Based on the events of several video games, movies and, of course, My Little Pony.
Any and all rights to certain characters or places in this story, save for those I create, belong solely to those who create them. I do not own any of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic characters.
If anyone has any questions, relating to the story or otherwise, please leave it in a review and I'll answer it ASAP.
Everfree
Act I – To Build a Beginning
Prologue I
- Quicksilver POV -
I never thought that I'd ever see the impossible. But to hear, smell, to touch the impossible... Such dreams were for mad ponies. But, in this case, the impossible was as tangible as the mottled dirt beneath my hooves. Many years ago, I once made the monumental mistake of believing it was a good idea to clamber out from beneath my covers. Musing silently, I wondered if I'd made the same decision today as I observed the whimsical twinkling of the newly-emerged stars, my legs wobbling precariously underneath my weight.
I forced the fatigue-fueled thoughts from my head with a shake of my head; I needed to focus. I stood at the foot of my hopes and prayers, Canterlot- the city of dreams- where hopefully, mine would become a reality. Checking my emblazoned saddlebags, I idly thought about the amount of nights I had spent fantasizing about the moment I'd step hoof in Canterlot. If I were to be asked about how feasible the idea was a year ago, I would have slapped the heck out of the individual asking, because the very notion was ridiculous. Then again, the idea of a pony having a cutie mark for eating cake was even more frivolous, and considering I'd seen that happen, I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt.
The tender gold light from opened windows enkindled the desperate pyre within my heart, and I couldn't help but imagine what Canterlot had in store for me. Truly, I had no desires other than to begin anew, with open opportunities. I gave a content sigh, suddenly fascinated by the crystallized mist that emanated from my mouth, dimly aware of the dryness of my throat. Blinking, I offered a small, hoping smile in the general direction of the city gates.
It was a beautiful night, I noticed; hardly a cloud in the sky. Striding forwards, I started to hum quietly under my breath, feeling my eyes gradually expanding to take in the splendor and glamour of the silhouetted city. The soft-skinned shadows cast over buildings, flickering with the dances of distant torches. Regal flags held with gossamer strands waved gently in the evening breeze. The glow of the waning sun tenderly glowed through the gateway; shimmering orange-pink sky meeting my gaze with an inviting, warming smile.
Craning my neck upwards, I gave a quiet moan of joy at the sensation of the sun-blessed wind ruffling through my mane and coat. The evening sunlight was a blessing. Closing my eyes for a moment, I tossed my mane away from my face; as much as it was normally cut short, I had been lenient in visiting a hairdressers for quite a while now. Then again, now that I thought about it, I could have done it myself.
"Ah," I sighed, the ghost of a smile tugging effortlessly at the corners of my mouth, "You idiot, me. Why did I only just think of that?" I shook my head in light-hearted self-reprimandation, chewing the inside of my cheek in idle thought. “I suppose it doesn't matter now. I've got a few- what did they call them? Ah... Err. Oh, screw it. At any rate, I've got enough money to have my mane cut. Stupid mane.”
I glowered up at the errant strands of pale cerulean that still hung stubbornly from the rats' nest I called a presentable style to wear my mane in. My mane. Ugh, I despised the fact that I had allowed it to grow this long. Occasionally, when I came across a rare river or gully, I had vigorously half-drowned myself in icy water in the hope that I’d be able to quench the desire to tear clumps out with my teeth. I had squashed to death the urge to take the petite knife I had and brutally tackle the strands that hung too far down to brush aside.
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t seen a single weapon during my travels- especially in Equestria. “Stupid,” my heart spoke, “it’d be easy for just about anything to grab a pony with its sharp, pointy teeth and drag it back to the pitiful hole it crawled out of screaming.” Well, hearts don’t speak, but with the tangy taste of mild contempt and dissatisfaction that crept up my throat and along my tongue at the thought, I imagined that’s what it would say.
With all the patience with of a hunting fox I made my way towards the final barrier to self-fulfillment, nonchalantly listening to the gurgling of the fast-flowing torrent of water underneath the bridge between the mountain and Canterlot, and the whip-like cracking the waterfall created as it cascaded across the weathered, jutting rocks far below my hooves.
A glimmer caught my eye as I began to cross the brown-wood bridge that led up to the gates. Slowing to a halt, I followed the glistening ripples dancing across the surface of the beck with my eyes. The nearby lambency of dying embers and warm coals reminded me of the similar braziers back home, and the sense of security the sight instilled in me- that somepony was always watching over me. That I was safe.
I suppose there had always been the untamed, feral fear of being ripped into the inky shadows in the dead of the night; razor-sharp claws snatching ponies from their beds, the menacing slits boring into your very soul, aglow with iniquitous, ravenous hunger; it kinda came hoof-in-hoof with living in a land that was long unknown and unexplored by ponykind. Even with the absence of the windigoes, Equestria was still a dangerous place for the unwary.
Regardless, I had made it here. “Even though it took several months of near-constant travelling and countless sleepless nights, I made it. Well done, ‘Silver.”
A tired grin wearily pushed against my cheeks. Raising a horrifically chipped, silt-soaked and mud-matted hoof to rub heavy eyelids, I suddenly noticed through an ashen blur that the sky was getting lighter. How quaint. I turned my gaze skywards. Amidst the brazen sunrise, the newly emerging stars twinkled faintly. From a hidden veil of purple, comets, dozens of them, streaked forth from the approaching night.
Numb, I blinked in awe. Comets meant change- good change. They were an exceptionally wonderful omen. That oh my gosh the three tribes have stopped hating each other and we’re now in total harmony with one another and we won’t starve this winter because we’re actually working together! level of euphoria flooded my senses.
As they left their beaming ghost-like trails. I couldn’t help but let out a small, squeaking sound from the top of my throat that was totally dignified in this situation. It was a scene out of a fairytale; something that for a long time we all dreamed about, hoping, praying for it to come true.
“I wonder if mom and dad can see this.” I mused, still on the elated high brought on by the heart-warming sight. I still wonder to this day exactly how or why I didn’t see the falling star on an immediate flight path to meet with my face, even when it was close enough for the flames to lick my eyeballs.
The last thing I noticed was a slight roaring in my ears. Then my world exploded.
Based on the events of several video games, movies and, of course, My Little Pony.
Any and all rights to certain characters or places in this story, save for those I create, belong solely to those who create them. I do not own any of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic characters.
If anyone has any questions, relating to the story or otherwise, please leave it in a review and I'll answer it ASAP.
Everfree
Act I – To Build a Beginning
Chapter I – Fracta Ossa
Kaine POV
I hurt. Searing pain convulsed and screeched like a cornered animal inside my head. Burning light penetrated through my entire being, yet the monotony of it astounded me. It flowed with a heaviness unbecoming of light.
As mental clarity reestablished itself, I noticed things. The faint, gentle gushing of flowing water. The whistling of warm breezes as they brushed thin, blade-like leaves of grass aside and the velvety fervency it brought to my exposed skin. The kiss of thin, flowing mist on my cheek.
Drawing in grating, shallow breaths of crisp mountainside air, of honeysuckle and lavender, I felt twinges of agony; lukewarm cruor inched along the shallow scar I had across my top lip. I squirmed in displeasure and a sudden, intense fatigue. An age passed before I dared to move. Numbness slinked away from my toes and fingers as I poked my dusty tongue out of coppery depths, tentatively dragging it along cracked and bloody lips.
I cracked open my eyes. Shortly thereafter I did so, a pained, contorted grimace pulled up the corners of my mouth. Once it passed, I cast my eyes over my surroundings.
Sun-thawed snowcaps had created a gurgling brook that cascaded off the craggy facets; worn into ancient rock by untold millennia of unrivaled solitude and preserved serenity. Verdant grass and wildflowers swayed softly. A single blooming tree stood alone; the cherry-blossom gently spiraling in a teeming circle. The fallen blooms wreathed around a crystal-clear pond, where some landed in a soft ripple across the tranquil waters.
The sky above me was clearer than I had ever seen it. Despite this, the mesa was pleasantly warm; strangely so, in fact. Sensation inched along my limbs at the fleeting heat, and I tentatively brought a somewhat charred hand to my face, dumbly wiping away the blood before it could dry. My fingers came away wet, but not stained crimson.
I wasn't even aware that I was crying. I numbly dropped my hand back to my side. My thoughts raced madly, until I made the decision to raise my leaden head. Then white-hot agony exploded down my right thigh; charring already shot nerves, racing down my quadriceps, seemingly knotting, contorting in my stomach, until the surging tsunami crashed, overwhelming, drowning me until I roared at it and my raggedy breaths caught in my throat.
I screamed until I couldn't any more, and then I stared in crushing horror.
My right leg was slightly bent, but the knee had been brutally ripped apart. The skin was shredded by exposed bone, rivulets of crimson rolling down shattered ivory, the white a horrifying contrast to the tanned skin underneath my white shorts. The flesh underneath was marbled, reminding me somewhat of the leg joints you'd see on offer at a butchers. Frayed tendons coursed with pain, and I could do nothing but watch in grim curiosity as the muscles twitched violently. At least, that was until the pain hit me.
I was bowled over by a tainted wave of stomach-turning nausea. My head lolled backwards as bile convulsed in my throat, my body threatening to gag in trepidacious disbelief, in something bulging at the seams with dark dread and malicious intent; my knee was ruptured, mauled, obliterated. It looked as if a child ridden with untamed greed had ripped voraciously into wrapping paper, working nimble fingers into any pockets that could give under its unrelenting assault, and tore it asunder if only to check what was underneath, only to be unpleased with the results, leaving the material hanging torn.
After taking a few forced breaths, I swallowed the bitterness on my tongue with a groan.
Coherency soon accompanied the rusted gears clunking and grinding in my brain. Every little twitch of my lower body sent searing fire scattering across my body, driving away any chance of fading out. Panting, I forced myself upwards on my hands, keeping my leg as untouched as possible as I dragged myself backwards. My fingers tore into the earthy topsoil, pressing it into my palms. It felt cool, and the sensation calmed me. Soon, my back pressed against something, and I fell slack against it.
I felt icy sweat beading on my forehead. Wiping it away with a moan, I pinched the bridge of my nose in thought.
If I panic, that's it. I need to stay calm… Find out where I am, find help. How… How did I even… get here? Lowering my hand, I gazed around in wonder and absolute confusion. I… What happened?
The last thing I could remember was walking Emma to school with Cait… Oh my God.
"Cait? Emma?" I half-whispered in both hope and fear, "Caitlyn?! Emma?!" The call echoed in the near-silence of the grove. I scrunched up my mouth at the lack of a response, and tried again. This time, the exertion left me in a coughing fit, forcing me to keel over in pain. I was almost certain my lungs were drowning in flaming diesel afterwards. After they had passed, I feebly attempted it once more.
That time, I got a languid response.
"K-Kaine? Are you alright?" Caitlyn wheezed, sounding gratified. Her voice came from somewhere behind me, but I turned my head as much as possible to see her.
Her delicate features were tainted with discomfiture, but her face brightened considerably when my eyes met hers. As usual, her eyes didn't betray her; dark, stormy thunderclouds rolled across any sliver of emotion that broke through her barrier. Her normally tawny skin was bleached white, and the dark freckles splayed across her nose and upper cheeks contrasted heavily with it. As she scrambled to her feet, her hair fell around her shoulders as a waterfall of shimmering bronze, a few errant strands straying over her face.
A burst of lightheadedness smacked me upside the chin. Clenching my eyes shut against it, I groaned and lightly shook my head in answer. When I dared to crack them open, her eyes were locked onto my leg; shot wide at the extent of the damage. "Oh God! Kaine-"
"I'll be okay," I cut her short, slicing at humid air with an open palm, "Don't worry about me. Worry about Em. I'm not sure if she's here- I don't even know where 'here' is. If she is, we need to find her. But first, are you alright?"
"Yeah… I think so. I don't know if anything's broken." She replied, concern creeping steadily into her quavering voice.
In all honesty, I've never heard Cait this shaken up. Her usual resoluteness was replaced with a perturbed affectation completely alien to her or her standard disposition. As a businesswoman, she was a paradigm of pragmatic perspectives, and she had been thrown, momentarily, feet first into a hyperbolic hell. It worried me to see her like this.
Then again, it probably scared her shitless to see me like this. I tried to find words to reassure her but I couldn't say anything, my tongue feeling swollen; a strange sweetness upon my tongue. It was like trying to speak through a mouthful of honey. Exhaling softly, I gave her an enfeebled smile.
"We need to find Emma." I managed, a dull throb building in my lower body. High above me, the sun beat down mercilessly on my face and body, forcing me to peer from between stark eyelashes as Caitlyn moved away from me with a determined nod.
I wished that she didn't.
"C-Cait? I think I'm seeing things…" I murmured, staring evenly at a pair of eerily expressive faded-magenta eyes that had just appeared in the corner of my peripheral vision. Turning my head slowly, as to not disorient myself, my mouth slowly fell open.
Now, I've seen a few strange things in my lifetime. Like that one time when a lorry jackknifed on the motorway, and a car smashed right into it, but the driver of the car got out, completely unharmed. That was over the news for a while. Or when I found a fifty pound note just tuckedunder my windscreen wipers. If those two things were mildly confusing, this left me gobsmacked.
My lips moved entirely on their own, forming incomprehensible garble as I watched the creature step out from behind the tree-line that I had somehow managed to neglect noticing, wreathed in a veil of shadows as it moved. Slowly, painfully, the darkness slid off of it like a cloth being dragged off a table. It edged forward warily, watching. Waiting. Judging.
A marshmallow-like hoof gingerly tested the situation, prodding forwards as it considered myself and Caitlyn, who still hadn't noticed. After a moment of consideration, it took a step in my direction.
The leg that followed the hoof was a gentle hazelnut in color. As was the rest of its body, and as it moved with increasing confidence, I could see lithe muscle rippling under the sandy coat. Now it was bathed in the sunlight, I could see it was somewhat equine-ous in nature. It wore aged saddlebags on a strap that looped up and around the midsection. My eyes moved on then to the thigh I could see; it was branded, colorfully too. A light green elliptical leaf. I hadn't a clue what it meant.
Then, I noticed a slight ruffling across the horse's barrel. If it were possible, my jaw unhinged itself and fell to the floor. It had wings. Wings. Slowly, I traced the neckline upwards, a pitiable feeling of escalating unease forcing itself down my throat, and into my lungs; a poisonous miasma of equal parts awe and distress. A disturbingly human-like frown was timidly worn on those same amethyst eyes, an odd, crumpled curving of the mouth under a small muzzle on a justly rounded face. Its ears were flattened back against the nape of its neck, maybe in apprehension, maybe in irritation. What shocked me further, which at the point I thought nigh on impossible to do; its soft-yellow mane was styled. Styled. Specifically, a somewhat spiky sweeping fringe to the left, and a loose ponytail. The irony was not lost on me.
Succeeding that, a sense of doubt began to play in my mind. This could be a particularly intense dream, I concluded, after a few fleeting glances at the horse… thing. This obviously isn't real. I mean, for God's sake, look at it, Kaine. It's not even a horse. It's a pegasus. A freakin' pegasus.
"Kaine! I found her! She's alright!" Caitlyn called to me, but I shrugged it off, positive it was a dream. My open flesh trembled, causing my eyelids to flutter uncontrollably at the reignited burning. I felt a vague sufferance of distrust when, after the twitching had stopped, I found the equine a scant few paces away. My paces, anyway.
My breath hitched, trapped in my throat; I was enraptured when it hesitated, peering at my leg with grim curiosity. Tentatively, I raised my arm, splaying out my fingers to reach for it. Surely… No. No-
I'm normally a calm person, and I know for a fact that I've never actually freaked out like I did when it nuzzled my hand. A torrent of hysterical ramblings flooded my brain; at the same time, my arm shot backwards as if the equine was made of lava. A feral cry of terror loosed itself from my lips.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Instinct screamed at me to move, run, and flee from this equine, now that it was certain that I wasn't dreaming. I tried to scramble backwards, but instead pressed myself up against the rock I was leaning against beforehand. Caitlyn obviously heard my screech, and similarly echoed it when she spun around, with Emma peering out from between Cait's legs in alarm.
The horse's eyes shot open in fright, and it frantically waved a tawny hoof at me. It appeared as if it was trying to calm me down. I was having none of it. Panicking, I threw a clumsy fist in its direction. It easily stepped back. Frantically, I grabbed a pebble nestled in the blades of grass and flung it at the equine's head with all the force I could muster. It ducked under it.
Cursing, I glanced around for another projectile.
"STOP! I'm trying to help you!" A feminine yell neither Caitlyn's nor Emma's pierced through my haze of desperate confusion. I obeyed, freezing in place. The creature's eyes were glinting with mild anger, and it was huffing in indignation. Then, its lips moved, and it spoke with that same voice, albeit quieter. "I didn't want to shout at you," it exhaled slowly, seemingly calming down, "And since you can obviously understand me, can you all please just calm down?" It sent a pleading gaze towards a stunned Caitlyn, while an awestruck Emma clambered forth from between her legs.
I tried to tame my rapid breathing, watching in silence as Emma approached. Slowly, she asked, "Are you a talking pony?" in a tone of barely held-back glee. The pony gave her a dubious thin-lipped smile, her eyes flicking between myself and Em.
"I guess I am."
Deliberately, Emma turned to me with a serious look on her childlike features. Despite the fact she's only ten, she's surprisingly adept at negotiating on her own terms. "Dad…" She crooned, leaning towards me. I sighed. I knew what was coming, even miming it in silence as she spoke.
"Can we keep her? Please?"
The pony turned to me, a deep frown showing her displeasure. "Excuse me?"
I scrunched up my face, still slightly on edge and very, very shocked. Shaking my head slightly, I turned to Cait, who had a hand over her mouth. She removed it with a forced chuckle.
At this point my leg was beginning to really hurt; I could feel my eyes getting watery. Noticing, the pony glared at my leg, chewing on her bottom lip in thought. After a few moments, she turned to her saddlebags, and manipulated her wings to remove a small box from within. I felt my jaw fall open again. She turned to face me, raising an eyebrow. "Are you alright?"
"Guh…" Was my incredibly intelligent response. I was too flabbergasted to care, though.
She sighed, and opened the box with her wing-tips, and placed it carefully on the ground. Inside, once I swayed my vision from her wings, was a thick, rectangular strip of brown the size of my thumbnail. She motioned to the box with a tilt of her head.
"You need to eat that."
Caitlyn's voice spoke next to my ear, and I recoiled in shock. "How do I know you're not just trying to hurt-"
I cut her off gently, choosing my words carefully. "Darling, if she wanted to hurt me, she could have. Don't worry." I then turned to face the pony, after brushing a few rogue chocolate hairs from Cait's face. "Do you have a name?" I softly asked.
"Wintergreen."
"Okay. Wintergreen, why do I need to eat this?"
She nodded slowly, an uncomfortable expression painting her disposition. "I need to get you to a unicorn healer. I can't do anything to help you aside from ease the pain. So I'm going to take you back to Whitewater, which means I have to move you." She stopped, looking at Cait and Em. "You're obviously in distress, but you need to trust me- I'm a field medic, or was, so I know what I'm doing." She addressed me again, apparently reading my mind. "I don't know what or who you are, but a pony always helps another in need."
"But he's not a pony." Cait pointed out.
"I never noticed that." Wintergreen rolled her eyes.
"Look," I interjected with a bit more force than what was probably necessary, but that was a given; the pain had evolved, "Wintergreen, you need to understand. We have no idea where we are, or how we got here. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to deal with a little bit of distrust. Really, if anything, we're past confused. So, please, I appreciate your help, but you're gonna have to deal with a few bad attitudes."
Wintergreen licked her lips, and gave a small smile. "I can do that. Sorry, I'm just as edgy as you probably are. Never seen your kind before." She paused for a moment, her magenta eyes flickering over our faces. "But you need to eat the pill."
I groaned. I hated pills. "Okay. What is it?"
"It's dried white-poppy sap, mixed with ground-up willow bark. It'll take the edge off the pain."
Grudgingly, I picked the pill up, inspecting it. Then, with as quickly as I could, I tossed it into my mouth, involuntarily biting down hard on it.
I regretted it immediately. It was bitter as fuck. Screwing up my face, I attempted to swallow it, fighting to get the unremitting tanginess out of my mouth. A few seconds later, I forced it down my throat with a gulp of water, provided by Wintergreen, after fumbling with the cap of the canteen with shaking fingers.
I shuddered violently, passing the canteen back with one hand, and wildly wiping my mouth with the back of the other.
"So what now? Do I just sit here or…?" I trailed off, rotating my hand in a questioning manner.
"Well, yes. The pill will kick in in about five minutes, so all you need to do is just sit there. Once you're out, we'll take you to Whitewater." Wintergreen answered, picking up the box in her mouth. "Dounth wahry," she mumbled through the box, "Twost meh." She placed the box back in her bags with the canteen, and closed them. "I'll need to get some help in bringing you down. I'll be right back!"
She took to the air with a whoomph as she extended and flapped her wings, flattening the grass she was standing on. I watched her easily gain altitude, and then dart off behind us.
Blinking rapidly to clear my head, I looked up at Cait and Em, who had taken positions on both my sides.
"Righto. We need to stick together, okay?" I grimaced, the taste still tainting my tongue. "If what I think has happened, we are all we have. I have no doubts you'll ask Wintergreen the right questions though, Cait. I know I'll have some of my own."
I yawned quietly, my eyelids getting heavy. "And, Em?" She perked up. "I don't think you can keep her. I think she'll be keeping us."
