//------------------------------// // CH03: God // Story: The Proxy // by Eyesclops //------------------------------// -Ponyville, Nighttime - So I sat there, alone. I had placed all of my eggs in one basket, in one hope, and it failed miserably. Twilight seemed so nice too. Still, as I laid there sobbing, I realized I was an idiot. Nothing would get done by sitting in one place. I eventually found the strength and got up. However, all I did was find myself walking around with head hanging lowly and with no sense of direction. "HEEEEEEYYYYY! HEY YOU! OVER THERE!" The pink pony from earlier was hopping up and down and was yelling at me. "You're gonna miss your party! C'mon!" She quickly grabbed my hoof and I found myself being pulled along by this overly-energetic pink pony toward the center of the town. -Sugarcube Corner- I entered the room and was immediately greeted by a bunch of ponies. All of them screamed "Surprise!" even though I had already known a party was going to occur as this pony, who introduced herself as "Pinkie Pie" had just yelled to me the fact a party for me was the destination. Still, what was this party for? "Silly, its because you're new!" Pinkie Pie said when I asked why. "Now just have fun!" That party brightened up my mood, I met many ponies, Rarity, AppleJack, and Cheerilee. All of them were nice, kind, and made me forget the fact I was disappointed with the information I had. I even managed to find out some basics of the land I was in, such as its rulers were Princess Luna and Celestia. That is, until the questions came. "So what is with your cutie mark?" "Where are you from?" "How did you get here?" "Are you staying long?" I stammered, I wasn't sure how to answer. What could I do? Most of them wouldn't believe me if I said anything about my past. I was already told it was a fairy tale. "I... I don't think I can tell you guys..." I managed to mumble out. I walked away from the crowd and said hello to Pinky Pie, who seemed to have stopped her prancing about. She was outside of Sugarcube Corner. "Hmm, that's funny," she said, "Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy aren't here!" And then her tail twitched. Next thing I knew, I was underneath a yellow pegasus with pink hair. "Oh there you are Fluttershy!" "Oh dear... I'm so sorry... I.. umm... err..." Fluttershy stuttered. I smiled, she lived up to her name. "Don't worry," I said gently, "I'm sure you didn't mean to do that." "A sudden gust of wind blew me to the ground when I was coming here... Oh I'm so sorry." I got up from the ground and smiled, "I forgive you." ... ...for... .. forgive... ... "AARGH!" I fell on the ground. A sudden jolt of pain went through my head. I saw an image Twilight, alone in her library. She was in tears. ... forgive... "!" I fell unconscious onto the ground even though I had lifted myself up only moments before. -Location Unknown- "Leon?" the voice rang in my head. It was a deep voice, but somehow it was comforting to listen to, peaceful even. "Who is this? What do you want? Where am I?" I was at the void again, in the space I had been when I first died. It wasn't snowing, however. It was raining. I was human as well, and I was naked as well. The disembodied voice rang out, "I am merely another puppet in the great scheme of things. A god, so to speak. However, it is not your idea of a god..." The voice paused. "I am Equestria's keeper, guardian of this land, I prefer to keep myself hidden in the shadows..." "Wh- what?" I cried out, not sure how to react to such a claim. At first I was going to not believe, but then I remembered what had transpired between me and Twilight Sparkle. "The ponies do not know I exist, and I would prefer to keep it that way..." this 'god' said. "I am immortal, and I can change this land and its destiny, but my job here is merely to watch... I cannot directly change this land by itself..." I was stunned, but this didn't distract me from my own questions. The voice seemed to be leading me away from what I had originally asked. "So, what do you want from me? Were am I?" I called out the questions again. "As for where your mind is, it is in my domain, the room where I eternally watch the goings-on of Equestria..." The darkness remained, but a fireplace appeared. In front of it was a black leather couch, a glass table with a chess set that looked to be made of glass (and trimmed with gold) and a window that seemed to have no wall. A floor also became visible, a circular light up portion of black and white tile being what all of these items rested upon faded out into the darkness. The chess game was half-played, and the window seemed to have no accompanying wall. The side of the window I was not on seemed to be looking out into the world from the sky, but none of the light from the window entered the area I was now standing in. All of the light came from the fireplace. The rain faded away. I slowly realized I was no longer floating in the nothingness, but was standing on this floor, though when, and how, I did not know. I also found myself clothed in a red silk robe that looked to be impossibly expensive. "This game.." This God began to say, "Do you see how it moves, how it works?" I immediately looked at the chess set, pieces were moving near randomly by themselves, completely ignoring the rules of how pieces should normally move in chess. "It is an impossible game, and I am only a spectator." This god continued. "And this one is almost over..." The black king fell over. "But I have only seen games that were small, insignificant. However, this next game isn't the same." I was confused? After a moment's thought, however, I understood. "The stakes are higher. Correct?" "Yes..." The voice said. "We Gods all abide by a code we cannot break. We have limitations placed on us restricting our interference of the world below. Even though I am forbidden from interfering directly on Equestrian affairs, I deemed this next "game" to be a time I needed to bend those rules. I needed a proxy. You are that proxy." "So my death was..." "I stole you from your God." The voice said. I was stunned, during my life I had not been a remarkable person, I enjoyed parkour, but I was not talented in any sense of the word. "Why did I choose you? I did it becau-" Static. At the worst possible moment, static. The rain returned and all but the window, the robes, and the floor faded into nothingness. ... Forgive Twilight... I now knew whose voice it was. It was his first command. "God. I will be your agent."