Version: 1.1
Briar stood on the edge of a mountain. Lightning lit up the dark clouds above. The rumble of thunder seemed to roll across the valley below him. There, in the distance, dotted with many warm lights, was Canterlot. The palace of the Princess. It stood against the foreboding weather like a beacon of hope and life.
"FUCK YOU CELESTIA!!" Briar roared as loud as he could.
The patter of rain quickly drowned out his cry as the clouds released their payloads on the world below.
He screamed it again and again. Over and over. Until his throat was raw. Until the tears of pain and anger could not be distinguished from the rain that soaked the human's hair and clothes. He unleashed all his hate into the uncaring wind. Then the man collapsed on his knees and held himself. He shivered as the cold set in.
Briar had no shoes or socks. His feet were cut and bleeding from his muddy hike through the Everfree. He shoved aside branches and bushes that tried to stop him. The man didn't really know the way, but he had a general sense of the direction. It was his only hope, though that might have been the wrong word for it. The Tree was the only thing he could think of that might provide him an escape from the nightmare he'd thrown himself into. He had to reach it. He had to find it.
He emerged from the tree line. A ravine cut across the landscape like an ancient battle scar. An old wooden bridge provided a convenient means of reaching the other side and the broken castle beyond. However Briar wasn't here for the castle and the crude shelter it could provide. Besides, the rain was already slowing. The man searched the near side of the ravine for a way down. He found it in the form of a narrow path. A road that pretended to be natural while also seeming far too smooth to be anything but artificial. He cared little either way. Briar marched down the winding trail until he finally reached the bottom. The journey was painfully long on his abused feet.
Luckily, once he was at the bottom, he didn't have to search long to find it.
Briar had never been a religious person back home. But here, in the presence of the Tree of Harmony, he felt an undeniable mystical power. The air was practically humming with some kind of otherworldly force. The Tree was made of pure diamond. Six main branches each tipped with one of the Elements of Harmony. Each one a powerful magical relic on its own. At the center of the leaf-like spread was a shimmering star pattern. The Tree emitted its own light and the space in its cavern was warm and gentle. Briar could feel... compassion coming from it. Forgiveness.
The broken man had to stop several meters away from the Tree to wipe away the tears that threatened to pour out of him again. He wasn't here to be comforted. He was here to get help.
He was here to go home.
Briar approached. The rock ground beneath his shredded toes was room temperature and smooth. Immediately around the Tree was a slight rise. What did they call it in churches? An alter? Yes, it was like an alter. The Tree stood proudly on a stage so all its visitors would look up in awe. Briar hesitated at the step. He looked down, then up at the divine Tree of Harmony. Briar climbed up to the trunk of crystal and cautiously placed his hand upon it.
For a moment he merely stood there with his palm flat and his mouth shut. He licked his dry lips. He breathed deeply. He tried to think about his words. He didn't know how to ask. He'd only prayed once before in his life. And it had blown up in his face. Would this be any different?
"My name... is Briar. And... I've come to ask... beg you for help." The man did not dare to look up. He kept his head pointed down in humility. "I... I don't want to die here. I don't want to be alone. I don't want to die here alone. P-please send me home. I want to go home!"
His voice echoed in the cave for a second. Then there was silence only disturbed by the erratic sound of dripping water. Warm air tickled his skin. His feet throbbed painfully. His ribs ached. His throat was scratchy.
Nothing happened.
Briar sniffed. His head and shoulders dipped. "No huh. Why did you abandon Celestia then? You're just like her."
The Tree did not respond to his insult.
Briar grit his teeth. "Fine. I guess I'll just go and die. Just like Celestia wanted!"
The man looked up at the crystal. It had not changed while tears leaked from his eyes.
"It's not fair," Briar whispered. "It's not fair," he repeated even quieter. The human swallowed, closed his eyes, and began to turn away.
His whole body jerked backwards. "Huh?" Briar grunted. He couldn't move. No, he couldn't move his hand. The man's gaze turned toward his hand which now felt like it was glued to the Tree of Harmony. It had him. He stared, eyes widening as the space around his palm began to glow. Brighter and brighter. It was like the sun itself after a moment. The Tree was starting to vibrate and a thrumming whine filled the air. Briar had to cover his face with his free hand. He screamed. Then with a boom he was thrown back onto the rock ground. He landed with a groan of pain as his various injuries reminded him how much he'd been hurt. His broken ribs throbbed, the palm of his left hand burned, his abused spine complained.
In that instant Briar's mind returned to the past. He was forced to relive that terrible scene when Celestia stared at him with disgust. When she yelled and threw him to the tiled floor. When she smashed his hand. When she kicked him down the steps. When she ordered him to go to the Everfree and die there. When the mare he loved so much showed him how much she hated him and how cruel she could be.
Then Briar was in the cave again. The nightmare had returned to the past and he was free to wallow in the aftermath once more. The emotions made him shiver and more tears tried to spill from his eyes. He lifted his head just enough to see the Tree. It was still, quiet, and dark. Nothing had changed. He was still trapped in Equestria. He was going to die here alone. Despair and hopelessness hit like a truck. Briar's head dropped with a dull thud. He sniffed. Maybe he should just lie here until some animal came to feast on him.
Briar eventually shuffled to his feet with all the speed of a glacier. His body was beaten and he was exhausted. Why did he even bother? There was nothing left for him to live for. Nothing left for him to care about.
"You poor thing, what happened to you?" a feminine voice called to him from behind.
Briar twitched, awkwardly spinning around to see who had snuck up on him. Unsurprisingly, it was a pony, but there was something artificial about her. The man couldn't explain it, but there was something about her appearance or her aura that made him feel like she wasn't real in some way. Her legs were like perfect cylinders. Her fur was whiter than snow. Her eyes and her mane were sapphire, but the hairs seemed reflective like glass and a bit spiky or sharp around the edges. He didn't see a horn or wings on her so he assumed she was an earth pony. There was also an odd glow about her. Despite being in a cave in the middle of the night Briar could see her as though she were in broad daylight. As though darkness had no power to conceal her.
For some time he stared at the mare, unsure what to do or say. She took a step forward and tilted her head.
"You are... damaged."
Briar's good hand pressed to his broken ribs. "I'm fine," he said dismissively and with maybe a hint of aggression.
The mare narrowed her eyes skeptically. "I have never seen your kind before, but I can tell you are hurt." She took another step forward.
Briar took an equal step back. "Who are you?" he asked with a touch of fear.
She paused. "My name is Rama. What is yours?"
Rama? That was definitely not a pony name. "I'm Briar. I'm human."
Rama smiled gently. "Pleasure to meet you. Can I treat your obvious injuries now?"
Briar swallowed. Where did she come from? "Why do you want to help me?"
The mare stared at him. "Because you asked me to."
The man glanced from side-to-side in confusion. "When did I do that?"
"Just a moment ago," Rama explained simply.
"No I didn't."
She tilted her head curiously. "Strange. There is no way a three dimensional being could have called me accidentally and there is no way those breakages are normal. Someone asked me for help and you clearly need it. So it must have been you."
Briar was baffled. Something she just said didn't make any sense, but he wasn't sure what or how. "What are you talking about? All I did was... touch the Tree." He gestured to the Tree of Harmony behind him.
Rama glanced at the artifact for a few seconds. Then her eyes widened. "It called me. For you? You were able to bond with the World Tree?"
Briar's mouth flapped soundlessly a few times. "Maybe? It... glowed. But it didn't do anything!"
Rama rolled her eyes. "It called me."
"I don't know."
"I think it did," Rama asserted. "Now, may I help you?"
Briar clutched his side tighter defensively. "Where did you come from? Who are you?"
She sighed. "If I take the time to explain will you let me address those broken bones?"
The mare wasn't a unicorn, so Briar wasn't sure what she thought she was going to do, but he decided to humor her. "Sure."
"Okay then," she nodded. "My name is Rama and I am a fourth dimensional pony. I was minding my own business when I heard a cry for help. I don't have any ulterior motives. I just want to help. Okay?"
Briar's mouth hung open. "Fourth... dimensional... pony?"
"Yes," she replied.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"You need proof?"
"Yeah!" Briar scoffed. "I can't believe something that wild."
"Alright then," she shrugged.
Then she vanished.
There was no flash of light from a teleport. There was no rush of air as though she'd sprouted wings and taken off. There was no sound of clopping hooves. In the time of a single blink she had simply disappeared. Briar spun in place looking for the mare, but could find nothing. She wasn't in the cave or immediately outside of it. Had she been a hallucination? Briar shook his head. He must have been losing it.
"Do you believe me now?" her voice came again. Briar turned to the Tree of Harmony and there she was in front of it. She seemed smug.
"How did you get over there?" he blurted.
"I just took a step wint, out of your three dimensional plane."
" 'Wint'? What is that? How do I know you didn't just teleport?"
Rama looked disappointed. "Wint is a fourth dimensional direction. It's like saying I took a step to the right."
Briar nodded absentmindedly. "Sure. But you could have just teleported."
"Did you sense me using any magic?" she challenged.
Briar was about to counter that he couldn't sense magic anyway, but his eyes were drawn to her head. She didn't have a horn. And she was naked. Without a horn, or some item to cast the spell for her, the man honestly didn't know how she could have done it. "I... don't know how you did that, but I still don't believe you're some higher being."
"Will you let me heal you anyway?" she pleaded.
Briar grumbled to himself and eventually shrugged. Did it matter who she was? "Fine. But how are you going to do anything without magic?"
She smiled as she approached him. "I told you, I'm fourth dimensional. I can see and interact with your body in ways you never dared imagine."
Briar retreated a step and held up a hand. "What are you talking about?"
Rama paused and frowned. She looked up in thought. "How can I explain this so a three dimensional being can understand?"
"Start with how you intend to treat my wounds without bandages or magic."
The mare snorted. "A drawing is a two dimensional object, right? You look at a piece of paper and you can see the whole thing at once. All the lines and colors and all that. Right?"
"Yeah," Briar agreed.
"That is what it's like for me when I look at you. I can see everything. All your 'lines' and 'colors'. And I can clearly see that you have some broken bones and blood vessels. It's like looking at a drawing and seeing lines that don't connect when they obviously should."
Briar stared at his chest while she took the opportunity to close the remaining distance between them. She was almost as tall as he was. "So how are you going to... fix the lines?"
"With my fourth dimensional art supplies," she gushed with a cute grin.
"You're going to perform surgery on me with a pencil?!" Briar blurted in alarm.
Rama laughed. "There's no need to be scared. It won't hurt at all."
"How can you possibly know that?"
"Because I've already started," she said while tilting her head innocently.
For a moment Briar stared at her. She was just standing there. She clearly wasn't doing anything. The man looked down and flexed his fingers experimentally. There was no pain. Shocked, he quickly tried to poke his chest. It hurt.
"Hey!" Rama protested. "Don't move around while I'm working. It's like trying to draw while the desk is shaking," she grumbled.
Briar froze. Now that he thought about it he could feel something happening to his back. The aching was fading and there was... something. It was like poking. Like he was being prodded inside and out. It was kind of ticklish. He stared ahead at Rama. She returned his gaze. She still wasn't moving.
"H-how are you doing that?" he stuttered.
"My other hooves have the pencils and are touching up your disconnected lines. My hooves on this plane can't really do anything with all that skin and muscle in the way after all."
Briar was speechless. The weird touches continued and his various wounds and aches faded one by one. In no time it was like he'd never been hurt.
"All done," Rama announced. "I can't see anything else that obviously looks out of place, so you better tell me if something else is wrong."
Briar spun around. She'd even fixed his shredded feet. He swallowed. "Thanks. Y-you're really fourth dimensional? You can really see... through me?"
She nodded and hummed. "Through you and all sides of you at once. The easiest way to grasp it I think is to picture dozens of clones of me, but they are all ghosts that can see through walls and stuff."
Briar actually chuckled. "You know, that does actually make it easier to understand... what you are."
Rama laughed with him. "So, you still scared of me?"
Briar looked down and rubbed his hand. "I don't know. What you just did is... creepy. You touched me and did things to me that I couldn't even see. But..."
Her ears dropped. "Sorry. I just wanted to help."
Briar felt guilty, but he wasn't sure apologizing would work. So he figured changing the subject might. "So what are you going to do now? Return to your... plane?"
She blinked at him in confusion. "Why would I do that?"
Now he was confused. "Because I'm all patched up now and there is nothing more to do?"
Rama's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I don't think so. You never told me why you were so broken."
"What does that matter?" Briar asked nervously.
"I can't just leave you. What happens if you get hurt again? Not to mention you were able to bond with the Tree."
"Well, I don't know anything about the Tree of Harmony."
"And how you got hurt?" Rama quizzed with a raised brow.
"That... is private," he sighed. "And I doubt that situation will come up ever again." His words did the opposite of dissuade Rama. Now she was very interested.
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me!"
Briar bit his lip. "I... can't..."
Rama glared at him. "Then you better get used to me being around."
The man gaped at her. Part of him wanted to keep fighting with her, to tell her to leave, but another part of him realized his chances of survival might actually be better with her around. If she insisted on helping him he might be able to... do something...
Author's Note
This story is a VERY trimmed version of a much longer Drama/Slice of Life story I've had on my mind for years. It was going to be called something like "The Dark Horse Harem". The premise starts with what you just read, however, it would continue with additional mares appearing and declaring their intent to live with and protect Briar. Each mare was going to follow its own variant "dark" theme. Here you see the fourth dimensional pony. But there was also going to be a Beholder-like pony, a lich, and a living black hole. I also had ideas for four or five other mares, but these were the original.
However, I never wrote the story for two reasons.
First, I couldn't figure out the characters. Maybe all I really needed was more dedication to the story, but I wanted each character to have magical or supernatural abilities that, while similar, did NOT overlap. The big driving force of the story was going to be Celestia's obsession with destroying Briar, but every plan and method she devises to do so would be thwarted by one of his loving dark mare guardians. The roster for the story, however, always felt too samey to me though. Like, what's the difference between the abilities of a fourth dimensional pony and a sentient black hole? Maybe the mechanics behind it are completely different, but the results are darn near the same. I could never figure out how to get out of that trap. So I never wrote the story.
Second, I don't actually know how to tell this kind of story. I will always argue that Slice of Life is the HARDEST genre to write well. And this story would be no different even if the mundane was regularly going to be interrupted by crazy battles between bizarre otherworldly entities. The problem was the long-term. I knew for sure how to introduce each mare, that was easy. But the point of the story was the developing relationships between the members of the harem and how they counter the various attacks by Celestia and her forces. That's where my planning kept breaking down. Introductions I could do, but anything beyond that just... didn't come to me. After each mare makes her debut, I couldn't come up with anything else for them to do.
I was stuck. So I never wrote the story.
Rama is mostly inspired by Ramiel from Evangelion. Also, "wint" is a "real" fourth dimensional direction.
