Snowstormbringer Writings

blog for my writings, both original works and Fanfiction

[snowstormbringerwrites]

RC9GP Chapter 8

Research

Twilight Sparkle Paced in front of the doors of her castle. Around her were various crystal pillars, Tapestries, and A staircase leading to the actual castle.

“Twilight darling, you must calm down” Rarity crooned from her place on the stairs with the others. They had been watching Twilight for the past 5 minutes.

“Calm down? Calm down!? Rarity I can’t ‘calm down’ Princess Celestia sent me a letter saying that she wanted to ask me a few questions and that she was on her way here. I mean what does she want to ask me? What if I don’t know the answer? WHAT IF IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT AND I DON’T KNOW THE ANSWER!?” Twilight would have ranted on for quite a while if it wasn't for Apple Jack

“Rarity’s right sugar cube, you need to calm down. This isn’t your first rodeo when it comes to tests and the Princess”

“Yeah, you’re totally gonna nail it” Rainbow Dash stated “right guys?”

The others simultaneously agreed to make Twilight smile.

A fanfare could be heard from outside followed by two of the Princesses royal guards opening the doors. Princess Celestia strode in and gave Twilight a hug. Which Twilight returned.

“Princess, I’m so glad you're here. How was your travel?” Twilight asked after pulling away from the hug.

“It was just fine Twilight. Celestia answered in her usual caring tone “I’m sure you got my letter explaining why I’m here?”

“YES! Yes, I did. I have the library all prepared follow me.

Twilight lead Princess Celestia to the castle's Library and they sat down at one of the tables.

“Can I get you anything to drink or eat?”

“Just some water, thank you”

“Spike, can you get Princess Celestia some water please?”

“Right away Twilight” Spike jogged out of the room and Twilight turned back to Celestia.

“So what did you want to ask me?”

“Do you think you can help me do some research?”

“Say what now?”

“My duties as Princess take up most of my day, and I don’t have much time to do this research for myself. Plus I know how much you love research.”

“Yes! I love research! What do you want me to look into?”

Celestia was about to answer when Spike walked in with her water.

“Here you go Your Highness” Spike chirped placing the cup on the table and leaving.

“Thank you Spike” Celestia called after him, then focused her attention back on Twilight. “I want you to Research the Ninja of Norrisville.

“Isn’t he the pony who saved you?”

“Yes, he is. I saw him a second time after that incident and he performed some kind of spell I did not recognize”

“I thought he was an earth pony?”

“He was, that’s why I want to do some research on him”

“Okay, so what kind of spell was it?”

“Some kind of transfiguration or shapeshifting spell”

Twilight Started pulling various books off the shelf

“Changeling?”

“No, He had wings that appeared to turn into ribbons and become part of his suit”

“Wait? Wings? So he looked exactly like that pegasus Rainbow Dash met in Canterlot?”

“Yes they were the same pony”

“But what was he doing in Canterlot?”

Celestia could only shrug and Twilight continued to look through her books.

A few months Twilight got on a train to the Canterlot Castle to meet Princess Celestia and review what she found

“The only transfiguration or shapeshifting spells I can find are only performed by high-level unicorns and alicorns. So how did he do it? She wondered out loud, still looking through her books.

“ I’m still trying to get over the fact that the pegasus I meet was also an earth pony,” Rainbow Dash said, pushing Twilight’s book down.  

“And A Hero” Rarity swooned, then she quickly snapped into a serious mood “But, he REALLY needs to update his outfit.”  She looked around at the others as they stared at her with varying degrees of confusion and amusement.

 “What? 800 years in the Exact Same outfit. He Really needs to update”

“Rarity, why don’t we talk about his outfit after we figure out the shapeshifting thing” AppleJack interjected. Rarity gave her an offended look

“Umm… Twilight? Are you sure he’s not a changeling?” Fluttershy squeaked” as Rarity and AppleJack started a small argument.

“Yes, Fluttershy” Twilight sighed. “Changelings have a distinct transformation, Celestia’s description of the Ninja’s does not match. She said his wings turned into ribbons and became one with his suit.” She closed her book and grabbed another “Which is another thing I have not been able to find anywhere” She slammed her book shut with a huff.

“I may not know a lot about magic but spells have to be created, so what if he made the spells himself” Rainbow Dash suggested peeking at the third book Twilight grabbed.

“That’s possible, But once again he would need to be a unicorn or alicorn”

The five barley reacted when Pinkie Pie popped up between Rainbow Dash and Twilight despite being on the opposite side of the both a second earlier.

“What if he wasn’t the one to cast the spell. Instead, somepony cast it on an item that he wears, like his scarf or his mask”

Twilight shook her head “That is a possibility I already looked into. All the spells I found were close, but all of them would require a high-level alicorn to cast it”

“So?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“The Ninja is 800 years old, the only alicorn around at that time was Princess Celestia.” Twilight explained “Why would she ask me to look up a spell she cast? And if she did she would have written it down, so why can’t I find it?

“What if the Ninja is an alicorn?” Rarity wondered out loud

Twilight stared at Rarity with a ‘why didn’t I think of that’ look on her face.

“I mean all the spells that would allow him to pull off the wing trick are all high-level alicorn stuff” Rarity explained, “And if he can make his wing disappear and reappear who says he can’t do it with a horn?”

“Rarity…..You…..Are…..A GENIUS!

“So that’s what my friends and I were able to come up with” Twilight finished presenting all here research to Princess Celestia, even the dead ends.

Celestia looked over the organized chaos of papers, book, pictures, and some videos and smiled. “Great job Twilight, This is way more than I expected for answers”

Twilight beamed with pride

“Ummm excuse me… Your Highness?”  both looked to see a unicorn peeking in through the door, a clipboard in her magical grasp. “You're going to be late for your meeting with the Sultan of Saddle Arabia”

Celestia sighed and shook her head “I’ll be right there Silver Scholar”

The unicorn in question nodded and left the room.

“Well it looks like duty calls Twilight” Celestia sighed as she stood up “Thank you again for helping me with this research”

“It was no problem Princess” Twilight responded “you know how much I love research”

Celestia started making her way towards the door before pausing. She pulled a card out of the desk that was near her and handed it to Twilight.

“What’s this?” Twilight asked examining the card.

“A pass for the restricted part of the library” Celestia responded, “I think you earned it”

Twilight gasped and failed to hold back her excitement “THANK YOU SO MUCH PRINCESS” She hugged Celestia, which she returned.

“Your welcome” Celestia chuckled “Just remember, the books were restricted for a reason”

“I will, thank you again bye!” Twilight rushed her goodbye and her exit in her excitement to get to the library.

Celestia simply laughed at her student's antics and left for her meeting.  

[lichen-soup-scribe]

Writing Traumatic Injuries References

So, pretty frequently writers screw up when they write about injuries. People are clonked over the head, pass out for hours, and wake up with just a headache… Eragon breaks his wrist and it’s just fine within days… Wounds heal with nary a scar, ever…

I’m aiming to fix that.

Here are over 100 links covering just about every facet of traumatic injuries (physical, psychological, long-term), focusing mainly on burns, concussions, fractures, and lacerations. Now you can beat up your characters properly!

General resources

WebMD

Mayo Clinic first aid

Mayo Clinic diseases

First Aid

PubMed: The source for biomedical literature

Diagrams: Veins (towards heart), arteries (away from heart) bones, nervous system, brain

Burns

General overview: Includes degrees

Burn severity: Including how to estimate body area affected

Burn treatment: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degrees

Smoke inhalation

Smoke inhalation treatment

Chemical burns

Hot tar burns

Sunburns

Incisions and Lacerations

Essentials of skin laceration repair (including stitching techniques)

When to stitch (Journal article–Doctors apparently usually go by experience on this)

More about when to stitch (Simple guide for moms)

Basic wound treatment

Incision vs. laceration: Most of the time (including in medical literature) they’re used synonymously, but eh.

Types of lacerations: Page has links to some particularly graphic images–beware!

How to stop bleeding: 1, 2, 3

Puncture wounds: Including a bit about what sort of wounds are most likely to become infected

More about puncture wounds

Wound assessment: A huge amount of information, including what the color of the flesh indicates, different kinds of things that ooze from a wound, and so much more.

Home treatment of gunshot wound, also basics More about gunshot wounds, including medical procedures

Tourniquet use: Controversy around it, latest research

Location pain chart: Originally intended for tattoo pain, but pretty accurate for cuts

General note: Deeper=more serious. Elevate wounded limb so that gravity draws blood towards heart. Scalp wounds also bleed a lot but tend to be superficial. If it’s dirty, risk infection. If it hits the digestive system and you don’t die immediately, infection’ll probably kill you. Don’t forget the possibility of tetanus! If a wound is positioned such that movement would cause the wound to gape open (i.e. horizontally across the knee) it’s harder to keep it closed and may take longer for it to heal.

Broken bones

Types of fractures

Setting a broken bone when no doctor is available

Healing time of common fractures

Broken wrists

Broken ankles/feet

Fractured vertebrae: Neck (1, 2), back

Types of casts

Splints

Fracture complications

Broken noses

Broken digits: Fingers and toes

General notes: If it’s a compound fracture (bone poking through) good luck fixing it on your own. If the bone is in multiple pieces, surgery is necessary to fix it–probably can’t reduce (“set”) it from the outside. Older people heal more slowly. It’s possible for bones to “heal” crooked and cause long-term problems and joint pain. Consider damage to nearby nerves, muscle, and blood vessels.

Concussions

General overview

Types of concussions 1, 2

Concussion complications

Mild Brain Injuries: The next step up from most severe type of concussion, Grade 3

Post-concussion syndrome

Second impact syndrome: When a second blow delivered before recovering from the initial concussion has catastrophic effects. Apparently rare.

Recovering from a concussion

Symptoms: Scroll about halfway down the page for the most severe symptoms

Whiplash

General notes: If you pass out, even for a few seconds, it’s serious. If you have multiple concussions over a lifetime, they will be progressively more serious. Symptoms can linger for a long time.

Character reaction:

Shock (general)

Physical shock: 1, 2

Fight-or-flight response: 1, 2

Long-term emotional trauma: 1 (Includes symptoms), 2

First aid for emotional trauma

Treatment (drugs)

WebMD painkiller guide

Treatment (herbs)

1, 2, 3, 4

Miscellany

Snake bites: No, you don’t suck the venom out or apply tourniquettes

Frostbite

Frostbite treatment

Severe frostbite treatment

When frostbite sets in: A handy chart for how long your characters have outside at various temperatures and wind speeds before they get frostbitten

First aid myths: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Includes the ones about buttering burns and putting snow on frostbite.

Poisons: Why inducing vomiting is a bad idea

Poisonous plants

Dislocations: Symptoms 1, 2; treatment. General notes: Repeated dislocations of same joint may lead to permanent tissue damage and may cause or be symptomatic of weakened ligaments. Docs recommend against trying to reduce (put back) dislocated joint on your own, though information about how to do it is easily found online.

Muscular strains

Joint sprain

Resuscitation after near-drowning: 1, 2

Current CPR practices: We don’t do mouth-to-mouth anymore.

The DSM IV, for all your mental illness needs.

Electrical shock

Human response to electrical shock: Includes handy-dandy voltage chart

Length of contact needed at different voltages to cause injury

Evaluation protocol for electric shock injury

Neurological complications

Electrical and lightning injury

Cardiac complications

Delayed effects and a good general summary

Acquired savant syndrome: Brain injuries (including a lightning strike) triggering development of amazing artistic and other abilities

Please don’t repost! You can find the original document (also created by me) here.

[snowstormbringerwrites]

RC9GP Chapter 7

Lost and Found Part 2

Celestia laid on the bed in her suite staring at the Nomicon. She was aware that she should return him to his rightful owner, but she just wanted to see him again. That and she had no idea how to find his owner. She tilted the book to look at his cover.

“Nomi? I know you’re in there. I know you know what’s going on. I just want to say, I’m sorry”

“Your majesty”

Celestia groaned at the fake sing songy voice of the hotels owner. She would have avoided him if she could, but he owned pretty much everything in this town.

“What do you want Hannibal?” She turned to see the pony in question standing in her doorway. He didn’t even knock.

“After what you just experienced you must be so traumatized” he crooned in fake care “So I had my robo-apes cook

You a special meal “

Celestia gave Mcfist a board look before putting Nomicon on her bedside table and ushering them in. Mcfist stayed in the doorway while his robots gave her her meal, his eyes fixated on the Nomicon.

“Uhhhhhhhhh…. Where did you get that?”

“Found it, I intend to give it back to h-”

“Ooooooorrrrrrr, you can give it to me and I will give it to its owner.” Mcfist interjected, one of his robo-apes reaching for the book. The Ninja’s secrets were so close to his grasp.

Celestia grabbed Nomicon and held the book close to her chest. She couldn’t really explain why she didn’t trust Mcfist, there was just something off about him.

“I can do it myself, I need to take a walk anyway. Thank you for offering Hannibal” She smiled one of her well practiced smiles, stood up and walked past Mcfist the Nomicon still close to her chest.

“Are you sure about that, your Majesty? It’s getting late.”

Celestia simply ignored him and left the building.

Randy groaned as he entered his room. He dropped his bag on the floor and flopped on to his bed. Both the fight and the hours of games played with Howard had caught up with him and he was exhausted. He glanced at his bag, Nomicon had been unusually quiet not even calling him when it was time for training.

“Shit!” Randy jumped out of bed and ran over to is bag

“I’m so sorry Nomicon! I was playing games with Howard and I lost track of time!” He dug through his bag only to find the Nomicon missing.

“No no no no no no no” he grabbed his phone and called Howard.

“What do you want Cunningham? It’s like three in the morning.” Howard’s voice was groggy and sleep laden.

Randy stole a glance at his clock,12:35. “Howard it’s only 12, and the Nomicon’s missing!”

“Well good riddance if you ask me”

Randy huffed and hung up. Grabbing his mask out of his bag he headed over to his window. Once his mask was on he jumped out his window and summoned his wings, climbing into the sky. His flight was still wobbly but he managed to make it the school with any complications. Landing on the ground he galloped the rest of the way to where the fight had taken place, silently begging that he had just dropped it when he had hit a tree. After checking and double checking the area Randy groaned and took to the sky once again heading to where the fight had ended.

Randy found himself flying home with his hoofs devoid of the Nomicon. He had checked everywhere he could think of for the book only to find nothing. Sighing he watched the ground below him pass by. When he passed the park he spotted something white. Curiosity got the better of him and he went to investigate   

Celestia sat in the soft grass of the park stargazing, the Nomicon sitting next to her.  Glancing over she was yet again disappointed to see him inactive, she picked the book up and tried to open him once again. She didn’t know why she expected him to open. It had been thousands of years since the book had mysteriously disappeared from her room in the castle. It was clear he had chosen a new owner, and there was nothing she could do about it. The most she could do was return him to his owner, whoever that was. All that she had to go off was the mask symbol. When the Nomicon donned a soft red glow Celestia gasped and looked around her for any other pony, The only way she didn’t look was up. She yelped when a small pegasus crash landed a little ways from her, he rolled and stopped with his fore legs splayed out in front of him, face in the ground, and his hind legs in the air.

Celestia carefully approached the pegasus and saw he matched the description Rainbow Dash gave for the pegasus named Ninja. He was small, smaller than the average pony but still bigger than a foal. He groaned and stood up, his back still to Celestia.

“Not my best landing, but getting better” He muttered to himself  retracting his wings.

Celestia gasped as she watched the pegasi’s wings turn into ribbons and disappear into his suit. Turning him into the very same ninja that saved her earlier that day. The Nomicon which was still in her magical grasp glowed a bright red and growled in an attempt to catch the Pony’s attention.

Randy groaned as he pulled himself of the ground. This wasn't his first crash landing, and he doubted it would be his last.

“Not my best landing, but getting better” He muttered to himself  retracting his wings. He picked up on a sound that reminded him of a gasp and a unicorn's horn when it was using magic. What got him to turn around was an all too familiar red glow and growl

“NOMICON!” He whipped around to see a shocked and confused Princess Celestia holding Nomicon. The two stared at each other until Princess Celestia spoke up

“Ummm… I believe this belongs to you” She held out Nomi for Randy to take.  

Randy shook himself out of his stupor “yes!” he cleared his throat “Yes it is thank you for finding hi-it” he grinned through his mask and took the Nomicon from her.

Celestia took to walking around Randy examining him “ how did you make your wings disappear like that?”

“well , it’s all part of the suit. I can’t actually explain it, it’s just something I can do” Randy stumbled out the answer, watching Celestia. He couldn’t help but feel like he was being interrogated by her.

“How did you come to be in possession of Nomicon?”

Randy almost choked on nothing. “Okay one, how do you know his- errr it’s name? And two how are you aware I did not always have him?”

Celestia had stopped walking around him and simply looked at him. Randy meet her gaze, he didn’t see any sign of hostility or anger. All he saw was sadness. He sighed remembering that Nomi told him about his friendship with Celestia.

“You miss him don’t you?”

Now it was Celestia’s turn to be be taken aback “How are you aware I once knew him?”

“He told me”

“How?”

“He never talked to you?”

Celestia simply shook her head

Randy thought for a bit before heading for a small collection of bushes that could hide them both becking Celestia to follow him. When she sat down with him in the bushes he set down Nomicon and opened him up alowing both of them to be sucked into the Nomicon.

Celestia screamed as various doodle creatures and symbols rushed past her a glance at the Ninja revealed that he wasn’t really phased by it. Before they hit the ground a cloud appeared and caught them. Ninja jumped right off.

Hey Nomi! You have a guest” he called out.

“I know Ninja”

Celestia turned to the all too familiar voice and simply stared at her old friend and he returned the stare.

“Hey Tia, long time no see”

Celestia didn’t say anything, she jumped of the cloud and ran over to Nomi pulling him into a hug.

“I missed you so much”

“Me too”

Celestia pulled away and looked into Nomicon’s eyes. “I’m so sor-

“ I know, and I forgive you” Nomicon interjected “You made a mistake, and I’ve had thousands of years to think about it. I forgive you.

Celestia pulled Nomi into another hug.

Randy Gasped as he was forced into the real world. A few minutes later Princess Celestia followed.

“I never knew he could do that. How come he showed you that but never me?”

Randy sighed and picked up The Nomicon “From what I understand he’s been in this book form for thousands of years. Over those years he slowly regained his strength. He’s been able to schloop ponies into the book for about eight hundred years”

Celestia simply nodded and stood up with Randy following her lead.

“May I walk you home, Your Highness?”

“ I guess you can, Ninja”

Randy took a few steps in a random direction before stopping and turning to the Princess

“Uhhh… Where are you staying?

“The Mcsuite Hotel”

Randy groaned and mumbled under his breath.

“I’m not really fond of him two Ninja” Celestia sighed.

The two shared a quick laugh before leaving in the direction of the hotel.

“So where did you find Nomicon?”

“Under a tree on the high school's campus”

“I KNEW I DROPPED HIM THERE!”

[snowstormbringerwrites]

RC9GP Chapter 6

Lost and Found Part 1

Randy felt the air being knocked out of him as he collided with a tree. Groaning he stood up and faced the stanked pony. Who ever they were they were a nasty monster, a large armored dragon like creature. A dragon monster

“Alright” Randy huffed pulling out his sword “Let's dance” Bolting around the dragon monster, his eyes scanned for the stanked object he needed to destroy.

Unfortunately he didn’t see the tail heading straight for his face.  For the second time that day he was sent flying into a tree. The dragon monster roared and ran past him toward town.

“Hey! Where you going?” Randy shouted galloping after the runaway dragon monster.

Randy chased the dragon monster into the center of town when he noticed something weird, royal guards had joined the fight. By this time Randy had wrapped his scarf around the dragon monsters neck, and was being dragged behind it.  

“Why don’t you leave this to the professionals kid” one of them shouted.

“ I’m THE NINJA! I am professional!” Randy shouted back.

“Well great job doing your job, Ninja!”

Randy growled and climbed  on to the dragon monster’s back, making his way to its neck. A flash of green caught his eye, a locket was around the dragon monster’s neck. He started to make his way over to it when he heard the guards get more panicked, looking up he saw the Princess. She was talking to some news ponies and was unaware of the upcoming danger. Foregoing the locket Randy wrapped his scarf around the monster dragons mouth and pulled, the dragon monster’s mouth snapped shut and it’s head jerked toward Randy. The dragon monster stopped and jerked its head back towards Princess Celestia, taking Randy with them.

Randy hung in a Spiderman like pose from the dragon monster’s bound mouth, high enough to be face to face with a startled Princess Celestia. He became aware of all the news ponies taking pictures, Front page he bet.

“ With all do respect your highness, I suggest you leave” Randy stated in his calmest voice.

The Princess shook her head and started to leave, her guards following close behind.

 Once they were gone Randy swung himself back onto the dragon monster’s neck and used his “Ninja Sai!” to break the locket’s chain. Green fog left the dragon monster leaving behind a confused royal guard. Randy looked at the locket, inside was a picture of the guard and a mare, who looked like she was expecting a foal.

Randy gave the locket back to its rightful owner and “Smoke Bombed”.

“YOU SAVED THE PRINCESS!” was what Howard greeted him with when he back.

“Yeah, I’m not blind Howard” Randy mumbled trudging to the nearest bathroom to take care of his injuries.

Howard stopped thinking of all of the ways they could take advantage from Randy saving the Princess and turned his attention to him “ Gee… You alright Bro?”

“ yeah, yeah I’m fine, just got slammed into a few trees and DRAGGED ACROSS TOWN!”  Randy’s sarcasm laced comment made Howard flinch.

“Sorry Bro, just a little caught up in the moment”

Randy sighed “ I’m sorry too, just a bad fight”

The two sat there in a bit a silence before looking at each other

“Gamehole?”

“Gamehole”

Celestia stared at the black book that was sitting incontinently on the ground in front of her. Using her magic she picked up the book and looked at its cover, the green mask symbol surrounded by the red designs confirmed her suspicions. she never forgot the book and how it came to be.

“So this is where you’ve been all these years” She smiled like she just ran into an old friend. She turned the book and tried to open it, nothing. She sighed and rested her forehead against the book.

“What’d I do to see you again old friend” she whispered.  

“PRINCESS!” Celestia turned to see Twilight Sparkle and her friends galloping towards her.

“I heard what happened! Are you ok?” Twilight asked, her friends gathering around her.

“I’m fine Twilight. Some pony the residents called ‘Ninja’ saved me” Celestia answered calmly turning her focus away from the Nomicon.

“Male? Pegasus? Black suit that covers all except his eyes with red markings? Sapphire eyes, tan coat, purple tail?” Rainbow Dash cut in.

“Uhh.. yes to all but the pegasus one, he was a earth pony” Celestia answered in a confused manner “Why do you ask?”

“Cause I meet a pegasus named Ninja back in Canterlot.” Rainbow Dash answered.

“Related?” Rarity suggested

“Makes sense to me” Apple Jack answered.

Twilight turned away from her friends conversation and back the Celestia “you sure you’re all right.”

“Yes Twilight, I’m fine” Sighing Celestia back at the Nomicon.

“Hey Cunningham?”

“What?”

“Not that I’m complaining but, Is it me or has the Nomicon been unusually quiet today?”

 “Yeah, You're right, maybe I should check…”

“No! That stupid book isn’t wonking up our fun for once! And we are going to enjoy it!”

“I was going to say check to see if it’s still in my bag but I guess it can wait”

“Uh-huh!”

[brynwrites]

There are two types of writers…

Writer A: “I’ve fleshed this character out to the point where they’re more real then I am. I know everything about them, including their blood type, their thirty-first favorite song, what they did for their sixth birthday, and which brand of apples they prefer.”

Writer B: “This character exists as a full person in my head, but I know absolutely nothing about them. Once I forced them to talk about themselves,  and they simultaneous lied about their past and told me accurate trivia facts I don’t remember learning.”

[snowstormbringerwrites]

RC9GP Chapter 5

WonderBolt

Randy stood in the Canterlot’s empty,  Wonderbolts stadium with his mask on staring at the sky. In one fluid motion he jumped into the air and his suit formed a pair of feathered wings, clumsily carrying him into the sky. After the Wonderbolts performance Nomicon admitted he was impressed and that  “if he could learn stuff like that he would be a great ninja” Randy decided to take advantage of the the fact that he was staying in Canterlot for the weekend and practice in the stadium. After a minute or two he managed to reach a stray cloud and land, already breathing heavy. Looking around he spotted a cloud ring meant for the flyers to speed through, opening his wings he made his way over to it. His wings were screaming in protest by the time he reached it and in a moment of clumsiness he suddenly decreased altitude, his front hooves hitting the ring. “Thinking” quick he folded his wings and balanced on his front hooves performing a hoof-stand in the center of the ring.  Looking down Randy realized just how high up he was. He gulped and tried to stop shaking, his mind freezing.

Rainbow Dash walked through the crowd of ponies at the after party. Among them were her friends, news ponies, and VIPs, which included the princesses and some Mcfist pony. She enjoyed the praise from them for hours before she started to feel tired. Leaving the party she walked past the stadium, a bit of movement caught her eye. Looking over she saw a small pegasus. What made him interesting to her was the ninja outfit he was wearing, it covered everything except his eyes. She could see the bit of coat between his eyes was a light peach. His tail was purple in color which probably meant his mane was too. Rainbow expected his wings to be peach too, but they matched his suit instead black with red flight feathers. “Probably dyed” Rainbow thought to herself, even though she had never heard of dying feathers. The pegasus was performing a hoof-stand in one of the rings that were used in the performance, his cobalt blue eyes focused on the ground.  Her interest was peaked, Rainbow made her way down to the front seats and sat down to watch the pegasus.

Randy finally came back to reality. Taking to deep, calming breath he flipped his hind legs over the rest of him so he was hanging facing away  from the ring. He used his hind legs to gain enough momentum to let go of the ring and turn around midair to grab it again. “Now the hard part” He whispered to himself and let go of the ring. He closed his eyes and let gravity take over, unaware of the blue pegasus preparing to zoom in and catch him.

Just as Rainbow was about to take flight when the pegasus turned in mid air and flung open his wings letting him glide safely to the ground. Rainbow let go of the breath she was holding and started clapping causing the pegasus to jump in surprise.

Randy was not expecting an “applause” when he reached the ground, jerking towards the source of the noise revealed a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane.

“It needed to be about 20% cooler, but impressive” She said with a smirk on her face.

“ who are you” Randy asked taking a defensive stance.

“Names Rainbow Dash” The pegasus answered,flying down to stand in front of him “what about you?”

“Ninja”

“Ninja…..” Rainbow dragged the name out looking for a last part.

Randy’s mind reeled for an answer the ninja never needed a last part. Well why did the nomicon chose him? Nomicon said he was chosen because he had the heart of a hero, so “Heart!, Ninja Heart”

“Well Ninja Heart, what's got you here so late?”

“Practicing , you?”

“After party from today’s performance”

“I thought you looked familiar” Randy said perking up realizing this was the newest Wonderbolt “So this was your very first show today?”

Rainbow dash scoffed “darn right,I was totally awesome wasn’t I?”

Randy nodded enthusiastically

“RAINBOW DASH! WHERE ARE YOU? WE HAVEN’T FINISHED THE CAKE YET!”

Rainbow Dash laughed “ well looks like they noticed I wasn’t there, time to go back” She turned around “ why don’t you join me? Pretty sure the others would like to meet you”

Randy stared at Rainbow, “uhhhhh… yeah sure” He chuckled nervously.

“It’s okay, come on I want you to meet the others”

[snowstormbringerwrites]

RC9GP Chapter 4

Train Ride

Randy had never been more excited in his life. He won two backstage passes to the next Wonderbolts performance!

“Howard look!” Randy squealed showing the passes to him.

The pudgy unicorn looked up from his game before scoffing at the passes. “ why the juice would you even apply for that stupid contest Cunningham? We’re not even Pegasi”

Randy’s face fell at his friend's reaction “you don’t have to be a pegasi to like the Wonderbolts Howard”

“Yeah? But we can’t walk on clouds.”

“The performance is in Canterlot, and even the Cloudsdale the stadium is made to hold all ponies”

“Still dumb”

Howard, stop being so wonk”

“I’m being the wonk one?”

“You know what, I wanted to spend a ninja free day with you and you refuse, because you don’t want to do what I want to do for once. I’ll find somepony else to go with!”

“Good luck shoob”

Randy sighed as he trotted away from what remained of Mcfist’s latest robot. He left The Wonderbolts performance was tomorrow and he still had yet to find someone to go with. Theresa had a competition, Julian said something about a fear of heights, and Juggo and accordion Dave said they weren't interested, he even asked Danny and Jake. Sitting down at his spot at the lunch table Howard turned to look at him.

“So, find anypony to go with you yet?”

Randy grumbled at his smugness and was about to answer when a flash from the nomicon caught his attention. “Nomicon”He muttered getting up and heading towards the nearest bathroom.

“You got the stupid book to go with you???” Howard asked looking up to see Randy heading towards the bathroom. “Oh, Nomicon as in The Nomicon wants you”

Having heard Howard’s question Randy grinned, he had an idea.

Randy face planted in the Nomicon, shaking his head he looked up at the sky waiting for the lesson to appear.

“There is no lesson Young Ninja, I just wanted to talk to you.”

Randy turn to address Nomicon walking toward him in all his Kirin glory.  “That’s O.K. I wanted to ask you something as well”

Nomicon simply blinked “What’s up with you and Howard? As much as I despise him, his friendship has been proven to be important to you. So this argument you two are having concerns me.”

Randy wasn’t surprised by Nomicon’s concern, he was always making sure Randy was mental health was 100% “It’s not really anything for you to worry about. It’s just, I won these tickets to a Wonderbolts performance in Canterlot and Howard doesn't want to go cause he doesn’t  like the Wonderbolts. I said I’d go with somepony else and responded with good luck , it’s like he thinks he’s the only pony worth hanging out with but if he doesn’t want to do something then I can’t either.”

Nomicon stayed silent while his student as he ranted, waiting for him to finish getting all the built up frustration off his chest. “Why don’t you just go alone?”

“Cause I don’t want to go alone and it would just prove Howard right”

“You got to have more than just Howard for friends”

“ I do, but they’re all busy”

“Even ghost boy, and the dragon?”

“Both have family trips”

Nomicon sighed “ you’re telling me all your friends are busy and can’t go with you?”

“Not counting you, yes”

“Excuse me?”

Randy started to regret his decision, but there was no going back now. “Do… You want to go see The Wonderbolts with me?”

Nomicon stared at his student, not sure how to respond. “I’m not busy, but I haven't been outside of this book for years. Everything has changed and I don’t how to act in your world”

Randy visibly deflated “you’re right asking you was stupid”

“I didn't say it was a bad idea, I just need some time to think about it. Whens this show?”

Randy perked up “sorry for being last minute butI leave for Canterlot tomorrow”

“Alright give me tonight to think about it”

“But what if you say no?”

“Then go alone and show Howard you don’t need him to have a good time”

Nomicon was beginning to regret his decision, he had said yes. But wasn’t the problem he was quite amazed by how much things had changed while he was in his book form. It was all the ponies staring at him, he was significantly taller than all of them and the fact that he was an unknown species. He stood out like a sore thumb. He leaned toward Randy. “I’m going to have to return to my book form soon, just to save energy”

Randy looked up from his game “ O.K just let me know when “

“Can we do it now”

“Yeah just let me finish this boss”

Nomicon sighed and looked at around the train, the ponies who were staring at him quickly averted their gazes. His gaze fell on a purple Alicorn who quickly looked away and joined the conversation with the other ponies that were at her booth.

“Twilight darling, I don’t care how strange somepony looks. Staring just isn’t polite, let alone princess like”

Twilight turn to Rarity and gave her a sheepish smile. She had been staring at the Kirin since he had boarded the train, mainly because Celestia told her they were extinct.  Yet there one was. “Sorry Rarity, but do know what he his?”

“He looks like a dragon deer! Or a deer dragon which one sounds better to you!?” Pinkie chirped and she would have continued if AppleJack had not cut her off

“Does it really matter what he is, I doubt it’s something we should worry about. He’s on ah train in the middle of the day for crying out loud”

Twilight cast a quick glance at the kirin to see he had left ,along with the earth pony he was sharing a booth with. “Where’d he go?”

“Probably to get some food, it is lunchtime” Pinkie said jumping out of the booth “at least I think it is, I’m hungry and it’s afternoon so it must be lunch time!”

The rest watched Pinkie bounce down the aisle and disappear through the train cars door.

“So… Why are we making a big deal over the the unknown pony?” Fluttershy whispered.

“That’s a kirin guys!” Twilight whispered yelled.

“Ah what know?”

“A kirin, I read about them awhile back and when I asked celestia about them, she told me they were extinct!”  

“Well, that explains why you were staring. But that doesn't excuse it” Rarity stated, taking a hairbrush out of her saddlebag and fixing her mane.

“I know. But think about it! If there’s one here in Equestria there might be a small pocket of them that lived! Maybe they even have their own kingdom!

“Twilight calm down, For all we know these kirin could be just as rare as alicorns”

“Yeah, how bout instead of kicking up a ruckus, we talk to him.”

“I agree with AppleJack… as long as I don’t have to do it”

Randy trotted back to seat with a plate or food from the Dining car. After Nomicon changed back to his book form he hid him in his saddlebag and grabbed some food. After sitting down he pulled out his game and continued playing as he ate. After a while he became aware of somepony standing next to him. Pausing his game he looked up to see a purple alicorn he recognized from the news. Momentarily confused Randy stared at her, then realized she most likely saw Nomicon and wanted to ask about him. Deciding to play it cool Randy put on a smile “ can I help you?”

“Hi, I’m Twilight Sparkle”

“ I know who you are”

“You do?”

“You’re all over the news, how would anyone not know you”

“ well, anyways I was wondering where your friend went?”

“Who?”

“The kirin you were sitting with”

Randy was taken aback by the fact that Twilight knew what Nomi was, then again she was a princess. “ how did you know what he was?”

“I read about them, plus Princess Celestia told me about them when I was her student”

Randy may have been known for his obliviousness, but even he could see Twilight’s poorly contained excitement. He had already given away that he knew Nomicon. So it was either convince her to go away or convince Nomicon to come out and talk. Both were highly unlikely, so might as well try both. “I can understand your curiosity but as his friend he trust me and I can’t talk behind his back like this”

“That’s okay I wanted to talk to him, I just don’t know where he went”

Randy’s fake smile grew “okay, let me go find him. But a word of warning, he’s quite shy so if he doesn’t want to talk there is nothing I can do”

“Thanks”

Randy quickly trotted to the bathroom at the far end of the train and pulled out Nomicon. Before he could even do anything Nomi transformed.

“Please tell me you heard everything” Randy pleaded.

“I did and don’t worry, I got this” Nomicon sighed, marching out of the bathroom.

[snowstormbringerwrites]

RC9GP Chapter 3

Inside the Nomicon Part 2

He felt his student stiffen before scooching closer to him. He could Practically feel the question on Randy’s lips.

“What happened?

Nomicon sat up and took a deep breath. “Are you familiar with The War of Chaos?”

“Sounds familiar, think we talked about it earlier this year.”

Nomicon shook his head at his student “ That war was the cause of the deaths of three species”

“Is that a riddle orrrrrr…?”

“It’s not a riddle Young Ninja”

Randy started to feel even more nervous than he already was. Nomi never called him Young Ninja, unless he was being seriously serious about something. “So were Kirins one of the species that…. Died?”

“yes ,, along with draconequus and alicorns”

A look of confusion spread across Randy’s face “but there are still alicorns around today.”

Now it was Nomicon’s turn to be confused, but it was quickly replaced with excitement. “There are?”

“Yeah why did you think the species was dead?”

“Cause before I was trapped in this book form, there were only two alicorns left. And they were both female.”

Randy was quiet for a moment processing what Nomicon had said. “Wait, how many survivors were there?”

Nomicon’s face fell at the question. He stood and walked a few steps away. “ from what I remember for just us foals, four, One draconequus, two alicorns, and me.” Nomi turned to face Randy, a small smile on his face. “We had grown quite close by the time we were adults.” His face fell “sadly all I remember is their names”

Randy felt as if he should stop asking but concern for his teacher and his own curiosity egged him on. “What were their names?”

Nomicon wouldn't admit it but he was happy that he was talking about his  old friends. “Well the draconequus was Discord and the alicorns were Celestia and Luna”

“CELESTIA AND LUNA???!!!! LIKE IN PRINCESS CELESTIA AND LUNA??!!” Randy didn’t mean to shout, but Nomi knew Princess Celestia and Luna, Mabey.

Nomi knew it was a bad idea to get his hopes up, but he did anyway. “ a white alicorn with a flowing blue, green, purple and pink mane and a sun cutie mark?”

“ that’s Princess Celestia!”

“Then going from that that Luna is dark blue, a semi-transparent night sky mane, and a moon cutie mark”

“Yes!”

“They’re still alive!?...Wait, Princess?”

Randy nodded vigorously “yeah they are the rulers of Equestria! Bruce right?”

Nomicon thought for a while before smiling. “I wouldn’t care if they were the poorest ponies in Equestria, They are, or were my friends. But yeah I guess that’s Pretty…. Bruce.

[snowstormbringerwrites]

Land of Fantasy

Chapter 2

The sun was high in the sky when they reached the Volcano Village. Deeming it safe enough to finish the trip without it, Aylwin had removed his armour long ago. The first thing he noticed was the gigantic black volcano, and it was smoking. He opened his mouth to say something but Kahoku beat him to it.

“The Mount of Storms is awake, may the guardians smile upon us” He smiled up at the distant volcano like it was a good thing that it was active.

Aylwin look at him like he was crazy but said nothing, Instead he focused on driving the skittish horse into the small village. The buildings were small huts made of clay with bound straw as their roof, but they still looked warm and inviting.People were bustling around the village doing various tasks, only a few spared the two a passing glance some were nice enough to wave but they seemed to be ment for Kahoku more than both of them. Aylwin felt a little out of place among the villagers and found himself curling up on himself, trying to appear smaller.  

“So, where is Chief Haoa?”  Aylwin whispered nervously, leaning towards Kahoku.

“Don’t know” Kahoku answered. “We’ll know when we-OH! Chief Haoa!” he called out causing Buttercup to jump and buck making the wagon lurch.

Aylwin focused on calming the horse down before turning to the man in question.

The Chief was as slender yet muscular man, he had tattoos on his head, neck, upper arms, and ankles. He was shirtless with a skirt being held up by a gold belt that had orange, polished gemstones embedded in it and a strip of fabric attached to the front. He wore a headdress that was adorned with orange feathers and the same gemstones as his belt. His head lacked hair, but his bright yellow eyes made up for it by stealing all the attention.

“Greetings Kahoku, and you too young traveler” Haoa chirped, leaning on the wagon. A welcoming smile on his face.

“Hey Haoa, this is Aylwin. He’s here to to trade on behalf or Bamboo Village”

“Oh, welcome trader, we have been quite excited to see what your village offers”

Aylwin smiled as he processed the Chiefs thick accent “well I have various crops and seeds as well as honey with me today, but my village will also trade livestock and lumber to order.” He stated as professionally as he could, trying to remember everything the Mayor told him to say.

Chief smiled and waved his hand in a dismissive manner, “ there is no need to be so professional here. I will go get our traders and the goods and we shall commence” And with that he turned and disappeared into  the crowd .

Kahoku gave him a thumbs up before spotting someone in the crowd he apparently knew and left calling out to them. Leaving Aylwin alone.

“Some guide” he muttered looking around at the people around him. He had never seen so many redheads in one place, pretty much everyone was a redhead in this village. From what he could see the village were hunters, there were men preparing to go hunting and women drying hides as well as making jewelry from bones and gemstones. Growing bored he tried to listen to conversations the villagers were having, but he couldn’t speak the language so everything was gibberish. Aylwin sighed and slumped against the wagon.

When The Chief returned he had three men with baskets of gemstones,something that looked like scales, bone jewelry, and sealed jars.

“ Hello Aylwin, we are back” Chief chirped.

Aylwin went around to the back of the wagon and unloaded some of the baskets holding the crops and the bags containing the seeds. “Alright let’s see what we got”

Aylwin decided that the trading went quite well. The chief and traders had shown an interest in the corn, potatoes, and honey. In return he got volcanic ash, which the chief told him made great fertilizer, some gemstones and jewelry, and dragonhide. Aylwin got quite excited when he figured what the scales were and what the village did with it, Chief told him how they used the heat of the volcano to melt the scales and mold it into various stuff like weapons and chief’s belt and headdress. Making a light unbreakable metal like substance. Aylwin traded honey for an dragonhide, which was four times his size.

“Eligius is going to love this” Aylwin said, placing the folded dragonhide in the wagon with the other goods.

“Really? Why is that?” Kahoku asked.

Aylwin grinned as he jumped into the wagon and placed on his helmet “He likes a challenge”  

[snowstormbringerwrites]

RC9GP Chapter 2

Inside the Nomicon Part 1

SMACK!

Randy Groaned and rubbed his head. He looked up at Nomicon, who stood over him with a look of irritation on his face.

“What the Juice was that for?!”

Nomicon shrugged “you were getting on my nerves” He calmly stated before walking away.

Randy stared at him before galloping after him “hey Nomi?”

“Yes?”

Randy opened his mouth before closing it, the question he wanted to ask had been bothering him since Nomicon had revealed his form which was a, pony? Deer? Dragon? He desperately wanted to ask Nomicon what he was, but he was afraid he would anger or upset the book. He found himself fidgeting with his scarf instead of asking the question.

Nomicon sighed, he could tell something was bothering his student. He turned to face the young ninja to see him staring at the ground and playing with his scarf. Shaking his head he walked back to his student.

“Randy?”

The ninja jump out of his thoughts at the sound of his name. Looking up at Nomicon he smiled sheepishly.

“Whats up Nomi?”

Nomicon sighed and rolled his bright green eyes.

“What is bothering you Randy?”

Randy felt as if he was shrinking under Nomicon’s gaze, he would have to ask his question in order to answer Nomi honesty. Taking a deep breath he made his decision.

“Whatareyou?” his question tumbled out in a jumble of words. Looking up he saw Nomi raise his dot like eyebrows.

“Pardon?”

Groaning Randy repeated his question “what are you?” Now that the question was out Randy waited for the answer with his heart in his throat.

The Nomicon was an interesting creature that looked like a combination of a unicorn, deer, and a dragon. With a body like a pony his, black fur ended to show his red hooves. His tail was like a dragons but with fur. A red, backwards curved horn sat in the center of his fore head it was paired with a set of antlers that were a red-orange color. A pair of what looked like thick long whiskers sat on the end of his muzzle, one for each side. They were bright green to match the marking that covered the lower half of his face and went up in between his eyes. The top half of his neck and back was covered black scales with some scales red and bright green forming two stripes that run down the entire length of body ending at the beginning of his tail. His scaled stomach was the color of old pages with light brown speckles and his forelegs had four oval scales bright green in color. All four of legs had green sock markings that went half way up. And to top it all of his vibrant red mane formed bangs with a longer back with the end peaking around his long thin ears. The mane continued down his neck, back, and ended at the base of his tail with a fur of the same color draping of the back of his legs and the end and  bottom of his tail.

Nomicon simply shook his head at his student's question.

“I’m a Kirin”

“A what?”

“A Kirin, or a Qilin. depends on who you ask”

Randy stared at his teacher, another question bubbling to the surface of his mind.

“ So if your a Keerine?”

Nomicon stifled a laugh at his students horrible pronunciation “ it’s pronounced k-ih-r-ee-n”

“Okay, So if you're a Kirin, why don’t I see any other Kirins outside of here?”

Nomicons face fell. “Cause I’m the only one left” Nomi turned away from Randy and walked away visibly upset.

Randy felt bad, he didn’t mean to upset Nomi, he was just curious. He decided to go find Nomi and apologise. It took awhile, but when he found Nomi he was at the waterfall they used for training. Nomi was sitting at the edge of the water with his head hanging low. Randy took a deep breath and approached his teacher.

Nomicon sensed his student walk up and sit beside him and he already had an idea why.

“ If you came to apologise don’t, you did nothing wrong”

He felt his student stiffen before scooching closer to him. He could Practically feel the question on Randy’s lips.

“What happened?”

[snowstormbringerwrites]

RC9GP Chapter 1

First Flight

   Randy gave the foreign appendages a experimental flap. The wings answered accordingly, making him shiver at the foreign sensation. When the Nomicon said he was ready to learn the art of flying he was overjoyed, but know he didn't know what to think. Luckily they were only there when he wore the mask.He had stupidly told the Nomicon he had this and didn't need its help, resulting in it angrily kicking him out. He had decided to practice on the school roof, and Howard tagged along. After at least an hour of face planting and Howard dying of laughter he went crawling back to Nomicon.

"In order to spread your wings, you must first forget being grounded" Was all that it answered with.

Confused Randy left the Nomicon.

"Soooo... what did it say?" Asked Howard eating a bag of chips he must have gotten while Randy was in the Nomicon.

"Something about spreading my wings and forgetting being grounded" Randy responded.

"What does that mean?"

"Does it look I know?"

"Why don't you ask that Dragon kid, he has wings"

"His name is Jake and HOWARD YOU'RE A GENIUS!"Randy shouted running off to text Jake.

"I am?"

    A few days later Randy sat outside the school in his mask waiting for Jake, who was late. Tapping his hoof impatiently and shivered as he felt his new wings open half way.

"Ninja?"

Randy jolted at the familiar voice. "oh, hey Theresa"He quickly stopped a face hoof, he forgot he was wearing his mask.

The Pegasus in question giggled " what are you doing?"

"Waiting for a friend, he's late. What are you doing here so late? "

Theresa grabbed her baton from her saddlebag "twirling practice"

"oh" Randy found himself observing Theresa's wings as they gently flapped. "how do they make it look so easy" he thought to himself.

"soooo... The wings-"

"Don't ask" Randy half snapped half muttered.

Theresa pulled back "Do you know how to fly?"

"that's why I'm waiting for my friend "

"I can show you how"

"Hmmm?"

"I mean, you do a lot for us so -"

"HEADS UP!"

Randy jerked his head toward the new voice only to get bowled over. He looked up to see Danny Grinning down at him. A pair of fake, see-through wings made of ectoplasm open half way.

"Danny!, as happy as I am to see you where's Jake, and what's with the ectoplasm wings?"

"Jake had something come up , something about warring breezies. Sooooo he asked me to help you instead!

Randy couldn't help but groan as he watched Theresa fly away.

    Half-hour later Randy grinned widely as he hovered off the ground. He was doing it! It only took Danny shoving him off a roof and shouting “FLY”

"ready to go higher?"

Randy looked up at Danny, his excitement and confidence taking over. "Heck yeah!"

   Randy look around him with a look of awe. Danny had just lead him to the sky above the clouds.

"Now I know why you and Jake said I was missing out"

Danny laughed from the cloud he had perched himself on "yeah?"

"yeah!"

 "well come on Ninja" Danny quipped jumping of the cloud to take to the sky once more.

Randy experimentally let his fore legs down to run through the cloud. The feeling was indescribable.

       Randy was exhausted by the time he landed on the ground. His wings hung limply at his side. He removed his mask, storing it in his saddlebag he started walking home. He had just left the school grounds when he stopped and stared blankly ahead. He understood the lesson now.

[snowstormbringerwrites]

Land of Fantasy

Chapter 1

“Aylwin!” Aylwin turned away from hitching up his horse to the wagon to see Alvina, his sister running towards him carrying a strange box. Screeching to a halt next to him she looked at him with bright purple eyes.

“Look what Eligius made for the journey!” she squealed in his ear causing him to flinch.She dropped the box on the ground with an audible clang.  Aylwin carefully took the lid off the box and peeked inside. Inside the box was a set of black armor. Aylwin smiled, it looked exactly like the armor of the Black Knights who terrorized the land. He could slip by unnoticed with this. Reaching into the box he pulled out the helmet. Carefully he examined the helmet, turning it in his hands. He noticed that it was incredibly light for a helmet.Finally he placed the helmet on his head, and it fit perfectly.

Deciding that it was a good idea to leave it off until he left the village, Aylwin took the helmet off before he tried on the rest of the armor. He took a few experimental steps in order to get used to the armor. Aylwin look down at his sister who was smiling up at him, and smiled back.

“hey kiddo! how's the armor fit?”, a gruff voice called out. Aylwin turned to see Eligius massive form approaching. Eligius was a massive eight foot tall man with dark brown eyes, short black hair with a thick beard, and a scar over his right eye, and was  the best blacksmith in the earth territory. “Ya better get going if you want to reach the campsite by nightfall”, he stated, his eyes shifting up to look at the sky.

Aylwin nodded, hugged his sister good bye, and climbed on the wagon as the rest of the village gathered around to bid him goodbye and finish loading the tradable goods. Aylwin waited for everyone to move away before urging the honey yellow horse known as Buttercup forward and out or the Bamboo village.

When Aylwin reached the campsite at the edge of earth and fire territory it was nightfall. He at first received hostile glares until he remembered he was wearing black knight armor and removed it to prove he wasn't a threat. After that the other travers commented on how clever his village was for coming up with the idea. He Placed the armor in his cart and joined the other travelers around the fire. It was late when Aylwin decide to get some rest, he crawled into one or the many tents that was meant for people to sleep in and closed his eyes.

During the night a few real black knights arrived at the campsite only to receive hostile glares from the guards and the few travelers that were still awake, they soon decided that it wasn't worth the trouble and moved on.

The sun was starting to rise when Aylwin woke up, he exited the tent to see the guards switching for the day, a brunette woman cooking breakfast on the fire, and two twin boys playing with wooden swords.  Aylwin hummed as he stretched and walked over to the fire and sat down  on one of the logs. The woman smiled at him and offered him a bowl of porridge, which he accepted. “Boys! Breakfast!” she called out to the twins, who dropped their swords and ran over. The woman handed them each their own bowl of porridge and ruffled their brownish-orange hair. “You’re that traveler that had the black knight armor, right?” she asked looking at Aylwin, the boys stopped stuffing their face with porridge and looked at him with curiosity. Since his mouth was full, Aylwin simply nodded. “ Wow!” “that's so cool!” the boys shouted jumping up and proceeded to bombard Aylwin with overlapping questions, “ahem.” the women cleared her throat and gave the boys a scowl “ I apologize for my sons, they are really into knights and the Guardians.” Aylwin couldn't help but smile at the twins antics, “ it’s okay, I was just like them growing up.” he stated reminiscing his childhood full of wooden swords and cloth and wood dragons.

“ I’m Guinevere by the way.” Guinevere offered her hand

“Aylwin” Aylwin took the offered hand, then turned to the twins “and who are you?”

“Tybalt !”

“Arthur!” the twins exclaimed happily, both bouncing up and down in poorly contained excitement.

“Well since I’m getting ready to head out, how would you two like to see the armor?” Aylwin asked, crouching down to look them in the eyes.

The twins eyes lit up, and they turned around to look at their mother silently asking her if they could “ go ahead, BUT” she  look them right in the eyes “ I expect you two to finish your breakfast afterwards.”

“Thanks Mom!” the boys shouted in unison as they took of after Aylwin, who was already heading towards his wagon

He already had the greaves and boots on when the the twins caught up, Tybalt picked up the helmet and examined  the shiny, black metal, a look of wonder on his face. “ This is surprisingly light “, he commented.

Arthur, on the other hand struggled to pick up the chest piece.

Aylwin chuckled and took the chest piece from Arthur, “that’s because it’s made of a titanium, Iakraotium alloy.” He stated as he put in the chest piece, then moved on to the arms. When he finished putting the armor on. Tybalt offered him the helmet, his green eyes shining . Aylwin accepted the helmet, but he didn't put it on.

“Aren't you a little short for a Black Night?”

Aylwin jumped and spun around, facing the new voice. A thin, muscular man stood there. He was wearing a guard uniform .

“Hi Dad!” Arthur called out, despite the fact his dad was only a few feet away.

“Hey Arthur” The man chuckled. He closed the gap in between them and turned to Aylwin “Your Aylwin or the Earth Territory, Correct?”

Aylwin nodded “yeah, and you are?”

“Kahoku, your guide.” Kahoku offered Aylwin one or his hands for him to shake while the other brushed some of his fire orange hair out or his eyes.

Aylwin opened his mouth in a silent “Ah” shifted his helmet so that it was under his arm and took Kahoku’s offered hand.

“So, You ready to go?”

“yeah , just let me hook up Buttercup.”

“Alright, why don’t you go finish your breakfast boys.”

The twins groaned but left, heading towards their mother.