> The Archer of Equestria > by Thunder8277 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > One Final Mission > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Archer of Equestria Chapter 1: One final mission Walking through the snow, cloak wrapped around his body, bow slung over his shoulder, Ken was searching for his target. A secret base where his life long rival was planning on dropping a nuclear bomb onto Hiroshima, hoping to start a war between America and Japan. It disgusted him. Remi, former childhood friend and now delusional madman, was trying to start the war just for kicks. It was Ken's mission to stop him at all costs. Ken had been searching for three hours for the base, following tire tracks and footprints to where it may be. He had to find it fast, his food supply was dwindling quickly and Ken knew he couldn't survive more than a week in the snow without enough food. Finally, after four more hours of searching, he found it. A large warehouse, four watchtowers surrounding it, holding a helicopter, where it would fly from Mt. Ontake to Hiroshima and drop the bomb. What he saw within the warehouse was what disheartened him. They were getting ready to take off. Ken knew that if that bomb were to be dropped onto Hiroshima again, millions of lives would be lost, and they would blame the Americans. That's when he saw him. Remi was talking to who Ken was assuming to be the pilot. He had the perfect shot. Taking the longbow off his shoulder, he nocked an arrow, bringing the bow back to a full draw, and steadying his breath. He took aim, raising a little higher, as his years of training had taught him to do so. Ken let go of the arrow. And it hit Remi straight through the abdomen. With the speed of a master archer, he nocked another five arrows and shot. Each arrow hitting through the head or neck. Five men down in twelve seconds. "OVER THERE!" he heard a man in one of the watchtowers shout. It was too late, by the time he shouted, Ken was already slashing away at other guards with his daggers he was so proud of. Ken was going all in different directions, a guard falling every three strokes of the blades: overhand, backhand, block, lunge, overhand. Over the course of about forty seconds, he had killed over thirty guards. "Don't move." said a calm voice behind him. Ken turned around to see Remi holding a 9mm Beretta pointed at him. "I won't hesitate to shoot you in between the eyeballs." Said Remi as he was hobbling towards him clutching his stomach. Ken was frozen in fear, one slight movement and he would be done for. Remi and Ken had taken archery together, and Ken was always second next to Remi. Ken didn't underestimate his accuracy. Then, a glimmer of hope. Remi had stumbled, though only for a second, it was all Ken needed. In one swift motion, He tossed his dagger in the air, catching it by the blade, reared back his arm, then threw it towards Remi's arm, causing him to drop the gun and fall back in shock. In a second, Ken was standing in front of Remi, dagger at his throat. "It didn't have to end like this, you know." Said Ken. "We would have been a great team." A line of blood oozing out his mouth, Remi spat "Your father screamed like a pig." just as Ken's dagger was plunged into his neck. Remi may have been taken care of, but he still had the bomb to take care of. As Ken made his way towards the nuke, he noticed something red and moving on the side. It had been on a timer. There was only forty-five minutes left. Ken had two options: leave the nuke, blow up the mountain, and be killed by backup someone had surely sent for. Or take the nuke out to sea, keep it away from any civilizations, and be blown up by the nuke. "Well, let's hope I remember how to fly this thing." mumbled Ken worriedly as he climbed into the cockpit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 40 minutes later Ken was flying over the waters between the Oki Islands and Ulleung. Nuke under the helicopter. Flying the helicopter gave him some time to reflect on his past before he died: His first kiss, his first days at school, being selected to work for the CIA, How many team members, no, friends he lost during his missions, how many people he killed just to protect other countries. But above all the things that were on his mind. One thing rang out above the rest of them. 'your father screamed like a pig' Ken remembers that day like it was yesterday ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It was another day of high for him. He wanted to become a chef or a vet. He had a stack of homework to be done, but all he wanted to do was go onto the computer and play World of Warcraft. Ken put the key into the door and turned clockwise. When he entered the house, something seemed... off. It was very quiet. Usually, his parents would be on the couch watching the news or something. But the house was so still, he could probably hear a mouse's scurry. "Mom? Dad? I'm home." No response. They couldn't have been out shopping, His mom sprained her ankle falling down the last few stairs and both the cars were still parked outside. Something was wrong. He could feel the hairs stand up on the end of his neck. "Mom!? Dad!? If this is some sort of joke, come out, you got me." he said with a nervous but scared chuckle. silence. "THIS ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE! YOU'RE SCARING ME NOW!" Ken searched every room in the house before finally looking in the basement. What he saw in there was horrifying. His parents, both hung by their necks, multiple stab wounds in the arms and legs. They were tortured. They also had notes stapled to his parents bodies. He stood there, staring at the limp bodies, tears running down his eyes, wondering who, what monster could have done this to them. When he finally built up the courage to approach them to read the notes, stapled to his parents, all he could see was red at that point. 'Hope you like the little gift I gave you, sorry about the mess though' ~Remi His best friend had murdered his parents. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It was on that day that Ken swore vengeance for what Remi had done. But now that deed had been done, Ken felt something different than what he was expecting to feel. Instead of feeling a sense of accomplishment, he felt sad. He had the blood of his best friend on his hands. Remi may have murdered Ken's parents, but Ken knew he was a schizophrenic that didn't want to get help. He should have told him to go to the therapist instead of giving up on him. Thirty seconds until detonation "Well, the past is the past. What's done is done. Look's like this is my final mission. Heh, I always wanted to go out with a bang." KA-BOOM Ken heard the explosion of the nuclear bomb, but instead of being blown apart like he was expecting, his whole body felt like it was being pulled in every direction at the same time. He didn't know how long he had been pulled. It could have been seconds, It could have been months. But when he did feel something solid under him, he knew he was alive. He looked around, seeing a dimly lit forest around him. "So THAT'S what taffy feels like" he said in a dry, raspy voice. Ken's body went limp as he let the comforting darkness overtook his body. > Not the world I know of > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Archer of Equestria Chapter 2: Not the nature I know of As Ken woke up from his sleep, he took a look at his surroundings. What he saw surprised him. There were trees. He was in a forest clearing. But what he remembered before he passed out was being in a helicopter being blown up by a nuclear bomb. How did he end up in a forest? 'Might as well take a look around' he thought to himself while getting up. But couldn't help but feeling like something wasn't right. Like something was watching him. Ken looked around for anything that might see him as breakfast. After about thirty seconds with nothing happening, he just shrugged it off. He picked up his quiver of arrows, longbow, made sure his daggers were strapped securely to his left hip. Once he was done checking everything, he was off. As he started his walk to familiarize himself with the landscape, he was taking in the serenity of the trees all around him and all the birds chirping merry tunes. 'There can't be anything wrong with this land.' Ken thought to himself, enjoying the peace all around him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 'I just HAD to say that!' He thought while running like a madman through the woods. He had just found out what had been stalking him. It was a manticore. A part lion, scorpion, bat thing. Ken's legs were on fire, with each stride his legs would reach a whole new level of stress. Ken was dodging branches, jumping over roots, and trying to stay away from the manticore. He read about them in class once. From what he remembered, a manticore was from Greek mythology, eating all of a person: clothes, bones, and all. He did not want that fate. 'I'M BEING CHASED BY A GODDAMN MANTICORE! WHAT THE HELL'S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT!? AN ELEPHANT/MOUSE CROSS-BREED!? Ken thought to himself panicking. It was then that he spotted a cave. He thought that he could lose the manticore in the darkness of the cave. Once Ken had run into the cave, he waited for any roar or a growl that meant that the manticore had followed him in. There wasn't, just a small whimper of fear. "What is it? afraid of the dark? you just a little wimp, huh? That's right, you can't get me in here!" said Ken arrogantly as he turned around to explore the cave and bumped into something. It was green and breathing. After looking up, Ken realized what he was looking at. "DRAGON!!!" Ken screamed before running out of the cave, all the while making noises so feminine, nobody would've have guessed it was from a guy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After the whole fiasco with the manticore and dragon, Ken decided it was best to head back into the clearing and climb a tall tree instead of wandering around aimlessly. After a twenty minute walk back to the clearing, Ken immediately located the tallest tree to climb. He found the tallest tree to be about forty feet tall. towering above all the other trees. 'Better make this quick, It's getting dark.' He thought to himself, sizing up the tree. The tree was easy to climb. There was an abundance of branches close enough for him to jump onto. After a four minute climb, Ken was at the top. The first thing Ken saw at the top was a giant castle built on the side of a mountain above a town. He face-palmed at the sheer stupidity the architect put into the idea. But towards the north, He saw a small town. But with night coming, everybody had retired to their homes and he knew he couldn't get a room at an inn with everybody sleeping. Ken decided to stay the night in the forest until morning when he could travel into town. But with no shelter and little supplies, he was forced to stay awake the whole night so he wouldn't freeze to death in his sleep. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ When sunrise finally came, Ken was happy he could finally go into town, get some hot food, and a warm bed to sleep in. With the happy thought in mind, he was walking happily in the direction of the small town. It was a fifteen minute walk from the clearing to the town, but he couldn't just barge into the town after seeing something that couldn't be physically possible. Once he got to the edge of the forest, Ken heard a sweet melody sung by a girl. A cute one by the sound of her voice. But when he got to the edge of the forest, he knew he had lost his mind. He was right about the cute part, adorable in fact, but not the girl part. It was a pegasus, a yellow coated pink maned pegasus Ken didn't know how to react but to run back into the forest. 'Alright Ken, think about it, maybe this place does have humans, and they live alongside these small horse things. yeah, that's it.' He thought to himself. As he peeked around the tree he was hiding behind, he saw the town clearly. And what he saw was not what he expected. There were more equines roaming the street. No signs of any humans. Ken even noticed some had horns and others had neither. 'Or maybe I'm just slowly becoming a crazed man.' Ken suspected that he was the only human in this world and with his great height over the small horse-like figures, he would probably be considered a monster. Ken had made up his mind to go back into the forest and hide from the horses. He did not want to find out what they did to monsters. He had made a mental list of what he had to do to survive: -make shelter -gather food -find drinkable water With his mind set on surviving while he was stuck in that world, Ken headed back into the forest, ready to work on his new life in the woods on a planet he knows nothing about. > A new home > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Archer of Equestria Chapter 3: A new home Walking through the forest, Ken remembered how bad he was at making tents. He knew how to make them, but even the simplest of lean-to tents would fall under his bad craftsmanship. Maybe he could find a cave, but after remembering his last run in with a cave, he voted against it. After ten minutes of thinking, Ken decided he should think about it later and go gather food after hearing his stomach growl and realizing how hungry he was. He was about to start when a thought struck him. He was in a new world. He doesn't know anything about it. He wouldn't be able to tell if a berry is poisonous or not, he wouldn't know if an animal was harmless, or if it could tear him to pieces. He couldn't survive out here. At least, not without help. Ken wondering how the locals would react to him. Would they panic? would they dissect him? would they call the police? did they even have police? A million questions were going through his head, each one leading to another. Ken couldn't make a shelter to last the night or eat any food without knowing if it was poisonous or not, decided to go look for water. He could also go fishing while he was at the lake he was determined to find. Counting his arrows, Ken set out in a random direction, making arrows along the way to guide him back to the tiny village. 'Maybe one day,' Ken thought, 'I'll build up enough courage to reveal myself.' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 hour later The sound of running water, the smell of pine, the chirping of birds. Normally, this would make Ken just want to sit down and look at the scenery. But right now, he was power walking, desperate to get out, remembering last time when this happened, he was almost eaten by a Greek mythological beast. But it didn't matter, he could hear water running. He was close. Five more minutes of walking and Ken walked out into another clearing and saw a river. The shimmering reflection of the sun made it look like a million tiny diamonds dancing on the surface. Making his way toward the river, he noted that it was, in fact, inhabited. Crouching down to dig a hole next to the river, he saw his reflection. 'That's odd, that explosion should have left at least one scratch, but my face is flawless.' After thinking about it for a few moments, Ken just shrugged it off and continued digging a hole next to the river. It would have taken hours to fill with water and filther the silt out, but he needed water, and he didn't want to risk any bacteria that could be in the stream. After digging the hole and lining it with rocks, he decided to pass the time by fishing. With seventeen arrows left in his quiver, and another nocked on his bow getting ready to fire at a fish. A loud noise caught his attention. A loud honking noise. Turning ninety degrees to his right, he saw a chcken. A fully grown, plump goose whose feathers were perfect for stabilizing an arrow. Forgetting the fish, attention toward the goose, Ken drew back his bow, took aim, and fired. The arrow lodged itself halfway into the side of its head, right where its brain is supposed to be. The goose didn't feel a thing. Watching the white feathered bird he now called 'dinner' fall to the ground lifeless, Ken felt a surge of joy, which was then ruined when he realized that he had no fire to cook it over. Picking up the carcass, Ken went to a nearby tree to tie it up. Remembering that he didn't have a rope, he took off his cloak, tied one end around the goose's neck, and tied the other around a branch to keep any predators from eating his food. He didn't need it in this environment. It was dyed white to help him blend into his surroundings on Mt. Ontake. Ken would cook it once he got a fire going and plucked the coose. With his mouth watering from the thought of food, Ken set out to find some firewood. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ken came back to his camp an hour later with about four pounds of firewood, tinder, and some flint he found in a pile of gravel. Setting the supplies down next to the river, Ken went to go check on his water hole. It was about halfway full of dirty water. Swirling it around with his hands to make sure the dirt was all floating around, he started emptying the water from the hole, trying to get as much dirt out as possible. By the time he was done, all the hunching had already taken a toll on his back. Standing up and stretching, Ken went over to his goose and untied it, tossing his blood-stained cloak to the side. After remembering that he didn't have any boiling water to pluck the feathers with, Ken just decided to do it by force. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After half an hour of plucking, Ken had sore hands, a pile of goose feathers, and a bald goose. Laying it to the side, Ken got started on the fire. Digging a hole to be able to make the fire bigger without the fear of any predators being attracted to it, he couldn't help but feeling he was forgetting something. Something important. He just ignored it without giving it a second thought. Once he was finished digging the hole, Ken laid down pieces of tinder into the bottom. Drawing his dagger and a piece of flint, he struck his dagger with the flint, causing sparks to fly in the direction of the tinder. After about six strikes, a small flame had popped up onto the tinder. Working quickly, Ken placed more tinder into the hole and some firewood. In just forty seconds, he had a fire to cook his goose on. Spearing the goose with a stick, He started roasting the goose over an open fire. His mouth watering again at the sight and smell of the goose, Ken resisted the urge to just eat it raw. After forty agonizing minutes of watching the goose cook, it was finally done. Taking a bite out of the goose, he realized how bland it was, but didn't care. The things he ate for the past two days before coming to this strange world were dried fruit and hard bread. Right now, this was heaven being shoveled into his stomach. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3 hours later He knew he had forgotten something, But now, it was too late to build the tent he hadn't thought of since leaving the village. Ken was laying next to his fire, staring at the dancing flames keeping his body warm, getting up every hour to scoop out the dirty water from the hole. Ken stayed awake for about another half an hour before his eyelids started to have the weight of cinder blocks and he was getting less and less aware of his surroundings. It was like the night before. But this time, he had a fire next to him keeping him warm, so this night, he would be able to fall asleep. He closed his eyes, and let himself drift off into a well deserved rest. > A new home (part 2) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Archer of Equestria Chapter 4: A new home (part 2) Waking up to the smell of smoldering wood, the sounds of birds chirping, and the sun shining on his face, Ken was having a good morning so far. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Ken sat up and started stretching. Eating some leftovers from his previous night's dinner, Ken was deep in thought, wondering what he will do about his tent. His first one was a disaster, the supports collapsing before he could put any type of cloth or leaf on it. His second one wasn't much better. The supports lasted just a bit longer than his last, but fell over, breaking into a jumble of sinew and sticks, as he put a cloth on it. Lost in thought, Ken didn't notice the pack of wolves, spying on their next potential victim ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spying on the tall creature, the gray wolf was planning on how to kill it. It didn't seem to have any defenses. There were no claws, Its teeth weren't sharp, and It didn't have a tough build. An easy kill. With a low growl, the wolf called upon his three companions and started following the new creature. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Picking up sticks for the supports of his tent, Ken heard a rustle in the bushes behind him. Dropping his sticks and reaching for the hilts of his daggers, four wolves jumped from all around him. They all had a determined look on their faces. They were hungry. All four of the wolves were circling him, looking for an opening to take a bite out of Ken's neck. One wolf, a younger one by his size, had circled around to Ken's back. Knowing that he wasn't looking, it snarled, then with a loud bark, leaped toward's Ken's neck, ready to take a bite. *SHINK* The wolf had fallen with a thud and a hole in its side. Ken had heard the snarl and reacted quickly. Drawing his daggers , Ken twirled and stabbed the now bloodied wolf. Two other wolves had seen this as an opportunity and attacked. *SHINK* *THUD* "AHH!" Ken had taken out one wolf, but the other had reached him. Its aim was slightly off though and had taken a bite out of his arm, where the humerus should be. In pain, losing his concentration on his last opponent, Ken started stabbing and slashing at the wolf that had done him harm. Eventually, he let the mutilated body fall to the ground. Seeing the three other wolves killed by this creature made the last wolf run for its life. Ken considered putting an arrow through its head, but decided not to waste it. His arm probably wouldn't be able to handle the strain anyway. He picked up the sticks to build his tent and started towards his campsite. His arm was burning with strain. 'I wish I had some bandages.' Ken thought as he forgot how terrible he was at making tents. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 20 minutes later "Ugh, finally done." Grunted Ken. He was bandaging his arm with his now useless cloak, and it was difficult due to the fact that he had only one arm and his jaws. Ken took another drink of water and went to get started on the tent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 hours later *THUD* "FUCK!" Yet another one of Ken's tents had fallen. Over the four hours, he had built close to sixty frames, all falling under its own weight. Ken started kicking at the sticks laid in a jumble while using all sorts of colorful language directed towards them. It took about ten minutes for Ken to calm down and realize how hungry he actually was. But with his injured arm, there was no way of hunting for any food without scaring it away. He would have to gather fruits and berries. Ken unstrung his bow and set it by a tree next to his quiver of arrows. There was no point in putting any extra strain in the bow if he probably wouldn't be able to use it anyway. Ken made sure he still had his daggers, then went to gather his dinner. Walking off into the forest, Ken was taking in all the beautiful sights. The tall trees hiding most sunlight, but not enough to make him think 'Oh god, where am I going?' The chirping of birds, the slight breeze in the air. Ken almost wanted to sit down, take out his ocarina, and just play any random tune. But he saw no need when he was just about to leave for Japan. It would be unnecessary weight and there would be no time to play it. Ken sighed and went back to his hunt for food. After about ten minutes of walking, Ken saw a tree full of oranges. 'Why are there fruits from my world? Am I still on Earth? Is this an undiscovered area? Can I get back home? Leaving his thoughts aside, He started picking them for his next meal. He would ask about it when he built up the courage to reveal himself to the village. If they had boats or planes He might be able to send him back. Ken went deeper into the forest after picking four oranges to look for more food. 'If this place has oranges, maybe they have mangoes' Ken thought with a massive grin. He loved mangoes. He found nothing more than those oranges, some blueberries and a lemon. He would use the lemon to disinfect his bite when he got back to camp. The banana tree he found didn't have any bananas, but he could still use the leaves to steam fish when his arm healed. The more Ken saw similar fruits, the more he though that he was still on Earth. Ken decided to go back to camp and grab about six more oranges on the way. It would take time for his wound to heal, and he would rather gather more now and spend more time relaxing than gathering less everyday and spend more time getting food. About twenty more minutes of walking and Ken found the orange tree and his camp. He picked six more oranges from the tree. Ken wasn't hungry yet and he sure as hell didn't want to build another frame for a tent, So he looked around. Once again taking in the sights, Ken decided to sit and just enjoy his surroundings. There was still about two and a half hours until dusk. Finding a comfortable spot under a tree, Ken sat, stretched, and let his mind wander. Back on Earth, he would always daydream about random things. Memories, current situations, or something as random as a sink full of canned spray cheese. Right now, he was wondering what the future holds for him. Leaning his head back, Ken sighed in relaxation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Meanwhile... "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS POTION MAKERS YAY!" the trio shouted as they ran into the woods, heading for a certain zebra's house. > First interaction > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Archer of Equestria Chapter 5: First interaction Prowling in the bushes were five timber wolves. They were all out hunting for food when they stumbled across three little fillies trotting along a path, unaware of their presence. Four timber wolves looked to their leader for a command. He gave a quiet growl. Quietly, three other timber wolves went around to the back of the fillies, preparing to ambush them and take some food for their empty bellies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Are you sure this is the right way Applebloom?" Asked Sweetie Belle. "Of course, Ah've been there tons o' times." Replied Applebloom "Now be careful, That there's poison joke, If you touch it, you're gonna... Actually, Ah don't know what'll happen." She said while motioning towards a patch of blue flowers twenty feet ahead of them. "Then how something bad will happen?" Asked Scootaloo. "Well, remember when Applejack-" Was all Applebloom could say before five timber wolves jumped out of the bushes around them. In situations like these, The three fillies could only react in the only way they knew how. They screamed. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" At the sound of the scream, Ken snapped awake. He didn't realize that he had fallen asleep. 'What was that? A dream?' "SOMEPONY! HELP!" It wasn't a dream. Somebody was in danger. With a new found sense of urgency, Ken jumped to his feet and started running towards the sound of the voice. He drew both his daggers, spinning his left dagger so the blade lined his forearm. The screaming was getting closer. He estimated that he was about one hundred feet away. 'Somepony? So they are ponies... and can speak. Along with the fact that some have horns and wings.' Ken thought while running. Fifty feet left. 'What would they do if they saw me? I could be the only human here, or humans could be rare. Would they dissect me?' Ken shuddered at the thought. Twenty feet left. Ken could see what he was looking for. Three little fillies, surrounded by wolves. But these wolves weren't the same that he got injured from. These had some sort of armor. 'Or are they made of wood?' One of them put his hind legs back, getting ready to pounce on the unicorn, who was making the most high pitched scream out of them all. Aiming for its neck, the wolf leaped. At the same time, Ken bursts from the bushes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The other two crusaders could only watch frozen in fear as their friend was about to get eaten by a timber wolf. The wolf was in the air, aimed perfectly at Sweetie belle's throat. Her life flashed before her eyes. Becoming a cutie mark crusader, trying to find her teacher a special somepony, Her sister Rarity. 'Oh, what would Rarity think? Having to tell everypony about my death? The heartbreak she would go through?' Tears started welling up in her eyes as she thought of how badly everypony would scold Rarity because she wasn't watching over her. They would blame her for her baby sister's death. As the jaws neared her neck, Sweetie Belle had tears flowing freely. She didn't want to die. Just then, a creature she had never seen before had jumped from the bushes and crashed into the timber wolf. She had never seen anything remotely similar to it. Except for monkeys. That is what it resembled the most. It was HUGE. It stood on its hind legs, while in its forelegs, it held two knives. The trio stood in awe as this new creature was defending them. But why? Why was it defending them? But most importantly: What was it? The first wolf that jumped at Sweetie Belle regained its footing after being tackled away from its prey. And it was angry and leaped at the creature that took its kill. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ken kept a close eye on all the wolves surrounding him and the fillies he was protecting. From the corner of his eye, he saw the wolf the tackled away jump in his direction. Ken sidestepped and made a downward arc with his left arm, stabbing the wolf in the neck and killing it instantly. He turned to face the other attackers. Two attacked at the same time. One running and one jumping. He slashed the running wolf across the face, but couldn't block the other. The wolf landed on top of Ken, swiping his paw across his face, leaving a very noticeable, deep scratch along with two less noticeable scratches. They both landed backwards. Ken falling on top of the orange filly with wings. He was worried that he had hurt her. Ken kicked the wolf off and jumped to his feet, grabbing the daggers in the process. He barely got up fast enough to see the wolf already charging at him. This time, Ken was ready for the jumping wolf. The wolf was at head height in mid air. Ken thrust his dagger upward, stabbing it in the chest, dragging it downward to the end of its stomach. Ken got back into a defensive stance, getting ready for the next attack. A wolf that he previously cut started running at him, teeth bared. Ken jumped over the wolf, using its head as a step. While the wolf was dazed, Ken grabbed the wolf's tail and threw it at the other two. One successfully got out of the way, but the other wasn't as quick. Ken ran at both of them while they were still down and stabbed them both through the brain, killing them. Just one left. After seeing how he fought, the wolf decided not to rush into combat like his other brothers. It started circling him, looking for an opening. for the next few seconds, the two just walked. Finally, the wolf found his opening. Ken stumbled over an unseen rock. The wolf pounced and landed on Ken. He had no means of defending himself, both of his arms went to holding the wooden beast back. He didn't know what to do. *CRACK* The wolf was bucked off by the yellow filly wearing a bow. That was Ken's opening. Pushing himself to his feet, Ken ran at the wolf, leaped, and rammed the dagger through its eye. Still panting, Ken walked over to the three fillies, who shook in fear when he walked up to them. Ken dropped to one knee to look less intimidating, and asked "Are you three alright?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Are you three alright?" "Y-yeah, thanks for savin' us mister." Said Applebloom, still slightly in shock. "Your leg, it's hurt." He said while looking at a cut Scootaloo had. It was pretty deep and was bleeding badly. "C'mon, my camp isn't that far away, we need to clean it so it doesn't get infected." "Eh, I'll be fine, it's just a cut." replied Scootaloo. "Are you sure? It looks pretty deep." Said Sweetie Belle worriedly. "I said it's fine, let's just go ba- OOF!" Scootaloo tried walking back to the dirt trail, only to collapse of pain. "My camp's just a few minutes away." Ken still offering to take care of her cut. "I SAID I'M FINE!" Screamed the orange filly that was currently limping and falling every few seconds. Groaning, Ken bent over and picked up the stubborn filly. Once he picked her up, she immediately tried to shove him away. "LET GO!" shouted Scootaloo. Ignoring her screams of anger, Ken started walking towards his camp, motioning the other two to follow. "So what are your names?" He asked the two. "Ah'm Applebloom. Nice ta meetya." She said with a grin. "I'm Sweetie Belle, and that's Scootaloo" Her voice giving a slight crack. "What's your name." Applebloom asked. "My name's Ken. What are you three doing out here? Shouldn't you be with your parents?" Ken asked. He really was curious, They couldn't have been older than eight years old. "My parents are in Manehattan for the next three weeks, so I'm with my big sister Rarity. She's busy right now though." Said Sweetie Belle. "Ah live with my brother, sister, and Granny Smith. We live on Sweet Apple Acres." "Well what were you doing all the way out here?" Asked Ken. "We were trying to get our cutie marks in potion making. We were heading to Zecora's house when those timber wolves attacked us." Answered Sweetie Belle "Cutie marks?" So far, each answer created more questions. "Yeah, they're the marks that appear on your flank when you find out your special talent." Said Applebloom. "Okay, well what were yo- Oh, we're here." Ken said as he realized they were at his camp. He set Scootaloo down and went to retrieve the lemon. "How can you trust him? We don't even know what he is!" Said Scootaloo in a hushed tone. "He saved us from those timber wolves. We wouldn't even be talking now if it weren't for him." Sweetie Belle said in an equally hushed tone. "Well I still don't trust him." Said Scootaloo. By this time, Ken was back with the lemon to disinfect Scootaloo's cut. "Alright Scootaloo, we gotta disinfect that cut. This might hurt a bit, so don't say I didn't warn you." Ken said using one of his daggers to cut the lemon in half. Scootaloo audibly gulped. > The village > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Archer of Equestria Chapter 6: The village "OW! That hurts! Can't you just skip it?" Scootaloo was still getting lemon juice rubbed into her cut. "Sure, If you don't mind getting a much more painful infection." Ken replied. Scootaloo just grumbled something under her breath. "So what're you doin' livin' in the Everfree Forest, Ken?" Asked Applebloom. The very thought of just walking that deep into the forest gave her chills. "OW!" "I don't know, actually. First, I'm flying over the Pacific Ocean, next I'm in this forest. There, all clean." Said Ken as he went to wash his cloak in the stream. It still had blood on it from his last encounter with wolves, but it stopped bleeding long ago. "What happened to your arm?" Asked Sweetie Belle. "I was bitten by a wolf. It stopped bleeding though, so don't worry about it. Alright Scootaloo, hold still, we just gotta cover it up and then we're done." Ken said while folding the cloth to fit the filly's tiny leg. It didn't take long to bandage the small leg. Ken stood up, clapped his hands together and said "Ok, we are done! try not to put too much pressure on that leg, alright?" "Okay." grumbled Scootaloo "Good. Now, do you three know how to get home?" Ken asked. The three looked at each other, hoping one other knew the way. They all shook their heads. "Do you need some help getting there?" Ken asked, trying to stay calm. On the inside, Ken was bursting with excitement. He would've never been able to work up the courage to go to the village by himself. But if he was surrounded by three adorable fillies, the country just might not go into a giant panic.This is what he needed to get accepted into society and get back home. "That would be mighty nice o' ya. Sure." Applebloom said thankfully. "Good, because I have arrows printed into the ground leading to that village over there. C'mon, we aren't getting any closer just lazing around." Ken said as he restrung his bow. He had already thrown his quiver over his shoulder. "What's that?" asked Scootaloo. "This is my bow, It fires these arrows at high speeds so then... you know what? I'll just show you." Ken said. He took an arrow out of the quiver, nocked it, and aimed behind the trio and asked "See that sapling over there?" It was about forty feet away and no more than four inches tall. needless to say, it was barely visible. "You're gonna shoot that? Are ya crazy? Ah can barely see it!" Applebloom exclaimed. *WHOOSH* *THUD* The three stared in amazement as the sapling was hit and the arrow was stuck in a tree trunk. "Well, let's go, and pick up your jaws." Ken said walking towards the first arrow. After four more seconds of wonder, the trio started following Ken to Ponyville. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Meanwhile... A certain pegasus was flying over the Everfree Forest, looking for the cutie mark crusaders. "Ugh, How far could three fillies have gotten?" Rainbow Dash said annoyed. She had been searching for half an hour, which would have been three days in Rainbow Dash time. She already checked with Zecora, who said she had not seen them at all. It was getting dark, and Rainbow Dash knew she wouldn't have been able to see in the dark. As much as she didn't want to, she had to postpone the search until the next day. But from the corner of her eye, she saw three fillies along with a large... whatever that thing was. It seemed to be chasing them. Was it going to eat them? Fearing for the worst, Rainbow Dash sped towards the fillies, leaving behind a rainbow trail. "DON'T WORRY GIRLS!!! I'M COMING!!!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ During the walk back to Ponyville, the three fillies had told Ken all about their club devoted to helping other ponies getting their cutie marks. The Cutie Mark Crusaders. After telling him everything about the club, It was starting to get boring. "I'm bored!" said Scootaloo. "We'll be there in like, five minutes, just hold your horses. *snicker* horses." said Ken. "But if we run, we could be there in less time." replied Scootaloo. "I wouldn't, remember, that leg is still in bad condition. It would be best not to run." Ken said with an air of authority. "Okay. I wo-" was all Scootaloo said before buzzing her wings and zooming across the land. She was surprisingly fast. "Scootaloo!" Shouted the other two as they chased after their feathered friend. "HEY! GET BACK HERE!" Ken shouted angrily as the three ran off. They had a head start, but Ken was taller and had longer legs. He was taking long strides to get the three. He could see the village not too far off. He was gaining on the cutie mark crusaders. He was fifteen feet away. Ten. Five. 'Oh fuck me' was all Ken could think as he saw a beam of rainbow rushing towards him. *SMACK* *CRASH* Ken was on his back unconscious while Rainbow Dash was screaming at him "-AND IF YOU EVER TRY TO EAT THOSE THREE AGAIN, SO HELP ME I WIL-" "RAINBOW DASH!" Scootaloo screamed as she threw her hooves around the rainbow pegasus' neck before noticing Ken. "What happened to Ken?" Scootaloo asked curiously. "Who?" Now Rainbow Dash was confused. Scootaloo was worried about a monster that was about to eat her and her friends. "Ken." Applebloom pointed to the human that had a hoofmark across his face. She and Sweetie Belle had returned after they realized Scootaloo wasn't with them. "He saved us from a pack of timber wolves. But what happened to 'im?" "Oh, yeah, I uhh, knocked him outcold, yeah, with one punch." Rainbow Dash said while proudly puffing out her chest and holding her chin up high. "WOW! really? He took down an entire pack of timber wolves and you just punched him?" Scootaloo asked, looking up at her idol. "You did what?" asked a quiet voice full of venom. The four turned their head fearfully at the voice. What the group saw would haunt their lives forever. What they saw was a very angry Fluttershy. > Meet the ponies > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Archer of Equestria Chapter 7: Meet the ponies "We don't... tall... fur..." "But... weapon... dangerous... book... Twi?" "He looks... monkey... hairless" Ken wasn't fully awake yet, but he could still hear what was going on around him. Three ponies were talking around the bed they laid the Cutie Mark Crusaders' savior on. One of them was a purple unicorn with four books floating around her, covered in a purple aura. She seemed to be searching books on all animals on the land. The second pony was the first one Ken had seen when he first landed in the strange world. She had a butter yellow body with a long pink mane with a barely audible voice. The last pony was a cyan blue pegasus with a rainbow colored mane. The same that had knocked out Ken when he was chasing the three troublesome fillies. She was the most unsure of him. "What if... Ponyville... THING!" Said a raspy voice. The word "thing" was punctuated with a rather hard poke to Ken's face. Ken stirred in the bed at the sudden force on his cheek. The three ponies froze, afraid of what would happen if he were to wake up. After all, he did kill five timber wolves without batting an eye. Why would he think differently about doing the same to them? To their relief, the bipedal monkey thing just turned onto its side while grabbing a pillow to hug. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ At the sudden force, Ken almost shot his eyes open, but he didn't. This was probably the only time he could find out where he was and if there was a way back home. He noticed the sudden silence and decided it was best to pretend he was asleep and listen in on their conversation. He turned and hugged a pillow. Just as he did, he could hear the breaths they were holding release. "Rainbow, I'm sure if we-" The purple unicorn was cut off by a pink blur rushing into the room, destroying the door in the process. Against all instinct, Ken kept his eyes shut, even when he felt something wet and soft against his nose and a hoof poking him in his side. He couldn't take it anymore and finally opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a pair of large blue eyes. "HI I'M PINKIE PIE!" The pony shouted. "BWAAAAAAAHH!" Ken screamed as he awkwardly tumbled to the other side of the bed and fell off. As soon as he regained his senses, Ken noticed a weight on his chest and a light breathing on his face. Ken reluctantly opened his eyes. The same blue eyes were staring back until the pink curly haired pony was yanked off of his chest. Sitting up, Ken groaned and saw the pony suspended in the air, surrounded by a purple aura. "Sorry about that, Pinkie can get a little... unstable when she doesn't meet the new pony." The purple on said while the one called "Pinkie" was struggling to get out of her magical grasp while mumbling angrily. The purple on then went to fix the door. All the pieces of the door glowed with the same purple aura that was around Pinkie, and started piecing itself back together. "Anyway, my name is Twilight Sparkle. What's yours?" Twilight asked. Ken was too shocked by the door to say anything. "Umm, Hello?" Twilight asked waving her hoof in front of her face. That snapped him out of his shock. "Wha? Huh? Oh, yeah, uh, I'm Ken" "So it does talk, interesting." Twilight said. Ken stood up and stretched his back, The ponies all took a step back at the size of him. 'Well, better time than any right now.' Ken thought to himself. "Is there any way back to North America from here?" Ken asked. "To where? I've never heard of a North Ah-mer-eeca." Twilight said, while the other two just shook their heads. Ken, after hearing that, was starting to get worried. "Well I guess I could fly back from Asia or something." At the word "fly" the rainbow pony flew up to his face with a giant grin on hers and started bombarding Ken with questions. "YOU CAN FLY? But how? You don't have wings." "Well, I-" Ken started. "Do you use magic to get wings?" "There is no-" "How fast can you go?" "HEY!" Ken shouted. The pony flinched at the volume of his voice. "We don't fly, we have these big machines that fly to carry people over long distances." explained Ken. "Anyway, Asia? Which way is it?" "We've never heard of Asia. Are you alright? Do you need to see a doctor?" Asked the yellow one worriedly. "If you've never heard of Asia or North America, Then where are we?" asked Ken "We're in Equestria, one of the only three landmasses in the world." Twilight explained. Ken could only fall back onto the bed and sit in shock at what he just heard. 'only three landmasses in the world.' The words kept echoing in his head. He couldn't go home. He didn't have a home anymore. He didn't even know where he was. "Then, where am I?" Ken asked with no emotion in his voice. He had to know where he was if he was stuck here. "What do you mean? I already told you that we're in Equestria." Twilight said. "No, I mean the planet. From what you've told me, I'm stuck here on a different planet, apparently. It would be awkward if I didn't know what planet I live on." Ken said, still emotionless. What Twilight said next is what shocked him the most. Just one word made him lose hope in ever going home. "Earth"