Author's Note

My first story written from first person perspective. As always, Criticism is appreciated. Tell me what I'm doing wrong and I'll strive to correct it. other than that, this will be a humanized Equestria. Why? Mostly because it's a bit rare, and mostly because I've been reading this.

Prologue: Exposition en masse

Hi, my name's Brandon. and I'm about to dump a metric fuck-ton of backstory on ya. I wouldn't do this normally, but to understand this story, you need a little bit of insight into what happened to me. so, here goes nothin'!

Ever watch an anime or read a manga about that kid who gets summoned as a hero in another world? I'm not that guy. In fact, I'm his overweight, bespectacled, elder brother. Of course, I still ended up in this story. (Hey, a guy's gotta look out for his kid brother, magical hell-portals or no). Anyway, when the disorientation and blindness faded, I was in a throne room. Long story short, I didn't take it well. Now, Fun fact: I am 6'4" and 215 pounds. Which meant that I was significantly taller than most people in the room. I also had been in the army, so while I had accumulated some extra weight, I was still decently strong. Not, stronger than a room full of men trained to run around in metal armor but strong enough that when I hit it hurt. When I was done freaking out, the king and several guards had black eyes and I was tied down until I could calm the fuck down. I won't bother repeating the dialogue here, suffice it to say it was the cliche "only you have the power to save us" bologna.

That's when shit rolled downhill. My brother and the other kids (ranging from 12-17) were divided up by this symbol that appeared on their hands. Now magic has a way of being slightly cheaty (completely fucking O-P) so, I could read the symbols. Magus, Warrior, Lancer, Fencer, and Ranger. I saw this coming from a mile away, my brother became a magus. every RPG he'd ever played he had chosen the magical ones. Then there's me. The mark on my hand? A pawn from chess. It was pretty common for soldiers to get this mark. Hell, several of the guys around us had it. Now I know you're probably thinking it's a cutie mark. It ain't. (It was explained to me much later that the magical properties are similar, but every race gets something different.) We were told from the get-go that there was no way home. The reason they'd chosen my Bro and the others, was the fact they had very little tying them there. I was the only family he had left. (the reason I left the army was to take care of him and put him through school.) The others had similar stories. Orphans, the lot of them. I was fucking livid. Drafting my baby brother to fight a war and a bunch of kids nobody'd miss? Goddamn I wanted to punch the king in his other eye....and shove a poleaxe somewhere impolite. I kept quiet though. Being tied to the floor tends to put things into perspective.

The next five years were difficult. My brother, Jake, became a wizard with a power level of 27. (up til then, the highest was 15.) He led the "Hero's guild" and was often away on some quest or another, trying to gain allies and support for King Hector of Arkum. (Yes, it sounds like Arkham for you batman enthusiasts. I pointed it out too, to Jake's Amusement. He even had his armor bat-themed!) As for dear old Brandon? (me) I basically got drafted. Now, I won't waste time explaining the whole military structure of an alternate civilization. If you wanna know, just look up military organization in feudal times. The King couldn't have a hero's brother be a lowly footman though, so I became the oldest squire ever to squire and do squire-ey things. Needless to say, my prior military training was somewhat useful, as I was already used to wearing uncomfortable body armor. Within three years I was a knight. (which wasn't as awesome as it seems.) I was a foot knight, part of the Shield-wall of Sir Ardent the graceful. (Guy was an absolute klutz). Now, they called me a knight, but I felt more like a Saxon Huscarl, with the weird, long shield and chainmail dress. I looked kinda badass, being a foot taller than most, and three years swinging swords and axes and other labors had made me pretty strong. Nothing to do but wait, which meant another two years of Random preparations and minor skirmishes with the local monsters.

After that, It was time. The armies of the world of men gathered together to face a great evil at the base of the Dragonclaw mountains. The plan was simple. We'd defend the pass from the prince and his minions, while Jake and his heroes infiltrated his fortress and destroyed the source of his power. There are no words to describe the horrors I saw that day. We were barely holding, and the line was wavering. For every monster we slew, 4 more took it's place. Some had toxic or acidic blood, and I had to get new weapons and shields from my fallen comrades far more often than I'd like. Then, A flash, and the tower crumbled. From the left I heard a scream of Rage, and the Black Prince emerged. His twin blades swept like a scythe, Severing heads and cutting down some of the most powerful knights I'd known. We had to distract him long enough for the Heroes to come and finish him off.

"Why do you struggle worms! Humanity is a disease! It will taint this world just as it has tainted so many others!" He shouted. He swung at me, narrowly missing as I dodged to the side. I returned the strike, badly wounding his arm. He dropped one of his swords as black mist poured forth, knocking me back. The force of the explosion broke my shield arm and put me flat on my back. The bastard stood back up and approached me. No help was coming, as anyone still able to fight was locked in combat with the black prince's monsters. I stood again and rushed him. He parried my blow and booted me away, Breaking a few of my ribs. I stood again, Coughing up blood. We had to distract him just a bit longer. I charged him again, catching him off guard and stabbed him in the stomach. The black prince howled in pain and lifted me by the throat.

"You...you have such spirit...You would make a good vessel for my essence" he muttered, before raising his ruined arm. The black mist poured into my eyes, my nose, and mouth, choking me like caustic acid. I did the only thing I could still do. I spat into his face. The monstrous being just grinned, Until he was enveloped in a magical light and blown away, carrying me with him. Gasping his final breath, the Black Prince snarled at me. "Interloper....I curse you to walk this realm forever.....Trapped in a rotting carcass....You will find no peace on this earth...." The necromancer shuddered and lie still, his reign of terror ended. As for me, I was in a grave state. Darkness loomed on the edge of my vision, and pain wracked my battered form. My brother, (who was probably the source of the magic that ended the prince) ran up to me and held my head aloft.

"Hey Lil' Bro....Ya made it...." I croaked, smiling. Jake (My brother) just started casting healing spells, tears running down his face. He and I both knew I was too far gone. One of his friends walked up and put her hand on his shoulder before wiping her eyes.

"Jake...He's done...Let him go." she said, choking up. Anne was her name if I recall. Jake drooped and nodded, Placing me on the ground, and kissed her.

"Good job bro...Always knew you'd land a looker" I joked as everything faded. The last thing I heard before the end was my brother sobbing.