As the Sand Falls...
Pain...
For centuries all I have known was suffering as my wooden flesh, bound in iron, kindled and crackled with the embers of betrayal. My body, blackened and hollow, still stood tall amongst the ruins of a sanctuary built for me by those I thought friends. Around me stands a tall and mighty forest, yet untamed by the denizens of this world, and the creatures who made my wood their home. Even now, a pack of wooden creatures much like myself, but in a lupine form, wandered somewhat aimlessly about the grove. These Timberwolves, as the ponies called them, were the closest things I had to sons and daughters. It was my power that brought them into the world, and nothing less than a god could truly be rid of them. No matter how much you destroy them, their spirit will always make their way back to me to be reformed.
The forest was abuzz with activity when I regained my consciousness after centuries of rest. Something, or someone, was disturbing the feral peace of the wood. The wild winds whistled into my ears of a filly, scared and lost in the darkness. Though she has naught to fear from my domain, years of frightening tales kept her on her hooves, her wings clamped tight to her sides. She jumped at every shadow, shivered at every sound as my hounds shepherded towards a safer portion of the wood. On a whim, I called them to lead her to me as there was much to glean about the state of the world beyond my borders. What little I knew came from a rather young zebra mare who got lost like this filly many years ago.
Scootaloo was running for her life. Just out of her vision, she could see various were lights and glowing eyes popping in and out of existence that hounded her in the dark, never entering the light that filtered through the trees. Sometimes they would appear in front of her, causing her to turn away and go a different direction. If she were a wiser pony, she would have noticed that they were herding her past various dangers like a bush of Darkseed Brambles or patches of Poison Joke. It wasn't long till she barreled through a thin wall of leaves into a small glade surrounded by stones. Looking behind her, she could not see the monsters that hounded her for what seemed like days, nor could she hear anything but the random bird calls and chirping insects. She sighed and sat down to catch her breath. Safe, she was safe at last.
Looking around, she saw that the stones were strangely shaped, as if time had worn down them from massive blocks of stone to their current, smoother shape. She even saw some that looked vaguely like a pony. In the center of it all was a massive tree, black as night and looked as if it was smoldering from a recent fire. It had two great iron bands wrapped tight near the base and near what looked like a large knot near the branches. Cautiously, she approached the blackened husk and felt a deep sadness for the tree. It looked so old, she couldn't even count that high, and yet it was burnt to a crisp. She tentatively placed a hoof on the trunk and brought away a thick coat of ash.
And what do we have here? A voice echoed in the glen. It sounded hoarse, cracked, and a deep rumble emanated from the tree. A young pony, wandering, stumbling into my wood. What dost thou seek in this defiled glade? Scootaloo immediately turned around, pressing her back to the tree with a frantic breath. She couldn't see anything around, even after circling the trunk a few times. A humored chuckle came from above her. Little filly, thou hast naught to fear from the forest so long as thou harmest it not, but ‘twould be wise to take a closer look at what thou see’st, to find what thou seek’st.
Scootaloo blanched. She could feel the blood drain from her face as she turned slowly and looked up at the tree a second time. Up past the bound knot was a tangle of branches with two glowing orbs that burned like fiery coals. She scrambled backwards, only to find herself sitting in a small chair made out of wood. Surely even in this age it is considered rude to not accept thy host's hospitality. Now, what is it that you seek, little one?
Scootaloo trembled beneath it's piercing gaze, whimpering out a response. The once mighty tree fell to it's knees and brought it's head closer to Scootaloo. Forgive me; thy voice was too quiet and meek for mine ears to catch. I would ask thee to speak aloud so that I may hear and heed. Scootaloo covered her head with her hooves and replied quite loudly. "I-I'm l-l-lost! I didn't mean to Tr-tr-tres..." She paused, trying to remember the word only to have the tree answer for her. Trespass?
She pointed her hoof at him and exclaimed. "Yeah! That's it! Trespass!" She paused and shied away from him once more. "I really didn't mean to trespass, mister..." The tree creature leaned back and laughed hoarsely. He continued laughing as she gave him a confused glance. "Whats so funny? Huh?" He unwound one of his long, claw like fingers that were wrapped around his shoulders, knocking ash away from his spindly hands and face as he wiped an invisible tear away.
Many creatures over the ages have I met, and yet never have I met one quite like thee. He shifted his tall form and somehow, she couldn't see how, he returned to a standing position. Now come, the hour is late, and to thy home must thou be returned. The forest shall not harm thee on thy way. With a nod, the forest seemed to brighten a bit and a path she did not see before was made apparent. She dashed off towards it, turning just before and thanking the nice tree man thing before disappearing into the trees.
The glade was silent for a few moments before I spoke. Keep an eye on her and make sure she returneth from where she came. Barely visible in the shadows of the glade was another humanoid figure, impossibly tall and wearing an impeccable black suit seemed to fade from existence. Yes.... return to your home, little one. My vengeance shall be swift and terrible once my bindings fall... Now all I had to do was wait for the filly to return and spread word of a new, approachable creature in the forest. Surely, a curious unicorn or two would take the bait. My eyes closed once more, looking back upon my long life. All the way back to the beginning...
James had a love/hate relationship with conventions. On the one hand, he got to see so many cool people and hang out with friends old and new alike. On the other hand, he had to deal with the large crowds, smelly geeks and nerds who need to learn how to bathe properly, stuck up content creators who think they are above everyone despite only having like 2 subscribers. Worst of all was the costumes. Fat guys wearing sailor fuku, or even costumes that were really massive. Like that one guy who looked like a Dullahan. Great costume, but he had the dexterity of whale. Ser Dullahan actually stepped on his foot at one point. James spent the next 10 minutes trying to make sure his foot wasn't broken.
Afterwards, James made his way to the merchant's alley thing, or whatever silly name they had given it, intent on purchasing something mildly expensive or cool. Those usually went hand in hand. It all really depended on just how humble the seller was. There were some interesting shops, but only one really caught his eye with how absurd it was. An old man was sitting behind a shoddy booth with a simple sign that said "Free". On the table was various detritus one would find outside. A twig, a stone, a vial of clear water, a half melted candle, a dandelion, even a cracked mirror. Seeing that James was inspecting his 'wares' the merchant grinned.
"Anything catch your eye? I can guarantee that everything here is rather... special" He chuckled a bit. "Please take something, I insist."
James scoffed and picked up the twig. "Just what so special about this junk, anywa--" James never got to finish that sentence before he simply disappeared, along with the old merchant.
Site of what will become the Everfree Forest
Time Immemorial
James awoke feeling rather stiff and wooden. He groaned, the sound a lot louder than he expected. Upon opening his eyes, he was greeted with the blinding light of the sun shining through a canopy of trees. He tried to block out the light, but to no avail. His one rather meaty hand was now impossibly thin. James gasped, the sound more ethereal than it should have been. Frantically, he took a look at himself. He was now tall, like, really, really tall. Standing up, he could just have the wooden boughs on his head brush the bottom of the canopy. Another thing was that he was now a tree. Which explains his height and and the fact that now his head and back were covered in thick, green foliage. He wasn't much of a botanist, but he could swear that he was a sweetgum. He always hated sweetgums. Their sticky sap got EVERYWHERE during the spring.
Exploring his surroundings revealed a place that was like something out of a story book. Small, winged creatures floated around, chatting aimlessly amongst themselves. They looked like really thin horses with gossamer wings or something. The entire forest had a sort of ethereal atmosphere that enthralled him more surely than the biggest tittied Brazillian whore. He spent that whole first day doing nothing else but exploring the fairy tale wonderland...
Author's Note
Why is it that I cannot seem to escape these wooden character?! What is next, a Puppet? GEEZ! I can't seem to get over the writer's block for the stories I WANT to write, so I am trying this to see if I can't get rid of it. Yeah, it is a LoHAV, but you will see that it has a bit of a twist that may or may not be totally see through. Any and all flashbacks will be in third person, as if someone was witnessing it.
EDIT!!!!!
Some things changed, mostly James' speech to be more Olde Tymey by This Guy
Go check his ass out yo!
So Too, Shall the Sun...
The days crept by, punctuated by visits from the little orange pegasus. I was a tad irritated that she hadn't told anyone about me yet, but I didn't let it show. This little filly just seemed like she might need a friend. During her visits, she would tell me all about a small burg known as Ponyville. She waxed adventurous about her “Crusades” and the exploits of “The most awesomely awesome pegasus since forever!” Her words, not mine. I might have scared her a bit when she mentioned that this 'Rainbow Dash' was the Bearer of the Element of Loyalty. At the mere mention of it, my eyes burned brightly for a moment. She fell off the rock she was using as a seat before calling it a day. It has almost been a week since I last heard from her and I was starting to worry that she might have forgotten about me or I had scared her off.
I awoke from my slumber when something had disturbed my forest. I could feel the familiar energy of the miniscule pegasus, what was her name? Scoolaboo? Scat-A-Shoe? Whatever. Shoo-be-doo was being followed by what felt like an immensely powerful unicorn, one of the most powerful that I had felt since I was bound in cold iron. I smiled inwardly (Kinda hard to smile outwardly when you don’t have much of a mouth) as Shooliefoo and the unicorn were walking along the path the forest made for them and right towards me.
All I have to say about the unicorn as they entered the glade was that she was purple. Dear sweet Yggdrasil, she was really, REALLY purple! Not to mention that she literally radiated magic. It would have been blinding if I wasn’t prepared for it. With this much power, she could easily break my bonds.
“Is this him?” Purple McPurpleyhorn asked Shuttergoo. What? You expect me to care about these ponies enough to remember their names? I have much better things to worry about.
Whooperjew looked up to Madam de Lavender and nodded. “Yeah, Twilight!” I cringed internally. “This is Trent! He might look scary, but he seems really nice!”
Actually, it is pronounced Treant. But I shan’t hold it against thee, Scootaloo. I turned to Twatlot and nodded as gracefully as a tree could. Which is to say, creakily. And who be it thou hast brought before me?
Scootaloo pawed at the grass. “Umm, I may have accidentally mentioned you to Twilight and she wanted to meet you… She gets kinda crazy when she gets a hold of a new thing.” Twilight chuckled nervously and took a step forward.
“Aheh, like Scootaloo said, my name is Twilight Sparkle...” Oh gods, just kill me now. “...and she mentioned that you rescued her when she was lost in the Everfree Forest.” She pulled out a notepad and quill with her magic. I could literally taste the magic coming from her. It felt… familiar. “I hope you don’t mind, but I would like to ask you a few questions.” Yes, I do mind, but it isn’t like I could stop you…
And what, pray tell, would these questions be?
“Well, for starters, I was wondering how old you are?” Of course she would ask my age first. I huffed in response. “Y-you don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to, that is… well…” I simply sighed.
I have been around for a very long time. I still remember the times when the fae creatures of the world danced in the moonlight, singing gay praises of ancient powers. I remember when ponies wandered the open plains under an open sky as one, not the three tribes of today.
“Wait, I thought ancient ponies were always like us. What happened?” Twilight quite rudely interrupted me.
As I was saying, thy ancestors once wandered the plains as nomads, as the Zebra do today. The change occurred when one of them found one of the Fae. ‘Twas a stormy day. the winds howled and the lightning crashed, causing the ponies to seek shelter amongst my forest’s boughs. Even then, the forest was a dark and mysterious place, frightening the ponies. It wasn’t until three youths ventured farther in...
Year 351 of the First Recorded Age
Winterdawn Forest
Stone was afraid. He and his two friends had gotten lost deep in the forest his clan was using for shelter. His friends, Jade and Cold Snap, were both entranced by the snow that seemed to fall constantly in the forest. They were busy making snowballs and tossing them at each other. Stone shivered, not because of the cold, but because he thought he saw something darm move amongst the glow of the moonlight against the snow.
Stone jumped into the air when a rather cold snowball smashed right into his muzzle. “AH! S-stop that! That is cold!” He shivered, this time from the cold.
“Well, it is snow. What did you expect?” Cold Snap chuckled, balling up another snowball.
“A-aren’t you two scared? What about the ghosts?” Stone asked, his eyes darting about in the moonlit darkness. He didn’t see Jade sneak up behind him and place a hoof on his withers. He leapt again, spinning around and snorting wildly.
“J-Jade! Stop that!”
Jade only laughed. “Oh Stone, are you really that superstitious? There are no such things as ghosts!”
“Yeah, Stone! Only foals still believe in ghosts! Or are you a foal?” Snap tossed the snowball at Stone, spreading half-melted snow across his back.
“Come on! This isn’t funny! You guys know the stories. Ponies go into the forests, and they don’t come back out…”
“That is just silly. Ponies don’t disappear…” All three froze in place, slowly turning towards the new voice. They all jumped back from the small, glowing creature. The little, dark green pony had wings like a see-through butterfly and a horn jutting out of its forehead. It was standing on a branch, no bigger than a twig, and smiling at the ponies as they stared.
“G-g-ghost!” Stone exclaimed, scrambling to hide behind Cold Snap. Jade sighed.
“Don’t you think ghosts would be a bit bigger?”
“She is right, you know.” The fairy said, blinking out of existence. “I’m not a ghost. The ghost is behind you…”
The three friends turned slowly, a low moaning coming from behind them. They laid eyes on the spectral form of a headless pony reaching out towards them. Stone tripped over Cold as he stumbled backwards, then Jade tripped over his prone form. They fell in a tangle of limbs and failed to get up in time to prevent the headless ghost from reaching them. The ghost got closer and closer, but before it touched them, it’s head popped out with a giggle.
“Gotcha!” It was then the fairy came back. Both it and the ghost tilted in the air, holding their sides in laughter. Jade was the first to recover.
“That wasn’t very funny… whatever you are.”
“It was to us!” the ghost replied. Jade only glared at them.
“Right, sorry.” The fairy sighed sadly. “There isn’t much fun to be had around here,” the fairy said, his head hung low apologetically.
“So, just what are you?” Jade asked, her friends finally starting to get up out of the snow.
The tiny fairy puffed out his chest. “My name is Forest Breeze, and I am a breezie! Specifically, a faerie.” He pointed to his spectral companion. “And that is actually a ghost. His name is Jimmy.”
“Jimmy?” Cold Snap asked, cocking his head slightly.
“Yeah, long story.” Breeze replied, shrugging his tiny shoulders. “Actually,” Breeze continued after a pregnant pause, “we faeries need your help.”
“Our help?” Stone asked.
“Yes. You see, our magic in this world is slowly dying and we need to leave this world to find more. The problem is that we need to keep a connection to this world, but we can’t without some sort of magic on this side. So, the faeries have decided to gift you ponies with a fragment of our magic to help keep this world saturated in magic while we are gone.”
“But why us? Don’t you think that would be unfair to the rest of the world?” Stone questioned.
“You are too kind for your own good sometimes, Stone.” Cold Snap sighed. “Why shouldn’t we keep the magic? It could help us with the griffon barbarians up north! We could easily protect ourselves then!”
“Well, I guess so.” Stone said thoughtfully. “I guess we could accept your magic. What do you think, Jade?”
Jade turned her head to Stone. “Really? You are asking me? That’s new.” She chuckled. “I think we should take it. Just imagine what ponies could do with it! Nothing would be out of our grasp.”
Breeze grinned. “So, you’ll do it?”
“Yeah, maybe we could make some good with it.” Stone replied with a nod.
“All right! Here we go!” Breeze’s horn began to glow a deep amber, engulfing the three in it’s glow.
”Spirits of the Sky, Spirits of the Land, and Spirits of the Mind; bless these three with the Magic of the Breeze!”
The three friends were lifted into the air, the wind and snow whipping about them in a fierce storm. Their eyes glowed bright, the magic coursing through their veins like fire. There was a flash and a loud pop, the three landing heavily against the snow. The breezie was panting hard, his color a little duller.
Stone was the first to recover this time around, weary, looking around. His eyes fell upon his companions, his eyes opening wide at their new changes. Jade now had an emerald horn protruding from her head. Even from here, Stone could feel the latent magic coming from it in waves. His eyes fell upon Cold Snap and his new, light blue wings. Stone was the only one left physically unchanged, but he could feel an immense strength coming from within him. Looking to his unconscious friends, he could only imagine what the future held in store…
Present Day
Everfree Forest
Twilight sat there with a pile of notes on one side of her. I easily recognized the studious fervor from the last pony who met me. That thirst for knowledge and the truth was truly insatiable. Scootaloo was asleep, curled up beside the lavender mare. I hate to admit it, but the way her ear twitched in her sleep was downright adorable.
“Wow,” Twilight said, the awe was apparent in her voice. “so it was those first three who started the three tribes?” She asked, quill poised to take notes.
Actually, they already belonged to different tribes. Only when they gained their magic did the segregation begin. It was the earth ponies who first settled down, growing crops instead of following the seasons. The pegasi defended them from the early griffons, while the unicorns set up a monarchy to guide them all. They all had separate cultures, but they still convened on important matters.
“Amazing,” Twilight said, “Much of the early history was lost when Discord showed up, so this will do wonders to fill in the gaps for the historians! On the note of Discord, what was that tim--” I cut her off with a ragged cough.
It would be wise to return home before the dark, true? The sun lingereth on the horizon and I shan’t leave here. Go home, rest, and return in the morn. I shall sate thy lust for knowledge as much as I can, but for now, the time is late.
Twilight looked a bit sheepish when she saw that it was indeed getting dark. Scootaloo had school tomorrow and she wouldn’t want her to be too tired to learn! She gathered up her notes and used her magic to place the sleeping filly on her back.
“Thank you. I’ll be sure to return tomorrow!” She turned and left the glade, disappearing from my physical sight. I watched her leave the forest itself and sighed to myself. She had yet to ask about my bindings. I had hoped she would offer to try and break them after befriending her, but she was lost to her notes and my story. Perhaps tomorrow would bring my freedom. After all, I have waited this long, I could wait a few more hours.
Author's Note
This chapter is brought to you by Minecraft!
Not really, but I have been getting into it again and found an ok server by the name of Anthrocraft. It is a faction/pvp server, but I have taking my time making a faction base. If you wanna join PONY, then pop on by and I'll get you in!
Published on my phone cause internet is bad...
Also, NewKidOnTheBlock is awesome. He pretty much yelled at me to keep writing and even helped come up with minuscule details I would have left out normally. So yeah, go say hi or something.
Also, decided against making past sequences all Old tymey.
