Chapters The End and the Beginning
It was a warm summer evening with cooling breezes grasping at Erik's cheeks. He had decided to go for a little walk before sitting down and watching TV with his parents. He really needed to clear his head. All this past week, news reporters had been going on about something that happened in space and it was somehow going to effect our way of life.
Everyone, of course, shrugged this off. They figured nothing would happen and they could go on living with their happy lives. Erik and his family (his mom, dad, twin sister, and two little brother) were no exception to the ignorance of the so called "End Times".
Suddenly, the streetlight Erik was walking under went out, along with the rest going up and down the street he was on. Within minutes, the whole neighborhood seemed to be out of power. He quickly ran back home to see if everyone was alright. They were just fine, but were all gathered ouside to watch as the city in the backgroud shut down and the sound of car crashes were heard. They all secretly prayed no one had gotten hurt.
A few more minutes went by without anything happening. All was quiet, making the silence louder than their own breathiig. They all waited for something to happen, anything to break the silence. Then, they got their wish. The town lunatic began running around and screaming, "The end is here! The end is here! There is a one thousand mile meteor heading for Earth and we'll all parish! The end is here!"
Everyone within the area visably shiver, hoping and praying that it wasn't true, but to their dismay, darkness decended upon them. They all looked up to see something huge block the full moon. They all gasped and began saying their goodbyes. At least it was a swift death. There would be no pain and suffering, just instant death.
The meteor came closer and closer, quickly engulfing the entire city in darkness. As vision became impared, so did the minds and souls of the victims. Within seconds, the entire planet was struck be the meteor with an inaudible sound of billions of lives being lost within seconds. There were no more humans in the universe now, all except one.
Erik woke up immediately and looked around. All he could see for miles around was white. He looked in all the directions, only to find the same bright color. After a few moments, he spoke to break the loud silence, "Hello? Is there anyone there?" No answer came. he sat there until another wuestion formed in his head. "Am I dead?" As if on que, an unfamiliar voice sounded.
"Yes. I'm afraid you are dead." Erik looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the strange voice. "Do not be afraid. I am not going to harm you." Erik nodded as memories returned of the final moments of life with hi family. Tears began to flow freely down his face from the sorrow of the billions of lives lost.
"Please, do not dispair for the lives that were lost. You are here, safe and sound. All the lives that were lost were taken to Heaven or Hell, whichever they belonged in." Erik nodded and sniffled while wiping his nose and eyes.
"Why am I here then? Why was I taken here instead of the other two?" Erik asked, his voice cracking a bit.
"It is because you are needed in another world. The same event that just destroyed your world is about to destroy another. You know the signs of the catastrophe, so you are essential in saing the world." The voice was sincere and bold. It must not be kidding.
"Okay then. What world is it? Have I heard of it before?" Erik asked as he stood up, now completely interested in this new development for his destiny.
"You have heard about it. It is the magical world of Equestria." Erik gasped from shock. Was he seriously about to be sent to a world full of color talking ponies? It seemed so. "You will be given time to adjust to the lifestyle, but in three years time, the signs will begin to appear and you will have to take action."
"So, let me get this straight. You're sending me to a world full of colorful, magical, flying ponies and you expect me to save them from the disaster that destroyed my world?" Erik asked, confused for the moment.
"Precisely." The voice said.
Erik thought this over for a moment. He had to admit, it was a ncer and more colorful world then the last one and if he saves it, he'll get to live there until he dies and goes to heaven. "Alright. I accept." Erik said as a smile found its way across his lips.
"Excellent. Now, you will not be able to choose your appearence and yoou will not have your cutie mark. You will arrive in the world with your current age and you cannot choose where you will arrive. Is that alright?" It was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes. I understand. I'm just happy I get another chance at living." Erik said with enthusiiasm.
"Indeed. Now, close your eyes and you wihen you open them, you will be in Equestria." Erik nodded and did as he was told. When he opened his eyes, he foulnd the whole world to be spinning. He could immediately tell that he had arrived becaue of the now cascading pastel colors that blurred in his vision.
Erik tried to stand, but only fell over again. He thougt, when he fell, that he would've hit the ground already, but he just kept falling. A few seconds passed before he hit the ground hard, bounced and fell, and hit the gorund again, only to do that same action a few more times before finally hitting the ground for the last time.
The world spun even worse now, especially after all of that hitting and falling. Erik looked around again as his vision finally cleared. he didn't recognize this place from the few episodes he'd seen of the show, but he figured he'd be able to-
Everything suddenly went black as something very hard and tough hit the back of his head. Before his hearing left him, Erik could hardly make out a vioce saying something and the squelching of hooves in mud. He barely felt the rain on his body as he was lifted up and everything blacked out.
Author's Note
It took me a while to map out how this chapter would go. I hope I didn't disappoint. Enjoy!
New World, New Life
The world seemed to be coming back to Erik. It seemed like he had died and came back to life after a century or more. He stirred as he slowly gained control of his senses, little by little. First, he heard the crackle of a nearby fire. Next, he found himself shivering and frigid even under the warm blanket. His coat was also damp and stiff from the partial drying. The rest of his senses would take a bit to come back to him, seeing as his head still ached badly from the blow he suffered earlier.
He gradually felt dizzy and nauseous as his vision returned to him. The world was spinning and he felt his gag reflex acting up, but he forced it down. Erik slowly let his eyes open on their own and tried to sit up, immediately regretting it when a stab of intense pain shot through his head and body making him groan and whimper loudly.
Erik was now breathing heavily and tried to fend of the tears that stung his eyes. They had been brought of by the pain he was now going through. He kept whimpering as his body began to shake from the pain and cold air from outside the cave. As he tried to pull himself back together, he heard a gasp and the rushing of hooves across the stone floor. Soon, gentle hooves wrapped around him and began stroking his coat softly. A soft, almost motherly voice cooed into Erik's ear, trying to comfort him.
Erik just sat there and revealed in the moment, hoping it would last forever. But, like all good things, it ended too quickly. The hooves slwoly pulled away and one slid under his chin to make him look at his comforter. He was taken aback as his gaze rested on the face of a young pegasus mare wih magenta eyes, black, dark gray, and gray mane and tail, and a orange-ish yellow coat? A brown coat? It was hard to tell from the light of the fire cascading off of the walls of the cave.
She was wearing a safari hat, like what a human would see tourists where to Africa, and some kind of green explorer uniform. Her cutie mark looked to be a compass. how interesting. The mare above Erik giggled when she followed his gaze, he just blushed and looked back up at her. "Sorry." He said as he looked down at the hard, cold floor.
"Its fine." She said with a warm smile. "You wouldn't be the first young colt I've caught staring at my sexy flank." The mare joked.
"Yeah." Erik sadi, not knowing what else to say.
"So, feel better now? " The mare asked while giving Erik a shoulder-hug with the foreleg still around his back.
"Not really. Everything aches and hurts." He moved and groaned for effect.
"I bet. After the fall you had and the tough blows you suffered, you are lucky to be alive." She had a look of concern on her face, meaning she was very concerned for Erik. "Anyway, you should be better in a week or two, as long as you rest. My name's Daring Doo, by the way." She said, holding a hoof out for Erik to shake. "What about you?" She added after a moment of hesitation.
Erik looked away and said nothing. He hadn't though of giving himself a pony name. What kinds of names did they use anyway?
Daring Doo lowered her hoof, noticing the distant stare in Erik's eyes. "Do you have a name?" She asked, breaking him from his thoughts.
"No. I never really knew my parents. They both died when I was little and I was just cast out to live on my own." It was an outright lie, but Erik hoped that she would buy it.
Daring Doo gapsed and opened aand closed her mouth, trying, in vain, to think of something to say. "I'm so sorry." She finally said. "That must have been horrible. I'm guessing your dad was a unicorn and your mom was a bat-pony? It would explain why you look like and why the died."
Erik's eyes widened as he took in what she said. "What do you mean? What do I look like?" he began looking himself over, seeing that he had bat wings, a horn in the middle of his forehead, slightly furry ears, and fangs in his mouth. He gasped. " That does explain a lot." He said quietly.
"Yeah. I'm guessing you got your eyes from your mom too?" Daring Doo asked with a slight smile tugging at her lips.
"Wait, my eyes?" Erik said with a confused look.
"Yeah, just look." She said as she hoffed him her compass. She was right. Erik had bright red-slitted eyes that resembled a cat's.
"Wow." He said more to himself then to her.
"I think you look great. Also, you don't have a mane or tail, so you might want to get a suit or something to cover your... uh..." She fidgeted with the last few words, gesturing to Erik's bottom half.
Erik blushed furiously and quickly covered his lower half with the blankets. "Don't be ashamed, you look great and even cute." She smiled at him, reassuring him. Erik still blsuhed and kept the covers over him.
"I'm not comfortable with showing myself." He said as his blush began to die down again. Daring Doo just chuckled and stood up.
"Yeah. Honestly, I'd be embarrassed too if I looked like a colt, but had the parts of a filly." Erik froze at those words. Did he really have girls parts? He quickly lifted the covers and gapsed, quickly lowering them back down with horror. Daring Doo turned back to him and gave him a look of sympathy.
"Its okay, Bronze. We'll get you to the Princess in a few days and we can get this sorted out." She said, doing her best to smile like nothing was wrong.
Erik nodded, then caught what she said. "Bronze?" He said with a quizzical look.
"Yeah. Since you don't have a name, I fugured you need one. Bronze Shield?" She asked, looking at him for an answer.
A smile graced his lips and he beamed. "I like it. Thanks, Daring Doo." He said, still smiling.
"No problem." She returned the smile. She noticed he was still shaking and trotted over to the pile of extra wood. She grabbed a piece with her mouth and brought it over and laid it on the dying fire, blowing and stoking it to bring it back to life. Once it was going again, she trotted back to Bronze and pulled him, along with the blankets, closer to the fire, smiling as she laid down beside him.
"What are you doing?" He asked as she slid under the covers with him and pushed him to lay on his good side, seeing less bruises on said side. She brought him close and wrapped her wings around him underneath the blankets, adding more warmth to the shivering colt.
"Keeping you warm." She simply said as she nuzzled his cheek affectionately and pulled his head lcose to her chest. When she felt Bronze relax and nuzzle back in her embrace,her thoughts began to return. 'Why do I feel compelled to help this strange colt? I just feel like this is what I'm supposed to do and it just feels... right.' Her thoughts ended there as she heard and felt the light breathing of the colt in her forelegs. 'Those thought can wait until tomorrow. Right now, I need sleep.' A yawn escaped her mouth as she slowly drifted into the blissful land of dreams. Knowing very well that she had a big trip ahead of her the next day: getting the unique colt to the Princesses.
Author's Note
I hope I addressed all of the mistakes from last chapter, it was late when I worte it and I wasn't thinking all that clearly. Anyway, here's the next chapter, since the story keeps flowing through my head and to make up for any confusion in the last chapter. Enjoy!
Dark Side
Bronze and Daring Doo were walking through White Tail Wood on their way to Canterlot. Daring Doo insisted that he should be taken to the Princess right away. Bronze just couldn't figure out why. There were several other questions that lingered in his mind, like: Why did she name him Bronze? Why was she calling him a colt when he had the parts of a filly? Or why was she even helping him out in the first place?
It was all just too confusing to figure it out by himself, so he cleared his throat and decided to ask her. "Hey, Daring Doo?"
"Yeah? What's up?" She said as she turned and gave him a warm smile.
"I was just wondering if I could ask you a few questions?" Bronze said, rubbing the back of his neck with a hoof as they kept walking.
"Sure. Ask me anything!" She said enthusiastically.
"Okay. Why did you name me Bronze?" Bronze asked with a curious look on his face.
"Well, its because of the color of your coat. It's light, but it reminds me of the color of Bronze." She said, still smiling as if there wasn't a care in the world.
"Okay then, next question. Why do you keep refering me to be a colt when I clearly have filly parts? Shouldn't I be a filly rather than a colt?" These two questions sort of put him on edge.
"Well, I mostly go by looks and not parts. Plus, I'm pretty sure you don't have all the parts of a mare." Daring Doo stated as her smile faded.
Bronze though for a moment. "Wait, yes I do! What do you mean I don't have all the parts?" He was confused now.
"What I mean is: you can't get pregnant. You have the mating parts, yes. But you don't have the parts that let you grow a foal inside you. Or to even produce an egg for that matter." She put a hoof to her chin as she stopped to ponder the possibilities that had occured to her just now.
"Oh." Bronze said as he looked down in embarrassment. "So, final question?" She nodded for him to continue as her thought process ended and she stood up and continued walking. "Why do you even care for me? Why did you sop and help me even though I'm a freak?" Bronze asked, his voice cracking slightly at the last word.
Daring Doo stopped mid-stride and turned to face him. She had a look of sympathy and something else that Bronze couldn't place. She slowly walked to Bronze and lifted a hoove to caress Bronze's cheek. She smiled and relayed her answer. "Because I couldn't just leave a helpless pony, no matter what they look like, out in the cold rain to suffer and die. It's just pony nature to help others. Also, I just feel... attached to you...like I'm supposed to protect you or something." While she had been talking, her hoof had slid off of Bronze's face and back to the ground where she wa now looking.
Bronze smiled and immediately wrapped his hooves around her neck in a big hug. "Thank you for helping me. It really means a lot." They stayed in the embrace for a few moments, just enjoying the closeness.
"It's no problem, Bronze. I'm always happy to help." She said as she broke the embrace and began walking again saying, "C'mon! We need to get to Canter Palace before it gets dark!" Daring quickly picked up the pace and trotted along the path with Bronze following closely behind.
After a few more hours of travel, the sky darkened and was quickly filled with the light of the moon and the stars that surrounded it. Daring Doo and Bronze hadn't made good time as the rain had picked up again, making them take cover for an hour before it was light enough to continue.
They were now at the edge of the forrest and were gazing upon the Giant Palace above them. It was definitely a sight to behold as both of them stared at its brilliant and picturesque buildings and towers. It only seemed like something off of a postcard.
After shaking her head, she turned to Bronze with a sad look. "This is as far as I go, I'm afraid. I was heading to another mission when I stopped to help you. I'm sorry, but you're on your own from here. Can You handle that?" Her face now held a look of genuine concern. Bronze nodded slowly as he thought of how he would get past all of the ponies, including the guards, to get to the Princess. It'll be nothing short of a miracle.
"I'll be fine. If anything, I can just take off running until I lose them." He said with a fake smile. Daring just nodded and pulled him into a warm hug, nuzzling his neck and cheek affectionately. Bronze blushed furiously, but enjoyed the contact.
"We'll see each other again. I'll see to that." She smiled and Bronze returned it. With one last look over her shoulder as she passed Bronze, Daring Doo began her journey to her next adventure, silently praying to Celestia that Bronze would come out just fine.
As soon as the mare was out of sight, Bronze trotted toward the castle, thinking of ways to get in with out the guards or other ponies see him. He could fly up into the garden or court yard and sneak into the castle from there, or he could just fly up to the Princess's window and wait for her to return to he chamber, or he had the obvious option of flying straight to the front gate and face the guards head-on.
Not liking the idea of being sneaky, Bronze decided on the latter. Even though it wasn't the safest way to go about it, it was still a chance. He quickly shifted into a gallop and lifted off on unsteady wings. The flight wouldn't take very long, which left him to his thoughts. What would the guards do when they saw him? What wuld the other ponies do? What would the Princess do? What if she immediately threw him inot the dungeon the second she saw him? Bronze really hoped it wouldn't come to that.
Soon enough, he heard the gasps of other ponies below him as he flew over the town. Young foals coward and hid behind their parents upon seeing him. Some of the bigger colts and fillies were shaking as he passed them. Altough, most of them just stared or gawked. Bronze had expected this reaction, but didn't imagine it'd leave him feeling even more like a freak.
Seeing the front gate approaching, Bronze landed and began to walk towards it, glancing at the guards who stood perfectly still like the human guards in England. As he approached, he could see both guards visably cringe and the sight of him and grow tense as he came closer. When he was directly in front of them, they glared at him, flaring their wings to block his way. Bronze watched as their minds seemed to click and cause them to get into combat stances.
Bronze tensed as well as he began to back away from them. They follow him with their wings at full attention and eyes locked on their target. Feeling adrenaline and fear take control of his body, Bronze quickly turned and galloped the other direction. The guards soon followed in hot pursuit. After a few moments of running,
Bronze took off into the air, hoping to lose them. They kept up with him every twist and turn he threw at them, which weren't hard to keep u with seeing as how he just starting using his wings. He kept flying until he heard and felt something go right past his head. He looked down to see unicorn guards chasing him and firing snaring spells at him. Bronze began to push his wings to the limit as more and more guards joined in the chase.
After it seemed like the unicorns stopped firing, it picked up again except from a different direction. The were shooting at him from of top of the roofs! Bronze pushed faster and faster, trying to will himself to keep going. He knew he wouldn't last long as the exertion began to take its tole on his body. He would soon be throw in the dungeon or be dealt with however the guards felt he should be.
As Bronze closed his eyes, he felt something hit one of his hindlegs and he felt a vine-like sensation climb up his leg and over his whole body. He opened his eyes to see his wings be strapped to his bod, making him decend and break-neck speed. He closed his eyes again as he saw the incoming impact that would surely be the end of him. At least he would have to face the wrath of the Princess.
He soon felt his head slam into the lamp post and knock it completely over. He felt white-hot pain shoot through his body as the world around him was swallow by the burning tears in his eyes. How had he survived that? How- his thought were interupted as he felt a warm liquid drip from his head and down onto the siewalk below him. He looked down to see a small pool of blood growing in size as the headwound kept bleeding. He soon began to lose consciousness, but not until he saw the huge guards rushing towards him. Instead of picking him up, the just lifted the spell and began to beat him and kick him, yelling insults and profanity at him.
Feeling his body begin to shut down and his consciousness fade, he heard a gentle, but stern voice tell the guards to stop. He looked up through his blackened eyes at the gleaming alicorn that was Princess Celetsia. Behind her was Princess Luna, looking shocked and appalled at the state I was now in. Celestia held her gaze at me, which soon turned to concern as she barked out an order and the guards immediately began to lift Bronze on their backs and carry him back to the palace. By now, Bronze had lost most of his senses. The only ones that were left were sight and sound. He watched as both Princesses trotted beside him, saying that he was going to be alright. Celestia's warm smile was the last thing Bronze saw before exhaustion and the throws of immense pain took him into an unpleasant slumber, wishing that he were dead rahter than being healed.