The Ceterian: Beginningsby CrystalSeekerChaptersPrologueChapter 1 - New ShoresChapter 2PrologueA young man, by the name of Erik Moore, sighs with a slightly heavy heart as he currently sat with his back against the wall out in the parking lot of the college he currently went to. He was an average man really, messy blonde hair, a five o'clock shadow, rather thick brows, an odd eye of one blue and one red, and he had a rather average build, with a little extra muscle as he preferred to work off the extra fat he got. With another heavy sigh, he pulls out an inhaler, and breaths some in before putting it away. Aside from needing to use that five times a day, he also had to take a few pills every morning and night so that he could go to sleep without hallucinations and hearing voices in his head. And on top of all this, he had just been rejected by the 56th girl to date. He couldn't help but feel that he has the worst luck in both life and with women, so much so that it's becoming a rather big pain in the rear. He enjoys playing the occasional game, like a board game or video games, and he also enjoyed eating mainly Chinese and Japanese foods, but his most favorite thing that he enjoys quite a bit is the theories that scientists come up with involving dimensions, space, and time itself. Shaking his head with a soft grumble, he gets to his feet, slinging a bag over his shoulder, another shake of the head, and begins walking, getting to the walkway as he walks across the bridge from the college to town. As he walked, he couldn't help but think of something, what would he do if he managed to get a date? He's never actually been on one, and never actually had anyone interested in him, even throughout his 21 years alive. It was rather embarrassing to admit it though, so he never actually told anyone... But he never said he dated anyone either, as he had been raised not to lie, even though he had reserves for when lying would be for the best, but given the life he lived? Nothing was worth lying that much about, so yeah... He blinks for a moment as he heard a vehicle speeding. Looking behind himself, he saw the car rushing at him, but given how fast it was going, he had little to no time to react before it hit him, knocking them both off the bridge before feeling himself get crushed between the car's hood and the highway below. ... Erik gasps loudly as he sits up, looking around rapidly as he attempts to find out where and what the hell had just happened. After a while, he slowly calms down as he places a hand against his head, before digging into his pocket and grabbing for the inhaler... However he couldn't find it. In a panic he began searching all over for it, soon discovering he was only wearing his white T-Shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers. Where the hell was his backpack?! He needed his medicine and inhaler for the worst case scenario! ...Wait, why wasn't it becoming harder to breath after that panic? He couldn't help but rub his throat in confusion, before seeing what appeared to be a bright light up ahead, which made him blink in confusion, before slowly getting to one knee, and using his hand to try and block out the blinding brightness of the light. The last thing he needed right now was to go blind. With a grumble, he gets to his feet and starts walking towards the light, all the while mumbling to himself. "Not like I will end up dying again by following a light, but wouldn't that be a pain? Dying again and finding yourself in nothingness upon your second death?" Shaking his head in an annoyed mood, he continues to follow the light, before soon he felt himself fall off a ledge, and suddenly saw the clouds and air rushing past him as he headed straight for what appeared to be an ocean below. "HOLY SHIT!" He covers his face with his arms as he soon enough splashes into the ocean water, and began to flail his arms until he had decent control of himself, and swam up to the surface of the water. Once he makes it up there, he takes a big gasp of air and coughs out some of the salty water as he looked around, trying to figure out where the ever loving hell he was. However, he's soon greeted to a life preserver landing in the water by him as what appeared to be a ship was passing by, and a figure had tossed the preserver to him. Grabbing a hold of it, Erik holds on as the figure pulls him up onto the ship, and he collapses onto his back, coughing out more water as he wipes a bit of the water off his face. Sitting up and shaking his head, he looks up, only to see a sword aimed right at his face, and a rather intimidating... Pony? Aiming it at him with it's teeth as... It's wings were folded. Erik raises his hands defensively as he spoke. "Whoa! First you save me and now you're going to skewer me alive?! The hell?!" The pony blinks at him, but keeps the cautious look as it sheaths the blade under it's wing, then... Speaks, sounding a bit female really. "Can't be too careful with the waters being how they are this far north." "...You just talked..." "Yeah, and so did you, deal with it shite-for-brains." "...Shite?" "Yeah, what of it?" "...Are you British?" "British? No, I'm Germane." "...Germane? You mean German?" "No, I mean Germane, I'm not a bloody human, now am I?" "...Fair point." Erik folds his hands on his lap. "So... I just went through a thorough mindfuck, and I don't know jack or his brother shit about any of this." "Let me guess, you're what those Ceterians call a 'Realm-Jumper' then?" "A what now?" "A being that appears from other points of reality." "..." Erik had great interest in the fact that she mentioned a dimensional theory, but repressed it so not to get his rear handed to him. "Okay, so... You are?" "Crimson Flare, everypony calls me Clare." "Good to know." Erik gets to his feet, and offers a hand. "Erik Moore." "Ugh, human names, I'll call you Ere." "...Uh... Okay?" Erik slowly nods as he looks behind her, and sees that not a single soul was on the ship. "...You the only one on this ship?" "Yeah." "...How are you controlling it then?" "Ah, that's one of my inventions." She motions Erik to follow as she heads up the wooden stairs nearby. "Suddenly we're friendly?" Erik asks as he follows. "Want me to throw you overboard instead?" "No, I'm good." "Then don't ask stupid questions." Erik grumbles as the two make it to the wheel, and Erik sees that instead of the wheel, there was an entire computer system that connected to the ship. "This is what I like to call the Automatic Ship Controller. See, it's like a normal ship's auto-pilot, but with a more sophisticated system that controls even the sails and whatever else needed to move the ship. The hull itself is wooden, but everything else, even the ship's armor, is completely metal." "Where in the hell did you get the metal to design this?" "My family is rich back home, and while they're not supportive, they're still willing to pay for my inventions and such." "Let me guess, it gets them more money once you make the blueprints..." "Bingo, they're a group of greedy moneybloods." "...Odd name." "What, like I can say wanker and sod off with as much ease as a human? Please." "...Right..." Erik shakes his head at the confusing mare as he looks ahead. "Where are we going exactly?" "Germane, I'm heading there with the supplies on the ship so I can start working on my latest invention." "Which is...?" "An automatic, double cylinder revolver." "...How in the hell would that work?" "It's still in the trial stages, so it doesn't yet." She admits. "I managed to make it able to hold more rounds, at least two more, but that's not enough. Ponies want the power of a 45-70 Revolver with the clip of a Shepard .45." "I see..." Erik rubs his chin at this, before looking out to the ocean. "You mentioned something about it being dangerous out here?" "Aye, there are factions beyond the borders of pony territory, which lead to the treaty between all pony factions in an attempt to prepare for the coming war. Not all of the factions are hostile, but we're safer being prepared and all." "Makes sense I suppose..." Erik sits down on the floor of the ship as he watched the waves passing by, before looking at his hand, stopping for a moment when he discovered a single black mark on the palm of his hand. He couldn't help but blink in confusion as he examined it. What was it, and what is it's purpose exactly? "Oi!" Erik looks at the mare. "What?" "We got a couple ships ahead, they look to be UNSC." "UNSC? You mean the United Nations Space Command from halo?" "They're from something in your world?" She blinks, before shaking her head. "Nevermind. Yes, that's them, and they're not as friendly as most other factions... We'd best lay low." "How would we do that exactly?" "Simple, go around them, give them a wide birth and all that. Better than-Oh buck!" She makes the ship turn away from the two ahead as another pair of ships come into view, opening fire on the UNSC ships. These ships seemed to have the symbol of a two headed bear on it, reading on the bottom the 'New California Republic'. "What the hell?! Fallout AND Halo?! And they're attacking each other?!" "Just assume all those factions from games and shows you've seen are here and also assume they're all at war for something, and the war is getting closer and closer to the pony borders!" She gallops down into the lower decks, while Erik saw the cannons on the main deck loading up. If she's preparing for battle, then they must not be friendly, which means... Erik immediately runs down into the lower decks after Clare, and takes up one of the rooms. Once in said room, he sits down on the cot and rubs his head for a moment, before blinking as he saw the marking glowing a bright aqua blue, before slowly turning back to a black color, as there was a second part of the marking on the back of his hand now. "The hell?" With a disgruntled sigh, he lays down on the bed and begins muttering to himself about this being a dream and he'll wake up sooner or later. ...To Be Continued... Chapter 1 - New ShoresThe first thing Erik noticed upon waking up was a heavy blow to the gut from a hoof, making him let out a puff of air as he falls out of the bed, gasping for breath as the mare he met earlier yelled out. "Get outta bed ya damned lazy human shite!" Erik sits up, rubbing his stomach in pain as he grumbles out. "Good morning to you too, Clare..." "Oh don't be polite, we're not friends." She trots in front of him. "Ye just happened to be saved by a mare who enjoys having others owing her favors." "Great... So what do you want?" Erik asks as he examines her. He didn't notice it before, but her coat was a soft light brown, with a crimson red mane, a flaring red and yellow tail, and a pair of bright blue irises as she also had adorable freckles on her... Surprisingly attractive face... Wait... What? "Ah, glad ya asked." She trots to the side and pushes a bucket to him. "Start cleaning the top deck, an' make sure to make that metal shine." "...You're a damned trafficker..." "Want to say that again, Blondie?" Deciding not to get skewered alive, he shakes his head. "No, ma'am. I'm good." "Good, now get to work!" Erik grunts as he gets to his feet, picks up the bucket, and gets to work. The cleaning of the top deck takes a little over an hour, and he was currently scrubbing some rust off of the metal when he took notice of land nearby, making him mutter silently to himself. "Land... Maybe there's some information there as to what happened to me earlier..." Suddenly he gets a whack over the head by Clare. "No nodding off!" Erik rubs his head in annoyance. "You abuse all the people who help you?" "Mainly humans." She trots over to the railing. "It's nothing personal towards you, I just don't like the idea of humans taking over the pony homeland, and with the war consisting mostly of humans..." "I see... I guess I can see your dislike of humans in general with that kind of stuff going on." "Aye. I guess I could cut you some slack, but I'll be keeping an eye on you." "Fair enough, so long as I actually get a chance, then I'm good." She gives a simple nod as she trots back to the computer at the main helm, while Erik simply continue washing the deck. ... Erik wipes his brow as the ship docks at the bay of a rather sophisticated, European-like town consisted of mainly ponies, all wearing different types of barding or armor. Taking this into note, Erik decides he'd rather stick to the ship while Clare did whatever it was she needed to do. However he's suddenly greeted to Clare grabbing his hand and dragging him off the ship and into town. How in the hell did she manage to grasp his hand? Shaking his head, Erik awkwardly followed after her, not exactly enjoying the cautious stares from the pony populace as the two head into a large looking house. Upon entering Erik stared at the impressively decorated interior of the building as Clare leads him into a nearby room, and motions to it. "This here will be your room." ...What... "Um... I'm staying with you?" "Of course you are! We need you to be ready at all times, and what better place than here in the building? I'll get you your meals, and you'll help keep the house clean alongside helping me test my inventions." "What kind of inventions?" "Depends on what I'm working on, dumb shite." She trots to the door. "Now, I got work to do, so make sure to stick around the room here for now." "Great..." Erik collapses into the bed as Clare leaves. Sighing softly, he checks his pockets to see if he had anything, and discovers that he at least had his smartphone. Checking it by turning it on, he gives out a defeated sigh when it reveals that the water had short-circuited the screen, but at least the phone itself was alright... Now he just had to get a new screen... But how? In this world? Damn... Rolling onto his stomach, Erik rested his head for a while, tired and unsure what to do at all. He wants to enjoy being alive, but how the hell does he do so with stuff he knows nothing about? Heck, did they even have games here? Grunting in annoyance, Erik sits up as he begins looking around the room for anything to do. Sadly there was very little, however he does find a few blank books, ink, and quills. So old fashion, but regardless, he grabs a book, and the writing supplies as he opens it up, and begins writing, mainly a journal about what happened so far and how he currently felt. Once he managed to write enough down, he looks at the door for a moment, before looking some more, and soon found a chess board with pieces. He will have to play it against himself, but it's better this than nothing. After about three hours, Clare barges in, making Erik jolt as he drops the chess piece he had, looking at the mare as he asks with a awkward look. "Can't you knock?!" "Takes too long." Clare waves the request by as she grabs his shirt. "I need your help testing my latest prototype!" "...Eh?" ... Erik blinks as he carried a double barrel shotgun with a massive load of custom weapon modifications added to the design, blinking a couple times as he stared at it, before looking at the mare. "What am I supposed to do with this again?" "Shoot the target, duh!" "Right..." Erik aims the shotgun at the nearby target, and pulls the trigger. The shotgun had an immense kick that threw Erik onto the ground and hit his head against the floor with a loud thud, while the target itself was electrified and disintegrated beyond recognition. Groaning, Erik sits up while rubbing his head as he looked at the mare. "You're an insane mare!" "Maybe, but we gotta be prepared for defense, right?!" She shouts back at him, before looking to the side. "Besides, the shotgun was a success, if a bit stronger than anticipated. I'll need to tone down the overall power it produces." "Yeah, no kidding." Erik sits up as he rubs his head some more. "God, that hurt." "Oh don't be such a cat, you did fine, and we got the results we needed. Now I need you to head back to your room until further notice." "Great!" Erik yelled in annoyance as he gets up and goes back to his room, and gets some much needed sleep. ... Among the ocean, outside of the Germane Shores, a single frigate roamed across the waters as a single woman with a telescope eyes the land beyond with a cautious look, before lowering the telescope to reveal a pair of black eyes with brightly glowing orange irises, long white hair, a tattoo along her right eye, and was currently wearing a heavy suit of Imperial Rubedite armor. Looking over at the other soldiers, she barks out. "Prepare for landing!" She looks at the shores. "It's time we start our work." ...To Be Continued... Chapter 2Erik jolts awake upon the sound of the door slamming open, placing a hand to his chest as Clare steps in with the same motions she used last time. "Got another invention for you to test!" "Oh god damn it..." Erik puts his face in his hands as he couldn't help but feel misery, before getting yanked up and dragged to the 'lab' as he called it. Upon entering, Clare nods to the simple suit resting on the table. "...Bullet proof armor?" "Energy proof, but yeah." "..." Erik raises his arms defensively. "I deny this attempt!" Clare's jaw drops. "You can't deny it! You are my assistant and you Have to!" "Denied!" "No, you can't do the deny! Just put it on!" "Nien!" "Don't you dare use the germane language here!" Before the two could continue with the argument, however, there was the sound of a loud explosion outside. "What the...?" Erik looks up while Clare immediately grabs that shotgun from last time. "Wait, is the town under attack?" "No shite Sherlock, you heard the explosion, didn't you?!" "Right, dumb question." Erik grabs the revolver lying on the table, and grunts when he discovers it was the double cylinder revolver Clare mentioned way earlier. With a slight mumble, he loads up both cylinders regardless, and follows Clare up to the street, before stopping as they see the pony populace that didn't have combat experience fleeing, while a group of individuals in ESO Imperial Armor stormed through the streets carrying swords, shields, and what looked to be crossbows. "Oh for buck's sake!" Clare aims the shotgun and unloads a round, which quite literally tore through the chest of two of them and disintegrated the third one. "Ya like that ya bloody shites?!" Erik grunts as he raised the revolver and tried firing, earning a painful kick that forced him to bend his arm to repress the kick while watching a soldier's entire torso explode from the shot. "...WHAT THE HELL KIND OF SHIT IS IN YOUR GUNPOWDER?!" Erik yelled as he looked at Clare. "Oh, you know, gunpowder, a small bit of C4, and some other useful explosives..." "...YOU'RE INSANE!" "I know, and I am proud of it!" She charges with her shotgun. "Oh for the love of..." Erik runs after her since she's the only one who's been friendly to him so far. Soon the two make it to the main street after taking out some other soldiers, and soon discovered the leader of the current invading forces, who was guarded by two large soldiers in armor that looked far tougher than the other's. "Ah, looks like we got a couple tough ones, and it seems one is a human too." Erik grunts as he grips the revolver, but blinks when the female leader gently pushes the guards out of her way and steps up to him, offering a hand as he stares in shock at her glowing orange eyes. "High Commanding General of the Imperial Legion, Lilith Monroe." Erik stares for a moment, before looking at Clare. "What..." "She's a Succubus, but she smells like a hybrid, be careful, not many are trustworthy..." "Come now, your people first assume I'm here to fight, and now you're saying we're not trustworthy when we are simply defending ourselves?" Clare blinks, and eyes the ship, before getting a blank expression. "What?" Erik looks at her. "There aren't any cannons on her ship... She's telling the truth... Bloody hell you paranoid bucks..." Erik turns to the succubus, and gives an awkward look. "Well, I'm not exactly on any side right now..." "Really?" Lilith rubs her chin, god damn she was hot... "Well, I have nothing against the ponies here, and if you're telling the truth, then you're not exactly on our to do list..." Erik gives an awkward chuckle, while Clare had a deep frown towards the Succubus. "While he's not on anyponies side, I'd appreciate it if you didn't force him into a side." "Oh of course not, dear mare." She places a hand on her chin. "That said, if you're ever in the need for some information..." She says with a slight bit of passion. "Don't hesitate to ask~" Erik blinks as Clare's jaw drops at Lilith. "Have you no shame, Imperial?!" Clare yelled. "Oh of course I do, but it's not every day you come across a human that stands out from the crowd..." She says smoothly. "There's an odd sense about him... Something that tells me he'd be of great importance in the future... Of course after he got the training and experience of course." Erik gives a defeated look at he felt like an arrow was shot at him. "Talk about harsh..." "You see that as harsh?" Lilith tilts her head, before shrugging. "Oh well." She turns to the ship. "We are simply an envoy ship regardless, so we'll be here for a while if you decide you need information, or of course want to join the fight for control." Erik's eyes narrow cautiously. "Control of what?" "Why, the pony homeland of course, if you hadn't noticed, all of the factions are getting ready for war over the land, as it's strategically in the center of the entire war, and has an immense amount of resources that would be of great benefit to any side. Not to mention the magic itself around here is unique to the magical presence anywhere else in the factions." She waves her hand in a 'Ta-Ta' manner as she heads for the ship, causing Clare to grit her teeth in anger. Erik, on the other hand, was unsure what to feel, as it is hard to tell what a succubus is really after if all those stories and games about them are true, so what the hell did this one here want? Then again, he's not likely to figure out today, so with a weary sigh, he starts walking back to the house. "H-Hey! Wait for me ya shite!" Clare runs after him as she yelled that out, annoyed he was leaving her behind like that. As for the Succubus, she watched the two go as she folds her arms, giving a slight grin. "Quite the interesting one... Is he the one we want?" The guard next to her shrugs. "I do not know, ma'am. He's... Different, but I wouldn't go so far as to assume right off the bat he's the target." "Fair enough, you never know of those religious people are ever right or not." She turns. "Keep an eye on him, though, just in case. Last thing we need is to get on the bad side of one we'd want on our side." "You're assuming again." "If he's not, then we'll simply leave him be, meaning it's no loss on our end." "Very well, ma'am." ...To Be Continued...
PrologueA young man, by the name of Erik Moore, sighs with a slightly heavy heart as he currently sat with his back against the wall out in the parking lot of the college he currently went to. He was an average man really, messy blonde hair, a five o'clock shadow, rather thick brows, an odd eye of one blue and one red, and he had a rather average build, with a little extra muscle as he preferred to work off the extra fat he got. With another heavy sigh, he pulls out an inhaler, and breaths some in before putting it away. Aside from needing to use that five times a day, he also had to take a few pills every morning and night so that he could go to sleep without hallucinations and hearing voices in his head. And on top of all this, he had just been rejected by the 56th girl to date. He couldn't help but feel that he has the worst luck in both life and with women, so much so that it's becoming a rather big pain in the rear. He enjoys playing the occasional game, like a board game or video games, and he also enjoyed eating mainly Chinese and Japanese foods, but his most favorite thing that he enjoys quite a bit is the theories that scientists come up with involving dimensions, space, and time itself. Shaking his head with a soft grumble, he gets to his feet, slinging a bag over his shoulder, another shake of the head, and begins walking, getting to the walkway as he walks across the bridge from the college to town. As he walked, he couldn't help but think of something, what would he do if he managed to get a date? He's never actually been on one, and never actually had anyone interested in him, even throughout his 21 years alive. It was rather embarrassing to admit it though, so he never actually told anyone... But he never said he dated anyone either, as he had been raised not to lie, even though he had reserves for when lying would be for the best, but given the life he lived? Nothing was worth lying that much about, so yeah... He blinks for a moment as he heard a vehicle speeding. Looking behind himself, he saw the car rushing at him, but given how fast it was going, he had little to no time to react before it hit him, knocking them both off the bridge before feeling himself get crushed between the car's hood and the highway below. ... Erik gasps loudly as he sits up, looking around rapidly as he attempts to find out where and what the hell had just happened. After a while, he slowly calms down as he places a hand against his head, before digging into his pocket and grabbing for the inhaler... However he couldn't find it. In a panic he began searching all over for it, soon discovering he was only wearing his white T-Shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers. Where the hell was his backpack?! He needed his medicine and inhaler for the worst case scenario! ...Wait, why wasn't it becoming harder to breath after that panic? He couldn't help but rub his throat in confusion, before seeing what appeared to be a bright light up ahead, which made him blink in confusion, before slowly getting to one knee, and using his hand to try and block out the blinding brightness of the light. The last thing he needed right now was to go blind. With a grumble, he gets to his feet and starts walking towards the light, all the while mumbling to himself. "Not like I will end up dying again by following a light, but wouldn't that be a pain? Dying again and finding yourself in nothingness upon your second death?" Shaking his head in an annoyed mood, he continues to follow the light, before soon he felt himself fall off a ledge, and suddenly saw the clouds and air rushing past him as he headed straight for what appeared to be an ocean below. "HOLY SHIT!" He covers his face with his arms as he soon enough splashes into the ocean water, and began to flail his arms until he had decent control of himself, and swam up to the surface of the water. Once he makes it up there, he takes a big gasp of air and coughs out some of the salty water as he looked around, trying to figure out where the ever loving hell he was. However, he's soon greeted to a life preserver landing in the water by him as what appeared to be a ship was passing by, and a figure had tossed the preserver to him. Grabbing a hold of it, Erik holds on as the figure pulls him up onto the ship, and he collapses onto his back, coughing out more water as he wipes a bit of the water off his face. Sitting up and shaking his head, he looks up, only to see a sword aimed right at his face, and a rather intimidating... Pony? Aiming it at him with it's teeth as... It's wings were folded. Erik raises his hands defensively as he spoke. "Whoa! First you save me and now you're going to skewer me alive?! The hell?!" The pony blinks at him, but keeps the cautious look as it sheaths the blade under it's wing, then... Speaks, sounding a bit female really. "Can't be too careful with the waters being how they are this far north." "...You just talked..." "Yeah, and so did you, deal with it shite-for-brains." "...Shite?" "Yeah, what of it?" "...Are you British?" "British? No, I'm Germane." "...Germane? You mean German?" "No, I mean Germane, I'm not a bloody human, now am I?" "...Fair point." Erik folds his hands on his lap. "So... I just went through a thorough mindfuck, and I don't know jack or his brother shit about any of this." "Let me guess, you're what those Ceterians call a 'Realm-Jumper' then?" "A what now?" "A being that appears from other points of reality." "..." Erik had great interest in the fact that she mentioned a dimensional theory, but repressed it so not to get his rear handed to him. "Okay, so... You are?" "Crimson Flare, everypony calls me Clare." "Good to know." Erik gets to his feet, and offers a hand. "Erik Moore." "Ugh, human names, I'll call you Ere." "...Uh... Okay?" Erik slowly nods as he looks behind her, and sees that not a single soul was on the ship. "...You the only one on this ship?" "Yeah." "...How are you controlling it then?" "Ah, that's one of my inventions." She motions Erik to follow as she heads up the wooden stairs nearby. "Suddenly we're friendly?" Erik asks as he follows. "Want me to throw you overboard instead?" "No, I'm good." "Then don't ask stupid questions." Erik grumbles as the two make it to the wheel, and Erik sees that instead of the wheel, there was an entire computer system that connected to the ship. "This is what I like to call the Automatic Ship Controller. See, it's like a normal ship's auto-pilot, but with a more sophisticated system that controls even the sails and whatever else needed to move the ship. The hull itself is wooden, but everything else, even the ship's armor, is completely metal." "Where in the hell did you get the metal to design this?" "My family is rich back home, and while they're not supportive, they're still willing to pay for my inventions and such." "Let me guess, it gets them more money once you make the blueprints..." "Bingo, they're a group of greedy moneybloods." "...Odd name." "What, like I can say wanker and sod off with as much ease as a human? Please." "...Right..." Erik shakes his head at the confusing mare as he looks ahead. "Where are we going exactly?" "Germane, I'm heading there with the supplies on the ship so I can start working on my latest invention." "Which is...?" "An automatic, double cylinder revolver." "...How in the hell would that work?" "It's still in the trial stages, so it doesn't yet." She admits. "I managed to make it able to hold more rounds, at least two more, but that's not enough. Ponies want the power of a 45-70 Revolver with the clip of a Shepard .45." "I see..." Erik rubs his chin at this, before looking out to the ocean. "You mentioned something about it being dangerous out here?" "Aye, there are factions beyond the borders of pony territory, which lead to the treaty between all pony factions in an attempt to prepare for the coming war. Not all of the factions are hostile, but we're safer being prepared and all." "Makes sense I suppose..." Erik sits down on the floor of the ship as he watched the waves passing by, before looking at his hand, stopping for a moment when he discovered a single black mark on the palm of his hand. He couldn't help but blink in confusion as he examined it. What was it, and what is it's purpose exactly? "Oi!" Erik looks at the mare. "What?" "We got a couple ships ahead, they look to be UNSC." "UNSC? You mean the United Nations Space Command from halo?" "They're from something in your world?" She blinks, before shaking her head. "Nevermind. Yes, that's them, and they're not as friendly as most other factions... We'd best lay low." "How would we do that exactly?" "Simple, go around them, give them a wide birth and all that. Better than-Oh buck!" She makes the ship turn away from the two ahead as another pair of ships come into view, opening fire on the UNSC ships. These ships seemed to have the symbol of a two headed bear on it, reading on the bottom the 'New California Republic'. "What the hell?! Fallout AND Halo?! And they're attacking each other?!" "Just assume all those factions from games and shows you've seen are here and also assume they're all at war for something, and the war is getting closer and closer to the pony borders!" She gallops down into the lower decks, while Erik saw the cannons on the main deck loading up. If she's preparing for battle, then they must not be friendly, which means... Erik immediately runs down into the lower decks after Clare, and takes up one of the rooms. Once in said room, he sits down on the cot and rubs his head for a moment, before blinking as he saw the marking glowing a bright aqua blue, before slowly turning back to a black color, as there was a second part of the marking on the back of his hand now. "The hell?" With a disgruntled sigh, he lays down on the bed and begins muttering to himself about this being a dream and he'll wake up sooner or later. ...To Be Continued...
Chapter 1 - New ShoresThe first thing Erik noticed upon waking up was a heavy blow to the gut from a hoof, making him let out a puff of air as he falls out of the bed, gasping for breath as the mare he met earlier yelled out. "Get outta bed ya damned lazy human shite!" Erik sits up, rubbing his stomach in pain as he grumbles out. "Good morning to you too, Clare..." "Oh don't be polite, we're not friends." She trots in front of him. "Ye just happened to be saved by a mare who enjoys having others owing her favors." "Great... So what do you want?" Erik asks as he examines her. He didn't notice it before, but her coat was a soft light brown, with a crimson red mane, a flaring red and yellow tail, and a pair of bright blue irises as she also had adorable freckles on her... Surprisingly attractive face... Wait... What? "Ah, glad ya asked." She trots to the side and pushes a bucket to him. "Start cleaning the top deck, an' make sure to make that metal shine." "...You're a damned trafficker..." "Want to say that again, Blondie?" Deciding not to get skewered alive, he shakes his head. "No, ma'am. I'm good." "Good, now get to work!" Erik grunts as he gets to his feet, picks up the bucket, and gets to work. The cleaning of the top deck takes a little over an hour, and he was currently scrubbing some rust off of the metal when he took notice of land nearby, making him mutter silently to himself. "Land... Maybe there's some information there as to what happened to me earlier..." Suddenly he gets a whack over the head by Clare. "No nodding off!" Erik rubs his head in annoyance. "You abuse all the people who help you?" "Mainly humans." She trots over to the railing. "It's nothing personal towards you, I just don't like the idea of humans taking over the pony homeland, and with the war consisting mostly of humans..." "I see... I guess I can see your dislike of humans in general with that kind of stuff going on." "Aye. I guess I could cut you some slack, but I'll be keeping an eye on you." "Fair enough, so long as I actually get a chance, then I'm good." She gives a simple nod as she trots back to the computer at the main helm, while Erik simply continue washing the deck. ... Erik wipes his brow as the ship docks at the bay of a rather sophisticated, European-like town consisted of mainly ponies, all wearing different types of barding or armor. Taking this into note, Erik decides he'd rather stick to the ship while Clare did whatever it was she needed to do. However he's suddenly greeted to Clare grabbing his hand and dragging him off the ship and into town. How in the hell did she manage to grasp his hand? Shaking his head, Erik awkwardly followed after her, not exactly enjoying the cautious stares from the pony populace as the two head into a large looking house. Upon entering Erik stared at the impressively decorated interior of the building as Clare leads him into a nearby room, and motions to it. "This here will be your room." ...What... "Um... I'm staying with you?" "Of course you are! We need you to be ready at all times, and what better place than here in the building? I'll get you your meals, and you'll help keep the house clean alongside helping me test my inventions." "What kind of inventions?" "Depends on what I'm working on, dumb shite." She trots to the door. "Now, I got work to do, so make sure to stick around the room here for now." "Great..." Erik collapses into the bed as Clare leaves. Sighing softly, he checks his pockets to see if he had anything, and discovers that he at least had his smartphone. Checking it by turning it on, he gives out a defeated sigh when it reveals that the water had short-circuited the screen, but at least the phone itself was alright... Now he just had to get a new screen... But how? In this world? Damn... Rolling onto his stomach, Erik rested his head for a while, tired and unsure what to do at all. He wants to enjoy being alive, but how the hell does he do so with stuff he knows nothing about? Heck, did they even have games here? Grunting in annoyance, Erik sits up as he begins looking around the room for anything to do. Sadly there was very little, however he does find a few blank books, ink, and quills. So old fashion, but regardless, he grabs a book, and the writing supplies as he opens it up, and begins writing, mainly a journal about what happened so far and how he currently felt. Once he managed to write enough down, he looks at the door for a moment, before looking some more, and soon found a chess board with pieces. He will have to play it against himself, but it's better this than nothing. After about three hours, Clare barges in, making Erik jolt as he drops the chess piece he had, looking at the mare as he asks with a awkward look. "Can't you knock?!" "Takes too long." Clare waves the request by as she grabs his shirt. "I need your help testing my latest prototype!" "...Eh?" ... Erik blinks as he carried a double barrel shotgun with a massive load of custom weapon modifications added to the design, blinking a couple times as he stared at it, before looking at the mare. "What am I supposed to do with this again?" "Shoot the target, duh!" "Right..." Erik aims the shotgun at the nearby target, and pulls the trigger. The shotgun had an immense kick that threw Erik onto the ground and hit his head against the floor with a loud thud, while the target itself was electrified and disintegrated beyond recognition. Groaning, Erik sits up while rubbing his head as he looked at the mare. "You're an insane mare!" "Maybe, but we gotta be prepared for defense, right?!" She shouts back at him, before looking to the side. "Besides, the shotgun was a success, if a bit stronger than anticipated. I'll need to tone down the overall power it produces." "Yeah, no kidding." Erik sits up as he rubs his head some more. "God, that hurt." "Oh don't be such a cat, you did fine, and we got the results we needed. Now I need you to head back to your room until further notice." "Great!" Erik yelled in annoyance as he gets up and goes back to his room, and gets some much needed sleep. ... Among the ocean, outside of the Germane Shores, a single frigate roamed across the waters as a single woman with a telescope eyes the land beyond with a cautious look, before lowering the telescope to reveal a pair of black eyes with brightly glowing orange irises, long white hair, a tattoo along her right eye, and was currently wearing a heavy suit of Imperial Rubedite armor. Looking over at the other soldiers, she barks out. "Prepare for landing!" She looks at the shores. "It's time we start our work." ...To Be Continued...
Chapter 2Erik jolts awake upon the sound of the door slamming open, placing a hand to his chest as Clare steps in with the same motions she used last time. "Got another invention for you to test!" "Oh god damn it..." Erik puts his face in his hands as he couldn't help but feel misery, before getting yanked up and dragged to the 'lab' as he called it. Upon entering, Clare nods to the simple suit resting on the table. "...Bullet proof armor?" "Energy proof, but yeah." "..." Erik raises his arms defensively. "I deny this attempt!" Clare's jaw drops. "You can't deny it! You are my assistant and you Have to!" "Denied!" "No, you can't do the deny! Just put it on!" "Nien!" "Don't you dare use the germane language here!" Before the two could continue with the argument, however, there was the sound of a loud explosion outside. "What the...?" Erik looks up while Clare immediately grabs that shotgun from last time. "Wait, is the town under attack?" "No shite Sherlock, you heard the explosion, didn't you?!" "Right, dumb question." Erik grabs the revolver lying on the table, and grunts when he discovers it was the double cylinder revolver Clare mentioned way earlier. With a slight mumble, he loads up both cylinders regardless, and follows Clare up to the street, before stopping as they see the pony populace that didn't have combat experience fleeing, while a group of individuals in ESO Imperial Armor stormed through the streets carrying swords, shields, and what looked to be crossbows. "Oh for buck's sake!" Clare aims the shotgun and unloads a round, which quite literally tore through the chest of two of them and disintegrated the third one. "Ya like that ya bloody shites?!" Erik grunts as he raised the revolver and tried firing, earning a painful kick that forced him to bend his arm to repress the kick while watching a soldier's entire torso explode from the shot. "...WHAT THE HELL KIND OF SHIT IS IN YOUR GUNPOWDER?!" Erik yelled as he looked at Clare. "Oh, you know, gunpowder, a small bit of C4, and some other useful explosives..." "...YOU'RE INSANE!" "I know, and I am proud of it!" She charges with her shotgun. "Oh for the love of..." Erik runs after her since she's the only one who's been friendly to him so far. Soon the two make it to the main street after taking out some other soldiers, and soon discovered the leader of the current invading forces, who was guarded by two large soldiers in armor that looked far tougher than the other's. "Ah, looks like we got a couple tough ones, and it seems one is a human too." Erik grunts as he grips the revolver, but blinks when the female leader gently pushes the guards out of her way and steps up to him, offering a hand as he stares in shock at her glowing orange eyes. "High Commanding General of the Imperial Legion, Lilith Monroe." Erik stares for a moment, before looking at Clare. "What..." "She's a Succubus, but she smells like a hybrid, be careful, not many are trustworthy..." "Come now, your people first assume I'm here to fight, and now you're saying we're not trustworthy when we are simply defending ourselves?" Clare blinks, and eyes the ship, before getting a blank expression. "What?" Erik looks at her. "There aren't any cannons on her ship... She's telling the truth... Bloody hell you paranoid bucks..." Erik turns to the succubus, and gives an awkward look. "Well, I'm not exactly on any side right now..." "Really?" Lilith rubs her chin, god damn she was hot... "Well, I have nothing against the ponies here, and if you're telling the truth, then you're not exactly on our to do list..." Erik gives an awkward chuckle, while Clare had a deep frown towards the Succubus. "While he's not on anyponies side, I'd appreciate it if you didn't force him into a side." "Oh of course not, dear mare." She places a hand on her chin. "That said, if you're ever in the need for some information..." She says with a slight bit of passion. "Don't hesitate to ask~" Erik blinks as Clare's jaw drops at Lilith. "Have you no shame, Imperial?!" Clare yelled. "Oh of course I do, but it's not every day you come across a human that stands out from the crowd..." She says smoothly. "There's an odd sense about him... Something that tells me he'd be of great importance in the future... Of course after he got the training and experience of course." Erik gives a defeated look at he felt like an arrow was shot at him. "Talk about harsh..." "You see that as harsh?" Lilith tilts her head, before shrugging. "Oh well." She turns to the ship. "We are simply an envoy ship regardless, so we'll be here for a while if you decide you need information, or of course want to join the fight for control." Erik's eyes narrow cautiously. "Control of what?" "Why, the pony homeland of course, if you hadn't noticed, all of the factions are getting ready for war over the land, as it's strategically in the center of the entire war, and has an immense amount of resources that would be of great benefit to any side. Not to mention the magic itself around here is unique to the magical presence anywhere else in the factions." She waves her hand in a 'Ta-Ta' manner as she heads for the ship, causing Clare to grit her teeth in anger. Erik, on the other hand, was unsure what to feel, as it is hard to tell what a succubus is really after if all those stories and games about them are true, so what the hell did this one here want? Then again, he's not likely to figure out today, so with a weary sigh, he starts walking back to the house. "H-Hey! Wait for me ya shite!" Clare runs after him as she yelled that out, annoyed he was leaving her behind like that. As for the Succubus, she watched the two go as she folds her arms, giving a slight grin. "Quite the interesting one... Is he the one we want?" The guard next to her shrugs. "I do not know, ma'am. He's... Different, but I wouldn't go so far as to assume right off the bat he's the target." "Fair enough, you never know of those religious people are ever right or not." She turns. "Keep an eye on him, though, just in case. Last thing we need is to get on the bad side of one we'd want on our side." "You're assuming again." "If he's not, then we'll simply leave him be, meaning it's no loss on our end." "Very well, ma'am." ...To Be Continued...
