Chapters I opened the door, the hinges swinging easily over fresh oil. This was it, this was my new home. I took a deep breath as the simple door, just marked with a single number, stood open. Within was a blank slate. I could start over new. I reach down and pick up my maroon duffle bag.
Walking inside I see just from my vantage point, several rooms. Nearest is a simply kitchen and I peer my head around the archway. Basic, really. There is a small stove oven combo in the far corner, wooden cabinets over top of mock marble counters, that sort of thing. The fridge is nothing impressive, a pebbly white number that looked just the one that I grew up with. Actually the whole layout was much like what I grew up with, just smaller. It will suit my few needs though, I live by myself and likelier than not I will more often eat out.
With that though I back out of the kitchen and turn to face the remaining doors. The rest of the rooms are hidden behind closed doors, unlike the open archway of the kitchen. Behind them could be any number of things in theory. With a slight sense of nervousness I place my bag down. There is no point in continuing to carrying it around once within my very own home. with that down I walk down a few feet away to the first door. Placed on the left this is the only door on this particular side. The other two doors are both on the right. This door is much like the door I entered through, the only thing different being a lack of a number.
I just push this one open. Unless there happens to be a mad pony hiding within there is no reason to be nervous like I’ve been. And the chances of a mad pony? Slim. Sure enough the sight within just reveals to me a clean porcelain seat, a textured glass door and yet more porcelain in the form of a sink. The bathroom. I’m realizing now just how boring a home could be when it is not yet the home to anypony.
Just two rooms left. I don’t hesitate this time and with a quicker step I make my to the first room that is on the right rather than the one right across from the bathroom. I’m peculiar that way I guess. This room proves even less interesting than its predecessors, holding no secrets, no surprises, no furniture in its confines. It is quite literally four walls and, on the very far side, a four paned window. I could use this for my inventing room, I thought. Hmm, maybe put a wooden table with some machine parts over in that corner and, viola I’d be ready to start tinkering away. That sounded like a good idea! But I could worry about doing that later .
Using common sense there is only one possibility of what the last room could be and this time on my way I lift, once more, the duffle bag off of the wooden floor. The bedroom came already with a small bed and it is there that I throw the duffle bag. from there I go to throw myself on to the remaining portion of the bed. Unpacking can wait for a few seconds. On the opposite side from where I lay is a wall of drawers. I figure when I get up that is probably where most of my things will be placed.
Just as I’m preparing to sit up and actually make this place a home to myself and unpack my bags, a loud, repetitive knocking comes from the front. With just a shift I change my goal from unpack my worldly belongings to find out who could already be enquiring after me.
On the other side I see a sight that should not have surprised me. Who other then my little sis would’ve found me so quickly.
"Ah thought yah wanted to stay in Canterlot!" Babs Seed clamoured, her cinnamon orange hooves waving about.
"Eh, Canterlot.... it just wasn’t the place for me," I said sheepishly, "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Oh, right, yo' hug."
We embraced, her hooves squeezing me as tight as her small form could managed "So, this is your apartment?"
"Eeyup!" I said. "It's only a one bedroom, one bathroom place with a little kitchen and living room."
"Well, dat's nice." Babs said. "Also, I saw a person with Rio. Aren't you going to get him?"
"Yeah, I'll get him." Rio is my pet Parrot. I walked downstairs to see a stallion with Rio in a birds cage. I walked up to him.
"Is this your parrot?" The stallion said. He was dressed as some sort of Zookeper/MailMare.
"That's mine. Thanks." I replied. I grabbed the cage with my teeth.
"You know, your lucky this is the only place that allows pets in Manehattan. If you were caught with one, they would have kicked you out, and you'll be homeless."
I put Rio down for a second and said, "That's why I picked this. Also, I picked this place because this is where my family lives." I picked him back up again with my teeth.
"Good to know. Well, bye." The stallion left. I walked upstairs to see nopony. I guess Babs left. I walked inside and put Rio's cage down. I closed the door and walked to my bed. It was night, so I decided to sleep. I got under the covers and closed my eyes, expecting a normal day.
________________________________________________________________________________________
An ear shattering explosion woke me up. I was sweating and scared out of my life. I ran to the window to see changelings destroying apartments from buildings next door. I could barely overhear a conversation from 2 changelings.
"Any sight of him?" One changeling said.
"Nope. We need more changelings, in order to find him before he escapes." Another changeling said.
"Why don't we send a message to Sombra about sending reinforcements?" The first one said
"He'll think we are weak and pathetic. Do you want to be erased, 32?"
"N-No, 2." 32 said.
Then shut up and get searching and destroying!" 2 said. I ran as fast as I could, and grabbed Rio out of the cage.
"RHAWK! Rio senses danger!" Rio chirped.
"I know. They are looking for somepony in particular! Soon, they might search for me!" I replied. I ran out the door and got to my family's apartment. I kicked down the door and ran into Babs' room. She was fully awake.
"What happened! What's with all the explosions and stuff?" Babs asked in terror.
"Changelings are destroying everything!" I explained.
"I'm scared." Babs cried.
"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here! Where is mom and dad?" I asked worried.
"They're gone! They just left without me!" Babs replied. A tear went down her eye.
"Get on my red back!" I commanded. Babs jumped on as I ran out, with Rio flying beside. A split second after we ran out. The room exploded.
"We found him!" 2's voice said. "32, send a message to Sombra. We found him and his little sister!"
We jumped out of the building. My wings spread out as we flew out of the crumbling, flaming building. We got down, and ran out.
"Hey!" A voice cried out to us. I looked at who said it, and I saw a hooded figure. "Follow me! I'll get you out of here!"
"Where are yah taking us?" Babs asked the mysterious mare.
"Somewhere where you will be safe!" She replied. We followed her out of the city. I looked behind me to see the Statue of Liberty crumble to pieces.
That was our home.
"So, what are your names?" The hooded mare asked.
"I'm Wind Waker, this is my little sister Babs Seed, and this is my pet parrot, Rio." I introduced
"That's cute.'' She responded. "There it is!" We saw a small wooden shack.
"Now, how is this going to keep us safe?" I asked. "How is this big enough for a stallion, a filly, a parrot to live in?"
"It's in the inside." The mare said. We walked inside to see a trap door in the floor. She lifted it up, and we walked inside. The wooden stairs inside were creaky, and the place was hot. We reached a door with a slide. The mare knocked, and the slide opened to see 2 green eyes.
"Celestia is powerful, but?" The green eyed mare said with a southern accent.
"Luna is almighty." The hooded mare responded.
"Did you find him?" The southern mare asked.
"Eeyup! We also found a filly, Babs, and a parrot named Rio."
"Come in." The green eyed mare responded. The hooded mare took off the hood to reveal a blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane.
"The name's Rainbow Dash, by the way." The now uncloaked mare said as we went inside.
I landed stealthily in the now ghetto-like town. Changelings were everywhere. Some wore red robes with an ID card saying their number, their nickname, origin, and their last identity. Others wore blue, green, and orange robes.
But there was only one black robed figure.
I snuck over to an ally and came close to the opening. The black robed changeling walked past me. I could see the ID card, reading a number.
1.
So that was who 1 is, I thought to myself. I ran through the allyway into an abandoned house. The outside was covered in moss, and cracks were everywhere. I checked the window to see things stacked everywhere. Books, robes, and clothes. I opened the door, which was conveniently open, and snuck inside. A candle was lit, so I could see things.
"Hello?" I whispered. "Is anypony there." I looked around and something caught my eye. I walked over and saw a purple robe with stars on it. I picked it up and examined it. When I picked it up, it was very soft, like a cloud.
Suddenly, I felt a heavy pain and I saw black. Somepony knocked me out. It felt like a steel bat just whammed me on the head.
Then, I saw white and then nothing. I could see and breathe, but still nothing. I could barely move because I was tied up to a brown, wooden chair.
I heard hoofsteps. Then, a spotlight flashed on me. My eyes were adjusting. Then, I saw a brown hooded pony staring at me. I couldn't see the pony's face, but she could see me.
"What are you doing in my house." She said. Yep, a mare knocked me out cold. That proves I can't beat a mare. "Are you some kind of spy for the changelings?"
"N-no! Are you a changeling?" I asked in terror.
"No. But I suspect you are." She had some sort of cocky attitude.
"But I'm not a changeling! Honest!"
"Then let's see if you are lying." She got out a needle with green liquid and ejected it into my arm. It hurt badly, but I didn't scream. Nothing happened.
"W-What was that for? Are you trying to poison me?" I asked.
"No. It was a shot to see if you are a changeling. If you were a changeling, you would transform and your powers would be gone. But, for normal ponies, it would just blend in with your normal blood. No side effects at all." She paused for a moment.
"If you aren't a spy, what or who are you?"
"I'm Windwaker, brother of Babs Seed and the supposed bearer of Starswirl's sword." I said quickly. The hooded figure just stared at me.
"Well, look who decided to show up." She said. She walked off, turned the spotlight off and lit the candle. "We've been waiting for you to show up weeks ago."
"Wait, the attacks happened weeks ago?" I said.
"Yes. 3 weeks ago, the first attack was on Ponyville and Canterlot. They wanted to take over these places because Ponyville was the home of the six elements, and Canterlot was the home of the now imprisoned Celestia and Luna." The mare got a chair put it in front of me, seat side facing away, and sat on it. She leaned the chair so that her face was about five inches close to mine. "So, what brings you here to Fillydelphia?"
"I was here to be recruited with the top spy of the survivors of the attacks."
"Well, they didn't call me stealthy for nothing." She giggled. "Now that I know who you are, I can take off this stupid robe." She took it off to reveal a blue unicorn with silky, white hair. She has a cutie mark of a moon and a wand. The blue unicorn put her hoof in front of me.
"Names Trixie."
The hideout and explanation
We went inside the old, wooden door. It looked like some sort of bar you see in the ghetto parts of Manehattan. Ponies were looking at us as if we did some sort of crime.
"This is our hideout." Rainbow Dash said. "Not too shabby, in my opinion."
"How did you build this so quickly?" I asked. "Wasn't Manehattan the first attack?"
"There were others destroyin' other towns." Applejack, the mare who was guarding the door, said. "The only known attacks were Fillydeplhia, Ponyville, Canterlot, and, now, Manehattan."
"Will der' be any moh' attacks?" Babs said.
"Possibly." Rainbow Dash replied. "We predict the next attack will be in Saddle Arabia." The ponies were still looking at us.
"Why are they staring at us?" I said.
"Yah don't know, do yah?" Applejack said.
"Know? KNOW? I've only been here for about two seconds and already they are probably thinking we are criminals!" I yelled.
"He doesn't know." AJ said.
"We need somepony to tell him." Rainbow added.
"What are you telling me? What do I not know?" I asked.
"Ah know somepony." AJ said. "Twilight!" A purple mare came.
"Yes?" Twilight asked.
"Explain the prophecy." AJ said.
"Fine, I'll do it."
"Finally!" I said. "Somepony who can explain what's going on!"
"But you'll have to come with me without anypony else." Twilight said.
"Fine. Just please tell me what's going on!" We walked into a room. The walls, ceiling and floor were wooden. Twilight closed the door.
"So, what are you supposed to tell me?" I said. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Twilight grabbed a knife and put it on my neck.
"I don't like your rudeness." Twilight said seriously and quietly. "You always blabbering about stupid, little things. I am starting to think you're not the guy we are looking for."
"Fine, I'll stop being rude. Just please tell me what's going on, and put down that knife!" I demanded.
Twilight slowly put down the knife, and sighed. "The prophecy goes like this: Somepony, you, will get a sword from Starswirl the bear-"
"THE Starswirl the Bearded?" I said with excitement.
"Apparently so. But we can't locate it." Twilight said
"Why?"
It's a lost artifact. Nopony has found it, but rumours have it that King Sombra has it. And he's going to kill you with it."
"Well, why?" I asked.
"I DON'T KNOW! TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!" Twilight randomly cried out in frustration. She heavily sighed. "Sorry for the outburst. You just act so stupid sometimes."
She came over to me and put her hoof on my shoulder. "But I know, you will do great things and stop this horrible war." Twilight walked to the door and opened it. "Follow me. I have some things to tell you."
I followed her outside where everypony was talking. Rio was with Rainbow Dash and a turtle, and Babs was with the CMCs.
"You will be paired up with our top spy." Twilight said. "But you need to leave, since she is on a mission somewhere else."
"Do I have to leave now? I want to meet the other ponies!" I said.
Twilight giggled. "You'll meet the others soon enough." I continued following Twilight outside. The sky was pitch black, with no stars in sight. I could still see the burning and collapsing buildings of Manehattan. I could still hear the screams of ponies.
Twilight handed me a map. "You will fly to Fillydelphia. There you will meet our top spy. But be careful, changelings have taken over, so there will be flank-tons of guards."
"Why didn't they destroy Fillydelphia like they did with Manehattan?" I asked.
"They know Manehattan is where you live. So they destroyed it, unlike Fillydelphia, which they took over, not destroyed." It became quiet for twenty seconds. "Well, se you later!" Twilight came over to me and hugged me. I didn't hug back because I was surprised that she actually liked me. She let go and went back to base. I flew off to go to Fillydelphia.
"Where have I heard about you?" I said to Trixie.
"Oh, you might have known me for my amazing tricks back in the day." She remarked. "I was once a show traveler and a master at the arts of magic. I preformed for hundreds of ponies in every city I went!" Trixie walked to the kitchen and got a water bottle. She threw it at me, and I caught it with my wing.
"Could you get me out of these chairs?" I pleaded Trixie.
"Oh, right. That." Trixie used her horn to cut the ropes. She opened the cap for me, because you can't open a bottle with hooves. It's just impossible.
"So, what next?"
"We were going to get out of here, but the changelings are on full guard."
"Are we going to sneak out?" I asked.
"No. Too dangerous. Even a Great and Powerful spy like me would get caught."
"So, what are we going to do?"
"Looks like you'll be staying here for the night." Trixie sighed. She turned around to make me not see her face. I guess she was probably blushing at the fact that a stallion is staying over. Since she was a famous, I thought she would have slept with a couple of stallions. I guessed she didn't.
"Well, I need a blanket and pillow if I'm going to sleep on the couch." I said.
"Oh, yeah. The couch." Trixie said, embarrassed. Trixie got the pillow and the blanket and made it up. "Now, go to sleep. You need enough energy to either die or live." Trixie walked into her room and went to bed. I got inside the covers in the couch and went to sleep.