Chapters Chapter 1 - Disastrous Arrival
The sun is slowly making It's way beyond the horizon as i walk the usual walk towards my humble abode. I'm tired, like any day when i get home from my usual run through the park. It's been a while since i started this routine, but It sure as hell has paid off. It's been around 4-5 years now, and i can't say I'm disappointed in myself.
I used to be such a slack. A dirty couch-potato with no other interests than my own satisfaction. What does that mean? Well, i could sit around all day, only caring about what's best for me, and completely ignore anybody that was around. When i say anybody, i mean my family. I sort of had a lack of friends at the time.
My life as a couch-potato started around the age of 13 until i turned 17. Looking back at that time period.. I start shivering and beating myself up for ever acting like that. However, turning 17, something just hit me. I have no idea what, but something sure did, because that's when my world turned upside-down. (I won't say I was the one that made the final decision, as my Father felt happy to help me create a system that would work.)
After a while of getting used to pushing myself, i, to my great fortune, started loosing weight. That did it for me. After I realized what i could actually do, my schedule dramatically took off, meaning i was pushing myself probably much harder than i in reality should have, but nobody seemed to mind it, as it could only be good for me. Now, looking back, I'm happy i did all of that. I take a moment to look down at myself while walking through the trail in the little forest area right around the corner of my street.
"Not too shabby." I chuckle to myself. I look back up, now feeling a skip in my step as i wandered down the trail.
Back when i was finally as fit as I guessed i could be, I just needed to keep it up. I kept pushing, and I added more to my schedule. Something I've always wanted to be able to have in my brain-storage. The ability to defend myself. I naturally used the mostly empty garage, set up some stuffed dummies with a lot of my old clothes I didn't need anymore, given my much smaller size. The dummies themselves, were from life-saving tests at school. I'm sure you all have one, or used to anyways.
All that being said, I'm pleased with the result. Although i only trained myself to defend myself, I feel I've gotten the hang of It. Why would i want to learn how to defend myself? Well, let's just say that things happened in school. Call it paranoia. My childhood wasn't anything special, so let's just leave it at that. I won't go and brag about it though. I wasn't that good. But i could stand my ground whenever I would end up in a bad situation.
Why would I care to tell you about me becoming a better person, physically and mentally? It's pretty much the biggest and most exciting thing that has happened in my life up until now.
It never was anything special about me.
A tall figure stands in a big empty room in front of a round stone table. On the table, is some sort of a magical presentation of a human boy walking happily along a forest trail. The dark figure is wearing a cloak with a hood, covering the face of It's owner. The tall being smirks at the image in front of him.
"There he is. He's nothing but a fragile piece of meat. This will be over shortly." A deep, raspy voice comes from within the hood of the being observing the human.
"With him gone.. they will never be able to fully utter the power of the elements. In time, they will be unable to stop us without it. We have waited for so long, and soon.. the time will finally come. It has been foretold for centuries now, and this is the closest we can get to the description given to us from the 'Ones Before'." The tall, dark being turns to face two other creatures standing behind it, listening.
"My friends, you must make sure this is dealt with. We can not risk to loose this connection, so do it with haste." The being asks the other two. The two, also cloaked and hooded, share a glance, and a barely visible smirk forms within their hoods.
"It will be done." They both reply. The tall being at the table slowly turns back to the presentation of the human on the table, and grabs the edges of the table, laughing. The laugh echoes through the big room, and the two other beings behind him vanish in a dark portal created with unknown magic.
"Soon, the fourth will be set free. And then we can do what we have not been able to all these centuries. It will be our turn. And Equestria.. shall burn." The tall being grips tightly at the edge of the table, scratching it up with his left appendage, and an evil laugh echoes through the room once more before the magical presentation vanishes and engulfs the room in darkness.
I continue to walk along the trail. I take a moment, as usual, to admire the beautiful scenery. The sun is now barely visible behind the trees. Suddenly i feel a bit light headed. I clutch my head with my left hand, trying to shake away the sudden feeling of slight migraine. I feel strange, almost like.. somebody was watching me. Not in the kind of way that would mean they're just hiding in a bush close by, but in a way that is very hard to explain. Almost like there are ghosts or spirits surrounding me and watching my every move.
I feel uncomfortable, and slightly (very) paranoid, and i decide to jog the rest of the way to the clearing that now has appeared just ahead of me.
I finally arrive at my street and head towards my home. I keep thinking about the wierd feeling i got before i left the trail. What was that all about? I used to be sort of paranoid, i guess, but It's never hit me in a way like that before. I try to put my mind elsewhere, so going back to thinking about my past could probably be my best chance at this exact moment. I think about how fast the time is actually going. You know, life in general. I mean, for God's sake, I'm turning 22 next week! I've gotten in a pretty good relationship with my family since my horrible time as a younger boy, so that's also a plus. My mom has a steady job, my father actually sort of won in the lottery last year. He might have just won around 100 or so dollars, but hey, what are the odds? We might have just spent most of it on celebrating it. The little things in life keeps you going. It's good for the soul, as my grandfather used to say. He died a while ago, bless his soul.
A police car speeds by.
I will never forget the great memories me and him had with each other. Trips on his boat, fishing, crab hunting, all that jazz. This was actually the only thing i liked doing in my life as a couch potato. He was my best friend, so you could imagine how i took it for the first couple of weeks. It felt like i lost my very best friend, and well, it sort of was like that anyways. Although I'm not the most social man among us, I've managed to make SOME friends. Not too many, but at least I've got some people that i can always count on when i need them. I think my good attitude has helped with that, which has also changed since i got out of my home more. Nature and It's beauty gave me a different image of the world. It made me happy, and I wanted to share it. Who doesn't like making friends? Spending time with them and doing what you love with the people you love?
Another cop car, followed by two more.
I wouldn't blame myself for not having that many friends. I'm happy with what I have, and anyways, there aren't a lot of people my age out here anyways. Our street is so far out of reach from any cities and big areas, and honestly, I love It out here. The green grass, the beautiful nature, my lovely daily tour route that has so many beautiful things along it. I could easily say that i find new things every day as i walk/run along it.
A firetruck passes by.
I keep my eyes on the sidewalk. It's always so quiet and peaceful out here, nothing ever happens. Ever. I wouldn't give this place up for anything. I've lived in a city once, and let me just say that I can never get used to it. I know some people feel like they can't live without the noise that goes on all day and all night long, but I'm perfectly fine without it. Out here.. It's just perfect. Everything smells wonderful here too. The smell of freshly mowed grass, fresh air, smoke..wait, what?
A firetrucks' sirens awake me from my train of thoughts, and I jerk my head away from the sidewalk and look at the speeding truck. I now look forward to where my house is, and I see.. I see smoke. I see a horde of firetrucks and cop cars outside of my home, and they're closing in on me. Not as in they were coming towards me, but my legs had started moving. I was running like the devil was poking my back with his fork, towards my home.
As i was running, i felt tears in my eyes. I didn't know if it was from the smoke or... the fright i was feeling. Am i dreaming? No, i felt the heat take me in as i got closer. I sped past the crowd of people standing outside, and using my trained skill, i got over the obstacles in my way to get inside of my burning home.
Only one thing was on my mind. My family. My mother, father and brother. I didn't see them outside, so my senses acted on instinct. Find them.
I heard shouts from behind me, from people trying to stop me from entering the burning deathtrap, but I didn't care. I slammed into the front door, instantly coughing, seeing nothing but smoke. I put my hoodie over my mouth, and ran inside.
I yelled for my family. I checked every room, evaded fire, sometimes falling debris.. Nothing in the first floor. I ran over to the stairs and bolted up, barely getting out of the way for some of steps giving in under me.
Once in the second floor, i instantly see my room, mostly destroyed. All of my things, my memories, everything burning slowly. I take my mind off it for now, there are more important things. Keeping my mouth covered, i remove it for a few seconds to yell some more. I keep busting down each door, but i was unable to open the door of my brothers room. I yell his name, without an answer.
I hear a faint gasp behind me, and look down the small hallway to see my father splayed out, halfway out of my parents' room door. He had a carpenter-knife in his hands, seemingly slipped out of his hands as his grip is loosened on the knife. I bolt over to him and yell at him. No response. By this point, I hear the faint yells of somebody downstairs, none of which i can recognize. Most likely the firemen.
I keep shaking my unconscious father, getting nothing out of him. I notice blood from under him, i turn him around and i see a big scratch across his chest, and his throat is.. slit. The sight of this made me want to vomit, but the feeling of sickness was replaced with tears flowing down my cheeks. I start to panic. I cry into my dads shoulder, telling myself I'm just dreaming. My eyes shoot open, and i quickly look inside the room he was poking out of. My parents room. I instantly wish i didn't look.
What i saw, will forever haunt me.
At the bed.. was my mother. She also had the same scars across her body, barely visible over the amount of fire surrounding her.
My parents... are... dead...
I lift myself up, in utter shock, and disbelief. Why..? Where.. my brother?
I snap out of my shocked state, and bolt back to my brothers door. At this point, I'm at the door like an animal. Realizing It's locked, i back up a bit and ready my right foot. I smash it in with the most force the underside of my foot can deliver.
Inside, by the window, lies my brother. The window is open, but my brother is lying below it... lifeless.
I grab my head with my hands, i back out of the room, and end up in my own. The fire is now all around me, and my life is flashing before my eyes. My lungs feel like they're about to implode, and my eyes sting. I had to be dreaming. I pinch myself, hard, nothing. I'm shaking violently and i fall to my knees. I'm now sitting here, inside my room, crying, shaking, feeling the fire surround me.
"I... Please... Please let this be a dream..." I slowly start sobbing, tears hitting the floor under me. I look at my hands, and i feel an immense pain inside of my body. My heart aches, so does every bit of my body. All sound around me is gone, and time slows down. I could barely make out the sound of the approaching firemen, probably still trying to get to the second floor.
I still sit there, in the remains of my room, as the fire is spreading. I feel something under me as i continue to sob. My legs are burning, probably from the fire that's burning under me. All to me is gone at this point. There is only me, and the fire. I look up at my roof and i scream. I release all that was left inside my lungs.
When I'm done emptying myself, i look back down towards my door. I make out a shape walking in my door frame, still hard to see given all the smoke. The figure that i thought was a fireman, were quickly washed away as i make out the shape more in detail. What i notice most of what i see, is an evil, hellish smile only the devil himself could create, and i look down to see a claw. My mind connects this claw with the scratches on my parents. The figure slowly closes in on me, eyes glowing blood-red, still giving the painful smile.
The feeling under me comes back, and before i know it, the floor collapses. I feel myself fall, expecting to be engulfed by the flames that was lying just below me. I never hit the first floor. I only felt the feeling of falling, never hitting the ground. I felt dizzy, and my eyes slowly closed, leaving me in the hands of the darkness.
It was a quiet night in Canterlot, like any other night. The Royal Guards were patrolling the castle grounds and the inside of the castle as usual. Nothing ever happened at night, but they could not take any risks.
In the sleeping chamber of her Royal highness, Princess Celestia, noises of frustration could be heard. Princess Celestia was shifting in her bed. Sweat was pouring down from her coat, and her hair was a mess. She was having a nightmare. This was not something to take lightly, as the Princess of the Sun close to never had any nightmares. When she did, it could only mean one thing.
In the highest tower of Canterlot Castle, a dark-blue Alicorn watched as her night engulfed all of Equestria. Her beautiful night-blue, and flowing mane shone in the beautiful moonlight. She always loved to stand up here, releasing all of her worries and stress into the night.
Tonight however, she felt troubled. Something was not right. She closed her eyes and focused on the strange feeling that had gotten to her.
She saw her sister. She was having a nightmare. Princess Luna felt worried, as the last time Celestia had a nightmare, it proved to be a vision. That was long ago, long before the time of Nightmare Moon. It was when the Crystal Empire was being controlled by King Sombra.
Luna shook off the memory, and focused on trying to enter her sisters dream. That was her duty, after all.
Luna's eyes shoot up, and she immediately rushed off towards her sisters chambers. She passed the Guards, whom exchanged worried looks towards each other, and a few of them took off after their Princess, in case danger was about to unfold.
Upon reaching her sisters chambers, she bolted in in time to see her sister wake up with a shock. She looked terrified, and in all honesty, she looked like an absolute mess.
Luna hurried over to her sister and put a comforting hoof over her drenched shoulder. "Sister, are you alright?" She asked, looking very worried for her sister. Celestia was staring off into the distance, eyes wide open, soaking in her own sweat.
"I've just.. h-had a terrible n-nightmare, sister." Celestia mutters. She looked over to her sister, who gave her a serious, but supporting look.
"Sister.. you know as well as me that this was not just a regular nightmare.. but a vision." She stated.
Celestia looks at her sister, still a little in shock, trying to pull herself together. She slowly tries to get her mind together and think about what she had seen. Luna is looking her over with a very worried look on her face. She hated to see her sister so.. scared. She barely ever saw her sister like this, and she was happy that she saw so little of it. It sort of scared her too in a way.
Celestia made her way out of her bed, with a determined look on her face, her horn lit up. "Sister, were you able to see?" She asked Luna. Luna baked up a bit to let her sister get up next to her.
"Yes sister. But what do you think it could mean?" Luna asked, looking at her sisters horn, wondering what she was about to do.
"Then you must help me, Luna. We must act quickly!" Celestia's horn shines more brightly now. Luna looks at her, in question, but does as her sister tells her to do. She lights up her horn.
The two alicorns step out on Celestia's balcony. The Royal Guards stay behind inside the room, unsure of what is going to happen. Celestia and Luna's horn now shines bright as they both close their eyes and focus on the event that had unfolded within Celestia's mind. Time slows down, and they felt something pulling through their very existence. Like someone opened a door in their minds and walked in.
The princesses was engulfed in an aura connected with both their magic. The light radiating from them could probably been seen even from Manehattan. The Guards had to cover their eyes as this happened.
After what seemed like hours, they both returned to their normal state, and the light they both created faded away. Celestia felt a wave of relief hit her. She sighed, feeling exhausted from the magic she had preformed. Luna looked over at her, still slightly confused about the whole thing.
"Sister.. do you know what's happening? What exactly did i help you doing?" Luna asked her, waiting for her sister to fill her in with what was going on.
"If what i feel is correct, this could very well decide the fate of Equestria, dear sister." She said, looking at a very confused Princess of the night.
"I..-" Luna said before Celestia raised a hoof to stop her.
"Come Luna, for even you have not been informed about this. This is ancient knowledge, kept deeply hidden from any soul to find out about. It seems it was not as sealed off as i thought." Celestia said as she walked her sister back into her chambers, closing the balcony door behind her. As the two sisters walk off into the castle, a shooting star shoots across the night sky.
There is a silence like no other in the outskirts of Ponyville. The peaceful wave of calmness flows through the beautiful night air as most of the residents in the small village is fast asleep. Outside a little from most of the houses, lies a gigantic cloud mansion, floating above a little hill. Most ponies knows this to be the home of the Pegasus pony known as Rainbow Dash. The fastest filly in all of Ponyville, maybe even all of Equestria.
She dreams of becoming the best, and that also means she needs to become one of the Wonderbolts. A team of Pegasi that preform all sorts of stunts around all of Equestria. By this one statement, It's fairly easy to tell that Rainbow is a pony that loves attention. She is very proud of all her hard work, and wants it all to pay off one day. She believes in herself, and her friends are mostly happy with her self-confidence. Then again, it goes out of hoof from time to time.
Usually, even standing under her cloud home, at night a very clearly and audible snore can be heard from the cloud mansion. Not tonight though. The rainbow-maned Pegasus lays with her hooves behind her head, below her home, staring into the open night sky. She couldn't sleep tonight, for some reason, and decided to take a chance with the night-sky, maybe even spotting some wonders the night has to bring.
Her magenta eyes stare off into the distance, waiting for something to happen, trying to catch some sleep while lying there. Why can't i sleep tonight, she asks herself.
Finally in what seems like forever, she let's out a tiny yawn, feeling at least a little tired. She figures it must be around 3 am at least. She was about to get up, as she sees something zoom across the night-sky.
"Oh boy, a shooting star!" She says, sleep already gone from her thoughts. Rainbow loves to see the things she have still missed out on in her life, this being one of them. She can finally cross this as a thing she have finally seen. However, she waits for more. She was not let down.
Suddenly, many shooting stars repeatedly shoot across the skies as she stares off, completely stunned by the display. She wanted to go wake up all her friends, but didn't want to miss this, even though she could get them all up and make it back to her house in ten seconds flat.
However, something becomes odd. One of the stars goes slightly slower than the others. No, A LOT slower, which makes it look like a UFO or something, flying across the sky. She sits up on her hind legs, staring with curiosity at the object moving across the sky and.. growing.
Yep, It's heading this way. Fast.
Rainbow started to panic. What was she going to do anyways? If this thing was going to land in Ponyville, how was she going to have enough time? All she could hope was that Twilight might have something to stop a disaster like this from happening. Now having a plan, Rainbow takes off like a spring, and goes full speed towards the Golden Oaks Library.
The Ponyville library is dark, much like the rest of the town at this hour. Inside is the silent snore of a lavender Unicorn, and a baby dragon curled up in a basked next to the Unicorn's bed. The two of them apparently having dreams of their greatest pleasure. The Unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, seems to be muttering something about books.
Go figure.
The baby dragon, Spike, keeps shifting in his basket while drooling, muttering something about somepony named 'Rarity'.
The silence is broken, as a loud crash is heard from the balcony at the second floor, the one below the sleeping area where Twilight and Spike are. Twilight jerks up form the bed while Spike rubs a tired claw at his eye, and yawn. Twilight doesn't have a chance to even look to where the noise came from, as her vision is completely covered by a rainbow.
"Twilight! Something big is about to happen! You need to come outside the library RIGHT NOW!" Rainbow literally screams into Twilight's sleepy face. Spike is now utterly confused, and is still rubbing his eyes.
"Uhh.. Rainbow?" Twilight asks, just as confused as her assistant. Rainbow decides to not waste more time as she wraps both of her Cyan hooves around her Unicorn friend, and bolts out the way she entered. She plants Twilight on the balcony and points a hood in the direction of interest.
"There's something coming this way. Fast! You need to do something Twi!" Rainbow talks loudly as Twilight now stares at the object in the sky, slowly growing larger and larger. Her eyes widen at what she sees, and she looses herself for a moment. Rainbow notices this and shakes her friend, trying to get her out of it, but It's no use.
The object grows larger, and It looks like It's about to wipe out both her and Twilight. Just as they though they were doomed, the object seemed to land at the mountains, far out of Ponyville. They feel the ground shake and a loud crash could be heard as the object lands into the side of the mountain.
Rainbow takes a moment to relax and sighs in relief that nopony was hurt. She would never want her friends to be hurt. That would be her end.
"Rainbow.. what was that?" Twilight asks, seemingly frightened at what just happened. Rainbow turns to her with a look of worry on her face.
"I was just laying outside, looking up the the stars, when this thing suddenly starts coming closer, i thought it was gonna land here or something.. so i figured you might know what to do." She looks between Twilight and the crash area.
"I.. It happened too fast, Rainbow.. I'm sorry i couldn't-" She is interrupted by Rainbow.
"Nothing to be sorry for Twi, I'm just glad nopony got hurt." She smiles at Twilight, who returns it.
By now some Townsponies leave their front door, confused about what had waken them all up at this point in the night. Some of them, shrug it off like it was nothing, while some keep looking around for something out of the ordinary, probably waiting to see if anything is going to happen again.
"What do you.. think just happened?" Rainbow asks Twilight, looking out at the ponies slowly backing into their houses again.
"I'm not sure, Rainbow, but we're all going to find out, first thing in the morning." Twilight says, having a determined look on her face.
"Rainbow, I need you to gather out friends at dawn. We have to leave as soon as possible, in case somepony got hurt out there." She tells her friend.
"Will do Twi, I'll see ya then." She replies, as she bolts off from the balcony, taking off towards her home, possibly going to get ready, as it seems she will not be able to close her eyes anymore tonight. Twilight probably won't either.
"Twilight.. what's going on out here?" Asks a confused Spike as he joins Twilight on the balcony.
Twilight looks worriedly over at her friend. "Spike, I need you to send a letter for me."
Chapter 2 - Introductions
I don't understand why I'm still falling. And I also don't understand why It's suddenly so.. not hot. Hang on, It's getting hotter. Or is it? I couldn't move. I wasn't sure If I was physically unable or just unwilling to, but either way I couldn't. I still feel like I'm falling. It's been at least an hour... or 10 seconds.
That's when It came back to me. My parents. My brother.. My family... dead? No, It can't be. It just.. can't happen like this. It's too sudden, too bad.. too horrible. Why? And why am I still falling? I must be dreaming.. I try to move, but I still can't.
*CRASH*
I feel my body shake violently shake, and I suddenly feel like a human rag doll. It eventually stops, and I feel myself splayed out on the ground. It's.. not hot, to say at least. I don't hear any fire anywhere. What i hear, are crickets. Maybe an owl from time to time.
Wait, what? I flutter my eyes open, and find myself staring directly at the starry night sky. I feel my cheeks are incredibly moist, probably from the tears that have been shed.
Wait, why am i lying on my back outside?
I push myself up to a sitting position, and try to clear the haze in my vision. The more i can see, the more i stop believing in what's happening.
So let's see here.. I sit in my burning room, yelling to the heavens about the shit that I had just been put through.. I see a.. well.. monster? Yeah, a monster standing in my doorway, looking at me. The floor gives away under me, i fall. I keep falling. Now I'm outside, seemingly in a small crater surrounded by a little clearing in a forest.
So, I guess i have three different options to guess from. This was all in my head and I'm as high as a god damned kite, which can't be, because last time I checked I didn't do weed. I could have fallen and ended up in a come, but that wouldn't be right, because i would have died of the flames under me, and possibly have been mighty damaged by the fall, or even died of it. Which leads to my final option, which is simply.. I'm dead.
I look at my hands, still shaking from what my head has gone through. "What.. went wrong?" I mutter as my lip starts to quiver. I guess I really am dead. Is this heaven? If so It makes me feel.. alive. I don't really feel all that dead. I pinch myself, and surely feel the pain I intended to cause on myself.
The reason I didn't think I was dreaming all this, was because I can't remember ever going to bed. I woke up, had a real day with real events, and I got home. I trust myself in telling the difference between a dream and reality.. but this was different. This isn't a dream, but is it real?
I bury my palms in my face as my mind gives me flashing images of my parents.. my brother.. the monster. I guess they really are gone. I lay down on the ground in a foster position, and well..
I let It all out.
Every single bit of me. I lay there for what feels like years, just thinking what exactly happened, and why it happened so sudden, and in such a way. I kept rushing my thoughts through each other, and I eventually blame myself for leaving the house, as I could have saved them.. or have been there for them to at least say goodbye. Oh the poor passing deer or bird that must have thought I had gone mad, laying in the middle of the clearing and crying like a child.
For what feels like another century or two, I regain myself. As much as I would like to lie on the ground and be a pathetic wreck, I can't. It's not how they would have wanted me to act. But in all honesty, what would be a normal reaction to such turn of events? I have no idea. I shakily made my way to my legs, my eyes sting from the amount of tears I've wiped away. I must look absolutely terrible. I come to the conclusion that i might be dead, and I'm now on my endless journey to the other side.
There is nothing else I can think of that might be the case but that. So I try to shake away my emotions for now. I've probably spent more than an hour on the ground just wailing and screaming for whoever I might think of blaming. I look around, and observe the crater that surrounds my body. Whoa, did i make this? How.. how did I not die, or at least get injured? It all leads to even more confusion, but I regain myself, again, and i take my first step into what i assume was my passing. Or moving.
Whatever.
If this really is the passing, then why am I all alone? Where are my parents? My brother? I start pondering on the fact that maybe, just maybe I'm still alive? But It just doesn't make any sense.. I once again place my palms on my face and give myself a moment to breathe out.
At least I can still breathe.
Now before you go thinking I don't care about anything, the fact that i find my family just.. wiped out before my very eyes, It doesn't take away the value I have for my own life. Sure, you can throw all sorts of misery my way, even the worst imaginable, which pretty much is this.. but I wouldn't want to stop myself from living either way. I value my life.
The more I think about my family, the more I refill my sorrow. I just want to wail and scream again now, but i mentally and physically slap myself for not calming down. Easy to say, but harder to do. I keep trying though, which is a good thing.
I now feel myself ready, finally, and I take another step into where ever the hell I am. I walk towards some random place in the clearing. My path could lead anywhere, I don't really care where it takes me. I just want to be on the move. I need a way to get my mind somewhere else, though It's close to impossible to do so. I keep walking none the less, so I give myself a clap on the shoulder for that much.
"Spike! I need that extra ink right now!" Twilight yells at her assistant, who comes running shortly after with two ink pots in his claws.'
"Why do you need all this in and parchment, Twi? I thought we were only going to investigate that shooting star." Spike asks the Unicorn. Twilight looks frustrated at Spike.
"I need to document everything that is discovered, Spike. Don't you realize what a rare occasion this is? There has never been anything like this in Equestria, and I want to be the first pony to document it!" She proclaims proudly, giving a determined smile to Spike.
Suddenly there's a knock on the library door. Spike rushes towards It and opens it gently, revealing five mares on the other side, all with saddlebags strapped to their backs. There is Rarity, the white Unicorn of Spike's dreams, Applejack, the farm pony in charge of the towns apple supplies, Fluttershy, the very shy Pegasus animal caretaker, Pinkie Pie, the crazy party pony, and there's also an excited looking Rainbow Dash hovering in the air.
"Hiya girls, you all ready to head out? I think Twilight is about to go all nuts about this thing." Spike uses his thumb-claw and points behind him at the mare of interest, who is now re-re-recounting her ink pots, quills and parchment paper. The five mares giggle at the Unicorn but quickly walk inside towards her.
"Ya'll comin', Twi?" Applejack asks her Unicorn friend. Twilight looks up to her, looking slightly frustrated, but forcing a smile back at her friend.
"Yes, I say we head out as fast as possible. Is everypony else all set to go?" She looks past AJ and towards the group of mares, all nodding at her. Twilight looks back for one last check. Feeling confident about herself, she now turns back to her friends, and walk with AJ towards her friends, and they all follow her out the door.
"Spike, you stay here and take care of Owlowicious, okay?" She turns before closing the door. Spike looks a bit sad by having to stay behind while his friends go adventuring without him, but gives a salute with his claw. Twilight mare gives him a smile as she closes the door.
It's barely 6:30 am, so the sun is still in It's early stages of rising. The six mares look around town to see a few other ponies up at this hour setting up different stalls for the market later in the morning. They turn to walk off at the back of the library, which leads to a forest trail up to the mountain where Twilight and Rainbow saw the shooting star crash land just a few hours ago.
"So Twilight, whaddaya think we're gonna find when we get to the shooting star?" Asks an excited Pinkie Pie. Twilight looks over at her, now wondering the same thing.
"I'm not sure. Not at all. It could be anything for all we know. We'll just have to wait and see until we get there." She says, still thinking. Why have I not even for a second thought about what we might encounter? She thought to herself.
"I hope this isn't dangerous, Twilight. What If there's a terrifying beast up there, just waiting for something to feed on?" A now nervous Fluttershy whimpers.
"Oh, stop being silly, dear. I'm positive that nothing bad will happen to us. You can trust Twilight." Rarity assures Fluttershy. Now Twilight was a bit nervous. What is something bad did happen? Would she loose Fluttershy's trust?
"Even if something were ta happen, we can handle it like we always do. Ain't that right, Twi?" Applejack now speaks up. This at least assures Twilight a little as she nods to her friend.
They now stand in front of the entrance to the trail. Twilight lets out a nervous breath before she takes the first step into the still slightly dark forest. Luckily, the crash was nowhere near the Everfree, but instead up high in the White Tail Woods.
She turns her head before taking the next step. "Alright girls, lets do this."
Before i reach the boarder to the forest, i hear something rustle behind me. At the opposite end of the clearing i see some bushes moving, thanks to the dim light of the sun rising in the horizon. I froze in place, unsure of how to act, before i luckily snapped out of it just in time to dive into the set of bushes just below a tall tree at the edge of the clearing. I am able to see towards the source of the noise and prepare myself for what is about to happen.
When said thing does happen, let me tell you, It was beyond my expectations.
Walking out of the bush, or rather bouncing, was a pink horse. It's hair was all curly and all over the place, along with the tail. It was carrying bags, and appeared to be.. smiling? It had facial features, and It's eyes were huge. Just behind it came 5 more of these horses. All different colors and different features.
Did I mention how this was all beyond my expectations? Well, guess how I reacted when they all started talking.
"Pinkie, wait up!" Rainbow yelled after pinkie as she bounced along the trail leading to the crash site. Pinkie was so excited to get to the place, that she just couldn't wait to get there, and decided to go on ahead.
Pinkie entered a clearing in the forest, and she immediately went wide-eyed as she saw the crater in front of her, at the center of the clearing. Soon, the rest of her friends joined her and they all repeated Pinkie's reaction.
"That's strange.. shouldn't the rock, or whatever it was, be in the crater?" Rainbow asked, looking towards Twilight. Twilight turned to Rainbow, and back to the crater, and slowly made her way over to it. The rest of her friends followed slowly and carefully, ready for any danger to appear.
Twilight now stood right in front of the crater, she soon noticed a strange shape in the center of it. It looked like.. well, she was not really sure what it looked like. The closest she got to a guess was the shape of a Diamond Dog. The shape was made out of what seemed like ash. She carefully examined the crater with all It's features, now slowly taking hold of her equipment with her violet aura. She started scribbling down whatever details she could find at the time.
"Er, Twi? What do ya reckon this here shape is supposed ta be?" AJ asked her unicorn friend. Twilight looked back at AJ, still thinking of what it could be.
"Well.. I'm not too sure, AJ. I haven't really seen anything like that before. If I'm going to blindly guess from what we have here now, I guess It seems more like a Diamond Dog than anything." Realization hit her, as she was thinking how a Diamond Dog was involved in all of this. "Oh my gosh, do you think maybe a Diamond Dog was hit by this thing?" She looked slightly worried.
Fluttershy gasped. "Oh no! The poor thing!" She said, a small tear forming in her eyes. Rarity now looked more confused than before.
"But.. hold on, dear. How in all of Equestria did this Diamond Dog AND the space rock vanish completely?" She asked. Twilight frowned, scratching her forehead with the tip of the quill. After some pondering, she really didn't have an answer. She really felt under her average studious self today, given that she didn't have many answers to give than blind assumptions.
Their train of thought was cut off by a sound in the bushes at the edge of the clearing. They all snapped out of what they were doing at the time, and looked directly towards the source of the sound.
All the mares look to each other, nervous and prepared. Rainbow takes off towards the bush, but finds nothing inside. The faint thud of something running deep into the forest is barely audible.
Get outta here before you're caught. God knows what these things might do if they find you, i say to myself.
What the heck? My suspicions about being high might have popped back into my head again. I look back to where i was running from, finding nothing there.. Yet. I can't stop moving. I can't risk those things finding me. Dead or not dead, I won't take any chances. Things never ended up good by doing so.
Call It the lessons of life.
After running for a good 15 minutes purely out of adrenaline, I take a moment to calm myself, breathe, and regain sanity. Horses.. talking? Wait, what's stranger, the fact that they're talking and acting like humans, or that they looked like they had come straight out of a 5 year old's crayon fantasy? I guess a mix of both. I don't waste much time stopping, (thanks to me being fit) and I'm quickly back on the move towards.. somewhere. I had no idea where I was going.
Where am i anyways? I never remember seeing these things back at where I'm from, heck, I might just be the only human ever seeing these! Never have I ever heard of such things, not In the slightest
I once again try to calm myself and think through what I'm going through at the moment. It's just so much running through my head that i feel like i might end up crazy. But I can't loose it. Not now, not ever. I made a mental promise to not loose It, and just.. try to roll with what it is.. for now.
I feel myself now completely stopped, sitting down on a rock. Somehow my body seems to have taken control of itself while i work out the problems with my brain. I sit there, In the silence that the morning Is blessing me, only to be ruined by the rustling of leaves, and countless thuds on the ground.
All approaching.
I snap my head around to see the creatures from before now standing far enough away to be able to see me sitting there, staring at them like a deer caught in headlights. I freeze up again, and this time I'm stuck.
Well, better face this now instead of later, I reason with myself.
I slowly stand up from my sitting position to not make it seem like I intend to cause harm to anybody. Hell, how do I know they won't just jump me any second? At the moment i reach my full height, the all seem to slightly back up a bit, and seem a bit more nervous than before. I won't exactly blame them, I'm a bit taller than 6 foot. Been a while since I last measured, so we'll just say that.
I stand there, slightly awkwardly, staring at the strange looking horses in front of me. It feels weird just calling them horses because they seem so off that description, but It's the closest i can get to a correct one. The purple one with a horn.. Oh.. oh! Is that a unicorn? Yeah, the unicorn slowly steps up, only a few steps, and clears It's throat.
"Ahem.. um.. Hi there." It says, awkwardly. She. It's definitely a she. I wasn't really sure how to reply so I just put my hand up and waved at her, probably making the situation that more awkward.
She looked back at her friends. They all looked as unsure as her and couldn't provide her with the help she needed to proceed communication. She sighed, and turned back to face me. "Do you understand me?" She asks. I nod.
"We didn't mean to scare you, we were just looking at what happened up here a little while ago.." Her eyes widened as she now studied my body, up and down.
"Oh! You're that shape we found at the crater! Was.. was that you flying down from the sky?" She asks me, now looking less scared and more curious than ever. I nod to her, and she replies immediately.
"What happened? Are you hurt?" She asked, now looking worried. Except for the fact that I'm an emotional mess.. Wait, no. Get it out of yourself. I look at her, shaking away my feelings for now.
"I'm fine. Just dizzy, Is all." I reply to her. She perks up at this, probably half expecting me to talk or not.
"Oh! You can talk! This is wonderful!" She gleams and takes a few more steps closer to me. Another pony, this one without a horn, but instead wearing a neat stetson hat, steps up to stop her in her steps.
"Now hold on, sugarcube. We don't know if this here thing is dangerous or not." She tells her unicorn friend. This one is also a she. Also, I don't know what to feel by that fact that they define me as a 'thing'. I'm not sure if I should be insulted or not.
I only now notice that they all have some weird markings on their hips. The one that just talked in a southern accent (I assume) has a trio of red apples. The unicorn that I oh so barely just talked with has a purple star, with five white and smaller stars surrounding it. Also the more i look at them, the less detailed they get. As in, if you look at a horse, you would see a lot of things.
Don't even question that, because you know exactly what I'm talking about.
I shake it off my mind as I stand there looking over at the group of Equines. "I, uh.. I'm not. I have no reason to hurt you. I was sort of thinking the same thing about all of you. That's why I ran away when I saw you all." I tell them. The orange one now looks at me, seemingly reading me. She now steps closer to me until she is about a car length away from me. "Do ya promise?" She asks with seriousness. I look down at her. Actually, It's not that far down. She and the others probably reach up to my chest, looking at them from this distance. I nod my head once again. "Yeah.. I do." I tell her, looking straight into her giant green eyes. Horses or not, always tell the truth and look the one you're telling that truth to In the eyes. She seemed to calm her stance at this.
"Alright, that's good enough fer me." She slightly smiles at me.
Huh, i guess she knows when to trust someone. Now, the rest of the gang has slowly started making their way towards me. As I get a better look at them, I notice they all have the weird markings on their hips. A butter yellow one, with pink hair, and three pink butterflies. Oh, that one has wings! That means It's a Pegasus. I stare in disbelief as i realize I'm the center of attention to a group of mythical creatures.
Thank you, middle-school history class.
"So, what the hay are you anyways?" A cyan colored Pegasus asks me. This one had the most tomboyish voice I've ever heard, and that made me slightly smile. She had a cloud with a lightning strike coming out of It, colored like a rainbow. Also, her whole design looked like that of a rainbow. Her hair had all the colors of a rainbow. She was flapping her wings In the air.
I guess asking me that, they too haven't seen something like me before. So at least I'm not alone there.
"I'm a human." I tell them. Never In my days did I think I would ever have to explain that to anyone. Well, as a wise man once said: 'Life Is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.'
"A human? I have never heard of that In any of my books, not even In the Canterlot archives. Where are you from? And how did you end up crashing up here?" The purple unicorns asks me. I put myself on think mode, and I realize I still have not answered that one myself yet.
I look back at her, out of my thinking box. "You tell me.. I just woke up in that crater after-" I lock my jaws.
Get it out of you, you can't break down again. GET IT OUT OF YOU, DAMN IT!
I shake my head, and resume my sentence after a few seconds. "-after I fell down." Well, that could have gone better. The orange one looks at me suspiciously, but Is interrupted by a white unicorn standing next to her.
"Well, I'm delighted you're not a Diamond Dog, darling. Not that I am not pleased by It, but how did you, well, escape from the crash without a single scratch? Also, where do you come from?" She asks me. Oh boy, this one sounds a lot like what you would hear walking into a beauty saloon or something. Well, she seems nice enough. I also shake off the question of what a Diamond Dog Is, as I don't really feel that to be an important question right now.
"No idea.. I can't remember anything before I crashed here. I'm from.. Wait, where am I now?" I didn't even think to ask them that before now.
The purple unicorn looks up at me. "You're in Equestria." She tells me. I look at her, unsure of what to think. "Equestria? I've never heard of such a place ever.. so.." I tell them, stopping for a few seconds to think.
I've never In my life heard of Equestria. Did I end up In another world?.. This is heavy.
I can't decide whether this Is awesome or terrifying. "..I guess I'm from another world." I finish.
They all look at me wide-eyes. "WHAT?!" They all shout. I back up a bit at this, but regain myself quickly.
"Another world?! How did you get here?" The purple unicorn asks. I look down at her, repeating my previous statement. "Like i said. I don't remember anything before I was falling."
"Could ya'll excuse us fer a moment?" The orange one said. I nodded, unsure of what was about to happen. She motioned for her friends to follow her over to a place behind some trees, leaving me there waiting for them to finish whatever they were doing.
Now that I had some time to myself, i crossed my arms and closed my eyes, putting myself in think mode. I needed to think over the bits of information I've received so far.
Equestria? Am I really travelling in another world right now? Some of these things are mythical beings. They seem to all be female too. Hmm... what to make of all this...
My train of thoughts were interrupted by the orange one. "Look, sugarcube, we all just talked about how to do things fer now, and we decided that if ya'll have nowhere to go right now, ya'll can come back to Ponyville with us as long as ya won't cause us any trouble." She offered.
Ponyville? Well, at least I didn't call them horses yet.
Should I trust them? They seem friendly enough, but I can't be too sure. "I.. don't know. I'm really confused about all this. Can I trust you?" I ask them, the orange one in particular. She walks over to me and hold out her hoof to me, as If wanting to shake my hand. "Mah name Is Applejack, and ya'll can trust us. We just want to help ya." She says, giving me a friendly smile.
I slowly move my hand over to her hoof and fold my fingers gently around It. I shake It casually. Can't be too careful with these ponies.
"Nice to meet you, Applejack. My name is Evan." I reply as I remove my hand from her hoof. The hoof itself was incredibly soft and nice to touch, very different from a pony from my world. The other mares now made their way over to me too greet me as well. I met with Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie. The last one making me feel like I had just been In the center of an earthquake.
The last one yet to introduce herself, was the other Pegasus mare with the butter-yellow coat and pink hair. Her hair covered most of her face, and I quickly assumed that this one was a tough nut to crack. She was somewhat sitting down, but not all the way. I gently walked over to her and crouched down to her level and reached out with one hand.
"Hey there, what's your name?" I asked her with the softest and kindest voice I could produce. She squeaked at this, hiding herself even more, now sitting down all the way. I was unsure of what to do, but I kept myself crouched.
"Hey, don't be afraid, I'm not gonna hurt you." I assured her. She removed a tiny bit of her hair and stared at me with one, beautiful, blue eye. I looked back at her, smiling friendly, trying to assure her that there was no danger. Rarity walked up next to her.
"I'm sorry, darling. Our friend Fluttershy here Is just shy. Just give her some time." She tells me, putting a hoof around her friend. I stand up and nodded at Rarity.
"Well, now that we have everything we'll ever need from this little trip, how about we all get back to Ponyville?" Twilight suggested. I nod. I guess I should go with these girls. They seem to want to help me, and honestly, that's something I sorely need right now. After everything that's happened..
As I think about the bad memories, I feel Applejack's suspicious stare again. I look over to her, and surely enough, i was right.
"Let's go then. It's barely an hours walk from here." Twilight says, looking at me with a friendly smile. I'm surprised at how willingly these six mares out of nowhere just decide to help me. I smile to myself, feeling a bit better. Now all I have to do, is prepare myself for this Ponyville. I'm assuming this place is populated by these ponies, so at least I'll be ready for that.
As we start walking, I hear Rarity whispering something with Fluttershy. I couldn't make out exactly what, but I assume It's about me. I shrug it off as Rainbow Dash flies up next to me along with a bouncy Pinkie Pie.
"Say Evan, have you ever heard of the Wonderbolts?" She asks me, smirking. I definitely have never heard of those, whatever they were.
"Can't say that I have. What are those?" I reply. She looks at me, grinning widely. Oh boy.
Ever had those moment when you regret asking something? I'll leave it at that.
At least the past 20 minutes of my time was taken off the bad memories my mind kept producing. I can proudly say that I mostly paid attention to what the excited Pegasus was telling me, even though most of It sounded more like a fan girl explaining all the good things about her favorite boy band. Needless to say, I now know some more about the acrobatic team of Equestria.
Pinkie Pie had also joined In, bragging her about a certain trick she can preform. A Sonic Rainboom, they say It's called. Now that was something that caught my interest. Apparently, as they describe It, It's similar to a Sonic Boom in my world, but instead of an invisible blast, It's a giant rainbow explosion or something. Sounds like something I'll need to see to believe, but It kept me occupied.
"Oh! Evan! You're going to be new in Ponyville, and you know what that means!" Pinkie grinned at me. I gave her a confused look, and scratched the back of my head awkwardly.
"Heh.. Do i?" I ask, chuckling awkwardly. I look over to the other mares. They are all smiling as If I missed out on an inside joke. I looked back to Pinkie, who now was in my face, holding around my shoulders.
"IT MEANS YOU GET YOUR VERY OWN 'WELCOME TO PONYVILLE PARTY!'" She screamed into my left ear, as she hugged me tightly, emptying me of the oxygen i had left in me.
"Pinkie, darling, you're breaking him!" Rarity told her from behind us. Pinkie looked at Rarity, still smiling, and then back at me. Her smile turned into an awkward one as she let me go. My lungs feasted on oxygen once more.
"Heh.. sorry about that. But I just LOVE throwing parties for anypony new in Ponyville!" Pinkie exclaims. I shake my head, and force a smile. Wait.. first they decide to help me, now they're throwing me a party? I've barely known them all for the past hour, and now they're throwing me a party?
"Really? You're gonna throw me a party?" I ask her in disbelief. I smile, genuinely feeling better. They might be ponies, but a party is a party. I think the fact that they all are talking, colorful ponies has stopped bothering me at this point. Like i said before. I've decided to just roll with this, for now.
"Of course, silly! I always throw my new friends a party!" She smiles back at me. Friends? Well, that's good enough for me. I walk over to her and give her a hug of my own. I might have overdone It.
"Um, Evan? You okay there?" Rainbow asks. I look over to her, her face with a hint of worry on it, along with the rest of the girls. I look at them, unsure of what they mean. It's just a hug right? I feel something tickle my cheek, and I touch It to find it being moist. Shit.
"Oh no! I didn't mean to make you cry, Evan!" Pinkie pouts at me. I use the ends of the arms of my hoodie to wipe my eyes. I look at the part where I wiped to find some stains of tears.
"Oh.. I don't know where that came from. Sorry." I tell her, trying to assure her It's not her fault. She seems to accept It and returns to her happy state.
Rarity comes over to me and grabs my attention as we keep walking down the little dirt road we entered just a little while ago. She looks at the place I wiped my tears on.
"Say, Evan. Why would you use those fabulous garments to clean yourself?" She asks me. I look down at her, confused. "What do you mean? These? It's my outfit that I use to exercise." I tell her. She thinks I look good in this? I can't say I don't agree, I mean, I look decent I guess. I do like wearing sweat pants and this thin hoodie. The dark colors sort of match together too. I also think my body shape makes It look better too.
Listen to me, bragging about how I look.
"Well, when we come back, please allow me to wash them for you, darling. You.. How should I say, smell a bit." She explains. At this, I quickly pull my arm up to my nose, and give It a whiff. It smells like I've spent five hours in front of a campfire. Shit.
"That must be from the crash. We found a frame of your body made entirely out of ash.. I'm not sure how that would work without burning you in some way.. but that would explain the smell." Twilight explains from just behind me. I give a sigh of relief from this.
Thanks Twilight.
I feel the eyes of Applejack hit me once more. What is up with her?
Suddenly, I feel something poke my thighs, a hoof to be exact. I look around my shoulder to find Fluttershy. I stop In my steps, and look down at her. She seems to have a nervous, but genuine smile on her face.
"I'm.. I-I'm glad you w-weren't hurt, Evan." She says. I crouch down to get to eye level with her. She seems to accept me looking at her now. Although she seems shy still, understandable, I think she meant this. She really cared.
I smiled at her, feeling grateful for her saying that. Although I am hurt, mentally, none of them needed to know. "Thanks, Fluttershy." She smiles and looks to the side, blushing. Honestly, that was adorable. I wish i had more to say, but what else would i say though?
"We're almost there. Should be about five minutes until we're there." Twilight adds. I stand back up to my full height and turn to continue walking.
"So, Evan. Where exactly do you come from?" Twilight asks me as we continue to walk down the path. Well, I guess there would be no harm in telling her about my world.
"I come from Earth. It's a planet that me and billions of other humans live on." I explain to her. I guess I should be careful about what I say. I don't know much about this place, actually I know nothing else except It being a land inhabited by ponies, but I don't want to mention anything bad about my world before I can get In some good words about it.
Twilight seems very excited about this. By looking at her, she seems to have at least over a thousand questions on her mind right there and then. I fear that I might have to prepare myself for a long session of educating with her. Well.. It's not like I have much else to do, right? And how bad can it be?
I hope won't regret saying that.
"Evan, would It be okay with you If i asked you some questions about your world when we reach Ponyville? Maybe you could consider spending the night over at my place? I live in the Ponyville library. I have an extra bed in the guest room, so don't worry." She looks at me with almost pleading eyes.
I can't help but smile at her. I guess I really don't have anywhere else to go, and I feel like i can sort of trust these girls. There's something special about them all that makes me feel like we're all connected.
"Sure, Twilight. That sounds like a plan to me." I smile back at her. She smiles happily back at me. "Excellent! I'll have Spike prepare your bed as soon as we get there." She says. I guess this 'Spike' also lives with her. Maybe It's her brother?
I nod at her, giving her a smile. I now see a clearing in the path ahead of me, and i see some houses form out in the distance. I guess that's Ponyville. I breathe out, and prepare myself for whatever might face me. Twilight looks up at me.
"Don't worry Evan. It's gonna be fine. All the ponies In Ponyville are kindhearted and they all love making new friends. Just ask Pinkie. She knows them all." Twilight assures me, looking towards the bouncing party mare. I giggle as I too look in her direction. She giggles back, still bouncing along. The other girls joins in, and at that moment I feel really good.
I feel better.
Then It all comes rushing back into my head. The memories, the disastrous events. It hits me like a car going at 100 miles an hour. And I do my best to hold myself from expressing the emotion inside of me.
I feel two green eyes upon me once more.
I look over to AJ, and give her a forced smile. None of the other notices the look we give each other, as they just keep walking down to the entrance of the town. I do not want to be caught in a conversation where she brings down her suspicion against me, and by the looks of things, she doesn't want to make It out In public. I think she would have spoken up at this point If she had.
I look away from the judging stare, and now find myself outside of the forest. We are walking along the same path as before, now with a beautiful field of green grass on both sides. I look across the field, and can not find a single flaw in it. It's beautiful. Things like these are able to put me somewhere else completely, and I'm glad It still has that effect. I sort of need that right now.
I look ahead of me, and I meet Twilight's eyes as she turns her head as we walk up next to the first building. "Welcome to Ponyville, Evan."
Two hooded and cloaked tall standing figures are walking down a hall towards an old, and rusty double-door. Grunts and grumbling can be heard faintly through the hall. The two figures only focus on getting to the door that stands before them. Upon reaching it, one hesitantly grips the handle and pushes it, opening the large door.
The door opens with a loud creek, obviously from the time It's gone since It was managed. The two figures hesitantly enter the room within. Inside, a set of torches light up on the walls of the seemingly big hall they have just entered. It was the same hall from before, with the round table standing It's center. Standing over this table, Is another hooded figure. It turns to the meet the new arrivals.
Upon seeing them, a pair of red eyes glow under the hood of the lone figure, and a very clear growl comes from it. The two figures glance at each other quickly. "Things did not go as expected. We were unable to locate the human." One of them said. It's voice was a deep and clear one.
The dark figure standing by the table turned to It and slammed a fist down to It, shaking the entire hall. It yelled in frustration as another growl escaped it. "There is no way a human can just vanish into thin air! They do not posses magical abilities! Search again!" It yelled with It's raspy dark voice.
One of the two stepped forward. "If I may ask, can you not simply see It through the magical abilities of the table?" The figure turns to face It's questioner.
"Only when we know of It's exact location, we may be able to observe It. We knew It before because of the amount of energy radiating from him. Now that energy Is nowhere to be found, and until we have proof of his demise, we will NOT stop searching!" The creature yelled again, hitting the table with It's fist.
The creature looks back to It's comrade, and slowly turns back again. "We have our scouts searching, but they have nothing to go on, nor do they know where to search. There are no more places to search. You are the only one who saw the human before It vanished. We know just as much as you do about It's disappearance." The figure speaks.
The other figure now steps forward to be beside his comrade. "What If the human was assisted In It's disappearance? Are we sure that It's still even on Earth?" It asks. The figure at the table stands up, looking towards the other one.
"And where would you suggest we should look then? How has this suddenly come to your mind, Gimelus?" It asks. Gimelus takes another step forward.
"Does It not seem more reasonable than the Human and the energy the comes from It, vanishes into thin air? Or might we be to assume that a powerful being could have sensed this danger upon the human?" Gilemus suggests.
The dark being at the table thinks to himself, and turns to the table, putting both of his appendages on it to support it. "I'm afraid you have me off course, Gimelus. Who would this powerful being be?" It asks.
Gimelus looks back to his comrade, who nods It's approval. "One who was before connected to the elements. One that Is very familiar with the powers It holds. Can you not think of any?" Gimelus asks.
The being leaning on the table had his eyes closed, thinking. Suddenly after pondering this, a pair of red eyes snaps open. It slowly stands to It's full height and turns to the other two.
It stares right into Gimelus' eyes. "Celestia."
I walk towards the pleasant town that lies ahead of me, surrounded by the new friends that so openly accepted me. The town Is beautiful. It has a simple design that is easy on the eyes. It looks like a town from the middle ages. No technology, no cars, no filthy air.. Just a nice and pleasant town. The bright colors also assisted on making It interesting to look at, to say at least.
As we walk along the main road, I spot a few ponies carrying out various food products and places them neatly in baskets to present to passerbys. It seems we were crossing the local marketplace. As we came into view of the few ponies that were out (there couldn't have been more than five or six at the time, It's still fairly early) they stopped what they were doing, and looked towards our direction.
Sigh, as i expected.
They were staring, probably curious as to what the bipedal being walking among six mares was. Although I understand their curiosity, I can't help but feel a bit annoyed. Luckily, after staring for a little (probably around a minute or two) they slowly get back to their business, still keeping an eye on me.
The mares around me glare at the staring townsponies. They do not pay attention to the angry stares of my new friends however. All eyes were glued to me.
I try to not pay attention to all the eyes that are glued onto me as I walk through the marketplace. I think It's best If I get over to Twilight's place before the morning ends. I'd rather deal with this another time.
"We're here Evan. Make yourself at home." Twilight says, snapping me out of my thinking box. She Is motioning for me to enter the door of.. a tree? I failed to notice that. I take a few steps back to get a good look at the thing, which is huge! It's a gigantic tree with windows and a few balconies, and at the top is what seems to be a telescope. I take a second to observe all I can before looking down again at the confused mares.
"Sorry about that, heh.. This is where you live?" I ask Twilight. She nods her head and motions for me to enter. I take a step before realizing something. "Ladies first." I say, motioning for them all to enter. Rarity looks at me with a faint blush on her face.
"Oh, what a gentlecolt you are, darling." She says trotting inside the tree. Her friends follow her inside and I'm left out there still staring up at the tree.
As i enter the door, which I had to sort of bend my head to do, I take a good look around the inside of the tree. Now I'm even more intrigued. There are bookshelves with books filling it to the brim in every direction. Everything inside is wood, so my best bet is that this tree was shaped into a house. Made me think about how much It would suck if something made a hole in the side of it or something.
"Spike! I need you to go and prepare the bed In the guest room." Twilight yelled towards some stairs leading to the second floor. I heard some tiny thunds hit the steps of the stairs, which soon revealed something.. I had not expected to see. To be honest, I think me and 'Spike' were having the same thing going thorough our minds.
We just stood there, staring at each other. I had a feeling that he was going to pull out a gun from a holster and pull the trigger, but that only happens In movies. However, the more important part of my brain was putting together ideas for what this thing IS. He sort of reminded me of a baby dinosaur, like Barney. That almost made me giggle, but I held myself.
"Uhh, Twi..? What Is that?" Spike said, pointing a claw in my direction. Boy he sounded young. Maybe about eight or ten.
Twilight furrowed a brow at Spike and lowered his claws with her hoof. "Spike! I told you It's rude to point! This is our new friend Evan. He's a human from another world, and the one that crashed In the woods earlier." Twilight explained.
At this, Spike turned his mouth into an 'o' shape, and quickly replaced It with a big grin. "Oh boy! Really?! That's so awesome!" He ran over to me with his little feet, and I just had to smile. Once in front of me, he held out his claw, now inviting me to shake it. "Name's Spike! I'm Twilight's number one assistant, and co-leader of the Golden Oaks Library! Nice to meet ya, Evan." He exclaimed. I happily took his claw, which tickled me slightly.
Twilight, on the other hand, roller her eyes at Spike's overdone self portrayal. "Well, I'm glad you to got along so fast. Spike, could you prepare the guest room for him? I'm sure he's probably very tired after what he's been through." Twilight told him, looking at me for approval.
She was right. I was dead tired, and ever since we started walking from the place we met up, I've just wanted to find a comfy mattress and slam myself down onto it. I nodded at her, and gave Spike a friendly smile. He returned It and ran off to a door across the room.
"He won't take long, he always does his duty as best as he can." Twilight explains. I'm glad to hear that. I just hope he won't end up the way I did.
"What Is he?" I asked, looking towards the door he walked in.
"He's a dragon. Do you not have those where you're from?" Twilight asks.
A dragon?! Holy crap! I grin widely at this, as one of my childhood dreams had now come true. I shook hands with a dragon. Check.
"Uh.. Evan?" Twilight asked, tilting her head. I looked back to her, smiling.
"Heh, well It's not like I haven't heard of dragons but.. They are myths in my word. Well, I guess they're not really myths, as much as fairy tales. I can't really tell you the difference, since I don't even know myself." I talk once more before she can answer. "I'm officially the first human in existence to ever meet a real life dragon!" I exclaim, maybe a bit more than I should have.
The group of mares giggle at my tiny outburst, and Twilight invites me to sit down at a very comfy looking couch just in front of one of the bookcases. I make my way over and plant myself down on the couch which was, to my expectation and complete pleasure, as comfy as It looked. I let out a sigh of relief and close my eyes for a second.
"So.. Evan. How are you? I'm sure you're still a little confused about all this. We all can understand, given the circumstances." Twilight explains, giving me a concerned smile. I look at her and wave a dismissive hand.
"Actually, I'm just trying to make the most of it. Part of me tells me this isn't real, and I'll wake up any minute now, and another part just tells me to move along with it, and take it for what it is." I say, obviously with a hint of exhaustion in my voice.
Twilight gives me an understanding look, so does the rest of the girls. I return their smiles and look to the ceiling. "Well, I don't think you're dreaming. You've had to have seen us before for us to be in your dream, right? And besides, we all have memories and lifes of our own." Rainbow explains. At that, she flies over to me and punches me in the shoulder.
I flinch. "Ouch! What was that for?!" I look at her, flabbergasted. Rainbow just gives me a grin and chuckles. "If you were dreaming, you wouldn't feel that."
I stroke the area of hurt with my hand, and think about what she said. She's right. How can it be that I'm not dreaming? This is all real then? I cross my arms, and return to my think mode.
Doing so, only leads to bad memories.
I unfold my arms and look back at the mares. I nod at them, assuring them I'm alright. I sit myself back into a more comfortable position in the couch, and take a moment to prepare what to say next. I now feel less sure about things, but that's mostly caused by a pair of judging eyes from a certain orange mare.
"I guess I'm not dreaming.. but this all still seems so.. surreal." I say, to no one in particular. Fluttershy steps up to me and puts her hoof on my knee.
"We know It must be hard, but we will all be here for you, won't we girls?" She says, looking at her friends. I look around to see all of them nodding and smiling. That makes me feel a LOT better, and once again I have Fluttershy to thank for it. This mare Is such a sweetheart.
"Thank you all, I really appreciate that." I tell them, a smile putting itself back on my mouth.
At that, we hear the door to the guest room open. Out comes a cheery dragon, looking towards us. He puts his thumb over his shoulder and points back to where he came from. "Bed's all ready."
I get to my feet and make my way past the mares in front of me. I turn before I get to the door. "I just want to thank you all again for this. I don't think I would have made It more than a few days if you all didn't show up when you did." I tell them with a smile.
Rarity steps up. "It's our pleasure, darling. You rest up now and take It easy. Oh, and one thing. Would you mind if I could get your clothes now, and take them with me to wash while you rest?" She asks.
I look at her, unsure how to answer. I don't have any other clothes with me, and I can't walk across town butt-nude. "Um.. I don't know. I don't want to walk around town without my clothes on." I say, trying to not sound rude or ungrateful.
Rarity shakes her head. "Oh no, I will be sure to return them to you right here once they are done. With any luck, you will still be asleep by that time, and I can put them right there outside the door." She smiles reassuringly, but tilts her head after a few seconds. "Do you mind me asking why, though?" She asks.
I only then really think about what she's asking. I really didn't think of It that way before, but there ponies are sort of.. naked. Well, the only one wearing anything related to Is Applejack, and a hat is more of a decoration rather than clothing.
"Well.. back where I'm from, we don't really enjoy walking around naked. It's a human thing." I explain, scratching the back of my head with an awkward smile.
Rarity smiles, blushing a little. "A species that lives everyday wearing clothes?! You must tell me all about the styles of fashion from your world, Evan!" She gleams, leaning on her front hooves.
I slowly back up towards the door. I give Rarity a smile, and then turn to the others. "Thank you again. I'll see you all later." I wave at them as I turn to open the door.
I hear some mares replying with 'sleep tight' and stuff like that. I enter the door and see some stair leading down to a basement area. I see a bed from where I stand, and It makes me feel like the bed is a magnet, while I am a big pile of metal.
"Darling, would you mind putting the clothes outside the door before you close it?" Rarity asks me. Oh, i almost completely forgot. I assure her as I hide behind the door and start pulling them off. When succeeding with removing them, I notice how dirty I currently am. I smell like a piece of used coal.
Once I finish my private strip-show, I pull the door up slightly and lean my upper body out and place the pile of clothes there for Rarity to pick up. I look at the mares, waving my hand. "Goodnight, I guess." Twilight giggles at this and points at the clock on the wall.
9:30 AM.
I chuckle. "Well, good morning then." I say. They all share a chuckle before turning to leave the library.
Just before closing the door, I turn to see the mares smiling at me, while waving their hooves. I catch a glimpse of Applejack, and meet eyes with her long enough to notice her stare once more. I feel like this will have to be dealt with soon.
I shake off the feeling it gives me and turn to walk down the stairs to the basement. I take a moment to observe the basement for all It's glory. There's a machine plucked into a corner of the basement with a little display on it. Looks like an activity reader or something.
I don't know machinery.
After my quick look around, my eyes feast upon the glorious piece of art in front of me. My body meets the mattress in mere seconds, and I'm out like a light.
Don't stop running. Don't look behind you.. Just run.
I feel my legs start to stick to the ground as I run for my life through the darkness and my steps slow down for each time. I panic, for the harder I try to run, the more I can't move. In front of me, smiling at me, are my parents and my brother. I try to reach out for them, but they're too far away. For each step I take, the more they move away. I yell at them, telling them to wait for me.
Something touches my shoulder.
My entire body shivers from the bottom and up, and I turn to see what terror lies behind me.
Big, red, evil eyes. Big sharp claws reach out of the darkness to grab me. I try to move, but fail. The claw grabs me tightly, making sure I can't move, and brings me up to those horrible red eyes.
It stares down at me, enjoying my pain and fear, and a huge creepy smirk appears under It's eyes. The teeth then open, and the claw moves me towards it.
I scream for my family to save me, but when I turn my head towards where I last saw them, I see a huge pool of blood and 3 bloody bodies swimming in it. I cringe at the sight, and turn my head to face my doom.
I scream again, as I feel the mouth close, and trap me forever.
I jump out of the bed, landing on the hard floor. I landed on my knee, and I landed hard. I instantly grab my knee, and grunt in pain as I stroke my hand on it.
Just a nightmare..
I look up at an old clock on the wall of the basement. At least I've been sleeping a little bit. 2:30 PM. Hmm.. maybe I've actually slept for 18 hours and It could be 2:30 AM?
I mentally slap myself. What does it even matter?
Oh, wait. I see sunlight from a tiny window near the roof. Didn't spot that one before.
I collect my thoughts and think about the things I've experienced so far here in Equestria. One thing is being here at all, another thing is.. why?
Why am I even here? And of all, why me? Why did my family just.. leave like that?
Another thing is the matter of Applejack. Why does she give me those judging looks? Can she read minds? Does she take me for a liar? (Well I sort of did lie to them a bit, but that's my own decision. I barely know them and i'm not sure if I can completely trust them.. but they have been VERY helpful to me, and kind, and friendly.. and when I was around them I felt safe. Not safe as in they could protect me or something in that matter, but safe as in being somewhere you belong.
But what is Applejack thinking? I don't know what to make of that right now, but I feel like she's going to bring it up at some point. I guess i'll just avoid ending up in a situation where me and her are alone for the most part. At least until things have settled down for me and i...
Wait.. Can I get back? I don't just want to give up and say that's it, i'm here for good. No. I need to know if I can get back to..
To what? All I ever had was lost before my very eyes.. and the more I think about it the worse it gets.. Well, nobody is down here at the moment so why not.
I cry softly against the side of the bed. I lean my head on the mattress to make it more comfortable for me, but I don't think my emotions really care much for comfort at this point. All I care about it how bad I feel, how terrible it was for me.. and so on.
After crying for another fifteen minutes or so, I slowly rise to my feet and collect myself before slowly walking towards the stairs.
Walking up, I keep hoping my clothes will be just outside the door, waiting for me. Upon reaching the door I take a deep breath before opening it gently, hopefully to avoid unwanted attention at the moment. I take a peek out the little crack in the door, and to my relief, I see a stack of gray and dark cloth.
I carefully grab a hold of my clothes, and quietly drag them inside the door. I close it quietly and turn to go back down the stairs. As I walk down, I notice how smooth my clothes were. And they also smelled amazing! Such a relaxing smell, almost like they were brand new.
That made me smile a bit. I'd have to thank Rarity for this one later.
Actually, maybe not. I think i'll just thank her and be off. I would most likely end up in a big chat of fashion that I really don't want to have. At least not now.
Great. I now have to avoid two of my new friends. Any more? Anything? Nah, the rest are good. I'm particularly interested in this Fluttershy pony most though. She's kinda my type i suppose, if she was human that is. The kind of quiet, calm, and peaceful soul, that only an angel can spawn.
Don't get me wrong though, I can handle a little noise though. For example, i'm able to attend a celebration with loud music, speaking of, Pinkie was planning to throw me a welcoming party. I'm still sort of in disbelief that she would just throw me a party just like that. It just goes to show.
Rainbow Dash, well let's just say that she sure does share my love for staying in shape. Seems like she's been pushing herself pretty hard for the past life and a half, which she also explained during her rant about the Wonderbolts. She's cool enough, but then again, they're all ponies.
I still don't know what to make of the fact that they're all talking ponies.
Then there's Twilight, whom's house I stay in right now. Out of all the six, she seems.. special. It's the best way I can rightly put it. She's well.. cute, in that dorky kind of way. She's definitely NOT what I consider a dork though. I don't really know much about her, but I definitely can tell that she does genuinely care for me.
I snap out of my thoughts as my final piece of clothing pop on. My left shoe to be exact. I gotta say, Rarity did a fine job. She even managed to get that nasty stain off my shoes.
I stand up to my full height and stretch in my 'new' clothes. I feel like a brand new man in these duds. With a little sleep, (and nightmares) and feeling refreshened, i'm all ready to..
Shit. My body smells like.. well, shit.
I would have to ask rarity to spray me over with some of her.. whatever she used on my clothes, after I manage to clean myself. I decide to at
least carry my clothes on me until I get to a potential cleaning station.
Uh, I wonder if they have showers here.
I step up the stairs and prep myself for whatever lies beyond. I open it gently and step into the first floor of the library, which is empty. I guess i'll go look for a shower or something. I hope Twilight doesn't mind me entering her second floor. I make my way towards the set of stairs across the room, and just before I get there, I'm blinded with a bright shining light. It felt like a camera shot me straight in my face.
"Aaah! Oh my gosh, Evan! I'm so sorry!" I hear Twilight's voice say as I try to regain my sight.
I rub my eyes and try to find my surroundings. "Uhh.. Twilight? What happened?" I ask, feeling a bit disoriented. I rub my eyes furiously as the voice of Twilight appears again.
"I had no idea you would stand here, Evan. I was just teleporting back from Pinkie's. I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to land on you!" She says. I had finally gotten the brightness away from my eyes, and the first thing I saw was a worried purple unicorn, lying on top of me.
"Uh.. Twilight? You can get off now.." I say awkwardly as I look her in her very concerned eyes. She snaps out of it and realizes that she has me pinned on the ground, and throws herself off me in a hurry. She lends me a hoof, and help me get back on my feet.
I rub my head as I realize something. "Wait.. did you say teleport?" I ask her. She nods.
"Yes. It's what unicorns do when they want to, let's say, 'fast travel'." She explains. I roll my eyes.
"I know what teleportation is." I tell her. Her eyes perk up.
"Really? I thought you mentioned that your world doesn't have any magic!" She steps closer to me as I try to get the last bit of haze out of my sight.
"We don't. But teleportation is a phenomenon that is only used in movies or games or.. whatever. I think scientists are trying to make it work, but that's probably gonna take a hundred lifetimes or will never actually work." I explain her. She nods in understanding.
This is wicked! She can teleport! She did tell me a little bit about them preforming magic while walking towards Ponyville, and demonstrated it on a few rocks lying in the road, but this! She never mentioned teleportation!
Twilight looks weirdly at me as I smile, looking towards nothing in particular.
"You okay, Evan? I'm sorry again I landed on you.." She looked shamefully towards the ground and shifted her hooves a bit. I smiled at her.
"Don't you worry. Do you happen to have a shower?" I ask, changing the subject. Twilight nods, and points a hoof up the stairs I originally intended to go. I nod in thanks as I turn to make my way towards it. I hear Twilight speak up behind me.
"Oh! I need you to come by the bakery in town later tonight. Be there at around Eight O'clock. The bakery looks like a giant gingerbread house, so you won't have a problem finding it. I'm going to see Fluttershy right now, so i'll see you there later. Bye!" She says, not letting me reply as she teleports out of the library. I now stood there with my mouth open, both in awe and halfway in to say something. I turn and make my way up the stairs.
The second floor looks no different than the first, except here was more of a personal area. There was a little kitchen, an eating table, some desks (probably for studying or writing) and a lot of equipment like quills and ink pots. I spot a door just a little to the side from where i had entered the second floor, and push it open slightly.
Inside I find what mostly looks like a toilet from the 60-70's. It's got a simple sink, a toilet that looks a bit like a urinal and sink, but by the looks of it, it had the same mechanism as any toilet from home.
By that, I mean there was the little puddle of water in it to prevent the sewage smell. There was also a little button next to it. I assumed that was to flush.
I spot my target just behind the door i had opened. A simple shower, with all the designs that we have in my own world. I breathe out in relief, and enter the bathroom.
Time is ticking, and I've spent the past few hours just exploring the library. Finally i'm all cleaned up though. Let me just tell you, that shower.. Oh man, that shower. Best one I've had in years! I just had to stand there while all my worried were washed off my face. I also hit up a few books. Given the fact that i'm in a strange, new place, I might just learn what I can from it. Why wouldn't I go outside? Because i'm being cautious, and I don't want to be stared at again.
One book really caught my interest though.
Inside was knowledge about Equestria. Apparently it's ruled by a goddess of day, and a goddess of night. I was of course interested by the fact that these goddesses we're ruling it this very day! In a living body. I just don't understand how they can raise the sun and moon, when the planet turns on it's own.
Oh wait, not my own planet. It might work differently here.
I read on. Elements of Harmony?
For some reason, that word made my eyes lit up. I felt like i had some sort of Deja Vu or something. I shake it off as some random feeling, and I spot yet another interesting thing. Things, actually. All the names of my new friends.
"The bearers of the Elements of Harmony were able to defeat Nightmare Moon and were also able to save the long lost Princess of the Night, Princess Luna. She was banished 1000 years ago to the moon by her own sister. The release would not have been possible, were it not for these heroes of Equestria:
Rainbow Dash: Element of Loyalty
Fluttershy: Element of Kindness
Rarity: Element of Generousity
Pinkie Pie: Element of Laughter
Applejack: Element of Honesty
Twilight Sparkle: Element of Magic
These are the Elements of Harmony.
With all the elements together, they were also able to defeat Discord: The God of Chaos. He was able to escape from his stone imprisonment, but was soon sealed again, thanks to the everlasting friendship from the element's wielders."
My mouth is wide open, and my mind doesn't believe anything it's reading.
They defeated a god?! A freaking god?! This is heavier than I thought. It's a good thing that they seem to fight against the evil, which defines this 'God of Chaos'. Still, I would rather not piss them off. Just to be safe..
Thinking about it, that might give me some issues with Applejack later. Element of Honesty? I'm not sure what to make of that.
Fluttershy's element fit really well, so I have nothing to say about hers. Thinking about it, Pinkie suits hers perfectly, so does Rarity. I guess they all fit their element, since it was given to them after all. Now another question pops up in my head.
What is an Element of Harmony?
I feel my chest sting as I think that, and I grasp it. It honestly hurt like hell, like someone was trying to dig their way out of it or something. What is that all about?
The pain recedes, and i lean back into the couch. I look outside a window and see the sky starting to glow the yellow-ish kind of color, that indicates evening.
I close the book, and make my way towards the bookshelf i had taken it from. I know at least a little more about the place, including that I now know that my host is a guardian of this world.
Well, I guess if they wanted me dead, they would have done it already. God, I need to stop thinking about them being deadly killers, and just be polite towards them. They deserve that much. I rub my temples in confusion of this whole thing, as I take a quick look at the clock on the wall.
7:53 PM.
"SHIT!" I bolt out of the door, and scan my eyes around for anything that looks like a gingerbread house. Where is it? Where is it? I don't know why Twilight wanted me to come, but she seemed to be pretty giddy about it, so why not please the one hosting you and giving you a place to sleep.
Don't take that the wrong way.
Houses of pink, houses of hay, houses of... what is that? Clouds? Never mind.. Wait, is that a cupcake?
I see a giant cupcake poking out over a few rooftops. I see no gingerbread houses, so i'll go to the closest food related building that I can spot from here. I run straight for the big cupcake, and as I turn the corner around the building blocking my view, I see a huge gingerbread house, completely standing out from all else in the town.
Oh, by the way, there were no townspeop-.. ponies around.
It was also creepily silent too. Too quiet for it to just be a normal silent night in this peaceful town, but the kind of silent air that just makes you know something's up. I look around, feeling a bit paranoid right now, and I take a breath and start to walk slowly towards the gingerbread house.
I reach the house after passing through the silent city. Just add some mist, and this coulda been Silent Hill. Not even kidding, it was that quiet. It's almost like the town died.
I reach a blue door. I feel very unsure, but still places my hand on the door knob. I inhale as i pull the door, and reveal a very dark room. Upon opening it the whole way, I can still see nothing but darkness inside. I'm honestly scared at this point.
Am I having another nightmare? Did i fall asleep again? If so, please wake me up. I'm pinching my leg but it's not working. Pinch again. Again. Again.
I slowly but surely take my first step into the dark room. "Twilight? You here?" I whisper a bit loudly. No reply. I take a few more steps inside, and feel something cold run up my spine..
Fuck this.
I turn to leave, but the door slams itself shut, startling me and sending me to the floor. Luckily I didn't land on my knee, again. I am now surrounded in darkness, and another cold shiver runs up my spine as I clumsily and scared make my way back to my feet.
Once up, I look around, expecting to see something grab me out of the dark. What happened next though... let's just say it came rather unexpected.
Unexpected and Pink.
