I wander this world, this strange land, alone.

Awake - Edited

Warmth.

Warmth, a great whiteness, and the feeling of hard cobblestone against my side were the first things to greet my senses when I awoke from my past, now, spat into the future by unknown means.

  I blinked a few times until the whiteness cleared and gave way to a sprawling metropolis, completely devoid of any life to see. Slowly, as if my bones were made of glass, I put a hoof down on the stonework, then another.

After a moment of careful thought, I hefted my front up, foreleg scrambling for purchase beneath me. After another moment, I hefted my back up, stomping my left foreleg on the ground, and I immediately fell back on my ass because I had slipped on something metallic and slick.

"Uhh..." I groaned in frustration. This time, twirling up on all legs and spinning around, I saw my attacker.

It was a gun.

A 10 millimeter pistol with a brown leather grip.

My eyes beheld this strange artifact, so entranced was I that I didn't hear an enemy ambling closer to me.

As soon I snapped out of my stupor, I picked up the gun, inspecting it. All of the parts were clean and well maintained, bullet in the chamber with a full clip. The only question is, Who's is it?

My question was answered for me when one of the most God - awful creatures I have ever seen stumbled in my path howling like a banshee on buffout.

The thing's head swiveled away from me. As it did, I could have sworn that parts of its speckled scalp spiked and flattened into the air within a split second like a glitch out of Tartarus.

The thing swiveled its head back in my direction. As soon as it saw me, its pupils dilated to pinpricks and its body erupted into frenzied spikes as the god - awful screams it was producing somehow managed to get louder.

There was room in my panicked mind for only one thought which swam downwards to my nigh used vocal chords:

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING!?"

And with that, it raced towards me at an in-equine speed. gaining ground fast. Thoughts racing, I bit the grip of my new friend and fired off three shots in the direction of the thing's head. The first shot had no effect. The second made it stumble as the bullet was lodged in the creature’s throat. The third caught its forehead on the way down,killing it instantly.

The gun dropped from my mouth and clattered on the cobblestone. My breath hitched in my throat, and my legs started to shake like a newborn fawn. I backed away slowly, as if going any faster would bring the demon back to life. My nerves finally shot and I galloped in the opposite direction, away from both my gun and my assailant. Towards the only landmark my beaten mind could easily identify:

The capital building of this forsaken land.

Canterlot Castle.

***

Dusk had fallen by the time my sudden three mile jog to the castle was over. My legs starting to go numb, I collapsed from exhaustion in front of the great, pearly white doors. I was so focused on trying to bring my breathing and my heart rate down from the exhaustive three mile trek, that I did not notice (once again) a spherical robot about the size of a small watermelon detach from an alcove directly to the left of the doors and hover over to me about a hoof away from my head. Following a few minutes of me continuing to ignore , it finally spoke in a very nonchalant voice.

"We apologize for the inconvenience. Due to a level- four state of emergency being declared, all appropriate government buildings and installations are on complete lock-down. Only members of the Equestrian Armed Forces and primary members of the Equestrian government above clearance level- three are permitted to enter. If you are a qualifying Equestrian Armed Forces member or government official, please identify and proceed to the designated briefing room."

My mind showed nothing but confusion. All I could think and say consisted of

"...What?"

The bot continued to hover for a moment before it spoke again.

"Voice print confirmed. 1st Sergeant *BZZT* E-7 paygrade. Welcome. Please proceed to briefing room five."

And with that, it flew back into its alcove and powered down before signaling the doors to open long enough for me to get off my ass and past the doors before they slammed shut behind me.

"I don't know whether that's a bad sign or a good sign." I said with a sigh. Frustrated, I yelled to the brightly lit ceiling. "WHO THE FUCK EVEN AM I!?"

Not getting an answer and tired of the silence, I plodded off to wherever briefing room five was supposed to be.