On the Horizon's edge

Chapters

Preface
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

Preface

My dream began to collapse around me, the lovely beach disappearing as the waves washed it all away. The vestiges cleansing themselves from my mind, the final moment was encapsulated with the faint words spoken by a beautiful voice “I await your next dream so that we might be together again.

As my mind came to full clarity after the final dregs of my dream were swept from my mind, I rolled out of my bed. Looking over to the clock I noted that it was just after 4 am “Another morning to being my work.” moving to the bathroom I began my daily ritual. Bath, dry then brush out my hair, pull it back into a ponytail, brush my beard, and finish it with braiding the beads in it.

Having completed my morning ritual, I went outside for my daily run. I typically try to run anywhere from one to two miles a day. As each foot hit the ground, the slap of the anklet hitting my foot never left, its presence impossible to ignore. A constant reminder of my past, I would never be able to forget what I had done. Even now more than three years after the fact, my actions weighed heavily on my soul.

Living deep in the woods far away from the rest of the town however inconvenient was worth the privacy that it gave. That coupled with not having to worry about upsetting any neighbors with the sounds of hammering at strange times was a great boon as well. Out here I was free to use my forge at any time I wanted to. That coupled with the large plot of land that had been left to me from my grandfather. Luckily for me, the entirety of my property was included in my allotted boundaries. Having this much land, while exhausting to keep up, did help to curb the temptation of just trying to run for it.

After I finished my run, I grabbed a drink from the kitchen. As I finished my drink, my eyes drifted to the date on the calendar. “ oh boy, it’s that time of the month again, time to get to the clearing.” Stepping outside, I made my way to the clearing that was around half a mile from my humble home. Here there was nothing around but a scarred husk of what was once a tree. Deep grooves cut into the trunk in a seemingly random manner. These deep cuts had wept the sap that was the lifeblood of the once great tree. As I cast my eyes upon the corpse of the once grand giant, I felt a keen sense of regret. I muttered to myself. “At least with taking it out of this dead tree, so I’m not hurting anyone.”

Whispering to the hidden voice inside “Okay, you are in control for the next few hours, try to keep our hands looking alright. We have a project that we have to finish by the end of the week, and you know that we won’t be able to get it done if you fuck up our hands too much.

A few hours later I returned to my home. Glancing at the clock, I noted that it was just after ten in the morning. “Time to hit the hay.” I started to myself. Thinking internally ‘I need to stop talking to myself out loud. Someday someone is going to see me doing it and think I’m nuts.’ After having wrapped my hands with some gauze and disinfecting them, I returned to my room. Having been left to my own devices over the years, I had developed a diurnal sleep schedule. I would sleep through the middle of the day as well as the deepest parts of the night.

I had grown to love this sleep pattern. It afforded me the ability to witness my two favorite events of the day. They subsequently happened at my favorite times of the day. The gentleness of Twilight, the graceful rise of the moon, or the triumphant coming of the sun. Both of these events held exceptional ties to my heart and soul. Throughout my life, a lot of bad things had happened to me. But for everything that was a negative point in my life, I had found some beauty. Some of the best moments of my life had happened to me during the calming hours of twilight. My first kiss, my first date, the first time that I had told someone that I loved them. For me at least, the coming of the sun or moon, for me this was bliss.

As I moved through my room preparing myself for sleep, I made sure to grab my phone and earbuds. My phone was one of the few pieces of tech that I owned. I put my earbuds in and selected a song from my sleeping list. Moving through my room, stepping over piles of things that should have been put away, I crossed the room to the one bright area. This area held my old gas space heater. I knew that it wasn’t safe to sleep with this thing on, but come on. It has a timer, and it is balls cold out there today. I flipped the thing on, hearing the reassuring hiss of the gas, I ignited the heater. It sputtered a few times, but it then remains lit as it warmed up.

Lying back in the bed, I closed my eyes to enjoy the soothing sounds of Chopin. As I was lying there waiting for the sweet embrace of sleep, my mind called back to the dream that I had experienced early that day. The only part of the dream that I could even remember was the voice of that woman. Hoping that I would be able to dream of her again, I cleared my mind in preparation for sleep. I was unsure, but I thought that just before I fell into the grip of sleep, that I had smelt something off in the air.

Chapter 1

Upon waking, I immediately noticed several things were wrong. I was missing my earbuds, I was not in the same bed that I fell asleep in, my eyes were covered, my throat felt like sandpaper, and worse of all I felt like I had been thrown down a flight of stairs.

As I shifted in the bed, I noticed that there were tubes around my head that ran to my nose as well as an IV drip in my left arm. Attempting to speak I found that the most that I was able to produce were week groans. As I began to stir and moan, a voice sounded. A voice that held the power of a Queen.

“Be still, you were in a bit of an accident with the heating device in your home.”

Heating device? Did this woman not know what a space heater was? I began to shift in the bed.

“I must ask that you remain still, you suffered a few injuries as you were pulled from home. The most major issue was the amount of smoke inhalation that you suffered from. However, you also have a few cracked ribs as well as a bit of a burn to your face. It damaged your eyes slightly, luckily we were able to treat you quickly enough that it shouldn’t leave any permanent scarring. The fire spread quickly through the home. It could have been much worse.”

I didn’t like the sound of what I was hearing, I knew that I had always been a bit of a packrat; and to add to that, I knew that my room was a bit of a fire trap.

As the voice continued, I could almost hear the wince “The fire spread quite quickly. Right up to the point of the … well, the explosion.”

Bl...blast?! What do you mean that there wa……… Oh god. The propane tank next to the forge. That thing was 1000 gallons. And I just had it filled two months ago. I was apprehensive to hear the answer. I knew what it would be. But I had the tiniest sliver of hope that it would still be there.

“I am afraid that all that remains is a crater. The blast was quite large. I fear that there was nothing that could be salvaged from the wreckage.”

The shock of that overpowered any other sense at that point in time. My entire life had been in that home. I grew up there as a Child, I learned my blacksmithing trade at the forge from my grandfather. Both he and my Grandmother were buried on that land. Now though, now everything, my home, my business, everything was gone.

“I understand that you may need some time to process this. Please, if you need anything there is a call cord to your left, as well as a glass of water on the table to your right. The small device that you had with you is sitting next to the water. If you need anything at all. Please call me back.”

After hearing her leave the room with a strange staccato sound that came in sets of four for some reason, I lifted my hands to the bandages on my eyes. I held my palms to my eyes to let the tears flow, not caring for the pain that I was causing myself by pressing on the damage. My livelihood, my home, every possession I had ever owned, was just gone. I could feel myself sinking down into the depths of my mind, deep into the darkest parts hidden behind doors of steel. As I sunk down a faint but familiar voice spoke out. Not a voice of comfort, no, this was a voice of haterade, of pain, of madness. “You know if you were to say, let me take control forever, you would never have to feel this pain again. Surrender to me and let me take this life for you. Lose yourself to your sorrow, let it consume you and give me control.” The last words had been almost too quiet to hear. Growling back at the small voice only I could hear I responded with pent-up distaste, talking to myself within my mind ‘Fuck off. Nothing would ever make me sink so low as to give you full control. I would rather kill myself.’ The voice responded “Fine be that way; you have always been too weak. I will find a way out, whether you let me out of not.” the voice when quite in my mind.

As I shifted in the beds, I noticed something else that had changed. The constant weight of the anklet that had been with me for just over three years now was gone. Pulling back the blanket I took note of a few things. I was currently lying across what felt to be three beds pushed together, and the tracker anklet was gone.

Once I had discovered this, I moved to the pull myself out of bed, while attempting to do this I found that the beds were far closer to the floor than I had expected them to be. As I moved to sit up entirely, my head began to swim, the pain in my ribs and head almost left me on the floor. As the feeling washed over me, I fell back, leaving me stranded in the bed. As the feeling passed, I realized that it was no good trying to get out of the bed. Reaching over, I felt for the cord on my left to determine where it was just in case I needed it. Leaning over to the table to the right I grasped the glass of water, bringing it to my lips, I drained it in moments, blessing the warm liquid as it ran down my throat. Upon finishing it, I felt out for my phone. Finding it, I began to run my fingers over its surface, checking for any damage. Finding none, I realized that my earbuds were sitting next to the phone.

Picking it up, I plugged the earbuds in and put them in my ears. Not being able to see anything I relied on my phone's functions to start music by pressing the play button on the earbuds. The first song that came up was one of my favorites. It was a song of calming, Clair de Lune, the piece that inspired me to take up the piano. Letting it play I fell back into a deep sleep. Losing myself to the world, making the shock of my home being taken from me seep into nothingness as I fell into the void of dreams.

Having been asleep, I missed the door opening.

“Um. Pardon me. I’m not disturbing you am I?”

Coming back to the world of the living at the sudden sound, I snapped my head to the source of the voice. I realized that this was a poor decision however as I felt as if I was going to be sick, having moved my head too quickly.

With concern in her voice “Oh dear, you really should be moving your head that quickly just yet. I can’t imagine that it feels all that good right now.”

I nodded and spoke to the voice for the first time with a dry and cracked voice “y..you would be right about that.”

“You poor dear, let me get you another drink. I imagine that you are quite thirsty.”

I nodded my head in response. I heard a tinkling, almost as if it were a wind chime. It’s calming sound filled the air.

“The glass is full on the table next to you.”

Taking a drink, I felt the cooling effects of the water wash away the dryness my throat. Speaking again “thank you. I have been feeling quite tired and weak. How long have I been here?”

“You have been unconscious for two days now. Luckily you woke up before a feeding tube was required.”

Grimacing at the thought of that “Yes that is good news. I don’t imagine that It would go over well to wake up with something like that down my throat. If I may ask, when do you feel like I would be able to take my bandages off my eyes? I am curious to see the Nurse that has been caring for me.” I could just imagine her. With a voice like that she must have the face of an angel.

“You should be okay to have the bandages removed today actually. However…”

I grew nervous at her hesitation. “Is there something wrong with them. I mean it’s not like I’m blind now is it.” I started with almost a frantic manner.

“Oh no, nothing like that. However, well. I need for you to swear to me that you are going to keep a level head when I remove the bandages.”

Shrugging “I will try my best. I just want to see again.”

I could hear her sigh “well then stay still as I unwind the bandages” The same tingling that I had heard before returned. I felt my head being moved forward away from the pillow, but I was unable to feel anyone’s hands moving my head. It was almost as if there was some invisible force moving my head for me.

As I felt the layers of bandage unwind, I began to see the light filter through them. During this, I realized that my eyes were going to be sensitive once the bandages came off. Taking this into account I opened my eyes slowly to allow them to adjust to the light in the room. Looking down at my lap to avoid having the light blind me. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I lifted my head.

As I looked up something that I had never expected to see looked at me. A small horse with a coat colored such a dark blue that it almost appeared black was staring at me. I looked at it with shock, but nothing could have prepared me for what happened next.

“So… How are you feeling?”

My jaw dropped, the dark blue horse had just spoken to me. It had just used English and had just talked to me. I felt my heart rate increase. The sound of the heart monitor began to speed up, showing physical proof of my shock.

“What the fuck! What the fuck!What the fuck! What the Fuck! What the fuck!!!”

The heart rate monitor was screaming as I began to freak out. I shifted in my bed, falling to the ground, the pain being pushed to the back of my mind as adrenaline poured into my system. I kicked to push myself as far away from it as I could.

“Now stop that right this instant. You are going to hurt yourself again!.”

It was at this point that I lost consciousness again.

My mind drifted through the void of my mind. It was here that I heard someone calling out to me. Turning my head, I looked for the source of the voice. Standing close to me was the visage of a beautiful woman. Her skin was pale enough to almost glow, her hair was a midnight blue that seemed to sparkle.

“Who...who are you? Where am I?”

She looked at me with a touch of annoyance. “Who I am; is Princess Luna, and as to where we are. We are in your dreamscape. You passed out after, as you call it, freaked the fuck out.”

I was confused at first, however, what had just transpired came back to me. The Voice was the same “you mean, this is just a dream? I was just dreaming back there?”

Giving me a cold stare “No, it was in fact not a dream. However, this currently is, but do not take it for being fantasy, It is genuine. The dream realm is my domain. I chose this form to help make this situation a little less strenuous on your mind. Your reaction before was rather over the top.”

Looking at her with disbelief, I retorted, fully believing that there was no way that this could be real. “You are expecting me to believe that you are some kind of talking horse?!”

With a barely contained fury in her eyes she shifted back to her previous form “No I expect you to believe that I am an Alicorn Princess. And I would ask that you not use such a rude tone with me. I did save your life after all. Do you have any idea how difficult it was to bring you to this world!”

I responded “What do you mean different world? And why did you bring me here, to begin with?”

Somehow she managed to show a blush through her dark blue coat. “I figured that you would enjoy a fresh start. You had mentioned that you were unhappy with your lot in life, particularly with the strange device that was on your ankle.”

At this comment, I locked eyes with her “What do you mean that I mentioned this. I have never met you before in my life. When could I have told you that?”

“Well...technically you are correct, we have never met before in life. However, we have spent a considerable amount of time together in the dream world.”

“You expect me to believe that you know me from the dre….” I stalled out at this as my mind had just made a connection as to why her voice sounded so familiar. “The woman from my dreams, that was you… So what you think you are telling me is that we somehow met in my dreams, and through that connection, you decided, at the first opportunity, that you were going to whisk me away from all my troubles and bring me to a magical land of rainbows and Alicorns.”

She smiled at me “Why yes, I am glad that you are able to understand.”

I shot back a look “then how do you expect me to believe any of this? How can I know that I haven’t just gone crazy and that this isn’t just happening in my head?”

She frowned “I guess there is no way that I can prove to you that this is actually going on. I would just ask that you put some faith in me. However, why would you automatically assume that you have gone crazy?”

I scoffed “you tell me, you’re the one that has been sifting through my brain at night.”

She looked almost offended “I would never invade your mind like that, I walk dreams. However, if I am invited, I will delve deeper into the minds of my subjects. But only if they ask me to. But I digress, what is it that you expect me to know about you?”

There was evident confusion in my voice. “So you mean to tell me that you have no idea what I am talking about. That you let me into this new world without really knowing what it was that you brought here?”

“I am not sure to what you are referencing with that statement.” she responded.

I dropped my eyes, I figured that I owed her some form of explanation “I...well I have mental problems. Rather severe mental issues. I have what is called multiple personality disorder, although if you want to get technical, you can call it Dissociative Identity Disorder or DID. And well….he isn’t a very good person. I have actually been able to talk to him during my dreams face to face, but most of the time he is just a voice at the back of my mind.”

“I see. Would it be okay if I were to meet this other you then? I would like to know who it is that I brought into my world..”

“If you really want to meet him I guess. Just please try to not be too horribly offended by what may or may not come out of his mouth. He is a rather...vulgar individual. I have him locked in the back of my mind. I would not suggest it, however, if you must address him by name, use Void.

Moving through the dreamscape, I approached the door that keeps him at bay. As we neared the steel door, I took notice that it was not the same in appearance as it had been in the past. Before the door had always appeared pitted and rusted, but now it shone with a high polish. Any hint of the old door had been removed. However, all of this paled in comparison to the largest changed. Set into the metal of the door were lines of Nordic runes that shone with a radiance of their own.

Upon seeing it, my reaction was one of shock “okay that is not normal. The door has never looked like that before, and I have no idea where the glowing runes came from.” leaning forward I looked to see if I could figure out where they had come from, or even what they were. As I got closer I noticed something familiar about them, an idea struck. I reached down to the beads in my beard to compare them to the ones in the door. As I examined them, I noticed that they were the same.

“the runes on the door match the runes on the beads that I wear in my beard, Why would they be the same?”

Princess Luna looked closely at the door “this appears to be Centaur magic. I have not seen something like this in almost three thousand years.”

At this comment, my head spun to look at her, in almost complete disbelief “What do you mean three thousand years. There is no way that you are anywhere close to that old.”

Looking back at me she replied coyly “I think you for the compliment, but I am in fact just over five thousand. Although I can’t say for certain how old I truly am, I stopped counting centuries ago, as did my older sister.”

I shook this new information off, having completely forgotten her comment about Centaur magic. I didn’t have the mental fortitude to comprehend this information, so I just continued to the door. Placing my hand on it, the door swung in on well-oiled hinges to expose the horror within.

Standing before us covered in golden chains stood a carbon copy of myself, the major differences were in his face. Personally, I had a pair of bright blue eyes; I have had them called ice blue, Void, however, did not have visible color in his eyes. They were black, as for the whites of his eyes; they were a dark shade of blood red. As we approached, more of the subtle differences became apparent.

His clothes were filthy, his hair matted and was his beard. It showed evidence of a mixture of blood and vomit caked into it. The smell of unwashed body was overpowering.

Pointing at him “as you requested, meet Void. My very much hated other half. The darkness of my soul, he is the one responsible for me wearing that anklet for the last three years, and unfortunately, he is the reason that I am still alive as well.” the last words fell from my mouth with bile and disgust.

Luna looked rather shocked at the sight of the beast in his prison. “What do you mean by that? How could this… this thing is responsible for you having to wear that strange device, and how did it save your life?”

“I really don’t like talking about it. However if you really need to know, I will tell you, Just not here. I really don’t like having to spend much time on that thing.”

As we made to move from the room, a guttural voice sounded behind us “DID YOU BRING ME A SNACK. MMMM I BET THIS PRISSY PONY WOULD TASTE GREAT WITH SOME STEAK SAUCE. THINK I MAY JUST HAVE TO WORK THE MEAT OVER TO TENDERIZE IT FIRST THOUGH. A FEW HOURS OF FUCKING SHOULD DO WELL, DON’T YOU THINK.”

I stopped dead in my track, horrified that it had spoken while she was present. I quickly moved to make amends as we rushed from the room. “Princess Luna I am so sorry. I..I tried to warn you that coming in here was a bad idea. I just didn’t want you to have to…” I was unable to finish my thought as I felt the touch of the tip of her wing press against my lips.

“Shhh. There is no need to apologize. You did, in fact, warn me what that beast was like.”
She shook her head as she continued “Granted it is not every day that one hears something like that being said about them, or about them for that matter.”

I blushed at her comment, hating the fact that even though it was him that had said such vulgarities, I was still the one that he had come from. I felt a measure of guilt for having even the darkest part of my mind. That it could have even conceived something like that. I moved to change the topic “So...um you said that the runes on the door where Centaur magic? I have no idea where that would have come from For me at least, they are just old Norse runes. I have not idea why there are glowing right now though. They have never done that before.”

At these words, she turned to me. “Here at least, Centaur runes will always glow if they are charged. It is an ancient branch of magic, Quite a bit more subtle than Unicorn magic. It tends to imbue strength in whatever they are carved into. What form of power is given is based on what runes are used. Nopony has bothered with it for a very long time as far as I know. Most apparently prefer the Wiz bang kind of magic now a day.”

Thinking about what I had just learned, I realized something. “Wait, the runes that are on the door, they are the same ones that are on the beads that I have in my beard They actually have power here? Runes carved and charged by humans have power here?”

Nodding she confirmed my suspicions “Yes, it would appear that they are of the same branch of magic. Centaur magic is not something that is internal, such as a unicorn’s magic. It is the magic of this world; of Equis itself. It is not something that everyone can do. To use it, one needs to have a connection to the ground beneath you, to nature.”

“So you are telling me that it’s Druid magic.”

Shock crossed her features “how do you know what their order was called? You have never been to this world before.”

I chuckled as I responded. “Very right, however, it would appear that there are quite a few similarities between our worlds. We had a few orders of Druids in my world as well. Although the ones with real power were just legends and myths. There is nothing of real magic there. It’s all just a bunch of stories.”

She smiled warmly “Well I can assure you that magic is genuine here. Going by how were are managing to have a good conversation right now. Would you be amenable to continuing our conversation in the waking world?”

I blushed slightly and nodded.

She smiled up at me and responded only “then AWAKEN.”

My mind came to consciousness back in the hospital room with the Princess standing before me. Her mane wafting lazily behind her, ethereal and full of stars. “Well then now that you are feeling a bit more hospitable and open to this world and her denizens. Did you have any questions for me?”

I sat here pondering for a moment “I guess I have one. Why me? Why out of everyone on my planet, out of the billions of people, why did you choose to save me? There is no way that I have any kind of grand importance in the larger scheme of things.”

I noticed the slight darkening of her cheeks as she replied “Well I saved you because I felt that we are friends. At least I hope that we could call each other friends.”

“I guess I can understand that you would choose to save a friend, but why did you decide to delve into my dreams?” I was thoroughly confused. For what reason could this being, this Alicorn; someone of high power going by her title, why did she choose to look into my dreams. Why did she decide to form a bond with someone like me?

She stood still; it seemed that she was trying to come up with a good explanation.

My mind came to consciousness back in the hospital room with the Princess standing before me. Her mane wafting lazily behind her; filled with the stars of the night. “Well then, now that you are feeling a bit more hospitable. Did you have any more questions for me?”

I sat there pondering for a moment “I guess that I have one. Why me? Why out of everyone on my planet, out of the billions of people, why did you choose to save me?”

She replied with a barely noticeable tinge to her cheeks “Well… I saved you because I feel that we are friends… at least I hope that we could call each other friends.”

Nodding “I guess I can understand that. It would make sense that you would do something like this for a friend. But I suppose that leads me to my next question. What drove you to look at my dreams? Forgive me if it sounds like I am putting myself down, but… What was it about my dreams that drew you in?” as I waited for her response I was trying to wrap my head around the idea that there was anything about me that could attract someone as powerful as her, to my simple dreams. What was it that caused her to build this bond with me. As we sat there in silence, I contemplated her reason for wanting to get to know me.

As the seconds ticked by, my memories began to stir as I remembered little tidbits of dreams from the past, bits, and pieces of conversations. The bonds of friendship slowly being built.

“I feel as if I am unable to give you a proper answer, I am unsure as to what caused me to peek into your dreams in the first place. I was drawn to them, but what caused me to stay; well. It was the way that you saw things in your dreams. The way that you interacted with the other constructs that exist in your mind. Throughout my observations, you kept a kind demeanor, I think I truly began to feel a kinship with you.”

Smiling I looked at her. “Well regardless of the reason, I still owe you my life. More than that you have given me a chance at a new one. So again, thank you for saving me.”

Her reply radiated warmth “It was my pleasure to help you, my friend. But this brings me to a bit of an awkward point. While I am quite alright with your name… well as you have observed with my name, we have a rather different way of naming each other. I feel as if it would be in your interest if you were to think about choosing a new name, now that you are here. An Equestrian name.”

At this, I was understandably taken aback. However, upon reflection, I relented that it was likely a good idea. It would be a similar situation to when the original immigrants came to the US. “I guess I can see where you coming from with that. What kind of names do you have here, what is considered normal?”

Smiling at me, she responded “Well there seems to be a bit more flexibility when it comes to Equestrian names. There have been many different names throughout history. I once had a good friend named Starswirl the Bearded, My sister’s one-time pupil; now an Equestrian princess goes by the name Twilight Sparkle. Other names such as Gumdrops, Pinkie Pie, Apple Jack, Moon Dream, they are all quite common. The sky's the limit. Names here tend to do with one's unique talent though. Most parents tend to have a name dream when they are about ready to have a foal. If you think about it, perhaps you can expand your horizons?”

As she finished, something that she said sparked something within me. “ Horizon?” I muttered. “Everything here is new to me, it really is a chance to build a new life and expand my horizons.” bringing my hand up to my beard I began to stroke it out of habit. As I did this, it seemed to hit me out of the blue, as if it was something that should have been obvious “New Horizon. Yes, that sounds right, Call me New Horizon, although if you prefer Princess Luna, please call me Horizon for short.”

She beamed down at me as I lay prone on the bed. “That is a lovely name, New Horizon. A fitting name for your new life.”

“That was the idea, I have a real chance at a new life here. Something peaceful, thank you, Princess. I only hope that I don't squander your gift.”

“Oh my new friend, please call me Luna, Titles are such an annoyance. I share your hope. I would have you blossom here.”

Chapter 2

Two days later I did end up meeting Princess Celestia, Luna’s older sister. It had been a rather brief visit. She had been curious about the strange being that her little sister had brought to this world. Overall it was a pleasant visit. She made mention that Luna had told her about Void. I understood why she would tell her, however it still made me a little upset. The following day I addressed it with her.

“Luna, I really wish you would have left telling Celestia about Void, to me. It was rather awkward when she addressed him as if he were in the room with her.”

Giving me a rather annoyed look Luna responded “You already know why I told her. I have made it a point to talk to my sister about everything. Neither of us wishes a repeat of what happened in the past.” Her eyes fell at the final comment

I gave an exasperated sigh feeling guilty at having snapped at her “I know why you told her, I understand that. I just wish I could have spoken to her about it. But whatever, what on the agenda for the day? More tests?”

She shook her head, banishing the crestfallen look from earlier, replacing it with one of joy. “No. No more tests. You have been laid up for a few days now and I am happy to let you know that you should be able to leave the hospital wing now.”

My happiness was palpable “No joke, I get to get up!”

She smiled “Yes.”

I moved to get up when her magic pushed me back, I gave her an annoyed look.

“Not so fast, I need to unhook you from things first.” She moved to remove the various monitoring systems and needles that covered my body. As she did so her eyes glanced to my right ankle, the one that once held the tracker, I had noticed that she had looked at it whenever she thought I wasn’t looking.

I caught her look and decided now was as good a time as any to breach the subject“So, my guess is that you are curious as to why I had that anklet on right.”

She blushed as if she were a child that got caught stealing a cookie. “Y.yes, I will admit that I have a bit of curiosity about what it was.”

I steeled my resolve as I prepared myself to tell her the dark history of the device. She deserved the truth. “It was a tracker anklet, I was being forced to wear it by the police. To make sure that I didn’t leave my property.”

She gave me a quizzical look “Why would that want to make sure that you didn’t leave your property?”

I grimaced as she pulled the IV from my arm “gah. That smarts you know. ‘Sigh’ I was made to wear it because I have been under house arrest for the last three years.”

Looking me in the eyes she responded: “Why were you under house arrest?” The response was filled with curiosity as well, as caution as if she would be able to tell if I lied to her. Not that it mattered. I had no intention of lying about what happened. She was giving me a huge amount of trust just by having me here. I owed it to her to tell her the truth.

I responded with bitterness in my voice.“It was my only option, it was that or prison. There was an incident.”

She stopped pulling things off and looked me in the eyes “What kind of incident? Please, tell me.”

I sighed once again “then you might want to get a seat, this is a long story.”

She nodded and drew a chair to sit on.

I began “As I said, I have been under house arrest for the past three years, I had another twelve years left had I not been brought here, years ago before I worked in my forge. Well, I was a banker. If you can imagine that. No beard, hair short I even wore a suit every day. I had been living in a small apartment near my bank, but I still enjoyed driving to work. We had customers from all walks of life. From the ridiculously wealthy all the way down to people that lived paycheck to paycheck.

I tried my best to help everyone that I could regardless of where they came from. There was this older couple, they had amassed a moderate fortune. The best part is that they earned every penny of it. The Older man, I can’t really even remember his name anymore, he worked every day of his youth to build this wealth. They had only had one child, a son. They gave him everything they could.

But even with everything that his parents gave him, it was never enough in his mind, He felt like the world owed him everything. He had known that he was the heir to everything that they had. His parents were upset that he had never learned the value of a dollar. So unbeknownst to him, they started to sell off assets as they began to get into their advanced age. They liquidated everything they could. Then they started to give money to anyone they could. Charities, schools, homeless people on the street. The Older man even told me that he was once mugged, he said that he gave the robber everything he could with a smile on his face.

This went on for a few years. They had drained everything they had, they said giving everything away had been more rewarding than anything they had ever accomplished in their lives. They were in their 70s while their son was in his late 40s. One day on the way to the bank they got into an accident. They were both killed instantly. I actually went to their funeral. They even left their best car to me in the will, needless to say the son was furious. I gave it to him without even thinking about it. I said that I didn’t need it.

Well after everything was said and done, their son found out that almost every penny they had made had been given to various charities anonymously. They did so to make sure that the donations wouldn’t qualify for tax credit. He had apparently quit his job with no notice after finding out about their deaths. He expected to never have to work again. He didn’t have any savings and had been living with them.

A few weeks passed. He had come into the branch a few times shouting his head off about how we had done this to him by letting his crazy parents drain their wealth. I had to have him escorted from the building at least twice. Finally a few weeks later, I had stayed late to get some paperwork done. As I left the branch, he came out from behind my car.

He approached me, looking rather gaunt. He smelled and I could tell he hadn’t eaten in a few days, he had a hollow look in his eyes. He came up to me and shoved a gun in my gut. He pulled my head forward and whispered something to me ‘tell my parents hello for me’.

I don’t remember what happened after that.”

She looked at me with confusion. “I don’t understand, how would that have caused your incarnation?”

Looking away in shame I continued “as I said, I don’t remember what happened. But I have seen it. Through a camera. After he shot me I fell against him. Almost as if I had died right there. But what happened next was horrible. Void got out.”

She looked at me with shock “what do you mean he got out?”

((warning gore, if you want to skip CTRL F gore over))

I recounted what I had seen.

“Tell my parents hello for me”

I fell forward into him, my mind falling into darkness. “MY TURN!!!!”

Void’s head shot up, the whites of his eyes now a blood read, his pupils dilated so much that no colour was visible anymore. Pulling his head forward Void bit deeply into the other man’s neck, ignoring his screams Void applied more pressure until his teeth held nothing between them. Ripping back, Void pulled a chunk from his neck. Spitting it to the floor “apparently being from rich blood doesn’t mean that you have a rich taste, disgusting!!!”

He spits again clearing his mouth of the blood, as Void did this he didn’t notice the other man aiming the gun at him again “Die you freak!!” he fired, but missed anything important, simply grazing Void’s arm. He looked down and it and noticed the mark.

Looking him in the eyes Void responded with a coldness, almost boredom “YOU DONE GOOFED.”

Shooting forward he grabbed the man’s throat, “NOW HERE IS WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. YOU ARE GOING TO BE QUITE, AND I AM GOING TO RIP YOUR THROAT OUT. IF YOU MANAGE TO BE GOOD I WILL DO IT QUICKLY, IF YOU FIGHT. WELL, THEN I GET TO HAVE A LITTLE FUN. WHAT DO YOU SAY?”

His response was to try to pistol whip Void. “WRONG ANSWER” his fist increased pressure on the man’s throat. But rather than ripping back he slammed the man’s head into the pavement, again and again, the man’s response was to plead and cry.

Begging between the impacts “Please don’t, I’m sorry, please don’t do this. There is still time, I can change. P..please don’t…. I don’t want to die”

Void sneered “WE WILL ALL DIE ONE DAY, YOU JUST GET TO DO IT A LITTLE FASTER THAN THE REST OF US. BUT DON’T YOU WORRY” leaning forward he licked his cheek “I’ll see you soon”

Void slammed his head into the pavement again, this time working to finish him, no longer enjoying the feeling of causing pain. His eyes were stuck open and he looked at Void. Each impact sounding a dull thud. Blood spattered Void’s face as his head made each impact. Getting impatient Void stood ignoring the blood loss as he began to stomp on the other man’s head.

Bloody brain matter and bone covered the side of the car that his parents had once tried to leave to me. Void screamed at him as his foot came down for the final stomp on the head of the corpse. Void screamed at him again. It was at this point that the blood loss grew too much for him and Void fell down on the ground, passed out.

((Gore over))

Luna looked at me with shock and horror in her eyes “you did what?!”

I was still dealing with the shock of telling the story as I responded “I killed him, he tried to kill me, shot me in the stomach and tried to kill me rather than learn the lesson that his parents tried to teach. He was so consumed with greed that he tried to kill me over his perceived slight. He blamed me for being their friend.” a tear fell from my nose and landed on my fists. I had not even noticed that they had clenched. I was terrified that she was going to banish me. I had nowhere left to go. If I went back there was no being safe from this. I had been gone too long, I would go to prison or worse.

Her response was not one that I had expected “you said he shoved a ‘gun?’ Into your stomach, is that something that can hurt you?”

She didn’t even know what a gun was. “Um… yes.” trying to think of something that would equate to a gun that she could understand you continued “do you know what a cannon is?”

Surprisingly she nodded.

“Well a gun is like a small cannon. It fits in your hand. It shoots small metal bullets at a high speed.” I lifted my shirt to show her the scar on my stomach. I gave a morbid chuckle “I’m lucky he shot me at such a close range. He was using standard ammo, rather than hollow points. The bullet went straight through. Although it could have been better too.” I leaned to show her the exit wound. Just on the other side of my abdomen but slightly larger than the entry wound.

“When I blacked out, Void took over. My mind was too weak to hold him back. They originally thought that I was the one that started it. However when they pulled the security tapes they found out that he had waited for me. He had even had his gun out. Waiving it around in his car like an idiot. After they had determined that he had been lying in wait with deadly intent, they ruled it as an overzealous self defence. I still ended up under house arrest. The courts couldn’t really excuse the level of brutality. They had a court assigned therapist meet with me for a year after that.” I gave a bitter laugh “not that it helped much.”

I tried to not look her in the face, however, she didn’t allow for that, hearing the same tinkle of magic as before, my face was forced to rise to hers. “I believe you, I can feel that you are being truthful with me. I too know what it is to take a life without being able to control yourself. I suppose I have no room to judge. I spent a thousand years on the moon for my transgressions. I can not begrudge you for yours.”

It still threw me for a loop every time that she commented on her own age. To think that she was over five thousand years old. it was amazing. “Thank you, Luna, it means a lot that you are willing to forgive me. let’s hope that Celestia is also willing to forgive when you tell her.”

She smiled back at me. “I expect that she will, I will make sure of it. But back to the matter at hoof. You will be able to leave the room now. Although I am afraid that I have a condition for your getting up. We still wish to introduce you slowly to Equestrian society. This is going to take time. So while you will be able to leave the room, I do ask that you keep to the Lunar wings of the palace. They tend to be more, well vacant, than the Solar wings.” She stated with a blush “I will also be assigning you a guard, think of him as a companion and guide to the palace. He will let you know where things are as well as making sure that you remain in the correct areas. You will be allowed in the gardens as well, however you will need to make sure that they are clear first. once again this is another use of the Guard.”

I grimaced at the thought of needing an effective babysitter “Fine, I guess that makes sense. Don’t want to upset the locals too much. When do I get to meet him?”

“You will be meeting him now.” she turned her head to the door “First Lieutenant Silver Lining please enter.”

The stallion that entered was not what I was expecting. As far back as I could remember, every guard that I had seen up to this point was wearing Golden armor and appeared as either a White pegasus or a Grey Unicorn or Earth pony. This pony was a pegasus, however, he was a pleasant teal color with a darker teal mane. “Corporal Silver Lining reporting for Duty Mam!”

I held back a Laugh at how formal he was acting. He was also wearing a dark set of armor that looked like it had stylised bat wings on it. Looking to Luna “he isn’t going to act that that all the time is he? How can he be a companion if he acts like some kind of military robot all the time.” I finished with a crooked smirk. His response was to blush at the comment.

Luna smirked as well “I would hope not. Silver Lining here is part of my personal guard. I figured if he was good enough to protect me, he should be good enough for you.”

I balked at this “Luna I don’t want to rob you of one of your guards, and I really don’t want to upset him by dragging him away from his post.”

It was not Luna that spoke up at this comment, but Silver Lining “It is no bother um.. sir. If princes Luna wishes me to be with you, I will do as she asks.”

Deciding to have a little fun with him I cut back “I don’t know about being with you You might need to take me on a few dates first, you’re cute enough though.”

Silver’s face blew up bright red at my comment, and Luna’s was no better “You mean to tell me Dear Horizon that you are, well to say, attracted to males?” her voice sounded disappointed for some reason.

“I’m just screwing with him for now, but to tell you the truth I’m pan. Never been with a pony of course. seeing as where I am from they are not sentient, but if this is where I’m going to be from now on I guess I should get used to the idea if I ever hope to find someone. But really, I’m just messing around with him for now.” I locked my gaze on him and wiggled my eyebrows at the finishing comment.

Silver coughed and tried to regain his composure “Yes well then, I imagine that you are quite ready to leave this room, Shall we?”

I shifted over and pulled myself up out of the bed, now that Luna had removed the monitoring wires and IV drip. As I pulled myself to my feat I realized how week my legs had become from not being used over the last few days. As I started to fall I reached out for something to grab and found Luna. As I held myself up I found myself pressed up against her coat. It was wonderfully soft. “Sorry about that, Guess being knocked off your feet for a week and a half leaves your legs kinda tired.”

Her face darkened as she guided me over to a wheelchair, “well um yes. you will be able to start moving about the castle, Silver Lining will be your guide. I will try to spend as much time as I am able to.”

Getting into the chair I looked up to her “Thank you Luna” turning to Silver I continued “So where shall we start stud?”

Silver lit up red again, “Will you please cut that out. I think we should start with a tour of the Castle wing.”

We spent the next two hours going through the building, him telling me about the different locations and describing the various levels of historical importance different rooms had. I drifted in and out focus as the tour continued, right up to the point that we passed Luna’s personal study. I looked in with mild interest as we moved past, however at one point I mind stopped as I saw it.

Chapter 3

“Luna, I really wish you would have left telling Celestia about Void, to me. It was rather awkward when she addressed him, as if he were in the room with her.”

Giving me a rather annoyed look Luna responded “You already know why I told her. I have made it a point to talk to my sister about everything. Neither of us wish a repeat of what happened in the past.” Her eyes fell at the final comment

My happiness was palpable “No joke, I get to get up!”

She smiled “Yes.”

I moved to get up when her magic pushed me back, I gave her an annoyed look.

I caught her look and decided now was as good a time as any to broach the subject“So, my guess is that you are curious as to why I had that anklet on right.”

She blushed as if she were a child that got caught stealing a cookie. “Y.yes, I will admit that I have a bit of curiosity about what it was.”

She gave me a quizzical look “Why would that want to make sure that you didn’t leave your property?”

I grimaced as she pulled the IV from my arm “gahh. That smarts you know. ‘Sigh’ I was made to wear it because I have been under house arrest for the last three years.”

Looking me in the eyes she responded “Why were you under house arrest?” The response was filled with curiosity as well as caution as if she would be able to tell if I lied to her. Not that it mattered. I had no intention of lying about what happened. She was giving me a huge amount of trust just by having me here. I owed it to her to tell her the truth.

I responded with bitterness in my voice.“It was my only option, it was that or prison. There was an incident.”

She stopped pulling things off and looked me in the eyes “What kind of incident? Please, tell me.”

I sighed once again “then you might want to get a seat, this is a long story.”

She nodded and drew a chair to sit on.

But even with everything that his parents gave him, it was never enough in his mind, He felt like the world owed him everything. He had known that he was the heir to everything that they had. His parents were upset that he had never learned the value of a dollar. So unbeknownst to him they started to sell off assets as they began to get into their advanced age. They liquidated everything they could. Then they started to give money to anyone they could. Charities, schools, homeless people on the street. The Older man even told me that he was once mugged, he said that he gave the robber everything he could with a smile on his face.

I don’t remember what happened after that.”

She looked at me with confusion. “I don’t understand, how would that have caused your incarnation?”

She looked at me with shock “what do you mean he got out?”

((warning gore, if you want to skip CTRL F Gore over))

I recounted what I had seen.

“Tell my parents hello for me”

I fell forward into him, my mind falling into darkness. “MY TURN!!!!”

Void’s head shot up, the whites of his eyes now a blood red, his pupils dilated so much that no colour was visible anymore. Pulling his head forward Void bit deeply into the other man’s neck, ignoring his screams Void applied more pressure until his teeth held nothing between them. Ripping back, Void pulled a chunk from his neck. Spitting it to the floor “apparently being from rich blood doesn’t mean that you have a rich taste, disgusting!!!”

He spit again clearing his mouth of the blood, as Void did this he didn’t notice the other man aiming the gun at him again “Die you freak!!” he fired, but missed anything important, simply grazing Void’s arm. He looked down and it and noticed the mark.

Looking him in the eyes Void responded with a coldness, almost boredom “YOU DONE GOOFED.”

Shooting forward he grabbed the man’s throat, “NOW HERE IS WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. YOU ARE GOING TO BE QUITE, AND I AM GOING TO RIP YOUR THROAT OUT. IF YOU MANAGE TO BE GOOD I WILL DO IT QUICKLY, IF YOU FIGHT. WELL THEN I GET TO HAVE A LITTLE FUN. WHAT DO YOU SAY?”

His response was to try to pistol whip Void. “WRONG ANSWER” his fist increased pressure on the man’s throat. But rather than rip back he slammed the man’s head into the pavement, again and again, the man’s response was to plead and cry.

Begging between the impacts “Please don’t, I’m sorry, please don’t do this. There is still time, I can change. P..please don’t…. I don’t want to die”

Void sneered “WE WILL ALL DIE ONE DAY, YOU JUST GET TO DO IT A LITTLE FASTER THAN THE REST OF US. BUT DON’T YOU WORRY” leaning forward he licked his cheek “I’ll see you soon”

Void slammed his head into the pavement again, this time working to finish him, no longer enjoying the feeling of causing pain. His eyes were stuck open and he looked at Void. Each impact sounding a dull thud. Blood spattered Void’s face as his head made each impact. Getting impatient Void stood ignoring the the blood loss as he began to stomp on the other man’s head.

((Gore over))

Luna looked at me with shock and horror in her eyes “you did what?!”

Her response was not one that I had expected “you said he shoved a ‘gun?’ Into your stomach, is that something that can hurt you?”

She didn’t even know what a gun was. “Um… yes.” trying to think of something that would equate to a gun that she could understand you continued “do you know what a cannon is?”

Surprisingly she nodded.

“Well a gun is like a small cannon. It fits in your hand. It shoots small metal bullets at a high speed.” I lifted my shirt to show her the scar on my stomach. I gave a morbid chuckle “I’m lucky he shot me at such a close range. He was using standard ammo, rather than hollow points. The bullet went straight through. Although it could have been better too.” I leaned over to show her the exit wound. Just on the other side of my abdomin but slightly larger than the entry wound.

“When I blacked out, Void took over. My mind was too weak to hold him back. They originally thought that I was the one that started it. However when they pulled the security tapes they found out that he had waited for me. He had even had his gun out. Waving it around in his car like an idiot. After they had determined that he had been lying in wait with deadly intent, they ruled it as an overzealous self defence. I still ended up under house arrest. The courts couldn’t really excuse the level of brutality. They had a court assigned therapist meet with me for a year after that.” I gave a bitter laugh “not that it helped much.”

I tried to not look her in the face, however she didn’t allow for that, hearing the same tingle of magic as before, my face was forced to rise to hers. “I believe you, I can feel that you are being truthful with me. I too know what it is to take a life without being able to control yourself. I suppose I have no room to judge. I spent a thousand years on the moon for my transgressions. I can not begrudge you for yours.”

It still threw me for a loop every time that she commented on her own age. To think that she was over five thousand years old. it was amazing. “Thank you Luna, it means a lot that you are willing to forgive me. let’s hope that Celestia is also willing to forgive when you tell her.”

She smiled back at me. “I expect that she will, I will make sure of it. But back to the matter at hoof. You will be able to leave the room now. Although I am afraid that I have a condition for your getting up. We still wish to introduce you slowly to Equestrian society. This is going to take time. So while you will be able to leave the room, I do ask that you keep to the Lunar wings of the palace. They tend to be more, well vacant, then the Solar wings.” She stated with a blush “I will also be assigning you a guard, think of him as a companion and guide to the palace. He will let you know where things are as well as making sure that you remain in the correct areas. You will be allowed in the gardens as well, however you will need to make sure that they are clear first. once again this is another use of the Guard.”

I grimaced at the thought of needing an effective babysitter “Fine, I guess that makes sense. Don’t want to upset the locals too much. When do I get to meet him?”

“You will be meeting him now.” she turned her head to the door “First Lieutenant Silver Lining please enter.”

The stallion that entered was not what I was expecting. As far back as I could remember, every guard that I had seen up to this point was wearing Golden armor and appeared as either a White pegasus or a Grey Unicorn or Earth pony. This pony was a pegasus, however he was a pleasant teal color with a darker teal mane. “Corporal Silver Lining reporting for Duty Mam!”

Luna smirked as well “I would hope not. Silver Lining here is part of my personal guard. I figured if he was good enough to protect me, he should be good enough for you.”

I balked at this “Luna I don’t want to rob you of one of your guards, and I really don’t want to upset him by dragging him away from his post.”

It was not not Luna that spoke up at this comment, but Silver Lining “It is no bother um.. sir. If princess Luna wishes me to be with you, I will do as she asks.”

Deciding to have a little fun with him I cut back “I don’t know about being with you You might need to take me on a few dates first, you’re cute enough though.”

“I’m just screwing with him for now, but to tell you the truth I’m pan. Never been with a pony of course. seeing as where I am from they are non sentient pack animals, but if this is where I’m going to be from now on I guess I should get used to the idea, if I ever hope to find someone. But really, I’m just messing around with him for now.” I locked my gaze on him and wiggled my eyebrows at the finishing comment.

Silver coughed and tried to regain his composure “Yes well then, I imagine that you are quite ready to leave this room, Shall we?”

I shifted over and pulled myself up out of the bed, now that Luna had removed the monitoring wires and IV drip. As I pulled myself to my feet I realized how weak my legs had become from non use over the last few days. As I started to fall I reached out for something to grab and found Luna. As I held myself up I found myself pressed up against her coat. It was wonderfully soft. “Sorry about that, Guess being knocked off your feet for a weeks and a half leaves your legs kinda tired.”

Getting into the chair I looked up to her “Thank you Luna” turning to Silver I continued “So where shall we start stud?”

Silver lit up red again, “Will you please cut that out. I think we should start with a tour of the Castle wing.”

Author's Note

Hey every body. I want to thank you all for your support. I have been feeling abit out of it for a bit now and just didn't have the will to do any wrighting for a bit. I am working on new chapters now. if you seen any typo's please let me know. remember Tia and Luna are not supposed to use Contractions. let me know if you spot any in their speach. and again thanks for the support.