Dark, so very dark and foreign. Everything was bright, down to my skin, and yet I felt like it was covered in shade and shadows. I looked up through the brush of the trees within the everfree around me, and saw Luna's moon still giving its light. Too dark to spot the timber wolves, but bright enough to reflect the moon light from the polished axe I carry. I could hear the growling around me, and knew each one, if bitten into me, could cause both infection and enough of a distraction for the rest to overwhelm me.
I looked to the trees again, surveying the best one to use to my advantage, hearing the brush and rustle of leaves and the growling approach slowly, and quietly. I shined my axe around using the moon light to spot just how many wolves were around me as I backed away to the first place I shined the light to, knowing no wolves were there. I didn't want to glance to the low hanging branch a second time until I knew I was under the tree I had spotted, because I knew the wolves would pounce then and there.
2 steps. 3 steps. 4 steps. the crunch of leaves. the snap of a stick, and I maintained eye contact without looking away from these wolves eyes. I could sense them sending one of their pack to attempt to flank the place I was backing into. Perhaps it was because they sensed my determination to live, or maybe it was simply the glare from the eye contact, but they were as cautious as I was in their approach.
I finished counting, unless more than one was sent behind me, there are 4. It was far too easy to miscount how many there truly were thanks to the dark nature of the everfree. The eyes of these timber wolves may glow, but so too does most of the eyes of life within this forest, down to the insects flying from tree to tree. Another thing I was unaware of, were that insects would emit a glow similar to the eyes of the timber wolves. Whether it was a mutual existence between the two to scare prey into making a mistake for them both to feed, or a defense mechanism poorly timed along side the wolves attacking me, I couldn't say.
What I could say, was because of how dark it was, I couldn't see the full nature of the insects those "eyes" were attached to due to the glow said eyes give off concealing them within the dark. I could only hope they were not here to consume me as well, or at the very least, were the size of normal insects.
I'm sure I'm where I want to be now, which could only mean-
A sharp growl and the crushing of leaves, the wolf behind me pounced, I had a moment to react, grabbing the tree above me while jumping. One hand on my axe and one held to the branch, in the same movement I moved my axe behind me, listening for the noise of the growl. Despite the fear telling me to turn, I knew looking away from the three wolves before me was certain death. A grinding wood against wood noise was made, and I knew the wolf behind me had bit the handle, thankfully missing my fingers.
It wasn't over though, the moment the wolf knew it was blocked, it adjusted to what I assume would've been to bite my hands holding the axe. The timber wolves were known to be intelligent, even for wild animals, but this I somewhat expected. I quickly let go of my axe, letting the wolf have it and distract it for a moment. The moment the axe left my hand, the other three wolves pounced. quickly, I pulled myself up, thanking my luck for their caution as they narrowly miss me thanks to the distance they put.
Kicking one that came close to getting a bite of my leg; most likely the one who bit the axe. Not caring to look back at the damage and focused on getting to higher ground, I finished climbing the tree. A breath I took in the short quiet, before looking down and seeing the damage to the wolf I managed to do.
Its head was severed, and what could only be its wooden remains in shambles below me, the other wolves clearly unperturbed by the fall of their companion. Of course they weren't concerned, I remember how easy it was for them to pull themselves together, fall apart, and come back again. Perhaps they have a way of rebuilding themselves individually, if I survive this, I'll ask Twilight for more details later.
They were staring at me, but they weren't pouncing, or even moving for that matter. I remember vaguely hearing that Timber Wolves don't actually need to eat, and act purely to instincts, perhaps they're thinking I'll eventually expire and fall from the tree due to exhaustion. I looked to the other trees around me, and saw they were close enough for me to jump to and from if needed. I smiled, happy to see that the branches under the bush of the trees were spacious and spread, making it unlikely for me to miss a grab or be stopped by smaller unnoticed branches.
Instead of immediately jumping away, however, I looked down and stared at my axe, still able to see it due to the metal at the top once again reflecting moon light. Currently it was triangulated between the three wolves, directly under me, and therefore, hopelessly out of reach. I had gotten it from Applejack, telling her I had wanted to make my own log cabin to live inside of, and that I would be fine temporarily having no shelter so long as I had food to give me strength.
At the time, it was clear to me they would've offered me a place to stay, some more than others if I was willing to answer questions, but at the time there were a few things that worried-
I had cut off my thinking noticing the glow of remains of the timber wolf whose head I kicked off. Considering that in the show the same three wolves had chased Applejack and Spike despite one or two of them clearly falling to pieces, it should be safe to assume it was rebuilding itself. I was shocked, to say the least, when instead of reforming, the remains simply attached to the legs of the other 3 wolves, seemingly bulking them up.
I didn't need to wait for the magic to finish to know what that implied. No longer caring for the axe and more for my own survival, I immediately jumped to the next tree. I glanced back to see if they were giving chase, but saw only one coming after me. I'm guessing the other two are likely still bulking up, as this one managed to nip right at my heels despite the tree I jumped to being taller.
Just then, something rang in my head, a warning from Twilight seeing as how I was planning to live close to the everfree, "If you see a timber wolf, run, don't even think about fighting unless you have no choice. I know you've claimed your people overcame the dangers of wild animals before, but timber wolves not only fight in packs, they also have a sort of hive mind. That means that if one sees you, the others will also know where you are and already be chasing, and who KNOWS how big of a pack-"
Cutting off the memory due to the urgency of the pursuer, as well as because she said a LOT after that, I focused ahead and planned my next jump quickly. Turning on my heel while jumping so that I would fly back towards the tree, I focused on the wolf as it tried to catch me in the air. The backwards momentum I had prevented me from getting a good strike at it, but that didn't mean it wouldn't stun it. I kicked my foot as hard as I could in the air towards the wolf, hoping to clip it enough to knock its orientation slightly and stun it. Instead, it bit into the side of my shoe, scraping the foot inside and tear the side from the shoe.
The bite managed to mess up my backwards momentum, and it was clear I was going to fall to the ground. Perhaps on instinct or reacting to the pain, I quickly grabbed the wolf's head that was gripping my shoe, the wolf not responding quick enough as it tried to bite my approaching hands, and spun myself amidst the air with the wolf in hands so I would land upon it. We had gained some height, so it was only natural than that with the full force of me landing upon its head with my feet from the fall, the wolves head was blown to pieces.
I rolled grunting in pain from the landing more than the bite, and quickly scrambled and pulled myself back up the tree I was pulled from reaching, knowing the other final two wolves would be approaching. I was about to continue my way to the next tree, but then I realized how much faster the wolf chasing me was. It was capable with each jump I made to make an attempt to bite at me, meaning that not only was it keeping up, it managed to run around the trees ahead as well. That meant that even if I kept going, I could not out pace them, and I was still too far from the edge of the forest for that to make a difference.
In fact.... I wouldn't want to face them on an open field anyway.... No, that would be suicide, but I had already taken out two of them. I glanced down at my shoe, and saw that the wolf had nearly bitten clean through it and had even taken off some skin. It was bleeding, but not quite badly enough to be concerning, clearly a scrape that will need to be disinfected and de-splintered later. Their bites are no joke, but their durability is low, or rather, they are barely held together. The wood they're made from is hard, and he could tell from the pain in his feet upon crushing the head of the last wolf, they could take some serious hits if angled in a way it won't sever a limb.
Despite the risk, I quickly hopped down, and grabbed a large stick from the remains from the destroyed timber wolf, and scrambled back up a tree, only momentarily noticing how dry the stick was, and the very slight vibration of it being far more noticeable. I couldn't examine the stick for long after that, for despite the destruction of the last wolf and the grabbing of its remains being but less than 10 seconds, the other two were already here as well. Though the time to prepare was slight, it was enough, as when the first wolf made a jump, I had already positioned myself against the tree, as well as had the stick gripped in a manner that allowed me to perfectly strike its head with the full strength of both arms.
A satisfying wood against wood sound, and the head went flying away, however the body still kept its pounce, too shocked to effectively grip me with its claws, they still managed to stab into my chest as the rest of the wolf exploded into pieces against me. A shout in pain was masked by the sound of meat against wood and wood against wood, but despite the pain, the adrenaline assisted and forced me to look at the last remaining wolf-
No.... I had miscounted, there were two more wolves.... Or maybe the pack was more scattered, and even more were on the way.
I was waiting for them to pounce, but once again, they were motionless. Motionless, but the stick in my hand began to hum louder. I understood they were once again using their magic to bulk themselves in order to finish me. If i let them, it was all but hopeless, but even then, I still have no idea how many wolves were truly left. My choices are to pounce them and hope I can somehow strike down both, or to remain in this tree and wait for them to be too strong to break to pieces. I may as well have had only one option, but I had to be clever.
Quickly, I circled around the tree I was on so I was out of their sight, and I took the torn up shoe from my foot, and threw it over the tree and hopefully just out of sight of the wolves. I gripped my stick and waited for only a moment, predicting when the shoe would make noise just behind the wolves. Jumping out not a second later than the noise was made, I pounced at the wolves, and thanked whatever gods were watching that they looked towards the sound.
One swing, and one wolf had lost its head, the other, possibly not used to being the hunted, panicked and tried to jump away. It went out of reach of my arms.... But not of my weapon which felt as if it were being pulled toward the wolf I was attacking.
A strike, and its head too went flying away.
Only after I finished my second strike did I notice the sticks floating around me, which then quickly fell to the ground. No time to rest, I quickly-
"Hrk!"
Suddenly, a spike of pain in my chest, gripping it in response, and grunting in pain before stumbling to my knees. Once the pain subsided, I took off my shirt to look at the injuries, and saw 6 cuts made from claws, luckily stabbed only and not raked. I thought those were where the pain was coming from, but the painful feeling on my chest was centered between the two pairs of three cuts, in the very center of my chest.
Looking closer, though it was hard to tell in the darkness, it was made clear that the center of my chest was heavily bruised. Upon seeing the bruise, I remembered the wolf that exploded against me, and thanked my adrenaline for numbing the pain before I struck at the wolves. Still, it became hard to walk and breath, the massive bruise was swelling, and put pressure on my lungs. I also began to notice that it somewhat hurt to breath, so perhaps my lungs were bruised as well. I unconsciously went to wipe my mouth on that thought and checked, and saw my fingers had some spots where they were darker.
Maybe I had injured the inside of my mouth earlier, but this pain in my chest coupled with this bruise, I might be bleeding internally.
"fuck...." I couldn't say much else seeing how bad my condition was, I knew I needed to leave the forest now before the next fight occurred, and knew that if more of the pack were in pursuit, it would be my end. Perhaps that one extra wolf was a distant scout coming to aid in securing a kill, rather than a member of another party or pa-....
"FUCK!" I shouted louder, for one very simple and hindsight obvious problem, which in fact, was the fact, that I was lost.
The word rolled out my mouth was as unfamiliar as the situation, my speaking almost always controlled and subdued, but this situation justified it I felt, or rather, I didn't care because of how bad it was. While I'm no medical expert, I know how important lungs are, and if that's what's bleeding, I may very well need some major hospice care, and that's not even considering what will happen if infection occurs in my foot or my chest wounds.
I would've reprimanded myself for yelling in enemy territory, if not for the knowledge that fresh blood is quite easy to smell, and most animals would've heard the scuffle. Basically I'm in such a bad position for stealth that I may as well ignore it as a factor. Once again I remind myself, no time to rest, all I could do was think and hope for some way to retrace my steps. If I could find Applejack's axe, I could retrace further from there using the trail I left myself when I first came into this place.
I thought about the chase from the wolves, but had already lost where I had come from. I looked to the tops of the trees, and cursed my earlier fortune of believing the space between the branches was an aid. If they weren't spaced, I could see a trail of broken branches. I thought about how if only timberwolves were weighty enough to leave tracks, looking around before-
I smiled, and would have jumped for joy if not for the danger of doing so, upon spotting that the timberwolves indeed DID leave tracks behind. I had learned that since they were borderline hollow, and the only time they left a track if any, was when they pounce, the force of doing so digs into the ground. What's more is, their strength in their legs was enhanced, so the track is deeper and more noticeable, and in some cases, seen even without their pounce, depending on the ground of course. Twilight is great for these sorta questions, but she tends to ramble.
Excited at the prospect of survival, I trudged along the trail left behind by the earlier chase, being careful to not be spotted by any other predators, holding my trophy of what I'll call a timberwolf "femur" stick, closely to myself in case ambushed. I paused in my trailing for a moment when a thought struck me, "Why didn't all their remains combine to make a giant wolf?" Until that point, I was absolutely quiet, but that stray thought jarred me so much that I couldn't help but say it aloud.
I stopped and listen close to the noise of the forest, but nothing like the sounds of giant steps were heard, and after standing there in worry for a good few minutes, decided to accept that it didn't happen for a reason yet known, and moved on. Eventually, I managed to find the clearing with no enemy contact, and was relieved to find the axe in question, untaken by any curious wild animals. I had started to limp once I reached the clearing, and limped my way over to the axe, picking it up without any issue.
I looked for the trail I had left for myself, which was in the form of fishing wire collected from the local river by ponyville painted green. Though hard to spot, the easiest part to see was the knot due to being to being triple knotted, what's more, I made sure it always faced the direction I was going, so it would be easier to retrace my steps. The reason it was painted green, was to signify a good place to chop wood, due to the trees being thicker and taller. There were two other colors, which were red and yellow. Yellow was simply a place marker, of which I had the longest wires of due to needing it the most. Red was a turn back sign, either placed outside ursa major homes or dragon caves, or other dangerous areas. Luckily I hadn't needed to place any, but this is my first trip into the forest.
The reason I was ABLE to paint them, was thanks to Applejack having spare paint buckets around, most of which were red, but a few of other colors as well. I was worried she'd ask how I was gonna pay for the paint used when I asked for it, but when she heard the reason, no other questions were asked. She seemed happy that I was clearing the litter from the river, at least, but it also could be because wire doesn't take much to paint, only a dip.
Either way, while these thoughts were distracting me from the limping walk, I had managed to get back to the trail I had deviated from, which were known to have very little in the ways of monster attacks. While I wasn't literally out of the woods yet, I could breath a sigh of relief. "ACK!" Right, breathing hurts.
Anyway, I continued down the path, heading back out of the forest, and preparing to check into the hospital for some needed rest. Thankfully, I had encountered nothing the rest of the way out, and had finally gotten back into the ponyville clearing at the edge of the forest. At one point during the walk, I had adapted the Timberwolf femur into a walking stick, as the limp was getting annoying, and sore. At one point during the walk I realized that the pain in my foot was getting worse, but more than that, I could now tell my leg was also bruised. I likely didn't notice much earlier due to the pain of the foot overshadowing it.
Either way, I limped my way through a dark ponyville towards the hospital, which was on the opposite side of town. Something about keeping the injured away from the traumatic forest, which was more or less just gossip I heard passing here and there. A part of me was thankful it was so late and no ponies were wandering around awake, not because they were scared of me, which they were at first, terrified even, but because with how I looked I could only imagine the "babying" I'd go through.
This is because after they heard Twilight say that I seemed trust worthy, they asked for more details from Twilight, who told them that I got, and I quote, "separated from his friends and family, with seemingly no way back."
Apparently the fear they had of me after being quelled by Twilight's words of trust, was completely obliterated through sadness and pity. The amount of concern and well wishes honestly made me feel weak, something I now know I hated feeling, but I couldn't let them know that considering it was for my own sake. What was worse, however, is despite her saying that, the biggest concern for me, is that despite knowing human history and the land I come from, I.... Don't remember my actual life beyond my name....
After reminiscing, I had arrived at the front doors of the hospital, and I was about to walk through when a thought occurred. "With how many people live where they work in this world, should I knock? Or just walk through since its a hospital?" There was a somewhat pause at the door, before I shrugged, and walked through. A part of me honestly expected to see a pony showering in a tub in the middle of the waiting area thanks to my stray thought. No such bad luck, as I was instead greeted.
"Hello, what seems to be-" the white mare at the desk, whom I believe is nurse redheart, looked up before shouting, "Oh my goodness! Mr. Human, I can see you need help right away, please, come with me!" Was all I managed to hear before being led away by the nurse towards a room, and laid on a bed. She left rather quickly after telling me to relax and to breath slowly and carefully. No doubt she saw the blood on my mouth and the bruise on my chest, and thought the same thing I did.
I quickly slipped my axe under the matress, not wanting it confiscated for my own protection or some other inane reason. Perhaps it was just my paranoia talking me into this action, but I've always been the cautious and paranoid type.... I think?
Not long after, a doctor came calmly through the door, earning a glance and a nod from me, which earned me a nod back. He sat in front of a desk at a corner of the room, facing towards me. At a glance, he didn't look like any pony I had seen on the show, let alone the background, he had a blonde main that was laying calmly down his neck, while his fur was a darker yellow. His cutie mark was a red cross with a calm blue shield dotted in the center.
After a moment, he started to speak, "So, you look like you were attacked by a monster, and judging by the 6 holes in your.... Center, the massive bruise, and the blood on and probably in your mouth, you likely need major aid." he said calmly, looking at me with an expression that matched. I nodded at him, having a rough idea of what condition I was actually in. There was more silence, before he once again spoke calmly with a question, "Do you think you could tell me what's wrong with you confidently?"
I looked at him, confused at first, something he looked like he was about to reply to, before I realized why he asked that and looked at the ceiling, "Right" I said, "You don't know my biology or what exactly bleeding out of the mouth, for me, could mean, at best you merely have a good idea, but that's poor practice to take action upon when someone who knows more about my body is around." I said aloud.
"Precisely" he said, nodding his head as he said so, before waiting for me to continue.
I sighed, almost grunting doing so and cursing myself for the habit, before telling him what I could about my injuries, and just how bad they could potentially be. The doctor nodded, and asked different things, even down to what exactly in the air my body uses to breath, as well as the organs I could note and their purposes, taking notes the whole time as I did so. Eventually we concluded I'd need what "anypony" would need if their lungs were injured, which was rest and monitoring for the severity of the injury.
"Thank you for the information, by the way, with it, on the off chance you get injured again, we may be able to help you even if you can't give us additional info yourself." The doctor said. I nodded at him, and waited for him to leave, but there was a pause, before I looked at him again and could see he wanted to ask something.
"What?" I asked, a bit curious as to what he needed. "Well, you see, most ponies are aware of how unique you are, and with these notes being the most we've got on your species as a whole, I was wondering if you would like it if I publicized it or not?" what? This time you didn't say it out loud, before he continued on, "I see you're confused about why I would ask such a thing, well, of course it means you can be helped other places as well, but more than that, I'm pretty sure I can.... Sell.... This...."
There was a long pause. I more or less just stared at him before looking at the ceiling in clear thought.
"Tell you what, tell me your name, and promise me at least 10% of the profits, which we WILL have legally agreed upon with help from Princess Twilight, who will likely be your biggest profit pusher with her thirst to both give and learn knowledge, and you have a deal." I said firmly.
"Only 10%" He asked calmly, "Yes, only 10%.... Wait how much are my medical bills?" I replied with another question. He scoffs at the question, "What hospital would make a patient pay for their lives? Celestia provides us enough funding, don't worry about that." I breathed a sigh of relief- ouch, before saying, "I'll make sure to avoid more injuries not just for my own sake, but Celestia's wallet as well." He laughs, before saying, "Of course, don't get hurt, but I'm sure Celestia can handle one danger proned human." I was smiling before it fell a little bit when he said that.
The argument of free healthcare and its flaws is never a fun one, and its not surprising to me a peaceful world like this has it, but.... He does know that the more people are injured, the more weight gets put on such a system, and the resources provided are always finite within a timeframe, right? Why.... Am I so bothered by this?
I shake those thoughts from my head, before returning to the subject at hand, "Ahem, anyway, once you let me out, OR if Twilight comes to visit, we'll make a contract then and there, and I'll even give you additional information once the contract is struck." The doctor happy to get extra bits quietly said, "yes!" Before letting himself out of the room, likely to proofread his notes or something.
With nothing left to do, I put my hands on my head and laid it back on the pillow, breathing slowly and calmly, thinking about the "Equestria" I landed in. There were certainly many thing, definitely more than less, that were the same about the show, but there were a few things that struck him as odd, and filled him with unnerve and worry, when he first arrived here.
To that thought, I remembered back to when the ponies who were pitying me were finally pushed away by none other than Spike the dragon. The little guy told them to back up from atop my shoulder, easily climbing up there thanks to the crowd to climb up on. At first, they didn't listen, but Spike, when he first put his hand on my shoulder, unbeknownst to me, could feel how stressed I was from the tightness of my shoulder, a muscle he was familiar with thanks to the massages he gave around quite often. When he looked more closely at my face, he could see my eyes were filled with discomfort.
It was then that he calmly breathed fire into the air, just to distract the ponies around me and get their attention, which once he had, he said, "Come on guys, you're pressuring him, he's already new to this world, no need to squish him." The crowd, feeling a bit guilty for their zealous display of concern, backed up a bit, before calmly wishing him well and dispersing. I looked over and thanked Spike for the help, to which he grinned and with a laugh said, "Hey man, its no problem, being the only man of the house, being strong is what I gotta do."
I almost double take, having watched the show, I felt I had a good beat on how Spike would act, let alone say, but what he said struck me as odd, before I remember, "Right, its just you and Twilight in this library, right? Though, why didn't you say dragon?" Spike looked at me and shrugged, before clarifying, "I mean, its always been like this, even before the library, Twilight's Mom and Dad were out working their jobs usually, so it was just me and Twilight."
"What about Shining Armor?" I ask worriedly, both not wanting to reveal I know more about them than I let on, but also dreading what he said implies.
Spike looked at me and replied, "Who?"
Author's Note
DUN DUN DUUUUUN!
So, the twist to this story, is that certain characters will and won't exist, and that it drastically changes where and when events will happen, if at all. The only person aware of these missing existences, is the residential human.
Why is he risking his life for quality wood for a log cabin? Why did the threat of timber wolves not dissuade him against going back? Why is he so afraid of the fact some characters don't exist? FIND OUT NEXT TIME YOU read the description I guess?
Also I was going to put into a spoiler ponies that don't and do exist, but I think you should find that out along with the main character in hindsight now. Even if your favorite pony doesn't exist, seeing a world without them and how drastically its affected is a neat experience in of itself.
Stuck in a hospital bed, relaxed against the cushion, eyes closed and letting my mind wander to ponder just how big an affect someone like Shining Armor would have not existing. A part of me hoped the guard captain who'd replace him would be just as capable at defensive magic as he was....
"Who am I kidding, this world seems even more volatile than I was shown." I said to myself, thinking about the wolves and their highly adaptive thinking and empowering. I still don't know if I managed to destroy them all, and no matter what, I plan to build that house out of the ancient everfree wood. The reason I'm so determined to do so was what I read from Twilight's library, during the first night I was here. I've read fan fictions of this world before I came here, and the everfree is always the most starting venture for human's like me, excluding the villains.
Rarely do they die, and for some reason they sometimes do well and somehow live in that place, but clearly having experienced it myself, you'd have to have powerful combat experience and abilities of some type to live in there. Let alone some sort of security system to keep yourself, an actual edible, from being consumed.
I shake the thought from my head lightly, and remind myself my goal of why I need the logs from deep within the Everfree. According to what I read at the time, the ancient woods were known to be magically resistant to almost all forms of magic, even magic of those as powerful as Discord. According to the author, during his chaotic reign, it was one of the few things he couldn't completely change. Its inhabitants and the outer woods, easily, but not the ancient trees deep within.
So of course, not knowing if even Discord would be the same type of villain as I saw in the show, I wanted to make some defenses against him and his magic. Having his existence confirmed is both a blessing and a curse, because going by the fact I've yet to see him since coming here, it might be safe to assume he hasn't broke out yet despite Twilight being a princess.
The history here is outright different, but what was worrying me since shortly after I got here was one simple conversation. I thought back to it, since I had nothing better to do than analyze my own thoughts.
"You're so different than anything I've ever seen!" Twilight exclaimed, "The fact you can speak Equestrian alone is a miracle if what you say is true, I'm happy I was the one who found you as well, most of my friends, let alone Equestria, don't even know what human exactly looks like!" She said with clear nerdy excitement.
"Yea, its certainly lucky I even look like them since I don't come from the same world." I say calmly, thankful Twilight didn't get stuck on that possibility having jumped to a different world herself already.
I continue, "that being said, I'm sure you've met crazier things than humans, being one of the princesses of Equestria." Simply trying to keep up conversation, as I already knew what she has faced up to this point, or at least, so I thought.
"Oh yea, I've met griffons, I have Spike, the OTHER princesses, and of course, other humans." she said smiling, happy to be having a conversation with another human again, at least, I think.
I laughed, "Yea, and then you probably met ACTUAL crazies too, like villains and stuff, right?"
"Actually, no, the only "villain" I've fought is Nightmare Moon, but she's extremely nice now as Princess Luna, though she was pretty loud at first." She replied calmly and put me through a shock.
"...."
I could only stare at her as I processed that information, unsure of how to respond realizing that my knowledge of this world is off or at the very least in a different order. My silence must've unnerved Twilight at the time, as she asked if I was OK. I cleared my throat, before just laughing it off and saying, "Yea, I'm fine, just surprised your world is so peaceful, mine is so hectic in comparison."
I was merely trying to deflect her concerns, but it seems it backfired slightly, as bringing up my world was something she constantly tried getting me to do. What I told her about was how my people basically lived as if the whole world was the Everfree Forest, with nature uncontrolled, and animals all seeking to feed and wander wherever food was, and that it took a long time for humanity to come out on top against nature. For my own sake and to maintain her trust, I left out how many villains plagued my world at a near constant, as well as their obscured nature.
We talked some time, but in the back of my mind I could only think about one thing, 'None of them; the villains, have showed up yet.'
It was at that time worry started to gnaw its teeth upon me, and I asked Twilight if I could have some time to learn of the world through the books of her library. She was happy to help, and even asked what I was looking for, of course disappointed the conversation was ending I'm sure, but it was clearly covered by the fact someone wanted to make use of her library. Apparently very few ponies actually checked out any books now-a-days, with only hot topic books like Daring Do being checked out or read. I asked for a "history of Equestria" book, and she magically held the thick tome in front of me.
I grabbed it out of the air, walked over to a wall, sat down, and began to read right then and there after thanking her.
It was within that tome that I learned important details, like how the celestial sister's built their first castle deep within the Everfree because it was out of Discord's sight, and was also where they heard the rumors of a magical tree of unknown power hidden deep within. Suffice to say, this was the same book that told me about the properties of the deep everfree woods. I did also eventually find a page where the opening episode of my little pony was based on, and noticed the cover of the book had the same golden unicorn insignia.
I read on, and found even the history of the Crystal Empire, or rather, snippets of its existence, and its fall to King Sombra, as well as Tirek being defeated, but oddly enough, no mention of his brother this time. At the time, I didn't question it, as at this point I was merely flipping through the book to find out if the villains I know of had appeared in history yet, and was jumping through rather than reading. I had thought it was safe to conclude that this world simply had a different "pacing" to events, or something along those lines, which I thought I could handle, as Twilight and her friends did fine with less power than they have now.
Yet, the next day, I learned Shining Armor doesn't even exist, and then read back and confirmed the lack of existence of Tirek's brother, among other things. I even took notice of other such oddities in town, such as seeing Diamond Tiara walking around, but no Silver Spoon. Lyra, but no BonBon, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, but no Scootaloo.
That last one threw me through a loop once I realized it, and who knows who else doesn't exist anymore, or possibly never existed in this case. Yet, I had already earlier confirmed that all the villains, or at the very least, the most intimidating ones, DO exist. What's worse, the history between them and Equestria seems to be the same, Sombra having sealed away the Crystal Empire along with himself, and Tirek being thrown into Tartarus.
I shiver at how the Crystal Empire, when it returns, will be able to hold itself together without Shining Armor to protect the place with his signature shield. Let alone if Celestia even has a plan for the place, considering Shining Armor seemed to be its only defense within the show at the time. Would she send Twilight and her friends alone again this time, even if he already ruled the place? Would Cadence be able to hold her own against Sombra if Celestia sent her there again?....
Actually, ignoring the potential for Cadence to not even exist, how DID Shining Armor and Cadence get to the Crystal Empire before Sombra? A part of me wonders if maybe, just maybe, Cadence managed to push him out and create time for Shining Armor to make his shield? Remembering it was never showing, I did remember that Cadence was supplying the shield and far more tired than Shining Armor was. Did Shining Armor teach her the spell, or did she know it by herself?
I had so many questions, and no way to ask them without giving hints that I know more about this world. Its important, of course, but the main issue with giving this information I have away, is what would happen if some villain heard that I knew the future? I was cautious, and wanted to keep it a secret until after I learned more of the current state of Equestria, but after doing so, I had decided that the knowledge was more dangerous for me to know than it was useful for the ponies to have.
If I become a target of someone who has no problem attacking while I'm sleeping like Chrysalis, who I have no idea whether she exists or not as she's not in ANY Equestrian records as far as I could read, let alone changelings, it could spell the end for Equestria as a whole with the strategies I'd spew. I took a short moment just to think on it, and how simple it would be, to just take a rock to the back of ANY of the mane 6's skulls once trust is earned. If I was completely under Chrysalis's spell, I could see myself arguing in the favor of such barbarism even against her want to use them as feed.
To rob a country, break its wall and hold its citizens, its wall is weak and separates as these ponies are its primary protectors, and can be individually removed. I play with the idea of her arguing with the idea that the ponies wouldn't do anything if there was a hostage, but counter by saying that a hostage can be rescued, and then used, each of them are important, but kill ONE of them and show off the body, along with another as a hostage if they do anything, then the idea of them being responsible for the death of the next hostage would keep them in place, and that even if it didn't, their power based on unity would shrivel with that ONE missing component.
I couldn't help but shiver at these thoughts, not wanting to humor them too much in case mind reading magic existed here without my knowledge. The barbarism is human nature only, at least in this world it is, and I dread being corrupted by someone like Sombra even more, if his enslavement magic allowed me to keep ANY of my intelligence. Sure, I know from the show that his ponies had no problem trying to crush another pony with a boulder, but murder, as damaging as it is, at the very least, doesn't allow room for more evil to take place upon the victim and its families. Take hold, I admit, but not take place, that is to say, one could become evil from the loss, but the lost would never more suffer the evil....
Less the afterlife sucks just as much, which in my case, it seems to such pretty bad right.... Now....
How did I know I died?
When I first arrived here, I had no idea about my life before, let alone what it was before I got here. I simply had my admittedly stupid name, and the knowledge of this world as a show. Family, friends, enemies, its all just a swirl of emotions and shadowy figures, but.... For some reason I was able to tell I died?
How did I.... Die....?
Perhaps to answer the silence, my mind couldn't help but let me sleep on the thought, the thoughts I was having before, still left open and unanswered with even more questions yet asked, drowning out to the much needed wave of sleep that called me.
....
I was slammed against the wall, back aching against the concrete, the one holding me against it laughing, "Really, what did you think would happen?!" I heard yelled into my ear. "Did you think that just because you told him to run and get help, that we'd just stand there and fight you fairly?"
The only answer I could make was coughing, barely having the strength to groan.
"Please, it was five against one, you had no chance of winning and it was easy to drag you away. All we wanted was to bleed your friend. I heard him bragging about his rare blood type, AB negative, was it? Even said he was a universal donor, " He laughed "I mean, don't get me wrong, good for him, he's sharing, but universal donor? The world of crime is bloody, and can always use blood transfusions for the messy back door botched murders our colleagues have sometimes." He said, twirling a knife in his hand.
He waited for me to say something, but again, I was in no condition to speak, too tired and bruised, and barely conscious.
"So I'll make this nice and clear, you're going to tell me where he is, so we can lock him up, and pull some from him each and every day. I promise we won't kill him, he's "valuable" after all, but I promise his ass will be very sore from sitting all the time. Hey, we'll even shave him when he's not screaming for help or food."
These bastards. That was all I could think, my rage burned greatly, and my heart rate quickened, I could hear it in my ears as I forced my head to lift up so I could look into his eyes.
"Eat the fattest piece of-" I didn't get to finish the sentence as a knife was stabbed into my chest.
"That's okay, witness protection programs are really good at what they do, but for him to be the reason you died, I'm sure he'll be at your funeral, and protection or not, a lifeline will bring a lot of help." The man says callously, while I feel my heart pierced and spit a lot of blood onto the ground. He stops holding me up, as I fall to the ground, choking on my life essence, before using the last of my strength to look up.
With the last of my strength, I tell him, "I.... Didn't want to.... End up like that.... So I told him.... To pretend he was.... The one donating.... Dumbass...."
One last lie, even in my final moments, despite my friend leaving me without hesitation, despite him being responsible for my death, despite my anger towards him for the pain I feel now, despite it all, I refused to betray my friend, knowing the odds were low they could identify the blood of a corpse for type in time before decay. I made sure to put my all into saying it, so the shadows behind him could hear. Even as I bled out, I knew that they weren't part of the same group who kidnapped me. I felt they were the help he spoke of in my gut.
Suddenly, the figure who had stabbed me extended out, encompassing a large area, consuming the shadows behind them as well.
"And that's why I trapped you in this world, where you're the most evil one alive" The figure no longer looked the same, its voice loud and deep, making my body shake, and just looking at it made my eyes burn and made me want to vomit, the hole in my chest and the pain it caused pails in comparison, what you think were eyes were glowing so brightly that you believe its what causes my eyes to burn, but you cannot call what comes from them "light", instead it was only dark shadows that seemed to blind me and cut into my very eyes, and felt as if it was flaying my skin, just rays of darkness that wanted to make me scream
"I will be watching, and you will become mine again, now, awaken." It enunciated this by slamming one of its shadowy tendril into my open chest wound.
I gasped awake, scaring a Twilight who looked as if she was examining my chest. I couldn't spare her any mind, as I held my hands over my chest, the phantom pain of being stabbed in the heart the second time still very much there. I could feel her hoof on my shoulder, and felt that she was trying to talk to me, but the pain was so terrible that it even prevented me from thinking about and therefore understanding her words. I did feel bandages where I was gripping my hand, but I could feel them threatening to tear from the grip of my hand as well.
I don't know how long it took for me to calm down, my eyes were closed, but I eventually managed to open them again, and I saw Twilight immediately showing me her breathing exercise that she learned from.... Cadence....
Suddenly the memories of the last two days flooded back to me, and gave me just enough of a distraction and clarity to ignore the phantom pain I was feeling long enough for it to fade. Never have I felt anything so painful in all my.... life? Lives? I now know I was murdered, but honestly, that is so small in comparison to whatever that was I saw, and what it said to me. The obvious questions were what was it, and what did it mean by "again"?
"are you alright now?!" Twilight said in a panic, obviously perturbed by my fit. I took a deep breath, trying to cool my nerves despite the pain and terror I had faced moments ago. "Yea, I feel better now, that was.... One of the worst nightmares I've ever had, I'm sure."
Twilight had a sigh of relief, before she cleared her throat, just before she speaks, I notice the daylight outside and take note its morning, "Actually, that's one of the reasons I'm here, and now seems the most important we start with." Twilight says frankly.
I look over at her again, clearly wondering what she meant by that, "well, you see, Princess Luna is really good at helping ponies sleep at night, because she combats dreams, and, well.... She couldn't find your dream even though she got confirmation you were sleeping."
"I have several questions." I say in reply, though internally I shrug as I seem to always have more questions.
Twilight seems like she's ready to listen to them, so I lay back down and get comfy before I say the questions I have about what she said.
"To start with," I say, "How did Luna get confirmation I was sleeping?"
I started with that question as it seemed odd for her to know I was sleeping but not dreaming, and the way Twilight phrases means that someone told her, but as far as I'm aware, only the hospital staff knew-
"The staff reported your condition to me in the middle of the night, which then I reported to Celestia, who then reported it to Luna so that she could watch your dreams and check for any mental trauma."
Ah....
"Also, I'm sure the idea of ponies looking through dreams is a foreign concept to you, as magic doesn't exist in your world, but know that she CAN, and she DID look at the dreams you had the first night here. Of course she didn't tell me what they were-" wasn't it was a wet dream? "but she did say they were interesting." I hope it wasn't a wet dream.
"Anyway, when she went through the dream realm to find your dream the way she did before, she couldn't find it, she told me she checked up on you in the middle of the night to find out if you WERE asleep, and even tried to connect directly, but she said it was as if your mind no longer existed." Naturally, I am immensely concerned by that.
"That's concerning." I couldn't really say much else.
"Very." Twilight replied, before continuing, "Your body was practically comatose as well, but even in coma victims, Luna could still give them some form of dream, but she had "nothing to work with" she said." Twilight finished, doing weird hoof quote maneuver with her front hooves.
I take a moment to register that, before asking, "So.... What happened after that?"
"Well, not much else, because after that she decided that there was nothing she could do without knowing more, also can I say that you are very calm about Princess Luna looking through your dreams?" Twilight said with an curious tone.
I was confused at first, never expecting Twilight to question someone not questioning the princesses, before she continued, "I mean, don't take that the wrong way, I trust the princesses completely, but I also understand a lot of the other creatures are very private about their dreams, and even their nightmares, and most tend to get upset with Luna for piercing into them, so I just found it odd you were.... Fine with it." Twilight says with a nervous smile, her eyes clearly asking for a reply with a curious lift.
"I mean, compared to the fact that apparently I had no mind at all, in contrast to uh.... THAT nightmare I had.... I am far more concerned by that." Again, I couldn't say much else, probably in shock at the scope of what that means.
"What even WAS your dream, you looked like you were in so much pain, and I couldn't break you out of it-" I look up while she said this and she saw me almost unconsciously reach to grab my chest again before interrupting herself, "Actually, nevermind, it looks like its not safe for you to talk about it right now, sorry...." Twilight could only look down apologetically, likely seeing the pain on my face as well. I think to myself, 'you want to tell her, but even you don't have any info to pull from.'
"I.... Let's just say I dreamed about a really bad memory." Twilight looks up at my response, and asks before she can stop herself, "So there wasn't anything odd about the-" before immediately interrupting herself again with, "I mean-" she pauses before sighing exasperatedly, "Nevermind."
I couldn't say much to that either, really I'm just out of words in general, I very well may be in shock still as I'm having a hard time thinking beyond what just happened and Twilight's words. There was an awkward silence, Twilight clearly wanting me to say something, but my mind was distracted far too much to read her silent request. She finally broke the silence herself with another different and unrelated question, "So, its good to see that after the timber wolf attack you don't have any serious injuries." She says happily, thankful she thought of something she could change the subject with.
"Right, yea, its good that uh, that I'm fine-ish." I say in reply, before continuing, "I mean, I'm pretty sure I damaged my lungs, but right now I feel oddly fine breathing, better than yesterday, at least." I finally take a moment to examine myself again, and notice I'm not as bad off as I was yesterday. In fact, oddly enough, the massive bruise on my chest, which should be seen beyond the bandages, was no longer there, even though it couldn't have been less than a few hours.
"Actually, examining myself, I far better off than when I arrived." I say, honestly surprised at my condition.
"Yea, that's another reason I'm here waiting to ask things." Twilight says in reply, before continuing, "When Luna first arrived, your condition had changed, and you no longer had any injuries. The bandages placed were from memory of the doctor who first saw them, who wanted them placed anyway just in case the injuries magically return in the same manner they disappeared."
"disappeared?" I ask.
"Yea, one of the doctor's actually managed to see it before his eyes, apparently, while you were falling asleep, a doctor had come in to check on you. The moment the heart monitor registered heart beats that matched deep sleep, your body convulsed in a manner that seemed as if you were hit in the chest, then instantly after that, according to the doctor in question, your bruise, swelling, and chest cuts were gone in an instant." Twilight says, obviously intrigued by what she was saying.
Me on the other hand? I was extremely terrified, because of several reasons: One, and the most obvious; the final part of my dream was that shadowy figure nailing me in the chest with what could sorta be called a punch. Two, my mind was apparently beyond the reach of someone who could literally tap into them. Three, the nightmare I had implied something was watching me and wanted to OWN me. Four, and the most concerning, is the fact that its currently morning outside now.
Why is that the most concerning? Because that chest punch happened at the END of my dream, and I KNOW I fell asleep when it was still near pitch black dark outside, meaning that I was asleep for a few hours, yet if this thing was responsible for healing me, it did so the moment I truly fell asleep and STARTED to dream. I know time moves differently in a dream, but apparently it was instant. What.... Just what the hell WAS that thing?
Just as I question this, I feel myself take a sudden intake of breath, and my body growing almost frigid for a mere moment, yet in that moment, I saw the walls turn black, the floors turn black, the ceiling, the bed post, everything around me, a pure void for a moment, Twilight's coat as well, becoming a shadowy black as well and completely hiding her features, except her head, which turned to its side as if it were broken, and I could hear the snap, yet there was an outline of light, and her eyes still had all their color, but in them, her pupils were pin pricks, and filled with fear.
A chill traveled through me in that mere instant, but just as quickly as it happened, it had left, not even leaving me the time to blink that it happened so quickly. Once everything was normal Twilight saw that once again my face was pail, but this time she saw pure fear rather than pain, looking directly at her. I realized quickly I was making a face, and quickly squelched the horror I witnessed despite the cold feeling in my chest, "Sorry Twilight, I'm actually not feeling too good right now, can we.... Talk later?"
Twilight was clearly immensely concerned, but it seemed like she felt it was her that you were afraid of, though she couldn't understand why.
"I.... Alright, you take all the time you need to rest, I'll be.... I'll be right outside if you need me, I still have a doctor who told me about some info you shared to speak with." Twilight said, smiling nervously as she walked away.
....
I.... Don't want to think about what that was, what ANY of it was, after she left, I couldn't stop shaking. Its natural to question, once in a place like this, if its real, but the fear of that is.... Different now.... Something that scared me more than everything just being an illusion, a dream, or whatever, that wouldn't without what I've just seen.... What if its real? If it is, what if what I saw was, even worse, just as real?
What.... The hell is this world?
Amidst my shaking, I clench my fist, and force myself to cease, before standing up, "No matter what this is, or what that was, the goal remains the same, in fact it may be even more important than before...."
I stop talking out loud, no longer needing to calm myself with my own voice as I finish off my sentence in my mind.
'I must get stronger, and prepare.'
I don't have a choice.
I must survive.
Author's Note
So, I get what you're thinking, that I should tag this as "Horror" now, as the concepts and fears introduced are, admittedly, at best, can be affectionately called, "Holy shit."
Because JESUS the idea is terrifying even without the extra information.
That being said, the "creature" as I'll call it, while incredibly powerful and integral to both the plot and the story, doesn't appear often within it. This will END with it, I promise you, but from this point on, mostly speaking I mean, it will only give tidbits of hints about itself rarely as the story goes on.
As well as hint to whoever the main character is, who will also do so himself throughout the entire story.
You can rest easy as the rather intense mind flaying and torture was merely to establish that this thing is powerful, evil, scary, and responsible for Anon's arrival in Equestria. Less I'm told otherwise, I don't think I need a gore tag, or a horror tag....
I may actually need a gore tag....
Let me know what you think below. (Including on if I need a gore tag for a single event in a dream)
(Also know that I just rapidly type these things in a day, and that I took only 4 hours to make this chapter, so mistakes are expected, and will be corrected when I wake up.)
