- >Anon looks down at the Zebra skeptically
- >He would trust a fellow warrior easily, but this Zebra was not an honorable warrior
- >He tried to kill Anon while asleep!
- >Regardless, if he could help Anon he would take it
- >He didn't bring out his hand to help him up, but he did step off him so he could get up
- >The gash on the Zebras face bled as he stood up, but wobbled from the blood loss
- >Anon reached into his pack, while still watching the Zebra from behind him
- >He brought out the magic bandages
- >Standing, he walked over to the Zebra and squatted in front of him
- "Stay still." He said gruffly
- >He brought out a small amount of the bandage and wrapped it over the wound
- >It seemed to bind well to his head, and he also seemed to brighten up instantly
- >You put the bandages away
- "Come on. Lead me to him. And no tricks, or else you die."
- >The Zebra nodded and lead the way, and Anon stayed well back, his hand never leaving his sword-handle
- >Walking down the path, he silently mourned the loss of Rainbow Dashes dream-catcher
- >It didn't last him very long
- >Later, he stopped the Zebra for lunch
- >He ate in silence, his eyes never leaving the Zebra
- >Soon, they saw a plume of smoke in the distance.
- >Anon ordered the Zebra to go up the path, and he told the Zebra that he would come around the right
- >In reality, he was going around the left
- >He put on his cameo cloak and sneaked down the jungles nearby the smoky village
- >He sees the Zebra walk up to the village guards, who looked like tough mother-fuckers, and he pointed to the right of the path and they ran out there
- "That bastard."
- >But it worked to Anon's advantage
- >Most of the warriors of the village left to the goose-chase
- >Anon decides that now was a good a time as ever.
- >Anon approaches the village quickly and quietly
- >Anon keeps going and avoid the children and female Zebra in the village
- >Anon take an awkward step, and Anon's sword accidentally clatters
- >A kid turns and sees Anon
- >Shit
- >The kid screams and runs off
- >Time to run, stealth is for thieves and slimy assassins anyway
- >Anon approaches the largest tent on top of a hill in the village
- >Anon assume that's where the chief is.
- >Anon run up the path quickly, drawing Anon's weapon as the two guards outside the tent see Anon and draw their spears
- >They move forward, poking with their spears
- >Anon has to stop on his heels and get his sheild ready
- >Behind Anon, the villagers have come forward with rocks and sharp sticks
- >Anon is trapped in
- >Anon decide that hurting the villagers isn't in your best interest
- >Anon run forward and knock the guards spears away with Anon shield and sword
- >Anon slash and slam, dispatching the two easily
- >Anon swing up towards the tent, hearing rocks whiz near you and bouncing across the hard ground
- >Anon runs and brushes through the tent-flap
- >Inside, he sees gold and silver everywhere, with two Zebra women fawning over a big, male Zebra.
- >The chief Zebra gasps and the women scream, you're sword is already out and ready
- >You charge forward, but stop short as the two female Zebras start throwing jewels and gold at you
- >You raise your shield and flinch on through the blows
- >They slow you down enough for the chief to jump through a back-flap in the tent
- >You give chase
- >Damn, he's fast
- >Anon's armor and gear is clattering, and Anon's breath is getting deeper
- >With a powerful burst of energy, Anon goes into overdrive and kicks up dust and rocks with his sprint
- >Even though the Zebra has four legs, Anon's are much longer
- >He bursts forward and jumps up onto an old log, and then jumps
- >The Zebra cannot escape
- >Anon brings down his blade, and the zebra rolls, but a crimson streak and a growl makes Anon know he's hit his target.
- >The Zebra gets up and slams down a foot, and charges
- >Anon can't raise his shield or weapon in time, and he is hit in the gut
- >He got knocked back
- >He slashed wildly, and cut off the top of the Zebra's Mohawk
- >The Zebra turned and ran again
- >Anon got up
- "Not this shit again."
- ----------------------------------
- >The chase began again
- >The Zebra was very fast, he knew that he was going to be killed if he slowed down
- >Anon didn't stop, and kept hot on his hooves.
- >Soon enough he begins to slow, and Anon is right behind him
- >Slashing out with his sword, he clipped the back of the Zebra's flank, and with a screech he fell down.
- "Wait!" The Zebra cried, raising its hooves to defend itself.
- >Anon raises his sword, but stops.
- >He knows better, but he felt like this Zebra had the right to talk before he died.
- >The Zebra sat up a little, and looked at Anon in the eye
- >He began to cry and beg
- "Please.. Please think of my family.. and my tribe.."
- >Anon just stares, his heart not really moved by this display
- >In fact, he found it a bit loathsome
- >As the Zebra stared in his eyes, he saw the Zebra glance to the side for a split-second
- >Before he even thought about it, Anon raised his shield while turning to the left, and within half a second, he felt a large object impact his shield.
- >It was a spear with a tip coated with something dark-blue
- >Anon did the first thing he could think of and his sword found itself stuck inside the ground
- >He reached down and grabbed out Pinkie's knife, and threw it at the Zebra that had betrayed him just a little while ago
- >He went down, clutching his chest
- >Anon turned and grabbed his sword
- >The chief had charged
- >With a spin, he sliced his sword just in time to catch the chief under the chin and down the neck
- >The blade stopped as it hit his hard sternum
- >The chief fell down, dead.
- >Anon looked around to make sure the danger had passed
- >It seemed like it had
- >He walked over to the ambusher Zebra
- >He was clutching his chest, still alive
- >He looked up at Anon
- "Mercy."
- >Anon slit his throat
- >After cleaning Pinkie's knife, Anon returned to the chief's body and sliced out his nose-ring
- >It was a gold thing, but with well fashioned ivory on the sides
- >It was his proof of the kill
- >He could hear the villagers preparing to search for him, and the other warriors of the clan seemed to be returning as well
- >He ran into the woods, his cloak making him disappear from sight.
- >As the day grew short, Anon found a nice spot in the woods and laid himself to rest
- >He didn't start a fire, too obvious
- >He was also so tired he didn't even eat anything
- >He just fell asleep, clutching his sword
- >The next morning he got up and was relieved to not be in some sort of prison cell or worse
- >He now only had one tiny problem; he was lost
- >He spent the better part of the day wandering, until he finally found a path
- >He followed it and found himself back in the town full of Zebra and Ponies
- >He was tired, and it was getting dark
- >He tried to board the last train, but it was too late
- >He'd have to stay here for tonight.
- >Anon entered the hotel and bought a room for the night
- >As he entered, he noticed there wasn't a lock on the door
- >Are you fucking serious
- >Anon pushes up all the furniture in the room, except the bed
- >He sits back and reads for a while before finally turning in
- >He's very cautious that night
- >Suddenly, he is awoken by a voice behind the door
- >He sneaks over closer, and hears two soft voices
- "...Are you sure he's in there? The warrior?"
- "Yes. I'm sure. We need him out of the picture."
- >That didn't sound too good
- >Anon quickly grabbed his things, but had no time to change into his armor, and sneak out through the window
- >Anon was never very agile
- >He climbed the back of the building pretty easily
- >But he was a bit too slow
- >He soon saw an equine head poke out of the window of his room
- "There he is!"
- >Anon tries to hurry down the wall
- >But the baddies get there first
- >Anon looks down and got a decent look at how was after him now
- >They were both ponies, but they wore black cloaks over them, and both wore strange, rusted metal collars.
- >the skinner, female one ordered the bigger male to get some wood
- >They began building a ramp to come up to get Anon
- >Anon hung on, but his options were limited
- >Anon gets an idea as you see the wood being piled up underneath him
- >Anon reaches into the bag, and pulls out the Zap-Apple jam
- "Sorry, Appleajack..." Anon murmurs and shakes the jar
- >He shakes and shakes and soon little bolts of electricity race around inside the jar
- >He waits until the ponies underneath get almost close enough to reach him
- >He throws it down as hard as he can
- >The jar shatters, and electricity zaps the whole pile of wood
- >Fire flares up, the flames making the two ponies scatter
- >Anon quickly hops over and drops down
- >He looks around to make sure the two ran off
- >He then walks up to the pile and kicks it apart
- >Just to make sure the hotel doesn't burn
- >Anon spends the night searching through town for the two and tries to watch his back
- >Soon, the first train of the day comes by and Anon boards as quick as he could.
- >During the train ride, Anon read another article in the book, this time about the magic bandages
- "Magic Bandages are very rare but powerful medical tools. They can heal most known injuries and prevent all forms of infection. Usually only one or two ponies in a generation can actually produce them."
- "The process involves taking a pony very skilled in healing magic, and having them blast a roll of regular bandages with magic."
- "The bandages are then held in a pool of water, and then 6 pony tears are required to be added in the pool. The tears are meant to be based off the elements of harmony, and each should be done in order. Each tear should be contributed by a pony who very strongly represents that element of harmony. So, the first tear would be given by a pony who was considered very honest, the second by one who was joyous and bright, etc. The final tear should be given by a pony very skilled in magic, and is usually given by the maker of the bandages. The strength of the roll is usually proportional to the amount each pony represents his/her tear."
- "Each pony that helps with the ritual may only do so once, and more bandages must be produced by other groups interested in the treasure."
- >Anon nodded at the passage, and felt a bit stupid for using one of these precious gifts on a Zebra who just betrayed him later.
- >He soon began to think up an idea, and would try it out later on, once he got home.
- >In the meantime though, he arrived at Canterlot
- >He entered Canterlot castle and waited his turn for an audience with the Princess
- >However, she soon saw him and waved him over, dismissing her current guest quickly
- >As he approached, she bid goodbye to the others in the room and motioned for him to follow her deeper into the castle
- >He did so
- >Celestia walked deeper into the castle with the Warrior
- >She was the only pony who stood almost as tall as him
- >She intimated him in that way
- >But she was very gentle and kind
- >Not unlike the tribe matron back home...
- >Celestia led him into a circular room
- >The room had about 14 pedestals on it
- >Each pedestal had a symbol upon it
- >Celestia held out a hoof expectantly, and Anon put the chief's nose ring in her hand
- >She looked it over, smiled, and handed it back
- >She approached his pedestal, and pointed her horn towards it
- >Each pedestal had a different locking mechanism
- >Because he was a human, a horn-lock wouldn't help him
- >So instead, Anon's lock was shaped like a hand
- >He placed his hand over it
- >It glowed for a second, and popped open
- >He took the chest out from within the pedestal, and thanked the Princess
- "But of course, Anon. You are part of my special circle. Your talents are indispensable for all Equestria."
- >Anon nodded but spoke
- "I understand. However, I do not like being asked to kill people; I am not an assassin."
- >She nods
- "I know Anon. I'm sorry if you feel this way, but there was no one else better suited."
- >She then looks at you
- "Anything unusual to report while you were there?"
- >Anon thought, then spoke
- "There were ponies, in black cloaks. They also had strange metal colors. I think they were trying to kill me, but I ran them off."
- >Celestia stares off into space for a moment, then returns to look at Anon
- "Thank you Anon, that is indeed important."
- >Anon thinks about asking why, but doesn't
- >Instead, he simply bows and leaves, his bounty in tow.
- -----------------------------------------------------------
- >Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all walked down the path
- >They weren't sure about this, but soon Anon's cabin came into view.
- "...Is it true? What diamond tiara says? Does he really eat... ponies?"
- "No of course not silly! He just eats.... other things."
- >They walked up to the cabin and looked around
- "It looks very secure."
- >They couldn't find a way inside
- >Soon, Scootaloo had an idea
- >She pointed up to the roof of the cottage and they made their way up
- >Once they got there, they saw the chimney and slide down
- >They came out directly onto the fire pit, thankfully it had been out for a while
- >They coughed as ash got up and all around them
- "Uggh! There is ash in my coat!" Sweetie Belle said, annoyed
- >Scootaloo and Apple Bloom started exploring the whole room
- "...He's actually very boring." Apple Bloom said aloud.
- >They soon gave up the search
- "...I thought he was going to have treasure, or a tomb, or something..." Sweetie Belle said as they slowly trotted towards the door
- >Suddenly, she tripped and a corner of the rug was flung up
- >There was a trapdoor
- >The three looked at each other, and without a word, the decision was made
- "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS WARRIOR HORDE EXPLORERS, YAY!"
- >They opened the trap-door and peered into the darkness beneath.
- >The three fillies made their way down there but couldn't see anything
- >They shifted around in the darkness
- "Hey! Sweetie Belle! Use your horn thingy and give us some light will ya'!"
- >Sweetie Belle focuses and managed to make a soft light glow from her horn
- >With that light, the ponies found a torch and lit it, revealing the chamber
- >Inside, they saw a wonderland of amazing things
- >Along the walls were drawings and pictures, as well as bottles and little broken things
- >There were bones and skulls everywhere too, trophies.
- >As they got deeper into the rectangular space, they saw a large pile of bits pilled up in the back with several gems and jewels lying in the mess
- >But at the very back they saw something special
- >It looked like a pendant, laying on a table
- >They got closer and closer, and tried to get a look at it
- >It was a small piece of bone, and had a engraving on it that had a man who looked similar to Anon himself
- >Apple Bloom raised a hoof to touch it
- "DON'T TOUCH THAT!" a voice boomed
- >They turned in fright
- >Anon stood with his sword out and ready
- -----------------------------------------------------------
- END PART 3