Progenitorby primepersephonyChaptersPrologue.Chapter 1: AquaintanceChapter 2: The RainChapter 3: The Morning DreamChapter 4: Of apples and PitfallsPrologue."How could I possibly have imagined, that I would be part of the birth of Equestria." The howling of wind slipping through the crack of my slightly open window, caused me to shiver unexpectedly. Winter had come, and I had hardly prepared for it. I was soon going to regret my stigma of procrastination for doing so. So I did what came easily to me, I simply tightened my blanket around my freezing body. It was going a long night indeed. To be truthful, had I been living back at home, I would be in a much more comfortable place. A nice warm electric fire to warm the soul, three warm meals a day, and all of them would be actual meals and much better than the cans of ravioli and packages of noodles I had left in my reserves. I shouldn’t forget my family either, who was both annoying, fun ,and well... loving. Even despite the fact they had been quite disappointed in my performance at college. A college my parents had saved up their pennies all my life to send me to. As the holidays usually go, I’d also receive some heart felt gifts. Ones that I would never be able to return the favor, because of my lack of bank, and lack of willingness to find an alternative. But they would just say that “You being home is all we could ask for.” Really, it was a wonder I hadn’t taken the December holidays to greater effect, and simply just go home. But I guess I’m just too lazy for that too. I mean, its a no brainer that I should be home since it was only five days before Christmas, but....I don’t know. I really don't know how I managed to make an excuse this time. Oh right, I was a plane ride away, and a huge storm was brewing in my area. And grounding the planes for the foreseeable future. “How lucky I am.” I thought, trying to decide whether or not the storm was good or bad luck. Considering my solid rate of non-decision, I should have felt dirty for acting just like the politicians of the world. But I didn’t really care that much about politics anyway for all the ‘use’ it gives us nowadays. So, I’ll just silently add the next innumerable number to my mental count of times I failed to make a decision. So, with school being out for the the rest of the year, the storm making it impossible to fly home, and my friends too busy to hang out, there was only one thing left for me to do. Lose myself in the most counterproductive invention to mankind, “the internet.” Specifically, it was time to indulge in the pastel colored characters of “My Little Pony.” Yeah, I know, it’s strange for a young adult male to be watching a show for little girls, but I really don’t care about what you think. I’m a brony. But to be fair, I’m not as huge a brony as most of the people that go by the name. I don’t indulge in fanfiction, fanart, collecting toys, or making big deals about the background ponies. All I know is what I’m told from friends or actually having seen the occasional fanart part of a friend’s Skype profile picture. Why? Because once again I simply didn’t care. Well to be fair, I just didn’t care enough. The howl of the wind once more sent a chill down my spine, bringing me back to reality, and then suddenly a thunderous crash. I turned around to see the shutters of my window flailing about, the old rusty lock must have finally gave way to the storm. This was one of the few times I felt compelled to do anything. I needed to secure the shutters of the window now, before they either broke off completely, or shattered the window of the old house I was paying to live in. I didn’t want to lose my two hundred dollar deposit or live the next few days in the cold either... and hell I figure the landlord would appreciate my feigned initiative. I had a roll of string on my desk, figuring that to be my adequate alternative to the all fixing ‘duck tape,’ I grabbed it and examined the situation closely. For the task at hand, all I really needed to do was rope the shutters together, that is after I grabbed them, and held onto them tightly for a little bit. Easy solution, one that would allow me to keep my deposit, and as a side bonus, keep the sun out of my room forever. Then I could enjoy sleeping in whenever I felt like it. I slided up the window and it’s surrounding wooden frame, a blast of wind gushed in, actually causing me to stumble back as the temperature of the room decided it too needed a vacation south. I will regret this. Working as quickly as possible to help stop the genocide of the temperature I liked enough to actually care for, I put out my hands to catch the first shutter. They were both whipping around violently and slammed my left hand in a painful blow. But I finally managed to get ahold of the first, and the second soon after. I leaned my head forward to caress my hand, hoping it would help relieve some of the pain, but it didn’t. So without further stalling, I started wrapping the string around the open slits of the shutters that strung them together nicely. I was about to tie a knot. when the wind picked up again, causing me to lose my handle on the shutters, and to my amazement, ripped themselves off the entire frame soon after. “Damn,” I swore, “there goes my deposit.” I stared at the now useless pieces of wood flying about like they were birds in an instance of heavy turbulence. But then my attention shifted when the shutters had curved upward like a boomerang and bolted for... a tornado. Outside of my window, in the middle of winter (which should been impossible) was a huge twister, encompassing most of the town. It was hard to believe I’d only noticed now, or that the internet, or telephone lines hadn’t gone out yet. Hell, I was expecting some kind of broadcast on the radio, but then I realized I hadn’t bothered to turn it on since I moved in.Or even some city workers going door to door to evacuate everyone. Just...completely out of nowhere. I was stunned, shocked even, and for the first real time in my life, dreadfully scared. I went from a person who didn't give a damn about anything, to a person who actually did in... well you get the idea. I heard a huge snap, and a rumble. The roof of the house had tilted heavily, and it felt like the room was starting to be sucked into the monstrous tornado that was only just outside my window. I was in danger of being crushed by the house I lived in before being thrown about like a tennis ball in court. It’s a heart wrenching fear to be faced with such a tremendous force of nature, and well....I couldn’t help but to stare, I felt my clothes whipping about like paper in a mild gust around campus. But the more I looked, the more I felt like I was being sucked in. I was being pulled outside of a crumbling house into a tornado. It’s a hugely strange and overwhelming thing to be lifted from your room and pulled into the air. It’s a feeling of weightlessness that’s indescribable, because it felt like you were falling sideways, with your stomach still sinking, and your hair stinging your eyeballs because you haven’t had a haircut in months. I was right about one thing when it came to the shutters though, I definitely did regret this. _____________________________________________________________________________ Did I die. I mean, I should have right? Then why do I feel so ...untouched. So clear So... energetic. I felt weightless And yet... so scared. I was too scared to even open my eyes. “It is alright, you're safe now.” An echoing voice felt like it encompassed my head, soothing me greatly with it’s soft feminine voice. I opened my eyes, and to my amazement, I saw nothing at all. And I mean nothing. I was there in my own body as if the storm never happened. Just floating endlessly, it felt like I was stuck in a windless sky, and nothing but the same white for as far as I could see... in literally any direction. “Am I dead?”... I never meant to say that, and for the most part my lips to my knowledge, never moved. But it felt like I had said it with normal volume. “Yes, but not in your traditional sense.” The voice came back to me, I desperately looked around for the origin, but as far as I could tell, it was coming from my own mind. “What? Who are you? Show yourself!” I spat. I was kinda angry in my confusion, and I’d always wanted to say that cliched line. It also gave me this feeling of grounded normalness from the cheesy line, and normalness right now was a desperately needed commodity. “I cannot show myself in the way that you’d like, because all you see right now is me.” The voice calmed me down further with its soothing tones. “Are you God?” I asked. Hell...oh wait, if this is God, I should refrain from saying anything blasphemous or bad like ‘hell’. Then again I was never religious, and well according to my overly Christian friends, I had to believe in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to get into heaven. “You have no need to fear, I am not your creator, nor am I your reaper. I am simply a being that exists like yourself.” What does that mean? “As far as I know, I don’t know anything right about now! So could you spare me the cryptic stuff and just give me a hand?” I complained. “I have no hands.” Oh great, a smartass. “But I will explain what it is that is happening to you.” It paused as if to let me have a chance to retort. “You see, I am a creator. Not yours, but, you could say, we are part of the same... spectrum.” “Okay, so what does a....well, whatever you are, want with me? I’m not special... unless you're one of those omnipotent beings that liked to screw with people and give them superpowers or something like that.” I asked...and actually hoped that maybe I would get a superpower, because that would be pretty cool. “You see, in your world...or dimension as you’d call it, you are simply a being of unimportance in the history of that plane of existance. You would never achieve anything, and your significance to the world is so unimportant that if I removed you from it, it would not change it in any shape or form.” What? What the hell! This thing just said that everything and everyone I’ve ever met would not be affected at all from my disappearance. “But that doesn't make sense. Even if you killed a butterfly in the age of the dinosaur, the world could be affected profoundly. How can you possibly say that I, a person, much large than a simple butterfly, wouldn't affect it more more than an insect!” My heart steamed with hate, and I thanked myself for spending so much time on the internet to learn about the Butterfly Effect. “I cannot explain, as you wouldn’t understand. But I can tell you, despite the fact that you may not be of any value to that world. You possess unparalleled power in the world I will create, more so than any other being of your dimension. Your value to the new world I am creating is perhaps out of reach of your understanding.” Always the same voice, so calm and so soothing, it just made me more mad than I’ve ever been in my entire life, and that is damn well saying something. “So just because I’m a being that isn’t some omnipotent creator, that means I’m inferior?” My anger seethed through my words. “No. You are certainly not inferior, than my....race. As the peoples we create possess things we couldn’t understand, you wouldn’t understand the methods which brought you here.” “Like?” I challenged. My eyes squinting in anger. “We lack such things as imagination, conflict, emotion, life, death, desire, and love as you would call them. And although we understand the motions and methods behind such things, we shall never truly understand them.” I didn’t know whether or not to be angry, happy, confused, or even sad for this...thing. As much as I would love to know everything, losing my imagination, emotions, or anything like that, seemed like a price all too high. Even for someone who did not fully show how much I actually valued them. “I see, I think....” I simply said. “so...I’m dead.” I reiterated. “To your world, you are, but here you are, and very much alive. You still shall be when you’ve completed the task you are here to perform.” A task? For some kind of god that pulled me from home without so much as asking me? Right, I don't think so. “I don’t suppose I could just say no, and not help you out at all right?” I mean, its not like an omnipotent being can force you to do things right? I mean I do believe God had to ask Abraham to kill his son. Right? “Well you could, but then you would be lost here in this plane of existence for eternity.” Oh...that sounded like it would get boring really quick. Being stuck in an empty white space with nothing to do but think and be weightless. “Fine... alright, you win.” I sighed. “Just explain to me what is I have to do, so I can get on... with whatever it is that will happen when I’m done.” I sighed more. “I’m afraid I can’t explain to you what will happen. But you’ll know you’re objectives.” Wow that’s helpful. “Really? you can’t just tell me? Why the hell not?” “You’ll understand soon enough, as by explaining what to do, I would affect your mental state thus preventing the smooth completion of the process. Trust me, once we reach the end, you’ll wish it would have happened no other way.” Really unhelpfully cryptic. “Fine. I don't trust you, but there’s nothing I can do about it so... start this thing so I can... get on with it.” “Of course, you shall begin soon.” I came to a realization at that moment, I had no idea what to call this being who ripped me from home so... callously, and without my permission. “What’s your name?” “As creators we dont have a need for name, nor the creativity to make one.” Oh great. “But if you like, you may give me one.” Well... I guess that may be pretty cool... I mean how many people can say they’ve named a god, creator, or whatever this thing is. I thought about it for a minute, trying names in my head. Thinking of as many unpleasant names I could give this ’god’, thinking each time, how clever I would be to call it something vulgar or humiliating, before I finally remembered it didn’t give a damn about names in the first place. “You know, just get this thing started, I’m sure I’ll think of something later. Just start it.” With no answer, I looked around and waited for some sort of response. But my waiting had yielded none. And yet I felt tired, so much so that I felt like I was nodding off. My world of white disappeared in a world of black. _________________________________________________________________________ Weight. The warmth of the sun The smell of grass. The caress of the wind. Normalness. ...Relief... I opened my eyes to find myself in an open flat grassland, as far as my eyes could see. The wind blowing each individual blade of grass, making them dance with a grace that only the wind could give them. All while the sun got reacquainted with my eyes in the first time in a while. But to be fair, it felt too good to be in someplace that was far more normal than where I had been. However I couldn’t shake the feeling of being still in some kind of dreamscape. Was it all just a dream? I mean, it would be crazy not to think so, right? Is this also a dream? It was winter after all, and to my guess it was more like summer now. So was I really pulled from my room into a tornado, into an.... unsettling “plane of existence”? Let’s not forget speaking to a disembodied voice that seemed to live in my own skull. And now, being on solid ground makes me feel as if I haven’t lost my marbles just yet. But maybe I have yet to realize I already have. The sound of a crying baby grabbed my attention instantly. My heart stopped for just a moment, maybe I was home, maybe everything I just went through had been nothing more than a silly dream, and maybe just maybe, I learned to hibernate through winter. That would be pretty cool. Wait a baby! I got to my feet and started to look for the sound of it. I hoped desperately that maybe this baby had some kind of adult with it. Maybe one that could lead me back home, or give me directions, and with luck, they’d have a car or even a phone? The baby continued it’s wailing, and I was able to hone in on it. Running across the field as thoughts of home raced through my mind, I’d never wanted to be home more in my entire life. I was already exhausted, It was only a short sprinting distance too. I guess I should feel ashamed by the fact that I can’t get into a ten second sprint without breathing and gasping heavily. I finally got sight on source of sound that was carried in the wind. A small object wrapped in a white blanket that was undoubtedly the baby. I stopped in my move as I realized this child had been alone, and crying for its mother maybe. I stopped next to the little bundle of white cloth, out of breath. I kneeled down to the baby, its entire body hidden by warm blanket. I brought it up into my arms instinctively, wanting to coo the baby into a happy silence. But when I grabbed the cloth, it folded open enough to reveal its face. This wasn’t what I expecting at all. I could hardly believe my own eyes. Because beneath the cowl and held in my trembling hands, was a royal white baby pony with flowing pink hair and bright purple eyes. Sporting an equally white horn, wings, and feathers. I gasped in shock. I was totally confused heavily, I mean I was expecting a human baby for sure not a carbon copy of a pastel colored pony from my little pony. The little pony in the wrap, stopped crying, and looked at me with curious eyes, examining my every feature without any sort of discrimination. It was adorable to say the least, I actually felt compelled to lean in closer to it’s face, so it could get a closer look. I came to the sharp and playful realization that I had been played. I wasn’t sure whether to be happy, confused, or even angry. This was pretty clear evidence that I had infact truthfully been ripped from my own home, and thrown into some world where ponies from a tv show were actually real. But why? Why make a world where ponies like the show’s existed? And why me? there were probably millions of more my little pony fans that would serve as better subjects or persons for this task. Hell I never even played with the idea of living in equestria. Wait a second... the creator wanted me to help it create world... I wasn’t in a world where ponies were added, I was placed in the literal Equestria. My mind brought up a picture in my head of a similar looking pony that , and I instantly knew the name of this little pony. Celestia. Thanks to Coeus for taking on the editing of this chapter :D Chapter 1: AquaintanceChapter 1: Aquaintance You know... I really do wonder, why it is that I ended up in this situation. I mean...I never did ask for anything like this to happen, I was truly content in my life - even if it wasn’t stellar or outstanding. If someone asked me, “If you had the chance, would you trade your life for a new one?” Without even putting much thought into it, I would have said no. I may not have had much good in my life, but I didn’t care enough about the bad parts to really want to change them. I would compare them to bug bites. There’s the initial moment of “Oh, this sucks”, as I scratch the itch, hoping for it to go away even though i know it won't. Then I realized, the best way to handle a bug bite, is to just ignore it. So that’s just what I did. Damn it, as much as I wish I could, I can’t simply ignore a baby (a pony baby at that) that I found alone in a field. What kind of person would I be if I just left it there? How is it that a person who has no difficulty avoiding responsibilities or outright ignoring them, is then placed with a great responsibility that they can’t ignore or avoid with almost no warning that it was coming? I suddenly felt a kind of sympathy for those characters who had greatness thrust upon them without their asking for it. Bilbo, or Frodo from the lord of the rings, Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, Harry Potter from... well you know. All of them more willing to do the things that needed to be done then I. If I could have seen this coming, I would have been kicking, and screaming to go home and then try forget about it like it was no big deal. At this point I knew there was no going back, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t complain about it. The infant form of Celestia, was wrapped in the wool fabric of the blanket I had found her in. She didn’t squirm too much, nor did she cry or giggle the ways other babies back at home would. I wasn’t too keen on them in the first place due to those children being noisy, needy, and just a general hassle to deal with. What this child version of Celestia did do however, was settle down instantly, like a child with her mother. Despite her calm demeanor, she gazed at me with adorable curiosity, her mouth slightly open and her eyes rushing side to side gaining focus for a moment before tilting her head in a way that would cause her to restart from the beginning. Was she the reason I was here? What was I of all people going to do with a child? I had no experience raising babies, nor taking care of them in the slightest. Even less so when it came to baby ponies. I had no motherly intuition to rely upon either, since I was a guy. To my knowledge guys don’t have a ‘fatherly intuition’... and if they did, then I clearly hadn’t received it. So, I just stared down to this little ball of fur and feathers, totally unsure and without a plan of action to follow. All the while she continued to look at and assess me with those shining purple orbs of hers. I felt a sneeze creep up in my nose in preparation, my body instinctively opened my mouth wide, slamming my eyes closed, and bringing my arm up to shield anyone around me from the mucus. “ACHOO!” I sneezed loudly. Instinctively, I cleaned up the residue with my sleeve. When I moved my arm away from my face, I looked down to the baby Celestia. Her expression had changed greatly. She sat there all dazed and confused, and kinda squirmed around in that state. I held her tightly and closely as she slowly recovered. I felt my stomach sink as I might have given the poor child a heart attack for all I knew. Suddenly, her eyes closed, liked they wanted to cry, and I watched her mouth open as I began to regret spontaneously sneezing even if I hadn’t any control over that in the first place. “Achu.” She sneezed in an adorable way that only babies could achieve. I watched as her nose sniffled afterward. I could not suppress the smile that came so easily to my face. To top it off, the little filly giggled at her own sneeze bringing an odd warmth to my heart. “Oh...Ew.” I said, noticing that little Celestia here had some of her own mucus across her nose. I genuinely paused in disgust, was I really going to clean up after her as well? She sat there looking at me with her happy face, staring at her dirty nose, her eyes becoming crossed as she did so making her look all kinds of silly. She went to try and lick her her nose just then, and that was the last straw. “Oh no you don’t.” I said softly as I reached out with a portion of my own sleeve to wipe her nose. I wiped very softly and carefully so as to not upset her, but she still gasped, recoiling slightly as I did so. “There you go.” I really disliked taking care of icky gross things like snot from other people or ponies for that matter. I don't even know why I did it in the first place to Celestia. Like It was just a feeling that took control of me. Oh well... I wiped the sleeve of my jacket on the grass, trying to clear it of the snot. The poor thing began to sniffle again and her eyes closed once more. I was expecting her to sneeze again, but alas, she chose to instead cry. And cry she did, I felt scared and anxious my hands started to tremble. I didn't know what to do. The last time she was crying she’d been alone in a field, and then immediately stopped when I picked her up. The worst part about that was that I was still holding her in the first place, so that solution was a bust. All I wanted was for the baby to quiet down, was that so hard to ask? I thought back to any kind of knowledge about treating babies, real life examples, TV, music (I’m desperate here), books, and so on. My mind kept turning up blanks whatever the medium. The pressure of a crying and screaming baby kept me from collecting my thoughts and making any real progress into fixing the problem. Fuck it. I was never much for plans anyway, I’ll just wing it. I probably couldn't do anymore harm then I had already done. I had a feeling I would regret that last statement but whatever, I’ve got a crying baby pony to deal with. Leaning in close to this ‘darling’ child I started to make silly faces, any that I could possibly bend my facial muscles to perform. However, no matter what kinds of faces I made, there was just no effect at all. I briefly wondered if the Celestia from the show was THIS picky. At a lose of what to do, I gave up the act of trying to put on a show for this kid, then realized how dumb I was for not noticing why I was so ineffectual. Her damn eyes were closed. Oh...duh, a crying baby probably isn’t busy looking around or enjoying some stupid faces for that matter. To be fair to the kid, I’m sure my faces probably would have made things worse. I exhaled in frustration. Oddly enough, my mouth was still formed in such a way that my exhaling breath became an exasperated whistle. Celestia started to quiet down, her sniffles were still there, but she was much less vocal. Did she like the whistle? I watched as she slowly returned back to her upset state. I guess theres only one way to find out if I’m wrong. I tried whistling again. This caught her attention, causing those weary dreary purple dots to look up at me. I blew another quiet whistle and she seemed to enjoy it. Or it was enough to distract her from... whatever it was I did to set her off. I decided it might be in my best interest to whistle a tune for her. For the life of me I couldn’t think of anything to whistle to her, I mean... how many whistling tunes do you know? But then again it didn’t seem to matter to this kid in the first place. But I had an Idea. Who says I need to whistle a whistling tune? I inhaled a deep breath, probably the largest one I’d taken in a while. Forming my lips into an ‘O’ shape, I began whistling the first thing that came to my head. It just so happened to be the “A B C” or “alphabet” song. I whistled profusely, trying to reach all the notes possible, but inevitably missing some. But by the end of the song, It didn’t matter how much I’d screwed up. Celestia had...fallen asleep in my arms, a cute little smile etched in her face. It caused my heart to explode in cuteness, and a single tear from my eye was riding its way down my cheek. I would have been embarrassed if any of my friends were around. But I just basked in the opportunity and hugged little Celestia closer, whispering, “Sleep well.” ____________________________________________________________________ It didn’t take long for me to get bored. Well... maybe bored isn't the correct word for this kind of situation. So far I had spent my time in a grassy field dealing with a child. Now that she’d fallen asleep, I had nothing to do but stare at her somber image as she breathed peacefully. I couldn’t stay here forever, despite how nice and warm I felt. I would probably have to worry about food and shelter eventually, if I didn't wake up from this supposed dream of mine by then. I took care to stand up on my feet without stirring too much. The kid was quiet and I wanted her to stay that way. Looking about whilst using my free hand to keep the sun from my eyes, I turned around, looking for any kind of landmark which would serve as my interest point to walk towards. A large mountain, actually the tallest mountain I had ever seen, seemed to hang over me, like a colossal figure standing over a simple beast. I felt so insignificant, and yet with this baby in my arms, I felt oddly very significant, almost like I was the biblical king David versus Goliath. I had no idea why felt like it either. Maybe it didn’t matter anyway. I started walking in the direction of the mountain hoping to better my situation. I wasn’t really interested in survival. To be honest I was just restless, and just wanted to walk. I heard somewhere that walking cleared your mind. And if that was true, I could use that about now. So long as I didn’t wake Celestia crying spree doing so. The sky had turned into a beautiful orange sunset before we arrived at the base of the mountain. The sun and all her warmth had begun to say farewell to the countryside, leaving a cool air to run through the plains. At the mountain base, there was a small, but nice lake, flowing gently, the ripples in the water hitting the rocky shores with peaceful tones reaching out to me, soothing my ears. It was good I’d come across this lake, both physically and psychologically. The walk had been long and arduous and feet ached as a result. I was also quite thirsty from the trek, the lake would help remedy that. I felt a tinge of excitement pull me the rest of the way. The terrain may not have been difficult to walk on, but my insisted avoidance of outdoorsmanship made this journey more tedious than expected. I almost wanted to remove my shoes and let the water numb some of the soreness out of my aching feet. Looking back at the journey, it was surprising that Celestia hadn’t woken up, and still she slept in my arms in a deep sleep, totally comfortable and at ease with everything going around her. It certainly made the journey, the sightseeing of the countryside, and the mountain much more pleasurable. I went by the lake, figuring that I was more than entitled to a drink and maybe some relaxation. I set Celestia down next to a tree on the side of the lake, careful not to wake her up. I took a good long gulp out of the lake, deciding to immerse my head entirely to shake the residual heat of the sun. It was truly a refreshing event, the cool water washing away the sweat from my face, and I don’t think I’ve tasted such amazing water before either. After shaking the water off my head in delight. I decided to remove my shoes and socks, laying them both next to Celestia, and let my feet soak in the lake, as I enjoyed the view of the great mountain. The water ran through my toes easily, calming the pain of my new callouses and it almost seemed like they faded away themselves. I felt so at ease that I just wanted lay down on my back and enjoy the beautiful orange sky. Although the sun was low in the sky the air was still warm enough to make sleeping possible. I wondered if I went to sleep in a dream, would I wake up, or would I go into a dream within a dream? That is assuming this was a dream itself, and not the real thing. Then again, I’ve never had a dream that was this vivid and clear to me. There is a state of sleeping that is known as lucid dreaming, that allows you to take control of your dream. When you become aware that you are dreaming, and once in that state, you can do anything... your wildest imaginations, your most daring fantasies, hell...your entire subconscious, including deepest wishes can come true. Oh... I wish I was home.... If only I wasn’t here right now, and back in my own bed. Away from this damn world, dreamscape, or whatever. How I missed the simple things in life, anything that didn't have to do with a baby and some place that I having no earthly idea of where I am. Then again if I’m to believe my gut feeling, this was Eques- no this wasn’t Equestria, I refuse to believe I’ve gone into a world of a TV show that I enjoyed. I wanted nothing to do with ponies, incredible magic, dangerous creatures, or even the insanely strange Pinkie Senses. I... Just wanted to grow up to be normal, have a desk job, fall in love with an average girl, drink beer, and play video games. Just so long as I wasn’t giving a damn about anything else that upset or bothered me. A life of mediocrity is all I ask. I sniffled as if I’d gotten a cold, but soon felt my tear divulging from my tear ducts. This reminiscing was getting to me, maybe I wasn’t in a dream world like I thought? Was this the real deal? I was going to pinch myself, I heard that you couldn’t feel pain in a dream, but then realized my feet still ached from the journey. That counted as pain right? A counter argument could be made if this was a lucid dream, you could feel pain in those and not be disturbed. I also wondered, how much pain would it take to wake you up? I felt pretty bad already, and then a thought weighed in on my head like a ton of bricks. Would I have to kill myself to wake up? Was that even possible? Or maybe... is it possible that if I kill myself in the dream, could I die in real life? I heard of a story of a civil war prisoner who was put up against a wall and shot by a firing squad. As expected, he died. The strange thing is, none of the old lead balls from the muskets had hit him. He was in perfect condition, but according to an old autopsy, his heart just stopped. Its possible to say that he was so sure he was dead, that as soon as the muskets fired, he believed he was dead and died just like that... If I died in this world, real, or dream. It may be possible I could die for real. Ehhh... I’m too exhausted to figure this out right now. Besides, if I just slept I could figure things out tomorrow, or just simply wake up at home, call up everyone I knew and told them I loved them out of the blue, like some kind of lunatic. Heh, I should really just stop thinking and sleep. No need to hope, that will just keep you awake. So I closed eyes thinking of home, and let sleep take hold of me ____________________________________________________________________________ A/N: I hope that you guys enjoyed the first chapter. Lemme know what you think in the comments. :D I’d also like thank Anon3mous1 for the editing in this chapter as a huge favor to me. Coeus as well because hes been at work with editing the prologue (which is longer than this chapter.) Bless their souls. Also I’m going to try to post a chapter a week. And if you can folks, please read Fallout equestria: Wetgrave (my other story) as well. I’ve got an epic story planned for it. :D Chapter 2: The RainRain... Who could possibly say, that in one point of their life, that they have never enjoyed the sound of rain? The travelling musical orchestra that sounded different wherever you went. But always stemming from the same spectrum of sound. The soothing tones, the calming nature, and the occasional breaks in the status quo from the wind mixing with the rain. Causing an already tiny sound to grow into a full blown symphony. How could you argue that the overbearing sound of the single largest drop hitting a pool of water isn't like the lead vocalist in a choir of raindrops that sings with a voice that pierces the soul. With a harmonizing melody backing up the entire performance; how could you say that the rain just wasn’t in a way a full blown natural wonder in its own right? But, theres one thing that we overlook about the rain, it can be very destructive. When mother nature wills it, the rain can destroy lives, ecosystems, landscapes, and so on. We often forget this unfortunate truth when we choose to observe the rain we do so in a way that doesn't put us in any danger. But when the big guns of rain are brought out, all too quickly do we lose our composure and scurry off to higher, drier ground. Suffice to say, what once is a harmless enjoyable event, can, in the right circumstances, be a great danger to one’s well being. I began to slip back into the shoes of consciousness, my mental state still being sluggish and half dormant. My mind refusing to take in my surroundings, just wanting to return to the uber relaxed state of sleep. No thoughts running around my cranium trying to stir me from my stupor. A dash of wet coolness bounced off my cheek as I still lay on the ground, my mind only becoming alert for a moment to register the feeling, and sending the subconscious signals down to my arm to wipe away the anomalous feeling. As soon as the feeling was gone, another similar coolness struck my eyelid causing it to flutter in discomfort. My mind, sending another signal down to my arm to clear the obstruction, but this time my mind had begun the reawakening process. My eye now cleared of the odd feeling, fluttered again, this time the image of multiple falling lines making their way down to the ground against a rolling grey sky were seen. Without much more process I realized It was raining. Groggily, I rubbed my eyes, it was only a slight drizzle, but it was enough to cause me to want to seek shelter. Sitting up, my gaze fell out onto the lake, pausing to let my brain catch up. The droplets of rain breaking the surface of the calm lake leaving small ripples float on surface casting echos in the liquid fluid. Despite the rain, it was still sorta warm out. It felt like one of those days I spent sitting in a nice, dry chair on the porch on a rainy day. Just sitting and listening to the rain, letting my mind empty of everything but the sound. Falling into old habits, I just sat there on the lakefront staring out...in my own little world. Just letting that sound sink in. That was until I heard the giggles of a little baby. My heart jumped. I realized I had completely forgotten about Celestia, who’d I’d left alone while I slept, with no shelter then the blanket I’d found her in. But when my eyes met her little figure, snug within the fabric, I calmed myself down. She’d been fine. I walked over to her fragile form, this caught her attention as I could see those little pearly eyes turn their attention to me, and that little smile on her face smiled as she continued to giggle in an adorable manner. Made even more adorable from the fact that she’d managed to free her forehooves and was now reaching for....me. I wasn’t sure to be frightened or dying from cuteness. Obviously I’d left an impression on this little baby as her hooves seemed very desperate to grab me. But I was starting to get afraid of this tiny little pony. She took too well to me, It was like she had been accepting of me being a kind of a mother or father figure meant to nurse her. Like she was maternally connected to me. I hesitated to grab her, but seeing her nearly pull herself out of her blanket in such determination, I just had to pick this child up. When I did, she squealed in delight, her giggling becoming twofold as tried to tighten the blanket around her. But her squirming eventually got the best of me. The next thing I knew she had gripped onto my t-shirt and was holding it like her old discarded blanket. At that point I relaxed a little with her now firmly in my arms. She nuzzled against my chest with adorable looking purple eyes looking up at me, it seemed she was getting comfortable rather quickly. She was so close to me I could notice the pink of her actual skin. Which I thought was odd. But it turned out to be, (or at least I figured) that her coat wasn’t as thick as a filly's yet. So I could see the red in her cheeks. That adorable red color that stood out like a sore thumb. To my amazement, the little filly hadn’t more than a single drop on her head, which was odd. Why hadn't she been more wet from the rain? But then I realized I left her close to a tree which seemed to provide her some cover... but still there should have been more water droplets on her pristine white coat. Oh well. At least now I didn't have to worry about her getting sick or anything. While caught in my own dreamlandish thoughts, I noticed a warm, wetness feel around where I was holding celestia on my chest. I looked down, and in utter horror I noticed she was trying to suck my shirt. More specifically, around my nipple. OOOH what to do what to do what to do? I was freaking out about the notion that this little adorable ball of fur was... erm... there’s no way to say this and not have it sound inappropriate. What was she doing? In my crazed, stupid daze, I tried ripping her off my chest only to have my shirt stretch out with her, as she desperately fought with me to get back to where she was. When it became clear to her that it wasn’t happening her eyes clenched shut and she began to cry. What the hell child?! I didn’t understand, I was upset, I was...beyond words. What in the blue flying flames of hell is going on? And why is it happening to me? Oh common bud think of some reason to keep you from going insane. A terrifying growl came from out of nowhere. My heart stopped as I worryingly spun my head around looking for what was very likely about to eviscerate me or something if the growl was any indication. Once again the growl came back, more lower in volume but I managed to identify the source. This blood curdling roar came from none other than from the stomach of the baby Celestia. She was hungry... that came to me as much more of a relief than I could have possibly imagined. The freakishly loud roar, the suckling of my shirt. All of this because this baby was hungry. Which made sense, I misinterpreted the signs as worst as a mind touched by the worst of internet could be. I sighed in the utmost relief. Before looking at this ‘darling’ child. Man is she such a pain. “So you're hungry huh?” I said in a residual nervous voice. “You should have just said something-” I paused as I mentally slapped myself for being stupid. Babies can’t talk, idiot. Alright so food, that’s what is needed here obviously. Now where in blue blazes do I get food? I’m in the middle of nowhere... well more in the middle of....Equestria? And food isn't exactly easy to get. I mean it’s not like it grows on trees-. Well guess who just punched himself in the head for being ridiculously dumb again? That’s right...me. ____________________________________________________________________________ I started walking downstream, looking for any sign of food. Anything easy like vegetables or fruit. Animals were of course out of the question because, I was too lazy to hunt, and I wouldn't be able to kill anything even without the lack of tools or baby in my arms. Not to mention. I’d also have to cook and skin the animal after. With no fire, that would be a problem considering the lack of firemaking, and the whole rain deal. So yeah, greens it was. The light drizzle didn't do much to hamper me from the search of food. At this point, I was hungry too. Also its not the kind of hunger you can ignore, being that I have no food right now, kinda ups the ante quite a bit in this particular case. So I really wanted to keep moving, keep searching, and finally find some food to feed myself and the kid too. Otherwise, failure wasn't exactly something I’d like to meet up with again, now that basic needs were on the line. I couldn’t help but to daydream as I searched about. Pizza, noodles, rice, chicken, steak, strawberries, broccoli, peanut butter, waffles, oh and how could I forget, maple freaking syrup. I don’t care what anybody else says, maple syrup is the best thing ever, you can put it on anything. Waffles, pancakes, bacon! The rich flavor, the sticky feeling of it getting on your fingers. The amount of pure awesome it brings to your morning breakfast. At this point, I figure I would drink the stuff straight. But all thoughts of maple syrup aside. I do have a method to my madness when it came to this search. I chose to look around the lake, knowing that since fresh water made the world lush, following a river or several going down hill might lead me to some berry bushes like back home. Although...I couldn't put a finger on what kinds of berries grew back at home. Hours rolled by as I toiled for a meal. My hope was dropping fast. The longer I was out and about looking food the harder the entire ordeal became, the rain had started to pick up, along with the wind. Causing me to shiver from my noticeably wet clothes. Celestia, at this point was becoming difficult to handle. I wasn't used to this kind of weight being in my arms for a prolonged period of time. Although she’d been pretty silent and generally ideal for the situation, I still had to resort to taking a break now and then underneath a couple pine trees that were littered throughout the area. The landscape was also hard to navigate. wherever I went, I was blocked by the foliage. I managed to get myself cut a few times by the sharp needles hitting my face. Not only the trees, but the rocks and cliffs also made it challenging to climb with Celestia in my hands. Some of the wet rocks, with their smooth edges, had caused me to slip and hurt myself in the process. Streams of water also cut off several paths that would have made my life easier. It was time to give up. The rain was starting to hit down hard, each droplet seeming to have actual punch behind it. Or maybe it was because I was so tired that everything only felt worse. This will be the only time I say this. But.. “Fuck food. I want to take a break, I want a nap.” My rant began. “I want to be nice and damn warm, with a BLANKET!” I started to shout out.“ And COMFORTABLE!!!” I kept walking on and then realized I could go on and yell out stuff. “Damnit I want to play VIDEO GAMES.” Putting as much emphasis on video games as I damn wanted. “Oh and I don’t wanna be stuck with some little BABY, because theres no one else to take care of HER!” I obviously continued on, shouting about everything even the stuff that didn't matter. I was shouting about the state of the economy I was just so livid (even in this world where it didn't matter) . Complaining made dealing with this whole situation so much easier. Miraculously, Celestia hadn’t started crying from my upset and crazy shouting. She was still as well. I mean, I expected her to start crying as badly as she had before, so I could complain about that too...well I’m alright with that. Less crying kid the better. “Oh my god.” I came to sharp, disconcerting realization. I had been so distracted by the fact that I’d been busy looking for food that I never really checked up on her. This entire time. I quickly flipped back the piece of cloth that covered her face from the rain. What I saw scared me. A deathly sick baby Celestia was in my hands. Her furry face was deathly pale and her nose nearly blood red. Her eyes drooped down in a sickly fashion. I put my hand over her forehead only to recoil from a kind of searing heat. I panicked easily again, my stomach sinking down to the lowest levels of the human body in guilt. I had a feeling deep down in my mind that I might have possibly killed the ruler of Equestria from mistreating her so...badly. My mind raced for answers. Setting itself into my memory banks, the mental video of the sneezing Celestia, and her red face striking out like a sore thumb....How did I completely miss that? It never crossed my mind at that point in time that this child was sick? I was more concerned on getting my hands dirty to even consider that. Wow, I’m the best babysitter ever. I stood there in shock, still chastising myself for what I’d done then doing anything about it. Classic me. Why do something to improve yourself when you can complain about it endlessly? How could I be so stupid? I collapsed to the ground on my knees. I Gave up. I was scared, I didn’t want to have to take care of this child and for her to die in my arms. I may not have cared about her much, either in the show or from the moment I had to deal with her. But if she died...I would have to bury her. Just picture that for a second. Burying a child yourself in an unmarked grave in a world with no apparition of actual civilization, and it was all your fault. I don't think I could forgive myself about that failure ever. Or even forgive myself. When I think back, I don’t think I ever drew the line of what I couldn’t accept as a failure. But here and now, I knew I’d drawn it. I picked up the sick Celestia into my arms, with renewed determination coming out from the fog of pain and exhaustion. I was going to save this kid. Even if I died trying. ____________________________________________________________________________ The world grew dark. The night had arrived and it ousting what little of the day that seeped through the storm clouds, bringing in a blinding cover to the forest. It was a completely disorientating experience. Not that I had a sense of direction in the first place. All the while the rain pounded harder and harder. Flurries of wind caused the individual droplets to strike like an angry whip. Not that I knew what it felt like. Not that it mattered as my body had already begun to feel the sore pains from all my travelling in the day. I recalled a time at fire camp, taking a shower by fire hose from the firemen during a nice summer day, this was the equivalent of that, but in a more miserable and a prolonged state. My feet were sore with the kind of pain that made you want to sit down for hours and never move. It was this charliehorse-like pain that pulled your muscles together and pinched them like your mother would pinch your ear when you did something wrong at a young age. It’s hard to explain how it feels to get so exhausted like I was starting to get. But essentially, I was too tired and wet to even complain inside my own head. All my opinions and ranting out the window or buried underneath the cold slab of exhaustion. All this time the only thing holding me together as I trotted through the now dark woods, was this sick little filly who hadn’t budged or moved too much since this morning. It was heartbreaking, and every time I looked at her in her sickly state, I was reminded and motivated of what I had to do. I had to find shelter, somewhere dry, out of the wind...something. Like a miracle, I stumbled into a forest clearing right next to a cliff face. The space was only open, and the rain which had been mostly filtered by the tree, struck like falling rocks, causing me to recoil in pain and turn my back to try defending Celestia from the onslaught. In doing so, I caught a glimpse of a cave entrance. My salvation at last. I began running towards this godsend of a shelter, cradling Celestia to my chest and leaning forward to use my back as a shield against the rain. I bolted as quickly as my body would let me, burning in soreness the entire way. I chose not to be cautious about entering a cave. Even with the dangers of living creatures inside. I just had to get out of the rain. The sound of my tired feet echoed inside the cave as I collapsed to my knees. It was nothing but a pure miracle that I made it this far in the first place. But finally, I was safe... I scooted my butt against a wall, and sat there. I had no intention of ever moving away. My hands were trembling from the cold, my entire body shook and shivered trying to desperately heat itself up. But I didn't care about me for the moment, I was too worried about the condition of this infant in my arms. I rolled back the wet cloth that had been protecting Celestia, only to see her condition worsen. She didn't seem to be breathing. Her complexion, as pale as her coat, her eyes weakly shut, and she never budged a millimeter. My heart jumped, had I been carrying a dead child all this time? Rain started pouring from my eyes.... I mean tears. This was the only thing I wanted to do right. The one thing in all my time I wanted to do right. And now... I let my head drop, I was too tired to hold it up any longer, and... I was ashamed of myself. How do I always manage to screw up? I’m worthless, I have no value. That god thing was right about me, If I remained back home, then nothing would have ever happened with me. I wouldn’t have affected the world in any way shape or form. I was insignificant compared to a butterfly. I was too tired to be mad, but I was. It was right after I convinced myself with no thought of doubt that it was wrong. This was proof. I let out a deep sigh of surrender. Shortly after, I felt a tiny short breath tickling my nose. I looked down, and in amazement, Celestia’s weakened figure, had been looking up at me, her eyes tired and half open. I watched her as she took another quiet, strained breath. Before her eyes shut again. “No... NO!” I began to yell, my weakened voice bouncing off the walls of the cave. “Damnit don't do this to me! Don't make me be wrong about myself! Don't let me be alone! Don’t die damn you!” At this point my tears were pouring from my eyes in ways that made the barrage of rain seem tame and preferable. “You don’t need to cry.” ...That voice... I looked up to see myself back inside the white void once again. Celestia still was in her current state with me. “Save her!” My hoarse voice called. “I already have.” The voice said calmly. I had no energy to respond at that point. I mumbled something akins to a thank you, and then my body decided it was time to say ‘lights out’. And out like a light bulb I went. ___________________________________________________________________________ A/N: Hey guys, I’m so sorry I’ve not updated in a very long time, and I thank you for your amazing patience. I hit a huge string of bad luck everywhere, lost my job, car broke down, being very very very sick a lot, my editor having to deal with his own problems, eventually quitting, and I having to find a new one.. To be honest, this chapter was done a month after last chapter but because of all this misfortune, my motivation to update it hit rock bottom. Also thank you kindly Griffin100000 for you amazing editing help so far with this story. So once again sorry. And I hope if this is any condolences, the next one will be out sooner. Chapter 3: The Morning DreamWaking up after fully exerting yourself the day before is painful. Anybody who works out for the first time in a while will tell you this. The morning after is sore city. A debilitating feeling that your nerves are swollen to the point where the slightest movement or touch could feel like all hell breaking loose across your body Nevertheless, heat was building up on my body, bringing me back to consciousness. The warmth washed over me in ways that made me want to curl and cool down somewhat. Like a ray of light striking you in the morning while you're still in bed. “Save her!” My hoarse voice called. “I already have.” The voice said calmly. The memories of last night returned to me. Taking and killing my morning ignorance, and striking me with a dreadful sense of worry. I sat up, as quickly as possible, looking around for Celestia, the images of her deathly pale furry face, stabbing at my heart, causing it to skip a beat or two. My vision only caught the sunlight as it entered the cave’s mouth. The light didn’t deter me as I shook my head desperately looking for the cute little ball of fur I’d spent the last day or two caring for. Finally her image came to me. The pristine white coat of a little pony, with her wings of purely white feathers, and her cute little horn met my eyes. She laid right beside me in her blanket. Perfectly safe, breathing with a cute exhaling breath that was almost a whistle, and sleeping without a care in the world. An adorable little angel if looks are to be believed. Completely undeterred to sleep the morning away even by the rocky surface of the cave. Safe from starvation, sickness, and neglect. I finally could relax. It was then when it hit me. Several jolts of pain simultaneously took hold of me. Causing me to wince and whine (a little) until I layed back down on the angled floor of the cave. The pain was like stabbing a hundred toothpicks into you body. Until all of them stood up on their own from the flesh holding them in place. Now imagine you're doing this whilst laying on a slab of jagged rock too, and any movement you make caused some of the toothpicks to enter your skin more, as the toothpicks were pushed in by the hard rock! Okay so maybe I whined a lot, but Lord kill me now it hurt. Hurray for waking up half asleep and feeling nothing, and making one lousy movement, and feeling like you bathed yourself with flaming toothpicks. I stirred a lot, letting out a low picked cry occasionally. My whining caused Celestia to stir. The little filly, rolled around a little in her blanket, before letting loose a tiny high pitched yawn that was so adorable, the pain became ignorable for the duration. I watched as Celestia rustled in the confines of the blanket until she freed herself only about a minute later. I watched as she struggled with keeping her balance on the lopsided floor. She nearly toppled over on her face a couple of times, as her hooves slipped from the damp rock underneath her. The pain in my leg spiked at that point, and I let loose a fairly audible cry. Celestia Jumped a little, startled by my cry of pain. She squealed in fear with a tiny voice. Her face and beady little eyes making a surprised look before her legs scrambled to run away. But she slipped on the rock, and harmlessly rolled to the lowest point in the floor. It was so adorable, cute, and even funny that. I laughed. Ouch, wrong move. My laughing caused a spasm of pain that rocked me. I tried to keep my silence if only to not frighten Celestia any further. She takes a little time to stare at me, as if assessing the situation. But her expression is unmoving, her eyes fixed on me as if she’s frozen in fear. Obviously she didn’t recognize me. I felt hurt. I spent all yesterday and the day before caring for her, and she couldn’t or didn’t recognize me... It really, really hurt. A kind of internal pain that just burrows into your heart and the more you think about it, the more painful it becomes. I may have been hurting on the outside, but that pain was like a grandiose message compared to this. At that moment I desperately wanted to know why she feared me or showed these signs of unknown. It occurred to me just then that Celestia looked much taller and mature than her tiny appearance yesterday. It was as if she’d grown into a toddler from a baby. But that still begged the question. If she didn’t know me, then how could I prove to her I wasn’t a threat? I exhaled in a tiny bit of frustration and pain. My mouth even had been sore, causing my lips to stay close together in an effort to avoid exerting my face muscles. Unexpectedly, from my ‘closed lip’ exhale; I whistled gently. Celestia’s ears perked up, and her body language, tentatively relaxed for a moment. In pondering the question as to why, I flashed back to yesterday (or was it the day before?) I had whistled to Celestia to calm her down when she was crying. Did she remember that? I tried playing the tune from the day before, but it was at this point that my acute memory has failed. I couldn't remember the song. But that didn’t stop me from trying anyway. The new song, which was without much of a tune, was just three repetitive notes. If I knew how to write it in music, it would resemble an arc, or something. Hell I have no clue, I’m just guessing here. But anyway, the new tune had a profound effect on Celestia. Her guard and alert/ready to run body language has disappeared. She had finally relaxed, and turned her head in such a way that the sun reflected off of those cute purple eyes of hers. I’m glad it did too. When the light lit her eyes, I could see them well enough that it was like looking into Celestia’s soul. She noticed this herself, and returned the look, now looking into my eyes with the same intensity I’d demonstrated. But there was something about the way that we looked at each other. Its not something I can easily put a finger on, but during that look, it felt like we were communicating. As if by making eye contact in such a way that we could read each others thoughts. Was it some sort of uber empathy? I felt her relax even more, returning from the really distressing state that she was in. I could feel her heart finally slow down to the point where it felt like it normally was. It was odd, because my heart mimicked hers, or was it the other way around? Regardless, in those few moments, both of us were free from our distress. My body flared in pain again. My muscles were still horribly shot and making for damn sure I knew it. I winced again, as I tried to still my body so I wouldn’t be hurting myself. Celestia noticed this herself, and I could feel a sense of confusion and concern radiate from her, like some kind of feeling, heat, or chill was possible to communicate a feeling. She stepped towards me as if trying to assess the situation. I know...She’s pretty much just a toddler, but that’s how it looked. When she was barely a foot, or a quarter metre away from me, her eyes scanned me, and she made a cute little face while doing so; sticking her tongue out, and her little eyes rushing from side to side. Her focus was so much on me, a slight step closer caused her to trip a little, and land harmlessly on top of me. I chuckled a little from it. But the slight jumps I made with that chuckle made my muscles scream for the duration. Yeah sure, a little pony landing on top of me from tripping wouldn’t hurt. But if I laughed I might as well be shooting myself in the foot with pain. I have such a douchebag of a body. To her credit, Celestia got right back up to continue what she was doing. After a brief minute, her constant eye scanning had been enough. Her mannerisms changed, as I noticed her take a wide stance, as if to prepare herself. Her eyes closed suddenly, and I became very nervous for what was about to happen next. A white light started to glow around Celestia’s horn. My mind had finally put two and two together and it certainly wasn’t what I expected. A little filly or foal, was trying to cast a spell, or perform some kind of magic. I was anxious, here for the first time, I was witnessing real magic. Magic from a tiny toddler-like unicorn/pegasus pony that that was performing her first spell. I had no idea what to expect, as the white light grew larger and started to hum with intensity. The only thing I did know was that Celestia wasn’t trying to harm me, no. The moment we’d just shared told me in a profound way that Celestia would never harm me. I don’t even think she would harm anything for any reason. But just because she wouldn’t intentionally do it to me, doesn’t mean she couldn’t accidentally do it. The charge of energy and light grew even more in force, so much so that the entire cave was now bathed in such a powerful light. The hum itself was progressively becoming a high-pitched whine. I knew what was coming next, it seemed like the spell had reached its apex and fear overtook me as I braced for the worst. Everything was drowned in the light, even sound, or feeling the feeling from my own body. Almost like I was put back into that white existence with that otherworldly being. When I blinked from the heavy exposure, I expected to see darkness behind my eyelids, but no, the light had been so powerful, even with closed eyes all I saw was the same white light. I started to wonder if this is what it felt like to be blind, but then I had an interesting thought, if I couldn’t feel my own body how did I know I had my eyes closed in the first place?. And suddenly, it was all gone. The world as I had just been in, had returned to normal, with everything in its rightful place, I was still laying down in a semi lit cave, and Celestia was just right there in front of me, struggling to keep her balance, and she seemed very tired. When it seemed like she would fall, I instinctively lunged to grab her. I held her soft warm body in my arms, careful not to squeeze her, and placed her right beside me. I exhaled out in relief. The spell, for whatever reason, hadn’t worked, or so I knew. I had no idea what the spell was supposed to do. All I knew was that I had a tired little filly right beside me, trying to recover from that exertion, and that my body was in horrible horrible pai-... At that moment I realized what the spell had done. When I lunged to grab Celestia just then, I never felt any backlash or pain from the effort, slight as it may have been, I should have felt it. But I hadn’t. I moved my arms and legs around, doing so confirmed what I thought. Celestia had used her magic to heal my muscles. And now they felt just like new. I looked down to the little filly laying there, probably about to doze off, and smiled. She’d relieved me of a dreadful amount of pain, and she wasn’t even able to speak. I layed down to relax against the floor. I felt tired, and wanted to catch some sleep myself. As I looked up to the ceiling of the cave, I could physically start to feel my body melt away back into unconsciousness, but I was briefly stopped. Celestia stirred, and tried to get up. I hesitantly, but very willingly, lifted myself up and looked over at her, to observe her and make sure she didn’t go off to explore or something. (You never know with kids I guess.) But she didn’t bother going very far. Celestia, with all her limited strength, got to her hooves, and then climbed on top of my leg. Concerned, I moved to prepare to catch her should she lose her footing. But I watched vigilantly as she moved her way up to my torso. I layed down to accommodate her movements. But she wasn’t done there though, as she put her head under my shirt, and crawled her way up my chest until she popped her head through my shirt’s collar. Her head appeared right next to mine, and although nervous of her short white horn, my concerns were void when Celestia decided to lay down, and curl on my chest, with my shirt as a blanket once again. I watched as her eye’s closed as she finally was swept off to her sleep. I couldn’t help but to smile, from the bottom of my heart from this adorable action. She was right there, adorable as ever, sleeping right ontop of me. I chuckled lightly from the sheer amount of happiness and surprise, and I put my arms around her to lovingly cradle her into place while I too joined her in a joyous sleep. _____________________________________________________________________________ I dreamed. I found myself in a landscape full of trees. Great tall trees for which I didn't know the name. It was like a great forest. But something was off, in a normal forest, trees were spread out chaotically, in natures fashion. However, all the trees my eye could see stood in lines, like a well established farmland. I took a closer look at the trees and noticed each and every one had red orbs filling every branch, like polka dots on a shirt. But these weren’t red orbs, they were infact large red apples. All of them impossibly red and ripe. My senses were exploding with hunger, and the need to fill an empty belly that I’d ignored for so long. I reached out for some of the low hanging apples, grabbing one just within my reach and bringing it up to my face for a closer inspection. I was right, the apples were impossibly red, almost as if they were covered in cadmium red paint, but it was if the color was truly part of the apple skin. The apple produced a nice, seducing smell that only I could only imagine a starving person could smell. The scent of the nice piece of fruit was delectable, with a tinge of green leaf. It was too much. A moment later, I lost control over myself. I took a bite out of the apple so large I think my jaw should have broken from the attempt, and yet the bite took nearly half to apple with it. The piece of apple was almost too large to be chewable, but it was so tantalizing to the tongue that I found away. The amazing natural taste of the the apple and the sugar drove me into a frenzy. Before long I ate the apple whole, core included. I didn’t stop there. My senses became attuned to the smell and taste of an apple, soon after I found myself eating apples almost by the dozens, in the same monstrous way I’d done the first. It was like I had a black hole for a stomach. The worst part is, I didn’t want to stop myself from eating so desperately. So I ate and ate and ate. I watched my stomach grow in disproportionate sizes, Making me look almost if I was a pregnant women with eight children all in their last month before birth. I felt with each apple my weight growing more and more. I suspected that I might have been physically slowing down from the new bulbous size and freight train weight, but to my disbelief, I moved just as freely and easily as I had before. Always consuming, never stopping, I eventually grew so large that I finally toppled over, completely and utterly unable to move. By now I was double the size of a tree in length and size, A completely round ball of flesh. It was only then my need to consume was content for the moment. Day turned to night as I layed there, finally satisfied with myself. No thoughts moved through my mind. I only sat there and remained in an ignorant bliss to anything that happened around me. Never bothering to move from the discomforting feel of branches poking my stomach, or leaves tickling me endlessly, just staying there. Doing nothing but existing. However, something drew the curiosity of my giant like mind. I heard the sound of rustling leaves, and I turned my head to see movement below the trees. A Silhouette of some kind of creature, making audible sniffing sounds close to the ground, came into view. It was so dark out that I could only make out the silhouette of a four legged, short neck creature the size of a lion or jaguar. With spines covering it from head to toe, almost like a hedgehog in what shrouded appearance I could make out. Interestingly enough, it seems hungry. I see it going around, sniffing the apples, sometimes licking them, as if this animal wants to see if its an edible fruit. I watch on curiously as this animal goes and does this to several trees and multiple apples. Suddenly, it decides to take a bite of the nearest apple. I watch in horror as the thing eats an apple and swallows it whole in one simple action. But something catches my eye in the process, something odd. The animal, satisfied with the taste, proceeds to start eating more apples in a similar fashion to myself when I started. Finally, I see what caught my eye with the creatures first apple. While taking a bite out of an apple the size of car tire, I get a good, long look at the beast’s teeth. They are glowing with red crimson. The only thing clearly visible on this thing where its glowing teeth, how horrifying, as they were large teeth, fangs really, I would guess at five inches in length minimum, with almost four rows of teeth on it like a shark, but deadlier. I continued watching this animal feast on apples just like I had, and sorta saw a mirror of myself being played out with another body. It climbed to the top of a tree and devoured all the apples off of it. When it was finished, it stopped for a few moments. I wondered why as, when I was in that position all I did was eat eat and eat without a break. The thing lifted its head up into the air and let loose an nauseating, echoing howl that was loud enough for me to want my stubby little arms to cover my ears. Immediately after, more secondary howls answered to the first, and I could see movement in the distance. It was more of these creatures, numbered in the hundreds. I watched them enter the apple orchard, and started to immediately consume all the apples in sight. Some of the creatures took to ramming the trees down with their combined weight, snapping the tree in half like it had been a twig. Their eating of all the apples in sight hits an all new high when some of the creatures start to eat the trees whole. I’m totally unsure of how it all works, but I couldn’t imagine where these things put a whole or multiple whole trees into their body. The morning comes, the soft light of the sun beginning to rise started to chase away the darkness. The horde of silhouetted monsters were now brightly illuminated. But to my horror, nothing changed. These monsters, with their glowing talons and fangs, and otherwise hidden features were still as black as their silhouettes. I couldn’t make out any sort of feature or characteristic these things had, other than they were so dark, that even the rays of the sun couldn’t characterize them. The last trees were finally being devoured by these specimens of darkness. And finally the land was barren with nothing by me and the horde of creatures just finishing up their ‘endless’ meal. It struck me that I had no idea what they would do next. Would they leave? Stay and rest, or even dig down and consume the earth itself? But I found out soon what their next motive was. The swarm of black creatures started to surround me, all of them trying so desperately to get as close as possible to me, even going so far as to climb and crawl past others to do so. I had a good feeling I knew what was going to happen next. And sure enough, I was right. I was next on the menu. I felt their razor sharp teeth all start to consume me at once, in a ravenous synchronized frenzy. I felt no pain, only sensation of it all. So I only stared in shock as I observed myself being eaten alive. I did not scream as I felt the prickling of the spines either, as deadly sharp as their teeth were. The more I observed these creatures, the more I got the feeling they weren't eating me at all. It was almost like the spines, fangs, and talons of each monster were all working together to tear me apart at the smallest level. Almost like I was to be separated molecule from molecule. Finally, they reached my face, tearing it apart as easily as the rest of my body. I became nothing else. Everything about me was gone, but strangely enough, I could still see. Now that the monsters had finished with me, they continued on each other, as if their need for consumption was so desperate that the survival of their species didn’t matter so long as there was something to feed on. For a long time I’ve known in the real world it was a dog eat dog world. But this was as close as I’d ever gotten to experiencing the full explanation of it. Finally, the last creature with its glowing crimson fangs consumed the other last of its kind. There was nothing left to prove that there had been any other but that sole specimen. But not all was right after it finished off the last of its kind. It started to morph and grow in size, its neck extending, the silhouetted expanded as wings grew to be a part of the creature. The head of the creature grew in length and the tail extended as well. When the process was finished, the new creature had grown to be about my size, before looking directly in my direction. Although I did not have a body anymore, it saw me as if I had one. At that moment I experienced fear, a fear unlike any other. I had experienced none at my own consumption, but now I was driven mad in fear as this new monster approached me. The very sight of it struck at the horrors deep inside of me, phobias I never knew I had. A feeling of utter dread and desperate need to escape flowed through whatever body I might’ve had. It reached forth with its long neck, and finally showed me the inside of its mouth. Aside from the the glowing red teeth and fangs it possessed, deep down it’s throat I could only see myself, and before those jaws of death could claim me, I blinked. When my eyes opened, in that split second, I had escaped that beast. My eyes were filled with the familiar white of that plain of existence. My body had returned to me, as though I’d never lost it. Its hard to imagine, but the sound of my own heart beat was the most relieving thing I’d ever heard. My mind was now in full gear, what in the actual hell had I just witnessed? My thoughts seemed as though they echoed on invisible walls throughout this unworldly place. “Welcome my partner.” It was the voice from the creator, playing inside my mind as it always had. I had not forgotten the strange effect it had of calming me down either. That latest experience was harrowing to say the least, and I could use it right now. “Thank you for bringing me here, that thing...” I couldn’t go on the thought of it was horrible enough. “I’m afraid I have to disappoint you, but your arrival here was unexpected.” The voice came back to me. This threw me for a loop. I didn’t know what to think. “Then how did I get here? I mean the only times I’ve ever gotten here was because of you!” ‘’No I did not. You came here of your own wishes, and of your own power.’’ Wait what? I didn't notice using any kind of power or anything that would resemble such a thing. Soo... ‘’Wait a second,’’I began to ponder what it just said, before finally just giving up completely. And so I gave my obviously intelligent and well thought out statement, ‘’What?’’ ‘’When I mentioned that you were special for reasons not yet known to you, well this is one such manifestation. Your ability to enter this place when you want.’’ I had the power to come here? I mean that's fine and all but what a lame power to have. ‘’Um, okay, but I never really wanted to come here, I didn’t even know where here is.’’ I said in a kind of confused undertone. ‘’Here does not have a name, it is just a simple plane of existence where you can speak directly to me. Which you will come to find as a useful ability, as It is difficult for me to reach out to you when you are not on this plane.’’ ‘’So what, I wanted to be here? And so I came? Like something out of a crappy ‘B’ movie?” What the flying hell? ‘’Your dream, you wanted desperately to escape from the nightmare you were having, and thus the end result brought you here.” It explained. “Look, I’m not sure if I believe that I have a power to bring myself here or anywhere-” I said before being cut off. “Not anywhere, just here.” It interjected, leaving me a tad frustrated. “Yeah, whatever, point is, this is weird.” I rolled my eyes. “it is interesting you should believe that this of all things was ‘weird’” “However, the events that you have already witnessed were evidence enough in this matter.” The bell of realization finally wrung for me. I chose now to be completely disbelieving of things? Being sucked up into a tornado, waking up in the middle of nowhere, taking care of a baby- actually a baby pony! With wings, a horn, and...even magic too, how do I ignore all of that and call this instance of specifically weird? “Good point.” I simply said. “Yes, and now that we’ve discussed that, I do believe you had questions regarding the events of last night.” That was the bomb shell, I had many questions from the experience of last night. “Yeah I do... But before I ask, thanks for saving Celestia for me.” My tone soothed. ‘’I did not save her.’’ It said quite calmly. ‘’Wait what? I saw her, she was dead in my arms, there's no way she lived if you didn't intervene!” I shouted, this wasn’t making any sense, and me mad. I wanted answers, not more questions. ‘’I only saved you.’’ ‘’Wait what?’’I was blindsided for the second time by this god thing. ‘’This may be difficult for you to comprehend, but last night you exhibited another one of your abilities. Unfortunately for you, this ability drains of your energy in such a way as that it can destroy your body. The fact of the matter is, you died immediately after I told you all would be well.’’ So I died and was revived by this god thing. I suppose I should be grateful. ‘’Um, thank you.’’ Geez, way to show your appreciation for living. “It wasn’t a problem, however my power in giving you life is a finite, try not die again, or you may be forever lost.” It said as calmly as ever. “So what about Celestia?” I asked, but I wasn’t sure I’d like my answer. ‘’Celestia was saved by you and your ability.’’ It echoed. Always with cryptic statements huh? ‘’And what ability is that?’’ ‘’You were able to transfer your lifeforce into her.’’ Lifeforce? That makes sense about what it said about me transferring my energy or whatever. ‘’Which explains why I died of course.’’ ‘’Yes, however you should note it is not something you cannot do it to any being you wouldn’t be willing to love as if it were your own.’’ ‘’So you’re saying I’ve adopted her?’’ ‘’I am, does that bother you?’’ ‘’Yeah it does.” I paused a second to go over the implications. Did it? I mean, I’ve already proven I was willing to die for that kid, but still. “I never expected that by some fluke of magic that I saved the life of a tiny pony princess by adopting her. Its just so strange.” “All things are once strange.” Yeah that doesn’t help. “Yeah but it doesn’t cut it here, I’m out of my element, and dammit if I’m a parent then this kid is going to have a hard childhood, because I know jack all about this.” “You may know nothing about parenting, but all you need to do is avoid doing anything you don’t believe is right. I have full confidence in your actions and choices.” “That doesn’t exactly drive me full of confidence you know.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m afraid if that is the case, and if you do not believe in your own abilities, mystical or not, choose to believe in me, who believes in you.” What really? That's what your going to tell me? Before I could respond, I felt extremely light headed, and lost my balance briefly. A sense of vertigo overcame me and The next time I opened my eyes I was staring at a sleeping Celestia who’d rotated in my shirt so that we were now face to face. A/N: Hey guys thanks so much for the reception! I got about 40-50 favorites and about 40 likes from you fellows! And I’ve reached the 100 thumb milestone! Thank you all so much! Also don't be shy and feel free to leave a comment, I’ll make it my best effort to reply! Oh and the more you guys do, the more motivation I can cultivate from it all! I’d also like to thank my editor Grffin100000 for the excellent hand in making my stuff legible for you fellows too. Give em a good high five. Chapter 4: Of apples and PitfallsEver wake up? I mean, have you ever woken up all at once? You know, without being in any danger, or woken up by someone else? Just that sense that you’re now awake, and instead of doing nothing or spending more time in bed, you pretty much get up straight away with a fully aware mind and your body feeling ready as it would half way through the day. It’s something that just makes you want to move and get up. Something that makes you want to do something of worth instead of lazing around like we normally do. It’s good, I mean great to be in such a state. Makes ya feel as if today is your day. You’re out and about, and going to do whatever it is you said you would do yesterday. It was something that has so rarely ever happened to me. Although with my mental clarity and my physical preparedness, I felt something weigh down on my head. Like something decided that, despite my ‘feel-good’ morning, I should stay in bed. Simply because my head didn’t want to budge, or at least very far. Perhaps it was some kind of psychological crap that came onto me from that really weird dream. Maybe it was that I simply just didn't want to move no matter how much my body told me it was ready to go. Or maybe I should have noticed the pink tail was likely coming from a pony laying on my head, and I wasn’t some kind of emotional wreck that I thought I was. Good job body, saying that you're all well, ready, and aware, when you missed that little bit of kinda really important information before going off on the deep depressive end or what have you! My movements stirred the little fuzz ball on my head. I heard a cute yawn as she moved around a little, stretching her little limbs out, which brushed against my hair in a delightful way, putting me into a haze of lightheadedness. But all great things must end. I felt Celestia stir in a waking manner, her cute adorable little yawn had gotten me once again. My heart near imploded upon hearing the little high pitched exhale that she made. This moment swiftly came to an end when the growl of a vicious dinosaur was heard; Celestia’s stomach, echoed through the cave. The growl was loud enough to wake the kid as she stumbled of my head like a scared little lamb. I reacted quickly enough to catch the little pony before her body slammed against the rock of the cave. She blinked a few times in confusion, those large pearly purple eyes eyeing me closely for a second before she recognized me fully. Once she did, I saw her face light up with a big child like smile, and jumped out of my hands to get her own footing. When she did, Celestia started jumping- no prancing, around me all excited like, almost as if she wanted to play. Erratic jumping in random directions made me worry for her safety on the rocky floor, so I decided to get up and hopefully bring her outside somewhere on the grass for her to play in a safe manner. Celestia beamed with excitement. I watched as her little wings started to flutter, and her tongue shot out and eyes slammed shut as she focused more power into those feathery appendages as they flapped all the power she could muster. She was trying to fly. Duh, what else would she be doing? The little furball gained a little lift, and a little shock in the back of my head sent me into a cautious state where I planned to catch her if wings give out on her. Worryingly, I placed my hands directly under her, but she still gained much height. Soon, she even flew over my head. It was at this point I noticed her eyes were open and her wings finally gave up and arched into a wingspan kinda like a plane. She went into a very slow glide, circling just above my head until finally, she landed on my head without a single hitch. Then afterward she sat on top of me as if she were riding me, as if I was a horse and she was the rider. Talk about a shift in the norm. Celestia apparently liked to sit on my head. I had a strange feeling subtly telling she liked to be on top of the world or as high as possible. Almost scarily confirming of my sentiment, Celestia managed to grasp my hair to hold herself in place, and she wasn’t just using it for that purpose alone. “Ouch!” I grumbled as my hand instinctively went to swat her away before I stopped myself. Celestia giggled in delight. I can’t believe what just happend. She actually pulled it, and hard. Wait, she couldn’t have. She was just a child after all. Wow. Honestly, it was so uncanny how she did it though. She didn’t even seem the least bit surprised I nearly smacked her. How did she even pull on my hair with hooves? There seemed to be something telling me in the back of my head. that there was more to this than it seemed. I honestly have no reason to believe this, but I’m sure her pulling of my hair was deliberate. I guess dictators start young. A flare of light blinded me on exiting the cave, and my arm instinctively covered my eyes from the powerful rays as they had been used to the reasonably dark cavern that I’d spent the last little while in. Truth be told, time had blended quite well during our stay. I had no idea how long we’d actually been there. My eyes slowly adjusted to the excessive flare the sun provided, and I soon started to make out the shapes of figures of the forest I’d spent so long frolicking through to find safety. The silhouettes regained their color and the forest was now brimming with bright colored hues. From my vantage point up the little bit of mountain I had to climb to get to this cave, I spotted the lake I was at the other day, shining brightly like a mirror with the help of the sun. I even spotted the tree I slept at as well. The distance between my current location and the lake weirded me out. It was far too short. I was running through the forest for seemingly half a day, how could I only make the distance that looked to be only a kilometer away? I was so distracted by that simple question I missed an all too familiar haunting site to behold. Apples... Apples everywhere. Okay, not everywhere. But the forest was filled with apples, apples in every shape and form that could be considered to be an apple. Ripe, unripe, small, large, yellow, red, green, and so on in varying degrees. All of them just sitting in those trees. I pinched myself to make sure I was still awake. It perturbed me to great extents of my psyche that all the trees had been apple trees. I mean all of them. Like a grand insult to major injury, this struck me in the face so hard, I couldn’t even rise up to challenge, only be shocked throughout my body and mind. I was so sure that they had no such fruit during my search, and to see them all now, the answer to an old question like this was incomprehensible. Worse yet, the memory of the dream creeped back into my mind, drawing my attention away from this crime. I still hadn’t made heads or tails of the dream, and I don’t think I was about to, but then many questions flooded my brain. Where did the apples come from? Why was my dream so odd? What did it mean with all that imagery of eating and being eaten? Did my dream have anything to do with this reality?And if so, why? God I hate symbolism, just straight up tell me I just taste good if thats what it is. Like really. I felt a shift in weight coming from my head. Celestia, being young and I guess curious, popped her little head into view, her fuzzy little ears sifting around as if to look for something. She viewed me from upside down and gave me a confused look, before her little tummy growled, breaking me out of my little trance. As if to mirror her, my stomach too growled. Oh right, we hadn’t eaten for days. How could I even forget. But honestly I hadn’t noticed the need till now. As if I hadn’t been hungry at all until this very moment. It wasn’t even a deadly painful hunger for someone who hadn’t eaten in days either, just the sort of hunger you wake up with. Great, now I was much more willing to eat those apples, even if the thought of them did bring up some disturbing images. I strolled down to the trees, Celestia perched nice and happily on my head. It made the slight hike from the cave a little more difficult. Sometimes even causing me to lose my balance just enough for me to curse more loudly than I’d have liked in the presence of a child. Celestia jumped off my head as soon as we came to the threshold of the forest. She cautiously approached an apple tree with many already fallen apples underneath, I guess the sight intrigued her, and she put her head down to sniff one of the apples. She looked at the apple with intrigue, pacing around it like a cat stalking its prey. She sometimes feinted in to take a whiff of the apple, and pulled back immediately as if the apple might jump off the ground to attack her. I had to hold back a chuckle at the sight. Eventually she chanced a lick, but if her face was anything to believe, she was not impressed, as it contorted with disgust. I took a closer look to this particular apple to find out she’d licked an apple rotten to its very core. I chuckled at her silliness. Who in their right mind would lick a rotten apple? Then it occurred to me; Celestia probably didn’t even know what an apple was; nor how to eat it. My chuckling drew her attention as she gave me a face that was dissatisfied with my laughter. I grabbed an apple from a low hanging branch in the tree, a bright red one as they were my favorite, and Celestia eyed me with close attention, approaching me to get a closer look. I took a bite into the apple and was greeted with a nicely sweet taste these I had become accustomed with. It was a heavenly experience. Never have I ever eaten an apple so delicious in my life. I smiled in delight, and felt my the food hit my stomach satisfyingly. I looked down at Celestia who put her hooves on my legs and looked up to me with whimpering little puppy eyes that caused my heart to explode, twice. I chuckled a bit, clearly after seeing me eating it with such approval she must have wanted to have another try. With half the apple left, I brought it down to her mouth with an open hand, careful she might accidently bite me. She cautioned another lick onto the exposed inside of the apple. I watched her eyes grow in utter delight and that sole lick urged her on taking up the entire apple in her mouth . I didn’t think it was possible for such a small pony to take half an apple into her mouth and chew it and as a result, Celestia looked really ridiculous with her cheeks as large a a chipmunk inside a box of almonds. When she swallowed the apple, I couldn’t avoid her grandiose smile plastered across her face. She whinnied in an approving tone before starting to jump around me looking for another treat to eat. Mostly all the apples on the ground were either dirty or rotten, so I did my best from keeping Celestia trying to eat one, should she get sick later. She fought me to get another undesirable apple, but I eventually grabbed her and held her against my chest. However she got even more rowdy. Her struggling was so strong she knocked me in the head with hers. “Hey stop it! I don’t want you to get sick, alright?” She looked at me after hearing my upset tone, her lip hung out with sadness only to be further accentuated by those large puppy eyes of hers, and a single shiny tear of desperation. Not going to lie, she kinda made me feel bad for making her sad. But really I’m not or will not be in the mood of taking care of a sick little horse. I sighed. “Oh come on now, I’m just trying to get you a good apple!” I said in my defence. “Just wait a second, okay?” Her eyes unrelented. I rolled my eyes, thinking that if she’d been patient, she could be eating another apple by now. Celestia seemed to understand where I was coming from and calmed down a bit. It was enough for me to realistically free one of my arms holding her to reach up into a nearby apple tree. I eyed a green apple, my favorite kind of apple, and I felt an evil grin appeared on my face. I wonder if Celestia likes sour tastes? I couldn’t help but to think: it was time for a little payback. Without pondering the possible consequences, I snapped it off the branch it was holding on to, and took a small bite. It was sweet and sour enough to be noticeable, just as I expected. I kinda wanted desperately to play a harmless little prank on her for all the rediculum she’d given me today. Sure the sour taste wasn’t potent, but to a newborn yet to experience it, it might be enough. However, Celestia seemed to know something was up but was still eager to have a bite. Maybe it was the evil grin on my face, maybe it was some kind of hidden power of hers or maybe it was the unmistakably evil laugh I let loose without knowing, who’s to know? Thankfully, if she did notice something was off, she did nothing about it, and still desperately wanted this apple. I lowered the apple to her, and it seemed her already huge eyes grew larger with utter admiration and glee. But on my side I almost started to burst out in a maniacal laugh. ‘Yes....YES... Bite into the apple my pretty! Muahahahahahahahahaha!’ And she did! I held my breath, this is it! Nothing... Celestia bit into this apple and paused for no moment to acknowledge the green apple’s sour taste. In fact, as an extreme opposite to what I was hoping for, she loved this apple even more than the first. From looking at her I got the feeling she enjoyed the sour taste of it all. Touche my little pony, touche. Oh well... I mean what was I expecting? They were only green apples after all, hardly sour at all, really. I just got my hopes up because she was young and adorable....and innocent. Un-touched by the horrors of sour candy that your friend insisted was a normal gumdrop. Celestia started on another apple. Once again deterred by the apple’s skin, I had to take a bite before she would actually eat it. Which was fine for me. We eventually got into a system where I would eat half an apple and pass it along to the googly eyed hungry pony. But this system could only last for so long as my stomach filled and slowed down the process for the black hole besides me. Eventually I felt the need to sit down next to a tree trunk. My body more than content of being bloated from the amount of fruit I’d eaten, it made me feel rather sluggish and tired. I sighed in satisfaction before tapping my belly ever so gently. It felt good, to just sit down after a good meal after the last few days of confusion and stress. Out of the corner of my eye, Celestia came into view. Barring a half eaten apple in her mouth she skipped over to me with an adorable smile on her face. She placed the half apple onto my lap and looked up to me with those large gleaming eyes of hers. She expected me to take another bite and to continue eating with her. “No thanks, I’m full.” But that didn’t stop her, she approached me and pushed the apple closer to me with her delicate nose. Then looked back up to me with puppy eyes that could likely be considered weaponized cuteness. “Fine, I’ll have another bite.” And as soon as I said that, I saw her face pull a u-turn. I felt my stomach roll in a disapproving way as I considered eating the apple for this cuteness, I didn’t want to disappoint her. As I reached for the apple, the little filly snatched it back with her mouth and jumped back. “Hey!” I said in a bit of shock, although deep down I didn’t want to eat the thing in the first place. I shifted my look to Celestia who had a wide tense stance, looking right at me. Out of instinct or curiosity, I tried grabbing the apple from Celestia herself. When I made the slightest move with my arm though, Celestia jumped back a little further like a cat. I tried again, and Celestia, anticipating my move, jumped further back. Celestia’s eyes were clearly focused on me, and oozed challenge but playfully if that makes sense. I got this feeling she wanted to play with me, which made sense from her actions. I chuckled, she kinda reminded me of my dog. “Ugh...fine.” I reluctantly said, having a feeling that ignoring her would just cause her to escalate or do something to eventually get me to bite. Mind you, when these things happen, especially with my dog, I play full force, Celestia will get no different. I jumped for the apple instantly, catching Celestia off guard with my sudden move. I managed to gently swat the apple from her mouth without her having a chance to react. The apple went rolling into the grass and Celestia regained her bearings only a few moments later. I wasn’t able to get close to the apple, being still on the ground mostly, and so Celestia managed to get it into her mouth and start to run before I could get to my feet. Celestia’s little wings began to flap at a desperate pace. I chased her still as she managed to make it a few feet off the ground with her tiny wings. But having started to fly she also slowed down enough for me to catch up. Now in my full stride I passed her easily, and managed to swipe the filthy apple from her mouth. “Gotcha!” I said triumphantly as I smashed the apple in my hand on accident. “Ewww...” I said, I wasn’t fond of mushy things in my hand. I heard a whooshing sound and right after the apple was snatched from my hand just as easily as I had taken it. In my stun like dazed stupor, I spun around to find out what in the world had just happened. The sound of giggling coming from above me clued me in. I looked up to see Celestia up above, looking down at me whilst giggling with the apple in her mouth. “Hey!” I shouted at her. “Not fair!” I said playfully, but Celestia just swallowed the rest of the apple whole just to spite me. “That’s not fair either!” Well at least I wouldn't have to worry about getting it back. Celestia flew lower towards me, looking me square on and making silly little teasing faces at me with the best of my ability. I wondered how she knew so well how to tease people, was she born with this skill? I do remember the fans almost constantly refer to her as a troll. Regardless, I was going to catch this little filly, and then I cannot be held responsible for the tickling to death thing I had in mind. I charged after the little flying feathery tease of a tiny pony, which elicited a tiny scream followed by giggling as the pony fluttered away at the best speed I hoped she could actually manage. Chasing after a little filly in the woods is not without its fair share of problems, or so I’d come to learn. This little bugger was exceptional when it came to running away. Why? I have no idea, but the way this kid weaved her way through branches, brush, and rocks made this entire ordeal so, so difficult. And yet it was extremely exhilarating. When you are put in a somewhat dense forest and start to chase after a little bothersome filly who’s just been asking for it all day, you really do get zoned in on the entire experience, it was just one word the permeated my mind at that point. “Chase” And after that my body acted accordingly. I Dodged every tree, ducked under each branch, jumped over any small bushes, climbing up every small cliff, and diving for that little filly once I made the mistake that I was close enough. Oh and did I ever make that mistake! Celestia was a mere meter away from me doing her best to run, fly or hide from me closely following her from behind. She often looked back to see how close I had gotten making silly faces to bait me further or surprised scared faces whenever she looked back to see me not too far behind at all, her wings fluttering in desperate motion to keep ahead of me. However each time I noticed how she would sway and lose her arial balance for just a moment after twisting her head to look back. Realising that all my efforts have only managed to get me within a meter of her at best this was the moment she slowed down briefly enough for me to try something. It was time to play dirty. Okay so maybe I’m crazy stupid, but screw it! without even thinking about what I was going to do at all, I decided to go through with it anyway, and what I mean by going through, I mean going to dive for that little filly and catch her mid air. I grunted rather loudly with the start of my jump, prompting Celestia to look back at me slowing her down for a mere moment just enough for me to close most of the remaining distance before she knew what was going on. My fingers briefly touched Celestia’s wings and without hesitation grabbed hold of a few feathers. my grip held firm, and I smirked knowing I was about to win this little chase (albeit dirtily). The brief look of playful terror on Celestia’s face really made my day. Then I realized I was going to hit the ground...hard... It’ll be worth it. The little filly started to flap her wings hard, trying to save herself from the fall I was inevitably taking her down in. “No you don’t! I got you, you little bugger!” I shouted in excitement. ‘SNAP’ I hit the ground and felt something snap beneath me. The force of which plucked the feathers from Celestia’s wing, causing the filly to fly off in some indiscernible direction as my vision whipped around and body crashing and breaking into several things way too quick to even respond with a cry pain, before finally hitting into on really hard surface at last, and rolling to a painful stop. I felt gutted, beaten broken, shaking with pain all across my body. My head spun in all directions at once in the most perverse sense of vertigo. I couldn’t even cry in pain as several hits to my stomach left me without my wind. I tried moving around, prompting the blackness of passing out threateningly approach. As if I needed any more freaking motivation to not move! A soft whimpering came from high above. Celestia. daringly opening my eyes I wondered idly what was wrong....well besides me. (Okay so I wasn't in the best mental state. Give me a break.) A white blur at the end of this dark tunnel was clearly looking down at me. A soft whimpering from high above came through the loud ringing in my ears. ‘Celestia’ any rational mind would have said, but as it turns out I’m not a very rational person, so I barely mustered to say “Bananas.” instead. (In a way I’m almost impressed at how I got to bananas from ‘Celestia’.) “Pff” The sound of a large footstep pressing into the soft ground nearby caught my attention straight away. Celestia began quivering and quaking in place, as it seemed terror engulfed her. Without even knowing or being in the positions or mindset of finding out, I began to mirror the feeling of terror my ward was feeling. I strained to move my head even in the slightest. As danger prone as I was at this very moment, my Incredibly sore body gave me absolutely no leeway into turning to meet this threat. Much less be able to react to it. The heavy footsteps gradually approached closer to me, creeping closer. And the look and sounds of whimpering coming from the little pony up from where I fell made the feeling of dread start to build up quickly. I wanted to go, I wanted to leave, I wanted to flee, fly, or dig. But most of all I was starting to understand why the cat died from wanting to know what it didn’t. Curiosity. I dont know why I chose that time to look, I really really don’t, I mean Curiosity be damned, I’ve not been all that curious while I’ve been here this entire time but now seems to be a ‘great’ time to start doesn't it? Oh right what I saw, was a hulking omnipresent beast, that sucked the light into it like some kind of black hole defining its shape. It was terrifying seeing it up close, the way it moved screamed run, the way it made sounds screamed hide, the way smelled screamed escape, how it looked screamed close your eyes and turn away. But like a deer caught in headlights, It was impossible for me to do any of it. My body felt like it was paralyzed. It took so much effort to simply not fall over, much less have control to run. I mean if I could run. For all I knew even if I could get up and run away right now, I might just fall over, I didn’t know if I had broken any bones or what damage my body sustained. Or anything. All I knew is that I was a sitting duck if this thing wanted to eat me. The creature continued to lumber forward, towards me, its terrifying posture taking its time to approach me as if to pace itself. Its jaw opening up to show me those sickly crimson teeth. Only several feet away from my face. as I looked at them in my pain, I felt completely subdued, my body felt like it was melting away, my concentration and wakefulness disappearing from my body far easier than one would expect. And soon it was just like everything was fading out. ... .. . Ever wake up? I mean have you ever woken up all at once? Have you ever woken up from a dream so vivid, so nightmarish, that you are utterly convinced it happened? So much so that you spend the first half an hour waking up to fret about how your life has changed, and yet there’s no actual evidence to convince you it actually has changed? GASP! Jumping to my feet right away, and looking around for the beast was the very first thing I did after a deep breath. My body was tense and able, my senses were focused and trying to make sense of everything trying to put the fight back into me. But nothing. False alarm. Nothing was there. No beast, no pain, no possible broken legs, no evidence that I’d been hurt whatsoever. But what was more irking was the fact I was still in the pitfall from where I made my encounter. I was puzzled, no I was baffled, mystified, unable to comprehend. I wasn’t hurt, I felt better than ever, implying it was all a dream, but here I was right here, in this pitfall, right where the monster was. Where I fell. The fall was too much for my legs to have not have substance anything at all, even a minor bruise made no appearance. And just then I heard the blades of grass beneath my feet be moved. I quickly looked down. All it was...A little tiny unicorn pony. Celestia. Just curled up on a patch of grass, looking all cute as she repositions herself mid sleep to be more comfortable. Look, I don’t know how to explain this to myself, I don’t know where to begin. But hell this was a curveball to the face if there ever was one. I took a deep breath, there was no use stressing myself over something I had no control over. I slowly turned to observe that little pony right there resting on the grass, watching her body rest and move in a probably well deserved nap. It was easy to get lost or zone out while watching her breathe, her stomach expanding and sinking in a consistent manner. If she did save me, she didn’t look any worse for wear. I moved my hand to gently brush my fingers against her silky smooth mane. I had to admit, touching her hair this way was one of the most soothing things I’d ever experienced. So relaxing and stress relieving that I just continued to do it, watching her facial expression grow happier with a subtle smile as if she was enjoying the sensations herself. I changed it up and went to rub her side instead, her shiny white coat had been surprisingly well kept despite a few fragments of leaves and tiny branches from our chase I suppose. I cleaned her up a little, hoping to make her look just as the day I’d found her. The last leaf was so deeply buried between the layers of her fur that I hardly had seen it at all. With a simple pinch I pulled it away, but I managed to accidentally grab some of her fur, causing her to mumbled uncomfortably and roll towards her other side. Thats when I saw it. A piece, a fragment, a remnant of the monster that had been looking to feast on me earlier, hidden under a sleeping pony. Author's Note Well the guys after a long arse hiatus, I have returned to write ^ ^, I almost had this chapter done a very long time ago but now, Its finally finished after the same period of time it takes an elephant baby to gestate too. I'm a wonderfully terrible person to bring this back up in your favorites after so long. Blasted bronycon for getting me to get back on the writing horse. Well enjoy! And thank my wonderful assistant Griffin Spivy for continuing to edit after so long! Awesome dude guys.
Prologue."How could I possibly have imagined, that I would be part of the birth of Equestria." The howling of wind slipping through the crack of my slightly open window, caused me to shiver unexpectedly. Winter had come, and I had hardly prepared for it. I was soon going to regret my stigma of procrastination for doing so. So I did what came easily to me, I simply tightened my blanket around my freezing body. It was going a long night indeed. To be truthful, had I been living back at home, I would be in a much more comfortable place. A nice warm electric fire to warm the soul, three warm meals a day, and all of them would be actual meals and much better than the cans of ravioli and packages of noodles I had left in my reserves. I shouldn’t forget my family either, who was both annoying, fun ,and well... loving. Even despite the fact they had been quite disappointed in my performance at college. A college my parents had saved up their pennies all my life to send me to. As the holidays usually go, I’d also receive some heart felt gifts. Ones that I would never be able to return the favor, because of my lack of bank, and lack of willingness to find an alternative. But they would just say that “You being home is all we could ask for.” Really, it was a wonder I hadn’t taken the December holidays to greater effect, and simply just go home. But I guess I’m just too lazy for that too. I mean, its a no brainer that I should be home since it was only five days before Christmas, but....I don’t know. I really don't know how I managed to make an excuse this time. Oh right, I was a plane ride away, and a huge storm was brewing in my area. And grounding the planes for the foreseeable future. “How lucky I am.” I thought, trying to decide whether or not the storm was good or bad luck. Considering my solid rate of non-decision, I should have felt dirty for acting just like the politicians of the world. But I didn’t really care that much about politics anyway for all the ‘use’ it gives us nowadays. So, I’ll just silently add the next innumerable number to my mental count of times I failed to make a decision. So, with school being out for the the rest of the year, the storm making it impossible to fly home, and my friends too busy to hang out, there was only one thing left for me to do. Lose myself in the most counterproductive invention to mankind, “the internet.” Specifically, it was time to indulge in the pastel colored characters of “My Little Pony.” Yeah, I know, it’s strange for a young adult male to be watching a show for little girls, but I really don’t care about what you think. I’m a brony. But to be fair, I’m not as huge a brony as most of the people that go by the name. I don’t indulge in fanfiction, fanart, collecting toys, or making big deals about the background ponies. All I know is what I’m told from friends or actually having seen the occasional fanart part of a friend’s Skype profile picture. Why? Because once again I simply didn’t care. Well to be fair, I just didn’t care enough. The howl of the wind once more sent a chill down my spine, bringing me back to reality, and then suddenly a thunderous crash. I turned around to see the shutters of my window flailing about, the old rusty lock must have finally gave way to the storm. This was one of the few times I felt compelled to do anything. I needed to secure the shutters of the window now, before they either broke off completely, or shattered the window of the old house I was paying to live in. I didn’t want to lose my two hundred dollar deposit or live the next few days in the cold either... and hell I figure the landlord would appreciate my feigned initiative. I had a roll of string on my desk, figuring that to be my adequate alternative to the all fixing ‘duck tape,’ I grabbed it and examined the situation closely. For the task at hand, all I really needed to do was rope the shutters together, that is after I grabbed them, and held onto them tightly for a little bit. Easy solution, one that would allow me to keep my deposit, and as a side bonus, keep the sun out of my room forever. Then I could enjoy sleeping in whenever I felt like it. I slided up the window and it’s surrounding wooden frame, a blast of wind gushed in, actually causing me to stumble back as the temperature of the room decided it too needed a vacation south. I will regret this. Working as quickly as possible to help stop the genocide of the temperature I liked enough to actually care for, I put out my hands to catch the first shutter. They were both whipping around violently and slammed my left hand in a painful blow. But I finally managed to get ahold of the first, and the second soon after. I leaned my head forward to caress my hand, hoping it would help relieve some of the pain, but it didn’t. So without further stalling, I started wrapping the string around the open slits of the shutters that strung them together nicely. I was about to tie a knot. when the wind picked up again, causing me to lose my handle on the shutters, and to my amazement, ripped themselves off the entire frame soon after. “Damn,” I swore, “there goes my deposit.” I stared at the now useless pieces of wood flying about like they were birds in an instance of heavy turbulence. But then my attention shifted when the shutters had curved upward like a boomerang and bolted for... a tornado. Outside of my window, in the middle of winter (which should been impossible) was a huge twister, encompassing most of the town. It was hard to believe I’d only noticed now, or that the internet, or telephone lines hadn’t gone out yet. Hell, I was expecting some kind of broadcast on the radio, but then I realized I hadn’t bothered to turn it on since I moved in.Or even some city workers going door to door to evacuate everyone. Just...completely out of nowhere. I was stunned, shocked even, and for the first real time in my life, dreadfully scared. I went from a person who didn't give a damn about anything, to a person who actually did in... well you get the idea. I heard a huge snap, and a rumble. The roof of the house had tilted heavily, and it felt like the room was starting to be sucked into the monstrous tornado that was only just outside my window. I was in danger of being crushed by the house I lived in before being thrown about like a tennis ball in court. It’s a heart wrenching fear to be faced with such a tremendous force of nature, and well....I couldn’t help but to stare, I felt my clothes whipping about like paper in a mild gust around campus. But the more I looked, the more I felt like I was being sucked in. I was being pulled outside of a crumbling house into a tornado. It’s a hugely strange and overwhelming thing to be lifted from your room and pulled into the air. It’s a feeling of weightlessness that’s indescribable, because it felt like you were falling sideways, with your stomach still sinking, and your hair stinging your eyeballs because you haven’t had a haircut in months. I was right about one thing when it came to the shutters though, I definitely did regret this. _____________________________________________________________________________ Did I die. I mean, I should have right? Then why do I feel so ...untouched. So clear So... energetic. I felt weightless And yet... so scared. I was too scared to even open my eyes. “It is alright, you're safe now.” An echoing voice felt like it encompassed my head, soothing me greatly with it’s soft feminine voice. I opened my eyes, and to my amazement, I saw nothing at all. And I mean nothing. I was there in my own body as if the storm never happened. Just floating endlessly, it felt like I was stuck in a windless sky, and nothing but the same white for as far as I could see... in literally any direction. “Am I dead?”... I never meant to say that, and for the most part my lips to my knowledge, never moved. But it felt like I had said it with normal volume. “Yes, but not in your traditional sense.” The voice came back to me, I desperately looked around for the origin, but as far as I could tell, it was coming from my own mind. “What? Who are you? Show yourself!” I spat. I was kinda angry in my confusion, and I’d always wanted to say that cliched line. It also gave me this feeling of grounded normalness from the cheesy line, and normalness right now was a desperately needed commodity. “I cannot show myself in the way that you’d like, because all you see right now is me.” The voice calmed me down further with its soothing tones. “Are you God?” I asked. Hell...oh wait, if this is God, I should refrain from saying anything blasphemous or bad like ‘hell’. Then again I was never religious, and well according to my overly Christian friends, I had to believe in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to get into heaven. “You have no need to fear, I am not your creator, nor am I your reaper. I am simply a being that exists like yourself.” What does that mean? “As far as I know, I don’t know anything right about now! So could you spare me the cryptic stuff and just give me a hand?” I complained. “I have no hands.” Oh great, a smartass. “But I will explain what it is that is happening to you.” It paused as if to let me have a chance to retort. “You see, I am a creator. Not yours, but, you could say, we are part of the same... spectrum.” “Okay, so what does a....well, whatever you are, want with me? I’m not special... unless you're one of those omnipotent beings that liked to screw with people and give them superpowers or something like that.” I asked...and actually hoped that maybe I would get a superpower, because that would be pretty cool. “You see, in your world...or dimension as you’d call it, you are simply a being of unimportance in the history of that plane of existance. You would never achieve anything, and your significance to the world is so unimportant that if I removed you from it, it would not change it in any shape or form.” What? What the hell! This thing just said that everything and everyone I’ve ever met would not be affected at all from my disappearance. “But that doesn't make sense. Even if you killed a butterfly in the age of the dinosaur, the world could be affected profoundly. How can you possibly say that I, a person, much large than a simple butterfly, wouldn't affect it more more than an insect!” My heart steamed with hate, and I thanked myself for spending so much time on the internet to learn about the Butterfly Effect. “I cannot explain, as you wouldn’t understand. But I can tell you, despite the fact that you may not be of any value to that world. You possess unparalleled power in the world I will create, more so than any other being of your dimension. Your value to the new world I am creating is perhaps out of reach of your understanding.” Always the same voice, so calm and so soothing, it just made me more mad than I’ve ever been in my entire life, and that is damn well saying something. “So just because I’m a being that isn’t some omnipotent creator, that means I’m inferior?” My anger seethed through my words. “No. You are certainly not inferior, than my....race. As the peoples we create possess things we couldn’t understand, you wouldn’t understand the methods which brought you here.” “Like?” I challenged. My eyes squinting in anger. “We lack such things as imagination, conflict, emotion, life, death, desire, and love as you would call them. And although we understand the motions and methods behind such things, we shall never truly understand them.” I didn’t know whether or not to be angry, happy, confused, or even sad for this...thing. As much as I would love to know everything, losing my imagination, emotions, or anything like that, seemed like a price all too high. Even for someone who did not fully show how much I actually valued them. “I see, I think....” I simply said. “so...I’m dead.” I reiterated. “To your world, you are, but here you are, and very much alive. You still shall be when you’ve completed the task you are here to perform.” A task? For some kind of god that pulled me from home without so much as asking me? Right, I don't think so. “I don’t suppose I could just say no, and not help you out at all right?” I mean, its not like an omnipotent being can force you to do things right? I mean I do believe God had to ask Abraham to kill his son. Right? “Well you could, but then you would be lost here in this plane of existence for eternity.” Oh...that sounded like it would get boring really quick. Being stuck in an empty white space with nothing to do but think and be weightless. “Fine... alright, you win.” I sighed. “Just explain to me what is I have to do, so I can get on... with whatever it is that will happen when I’m done.” I sighed more. “I’m afraid I can’t explain to you what will happen. But you’ll know you’re objectives.” Wow that’s helpful. “Really? you can’t just tell me? Why the hell not?” “You’ll understand soon enough, as by explaining what to do, I would affect your mental state thus preventing the smooth completion of the process. Trust me, once we reach the end, you’ll wish it would have happened no other way.” Really unhelpfully cryptic. “Fine. I don't trust you, but there’s nothing I can do about it so... start this thing so I can... get on with it.” “Of course, you shall begin soon.” I came to a realization at that moment, I had no idea what to call this being who ripped me from home so... callously, and without my permission. “What’s your name?” “As creators we dont have a need for name, nor the creativity to make one.” Oh great. “But if you like, you may give me one.” Well... I guess that may be pretty cool... I mean how many people can say they’ve named a god, creator, or whatever this thing is. I thought about it for a minute, trying names in my head. Thinking of as many unpleasant names I could give this ’god’, thinking each time, how clever I would be to call it something vulgar or humiliating, before I finally remembered it didn’t give a damn about names in the first place. “You know, just get this thing started, I’m sure I’ll think of something later. Just start it.” With no answer, I looked around and waited for some sort of response. But my waiting had yielded none. And yet I felt tired, so much so that I felt like I was nodding off. My world of white disappeared in a world of black. _________________________________________________________________________ Weight. The warmth of the sun The smell of grass. The caress of the wind. Normalness. ...Relief... I opened my eyes to find myself in an open flat grassland, as far as my eyes could see. The wind blowing each individual blade of grass, making them dance with a grace that only the wind could give them. All while the sun got reacquainted with my eyes in the first time in a while. But to be fair, it felt too good to be in someplace that was far more normal than where I had been. However I couldn’t shake the feeling of being still in some kind of dreamscape. Was it all just a dream? I mean, it would be crazy not to think so, right? Is this also a dream? It was winter after all, and to my guess it was more like summer now. So was I really pulled from my room into a tornado, into an.... unsettling “plane of existence”? Let’s not forget speaking to a disembodied voice that seemed to live in my own skull. And now, being on solid ground makes me feel as if I haven’t lost my marbles just yet. But maybe I have yet to realize I already have. The sound of a crying baby grabbed my attention instantly. My heart stopped for just a moment, maybe I was home, maybe everything I just went through had been nothing more than a silly dream, and maybe just maybe, I learned to hibernate through winter. That would be pretty cool. Wait a baby! I got to my feet and started to look for the sound of it. I hoped desperately that maybe this baby had some kind of adult with it. Maybe one that could lead me back home, or give me directions, and with luck, they’d have a car or even a phone? The baby continued it’s wailing, and I was able to hone in on it. Running across the field as thoughts of home raced through my mind, I’d never wanted to be home more in my entire life. I was already exhausted, It was only a short sprinting distance too. I guess I should feel ashamed by the fact that I can’t get into a ten second sprint without breathing and gasping heavily. I finally got sight on source of sound that was carried in the wind. A small object wrapped in a white blanket that was undoubtedly the baby. I stopped in my move as I realized this child had been alone, and crying for its mother maybe. I stopped next to the little bundle of white cloth, out of breath. I kneeled down to the baby, its entire body hidden by warm blanket. I brought it up into my arms instinctively, wanting to coo the baby into a happy silence. But when I grabbed the cloth, it folded open enough to reveal its face. This wasn’t what I expecting at all. I could hardly believe my own eyes. Because beneath the cowl and held in my trembling hands, was a royal white baby pony with flowing pink hair and bright purple eyes. Sporting an equally white horn, wings, and feathers. I gasped in shock. I was totally confused heavily, I mean I was expecting a human baby for sure not a carbon copy of a pastel colored pony from my little pony. The little pony in the wrap, stopped crying, and looked at me with curious eyes, examining my every feature without any sort of discrimination. It was adorable to say the least, I actually felt compelled to lean in closer to it’s face, so it could get a closer look. I came to the sharp and playful realization that I had been played. I wasn’t sure whether to be happy, confused, or even angry. This was pretty clear evidence that I had infact truthfully been ripped from my own home, and thrown into some world where ponies from a tv show were actually real. But why? Why make a world where ponies like the show’s existed? And why me? there were probably millions of more my little pony fans that would serve as better subjects or persons for this task. Hell I never even played with the idea of living in equestria. Wait a second... the creator wanted me to help it create world... I wasn’t in a world where ponies were added, I was placed in the literal Equestria. My mind brought up a picture in my head of a similar looking pony that , and I instantly knew the name of this little pony. Celestia. Thanks to Coeus for taking on the editing of this chapter :D
Chapter 1: AquaintanceChapter 1: Aquaintance You know... I really do wonder, why it is that I ended up in this situation. I mean...I never did ask for anything like this to happen, I was truly content in my life - even if it wasn’t stellar or outstanding. If someone asked me, “If you had the chance, would you trade your life for a new one?” Without even putting much thought into it, I would have said no. I may not have had much good in my life, but I didn’t care enough about the bad parts to really want to change them. I would compare them to bug bites. There’s the initial moment of “Oh, this sucks”, as I scratch the itch, hoping for it to go away even though i know it won't. Then I realized, the best way to handle a bug bite, is to just ignore it. So that’s just what I did. Damn it, as much as I wish I could, I can’t simply ignore a baby (a pony baby at that) that I found alone in a field. What kind of person would I be if I just left it there? How is it that a person who has no difficulty avoiding responsibilities or outright ignoring them, is then placed with a great responsibility that they can’t ignore or avoid with almost no warning that it was coming? I suddenly felt a kind of sympathy for those characters who had greatness thrust upon them without their asking for it. Bilbo, or Frodo from the lord of the rings, Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, Harry Potter from... well you know. All of them more willing to do the things that needed to be done then I. If I could have seen this coming, I would have been kicking, and screaming to go home and then try forget about it like it was no big deal. At this point I knew there was no going back, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t complain about it. The infant form of Celestia, was wrapped in the wool fabric of the blanket I had found her in. She didn’t squirm too much, nor did she cry or giggle the ways other babies back at home would. I wasn’t too keen on them in the first place due to those children being noisy, needy, and just a general hassle to deal with. What this child version of Celestia did do however, was settle down instantly, like a child with her mother. Despite her calm demeanor, she gazed at me with adorable curiosity, her mouth slightly open and her eyes rushing side to side gaining focus for a moment before tilting her head in a way that would cause her to restart from the beginning. Was she the reason I was here? What was I of all people going to do with a child? I had no experience raising babies, nor taking care of them in the slightest. Even less so when it came to baby ponies. I had no motherly intuition to rely upon either, since I was a guy. To my knowledge guys don’t have a ‘fatherly intuition’... and if they did, then I clearly hadn’t received it. So, I just stared down to this little ball of fur and feathers, totally unsure and without a plan of action to follow. All the while she continued to look at and assess me with those shining purple orbs of hers. I felt a sneeze creep up in my nose in preparation, my body instinctively opened my mouth wide, slamming my eyes closed, and bringing my arm up to shield anyone around me from the mucus. “ACHOO!” I sneezed loudly. Instinctively, I cleaned up the residue with my sleeve. When I moved my arm away from my face, I looked down to the baby Celestia. Her expression had changed greatly. She sat there all dazed and confused, and kinda squirmed around in that state. I held her tightly and closely as she slowly recovered. I felt my stomach sink as I might have given the poor child a heart attack for all I knew. Suddenly, her eyes closed, liked they wanted to cry, and I watched her mouth open as I began to regret spontaneously sneezing even if I hadn’t any control over that in the first place. “Achu.” She sneezed in an adorable way that only babies could achieve. I watched as her nose sniffled afterward. I could not suppress the smile that came so easily to my face. To top it off, the little filly giggled at her own sneeze bringing an odd warmth to my heart. “Oh...Ew.” I said, noticing that little Celestia here had some of her own mucus across her nose. I genuinely paused in disgust, was I really going to clean up after her as well? She sat there looking at me with her happy face, staring at her dirty nose, her eyes becoming crossed as she did so making her look all kinds of silly. She went to try and lick her her nose just then, and that was the last straw. “Oh no you don’t.” I said softly as I reached out with a portion of my own sleeve to wipe her nose. I wiped very softly and carefully so as to not upset her, but she still gasped, recoiling slightly as I did so. “There you go.” I really disliked taking care of icky gross things like snot from other people or ponies for that matter. I don't even know why I did it in the first place to Celestia. Like It was just a feeling that took control of me. Oh well... I wiped the sleeve of my jacket on the grass, trying to clear it of the snot. The poor thing began to sniffle again and her eyes closed once more. I was expecting her to sneeze again, but alas, she chose to instead cry. And cry she did, I felt scared and anxious my hands started to tremble. I didn't know what to do. The last time she was crying she’d been alone in a field, and then immediately stopped when I picked her up. The worst part about that was that I was still holding her in the first place, so that solution was a bust. All I wanted was for the baby to quiet down, was that so hard to ask? I thought back to any kind of knowledge about treating babies, real life examples, TV, music (I’m desperate here), books, and so on. My mind kept turning up blanks whatever the medium. The pressure of a crying and screaming baby kept me from collecting my thoughts and making any real progress into fixing the problem. Fuck it. I was never much for plans anyway, I’ll just wing it. I probably couldn't do anymore harm then I had already done. I had a feeling I would regret that last statement but whatever, I’ve got a crying baby pony to deal with. Leaning in close to this ‘darling’ child I started to make silly faces, any that I could possibly bend my facial muscles to perform. However, no matter what kinds of faces I made, there was just no effect at all. I briefly wondered if the Celestia from the show was THIS picky. At a lose of what to do, I gave up the act of trying to put on a show for this kid, then realized how dumb I was for not noticing why I was so ineffectual. Her damn eyes were closed. Oh...duh, a crying baby probably isn’t busy looking around or enjoying some stupid faces for that matter. To be fair to the kid, I’m sure my faces probably would have made things worse. I exhaled in frustration. Oddly enough, my mouth was still formed in such a way that my exhaling breath became an exasperated whistle. Celestia started to quiet down, her sniffles were still there, but she was much less vocal. Did she like the whistle? I watched as she slowly returned back to her upset state. I guess theres only one way to find out if I’m wrong. I tried whistling again. This caught her attention, causing those weary dreary purple dots to look up at me. I blew another quiet whistle and she seemed to enjoy it. Or it was enough to distract her from... whatever it was I did to set her off. I decided it might be in my best interest to whistle a tune for her. For the life of me I couldn’t think of anything to whistle to her, I mean... how many whistling tunes do you know? But then again it didn’t seem to matter to this kid in the first place. But I had an Idea. Who says I need to whistle a whistling tune? I inhaled a deep breath, probably the largest one I’d taken in a while. Forming my lips into an ‘O’ shape, I began whistling the first thing that came to my head. It just so happened to be the “A B C” or “alphabet” song. I whistled profusely, trying to reach all the notes possible, but inevitably missing some. But by the end of the song, It didn’t matter how much I’d screwed up. Celestia had...fallen asleep in my arms, a cute little smile etched in her face. It caused my heart to explode in cuteness, and a single tear from my eye was riding its way down my cheek. I would have been embarrassed if any of my friends were around. But I just basked in the opportunity and hugged little Celestia closer, whispering, “Sleep well.” ____________________________________________________________________ It didn’t take long for me to get bored. Well... maybe bored isn't the correct word for this kind of situation. So far I had spent my time in a grassy field dealing with a child. Now that she’d fallen asleep, I had nothing to do but stare at her somber image as she breathed peacefully. I couldn’t stay here forever, despite how nice and warm I felt. I would probably have to worry about food and shelter eventually, if I didn't wake up from this supposed dream of mine by then. I took care to stand up on my feet without stirring too much. The kid was quiet and I wanted her to stay that way. Looking about whilst using my free hand to keep the sun from my eyes, I turned around, looking for any kind of landmark which would serve as my interest point to walk towards. A large mountain, actually the tallest mountain I had ever seen, seemed to hang over me, like a colossal figure standing over a simple beast. I felt so insignificant, and yet with this baby in my arms, I felt oddly very significant, almost like I was the biblical king David versus Goliath. I had no idea why felt like it either. Maybe it didn’t matter anyway. I started walking in the direction of the mountain hoping to better my situation. I wasn’t really interested in survival. To be honest I was just restless, and just wanted to walk. I heard somewhere that walking cleared your mind. And if that was true, I could use that about now. So long as I didn’t wake Celestia crying spree doing so. The sky had turned into a beautiful orange sunset before we arrived at the base of the mountain. The sun and all her warmth had begun to say farewell to the countryside, leaving a cool air to run through the plains. At the mountain base, there was a small, but nice lake, flowing gently, the ripples in the water hitting the rocky shores with peaceful tones reaching out to me, soothing my ears. It was good I’d come across this lake, both physically and psychologically. The walk had been long and arduous and feet ached as a result. I was also quite thirsty from the trek, the lake would help remedy that. I felt a tinge of excitement pull me the rest of the way. The terrain may not have been difficult to walk on, but my insisted avoidance of outdoorsmanship made this journey more tedious than expected. I almost wanted to remove my shoes and let the water numb some of the soreness out of my aching feet. Looking back at the journey, it was surprising that Celestia hadn’t woken up, and still she slept in my arms in a deep sleep, totally comfortable and at ease with everything going around her. It certainly made the journey, the sightseeing of the countryside, and the mountain much more pleasurable. I went by the lake, figuring that I was more than entitled to a drink and maybe some relaxation. I set Celestia down next to a tree on the side of the lake, careful not to wake her up. I took a good long gulp out of the lake, deciding to immerse my head entirely to shake the residual heat of the sun. It was truly a refreshing event, the cool water washing away the sweat from my face, and I don’t think I’ve tasted such amazing water before either. After shaking the water off my head in delight. I decided to remove my shoes and socks, laying them both next to Celestia, and let my feet soak in the lake, as I enjoyed the view of the great mountain. The water ran through my toes easily, calming the pain of my new callouses and it almost seemed like they faded away themselves. I felt so at ease that I just wanted lay down on my back and enjoy the beautiful orange sky. Although the sun was low in the sky the air was still warm enough to make sleeping possible. I wondered if I went to sleep in a dream, would I wake up, or would I go into a dream within a dream? That is assuming this was a dream itself, and not the real thing. Then again, I’ve never had a dream that was this vivid and clear to me. There is a state of sleeping that is known as lucid dreaming, that allows you to take control of your dream. When you become aware that you are dreaming, and once in that state, you can do anything... your wildest imaginations, your most daring fantasies, hell...your entire subconscious, including deepest wishes can come true. Oh... I wish I was home.... If only I wasn’t here right now, and back in my own bed. Away from this damn world, dreamscape, or whatever. How I missed the simple things in life, anything that didn't have to do with a baby and some place that I having no earthly idea of where I am. Then again if I’m to believe my gut feeling, this was Eques- no this wasn’t Equestria, I refuse to believe I’ve gone into a world of a TV show that I enjoyed. I wanted nothing to do with ponies, incredible magic, dangerous creatures, or even the insanely strange Pinkie Senses. I... Just wanted to grow up to be normal, have a desk job, fall in love with an average girl, drink beer, and play video games. Just so long as I wasn’t giving a damn about anything else that upset or bothered me. A life of mediocrity is all I ask. I sniffled as if I’d gotten a cold, but soon felt my tear divulging from my tear ducts. This reminiscing was getting to me, maybe I wasn’t in a dream world like I thought? Was this the real deal? I was going to pinch myself, I heard that you couldn’t feel pain in a dream, but then realized my feet still ached from the journey. That counted as pain right? A counter argument could be made if this was a lucid dream, you could feel pain in those and not be disturbed. I also wondered, how much pain would it take to wake you up? I felt pretty bad already, and then a thought weighed in on my head like a ton of bricks. Would I have to kill myself to wake up? Was that even possible? Or maybe... is it possible that if I kill myself in the dream, could I die in real life? I heard of a story of a civil war prisoner who was put up against a wall and shot by a firing squad. As expected, he died. The strange thing is, none of the old lead balls from the muskets had hit him. He was in perfect condition, but according to an old autopsy, his heart just stopped. Its possible to say that he was so sure he was dead, that as soon as the muskets fired, he believed he was dead and died just like that... If I died in this world, real, or dream. It may be possible I could die for real. Ehhh... I’m too exhausted to figure this out right now. Besides, if I just slept I could figure things out tomorrow, or just simply wake up at home, call up everyone I knew and told them I loved them out of the blue, like some kind of lunatic. Heh, I should really just stop thinking and sleep. No need to hope, that will just keep you awake. So I closed eyes thinking of home, and let sleep take hold of me ____________________________________________________________________________ A/N: I hope that you guys enjoyed the first chapter. Lemme know what you think in the comments. :D I’d also like thank Anon3mous1 for the editing in this chapter as a huge favor to me. Coeus as well because hes been at work with editing the prologue (which is longer than this chapter.) Bless their souls. Also I’m going to try to post a chapter a week. And if you can folks, please read Fallout equestria: Wetgrave (my other story) as well. I’ve got an epic story planned for it. :D
Chapter 2: The RainRain... Who could possibly say, that in one point of their life, that they have never enjoyed the sound of rain? The travelling musical orchestra that sounded different wherever you went. But always stemming from the same spectrum of sound. The soothing tones, the calming nature, and the occasional breaks in the status quo from the wind mixing with the rain. Causing an already tiny sound to grow into a full blown symphony. How could you argue that the overbearing sound of the single largest drop hitting a pool of water isn't like the lead vocalist in a choir of raindrops that sings with a voice that pierces the soul. With a harmonizing melody backing up the entire performance; how could you say that the rain just wasn’t in a way a full blown natural wonder in its own right? But, theres one thing that we overlook about the rain, it can be very destructive. When mother nature wills it, the rain can destroy lives, ecosystems, landscapes, and so on. We often forget this unfortunate truth when we choose to observe the rain we do so in a way that doesn't put us in any danger. But when the big guns of rain are brought out, all too quickly do we lose our composure and scurry off to higher, drier ground. Suffice to say, what once is a harmless enjoyable event, can, in the right circumstances, be a great danger to one’s well being. I began to slip back into the shoes of consciousness, my mental state still being sluggish and half dormant. My mind refusing to take in my surroundings, just wanting to return to the uber relaxed state of sleep. No thoughts running around my cranium trying to stir me from my stupor. A dash of wet coolness bounced off my cheek as I still lay on the ground, my mind only becoming alert for a moment to register the feeling, and sending the subconscious signals down to my arm to wipe away the anomalous feeling. As soon as the feeling was gone, another similar coolness struck my eyelid causing it to flutter in discomfort. My mind, sending another signal down to my arm to clear the obstruction, but this time my mind had begun the reawakening process. My eye now cleared of the odd feeling, fluttered again, this time the image of multiple falling lines making their way down to the ground against a rolling grey sky were seen. Without much more process I realized It was raining. Groggily, I rubbed my eyes, it was only a slight drizzle, but it was enough to cause me to want to seek shelter. Sitting up, my gaze fell out onto the lake, pausing to let my brain catch up. The droplets of rain breaking the surface of the calm lake leaving small ripples float on surface casting echos in the liquid fluid. Despite the rain, it was still sorta warm out. It felt like one of those days I spent sitting in a nice, dry chair on the porch on a rainy day. Just sitting and listening to the rain, letting my mind empty of everything but the sound. Falling into old habits, I just sat there on the lakefront staring out...in my own little world. Just letting that sound sink in. That was until I heard the giggles of a little baby. My heart jumped. I realized I had completely forgotten about Celestia, who’d I’d left alone while I slept, with no shelter then the blanket I’d found her in. But when my eyes met her little figure, snug within the fabric, I calmed myself down. She’d been fine. I walked over to her fragile form, this caught her attention as I could see those little pearly eyes turn their attention to me, and that little smile on her face smiled as she continued to giggle in an adorable manner. Made even more adorable from the fact that she’d managed to free her forehooves and was now reaching for....me. I wasn’t sure to be frightened or dying from cuteness. Obviously I’d left an impression on this little baby as her hooves seemed very desperate to grab me. But I was starting to get afraid of this tiny little pony. She took too well to me, It was like she had been accepting of me being a kind of a mother or father figure meant to nurse her. Like she was maternally connected to me. I hesitated to grab her, but seeing her nearly pull herself out of her blanket in such determination, I just had to pick this child up. When I did, she squealed in delight, her giggling becoming twofold as tried to tighten the blanket around her. But her squirming eventually got the best of me. The next thing I knew she had gripped onto my t-shirt and was holding it like her old discarded blanket. At that point I relaxed a little with her now firmly in my arms. She nuzzled against my chest with adorable looking purple eyes looking up at me, it seemed she was getting comfortable rather quickly. She was so close to me I could notice the pink of her actual skin. Which I thought was odd. But it turned out to be, (or at least I figured) that her coat wasn’t as thick as a filly's yet. So I could see the red in her cheeks. That adorable red color that stood out like a sore thumb. To my amazement, the little filly hadn’t more than a single drop on her head, which was odd. Why hadn't she been more wet from the rain? But then I realized I left her close to a tree which seemed to provide her some cover... but still there should have been more water droplets on her pristine white coat. Oh well. At least now I didn't have to worry about her getting sick or anything. While caught in my own dreamlandish thoughts, I noticed a warm, wetness feel around where I was holding celestia on my chest. I looked down, and in utter horror I noticed she was trying to suck my shirt. More specifically, around my nipple. OOOH what to do what to do what to do? I was freaking out about the notion that this little adorable ball of fur was... erm... there’s no way to say this and not have it sound inappropriate. What was she doing? In my crazed, stupid daze, I tried ripping her off my chest only to have my shirt stretch out with her, as she desperately fought with me to get back to where she was. When it became clear to her that it wasn’t happening her eyes clenched shut and she began to cry. What the hell child?! I didn’t understand, I was upset, I was...beyond words. What in the blue flying flames of hell is going on? And why is it happening to me? Oh common bud think of some reason to keep you from going insane. A terrifying growl came from out of nowhere. My heart stopped as I worryingly spun my head around looking for what was very likely about to eviscerate me or something if the growl was any indication. Once again the growl came back, more lower in volume but I managed to identify the source. This blood curdling roar came from none other than from the stomach of the baby Celestia. She was hungry... that came to me as much more of a relief than I could have possibly imagined. The freakishly loud roar, the suckling of my shirt. All of this because this baby was hungry. Which made sense, I misinterpreted the signs as worst as a mind touched by the worst of internet could be. I sighed in the utmost relief. Before looking at this ‘darling’ child. Man is she such a pain. “So you're hungry huh?” I said in a residual nervous voice. “You should have just said something-” I paused as I mentally slapped myself for being stupid. Babies can’t talk, idiot. Alright so food, that’s what is needed here obviously. Now where in blue blazes do I get food? I’m in the middle of nowhere... well more in the middle of....Equestria? And food isn't exactly easy to get. I mean it’s not like it grows on trees-. Well guess who just punched himself in the head for being ridiculously dumb again? That’s right...me. ____________________________________________________________________________ I started walking downstream, looking for any sign of food. Anything easy like vegetables or fruit. Animals were of course out of the question because, I was too lazy to hunt, and I wouldn't be able to kill anything even without the lack of tools or baby in my arms. Not to mention. I’d also have to cook and skin the animal after. With no fire, that would be a problem considering the lack of firemaking, and the whole rain deal. So yeah, greens it was. The light drizzle didn't do much to hamper me from the search of food. At this point, I was hungry too. Also its not the kind of hunger you can ignore, being that I have no food right now, kinda ups the ante quite a bit in this particular case. So I really wanted to keep moving, keep searching, and finally find some food to feed myself and the kid too. Otherwise, failure wasn't exactly something I’d like to meet up with again, now that basic needs were on the line. I couldn’t help but to daydream as I searched about. Pizza, noodles, rice, chicken, steak, strawberries, broccoli, peanut butter, waffles, oh and how could I forget, maple freaking syrup. I don’t care what anybody else says, maple syrup is the best thing ever, you can put it on anything. Waffles, pancakes, bacon! The rich flavor, the sticky feeling of it getting on your fingers. The amount of pure awesome it brings to your morning breakfast. At this point, I figure I would drink the stuff straight. But all thoughts of maple syrup aside. I do have a method to my madness when it came to this search. I chose to look around the lake, knowing that since fresh water made the world lush, following a river or several going down hill might lead me to some berry bushes like back home. Although...I couldn't put a finger on what kinds of berries grew back at home. Hours rolled by as I toiled for a meal. My hope was dropping fast. The longer I was out and about looking food the harder the entire ordeal became, the rain had started to pick up, along with the wind. Causing me to shiver from my noticeably wet clothes. Celestia, at this point was becoming difficult to handle. I wasn't used to this kind of weight being in my arms for a prolonged period of time. Although she’d been pretty silent and generally ideal for the situation, I still had to resort to taking a break now and then underneath a couple pine trees that were littered throughout the area. The landscape was also hard to navigate. wherever I went, I was blocked by the foliage. I managed to get myself cut a few times by the sharp needles hitting my face. Not only the trees, but the rocks and cliffs also made it challenging to climb with Celestia in my hands. Some of the wet rocks, with their smooth edges, had caused me to slip and hurt myself in the process. Streams of water also cut off several paths that would have made my life easier. It was time to give up. The rain was starting to hit down hard, each droplet seeming to have actual punch behind it. Or maybe it was because I was so tired that everything only felt worse. This will be the only time I say this. But.. “Fuck food. I want to take a break, I want a nap.” My rant began. “I want to be nice and damn warm, with a BLANKET!” I started to shout out.“ And COMFORTABLE!!!” I kept walking on and then realized I could go on and yell out stuff. “Damnit I want to play VIDEO GAMES.” Putting as much emphasis on video games as I damn wanted. “Oh and I don’t wanna be stuck with some little BABY, because theres no one else to take care of HER!” I obviously continued on, shouting about everything even the stuff that didn't matter. I was shouting about the state of the economy I was just so livid (even in this world where it didn't matter) . Complaining made dealing with this whole situation so much easier. Miraculously, Celestia hadn’t started crying from my upset and crazy shouting. She was still as well. I mean, I expected her to start crying as badly as she had before, so I could complain about that too...well I’m alright with that. Less crying kid the better. “Oh my god.” I came to sharp, disconcerting realization. I had been so distracted by the fact that I’d been busy looking for food that I never really checked up on her. This entire time. I quickly flipped back the piece of cloth that covered her face from the rain. What I saw scared me. A deathly sick baby Celestia was in my hands. Her furry face was deathly pale and her nose nearly blood red. Her eyes drooped down in a sickly fashion. I put my hand over her forehead only to recoil from a kind of searing heat. I panicked easily again, my stomach sinking down to the lowest levels of the human body in guilt. I had a feeling deep down in my mind that I might have possibly killed the ruler of Equestria from mistreating her so...badly. My mind raced for answers. Setting itself into my memory banks, the mental video of the sneezing Celestia, and her red face striking out like a sore thumb....How did I completely miss that? It never crossed my mind at that point in time that this child was sick? I was more concerned on getting my hands dirty to even consider that. Wow, I’m the best babysitter ever. I stood there in shock, still chastising myself for what I’d done then doing anything about it. Classic me. Why do something to improve yourself when you can complain about it endlessly? How could I be so stupid? I collapsed to the ground on my knees. I Gave up. I was scared, I didn’t want to have to take care of this child and for her to die in my arms. I may not have cared about her much, either in the show or from the moment I had to deal with her. But if she died...I would have to bury her. Just picture that for a second. Burying a child yourself in an unmarked grave in a world with no apparition of actual civilization, and it was all your fault. I don't think I could forgive myself about that failure ever. Or even forgive myself. When I think back, I don’t think I ever drew the line of what I couldn’t accept as a failure. But here and now, I knew I’d drawn it. I picked up the sick Celestia into my arms, with renewed determination coming out from the fog of pain and exhaustion. I was going to save this kid. Even if I died trying. ____________________________________________________________________________ The world grew dark. The night had arrived and it ousting what little of the day that seeped through the storm clouds, bringing in a blinding cover to the forest. It was a completely disorientating experience. Not that I had a sense of direction in the first place. All the while the rain pounded harder and harder. Flurries of wind caused the individual droplets to strike like an angry whip. Not that I knew what it felt like. Not that it mattered as my body had already begun to feel the sore pains from all my travelling in the day. I recalled a time at fire camp, taking a shower by fire hose from the firemen during a nice summer day, this was the equivalent of that, but in a more miserable and a prolonged state. My feet were sore with the kind of pain that made you want to sit down for hours and never move. It was this charliehorse-like pain that pulled your muscles together and pinched them like your mother would pinch your ear when you did something wrong at a young age. It’s hard to explain how it feels to get so exhausted like I was starting to get. But essentially, I was too tired and wet to even complain inside my own head. All my opinions and ranting out the window or buried underneath the cold slab of exhaustion. All this time the only thing holding me together as I trotted through the now dark woods, was this sick little filly who hadn’t budged or moved too much since this morning. It was heartbreaking, and every time I looked at her in her sickly state, I was reminded and motivated of what I had to do. I had to find shelter, somewhere dry, out of the wind...something. Like a miracle, I stumbled into a forest clearing right next to a cliff face. The space was only open, and the rain which had been mostly filtered by the tree, struck like falling rocks, causing me to recoil in pain and turn my back to try defending Celestia from the onslaught. In doing so, I caught a glimpse of a cave entrance. My salvation at last. I began running towards this godsend of a shelter, cradling Celestia to my chest and leaning forward to use my back as a shield against the rain. I bolted as quickly as my body would let me, burning in soreness the entire way. I chose not to be cautious about entering a cave. Even with the dangers of living creatures inside. I just had to get out of the rain. The sound of my tired feet echoed inside the cave as I collapsed to my knees. It was nothing but a pure miracle that I made it this far in the first place. But finally, I was safe... I scooted my butt against a wall, and sat there. I had no intention of ever moving away. My hands were trembling from the cold, my entire body shook and shivered trying to desperately heat itself up. But I didn't care about me for the moment, I was too worried about the condition of this infant in my arms. I rolled back the wet cloth that had been protecting Celestia, only to see her condition worsen. She didn't seem to be breathing. Her complexion, as pale as her coat, her eyes weakly shut, and she never budged a millimeter. My heart jumped, had I been carrying a dead child all this time? Rain started pouring from my eyes.... I mean tears. This was the only thing I wanted to do right. The one thing in all my time I wanted to do right. And now... I let my head drop, I was too tired to hold it up any longer, and... I was ashamed of myself. How do I always manage to screw up? I’m worthless, I have no value. That god thing was right about me, If I remained back home, then nothing would have ever happened with me. I wouldn’t have affected the world in any way shape or form. I was insignificant compared to a butterfly. I was too tired to be mad, but I was. It was right after I convinced myself with no thought of doubt that it was wrong. This was proof. I let out a deep sigh of surrender. Shortly after, I felt a tiny short breath tickling my nose. I looked down, and in amazement, Celestia’s weakened figure, had been looking up at me, her eyes tired and half open. I watched her as she took another quiet, strained breath. Before her eyes shut again. “No... NO!” I began to yell, my weakened voice bouncing off the walls of the cave. “Damnit don't do this to me! Don't make me be wrong about myself! Don't let me be alone! Don’t die damn you!” At this point my tears were pouring from my eyes in ways that made the barrage of rain seem tame and preferable. “You don’t need to cry.” ...That voice... I looked up to see myself back inside the white void once again. Celestia still was in her current state with me. “Save her!” My hoarse voice called. “I already have.” The voice said calmly. I had no energy to respond at that point. I mumbled something akins to a thank you, and then my body decided it was time to say ‘lights out’. And out like a light bulb I went. ___________________________________________________________________________ A/N: Hey guys, I’m so sorry I’ve not updated in a very long time, and I thank you for your amazing patience. I hit a huge string of bad luck everywhere, lost my job, car broke down, being very very very sick a lot, my editor having to deal with his own problems, eventually quitting, and I having to find a new one.. To be honest, this chapter was done a month after last chapter but because of all this misfortune, my motivation to update it hit rock bottom. Also thank you kindly Griffin100000 for you amazing editing help so far with this story. So once again sorry. And I hope if this is any condolences, the next one will be out sooner.
Chapter 3: The Morning DreamWaking up after fully exerting yourself the day before is painful. Anybody who works out for the first time in a while will tell you this. The morning after is sore city. A debilitating feeling that your nerves are swollen to the point where the slightest movement or touch could feel like all hell breaking loose across your body Nevertheless, heat was building up on my body, bringing me back to consciousness. The warmth washed over me in ways that made me want to curl and cool down somewhat. Like a ray of light striking you in the morning while you're still in bed. “Save her!” My hoarse voice called. “I already have.” The voice said calmly. The memories of last night returned to me. Taking and killing my morning ignorance, and striking me with a dreadful sense of worry. I sat up, as quickly as possible, looking around for Celestia, the images of her deathly pale furry face, stabbing at my heart, causing it to skip a beat or two. My vision only caught the sunlight as it entered the cave’s mouth. The light didn’t deter me as I shook my head desperately looking for the cute little ball of fur I’d spent the last day or two caring for. Finally her image came to me. The pristine white coat of a little pony, with her wings of purely white feathers, and her cute little horn met my eyes. She laid right beside me in her blanket. Perfectly safe, breathing with a cute exhaling breath that was almost a whistle, and sleeping without a care in the world. An adorable little angel if looks are to be believed. Completely undeterred to sleep the morning away even by the rocky surface of the cave. Safe from starvation, sickness, and neglect. I finally could relax. It was then when it hit me. Several jolts of pain simultaneously took hold of me. Causing me to wince and whine (a little) until I layed back down on the angled floor of the cave. The pain was like stabbing a hundred toothpicks into you body. Until all of them stood up on their own from the flesh holding them in place. Now imagine you're doing this whilst laying on a slab of jagged rock too, and any movement you make caused some of the toothpicks to enter your skin more, as the toothpicks were pushed in by the hard rock! Okay so maybe I whined a lot, but Lord kill me now it hurt. Hurray for waking up half asleep and feeling nothing, and making one lousy movement, and feeling like you bathed yourself with flaming toothpicks. I stirred a lot, letting out a low picked cry occasionally. My whining caused Celestia to stir. The little filly, rolled around a little in her blanket, before letting loose a tiny high pitched yawn that was so adorable, the pain became ignorable for the duration. I watched as Celestia rustled in the confines of the blanket until she freed herself only about a minute later. I watched as she struggled with keeping her balance on the lopsided floor. She nearly toppled over on her face a couple of times, as her hooves slipped from the damp rock underneath her. The pain in my leg spiked at that point, and I let loose a fairly audible cry. Celestia Jumped a little, startled by my cry of pain. She squealed in fear with a tiny voice. Her face and beady little eyes making a surprised look before her legs scrambled to run away. But she slipped on the rock, and harmlessly rolled to the lowest point in the floor. It was so adorable, cute, and even funny that. I laughed. Ouch, wrong move. My laughing caused a spasm of pain that rocked me. I tried to keep my silence if only to not frighten Celestia any further. She takes a little time to stare at me, as if assessing the situation. But her expression is unmoving, her eyes fixed on me as if she’s frozen in fear. Obviously she didn’t recognize me. I felt hurt. I spent all yesterday and the day before caring for her, and she couldn’t or didn’t recognize me... It really, really hurt. A kind of internal pain that just burrows into your heart and the more you think about it, the more painful it becomes. I may have been hurting on the outside, but that pain was like a grandiose message compared to this. At that moment I desperately wanted to know why she feared me or showed these signs of unknown. It occurred to me just then that Celestia looked much taller and mature than her tiny appearance yesterday. It was as if she’d grown into a toddler from a baby. But that still begged the question. If she didn’t know me, then how could I prove to her I wasn’t a threat? I exhaled in a tiny bit of frustration and pain. My mouth even had been sore, causing my lips to stay close together in an effort to avoid exerting my face muscles. Unexpectedly, from my ‘closed lip’ exhale; I whistled gently. Celestia’s ears perked up, and her body language, tentatively relaxed for a moment. In pondering the question as to why, I flashed back to yesterday (or was it the day before?) I had whistled to Celestia to calm her down when she was crying. Did she remember that? I tried playing the tune from the day before, but it was at this point that my acute memory has failed. I couldn't remember the song. But that didn’t stop me from trying anyway. The new song, which was without much of a tune, was just three repetitive notes. If I knew how to write it in music, it would resemble an arc, or something. Hell I have no clue, I’m just guessing here. But anyway, the new tune had a profound effect on Celestia. Her guard and alert/ready to run body language has disappeared. She had finally relaxed, and turned her head in such a way that the sun reflected off of those cute purple eyes of hers. I’m glad it did too. When the light lit her eyes, I could see them well enough that it was like looking into Celestia’s soul. She noticed this herself, and returned the look, now looking into my eyes with the same intensity I’d demonstrated. But there was something about the way that we looked at each other. Its not something I can easily put a finger on, but during that look, it felt like we were communicating. As if by making eye contact in such a way that we could read each others thoughts. Was it some sort of uber empathy? I felt her relax even more, returning from the really distressing state that she was in. I could feel her heart finally slow down to the point where it felt like it normally was. It was odd, because my heart mimicked hers, or was it the other way around? Regardless, in those few moments, both of us were free from our distress. My body flared in pain again. My muscles were still horribly shot and making for damn sure I knew it. I winced again, as I tried to still my body so I wouldn’t be hurting myself. Celestia noticed this herself, and I could feel a sense of confusion and concern radiate from her, like some kind of feeling, heat, or chill was possible to communicate a feeling. She stepped towards me as if trying to assess the situation. I know...She’s pretty much just a toddler, but that’s how it looked. When she was barely a foot, or a quarter metre away from me, her eyes scanned me, and she made a cute little face while doing so; sticking her tongue out, and her little eyes rushing from side to side. Her focus was so much on me, a slight step closer caused her to trip a little, and land harmlessly on top of me. I chuckled a little from it. But the slight jumps I made with that chuckle made my muscles scream for the duration. Yeah sure, a little pony landing on top of me from tripping wouldn’t hurt. But if I laughed I might as well be shooting myself in the foot with pain. I have such a douchebag of a body. To her credit, Celestia got right back up to continue what she was doing. After a brief minute, her constant eye scanning had been enough. Her mannerisms changed, as I noticed her take a wide stance, as if to prepare herself. Her eyes closed suddenly, and I became very nervous for what was about to happen next. A white light started to glow around Celestia’s horn. My mind had finally put two and two together and it certainly wasn’t what I expected. A little filly or foal, was trying to cast a spell, or perform some kind of magic. I was anxious, here for the first time, I was witnessing real magic. Magic from a tiny toddler-like unicorn/pegasus pony that that was performing her first spell. I had no idea what to expect, as the white light grew larger and started to hum with intensity. The only thing I did know was that Celestia wasn’t trying to harm me, no. The moment we’d just shared told me in a profound way that Celestia would never harm me. I don’t even think she would harm anything for any reason. But just because she wouldn’t intentionally do it to me, doesn’t mean she couldn’t accidentally do it. The charge of energy and light grew even more in force, so much so that the entire cave was now bathed in such a powerful light. The hum itself was progressively becoming a high-pitched whine. I knew what was coming next, it seemed like the spell had reached its apex and fear overtook me as I braced for the worst. Everything was drowned in the light, even sound, or feeling the feeling from my own body. Almost like I was put back into that white existence with that otherworldly being. When I blinked from the heavy exposure, I expected to see darkness behind my eyelids, but no, the light had been so powerful, even with closed eyes all I saw was the same white light. I started to wonder if this is what it felt like to be blind, but then I had an interesting thought, if I couldn’t feel my own body how did I know I had my eyes closed in the first place?. And suddenly, it was all gone. The world as I had just been in, had returned to normal, with everything in its rightful place, I was still laying down in a semi lit cave, and Celestia was just right there in front of me, struggling to keep her balance, and she seemed very tired. When it seemed like she would fall, I instinctively lunged to grab her. I held her soft warm body in my arms, careful not to squeeze her, and placed her right beside me. I exhaled out in relief. The spell, for whatever reason, hadn’t worked, or so I knew. I had no idea what the spell was supposed to do. All I knew was that I had a tired little filly right beside me, trying to recover from that exertion, and that my body was in horrible horrible pai-... At that moment I realized what the spell had done. When I lunged to grab Celestia just then, I never felt any backlash or pain from the effort, slight as it may have been, I should have felt it. But I hadn’t. I moved my arms and legs around, doing so confirmed what I thought. Celestia had used her magic to heal my muscles. And now they felt just like new. I looked down to the little filly laying there, probably about to doze off, and smiled. She’d relieved me of a dreadful amount of pain, and she wasn’t even able to speak. I layed down to relax against the floor. I felt tired, and wanted to catch some sleep myself. As I looked up to the ceiling of the cave, I could physically start to feel my body melt away back into unconsciousness, but I was briefly stopped. Celestia stirred, and tried to get up. I hesitantly, but very willingly, lifted myself up and looked over at her, to observe her and make sure she didn’t go off to explore or something. (You never know with kids I guess.) But she didn’t bother going very far. Celestia, with all her limited strength, got to her hooves, and then climbed on top of my leg. Concerned, I moved to prepare to catch her should she lose her footing. But I watched vigilantly as she moved her way up to my torso. I layed down to accommodate her movements. But she wasn’t done there though, as she put her head under my shirt, and crawled her way up my chest until she popped her head through my shirt’s collar. Her head appeared right next to mine, and although nervous of her short white horn, my concerns were void when Celestia decided to lay down, and curl on my chest, with my shirt as a blanket once again. I watched as her eye’s closed as she finally was swept off to her sleep. I couldn’t help but to smile, from the bottom of my heart from this adorable action. She was right there, adorable as ever, sleeping right ontop of me. I chuckled lightly from the sheer amount of happiness and surprise, and I put my arms around her to lovingly cradle her into place while I too joined her in a joyous sleep. _____________________________________________________________________________ I dreamed. I found myself in a landscape full of trees. Great tall trees for which I didn't know the name. It was like a great forest. But something was off, in a normal forest, trees were spread out chaotically, in natures fashion. However, all the trees my eye could see stood in lines, like a well established farmland. I took a closer look at the trees and noticed each and every one had red orbs filling every branch, like polka dots on a shirt. But these weren’t red orbs, they were infact large red apples. All of them impossibly red and ripe. My senses were exploding with hunger, and the need to fill an empty belly that I’d ignored for so long. I reached out for some of the low hanging apples, grabbing one just within my reach and bringing it up to my face for a closer inspection. I was right, the apples were impossibly red, almost as if they were covered in cadmium red paint, but it was if the color was truly part of the apple skin. The apple produced a nice, seducing smell that only I could only imagine a starving person could smell. The scent of the nice piece of fruit was delectable, with a tinge of green leaf. It was too much. A moment later, I lost control over myself. I took a bite out of the apple so large I think my jaw should have broken from the attempt, and yet the bite took nearly half to apple with it. The piece of apple was almost too large to be chewable, but it was so tantalizing to the tongue that I found away. The amazing natural taste of the the apple and the sugar drove me into a frenzy. Before long I ate the apple whole, core included. I didn’t stop there. My senses became attuned to the smell and taste of an apple, soon after I found myself eating apples almost by the dozens, in the same monstrous way I’d done the first. It was like I had a black hole for a stomach. The worst part is, I didn’t want to stop myself from eating so desperately. So I ate and ate and ate. I watched my stomach grow in disproportionate sizes, Making me look almost if I was a pregnant women with eight children all in their last month before birth. I felt with each apple my weight growing more and more. I suspected that I might have been physically slowing down from the new bulbous size and freight train weight, but to my disbelief, I moved just as freely and easily as I had before. Always consuming, never stopping, I eventually grew so large that I finally toppled over, completely and utterly unable to move. By now I was double the size of a tree in length and size, A completely round ball of flesh. It was only then my need to consume was content for the moment. Day turned to night as I layed there, finally satisfied with myself. No thoughts moved through my mind. I only sat there and remained in an ignorant bliss to anything that happened around me. Never bothering to move from the discomforting feel of branches poking my stomach, or leaves tickling me endlessly, just staying there. Doing nothing but existing. However, something drew the curiosity of my giant like mind. I heard the sound of rustling leaves, and I turned my head to see movement below the trees. A Silhouette of some kind of creature, making audible sniffing sounds close to the ground, came into view. It was so dark out that I could only make out the silhouette of a four legged, short neck creature the size of a lion or jaguar. With spines covering it from head to toe, almost like a hedgehog in what shrouded appearance I could make out. Interestingly enough, it seems hungry. I see it going around, sniffing the apples, sometimes licking them, as if this animal wants to see if its an edible fruit. I watch on curiously as this animal goes and does this to several trees and multiple apples. Suddenly, it decides to take a bite of the nearest apple. I watch in horror as the thing eats an apple and swallows it whole in one simple action. But something catches my eye in the process, something odd. The animal, satisfied with the taste, proceeds to start eating more apples in a similar fashion to myself when I started. Finally, I see what caught my eye with the creatures first apple. While taking a bite out of an apple the size of car tire, I get a good, long look at the beast’s teeth. They are glowing with red crimson. The only thing clearly visible on this thing where its glowing teeth, how horrifying, as they were large teeth, fangs really, I would guess at five inches in length minimum, with almost four rows of teeth on it like a shark, but deadlier. I continued watching this animal feast on apples just like I had, and sorta saw a mirror of myself being played out with another body. It climbed to the top of a tree and devoured all the apples off of it. When it was finished, it stopped for a few moments. I wondered why as, when I was in that position all I did was eat eat and eat without a break. The thing lifted its head up into the air and let loose an nauseating, echoing howl that was loud enough for me to want my stubby little arms to cover my ears. Immediately after, more secondary howls answered to the first, and I could see movement in the distance. It was more of these creatures, numbered in the hundreds. I watched them enter the apple orchard, and started to immediately consume all the apples in sight. Some of the creatures took to ramming the trees down with their combined weight, snapping the tree in half like it had been a twig. Their eating of all the apples in sight hits an all new high when some of the creatures start to eat the trees whole. I’m totally unsure of how it all works, but I couldn’t imagine where these things put a whole or multiple whole trees into their body. The morning comes, the soft light of the sun beginning to rise started to chase away the darkness. The horde of silhouetted monsters were now brightly illuminated. But to my horror, nothing changed. These monsters, with their glowing talons and fangs, and otherwise hidden features were still as black as their silhouettes. I couldn’t make out any sort of feature or characteristic these things had, other than they were so dark, that even the rays of the sun couldn’t characterize them. The last trees were finally being devoured by these specimens of darkness. And finally the land was barren with nothing by me and the horde of creatures just finishing up their ‘endless’ meal. It struck me that I had no idea what they would do next. Would they leave? Stay and rest, or even dig down and consume the earth itself? But I found out soon what their next motive was. The swarm of black creatures started to surround me, all of them trying so desperately to get as close as possible to me, even going so far as to climb and crawl past others to do so. I had a good feeling I knew what was going to happen next. And sure enough, I was right. I was next on the menu. I felt their razor sharp teeth all start to consume me at once, in a ravenous synchronized frenzy. I felt no pain, only sensation of it all. So I only stared in shock as I observed myself being eaten alive. I did not scream as I felt the prickling of the spines either, as deadly sharp as their teeth were. The more I observed these creatures, the more I got the feeling they weren't eating me at all. It was almost like the spines, fangs, and talons of each monster were all working together to tear me apart at the smallest level. Almost like I was to be separated molecule from molecule. Finally, they reached my face, tearing it apart as easily as the rest of my body. I became nothing else. Everything about me was gone, but strangely enough, I could still see. Now that the monsters had finished with me, they continued on each other, as if their need for consumption was so desperate that the survival of their species didn’t matter so long as there was something to feed on. For a long time I’ve known in the real world it was a dog eat dog world. But this was as close as I’d ever gotten to experiencing the full explanation of it. Finally, the last creature with its glowing crimson fangs consumed the other last of its kind. There was nothing left to prove that there had been any other but that sole specimen. But not all was right after it finished off the last of its kind. It started to morph and grow in size, its neck extending, the silhouetted expanded as wings grew to be a part of the creature. The head of the creature grew in length and the tail extended as well. When the process was finished, the new creature had grown to be about my size, before looking directly in my direction. Although I did not have a body anymore, it saw me as if I had one. At that moment I experienced fear, a fear unlike any other. I had experienced none at my own consumption, but now I was driven mad in fear as this new monster approached me. The very sight of it struck at the horrors deep inside of me, phobias I never knew I had. A feeling of utter dread and desperate need to escape flowed through whatever body I might’ve had. It reached forth with its long neck, and finally showed me the inside of its mouth. Aside from the the glowing red teeth and fangs it possessed, deep down it’s throat I could only see myself, and before those jaws of death could claim me, I blinked. When my eyes opened, in that split second, I had escaped that beast. My eyes were filled with the familiar white of that plain of existence. My body had returned to me, as though I’d never lost it. Its hard to imagine, but the sound of my own heart beat was the most relieving thing I’d ever heard. My mind was now in full gear, what in the actual hell had I just witnessed? My thoughts seemed as though they echoed on invisible walls throughout this unworldly place. “Welcome my partner.” It was the voice from the creator, playing inside my mind as it always had. I had not forgotten the strange effect it had of calming me down either. That latest experience was harrowing to say the least, and I could use it right now. “Thank you for bringing me here, that thing...” I couldn’t go on the thought of it was horrible enough. “I’m afraid I have to disappoint you, but your arrival here was unexpected.” The voice came back to me. This threw me for a loop. I didn’t know what to think. “Then how did I get here? I mean the only times I’ve ever gotten here was because of you!” ‘’No I did not. You came here of your own wishes, and of your own power.’’ Wait what? I didn't notice using any kind of power or anything that would resemble such a thing. Soo... ‘’Wait a second,’’I began to ponder what it just said, before finally just giving up completely. And so I gave my obviously intelligent and well thought out statement, ‘’What?’’ ‘’When I mentioned that you were special for reasons not yet known to you, well this is one such manifestation. Your ability to enter this place when you want.’’ I had the power to come here? I mean that's fine and all but what a lame power to have. ‘’Um, okay, but I never really wanted to come here, I didn’t even know where here is.’’ I said in a kind of confused undertone. ‘’Here does not have a name, it is just a simple plane of existence where you can speak directly to me. Which you will come to find as a useful ability, as It is difficult for me to reach out to you when you are not on this plane.’’ ‘’So what, I wanted to be here? And so I came? Like something out of a crappy ‘B’ movie?” What the flying hell? ‘’Your dream, you wanted desperately to escape from the nightmare you were having, and thus the end result brought you here.” It explained. “Look, I’m not sure if I believe that I have a power to bring myself here or anywhere-” I said before being cut off. “Not anywhere, just here.” It interjected, leaving me a tad frustrated. “Yeah, whatever, point is, this is weird.” I rolled my eyes. “it is interesting you should believe that this of all things was ‘weird’” “However, the events that you have already witnessed were evidence enough in this matter.” The bell of realization finally wrung for me. I chose now to be completely disbelieving of things? Being sucked up into a tornado, waking up in the middle of nowhere, taking care of a baby- actually a baby pony! With wings, a horn, and...even magic too, how do I ignore all of that and call this instance of specifically weird? “Good point.” I simply said. “Yes, and now that we’ve discussed that, I do believe you had questions regarding the events of last night.” That was the bomb shell, I had many questions from the experience of last night. “Yeah I do... But before I ask, thanks for saving Celestia for me.” My tone soothed. ‘’I did not save her.’’ It said quite calmly. ‘’Wait what? I saw her, she was dead in my arms, there's no way she lived if you didn't intervene!” I shouted, this wasn’t making any sense, and me mad. I wanted answers, not more questions. ‘’I only saved you.’’ ‘’Wait what?’’I was blindsided for the second time by this god thing. ‘’This may be difficult for you to comprehend, but last night you exhibited another one of your abilities. Unfortunately for you, this ability drains of your energy in such a way as that it can destroy your body. The fact of the matter is, you died immediately after I told you all would be well.’’ So I died and was revived by this god thing. I suppose I should be grateful. ‘’Um, thank you.’’ Geez, way to show your appreciation for living. “It wasn’t a problem, however my power in giving you life is a finite, try not die again, or you may be forever lost.” It said as calmly as ever. “So what about Celestia?” I asked, but I wasn’t sure I’d like my answer. ‘’Celestia was saved by you and your ability.’’ It echoed. Always with cryptic statements huh? ‘’And what ability is that?’’ ‘’You were able to transfer your lifeforce into her.’’ Lifeforce? That makes sense about what it said about me transferring my energy or whatever. ‘’Which explains why I died of course.’’ ‘’Yes, however you should note it is not something you cannot do it to any being you wouldn’t be willing to love as if it were your own.’’ ‘’So you’re saying I’ve adopted her?’’ ‘’I am, does that bother you?’’ ‘’Yeah it does.” I paused a second to go over the implications. Did it? I mean, I’ve already proven I was willing to die for that kid, but still. “I never expected that by some fluke of magic that I saved the life of a tiny pony princess by adopting her. Its just so strange.” “All things are once strange.” Yeah that doesn’t help. “Yeah but it doesn’t cut it here, I’m out of my element, and dammit if I’m a parent then this kid is going to have a hard childhood, because I know jack all about this.” “You may know nothing about parenting, but all you need to do is avoid doing anything you don’t believe is right. I have full confidence in your actions and choices.” “That doesn’t exactly drive me full of confidence you know.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m afraid if that is the case, and if you do not believe in your own abilities, mystical or not, choose to believe in me, who believes in you.” What really? That's what your going to tell me? Before I could respond, I felt extremely light headed, and lost my balance briefly. A sense of vertigo overcame me and The next time I opened my eyes I was staring at a sleeping Celestia who’d rotated in my shirt so that we were now face to face. A/N: Hey guys thanks so much for the reception! I got about 40-50 favorites and about 40 likes from you fellows! And I’ve reached the 100 thumb milestone! Thank you all so much! Also don't be shy and feel free to leave a comment, I’ll make it my best effort to reply! Oh and the more you guys do, the more motivation I can cultivate from it all! I’d also like to thank my editor Grffin100000 for the excellent hand in making my stuff legible for you fellows too. Give em a good high five.
Chapter 4: Of apples and PitfallsEver wake up? I mean, have you ever woken up all at once? You know, without being in any danger, or woken up by someone else? Just that sense that you’re now awake, and instead of doing nothing or spending more time in bed, you pretty much get up straight away with a fully aware mind and your body feeling ready as it would half way through the day. It’s something that just makes you want to move and get up. Something that makes you want to do something of worth instead of lazing around like we normally do. It’s good, I mean great to be in such a state. Makes ya feel as if today is your day. You’re out and about, and going to do whatever it is you said you would do yesterday. It was something that has so rarely ever happened to me. Although with my mental clarity and my physical preparedness, I felt something weigh down on my head. Like something decided that, despite my ‘feel-good’ morning, I should stay in bed. Simply because my head didn’t want to budge, or at least very far. Perhaps it was some kind of psychological crap that came onto me from that really weird dream. Maybe it was that I simply just didn't want to move no matter how much my body told me it was ready to go. Or maybe I should have noticed the pink tail was likely coming from a pony laying on my head, and I wasn’t some kind of emotional wreck that I thought I was. Good job body, saying that you're all well, ready, and aware, when you missed that little bit of kinda really important information before going off on the deep depressive end or what have you! My movements stirred the little fuzz ball on my head. I heard a cute yawn as she moved around a little, stretching her little limbs out, which brushed against my hair in a delightful way, putting me into a haze of lightheadedness. But all great things must end. I felt Celestia stir in a waking manner, her cute adorable little yawn had gotten me once again. My heart near imploded upon hearing the little high pitched exhale that she made. This moment swiftly came to an end when the growl of a vicious dinosaur was heard; Celestia’s stomach, echoed through the cave. The growl was loud enough to wake the kid as she stumbled of my head like a scared little lamb. I reacted quickly enough to catch the little pony before her body slammed against the rock of the cave. She blinked a few times in confusion, those large pearly purple eyes eyeing me closely for a second before she recognized me fully. Once she did, I saw her face light up with a big child like smile, and jumped out of my hands to get her own footing. When she did, Celestia started jumping- no prancing, around me all excited like, almost as if she wanted to play. Erratic jumping in random directions made me worry for her safety on the rocky floor, so I decided to get up and hopefully bring her outside somewhere on the grass for her to play in a safe manner. Celestia beamed with excitement. I watched as her little wings started to flutter, and her tongue shot out and eyes slammed shut as she focused more power into those feathery appendages as they flapped all the power she could muster. She was trying to fly. Duh, what else would she be doing? The little furball gained a little lift, and a little shock in the back of my head sent me into a cautious state where I planned to catch her if wings give out on her. Worryingly, I placed my hands directly under her, but she still gained much height. Soon, she even flew over my head. It was at this point I noticed her eyes were open and her wings finally gave up and arched into a wingspan kinda like a plane. She went into a very slow glide, circling just above my head until finally, she landed on my head without a single hitch. Then afterward she sat on top of me as if she were riding me, as if I was a horse and she was the rider. Talk about a shift in the norm. Celestia apparently liked to sit on my head. I had a strange feeling subtly telling she liked to be on top of the world or as high as possible. Almost scarily confirming of my sentiment, Celestia managed to grasp my hair to hold herself in place, and she wasn’t just using it for that purpose alone. “Ouch!” I grumbled as my hand instinctively went to swat her away before I stopped myself. Celestia giggled in delight. I can’t believe what just happend. She actually pulled it, and hard. Wait, she couldn’t have. She was just a child after all. Wow. Honestly, it was so uncanny how she did it though. She didn’t even seem the least bit surprised I nearly smacked her. How did she even pull on my hair with hooves? There seemed to be something telling me in the back of my head. that there was more to this than it seemed. I honestly have no reason to believe this, but I’m sure her pulling of my hair was deliberate. I guess dictators start young. A flare of light blinded me on exiting the cave, and my arm instinctively covered my eyes from the powerful rays as they had been used to the reasonably dark cavern that I’d spent the last little while in. Truth be told, time had blended quite well during our stay. I had no idea how long we’d actually been there. My eyes slowly adjusted to the excessive flare the sun provided, and I soon started to make out the shapes of figures of the forest I’d spent so long frolicking through to find safety. The silhouettes regained their color and the forest was now brimming with bright colored hues. From my vantage point up the little bit of mountain I had to climb to get to this cave, I spotted the lake I was at the other day, shining brightly like a mirror with the help of the sun. I even spotted the tree I slept at as well. The distance between my current location and the lake weirded me out. It was far too short. I was running through the forest for seemingly half a day, how could I only make the distance that looked to be only a kilometer away? I was so distracted by that simple question I missed an all too familiar haunting site to behold. Apples... Apples everywhere. Okay, not everywhere. But the forest was filled with apples, apples in every shape and form that could be considered to be an apple. Ripe, unripe, small, large, yellow, red, green, and so on in varying degrees. All of them just sitting in those trees. I pinched myself to make sure I was still awake. It perturbed me to great extents of my psyche that all the trees had been apple trees. I mean all of them. Like a grand insult to major injury, this struck me in the face so hard, I couldn’t even rise up to challenge, only be shocked throughout my body and mind. I was so sure that they had no such fruit during my search, and to see them all now, the answer to an old question like this was incomprehensible. Worse yet, the memory of the dream creeped back into my mind, drawing my attention away from this crime. I still hadn’t made heads or tails of the dream, and I don’t think I was about to, but then many questions flooded my brain. Where did the apples come from? Why was my dream so odd? What did it mean with all that imagery of eating and being eaten? Did my dream have anything to do with this reality?And if so, why? God I hate symbolism, just straight up tell me I just taste good if thats what it is. Like really. I felt a shift in weight coming from my head. Celestia, being young and I guess curious, popped her little head into view, her fuzzy little ears sifting around as if to look for something. She viewed me from upside down and gave me a confused look, before her little tummy growled, breaking me out of my little trance. As if to mirror her, my stomach too growled. Oh right, we hadn’t eaten for days. How could I even forget. But honestly I hadn’t noticed the need till now. As if I hadn’t been hungry at all until this very moment. It wasn’t even a deadly painful hunger for someone who hadn’t eaten in days either, just the sort of hunger you wake up with. Great, now I was much more willing to eat those apples, even if the thought of them did bring up some disturbing images. I strolled down to the trees, Celestia perched nice and happily on my head. It made the slight hike from the cave a little more difficult. Sometimes even causing me to lose my balance just enough for me to curse more loudly than I’d have liked in the presence of a child. Celestia jumped off my head as soon as we came to the threshold of the forest. She cautiously approached an apple tree with many already fallen apples underneath, I guess the sight intrigued her, and she put her head down to sniff one of the apples. She looked at the apple with intrigue, pacing around it like a cat stalking its prey. She sometimes feinted in to take a whiff of the apple, and pulled back immediately as if the apple might jump off the ground to attack her. I had to hold back a chuckle at the sight. Eventually she chanced a lick, but if her face was anything to believe, she was not impressed, as it contorted with disgust. I took a closer look to this particular apple to find out she’d licked an apple rotten to its very core. I chuckled at her silliness. Who in their right mind would lick a rotten apple? Then it occurred to me; Celestia probably didn’t even know what an apple was; nor how to eat it. My chuckling drew her attention as she gave me a face that was dissatisfied with my laughter. I grabbed an apple from a low hanging branch in the tree, a bright red one as they were my favorite, and Celestia eyed me with close attention, approaching me to get a closer look. I took a bite into the apple and was greeted with a nicely sweet taste these I had become accustomed with. It was a heavenly experience. Never have I ever eaten an apple so delicious in my life. I smiled in delight, and felt my the food hit my stomach satisfyingly. I looked down at Celestia who put her hooves on my legs and looked up to me with whimpering little puppy eyes that caused my heart to explode, twice. I chuckled a bit, clearly after seeing me eating it with such approval she must have wanted to have another try. With half the apple left, I brought it down to her mouth with an open hand, careful she might accidently bite me. She cautioned another lick onto the exposed inside of the apple. I watched her eyes grow in utter delight and that sole lick urged her on taking up the entire apple in her mouth . I didn’t think it was possible for such a small pony to take half an apple into her mouth and chew it and as a result, Celestia looked really ridiculous with her cheeks as large a a chipmunk inside a box of almonds. When she swallowed the apple, I couldn’t avoid her grandiose smile plastered across her face. She whinnied in an approving tone before starting to jump around me looking for another treat to eat. Mostly all the apples on the ground were either dirty or rotten, so I did my best from keeping Celestia trying to eat one, should she get sick later. She fought me to get another undesirable apple, but I eventually grabbed her and held her against my chest. However she got even more rowdy. Her struggling was so strong she knocked me in the head with hers. “Hey stop it! I don’t want you to get sick, alright?” She looked at me after hearing my upset tone, her lip hung out with sadness only to be further accentuated by those large puppy eyes of hers, and a single shiny tear of desperation. Not going to lie, she kinda made me feel bad for making her sad. But really I’m not or will not be in the mood of taking care of a sick little horse. I sighed. “Oh come on now, I’m just trying to get you a good apple!” I said in my defence. “Just wait a second, okay?” Her eyes unrelented. I rolled my eyes, thinking that if she’d been patient, she could be eating another apple by now. Celestia seemed to understand where I was coming from and calmed down a bit. It was enough for me to realistically free one of my arms holding her to reach up into a nearby apple tree. I eyed a green apple, my favorite kind of apple, and I felt an evil grin appeared on my face. I wonder if Celestia likes sour tastes? I couldn’t help but to think: it was time for a little payback. Without pondering the possible consequences, I snapped it off the branch it was holding on to, and took a small bite. It was sweet and sour enough to be noticeable, just as I expected. I kinda wanted desperately to play a harmless little prank on her for all the rediculum she’d given me today. Sure the sour taste wasn’t potent, but to a newborn yet to experience it, it might be enough. However, Celestia seemed to know something was up but was still eager to have a bite. Maybe it was the evil grin on my face, maybe it was some kind of hidden power of hers or maybe it was the unmistakably evil laugh I let loose without knowing, who’s to know? Thankfully, if she did notice something was off, she did nothing about it, and still desperately wanted this apple. I lowered the apple to her, and it seemed her already huge eyes grew larger with utter admiration and glee. But on my side I almost started to burst out in a maniacal laugh. ‘Yes....YES... Bite into the apple my pretty! Muahahahahahahahahaha!’ And she did! I held my breath, this is it! Nothing... Celestia bit into this apple and paused for no moment to acknowledge the green apple’s sour taste. In fact, as an extreme opposite to what I was hoping for, she loved this apple even more than the first. From looking at her I got the feeling she enjoyed the sour taste of it all. Touche my little pony, touche. Oh well... I mean what was I expecting? They were only green apples after all, hardly sour at all, really. I just got my hopes up because she was young and adorable....and innocent. Un-touched by the horrors of sour candy that your friend insisted was a normal gumdrop. Celestia started on another apple. Once again deterred by the apple’s skin, I had to take a bite before she would actually eat it. Which was fine for me. We eventually got into a system where I would eat half an apple and pass it along to the googly eyed hungry pony. But this system could only last for so long as my stomach filled and slowed down the process for the black hole besides me. Eventually I felt the need to sit down next to a tree trunk. My body more than content of being bloated from the amount of fruit I’d eaten, it made me feel rather sluggish and tired. I sighed in satisfaction before tapping my belly ever so gently. It felt good, to just sit down after a good meal after the last few days of confusion and stress. Out of the corner of my eye, Celestia came into view. Barring a half eaten apple in her mouth she skipped over to me with an adorable smile on her face. She placed the half apple onto my lap and looked up to me with those large gleaming eyes of hers. She expected me to take another bite and to continue eating with her. “No thanks, I’m full.” But that didn’t stop her, she approached me and pushed the apple closer to me with her delicate nose. Then looked back up to me with puppy eyes that could likely be considered weaponized cuteness. “Fine, I’ll have another bite.” And as soon as I said that, I saw her face pull a u-turn. I felt my stomach roll in a disapproving way as I considered eating the apple for this cuteness, I didn’t want to disappoint her. As I reached for the apple, the little filly snatched it back with her mouth and jumped back. “Hey!” I said in a bit of shock, although deep down I didn’t want to eat the thing in the first place. I shifted my look to Celestia who had a wide tense stance, looking right at me. Out of instinct or curiosity, I tried grabbing the apple from Celestia herself. When I made the slightest move with my arm though, Celestia jumped back a little further like a cat. I tried again, and Celestia, anticipating my move, jumped further back. Celestia’s eyes were clearly focused on me, and oozed challenge but playfully if that makes sense. I got this feeling she wanted to play with me, which made sense from her actions. I chuckled, she kinda reminded me of my dog. “Ugh...fine.” I reluctantly said, having a feeling that ignoring her would just cause her to escalate or do something to eventually get me to bite. Mind you, when these things happen, especially with my dog, I play full force, Celestia will get no different. I jumped for the apple instantly, catching Celestia off guard with my sudden move. I managed to gently swat the apple from her mouth without her having a chance to react. The apple went rolling into the grass and Celestia regained her bearings only a few moments later. I wasn’t able to get close to the apple, being still on the ground mostly, and so Celestia managed to get it into her mouth and start to run before I could get to my feet. Celestia’s little wings began to flap at a desperate pace. I chased her still as she managed to make it a few feet off the ground with her tiny wings. But having started to fly she also slowed down enough for me to catch up. Now in my full stride I passed her easily, and managed to swipe the filthy apple from her mouth. “Gotcha!” I said triumphantly as I smashed the apple in my hand on accident. “Ewww...” I said, I wasn’t fond of mushy things in my hand. I heard a whooshing sound and right after the apple was snatched from my hand just as easily as I had taken it. In my stun like dazed stupor, I spun around to find out what in the world had just happened. The sound of giggling coming from above me clued me in. I looked up to see Celestia up above, looking down at me whilst giggling with the apple in her mouth. “Hey!” I shouted at her. “Not fair!” I said playfully, but Celestia just swallowed the rest of the apple whole just to spite me. “That’s not fair either!” Well at least I wouldn't have to worry about getting it back. Celestia flew lower towards me, looking me square on and making silly little teasing faces at me with the best of my ability. I wondered how she knew so well how to tease people, was she born with this skill? I do remember the fans almost constantly refer to her as a troll. Regardless, I was going to catch this little filly, and then I cannot be held responsible for the tickling to death thing I had in mind. I charged after the little flying feathery tease of a tiny pony, which elicited a tiny scream followed by giggling as the pony fluttered away at the best speed I hoped she could actually manage. Chasing after a little filly in the woods is not without its fair share of problems, or so I’d come to learn. This little bugger was exceptional when it came to running away. Why? I have no idea, but the way this kid weaved her way through branches, brush, and rocks made this entire ordeal so, so difficult. And yet it was extremely exhilarating. When you are put in a somewhat dense forest and start to chase after a little bothersome filly who’s just been asking for it all day, you really do get zoned in on the entire experience, it was just one word the permeated my mind at that point. “Chase” And after that my body acted accordingly. I Dodged every tree, ducked under each branch, jumped over any small bushes, climbing up every small cliff, and diving for that little filly once I made the mistake that I was close enough. Oh and did I ever make that mistake! Celestia was a mere meter away from me doing her best to run, fly or hide from me closely following her from behind. She often looked back to see how close I had gotten making silly faces to bait me further or surprised scared faces whenever she looked back to see me not too far behind at all, her wings fluttering in desperate motion to keep ahead of me. However each time I noticed how she would sway and lose her arial balance for just a moment after twisting her head to look back. Realising that all my efforts have only managed to get me within a meter of her at best this was the moment she slowed down briefly enough for me to try something. It was time to play dirty. Okay so maybe I’m crazy stupid, but screw it! without even thinking about what I was going to do at all, I decided to go through with it anyway, and what I mean by going through, I mean going to dive for that little filly and catch her mid air. I grunted rather loudly with the start of my jump, prompting Celestia to look back at me slowing her down for a mere moment just enough for me to close most of the remaining distance before she knew what was going on. My fingers briefly touched Celestia’s wings and without hesitation grabbed hold of a few feathers. my grip held firm, and I smirked knowing I was about to win this little chase (albeit dirtily). The brief look of playful terror on Celestia’s face really made my day. Then I realized I was going to hit the ground...hard... It’ll be worth it. The little filly started to flap her wings hard, trying to save herself from the fall I was inevitably taking her down in. “No you don’t! I got you, you little bugger!” I shouted in excitement. ‘SNAP’ I hit the ground and felt something snap beneath me. The force of which plucked the feathers from Celestia’s wing, causing the filly to fly off in some indiscernible direction as my vision whipped around and body crashing and breaking into several things way too quick to even respond with a cry pain, before finally hitting into on really hard surface at last, and rolling to a painful stop. I felt gutted, beaten broken, shaking with pain all across my body. My head spun in all directions at once in the most perverse sense of vertigo. I couldn’t even cry in pain as several hits to my stomach left me without my wind. I tried moving around, prompting the blackness of passing out threateningly approach. As if I needed any more freaking motivation to not move! A soft whimpering came from high above. Celestia. daringly opening my eyes I wondered idly what was wrong....well besides me. (Okay so I wasn't in the best mental state. Give me a break.) A white blur at the end of this dark tunnel was clearly looking down at me. A soft whimpering from high above came through the loud ringing in my ears. ‘Celestia’ any rational mind would have said, but as it turns out I’m not a very rational person, so I barely mustered to say “Bananas.” instead. (In a way I’m almost impressed at how I got to bananas from ‘Celestia’.) “Pff” The sound of a large footstep pressing into the soft ground nearby caught my attention straight away. Celestia began quivering and quaking in place, as it seemed terror engulfed her. Without even knowing or being in the positions or mindset of finding out, I began to mirror the feeling of terror my ward was feeling. I strained to move my head even in the slightest. As danger prone as I was at this very moment, my Incredibly sore body gave me absolutely no leeway into turning to meet this threat. Much less be able to react to it. The heavy footsteps gradually approached closer to me, creeping closer. And the look and sounds of whimpering coming from the little pony up from where I fell made the feeling of dread start to build up quickly. I wanted to go, I wanted to leave, I wanted to flee, fly, or dig. But most of all I was starting to understand why the cat died from wanting to know what it didn’t. Curiosity. I dont know why I chose that time to look, I really really don’t, I mean Curiosity be damned, I’ve not been all that curious while I’ve been here this entire time but now seems to be a ‘great’ time to start doesn't it? Oh right what I saw, was a hulking omnipresent beast, that sucked the light into it like some kind of black hole defining its shape. It was terrifying seeing it up close, the way it moved screamed run, the way it made sounds screamed hide, the way smelled screamed escape, how it looked screamed close your eyes and turn away. But like a deer caught in headlights, It was impossible for me to do any of it. My body felt like it was paralyzed. It took so much effort to simply not fall over, much less have control to run. I mean if I could run. For all I knew even if I could get up and run away right now, I might just fall over, I didn’t know if I had broken any bones or what damage my body sustained. Or anything. All I knew is that I was a sitting duck if this thing wanted to eat me. The creature continued to lumber forward, towards me, its terrifying posture taking its time to approach me as if to pace itself. Its jaw opening up to show me those sickly crimson teeth. Only several feet away from my face. as I looked at them in my pain, I felt completely subdued, my body felt like it was melting away, my concentration and wakefulness disappearing from my body far easier than one would expect. And soon it was just like everything was fading out. ... .. . Ever wake up? I mean have you ever woken up all at once? Have you ever woken up from a dream so vivid, so nightmarish, that you are utterly convinced it happened? So much so that you spend the first half an hour waking up to fret about how your life has changed, and yet there’s no actual evidence to convince you it actually has changed? GASP! Jumping to my feet right away, and looking around for the beast was the very first thing I did after a deep breath. My body was tense and able, my senses were focused and trying to make sense of everything trying to put the fight back into me. But nothing. False alarm. Nothing was there. No beast, no pain, no possible broken legs, no evidence that I’d been hurt whatsoever. But what was more irking was the fact I was still in the pitfall from where I made my encounter. I was puzzled, no I was baffled, mystified, unable to comprehend. I wasn’t hurt, I felt better than ever, implying it was all a dream, but here I was right here, in this pitfall, right where the monster was. Where I fell. The fall was too much for my legs to have not have substance anything at all, even a minor bruise made no appearance. And just then I heard the blades of grass beneath my feet be moved. I quickly looked down. All it was...A little tiny unicorn pony. Celestia. Just curled up on a patch of grass, looking all cute as she repositions herself mid sleep to be more comfortable. Look, I don’t know how to explain this to myself, I don’t know where to begin. But hell this was a curveball to the face if there ever was one. I took a deep breath, there was no use stressing myself over something I had no control over. I slowly turned to observe that little pony right there resting on the grass, watching her body rest and move in a probably well deserved nap. It was easy to get lost or zone out while watching her breathe, her stomach expanding and sinking in a consistent manner. If she did save me, she didn’t look any worse for wear. I moved my hand to gently brush my fingers against her silky smooth mane. I had to admit, touching her hair this way was one of the most soothing things I’d ever experienced. So relaxing and stress relieving that I just continued to do it, watching her facial expression grow happier with a subtle smile as if she was enjoying the sensations herself. I changed it up and went to rub her side instead, her shiny white coat had been surprisingly well kept despite a few fragments of leaves and tiny branches from our chase I suppose. I cleaned her up a little, hoping to make her look just as the day I’d found her. The last leaf was so deeply buried between the layers of her fur that I hardly had seen it at all. With a simple pinch I pulled it away, but I managed to accidentally grab some of her fur, causing her to mumbled uncomfortably and roll towards her other side. Thats when I saw it. A piece, a fragment, a remnant of the monster that had been looking to feast on me earlier, hidden under a sleeping pony. Author's Note Well the guys after a long arse hiatus, I have returned to write ^ ^, I almost had this chapter done a very long time ago but now, Its finally finished after the same period of time it takes an elephant baby to gestate too. I'm a wonderfully terrible person to bring this back up in your favorites after so long. Blasted bronycon for getting me to get back on the writing horse. Well enjoy! And thank my wonderful assistant Griffin Spivy for continuing to edit after so long! Awesome dude guys.
