Chapter 1: Treading the Unknown Land.
I felt...heavy...too heavy to even wonder why I feel so. All to heavy to pick myself up, I felt so tired, like I just woken up from a long eternal slumber. But still it felt uncomfortable, all I can remember was a flash of white light....Mundus....thats all I can think of, I can feel a sharp stab travel up my spine and a quaking migraine from all of the events just from thinking.
I knew I would never come back, she knew and I loved her with all my heart that I was willing to go into hell and keep the demons at bay. She knew, she was always a bright woman when I first met and fought alongside her...even when I was fighting her for a moment, but she was a strong warrior in every right and that I respected in a human. In time I never expected to fall for a mortal, I never expected to give birth too two sons, and I never expected that I would leave them so suddenly when I entered the portal to hell. Even the rumors escalated when I left, that Eva....my love....my soul....died, along with my souls. A group of cowards sent by a bigger puppetmaster then them.
Anger was what filled me....that's what just filled me....unbending rage to its molten core.
But it will come later as I felt my starting to steadily return, I could feel my life force flooding my whole body with its energy and warmth. But it didn't help anyway as I felt something flaky and cold, as I tried to open my eyes a flash of sun blinded me as they opened up wide. The light was a sign of hope and purity for all beings across the many fables, stories, and poems that graced the timeline of the world I protected, but now its just blinding and very annoying in its own right. I rubbed my eyes only to find something odd, extremely odd to me.
Instead of feeling fingers interlocked or spread apart to relieve my sight and bring it into focus, I felt a massive stub as my vision cleared up to reveal something I would have never expected from what I have seen for over ten thousand years. I had a grey hoof...a plain grey hoof, I looked down to see another hoof in the snow, that solved the mystery of why if felt so cold. I surveyed the surroundings to see a mountainous enviorment surrounding me and barren snowy wasteland as far as the eye can see. As I tried to take a step forward, I tripped over and felt myself quaver at this I looked back to see what I tripped over to see an even bigger shock.
"What in the-?" I had two more of these hooves behind me attached to a grey body, I gingerly brought my front hoof to my back hooves. The feeling of a third and fourth limb was staggering to me, but it came to a bigger surprise when my eyes traveled up my back to see two stumps behind me and felt like they were severed off my body. I didn't know what they were as I managed to rub my forehead from this. That wasn't the only surprise I felt as my hoof traveled over a bump, serrated around the edges. I gently circled over the bump as I could feel the serrated edges of it start to leave paperthin cuts along my hoof. More mysteries to solve as I brought my hoof back to the ground. I stood at attention to see that I somehow managed to keep my original height. But what creature was I that would stand on all fours?
"So it seems the first task is to wonder...what I am and where am I?" But I felt something missing, before I could go on I was feeling around my back with my forehoof( I think it is called so)...my sword Force Edge was missing from its sheathe. My pride and honor was in this blade along with my other blade Yamato. I left it back with Eva along with another sword I used before I favored the Force Edge and we were inseparable for a long time, I turned my head to see it laying in the snow behind me the imprint of the blade was made clear in the snow,
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As I reached down to grab my beloved sword, it slipped from my grasp and landed with a thud in the snow. My hoof was covered from the snow that lay in my now present stub. " Damn it." I cursed, It was the same result over and over again I tried to grasp on to it, but the damn thing wouldn't meet with my hoof. Accursed stubs, to hell what I was this is more a curse to me then the Demonic Emperor's themselves. The second task to my list...how am I suppose to control these damnable hooves.
" I do so wish it was permanent." A voice barely audible was right off to my side in the distance, but I couldn't see it as the hill was the only thing in the way. I perked my head up a bit to see only a snow covered hill
" To hell with it." I said to myself as I bent my neck down and grasped the handle of Force Edge with my teeth heading towards the source of the voice, the only challenging part was keeping my balance as I was backing up leaving a small track behind my sword. I kept stumbling in the snow, the cold wet substance hitting my face and wetting was suppose to be my bodies fur.
" Did you see how my mane absolutely sparkled?" Judging from the voice, it seemed posh and-
Wait, mane? That would be another mystery to solve another time as I managed to hasten my pace as soon as my eyes gazed upon a plume of white smoke in the distance. And it seems my enhanced senses didn't abandoned me either, least I kept that. Hoping at least the voices I heard could explain the situation I am in.
" But good things are better when their...a Rarity." The next voice seemed...more of a western tone, both her and the posh voice were female which was easy to hear.
" Everythings gonna be okay," The next voice was male, a bit older then the two other voices " You gotta stop saving my rump, its starting to get embarrassing." and judging by the distance they were closing in on me....I would say that I was closing on them but the difficulty walking on all fours is a bit....slow if you will and the task of dragging Force Edge through the snow was hindering it barely.
" It wasn't me that saved you it was Spike." Another female popped in, this one sounded normal in tone but seemed a bit down. I found a train, plumes of white smoke puffing from the lead train over the next hill. I stopped and looked down to see six figures closing in the distance as I continued my sojourn of dragging my sword through the snow and closing in on the opening to a cabin.
" Its just a test, maybe she will let you retake it." The male voice said to the female voice and it seemed closer as I reached the cabin door, paying no heed to the direction they were coming from.
" I don't think she's going to give me another-." The voice froze as I was trying to get Force Edge on the train, the reason for it being stopping all of a sudden was a mystery to me as I turned around to see that I seemed to be the reason for their sudden silence...the sight that I didn't expect in thousands of years was catching up to me. Their were colored ponies...each of them about half of my size except for two. The six colored ponies varied, one was a laveneder unicorn with a dark blue mane and a pink highlight in the center of its mane, the same could be said about her tail. My eyes traveled to a star looking mark surrounded by other smalls stars on its flank with its purple eyes on me.
The next was a white looking unicorn, its mane seemed well groomed and purple and its blue eyes were the same as the lavender one's. And the same could be said in the case of her as the tail as it matched the same condition as the lavender colored unicorn's case, it matched her tail in the same swirled pattern and it seemed well groomed as well.
The other two I could see were a canary yellow pony alongside a cyan colored one, from what I could see were wings...both of them easily were pegasus except of course in appearance. They cyan colored pegasus had a tomboyish demeanor just by its look and a messy rainbow mane alongside its tail, its magenta eye's traveled to Force Edge as both orbs narrowed in aggression. This pony shared the same fate as the other two, a cloud with a red,yellow and blue lighting bolt shooting out of the cloud was adorning her flank.
The canary one was next to its fellow pegasi and it seemed different...shy and scared by its stance. Its pink mane was covering one eye and it seemed natural and long alongside her tail. It's mark had three butterflies with green bodies and pink wings.
The next two seemed normal enough, except of course one was orange with a blonde mane tied in a ponytail with a cowboy's hat on her head and green eyes narrowing along with the cyan colored pony. The pink one on the other hand, I couldn't explain it. It was hyper to put it at best; hopping in place with her curly mane and tail following suit and silly looking face looking at me with a large grin, its mark seemed to be three balloons both blue and yellow.
The next two surprised me, one was a unicorn that was bigger then the rest then the pony next to it. Following suit in appearance was his all white body and a blue shield on his flank matching the lavender unicorn's mark. Its mane was a majority dark blue with a bit of light blue tone on some part of its mane the same could be said about it's tail.
The next one perplexed me, it seemed to be pink but in a lighter shade but with not only wings, but a horn as well. Its mane was a pink, purple, and a cream color with its tail. Its hooves were covered in a golden horseshoe(I guess it is called so) along with a golden necklace and tiara to match which led me to believe it was royalty. Its mark had a golden outline of a aquamarine heart in the center of the heart shaped outline.
From what I could guess, all of the ponies excluding the tall white one were female and by the looks of the rest of the traveling eyes....they were looking at my sword on the ground and the surveying me. The orange and cyan ponies were looking to attack. I looked back and spat my sword out...thinking I was about to attack them. I managed to walk off the steps without falling, but as soon as I took the last step I was my balance gave out as I bumped into the train cart and managed to grab the nearest window sill with my hoof.
"It seems your now cooperating you damned stump." I thought to myself, I was now suddenly looking at the window, seeing my own reflection and a sight that confirmed everything from the stubs and the serrated bump on my head and the little conversation her picked up.
I could see a pony face with a swept back white mane and deep blue eyes looking back at my reflection. From the mystery bump on my head it seemed to be a horn and the stumps on my back were wings, the same as the two pegasus. I was one of them...I thought it would be a shock, but it would come later as I could see the eight ponies still eyeing me. The two brash ponies seemed ready to charge at me...I looked at my sword then the ponies and tried to compose myself despite my body rejecting it other wise as my attempt ended with me collapsing on the ground.
" Oh my gosh...are you okay?" I heard a soft angelic voice call out to me.
" Fluttershy you don't ask an attacker if he's alright!" the next voice was indeed tomboyish and very loud, I looked up to see the cyan looking at her companion in annoyance.
" Wait one moment Rainbow Dash..." I didn't notice that the pink pony with the wings and horn approached me and looked down at me, her soft purple orbs surveying my face, but as she suddenly noticed my wings and horn and gasped and held out her hoof...with one surprise that rattled my sense's.
" Who are you?" The pink pony talked....of all the demons I faced and killed and talked, a sentient pony of all things was conversing with me and worried about my health...and yet the one pressing matter for me was the fact that-
" You can talk?" I asked, still astonished and shocked at this. I may have faced beings that could talk but this just may have done it for me.
" Yes we can all talk," Her eyes traveled to my broken horn and stub, " Oh my goodness! Are you okay?" she shouted as her hoof traveled over my stumps.
" Yes, they don't hurt if that is what you are worried about." I responed.
" Are you sure? We can go back to the Crystal Empire and-."
" Excuse me...Crystal Empire?" I was now in all intents in purposes confused.
" Yes we just came back from it to escort the elements back to Canterlot." The pink pony explained.
" The Elements?"
" Yes, are you sure you are alright?" She asked again, still worried about my condition. Elements, Crystal Empire, Ponies?
" Again I am alright I thank you for your concern." That didn't help my case from me flailing in the snow from my lost of balance.
" Well can you at least tell me who you are?" She asked, it wasn't forced, but...polite. I never this type of tone before in a long time...a very long time. I never expected kindness despite the fact two of the ponies were still ready to strike and the white stallion seemed ready to jump in. And my name....I have to be careful about this, combat as taught me is to never trust anyone no matter if they seem innocent in all this. I gave a sigh and answered her, regretting whether if it would backfire on me.
" My name is Sparda."
