The Ballad of Lonelinessby The Eccentric Mister EChaptersEvigilantemEpistulas ex AmicoErrationesExanimoExordiaEvigilantemLife is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering........and it's all over much too soon. - Woody Allen The room was dark and cold and all that remained of what it used to be was a bed and a table. A padlock was attached to the door and wooden boards were nailed across the window. However, light still found a way past the small gaps in the wood. Colored orange, it danced across the walls with its cracks and chipped paint and over the still form of a man in the bed. He lay with his right arm at his side and his left over his chest, grasping something around his neck. The entire room felt like a morgue, as if it was void of any scrap of life…….were it not for the fly. A single fly buzzing around the ceiling looking for something, anything, to focus on. If a fly were to ever feel anything, it was now. But what it felt was something unknown to it. It had no word for it but for those more advanced and sentient it is known as a feeling called loneliness, and it pulled at the fly without mercy. The fly could usually find a few of its own kind to hang around with or some other form of life but there was nothing here. The fly landed on the wall and began to rub its forelegs together as if nervous or even scared. Then it noticed the shape of the human in the bed. His face was covered in bandages, his chest never moved and no air came out or in. Around him, the building creaked and groaned like an ancient creature mourning for a broken youngling. Next to him was a machine with wires embedded in his chest and neck. A mechanical timer slowly counted down, its square shapes rotating with soft, little clicks as minutes passed to seconds. A wind rushed past the window and then all was silent like the world was holding its breath. Finally, the timer reached zero……………….and the world awakened. A sound like a hundred wasps filled the room as blue sparks passed along the wires and rushed into the still body. It convulsed and shook with a violence that almost broke the bed as blue light covered it. There was a final flash and a bang as the machine exploded and the man opened his eyes and took in a large breath as he was flung from death and into the waking world. Like all who are born again he screamed with a ferocity that shattered the silence of the world. The fly began to streak about in a fearful frenzy of the sudden sound that destroyed the peace of the room. It flew to the window and squeezed through a crack to escape. All the while the man screamed. His voice let out its fear and fury for a full minute before ceasing suddenly, causing him to cough. He grabbed his throat and tried to let out a noise but couldn’t as only a rasping, mechanical wheeze escape his dried and white lips. He shook his head and tried to focus as his senses began to come back to him. He looked around at his surroundings and was confused when he saw he was in a hospital room. He then began to notice something else, a distinct lack of feeling in his entire right side; in fact, he couldn’t move that side at all. And why couldn’t he see out of his right eye? He reached up with his left hand to feel the bandages over his face and as he ran a hand over his eye, he felt something hard and cold. Fear began to run down his spine as he then looked down to the sheets covering his right arm and leg. He slowly reached down and grasped the cloth as he steeled himself for what he might see. Sweat began to accumulate on the bandages and roll down his neck as he pulled the sheets off. But he could never have been prepared for what he saw……… His right arm from the elbow down was a black metal and his hand was the same color with appendages that had several hinges in them and points at the end. His palm was covered in several metal plates and his wrist was connected to his arm by what looked like a ball. He stared at it with a look of shock and horror and then he looked at his leg. The entire right limb was the same black metal with a plate on his knee and the same ball joint where his ankle was. His foot looked like a metal boot with small claws in the front and back. He tried to move them but they would not respond. He began to hyperventilate as he reached up and ripped the bandages from his head. Once they were off, he reached up and felt his face again. Where his eye was he felt metal again that surrounded his eye and then went back to his ear and down his jawline to stop at his chin and continue down his neck. The metal also wrapped around to the back of his head. He felt smooth skin instead of hair on his head and then noticed the metal continued down the back of his neck. He began fully panicking as he grabbed the hospital gown and ripped it off leaving nothing to cover him. He saw his entire right side of his body was black and metallic. He reached around to feel it cover his spine and saw a vein of metal placed in his right arm to connect it all to his hand and forearm. Then he looked down at his chest. The metal widened to cover his right pectoral and then move to a point over his heart. He breathed heavily and let out several small screams as he tried to move out of his bed but nothing would work as he fell onto the floor. He scrambled on the hard cold floor as he tried to pick himself up and scream for help. But all he could do was flop on the floor and wheeze. After a few minutes he stopped, exhausted from his efforts to move and scream. Tears fell out of his left eye as he lay on the floor. His breathing felt suppressed, like his lungs were resisting. Suddenly, he felt a spark from his chest as a tingling began to move over his right body. He managed to sit himself up on the bed and look down at his chest as a light appeared at the point over his heart. It shined a bright blue and then more lights appeared down his right side, travelling all the way down his leg. He suddenly began to feel it again as he moved his foot around on the ball joint like a regular leg. He bent the knee and saw the hinge move under the plate. It felt and moved just like his left leg. He then saw small lights appear in his arm and the back of his hand as feeling began to come back to it as well. He held it up and bent his elbow, staring at his hand and noticing a light on his palm. He moved each finger as small hinges moved each with enough detail to perfectly mimic a real hand. The plates in his palm moved over each other as he balled his metal hand in a fist and moved the wrist joint around. He then moved his hand to feel the floor and gasped when he felt the cold from it. Then he felt the bed he had been lying on and noticed how soft it was. He was surprised and impressed with the control of his new limbs. How they perfectly mimicked his real ones so much that he would probably forget they were actually fake. Then he felt a sharp pinch in his right eye as it lit up like someone holding a flashlight right to it. He also began to hear a high pitch whine in his right ear. Then both vanished as sight and sound returned to his right side. He blinked his mechanical eye. His vision was clear as day and his hearing was remarkable. He could hear……..fire? His thoughts were interrupted when text suddenly appeared in his right eye: [CARDIAC system=TRUE | RESPIRATORY system=TRUE | BRAIN=TRUE]<<< [AUGMENTATIONS…ONLINE | MOTOR FUNCTIONS=30% of FULL]<<< [MEMORY FILES…coRruPtEd5*#...retrieving 1 of 4697,462 FILES]<<< He jerked in surprise and put a hand to his eye to move the text away but they were still there when he closed his eye. They slowly faded away and he looked again at the room, trying out his new senses. He could see every detail and was amazed at it all. He noticed how the room seemed to falling apart and was especially worried about the boards in the window. He then looked down at his chest and the glowing orb over his heart. He was surprised to see something over it; a necklace with a silver cross. He picked it up to see something written across it in black letters: Elijah. Suddenly, a memory clicked in his head and he remembered that that was his name. Elijah. But that was all he could remember and the effort to remember more just caused his head to hurt. He decided to try and stand again, slowly placing his new hand on the ground and applying weight to it as he grabbed the bed with his other hand for support. He lifted himself up and straightened out on his legs. He was a bit wobbly at first, but that must be from recently coming back from the dead. His leg felt fine and strong as did his arm. He managed to smile in relief that they all were working fine, but still felt uneasy about the fact that he was now a cyborg. He began to wonder what could have happened to need to change him like this. As he continued to look around, he noticed the table and the contents on top of it. There was a pile of neatly folded clothes and a single boot on the floor. There was also a gun and leaning on it was………..a letter. He walked over and picked it up, turning it over to see his name written in very neat handwriting. He used the points on his metal hand to open the envelope and pulled out the folded piece of paper and opened the letter up and begin to read it: Dear Elijah, I’m sure you have many questions and are probably very afraid right now. I’m sorry I’m not there now to explain everything to you but I had to leave to take care of other things. I will just have to do what I can with these messages. For the moment, you can call me T and I will say right off the bat that you are a very important person. You have been chosen for an important task that only you can fulfill. You are in a very strange place and there has been a terrible tragedy. This world has fallen and it needs your help Elijah. You must save this world. On the table are some clothes for you along with some equipment. I have also left you a weapon to defend yourself with and the key to open the door. Once you are prepared, leave the hospital and find the library in the town nearby. You will know when you have found it. I have to warn you, the world outside is very different and very dangerous and you must be careful. I will explain more once you find the library. Good luck. Love, T He finished the letter and stared in thought at it. Questions were bouncing around in his head as to what it meant. About being in a different and dangerous world and about the tragedy. But mostly about the important task he had to accomplish. He decided that the only way he would get answers was to find this library. He folded the letter back up and put it in the envelope. He set it down and looked over the new clothes. There was a pair of boxers with grey cargo pants and a black T-shirt. There was also a big coat, colored black with a hood. Next to that was a single, fingerless glove and sock, a scarf, and a pair of red sunglasses. He began to get dressed, putting the boxers and pants and shirt on first. Then the one boot on his human foot with the sock. Then the glove and the big jacket, which felt heavy and fell to his calves. He pulled the hood up and wrapped the scarf around his neck over it. Finally he donned the red glasses which to his surprise mirrored his mechanical eye's text over to his human eye allowing to see it in both eyes. Lastly, he picked up the gun. It was a simple hand-cannon with one clip holding eight shots. He stuck it in the jacket where he could easily reach it later. He then picked up the key and moved to the door but not before stopping and looking back at the letter. After a few moments of thought, he grabbed it and put it in his pocket for later. He wanted to save them for some reason. He then walked to the door and carefully slid the key into the lock and turned it. There was a clicking noise and the lock disengaged. When he pushed the door though, it simply fell forward and hit the ground. He stared in surprise at it and then noticed that the sound of fire had gotten a little louder. He stepped out carefully into the hall and looked down to see the entrance to the hospital. There was an orange and red glow coming from outside. He approached it and stopped just inside the entrance, scared of what he might find. He closed his eyes and listened, hearing the roar of a great fire and preparing himself before stepping forward outside. What he saw before him shocked his being to the very core, more than when he saw his mechanical limbs even. For he was staring at a burning town, littered with death and destruction. He turned to look at the hospital and his eyes widened as he saw it was almost completely destroyed. Its roof had caved in and the large cross had fallen off and into the yard before it. He had been in that?! He then turned again to look at the town. He saw an apple orchard bigger than anything he had ever seen, alight with many fires. Every single tree was burning to the ground as well as a barn and a collapsed farmhouse. He saw a cottage reduced to ash and surrounding it were many dead animals all laying in pools of blood that reflected the glow of the fires. He started to head towards the town where the library was, praying it was still there and that the person who had brought him here was still alive. He ran past burning homes and stores; he saw a store that looked like it was made out of candy half melted by the fires and slowly being eaten by the flames. He saw a structure right in the middle of the town that had collapsed on itself and was now nothing more than a great bonfire. He feared every building was like this when he saw a store that looked like a carousel that still stood. It didn’t seem to be on fire or damaged in any way and he approached it thinking that maybe someone was still alive inside. But then there was a whooshing noise and a great plume of fire erupted from the roof as the entire structure fell to the ground. The force launched him into the air and slammed him down hard on the ground. He coughed several times and looked back with a teary eye at the now destroyed building. He could still see some of the parts that made it look like a carousel. Now burning away……. He picked himself up and tried not to collapse right there as he looked around and saw himself surrounded by fire. What happened here? Why is everything burning? Why is this happening? Where is everyone? He then ran through the town out of fear as the fire chased after him like a wild animal. He saw the fire spew out of windows and doors and roofs. He saw stalls, now nothing but charred piles of wood. He saw carriages and wagons all destroyed. Not one sign of life. He stopped when he had reached the edge of the town and looked back at the burning wreckage. He then looked up at the sky to try and see the sun or moon, but nothing was there. There weren’t even any stars. The world seemed to be in an endless Twilight as the empty sky reigned above all. This place felt so empty and broken. He looked around desperately for anything that would show a sign of life. But then he saw an actual sign. He walked over and knelt down in front of it. It was covered in ash but he just brushed it away. And as he stared at the words he knew this was not his world…....... It said.............. WELCOME TO PONYVILLE Epistulas ex AmicoYet it is in this loneliness that the deepest activities begin. It is here that you discover act without motion, labor that is profound repose, vision in obscurity, and, beyond all desire, a fulfillment whose limits extend to infinity. - Thomas Merton It had begun to rain..... A storm had come from nowhere to finally put out the fires that had been ravishing the town. The sound of the rain and the lightning had begun its own new symphony to the world. It was different from the raging fire and brought peace to the man's mind. Thankfully, his metal parts were waterproof as they still functioned perfectly in the rain. He was still kneeling down in front of the sign. His mind was filled to the brim with questions about this strange place. He could tell, somehow, he was no longer on his world but on a different planet. The name of the town itself caused him to pause. Who would name a town "Ponyville"? Everything about this world felt different, like this place wasn't even meant for his kind. There was something odd about this world that much he knew. He shook himself and stood, remembering that he had to find the library. He continued to walk along the road in the direction the letter had told him. Everywhere he looked there was destruction and not a single living thing could be seen. The storm clouds had cast everything in a dark shadow that only helped to increase the loneliness of the world but flashes of white from above would illuminate everything for a solid second. A second of light to break the darkness. While he walked, his mechanical eye kept scanning for any kind of life be it friendly or not, as well as the library. Finally, his eyes registered a sign that read "Golden Oaks Library" and as he took a closer look he realized that the library was, in fact, an oak tree. He gazed at it and thought it was kind of fitting and a little......ironic for a library to be in a tree. That a library full of books, made of pages that were no doubt crafted out of the wood of other trees, would be held inside a living tree. But he was just getting distracted again. He walked closer to the library until he could see the amount of damage it had sustained. There were no leaves and most of the branches were burned yet there wasn't that much damage to it and the building itself seemed to be in an okay state. Some of the windows were broken and what used to be a balcony had fallen in front of the main entrance. He approached the door, having to step over a broken telescope, and wondered if he had the strength to move the fallen balcony. He reached down and grabbed the bottom of it and tested the weight. It wasn't as heavy as he thought which surprised him and with some effort managed to haul it away from the entrance. Now that it was clear, he stepped over the threshold. There was no door, what was left of it was scattered over the wooden floor. He stepped inside and his vision adjusted to the dark interior. The sound of rain pelting the walls and the windows that were still there reverberated through the building. There were many leaks that dripped down through the tall roof. The drips and plinking sound from them were like some new instrument that had joined the symphonic ensemble of the storm outside. A single, lonely piano trying to make itself heard in the massive orchestra of the storm. He looked around and was surprised by the amount of books that the library contained. Many of them were unscathed but scattered on the floor and shelves. Some were destroyed, reduced to ash or charred remains. Like bodies that were caught in a horrible massacre. Now they just laid there smoldering with their words burned off and their covers destroyed and melted. The sight caused a rush of sadness in the man, for somewhere in his mind where his memories were hidden behind a concrete wall that he could not break down, a crack appeared. And he remembered his love of books and how much he enjoyed them and to see this carnage almost made him cry. He then noticed a glinting light and looked to see the remains of a glass case on a pedestal. There was a cushion inside with pieces of glass surrounding it. On the cushion was the imprints of what looked like pieces of jewelry. He counted six in total, five necklaces and he guessed the last one was some sort of crown. He continued to look around when his eyes fell on a table in the middle of the room. On it he saw a large book with a familiar letter on top of it. He hurried over and grabbed the envelope to see his name in the same handwriting on it. He carefully opened it and took out the folded piece of paper. He unfolded it and began to read: Hello again Elijah, I take it you found the library without any problems. Hopefully, I managed to keep it from catching on fire again. I'm going to keep this letter short because I don't have much time. The book this letter will be on is about the history of this world. Everything you need to know about us and our world will be in it. I want you to read all of it so you know enough to not get lost. I must warn you, some of it may come as a shock but I need you to focus. This is very important Elijah. Once you've finished, there will be another letter on the very last page. In it I will tell you what to do next and finally reveal who I am. I just need you to keep trusting me Elijah. You will have your answers soon. Love, T He folded the letter back up and put it in the envelope before sticking it in his coat with the other one. The book the letter had told him to read was a rather large tome and quite dusty. He picked it up and brushed away the dust to reveal its title. Equestria, A History He cocked his head when he read it. Equestria must be the name of this world. An odd name to say the least which meant things were just going to get stranger. As he opened the book his theory was proven correct as he read the large book and learned of the denizens of this world known as ponies. He was more than shocked at all of it: the Princesses, the Elements of Harmony that maintained peace in this world, Hearth's Warming Eve which was the event where all ponies came together in peace and harmony with each other, the Mare in the Moon who was the once moon princess that became jealous of her older sister, and Discord the God of Chaos. All of it was overwhelming and he feared he would blow his new machinery from taking it all in. He focused more on learning about the ponies in particular. There were three kinds: Pegasus ponies with wings and the ability to control the weather, Unicorns with horns and access to actual magical abilities like telekinesis and teleportation, and finally the Earth ponies with neither wings nor horns but were stronger and were able to control the land better. Each pony had their own unique style of mane, tail, and color of coat. Lastly was the Cutie Marks, the symbols that would appear on a ponies flank to show what their special talent was. The very idea caused him to laugh a little. He read on to learn about a few more things. The Princesses ruled the land and were called Celestia and Luna and they controlled the sun and moon respectably. He learned about the Grand Galloping Gala which was a huge ball that all ponies attended to dance and have fun and the Crystal Empire that had disappeared for a thousand years but finally reappeared not too long ago and when he came to what he thought was the last page, he found it ripped out. In its place was a letter. Everything about this letter seemed to be in check. His name was on it and it was carefully sealed. But as he opened it up he noticed something was wrong. The paper was crinkled in places like whoever had written it had trouble holding it. There were also places where a word had been written but then messily covered up by ink. But the one thing that alarmed him the most......were the tear stains. They started out small and few but near the end grew in size and amount. He steeled himself for what he was about to learn......and then began to read: Elijah.... I hope that you actually read the book and didn't just skip to this letter. If you did skip then this will just confuse you. But if you did read it then you know by now that life here should be the opposite of what you now see. This town used to be beautiful and bustling with life and everyone was happy. I even found a home here and a place to find myself again. I suppose I should tell you who I am first..................................my name is Trixie. I'm a unicorn and I am the one who brought you here by means of magic. I know you are scared and alone but you won't have to be for long. You just have to find me; I need you to find me. When you woke up in that hospital and walked out to see the destruction, you must have had so many questions but no one to ask. Now I answer those questions, this world has been attacked by forces that came from the heavens. Due to our nature and because we thought they looked friendly at first, we attempted to communicate with then and offer peace. But they were not here for peace. They could not understand us nor did they want to. They had come for our world and our power. They began to destroy and kill. They- At this point, several words had been written out but then crossed over and the tears had really begun to fall. They murdered innocent ponies without care of who they were or how old they were. Whether they fought back or cowered in fear begging for mercy they did not care. They killed with weapons of massive scale and burned down homes with their own twisted form of magic. The scary thing was some of them looked a bit just like you though some were bigger or smaller. But they all wore dark and scary armor and carried deadly weapons. I saw my own friends slaughtered in front of me and barely escaped thanks to a pony who sacrificed himself to ensure I escaped. I ran and hid while others died. That was all we could do. I don't know if anyone is left besides me but I have to find out. After the carnage here they went to the capital and confronted our rulers, the Princesses. At first it seemed these Titans would have been defeated by our rulers who were powerful in magic. But then one stepped forward. I saw all of this from a place in the mountains. He wore a crown of white like a petrified tree and he overpowered Celestia and Luna and took them away. Now they are continuing their genocide of our world and I desperately searched for a way to stop them. I came back here to search for a spell when I found one to travel to distant worlds. I performed the spell and found myself in yours. I searched for a warrior and when none was found I prepared to travel again when I saw you. You were in an accident and had been changed in an attempt to fix you. I brought you here and finished the work that was performed to bring you back to life. Now you are here and I must ask of you, to beg of you to help us. You have the means to fight these Titans and to bring back Harmony. You must first find me. I will be traveling back to the capital. It is the city in the mountains that you should be able to see from the town. Head that way and if you do not run into me on the way there then look for me in the gardens when you reach the city. I will be wearing a dark cloak. Find me Elijah. I need you. Please help us.....help me......I'm so alone Elijah......if you can find it in yourself to help us then please.....bring back harmony. Save the world. Love, Trixie Having finished, his arm fell limply to his side and hit the floor. He was sitting down and leaning against the wall. His left eye was blurry with tears as he stared into nothing. While some answers had been given there were now more questions in his head then before. He wanted to know more about these Titans and why they looked like him. He wanted to know more about Trixie and especially about him and what happened to him. Was this accident why he was like this? Did Trixie do this to him? He held his head in his hands as the tears began to fall and he just sat there and wept while the falling rain and the soft thundering of the storm echoed on. So many questions.....all he wanted was answers.... As if to save him from the wrath of despair, a noise sounded in his ears. A small noise but a familiar noise. He looked up and began to search the room. It was not a noise from the storm but one that life itself makes. It was the buzzing of a fly and his eyes found it flying around near the ceiling. The first sign of life and it was a fly. He did not complain for he was just glad that there was at least some life here in this lonely place. The fly flew down and landed on his shoulder thankful for a place to rest. While they were far apart on the evolutionary scale, both were grateful for each other’s company. There was a bright flash and a bang of thunder that rumbled on for a long while and then the rain began to quiet down. Soon it was just a small amount falling down; the orchestra was finishing its song. The fly hid under the man's hood as he stood and tucked the letter in his pocket with the other ones. He then looked down at the book and wondered what to do with it. Knowing he couldn't take it with him, he put it back on the table right where he found it. Then turning back to the door, he walked slowly towards the outside. He stopped at the threshold and looked back at the destroyed library. His heart was heavy with a sadness to what this world had gone through. He walked out into the rain and began to trek to the outskirts of the town until he could see it. There in the distance, nestled on the side of a great mountain, was the city the letter had spoken of. He knew he had a ways to go but he was determined to find her. As he looked towards his destination, his mind registered a feeling and that feeling turned into words. And his mouth opened to say it, selecting a language at random to just try and say it, "Pour sauver le monde...." He then walked forward but his foot stepped on something hard and when he looked down saw a glint of gold. He bent down to pick up the necklace and see the pennant that was attached to it.... It was a lightning bolt coming out of a white cloud..... And it was colored like a rainbow.... Author's Note Hello And welcome Welcome one, Welcome all, Welcome to the Ballad. You do not need a ticket, You do not need to pay, Come and find a seat, I'm sure there are plenty, Find a drink or a snack, Even a box of tissues maybe, for this is not a happy story, If you thought me a writer of comedies then I am sorry to say, This is not the case, This story is here for me to let a few bad feelings out, To let loose all the darkness that I have pent up inside of me, There is a dark side to everyone, This is mine, Welcome to what happens when you let all of your dark inner thoughts and feelings out, And turn them into words, Welcome to the unmerciful and the heart wrenching story, of death and loneliness and madness I, The Eccentric Mister E Present, The Ballad of Loneliness ErrationesThere's a difference between solitude and loneliness. - Maggie Smith He had been running for almost a day and a half. Not once did he stop or even slow down. His new body allowed him to continue his stride for a long while. He never felt tired or thirsty or hungry, he just kept running. He had taken off from the town in the direction of the city into a big forest. The forest itself seemed to go on forever. He had traversed cliffs and jumped over rivers and even passed an old castle hidden in the trees. He finally stopped near the edge of the forest after running for what felt like a day but the sky never changed. It was always stuck in the same twilight and he hadn't seen the sun or moon since he got here. He stood in the dark glen surrounded by thick trees and caught his breath. A want for drink and food had finally reached him and the AI in his system took the time to inform him of so: [ATTENTION: SEEK NOURISHMENT]<<< [ENERGY LEVELS: LOW]<<< He started again as the bold words appeared in his vision. His curiosity spiked as he wonder just who was inside his brain. Suddenly, everything went white as a wave of dizziness passed over him and he stumbled forward and fell to his knees as he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to escape the light. But the light was still there behind his closed eyes and soon it faded into a soft glow. When he opened his eyes again he was greeted with a strange sight. The sky was now a great expanse of white and the ground was black with many lines of pulsating white lines travelling along the dirt and up into the trees and blades of grass. Even the rocks were covered in the veins of energy. He stood again and looked down to see he was completely whole again. He was no longer a cyborg but a normal human wearing a simple robe. Where was he? He looked up again and was surprised to see a human figure standing in front of him. He scurried back as he took in the human that came from nowhere. He was an elderly man with a long grey beard and a mane of hair as gray as smoke that fell past his shoulders. He wore a robe that looked like it was made of storm clouds that billowed around him and flashed every so often with light. He held a staff that was made of the same material as the ground, black with white veins. The old man stared at him with an indifferent look. Suddenly a voice was heard, “Greetings, Elijah.” Elijah’s eyes grew wide as he heard the voice for the old man’s mouth had not moved and it seemed to be coming from everywhere. He asked again who the old man was. “I am the artificial intelligence installed in your conscious. I am designated: Abraham.” He asked what this place was and why this so called Abraham was here. “This is the inner realm of your mind Elijah,” he answered, “It is where I dwell and watch you. I am your guide and caretaker in your travels. I was installed for the sole purpose of maintaining your new body as well as to make sure you completed your objective.” Objective? “The objective set for you is to find the Elements of Harmony, defeat the invaders, and restore balance to this world at any cost.” He thought about those words and was more than a little overwhelmed by them. Then he remembered something and pulled from within his robe the necklace he found in the wreckage of Ponyville. He stared at the golden piece and was surprised to see it was still glinting in the light. He showed it to Abraham who approached and studied the necklace. “This is one of them but we must find the one who was chosen to wear it. Element is designated as: Element of Loyalty and belonged to designate: Rainbow Dash.” He arched an eyebrow at the old man’s words and looked back down at the necklace before wondering what could have happened to this Rainbow Dash. “I hope she is still alive,” Abraham said before a bemused expression crossed his face, “Curious….I am starting to adapt already. This hope is new to me.” Elijah gave a questioning glance, to which Abraham answered in his normal, emotionless voice, “I am programmed to adapt and create my own personality as I study the way of life through your eyes and experiences.” He then stepped closer and seemed to be studying Elijah’s throat, causing some discomfort in the man. “Your vocal systems have not been completed. You will not be able to clearly communicate with your voice until you find her.” At the mention of her, he knew exactly who he was talking about. He nodded and the AI stepped back and pointed down the forest path. “My sensors indicate a stream not far from here that you can drink from before crossing and several berry bushes as well. You must hurry to the city as soon as you are ready.” He nodded again and the light dimmed and the strange white veins disappeared as everything reverted back to the normal twilight. He looked down to see he was changed back into his cyborg self. With a sigh, he began to move forward and soon he could hear the rushing sound of the stream as Abraham had said. He pushed through the bushes and stopped when he saw they were covered in blackberries. He grabbed a good many and walked over to the stream. It was a decent sized river and the water was surprisingly clear. He knelt down and began to drink, cupping the water in his hands. The water was cold and rejuvenating and he was thankful for it. He then dropped a berry in his mouth and bit down, the juices bursting over his tongue and filling his mouth with its familiar flavor. He continued to eat and drink before he finally felt satisfied. He then put the rest of the berries into a pocket in his coat and stared down at his reflection in the river. The fly from before emerged from the confines of his hood and flew away in search of food but he could still keep track of it and it did not fly far. He removed the glasses and pulled down the hood and scarf and looked over his face. It was a handsome face with prominent cheekbones and a straight nose with round nostrils. His lips were full and smooth and the one eye he had left was large and colored a stark blue. His one ear was medium sized and held close to his bald head. He ran a hand over his smooth head before tracking the metal down his right ear and to his chin. He sighed as he took it all in and wondered why he was like this… Then he noticed something in the water…. There was a rippling in the clear liquid that reverberated every three seconds…like there was an earthquake or….. [ALERT!]<<< [HOSTILE LIFE FORM DETECTED FROM BEHIND!]<<< He spun around to see a large shape walking through the trees and knocking them down with each step. It was so big it went past the heavy clouds. He quickly pulled the hood and scarf up and donned the glasses before turning and diving into the river. He swam to the bottom and anchored himself to the bottom and prayed the beast had not seen him. The booms from the creature’s footfalls grew louder as the river literally vibrated with each step. Suddenly a huge foot broke the surface and stomped into the riverbed mere inches from his body. He remained absolutely still in the water as he watched the weight of the beast move through the step and the foot move up and out of the water. It was a massive sized boot clad in a dark iron metal with a red cloth underneath it. As the beast cleared the river in one step, he let go of the mud and slowly rose up and peeked through the surface and took in the monster before him. It was wearing all black armor, roughly put together with a huge plate that covered its chest and bulging gut with a long red cloth covering the groin. There was one shoulder plate on the right shoulder that looked like a screaming face and it wore a helm that covered its face with long curved horns that almost met in the front. Its skin was an ugly red color with bulging muscles, open sores, and pus filled boils covering the surface and it breathed with a ragged growl as it dragged a huge, jagged axe behind it. In its other hand it hauled a large and full burlap sack that looked like it was about to burst with its contents whatever that may be. It moved with huge, loping strides as it crashed through the forest. He made sure the beast couldn’t see him and slowly moved out of the water to the other side of the river before running after the creature. He followed it a good distance before he saw that it was descending into a valley. He then sidetracked to the cliffs that looked over the valley. When he cleared the trees, the sight before him left him frozen in shock and fear. Right in the middle of the valley was a tall and wide spire embedded into the earth and reaching out into the sky and into space like some kind of twisted splinter. Black smoke billowed from several smoke stacks that peppered it in random places. At the base of the spire was a congregation of even more of the sick creatures. They ranged in a wide variety of size and shape though all had an aura of pure evil. There were some as tall as trees with helms that had long antlers, rusted metal with huge shields and long broadswords, and smaller ones the same size as Elijah with sleek and bright armor with horrifying depictions in the plating, ranging from awful sacrifices to an unholy deity, to entire battlefields painted in bloods of all kinds. They too had either shields and thin swords on their backs or two long, curved sabers. There were other giants like the beast from before with awful patchwork armor and large clubs or axes or hammers that they drug about. Some didn’t wear any armor at all, just a loincloth and a helm that could give a child a slew of nightmares to haunt him to the end of sanity. They spoke, no, communicated, in a guttural dialect that he could not understand and many were fighting like a pack of feral dogs. The giant from before appeared at the edge of the clearing and approached the large crowd. He held up the sack and let out a roar and some strange noises. All activity ceased and the crowd began to cheer and rush towards the giant who threw the bag open and spilled the contents onto the ground. And the sight of what came out almost made the man throw up all of his berries. For it was a large mountain of dead bodies, all of them ponies. The same ponies he had read about in the book. All ages of ponies lay there, lifeless. There were a few elderly and a score of young ones with their mouths open and tongues hanging out as they stared with blank, cold eyes. The sight caused a rush of disgust in the man followed by anger as the monster began to grab at the pile and stuff the bodies past the openings in their helms and into their mouths filled with jagged and broken teeth. Blood spurted out everywhere and fell down their chins as they gorged themselves on the mass of bodies. He finally averted his gaze and tried to shut out the sound of crunching bones and organs popping. He suddenly heard more shouting. A door opened at the base of the spire and a figure walked out. He was wearing a regal set of white and grey amour with a white cape and on his head……was a crown made of petrified branches…..his face was hidden behind a mask of white with one side featureless and flat and the other had a black eyehole with a mouth that curved in a sick smile. The monsters stopped in their feast and turned to the figure. Then every single one of them bowed low to the ground with their faces touching the dirt. The figure began to speak to them in the grunts and growls of their language. Elijah had decided he had seen enough of this and looked to see the city in the mountains was on the other side of the valley and he just had to make it across. Suddenly his sensors went off as he picked up movement behind him. He turned to see an armored figure emerge from the trees. It was one of the smaller ones with grey plate armor and a helm with a demonic skull on it. It spoke in the dialect and motioned with its hands to Elijah and then to the congregation. Elijah just stared back too afraid to answer. The creature spoke again, louder this time and seemed to be confused. Elijah just stood there and began to shake with fear. The creature started to slowly reach for its sword and raise its shield as it spoke again more slowly. The minute it touched the hilt a flash of red and bold text appeared in Elijah’s vision. [ALERT!]<<< [HOSTILE THREAT DETECTED!]<<< [INITIATING DEFENSE SYSTEMS….]<<< But Elijah did not feel like defending himself at all. All that went through his mind was panic and fear and it overwhelmed the programming within. His cybernetic body lit up with red lights but the rest of him was frozen and nothing was responding. The creature drew its sword and advanced and Elijah backed away quickly. Not paying attention to where he was stepping, he tripped over a root. He landed hard on his back and the creature came at him even faster. At this point, Abraham was certain that Elijah would not be able to kill the creature and save his own hide. So he directed all of his power into the metal arm causing servos and hinges to move the metal plates in his hand and forearm around and inward and outward but Elijah paid no head as he scrambled backwards with his only working arm. It was a mad crawl as he watched certain death creep closer, sword held high. He kicked and pulled and thrashed on the ground in an absolute panic as his arm transformed itself into a blade of his own but Elijah felt nothing but fear. It warped his vision and caused his mouth to open and close in silent screams as the monster approached. The ugly creature stomped down on Elijah's metal foot, trapping him like an animal in some hunters net. It raised the sword and readied to deliver the blow but Elijah then heard a voice. "Raise. Your. Arms." Elijah then felt his panic move to his arms as he instinctively raised them both up in defense and as the monster brought down his sword, it was blocked. Elijah opened his eyes in surprise as the black blade in his arm managed to stop the monster. But it wasnt over as the beast put pressure on Elijah and Elijah pushed back desperatly as his arm shook, unable to handle the constant pressure. Elijah scrambled his other arm around when he grabbed something hard and flung it into the monster's face. The rock impacted right in the beast's eye as it reeled back in pain. It roared as it held its bleeding eye. "Run!" The voice commanded Elijah and he was more than happy to obey as he clumsily pushed himself up and scrambled away but the titan was not done as it tackled Elijah from behind. They both slammed into the ground again and Elijah struggled against his assailant. His elbow went into the gut of the beast as it grunted and moved up onto its feet and Elijah whirled his arm in a messy swing. But it managed to find its mark. The beast howled as the cut across its chest began to bleed. It was shallow but still hurt, enraging the beast. Elijah's eyes were wide as the monster kicked him right in the chest as sent him over the edge. He tumbled and crashed against the side of the valley before sliding down the rest of the way. He coughed as a cloud of dust surrounded him and felt several sharp points of pain across his body but nothing seemed broken. He looked back up to where the beast was but then heard it let out a cry. A signal for other cries echoed it from the spire in the center of the valley and several alarms sounded. Elijah knew he had been found out and took off running at full sprint through the valley as sirens pierced the air....... Author's Note Happy 4th everyone! Heres the next dark installment of the Ballad just in time for the Fourth. Hope you like it. hehehehehe..... A big thanks to Angels for pre-reading, editing, and adding the scary parts to the chapter. If you think this is dark........you just wait and see what I have planned Exanimo"If you were to ask me what true loneliness is, I would have to say a solemn wind over an empty and dead and colorless expanse without any life in sight. Not even the sun or moon or stars will show. I think that is true loneliness." Tall grass, brown with sickness, waved in the wind that blew through the valley. The thick trees that dotted the landscape were spread far apart and gave little room for one to hide in. Yet if you find a small alcove in the base of one of these trees, it is enough to evade predators. And so that is where we find a small, quivering shape. Her green eyes shine from the twilight as she scans the area for the monsters that have been hunting her. For days she had been running from death and the sense of fear has never once left her. But that is the main reason she still lives: fear. Fear has kept her awake and alert and fueled her to run faster. She had no idea if anyone else was still alive or if she was truly alone. Slowly, she moves her head out and looks around the valley. Her fur is a cream color and her long and unkempt hair is a dark red and the remains of a pink bow now lie wrapped around her neck. She pulls the hood of her dark cloak over her head and slowly crawls through the grass towards the exit to the valley. She had been trying to get to the city of Canterlot for a long time and had found herself trapped in this valley of death. Today, though, it was like the monsters had moved on. Or were busy with something more important than her in another part of the valley. She prayed she would make it out without being spotted. She was nearing the next tree when she heard a sound in the wind. A low howl, far away on the other side of the valley. She looked to the source and saw the tall spire that stuck out of the earth like a rotten splinter. Something was happening as more sounds echoed across the valley.... She crawled closer to the tree and hoped she was safe from whatever it was..... But then she heard the sirens... They roared from the spire in a crescendo that made her skin crawl for several seconds before the volume descended to a dull scream. Then they repeated their song as the whole valley echoed from the sound. The small pony tried to see what could have caused the alert and failed to see the massive shape rising behind her. Suddenly the ground shook as the Titan began to march to the spire. The pony let out a small yelp as she was thrown against the tree from the force of the footfalls. Luckily for her, the beast had not heard her as it walked over the tree in one stride, mace in hand. She stared at it in disgust at its yellow skin and rusting armor. Its face looked like a troll from the books she had read. The beast continued to march and the pony took the chance to turn away and run, hoping that whatever had gotten their attention would keep them off of her. That didn't mean she didn't feel bad for the doomed soul.... If only she knew.... The sound of the sirens hurt his augmented ear as he ran through the valley trying to find a way up the other side. Behind him was a group of the monsters from before who managed to spot him and give chase. The monster he failed to kill before had alerted his brethren to his presence. Now he was running for his life through the valley with a horde hot on his heels. He had no idea where to go or what to do and so he did the only thing he could think to do at that moment. Run. He ran through the valley, tearing a path through the tall grass and trying to block out the horrifying sounds behind him. He had no idea how to get rid of the monsters especially since his arm was stuck in sword mode and the lights on his robotic body were bright red. He could sense Abraham also trying to come up with a plan and tried to convene his concerns to him. Abraham understood and said, “I will see what I can do.” Then his hand went back to its normal hand-shape mode and the lights all turned off, causing Elijah to feel a tiny bit of relief. But that didn’t stop the Titans behind him. Before he could ask Abraham again, a plate in his shoulder opened up and a cylinder shot out and into the air. It stopped for a second in the air before falling back down. Before it hit the ground, the monsters were just about to pass it when it erupted in a bright flash of light and a loud bang. It knocked Elijah of balance and he fell against a tree but the blast had blinded and dazed the monsters causing them to thrash about and scream. Elijah looked in awe but then saw text appear in his vision: GET MOVING. Elijah stood up and began to run again but this time he was going faster. Abraham was doing something to cause his legs to carry him faster than he could imagine and he became a blur across the valley. The young filly from before was half way up the side when she heard the blast and looked back into the valley to see a bright flash of light. She wondered what it was and fought against her curiosity. She needed to keep moving. She turned back to the side of the valley and continued to climb. Putting one hoof up after the other, she stopped when she felt her hood touch something that wasn’t dirt. She slowly looked up into the snarling face of a Titan that was looking at her with a hungry expression. In her panic, she pushed back from the side and fell into the valley, barely missing the creatures swiping claws. She screamed as loud as she could as she fell. Elijah stopped when he heard the screams. His auditory implant whirred and electrical impulses travelled from his ear to his brain as he registered what it was. He felt Abraham become both excited and worried as text scrawled across his vision in a hurried fashion. >>>ALERT: AUDITORY STIMULI DETECTED<<< >>>SOURCE: PONY, YOUNG, FEMALE<<< >>>OBJECTIVE CHANGED: BEGIN SEARCH AND RESCUE<<< Then Elijah’s vision changed, he saw what looked like a scan move through the landscape and could see past the grass and trees. And he saw a young pony running from a monster. He took off in the direction of the pony when text appeared again in his vision. FOLLOW MY LEAD. Then he saw a computerized path appear in front of him showing a ghost of himself run through the grass and show him what to do and where to go. He followed and ran as fast as he could. Suddenly, a shadow fell over him as a huge, troll-like Titan rose up from nowhere and brought down a mace on his victim. But Abraham was faster and changed the path before Elijah and as he saw his ghost move through movements he thought impossible, though he followed anyway. Ducking under the mace, barely escaping certain death, he lunged forward and in one movement, caught the young filly in his arms and leapt into the air. The other Titan that had been chasing the pony jumped in an attempt to catch them but Elijah followed his ghost and turned in midair, performing a graceful dodge as the titan missed completely. Elijah was so impressed with himself that he forgot that he needed to land. He slammed into the ground and slid a few feet before stopping. The young filly tried to force her way out of his grasp but he held on, knowing he had to keep her safe. He heard a yell and saw the other Titan coming for him as well as the big troll and in the distance was the rest of the horde. His path changed and he saw his ghost move upright and towards a tree, spinning and holding up its arm as it went. Elijah jumped to his feet and ran after the apparition and turned at the moment he was supposed to. He raised his arm and was surprised to watch it turn into long barrel with three prongs on the end. It charged up and shot a bolt at the pursuing monster. It hit the beast with enough force to send it into the bigger troll and knock it over into the way of the oncoming horde. Elijah took the opportunity to make for the tree and followed the directions of his guide to jump and plant his mechanical foot into the trunk of the tree. He did so and the moment his foot touched the bark, a jet in the bottom of his metal boot of a foot propelled him up and out of the valley. He turned head over heels in the air, trying to right himself while holding tight to the screaming bundle in his arms. He saw the valley disappear from his vision and the ground and sky spin together like partners in a dance and when the sky became smaller and the ground became bigger he braced for impact. He landed in a tree and threw his arms and body over the young filly as they fell together and crashed through the branches and leaves before rolling across the roots and stopping in a cloud of dust. He laid in the dirt on his back, catching his breath and not noticing the filly squirm in his grip. Suddenly, she chomped down on his normal hand with enough force to bring blood and he started and screamed. He let go and she flew from his grip and behind the tree. He brought himself to his knees and looked at his hand. Teeth marks drew blood and his hand dripped with the red liquid. He held back his irritation and looked for the filly. She was looking at him from behind the tree and trembling with fear. He then slowly held his arms up with hands opened, hoping it would let her know he wasn’t going to hurt her. The young filly stared at him with a curious look, was this thing really surrendering to her? It had saved her and while it did resemble those monsters back at the valley, he wasn’t trying to hurt her and was somehow different. She slowly came out from behind the tree and slowly approached him. “What are you?” she asked first, wanting to know what he was if he wasn’t a titan. He let out a breath and put his arms down before realizing he had no way of communicating with her. Then Abraham had an idea as he highlighted a stick lying next to him. He picked it up and saw a word appear in his vision: Friend. He picked up on it quickly and began to scrawl the word into the dirt. The young filly came closer and read the word. She looked up with an even more confused face and said, “Friend? But you look just like one of them?” She gestured back to the valley and he noticed her accent as she spoke. He then decided to write down his name: Elijah. She looked again and then back up at him and after a moment it clicked in her head. “Oh!” she exclaimed, “That’s your name?” He nodded and then pointed the stick at her and she picked up on the hint, “My names Applebloom.” Then he saw Abraham begin to rifle through hundreds of files on the world as pictures and names zoomed by but nothing came up. There was nothing on this Applebloom though Abraham still put her down as an object to protect at all cost. Then she asked another question, “If you aren’t a titan then how did you get here? You’re not like anything from my world.” He thought for a moment and then Abraham provided the answer: Brought here by Trixie. When he questioned it, Abraham explained that she might know who she was. So he scribbled the sentence and at the sight of the name Trixie, Applebloom exclaimed again, “I know Trixie!” He made an excited noise in his throat and Abraham began to frantically put down on his vision: ELEMENTS, in big bold letters. He quickly scribbled it down with a question mark and Applebloom stared at it saying the word over and over again before slowly looking up with a hopeful look, “You mean the Elements of Harmony?! Like my sister Applejack?!” At that, Abraham went nuts. A file appeared of an orange pony with a Stetson on her head with the words, ELEMENT OF HONESTY, next to it and then the phrase, SISTER OF APPLEBLOOM, appeared with it and the picture of Applebloom lit up with the letters MVP. Most Valued Pony He nodded rapidly and wrote down, “Where?” Then Applebloom became sad and said, “I don’t know….” He sagged and made a groaning noise as Applebloom continued, “I don’t know where anyone is. When those things attacked I just ran into the Everfree and hid. That’s what I was ordered to do. I haven’t found anyone yet.” Tears began to fall from her face as she laid down and covered her face as she cried, “I want my sister and brother back…” He couldn’t help but feel terrible for the poor thing, just like him and the fly; she was alone with no one to help her find her way. But now she did have someone. He put a hand on her head and she looked up into his eyes, one natural and one machine. Then he scrawled another message into the dirt, this one long but meaningful. “I was chosen to defend and save this world. I was given great power and I will find your sister and the Elements. But we must find Trixie in the big city in the mountains first. She will help us. I promise I will protect you the entire way.” After she had read it, Applebloom looked up at him and no longer felt afraid but hopeful. Here was someone who could save her home. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and he hugged her in kind. He slowly stood and placed her on his shoulders and she hugged his head for support. He looked up at her and she said, “If you want to find Trixie and she’ll be in Canterlot, we need to go that way and find the train tracks.” She pointed the way and he nodded. He started forward but stopped when a sound reached his ears. “What is it?” Applebloom asked but he held up a finger to shush her and looked to where the sound was coming from in the trees. Out of the leaves came the fly from before and it landed in his hand. Applebloom shied away but he held it up and said in a metallic voice that was barely audible, “Friend.” She stared in surprise but nodded with a smile and he put the fly back in its place in his hood. He donned his glasses and began forward. The three friends, all alone together in the big world overrun by devils, marched towards the city and the hope of a better tomorrow. Author's Note Merry Christmas everyone! Here's an update for you to enjoy while I try desperately to finish Enigma before New Years I hope you all have a great holiday from the Eccentric One. See you next time. ExordiaAt the innermost core of all loneliness is a deep and powerful yearning for union with one's lost self. - Brendan Francis Darkness........... Emptiness......... Coldness........ He saw nothing.... He heard nothing..... "Get him inside! Get him inside!" But then..... "We're losing him!" Sound! "Clear!" *ZZZZZCHKCHKCHK* And then a flurry of feelings and sensations! All coming together into one solid point! Pain! Unbridled pain! *GASP!* "We got him back! Let’s move people!" He breathed.... The air hurt..... Pain....with every breath.... He opened his eyes.... To see bright lights rushing by, rushing by at high speeds! Blurred and distorted was his vision! And twisted faces stared at him and spoke in voices that moved from whispers to shouts! "You're going to be okay sir! Just stay with us! We've got the surgeons coming in now!" Thoughts..... Emotions.... Questions.... His mind began to slowly race.... He asked questions........though no one heard.... He began to panic..... He began to cry..... "It's gonna be okay sir. You'll be just fine." Lies! He could tell they were lying! But they had to! What choice did they have! He was in pain! He was dying! There was no salvation! But then he felt calm.... The black void of relief came......and he was spared.......for a moment.... He tried to remember..... He tried to ask again..... He saw.......light.....a light.....and a sound....... He felt fire........he felt metal.... He saw flashes....... His spirit ebbed.......in.......and out..... He saw a table....... He saw men in white.... He saw objects of black...... He felt so many things...... And the light got brighter......and brighter......and brighter......and brighter! And then it all was gone......................................... He saw a figure....... He saw a woman.... She came close to him..... He heard her speak.... About a spell..........................about a catastrophe and an important task...............................and about him.... And as she spoke she changed..... She began to walk away...... And she changed....... From human...... To equine....... And she faded away.................. And his mind, filled with pain and fear and confusion.........................gave up..................... Exhaustion..... Feelings...... Fade.... Dark..... He heard.......a word......no............a name....... Elijah...... And the Ballad had thus begun....
EvigilantemLife is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering........and it's all over much too soon. - Woody Allen The room was dark and cold and all that remained of what it used to be was a bed and a table. A padlock was attached to the door and wooden boards were nailed across the window. However, light still found a way past the small gaps in the wood. Colored orange, it danced across the walls with its cracks and chipped paint and over the still form of a man in the bed. He lay with his right arm at his side and his left over his chest, grasping something around his neck. The entire room felt like a morgue, as if it was void of any scrap of life…….were it not for the fly. A single fly buzzing around the ceiling looking for something, anything, to focus on. If a fly were to ever feel anything, it was now. But what it felt was something unknown to it. It had no word for it but for those more advanced and sentient it is known as a feeling called loneliness, and it pulled at the fly without mercy. The fly could usually find a few of its own kind to hang around with or some other form of life but there was nothing here. The fly landed on the wall and began to rub its forelegs together as if nervous or even scared. Then it noticed the shape of the human in the bed. His face was covered in bandages, his chest never moved and no air came out or in. Around him, the building creaked and groaned like an ancient creature mourning for a broken youngling. Next to him was a machine with wires embedded in his chest and neck. A mechanical timer slowly counted down, its square shapes rotating with soft, little clicks as minutes passed to seconds. A wind rushed past the window and then all was silent like the world was holding its breath. Finally, the timer reached zero……………….and the world awakened. A sound like a hundred wasps filled the room as blue sparks passed along the wires and rushed into the still body. It convulsed and shook with a violence that almost broke the bed as blue light covered it. There was a final flash and a bang as the machine exploded and the man opened his eyes and took in a large breath as he was flung from death and into the waking world. Like all who are born again he screamed with a ferocity that shattered the silence of the world. The fly began to streak about in a fearful frenzy of the sudden sound that destroyed the peace of the room. It flew to the window and squeezed through a crack to escape. All the while the man screamed. His voice let out its fear and fury for a full minute before ceasing suddenly, causing him to cough. He grabbed his throat and tried to let out a noise but couldn’t as only a rasping, mechanical wheeze escape his dried and white lips. He shook his head and tried to focus as his senses began to come back to him. He looked around at his surroundings and was confused when he saw he was in a hospital room. He then began to notice something else, a distinct lack of feeling in his entire right side; in fact, he couldn’t move that side at all. And why couldn’t he see out of his right eye? He reached up with his left hand to feel the bandages over his face and as he ran a hand over his eye, he felt something hard and cold. Fear began to run down his spine as he then looked down to the sheets covering his right arm and leg. He slowly reached down and grasped the cloth as he steeled himself for what he might see. Sweat began to accumulate on the bandages and roll down his neck as he pulled the sheets off. But he could never have been prepared for what he saw……… His right arm from the elbow down was a black metal and his hand was the same color with appendages that had several hinges in them and points at the end. His palm was covered in several metal plates and his wrist was connected to his arm by what looked like a ball. He stared at it with a look of shock and horror and then he looked at his leg. The entire right limb was the same black metal with a plate on his knee and the same ball joint where his ankle was. His foot looked like a metal boot with small claws in the front and back. He tried to move them but they would not respond. He began to hyperventilate as he reached up and ripped the bandages from his head. Once they were off, he reached up and felt his face again. Where his eye was he felt metal again that surrounded his eye and then went back to his ear and down his jawline to stop at his chin and continue down his neck. The metal also wrapped around to the back of his head. He felt smooth skin instead of hair on his head and then noticed the metal continued down the back of his neck. He began fully panicking as he grabbed the hospital gown and ripped it off leaving nothing to cover him. He saw his entire right side of his body was black and metallic. He reached around to feel it cover his spine and saw a vein of metal placed in his right arm to connect it all to his hand and forearm. Then he looked down at his chest. The metal widened to cover his right pectoral and then move to a point over his heart. He breathed heavily and let out several small screams as he tried to move out of his bed but nothing would work as he fell onto the floor. He scrambled on the hard cold floor as he tried to pick himself up and scream for help. But all he could do was flop on the floor and wheeze. After a few minutes he stopped, exhausted from his efforts to move and scream. Tears fell out of his left eye as he lay on the floor. His breathing felt suppressed, like his lungs were resisting. Suddenly, he felt a spark from his chest as a tingling began to move over his right body. He managed to sit himself up on the bed and look down at his chest as a light appeared at the point over his heart. It shined a bright blue and then more lights appeared down his right side, travelling all the way down his leg. He suddenly began to feel it again as he moved his foot around on the ball joint like a regular leg. He bent the knee and saw the hinge move under the plate. It felt and moved just like his left leg. He then saw small lights appear in his arm and the back of his hand as feeling began to come back to it as well. He held it up and bent his elbow, staring at his hand and noticing a light on his palm. He moved each finger as small hinges moved each with enough detail to perfectly mimic a real hand. The plates in his palm moved over each other as he balled his metal hand in a fist and moved the wrist joint around. He then moved his hand to feel the floor and gasped when he felt the cold from it. Then he felt the bed he had been lying on and noticed how soft it was. He was surprised and impressed with the control of his new limbs. How they perfectly mimicked his real ones so much that he would probably forget they were actually fake. Then he felt a sharp pinch in his right eye as it lit up like someone holding a flashlight right to it. He also began to hear a high pitch whine in his right ear. Then both vanished as sight and sound returned to his right side. He blinked his mechanical eye. His vision was clear as day and his hearing was remarkable. He could hear……..fire? His thoughts were interrupted when text suddenly appeared in his right eye: [CARDIAC system=TRUE | RESPIRATORY system=TRUE | BRAIN=TRUE]<<< [AUGMENTATIONS…ONLINE | MOTOR FUNCTIONS=30% of FULL]<<< [MEMORY FILES…coRruPtEd5*#...retrieving 1 of 4697,462 FILES]<<< He jerked in surprise and put a hand to his eye to move the text away but they were still there when he closed his eye. They slowly faded away and he looked again at the room, trying out his new senses. He could see every detail and was amazed at it all. He noticed how the room seemed to falling apart and was especially worried about the boards in the window. He then looked down at his chest and the glowing orb over his heart. He was surprised to see something over it; a necklace with a silver cross. He picked it up to see something written across it in black letters: Elijah. Suddenly, a memory clicked in his head and he remembered that that was his name. Elijah. But that was all he could remember and the effort to remember more just caused his head to hurt. He decided to try and stand again, slowly placing his new hand on the ground and applying weight to it as he grabbed the bed with his other hand for support. He lifted himself up and straightened out on his legs. He was a bit wobbly at first, but that must be from recently coming back from the dead. His leg felt fine and strong as did his arm. He managed to smile in relief that they all were working fine, but still felt uneasy about the fact that he was now a cyborg. He began to wonder what could have happened to need to change him like this. As he continued to look around, he noticed the table and the contents on top of it. There was a pile of neatly folded clothes and a single boot on the floor. There was also a gun and leaning on it was………..a letter. He walked over and picked it up, turning it over to see his name written in very neat handwriting. He used the points on his metal hand to open the envelope and pulled out the folded piece of paper and opened the letter up and begin to read it: Dear Elijah, I’m sure you have many questions and are probably very afraid right now. I’m sorry I’m not there now to explain everything to you but I had to leave to take care of other things. I will just have to do what I can with these messages. For the moment, you can call me T and I will say right off the bat that you are a very important person. You have been chosen for an important task that only you can fulfill. You are in a very strange place and there has been a terrible tragedy. This world has fallen and it needs your help Elijah. You must save this world. On the table are some clothes for you along with some equipment. I have also left you a weapon to defend yourself with and the key to open the door. Once you are prepared, leave the hospital and find the library in the town nearby. You will know when you have found it. I have to warn you, the world outside is very different and very dangerous and you must be careful. I will explain more once you find the library. Good luck. Love, T He finished the letter and stared in thought at it. Questions were bouncing around in his head as to what it meant. About being in a different and dangerous world and about the tragedy. But mostly about the important task he had to accomplish. He decided that the only way he would get answers was to find this library. He folded the letter back up and put it in the envelope. He set it down and looked over the new clothes. There was a pair of boxers with grey cargo pants and a black T-shirt. There was also a big coat, colored black with a hood. Next to that was a single, fingerless glove and sock, a scarf, and a pair of red sunglasses. He began to get dressed, putting the boxers and pants and shirt on first. Then the one boot on his human foot with the sock. Then the glove and the big jacket, which felt heavy and fell to his calves. He pulled the hood up and wrapped the scarf around his neck over it. Finally he donned the red glasses which to his surprise mirrored his mechanical eye's text over to his human eye allowing to see it in both eyes. Lastly, he picked up the gun. It was a simple hand-cannon with one clip holding eight shots. He stuck it in the jacket where he could easily reach it later. He then picked up the key and moved to the door but not before stopping and looking back at the letter. After a few moments of thought, he grabbed it and put it in his pocket for later. He wanted to save them for some reason. He then walked to the door and carefully slid the key into the lock and turned it. There was a clicking noise and the lock disengaged. When he pushed the door though, it simply fell forward and hit the ground. He stared in surprise at it and then noticed that the sound of fire had gotten a little louder. He stepped out carefully into the hall and looked down to see the entrance to the hospital. There was an orange and red glow coming from outside. He approached it and stopped just inside the entrance, scared of what he might find. He closed his eyes and listened, hearing the roar of a great fire and preparing himself before stepping forward outside. What he saw before him shocked his being to the very core, more than when he saw his mechanical limbs even. For he was staring at a burning town, littered with death and destruction. He turned to look at the hospital and his eyes widened as he saw it was almost completely destroyed. Its roof had caved in and the large cross had fallen off and into the yard before it. He had been in that?! He then turned again to look at the town. He saw an apple orchard bigger than anything he had ever seen, alight with many fires. Every single tree was burning to the ground as well as a barn and a collapsed farmhouse. He saw a cottage reduced to ash and surrounding it were many dead animals all laying in pools of blood that reflected the glow of the fires. He started to head towards the town where the library was, praying it was still there and that the person who had brought him here was still alive. He ran past burning homes and stores; he saw a store that looked like it was made out of candy half melted by the fires and slowly being eaten by the flames. He saw a structure right in the middle of the town that had collapsed on itself and was now nothing more than a great bonfire. He feared every building was like this when he saw a store that looked like a carousel that still stood. It didn’t seem to be on fire or damaged in any way and he approached it thinking that maybe someone was still alive inside. But then there was a whooshing noise and a great plume of fire erupted from the roof as the entire structure fell to the ground. The force launched him into the air and slammed him down hard on the ground. He coughed several times and looked back with a teary eye at the now destroyed building. He could still see some of the parts that made it look like a carousel. Now burning away……. He picked himself up and tried not to collapse right there as he looked around and saw himself surrounded by fire. What happened here? Why is everything burning? Why is this happening? Where is everyone? He then ran through the town out of fear as the fire chased after him like a wild animal. He saw the fire spew out of windows and doors and roofs. He saw stalls, now nothing but charred piles of wood. He saw carriages and wagons all destroyed. Not one sign of life. He stopped when he had reached the edge of the town and looked back at the burning wreckage. He then looked up at the sky to try and see the sun or moon, but nothing was there. There weren’t even any stars. The world seemed to be in an endless Twilight as the empty sky reigned above all. This place felt so empty and broken. He looked around desperately for anything that would show a sign of life. But then he saw an actual sign. He walked over and knelt down in front of it. It was covered in ash but he just brushed it away. And as he stared at the words he knew this was not his world…....... It said.............. WELCOME TO PONYVILLE
Epistulas ex AmicoYet it is in this loneliness that the deepest activities begin. It is here that you discover act without motion, labor that is profound repose, vision in obscurity, and, beyond all desire, a fulfillment whose limits extend to infinity. - Thomas Merton It had begun to rain..... A storm had come from nowhere to finally put out the fires that had been ravishing the town. The sound of the rain and the lightning had begun its own new symphony to the world. It was different from the raging fire and brought peace to the man's mind. Thankfully, his metal parts were waterproof as they still functioned perfectly in the rain. He was still kneeling down in front of the sign. His mind was filled to the brim with questions about this strange place. He could tell, somehow, he was no longer on his world but on a different planet. The name of the town itself caused him to pause. Who would name a town "Ponyville"? Everything about this world felt different, like this place wasn't even meant for his kind. There was something odd about this world that much he knew. He shook himself and stood, remembering that he had to find the library. He continued to walk along the road in the direction the letter had told him. Everywhere he looked there was destruction and not a single living thing could be seen. The storm clouds had cast everything in a dark shadow that only helped to increase the loneliness of the world but flashes of white from above would illuminate everything for a solid second. A second of light to break the darkness. While he walked, his mechanical eye kept scanning for any kind of life be it friendly or not, as well as the library. Finally, his eyes registered a sign that read "Golden Oaks Library" and as he took a closer look he realized that the library was, in fact, an oak tree. He gazed at it and thought it was kind of fitting and a little......ironic for a library to be in a tree. That a library full of books, made of pages that were no doubt crafted out of the wood of other trees, would be held inside a living tree. But he was just getting distracted again. He walked closer to the library until he could see the amount of damage it had sustained. There were no leaves and most of the branches were burned yet there wasn't that much damage to it and the building itself seemed to be in an okay state. Some of the windows were broken and what used to be a balcony had fallen in front of the main entrance. He approached the door, having to step over a broken telescope, and wondered if he had the strength to move the fallen balcony. He reached down and grabbed the bottom of it and tested the weight. It wasn't as heavy as he thought which surprised him and with some effort managed to haul it away from the entrance. Now that it was clear, he stepped over the threshold. There was no door, what was left of it was scattered over the wooden floor. He stepped inside and his vision adjusted to the dark interior. The sound of rain pelting the walls and the windows that were still there reverberated through the building. There were many leaks that dripped down through the tall roof. The drips and plinking sound from them were like some new instrument that had joined the symphonic ensemble of the storm outside. A single, lonely piano trying to make itself heard in the massive orchestra of the storm. He looked around and was surprised by the amount of books that the library contained. Many of them were unscathed but scattered on the floor and shelves. Some were destroyed, reduced to ash or charred remains. Like bodies that were caught in a horrible massacre. Now they just laid there smoldering with their words burned off and their covers destroyed and melted. The sight caused a rush of sadness in the man, for somewhere in his mind where his memories were hidden behind a concrete wall that he could not break down, a crack appeared. And he remembered his love of books and how much he enjoyed them and to see this carnage almost made him cry. He then noticed a glinting light and looked to see the remains of a glass case on a pedestal. There was a cushion inside with pieces of glass surrounding it. On the cushion was the imprints of what looked like pieces of jewelry. He counted six in total, five necklaces and he guessed the last one was some sort of crown. He continued to look around when his eyes fell on a table in the middle of the room. On it he saw a large book with a familiar letter on top of it. He hurried over and grabbed the envelope to see his name in the same handwriting on it. He carefully opened it and took out the folded piece of paper. He unfolded it and began to read: Hello again Elijah, I take it you found the library without any problems. Hopefully, I managed to keep it from catching on fire again. I'm going to keep this letter short because I don't have much time. The book this letter will be on is about the history of this world. Everything you need to know about us and our world will be in it. I want you to read all of it so you know enough to not get lost. I must warn you, some of it may come as a shock but I need you to focus. This is very important Elijah. Once you've finished, there will be another letter on the very last page. In it I will tell you what to do next and finally reveal who I am. I just need you to keep trusting me Elijah. You will have your answers soon. Love, T He folded the letter back up and put it in the envelope before sticking it in his coat with the other one. The book the letter had told him to read was a rather large tome and quite dusty. He picked it up and brushed away the dust to reveal its title. Equestria, A History He cocked his head when he read it. Equestria must be the name of this world. An odd name to say the least which meant things were just going to get stranger. As he opened the book his theory was proven correct as he read the large book and learned of the denizens of this world known as ponies. He was more than shocked at all of it: the Princesses, the Elements of Harmony that maintained peace in this world, Hearth's Warming Eve which was the event where all ponies came together in peace and harmony with each other, the Mare in the Moon who was the once moon princess that became jealous of her older sister, and Discord the God of Chaos. All of it was overwhelming and he feared he would blow his new machinery from taking it all in. He focused more on learning about the ponies in particular. There were three kinds: Pegasus ponies with wings and the ability to control the weather, Unicorns with horns and access to actual magical abilities like telekinesis and teleportation, and finally the Earth ponies with neither wings nor horns but were stronger and were able to control the land better. Each pony had their own unique style of mane, tail, and color of coat. Lastly was the Cutie Marks, the symbols that would appear on a ponies flank to show what their special talent was. The very idea caused him to laugh a little. He read on to learn about a few more things. The Princesses ruled the land and were called Celestia and Luna and they controlled the sun and moon respectably. He learned about the Grand Galloping Gala which was a huge ball that all ponies attended to dance and have fun and the Crystal Empire that had disappeared for a thousand years but finally reappeared not too long ago and when he came to what he thought was the last page, he found it ripped out. In its place was a letter. Everything about this letter seemed to be in check. His name was on it and it was carefully sealed. But as he opened it up he noticed something was wrong. The paper was crinkled in places like whoever had written it had trouble holding it. There were also places where a word had been written but then messily covered up by ink. But the one thing that alarmed him the most......were the tear stains. They started out small and few but near the end grew in size and amount. He steeled himself for what he was about to learn......and then began to read: Elijah.... I hope that you actually read the book and didn't just skip to this letter. If you did skip then this will just confuse you. But if you did read it then you know by now that life here should be the opposite of what you now see. This town used to be beautiful and bustling with life and everyone was happy. I even found a home here and a place to find myself again. I suppose I should tell you who I am first..................................my name is Trixie. I'm a unicorn and I am the one who brought you here by means of magic. I know you are scared and alone but you won't have to be for long. You just have to find me; I need you to find me. When you woke up in that hospital and walked out to see the destruction, you must have had so many questions but no one to ask. Now I answer those questions, this world has been attacked by forces that came from the heavens. Due to our nature and because we thought they looked friendly at first, we attempted to communicate with then and offer peace. But they were not here for peace. They could not understand us nor did they want to. They had come for our world and our power. They began to destroy and kill. They- At this point, several words had been written out but then crossed over and the tears had really begun to fall. They murdered innocent ponies without care of who they were or how old they were. Whether they fought back or cowered in fear begging for mercy they did not care. They killed with weapons of massive scale and burned down homes with their own twisted form of magic. The scary thing was some of them looked a bit just like you though some were bigger or smaller. But they all wore dark and scary armor and carried deadly weapons. I saw my own friends slaughtered in front of me and barely escaped thanks to a pony who sacrificed himself to ensure I escaped. I ran and hid while others died. That was all we could do. I don't know if anyone is left besides me but I have to find out. After the carnage here they went to the capital and confronted our rulers, the Princesses. At first it seemed these Titans would have been defeated by our rulers who were powerful in magic. But then one stepped forward. I saw all of this from a place in the mountains. He wore a crown of white like a petrified tree and he overpowered Celestia and Luna and took them away. Now they are continuing their genocide of our world and I desperately searched for a way to stop them. I came back here to search for a spell when I found one to travel to distant worlds. I performed the spell and found myself in yours. I searched for a warrior and when none was found I prepared to travel again when I saw you. You were in an accident and had been changed in an attempt to fix you. I brought you here and finished the work that was performed to bring you back to life. Now you are here and I must ask of you, to beg of you to help us. You have the means to fight these Titans and to bring back Harmony. You must first find me. I will be traveling back to the capital. It is the city in the mountains that you should be able to see from the town. Head that way and if you do not run into me on the way there then look for me in the gardens when you reach the city. I will be wearing a dark cloak. Find me Elijah. I need you. Please help us.....help me......I'm so alone Elijah......if you can find it in yourself to help us then please.....bring back harmony. Save the world. Love, Trixie Having finished, his arm fell limply to his side and hit the floor. He was sitting down and leaning against the wall. His left eye was blurry with tears as he stared into nothing. While some answers had been given there were now more questions in his head then before. He wanted to know more about these Titans and why they looked like him. He wanted to know more about Trixie and especially about him and what happened to him. Was this accident why he was like this? Did Trixie do this to him? He held his head in his hands as the tears began to fall and he just sat there and wept while the falling rain and the soft thundering of the storm echoed on. So many questions.....all he wanted was answers.... As if to save him from the wrath of despair, a noise sounded in his ears. A small noise but a familiar noise. He looked up and began to search the room. It was not a noise from the storm but one that life itself makes. It was the buzzing of a fly and his eyes found it flying around near the ceiling. The first sign of life and it was a fly. He did not complain for he was just glad that there was at least some life here in this lonely place. The fly flew down and landed on his shoulder thankful for a place to rest. While they were far apart on the evolutionary scale, both were grateful for each other’s company. There was a bright flash and a bang of thunder that rumbled on for a long while and then the rain began to quiet down. Soon it was just a small amount falling down; the orchestra was finishing its song. The fly hid under the man's hood as he stood and tucked the letter in his pocket with the other ones. He then looked down at the book and wondered what to do with it. Knowing he couldn't take it with him, he put it back on the table right where he found it. Then turning back to the door, he walked slowly towards the outside. He stopped at the threshold and looked back at the destroyed library. His heart was heavy with a sadness to what this world had gone through. He walked out into the rain and began to trek to the outskirts of the town until he could see it. There in the distance, nestled on the side of a great mountain, was the city the letter had spoken of. He knew he had a ways to go but he was determined to find her. As he looked towards his destination, his mind registered a feeling and that feeling turned into words. And his mouth opened to say it, selecting a language at random to just try and say it, "Pour sauver le monde...." He then walked forward but his foot stepped on something hard and when he looked down saw a glint of gold. He bent down to pick up the necklace and see the pennant that was attached to it.... It was a lightning bolt coming out of a white cloud..... And it was colored like a rainbow.... Author's Note Hello And welcome Welcome one, Welcome all, Welcome to the Ballad. You do not need a ticket, You do not need to pay, Come and find a seat, I'm sure there are plenty, Find a drink or a snack, Even a box of tissues maybe, for this is not a happy story, If you thought me a writer of comedies then I am sorry to say, This is not the case, This story is here for me to let a few bad feelings out, To let loose all the darkness that I have pent up inside of me, There is a dark side to everyone, This is mine, Welcome to what happens when you let all of your dark inner thoughts and feelings out, And turn them into words, Welcome to the unmerciful and the heart wrenching story, of death and loneliness and madness I, The Eccentric Mister E Present, The Ballad of Loneliness
ErrationesThere's a difference between solitude and loneliness. - Maggie Smith He had been running for almost a day and a half. Not once did he stop or even slow down. His new body allowed him to continue his stride for a long while. He never felt tired or thirsty or hungry, he just kept running. He had taken off from the town in the direction of the city into a big forest. The forest itself seemed to go on forever. He had traversed cliffs and jumped over rivers and even passed an old castle hidden in the trees. He finally stopped near the edge of the forest after running for what felt like a day but the sky never changed. It was always stuck in the same twilight and he hadn't seen the sun or moon since he got here. He stood in the dark glen surrounded by thick trees and caught his breath. A want for drink and food had finally reached him and the AI in his system took the time to inform him of so: [ATTENTION: SEEK NOURISHMENT]<<< [ENERGY LEVELS: LOW]<<< He started again as the bold words appeared in his vision. His curiosity spiked as he wonder just who was inside his brain. Suddenly, everything went white as a wave of dizziness passed over him and he stumbled forward and fell to his knees as he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to escape the light. But the light was still there behind his closed eyes and soon it faded into a soft glow. When he opened his eyes again he was greeted with a strange sight. The sky was now a great expanse of white and the ground was black with many lines of pulsating white lines travelling along the dirt and up into the trees and blades of grass. Even the rocks were covered in the veins of energy. He stood again and looked down to see he was completely whole again. He was no longer a cyborg but a normal human wearing a simple robe. Where was he? He looked up again and was surprised to see a human figure standing in front of him. He scurried back as he took in the human that came from nowhere. He was an elderly man with a long grey beard and a mane of hair as gray as smoke that fell past his shoulders. He wore a robe that looked like it was made of storm clouds that billowed around him and flashed every so often with light. He held a staff that was made of the same material as the ground, black with white veins. The old man stared at him with an indifferent look. Suddenly a voice was heard, “Greetings, Elijah.” Elijah’s eyes grew wide as he heard the voice for the old man’s mouth had not moved and it seemed to be coming from everywhere. He asked again who the old man was. “I am the artificial intelligence installed in your conscious. I am designated: Abraham.” He asked what this place was and why this so called Abraham was here. “This is the inner realm of your mind Elijah,” he answered, “It is where I dwell and watch you. I am your guide and caretaker in your travels. I was installed for the sole purpose of maintaining your new body as well as to make sure you completed your objective.” Objective? “The objective set for you is to find the Elements of Harmony, defeat the invaders, and restore balance to this world at any cost.” He thought about those words and was more than a little overwhelmed by them. Then he remembered something and pulled from within his robe the necklace he found in the wreckage of Ponyville. He stared at the golden piece and was surprised to see it was still glinting in the light. He showed it to Abraham who approached and studied the necklace. “This is one of them but we must find the one who was chosen to wear it. Element is designated as: Element of Loyalty and belonged to designate: Rainbow Dash.” He arched an eyebrow at the old man’s words and looked back down at the necklace before wondering what could have happened to this Rainbow Dash. “I hope she is still alive,” Abraham said before a bemused expression crossed his face, “Curious….I am starting to adapt already. This hope is new to me.” Elijah gave a questioning glance, to which Abraham answered in his normal, emotionless voice, “I am programmed to adapt and create my own personality as I study the way of life through your eyes and experiences.” He then stepped closer and seemed to be studying Elijah’s throat, causing some discomfort in the man. “Your vocal systems have not been completed. You will not be able to clearly communicate with your voice until you find her.” At the mention of her, he knew exactly who he was talking about. He nodded and the AI stepped back and pointed down the forest path. “My sensors indicate a stream not far from here that you can drink from before crossing and several berry bushes as well. You must hurry to the city as soon as you are ready.” He nodded again and the light dimmed and the strange white veins disappeared as everything reverted back to the normal twilight. He looked down to see he was changed back into his cyborg self. With a sigh, he began to move forward and soon he could hear the rushing sound of the stream as Abraham had said. He pushed through the bushes and stopped when he saw they were covered in blackberries. He grabbed a good many and walked over to the stream. It was a decent sized river and the water was surprisingly clear. He knelt down and began to drink, cupping the water in his hands. The water was cold and rejuvenating and he was thankful for it. He then dropped a berry in his mouth and bit down, the juices bursting over his tongue and filling his mouth with its familiar flavor. He continued to eat and drink before he finally felt satisfied. He then put the rest of the berries into a pocket in his coat and stared down at his reflection in the river. The fly from before emerged from the confines of his hood and flew away in search of food but he could still keep track of it and it did not fly far. He removed the glasses and pulled down the hood and scarf and looked over his face. It was a handsome face with prominent cheekbones and a straight nose with round nostrils. His lips were full and smooth and the one eye he had left was large and colored a stark blue. His one ear was medium sized and held close to his bald head. He ran a hand over his smooth head before tracking the metal down his right ear and to his chin. He sighed as he took it all in and wondered why he was like this… Then he noticed something in the water…. There was a rippling in the clear liquid that reverberated every three seconds…like there was an earthquake or….. [ALERT!]<<< [HOSTILE LIFE FORM DETECTED FROM BEHIND!]<<< He spun around to see a large shape walking through the trees and knocking them down with each step. It was so big it went past the heavy clouds. He quickly pulled the hood and scarf up and donned the glasses before turning and diving into the river. He swam to the bottom and anchored himself to the bottom and prayed the beast had not seen him. The booms from the creature’s footfalls grew louder as the river literally vibrated with each step. Suddenly a huge foot broke the surface and stomped into the riverbed mere inches from his body. He remained absolutely still in the water as he watched the weight of the beast move through the step and the foot move up and out of the water. It was a massive sized boot clad in a dark iron metal with a red cloth underneath it. As the beast cleared the river in one step, he let go of the mud and slowly rose up and peeked through the surface and took in the monster before him. It was wearing all black armor, roughly put together with a huge plate that covered its chest and bulging gut with a long red cloth covering the groin. There was one shoulder plate on the right shoulder that looked like a screaming face and it wore a helm that covered its face with long curved horns that almost met in the front. Its skin was an ugly red color with bulging muscles, open sores, and pus filled boils covering the surface and it breathed with a ragged growl as it dragged a huge, jagged axe behind it. In its other hand it hauled a large and full burlap sack that looked like it was about to burst with its contents whatever that may be. It moved with huge, loping strides as it crashed through the forest. He made sure the beast couldn’t see him and slowly moved out of the water to the other side of the river before running after the creature. He followed it a good distance before he saw that it was descending into a valley. He then sidetracked to the cliffs that looked over the valley. When he cleared the trees, the sight before him left him frozen in shock and fear. Right in the middle of the valley was a tall and wide spire embedded into the earth and reaching out into the sky and into space like some kind of twisted splinter. Black smoke billowed from several smoke stacks that peppered it in random places. At the base of the spire was a congregation of even more of the sick creatures. They ranged in a wide variety of size and shape though all had an aura of pure evil. There were some as tall as trees with helms that had long antlers, rusted metal with huge shields and long broadswords, and smaller ones the same size as Elijah with sleek and bright armor with horrifying depictions in the plating, ranging from awful sacrifices to an unholy deity, to entire battlefields painted in bloods of all kinds. They too had either shields and thin swords on their backs or two long, curved sabers. There were other giants like the beast from before with awful patchwork armor and large clubs or axes or hammers that they drug about. Some didn’t wear any armor at all, just a loincloth and a helm that could give a child a slew of nightmares to haunt him to the end of sanity. They spoke, no, communicated, in a guttural dialect that he could not understand and many were fighting like a pack of feral dogs. The giant from before appeared at the edge of the clearing and approached the large crowd. He held up the sack and let out a roar and some strange noises. All activity ceased and the crowd began to cheer and rush towards the giant who threw the bag open and spilled the contents onto the ground. And the sight of what came out almost made the man throw up all of his berries. For it was a large mountain of dead bodies, all of them ponies. The same ponies he had read about in the book. All ages of ponies lay there, lifeless. There were a few elderly and a score of young ones with their mouths open and tongues hanging out as they stared with blank, cold eyes. The sight caused a rush of disgust in the man followed by anger as the monster began to grab at the pile and stuff the bodies past the openings in their helms and into their mouths filled with jagged and broken teeth. Blood spurted out everywhere and fell down their chins as they gorged themselves on the mass of bodies. He finally averted his gaze and tried to shut out the sound of crunching bones and organs popping. He suddenly heard more shouting. A door opened at the base of the spire and a figure walked out. He was wearing a regal set of white and grey amour with a white cape and on his head……was a crown made of petrified branches…..his face was hidden behind a mask of white with one side featureless and flat and the other had a black eyehole with a mouth that curved in a sick smile. The monsters stopped in their feast and turned to the figure. Then every single one of them bowed low to the ground with their faces touching the dirt. The figure began to speak to them in the grunts and growls of their language. Elijah had decided he had seen enough of this and looked to see the city in the mountains was on the other side of the valley and he just had to make it across. Suddenly his sensors went off as he picked up movement behind him. He turned to see an armored figure emerge from the trees. It was one of the smaller ones with grey plate armor and a helm with a demonic skull on it. It spoke in the dialect and motioned with its hands to Elijah and then to the congregation. Elijah just stared back too afraid to answer. The creature spoke again, louder this time and seemed to be confused. Elijah just stood there and began to shake with fear. The creature started to slowly reach for its sword and raise its shield as it spoke again more slowly. The minute it touched the hilt a flash of red and bold text appeared in Elijah’s vision. [ALERT!]<<< [HOSTILE THREAT DETECTED!]<<< [INITIATING DEFENSE SYSTEMS….]<<< But Elijah did not feel like defending himself at all. All that went through his mind was panic and fear and it overwhelmed the programming within. His cybernetic body lit up with red lights but the rest of him was frozen and nothing was responding. The creature drew its sword and advanced and Elijah backed away quickly. Not paying attention to where he was stepping, he tripped over a root. He landed hard on his back and the creature came at him even faster. At this point, Abraham was certain that Elijah would not be able to kill the creature and save his own hide. So he directed all of his power into the metal arm causing servos and hinges to move the metal plates in his hand and forearm around and inward and outward but Elijah paid no head as he scrambled backwards with his only working arm. It was a mad crawl as he watched certain death creep closer, sword held high. He kicked and pulled and thrashed on the ground in an absolute panic as his arm transformed itself into a blade of his own but Elijah felt nothing but fear. It warped his vision and caused his mouth to open and close in silent screams as the monster approached. The ugly creature stomped down on Elijah's metal foot, trapping him like an animal in some hunters net. It raised the sword and readied to deliver the blow but Elijah then heard a voice. "Raise. Your. Arms." Elijah then felt his panic move to his arms as he instinctively raised them both up in defense and as the monster brought down his sword, it was blocked. Elijah opened his eyes in surprise as the black blade in his arm managed to stop the monster. But it wasnt over as the beast put pressure on Elijah and Elijah pushed back desperatly as his arm shook, unable to handle the constant pressure. Elijah scrambled his other arm around when he grabbed something hard and flung it into the monster's face. The rock impacted right in the beast's eye as it reeled back in pain. It roared as it held its bleeding eye. "Run!" The voice commanded Elijah and he was more than happy to obey as he clumsily pushed himself up and scrambled away but the titan was not done as it tackled Elijah from behind. They both slammed into the ground again and Elijah struggled against his assailant. His elbow went into the gut of the beast as it grunted and moved up onto its feet and Elijah whirled his arm in a messy swing. But it managed to find its mark. The beast howled as the cut across its chest began to bleed. It was shallow but still hurt, enraging the beast. Elijah's eyes were wide as the monster kicked him right in the chest as sent him over the edge. He tumbled and crashed against the side of the valley before sliding down the rest of the way. He coughed as a cloud of dust surrounded him and felt several sharp points of pain across his body but nothing seemed broken. He looked back up to where the beast was but then heard it let out a cry. A signal for other cries echoed it from the spire in the center of the valley and several alarms sounded. Elijah knew he had been found out and took off running at full sprint through the valley as sirens pierced the air....... Author's Note Happy 4th everyone! Heres the next dark installment of the Ballad just in time for the Fourth. Hope you like it. hehehehehe..... A big thanks to Angels for pre-reading, editing, and adding the scary parts to the chapter. If you think this is dark........you just wait and see what I have planned
Exanimo"If you were to ask me what true loneliness is, I would have to say a solemn wind over an empty and dead and colorless expanse without any life in sight. Not even the sun or moon or stars will show. I think that is true loneliness." Tall grass, brown with sickness, waved in the wind that blew through the valley. The thick trees that dotted the landscape were spread far apart and gave little room for one to hide in. Yet if you find a small alcove in the base of one of these trees, it is enough to evade predators. And so that is where we find a small, quivering shape. Her green eyes shine from the twilight as she scans the area for the monsters that have been hunting her. For days she had been running from death and the sense of fear has never once left her. But that is the main reason she still lives: fear. Fear has kept her awake and alert and fueled her to run faster. She had no idea if anyone else was still alive or if she was truly alone. Slowly, she moves her head out and looks around the valley. Her fur is a cream color and her long and unkempt hair is a dark red and the remains of a pink bow now lie wrapped around her neck. She pulls the hood of her dark cloak over her head and slowly crawls through the grass towards the exit to the valley. She had been trying to get to the city of Canterlot for a long time and had found herself trapped in this valley of death. Today, though, it was like the monsters had moved on. Or were busy with something more important than her in another part of the valley. She prayed she would make it out without being spotted. She was nearing the next tree when she heard a sound in the wind. A low howl, far away on the other side of the valley. She looked to the source and saw the tall spire that stuck out of the earth like a rotten splinter. Something was happening as more sounds echoed across the valley.... She crawled closer to the tree and hoped she was safe from whatever it was..... But then she heard the sirens... They roared from the spire in a crescendo that made her skin crawl for several seconds before the volume descended to a dull scream. Then they repeated their song as the whole valley echoed from the sound. The small pony tried to see what could have caused the alert and failed to see the massive shape rising behind her. Suddenly the ground shook as the Titan began to march to the spire. The pony let out a small yelp as she was thrown against the tree from the force of the footfalls. Luckily for her, the beast had not heard her as it walked over the tree in one stride, mace in hand. She stared at it in disgust at its yellow skin and rusting armor. Its face looked like a troll from the books she had read. The beast continued to march and the pony took the chance to turn away and run, hoping that whatever had gotten their attention would keep them off of her. That didn't mean she didn't feel bad for the doomed soul.... If only she knew.... The sound of the sirens hurt his augmented ear as he ran through the valley trying to find a way up the other side. Behind him was a group of the monsters from before who managed to spot him and give chase. The monster he failed to kill before had alerted his brethren to his presence. Now he was running for his life through the valley with a horde hot on his heels. He had no idea where to go or what to do and so he did the only thing he could think to do at that moment. Run. He ran through the valley, tearing a path through the tall grass and trying to block out the horrifying sounds behind him. He had no idea how to get rid of the monsters especially since his arm was stuck in sword mode and the lights on his robotic body were bright red. He could sense Abraham also trying to come up with a plan and tried to convene his concerns to him. Abraham understood and said, “I will see what I can do.” Then his hand went back to its normal hand-shape mode and the lights all turned off, causing Elijah to feel a tiny bit of relief. But that didn’t stop the Titans behind him. Before he could ask Abraham again, a plate in his shoulder opened up and a cylinder shot out and into the air. It stopped for a second in the air before falling back down. Before it hit the ground, the monsters were just about to pass it when it erupted in a bright flash of light and a loud bang. It knocked Elijah of balance and he fell against a tree but the blast had blinded and dazed the monsters causing them to thrash about and scream. Elijah looked in awe but then saw text appear in his vision: GET MOVING. Elijah stood up and began to run again but this time he was going faster. Abraham was doing something to cause his legs to carry him faster than he could imagine and he became a blur across the valley. The young filly from before was half way up the side when she heard the blast and looked back into the valley to see a bright flash of light. She wondered what it was and fought against her curiosity. She needed to keep moving. She turned back to the side of the valley and continued to climb. Putting one hoof up after the other, she stopped when she felt her hood touch something that wasn’t dirt. She slowly looked up into the snarling face of a Titan that was looking at her with a hungry expression. In her panic, she pushed back from the side and fell into the valley, barely missing the creatures swiping claws. She screamed as loud as she could as she fell. Elijah stopped when he heard the screams. His auditory implant whirred and electrical impulses travelled from his ear to his brain as he registered what it was. He felt Abraham become both excited and worried as text scrawled across his vision in a hurried fashion. >>>ALERT: AUDITORY STIMULI DETECTED<<< >>>SOURCE: PONY, YOUNG, FEMALE<<< >>>OBJECTIVE CHANGED: BEGIN SEARCH AND RESCUE<<< Then Elijah’s vision changed, he saw what looked like a scan move through the landscape and could see past the grass and trees. And he saw a young pony running from a monster. He took off in the direction of the pony when text appeared again in his vision. FOLLOW MY LEAD. Then he saw a computerized path appear in front of him showing a ghost of himself run through the grass and show him what to do and where to go. He followed and ran as fast as he could. Suddenly, a shadow fell over him as a huge, troll-like Titan rose up from nowhere and brought down a mace on his victim. But Abraham was faster and changed the path before Elijah and as he saw his ghost move through movements he thought impossible, though he followed anyway. Ducking under the mace, barely escaping certain death, he lunged forward and in one movement, caught the young filly in his arms and leapt into the air. The other Titan that had been chasing the pony jumped in an attempt to catch them but Elijah followed his ghost and turned in midair, performing a graceful dodge as the titan missed completely. Elijah was so impressed with himself that he forgot that he needed to land. He slammed into the ground and slid a few feet before stopping. The young filly tried to force her way out of his grasp but he held on, knowing he had to keep her safe. He heard a yell and saw the other Titan coming for him as well as the big troll and in the distance was the rest of the horde. His path changed and he saw his ghost move upright and towards a tree, spinning and holding up its arm as it went. Elijah jumped to his feet and ran after the apparition and turned at the moment he was supposed to. He raised his arm and was surprised to watch it turn into long barrel with three prongs on the end. It charged up and shot a bolt at the pursuing monster. It hit the beast with enough force to send it into the bigger troll and knock it over into the way of the oncoming horde. Elijah took the opportunity to make for the tree and followed the directions of his guide to jump and plant his mechanical foot into the trunk of the tree. He did so and the moment his foot touched the bark, a jet in the bottom of his metal boot of a foot propelled him up and out of the valley. He turned head over heels in the air, trying to right himself while holding tight to the screaming bundle in his arms. He saw the valley disappear from his vision and the ground and sky spin together like partners in a dance and when the sky became smaller and the ground became bigger he braced for impact. He landed in a tree and threw his arms and body over the young filly as they fell together and crashed through the branches and leaves before rolling across the roots and stopping in a cloud of dust. He laid in the dirt on his back, catching his breath and not noticing the filly squirm in his grip. Suddenly, she chomped down on his normal hand with enough force to bring blood and he started and screamed. He let go and she flew from his grip and behind the tree. He brought himself to his knees and looked at his hand. Teeth marks drew blood and his hand dripped with the red liquid. He held back his irritation and looked for the filly. She was looking at him from behind the tree and trembling with fear. He then slowly held his arms up with hands opened, hoping it would let her know he wasn’t going to hurt her. The young filly stared at him with a curious look, was this thing really surrendering to her? It had saved her and while it did resemble those monsters back at the valley, he wasn’t trying to hurt her and was somehow different. She slowly came out from behind the tree and slowly approached him. “What are you?” she asked first, wanting to know what he was if he wasn’t a titan. He let out a breath and put his arms down before realizing he had no way of communicating with her. Then Abraham had an idea as he highlighted a stick lying next to him. He picked it up and saw a word appear in his vision: Friend. He picked up on it quickly and began to scrawl the word into the dirt. The young filly came closer and read the word. She looked up with an even more confused face and said, “Friend? But you look just like one of them?” She gestured back to the valley and he noticed her accent as she spoke. He then decided to write down his name: Elijah. She looked again and then back up at him and after a moment it clicked in her head. “Oh!” she exclaimed, “That’s your name?” He nodded and then pointed the stick at her and she picked up on the hint, “My names Applebloom.” Then he saw Abraham begin to rifle through hundreds of files on the world as pictures and names zoomed by but nothing came up. There was nothing on this Applebloom though Abraham still put her down as an object to protect at all cost. Then she asked another question, “If you aren’t a titan then how did you get here? You’re not like anything from my world.” He thought for a moment and then Abraham provided the answer: Brought here by Trixie. When he questioned it, Abraham explained that she might know who she was. So he scribbled the sentence and at the sight of the name Trixie, Applebloom exclaimed again, “I know Trixie!” He made an excited noise in his throat and Abraham began to frantically put down on his vision: ELEMENTS, in big bold letters. He quickly scribbled it down with a question mark and Applebloom stared at it saying the word over and over again before slowly looking up with a hopeful look, “You mean the Elements of Harmony?! Like my sister Applejack?!” At that, Abraham went nuts. A file appeared of an orange pony with a Stetson on her head with the words, ELEMENT OF HONESTY, next to it and then the phrase, SISTER OF APPLEBLOOM, appeared with it and the picture of Applebloom lit up with the letters MVP. Most Valued Pony He nodded rapidly and wrote down, “Where?” Then Applebloom became sad and said, “I don’t know….” He sagged and made a groaning noise as Applebloom continued, “I don’t know where anyone is. When those things attacked I just ran into the Everfree and hid. That’s what I was ordered to do. I haven’t found anyone yet.” Tears began to fall from her face as she laid down and covered her face as she cried, “I want my sister and brother back…” He couldn’t help but feel terrible for the poor thing, just like him and the fly; she was alone with no one to help her find her way. But now she did have someone. He put a hand on her head and she looked up into his eyes, one natural and one machine. Then he scrawled another message into the dirt, this one long but meaningful. “I was chosen to defend and save this world. I was given great power and I will find your sister and the Elements. But we must find Trixie in the big city in the mountains first. She will help us. I promise I will protect you the entire way.” After she had read it, Applebloom looked up at him and no longer felt afraid but hopeful. Here was someone who could save her home. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and he hugged her in kind. He slowly stood and placed her on his shoulders and she hugged his head for support. He looked up at her and she said, “If you want to find Trixie and she’ll be in Canterlot, we need to go that way and find the train tracks.” She pointed the way and he nodded. He started forward but stopped when a sound reached his ears. “What is it?” Applebloom asked but he held up a finger to shush her and looked to where the sound was coming from in the trees. Out of the leaves came the fly from before and it landed in his hand. Applebloom shied away but he held it up and said in a metallic voice that was barely audible, “Friend.” She stared in surprise but nodded with a smile and he put the fly back in its place in his hood. He donned his glasses and began forward. The three friends, all alone together in the big world overrun by devils, marched towards the city and the hope of a better tomorrow. Author's Note Merry Christmas everyone! Here's an update for you to enjoy while I try desperately to finish Enigma before New Years I hope you all have a great holiday from the Eccentric One. See you next time.
ExordiaAt the innermost core of all loneliness is a deep and powerful yearning for union with one's lost self. - Brendan Francis Darkness........... Emptiness......... Coldness........ He saw nothing.... He heard nothing..... "Get him inside! Get him inside!" But then..... "We're losing him!" Sound! "Clear!" *ZZZZZCHKCHKCHK* And then a flurry of feelings and sensations! All coming together into one solid point! Pain! Unbridled pain! *GASP!* "We got him back! Let’s move people!" He breathed.... The air hurt..... Pain....with every breath.... He opened his eyes.... To see bright lights rushing by, rushing by at high speeds! Blurred and distorted was his vision! And twisted faces stared at him and spoke in voices that moved from whispers to shouts! "You're going to be okay sir! Just stay with us! We've got the surgeons coming in now!" Thoughts..... Emotions.... Questions.... His mind began to slowly race.... He asked questions........though no one heard.... He began to panic..... He began to cry..... "It's gonna be okay sir. You'll be just fine." Lies! He could tell they were lying! But they had to! What choice did they have! He was in pain! He was dying! There was no salvation! But then he felt calm.... The black void of relief came......and he was spared.......for a moment.... He tried to remember..... He tried to ask again..... He saw.......light.....a light.....and a sound....... He felt fire........he felt metal.... He saw flashes....... His spirit ebbed.......in.......and out..... He saw a table....... He saw men in white.... He saw objects of black...... He felt so many things...... And the light got brighter......and brighter......and brighter......and brighter! And then it all was gone......................................... He saw a figure....... He saw a woman.... She came close to him..... He heard her speak.... About a spell..........................about a catastrophe and an important task...............................and about him.... And as she spoke she changed..... She began to walk away...... And she changed....... From human...... To equine....... And she faded away.................. And his mind, filled with pain and fear and confusion.........................gave up..................... Exhaustion..... Feelings...... Fade.... Dark..... He heard.......a word......no............a name....... Elijah...... And the Ballad had thus begun....
