It all started with me moving to Ponyville. Lyra was the first pony I had met, and to be honest, we hit it off rather well. We went on a great date and everything, and it wasn't too long after that that I had been torn away from her, and everything else here in Ponyville. My house was left pretty well abandoned and all my belongings sold off because everypony thought I left without warning, and Lyra moved on.

It's odd, you know. Being pulled away in the middle of the night, by some unknown force. I didn't even know I'd been moved until I woke up in the middle of some gigantic forest. *He laughs* I find it funny though, because I used to be a simple Stallion. I used to play the bass. You know, the classical instrument? About twice the size of a cello. It used to mean everything to me until I woke up, realizing I was thousands upon thousands of miles away from Ponyville. *He looksup and smiles* I'd been walking for about 2 days. I didn't want to sleep, probably because my adrenaline had been driving me to find at least a hint of civilization. Once I finally broke free of the what felt like never-ending trees, I'd stumbled upon a rather quaint looking village. I figured I may as well check it out, because somepony there may be able to help me. That's when I met those odd creatures.....*He lets out a small laugh, remembering them* They called their species, monkey. They had tails and what they had called hands. It was odd though, because their feet could be used as those hand things as well. Hands, as it turns out, were used to grab and hold things, much like we do, but they can wrap what they call fingers around whatever it is they touch, grab, or what they feel like doing. It's odd, as I'd previously pointed out.

Anyway, as I had gotten into the village, there were a couple ponies there as well. One stallion in particular took a liking to me. He was a swordmaster. He was the one, actually, who had trained me. Who had taught me the basics and a few advanced techniques in order to defend myself on my journey home. His name was Genn Krellion, and the ponies and monkeys in this village were quite fond of him. Apparently he'd saved their village from something. Everypony and the monkeys wouldn't explain what it was. Every time I had asked, they'd shy away from the subject, asking where I was from, or let out a rather shrill scream that sent Genn running, no matter where he was at the time.

Actually, it was these monkeys who had created my sword. The engraving you see in the blade was done by them. They say it says 'Bravery'. It wasn't even my choice to have it engraved on the so-called 'hand' crafted blade. They'd done it, because they said it takes much bravery to even try to go back after such a scarring incident. The blade though, was created from a process they called folding. They would literally fold the metal they use to create the blade, superheat it, and repeat until they felt the blade was strong enough. I believe it turned out beautifully.

Not long after I'd received the blade, I figured it was time to head out. As I was leaving the village, one of the mares there came running to me. She'd given me the cloak hanging in the living room. That tattered brown one? I'm sure you had noticed it when you first entered. Leaving the village with the sword, a few rations and the newly acquired cloak, I had set out on my journey home. Genn told me I wasn't even in the lands of Equestria anymore, that I was across the Equestrian sea, so I had to go north in order to get to the sea, obtain a boat and get home.

The journey to the sea wasn't too long, lucky for me. It was however, very boring, and rather cold so I was grateful for the cloak that was given to me. Upon arriving on the shores, there was a boat already set up for me. Genn had taken care of so much for me while I trained and learned how these monkeys functioned every day. The journey across the sea was rather uneventful as well, because nothing really happens on the Equestrian sea, since the Pegasi keep it rather clear over the water when they spot a boat or other vessel on the water. It was about 4 days until I arrived on the shores of Equestria.

This was when I set out towards Ponyville. Seeing a small shack near the sandy shore, I had asked the Stallion and Mare there for a look at a map since I hadn't known where I was. I had ended up on the shores in a place called Bad Wolf Bay, and from what I understood, there was a rather mean pack of wolves roaming the area I had to watch out for. Needless to say, it wasn't long after that I'd run into them, their pack leader demanding I give them the possessions I had on myself. This is where things began to get interesting as I drew my sword.

These damned wolves had me surrounded. The Stallion I had talked to was right. They didn't fight fair. They fought with the rest of their pack, or not at all. Little did they know that I had been trained in sword combat, and even though the numbers they had were staggering to my single figure, they really had no chance in defeating me due to their tendency to attack in single numbers to try to wear me down. That is, until I'd seen what they called their 'pet' walk out of the shadows.... They had a damned Manticore! This thing had armour on, which I could only guess was forged by a skilled armour-smith. I knew I'd have one hell of a battle on my hooves at this point. Getting up on my hind legs, I'd placed my sword in my front hooves and lowered my stance to get the most speed I could. This was when the wolves decided to make their attacks more frequent. The wolf directly behind me had pounced to try to take out my hind legs, while the one directly in front of me went straight for my throat. I jumped, avoiding the first wolf, bringing down my back right hoof and smashing into his skull as my sword cut deep into the wolf attacking me from the front. Next thing I knew, the two on either side of me went on the offensive as well going at me from both sides, but the mistake they made was trying to lunge at me while I was in a control position in the battle. Swinging my sword over my head, horizontally, I caught the wolf to my right off guard, killing him instantly by digging my blade into the back of his neck, while the one to my left dodged and was now in front of me, ready to attack again.

This stand off was what had my nerves spun right out. I had taken down the other three just out of sheer instinct. They were no problem, but the one I was facing now clearly had studied my moves as I took down his companions and judging by his teeth, the growling, and his eyes, he was pissed. I took the chance, lunging towards him, sword at my side and ready to strike as he began to sprint towards me. As I ran, I kept thinking to myself 'This is suicide! This wolf is insane! He should know he's going to die!' Little did I know, his plan had already been set in motion. As I swiped, he dodged, and the Manticore hit me from my left side sending me flying into a tree. I'd broken 3 ribs on that impact and I could barely stand, let alone breathe. The wolf had retreated and the Manticore was closing in on me fast. I didn't have much time to think, and the adrenaline decided to seemingly go into overdrive at that point. Somehow I had gotten up, charged the Manticore, swinging my sword horizontally, cutting off it's tail, circling around, and striking at the Manticore head on with a vertical slice to it's stomach as it had reared up getting ready to strike a heavy blow from above, killing it.

I was laying there after killing the dreaded Manticore, battered and bloody. My broken ribs throbbed every time I had moved, but I knew there was nothing I could do without the help of a skilled medic. The wolf whom had fled had decided to come back, and was circling me in the darkness....studying me, just watching me. It was nerve wracking. I was scared, because even though I'd just killed a Manticore, I was beat down, battered and broken. I could barely move through the pain, let alone fight! The wolf was growling, just circling me in the darkness just out of the view of my eyes. I could hear every step though, and that's when I came up with a plan.

I knew that, no matter what I did, I had to survive. I had to get back to Ponyville. I had to try to get my life back. I won't die this day. It took all of my strength but I had risen slowly to my hooves, my front hooves around my body, trying to slow the throbbing, as I walked to the centre of the small area the fight had occurred in. I had stopped in the middle, put my head down, and closed my eyes, simply concentrating on the footsteps of the wolf. I knew, though, that the footsteps had stopped when I had gotten up. This wolf was in shock! I just stood there as this wolf was out of range of my sight, listening for any sign of it. That damned animal. It may be a predator, but today, it was my prey. I used what magic I had left to levitate my sword up and in front of me, in position to have a jab attack if needed. My plan was now set in motion.

It seemed like forever, standing there, listening. The wolf was obviously studying me, trying to anticipate my next move. I felt its eyes, but I couldn't pinpoint the animal on just feeling alone. I had to wait for a noise, whether it be a sneeze or a step. Just then, I'd heard a branch break. Knowing no other animals were around because of the past battle, and the gigantic Manticore scaring them all away, my sword flew through the air and I heard a loud yelp along with the sound of my sword, sticking itself into a tree, firmly. I had gotten it! I pinned that damned animal! Though as I'd gotten closer, limping and wincing in pain the entire way holding my stomach, it was apparent to me now. I may have pinned the wolf with no way for it to survive once I pulled my sword out, but I was still shocked to what I'd found.

It was a female. As I approached, her children who must have been hiding somewhere close were all huddled around her, crying. She was trying to console her young ones. She was trying to calm them with her dying breath. Telling them to remember their training, that they needed to survive on their own now. When asked why the wolf would give up her life so easily, her reply was simple but it made even me shed a tear. She was just trying to feed her family, most of which I had slaughtered in order to protect myself. This was an unfortunate incident and I still wish it could have turned out differently but there was no way I was giving up more than what I'd already lost. I had defended myself, and I had come out of the battle as the victor. I didn't feel like one though. I felt like a murderer. I had just killed these children's only family. As I walked up to retrieve my sword, it was obvious the wolf was too weak at this point to do any harm. I grabbed her after pulling out my sword, and laid her down on the ground, put down most of my rations so the children wouldn't starve that night, and walked away.

It had been a while since that battle now. What felt like a while at least. In reality, only 4 days had passed. I had gotten used to travelling during the day and stopping to set up a camp fire during the night. About midday on day 4 after the battle, I'd arrived at a small village which I had no choice but to stop in. I hadn't eaten in 2 days since I had given most of my rations up to feed the children of that wolf I had killed so I had to eat and restock. The townsfolk were very kind and understanding, giving me more than I had deserved for the bits I had given them. They'd even bandaged me up, and their resident medic healed my wounds to the best of their ability. My ribs still hurt a fair amount, but they weren't broken any more, just bruised. On top of all the kindness, they had given me a saddlebag to carry the rations I'd received. They seemed far too kind, but from what I was told, it wasn't often they had gotten outsiders in their village. They even graciously pointed me towards Ponyville, and told me it was just over a week before I'd be arriving back home. I thanked them all greatly and continued my journey home.

The rest of my journey was quiet, up until I had gotten a day away from what we know as the Everfree Forest. I had felt a presence around me. It was clearly magical, but I couldn't tell where it was coming from. I just knew it was getting frustrated with me, because I must not have done what it had wanted when it had abducted me from my life. A few hours later, that's when the mysterious Stallion showed his face, or rather, his mask. It looked tribal, from the times of old. I didn't know what the mask represented, and I still can't remember what it looked like. I do remember his words though, because his voice gave me chills, and sent me to my knees.

His voice was cold and you could tell this Stallion practiced the black arts in magic. He wasn't here for some sort of sales pitch, and that much was obvious. "I will see you again soon, when you don't have that forsaken swordmaster watching out for you." This made my whole body lock up. Though he disappeared, I couldn't move. I was in too much shock. Why was he after me? Why did he care so much about a bassist? I used to live a simple life, and I never harmed anypony, let alone killed anything up until I was abducted. That Stallion left so many unanswered questions. I knew one day, I'd be after him, and I know when I get to him, he will die at my hooves.

Finally, when the shock had worn off, I entered the Everfree, and it was a short walk to Ponyville from there. That's actually when I had stumbled upon this clearing. Of course, it was much smaller than it is now, as I've done some work to create this bunker and that training area outside, but I had started construction that day, and rented a place in Ponyville.

It was good to be home, but even though I was home, I couldn't bring myself to see Lyra. Besides, I was still working over all of the details of what had happened to me. I still wonder why it happened, and why I was chosen for this sadistic pleasure, but I have no say in it. I'm a swordmaster now, and I will train until I'm strong enough to kill that masked Stallion who had stolen my life from me.