Crimson Soul was a normal everyday unicorn guard, positioned in the fourth division as a simple grunt; but all of that changed in an instant.
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It started off like any normal day. With his commanding officer jumping down their throats. "Hey Get off your lazy plots and report to your posts before I assign you all the position of caring for the most beloved princess’s pet." Most would tell somepony else that you get used to it, though what anypony enlisted would find is that you just don’t.
So it was with a yawn that the black unicorn flipped out of bed and started the grueling process of dawning his armour. Polishing each piece and strapping it to his body always seemed to take an eternity, but soon the deed was done and he started out the door; grabbing his spear as he passed. It took a few moments, but he felt the enchantment engulf him, turning his red mane a dark blue and his black coat a snow white.
A few of the night guard offered a wave in greeting while they headed for the barracks for a good days sleep, which was returned nicely especially to a few of the cute mares. He always thought they were cuter than normal ponies, and he’d never say it out loud, but he truly wished to be a part of Luna’s much more relaxed guard.
After he finally took his leave of his resting place he looked over at the mess hall and let out a long sigh, judging by the line it looked like he wouldn’t be having breakfast today. So without further ado he made his way to the garden entrance of the castle, the one that most everypony enjoyed guarding.
He hated it.
Nopony ever came in this entrance, in fact due to that little fact it only required one guard. Most loved the solitude, but having nopony to talk to tore him apart. He always had to get something off his chest when they assigned him to this post. He just sighed and figured this was going to be a normal boring day.
The first sign that it wasn’t though came in a soft whisper, almost too soft to hear. “Time”
That one small word made his ears shoot up and instinctively into a fighting stance with his spear at the ready. “Who goes there, identify yourself!” He exclaimed while his eyes searched the area to find some trace of some creature; but when he saw nothing it made him even more nervous. The garden entrance was a wide open field where not even the most skilled assassins could hide in.
That little thought made his eyes grow wide in terror, it meant they could only be behind him. He darted around and stabbed with the tip of the spear, instinct telling him to kill his enemy before they killed him. The spear connected… with the stone of the wall, bouncing off harmlessly.
He shook his head and returned to guarding. “Must have just been the wind.” He thought.
The next incident didn’t occur until after he was in the mess hall for dinner. He had just sat down with one the mares from the night guard. She was a childhood friend, and a secret love interest, who chose to join the guard with him; her name was Eclipse. He was busy telling her about the past few days when that same voice decided to make itself known once again.
This time it was much clearer. “…The key to all.”
He darted up, searching the room with attentive eyes; needless to say this made Lunar feel a little unwelcome. “Um Crimson, if you want me to leave I can.” This made him stop and quickly return to the table, desperate to save the time he had with her.
“N-no I want you to stay!” He wondered rather or not he should tell her about the voice. He sighed, the worst thing for a friendship, or even a relationship was a lie. “It was that voice I told you about at the beginning of Dinner, I could have sworn it was there.” He said, going a little pale; he was starting to wonder if he should go see the guard psychiatrist.
What he got instead was a comforting hoof against his own, and a slightly caring smile from the beautiful mare in front of him. “I think you should turn in early tonight Crimson. We can hang out tomorrow; we get a few days off then anyways.” Eclipse said, cracking a small smile.
Seeing that look in her eyes put him at ease, and he found himself about to get lost in them, but he quickly pulled himself back to reality with a small shake of his head. He wanted to stay with her so badly, but what she said was right; this day had already put him on edge, maybe a good night’s sleep would help. “You know you’re right Eclipse, I think I’ll head out. Good night.” He said, rising to his hooves to a smiling Eclipse who planted a kiss on his cheek.
“Good night you big idiot.” She said, pushing past him to head to her first post. What she left behind though was a blushing Crimson with a very dorky smile painted on his face. She’d kissed him! The next hour or so was a blur, and all he remembered was falling into his bed; asleep before his head even hit the pillow.
What he awoke to next surprised him. There in his frontal left was a bar with every kind of liquor, with a door made of glass sitting next to it, with more weapons than the royal arm had and quite a few things he didn’t recognize. To his right stood two doors, painted with runes that hummed with energy he could feel was both ancient and powerful. But what shocked him most was the scene in front of him; windows hundreds, no thousands, no to many to even comprehend that showed places like Fillydelfia, Trottingham, Canterlot, Baltimare, and many others; but each one was… different in some way. But what was even more was that there were some of other places, places he’d never heard or scene that couldn’t exist on Equas. Worst of all though was the being in front of it all; a dragon on two legs and bigger than a manticore. He felt older than anything and he could feel power coming off him in waves, though when he spoke his voice made the unicorn shudder. It was the same voice as before.
“Hello Crimson I am Dragon.”
Author's Note
Well this has been in my mind for years, and finally it made it onto paper. Time is something that exists anywhere, and it effects everything. So come and see what will happen to somepony who was originally a nobody when they're pulled into something bigger than life.
Final note: I need a proofreader, if anyone is interested drop me a note.
