Chapter one: Because Chaos [edited]
Chapter one: Because Chaos
Hey there, My name is Thomas Joseph Burns. Or, at least it was, a couple weeks ago. Now, I go by Talon Blade. I am an 18 year old dragon currently on a train to Ponyville. Let’s start from the beginning, shall we? This way it’ll make more sense how I got here.
~Two weeks ago, about halfway through my day~
“Hey Daniel, have you been inside the Great Kiva before?” I ask my friend Daniel as we walk towards an ancient building at the National Monument in Aztec New Mexico. Daniel is another cadet in JROTC at the Aztec High School. He’s an average Freshman with dark, curly hair, brown eyes, and stands about five foot 10. I stand around six foot three, have short, dark brown hair, and my eyes change color from blue to green every now and then. I wear glasses, and my current attire is camouflage cargo pants, a black short sleeve shirt, and a camouflage jacket. Daniel is dressed similarly, as it is the uniform us cadets get to wear for our jobs at the Ruins.
Daniel glances over at me and says “No, I haven’t. This is actually my first time visiting the ruins here.”
I shrug and say “Ah, well, it’s pretty cool to go inside. I’m probably going to try to take a panoramic picture with my Vita.” The rest of the cadets start walking into the Great Kiva, followed by Daniel and I. Daniel walks in first, but before I do, I notice an odd shine over in the bushes off the trail to the side of the kiva. Curiosity piqued, I walk towards the odd shine. I get within sight of the cause if the shine, an odd, round, metallic object. At a glance, it looks kind of like a yo-yo, but without the spit in the middle for a string. I reach down to pick it up, but as my fingers touch it, Electricity surges through my arm. My vision fades into black, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t pass out. While I can’t see, a feeling of weightlessness comes over me, along with that funny feeling you get in your stomach from dropping altitude quickly. With no idea of what is going on, my heartbeat picks up to maybe 120 beats per minute.
The next thing I feel is soft grass on my feet. “What? wasn’t I wearing boots?” I ask out loud. Apparently, my boots came off somehow. Something strange definitely just happened. Now that I think about it, There’s not much grass at the ruins. I’m either in the picnic area now, or somewhere else with grass. I start breaking into a cold sweat, feeling a mild panic attack coming on. With no idea what happened, that only makes it worse. And furthermore, why does my voice sound different? My vision starts to return, but slowly.
“ I should probably sit down and try to calm down before I pass out from panic.” I state, shaking from the odd experience. I sit down on the ground carefully, not wanting to lose my balance. Eventually, I calm down, just as my vision returns. I start seeing trees, an expansive field, and mountains in the distance. I raise my hand to adjust my glasses, and notice that my arm feels heavier than it should. Looking at my hand, I stare in shock at a silver and black claw that is obviously not my hand.
“Uh, wait, what? Why is my hand a dragon claw? What the hell?” I exclaim., feeling another panic attack coming on. Looking at the rest of my body, I see that I am indeed a dragon with a majority of silver scales, while the auxiliary scales are as black as obsidian. I also notice that my body seems to be sleeker than it was, with denser muscles and a stronger, yet lighter, bone structure. Yet again, I hear something odd about my voice. It sounds higher pitched, but still a bit gruff. In a way, I kind of sound like A character from a TV show I watch called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I’m a brony, as most people would call me. A male fan of a show originally made for an audience of eight year old girls. The character in question my voice reminds me of is Rainbow Dash.
“Okay, I need a mirror now. Something weird is going on, and I don’t need to be freaking out.. Furthermore, How’d I end up in a giant field?” I say, mostly to myself. I have a habit of talking out loud to myself. When people ask why I talk to myself, my usual answer is “Well, the silence usually has nothing interesting to say.” I stand up and look towards the mountains, noticing a castle like structure on the side of one. Being a brony, I almost instantly recognise it as the city of Canterlot, however, I don’t exactly believe it. It’s impossible that I’m in Equestria. It’s just a TV show…...Isn’t it? I stand there for about five minutes, waiting for my brain to reboot. Once it does, my mental state breaks down a bit as I start thinking about how to find a way home. Being in Equestria is probably every Brony’s dream, but unless there’s a way to get home, I don’t think I want to be here. Maybe Celestia would know of a way. I take a couple steps Canterlot’s direction, and trip on something near my feet. I look at the object to find that it’s a backpack; one similar in appearance to the one I used for school. “Riight, because why not? Random backpack that looks like a U.S. Army pack, that wasn’t even there five minutes ago, trips me.” I say. I grab the backpack and go through the front three pockets, finding a scroll, two water bottles, and a small box of Twinkies. Okay, I’m pretty sure Discord is involved somehow. I turn to the scroll and open it. As I read, I open one of the bottles of water and take a drink. The scroll reads
Hello to the newest traveler. You may or may not have discovered you’re in an unfamiliar land. If you have, and know where you are, good on you, take this cookie. If not, then you are in a land called Equestria and you arrived here from either a chaos storm I created 1,000 years ago, or by touching an object charged with chaos energy from said storm. As far as I know, There’s no way to return. That is why I put items in this pack that are possibly familiar to you, and will help with homesickness.
P.S. Ponies do not play the game, that’s Earth specific.
Sincerely, Discord
My hopes drop as I finish reading. No way back? What about my family? Mom, Paige, Clint, Danny, they’ll all be wondering where I went. For all I know, the time here is decades ahead of Earth. They might all be dead. I stand there, crying silently for a couple hours until I pull my head together. Well, I might as well check what I have, Discord said he did put some stuff in here I might recognise. I open up the main part of the pack and pull out a headband, a purple binder, a trench-coat, three shirts, and, for some reason, a cardboard box. Sounds like Discord likes the Metal Gear Solid series. The headband resembles Snake’s from MGS3: Snake eater, the purple binder is, literally, mine from school, the trench-coat is a olive green color, and the three shirts are just generic white T-shirts. I smile a bit and say “Well, at least I have some clothes to change into. Wearing almost nothing but camouflage would cause more suspicion than necessary.” I remove my camo jacket and replace it with the trench-coat. Looking at the shoes, I wonder how I would wear them. Dragons don’t exactly make their own shoe brand.These shoes, though, do look like they were custom made for a dragon, so I decide to try them on. The shoes are DC brand skate shoes, and might be half a size too big, but I’m not complaining. Shoes are shoes. I shrug and pick up the backpack after stuffing the spare clothes back in and donning the headband. I look towards Canterlot and mumble “Might as well; don’t want anyon~ uh, anypony getting curious later down the road. I start what looks to be a six mile run to the mountainside city.
Chapter Two: Canterlot [Edited]
I slow my jog to a walk after five minutes, realizing that my CardioVascular Activity is oddly better here than it was on Earth. That might actually just be a dragon thing, so I don’t really question it that much. Thinking about how I got here while walking, I start to think about what I may want to do here in Equestria. As far as the show’s canon went, Somepony’s job was based on what their talent was. The only dragon in the show who was actually in more than one episode, was Spike; and he was just Twilight’s assistant. “Hmm, I wonder if Twilight would actually hire me…” I ponder. About two hours after I stopped jogging, I reach Canterlot’s front gate. The two guard ponies look at me suspiciously as I near the gate.
“Halt! What is your business in Canterlot?” one asks. The other readies a spear, waiting for any sign of hostility.
I stop walking and reply “There’s not many dragons that come to Canterlot, huh? Well,at any rate, I was hoping to speak to Princess Celestia about becoming a citizen. I’m not from around….well, around I guess. You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you the whole truth.”
The guards look at me with careful scrutiny. Eventually, one says “Okay, but be warned, Other guards might get curious about you being in the city.”
I nod and say “Okay, thank you. I won’t cause any trouble.”
The guards move to the side and allow me to pass. I walk forward and pass through a spell barrier that has no noticeable purpose. I look curiously at the barrier and ask the guards “What’s the barrier for? Sorry, I’m just really curious.”
The guard to my left replies “That barrier is designed to tranquilize and un-disguise Changelings.” I nod in understanding and continue walking. The time is still pretty early, so there’s not much activity in the streets yet. Vendors are setting everything up for the day, and stop only to stare at the draconic traveler with looks of curiosity and, every once in a while, disdain. I shrug off the looks of disdain, and grumble in slight irritation at the curiosity. I’m not really a people person, or in this case, a pony person. Usually, I prefer small groups, mostly because of how shy I am. Eventually, I stop in front of what looks to be a coffee shop. ~I highly doubt I can afford a cup of coffee, but I probably do need to get directions.~ I think to myself. I make up my mind and wander in to ask for directions to Canterlot Castle.
I walk up to the cashier and ask “ Excuse me, but can I get directions to the castle? I’ve never been to Canterlot before, and will probably get lost.”
The mare nods and pulls out a map from under the counter. “We get tourists all the time through here. Here’s on of the spare maps we hand out when asked.” I take the map and nod thanks before realizing I can’t buy anything with my Debit card.
“Sorry, but I’m kind of short on money right now; I can’t buy anything.” I say sheepishly. Why does Equestria have to have a different currency form than Earth? I’ve got about twenty dollars in my wallet, which is a Derpy wallet. Hmm, on second thought, I may just want to leave that in my pocket.
The cashier shrugs and says “It’s fine, dear. We’ll be packed in a little bit, so it should be fine.” I say thanks again and leave the shop. As I step outside, I open the map to look at it. Fun fact: Equestria’s maps work like what you’d see while playing World of Warcraft. The map shows where you currently are and what direction you’re facing.
“Well, that’s helpful. This should make it easier to Traverse Canterlot. I say with enthusiasm. I look at the map and turn towards the street that will get me to Canterlot the fastest. This city is almost as big as Albequerque, but from an outside view, looks smaller. On the way, I pass by many shops and stalls. Some of which sell things like skateboards, scooters, and other gear for those. Others sell produce, tools, furniture, jewelry, and luxury items. I’m pretty sure I even saw a couple libraries somewhere.
~About an hour later~
I eventually make it to Canterlot Castle and walk up to the front gate. I don’t really run or jog anywhere, unless I’m going to be late, or I’m in a hurry. The guards posted see me coming and, like the other guards, tense up and get ready just in case shenanigans ensue. I stop about three feet from the portcullis and say “Hello, I’m , uh, Talon. I was wondering if I can get in to talk to the princesses.”
the guard to my left looks at me suspiciously, but replies “ You can, but we’ll notify the other guards to keep an eye on you. We don’t get much dragons through here, and some have been….less passive.”
I nod in understanding and say “Okay, thank you. I promise I won’t cause trouble.” I walk past and after I’m out of earshot, I mumble “It’s not like I’m much of a threat to an entire batallion of guards anyway.” I continue to walk down what looks to be the main hallway. I arrive at a big set of double doors, and assume this is the Auditorium. I walk over to the guard and ask “Way I enter? I need to talk to the princesses about something Discord wrote me.”
The guard looks at me and says “Not yet. There are petitioners in there talking to them. You’ll have to wait at least an hour.”
An hour? crap. Well, I might as well sit down and enjoy boredom. I sit down and start drawing shapes on the floor with an erasable marker I found. The guard notices what I’m doing and states “You’d better clean that up before you enter. Graffiti is not tolerated much.”
“Sorry, I’m just really bored. This marker is erasable, though if I had my vita, I’d draw on that…” I say before facepalming as I realize I *do* have my Vita. It’s in the camouflage jacket. “ Crap! I do have my Vita! I forgot all about it.” After erasing the shapes from the floor, I put my pack on the floor and pull out my other jacket. I reach into the top right pocket and remove my Playstation Vita. I turn it on, noticing the power level is almost full. The guard looks at it curiously, but says nothing yet. I put in my password lock: Over Nine thousand, and use the couch screen to scroll down to my games folder. Well, I don’t think anypony would approve of me playing Assassin’s Creed, Killzone, or Call of Duty, so I open Terraria and start adding on to my small and so far, simple, wooden house.
The guard, now very curious about the sounds of two-dimensional Minecraft, walks over to see what I’m doing. I see him look at the Vita’s screen as soon as I get attacked by three zombies during a blood moon, the only time that zombies can open doors. “Dang it, stupid zombies, and their blood moon. Sorry, this is a game called ‘terraria’. It’s a survival sandbox game where you can do just about anything, including build your own house or town. Night time in game is the dangerous part, because Zombies, Slimes, and flying eye demons come out and attack.”
I don’t get to finish explaining, because the doors open and who I’m pretty sure are ‘petitioners’ walk through and leave. “Okay, you can enter now, but usually, the princesses are...Edgy after petitions that have no point.” The guard says. I thank him and enter, walking up to the princesses before entering a deep bow.
“Good morning, Princesses. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” I say as I come up from the bow. “Do you know anything about a chaos storm Discord made 1,000 years ago? And is there a way for me to return to my original home?”
The princesses look at me with surprise, and curiosity. Being a brony, I already know which Princess is who; Celestia is the older sister, with flowing, aurora colored, mane and tail, white fur, and a cutie mark that looks like the sun. Luna is the younger of the two who has a crescent moon cutie mark, dark blue fur, and, like Celestia, flowing mane and tail, only colored like the night sky. Princess Celestia asks “I see, I take it you’re one of the ‘travelers’ brought here by the storm?” I nod a confirmation. “Well, unfortunately, there is not a way to return, but you are welcome to become a citizen of Equestria. I’m Princess Celestia, and this is my Sister, Luna. we co-rule Equestria. May I ask what your name is?” she says.
I reply “Well, Back on Earth, My name was Thomas Burns. I was a human, but the storm apparently decided I look better as a dragon. I guess, I’ll go by a name I told one of the guards; Talon.”
Celestia nods and says “Talon sounds good. Definitely a name for a dragon. So, what were your hobbies on, Earth, it was?” I nod and say
“Yup, Earth. Well, I was working at a place called Aztec Ruins National Monument. But hobbies I like include playing games, Hanging out with my friends, reading, and watching a tv show called ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’.” I smirk and add “That show is actually the reason I’m not freaking out. I’m pretty sure Faust somehow glimpsed into Equestria and made a show of it.”
Both Celestia and Luna blink in surprise. “Sister, how is it possible that a being from another planet can get glimpses of our world? We are confused.” Luna says to her sister.
“Well, It can happen, Luna. Do you remember the other two travelers who knew about us beforehand?” Luna nods and turns back to face me.
“Well, anyway, I was hoping I can live in Ponyville. That’s the most familiar place I know of from the show; that’s where it mostly takes place.” I say sheepishly.
The sun princess replies “I don’t see why not. But if you don’t mind, you will have to write Friendship letters to me, same as my student and her friends.”
“Well, that sounds reasonable. I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to actually write a friendship letter. Never did back home, because my step-dad was kind of…..Against bronies.” I say. “Hey, this will give me a use of all the paper in my binder! Hmm, I should probably finish any school work I have with me, and get rid of the junk I don’t need.”
Celestia shakes her head in amusement as I talk to myself. Once I stop talking about pictures hidden in my binder I can’t let the mane six see, she says “Well, you’re welcome to go whenever you want. I assume you don’t have any money from here?” I shake my head in confirmation of not having money. She then adds “Okay then. Here’s a small amount of bits to help you get started, and a ticket voucher for the station. I hope you enjoy your time in Equestria.”
I shake my head vigorously and say “Oh yeah, I’ll definitely enjoy being here. Though I wonder how I’ll charge my Vita without electricity. Ah well, I’ll probably use watermelons, and a bowl of salt water for that. Or I can make a makeshift water turbine to charge my vita. Science for the win!” I smile a bit and say goodbye to the princesses. as I walk to the door. After it closes, I say to the guard, who is still curious about my vita, “Well, Looks like I’m on my way to Ponyville. I wonder if I can get a job with Pinkie at Sugar Cube Corner.Anyway, see ya. Have a good day.”
The trip to the station was rather uneventful, however, once I reach the station, I see a group of guards ponies waiting for me. I facepalm and walk towards the guards, who already saw me. “Lemme guess. You want to know why I’m here and where I’m going?”I deadpan. The captain of the guard, who I’m pretty sure is Shining Armor, says “Actually, I was going to say, You better not hurt my sister, Twilight.” Hah! I knew it. I facepalm again, before saying “I would never hurt Twilight, Shining. My parents taught me better than to hurt females. Also, I technically already know you, Twi, and the rest of the girls by name and appearacne, but that’s only because of a Tv show I used to watch back on Earth.” Shining opens his mouth to say something, but I cut him off and add “Please don’t make me explain it again. If you want to know, please just ask Princess Celestia. Long story short, because chaos from over 1,000 years ago. Now can I please get my ticket and go to Ponyville? I’m rather stressed from being pulled from my home without having the option to go back.” Shining give me an annoyed look, but nods in understanding. He and his fellow guards walk off. I sigh in relief and walk up to the counter. “Hello, may I trade this in for a ticket to Ponyville?”
The pony behind the counter looks at the voucher and says “Sure thing, hon. Here you go.” She pull out a ticket and hands it to me, in return for the voucher. I give thanks and walk towards the train to Ponyville.
