The Darkness Within

by Desolate

Chapters

Feet First
Judgement and Scrutiny
Sun and Moon
Restless Mind
Carry Me Not
Hell On Earth
The Edge

Feet First

Awakening

Awakening

The Darkness Within

Chapter One

I have to stop waking up like this.

Pain was consuming my brain, making it feel like someone ripped my skull open and wrapped barbed wire around it then nailed my head shut. It felt like a hangover, it probably was considering I couldn’t remember the day before... come to think about it, I couldn’t remember the last week.

Time to get up.

I felt dewey wet grass prickling my hands and the back of my head, so I must either be in the backwoods around town, or on some poor slobs front lawn.

My head was pounding hard, the light in my sleep bleared eyes wasn’t doing much to help either. I shielded my eyes and slowly sat up; the fatigue of laying on the cold earth made me stiff and slow to sit upright.

When I got a look at my surroundings I realised I was in a clearing in the forest, it didn’t bother me to be honest, I’ve woken up in worse places, I looked at my watch to see what time it was and ended up even more confused. The damn thing read 11PM, but it was obviously dawn.

The air was fresher than I was used to, like it hadn’t been touched by rancid pollution. I also had no bars, so that meant I was either robbed and dropped off or was way too drunk and thought a stroll in the woods was a good idea. Considering I still had my pants and my wallet, getting blackout drunk seemed more appropriate of an answer.

I slowly stood up, my body protesting for me to just lie down and sleep for awhile longer.

My drowsiness was quickly replaced with fear as I heard a low growl come from behind me. My body froze stiff; we hadn't seen wolves near town in a decade, so maybe it was a pack of dogs... even though I couldn’t see the dogs I assumed there was a pack of the damned things, I calmed myself by breathing in and out slowly. It subsided the fear a bit and let me think more clearly.

I could try and outrun them, maybe they’ll trip on something and won’t catch me. Pfft, yeah right... I'll just back away slowly, hopefully they aren't hungry for bitter resentment...

I was too busy trying to find a way to escape that I didn’t notice a wolf lunge at me.

Time seemed to stop, I looked around and found myself feeling weightless, like I was a spectre in the world, when I turned around I found myself, except I was different. An out of body experience to be sure... maybe this was all a dream?

I was all black, like a blanket of darkness wrapped around my entire body, sucking in any and all light around me, the darkness covered everything except for my eyes, which were a disturbing milky white. My grin made me look terrifying, my teeth were stark white and my canines were longer, giving me a maniacal look.

Time resumed as quickly as it stopped, my body turned with inhuman speed to the wolf and caught it in it’s hand, it looked like it was studying it and its pack, my body suddenly wore a mask of childlike glee when it realized how many wolves there really were, there were roughly seven or eight of them all in a half circle around me.

Silence fell across the forest as my body laid its eyes on the wolf it just caught, giving it the most horrific look I have ever seen on a human being. The wolf tried to squirm from its grasp, but the iron grip around the animals throat proved to be too much. The rest of the pack of wolves were eyeing me with open resentment and fear; without warning, my body crushed the wolf’s neck with the ease of crushing a tin can; the other wolves flinched at how sudden it was. To be fair, at this point, I was more shocked that I wasn't having a panic attack considering my situation.

My body then teleported, for lack of better term, to the wolf on its right, it kicked it’s head so hard that it disconnected from its body. Everything happened so fast that my brain couldn’t keep up, and I am very, very glad for that fact. I don't know how well I could sleep at nights having seen what made those sickening noises. After the fight was over, I was cast back into my body. I looked at my hands to see they were normal again and everything else went back to the way it was, like it never happened.

That was really disturbing, it happened so fast, I couldn’t tell if it was real, if I actually did slaughter them mercilessly with that wicked smile on my face, it terrified me, and I’ve seen some shit, but to experience something like that would make any man rethink his life, to witness something that you had no control over, but that you knew you had done it.

I snapped out of my daze to find that what I just witnessed was real, there were splinters that weren’t there a minute ago, like someone took a saw and cut a tree right where the fight happened, I couldn’t bare to stay there any longer, I had to find water, it felt like someone lit a fire in my throat.

I picked a random direction and started walking.

My mind was clouded with questions that had no answers, but one question that I always came back to.

What am I?

It was a question that I couldn’t answer in a million years, after the fight I felt like I was hit by a freight train, I couldn’t believe of what I was capable of doing, or of what I had become, a monster with no morals or sanity.

My thoughts were quickly drowned out as I heard the sound of rushing water, I ran toward the source of the noise and found a small waterfall that had a crystal clear lake, without hesitation I crouched at the pond and dunked my head into the cold water, taking in gulps of the satisfying liquid.

I pulled my head back up after quenching my thirst, taking in mouthfuls of fresh air, I let the water stop rippling to see my reflection, I had short dirty blonde hair with a five o'clock shadow, a visible long scar across my neck, and dark dull green eyes.

I stared into my own eyes for what seemed like eternity, looking into my own soul, seeing it full of hatred, anger, and bitterness, just waiting to snap.

I was ripped out of my daze when I heard children screaming.

I ran faster than I thought was possible for the human body, my legs carried me through the foilage and the thorn bushes in my path, as soon as I heard the screams I jumped up and ran without a second thought.

I was quickly nearing the childlike screams, I slowed to a stop when the screams were coming from a clearing up ahead, I creeped up to view the scene, careful not to be seen, I couldn’t get a good view of what was going on so I sneaked up to the nearest tree and climbed up the branches, moving from tree to tree until I could get a good angle.

When I found a good position about seven to eight feet above the ground I saw that there were three fillies, all of different structure, the first one was a pegasus, she, assuming from the high pitch, had wings and a deep orange coat with purple hair, the second was a unicorn with a smooth white coat and light purple and pink hair, the third one had a pale yellow coat and dark red hair with a big pinkish bowtie on it.

There was a pack of those wooden wolves that tried to have me for lunch advancing slowly toward the three small, quivering ponies, victory in their vicious, hungry eyes.

I silently moved to the tree above the three fillies and sat on a branch directly above them, waiting for the the wooden monstrosities to make a move.

One of the wolves was tired of waiting and lunged at the defenceless fillies faster than I could react, and I was suddenly ripped from my body.

I was a spectre in the world again, the weightlessness of my form unnerving, I saw my body land on the jumping wolves head, crushing its skull into thousands of tiny little splinters, all was silent as my body slowly stood up, towering over the wooden predators, my body wasn’t smiling, wasn’t frowning, it just stared at them with fury in it’s eyes, daring them to make a move.

The standoff didn’t last long, the wolves retreating back into the thick forest, snarling and giving murderous glances all the way, and I was sucked back into my body once more, I still had my “armor” on, but I was in my body.

It didn’t matter right now, I needed to get these girls to safety, I turned and faced the now wide eyed and slack jawed horses, careful not to spook them, I knelt down to comfort them and they prepared to run but realised I wasn’t going to do anything bad, scratching them behind the ears and being careful, I gently picked the three nervous fillies up and put them on my broad shoulders, there was a path that looked like it lead further from the heart of the forest..

I started walking down the small dirt path, fillies in tow.

The walk down the path was uneventful and quiet, the horses hadn’t spoken a word since I had saved them from the wolves, I couldn’t quite place why I had three multi-colored, talking horses on my shoulders that I had just saved from wooden, carnivorous wolves.

Fuck my life.

While I was questioning my sanity I heard a small peep from the pale yellow filly.

“Thank ya fer savin’ us mister.”

Holy fuck it was adorable.

“Shh! Be quiet! He could be taking us just to eat us!” The orange coated one spoke in a harsh whisper.

“Why would he do that? He could have just waited until the wolves killed us, then killed the wolves and ate us, plus he hasn’t hurt anypony yet or even attempted to harm us.” The white coated one retorted.

The orange one was deep in thought for a few seconds before accepting defeat, suddenly the one with the bowtie spoke up again.

“Mah farms just down this here path! Maybe we can point this thang in the right direction.”

She pointed toward an orchard not too far up the path and I went into it, eventually being directed down the rows upon rows of ripe, red apple trees.

I saw a hill not too far from where we were, seeing no other vantage point in sight I decided to walk up onto the huge hill, hoping to find a settlement for the children, luck was on my side as I clearly saw a small, two story house and a barn with white fencing surrounding the property, there was a bit of light illuminating from inside the simple looking structure, visible through the small sunlight peeking over the horizon.

“That’s mah farm right there! Hopefully Granny Smith is awake.” The pale yellow filly said.

At least I knew that this was her property now, the house was a good five or so minute walk, it wouldn’t take that long.

I headed toward the house at a steady pace, not really rushing, but more so enjoying the calming sensation of the farm, it reminded me a lot of my childhood home, we had a farm with a couple of animals, some chickens, sheep, goats, a horse or two every once in awhile, it was calming, being in a familiar environment in an unfamiliar land.

I was too busy remembering the past that I didn’t hear the freight train of a stallion ram into me at full speed.

I was knocked into the ground face first, the girls landing safely in front of me, they looked at me with terror in their eyes.

They must have saw my rage.

I got up and spun around, faced with a burly and muscular red stallion, the fury of a thousand suns in his eyes, he tried to punch me but I blocked it and kneed him in the face, saliva and blood spraying out of his mouth, I tried kicking him again but he dodged and bucked me in my stomach, knocking me back, he charged me again, so I waited until he was close enough and did a Marine Door Kick on him, he was moving too fast and he was too close to move his momentum, he slammed right into my combat boot and fell back, I walked over to him and knelt down, he was almost out and was fighting so hard to stay conscious, I raised my fist and was about to pounce before I heard the scream of an innocent.

”STOP!!!”

I froze, my fist hovering in the air like a guillotine.

I looked down at her to see tears streaming down her face, she was trying to push me off of the red stallion, I complied and got up, letting her get to the stallion, who I presumed to be a kidnapper or something.

She was sobbing into his red coat, making it a darker red where her tears fell, she was hugging his neck tightly, his yoke blocking her a bit, he was still conscious, somehow.

Then I heard the little filly whisper something that shattered my heart.

“Why would ya d-do this to mah b-brother…?”

I just stood there, staring at her pleading eyes, the eyes of a sister who loves her brother to death, and I almost killed him in front of her.

Is there anything in your pathetic existence that you haven’t fucked up? Hm?

Self-hatred consumed my being, but I would have to suppress that emotion until I fixed what I broke.

I walked forward, the filly and her friends blocking my path, I put my hands up, showing them that I wasn’t going to do anything.

Then a jackhammer pummeled the back of my skull, knocking me unconscious.

Judgement and Scrutiny

Questions

Questions

The Darkness Within

Chapter Two

I awoke with a start, and instantly regretted it due to the current concussion I had, my head was pounding, my vision was swirling, I felt like I was about to throw up, and my ears were ringing, I also couldn’t remember why I had a concussion.

I could practically hear the world saying rise and shine, asshole.

I laid there, thinking, trying to remember what happened, after a minute I remembered everything up to my current predicament, I slowly sat up, but my head didn’t want to stop spinning, I waited for it to pass and took in my surroundings, I was in a basement, I could tell from the coolness in the air and the fact that there was a cellar door to my right.

I lifted my body off of the dusty ground for the second time today, I brushed the dirt off of my jacket and approached the exit, there was a noticeable lack of sound as I made my way to the door, I pushed the cellar door and heard the rattling of chains.

At least they were smart enough to chain the door.

I could see outside due to the cellar door being made out of wood with, little spaces in between the boards, the light outside was bright so I guessed it was around noon, I saw apple trees so I’m probably at the farm still, not wanting to stay in the enclosed space any longer than I had to I shaked my aching head and tried to think clearly.

I’m in a cellar, I’m in the...hooves, of angry ponies, and I’m pretty sure I’ve lost my mind...goddamnit, I need to get my shit together, the cellar door is made out of wood, if I use all of my force on the door I’ll probably break free, but if anyone else is in the area they’ll hear me.

As I was thinking of a quieter approach I heard faint voices getting louder.

“It’s right in here, Ah gave it a good kick so it should be out cold.” I heard a distinctly southern accent say.

“Thank you Applejack, I’ll send a letter to Princess Celestia once we’re done here.”

I quickly but quietly laid back down where I woke up just as I heard the chains come undone and the door opening, I pretended to wake up to the noise of the door and slowly sat up, I looked over to the two ponies that just entered the basement.

I could have easily knocked both of them out and just ran out the door, but then I would have been dealing with the authorities chasing me and I didn’t know if these ponies were a threat yet, so I chose to get into a sitting position and face them.

“I’m guessing this isn’t a social visit?” I asked bluntly, my baritone voice catching her off guard.

She had a look of awe on her face for a brief moment before going all regal again, judging by the way she carries herself she is probably an authoritative figure, that and she had a crown on.

“I came to ask a few questions, nothing more.”

“I’m not in a position to argue.”

She stared oddly at me for a second before gesturing for Applejack to come forward.

“Do you know this mare?”

I took a quick look at the mare. “No.”

She paused before moving on.

“If what the kids are saying are true, you saved them from Timberwolves, correct?”

“Yes.” I said with slight confusion.

“So you carried them back to the farm safely, then why did you attack Applejack’s brother?”

I looked to mare in question, she was having a hard time keeping it together, she was burning a look of hard fury into me behind her emerald green eyes.

I turned back to the Purple mare. “The big red stallion?” She nodded in conformation.

“He attacked me, as I got close to the house he rammed into my back for no apparent reason and started throwing hooves, so I defended myself to the best of my ability.” I said calmly, putting no hostility into my voice.

Applejack was about to say something before I held my hand and cut her off.

“It wasn’t my intention to just start fights, I thought he would hurt the kids and myself so I took him down the best I knew how, I’m sorry for attacking your brother, Applejack, but he attacked first.”

She looked baffled, I guess she wasn’t expecting an apology, the purple mare spoke up after a moment.

“We would like to bring you to Canterlot so that Princess Celestia could talk to you in person.”

I just stared at the two mares.

“What the hell is Canterlot and who is Princess Celestia?”

The look of authority turned to one of pure shock, she started mumbling and finally got it back together.

“How do you not know?” She asked in disbelief.

“Well, considering I’m not from this place is a good start, and I’ve never heard of a Princess Celestia, Canterlot, or about anywhere on Earth that had talking ponies.” I answered truthfully.

Her look of disbelief grew, and so did Applejack’s.

“You’re not from Equis...are you?”

I raised my eyebrow. “The hell is Equis?”

That statement threw her over the edge and she blurted out.

“Where did you come from then?!”

Confused, I said “The United States of America, on the Planet Earth.”

She about popped a blood vessel.

“So...you’re not from this planet, then...that means you’re an alien, we need to get you to Princess Celestia, now.”

I saw their looks go to one of awe when I stood my full height, I was one tall motherfucker, even for a human, I popped my neck and back and gestured for them to lead, both of them turned back around and exited the confines of the cellar with me in tow.

The walk back to the house was in silence, I was glad for that as I never really got to experience the beauty of a farm in a long time, I didn’t see any animals but I was guessing the barn held them all, and there were acres of just apple trees, we arrived at the house a short while after leaving the cellar, it was a simple two story wooden house, it had a patio with two chairs out front, once I got to the front of the house I saw that there were multiple ponies inside.

“Where are the kids? I haven’t seen them yet, are they safe?” I asked cautiously.

“Yes, they're safe, thanks to you, they’re upstairs sleeping and healing as we speak while Granny Smith is with them,.” The purple mare said gratefully.

"Mah brother is in the hospital, ya roughed him up pretty bad." Applejack said, on the edge of hostility.

I nodded and followed them up to the porch, the two ponies stepped onto the porch first and opened the door, as I got up the porch I saw a light blue blur speeding at me, having years of training and being a battle-hardened military soldier, I grabbed the blur and used its momentum to spin 360 degrees and wrap it into a sleeper hold, the pony was struggling hard while I wasn’t applying enough pressure to knock the pony out.

“Let her go!” the Purple mare yelled.

Realising that I was crushing the pony’s windpipe I let go, the pony was coughing and sputtering on the ground and Applejack went to help while Purple started scolding me.

“You don’t just do that to somepony! She could have had a serious injury!” She started.

“Then tell her to fuck right off, you don’t just rush at me like that and expect me to take it, I will defend myself.” My harsh choice of words along with my blunt tone caught her off guard.

The commotion had the entire room looking at us, I looked around and saw three other ponies looking at us, one was yellow with a pink mane, the other one had a stark white coat and a fashioned mane, the last one was bright pink and had a slightly lighter pink mane.

They were looking at me in awe and a bit of fear, the fashion one looked a bit disgusted.

I looked to Purple and asked “Who are they?” I said nodding to the group of three.

She turned to the group and then back to me. “That’s Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity.” She said as she pointed to each of them.

“The one you just strangled-” she said glaring at me a bit” -is Rainbow Dash, you’ve already met Applejack, and I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

I nodded in conformation and looked at Rainbow Dash, who recovered, she had a look of anger in her eyes, I took on a calm tone and stature as to not have her bitch at me. “Hey, sorry about that, you just came at me and I reacted appropriately, sorry about the throat, it won’t leave a mark.” She looked at me for a bit before saying.

“Apology accepted, when I saw you I kinda thought the worst, I just wanted to protect my friends.” I nodded to her and turned to Twilight.

“So, how far of a walk is Canterlot exactly?” She waved her hoof at me. “Don’t worry, we’ve got a Royal Chariot sent to us to pick us up, it should arrive shortly.” As if on cue, the chariot in question landed just outside the house.

“Alright everypony! Our chariot is here, let’s go!” Twilight said.

“Stay safe Granny, ya hear?” Applejack said. “Sure will! Ya’ll take care now!” Came a voice from upstairs.

Four guards came out of the chariot and saluted Twilight. “Ms. Sparkle, we are here to escort you and your-” he then noticed me and lost a bit of his composure”-...friends...Ms.Sparkle, what is that?” The guard asked.

“He is a guest to our nation, and I expect you treat him as such.” She said clearly.

“Yes ma’am, right this way.” He got out of the chariots path and let everyone in, luckily they got a big chariot for me to have room in, my head almost hit the roof, but it wasn’t too much of a problem.

As we got seated I had a guard to my right while I was at the edge of the chariot, and Twilight was in front of me, as we took off I was about to start sweating, I unzipped my jacket, making the guard next to me flinch, I unzipped my dark tan jacket and then took off my grey hoodie, leaving my USMC tan t-shirt on, I fumbled around in my jacket pockets and took out a pack of smokes and my lighter, I opened the window slightly and lit my cigarette.

I started smoking and blew a puff out the window, I then laid my head back on the wall of the chariot, I felt eyes on me so I opened my eyes and saw weird expressions looking at me.

“...What?” This seemed to snap them out of their daze, Twilight was the first to speak up. “What was that?” I lifted my lighter out of my pocket. “This?” She nodded.

“This is a lighter, it creates a spark from flint and lights a fire using a small capsule of gasoline, it lets me light my cigarette, why?”

“I’ve just, never seen something like that is all, and why are you inhaling smoke? It’s bad for you.” She said a bit worried.

I just shrugged. “It’s a bad habit.” I said smoothly.

The conversation sparked a talk between the six mares, I just laid my head back and inhaled more of my cigarette, blowing smoke out of my nose and looking over the landscape, waiting for us to arrive at our destination.

Sun and Moon

Answers

Answers

The Darkness Within

Chapter Three

The ride to Canterlot was boring.

Hell, this entire event was the exact opposite, but yet, I still found myself bored, we’ve been riding to Canterlot for about fifteen minutes and the ponies are still having a conversation, sometimes about me when they think I’m not listening, and about some wedding, I could honestly care less as I just wanted a soft bed and some hot food, my concussion was giving me headache and I felt like I was about to throw up but resisted the urge, I just took another puff of my cigarette and tried to fall asleep.

Just as I was about to get comfortable Rarity decided to tell us all that we were close to Canterlot.

“Look ladies! We’re almost there!”

I looked out my own window and saw the dumbest architecture in all of my life, there was a white castle built into the side of a mountain with a bustling city beneath it, there were support beams holding up the castle, making it hazardous because if I had the right ingredients, I could easily make a bomb and have the castle landslide into the city by blowing up the beams.

I was taken out of my thoughts by Twilight. “So, what do you think?” She had a prideful and hopeful smile on her face.

“It’s pretty.” I said calmly.

Her smile faltered a bit. “Just...pretty?” I faced her and gave her a look.

“What am I supposed to say? That it’s the best in the world? A buildings a building, no matter how flashy.” The guards and some of the girls on board wore masks of anger, but kept it together, a disappointed look was plastered on Twilight’s face, I just turned back to look outside and realised we were landing, the cart jolted a bit and we stopped, as soon as the door opened I saw a squad of guards outside of the chariot saluting, the guards got out first, then the other six got out, before I stood up and grabbed my clothes I could hear the squad leader. “Good afternoon, Princess, we’ll be escorting you and the creature to Celestia.”

The chariot creaked as I got out of it, when my boots hit the ground I sucked in as much of my cigarette as I could before blowing out of my mouth and opening my eyes, everyone was staring at me, the guards in alarm, while the chariot guards and the six ponies were giving me weird looks, I’m not one for boasting, but I will admit I’m a pretty intimidating figure, I was very muscular due to my...previous job, meaning that I was buff and strong, my height not doing me any favors either, I flicked my cigarette at the ground and gently stomped on it, putting out the flame and snapping the guards out of their daze, I walked up to the six ponies and waited for us to leave, taking the hint, the squad leader ordered his men. “We are to escort you all to Princess Celestia, please, follow us.”

The guards got in a formation around us, presumably to attack me if I did anything wrong, and started moving forward, the girls and I followed along.

The castle was pristine, it had huge artwork of ponies and nature, while the floor was literally spotless, the pillars were like the pillars in Ancient Roman times, and the amount of guards patrolling and standing by was numerous, but judging by how they held their weapons and moved it seemed like they only trained how to carry a sword and had no actual combat experience.

We eventually got to these huge double doors, the unicorns guarding the door lit their horns and opened the door...which about set me off, but I kept my composure, if I was correct then I was going to meet the daughter of this country, so I could ask my questions then.

Speak of the devil, once the doors opened I saw two crowned horses with wings and a horn, just like Twilight, sitting on two very comfortable looking thrones, all of the ponies in the room bowed while I gave a respectful nod to both princesses, when everyone got up most gave me glares, but I didn’t care.

The white princess spoke first. “Welcome creature, I am Princess Celestia, and I would like to be the first to welcome you to our castle, guards, you are dismissed.” She said in an authoritative yet soft tone, the guards hesitated for a split second before giving firm salutes along with ‘Yes, Princess!’ all in unison, as the doors closed Princess Celestia got up and walked over to me, we were face to face, she was roughly 5’11” including her horn, so she was shorter than me, she was looking at me with a critical eye, taking in every detail, probably sizing me up, I just looked at her, stormy green eyes looked at soft, swirling purple.

“So, you are the creature that Applejack found, yes?”

Out of respect and not wanting to deal with being bitched at, I replied with a “Yes ma’am.”

She looked over to the mares. “Girls, Luna and I would like to have a chat with the creature, I hope you understand.” The mares all nodded in confirmation before opening the doors and trotting out, when the doors closed I looked at the one named Luna, she had a navy blue coat and a dark blue mane, except with stars in her hair, it was a nice touch.

I looked back to Princess Celestia, who had now sat back down onto the throne next to Princess Luna, they both just stared at me for a couple of seconds before Princess Luna broke the silence.

“Why did thou attack one of our beloved ponies?” It was a question I was preparing for.

“Like I told Princess Twilight and Applejack, when I was carrying the kids back home I approached the wooden house and was going to drop them off, before I could even get to the porch a burly red stallion attacked me from behind, knocking the kids unharmed away from me, I didn’t know why he attacked me, I just knew I needed to keep the kids and myself safe, so I did exactly that to the best of my ability.” Both seemed satisfied by my answer, noted by their features softening.

“Tho- You have hospitalised Big Macintosh, the red stallion, he can not work on his families farm until his injuries are healed, since you have injured him, you shall take his place on the farm until he is suited for work, this will be considered community service, no charges will be pressed because of the nature of this crime, a simple misunderstanding.” Luna said with her light blue eyes staring into mine.

“I accept, I’m sincerely sorry for hurting an innocent, it wasn’t my intention.” I said with genuine care.

The Princesses gave me a look before continuing. “So, judging by your voice and build I would suggest that you are a male?” Celestia asked.

“You would be correct.”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but what does your cutie-mark mean?” She asked.

“...My what?”

“Your cutie-mark, the markings on your arm, I’ve never seen one on any animal except for ponies.”

She was eyeing the tattoo on my left arm, it was a “We Fight What You Fear” tattoo on my bicep, it was only half-covered by my t-shirt, I rolled up my sleeve and let them have a full view, it apparently made them uneasy and they had disturbed faces.

“I don’t know what a cutie-mark is, but this is called a tattoo, a tattoo artist will take a needle and fill it with ink, this needle will breach only the top layer of skin and apply a desired design, I got this while I was...away from home.” I said, catching myself.

If they caught my stutter they didn’t show it. “What does it mean?”

“It means nothing now.” I said simply, I pulled my sleeve down and gave them a serious look.

“Since you have asked some question I will ask some, is that alright with you two?” They both nodded their heads in confirmation. “Good, first I would like to know about the unicorns, how can they open doors with their minds?” It was a simple question, really, so I wasn’t expecting them to give me weird looks.

“Do you not know of magic?” Why the fuck would I? Magic wasn’t real, it couldn’t be...then again I am talking to two pony princesses who are also talking and speaking my language, so magic wasn’t as far fetched after that thought.

“No, I don’t, where I come from we have technology and perseverance.” Their stunned faces were pretty funny.

“So you’re not from Equis?” I gave her a bored expression.

“I’ve explained this to Twilight, so you can ask her for details, we’re getting off topic, so how does magic work?” Celestia paused for a moment, thinking of how to explain the concept of magic.

“Magic can be used for many different things, like picking up or opening objects, it can also be used in combat, like making a fireball or electricity spark, every unicorn is different with having different amounts of magic they can use, a unicorn can use a very large amount of magic but will be drained until their magic pools refill, some unicorns recover faster than others, does that answer your question?”

“Yes, I also want to know what a cutie-mark is.” Just saying the word felt weird on my tongue.

Luna decided to speak up this time. “A cutie-mark shows what a pony is good at, like with Celestia and I, we have sun and moon cutie-marks, since I raise the moon and she raises the sun.”

Hold the fuck up.

“Um, excuse me did you just say you raise the moon? Like, the floating white thing in the sky at night or what?” How the fuck does someone just ‘raise the moon’? They probably have too high of an ego, because gravity makes the sun and the moon orbit planets, not ‘magic’.

“Yes, we do indeed raise the sun and the moon.” Celestia said.

I gave them a disbelieving tone. “Alright, well if you gals don’t mind I really need some food and a bed, my concussion’s getting worse and I’m starving.”

“What do you eat?”

“Well, I’m an omnivore, but I prefer meat over anything else, don’t worry, I don’t eat anything that can talk.” I said, noticing the alarmed looks on their faces.

“Well, we do have some fish, we usually keep in stock since the Griffin Ambassador visits us frequently.” Luna put in.

“That’ll do, I just need to eat and then head to bed, if you have any more questions I’m sure Princess Twilight will be happy to oblige, thank you for having me Princess Luna and Princess Celestia.”

“Please, call us Luna and Celestia.” Luna said with a giggle.

I was about to ask for directions before I remembered a question.

“I’m sorry if I come off as rude, but do you have a King and Queen?”

“No, our mother and father ruled centuries ago, we’re alicorns, we are a mixture of pegasus, unicorn, and earth pony, and we...don’t exactly know how long we can live, we’ve been alive for a millennium so far.” Celestia said with a slight smile.

“Ah, I also need directions around this place, I don’t really know where anything is.” I said, currently processing that they are basically immortal.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get a guard to show you the way, it’s been a nice chat, but we have duties to attend to, take care, I’m looking forward to the next time we meet.” Said Celestia with a genuine smile.

As I was about to open the door, I heard Celestia say “Before you go, what is your name?”

I turned and looked them both in the eye.

“Ryder.”

I then turned around and walked out of the throne room, leaving silence in my wake.

Restless Mind

Demons

Demons

The Darkness Within

Chapter Four

When I walked out of the room the doors closed behind me, I saw a pegasus mare who was in guard armor, she looked me up and down.

“So you’re the one who needs an escort?” She said in a slightly bored tone.

“That would be me.”

She nodded in confirmation and motioned with her head to follow her, I silently and unconsciously fell in step behind her as I took in the castle scenery to memorise my way to the cafeteria, I noticed the mare looking back at me sometimes.

“You got a question?”

She kept walking a couple more steps before slowing down and facing me.

“I can’t hear your hoofsteps when you walk like that, so I’m making sure you’re still with me.” She said neutrally, but I could hear the edge in her voice, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

“It’s an old habit, sorry if it bothers you.” I said with no malice.

She just gave me an odd look and then continued on, there was no further conversation between us, that was fine, I liked peace and quiet, we eventually got to the cafeteria and I saw many guards sitting at the tables giving us weird looks, the windows had a nice light shining through them giving the cafeteria a relaxed atmosphere, despite the hostility, she said something about grabbing a seat for us, I just nodded and headed over to the stallion that was serving food, he saw me as I was approaching and his ears perked up.

“Celestia said this is where I could grab some food?” I said.

The stallion nodded. “I made a plate for you already, it’s still fresh so you don’t need to worry about your...meat...being bad.” He said with disgust.

I gave no words as I grabbed my plate and walked over to the pegasus mare and promptly sat down, the room went a bit quieter as they saw what I was eating, it was fish, peas, mashed potatos, and a roll, I just ignored them and ate, I had to admit, it was pretty good, damn better than an MRE, well then again, anything was better than an MRE.

I could feel the mares uncomfort, she hid it well from her mates, but I could see underneath her calm demeanor and her stone-like features, I finished the meal quickly and looked up to meet her stare.

“You seem oddly disciplined for a creature of your size.” She said suddenly.

“I’m not an ape from the forest, if that’s what you’re asking, I’m just trying not to set anyone off and avoid a headache if at all possible.” I said tiredly.

“What would make you think we’ll snap at you?”

“The fact that everything I do you guys give a glare, and I know you’re trying to act all professional by not being disgusted or hateful towards me, I know your comrades can’t see under your facade, but I can, and I see unreasonable loathing towards me.” I said in a brutally honest tone, she had a slight embarrassed pink tint to her cheeks, it was pretty funny.

“All I want is a soft bed right now, my head fucking hurts, I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep being friendly if you all aren’t doing the same, and trust me, I’m trying my hardest.”

She shied away from my sailor talk, I had started softly laughing and had to control myself from bursting out, I gave a soft sigh. “Ahhh, you ponies are too innocent for your own good, come on, let’s go.” I said as I got up and walked to the exit, I put the dish on the dirty dishes rack and walked out.

When we walked out I started walking next to her, I noticed that the average pony was at my waist level, there was the occasional taller or shorter pony, Celestia was around my neck while Luna was at my upper chest, including their horns.

“Does this place have a gym?’ I suddenly asked.

She gave me a curious look. “Why do you want to know that?” She said with an eyebrow raised.

“I need something to do in my free time, ya know, to keep my mind busy.” I said as we turned down another hallway.

She just nodded as we passed the rows of paintings and flags draping the hallway, damn this castle is big, I mean it looked big on the outside, but how could anyone remember where to even go in this place, I wouldn’t want to be the sorry sod who had to find a bathroom in the middle of the night.

“We’re almost there, I’ll talk to my CO and have two guards posted outside of your quarters, if you need anything just ask them.”

“Understood.” I said as I stopped in front of the huge double doors, I then pushed them open to find something I haven’t slept on in such a long time.

A soft, comfortable, beautiful bed.

“Help yourself, remember, if you need anything don’t hesitate to ask.” The mare said with an amused smile at my reaction.

“Thanks, by the way, what’s your name?”

She turned and looked at me.

“Private Glider if you want to be formal, Swift Glider if you want to be casual, I never got yours.”

“Ryder, thanks for the escort.”

She nodded and exited the room, closing the doors behind her.

I laid down on the bed and instantly fell into its softness, the shower was amazing and I only had my cargo pants on at the moment, I got up and then immediately tucked myself into the warmthness that was surrounding me.

“Damn, I’ve missed having a soft bed.”

Those were my final words before succumbing to sleep.

<<<<<>>>>>

The weather was hot, as usual, the helmet made it even hotter, I looked over to my guard partner and started up idle chatter to pass the time.

“You got anyone back home waitin’ for ya?” I said while keeping an eye out.

The barb wired fence and gate behind us made clanking noises as a wind blew through the outside of the base, we were standing guard outside the war torn towns U.S. Military base in the middle of the small city, keeping watch for any intruders.

The guard to my right just laughed a bit.

“Yeah, I got a baby girl and a wife waiting for me, once this god forsaken war is over I might make another child, if you know what I mean.”

We both just laughed at that, it was genuine laughter too, we talked for a bit and just generally got to know each other.

A kid, maybe around 8 or 9 came around the corner, he had an AK in his hands and he was going to shoot us, the three of us stood there, seemingly forever, he was shaking and he had a fearful look on his face, he faced us down, we didn’t even draw our weapons, hell we couldn’t, we were in such a state of shock that the kid could have easily shot us, he faced us and stared us down like a mouse facing two tigers, suddenly the kid drew back his weapon and ran.

We just stood there, motionless, processing what about happened to us.

Suddenly my partner spoke up.

“Private...would you have shot that kid?”

Back then I was just a rookie, a greenhorn, it was so long ago.

“I...I-I don’t know, he was just a kid, dear god what the hell? He was just a kid.”

We both just stood there, and right then, at that moment.

I knew that this was only the start of Hell.

I shot straight up, my sheets covered in sweat and my hands shaking.

“Fuck, fuck me, all I want is one night of sleep, is that too much to ask?” I said under my breath, I buried my head in my hands and calmed myself down.

Breathing is key, slow and steady breaths, bring the heartbeat down, calm your mind and cleanse yourself of the dark.

After a couple of minutes using mental techniques to calm myself down I got up and out of my bed, I shuffled over to the bathroom and turned on the light before immediately going for the sink, I turned it on and splashed water on my face, I looked up into the mirror and saw myself.

My short hair on the top of my head was dirty, the buzz cut on the back and sides of my head were too short to even worry about, but my face...well, I looked like shit.

I looked away and faced the shower, I took off my pants and my underwear before getting in, I turned on the hot water and washed myself clean, then I just sat inside of the shower, hoping and wishing that the water could somehow wash my brain clean.

There was suddenly a knock on the door.

“Hello? Anypony there?”

I gave out a tired reply “I’ll be there in a second.”

I turned off the shower and got my underwear and pants on, my shirt and other clothes being on the bedside table, I opened up the door and saw a vampiric mare in dark purple armor, the light from the bathroom casting a shadow of myself over her, her partner was a male and he was well built, both of them had the same armor and the same wings.

“What do you need?” I said calmly.

Her and her partner were shocked for a couple of moments before getting it together.

“We heard noises in the room when it suddenly all stopped, we came to check on you, you know, when they briefed us on you they didn’t say you’d be this big.”

“Thanks, I guess, so you know of the situation?”

“Down to the last detail, the Princesses briefed the Night and Day guard about you.” She said truthfully.

“Alright then, do you guys serve alcohol at night? My throat’s dry and I need a drink.”

She looked at me oddly. “Don’t you need to go to bed?”

I shook my head. “I won’t be able to sleep now, and besides, I’ve slept all day.”

“Ok, but why do you want alcohol, especially at this time of night?” The burly stallion asked.

I just shrugged. “I’m not gonna get drunk, I’m probably just going to get a bit tipsy, and then hit the gym, I need something to do.” They both nodded before exiting the room and waiting for me to get ready.

I put on my shirt and grey hoodie and left my tan jacket on the table, I tied my boots on and walked out the door, I brought my smokes and lighter along with my knife, I was ready to roll.

I walked out of the door and saw the duo waiting for me, I just gave a nod and followed them down the maze of hallways.

Carry Me Not

Sunrise

Sunrise

The Darkness Within

Chapter Five

The cafeteria was busier than I expected, the vampire ponies were having their meals, some of which surprisingly consisted of meat, at least now I won’t be getting weird looks, we walked in and the thestrals all turned to look at me, I got looks of awe and confusion, it was honestly getting old.

I walked over to the stallion that was serving the other guards and waited for the line to clear, once it did I walked over.

“What can I do ya for?” The stallion said.

“I need a hard drink, but not too much of it, you know where I could get some?” He looked a bit bewildered by my question but answered anyways.

“Yeah, we serve, but at a price, and I doubt you have any bits, sorry.”

I groaned a quick ‘Thanks.’ before I turned and started walking away when one of my escorts spoke up.

“You know we could pay for it, right?” The stallion said.

“Yeah, but I don’t mooch off of others, I’m not that kind of person, anyways where’s the gym?”

“Follow us.” The both of them got in front of me and I followed silently, after walking for a bit I decided to strike up a conversation.

“So how long have you two been in the military?” I asked while looking out the passing windows.

“I’ve been in the Night Guard for as long as I can remember, us thestrals aren’t exactly accepted into the ponies’ society.” The mare said with suppressed anger.

“Is it racism, or is it a cultural thing?” I said with slight confusion.

“It’s racism, the bat wings, yellow eyes and sharp fangs intimidate the ponies, or something like that, so we mostly keep to ourselves.” The stallion said calmly.

“That’s bullshit, you guys look fuckin’ sick, especially in that armor, personally I hate racism, someone can’t help what pigment their skin is or how they look, I fo- wish for the freedom of the innocent, not the race.” If they noticed my slip, they didn’t show it.

The burly stallion laughed. “Yeah, ain’t that right, and thanks for the compliment, sweet Luna if only more people were as open minded as you.” The stallion said with mirth.

“Yeah, an alien is smarter than most ponies, would you believe it?”

We just laughed at that, I just kept talking to them about different subjects, they really relaxed after talking to me and they were both fun to hang out with, I found out that the mare’s name was Ember Night and the stallion’s was Dusk Hunter but they primarily use their first names, they both came from Hollow Shades, a town not too far from Canterlot, but it was different as it was in a dark forest like the one I survived in, except the forest was basically harmless, the town was inhabited pretty much solely by bat ponies.

They also gave me some backstory on Luna as well, about Nightmare Moon, her banishment, and her recent return and reformation, honestly I felt bad for her, the ponies she ruled and cared for shunned her.

We came upon a set of double doors, the thestrals guarding the door opened them and I saw the training grounds of the castle, there were many bat ponies doing physicals and training as the drill instructors barked orders.

“Here we are, sorry that it’s outside, it’s cooler at night and feels better than being crammed into a room, especially for us flyers.” Dusk said as he trotted onto the field with Ember and I following.

“You guys got a punching bag?”

Both thestrals turned around and met my gaze. “You mean a Bucking Bag? Why would you want one? We use our hind legs to kick it, and I don’t see any way you could kick with a lot of force.” Ember said while looking me up and down.

I laughed softly. “Just wait and see, little mare.” Ember scoffed at my statement.

“‘Little mare’, yeah, ok.” Dusk just laughed softly next to her.

They both turned and walked over to a rack that held the bags, I got a stand and the bag before Dusk or Ember could grab one, it wasn’t that heavy anyways, I just nodded to them and made them follow me, as soon as I walked out the nearest guards gave looks of confusion before turning back to drinking water or using a towel to dry their sweat.

I went to an empty spot on the field away from everyone and set down the metal stand as Dusk and Ember watched, I then hooked the bag with the stand, it was a normal sized punching bag filled with sand, I gave it a light kick and it swung back and forth but held strong.

I took my shirt off and got on the ground and started to stretch with both Ember and Dusk staring.

“So...what are you doing?” Ember asked as I was on the ground in front of them doing stretches.

“Stretching.” She just hummed in confirmation as Dusk went to go do weights.

After stretching I got up and faced the bag, I went into my fighting stance, right foot back, left foot forward, hands uncurled and eye-level out in front of me, I struck and hit hard, the bag still stood so at least I knew it could take a beating.

An hour and a half later I had my shirt off and was grabbing a towel that Ember brought over and was wiping the sweat off my face, my arms and legs were tired from the non stop workout, I was debating working my torso to keep fit.

I turned to find Dusk walking back over to us. “It’s only six in the morning and you’ve already made a name for yourself, come on, let’s go to the cafeteria and just relax, it’s almost time for the Day Guard to wake up anyways.” I just nodded and put my shirt on before fallingl in step beside him as Ember moved to my left.

“I’ve seen veterans do a quarter as much work out there before stopping.” Dusk said as the guards opened the door for us to enter.

“I guess humans are just more resilient.” I said only half-jokingly.

After that I just walked in silence, Ember and Dusk striking up conversation with each other in front of me, I gave this time of peace to evaluate my situation, I had to work for the farm pony Applejack and her family, I hope her brother is okay, I’d hate for him to suffer over my mistake, I wonder where they are now?

“Hey, Ryder, what did you do back on your world?” I snapped out of my daze to see both thestrals looking at me with anticipation.

I chose my next words very carefully, I wanted them to know what my world was, and gave them an honest answer.

“I was in the military for 10 years, I served under my nation's flag over seas in a desert filled with people wanting to kill us, they attacked our country and killed a lot of innocent people, so we took the fight to them, we suspected that they had WMDs, Weapons of Mass Destruction, bombs that could level entire states, countries even, and the radiation after the bomb detonated would slowly kill anyone that got enough of it.” I looked down to find the ponies wide eyed and looked concerned.

“Did you defeat them?” Dusk asked after working his jaw.

“Thankfully, yes, but I’ve lost too many friends to count, not to mention the number of civilians caught in the crossfire.”

They stopped looking at me and just continued to walk ahead in awkward silence.

“And my real name is Jason, Ryder is just a nickname.”

They both looked up to me, but I was staring straight ahead.

“How did you do it? Survive, I mean, after what you’ve said how do you keep going?”

It took a moment for me to make a response,

“I honestly don’t know, I usually just don’t dwell on it, shit happens and I can’t change it, I can only live with it.”

The rest of the walk was in complete silence.

=== === ===

The cafeteria was packed full of vamponies, as I’ve started calling them, it seemed that they were going back to their respective barracks and calling it a night, most of them were just chatting with their buddies as I walked in and sat down with Ember and Dusk, both of them told me that they’d be right back, probably to get food.

I looked around the room and got a few stares, but were quickly redirected when my resting bitch face found its way into their vision, some were obviously talking about me while others just shrugged and went on with their life.

A tap on my shoulder brought me out of my musings as I turned to find a well decorated thestral giving me a calculating stare.

“I am Blaze, Captain of the Lunar Guard and Princess Luna’s tactical advisor, it is a pleasure meeting you.” He stuck a dark burly hoof torward me and gave a neutral smile, his gaze was calm and professional, I grabbed his hoof and shook firmly.

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, the name’s Jason.” I gave him a small smile in return.

He lowered his hoof before giving me a quizzical stare. “Jason? I thought your name was Ryder.”

“It’s just a nickname my buddies gave me.”

He hummed in confirmation before Dusk and Ember got back, they both saluted and uttered a respectful ‘Sir.’

“At ease soldiers, are you two escorting Jason here?”

Ember and Dusk looked at each other quickly before saying ‘Yes.’

“Good, both of you are good guards, Dusk Hunter, how’s your father?”

Dusk chuckled lightly before replying, “He’s good sir, tougher than an oak tree, as stubborn as one too.”

Blaze smiled at that, “I’d imagine, he isn’t exactly one to mess with now is he? Give him my regards.”

“Will do, sir.”

“Enough of that ‘Sir’ crap, I’m not anywhere important right now, I’ve known you since you were born, now, I need to borrow Jason here for a bit.”

The ponies in question looked worried, Ember spoke up, “What for, if I may ask.”

“Well Ms. Night, I need to ask our guest here a few harmless questions.”

“As long as he comes back before the Day Guard wake up.” Dusk said.

He smiled, “I think I can do that, thank you for your time.” He turned to me before asking if I would follow him, knowing I didn’t have a choice I got up and followed in step behind him.

=== === ===

I sat down in the oak chair before looking to find Blaze giving me a serious look, “Now, you may be wondering why you’re here, I am just going to ask some questions, answer truthfully and we can get this over with.”

I just shrugged and got comfortable, after all, these Guards do seem to love paperwork, if the stack of papers and the filing cabinet filled to the brim were any indication.

“Lets begin, how did you get here?”

I laughed, “You may think I’m bullshiting, but I don’t have a clue, one moment I’m in my house drinking, the next I’m in magical pony land.” Blaze just nodded slowly.

“Are you here to hurt or kill anypony?”

That escalated quickly, “No, I just want to go home.”

“What did you do on your world?”

“I did bad things to bad people.”

His eyes widened a fraction, “Explain.”

I sighed “Bad people attacked my country, I spent most of my life fighting them off, I was in the military until recently, before I was sent here.”

He gave a slight nod before getting ink and paper, he wrote something down but I couldn't see what.

After he was done he continued, “Did anything else come through with you?”

I hummed in thought, “Not that I saw, but something may have.”

He quickly wrote something down before looking at me.

“Alright, you’re free to go, and don’t take this personally, but I’m watching you, even though you seem like a good guy I have to be cautious, understand?”

I gave a curt nod, “Understood.”

He smiled thinly, “Good, see you around Jason.”

I got up and walked out the door, only when it clicked shut did I realise I made a grave error.

I didn’t know where I was.

“Fuck.”

=== === ===

After stumbling around the castle like an idiot I finally found my way back to the cafeteria, it was the Day Guard mixed in with the Lunar Guard so it was harder to see who was who, I scanned the room for my escorts before I spotted Ember waving me over, Dusk and her were sitting at a table full of other Lunar Guards.

When I got over I attracted the attention of the guards at the table, they all looked at me cautiously.

Dusk spoke first, “Speak of the devil, Captain give you a hard time?”

“Hardly, he just asked simple questions, seems like a hard ass though.”

Dusk laughed, “He is, but he’s a good guy once you get to know him.”

I nodded, “So, who are these guys?” I said while gesturing to the group at the table.

Ember pointed to a smaller thestral, “That one there is Light Streak, we just call him Stocky.” Said pony gave Ember an evil eye, “The other two are Moonlight and Thunder.”

She pointed to a mare and a stallion, both waved and seemed pretty friendly, “And lastly, Onyx Storm.” She gestured to a stallion that was almost as big as Dusk, but looked more experienced.

“‘Sup, as you already know my name’s Jason, it’s a pleasure to meet you all.” I said while sitting next to Dusk.

They all smiled, the mare named Moonlight spoke first. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, honestly I expected something uglier, like an alien with four mandibles and small eyes, who stands seven and a half feet tall with three fingers and-”

Thunder put his hand over Moonlight’s mouth and chuckled, “Sorry, she gets excited, she reads too many comic books.”

Moonlight got herself free, “Hey! Daring Do is a good series and everyone knows it, you’re just jealous.” She crossed her arms and gave a shit eating grin to him.

I chuckled at their antics, “So Dusk, why did you want me back so soon?”

Dusk looked to me and gave a small grin, “Well, I wanted to have a drinking game with you and I felt this was a good time to do so.”

A bell rang and the Lunar Guards all started filing out of the room.

Dusk’s smile fell.

“I guess not.”

Ember patted him on the back and said, “Hey big guy, you’ll get your chance next time.” Before following the rest of the guards out.

“I guess I’ll be seeing you guys later, it’s been fun.” The group at the table all waved goodbye and left, I waited until I was alone at the table to get up and leave.

I decided to go back to my room and sleep for a bit, I got up and exited the cafeteria with a couple of stares from the early Day Guards, choosing to ignore them I left without a word.

=== === ===

I awoke to the sound of knocking on my door, I rolled further into my sheets and put my pillow over my head hoping that they would just go away, they wouldn’t stop.

“I’M UP FOR FUCK’S SAKE!”

I got up and stumbled to the door before opening it, the escort from yesterday was there.

“I was sent by Princess Celestia to come and get you.”

I rubbed my eyes to try and get the drowsiness out of them, it didn’t work.

“Just open my door or something next time, I about punted you out the window, fucks sake you knock loud, I’ll be out shortly.”

Without waiting for an answer I shut the door and headed for the shower, once I got in I made sure to brush my teeth and wash myself, I was starting to smell.

After about ten minutes I was cleaned and dressed, I shaved just in case, my blade nicked me slightly but it would heal, I grabbed my wallet, lighter, and smokes, I opened the door to find Swift looking out the hallway window with a bored expression, the scenery was beautiful since the sun just rose.

I closed the door and quietly stepped over to her, “The sun’s beautiful at this time of day.” I put my hands behind my back.

She looked at me for a couple of seconds before turning back to the sunrise, “What would you know about beauty.”

I laughed, “I’ll admit I haven’t seen some pretty shit, but this? This is what I wake up to every morning, it’s something I learned to appreciate, because that sunrise, it could be the last one I ever see.”

She looked slightly shocked at what I was implying, “But don’t think of it negatively, it will make you realise that today could be your last,” I looked to her and met her gaze, “That mindset will let you live life to it’s fullest, make you do things that you didn’t think you had the courage to do.”

I turned back to the sunset one last time before motioning to her, “Come on, I have a Princess to meet.”

She nodded and lead me toward the throne room.

=== === ===

The guards at the throne room doors nodded to Swift before opening the doors and allowing us to enter, I put my hands in pockets and nodded to Celestia and the six mares that first met me.

Celestia was the first to speak up, “Private Glider, you are free to go.” Swift nodded before exiting the room, when the doors closed she turned her attention to me.

“Good morning Jason, how did you sleep?”

I put on a poker face, “Just fine, thank you for asking.”

She smiled before turning to Twilight, “Twilight, I know that you want to ask Jason questions, but I think that we need breakfast first, shall we?” She motioned to the doors and the group of six smiled to the Princess.

Twilight smiled before grabbing her paper and inkwell, “That would be much appreciated, Celestia.”

A walk to the royal dining room later and we were all sitting down, the mares were talking to each other, I was sitting next to Celestia at the side end of the table while she was at the front.

A servant walked in with a professional smile, she walked up to Celestia and asked for orders.

“I’d like the usual, Jason?”

I gave a thoughtful expression, “I would like eggs, scrambled, with a side of meat, if that isn’t too much to ask.” The mare nodded and continued taking orders.

I sat and waited, absorbing the atmosphere and counting the tiles on the ceiling and observing the rug that the table was on.

A different servant came into the room with everyone's orders floating in his magic, he set down my order first, it was a plate of scrambled eggs and ham.

“We had extra ham from the Gryphon Ambassador's last visit, I hope it is to your liking.”

I nodded and grabbed a fork off the plate and dug in, the ham and eggs were delicious, probably the best I’ve ever had, when I ate the ham I got weird looks from five mares, a butter yellow pegasus with long pink hair gave me a reassuring smile.

As soon as I finished Rainbow Dash spoke up.

“So what do you do?”

I wiped my face with a napkin before responding, “What do you mean by that?”

“Like do you do any sports, hobbies?”

I gave her a puzzled look, “I like to workout, I guess, I used to play baseball when I was a kid, that’s pretty much it.”

“Do you run?”

I gave her a grin, “I was built for it, why, are you challenging me?”

She gave a grin of her own, “Maybe, as soon as you’re done working for AJ here we could have a little race.”

I gave her a toothy smile, “Try and keep up.”

The one named Pinkie Pie spoke up, “Then we could have a ‘Welcome to Ponyville Thanks for Not Being a Meanie and Eating Us’ party! Oh it’s going to be so great we’llhavecupcakesandcakeandchocolateandcandyand-”

Applejack stuck an orange hoof in Pinkie Pie’s mouth, “Sorry, she gets a lil’ bit excited ‘bout newcomers.”

After that escapade we all finished our food and left, Celestia asked me if I would follow Twilight, I knew what was coming as I followed her into a room with a table and two comfortable chairs across from each other, mentally preparing myself I sat down.

“So I’ve realised that you don’t know anything about our world, I’m here to tell you about it, and maybe you could tell me about yours.”

I sighed, “Let’s just get this over with.”

Two hours later she finished explaining everything to me, she made sure not to leave out a single detail, ‘Elements of Harmony’ sounds like some bullshit superhero group, Discord sounds like an asshole, and the three pony tribes sounded like bullishit, but I had to believe it, there was no way anyone could make up something this detailed and not be proven wrong for so long.

I told her about my world too, our wars, our countries, our buildings that scraped the sky, she was astonished by our population and was baffled by the mention of war and paled at the thought of so much death, I didn’t mention to her that I fought in our most recent war because of that, I also told her about things that humanity did right, how we saved lives and protected them, how we touched the stars and united to defeat an evil that wished to control the world.

It was at that time that Celestia came into the room, “It seems that you two are having an in-depth conversation, no?” She grinned.

Twilight blushed, “Sorry Celestia, he was just telling me about his world, it’s so amazing!”

She giggled, “I can tell, but Jason has somewhere to be.”

I nodded to her, “I just need to grab a few things.”

I got up and exited the room, the walk back was unsurprisingly uneventful, I entered the room and grabbed my dark brown jacket and gray hoodie, I put both on over my t-shirt before grabbing my wallet, when I put it in my back pocket it hit something.

Pulling my wallet and whatever was in my pocket out, I felt chained metal and a rubber casing, I pulled both out to see what they were.

It was my phone and my dogtags.

How the fuck did I miss these?

I activated the button on my phone and the screen lit up, it was at 89%, I turned off my phone and looked at my dogtags.

I shrugged and put my dogtags on, I tucked them under my shirt collar, I pulled out my phone and checked the time, it said 9:13, I shut it off and put it in my pocket before putting my wallet in my back pocket.

Making sure I still had my knife with me I left the room.

=== === ===

When I found my way outside I saw that Celestia had issued a chariot for me, when I asked her who else was riding with me she said that the Elements need to stay for something important, she’s sending a detachment of guards with me on the chariot, “It’s for your own safety.” she said.

I got in the chariot, sitting between two Day Guards we took off.

“If it isn’t any different to you guys I’m gonna catch some z’s.” I only received grunts in response.

Colorful characters we have.

I pulled my hood up and laid back, it took awhile to get comfortable, we were far away from Canterlot, as soon as I was about to nod off I heard a guard yell.

“INCOMI-”

My world went black.

Hell On Earth

Lights Out

I awoke with explosive pain in my head, I started coughing and gagging, my arms were outstretched and chained to the walls on my left and right, I was on my knees and trying not to throw up.

I vomited, my vision was blurry and I had blood running down the right side of my face, I recovered from retching and tried to get the blood out of my eye which was burning.

The chains on my hands stopped me, I tugged at the chains trying to get free, I barely mustered the strength to even move the chains enough to jingle.

I looked down at my torso to see the right side of my body dripping blood, there was a deep gash spreading from the top to the bottom of my ribs, it didn’t puncture my lungs or break my ribs, at least.

Everything but my underwear and pants were on me, said pants being soaked in my own blood.

My arm felt like it was on fire, I looked up to my right to see it was burnt slightly, saying it hurt like hell was an understatement, my shoulder had a small gash, it wasn’t deep, luckily, but it bled a lot.

The left side of my body fared a little bit better, I could tell that I broke at least one rib and had a fractured arm, along with small cuts and bruises.

I was surely going to die of blood loss if I didn’t get out of these chains and get medical attention, I had to do it soon.

I tried my hardest to push past the pain and get on my feet, I roared in agony, I didn’t even have to look to tell that my left leg was fractured and on the verge of being broken.

Adrenaline and instincts took over, I closed my eyes and grit my teeth as I used my right leg to stand up, I fell again and tears started forming in my eyes from the pain.

I heard a door open in front of me, I looked up and saw a tall pony silhouette in the dim light coming from behind me, the light behind the tall pony obscured any actual details from its figure.

I noticed something wrong, the pony had holes in its feet and what looked like bug wings on it’s side.

Changelings.

These were the race of shapeshifters that Twilight told me about.

Breathing heavily I spoke to the figure, “Who...who the fuck are you?”

The figure didn’t say anything before closing the door and turning back to me, when my eyes adjusted I saw a very tall female changeling with seaweed-like hair and long fangs staring at me with tealish green eyes.

“I am Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, you will do right to respect me, weakling.” She gave me a threatening glare that I wasn’t fazed by.

“Why am I...here.”

She smiled, “My Changelings heard about a mysterious creature appearing in the Everfree, but they were just rumors, I asked my children at the castle and they confirmed this, I must say you do look a little weak, no?” She gave a smug grin, I wanted to smack that grin off her face.

I was gritting my teeth in anger, “Get me outta these goddamn chains and I’ll show you how weak feels.”

She started laughing, “Ohhhh, we have a feisty one, don’t we? Your anger is a bitter sweet, if I must say.” She gave that smug grin again and I about lost it.

This bitch wants to fight, I’ll give her a fight.

I flexed my arms and pulled the chains with newfound strength, the chains strained but held strong.

She gave that arrogant smug laugh again, “You won’t be able to escape, your magic is worthless, I will need you later so I will patch most of your wounds, and if you don’t start respecting me I’ll be forced to take...jurassic measures.” Her horn lit up and my broken bones were realigned, my deep cuts mostly healed.

I screamed in anguish, my mind couldn’t take the pain anymore and I passed out.

=== === ===

I awoke with a dull throb in my head, I opened my eyes slowly and looked at my body, it looks like she allowed bandages for the bleeding, my right side had a bandage that showed some red underneath, all of my broken bones were healed and my fractured ones stayed fractured.

Looks like she borderline saved me.

The right side of my head was bandaged and my eye was cleaned, I could now stand without as much pain, but it still felt like fire down my leg, I just decided to stay on my knees, my arms being outstretched was really starting to annoy me.

The door in front of me opened, there was no bright light behind the door this time, I looked at the Changeling that entered, he had a plate with bread and a tin cup filled with water, he approached me cautiously.

I didn’t move as he set down the plate in front of me, he grabbed the bread with his hoof and cautiously put it up to my mouth.

I was considering biting his hand off before slowly eating the bread, I didn’t devour it as I wanted to savor it as long as possible, when I bit the last piece off he grabbed the small cup and put it to my lips and let me drink, I drank slowly, but it was still gone before I knew it.

He took the cup back and set it on the plate before leaving, when the door shut with a thud I kept looking at my kneeling shadow in front of me, the dim blue light behind me never changed, so I couldn’t tell what time it was.

I looked around the room with a critical eye trying to spot anything that could help me escape, as I was looking I felt as if the shadows were moving, something was watching me.

The shadows were watching me it seemed, all around me, but only one pair of eyes, watching from every angle.

The door opened and Chrisalys sauntered into the room, she had a grin on her face while walking over to me, only when her snout almost touched my nose did she stop and speak.

“I hope you enjoyed your meal, you’ll be fed that for a very long time.”

I snarled in my throat, she backed up a bit but kept close, her smile wiped off her face.

“It seems that you need to be shown discipline.”

Her magic arced and hit me square in the chest, electricity was flowing through my every nerve, but I didn’t scream, partially because of the shock, but mostly out of defiance.

She kept it up for a bit before stopping, my head was swimming and my eyes were heavy.

Shortly afterwards I passed out.

=== === ===

The days kept rolling by, the torture sessions were becoming creative, at least they let me eat normally, my only thoughts were of escape and vengeance, I didn’t know what day it was because of my passouts and sitting still in a dark room was taking its toll on me.

I was starting to think, usually I’d have something to, but now all I had to pass the time was think, things I kept trying to forget.

I could tell something was here, something was moving the shadows and playing tricks with me, it felt like something was trying to get into my mind.

The nightmares got me the most, I couldn’t think straight, I was sleep deprived, my body was beaten and battered from the torture, the only good thing was that my bones healed.

I had just woken up from another sleepless night when Chrysalis walked into my room again, I was preparing myself for another session when I realised I hadn’t been struck yet, she looked down on me with those green eyes, I stared back.

For a while she didn’t do or say anything, words were rising in my throat when she interrupted me, “You certainly are a hard one to break, I’m having you moved,” she smiled an evil smile, “I hope you enjoy.”

She struck me with iron plated hooves, pain flared, but I was out cold before I realised it.

=== === ===

Celestia was having a rough day.

Her nobles were filing complaints about the local club, talking about how it ‘ruined the atmosphere’, she knew the only reason they wanted it gone was so they could make another brothel or something of the sort.

Another stack was the city finances, there was a shortage of wheat this season due to the recent drought, inflation was bound to make a lot of ponies angry.

But Celestia couldn’t think about those things, her mind always wandered back to the mysterious creature that seemingly fell from the stars.

It’s been a little over a week since the chariot was found burnt to a crisp, the heat so intense that no bodies were found.

The funeral for the guards and the human was three days ago, there was a group of Lunar Guards that showed up for Jason, but other than that no one else really cared about the strange creature other than Twilight and Fluttershy, the others didn’t come, anyone else that came were there for the guards funeral.

She personally didn’t know him, but she could tell he was a disturbed creature, she only wished he found peace.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a servant knocking on the door, “Come in.”

The maid approached the sun goddess with forms in her mouth, “Here are the wedding papers, Princess.” she gingerly set down the papers on Celestia’s desk.

She smiled warmly, “Thank you Weave, I’ll have these filled shortly.”

The maid nodded before exiting the room and closing the door, Celestia looked at the papers and saw the decorative invitation first, she was to wed Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Cadence, and Captain Shining Armor of the Equestrian Royal Guard.

The wedding was to happen in one week, her heart warmed at the thought of the couple, they were truly meant for each other.

She sighed and remembered all the paperwork she still hadn’t done.

This was going to be a long week.

=== === ===

I awoke to ice cold water being splashed on my face, I awoke quickly and struggled in my captor's grasp, I realised that they were waterboarding me, I was thrashing around, trying to do anything to get free.

Just as I was about to go under the onslaught stopped, the rag was ripped off my face as I took deep gulps of air, my captors were silent as they dragged me into a different room and hoisted my chained form into a green pod, they quickly closed it around me.

Then a liquid was filling the pod, with my hands chained behind me I attempted to kick the pod with the little leg room I had, the transparent green liquid reached my mouth and nose, it filled the pod as it entered my lungs, strangely I didn’t start drowning, it seemed that the liquid was a sort of ‘thick air’.

Then the pain started, it was all over me, like an army of angry wasps under every inch of my skin, my brain stayed conscious.

I was roaring in pure agony, but the liquid muffled my voice, I then saw the three that waterboarded me exit my lone room with only myself and locked the door.

Hell was only beginning.

The Edge

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