A loud shriek burst from the unicorn's mouth as he charged forward; ready to meet his opponent. His wild, unkempt mane flowed behind him like a blazing flame with every step he took as he began to formulate a plan. It was a fairly simple one; Steel was going to horizontally swipe his sword towards him, and it would be simple to just parry the attack before going in with a close quarters strike. If he got close enough, Steel wouldn't be able to wield his sword. Such a shame it was almost two meters long. Come to think of it, why was it that long? Was it to compensate for something? Why did his brain suddenly focus on that in the middle of a fight, instead of focusing on not getting his ass kicked?
Thankfully Shattering Steel did exactly what Black Flag predicted he would do; a mighty horizontal swipe that was accompanied by a deafening cry of battle. So, Black Flag retaliated just as he had planned; with a defensive parry meant to block his strike and leave Steel wide open to a counterattack. Well, it was meant to do that, but things didn't exactly turn out that way. The swords connected, but that didn't exactly mean that Black Flag's weapon stopped the Earth pony's sword. As thick as his weapon was, it couldn't stop the sheer momentum that Shattering Steel's colossal sword carried and the sword's blade was split in two; causing the upper half to go flying and leaving the unicorn with the shattered remains as he stumbled backward from the force. Well, at least the two stallions knew how Shattering Steel got his name now. He was at least lucky enough to have to not have been within range of that sword, as it continued its path it sliced the air mere centimeters from Black Flag's neck. If it were any closer, it would have ripped open his throat with ease; splitting apart the soft flesh like a hot knife through butter.
"What's going on out here?" Golden Keg demanded as she shoved open the thick wooden door to her tavern, bursting out with a less-than-cheery look on her face. To be frank, she looked like she was ready to go completely berserk on whoever or whatever was making such a noisy racket. However, her boiling anger quickly turned to total shock as she looked upon the sight before her. The first thing she spotted was Red Ink, who looked like he was just as shocked as she was at the sight. Nopony seemed to even notice that she had come out of the bar.
It seemed that Shattering Steel had arrived sometime while she was getting the bar ready, and had already gotten into a fight. Congratulations. His thick iron sword's blade was now resting on the shoulder of Black Flag, who appeared to be trying his hardest to hold back tears as he cradled what remained of his sword like a child. Golden Keg couldn't help but feel pity for Black Flag. He carried that sword everywhere he went; chatting about how he was going to become a famous warrior someday. She quietly approached Red Ink and sat down beside him.
"What happened out here?" She said in a much calmer tone this time. After a few seconds had gone by, the Pegasus finally seemed to register that she was there and turned his head to face her. Meeting his gaze, she had never seen such a sense of sadness and heartbreak in her life. His eyes just carried such pain, which was made even worse by how cheerful and proud he had been when she first arrived at the bar earlier that morning.
"I just lost my best friend," he explained, his voice uncannily cold and harsh. When she looked at him with a confused expression, he went on to explain the events that had occurred while she was setting the bar up. While that was going on, Shattering Steel confronted his new servant. He lowered his sword from the unicorn's shoulder then released the powerful weapon from his maw's grip and dropped it to the ground.
"Quit your sniveling. You got exactly what you deserved. You should have known that you stood no chance of defeating a combatant that far outclassed you in every sense of the word, and now you have to pay up your side of the deal. If you're lucky, you might come out of the ordeal in one piece. Now give me that sword," Black Flag didn't even look up. When he refused to answer his demand, Shattering Steel immediately lost his patience entirely. "Give it to me now," he roared, his voice akin to a bestial scream. That seemed to jolt Black Flag out of his daze, as well as get the attention of the other two ponies. Black Flag still must not have reacted fast enough, because, in Shattering Steel's fit of anger, he raised his hoof as if to strike the crestfallen pony. He would have gone through with the act as well if the other two hadn't intervened before he could land the blow.
"Don't you even think about it," Red Ink said, his voice a harsh whisper rank with anger and hatred. When Black Flag turned his head to look at Red Ink, he saw that both the Pegasus and Golden Keg were approaching Shattering Steel. They both looked incredibly mad, but Red Ink was worse, to the point he kind of frightened Black Flag. The snow-white pony looked like he wanted to split Shattering Steel's skull in half with his own sword. He'd never seen Red Ink that mad in his life, and it was truly a sight that he never wanted to witness ever again.. What made this sudden burst of bravery even more incredible to Black Flag was that they were willing to take on a pony that pretty much towered over them and wasn't exactly skin and bones. No, not in the slightest. The warrior had very well-defined muscle, which had proven quite useful in bringing down soldier after soldier in any war he partook in. "You have my word that if I ever find out you abused him during your travels together, and I will crack your skull open like an egg's shell. I swear you will regret your actions, Steel. I will make sure of that."
"I'll second that," Golden Keg said, seeming more than ready to take on the warrior. Black Flag was in utter shock. His friends were going to risk themselves to try and dig him out of a hole that he got himself into. That was when it all came crashing down on him like a tidal wave. He just willingly threw away his only friends in exchange for a year of work as a mercenary, a job that could and probably would kill him. Why were they still sticking up for him?
"Here! Take the damn thing," he begged, shoving the shattered steel sword towards the victor of the duel. He didn't even care about it anymore; he just wanted to avoid another fight, especially if it meant his friends risked getting hurt or killed. Shattering Steel finally lowered his hoof to the ground, thankfully. He then proceeded to grasp the hilt in his mouth and threw what remained of the gray unicorn's weapon into the distant field brimming with tall, unkempt plant life with a quick snap of his head.
"What did you do that for?" Black Flag asked as he watched the sword's hilt land somewhere in the field. He wasn't even mad or upset, just really confused by the warrior's actions. What was the point; couldn't he have just given it to Red Ink to hold onto, or even a blacksmith to get it fixed? It seemed like he was just being needlessly inconvenient. Surely it wasn't an attempt to rub his victory in Black Flag's face, was it? Honestly, all that was missing was some maniacal grin and a flash of lightning across his face, and he would fit the antagonist archetype completely.
"I disposed of it because it was broken, and therefore useless to both you and I. Why would you care for a broken sword in the first place?" Steel inquired, genuine curiosity peppering his tone; not an ounce of cynicism or mockery could be heard.
"I cared for it because it held sentimental value to me, of course. It was my first sword, after all. Paid a good few hundred bits for it to be forged; it was three times as thick as a standard broadsword." Shattering Steel just shrugged indifferently before he replied.
"So? Being more expensive or being your first sword aren't very good reasons to keep it around after it has been rendered unusable. What if it had broken in an actual fight? Would you still try to salvage the remains of your precious expensive sword at the risk of your own life? If that's the case, then you will die very quickly. And I highly doubt your friend Red Ink over there would be very happy about that. Just accept that a sword is nothing more than a tool, and nothing else. Don't get too attached to any of them, because I can almost guarantee that your first sword won't be the only one you break over the next year. Got it?" For once, the swordstallion actually seemed fairly calm and levelheaded. That was actually a pretty big shock, especially to Red Ink. He figured that Steel only had two emotions; anger and hatred. Funny, because those were also the only two emotions that Red felt towards the Earth pony.
"Yes sir," Black Flag muttered with a dejected sigh; gaze falling to the ground. However, he did not allow himself to break down; not again. He just picked himself up off the ground like nothing happened. "What time will we be leaving? I just want to know."
"We will be leaving early tomorrow morning," Shattering Steel replied as he slung his gear over his shoulder and onto his back half-heartedly and began to make his way towards Filosofem, with an annoyed Golden Keg close behind him. While he was royally pissing her off, she honestly couldn't afford to throw him out. She needed the bits. "so spend your final day here however you like. It is going to be the last you see of this town for a good long while, after all. Until then, don't even think about bothering me." And like that, he vanished from sight; hidden by the thick wooden door that fronted the wretched bar.
"Alright," Red Ink said with a sigh as he approached his friend. "we're going to find you a brand new sword. I highly doubt that Steel would be so generous as to provide you with a replacement, after all." As much as Black Flag hated to admit it, Red was probably right about that. He was right about a lot of things, actually. Oh, dammit, why hadn't he just listened to him? Not much he could do about it now unless he got lucky and found something like a gem that could bring him untamed power and magic in exchange for his flesh and blood during a solar eclipse. But really, what were the chances of that happening? That would just be silly! Black Flag took a look around him; just in case he happened to see such a magical rock, but no such luck. Dang it.
"I know," he replied after he finally realized he looked kind of silly just standing in one place like a moron and began to make his way towards their camping site with his best friend following right behind him. "I need to get my bits from the tent, then I'll be ready to go looking for one." Red Ink replied with only a silent nod of agreement and they began the tedious and uncomfortable return to their tent. On the way back, they did not say a single word to one another. The only sound that reached their ears was the soft noise of their hooves against the soil beneath them. They weren't feeling bitter or angry with each other, they just had nothing to say. Only when they reached their destination did Black Flag finally break the silence.
"Look, Red Ink, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you," Black Flag said with sorrow lathering his voice. For a few moments, Red Ink said nothing. He just approached Black Flag and rested his hoof on the unicorn's shoulder. It may not have seemed like much more than a simple gesture to most ponies, but for some unknown reason, it always seemed to calm Black Flag down. Perhaps it was just how calm Red Ink usually was, even in times of dire need for help, while Black Flag usually couldn't handle such stress very well. Red Ink always seemed to be there when Black Flag needed him the most. He always knew what was best for him. Gah, why did he act so stupid? He should have never gone to that damn bar in the first place.
"I know you are," Red Ink said, his voice still as calm as ever. However, it was much harder to keep up the facade than it looked. While on the outside he may have appeared cool and levelheaded, on the inside he honestly wanted to just break down right then and there. But he knew he couldn't do that, he needed to remain in control of his emotions as best he could. It was for his best friend's sake, he didn't need any more guilt than he already had. "I just want you to know, I'm not angry about how things turned out. We all have a dream that we want to pursue, and I'm glad that you aren't allowing yours to be smoked out like a fire. Now, why don't you get the bits and we'll find a new weapon for you."
"Alright," Black Flag replied with a nod before he disappeared into the tan tent. While the sounds of him shuffling around in there reached his ears, Red Ink began to ponder. Was he really going to watch his closest friend walk off into the horizon with some bloodthirsty Earth pony? Was it better to try and convince Steel to call off the servitude, or allow Black Flag to cut his own path without Red's jurisdiction? Was his free will truly more important than his safety?
His train of thought was shattered when Black Flag returned from the tent with the stormy gray pouch, which swayed back and forth from his mouth with every step he took. Red Ink came to a quick decision; he would let his friend go with Shattering Steel. However, he would do his best to track them for a week or two and watch how well Steel treated him. If the Earth pony treated Black Flag well, then Red would accept that he was just over-protective and he would let his anger go. However, if Steel abused Black Flag, Red Ink would make him regret his actions. He would kill him...trample him...skewer him.
The two stallions began to make their way downtown, and Black Flag felt that he should've tried breaking the unnerving silence somehow. He pulled the pouch from his mouth's grip; letting it float in the air aimlessly with his magic so he could speak.
"Hey Red," Black said as he sifted the pouch in midair, causing the bits inside to jingle together in a soft musical noise. "I was thinking about just getting a standard sword this time, without any kind of customization to it. Nothing that's too fancy or anything like that, probably a longsword, though I might buy a second sword in case that one breaks as well. Is there anything you will want to buy with the extra bits? You should have a few hundred of them left over."
"Let me think for a moment," Red Ink replied as he began to formulate a plot for what he should do just in case things went south. There was no way he would be able to subdue his opponent using melee weapons, he would get slaughtered. He couldn't allow fair play or equal ground, either; it would be best if he found a way to stay in the air. Not only would the use of his wings make him more difficult to reach but it would also give him much more mobility than just remaining on the ground. But what weapon should he use? "Are there any decent ranged weapons?"
"Oh, well, there are several kinds. Unfortunately, most of them are best used by unicorns; magic grip and all that. However, you could probably use a crossbow, even if those are a bit awkward to use from what I have heard. Why do you ask? You don't plan on doing something as stupid as what I've gotten myself into, do you?" Red Ink shook his head and laughed. Black Flag wasn't letting his emotions drag him down, at least. Which was more than could be said for Red Ink, because if he could let this entire experience go unconditionally he wouldn't be crafting this dirty little scheme in the first place.
"I was just hoping to buy something for self-defense, that's all. I'll pretty much be by my lonesome for a full year in terms of companionship, so I thought it would be a wise idea to have something I could use in case the worst should happen to me. After all, would be a bit of a bummer if you came back from your epic journey and found my body rotting in a ditch somewhere outside of town." To be honest, Black Flag could see that happening. With his longer eyelashes, slender figure, and flowing mane Red Ink was not exactly the most intimidating stallion out there and barbarians might have considered him an easy target. They might even mistake him for a mare, which was a rather easy error to make. Heck, Black Flag made that mistake at one point, when they first met several years ago. It was a mistake he was constantly trying to forget ever happened.
"Alright, fair enough. We'll ask what the armory has in stock when we get there." And with that, they got moving again; out of the thick clusters of trees and onto the sunbathed dirt road that led into Hawk's Rest. Some time had passed since Shattering Steel had claimed victory over Black Flag, and by now the town was bursting and bubbling with life. Songbirds were chirping away joyously, foals were playing in the streets without a care in the world, the weather was just absolutely perfect for a day like this. It was almost like nature itself was taunting Red Ink; reminding him that this was the kind of perfect day he could be enjoying with his friend, if only he had done more to stop the duel from happening. They wouldn't even be having such a conversation. Everything would have gone on the way they were supposed to be. And if Black Flag perished on the battlefield, Red would never forgive himself or Steel.
"Red Ink," Black Flag said as he turned to look at the eponymous Pegasus. "are you okay?" Red Ink just nodded, not saying a word for fear it would just come out as a sob. He needed to remain strong for Black Flag... His thoughts were cut off as he felt his friend's hoof against his cheek, wiping away tears that he was unknowingly shedding.
"I've never seen you cry before," Black Flag said, his voice no louder than a whisper. This was not something that occurred often, for he was usually quite loud and bombastic. Red Ink didn't meet the unicorn's gaze; just slipped his wing around Flag's body, and Black Flag pulled him into a comforting embrace in return as the snow-white pony rested his head against his friend's chest. Red Ink almost laughed. He should be the one comforting Black Flag as he had done for many years; not the other way around.
"I'm just scared for your safety," Red Ink explained as he wiped his tears away with a quick swipe of his hoof. "I don't want to lose you. Especially not in some worthless territorial dispute where you'd get forgotten about in a matter of days if not hours. " He took in a deep breath, and slowly exhaled to clear his thoughts. "I'm okay, I'm better now. Thank you." Black Flag gave him a quizzical look but released the Pegasus and didn't try to push the issue any further.
They quickly picked up their pace after that and made it to the armory, named Hammerfall, in Hawk's Rest in under twenty minutes. On the outside, it appeared to be a rather simplistic structure. There weren't any decorative pieces upon the walls, the paint job was just a generic tan color, and there weren't even any windows. The reason for that was probably because the walls were often completely covered in different weapons and the owner of the armory, Null Moon, needed as much room as possible, which included a large basement beneath the store.
As they entered the armory, the two were shocked to see that there seemed to be a steady flow of customers today. They were mostly soldiers or mercenaries, which meant that something must have been going down pretty soon. Not that Hammerfall was bad in business or something, there was that basement under the store and that thing didn't just appear there because Null Moon ground up a bunch of pixies into dust after all, but the two hadn't seen so many customers in here for a very, very long time. It was a somewhat strange sight, to say the least. The owner of the armory was a short, aging Earth pony mare with pallid red fur, a short blond mane , and heavy bags under her eyes. She worked behind a thick reddish mahogany counter that was marred by seemingly countless nicks and scratches from heavy use over the years, where she sat on a small wooden stool. Black Flag couldn't help but think that sitting on that thing for several hours must have been a real pain in the ass, and he had even offered to get her a new chair at one point, but she just insisted that she would keep the old stool.
Black Flag approached the counter, with Red Ink close behind him, and rested against the smooth wooden surface. For a few moments the shopkeeper didn't seem to take notice of the two new arrivals, she appeared to be looking at something beneath the counter, but Black Flag couldn't exactly tell what it was. Not really something he should've been worrying about in the first place anyhow, so he just brushed it off and cleared his throat to notify Null Moon that they were there.
"Oh! Hello there," she said, looking up with a warm smile spread across her muzzle. "What can I help you two with? Planning on getting some gear so you can partake in the new dispute between Northern Light and Glistening Gem?" When the two stallions looked at her with confusion, she just chuckled lightheartedly. "I guess you two haven't the news. Both of those cretins have declared war on each other, and they're both looking for anypony willing to fight to join their ranks. Actually, not just ponies. Zebras, Gryphons, Changelings, whatever. Which is kind of ironic on Glistening Gem's part, because he's usually absolutely terrified of Zebras and what he calls their, "Good for nothing sorcery, curses, and voodoo". Which, by the way, is really rich coming from a unicorn. But whatever. What I'm guessing really matters to you two is that they will be paying their soldiers quite handsomely."
"I see," Black Flag replied as he absentmindedly tapped his hoof against the wooden floor. It didn't surprise him at all that those two had declared war. They just hated each other's guts, to the point that a citizen couldn't cross the property of Northern Light without the noble rushing out of his manor to tell the civilian to deliver a scroll to Gem that read, "Your mother was a hamster!" Or something equally stupid and foal-like, before he would retreat back into his abode with his tail tucked between his legs just as quickly as he had come out of it. Black Flag assumed that Gem had just grown sick of Light's crap and was going to end it by force. And honestly, Black Flag really couldn't blame him. That spoiled brat had told him to deliver five hundred and seventy-four letters and that wasn't counting all of the other civilians that had to cross his property every single day. What certainly didn't make Northern Light any less obnoxious was that, when he spoke, he sounded like he ate nothing but ash and drank smoke every single day. He could only pity those poor bastards who worked for him.
"Anyway," Red Ink cut in quickly, wanting to get things moving along sometime before Hearth's Warming Eve rolled around. He really didn't want to spend his last day with Black Flag in some shop browsing for weaponry. In fact, he would like to keep any thoughts of battle off his mind for the time being. He never condoned ignoring the inevitable before, but there really was too much heartache for him to bare at the moment. For one last day, he wanted to keep his heavy heart light. "what we came here for in the first place was to buy some weapons. Black Flag is looking for a couple of, what was it, a longsword?" Black Flag just nodded. "Right, knew that was it. I'm looking for a crossbow."
"Alright," the shopkeeper mumbled absentmindedly as she hopped off her stool and shoved the oakwood seat off to the far left wall. As she moved it, Black Flag and Red Ink could see a long cellar door was underneath it, which was connected to a thick iron handle. They had been to Hammerfall on several different occasions, but Black Flag always found it kind of fascinating that she just kept most of her stuff under the store. "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back." She pulled open the door and made her way into the basement, leaving the place unchecked while she was down there. He never brought this up to her, but she really needed to hire somepony to watch the place while she was down there. He always thought it was kind of stupid to rely on the honor system that nopony would steal stuff when she was out of sight. And if he managed to figure out that something was stupid, chances were incredibly high that whatever he figured out was blatantly bucking obvious.
"So, uh, Red Ink," Black Flag said after the shopkeeper had been gone for three or four minutes. "What are you going to do while I'm gone? Going to continue working on your book?" The Pegasus didn't say a word, and when Black Flag turned his head towards his friend to see if he was okay, he just appeared to be zoning out or something like that. "Hellooo?" Black Flag said as he waved his hoof in front of the stallion's face. Red Ink shook his head a couple of times, causing his luscious white mane to sway around him elegantly.
"What? Is something the matter, Black Flag?" Red Ink said gently, worried that something was about to pile up on the list of things that could go awry.
"Nope, nothing at all. You just seemed to be, you know, not completely here. Is something wrong with you?"
"No, I don't think so," Red Ink replied with a dismissive shrug. "Just thinking about how it is going to be so quiet when you go on your journey with Shattering Steel." That excuse was, obviously, a total lie. No, what he had on his mind was what Null Moon had said about Glistening Gem and his...less than tasteful thoughts on Zebras. Perhaps there was some kind of magic enchantment that he could buy from Concoctions and Wizardry, the magic shop down the road that specialized in all forms of sorcery including Zebra magic. Before Black Flag got the idea in his head to re-ask his question now that he had finally gotten Red Ink's attention, Null Moon came back up the stairs carrying two very lengthy steel swords and a crossbow. Well, to be more accurate, she carried each weapon up the stairs and placed them on the counter one at a time due to her needing to use her mouth to transport them. Even if he remembered to ask, he probably wouldn't have done it. It would have just been way too awkward for him. And quite frankly, he absolutely hated getting into awkward situations like that. To be fair, what kind of nutball actually enjoyed uncomfortable social situations?
"Alright," Null Moon said after she carefully rested the last weapon, the crossbow, down on the counter Something that caught Red Ink's attention was that while she was carrying it up, she seemed to have some kind of satchel or pouch slung around her side that swung back and forth with each step she took. "The longswords are a hundred and fifty bits apiece, while the crossbow is three hundred and fifty bits, plus another hundred for the steel bolts." As she mentioned the eponymous ammunition she pulled the pouch off her torso and onto the counter, which landed with a satisfying thump.
Black Flag proceeded to dump the contents of his pouch onto the counter in a small pile, which he then quickly sorted out into the proper payment. He then carefully counted what little of his horde would remain after the transaction, and judging by the annoyed sigh, Red Ink guessed that there weren't that many bits left over.
"You have got about seventy-five bits left over. Are you certain that you are going to need this?" Black Flag inquired as he looked over the crossbow. It certainly wasn't badly made; definitely worth the price. Didn't stop it from being insanely expensive. Red Ink nodded, knowing that he could take care of his situation just fine. Even if he needed more bits, he could always return to his old ways of getting more of them. It was a dirty and very uncivilized task, but sometimes he needed to stoop to some pretty low places if he were to succeed. Not everything could be so black and white. He had done it before, and would have no problem with doing it once again. It was just good business. Besides, what mattered was keeping that bastard Steel from doing any harm to Black Flag. Not being the kind of pony to argue, especially when he trusted Red Ink with knowing what was best, Black Flag just shrugged and pushed the pile of bits toward Null Moon, who scooped the currency into several different pouches, which one the coins went into depending on their monetary value.
"So, Null Moon," Red Ink said as he examined the crossbow carefully. It certainly wasn't the smallest weapon, that was for damn sure. It appeared to be crafted with a special groove in the base so it could easily be propped on a pony's shoulder while they took aim at their target, and the mechanisms seemed to be activated with a lever on the side. "How much stopping power does this crossbow have?" Considering it was a single-shot weapon, he hoped it would have quite a lot. If it didn't, he was going to be in some deep trouble if things got real ugly. The Earth pony laughed.
"That thing has enough power to shatter bones quite easily," she explained as she flipped open one of the leather bags filled with bolts and pulled out one with her teeth. Red Ink whistled lowly in amazement as he observed the long steel bolt, his mind immediately picturing Steel writhing on the cold hard ground in sheer agony as one of those beautiful bolts shattered his leg and rendered him unable to walk. All he could think about was that he hoped the mercenary took very good care of Black Flag, or those images would become a very painful reality.
"Looks quite nice Red," Black Flag said as he glanced over towards the Pegasus, who was slinging the ammunition bags over his shoulders. He grasped the two swords and the crossbow with his magic and turned to face Null Moon. "Thanks for doing service with us." Red Ink didn't say anything about the subject, but that was one of the most awkwardly worded ways to tell somepony goodbye he had ever heard. She didn't bring it up either; just waved goodbye, and the two were finally out of the shop. And Red Ink was beyond thankful for that because he was almost certain that time just stopped in its tracks while they were in there.
"So, do we have any other plans for the day?" Red Ink asked as he shuffled the weight of his bolts. They may not have been heavy individually, but when they were all clumped together in satchels like they were now, they definitely weighed him down. He could not carry these on his back if things played out as he feared they would. They would slow him down too much for any complex maneuvers and his speed would be hindered greatly. That meant he could only carry a few bolts at a time, probably in his mouth, and he had to make his shots count.
"Nope, not that I can think of. Is there anything that you have planned?" Red Ink just gave his standard answer; a slight shrug of his shoulders. Honestly, he couldn't remember if he did or not. He just had way too much on his mind as it was right now. This was strange behavior for him, and even he knew it. He was used to being in complete control of his situation and here he was, listless and mentally tearing apart at the seams. It wasn't like sadness or loss was a new concept to Red Ink either. Perhaps it was because this was the first time he could actually prevent Black Flag from leaving, he was just letting that chance go. Dammit, he was so selfish. Ever since they had met, he pretty much dragged Black Flag everywhere to fulfill his dreams. He never considered that Black Flag might have had aspirations of his own that he wanted to fulfill. And Black Flag never even said a word about it, he just allowed Red Ink to do as he wished with him. Red Ink knew that he should be happy that his friend was finally taking hs own path, but he just couldn't let him go. Why did Black Flag even like somepony as controlling as he was? That was actually beginning to bother him quite a bit.
"Black Flag, why do you enjoy my company? That is if you do enjoy my company at all in the first place and you aren't just going around with me in hopes I'll make a good shield from arrow fire." Black Flag turned towards the Pegasus looked at him with pure confusion. Looking into those large, green eyes Red Ink could see a sense of innocence sparkling within them.
"What? Why wouldn't I like you? I mean, you're a nice pony! For the past seven years, you have always been by my side to pick me up when I needed support, like the incident this morning. The way you and Keg sprung into action was awesome! It honestly kinda touched my heart." Red Ink laughed, but it was a dry and cold sound.
"I was just doing what I thought was right," Red Ink said. Though, when he took a moment to think about it, he began to wonder if he would have done the same if it were anypony else? Or would he have just turned his gaze away and kept on moving as if he didn't see anything at all? The fact he had to pause and think about that scared him far more than any monster in the farthest reaches of Equestria could ever dream of.
"Don't be so modest," Black Flag said jokingly as he playfully tousled the shorter stallion's mane with his hoof, eliciting a light red blush to stain his friend's cheeks. Red Ink smiled; it was good to see that the unicorn was in such a cheery mood and dealing with his impending fate so well. "Look on the bright side. Steel could have actually hit me with that sword of his and it would have sent my organs flying everywhere." Red Ink laughed, but it carried to merit in its sound. He knew Black Flag was just trying to raise his spirits, but the prospect of his best friend getting struck down so brutally was not something he wanted to think about. What really wasn't helping him think of anything else were the weapons they had purchased; levitating silently in Black Flag's magic grasp. The sun's light just seemed to gleam upon the cold steel of the longswords like the fangs of a wild animal, causing a cold chill to shoot down the Pegasus' spine. He quickly turned his gaze way from the lethal weaponry.
"So, do you want to just head back to the woods and rest for a while?" Red Ink asked after a few moments of uncomfortable silence had gone by. Black Flag nodded, knowing that he would need as much rest as possible for tomorrow morning. He was actually somewhat proud of himself for managing to go without sleep for this long, and he figured he would probably doze off as soon as he hit the ground. "Alright, let's get going."
So they began to make their way back to the camp for the umpteenth time that day. That seemed to be a recurring theme of the day so far, going back and forth over and over, and it was starting to get quite tiresome for Red Ink, to say the very least. He just wanted this nightmare to come to an end sometime soon. However, he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that this was going to get much, much worse very soon. Though, he could have just bee coming to that conclusion thanks to his pessimistic personality and anxiety that things could always get worse than they already were to begin with.
After they finally reached their destination, Black Flag let out a sigh of relief. "I don't know about you, but I think I'll just try and sleep for the rest of the day." He quietly flipped open the tent's flap and stepped inside, with both Red Ink and their purchases right behind him. He made sure to lay both of his longswords beside the lengthy cloth he slept on; not wanting to repeat his mistake from last night. The crossbow, on the other hoof, was rested against the left wall of the tent where neither of the occupants would knock it over by accident.
"Alright," Red Ink replied as he closed the tent flap behind them and slipped off the saddlebags full of bolts, before grabbing their straps with his mouth and carrying them over to where the crossbow was resting. "I'm going to try and make it through a few more hours of the day before I collapse. Hopefully my sleep schedule won't be thrown completely out of whack."
"Gotcha," Black Flag mumbled as he laid out on the cloth, feeling his eyelids grow quite heavy already. He must have been even more tired than he thought he was.
Red Ink, spotting his manifesto lying on the cloth a meter or so away from where his friend was currently sleeping, picked up the thick book and began flipping through it without much purpose or interest until he came to the last page, which was about a third of the way finished. So close to being done, yet so far at the same time, He scowled at the book, slammed it shut, and threw it off to the far end where it landed with a firm thump. He slumped against the wall, defeated. His gaze shifted to Black Flag, who was quietly snoozing with a big smile on his face. He looked so...peaceful.
Red Ink let out a long, silent yawn. His eyelids were growing heavy, but he still tried to stay awake for a little while longer. Unfortunately, he only lasted for fifteen minutes or so before sleep overtook him. However, unlike Black Flag, his slumber was not a pleasant one. No, he was plagued with imagery of vivid horrors that would not soon be forgotten.
Red Ink stood upon a vast field, flanked by countless trees that stretched out over the countryside as far as he could see. The stars were out, and the moon was fat; hanging low in the sky. The blades of grass bowed down, but there was no wind to push them. He looked ahead, and he saw Black Flag gazing down upon him from a hilltop. The unicorn cried out for him to save him, but when he tried to run and save him, Red's legs were heavy, and his wings would not spread. All of the sudden, Black Flag's mouth stretched open as if he was screaming in agony, before he erupted in a sea of crimson.
Red Ink's eyes shot open to complete darkness. He felt around blindly, and was thankful to find that everything was back to normal. It was just a dream. Thank goodness. He rolled over on his side, and saw Black Flag was still sleeping quietly, completely undisturbed. He was completely fine, there was nopony that was going to hurt him. Red Ink could only hope that the unicorn was not being plagued by such horrible dreams as he was. He deserved at least one more night of blissful slumber, before it was torn away from him mercilessly.
Quietly stepping over the sleeping unicorn, Red Ink made his way out of the tent and into the darkness of the night. It was a cool night out; rather nice for a change. What time was it anyway? Based on how dark it was, there was a chance it was the very early morning and he somehow slept a good fourteen hours or so. That was pretty convenient, that meant he didn't have to spend five or six hours waiting for something to happen. What luck.
He recalled the first time the two of them had set camp here. The world had been painted a pure white with virgin snow glistening on the ground. Everything was so peaceful and serene. And really, everything had remained mostly the same. He guessed it was because of this that he thought things would never change. But here they were; just hours from separation for a full year. Red Ink sighed, before he silently leaned against a nearby tree and began to wait for the morning sun to rise over the horizon.
Much to his relief, he did not have to wait very long; forty-five minutes at the most. When he saw the first few rays of Celestia's sun peeking through the trees, he begrudgedly made his way back into the tent. He reached out with his hoof to shake Black Flag awake, but suddenly paused. He could just let him sleep for a little while longer... No. No he couldn't. He was just trying to delay the inevitable as long as he could. It was immature of him to even think about pulling a little stunt like that. Besides, the last thing he wanted to do was piss Shattering Steel off by hindering Black Flag and making him show up late. So, against his own wishes, he began to shake the pony with his hoof and stirred him awake.
"Mmm, good morning Red," Black Flag said cheerfully as his eyes fluttered open and he slowly began to stretch his limbs, which released an orchestra of popping joints due to the lack of movement for such a long period of time.
"You ready to get going?" Red Ink inquired as he stood up and made his way over to where his crossbow and bolts were resting. As he slipped the saddlebags on, he watched as his friend slowly rose to a stand. He definitely wasn't the most nimble pony, and was relying mostly on brute strength to solve his problems. Red Ink could only hope that it was enough for him to survive a year of nothing but battle and war.
"Yep, the unicorn replied as his magic grasped his swords and levitated them into the air carefully. He certainly didn't want to split the tent apart into tiny ribbons. That would be a rather careless and stupid thing to do. "Let's go."
At long last, they began to make their way to Filsofem. Red Ink had so much be wanted to tell his friend before he left, but he couldn't do it. His mouth kept opening, but the words just wouldn't come out. Just went he finally garnered the courage to say something, it was too late. They were already at the tavern, where Shattering Steel was waiting.
"Alright, we're leaving." Steel said coldly the moment that the two ponies arrived at the bar. Black Flag barely had time to murmur a goodbye to Red before Steel shouted at him to get moving, and he hurried to catch up with the mercenary who was already halfway down the street. They began to traverse the road leading out of the small town, disappearing into the distance. They got smaller and smaller, leaving Red Ink alone in the early morning daylight. However, he did not stand there motionless and aloof for more than a few seconds. With a single flap of his wings he took to the air, ready to keep a close eye on his friend. It was time for action.
