When Two Worlds Collide

Epic Ace's POV

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I kept a steady trot as I try to push the scene I was just in to the back of my mind. The cider was kicking in now and I had no idea on what to do or where to go at the moment. "Maybe drinking wasn't such a good idea after all," I mumbled softly. I was pissed off. Pissed off at myself and my stupidity. How can I lose a necklace that practically means the world to me? I shook my head, the hood upon it barely budging as I did so. I looked at the sky again, the moon still high. My stomach lets out a low growl and I sigh. There's no time to grieve over this. I thought to myself. I looked at my wounded wing, some of the arrow still stuck in it. I winced as I tried to fold it again, the pain shooting from the joint in my shoulder back to the tip of it. Beautiful. I'm hungry, in a ton of pain, and I have a pretty much useless wing. What else could go wrong? I thought and then I spoke, "Seriously, what else can go wrong now?

I looked around and surveyed my surroundings. The moonlight barely cast light in this area, hiding my presence so I believed I was safe here for a bit. I trotted in yet another alley way, laying down behind an old, beat up dumpster. "Just another day in the streets of Manehattan and another day I barely made it through," I said softly aloud as I hear a hint of a stallions voice. Peeking out from behind the dumpster after I hear voices and the faint tapping of hooves. Momentarily it stops and then it begins to get further away. I released a sigh of relief as the sounds disappeared into the distance. I slid my cloak off skillfully and used it as a blanket, placing it over my body and keeping my wounded wing spread out to reduce the amount of pain I'd be in. I rested my head on the fading red wall to my right. I began thinking, letting my mind spew out questions as to why I'm still alive or if I was to die back then. Images of them flowed into my mind and I just recalled something. I hated thinking mostly because I always seemed to think about them. I looked at myself in the reflection of a puddle forming just by me from a downspout nearby. "I never looked like this," I muttered, my brain pounding hard against my skull. "And things weren't always like this for me."

With all the memories, the aching heart residing in my chest, and the pain jolting from my wing joint to the tip of my wing occasionally, I start to drift off. I hide the pain I'm in, holding all my emotions in can darken my heart further. Yet, I have no one to talk to. No one to help me. No one to confide it. I have no one and nothing, so why am I still fighting? Why am I still trying? Why do I care about anyone now? It's because I'm Epic Ace, and nothing will put an end to my story without me dying while trying. I fell asleep by then, the voices arguing within my head to answer the questions being unraveled so very quickly and answered unreasonably and inaccurate.

*   *   *

A sudden breaking of glass and the thud of a crate hitting the ground awoke me from my slumber as I  shot up from the ground and attempted to fly up out of fear, causing me to land unevenly on my hooves. My wing was now swollen due to the lack of medical treatment and I didn't want to lose it, but I had no choice but to avoid any hospitals, no matter how much regret would follow me. The questions would be never ending. What would I say? Oh, yeah, I got shot by the Royal Guard while trying to steal an apple. Ha, no thanks. The crimson color was screaming at me, the pain beginning to jolt back and forth once more. My heart pumped loudly and I was breathing heavy, both eventually calming down. I looked at the dumpster, seeing my reflection stare menacingly back at me. My mane appeared to be wet and my eyes had dark bags underneath them. I stood shakily, still a little frightened of what had fell so close to me to wake me like it had. My stomach was almost flat from barely eating, my ribs nearly visible and the feathers on my wings were dulling, the once pure white color was cursed with dark spots of dirt and grime from my life now. I shook my head, stumbling just slightly as I slid my cloak back on, hiding my figure once more.

I trot out slowly from the alley, almost stepping on the shattered glass that lay near my once resting area. I looked left and right cautiously and continued out, blending in with the rest of the towns ponies. My wing was concealed, but a small bump was formed in the cloak where the remaining piece of the arrow resided. I say, it was a horrible idea to keep it in there and not yank it out when I first obtained the stupid arrow. I was looking around when suddenly something bumped into me, causing me to step backwards a few times before I fell onto my plot. It was a young colt, his orange mane was long but his tail was just a mere nub. His yellow coat also seemed a bit damp, but I guess he hadn't noticed me for he was searching frantically around for something, placing his hooves everywhere around him in the diameter of his body. "I'm terribly sorry sir, I-"

I cut the young colt off, standing up as strong as I could. "It's all right," I say soothingly, "you didn't see me, though I think I should have paid more attention to where I was going," I finished, looking at him with a small smile. "What do you appear to be looking for?"

"I lost my glasses when I bumped into you. I wasn't watching where I was going and I lost them. I can't see very well without them," the colt said with a sigh.

I looked around, spotting a pair of black glasses with tinted lenses. "One moment, stay here," I spoke as I trotted over to the glasses, picking them up in my jaw as I trotted back over to the yellow earth pony. "Are these yours?" I questioned, holding out the item to the young colt.

He grabbed them in his front hooves, sliding them back on effortlessly. "Yes! Thank you so much!" the colt exclaimed, standing up and casting me a delightful grin.

"No problem. Don't mention it," I smiled back and continued, "now run along before your mom starts to wonder where you scurried off to. I won't say a word, I promise," I winked and the colt galloped off, waving good-bye before he left. Such an enthusiastic young colt. He reminds me of myself when I was younger. I thought, chuckling softly as I watched him disappear into the morning crowd. I return to my steady trot, and suddenly, my stomach lets out a loud growl, alerting other ponies around me. I recieved  a few glances in my direction and at me for this and I silently cursed my hunger. I really have to eat or I might as well be known as the Hungry Stomach. I started running through the crowd, pushing and shoving the many ponies out of the way, many cursing me with foul mouths as I was pick pocketing a few clueless ones along my way. I knew what I was going to do. Maybe a drug dealer found my necklace and I just need enough to pay them.

I hid in a dark alley, counting aloud over two-hundred bits before I hid them in a pocket inside my cloak. I walked out onto the streets again once I decided it was safe. Instead of going through the normal and busy streets, I stick to the allies again. What I'd do for some food right now. I thought, coming across an unattended apple stand in one of the allies. I snagged about five apples and trotted away casually, making sure nopony saw me this time. I smirked, biting into one of them and feeling accomplished. I finished them within a course of fifteen minutes, three minutes or so per each. It silenced my stomach for a while as I continued my journey to find my lost necklace. What if I never find it? I thought sadly before I pushed the negative thoughts to the back of my head and filled them with positive ones.