Just like to point out that this is not my best writing but I felt like posting this anyways. I'd love any feedback you guys could give me and I'll see you around.
The slow, light pitter-patter of the rain grew into a hard, heavy downpour as I walked back to my small apartment on the other side of The City. The tall steel structures loomed overhead as the rain soaked through my jacket and burrowed into my bones causing me to shake a bit. I had lived in The City for nearly two years and the weather never seemed to be sunny, always raining or the sun is just hidden from view by thick grey clouds. I heard yelling as I passed a gas station and as I looked over a gunshot echoed in the air, the cashier’s brains were plastered against the window, and the blood started pooling as the criminal ran out of the store a bag in his hand. Crime was all too common here and I just learned to live with it and move on, even when the victim was someone I knew. The smell of The City broke through the barrier of rain as the stench of decomposition and feces assaulted my nose. I pulled my jacket closer to try and keep warm as I increased my walking speed to a slow jog trying to reach my home before I caught ill.
When I reached my destination I could hear the faint sounds of sirens. I opened the door to the lobby as I said hello to my doorman who just grunted in response, his face buried into a magazine that I could only assume was pornographic. I walked up the stairs to the second floor and opened the door to my apartment, throwing my keys on the couch and heading into my bathroom. I splashed cold water onto my face as my hands rubbed against the beard that now occupied my face. I was never one to shave as I thought why bother and only did for a really special occasion which happened rarely. I sighed as I went into my kitchen to make something to eat. When my nightly routine of eating, taking a shower, and locking my doors with all five of my locks completed I fell down onto my bed to sleep, my brain shutting down as the gears halted.
My dreams were filled with memories of when The War broke out. I dreamt of those nights where firefights tore me from sleep, seeing ten soldiers being torn apart by an explosion, the sound of machine guns firing above my head, the heat from the grenades and missiles, and the smell of death and gunpowder. The time when a buddy’s head was torn clean off his shoulders by a sniper, the blood spraying into my eyes, everything that I had seen was flashed in quick succession.
I woke up in the cold sweat as a dim light was being projected into my room from the window. Slowly I got up from my bed and went into my bathroom to get ready for yet another day in this sickening city. When I had gotten dressed in a plain black T-shirt and blue jeans I ate breakfast, slowly swallowing the last of my burnt toast. I unlocked my door and stepped through into the hallway and turned back to lock the door but to my surprise I was not in the normal building that I should be in, instead I was standing in the middle of nowhere. Not a single person was around and I looked around and saw a castle that looked like it was connected to a mountain off on the horizon. Having nowhere else to go I decided the best course of action was to head to the castle and find out where the hell I was.
I walked and walked for hours and still the castle came no closer. Soon I became frustrated and thought about stopping to try and find a place to sleep that was not in the open but soon I was on my way to the castle once more, almost drawn to it. I climbed over a hill and saw a village in a valley and instantly I had made up my mind that I’d go there. When I reached the village I started to walk around, not seeing anyone. I walked around what seemed like a ghost town but when I turned the corner of a little flower shop I was greeted with the sight of ponies walking around. I was completely dumbfounded at what I was seeing and I was surprised that I didn’t faint right then and there. I continued on my way and found a wooden bench to sit on as I became light headed.
I sat there for what seemed like hours as I my mind raced, not wanting to slow down. I looked up into the big beautiful blue sky, not a single cloud obscured the yellow sun as its rays shone brightly down, warming my bones from years of neglect in The City.
I felt a light tap on the shoulder and I looked over to see an aquamarine pony looking at me I could tell it was a female. “Um, sorry to bother you but is this seat taken?” She asked pointing her hoof at the empty space next to me.
“No it isn’t.”
The pony sat down next to me and said, “So, what brings you here?”
“Not knowing where I am or how the fuck I got here in the first place,” I sighed, “sorry, I didn’t mean to use that kind of language, just a little scared right now.”
“I-it’s okay, everypony gets scared now and then. How about you let me help you, what’s your name?”
“M-my name?” I had think for a while as I didn’t use my name anymore, my colleagues and employers just called me Hazel.
“It’s Alexander, what about you?”
“Oh, my name’s Lyra!” She smiled at me and it was enough to make me smile too.
“Well Lyra, what do you do for a living?” I asked genuinely interested, my fear now forgotten.
“I play the lyre as that’s my special talent, indicated by my cutie mark.” She smiled again and pointed to her butt as I noticed that she did in fact have a lyre on it. This however made me notice that every other pony that I’ve seen had a mark on their butts too though at that point my brain was being overloaded and I passed out.
My eyes shot open as I could feel adrenaline rush through my veins as I awoke to yelling and the sound of hooves clattering against stone. My eyes shot open as I noticed I was lying face down in the dirt with a heavy object on top of me. I tried to lift the object off me when a blue hoofed leg fell into my field of vision and I was horrified, more hoofsteps pounded next to me as I froze. I could hear a gruff voice yell something and more hoofsteps which became increasingly quieter with each second. When I thought I was safe I quickly rolled away and the body came crashing down on the dirt as I clearly saw a male pony’s dead body, his body was filled with bullet holes.
“Hey you! Stop standing there like a bloody idiot and get the hell to some fucking cover!” A male voice shouted at me. I quickly turned my head to the source of the voice and saw a brown furred pony looking at me with a gun in his hooves. I scrambled over to him and hid behind the bit of wall he was using for cover. “Are you stupid or something? Standing in the middle of a battlefield, you could have been a casualty.” The pony put a lit cigar in his mouth as he checked for any hostiles.
“Not that I don’t appreciate you saving me but could you please tell me what the fuck is going on here?” I asked coughing and waving the cigar smoke away from me. I could tell he has been at this for a long time from the look of weariness that shone under his hard expression.
“Well, I’m not going to go into detail but we got a civil war raging here and shit is about to go down.” He looked over the side of his cover and handed me a pistol. “You know how to use one of these?” He asked blowing a puff of cigar smoke from the side of his mouth as he spit the lite cigar on the ground and stomped it out.
I grimaced, “Y-yea though I’d rather not.” The pony nodded at me as he opened a door to a house and gestured for me to follow him.
“Alright kid, I’m taking you back to base only open fire if fired upon and for the love of Luna DON’T give our position away.”
We weaved through the buildings which were ghosts of their former selves, walls being demolished, burning, and bullet holes were very common. Every window I looked through I saw ponies looking for any stragglers and when they found some they were executed on sight, blood sprayed over walls and flesh, grey matter, and bone flew in all directions. It made me sick at how no matter where I go death seems to follow always trying to send me to hell. We kept dodging soldiers like rats running from a cat trying to get to our beloved mouse hole. We reached the edge of town and he took me into a forest which didn’t look so inviting. He called it the Everfree Forest and it was the only safe haven for refugees of the civil war which was tearing their country apart. Brother against brother, friends against friends, and enemies working together to take down a greater foe, not a single pony was unaffected by the war. He told me that six mares used to use the elements of Harmony to take down any threats to Equestria but soon differences tore them apart as three sided with Celestia and three sided with Luna then the war broke out.
“We’ve been fighting for years; neither of the princesses wants to admit defeat.” He said stepping over a fallen tree.
“The victor will be the side who is willing to throw away more lives.” I said my mind giving me flashbacks about The War.
“How do you figure?”
“That’s the way it’s always been. War, war never changes.”
We soon reached a giant old tree that looked like it had stood there growing for ages, the bark was a rich deep brown but its branches were bare. The cold wind brushed against my face as the pony walked up to the tree and knocked a pattern, shortly after a secret door opened up and he motioned for me to follow him into the bowels of the tree. We descended down a staircase that was illuminated by a few torches here and there as the sound of his hooves and my shoes echoed off the walls.
“So, I never got your name.” I spoke softly trying not to echo.
“Names are for friends, you can call me Silver Eye.”
“Silver Eye huh? Guess you can call me Hazel then.” I thought back to my workplace in which no one was friends.
We continued in silence for a bit until we reached a door with a conversation happening on the other side. The voices were muffled and quiet so I was not able make a single thing out but soon the voices stopped as the door was opened.
“So Silver, you managed to not die AND you brought the human here as well. Very, very good.” The voice held a regal tone which belonged to a tall dark blue colored pony that had both a horn and wings stepped forward out of the shadows. “Allow me to introduce myself, I am Princess Luna of the New Lunar Republic, and you are?”
“I am called Hazel, Your Highness.” I knelt and bowed my head in a sign of respect when she mentioned the word ‘princess’.
“Please stand, I’m not as formal as my….sister.” She forced out the word sister through clenched teeth.
I stood up as I looked around the room and noticed that the aquamarine mare was standing further back and looked a bit nervous. She noticed me looking at her and she blushed and looked away quickly avoiding my eyes. I continued to scan the room seeing three mares right next to each other, one was looking at me with a doubtful expression, one was hiding her face from me, and the last one was smiling. The one on the right had a purple mane and white fur with a horn sticking out of her head. The one in the middle whom was smiling had pink fur and a puffy pink mane and the last one on the left had yellow fur with a pink mane with wings folded against her back. The three mares looked at me, then at each other as they began to whisper.
The white one walked up first. “So, you’re the human that came through the opening? You don’t look like much. Do you even know how to fire a weapon?” She seemed like the type of woman that wants only the very best.
“Yes I do. I fought in The War for three years. I specialized in Sabotage, Explosives, and Heavy Weaponry. I say ‘specialized’ because I haven’t used a weapon in ages, not since I was released from duty.” My face was straight but inside my mind was still useless and confused and now being assaulted with memories of The War.
“Hm, I guess you’ll do though I think a refreshment course is in order tomorrow.”
“Oh! Oh! Can I introduce myself now Rarity?!” The pink mare spoke up looking like she was going to burst with excitement.
The pony called Rarity sighed. “I guess Pinkie, just don’t kill him.”
Pinkie came bounding toward me as she pulled me into a hug. “Hi! My name is Pinkie Pie! What’s yours?!” She was almost crushing my chest with the hug.
“H-hazel.” I choked out as she finally released me from her iron grip. I took a deep breath of air as I put a hand on my chest feeling it rise and fall with my breathing.
Pinkie trotted back to the other side of the room, nodding to the yellow pegasus who came forward. “H-hi, I’m Fluttershy.” She was getting quieter as she talked but it was just loud enough for me to make it out.
“Hi.” I replied to her as I turned back to face Luna. “So, where do I fit into this?” I was praying it had nothing to do with killing. I didn’t want any more lives on my conscious.
“Yes, to the point. Scouts reported that Celestia was working on bringing a human to Equestria to help end this, so where you fit in is you’re going to help us win this and not my sister. You can do things ponies can’t and we need those things done if we want to win this.”
“Really? Tell me Luna why should I help you? I was just transported here, I have no fucking idea what is going on. So, you give me a good reason why I shouldn’t just walk the fuck out and leave, and I’ll consider.” I was getting angry. I am not someone’s plaything that they can manipulate to their will.
“Well, you could leave but then my sister would find you and trust me she’s not as charitable as me. And further more if you leave then you will become my enemy and my soldiers will kill you on sight, armed or not.” She started back at me, not showing the slightest signs of lying.
I looked around the room and saw that Rarity was still looking disapprovingly at me, Pinkie was frowning a bit, and Fluttershy was still hiding her face from me. I looked over to Silver Eye and he shook his head at me, Lyra looked at me with pleading, golden eyes.
I let out a sigh, “I’m sorry but I’ll take my chances with both your soldiers and your sister hunting me down.” I knew I was going to regret this but I tossed the pistol over to Silver and walked up the stairs, not looking behind me. I was starting to feel weaker as I climbed the steps, the adrenaline finally leaving my system. I was just barely able to open the door before I finally just crawled into a nearby bush and passed out.
~*~*~*~
My eyes shot open as my brain started to function once more. I looked around and saw nothing but the dark trees, and bushes the populated the edges of the clearing. Just then I heard a huge explosion next to me, causing me to almost piss myself. I looked over and saw that there was a hole in the ground, the hole had to at least 5 feet in diameter and 9 feet in depth. Gunfire had started up as more explosions went off and I just got on my feet and ran in the opposite direction which took me deeper in the forest. I ran, and I ran not stopping until I couldn't hear the sounds of weapons being fired. As I slowed down to a walk I observed my surroundings and I noticed that it kept getting darker and darker the further I went into the thick forest. I didn't know if the sun was setting or if the trees were just getting that dense. I walked until I couldn't see a foot in front of my face and I slowly walked around until I found a tree to lie down against and I fell asleep once more.
I was jolted out of my slumber when I was prodded by a sharp object. I looked at the spear head and slowly followed it to the creature wielding it. To my surprise it wasn't a pony but a zebra that looked at me and motioned for me to stand up. The zebra had me follow him and soon I could see other zebras as well, all of them were in the trees looking back at me with curious expressions. One thing kept standing out however, some of them had a strange looking tattoo on one of their legs. I just ignored this and kept my eyes forward and continued to follow the zebra hoping to be filled in on what is going on a bit more.
We eventually reached a big hut and was approached by another zebra this one having gold rings on its neck and a pair of golden hoop earrings. I looked closely and was just able to distinguish the zebra as a female. She looked me up and down and started to think.
“Hello I see you’re not going to pillage so I welcome you to our little village.”
She had an exotic accent that reminded me of an African accent. She motioned for me to follow her into the hut as the clothes that acted as the door fell closed she offered me a cup of tea which I took grateful for something to calm me down.
I took a sip of the hot liquid and almost burnt my tongue which gained a laugh from the zebra. “So, you seem nicer than most of the ponies I’ve met today. If you don’t mind could you tell me what is going on here?”
I listened to her explain that the civil war had been going on for years now and both sides are starting to take extreme measures to defeat the other side. Those measures included opening a portal to the human world and bringing a human into Equestria, and I was unfortunately the human to get sent through. She told me that Celestia had Twilight summon me here so I could end the war and the victor finally be decided.
“So what you’re saying is that I’ve been thrown into the middle of a civil war to stop it and I have no way home?” She nodded. “Fucking hell, I don’t know anything about this world.” I sighed, and then an idea came to mind. “Hey, do you think you could teach me what I need to know?”
“If it is knowledge you need then my words you will heed.” She told me the story of how Equestria was founded and where all the major cities were. She also told me the tower that I saw when I first arrived was the castle where Celestia lived. Then she warned me to not go looking for them, as I would either be killed or imprisoned. “Now let’s test your might and see how well you handle yourself in a fight.” She lead me out to an arena that had two zebra fighting in it with swords, which were held in their mouths to my astonishment.
When the victor of the two was decided I was given a sword and thrown in there with a zebra. The male came at me quickly as he slashed horizontally and I was barely able to keep up as I blocked his swing with the flat of my blade. He relentlessly came after me and I was getting tired, and was getting slower and slower. I eventually took a hit to the side of my stomach. I expected that the blade would sink into my skin but it bounced off leaving me with a dull pain in my side. While I tried to figure out why I wasn’t sliced in two the zebra finished me off, tripping me with his blade and putting it right next to my throat. The crowd that had gathered cheered as he shoved his sword into the dirt and offered me a hoof which I took gladly.
“Thanks.” I said as I dusted myself off with my free hand.
I began to learn about the culture of the Zebras, what they ate, how they fought, their alchemy, and how to craft clothes from the hides of animals some of which included pony hide. I was hesitant to use pony hide at first but I then made the quick realization that if I’m going to have any chance of getting through this shit alive I’d need all the help they could offer. I stayed there for what seemed like weeks but in truth it was only one. The last night was spent in celebration, I had my own sword, spear, knife for skinning, and some basic leather clothes made from wolf hide. I had the skills I needed to survive the wild and the skills I needed to pick off enemies one by one I have the skills to be a hunter, but do I have the guts?
The wind slowly swept up the castle walls determined to reach the tip but it always fell short. A quiet clink of armor could be heard echoing in the halls of the castle as General Seastar briskly climbed the spiraling steps to Princess Celestia’s chambers, wanting to inform her of recent events. Seastar had been promoted to General when the war had started. At first he was honored but soon when his blue mane and white fur greyed he thought of it as nothing but a burden, slowly killing him. He finally reached the two large golden doors and as he knocked on them they swung inward and revealed Celestia talking to her student, Twilight Sparkle, they were whispering to each other and Seastar couldn’t make out what they were saying.
He cleared his throat and spoke, “Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, I have come to inform you that our scouts reported seeing a bipedal creature run off with an enemy soldier. We believe this creature was the human you have been trying to summon.”
Celestia grinned as she finished talking to Twilight who went back to reading a book. “Good, it’s here. Sure going with my sister’s soldier was not a wise choice of it I’ll make sure it’s with me before weeks end.” She paced around the room as she talked then immediately whipped her head to the General’s direction. “General see to that the human is captured and chained in the dungeon, I doubt Luna will give it a reason to stay for long.” With that she dismissed Seastar to complete the task as she laid down on a pile of pillows and fell asleep, feeling the war was ending. The General informed the scouts of their plans and sent them off to find the human. He returned to his quarters, picking up a quill with his magic and began to write in a book. When he put the quill down he went over to his bed and fell asleep, not looking forward to the next day.
With my last night in the village I had gone over my plan hundreds of times making sure that I knew what to do and when. I was going to start by going to Canterlot, probably not the smartest move but it was the only place I could find the information I needed. I was going to search for the location of Vortex, one of Princess Celestia’s advisors, I was going to get information from him then kill him. No sense of having loose ends. I heard the tent flap open and the zebra which was the first to fight me came in with drinks, offering me one of the glasses filled with strong liquor made here in the village. I accepted it gratefully and put it up to my lips and took a shot of the burning liquid. Reminded me of my first time drinking Vodka back on Earth but I quickly snapped out of my trance as to not be rude.
I sighed, “Thanks for all the help, the drink included,” I took another swallow of the alcohol and continued. “I hope that I’ll be able to see you again Darek, but if I don’t, if I die I wanted to say, thank you for everything and I only hope I can return the favor.” By this time I was speaking from my heart, my mind not being able to organize itself in my drunken stupor I might look like an alcoholic but truth is I don’t do so well with strong liquor and this had me knocked off my ass.
Darek looked at me for a bit before saying, “The only thing I ask for in return is for this damned war to end, so that the kingdom may mend.”
“Don’t we all, don’t we all.” The alcohol was making me very sleepy as I soon couldn’t keep my eyelids open, “Hey I’m going to go sleep, you can crash here if you want.” Without waiting for a reply I fall back on my bed and I pass out.
General Seastar was in his room going over the latest reports, looking for one that mentioned the human’s location though none did. He sighed as he set the papers down, massaging his temples with his hooves deciding he should stop for the night or he’d send somepony through the wall. As he went to get ready for his slumber a knock at the door caused him to groan and reluctantly open it.
“Glad to see you’re still awake Seastar, was thinking I’d have no pony to share a drink with.” A maroon colored pony came into the room, two shot glasses and a bottle of whiskey floated near him in a light red aura. His black mane covered a scar on his left eye that was the result of being too close to a homemade explosive.
Seastar smiled a bit at seeing his old friend, “Hey there Dodger I’d love to share a drink with an old friend.” Seastar used the nickname they gave Dodger after the explosive incident. Dodger poured both of them a drink and sat down on a chair downing his shot, the alcohol left a warm feeling in his throat.
“So, what do you think of this whole, ‘find the human and bring him to me’ business Celestia is having us do?” Dodger asked as Seastar finished his shot.
“Honestly,” Seatstar started, “I find it completely unreasonable. I had a report the other day from a scout who heard a conversation between two of Luna’s soldiers and they said that the human left and wasn’t going to help them, and how he’d be on his way here. I’m not sure about the last part but if the human isn’t helping Luna’s side I say we just attack their base and finish this.”
“Yea though I think we’d be beaten back like what happened the last time we did that, I think Celestia wants to either convince or force the human to help us.” Dodger replied.
“That could be true but if he did leave Luna’s base he’d be in the Everfree so chances are he’s dead, unless the zebra’s found him.”
“If the zebras found him he’d still probably be killed.” Dodger said
“True, so most likely he’s dead and we need to try and get another human here. Great.”
Dodger sat there and talked to Seastar for ten more minutes until he got up and took the glasses and whiskey and let Seastar go to sleep.
When morning came my eyes slowly lifted open, revealing the sun to me as I looked over to the lump next to me and last night came back in a flash. I didn’t know whether to smile to be horrified but luckily I didn’t have to decide as my hangover came to me in full force as me head started to pound with the strength of 20 hammers. I slowly got out of my bed and I could see Darek stirring as well. I grabbed my head when an exceptionally strong pulse went through it and I walked out of the tent and the amount of sun light though small, still blinded me. When my eyes finally adjusted I looked around and noticed Zecora who came over to me.
“Hey, is there anything left that I need before I go?” I asked looking at the bags that hung from her back.
“Come with me and ready you’ll be.” She led me to a small shack in the center of the village. The shack contained a chair, and a table that looked like it could support one of the zebras. She motioned for me to lay down and so I hopped onto the table to laid on my back. She set her bags down and grabbed my arm, injecting a needle with some kind of liquid in it. Soon after the needle had been emptied my right arm went numb as Zecora pulled out more needles and a black liquid. I was curious to see what was going to happen but my curiosity soon faded when she started to stick the needles in my skin after dipping them in the liquid. As she continued this for hours I finally figured out that this was a tattoo. The very same tattoo that all of the male zebras had on their legs.
Soon after I had tribal tattoo bands on my forearm, one near the elbow another near my wrist. I looked at the new tattoos I had and ran my left hand over them as I looked up and sighed. “Well, looks like this is it. Thank you for everything, I just hope I have what it takes to put it to good use.” I smiled at Zecora and walked out of tent and back to mine in which Darek was still lying on the bed. His gaze met mine as I entered and he got up off the bed as I grabbed my gear and hugged me. He pulled out of the hug and pushed me towards the door, nodding to me. I gave him a quick salute and was out of the door and on my way to Canterlot through the thick foliage.
