BARK!
The door slammed behind me, and at the same moment, the cheerful little face of the dark Cockel Spaniel lying on the bed in front of me turned its attention in my direction.
"Hi Bruno," I said meekly.
Three heavy thumps on the door kept me still, I didn't make a move from where I was standing. With a hint of anger, I sighed, and the scratchy sense of annoyance dwindled with a steady pace.
“Adam!” A feminine voice called from behind the doors “Give it back!”
I take a step back and lean my back against the door. My eyes are directed at the ceiling, straight at the hanging lamp. My gaze was suspended on it, and I shifted all my focus and energy to my tongue.
“I’ll give it back to you tomorrow, alright? I need it for my drawing!” I shout with a sharp tone, in order to make her go away.
“You can’t even draw properly. How much time and money did you spend only to end up not even slightly better?!” She banged once again on the door, Bruno was startled because of it and looked at me, then at the door.
She was telling the truth. No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible for my skill in drawing to improve to any extent, despite my attempts and time spent practicing. I was locked with what I had, although my level wasn't bad.
The most complicated thing I could draw in a good amount of time, that is, within relative decency was a circuit board that took me about thirty hours to make. Still, it left much to be desired.
Pushing that thought aside, I looked at Bruno. He was a smart dog, an extraordinary dog. He immediately understood what was on my mind. Although you can't give him too much credit for intelligence in this case. The reason for this hung on the left, on the wall.
The portrait of Bruno, done by me in about two weeks (and I helped myself in various ways), depicted an English Cocker Spaniel puppy with a Blue Roan coat. The proportions were slightly exaggerated, which had the effect of making Bruno not much larger than the other dogs of his breed.
Yes, Bruno was brought into this world by me. He was under my absolute control, but because of the precision and desire and the thrill of drawing him, which was five years ago, Bruno also had an autonomy worthy of a dog and above-average intelligence.
Here one principle becomes apparent. The more realistic the drawing, that is, the more the drawing looks like a photograph in terms of quality, the more the materialized item or materialized animal possesses characteristics of the item or animal the materialized objects represent. For some reason, such an animal is also more submissive and intelligent, which seems contradictory but it is so. Emotion and motivation in the drawing companensate the flaws, raising the level of the animal or object above the threshold provided by the quality of the picture. Bruno wasn't very realistic in his drawing, but he was pretty good. It's most likely that because of my excitement and religious discipline in drawing Bruno he ended up the way he did.
“Bruno” I called the dog loud enough for my sister to hear. “Bark, if you think Lucy should go away.”
“Bruno, don’t!”
*Bark*
It didn’t help, Bruno did as I wanted him to. I know what others would think, that I’m an authoritarian guy who likes to boss around, otherwise I would let Bruno decide for himself. That wouldn’t be the truth though.
I can’t change the relationship between the two of us in any way. If I can, I don’t know how. Any incentive to perform something, which I can argue with and with reason reject, Bruno interprets as a problem or desire of mine. Anything that goes around my mind, if not done by me, Bruno will try and do if it's in his capability to do it well. At least I think that’s the case, I’m still lost in that matter.
Nonetheless, I had a task to manage. I let Bruno out, so that he would not distract me with his presence. I don’t know why, but I always feel an obligation to play with Bruno, or any animal for that matter, if they’re unoccupied. Peeking outside the door, I observed as he went to the living room to lay before the balcony door, where he usually slept.
I closed the doors and began my routine for today.
I held in my hand a plastic toy, which my sister used as a decoration in her room, until recently, as her school joined a campaign to help homeless children and encouraged students to give up their old toys. She put it in a bag with a few other gadgets she chose to give up.
The fuss you witnessed was because she’s very territorial and assertive. Lucy hates it when someone does something to her stuff without first asking her. I don't know what her problem was, the moment she put the toy in the bag she put into effect the idea of relinquishing her rights to the ownership of that thing, and the fact of carrying it to school made her a mere purveyor of nobody's property. Such behavior contrasts strongly with the fact that she is a generous person, she could open a bag of chips and not eat one single chip and let others do it, but if someone else would've opened it without her consent she would explode in rage and rather throw the bag out and into the trash then allow anyone to take one chip out.
Since I didn’t hear her talk back or bang at the doors, she probably went back to her room. Finally, there was some good in my life. I don’t know what sort of toy it was that I took, but It looked like a mirror or something in that category. It was simple and seemed easy to recreate on paper.
My last experiment damaged my printer. I can always screw things up. So I had to make drawings by hand instead of using the software. But I wouldn't need it today anyway, because the drawing I was planning to do was going to be moderate, and I'm going to a boarding school in a few days, so I don't have time to wait.
So I walked over to the gray table, on it was a dozen cups filled with various markers, crayons, and pencils. I put the toy on the table, took a picture of it, then transferred it to my laptop. I unplugged the monitor, and it automatically went into tablet mode. I put a piece of paper on the monitor, and the photo showing through the paper was clearly recognizable.
I wasn't afraid of damaging my laptop, I had an exact drawing of it tucked away in one of my folders, and I could always get myself a new one if needed. Since the laptop was mine, in a way it was a distinguishing feature, losing information on the drive was never a problem for me. I dread the day when the fact of being broken becomes an irreversible feature, resulting in me pulling out a broken laptop every time.
There are exemptions, which from I am sure of another principle, namely that sometimes in spite of the fact that there is no change in the composition of the picture, I obtain an object that looks the same but acts slightly different. Every now and then when I materialize a bottle of water, it comes out empty.
So, I have turned my thoughts to my work. I carefully made a sketch, it took me two hours. The sketch was clear, and the toy itself was fairly easy to trace, so it wasn't difficult. I added a few elements to make the structure make more sense, I left out one of the levels of the platform the mirror stood on and the wavy decorations that run around the oval shape on the sides. I added shadows for a 3d effect and gave the top part that was missing (because it was visibly broken off) a new shape like a pen nib.
I liked this sketch and accepted it, not wanting to change it further. I didn't want to mess with it further, because what would be the point? I could always make things worse by making corrections, even though I wanted to do well.
I noticed it was already eight pm and therefore time for the evening dinner, so I went to the kitchen and prepared myself a meal. Since mom and dad were in the city for the day, they returned as I had finished preparing the ingredients. Lucy came to ask them what they did and used my position and earlier situation to force me through the authority of my parents to make me do something for her as well.
I had dinner with Lucy, we had scrambled eggs, and my parents didn't have an opinion on the fact that I took my sister's toy, but they made me make dinner for Lucy anyway. The snot still complained that I didn't give enough salt. Anyway, my parents were usually quiet, they didn't say much to me, and they were cold towards me, but I couldn't accuse them of not taking care of me. When there time comes, I'll say shine some light on the details.
I went to my room, Bruno followed me in. For the next two hours, I packed my things, I had prepared a special suitcase with notebooks and drawings that I could use to guarantee myself the necessary things when...
A sad, biting sensation of warmth groggily reverberated through my frame. My heart sped up, and I knew that I would probably have trouble falling asleep, because this is always the consequence that happens to me when I'm anxious.
I sighed shallowly, Bruno walked up to me and nuzzled my leg, after that he started to lick me. I merely looked at him and my negativity made him yelp, he hid his tail in between his legs and walked up to the corner, thinking it’d be best for me if he left me alone.
I didn’t mean to do that! Frustration filled my heart replacing the melancholy in an instant. I started to walk around my room stopping in midway many times, almost in the process of taking something into my hand and throwing it at the wall. I didn’t even have consistent thoughts as it rained cats and dogs in my mind, soaking my brain with only anger.
My usually stable state is constantly raped by emotions that every which way find the pitiest opportunity to push me into a raging pendulum swaying from jaundice to a feeling I could only describe as self-inimicality.
I sometimes wish that Bruno-
NO!
STOP!
Not that thought!
I panic, my ire becoming now despair, as I turn towards Bruno, I breathe heavily under the imponderable weight that rests on my shoulders, making me feel small and weak. I walked up to him hastily and picked him up and took him with me onto the bed, and tightly hugged him, carefully running my fingers through his curly hair.
Bruno… if he knew how much danger I posed to his existence, regardless of the fact I am the sole reason for him being in his world in the first place, would he even dare share one planet with me?
For all that danger you face by living near me, Bruno, you should bite me.
I snicker miserably, knowing that I’m at the point of allowing thoughts that can let me to self-harm. Yet, what argument can strike that reasoning down?
I look at the table, focusing on the drawing I made. I ought to disappear.
I went to bed after some time, but I couldn’t fall asleep again. I thought about the ways I used my unearthly power and the consequences that followed. I felt guilty for doing things that were straight-up immoral and questionable.
When I was little, I could only pull objects from pictures I had made, they lasted for some time and then turned to dust or ash. I never was caught and I took great pride in that accomplishment. However when I turned eleven, I noticed I could do it with pictures that others drew as well, and the objects I pulled from drawings made by me stayed with me forever. That same day I was determined to try and materialize a bird, as it was small, therefore by my logic back then, it should have been easy. I was awful at drawing animals at that time, so I told my mom we had a project and asked if she could do it for me.
After a tantrum, on the verge of crying, for the last time before giving up, I managed to do it. I have pulled out a sparrow from a drawing.
The sparrow played with me, by catching small things in the air I threw, or it did tricks I wanted it to do. My mom drew it well, therefore the sparrow was in a large degree similar to a wild one. At first, it was rather clumsy, because it had no idea how to do what I asked it to do, but after a while, it got the gist and performed the tricks better with each consecutive try.
Then something snapped and my nose started to bleed. I felt dizzy and the world spun around me. The Sparrow that exact moment attacked me and scratched my face. In fright, I wished it disappeared, and I found myself covered in something similar to sand, different in color and size from whatever normal objects turn into after I wish them to cease their existence.
Later, when I turned thirteen and started to care about such things as morality, and responsibility and slowly also licked politics, I asked myself If I had the right to destroy what I have brought into the world…Earlier I just considered it to be fun and saw the animals as unreal; magical constructs. Was it a real sparrow, from flesh and bone, that when on my command died, as a trait of it existing thanks to me, it turned to dust? Maybe it was something that functioned like a sparrow, but in reality, it was not?
This made me think of Bruno, and when we went to the vet for the first time I was nervous he’d turn to dust after being stabbed by a needle. He didn’t, he was a normal dog that would turn to dust the second I would want him to. Was Bruno different in some way? Was it his age and the quality of the art form which I pulled him into this world? Most likely. However, these still were hypotheses only.
Back in the day, I carried a notebook with pictures that were filled with drawings made by "friends" whom I asked to draw stuff in for me in exchange for some money that I also got from drawn pictures. These of course weren’t perfect, as I was only in high school at that time. This will be the third principle, that the objects themselves don’t have to look one to one to how they’re intended to look like. The world or something else that has a role in my power complements what’s missing if the message and intentions are clear, and as mentioned before, emotions matter as well. Of course, just like with the bottle of water I sometimes had to repeat the process. Rather than normal money, I received a banknote that looked as if it was a cut out of the picture.
I once used this notebook to materialize a Doberman to scare some drunk that approached me. What happened to the sparrow happened at that time as well.
A shiver went down my spine, and I became suddenly wet from sweat by thinking about that day, because of the consequences.
The drunk got severely injured by the Doberman I have materialized. He ended up in hospital with two missing fingers. He was deemed mentally ill when he told the doctors what transpired.
I was too scared to unmake the Doberman, and I let it run away. After the situation, I learned in the following three weeks that there were two more attacks. One of them was a lethal case of a girl being mauled by the dog, the other being a chihuahua that had to be put down after the encounter.
In light of these horrifying events, I am more than anyone else justified to question my purpose in life and ask why I live. I know it's shameless for me to say this, but I am on the same level as Jesus, Buddha, Einstein, Da Vinci and many others.
My ability allows me to materialize anything that is drawn, most likely regardless of the surface it was drawn on. I can influence the world in ways these people could only dream of influencing.
I don’t find any justification in using my power to influence the world to such a degree as these people did. In order to be sure I never do, I need to cut contact with humanity.
In the following days, I managed to pack all of my things. I was ready to depart, but not in the same way my family expected me to. Bruno could read my thoughts and he knew what was coming. He didn’t show angst, albeit he seemed less likely to engage in contact with me. My mom noticed this too and said that Bruno sensed I’m about to leave them for university. She didn’t know how far from the truth she was.
I returned the toy to Lucy. She said that the toy wasn’t even hers to begin with and belonged to dad and had something to do with some show he used to watch which he didn’t finish, I guessed it was about horses, since the mirror's frame’s shape was styled like a horseshoe.
To be honest, I found it bizarre that dad kept toys with him in this house. Secondly, Lucy seemed odd when she said that. I didn’t give it much thought afterward.
I borrowed a projector from my neighbour and cast the image of my sketch on a large sheet of paper I hung on my wardrobe. For the rest of the day I redrew the portal I have designed. My hand trembled and shook, my emotions were strong and this only could have helped me in my situation, even at the cost of quality.
My cousin, Jacob, promised to take me to the city and drop me off at the train station. He waited outside my house while I said my final goodbyes to my family. I didn’t cry, but my eyes were watery, which my father noticed.
Having the opportunity, I asked my dad “What was the show about?”
He looked at me strangely. “What show?”
Lucy shot me a fiery gaze, making me stop in my inquiry “Never mind” I said and waved my hand to dismiss the question.
I have decided to place the drawing on the back seats together with my backpack containing the sketchbooks. Jacob was very unforgiving and constantly tried to ask me what was on it and why it was so important that I took it with me.
“You’ll see.” I said after he asked what it was.
“When exactly?”
I planned to do it somewhere quiet, the perfect choice was a dirt road that stretched into the forest or some alleyway. I intended to ask him to stop the car eventually, but since the conversation took a favorable turn I had to adjust to the circumstances.
“If you take the route to our party place, I’ll show you”
He interpreted my words as a rude response “Listen, if you don’t want to that’s alright, I just find it strange-”
“I was serious” I said genuinely and looked him in the eyes.
“What?”
“I’m dead-ass serious, drive there and stop mid track”
There was a minute of silence, we both felt odd and it didn’t help my voice was dry and the tone I spoke with was plainly harsh.
“ ‘kay “ He nodded “As if I couldn’t just stop the car here.”
“I already made up my mind”
“But we might not make it on time for your train.”
“It doesn’t matter” I quickly added
In twenty minutes we arrived at our destination. The route we drove went along a river and further on eventually it would lead towards a place where people seldomly camped, making it a perfect place to meet and have a drink with my colleagues and Jacob.
We stopped midway. Jacob still was baffled by my confidence and probably had thought about my weird behavior. I didn’t pay him much attention and focused on battling my second thoughts about what I was about to do.
It didn’t matter anymore, he could witness my power. What will he do with this information? What will it change?
I took the scrolled drawing and asked Jacob to find two stones to hold it in one place, so that the wind wouldn’t carry the sheet away with it. Weird, isn’t it? It's such an important drawing that I took it with myself, and now I will place dirty stones on top of it.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, Lucy has been texting me for the last five minutes, but I didn’t respond to her messages. I already made a decision, and in order to be consistent with it I knew that I mustn't text her back.
I unscrolled the drawing and Jacob observed that the image of what resembled a mirror or maybe something different, like an archway leading somewhere, slowly was revealed inch by inch with each passing second with the sheet unrolling. He placed one of the stones he found near the sketch, as the drawing reached the upper edge of the paper. When I unscrolled it fully, I held it down by standing with one leg on it. Jacob walked up to me still looking at the sketch and placed the second stone in place where I stood.
“If I knew it would be just this, I wouldn’t have asked you to show it to me” He commented
I chuckled at his comment “This isn’t everything, look now” Jacob raised his brow at that.
I approached the drawing from the right side and knelt down. My hand descended down and rather than stop at the surface of the drawing, it went deeper, sinking into the drawing, creating a ripple-like effect that spread down the drawing but stopped quickly.
Jacob looked at what I did with a dumbfounded look, his eyes speaking both excitement and fear but in a positive, surprised manner.
“Wait…How did you…”
My hand caught something metallic and cold. Instinctively I pulled the portal up, and slowly, as if rising from murky water, the portal’s top parts emerged. Anything I pulled from a drawing had no weight until I pulled it out entirely. This allowed me to turn the portal and set it vertically, which I did.
I saw that the portal's appearance was slightly different from my design. This didn’t surprise me. As previously mentioned, the world sometimes itself adds or subtracts parts if the quality of the drawing is too primitive. Since there was no need for it, I just prepared a sketch, therefore the portal had no colors or fine distinguishing details and ornamentation. However, I was sure of the properties and function it would serve, as my emotions and intentions were clear as day when I had prepared the sketch.
The curvy ornaments on the sides I saw on the toy have been put back in their place, together with the original colors. The top was decorated with what looked like a cartouche with an image of a horse projecting from the surface. Looking at it, I had to admit that the design was very soft and almost childish.
Jacob backed away, looking amazed and frightened at the same time. He switched from a weak smile to an outright expression of pure worry.
“Adam…” He called me with a shaky voice
I carefully brought the rest of the portal up, focusing so that it wouldn’t come out tilted and fall on the ground. At the very end, I found out that the small circular platform I had placed the portal on wasn’t there and as I pulled it up, suddenly I couldn’t anymore, which took me by surprise because I didn’t expect it.
This change in design bothered me. As much as I knew that sometimes drawings after materialization came out different, which was rarely followed by bigger or smaller changes in the way of using the object and what functions it featured, in this situation I began to suspect that not everything will go as planned.
I spread my arms, smiling sincerely and proudly. Jacob walked over to the structure and touched it. He drew his hand away lighting fast, but after a second he reapplied it and even drummed his fingers on the metal surface.
I went back to the car and pulled out my backpack. Jacob watched closely what I was doing, he didn't hesitate to speak up, he was still in shock.
“What is this?” He uttered.
“A portal” My throat tightened, as I replied glaring at him.
Jacob turned grimm “To where?” His wistful tone pierced my heart.
“Away from any sort of human being”, I whispered back.
My hand landed on the side of the portal. The structure let out a low hum that rose up parallel to the volume in a matter of seconds. Pink and blue electrical cords jumped along the iron frame, with the middle shining in the bright colors of magenta and bright red.
Jacob covered his eyes as the wind hurled leafs and soil around, a flashing light that he looked straight up blinded him and made him recoil.
Unexpected burst of white light knocked him down. I covered my own eyes as the brightness was too much even for me. In a heartbeat the light settled down. My years begged my brain to do something about the chimming, deep and loud, which languished mutually with the glow.
It was short and bearable but made me recede in response. I walked up and stood before the portal. Where there was once the mirror now was a pinkish vortex, a slab of energy, swirling like the core of a typhoon.
“Adam!” Jacob gingerly stood up as he called my name.
My heart raced like never before. I tightly gripped my backpack and swallowed hard. I was almost hypnotized by the swirling pattern of the portal.
Author's Note
Welcome,
I hope you will enjoy this story and help me improve by leaving a comment.
And yes, saying that I should stop and focus on other things is an advice too if its genuine.
Taking a step in front of me, I heard Jacob's voice break down. The sound seemed like it was being rewinded backward and a filter was applied to distort it, making it resemble a cacophony, while my mind attributed each distinctive sound to a letter, forming my name among the timbres I heard.
I was blanked out, I felt as if I were suspended in mid-air, as if I were falling. Trying to take one step at a time, I hoped that my intentions were not in vain at least right now. I was worried, as I could not feel my legs. There was only one thing I was sure of, that I am.
But unexpectedly, the smell took my nostrils by storm on a date. With a blitzkrieg, the signal reached my brain, and I read the scent I smelled. Nice, sweet, inviting me to the source of its origin, it made the glands in my mouth eagerly release saliva. It was the familiar smell of caramelized sugar that seduced me.
The sense of feeling didn't fall behind. My feet made their presence known again, letting me know that I was on steady and firm ground. I tried to listen for what sound my steps were making. My footsteps didn't make much of a sound, except that when I pulled my foot off, I could hear my shoes rubbing lightly against the floor.
My ears, amidst the enigmatic high-pitched clatter and noise alike of something akin to waves washing over the coast, picked up other, clearer sounds. Something like voices, but I wasn't sure. I dismissed the thought, however, as the portal was about to take me away from the humanity. A chaotic opera of knocks and footsteps surrounded me like vultures scavenging carrion, throwing me into a stupor.
My field of view, which had been occupied by white, was suddenly liberated by pink and purple, shortly followed by blue which danced with red as well as yellow. The colors did not mix, they were like fluids or clouds, undulating and full of lumps. One color would come on top of another and pass under yet another or break up the battle of two.
The build-up of every new noise, feeling of touch returning and my eyes looking at the clouds that now mixed and created a rainbow of sorts suddenly stopped dead.
But…In the blink of an eye, motion returned.
However, the sweet and delicate smell of sugar was replaced by that of smoke and burned plastic. My foot stumbled upon something that I stepped on, while the other almost caught on something sharp jolting out of the ground. Noises became screams and among the chaos I heard rhythm; I heard order of repeated notes…Sentences.
Then, the colors before me have ripped apart, as if an invisible hand or person tore them away, revealing a set of new colors and shapes, some as beautiful as the ones I saw, others filthy and industrial, especially the clouds that reminded me of pollution and factory waste.
I didn’t even notice, but I still held my backpack tightly with my hand as it rested peacefully still hanging over my shoulder.
I did another step forward, and the colors that now turned pink and then brighter until white again, disappeared from my sight. I would've looked around to see if it still was behind me, but other things caught my attention.
The destruction…The colorful…Tiny horses. Some had wings and were flying, others had horns and they were glowing, while objects surrounded by something like an energy field followed right after them.
These were unicorns and pegasuses. Mythical creatures. I blinked, my mind only gathered information, I didn’t react as consternation immobilized me from doing anything.
Thousands of them were running around and some even looked in terror at me. I looked at them and they eyed me with fear. I gazed at the ones that ignored me and took note that the horses avoided me when running in a wide radius forming a circle, a sort of no step zone.
They were strange, they looked so cartoonish. Their eyes were grand and their heads round and big. In comparison to me, and I was under the average, they were small. Most bizarre to me was the notion it didn’t bother me, I took it as something acceptable to exist, was it because I myself am a special case? What was happening to me?!
Then I remembered. The same horse, closely resembling the looks of these here, I saw on the portal I have materialized.
I heard heavy grunts and metal hitting stone. I turned my head to the direction the noise came. Same way when something gets lifted off one's mind, I felt exactly the opposite to that. I started to back away, although the creatures I focused on weren’t interested in me.
Furry and big, almost two meters tall, muscular yeti-looking monsters wearing ash gray plate armor, some with a shield and others without, rounded up masses of the tiny horses also dressed in armor or without it who were simply frightened and lacked weapons. On the beasts’ chests was a sign of two teal lighting bolts that faced one another.
The horses in armor held spears but swords were present as well. Their armor looked more ancient in design, made from plates and distinguishable from each other parts, they looked Roman in appearance. What I found strange is that their armor was gilded. I only guessed that their manes must have gone through the crests on their helmets.
I looked around and everything now started to make more sense. This was some sort of event gone terribly wrong. I saw conical tents serving the role of covering the stalls scattered everywhere. I saw decorations hung up all over the place, ranging from balloons to wreaths in the shape of hearts and other objects or sets of objects. I saw ivy that was spread on wooden arches that created entrances to different areas. I saw bouquets set before a grand circus stage with lights decorating the fascia.
I wished I could have analyzed everything I looked at more, but I was forced to bring my attention elsewhere, as I heard a feminine and mature voice that set a warm flame of appreciation when I heard it.
“Luna!” She called in distress.
A tall and illustrious winged unicorn with a white coat and wavy tricolor mane that seemed to be carried by a light breeze, was speaking to the shorter, blue equivalent of herself. What caught my attention was the crown on her head and the blue ones as well.
A mare that spoke. In light of what I was going through, this wasn’t such a shocker to witness.
I couldn’t make out what the mare said, I stood too far away and the stampede around muffled her voice. The only word I heard other than the name of the blue, winged unicorn, was ‘south’.
I looked there and my eyes linked with the image of stormy clouds that had the color of mud. My heart sank when my eyes jumped from one point to another, making me see a fleet of flying units, ships of some sort like zeppelins moving towards the location I was in.
Four of such ships were stationed around the edge of the area I stood on, which must have been located somewhere high up for the ships to stop and still hover.
From the corner of my eye, I saw one of the big, clad in armor yetis approaching me. I took my backpack off swiftly and looked it in the eyes. My breath was shallow and my heart raced like crazy. My hand opened my backpack and grabbed one of the notebooks I have brought with me in it.
I couldn’t help it, I was forced to defend myself at the moment. I was prepared for such a situation to occur, but I never would have thought that it would come to this in such odd circumstances.
I managed to find the desired drawing I had in mind. A simple pistol, nine millimeters. My dad taught me a few things and I knew how to shoot. He wanted me to be better and to practice but I never intended to do that.
I looked at the creature and showcased my ability. My hand disappeared halfway into my notebook. The creature was confused as to what was happening and stopped its advancement. As I retreated my hand, with the intention to only threaten it with the pistol I tightly gripped.
I pulled the pistol out. The creature then sprinted in my direction. I thought I was going to pass out or even worse, have a heart attack. His heavy stomping shook the ground the closer it got. My God.
I pulled the trigger.
Princess Twilight Sparkle struggled to hold one of her beloved rulers in her magical grasp. She mustered her strengths, however, the strange crystal that enveloped Princess Luna was very mana-phobic in its nature, making her efforts laughable.
“Luna,” She whimpered.
A petrifying sound summoned her attention to her right. It was a loud bang, that passed away as quickly as it had appeared. Her eyes landed on a creature that she at first identified as a minotaur, then her mind switched sides after coming to terms with the knowledge she had about minotaurs, that the creature was only similar to a minotaur. The being was too far away for her to get a good look at it, but she was almost positive that it was a male.
Minotaurs were large, both in height and width. The creature was far smaller, about equal in height to Princess Celestia. The creature wasn’t muscular, although it possessed a fine silhouette. Minotaurs possessed a very thin coat, raging in coloration from different blues and grays to browns and dark reds. It had no coat and its fair beige skin was exposed to the outside world. Its hair, present only on the head, was dirty blond and slicked back. Its goatee was thick, chocolate brown, and pointy.
He was wearing an absurd amount of clothes. He was dressed in a green flannel shirt, and wore pants made from denim that matched the green color, together with perfectly contrasting white footwear. A gray backpack lay on the ground beside him and a book or something of a similar kind lay there as well.
He held something in his hands, an object she couldn’t identify. However, another one of those loud bangs that made her quail, got her all the information she needed. It was a weapon.
A roar of pain followed soon after. One of the beasts under the command of Tempest Shadow grabbed its face and released its weapon that fell to the ground. It was dangerously close to the creature she has been looking at for the last moment. A consecutive sound of three more shrieking explosion-like sounds, reminding her of fireworks, brought the beast down. It was shrieking and crying in pain, while drops of blood that ran like rain down the windows, dropped from its armor to the ground.
“Twilight!”
The princess in a great heist turned her head the other way. Her heart skipped a beat seeing Tempest Shadow in the air, with a kick sending an orb, the same kind that enclosed Luna, Celestia, and Cadence in dark crystal. She was forced to drop Luna, who didn’t suffer any damage, onto the stage to dash backward.
Before the orb could have hit her, a good citizen and postmare, Derpy Hooves has shielded her from the horrifying fate that the three princesses have suffered before her. Twilight’s horn shined brightly and used the greenish and foul smoke as a perfect cover, she cast a teleportation spell on herself and disappeared.
My hand trembled, and my heart wept with regret that I was forced to go to such lengths. In a flash of light, the short mare with the crown, called Twilight, disappeared out of my sight. I had so many questions, and as many guesses as there are grains of sand in the desert.
Yet, I learned that whatever these orbs are, I musn't allow myself to be hit by one of them.
My fight against these creatures brought me attention of the furry soldiers. Three more were running towards me, this time carrying shields. My pistol was able to pierce through their armor and also inflict some damage. Their armor really must have been bad in terms of quality, or by luck I pulled out a enhanced piece. I was forced to shoot them in the heads and exposed body parts, like hands and feet, for efficiency.
My hands were shaking, and due to the fact that I was holding my air, I started to feel dizzy. I zipped up my backpack after I hid my notebook in it, by firing four more times, I managed to stop their advance towards me.
This gun may not have been able to kill them, but its ammunition was infinite. How did I achieve this kind of effect? There was an image of the infinity sign on the side. You could say that it was a kind of rune.
These furry soldiers fought fiercely with the horses. The unicorns fired lasers from their horns, which, unfortunately for them, could not do anything. The energy beams were absorbed by the armor, but knocked the beasts away. I saw as one of the unicorns let out a stream of fire from its horn which spiraled and at one point flew out in many directions, setting some of the furry soldiers ablaze.
In order to once again gain some time I shot toward the three soldiers that were chasing me. I was successful in hitting one in the hand. These beings have never seen a firearm like mine before, and were afraid of the sound of my pistol. Looking at the damage I dealt, and the fact that bullets moved too fast for them to avoid them, they were afraid to chase after me.
In the distance, I spotted the tiny, lavender. winged unicorn. She and a few other colorful horses, from which one was also flying, were running in a direction that was free of the creatures that were chasing me.
On instinct, I decided to follow them, but only then did I notice that two creatures ran after the pack of horses. I stopped and among the running ponies that number has dwindled in the past few minutes, I sprinted to hide among the stalls and tents.
When I approached one of the tents I was forced to violently stop, as one of the colorful horses got in the way. The mare, judging by the voice, fell over and scrambled away throwing her legs in all directions. She screamed in horror as she ran away in the opposite direction.
I wanted to say something, but it would be of no avail. I continued on, not stopping and having to carefully direct myself among the tents and stalls. I encountered numerous horses, some even wanted to fight me. I however pointed my pistol towards the sky, and shot it. This managed to scare them.
I heard a choir of slams, objects tossed around. I looked at the tops of the tents and saw as one by one they were falling down. Familiar incoherent mumbling and grunts of the creatures I fought against met my ears. I retreated and hid in a blue tent.
Inside the tent was food. Tons of it. On the shelves, on the right, there were beagles and croissants, in the front cakes and pies, and on the left I saw beverages stored in glass bottles.
I waited patiently and swallowed. My throat was burning from all the running as it dried and I could feel iron on the tip of my tongue.
“No! Please! Leave m- AHHH!!!”
I closed my eyes.
“Leave her!” shouted a stallion.
A hiss of pain followed, with the mare screaming suddenly at the top of her lungs. I wanted to remain inside, but I couldn’t. I knew I could intervene, and that whatever would happen with or without my part, would also be entirely my fault. The guilt was eating me up.
So, I stood up and with a deep breath, I revealed myself from around the corner. I gazed at the side of the beast's head. They were wearing masks rather than proper helmets, making it an easy target for me.
Although my hand quaked I kept it steady for the moment. When I was sure the scope was perfectly aimed I reluctantly pulled the trigger. The shot realesed hit my target and jerked the limb.
The beast jolted in place, suffering something akin to a seizure. I watched as it slowly lost its balance and collapsed with the mare still in its grip, as if it was a bag of potatoes. The creature’s right leg was still moving, and its hands still tried to grab things in close proximity. It didn’t drop dead, it moved snazzily, grunting and whining. Its deep voice sounded like it was crying.
I let out a breath and with it a part of my soul. I didn’t want to do this.
The mare backed away from the attacker and looked my way. It was the same mare that I had met earlier at the very beginning when I moved towards the tents. She had a slender body and an elongated muzzle. She looked different than most ponies because of that. Her coat was fair blue, almost azure, and her mane was orange with a stripe of yellow. She wore a dark dress with golden sequins and a saddle on her back. I almost cackled.
Beside the beast was a horse clad in gilded armor, with a brown coat and dark mane. He was lying in a pile of blood that increased in size every second of me looking at it.
It was my fault…I should have done something right away.
“Who are you?” The mare asked.
I looked away from the dead body and focused on her. I pointed pitifully with my pistol at the beast “Not with them”. My answer didn’t make that much sense.
She understood enough and stood up gingerly while wincing. I wanted to help her out but she immediately backed away and fell down again.
“I’m sorry” I said quickly and gazed again at the dead horse.
I ran away in the other direction, seeing that it was almost empty from where I came from. The northern area was invested with the yeti creature's activity and I refused to take part in it. I decided to backtrack and take the path the flying unicorn went. She had a crown like the two before, so, I hypothesized that she was some sort of royalty.
I knew that the horses would classify me as an enemy, as I am an alien and they are currently being attacked. It would be logical to assume I am with the striking force. Which was another argument for not joining them.
But, wouldn't me following the lavender equine, Twilight, lead me to trouble since she's royalty and the beastly soldiers have interest in cathing her? Yes. It would, but I didn't yet strike an equine, only the furry monsters in black armor, therefore I already had an argument that could defend me from their hostility. Secondly, the pony I have helped could, If I'd be lucky, back me up. It was the most rational decison I could go with.
As I ran I looked up and noticed the sun shining faintly through the dark clouds. I remembered the words of the white-winged unicorn. She said something about the south. The direction I was running was southwest.
I suddenly was carried with energy and vigor brought by the feeling of hope. Maybe in the south was the military force of the city located?
Luckily I had avoided any interaction with the invading nation when I was retreating. I looked towards the ships and saw five more slowly docking at the edges of the city. I guessed that another thirty were coming from the looks of it.
Now as I walked, I had time to collect my thoughts. I was in shock because of what was happening.
I was supposed to be alone but I didn’t end up in the middle of nowhere as I intended it to be. Contrary to this, I ended up in a city, filled with colorful horses that spoke!
This was an invasion, I appeared in the middle of a war. These creatures clad in black armor were fighting with the horses. I had no right to pick a side, I had no knowledge about prior events, as far as I was concerned either could be the evil ones.
The aesthetics of the soldiers with the teal lighting bolts as their sign were frightening though. The clouds above and the ships that they used, everything spoke against them.
They attacked the mare, but it was probably because she was a unicorn. I thought about it and came to the conclusion that I did the right thing in the end, as I potentially saved her life. She might have been hurt later on in order to make sure she wouldn’t be able to fight against them.
Still, this was no excuse to attack a citizen. I had to admit, that I was siding with the horses the more I thought about it. Not to mention I unofficially sided with the equines by fighting the creatures.
I stopped in track before entering the plaza, seeing countless of these creatures exiting their ships by jumping down with shields and spears in hand.
I took my backpack off and took out a green sketchbook. I went through the pages looking for an item I have once included in my set for survival, including a scenario when I’d have to make contact with civilization.
Drawn from a perspective to look as if was hanging down from a bird's point of view, was the cloak of invisibility from Harry Potter. I buried my hand into the paper, having to slide it deep, stopping before my elbow was swallowed. When I felt the tips of my fingers touch the soft skin-like material, I grabbed it and pulled it out, slowly and without making much noise.
I placed the sketchbook down on the ground and slowly wrapped the cloak around my arm as I pulled it out from the drawing. When I ended, I packed my sketchbook and put the cloak on myself. It didn't look exactly like in the movie, but it was close enough as it was brown and patchy.
I saw the world from behind it, where it folded there the image distorted with a few strings of the cloak not being transparent, while the world around was overlaid with a modest grayish tint.
I sneaked by as I walked before the stalls that stood at the very front, seeing that tvelve armored creatures were transporting what seemed to be some statues made from almost black crystal. I analyzed what they carried by taking a closer look at the statues and recognized that it was the white-coated mare from the beginning being carried along with her blue look-alike. I had no idea who was the third statue, but it too was a winged unicorn.
Why were they interested in the winged unicorns? Was all royalty them? Most likely yes.
I waited patiently until they left and slowly made my way to where I last saw the lavender horse.
Making sure that nobody followed me or saw me go this way, I took the cloak off me and I tied the invisibility cloak around my waist after reaching the passage where I last saw the horse princess.
After three minutes of running, I came to a stop. There were two possible routes I could take. One of them circled back to where I came from, making me arrive there from a different side and the other descended further into the city. The problem was, a bridge made that path and it was completely destroyed in the middle.
“Fuck”
I knew that staying at the level I was on was basically suicide, as I decided to backtrack and now the plaza was probably occupied by dozens of the creatures. I wouldn’t be able to fight off the rest of the forces. It wasn’t a guarantee that they would take me hostage.
I approached the edge and looked down. Water. The stream was clear enough for me to see the bottom of the channel which was deep. The stream led to a waterfall, however, I didn’t know how high I was and from what height the waterfall poured down.
I looked up, as the wind and sound of engines summoned my attention to itself. I noticed five more ships above me, probably heading towards the center to deposit the units they have carried. About seven in total were very close to the ground in the area I had in mind reaching. Whatever I would do now, a fight was inevitable.
“Which one of you guys is going down there?”
In a hurry I looked the way the voice came from and saw a small creature with two of the soldiers accompanying it, standing at the edge of the cliff near the waterfall. The way he said the sentence, accompanied by the splashing of water made it seem like he had a speech defect.
I was anxious. I was lost.
What should I do?
“Hey, who’s that?” I looked at the small creature who was now pointing at me.
“Shit!”
In reaction, I ran again, but in distress and fear, I tripped. I let my pistol out of my hand, it bounced a few times and landed a short distance away from me. I stood up gingerly as my mind was occupied with finding an answer as to how to survive. I began to reach for the weapon.
Out of nowhere, a furry soldier clad in black armor landed on the remains of the bridge, crushing my pistol under its feet. The two lighting bolts on his chest shined and pulsated, while cords of lighting jumped around his body.
Now I know why the lasers of the unicorns didn’t work.
I ducked as the furry soldier tried to smack me. Their movements were cumbersome and allowed me to swiftly avoid their attacks. Another one of the beasts appeared, blocking the way entirely for me to escape. I managed to hold my ground as the remains of the bridge shook and cracked under the force of the second beast’s landing. They extended their hands forwards, as if I was some sort of walking treasury awaiting to be molested.
I had only one alternative left.
I unequipped my backpack and held it in my hands. My heart was pounding heavily against my chest, ready to burst and fight alone, since my brain led me towards the edge. I knew that in a moment I would fall down. I was gazing into the teal eyes of the furry creatures that looked like dead points, lacking emotion. Their masks looked as if they were styled after ape skulls, sending a shiver down my spine.
The inevitable came quicker than I thought. The soldiers rushed forward in a last attempt to get me, but my stubbornness had eaten my fear and I jumped backward.
I felt dead inside, a feeling of powerlessness, like a bolt of electricity, has hit me and hugged my whole body in dread. A blanket of despair covered my entire soul, as I descended down. Before falling into the cold water, I saw the two creatures looking down at me, observing attentively.
First, it was my left leg, then the rest of my body followed suit. I fell into the freezing water, being wrapped by the cold, and held with an iron grasp by it. I swam up, holding my backpack with all the force I had. I knew it was pointless, but maybe something would survive, at least one drawing.
My head appeared above the water layer and the first thing I did was sweep my hair from my eyes. I held my backpack, now soaked in the water, high in the air. I moved my legs in an appropriate order and pace to stay above the water.
I was coming close to the waterfall, my eyes observing the gurgling liquid as I neared the edge, thinking only about the height I would drop from.
At the last moment, I looked to the right side, seeing the small creature I saw from above before I plummeted from the bridge’s remains. It looked like a hedgehog but its face didn’t look in any way like a hedgehog's.
The creature’s arms hung lazily to the sides, he looked at me passing by, and didn’t even attempt to do anything in order to stop me, showing he lacked the necessary tools to do it. I was sure as hell he’d be able to pull me out of the water. If the armor of the bigger creatures was able to modify their jumps, why wouldn’t some be able to lift objects with telekinesis?
“Yeah, no” He huffed and shrugged his arms. He looked up, and yelled at the two creatures “You are explaining this to commander Tempest directly!”
I swiveled my head and looked forwards, seeing that in a moment I would once again fall down. On the horizon, I saw an ample of ships circling some town. The buildings were burning and strips of dark smoke reached the very muddy clouds covering the skies.
I was suddenly brought down as I reached the edge. The distance wasn’t great, almost the same as when I dropped a moment ago when I jumped down the bridge. I fell into a pit of water, and had to again recover by swimming up. This time when I appeared above the water, I knew my backpack was entirely wet, and my hope for it to protect at least one drawing was foolish and stupid to believe.
The water current weakened down, but it still was strong enough to pull me the direction it was flowing. Stones that distributed the stream into a few separate currents had sharp edges that guaranteed major and potentially lethal injuries were the newest of my problems. I swam to the widest one to avoid hitting any of the boulders, but in doing so my hold on my backpack worsened.
Again, like before, I fell with the water. I didn’t worry about my phone, as it was waterproof, and could withstand the unfavorable conditions it went through. My backpack, on the other hand, slipped from my grip and in panic, I swam upwards looking for it in desperation. As I sucked fresh air into my lungs, my eyes scrutinized the nearby area. I should have had it on my back, but I was stupid enough to take it off.
I looked to the left and right, but I couldn’t find it. I was losing hope and will to swim and to fight. Everywhere I looked there was either foam or the water was too dirty to see anything. Considering the fact my backpack was gray and could mask itself well in the water’s hue, I lost my passion to save the drawings. They were lost anyway.
Tired and cold, I swam to the nearest shore. The river was merciless and carried me forwards. I focused more on avoiding the rocks and debris that I saw on the way, rather than fighting fiercely so that I could walk out of the river.
My body felt strange all of a sudden, the world looked pink and I saw sparkles and glitter appear around me. I found myself being lifted up by something from the water. I felt so lightheaded that I remained calm when it happened, surrendering to what was about to take place.
I was turned by a hundred and eighty degrees, and then I saw it.
The small, lavender horse but without the crown she had earlier.
Twilight.
Author's Note
Hello everypony!
I hope you'll leave a comment that will help me improve my English and leave a tip for how I should improve my story.
Is the pacing to quick? Is the story to simply written? Is it just bland?
Don't be afraid to tell me what's on your mind. I'm a person that just can't go without making a mistake.
