Prologue- A Dream...A Nightmare?
To Survive
In The Eye Of The Beholder
(Part One- To Survive)
I was always alone.
That thought taunted me every day ya know, every single one…at least it did, until I met her.
Well, when I say I met her, it was actually more along the lines of me running and she chasing. But hey, it's the thought that counts…and I wasn't exactly listening to her at the time. My fault, but hey, she's the size of a flipping building!
Hmm, maybe I should go back a bit, introduce myself. After all, if nothing else it'll pass the time.
My name is Eric, Eric Johnson. I'm twenty one…no, I think I'm actually twenty two, to be honest I really don't know. I've spent so long in these retched mountains, eating half raw meat because I can't afford to start up a fire, lest I attract unwanted attention. And that's not to mention how difficult it is to find water in this place.
Heh, you're more likely to find a pit of magma than a drop of water. That's not to say I didn't eventually find something, but still…it was beyond anything I'd experienced, and getting used to it took time.
You know, it's actually kind of ironic. Back home I rarely drank water, choosing to drink coke or Dr Pepper instead. But now that I desperately need it, I can't have it, or find it…or whatever.
I never really thought about poor people before, especially the ones living in third world countries. But now…I kinda wish I did, because if anything I've certainly taken a leap into their type of life. What with being forced to survive with skills I've had to develop on my own, skills that…that made me realize just how good I had it once upon a time.
Heh, once…
It's not a particularly interesting story, but I'll regale you with it none the less.
You see, my life was actually pretty good before. I had a decent full time job, got paid a decent wage, and all around I had a decent lifestyle. My friends were plentiful, as well as my…beneficial friends, and best of all, I had just been told by my boss that she was giving me a raise.
All in all, I had a fucking brilliant life, no complaints.
Yet now…
I don't know how I even got here. One minute I was asleep, the next I woke to find myself lying on a really uncomfortable rock, wearing nothing but the jeans I had apparently fallen asleep in.
I had no shoes, no top, no clean clothing…I had nothing but the clothes on my metaphorical back, and a meagre amount of change in my pocket.
Worst of all though…I was alone, and as I curiously walked about and examined my surroundings, I eventually came to a few conclusions.
First, I was trapped in a mountain with no apparent way down. I had no idea how to scale a mountain, and I wasn't about to break my neck trying.
Second, I had no idea how the hell I was going to survive. I knew no survival skills; I never thought that I'd have any need for them. After all, my life was pretty cushy, why would I have?
And lastly, well…there was no one else here but me.
Well, no, I'm not being completely honest here. There has been...another, yet upon noticing me he began spouting random gibberish.
I'm not exactly an expert when it comes to remembering shit, but this is more or less how it went.
I was in the middle of hunting down a really annoying fox, as in seriously annoying, as in it kept close until the last second and then bolted annoying.
Ahem...
Anyway, I'd just gotten around a very dense tree when I accidentally bumped into...a white bearded unicorn?
"Oh for goodness sake, move out of the...the way..."
Okay I'm not lying here, I honest to god swear that I'm not. That pony not only had a flipping beard, but was also wearing what appeared to be a...wizards hat and cloak.
No, really, I'm being deadly serious here.
Oh, and he looked just like Gandalf from Lord Of The Rings, he even looked like he was around the same bloody age.
"You can talk?!" I shouted, flying away from the creature out of sheer instinct.
"Why...yes it appears I do," he snarked slowly, his eyes inquizitive as they looked me up and down. "And it appears you can as well..."
Before I could do anything else, he quickly hoped onto his hind legs and grasped my right hand tightly, before saying-
"Well never mind that, I'm Starswirl, how do you do?"
...You know, for an old guy he was surprisingly limbre.
"Oh, I'm-"
The pony suddenly let go of my hand and and put a hoof on my mouth, shutting me up entirely.
"Yes, yes that sounds wonderful," he interrupted rudely, looking down at his cape and shuffling something inside it. "In any case I've got to get these samples back as soon as possible, so it's nice meeting you!"
"Hold on, wait!" I shouted, to no avail however as his horn lit up and he vanished into thin air.
"What a fucking asshole, he could have at least given me a lift!"
Heh, good ol' Starswirl. It wasn't the last time we saw each other, but unfortunately it was for a while.
I wasn't even going to bother finding him again, yet she thought that it'd be necessary before we...well, you'll see.
Where was I?
Oh yeah, the wildlife.
So yeah, if you didn't include the half-starved rabbits, foxes and fish, I was pretty much the only sapient thing on that mountain. Although sometimes I got lucky and found a boar. It couldn't talk like that bizarre unicorn, but it was still a tasty meal. Though those guys tended to put up a fight, so I sometimes avoided them. It was only when I was really hungry that I attempted to find and take one down.
Heh, I have a nice little scar on my chest because of one. Worth it though, after being properly cooked for half a fucking day, they actually taste pretty nice. Plus there's usually enough meat to keep me going a few days.
Anyway, like I said…the realization of that I was well, and truly, alone…It taunts me every day.
Everyday…for, if I've guessed correctly, a little over a year.
It's not all bad I suppose. I mean, I've gotten pretty fit over the months. Surviving on little meat that sometimes takes day's to find will do that to a guy. I've also got this crude little dagger I managed to make. It's made out of a rock, yet I've sharpened it enough to at least kill a rabbit.
I did try making a bow, but it's a hell of a lot harder than I thought it would be. And in the end…I just gave up with it. Besides, making yourself work for your food builds up a nice appetite.
Oh…yeah, I almost forgot.
There's something about this world that…makes no fucking sense. And yet as the days went on and I saw more and more…I eventually came to one conclusion.
I wasn't in my own world.
How could I be, my world didn't have dragons last time I checked, or talking ponies with horns!
Oh yeah, you heard me right, dragons and lots of them. I saw a massive hoard of the lizards flying over me one day. Some were even shooting fire at each other, or simply fighting in the air, uncaring of what they might damage if they happened to fall.
Heh, humans are top of the chain back home. Yet here, I'm nothing more than an ant to these things. It took me a while to get over that…yet in the end, I found it quite humbling.
Humbling…yet lonesome. Oh, you have no idea how lonely I was, sleeping in caves, talking to myself in an effort to alleviate it…if only a little.
It even got to a point where I…I considered just ending it, all of it.
And yet one day, something, or should I say, someone, found me…and gave me a reason to keep going.
Though like I've mentioned previously, I wasn't exactly willing to stay and listen to her at first. In fact, I distinctly remember screaming and running for my life.
Hehe, maybe I should start there then. Okay, here we go.
It all started on yet another rough day. At the time, I was kinda in the middle of stalking a surprisingly fat rabbit, and had been doing so for around half an hour. The reason for how long I was taking was relatively simple.
Those little fuckers were fast, fat or not. And if I startled it then I'd have no little to any chance of catching up to the little shit.
And thus I was creeping a little above it, wearing nothing but my shorts…which I had painstakingly made out of my jeans. Basically I just cut it to around a medium length, enough to still be reasonably comfortable, yet also enough to allow full mobility.
Creeping as silently as I could, I slowly advanced just a little over it, carefully poising myself as I prepared to kill it.
"Just a little more…don't you bloody move."
Once I managed to get the angle just right, I carefully gripped my stone dagger…before silently leaping off and onto the little shit, said dagger being swiftly, if not brutally shoved into its neck. The rabbit gave nothing but a small squeak of surprise as I did so, kicking its little legs slightly before it eventually…well, died.
"Sorry little fella," I apologized quietly. "If you hadn't gone for that large big mac than I…nah, I still would've killed ya."
Yeah…solitude made me a little batty, just a little though.
But hey, at least I still had a sense of humour, if not a morbid one.
I took the rabbit back to my home, which in reality was a pretty dank little cave. Once there, I sorted out a little fire and spit roast, said spit roast basically being a very pointy stick atop the fire. Anyway, once I'd done all of that, I got to work on skinning the rabbit.
Hah, when I'd first got around to doing this, I ended up throwing up on it. Thankfully, over time I managed to push past how disgusting it was, and eventually kinda numbed myself to it.
Once I'd skinned it, I carefully got it on the stick and began to cook it. Cooking it took around…hmm thirty minutes or so? Basically I figured it was alright once the meat stopped looking so pink. And giving that I hadn't gotten sick from it, I'd obviously made the right call.
I think it was about two hours or so later that it happened.
I'd just finished doing my…business in the bushes, and was currently making my way back to the cave. You see the sun was beginning to set, and it was around this time that certain predators liked to make themselves known.
Seriously, there are these big fucking vultures that DON'T wait around until you're dead. The first time I encountered one, I nearly lost my fucking eye. In the end all I got was a nasty scar, but never again did I tempt fate by staying out at night.
In any case, I was walking down a very familiar shortcut when I heard a peculiar sound. It sounded like something beating against the air, and due to my not quite yet tempered curiosity, I suddenly found myself turning around and looking up.
And then…I saw it, or as I came I know later on, her.
Yeah, let's just stick with calling her a 'her' from now on, it saves a lot of confusion in the end.
Ahem…where was I, oh yeah.
The dragon was fucking huge, even in the distance I could see that!
She had two horns atop her head, followed up with spines flowing down her long neck. Her scales were blue, and from what I could see, had a sort of gleam to them. Her underbelly was a lighter shade of blue, yet to my surprise it seemed to be bleeding.
...
No, her stomach wasn't bleeding, her left wing was.
Oh and she was heading right in my direction.
…
"Oh shit, run!"
Turning around, I began to sprint like my life depended on it…actually I think it did at the time, but in any case, I swiftly started to dash in the opposite direction, trying my best to navigate my way to the cave.
In my stupidity, I thought it'd be a grand idea to look back, you know, just to see whether or not the dragon was still there.
…I'm an idiot sometimes.
When I looked back, my sight was instantly graced, and thankfully warned, with the sight of said dragon crashing into the ground, her limbs flailing about as she did so. Unfortunately for me, her tail just so happened to catch me as she flailed about, sending me flying into a tree and smacking my head.
To be honest, it was kinda my fault for slowing down. I should have kept on running and never looked back, but hey, that's human curiosity for ya.
It took me a little bit, but after rubbing and shaking my pounding head a few times, I eventually managed to open my eyes and stare at-
"Oh god it's looking right at me!"
Yeah, upon opening my eyes, they were instantly graced with the sight of two large, yellow slitted ones staring right back at me…roughly about ten inches away from my face.
I could feel her breath coating the top half of my body, her slow, very hot breath…
"Oh god…" I whispered fearfully, only to be further frightened out of my wits as it blinked.
"You can talk?" she asked, her eyes widening in surprise. Though to me, any movement whatsoever just made her look even scarier.
Now I knew that dragons could talk, I distinctly remembered hearing a few arguing when I saw that hoard a while back. It was shocking enough to keep me grounded to the spot…which kinda made me lose my meal, much to my chagrin.
But still, hearing this obviously injured dragon talk…to me, well, it was more than enough to make me lose my shit.
Without any warning, seriously even I was a little surprised; I quickly sprang to my feet and began to back away…rapidly. My actions only seemed to surprise the dragon further, at least if her eyes were of any clue.
"Wait," she asked, her voice commanding and yet…soft, almost gentle in fact. "Please don't run, there's no need to be frightened, I won't hurt you."
Looking back at this, I can only scold myself for my rude actions. But then again, I was being spoken to by a…hmm, I think she was somewhere between thirty to fifty feet. I could never guess it right though, so it doesn't really matter.
But yeah, I was being spoken to by a massive creature; I wasn't exactly in the listening mood. And thus it was with little hesitation that I quickly began to leg it, the direction didn't matter so long as it was away from her.
Unfortunately…
The sudden motion of the ground shaking forced me to look behind out of sheer instinct. To my absolute horror however, all I managed to glimpse before quickly turning back around, was me being chased by the overgrown lizard.
"Please stop, I mean you no harm!" she called, her voice somewhat ragged as she ran after me.
"Leave me alone!" I yelled, sheer terror and adrenaline forcing me to continue, to not stop for anything. There was no way I was gonna end up that things dinner.
Thankfully, as I bobbed and weaved through the dense trees, trees that were instantly trampled by the bizarre dragon, I quickly noticed my cave a short distance away.
"Home!" I breathed wearily, happiness and exhaustion making it difficult to talk.
Now I know it might sound stupid to you, but my home wasn't all that big. In fact the entrance was so small that I had to duck to get inside. But that was it, if I had to duck to get inside, then there was no way that a potential handbag was going to follow me in.
All jokes aside, I got very lucky.
Just as I managed to dive inside, her right claw scraped against the entrance, leaving a very intimidating mark. Thankfully though, I'd managed to safely get very deep into the cave, and thus had little to no worries as I fought to regain my breath.
Unfortunately, all breath I had was pushed out of me as I saw a very green eye staring at me through the entrance.
"There was really no need for all of that you know," she chided crossly, her eye narrowing slightly.
"Jesus, will you just leave me alone!" I cried, near hysterical from a mix of fear and exasperation.
The dragon sighed, breathing out enough air to push me back a bit. She stared at me for a few more moments, only to give me one last look before suddenly disappearing, her heavy steps quietening as she did so.
It was only when I couldn't hear her that I let go of the breath I was holding.
"Shit that was scary," I whispered, chuckling slightly from the adrenaline.
Eyeing the entrance once more, I carefully made my way to it and poked my head out slowly, checking the surrounding area for anything…dangerous.
I saw nothing.
Sighing in relief, I quickly walked back into the cave and over to my…bed, if you could call it that. It was basically a group of logs kept together by various stakes, or sticks if you like, driven into the ground to stop them from moving. Upon the logs was a thick layer of grass, twigs and leaves, though my pillow was made entirely out of a heavy helping of grass.
It took a while to make, but it was worth it to stop me from sleeping on the cold hard floor.
In any case, I crawled on top of my bed and closed my eyes, holding myself tightly in an effort to keep warm.
The first time I slept like this…I couldn't sleep. But eventually I got used to it, and now…well, it's like everything else. Routine and something I'm very used to.
And thus…sleep took me quickly.
When I opened my eyes the next day, it was to one of the most surprising sights I'd seen during my time there. Basically, I got up and out of the bed, ready to make my way to a little spring I'd found a while back.
So imagine my surprise when I made my way to the entrance only to find a…dead rabbit just a little inside.
"What the hell?" I murmured, a mixture of surprise and wariness in my tone.
Reaching the rabbit, I pulled out my stone dagger and poked it gingerly, preparing myself to leap back just in case it…exploded or something.
What, you haven't seen what I have, don't judge me.
Thankfully though, the rabbit did not explode in my face. In fact it simply appeared to be a…dead rabbit.
"You're way to paranoid sometimes Eric," I muttered quietly, before picking up the rabbit and hanging it up on a self-made rack for later.
Once done, I made my way out the entrance, looking around as I did so for potential threats. Finding none, I carefully began to head in the general direction of the spring. Upon arriving there, I looked around once more for threats, before eventually shedding my clothing and wading in.
Thankfully, it turned out that boiling water purified it. So even though I washed in it, drinking it was never a problem once it was in a crudely made stone pan.
It took me ages to bloody make it, but it beats drinking skeggy water.
I was just about to get out of said water when I heard something shuffle behind me. However when I span around, I saw…nothing there.
"Enjoying yourself?"
The sudden question made me fall backwards in surprise, though thankfully the little spring was shallow, yet still enough to cover up my junk.
My junk was the last thing on my mind however, especially when I turned around and looked up, only to see a very familiar creature staring down at me…with a grin?
"Dragons can grin?"
Grin or no, it still looked terrifying. In fact it was so scary, I was about to leg it even though I was completely naked.
You know how it is, scary ass beast breathing down on you, fuck your stuff, right?
The dragon seemed to thinking along the same lines however, and quickly blocked my escape with her incredibly long tail, before leaning down somewhat and…smiling, I think.
"There's no need for any of that," she tittered softly, her slitted eyes running over my body curiously. "Hmm, you are a very strange creature aren't you. Similar to a primate, yet not quite the same."
"And you're a big blue lizard, what else is new?" I snipped, fear and a bit of my own sass clouding my common sense.
The dragon blinked at my words, yet even as I raised my hands in defense, all she did was laugh.
"A big blue lizard?" she chuckled lightly, her laughter causing the water to tremble somewhat. "I don't get called that every day."
The great beast stretched her wings lazily, only to suddenly hiss as her left one suddenly opened up slightly, before suddenly beginning to bleed lightly.
"Christ, are you alright?" I asked, surprising myself as I did so.
Since when did I care about anything other than myself here?
The dragon merely grimaced in response, before flicking a very long tongue out of her maw and wafting it over the surprisingly deep cut. In fact as I looked, I noticed that the cut was actually more of a laceration, reaching from the bottom of her wing to just below the very top.
"It is not entirely pleasant," she quipped gently, her voice layered with a smidge of pain. Her tongue withdrew back into her maw, just before she turned back around and looked at me…appreciatively?
"I thank you for your concern however," she said, leaning her head down in a…bow of some kind. Upon leaning back up however, her eyes seemed to dull in distinct sadness, though I may have just been imagining it.
She was a dragon after all, what did I know?
"Unfortunately, I fear I may be grounded for some time," she sighed sadly, looking up at the sky longingly, only to shake her great head and peer down at me calmly. "Although I suppose the company isn't too bad."
"Uhh, what?" I asked stupidly, my utter terror morphing into confused fear.
The dragon smirked at me, I think, before suddenly leaning down quickly, frightening me enough to nearly shit my metaphorical pants.
"As you've yet to evidently grasp the invitation," she chuckled sarcastically. "That little compliment was me offering you my wonderful company until my wing has healed."
"Well aren't you full of yourself?" I mocked silently, not quite wanting to be eaten just yet.
"Uhh," I started…badly. "As much it sounds like a grand idea, I'd rather be left alone if you don't mind."
If the dragon was surprised, she did a pretty good job of hiding it. In fact all she did was merely nod and smile…well, it looked like a smile anyway.
"If that is what you desire, then I will not trouble you any further," she said softly, bowing her head once more before she turned to leave.
I was in a bit of a stupor to be honest, yet as she walked away, I did feel a little proud that I'd stood up and refused a dragon of all things.
Unfortunately…
"Oh and by the way," she called suddenly, snapping my attention back onto her automatically, only to swallow as I saw her toothy grin. "I hope you enjoy the rabbit, it took me a little while to catch it."
…
Was she…doing what I think she was?
"Are you trying to guilt trip me?" I asked, swallowing somewhat when she merely narrowed her eyes.
"Not at all," she growled lowly. "It is beneath a dragon to do such things, do not forget that when you enjoy your meal."
I stepped back fearfully at her dangerous tone, something she seemed to notice right away. Though why she shook her head and sighed is beyond me…although.
"Did I insult her or something?" I wondered, a tinge of shame welling up within me as I contemplated my words.
Words…they're something I've never had to worry about here. I could say anything I liked before, there was never anyone around to hear me say it. But I suppose the sudden realization of that I'm not…alone was a something of a shock to me.
And to think that I basically just insulted the first being to talk to me in god knows how long, it was…not entirely pleasant.
"Maybe the rabbit was a gift of some kind," I pondered thoughtfully. "Maybe it was her way of showing she isn't a threat…oh great, now I feel like a royal prick."
Jumping on the urge before it left me, I quickly called out to the still visible creature.
"Wait!" I shouted loudly, cursing silently at the thought of potential threats hearing me.
The dragon turned around and eyed me warily, her annoyed expression still firmly stuck on her face.
"What is it little one?" she asked wearily, her right claw pawing the ground somewhat impatiently.
Forcing my fear to one side and sucking in all my courage, which honestly wasn't much, I slowly and unashamedly left the spring and ventured a little closer to the grand creature. Once I felt I was near enough, judging by her curious if not surprised expression, I stopped and stared up at her bravely.
"Where...do you stay?" I asked, hoping against hope that my question wasn't idiotic.
The dragon blinked at my question, but didn't ridicule me, so I gathered it wasn't a completely dumb one.
"Why do you ask?" she inquired curiously, apparently not quite sure if I was asking what I was.
Trying my best not to flinch as she leaned down, I allowed myself a shaky grin and answered her question.
"You wanted company didn't you?"
If what I said was what she was expecting, then her surprised expression certainly didn't convince me of it.
"You wish for it?" she asked quietly.
I nodded quickly, hoping against hope that she wouldn't simply scoff at my fickle mind and walk off. It was a bit of a strange realization really, to suddenly figure out just how much I craved for someone to talk to other than myself.
Yeah she scared me, she was a dragon for fucks sake. But for the chance to not be so alone, I was willing to put that aside, no matter how much my instincts screamed at me to run away.
The dragon suddenly flashed her incredibly sharp teeth, though it was actually done so in a toothy grin, rather than her sudden desire to gobble me up.
"Very well then," she agreed happily, yeah she actually sounded quite pleased if her cheerful tone was anything to go by. "Since you accept my gracious company, I too shall accept yours."
Grinning uneasily in return, I held up hand to shake her own…only to mentally slap myself as I remembered the laughable difference.
Though to my surprise, she seemed to realize what it was I wanted, and thus held up her claw, before grasping my entire arm very gently.
"My name is Eric," I greeted nervously, somehow still staring up at those incredible eyes without bolting.
The dragon's grin seemed to morph into a gentle smile at my words, before she let go of my arm and tilted her head down, pressing it against my own softly. It felt…weird, and yet I somehow managed to grasp that it was similar to a handshake.
Call it my own bizarre intuition if you want, for at the time, I couldn't figure out how I knew either.
"This is how we greet one another in my homeland," she explained, her voice suddenly gentle as a summer breeze. "And as for my name…"
She leaned back and smiled down at me pleasantly, her eyes shining with mirth and…excitement?
"You may call me Azure."
