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Omnius' Travels: Equestria

by Nathan Traveler

Chapter 16: The Traveler's Lament

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The Traveler's Lament

Chapter 13:

The Traveler’s Lament

A pile of bits and pieces of metal sat in front of me, lying next to a small bowl of cleaning oil, as I gently wiped a rag across the barrel of an old revolver, gently wiping away the small traces of dirt and grime. My hands moved with the old practiced way I had learned from Roland, the man who taught me what a true Gunslinger is, while the fire cackled merrily, providing light for me to work by. I could have used the lightbulbs, or lit a few candles, but it always felt better to use the fireplace.

Once I was satisfied with how my revolver looked, I put it back together, finishing just as the sound of soft knocking reached my ears. I got up, stretching my arms as I did so, and made my way to the door. Glancing through the hidden window, I saw that it was just Princess Celestia and my friends, who were standing outside.

Hold on. Let me give my brain a chance to process that information.

Princess Celestia. Ruler of Equestria, and Goddess of Good…

Is standing outside…

My house.

“What did I do this time?” I muttered worriedly to myself. Gulping audibly, I opened the door, still in human form, and acted surprised to see them (which wasn’t very hard to do). “Girls? Princess Celestia?” I said, confused. “Not that I’m not glad to see you, but what are you doing here?”

Celestia smiled, and said, “It is not something which should be discussed out here. May we come in?”

“Oh, of course!” I said, smacking my forehead as I remembered my manners. “Come right in! I’ll go get some drinks.” I held open the door for the ponies, and as soon as they were all in, I moved the couch all the way against the wall, making some room for the significantly taller Princess (Whose regal manner seemed to make me feel smaller than my usual six-foot-two-something self), and then dashed into the kitchen.

“Okay, what do I have in the way of drinks…Coke, more coke, Mountain Dew, water, Apple Juice, Chocolate Milk…What the hellion do you give a Princess?” I scratched my head, and then shrugged. “Oh well, Live and Learn!” I grabbed a few cans of coke, and emptied them into a pitcher filled with ice, and poured everypony a drink.

“Omnius?” Princess Luna asked inside of my head.

“Gah!” I shouted, startled by the sudden unexpected contact. “Don’t do that!” I panted, my heart racing for a few seconds longer.

“Our apologies, we simply wished to inform thou that we are sorry we were unable to come. Our duties in Canterlot-“

“Say no more,” I interrupted, smiling. “I know what that’s like. I guess that you’re still gonna be listening via this…mental link?”

“Yes. We too are curious about…Celestia will explain.”

Uh oh. Why do I not like the sound of that? It always means that something is about to go horribly, horribly wrong, or at the very least, awkward.

“Um…alright then,” I answered, lifting the tray of drinks. “Thanks for letting me know?” It sounded more like a question, but Luna didn’t seem to notice. Phew.

I walked into the living room, and set the tray on the coffee table, clearing my throat to get everypony’s attention. They all looked at me, and I said, “Uh, I brought Coke. That good for ya?”

Celestia’s horn glowed, as she levitated a glass to her, and took an experimental sip. She smiled teasingly, and said jokingly, “I’m afraid I’m more of a Pepsi fan, but Coke is just as good.”

I felt my jaw drop, and I reacted the way I normally would: I pointed Celestia, and said, “Thou hast blasphemed in mine own home!” Clutching at my heart, I stumbled backwards, and pretended to grip the counter, swaying in a joking manner.

Twilight looked mortified, and she hissed, “Omnius-”

“It is fine, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia said, a wide smile on her face. She winked at me, and I started laughing. Man, is it good to have a Goddess with a sense of humor. Not to say that there aren’t any without one, I just mean…oh, you know what I mean!

“So, to what do I owe this pleasure?” I asked, crossing my arms as I leaned against the counter.

The room was suddenly laced with tension, as everypony except the Princess shifted nervously. I frowned, but didn’t say anything, as Princess Celestia cleared her throat, and said, “Omnius…Sean…You have become quite close to these ponies, correct?”

Not even hesitating on my answer, I said, “Well, yeah. They’re probably some of my closest friends, and I’m sure that they feel the same way about me.”

Rainbow Dash walked over to me, and bumped my side, saying, “Of course we do!”

“That answers that question.”

Celestia nodded, unsurprised, and she looked me in the eyes. Her violet orbs bore into me, and I met her gaze, shifting somewhat nervously. “You have done much for this world, and introduced beautiful new music to everypony here.”

Coughing slightly, I tried to signal Princess Celestia to take back that last bit, but to no avail. Fluttershy frowned, and looked at me with her crystal colored eyes. “What does she mean by that last part?” She asked.

“Music? Why, I never knew that you were a composer!” Rarity said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at me carefully. “Although I am sorry it is not that popular, as I haven’t even heard any of your music!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Applejack asked the fashionista.

“Well, if none of us has heard it on the radio, then that must mean that it isn’t up to the standards of the ponies in charge,” Rarity replied.

“That don’t mean nothing! What if he made some different type of music ya don’t normally listen to?”

“Applejack, honestly,” Rarity said, shaking her head. “Do you really think he would write country music?”

“Uh, actually,” I interrupted before things got out of hoof. “I think you all have heard at least one song…” I shot a short glare at Celestia, who just pretended to ignore me as she took another sip of coke. Sighing, I made my way over to a large shelf which was devoted entirely to the huge stereo that took up the top half, and the large collection of records that made up the bottom. I dug through a few of them, and finally came up with a record labeled, “Magic of the Unicorns, a compilation of music by Treble Cliff.”

“You’re a fan of Treble Cliff?” Twilight asked excitedly. She stood next to me, and scanned my collection, grinning ecstatically. “Wow! You have all of his records! I’ve only got his ‘Magic of the Unicorns’ and ‘Wings of the Pegasi’ collections.”

“Um…I’m not a fan of Treble Cliff,” I confessed. I put the record in, and pressed the play button. Beautiful, eerie music poured out of the speakers, and I smiled, old memories coming to me. Turning around, I bowed to the ponies, and they suddenly made the connection.

“You’re Treble Cliff?” Pinkie asked, gasping overdramatically.

“Yep. But I technically didn’t write this music, I just brought it over,” I confessed, scratching my head and grinning sheepishly.

“So THAT’S how you’ve been making your money,” Applejack said, laughing. “What’s this song called?”

“Fear of the Heavens,” Twilight answered for me. “It’s one of my favorites!”

“Why’d you have to go and say that, Celestia?” I groaned. She smirked, and just continued drinking her soda, humming to herself all the while. “I liked having that little secret. It was a way of letting me know whether or not my friends actually liked the music or not!”

“Ya don’t think we would have been honest with ya?” Applejack asked, a tone of hurt in her voice.

“No, it’s not exactly that, but…” I tried to think for a moment.

“Does this, by any chance, have anything to do with my, erm, first fashion show?” asked Rarity, a glimmer of realization in her eyes.

I nodded sheepishly. “I figured that if Rarity would hide how she felt about your dresses, then that meant that you all would do the same for me if my music was bad. So I kept it a secret,” I explained, pressing the pause button on the music.

“Oh,” Rainbow Dash said, clearing her throat. “Uh, yeah, that might have happened.” Then, in an attempt to change the topic, she asked, “Oh! Does that mean that we can get a sneak preview of the next album?”

“Rainbow Dash, I had no idea that you listened to such cultured music!” Rarity exclaimed, surprised that her rowdy friend would be interested in that.

Irony…if she knew that most of the sounds were from video games or movies, then she might have to change her opinion…Then again, I’m not gonna tell her that any time soon!

“Girls!” I said loudly, getting their attention. “We can discuss my musical styling’s later (By the way, the next album will be called ‘Arddun Lleuad’). Right now, I think Princess Celestia was gonna say something else, right?” I turned to look at her, and leaned back against the wall again.

Her smile vanished, and she gazed at me again. “You have done a lot for this world…So, as a Goddess of Good, I will allow you to claim this world as a Home, if you are willing to do so.”

My jaw dropped, and the girls looked more than a little confused. Finally managing to work through the road block that was my vocabulary, I stuttered out, “A home? Really?”

“What’s the big deal?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Shaking my head, I told her, “Rainbow, A Home World is a place where, if something extremely bad happens to me, I’ll be able to come back here and heal myself. It also means that I have friends here who are close enough to my heart that I can call them…” I trailed off, filled with awe at the generosity of Celestia’s offer.

“Call us what?” Pinkie asked, putting her face up to mine…from the top of my vision. I chose to ignore this, and instead grabbed her in a bear hug, taking her by surprise.

“Family,” I answered, setting her down. I smiled at everypony, and hugged all of them in turn. “We’ve all been through so much together, and you all know what I do, but you still chose to call me your friend. That means that now, you’re all my family.”

Celestia smiled, and walked over to me, raising an eyebrow. Knowing what I should do, I hugged her as well, and whispered, “Yes. I’d like to claim this world as a Home.” Her horn glowed, and for a brief moment, I saw everything that the sun’s light was touching, as Celestia worked her magic.

As soon as she was done, Luna spoke up suddenly in my mind. “We have also worked to bind thee to this realm. Thou art now forever welcome here, and will always have a home.”

“If you were here right now, I’d totally hug you too,” I thought to her, smiling. I let go of Celestia, and looked at everypony. A thought crossed my mind, and I said out loud, “Um…There’s still something else, isn’t there?”

Sorrow flashed across Celestia’s face, and she motioned for me to sit down. Trembling slightly, I made my way to the slightly overstuffed armchair that I always had set near the fireplace, my “Grandpa’s Chair” as I jokingly called it, and sat down. The Princess’s horn glowed, and several cushions that I reserved for company flew out of the pantry, and made their way to each pony, setting themselves down on the ground.

As soon as everypony was comfortable, Princess Celestia looked at me carefully. She motioned for Twilight to speak with her hoof, and the unicorn cast her eyes at the floor. In a slow and careful manner, she said, “Omnius…you always say that you’ll tell us the truth about anything if we ask you, right?”

“Yeah. I might not tell you the whole thing, but I’ll always try to answer truthfully,” I replied.

“Well…Fluttershy told us about someone you used to know…” At this, Fluttershy cringed slightly, but didn’t look away from me, as Twilight continued. “And you’ve mentioned her in passing to all of us…”

Oh no. Please, don’t let this lead to what I think it’s leading to…

“And, well, she obviously meant a lot to you,” She added, still not looking me in my eyes.

Please don’t, Twilight. My hands clenched the armrests of the chair, and I felt my stomach start twisting itself into knots,

“Omnius.” She looked at me this time, and with more resolve than she must have felt, said, “You’ve talked about her a lot, but…we just want to know: Who was Jenna?”

I took in a deep breath, and let it out, trying to calm myself. Twilight had just asked me one of the only questions I had feared anyone, or anypony for that matter, would ask me. This was a subject that I still had nightmares about, as well as some of my sweetest dreams.

At my silence, Rarity tilted her head, and said worriedly, “Omnius?”

“A friend…more than that,” I answered finally, unsure of what to say. “She died.”

“Could you please tell us about it?” Fluttershy asked. “That is, um, if that’s okay with you. I know that it makes you feel uncomfortable, but…”

I remained silent, as conflicting emotions tore across my head. After a few minutes, Princess Celestia said one word, filled with sympathy, sorrow, hope, and most of all…with love.

“Please…” I looked into her eyes, and an old memory stirred. Her voice…

Taking a deep steadying breath, I leaned back in my seat, and placed a cup of soda on the table next to me. “Alright. Gather round girls, as I tell you the story of my greatest triumph, and greatest failure.” As they scooted their cushions closer to me, I opened my mind to them, and extended my conscience to them, gently touching their minds. “This is the story of how I loved, and how I lost.”

They all seemed to know what I was going to do, and as they closed their eyes, I said, “This is the story…of my Seven Days of Broken Victory.”

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHX


There was nothing but darkness around all eight of us, with a single beam of light that shone upon us. I dusted myself off, even though I hadn’t fallen down or anything, and waited for the girls to recover.

“Where are we?” Rarity asked, looking around.

“First, I just wanna say that the first pony to make an ‘empty mind’ joke will be forced to relive my Circus days, since you’re all in my mind,” I said, giving everypony a serious look.

“It just seems so-” Twilight started.

“Upupup! No! What I meant to say is that this is a sort of a mental theater. I’m going to show you three separate categories of my memories,” I interrupted. “The first will be the story of how Jenna and I met.”

A pure white door appeared suddenly, standing at the edge of the circle of light. It seemed to shine with an inner light, and there was a small carving of a heart with an infinity symbol on it placed above the doorknob.

“The next will be the story of how Jenna died.”

A worn grey door, made of heavy and slightly rusted iron, appeared then, standing to the right of the first one. A faded black shadow was painted onto it, and Fluttershy hid behind me as soon as she saw it, letting out an “eep!” of terror.

Swallowing to clear my throat, I pointed, and said, “And the last will be the story of our last week together, before she…” I couldn’t finish, and instead just watched, as the door appeared.

This door was made of a simple wood, and looked completely normal. What made it different, however, was the fact that it seemed to emanate a feeling of both sorrow and joy, along with a timeless quality that hung about it.

“Luna? Can you still hear me?” I mentally thought as I let the others take in the appearance of the doors.

“Yes. We can hear and see everything that thou art feeling.”

“Good.”

Twilight trotted to the first door, and looked at me expectantly. “Can I just…?”

I shook my head, and went to stand by her. Looking at everypony, I said, “Alright, listen: When I open this door, you will all see, hear, and feel what I was feeling during these memories. You won’t be able to speak, but you will be able to think what you want during the memory process.”

“We’re not backing out!” Rainbow Dash called impatiently.

“Alright, alright. Yeesh,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. I placed my hand on the doorknob, and gave it a twist, as the area was suddenly filled with bright light, temporarily blinding all of us, until…

XHXHXHXHXHXHX


“Omnius! Could you come down here please?” A voice calls out, distracting you from your current job of connecting wires so that the lights will actually turn on when the switch is flipped. You crawl out from the small hole in the wall, and bump your head on the top of the opening, and you swear instantly.

“Why is it always when I’m busy?” you complain light-heartedly, not really meaning it. You never really mean it when you complain; it just gives you a small amount of stress relief, so that you don’t accidentally take out your anger on anyone. As you stand up, popping your back as you do so, you start to wipe your hands on your jeans, wiping off the dust and small amounts of insulation from the walls.

“That’s gonna hurt in the morning,” You mutter, remembering how insulation is infamous for causing itchy skin. Sighing, you decide to stop procrastinating, and you haul yourself down the stairs, making a racket as you go down, just to bug the scholarly wizard who was sleeping in his room that you just finished constructing.

A head with ruffled black hair on it pokes out of one of the doorframes, and grumbles irritably, “Can you keep it down? I’m trying to get some sleep!”

You smile, and say, “Sorry Gordon, I just never really had that high of a stealth, you know? I need to roll a twelve or higher if I want to have any hopes of hiding!”

He rolls his eyes, but chuckles at your small joke, waving you off as you keep going down the steps of the old farm-house, modified by your own two hands to accommodate more people, and to make up for the damages Torrentican had caused in the last battle. A dark cloud passes over your thoughts, as you remember how Torrentican had kidnapped the vast majority of your friends on this world, and it was only through the combined efforts of you and Leeku, a soon-to-be God of Neutrality, that you were able to save them.

Shaking your head, you push those thoughts out of your mind, and smile, as you think about the meals that you’re planning on making for everyone once the construction is complete. Lamenting the fact that a strange stroke of bad luck has prevented you from getting a single sandwich, you finally make it down the stairs, and look up, saying, “Yeah? What’s…up…”

Every coherent thought you had just flew out the window, forgotten as you take in the appearance of the girl…no, the woman, standing in front of you. Gold-red hair flows from her head, and rests gently on her shoulders and back, catching the light and giving the appearance that her head is encompassed by a holy glow. Her smooth, flawless skin is a sort of peach color, and her eyes are as green as the oceans, and you start to lose yourself in their emerald depths.

She’s wearing white robes with delicate red trimmings, and she is leaning heavily on a worn wooden staff, carved with runes symbolizing healing and light. The bottom of her robes are covered with dirt stains, as is she has been walking for quite some time, but her smile…her smile does something you both hoped for, and dreaded, knowing that it was inevitable.

Her smile catches your heart.

All of these things you notice in the span of fifteen seconds, and as you continue staring at her, the sound of someone clearing their throat snaps you out of your love-struck revelry.

“Um…Omnius?” You turn, and notice that the current ‘Queen of the Shadows’ as you call her, is staring at you somewhat awkwardly.

“Oh, uh, hi!” you stammer out, shaking your head. “Uh, my name’s Omnius!”

The girl bows, and says, “Hello, Omnius. My name is Jenna. May the Stars watch over you, and may you follow in happiness’ footsteps.”

Remembering the proper response, or what sounds like the right answer, you say, “And may sorrow never catch up with you.”

Her eyes widen with surprise, as she didn’t expect you to know the response. An awkward silence encompasses the room, and someone clears their throat expectantly.

“Okay…Jenna, this is Omnius. Omnius, can you build Jenna a new room? She’s gonna be staying with us for a while, and as you’re still working on the rooms…”

You nod, thankful for an excuse to get out of the room before you make a fool of yourself, and you say, “Right! Sure, I’ll get on that!” You rush up the stairs, ignoring the slightly teasing tones of the sword master, Helgrind, who was watching the entire affair from the couch.

“Focus Omni!” You say to yourself, as you pull out a circle-saw, and start slicing apart panels of wood to use later. Try as you might, you can’t get Jenna out of you head, and she constantly lingers in your thoughts…

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHX


A brilliant flash of light lit up the room, and we all felt ourselves thrust out of the door, as it closed and disappeared instantly. Everypony blinked, and I shook my head, groaning slightly.

“Man, no matter how many times I do that, it always disorients me afterwards!” I said, stumbling slightly. “Everypony alright?”

“What…did we just…You really-?” Twilight stuttered, looking from me to the area where the door was.

“Yep. That was my memory of first meeting Jenna,” I answered softly, the now renewed memory still fresh in my head. “Before we go onto the next door, I just want to explain a few things, to clear up any questions that might come up later.”

“Please do,” Rarity stated, seating herself on the ground.

“Okay. First, there is a time lapse of maybe two weeks, maybe more, between this memory and the next one. In that time, Jenna and I became very close, sharing every moment we could together, and it frightened me as much as it made me the happiest Traveler alive.”

“Wait, why would you be frightened?” Fluttershy asked.

I sighed, and slumped to the ground, leaning my back against the rough steel of the second door. “Well, to put it simply, I’m Eternal. I’ll be around for forever, and beyond that, ain’t nothing gonna change that. Jenna on the other hand…wasn’t. She was a normal human being, gifted with extraordinary powers of healing that paled in comparison with the power her heart held. I was constantly worried that something would happen to her, and take her away from me.”

“Oh…”

Celestia looked at me in sympathy, understanding my plight. In a soft voice, she asked, “What’s behind the second door?”

I knocked on the iron, and said, “Ah. Right. First, a bit more back story: See, the enemy of Gordon held a massive grudge against him, as his father, the previous Keeper of The Tower (long story), accidentally destroyed his land, and cursed him to be a spirit that forever lived in the remains of his armor (even longer story).

“Torrentican met up with this enemy, who we shall just call, ‘The Lord of The Land,’ and convinced him to kidnap Gordon’s girlfriend, thus forcing me, Jenna, Helgrind, and Gordon, to go after him. Long story short, we fought our way to his castle, managed to rescue her, and I had to hold off the guy while everyone else escaped through a portal that Gordon had conjured up…”

My eyes hardened suddenly, and I stood up. Placing my hand on the doorknob, I said, “That’s when this next memory kicks in…I warn you, I’m not proud of this door, and quite frankly, I still have nightmares about what’s behind it…Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Already knowing that they wouldn’t back down, I flung open the door, and once more, light blinded us all.

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHX


Dodging another swing of the massive broadsword, you roll onto the ground, and stand up behind the massive suit of armor, swinging your sword at his side, hoping to land a good hit. No luck, as The Lord of the Land simply places his armored hand in front of the blade, and catches the attack on his wrist. He smacks you on the side of your head with the flat of his blade, and you reel backward, seeing stars appear in front of your eyes.

You both have been fighting for what feels like hours, and as your arms seem to grow heavier, and start to burn with the weight of your sword, He seems to be in the same condition as before. Underneath his great, horned, helmet, you cannot see his face, but you get the feeling that he is smirking at you.

“What, are you getting tired already?” He asks you, his voice echoing strangely in his helmet. Not for the first time, you wonder how the hell he can speak when you know he’s nothing more than a disintegrating corpse in a tin can.

He swings at you lazily, and you struggle to bring the blade up in time to block the blow, staggering as the blades meet in the air, sparks flying. You kick out with your foot, and with a jarring THUD you push the armor back, and prepare to lunge at it, only to be swept aside by an armored backhand. As you fly through the air, you think to yourself, “Shit, I just got bitch slapped by a suit of armor. Worst. Day. EVER!”

Slamming into the wall, you spit out a small wad of blood and spit, and shakily push yourself up. Holding your sword in a defensive stance, you slowly walk towards the enemy, and try to think of a strategy to use against it.

“Are you going to stand there, or are you going to fight me?” The Armor asks you, pointing its massive blade at your face.

Your smart-ass instincts prompt you to say a bad joke, and you decide to listen to it, in the hopes of distracting TLOTL (Why could he just be called, “Lord of Land?”). Grinning, you yell out, “You know what they say about guys and their big swords! They’re overcompensating for sooooomethiiiing!”

Unfortunately, you cannot read the armor’s expression, as it lacks a visible face that you can see, but you get the feeling that it didn’t like what you said. Jumping upon this, you continue, yelling, “I use Vicious Mockery on Level Thirty-Nine suit of Cheesy Armor!”

“What are you blathering on about?”

You ignore that line, and start attacking with renewed vigor, smiling crazily all the while. As your swords meet, you shout out, “Jeez, Suits, you need to chill out! Who cares that you pretty much have no manhood? After all, if any girl DID like you, it’d be considered Necrophilia, wouldn’t it?”

He roars in anger, and sweeps his blade at your legs, hoping to trip you. You nimbly leap over the blade, and smack the side of his helmet with your own sword, never once losing that trademark crazy smirk/smile of yours. “BONK!” You yell as the sword hits him.

“Shut. UP!” The Armor grabs you with his gauntlet this time, clenching your throat, and he tears your sword out of your hand and throws it out the nearby window. He slams you onto the ground, knocking the air out of your lungs, and you see stars appear in your eyes again.

He kicks your side, and the force of the kick sends you skidding a few feet away from him, and you feel as if a few of your ribs have been broken…again.

Groaning, you attempt to get back up, but before you can do so, a metal-plated boot enters your field of vision. You look up to see The Lord of The Land, who is looking down at you with an empty gaze.

“This is the mighty Traveler of Good?” He asks in disbelief. “This is the best challenge that was given to me? I would barely call this a workout.”

“For a suit of armor with no mouth piece, or even ear-holes,” You wheeze, “You sure like to hear yourself talk, don’cha?”

The Armor lifts up the broadsword, and stabs it into your arm, a cry of pain escaping your already tired body. The sword is slowly pulled out, and The Lord of the Land whispers, “I know very well that you cannot die…but that doesn’t mean that I can’t draw out your defeat. I’ll start with removing your arm.”

He lifts the broadsword, as if he were about to chop some wood, and swings it down. You close your eyes, and grit your teeth at the inevitable wave of agony-

-and are thoroughly surprised when a CLANG sound reaches your ears. You open your eyes, and lift your head up, to see that you are surrounded by a semi-translucent dome of pink energy. Looking to the side, your heart sinks, as you see the last thing you want to see at that moment: Jenna, holding her staff in her hands in a battle stance, and with a silent fire raging in her eyes.

“Jenna,” You manage to wheeze out, the blood loss starting to get to you. “Get…out of here!”

The Lord of the Land slams his sword onto the shield once more, and when he realizes that he cannot break through the magic, he ponders the situation. You can’t find the strength to get up, and you instead focus your efforts on not passing out, and watch, in horror, as the expressionless helmet suddenly turns, and looks at Jenna.

Too late, you figure out what The Lord of the Land is planning. Strength born of pure desperations lets you roll onto your stomach, and weakly push yourself up onto your hands and knees. You start to crawl to the edge of the shield, as Jenna bravely lifts up her staff in a feeble attempt at defense, only to have it knocked out of her hands with a lazy flick of TLOTL’s broadsword.

“If I can’t break through that shield,” he rumbles quietly. “I’ll simply break the source of it.” Before you can so much as scream your denial, his sword tears through Jenna’s white robes, staining it red as he impales her stomach on his sword. With a grunt, he pulls it out through the side, widening the gash, and causing blood to flow freely onto the floor.

The shield flickers, and simply vanishes entirely. You crawl over, desperately hoping for any sign of life from the woman you love. You feel something wet on your hands, but you don’t care. Making your way over to Jenna, your head tells you something that your heart refuses to believe.

Jenna is dead.

You pull her onto your lap, and cradle her broken body in your arms, tears flowing freely down your face as you do so. “Jenna, please don’t die, please don’t die!” You keep repeating, clutching her in trembling arms. Your own pain is forgotten, as you rock back and forth, holding Jenna close to you.

With what you know will be her final breath, she looks at you, her heart in her eyes, and whispers, “Omni…us…” The light that was always present in her eyes dims, and she goes limp in your arms.

“No,” you whisper. It is not a denial, as you know that she is dead. It is rather the only word you can use to sum up the sorrow and anger you feel at this moment.

“I’m sorry,” The Lord of the Land calls from across the room. “Did I just tear away everything that was important to you? Now you have a small understanding of what I felt when Gordon’s Father destroyed my home.”

Trembling, you place Jenna’s body on the floor, and stand up. Your veins start throbbing angrily, as the blue color is slowly replaced by a pulsating black material, and your wounds start closing up before your very eyes. Your vision is tinged at the edges with pale shadows, and the light seems to run away from your very presence. Iron, rusted chains erupt from your back, tipped with razor sharp blades, and fall onto the floor, twitching with anticipation at the flesh they will surely sink into.

You know what dreadful power this Aura holds. You know what this Aura is.

The Dark Aura.

You turn to look at The Lord of The Land, and his air of arrogant confidence falters, as he watches you slowly from across the room.

“What matter of monstrosity are you?” He whispers.

You remain silent, and shoot your chains into the ground, sending them burrowing through the ground, where they tunnel through the thick stone floor of the tower, and suddenly, they burst out, wrapping themselves around The Lord of The Land, completely immobilizing him.

Lunging forth, you charge at the source of your pain, and let loose an unearthly wail, terrifying everyone around you.

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHXHX


I kept my eyes closed, and sat against the next door, suddenly feeling…tired. Tears were streaming steadily down my face, and I had to continuously will myself to not sob.

“That,” I said, “Was the story of how Jenna died…and how I nearly became a monster.” Opening my eyes, I gazed at everypony there, and felt the shock and fear radiating from them. Only Princess Luna, who had seen everything through our mental connection, didn’t feel fear. In fact, she empathized with me.

Pinkie Pie was the first to recover, and she looked at me with sorrow in her eyes. She trotted over, and instead of hugging me, sat down next to me, and leaned on my side. The gesture was simple, but it gave me a clear message: It’s okay. I’m here for you, and what we just saw doesn’t change a thing. You’re still our friend.

I smiled sadly, and leaned against her. That’s something that I love about Pinkie Pie: she always found a way to make anyone smile. Confound these ponies, they drive me to feel emotions.

“You really loved her,” Celestia spoke softly. She sat down on my other side, and wrapped a comforting wing around me, gracing me with her warmth. “It truly was not fair for you to finally find someone that you love more than anything you have seen in your Travels, only to have her violently taken away from you.”

I sighed, and shook my head. “Yeah, but…what can you do, eh?” I said, chuckling sadly. With Celestia’s wing still around me, and with Pinkie now rejoining the rest of the ponies, I said, “Alright, now let me explain what happens between that and the next memory. Feel free to ask any questions you see fit to ask.”

They nodded, and I got on with it.

“Okay. Gordon returned not too long after I had transformed into the Dark Aura, and fought me, knowing that I would eventually try to return to the farm-house and potentially kill my friends there. Unfortunately, I killed him, and were it not for the fact that his Father somehow transformed into the Grim Reaper (Really really long story), he would have stayed dead.” The Ponies didn’t seem shocked, but they seemed to take on a tinge of green as they heard the story.

“In any case, the son of an angel and a demon, my friend Leeku, managed to combine the powers of his opposing halves, and somehow became a God of Neutrality. Using his newfound powers, he fought against the Dark Aura, and with a bit of magic, separated me from my body. So now, it was him, and my conscience, versus my Dark Aura. After a long and taxing fight, we destroyed the Dark Aura completely, and I was returned to my body.”

“But what about Jenna?” Applejack asked. “If yer friend’s pa was Death, couldn’t he-?”

I shook my head. “No. The Grim Reaper could only bring back one person a year, and as Gordon was the most pressing death…well, you get the idea. Anyways, so after I recover, I get a crazy idea. I go out into the woods, and perform a ritual. Basically, I placed Jenna’s body on one point of that world, and attempted to summon Jenna’s soul back into it, thus restoring her to life.”

“What about her wounds?” Twilight pointed out.

“It’s incredibly easy to use magic to heal a dead person’s wounds. Ironic, as you can’t bring them back to life.”

“Oh. Please go on.”

I nodded. “So, with the help of a song called, ‘Bounding Through Time,’ the ritual was a success…for a short time.”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked, tilting her head.

“I brought her with me to a Home World, and was contacted by the Gods and Goddesses of Good. They told me, as kindly and softly as they could, that it was wrong for me to decide when people should, or shouldn’t die. Sure, I could kill, but I couldn’t bring them back to life.”

Celestia nodded her head, and added, “That is very true for you, Sean. I’m still sorry to have had to tell you that though.”

“It’s fine. Sans Souci,” I grinned.

“What?”

“French for one of my favorite phrases: No Worries,” I cleared my throat, and marveled how it wasn’t dry yet, what with all the talking I’ve done this time around. “They understood why I did it though, and decided to give me a small reward for…well, various things: One week with Jenna. Seven days of Broken Victory,” I said, hanging my head.

“Why do you call it that?” Rarity asked.

“Because I had won the fight, and had managed to bring back Jenna, but at what cost?” I replied. “I won, but unleashed the Dark Aura. Jenna was brought back, but only for seven days. Then, I had to let her go, only this time I had to do it willingly.”

“Oh…”

“So, I did what I could. I told Jenna the situation, and she accepted it with the grace and sincerity she would with almost anything else. We Traveled from place to place, and I did my best to give her the best week of her life. That leads us to this final door…My last night with her. Now keep in mind, I don’t think that you’re ready to feel the entire memory…So you’ll just watch it with me, from the sidelines almost.”

Getting up, I smiled at Celestia, and placed my hand on the doorknob. “Ready?”

They all nodded, and Celestia simply took her wing off of me, and smiled. “You know what I always say…Live…”

I opened the door, and as the light encompassed us, I whispered, “…and Learn.”

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHXHX

[I'd suggest listening to “The Girl Who Stole the Stars ~ Chrono Cross”]

Holding Jenna’s hand in my own, I led her up the hill to the massive oak tree that stood at the top. Nearly endless stars twinkled in the night sky, and the moon shone brightly, giving us a gentle light to see by.

If my calculations were correct, I only had three hours before Jenna…

Sensing my thoughts, Jenna squeezed my hand, and pulled me to the ground with her. We lay side by side on a picnic blanket that was brought by Jenna just for the occasion, and we stared at the night sky.

“The stars are so beautiful on this world,” Jenna whispered, as if afraid her voice might scare away the peace of the moment.

“They are…”

She turned her head to look at me, and she smiled. “Tell me the story of The Traveler’s Gifts.”

I looked at her face, and never taking my eyes off her, said, “The Three Travelers, Good, Evil, and Neutral, all have special gifts, alongside their shared Traveling. The Traveler of Evil can create hordes of dark creatures, and send them to do his bidding. He can use them to manipulate, and destroy. They come in nearly endless forms that he can create, and he is only limited by his own imagination in this regard.

“The Traveler of Good has the power of Auras. He can use these to increase his strength in times of need, and with enough power, can lend his power of Auras to others, if he has enough strength. Sometimes, it is said that if you feel a cold breeze on an otherwise hot night, it is simply the Traveler of Good using his Winter’s Aura.

“The Traveler of Neutrality has something different though. She has the ability to find special people on other worlds, and give them a choice: They can go on with their lives, never once experiencing something truly miraculous, or…they can join her, as a Disciple of The Scales. They would then be able to rise to power, and use their influence to make sure that the Scales of Balance are always in check…

“But The Traveler of Good found one more special gift…He found the love of the most beautiful woman in all the worlds,” I finished, wrapping my arms around her in a tight embrace.

“You’re exaggerating,” She laughed, laying her head on my chest.

“Mmm…nah, I think I’m right,” I said, putting my hand underneath her chin as I stared into her face.

She smiled, but it slowly disappeared, as she felt Time catch up with her. “Omnius…”

“Shh,” I whispered. “I already know what you’re going to say…and you know what is truly in my heart, better than I could ever hope to say. So let’s just…” I trailed off, and she nodded.

For a while, we simply lay there in each others’ arms, taking comfort that we had each other for this last small amount of time.

After a long, heavy silence, Jenna finally asked me, “What will you do when I’m gone?”

“…What I always do. Keep on Traveling,” I answered.

“Omnius…Promise me that you’ll find love again.”

“What? But Jenna-“

“Listen to me Omnius. Somewhere, some when, out there, there are others who will need you. Please promise me that you’ll love them with your heart, for that is the only way you will be able to truly help them.” She gazed into my eyes, and gripped my shoulders with a hint of despair.

“I will Jenna,” I promised. Only two minutes left…

“Sean…I love you. Never forget that, but don’t let it stop you…”

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused.

She gave me a sad smile, and said, “You’ll see...” She closed her eyes, and we kissed, one last time…

Her body started to fade, and her tears flowed from her face, giving the kiss the taste of salt-water. After what felt like a year, she…

She was gone.

A gentle breeze blew through the night, and I whispered, “I love you too…” I sat against the tree, and watched the night sky, feeling, for the first time in an incredibly long while, alone. Completely, and utterly alone.

Ten minutes later, I stood up, and stared at the moon. Without warning, a voice spoke in my head. “Omnius…The time has come for you to come here, to my world. Are you ready?”

I shook my head, and answered with a smile, “No. But let’s do this!”

I grinned, and jumped into the next world, letting the rush of my Traveling push away my sorrow.

“GAAAAAAAHHHH!” I screamed, as I fell through the air.

XHXHXHXHXHXHXHXHXHX


“And that,” I finished, sitting once again in my armchair, “Is the entire story of my Seven Days of Broken Victory.”

Everypony looked at me, with tears brimmed in their eyes. “Wow…I had no idea that you’d been through so much,” Twilight said, wiping at her eyes.

Rarity was full on sniffling, and she sobbed, “That was the most romantic story I’ve ever heard…And to think, that it was all real this time…” I handed her a tissue, and she blew her nose.

“Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked, sipping at her drink, just so she could get her mind off the sorrow she had just seen.

“Yeah…I feel better actually. Thank you girls. And Thank you Princesses…I feel a lot better now.” I grabbed my cup, and chugged it, the ice cubes clinking against my teeth. “AH! COLD ICE, COLD ICE!”

Everypony laughed, and I smiled. “And Celestia?”

She raised her eyebrow.

“Thanks for letting me come here…with friends like all of you,” I said, setting my glass down, and getting up.

“There’s only one thing I can say.”

They all looked at me expectantly.

“It’s good to be The Traveler.” Next Chapter: Crippled Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 12 Minutes

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