To whomever it may concern
To whomever it may concern,
My name is Alexander Williamson. I am a regular highschooler in Arizona of the good ol’ US of A. I live with my mom most of the time and have four brothers and sisters. My dad has a job in Colorado, so my family and I don’t see him very much. He usually visits us every other weekend, thanks to my grandma working at the airport. When he comes over we always hang out, go hiking, eat out, and just have a great time. My mom owns a small store that I work at so that we have money for stuff, but I rarely have time for fun during the week. I always have to catch up on my honors class work. It can be hard, but my life is fulfilling.
Or at least it was before I got shot.
Right now, I’m writing this letter to someone... I honestly don’t know who will read this, but Discord (who I thought was just a character from the show “My Little Pony; Friendship Is Magic) told me to write this before I “get started”. Totally weird, and I will explain more of that later, but right now I have no choice but to roll with it. Anyway I bet you would like to know what the hell I’m talking about, so I will start my story with my death (not really, it just sounds cool).
So, I have a daily routine. For the morning I get up, get clean, eat food, and go to school. After school I do some homework, check on my siblings, go to work, repeat until the shop is closed and everyone is heading to bed. Very simple, totally safe… unless someone decides to rob the store my mom owns. In that case, it becomes very unsafe.
To be honest, I don’t understand why the place was robbed. I mean seriously, it’s a place you don’t notice unless someone points it out, and then you’re like,“oh, a book and candle shop, weird”. Yet, for some reason unknown to me, a trio of armed thugs took a look at the place and decided they found a great place to rob. I know that we didn’t have any obvious security, but how much do you think a small book and candle shop makes?! Actually, we make a surprisingly decent amount considering the size of our collection, but still!
So, the situation broke out on a Friday. On Fridays we pay the other two employees and I bring home the money my mom and I made. I then come back and help my mom clean up the shop. The money left over is put into a safe located in a small storeroom at the back of the shop. I had just come back from our house and was helping my mom close up when a car parked in the front of the shop. This happens every once and a while when people don’t realize that it is past closing time, so we assumed that was the case. Unfortunately, we knew we had assumed the wrong thing when three ski-masked thugs walked in pointing guns at us.
“Get down on the ground, this is a robbery!” One of the thugs yelled. To be honest, I would have laughed if not for the threat of violent bodily harm. Instead of standing up to the armed thugs and trying to be a hero, my mom and I did the smart thing and got on the ground, arms behind our heads for good measure. Two of the guys went further into the small store, probably looking for anything of value. The one that was left guarded us, daring us to make a move.
Despite the stress and fear I was under I decided to fully assess my situation. There were three guys, two of us. They had one handgun each, while we currently had nothing. We store two handguns ourselves in a convenient hidden compartment under the counter. Most likely, when they didn’t find the money or needed to open the safe, they would have one of us get the money, keeping the other as insurance for good behavior. Now, if one of us had been able to grab a gun (or both) and shoot our captors before either of us were harmed, that would have been great. Unfortunately, neither of us had the proper firearms practice, myself being (just barely) an okay shot with a BB gun and my mom with no experience whatsoever. The thugs had a large bag for whatever they could snag and wore close-worn clothing, probably to speed up getaway time. Of course, the lack of loose clothing showed that the handguns were all they had, which was more than us, but the thought helped. From what I saw, the guys weren’t the best at firearms either. My dad had been in the military, and I occasionally watched him shoot my BB gun. While better than us, these guys were a far cry from a professional level.
Even though I wanted to do more assessing, my silent timer had rung. “Hey, we found a safe! B, get the code from those two!” Welp, there goes my hope of them being stupid, I thought to myself. As I hoped, “B” as his codename was, pulled me up instead of my mom, who was to the left of me. “Now, kid, I know you are thinking of a way to get you two out of this. That is a stupid though and it is in your best interest to stop thinking about that. All we want is the money. Give us the code, and the money you have on you, and we’ll leave you alone, got it?” Despite the fact that he used a gentle tone, what he meant was made clear to me. The threat, while unsaid, was pressing down on my shoulders… if I was too troublesome, someone would die.
Seeing no possible way to end this in a victory, I spoke the code. “18-5-22-21-6” After I spoke, I felt despair. I always wanted to save the day, but this was no comic book. There would be no hero today, myself or otherwise. The only consolation I had was that my mom and I would be able to recover, the money stolen being only a small amount.
Unfortunately, what was my consolation became my doom.
“What the hell! there’s practically nothing in here!” Said one of the thugs in the back room. “What?! Cut the the crap, kid. Where’s the money!” The thug in front of me had lost his mockingly cool demeanor and was now looking at me with the look of one who had just been swindled. “Today was pay day,” I said in a surprisingly calm and collected tone. “That’s all the money we have here.”
The answer I gave obviously wasn’t to “B’s” liking. Pressing his gun against my chest he glared at me and said, with unbridled rage, “Listen, kid. I don’t know if you posses the common sense to know this, so I’ll tell you. When a man points a gun at you, you do what he asks. You don’t fuck with him. You do as he says!” I could hear my mom panicking next to me, both of us seeing the man dangerously close to the brink. His eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets and I could have sworn he was starting to foam at the mouth, a far cry from his original disposition. I needed to be careful.
In a manner far calmer than the situation would suggest I should talk, I said, “Listen, I’m sorry for the small amount in the safe. That may be all we have, but maybe we can-”
BLAM!
I was completely shocked. I leaned back against a shelf for support. What just happened? Why is my chest damp? Is that….blood? Am I going to die? “NOOOOO!!! ALEX!!!” My mom’s screams returned me to reality. When I looked at her I saw tears streaming down her face. The thug who shot me grabbed her, threatening her, and when he didn’t get the answer he wanted….
….he would kill her too.
The thought of my mom dying in front of me rocked me to my core. She did her best with what she had in life and persevered no matter the challenge, putting others before herself. She didn’t deserve to die. She couldn’t die...she wouldn’t die.
I suddenly felt all the adrenaline in my body be released into my system at the same time. Everything slowed down, I could see the thug moving at an extremely sluggish speeds. I could probably save my mom if I played my cards right. Only problem? I would die no matter what, not to mention the fact that my heart beating four times its normal speed means that I would bleed out four times faster.
Taking a course of action, I slowly fell forward. The thug saw my body falling forward and prepared to simply move me to the side. With speed that would normally be impossible for a human being, I twisted my body out of his arm’s way. I then grabbed the shocked man’s gun and power kicked him away. After I sent his body flying I turned to the other two, who apparently came out at the sound of the gunshot. I didn’t want to kill them, so I aimed to disable them. Thankfully, the extra perception granted by my super adrenaline rush gave me perfect aim. The first thug I shot in the left shoulder and in the hand of the gun arm. Next, I shot at the second thug’s knee and both shoulders. With both of them disabled, I told my mom to grab the guns dropped. After a stunned silence she obeyed and gathered up the handguns. The thug “B” had been knocked unconscious when his head hit the wall. Sensing the moment, I handed my mom the gun in my hand and said this...
“Shoot them if they move. Mom, please stay safe, and…I…love…you…”
Then I blacked out, ending my badass spree.
**********
When I woke up, I was in a completely unfamiliar place. I don’t mean that I couldn’t recognise the trees and buildings and whatnot, I mean I was in a place that I could barely comprehend. There was no light, yet when I looked at myself I had no problems making out the details of my clothing. When I looked off into the distance I felt as if I couldn't see more than a foot in front of me, yet I also felt as if I could see forever. I didn’t feel uncomfortable with this fact though. In fact, I couldn’t really feel anything, as if I was disconnected from….something important. It was then I had two important thoughts. My first was, Am I dead? My second, I said aloud... “If this is where you go when you die, then I call bullshit. This place is as boring as hell.”
“My sentiments exactly.”
Turning to the voice I saw a figure I never, ever expected to see with my own eyes.
“…Discord?”
“Ah, it seems you know me! Then again, I am popular in your world, so I shouldn’t be surprised you are familiar. Even so, I spent some time on how I was going to go on with this, so I will introduce myself anyway! I am Discord! Lord and master of chaos and your only ticket out of this Celestia-forsaken place.” I stood there, stunned, as the chaotic draconus offered me a business card saying ‘DISCORD: LORD AND MASTER OF CHAOS; I.E. YOUR ONLY WAY OUT OF HERE’. After I took the card, the draconus continued his talking.
“Now, I’m sure you have many questions to ask, but first I should explain your predicament. You see, you are dead now. Normally, one of three things happen when a mortal dies. They either go to the Underworld, go to Tartarus, or get stuck as restless souls in the realm of the living. ‘Which way did I take then?’ you may ask. Answer? None. I saw what you did in your final moments, which I must say was an impressive act of loyalty, and I also witnessed the outcome. Don’t worry, your mother is safe and sound. The men you defeated were arrested and will probably be charged for your murder. The reason you are stuck here is because your soul stayed behind, protecting your mother like a guardian angel. The only problem is that the very moment you felt it was safe to move on the pathway to the Underworld, which is opened to those recently deceased for a short period of time, had closed. This trapped you in the void we are in now. The problem with being in the void for an extended period of time is that your soul will waste away. Why? Because the void between life and death doesn’t really exist. Right now we are everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Because we are everywhere, your soul will eventually be spread too thin to retain a form “large” enough to maintain sentience. Because we are nowhere, the small pieces of your soul that split off will be consumed by the void to never exist anywhere again. I’ve seen your predicament and I decided that I would help you, but only if you agree to help me. So, I’ll help you and you'll help me. Deal?”
After a few moments of comprehending what Discord had said, I noticed he put out his lion paw for me to shake. “Hold on, you’re telling me that if I stay here my very soul will disappear and cease to exist, and that you can get me out?” Discord sighed. “Here we go with the questions that I already answered…yes, you will cease to exist if you stay here and yes, I can save you if you take the deal. In fact, I can bring you back to life! How kind is that?” I looked at him skeptically. “Isn’t that necromancy?” I asked. “Yes it is,” he replied, “why do you ask?”
“Doesn’t necromancy usually go horribly wrong?” Discord chuckled. “Why, my dear Alexander, the only reason necromancy goes wrong is because necromancers try to break the Laws of the Dead. Because the Laws of the Dead are absolute, the necromancers never get past a certain point.”
“So how do you plan to bring me back, then?”
“As much as I want to tell you everything, I refuse to say anything more until you take the deal.” With that he promptly took his mouth off his face and threw it into the infinite distance. I blinked. Wow, didn’t see that one coming. “So my only option really is to take a deal I only know half of, in order to get more information and not disappear into the void forever. Correct?” Discord simply nodded. “Fine, I’ll take your…offer,” I contemplated every possible way I could get an advantage...any advantage to be honest. After I failed to find any way to do so I shook his outstretched paw with a sigh.
“Finally! Mother of Celestia, you took forever!” Discord’s mouth had instantly reappeared on his face. “Answers, Discord.” I demanded, impatiently as some of my emotions came back to me (although I didn’t question it). I just wanted to know what I signed up for. “Hmmm, short version or the long version?”
“Uh, short version for now.”
“Great, now listen close. I’ll only answer a few questions afterwards and I won’t repeat myself.” Taking a deep breath, even though he didn’t need to, he began.
“Now, how much of ‘My Little Pony’ have you watched?”
I froze at the unexpected question. “What?” I finally managed. “You heard me. How far have you gotten in watching the show ‘My Little Pony’?”
“Uh…I got to the end of season three…”
“Thats good. Now, you know when the Elements of Harmony were used, right?” I nodded. “Well, what if one of the Element Bearers were to, say, disappear sometime in the middle of season two?” I raised an eyebrow, but thought about his question. “Well, if one of the Mane six were to ‘disappear’ around that time, and I’m assuming that when you say this that the lost pony isn’t found, then if the others are able to make it through the changeling invasion of Canterlot and beat King Sombra, I would say that the only truly major incident involving the Elements being altered is Twilight’s alicorn transformation.” Discord smiled, letting me know that I wasn’t wrong.
“Now, instead of the pony simply being missing, what if she was dead?” Despite fearing what I knew what he would say, I replied.“I have two things to say to that,one: there isn’t that much of a difference between events. Two: I call bullshit on that statement because in the show none of the Mane six disappear or die.” I wasn’t surprised when he started laughing. “Alexander, my boy, I know that you knew my reaction the moment you started speaking.” I sighed. “Most likely you are from a completely alternate timeline where something went horribly wrong, killing someone,” I said in a monotone voice used to reply to annoying teachers. “So, that begs the question of ‘who died?’”
“Rainbow Dash. To be honest she was the one who took the most risks out of all of them, but the way she died is remarkably similar to your death. Completely different circumstances, but the drive behind both of your last moments is the same: protect those you care about, till the end. It’s unfortunate that a dragon rampaged into Ponyville that day, completely inexplicably too. No, Spike did not kill her. I said it was unexplainable as to why a dragon was rampaging there and that is an explanation, not to mention that Spike doesn’t go on a greed rampage in this series of events.” I lowered my hand. “Because of Rainbow Dash’s untimely demise Twilight Sparkle never achieved her destiny. This caused chaos to befall the land, and before you question why I have a problem with it, the reason is this: the chaos where evil and darkness now found everywhere has every sentient being cooped up in their now-heavily fortified towns and cities. While the chaos does give me power, it isn’t the chaos I prefer. After all, where’s the fun when everypony’s dead? Now, you asked for the short version so I’ll be brief. When I said I would resurrect you, I didn’t mean your own body. When you shook my paw you agreed to do anything I wanted. Gave me a blank check, as you will. Now I’m going to fill it out. You will be returned to life in Equestria, in Rainbow Dash’s body, and stop the brutish chaos as I replace it with my own, less noticeable and infinitely more enjoyable mixture.”
Discord just watched and smiled evilly as what he just said took a crash landing into my thoughts. “Wait…WHAT?!”
“You will be Rainbow Dash. You'll have to wear a disguise most of the time, but nothing too difficult. Even if you do forget any concealing headwear there, you just have to make sure nopony that was close to her sees you.”
“Uh, Discord? I’m pretty sure that if anyone sees me my cover would be blown. An Element Bearer dying would be big news.” I said, snapping somewhat out of my stupor. “Oh, don’t worry. She died about fifteen years ago,” Discord said as he watched shock and surprise reassert their domination over my facial expression. “Wait, fifteen years, how can that be? The show hasn’t gotten that far in its timeline yet!”
“I may come from a world with an alternate timeline, but that doesn’t mean my world is in sync with its counterpart. Now, I believe fifteen years, given the current situation of Equestria, is just enough to drive any thoughts concerning a mare who died fifteen years ago out of a stranger’s mind. As long as you stay away from those who knew her well you’ll be fine.”
“So, I have a question.”
“Ask away. Just know that this counts as one of your after questions, so be careful.” I shot Discord a confused look. “Why? I’ve already asked you tons of questions. So why would this next one count?”
“Well for one: you just asked me two questions, but I’ll let them slide. As for two: the other questions don’t count because I wanted you to ask them. The ones that count are ones that I don’t feel like explaining, important as you may think them to be.” After facepalming at his logic, I asked my question. “Why Rainbow? Why not create my own body?” Discord snapped his fingers and summoned glasses, a drink, and a floating hammock. After settling down in the hammock he started talking. “Again two questions, but I’m a generous draconus and I’ll let the second one slide. Rainbow Dash’s body is the ideal choice for your future lifestyle for many reasons, so I’ll name a few. With your own pony body you would take forever to become good enough at walking so that you won’t crash every five steps… and with Equestria as it is now I’d give you ten minutes, tops, before you were robbed and/or killed. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, was the fastest flyer in Equestria, knew black-belt level martial arts, and had all of her physical skills deeply ingrained into her muscle memory. Skills you don’t need to physically practice right away because the body will take care of it for you. Rainbow Dash’s body is, despite being dead for many years, linked with the Elements of Harmony and has some protection against corruption. Also, when you screw up and accidentally reveal your identity, it will be quite hilarious to watch.” With the last part he gave me a sly grin before checking off a list he had summoned.
“Well,” he said as he rolled up the scroll, “not much left to do but get things started. Ready to live again?” I hesitated before answering, “Can I have some more time? I still need to wrap my head around thi-” Before I could finish I was interrupted by Discord. “No, unfortunately I don’t really care if you’re actually ready or not. I only said that to make it seem as if you had a choice.” Getting off the hammock I only saw Discord snap his fingers before I lost consciousness.
**********
Ugh….
I felt incredibly groggy. Today was going to be an off day.
RIINNGGG!!!
Stupid alarm...why must you torment me so! Despite my intense internal complaints, the alarm continued to go off. I tried my best to ignore it, but in the end I was dragged out of the heaven known as sleep. “Why, alarm, why!” I moaned, hitting the alarm and going back to sleep.
That is, before I immediately shot bolt upright upon realizing that I hadn't spoken in my own voice. Remembering everything in a flash, I jumped out of the lone bed in the void, most likely put there by Discord, and examined myself in a full length mirror by the alarm. Again, probably via Discord.
Looking back at me was not the sixteen year-old boy I was so accustomed to seeing. No, the being who looked back was none other than Rainbow Dash. I raised my new hoof. So did she. I sat down. So did she. I clapped my hooves together like a total moron. So did she. “Wow…!” I gasped. “OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!” After making a squee noise I started looking at my new reflection. I saw the trademark rainbow-colored mane and tail, the sky-blue fur, the magenta eyes, the strong wings, the-
“What the hell? What’s this?” Upon looking at my flank I saw, not a rainbow lightning bolt, but a five pointed star inside a pentagon with another five pointed star inside the big star’s pentagon. “That,” Discord said, appearing right behind me and causing me to jump, “is the symbol of a perfect act of necromancy.”
After calming down I recalled what the draconus had said about necromancy. “Didn’t you say that it’s impossible to do necromancy without breaking the rules of death or whatever, Yet even so you could bring me back? Am I a zombie now? If that’s the case this sucks” I squee’d internally at using Rainbow’s voice. It was a little disturbing, my current situation, but only if you thought about it too much. Otherwise it was amazing. “I was able to bring you back to life because the moment you entered the void the Laws of the Dead no longer applied to you. Now, if you’re done striking poses and what not at your reflection, we need to wrap up here.” I could feel my cheeks heat up with embarrassment, realizing that he was watching me the whole time. “Hey, it’s Rainbow’s reflection! Not mine!” Discord simply chuckled a bit. “Well it seems to be yours now, little pony”
“Now, you will need a disguise while exploring Equestria. I will let you pick what you want it to be, but make sure that it covers everything, is lightweight, and provides some protection.” The chaotic draconus then walked off, leaving me to my thoughts. Wait, I have to think of one myself! I guess that’s cool, but what do I wear? After a long time of creating and scratching off different ideas I finally came to an agreement with myself. “Discord! I know what I want!” I shouted into the vast emptiness. “Took you long enough.” Discord reappeared beside me within the blink of an eye, making me fall over in surprise. “So, what do you want?”
“Well, first I need a base layer. Some garb that covers my body from the neck down and won’t let any of my colors show and I can wear just that and not get too hot...lets color it black. After that a mask of the same material, though holes for my eyes would be nice. I can have goggles over the eye holes. After that leather armor to cover my legs, chest, shoulders, and flank. Then a dark red cloak with a hood!”
“Hmm,” Discord shrugged. “Interesting, but I think you’d look ridiculous. the first item and the armor are fine, but I’ll have to fix the other parts for you. A modified guard helmet with a bit more class and no cloak. The helmet will also be leather and only you can take it off with little force. The helmet will change your looks so that you look like you are a different pony, but your voice will be left alone.”
“Why leave my voice alone? It seems a bit risky.”
“Don’t worry, anypony would be hard pressed to recall what a voice sounds like exactly after fifteen years. You’ll be fine. Now, two more things before you’re off. One.” Discord snapped his fingers and summoned a bland satchel bag and long sword in a sheath with straps. “You’ll need these. The supplies will last you for a day or two, the sword is there because you’re going to need it. Your apparel will be ready when you are in Equestria. Two.” The draconus snapped his fingers and a writing desk appeared, with a stack of paper and pencils. “I need you to write, in detail, what your experience has been like so far.”
“Really?”
“To the very last detail.” With a snap I found myself in the desk. “You had best get going”
And that leads me to now. With Discord making sure I don’t forget to write anything he finds important. After this I’ll begin my journey in Equestria as Rainbow Dash, kinda. Anyway, I’ll just wrap up. I don’t know if I’ll have to write more letters in Equestria, but I hope not. Discord says this is good enough so I no longer have to write with hooves. Took forever to write the first paragraph.
This letter was hell to write,
Alexander Williamson
