The moment Ezikeal was through the door, a pang of adrenaline rushed through him as the lights flashed on and blinded him momentarily. A symphony of voices suddenly rang out - not necessarily in a threatening tone, but the surprise did not lend easily to calming his already high nerves. One foot instinctively shifted back, ready to more fully drop into a defensive position.

"SURPRISE!" His vision cleared, and he saw a lot of unrecognized faces. The interior of the building had been done up with vibrant, colorful decorations and a large banner hung from the ceiling that exclaimed "Welcome to Ponyville!" Ezikeal didn't even realize his breathing had noticeably sped up as he scanned his surroundings until he felt a hand on his back as Applejack took a place next to him. Her hand gave him pause for enough time to further process things and calm down some. Pinkie stood at the forefront of the sudden crowd. He recognized Rainbow Dash and Rarity in the crowd, but the rest appeared to be strangers.

"Welcome to your Welcome to Ponyville Party, Ezikeal!" She cheered, rushing up to him and practically bounced with overflowing excitement.

A celebration..? The tense shock washed away and soon a small smile found its way onto his face with his sigh of relief. This was much less deadly than his body and mind was preparing him for, all of the small red flags that were setting alarms off in his head about something being amiss...

Breathe. He did, tension fully subsiding.

"You did all this just because I showed up around here?" He asked, accepting a plate with a brightly colored pink cupcake on it. Of all things he could have anticipated, a kind of grand reception of him just existing here like this was not one of them. There were a lot of people here, almost an uncomfortable amount, but they were here for him, and nobody appeared outwardly hostile...he should accept this gratefully.

"Of course! Any new pony in Ponyville deserves to be celebrated!" She said, voice dripping with excitement as Ezikeal tried the cupcake. It was very good. He savored the taste - the frosting was sweet and the cupcake itself was fluffy and delicious. All of the flavors in it tasted new and unfamiliar in the best kind of ways. Ezikeal hummed in approval, taking another bite. The taste of sweets...he didn't even remember the last time he had ever had something like this, even before he became a death knight...though he couldn't remember much of that time in general.

"This is delicious, thank you, Pinkie, for all of this," He said, earning a gleeful noise from her. Soon the party dispersed into more widespread celebration as he was no longer the sole focus for everyone present. He walked over to Rainbow Dash and Rarity with Twilight, Spike and Applejack still close by, offering some greetings to those who said hello as he passed by.

"Man, the look on your face," Dash chuckled, earning a dismissive scoff from Ezikeal. He could not deny his surprise, or the fallback to being ready for a fight, but even so, he was grateful he was able to contain his actions - with the help of Applejack in aiding his quick recovery from the surprise.

"I did not expect so many to attend a celebration like this on such short notice," He admitted, looking around. He caught some stealing glances at him, no doubt curious as to what his nature was given the sword strapped to his back, but it seemed that Pinkie's enthusiasm washed away all doubts about him, for now at least.

"Yes, well, there is not a whole lot that goes on in Ponyville when compared to more busy locations such as Canterlot, and with Pinkie's persuasive energy and reputation for parties, it comes as no surprise that many were swayed into attending," Rarity said. She was dressed in a slightly more formal dress than what she had worn earlier, but managed for it to not stand out in the more casual theme of the crowd surrounding them. Ezikeal took another bite of the cupcake.

As Ezikeal went to sit he became aware of a new presence he hadn't originally noticed, and it appeared she did not want to be particularly noticed as well, practically hiding behind her pink hair in a seat that conveniently had blocked her from view behind Rainbow Dash. She was in a thick yellow sweatshirt that obscured practically all of her torso with some simple jean-style pants.

"Um..hello," She said meekly, meeting his gaze for a brief moment before glancing away.

"Hello," Ezikeal replied, keeping his volume low, now worried he might scare her away if he spoke too loud.

"I-I hope you're enjoying it here," She said, offering a timid smile before shifting, making herself appear smaller under his gaze. She seemed practically terrified of him.

"Pinkie probably already mentioned my name, but I am Ezikeal, what's your name?" He asked. I'm afraid just talking to her might break her... He thought nervously. She remained in her shrunk posture as she answered.

"Fluttershy..." She answered. Dash scooted back and draped an arm around her friend's shoulders, who jumped at the sudden contact.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy, Ezikeal's chill," She said coolly, looking at Ezikeal as she spoke and he did not miss the underlying edge in her eyes - the warning look of "you better be" solidifying for a brief, unmistakable moment. She didn't trust him yet, he knew that for certain, he couldn't expect everyone to be unquestionably trusting of such a strange arrival to their town. Fluttershy hadn't noticed the subtle threat in her friend's protective statement, relaxing into the side-hug a bit.

"Look at us! All getting along!" Pinkie said in her unstoppable positivity. The group of them settled around a table, Pinkie supplying them with a seemingly endless amount of food and drinks, occasionally moving in motions that were just about too fast for Ezikeal to follow. I will never understand her...

"Twilight here has often held that very same expression," Rarity remarked, noticing Ezikeal's subject of focus. He glanced over at Twilight, who shrugged with a small laugh.

"She makes no sense...I tried...really hard to figure Pinkie out. I ran tests, observations, interrogations, everything...I've ended up keeping her filed her away under a force of nature. When she wants something accomplished, especially if it relates to parties, it will happen," She said conversationally. Ezikeal couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of the statement, but didn't doubt it.

"I have seen some things in my time...nothing of the nature she seems to display," He said. There were plenty of powerful entities and heroes all over Azeroth, but he hadn't quite seen someone able to perform the actions Pinkie was in such subtle manner. He didn't dare think what those kinds of abilities could be truly capable of if these people were not so peaceful. Not to mention he had no idea the full capabilities of Twilight's, or Rarity's, or, well, any unicorn's magic. Perhaps he could gain some information on that, so he continued, "In my travels I had next to zero interactions with unicorns," He said, gaining Twilight's attention, "could you tell me a bit about their magic?"

"You haven't met many other unicorns in your travels?" She asked, genuinely surprised. Oh no, how unrealistic was that statement? For all he knew the land could be full of them. He shifted a bit, keeping his nervousness towards his potential misstep under wraps as he worked out an explanation.

"There were very few, the ones I did have experiences with were...unpleasant, other than that, nothing that gave me further insight into how magic functions," He elaborated. Twilight cringed, remembering him saying how he had been hurt before.

"Right, I'm sorry," She said quickly, steering away from that topic, "every unicorn has magic that they can advance through study and practice. The skill level of every unicorn naturally varies, with some having certain affinities towards certain schools of magic or magic in general--"

"And Twilight's the strongest unicorn there is!" Rainbow Dash interrupted.

"Dash, please, I'm not the greatest spell caster in Equestria," Twilight said quickly, flustered at the sudden praise, "My cutie mark represents my affinity for magic as a whole, I have been studying it since I was just a foal, and as a result I was able to realize myself as the element of magic," She explained, watching his reaction. Ezikeal was absorbing the information in silence, thinking through the statements. I still don't know the full extent of these "cutie marks" and how much of an impact they have on the people they attach to.

"Element of magic?" He asked.

"One of the guardians of all of Equestria, yeah!" Spike spoke up. Guardian? That got Ezikeal's attention. No doubt the word had a different meaning in this world, but the way they were describing her...defender of a nation...it was no doubt at least somewhat similar. In Azeroth, the Guardian was someone of unimaginable magic power, capable of feats that were next to god-like. He hadn't seen one in action, personally, but had heard tales of their strength and the powers they wielded from individuals that had. If that was the case, that this person was of any even remotely similar stature, this person was no doubt incredibly powerful. He scanned Twilight's gaze for any indication of her thoughts, but only found, a little surprisingly, a nervousness in her eyes as she looked at him, seemingly watching his reaction as well.

"Y-you guys are making me sound more important than I am!" She said, almost sensing the growing reverence in Ezikeal's view of her, "I-I can't do a whole lot on my own, it takes teamwork, all of the elements together is what matters." She said, mustering a positive, supportive tone towards the others. Ezikeal blinked. There were more elements? If not magic, what else..?

"There are more of these Elements?" He asked, and noticed the six of them looking at him with some kind of collective knowing. "All of you?" Surely not... Their nods in response to the question gave him some serious pause. All of these people were some kind of guardian figure for an entire nation. He hadn't sense any kind of power of that level from them. Even now, nothing seemed to radiate any kind of power...

"What are the other elements?" He asked.

"Rainbow Dash is the Element of Loyalty, Fluttershy is the Element of Kindness, Rarity is the Element of Generosity, Pinkie is the Element of Laughter, and Applejack is the Element of Honesty. We embody and represent these things as the Elements of Harmony," Twilight explained. Ezikeal listened close, looking at each woman as Twilight named them. They are...attributes to a person? Magic is the outlier. What powers do the others hold, I wonder... The name 'Elements of Harmony' was also something to think on, but not now.

Would they be a match for you? His internal voice finally spoke up against him again.

They are the guardians of a country, I'm sure they could handle a-

Machine of death that faced off against the Lich King, Deathwing, the might of the Iron Horde and the Burning Legion, not to mention the other other powerful foes that came along?

You leave out that I was with MANY other champions in those encounters. I was supported by the full might of the Alliance, and sometimes even the Horde as well when our collective interests aligned such as with Icecrown. Here, I am all alone. Any thoughts I have on my capability here would simply be wild speculation in the face of a totally unknown power!

"Ezikeal?" Twilight broke his train of thought. He blinked.

"Sorry, I was just...thinking," He said. Twilight seemed to take his pause in some different way.

"Don't think you need to treat us any different than anyone else here, we're still just normal ponies," She said, seeming to see in his eyes the growing want to address them more formally at the revelation of their status. Ezikeal nodded in agreement. That would probably be for the best. Everyone else seemed to be treating them very casually as well, why shouldn't he?

The group split up after a bit more conversation, leaving Twilight and Rainbow Dash with Ezikeal while the others met with and talked to other people in the party.

"So, you use that thing very often?" Dash asked, trying to break the silence that had settled between them with some casual talk. Ezikeal looked at her, seeing her gesture to the sword on his back.

"Ideally I do not need to. I know how to, and have several times," Well, he assumed he knew how this sword worked. When he drew it when he first arrived, it seemed like it stored his curse, and once drawn he became, at least mostly, a Death Knight again, with all the pain, and all the power. It might be a good idea to experiment in private at some point with this...but that was a thought for later.

"I see there are some markings on it...I don't recognize them," Twilight remarked, following up with Rainbow Dash's approach of the topic of his weapon and noticing the runes engraved in the crossguard. Okay, that could be problematic, he realized. It would be hard to just tell someone about runes without them having many questions. He was quiet for a second, looking between the two before speaking.

"It's an enchantment," he began, "attuning me to it, allowing for enhanced capabilities with it. I do not draw it often because of the draining nature of using it. Only when I have to," He said. That was...borderline truthful, at least he thought it was. It gave him an excuse not to use it, and would hopefully satisfy Twilight's curiosity some. Twilight seemed to hang onto every word, and an excitement grew in her eyes when he finished.

"An engraved enchantment? Those are so uncommon nowadays! And one I don't even begin to recognize with those markings - they're so different looking than what I have studied in the past! I would love for a chance to study it..." She said in an almost pleading tone, unable to keep herself from asking while seeming to know what his answer was going to be anyway.

"I'm sorry, no, just drawing it activates the enchantments," He said, keeping his tone as polite as he could. She sighed, nodding in acceptance.

"That's badass, though," Dash said, catching his attention, she went on, "That you can like...push yourself past the limits with that thing. If only there was something like that for flying!" He supposed if it didn't carry such a heavy price...something like that could be considered pretty cool, useful even...but the cost for such power...they couldn't even imagine it.

"You already push yourself so hard, Dash!" Twilight let out, earning a laugh from the other.

"Yeah! But I could go faster!" The assertive confidence radiated from her as she flared her wings out and took a pose for a moment. Ezikeal let out a small chuckle at the action as Twilight let out an exasperated sigh at her friend's antics.

"Having fun, E?" Pinkie appeared from...somewhere.

"E?" He asked, and Pinkie let out a laugh and nodded, placing down a plate with a slice of cake on it. Ezikeal could only shrug and accepted the mystery, taking a bite.

"I'm having a good time, Pinkie, thank you for setting all of this up," He said sincerely, smiling as his words seemed to make her glow with happiness. He felt the warmth of positivity all around him. People were happy, having a good time, some he had gotten the names, but most were still unknown to him. He knew, though, if he stayed here, with time, the chance of having friends, knowing people...maybe, just maybe, things were going to work out.

That was a nice feeling.

Sitting alone in the loft of the barn once again, Ezikeal found his mind quiet after the positivity of the party. No intrusive thoughts were gnawing at his mind over his past, or his unworthiness of being treated with even a little respect. He decided to take advantage of the quiet and try to get some easy sleep. He laid down and let himself drift off. He didn't know how long it had been, but when his eyes opened, he was looking a wooden ceiling. It was not the ceiling of Applejack's barn, it was somehow something more familiar and yet distant at the same time.

"Ezikeal! Breakfast is ready," A woman's voice called out. Ezikeal groaned a bit, sitting up and stretching, still groggy from sleep.

"I'll be down in a minute, mother!" He called and pulled the simple blue sheets off himself and got up with a small yawn, wiping his brown hair back with a hand. He pulled on a white shirt to go with his dark blue pants before looking in the mirror at himself. Soon, he knew, he would go enlist to become a paladin to fight for the Alliance, like his father. He looked himself over, his young form, ripe with potential before heading downstairs in the small house. A woman, his mother, had set the table for him. He sat down to eat, looking down at the food. A stew with a side of warm bread, a common meal on Azeroth during the time.

"Any news from father?" He asked, eating the first few bites of the meal. He didn't mind that he didn't taste anything, that fact didn't even register to him. For Ezikeal, it was just as good as always, it only made sense that it was.

"Nothing yet, I think the post was delayed, his next letter was set to arrive a two days ago..." His mother said, her tone thoughtful but concern evident, "It isn't like him to miss writing to us," She concluded, then looked at Ezikeal with a small pause, "And I suppose it won't be like you, either?" She added, shifting the focus to her. It was inevitable, given the state of things in the world - the conflicts raging across Azeroth...the constant presence of the Horde, and now the Scourge threat having risen up more prominently and all able bodied individuals were being urged to join the fight. Ezikeal was nearing the age now, being 15, where he would have to leave and join the fight. He wished to follow his father's footsteps, joining the forces of the Alliance as a paladin. The training for that was much more in-depth compared to the average soldier, requiring dedication and building a connection to wield the light's gifts; he'd have to leave a year earlier, once he was 16. Ezikeal, like many others his age who were filled with a sense of grandeur towards the concept of glory in battle, was eager to begin his training. He had already procured several texts on holy scripts to prepare himself ahead of time for his future training.

"Of course not, mother, and one day when I have become a paladin, I will help stand up for the good of the people, for the Alliance, just as father is! I'll stand and fight alongside him!" He declared, the prospects of his future, and the grim reality of them were far from set in his mind. He still had the bravado of a young boy preparing for a fight nobody would ever rightly want. He took another bite, "None of that would keep me from writing to you, to let you know I was in good health."

"That's good to hear, I would hate to lose you..." A flash of worry had passed over his mother's face for a brief moment, but was gone as soon as it had appeared. She was proud of what he was growing up and striving to be, she just wished things in the world didn't have to be so grim to lead to these circumstances.

A knock pierced the quiet of the morning.

"I'll get it," he said, heading to the door. His pace faltered when he saw a gleam of metal from a shoulderplate through the window of the door. He rushed to the door quicker, opening it to come face to face with a taller man in armor, the silver and blue of a soldier of Stormwind adorned his body.

"Hail, Sir," Ezikeal greeted, standing a bit straighter. The man did not look happy as he held his helmet under one arm and a roll of parchment in the other. Ezikeal's warm greeting faded as he looked into the man's eyes, almost hallow of emotion, save for pain at seeing the young boy before him. He felt a bit fuzzy as he stared into those eyes, slowly gaining more awareness of the dull brown color they held, as if realizing that was how they really were. The sensation subsided as quickly as it appeared.

"Greetings," The man said, trying to muster a polite smile. The result only confirmed that he was not there for any pleasant reason. "Is your mother around?" He asked.

"Ezikeal, who is..." His mother trailed off behind him. Silence dominated the three for a long, drawn-out moment. Ezikeal looked back at his mother, who had clearly paled and brought a hand over her mouth.

Understanding washed over Ezikeal as to the man's reason for being there. He whirled around and looked at the messenger again. His world practically spun. His knees felt weak. He put a hand on the door frame for balance.

"Father...no...he's...?" He looked at the parchment in the man's hand, then at his face, as if pleading it not to be what he was assuming. His father couldn't be...no, no no no...

A hand rested on his shoulder as his mother took the parchment in a shaking hand. A blue wax seal in the shape of a lion's head held it in a neat roll.

"I'm...truly sorry, Miss," The messenger said, "On behalf of the King, I offer the deepest of condolences. There is more information within the correspondence." The grip on Ezikeal's shoulder tightened. Ezikeal was looking down at the floor, trying to keep any semblance of composure as his fists clenched, eyes burning and threatening to let out fresh tears. The messenger turned, silently walking back to his horse that was waiting down the path from their door, wearing similar silver and blue armor. Strung from its side a large satchel hung, through the small opening more letters of most likely similar nature were resting, awaiting their delivery to soon-to-be broken families.

Ezikeal felt himself drawn into a hug, dropping to his knees with his mother as she gripped him tightly, crying softly into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, doing his best to keep from breaking down just as much. His father...his hero...idol...everything! Gone...it just...it couldn't be...

He didn't know how long he was there, held by his mother, everything had become...fuzzy, he couldn't tell why...or how. The next thing he was aware of was that he was in the woods, he must have came out here. He figured it was to take some time alone for himself, and to give his mother space to grieve to herself as well. Ezikeal rubbed his eyes, it had grown dark out, and he was seated at the base of a tree by the river. The sound of footsteps approaching got his attention. He quickly wiped at his face, clearing the remnants of tears from them as best he could as the stranger rounded the tree.

It was a woman, tall and beautiful in her graceful appearance. Skin as pale as the moonlight and long, smooth midnight black hair. She was in a long, dark blue low-cut dress. Her eyes were a vibrant, bluish green, and conveyed a strange sense of sympathy. She stopped, standing next to him. The stranger should have made him more curious than he felt, instead he simply existed in her presence, feeling the pain of...whatever had happened dull some.

"Greetings, Ezikeal," She said gently.

"Hello," He greeted, not finding it strange in the slightest that the stranger knew his name. She looked around them, watching the soft running water of the river and observing the strong, bulky trees surrounding them. An expression of concern had slowly formed on her expression as she looked around them, but when she looked down at him again it was gone.

"Tell us, what is this place thou has come to?" She asked, tone taking a more inquisitive angle as he too looked around.

"It's..." He looked around. He knew this place, right? "It's a river in Elwynn, near my home. I'm here...because..." He furrowed his brow, something didn't seem right. Why was he here? He knew where he was...it was an important place to him. Confusion etched itself across his face. The woman frowned a little, watching him close now.

"Thou does not know?" She asked.

"I-I do, I'm just...I'm here to be alone, I needed space," His voice wasn't confident in his words. Was that it? Was that all this spot was special for? A good place to be alone? No...this didn't add up. There was some significance he knew was missing to him. He stood up, walking around now. The air was cool as he moved, walking down along the stream. After a few moments of walking, he noticed a fuzzy sensation in his chest and his vision grew duller. He stopped, freezing in place and backed up, noticing the sensation fading and his vision clearing. What was that? He was about to take another step forward again to investigate further when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned. The woman gripped his shoulder and pulled him back a few more steps. For some reason, nothing about her actions made him any more concerned than he was.

"Ezikeal, what were thou doing before coming here?" She asked him. Ezikeal looked around, it had been morning last he remembered. He had to have been doing something this whole time. That fuzzy sensation returned when he tried to think hard on it, and it grew stronger the harder he thought. He wanted to remember, something was wrong here and he didn't know what. Panic soon grew within him - he couldn't remember anything! Nothing was making sense now! This place was important! This day was important! He couldn't even remember what had happened that morning anymore, but knew it troubled him greatly, and his mother, something upsetting had happened but it wasn't lining up in his mind!

"No...this is wrong, somethings wrong-" He let out a choked sound, no longer the young boy he had been this whole time. He was himself, as he was since arriving in this new world. His surroundings shifted into dull blurs as the world seemed to spin in his vision. The flickering of the moon through the tree cover flashing in his eyes. His hands found his head and he clenched his fists in his hair, trying to grasp at his mind through his own head as he leaned in on himself.

A sudden, chilling, ice cold feeling surrounded him, like it had suddenly turned into a harsh winter.

"Steady thyself, Ezikeal!" The woman said quickly, grabbing hold of both of his shoulders. It snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked into her eyes. They were wide with worry, but softened soon after locking with his own. His breathing steadied and as he gazed into her eyes he felt his thoughts slow, body warming, and a very...tired feeling overcoming him. His legs almost gave out, and the woman helped him to the ground, the grass of the forest floor now subtly frosted from a sudden chill that had encircled him.

"Rest," She said, and everything went black.

Ezikeal slowly opened his eyes, a small beam of light coming through the window onto his face. As he blinked and shifted, the memories of the dream he had just had rapidly faded into nothingness, leaving only the understanding that it was not pleasant. He sighed, feeling at least somewhat rested. It looked a bit later than early morning, he must have slept in some. He supposed that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, Applejack had assured him that he wouldn't need to do much for the next couple days and told him to relax. He climbed down from the loft, stepping outside and taking a breath of fresh air. There were a couple things he had wanted to try to sort out, now would likely be as good of a time as any. First, he wanted to visit the library.

It wasn't a long walk, and soon enough he was there at the large tree. He knocked on the door, and after a moment of waiting it opened, the handle glowing a faint purple. He took a step inside, seeing Twilight sitting on one of the cushioned seats, several books resting on a table as she quickly flipped through them with magic, searching the pages for something.

"Hello again, Twilight," He said, causing her to let out a small sound and look up.

"Oh, Ezikeal," The book set itself down on the table, "I didn't expect to see you again so soon," She said.

"I hope that isn't a problem," He said, meeting her eyes.

"No, of course not! I'm just glad to see you comfortable enough to wander around on your own now," She said quickly, realizing how her previous statement had come across, "What can I help you with?"

"I had a request I think you could help with," He said, taking a seat as well, sitting straight with his hands on his knees.

"Of course, what's on your mind?" She asked, a paper and quill floating over to take notes if she needed to.

"I was wondering if there was a way to obtain another sword in any simple way?" He started, "I know it might appear impractical, but I want this blade of mine to be a last resort in any sort of situation...erm, there isn't exactly a 'soft' form of using it, if that makes sense?" Twilight nodded, the quill taking a couple notes as he spoke, "I would prefer a regular blade in the event I need to involve myself in a conflict that doesn't require..." He struggled for the words.

"Full force?" She asked.

"For lack of a better term, yes," He resigned.

"If I may ask, Ezikeal, why use something that sounds so...taxing, or at least not replace it with something that isn't so intense?" She asked. He couldn't fault her curiosity, he was well aware how he sounded describing this thing, and one couldn't truly understand what it meant to use the sword if he never drew it for example - which was not something he intended on doing.

"It isn't pleasant, but it has it's use," He affirmed, "It's kind of like...insurance, I suppose. If the situation is dire enough, it is likely to remedy it."

Ha! What an understatement. His internal voice snapped, You call the power to decimate a city almost unopposed insurance!? Who's gonna buy that? Ezikeal knew it was a flimsy excuse more to himself than anything, but disregarded the intrusive thought that assaulted his mind in that moment.

Twilight seemed to follow his reasoning enough, she had no idea what exactly he was faced with before coming to Equestria, and while it seemed like she wanted to ask, she appeared to be unsure of how to ask those sorts of questions and Ezikeal had no intention of broaching that topic first.

"That makes sense, I suppose. There isn't a direct way to obtain any kind of weapons in Ponyville, usually those sorts of things are reserved for Guards only. I can send a letter and request something, though," She offered, a new piece of paper floating over, "It might come with a few questions, but I'm confident something can be arranged."

"I think that would be nice, yes, thank you, Twilight," He said, bowing his head to her in gratitude. The quill began rapidly writing on the new paper.

"It's the least I can do, you're helping Applejack on the farm, which is very admirable. I'm also very fascinated by you," She said, "From what I've heard you come from far out of Equestria, from places I have yet to fully investigate. I would love for the opportunity to just...have you tell me things about these lands you've explored," She said, an almost dreamy look in her eyes as she faced the prospect of learning something so new.

"Maybe in the future," He deflected, "Thank you for taking my request, I know I must seem very odd, compared to everyone I've seen in Ponyville," He said apologetically.

"Being different isn't a bad thing, Ezikeal," She said reassuringly, moving over to sit next to him, "Everyone has something special and unique to them, and the experiences that they go through to make them, well, them is something magical. The talents they have, the skills they learn," She paused, resting a hand on his forearm, "The bad things too, there's lessons in misfortune," Ezikeal took in her words. She had no idea...there was no way to put into words that would align with the kindness of this new world that could properly convey the severity of his torment, the burden of his guilt, understandably.

"Even if...we've done bad things?" He said softly, not even fully realizing he spoke until he felt Twilight's grip on his arm tighten.

"Everyone deserves a chance at redemption," She said, not a shred of doubt in her voice, "I know we're all still very new to you, Ezikeal, but if you need to talk to someone, any of us, we'd be there to listen. You seem like a really nice pony. You don't have to be going through anything completely on your own, friends are here to support you, help you when you need them!" Ezikeal nodded. He would need to find a way to...bring some level of truth into this eventually, but the thought of seeing his new friends, these allies he has made in such a short time, look at him in fear, in disgust to his actions...he wouldn't be able to face that judgement, not yet, at least.

He'd be able to tell them. Not yet, but eventually.

Another chapter down with more to come!

As always, feedback welcome.