Prologue: An Unwilling Arrival
"Ow!"
The yell of pain echoed around me as I landed hard on my butt. I looked around. I was in a castle. One I recognized all too well. It was Celestia's castle. But what am I doing here? I don't even like the show! I turned around and saw a portal rapidly close behind me. Well crap.
I let out an irritated sigh and tried to figure out how this happened. I remember I was heading off to bed like usual, and then I went to sleep. And somehow, I ended up here. I doubt this is a dream, though. The ache from that landing can attest to that.
"Did someone kidnap me or something?" I wondered aloud. No, that can't be right. All the doors and windows to my house were locked. Wait, if I'm stuck here, what about my family?
...Oh shit.
"They have to be okay, right?" I said to myself, as panic set in. Wait... calm down, breathe... focus. I should try and find a way out of this loony world as soon as I can. But how?
"Ah, you've arrived!"
I spun around to see the source of the voice. Much to my chagrin, it was Celestia. I'll be honest, I never liked her.
"It seems that the portal worked perfectly," she said, grinning. So she's the reason I'm stuck here? "I assume you know why I've brought you here?" she asked, interrupting my thoughts.
"I'm going to assume this has something to do with friendship," I responded in an already ticked off tone. She didn't seem that fazed by it. No surprise there.
"You're perceptive," she quipped. She then cast a light out of her horn and onto the wall. Some kind of hologram, it looked like. It showed me, or at least, a slightly younger version of myself, walking through the high school, through the throngs of other students. Which is weird, because I graduated a few months ago.
"Am I supposed to gather something from this?" I asked. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. But when I turned towards Celestia, she looked... mildly concerned.
"It looks like you haven't been bothering to make friends," she said. Seriously? That's what this is about? And more importantly, how long has she been watching me like this?
"We're going to have to fix that," she continued. "By the time we're done, you'll have learned all about the magic of friendship," she said, now smiling. I, on the other hand, wasn't amused.
"Okay, first of all, why are you stalking me? That's creepy as hell," I stated. "And second, I already know all about this friendship business, and I'm not interested."
She gave me a confused look. "Look," I began. "Unlike you ponies, not all humans want to be all buddy-buddy. You know what an introvert is?"
"I can't say I do," she responded. Great.
"Well, to put it simply, introverts, such as myself, don't really make friends. This is not a flaw, it is just who we are. Now, please bring me back home," I stated.
"Um, about that," she said, now sporting an uncomfortable look. I already knew what this meant.
"Let me guess, you can't for some reason."
"Yeah, I can't," she admitted.
"Well, if it's gonna be like that, I'll just find my own way home," I said. She looked at me like I was crazy.
"You realize that's incredibly difficult, right?" she responded. "It took a lot of resources to even bring you here."
"I don't care," I retorted. "If I was somehow brought here, there's bound to be a way back, and I intend to find it." With that, I began to make my way out of the castle. When I stepped outside, it was night time.
"You can't be serious," I heard her say from behind me. "You really think you can pull something like this off? No offense, but you don't even have any magical abilities!"
I turned around, looked her dead in the eyes, and said, "You underestimate me." With that, I walked out of the castle.
A few days later...
Well, things could be better, but at least I'm surviving. I managed to sneak off into some nearby woods. I managed to steal a rather nice looking serrated sword from the Royal Guards' barracks. I also carved a mask out of wood from a big black tree. I carved it into the shape of a dragon's head, and took out some red sand I had found. I started a fire, and after eating, I placed the sand into a crude mold I made out of rock. The sand smelted into glass, and I attached the two glass pieces to my mask's eyes, as a sort of lens. I also stole a neat looking black cape. It doesn't help me with anything, I just think it looks cool.
Now, I said I'd find a way home, but truth be told, I don't really have a plan. So for now, I'll just explore and see if I can find anything of use.
A few hours later...
Okay, still nothing that could bring me home. But I did find a nice hat. Black like the cape and with a wide brim, so at least it'll keep the sun out of my eyes. I've also found a very wide plateau. Maybe I'll look around here a bit. It looks like there's a cave here too, and I think I can hear voices inside. I'm not sure, but I don't think that they're ponies. Maybe they could be of help?
Suddenly, three figures stepped out of the cave. They appeared to be... canines of some kind? Wait, I remember hearing about these! They're diamond dogs! I hid behind a nearby boulder, intending to eavesdrop.
"Huh, coulda sworn I saw someone out here," one of them grunted.
"Well, maybe get a pair of glasses, cause I don't see anyone," another one grunted.
"Hey, wait a minute," a third one said. "Behind that rock!" Crap.
They rushed to my hiding spot. But instead of attacking, they just stared at me, dumbfounded. I stared directly back at them. "Who are you?" one of them asked, after what seemed like an eternity.
"Call me... Kagekamen," I answered.
To be continued...
Author's Note
Well, I certainly hope you like the story so far. If you have any constructive criticism, feel free to share it. In the next chapter, Kagekamen will get to know the Diamond dogs. Additionally, we'll take a look back at Celestia and see what she's up to.
Chapter 1: Down In The Underground
Time seemed to freeze as we stared each other directly in the eyes, none of us daring to make a move. My hand was already grasping the handle of my sword, ready to unsheathe the blade and wound them at any moment. Granted, my reaction time isn't that impressive, but I'm not gonna let them know that. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, one of the canines spoke up.
"What... are you?" he asked. Right, they've probably never seen a human before. But before I could answer...
"Hold on, guys. We should probably take him to the boss," the second one, who was rather stout, might I add, said. "He might know what to do." Oh boy. Hopefully this leader of theirs is merciful...
And so, I was brought into the cave. It was quite impressive, actually. There were all sorts of crystals and gems adorning the cavern walls. Many other diamond dogs were out and about. A lot of them would stare curiously at me. I don't blame them.
Finally, we arrived at a giant stone canine head.
"Our leader, King Fenrir, is beyond this door," the first one (a tad lanky) stated. "We'll let him decide what to do with you." Man, I just wanna go home! What gives? But, despite my mental protesting, the mouth of the stone head opened, revealing a door. How very original. Before I could comment (which was probably for the best), the door opened, and a deep voice spoke from beyond it.
"What have you brought this time? Another worthless pony?" I was mentally quaking, but I tried to at least appear calm. We then walked into the room. Looking around, it looked to be a throne room. In the center was, well, a throne. And a massive, we're talking gigantic, diamond dog was lounging on it. Must be Fenrir.
"King Fenrir," the stout one said, "we have discovered this unknown creature just outside the cave."
"He was hiding behind a rock," the lanky one added. Fenrir leaned down to get a good look at me. Good grief, it feels like he's staring right into my soul. His eyes then widened suddenly.
"What is it, sire?" the third one (a rather muscular one at that) asked.
"I never thought I'd see the day..." he said, softly. He then sat up. "Impressive work, all three of you. You may have just saved us all from this miserable underground life."
"We did?" the short one asked.
"You have found... a human."
At that, the three of them went slack-jawed.
"So does that mean..." the lanky one began.
"It may just," Fenrir responded. "Could you three leave him with me? I wish to speak with him alone."
"Yessir!" they barked, then ran out of the room, leaving me with Fenrir.
"I suppose I should tell you what's going on," he said. "I can't tell you much right now, but I'll explain what I can."
"Please do," I said, not knowing what they saw in me.
"You see, Equestria is not as it seems to be. It has a dark past, one that Celestia is desperately trying to hide," he began. "Pundamilia, the queen of the zebras, recently had a vision. She saw a human gather the 8 fragments of the Crystal Flower of Truth, and do battle against Celestia. I believe you may be that human."
"So, I'm some kind of chosen one?" I asked.
"Er, not exactly," he explained. "She only saw a human. There weren't any specific details. I think it's safe to assume any human will fit the role."
"Are you sure? I don't exactly think I could handle Sunbutt," I quipped. He chuckled a bit at that. Guess he doesn't like her either. Well, good to know we have at least one thing in common.
"We figured it'd be like that," he explained. "So, we agreed that we'd each give you a sort of test, to train you so that when the time comes, you'll be on even footing with Celestia."
"We?" I asked, confused.
"Oh, excuse me," he said. "I was talking about the other royalty on Equus."
"Oh, that makes a lot more sense," I responded.
"Now, it happens that each of us has a piece of the Crystal Flower of Truth," he explained. "Clear the trial, and we'll each give our piece to you."
"Okay," I said, understanding the gist of it. "So what kind of trial did you have planned?"
He got up from his throne. Good lord, he's huge! He could probably step on me without a second thought!
"Follow me," he said, heading for a door in the back of the room. I followed him in, as if I had any other option. Past the door was a cavern housing nothing but a huge crystal lattice hanging from the ceiling. Fenrir gestured towards the structure.
"Your goal is simple," he stated. "Knock that off the ceiling."
I was... well, unsure to say the least. The thing was massive! It was way bigger than Fenrir, for God's sake! But, on the other hand, I didn't have much other choice. I took a deep breath, and looked around. I then noticed that the walls were rugged, enough so to climb on. I grabbed hold and, despite my poor arm strength, made it to the ceiling. I took a look at the crystal, and reached over with my sword. I began whacking at the structure, until I heard a loud CRACK. Then, the whole thing came crashing down, splintering on the ground below. I dropped down after that.
"Nicely done!" Fenrir exclaimed. "Now, for your reward." He handed me two things: a white circular crystal with 8 indents, and a smaller orange crystal shaped like a petal.
"That crystal petal will increase your strength tenfold," he explained. "Now, if you'll come this way, there's something you should see." He directed me too a smoother part of the wall. There were images drawn on it. He pointed to a few pictures. From what I could tell, there was a diamond dog sitting atop a pyramid, followed by boats arriving, and then ponies slowly taking over the place, until the final picture showed the diamond dogs underground.
"These cave paintings depict our history," he explained. "We were once prosperous, but then the ponies came. They took all our land, and we were forced to live underground." He sighed.
"It was long ago, and the ponies still show us no respect to this day. They antagonize us and many other races," he said.
"I understand now," I said. "You want me to end the oppression, don't you?" He nodded.
"Please. You're our only hope," he pleaded. "The next petal is kept by the sea serpents. You can find them with this map." He handed me a map marked with an X over a large lake. I took a deep breath. I knew what I had to do.
"Well, I guess going home will have to wait," I said, filled with newfound determination. I lowered my hat a bit. "I've got a world to fix."
Meanwhile, in Celestia's castle...
Celestia shuddered suddenly.
"Is everything okay, sister?" Luna asked.
"I feel... a disturbance..." Celestia muttered. "Summon the Element bearers at once, please."
"As you wish," Luna responded. Celestia looked out the window and saw an orange beacon of light shining in the distance.
"Oh no..."
Author's Note
And that's all for now. Check in next time as Kagekamen meets the sea serpents. Also, looks like Celestia's realized what's gonna happen. The question is, can she stop it? Find out next time!
