Publishers note: This chapter isnt the best. Its got errors, some things dont make sense or dont belong... I suggest you keep reading. It does get better. i promise.
"Hey Ellie, time to wake up. We got a huge day ahead of us, and Brannon is bored." A low but strong voice echoed throughout the tent.
"Don't call me Ellie, Kent. You know for a fact that I can ruin your day before you even say 'stop'" Eleanor dragged herself from her bed roll, and put on some clothes. She grabbed her staff and pulled herself out of the tent. Plunging her behind on the log close to the camp fire.
"Hey Ellie" A mocking tone came from Kent "Sleep well princess?"
Eleanor pointed her staff towards the knight and gave his armoured silver butt a shot of electricity.
"OUCH! Hey, that hurt!"
"I told you to stop."
"Just messing with you Eleanor."
There was a crash, both Eleanor and Kent jumped and pointed their respective weapons towards the source. Two trees toppled sidewards, and Kent rushed towards a large shadowy figure with his sword, when he swung, the figure just grabbed the sword mid-air and revealed himself
"You two really need to calm down." A burly green man walked out of the forest.
"Oh, its just you Brannon." Eleanor lowered her staff and Brannon let go of Kent's sword. "Don't scare us like that, seriously. you know we are in unfamiliar territory"
"Yeah yeah, its not like we'll stumble upon something ol' Brannon cant handle!" The half-orc beat his fists against his chest, making a drum-like sound. Everybody laughed in response.
"Well Kent, since Brannon got the firewood last night, and I'm the one that usually cooks, you go out and find us some food." Kent groaned, sheathed his sword and picked up a bow and a quiver of arrows.
After Kent set off into the forest, Eleanor relaxed and lay across the now free log. There were a few clouds in the sky, but a quick snap of her fingers, and the wind picked up and dragged them away. It was good to be a mage. Brannon picked up a large log and placed it on the camp-fire. He was a half-ling. Someone who was born with one of their parents being an orc. It was frowned upon by the community to be a half-ling, but Brannon was like a brother to her, so she respected him. Kent was a regular human, but was born into knighthood. He had been trained to fight for the elite group of soldiers known as "The blade". But he was too much of a joker and they wouldn't accept him. So he put his skills to good use and joined both Eleanor and Brannon in adventuring for treasure.
Kent came back about an hour later, holding a few rabbits and dragging a deer carcass. After he skinned them, Eleanor went to work and prepared the trio breakfast. half of the deer for Brannon. It was a pretty basic meal, but it was enough to sustain them for the day.
Afterwards, they packed up the camp, put out the fire and ventured along once more. Around half an hour later, they came across a large stone building, the inside was covered in moss and various breeds of fungi. There were many doors along the sides, but most were too rotten or locked, and Brannon was unable to break through them, he still couldn't figure out why
Many of the rooms were empty, but some did have some gold in them(score!), others had some rusted blades, while others had torn and worn clothing. But there was one room which intrigued them, it was a large hall with much equipment that seemed like it was built for horses, hundreds of saddles and saddlebags hung from hooks, while there were some armour, seemingly designed specifically for horses, but they were all too small for regular horses, Eleanor pondered this, but soon dismissed the thought. Kent stashed a set of strengthened golden armour, even if it was from a miniature horse, it was gold. so it would be worth a fair bit.
Eleanor looked around a selection of bracelets, they were golden and spiked. and each pair had a gemstone of different kinds incremented into the front. She settled for a pair of emerald studded bracelets, as they matched her boots, and emeralds had the capacity of earth-wielding magic. She disregarded the others, knowing that Kent would take them if she didn't (she didn't care about money as much as the other two, the thrill of adventure was more then worth it).
Brannon browsed the armoury. It was filled with strange implements, that look like you put them in your mouth, and some had a circular shape for the handle. Needless to say, they probably weren't to be used by a human. But there was one familiar shape he recognized. A large mace, made from steel and a material known only as blood-metal. Brannon grabbed it off the rack and strapped it to his belt. The trio soon met in a large dining hall(which was in almost perfect condition, strangely) and showed their loot. Kent had the largest haul, no surprise to the others, while Eleanor had the least, being the weakest of the bunch. Kent placed a crown(which he looted from the kings quarters) on his head, grabbed a golden goblet from the haul, and filled it with some wine he found in the cellar. He stood up and mockingly shouted throughout the mostly empty hall
"Welcome honoured guests to the grand celebration of the recent loot! congratulations to Kent" he took a bow "for bringing in the largest amount of treasure out of all the esteemed adventurers!" He laughed and started to take a sip of his wine, Eleanor took the opportunity and shot a small jolt of electricity at his throat, making him cough and gasp while the wine went down the wrong pipe. "Someday Eleanor, I'll get back at you" He laughed, gave her a wink and took a large swig of wine.
Eleanor told Kent to go out hunting again. it was getting dark and neither Eleanor, nor Brannon had the eyes to catch anything in the night. He reluctantly agreed and stepped outside. While he was out, Eleanor explored the ruins a bit more. The second floor was much like the first, but mostly just bedrooms, with the occasional closet. The third floor and above were completely demolished. Most likely by erosion and time.(or something else?) There was also a basement, it was locked so Eleanor had to get Brannon to break the door down. Luckily it broke, and the pair tumbled down a large amount of stone steps. Needless to say, when they hit the bottom, they were both bruised and sore. It was pitch black, so Eleanor muttered a spell and fire lit up in her hand, lighting the room. Around them were lots of tools and other implements, some looked like they had been there for thousands of years, others brand new. They both looked around for a moment, before Brannon spoke through the darkness
"hey Eleanor, check this out" Brannon got on one knee and pulled a human skull out of the darkness, it was wearing one of those strangely shaped helmets, but it was bent around the sides, as if the head got bigger and pushed against the helmet. "TO BE! Or not to be? That is the question!"
"Very funny Shakespeare. now put it down and lets look for something we could use."
Brannon let out a disappointed sigh and threw the skull across the room, shattering it in the process. Eleanor continued to scan the room, lighting up a few wall-mounted torches so she didn't drain too much of her mana, the basis for all magic in the world. Brannon fiddled around with some of the tools on the walls while Eleanor took note of some strange markings on the walls. One called out to her in particular, it was a symbol of a horse with a long flowing mane, but what intrigued her more was it had large wings and a horn, nothing of their world. It also had some arrows pointing to a particular spot on the wall. Eleanor hit it with her staff, it made a hollow noise. She called Brannon over and told him that there might be something on the side. He pounded his fist against the wall, knocking it down in the process. There was a glowing orb in the colour of a cotton-candy pink, an algae green, a dark cyan and a dark sky blue, all swirling around in a singular orb. Fascinated, Eleanor picks it up for further study. Brannon had finished playing around with the contents of the room and was waiting impatiently at the staircase for Eleanor. She led the way up as they climbed through the darkness, lit only by Eleanor's flame and a small amount of light given off by the orb.
They got back to the dining hall and Eleanor placed the orb on the table, keeping it in place with a few rags. She stared into it, Brannon raised his hand to ask a question, but Eleanor already knew the answer.
"You'll get to eat when Kent gets back." Brannon lowered his hand and sat down, slumping onto the table. This knocked the orb off its place, and it fell off the table, Eleanor tried to stop it, but it was too late. It fell off the table, rolled across the stone floor, and fell into an indentation in the floor. Eleanor felt a wave of mana wash over her as a construct she hadn't noticed before roared to life. Runes along two pillars started to glow, as spiked portions of the room lit up and shot bolts of energy towards a centre pillar. The pillar, charged with energy, shot towards a stone frame at the end of the room, upon contact, the energy split into all sides of the frame, then evenly spread out to create a door-like structure in the frame. On the other side was a bright day, at the peak of a mountain side. A village lay at the foot of the mountain, edged by an ever-expanding forest. Eleanor and Brannon had their mouths open in awe, as a thump was heard from the other side of the room, followed by a familiar voice
"Hey, I see you installed a new window. Awesome!" Kent threw his hunt onto the table.
"Kent.." Eleanor started "It's not a window, and even if it was, its almost midnight. its daylight on the other side of that, and we are nowhere near a mountain, let alone on top of one." She facepalmed at his stupidity.
"Oh." Kent gave an awkward smile as he wandered up to it. "What do you suppose it is then?"
"A portal" Brannon rose "I've seen more then one in my time, it's a link to an alternate reality. Everything may be the same, or it might be completely different. The only way to find out is to step through." Kent and Eleanor were both shocked, they didn't think that Brannon was actually that smart to know about these sort of things. "Hey, just because I'm half orc, doesn't mean I'm a dumbass."
"Well, ok then." Eleanor butt in "I'll go in first, seeing as Kent just went on a hunt and I'm the only one here with knowledge of magic." They all agreed.
"Couldn't we eat first?" Brannon interrupted "I'm starving."
"No Brannon."
Eleanor grabbed her belongings and head over to the portal. It was rippling, which it wasn't before. This made her worry, but she stepped through anyway. After emerging unscathed on the other side, she concluded it was simply a magic door, not something that could rip you apart. and motioned the others to come through. Brannon came through first, and smelled the fresh mountain air. He let out a hearty laugh and slapped his hand on Eleanor's shoulder. She flashed him a stern look, and he took his hand off. Kent came through next, proud and tall. He looked around and said
"So, lets get exploring then"
"Not yet Kent, I'm detecting large amounts of mana in these grounds, if we so much as step a foot wrong, something bad could happen." Kent rolled his eyes. "Give me a moment, ill tap into the grounds mana pool...." She closed her eyes and placed her hand on the ground, a blue glow emanated from her palm.
"Uhh, Eleanor, are you sure its meant to be doing that?" Brannon questioned
"Doing what?" she opened her eyes and saw her hand was shaking violently, the blue glow turning a deep red. "Aah! Stand back everyone, something bad could-" She didn't have time to finish her sentence
A blue blast came from Eleanor's hand, sending the trio flying in different directions, she could hear Brannon yelling her name while Kent was shouting obscenities. She rolled down the mountain side, pain coming from all directions, She rolled for what seemed like hours, but was only a few minutes, before coming to a sliding rest on a rocky cliff. She stood up, looking at herself, Nothing was damaged, aside from a few tears on her clothing. Suddenly, A sharp searing pain, worse then she had ever felt, came from her insides, Her bones felt like they were re-arranging themselves. She screamed out in agony, only for her yell to meet two other screams, coming from other sides of the mountain. After the agonizing pain subsided, she fell over, more pain coming from her skull, it felt like something was piercing her skin, but not from the outside.
She stood up again, all the pain finally gone for good. Her back was aching, and she wasn't sure why, but she was almost forced to hunch over. Her vision blurred for a moment, before becoming normal again. She reached for her staff, only to find it bounce off of her hand. She reached for it again, and looked over. Instead of her hand, was a hoof! She yelled in surprise and looked down at the rest of her body, It was no longer human, that's for sure. She stared at her body in shock, barely being able to cope with the sudden change. She quickly cast a small spell, and turned some nearby rock into reflective glass. she gasped at what she saw. Her face was a mossy green, with dark cyan markings across her cheeks, nose, and some on her forehead. Her nose, now a muzzle, pointed out like a kitchen blade. her ears were now on the top of her head and were pointed at the tip, her eyes had no pupils and were a solid purple, but she could see just fine. her hair had turned from a long brunette to a styled mixture of maroon and black streaks, but what shocked her the most, was the large pointed horn protruding from her forehead, it stuck out like... She couldn't even find a comparison, it was nothing she had ever seen before.
During some small forethought, she thought about her staff, how she could hold it again, without having fingers. Her horn glowed, much to her surprise, and her staff floated over to her hoof, which it glued itself to. She could remove it freely, but now it was as if she had hands. If those hands were flat, and had glue on the front anyway. Her thoughts turned to her attire, her long tan cloak had turned into a small cape that hung from her back, her sleeves turned into wristband-like cloth on the top of her hooves, the emerald bracelets had fixed themselves near the top of her legs, and refused to budge. She concentrated on the bracelets, which started to glow, she then thought about how to get down the mountain, and as if by command, the rocks beneath her shifted into a stairway that led down the base of the mountain. If she had have been a regular person with no experience in the arcane, this would have knocked her dead. But she was an experienced mage and could handle enchanted items.
After reaching the base of the mountain, she wandered, mind transfixed on what had happened to her comrades. Midway through the thought, she heard a low, soft voice.
"Umm... hello?" Eleanor quickly turned around, instead of seeing a human though, she saw a butter-yellow horse with a long pink mane, But instead of a horn, she had wings. "You shouldn't come around this area, they say it's filled with..... m-m-monsters...." The winged horse's legs trembled and she bit her bottom lip.
"I'm fine, I assure you, but while you are here.... Would you mind telling me where I am?" Eleanor asked, she had to find out where she was.
"Oh, you are in umm... Ponyville."
"Ponyville? I've never heard of it, what country?"
"Equestria"
"Equestria? Are you sure?" Eleanor tried to focus like she did before, and with a little strain, was able to levitate her world map from her bag. She unfurled it and tried to find Equestria "I don't think Equestria exists. Are you playing tricks on me? Because if you are...." She glanced over to the winged horse, who was on the verge of tears after what she had just said. "Uhh, sorry.... I didn't mean it like that.." The winged horse ran away, afraid of Eleanor. "Shoot."
After stuffing the map back into her bag, Eleanor practised a bit with the levitation, it took a while to get used to, but she eventually got the hang of it. After a bit of mindless wandering, Eleanor found a small hut, covered in grass. She peered through the window, The winged horse from before was lying on her couch with a box of tissues.
"Ugh, I guess I should go apologize." She sighed. Apologizing was something she almost never had to do, seeing as she usually just killed everyone she needed to apologize to.
Eleanor knocked on the door, she heard a sniffle, and then the door opened a crack, A blue eye peered through before slamming shut.
"Look, I'm... Sorry.... If I scared you or something, I was just lost, OK? " Eleanor let out a large sigh, and turned to leave. Just as she reached a gate, the soft voice asked her to stop.
"I'm sorry too. I probably... Shouldn't have acted so... Scared.... But I haven't met you before and well.... You don't really... have... Pupils..." She whimpered.
"Oh right, the eyes. Dont worry...."
"Fluttershy"
"Fluttershy, I can see perfectly fine, In fact, im not sure why i don't have pupils." The pair laughed.
"I can take you to town if you want... If that's what you want."
"Of course." Eleanor thought that the others might have found their way to town as well.
"So what's your name anyway?"
"Eleanor. But I swear if you call me Ellie..." She gave a serious look, before laughing at Fluttershy when she winced.
Fluttershy and Eleanor talked all the way to town, before Fluttershy led Eleanor to the library, which was a giant hollowed out tree. A purple head poked out of the window, and quickly went back inside, before finally opening the door. It was another horse with a horn, but she was purple and her horn was shorter.
"Oh, hi Twilight, I'd like you to meet.." Fluttershy began
"Eleanor." Eleanor rose her hoof to shake hands, but Twilight just stood there, and examined Eleanor "Uhh, Is there a problem?" Eleanor was curious as to why she was ignoring her.
"Not at all, but why might I ask, do you not have any pupils?" Twilight asked, as if she was interrogating Eleanor
"Because I don't work at a school?" Fluttershy and Eleanor laughed, but Twilight just gave her a look. "Fine, I was born this way. Are you happy?"
"Yes, thank you. Oh, nice cutie mark." She wasn't sounding very sincere.
"Say what now?" Fluttershy and Twilight gave her a confused look
"The mark on your flank, its your special talent. Mind telling me what yours is?"
Eleanor looked at her flank, it had an arcane circle on the side. She recognised it because it was something she used once... Before she blew up the school.
"Uhh, It's magic. I guess."
"Really. Mind showing me a spell or two?" Twilight gave a smirk, Fluttershy stepped backwards.
"Sure. Sit back and watch the fireworks." Eleanor grabbed hold of her staff, pointed it at some nearby earth, muttered a spell and started raising the end of the staff towards the sky, a huge chunk of earth levitated along with it. Eleanor Said a spell out loud, before twirling around and hitting the rock with the end of her staff. The rock soared through the air, before exploding into many bright colours.
She turned back to Twilight, Both the horses had gaping mouths and wide eyes. Twilight eventually snapped out of it and turned to Eleanor.
"I guess you've proved your point, feel free to come inside."
"But Twilight" Fluttershy spoke "I haven't seen you do something like that before"
"Sshh"
"Oh. Ok."
Eleanor followed Twilight and Fluttershy inside, and looked around. The place was stacked with many different books, as was the floor. A baby dragon, something Eleanor was familiar with slaying, poked its head around the corner.
"Hey there, Don't mind me, just cleaning up." The dragon picked up a few books and placed them on their respective shelves, before approaching Eleanor. "Hey twilight?"
"Yes spike?"
"Why doesn't she have any pupils?"
Eleanor sighed heavily. Today was going to be a long day indeed.
The last thing he remembered was tumbling down a hill, and then passing out from huge amounts of pain. He lifted himself off his back and surveyed the area around. He was at the base of the mountain alright, but surrounded by lush forests and damp grass. He stood up, armour clinking against itself, and started to walk over to his sack, luckily, everything was still inside. Just as he was about to reach out for the sack, he heard a high pitched scream coming from the forest.
"Damsel in distress? Hope she's rich, or pretty, either works fine for me." Kent reached for his sword, but his fingers wouldn't respond from inside his gloves. He cursed the tight armour for cutting off his blood circulation. "No matter, ill rescue her bare handed." He ran off into the woods, overconfident in his abilities. After a few seconds of running, Kent reached a clearing, and saw a manticore swiping at a fallen down tree. He saw a few tufts of hair poking up from the log, as the manticore swung its ferocious razor sharp claws, the log broke more and more, Kent dove forwards as the manticore was about to take another swipe, wrapped his arms around the figures hiding behind the log, and braced for impact. One claw ripped off the back off his armour, and he felt like a huge weight had been lifted from him, he dismissed the thought as fatigue. he opened his eyes and saw three foals wearing red and gold capes, they were all shaking in their hooves. His eyes widened, but then just assumed they belonged to a rich man who would pay dearly to have them back. although there was something about that white one and that orange one....
The manticore roared, Kent threw the orange foal onto his shoulder and the other two under his arms, and he ran as fast as he could. He was trained for endurance, so something like this was nothing more then a training exercise for him, a deadly one at that. He was starting to outrun it, before he thought he heard someone tell him to "look out for that cliff" He looked forward and saw the bushes part, before the edge of a cliff suddenly made itself obvious. The three foals screamed (could they even do that?) as Kent rushed off the cliff. He closed his eyes and accepted his fate...
But nothing happened.
Kent opened his eyes and saw the bottom of the cliff, but it wasn't getting any closer. He looked around and saw each of the foals with their eyes shut and teeth clenched. The manticore was pacing itself on the side of the cliff they just came from. Panicking, Kent looked in all directions, up, down, left, right, nothing was different. What about his back? He leaned his neck to the side and saw a blue blur coming from his middle back. Confused, he leaned forward, and moved forward, just to make sure they were his. Slightly frightened, he made his way to the other side of the cliff and`set the foals down. He started to worry and tried to stop them, he couldn't do it, suddenly, one of the foals rose up from the other two
"Hey! You're a pegasus too!"
"ARGH!" Kent yelled a little and fell backwards in surprise, he hit the ground hard.
"Are you alright mister?" Kent's vision slowly focused, and he saw the three foals standing infront of him with worried looks on their faces. His eyes transfixed on the white one, he noticed a horn protruding from the top of its head.
"Ah' think somethin' scared him" One with a red mane and yellowish skin stopped, and looked at it's flank "Aww, no cutie mark." The other two echoed. before the yellow one turned back to Kent "Wow mister, you saved our lives! You must be a hero! Like from the old storybooks!"
Kent, still a little distraught, stood up shakily and leaned his head against wall.
Crunch
"AH FFF-" Kent shoved his limp hands against his head and threw off the helmet
"Uhh.." The white foal started to speak "Are you alright? You look like you crushed your ear pretty hard"
Kent, starting to get used to the foals talking, replied "Don't be silly, my ears are on the side of-" he stopped when he felt two ears on the top of his head, both throbbing in pain. He used his teeth to rip off his gloves, and started in disbelief. His hands had been replaced with hooves. He took off his boots, and they were much the same as well. He turned to the three foals. "Do any you have a mirror?" The white foal messed around with its, mane, revealing a horn, and a compact mirror.
"I always keep one with me, my big sister says I should always look my best." Kent picked up the mirror between two hooves, still staring at the foals horn. "Haven't you ever seen a unicorn before sir?"
"No... I can't say I have..."
"Well then glad to meet you! I'm Sweetie Belle, and this is Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo!" She started bouncing around her two friends. Kent just tried to give his best smile.
Kent examined himself in the mirror, it was a fair shock to him. His face was no longer human, it was elongated and thicker. His eyes were now a golden colour, and he had wild bright silver hair with dark grey streaks through it. His skin, now a sapphire blue fur. And he had wings protruding out of the back of his broken chest piece. He was stunned for a moment, before realising that he was still in front of the three fillies.
"So where do you girls live." Kent still found it strange that he was talking to horses, but he was getting used to the idea. After all, he and his comrades have encountered stranger things.
"Oh we live in Ponyville! It's just over there!" Scootaloo pointed her hoof at a nearby village. "Why, where do you come from?"
" The names Kent, and where I come from isn't your concern. Do you all need help getting down or...?"
"Oh don't worry, we can handle ourselves!" Apple Bloom went behind a rock and pulled out some gear
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ROCK CLIMBERS! YAY!" The cheer nearly knocked Kent off the edge of the cliff. The three fillies hooked the ropes to the rock face and strapped themselves into vests, then jumped off the edge. Kent panicked and rushed over to the edge, then relaxed as he saw the three rappelling down the side. He walked back to the other edge of the cliff, the manticore was gone, but he still had to figure out how to control his wings to get to the other side. He focused on that particular part of his back, and after a bit of strain, his wings fluttered a bit. This made Kent smile, but it was only just a start.
It took Kent a while, but after around half an hour, he was able to gain enough control over his wings to sustain a few seconds of flight. his armour only made it harder, but he wouldn't leave it behind, it was the only thing he had left of his father. He leaned his back hooves against the rock face, and then started running fast towards the cliff's edge. He leaped off, and focused hard on his wings.
Too hard. His wings flapped vigorously, his head smashed into the opposite sides cliff-face.
"FFFFFUUUUUUUU-" He held his hooves to his head, and started to fall. "That hurt like a b- oh right I'm falling" He tried to ignore the pain, and concentrate back on his wings. When he stopped falling he was a few metres from a very hard ground. He flew back up to the forested edge of the cliff, and fell flat on his face. "Ugh... why me..."
Kent dragged himself back to his loot sack, it was easy to find, as there was only one mountain in the area that had a stone gateway on the top, and a trail left behind when he slid down the side. He threw his armour off, it wasn't easy without hands, but he managed to do it with a few sticks and some rocks. He lay down on the grass and stared at the sky. He never really paid attention to the sky, it was always so bland and boring. But now... It just seemed... peaceful. Through all they had been through, this was the only time he really got to relax and think.
"The sky is so clear today." he mumbled to himself before dozing off to sleep.
"Hey fella, You ok there buddy?" Kent's eyes awoke with a jolt, he looked at the sun, it had only moved... maybe half an inch? he wasn't asleep for long, that's for sure. He rolled over and looked at whoever woke him up. Before him stood a Sky-blue pegasus with a rainbow mane, she gave him a grin before continuing "So you're the colt that saved Lil' Scootaloo and her friends eh? She came right up and told me, as well as all the other ponies in town, ha ha. Name's Rainbow Dash. I'm the local weatherpony." She extended a hoof, they shook for a second before she continued "So, where you headed?"
Kent put on his armour. "Well actually, I'm just looking for my companions that I lost when we got here. Their names ar-"
"Looking for friends? No problem! Just fly behind me and I'll take you to town. They're sure to be there" Kent just stood there, shifting on one hoof. "What are you waiting for?"
"I... Can't fly..."
"And you call yourself a pegasus..."
"Actually I-"
"No matter. I'm an excellent flight instructor, just sit tight and follow my lead." Rainbow lands on the ground and begins her lesson "Step one, feel your wings. If you can't feel your wings, then somethings wrong."
"Is this going to take much longer?"
"HUSH! Now step two, flap your wings. pretend that you are falling off a cliff"
"Why pretend?" Kent chuckled, Rainbow just gave him a glare.
After a long and vigorous tutorial, Kent was still unable to get off the ground.
"I think I see the problem." Rainbow trotted up to Kent, reared up and bucked his armour off.
"Hey! That was made by my father!"
"And now its off. Can you get off the ground yet?"
Still pissed off, Kent did as Rainbow instructed, and got a few feet off the ground.
"Hey, I'm doing it! This is awesome! i could ju- arrgh!" He fell to the ground after being hit by a rock.
"you gotta learn to fly with distractions." Rainbow tossed a rock up in her hoof. "Try again."
Suddenly, an explosion rocked the area. Rainbow and Kent both looked immediately at the source, rocks were falling out of the sky, with rainbow fires trailing each.
Kent looked around for his armour, but couldn't find it anywhere. Panicking, he rummaged through his loot sack and pulled out the golden armour he looted from the castle. It fit perfectly.
"Hey, where'd you get that?" Rainbow questioned
"Doesn't matter. stay here and guard my stuff." And with that, he bolted off into the sky. a faint voice could be heard from behind
"Hey, you're doing it!"
Kent zoomed through the sky, he noticed how the armour had perfectly shaped holes for the wings, and also was lightweight, it gleamed like the sun. He felt a tear stream down his face, he realised that he had just abandoned the armour that his father made for him before he died. the one and only memory of his one true father figure. He landed just outside of the town, his wings were tired(this was the second time he used them, first time on purpose.) When he walked through the town, all the other ponies in town looked at him strangely, could be the armour, could be that he just sped in from the mountain tops unannounced.
As he was nearing the source of the explosion, he was interrupted by Scootaloo.
"Hey Kent, you should come with me, there's something awesome you should see!"
"Kid, I really don't have time."
"Come on! It'll be worth it! Honest!"
"Fine. But only if it will just take a second"
"I promise! Come on!"
Kent sighed and followed Scootaloo, it had better be worth it. A few moments later the most heavenly of smells found its way to Kent's nostrils. All his previous thoughts seemed to melt away as the smell of baked goods pierced his nose and took over. He kept following Scootaloo, but no longer reluctantly. A store with a giant cup cake on the roof came into view, with a sign marking "Sugarcube Corner".
"Scootaloo" Kent tried to resist the aroma's coming from the bakery "This really isn't the time for sweets"
"Sweets? Just come inside and see!" Scootaloo started tugging on Kent's tail.
"Alright alright. Geeze.." Kent rolled his eyes and follow the filly into the store.
The store was dark. Kent couldn't see Scootaloo anymore
"Is anyone here? Hello? Scootaloo?"
"SURPRISE"
Kent fell over backwards. Every pony in the room rushed around to see if he was alright.
"Ow, my head." Kent rubbed his head with his hoof
"Are you alright? Because you should be having fun and it's not easy to have fun if you are hurt at a party!" A pink pony with poofy hair bounced in front of him. "Here have one these!" The pink pony grabbed a cupcake from a nearby table and shoved it in his mouth. As he slowly chewed, a wave of flavours burst and surrounded his mouth, his eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head from how delicious it was. The pink pony giggled at his reaction. "That happens a lot the first time. My names Pinkie Pie!"
"Could someone explain what's going on. I am really confused right now."
"Well, silly, This is a "Thank-you-Kent-for-saving-scootaloo-Apple Bloom-and-Sweetie Belle-from-a-manticore party!"
"That explains a lot, like the fireworks"
"Fireworks?" Pinkie had a serious look on her face. "I didn't plan any fireworks." Her expression immediately changed "But oh well! LETS PARTY!" Kent tried to get to the door, but was stopped by a hoard of ponies dancing and partying.
Kent groaned. "Well as long as I'm here, I should at least try to enjoy myself." He trotted over to the snacks table and dug in.
It was late at night. Kent's stomach was bursting at the seams from eating too much. it didn't help that Pinkie Pie made such good food.
"Oh crap" He just remembered that his loot sack was at the base of the mountain, and he couldn't fly after eating so much, and to make matters worse, he didn't have a place to stay, he lay down on a park bench and let out a huge moan, his stomach was killing him. He took off his helmet and rested it at his side. He started to drift off to sleep before being startled by a voice
"Oh my, you poor thing"
"Who are you calling a thing." Kent put his helmet on and rolled over to see a white unicorn staring him in the face. "Uhh.. Hello miss."
"Rarity, It's a pleasure, Kent."
"I'm sorry do I know you?"
"You saved my sister from the manticore. I would like to return the favour. Is there anything I can do?"
"Well now that you mention it, I could use a room to stay for the night."
"Of course darling! I have a spare room upstairs, feel free to stay as long as you want. Just follow me and I'll show you where I live."
"Alright, just slow down. I think I ate a little too much"
After a few minutes, Kent and Rarity approached The Carousel Boutique. Rarity unlocked the door with her keys, before asking
"Please be quiet, Sweetie Belle has had a big day and should get her rest." Kent nodded and walked inside. The entire building was laden with Dress horses, cloth, and frilly decorations.
"Seems a bit girly." Rarity shot him a look, before showing him his room upstairs. "Thanks miss Rarity. It was kind of you to be so generous"
"Think nothing of it dear, now get some rest. After what happened I'm sure you'll need it." She closed the door, Kent placed his armour in a pile, threw himself onto the bed and drifted off to sleep.
Kent hadn't slept that well in a long time. It felt good to be in an actual bed, instead of in a bedroll. He dreamed of being back home, eating a nice meal with his mother and father, who he hadn't seen in sixteen years. He had signed up for The Blade's when his father died.
Kent woke up on the floor. Covered in his sheets. There was a basket of apples on the bedside table, with a note attached saying "From Apple Bloom" He smiled, and stood up, unravelling the sheets. He looked for his armour, but it wasn't where he left it! He panicked a little, but calmed a little when he saw a note from Rarity attached to the wardrobe.
"Dear Kent
I'm sorry for leaving you on the floor, but you were a bit... restless. I didn't want to wake you. I have placed your armour on a dress horse in this wardrobe. I will be out of the store today, but say hello to Sweetie Belle if she is awake.
~Rarity
True to the note, when he opened the wardrobe, a pristine dress horse was covered head to hoof in armour. He removed it from the Dress horse and put it on.
Kent took a bite of one of the apples. It was sweet and delicious. He placed it back in the basket for later and stepped outside.
It was a glorious day. The sun was shining, there were few clouds in the sky, and the birds were chirping. Kent took a few steps out of the boutique, He took a sniff of the morning air, fresh and crisp. After wandering around a bit, trying to get accustomed to the residents of Ponyville, he was stopped in his tracks by a familiar sky-blue pegasus.
"There you are, you kept me waiting all day! Here's your loot back." Rainbow tossed his loot sack in front of him, gold and jewels spilling onto the ground. "I'm on to you, don't think this is the last time you'll see me." She then sped off into the sky, leaving a confused Kent to put everything back in the bag.
"Aargh!" A voice boomed through the thick foliage of the Everfree Forest "I can't see!" *THUNK* "SWEET MOTHER OF-" *CRASH* "DAMNIT ELEANOR!" *trip* "Sonova..." Brannon could not see a thing, after the explosion, his eyes darkened and no matter how hard he thrashed about, his eyes refused to work, even though he could feel his eyelids blinking. His arms had somehow become bound, his hands not responding. He wriggled around on the ground before shouting "HELP!" After a brief moment of his echo bouncing around his surroundings, A soft but somehow familiar voice replied from the darkness
"My my, you seem in quite a state. How have you become manticore bait?" A lyrical sarcasm in the voice
"Look, I have no idea. I can't see!" Brannon snapped
"Maybe with a bit of common thought, you can have your eyesight sought?" The voice became closer, and a flash of light nearly blinded Brannon, he had a hard time focusing his eyes without pain. "It was only some tough material, blocking your sight, now feel free to see the light.
"Ugh..." Brannon grunted as he opened his eyes "Could you maybe stop talking in rhy-" Brannon looked at the source of the rhyming, and instantly stopped his train of thought. In front of him was a zebra wearing jewellery and golden rings around her neck, her mane was done in a mohawk. She was holding his leather vest in her hooves, the vest being more then twice her size "I-uh-what?" Brannon could not believe his eyes.
"It is not often, around this place, to see another of the zebra race. What are you doing, here alone, when you are so far from home?"
"I... Adventure... And what do you mean 'another zebra?'" Brannon stood up, and immediately fell over due to his center of gravity changing. He looked down at his body, he was grey with dark grey stripes along his entire body, all of his belongings either hanging loosely or gone. His hands replaced by hooves, and he had a tail! on his flank was an image of Hercules, but with a more equine body. His eyes widened and he began to step backwards, staring at his hooves, his mouth agape in shock. "But... That's impossible.."
"Pardon me? you seem to be confused, are you telling me this is all an elaborate ruse? The zebra's eyes narrowed as she got a very serious look on her face.
Brannon blacked out
Brannon came to a few hours later, standing in a hollowed out tree, surrounded by who knows what? The zebra from before was nowhere to be found, and his belongings missing, Brannon started to panic. After nearly knocking over the cauldron in the middle of the room, dislodging a few masks and breaking a window, Brannon heard the front door creak open. In stepped the zebra from before, carrying a basket of herbs and some apples. The zebra looked around, Brannon hid behind the cauldron, before she dropped the herbs and began jolting her head around the room, looking for Brannon.
"What is this? Where could he be? Does one of my own not trust me?" Brannon peeked around the cauldron to see the zebra's head lower, her eyes drooping. Scared that he hurt her feelings, Brannon, being the softy that he is, slowly revealed himself from behind the cauldron. Upon seeing him, the zebras ears perked up, and she began to smile. "You worried me, for a while, my heart was racing more then a mile!
"I'm sorry, what?" Brannon cocked his head in confusion.
"Urm, please forget what i just said, my cheeks really are turning red... The zebra blushed, and returned to the herbs she had dropped earlier."You froze up earlier, I'm not sure why, but i was sure I could not say goodbye. I pushed you here, a tedius task, then gathered these herbs so your state did not last."
"Thanks, I guess... But might I ask where we are? I haven't a map of the area."
"My friend, we are near the town of Ponyville, in the Everfree forest, but before you depart, you might want to rest."
"Alright then, is there a spare bed around here?" Brannon looked around the room and saw a single bedroll next to one of the walls, his eyes widened and he looked at the zebra, who was nervously scratching her hoof against the ground
"I forgot there was only one bedroll, my memory sure has taken its toll... Perhaps I will just stay awake, after what happened, you might need a break.
"Thank you, I might be able to repay this some day, could I have your name?" Brannon asked as he lay down on the bedroll
"My name is not important, my fellow zebra, but for personal sakes, call me Zecora." Zecora smiled and began to exit the hut "I'm going to town, ill be back in a while, ill buy some food that might make you smile!"
"Wait what was that last part?" Brannon asked, but Zecora didn't reply, instead her cheeks became red before she rushed out the door. "Well that was a bit weird." Brannon said to himself before drifting off to sleep.
After what seemed like ten minutes, Brannon woke up to feel something heavy on his back, he looked and saw zecora resting her head on his body.
"Uh, Zecora?" Brannon gave her a prod, Zecora woke up instantly, before giving him a nervous smile while backing away. Brannon just stared at her awkwardly
"I'm sorry if that was a bit.. uncomfortable for you, you felt quite cold quite cold, the room was too." Zecora just retained her nervous smile, while Brannon just stared at her while walking towards the door. As he turned to leave, he heard a "Wait!" From inside. He looked back and saw Zecora in front of him, kneeling down on her front two hooves"Please don't go..." Zecora pleaded. Brannon was slightly confused.
"You aren't rhyming any more?" Brannon questioned, as she had only spoken in rhymes beforehand.
"I just... just don't go..." She tried to get as close to Brannon as possible, he felt a bit uneasy.
"I... Have to go find my friends..." Brannon tried to gently shake Zecora off his leg, she wouldn't budge.
"Please... I haven't seen another zebra in so long, and the other ponies are scared of me..." Zecora began to tear up. Brannon just sighed.
"Fine...I guess it couldn't hurt to- WOAH!" Brannon yelled as he was tackled by Zecora in a hug "Easy Zecora. I can still get hurt."
"I'm sorry..." Zecora loosened her grip a little bit.
A few minutes later, Brannon was lying on the bedroll, with Zecora sleeping on top of his back, So he had time to think. He had always been shunned because of his race, he was banned from places he wanted to be, like a library. he loved knowledge. But he was exiled from society as an outcast, forced to get by doing menial tasks like lifting logs and shoveling horse dung for minimal wage. If Eleanor and Kent hadn't come along, he probably wouldn't be alive. Here, he was somehow a zebra, and according to Zecora, still an outcast, but now he had someone to relate to. Sure, it was a talking zebra, but when your parents were different species, not much surprised you.
"I thank you for making my day, feel free to leave. I'll be okay." A soft voice came from Zecora's half-awake mouth.
Brannon gave a small nod, then slowly shifted himself so Zecora's head could lower down onto a pillow without waking her up completely. After she was fast asleep, he walked out of the hut, and followed Zecora's directions to Ponyville. He passed a few trees that looked like they were almost screaming, and some blue flowers, which something instinctively told him to avoid. Upon reaching the outskirts of Ponyville, Brannon looked around and saw some of the windows slam shut, and some ponies rushed indoors. He now knew what Zecora was talking about when she said the other ponies didn't like her. While he trotted through town, he could see some ponies staring at him through slits in their curtains and windows, it made him feel uneasy. As he continued through town, he eventually came across the market, and saw an orange pony wearing a stetson trying to sell some apples to another, as soon as the customer saw him though, he ran away, leaving the orange pony confused. The pony heard Brannon coming, and gave him a quick glance before returning to the stand.
"Hey Zecora" The orange pony muttered and began counting the gold in her hand
"Uhh, I'm not Zecora" Brannon said, confused
"Then who are y-" The pony stopped as she got a proper look at Brannon.
"I'm Brannon, pleased to meet you." Brannon extended his hoof towards the pony, who placed her hoof on his nervously
"A-Ah'm Applejack. P-Pleased ta meetcha...." Applejack nervously scratch her hoof with her other hoof.
Brannon was curious, "Is something wrong?" he asked, hoping to find out why all the ponies were hiding.
"N-no, aint nothin' wrong with y'all. The town just feels a bit uneasy, what with the rumors goin' round..."
"Rumors?"
"Well somepony told somepony, who told somepony else who told apple bloom who told big mac who told granny smith who finally told me, that male zebras.... Eat... Other ponies..." Applejack started to back away.
"Hey, why would anyone think that?"
"Ah don't know, but.. now ah have to get back to the farm..." Applejack gave a nervous smile, and tried to pull the apple cart away, but she couldn't do it. "The blasted thing's stuck." She sighed, before finally asking "Could you give me a push...?" Brannon laughed, then picked up the entire cart off the ground without a sweat, much to Applejack's surprise
"Wanna lead the way?" Brannon jokingly asked. Applejack nodded and began walking towards edge of town.
"So... What brings you to Ponyville, Brannon?" Applejack asked
"Looking for a few friends. Not much else."
"Oh really? Would Zecora be one of them?"
"No, you wouldn't happen to know a Kent or Eleanor, would you?"
"Can't say ah do. What do they look like?"
"I have no idea."
Applejack gave Brannon a weird look before returning to the path ahead. After a short period of time, a large farmland filled with apple trees came into view, with a big red barn in the middle.
"Alright, Y'all can set the cart down next to the barn, and thanks for th' help."
*CRUNCH*
"Woops" Brannon chuckled "I think you might need new wheels."
"Naw, they were due for a replacement anyway." Applejack Laughed a bit. "Y'all aint half bad, Brannon."
"Thanks, its nice to be complimented for once."
"Now what do y'all mean by that? Surely Y'all can't be serious about nopony thankin' ya?" Brannon sadly nodded his head in response. "Now tha' right there is ridiculous. Say, you're strong right? How would y'all like a job at sweet apple acres?"
"I'd love to. But uhh, where do I start?" Brannon looked around the farmland
"Well, you and Big Macintosh can get applebuckin', if you need help, ah'm sure he'll be glad to give a few pointers. HEY! Big Mac! Ah Gotcha somepony to help with the applebuckin'!." Soon after, a Red stallion with a yolk around his neck walked from behind the corner
"Ye' wanted to see me sis-" Big Macintosh stopped mid-speech after seeing Brannon "Uhh.. Hi there." Big mac got a worried look on his face
"You must be Big Macintosh. Glad to be of help" Brannon reached out for a handshake, but Big Mac just ignored him.
"Ah guess y'all better get started!" Applejack pushed Brannon and Big Mac towards the orchard, Big mac led him towards a nearby apple tree
"First thing you gotta do is turn around, then you gotta kick the tree with your back legs. like this" Big mac turned around, then kicked the tree with his legs, shortly after a rain of apples came from the branches. Big mac led Brannon over to the next tree "Your turn."
Brannon walked up to the tree and did as instructed, instead of apples falling down, however, the entire tree snapped from where he kicked it. Big Mac dropped the hayseed he had in his mouth. "My bad..." Brannon laughed nervously.
"Maybe you should go to the bigger, older trees..." Big Mac pointed to the direction of the older, larger trees. Brannon apologized before heading over.
Brannon now realized what the mark on his flank meant, it must be something that states what you are good at in the form of a picture, and his was strength. He walked up to the biggest looking tree, and attempted to rip it out of the ground. It was a cinch, he held the entire tree in one hoof, before looking over and see Big Macintosh staring at him, mouth open wide. Brannon grinned and put the tree back where it belonged. He tried again to 'Applebuck', but hit the tree with his front hoof rather then kick it. the tree shook, and all the apples fell out of the canopy. He smiled and proceeded to 'buck' the trees for around half an hour, before a familiar voice came from behind one of the trees
"Hello" Zecora poked her head out from behind a tree trunk "I hope you are having a nice day, are the ponies treating you okay?"
"Fear of what?" Brannon started to think about what she could be talking about.
"Just something small, dont you worry, if i tell you, i might be sorry. Zecora started biting her lower lip.
"Come on then Zecora, I'm sure you can trust me." Brannon put his arm over Zecora
"I don't know what to say, something's bothering me, maybe you cou- oh to hay with it..." Zecora stopped rhyming, grabbed Brannon's head and gave him a large kiss. when she stopped she continued "I.... I'm sorry..."
Brannon, still red from blushing, tried to comfort her "It's... It's fine Zecora... Even if you came on a little.... Fast... It doesn't make me hate you at all."
Zecora's ears perked up "Really? I'm... Glad..." She stopped and gave Brannon a little nuzzle. To which he nervously chuckled. Brannon lay down, he needed a rest anyway. Zecora rested her head on his back like earlier in the day. Brannon smiled a little and enjoyed the farm surroundings. he had been exploring the forest's with Eleanor and Kent for a long time, so a change of scenery was nice. Instead of snarling wolves or big spider webs, there were chirping birds and the sound of wind through the branches. He was prepared to snooze off, when Applejack wandered up to him, not looking where she was going, she slammed straight into a tree.
"Sweet mother of Celestia... ouch!" Applejack said to herself, before shaking it off. "Brannon, I got your payme-" Applejack paused as she saw Zecora resting on Brannons back. "nt... Well... Here you go.." Applejack dropped a small pouch before slowly trotting off, looking back only once with a confused look on her face. Brannon opened the pouch, and saw some gold coins inside. Looking closely he saw an imprint of a unicorn with a long flowing mane.
"uhh.." Brannon mumbled to himself
"They're called bits, the currency of this land." Zecora spoke up. "If you plan on staying, I suggest becoming a bit more accustomed to their ways."
"Thanks... Maybe I should get going on trying to find my friends.."
"Would one of your friends happen to carry a stick with gems attached to both ends?" Zecora asked
"Yes? Have you seen her?"
"I saw her walking into town on the way over. Maybe ask around?"
"Will do. Thank you very much Zecora." Brannon gave Zecora a small peck on the forehead before running to town. Zecora blushed and smiled.
Brannon ran towards town, it was about a mile away. He reached the outskirts when he saw a rainbow explosion in the sky, followed by different coloured flaming rocks fall to the ground. He knew it could only be done by Eleanor. It was the teams way of finding each other if they ever became separated, which was not often. As he was getting closer and closer to the source of the explosion, he was stopped again, this time, by a small yellow filly with red hair and a bow tie.
"What in the world? You could have been hurt, kid!"
"Wow, you're a zebra arn't you? Do you know Zecora? My names Apple Bloom by the way, You might now my sister Applejack! Do you know her too? Hey, you cutie mark looks awesome, can you tell me how you got it?"
"Woah there kid, enough questions. Yes I know Zecora, yes I've met your sister. Now if you will excuse me, I have to-"
"And what about your cutie mark huh? How did you get that?"
"Well.. I guess I've always had it.."
"Aww, you aren't any help. Say mister, do you want to come and help me and my friends get our cutie marks?"
"Well.. Not really.."
"GREAT!" The filly grabbed onto Brannon's tail and began tugging "You can come with us to the clubhouse! And if the others want to we'll even make you an honorary cutie mark crusader!"
"But I-"
"Come on lets go!"
"Fine." Brannon was getting sick and tired of being interrupted. "But it better not take too long."
Brannon gave one last look at the town before reluctantly walking away, back towards Sweet apple Acres.
"Look" Eleanor face-hoofed "can we please drop the subject of my eyes? It's making me uncomfortable."
Spike rolled his eyes and walked back to his bed.
"So uhh... Eleanor." Twilight started "What brings you to Ponyville?"
"Just looking for my comrades, that's all." Eleanor grunted.
Fluttershy tapped on Twilight's shoulder, before heading towards the door "I.. umm.. Have to go... feed Angel bunny.." Twilight smiled, nodded and returned to Eleanor once the door shut.
"Really? What do they look like? I can ask pinkie pie, she knows everypony in Ponyville!"
Eleanor looked out the window, hoping to see Brannon and Kent standing outside, looking for her, but instead was met with a blank scene. "I... Don't... Know..."
Twilight stared at her awkwardly "You don't know?"
Eleanor's eyes widened, realising what she just said "I... Uh... Haven't seen them in a long time..."
"Oh, okay then. What are their names? I'll be sure to ask Pinkie later."
"Brannon and Kent."
"Strange names... Oh well, I'll ask later. Help yourself to the library, If you need anything I'll be studying over there." Twilight pointed towards a pile of books in front of a pillow on the floor, and after giving Eleanor a quick glance, moved there and lay down. With nothing better to do while hopefully waiting for the other two, Eleanor browsed the library's book selection, Anatomy? No... An atlas? Maybe later... Then, a dusty book caught Eleanor's eye. It had some cobwebs on it, but Eleanor took it off the shelf nonetheless. After a quick blow to get rid of the dust on the cover, the title revealed itself as 'Equestria: A species guide; Eleanor cocked an eyebrow, and turned to the contents page. The main four titles were Alicorns, Earth ponies, Pegasi and Unicorns, followed by lesser creatures. Eleanor, intrigued, turned to the "Alicorns" chapter.
The chapter was surprisingly short, stating the only known alicorns in existence were the princesses and their parents, With the parents whereabouts unknown, the princesses living together in the castle of the pony sisters, but that has been crossed out, and written above it 'canterlot'. It also said that the princess "Celestia" controls the movement of the sun, and with her sister "Luna" controlling the moon.
"Controlling the sun and the moon?" Eleanor said aloud in surprise "That isn't possible.."
"What isn't possible?" Twilight asked
"Huh? Oh... Nothing.." Eleanor shut the book and returned it to the shelf. Twilight levitated the book in front of her and flipped to the page Eleanor was on. Shortly after, she returned the book to the shelf, and stared suspiciously at Eleanor
"You aren't from around here... Are you...?"
"Uhh... Nope..."
"Riiiggghttt... Well you should still know about Princess Celestia, right?"
"Not really.."
"Really..." Twilight's eyes narrowed suspiciously, before turning to write something down on a piece of parchment, then asking Spike to send it to the princess, Eleanor stood back in surprise as the dragon burst green flames onto the parchment, before Twilight thanked him and turned back to Eleanor. "Would you care to stay for some tea?" Eleanor took another look out the window, looking for Brannon or Kent, neither were there. She sighed, but reluctantly agreed.
After a few minutes of waiting for the water to heat up, Eleanor gave a groan and slumped down onto a chair. Twilight stared at her, which made her uncomfortable, so she tried to drink some tea in the hopes it would calm her nerves.
"So..." Eleanor tried to break the ice. She was never really one for conversation, what with half the people she talked to ending up inside out. "Is Fluttershy always that much of a crybaby?"
"HEY" Twilight shouted "She may be a bit sensitive but she isn't a crybaby."
"Well I said one thing and she just burst into tears." Eleanor took another sip of tea. It was actually pretty good.
"That doesn't sound like Fluttershy, I mean, she is a bit shy, but she doesn't usually cry over something so trivial *sip*"
"Well then something must have upset her before we met, otherwise... oooh.. I'm feeling a bit... Woozy." Eleanor's vision blurred before she collapsed and blacked out.
Eleanor fuzzed in after what seemed like weeks, on an ornate red carpet, she focused her vision and saw what the book described as an Alicorn, sitting upon a golden throne. But what caught Eleanor's attention more, was that her mane was long and flowing, in the same style and colours as the orb in the ruined building.
"Stone Wall, could you please take her staff?" The princess motioned one of her guards towards Eleanor
"No." Eleanor stood on two legs, and gripped the staff, pointing it towards the approaching guard. The guard didn't slow down. "I said, NO." Eleanor spun her staff above her head, before slamming the base to the ground, creating a blast-wave of air that knocked the approaching guard to his flank. His horn glowed, before the princess interrupted
"That's enough, Stone Wall. I have seen all that I need." The guard returned to his post, angrily glaring at Eleanor. "So.. Eleanor is it? My faithful student Twilight Sparkle tells me that you have quite the magical ability."
"Wait, is that what this is all about? You DRUGGED ME, just to ask me a few questions?" Eleanor's teeth were grinding against each other.
"Well it certainly seems obvious that you are not from Equestria" the princess chuckled "Most ponies have a little more respect for me. Although I'm not fussed about it. And to be honest, I was the one that told Twilight Sparkle to drug you, and I apologize. But from what she wrote to me in her letter, I assumed you were reluctant to leave the library. " The princess slightly hung her head.
"That isn't a good reason to knock me out and kidnap me!" Eleanor slammed her staff against the ground, making a nearby guard jump.
"Please calm down Eleanor, I understand you might be angry. I didn't actually ask Twilight to drug you straight up, but rather as a last resort. I'm not sure if she thought you were dangerous or anything, but it was not my intention to knock you out, I was just curious. Please accept my apologies." the princess' tone of voice changed into a slight worry, something that would be unusual for a monarch.
"Ugh. Alright then. But I'm sure there are more interesting matters then me." Eleanor rolled her eyes.
"I'm curious, what brings you to these lands?"
"Looking for friends. That's all."
"Of course... Might I ask which land you heil from?"
"I'd like to stop being asked questions now." Eleanor's patience was running thin. She didn't give a dragons ass if she was royalty, she didn't bow down to anyone.
"Just a few more, now could you tell me where you come from?"
"That's enough of the questions..." Eleanor really did not want her finding out where she came from, she could feel something a bit more sinister beneath the princess' calming outer shell. The princess' eyes became more impatient.
"Please Eleanor." The princess sounded more stern then before. "I just want to help you"
"I don't need help."
"Oh for hays sake, just tell me where you live." The princess was shouting this time
"Is that all you got?" Eleanor shouted towards the princess, triumphant in her endeavour. The princess gritted her teeth, before her horn began glowing, after a few seconds, a white glow engulphed Eleanor. "Pfft, what's this? A tickling spell?"
"Impossible..." Celestia gasped "I cannot banish her..."
Eleanor laughed. "To where? the moon?"
"That is the general idea." Celestia turned her head towards the throne room door and shouted "LUNA!"
A small voice came from the hallway "coming sister".
"There's two of them?" Eleanor said to herself "Screw this, I'm out of here." She spun her staff around in the air, before bringing it down. A bright light lit up the room, before returning to normal. Eleanor was gone, as was all trace of her being in the room, save for a few passed out guards.
Luna opened the door a few seconds later "Is something wrong sis- oh.. where is your guest?"
"Luna." Celestia coughed, she wasn't used to eating the floor. "Send out guards to look for an 'Eleanor', 'Brannon', and 'Kent'."
'Of course.. Is something wrong?"
"Yes. Something is very wrong."
Fluttershy put a bag of rabbit feed back where it belongs, before turning to go back inside. the sky was getting dark, and all the animals were fed. She smiled. Earlier in the day she had embarrassed herself in front of somepony new, and was starting to regret it. It wasn't her fault... Suddenly, a burst of flame came from behind her shack, she rushed to see the source, only to find Eleanor lying face-first in the mud. smoke coming from her horn.
"Oh.. Um.. Do you want some help?" Fluttershy cautiously leaned towards her. Eleanor replied with a muffled speech. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you... Could you um.. Repeat that?"
Eleanor struggled to lift her head out of the mud. "That... Would be appreciated... Thank you."
Fluttershy was able to lift Eleanor onto her back, and carry her inside. She placed Eleanor on the couch, and fetched a wet towel to clean her face. Eleanor groaned, the burst of adrenaline kept her awake, but now the drugs effects were returning. Fluttershy wrung the towel and hung it on the side of a bucket, she turned around and handed Eleanor a cup of tea. Eleanor was about to take a sip, before asking
"It isn't drugged, is it?" Eleanor asked, cautious about last time she had tea.
"Drugged? Oh my no, what kind of pony would I be if I drugged people. Oh no no no no..." Fluttershy was a bit stunned at being asked such a question. Still keeping her suspicions, she took a small sip of tea, before placing it on a nearby table.
"Fluttershy.."
"Um... Yes?"
"Is there a reason why you cried when we met? According to your friend you aren't that kind of pers- I mean pony."
"Oh.. I.. Umm.." Fluttershy Winced as she pulled back her mane, underneath were some cuts and bruises. Eleanor's mouth dropped open, normally that would be something she would laugh at, but seeing something so innocent have cuts and bruises seemed... wrong. "When you threatened me..." Fluttershy continued "I guess I sort of... lost it..."
"Who did this to you..."
"I... Don't really know, they were wearing hoods.. But I think I heard one mention the name "Stone Wall". If that's any help.."
The name hit Eleanor like a hammer. She remembered the princess referring to one of her guards as "Stone Wall".
"I'll be right back." Eleanor grabbed her staff and ran towards Ponyville.
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
"Coming!" Twilight called out "Don't get your tail in a twist." Twilight opened the door, expecting some royal guard ponies. But instead was met with the snarling face of Eleanor "OH HAY" Twilight slammed the door, then hid behind a desk. The door exploded into many pieces, flying across the room. Dust settled and Eleanor trotted in, glaring at Twilight. Twilight stood up, horn glowing. "I.... I have magic.. a-and I'm not afraid to u-use it!"
Eleanor rolled her eyes. "Don't bother Twilight. Why did you drug me."
"T-The princess told me to..."
"She said to use it as a last resort, you didn't even ASK! WHY DID YOU DRUG ME?" Eleanor was almost screaming at the top of her lungs
"BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU WERE DANGEROUS AND WERE GOING TO HURT EVERYPONY PLEASE DON'T KILL ME" Twilight cowered behind the desk
"I won't hurt you, but your friend Fluttershy, has been assaulted and hurt because your princess, your mentor ordered two of her guards to do so." Eleanor lifted her staff up, levitating Twilight and pressing her against the wall
"But..." Twilight protested "Celestia would never hurt anypony!" she struggled against the magic bindings, but to no avail.
"Which explains why she told you to drug me."
"But.. I... Urr..." Twilight was lost for words.
"That's what I thought, maybe when you harden up, you might come around and tell Fluttershy the truth yourself." Eleanor grunted "Those bindings will wear off in a few minutes." and with that, she walked back to Fluttershy's hut.
Upon returning, Eleanor saw two familiar looking armoured ponies standing at the front of Fluttershy's house. She hid behind some bushes, and with a small peak, could understand a little bit of what they were saying. She heard the words "Refuse, Accept, Reward, and Punishment." Eleanor recognized the guard "Stone Wall", but not the other one. As soon as they left, Eleanor crawled out of the bushes and up to Fluttershy's door, giving it a light knock. Fluttershy peeked through a crack in the door, before letting her inside.
"They came for... umm.."
"Me, I know."
"If it helps, I told them you were never here... I hope that's alright..."
"That's awesome, thanks." Eleanor smiled, a rare occasion.
"If you need a place to stay, I do have a spare bed..."
"That's very kind of you, thanks." Eleanor and Fluttershy smiled at each-other.
Fluttershy showed Eleanor the spare bed, then went to her own. Eleanor spent more then an hour staring at the starry night. Worried about her friends, Normally they would answer the signal, no matter what. Once Kent even showed up in the middle of fighting a giant bear. She sighed and rest her head on the pillow. Slowly drifting off to sleep.
"Eleanor! Help!" A shrieking voice came from the surrounding darkness. Eleanor looked down, she was her normal self, hands, clothing, hair, everything back to as it was. "Please! Help us!" the voice repeated itself. Eleanor rushed towards the voice, the darkness around her clearing with the more she ran. A short distance later, the darkness completely disappeared. She was back in the building ruins, in front of her was a tall figure, wearing a bleached white dress, hair flowing in different colours.
It was a human Celestia. Crown, necklace and all. She was looking angrily at Eleanor, while holding her palm up in the air towards her side. It was Kent, Held up in mid-air by Celestia's magic.
"Eleanor! Please! Stop her!" Kent shouted, squirming as much as he could.
"YOU." Celestia shouted "I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU."
"Let him go, Celestia!" Eleanor pointed her staff at the princess, the tip glowing. Celestia Grinned, and flicked three of her fingers.
With a sickening *Snap* Kent's neck turned to an unnatural degree, then his lifeless body fell to the floor.
"NO!" Eleanor shouted, but it was worthless. Kent remained a lifeless corpse. "You'll regret doing that you monster!" Eleanor Dropped her staff, eyes glowing, with a fluent body motion, fireballs flew from her hands towards the princess. But it was to no avail, as the princess just waved her hand, which stopped the fireballs in their path. Celestia grinned even harder. then waved her hand again, Brannon floated out, yelling, and attempting to swipe his fists at Celestia.
"Such an ugly being. Allow me to do you the favour of ridding it." Celestia laughed maniacally.
"Eleanor" Brannon gave up trying to fight it. "Please.. Tell Zecora... I..." *SNAP*
"NO! BRANNON!" Eleanor ran up to his body, shaking it "Don't.... Please..." She was met with silence.
"And now..." Celestia grabbed Eleanors neck with her hand, and brought her to her knees. "Time for retribution" she brought a large knife to Eleanors throat "Any last words?" Celestia's grin could bring nightmares.
"Just a few.." Eleanor smiled "Hope you enjoy your new home." She held up pieces of the swirling orb that opened the gate to the other world. Celestia screamed in rage, raised the knife and brought it down.
*GASP*
Eleanor jolted upwards, gasping for air. It was just a dream. But it felt so vivid... She looked down and saw her hands were hooves again.
"It's okay. It was just a dream" Eleanor assured herself.
"But what did it mean?"
Publishers note:
This is my second attempt at writing an action chapter in a fanfiction, so please excuse me if it seems plain or weird.
Kent dragged the sack into the Boutique with his mouth, It wasn't helping that he had to clean up jewels and gold with every pony in the vicinity watching him with weird looks on their faces. Lugging it upstairs wasn't an easy feat either. Once there, he shut it in the closet and locked it with a key. He worked too hard to lose that loot to some prying eyes. After securing his loot, he looked out the window to see lots of ponies gathering around one in the middle. It was a tiny filly, holding a golden crown with a large gem encrusted into it. Kent rushed outside, as he walked to the group, ponies split to create a path, as if he was royalty. The filly kept wildly grinning at the crown, unphased by his presence.
"Excuse me, little girl?" Kent spoke up. The filly glanced at him, before returning to the crown. "I don't think that belongs to you."
"Well of course it does, finders keepers." The filly poked her tongue at Kent, driving his patience.
"What's your name?"
"Diamond Tiara." Kent tried to keep back a laugh, it seemed to be fitting that a selfish pony was called 'Diamond Tiara'
"Alright then, you can keep it if you can name what kind of gem is encrusted into the front of it." Kent grinned. The filly laughed, and looked at the crown
"That's easy, its a sapphire, because its blue."
Kent snatched the crown from her hooves "Actually, its a lapis lazuli. you can tell by its deeper colour and low transparency" Kent looked around, the filly was staring at him, almost in tears, while the ponies around him were glaring at him, as if he was a common thief. But one little colt caught his eye, he was covered in dirt and scratches. and was no doubt missing at least one tooth. His mane was messy and dirty. He was looking at Kent with sad eyes. Kent couldn't resist, he walked up to the colt, kneeled down and placed the crown on his head. Some ponies gasped, but he only noticed the colts eyes widen, then he burst into a smile. He jumped onto Kent, knocking him onto the ground, embracing him in a hug. Kent returned the hug, and could feel tears of joy streaming down the fur on his back. The colt relinquished his hold, and ran off. Kent watched as the child joined his parents, who also looked rather poor. The boys mother looked at Kent, before mouthing a silent 'thank you'. Kent nodded back, and flew off. Shortly landing in an abandoned part of town. He leaned his head against a wall, before headbanging it, repeating the same thing over and over
"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." Kent moaned "That thing could have been worth a fortune! AGH! I just had to give it away to a pony I'll probably never meet again." He slouched on a nearby bench, then took off his helmet. "What's wrong with me today..."
"That was a courageous thing you did back there." A soothing voice came from behind him. He spun around, in front of him was a mare, 2 shades of orange, with a large curly mane and tail, carrots on the sides of her flank. "I know it isn't much..." She continued "But I just thought you should have this." She held out four carrots in her arms, Kent took them off her, suddenly his chest felt like it weighed a ton. He clenched his teeth, before looking up at the mare. She was walking away.
"Wait!" Kent yelled, she turned her head. "What's your name?"
"Just call me Carrot Top. Or Carrie, if you want." She smiled, then turned and continued on her way.
Kent was dumbstruck. Some random girl out of nowhere decided to give him a gift. Just... Because... But what confounded him even more was that he would rather these carrots then that crown. Only because he was given them as a gift. He put his helmet back on and began to slowly fly around town, munching on the carrots while contemplating what just happened. He looked down and saw several ponies waving.But why? It wasn't that much of a heroic act, was it? He sighed. A few minutes later, a familiar voice followed him
"Carrots? Gee where did you steal those from?"
"Go away Rainbow Dash" Kent replied, though with carrots in his mouth it sounded more like "gr awer rnbow dsh"
"Pfft, What's up your flank?" Kent just glared at her. She grinned, before saying "Listen... I took this out of your sack" Rainbow reached up and took a golden brooch clip out of her mane. "Hope you don't mind."
Kent just gave up. "Yeah sure, keep it." he glanced back and saw Rainbow's mouth wide open. which made him smile.
Kent lost track of time, and before he knew it, he wasn't in Ponyville anymore. It was a large rocky dirt field, with a few holes in a ground. There was also what he could only make out as a purple and white dot, with some dark murky blue spots in front of it. He was bored, so he naturally went down to investigate.
"Scream all you want, pony" One of the two diamond dogs laughed "There isn't a soul around to hear you. This time we will make sure your friends don't come to rescue you"
Kent saw them closing in, so he quickly flew in to help. He hovered just behind the diamond dogs, and gave Rarity a wink. he put his head in between the two diamond dogs and said in a loud voice
"Sup guys?"
As soon as the diamond dogs looked at Kent, he pulled his head back, and smashed their's together. knocking them both unconscious. He fell over and started laughing his flank off, Rarity was unsure of whether to be confused or grateful. But eventually he stopped laughing, so she decided it was probably the best time to say something.
"Thank you, Kent. Those ruffians never seem to leave me alone, cant a mare gather gems in peace without being assaulted?" Rarity rolled her eyes.
"Maybe next time you should bring some company along."
"Maybe I should, Say, Care to help me gather gems? Just in case those diamond dogs come back?"
Kent shrugged "Sure why not"
For a while, Kent helped Rarity dig up gems she located, while scaring those diamond dogs back to their holes, even though they seemed to come back every few minutes. They loaded up more then a wagon full of gems, before deciding to turn in and return to town. When town was in plain sight, Rarity thanked Kent once more, this time for assisting her in getting the gems, before turning back to town. Kent decided to walk back with her to the boutique, so he could lay down for a while. But, after a short time, a yell came from the clouds
"LOOK OUT RARITY" A blur of rainbows came from the sky, before tackling Kent, tumbling him onto the ground.
"ARGH! What's your problem Rainbow?" Kent yelled, Rarity turned around, alarmed by the noise
"You were about to hurt Rarity and take her gems!" Rainbow announced
"I just spent ages helping her GET the gems, and plus, why would I even want them?"
"I don't know, the same reason you have a bag filled with loot!"
Rarity looked at Kent "Bag filled with loot?"
Kent sighed "I'll show you later. Look Rainbow, I don't want to steal anything, okay? Why can't you just leave me alone?"
"Because there's something wrong with you, and I WILL find out what it is. No matter what." And with that, Rainbow Dash flew back to her cloud house.
"She sure is stubborn..." Kent looked at Rarity, she looked back
"Sometimes, yes. Now what was all that about a sack of loot?"
"I'll tell you on the way.." Kent groaned.
"So what you are saying.." Rarity inspected the loot "Is that you and your friends wander around the world, fight monsters, take what you can, then sell it?"
"Well... Yeah."
"That sounds very... Exciting..."
"Sometimes it is. So.... Now what?"
Kent and Rarity looked at each other awkwardly, before Rarity picked up a necklace with a sapphire-encrusted necklace, and put it on.
"Does this bring out my eyes?"
Kent laughed. "I guess."
"Do you mind if I... Keep it?" she gave a pleading look.
Kent sighed "why not?" Rarity Squealed in joy.
Rarity shuffled around the sack, looking for anything else worth keeping. Something hit the ground, making a large 'clang' noise. Kent's eyes rushed down, and saw a picture frame. Blushing madly, he swiped it up and hid it under his wing. Rarity looked up from inside the sack
"What was that?"
Kent blushed. "N-Nothing, nothing at all." Rarity gave him a stern look for a moment. She thanked him again for the necklace, and then left the room. Kent sighed in relief, before closing the door. He retrieved the picture frame from under his wing, it was a picture of him and Eleanor, human, having a beer at a local tavern. It was one of the few times she ever smiled. He loved it when she smiled. He put the photo back into the sack, locked it in the wadrobe, and left the boutique.
"Well, I should try to find the others, I mean, they could be any of these ponies." Kent studied each of the ponies around him as he walked, none of them looked anything like Eleanor or Brannon, but then again, he didn't look like himself either. He wandered around town for a few minutes, before being approached by three familiar fillies. "Hey girls." Kent cheerily greeted
"Hey Kent!" Scootaloo rose up from the other two "Have you seen a guy called Brannon around here? He was helping us find out cutie marks yesterday, but we lost him."
Kent froze "Wait... What was his name?"
"Brannon. Have you ever met him before?"
"Yes... Say, I don't suppose you girls have any idea where he would be?"
Apple Bloom cut in front of Scootaloo, "Well, He is a zebra an' all, so ah' would check the Everfree Forest and talk to Zecora. Ah' would go myself, but my big sister wont let me."
"Thanks girls, I'll be back later." Kent gave a small salute, before flying towards the Everfree Forest. Finding the other two was his main priority, no exceptions. Although he couldn't see much from above the canopy, he did see a small plume of smoke rising from one area of the forest. He flew towards it, and landed in a small clearing, in the middle, a giant hollowed out tree with a door and windows. He looked in a window and saw a zebra lying on top of another one. "If those fillies are right, then Brannon must have finally found a girlfriend. Hah!" Kent knocked on the door, after a few shuffling noises, and something breaking, the door opened a nudge, The male zebra poked his head through, before slamming the door
"Go away." A very familiar deep voice replied, Kent knew it was him in an instant.
"Brannon?"
"Who are you? How do you know my name?" Brannon poked his head out of the door again.
"It's me! Don't you recognize your pal?"
Brannon was silent for a moment, before his eyes widening. He sighed, and looked inside. Zecora was sleeping on the bedroll. the place was a mess. "Why do you always show up at the worst times. Shrimp"
"Am I.. Interrupting something?" A huge grin came across Kent's face. Brannon turned bright red.
"Well alright then stripes, we gotta go find Eleanor and get out of here before I have to give away my entire loot sack."
"Could it.. wait? I gotta.. Err.. Finish this first?" Kent opened his mouth to reply, but instead was met with the sound of a large explosion, which rocked the ground. "What in the world was that?"
He was quickly answered as a familiar looking staff speared into the trunk of the tree. "ELEANOR!" they both shouted at the same time, then rushed towards the source of the explosion. On the way they dodged raining dirt, rocks, trees, and even a cupcake. Neither of them was sure of what happened, but it sure wasn't good. When they reached the edge of Ponyville, they could see hundreds of ponies in town completely transfixed on a large pulsating glow coming from the center of town.
"Wait.." Kent struggled to keep his gaze on it without looking away, it was too bright. But finally a figure made itself clear in the middle of it all. "That must be Eleanor!"
"grv hr ths" Brannon tried to speak with Eleanor's staff in his mouth, Kent grabbed it in his and sped towards the glowing ball of light, a few ponies below cheering. As he flew towards the dark figure in the middle, he could see another, larger then the first. Regardless, he came closer and closer to the first figure, before making it out to be a mossy green pony with a unicorns horn, and covered in blue stripes. her mane was red and black.
"Eleanor! Catch!" Kent dropped the staff, and kicked it towards her, it magically glued to her hooves. She raised the staff above her head, before shoving it straight into the second figures chest. The second figure screamed, before falling to the ground. The light surrounding disappeared, with Eleanor slowly lowing down to the ground. Ponies from all around surrounded the second pony, while Brannon and Kent rushed to Eleanor.
"Thanks for the staff boys. Took you two long enough." A smile came across her face.
"Wait how did you know it was us?" Kent asked
"Well, you knew my name, and you're wearing that armor, which i saw you grab back in the ruins. And I knew that was Brannon, because who else would hang around with you?"
"Oh haha, very funny." Kent pouted. "But... Who's that?" He pointed towards the pony that a crowd was gathering around. Eleanor cleared a path through the crowd.
"Princess Celestia. I think I accidentally drove her insane, such a shame, she seemed so tranquil at first. For a monarch, she wasn't very stable."
"So.. She's dead?"
"No, just paralyzed. She should be fine in an hour or two." Eleanor shrugged. "Hope she doesn't try to kill me again, that would be a bummer." The trio turned to walk away, but was met by six guards wearing armor. Eleanor laughed. "Do you really want to take a chance?" and nodded towards an unconscious princess. The guards looked at each-other, before backing away.
"Let's go to the boutique first, I gotta grab my stuff." Kent led the other two towards the Carousel Boutique.
When they reached the door, they all heard Rainbow Dash scream "I GOT YOU THIS TIME!". Eleanor flawlessly whipped around and smacked the oncoming pony with her staff, Rainbow skidded along the ground before hitting an apple cart, apples pouring on top of her. She tried tackling them again, but once more, Eleanor batted her away with her staff. "There is no way anypony is THAT fast." She straightened herself up "I'm the fastest flier in Equestria, I'm not being beaten by some wanna-be hero and his girlfriend!"
Eleanor blushed "I am NOT his girlfriend!" Rainbow sped towards her once more, but this time her horn glowed, and produced a glowing pink bubble around Rainbow Dash.
"Hey.. Lemme out!" Rainbow beat against the sides of the bubble, but it wouldn't burst.
"You stay here until you have learned your lesson, missy" Eleanor mocked, then kicked the bubble away. Rainbow still yelling as her voice faded. "Now Kent, grab your stuff and let's go." The three went inside, Eleanor cringed at the girlishness of the establishment. A few moments pass, and Kent comes back downstairs holding his loot sack in his mouth. He gave the others a nod, before they turned to leave. As they left, in front of them was Twilight Sparkle.
"S-Stop! I'm warning you..." She was shaking in her hooves.
"Oh please.." Eleanor rolled her eyes "I've beaten you before I can do it again." She trotted up to Twilight, and stared her in the face. "Boo." Twilight squealed, then involuntarily teleported away, Eleanor rolled around on the ground in laughter.
"Uhh, Eleanor?" Brannon spoke up "I think we should get going. there seems to be a mob forming." A chorus of shouts and threats could be heard from a large group of ponies, each marching towards the trio with a random item in their mouth, brandished like a weapon.
"Good idea." She replied, as the three ran in the opposite direction to the mob.
Publishers note: Sorry for finishing this chapter rather early, i ran out of ideas. This is getting harder to write the further i go along. Especially since im not trying to kill somepony.
