The debt I owe the Rustfeather family will probably never be repaid in full. Nothing I can possibly do will ever repay that hospitality they showed. Not to mention how they more or less saved me from myself. If they were to ask me to become a guardian for their future generations so be it, I would carry such a burden with pride.

The first few days as the new chef of the Rusty feather Inn passed without much incident. I would wake up, head down to the kitchen and make breakfast. Next I would help out with various tasks around the inn, including helping Stella with her homeschooling and helping Ranger with whatever task he assigned me. When lunchtime came around I would head back to the kitchen to fix lunch for everyone. The afternoon was dedicated to my efforts to relearn flight and I had to admit that with Gilda’s help I was making steady progress. When dinnertime started to approach Gilda and I would call it a day so that I could once again return to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Next came the part that I had started to dread, sleep was still elusive for me. Sleeping in the bed that had been provided was nigh impossible as the nightmare’s that haunted me actually had me start fearing the bed itself. The option left to me was the one I had taken on my first night here, to grab a blanket and sleep sitting in a corner. But even this was no perfect ward against the nightmares and so I found that for the first time in my life I had trouble falling asleep at all.

So I started to sneak out at night, heading deep into the surrounding forest. Here I would practice my martial arts and with Imagination until the point of exhaustion, just so that I could finally fall asleep. Following this a shower was added to my morning routine, rather than taking one in the evening. However not everything was depressing when it came to these excursions. It was during one of these nightly trips out in the forest that I finally got my first clue to what the last part of the cryptic message on Imagination’s pedestal had meant.

I had forgotten to bring a towel to wipe away sweat with and had lamented the fact greatly when practicing with the spear. I had reached up to wipe my brow with my hand only for a towel to appear out of thin air, much like how Imagination itself did. I had jerked back in surprise of course but I had kept my hold on the towel. Perhaps my already tired mind hadn’t been able to fully register what had happened at the time but I had used the towel without complaint. When I released it, it had dematerialized the same way that I was used to seeing the spear vanish. I had tried to duplicate the summoning feat a couple of times but had failed. So I had left it for tomorrow, deciding to call it for the night.

Thus another part was added to my nightly trips into the forest, I would learn to wield this strange power that came with the spear. But I had no clue where to begin, so as it wasn’t critical for me to learn it ended up being a side project that I practiced rarely. My trips into the night did not go unnoticed forever though, in fact it took barely a week for it to be discovered.

I was panting heavily already but I pushed on, it was routine by this point. Keep moving, keep moving, keep moving. A mantra that I repeated in my head, as I refused to stop. I f stopped to rest the main purpose of this activity would be lost.

“So this is where you’ve been going every night.” A voice suddenly called out from the dark forest.

I whipped around in an instant, falling into a defensive stance by reflex. I quickly relaxed though as I saw Ranger slowly make his way out of the shadow of the trees. He stopped a few feet away from me, and in the moonlight filtering in I could see an unreadable expression on his face.

“I knew that there was something I recognized in how you carried yourself, and in hindsight I feel as if I should’ve seen it earlier. You have the bearing of a warrior, much like I used to back in the day.” he continued when I said nothing.

I opened my mouth to answer but I still couldn’t formulate a proper response. It didn’t help that Ranger kept his poker face, making it that much harder for me to figure out what he felt about this situation. Since I didn’t say anything Ranger spoke again his expression finally softening a bit.

“I’m not upset, nor am I going to ask for your reasons for going out here every night. We all have our personal demons to deal with and we have the right to choose how we deal with them. I have had a long time to come to terms with my own so I can safely say that I’m speaking from experience. However at times it can help to just talk about it, to get something off of your chest no matter how insignificant. If you don’t want to talk that’s fine too, but tonight I want you to listen. Listen to how I dealt with my demons and when the time comes that you feel ready to talk I will listen to you.” He spoke calmly.

“Okay, I will listen to what you have to say. But I don’t think I’m ready to share my own burden yet.” I conceded with a sigh. He wanted to help me and quite frankly I was currently somewhat broken inside, I showed the world my masks as I always had while the turmoil raged on within. Yet the irony of the situation wasn’t lost on me. Some time ago I had done something similar for a pony named Swiftmend.

“Alright then you better sit down son ‘cause this may take a while. First I want to make it clear that I feel like I can trust you Cloud. It may seem strange to you but I’ve always been a quite good judge of character, and I have yet to feel any malice from you. Not to mention that both of my daughters like you. That’s not an easy feat to pull off, especially when it comes to Gilda. Although she does not show it as well as Stella does. In short I think they are starting to see you as something akin to a brother. But for now it’s still too early to tell for sure. What I’m trying to say here is that I know that you mean no harm to my family and that I will help you should you require it.” Ranger began.

“Now then it’s high time I actually got to the part I talked about a few moments ago, namely how I ended up here. I wasn’t always an innkeeper, I’m sure you’ve figured that part out by now yourself. Before I lived my life here with my daughters I was a sworn blade to the Gryphus Empire. I held the rank of lieutenant and my world was my wife, Pixie, and at the time our baby chick Gilda. It was a simpler time and as Gilda turned eight our family grew again.” He continued, as a genuine smile crossed his features at the memories.

“Then things started to slowly go wrong I was called away more and more often to deal with troubles around the empire, and Pixie was often left to care for both our girls on her own. This left me worried at all times, and if two things don’t mix it is distractions and conflict. Before I knew it I had been gravely injured in my hind leg and while it wasn’t fatal my career as a soldier was over. While my injury healed slowly I was forced to rest and hold down the fort back home while Pixie went out to work. But we made due and we always kept a positive outlook on things, we were a family after all. Then Gilda came home one evening full of energy and excitement, apparently she had been given a chance to go study in Equestria’s school for talented young fliers. Pixie and I were so proud of her that day.” Ranger elaborated.

“With one daughter studying abroad we felt that perhaps this was the turning point to the low we had been experiencing and soon things indeed started to look up. I was able to return to the working cast of society and took any job I could find, building up an impressive repertoire of skills. For a while everything was just perfect again. Then came the year when Gilda turned eleven and Stella turned three. It started off as any year had before but in early spring Pixie fell sick. At first we thought that it was just something she would shrug off but slowly it became apparent that it wasn’t the case. We tried everything but in the end it was for naught and I was forced to watch my wife slowly wither away.” He spoke on, a sad tone had entered his voice now.

“The one who took it the hardest though was Gilda, Pixie was her idol. And since she had been away with her studies in Equestria for most of the time when Pixie slowly succumbed to her sickness, she was only able to spend the last few days with her mother. By then she was already very weak and couldn’t leave her bed. It crushed something inside Gil, to see her mother like that and when finally passed Gilda took her last words to heart. Be strong for me Gilda. It was meant to help her but in the end I think Gilda took them the wrong way. She returned to Equestria to finish her studies and I let her, thinking that it was the right thing to do. That was probably the biggest mistake I have ever made, I was blind to how one of my daughters was feeling. In the meantime I stayed in Gryphus to care for Stella.” Ranger said, the sad tone still present in his voice.

“Then six years ago I bought the Inn. I thought that with a fresh start I could go back to focusing on the two things left in life that I still found important, Gilda and Stella. Gilda would study for the last two years she had left in Equestria while making trips back during holidays to stay with me and Stella. She was very distant during these years and I often got letters from the school with complaints about Gilda ending up in fights and not respecting the teaching staff. I didn’t have heart enough to scold her though. I will admit that I wasn’t the father she needed during those two years, perhaps even before that. But then came the day where she moved back home and we became one family again, Gilda was fourteen and Stella was six. Gilda was still distant but I was happy to have the two things that still mattered to me close and Stella was overjoyed to have her amazing sister back home.” He narrated and I listened intently.

“This kept on for about a year, during which Gilda never really opened up to me but I could see that she had a haunted look in her eyes. One day she came to ask me whether it was okay if she visited one of her old friends from her time in Equestria and I approved it. As much as it pained me I hoped that she had somegriff that she could open up too, even if that wasn’t me. But when she came back, not a week later, a bundle of tears I had to finally get a grip and step in as the father I hadn’t been for a very long time. For the first time in years she opened up to me and she cried and kept saying that she had messed everything up.” He said with a small sigh.

“That was three years ago and every step from there has been a learning experience for us as a family. But we carry on even when life gets us down, because although it took time we learnt the lesson to trust each other. The one who truly saved Gilda wasn’t me though, no if Stella hadn’t been here I don’t think Gilda would’ve been able to recover. I know that this may not help you personally Cloud but my point is that no matter how dark things may seem life has a funny way of correcting itself if you allow it. Well that’s enough ramblings of an old griffin. I’ll see you tomorrow at breakfast.” Ranger finished and rose from the spot where he had been sitting for the duration of his story.

He started to walk back towards the inn and before he vanished between the trees he turned back to me and called out.

“Oh and by all the holy feathers above don’t tell Gilda that I told you all this, I’d rather keep my wings intact.”

For a time I sat there without doing anything, not even thinking. Then whatever kind of sensory overload I had experienced stopped and I could start to process everything that Ranger had told. But no matter how I twisted and turned the new information I couldn’t find where to start. The secret, no the tale I had been entrusted with was a heavy one. I couldn’t help but feel anything but respect for Ranger, to openly be able to admit his faults and to share his not so bright moments. You may not have been the father that Gilda and Stella deserved in the beginning Ranger, but you certainly are now. I thought. I think I received your message and I hope that the day comes when I can share my tale with you, but for now I will cope in my own way. With that final thought I went back to the inn, and for once I managed to sleep through most of the night.

I awoke the next day, feeling that this was going to be my turning point. This was going test of my resolve and I would persevere. So I got to work, doing what my job as a chef required. I threw myself into my flight lessons with renewed vigor and during the nights I continued to struggle. To defeat my nightmares and to unlock the secrets of the spear. For the first few days I made no progress, and before I knew it traders started to arrive with their carts.

Days passed, and my workload increased with every guest that arrived. Thus I had less time to spend on learning to fly. On the bright side extra work helped me get tired faster, but the nightmares were still unrelenting. So I pushed on with my nightly exercises, but I made no real progress with Imagination.

Two weeks passed and the amount of travelers had increased tenfold, surprisingly they all took to my presence rather well. I grew more and more proficient in preparing meals for a large amount of guests. On the flight front I actually managed to get a few feet off the ground before I lost my sense of balance. While my dreams were still restless I began to experience that I could sleep the entire night occasionally and I actually managed to duplicate the feat of the towel summoning once.

One month passed and the inn had started to feel like home. New guests arrived daily to stay the night or to stay for a simple meal on the road. It seemed that word of me being here was starting to spread among travelers and a few had started to go here just to see me. I was able to joke with Gilda and Stella seemed to adore me. Sometimes I caught Ranger giving me a knowing look before he rushed off to take care of something that needed fixing. I managed to achieve shaky flight, but I still felt more comfortable on the ground. Not to mention that my wings felt weak in comparison to the rest of my body. Gilda said that it was since I wasn’t used to the many muscles in my wings.

It was around this time that I finally started to perceive how Imagination’s hidden power was to be accessed. But I still couldn’t manage to summon anything larger than a small towel. The unrelenting practice with the spear as a weapon was at least starting make itself known. The balance still felt awkward to me, so there would be quite some time yet before I could rely on it in a fight. But I was familiar with it to the degree that I could start to apply speed to my techniques. So while my body was growing stronger at an incredible pace, the recovery of my psyche seemed to have stagnated. For while the nightmares weren’t as frequent as they had once been I was still not free of them.

Another two weeks went by and I started to finally grasp the finer points of flying as a winged human. My body had finally started to forget what it was like to fly as a pegasus and that allowed me to improve faster. My skills with the spear continued to stay at a level unusable for combat, but I was well aware that martial arts were a time consuming endeavor. Instead I made progress in mapping out the rules tied to using Imagination’s power. I now understood that I needed a clear picture in my mind of what I wanted to create and once created I had to maintain touch for it to exist. Also depending on the size and complexity of the object the longer it would take before I could use the power again.

At the two month mark I had finally managed to regain my ability to fly with consistent stability, although I would need much more practice to perfect it. I felt comfortable with my lot in this life I had somehow ended up in and I enjoyed my time. The nightmares still haunted me and I still couldn’t stand to look at the bed, much less sleep in it. However I could manage it, it wasn’t too much for me to handle anymore. What was more I thought I had found another secret tied to the ever mysterious spear, I had been able to produce a certain area where the objects created did not vanish as I let go of them. For lack of a better term I called it a reality marble.

When I applied my previous discoveries I found that perhaps it was time to actually put my thoughts and discoveries on paper. This way I could actually keep track of what I knew.
And so I asked for some paper and a quill one evening when I was done in the kitchen.

Discoveries by Cloud regarding the magical artifact known as Imagination.

1. The spear seems to have fused with me somehow and can be materialized by tracing the symbol that was placed on me.

2. The spear itself holds the power to materialize other objects. Once a summoning has been completed it goes into a sort of recharging cycle. The cause for this is still unknown to me, nor have I discovered from where it draws energy.

A. Recharge time is confirmed to be affected by the items complexity

B. Recharge time is confirmed to be affected by the items size.

C. Multiple objects can be summoned but both rules above will apply.

D. Objects must remain in contact with summoner or they’ll vanish.

E. Food cannot be summoned for some reason I have yet to determine.

I tapped my lips thoughtfully as I read through that what I had written. I wasn’t sure if there were more rules than the ones I had found so far so I left some blank space under E. just in case.

3. A recent discovery shows that it is possible to create a field, a reality marble if you will, of sorts where objects can exists as long as the field is maintained. This allows the user to disregard supplementary point 2.D. It also important to note that if multiple objects are to be summoned it requires that they are summoned in the same session of thoughts. If it is not done this way you will run headfirst a recharge cycle and be unable to use the power again until the cycle is complete.

A. No recharge cycle seems to activate upon creating a reality marble.

B. The area of influence is visible as a light orange border.

C. Area is created by drawing with the tip of Imagination on the ground.

D. Area is destroyed by breaking the area border using the same method.

F. Possibility of a permanent marble? (Requires more testing.)

Again I paused, this was the newest discovery I had made and was still unsure of all the full applications of this ability. It opened some interesting doors but I didn’t want to go overboard. It was probably better to take it slow. So I went on to write a summary of my thoughts on the entire ordeal.

4. Overall I have to say that I do not understand this ability, nor do I understand why it was tied to this spear. While I have started to understand how to use its power I feel like a child playing with a gun. This power has its applications but its flaws make it strange to me. Who designed this weapon and why? All I can safely say at this point is that power definitely belongs to the spear and not me. Without it in hand I cannot do anything of what I mentioned above. I will continue to practice with it though, mastering or at least improving my understanding of this tool could be useful in the future.

I set the quill down and read over what I had written down so far. Putting my thoughts on paper had helped me to organize them, but it didn’t alleviate my suspicion towards the spear. Why had I been teleported to that strange chamber and what purpose did this spear serve. With a large yawn I decided that such thoughts could wait until tomorrow. Things were starting to look up for me in all fields of my life and I doubted the coming week would be any different.

I was so wrong…

Author's Notes:

And there you have me throwing exposition at your faces. This chapter... I don't know whether I hate it or really hate it. However I can promise you two things first, the powers unlocked with the help of Imagination will serve one purpose in this story and Cloud will not use them to become a Gary Stu if that's your fear. Bleh, shun the thought. The next promise is that things will pick up pace in the next chapter so I hope that you can forgive me for this one that I regard as one of my weaker ones.

Join me next time in the chapter that is currently called 'Paragon revived'.