head gave in and fell right on his head, being both thick, heavy and compact.
He did not stay awake after that.
Voices. He heard voices. The words were unknown, and they made no sense to him, but voices usually meant help, so he didn't care whether or not he could understand them. He was too happy to.
He had trouble opening his eyes. His entire body was still freezing, and his eyelids were no different. They slid open though, carefully, but certainly.
The first thing he saw, was a roof made of planks, laid alongside one another.
"Thank Celestia..." He mumbled, and shut his eyes again.
A familiar sound of wood echoing to the pressure of steps approached him. A total of 8 steps.
Again, the unfamiliar language.
He hardly had the energy to open his eyes the first time, and as he felt reassured he was in safe hooves, he fell asleep once more.
------------------------------
Again, he woke up. This time, energy had returned to him, as had the warmth.
'How long have I been out...?'
He sat straight in the bed he was in. It was far from comfortable. The mattress was nothing but a layer of wool, and the blanket was rather thin. The room however, was brimming with heat.
There was a metal oven in the corner, and it did wonders for everything else.
He looked left and right, trying to figure where he was. The house wasn't normal though. He had never seen anything like it.
Everything was made in wood, save for a chair with a pair of pillows on it, the oven, a large carpet in the middle of the room and what he figured was the 'Kitchen' part of the house. There was no other rooms, just this one after all.
There was a sink on a bench, with some tools hanging over it.
Generally kitchen tools, but neither were 'Best quality' material. They all seemed home-made.
He realised why as he looked out the window. It was as dark as night, and the snow was lashing at the windows and ground, even more relentlessly than it had when he had released the avalaunche.
There was nopony around though. No anything around for that matter. His best chatting companions were the furniture. Then again, being where he was, who knew when someone would barge in the do-
The door shut open just as Laxed had started wondering. Two ponies, both massive, both of the earth kind, brown with black hair. They barged over to another bed that had been next to the one he had laid in.
He wondered what the fuss was about, but was ignored as he tried to ask. He decided to walk over to the bed.
There laid Toby. He couldn't hear neither breath, nor mumbles. The little colt was frozen.
He hadn't noticed it earlier because he was still waking up. Now he sat next to the bed, simply gazing down at the unicorn.
"N-No... No... Nononono..."
The two others looked at the pegasi who refused to accept what he was seeing.
"Is this yer friend?" The male of the two asked, the other being a female. Both were bigger and buffer than him though.
Laxed didn't answer. He didn't even hear the question.
"Ah said... Is this yer friend?"
He went ignored once more.
The earth pony sighed. "We'll be over at the kitchen tahble when yer ready to talk, lad"
An hour passed. There hadn't been any movement. Not even a twitch.
"What have I done...?"
His eyes had gone empty and shallow by the time he finally stopped looking at the colt. His head lower than his shoulders, he walked over to the table.
He didn't cry. He didn't frown. He was beyond that point.
"Ye ready 'ta talk then?" The earth pony asked once more as Laxed took a seat on the third chair of the table.
His head hardly moved, but it was a silent nod.
"Alright then lad... Yer friend over there isn't dead. He ain't quite alive either. The thing is... Neither of us Frosters has what it takes to save him. We reckon ye do tho' lad"
Laxed head shot up as he looked nearly happy towards the earth pony before him.
That possibility made him smile. Just a little. He only barely managed to stutter 'Go on', it was still only a possibility.
"Well lad... Y'see... It requires a bit of yer blood. Don't'cha worry. It won't hurt a bit, and we won't be need'n' much. However, the reason he hain't woken up yet, 's 'cause his blood has frozen over. We cain't donate any type o' blood t' him either. We do however believe ye have th' right type. 'S only a belief, but if ye want to give it a shot, just tell u-"
The Froster couldn't finish before he found himself embraced by an overjoyed pegasi. Laxed was hugging the massive pony for the life of him.
"Please. Take however much you need!" He whispered. "J-Just make sure Toby gets on his feet once more..."
They nodded, and a few minutes later, Laxed was in his bed once more. Another large male pony had made an entrance. Somehow, the colors of them didn't seem to warry. They were all similar. Very much so. Even the lack of a cutie mark.
He had many questions, but his current task was too important for him to start questioning them about anything.
"Look away please"
The pony held a small need- A NEEDLE!
Laxed jumped out of the bed.
"You never said anything about a needle! I am not letting you stick something like that into me! They hurt! They hurt sooooo much! Nononono! No needle! No deal! Get it some other" *Wack* "Waaaaay..." His last word came out as a slow and undertoned one as he fell to the ground, rhythmically alligned with it.
----------------------------
"Hey, hey Laxed!"
He heard a faint tone yell for him.
"I didn't drink that much Cider..."
His head was pounding, and he was feeling light-headed.
"That's the aftereffects of losin' some blood lad" Another tone spoke. This had to be the one who had suggested he gave some blood to saving Toby. Toby...
The tone he had woken up to... Could it be? It was neither the 'Doctor', nor the two Frosters he had first met.
It couldn't be any other. The unicorn he had mourned over now jumped atop his chest like the eager colt he was.
"Ooof! Ooof! Ooof! Please get ooof!"
Getting stomped in the stomach was slightly unpleasant, and he constantly kept getting his breath knocked out of him.
Toby wasn't newborn, he was closer to a stallion than a colt, and that only made each jump that heavier.
Toby obeyed, but he nearly wish the unicorn hadn't. The fact that he was so happy to see Toby walk, talk and jump once more made him smile. More than he had ever. He got out of the bed, and hugged him.
Tears were coming out. Lots of them. He stained both his own face, and parts of Toby's. He didn't care. He ignored it completely. He refused to let go because of it.
"H-Hey Laxed... You alright?"
"Never been better" He sobbed in reply.
An explanation and many tears later, they were prepared to take their leave as soon as morning arose. That was when the storm was at its lowest, and it was actually workable for a regular pony to make it across the mountain.
"If we only knew that" Laxed mumbled annoyed.
"Oh. An' one more thing. I have somethin' for ya. We tend 'ta write stuff up here. There ain't too much t' do 'round these parts but search fer lost ponies and writin', so we usually just write. Mah waifu's not always 'ere, so I cain't always be goin' 'round kiss'n' 'er either."
The massive pony grabbed a book from the table and handed it to Laxed.
"There ain' a thing in that book ya won't find useful one way or another"
It contained a bunch of information, yet it was rather thin. That made it durable to carry around. It was still a small mountain of pages, but he had always enjoyed reading to a certain extent, so he didn't see that as an issue. It was untitled of course, it was written much like a diary.
He had ended up sitting through the remainder of the night reading, getting through a major part of the book by the end of it, and as morning arose, the snow had calmed itself, and was gently falling down at this point.
"Ye probably want t' have some sort o' boots so ya won't walk straight through the snow. Here. Mah waifu made 'em while you were out"
There were a total of eight leather-boots. Four for each of them. The insides felt like clouds, and walking around was quite similar to walking on a cloud.
"They are made from a special material y'see. Makes yer footsteps light as a feather. They're also nice fer sneakin' 'round and that kind o' stuff. Hope ya never haf'ta use 'em fer that though"
"Thank you... For everything..." He smiled as he once again hugged his saviour.
"May I please know the name of you and your 'waifu'?" He continued as the hug ended. No sooner had he ended the hug than had Toby done the exact same thing, the difference being that Toby didn't know when to stop saying 'Thank you', and only halted his assault of words as he was being pulled apart by the black and red pegasi.
"Oh... No problem, the both of ya. An' my name's Sven. Mah Waifu is Inga."
Laxed's hoove found Toby's mouth before he could even think of laughing.
"Both lovely names... But I suppose we must take our leave if we want to get across the mountain before we get assaulted by snow again, and this time around, aren't as lucky as to meet you two..."
"Yeah lad... I hope I don't haf'ta find two frosted ponies out there again... Ye aren't the first though, and ye probably won't be the last"
"Probably not, but we can always hope it'll be a long time until you have to find anypony else..."
"Let's keep our hooves crossed fer that then!" He shouted as Laxed and Toby had made their way out into the frosty desert.
They were in the middle of a village. All buildings looked the same, with the exception of a few. A tavern even. They seemed to be holding out fine for living in a place where nothing ever grew.
This time around, they had no issues on progressing, and within just under an hour, the sun still rising, they could see the bottom of the other side of the mountain, along with everything that lay ahead of it. It was a gorgeous view, and if they weren't racing against time, they would've stuck around to enjoy it even more.
The downclimb was easy, the mountain wasn't just a steep drop, they had no trouble making their way down. They once again stood on grassy ground. What awaited them from here was just another adventure.
As he had found his footing on more solid ground once more, he remembered his thoughts on dropping off Toby. It was the last time he would ever make a decision like that. Seeing him frozen had made him realise that he didn't, in the end, want to part with the unicorn.
They had beaten the odds twice now, it could only be a matter of time before their luck ran out.
"So... Uhm... Why were you crying?" Toby asked teasingly.
"Oh mind your own business you fuzzball" Laxed replied sarcasticly.
They had just barely made it off the mountain before the unicorn had started rambling on and on about one thing or another. And then the occasional tease of a question.
This was going to be a long journey. A looooong journey. He almost enjoyed seeing Toby asleep. At least then he was quiet. But he couldn't contain the little smile he had when he looked down at the once more lively colt, but it faded as Toby questioned it.
"I told you to mind your own business already!" He nearly shouted, his head turned in the opposite direction as he faintly blushed, knowing how god-awfully stupid his smile had been. He had seen photos of it before, and he was hardly proud of it. Not that he ever took pride in anything he did.
But then the adventure came. He actually had storied to tell. His own! He had fought timber wolves, he had crossed the Ice valley, and he had met the type of ponies more considered a myth or a legend than truth.
However, he had forgotten to ask them all the questions he had, so he'd have to wait for another day to perhaps come and revisit them and ask them all the things both him, and many others wondered about.
For now, he had to make sure to do greater deeds. So great that everypony in Equestria would remember it. Possibly even rise a statue of him!
His thoughts were so in the sky that he only returned when Toby bit him right in the front right hoove.
"OUCH!" He bursted out and directed anger towards Toby. "The hay was that fo-"
He stopped mid-sentence, and had barely halted in front of a cliff. Who knows, he might not have realised he was falling in all his day-dreaming. This time, Toby had more so saved his life. Not a direct life or death situation, but it could have been.
"Ehehe..." He rubbed the back of his head with his right front hoove. It didn't tempt much to try and stand on the bit one, as much as it wasn't a deep or dangerous bite. It still stung him lightly, but the feeling would pass as time did.
They walked around the giant hole. It was as big as all of Ponyville, if not possibly even bigger. Temptation struck them. There was no direct path down, but there were plenty of rocks sticking out of the walls in the formidable hole, and they had no problem making it down, Laxed with his wings, Toby with his enhancement spell, allowing for further jumps, the boots he had gotten, allowing him to land softer than needed be.
They truly were marvelous. He hadn't even felt himself walking through the journey since they first left the village of overly large, and mysterious ponies.
He would have to ask Twilight about them when, or rather, IF he returned. For now, they were focusing at the task of hand. It went down for an eternity and beyond. They had almost given up hope when it went so pitch-black, they literally couldn't even see their nose before their own eyes.
That was when they finally arrived. There wasn't any light. No torches. No anything. It was pitch black. More dark than the skies at night. Even as Toby tried to light up the place with his horn, it hit no walls, or anything. They could only see the ground before them. It was better than nothing though, at least now they wouldn't walk into some sort of hidden hole. What was strange though, was that the wall Toby had come down alongst, wasn't lit up either. No. It wasn't even there anymore!
They were looking in each their direction, hoping to see anything. Anything at all.
Nothing. They tried looking up from where they had once came. Nothing.
It was as pitchblack as the rest of the place. They were trapped.
Once they came to the conclussion, with their eyes in different directions, they backed off, right into one another. The unicorn, who was already at the brink of crying, ran off without stopping for a second, and Laxed, who was no closer to staying calm, jumped into the air, and landed straight on the ground with a 'Tud'. Turning around, he saw the light of Toby's horn disappear in the pitch black darkness.
Now they were not only trapped, but also split up. The news only kept getting worse. That meant that there was probably something down here as well, because it didn't seem like their luck was going anywhere but down. Down to the rock-bottom level they were at. At least with the boots, he wasn't in danger of being heard. Neither him, nor Toby.
'Takkatakkatakka'
The sound of massive steps approached. 8 of them at a time, to be precise. The ground practically rumbled with each step, and it sounded like a pickaxe constantly slamming into the ground. The feet were in other words very thin, and strong.
He felt his entire body sink. Sink into depression and fear. There was no doubt about it when he saw something light up in the darkness like a magma ball.
He immediately flew off, away from it, but he could hear one approaching in the direction he flew. And so, to the west, south, and every other direction. They came, one after another, and there was no telling how many they were at this point.
Tartarellas.
There was a crowd of them. More than he could count. They had all circles around him. He had hoped they couldn't see or hear him, but those purely white eyes in the middle of their face obviously proved him wrong. They had some form of nightvision, and everyone of them had seen him.
He flew into the air, barely avoiding one fireball after another. They were shooting them from his body, and each was bigger than him in his entirety. He flew over the crowd, hoping Toby hadn't ran into one of them.
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!"
He had...
The sound didn't echo. There was no walls to bounce off. That made it very easy to pinpoint the location of the poor colt, and a second shout only reassured it.
Toby stood before a rather small Tartarella. It was probably not fully grown. With that in mind, he rammed into the foot furhtest back, and like dominos, the other feet fell, and the fireball with feet fell straight onto its back. Even better, it seemed to lack being able to get up.
He grabbed Toby without giving him a chance to say 'Thanks' or anything past the 'Ooof' from suddenly being lifted into the air. He tried flying up into the air, as high as he could, but no matter how much he seemed to fly upwards, he only reached a certain point where the ground no longer seemed to move further away from them.
They were stuck, without an escape, and an army of one of the deadliest creatures out there shook the ground below them. They were all making their way for the two ponies who only became more frightened by the second. He kept flying about, not letting go of Toby, hoping that they would tire at some point, but to no avail. He had to fly, they only had to walk. He also carried someone with him, they didn't.
It was futile. His energy would run out before this. That didn't stop him from trying to outfly them, one way or another. He wasn't about to give up, just because the odds were against him. There was no way. He had beaten them before, TWICE! He could definitely beat them again.
The question was just... How? There were more of them than he could count. He couldn't even bring down a single one, aside from the smaller version of them, that he had knocked over. Then it struck him. He had the rope. It was sturdy. There was a chance he could knock them over with it. It was their last, and only hope.
He dropped Toby, and removed the rope.
"Hold onto this" He mumbled through a muffled mouth, handing one end to Toby while biting on the other.
The little unicorn did as ordered, but with his magic. It was a stronger grip than he could do with his mouth, so Laxed nodded. He would've even praised Toby if it hadn't been for their current situation.
Laxed flew off, in the direction of the minion sun in the darkness. He targetted the feet of them, and managed to knock over one after another. The rope was both long and durable enough to get them, and they looked like tortoises while on their back. It was a laugh-worthy moment, considering how dangerous these were.
That's when it went down-hill. One of the Tarta's in the back had seen it, and spit a fireball right at the rope. It was toast. It was long enough originally, but split at the middle, and still burning, their hopes were toasted, literally.
Laxed flew over to the unicorn, grabbing hold of him and flying away once more.
Their last resource was gone, and they could only hope that there would be an opportunity to escape this place before he tired out, and the glowballs behind them caught up.
He could feel the heat of the Tartarellas behind him now. They were getting closer. Not because they were going faster. Because he going slower. He was growing exhausted. He had been flying around for at least half an hour, but they had relentlessly chased after him. His energy was slipping, and so was his consiousness.
He had to land to stay awake, and catch his breath. He was no athlete, and it was his will that had kept him going, not his amazing stamina. But even that was running out. He landed and caught his breath.
Letting go of Toby, he shouted "RUN!"
The unicorn was hestitant, but Laxed refused to hear it. He refused to listen, because he knew that if he did, he wouldn't have the heart to send him off.
He saw the green dolt disappear into the everlasting darkness.
"Thank you..." He finished with a smile.
Hopefully they would be satisfied with him. Even if they weren't, Toby would be way out of range before they even caught up with him now. He was sure this was all that needed be done to save the little colt. After all, again, he blamed himself for whatever he pulled Toby into, even if the little colt had come willingly along. a
Straight ahead, he stood face to face with one of them. His hooves shook beneath him. Not in fear. He no longer had the energy to stand properly. He didn't want to run. Couldn't.
He simply gazed into three pairs of white, glowing eyes.
They stared straight back. A minute had passed, and the Tartarella had shown no intent of harm.
He wanted to freak out at this point, but again, he lacked the energy. He simply stood there, about to fall straight to the ground.
Nothing happened. More minutes passed. Minutes as long as hours.
More of the large, fiery beasts had appeared, and all looked at him, one as silent, and as frozen as the other. They didn't flinch, and it seemed like even the fire that formed the core had stopped.
He hadn't heard Toby either, and wasn't sure to think of that as good or bad, but being where he was, positive was the only attitude he could keep to not succumb to screaming himself.
What was wrong with them? Why hadn't they just crisped him right there? Why were they only looking? They knew he was there, they had all crowded around him after all.
*BAM! BAM! BAM!*
Something big approached. Way bigger than any of the fireballs before his eyes. Some moved to the side, opening a pathway. He could feel his heart drop. He felt a nudge push him towards the opening, and it was of pure fear that he simply obeyed without objection. Maybe this was his escape? Maybe they had some sympathy. After all, nopony had ever known much about them.
The large thuds that somewhat resembled footsteps became louder and louder. He was approaching it as much as it was approaching him. But he couldn't see anything, even as he practically felt its breath like a strong storm.
The darkness completely disappeared, as one the size of a minor mountain lit up. He felt so insignificant, weak, helpless and doomed at that point, that this time, he just fell to the ground, and looked up to the ball that may very well be the sun of this place. The fires reached far and wide, and he couldn't even see the point where it stopped lighting up the ground.
He was sweating. Just the warmth of being close felt worse than bathing in boiling water. Though, he couldn't feel any direct harm, just sweat. Like a pig at that.
The mountain of a Tartarella pointed one of the eight legs it had into the skies, and he could once again see the skies.
Skies. Oh how he had missed seeing those. With that sunny sky, he immediately sprung to life.
But no. No matter how much he wanted to leave. Even with the newfound energy to do so, he couldn't. Toby was down here, and he refused to leave him behind.
He even shouted "No! I am not leaving without Toby!"
An ear-defening sound came from the mountain. All the other Tartarellas stood behind him, and they seemed to make a sound as well. He had no idea what exactly it meant, but it resembled chuckling big time.
They were... Laughing?
Another Tartarella from the back of the crowd, held an angered, and struggling pony with two of its long, thin black arms. Dropping the green fuzzball before Laxed, the chuckle halted, and the 'King' the mountain probably was, pointed to the skies once more.
It was probably the heaviest flight he had ever done. He was ready to pass out as it was, but he wanted to get out of there, before figuring that it was all a prank, and he was going to get toasted.
Without hestitating, even the slightest, he grabbed Toby, and flew out of the hole, looking at the walls they had come down, almost regretting the decision, but yet, feeling somewhat glad he did.
The Tartarellas were obviously capable of feeling something, since they had let both him, and Toby out of their otherwise black tomb, What it meant was beyond him, but none the less, he felt a silent joy build up inside him as he flew up, and finally crossed the point where the hole started. Just as he did, the ground shut below him, getting clogged, and unable to enter once more
As soon as he saw the ground become a whole again, he landed on top of him, practically crash-landing into the ground. He was panting, and heavily so. Exhaling and invaling quickly, he had stretched beyond his limits, and he could feel his heart beat through his chest.
Seeing Tartarellas and coming away from them alive must've been some sort of a childhood dream, because he was so eager about it, that the pegasi almost felt like knocking him over the head a few times.
They had escaped certain death, and he wanted to be excited about it? He got aggitated, but even he felt a somewhat light joy inside himself. Seeing Tartarellas was more rare than a blue moon, provided Celestia or Luna hadn't decided to randomly toy with it, as their own little joke. There was even a time when the sun resembled an extremely hot moon.
However, he was beat. His energy was gone, and day or not, all he wanted to do, was sleep. Not that he could fight it either ways. The last thing he saw was Toby jumping excitedly about, and he soon succumbed to sleep, as the sunlight disappeared with a shut eyelid, and a silent snore.
It wasn't often that he woke up in the middle of the night, but he had fallen asleep as the sun was at its highest, and the moon now passed the middle point of the skies, preparing its natural course of moving on.
The skies, aside from the giant, white globe attached to it, was clearer than ever before. There wasn't even a single star in it. It was just outright blue without a hint of change.
He laid on his back, gazing up into it. It was both rare, and beautiful. He had many a restless night, but never had he seen the skies so empty. Maybe it was because he wasn't in Ponyville any longer, or even anywhere near it?
Whatever the reason, it made him remember setting out, and how happy he was that he had. There were so many things he had seen, that most ponies could only dream of, and would never do or see.
That thought alone motivated him to keep going, but just as he was about to set off, he noticed Toby sleeping just a few inches away, and decided it best not to wake him.
He was a little surprised when he saw the little colt no longer shaking, despite the cold of the night. Be it the boots he wore, or that he had been deep down in the snow, one way or another, he didn't seem to freeze at all any more. This adventure was a maturing experience for both of them.
But he couldn't sit idly by as time passed. The nightsky was beautiful, but it wasn't exactty something to be spending the night on. So, in an attempt to make time pass, he decided to explore the surroundings. There were no sounds past the animals of the night. There was even a howl in the distance. The moon was full after all.
It was too distant to be of threat, and it just made the feeling of wildlife that much more surreal.
They weren't directly in any forest, but the trees were in every direction, spread up with nice spacing between them, and a clear path that let light shine through with ease.
The sound of water. Cold, refreshing and clean water. He followed the sound, and after a few minutes of fast trotting, he saw a small river run through the forest, carving a mid-section for the otherwise 'loose forest', as he liked to call it. At least it gave a faint image of how it appeared.
The river was below ground level, and he had to find a small carved, sandy 'beach' that allowed him to make it all the way down without risking to fall in, or having to fly while taking a sip.
The sand was cold, and as he stepped on it, it was mashed in every direction, leaving imprints of him being there. Not that he cared. He didn't see any issues with it, and he simply made his way across the small sandy platform, and over to the water.
The first few drops of water running from the river and into his mouth and down his rather dry throat, having nothing to drink since he woke up, tasted like they were made in paradise. He eagerly filled his body with needed water, and as cold as refreshing it was, he enjoyed himself to his heart's content.
Finishing it off with a silent burp, he had finished waking up, and all his energy was back in his body. Save for his stomach rumbling, of course. They had plenty more resources to go through. They had even gotten some from the frosters, so he wasn't worried that a midnight snack would send them off hungry at the rise of the sun.
He tried making his way back to Toby, but the forest, no matter how easy it was to navigate through, didn't seem to let him. No matter how far he walked, he always seemed to bypass the same tree.
Hoping to get a better view from above, he flew into the air, soaring across the area, in hopes of finding a type of green that differed from the rest of the grass and trees, but all in vain. It was night, and Toby, even if he had been seen, was camouflaged. The bag was below a tree too, trying to find it from above was more a guessing game than anything.
He couldn't simply get lost in such an open forest though.
"Tehehe..."
Something was giggling at him, but the sound came from so many directions that he simply stood there with a confused look on his face, staring off in every direction.
A dark figure, half-way hidden behind a tree. It was his only clue, and he wasn't going to let it slip away. But as he tried to approach, the figure walked behind the tree, and as he had assumed, it was gone as he finally made his way over to the massive pole of wood, branches and leaves.
Again, it giggled. The only thing he was certain of, was that it was a female. How fully grown was beyond him, but he guessed that it wasn't very old, but rather young, even compared to Toby, who was closing to maturity's height point.
"Tehehe..."
The laughter was dangerously close. He froze right there. The giggle came from directly behind himself. Turn around or run? Run or turn around? He kept weighing the two things, and his brain had frozen like his body had. That was when the thing popped up before him.
It was levitating above him, and with its body right over his, the face of it peeked in front of his. It was transparent, but made out a filly, not much older than any of the cutie mark crusaders. He wanted to scream at first, but he managed to choke it down on a D'awww.
She was genuinely adorable, aside from the fact that she was both gray and transparent. The only thing that bore a white trait in the entirety of the face, was what shaped the eyeballs.
"Boo!" She whispered as she put both her hooves in either directions, trying to make a scary face.
This time, he genuinely d'awwed. She was just a young filly, trying to scare him.
As he turned around, and wanted to hug the thing, a pair of huge eyes, and giant teeth floated behind him, as the other half of the ghost-like mixed creature.
The first half he had encountered was more than likely just a decoy, because it vanished into thin air as soon as he had seen those giant, yellow eyes with a large, wide-open mouth, teeth crimson red, and eyes fierce enough to pierce the very soul of even the bravest. No sooner had he seen the face of this hideous beast that consisted of just a small blobb of a frame as a body, the teeth, mouth and eyes, than had he dashed off, disappearing even faster than any ghost could.
He could feel his heart through his chest as he flew off, away from that thing. Even with all the books he had read, he didn't have any memories of reading about... A trickster.
'A trickster: It has various shapes, and usually fools its prey by putting off distractions that leaves the victim unaware until it is far too late. If encountered, at all cost, do not try to fight it. It does not have any physical shape, but has the ability to devour the living. Can not be harmed by anything but magic.
Rating: Very deadly'
Now would be a good time to have Toby here, but he had his doubts about whether the unicorn would even be brave enough to give it a shot at stopping this thing.
He halted. Without seeing any traces of the haunting eyes, or grinding teeth, he leaned towards a tree to catch his breath. As his eyelids shut and reopened, a natural blink, as they opened and he saw the forest once more, the thing was right before him.
His heart jumped again, and he tried flying off. The process only repeated itself. Every time he blinked, it was there. There was no running away from it. It could even fly. It was ghost-like after all. Even in the skies he wasn't safe.
The trickster was relentless, and the sound of teeth grinding only unnerved him more. He was even afraid to blink, as every time he did, he had to see those giant, yellow eyes once more.
Then, all of a sudden, it was gone. He blinked multiple times to check, but it didn't reappear. He could even hear the soft, silent snores of his partner just a few hoovesteps away, behind the tree he was leaning towards.
Somepony had saved him, and he knew exactly who. He scouted the area for every inch it had, but to no avail.
Disappointed, he landed, but then, just as he did, he heard a familiar tone. One he had hardly heard before, if at all. His memory had decided not to work at its best after that last event, his brain was still recovering from those eyes.
He turned around. There she stood.
"You were looking for me?"
She questioned without emotions.
"Y-Yes... I wanted to thank you for... Riding us of... Well... That thing"
"Don't worry about it."
She still had no emotions in her tone. She had also begun to walk away at this point, but he halted her one last time, with a final question.
"Wait! What's your name?"
She stopped in her tracks for a second, but continued forth without answering it.
He tried asking again, but to no avail. This time she didn't stop, and he didn't want to chase after her either. Being desperate wouldn't solve anything.
He could only hope to encounter her again, and get her name the next time, but it was only hope, nothing more. He returned to Toby, and forced himself to sleep.
Staying awake might mean meeting another 'Trickster', and he wasn't prepared to have even more nightmares, knowing one awaited him when he finally fell asleep.
He knew they could only be out at night, and could only harm those awake. Fear was their way of striking, and that was why they often appeared frightening. Those that didn't, dispersed shortly after appearing.
He shut his eyes, and refused to open them until he could feel sun strike his eyes. He once more felt sleep approach, and he was not going to fight it, even in the slightest, but welcome it instead. Rather nightmares than a reality of tricksters.
The night was haunting. It was choking him. Every time he blinked, it seemed to grow closer. Every time he blinked, he saw those yellows orbs flash before him. It had only been a few nights since he encountered them, and they still followed him. The fact that they had appeared before his eyes when he blinked only strenghtened the image.
He hadn't dared tell Toby, knowing it would do no good, and when night was gone, so was his fears. He knew the tricksters were creatures of the night, and thus, the bright sun was his relief from the darkness he had grown to fear so strongly, or rather, what was in it.
But every night was more sleepless than the last, and that ended up taking his tolls as his eyelids grew heavy during day. It wasn't the only thing that had started affecting him. He was walking left and right, struggling to stand straight when he stood still. He didn't want to sleep at day either, that meant being awake during the night, and he refused to risk waking to another, hideous creature. He already had enough trouble sleeping as it was.
Even the grass-green pony next to him had started noticing it, but hadn't bothered questioning it until Laxed fell straight to the ground and nearly passed out. It had been a week since the encounter, and they had crossed various sights, like steep falls at dawn, making the most beautiful sceneries, waterfalls.
Currently, they were crossing a large mountain, consisting of a grassy surface, with the occasional rock every here and there. The mountain air was fresh, but also much thinner. No trees, no flowers and only a few pony-made statues of rocks to show that others had been there before. They even bypassed a small river that ran down along the path they were making their way up. The mountain-side was bumpy after all, and had multiple minor hills.
They were far up in the mountains, and that only made the danger of passing out that much greater.
He was too sleep-deprived to notice though, and his eyes shut, as he was about to simply drop to the ground and sleep as he pleased. The only thing hindering him from rolling off the mountain side directly, was a pair of green hooves that had stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Come on Lax! What's wrong?" Toby nearly shouted, fearing the worst. The unicorn started shaking him.
"Hmmm? Oh... Sorry... It's just... Nevermind..." He mumbled as a reply, unable to even talk properly. His mouth moved lazily about to form the words that died along the tone of his voice.
He got up, and continued forth, but the previous event repeated itself on multiple occasions. It wasn't until they were on safe turf, a small, flat platform, that the unicorn didn't bother trying to wake him up again. It was better to just let him sleep. They had just gotten slower as every day passed, They were getting nowhere at this rate.
At first, it wasn't that noticeable, but now it was unbearable, and that was what gave Toby reasonings to make the decision he made. It also made him realise that they had absolutely no clue about where they were heading. They were simply exploring, discovering new places, and seeing magnificent things. Even during night, when it took its portion of time to fall asleep, he could gaze up into the beautiful skies that sometimes had stars, and other times, didn't.
But it was day now. This was the second time they had to make a stop during daytime, and all because the pegasi had decided to sleep during it.
"Erk... You sure know how to pick the right spots to fall asleep too, don't you?" The unicorn mumbled to himself, somewhat aggitated. Patience wasn't his strongest virtue, and looking at the overgrown baby that had to sleep during daytime, he laughed. He didn't even fear, for a second, that Laxed would wake up. If he could pass out in the middle of nowhere, without consern for something suddenly happening, he could outsleep a laughter.
"But what to do, now that I have to wait for lazybum over there?" Toby mumbled, still with the aggitation bothering him. He had to wait the entire day, because after all, who knew how long the dark, snoring ball of a pony would stay asleep.
Toby had only waited the first time. He could have patience once, thinking it was a one-time happening. After all, they weren't intending on running into any other tartarellas any time soon. His thoughts were proven wrong.
"Not the first time anyways..."
He decided to go exploring. Thus far, they had only tried making their way over the mountain. They weren't really setting out to discover every bit of it, just enjoy every detail of it, with their eyes and not hooves.
But since the overgrown baby, Toby having taken a liking to the nickname, wasn't waking up any time soon, and he couldn't progress, this was the time to explore the massive area. They were in the middle of it all, and where this mountain ended, another continued. They were all connected, and after that, just a steep fall down into a river that ran far below.
Just the thought of going close to the stony cliff made Toby shudder. He had always partly wished he was a pegasus, because then he wouldn't have to fear falling. He could just fly himself to safety after all. Unicorns had a spell that allowed them to grow wings though, but without anything past a rumour to go by, he was stuck with that, and that alone.
And so, he didn't dare go close the cliff. If only sleepy-pants was awake, he could walk over to the cliff, and if he were to accidentaly fall, he could just be saved right there, right then. Instead, he was stuck, admiring his imagination, since it was all he had.
Time passed slowly, and he found too little to do with it, to make it pass any faster. Exploring was fun, but only when something happened. The mountain was dead, aside from the occasional wind brushing over the mountainside, both strong and sturdy. Not a grass-strand stood untouched.
It was that stroke of wind that got Toby's heart beating though. It struck him head-on, and left him feeling like he was soaring in the skies. The boots relieved him of any feeling that he was still in touch with the ground, and he only kept standing there, until the wind died down, and he was back in reality again.
"So... That's how it feels... To be up there, huh?"
He looked to the skies, longingly. He wouldn't trade away his horn for the ability to fly, but just about anything else, he was willing to sacrifice, just for a day in the skies.
But as his father had said, the magic was ancient, and long lost, and daydreaming would remain daydreaming.
This was as close as he'd ever feel to soaring up there, unless he was being carried, which in no way compared to actually flying himself. He was sure of it.
But returning from up in the clouds, where his dreams was, he looked around, and all he saw, was the same spot he had stood a few minutes ago. He looked up into the skies once more.
"Some day... I'm sure of it..." His eyes were filled with a longing desire to be up there, and his tone was as certain as his words that he would achieve it. Even if that meant taking his entire life trying to reinvent the spell.
Whenever he had time to practice magic, he did. Even after he had met Laxed, under multiple occasions where the opportunity offered itself, he had tried to improve. It was a slow process, but his skills rose, just under the noticable point every time he did. And now, more than any other time, he had the opportunity to.
There were no sounds to disturb him, the wind was refreshing, the air remained otherwise untouched, and the surroundings were both gorgeous and peaceful. He couldn't have asked for a better setting.
He started it all off with trying to manipulate a few strands of grass at his will, moving them back and forth. He had to start slow, magic could be straining if forced. It was just like any other excercise. One grew tired from it, just like jogging or running.
And without warming up first, it could end up in self-injury. As far as magic went, it was more a mental strain than anything else, and could leave major headaches if pushed. He knew so of self-experience, and refused to simply jump in on something big.
When he fell through the roof, as he was first discovered by a certain pegasi that had shown him Equestria in his full beauty, it was because he pushed his magic limits, and had ended up taking a few steps back, right into a weakspot of the roof. All it took for the roof to give in at that point, was a shout. He fullfilled that criteria, and so, slipped right through.
But he had long since stopped regreting that he did. After all, if he hadn't, he would still be living in that cursed place. It wasn't him who had toyed with the village, or how it appeared at a distance compared to how it turned out whenever somepony got close. It was a stranger, neither pony, nor any known race, that had been scammed by his father and his uncle, Trolt and Bolt, who had cursed it.
The memories returned. After having forced himself to forget for so long, they returned. He managed to put them back at bay, somewhat. What he had already remembered, remained in his mind.
He reattained his focus at the grass, and made them dance before him, and it had amused him, if he wasn't the one making them move back and forth, rhythmically to his own tune that played in his head, and out his mouth.
It was a lullaby. Memories flashed before his eyes, but before he could make a single one out clearly, the lullaby halted, as did the grass. His plot fell straight to the ground. He was sweating and breathing heavily.
"T-That tone..." He stuttered.
"N-No... Nonono... Go away... Please!"
He was shouting helplessly into the thin air, ever so grateful the pegasi remained asleep. But his head began to pound, worse than if he had tried pushing his magic abilities. His chest ached, and he felt like crying, putting his rear hooves to his chest, his front hooves atop his rear ones and hugging them close to his body. He laid there sobbing for some time, trying his best not to remember.
But it was too late. Every memory he had managed to push aside for many years, came back to him, more clear than a crystal.
The tune he had hummed, was the lullaby his mother used to sing to him. Her and his father always argued with each other, about one thing or another. It was never clear, their words were muffled behind a wooden door, and he never dared moving closer to the door to hear what they were arguing about.
At day time, everything was normal. They spoke to each other like lovers do, and he never dared asking them about why they argued. They always did it at night too, like they thought he couldn't hear them. That he was asleep whenever they started. Sometimes, he stayed up, just to hear them.
The memory of his room was hazy, and the only thing he directly remembered, was him looking towards a wooden door.
Then, something happened.
*Thud!*
The noise made his chest ache even more, and his head was pounding like crazy. He refused to remember anything else. He couldn't. He absolutely couldn't. It was too painful to think about, and he was far from ready to see the rest. For now, he managed to calm himself, and his breath dropped to a relaxed pace. His cheeks were stained with tears, and he returned to the reality before him in cold sweat.
He sat up, wiping his eyes. The sun was preparing to set, and he was growing tired. It was enough magic practice as it was. If he tried training it more right now, he knew the memories wouldn't stay at bay, and waking up in a pool of his own tears made him realise just how badly he wanted to lose the memory of his family.
One part of him wanted to know what the thud represented, but as he felt his entire stomach twist and turn at that sound, he decided maybe it was better forgotten, at least for now. He was tired. Exhausted. Both mentally and physically. He could hardly wobble his way over to the pegasi, and lay down next to him, seeking comfort. He needed it so sorely at this point, that just the warmth of the pegasi, being back to back with him, calmed him enough to fall into an immediate sleep. Darkness wouldn't come until at least an hour, but he just wanted to sleep, and so, he immediately drowned his depression in dreams that were more pleasant, and bearable, than the memories he had refused to remember, and hoped would never hurt him again.
Night rose, and so did the pegasus' eyes. They were heavy. He still wanted to sleep more, but at the same time, couldn't. His body fought against it, partly, and as he got up from the soft ground, putting a hoove to each eye, rubbing out whatever sleepyness they had left.
He hadn't even noticed it was night until he once again reopened them, all four hooves to the ground. He shuddered. Night was here, and he was awake. It was too late to try and go back to sleep now. He lowered his head to the ground, looking in every direction, trying to reassure himself that there was nothing there. Especially not the yellow eyes he so solely wanted to avoid.
*Blink, blink*
He no longer saw it. Was it permanently gone? Could he finally rest easy during night-time? Or was his mind just temporarily kind enough to let him feel relief?
But seconds passed. Second became minutes. Minutes as long as eternities. Nothing appeared. It was as drop-dead silent as it could be, aside from a few grasshoppers chitring in every random direction, without any specific location to track them, as the melodic theme came from all directions at once, being no stronger in one location than the other.
But they jumped back and forth in the grass, and he caught sight of one, which he decided to keep an close eye on, and try to approach.The night was surrounded withs tars that night. And that he hadn't found peace with the night in a long time, only made it that more beautiful and friendly. Luna's bright full moon only added to the beauty of the place.
They were too far up in the mountains to hear any howls, but it was a beautiful night none the less. One he wholeheartedly enjoyed, as the image had somehow managed to slip out of his head after a well-deserved rest. Perhaps it was the fact that he had become sleep-deprived that gave him such a clear visage of it? It was his only, and final conclusion. So he had to make sure to sleep in order to avoid having seeing the yellow eyes which otherwise had decided to haunt him.
But how could he sleep? He had just woken up.
Then, a familiar scent filled his nostrils. Both welcoming, and hypnotizing. It was familiar, yet he had no name, nor memory of it. What about it was so familiar? He had to find out, and followed a small path, away from the little flat hill-top he had noticed Toby sleeping on, the very same he himself had woken up on.
He might have paid more attention to the path magically forming before his eyes if he wasn't so absorbed in the scent. It reminded him of a perfume, a mix of multiple flowers that made the perfect formula. Roses, tullips, daisies, dahlias and many more. It might have been too many to form anything but an incredibly strong scent, but done right, it was better than anything else.
It was wonderful, and he felt himself in a trance, practically obeying the command to follow wherever it lead. But why couldn't he remember the name, when it was as clear as day that he had smelled the perfume before? The questions faded, and his desire to find the source of the scent only grew stronger, replacing all other thoughts, until he was mindlessly following along the path that took shape right before his eves, disappearing behind him, leaving no trail for anypony to follow him. He had even ended up crossing the large gap Toby had stood and admired the day before, and gotten across safely at the other end, the gap between the mountains being sizable with a canyon.
He continued forth like the mindless slave he was until the scent was so strong he had to cover up his nose, not to pass out. There, right before him, laid a flowerfield of the purest and whitest flowers he had ever seen. They were brighter than the moon, and more white than the stars that lit up portions of the skies.
'Purista Follures' was their title, but they were more commonly reffered to as 'Moonflowers'. It was simple for them, but who would rather say 'Purista Follures' than Moonflowers?
He had to move his left front hoove from his nose to properly speak, and as he mentioned the name, he inhaled the strong scent they carried. Being as strong as it was, his eyes shut and he passed out right on the spot without any way of even trying to fight back. It was his own faulth, being so reckless, but the scent had left him so braindead that it would've been more shocking if he hadn't done what he did.
Time passed, and he woke up to a faint yell, distant as it was. His name was being called, and he shook his head in an response to how he had passed out, or rather, how he didn't remember why he was now waking up at daytime, such an uncommon thing for him to do.
He was thankful, but wondered just what had happened the night before. He felt brainwashed, and looking around for clues, all he saw, was an empty field of grass laying before him. "Moon... Flowers...?" He mumbled. "Nah... Those are just a myth"
There were too few who had seen them to have any direct proof. Even better was how neither of them had ever been sane enough for anyone to believe their words, so moonflowers remained a fairy tale mothers and fathers told their fillies and colts.
As he got up, something was itching his stomach, and removing it, he found himself holding a leaf that shun brighter than it should have, with the sun reflecting on it. He puzzled himself, but decided to bring it along.
"Let's hope it brings some luck..."
Putting it in his bag, in the middle of the survival book, to make sure it wasn't completely crushed the time he decided to pull it out, he again heard a worried yell in the distance, and flew off to meet up with the unicorn who was rather distressed, probably having been looking for hours.
The sun was mid-ways on the skies, he hadn't woken up at morning time, but at least he could now sleep at night and be awake at day. Whatever it was that had allowed him to sleep through the night, he didn't know, but he knew perfectly well that he was thankful for it.
His only clue was the white leaf pressed between papers in his bag. For now, he had other things to focus on than a white flower petal. No matter how beautiful or pure it was, it was only what it was, a leaf, and possibly a lucky charm.
After Toby had finished his worry-rant, the two decided it was time to set off once more.
He had stuff on his mind, and so did Toby. Neither spoke much that day, even as it went along, and night approached, much quicker than usual. Their focus wasn't on it, and it slid by unnoticed, and they only realised how late it had gotten when the path before them was nearly invisible, save for a faint glow from the moon.
They had to pause again, and this night, for the first time in over a week, they were both asleep.
Morning had long since passed, and it was closing to noon. The two had awoken hours ago, and were now finally making their way off the mountain, rather than on it. It had been a long and enduring run, having walked for three days before finally finding an end to it.
No wonder so many seemed to choose it as a camping spot. Of course, only pegasi ever did. Others considered it to be too far from the villlage, even travelers rather taking the long route than walk on a mountain for days.
But it was too beautiful to bypass. It was Laxed who had made the decision, and Toby didn't seem familiar with it at all. With the state of the farm, he wasn't shocked. Who knew how long the colt had been there, and if he had ever left that farm, it being his birth-place, and where he had lived his entire life, save for a few weeks back until present date. It was a farm, and owning one took a lot of work, vacation was a no-can-do.
At least that's what he had heard from Applejack, but she was a work-a-holic, so he had always been a bit skeptic about just those words. But it wasn't untrue that it took quite a bit of work, and that even with a work-a-holic attitude, since it was an all-year type of job, that the colt had never taken a break from the work, until whatever caused the farm to end up in the state it did kicked in.
He was overthinking stuff again. He always did, but never really talked about his thoughts. It was his vault of secrets, and he always got too worked up when he tried, so he never opened his mouth based on his thoughts, only if a conversation came along.
His thoughts had been going back and forth in his head like racing speedcars. There for a second, gone the next.
Toby had rambled, like usual, and hadn't even noticed the pegasi with his head in its own universe.
Hoove after hoove, progression took its course, both of them with their own thing to do, neither paying much attention to the other, or even the path of course they had made.
At the end of the mountain was a dead field. Filled with minor craters and trees long since dead, ashes and a ground so dry that it was just dry dirt all over, save for the small craters that formed black lines in every direction over the field.
This was where they had to pay the most attention, yet it was where they were paying the least attention.
Very few creatures could live in something so dead and deserted over time, but those that did, often laid claim of it as territory, and were very aggresive over it, to ensure they wouldn't lose it, even if those trespassing weren't trying to lay claim of it.
Those few creatures were the Saken, Hyperstrike, Hanavus and Veratus.
'Hyperstrike:
Tiny creatures that looks like a replica of a needle, with eyes and wings. They have no known max speed, but can accelerate to deadly levels in seconds, and due to their shape, strike like blades. While small, they are also extremely easy to catch, but they always move in a pack, and that makes them extremely dangerous, even in a smaller group.
Level, Single: Moderate threat
Level, multiple: Very deadly. Avoid at all cost.'
'Hanavus:
Fuzzballs that have eyes cuter than a kitten. They are small enough to fit in a single hoove, and are extremely adorable, and can be befriended. Makes the perfect guard dog. They often move alone, and equally often move in smaller groups. They have razor sharp teeth hidden along with the mouth, behind a lot of fluff.
Level, single/multiple: Threat'
'Veratus:
Large boars, often as big as houses, with hide thicker than steel, they make the perfect war-tortoises. They attack through taking the shape of balls, and rolls over anything they desire, or find a threat. Their destructive force can completely annihilate towns in a matter of minutes. Very often moves alone, due to their uncontrolable temper, and destructive force of nature. Rarely moves in group of two, and if so, always with their lover.
Level, single/multiple: Very deadly. Avoid at all cost'
Those were all reasons to keep an eye open in areas like these, but they were both too lost in their own things to even notice what dangers they might've been approaching.
*RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE*
The ground was shaking as though an earth quake shook the very ground. If it did so, the already weakened floor below them was more than ready to collapse, and probably would.
Since the ground was both dead and dry, any movement left an equally big dust cloud behind it, and with a minor duststorm in the distance, from where the rumbling originated, something was approaching. And big at that. Not only big either, but fast.
What had been just a dot in their sight, was now a massive wall of whatever it was that approached, had dragged along with it, and it only took a few seconds for it to cut the distance short. The two finally realised that it wasn't going to stop, but intended on ramming right into them.
The pegasus only had one response to it, and it was to grab the green pony that had frozen in fear, and hope he could fly above what was just a few hundred yards away before it rammed into them. By a hair-thin thread, he could. The 'thing' halted, and as the cloak it had formed around itself finally settled, a massive boar-like creature, the Veratus, stood before them.
It was battle-hardened, and had many scars to prove it. There was no way to outfly it. It had already proven its speed was far superiour to theirs. Any distance they could put between it in ten seconds, it would make up for in one.
The skies were safe, for so long as they were above his rea-.
That was a misscalculation. It leapt and started spinning mid-air, right in their direction, and only with much maneuvering, and a breath-taking task, did they get out of the way. Even as they tried flying higher, it only seemed to leap higher, without an end to just how high it could go. Even as they went sky-high, with the clouds, it had begun spinning on the ground and launched itself up in the air like a cannonball, and even as it missed, the afterstrike of the wind mashed at them and threw them straight off course, and he had to end up crash-landing, trying his best to avoid any injuries, but realising there was no option but to, he turned around, holding Toby towards his stomach, crashing into the ground on his back.
His wings ached. His back screamed in pain. His head was pounding. All three had mashed into the ground relentlessly, and sliding over the ground, he scraped up the already wounded parts of his body.
As he finished his pathway across the wasteland, and finally came to a halt, he was once more on all four hooves, trying to act strong. His back was a goner though, and the ability of flight was equally lost. No sooner had he recovered, than had the Veratus approached.
Toby stood there and watched, and so did he.
Was this the end...?
- End - (No, this is not a horrid joke. They just both happen to occur at the same time)
Danger approached. So fast that they could barely blink before it stood right before them. The strength of the force alone had knocked them straight aside, in each their direction, and avoided being mashed, but with his wounds only being tormented more as he was once again lashed to the ground, he could no longer even get up, and simply lay there, trying to keep breathing through the pain.
"Come on! If you keep on laying there, you'll be mashed for sure!"
The unicorn had recovered from being plunged across the ground, and stood and yelled at the top of his lungs. They couldn't yet see each other. The layer of dust the train of a boar had put as a wall between them, so he yelled, in hopes that the pegasi could actually hear him.
He could, and he once more got up. He tried making his way over to the source of the voice, but he was ready to just drop down, stumble over and simply lay there, yet he pushed forth, with whatever energy his frail body could amass.
Again, he was knocked over. Sent flying by the pure burst of wind.
The Veratus had flown straight past them once more, and again, his body was the target of being a bag of potatoes, thrown recklessly around.
The unicorn's voice had become more faint, but he yelled again... And again, the process repeated itself.
He had gotten on his hooves after hearing weakened voice, but he was thrown over yet again. The Veratus was relentless, and didn't even bother waiting for the layer of the thick, brown wall of dust settle before it headed right into it again. It was the only reason they hadn't been flatened to the ground yet, but both were taking their tolls from being sent soaring through the sky and right into the ground like ragdolls. The weakening tone of a worried colt revealed that.
Silence came. There was no longer any voice ringing in his ears. Not even a weak breath. Not having bothered getting up from the ground, he tried catching track of any form of movement. Nothing. The brown wall was too thick to see through, but there had at least been a faint shadow that shaped Toby up until this point, but now.... There was nothing.
He got up. His body screamed 'No', his mind told him to be reasonable and he was shaking like a leaf in the wind.
Furthermore, he leapt from the ground, and let his wings catch hold of him mid-air. They tried having their say on it, but he flew forth.
Fast enough to practically feel his wings snap that very moment, even if they had been at their best.
What told him to go on was neither love nor hatred. It was fear.
Not fear of his own life. Fear of what had happened to the voice, and why he couldn't hear it.
Then he saw it.
Through the now settling fog created from the layer atop the dying ground, he could see a figure, to the ground, knocked out.
He knew the Veratus would strike again at any moment, and with whatever energy he could find himself to push out of his already overworked body, he dove straight down, and picked up the green dolt of a pony that no longer had its consiousness with it. and high up into the air right afterwards.
Without a second to spare, he felt the wind below desiring to pull him along, and with his broken body, he was in no condition to fight it. He tried his best to fly against the strong pull, but he was being pushed back effortlessly.
He barely managed to hold his grip around the air, remaining in it. If he landed, it was game-over. The moment he did, he knew the energy he still held was gone without even a second say on it. He had taken it past the limit, and just a second was all it took to take him from wanting to go on, to simply lay down and let fate take its course.
For now, since they had cover from any direct attacks, he tried flying off, as far and fast, away from the massive beast, hoping that he could make enough distance between the two, that the Veratus would either not see them, or simply let them bypass.
He had targetted the direction they had first come from, since it was the shortest way outside of the territory they had thoughtlessly walked into.
He could hear the boar finally using its feet to walk off, rather than roll, which meant it might've let them off.
Until the last step from it died away in distance, he refused to believe this vile beast had any intent but to roll right at them once more.
For that reason, he didn't let off on speeding away. Many minutes. Eterneties long passed. His left wing finally snapped. It literally cracked that very moment. The sound of snapping bone echoed in his ears, but he was unable to hear it. Any sound was deafened out by his own pain, and an immediate crash-landing iniatated. Thankfully, he was just barely above ground level at this point, and landed at a soft grass mattress without much more stress or injury.
He refused to close his eyes, as much as they refused to stay open. He looked at Toby, resting in his hooves with a peaceful expression children often had while sleeping. He had no direct injuries. Just scratches here and there. He had undoubtedly passed out over the mental stress of the situation, and the pegasi couldn't have been happier.
The happiness died out as it had arrived. His body was aching, and his mind was fogging up along with his eyes, until he had his eyes wide-open, but only saw clouded images before him, too unclear to make out anything, even his own hoove right before his eyes.
"I... I guess it's time to sleep then..."
His voice was dying by each word, and he couldn't feel the pain any longer. It had faded as his eyes had shut, and he had no trouble falling asleep with the pain inexistant to him any more.
Relaxation was there. Inner peace. The most wonderful feeling in the world. No more pain. No more loneliness. No more disappointments. He could feel every last bliss that Equestria never truly held for him. Every dream he ever had was fullfilled that very moment. His cutie mark was acquired. He had nothing more to wish for. Everything. Every last bit and piece he had ever hoped for lay before his eyes.
He felt no burden. No exhaustment. This was his life. His only life. The only life he could ever have remembered living. Whatever he willed, it happened. If he wanted to eat cake for the entire day, he could. Without gaining a single pound or getting a tummy ache. Without getting dizzy. If he didn't desire to become tired, he could stay up through night and day. Not that time mattered. He could decide whether for it to be night or day at any time he pleased. If he simply wanted to sleep, he did, without even trying. Just as easily, he woke up right afterwards, without feeling tired at all.
Though, with all this... Something was missing... Something long gone. Longer than he could remember. Longer than he wanted to remember. These hundreds of years with nothing but harmony... There was something... An empty void he couldn't fill no matter what he ate, did or wanted. He could have everything he desired, right before him, but he couldn't fill that hollow piece of the paradise that was now an open grassy field that never ended. The sun high on the sky, it was beautiful, and he had seen the sun set so many times before, yet never grew tired of it. He was more powerful than... Celestia... That name was oddly familiar. A name he couldn't remember ever hearing... It was ringing in his ears like an everyday term.
His head started pounding. He didn't even know the word pain anymore, and after all these years of feeling nothing but the most pleasant of things, it caught him off guard enough to fall to the ground, and wriggle back and forth. For so many centuries with just joy, the vile pain his head was undergoing, was more superior than he'd ever felt before.
It suddenly passed. He could suddenly open his eyes again. They had shut from the pain, but as it passed, so did his need to keep them closed. His hooves were still pressed to his head, a weak, but seemingly succesfull attempt at weakening the pressure that put his head through the turmoil it had suffered. But he hadn't sooner tried to open his eyes, than had he tried to blink, in hopes of it not being real. The paradise that had been resting in his hooves was no more. A sudden vortex must've absorbed it, because it was gone without a trace. It had seized to exist, and all he saw, was darkness.
He was no longer sure whether his eyes were even open or shut, because darkness was all that lay before him. Even his own hooves before his eyes were as dark as the... Tartarella lair?
Memories flooded back to him. Memories he thought long lost. He had been in paradise so long that he didn't even have any memories of what had happened before the blissfull feeling, that it felt like it was all he had known in his life.
The one word that glued itself to his mind when all other thoughts flew back and forth nonstop without any intent of stopping, knocking his head back and forth, quite physically even, as he was nearly thrown off balance, barely managing to keep his composure.
The more the name stuck around, the louder another name became, and echoed in his ears before he could even try to regain his balance, and this time, he was actually knocked straight onto his back. The entire ground below him shook, and he felt himself unable to remain still.
The next thing he felt, was something grabbing ahold of both his shoulders, and instead of the ground quaking, it was something... Or somepony, rather, that shook him.
The darkness made new shapes in front of his eyes, at first a blurr, but slowly regaining their structure, to either sides, there were trees, grass, flowers and all that fit in an open forest.
"L....d! L..X..D!"
The name that had echoed in his ears over and over became more clear, and soon enough, he could make out exactly what it meant.
Laxed... Who was that?
There was something before him. Still too blurry to make it out as anything but a mess. It was what was shaking him.
Green...?
Something poked his cheeks. It fell to his mouth, and salty liquid made him respond naturally, his reaction being to lick it away and then spit it out
An excited, yet still crying figure, now visual enough to tell that it was moving, had finally stopped shaking him. It had gotten off him, he could tell that much, and with whatever energy he slowly regained, he looked to where the green figure was bouncing off. It reminded him of... A pink... Pony...?
Finally, he was able to see clearly. His eyelids were heavy. He felt like he had been sleeping for eterneties, and his head pounded, now worse than it had in paradise.
More pains took their course, all across his body. His back was the worst. No, it was his wings.
Their increasing pain seemed to go on forever, until he got off his back without any effort, shouting.
"OUCH! OUCH OUCH OUCH!!!!!!"
His entire body ached, and as he looked to his wings, one was snapped, and the other was roughened up, both lacking feather, the one still intact still twisted, and currently useless, save for its ability to produce massive pain.
He looked over to the green unicorn that was bouncing about like he had won the pony lottery of a year's supply of whatever he desired.
Whatever was Toby so happy about? Toby... There could be no other.... That he could relate this green pony to the name meant there was no other befitting the name. He was certain. Whatever uncertainty he had, he was going to confirm.
"Toby...?" He asked. His voice was dry. He felt like every last drop of energy and water in his body was spent on some last, half-flanked attempt to achieve something. He couldn't remember what though.
One moment he was in paradise, knowing nothing but bliss, and the other, he felt more beat-up than a punching bag after somepony had spent hours beating it up.
"Yes?" The green unicorn responded.
"W-What happened to me?"
Toby, only knowing half the story, tried giving his part of it. It was all he had, and as the colt saw Laxed's expression head off into an emotionally depressed state, he felt bad it was all he could do.
"B-But if it's any good.... I think you saved both our lives!" He cheerfully said, but without any excited response, he felt as helpless as just a few seconds ago.
The poor pegasi suffered of amnesia, and he knew it. Toby was unaware, and therefor, had no more cheerful words to spread.
Laxed dropped to the ground, on his stomach this time. He had no plans of laying on his back once more; it was already aching far too much to as it was.
"You can head on if you want to... No need to watch over me... I'll just stick around until I heal up..."
"W-What are you talking about Laxed?!? W-We're partners, right? We've been through so much!"
"I'm sorry... I don't think I know you... You must be mixing me with someone else..."
"N-No! I'm sure of it! I'm absolutely sure! 100% SURE! I swear!"
The unicorn could hardly swallow what Laxed was telling him, and he was getting closer and closer to crying every second he saw the wounded pegasi reject him.
"I told you I don't know you!" Laxed shouted.
Toby couldn't handle it anymore. He turned around, and no sooner had he, than the tears he had tried holding back, started running down his cheeks. Sobbing, he said 'I'm sorry', and galloped off, away. The few bruises he had didn't hinder him, and he ran off as fast as he could, hoping the black and red-striped pony hadn't seen him cry.
"I... I guess I'll just wait until I heal up then..." He mumbled to himself, in his newgained loneliness, and after many efforts of falling asleep through the pain that otherwise denied him, he eventually lulled into his peaceful sleep.
The darkness that he figured was his dream... He knew he was asleep? But how...? There were no answers. Only the darkness that was where he had been right before waking from paradise. Difference was that now he could at least see his own body, if no floor, roof, walls or anything else.
What was this place?
He looked around in hopes of answer, but to every corner of him, more darkness awaited. He began to question if he was even dreaming anymore, or if he was stuck somewhere. The pain on his back was no longer there, but he could feel his hooves step atop something. His boots were gone.
Boots...?
His thoughts echoed like he had said them out loud, and disappeared in an endless distance.
Finally, after regaining his thoughts within his own control, not letting them flow wildly about anymore, something approached.
At first, just a white light, soon, much more.
Snow...? But... What does it mean?
*Thud, Thud*
He heard knocking below him. Something was below him, and trying to get out. He had no idea what though, yet he knew perfectly well what it was. At least some part of him told him he was. He intended on helping whatever, or whomever was below him, but as he tried putting his front hooves to the ground in an attempt to dig, they slid right through the ground. He felt like a ghost. Was he one? Had he died as he fell asleep instead?
But if all he had to do was stick his head into the ground to see who was below, then that was a lot easier. Even if it meant he couldn't help the ones below. His request was denied. As soon as his head touched the cold flooring below, it all vanished, and instead, he slammed his head right into the black, lifeless and rock-hard ground.
It was merely cold. It had no substance. No special feeling to it. Even as he licked it, as much as he didn't like the idea, it tasted nothing. It wasn't refreshing. It wasn't salty, dusty, toxic or any other word he used to describe things. It was just... cold...
As soon as he had finished tasting his surroundings and stopped being overly confused, knowing there was no sense in this place anyways, he simply sat down and awaited the next occurance. He knew it was coming. He could feel that more awaited him, like a sixth sense had told him so.
And like his 'instincts' had told him, another thing approached him. This time, he sat high atop a mountain, next to a timber wolf. He wanted to simply leap away, but it took little to no time before he realised the wolf paid him no attention. Or rather, didn't see him. It was howling, and then ran off.
Looking down from the massive cliff, he saw two figures, far off. They were just two dots on the grassy field below in his vision. A dark-toned green, and a black one. There seemed to also be a mix of red, but before he could become certain about it, or even fly down to take a look, he found himself sitting in that black, cold room once more.
But... What does all this mean?
He found himself questioning things he knew he wasn't going to get any direct answer of, but the feeling that it meant something to him, he couldn't shake away.
A third time, something appeared before him. This time, he couldn't even catch hold of his thoughts before it came.
He sat outside a building, staring through a window. The figures inside were all blurry, due to how foggy the window was, but he could make out the general things that were done. Again, the green and black figures found themselves before his eyes. This time, accompanied by two larger, and bigger brown visages. Soon, both the two he had seen earlier found themselves in each their bed. One had been there for some time, the other just went in.
Hours passed. Hours no longer than minutes. Somehow, he found the wait much more bearable than he'd thought, thinking those few 'minutes' he had sat there were too short.
He didn't realise he had cried all along, until the green... Pony?
Whether his tears had cleared the window, or something else had, he now saw every figure in the room clearly.
One black and red, and one green. One, he knew from when he had awoken from paradise, but the other... Who was he?
Worse yet... Why did he seem so familiar?
Again, whatever lay before him disappeared before he could even figure out much more than what he had seen, or rather, why he had seen them.
Darkness replaced the images that left more questions than answers.
One more awaits
A voice, yet just words, echoed in his ears. It was neither female, nor male. It had no gender, nor age. It was always there, and yet, never existed. Toneless, yet it spoke.
But he didn't have time to sit idly by and think about who, or what had spoken. He already had enough on his mind, and as the voiceless words had told him, more awaited.
One more time, the darkness gently disappeared as an open field was revealed before him. Not too far to his right, a forest. Before him, and to his left, as well as behind him, a dead wasteland. The ground had long since died, and few craters shaped a painting of sorts, without any direct drawing, or art. It just fit so perfectly well together. It made balance.
But his eyes weren't fixated on the 'art' the area had formed. It was focused on the war-zone before him. At least it looked like one. Something rolled violently by, and he had no idea why, until he yet again saw the two figures that had repedetively shown up until this point.
The black and red-striped one flew off, with the green one in his arms. Without much movement from the green unicorn, it was probably unconsious.
He's... A unicorn... How do... I know that?
The next few seconds made the entire scenario crash before his eyes, and many hours... Days... Weeks burst before his eyes in a matter of seconds.
The black and red-striped one's wing snapped, and he crash landed. It was that very moment that he realised just who the pegasus was.
"He is... Me..."
He realised that he hadn't spoken in the black space that had appeared once he had seen the crash-landing, but it was instead just his eyelids before him that were shut. He heard his own words clearly, and raising the black layer before his eyes as the light forced him awake with the brutal fashion of causing rapid blinking as a response to the sun striking his eyes.
"Rrrk...." He mumbled, aggitated. Grumpy and tired, he looked up into the skies, where the sun was making its way, having barely gotten across the mountain-side to brighten up the valley that was otherwise shadowed by mountains in all directions, blocking out the sun for a few extra hours, compared to any other area.
The aggitating feeling of just waking up vanished seconds after he had gotten on his feet, replaced with pain, which then again was replaced with thoughts. Thoughts of the dream...
The... Dream...
It was too real. It couldn't just have been a dream. It had to be more. He had to find the pony named Toby to get answers. To reassure him that what he had seen wasn't just fictional dreams he had formed in a delusional state of pain and imagination.
Problem was, he had no idea where to go, or if he even could go. His body still ached. It hadn't recovered in a day. Yet, it was far weaker than it had been yesterday. He knew one-day recovery was impossible. At least without medical attention, and even then, even WITH help, he was unlikely to recover from what he had gotten through. Yet, the pain was more than bearable now.
Something was itching both his wings, chest, hooves and head.
Multiple spots were covered in white fabric. Somepony had taken care of him in his need YET again. He had hoped he didn't need to be taken care of all the time, or at all, for that matter. That was why he set off on this journey at least. Yet he found himself needing help countless times, and only expected that if he somehow managed to pull through further, that he'd need more help.
His pride was gone at this point. What little he had before he set out on the journey, as well as what he had gained while on it. But there was nopony who did what he did, even if he DID need medical attention every time he pulled off something.
He was the one who had fought off timber wolves. He was the one who had fought against Tartarellas, seen them, and even met a 'king' of their breed, and come through, and he had managed to survive an assault from a Veratus.
That was of course if what he had seen was the truth of it all, and that he hadn't just made it all up in his head.
But one thing was for sure. He wasn't home in his bed in ponyville, so he must have at least done something to get to this point. He still remembered how it was like to live back there, so he hadn't lost all his memories. He knew he had lost a lot though. Every day since when he was last in ponyville, talking to a pink-maned pony, up until this point, was gone from his memory.
Whether or not what he had seen in his dream were the lost time or not, was uncertain, but if not that, something else was his story.
"You're a lucky one..."
He heard a female's tone. Whom it belonged to was uncertain. She was hidden behind a tree, and he didn't dare approach her. Not in his condition anyways.
"Yes... Everything was you... Every last bit of it... And that green fellow you've saw? He was your companion..." She continued. Her voice was emotionless, and as blunt and straight forward as it could've been. He almost felt insulted by it.
"And how do you know what I dreamt of?"
"Has anypony told you that you talk in your sleep?" She replied, still without emotion.
He only blushed without much of a response to give, embarassment taking over him. Yes, he had heard it once before.
It was at a school sleep-over. He had never attended to any other sleep-over, even as the opportunity had offered itself many times. They had all told him about what he had said during the night. The words almost haunted him.
He had said out loud that he had crush on the self-proclaimed 'uber cool' filly. A cyan-coloured pegasus. She was one of the few that didn't laugh, but she didn't seem very happy or understanding about it either. She hardly spoke to him. Whether she was insulted or embarrased she had never told him, and as time passed, he let it off as a memory and nothing more, without pursuing the truth any further.
It was the memory that came to mind when the mysterious voice questioned him, and he ended up spacing out for a minute, before a cough brought him back to reality. The female was growing impatient.
"Anyways... He headed off north... He's not very quick, so you should be able to catch up with him, even in your condition..." Her voice actually trailed off into sympathy, and it nearly threw him off guard enough to forget about the question he had for her since she first spoke.
"Who are you?" He finally managed to throw out, right as he heard her about to set off.
"Nopony important" Her tone found its emotionless, yet somewhat natural tone again, and soon after, he heard her galloping into the distance. That made him realise she was a pony, and the tone soon found its place in his memory, at some earlier point as well. This wasn't the first time she had saved him, but it was the only other time she had spoken.
More so, it was the first time she had REALLY spoken to him, or that he'd heard her voice for more than a few seconds.
It made his intention of meeting her again at some point all the more realistic.
For now, he had to find his green partner again, and as the pain was bearable enough to run without whimpering, stuttering or stumbling over, that was what he did. His wings were perfectly shaped once more, but considering how tightly the bandage had been put on, he knew it was to keep him from flying, so running would have to do, and he wasn't going to take flight any time soon, whether the wings had been treated as best as they could've been. Much to his surprise, the mending even surpassed doctors.
He put all other thoughts aside. He had to if he was going to catch up to the poor colt that had headed off.
Crying at that.
The night before was as clear as day, and he had seen tears fall from the ground of a turned around unicorn.
He felt guilty. Very much so. He had to find his partner. Not just to regain him, or at least hope to, but also to apologize.
As he ran forth, he thought up as many ways of apologizing as he could, barely focusing on the path ahead, nearly side-tracking because of it. He only barely realised that he was running off as badly as he was as he stumbled in his own hooves in his sleazy manner of running. It wouldn't have ached so badly if he wasn't already wounded, even as it was mended for the most part.
Rolling forth a few times on the ground, his body ached, and he was stuck for a few minutes trying to recover. Shouting in pain, he heard rustling. Something approached, and he immediately got up, preparing to either run, or fight back, depending on what it was.
His eyes shot wide-open.
It was neither boars nor bunnies. Nothing he'd expect to see.
It was the one he had been looking for.
A green pony before him, messed up, his fur covered in dirt, his mane and tail having sticks and stones attached to them. He was a mess. This was what happened when he was alone appearantly. He turned into a mess.
"O-Oh.... It's you... I'll just leave you a-alone then..."
He could tell Toby had trouble talking. His eyes were welling up, and his tone was as shaking as his entire body.
Laxed didn't speak, but approached the unicorn, and put his front hooves around the neck and shoulders of the mess of a pony and hugged him. Gentle, yet tightly.
"I'm so sorry..." He whispered, and this time, it wasn't Toby who was crying, but him.
It didn't last for long though. As soon as he felt the wet drops of tears run down his cheek and mane, he put his hooves back around Laxed's shoulders.
"I-It's okay... I-It's my faulth you had t-to save both of us..." He stuttered back, his voice choking on his own tears and sobs.
Neither spoke, neither had more to say. They simply remained in the tight grip around each other, hugging like their life depended on it.
Neither knew how long they remained there, but they were in no hurry, and the hug lasted as long as it had to, before they finally let go of one another.
Whiping their eyes, they decided to set off on their journey again. Their equipment was gone. It had been abandoned in the assault of the Veratus. Neither cared though. They had both found something far more important, and each with their own smile as they wandered forth, neither speaking for the time being.
But ack.... They were lost. Due to the lack of direct memories, and Toby having passed out upon the crash landing, they had no idea which direction they were headed, or where they even were at this point.
Laxed couldn't fly up in the air to get a better look at the surroundings. Not if he wanted to keep his wings intact. They were far from recovered yet.
Neither cared much for the journey right then though, they were both still just smiling in their own general direction, but this time, keeping an eye on the road, so as not to approach more danger than they could handle, or better yet, not approach danger at all. Any place was an adventure, outside of safe walls, and any adventure meant the possibility of battle, travels or, as they disgressed at the thought of, danger.
They were trotting along their unknown path, still within the open forest, consisting of the occasional tree, flowers and grass as far as the eye could see, ending only as they met a mountain-side in all four directions. The valley was huge, but it still met its ending point before the sightsline did, due to how tall each mountain stood. Whether to consider it paradise, save for the dead-lands they had been on earlier, or just a less visited place than normal, was beyond his guess, but one way or another, silence filled the valley with only their breaths, heartbeats, hooves and an occasional stroke of the invisible natural and soothing force flying by to keep it filled with sound.
But silence was not the strong side of the younger of the two, even as the pegasus was delighted over it beyond recognition, almost soaring in the clouds, mentally. The boots only helped strenghtening the image, eyes widely opened or not. Toby though, had decided that there had been enough of this boring, and mentally dull silence, and as soon as he found something to talk about, there was no stopping him.
Laxed had to find his mental ear-blockers to kill any sound and go back to soaring in the clouds, as hard as that was when this time, Toby paid attention to him, and therefore shook him whenever his thoughts headed in different directions. There was no escaping the insane amount of words Toby somehow managed to blurt out through just a small portion of time. He was starting to wonder if the unicorn ever caught his breath, or just inhaled enough for ten fully grown stallions, only to let it all out in a nonstop go. But no. The green-furred talk-a-lot machine was inhaling, even while talking.
Every time he tried to wander off into his own thoughts and peace, Toby noticed, and pulled him straight back in. He wanted to explode in anger and fury at this point. The talking had hardly been bearable when he was not even there mentally, and if he couldn't even escape, that small portion that kept him from boiling over was gone. That paper-thin wall that hindered him from mentally losing it was cut, and fell.
His left eye started twitching, and his mouth was shaking as his eyes grew more shallow by the second.
"Uhm... Are you alright?"
Finally... FINALLY!
With that question, Toby had gone quiet. If just for a few seconds, it was those seconds of peace he could truly feel.
He kept on going without responding, and those few signs his face had thrown off left Toby unwanting to pull him back from his daydreaming, even as he seemed to have calmed down.
The unicorn no longer walked side-by-side with Laxed, but rather, a little behind. He didn't even speak either. He had gone completely silent, and the smile he had previously had, no longer remained, disappearing as slowly as he felt like walking. He knew something was off, but he feared the answer too much to pursue the case.
Laxed, whom he had only seen in pain, fear, happiness or asleep, had thrown off a gaze that was frightening just to look at, and even as it disappeared, he could see it clearly whenever he got close enough to look at the black pegasus, and so, he stayed back to avoid having to see it again, hoping it would eventually fade, but to no avail. Whenever he got close enough, because Laxed was off in the skies, slowing his pace, and he caught up, the face returned.
They kept on going forth, but with neither to keep them going at a normal pace, Toby ensuring to stay behind Laxed, who was far slower than usual, as nothing kept him going but himself, lost in his thoughts and the skies, their progress was lacking. They had only gotten a mile or two from their last spot, and that was through the entire day.
Even worse, both of them were paying the tolls of not having eaten for a while. The sun was setting, but it still shed some light, enough to last for a small scavening hunt. Both went in their own directions to look for anything edible, having decided on a meeting point below the largest tree in the area, to ensure neither missed it.
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He had managed to gather some berries, along with 'Taste leaves', known to be very rare, but they were also infamous for their peculiar 'ability' of tasting anything anypony desired, and that made them exquisit enough for even Princess Celestia herself to eat them right off the bat. He felt pretty achieved to have found them, though when returning to the tree, Toby had yet to come back. There was still some time on the clock before darkness once more fell, so he decided to simply patiently wait.
But victory wasn't his this day, and he could sense something had happened as the night finally fell without neither sound nor sight of his pony partner. The worst of thoughts got him, and leaving the food by the tree, his plan to find Toby and return, he sprinted off in the general direction he knew Toby had headed, shouting for him every 10th second.
He didn't consider that his voice might be attracting other things than his grass-green buddy, he just had to find him. He knew what happened if the poor colt was left out there in the wilderness without attention, even just for a few hours, and just now did he realise how bad an idea it was for them to split up and search individually, Toby's idea or not. He should have refused when he didn't, but it wouldn't be the first time the two of them got in a mess, or just Toby for that matter.
One way or another, whether Toby was in a mess or not, he had to go out there and search. If not injured, he would most definitely be scared. Especially since this was the time of 'Tricksters'.
Then he heard voices. Whether they were friendly or not, was for his eyes to judge. Silently approaching the source, he saw Toby surrounded by four large, strong and armored ponies in various colors, shaping up a small rainbow. They somewhat reminded him of Celestia's personal escort, but their armor was neither quite so fancy, nor was she usually in chains, like Toby was. Their armor was consisting of badly mended metal plates that might very well shatter to a well-placed kick.
So, he had decided to slowly follow them. If he tried to explain his way out of this one, he was more likely to be walking next to Toby, equally chained up. One end around his neck, the four others around his hooves, giving limited mobility.
"HALT! We set camp here for now!" the fifth one, ahead of the other four shouted. He was dressed entirely differently, the only one with a helmet that was definitely resembling one the guards at Canterlot castle had. He also had a cape, crimson red, and going from his neck and to his rear hooves, he made out the clear leader of the group, the other four
He sat and watched them feast upon whatever meals they had brought along, like soldiers tend to do after a long journey. That only meant they were headed towards home, and had been away from it for a long time. But if they were armored, they either belonged to a small villager, or perhaps a castle preparing to take the shape of ruins. Their armor simply couldn't belong to any army a majestic kingdom had.
Hours passed before they all finally decided to lull into sleep. Four loudly snoring ponies spread across various spots on the ground. The fifth was nowhere to be seen, and quite frankly, he didn't have time to stay around and hope to spot him further away from the group, and asleep as well. He simply had to trust his luck. Even if that meant risking the possibility of success. He found the keys attached to one of them, but based on how heavily the armored pony snored, Laxed had his doubts about him waking up
With a swift move, making him feel like one of those ninjas he had read about, the keys were his, and he softly approached another sleeping pony. The chained one.
He unlocked the chains, hoping the *click* that there was no chance of silencing wouldn't wake either of them up. Looking around, not a single one of them had awokened, and were all sleeping softly. He managed to get Toby on his back after a few strainful pulls, and even as that meant the unicorn had to lay directly on his wings, causing both his wings and back to sting, more than just lightly, it was a price he had to pay.
But his luck was running out. He had just made it out of the lair, looking back at the four sleeping guards with a sheepish grin, mumbling 'Too easy', and as he turned his head away from the camp and straight ahead where he was headed, he found himself looking up at a taller, and much stronger pony than himself. It was the leader, and he was looking even more terrifying up close.
"And where do you think YOU'RE going?" He grunted out like an angry dog.
"E-Err.... I was just taking my friend and going... You know... Far away from you guys?" He nervously laughed, hopening to mooden up the serious pony before him, and immediately ran off.
He could even see the leader's jaw drop and his eyes opening wide that the pegasus had even just done that.
"In all my days.... GUARDS! GET OFF YOUR LAZY HOOVES AND CHASE AFTER THEM!" He shouted, seemingly insulted, and started sprinting after them as well.
The darkness was their only chance of escaping. He couldn't outrun a single one of them. He wouldn't even be able to if he wasn't carrying Toby, whom was waking to due to the sudden gallop causing him to shake back and forth atop Laxed's back.
Diving into the first bush he could, hoping he was out of sights-line, the darkness practically making the two invisible anywhere past a close-up, he managed to accidentaly throw Toby off his back and right into a few branches, leaving large cracking noises. The few seconds they had got on the guards were now for luck to make up.
Toby saw the pegasus' worried expression, and luckily knew to keep still and remain quiet, even as he was just waking up.
He heard hoovesteps. Too many to count. They all ran ahead, and he let out a breath of relief.
His heart stopped in the next second though. From atop the bush, a armored head stuck in. It was the leader, and his helmet-covered face that was gazing down at the two.
"Boo!" He shouted in a whispering manner, and the two nearly jumped at it. They tried running off, but he only had to grab hold of the unicorn to stop Laxed from sprinting off.
"That's a good boy" He excitedly spoke, expecting just that outcome.
"Let him go! We've done nothing to you! We just want to be on our way, and if you can just let him go, we will!" He shouted back, fear of what was likely to wait him coming out into his emotions as his words left his mouth.
"No can do that... Can't really tell you why, but I can tell you that I can't do just that. You'll find out soon enough, I'm sure... Now, if you want to leave your pony brethern to me and just sprint off, that's fine. I probably can't catch you both, and the other guards decided to look in their seperate directions, so they won't be back for the next few minutes... Oh how I wish they were more brains than brawns at times... But enough about that... You can choose to abandon him to his fate, or you can join him and at least try to comfort him for what awaits" A sly grin curled up alongst the lips of the caped stallion.
Now that he had more of a time to actually look at the 'leader', he was gray, with a rather stubby mane. Unlike the guards at Canterlot castle, his just stuck up the hole and hung to the side like a flat mane often does, but it didn't go much past his ear level, and at the end, it was jagged, his hair white. He must've been fairly old, and he didn't seem to have neither wings, nor a horn. He was indefinitely an earth pony. His tail was much like his mane. Short, jagged at the end, and flat. He didn't stand THAT much taller than an average pony, but he definitely had height, and where that failed, his muscles were superiour. He was also likely to be one of the smarter ponies out there. Just how much, he couldn't tell, but the possibility to rival Twilight in knowledge, he feared was a reality.
"You..." Laxed sighed. "You win... I'll come..."
He did as he had said, and walked over to the gray earth pony, and as they made their way back to the camp, the only thing he could think of, was trying to find an escape route. There was none. The leader had brought chains in a small bag he seemed to carry about, and they were now both chained up. He couldn't fly off either, the bandages didn't just keep his wings from falling apart, but also hindered them from spreading out for him to just fly as he pleased.
He was pretty much tied down now, and all he could do was obey.
The guards returned, and it seemed like not a single one of them were returning to sleep as the camp they had set up was being brought back down, and anything they could re-use, was being packed down.
And so, they set off, with two prisoners having no idea where these soldiers were taking them.
Every second meant a possible escape route, and he had to find one. Toby's fearing face only increased his reassurance that he had to. That they weren't even wearing any normal armor, and one of them bore a helmet from the canterlot set, made him fear the worst. He had his doubts about them being her personal army, and something more was at hoove. That, unlike them being her secret army, he was more certain of.
He didn't dare question them either. Not after having tried running away any more, and being that they would so heartlessly take a pony not yet fully grown a hostage, meant bad news.
But there was always too open a field to try to aim for an escape. Either that, or a steep fall he wouldn't risk falling down for an escape he might not survive. His wings couldn't save him either; they were still bandaged, and even if they weren't, his wings were still healing, trying to fly off meant a temporary flight. And he'd rather have bandages around his wings than chains. He knew they had some for his wings, so it owuldn't have mattered.
He kept silently obeying, following every little command their leader shouted out worth all his breath, be it to walk ahead, or halt. There were too few choices to do anything else, and escape routes were lacking. The route they had taken felt like some sort of a reroute, as though to avoid any escape opportunities. He knew their leader was clever, but right now it felt more like mind-reading than intelligence.
The caped pony must've realized how desperate Laxed was getting. His grin was unmistakable. It was like he had beaten the poor pegasus at some game.
He considers this a game? Hah! What a sick and twisted humor this guy has, huh?
But the grinning stallion came to a halt. So did the group, and so had both Laxed and Toby, knowing to obey the silent commands that were given off from every move, and especially when the leader came to a halt.
They currently stood atop a mountain. They had been walking for ages, and had approached a smaller mountain they had to cross, due to a lack of bridge, and a hgue gap everywhere else. It was the only way of crossing. At the top, was a flat platform, more than big enough for them to walk around freely, without any risk of falling off. It was about the size of an inner volcano, and had plenty room to go about. Blue skies, and a brown surface, it didn't look horrendously bad.
He didn't turn around to speak, but with his back towards the others, he opened his mouth. His words almost threw the poor Pegasus backwards. It literally caught him off guard, and this had to be the opportunity he had been waiting for. If this wasn't it, nothing was.
"Well... You seem so eager to get away... Oh yes, I've noticed... But don't worry about it... Thinking's not a crime in this group... After all, we got to think to keep our brains active... And without a working mind, we are just mindless puppets... What kind of a life is that for anypony? But... That wasn't what I wanted to bring up... What I wanted to say... No... Offer would probably fit..."
Everypony in the group could hear the excitement as the leader went on, and the sound of shaking armor made both of the prisoners throw their eyse over in the direction of the guards. They were all appearantly terrified.
And what are THEY so afraid of? Laxed's mind ran before his ears caught the now-finished sentence of the white-maned pony.
"... I'll offer you one chance to battle your way out of this... If you can win, both you and your friend goes free. And don't worry... Neither of the others will interfere. AIN'T THAT RIGHT MEN?!?
His shout left an absolute silence amongst the group. They had stopped shaking, and could only barely pull off a nearly invisible nod.
What, are they all weaklings? But I thought he said they were all muscles?
The opportunity to escape was all he could think of, and he ignored anything else. One of the guards even told him 'Don't do it...', but to him, that only seemed to be a wish so the two of them wouldn't walk away.
Toby didn't say anything. The unicorn hadn't actually said anything for quite a while, which was more surprising than the fact that he'd have been given the opportunity to escape.
"Remove his chains then! He's made his decision, hasn't he?" Still with the brutal tone.
Laxed didn't care. He was ready. His body might not have fully repaired, but he couldn't wait for that either.
As his chains were removed, the gray pony removed both his cape and helmet, revealing a scarred body. He was undoubtedly a war veteran of sorts. Either that, or he just fought a lot. Maybe he was just a clumsy one? No, he was a leader for a reason, and the guards feared him too much for any of those scarrs to be coincidental. There were too many for it to merely be a coincidense.
But escape beat any reason, and with his shackles gone, he stood on all four, proud as ever. One of them offered to even remove his bandages, but he told them not to. Not because he couldn't actually use them, but being cocky, he gave it off as a 'I don't even need them'.
"Heh... Do you have what it takes to back off a statement like that?" The scarred stallion replied to it with a humored tone.
"Guess we'll find out..." Laxed threw right back, with a determined tone. It was victory and only victory that mattered there.
Laxed was never much for being brave, or getting into fights. He even tried avoiding them when they were right in front of him, but this wasn't like one of those cases. This was where it truly mattered. This was his freedom he was fighting for. It was their freedom. Both his and Toby's.
If he lost, it didn't just mean he'd be imprisoned. It also meant the poor colt, who was shockingly silent, would have to follow, because he lost.
He had to win, no matter the cost. He had failed so many fights where it mattered, and only luck had saved him, but luck wasn't going to interfere in this fight. It was him against someone much stronger, and presumably also much smarter. There were no odds to his favour, yet, he refused to back down. He should have absolutely done just that, but he refused.
His strive for freedom mattered more than the injuries he might obtain in this battle. If he could at least manage to injure the stallion before him in the slightest, it meant Toby would have a greater chance of escaping. After all, the guards were seemingly meat-headed. Escape wouldn't be a master task without their leader to guide them. He had to win SOMETHING from this fight. He had to!
They now stood face to face, hoove to hoove, right in front of one another. Laxed, hardheadedly thinking of his victory and nothing more, rammed towards his opponent who only seemed to leap. Laxed halted in his tracks, looking up into the skies where the earth pony was soaring through, right towards him. It went faster than he'd expect; too fast. He found himself kicked right in the face by a rear hoove before he could react, and he could barely comprehend the situation before he was at the ground with an aching forehead.
He wasn't going to let that stop him. He got up, and once again rammed head-on into yet another attempted assault. This time, the white pony had decided not to leap, but instead, simply remained still, letting Laxed charge right at him. He even stood up on two, letting the pegasus ram his head right into the earth pony's stomach. No sooner had the head made contact with the belly, than had he felt himself losing contact with the ground. The gray pony had rolled backwards, and pulled Laxed with him, throwing him overheads, and onto his back, right onto the rocky surface below
It wouldn't have ached so badly if he didn't land right onto his wings, which left a craking sound even the leader flinched a little at, getting back up from the ground he had decided to roll onto, willingly.
"Ooooh... That's have got to hurt..."
The humouros tone meant he was joking about.
Is he really not... Even trying...?
Laxed disgressed at the thought. If so, it meant he couldn't win, so he refused to think that way.
His back was aching about equally bad to when he had been assaulted by the Veratus. More his wings than his back though. Now both were shattered, and any healing they had gone through was now forfeit. His vision had even decided to blurr, but he refused to stop fighting just because of this pain. He had done absolutely nothing to worsen the condition of his foe, and he couldn't leave this badly beaten up without at least having earned something from it.
After a few heavy breaths, and a few forced attempts at getting back on his hooves, he stood once more. Pained or not, he rammed forth yet again. It had failed horribly, but maybe this time? Maybe it would work this time? He was no champion or great fighter. He had to do whatever he could to get through this. And as all he knew how to do was ram head-straight into things as a way to fight. He hadn't fought in years, and the last time he did, it worked perfectly well.
This time, the gray stallion also stood still, but neither jumped, nor stood up as Laxed approached. Just a hoove away, he leapt right over Laxed, rolling onto his back, over the already wounded wings, which already caused his back to give in, and as he had finished rolling around, he ended up with his hooves atop the pegasus' back. Right onto the wings at that. He was far from finished. Kicking off, using Laxed as some sort of a mattress, the wings only shattered further, and finally, the once again airborn pony bodyslammed right into the already broken wings, leaving them a shattered mess in the bandages which now only held shattered pieces which had feathers attached to them.
Laxed, for the first time since he could remember, cried in pain. He felt his tears fly down his cheeks. He was in pain he hadn't ever felt before. He laid on the ground, crying, shaking and twitching. It was too much for him to bear and he had no direct way to express it.
The guards even felt it too much to watch. The only one who had his eyes open out of the spectators, was the little colt who had still yet to say anything. He didn't cry either. His only motion was a widely opened mouth as he looked at the devastated pony who had done everything he could up until this point, to bring them this far, now, only crying in pure, utter and sheer pain.
The cause of it all got off the broken pegasus, brushing his hooves, like he had merely dirtied them a little during the fight, and walked over to the group. "Carry him, and we'll move o-"
Toby, who was so lost beyond what any emotion could even hope to describe, started ramming his hooves into the gray 'monster' with all his might.
"Kiddo... Give it up... He failed that badly... What do you think you can do?"
The unicorn didn't care for what he had to say, and simply kept ramming his hooves into him over and over, hoping it would somehow cure the anger, and Laxed's wings.
"Don't push it..."
He was talking to deaf ears. The green pony simply kept assaulting the already annoyed leader with all force he had, as much as it didn't seem to do anything but annoy him further.
"Okay, you asked for i-!"
He had raised a hoove, preparing to knock the unicorn senseless, but was held back by two other guards, who were shaking with fear as they tried to hold him back, fearing the worst. They didn't have the heart to watch more senseless pain be caused though, and were prepared to take the risk, no matter what it bore.
"Fine... Just get this little brat out of my sight, okay?"
The gray stallion gathered his gear and equipped it once more, preparing to leave. One of the guards managed to pull Toby away from the danger he was otherwise putting himself in, and two more had picked up Laxed. They were once more making progress, but the toll had been far worse than either of the prisoners had expected to pay. And Laxed had paid it without as much as an inch of reward. He'd have even ended up in a worse condition than he was planning to, and was silently sobbing.
He could no longer even cry. His pain was beyond that of crying, and only worsened every time either of the carriers moved, budging him back and forth.
Toby had returned to being silent, and there was nothing that seemed to make him want to talk. He just obeyed without emotions. He didn't look at Laxed, even as, through a few short relieves from any immediate pain every time they stopped, he had tried gaining eye contact.
It disheartened and hurt him more that he had failed, than the pain that was threatening to put him in some sort of shock-enduced coma. The journey had become even longer. The pain made any second last like an hour, and a minute, many days.
Even the leader had gone silent. He hadn't even smiled, nor had he seemed saddened.
The guards before him had tried carrying him as gently as they could, without slacking in pace. He could tell that it strained them more, and yet, they refused to torture him more than needed.
He hadn't actually said, or whispered thanks, afraid to put them in trouble, knowing the leader was ruthless, but he had done anything he could to signify his appreciation for what they did.
Both silently nodded, smiling a little at him. He had too much trouble smiling himself, but they both knew he wanted to, had he could.
Maybe they weren't such a bad group after all?
His thoughts at least partly put his focus away from the pain, and it was the only other relief he could have.
What few thoughts he could amass, anyways. It was hard enough thinking through the pain, and trying to deafen it out completely through thoughts was a master task he couldn't handle.
Night came. Who knew how long they had been walking. His stomach had a good measure. They had hardly gotten any food through the travels, and if the pain wasn't eating away at him, the hunger was.
Night being there, they had set up a camp, and gotten their small feast. It was the only one they got a day, and thus, they had to savour it, as hard as it was to savour a slice of dry bread. Just a plain, dry piece of loaf, along with a small portion of water they could ask for at any time, so that they guards may hand it to them, even during day-time. They truly were prisoners.
Laxed strived to eat. It hadn't even been a full day since he was completely crushed, and he was still breathing heavily, unable to focus. His vision had temporarily faded too. He was practically blind, barely able to make out any figures at day, and at night, he was about as blind as a bat. He even had to look with his hooves to find his small meal and slowly make his way from one end to another and eat it.
Toby wasn't eating though. His hearing was still fine, and he could hear that Toby wasn't eating anything.
Something was poking his hoove though, and he felt the soft touch of more bread in them. He knew where they came from, but refused to accept, and tried handing it back to the pony that was no doubt equally hungry, but being as 'blind' as he was, he only ended up trying to hand it into the air.
He wasn't going to be able to give it back, and ended up eating it after finally giving up. He couldn't walk about either, and could barely lift his hooves, so he was about as useless as he could get.
"I-I'm so sorry..."
The familiar sound of a shaky voice mixed with sobs came to his ears, and the voice was unmistakably from the one who had handed him his second meal. He had probably approached as soon as the second slice of bread had been eaten, knowing the pegasus was probably not going to try and hand it back at that point.
"Don't.... Worry... About it..." He managed to mutter out, unable to speak properly. If it wasn't the pain from his wings hindering him from speaking, it was his back that caused him to be unable to breathe properly, and become even worse at talking.
"N-No...! Y-You didn't really fight for yourself... I-I know!" The sobs become more clear, and he could tell Toby was at the brink of just crying out loud.
"D... Doesn't ma...tter... I los...t" He no longer felt like talking. He lost, and he knew it. He lost without winning anything, and he knew he didn't have the breath to cry. If he did, he would just pass out that very moment, and he refused to do just that. Especially in front of Toby, especially at that moment.
He looked in the direction he knew Toby was. He couldn't actually see the green pony before him, or the black mane that covered up parts of his face. Nor could he see the tears that were now running down like waterfalls onto his cheeks, but he could hear them, just as well as he could hear Toby's occasional breath, crying to the point where he could hardly breathe.
The guardsmen ignored it. They weren't going to interfere. They knew better than to. Even the leader had simply shook his head and let them go on about their emotional rant. He had already proved his point, and made them unable to escape. He was satisfied.
"S-So what...? A-At least... AT LEAST WE'RE STILL TOGETHER, RIGHT?!?" He was now shouting. The depression Laxed had found himself sinking into only became bigger and bigger. If it wasn't for the pain, he'd have already been beyond saving.
"I... Guess... You're right..." He muttered. He actually felt a little happier at that point, and smiled a little.
His face crunched together as he once again felt himself lifted up on two horsebacks. They hadn't got to rest. It was the fourth night without rest, and they could all notice it. All but the leader, who seemed like some sort of a machine, and simply rumbled out 'LET'S GO!'
Again, they were progressing. All but one, who passed out as soon as he tried to set off. The poor unicorn wasn't even fully grown, and the lack of sleep had mentally killed him. Crying was all it took for him to simply black out that very moment.
So that was why he was so silent...
One of the two unburdened guards,found himself carrying somepony at last. The other two guards laughed at him in a mocking manner, as he had towards them as they were forced to carry Laxed.
"Now you've got somepony to carry too, hahah-"
"Silence, the lot of you! Let's go!" The leader blurted out, being a killjoy unlike any other.
They went silent, but reached their tongues at him, and the poor guard simply frowned at them.
But Laxed, even while carried, couldn't sleep. Perhaps before the pain, he would've been able to, but now, he was done for, and the pain kept him awake.
"Oh... I had completely forgotten it..." The fourth, and still unburdened guard suddenly spoke. He had a dark, yet friendly tone.
Coming forth, he handed a small leather bag with a strap to keep it on to the leader.
"We found this... Can't quite remember where, but it was probably taken by some storm and dragged along." He finished, handing the bag over to caped stallion.
"Well, what do we have here? Hmmm... Let's see... A book... Meh... Survival books have never fancied me... Never needed them..." He put it back inside after pulling it out for a closer look.
"But these daggers are crafted nicely... Sturdy too... And a rope... This could come in handy!"
"T... That bag... Is... Mine..."
It was just a silent murrmurr coming from behind two pony heads, but the one the words were meant for, heard it clearly.
"It's your, eh? Well... You can have it... Both that, and the book inside it... I'll keep the daggers and rope though. Well... What's left of it, anyways... What the hay happened to it? Nah, probably a boring story... Nevermind"
He walked over and dropped the bag right over the neck of the injured pegasus without any remorse.
The descriptions of the items was what made him certain. That, and losing it, and it then being found randomly out there without any specific location to it. He couldn't even remember where he had gotten it; amnesia was still biting hard in his head, but he knew it was his.
At least, now he had something from the past, aside from his friendship with the now sleeping pony.
Somehow, having it allowed him peace from the pain. Whether it had dullened it, or the fact that he had gotten it made him so happy, he could only throw a wild guess at, but somehow, he felt a moment of peace, without sadness or suffering. It was all he needed to fall asleep too, and from barely breathing to barely snoring, he had joined Toby in sleeping, not having to walk.
Morning woke him like it always did; with its nasty habbit of hitting his eyes just where it was at its worst. Coming from across the hill, barely making its approach, not a single spot on his face went unlit. He felt targeted, and if he wasn't, why was it only hitting him, and not Toby? He was almost feeling so certain that if he'd move to Toby's spot, the sunlight would simply follow him like a mocking beam over to the swapped spot, and yet again leave the unicorn untouched.
The guards were still carrying him, much to his shock. But now, it was a bulky and sleazy road, and the realisation of his body being knocked back and forth kicked in after a few, lazy and tired blinks with his eyes, waking up once more. There was nopony that had tended to his wings either, so the pain was no less than yesterday, but instead, only worse.
The urge to just cry once more crossed his mind, but with just a little bit of pushing back, he managed to remain silent on the ponybacks he was atop, being bumped back and forth. He wasn't blaming them for being uncomfortable to lay upon. They had yet to sleep, and the only one still able to go on unharmed and still seemingly fully awake, was the caped pony just a few hoovesteps ahead of them, having slowed down for the guards to be able to keep up with him.
Is he a machine or something?
He had little time to gather his thoughts from the nasty beam of sun that awokened him, and the pain only increased his need to be groggy about waking up. He raised his head, looking over the two that was carrying him and otherwise blocking his view, he tried figuring where they were, but to no avail. This place was absolutely unknown. He felt like he had been out longer than just for the night, because the place made it seem like it had been weeks since he last opened his eyes and looked at yet another part of Equestria in all its beauty. This was just a wasteland of ice and snow.
There was no storm going about. Not a single snowflake fell from the skies, but the ground, and few mountains in the distance, were as top-to-toe covered with snow that the armored ponies had it up to their chest, walking on ahead. They were undoubtedly freezing, but it seemed like their leaders relentless progress forth gave them motivation.
If Toby were to wake up though, this could mean bad news. The snow reached THEM to the chest. Celestia may know how deep-down Toby would be.
He himself wasn't in a condition to walk, snow or not, but the unicorn was. He had only passed out due to lack of sleep, and he wasn't going to bet on the leader to have a 'heart-warming moment' and simply let the colt ride on until they were past this point.
He hadn't realised it until now, but he could actually keep a calm mind. The pain, despite not having actually been taken care of, seemed like it was lacking. Not fully, only partly, but enough for him to stay calm, and simply look about, in any hopes of a sign that might reveal their location. Since it was still supposed to be summer, it would either have to be some practical joke, a disaster, a curse or simply a snow-covered area that had yet to be mapped. After all, that was what he set out to see.
Places not yet discovered.
Not that he'd have been expecting to literally be carried all the way. Then again, he wasn't exactly enjoying neither the company, and he'd rather have walked, than have his wings completely destroyed, and have no actual time to explore the area, or even know the path to or from wherever this was.
"W.... Where are... We?"
His voice was dry. So was the air. Any moisture had been sucked out, and formed the snow. His entire throat felt like sandpaper, and he could hardly speak without coughing or feel the words sting his throat on their way out.
The only guard who had no burden to carry could hear the raspyness of the words, and walked over with a water bottle. A few slurps later, the pony furthest ahead finally responded.
"This? This is home..." He said, to Laxed's surprise, with a joyful tone. Not evil, just happy.
He turned around, looking to the surprised pegasus, and the still-asleep unicorn with a happy grin across his lips. This was far more creepy than any evil face he could've ever made. That this heartless pony, who had threatened to punch a colt, and demolished his wings, simply smiled, like he had even the slightest hint of emotion.
But before them truly laid a large castle. He hadn't noticed it until now, too caught up in thoughts and trying to figure out where they were, not really paying much attention to what laid directly ahead, figuring that he'd see them bypass anything important if that time came.
It was massive. Far bigger than Canterlot. But with such a huge, plain, and snow-covered field, they had to make good use of the space, and so, covered by multiple layers of walls, one closer than the other to the castle itself, each wall protecting minor villagers, seeming more rich by each layer. It was likely a way to part the rich from the poor. As though all ponies weren't equal.
"Value... Comes in... FRIENDSHIP!"
He had seen enough. Being high up on a hill with a smooth path down, he could get a bird perspective and see the entirety of the situation, and it was simply too much to bear. He had to shout out, like it would solve something. At least it settled that extremely vulgar stomach twist which even outbested the wings in grabbing his emotions.
"I see you're one of those optimists who don't see just WHERE all these ponies are placed... Where WE live... And where YOUR new home is. These are all outcasts. Ponies thrown out of their villages or homes because they weren't a 'Pegasus' or a 'Unicorn'. So... If friendship is all that matters... Why do you think everypony lives here just because they don't have any 'special attributes', huh? We're special too. We're much better at things than both Unicorns and Pegasi at many things. Watch THEM care!"
Anger took control over the pony that had earlier been smiling, and if the smile was more creepy, his anger was frightening. He didn't seem to have any limit as to how far he'd go, and with him angry, the few limits he possibly had, would cease to exist. That much, he was more than just a little certain about.
Yet, he did nothing. He turned around, and continued forth down to the walled castle.
He didn't even turn around to look at the pegasus who had lost all ability to speak. Maybe he wasn't so ruthless after all? Maybe somepony else was at faulth for how he had ended up?
They crossed the first gate. Looking inside, he saw a few outdoors. Fillies and colts playing together in the snow. They seemed rather happy, making the best of their times. Even the adults were having a blast, partying about. They didn't even seem to frown, or anything of the likes. It was pure happiness he saw. Their homes were small, frail, and probably ready to break down at any storm that might approach. The walls were thick, and had a thick layer of ice as roof though. No storm would break through. At least they were safe from any weather disasters, and the large, hundreds of yards tall, purely white walls were thick enough to endure, as was the roof.
Every layer of wall was alike, and the inside only differed in how the houses looked, which became more fancy by each layer, until the seventh, and latest one was crossed. Unlike the rest, it was warm. The houses were by far the most fancy, and the ponies walking about were wearing monocles, top hats, suits or dresses, with their hair set up in one fancy manner or another.
But they were all happy.
He hadn't seen a single frown, save for a few foals who ended up falling over or something along the lines. He was more surprised at this, than the difference-issue. They were all smiling, despite some seemingly having it worse than even the most unlucky of ponies back at his hometown.
Had they really had it so bad before coming here?
They were finally making it past the castle doors. As warm on the inside as the outside of the doors, but appearing as cold as the wasteland outside of everything. Everything was pure white, even the furniture. It all appeared to be as snow-covered as the white and empty space out in the cold, yet the furniture still felt like it was shaped. Pillows were soft, benches were made of wood, and the floor left an echo of hoove to marble in the large, rather empty room.
There were pillars holding up the massive building with an even spacing between each, all shaped with such precision that only a master could've carved it.. Symmetrical too, it shaped up perfect beauty even Celesta or Luna would've probably envied, the white touch only adding to the purity of it all. The castle was tall, and filled with doors to all sides. They were in the main hall, and it lead all the way from one end, to another.
At the opposite side of the door they had just entered, was a throne, and on it sat a.... A.... A diamond dog?
Purely black, even darker than Laxed's coat, with a pair of purple eyes, and much bigger than the average dog, he was tapping a clawed finger at an armlean attached to the throne he sat in. The only thing that wasn't just a white mess with black outlinese to shape each structure, was two windows behind the throne, going from the bottom of the floor to the top of the ceiling, with just a small , nearly invisible piece of wall to attach the pieces of the see-through glass to.
It was a grand hall after all, and only doors and stairs were in the room, along with the pillars, circular in shape, with a rectangular platform at the bottom and top. There were guards at all corners. Yet they all wore the flimsily designed armor without any exact pattern to it. Then how could they live in such a magnificent kingdom, and wear such frail armor? He was tempted to question the 'King' the diamond dog obviously was, being on the throne of the center of it all.
"Well, well, well... What have we here?"
Toby was still asleep after it all. He must've really been sleeping heavily to be able to simply go through it all without even reacting to the commotion that had happened, and the large, dark tone of the 'King'.
Two of the ponies that had been escorting them up until this point bowed. The other three had to make sure not to drop their 'baggage'.
He just waved a furred hand at them.
"Yeah, yeah... Get to the point..."
His other hand was occupied by supporting his head, the elbow at the other armlean, allowing him to rest his head in a bored fashion.
"Well.. We found these two out in the wilderness... A pegasus and a unicorn.. Furthermore, one of them tried to assault me... As you can see, he was the only one wh-"
"THAT'S A LIE!" Laxed shouted out, quickly feeling the backfire as he had to throw himself back down in his pony-created seat, his wings kicking in with their full pain, and he had to return to silence, barely continuing, this time breathing heavily with his wings still paining him.
"Y... You offered... Me freedom if... I beat you... You... You asked... For it! I... Never assaulted... You!"
"You're actually lying before the king? You're only worsening your punishment!" The lying pony raised his hoove towards the king while looking back at the injured pegasus. It was clear that he was grinning, knowing Laxed couldn't win this argument, but as he turned his head towards the king once more, the grin was gone, and he returned to his seriousness.
"B-But..." He looked to all the four guards, but all remained silent, and he simply lowered his head, knowing that he had lost this battle as soon as he had started it.
There was no way this king would believe a stranger over his own elitist guard, let alone a pegasus over a earth pony. That was why this kingdom had been formed after all.
"Throw them in the dungeon. Let them stay there for the remainder of their life..." The King simply ordered, without any remorse, emotion, or even intention of having other thoughts about the situation.
He simply waved them off, like this was just another day in the kingdom, and that he was more bored than caring about the situation. Like this was the decision he'd make no matter the outcome of the discussion.
They were carried through a door, and down a couple of stairs, both him and Toby, Torches disappeared in numbers, and soon, only a few lit up a room filled with cages.
"P-Please... Can... You... Throw us both... Into the same cell... At least?" He fumbled out, seeing only the guards and neither the leader, nor the unphased king, only the guards whom had at least some heart.
They didn't respond, only unlock a cage, and carried both the sleeping unicorn, and the pegasus into the cage, gently letting them off, and leaving a small portion of their own meal to the two.
"It's not much, but I know the two of you are going to need it more than me... Just be sure to hide it before general Tox comes. And yes, that's the brute who managed to get you two here... I'm really sorry, if it matters any..."
"T-Thank you..." He barely pulled off a response to the kind pony before him, a blue cooated pony with an orange mane. It was a strange combination, but whether it was the condition of lights, darkness, or just overall in general, it fit perfectly none the less. Blue like the deep ocean with an equally dark orange to it. A pair of friendly yellow eyes finished the set.
Three others came, a red and white-maned one, red stripes in it, a brown and black-maned one and finally a orange and also black-maned pony, all males, all earth ponies, and all about equally tall. They only stood there for a second, dropping off some of their own food, so he didn't catch their eye color. Especially not with the darkness shrouding their faces, only barely lit up enough for him to catch their coat and mane.
They shut the door shaped from an outline of steel with bars, leaving gaps to see in and out from, as well as stuff things through, but too small for anything but the smallest of foals to slip through. The blue pony apologized once more, before their hoovesteps eventually disappeared, and all he saw, was the darkness of the white walls that shaped the prison of the entire place.
And finally, Toby woke to. He couldn't have chosen a better time. He was both tired, exhausted, thirsty and hungry, and when he found the food the guards had left, laying on the ground, he almost threw himself over it, only halted by a wounded pegasus' voice.
"Hide it... We... need to enjoy it.... slowly... We'll be here... a long time, and that's the most.... pleasant meal... we'll have on our stay... Let's enjoy it... but slowly..."
Toby nodded, and tried figuring where they were. Sliding it over the white marble floor, and under the bed, the blanket - atop the wooden plank with a ruined pillow on it - hung down enough to cover up anything below it, and it seemed natural enough to avoid any suspicion.
The unicorn did however enjoy some of it, only barely having awokened, and needing food like any growing pony. Laxed didn't stop him.
Not even with words, which was the only way he could. Even crawling hurt beyond recognition, and he simply laid on the floor, and as Toby had finished his meal, explained the situation over many paused sentences.
Toby panicked, but it didn't get any attention. Slamming at the door, helplessly, he eventually gave up in his own exhausted gasps for air, and simply sat there, preparing to get accustomed to the darkness of a room which was their new home.
- End -
(Since I will, as mentioned, be leaving for the army, this is the genuine end of 'The Journey'. This is not a 'Omg, somepony will come and save us' end, nor is it a point where 'The King suddenly feels regret' or 'Tox becomes warmhearted and lets them out', or 'The Stranger shows up and beats up everypony's flank and comes and rescues them'. This is IT. This is THE END! Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Anything past this, you can make your own conclusion. If you want to write where this story continues, that is fine. Just be sure not to take all the credit yourself. When I return, I might consider writing a sequal, but this IS the definite end until I return, and possibly forever.)
