Shadows Rising

by Shadow Valkyrie

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Other, Original Character, Mystery, Adventure
Length: 3243

Awake in a strange world from an unnatural birth, a new player in the game emerges with no idea who, or what he is.

Awake in a strange world from an unnatural birth, a new player in the game emerges with no idea who, or what he is. He travels the lands searching for answers, and hope that he will be accepted, for he knows that he should not be.

Begins a small time after Nightmare Moon is defeated and Princess Luna has been restored.

Published 2016-04-20 18:10:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-04-20 18:10:02 UTC

Awakening

Entry 1:

What is this thing I feel? Wait, what is feeling? I feel... cold. What is cold? Is it bad? What else is this? I'm... submerged? No, no, not submerged. What, how do I... know these... words? How do I know these things? No, I am submerged. I feel something else. It is something... wrong. I feel...

Trapped

I need to get out of here! Being trapped is wrong, right? Something is keeping me from getting out. It is hard. Glass? Yes, glass. Glass breaks, doesn't it? I need to... kick.

THUMP

Yes, break it. Again!

THUMP

CRICK

CRACK

CRACK

Not enough! I have something else, wings? This thing is small, I can spread my wings, make them big. Break out. Glass breaks.

Those were my thoughts when I broke out. Then the glass shattered. I was pulled out by the fluid's path out of the container I was in. I landed on the floor, which seemed to be metallic in nature.

I coughed, taking my first breath. Had I just been born? Or had I been made? What was I?

Who am I?

I looked around, and saw three pods like the one I was just in to my left, and six of them to my right. Was I a clone? I don't know, but the one directly to my right was broken. It was as if I had the same idea as someone else.

Then I looked at the trails of red stuff starting at the door. I didn't realize it at the time, but I would find out that it was blood. I went through the door, looking for answers. There was a computer with a cracked monitor. It had audio files on it, so I investigated them, being the curious creature I am:

Doctor Gene Pool's Notes on Genetic Merging Between Dragons and Pegasi

Day 1:
Ve have been given multiple samples of DNA. One of a dragon king who vould not reveal his name to us, vishing for anonymity. The other one of a special Pegasus, Lt. Shadow Valkyrie of Luna's royal guard. Our goal is to merge zese two samples into something more, something new. Ve will start off slow at first, attempting to create one creature at a time. With luck, ve will have created an entirely new species!

Day 27:
Subject One has failed before the first month even finished. Ze growth has been, less than satisfactory. It began to grow, but remained a ball of organic matter. Hopefully, Subject Two will show more promise zan its late sibling.

Day 75:
Another failure. Subject two's skeleton und organs were crushed by its muscle mass. A horrible way to die if you ask me. Hopefully, third time's ze charm.

Day 124:
Another failure. All ze progress ve were able to get out of Subject Three was a basic skeleton, but it collapsed in on itself. At least, now ve know what to fix zis time.

Day 165:
Ve managed to fix the problem with the skeleton, und now I believe we just have to keep the organs from expiring. Things are looking up for this little project of ours. Oh, und Subject Four is dead.

Day 257:
Dear gods if there are any, it finally worked! Subject Five is living und breathing. We finally have a living clone! This is a time for celebration here in zis little project of ours. I must tell ze others!

Day 257, additional:
Subject Five has a confirmed male gender, und a craving for meat und some magnesium. Zat is probably ze dragon DNA talking. His front legs have appendages zat can be used to precisely manipulate the world around him vithout ze use of ze energy commonly known as magic. A revolutionary concept to ponykind. Four vings, two dragon and the back ones feathered, like a Pegasus. His back half appears to be zat of a Pegasus, und so is his head, other zan ze scales und teeth. I believe ve should be careful not to crank the air conditioning.

Day 258:
Subject Five knows how to talk, learn, und socialize, indicating rapid mental progression und development. Sadly, he is dying from exposure to ze bacteria commonly found in ponies und dragons.

Day 258, additional:
Subject Five's dragon and Pegasus parts also seem to be rejecting each other after prolonged exposure to each other. Zis must be rectified in Subject Six, whom ve vill be starting on immediately.

Day 259:
Subject Five has passed away. Ve put him under so zat it would be painless. Hopefully his brothers after him will fare better zan he.

Day 397:
Ve seem to have fixed everything ve can in Subject Six. He has emerged from his vat, alive und well. Alas, nothing is perfect. Six is exhibiting some mildly aggressive behavior. This could be a result of all the modifications that have been made from the original subject. He must be watched closely while ve try to create Subject 7.

Day 406:
Un incident vith Six today. *sigh* Some idiot decided to let someone in a corporation in on our little project, und now they are camping out on top of us, figuratively und literally. On of ze employees in said corporation thought that it would be a good idea to enter the presence of Six to "study" him. Now, Six has a needle puncture, and the corporation is trying to sue us for, for something! Und zat is ze least of our concerns. Now, I, and only I, am trying to figure out how long it is until he tries to consume one of us instead. As a backup, subject 7 is being formed in the event zat ve have to terminate Six. Ve still have not found ze possible sample of DNA stolen. Zat could be problematic if it is in ze wrong hooves, und I have never trusted private companies.

Day 421:
Six's... temper has gotten increasingly worse. Yesterday, he tried to melt the new bars in his room after ve were forced to confine him. I vas so exhausted after ze incident zat I fell asleep in zis very chair afterwards und did not record it until today. But today, one of us vas delivering his food, but it was still raw. Without it cooked, the blood was still there, und I guess that Six smelled it und got greedy. Now... *sigh* now one of my best friends is in ze belly of ze beast that we have spawned. We have no choice but to kill him now. At least we can make it painless, with a large overdose of anesthesia. I can only hope zat ze next one von't kill anyone here.

Day 422:
I'm not sure vat to say right now. Uh... I have some things to confess for the record. By the time anyone sees, hears, or reads this I vill be dead, et cetra, et cetra. Hmm. I vonder if someone vill document zis in a book decades later. Ze least I can hope for is a research paper. I have done terrible things in the last year or so, und vish to die vith a clear conscience. Ze samples of DNA zat ve took for our research vere not given, but forcibly taken. Zat is not all. Remember ze workers in ze corporation mentioned in day... 406? Ve ended up feeding zem to Subject Six in order to keep our operation a secret. There has been much death in our attempts to create life. Seven, if you find this before anyone else, which you probably vill, I am sorry zat I couldn't give you ze care zat I did your predecessors. Should you end up finding zis recording, do us ze honor of a burial. In ze meantime, I vill not go out vithout a fight. See you in ze afterlife, if zere is one. Thank you und goodbye, my son. May your life be better than mine.

BANG BANG
SHINK
OW! I vill-
BANG BANG
SNAP
Gun clatters on floor

Those were the last of the recordings I found. There was a body next to them, probably Dr. Gene Pool. I granted the old scientist his "vish" and gave him and everyone else I could find a burial. A proper one, with gravestones and flowers on the dirt. I do hope that they are in a better place now. After that, I returned to the bunker, (slight oversight, I know) looking for anything that could have been of use. A medical kit, frozen meat, a laptop computer or two, computer drives, and an assault rife of all things. I don't know how I know what these things are. Maybe an entire vocabulary was programmed into my mind. I also found multiple pads of paper, one of which I fully intend to use to document my journeys.

Wish me luck. Why am I talking to a journal?

After I left the bunker in which Gene Pool's experiments had occurred, I searched for anything that would lead me to civilization. There was a faint path in this haunting forest. From where the bunker was on the map, it seemed that I was in a place called the Everfree Forest. Here was my logic: a forest with a name like that couldn't be too bad. I couldn't have been any more wrong, given what happened next.

I had found a pool of still water somewhere in the center of the forest. The pool was completely still, as if nothing had ever touched it in its existence. Just like me, actually. What was re remarkable was the mound in the center of the pool, or rather, what was on it. Two marble pedestals held weapons that seemed to shimmer, as if imbued with a sort of magic. I was drawn to it, not knowing why, and with no idea what kind of danger I was in. As I claimed the weapons, an enchanted spear and a sword-bow hybrid weapon, the pedestals sunk into the mound, and the earth shook.

I leapt away from the mound and its surrounding pool, just in time to dodge a hulking mass coming directly at me. Apparently I could feel distortions in the air around me. That might be useful in the near future. It was clad in silvery armor, brandishing a sword that was about my size. I had no idea what to do, but then my instincts (and adrenaline) kicked in, and I knew what was going on. Let's see what these do, I thought aggressively. I knew not what aggression or combat were yet, but I was experiencing it.

It stood, nay, towered over me, its expression hidden by the helmet and mask. I knew not what it intended to do, but I assumed that it would be bad. Then it swung, the trees in its way crushed mercilessly. Then it neared me, and I did the only thing I could do: evade. I slid right underneath the blow, and then locked onto the weapon. Part of my ranged weapon was useful in this part. I used it to catch the sword, and I managed to swing up on top of it. I was riding a sword. Which is crazy. And kinda thrilling.

I dashed up the weapon to the hilt, and plunged my spear into my combatant's wrist. I was deafened by a cry of pain, and stunned by a fist that sent me crashing into a tree. It was the first time I had felt real pain in my new life, and it was much different than anything I had felt up to that point. And It hurt a LOT. I could actually feel a couple ribs breaking. I sat there for a second or two before pulling myself up with the spear. There were a few scales on the ground, knocked from my body. Imagine having your skin ripped off, in individual chunks. That's how much that part hurt.

I wasn't done yet. I had an advantage: my wings. I hadn't actually flown before, and I might as well try. If it didn't work, I'd be dead. If I didn't try, I'd be dead anyway. No pressure. I managed to fly up to my enemy's body, but I hadn't judged the power of my wings. I was launched up to him, and my spear pierced right through his armor. He gasped for air, and fell to his knees. With his last breaths, he said to me, "Thank you. My enchanted burden is lifted." and his upper body fell.

My spear weapon was protruding from his back. I had really underestimated the power of my wings. Apparently, they provided enough force to straight up impale the poor guy. As I went to retrieve it, I had a revelation. I noticed the red fluid coated on the tip of my new weapon. Blood. Now I realized what had happened to the scientists. My predecessor killed them. He killed them all, and left me to pick up the pieces. Now I knew what killing and slaughter were: something terrible. If the rest of the world is like this, I'm not sure I want to be part of it.

After the spear was removed, I checked to see if he was still alive. Though, when he died, the area began sinking into the ground. Due to my loitering, my rear leg was caught by the earth. Not really "caught" so much as "grabbed". I was stuck. I had underestimated my wings, but I better not be overestimating them. I thought. When I willed them to, the combined power of the four limbs sent me rocketing into the air, breaking free from the grip of the earth.

I was flying, and it felt exhilarating. Was this what I was born to do, or was this just a pleasure of this world? Either way, I felt at peace up here, in the clouds. Nothing could touch me here. No blood could touch me here. That thought ruined the moment, so I soared away to try to forget it. I could feel the weight of the actual air lessen the higher I went, which made it easier for me to accelerate. But the higher I went, the more uncomfortable I felt. It was a feeling I had felt at the beginning of my life, and it brought back the unpleasant memory of being trapped.

I was cold again. After reaching a certain height, something began forming on my body, and it stiffened. I think it's called ice. It became increasingly difficult to move my wings when I went higher and higher. Then the fluid in my eyes froze, and I couldn't see well. Then I started drifting in and out of consciousness from the cold. I think I started falling. I awoke, falling, unable to move. For about 20 or 30 seconds, there was nothing I could do to help myself from the incredible danger I was in. This is it, I thought, I'm going to die. But I haven't even started. I tried to cry for help, but the ice had frozen my mouth shut. In my mind I was screaming, but it was no use. I was going to plummet to the ground and die. The ground does not like me. At least I managed to get my vision and my mouth fixed, but that was only a small consolation. I was going to die, but at least I cold die screaming.

Then a powerful force knocked me from my course. Instead of hitting the ground, something alive hit me. I was sent into the clouds, literally. It let go, I think because I was so cold, and my body hit head-first into something hard and metallic. I heard some sort of splash, and warm liquid poured over me. Then I was officially knocked out.

I woke up. Well, I wasn't really awake, seeing as my eyes weren't open, but I was conscious. I could hear some beeping, and I felt kind of drowsy. I then opened my eyes to see a tube in my arm, and stuff flowing into me. I yelped, eager to get it off, but I was too drowsy to do anything about it. I did manage to fall off some sort of bed. The beeping turned to one long droning sound. I crawled about four feet (despite the tube being ripped out by the fall) before the door burst open.

"Whoa there! You almost died, and that won't happen again on my watch." This was the sound of a calm, gentle voice. Somehow I knew it was good. It just seemed... nice.

"Where am I?" I groaned. "Who are you? I can't really see well right now."

"I'm Nurse Redheart, but I do more than any doctor will. I was called up here for an special case, but I didn't expect something like you. For now, you are my patient. Now let's just get you back on the bed before you cause any more harm to yourself."

"What happened to me?"

"You fell. You would have been a pancake on the ground if someone didn't help you out of it. It seems your guardian angel flew away before anyone could ask who he was. You are incredibly lucky."

"But what am I doing here?"

"Your savior may have kept you from dying, but you sustained several serious injuries. You hit your head on something hard, then you nearly drowned in the rainbows."

"I've never seen a rainbow. What is it?"

"I' surprised you don't know. They make them in this town, Cloudsdale. They send them off after storms. I can show you as soon as you are well enough to walk around."

"Thank you, but... why?"

"It's the good thing to do."

I started chuckling. "I've seen bodies strung up on walls, I've seen someone cursed, and I've had to bury everyone I might have known in my life. There is no 'good' here. You are not good." I think I offended her, as she sprinted out of the room.

With her gone, I was able to make my way out of here. Whatever I was being pumped full of was altering the way I saw things, but not the way I thought. I would not be trapped again. Not again. I ripped out the cord, and smashed the heart monitor. Or was that hearts monitor? Two hearts, what else is new?

All my stuff was at the side of the room. They hadn't done anything with that, which is good. Equipped with my weaponry, I burst through the door to see... a dozen or so armed guards with spears pointed at my throat. And Redheart on the ground, unconscious. This is not good. Not good at all.

Author's Note

Basically, this is a fanfic on the origins of my OC, Shadow Valkyrie the Hybrid.

Obviously, the doctor in the recording has ze German accent, ya?