Chapters A Whisper Upon the Midnight Wind
OTTERBURN TRAINING COMPLEX, 05:55 23/10/2017 FOURTH DAY ON CAMP
'You.... The only one.... Power......... Help us...'
BZZRT BZZRT BZZRT The alarm blared as young Army Cadets awake from their deep slumber. "IT'S MORNING! GET UP, YOU'RE ALL ON THE RANGE TODAY. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR SMOCKS WITH YOU. LIKE ALWAYS, BREAKFAST IS AT 07:00, SO BE ON THE PARADE SQUARE BY TEN TO!" The 4 Star Staff Sergeant and I.C. of that billet, Edward Michael Wynn, shouted, making sure all of his cadets are up and getting ready. He was already awake and dressed because Company Sergeant Major Flynn woke him up at 05:00 to discuss the training plan for that week. He liked the CSM, not only because of their uncannily similar last names, he was a great person, and an even greater cadet. He'd do well in the military, when he comes of age. Despite that, he didn't approve of his absurd wake up times. That day, the 2 Stars were going on the range to fire the L98A2, a standard procedure, it would get a few of them to pass their shooting assessment.
It was 06:40 by the time they were all dressed and ready to go for breakfast. "Right," He said, addressing the room. "You all have ten minutes to chill before you need to be on that parade square, so make the most of it." He pointed to add emphasis on his point. After that, he walked out of the room, ready to get some fresh air.
10 minutes and a brisk walk about the military base later...
As he rounded the corner onto the parade square, he saw that his cadets were already there and fell in. He smiled to himself on the inside. 'They are all actually here... This is going to be an easy fortnight' He thought to himself. He waited there with his parade until they were joined by the 1 Stars, led by Sergeant Whitty. Whitty was a grump, she would always train by the book and any jokes, be that friendly or not, would just deflect off of her. He almost felt sorry for the poor 1 Stars. He ordered them to fall in on his parade, so they could get off up to scoff. He was starving. Lucky for him, NCO's had to go in last... 'SIGH '
During breakfast, him and three other highly ranked NCO's were call out of the mess hall to talk to Captain McCracken about something that was not stated. "So, you lot" He started. "Who can explain why my armoury is missing three live magazines?" Dread slowly seeped into their heads... If there were live magazines taken from the armory, then that means someone could be planning a shooting.
"Sir, me and my cadets have not been into or even near the armory. We have been doing Adventure Training and drill for the past three days. We were going to go on the ranges today, but if you deem it unsafe, then just give me the word and i'll reschedule." Edward said, almost shrinking under the Captain's gaze.
"I know that, Staff. I've called you out here to ready your cadets for a company parade. It will take place in one hour. Everyone, get your cadets ready. Someone is going home with a black bag and cuffs on their wrists." After that, he huffed and went to get ready. The group just looked sort of dumbfounded at the situation.
Edward stormed into the mess hall, immediately getting everyone's attention. "Right... Someone in here has taken three loaded, live magazines... Whoever it was, go see Captain McCracken NOW!" He bellowed. No one stood up. There was over three hundred people in that hall, two hundred and eighty of which were not ones he was in charge of. "Well... Plans have changed. For everyone. There will be a company parade in one hour, the Captain wants to speak to you all. When you are finished here, go back to your billets, don't come out unless you have the permission of a senior NCO or adult. You's got all that?" A chorus of "Yes Staff" ensured their answer. "Good." he said bitterly.
After that commotion, he needed a lie-down. He headed back to his room, billet 79-left. As he got in, he sat on his bunk, took off his beret, and suddenly felt very drowsy, to the point where he fell asleep there.
He was dreaming. Nothing in particular, just a blurry white landscape almost like a snowy plain. It then hit him, there was a town below. He couldn't see it very well because it was too blurry, almost like when you resurface from under the water. He could definitely pick out the occasional building and even something moving, if he squinted hard enough. He couldn't make out anything past that, though. He seemed almost entranced by this, until:
You must... You are the only one... We are... Mortal... Danger
He awoke in a cold sweat, on his bed where he had fallen asleep. "It was... A... Dream?" He whispered to himself. "What was that voice? That whisper?" He asked himself, confused. Suddenly, he jolted, checking the time and seeing that it was 08:00, ten minutes before the parade. He sighed with relief, wiped the sweat out of his hair with the towel that was hanging off his bunk, put on his beret and walked out to join the parade.
"Sir." He said, saluting a passing officer. He stepped out on to the parade square and joined Sergeant Whitty at the front. "Whats been happening? Have the magazines been found yet?" He asked.
"No," She replied "The officers are going crazy over them, though; Its pandemonium down at the CTC. This is very troubling, we could have a crazed psycho with a rifle, just waiting for someone to push them too far and then..." She trailed off
"Bang..." He said quietly.
Just then, a group of about nine officers came down and took control of the parade, Walking up to the front and looking over the sorry excuse for cadets that stand at attention before them. Captain McCracken made his way to the front. With Staff Wynn, Sergeant Whitty and six others standing at the back, the Captain started speaking. "It has come to my attention that someone has taken three magazines, containing ninety live rounds from our armory. There has only been two platoons in there at this point in time. Can those people who have been on the range or in the armory please fall out and form a separate parade to the right of..."
Edward stopped listening at this point, more focused on the wispy figure floating to the left of the Captain that seemed to appear out of no where. No one else could see it.
"You... You're here... Come... You will... Come... And protect...... That is my... Will..."
This was the loudest he'd heard it... The whisper... At this point, it seemed like a shout. With that, the ground started to shake, like an earthquake. It was so violent, he was sure he was going to get ripped apart. The strangest thing is that no one else of the three hundred or more people reacted. It was like only he was affected. With that, the shaking stopped. The figure has a clear smirk on her face as the ground splintered and he was pulled under.
Author's Note
Hey guys, this is my first time writing a story on this site, so feel free to leave any constructive criticism and/or suggestions you may have!
(Don't worry, all this ACF jargon isn't important to the story and this is the most it will be used in one. I will provide translations.)
[Smock = Cadet coat]
[1-5 Star - Army Cadet ranking system. 1 star = lowest and least experienced, 5 star/master = highest and most experienced.]
[Parade square = main assembly and briefing point]
[Billet = sleeping quarters]
[NCO = Non Commissioned Officer - Lance Corporal to Sergeant Major]
[CTC = Combat Training Center (Sometimes used as a staff room for adults and instructors)]
A Whisper Upon the Midnight Wind
Author's Note
SR= Sister's Rule
Arrival
EQUUS THE FROZEN NORTH 23:00 690 CR
He was pulled under by an unknown force, now it feels like he is falling. He opened his eyes, only to quickly shut them. He WAS falling! He cracked an eye, seeing that he was far above the clouds he tried his hardest to keep calm. It didn't work. 'The Earth ate me and now I am getting dropped from space!?!' He thought.
He could do nothing but stay there, falling. If he opened his mouth, the air would be forced out of his lungs and he would suffocate, if he moved, he could risk putting himself in a rampant spin. He was helpless. He could do nothing but curl up into a ball and accept death. Bad move. At that exact moment, the air got much thicker and he hit it like a brick. Now he had several broken ribs and fingers: and to top it all off, the air around him started to combust and follow him in a trail like he was a meteorite. 'Great! Now i'm going to be floor mush in a crater!!!' He failed to realize that he himself was not on fire, nor even feeling any large heat. There was a sort of glowing bluey-white D20 esque shell around him with deep blue runes engraved upon it. He had some sort of magical protection that shielded him. Now he was careening towards the ground, lighting the night sky up like a Christmas tree. Lovely.
He was below the cloud layer at this point and falling quickly to the ground. Edward peeked out from his fetal position to gaze upon his final resting place. A town... Mountains... Cliffs... A... Town... 'THE IMPACT IS GOING TO KILL PEOPL-' CRASH, BOOM, BANG Blackness.
There was a 15 meter crater surrounding him and his magic protection ball as it slowly faded. The mud floor still smoldered in many places as he slowly and groggily opened his eyes with a groan He could make out rough shapes and murmuring before he blacked out once more.
Rainy Heights was a normal wind pony unicorn, she was taking a late night stroll when she came across a beautiful blue orchid sprouting out of the cracks between some rocks near the ledge of Cloudfall cliff, an equally beautiful location where you face out to a vast valley walled in by huge mountains. There is a crystal clear river cutting through the valley with a field of many flowers on one side and a beautiful grassy plain with cherry blossom trees on the other. The sun sets in front of you and illuminates the vast landscape with rays of orange and gold. The sight is truly breath taking. This is the place she one day wishes that she will meet the stallion of her dreams. This night however, has other plans.
That was when she heard it, when they all heard it. A sonic boom. An explosion as something enters the atmosphere, coming from miles away. It took Rainy by surprise as she squealed in fright and ducked for cover. What happened next was mesmerizing, yet blinding. A small object with a tail of red, orange and strangely enough, blue about a hundred meters long shot forth from the sky as it emblazoned its light upon Luna's black canvas, bathing the entire valley in light. It looked strange... Almost magical. It wasn't natural, that's for sure. As she made that observation, it appeared to change course, bending left... Towards the town... "Oh, no..." She said as the projectile flew about a kilometer over her head, smashing into the centre of town, not ten seconds later. "I HAVE TO GET BACK TO TOWN!" CRASH, BOOM, BANG
As Rainy Heights galloped back into the town, she could see already see the carnage. There was a fifteen meter crater smack dab in the centre of the settlement.
Ponies had congregated around it and were whispering things like
"What is it?",
"Is it alive?"
"By the Nine...".
As she trotted up, careful not to step on any smoldering ground, Waiting for the dust to settle, she finally got a clear view of what had landed. It was large, gangly and... Breathing... Ever so slightly but... Breathing. It had arms and legs, it looked like a Minotaur, but with much thinner limbs, no horns and no hooves. It had severe burns all across its body, probably from skidding so far into the ground. Two of its limbs were bent and twisted in unnatural ways, it was obvious even though she had no clue what it was. There was a pool of blood that it was lying in, getting supplied by hundreds of cuts, nicks, gashes and broken bones sticking out of its body. If no one helped it soon, it would surely die. Despite all of its injuries, though, It bared a striking resemblance to... Just then, the village priest trotted up to the crater.
"It is clear to me now, ye ponies of the wind tribe, that this fallen star, this meteorite, this... CREATURE has descended from the heavens as a gift to us from our god! FAIR MAIDEN AEROS HATH SENT US HER PROPHET, HER WARRIOR! I THANK THEE SWEET GODDESS!" The priest shouted, before going down into the crater, picking it up with his magic and taking it back to the church. The crowd sat there, stunned for a few minutes before rampant cheers erupted. It was happening. The prophecy is coming true! The Whisper of Aeros has come!
That night, plans were made to throw the biggest festival the small settlement of Stormwreath had ever seen. Huge bonfires were built, the halls were decked with decorations and statues of the goddess were created.
Edward awoke in a medium sized room with white walls, beds, floors and ceilings. There was a large red cross centre on the far wall. He was in a medical room. His entire body was wrapped in bandages and casts; he had broken almost every bone in his body, burned basically every inch of his skin. Whiplash was the biggest understatement you could even think at that moment. A small blanket covered his bottom half. He tried to move his legs to make sure they were still there, to no avail. He got extremely concerned when he realized that he couldn't move his body in any way.
"Calm yourself, sir. I have temporarily paralyzed you to speed up the healing process. It will ware off in a day or two..." A voice said. It's owner was out of his limited field of vision. "You did fall from the sky."
"Oh, yeah I di- Wait... How am I alive?" He said, startled at his realization.
The old pony walked into the man's field of view "I saved you, without my healing magic, you would be dead right now, and to lose such an important pon- sorry, person before even meeting them would be a... Sin, for lack of a better word."
Edward looked stunned. "Deep Inhale AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU? SOME KIND OF POINTY HEAD? POINTY HEAD HORSE? YOU ARE BLUE. WHAT KIND OF POINTY HORSE IS BLUE? AND YOU SPOKE! TALKY BLUEY POINTY HORSEY OH GOD, I'M GOING INSANE, AREN'T I?! OH MY GOD HHHHEEEELLLLLPPPPPP!!!"
"Sigh " Was the only response the pony could muster.
A Whisper Upon the Midnight Wind
It took ten minutes for him to stop screaming. "Done?" The bearded pony asked.
"Sigh . Yes... Yes, I think so... So, where am I anyway? I know i'm in a hospital but it doesn't seem like anywhere on Earth. The talking horses owe to that factor a great deal..."
"Earth?" He said, confused as to what he was talking about, waving it off in the end. "Well, you are in the Frost Hearth Valley, a plateau in the Drulyk mountain range, about three thousand four hundred sixty miles from the farthest northern tip of Equestria" He explained, trotting up to the IV drip that was feeding the biped sweet, sweet life juice and then replacing it.
"I... Uh... Excuse me? I'm not sure I know where you mean..." Edward said, completely lost.
"Oh, of course! You are from Stustaria, great land of the gods! Just know, guardian, you are in good hooves! And hopefully, so are we... Now, you need sleep . He said, casting a sleep spell on the already incapacitated human.
"I have no clue w- where... Those places...... A- Are..." He fell unconscious.
"By the way, we are not horses."
I sensed your presence here... Something is coming. Be ready.
He awoke once more jolting up in the process 'The whisper... It was crystal clear that time... It was... A warning?' He thought to himself, not realizing he had regained his free movement. He slowly looked down to his torso, then to his legs. "Oh... I can move... Lovely!" He said, swinging his legs off to the side of the bed, about to stand up. When he did, he realized that he had made a mistake, falling over and hitting his head off of a bedside cabinet. "Oww..." He whimpered. "Maybe I will just lie down for a bit..." He said, dragging himself up back onto the bed.
"Oh, whats this?" He said, looking to his left and seeing three books left by that old priest. They read: 'A Detailed Account of Pony History' and 'The Royal Atlas of Equus' . The final one was a tatty looking tome, it looked as if it had been passed down through at least a few generations. It read: 'The Wind Tribe - History, Traditions and Culture' . "Well... How convenient." He remarked. He had meant to ask about this world, but the circumstances forbade him to do so. He kinda just dealt with it; rolling with the punches, so to speak.
The Human took the first book off of the pile: 'A Detailed Account of Pony History' and turned the first page. The first thing he noticed was that the lettering was clean and clinical. This was clearly made on some kind of machine, perhaps a computer or printing press, he half expected it to be hand... Hoof written. He honestly didn't know why.
The book started with: 'In the beginning, there were three main pony tribes...'
3 hours of constant reading, and 162,000 words later...
'And then Princess Celestia used the Elements of Harmony to banish her sister to the moon. It has been six hundred and ninety years since then, there has been only three note worthy conflicts since then. A small border skirmish with the Changeling Mother Hives [SEE PAGE 429], a group of three sirens that attacked Canterlot [SEE PAGE 434], and a small pony town that wanted to leave the Royal Equestrian Empire [SEE PAGE 438]. All of these have been stopped, crushed under the immense power of the Princess's mighty hoof.'
Edward then proceeded to put down the book and try to archive all of the information he just took on board, closing his eyes and focusing on remembering what he had just read; even though it barely mentioned other tribes. It was all basically focused on this place called 'Equestria'. He thought it was a very silly name but, meh.
After he read the absolute slog that was a 600 page tome, he had a quick look over the atlas. There were 8 continents, the biggest labelled 'Zebrica' and the smallest labelled 'The Badlands'. Some others were 'Canine' (Wow, original), 'Boerus' and 'The Great Forest'. "Can you really name a continent 'The Great Forest'? Is it all forest? It says here that it has an area of 7.692 million km²... Wow... Eat your heart out, West Fraser Timber Co..."
Just then, the bearded 'Pony' as the book said barged through the door.
"Ah, I see you're awake. Good news, you are healed."
"U-Um... What?" Edward said, raising an eyebrow, in a skeptical voice.
"You heard me, now get up on your feet. You have a town tour to go on. You can finish your books later." He said enthusiastically.
"I'm not sure that's how it works..."
"Of course it is. Do you not believe me? I can show you if you want." The last part of that sentence seemed slightly ominous.
"Well... If you say so but I don't think this will go well..."
He then went to stand up, being extremely cautious not to fall over and thwack his head on a cabinet this time. When his feet hit the cold, hard floor, a shudder ran down his spine as if it were an Olympic track. He shifted his weight to stand up, only to feel his knees crumble beneath him. Suddenly, he just stopped. Somehow, he was being held in place by an intangible force. The 'Unicorn' was hoisting his limp body in the air like a rag doll. Edward tried not to think about it in such a grim way but something about the unicorn made that slightly difficult.
"Um... Thanks?" He said, baffled.
"Why can't I move properly? What was that, how did you just catch me in mid air without hands? Why was I floating? This entire situation is just a little hard to believe..." He said, voice shaking.
"Ah, I forgot to dispel the paralysis, its probably been weakening for a while now anyway. One moment."
And just like that, all restraint disappeared. He had free movement again. Too bad when he tried to get up again he couldn't get his legs to cooperate and his knees buckled underneath him; he fell into a cabinet. Again. "Well, fuck."
Author's Note
Is Pony capitalized because it is the name of the species, or what?
And are the types of Pony capitalized as well?
Don't forget to leave feedback, I always want to improve!
A Whisper Upon the Midnight Wind
After slowly standing up, finding his feet and wiping away the slowly dripping blood on his forehead, Edward stumbled behind the sagely unicorn who was leading him outside.
"So who are you, anyway? Why did you help me?
"My name is Brother Lawrence, I am a holy stallion at our very own church of Aeros. But you didn't need me to tell you that last part. At the moment, you are on the north outskirt of town. I originally took you to my church but when you didn't start regenerating your wounds, I took you to the hospital... Come to think about it, why didn't you regenerate? Also, where are your wings? There isn't even any stumps... Don't tell me you lost your amulet?"
"..." Edward raised an eyebrow
"What?" The unicorn asked
"A... Are you joking? What amulet? I've never owned an 'amulet' ... What's that about regeneration? And what WINGS? I'm just a normal human! Plus, I've never heard of this 'Aeros' you keep spouting about!" He asserted, starting thinking he is probably insane again.
"Well that was a rude outburst... I'll inquire no further, if that is my ladies will... It appears the damage is worse than previously thought..." The unicorn's right eye twitched slightly but Edward didn't notice.
A young pegasus nurse with a white coat, purple mane and glasses was sat at the main desk, looking over some patient's papers, completely oblivious to the two creatures in front of her "Ahem," The pegasus mare jumped in surprise, causing her papers to fly everywhere
"U-U-Umm.. H-Hello, Brother L-Lawrence" She said, shakily. she was clearly a timid one "I guess you would want to check out with mister..." She stopped speaking, wanting the human to tell her his name.
"Edward. Edward Wynn... Miss... Small horse..."
"Are you here to check out with mister Wynn?" She squeaked, shying away from his gaze
"That is correct. The healing magic has worked magically and he ready to be introduced to the outside world. It has been 3 weeks, after all." Lawrence said with a stern face.
"THREE WEEKS?!" Edward shouted.
"Was that a pun?" the nurse asked, genuinely surprised.
"Perhaps." He smirked.
"Right, well just sign here to show that you have left and require no further medical attention and we will be as right as rain!" The mare chirped, clearly the terrible joke had taken the tension from her mind.
With that, they signed the papers and walked off, rounding a corner and going out of the main exit.
The first thing he noticed was the cold. The bone chilling cold. That and the fact that there were no ponies on the streets... "I wonder where the rest of the population could be..." He didn't dwell on it long, though, as the tour of town commenced. It was a relatively small settlement, only 900 ponies or so but they were getting on with life. He figured out that this tribe is an offshoot of a larger one called 'the Tribe of the Elements'. It was also stressed that it is not the same as the Equestrian elements (whatever that means). They basically look like any other run of the mill horsey town with bakeries, parks, banks, farms -somehow-, houses and the lot of it. The only difference would be that the buildings are made out of ice and stone.
At this point they came up to Brother Lawwrences church. "This is our place of worship to your master, Aeros."
"You're delusional." Edward deadpanned, not willing to argue back.
"I'm sure you will want to see how we came to expect your presence here, no?"
"I suppose... It'll be a laugh. Okay, take me there."
"As you desire." The old priest said, bowing his head.
Edward was then brought into the church where the first thing he noticed was the extremely colourful pictures plastering the walls. He guessed it told some kind of story. He ran his eyes from what he thought is the beginning to the end, taking in as much as he could. "Well this is different." At that moment, something caught his eye. "Who is that?" He asked, pointing to the picture of a wispy figure on the wall. A wispy figure that looked the same as the one that catapulted him into the ground of 'Equus' as if it were some kind of enemy castle.
"Is this some kind of test? This is Aeros herself. In her truest form. Even the little fillies and colts know that." Brother Lawrence said, putting emphasis on the last word.
"This mural tells the story of the Whisper, a messenger of Aeros that comes as a protector of our people. It doesn't show what they would look like because they could come in any form. I can tell just by looking at you, though, that you are the they. Something with such a likeness to the holy body, whom also fell out of the sky in a flaming ball of light, just has to be."
"So... You think I am some sort of godly being?"
"Yes."
"And you think that I am here to protect your people?"
"Yes" He sounded a little more insistant
"Right, well, I see an issue with your reasoning right there"
"Don't spout such none sense! Now, Aeros hath bestowed upon the holy men of this church a legendary amulet, no doubt to give you your powers back. Come with me and it shall be done!"
At that point, Edward swung around on his heels and said "Well nope, that sound like some kind of cultist stuff right there." He was then caught by the old ponies magic and thrown down a set of stairs to the basement, somehow smacking his head on a cabinet that was down there.
"Fucking cabinets... What have they ever done for us?" He mumbled, still in pain.
"I was warned of this. You will try to resist, but rest assured, you will be back to normal in a jiffy!"
Edward tried to move, but he was being pinned by magic... Again... "Stupid magic pointy head, not letting me leave... I swear if he tries to make me drink the Koolaid, I will scream." He mumbled, face pinned against the floor.
