Beginnings

Darkness simple and oppressing it surrounds me on all sides. But this is how it always has been this part I’m used to the dreams are something I have had for as long as I can remember and they are always the same. Next the white characters would appear words an symbols in a language I can’t read but yet are somehow familiar. It is neither Equish, Sand dog, nor griffish. Then the voice starts speaking in a language I assume is the same as the words. While I don’t understand it occasionally I will mimic it. The words roll off my tongue easily as in a way that none of the other languages I grew up speaking do. This is how the dream is every night it never changes and it is the only dream I ever have.

Waking up I sat up on my bead my legs hanging over the side with the tip of the digits on my feet brushing the ground ever so lightly I sat there for a moment thinking. The dream used to bother me in fact I used to be afraid of it. But over time it became a thing of meaningless repetition happening every night until it came to have no meaning for me. It had become just another part of life like the sound of a metal leg clinking unevenly down the gently illuminated tunnels underneath the cybernetics clinic in ponyville as sandy my adopted sand dog sister approached my room. Sandy poked her head in just as she has done the past fourteen years that I have lived here. With her signature impish grin that kept her from being a nurse in the clinic above. As a female sand dog she stood more upright and didn’t use her paws to help her walk. Her fur was a spotty brindle color with one large patch of brown right behind her left eye. She wore a form hugging blue vest that stretched down to her waist; with haphazard white string holding it shut over her breasts with long fur sticking out between the strings. She wore a pair of small leather shorts to cover her more sensitive bits. Her mane was messily spiked into a rough mohawk. Her clack steel studded collar had a ruby hanging from it.

“Good your awake we can finally get the freak show up and running.”

Sandy said. With a grin I smiled replying.

“We both know who the real star is I mean where would we be without you our main attraction?”

“Ha ha Oddball cover your weird hairless body and get yourself over to Dr. Vine’s office she wants to talk to us about something today.”

“Any idea what?”

“Nope”

With that she turned and left the curtain I use as a door swishing shut behind her.

I got up and walked over to the single outfit I had on the floor. A soft leather vest typical of sand dogs, a pair of custom made rough fabric pants, A large leather belt, and a pair of fingerless leather gloves I made from some scrap leather straps giving them a wrapped look when I put them on. My vest was dark blue indicating that I was technically the son of the leader third in line for possible secession of the tribe. Simply a formality seeing how only a dog can be the leader of a dog tribe and I am most certainly not a dog. Sandy had a lighter color indicating that she was second in line. The ruby on her collar indicated that she was a direct blood relation. My belt served as a replacement for a collar because I already had a small metal one that seemed to be a part of me we were unable to remove it and it grew with me as I did; and while the dogs did try to figure out what it was the tech was beyond even the most skilled of them. One thing that they knew for sure was that it was unlike anything ever seen. The clasp on my belt was made out of red jasper signifying that while I was adopted I was adopted by the current clan leader. The items in the front pocket of my vest where various tools used in my trade another although minor form of rank. Once all my clothing was on I walked over to the large piece of polished metal I used as a mirror to make sure it was all in place. Despite what other races thought of the sand dogs and hell hounds they were very particular of how they looked particularly if it came to rank. I also took this chance to examine myself again.

I stood upright on two legs nothing to unusual for a dog. But that is where the similarities between me and the dogs who adopted me ended. I have virtually no fur nor hair on my body and what little I did have was focused on my head. It was black, long, and shaggy hanging down near the center of my back to keep it out of my eyes I have taken to wearing a leather head band which I tied on as I looked at myself in the mirror. My skin was pale and my eyes where two different colors one a dark blue the other bright green. The tings at the end of my arms the dogs and I call my monkey paws it is the closest description for them that could be thought of. (It was actually one of the doctor ponies that worked in the clinic that came up with it.) The same type of monkey themed description was thought of for my feet although while I can pick up things with the weird shaped fingers on my feet I don’t have a thumb on them and there the only part of my foot that seems to bend. My feet don’t have thick pads on them like the sand dogs so I had to wear boots kind of like the ponies have; but made special for me. The overall boot was made of soft leather with a thicker patch on the bottom to make up for my lack of pads.
As for the rest of my body my skin wasn’t as thick as the dogs but it was not fragile either. Over the years it thickened up compared to when I was still very small. It was also possible to see the general shape of the muscle beneath my skin though it had not been like that originally it was one of those things that changed over time as I got stronger and older.

Once I had finished looking at myself and making sure everything was in its proper place I walked out of my room toward where sandy waited outside of Dr. Rose Vine’s office my boots making a sot clicking sound as I walked. Along the way I thought about the past how I was usually attacked a first sight if Sandy or My adopted father wasn’t there with me. Once I asked what I was father simply said in the barking growling language of the sand dog and hell hounds.

“You are a promise made to a dying pony friend. A promise to further the growth of all life despite how others feel. That promise is one that got her killed protecting you. So I guess you are the dream of a dead pony passed onto a foolish dog.”

He looked at me a strange look on his face.

“You are a dream of life and so she named you so. Life. But with dogs you will be Oddball because you are the oddest thing dogs have seen in a long time.”

That is all he would say on the matter even to this day. He and the other dogs raised me like they raised Sandy and the other pups wandering for a while until one day we settled here at the clinic with some pony doctors and grew from there. I learned along with sandy how to build and repair cybernetics and the various nuances involved with gem tech. My monkey paws proved in some cases more useful than even the dogs paws when creating the cybernetic and I proved a quick learner.

It didn’t take me long to reach Dr. Vine’s office and as expected sandy was waiting there for me.

“Took you long enough Oddball.”

Ignoring the comment I asked.

“Is the Dr in?”

“Should be I haven’t checked yet.”

“Why not?”

“She wanted to talk to both of us no point going in alone.”

“Fair.”

I walked in first and was greeted by the sight of thousands of papers stacked everywhere and covering the desk in such a fashion as to form an impenetrable wall successfully obscuring everything directly behind the desk. I was able to tell that there was a pony behind the desk because a tall stack of paper floated next to it wrapped in a reddish glow as it bobbed gently. But the oddest thing to me was the low rumble that filled the room after a moment I realized it was in fact snoring. I looked over at sandy and watched the grin grow on her face as she realized the same thing I just did and thought of a mischievous plan for a quick laugh.

I was tempted to stop her but an opportunity as perfect as this doesn’t happen very often. Sandy crept slowly up next to the desk carefully avoiding the stacks of paper. looking over her shoulder at me she carefully moved the stack of paper directly in front of Dr. vine setting it gently on the floor so I could see all that was about to happen. Dr. Vine was face down on the desk and drooling slightly as Sandy slid up beside her. Crouching she pursed her lips and gently blew on the doctor’s ear. The ear flicked a few time and Dr. Vine stirred slightly sandy stopped for a second letting the doctor settle a bit before repeating the process. This time the doctor stirred and slowly opened her eyes to see sandy. The moment she did Sandy let out a loud BARK! Causing the doctor to jump quite literally into the air falling backwards and flipping the desk in the process; once she hit the floor the telekinesis field exploded sending all the papers in it to fly every direction.

Me and sandy couldn’t stop laughing sandy wound up on the floor rolling, holding her sides, and kicking a little. I managed to stay on my feet but had doubled over holding my sides in pain from the laughter. Dr. Vine after a few seconds of panic quickly scrambled to her hooves straitening out her lab coat and began to chastise us.

“What the hell where you thinking you almost gave me a heart attack!”

We just kept laughing.

“I have enough issues without you two almost giving me a heart attack. Celestia dammit look at this mess do you know how long this is going to take to clean and re-organize this mess?”

She went on like that for a couple more minuets as me and sandy recovered from our laughing fit. I was the first to recover so I was the first to be able to talk and ask Dr. Vine questions while Sandy continued to giggle on and off.

“So why did you call us her today?”

“What?.... Oh yea I called you here because me and the rest of the ponies and dogs in charge of the clinic had a meeting the other day.”

“What meeting?”

“It was a meeting to discuss the current state of our supplies.”

“Why would that be a problem don’t we get shipments delivered every day from the caravan routes?”

“Normally yes but something has been interfering with the caravans. It’s not just one rout either all of them have all but stopped arriving at their destinations in every town.”

“Ok but what does that have to do with us specifically?”

“Well all of New Ponyville is sending out scouts down various routs to see what is going on and the clinic is being forced to help as well. So we brought up a list of potentials we could send on the scouting mission and unfortunately the only viable option we could afford to do was send you two.”

“Why us and not some of the hell hounds or guards?”

“Look I’m goanna be blunt with you. It is because frankly you two are the most disposable people on staff.”

This comment got a reaction from sandy as she listened in an pissed her right off.

“That’s bullshit!”

Dr. Vine just breathed and responded in a forced calm.

“If we sent any of the hell hounds or guards it would weaken the clinics and towns overall defenses. Opening us up for possible attack by raiders, bandits, or any number of monsters especially since we are so close to what remains of the Everfree. That is not an option we or the town could afford. Seeing how we are the reason ponies where even able to re-settle the town in the first place if we weaken the entire town weakens. Look you two are medically trained that alone increases your odds of survival; and we not going to send you out unprepared we will give you some supplies, basic armor and weapons so you won’t be helpless. Now Elder Feral Bark your father has volunteered to gather all the equipment and supplies you two will need you are to meet up with him in the cybernetics shop and head out immediately he will give you more details about your task when you get there. Now get out of my office before you make a bigger mess.”

With that she turned and started gather up the mass amount of papers strewn about the office. Me and Sandy quietly followed orders and left. standing in the hallway we looked at each other feeling rejected and a downtrodden we started on our way to the cybernetics shop to meet up with our father and clan leader Elder Feral Bark.

Author's Note

Forgive any grammar issues I am still a novice and I don't currently have an editor.