Author's Note

((This is my first MLP story, I'm hoping it will come out well when it is complete. Feel free to leave feedback and let me know if their are any grammar issues I can fix))

The Arrival

A soft heartbeat, the sound of wind blowing over my body, the footsteps of small animals running around. This was all I could hear, but all I could see was blackness. I felt nothing, my body was numb, and my last memory was that of a gun being held to my head and the sound of it as the trigger was pulled. I'm dead...is this what it's like? Empty, black, the feeling of nothingness? It's like I don't even exist, like I'm not real. I can't fight the urge to get up, to tell death off and force myself back to life. Is this Hell? It couldn't be; I heard my heart beating faster. Then it hit me, my heart's beating, I'm not dead.

My eyes lids were heavy, but I managed to get them open. I was in a forest and a very odd one at that. It seemed vaguely cartoonish and it was making me question my mentality. Ignoring it, I forced myself to get back on my feet; which proved to be a struggle. My entire body was sore, but it was nothing compared to the splitting headache I was being forced to endure. I looked around to see nothing but trees, which was actually rather comforting. Since my pledge to a new higher power was made I found myself a lot more comfortable within the depths of heavily wooded areas, especially at night.

"Where the hell am I?" I asked myself as I started slowly walking through this empty abyss of a place. I walked for maybe an hour before I started to smell something horrid. The scent of wood-rot and death filled my nostrils and a faint growl came from behind me. I turned around to see this...thing. A giant wooden beast in the shape of a wolf with glowing green eyes stared at me with a great hungered look. It took a stance that I could easily recognize, one that said it was ready to attack. I stood my ground in shock and awe at this beast, but I didn't let my guard down. The beast lunged at me and I rolled to the side, dodging its attack. I instinctively drew my knife. It wouldn't do much against wood, but it was better than just accepting my fate as this monster's lunch. It jumped at me again and I ducked down, letting it fly right over me and smash its head into a tree that stood directly behind me. It shook its head in pain, but mostly annoyance. I stood ready to fight despite having no idea how to defend myself from such a massive monstrosity. As it prepared to jump again I felt a presence. The beast could feel it too, I could see it in its eyes. This presence comforted me, it made me feel as if their was no danger, like I had nothing to fear from the world. The wooden wolf creature however was filled with fear, this was very clear. I knew this feeling and apparently it did too.

It stood there, debating whether or not to attack, looking back and forth between me and an open area where it could flee to safety. It eventually decided on the latter and took off with its tail between its legs.

"That was one hell of a welcoming party." I said to myself, tucking my knife into the side of my pants. I turned around to see the source of this comforting feeling, but was surprised at its appearance. There was a tall, horse-like, white figure donning a black suit. It had a blank white face and bore the Operator symbol on its flank. I walked closer and stared at it in confusion, my eyes refusing to move from the sight. It was at that moment I heard a voice whispering to me within my own mind.

"Odd, I don't remember you being so disrespectful when approached by me..." My eyes widened in my realization and I quickly knelt down.

"I'm sorry master, please excuse my rudeness. I was unsure if it was really you." I quickly said, hoping desperately he wouldn't take my inexcusable behavior to heart. I wasn't normally so submissive, but this creature was like a father to me. He had saved my life and freed me from the madness of the world I lived in. He showed me how to survive, showed me that I have a purpose in life and gave me a new type of freedom, one that I couldn't achieve on my own. Granted, I had to serve him for the rest of my life, but he allowed me to express myself in horrible ways...ways that made me feel so alive.

"Rise, child. Your confusion is understandable as this form is completely foreign to you..." I got back to my feet and I watched as the creature extended a large number of tendrils to my body. It started to feel me, gripping at my entire body randomly.

"You don't appear to be injured..." He said, halting his inspection and moving on to brushing the dirt off of my cloths.

"Thanks to you, master. If you hadn't shown up I'd probably be nothing but a red puddle." I said with a chuckle. Its tendrils retracted back into its body and I started to do an inspection of my own. I walked around it in a circle, eyeing this weird new body my master now had. When I finally got back to its front side I decided to address the situation.

"I mean no disrespect, master...but where the hell are we?" I really didn't want to question him, but my curiosity was driving me crazy and I needed to know.

"We are currently in the Everfree Forest, it's located on the outskirts of Ponyville in the land of Equestria" I stared at him with a great deal of confusion, but he couldn't see it due to the mask I always wore. He didn't need to see it, he could tell, he could always tell how his proxies were feeling.

"Child, we are in a world beyond the confines of your previous one. This is a world of magic; allow me to summarize. It is inhabited by three separate races of pony. Earth ponies, who work the with the land and grow crops for their townsfolk to consume. Pegasi, who control the weather. And unicorns, who can control magic. The land we are in currently is ruled by two royal sisters of a different race, alicorn... I listened as gave me a brief history lesson about the land I was in, but I couldn't help but stare at him in disbelief.

"So...I am in a world full of sentient horses...that can control magic?" I commented, still finding all of this to be kind of insane. If you ask me, that's a lot to hear from a guy who has dedicated his whole life and even took the lives of others for a being that most didn't believe existed.

"I understand your skepticism, but I assure you that all of this is true... I remained silent, still just staring at him with a blank expression. I mean, really? How could it expect me to take this seriously, it's way too far fetched. For a moment I suspected that this was some sort of joke my family, fellow proxies, were playing on me. No, if it was than our master wouldn't be here. He wasn't the joking type.

"Let me show you..." He reached out and pressed a hoof against me and in the blink of an eye we were standing just outside of the forest. He pointed toward a group of small ponies; one earth, one pegasus, and one unicorn. All different colored, and when listening carefully I could hear them talking. They were speaking of a place called Sugarcube corner and a new brand of doughnuts they came out with. My jaw dropped and I apologized to my master for not believing him. He accepted the apology, but their was still one last thing I needed to know.

"Why am I here?" I asked. He looked at me with his expressionless face.

"Do you remember the events that took place before you awoke? I thought back and told him I did. It was the dead of the night, the sound of sirens filled the air as I ran. I jumped onto a fence and climbed over it just to continue my efforts to escape. I sprinted with great speed and smiled as I saw a forest preserve in the distance. I knew if I made it there I would be safe, but luck wasn't on my side this time. I heard the crack of a gun behind me and collapsed as a sharp pain penetrated my leg. The bullet had gone through the back of my leg and tore through my knee cap. It wasn't the pain that had caused my collapse, but the shock that zipped through my body causing me to stumble and lose my footing. I was about to get up and start running again, but I was grabbed and lifted up by a man in a blue suit and a badge on his chest. His eyes were filled with rage and he held the gun against the side of my head.

"You...you're the bastard that took my daughter! You gave her to that...that thing!" I ignored his words and tried to break out of his grip, but his anger was in control and his grip was stronger than iron. "Where is she?"

I stopped struggling and looked him in the face. He stared past my mask and into my eyes. I smiled and figured that I'd play with him a bit, he was going to kill me regardless.

"She's gone...it has her...and it'll never give her back..." That was when it happened. He pulled the trigger and the world went black, but I noticed something. Despite being at the mercy of the unstable officer, just before he shot me, I felt a great deal of comfort. A comfort that I had been very welcoming of for over four years now.

"I couldn't allow you to die, you're one of the most influential proxies I have ever had. So I took you and brought you here. A universe that has no history of your existence, a universe where you never died... I rubbed the spot on my head where I had been shot. Not only was their no wound, there wasn't even a scar. It had never happened.

"I need you here. My influence in this world is almost nonexistent, I believe you can change that..." I remained silent for a moment before turning to face him completely.

"How can I serve you master?"