Escape From The ShadowRealm
Chapter I: Escape From The ShadowRealm
I was jumping from cliff to cliff in the black abyss that was the ShadowRealm. There was a Shadowraith flying after me, but its pursuit was useless. I was getting out of this hell, no matter what.
I looked up at the exit from the ShadowRealm: a massive grey door with a green glow emanating from it, just like in the dream I had when I had become the wielder of the Astani War Talons. I shot up the cliff face, the Talons` claws keeping me from falling. The dim moon of the ShadowRealm reflected off of my Astani armor & my bright blue eyes. I reached the top, where a Krunk immediately charged at me, its anvil-shaped head about to crush my ribs. I blocked the attack with the blue energy blades attached to my knuckles. They cut straight through the beast, leaving behind a nearly clear blue orb bouncing against the ground. The ball was absorbed into my Talons, energizing them & replenishing my life force.
"That bastard Yabu took everything from me. He almost killed my grandfather, & when I saved him, I had to stay in this hellhole. Now, I actually have a chance at seeing him again. Vargas, here I come!"
I ran like the wind towards the door & jumped across the pit that separated it from me. I nearly fell, but I hooked my claws into the edge of the pit & puled myself up. There was only one thing that kept me from freedom now: a phalanx of Yabu`s elite guards rushing towards me.
"Nothing is going to halt my escape! Anything that tries will be destroyed!"
I charged the group, my Talons emitting a bright blue energy as I thrust my palms out repeatedly, sending out balls of blue fire that completely incinerated anything they hit. I was only a few yards away when I jumped, firing a stream of fireballs as I flew over them. My hands touched the door, & everything went black.
I woke up in a field, a small house in the distance. I looked down to my arms & saw that the Talons were still there.
Well, at least one thing is still normal. This is definitely not Astara. Everything looks so much... brighter. Happier, even. Might as well see if there`s any civilization nearby. That house seems like a good place to start. Or at least better than anything else out here.
I stood up & walked towards the house, my Talons ready to defend or attack. The door was just a few feet away, when I heard a sound from behind the house. It sounded almost like... singing?
"Singing? Interesting."
I continued around the house, when I got to the back, what I saw shocked me to the core.
A light yellow pegasus, female from the looks of it, was fluttering around the small yard, feeding a large variety of animals. I noticed that her mane & tail were a light pink color, & three butterflies were arranged in a triangle on her flank.
Wow. Am I dead? Singing pegasi with tattoos on their flanks. This is impossible.
The pegasus saw me, & darted behind what appeared to be a chicken coop with a barely audible eep. She peeked out from behind the shack & saw me looking at her. Her mouth opened again, & it was barely audible, but there. She was talking!
"W-What are you!?" She asked me, trembling with fear. I took a few stepes forward, & a bear blocked my path. I reached out with a hand & pushed it aside, continuing until I was but a few steps from the pegasus.
"My name is Vexx. Can you tell me where I am?"
"You`re in Equestria. Ponyville to be specific. Where are you from?"
"First of all, what are you?"
"I`m a pegasus pony. What are you?"
"An Astani. Clearly, youve never heard of my race, or youd know who I was."
Equestria? Ponyville? These "ponies" clearly have no skills in naming their cities.
"Im from another world. Astara. I had been locked inside the ShadowRealm for a while, & I found a way out that brought me here. Can you help me see if theres any way for me to get home?"
"Um, one of my friends might be able to help you. Can you stay here for a few minutes? I`ll go get her."
"Sure. First, do you have a name?"
"F-Fluttershy. You said your name was Vexx?"
"Yeah."
"Nice to meet you, Vexx." Fluttershy held out a hoof, which I shook with my Talon. It seemed to almost hurt her, until I remembered that I was wearing razor sharp claws on my hands.
If I could just take these damn things off for a few minutes at least...
Fluttershy came back a minute later, something even more shocking next to her: a light purple unicorn with a dark purple & pink mane & a mark of a pink star on her flank.
What`s with the tattoos? Do they mean something?
As they got closer, I could hear the unicorn talking to Fluttershy.
"-Not know wheres hes from, but he sounds dangerous. Either way, we have to help him if we can."
Fluttershy & the unicorn walked up to me, & the unicorn stepped forward, her expression turning studious.
"You said that your name was Vexx, right?"
"Yeah. You?"
"Twilight Sparkle." She held out her hoof just like Fluttershy had done before.
"You might not want to do that." I raised up my Talons, which Twilight began studying, taking notes with a quill & scroll held in some kind of purple aura. I noticed that her horn was emitting that same glow. Was she controlling them, or was it just a coincidence?
"Is something wrong with your horn?" I asked her. She looked at me like I was crazy, & I had never heard of what she was doing.
"You`ve never seen magic before?"
"I`ve seen magic, just different kinds. This, I have no idea what it is."
"Well, Vexx, there are three different pony races: earth ponies, unicorns like me, & pegasi like Fluttershy. Every race has its own form of magic. Pegasi can fly due to a special type of magic that lets their wings support their bodies, since theyre clearly too small to hold up a full-sized pony. Unicorns can use all kinds of magic. Theres levitation like what Im using right now, which is the most basic form of unicorn magic. Then theres other types of magic, from locator spells all the way to illusion spells which are borderline impossible to use. There`s only one unicorn I know of that can use illusion magic. Earth ponies have a very unique magic, because it lets them grow plants & crops, which would be extremely difficult for pegasi or unicorns. Basically, they have a way with plants."
As she spoke, I was simply put into a daze by her over-explanation. My brain was running at a thousand miles a minute just trying to comprehend what she was saying, & it hurt to try. I hadn`t even noticed that she was waving her hoof in front of my face, trying to get my attention.
"Vexx. Vexx. Vexx!"
"Huh? Sorry."
"As I was saying, what`s with those things?" Twilight asked me, pointing to my Talons.
"That depends. How much time do you have, & is there any place that I can sit down? I`ve been running for about two years straight now."
"Okay, you`re gonna have to explain that to me. Come on, I can take you to my house."
I followed her into a small town nearby that was filled with even more ponies of all different colors & species. Some of the things they did absolutely confused me. For example, I had seen a pegasus pushing a raincloud over top of a garden, & then jump on it to make it rain. How the hell was this even possible? I`d definitely have to ask Twilight about that.
