Author's Note
Well, this is officially the new start of this story and truly I don't have an excuse for not doing anything for about a month. I was just in a funk truly, but after having a party last night I decided to grow a pair and execute a different story. One that I will finish, and will likely have a sequel. Hopefully it doesn't turn out to bad.
Next Chapter: Get Ready To Meet A New Character!
Ch.0| Prologue
Leading the New Age
By Lord-Luzar
Nowadays, ponies and people alike ask idiotic questions, some of which I am not willing to answer. And yet they always come back in search of answers when they can simply look around instead, and it makes me wonder as to why. Why would they want to come back? To me of all creatures? To something that awaits them at the end of their path, no matter who it is, and asks for their thoughts on the matter. To handle their grieving and dealing with their acceptance is something only I can do.
So why...why would they want to come ask questions to me of all things? It is confusing, and the world they left seems to still remain unaffected by their passing. The way how calm they become when I tell them the truth shows the amount of emotion running through their veins, just their thoughts seemed to stop to try and process the words.
“You are dead.”
The words always scare them, mortify them, and some even plead me to return knowing full well it was impossible. Yet sometimes I meet someone in my eternal workings that doesn’t plead for these things, a creature that simply seems content with the fact that they are deceased. This creature has only come to me twice, once being a pony and the other being a human. The pony was far from their standards of normal, or even being close to the social circles she had seen. And the human was a man that had surprised me with not only his appearance, but the raw emotion in a gaze he passed onto me. An eternal being telling intelligent creatures of their death was spooked by a human who merely looked at me with deep emerald eyes.
I asked this man of his deeds and he stayed silent while I decided to show him how he died, yet he watched emotionlessly. I said, “Why are you not surprised, shocked, or even remotely scared?”
He responded with, “It is simple...I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
I was shocked...who would want to be deceased at such a young age, to be brutally cast from your friends and loved ones while fully knowing their grief they had for you? I had only heard this once, and it was from this single man who caused a being of eternal life and knowledge feel a shiver down its back.
“Where do you believe you’ll go?”
He took a while to process my words, and simply looked into the surrounding darkness, “If their is such a thing as Hell, the deepest pit awaits me.” He calmly spoke.
“You do not fear your suffering?”
“I do...but that won’t stop it, and I deserve it as well.”
“What about those you left behind, loved and otherwise?”
He looked at his boots in contemplation and gave me a sad smile, “I suppose I will be missed, but my sacrifice will not be in vain.”
“Please young one...tell me your tale.”
He chuckled and looked into my eyes, the endless pits that trapped souls, and uttered a few words that made me quiver once more, “Are you sure?”
His tone was so absolute and sharp, like the perfect warrior wielding a sword without a moral handicap. And yet despite my everlasting fear of this creature I replied, “Yes.”
Now a true warm smile grazed his face and even though I’ve lived in the darkness for millenia, and felt my heart turn black...it somewhat became warmer inside. The man looked around for something, something that still escapes my thoughts to this day, before turning back to my endless pits.
“May I ask for your name?” His words seemed kind and true.
“I do not possess a name but I know that I have been given names, many that I still do not know, but the most common is Death.” The man smiled at me once more.
“I still wonder to the day I was brought here, away from my miserable life and to this world of endless joy and glamor. Though once you are human, you shall always be human, and trouble will always decide to follow. So I had decided to travel the world and finally quench my thirst for adventure, away from the last of my studies. But in the end all I found was blood on my hands and few creatures to help me. Then I had been captured after a long grueling battle by a masked stallion and I was hidden inside a cave, where he wanted me to tell me story, and I did.
“Ultimately for now I have decided that I will tell the story from that point on, where this strange stallion had come for me in search of my story.” The man finished, looking up at my superior height still in rapt fascination.
“Hm...how old are you, human?” I asked casually.
He pondered for a moment, confusing me, “I believe I am about 33-years-old.”
“You believe?” I questioned.
“I lost some memories along my journey and confused my birthday with my other companions.”
“May I ask one more question, human?”
He nodded in acceptance, still comparing his height to mine, “What is your name?”
I was surprised to see his eyelids burst to a higher height suddenly, and he peered into my eyes with a horrifying stare. The way his eyes tried to pierce me like a spear kept me still, although it was hard for me to show emotion.
This situation and emotion actually reminded me of a saying made by the humans, that fear keeps you alive while terror gets you killed. It was unfortunate that all I felt for the man before me was pure unbridled terror, never before felt by me. Somehow I still kept my calm demeanor but on my inside I could feel my useless organs trying to flee from man.
Looking over him, I saw that his muscles were somehow flexed and I could no longer hear his gentle breathing as only his stare tried to take all the air from me. It seemed to be working as well. But I had remembered something that peaked my interest far more than simply his name.
When watching the memory of his death, I had seen a black eyepatch on his right eye along with a scar crossing over his face. Now, however, it had disappeared as all scars and wounds became nonexistent in this plain.
Using my voice that helplessly tried to remain silent, I asked, “What about your right eye instead? What happened to that?”
Considerably calming down was the one thing that eased my mind from the terror plaguing me, and watching his fingers gingerly touch his right eye calmed me as well.
“That...was something that happened a good few years back, far before I came to the land of Equestria.”
“What happened?”
“I was still an amateur in swordplay, and accidentally provoked a dragon but it was only an adolescent. It was tall and a light-blue color and used its claws to slash at my face. My defensive measures back then were terrible and I worked only on offense so it had hit me and cut open my right eye. Luckily the largest claw only hit me, leaving a single scar on my face. It’s a grave reminder of how mistakes make you vulnerable unless treated correctly.”
“What happened to the dragon?”
“It was arrogant because it had landed a hit on me, but I already said I had only been working on offensive swordplay. I killed it…”
My eyes widened at the words, especially with the pained look now adorned on the man’s face. His eyes were considerably droopy now, and only sadness emanated from them.
“I apologise, I meant him...I killed him.”
“Why apologise?”
“I made a rule for myself a long time ago, far before I went to the Zebras in search of training, when I still was with the other seven I came here with. I would respect the dead no matter what, no matter who it is or what it is I shall respect the dead.” He now sat down on the blackness surrounding us.
“Why a rule?”
“Things happened...I watched something die, an old creature in a dying race...it changed me. For days I only thought about the surprised and confused look in its eyes. Unfortunately I didn’t know its gender, and we were far from graceful when we ‘buried’ it. But from my experiences now I can only assume it was a drone abandoned by its hive. A changeling drone, to be precise.”
This made me truly think, as changelings indeed where an ancient race, and no creature truly knew of their culture and heritage at all. So hearing this from a random man who had just been brought to me was confusing, “How do you know he was abandoned?”
He looked at me for a long time, as if pondering whether I was worthy to tell and finally opened his mouth, “A couple months after I finally left the Zebras and entered Equestria I had passed the country in search of a friend I had lost long ago. Changeling scavengers saw me and quickly reported me to the hive, causing drones to draw in on my location in the Badlands. Before I knew it, I was unconscious and had been dragged into their hive to see their ruler...it wasn’t the most pleasant of greetings.
“In the end though, I had seriously provoked the changeling Queen and questioned her culture...truly foolish on my part. I was blasted with a large bolt of green magic yet since I have never been magically bound to this world or ever being born with the ability to produce magic, it had no affect on me. Of course it still burnt me, as its still powerful energy, and with energy comes heat. So after burning a hole in my shirt, the Queen was surprised by my reaction to her magic and requested me to be studied by some workers.
“I had been caged and tested by the changeling workers countless times, and after weeks of a gruesome process and horrifying pain I was able to speak with the changeling Queen after she had acquired much intelligence on my physique. She had even crafted her own perfect human female, but it still didn’t feel right. I asked why she studied me and she replied that she wanted answers to questions. And after thinking for a while I finally looked deep into the eyes of the changeling Queen, testing her willpower. Of course I activated my power to truly test her.”
“Your power?” I asked, now very intrigued.
“Yes...it is still odd but whenever I get angry, in a sense, my eyes would slowly turn from green to red. It truly amplified my anger tenfold but after many years of exercises and training, I had mastered control over my emotions and could will it to come forth at any point.” He explained in detail, seemingly not fazed by it.
“Well then...please continue.”
“She was truly scared by my now red eyes and called me a monster...I never denied the fact. After I had activated my power, she lasted about three seconds before turning away. And to be honest, the few that have actually impressed me are creatures of great power. Princess Celestia lasted a full minute before turning away, and her sister turned in 45 seconds. Yet her pupil...she was something far greater than anything I had ever seen. She did not flinch, did not show an ounce of emotion the whole time I stared into her, and I had to congratulate her...which surprised her.
“But getting back to the changeling Queen, she had not really been able to take the amount of intensity I provided towards her. In conclusion she lashed out at me, I grabbed the weapon of the nearby changeling guard and held it at her horn. She stopped and peered into my eyes once more, this time without the red glaring at her. Her own eyes softened for a moment but she still reacted in anger, firing a magic bolt at me. In return, and smacked her horn with the shaft of the spear.
“Eventually I found my gear and escaped, but my memories had been tampered with...they had inserted the full knowledge of their changeling hive into my mind. I could only think it was that they didn’t want to be forgotten. I vowed to never forget.” He finished, now standing up once more.
“Well you keep talking about how you used to live with the Zebras...why not explain that?” I asked, making him smile.
“That is a story for another day...well, after I finish this one. For the beginning of this story I believe we’ll have to start with my second companion, and how she met me.” He reminisced briefly, causing him to look far older than he truly was.
“Why the second?”
“My first companion was sentient but she was very...complicated. She couldn't communicate with me because she was a dragon, and I had raised her since she was still an egg. She is white scaled along with golden frills and scales around her tail and legs, also along her head. Her red eyes remind me of myself, and after I left the Zebras I was in search of an ancient dragon to train her in the ways of their language, along with the some draconic magic of their own. When I got to her again she was bigger than I was, and looked so majestic even almost holy. By then I could speak to her coherently due to her learning the draconic tongue.” He said tiredly, waving around his hand lazily.
“I suppose I should ask how you know the draconic tongue later...for now I just want you to answer one question.” I had asked, mentally gulping, though not daring to let it be audible.
“What would that be?”
“What is your name?”
The same stare came at me, though this time his eyes had changed to red and fiercely drilled into my own pits of endless horror. I was ready, however, and gazed back at him emotionlessly, or as best as I could. His eyes turned into a yellow hue, showing that they were leaving him. He had closed his eyes while moving his lips but I was too busy with the stare he gave me. It tried to burn through me and the blackness around me, yet as the colors drained back into the gleaming emerald the intensity died along with it.
“So what is your name, human?” I asked one last time, trying his patience.
“Zephyr.”
