Adol picked up the last book of Ys, the book of Fact, which he only obtained through defeating the villain Dark Fact. There was a sense of peacefulness, despite the monsters which crowded the land not moments ago. The six books began to glow, and with their power, propelled Adol into the heavens. As the goddesses bid him a final farewell, not even they could ever hope to guess what would happen next, as raw magical energy coursed through the sky, striking Adol as he soared through the skies...
Adol found himself face down in a crater once again, no doubt created by him impacting the ground. He tried to raise himself to his feet, but a very curious thing happened; not only was he incredibly weak from the impact, but his legs didn't seem to be where they should be! He started to slip back into unconsciousness when he heard a soft, calming voice. He was too dizzy to understand what was said and passed out before he could call for help.
The last time Adol felt this horrible was when he awoke in Minea hospital, when he first arrived in Esteria. This time, however, he found himself not in a hospital bed, but rather in a pile of leaves. Whoever moved him had obviously left, as the only creature nearby was a mare who lay dozing a little ways away. With nothing else to do and being unable to move, he studied the mare that was near him. She was lavender, with a violet mane and tail, albeit with a pink streak running through both. What surprised him the most wasn't the strange mark on her flank, with a large star surrounded by smaller stars, but rather the horn that protruded from her head, the same lavender shade as her coat.
A rustle in the trees grabbed his attention. “Hello?” he called out, hoping to find the whereabouts of his caretaker. Unfortunately the sound was just the wind, but at the sound of his voice, the mare woke up. “Where is your master?” Adol asked, hoping the horse would be trained well enough to lead him. Much to his surprise, the pony talked back!
“I don’t have a master, unless you count Princess Celestia.” The mare frowned. “What gave you the idea that I had a master, like I was some kind of slave?” she replied, obviously hurt. She composed herself and continued. “Regardless, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I found you in the nearby crater. What is your name?” She inquired with a rather pleasant tone, especially considering the great insult she took moments before.
“My name is Adol Christin, and I am a warrior from the land of Esteria.” Hoping to learn a little more, he continued, “Where I come from, humans tend to ride horses into battle in order to gain an advantage.” Adol paused for a moment and said “Although I have never even heard of a horse that talks!”
“I have never heard of any account where ponies like you were ridden into battle.” Twilight said, trying to make sense of Adol’s tale.
“I’m not a pony! I am a human, and I always will be!” Adol responded, moving from surprised to confused. He rolled off the makeshift bed, and landed on his back. He tried to push himself up, but he couldn't help but notice how instead of hands and feet, he now had hooves! “How can this be? I was human not mere moments ago!” he exclaimed. He noticed his hind legs pouring blood. Adol was on the verge of unconsciousness, but he just managed to stay awake this time. “How am I a horse anyway?” Adol said drunkenly.
“We usually just say pony, but listen, I don’t know what’s going on, but I know that you’re hurt, and that I need to get you to Zecora. I hate to move you in your current state, but time is of the essence,” Twilight said, as she picked him up with her magic. Adol was momentarily surprised as he was lifted into the air, being completely supported. “If that’s comfortable enough for you, let’s get going to Zecora’s hut!” Twilight said cheerfully, showing no exertion despite magically carrying Adol.
The walk was a little while, so Adol decided to ask, “So Twilight, what is your horn for? I’m guessing that it’s behind the magic?”
Twilight looked up at him, surprised. “You mean you have never seen a unicorn before? You yourself have a horn!”
It was Adol's time to be surprised. “Could I use magic then? I would find it fairly useful to have abilities like yours.”
At this Twilight turned back to the path, but Adol could see that she was hiding a blush. “There’s also pegasi, with wings, and earth ponies, who are very strong,” she said, changing the subject as fast as she could. Adol decided not to continue any further. Twilight sighed and said “It might take me awhile to remember that you weren't always a pony...”
At the end of the walk (or float, as was Adol’s case), they arrived at a large tree that was being used as a house. As he was floated inside, he noted the strange masks that adorned the walls and the large cauldron in the middle of the room, with shelves and bottles of every color. Adol’s head swam and he realized that his legs were bleeding again; he could barely feel them at this point. He could have sworn he saw a zebra enter the room, but he wasn't sure if he was just seeing things. As he gave into unconsciousness, the last thing he heard was: “The one you bring will be hard to save, as his wounds are very grave.”
Adol heard the clink of glass, and bolted upright in his bed. A small gust had caused some of the bottles overhead to clink together. “Ah, my patient, you have awoke! Your condition was no joke,” exclaimed the zebra, who was standing by some shelves.
“Who are you? How long was I asleep?” Adol exclaimed, still surprised to see a talking quadruped.
“I am Zecora, whom you should praise, for you were asleep for three full days.” The zebra said, without hesitation.
“Where is Twilight? I should thank her as well.” Adol said after a moment of thought.
“Twilight Sparkle lives in Ponyville, where you may venture if you will.” Zecora responded, beckoning towards the door.
“Thank you Zecora,” Adol said as he got up to leave, “you have been very kind to me, and I am sure I will find some way to repay you.”
Zecora watched him stumble towards the door and chuckled. “You would do well, my fair Adol, not to run into the wall.” she chided, as Adol missed the doorway and ran into the wall.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Adol murmured as he began trotting down to Ponyville, his face still contorted from the impact. He doubted his muzzle would stopped being scrunched up by the time he came across someone else.
A few minutes after he left Zecora’s hut, Adol saw a pair of red eyes in the trees. Startled, he looked around for a weapon, but could only find a stick. That would have to do however, as the eyes began to move closer. “A goon? Here? What is going on?” Adol exclaimed. A strange creature, about the size of a dog, with the head of a chicken, the wings of a dragon, and a lizard tail popped out of the bushes and tried to attack, but Adol was too quick. He threw the makeshift spear straight through the creature’s neck, sending it flying back into the bushes with a squawk. Adol stood there for a moment, contemplating the fact that he managed to pick up and throw something without actually touching it. He experimentally picked up a rock, and found that he was in fact able to use magic to levitate the rock, in a way similar to how Twilight carried him, albeit with a red aura, as opposed to Twilight’s pink aura. Feeling secure in the fact that he would be able to defend himself, he found another stick and trotted down the path that lead to Ponyville.
After a few more minutes, he began to see what must have been the outskirts of town, judging from how the only building in sight was a cottage. Adol dropped off the stick in the forest and went up to the door, hoping to find out where Twilight was so he could thank her personally, and hopefully get some advice on living in this society. Adol was surprised when the door opened, not to a pony, nor a human,but a rather small and grumpy rabbit.
“Could you tell me where Twilight Sparkle is?” Adol asked, assuming at this point that all the animals here had speech. The rabbit however, did not speak, and instead used lots of hand motions that didn’t really make any sense. “I’m not sure what you are saying, is there perhaps someone else I could talk to?” Adol asked, trying not to sound rude. The rabbit just stamped his foot.
“Oh, Angel Bunny,” a soft, melodic voice called from upstairs, “What’s wrong?” Adol was relieved to see another pony, or rather, a pegasus. Her coat was a bright yellow, with pink hair and an image of three butterflies on her flank. “Oh my!” The Pegasus squeaked as she ducked behind the couch inside. “It’s just a visitor, it’s going to be fine...” The yellow pegasus muttered to herself.
Startled, Adol couldn’t decide whether to leave before he makes things worse, or try and help. He went with the latter. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, I’m just a little lost, I’m trying to find Twilight Sparkle. Would you happen to know where she is?” Adol said, explaining himself before the rabbit got too angry.
“I’m sorry, it’s just…” The pegasus trailed off. She took a few breaths and said “I’m Fluttershy, what’s your name?” as she slowly crawled out from behind the couch.
“My name is Adol Christin, and I come from the land of Esteria.” Adol replied, glad to be making conversation, and relieved that the pegasus wasn’t frightened anymore. The rabbit however continued to glare at Adol, so he just decided to ignore him.
“Esteria? I’ve never heard of that part of Equestria, could you tell me more about it?” Fluttershy asked.
“Equestria, the land of the horses, huh?” Adol said as he burst out laughing. After his laughing fit was over, he continued. “Forgive me, I find that funny, Twilight didn’t really tell me much. In Esteria, there are humans, and horses… don’t talk.” Adol explained, remembering Twilight’s response to the thought of being a slave. Despite barely knowing her, Adol felt that he could never forgive himself if he made Fluttershy cry.
“Humans? I don’t know much about them either, other than that’s what Lyra seems interested in. Could you tell me more about them? If you don’t mind, that is.” Fluttershy stammered, ducking her head away.
“It’s quite alright, I’m fine explaining, I’d rather be here than being attacked in that forest. Humans are…” Adol started, but stopped when he caught Fluttershy’s inquisitive look.
“I hate to interrupt, but are you saying that you were attacked in the Everfree Forest? How did you get away?” Fluttershy said, nearly breathless.
“I’m not sure what I did, I threw a stick and I guess I scared it away.” Adol lied, suddenly conscious of all the animals in the room. “It looked like a chicken, but with red eyes, wings, and a lizard tail,” He concluded.
“Wow, you survived a cockatrice!” Fluttershy exclaimed, “Not even Twilight was safe from them!”
Adol took the chance to speak again and said “I’d have to ask her about the encounter, I’m sure she was taken by surprise, considering her magical abilities. After all, she did save my life. Well, her and Zecora.”
“Saved your life? From what?” Fluttershy asked, “Oh, I’m so sorry, I’m prying, aren’t I?” Fluttershy ducked her head and blushed.
“No, it’s alright. Last thing I remember is the books casting me into the air, and the Goddesses bidding me farewell...” Adol mused. “Then I crashed into the forest, and Twilight brought me to Zecora, who cared for me during the three or so days I was out,” Adol admitted.
At this Fluttershy brought her head back up. “So you were the light that fell from the sky? I’ll have to tell Rainbow Dash about it, the weather ponies were being blamed for it all, and poor Rainbow keeps being teased by those big meanies,” she said, her voice tinged with sadness.
Adol frowned and said “I’ll have to apologize, I’m pretty sure that the books weren’t supposed to take me here, they were supposed to send me to Ys. I wonder why they brought me here?” Adol puzzled.
“You keep saying books, have you showed them to Twilight yet? She knows a lot about books.” Fluttershy said.
“No. I don’t doubt her, but I already know what these books say.” Adol paused for a moment and said “Shall I go apologize to your friend? Or maybe I should talk to someone and get a little tour since I’m new here. I don’t want to risk hurting people even more because I don’t know pony society...”
Fluttershy’s ears perked up and she said “Well, since you’re new, Pinkie will give you the grand tour, although I doubt you’ll be able to keep it a secret!” Fluttershy gave a small laugh, then frowned and said “But first, could you talk to Rainbow? She’s rather upset, even though she won’t admit it. You can find her on her favorite cloud, over by the town hall, it’s really low.” Fluttershy said.
“Alright, I should go now, thank you for your hospitality!” Adol exclaimed as he got up to leave. Angel opened the door for him, and waved him outside, although Adol was sure Angel was trying to get rid of him the whole time. Adol started to head into town, straight for the one lonely cloud in an otherwise clear and sunny day.
Adol arrived to where the cloud was hovering to, only to discover a pink mare with balloons on her flank conversing with it. “Come on, Rainbow! We both know it wasn’t your fault!”
“Go away Pinkie, there’s nothing you can do! They’ve already replaced me.” The cloud responded.
Adol cleared his throat and said “Excuse me, Rainbow Dash? My name is Adol Christin and I’d like to apologize for the trouble I’ve caused you, falling from the sky and all.”
A cyan mare with a rainbow colored mane peeked over the cloud. “So it was you who’s been causing this mess? So where have you been this entire time, laughing at all the pain you’ve caused me, I mean, the weather ponies?” She sneered.
“I was unconscious, being cared for by Zecora! And you have no right to be yelling at me when I’ve come to apologize for something I didn’t even mean to have happen!” Adol yelled, getting defensive.
“Whatever, I don’t care. I’ll be keeping a close eye on you, I don’t trust you.” Rainbow Dash huffed, as a pair of cyan wings beat with incredible speed, propelling the cloud away.
With Rainbow Dash gone, the pink mare evidently known as Pinkie turned to Adol and gave a gasp so large Adol was sure it contained all the air in the world.
“You must be new here!” She exclaimed.
“How did you guess that?” Adol replied, trying not to sound sarcastic.
“You must be new because I know everypony and I mean everypony in Ponyville! And I don’t know you, so that means that you must be new! My name is Pinkie Pie, and we are going to be the best of friends!” She exclaimed, bouncing up and down and speaking so fast Adol could barely understand her.
“Fluttershy said I might run into you, Pinkie!” Adol said, her enthusiasm rubbing off onto him, “I’m actually looking for Twilight Sparkle, could you help me find her?” Adol wasn’t sure if Pinkie even heard him, until she responded with a squeal. “Sure! But first, I need to give you the grand tour of Ponyville!” She gasped and excitedly said “We should start at Sugarcube Corner! We have to see how many cupcakes you can eat!” Adol realized that this was going to be the strangest day he’s ever had.
“...And this is the library! Twilight lives here. Go talk to Twilight now, I have to go prepare for your welcoming party!” Pinkie declared as she sped off.
It was late afternoon and Adol had to start thinking about lodging for the night. “Another question I’ll have to ask her.” Adol said to himself as he knocked on the door. To his surprise, a small dragon opened the door, shocking Adol so badly he fell backwards onto his back, causing him to wince.
“Are you alright?” The dragon asked politely.
Adol recovered himself and replied “I’m alright, I’m here to see Twilight, could you tell her that Adol Christin is here?” Adol shook his head groggily as Spike turned to walk inside.
“I’ve never seen you before, but if Twilight knows you…” Spike trailed off as he went into the library.
Adol shook his head and stood back up just in time for Twilight to appear. “You’re better already? I didn’t think you would recover that quickly! Please, come in!” Twilight motioned inside the room.
Adol walked in and asked, “So who was that dragon I saw at the door?” Twilight was confused for a second, but then said “That would be my assistant, Spike. Judging from your reaction, dragons aren’t the friendliest of creatures were you come from, either?” Twilight motioned Spike over. “Spike, this is Adol Christin, he was the light that fell from the sky a couple days ago. He’s not from Equestria; evidently he used to be human. Normally I wouldn’t believe such a thing, but It’s the only explanation I have.” Spike waved hello.
Adol nodded and continued, “Today’s been a rather interesting day. I fought off a Cockatrice, and met Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Pinkie, and I’ve eaten far too many cupcakes. I only managed a dozen before I couldn’t eat any more.” Adol said with a sigh.
“Fought of a Cockatrice you say? How did you do that?” Twilight inquired, eager to hear his story.
“I can levitate things as well, I guess, and I think I impaled it with a stick, but I told Fluttershy that I just scared it off.” Adol admitted, feeling very guilty.
“You will eventually tell her the truth and apologize, right?” Twilight said, a little upset. Adol sighed. “I will tomorrow, I didn’t want to make her cry and besides, I’ve already had enough apologies that have ended badly today. I apologized to Rainbow Dash, but she wasn’t very happy with me. I guess Fluttershy wasn’t kidding when she said she would be upset about the whole thing.” Adol explained, as his feeling of guilt tightened.
“I’ll have to talk with Rainbow later, anything else you need?” Twilight finished.
“Actually, I was wondering about lodging and work, as I think it might take me a little while to get used to this pony society.” Adol said.
“Well, you could sleep in the extra room in the basement, and as far as work goes, I’m sure we could find you something to do.” Twilight offered.
“Wait, the room in the basement? Isn’t that the room with the forge in it? Don’t you think he’ll burn up or something?” Spike interjected.
At the word “forge”, Adol’s ears perked up. “A forge you say? If it is alright with you, I would like to forge myself some new equipment, to replace the ones I lost. I don’t want to be caught without armor and a sword, no matter how peaceful it seems here.”
Twilight thought for a moment. “I don’t have any metals here right now, and there’s really not much need for protection, but I’ll think about it.” Twilight put a hoof to her chin and said “Although, now that you mention it, Rarity mentioned an iron deposit in the mountains. You could help Applejack with the farm, if I can convince her to let you…” Twilight mused. “It seems like you’ll end up meeting all my friends!”
Adol yawned. “Could that wait until tomorrow? I’d like to get some sleep.”
Twilight saw something out of the corner of her eye and said “I’m afraid that isn’t really an option.”
Before Adol could ask why, Pinkie popped up shouting “surprise!” and out of nowhere streamers, balloons, and party guests appeared.
“Wow!” Adol exclaimed, “Pinkie was quick!"
Twilight nudged Adol with her hoof. “I should take you to Rarity and Applejack; you might as well get acquainted.” Adol was led to a white pony with a purple mane wearing a scarf, with three diamonds on her flank, and an orange pony with a yellow mane wearing a hat, with three apples on her flank.
“Adol, this is Applejack and Rarity. Applejack, Rarity, this is my new friend Adol.” Twilight said, gesturing to them.
“Howdy, Adol, nice to meet you!” Applejack said, shaking his hoof with great vigor, reminding him of his old friend Dogi. For a moment Adol thought about where Dogi was right now.
“I say, what an interesting cutie mark! Whatever is it that you do?” Rarity exclaimed. Adol, being very confused, looked to Twilight to explain it to him.
Twilight whispered in his ear, “A cutie mark is the image on our flank that describes us and our talents. I wouldn’t tell people you are a swordsman, just say you’re a metalsmith, things will go much smoother.”
Adol shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts. “My apologies, my fair lady, I have been distracted as of late. I work as a metalsmith, although I’m also looking for other work at the moment.”
Rarity let out a small squeal. Such a gentlecolt! Wherever did you meet him?”
“It’s a long story.” Twilight turned to Applejack, “I was thinking he could help you on the farm. I know how you feel about letting non-family work, but I can’t think of anything else for him to do!”
Adol, however, would have none if it. “If it goes against her values, then don’t push her for my sake! I’d rather be out of work than force someone to give up tradition!”
Applejack smiled. “That’s mighty kind of you, Adol, but it’s fine. There’s some work other than farm work I need done. How do you feel about carpentry?” Applejack asked.
“I worked on a ship for a while, so I know how to work with wood.” Adol replied.
“Well that there’s convenient, seeing as we need the barn fixed. How much are you asking for?” Applejack offered, ready to make a deal.
Adol thought for a moment. “I just require food, as Twilight has graciously offered a room in the library I can use.” He said.
Out of sheer habit, Applejack spit on her hoof. “Alrighty then, we’ll shake on it!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Adol returned the gesture, sealing the deal.
“Well I’ll be, didn’t expect a fella like you to get all fancy with Rarity then turn around and act like you grew up in Appleoosa!” Applejack exlcaimed, thankful that Adol didn't take offense
Adol chuckled as he turned to Rarity. “Apologies if I offended you.”
Rarity scoffed. “I find it interesting how you can perform such an uncouth act and then turn around and act like such a gentlecolt! I wholeheartedly agree with Applejack, and yet...” She paused and exclaimed “Oh never mind that!”
Adol chose to ignore that last statement and wasted no time in getting to his point. “Rarity, I have a favor to ask of you. Twilight has offered me the use of her forge, but I lack raw materials. I have heard that you found an iron deposit, would you be so kind as to guide me there?”
Rarity thought for a moment. “ I am still not sure what to think of you. I shall accept under the condition that you will help me collect a gem deposit on the mountain.”
Adol didn’t hesitate as he said “I agree to your terms, lady Rarity.” Adol bowed.
Luckily, the party was fairly short lived, and once everyone was gone and Spike had gone to bed, Adol had just one last question for Twilight. Remembering Fluttershy's advice, he concentrated, and his cutie mark began to glow, magically, the six books of Ys appeared above him. He gently placed them on the rug with his magic.
“These are the books of Ys,...” Adol explained. Twilight picked up the books in her magic and began flipping through them. “These books are enchanted, but I have no idea what the enchantment does... I can't even read these!”
Adol shrugged and replied “These books are written in the ancient language of Ys; and I don’t have the glasses to read them anymore. I think that these books might have a little bit more in store for me.”
Twilight, quite perplexed, simply said “Alright, Adol, I guess I’ll just have to trust you on this.” She thought for a moment and eventually asked "What is your cutie mark anyways?"
Adol turned around a few times before giving up and asking "I don't even know what it looks like!"
Twilight magically conjured a sheet across a few shelves and began to draw. She started with six colored dots forming a circle. She then drew a golden circle in the center, radiating rays into the circle of dots. She finished with two golden curves that looked like they were cradling the circles.
"Oh! That's the crest of Ys! I guess it makes sense, considering I should be in Ys right now." Adol surmised.
Twilight yawned. “Anyway, I’m going to go to bed now, you should too, You’ve got a lot to do in the morning!”
Adol watched as Twilight went upstairs, and then went down into the basement to his bed. As he lay in bed, he considered the day he’d had. He had met a variety of ponies and had gotten both a job and a source of iron, with which he could ready himself for the catastrophe he could feel coming. It wasn’t Cleria, or rather, silver, but it would have to do. Content, Adol drifted off into a peaceful sleep, for the first time since he left Esteria.
Author's Note
Explain Ys lore
