The Adventures of Zann: Zann in Equestria

by ZannTheSword

Rating: teen
Tags: Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Human, Nightmare Moon, Original Character, Spike, Other, Adventure, Crossover
Length: 5289

Zann finds himself in a post apocalyptic ponyverse finding inspiration for his new novel

In an alternate timeline placed 7 years after the Nightmare Moon incident. Twilight was never sent on a quest to stop Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon never finding opposition found a binding spell to capture Discord himself, and takes over ponyville, neigh the world. Zann follows Lieutenant Spike during his adventure through the world trying to find the elements of harmony to release Discord and stop Nightmare Moon.

Published 2012-09-05 16:24:02 UTC
Last updated 2012-09-18 09:56:43 UTC

Prologue: Departure

The Adventures of Zann: Zann in Equestria

Written by Branden W. Vanscoy A.K.A Zann

If you want to get straight to the story then you can skip this paragraph :P. First I would like to thank nsko/hlissner for making the Equestria and beyond map (at least I assume they made it). The map really helped my endeavors. Second this is not only a fanfic of MLP but also of Haven Rebirth(I know I’m writing a fanfic of my own story OMG, but I used to do it all the time, and have no problem with it and you shouldn’t either. Not the first Zann adventure and not going to be the last, ENJOY!)

Prologue: Departure

Zann stared into the dark clouds hovering overhead sniffing the smell of rain that already drenched the air. He smiled, closing his eyes and enjoying the lavish scent. The fields around him were empty except for the random dispersal of lemon trees and blueberry bushes. The hilltop on which he stood looked over them all and allowed him to enjoy the setting sun. He had not been on this world for more than a month, but was ready to leave; but before he would, he had to soak everything in just as he did on every world. Zann never knew what the next world would be like, and that’s the way he preferred it to be. Someone he loved had once told him, “It’s the little surprises that make life worth living.”, and well, young though he may look, he had been living for quite some time, and those little things were what kept him moving in the morning. He had had many surprises both big and small, but he didn’t know that a colorful one waited for him just around the corner. He had knowledge of many things, could speak over 700 languages, and spoke each with such charisma and grace that most were convinced he was a saint. All the knowledge and charm Zann had though could not have prepared him for the next world he would encounter. Equestria was its name and a young world it was. Equestria, a curious name nonetheless but I digress, the truth is it is a mere copy of its original world, different in many ways. The Haven Gate had made copies of the worlds on several occasions, most of which were merely alternate timelines of the world. This copy was different; it stood among a fallen kingdom with six heroes in hiding. They wait for a hope that may never come. The hellish fiend that had taken over most of their world left the heroes running in every direction; none of which knew that they would one day save their world. Zann did not know their names, their origins, or even watch the fictionalized version of their original world called “My Little Pony” that ran on the little planet called earth. Once again, I have spoken too much; this is not a story about those heroes, but the story of the man, or pony that united them all.

Zann had soaked in this world and would now never forget his time on this planet, the people he helped, and the friends he made along the way. He was sure one day they would forget him, just as he assumed everyone one day would forget him. In his home universe his name was on the tongue of every boy and girl, but he didn’t like to make huge impacts on the worlds he visited. He did not understand how wonderfully unforgettable he was to everyone he had met. The man Daodrith would attest for that, but he is a story for another day. Zann watched as the sun finally sank beneath the horizon, and the glow of the Haven Gate began to shine, below his feet deep underground was where the light sprang forth, a light only Zann could see. The Scar on his face glowed with the same incandescent blue as he sank below the earth into the cavern that housed the gate. When the world is ready to use the gate the cavern would open, but for now only he could use the gate. The Gate was magnanimous as always, with magic symbols coming in and out of sight throughout the cavern. He approached the gate letting it swing open like friends that were welcoming him into their home.

The gate whispered into Zann’s mind,” Welcome back Zann, your time here was short. Are you sure you have finished with this world?” As always the voice of the gate was the same as his brother Kai, who died long ago after creating the gate. Zann liked to imagine it was his brother from time to time. Though the gate had Kai’s mind and sharp wit, it was still basically a giant computer and would never have the soul his brother had. The voice made him remember his family, which he liked. That in turn reminded Zann of his friends who although inmortal like himself, have all changed from who they used to be. He missed the world he used to be a part of, but that world like this one, was no longer for him.

“Yes, it is time to move on my friend.” Zann smiled a toothy grin and touched the handle of the gate as if he was shaking an old friend’s hand. He walked through the already opened gate into the white room, whose doors were never the same, but the north door was always... home. Zann stared at the door with the title HAVEN for a few moments believing that one quick peek through the door would be enough, but he would be wrong. If Zann looked through that door, he would have to stay, he longed to stay, or even to roll the door, which changed the time he would arrive, to when he was young. He couldn’t, he made a promise, and a promise must always be kept. Zann looked around for another door, and one stood out. The door was made of clouds and had rainbows coloring it in random places. Zann found it adorable ofcourse and looked for the title. It had none, no title, no description, nothing. Zann thought to himself that maybe the door itself was the title, maybe… Cloudsdale? The only thing to do would be go through it and ofcourse hope that it’s not rapid cannibal land, because that would be ironic. The door would be locked if Zann tried to open it, but Zann knew better.

He placed his palm on the door and the voice spoke to Zann once again, ”This door leads to somewhere you have not been to Zann. Are you sure you want to go?” The white room around him had all but vanished as the clouds and rainbows leapt off the door and surrounded him. Zann had always loved the sky, and flying was no new thing for him, but it was still disorienting to be standing in the air without any effort.

“Yes my friend, as long as it is okay with you.” Zann did not know why, but he would always tear up during this part although his smile never faded. He wiped the tear away and closed his eyes to the beautiful sky around him that would only fuel those same tears.

“Anything you decide Zann. I am not your master, I tell you this often, but you never listen.” Zann could almost hear the non-existent chuckle of the gate, and imagined his brother crossing his arms shaking his head with a smile.

“We are equals, are we not? I merely value your opinion”, Zann laughed in turn reopening his eyes. The door was now further away than before. Zann sometimes thought the gate did not want him to leave.

“Then go through you old fool”, Then Zann knew the gate had to be smiling, for his brother used to say the same to him, and always smiled when doing so. Zann walked to the door as the clouds spun beautifully around him. The door slowly opened as he approached.

Zann stopped at the door holding its handle, ”Goodbye my friend, if this is the last I see you, know that you will always be in my heart.” Zann felt the door silently shudder.

“Goodbye Zann…” Zann walked through the door disappearing in a bright light. “Goodbye my brother…” the Gate whispered to no one

Chapter 1: Arrival in Equestria

Chapter 1: Arrival

The sun was rising over mountains to the west. Light glimmered off dew that would show shivering rainbows on the leaves and grass. Most of the sky was still dark, and an overcast of dark clouds drifted lazily in the sky. Zann awoke lying on wet grass but it was hard to tell, He felt… different than usual. His bright blue bangs still hung over one eye, his smile was still beaming, and he could feel the weight of his necklace on his chest, but something felt… different. Then he suddenly realized he was naked, he leapt off the ground reaching for leaves or something to cover his Wang-dang-doodle then saw something most curious. He no longer had hands; in his hands place were hoof like things. He quickly looked around and upon seeing a small pond, quickly making a break for it. He flew towards it in a flash and hovered generously above the pond. His eyes now seeing a sight even more curious than before, he was a horse, more or less. He had wings that he wouldn’t need, and on his forehead was a smooth spot where a horn might have been at one point in time. Does this make him a Pegasus, or a Unicorn, he wasn’t quite sure. This was the first time he had transformed against his will, and he equally unsure about as to why this would happen. At least he wasn’t going to have to look for food, as a horse he could just eat the apples off the trees. The need for a shelter on the other hand was fast approaching, it would soon rain and he would have to pull in wood to keep dry. He had been building shelters for so long that his new form would do nothing to hinder him. He remembered when his father teaching him how, and the frustration his father would have when Zann didn’t get it right on the first try. His brother Kai was the gifted one, he finished things instantly, but Kai never had the pressure that Zann had.

The odd thing was he could still grab things with his new hooves. Just like a hand he could feel his invisible fingers grabbing the wood. The sensation was even odder; it was much like how Zann imagined it would feel for Styrofoam to touch Styrofoam. The little squeak of it always sent a shiver down his spine, and made his lips tighten. He worked through the feeling, weaving branch over branch creating a five foot by five foot slab which will be a piece of roof. He wasn’t quite as tall and didn’t need as much for a shelter which a definite advantage for his new form. The sun had finally passed over the mountains in full yet the sky did not brighten any further, and the clouds in fact had gotten gloomier than before. He could feel the rain welling up, and preparing for the fall. He liked the rain, he liked storms, but even he could get sick if he stayed out in one for too long without warmth.

Zann found a rock face with a jutting overhang to which he secured his easily made roof, and attached logs to the piece to turn it into a latch, which could double as a door. Less than an hour, he noted was about how long it took to make this shelter. The dark clouds continued to creep by and a trickle began to fall. He had gathered all of the wood he would need a few moments before the trickle and smiled in succession leaning back onto the cold rock, and enjoying the sound rain. He was comfortable and this was one of his favorite parts of traveling. The quiet rustle of trees as the wind blew, the tapping of rain, and the relaxation that so rarely comes to him. This time he had all three and even the cold of the stone pressing against his back did nothing to change his sunny disposition. Sadly the clouds were still on the move, and the sun began to hide behind the dark puffs and was no longer warming his face. Shadows quickly spread over the forest and Zann began to compile his fire. He placed the pieces in a rock shallow where the rain wasn’t trying to pelt, and he began to stare at the pieces. One deep breath then two, he placed his hooves over the wood and closed his eyes. Another deep breath and his new hooves began to warm and a fire had sprung from the wood. He had a gift with most things, including little tricks like these. He wasn’t always this way. He had trouble with every power he gained, but he knew he had time to master anything he wished. He loved the elements of nature, which loved him back most of the time. He rolled his hoof around in the flames feeling its warmth yet it never burned, not once. He let out a sigh of happiness and leaned back against the wall again, reaching into his mind to pull a bag out of the air. The bag ofcourse had its usual contents, two notebooks and spare clothing that he did not think he would need. There were other things in the bag such as an old book with the letter’s R. A. blazed on the cover, and a silver ring with an engraving that read, “My Love”. Something was missing from the bag, the Infinity Orb, and a letter with Kai’s handwriting sitting in its place.

“Dear Zann,
You will not be able to exchange your powers in this world, so I took the liberty of relieving you of an unwanted weight.

Yours Sincerely, The Haven Gate”

Zann sighed once more, this time in disdain for the gate. The gate always liked to make things a little harder for him; he only wished that the gate would at least warn him first. He had four powers equipped plus the immortal fists techniques, but he hated not having a wide variety and literally having a bag of tricks. He shrugged it off and reached out for the note book. He opened it to page one and he began to write, the start was always the hardest part. He wrote about turning into a horse and quickly found himself with nothing else to write. He reached for the other notebook and sketched his surroundings. He took his time letting every stroke be meaningful and capturing the grace of the silver lined mountains. The tree’s were always a little difficult for him, putting in little details even in this dark lighting was a challenge. He erased the base of a tree to do it over again when he saw that it was different. He stared at the change for a while before he realized what it was. A Dragon holding a bleeding horse being followed by a wolf, and they were heading in his direction.

Note: the infinity orb can hold an infinite amount of powers but a single person can only be equipped with 3-4 powers at once. There have only been 2 infinity orbs in existence, and the other is broken.
Note 2: I also haven't fully decided on what powers Zann will have in this story, Flight of course, and i think im going to go with his usual other 3 (Hell aura, Beautiful world aura, and Telekinesis)
Note 3: i'll put anything that was established in a previous Zann Adventure in the notes, sadly most of my previous ones were destroyed because my older computer no longer exists, thanks for reading chapter 1, please comment, thumbs up thumbs down if you didnt like it (if you dont like it i REALLY WANT A COMMENT as to why so i can do better in later chapters), ect.

Chapter 2: A Dragon Named Spike

Chapter 2: A Dragon Named Spike

Chapter 2
A Dragon Named Spike

Written by Branden W. Vanscoy A.K.A Zann

Zann never allowed himself to be off guard, but there is rarely a moment where a person shouldn’t be afraid of a blood drenched dragon. He felt his heart leap out of his chest in brief anxiety. The last dragon he’d fought nearly ripped his arm off with a darn sneeze. He immediately shot off the ground forgetting that the rock face was above him and slammed his head extremely hard. After putting on a brave face for a tearful moment he felt the lump grow on his head. “AHHHHHH!” He exclaimed with a sudden burst of passion with his knee’s buckling and his arms reaching up to rub his imaginary fingers on the lump. He had forgotten about the approaching dragon, and was now rolling around on the ground in sheer agony.

“H-help”, the dragon’s whispering voice could barely be heard over Zann’s childish cries of pain, but help is a word he does not ignore. He looked up at the incoming dragon and saw that most of the blood wasn’t the horses. They were drenched in the gooey substance despite the rain. The blood was hours old and would need to be treated right away. He reached into his bag of tricks forgetting that he did not have his infinity orb and could not switch one of his abilities to a healing ability. The dragon gingerly laid the horse down on the cold stone nearest to the fire, and with buckling knee’s stood up straight.”You’re an alicorn? N-nhg”, he reached up to his head where most of the blood must have been coming from and cringed,” Whatever side you’re on heal him or deal with me.” The young dragons glare and flat tone would have been enough to make anyone other than Zann fearful.

“Want him gift wrapped afterward?” Zann chuckled but the dragon’s glare was very intense and stopped him in his tracks. “I can try, but I don’t have my healing powers on me so I’ll have to whip up a solvent to stop the bleeding.

“What kind of alicorn just loses his magic?” the dragon’s right knee buckled and the wolf ran over and stabilized it. Zann had never seen a wolf and dragon ever be friendly to each other before. He pressed on his beautiful world talent to make plants grow around them and picked the ones he needed. The dragon if not for his injuries might have leapt in surprise at the sight of the plants.

“What kind of dragon is a friend to horses and wolves? I don’t even know what an alicorn is anyway.” He crushed the plants into a stone dip near him into a fine powder, maintaining eye contact with the dragon at all times.

“I’m the kind of dragon… I see your point though.” He finally fell backwards to the ground breathing heavy semi using the wolf as a pillow. “How do you not know what you are and that he’s a pony not a horse, a Pegasus specifically. “ He tried to lift himself back up to no avail. Zann began to mix in rain water to the powder making a paste like substance.

“Here take this” Zann threw the paste at the dragon who caught it with extreme duress. “Put it on your cuts so you don’t die of blood loss.”

“I told you to heal him not me!” The dragon gritted his teeth with a painful sound.

“As far as I can see your friends going to be fine, he’s just knocked out you’re the one who’s almost dead.” Zann began to whip up more while watching the dragon intently. “Now put it on, doctor’s orders I’m making more as it is he’ll be fine.” The dragon without hesitation slapped the salve on his friend’s wounds, aching and shaking all the while.

“Every second counts doctor…” He leaned back on the grass letting the rain pour down on him. Zann let him break one of his rules and used his beautiful world talent to grow trees nearby that covered the camp so that rain wouldn’t fall on the dragon.

“My name is Zann, what is yours” he threw the mixture at the dragon allowing it to land on his chest. He rubbed it into his wounds eagerly.

“Wow this actually feels really good, umm Zann, and I feel so much better already. The name is Spike, the Pegasus is Bolt, and the wolf is Johnny it’s nice to meet you.” Spike rolled over to Zann letting him shake hoof to claw joyfully.

“I wonder if this change in attitude is a side effect of the mix” They both laughed. “It’s nice to meet you too Spike. If I may ask, how did you boys get so roughed up, was it a bad boy’s night out?” Zann chuckled but spike did not.

“You really are clueless aren’t you? First you don’t know what you are and now you don’t know about the war.”

“I’m not from around here” Zann’s smile was simple and elegant, and begged Spike to tell him a story.

“Not from around here, huh? Well considering here is this entire planet I’ll just have to think you’re some kind of alien or something.” Spike snickered

“Or something”, Zann crossed his hind legs and clasped his hooves together in anticipation.

“I suppose I’ll just have to indulge you since your helping me aren’t I?” Spike pushed himself against a tree.

“Oh yes very much so”

“Straight forward, yet mocking” Spike smiled shaking his head back and forth, “I like that. An alicorn is what you are, a very powerful pony with both a horn albeit yours is shaved down and with those big wings you have. What makes alicorns great, I have no foggy clue, but they are darn strong.”

“Sounds like me” They both chuckled once again.

“You’re nothing like the princess though. Celestia rest her soul, was the most powerful one I knew until…” Spike’s hand began to shake before he clenched it tight against his chest. “The Nightmare Moon came to be on a dark night seven years ago, she was left unchecked and gained the power of discord through some sort of binding spell. Not very many people know the details, but she used her new power to turn Celestia’s student against her. There was only the sound of Celestia’s surprised scream, and then… she was just gone…”

“Don’t blame yourself Spike, I’m sure you did all that you could.” Zann reached out and touched his arm, with his ever so comforting gaze bearing done upon him.

“H-how did you… I was there and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. Nobody but me and Johnny knew about that.” The fire crackled in the sudden silence, after a few moments Spike continued. “I’m sorry I get really depressed when talking about this sort of thing. I used to be like you just all smiles and laughs, but things happen in life that you can’t change… no matter how hard you try.”

“So this war has been going on for seven years and your one of the good guys, what’s your plan to end it?” Zann’s brow arched up in question.

“No plans, just survive for as long as possible, and hope that someone out there finds a way to stop a rampaging alicorn.” Spike closed his eyes.

“That’s no way to win a war, you have to fight hard and find it out for yourself, I can help you”

“I hope you can Zann, but it’s just hard for me to see a happy future here since they took what’s most precious to me. They took my Rarity”

Chapter 3: A Different Kind of Darkness

Chapter 3 A Different Kind of Darkness

Written by Branden W. Vanscoy

On top of a hill not too far away lay a familiar darkness. His head was pounding from traveling through the gate. The tranquility of the rain soothed his ache as he stared directly up allowing the droplets to bounce from his face. He could feel that his shape had changed. That feeling was no stranger to the darkness, but there was another magic he could feel alongside it. He was too tired to think about it at the moment so he just pulled what were now claws behind his head and enjoyed the rain. The wind howled around him and he began to smile, “I can hear you Zann!” he began to laugh loudly.

“That must be Spike! Send in the Nightmares!” An ostentatious voice shouted from behind trees at the bottom of the small hill. The darkness was immediately annoyed, rolled his eyes and began to stand as silhouettes of what appeared to be mythical horses began to surround him. Normally he was quite fond of creatures based in shadow, but he hated annoyances with far more passion. He raised his arms to the sky and the clouds began to swirl in an elegant circle. A silhouette leapt forward and was met with a glare from the darkness and was disintegrated into a fine powder. If the other silhouettes had facial expressions he imagined they would have been worried. Another one leapt toward him and was engulfed by a wall of clouds that then began to sweep the others away as well. He yawned hoping that was the end of the annoyances when a portly pony with an image of scissors on his hind quarters burst from behind a bush. The poor pony’s face was then stricken with terror as he looked upon the darkness and screamed, ”Discord!” as he did another lanky pony with an image of a snail on his flank crashed out of the bush slamming into the first.

“What!?” yelled the second pony becoming stricken with the same fear as the first. “Y-you’re supposed to be in Canterlot!” both of the ponies began to tremble in fear at the mere sight of the darkness. “We didn’t know it was you s-sir or we would not of sent in the Nightmares to get you, I-I swear”

“What those silly silhouettes, no need to worry little ones. I sent them away with the flick of my wrist, no harm, no foul.” The darkness said trying to give a false sense of calm.

“R-really? What a relief”, the little one said with his fear going away to quickly, whoever they were mistaking the darkness for, they seemed to trust his words. He beckoned the little ponies to come closer, as well they did. He slowly put his mouth near their ears as they leaned in close to listen.

“I’m going to murder you.” Both of the ponies immediately turned white. He laughed grabbing the ponies and flying high into the sky. He could hear their screams clashing with the howling of the wind as he dragged them upwards. He stopped high up and began hovering between the clouds in his recently cleared sky laughing at the poor ponies as they held on for dear life. It reminded him of a terrified cat clawing at his arm to stay above the ground. They were both speaking so quick and apologetic that he couldn’t hear anything but mumble mumble I’m sorry mumble. He sat on the air and stared at them for a while laughing at their reactions and waiting for silence. When they finally began to quiet down he said, “I was only joking guys, no need to fear me.”

“Really”, the lanky one said.

“Nope still gonna murder you” He dropped them both giggling in joy at their surprised faces. He loved to toy with others emotions. He watched them fall, their eyes bulged and they grabbed for each other. For all they knew it was their last moment on this world. A stream of yellow liquid flew from one in a seemingly straight line upward. The two continued screaming until the yellow liquid caught up to the one that left it behind in a splash. They were so scared they hadn’t realized that he had caught them. “It seems you have made a bit of a mess on yourself, tsk tsk shame on you.” He put them down on the ground watching their knees wobble back in forth. “I find you both entertaining be thankful for that.”

“T-thank you sir?” Said the portly one immediately flinching at the prospect of him being sent into orbit out of sheer joy for the darkness.

“This Discord fellow these fools mistake me for may be a good disguise for this world; I should thank them when this is over. For now though its best I let them believe I’m who they think I am.” Discord said with a particularly proud grin.

“What?” said the portly one.

“What?” said Discord.

“What?” said the lanky one.

“How DARE you listen to my words! I will MURDER you!” Discord said lifting them both up once again.

“I AM SERIOUSLY CONFUSED RIGHT NOW!” They both screamed.

Zann had lied to the now asleep dragon named Spike. The wounds on Bolt were more severe than he had led on. A nights rest wouldn’t be enough for the young pegasus, but Zann had years of medical expertise to rely on. He tended to the bruises and cuts that a normal eye would not have seen. One of the pony’s legs were broken, he splinted it and mended the bone with accuracy not many would ever be able to see even a surgeon do. He wrapped the forearm in a sling and tied it around the pony when he woke up he would be sore, but he would be alive that’s for sure. If they hadn’t of stumbled upon him, they both might have died. The entire time the wolf Johnny watched with sorrow filled eyes as his friends were mended, not daring to fall asleep out of fear he might not see them again. Zann motioned for the wolf to come toward him. The wolf tried to stand but limped and fell. The limp wasn’t there earlier when the wolf had helped Spike stand, or perhaps he had pushed himself so that his friend would not have to. Zann walked to him instead, he looked him over and found several cuts on the wolf but nothing was wrong with him. He reached behind the wolf’s ear and scratched with his imaginary fingers. Johnny whimpered, but began to wag his tail back and forth. “Good boy…” Zann whispered. Instead of becoming calm the wolf jumped up, the limp was once again gone and he stared off toward a clearing in the clouds that wasn’t there a moment ago. “What do you hear boy?” The wolf didn’t respond to Zann. He merely stared off in the direction for a few minutes then allowed himself to sit back down. He stared back up at Zann almost begging for his ear to be petted once more. He obliged the wolf, but stared off into the same direction and felt something familiar towards it.
“A different kind of darkness looms below the clouds”, he remembered the voice of an old friend speaking to him, and Zann then knew why it had felt familiar.
“Daodrith…”