Apertureby GodspeedChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 1Author's Note: So this is my first story ever on fimfiction so tell me if you guys like it and if you do, I'll post part 2 soon! And please, just constructive criticism. Thanks!! Well, this isn't going exactly as planned. Godspeed thinks to himself. Ha, understatement of the century. Trapped. End of the line. Life giving oxygen slowly getting sucked out from the facility the government sent him to infiltrate. Why couldn't they give me an easier first assignment? How could the intel be so fricken off!? He thinks to himself as it's getting harder and harder to breathe. His training tells him that he's only got a couple more minutes left before he will pass out and then eventually asphyxiate. A lot of good my training's doing me now, huh? How did this even happen? He tries to remember back to the beginning where it all began. I guess now is a good time to reflect since I'm going to die and all that. He tries to laugh but the pain enters his head and lungs as the oxygen level is approaching critical only letting him cough. He sets his head against the wall feeling defeated, a failure. He looks up sadly and thinks, Ugh, how could it come to this?.... 5 years ago Seth aka 'Godspeed' as his buddies in the military had dubbed him, was a 17 year old guy but was recruited, well more like drafted, by the government at the age of 12 from an orphanage because of his "unique" skills as a tactician and his overall aptitude. "No one has ever seen this level of brain activity before!" his handler had said to him years ago as they sat on a bench in front of the building he called the "Company", trying to explain to young Seth why the government had yanked him from his orphanage in a whirlwind of men in suits and flashed badges. Seth's confused face drove the handler to explain further. "Okay, so this is how a brain works: it receives data, analyzes data, weighs the consequences of different actions and acts upon the ones deemed most logical for the given situation. The brain does this every nanosecond, bio-electrical signals course though your nervous system and tell muscles what to do and when. It really is a truly remarkable thing, but for some reason your brain seems to do this a bit faster than most people." When the young boy started getting super excited about this and started asking a million questions, his handler lifted up a finger to silence him and then said, "I don't think you get it: yes the government will feed you, clothe you and in all other aspects provide for you, but only so long as you do exactly as they say. TO THE LETTER." When Seth gave him a confused face, the handler sighed and said, "Listen, what I'm going tell you right now, you can never tell anyone okay?" The boy nodded his head slowly. *sigh* "Okay, so they can't let someone like you go because of your talents but they won't ever, EVER hesitate to kill you if you do something they disagree with. You are too much a security risk to ever live a normal civilian life." Despite the look of dismay that came across the young 12 year old's face, his handler said "Your life belongs to the military now. We are your family... but you can never leave. For your own good, don't ever cross the will of the government because.... well, you know that show that you were watching, uh what is it, My Little Pony?" Seth nodded his head even more slowly and hesitantly than last time, knowing that that this was the one thing in his life that really meant anything to him. The only way he had experienced any kind of real joy and happiness was though watching that show. Growing up in an orphanage meant that no kids got the attention they needed, especially when in this orphanage you were lucky if they remembered to feed you, much less love you. Kids were forced to fight their fellow orphans for food. Hate fueled by hunger gripped them all in a deadly vice-like grip. My Little Pony had been his escape from life. Everyday he wished for friends like Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity in the lonely orphanage, everyday he wished for a savior and everyday no one had come to take him away from this wretched place... until the government came. "It speaks of love, kindness, compassion, acceptance and crap like that right?" Seth froze, the boy staring in horror at this man that he had hoped, up until now, would take him away from his previous life of sorrow and pain. Panic gripped his heart. And as this young boy sat there, stricken in fear, his handler spoke in a quiet, dark tone and said, "Well, those dreams end today." Present Day I've come a long way from that scared little boy, haven't I? Godspeed knew he only had a minute left now and was trying to make the most of it. He smiled and chuckled to himself thinking, Of course I would botch up my very first mission. He stopped smiling and tried to remember where he went wrong. I don't get it though, I did it all by the book. Then the memories flooded though his mind. 3 days ago "Congratulations son, you're the first to graduate in your squadron!" A great cheer goes up. "Congratulations son, you're the second to graduate in your squadron!" A huge cheer goes up. "Congratulations son, you're the third to graduate in your squadron!" A loud cheer goes up. 15 minutes later "Congratulations son, you're the 19th graduate in your squadron!" *silence* "....and it seems everyone is at the party. Don't mind me, run along son." "Thank you sir!" says the private as he rushes off to join his friends. *sigh* "And then Godspeed, what the heck are you doing in the back at number 20!? I know for a fact that you got better grades and better combat marks than all of these yahoos combined!!" "Haha thank you Colonel, but I'm fine with being in the back." "I sure do appreciate some good humbleness every now and then but this is just getting ridiculous!" Godspeed smiled back at his dear and, well, only friend in the military. "Now that everyone is gone I can tell you something." "What is that Colonel?" "You know you don't have to call me Colonel when it's just you and me Godspeed." Godspeed grinned and said, "Oh I know, I just like seeing you get flustered from time to time." "Oh fine then, have it your way PRIVATE!" Godspeed started cracking up. "Hey, this is serious business I'm about to tell you! Do you want to hear it or not!?" "Of course." Godspeed said calming down now. "Okay... so apparently despite your humbleness, people higher up have really noticed your abilities and because of your, uh, 'talent' for quick thinking they have decided that instead of going with the rest of the squadron, you will be having a separate solo test, off the record." "Off the record?" "Yeah. Apparently this one is top priority too, so it will be in 3 days." "3 DAYS!?!" "Yessir, 3 days." "Do I have a briefing?" "Consider this your briefing." "Okay then.... What do you got for me?" The Colonel laughed and said, "Don't worry Godspeed, it should be a cake walk: Just get in, grab some blueprints and get out. Easy as pie." 1 hour ago The whirring of the helicopter was deafening, not to mention the sound of a hundred thunderbolts being driven down towards the earth from the massive black layer of clouds covering the sky. Godspeed stood on the edge, waiting for the signal from the pilot to dive off of this crazy machine kept aloft by just some pieces of metal buzzing around in a large circle on top of the helicopter like there's no tomorrow. "Sir, you are go! The DZ directly underneath us! GO GO GO!!!" This my favorite part. Godspeed thought sarcastically. "GERONIMO!!!" And then Godspeed jumped. 30 minutes ago Shrouded in black kevlar, Godspeed slowly made his way to the facility. The storm made everything darker except for when lightning struck but if he did this right, they wouldn't even know what hit them. Now despite being in the military, Godspeed had made one pact to himself: He would never, EVER kill another person if he had another way, anyway to achieve his mission without endangering the lives of others. That was one reason why he loved the idea of stealth missions: you're a lone gunman with only your wits as back up and you didn't actually need to kill anyone if you could think of a way and Godspeed could see a way to disable the guards without killing them: Tranquilizer rifle. Ha, I totally feel like James Bond right now with this awesome gun. He was 20 yards away from the entrance now and a guard was looking away at the exact moment he got to his position. He smiled and then said to himself quietly, "Sleep tight." 15 minutes ago With the guard's clothes over his kevlar adding to his size, he could be mistaken for 20 instead of 17 which made it easier to slip past the security booth undetected and now that he was in the facility, it was time to get to work. Janitorial Closet.... Conference Room A..... B..... C..... Yada yada. Ah! Laboratory. Bingo. Godspeed looked inside and to his dismay, there was over 15 people in there including scientists and guards. Now the trick is to take the blueprints undetected which will be extremely tricky considering that's what they're actually building their, uh machine off of. What was it again? I wish it wasn't so classified that I, the one who's going to fricken steal it, can't even know what it is!! *sigh* Here goes nothing. Then he opened the door and walked in. 5 minutes ago "...and that's 17 sleeping people. And I definitely don't want to be here when you wake up with that crazy headache. Chloroform gas, even in small doses, can really mess with your head." Godspeed looked around satisfied and then took off his gas mask and kevlar. "Who would of known this laboratory had it's own supply of air? It took like 10 minutes of talking to the scientists while some how not letting the guards get a good look at me but when one of them mentioned the air containment for this project I just asked one of them where their supply of chemicals was and bam, problem solved." Looking around, Godspeed sees what he was sent her for lying on one of the many workstations arrayed around an odd circular ring. "So then, blueprints: check." He was incredibly tempted to read this small piece of paper that everyone was freaking out about in depth but the military side of him took hold. "Nope, I'm not going to read this. It's not for my eyes, but I do need to get out of he......" Just then, the lights went out and a thunderous voice over the loud speaker said, "FOREIGN CONTAMINANT IDENTIFIED, SEALING ALL DOORS." The doors all slid shut and a hissing sound was heard. Godspeed knew what that meant. The voice continued, "PLEASE GIVE IDENTIFICATION OR ATMOSPHERE WILL BE VENTED." "....ah crap." "IDENTITY NOT VALID, VENTING ATMOSPHERE." Present day Godspeed sat there, thinking about his past life, his failures and triumphs, in his final moments. Looking down at the stupid paper he gave up so much for, gave up so much to get only to die with it in literally in his hands. The military had been his home and he owed his life to them.... or did he? They said he could never leave, that the would never be free. As he thought this, he got more and more angry. *cough, hack* "You know what?" *cough* "Screw it! I'm going to freakin read this!!" Godspeed opened up the paper and started reading. And then he started wondering how he could read it at all. Didn't the lights go out when they started venting the atmosphere? Then he started realizing that a soft purplish blue aura of light was coming from behind him and slowly and painfully got up, coughing and hacking the whole time. His breath was becoming extremely labored and getting up only made this worse. But he had to see what this thing was. And what he saw he couldn't believe he laid his eyes on. That odd circular thing that all of the workbenches were facing towards in the lab was glowing on the inside of the circle. It reminded him of thin layer of water, except luminescent as if the 'water' glowed with an other worldly glow and just on the other side of the 'water' was another place. Another.... "Dimension." Godspeed said, his mouth hanging wide open. ...but then he coughed again, reminding his of his dire need for oxygen. "Well then," he said, getting back on his kevlar, "let's see what secrets you hold." He took out his gun, checked the ammo.... With a wry smile he joked, "To boldly go where no man has gone before." ....and then he stepped through. Chapter 2The first thing Godspeed felt was being torn apart at the seams. "AAAAGGG-!!!" He had only put his foot in the event horizon of the aperture but the moment he did the rest of his body was sucked in, cutting him off in mid scream. Now he could only be silent as he was ripped apart molecule by molecule and thrown at tremendous speeds towards the other end of the rift. Faster and faster he was propelled through the wormhole and after what seemed like hours he reached the other end and was finally reintegrated, only to be launched 20 feet forward from the speed of his travel. He hit the ground and skidded on his chest and then after sliding a few yards he finally came to a screeching halt. Battered and bruised it didn't take long for the darkness to set it, closing his mind to the world and welcoming him into warm blessed unconsciousness. The first thing he saw was the shadows of leaves playing across his eyelids. Godspeed slowly and painfully opened up his eyes, trying to get his bearings. As he sat up, he noticed that he was under a tree which was granting him shade and respite from the heat of the sun. Then he started grimacing from the pain coming from his torso. He wondered why his chest hurt so badly and then saw the skid marks on the ground where he had landed after his hard landing. "Ugh, remind me to never do that again." he groaned, rubbing his sore muscles. His military training took over as he started checking his gears and gun, making sure everything was in order before doing anything else. He then tentatively stood up and cracked his back then started stretching, trying to get limber. After a few minutes of stretching, he switched to some kinesthetics to fully get his blood pumping and to wash away the acid built up in his muscles. Finally loosened up, he looked around and noticed that he was in the middle of a great beautiful forest. "Where am I?" he wondered aloud. He became lost in thought. Everything seemed so lush and peaceful that he started questioning if there were indeed any predators at all in such a place... A scream echoed through the forest. He turned around only to see a great monster about 200 feet away that was easily 6 stories high with three huge heads with a thicket of razor sharp teeth lining each of it's mouths snarling and growling as it was chasing something. He could barely make it out but it looked like a red and pink hair and cream colored... "PONY!?!" he nearly shouted as he stood stunned. Something seems familiar about that pony.... Then when he realized what he had recognized this pony from, the memories came back to him from when he was a boy, "Wait, whoa Whoa WHOA! AS IN 'MY LITTLE PONY'!?" He stood there dumbfounded for a moment longer, but his military training quickly kicked in when she screamed again, taking him out of his stupor. It was gaining. He shook his head, "Now I don't know what the crap is going on here but I gotta save it!.... uhh, her!" He then took his gun out and sprinted as fast as lightning on a intercept course towards the terrorized pony who was running deeper into the forest, trying desperately to get away from this nightmarish creature. She sprinted as fast as she could but in her desperation she ran from the open forest into a field of rock faces that created a sort of natural canyon. She ran until she came to the end of the canyon and her eyed widened in horror when she realized what she'd done. She was trapped. Godspeed felt something stirring deep within him as was sprinting, causing him to run twice the speed a normal man can run. Man, there must be something in the air because I feel stronger and faster than ever before! He was just entering mouth of the canyon when he heard another scream. No time for that now. "I'm coming!" he shouted. He urged himself to go even faster. Branches whipped past him as he sprinted at breakneck speed through the chasm, dodging fallen trees, rocks and other rubble from the destructive force of the beast. Godspeed soon reached the end of the canyon and saw the monster slowly advancing on the pony. He could now make out the pony in detail as she was now backed up against a giant rock face and crying pitifully on the ground as the monster got closer and closer. He also noticed she had a picture of a rose on her flank. What is it called? A sign? A mark? A cutie mark!! Man, I haven't even thought about that show in like 5 years! The monster's three heads all roared as one in triumph when they saw that their prey was trapped and started closing in for the kill. Wait, no time to think! I've got to find some way to take out or at lease distract this thing! But my tranqs won't even begin to put this thing to sleep. With eagle eyes he saw a long rod-like stick that he could use as a quarterstaff, altered course towards it, dived and rolled on top of it, snatching it up in the process. His military drill sergeant taught him well. 3 years ago "Okay men listen up! On today's agenda is survival combat training! Now many of you will be temped to just use your fists in this exercise but balling up your hands and flinging them randomly towards an adversary won't help you in a real engagement, especially when your fighting mountain lions in the wild!" "Now having a gun is always nice, but here in the military we don't always play nice! Here, we like to get down and dirty! The best weapon for fighting single or even multiple enemies in the wilderness is a quarterstaff. Lieutenant Forge here will demonstrate." Forge, an average height but lean built officer, walked up to a large recruit nicknamed "The Hulk" by his squadron for his massive frame and tendency to get angry and handed him a guard baton while keeping a quarterstaff for himself. "Here, take this and try to hit me." "Uh, sir?" the unsure cadet said, his face twisted in confusion. "Just do it son." "Okay then sir..." Everyone backed off and created a circle around the combatants as Hulk cracked his neck from side to side and then looked down at Forge for his consent. Forge nodded, readying his quarterstaff in front of him with both hands spread apart on the smooth piece wood. Hulk gave a battle cry and charged. To everyone around, it looked as if he would pummel the shorter man into submission in a single blow. They were wrong. Forge quickly parried the blow off to the side within a split second of it pummeling him on his shoulder and immediately reposted with three quick smacks and jabs directed at the larger man's stomach. Hulk recoiled, stunned and ashamed that he couldn't hit the man he considered inferior to him physically. "See that cadets? Despite the fact that Forge here is weaker than this large man here, no offense..." "None taken." "..he was still able to best him because of three things: he was more experienced, he was better positioned and he had a weapon capable of both deflecting incoming attacks effectively and dealing damage sharply and swiftly." "Now start practicing cadets! But instead of just GIVING you a quarterstaff, we will put all of them about 20 paces from you. And the person who gets their weapon first gets to go directly to the mess hall while the rest of you run 15 miles!" There was a murmur among the cadets as the staffs were laid out in a line a short distance away. "I'll get that first quarterstaff! You chumps will be doing push ups while I'm chowing down in the mess hall!!" someone yelled. "No, It'll be me! I'll get one of those staffs! You just wait and see!!" someone else said. Multiple threats and boasts were tossed back and forth among the line of cadets but only one person didn't take part in the rivalries. Godspeed. He was already positioned like a runner, ready to take the prize at the finish line. "What are you waiting for!?" the drill sergeant barked. "GO!!!" Godspeed launched himself forward faster than anyone else and was soon coming up to the pile of rods but when he looked back he noticed that some were now gaining. You got this. he thought to himself. He yelled and in a sudden burst of speed he dove forward and rolled over the stack of staffs, picking one up as he went. Everyone moaned as he came out of his roll and triumphantly held up the quarterstaff. "Son," the drill sergeant said walking up to Godspeed, "I think you and I are going to get along just fine. Now let me teach you the basics of fighting and I'll even show you some moves that none of these yahoos will ever know...." Present Day Godspeed yelled a battle cry as he came out of his roll, startling the monster. As the beast slowly turned around, Godspeed repositioned himself directly behind it and firmly planted both feet in the ground. The monster turned fully around and, now seeing that the disturbance was another potential lunch, roared with all three of it's hideous heads, ready to chase down yet another easy target. But Godspeed would have none of that. He spread his hands over the staff, feeling the smoothness of the wood and getting a feel for the weapon. Smoothness: Check. He hit it against a near by rock to test the hardiness of the rod. Sturdiness: Check He weighted it in one hand and then quickly switched to double-handed, delivering a few quick jabs and parrying a few mock blows to test his form. Balance: Check Now the monster roared again and slowly started advancing, assured that he would finally get something to eat for all of his trouble. Godspeed spun the quarterstaff around his head and then brought it down into a defensive position in front of him. His heart started to run faster and faster but to Godspeed, time seemed to slow, to draw out as he took long deep breathes to ready himself for the battle ahead. And he saw everything. He saw the cream colored pony laying on the ground at the foot of the rock face crying, tears streaming down her snout and heard her pleading under her breath. "Please don't eat me! Please don't eat me!" He saw the wrecked trees slowly swaying and in all manner of disarray and decimation from the freight train of a force that recently swept through. He saw the scrape marks on the ground from massive clawed feet and the shredded pieces of rock, now turned to rubble, littering the ground around him. And then he saw it, the source of all of the pain and devastation. It was a colossal 70 feet tall with a set of maroon eyes on each of it's three heavily muscled heads with razor sharp teeth lining it's mouths. It had huge spikes going down it's necks all the way down to its tail that looked like they could saw a tree in two with a single swipe. It had claws the size of a full grown pony made to keep a grip in any kind of terrain and powerful feet to propel this monstrosity surprisingly fast for its bulk. And it was slowly advancing, barring it's teeth and getting ready to strike at any moment and consume anything that it could get a hold of. 100 feet away. 90 feet away. Godspeed laughed at his awareness of everything, every little detail, every flaw in the landscape and in the creature in front of him, happy that if these would be his final moments, that they would be spent like this. Awareness. 80 feet. He then then focused on the monster and readied his muscles for the fight ahead. 70. Godspeed smiled to himself and said, "Hello, beastie." 60. Then the creature struck. Chapter 31st Person The first thing I feel is the ground receding beneath me as three demonic heads with razor sharp teeth snap at where I had been only moments ago. What the..!?!.. I think, confused as my body tucked into a ball and started spinning backwards in mid air. ..crap is going on here?!... The world goes sideways and I see the hydra retracting it's heads after the initial failed attack. ....And now I'm upside down. My legs come out of the somersault moments before landing and then fully extend just in time to land a perfectly executed backflip 10 feet away from where I was previously standing. "Now where did THAT come from!!" I say, my eyes widening in surprise. The hydra looked equally surprised and after a moment of indecision, starts coming towards me once again. "Okay so first I encounter a 70 foot hydra, run ten times faster than any man ever has in history and now my body is doing flips without me even telling it too! Well this is just fricken insane!!" I shout out in confusion, feeling both frustrated and a little freaked out at the same time, completely forgetting the colossus standing in front of me. A roar echos through the canyon as the monstrous creature lashes out again with one of it's heads. Smack! I quickly uppercut the giant maw with the butt of my quarterstaff while dancing away from the deadly assault. The hydra recoils from pain and as one, the three heads rear up and let loose a bloodcurdling scream. They immediately snap back to attention and balefully stare at me with their blood red eyes. I stare back, my quarterstaff in a defensive position and my legs spread apart in readiness. The beast looks me over, trying to understand how it couldn't simply crush the life from this pathetically small creature it wanted for lunch. I can see the malice in the creatures eyes as it sizes me up and I take this opportunity to start looking for a weakness in the hydra's defense. My eyes wander to it's three mouths. Can't let even one of those teeth nab me or it's game over. I look down at it's heavily muscled neck, naturally strengthened for quick effective kills by darting forward and snatching up prey at impossible distances. I need to make sure to either get out of range completely or get up close and personal where it's height won't be so much an advantage as a hindrance. I see it's humongous talons on it's short but massive scaled legs. ...maybe being right in front of the massive hydra isn't such a good idea after all. I've got to take it out from behind then. That's the plan. But as I say this, I remember the massive spikes capable of cutting a pony in half running down extending down it's back, going all the way down to the tip of it's tail. I'm starting to get angry now. ....gaaaaaaAAAWWD DAMN IT!! Does this thing have any weaknesses!? The hydra cautiously starts creeping forward, it's heads bobbing from side to side looking for the perfect opportunity to strike. I quickly snap out of my musings and glance worriedly at the multiple heads that are getting into position above me. "THAT'S IT!" I yell in frustration. "Either I'm going to beat you up so bad, you'll go running home to your ugly oversized mother or I'll die trying! But you're NOT going to have me or this pony for dinner!!" gesturing to the cream colored mare still cowering against the cliff face with my quarterstaff. The hydra is looking directly down at me now from three different directions while it's main body is not more than 30 feet in front of me. "What are you waiting for!? LET'S DO THIS!!" (Leroy Jenkins reference) Then the head on the far right strikes downward, mouth wide open, ready for some meat. Smack! I quickly hit the hydra's head in the temple, sending it careening into a pile of rocks next to me but as I do this, the second head strikes, trying to catch me off guard. Not today. Wam! I jump up and slam the butt of the staff into it's ugly face and while the the head smashes into the ground, sending a billow of sand up into the air, the third attacks from behind. Expecting to come away from this attack with some well deserved meat, it's mouth is wide open while attacking, but as I hit the second head, I use the impact of the attack to send me into a front flip, landing behind the creature's main body with just a few inches to spare. But the hydra couldn't stop. The momentum of it's attack carries it through the air where it's lunch had been... ....and into its brethren. The heads collide and the teeth of the third clamped down on it's own brother. RAAAAAAAAAAWWWWRRR! The second one, now bleeding, viciously retaliates against the third, bites the side of its face and then all hell breaks loose. They start attacking each other in a frenzy and bite on the neck, face and nose, ripping off huge sections of scales and the red meat underneath. Once I saw that the hydra was distracted, I sprint over to the crying pony and try to get her up. "Come on, we've got to get out of here!" I shout, trying to make my voice heard over the din of the battle going on behind me. "no, no I can't..." she weakly replies, tucked into a sobbing little cream, red and pink colored ball on the ground. "Ugh, come on!! Do want to get eaten or not!?" A bit harsh but I got the point across as she cringed and then tries to stand. "I-I c-can't!" she sobs, falling down again into a ball as her legs shake from fear. "Fine then! If you're not come with me, then I'm going to carry you!" (haha LOTR much?) I pick up the ball o' weeping young mare and then start sprinting past the feuding hydra heads as fast as I can without dropping her. I quickly increase my speed fifteen-fold, passing the devastated foliage in a blur, running even faster than I did before. Last time I was coming to the aid of another, but now I'm running for my life and hers. Come on... we gotta get out of this canyon! It's a death trap. I think as I'm sprinting. I run like no one ever has before, defying the laws of physics and after a few minutes of running at breakneck speeds, we come out of the barren chasm into the lush green forest I first ended up in. "*gasp*..Thank....God!" I say panting heavily slowing down. I stop for a few minutes to let my breath return to normal again and then I listen for the sound I'm dreading most: The roaring of the hydra. After listening for a minute I'm relieved to hear nothing but the sounds of the local fauna around us. "Phew! That was crazy! I definitely don't want to do THAT again!" I say out loud. I hear a small whimper and then remember about the young mare who I saved and held for the past 15 minutes or so. I look down to see that she had passed out from exhaustion and was now sleeping in my arms. Now I have questions, SO many questions like: "How the heck am I here?!" and "I thought My Little Pony was just a TV show! How is this possible!?" but I realize that it's probably not a good idea to wake her up right now after such a terrifying experience. She probably just wants to block out the world for a little while after what she went through. And I can't say I blame her. I think sympathetically. "And she looks so peaceful..." I whisper and smile at her when she let out a cute little noise, obviously dreaming about something far better than reality. I look around and then sigh, "But I have no idea where to go! I'm completely lost in this forest and the only person..er, pony who knows the way is out like a light." "Speaking of light, it's starting to get dark now too." I say noticing the sun slowly heading down towards the mountains that ring the land. "Soon it will be night fall and then maybe even crazier monsters will come out." I say gulping. Dang it, I have to get her up. I think glancing down at the mare. But as I look down on her, I begin to notice her details for the first time out of a combat situation. She is a cream colored pony and has a short red mane with a pink streak in it. She is a small and delicate girl and only recently entered marehood. I look down at her flank and see that she has the cutie mark of a vibrant red rose with rich green leaves on it. I know she must have been on the show I watched years ago when I was just a boy. What was her name.... "R-Rose?" I ask gently. She wakes up and stretched in my arms a bit, her hooves extending above her head. Then she slowly opens up her eyes and then blinks a few times to get adjusted to her surroundings. Then she glances around in confusion and then her deep green eyes lock onto me. Then she screams. "AH!! Who are you!? WHAT are you!?! What's going on?! Let go of me!" She struggles violently, kicking and punching, and tries to get out of my arms. I attempt to hold her as she freaks out. "Hey it's okay!! My name is Godspeed! I'm a human!... Dang it, you don't know what that is. But I saved you from the hydra! Don't worry, you're safe with me!" I say frantically, trying to contain this ball of flying hooves. She suddenly calms down as the days events dawn on her and stops pounding me on my chest. Her eyes widen and the tears start to flow. She grabs my shirt and starts sobbing into it, "I'm so sorry! I was so scared that I didn't even know what to do! That creature chased me for miles and you saved me! You saved me with out even thinking and I never even thanked you! Thank you SO much! I won't ever forget it!" Rose wept into my chest for another 15 minutes until the tears finally started slowing down and all the while I hold her tight in my arms, comforting her by stroking her mane softly. She was now crying fitfully but the fits stopped in a short time. Rose let go of my shirt and laid back in my arms sighing, clearly tired from all of that crying and from all of the excitement of the day, "Thank you.... what was your name again?" "Godspeed" I say after a moment of indecision. If I want to start a life here, I'd like it to be based off of friendship. Godspeed was a name given to me by my few friends in the military so I think it's fitting that I be called that. Rose looks up, her eyes the color of emerald forest pools and her face still wet from all of the tears, kisses me on the cheek and then blushes a deep red. "Thank you again Godspeed. I just can't thank you enough. My name is Rose." I'm transfixed on her deep green eyes. I can't pull away. Those eyes... Wait? Oh thank goodness she didn't notice that I already knew her name! I guess it's her cutie mark anyways... She continues, saying, "You saved my life back there and what you did... It was amazing! How did you move so fast?... What was it that you said you are again?" I blush a little bit but can't bring myself to take my eyes away from hers. "I'm a human. Heh, I'm not exactly from around here." Her eyes widen as she surveys my 5' 7' height from my arms. "Are ALL humans as tall and as fast as you?" I look away abashedly and say, "No, I'm actually just average for my kind. And about what happened back there, I honestly don't what came over me. Where I come from, people aren't even one-twentieth as fast as I was. I was surprised as you were." Hmmm, maybe she knows what's going on. I mean, this is her home and all. "Do you know how this could happen to me?" She looked as confused as I do and stares thoughtfully off into space but after a few seconds just shakes her head and says, "I don't know either...." I look disappointedly off into the distance. Man, I was hoping for some explanation for all of this... "....but I know someone who might!" I perk up at this and look down at her again as she continues. "Her name is Twilight Sparkle." Oh, I know that name... I think. Best keep all that I know on the down low though. Just pretend like you don't know anything. "Then what are we waiting for?" I say beaming down at her. Rose blushes a little bit at this but then says laughing, "You tell me! You're supposed to be the gallant knight who saved the mare and whisks her off home to live happily ever after!" I turn beet red at this and she laughs at my reaction. That may have been a bit too much. Rose thinks. But he is such a charmer! What did he say he was? A human? What is that? I recover quickly and say, "But I don't know the way! I only just got here an hour ago!" Okay, so he's not from around here... well, obviously, I doubt anyone has heard of a human in Equestria before! I'll have to ask Twilight about his kind. She must know something about them with all of those books in the library... Rose looks up at me questioningly. "Really? How?" I was about to answer her but then I notice that the sun was now reaching reaching the horizon. "Uh, that might need to be saved for another time. It's suns already starting to set and we aren't anywhere near a town yet." *sigh* If I couldn't see him, I could swear that he's a pony! "There might be predators out there right now waiting to eat us!" My eyes go big as I jokingly look around as if they could burst out of the woods at any moment. And he seems to have a great sense of humor! Rose smiles and hits me playfully with her hoof, "Fine then, but I'll be expecting a full report by the morning! You sir, have a lot of explaining to do!" I laugh at this and smile back saying, "You can count on it. Now: Direction?" She looks around and then says, "Due North!" pointing to her left. I position myself as she instructs and start the long trek in that direction, "Okay then, LET'S DO THIS!!" (Leroy Jenkins FTW!) I really like this col...er, human? What is the word for a male human? And he is so much fun to foal around with! She laughs at this and says, "You're funny, Godspeed." I just smile down at her and say, "Now you just sit tight now and I'll have you home in no time." *sigh* Who cares, he saved my life and is taking care of me now. Rose looks up into my hazel eyes. And for some reason, I've never felt so safe... She nods her head and then sighs contentedly, closing her eyes and burying her muzzle in my shirt. I grin stupidly, wondering how my life could change so drastically in one day. For better or for worse, this is my life now.. I look down at the sleeping mare and then smile contentedly. ...and it seems to be better, that is for sure. Chapter 4I walk all night long through the dark forest with Rose curled up asleep in my arms. The night was surprisingly calm with the exception of a close call with a manticore when we came to close to it's den and woke it up, but luckily it just wanted some peace and quiet and after growling at us for a few minutes it realized that we weren't any threat to it and turned around and went right back to sleep. I gave a quiet sigh of relief and was more than happy to leave him be as we continue on our way North. And now the sun is now just starting to peek over the opposite horizon from when we started when finally come to the edge of the forest. A road can be seen off in the distance with a multitude of ponies, trying to get a head start on the day and going busily along to whatever town they were traveling to. Luckily they can't see us from their current position or they would freak out at the 'monster' that was holding a pony in it's grip. I drop to my knees from a heavy dose of both exhaustion and relief. I look tiredly down at Rose, still asleep in my arms, and smile weakly, "R-Rose, w-we're out of the f-forest. F-Finally!" She wakes up slowly and then grimaces as her eyes flutter for a moment, adjusting to the bright beams of morning sunlight shining down on us. Once she gets used to the brightness, she looks up at me and softly smiles at me before noticing my current exhausted state. She gasps and says, "You carried me all night long?" with concern in her rich green eyes. "Heh, yeah." I say looking away, blushing a little at the emotion. Rose nuzzles my chest comfortingly and looks up at me again. "Thank you. You've done so much for me and I haven't done even anything for you!" She nudges me to let her down and I do so willingly, not because I don't enjoy holding this beautiful mare anymore but because my arms are extremely sore from holding her all night long. With her now on the ground in front of me, I realize that if I stood up, the top of her head would just come up to the bottom of my chest where my rib cage starts. Geez, I must look like a giant to them... and beautiful mare!? I don't know if I like how quickly I am adjusting to this world. They might think I'm some crazy, uh pony.. person? I don't know, for feeling that way. And she's not even my species! I think worriedly. I wonder what she thinks of me? She probably just thinks I saved her because I wanted to carry a young mare through the woods like some creep. I shake my head. Man, that sounds so ridiculously stupid now that I said it! She is just so innocent. I just hope she doesn't think badly of me... Meanwhile, from Rose's perspective... He is so nice, I can't believe he carried me all night long! *sigh* When you get over the shock of meeting a new species, he's actually not all that bad looking... She quietly stomps the ground with her right hoof with resolution. Compose yourself Rose! Don't let your emotions get in the way of your friendship!... *sigh* but he DID save your life... Rose shakes off her concerned face and looks up and smiles up at me. "We're no more than 2 miles from my hometown Ponyville where me and my two best friends Lily and Daisy live together." Her eyes widen with excitement. "Oh, I can't wait for you to meet them! I just know you will be the best of friends! They run a flower shop together..." She somehow got even more ecstatic with each sentence. "Oh! And I'll get to show you my rose garden! I just LOVE roses!" I wonder if... Oh my gosh! I will be the first friend of a new SPECIES! Rose was jumping up and down with glee. This is so cool! I look down at the ecstatic pony and give an awkward smile. "And the town! They'll like you for sure! *gasp!* And THEY will be your friends too! I just know it!" This is soooo exciting! All of my friends will just love him! My face now transforms to a look of major concern. "It will be so wonderful! I can't wa-" I clear my throat. "Uh, Rose?" I ask with my worried look. She looks surprised at me like she just noticed I was there even though I was all she was talking about for the last couple of minutes. She gives a huge grin. "Yes Godspeed?" My face tells her that something is wrong. He looks so cute when he's worried about something... Ah! Come on Rose! Focus.. "What is it? Are you okay? We can wait here for you to get back your strength." she says, now coming up to me and nuzzling my leg much like a dog would. I laugh awkwardly at the her reaction. "No, it's not that at all. I should be fine in a little bit to continue on but...Um, well... you see.... I'm not exactly a pony and, uh, nobod- err, no pony has ever seen a human before." I don't get.... Rose's face turns from a look of happiness to one of worry in an instant. Oh no!! What if they freak out like I did!? What if they're scared of him?! And he's all alone, nobody of his own kind.. She sat down in befuddlement. Oh dear... his family!!! "I'm sorry, I didn't think of that!" She looks up at my face with her emerald eyes. "I was being so insensitive! How can you even stand being the only one of your kind here?! I would be so sad knowing that I can never go back home to my loved ones!" I tear myself away from her gaze and sorrowfully stare at the ground. "Well, I don't actually have any loved ones..." This elicits a gasp from her. How!? "..and the few friends I ever had were in the military. But they are all bound to the government so I probably won't be seeing them again..." What?! She tries to get me to look her in the eye, but I can't bear to bring my eyes to meet hers right now. "...and all we were taught to do there was how to kill something, anything quickly efficiently." Another gasp. Him, a soldier!? Well, he did save me from that hydra.. Her face transformed to one of major concern and then after a few moments of shock, she shook her head to clear her thoughts. But he's so nice! I find it hard to believe that he could kill anything, but maybe I don't know him as well as I thought I did... My face whips back to hers at this. "But don't worry! I haven't actually killed anything yet, it was all just training but...." OH THANK CELESTIA!! She visibly sagged in relief on her hanches. I look away again in embarrassment. "I don't know... I just couldn't bring myself to kill anything. I mean I would out of necessity, like if my life was in danger or if my loved one, if I had any, were going to die but... Ugh, I don't know! I just can't go back, I don't WANT to go back there, even if I could." He.. lost everyone. He lost his family, his friends and his home...he didn't even have someone to love... Rose, now crying profusely from this sad story, gets on her back legs bringing her into a standing postition and puts both of her hooves on both sides of my face, forcing me to look back into her rich green eyes. "I am so sorry! I didn't know!" He just wants to be loved! To be needed... Her face twisted into one of determination a thought crept into her mind. Her mind screamed that this was wrong, but in her heart she knew it was right. I-I'LL BE THAT SOMEONE!! she shouts in her mind. She then pushes me over onto my back and wraps both of her front legs (arms?) around my head, closes her eyes and proceeds to give me a big wet kiss right on my mouth. What the?!..!?!.. My eyes pop open wide from surprise and but as she continues passionately kissing me, my eyes close half way and wrap my arms around her. I just let it happen, happy that someone cares for me for once. My mind races all the while. ..What the frick is she doing?! Where did THAT come from!?! Oh no... is this wrong!? I am kissing a pony!!.. but she's a person, she is more than some simple animal, she is a SOMEONE. She is essentially like a human, just with different body parts. And she is a.. a special someone. I think back to the look of concern she had on her face when she realized how fatigued I was from carrying her all night long for a moment. I've never seen that concern directed toward me: My parents were either dead or didn't care about me since birth, the orphanage didn't care, the military didn't care but she did.... It is an entirely new sensation for me. My thoughts snap back to reality when she tugs a bit tighter around my neck, pulling me closer to her. Ah, and she is kissing me! Are all ponies this friendly? My eyes widen a bit. Oh gosh, I hope not! Heh, and the same time I hope so...but in a different way! Ugh, I can't think straight right now.... I realized at this moment, that I simply didn't care. Screw it, I have a beautiful young mare on top of me right now kissing me and I'm missing out. In my exhausted state and awkward position on the ground, I couldn't exactly return the kiss but I tried now. Her deep green eyes popped open for a second in surprise at the sudden pressure back, but then smiled while still kissing me and returned the favor wholeheartedly. We did this for a few more minutes and lost ourselves in the moment. It was just her and me. Rose finally pulls her head back to get a breath and then, realizing fully now what she had done, looks away abashedly and blushes a deep burgundy color like the color of her hair and cutie mark. "Uh.. thank you?" I say blushing red as well and smiling awkwardly at the sudden burst of emotion from the young mare on top of me. She had trouble making eye contact again until I put my hands on the side of her face and gently turn her head towards me. "No really, thank you. I've never had anyone care about me before." I say softly looking deep into her rich green eyes. She just blushes an even deeper red and buries her head into my chest in embarrassment. I just let us lay there, on the edge of the forest, for what seemed like hours. I felt like we were the only two people in the world, if only for a short time. Eventually she and I fell asleep in the shade of the forest, her, tired from all the crying and me, the exhaustion from carrying her all night finally catching up to me. And as my eyes started fluttering closed, I smiled thinking, I don't know how this day could get any better. Chapter 5Unconsciousness and.... darkness. I feel myself falling, unable to control my decent. Confusing imaging fill my mind, filtering down thought by thought until finally, I catch myself as I run through the dark woods of my life. I am searching, groping for something to be founded upon.... but my woods are not so dark as it’s the tinted lenses I am looking through that cut out the brightness and clarity that I once had. My quest to find a beacon, a guide, a functional direction to follow is only dampened by my own apathy. I will my body to stop running but it fails to respond to any sort of stimuli. How can I be sprinting so fast but unable to move? My own negative thoughts and my own falsified data leads to such a dark, foggy run that I cannot help but break down. I weep in the brokenness, in the darkness, in the confines of my mind at my inability to control myself. I am angry, happy, loathsome, kind, harsh, forgiving, loving and hating all with such an intensity, that I feel as if I'm going to explode. How can all of these emotions live within me without tearing me apart at the seams? Maybe they can't. I feel as if I am nothing, a broken shell of the man I could be. I feel as if a blind has been pulled across my face, preventing me from seeing the beautiful landscape of my life before me... but it is not an outside source that has dulled my senses. It is I. These brooding thoughts continue and the more I run, the darker things seem to get and yet, I keep my silly little glasses on like an addiction, like a habit that won’t be broken without serious mind power. The surface of my mind is muddied, the reflection of my life oddly twisted and contorted, like trying to look at yourself in water while some great beast is churning up the once life-giving liquid and I am far too concerned about how I am perceived to see that it is rapidly approaching me, ready to consume me. Then, in the darkness of my mind, six words resonate: What am I holding on to? The light from the midday sun is filtering down through the trees, sending moving shadows down on top of me and Rose as we sleep on the edge of the grand Equestrian forest. I bolt upright breathing heavily but in my state, I forgot that Rose was on my chest while we slept which, now that I realize, probably wasn't very comfortable since I still have my full military gear on. I hear a loud *YELP!* of surprise and then a moment later, a "OOOF!!" as Rose hits the ground a few feet away. Rose, now dazed, tries to get up and then, after a few seconds of stumbling, falls back down again and tries to get her bearings. "What in Equestria happened?.?...." I quickly brought back down my breathing rate before I spoke. "Heh, sorry about that." I say, rubbing the back of my neck. "I don't know what came over me. I just had the craziest dream..." She shot me a quick look of worry and then trotted over and nuzzled my chest, totally forgetting about getting thrown a few feet just seconds ago. "What was it about? It must of been crazy for you to throw me off like that!" This girl is just too good for me. I smile down at her but she sees a look of trepidation slowly cloud my features. "Hmmm... well, at first I didn't even know what was happening, there was just blackness. But then the sensation of falling came over me. I don't know for how long or at what speed, but I plummeted down until my feelings changed. I was no longer falling, but running from.... something." "Was it the hydra!?" Rose gasped as she remembered back to the great beast which almost took her and my life. I smiled at this. "Haha no, no, it was something different." My face changed once again as I looked off into the distance, but it was a totally different emotion than before, something that Rose hadn't even seen when I faced the hydra: Fear. And that scared her more than anything. "It was something far worse." Rose looked anxiously in anticipation and compassion and her voice shook a little when she said, "W-What was it?" My tone deepened in pitch and intensity as I almost whispered, "It was me."
Chapter 1Author's Note: So this is my first story ever on fimfiction so tell me if you guys like it and if you do, I'll post part 2 soon! And please, just constructive criticism. Thanks!! Well, this isn't going exactly as planned. Godspeed thinks to himself. Ha, understatement of the century. Trapped. End of the line. Life giving oxygen slowly getting sucked out from the facility the government sent him to infiltrate. Why couldn't they give me an easier first assignment? How could the intel be so fricken off!? He thinks to himself as it's getting harder and harder to breathe. His training tells him that he's only got a couple more minutes left before he will pass out and then eventually asphyxiate. A lot of good my training's doing me now, huh? How did this even happen? He tries to remember back to the beginning where it all began. I guess now is a good time to reflect since I'm going to die and all that. He tries to laugh but the pain enters his head and lungs as the oxygen level is approaching critical only letting him cough. He sets his head against the wall feeling defeated, a failure. He looks up sadly and thinks, Ugh, how could it come to this?.... 5 years ago Seth aka 'Godspeed' as his buddies in the military had dubbed him, was a 17 year old guy but was recruited, well more like drafted, by the government at the age of 12 from an orphanage because of his "unique" skills as a tactician and his overall aptitude. "No one has ever seen this level of brain activity before!" his handler had said to him years ago as they sat on a bench in front of the building he called the "Company", trying to explain to young Seth why the government had yanked him from his orphanage in a whirlwind of men in suits and flashed badges. Seth's confused face drove the handler to explain further. "Okay, so this is how a brain works: it receives data, analyzes data, weighs the consequences of different actions and acts upon the ones deemed most logical for the given situation. The brain does this every nanosecond, bio-electrical signals course though your nervous system and tell muscles what to do and when. It really is a truly remarkable thing, but for some reason your brain seems to do this a bit faster than most people." When the young boy started getting super excited about this and started asking a million questions, his handler lifted up a finger to silence him and then said, "I don't think you get it: yes the government will feed you, clothe you and in all other aspects provide for you, but only so long as you do exactly as they say. TO THE LETTER." When Seth gave him a confused face, the handler sighed and said, "Listen, what I'm going tell you right now, you can never tell anyone okay?" The boy nodded his head slowly. *sigh* "Okay, so they can't let someone like you go because of your talents but they won't ever, EVER hesitate to kill you if you do something they disagree with. You are too much a security risk to ever live a normal civilian life." Despite the look of dismay that came across the young 12 year old's face, his handler said "Your life belongs to the military now. We are your family... but you can never leave. For your own good, don't ever cross the will of the government because.... well, you know that show that you were watching, uh what is it, My Little Pony?" Seth nodded his head even more slowly and hesitantly than last time, knowing that that this was the one thing in his life that really meant anything to him. The only way he had experienced any kind of real joy and happiness was though watching that show. Growing up in an orphanage meant that no kids got the attention they needed, especially when in this orphanage you were lucky if they remembered to feed you, much less love you. Kids were forced to fight their fellow orphans for food. Hate fueled by hunger gripped them all in a deadly vice-like grip. My Little Pony had been his escape from life. Everyday he wished for friends like Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity in the lonely orphanage, everyday he wished for a savior and everyday no one had come to take him away from this wretched place... until the government came. "It speaks of love, kindness, compassion, acceptance and crap like that right?" Seth froze, the boy staring in horror at this man that he had hoped, up until now, would take him away from his previous life of sorrow and pain. Panic gripped his heart. And as this young boy sat there, stricken in fear, his handler spoke in a quiet, dark tone and said, "Well, those dreams end today." Present Day I've come a long way from that scared little boy, haven't I? Godspeed knew he only had a minute left now and was trying to make the most of it. He smiled and chuckled to himself thinking, Of course I would botch up my very first mission. He stopped smiling and tried to remember where he went wrong. I don't get it though, I did it all by the book. Then the memories flooded though his mind. 3 days ago "Congratulations son, you're the first to graduate in your squadron!" A great cheer goes up. "Congratulations son, you're the second to graduate in your squadron!" A huge cheer goes up. "Congratulations son, you're the third to graduate in your squadron!" A loud cheer goes up. 15 minutes later "Congratulations son, you're the 19th graduate in your squadron!" *silence* "....and it seems everyone is at the party. Don't mind me, run along son." "Thank you sir!" says the private as he rushes off to join his friends. *sigh* "And then Godspeed, what the heck are you doing in the back at number 20!? I know for a fact that you got better grades and better combat marks than all of these yahoos combined!!" "Haha thank you Colonel, but I'm fine with being in the back." "I sure do appreciate some good humbleness every now and then but this is just getting ridiculous!" Godspeed smiled back at his dear and, well, only friend in the military. "Now that everyone is gone I can tell you something." "What is that Colonel?" "You know you don't have to call me Colonel when it's just you and me Godspeed." Godspeed grinned and said, "Oh I know, I just like seeing you get flustered from time to time." "Oh fine then, have it your way PRIVATE!" Godspeed started cracking up. "Hey, this is serious business I'm about to tell you! Do you want to hear it or not!?" "Of course." Godspeed said calming down now. "Okay... so apparently despite your humbleness, people higher up have really noticed your abilities and because of your, uh, 'talent' for quick thinking they have decided that instead of going with the rest of the squadron, you will be having a separate solo test, off the record." "Off the record?" "Yeah. Apparently this one is top priority too, so it will be in 3 days." "3 DAYS!?!" "Yessir, 3 days." "Do I have a briefing?" "Consider this your briefing." "Okay then.... What do you got for me?" The Colonel laughed and said, "Don't worry Godspeed, it should be a cake walk: Just get in, grab some blueprints and get out. Easy as pie." 1 hour ago The whirring of the helicopter was deafening, not to mention the sound of a hundred thunderbolts being driven down towards the earth from the massive black layer of clouds covering the sky. Godspeed stood on the edge, waiting for the signal from the pilot to dive off of this crazy machine kept aloft by just some pieces of metal buzzing around in a large circle on top of the helicopter like there's no tomorrow. "Sir, you are go! The DZ directly underneath us! GO GO GO!!!" This my favorite part. Godspeed thought sarcastically. "GERONIMO!!!" And then Godspeed jumped. 30 minutes ago Shrouded in black kevlar, Godspeed slowly made his way to the facility. The storm made everything darker except for when lightning struck but if he did this right, they wouldn't even know what hit them. Now despite being in the military, Godspeed had made one pact to himself: He would never, EVER kill another person if he had another way, anyway to achieve his mission without endangering the lives of others. That was one reason why he loved the idea of stealth missions: you're a lone gunman with only your wits as back up and you didn't actually need to kill anyone if you could think of a way and Godspeed could see a way to disable the guards without killing them: Tranquilizer rifle. Ha, I totally feel like James Bond right now with this awesome gun. He was 20 yards away from the entrance now and a guard was looking away at the exact moment he got to his position. He smiled and then said to himself quietly, "Sleep tight." 15 minutes ago With the guard's clothes over his kevlar adding to his size, he could be mistaken for 20 instead of 17 which made it easier to slip past the security booth undetected and now that he was in the facility, it was time to get to work. Janitorial Closet.... Conference Room A..... B..... C..... Yada yada. Ah! Laboratory. Bingo. Godspeed looked inside and to his dismay, there was over 15 people in there including scientists and guards. Now the trick is to take the blueprints undetected which will be extremely tricky considering that's what they're actually building their, uh machine off of. What was it again? I wish it wasn't so classified that I, the one who's going to fricken steal it, can't even know what it is!! *sigh* Here goes nothing. Then he opened the door and walked in. 5 minutes ago "...and that's 17 sleeping people. And I definitely don't want to be here when you wake up with that crazy headache. Chloroform gas, even in small doses, can really mess with your head." Godspeed looked around satisfied and then took off his gas mask and kevlar. "Who would of known this laboratory had it's own supply of air? It took like 10 minutes of talking to the scientists while some how not letting the guards get a good look at me but when one of them mentioned the air containment for this project I just asked one of them where their supply of chemicals was and bam, problem solved." Looking around, Godspeed sees what he was sent her for lying on one of the many workstations arrayed around an odd circular ring. "So then, blueprints: check." He was incredibly tempted to read this small piece of paper that everyone was freaking out about in depth but the military side of him took hold. "Nope, I'm not going to read this. It's not for my eyes, but I do need to get out of he......" Just then, the lights went out and a thunderous voice over the loud speaker said, "FOREIGN CONTAMINANT IDENTIFIED, SEALING ALL DOORS." The doors all slid shut and a hissing sound was heard. Godspeed knew what that meant. The voice continued, "PLEASE GIVE IDENTIFICATION OR ATMOSPHERE WILL BE VENTED." "....ah crap." "IDENTITY NOT VALID, VENTING ATMOSPHERE." Present day Godspeed sat there, thinking about his past life, his failures and triumphs, in his final moments. Looking down at the stupid paper he gave up so much for, gave up so much to get only to die with it in literally in his hands. The military had been his home and he owed his life to them.... or did he? They said he could never leave, that the would never be free. As he thought this, he got more and more angry. *cough, hack* "You know what?" *cough* "Screw it! I'm going to freakin read this!!" Godspeed opened up the paper and started reading. And then he started wondering how he could read it at all. Didn't the lights go out when they started venting the atmosphere? Then he started realizing that a soft purplish blue aura of light was coming from behind him and slowly and painfully got up, coughing and hacking the whole time. His breath was becoming extremely labored and getting up only made this worse. But he had to see what this thing was. And what he saw he couldn't believe he laid his eyes on. That odd circular thing that all of the workbenches were facing towards in the lab was glowing on the inside of the circle. It reminded him of thin layer of water, except luminescent as if the 'water' glowed with an other worldly glow and just on the other side of the 'water' was another place. Another.... "Dimension." Godspeed said, his mouth hanging wide open. ...but then he coughed again, reminding his of his dire need for oxygen. "Well then," he said, getting back on his kevlar, "let's see what secrets you hold." He took out his gun, checked the ammo.... With a wry smile he joked, "To boldly go where no man has gone before." ....and then he stepped through.
Chapter 2The first thing Godspeed felt was being torn apart at the seams. "AAAAGGG-!!!" He had only put his foot in the event horizon of the aperture but the moment he did the rest of his body was sucked in, cutting him off in mid scream. Now he could only be silent as he was ripped apart molecule by molecule and thrown at tremendous speeds towards the other end of the rift. Faster and faster he was propelled through the wormhole and after what seemed like hours he reached the other end and was finally reintegrated, only to be launched 20 feet forward from the speed of his travel. He hit the ground and skidded on his chest and then after sliding a few yards he finally came to a screeching halt. Battered and bruised it didn't take long for the darkness to set it, closing his mind to the world and welcoming him into warm blessed unconsciousness. The first thing he saw was the shadows of leaves playing across his eyelids. Godspeed slowly and painfully opened up his eyes, trying to get his bearings. As he sat up, he noticed that he was under a tree which was granting him shade and respite from the heat of the sun. Then he started grimacing from the pain coming from his torso. He wondered why his chest hurt so badly and then saw the skid marks on the ground where he had landed after his hard landing. "Ugh, remind me to never do that again." he groaned, rubbing his sore muscles. His military training took over as he started checking his gears and gun, making sure everything was in order before doing anything else. He then tentatively stood up and cracked his back then started stretching, trying to get limber. After a few minutes of stretching, he switched to some kinesthetics to fully get his blood pumping and to wash away the acid built up in his muscles. Finally loosened up, he looked around and noticed that he was in the middle of a great beautiful forest. "Where am I?" he wondered aloud. He became lost in thought. Everything seemed so lush and peaceful that he started questioning if there were indeed any predators at all in such a place... A scream echoed through the forest. He turned around only to see a great monster about 200 feet away that was easily 6 stories high with three huge heads with a thicket of razor sharp teeth lining each of it's mouths snarling and growling as it was chasing something. He could barely make it out but it looked like a red and pink hair and cream colored... "PONY!?!" he nearly shouted as he stood stunned. Something seems familiar about that pony.... Then when he realized what he had recognized this pony from, the memories came back to him from when he was a boy, "Wait, whoa Whoa WHOA! AS IN 'MY LITTLE PONY'!?" He stood there dumbfounded for a moment longer, but his military training quickly kicked in when she screamed again, taking him out of his stupor. It was gaining. He shook his head, "Now I don't know what the crap is going on here but I gotta save it!.... uhh, her!" He then took his gun out and sprinted as fast as lightning on a intercept course towards the terrorized pony who was running deeper into the forest, trying desperately to get away from this nightmarish creature. She sprinted as fast as she could but in her desperation she ran from the open forest into a field of rock faces that created a sort of natural canyon. She ran until she came to the end of the canyon and her eyed widened in horror when she realized what she'd done. She was trapped. Godspeed felt something stirring deep within him as was sprinting, causing him to run twice the speed a normal man can run. Man, there must be something in the air because I feel stronger and faster than ever before! He was just entering mouth of the canyon when he heard another scream. No time for that now. "I'm coming!" he shouted. He urged himself to go even faster. Branches whipped past him as he sprinted at breakneck speed through the chasm, dodging fallen trees, rocks and other rubble from the destructive force of the beast. Godspeed soon reached the end of the canyon and saw the monster slowly advancing on the pony. He could now make out the pony in detail as she was now backed up against a giant rock face and crying pitifully on the ground as the monster got closer and closer. He also noticed she had a picture of a rose on her flank. What is it called? A sign? A mark? A cutie mark!! Man, I haven't even thought about that show in like 5 years! The monster's three heads all roared as one in triumph when they saw that their prey was trapped and started closing in for the kill. Wait, no time to think! I've got to find some way to take out or at lease distract this thing! But my tranqs won't even begin to put this thing to sleep. With eagle eyes he saw a long rod-like stick that he could use as a quarterstaff, altered course towards it, dived and rolled on top of it, snatching it up in the process. His military drill sergeant taught him well. 3 years ago "Okay men listen up! On today's agenda is survival combat training! Now many of you will be temped to just use your fists in this exercise but balling up your hands and flinging them randomly towards an adversary won't help you in a real engagement, especially when your fighting mountain lions in the wild!" "Now having a gun is always nice, but here in the military we don't always play nice! Here, we like to get down and dirty! The best weapon for fighting single or even multiple enemies in the wilderness is a quarterstaff. Lieutenant Forge here will demonstrate." Forge, an average height but lean built officer, walked up to a large recruit nicknamed "The Hulk" by his squadron for his massive frame and tendency to get angry and handed him a guard baton while keeping a quarterstaff for himself. "Here, take this and try to hit me." "Uh, sir?" the unsure cadet said, his face twisted in confusion. "Just do it son." "Okay then sir..." Everyone backed off and created a circle around the combatants as Hulk cracked his neck from side to side and then looked down at Forge for his consent. Forge nodded, readying his quarterstaff in front of him with both hands spread apart on the smooth piece wood. Hulk gave a battle cry and charged. To everyone around, it looked as if he would pummel the shorter man into submission in a single blow. They were wrong. Forge quickly parried the blow off to the side within a split second of it pummeling him on his shoulder and immediately reposted with three quick smacks and jabs directed at the larger man's stomach. Hulk recoiled, stunned and ashamed that he couldn't hit the man he considered inferior to him physically. "See that cadets? Despite the fact that Forge here is weaker than this large man here, no offense..." "None taken." "..he was still able to best him because of three things: he was more experienced, he was better positioned and he had a weapon capable of both deflecting incoming attacks effectively and dealing damage sharply and swiftly." "Now start practicing cadets! But instead of just GIVING you a quarterstaff, we will put all of them about 20 paces from you. And the person who gets their weapon first gets to go directly to the mess hall while the rest of you run 15 miles!" There was a murmur among the cadets as the staffs were laid out in a line a short distance away. "I'll get that first quarterstaff! You chumps will be doing push ups while I'm chowing down in the mess hall!!" someone yelled. "No, It'll be me! I'll get one of those staffs! You just wait and see!!" someone else said. Multiple threats and boasts were tossed back and forth among the line of cadets but only one person didn't take part in the rivalries. Godspeed. He was already positioned like a runner, ready to take the prize at the finish line. "What are you waiting for!?" the drill sergeant barked. "GO!!!" Godspeed launched himself forward faster than anyone else and was soon coming up to the pile of rods but when he looked back he noticed that some were now gaining. You got this. he thought to himself. He yelled and in a sudden burst of speed he dove forward and rolled over the stack of staffs, picking one up as he went. Everyone moaned as he came out of his roll and triumphantly held up the quarterstaff. "Son," the drill sergeant said walking up to Godspeed, "I think you and I are going to get along just fine. Now let me teach you the basics of fighting and I'll even show you some moves that none of these yahoos will ever know...." Present Day Godspeed yelled a battle cry as he came out of his roll, startling the monster. As the beast slowly turned around, Godspeed repositioned himself directly behind it and firmly planted both feet in the ground. The monster turned fully around and, now seeing that the disturbance was another potential lunch, roared with all three of it's hideous heads, ready to chase down yet another easy target. But Godspeed would have none of that. He spread his hands over the staff, feeling the smoothness of the wood and getting a feel for the weapon. Smoothness: Check. He hit it against a near by rock to test the hardiness of the rod. Sturdiness: Check He weighted it in one hand and then quickly switched to double-handed, delivering a few quick jabs and parrying a few mock blows to test his form. Balance: Check Now the monster roared again and slowly started advancing, assured that he would finally get something to eat for all of his trouble. Godspeed spun the quarterstaff around his head and then brought it down into a defensive position in front of him. His heart started to run faster and faster but to Godspeed, time seemed to slow, to draw out as he took long deep breathes to ready himself for the battle ahead. And he saw everything. He saw the cream colored pony laying on the ground at the foot of the rock face crying, tears streaming down her snout and heard her pleading under her breath. "Please don't eat me! Please don't eat me!" He saw the wrecked trees slowly swaying and in all manner of disarray and decimation from the freight train of a force that recently swept through. He saw the scrape marks on the ground from massive clawed feet and the shredded pieces of rock, now turned to rubble, littering the ground around him. And then he saw it, the source of all of the pain and devastation. It was a colossal 70 feet tall with a set of maroon eyes on each of it's three heavily muscled heads with razor sharp teeth lining it's mouths. It had huge spikes going down it's necks all the way down to its tail that looked like they could saw a tree in two with a single swipe. It had claws the size of a full grown pony made to keep a grip in any kind of terrain and powerful feet to propel this monstrosity surprisingly fast for its bulk. And it was slowly advancing, barring it's teeth and getting ready to strike at any moment and consume anything that it could get a hold of. 100 feet away. 90 feet away. Godspeed laughed at his awareness of everything, every little detail, every flaw in the landscape and in the creature in front of him, happy that if these would be his final moments, that they would be spent like this. Awareness. 80 feet. He then then focused on the monster and readied his muscles for the fight ahead. 70. Godspeed smiled to himself and said, "Hello, beastie." 60. Then the creature struck.
Chapter 31st Person The first thing I feel is the ground receding beneath me as three demonic heads with razor sharp teeth snap at where I had been only moments ago. What the..!?!.. I think, confused as my body tucked into a ball and started spinning backwards in mid air. ..crap is going on here?!... The world goes sideways and I see the hydra retracting it's heads after the initial failed attack. ....And now I'm upside down. My legs come out of the somersault moments before landing and then fully extend just in time to land a perfectly executed backflip 10 feet away from where I was previously standing. "Now where did THAT come from!!" I say, my eyes widening in surprise. The hydra looked equally surprised and after a moment of indecision, starts coming towards me once again. "Okay so first I encounter a 70 foot hydra, run ten times faster than any man ever has in history and now my body is doing flips without me even telling it too! Well this is just fricken insane!!" I shout out in confusion, feeling both frustrated and a little freaked out at the same time, completely forgetting the colossus standing in front of me. A roar echos through the canyon as the monstrous creature lashes out again with one of it's heads. Smack! I quickly uppercut the giant maw with the butt of my quarterstaff while dancing away from the deadly assault. The hydra recoils from pain and as one, the three heads rear up and let loose a bloodcurdling scream. They immediately snap back to attention and balefully stare at me with their blood red eyes. I stare back, my quarterstaff in a defensive position and my legs spread apart in readiness. The beast looks me over, trying to understand how it couldn't simply crush the life from this pathetically small creature it wanted for lunch. I can see the malice in the creatures eyes as it sizes me up and I take this opportunity to start looking for a weakness in the hydra's defense. My eyes wander to it's three mouths. Can't let even one of those teeth nab me or it's game over. I look down at it's heavily muscled neck, naturally strengthened for quick effective kills by darting forward and snatching up prey at impossible distances. I need to make sure to either get out of range completely or get up close and personal where it's height won't be so much an advantage as a hindrance. I see it's humongous talons on it's short but massive scaled legs. ...maybe being right in front of the massive hydra isn't such a good idea after all. I've got to take it out from behind then. That's the plan. But as I say this, I remember the massive spikes capable of cutting a pony in half running down extending down it's back, going all the way down to the tip of it's tail. I'm starting to get angry now. ....gaaaaaaAAAWWD DAMN IT!! Does this thing have any weaknesses!? The hydra cautiously starts creeping forward, it's heads bobbing from side to side looking for the perfect opportunity to strike. I quickly snap out of my musings and glance worriedly at the multiple heads that are getting into position above me. "THAT'S IT!" I yell in frustration. "Either I'm going to beat you up so bad, you'll go running home to your ugly oversized mother or I'll die trying! But you're NOT going to have me or this pony for dinner!!" gesturing to the cream colored mare still cowering against the cliff face with my quarterstaff. The hydra is looking directly down at me now from three different directions while it's main body is not more than 30 feet in front of me. "What are you waiting for!? LET'S DO THIS!!" (Leroy Jenkins reference) Then the head on the far right strikes downward, mouth wide open, ready for some meat. Smack! I quickly hit the hydra's head in the temple, sending it careening into a pile of rocks next to me but as I do this, the second head strikes, trying to catch me off guard. Not today. Wam! I jump up and slam the butt of the staff into it's ugly face and while the the head smashes into the ground, sending a billow of sand up into the air, the third attacks from behind. Expecting to come away from this attack with some well deserved meat, it's mouth is wide open while attacking, but as I hit the second head, I use the impact of the attack to send me into a front flip, landing behind the creature's main body with just a few inches to spare. But the hydra couldn't stop. The momentum of it's attack carries it through the air where it's lunch had been... ....and into its brethren. The heads collide and the teeth of the third clamped down on it's own brother. RAAAAAAAAAAWWWWRRR! The second one, now bleeding, viciously retaliates against the third, bites the side of its face and then all hell breaks loose. They start attacking each other in a frenzy and bite on the neck, face and nose, ripping off huge sections of scales and the red meat underneath. Once I saw that the hydra was distracted, I sprint over to the crying pony and try to get her up. "Come on, we've got to get out of here!" I shout, trying to make my voice heard over the din of the battle going on behind me. "no, no I can't..." she weakly replies, tucked into a sobbing little cream, red and pink colored ball on the ground. "Ugh, come on!! Do want to get eaten or not!?" A bit harsh but I got the point across as she cringed and then tries to stand. "I-I c-can't!" she sobs, falling down again into a ball as her legs shake from fear. "Fine then! If you're not come with me, then I'm going to carry you!" (haha LOTR much?) I pick up the ball o' weeping young mare and then start sprinting past the feuding hydra heads as fast as I can without dropping her. I quickly increase my speed fifteen-fold, passing the devastated foliage in a blur, running even faster than I did before. Last time I was coming to the aid of another, but now I'm running for my life and hers. Come on... we gotta get out of this canyon! It's a death trap. I think as I'm sprinting. I run like no one ever has before, defying the laws of physics and after a few minutes of running at breakneck speeds, we come out of the barren chasm into the lush green forest I first ended up in. "*gasp*..Thank....God!" I say panting heavily slowing down. I stop for a few minutes to let my breath return to normal again and then I listen for the sound I'm dreading most: The roaring of the hydra. After listening for a minute I'm relieved to hear nothing but the sounds of the local fauna around us. "Phew! That was crazy! I definitely don't want to do THAT again!" I say out loud. I hear a small whimper and then remember about the young mare who I saved and held for the past 15 minutes or so. I look down to see that she had passed out from exhaustion and was now sleeping in my arms. Now I have questions, SO many questions like: "How the heck am I here?!" and "I thought My Little Pony was just a TV show! How is this possible!?" but I realize that it's probably not a good idea to wake her up right now after such a terrifying experience. She probably just wants to block out the world for a little while after what she went through. And I can't say I blame her. I think sympathetically. "And she looks so peaceful..." I whisper and smile at her when she let out a cute little noise, obviously dreaming about something far better than reality. I look around and then sigh, "But I have no idea where to go! I'm completely lost in this forest and the only person..er, pony who knows the way is out like a light." "Speaking of light, it's starting to get dark now too." I say noticing the sun slowly heading down towards the mountains that ring the land. "Soon it will be night fall and then maybe even crazier monsters will come out." I say gulping. Dang it, I have to get her up. I think glancing down at the mare. But as I look down on her, I begin to notice her details for the first time out of a combat situation. She is a cream colored pony and has a short red mane with a pink streak in it. She is a small and delicate girl and only recently entered marehood. I look down at her flank and see that she has the cutie mark of a vibrant red rose with rich green leaves on it. I know she must have been on the show I watched years ago when I was just a boy. What was her name.... "R-Rose?" I ask gently. She wakes up and stretched in my arms a bit, her hooves extending above her head. Then she slowly opens up her eyes and then blinks a few times to get adjusted to her surroundings. Then she glances around in confusion and then her deep green eyes lock onto me. Then she screams. "AH!! Who are you!? WHAT are you!?! What's going on?! Let go of me!" She struggles violently, kicking and punching, and tries to get out of my arms. I attempt to hold her as she freaks out. "Hey it's okay!! My name is Godspeed! I'm a human!... Dang it, you don't know what that is. But I saved you from the hydra! Don't worry, you're safe with me!" I say frantically, trying to contain this ball of flying hooves. She suddenly calms down as the days events dawn on her and stops pounding me on my chest. Her eyes widen and the tears start to flow. She grabs my shirt and starts sobbing into it, "I'm so sorry! I was so scared that I didn't even know what to do! That creature chased me for miles and you saved me! You saved me with out even thinking and I never even thanked you! Thank you SO much! I won't ever forget it!" Rose wept into my chest for another 15 minutes until the tears finally started slowing down and all the while I hold her tight in my arms, comforting her by stroking her mane softly. She was now crying fitfully but the fits stopped in a short time. Rose let go of my shirt and laid back in my arms sighing, clearly tired from all of that crying and from all of the excitement of the day, "Thank you.... what was your name again?" "Godspeed" I say after a moment of indecision. If I want to start a life here, I'd like it to be based off of friendship. Godspeed was a name given to me by my few friends in the military so I think it's fitting that I be called that. Rose looks up, her eyes the color of emerald forest pools and her face still wet from all of the tears, kisses me on the cheek and then blushes a deep red. "Thank you again Godspeed. I just can't thank you enough. My name is Rose." I'm transfixed on her deep green eyes. I can't pull away. Those eyes... Wait? Oh thank goodness she didn't notice that I already knew her name! I guess it's her cutie mark anyways... She continues, saying, "You saved my life back there and what you did... It was amazing! How did you move so fast?... What was it that you said you are again?" I blush a little bit but can't bring myself to take my eyes away from hers. "I'm a human. Heh, I'm not exactly from around here." Her eyes widen as she surveys my 5' 7' height from my arms. "Are ALL humans as tall and as fast as you?" I look away abashedly and say, "No, I'm actually just average for my kind. And about what happened back there, I honestly don't what came over me. Where I come from, people aren't even one-twentieth as fast as I was. I was surprised as you were." Hmmm, maybe she knows what's going on. I mean, this is her home and all. "Do you know how this could happen to me?" She looked as confused as I do and stares thoughtfully off into space but after a few seconds just shakes her head and says, "I don't know either...." I look disappointedly off into the distance. Man, I was hoping for some explanation for all of this... "....but I know someone who might!" I perk up at this and look down at her again as she continues. "Her name is Twilight Sparkle." Oh, I know that name... I think. Best keep all that I know on the down low though. Just pretend like you don't know anything. "Then what are we waiting for?" I say beaming down at her. Rose blushes a little bit at this but then says laughing, "You tell me! You're supposed to be the gallant knight who saved the mare and whisks her off home to live happily ever after!" I turn beet red at this and she laughs at my reaction. That may have been a bit too much. Rose thinks. But he is such a charmer! What did he say he was? A human? What is that? I recover quickly and say, "But I don't know the way! I only just got here an hour ago!" Okay, so he's not from around here... well, obviously, I doubt anyone has heard of a human in Equestria before! I'll have to ask Twilight about his kind. She must know something about them with all of those books in the library... Rose looks up at me questioningly. "Really? How?" I was about to answer her but then I notice that the sun was now reaching reaching the horizon. "Uh, that might need to be saved for another time. It's suns already starting to set and we aren't anywhere near a town yet." *sigh* If I couldn't see him, I could swear that he's a pony! "There might be predators out there right now waiting to eat us!" My eyes go big as I jokingly look around as if they could burst out of the woods at any moment. And he seems to have a great sense of humor! Rose smiles and hits me playfully with her hoof, "Fine then, but I'll be expecting a full report by the morning! You sir, have a lot of explaining to do!" I laugh at this and smile back saying, "You can count on it. Now: Direction?" She looks around and then says, "Due North!" pointing to her left. I position myself as she instructs and start the long trek in that direction, "Okay then, LET'S DO THIS!!" (Leroy Jenkins FTW!) I really like this col...er, human? What is the word for a male human? And he is so much fun to foal around with! She laughs at this and says, "You're funny, Godspeed." I just smile down at her and say, "Now you just sit tight now and I'll have you home in no time." *sigh* Who cares, he saved my life and is taking care of me now. Rose looks up into my hazel eyes. And for some reason, I've never felt so safe... She nods her head and then sighs contentedly, closing her eyes and burying her muzzle in my shirt. I grin stupidly, wondering how my life could change so drastically in one day. For better or for worse, this is my life now.. I look down at the sleeping mare and then smile contentedly. ...and it seems to be better, that is for sure.
Chapter 4I walk all night long through the dark forest with Rose curled up asleep in my arms. The night was surprisingly calm with the exception of a close call with a manticore when we came to close to it's den and woke it up, but luckily it just wanted some peace and quiet and after growling at us for a few minutes it realized that we weren't any threat to it and turned around and went right back to sleep. I gave a quiet sigh of relief and was more than happy to leave him be as we continue on our way North. And now the sun is now just starting to peek over the opposite horizon from when we started when finally come to the edge of the forest. A road can be seen off in the distance with a multitude of ponies, trying to get a head start on the day and going busily along to whatever town they were traveling to. Luckily they can't see us from their current position or they would freak out at the 'monster' that was holding a pony in it's grip. I drop to my knees from a heavy dose of both exhaustion and relief. I look tiredly down at Rose, still asleep in my arms, and smile weakly, "R-Rose, w-we're out of the f-forest. F-Finally!" She wakes up slowly and then grimaces as her eyes flutter for a moment, adjusting to the bright beams of morning sunlight shining down on us. Once she gets used to the brightness, she looks up at me and softly smiles at me before noticing my current exhausted state. She gasps and says, "You carried me all night long?" with concern in her rich green eyes. "Heh, yeah." I say looking away, blushing a little at the emotion. Rose nuzzles my chest comfortingly and looks up at me again. "Thank you. You've done so much for me and I haven't done even anything for you!" She nudges me to let her down and I do so willingly, not because I don't enjoy holding this beautiful mare anymore but because my arms are extremely sore from holding her all night long. With her now on the ground in front of me, I realize that if I stood up, the top of her head would just come up to the bottom of my chest where my rib cage starts. Geez, I must look like a giant to them... and beautiful mare!? I don't know if I like how quickly I am adjusting to this world. They might think I'm some crazy, uh pony.. person? I don't know, for feeling that way. And she's not even my species! I think worriedly. I wonder what she thinks of me? She probably just thinks I saved her because I wanted to carry a young mare through the woods like some creep. I shake my head. Man, that sounds so ridiculously stupid now that I said it! She is just so innocent. I just hope she doesn't think badly of me... Meanwhile, from Rose's perspective... He is so nice, I can't believe he carried me all night long! *sigh* When you get over the shock of meeting a new species, he's actually not all that bad looking... She quietly stomps the ground with her right hoof with resolution. Compose yourself Rose! Don't let your emotions get in the way of your friendship!... *sigh* but he DID save your life... Rose shakes off her concerned face and looks up and smiles up at me. "We're no more than 2 miles from my hometown Ponyville where me and my two best friends Lily and Daisy live together." Her eyes widen with excitement. "Oh, I can't wait for you to meet them! I just know you will be the best of friends! They run a flower shop together..." She somehow got even more ecstatic with each sentence. "Oh! And I'll get to show you my rose garden! I just LOVE roses!" I wonder if... Oh my gosh! I will be the first friend of a new SPECIES! Rose was jumping up and down with glee. This is so cool! I look down at the ecstatic pony and give an awkward smile. "And the town! They'll like you for sure! *gasp!* And THEY will be your friends too! I just know it!" This is soooo exciting! All of my friends will just love him! My face now transforms to a look of major concern. "It will be so wonderful! I can't wa-" I clear my throat. "Uh, Rose?" I ask with my worried look. She looks surprised at me like she just noticed I was there even though I was all she was talking about for the last couple of minutes. She gives a huge grin. "Yes Godspeed?" My face tells her that something is wrong. He looks so cute when he's worried about something... Ah! Come on Rose! Focus.. "What is it? Are you okay? We can wait here for you to get back your strength." she says, now coming up to me and nuzzling my leg much like a dog would. I laugh awkwardly at the her reaction. "No, it's not that at all. I should be fine in a little bit to continue on but...Um, well... you see.... I'm not exactly a pony and, uh, nobod- err, no pony has ever seen a human before." I don't get.... Rose's face turns from a look of happiness to one of worry in an instant. Oh no!! What if they freak out like I did!? What if they're scared of him?! And he's all alone, nobody of his own kind.. She sat down in befuddlement. Oh dear... his family!!! "I'm sorry, I didn't think of that!" She looks up at my face with her emerald eyes. "I was being so insensitive! How can you even stand being the only one of your kind here?! I would be so sad knowing that I can never go back home to my loved ones!" I tear myself away from her gaze and sorrowfully stare at the ground. "Well, I don't actually have any loved ones..." This elicits a gasp from her. How!? "..and the few friends I ever had were in the military. But they are all bound to the government so I probably won't be seeing them again..." What?! She tries to get me to look her in the eye, but I can't bear to bring my eyes to meet hers right now. "...and all we were taught to do there was how to kill something, anything quickly efficiently." Another gasp. Him, a soldier!? Well, he did save me from that hydra.. Her face transformed to one of major concern and then after a few moments of shock, she shook her head to clear her thoughts. But he's so nice! I find it hard to believe that he could kill anything, but maybe I don't know him as well as I thought I did... My face whips back to hers at this. "But don't worry! I haven't actually killed anything yet, it was all just training but...." OH THANK CELESTIA!! She visibly sagged in relief on her hanches. I look away again in embarrassment. "I don't know... I just couldn't bring myself to kill anything. I mean I would out of necessity, like if my life was in danger or if my loved one, if I had any, were going to die but... Ugh, I don't know! I just can't go back, I don't WANT to go back there, even if I could." He.. lost everyone. He lost his family, his friends and his home...he didn't even have someone to love... Rose, now crying profusely from this sad story, gets on her back legs bringing her into a standing postition and puts both of her hooves on both sides of my face, forcing me to look back into her rich green eyes. "I am so sorry! I didn't know!" He just wants to be loved! To be needed... Her face twisted into one of determination a thought crept into her mind. Her mind screamed that this was wrong, but in her heart she knew it was right. I-I'LL BE THAT SOMEONE!! she shouts in her mind. She then pushes me over onto my back and wraps both of her front legs (arms?) around my head, closes her eyes and proceeds to give me a big wet kiss right on my mouth. What the?!..!?!.. My eyes pop open wide from surprise and but as she continues passionately kissing me, my eyes close half way and wrap my arms around her. I just let it happen, happy that someone cares for me for once. My mind races all the while. ..What the frick is she doing?! Where did THAT come from!?! Oh no... is this wrong!? I am kissing a pony!!.. but she's a person, she is more than some simple animal, she is a SOMEONE. She is essentially like a human, just with different body parts. And she is a.. a special someone. I think back to the look of concern she had on her face when she realized how fatigued I was from carrying her all night long for a moment. I've never seen that concern directed toward me: My parents were either dead or didn't care about me since birth, the orphanage didn't care, the military didn't care but she did.... It is an entirely new sensation for me. My thoughts snap back to reality when she tugs a bit tighter around my neck, pulling me closer to her. Ah, and she is kissing me! Are all ponies this friendly? My eyes widen a bit. Oh gosh, I hope not! Heh, and the same time I hope so...but in a different way! Ugh, I can't think straight right now.... I realized at this moment, that I simply didn't care. Screw it, I have a beautiful young mare on top of me right now kissing me and I'm missing out. In my exhausted state and awkward position on the ground, I couldn't exactly return the kiss but I tried now. Her deep green eyes popped open for a second in surprise at the sudden pressure back, but then smiled while still kissing me and returned the favor wholeheartedly. We did this for a few more minutes and lost ourselves in the moment. It was just her and me. Rose finally pulls her head back to get a breath and then, realizing fully now what she had done, looks away abashedly and blushes a deep burgundy color like the color of her hair and cutie mark. "Uh.. thank you?" I say blushing red as well and smiling awkwardly at the sudden burst of emotion from the young mare on top of me. She had trouble making eye contact again until I put my hands on the side of her face and gently turn her head towards me. "No really, thank you. I've never had anyone care about me before." I say softly looking deep into her rich green eyes. She just blushes an even deeper red and buries her head into my chest in embarrassment. I just let us lay there, on the edge of the forest, for what seemed like hours. I felt like we were the only two people in the world, if only for a short time. Eventually she and I fell asleep in the shade of the forest, her, tired from all the crying and me, the exhaustion from carrying her all night finally catching up to me. And as my eyes started fluttering closed, I smiled thinking, I don't know how this day could get any better.
Chapter 5Unconsciousness and.... darkness. I feel myself falling, unable to control my decent. Confusing imaging fill my mind, filtering down thought by thought until finally, I catch myself as I run through the dark woods of my life. I am searching, groping for something to be founded upon.... but my woods are not so dark as it’s the tinted lenses I am looking through that cut out the brightness and clarity that I once had. My quest to find a beacon, a guide, a functional direction to follow is only dampened by my own apathy. I will my body to stop running but it fails to respond to any sort of stimuli. How can I be sprinting so fast but unable to move? My own negative thoughts and my own falsified data leads to such a dark, foggy run that I cannot help but break down. I weep in the brokenness, in the darkness, in the confines of my mind at my inability to control myself. I am angry, happy, loathsome, kind, harsh, forgiving, loving and hating all with such an intensity, that I feel as if I'm going to explode. How can all of these emotions live within me without tearing me apart at the seams? Maybe they can't. I feel as if I am nothing, a broken shell of the man I could be. I feel as if a blind has been pulled across my face, preventing me from seeing the beautiful landscape of my life before me... but it is not an outside source that has dulled my senses. It is I. These brooding thoughts continue and the more I run, the darker things seem to get and yet, I keep my silly little glasses on like an addiction, like a habit that won’t be broken without serious mind power. The surface of my mind is muddied, the reflection of my life oddly twisted and contorted, like trying to look at yourself in water while some great beast is churning up the once life-giving liquid and I am far too concerned about how I am perceived to see that it is rapidly approaching me, ready to consume me. Then, in the darkness of my mind, six words resonate: What am I holding on to? The light from the midday sun is filtering down through the trees, sending moving shadows down on top of me and Rose as we sleep on the edge of the grand Equestrian forest. I bolt upright breathing heavily but in my state, I forgot that Rose was on my chest while we slept which, now that I realize, probably wasn't very comfortable since I still have my full military gear on. I hear a loud *YELP!* of surprise and then a moment later, a "OOOF!!" as Rose hits the ground a few feet away. Rose, now dazed, tries to get up and then, after a few seconds of stumbling, falls back down again and tries to get her bearings. "What in Equestria happened?.?...." I quickly brought back down my breathing rate before I spoke. "Heh, sorry about that." I say, rubbing the back of my neck. "I don't know what came over me. I just had the craziest dream..." She shot me a quick look of worry and then trotted over and nuzzled my chest, totally forgetting about getting thrown a few feet just seconds ago. "What was it about? It must of been crazy for you to throw me off like that!" This girl is just too good for me. I smile down at her but she sees a look of trepidation slowly cloud my features. "Hmmm... well, at first I didn't even know what was happening, there was just blackness. But then the sensation of falling came over me. I don't know for how long or at what speed, but I plummeted down until my feelings changed. I was no longer falling, but running from.... something." "Was it the hydra!?" Rose gasped as she remembered back to the great beast which almost took her and my life. I smiled at this. "Haha no, no, it was something different." My face changed once again as I looked off into the distance, but it was a totally different emotion than before, something that Rose hadn't even seen when I faced the hydra: Fear. And that scared her more than anything. "It was something far worse." Rose looked anxiously in anticipation and compassion and her voice shook a little when she said, "W-What was it?" My tone deepened in pitch and intensity as I almost whispered, "It was me."
