Alex awoke to nothing but darkness. His first thought was; I'm dead right? I mean that explosion, my delusions, and all those lights. What else could it have been? It soon hit Alex that, his life had come to an abrupt end. He may have stopped the annihilation of Manhattan, but did he really save the people? They were all doomed anyway, had he really made a difference?
Alone in this darkness he figured for death, his thoughts continued aimlessly. He thought about what he had accomplished, which wasn't much, only fucking over almost two million people. He had figured out the truth, and hated that he did so. All of that didn't really matter at this point. He would never have had a normal life, always running, always killing, always hearing the screams of those he had killed in his head when he tried to sleep. Dying didn't sound too bad anymore. But what Alex didn't know was that he wasn't really dead at all.....
~
Suddenly pain rushed into Alex's mind and his eyes shot open. He screamed at the top of his lungs as the pain continued. He realized he wasn't dead, just horribly injured. He looked down to see half of him was missing. Just my luck, had to lose my legs. Alex tried his best to ignore the pain and take in his surroundings. He wasn't in the ocean, or on the streets of Manhattan, he was in a forest.
"What the fuck?" was all Alex could say. His eyes darted all around him. He noticed it was night time but the moon gave him a good amount of light. Where the fuck am I? There was no way it was Central Park, he would of heard screaming. Unfortunately because of his lack of legs Alex couldn't move to get a better look around without having to drag himself with one arm. If I could just find an animal, I should be able to regain most of my body if I consume it. He reluctantly started to drag himself towards a tree so he could lean himself against something.
Once propped against the tree, he pushed the pain to the back of his mind and focused on listening for an animal. He then looked back at where he once lay and noticed scorch marks on the once alive grass. I must have, teleported? It can't be! This isn't some science fiction movie crap. Bushes to his far left start to move. Four rabbits hopped out and over to the scorch marks. Of course it had to be the smallest animal. At least there are multiple. Now I just have to use my whipfist and.... Alex tried to morph his arm into his whipfist but nothing happened. This can't be, I don't have enough strength to form a whipfist!
Alex sighed in defeat. He could only watch as the rabbits continued their investigation of the marks. To his surprise the rabbit's ears perked up and the rabbits made a dash for the nearby bushes. To his right a massive bear came trudging out from between the trees and sniffed the air. Of course, he must smell my blood, perfect. The bear starred at Alex before growling and quickly darting over to where he is against the tree. Alex braced himself as the bear crashed into him, biting down on what remained of his stomach. Alex put his arm around the bear's neck and snapped it. The bear collapsed to the ground next to him.
"Too easy." Alex used what strength he had to consume the massive bear. It felt strange to have a bears' memories suddenly invade all your human ones. It passed quickly, and Alex used this new flesh to help rebuild his legs and his torso. Finally, now I can see where the hell I am. Although he wasn't completely regenerated, Alex could easily run. He jumped up onto a tree and viewed the landscape from atop the tree. He was able to make out a stone structure not too far away from where he was. He climbed down the tree wanting to get there as soon as possible.
~
"Well guess running is out." Alex noticed the trees were far too dense to try and sprint through easily. He figured walking was the best choice even though it would take some time. As he moved through the forest, it always seemed like something was watching him. Even after trying to morph other weapons multiple times, he still couldn't. This made him feel unprotected, even if he had super strength without his weapons. I guess I can still fight whatever may attack me, I mean if bears are all I have to worry about then I'm fine.
Bushes all around Alex started to move. He heard growls and saw multiple pairs of yellow eyes in the bushes. Alex tried once again to form a weapon but failed. All at once, timberwolves stepped out of the bushes and advanced on Alex. Seven in total, Alex started to feel a bit nervous. Wolves made of wood? What the fuck? Outnumbered Alex tried to back away but found himself surrounded. He then remembered he never tried his musclemass ability. With all his might he was able to summon the encased arms. He smiled triumphantly.
"Silly me I always forget about these. Now who wants to go first?" At that, two timberwolves lunged at Alex. He dodged one wolf and punched the other square in the face. The timberwolves entire front body exploded into blood and splinters, falling to a heap on the ground.
"Yeah that's right, come on who's next?" The remaining six timberwolves hesitated after seeing one of their own exploding like that. "Not going to make the first move? Okay then, my turn." Alex used his great speed to charge two timberwolves. They couldn't react in time and both were hit directly in the face, also having the front portion of their body exploded. Covered in blood Alex turned to face the others, but they were already running into the bushes, scared for their lives.
"I thought so." Alex was covered in blood but felt great. After de-morphing his musclemass arms, he consumed the dead bodies of the timberwolves completely healing his body. More strange memories came with it but he pushed them aside. He then continued to head in the direction of the stone structure he saw earlier.
It must have been hours, judging by how much the moon had shifted in the sky. "Finally a place to rest and get some sleep." Alex approached the destroyed stone castle. Wonder why this castle is out here in the middle of this forest. Alex didn't think on it too hard as he found an ideal place to rest. Sleeping on solid cold stone didn't sound too exciting but it was better than in the dangerous forest. Slowly, Alex drifted off into sleep.
Alex watched as a helicopter dropped an object into the ocean and started to fly away. He looked down and noticed he was standing on the water not too far away. A bright light and explosion blinded Alex as the shock wave knocked him into the water. He resurfaced but found himself in front of a hive. When he looked around he saw he was surrounded by water and a thick red mist. No buildings could be seen but the hive in front of him. Unwillingly his body approached the hive doors. He couldn’t control his own actions; only watch like it was a movie.
Inside was completely empty and dark. A single beam of light shined through the ceiling, landing in the middle of the room. Alex could see someone standing in the light. As his body approached, he saw it was Elizabeth. She pointed to the far left of the building; he followed her finger to where she was pointing. He saw Dana attached to the wall by some red slime struggling to get free. Alex tried to move, to scream, to morph a weapon to slay Elizabeth, but nothing was working.
Elizabeth walked over to where Dana was held against the wall. She looked back at Alex and smiled, then looked back at Dana. She called a hunter over to her. Alex’s heartbeat picked up rapidly. She commanded the hunter to stab Dana repeatedly, and it did till she went limp. Alex was mentally screaming and thrashing but his body refused to move. He kept screaming Dana! Dana! But still nothing came out of his mouth. Elizabeth started laughing at Alex, and then snapped her fingers. Hunters came pouring in from the windows surrounding Alex. A supreme hunter stepped through the horde of hunters and brought his claws up. Alex felt the restrictions on his body disappear, he screamed as the claws came down on him…..
~
“Dana”! Alex woke up sweating. He quickly realized it was all a dream, but it felt so real. He then remembered Dana. He never got to say goodbye. Alex frowned, and slowly rose to his feet. The sun was just starting to rise in the sky. He gave his circumstances more thought. Wait, why is there a castle at all? Where are the buildings? Alex decided he needed to find a way to move quicker so he could find someone to answer his questions. With more strength back from his sleep, he could try jumping from tree to tree.
“There’s got to be civilization around here somewhere.” Alex jumped on top of a tree and used his speed to quickly jump from one to another till he was sprinting across them.
After several minutes of this, he thought he saw a field. “Finally, I can get some answers to where I am.” As he neared the field, Alex miss-stepped and fell down, hitting branches as he fell and eventually hitting the ground on his back.
“Fuck! That hurt.” Alex rose up in a sitting position. Alex healed the several cuts and gashes he had gotten from the fall and decided to walk the rest of the way to avoid more injuries. The closer he got, the more he noticed the trees started to have apples growing on them. He also noticed he was approaching what seemed to be a tree house. I wonder if anyone is in there.
Alex walked up the ramp leading into the tree house. He pushed open the door and saw the strangest sight; it was a brightly colored horse sleeping in a blanket. What the fuck! This can’t be. Why is there a baby orange horse in here? Wait are those wings? His mind was asking too many questions at once. He couldn’t take his eyes off this horse.
Suddenly, its eyes fluttered open and it yawned. Alex froze, not making a sound and not moving a muscle. The orange horse stretched its legs and wings before looking around the tree house. When it looked towards the entrance and saw Alex standing there, covered in blood, the horse’s face took the look of fear and it slowly backed into a corner.
Shit, what do I do? “Hey it’s alright; I’m not going to harm you.” Yeah that sounds reassuring.
“You’re… you’re not?” questioned the little orange horse still fearing her life.
“Wait a second, did… did you just speak?”
“Uh, y.. yeah?”
What the fuck! ”I must be crazy, horses don’t talk! Am I dreaming?”
“No you’re not dreaming. I’m… I’m Scootaloo.”
“Scootaloo?” So wait, this horse is talking to me, has orange fur, has a purple tale and hair, has wings, has crazy massive eyes, and has a name?
“Who are you?”
“I’m…. Alex. Alex Mercer.”
“Hi Alex, um what are you? You’re definitely not a pony. So are you like some kind of alien?”
Pony? “Um, I’m a human. You’re saying you’ve never seen a human before?”
“No, I’ve never seen a uh, human before.”
“Where the fuck am I!” Alex raised his voice; frightening the “pony” and making her raise a leg to defend herself as if Alex was going to harm her. Great, now she’s scared. How am I supposed to get through to her? Wait, why am I talking to a fucking horse!
“Please don’t hur.. hurt me. I’m s.. sorry.”
“Look, I’m sorry I yelled. It’s just; this is a lot to take in. I’ve never even seen a horse…."
“Pony.”
“PONY even remotely like you. Where I’m from ponies don’t talk, don’t have wings, and definitely didn’t have fur your color.”
“Well your ponies sound awfully boring.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Okay sooooooooo what the fuck do I do now?
“So um, Scootaloo?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Where exactly am I?”
“You’re in Ponyville of course!”
“Ponyville?”
“Yeah! In Equestria!”
“Equestria?”
“Yeah…. Hey uh how did you um… get that blood all over you? You didn’t hurt anypony did you?”
Fear in Scootaloo’s eyes returned, not knowing what this stranger would say.
“No. I was in the woods for a night and I had to fight some wolves made of wood. They didn’t stand a chance.”
“Wait, you fought timberwolves and kicked their flank?”
Flank? “Uh, yeah I guess. They were just wolves, not that hard to kill.”
“Wow! You sound just like Rainbow Dash! You’re fearless just like her!”
“Who’s Rainbow Dash?”
“Only the best flier in all of Equestria! And she’s super cool! I should go get her!”
What! “No way! Are you crazy! You want to show me to more of your pony friends! I’m not even supposed to be here!”
Scootaloo shrunk back a little. She wasn’t sure why he wouldn’t want to meet her friends.
“Well you are here, and I’m sure I know a certain unicorn who could have some of the answers you’re looking for.”
“Wait, you know someone that can tell me how I got here?”
“She might know yes, she’s good with all that science-y stuff.”
Good, now I can get some answers.
~
“Scootaloo, I’m not sure it’s a good idea to just walk in plain sight in this town. There are a lot of ponies here and I’m covered in blood.”
“Yeah I guess it isn’t a very good idea, we’ll just avoid the center of town and stick to the alleys.”
Scootaloo brought Alex from Sweet Apple Acres to Ponyville during the early hours of the day. Not too many ponies were out but it was still enough for him to draw unwanted attention. Together they stuck to the shadows of the alleys, and eventually reached Twilight’s library.
“So this is it?”
“Yeah, this is her library.”
A library inside a tree, hmm.
Scootaloo knocked on the wooden door. Several seconds later, hoofsteps were heard approaching the door.
“Hey Scoo….”
Twilight stopped mid-sentence and gasped when she looked up at Alex. She saw him as an evil looking alien covered in blood. Her eyes were wide open and she had a strong sense of fear. She was about to scream when Scootaloo put her hoof in Twilight's mouth.
“Twilight calm down, I know this looks… strange but he’s a nice alien, and won’t harm you.”
Scootaloo removed her hoof from Twilight's mouth. She slowly backed inside her tree house and held her hoof out.
“C.. come on in.”
Okay okay, this shouldn’t be too hard. Just a uh pony with a horn. Alex had to duck to enter the house.
“So uh Scootaloo, who’s your new friend? Heh heh.”
“This is my new friend Alex! He’s some alien that came here but doesn’t know how. I figured you might be able to help him.”
“Oh, well um Alex, where are you from?”
“Well, I’m from a planet called Earth.”
“Interesting, I’ve never really believed in aliens but, this just proves it! I have so many questions!”
“Twilight, maybe we should save them for later and try to get Alex cleaned up. All that timberwolf blood doesn’t really make him look too friendly.”
“Yeah I guess you’re right. I’ll call over the others and in the meantime Alex, you should go clean yourself up and wash those cloths. The bathroom is over there to your right.”
Wait, she wants me to shower? I haven’t showered since… the accident. And wash my clothes? I have no spare to put on after. Twilight and Scootaloo stared at Alex. He seemed deep in thought.
“Um, Alex? You okay?” Scootaloo wasn’t sure why he was just standing there.
“Well, I uh….” Should I tell them? I mean, should they know? “I don’t have any spare cloths to put on if I go in the shower. I’m pretty sure you don’t want to see a cloth less alien walking around.” [That ought to work.[i/]
“Oh well uh, I guess uh, you can just hand me the clothes and I can wash them while you’re in the shower, then I’ll hand them to you when you’re done.”
Twilight didn’t think about Alex’s specie difference, it made her feel embarrassed. Scootaloo wasn’t sure how to react so she looked at something random to avoid eye contact.
“I guess that could work.” Alex headed toward the bathroom and once again, had to duck to enter. He noticed how the shower was much too small for him. Designed for ponies, right. He closed the door and undressed. It feels strange. I never really thought about having to clean the blood off me, I figured it was pointless since I’d just get more on me soon after .I guess eating is the same. Since I’m not human or even alive, I don’t have to eat. Wonder how I’ll explain that one.
Alex slightly opened the door and dropped the blood soaked cloths on the floor and closed the door. He heard Twilight take the clothes and walk away. Alex sighed and entered the shower. He had to basically squat to fit. May be small but I guess it could get the job done. He turned on the water and was relieved from the warm water flowing onto him. At least showering still feels normal, even if I’m not.
