MonkeyPaw

Roots, onions and herbs made a simple, but tasty soup and Riptide devoured it in nearly one go. Bitter Frost took his time, but enjoyed it just as much as his partner. The hut they were in was made out of wood, clay and straw, and had a cozy feel to it. The mare making the soup was still making more soup. Its smell filled the hut and made both Guardians even hungrier. Riptide set his bowl on the table. "I never asked you this, but why do you keep the wall alive? The water takes the way it takes, but you bend it to your will. Or at least you try, regarding all the fissures you have to tend." Bitter just chuckled. He took a breath and replied wisely, "Ponies are not as flexible as water. Cold is not flexible as well. Glaciers move incredibly slow, you will barely notice it in a normal lifetime. And so are the ponies here. They settled here long, long ago and the river would have destroyed all of their homes. I saved them with this mighty ice wall." Riptide did not seem too impressed with this answer. "I have seen villages come and go. It is only natural to change, even drastically", he responded. He looked Bitter straight in the eyes. "This village might need to change too. How long do you intend to pamper them, so they can just continue to live like that?" Bitter just slightly lowered his smile. Looking through the window, he tried again to convince the Guardian of the Sea of his own believes. "Harmony is found in stability and consistency. We cannot find a role in this world if it is constantly changing." Riptide twitched, then suddenly got up and made his way to the door. "I lost my appetite", he simply said and left the hut. Bitter Frost looked after him, sighed and continued with his soup. It was cold outside. The ice wall went around the village, leading the river down the mountains. Riptide was freezing, but jumped into the river again and swam down the stream to reach warmer waters.

The sun rose over the idyllic mountain village and soon the village was up on their hooves. Busy busy ponies gathered their tools and left the town to do their daily work. With these crude picks and hammers the ponies tried to mine ores and minerals from the mountains. On their way up to the mine they went past forests and rivers and an enormous ice wall. It was gently cracking and keeping the river away from the mines entrance. Even though the wall was extremely thick, the water level could be seen through the ice. Every day the eager miners passed the wall they had to raise their head to see it. On top of the wall two well known guardians were doing their duty. Bitter Frost was standing directly on the wall, raising his lamp to force ice into cracks and small holes creates by force and the suns heat. Here and there a splash of water raised to the damaged parts, but not naturally. Riptide danced slowly on the ice and his dance charmed the water to go where he pleases. He was shivering heavily and his rhythm was off balance. "I hate t... the cold you know", he yammered, but Bitter just chuckled. "Forgive me friend. I sadly cannot heat you up, but I really need your assistance. I am sure you will find a warm fire and a hot bowl of soup in the village afterwards." Riptide moaned again, but kept on dancing until the wall was perfect again.

Luckily, there was a back exit. Monkey crashed through, it was conveniently unlocked, and landed inconveniently in front of an enemy party. Monkey noticed their ragged clothes and straps of armor. Were they with the main group of attackers? He did not waste any time longer to wonder about that and dashed down the street. A bunch of angry yells and death threats later they pursued Monkey Paw. He gave it all he got, but his physique was not meant for galloping. He could trot for hours without growing tired. But speed? A quick glance back he saw his pursuers closing in. Around a corner he saw the battle that erupted around the center. With enemies in front and behind him, Monkey Paw had no choice. He gathered his rest of stamina, gave it a last dash and just slightly before the enemy line he jumped. While in the air, he clapped his front hooves twice. A powerful thrust flung him over the enemy heads and over the barricades. And then he rotated, saw their faces again, he was flying with his back forward. He lost control of his flight, went down in attitude and landed brutally on the ground. A numbing pain rushed through his body, fancy colors appeared in front of his eyes and a couple of seconds later, he finally stopped. Hopefully in safety, he gasped: "Medic..."

Oh I love this game and the announcer. As far as "Walking Simulator" games go, this one set a new standard. Finding all the different story parts and endings and what you actually could do with mere walking and deciding... My favorite ending...

The chance, it was real. Not honorable of course, but it was there. As ponies were fleeing their homes and stores and the enemy approaching, Monkey Paw was arguing with himself. His saddlebags were too light. His last artifacts were not meant to be traded away for mere food and supplies. Another glance at the angry army, maybe he has a minute or two. A twitch of eye later he dashed into the closest storefront while keeping an eye on the intruders. Maybe he should have watched where he was going. He burst into a boutique. Dresses and hats, that's what he was risking his life for? "There must be something..." he muttered, ravaging through the boxes and shelves. And then he felt the tingling. A smile appeared on his face. A rare piece of charm magic was woven into this unsuspecting dress, green and orange with frills and a little bow. And the dress was even more to his liking for he could feel what else this dress would do to the charmed ponies. But this was none of his concern. With a quick bite and pull the dress was stored in the bags. The looter was about to turn around and leave, as marching hoovestomps and cheering echoed to his ears. "I saw one charging in there, lets get that fool!" Monkey turned quickly and went for the back area. Only one thought had place in his head: "Please let there be a back exit!"