Chapter one (proof of concept)
It was a beautiful night as an elderly stallion sat alone in his house, well, alone save for the seven different colored foals chatting idly around him. They were there to hear a tale as they did every sunday night before returning to their parents with renewed energy for the week ahead. Yet they always returned, and sat enthralled for hours at a time, listening to their grandfather’s stories. “Quiet down my precious foals” the stallion says in a voice that had remained strong and solid long past it’s time. “Today I will tell you the tale you have never heard of before. This tale, has never been spoken in its entirety and though you have doubtless all heard parts, none of you know the truth.” The stallion pauses and looks over his rapt audience, his grandchildren each and every one of them. “This is a story of love and loss, pain and joy, happiness and change. This is the story of my life, and it begins no less than 65 years ago in this very town.”
My first memory is a vague one, little more than feelings, though feelings have a quality of their own. I remember being held by my mother, a beautiful mare she was, even back then before this world which was always so new to her. I don’t know much of the world we came from, I was too young to know much when we left, and I confess I never took a great interest when I had the chance. I know we weren’t ponies when we left though. We used to be a kind of ape, we walked on two legs instead of four and had fur only on our heads, or so my parents told me. The only memory I have of that place, is laying in my mothers arms, little more than a year old as she rocked me to sleep. her voice was lovely back then, before the stresses of this new world changed it. Now, I must confess my memories of the next period are fuzzy to say the least. I remember fear and excitement, a growing atmosphere of panic and finally nothing.
A few years later and our family had started to become used to this new place, Mind when I say family I mean my parents. I knew very little of our old world and knew only my life in the new. My parents had settled back into their respective jobs, though the understandably lower tech base made even the simplest of jobs harder. My father became a scientist, working with many smart stallions and mares, trying to push the using his knowledge from the old world. My mother started work as a blacksmith, working and shaping metal in order to craft the items she used to love making. Weapons. Weapons were always her passion, she would toil away in the forge she had made in the back of our small house, and would craft swords and other low tech weapons to sell at the market in stalliongrad.
It was in this chaotic house that I spent my childhood. My father, though always out at work all day, made a point of it to make sure that when he left for the day his work stayed away until he came back for it. My mother was the tougher one, always working in her forge it was quite often that she would refuse to come in for dinner choosing instead to work on a project only my father knew of. Despite her tough work ethic, or perhaps because of it, when she spent time with me it was always the most fun I ever had. We would do everything from running in the frozen fields behind our house, to laying in front of the fire simply enjoying the warmth it brought to us. I treasured those times more then anything.
I remember my first day of school, I was nervous, but I think my mother was even more so. Even with her always working in the forge, I had always stayed within shouting distance of her my entire life. I remember she walked me to school that day, not removing her arm from around my shoulders until the very last moment when we had to seperate ways. When the time came she hugged me and pushed me forward a little, her voice was crystal clear as she said those words to me, “Have fun darling, I’ll be here to pick you up in a little while.” I smiled at her -not realising just how upsetting it was for her to be letting go of me- and gave her a kiss on the nose, “I will mommy I promise. I love you” I said before turning to trot into the schoolhouse. I didn’t look back, but if I had I’m certain I would have seen a tear fall from my mother’s eye. nonetheless I continued with my day. I actually made quite a few friends that first day, quickly becoming one of the more popular foals in school, simply because of who I was.
Later that day when school ended, there was my mother, waiting to pick me up, with a smile stuck on her face as she waited for me to come out, which I did, bouncing happily up to her and hugging her tightly as she laughed gently, “I see somepony missed me today.” I nodded enthusiastically and told her all about my day. the friends I had made, the games we had played, and everything the teacher had taught us. If I had looked closely I could have seen the strain in her smile, but I was just a foal, I knew nothing about how adults behaved and thus I remained oblivious.
That night, when my father went out to call my mother in for dinner things took a turn for the worse. He rushed back in and picked up the phone -one of the inventions being slowly integrated into the world- taking it with him as he ran back outside. I didn’t understand at the time, but the stress of having to build an entirely new life in a world and body that was not your own had finally gotten to her, that was the first time my mother tried to kill herself.
We spent the next several weeks in and out of the hospital going to see my mother, who had been placed under intensive care with a suicide watch. I remember the pained look in her eyes every time I walked through the door, it would appear for a moment and be gone by the time I reached her bed. And there I would sit, I would stay there until my father came to get me, spending every moment telling her about the wonderful things I was learning, and it seemed to work, every time I left she was just a little happier than before I had come. a few weeks later the doctors said she had improved enough to let her go home, I couldn’t remember ever being that happy.
Once she came back home things went back to normal. My mom didn’t spend nearly as much time in the forge as before instead spending the time relaxing or playing with me. So life went on. Nothing out of the ordinary happened for several years, I’d go to school, come home, play with my mother or some of my friends and live the childhood any foal ought to have.
But as with everything, life has a way of messing things up... I remember the day like it was yesterday. I was out in the yard at recess playing with a group of my closest friends. We’d all stuck together since our early days at stalliongrad primary school. and though we had since been moved to different classes, we still found time to hang out together every recess. That day was different however. You see, I’d recently discovered I liked racing, and I was good at it. So naturally, when an older colt came up to my friends to challenge me to one I didn’t even hesitate, “Where to?” I asked bravely. The colt smiled a menacing smile and pointed at a distant landmark, A tree that stood alone almost a full mile away. “There and back” he said gruffly “First pony to arrive after touching that tree wins.”
I took a deep breath and began to nod when I suddenly felt a hoof on my shoulder. I looked over and smiled as I spotted my friend Arabelle. She frowned back at me shaking her head slowly, “Don’t do it... He’s older, and far too confident... You can’t beat him and he might hurt you.” She implored me using her looks to full advantage and very nearly convincing me to decline, in response I reached over and gave the younger earth pony a tight hug, “Don’t worry about me Belle, I can take him, besides I have to find a way to impress the mares somehow don’t I?” She flushed suddenly and lowered her head, causing her flowing blonde mane to cover her crimson face. “A-alright...” Was all I heard from behind the golden curtain, before I turned and nodded at the colt. “You’ve got yourself a race.”
Chapter two. (tentatively called, What passion burns)
I remember standing there, looking out over the field as we readied ourselves, the innocent expression on Arabelle’s face as she stood there, the sole witness as our other friends had decided to move back to the safety of the school yard just over the hill. Passion burned in my challenger’s eyes as the larger earth pony slunk down like a cat ready to pounce. I did the same hoping to get the jump on the older colt with my speed. Through the sounds of both our breathing I heard her counting. 3...2...1... go. The last word was spoken as soft as a whisper but we both got the message. I launched myself forward, outpacing the older colt in my first powerful bound. The euphoria rushed through me once again, The wind blowing through my mane, the earth pounding beneath my hooves, I was running and it was lovely.
As I neared the tree that was to be the halfway point I knew the race was won, both the screaming cheers coming from Arabelle and the lack of my opponent’s hoof falls made it apparent that he was too far away to have any hope of catching up in time. I started to smile and would have let out a cheer were it not for the sight that greeted me as I rounded the tree, My opponent was no where near me... in fact he appeared to have never left the starting line, Arabelle appeared to be supporting him while all the time cheering me on... All at once I realized what was happening, the lack of hoof falls was because the stallion had never intended to race me. The screams I had thought were cheers we in fact cries for help as the older colt held her down so he could have his way with her... I felt sick as I watched, even now running as fast as possible hoping to stop the tragedy that, in my mind, I had created. I’ll never forget her eyes, filled with hope even as she was violated. Hope that when I got to her I would save her. but it was not to be. as I neared the pair the colt looked up and smiled at me brushing away his forelock he revealed his horn, previously hidden behind the thick mane.
It was then, distracted as I was by the atrocity being committed and my own blazing anger, that I felt it. It felt like a load of bricks had been dropped onto my back and the force was enough to throw me to the ground mere feet from where my friend lay. I used every trick I knew, squirming, kicking, pushing, even using the little magic I knew to try and counter the force, but every effort failed, In the end I stretched out my hoof looking Arabelle in the eyes and watching as the hope died only to be replaced by fear and pain. I’ll never know whether it was that pained look or the force of the magic that made me black out... nonetheless that’s what I did. The last thing I heard before falling into unconsciousness was Arabelle crying out as the stallion forcefully ejected his searing hot seed into her womb... then utter blackness.
I woke up much later to a pain in my back. Fogged as my mind was by the suddenness of the sleep I had been forced into I had no idea where I was or what had happened So I decided to simply lay there until the pain went away. As I went about waking up I soon began to hear a light sobbing, “Wha...” was all I managed to say before suddenly remembering what had happened. whipping my eyes open I quickly got to my hooves and took stock of my surroundings. Glad to see no sign of the colt who had attacked us I turned and saw Arabelle laying exactly where the he had left her, It was from her that the sobbing came. I closed the gap between us with a few steps cringing as she shied away from the sound, “Belle... I-it’s me... Afterburner... A...Are you okay?” I asked quietly praying against all evidence that it had just been a nightmare. All I got in return was more sobs as the broken mare tried her best to reply. Making soft soothing noises I reached out and began to stroke her mane, I had no idea what a pony was supposed to do in a situation like this and simply reverted back to my basic instincts. Eventually I was able to calm her down enough to get her to talk, “A-afty... I... I’m s-so cold... P-please hold me...” Not thinking about the consequences, or about the dangers holding the mare could imply I lay down beside her, wrapping my hooves gently around her neck and resuming my stroking of her mane. I confess, even with all that had happened, I felt a strange sense of contentment holding her in my arms, a feeling as if to say it was meant to be. It wasn’t long before she had cried herself to sleep and I unwillingly followed a few moments later.
The awakening I received was a far cry from the gentleness of my sleep, one moment I lay holding Arabelle tightly in my arms and the next I was flying through the air as if hit by a giant hammer. Groggy and disoriented by my sleep I flailed around, trying to right myself when I suddenly slammed into the ground with enough force to crack at least two ribs. In spite of the searing pain in my side, or perhaps because of it, i found myself standing in a ready stance before I even knew what was happening.
looking the scene over I saw a pair of fully grown night guards watching me with teeth bared, their wings spread wide to make them look more menacing as they stood between myself and Arabelle’s sleeping form. I glared at them, armor or no I wasn’t going to let anypony harm my friend again. “GET AWAY FROM HER” I shouted in the most menacing tone I could muster. The guards looked at one another and started laughing suddenly, The complete change in their demeanor throwing me completely off balance for a few seconds, “Hey look at that.” the taller of the two guards said to the shorter. his gruff voice grating on my already fraying nerves. “The little rapist thinks he can threaten us.” He turned his head and spoke directly to me, “What do you think you’re going to do huh? Attack us? We’re members of the Guard! Do you really think you have a chance?” I froze, both from the implications of the statement and the direct threat I had just recieved, “Y-you’re guards? B-but why... I didn’t...” I stammered before being interrupted by a hoof slamming into the ground. The shorter of the guards glared at me with fury burning in her eyes, “ENOUGH” She shouted causing me to shut up almost instantly, “Can I just kill him and be done with it?” she asks the elder, “We have to get this mare some help!” I took a step back at the mention of death. “Wha... K-kill me?! B-but I didn’t do it!” I shouted as terror started to worm it’s way into my mind.
The older stallion sighs and shakes his head. “No” he says “Put him in cuffs. we’ll take him back to the guardhouse, the captain will decide his fate.” the mare nods and begins to advance on me, “Go ahead and resist you little bastard, it will only make this so much sweeter.” Too stunned to register her words I stood frozen until my hooves were kicked out from under me and clapped into a series of cuffs all in one smooth motion that happened far too fast for my eyes to follow. The next thing I knew I was slamming into the ground again as a searing pain tore up my side causing me to let loose a scream. The guard smiled maliciously before turning to the stallion who had picked up Arabelle by then, “So boss, can’t we just leave him here for the wolves? it’d be perfect way to deal with him. We could just say we found her alone.” I watched in sheer terror as the older stallion seemed to consider the option before resignedly shaking his head. “No... As much as I would like to we can’t chance a pair of our cuffs turning up with a set of severed hooves in them.” The bat mare scowled angrily looking me over as if assessing her next meal before suddenly brightening, “Then I suppose I’ll have to carry it won’t I?” The stallion nodded, “Yep, and this time NO DROPPING HIM! The captain is suspicious enough of our late night trips as is... we don’t want to add more fuel to the fire.”
The mare standing over me sighed, a long and drawn out thing it was, “Alright” she replied, hefting me onto her back with one powerful wing, “But next time I’m taking the mare.” With that my captor launched themselves into the air with one strong beat of their wings, taking us with them. I remember never having been so scared in my life, yet even through my fear I was able to thank the goddess that Arabelle had remained asleep throughout the ordeal, she had had enough stress for one day.
