Chapter One: A pony in a Strange and Dangerous Land
Chapter One: A Pony in a Strange and Dangerous Land
What if I told you that we ponies weren’t truly real? What if I said we were all sprites, sentient sprites, but sprites none the less in a virtual world that humans interact in? Now what if I said that these Humans form teams, communities, actually groups is a better term called Guilds within this virtual world, would you believe that? And might I add that these Guilds often fight amongst each other for territory, power, and in-game rights, would you ponies really believe me? Now what if I also said that there is one guild, who despite being an empire, fights for the freedoms of all?
I’m sure Lyra would stop listening after I said the word Humans, but I know the rest of you ponies would think I was crazy. I would normally agree with you, until I learned the truth. This is my story, of how a rouge Guild bent on total power in the Gaming community spirited me away from Equestria, how I was found by a group of soldiers, joined them, and helped liberate planets under peril. It’s a long story, one in which I don’t expect you all to enjoy.
And I must also add that many parts of this story will be very hard for me to tell, as the scars they left deeply affected me. But like it or hate it this is my story, of how Princess Celestia’s prized pupil joined the Red Forces’ 501st Division.
My Story starts off in Ponyville. It was a late winter day and with the approach of Hearts Warming Eve, I was frantic to find presents for my friends. So much so that I had completely forgotten to visit Zecora’s to pick up a potion. I realized this when Spike brought it up during my daily cleaning of the Library. And when I found out I completely flipped out. “Oh no, no, no I completely forgot Spike, what am I going to do it’s so late Zecora will be…”
“Twilight, Twilight, Twilight!” Spike soothed me to little avail, “Don’t worry; I’m sure Zecora would make exceptions for you if you just told her the truth.”
“You’re right Spike, you clean and I’ll hurry back to Zecora’s.” I said levitating the duster over to Spike, “I’ll be back in an hour.” And with that I hurried over to the door. But just before I left, for some reason I turned around and looked back at the library. I just had nagging feeling like I was never going to see it again. Usually when I’m about to enter the Everfree forest, I get uneasy, but this one struck me on a whole nother level. So I felt compelled to say, “Hey Spike, if I run late, don’t wait up.”
That would be the last thing I would say to Spike, for a long while. I’m not sure if Spike responded to that statement because I was out the door in a flash. Due to the winter season it was pretty chilly that night, so I made sure not to linger in any place as I headed towards the forest. By this time of night, Celestia’s sun had set beyond the horizon and Luna’s full moon had risen so most of Ponyville was quiet. Ponies were turning in all over town, so I did my very best to keep quiet as I trotted to the forest. But with every step, that nagging feeling of danger continued to get bigger and bigger.
It got to be so much that I took a good long look at Fluttershy’s cottage just before entering the forest. In my heart, I felt that this was going to be the last time I’d see any of Equestria again, but what I couldn’t understand why. So I turned towards the forest. But wouldn’t you know it, my danger senses kicked in again and every fiber of my being told me to go back. And once again I had no idea as to why I was feeling this way.
Looking back, what I should’ve done was give into those feelings and turn right back to the Library. However I didn’t, and honestly I don’t fully regret that decision. I entered the Everfree forest, and headed straight towards Zecora’s.
After a while of walking, it seemed the forest would never end. Worse still, my surroundings were getting creeper and creeper by the minute. “Boy, you’d think a pony would get used to this place after walking through here so many times.” I giggled to myself trying to remain positive. Better yet, Pinkie’s laughter song was repeating over and over in my head, helping my mood.
However, my danger senses kicked in again. This time they were accompanied by the sudden increase of the wind. I felt my heart race and sweat pour down my face. Things were happening that I couldn’t explain. Just then a loud, high pitched and metallic buzzing sound filled my ears. I looked up and saw a large triangular craft appear over head. It shined a beam of light right down on top of me. My mind instantly went to all those ponies’ accounts of being abducted and experimented on by Aliens and I instantly took off. But the craft stayed over me, like a moth to a flame.
As I ran, I screamed out into the forest. “Somepony, Any pony! Please HELP ME!” But no pony heard the call. As I leapt over a visible root, I didn’t feel gravity take hold of me again. Worse still I began to feel myself being pulled towards the craft, “Oh no, no, no please don’t TAKE ME!” I shouted into the Equestrian night, but alas I’m not sure I was heard. Just as the light enveloped me, I blacked out.
When my senses returned, everything was fuzzy. I felt myself on a cold, metal slab covered only by a thin cloth. I could hear buzzing noises all around me, the sounds of objects hitting the ground in regular intervals. That probably meant hoof-falls, but they didn’t sound right. I also couldn’t speak at all, no way to move my mouth. Then I tried to move my hooves, but to no avail.
Oh Celestia where am I? I thought to myself.
“Is this her?” I heard a deep voice say.
“Yes this is, Twilight Sparkle, the so called element of Magic. With her out of the picture no one will stand in the way of the conquest.” Another voice said aloud.
Conquest? Of Equestria? By whom, why, and… I started. If I wasn’t immobilized, I would’ve been bawling in tears. Fear and terror gripped my heart; I had no control of my surroundings, no control of my body, and worse still I couldn’t warn Princess Celestia or anyone else on Equestria that their lives were in danger.
“What’s the status of The Red Forces?” the deep voice asked.
“They are currently engaging our elite guards in the Rong’na system. They have no idea of our plan, like fools charging into a trap.” I heard the other laugh.
Who are The Red Forces? I thought, Maybe I could get a message out to them, maybe they could help. However I couldn’t exactly do that in my present state.
“What about the Enterprise Fleet!?” The deep voice snapped, “Have we located them yet?”
Before I could hear the other answer, the whole ship shook violently. I was thrown off the cold slab and onto a colder floor. The ship continued to violently shake. I heard shouts indicating that it was under a bombing attack by these mysterious Red Forces. I tried to move, to run and hide, but I couldn’t. It was then I realized I could still use magic for in a fit of rage I felt my horn glow. Quickly thinking, I activated a teleportation spell as the ship shook again.
I didn’t care where I ended up, but I wanted to be off this crazy UFO. The spell worked perfectly.
When my senses came to again, I know found myself alone and not on metal. I was lying on rock, in darkness. The only thing I knew for sure was I was off the ship. Now I was working on getting myself unstuck. But that proved to be extremely tricky. Hours passed as I had to release each and every single muscle in my body.
But when I was finally free, boy was I relieved. “Whew glad that’s over with.” I said to no pony in particular. I looked around and found I was in a dark cave. “Wow, this looks nothing like any of the caves I’ve seen on Equestria!” I surmised. While I was super eager to explore, I had to get out of the cave so I could find help.
But as I trotted thought, the cave seemed to go without end. I could feel any hope I had of rescue slipping away as what seemed like hours passed. I came to a stop near a stalagmite, “Oh no, what if I never get out? Equestria is doomed, it’s going to be invaded and the Elements won’t work without me. My home…” It was then that I broke into tears. I couldn’t speak for another several minutes. Between the sobbing and the hiccupping, there was no time for me to get any words out. But when I finally was able to speak, the words were inaudible even to me.
After a few long moments of further crying, I got back on my hooves and continued to walk out of the cave. Suddenly after endless levels of darkness, I spotted light near the end of cave. “Oh thank sweet Celestia!” I shouted and began to run towards the light.
However suddenly appearing out of the light was a bi-pedal being dressed in some strange form of armor. Worse than that was he was pointing a gun right at me!
“Um help me!” I whimpered to the being hoping that he’d understand brayish.
The being lowered his gun slightly as he looked at me. I could see his hazel eyes as well as what I thought was black hair. He was wearing a white round helmet. His ‘armor’ looking nothing like a Canterlot Guard Armor, it looked flimsy and flat. It almost looked like plastic but not as smooth. It was ice white base with blue accents on the shoulders, stripe across the chest, and blue rim on the helmet. Over his eyes was a bluish visor with weird symbols on it.
“I’m lost, I was abducted from my home can you tell me where I am?” I asked again.
“Hey Boss,” I heard him say in perfect Brayish, “I got an NPC in this cave, you’re not going to believe this, it’s a pony.”
