//-------------------------------------------------------// Taken for War -by Zadarok- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// A New Look //-------------------------------------------------------// A New Look "Urgh, where am I?" Jason muttered as he takes in his surroundings. A large, white room full of medical beds that ran along each wall. Jason was sitting up on his bed, running his hand across his forehead. "This isn't home.." Jason declared. Then a sudden thought ran across his mind: That talking pony was real; she's taken you to her planet. "No.. I'm not going to believe that. Nope, not a word of it." Jason repeated to himself. "Believe a word of what?" A femenine voice speaks from his right. "Wh-" Jason turned around to face Celestia. His eyes widened. His thoughts here right. She has kidnapped him. "I-I'm not g-going to do it." He whimperd as Celestia walked towards him from the door. Celestia sighed. "I'm sorry for what I've done. But, we don't have much time. Please, get up and follow me." "O-ok" Jason said as he got up from his bed. As he walked closer to Celestia, the air around him got hotter. "Why's it so warm around you?" He questioned. Celestia chuckled. "I'm a Sun god." "A Sun god?" Jason echoed. "Yes, that is correct." "So does that explain the sun on your butt?" He said, pointing towards Celestia's flank. "Oh, that? Yes, that's my cutie mark. It resembles me as I raise and lower the sun." "A cutie mark? What the hell is that?" Jason said. "A cutie mark is something that resembles your special talent. You see, when everypony is born they are born with a special talent. When you discover that talent, you get a cutie mark from it. That cutie mark, like I said, resembles it." Celestia explained. "Ok..." He replied. "Please, enough talk, follow me. We don't have much time, and we need to train you as fas-" "Wait, train?" Jason broke in. "Train for what?" Celestia sighed again, "The war. Don't you remember?" "The war" Jason looked at the floor as the memories flooded his mind, "I remember, all this 'Asmodes' crap." "Just follow me." Celestia said as she walked down the hallway. Jason followed slowly behind Celestia, looking around at all the stain-glass windows there were. One particuarly caught his attention. It was a large, black pony with wings and a horn, standing in front of a ruined castle. "Asmodes.." Jason whisperd. Celestia turned around and saw Jason looking at the stain glass. "Yes, that was when Asmodes defeated the Changeling queen, Chrysalis." "Changeling..?" Jason asked. "A changeling is an insect-like pony that takes the form of any pony, and also feeds of off love." Celestia explained. "Ok then. Y'know what they say, you learn something everyday.." Jason muttered as they took a left turn down the the corridor, out onto the training ground. Little did he know, he was about to learn a lot more today then he's ever learnt before. ▂▃▅▇█▓▒░۩۞۩ ۩۞۩░▒▓█▇▅▃▂ "Celestia, if you say I am this, 'Asmodes' guy, then how come I'm not a pony?" Jason questioned. "You need to turn into him." Celestia replied. "What? Like shape-shifting?" He joked "Yes. Exactly like that." Celestia said. "You just need to learn the magic for it." "How? No wait, let me guess. Your going to use your magic to make me learn it." Jason said, slightly annoyed. "Well, now that you've got me thinking, that is a much easier way. I was going to get you to read books about it." Jason just stared at Celestia. "Go on then, cast your bloody spell." Jason spat in annoyance. "Fine, if you wish." Celestia said as her horn glowed. A beam of magic shot out and entered Jason's brain, filling it with complicated equations that make up spells. As soon as it started, it was over. Jason's head spun rapidly and he almost fell to the floor. "What the hell did you just do to me!" Jason shouted. "I just simply put a few simple spells into your brain, such as Telekinesis, Shape-shifting, Teleportation and Fire Bolt " Jason just looks at her. "Fire bolt? What for?" "Don't you remember? We're going to war." Celestia replies stubbernly. "Oh yeah.." He said, scratching the back of his neck, "How do I use the Fire Bolt?" "You have to have some sort of way to harness the magical energy that floats around us. That is why Unicorns have horns." Celesia poked her horn with her hoof. "Well, Asmodes wasn't a Unicorn, he was an Alicorn, a Unicorn with the strength of an Earth Pony and the wings of a Pegasus." "So, how am I going to transform into this 'Alicorn' if I don't have a horn? Jason pointed out. "I'll do it for you." She said. "Uh.. OK then.." Jason whimpered as Celestia's horn started to glow a bright yellow. "This will hurt, a lot" Celestia warned as her horn fired a bolt of energy that coursed through Jason's veins and muscles. He doubled over in pain as his muscles started to expand. His ears grew out and pointed, just like a pony's. His bones creaked and cracked as they grew twice the size they should be. His nose and mouth grew outwards into the form of a muzzle. Looking down at his hand he could see his fingers fuse together to form a hoof. Growing out of his body was black fur, just like Asmodes'. The cracking of his bones grew louder as his ribs where pushed out, making a pony-like torso. Immense pain flared in Jason's forehead as a horn was forced out of it. Blood slowly trickled down his forehead onto his nose.. wait not nose, snout. Then, all the pain stopped. "How'd you feel?" Celestia said as she stood over Jason. "I feel like I've been crushed.." Jason murmerd. Celestia stook out a hoof, "Get up, we've got training to do." Ever so slowly, he rose onto his feet. "How the hell am I meant to walk?" Jason said, waving a leg around. Celestia laughed, "You'll get use to it. Follow me over to these training dummies." Jason sighed. "Pony's walk just how a dog would walk, that's going to be easy." Jason said as he lifted front left hoof forward, then his back right hoof, front right hoof forward then back left hoof, he started to get the rhythm and then slowly started to walk.... until he face-planted the floor. He spat out dirt from his mouth and groaned, "This is going to be a long day...". He carefully walked towards Celestia who was rolling on her back laughing. "Right, what now?" He asked "Well, I was thinking that you should learn to use a sword." She said, lifting up a wooden sword with her magic. "Go on, take it." "How do I use this if I can't hold onto it? I've got hooves, not fingers!" He shouted in protest. "Your mouth, grab the handle with your mouth." Celestia pointed to the handle. "Urgh, fine." Jason took the sword in his mouth. "Good, now, you see that dummy over there?" Celestia pointed, "Hit it with the sword." Jason just nodded. He slowly walked over to it. Rearing back on his hind legs, he swung down with full momentum and hit the dummy. Nothing happend. Grunting, he reared up again and swung down, this time aiming for the neck. He slashed at it as hard as he could. This time, the blade dug into the dummies make-shift flesh, getting caught on a fake bone. The sudden stop in momentum made Jason fall to the floor, along with half a sword. Getting back up, he looked up at Celestia who was smiling. "Let's try some magic. I want you to fire a Fire Bolt at it." Celestia commanded. "How?" Jason replied, a puzzled look on his face. "Focus on the energy around you and draw it into your horn, focus on your target. Think about a fire ball coming out of your horn, and hitting your target. It's simple." Celestia explained "Pfft, simple for you. You've been a Alicorn for like, a thousand years. I've been a Alicorn for just ten minutes." "Just do it." Celestia retorted. Jason lowered his head. He focused on the 'energy' around him. Amazingly, he could feel energy being sapped into his horn. Then, he focused on his target. Then, he focused on a fire ball. He could hear his horn cackling with the energy. He opened his eyes and looked up to see his horn glowing a crimson red. Then, he looked at his target and thought about a ball of fire coming out of his horn. He stood there for what seemed ages, and nothing happened. Then, he thought about a gun, how it fires a bullet. He pictured his horn as the barrel of the gun, and the ball of fire the bullet. He imagined he just pulled the trigger. Then, a fiery projectile shot out of his horn, hurtling towards the dummy. The dummy erupted into flames. "Very good, Jason." Celestia said. "Follow me, I shall take you to your quarters and allow you to rest. You've got a very busy day tomorrow and I do not want you to be tired." Celestia walked back into the castle with Jason slowly trailing behind. They walked in silence for a few minutes, before reaching a door. Celestia used her magic to open it up. Inside was a luxury room with a king-sized bed, wardrobe, a chest of drawers and a mirror, with a door that lead to an en suite. I walked in and admired the room. "This is your room, for now. You'll be woken up by a Royal Guard at around 6am. He will escort you down to the Dining Hall where you will have breakfast, then you shall meet me at the training ground for your training. Good night Jason, or shall I say, good night Asmodes?" Celestia chuckled before turning around and shutting the door, leaving Jason to think about what she said. "Who am I now? Jason, or Asmodes?" He let the thought roam about his head as he jumped up onto the bed. It was reasonable comfortable. Laying his head onto the pillow, Jason's let his mind wander. How are his parents? How have they coped with his strange disappearance? "My parents must think I've been kidnapped or I've died. They must be so upset." Jason whispered. His eyelids slowly drooped over his eyes. He let the questions roam around in his head as he slowly drifted off to sleep. ▂▃▅▇█▓▒░۩۞۩ ۩۞۩░▒▓█▇▅▃▂ //-------------------------------------------------------// Taken //-------------------------------------------------------// Taken "Right, I'm off now. I've got work in the morning and I don't want to be hung over, you know what the boss is like." Jason announced as he downed the last of his pint. "You work on Sundays now!? When did that happen?" Jacob replied. "You must have the worst job ever." "I got told this morning. I do hate my boss sometimes, but hey, £15 an hour is good enough for me." Jason said "Yeah, that's a fair pay, d'ya want a lift back? Jacob offered. "Nah I'm good, I live just down the road. Plus, I need my daily exercise." Jason joked, patting his stomach. He then took out his wallet and handed the bar tender some money. "Ha ha, I'll see you around." Jacob called out as Jason left the bar. As Jason steps outside, a sudden gust of cold air blows over him, sending a chill down his spine. "Bloody hell! When'd the temperature drop?" Jason mutters to himself as he begins his trek home. The cold night was lit up by a full moon that shone silver rays of light down onto the quiet countryside. Jason had always liked the night, apart from the cold air, it was beautiful. Jason looked up at the starts and thought about something. "Is there any life out there, in space?" he questioned. "If yes, what is it? Where is it?" Jason stopped and thought about that. The questions rolled around in his head before he shrugged them away. He walked down the stone path along side the road. The occasional car drove past, sending a wave of cold air into his face. A couple minutes later he arrived at a small village. Street lamps illuminated the roads and Jason could see the cobblestone path that led up to his house. He went up to his door and with an ecstasy of fumbling he found his keys, buried deep down in his pockets. He slotted the key into the keyhole and opened the door. Stepping inside, a rush of warm air overcame the cold air that had been following him. Closing the door, Jason was relieved to be in a warmer place. Kicking his shoes off, he ventured into the kitchen to make a nice cup of coffee. But, he was not expecting a tall, white pony with a Unicorn's horn and Pegasus' wings to be sitting down at the table, sipping a cup of tea with a slice of cake on a plate, to look at back at him. "Hello, we need to talk." The pony said in a feminine voice. "Maybe I have been drinking too much.." Jason muttered before falling face-first onto to the ground, unconscious. "Maybe I was too formal?" The pony said, chuckling as she picked Jason up with her magic and walking into the front room, laying him on the sofa, before going back to finish of her cup of tea and slice of cake. ▂▃▅▇█▓▒░۩۞۩ ۩۞۩░▒▓█▇▅▃▂ "Urgghh.." Jason moaned as his vision returned. He lifted his hand up to his face, only to wince in pain. Looking down at his hand he notices crimson red. "Must have hit my nose when I passed out.. But how'd I end up on the sofa?" Jason questioned himself. Upon standing up, a wave of dizziness overcomes his vision and he almost falls onto the floor again. He looks around before a throbbing pain fills his head. "Urgh, I must have drunk far to much last night, the boss'll kill me.. Wait, shit! What's the time! I've got work!" Jason said as he rushed into the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchen, he come across the same tall, white pony. Although he doesn't pass out, the pony turns around and looks at him. "Uh..." Jason mutters as they both make awkward eye contact. "Allow me, Jason" The pony says as she pulls a seat out from under the table. "H-how'd you k-know my name.." Jason stammerd "Whilst you where passed out, I done a simple mind check with my magic." The pony "Y-you where here be-before I passed out." Jason said as a wave of Déjà vu overcame him. "Yes I was, and I'm sorry for scaring you." The pony replied with an apologetic smile. "H-how come you can speak E-English" Jason asked, slowly taking a seat on the opposite end of the table, as far away from the talking pony. "I cast a language spell that allows me to speak in any kind of language. And I mean any language." She chuckled. "W-whats your name." Jason questioned. "My name's Celestia." Celestia replied. "Where do y-you come from, Celestia?" Jason said, unsure on what to say. "I come from Canterlot, Equestria. You'll have no idea where that is. Let's just say its on another planet far, far, far away from here." Celestia explained. "O-ok. Why are you here, if you come from a totally different planet." Jason asked. Celestia's face darkened at this question. "Back at my planet, an ancient corruption is stirring. It will eventually break out of it's concealment under the Everfree Forest, just like the prophecy said, and in the proh-" Celestia's sentence interrupted. "Wait! Don't tell me! The prohpecy said that a being from another univerce comes and saves the day!" Jason mocked. "Well, yes." Celestia said, with a hint on anger in her tone. "Just let me explain." Celestia clears hear throat, "The prophecy goes: An ancient corruption will soon return From the Everfree Forest, The elements shall fall and burn, The sun will die and the moon shall rise, Old enemies will return with allies A *human shall lead an army,* only to go barmy, and his life shall end the war." Jason sat there an let those words sink in. A human shall lead an army, only to go barmy, and his life shall end the war. "So I'm going to go to another planet just to kill myself?" Jason said, a hint of worry in his tone. "Well, no.." Celestia sighed, "Look, Jason, yes you will die, but I can make sure you return, as a spirit." Jason glared daggers at Celestia, "Even if I am going crazy or not, I'm sitting here talking to a bloody talking pony that's telling me to go to war that's on another planet, and I'm going to die! Why can't you just do it yourself! You managed to teleport from a planet over here, why can't you just turn into a human?" Celestia looked up at Jason and spoke in a calm tone. "Because I've never seen a human before, the secret with shape-shifting is that you need to physically see it to turn into it. How I teleported here is by focusing on the word 'human' and -yes I know it sounds stupid- it teleports me to wherever a 'human' is. Don't ask me how it works, ask magic." Jason stares at here dumbfounded. "No." He said quietly. "No. I will not go. No, no, no NO!" Without realizing, Jason had got out of his seat with clenched fists. "Jason, please listen to me. There is another part to the prophecy." Celestia's words halted Jason's attempts to attack. "Ha! How does it go? 'A special god was banished and now returns as a human?'" Jason jokes around. Celestia looks at Jason, then down to the floor. She sighs, "Asmodes, the creator, is summoned, To stop the Corruption's storm, But only at the cost of his life, In a final strife, The Corruption destroyed, Thrown into the void, Never to be seen again, or will it? Jason was quick to respond this time. "What makes you think that that 'Asmodes' guy is me?" "That prophecy is one hundred millenia old." Celsetia replied. "So, what does that prove?" Jason replied stubbornly, then smiled to himself. "It proves that your old." "Look, I was not around at the time. But, Asmodes was not actually killed, he was... 'transported', you could say. Asmodes' magic was so strong, when he destroyed the Corruption, he destroyed himself with it, but not fully. His body was.. vaporised into pure magic, and he was.. reformed here, on your planet, and the reason for that is because it was the closet planet. I know it sounds crazy, but I want to prove it to you." Celestia said, her horn slowly lighting up. "Stay still." Celestia commanded as her horn fired a beam of light at Jason, hitting him directly in his forehead. Images flashed over Jason's eyes, images of a tall, black horse, much like Celestia, with wings and a horn, flying at a supersonic speed, down towards a shadowy pony lying on his side on a black, charred landscape. The flying pony is hurtling towards the shadowy figure at speeds fast enough to break the sound barrier. The flying pony's horn glows a blood-red before he breaks the sound barrier, just as he hits the shadowy pony. A rainbow shock-wave travels across the blackened landscape, restoring it. Charred trees return to their normal state, blackened grass stands back up on their roots, crumbled buildings full of debris, restored to their original form. Bloodied corpses of fallen soldiers, slowly waking up from a hellish nightmare. But, at the epicenter of the sonic boom, was nothing. No black Unicorn-Pegasus horse, no shadowy figure. Then, as quick as the images came, they disappeared out of Jason's view. Jason's head spun whilst he tried to comprehend what he just saw. "W-what was that?" Jason asked, rubbing his head. "Those images? They were memories. That was your battle against Corruption. That was the day, you, Asmodes, saved the planet." And with that, Jason's vision slowly blackened, and he fell to floor again, only to be caught my Celestia's magic. "I'm sorry for what I'm about to do, Jason. Please forgive me." Celestia said just as she teleports away, along with Jason. ▂▃▅▇█▓▒░۩۞۩ ۩۞۩░▒▓█▇▅▃▂