Prologue - Into The Frying Pan (Revised)
It was dark, the air was thick and heavy with a sense of dread; my limbs were flaccid, my heart thrashed against the enclosure of my chest in hopes of escaping the possible outcome I anxiously anticipated. Nothing too specific, it was the dread, the fear that something might happen, that something lingering within the darkness surrounding me would pounce at any given moment, however it tortured me at an agonizingly slow rate to force upon the painfully slow approach of eternal slumber.
However, when I expected a horrendous beast to emerge from the depths of black and rip me to and fro; the unexpected finds me, leaving me bemused, and still intimidated. It was a horse of some sort, a mare based on its effeminate frame and curves. It was odd, this creature was in fact equine, but had a completely alternate appearance in comparison to the horses I've seen.
Her muzzle was stubbed, much shorter with noticeable human features, though her face still retained an equine mold. To cut a long story short, the mare was either a cartoon-ish horse, or an alien creature with equine features. I was leading towards a mixture of both, considering the brightly contrasted mystical features of the mare.
The mare had a fur coat shaded to an ominous black that reflected light in a rather astonishing manner. Along her body were pieces of armor; a helmet, chest piece with a crescent moon insignia upon the front, and armored boots molded to fit her hooves without flaw. The color of her armor was a deep azure shaded with a tint of violet. Her mane and tail were both an ethereal deep blue with a starry-night decor, both her mane and tail flowed in a non-existent breeze, leaving me confused as to rather I should be intimidated or astounded--I was both. Last but not least, the mare's eyes...those piercing black slits surrounded by an emerald green set of irises.
I couldn't move nor react in any way besides staring anxiously at the mythical equine creature approaching me ever so slowly. I towered over her, without her horn she stood at least six feet in height from head to hoof; her horn gave her another foot--reaching an equal height with the tip of my head.
I was speechless, I couldn't really speak out of fright I may displease this mystical equine beauty before me. She had me at her mercy, and the devious look in her ominous eyes assured me that she was well aware of this fact. As she approached me, I grew more and more uncomfortable; I had a perimeter of privacy that I made sure was notorious to those around me, and she obviously disregarded my field of comfort and invaded my personal space without a bat of an eyelash.
"Kane...thou art humbled by wrath and misfortune, bathed in the blood of fury, and laced with memorable scars across thy flesh" the mare whispered, tapping the tip of her horn against the bulk of my chest. Within an instant, I was removed of my shirt, baring my nude upper body to her predatory gaze.
"Who are you, how do you know my name, what the hell is going on!?" I was finally able to choke up once my discomfort levels reached DEFCON one.
"Shush~" the mare cooed, a dark violet aura surrounding my mouth, silencing me of any more banter while she rested her ear against the left side of my chest, listening to the sound of my panicking heart as it continued to rapidly thud against the interior of my chest in a wild attempt to break free.
"Thy heart beats with such fury; a caged beast enthralled with fear and anxiety. But I assure thee, our weary subject, that you hath no reason to fear us" the mare spoke, softly trailing her muzzle up my chest, exhaling her warm breath upon my broad torso, causing a shiver to run up my spine.
"Oi, you're getting a little too close for comfort" I grunted, my breath catching in my throat as she suddenly shoved her face centimeters from mine, the tip of her muzzle pressing firmly against my nose.
"Oh?" she smirkied, her ears flicking softly while she locked eyes with me, her bright emerald hues staring down my own pale blue irises. "Art thou flattered that a mare such as we show such intrigue?" she inquired, audibly purring as she began to trail her lips along my neck, nibbling at my collar.
"Oi!" I yipped, looking down at her with slight discomfort.
"Hm~?" she slowly began to trail her tongue along my collar, stopping at the base of my throat, then began to trail her lips up my neck, nuzzling through my scraggily stubble before reaching my lips, hovering her own centimeters from them. She stared at me half-liddedly, as if she were waiting for me to speak once more, only to interrupt me with a possible kiss.
"What do you want from me...?" I slowly choked out after a few brief moments of silence, earning a chuckle from this godly equine entity.
"What do I want?" she asked retorically, perking her brows upward. "Power, authority, dominance, loyalty--but more importantly...I want you" she spoke, leaning foward, and as suspected, she kissed me.
I couldn't struggle that much, do to the indominable magical aura keeping me suppressed. All I could do is groan in protest, although her soft and short aggressive moans drowned out most of my discomfort. Her lips parted, thrusting her pointed tongue through my mouth, wrestling me tongue for dominance while it desperately tried to avoid hers.
Eventually, she removed her lips from mine, our lips departing with a soft slurping sound, a trail of saliva connected between our lips. I coughed softly, facing away from her as I tried to clean some of the saliva she had left in my mouth. She cackled softly, a wicked smirk splayed across her muzzle.
"Why...why me?" I asked, panting softly, attempting to regain the breath she had sucked out of me with that forceful kiss.
"Doth thou feel insufficient?" the mare inquired, perking a brow.
"I...I'm a reject. A freak of society. I have the body of a monster, with the soul of a sad and miserable boy. I have no potential, all I can do now is just suffer for the entertainment of others, hoping they would be entertained enough to provide me with what little I need to survive..." I rasped, lowering my eyes.
There was a pause, roughly about five minutes of silence, then I felt the mare's hoof lift my chin up, causing me to look her in the eyes. She wore a soft smile, one that took me off guard.
"Thou seems to neglect the traits that make thee a man of marvel proportions" the mare spoke, absorbing my image with her eyes.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, looking at her quizzically.
"Between thou and we, many traits are shared. Thou art the body, filled with the strength to carry skies and shatter stones, composed with the build to intimidate the opposition and cast a shadow over your enemies, and forged with the endurance to take blows of unprecedented strengths and still keep going" the mare began, her eyes examining my body as she slowly trotted around me. "However, the body cannot function without the mind--"
"And I assume that you're the mind?" I spoke, cutting her off. She nodded, stopping behind me.
I was held still by another magical aura while the mare slowly trailed her lips along the scars on my back, mainly the largest one that reached from the left side of my waist all the way up to my upper right shoulder.
"Could you stop molesting me!?" I yelped, her nose trailed across the sensitive nerves along my back, causing me discomfort.
"Huhu~ Perhaps it is time thou awakens from thy slumber. Take heed, thou shall not awaken in thy abode, but in a land not of thy own" the mare spoke, stepping in front of me, placing the tip of her horn against my forehead.
There was a bright flash of light, it stung my eyes, causing me to close them tightly and wince in slight pain. I suddenly felt as if my body were being sucked into a small tunnel, every fiber in my body felt as if it were being pulled with immense force until eventually all my senses were cut off, and nothing but darkness was left.
My eyes shot open, and immediately I gasped desperately for air, selfishly gulping down as much precious oxygen as I could while the wind brushed against my cold-sweat, leaving me with a chill in my flesh. I panted heavily, my eyes wide open yet still unable to process the surroundings; caught in a moment of blurry haze.
After a few minutes of panting and making sure my body was still intact, my eyes slowly began to process the environment around me, the blurred shapes and masses became much clearer and sharper now.
I was in a forest, a thicket of rich green vegetation and flourishing wildlife. It appeared as if I was in a foreign land based on the aura I received from the atmosphere. I felt alien to my surroundings, as if I didn't belong. My focus was torn from my surroundings and towards my damp attire. It must've rained while I was unconscious, making me shiver from the occasional breeze that would come along. I needed to find somewhere safe and get out of these wet clothes, and fast.
Returning my attention to my surroundings, I noticed that there was a source of light not too far off, about three-hundred feet. There were voices too, most likely some campers. This was good, I could find out where I was and get help at the same time. But first, it was time to evaluate what I was situated with.
After taking a quick glance down, I noticed that I was wearing my black security t-shirt and denim jacket. I was also wearing some digital camouflage jeans and leather combat boots. I worked at a restaurant as a bouncer, anywhere that sold alcohol in my town sought it necessary to have one if not many. I was going on break when a wave of energy hit me, as well as a dark violet aura.
I checked each pocket I had, taking note of my inventory. I had my tazor--that was thankfully still dry--resting on the inside of my denim jacket within a zipped closed pocket safe and sound. Within the breast pockets of my jacket was my iPhone and anti-depressants. Within the jacket pockets near my waist were a box of matches and an unopened bag of honey-roasted cashews and a half-eaten bag of beef-jerky.
After checking my jacket pockets I began to explore the lower half of my apparel, examining it for useful items. Resting in a holster on my hip was my standard-issued collapsible baton. In another holster located just beside the baton was my bowie knife--which looked like an average sized knife within my cumbersome grasp. I felt around my back pockets, and within each of my back pockets was a pair of knuckle-dusters, both of them were steel and painted a carbon black shade.
'That's odd...I remember leaving these back at home...as well as my bowie knife...' I thought to myself quizzically, a confused look brimming upon my face.
Checking my jean's thigh pockets, I noticed that I had a flash-light in my left pocket and a few battery packs for my tazor in the right pocket. I thought for a moment, trying to assess the situation at hand.
"Grhwa--!?" I tried to speak, only to be met with a burning pain in my throat, as if I had swallowed saltwater after powering down a pound of glass.
I paused for a moment, and decided to test out what else I could do and what I couldn't do. I could still whistle, groan, sigh, growl, hiss, essentially make a lot of animalistic noises--aside from whistling. I grumbled with annoyance, pinching the bridge of my nose while letting out a long and irritated sigh.
'This is just great, just fuckin' dandy!' I mulled to myself angrily, rubbing my temples to avoid a migraine.
I shook aside my frustration once I noticed the cold was starting to get to me. I had a high body temperature, so at least I was warm to some extent, but I should still try and find those campers ASAP in order to get some god damn help around here.
Take heed, thou shall not awaken in thy abode, but in a land not of thy own
A shiver ran up my spine as those words repeated in my head. The words that mare spoke to me in my dream. I dreaded the meaning of her words, and I hoped to god that it didn't mean what I thought it meant. I shook myself, giving myself a mental slap in order to bring myself back to the main agenda; survival.
I shifted my gaze over towards where I saw light from a camp fire, the smoke barely visible in the darkness of night--which I took notice of how beautiful it looked. Instead of the usual plain and dull black sky with the occasional star here and there, the night sky looked as if Van Gogh himself painted it. It was beautiful, layers and streams of colors blended together. It was breathtaking, calming my rustled nerves just enough to bring my blood pressure down to a reasonable level. I smiled slightly, silently thanking the night's soothing beauty before returning my attention to the camp just up ahead.
I began to lightly jog my way through the forest thicket, breaching the integrity of foliage along the way. Eventually I reached the border of the opening where the camp was set up, the sound of the campfire cracking and hissing was a rather welcoming sound aside from the distant voices.
While I came closer, I started to note something rather...strange. There was a medieval looking cart resting near a visible dirt road that possibly led to some sort of civilization. It was filled with supplies of all sorts: food, clothing, gear, tools, and what appeared to be saddle-bags. However, instead of a horse or mule, there was a woman hooked up to the front of it, a harness resting on her shoulders.
She was young, perhaps in her early twenties--a few years older than me. She had light red hair that reached a few inches past her shoulders, deep sapphire blue eyes, large perky naked breasts...wait a minute...
SHE'S NAKED!?
This gal was buck ass naked, not a single shred of clothing on her--aside from the harness that linked her to the cart. Plus, she was covered in grime, as if she hadn't bathed in a week. Dirty or not, her curves and well-endowments were clearly visible. I averted my eyes for a moment, thinking to myself before I drew to one conclusion.
She's in trouble.
She clearly has an expression of distress on her face, looking uncomfortable within the possible overly-tightened harness. Plus I could make out a few bruises and marks here and there, as if she's been abused. It was clear to me now, that some sick son of a bitch is torturing this poor woman, probably some inbred hill-dweller with a bunch of bodies rotting in his closet.
I'm well armed, well trained, and sure as hell pissed off--it's time I advance, I can beat information out of this fucker about where I am and how I'm supposed to get out before I knock his teeth in.
I advanced forward slowly, crouching as I approached the distressed woman. As I came closer, I noticed she was painfully tied to a tree, the rope around her ankles etching into her skin, and most likely cutting off her circulation. I quickly sneaked my way beside her, catching her attention with a soft psst.
She looked at me, her eyes squinting before widening slightly. She looked at me with slight fear, recoiling her head a bit as she took a defensive pose--covering her lower region with one hand and blocking her face with the other. I sighed softly, understanding that she would be defensive against anyone at this point.
I'd also like to mention at this point that she stunk.
I waved my hand slightly to catch her attention, trying my best to appear innocent. She lowered her arm a bit, looking at me with confusion, reading my face cautiously. I motioned towards the ropes, being sure to be slow and non-threatening as possible. I took out my bowie knife, cutting the rope connecting her to a nearby tree. I looked up at her, and within an instant this chick was in my face.
I held back a yelp as I recoiled my head back, widening my eyes a bit.
'Uh...hello?' I mentally spoke, shaking the surprised look off my face.
I shifted my attention to her harness, I placed my knife in its holster and began to fiddle with the buckles of the harness, eventually freeing her from it. She quickly darted into me, quivering as she clung to my chest, her eyes closed tightly. I gazed at her sadly, gently wrapping my arms around her, giving her an assuring embrace while I stroked her head. I snatched a blanket from the cart and wrapped it around her, she looked at me quizzically then at the blanket, as if she just discovered that she could acquire warmth from a blanket.
I glanced at her quizzically for a brief moment before my attention was brought to the sound of footsteps...or at least what I thought sounded like footsteps. I quickly guided the woman into the brush with me, hiding behind a rather large bush while I examined who was approaching...and what I saw next shocked me.
Exiting a large house-sized tent was not a man, nor a human, but a four foot high pony--a mare from the looks of it. And the thing that made my blood run cold, was that she closely resembled the mare in my dream--although the mare in my dream was the size of a horse, roughly six feet in height--excluding her horn. This mare however, was a pony, four feet high as I said before. Unlike the mare in my dream, this pony had no wings or horn--which made her a normal pony I guess?
The mare had a well groomed silver fur coat, her mane and tail an obsidian black shade. Her mane was cut short just below her ears, it had a white streak that reached from her roots all the way to the bottom of her bangs that were combed to cover her left eye. The mare's eyes were a light maroon shade. Adorned on her flank, was an insignia in shape of a storm cloud overlapping a full moon, I couldn't be sure if it was some sort of tattoo or tribal painting, I sure as hell wasn't gonna get close enough to find out.The thing that set me off the most about this mare, is that I could see murder and sinistry in her eyes.
The words that the mare in my dreams told me bounced off of each and every wall in my head, echoing constantly. I was definately not on Earth anymore, or was I?
I couldn't be sure, what if Earth was invaded by aliens that looked like ponies and could talk? What if I was held in some sort of science fiction hibernation machine that kept me young and alive throughout a course of generations and I just recently awoke? That would explain the fact that this woman acted rather odd, and she hasn't spoken a word yet. I shook my head, slapping myself mentally, bringing me back to the matter at hand.
The woman hid behind me like a beaten dog in fear of its abusive master, which only made my blood boil more. Even though I was essentially having a freakout in my head, the fact still remained that this woman was most likely abused by that pony. I glared at the unsuspecting mare, hatred bubbling through the surface of my pale blue orbs.
I didn't know what this mare was capable of, and I was completely certain by the sound of voices in the tent behind her that she was in fact not alone. And so I decided, once the chance arose I would take as much as I could from the cart and haul ass away from the camp and hopefully find somewhere safe enough to find shelter.
I glanced at the woman who simply just stared at me blankly, taking note of her rather neutral expression. I gestured that she stay put, giving her a reassuring pat on the head, smiling softly, attempting to give her any assurance that I could provide. She looked up at me with concern in her eyes, but her facial features remained distant.
Once the mare had re-entered the tent, I began to make my move. I gathered up as much as I could carry, pretty much three-fifths of the cart. I'd say there was about a week or so worth of food and water, and plenty of gear and tools to help gather even more substances and build shelter. Before I began to back away from the cart, I noticed something shining in the moonlight on the edge of the cart. I crept slowly over to it, curiosity taking over.
It was a fucking sword.
'How the hell can a pony use a sword?' I mulled to myself, shrugging after a few seconds of contemplation.
I grasped the sword within my grasp, it was about the length of a machete you would buy at Cabella's, roughly twelve inches long. I wrapped it in some cloth I found in one of the saddle bags then strapped it to my back horizontally. I quickly knelt down and scattered into the bush just as the mare came out once more, only this time with a few other ponies that wore light armor of some sorts. My heart nearly stopped as I noticed they were approaching the cart I just stole from.
It was time to go.
I rushed to the woman as stealthily as possible, picking her up in my grasp, holding her bridal style as I began to haul ass into the thicket, loud voices coming from behind me. The woman let out a soft yelp when I picked her up, looking at me quizzically before latching on tightly, hearing the loud voices from the ponies was motivation enough not to complain about me carrying her.
Let me take the time to tell you a little about myself. My name is Kane Argent, I am a seven foot tall three-hundred and eighty pound seventeen year old male that plays--or used to play--linebacker for my high school's football team. In past games, I had to run with all my might, pummeling mountains of flesh like me in order to help the little guys score a touchdown. Now I could run pretty fast, sixteen feet per second in fact, most of my body weight was muscle so carrying it was rather easy. I was currently being chased down by possible blood-thirsty talking ponies, all the meanwhile carrying roughly eighty pounds of luggage and a rather attractive adult female through a forest; one of nature's many obstical courses in a situation such as this.
It was hard, but I ran like a bat out of hell.
Every fiber in my body was burning with pain as I dashed through the forest, avoiding countless trees and obstacles of the sort. The woman held onto me for dear life, whimpering softly as I continued to evade my far off pursuers. I could hear that mare's voice barking demands at the other ponies that were with her--stallions from the sound of their deep and gruff responses. I couldn't make out what they were saying since it started to rain, making the importance of shelter all the more intense.
I gritted my teeth, swerving to and fro, eventually the sounds of their voices began to die out under the echoes of rain pelting the forest floor. I felt a bit more relieved once I was certain we were in the clear. It was raining, making it all the more difficult for our pursuers to track us, and I'm pretty sure they don't even know what I look like, aside from my massive stature.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed a cave resting near the top of a hill about forty feet ahead. I thanked what ever diety may be watching over us, and charged towards the cave, hoping it had no current residents. I decided that we would rest in the cave until the rain stopped, then set out on finding some civilization--rather it be human or pony, I didn't really care at this point. Anyone--or anypony--would be better than the fuckers chasing us.
I set the woman down, then all the gear I jacked, and slowly took a seat next to the woman, resting for a moment to allow my nerves to settle. I let out a relieved sigh, then shifted my gaze to the woman next to me. She looked at me with curiosity, her deep blue eyes locked onto my form as she inched closer to me.
She got onto her knees, leaning closely as she began to examine my face, reaching her hands out to feel my face. Her blanket started to slip, falling slowly down her form. I yelped softly, reaching forward and quickly pulling the blanket back over her, holding it in place so it would cover her nudity. She tilted her head quizzically, inching even closer, her face mere inches from my own. I could feel heat begin to flush onto my cheeks, my eyes locked with her own.
'Okay lady, what's your game at?' I mused, chuckling nervously as I begin to try and find something to put space between us.
Oh, did I forget to mention that this woman stank?
Before this woman got any closer, I put my finger in between our faces, pressing them onto her lips. She blinked, tilting her head at me while I dug around one of the saddle bags with a free hand, hoping to find what I was looking for.
Bingo.
Before the woman got any closer, I shoved the bottle against her chest, resting it there until she grasped it with her hands. I let my arm fall to my sides, sighing softly as I backed up a few feet. She stared at me quizzically before exchanging multiple glances between me and the soap. I let out a soft groan, pinching the bridge of my nose.
'Does she even know how to wash herself?' I asked myself mentally, rubbing my temples before letting out a long and frustrated sigh.
Suddenly, an idea came into my head. It would require me breaking my comfort boundaries but hopefully it would get rid of her horrid body odor. I slowly ventured over to the luggage, removing most of my clothing, I could almost feel this chick's eyes weld themselves on my form while I stripped. I tried to shrug off my discomfort, pausing every now and then with a second guess.
I was really uncomfortable, I didn't like taking my shirt off or exposing myself to others, it only made my social anxiety worse. Plus, I didn't like it when people stare, even if it's Wild Wonda back here. I stripped down to my boxers, leaving them on for obvious reasons. I turned around slowly, only to be met with the woman being mere inches from me. I jolted a bit, startled by her silent presence.
I gave an audible groan of discomfort, ignoring her stares momentarily before she started to reach towards me.
'Red flag! Red Flag! RED FLAG!!'
Instead of anything 'suggestive', the woman simply trailed her fingertips over the many scars scattered along my body, a rather distant and solemn look in her eyes. I gazed at her with a rather distant expression, lowering my eyes a bit, allowing her to examine the torturous reminders of my past failure.
She let out a quiet sympathetic whimper, looking up at me with a saddened gaze. I sighed softly, gently resting my hand upon her head while I stroked her beautiful red hair. I was trying to inform her that I was fine, that I was not in pain, but her sympathy remained.
After a few moments of silence, I trekked over towards the entrance of the cave, placing a bucket I grabbed from the cart to sit in the rain and gather water. After a good twenty minutes, the bucket was decently full enough to use. I bundled up some socks I found in the saddlebags, though they looked like something out of a Victoria's Secret catalog, they would suffice as a wash cloth for now.
I took a seat on a large rock perched within the cave, and made sure she paid attention while I began to wash myself, squirting soap into the bucket of water before dunking the socks into the sud enthralled water. I began to drag the drenched socks across my form, scrubbing any grime I may have gathered from the excitement moments ago.
Eventually, I had finished giving myself a half-baked sponge bath, quickly wrapping myself in a blanket to dry off and get warm. After a moment settled in, allowing me to warm up, I gestured that the woman did the same. She looked at me quizzically, curiously stepping over and sitting where I once was, hesitantly mimicking the movements of washing rather slowly.
Soon enough, she good the hang of it, and finished up all by herself, rinsing off in the rain before wrapping in a dry blanket to warm herself from the chilly breeze. She looked at me like a child expecting praise, her eyes glimmering up at me, patiently awaiting my approval. I gave a small smile, then stroked her hair softly, patting her head, earning a soft coo from her.
'I think I'll name you...Scarlet' I mentally spoke, a smile forming on my lips.
Now that her stink was taken care of, it was time for another highly important necessity: clothing. I gathered what I could from the bags, crafting the best toga dress I could for her.After fitting her with a half-assed toga, I placed my denim jacket onto her--it looked like a little girl trying on her father's jacket, it was adorable to say the least.
She gazed up at me with content, then tightly pulled me into a warm embrace--for a small woman like her, she sure as hell had a strong-ass grip. I smiled lightly, returning the hug before trekking over to the luggage, digging through them until I found a single bed roll.
'It's better than nothing' I inwardly sighed, laying out the bed roll while Scarlet observed me curiously.
After fluffing the pillow, I gestured Scarlet to lay down onto the bed roll, watching her curiously crawl onto the soft foam mattress was rather adorable, she even tested its comfort with a few presses of her palm against the center of the mattress. She laid down, huddled into a ball, and looked up at me with eyes of content.
As I began to advance towards the entrance of the cave in order to make sure we weren't followed, I heard a soft whimper of protest from Scarlet. I glanced back at her, perking a brow. There was no way I could speak, my throat has been fucked up by some force of nature I'm not aware of, so there was no real way of me assuring her that I wasn't going to leave, that I'd be right there for her.
So, I did what I could do best--lay down next to her.
She trilled softly, resting against me, our combined body heat warming the both of us up rather quickly. I softly blushed as I saw her peek up from under the covers, gazing at me like a dog happily resting beside its kind master.
There could be hundreds of possible explanations for this woman's strange behavior, why she acted like an animal was beyond me, but at least I had some company in this alien like world. If she was in fact feral, then perhaps I could teach her? It appears that she clearly lacks basic information, but learns rather quickly; monkey see, monkey do.
I decided that yesterday I would start educating her the basics of how to take care of herself, basics that natural instincts fail to teach. It may be tough, and I'm no professor, but if I'm going to survive, it would be best to have some company along with me.
My contemplation was broke by a soft melody of dormant coos emanating from Scarlet's lips as she slept soundly and peacefully. Following in her example, I decided to close my eyes and relax my tense body, snuggling up close with Scarlet as our combined body heat comforted us beneath the confines of our blanket. In mere moments, I was asleep, snoring quietly while I drifted further and further into a peaceful slumber.
"I don't believe you Apple Bloom, there's no way a human that tall could pull off such a thing!" Scootaloo whispered, doubting her friend's story.
"You have too! Zecora saw it with her own eyes! A human nearly seven feet tall carrying a small human female along with heavy luggage resting on its back! She said that it must've belong to somepony, since it wore clothing, but strange clothing at that!" Apple Bloom retorted, trotting along the entrance of a cave just a few hundred feet away from the tree-line that resided near Sweet Apple Acres.
"And you're sure Zecora said that it went into this cave?" Sweetie Belle asked, glancing around nervously.
"I'm positive!" Apple Bloom replied, her young southern drawl woven between each word she spoke.
"Right, so what if this giant human is in this cave, what do we do then, won't it hurt us?" Scootaloo asked, pursing her lips anxiously as they approached the cave's entrance slowly.
"We won't know unless we find out!" Apple Bloom chimed, stopping just outside the cave's entrance, staring up at how vast it was, squinting into the darkness with hopes of seeing this alleged giant human.
(To Be Continued...)
Chapter 1 - Soaking It In
I was woken from my slumber by the sound of children laughing and giggling, which was odd considering last time I checked me and Scarlet were the only ones in the cave. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, groaning softly while I yawned.
"Shh, he's waking up!" one voice spoke, a southern drawl clearly audible.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe we should've brought Big Mac?" another voice spoke, sounding a bit nervous.
"I don't even think Big Mac could go up against this human, look at em, he's ripped!" the voice with the southern drawl retorted, earning a soft sigh from the other one.
"He looks rather young for a human his size, how old do you think he is?" another voice chimed in, different from the other two.
I peeked my eyes open slowly, only to be met with the forms of three foals standing around my head. One was an alabaster hue with a two-toned curly mane--and a horn, the other had an orange fur coat with purple hair--and wings, and the final one was a pale cream color--nothing protruded from its head or back, thus leading me to assume it was just a normal filly.
I lifted my head, looking at the three fillies with squinted eyes, attempting to process what I was witnessing. After about five minutes of awkward glances being exchanged, I let out a groan, falling back, pulling the covers over my head in annoyance.
'Fucking hell' I groaned mentally, grumbling while I attempted to think of what to do next.
I suddenly noticed something was laying atop of me. I opened my eyes, and glanced down from under the covers to see Scarlet's naked form sleeping peacefully against my half-naked body.
'FUCKING HELL!!?!?' I inwardly screeched, jolting slightly in surprise, waking Scarlet in the process.
She sat up quickly, straddling my gut, darting her eyes all over the place before locking onto the foals. She tilted her head curiously while all the foals giggled, red hued their cheeks as they huddled together.
"It looks like they were mating!" the orange filly chuckled, earning a giggle from the other two foals.
Scarlet shifted her gaze at me, tiling her head, looking down at me with content before collapsing against my chest, snuggling ever so closely to my form, causing my heart rate to go from zero to sixty in three point five. My face flushed a bright crimson red as I tried to find some way of getting her off without upsetting her, I could hear the three fillies giggle at my misfortune.
Wait a minute, these three fillies are completely innocent and sweet, right? So that means they aren't with those other ponies that I rescued Scarlet from, which means, they can lead us to civilization!
"Hey, I recognize that female human, she's Fluttershy's human!" the alabaster filly spoke, pointing her hoof at Scarlet.
"Didn't Fluttershy just get that human, like, two days ago?" the southern accented filly asked the others, earning a shrug from them both.
'Wait, who the hell is Fluttershy, and why do they talk about Scarlet like she's somebody's dog?' I mulled to myself, a frown purging my lips as I attempted to think of an answer.
Wait, what's that feeling?
I looked down, and noticed that Scarlet's legs were spread apart and rested on each side of my waist. Her nether regions were pressing rather lewdly against the area near my belly button.
Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope.
I quickly crawled out from under Scarlet, despite her whines of protest as I began to pull my now dry clothes on, checking my inventory once more before glancing over at the fillies as they examined Scarlet. I began to strap all the luggage I had required back onto my form, looking like a human pack-mule.
I put the toga I had made last night back on Scarlet so she would be less distracting and more decent, the foals examined me curiously as I packed up and prepared for a hike. After I was finished, I turned to the three foals and stared at them expectantly, kneeling down closer to them as they all recoiled a bit.
"W-What do you think ir wants?" the orange filly asked, her wings ruffling a bit.
"I don't know, maybe he's lost?" the alabaster filly suggested, turning to the other two.
"That's it!" the honey-colored filly exclaimed, bouncing slightly.
"What's it?" the pale foal asked.
"We take back Fluttershy's human and take the giant human to a shelter then we might get our cutie-marks for human rescueing!" the honey colored filly replied, earning an excited nod of approval from the other two fillies.
'Well, that worked itself out' I mused to myself, holding back a smirk as I stood back up.
Scarlet leaned against me, positioning herself underneath my arm while she nuzzled into my collar. I blushed darkly, looking away to hide it from the giggling fillies.
"Aww, Fluttershy's human has a crush on the giant human!" the orange filly chirruped, all three of the fillies letting out an audible awww, giggling at my awkwardness.
'Damn it woman, I can't act tough when you're rustlin' with my hormones!' I mentally snapped, sighing softly before I glanced at the foals, they returned the gaze I gave them with curiosity.
"Lets get going then, to Ponyville we go!" the country-themed filly cheered, followed by the other two enthusiastic foals.
'Ponyville? Are you fucking kidding me?' I groaned incredulously towards the name of the town these foals just mentioned.
Aside from my skeptics, I didn't really care if the town was called Canterlot, it was better than staying out in these woods with psychotic ponies.
I remained rather quiet as me and Scarlet followed the three fillies down a dirt path, I was partially focusing on our surroundings. I was hearing strange noises coming from the forest, and considering the fact that there's unicorns, pegasi, and regular ponies that can talk, let alone perform magic--I wasn't keeping a close mind on what else could be lurking around us.
Scarlet seemed to notice my caution, then snuggled closely against my chest in an attempt to settle my nerves. I gently patted her head in thanks, sighing gently before shifting my gaze ahead, noticing an opening roughly a hundred yards out.
As we approached, I noticed a figure forming near the entrance of the opening, it was a pony from the looks of it, a mare with a light orange fur coat, golden blond mane and tail, and emerald green eyes, a stetson's hat rested upon her head. Adorned on her flank was an insignia, only hers was an image of three red apples.
"What the--Apple Bloom!?" the mare called out, galloping towards us. "Where were ya? You gave me a fright!" the mare scolded.
The mare suddenly skidded to a hault once she noticed me and Scarlet standing a few feet behind the three foals. The mare's eyes widened, and were, for obvious reasons, directed at me. The mare quickly pulled the foal I assumed to be Apple Bloom close to her, then stood in front of the three other foals in a protective manner.
"Holy buck, Apple Bloom, where'd this big guy come from!?" the orange mare exclaimed, staring up at me with caution.
"Applejack, don't be scared, he's a nice human!" Apple Bloom declared, struggling in, who I assume to be, Applejack's grasp.
"He's lost too!" the alabaster foal pleaded.
"We figured we would bring him and Fluttershy's human back to Ponyville where Fluttershy can reunite with her human and the giant human can be returned to his owner!" the dark orange filly declared, earning a quizzical gaze from Applejack.
'Don't nobody own Kane sista!' I mentally retorted, huffing quietly.
"You sure it ain't hostile?" Applejack inquired, looking up at me with caution.
"We're positive, he's a total sweetheart, Fluttershy's human absolutely adores him!" Apple Bloom pointed out, gesturing to Scarlet who was snuggled up close against my chest.
"Well, you girls go get Big Mac to come out here and help me handle him, also bring Fluttershy's human along with ya too" Applejack stated after a few moments of trailing her eyes over my frame.
"Okay!" Apple Bloom chirped, the other two fillies coaxed Scarlet to come along with them, I gave her a pat on the head to assure her she'd be alright.
As we stood there waiting for this Big Mac fella to show up, me and Applejack locked eyes and haven't blinked even once since the fillies and Scarlet had left. Applejack soon rose from her perch on the ground, trotting around in circles, examining me closely while I watched her with curiosity.
"Hm, you sure are built for tough work there, suger-cube" Applejack spoke aloud, her eyes trailing up and down my body.
'Sugar-what?'
"And you're certainly bigger than the largest humans I've got back on the farm..." Applejack continued to think aloud, her eyes turning from caution to consideration.
'What am I, some exotic animal to be gawked at?'
"Hm...if you don't have any owners, perhaps I should take you in for myself..." Applejack spoke with a slight smirk, stopping right in front of me, looking up my face.
I knelt down so I was closer to her eye level, eventually sitting with legs crossed while my pale blue eyes stared dexterously at Applejack. The mare blinked, her ears flicking softly as she sat down in front of me as well, both of us exchanging glances like many would exchange words in a conversation.
"Hmm..." Applejack tapped her chin with her hoof, a brow raising as she slowly reached forward, grasping my name tag that I barely noticed pinned to the right side of my chest.
"Kane, that must be your name?" Applejack spoke, shifting her gaze from the name tag back up to my face.
I didn't give her any real acknowledgement, since I could tell she was being rhetorical. From what I could tell so far, humans aren't exactly the sentient race of this bad trip of a world. For all I know, humans are just mere animals to these ponies. I decided it would be best to suppress my intelligence for a while, at least the ones you wouldn't see animals doing. I don't know what would happen if these ponies knew I was sentient, I shudder at the consequences of them knowing.
"Your eyes...they're...strange" Applejack spoke, leaning in closely to inspect my hues.
'Say what now?'
"They...look so sad, so empty...as if you were--"
Applejack was cut off by the sound of a rather deep-voiced stallion clearing his throat behind her. The stallion was noticeably larger than Applejack's height of four feet. He was perhaps four foot eleven, or even five feet, I'm not a good guesser. He had a red-apple colored fur coat, straw-brown hair, and angle kisses just like Applejack. His eyes were an emerald green such as Applejack's, the only difference was they adorned a far more relaxed and mellow aura. He looked down at Applejack, then over to me, both his brows rose upward.
"Isn't he a biggin'?" Applejack asked the stallion--who I assume is this Big Mac that was spoken of earlier.
"Eeyup" Big Mac replied, absorbing my features curiously.
I smirked inwardly, an idea popping up. Since I was quite the vast bloke, I always did enjoy boasting about my height, exploiting it, comparing myself to those shorter than me for a good hearted laugh here and there. I slowly stood up, Big Mac's eyes followed, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks as he took in the vastness of my full bipedal height.
"Dang" Big Mac exhaled, glancing at my broad frame.
"He's bigger than Andreas, and Andreas stands a good six foot two. How tall d'ya think this here fella is?" Big Mac inquired, trekking around me for inspection.
"Seven feet, if I were to take an educated guess. He's a good ten inches taller than Andreas to say the least" Applejack replied, glancing up at me with a smirk.
"I say we keep him until we find his owners, what'ya say Big Mac?" Applejack inquired, earning a hesitant nod from the large stallion.
'Oi, what am I, a stray dog?' I grumbled softly, earning a startled glance from the two ponies before me.
"You think he's mad?" Applejack asked, looking over at Big Mac.
"Naw, I think he's just grumpy 'cause we's just gawking' at em" Big Mac replied, earning an inward thanks from me.
"Or, he's in pain" Applejack stated, pointing with her hoof at a patch of blood soaking into my pant leg that I just now noticed.
'The fuck?' I mulled, tracking back in order to find out what would have injured me.
Kane and that human female had just fallen asleep, and not a second too soon. It was time for me to launch my scheme, and so, with a swift pace, I hovered my way into the darkness of the cave's enclosure, blending in flawlessly with the shadows. I was weak in this shadow form, but I've been saving up enough power just for this one event; the spark that would ignite the flame.
Eagerly, yet steadily, I inched my way to Kane's sleeping form, slithering stealthily as I approached his broad chest that rose and fell from steady and peaceful breathing. I made sure that he was asleep before I began to make my way towards his neck, preparing to inject my magic into his veins before I was abruptly interrupted by the sound of approaching hoofsteps.
I cursed silently, slithering farther into the more darkest part of the cave's interior, glaring at the three approaching figures that soon revealed themselves as three fillies, or more specifically the CMC. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo, those accursed brats tend to poke their noses in things far out of their league, pure idiocy if you ask me.
They approached Kane and the sleeping female human slowly, plopping down on their haunches while they simply just watched the two humans slumber. I glared at them, still cursing at them inwardly while I observed their doings. They just sat there, watching the two sleep, curiosity gleeming in their innocent eyes.
I couldn't scare them off, that'd risk waking up Kane or the human female, so I'd have to be patient for now.
They're still here! After five hours, they're still here, most likely waiting for Kane to awake. Meanwhile, the human female has made herself comfortable by repositioning on top of Kane's form, straddling his waist while she rested her cheek against his collar, all while in the nude. She shrugged off the improv apparel Kane had made for her, most likely to get more comfortable, or intimate, with Kane.
I cursed inwardly, sighing as I slowly began to nod off, my own tiredness catching up to me. I decided since the night was not yet over, I'd get at least a few small hours of napping in, I could even get more energy to plant my magic into Kane. Or better yet, I can observe Kane's dreams, that way I'll know when he wakes up or not.
Without further ado, I closed my eyes and brought myself into a deep slumber, slipping into Kane's subconscious, spectating his dreams, and nightmares.
I knew this dream, no--this nightmare. I've seen Kane suffer through it multiple times, it was the day of the accident that turned Kane into a valued target, the incident that infected his heart with enough darkness to let me in; the day his family died, and the day he failed to save them.
Kane was young in this dream, perhaps thirteen at best. He was still incredibly large, roughly six foot eight at best. He was preparing to go on a vacation trip to the coast, catch some fish, swim in the ocean, have a good time as always. However, they neglected to listen to the radio, turning it down, missing the report of a tornado spotting.
They were a hundred miles from home when the tornado struck, engulfing their vehicle with a strong current of wind, shaking them violently within the interior of the tornado's form. Hours passed, and eventually the tornado had tossed their car into a nearby river. KAne was still conscious, but his father, mother, and younger sister were unconscious.
Since the integrity of the car was weakened by the tornado, Kane could easily kick the roof off from the rest of the vehicle, allowing him to carry his family to the surface as fast as possible--with three broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder. After bringing his parents and younger sister to the surface, his only family left that mattered, and carried them to the closest hospital--that was halfe a mile away.
His family died fifteen minutes before he collapsed at the hospital's front entrance.
After waking up from a two month coma, and hearing the news of his family's death, Kane attempted suicide multiple times, and survived them all. He was released after another month of psychiatric watch, where he was then taken into foster care.
Voices began to cloud Kane's mind then, he was huddled in the corner of a dark room as multiple indistinct voices laughed maniacally at Kane's misery, only fueling his rage and agony. He screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice carrying for what seemed like hours before everything went black.
That was my que to exit his subconscious.
My eyes shot open quickly, after briefly orientating myself, I jolted my attention to where I last saw the three fillies surrounding Kane and the human female.
SHIT!
They had already left, I could see them in the distance. I scolded myself inwardly as I desperately dashed in an attempt to catch up. I only had so much energy and so much magic to perform the task I needed to do in order for my plan to work. I slithered as quickly as I could, using the shade of the trees to boost my speed.
Thirty minutes had passed, and I had eventually caught up with them. I snarled inwardly at the sight I saw.
Applejack was with Kane, as well as that big stallion, what was his name again? Big Mac? I believe he was Applejack's brother, but I didn't really care either way, I had to focus only on the eventual opportunity to spark the fire that would ignite my plot into victory.
Once I made sure the two ponies weren't looking, I quickly slithered in the blink of an eye over to Kane, sinking my fangs into his hip, allowing my magic to flow into his veins and spread like venom throughout his body. He didn't even seem to notice that much. Thankfully he must've been sitting down to long, making his leg, including his thigh, go numb.
I quickly slithered back into the shadows, evading towards my base of operation. The seed has been planted, and I no longer have to make physical contact with Kane for quite a while. My plan was working smoothly, and soon, I will succeed, and rule supereme once more.
(To Be Continued...)
