Falling. There are poems about falling, movies, theories, songs, even books. But there is nothing that will show you how it feels like falling will. It is quick and slow at the same time. You can feel it go on forever, and finish before you realize it. You feel enraptured, scared, weightless- no, powerless. You feel like if you had suddenly got taken into a world in which everything is blurry, you can´t stay in the same place for more than a millisecond, and you can´t remember how you got there. I know that because I fell once.
The last thing I saw were my friends talking with each other, not yet aware I had just fallen, and the school in which we were surrounded by green scenery I still wasn´t able to appreciate. Then I heard a striking sound, like gunshot, making me deaf. I had stopped, but I didn´t know. I could only close my eyes, which weren´t seeing anymore, and keep falling.
When I opened my eyes, everything was still blurry. I could see only a blue sky so clear it almost looked gray. As my vision cleared, a few indefinite shapes started to appear, in colors that didn´t make sense. I closed my eyes again, trying to think of what I was supposed to be seeing. Then I opened my eyes again.
The blurriness seemed to have returned, but slowly faded again. The shapes had disappeared, and a buzz gradually augmented in volume in my ears. When I blinked hard for a second, I realized that the rest of the blur in my eyes was just the lack of my glasses in front of them. Groping around for them, I stood slowly from the ground. It was harder than it should have been.
When I looked around, I became so shocked that I just stood there, petrified. I rubbed my eyes, thinking it could only be a trick of the light and my missing glasses, but what I saw was still there. The impression was so big that I felt everything was spinning around, and fell again.
My head felt light when it fell, as if it was made of cotton, and the buzz got higher in intensity. When I woke up again, I was in a different place.
Though everything looked blurry without my glasses, I thought I could recognize the place. What I was doing there I didn´t know. I was inside a cage too little for my size, so I couldn´t stand up to my full height. Instead, I sat, looking around in wonderment.
I was in the middle of a brightly colored hall, full of contours with a shape that I still couldn´t believe I would be seeing somewhere different than in TV. They seemed to be completely still as I looked at them, except for a few here or there, which shifted nervously on their spot. No one dared to break the silence that seemed to make everything even more unreal.
Suddenly, one of them approached me with caution, becoming more defined the closer it was. A couple more started to follow the first silhouette towards me, but were pulled back by some others. I was so shocked that I didn´t realize I hadn´t heard a thing yet, even though the moves from the shapes should have produced even the littlest of sounds. I was too consumed on the face that stared at me through my cage, examining me in silence.
It was Princess Luna.
“I- Wh- Ah?!” I cried out, too confused to look for my actions.
The sudden yell in her face made the obscure princess back down in surprise, and caused the entire hall to jump on their hooves, some cursing, while others seemed to get startled. Then they became still, quieting down to see what was going to happen. That´s when I realized I had yet to hear anything, even when I had already seen movement that betrayed sound. That made me become still too.
Princess Luna had recovered her composure, and looked at me closely, aware now that I could react to her. She then mouthed something, but I wasn´t able to hear her. I just sat quietly, and shook my head in disbelief. The princess frowned and mouthed something else, noticing my actions didn’t have any relation with what she had said, whatever that was. I blinked, brought my hands to my eyes and rubbed them furiously, trying to dispel what I thought were hallucinations.
She just stood there, not sure of how to proceed, and then turned to call someone. From where I sat I had to look up to her face, but I was sure that if I had the space to stand, her head would just be under my shoulders, her horn only barely reaching my height. Not that I was tall, but she was a pony after all.
A weary looking Twilight Sparkle and a distressed Mayor Mare reached Luna while I tried to remember how I had gotten inside a cage in the Town Hall of Ponyville, a fantastic and, most importantly, NOT REAL place. Mayor Mare seemed to discuss something with Twilight, then fall silent as the purple unicorn turned to say something to Princess Luna. The look on both of their faces changed when Twilight proposed an idea, to which Luna frowned, thinking of protesting, and Mayor Mare seemed disconcerted, with a hint of mirth on her eyes.
As Luna was about to say something, Twilight approached me with firmness and opened her mouth. She stopped herself and thought for a second. She did what no one there thought would work. Her horn lightened up, and with clean handwriting she wrote in the air, in glazy violet letters: Can you understand this?
When I realized what it said I started to laugh, deciding I had gone crazy. My laugh extended itself more than I intended, frightening me a bit too. When I finally stopped laughing, the letters had faded, and Twilight looked expectantly at me. I looked around again, seeing Luna glare at me, while Mayor Mare seemed to have a heated discussion with- with a pony whose colors could only mean she was Rainbow Dash. Some of the other ponies looked as if they had gotten uninterested, as if they were ready to leave, but most of them were ignoring them, watching me, waiting for an answer to come, with the most bewildered expressions I had seen in those pastel ponies.
I breathed in, exhaled, and then opened my mouth. I could not stop some giggles, but I closed my mouth to control them. Then I answered, calm as ever.
“Yes. I do.”
The ponies all gasped, Rainbow stopping what she was saying to let her jaw fall to the floor, while Luna stood dumbfounded on the spot, forgetting to glare at me with distaste, or royal grace, or whatever her expression was supposed to mean.
When I looked at Twilight, I wasn´t sure what I was seeing. She seemed to have a combination of surprise and victory in her face, swiftly alternating to make her features a little more blurry. She said something, forgetting to write it for me, to which I just looked as though nothing had happened.
She waited for an answer for a few seconds, before facehooving and lightening her horn again. I assume you can´t hear us.
For some reason I considered if it was wise to answer her, but I disregarded it as my troll instinct trying to get a share in the situation. Why wouldn´t I want to answer her? “No, it seems my hearing has been damaged. I can barely hear myself talking. Sorry if my tone or volume of voice is not fitting,” I said, formal for some reason.
This elicited more reactions from the crowd, some trying to get closer to me, while the rest pulled them back to make sure they didn´t interfere. What are you? What did you do with Ditzy Doo?
I opened my mouth to answer, and then thought better of it. I had to pause to consider what she had just asked, to make sure I didn´t create any misunderstandings. I didn´t know why I cared so much to do that, considering I had already decided I was just delusional, but it was MLP I was having delusions of, I guess. I didn´t know what had happened to Derpy, or why they thought I had anything to do with what happened, and decided to be honest about it too.
“I´m human, something like a monkey without so much hair, with opposite thumbs, and the ability to reason beyond how many bananas to share with my family. Though now that I think of it, I´m not sure you know monkeys either. That´s all I can tell you to describe my species,” I said, trying to sound as honest as I was being, even though I couldn´t really check my voice to see if I was achieving that. “About Derpy, I don´t know what is her situation. I´m just confused as to why I´m in this place.”
My words brought up a reaction different than I had expected, with everypony frowning and trying to get closer, leaning their ears towards me. For a second I thought that maybe I had become mute too, but then Twilight wrote to me: You are speaking too low, I am not able to hear you even from here. Don´t worry about yelling, we will understand as you can´t measure the volume of your voice, just try to make sure we can understand you.
I found that funny too, realizing my habit of talking lower when I had loud music on earphones had kicked up now. Funny how a brain works sometimes. I then repeated myself, speaking louder, but still trying not to yell in Twilight´s face.
While the ponies were trying to discern what I was exactly, a few seconds after I had said my last words some of them looked suddenly distrustful and angered. Then everything started to spin, and I was hurled through the room, hurting myself with the metal cage I was in, and every bounce on the ground made me thump my head hard.
When I finally stopped rolling, I was upside down, looking opposite of where the ponies were, towards high twin doors that looked like the exit of the Town Hall. I could feel from the ground, in which the cage had left me sprawled, a large group of ponies approaching in heavy steps, in a pace that felt ominous and agile at the same time. Before they reached me though, I felt myself be lifted from the ground and put inside the cage again, which then floated up the hall towards the place it was before.
I am not afraid of heights, to be honest, but looking down the floating cage at the enraged ponies made me remember something that I couldn´t really see, making me sick to the core.
I don´t remember blacking out, but after that I don´t really remember anything else.
When I woke up again, I felt every part of my body ache, and thought I had only closed my eyes from my imprisonment and opened them to find myself there, in a mere blink. I was somewhere else now, somewhere I could recognize way more easily than the Town Hall.
Everywhere I looked, books seemed to be there: on tables, in piles, open in the floor, but none in the bookcases, ironic as that may be. I found myself tied to a seat close to a wall, facing a door and stairs, with my vision still blurry for the absence of my glasses. My ears felt funny, though I wasn´t sure if it was just an itch, or if my hearing had returned.
I decided it was the latter when I was able to predict a group of ponies going down the stairs to where I was, just by the sound of their steps and distant voices. With sudden inspiration, I quickly closed my eyes and relaxed as much as I could, trying to look asleep, thinking I could maybe find out what all the rustling was about.
“…all I´m saying is, this Hugh-man guy, if he even is a guy, has to have something to do with Derpy disappearing!” I could hear the tomboy—tomcolt?—Rainbow Dash say, in her usual, semi-yelled tone of voice. “How did he know about her nickname, if he isn´t a SPY?”
“Oh, please, Rainbow. I doubt he could be a changeling trying to find a weakness in Equestria´s defenses,” Twilight said, closer to where I was seated. “Why would it target Ponyville if so? Changelings were defeated by Princess Cadence and my brother. If that was the case they would be the target, don´t you think?”
“Ah don’ know, Twilight. He soun’ed terribly suspicious—and a human is only a made up thing, we couldn’ find anything ‘bout them in any of your books,” a voice that sounded Texan said, in a gentle tone, which I could only relate to Applejack. “Even if he was sayin’ the truth, it doesn’ explain why he called Ditzy ‘Derpy’.”
“And his clothes! They looked like a uniform! No one uses something so impersonal in the middle of summer,” a posh accent that could only belong to Rarity pushed in the conversation. “It does make me think of those changeling drones, that look one exactly the same as the other. So unoriginal and ugly.”
They were silent for a couple of seconds, making me imagine them staring at her for a conclusion they felt shouldn´t have been taken from something so little, and then continued moving about the room.
“W-Well, I don´t know about if he´s a spy or not, but he still hasn´t waked up. I´m starting to worry…” a sweet voice declared, eerily close to me. “What if he is sick? I don´t think he was too injured from the cage, but it´s not normal to be passed out for so long.” Oh, Fluttershy, if only you knew how right you were, I thought, finding it hard not to laugh. She probably wouldn´t be as close as she was if she knew I was awake, either.
“Well, we don´t know anything about the anatomy or metabolism of humans, or how their central nervous system reacts to injuries like he had, so we can´t know for sure if he´s in trouble…” Twilight pondered.
They suddenly went quiet, uncomfortably quiet. I knew that something was missing, and it was the cause for the sudden silence, but I couldn´t quite put my finger on it. Then it hit me.
“Aren´t you going to share your opinion with all of us, Pink?” I inquired, looking back towards Pinkie Pie up the wall, who was watching me intently.
That caused everyone but Pinkie to jump on their hooves from the startle. Fluttershy dashed away from me before I could have said “Run”, eeping in an adorable manner. I was also pushed against the wall by a rainbow hue, coloring everything in front of my eyes.
“You see? He IS a spy!” Rainbow yelled at the side of my head.
“HEY! Careful, I just got my hearing back!” I growled at her, furious by the ringing she left in my ears.
“How did you know Pinkie was watching you from there?” Rarity asked, amazed.
“…I didn´t, it was a lucky guess,” I admitted, being as honest as can be.
“Why were you pretendin’ ta be asleep, human?” Applejack roared, angry at me. “That be mighty nasty of you.”
“Since when have you been awake? How much did you hear?” Twilight asked, trying to regain control of the situation. “Are you willing to answer our questions?”
“You are making it hard to cooperate, my little ponies, with all that pushing me around. Whoever threw the cage I was in before could have sent me to a hospital. That is, if you were willing to cure my injuries in the first place,” I retorted, trying to calm down. “As for what you are asking, I might as well answer. It doesn´t matter anymore.”
“What d-do you mean?” Fluttershy whispered from behind a pile of books, still seemingly worried about me.
“It´s as simple as madness,” I said, matter of factly, knowing full well they wouldn´t understand me.
“Hmm, is that so?” Pinkie talked for the first time since they arrived. I looked at where her voice was coming from and realized she was besides Fluttershy, trying to reassure her. “How mad exactly? If you don´t mind me asking, that is.”
I smiled at that, realizing I had forgotten about Pinkie´s thought processes being advantageous. “As mad as a nightmare about a lucid dream flowing in a stream,” I told, looking to confuse her, something some say is impossible.
Everyone else was looking at us funny, trying to decipher what we were saying. They didn’t accomplish it. Pinkie waited for me to answer the questions I had left unresolved.
“I pretended to be asleep just to see what I had gotten into. And also because I suddenly felt like doing so, I guess.” I sighed. “I´ve been awake since just a few minutes before you came here, and I think I heard everything you said. I might be wrong though, there were some odd silences,” I said, reasoning my answer beyond necessary, as always. “As for me being willing to answer, I´ve already answered that, didn´t I?”
“Ah´m not sure Ah like this one, girls. He got a mouth an’ he isn’ afraid to use it,” Applejack said, like if it was no big deal. I cracked up instead.
“Don´t worry AJ, my mouth is all I can use freely right now, and I use it only for my own entertainment. Just try not to get in its way, I guess. I can´t always control myself.”
Rarity harrumphed at that. “Nice manners you got there, mister. I´m pretty sure you are earning our trust that way.”
I was about to make a snide comment when Twilight interrupted us all.
“STOP! We are doing nothing this way. We should calm down first, before we start to fight and drag this on.”
Everyone fell silent, while Pinkie measured me with various measuring tapes at the same time, to which no one took notice… though I did feel a little self-conscious by that.
“Now, I would like to be left alone with the human. I think we are not going to learn anything from him if we all ask different questions and distract him,” considered Twilight.
As the others silently started to leave, she changed her mind and said: “Pinkie, stay here please”. The others just gave her a look of curiosity and left.
“Well, I guess it is nicer with only you here. Less snapping at each other.”
“How did you know Ditzy´s and Applejack´s nicknames?” Twilight went right to the point.
“Huh?” the question got me by surprise, as I didn´t expect the kind Twilight Sparkle to ask me so directly. Pinkie stayed quiet.
“What you heard. Thought I wouldn´t have noticed? No one mentioned any of our names since the moment you claim to be awake. I don´t doubt your words, but you are not trying to clear anything up either,” Twilight said, too serious for my liking. I was feeling a little afraid by now.
“It is a little hard to explain. And I´m not sure how you would react to what I´d say either, in the case you believed me,” I refused, trying to find a way to get out of that situation without damaging my reputation with her anymore… or her own psyche.
“Maybe you should try me. I may be a little more insightful and able than I look. Only because I barely reach your waist doesn´t mean—”
I cut her off. “You are not real.”
Author's Note
First story I publish. Feel free to point out any mistakes, ravage it in criticism, or praise it if you see fit.
I will be writing the next chapters every moment I got free time, which is huge lately. Hope I don´t jinx it.
This is not your typical HiE, I know. I hope that´s a plus.
It gets better and better...
I sighed as I watched the waves gently wash up on the shore, the moon shining in the ocean waters. It was peaceful on the beach, everyone at home to watch the all important Super Bowl. I never was a fan of American Football, thinking any sport that has you beat the other person senseless was a little odd—granted, the Romans didn’t think so. See where that got them.
The pier off to the side was brightly lit, the night crew cleaning up after the tourists had had their fill. Every now and again, a homeless person would wander up to me and I'd give them a dollar or two, let them buy something to eat in the morning. The wind blew in rather harshly from the sea, carrying the strong smell of salt over the beach, nullifying all other smells. I looked up into the cloudless sky, looking at the bright twinkling stars.
I took my jacket off and loosened my tie, taking a relaxing breath as I let it hang loose around my neck. God I hate these things. I looked distastefully at the black tie. Unfortunately it was mandatory to wear a tie and shirt at the newspaper office, even if we were crammed into a little cubicle typing away on a computer, and no one ever saw us. I folded my jacket and laid it on my lap, keeping a hand on it so it didn’t blow away. No one even reads the darn things anyway. I unbuttoned my collar, letting a sigh as I felt the wind ruffle the shirt.
I watched the waves silently get higher and higher on the beach, the tide getting stronger. I scratched my beard, closing my eyes as I listened to the ocean. Even if I wasn't a fan of it, the ocean still was the most calming thing to me and my nerves were shot. Leyends Reborn, the book I labored on for the last five years, was finally being released. The publishers didn’t think it'd be a big hit and just assumed it was another failure, passing it along with several more beginning authors.
I blinked as the wind increased, and stared at the ocean, wishing its tranquil sway would help answer so many of my questions. Like usual, I was wrong; the ocean kept its secrets to itself, if it even had any to share. Well, there goes that hope. I sighed again.
And to think, things were looking up. I was finally getting my book published, the child of long nights asking a friend to proofread, then going back to fix what he suggested were mistakes. I got a fairly decent job as a newspaper reporter, which let me move out of my parent's house, pay the bills, and buy my own car.
Granted my ride was a dark blue 1969 Mercury Cougar that barely ran— but it was my car; still had its original interior and everything. I smiled, thinking back to how my grandpa had helped me fix the car up and got it running like it used to back in his day, with just a few more coughs then when it was new.
I looked at the sky, hoping to see a wishing star; instead I saw what looked like a bird dropping from it. As it neared to the ground, I stared at it, realizing it seemed to be bigger than your common pigeon, maybe the size of a large dog. It extended its wings with difficulty, trying to stabilize its flight. I tensely saw it coming closer and closer to the ground, almost unable to slow down the fall.
Something attracted me to it, and I got up to get closer to the falling avian. Its features became more differentiated the closer we became, each second releasing more information to me about how it looked. It was gray, had a large head, and seemed to have more than a couple appendages, flailing around it. I suddenly stopped when I saw a… a blonde tail? And hair of the same color too? The hell?
I squinted in the general direction of where it was supposed to fall, trying to confirm what I had just seen, or verify it had been just a trick of the eye. What I saw was a creature that had barely slowed down its pull from gravity, with oddly large eyes full of fear as it finally crashed into the water. It was only for a split second, so I wasn´t sure if what I had seen was really there.
Thankfully, the landing site was right where the coast dipped, or it would have otherwise been quite more unpleasant for the creature. My first instinct was to reach the place of the wreck and investigate—an instinct that would, as people tend to say, make me the first one to die in a horror movie—and so I did, carrying my jacket with me.
As I got closer, I watched the smitten bird bob on the surface for a moment, the waves carrying it towards me. I still couldn’t get a good look at it, so I threw my jacket and tie on the sand and waded into the rather chilly water. Something nagged at me in the way to the unlucky bird, as if I recognized the creature but couldn´t quite put my finger on what it was, or from where I recognized it.
When I finally reached it, I bent down, looking at it closely, and reached out to touch its fur. I accidently pushed its wing aside, revealing a tattoo of at least eight bubbles on its side. My eyes grew as I instantly felt recognition rush to me, and I floundered into the water, falling down as the thing slowly came closer to me. I quickly backpedaled like a crab, feeling my shirt get soaked from the water.
I sat on the wet sand, staring at the one and only Derpy Hooves, unconsciously floating in the water, moving with the tide. The… the hell is going on? I made the effort to look around, thinking I was just seeing things. When everything looked normal, I thought back on my day, trying to figure out if I added anything new to my diet, but couldn’t think of anything. What in the hell they putting in sodas these days?
She bobbed for a moment, before slowly starting to sink to the sand under the surface. I hesitantly moved forward, putting my hands underneath her and pulling her out of the water. She wasn´t as heavy as I thought she´d be, her wings hanging limply at her sides, useless. I looked at her, trying to see if she was hurt. Then I paused. What would I even be able to do if I found an injury anyways? Ask for help? She felt pretty real, and looked it, but hallucinations do too.
I stood there, biting my lip as I tried to think what to do. Ok… so this is a pretty realistic toy they’ve made. I felt something feebly try and grab me. I looked down and saw her reaching for my shirt, trying to pull her towards the warmth I emitted. She shivered slightly, her fur glistened with water. I could hear her faint breaths, her chest contracting and relaxing in my arms. It was so weird to hold her, feel her shudders in my hands and feel her heart beat strongly.
I remembered the bums wandering around earlier and quickly looked up, scanning the area, looking for people. I saw no one, but I didn’t trust my vision, especially after… well, Derpy. I held her in one arm as I bent down and laid her on my jacket, covering her up in a small dune. I did my best to blend my jacket and the sand so she'd be less noticeable. Thankfully, it was dark, making her harder to see.
Real or not, I made a decision. I jogged to my car, thinking she quickly would need a place to dry off and rest. No one was around, which slightly surprised me. There´s always someone on the beach… I looked around, feeling as if someone was watching me from the darkness that surrounded me.
I grabbed my keys and unlocked the door, sitting in the driver´s seat for a moment, before taking a deep breath and turning the car on, and doing the opposite for the radio as quickly as I was able to. I switched to the low beams and slowly made my way onto the beach, thinking of all the laws I would be breaking. The car crunched against the sand, the tires getting little traction, forcing me to go slower.
Finally, I made it to as near as I dared drive it and hopped out of the car, leaving the keys in the ignition. I turned around and pushed the seat back, exposing the back seats. I looked around one more time before making my way back to the colorful pony. She had soaked my jacket completely; I faintly smiled and picked her up, holding her carefully, trying not to disturb her. I looked into the darkness one more time before walking the few feet to the car, and bent down to gently place her in the back seat.
I pushed the seat forward and sat down, staring straight ahead. This can't be real. I must've been in some wreck, and I'm in a comma at the hospital. I turned on the radio to try and find something that was normal, something to show that I wasn’t asleep. There was a steady beat behind the song and I started tapping on the steering wheel in tune.
Eventually I started slapping it, the pain reaffirming I wasn’t asleep, but it wasn’t enough. I pounded on the wheel, the beat long forgotten as I let my frustrations out on the poor steering wheel. A few minutes later, I groaned and smacked my head into it, sighing as I closed my eyes. That… that felt good…
There was a girlish groan in the back, reminding me of the reason for me to be relieving my stress on an inanimate object. I turned back and looked at her as she cuddled up in my jacket. I sighed. Hell… if it’s a dream, it’s a pretty damn good one. I looked back as I started to reverse, getting back onto the street and driving in the general direction of my apartment.
I didn´t really have any destination in mind, so I just mindlessly drove down the dark roads between my apartment and the beach I had just left. I was only trying to figure out what to do with the cartoon character in my back seat. Well… she felt real, sounded real; she can breathe and grab me… I kept looking at my rearview window to make sure she was still there; she was, snuggling up to my jacket. Then… she´s real.
My mind went numb after that realization. I don’t remember much except driving for a few hours before noticing I didn’t have much more gas left. I sighed and looked up, surprised to find myself in front of my apartment. The building was dark, the lights around it out.
I got out of the car, and felt lucky my apartment was close to the parking lot. I jogged over to the door and unlocked it, to then run back and picked her up as quietly as I could. I ran inside with her in my arms, and locked the door behind my back.
For a moment I just stood in front of my door, trying to figure out how my life had set me up so that I was in that moment in my own apartment, holding Derpy Hooves in my arms, tugged in my jacket, which I brought there on my own car, something I could now afford with my own job, and left me time to finally publish a book in which I had invested so many effort and sacrifice. It felt much longer than the few months since I had gotten my degree.
After my not-that-brief pause, I decided to put Derpy in my couch to make a real check through for injuries. I faintly moved her around, checking out to see if I could see anything. I didn´t find anything that felt wrong, but I probably wasn´t the most reliable person to discuss that with. Hmm… I can´t see anything, but that doesn´t mean much with my knowledge about this. I paused. Maybe if I called my friend…
I was reaching for the phone before stopping and thought through what I was thinking on doing. What would someone else say? What would they do? How would I even ask for help? Hey… so you know Derpy from that cartoon show? Yeah, she's unconscious on my couch, think you could help me? I quickly put the phone down.
What if someone saw me carrying her? A sudden thought invaded my mind. I sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall. That’s just great, the hell am I supposed to do? What if someone else saw her fall? …Would they call the government?
I looked at the pony sleeping peacefully on my couch; she was turned away from me, resting her head on a couch pillow. I faintly smiled at her before leaning my head against the wall. If I was crazy, at least it would make me a little happier. Still, if I wasn´t… what would that mean? Any of them meant my next few days were going to be rockier than I expected.
Well… life got interesting… just when I thought it couldn’t get more stressful. I heard her yawn and I looked over, our eyes locked as she slowly leaned forward, squinting at me.
"Yeah, life is getting interesting all right."
Author's Note
I decided to ask a good friend of mine with real talent for this stories to help me out with this. This chapter was mostly done by him, with a few fixes here or there from me. I´ll be doing one side of the story while he does the other, so that you can be sure the chapters will arrive on time every week.
I´m sorry for the length of this chapter, but this past week was a little stronger than expected.
The co-writer is FlashKenshin77, I really recommend his stories, check him out if you can!
