The Grey of Winter

by StardustSurvivor

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Human, Romance
Length: 4166

With the threat of The Giants looming over the Crystal Empire, there is one who can save them. The Grey Hunter. But he is the last of his kind. Will he save the crystal empire? Will he save humanity from going extinct in equestria? One can only hope.

The Giants. Stone and Metal abominations of ages passed. Are lurking closer and closer to the Crystal Empire each day. Our only hope: The Grey Hunter. We aren't prepared for a Giant attack, but reports have come in from out crystal outposts that The Grey Hunter can easily take down a Giant. Rumor has it though, that he's not out there to hunt. he's searching. searching for another like him: human. As the last of his kind he is searching for another to keep his species from dying out. We can only hope that he will want to help us. Whatever price we might pay will pale in comparison to the destruction the Giants could bring to the Crystlal Empire.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-07-31 16:22:45 UTC

Prologue

Mason Grey trekked through the blizzard, his scarf trailing behind him, beaten back by the harsh and cold wind. It had been three years since 'The Breach' had left him to fend for himself in the snow. All he could do for three years, was survive.

He then noticed that the Giant he was tracking was travelling down and out of the mountains. Odd behavior for the mindless beasts, and Mason wondered where it was going.

He was a young man of 25 when 'The Breach' incident had started. The creatures that came out of it, Dragons. Manticores. Giants. Timberwolves. They had slaughtered everyone on the British Isles and the last time he checked, they were migrating south to France and Belgium. But that didn't matter anymore. All that mattered to mason was survival. Food, and shelter were especially hard to find in this godforsaken weather. The snow was always shifting and the animals were good at hiding. However, Giants were common, and to keep himself from going insane, Mason hunted them for sport. His railgun did the job right, with a shot to the chest and a shot to the head.

However, this particular giant was giving him trouble. They never wandered out of the mountains. Why would they start now? It felt to Mason like it was leading him somewhere. Those thoughts were quickly dispelled when he assured himself that a skyscraper tall giant of ice and metal did not care for him. He was an ant, compared to them.

Mason's trek continued. The winds had picked up and it was getting especially cold now. In the distance Mason could see a very faint pink glow. He tightened his scarf and kept walking forward. As he did, it got brighter, and clearer. Soon, he noticed that the pink light almost looked like...a wall?

No, mason thought to himself. But he had hoped it was someone, anyone in fact. The first sign of civilization in three years. Then, he had reached it, surprising him when he found out it was a pink wall after all. Almost glass-like. He looked up and immediately noticed the gaping hole in the pink dome. He then heard screams, and the sounds of stone colliding with stone. There were people in there. And they were in trouble. Mason ran a few feet back, knelt down, and readied his railgun. And then, he fired at the wall.

The pink wall never stood a chance. Mason got up and secured the railgun strap around his midsection once more. He was reminded of a certain phrase from Shakespear as he walked into the hole he made. "Once more unto the breach.", and it was fitting of the portal that brought him here. And brought those ungodly creatures to Earth.

As he walked in, Mason noticed there was no snow, except for what was drifting in through the two holes in the pink barrier. It was warm, but unnaturally so. And there were fires.

Mason spotted the giant in the distance, bashing it's arms against a tall spire seemingly made of crystal. The screaming was much louder, now that he was inside what appeared to be a city made of nothing but crystals. Mason started running towards the giant, not caring of the fact that the human like screaming was coming from creatures that resembled small horses. Ponies, maybe. But they were in trouble. And Mason was a soldier.

A soldier who protected the innocent. And these ponies did nothing to provoke the giant.

Mason had made it to the base of the spire when a body fell from the giant's grasp. A white pony, with a short dual shaded blue mane wearing important looking armor. That's when he heard it.

"NOO! SHINY!". It was a female pony, a pink one with wings and a horn that flew down to the body. With tears in her eyes and openly sobbing she dashed over to the body, not sparing Mason a second glance, and embraced it.

Mason had little time to think on the scene before him as the giant turned to face the three of them. The pink pony looked towards Mason as he readied his railgun once more.

"Who are you?" she asked. Mason got the giant's center of mass in his sights.

"Here to help." Mason simply replied.

[b*]BOOM*

A shot to the center of mass, causing the giant to be stunned for a moment. Mason reloaded and aimed at the head.

*BOOM*

And the head came clean off. The giant began to fall backwards. Mason's job was done. It felt good to finally kill a giant for a reason. To avenge the ponies it hurt today. To avenge the fallen pony that the pink one was embracing.

The giant impacted the ground, no doubt crushing a few dozen houses in the process. And so, Mason turned to leave, his job here done. But the pink pony spoke again.

"Wait!" she began, and Mason stopped, and turned to face her. "Don't go! You just stopped that giant from destroying the city any further!" she said as she wiped tears from her eyes. "I don't know who or what you are, but we-no, I owe you a debt for saving what's left of my city. You should stay here for a while, we could learn so much from each other."

She clearly knew Mason was not a species native to...whatever this place was. And so, he thought that maybe he could stay a while. Three years of doing nothing but trying to survive can do a number on a man.

"Okay, I'll stay. And maybe you're right. I'm not from around here after all. So maybe I could learn something." Mason said, relieved that three years of running and hunting with very little sleep was now behind him. But there was more to do than rest. Mason knew there were buildings that needed repairing, and dead to be buried.

Chapter 1

Mason had finally made it up to the room in the crystal palace that the pink pony, who's name he learned was Cadance, gave him to stay in. It was a room not unlike one you might find at a hotel, the only difference being that everything was made of crystal and it had only a bed, some chairs, a desk and a dresser.

Mason walked over to the dresser and removed his helmet and visor, revealing his long blonde hair and his silver-gray eyes. Next he unwrapped his long red scarf. It was the scarf his friend had left him when he died in Mason's arms. Mason heard someone clear their throat from the door of his room, and looked to find Cadance standing there with a concerned smile on her face.

"You look a little down Mason, something you want to talk about?" she asked.

Mason didn't show it, but he was glad she was concerned for him, even though she was the one who had just lost her husband. "Maybe I'll tell you about it another day" Mason said. These ponies may trust him, but Mason wasn't ready to trust them completely yet.

"Well if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you Mason. Because you were there for us when the giant attacked." Cadance said. "Dinner is in 2 hours, I'll send someone up to come get you." she said as she walked out the door, shutting it behind her.

Mason set down his scarf on the dresser, and sat on the bed. It felt weird for him to be sitting on a bed after three years of only being able to sit on rocks, snow and ice. But it was a good kind of weird. However, Mason also felt...tired. Tired of going nothing but surviving.

He toyed with the idea of leaving after telling Cadance whatever she wanted to know, before deciding that he wouldn't leave like that. These people were fatally unprepared for giant attacks and Mason knew that if one giant could make its way down the mountain range and attack, what was stopping the rest of them from coming and attacking as well?

The answer was clear. Mason was all that stood between these ponies and the total destruction of their city. He would stay. And he would protect them.

Mason woke up to the sound of knocking on his door. He thought it strange that he didn't notice falling asleep, or even having laid down on the bed for that matter.

"Sir?", a voice from the other side of the door said,  "Princess Cadance requested that you be brought down for dinner, I'm here to escort you there".

"Just a second!" Mason shouted, to make sure whoever was on the other side could hear him. He got up, feeling his back was sore from sleeping on his bag and gun. He made a small vow to remember to take it all off before dozing off again. Mason walked over to the door and opened it. The orange pony in guard's armor looked like he was about to knock again just before it opened.

The guard put his hoof down "Sir, are you ready to go?" he then asked asked.

"Yes, let's go." Mason replied. Cadance neglected to tell Mason she was a princess when they talked. He was going to ask about that later. When Mason and the guard reached the dining hall, they found that it was only Cadance sitting at the table.

"Hello Mason! And thank you Flash for bringing him here. Take the rest of the night off." Cadance said, going from a cheerful greeting for Mason to a slightly more serious tone.

The guard gave a slight bow to Cadance before turning and leaving the room. Mason sat down at the table next to Cadance, and draped his bag and gun straps around the back of the chair he sat in. "So, Mason," Cadance began, "Tell me about yourself! What species are you?" she asked, almost a little too excitedly.

Mason was slightly hesitant to answer. "I'm a human and as you already know my name is Mason. I was a Leiutenant in the United States Marine Corps. before arriving here through--", they carried on long through the evening. Cadance asking Mason questions about where he's from and Mason answering them to the best of his ability without giving out military secrets. He told Cadance of his day to day life on earth and what he went through for three years after arriving in what he found out was called Equestria, a land of ponies.

Mason and Cadance quickly became friends that night. When it came time for the princess to go to bed, she asked Mason to join her in her room before he went to his own room. And so, Mason gathered up his bag and gun and they both set off to Cadance's room.

When they stepped inside Cadance shut and locked the door before casting a soundproof spell on it. Mason quickly voiced his concerns. "Cadance what's going--" he said at first. However, he was then interrupted by Cadance bursting into tears.

"Mason I'm sorry for dragging you into this but I-I can't take it anymore! Shiny's dead! He-he's dead and there's nothing that can bring him back!" Cadance bawled as she wrapped her forelegs around Mason's midsection. "Everyone expects me to be strong about Shiny's death, to not feel sad over it, and I'm scared! Scared because I don't think I can be that strong! Scared that if I'm not that strong that I can't lead the crystal empire properly! Scared that-*sniff*-that--" Mason cut her off.

"Cadance. Listen to me." Mason said a little more forcefully than he meant to, silencing Cadance's weeping almost entirely. "I didnt know your husband before he died. But if he was anything like any man i knew before he died, he would want you to tough it out for him. He would want you to go on, even when you don't think you can go another minute without him." Mason's voice was getting shaky as he went on.

"He would want you to know that--that even though he's gone, he is still watching your back." Mason closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He continued, his unsteady tone gone. "I know that your husband, if he was anything like the men I knew on earth. The good ones. He would want you to honor his memory not by grieving, but by moving on." Mason opened his eyes to look at Cadance, who was staring at him in awe. Staring at him as if he had just told her his tragic life's story. Unknown to mason, Cadance was the princess of love and emotion. And in a way he had told her everything.

Mason was a little unnerved by Cadance staring at him like that. "Cadance?" he asked, to try and gain her attention. "Cadance, are you awake?" he asked again, slightly concerned. Mason tried to think of a way to physically break her miniature trance without harming her, but not knowing much about pony physiology, he didn't want to risk it.

"CADANCE!" Mason shouted, successfully breaking her stare.

"Oh!  Uhh...yes Mason?" Cadance asked letting go of Mason and looking anywhere but at him, a slight tint of red to her muzzle.

"You were giving me a weird look and staring at me. Are you alright?" Mason asked, raising an eyebrow out of genuine curiosity.

"Oh ummm-uhh-yes! Yes I'm fine! Thanks for the pep talk, you should...uhhh...probably get to bed! We have to start rebuilding what was destroyed in the city tomorrow! Goodnight Mason!" Cadance stuttered out nervously, blushing even more.

"Okay...goodnight Cadance." Mason said as he got up, grabbed his bag and gun and walked out, shutting the door behind him.

Cadance couldnt sleep that night. She was kept awake by the magic she felt resonate off of Mason hours earlier. The regret, the anger, the sorrow, and the agony of repressing it all. Mason was an interesting creature to Cadance, and she didnt like how he was bottling up his feelings inside.

In Cadance's experience ponies who bottle up their feelings like Mason never show people their real selves. They bottle that up like the rest of their feelings. So Cadance made a silent vow that night to get Mason to open up. To get Mason to show her his true self. Cadance however was unaware that ever since Mason had arrived in their world, the magic within her and The Crystal Heart was shifting to accommodate a large change in The Crystal Empire. This change would change the lives of her, and the rest of her kingdom until the end of time.

As soon as Mason made it back to his room, he set down his bag and gun for the last time that day. After opening up his bag, Mason pulled out the last chocolate bar from his private stash that he had been saving for three years. He felt like it was time for a little celebration, no matter how little it was. Although Cadance forgetting about getting either of them dinner, and instead questioning him about earth and himself helped sway his decision for the late night candy bar.

Miles and miles away a small pink pony had awoken from her slumber in a panic, her pinkie sense telling her that somebody somewhere was not having a party in celebration of an event that changed their life forever. She was determined to find who this somebody was, and awoke the next morning to tell her best friend Twilight Sparkle that she should check up on her brother more often.

Chapter 2

Mason awoke the morning after Cadance's outburst in her room with a yawn, when the reality of his current situation had caught up to him.Immediately opening his eyes confirmed that Mason was not out in the snow, and was a guest inside a crystal castle run by ponies. There were no humans. There were only ponies. Mason was stunned that he had not come to this conclusion earlier. He was the only human to ever exist on this planet, and quite possibly in this dimension!

Mason was hit by a barrage of thoughts and feelings; fear, anger, loneliness, a longing for home, he wanted to be with his younger brothers and sisters, and his mom and dad. And he wanted to see Gene again, his best friend. But they were all dead. The Breach took them from him. The Breach took everything from him. Mason wanted nothing more than to get revenge on the sick fuck that did this to him. Mason wanted to cut the bastard open alive, and make him watch as his organs were removed one by one slowly and painfully.

Mason took a deep breath. It was a trick Gene had taught him to help him calm down whenever he felt too angry or overwhelmed. It was out of his control, it was nobody's fault he was here. Nobody's fault that he was all alone, all he could do now is get over it and keep on marching. Mason's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. He got up to open it revealing the same guard pony from yesterday.

"Good morning sir, Princess Cadance has requested that I bring you to the magic and medicine research wing of the castle for a medical examination. She said to tell you that she was worried that three years in the wastes probably did more harm than good." He said. Mason agreed and let Flash take him to wherever it is he was expected. It wasn't a long walk to the research wing, but it was a quiet  Mason's thoughts were on how he could help out more. security seemed lax around the castle so Mason considered speaking with the guard captain. His thoughts were once more cut short by the guard. "We have arrived."

Taking a look around, Mason saw how large the place was, with ponies in white nurse and doctor cloaks running about, screaming about organs and magic. It was a rather odd sight for Mason, but he didn't question it for the sake of his mind. After a small waiting time, a mare with a lush golden colored mane came up to him and Flash. "Good morning sir. Princess Cadance had already told me the specifics to your examination" She said, adjusting her  glasses. "Although, I have never seen anything like you. Do tell, before we proceed, just what are you?". Mason stared at the mare for a while before sighing, telling himself that it was probably fine.

"I'm a human. And as what you can see, I'm not from this place" Mason told her, causing the mare to giggle.

"Verily. In any case, you may call me Golden Pulse and I shall be doing a rough examination first before we check on anything that may have caused prolonged injuries. Hopefully you don't. Otherwise I will be seeing you more often" The mare, now known as Pulse, jokingly said with a smile, to which Mason smiled back.

Flash then coughed, catching the attention of both Mason and Pulse. "Well, since the both of you are now acquainted, I shall be taking my leave sir" Flash said, saluting Mason before leaving the room.

Mason then turned back and faced the mare. "Well then, off we go I guess" he said, ushering a hand to continue.

Princess Cadance was sitting in her throne room, being a tiny bit distraught as to what to do. Just a few hours before Mason had woken up, she had brought her finest doctor to check on any injuries that may have been sustained through Mason's 3 years in the harsh waste. Shivering slightly, she wondered how it felt like, all alone in that desolate place. Yet she also wondered, just how he just pops up in her life when tragedy took place in the form of her husbands death.

She still cries a little bit in her sleep because of that.

And the nightmares...Oh the painful nightmares...

However, her thoughts were soon interrupted by a powerful force that resonated from the Crystal Heart. This shocked her a little bit, but more so made her confused as to why it did that. And so, with her curiosity getting the better of her, she went up to the Crystal Heart, her horn flaring up as she used a spell to check for anything odd. Then, her eyes went wide open as her pupils shrank when she suddenly found something that may have caused the force.

She felt his resonance. Mason's resonance. In the Crystal Heart.

And so, she dropped down onto her knees, shock evident on her face. What did it mean? Why was his resonance there? Cadance shook her head, trying to come up with a comprehensible answer. Her head felt painful all of a sudden as she cringed a little when she felt the pain flair up for a moment. But then, her mind asked her something. 'Is Mason somehow connected to Crystal Heart..?, she wondered, causing herself to stop for a moment and give it some thought.

It may herald some form of truth, due to the Heart having been acting rather strange for quite some time before. 'I have to find out! Cadance exclaimed, standing up and walking out the door.

...

...Only for her to bump into Mason as soon as she stepped out, causing the both of them to recoil a bit.

"O-Oh! M-Mason! How did your examination go?" Cadance asked, regaining her posture as she gave him a smile.

"It was fine. Apparently I didn't really have any dangerous injuries, so that's always a good sign" Mason said, causing the pink alicorn to giggle.

After that, a lengthy silence soon followed, with nothing but the two looking at each other. Shaking her head, Cadance turned her head to the side to try and hide the blush that had formed. "S-So...Ummm...W-Why are you h-here?" Cadance stammered a little, causing Mason to laugh.

"Well...I just wanted to check up on you. Seeing as I have no idea where I am, I went and found Flash and asked him where you may be" Mason said, causing Cadance to let out a small "Oh"

Silence soon entered as the two beings stared at each other for a moment. Cadance sighed. 'Well...Here goes nothing' Cadance thought to herself as she composed herself once more. "Well... Could you do me a favor and follow me?" she asked, causing the human to look at in suspicion. This caused Cadance to give him puppy dog eyes, making Mason grit his teeth. With a sigh of defeat, he ushered the alicorn to continue, causing Cadance to giggle like a schoolfilly.

And with that, the two went inside the throne room, Mason then looked around, whistling as he saw how beautiful the place was. However, there was one major thing that caught his attention. And that was in the form of a heart, that seemed to be made of crystal, in the middle of the room. It was a very odd to see such a masterful work of art. "Wow...What is that thing?" Mason asked, pointing a finger towards the heart shaped crystal.

"That, Mason, is called the Crystal Heart. It was used to defend my kingdom a long time ago from a tyrant known as King Sombra. However, we're not here to discuss on that topic" Cadance's mood shifted to one of seriousness. "We are here because I found your magical resonance inside it. And with that, even if it sounds kinda crazy, it may very well be linked to you in some way"

Mason blinked, processing the information in his head"...Linked...to me?" Mason asked, utter confused.

"It may sound crazy, I know. But I can't really think of anything else" Cadance says with her head hung low.

However, by then, Mason was not listening anymore and his focus was pin pointed onto the Crystal Heart. With him not knowing, he then began to walk closer and closer, taking in every detail. He couldn't help but feel drawn to it. He wanted to touch it. For curiosity sake.

Then, as soon as he raised his hand to touch it, he could hear Cadance cry out for him to not do so. But try as she might, Cadance couldn't stop him. As soon as a his finger touched the heart, it began to glow ever so softly, with the brightness intensifying every passing moment. Soon, a large burst of magic pulsated through the Crystal Heart, pulsating onwards throughout the kingdom. Many crystal ponies saw the huge magic pulse, but they couldn't do much due to the magic knocking everypony around its large radius, including Cadance.

Once everything stopped, Mason staggered for a moment before dropping to his knees and onto falling onto the floor as darkness overwhelmed him.