Chapters My life has been riddled with pain, with suffering, with sorrow. I am not a soldier, nor a victim of war. I am a victim of society. My Mother and Father divorced when I was 2, too young to remember. When that happened, we moved back into my Mother’s parents’ house. I lived there with her until I was 13 and my Mother remarried. That is when I believe things went downhill.
My mind was always dark. All I could think about was the desire to go back to my grandparents’ house. I didn’t like this new home. My step-father became a new person from the man I knew when he had been dating my Mother. He wanted to take my Father’s place in my heart and mind. He didn’t get that I wasn’t going to let that happen, and it made him angry. We began to fight. At first it was just small arguing, such as if I had left a glass on the table when I would go upstairs, or leave a bowl in the computer room after having finished my homework. It escalated. We began to fight heavier. We would get into shouting matches. It would upset my Mother. I would break on the inside when I would see her tears as she would stand against him in my defense. She would shield me from him, even though it broke her heart. I should have opened my heart to her earlier. Maybe this wouldn’t have happened.
I would shut myself in my room daily. I would lock my door and only come out for food. My Mother would knock on my door to try and talk to me, but I had nothing to say. I couldn’t look her in the eye any more. All I saw were her tear stained cheeks, her eyeliner streaks, when I looked at her. I would cry myself to sleep each night, silencing my sobs with my pillow so she wouldn’t have to hear her sons anguish.
In my first few weeks of high school, I was only looked at. I never spoke to anyone. The only time my fellow classmates would hear me speak was when I would be forced to by a teacher to answer a question. I didn’t want to make friends, I just wanted to do my work and go home. I wanted to finish my 4 years, and get out of my home and away from this place so my parents could be happy. I was wrong. That plan wasn’t going to fly with many people. Simply because I wouldn’t speak to anyone, I was a social pariah, and caused myself to attract unwanted attention. Bad attention. I began to be bullied. I would be shoved into lockers, have my backpack ripped off, binders torn from my arms and thrown into the garbage. I didn’t know how to fight back. I hadn’t ever received such treatment before. I closed myself off even more. That’s when it happened and my hell began.
The violence became harsher. I would try to simply walk home from school, but that wasn’t going to be allowed either. I would be followed and jeered at. Sometimes I could outrun them. I was on the baseball team, so I was athletic, but there were days when even that wouldn’t save me. I would get cornered and beat. I would go home with black eyes and bloody noses weekly. My Mother never saw me as I would make a point to get home before her and my step-father and lock myself away. I began to believe what they were saying to me. That I was worthless, that I didn’t belong anywhere, that I didn’t belong at school, that I didn’t deserve to live . I began to hate myself, and began to cut myself. I didn’t know how else to cope.
Months of this went by. My coach would ask me why I looked so beat up constantly, but I would lie and say it was from working out or tae-kwon-do or taking a bad hop to the eye while practicing with my grandfather or step-father. My lies were taken without question, and I was no longer asked about it. The day finally came when it escalated too high. I left school at a run as I had come to learn to do so I wouldn’t hand out any advantages. That’s when I saw what would change my life forever. I saw a small silver package in the dirt that caught my eye as it gleamed in the low winter sun. I slowed my run as I came upon it, and stopped as I got to it. I bent down to pick it up and saw it read “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Mystery Bag”. The cartoon characters were well drawn in my mind, and I stashed the unopened package in my pocket. I shouldn’t have stopped moving. I felt something hit the back of my head. Everything went black.
I could hear a soft beeping noise as I began to come to. I could hear someone talking, but it was muffled as if I had ear muffs on. I strained to hear what they were saying, and soon I could understand them. They were talking to my Mother, telling her that I had been found by an anonymous group of people and that I had been attacked by some of the kids at my school. The kids who attacked me were already in custody as the anonymous group had settled the score and had called the police, leaving before the police got there so they wouldn’t be questioned. I tried to open my eyes, it was difficult, but I could do it. I could see my hospital room, the white walls, sheets, floor, and ceiling. Everything was white. I could still hear them talking, but ignored them as I looked up at the TV. On it was a purple Unicorn that I had seen somewhere before. I recognized her from somewhere, but as I fought to remember, my head seared with pain, almost causing me to blackout. I stopped trying, and just let my mind wander as I watched the television.
There wasn’t any sound on, and I attempted to move my arm to turn up the volume, but it wouldn’t budge, so I just laid there watching the show in silence. Soon my eyes began to droop as I watched that purple Unicorn meet with other creatures. Pegasus, other Unicorns, regular horses, and even a beautifully drawn Unicorn/Pegasus mix. I was mesmerized and I wished that I could hear what they were saying, or at least know their names. I watched a few episodes before my eyes became heavy again. I hadn’t heard anyone come into my room, but I shifted my eyes around to try and see if anyone was there. I was right, there wasn’t. I attempted once again to move, to lift my head up off the bed, but it wouldn’t budge, and so I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
When I awoke again I was slow to open my eyes. I could tell there was sunlight flooding my room as I could see it through my eyelids. I didn’t want to open my eyes, but I heard someone speaking that caught my attention. It was a girl’s voice that I hadn’t heard before. I opened my eyes and saw the show with the equine creatures on the television again, but this time it had sound. It was the purple Unicorn who was speaking, and she was speaking to what looked like a small dragon, which was named Spike. It seemed to be the first episode. They lived in a place called Ponyville in a world called Equestria. I almost instantly fell in love with the show.
Days passed as I watched my new favorite show. I had remembered where I knew the purple Unicorn from, and I wished dearly that I still had that silver package. Maybe when I could move my arm again I could open it and see what was inside. I remembered that there was another version of it when I was younger, but it hadn’t caught my attention. The old one was simply My Little Pony, but the newer one had an addition to the title “Friendship is Magic”. It had been a while since I had friends, and to see their adventures together made me yearn to be with them and experience everything they did, but I knew it was only a dream and so I settled in and watched it as often as I could while I was awake.
2 weeks went by as I watched my new favorite show, enjoying every minute of it. I continued to try to lift my head, or move my arms, but nothing seemed to want to work. I even looked around to see if anyone had come to visit me, but no one was ever there during my waking hours. I tried to wake up as often as I could so my Mother wouldn’t worry, but I couldn’t catch her. I started to feel sad again, my heart falling from the high that my new show had given me. That night I stared out the window at the night sky, thinking how awesome it would be if that were really Luna’s sky. I smile at the thought, and blinked away a tear. I wished I could be there with them, away from here, so I wouldn’t be a burden upon anyone and so that I could escape my Hell. I couldn’t help myself, and I cried as my eyes closed and I slipped into my slumber. As I fell into my dreams, I wished with all my might that I could leave here.
When I awoke, my eyes slowly slid open to the white walls of my hospital room. My wish hadn't done anything. Why did I even get my hopes up? What was the point? Magic wasn't real, and dreams were just that, dreams. My eyes burned as tears streamed down my cheeks. No one was in my room, and the only noise was the beeping of the heart monitor. Why hadn't anyone come to see me? Did no one care? Was I just to be left here, and my Mother move on with her life, leaving her son to sit in a hospital room until he either gave out or started to walk again? I mean nothing. I am nothing.
I looked up at the TV, staring deep into the black screen. It hadn't been turned on today and my arms were still unwilling to move. I glared at my upper extremities, trying to pierce them with a hateful stare and force them to move, but no matter how long I strained to focus on them moving, they were as still as the arms of a corpse. I began to fill with more hate and self loathing. No wonder no one wanted me around, I couldn't even get my own body to obey me. I clenched my teeth and my gums began to bleed with the force. I hated this, I hated my life, I hated me.
I had counted over seven thousand dots on the ceiling as I lied there on my back. My mind was blank and I was giving up. If I got better, great, back to the shit of a life I had. If I failed, well maybe there was something after your body gave out and I'd be able to do something else.
"That's a sad way to think." A soft voice that shook me from my reverie spoke in to my ear. I couldn't feel a breeze from a mouth, but I knew it had been spoken. I opened my mouth to speak, but it had been over a month since I had been lying there without a word uttered and so the only noise that escaped my lips was a rasping, grating sound.
"You don't need to speak, I can hear you." I blinked as the voice spoke into my ear again, and I mentally tried to shake my head in a nod, and began to think what I wished to say.
How else should I think?
"Isn't there anything worth living for?"
As far as I'm concerned, no.
"Would you like there to be?"
I... I don't know what I would do... It's been so long since I've had any reason to think that there was more to each day than wanting to die, but not wanting anyone to be hurt because of it so I keep going.
"What if I told you that I could give you that?"
I would ask if you were Morpheus from The Matrix and if you had a magical blue or red pill.
"I am not, but I would be willing to give you that chance."
Are you here to kill me?
"As far as this world is concerned, you will no longer exist, but you will not be dead, no."
You'll take me away from here?
"Yes."
Where will you be taking me?
"To a place where you can have your wish. To try again and obtain a new life. I will give you time for an answer. When the sun rises again, I will speak to you and ask for your answer."
Wait, I still have questions.
I waited a few minutes, and when the voice didn't respond, I was left to my thoughts. What was that voice? Who was that? I didn't see anyone, and if someone was talking then I definitely would have seen someone. Even if I couldn't, to be that close and have no breath... I must be going insane. I'm talking to myself, and I'm trying to keep my sanity. That's it. There was no voice, no one was here, it was only me. My thoughts raced as I continued to think into the night, that if that voice was real, and it appeared again, I would give it an answer, but I would also expect answers in return. If I heard nothing, well, then I truly was going insane and I would have to do something to myself. Maybe I could twist my neck and grab one of the life cables and bite into it.
My head was filled with an uneasy sleep that night. Dreams of bodiless voices speaking to me, and then my own body being sliced apart. I awoke with a start multiple times as I waited for the sun to rise. Each dream became worse than the last, and about an hour before sunrise, I could no longer sleep and I stared at the ceiling and began to count the dots once again.
I looked out my window as the sky began to lighten and the black sky began to turn from a deep sapphire blue into it's bright blue with scattered clouds. As I saw the first rays of the suns beams, my heart began to race and I waited, my heart pounding in my ears. I tried to calm myself in case my heart was too loud for me to hear the voice, but as the sun continued to rise, I heard no voice, only the silence around me and the monitor. I knew my mind had played it's cruel tricks on me again, and I wrenched my eyes away from the window, not wanting to look at the false promise that the sun brought with it. I snarled with anger, and started to blame the voice for how I felt.
"I am here." Had I been able to move, I most likely would have jumped off the bed and through the ceiling a few floors.
"I told you I would come. Do you have an answer for me?"
I... I want to accept, but I need to know... Will this make my Mother cry?
"She will believe that you have gone to a better place to be happy."
I don't want her to be sad anymore...
"She may grieve for her lost son, but she will find solace and happiness in the fact that you will be happier."
I drew in a breath, and closed my eyes before I gave an answer. I slowly opened my eyes as I turned my head to look out at the sky and let my breath go. Yes, I will take your offer.
"Then let us go." I felt a soft flutter as something was next to me, and as I turned back away from the window, I only glimpsed a pair of large, pink eyes before a flash of light blinded me, and once again, all went dark.
After the flash of light, I was swept into darkness. It felt as though I was being pulled through a tube at a water park, but it continually got smaller. It felt as though my body was being compressed, and my breath began to catch in my chest. I gasped for air, flailed to try and slow down, but could not stop. I had no idea what was pulling me or where I was. I strained my eyes, not even knowing if they were open for the darkness was so complete, to try and catch even a small glimpse of light. I sputtered, trying to breathe, and just as I let out my last breath of air before I believed death would take me, everything ceased.
I knew I was lying on a floor, yet there was nothing to touch. There was nothing solid below me, nor around me, yet I was not falling, so something must have been holding me in place. I believed I opened my eyes again, but still the darkness pushed in on me, suffocating. I lifted my head, and for the first time in what seemed like years, I bent at my spine and lifted my torso up. I was weak, and it took some effort, but with a few grunts I was sitting. Up, down, around, I had no sense of direction, but I knew that I was sitting. Where am I?
"Right where you wanted to be."
But where is here?
"The between to make your choices that will affect your new life."
What kind of choices?
"You will find out very soon my child. Very soon." I nodded to the voice in my head, feeling that it was all I had left, and what more could I do than trust it. So I waited, sitting there in the darkness, with only my mind to keep me company as I waited for what would come. I still don't know how long I sat there, maybe years, maybe eons, maybe mere moments. In that darkness, there was no time, no sound, no life. Just me, until something arrived.
In an instant, 5 beams of light illuminated 5 spots on the plane I was in. I sat in the middle, bare of all clothing. The other 4 pillars of light appeared in a semi-circle in front of me. Had I been on a clock, each beam would have been on 1, 3, 9, and 11 o'clock respectively. I could feel my cheeks heat up as I sat there nude, and I moved to cover myself up, but the voice in my head spoke calmly to me, "There is no need, even if you hide, they will see all. Here, there is no shame. You are to be shown, and reveal everything. Do not worry, no harm will come to you." The voice eased my mind, yet still the embarrassment stung at my pride. "Look up, they are here."
My eyes had been cast down at my body, and at the heed of my minds voice, I looked up. The yelp that came out of my throat made all 4 of the entities before me smile and laugh amongst each other. At the 9 o'clock spot stood the snakelike God of Chaos I had seen on the television in the hospital, Discord. In the beam at the 3 o'clock mark stood the black and emerald beauty of Queen Chrysalis. And upon the 11 and 1 o'clock stood the Goddesses that controlled all life upon Equestria, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. All 4 of them stood there, looking down at me, their laughter dying as their faces became serious. Princess Celestia was the first to speak.
"You have come a..." I instantly recognized her voice, and burst out, interrupting her.
"You're the voice that's been in my head!" She gave me a soft glare, one that caused me to turn my eyes down, but my gaze was directed back to her when she began to speak again.
"You have come a long way to be here. Yes, the voice you have heard has been my own. I have felt your plight, your anguish, and all of your sorrow. It has chilled me to the bone as your life has unraveled. From the time you were born, a connection was wrought between us. I did not know why at the time, but the purpose has come to light. You are to be a part of our world. I offered you the option, and you have taken it. Now is the time for you to make your choice as to how you shall begin anew and wash away the past that you have lived through."
Luna's voice was the next to resound out, echoing in the infinite and rattling me to the core. "Thou hath concerned us, and thou shall now calm all of our minds. Though we may be separate entities, our minds our own, as Gods of this world, we can feel each other." As she continued to speak, her voice calmed and became more of what I was, and still am, accustomed to. "The link you have shared, though strongest with my sister, has been shared with us all in one way or another. In your new life, you will come across us all no matter what path you choose. Prepare yourself and learn much in our world, for it will be a place you shall gain the opportunities to thrive or perish in."
Celestia nodded as Luna finished, and spoke once more. "You know of us because of another link that we share with another in your old world. We have given her the vision to see, but not join. She wished to share what we are, and where we live. It has changed the lives of many, and we have been able to see that through her. She had the option you had as well, to join us or to stay. She chose to stay. She will never have the choice again, it is only given once." Celestia closed her eyes as though sorrow crossed over her face, and I could almost feel it through the others, but once her stunning ocular orbs shone into my soul once again, the feeling was gone, and the topic was changed.
"Now comes the choice for you to make as to which of us you shall leave here with. You have seen what all of us can do, and what different types of creatures associated with us do. Should you come with me, you will have a power connected to the light. I do not know what it will be, but your magic will pulse through your veins to assist in keeping peace and order around Equestria. You will live with the ponies that I reign over and..."
"So I'll once again be different... A human living with ponies and all sorts of animals..." I interrupted again, but this time with only a whisper. My heart sank as I began to think what the ponies would say, how they would look at me, how they would shy away from me, as they did the zebra Zecora, and would probably continue for much longer.
"No, you will not be different. As I said, this is for you to erase your past. Based on whom your choice is to leave with will also dictate what you shall look like. Whomever you choose, you will have 1 of 5 possible outcomes for a body. An Earth pony, as you have been accustomed to, a Unicorn with a talent for magic that is marked by your horn, a Pegasus with the ability to fly but posses no magic, an Alicorn with both the ability of flight and magic, or a creature of chaos that will only be determined by Discord should you choose his path. Each of the other 3 will tell you what they have to offer in their own paths for you. As I was saying, you will live with the ponies that I reign over and will interact with them. Much of how you lived before will be similar, awake during the day, and sleeping at night, using any and all of your talents to assist the ponies you meet on a daily basis and to create bonds with others and fix those bonds that have been severed. The difference is that you will be working with me, and the outcomes of your actions will have a much grander effect than in your world." She turned her head towards Luna, her effervescent mane still swirling even though no wind could be felt.
Luna nodded at her sister, and spoke as well, still keeping to her softer voice."Should you choose myself, you will obtain a power of the Darkness. Your power shall, as with the Light, work in ways to assist keeping peace across Equestria. The difference is it won't be in the eye of the general populace. What you will do will not be seen, nor recognized. You will see the difference you make, as will I, but no mention of it will be made. You will work in the shadows, in the darkness, keeping those safe who tread during that time." She gave a soft smile to me. "It is not always easy, and it can get lonely, but I will be there with you, along with those that work with me. You will not be alone, but it will be difficult knowing that those you help will not see it." Her eyes then turned away from me and to Discord, who smirked and sent a wink at Luna, who rolled her eyes.
"I, as you know, am Discord. I am the creator of Chaos and the end of everything that is known. What you know is true, and what you don't is as well. All is the same, yet completely different. Join me, and you will revel in the creation of chaos and destruction of structure. You will work to break down the society, laws, and rules that the Princesses have brought upon this land. You will be able to harness the Chaos and bend it to your will, creating situations that drive creatures insane, will be able to twist their minds and thoughts and turn friends into enemies, and enemies to friends. Birds will walk, snails will fly, anything you wish will be a reality. Creating nothing will never be in your grasp, but creating everything and destroying it all will be a daily ability." My mind reeled as I listened to him. To be able to cause disruption in the lives of those who may want to cause me harm, to put me down, to disrupt my own life as people had before. It intrigued me. Discord gave me the thumbs up as he watched my mind worked, and then gave a deep, sarcastic bow in the direction of Chrysalis, who looked at him with a murderous glare and then looked to me with a malicious stare that never left my memories.
"I am Chrysalis, and I am the creator of Evil. Hate, malice, anger. All will fill your body as love will never be a part of you. The only joy you shall receive with me is to cause pain and agony. To suck the life and the love from others, debilitating them into a state where they can be nothing except a living corpse will be your goal. You will have eternal vengeance upon anyone and everyone. All those in your past have created memories that will stay with you. I will give you the power to see their hearts in everyone so that you may exact the revenge you so dearly desire. Every life that you obliterate that stands in your way will just be them. You will stand by my side, wreaking havoc across the land. We will trick people and cause Chaos as Discord does, but with mutilation and horrors that the weak wretch at when even imagining it." Her gaze returned to normal, but still smouldering with a gentle burn of hatred. She looked at Celestia from the corner of her eye, holding her head high, and Celestia knew it was her turn to speak.
"Now that you have heard us all, do you understand what is to happen?"
"I do... Do I have time to think?"
"Yes, but not forever. If you cannot voice your option, your heart and soul will give it for you. Allow your mind some time, for even if you choose one that is not right for you, your actions after leaving may tilt you. You have a choice, and always will. Some will be easier to break than others, but it is always there. Think now, and give us your answer. We do not wish to force anything upon you, but our roles still need to be filled in our world as it cannot exist forever without us. Think quickly young one, for your life needs to begin." She smiled, as they all did, even Queen Chrysalis gave a small smirk, even though it seemed like a snarl. My mind began to race as my decision began to form in my head.
"I know who I will go with."
"We await your response."
"I shall go with..."
Something deep within me, that I can only describe as my essence, halted me as I began to speak the name of whom I wished to part with. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to steady my soul, and looked at each one of the Goddesses, and God, in turn as I spoke to them. "Thank you..." My voice was barely a whisper, and I fought back tears as I took another inhale and steadied myself. "I thank whatever there is that gave us the link and gave you the power to save my soul like this. All of you have paths that pull at different parts of my heart, brain, and essence. I would love to cause pure chaos or malice, or both, to a pure new world to me and pit entire races of beings against each other in a disarray that I lived in while blocking out the world and living in my own mind. That vengeance upon my memories seems so sweet that I can almost taste it. It lights a fire deep within me that brings my blood to a boil and a smile want to erupt on my face as I envision that kind of power."
As I spoke, both Discord and Chrysalis had looks of pure joy. Discord was almost dancing in place, his body quivering with excitement. Chrysalis contained herself, but her eyes lit up and her horned began to glow. Her fangs bared in her vicious grin and I knew that she so dearly wished to sink her magic deep within me to corrupt my being to her will. Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna kept straight, stoic faces but fear gripped at the edges of their muzzles and eyes as they listened to me. It probably looked to Luna as though she were seeing herself when she became engulfed with Nightmare Moon, and her wings twitched as she looked at me, but no other signs of distress was seen from her or Celestia.
I closed my eyes once more and looked straight up into the beam of light that cascaded down upon me, and I uttered my response. "Luna. I would dearly love to join you, to be by your side and to work together, but my old life was lived in the shadows of my own mind and those around me. I need to be in the light, and to have someone not look down on me. I need to be in the light, and to feel it's warmth." I bring my chin down and look directly in the powerful, pink eyes of Princess Celestia. "I wish to go with you. But I have a request."
"And what is that?" Celestia could contain her emotions well, but the crinkle under her eyes betrayed her stoic expression and showed her happiness. Discord and Chrysalis had both already left, both of them leaving with a simple bow of their heads. The beams of light still held their spot where they had been.
Luna nodded her head to her sister and turned to leave. "I wish to also stand by Luna's side." Luna halted, her flank still in the light but the upper half of her body still in the shadows. She was the next to speak, her voice controlled.
"You cannot live in both worlds."
"Why can't I?"
Princess Celestia's voice was soft, and slightly sad. "Because we allowed a soul to do that once, long ago. The strain will shorten your life on our world by a great amount. You will pass on from our world too quickly than should be, and you will not make the mark that you are destined for. We won't put another soul through that."
"What if I was an alicorn, like you 2?"
Luna's eyes flared with the white blaze of power from the Nightmare Moon side of her as she powerfully spoke to me. "Weren't you listening? It isn't allowed, for a good reason and you would do well to heed it!"
"All I did was listen to others, now I have complete control of my own beginning. I want to be in the eye of the public, but also by your side Princess Luna. I want..."
"NO!" Princess Luna's voice blasted our and resonated through my entirety. When she next spoke, her voice was softer, but still spoke as though the matter was finished. "No, I will not allow it. You have made your choice. We will see each other again, but for now, you are Celestia's." She then trotted into the darkness, and was gone.
"I'm going to do it. If I can't start off that way, then I'll work towards it." I looked at Princess Celestia with a determined look on my face. "Is that possible?"
"Anything is, but you will need to work very hard, if you are born as an Alicorn. That is up to chance. Only if you are, which is extremely rare for male's in itself, and if you survive long enough, then I don't see why it wouldn't be possible. Luna may not like knowing you are doing that though."
"Then she won't know." I clenched my fist and stood up. "I'm going to make this life worth it this time." I smiled at the gleaming white princess and said with full confidence for the first time in a long time,"Let's go, I want to get started."
The princess nodded, took a step forward, and just as she was to touch my forehead with her horn, she spoke one last time in that abyssal darkness and singular beam of light. "This may not be comfortable. If you believe in prayer, or in something, you may want to do it and focus on becoming an Alicorn as much as possible. I don't know if that will help, as this is all based on chance, but it might do something. Good luck."
"Wha..." Before I could pull away, her horn touched my skin and the word 'uncomfortable' was putting it lightly. I clenched my teeth as I felt her magic course through my body. It slowly swept through my system, a burning, stabbing sensation that crept to the tips of my fingers and toes. All of my muscles were flexed, straining at their limit and caused me to fall forward. I caught myself with my forearms, kneeling on all 4's as I let out a piercing scream as my bones cracked and muscles pulled apart. The transformation seemed to take ages as my form changed into that of a pony. My fingers curled in to my fist and grew larger as my fingers melted into my palm, the hair on my arms growing thicker and much more prominent as my fist turned into a hoof. My shoulders popped out of their sockets and lowered as my chest grew and my arms extended into front legs. My feet rounded out and shortened themselves as well, crunching into hooves. My hair grew long in a pitch black mane, sticking up in the usual mohawk fashion of equines. My spine seared with another intense bolt of pain and a tail erupted from just above my butt, jet black like my man but with streaks of blue. I could feel every inch of my neck growing, extending my esophagus and skin to curve up into a horse head. My ears slid up my head, which is a very uncomfortable and weird experience I must say. Finally I came to be lying at Princess Celestia's hooves, body transformed into just a simple earth pony. I looked at my body with disdain. "Damnit... I won't accept this."
"Time, it's not done yet." Celestia smiled as my eyes rolled back into my head and an ice cold rushed through my veins, combating the burning and giving way to a new feeling of comfort. Just as I felt as though I could live in that bliss for eternity, a tickle on each side of my head behind each ear brought me slowly back into reality. It then became a rough sensation as though a cat was licking the same spot over and over again. It lasted for a few seconds, and then ceased. I stayed on the ground and lifted my hooves to my head, and could feel 2 curved horns protruding from my scalp. I furrowed my brow, and went to ask the princess what was going on, but then a sensation of my skin being pulled on my sides made me feel as though I would cough up blood. This was short, and in an instant a pair of wings erupted from my sides, both wings like a Pegasus, but one was the purest white, while the other was the darkest black. The Goddess let out a quick gasp at what I looked like.
My mane and tail matched, both pitch black with deep ocean blue hues. My body color was a soft gray, just a little off white like snow that had fallen and been on the ground for a few days. My hooves themselves had come to look like I had dipped them in liquid marshmallow. My eyes were still the soft brown as they were when I was human, and though I could not see my horns at the time, they had become a deep blue as well, similar to the color in my mane and tail. I set my hooves down, and went to stand up. It was a little difficult, as any biped would probably have the same issues switching to a quadruped. I shook as I stood, but shook my head as the princess moved forward to help. "I'll get it. I just need to get used to it." I smiled at her as I stood fully erect, my knees no longer wobbling and my head held high. "Well, I may not be an Alicorn, but I've got 2 horns. Maybe that'll mean more than just being weird." I chuckled softly at my own joke, and sighed. "So what now?"
"Now, it's time for you to join our world. Good luck, and I will see you soon."
"Do I have a new name in your world?"
"You will find it once you find your cutie mark."
"Oh... Ok." I looked back to my flank, and noticed that like the Cutie Mark Crusaders, I too didn't have a mark. I also realized that I was quite a bit older than they were, and I voiced my worries. "Princess... If I am to be my same age without a cutie mark... Won't it be odd?"
"You will figure that out when you arrive. It is time to begin. Good luck, and I will see you soon."
"But..." I could say no more as Celestia was already gone. I was once again alone. "Oh... I wonder how long this'll take." The instant the last word left my mouth, it felt like a sledge hammer was smashed into my forehead.
"Owww..." I could hear myself moaning as I began to come to.
"Oh dear, he's still alive girls." The voice... I'd heard it before, but the pounding in my head kept me from opening my eyes. I kept them shut tight, trying to block out the pain that was pounding in my head.
"Ohohoh! I wonder who he is! Hey, hey Mister, wake up, who are you? Huhuhuh?" I could feel a hoof poking me in the chest, and then a slight scuffle of someone being tackled.
"Hey, don't touch him! To be able to make a crater like this, who knows what he might do!" This voice was harsh and quick, almost over protective.
"I already sent off a letter to the Princess letting her know what has happened." All these voices, it felt like I knew all of them, but still I couldn't get my brain to function past the fact that it felt like splitting in half. All I could register was what they were saying.
"Princess..." I flinched as I spoke, but all movement and voices stopped as I spoke. "I..." Memories began to spill from my brain as though I was trying to hold water in my hooves. "Where... AUGH! Please... It hurts..." My voice cracked as tears spilled down my cheeks from the agony of the intense migraine.
"Where is the location of your pain?" said the last voice to speak before I did. She began to slowly move her hoof across my forehead and around my mane, waiting for me to speak.
"At the base of my skull and up my mane..."
"Ah, you must have landed on your neck." She pulled her hoof away, and spoke to the others. "Hey AJ, Dash, would you 2 mind carrying him back to my tree house so we can help him and then find out what's going on?"
"I'm not touching him! I mean, we don't even know where he comes from or why he's here! Look at his horns, that reminds me of Queen Chrysalis and that whole ordeal. I don't trust him."
"Well, if he is, and ah ain't sayin' he is, we'll be able to keep an eye on him while he's at Twilight's. Better that than to let him roam around if you're so concerned about it."
"..... Well, alright. Hey, you!" I could tell she was yelling at me, but there was little I could do but stay curled up on the ground in pain. "Try anything funny, and you'll be answering to me, got that?" I nodded just enough so that I didn't cause another wave of pain to go through me, and that seemed to satisfy her as she snorted and I could hear movement next to me as they lined up to put me on their backs.
"I'll lift him up with my magic, just get under him when I lift him. 1... 2... 3." I could feel myself levitated off the ground, but unlike being picked up as a child where my body would flop around, I stayed in the exact position that I was lying in. I was set down upon the 2 backs of the mares that had been speaking, yet the magic that picked me up still held me in place. "I'll keep him steady by magic, but let you 2 bear the weight so I don't exhaust myself on the way back."
"Okay sugar cube, let's get a move on. I wanna know more 'bout this stranger." With that, we began to move. I could feel the soft breeze along my bare body, through my mane, and across the hairs on my tail. It was an odd sensation, and I could feel myself begin to get nervous, but I couldn't seem to remember why I was feeling so. Plus, it's not like I was hanging out or anything, so there was nothing to excite myself over and cause myself more problems. The magical barrier held me in place, but still allowed me to feel the 2 mare's bodies. 1 had a pair of wings, much like myself, and although they were folded, they still had feathers that reached up and tickled my body. The other had no wings, so was either an earth pony or a unicorn, but based on the muscles that I could feel, I guessed earth pony. I wouldn't have imagined that with the power of magic that many unicorns would be so muscular.
We continued on for some time, the pain not ebbing away one bit, until we reached a cooler spot where everyone halted. I heard the creak of a door opening, and the first male voice I'd heard in a while, although prepubescent. "Hey gir... Who's that?!"
"Come on Spike, let's get him inside so we can all find that out." The sound of scraping claws shuffling across hard wood graced my ears, and then echoing clopping as the ponies that found me made their way inside as well. I was moved off of Dash and AJ, and placed upon a soft bed by the steady magic. "Alright, now just stay relaxed and I'll try my best to relieve your pain."
"Thank.... you...." The hoof of the mare that touched me before once again began to feel around my neck and down my mane. I could feel my skin tingling at her touch as she reached the end of my mane.
"Ah, there it is. This may sting a little..."
Before I could say anything, a hot and searing instant of hellish pain shot into the base of my neck, causing my body to spasm out and fully extend my legs. My mouth opened in a soundless yell, and cries and yelps from the other mares filled the space of wherever we were in reaction to me. The next moment, all pain left and I was filled with nothing to even remember it by. I sighed heavily in relief. "Thank youAAAUUGGGHHH!!!" As my eyes opened 6 mares stood around me, staring intently. In my surprise and confusion, I scrambled off the bed and slammed into the floor. "I... I'm sorry... I... You're all so close..."
"I apologize for that. My name is Twilight Sparkle and I'm the one that fixed your neck. You're lucky that I've read up on the skeletal system or that would have been a difficult hospital visit." A cute purple mare stood before me, a triumphant smile on her lips as she spoke. "These are the 2 that carried you, Apple Jack and..."
"Hey hey, shouldn't he be introducing himself before we start giving him all the information?" A blue mare with a rainbow tail and mane interrupted Twilight's introduction while glaring heavily at me.
"Rainbow Dash, relax. I had Spike," a little dragon hopped up on Twilight's back and gave me a small wave as his name was spoken, "set up barriers in case we brought anything back that we didn't understand and to be able to hold it until the Princess got here." Rainbow Dash grunted, giving me a snarl as she backed up to join Apple Jack and the other 3 mares that had yet to be introduced to me. "This is Rarity, she's the one who found you."
"It is a pleasure to meet you. I'm glad you weren't beat up too badly, it would be a shame if a stallion like you were injured irreparably." Rarity gave me a smirk and a wink, both of which earned her a lashing whisper from Rainbow Dash that I couldn't hear but Rarity seemed to not care about. My eyes lingered on Rarity, her shining, almost glowing white coat clashing wonderfully with her deep amethyst hair caused my mind to come to a halt for a moment, but I was knocked back from my reverie by Twilight speaking.
"And the one who poked you is..." Twilight began, but was quickly interrupted by a hyperactive, pink pony with an enormous grin on her face.
"Hi hihihi! I'm Pinkie Pie! Are you ok? What's your name? Where are you from? Do you like daisies? Or maybe you're a stallion who likes apples."
"Pinkie! Enough, let him breath."
"Oh, ok then!" The ecstatic pink pony bounced her way back again, and left only 1 mare left to be introduced.
"And this is Fluttershy. As her name suggests, she's not very outgoing, but she's a very sweet individual." A yellow mare with a pink mane leaned her head forward, covering her eyes with her hair as she did so, and I could only assume that she was looking at me. "Well, that's all of us. Now comes the question, who are you?" All 6 mares and little dragon looked at me expectantly.
I got up from the floor, my knees still a little shaky, and smiled at them. "My name is..." My mouth hung open as I tried to speak my name, but as I took a moment to think, nothing came to me. "Uhhh... I..." I closed my mouth so as not to attract flies, and furrowed my brow in concentration. "I can't remember..."
"Oh... Well, do you remember where you came from?" Twilight asked.
"No... I don't remember anything... except for groaning and then you 6 bringing me here..."
"I don't buy it!" Rainbow spit out, "He could be faking!"
"Now calm down there Rainbow, you're bein' a bit more dramatic than Rarity." Retorted Apple Jack.
"Girls! Enough!" Twilight spoke up, and her horn was glowing, which caused any of the other mare's responses to be swallowed. "I'll see if he's telling the truth." Twilight took a few steps forward, stopping right in front of me, her face a bit too close than I was comfortable with. "If you don't mind?"
"No... Not at all." My voice was barely a whisper as my throat began to dry up. She was very cute up close, and I couldn't remember being with any girl, and that made it even harder to deal with the situation. Twilight leaned forward, our noses almost touching, and then her gently glowing horn touched my forehead, stopping her mouth mere inches from mine. I stood stock still, beads of sweat beginning to form on my brow as I waited for her to finish. After a few agonizing minutes, she moved back and shook her head.
"I can't find anything. It's as though he just woke up today and nothing more. I don't know how that's possible, but it is. There's nothing before us finding him. He's ok Rainbow, he's not here to harm us or working for anyone. I even checked to see if it had been done to him in any way known to our world. It's not that it's been erased, his memories I mean. It's more like he never had any... It's eerie almost." She blushed and looked me in the eyes again. "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way."
"It's ok. So I check out?"
"As far as I can tell, yes... Wait a minute..." I had just finished relaxing my body from her being so close when I froze again.
"What is it Twilight?" Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack were by Twilight's side in an instant, Rainbow almost yelling as she shot forward.
"How curious..." Twilight ignored her 2 friends as Rarity and Pinkie Pie came towards me as well, Rarity with a graceful swaying walk and Pinkie with a bounce in her step, making her cotton candy-esque hair bounce with every step. Fluttershy stayed back, and moved over into a chair where she sat and continued to, possibly, look at me through her hair.
"What's curious darling?" Rarity inquired.
"Well, by looking at his intelligence, skeletal structure, musculature, and size, I'm assuming that he must be about our age but..."
"But what egghead, spit it out!" Twilight shot Rainbow a deadly glare at this comment, and it made Dash cringe slightly.
"Well, if you would use your eyes, you would see that he doesn't have a cutie mark." The 5 mares gasped or raised an eyebrow, and walked around me, looking at my flanks to see that they were quite bare.
"My goodness, you're right!" Exclaimed Rarity. "Has that ever happened before? Have you read about that anywhere Twilight?"
"No, never... I've read all about late bloomers, but never this late... This is extremely puzzling... and interesting." Twilight looked me over, eyes alight with wonder, as she moved around me. I began to blush as their wandering eyes examined every part of me, and I blushed deeper when Rarity took a quick peek lower, without being noticed, and gave me a blushing, yet devilish, grin.
"Ummm... Miss Sparkle..."
"Twilight is fine, Ms Sparkle is my mother." She said as she continued to examine me with her studious eyes.
"Twilight... What's a cutie mark?" Twilight stopped dead in her tracks, as did the others, at my question.
"You... you don't know what a cutie mark is?" Twilight asked with her eyes wide, as though I had uttered some horrible expletive.
"Ummm... No..."
"Oh dear... Well, they are..." Before Twilight could give me an answer, her door was opened by a tall, pure white Alicorn adorned with a crown, a golden necklace, and the most eye catching and enrapturing mane and tail that, to this day, mesmerized and dazzled me into a a stupor.
"I believe I can answer that."
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight cried, and all of the mare's knelt at the arrival of this new equine. I only noticed as they stood up that they had done so, as I was enraptured by the beauty of the new arrival. "I wasn't sure how long you were going to be. Did you have any trouble getting through my barriers?"
"They were very well done my student, but I did teach them to you, so they only hindered me a little." Twilight looked horror struck at causing any problems for the Alicorn. "But as I was saying, I believe I may be able to shed a little light on who this nameless stallion is."
"As you can see my little ponies, he is just slightly different from myself." The Princess began. "He has 2 horns, and also wings. An Alicorn is the term used for myself, Luna, and Cadence, but the one used for a being like him, it is one that has not been used for ages. It is a slight genetic mutation, not a bad one Rainbow Dash, that causes his horn to be split in half and give him 2. The thing is, this sort of mutation only happens with males. The name we give such a unique appearance is Yewlicorn."
"I've never read about Yewlicorns Princess."
"No, I wouldn't expect you to have. In the history of Equestria as I've known and kept track of, there has been only 2 Yewlicorns before this arrival."
"But... How does it happen? What causes it, and why is it so rare?" Twilight spoke eagerly as something new to learn stood before her.
"I am not sure. The first was Luna and my brother, but he lived a very short time, and we never truly knew him, we were all much too young. The second was, just as now, an arrival from an unknown place or source." The Princess smiled at me as she looked in my direction. "Although he didn't have quite an impact upon Equestria." She chuckled softly to herself, covering her muzzle with a hoof politely as she did so.
"So... I'm a Yewlicorn..." I began to process the information, all of it since my first memories an hour ago until now. "So I'm different... But not in a bad way... Just a... I don't mean to be insulting, but a rarity..."
"No offense taken at all darling, none at all. You may associate yourself with me any time you like." Rarity smirked and winked at me once again, which got AJ to stand in front of her while laughing.
"Calm down there lover girl, seems your gettin' a little strong on this stallion when we know almost nothin about him." AJ was almost laughing as she spoke.
"Well, when one only sees a small handful of stallions while she's not working, seeing one like him is a grand opportunity."
"Now's not the time for romance or seduction Rarity, save that for later. We still need to find out more about him." Twilight still hadn't taken her eyes off me, but it was clear in her tone for their focus to switch back to the predicament I posed, not how I was posing.
"Yes my student, but he seems to need a little knowledge of his own. Do you have a name, child?"
"He said he..." The Princess looked at Twilight from the corner of her eye as Twilight went to speak for me, and she quickly went silent and dropped her eyes.
"Well... I can't remember..." I stammered as I spoke, she towered over me, so regal and powerful. No wonder all the mares bowed at her entrance.
"Well, most ponies are named by their parents, and it may be coincidence or it may be intuition by parents, but most of the foals have names that are closely related to their cutie mark. You have no cutie mark, nor do you have a name, yet you are of this age." She paused as she collected her thoughts and looked me over, taking much of her time to study my horns.
"But... what is a cutie mark?" I blurted out, still confused as to what they kept referring to.
"A cutie mark," the Princess began, "is the mark that all ponies in Equestria are given when they find their special talent, and that realization is then planted onto their flanks so that any pony that sees them will know what they are good at. If you look at the mares around you, it will make sense. It is not exact, but a similarity. My little ponies, why don't you explain to him your cutie marks and your talents."
And so they did, one by one, and the picture slowly began to make sense. It also dawned on me, as they carried on, that I had no special talent, no special ability to my knowledge. They all seemed to concerned about me not having one. How long does it take? How long did it take them? As Pinkie Pie was the last to finish, and started to show that she would never stop talking about parties, she was hushed by Twilight. Princess Celestia was still smiling as she turned to look at me, but her face became one of confusion and slight concern. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes... Well, no. Everyone was named at birth, and they had from then until they received their cutie mark to figure themselves out. I don't have a name, nor do I even know where to begin searching out what I'm good at. How..." I was cut off by laughter coming from AJ, and grew instantly irritated that she would laugh at how I was feeling. "I'm sorry my plight amuses you, but I'm feeling a little lost." My voice was short and icy cold, which ceased the laughter, but AJ's eyes still held mirth.
"Ah' meant no disrespect, but you have tha' same worries as mine and Rarity's little sisters and their friend Scootaloo. Ah' never imagined I'd hear their worries from an adult, and so I laughed. It wasn't laughter at you, but at the situation, and ah' apologize."
"Oh..." I looked up at the Princess, and she nodded.
"Yes, your concerns are not without reason. There are always young foals that are searching out their way into adult hood. Some gain their marks earlier than others, but that doesn't make anyone better or worse at what they do. It is all about finding what comes the most natural to you, and being patient."
"An' ah'll tell you what I tell Apple Bloom, it'll all come in time."
"Ok... So where do I start? I don't have a home and have nowhere, or no one, to go to..." My head hung as I spoke and this realization finally came to me, giving me a hollow feeling in my chest. My chin was lifted up by the white hoof of the Princess, and I turned bright red under my eyes at the feeling.
"Here, you will never be alone." She spoke with kindness and compassion which made my heart seize and my throat catch my breath. "You will always have friends, no matter what." She brought her face away from mine, and looked at the 6 mares. "I will entrust him with you 6. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, I want you 2 to teach him how to fly. He seems good at landing, but with wings he should learn the ways of the Pegasi." Both of Pegasus nodded, although Fluttershy still wouldn't show her eyes and Rainbow Dash glared at me.
"Rarity, I wish for you to show him about how to live in this world and how to act with the ponies in this world." Rarity bowed deeply as the Princess addressed her and how she would assist me. "He is new, and his emotions may well get out of control, both to the good, the bad, and the indifferent. You are to be his social mentor."
"Apple Jack and Pinkie Pie, I want you both to teach him about the foods of this world. Apple Jack, you are to teach him about how food is produced on your farm. Let your brother help as well, to teach him the physical aspect. As a stallion, he should learn to keep his physique and how to improve upon it if need be. Pinkie Pie, I will have you teach him how to make the food that he produces, so that he may be self sufficient should he need to travel." Apple Jack nodded with a determined smile on her face, showing she wouldn't let the Princess down. Pinkie merely continued to bounce, and what I assumed was nod as she went up and down.
"And Twilight Sparkle, my student, I wish for you to teach him the ways of magic. He may learn differently than you did, or possibly different than any pony you've studied with or taught, but I believe you will find a way. He still has magic, even though his horn is split in 2, so do not forget that. It may be more powerful than you have experienced in the past, or less so, but always be prepared when teaching him something new." Twilight, as Rarity did, bowed her head with a smile.
The princess turned to look at me once again, and spoke as though decreeing a new law. "These 6 shall be your new friends, and shall henceforth follow you on your journey to find your cutie mark, and should it so happen, until your ways are forced apart. I will come to check upon your progress, and Princess Luna will also wish to meet you in time. He is to stay with at the Apple Family's farm, with Big Mac." Rarity shuffled her feet and turned her eyes away from the Princess, which probably would have been seen as not allowed, because she got a vicious glare from Twilight with her horn glowing. "And with that, I bid you all farewell. I must return to quell the storm that his arrival has stirred." The Princess was halfway out the front door when the poked her head back in. "And if anything interesting happens, please send a message with Spike."
With the Princess now absent, everyone deflated and relaxed. Rainbow began to complain, and was allowed to as she flew out the front door, leaving everyone behind. Fluttershy followed suit, though still not saying a word. I wondered how she did so without hitting a wall, but said nothing. Rarity trotted forward and smiled, "Twilight will most likely make a schedule for you as to when you'll see everyone. I cannot wait until our appointed date." She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, and then left as well.
Pinkie Pie slammed into me as I stood stone still at Rarity's leaving, and Pinkie gave me a hug that felt like she was crushing my ribs. "I'll see ya soon newest best friend!" I coughed as she let go, and pulled me up, sputtering what must have sounded like a farewell because she nodded in contentment and bounced out.
"Well then stranger, let's get headed to the farm. It's just about dusk and we get up early, so you'll need your dinner and then sleep. We'll drop by tomorrow at lunch, Twi, to get his schedule I'm sure you have worked out in your head."
"Alright Apple Jack." She looked at me and put a hoof on my shoulder. "You take care of yourself and be good."
"I'll do my best."
"That's all we ask of ya sugar cube. But we can't just keep referring to you as..."
"As a pronoun?" Twilight finished.
"Yeah, one of them."
"You're right AJ, he needs a name." Twilight thought for a moment, and then looked as though a light bulb went off in her head. "How about... Ever-yew. Does that sound ok?"
"Ever-yew..." I say it a few times and mull it around in my head, and then finally nod my head, smiling. "I like it."
"Tha's the first smile we've seen outta ya today. I can see why Rarity is so taken with ya." Apple Jack cuffed my shoulder with her hoof, laughing as Twilight joined in with a gentle giggle. "Alright, let's get home fer supper."
My stomach roared and I smiled sheepishly. "Sounds good to me."
"AJ, Ever-yew, you 2 have a good night and I'll see you at lunch tomorrow!" Twilight called out as we walked away from her tree house.
"It'll be good to have another pair of hooves on the farm. Maybe yer cutie mark will be apple related and we can keep ya forever." She chuckled happily, and sighed. "Big Mac's gonna enjoy trainin' you."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"You'll find out tomorrow." She turned her eyes away from me after she spoke, and find out I did the next morning.
