Past Tenseby GoodTyme461ChaptersPrelude...AriseChapter 2...Hearts and stonesChapter 1...Bad startsPrelude...AriseAuthor's Note So i'm kinda noob to this, so please bear with me. This will be my first fanfic so please, if there are any criticism, any improvements to be made, share it with me. Prelude...Arise The voices above the storage room penetrated the aged stone separating it from the throne room. The muffled speech reached the dark corner of the room where a vessel resided. ... "...The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us." "You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!" "But it did! A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my friends! You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!" "Nooo! Nooo!" BZZZZZZZZZZZRK?! "Ughhuhh..." A groan emanated from one corner of a very dark room. If it weren't for the cracks formed on the ceiling of the room would the darkness engulf the whole space. A very dim light still encapsulated the small LED's lining a base of a pod-like structure, slowly fading. "UGHHHHH..." Another groan, this time louder, accompanied by loud banging noises coming from the pod. "DAD... MOM..." Shouts of anguish and desperate banging echoed throughout the small space inside the pod. Finally, a hissing stopped the shouts as the door to the pod slowly lifted open. Silence met the room as a human stepped out of the pod. Unable to find his voice, shock evident in his face. the echoes subsided and once again the place is without sound. For a few minutes he remained slack-jawed, bewildered at the sudden change of the surroundings he knows. When he was able to regain his bearings, he scanned the room. Despite of the darkness, he was able to see... Nothing, neither wood nor steel can be seen, only the stone walls stand. All of the tools and weapons stored had been reduced to rust and only a mound of rock to the side opposite the doorway is to be seen. The once packed storage area was now completely desolate, as if thousands of years has passed. ... Thousands of years, .... He shuddered, out of the thoughts that came to the forefront of his mind. Then he realized. He was alone. It must have been at least a dozen centuries since he had been locked inside that pod. He remembered his last conversation with his father like it was not an hour ago. Now, it will be the last time he was able to talk to his father, to family, worse, to another human being. He began to weep quietly, the realization hit him like a wall. He lost almost all the things he held most dearly, his family, friends, country. He lost his love, his dreams, his goals. He lost hope...He lost part of his sanity. He laid on the ground, sobbing, sniffling. He lost his purpose for existing, what is there to live for if he cannot have children? What is there to live for if he can never hear the voice of another? What is there to live for? The evidence was clear as day. The room was practically screaming 'not used for two thousand years', plus the pod was deactivated by no one. His family can never survive that long. He remained there, crying hours, weeping at his loss. He was alone. He was broken. Finally after an hour or two of crying and mourning, he ran out of tears. He finally cared enough to feel the dryness of his throat, the light that entered the room through cracks, and the thawed feces that move within his colon. Now he needed to survive, a thought to which he smiled at if not ever so slightly. He welcomed the idea of a new objective, he needed the distraction. So, for his slipping sanity, he clung to it. He set his mind right, tried to banish the haunting thoughts. He remembered his father, the last words between them. 'Dad?!...DAD?!' 'No don't...You'll live, for me that's the most important,' 'I want to stay with you?!' 'You don't need to...' He needs to live, if not for himself, for his father. It's what he would've wanted. If his dad didn't, he wouldn't have bothered driving them here to put him on a prototype millennial hibernation pod, it will just make no sense. But for all good things on Earth, he should've been long dead already. It doesn't feel right, he feels...misplaced. I should've been dead He shook the thought away. Now was not the time to think about it. Now, his priorities are finding food, water, and more importantly, a place to be rid of his foul thousand year excrement. He took some steps towards the doorway, his legs was stiff but he can still walk. Hell his whole body was stiff, still recovering from the effects of cryohibernation. Perhaps being frozen for millennium did no good to his bones. He shrugged the stiffness off, It will pass he thought. He came out of the room and slowly ascended the stairs leading to a passage blocked by creeping vines. Strangely, when outside, he can't differentiate the passage from the walls covered in flora. He knows where's where here, his father often took him here. The department building contained the most advanced technology of the Alliance. He had no problem finding the exit. What he saw outside took the breath out of him. The hell?! The department building was now inside a thick forest of low, sickly looking trees. The plant life there took the general theme of 'menacing' to a weird level. Hell, the color was right, the height however, it looked like they were bonsai trees with that figure! But that was not what bothered him. This was a desert?! It took a few moments to return to the task at hand. He set out to explore the forest since nothing other than the pod could have survived. He wandered the forest that once had been a desert. Most of the trees bear no fruit, some offered strange fruits, sickly in color and seemed non-edible to him. Finally he gave up finding food, so he sought for the exit. He walked in one direction, hoping to pass by a river or anything that can point him out of the forest. He decided to walk towards the east... or north? Well he was never good at navigation, so please, forgive him dear readers. After a few minutes, he was already jumping at shadows. He felt the surge of dread that filled him, feeling that he was being stalked,he was prey. At times the trees seem to bend, to move. His ears was also ringing with faint laughter that made his paranoia worse. The shadows were watching him, he could sense it. He saw another shadow move. One step. Another... And a jump. He felt his foot connect with something, he involuntarily hopped aside. He slowly reached down to it with trepidation. He felt a metallic object touch his skin. Curious, he grabbed it and stepped into the light again in order to examine the object. It was tubular, a mouthpiece was attached to one end with several holes of varied sizes on one side. He knew what it was, he was well familiar with it for it was one of the few instruments he can play, "Oh, a flute." He played a song with it. He felt merry with the sudden acquisition of a flute, it was perfect to lighten up his spirit. Then his logical intuition finally caught up. It was a flute. A METAL flute He suddenly dropped the piece of metal on the ground. Certainly nature can't create a flute, much less a metal flute. "I'm not alone," he said quietly to himself. He smiled, then laughed. It felt good to be assured again, to be with company soon. He felt hopeful again. He felt his sanity start to pull back together ever so slowly. He knew, he'll find his true purpose soon. He stooped over to grab the fallen flute. He saw small characters on the end opposite the mouthpiece. It was a name. Lyra Heartstrings. He smiled. Lyra was roving through the forest in search of her missing flute when she saw the monster. It was tall, almost two ponies high. It was bipedal and had long arms. Its body was covered only in fur so thin. The only place it was properly covered in fur was the area above his head. It also wore clothing, a lot of clothing. overall, it was a weird creature, even it perfectly balancing on two legs left her baffled. She saw it jump into the shadow of a twisted oak tree. Weird, there was nopony there, it was a sight that confused her. The monster bent over to pick up something. It walked out of the shadow to take a good look at the object he held. The object in question was metallic, she saw it glint but the monster was standing in the way of her sight. She drew closer to the monster while remaining hidden behind the vegetation. She got a good look at the monsters 'face', it was of peach color, only slightly paler. It had a very short 'muzzle', only a small triangular piece of flesh and skin attached to the face of it. The eyes were bloodshot red, streams of dried tears flowed downwards from its eyes. Then she noticed the flute it held in its hands. The small characters on the end of it gave enough evidence that... That's my flute?! The creature drew the flute closer to its mouth wile smiling gratefully at nopony in particular. She silently prayed that the creature won't break the instrument. Even though she played her lyre most of the time, that flute was her favorite, No, please don't eat my flute?! She closed her eyes, preparing for the worst. Then she heard the melody of her flute being crus—played?? She stared at the creature playing her flute, stunned. It didn't use magic yet it was able to play the instrument. It used its fingers to disrupt the flow of air. She was suddenly enthralled by the music. Then it dropped the piece of metal, the sudden change of demeanor shook her out of her stupor. She backed away quickly and quietly, fearing that she may have been detected by the creature. She began to slip away towards ponyville, leaving her flute to the creature. Maybe one day, we will meet, One day. Chapter 2...Hearts and stonesMarcus woke up with a start, panting heavily and sweating profusely. His mouth was dry and his eyes were bleary. He felt the chilling bite of the wind coming from the open window. He shuddered, more from the nightmare he had than the nippy air. He eyed the window for a second, then remembered that he kept it open that night. He switched attention to the wall clock inside his room, it was still a little past two in the morning. Hmmm.Milk, He thought, his nightmarish excursion to his dreamland made him a tad thirsty. He got out of bed, making his way to the door to the corridor of their manor. He walked through the mostly empty passage.Moonlight coming from the windows of the corridor was illuminating his path to the kitchens, as well as casting shadows of the few ornamental pieces they have. He paused as he noticed the open door of the kitchen and the light pouring forth from it. He approached it slowly with the apprehension and gingerly poked his head to see the interior of the room. "Hey Dad," Marcus said, his father turned his head towards him while a bottle of milk was pressed to his lips held by his hand. He placed the bottle on the table beside him to address Marcus. "Why're you still up at this hour, you should be sleeping," "Well I couldn't sleep," Marcus said with a frown, disappointed that his restful sleep had been rudely interrupted by a petty nightmare. "Nightmares?" "Yeah," Marcus was said, it was apparent to him that nightmares are only a figment of his imagination. As a smart kid intent on studying his arse off in the future, Marcus always treated the supernatural with as much attention as a rock. He had always been fascinated by science that he had scoffed upon every nonsensical myth about ghosts, faeries, etc, etc... Yet, every night he encounters a nightmare, he can't help himself from getting woken. Seriously, he's had enough of it, but...alas, it seems that it has won again. "Well you're not alone there, but don't mind that," Marcus looked at his dad blankly,"What? Adults have nightmares too," Marcus giggled at his Father's farce. His father was one to soothe and comfort him when he needed it. His father's words alone are enough for him to forget the nightmare from earlier. "Y'know, tomorrow is your birthday," His father told him, "You should rest now so you can have a fun time at the party," "Well it wouldn't be fun at all," He frowned. It was what will probably happen anyway, no need to hope. It was a grave problem for him that all the kids in school were laughing at him for being a nerd. The problem was not with him, as he always tells himself, they were the ones who doesn't have enough brains to care about how their underwear works. But it still doesn't change things, no one can ever relate to his tastes and interests. His father smiled at him warmly, "Oh I promise, it will be fun" "Oh, sure" He murmured. "Oh lighten up, I'm not inviting your classmates tomorrow," Marcus perked up at that, "Really!" "I have something else planned," His father said, "It will be a surprise," "You have a surprise?" He said...surprised? "Yeah... You have to find out tomorrow," Marcus was now slightly curious. But no matter the case is, no one might even have fun tomorrow. "Oh come on, it will be fun, you have my word on that," His father said, "aand...want some milk?" Marcus smiled then nodded. Marcus woke up from his sleep only to find that the corridors of the manor were completely empty. The silence inside the manor he was used to, but it being desolate, well that was weird. No servant was up and about doing the chores, the rooms were empty, and no one answered his calls inside the house. Finally after searching for everyone, he decided to take a walk outside. That was when he noticed the small gathering of kids and parents on the front yard, chatting and seated as they were on several chairs scattered throughout the yard. The kids were talking, as opposed to the expected running and playing. One kid, one Marcus didn't saw actually brought a rather medium-high powered laser to the party, nerds and their toys. Marcus was still apprehensively looking over the crowd when a pretty girl noticed him, and stared. After another second, their eyes met. The female, being the lovingly sweet and innocent girl she is turned away quickly. A swirl of faint heat danced along under her cheeks, she might or might not have been a little smitten with the boy at first sight. Well, that is to be expected of little Marcus. He was a bit of an eye-candy for little girls, but alas...if only he was less of a geek and more of a player. One moment, his looks have been a little enthralling to the girls ,but when he spoke his interests, hobbies, etc, etc... 'Sorry not interested'. He stared for a moment longer than he was supposed to, his own cheeks developing some blush. The girl in question was a sight to behold. Long flowing hair, cream white complexion graced by her youthful facial features. Her lithe body was currently seated on a chair near another group of huddled kids that were currently confabulating. It took him a moment to pull himself out of his stupor. Everyone was staring at him rather expectantly. He wilted under their gazes, becoming smaller and smaller each moment. No one was calling him down to the yard, that silence was deafening for him. He had birthdays before, no doubt about that, but he never was fond of them. Most of his classmates from school usually attends his birthday parties, and most of them bully him like they do at their school. He snapped out of it and started towards the front door of the house. After all, he will attend his own birthday party on one way or another. Let's just get this over with. Marcus was having a terrific time His presence was greeted by songs of celebration and joy. The greeting he received on that day alone was warmer than all of his other birthday parties combined. By far this was the best birthday he ever had. His day was going ever so smoothly. No words were able to express the sheer amount of joy he had, he spent the morning playing board games, discussing about interesting topics, and other games that really made Marcus laugh and smile like a kid that found out that Santa was his father or something along those lines. Before he mingled with the kids, he felt one thing, trepidation. As soon as he stepped out the door towards the open, he realized one thing. He knew no one among the crowd, at that moment his feeling changed. From that of apprehension to a swirl of emotions that are as broad as the electromagnetic spectrum. Apparently, almost everyone was either a co-worker of his dad or their children. Only very few of them were acquainted with Marcus. No bullies, many geeks. It was definitely one party to reme— "Hi" A sweet voice, not unlike that of glass gently struck by a spoon to produce a fine tune, cut through the air into his ears. His head spun, trying to locate the source of such melody. He soon found himself face to face with the girl he laid his eyes upon before he stepped out of the door. As predicted they both blushed a little. "Uhm...h-hello" Marcus greeted, suddenly sounding a little goofy by that time. She giggled at that. "So, uh...happy birthday" "Thank you" "I'm Roxanne by the way... happy to meet you" Roxanne offered her hand to Marcus which he gently shook, albeit gently as one would shake that of a fair madame...that she is. "Marcus." They chatted after that, growing little by little inclined to each other for each passing moment. "HYUUUUUUUUURK" Marcus woke up from his flashback, a headache ravaging the back of his mind. He was lying on the floor of a moving vehicle, that he can discern. The wound from earlier still hurts like a bitch, as it was supposed to. He was wet, both from sweat and river water. Dazed and vision bleary, he sat up, leaning his back against the wall. He took a deep breath. "Oh look its awake" The voice came from his left, he swiveled his head to face the speaker. There, seated on a crate was the least Marcus expected to see. It ran the whetstone it was holding in its right claws along a falchion it was holding in its other left claws. The griffon's face was etched in a grimace, despite its apparently hard beak. It was not a good sign for Marcus, griffons were the federation's spawn. These constructs were made to tear flesh of soldiers. Genetic mutation was a wonder of the modern age, since the possibility of developing new species that can serve under their military masters, the alliance and the federation was racing in developing the perfect construct that will be able to make a huge difference on the battlefield. The alliance went on with developing equines, genetically mutating them to be able to incorporate magic into their sets of abilities. There were pegasi who were fully equipped with melee weapons, dive bombing the enemies. The unicorns that were given affinity for the use of magic, being able to cast spells. The enhanced ponies that were used to carry ammunition and weapons to the soldiers on the field. They were given partial sapience via genetics, allowing them to be able to de— wait a tick Did it just talked? "Biiiits...it's staring at me!" It called towards the front of the...wagon? "The hell?!" Marcus sweared, loudly might I add. "AHHHH, BITS, IT TALKS, BITCH TALKS" The griffon screamed "WHAT THE FUCK!?" Marcus lost his bearings and grabbed a nearby plank, intent on hitting the bird by the head. The griffon screamed and evaded the plank, it twisted and brought the whetstone it was holding down at his head, full force. Welcome back to unconsciousness Marcus. Chapter 1...Bad starts'Marcus?' 'Hmmm?' 'Will you miss me?' 'Of course, hell, I already miss you' 'You sure?' ''course,' 'I waited thousands of years for you, you never came,' 'I couldn't, I was...stuck' 'It was very lonely,' 'I'm so sorry, so sorry' 'Then come to me soon... Die for me' 'Rox?' '...' Marcus awoke with a start, covered in sweat and mouth dry, eyes bleary. He was feeling lightheaded and slightly nauseous. It was still dark, midnight. The camp fire he made was out and the moon was shining its light at the forest enough for him to see. He walked behind a bush under the shade of an oak tree, he dug a small pit for his foul deed. He squatted, pulled down his pants and aimed. with twenty years of experience backing him, he relieved himself of his excrement. He grabbed a dry leaf to wipe his hindquarters. He stood triumphant over his pile of wastes. He used his shoe to bury it, he was rather glad that the cryohibernation also preserved his clothing. It will rather be flustering to show up to the locals with tree bark and leaves for clothes. If he was going to begin a new life, better make a nice first impression. A new life. Was he really ready? His heart still ached from the events yesterday, he was still longing for people long gone. How can he move on? Hell, he lost the love of his life. Roxanne, He thought. He stood there, still as stone, frail as glass. A knot formed on his throat as he remembered his dream from earlier. She wants me to kill myself, He shuddered, the prospect of suicide was scarily inviting. What about what my father wanted? He sought for a way to keep me alive. He was on the crossroads at this point. Tears were dripping from his bloodshot eyes. He wants to please both souls but they want different things. He can only please one. Only one, He laid on the ground beside his dung and wept for almost half an hour before he decided... Sorry Roxanne, He thought. meh, it was only a dream anyway. "So what kind of monster did you saw Lyra?" Bonbon asked, seated as they were inside sugarcube corner "Oh it was big?! Almost two ponies tall and wore clothes?!" Lyra excitedly said, her tail swaying ."Though, it got my flute. But it played it ...Without magic?!" "Isn't that hard," Bonbon said "I mean,you use your magic to play your flute, others only have hooves..." "Yuppers?! It had fingers, he was able to play it properly with those." "Fingers? Like a diamond dog?" "Yes, but its lack of fur helped keep the holes of the flute sealed. Plus it knew music well, I heard the melody, it was gooood?!" Lyra exclaimed, her level of commendation was now reaching adoration. Now Bonbon was also curious of the creature, It might be smart. "hmmm. How about the flute?" "Well...I don't know, maybe I'll let him have it" "Do you think its gonna come here to ponyville?" "Don't know" Lyra said. "How was your day by the way...Sorry I got so excited about it," She looked abashed by the fact that she talked about the creature all the time they've been there. The two of them happily chatted for the rest of their evening, oblivious to the pink mare that intently listened on their exchange. Marcus crested another hill, he saw the light of dawn pouring down ahead. He ran towards it, eager to get out of the dread forest. His legs were still stiff but it didn't keep him from gaining speed as he dashed through the path he was currently on. He can see more trees ahead but they were sparse and distributed. At the edge of the forest, he tripped over a rock jutting out of the ground. The crashed to the ground and rolled a few more meters, gaining cuts and bruises in the process. That wasn't wise at all, He thought as he raised his head , body flopped down on the ground. He saw what the trees were still small like the ones inside the forest he came from, but these were less menacing. The trees bore fruit...apples. His mouth watered at the sight of food, he hadn't eaten since yeste—for thousands of years. He rose from his prone position and started towards one of the trees. His knee slightly throbbed in protest but it didn't dissuade him.He reached up to grab one apple, noting how red they were. The apple tasted good, happily welcomed by his taste buds. It was crisp and sweet, it had to be grown and not wild. The yield was of high quality and high quantity. He smiled as he chomped down the apple, happy, as it seems to him that he was inside an orchard someone owns. Hope they understand. "This is it Gummy, the crotch bow?!", Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she pulled out the weapon from below the floorboards of Applejack's barn. She snuck inside before applejack came out to buck the apple trees, using her Pinkie sense to avoid getting caught whenever the farm mare comes to acquire tools. She found it when she saw a small mark on one of the boards, a triangular insignia with a bow and horn tipped arrow pointing up towards a star. It was also found alongside several small sticks with metal jutting out of one end, sharpened and tempered. "Well, wonder how this wor—" , She pulled the hoof trigger of the crossbow, the string attached to the ends of the bow moved forth with great speed, surprising her. She felt the recoil, it was strong, reasonable as it belonged to Big Mac, provided it had his name on the buttstock. Well, it was for hunting and stopping monsters. Pinkie grinned from ear to ear. Oh look what a nice Barn, is it yours? Hey look, I just picked out some fresh apples from your orchard without your permission, He thought as he was looking at the barn from beside a stream he drank from earlier. He thought of every possible reaction if he showed himself right then and there. His story might not be accepted, he might actually be traipsing into a town of madmen, hell, he doesn't even know anything of the present. The culture might be different, as well as religion and beliefs. He was now fed and quenched of thirst, he was able to think clearly on how he should act now. One wrong move can put him away from salvation to, at worst, a mental institution. He was standing on thin wire and he has to bala— RUSTLE! He heard it, the sudden rustle of leaves,it came from his left. Another rustle emanated from a large bush under an apple tree. One more rustle, this time accompanied by muffled swears. SCHWAFFFF! His right leg collapsed under him, his left knee impacted the ground a moment after, he was able to balance his body so he wasn't going to topple but he is still very much confused. He wasn't exactly sure what happened until he looked at his right le— Oh look, a crossbow bolt is sticking out o— FUUUUCK.ithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurts,OH FUCKK His small brain registered the pain of his wound, and it was a bitch! He stumbled and fell into the stream, He screamed like a little princess when he was being carried away by it. He felt his blood leave his system through the wound, he felt his breathing become labored and water entering his lungs. His heart was racing as he sailed through the waters, slowly growing faster in speed. He passed out due to blood loss. Oh no, I think I killed it! Pinkie thought as she sped through the orchard, heading back to sugarcube corner as quickly as possible. Fluttershy will be so mad, and also Twilight! Oh, Why didn't I just let it go?, Pinkie grimaced, but slowly, an ingenious idea formed in her mind. The creature didn't saw her, Applejack didn't saw her, No one saw her. No one can know about this?! "Shouldn't we just leave the creature be?" "This is a once in a lifetime moment?! Imagine selling a never-before-seen specimen to the researchers, lots and lots of bits will be made?!" "What if it has magic or if it is extremely strong, you think we can contain it?" "Risk-taking is a part of money-making, do you need a diagram for that?" "Fine! You are responsible for it from now on! I'm leaving that thing to you," "There, isn't that a lot easier?" "let's go then... I'm gonna have a drink at the next town, you ain't gonna stop me." "Sure."
Prelude...AriseAuthor's Note So i'm kinda noob to this, so please bear with me. This will be my first fanfic so please, if there are any criticism, any improvements to be made, share it with me. Prelude...Arise The voices above the storage room penetrated the aged stone separating it from the throne room. The muffled speech reached the dark corner of the room where a vessel resided. ... "...The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us." "You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!" "But it did! A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my friends! You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!" "Nooo! Nooo!" BZZZZZZZZZZZRK?! "Ughhuhh..." A groan emanated from one corner of a very dark room. If it weren't for the cracks formed on the ceiling of the room would the darkness engulf the whole space. A very dim light still encapsulated the small LED's lining a base of a pod-like structure, slowly fading. "UGHHHHH..." Another groan, this time louder, accompanied by loud banging noises coming from the pod. "DAD... MOM..." Shouts of anguish and desperate banging echoed throughout the small space inside the pod. Finally, a hissing stopped the shouts as the door to the pod slowly lifted open. Silence met the room as a human stepped out of the pod. Unable to find his voice, shock evident in his face. the echoes subsided and once again the place is without sound. For a few minutes he remained slack-jawed, bewildered at the sudden change of the surroundings he knows. When he was able to regain his bearings, he scanned the room. Despite of the darkness, he was able to see... Nothing, neither wood nor steel can be seen, only the stone walls stand. All of the tools and weapons stored had been reduced to rust and only a mound of rock to the side opposite the doorway is to be seen. The once packed storage area was now completely desolate, as if thousands of years has passed. ... Thousands of years, .... He shuddered, out of the thoughts that came to the forefront of his mind. Then he realized. He was alone. It must have been at least a dozen centuries since he had been locked inside that pod. He remembered his last conversation with his father like it was not an hour ago. Now, it will be the last time he was able to talk to his father, to family, worse, to another human being. He began to weep quietly, the realization hit him like a wall. He lost almost all the things he held most dearly, his family, friends, country. He lost his love, his dreams, his goals. He lost hope...He lost part of his sanity. He laid on the ground, sobbing, sniffling. He lost his purpose for existing, what is there to live for if he cannot have children? What is there to live for if he can never hear the voice of another? What is there to live for? The evidence was clear as day. The room was practically screaming 'not used for two thousand years', plus the pod was deactivated by no one. His family can never survive that long. He remained there, crying hours, weeping at his loss. He was alone. He was broken. Finally after an hour or two of crying and mourning, he ran out of tears. He finally cared enough to feel the dryness of his throat, the light that entered the room through cracks, and the thawed feces that move within his colon. Now he needed to survive, a thought to which he smiled at if not ever so slightly. He welcomed the idea of a new objective, he needed the distraction. So, for his slipping sanity, he clung to it. He set his mind right, tried to banish the haunting thoughts. He remembered his father, the last words between them. 'Dad?!...DAD?!' 'No don't...You'll live, for me that's the most important,' 'I want to stay with you?!' 'You don't need to...' He needs to live, if not for himself, for his father. It's what he would've wanted. If his dad didn't, he wouldn't have bothered driving them here to put him on a prototype millennial hibernation pod, it will just make no sense. But for all good things on Earth, he should've been long dead already. It doesn't feel right, he feels...misplaced. I should've been dead He shook the thought away. Now was not the time to think about it. Now, his priorities are finding food, water, and more importantly, a place to be rid of his foul thousand year excrement. He took some steps towards the doorway, his legs was stiff but he can still walk. Hell his whole body was stiff, still recovering from the effects of cryohibernation. Perhaps being frozen for millennium did no good to his bones. He shrugged the stiffness off, It will pass he thought. He came out of the room and slowly ascended the stairs leading to a passage blocked by creeping vines. Strangely, when outside, he can't differentiate the passage from the walls covered in flora. He knows where's where here, his father often took him here. The department building contained the most advanced technology of the Alliance. He had no problem finding the exit. What he saw outside took the breath out of him. The hell?! The department building was now inside a thick forest of low, sickly looking trees. The plant life there took the general theme of 'menacing' to a weird level. Hell, the color was right, the height however, it looked like they were bonsai trees with that figure! But that was not what bothered him. This was a desert?! It took a few moments to return to the task at hand. He set out to explore the forest since nothing other than the pod could have survived. He wandered the forest that once had been a desert. Most of the trees bear no fruit, some offered strange fruits, sickly in color and seemed non-edible to him. Finally he gave up finding food, so he sought for the exit. He walked in one direction, hoping to pass by a river or anything that can point him out of the forest. He decided to walk towards the east... or north? Well he was never good at navigation, so please, forgive him dear readers. After a few minutes, he was already jumping at shadows. He felt the surge of dread that filled him, feeling that he was being stalked,he was prey. At times the trees seem to bend, to move. His ears was also ringing with faint laughter that made his paranoia worse. The shadows were watching him, he could sense it. He saw another shadow move. One step. Another... And a jump. He felt his foot connect with something, he involuntarily hopped aside. He slowly reached down to it with trepidation. He felt a metallic object touch his skin. Curious, he grabbed it and stepped into the light again in order to examine the object. It was tubular, a mouthpiece was attached to one end with several holes of varied sizes on one side. He knew what it was, he was well familiar with it for it was one of the few instruments he can play, "Oh, a flute." He played a song with it. He felt merry with the sudden acquisition of a flute, it was perfect to lighten up his spirit. Then his logical intuition finally caught up. It was a flute. A METAL flute He suddenly dropped the piece of metal on the ground. Certainly nature can't create a flute, much less a metal flute. "I'm not alone," he said quietly to himself. He smiled, then laughed. It felt good to be assured again, to be with company soon. He felt hopeful again. He felt his sanity start to pull back together ever so slowly. He knew, he'll find his true purpose soon. He stooped over to grab the fallen flute. He saw small characters on the end opposite the mouthpiece. It was a name. Lyra Heartstrings. He smiled. Lyra was roving through the forest in search of her missing flute when she saw the monster. It was tall, almost two ponies high. It was bipedal and had long arms. Its body was covered only in fur so thin. The only place it was properly covered in fur was the area above his head. It also wore clothing, a lot of clothing. overall, it was a weird creature, even it perfectly balancing on two legs left her baffled. She saw it jump into the shadow of a twisted oak tree. Weird, there was nopony there, it was a sight that confused her. The monster bent over to pick up something. It walked out of the shadow to take a good look at the object he held. The object in question was metallic, she saw it glint but the monster was standing in the way of her sight. She drew closer to the monster while remaining hidden behind the vegetation. She got a good look at the monsters 'face', it was of peach color, only slightly paler. It had a very short 'muzzle', only a small triangular piece of flesh and skin attached to the face of it. The eyes were bloodshot red, streams of dried tears flowed downwards from its eyes. Then she noticed the flute it held in its hands. The small characters on the end of it gave enough evidence that... That's my flute?! The creature drew the flute closer to its mouth wile smiling gratefully at nopony in particular. She silently prayed that the creature won't break the instrument. Even though she played her lyre most of the time, that flute was her favorite, No, please don't eat my flute?! She closed her eyes, preparing for the worst. Then she heard the melody of her flute being crus—played?? She stared at the creature playing her flute, stunned. It didn't use magic yet it was able to play the instrument. It used its fingers to disrupt the flow of air. She was suddenly enthralled by the music. Then it dropped the piece of metal, the sudden change of demeanor shook her out of her stupor. She backed away quickly and quietly, fearing that she may have been detected by the creature. She began to slip away towards ponyville, leaving her flute to the creature. Maybe one day, we will meet, One day.
Chapter 2...Hearts and stonesMarcus woke up with a start, panting heavily and sweating profusely. His mouth was dry and his eyes were bleary. He felt the chilling bite of the wind coming from the open window. He shuddered, more from the nightmare he had than the nippy air. He eyed the window for a second, then remembered that he kept it open that night. He switched attention to the wall clock inside his room, it was still a little past two in the morning. Hmmm.Milk, He thought, his nightmarish excursion to his dreamland made him a tad thirsty. He got out of bed, making his way to the door to the corridor of their manor. He walked through the mostly empty passage.Moonlight coming from the windows of the corridor was illuminating his path to the kitchens, as well as casting shadows of the few ornamental pieces they have. He paused as he noticed the open door of the kitchen and the light pouring forth from it. He approached it slowly with the apprehension and gingerly poked his head to see the interior of the room. "Hey Dad," Marcus said, his father turned his head towards him while a bottle of milk was pressed to his lips held by his hand. He placed the bottle on the table beside him to address Marcus. "Why're you still up at this hour, you should be sleeping," "Well I couldn't sleep," Marcus said with a frown, disappointed that his restful sleep had been rudely interrupted by a petty nightmare. "Nightmares?" "Yeah," Marcus was said, it was apparent to him that nightmares are only a figment of his imagination. As a smart kid intent on studying his arse off in the future, Marcus always treated the supernatural with as much attention as a rock. He had always been fascinated by science that he had scoffed upon every nonsensical myth about ghosts, faeries, etc, etc... Yet, every night he encounters a nightmare, he can't help himself from getting woken. Seriously, he's had enough of it, but...alas, it seems that it has won again. "Well you're not alone there, but don't mind that," Marcus looked at his dad blankly,"What? Adults have nightmares too," Marcus giggled at his Father's farce. His father was one to soothe and comfort him when he needed it. His father's words alone are enough for him to forget the nightmare from earlier. "Y'know, tomorrow is your birthday," His father told him, "You should rest now so you can have a fun time at the party," "Well it wouldn't be fun at all," He frowned. It was what will probably happen anyway, no need to hope. It was a grave problem for him that all the kids in school were laughing at him for being a nerd. The problem was not with him, as he always tells himself, they were the ones who doesn't have enough brains to care about how their underwear works. But it still doesn't change things, no one can ever relate to his tastes and interests. His father smiled at him warmly, "Oh I promise, it will be fun" "Oh, sure" He murmured. "Oh lighten up, I'm not inviting your classmates tomorrow," Marcus perked up at that, "Really!" "I have something else planned," His father said, "It will be a surprise," "You have a surprise?" He said...surprised? "Yeah... You have to find out tomorrow," Marcus was now slightly curious. But no matter the case is, no one might even have fun tomorrow. "Oh come on, it will be fun, you have my word on that," His father said, "aand...want some milk?" Marcus smiled then nodded. Marcus woke up from his sleep only to find that the corridors of the manor were completely empty. The silence inside the manor he was used to, but it being desolate, well that was weird. No servant was up and about doing the chores, the rooms were empty, and no one answered his calls inside the house. Finally after searching for everyone, he decided to take a walk outside. That was when he noticed the small gathering of kids and parents on the front yard, chatting and seated as they were on several chairs scattered throughout the yard. The kids were talking, as opposed to the expected running and playing. One kid, one Marcus didn't saw actually brought a rather medium-high powered laser to the party, nerds and their toys. Marcus was still apprehensively looking over the crowd when a pretty girl noticed him, and stared. After another second, their eyes met. The female, being the lovingly sweet and innocent girl she is turned away quickly. A swirl of faint heat danced along under her cheeks, she might or might not have been a little smitten with the boy at first sight. Well, that is to be expected of little Marcus. He was a bit of an eye-candy for little girls, but alas...if only he was less of a geek and more of a player. One moment, his looks have been a little enthralling to the girls ,but when he spoke his interests, hobbies, etc, etc... 'Sorry not interested'. He stared for a moment longer than he was supposed to, his own cheeks developing some blush. The girl in question was a sight to behold. Long flowing hair, cream white complexion graced by her youthful facial features. Her lithe body was currently seated on a chair near another group of huddled kids that were currently confabulating. It took him a moment to pull himself out of his stupor. Everyone was staring at him rather expectantly. He wilted under their gazes, becoming smaller and smaller each moment. No one was calling him down to the yard, that silence was deafening for him. He had birthdays before, no doubt about that, but he never was fond of them. Most of his classmates from school usually attends his birthday parties, and most of them bully him like they do at their school. He snapped out of it and started towards the front door of the house. After all, he will attend his own birthday party on one way or another. Let's just get this over with. Marcus was having a terrific time His presence was greeted by songs of celebration and joy. The greeting he received on that day alone was warmer than all of his other birthday parties combined. By far this was the best birthday he ever had. His day was going ever so smoothly. No words were able to express the sheer amount of joy he had, he spent the morning playing board games, discussing about interesting topics, and other games that really made Marcus laugh and smile like a kid that found out that Santa was his father or something along those lines. Before he mingled with the kids, he felt one thing, trepidation. As soon as he stepped out the door towards the open, he realized one thing. He knew no one among the crowd, at that moment his feeling changed. From that of apprehension to a swirl of emotions that are as broad as the electromagnetic spectrum. Apparently, almost everyone was either a co-worker of his dad or their children. Only very few of them were acquainted with Marcus. No bullies, many geeks. It was definitely one party to reme— "Hi" A sweet voice, not unlike that of glass gently struck by a spoon to produce a fine tune, cut through the air into his ears. His head spun, trying to locate the source of such melody. He soon found himself face to face with the girl he laid his eyes upon before he stepped out of the door. As predicted they both blushed a little. "Uhm...h-hello" Marcus greeted, suddenly sounding a little goofy by that time. She giggled at that. "So, uh...happy birthday" "Thank you" "I'm Roxanne by the way... happy to meet you" Roxanne offered her hand to Marcus which he gently shook, albeit gently as one would shake that of a fair madame...that she is. "Marcus." They chatted after that, growing little by little inclined to each other for each passing moment. "HYUUUUUUUUURK" Marcus woke up from his flashback, a headache ravaging the back of his mind. He was lying on the floor of a moving vehicle, that he can discern. The wound from earlier still hurts like a bitch, as it was supposed to. He was wet, both from sweat and river water. Dazed and vision bleary, he sat up, leaning his back against the wall. He took a deep breath. "Oh look its awake" The voice came from his left, he swiveled his head to face the speaker. There, seated on a crate was the least Marcus expected to see. It ran the whetstone it was holding in its right claws along a falchion it was holding in its other left claws. The griffon's face was etched in a grimace, despite its apparently hard beak. It was not a good sign for Marcus, griffons were the federation's spawn. These constructs were made to tear flesh of soldiers. Genetic mutation was a wonder of the modern age, since the possibility of developing new species that can serve under their military masters, the alliance and the federation was racing in developing the perfect construct that will be able to make a huge difference on the battlefield. The alliance went on with developing equines, genetically mutating them to be able to incorporate magic into their sets of abilities. There were pegasi who were fully equipped with melee weapons, dive bombing the enemies. The unicorns that were given affinity for the use of magic, being able to cast spells. The enhanced ponies that were used to carry ammunition and weapons to the soldiers on the field. They were given partial sapience via genetics, allowing them to be able to de— wait a tick Did it just talked? "Biiiits...it's staring at me!" It called towards the front of the...wagon? "The hell?!" Marcus sweared, loudly might I add. "AHHHH, BITS, IT TALKS, BITCH TALKS" The griffon screamed "WHAT THE FUCK!?" Marcus lost his bearings and grabbed a nearby plank, intent on hitting the bird by the head. The griffon screamed and evaded the plank, it twisted and brought the whetstone it was holding down at his head, full force. Welcome back to unconsciousness Marcus.
Chapter 1...Bad starts'Marcus?' 'Hmmm?' 'Will you miss me?' 'Of course, hell, I already miss you' 'You sure?' ''course,' 'I waited thousands of years for you, you never came,' 'I couldn't, I was...stuck' 'It was very lonely,' 'I'm so sorry, so sorry' 'Then come to me soon... Die for me' 'Rox?' '...' Marcus awoke with a start, covered in sweat and mouth dry, eyes bleary. He was feeling lightheaded and slightly nauseous. It was still dark, midnight. The camp fire he made was out and the moon was shining its light at the forest enough for him to see. He walked behind a bush under the shade of an oak tree, he dug a small pit for his foul deed. He squatted, pulled down his pants and aimed. with twenty years of experience backing him, he relieved himself of his excrement. He grabbed a dry leaf to wipe his hindquarters. He stood triumphant over his pile of wastes. He used his shoe to bury it, he was rather glad that the cryohibernation also preserved his clothing. It will rather be flustering to show up to the locals with tree bark and leaves for clothes. If he was going to begin a new life, better make a nice first impression. A new life. Was he really ready? His heart still ached from the events yesterday, he was still longing for people long gone. How can he move on? Hell, he lost the love of his life. Roxanne, He thought. He stood there, still as stone, frail as glass. A knot formed on his throat as he remembered his dream from earlier. She wants me to kill myself, He shuddered, the prospect of suicide was scarily inviting. What about what my father wanted? He sought for a way to keep me alive. He was on the crossroads at this point. Tears were dripping from his bloodshot eyes. He wants to please both souls but they want different things. He can only please one. Only one, He laid on the ground beside his dung and wept for almost half an hour before he decided... Sorry Roxanne, He thought. meh, it was only a dream anyway. "So what kind of monster did you saw Lyra?" Bonbon asked, seated as they were inside sugarcube corner "Oh it was big?! Almost two ponies tall and wore clothes?!" Lyra excitedly said, her tail swaying ."Though, it got my flute. But it played it ...Without magic?!" "Isn't that hard," Bonbon said "I mean,you use your magic to play your flute, others only have hooves..." "Yuppers?! It had fingers, he was able to play it properly with those." "Fingers? Like a diamond dog?" "Yes, but its lack of fur helped keep the holes of the flute sealed. Plus it knew music well, I heard the melody, it was gooood?!" Lyra exclaimed, her level of commendation was now reaching adoration. Now Bonbon was also curious of the creature, It might be smart. "hmmm. How about the flute?" "Well...I don't know, maybe I'll let him have it" "Do you think its gonna come here to ponyville?" "Don't know" Lyra said. "How was your day by the way...Sorry I got so excited about it," She looked abashed by the fact that she talked about the creature all the time they've been there. The two of them happily chatted for the rest of their evening, oblivious to the pink mare that intently listened on their exchange. Marcus crested another hill, he saw the light of dawn pouring down ahead. He ran towards it, eager to get out of the dread forest. His legs were still stiff but it didn't keep him from gaining speed as he dashed through the path he was currently on. He can see more trees ahead but they were sparse and distributed. At the edge of the forest, he tripped over a rock jutting out of the ground. The crashed to the ground and rolled a few more meters, gaining cuts and bruises in the process. That wasn't wise at all, He thought as he raised his head , body flopped down on the ground. He saw what the trees were still small like the ones inside the forest he came from, but these were less menacing. The trees bore fruit...apples. His mouth watered at the sight of food, he hadn't eaten since yeste—for thousands of years. He rose from his prone position and started towards one of the trees. His knee slightly throbbed in protest but it didn't dissuade him.He reached up to grab one apple, noting how red they were. The apple tasted good, happily welcomed by his taste buds. It was crisp and sweet, it had to be grown and not wild. The yield was of high quality and high quantity. He smiled as he chomped down the apple, happy, as it seems to him that he was inside an orchard someone owns. Hope they understand. "This is it Gummy, the crotch bow?!", Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she pulled out the weapon from below the floorboards of Applejack's barn. She snuck inside before applejack came out to buck the apple trees, using her Pinkie sense to avoid getting caught whenever the farm mare comes to acquire tools. She found it when she saw a small mark on one of the boards, a triangular insignia with a bow and horn tipped arrow pointing up towards a star. It was also found alongside several small sticks with metal jutting out of one end, sharpened and tempered. "Well, wonder how this wor—" , She pulled the hoof trigger of the crossbow, the string attached to the ends of the bow moved forth with great speed, surprising her. She felt the recoil, it was strong, reasonable as it belonged to Big Mac, provided it had his name on the buttstock. Well, it was for hunting and stopping monsters. Pinkie grinned from ear to ear. Oh look what a nice Barn, is it yours? Hey look, I just picked out some fresh apples from your orchard without your permission, He thought as he was looking at the barn from beside a stream he drank from earlier. He thought of every possible reaction if he showed himself right then and there. His story might not be accepted, he might actually be traipsing into a town of madmen, hell, he doesn't even know anything of the present. The culture might be different, as well as religion and beliefs. He was now fed and quenched of thirst, he was able to think clearly on how he should act now. One wrong move can put him away from salvation to, at worst, a mental institution. He was standing on thin wire and he has to bala— RUSTLE! He heard it, the sudden rustle of leaves,it came from his left. Another rustle emanated from a large bush under an apple tree. One more rustle, this time accompanied by muffled swears. SCHWAFFFF! His right leg collapsed under him, his left knee impacted the ground a moment after, he was able to balance his body so he wasn't going to topple but he is still very much confused. He wasn't exactly sure what happened until he looked at his right le— Oh look, a crossbow bolt is sticking out o— FUUUUCK.ithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurts,OH FUCKK His small brain registered the pain of his wound, and it was a bitch! He stumbled and fell into the stream, He screamed like a little princess when he was being carried away by it. He felt his blood leave his system through the wound, he felt his breathing become labored and water entering his lungs. His heart was racing as he sailed through the waters, slowly growing faster in speed. He passed out due to blood loss. Oh no, I think I killed it! Pinkie thought as she sped through the orchard, heading back to sugarcube corner as quickly as possible. Fluttershy will be so mad, and also Twilight! Oh, Why didn't I just let it go?, Pinkie grimaced, but slowly, an ingenious idea formed in her mind. The creature didn't saw her, Applejack didn't saw her, No one saw her. No one can know about this?! "Shouldn't we just leave the creature be?" "This is a once in a lifetime moment?! Imagine selling a never-before-seen specimen to the researchers, lots and lots of bits will be made?!" "What if it has magic or if it is extremely strong, you think we can contain it?" "Risk-taking is a part of money-making, do you need a diagram for that?" "Fine! You are responsible for it from now on! I'm leaving that thing to you," "There, isn't that a lot easier?" "let's go then... I'm gonna have a drink at the next town, you ain't gonna stop me." "Sure."
