When Legends Rise

“Uh...are we interrupting something?” I called, taking off my mask (probably best to not seem like a threat to them). This startled the four alicorns, and as one their head whipped up and around to look at me. Almost immediately the dark blue alicorn narrowed her eyes and frowned.

“What is your business here, creature?” she demanded. At this Autumn stepped up to them and saluted.

“You’re highnesses” she said, proceeding to rattle off an impromptu report “I am Lieutenant Autumn Skies of the Ponyville garrison. I found this creature, who claims to be a “human”, on the outskirts of Ponyville and initially apprehended him believing him to be a potential threat, however upon interrogation he claims to have woken up in the Everfree Forest with no recollection of having arrived there in the first place, and that he has no personal memories from his time before arriving in the Forest, not even his own name. But he definitely does not recall the armour you see him wearing from before he woke up. From his distress when explaining this to me, I have no reason to suspect that he has any sinister intentions, and that he may be the victim of some sort of magical mishap” at this the dark blue Alicorn walked up to me and began to walk around me, looking me up and down.

“A most interesting, if unfortunate, story indeed” she said “but I’m afraid we have more pressing matters at hoof, as you both have probably just heard”

“Yes, Princess Luna” Autumn Skies said “I will be willing to serve you in any way that will help further your plan” the dark blue Alicorn, Princess Luna, now stopped in front of me and studied my face. I couldn’t help but feel somewhat intimidated by her gaze, her eyes bore a fierce intelligence and seemed impossibly old, I also got the feeling that she was fully prepared to splatter me across the marble floor should she feel the need.

“And what of you, “Human”?” she asked.

“I’m...undecided” I said “forgive me for being frank, your majesty, but a lot of what you and the white Alicorn up there have said seems...outlandish” at this the white Alicorn stepped up.

“Outlandish how?” she asked, just like Luna her eyes were impossibly old and held an incredible amount of intelligence behind them, however unlike Luna she didn’t feel intimidating, rather she had an almost motherly kindness to her eyes. She wasn’t offended by my statement, more curious.

“Well…” I began, choosing my words carefully “although my memories are lacking, I know that where I come from, magic isn’t...well, it isn’t a thing. At least, it’s not real outside of the realms of fantasy, and what is real that we call magic is more sleight of hand & illusion, tricks of the eye, that sort of thing. Personally, I’m a man of science, I prefer to believe in that which my kind has proven”

“Then allow me to prove it to you” the white alicorn said with a soft, amused smile on her face, approaching me and carefully tipping her horn to my forehead. The moment it contacted my skin my vision when blank and I felt a powerful presence enter my mind.

I suddenly found myself in a black void, I was stood, yet I felt no ground below my feet, I felt no up, no down, I simply...was.

Suddenly the white alicorn appeared in front of me, with a presence akin to a mountain accompanying her, with the arrival of that presence I felt a name seep into my mind…

Celestia

“Wha...where are we?” I asked. Looking around.

“My apologies” she said, giving me a kind smile “We’re in a mental melding, with the time we have available it’s the fasted method to ascertain as to your nature. What would take minutes face to face will take mere seconds to those in the room, it will appear as if I’ve touched my horn to your forehead for a moment before lifting it away again”

“You’re in my head?” I asked, feeling confusion, uncertainty, and no small amount of mistrust, creep into my mind. I felt different emotions float into my mind, reasurace, kindness, and...patience. They were hers

“I promise you, I will not go digging where I’m not wanted” she said. “I’m simply here to find out whether your intentions are honest, and maybe even do something about your memories” I then felt something force its way into the deeper parts of my mind and at this moment images began to flash up all around us. Images of my home world, its civilisation, information about its history.

“Fascinating…you’re of a species called...Homo Sapiens, descended from primates. You’re also the only known kind to attain higher intelligence in your own realm” Celestia said, looking around “You kind has a level of technological advancement far beyond anything I’ve seen. You have a worldwide information network, allowing instant communication throughout the world, such vision, such industriousness rivals that of even the minotaurs...but your kind is also so...violent…more so than the griffons or the dragons...”

As she said this, scenes of war began flashing through my mind, old footage reels, news reports. Celestia’s ears pinned back and she had a shocked look on her face.

“It’s not an aspect of my species that I would willingly share” I said, looking shamefaced “But, yes, it’s true, my kind isn’t the most peaceful” the images began shifting away from darker topics, showing the word at large, images of its continents, its environment.

“Well at least that answers the question of where you come from” she said, before adding “...in a manner of speaking”

“I’m assuming not this world?” I asked.

“Terra isn’t nearly as mapped out as your own realm” she said “but had we existed on the same planet, your kind and that of the surrounding lands of my realm would have encountered each other long ago”

“What about my own memories?” I asked “Do you think you can try to find them” Celestia’s face grew serious and she appeared to focus. Non-specific images disappeared altogether, what resurfaced was blurred...distorted, to the point where I couldn’t even make anything out. Celestia looked around in amazement

“That’s just…” she began “But that’s just impossible, no known memory spell would do that”

“What do you mean?” I asked

“The sapient mind is a very complex thing, but oh so easy to break if tamped with without thought” she explained “even through thousands of years of mind related magical study we’ve only just scratched the surface of what is possible. Normally a memory spell locks the memories down completely, as if locked away in a closet. but someone has gone through every one of your memories, isolated those specific to your own identity, and left all the rest. It’s flawless in its application.”

“But can you do anything about it?” I asked. Celestia gave a sigh and flashed an apologetic smile.

“I’m afraid not” she said “The mind is a very fickle thing. I fear that even with my magical skill, I could do more harm than good in attempting to unlock your memories”

I let out a sigh and rubbed the back of my head, trying not to let my disappointment show.

“It was a long shot anyway” I said, before gesturing to the mindscape around ut “Alright, finish this...whatever it is, I’d much rather have my mind to itself”

“As you wish” she said with a nod “though this time I warn you, the kickback from a mind meld an be quite..jarring for those that haven’t experienced it before” I mentally steadied myself and nodded, but no amount of preparation could prepare me for what I experienced once she exited my mind. I felt like someone had taken a whip to my brain and I physically recoiled with a cry, dropping my mask with a clang in the process as I clutched my head.

“Oh my goodness, I am so sorry!” I heard someone exclaim as I fell to my knees and I felt a warm and comforting force support me as I tried to fight through the splitting headache I was now feeling. For a moment I couldn’t even speak as I clutched my head, but eventually it faded and I found myself relaxing and began panting, my heart racing. After a moment I heard a soft shimmering sound and looked up to see a glass of water floating in front of my eyes, suspended in a golden aura, the same aura which now surrounded Celestia’s horn

“What...in the hell was that?” I asked, tacking the glass of water and proceeding to down it.

“I did warn you that the first time can be a bit rough” she said.

“Rough?” I asked “forgive my lack of decorum, your highness, but it felt like someone took a fucking sledgehammer to my head” Celestia jerked her head back and wrinkled her nose at that.

“Must you use such vulgar language?” Luna asked.

“We can get to bollocking me for swearing later” I said, placing the glass down and standing up, while still massaging my aching head “Last I checked there was some supposedly evil soul stealing tyrant headed this way. And weren’t you in the middle of some kind of plan to pull a switcheroo on him?”

“Magic-stealing” Luna corrected, rolling her eyes “but we take your point” and with that, they both turned and made their way back over to the two other Alicorns. Whilst they talked Autumn walked over to me.

“So...what even was that?” Autumn asked “from what I saw Celestia touched her horn to your head for a second then you suddenly cried out in pain and fell to the floor”

“She did something she called a mind meld?” I said “I don’t know, she read my mind or something”

“That sounds like a Mind Meld to me” she said “Really advanced stuff, but still relatively well known by those that possess magic”

“And what about you?” I asked.”can you...do magic?”

“Magic is what allows me to fly and manipulate the weather” she explained “But I can’t use magic directly like a Unicorn or Alicorn can”

“Manipulate the weather?” I asked “Alright, flying I can get, given your wing to body mass ratio is way off, but I’m totally calling bullshit on weather manipulation”

“Well, once we make it out of this, I’ll be more than happy to show you” her face changed to a troubled expression as she glanced at the princesses, who seemed to have moved into a triad around the Purple Alicorn “Assuming we do make it out of this”

“Oh god, don’t go giving me doubts now!” I exclaimed “I’m already bricking it at the thought of having to guard royalty from a mad titan knowing that we may very well loose. That we will probably lose!” at that moment my attention was diverted by a giant ball of light above the four alicorns growing large enough to fill nearly the entire throne room before channeling itself into the purple alicorn in the center, making her levitate and emite her own halo of light as the three alicorns surrounding her collapsed from apparent exhaustion.

For a moment the purple alicorn was suspended in thin air, about 6 foot off the ground, twitching with sparks of electricity shooting across her body. Slowly she began to descend to the floor and stumbled upon making contact as the glow which surrounded her receded. Almost immediately she ran over to Celestia and they embraced. I decided now was the time to intervene.

“Not that this isn’t touching” I said, walking over “but if you want to avoid Tirek, then you might want to get the hell out of here now”

“The stranger is right” Luna said, sounding exhausted “you must leave with all haste. We will provide a distraction, and with these newcomers here it will help to keep up appearances that we are the ones he wants” the Purple Alicorn nodded, before disappearing with a flash and a crack. Once she was gone Celestia turned to me.

“Still skeptical of our magic?” she asked, a faint smirk gracing her features.

“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.” I quoted. “Now, let’s try and come up with some sort of plan to make this titan-thing think you still have your magic”

The next day, after some weird light show with the sun and moon, myself and Autumn were stood at the ready, we began to feel the ground pounding with heavy footsteps.

“Well, can’t say this was how I pictured biting the dust” I said, holding my sword at the ready, whilst Autumn was reared up on her hind legs wielding a pike “but there’s certainly less honorable ways to bow out”

“You’re not inspiring much confidence as to your bravery in all of this” Autumn said, rolling her eyes.

“Who said I was being brave?” I asked “I’ve never fought for something in my entire life, I’m shitting myself right now. But, I figure I wasn’t given this armour and sword to stand around and look pretty. So if this is how I go, then so be it”

At that moment the doors suddenly burst inwards the reveal a great red centaur, standing some 15 feet tall. I found myself taken aback by his sheer size

“Oh heeell no!” I exclaimed, adopting a defensive stance, the Centaur appeared amused at this. Whilst Autumn let out a warcry and proceeded to charge at Tirek, who simply grabbed her pike and began to seemingly suck out her magic before flinging her to one side. He then stomped his way over to me and I found myself gulping, he raised an arm and before I could even bring my sword to bare he grabbed a hold of my throat, lifting me high into the air.

“Another being held back by friendship with ponies” he said, almost sounding disappointed. Despite my situation I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You think I’m friends with the ponies?” I asked “I literally only just got here yesterday. Truth be told I’m just winging it”

“You don’t even know these ponies and yet you stand by their side against impossible odds?” he asked, sounding surprised.

“To live in fear is no life at all” I said “I would rather die than serve under the rule of a tyrant, especially from one such as you who takes power rather than earns it”

“I’ll make certain your death will be arranged” he said, before opening his mouth wide and attempting to draw magic out of me, I saw a red glow surround me, but other than that nothing happened.

“I don’t have magic, you moron!” I said, only for him to snort and fling me across the room and into a wall, for a moment I went blind as my head smacked into the wall. With a groan I slumped against the wall, too stunned and in pain to even move. As I watched Tirek stomp his way over to the princesses, and Autumn in a similar situation to me, pale and drained of all her magic, I felt a voice creep into my mind, a voice which was impossibly ancient, but oh-so-young at the same time. As she spoke I could feel a newfound sense of strength returning to me as the pain receded at an equal pace.

“Human, son of Adam...hear my voice, you are right to think that you were brought to this world for a reason. You were brought here to protect those who cannot protect themselves, to be the remaining source of light when all other lights go out. I name you Onælan and I command you! Pick up your sword and face him side by side with Autumn Skies once more. Pick up your sword and unleash the powers I now bestow upon you. Pick up your sword and unleash the power of the flame of Dómgeorn. Pick up your sword and become...Wrakjōn!

Immediately I felt the overwhelming urge to take hold of my sword once more, I reached out for my sword and in an instant sparks flew from my hand towards the handle of the blade. it leapt towards my hand, flying into my grasp with a metallic thunk, and as I closed my fingers around the handle I felt strength fill my very being like never before, like someone had injected pure adrenaline into my veins.

I looked to Autumn, and saw her armour begin to shift from mirror-polished ornamental brass to functional burnt orange armour. As we both rose to our full hights we shared a look and in that instant I knew what I needed to do. We both looked to see Tirek attempted to take the princesses non-existent magic.

“What have you done?” he demanded “WHERE IS YOUR MAGIC!?”

“Oh, we’ve got some magic for you right here, you cunt!” I called, stepping forth. Tirek turned to face us and at that moment Autumn raised a foreleg and hinged switch blades on either side of her hoof flicked over and began to glow with a burnt orange magical aura. Which also surrounded the manacles around tireks wrists. I then thrust my sword forth and a beam of condensed flame shot forth from the blade and impacted the centaur titan squarely in the chest.

He seemed to have nearly been knocked off his hooves by the force of the blast, were it not for Autumn’s magic holding him in place. He let out a bellow of rage and fired a beam of raw untamed thermal magic at me from between his twin horns. As the magic hurtled towards me I stopped the beam of fire and pulled up an arm up to cover my face. I closed my eyes and waited for the flames to hit me.
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When I didn’t feel myself burning to a crisp as expected, I opened my eyes and lowered my arm to see that the flames were swirling around me, yet I felt no different to if I was submerged in water. If anything, I felt more revitalised

“So, I can not only control fire, but absorb it as well” I thought, letting a small smirk slip loose as an idea crept into my mind. I straightened up my posture as I waited for Tirek to stop his magic and when he finally did a cloud of dust obscured me from everyone else, I simply stepped forwards through the dust cloud to see Tirek’s smug face turn to one of confusion. I casually glanced at my paldron, before brushing away a small piece of rubble.

“Is that it?” I asked, walking over to him.

“With the magic I put into that...you should be nothing but ash!” Tirek exclaimed in astonishment. I held the handle of my sword with both hands as flames started to envelope the blade.

“That’s the funny thing” I said “Hard to burn something if it’s already a raging inferno” and with that I burst into a full sprint and before Tirek had a chance to react I pulled my sword back and thrust it forwards, plunging it into Tirek’s chest. This seemed to catch not only Tirek by surprise, but elicited a gasp from the princesses and Autumn.

“What have you done?” I heard Luna say incredulously, as Tirek began to slump down, blood seeping from the wound. “The people of Equestria...do not take the life of another”

“I’m not from Equestria” I said, punctuating my point by pushing the blade deeper into his chest, right up to the hilt, this caused Tirek to let out a gasp of pain before falling to his knees and bowing his head. I assumed him to be succumbing to his wounds, but I heard him trying to say something. I pulled his head closer “What was that?”

“Y-you should have gone for the head” he said. His face contorted into a smirk and before I even had the chance to react a beam of magic shot forth from his horns, blowing me through a stained glass window for a moment I saw nothing but clear blue sky, before it tilted away to reveal miles upon miles of the sprawling landscape of the country I’d ended up in, followed by the city below rushing up to reach me, I felt my stomach drop as I began to appreciate the gravity of the situated...quite literally

“Oh fuck!” I shouted out in fear, flailing my arms in a useless attempt at trying slow my descent, as I fell I saw a rather tall and sharp spire rushing up to meet me in the perfect position to skewer me and I got the sinking feeling that this was going to hurt, a lot.