Ch. 1: From kid, to colt
Chapter 1
From kid, to colt
By: Brotato
The sky turned pitch-black as night settled over the shattered capital of Caelondia. Life seemed non-existent in this broken world as the earth had ruptured, bringing disaster to the land. Entire forests, grasslands and cities were gone in an instant, leaving behind chunks of earth and pieces of once majestic buildings. The only remnants of people were the hollow husks of ash statues.
The Calamity was merciless. Everyone was thought to be gone after the disaster, but three scattered survivors managed to find one another. Together they brought hope back to the broken land of Caelondia. This hope took the form of an island in the sky and it stood out among the rubble and broken rock dotting the bleak sky-scrape. Rucks called it the Bastion, and was made by the same man. It’s purpose was to be a fallback point for Caelondia’s citizens. Unfortunately, no one saw the disaster coming.
"Welcome to the heart of The Bastion, Kid." An old, white-haired man said in his deep voice. "I'm not one for long goodbyes so here's the deal." He motioned his left hand toward the young woman standing next to him. "Zia and I figure you did the heavy lifting, so you get to do the honors of turning this thing on."
The Kid was the age of a young adult, about twenty-five years old. He wore a simple brown vest and pants with a white undershirt. Over that he wore several scraps of armor and a large red bandanna across is neck. He carried his favorite weapon with him, a large golden hammer hung across his back. Most of his time he spent outdoors, making his skin take on a slight olive complexion. His white hair was kept short and unkempt, just the way he liked it.
Kid stared at the tower, his face covered with curious uncertainty. Glancing at the old man, he chuckled and pointed out the two levers. The Kid strode up to the stone tower and saw the two control panels. One of them labeled in bold print said "Restoration", while the other had a safety catch to make sure it was not accidentally pulled. It got labeled in the same way, "Evacuation."
“Two more things, Kid,” Rucks piped up. He held out his left hand toward a switch on the Bastion. “Restoration will restore Caelondia back to the way it was before the calamity. However... ,“ Kid noticed the gloom on his voice and tensed up. “That includes everyone's memories... even ours. Evacuation, however,” he held out his right hand. “Means we leave Caelondia behind, but we’ll still have each other.” Rucks lets out a small smile, which cheered Kid up a bit.
However, no amount of cheering up could help with his decision. Now he really didn’t know which lever to pull. Did he want to restore his homeland back the way it was, but lose his friends in the process? Or accept the friends he had, but leave his homeland forever? Switching glances toward both levers, he let out a frustrated sigh as he tugged at his white hair. Rucks kneeled down next to Kid and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
“Now, now, don’t let it get to ya. I don’t expect this to be easy on anyone if they were in your shoes. Just remember that there is no right or wrong answer, Kid. Just listen to what your heart tells ya,” he chuckled. “As Cliché as that must sound.”
Eyeing the tower once again, Kid nodded at Rucks and steeled himself as he walked toward one of the levers. Grabbing it, he glanced back toward Rucks one more time who simply smiled at Kid. Taking a deep breath, he quickly pulled the lever down. A loud rumble came from the tower as it burst to life. Kid flinched back toward Rucks, away from the tower. Suddenly bright green tendrils of light began shooting out the top of the machine. They began grabbing nearby rocks and soil, slowly putting them back together. The tower began rebuilding his homeland. Rucks gazed at the green filled skies.
"It's finished," he said with awe. "Now sit tight Kid, it'll be over soon. No matter what happens next... ya done good." He let out a sigh, "I suppose all that is left is to try to remember this moment. The Bastion is going to take us back to a better time before any of this.” He slowly shook his head, "After all we have been through, our memories will be gone. I always find that hard to swallow." The tendrils of light were starting to close slowly in on Rucks, Zia and the Kid.
Rucks still wore that smile on his face, comforting any soul who saw it, and the Kid was no exception. He closed his eyes and held his head to the sky. "So long Kid. Maybe I will see you in the next one.” Just as he said that, a loud series of cracks followed by a loud bang could be heard coming from the machine. The tendrils of green light began rapidly changing into the colors of the rainbow. Rucks stared at them, saying one last thing as they reached for him.
“Well... that can’t be good.”
A blue Pegasus dove through dozens of clouds hanging over Ponyville, dispersing them to prepare Celestia's sun to shine on the town below. It was still early in the morning and she was silently wishing to be back in bed. She swore she kept hearing her bed trying to get her to sleep, taunting mercilessly.
"Come back to bed! Come back..." Her eyelids were half-open as she gave out a yawn. “Maybe a small...nap...” just when she was about to fall asleep, she shook her head to clear her away the daze. “No!” She yelled to herself. She had a job to do and as the aspect of loyalty and faithful weather Pegasus, it was her responsibility to complete the job given to her. She wasn’t too excited to receive the letter yesterday when Derpy Hooves loudly knocked on her door. The mailmare had a letter delivered to her from the weather team in Cloudsdale, asking her to work tomorrows morning weather plan. The only other Pegasus on morning duty over Ponyville was sick and they desperately needed her.
She reluctantly agreed and sent the letter back, which they responded with a small list of weather changes. Most of them were clear skies and that was considered a day off or a boon, since most pegasi finished such orders quickly. A light flap of her wings or a quick buck got rid of the smaller clouds. The only hard part was a fat pair of clouds floating above the mayor's office, which she solved by cutting the soft clouds with her wings, then bucking the small clouds to oblivion. It took roughly a minute, but a smile of satisfaction crossed her face when she finished.
Admiring her work from above, the idea of heading back to bed crossed her mind yet again. She mentally brushed the thought away as she decided to spend the rest of the morning flying freely around Equestria. “Naps are more satisfying when you’re exhausted,” she reminded herself. She flew near the edge of the everfree forest, knowing to stay clear of it in the past. Suddenly, a deep rumble of what sounded like thunder could be heard from above. Stopping her leisurely flight, she looked up. All she saw were fluffy white clouds and the sun.
"That's strange, I don't see any dark clouds in the sky or remember thunder being a part of today's weather schedule. I need to read the hoof notes more often," she said, berating herself. A figure appeared in the sky that fell through several clouds high in the atmosphere. It was too big for any bird she ever saw. Whatever it was, it was descending rapidly. "What the hay is...” She finally saw as it fell closer, a small brown earth pony. “Ohmygosh!" Rainbow Dash shot like a lightning bolt toward the pony in trouble.
Kid realized he was falling backwards, his face looking up toward the sky. The cold wind blew past him, numbing his ears while tossing his hair and red scarf about wildly. He tried moving his limbs, but to his horror, he was so exhausted he couldn’t even feel his limbs. He managed to at least blink and admire the clear blue sky holding those puffy clouds as he passed through them. It was a beautiful sight and he silently prayed to survive the fall so he could admire it while on the ground.
Boom, the sky shook as he felt it shudder in his very bones. He tried to shift his head, but he was still too tired for his muscles to even twitch. He felt something soft press against his back and his descent started to slow down. He couldn’t see who or what it was helping him. All he could see were the tips of blue wings in his peripheral vision. They flapped wildly at first, then became a steady motion as his descent finally came to a halt.
His body hit the ground with a dull flop. Thankfully he landed on a thick patch of grass and was possibly the most comfortable thing he ever laid on. He was very tired so a pile of needles would’ve seemed like a good place to sleep by now. His exhaustion hit him again and his eyesight started to blur. He was about to go to sleep when a blue face appeared above him, looking at him with a mix of worry and confusion. The strange colored, rainbow maned pony proceeded to wave a hoof in front of his face.
It was obviously trying to say something but all he heard were soft mumbles, like his ears were stuffed full of cotton. After a minute of watching her uselessly try to communicate with him, he gave up and closed his eyes. quickly drifting off to sleep. It was the best he ever had since the Calamity.
The Kid stirred in his sleep, dreaming of fighting a 'scumbag'. Giant, blue, and round creatures in his world covered in cloth, their body nothing but a blue jelly. The fabric they wore always looked close to breaking since they got bigger as they aged. This one he was fighting was a full adult. Though no matter what age, they always gave off the smell of rotten blueberries and barley. This made them easy to notice far before they were in sight.
Somehow, this scumbag managed to sneak up on him. Kid quickly rolled to the left as the enormous creature slid across the broken streets of his hometown in Caelondia.
It left behind a smelly ooze where it once was, but he ignored the horrible smell and tightly gripped his favorite hammer. He charged at the giant scumbag and swung his weapon wide. The weapon bounced off the blue monster with a loud boing, followed by an aggravated grunt.
The scumbag turned its body toward kid, ready to rushed him again. Kid backed up slowly, almost falling off the edge the Calamity caused. He was at a dead-end with a scumbag the size of the street ahead and the edge of the world in back. Steeling himself, he pulled out his shield. The Kid cringed, knowing he would not be able to stop something that large in its tracks.
"Guess this story is at an end," he mumbled grimly. The scumbag rushed toward him, knocking its target and itself clear off the world and into the darkness below.
Kid let out a short yell of terror as he bolted upright. His eyes were dilated, zipping around, ready to fight anything that might be hostile. He finally realized he was not under attack and fell back to the pillow. He waited until his heart stopped racing before he lifted his head back off the pillow to look around. He was sitting up in a bed, the white sheets and pillow were cool and crisp to the touch. Sunlight shone through a small window above him, giving enough light to see the room clearly.
The room was small, maybe enough to fit thirty people inside. It had white everywhere and held a sense of cleanliness. The only thing not white was a nearby poster. It gave a description in pictures on how to give CPR to a pony and he found that slightly odd.
Am I in a veterinary hospital? They must take their pets very seriously here. He massaged the side of his head, trying to calm the slight headache. Thankfully the rest of his body recovered from the massive fatigue that he suffered upon arriving.
Wait a minute...
He brought his hand down in front of his face, expecting to see his five digits wiggling in front of him. Instead he was staring at a tan furred hoof. Curious, he brought his other hoof in front of his face and switched glances between them. He softly brought them together as they made a small clop sound. He proceeded to do this another four times before the door far across the room slowly opened. A white pony with light pink hair entered and quietly closed the door. He noticed the small red cross on the cap she wore, a universal sign for first-aid.
I'm in a hospital for ponies? He finally realized. She pulled out a clipboard that hung from the doorway and scribbled something on it with the pencil in her mouth before putting it back.
He tried to make as little noise as possible, else he might get its attention. From where he was sitting up, he guessed the pony was around three to four feet high. She didn't seem hostile, though he learned that the hard way from a squirt attack. It was another creature in his homeland and they were notoriously adorable, but were known to attack if aggravated.
Might as well introduce myself. He wondered if he would be able to talk since he was now an animal. He was quite surprised when his normal human voice came out.
"Uh... hello?"
The nurse glanced his way before calmly trotting up to the side of his bed. She proceeded to gently take one of his hooves and hold it firmly. He felt slight pressure on his arm and could only guess she was checking his pulse. The seconds ticked by and the pony nodded to herself and put a hoof to his forehead to check for a fever. Satisfied, she stood back with a smile on her face.
"I hope you slept well," She spoke in a soft tone, not disturbing the calm tranquility of the room. "You were unconscious for a long time. I've never seen anypony sleep undisturbed for two days straight. They usually wake up from hunger or have coughing fits for water." She quickly finished the meager check-up and looked at him in the eye. "How are you feeling?"
Kid felt stunned as the pony looking down at him with those unnaturally large, blue eyes. While he was able to talk himself, he was still having trouble understanding why animals could talk.
Was it that large bottle of Cinderbring Stout I drank before turning on the Bastion? He asked himself, wondering if that was all a very weird drunk dream. He decided to play along with the pony. Maybe he could get some answers.
"I'm fine. Still a bit sore, but not painfully so.” The previous mention of hunger pangs and dry throat also brought those symptoms up. “And maybe a little hungry.”
“Well don’t worry, we’ll get you something to eat. Would you like a small bowl of oatmeal? It’s not much, but it will hold off the pangs." Kid’s ears perked up at the mention of food.
"That would be nice. Thank you, Miss...?" He cracked a smile, wincing from his sore muscles.
Surprise crossed the nurse’s face, but she quickly replaced it with a smile. “You can call me Nurse Red Redheart. Sorry if I seem surprised, not many patients thank me for my work. A pony thanking me is like a breath of fresh air. Once I didn’t ge-” Kid’s stomach interrupted her speech with a rumble. It was not amused with all of this talking.
“Oh! sorry. I’ll go get your meal ready.” The mare trotted out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
Well they seem nice enough... free food too! I should probably play along until I can figure out where I am. Being turned into a pony and talking with other ponies is just too... weird. Rucks would probably laugh his mustache off if he saw me like this.
Kid let out a small yawn, still dazed from waking up. He decided to take a nap while he waited for the nurse to return, the softness of the bed greatly helping with this great plan. After a couple of minutes, he heard the click of the doorknob turning. Slowly lifting his head off the pillow, he hoped some food finally arrived. Instead of the white mare he was hoping for, a familiar blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane came in. She quietly shut the door behind her and walked up to the end of the bed.
"Hey, how are you doing?" She said slowly.
“Fine, I guess,” Kid responded. “Though I have you to thank for saving my life." He smiled again and it didn't hurt so much that time.
"Yeah it was nothing," she waved her hoof dismissively. Kid noticed she was enjoying the moment, the small smile on her face giving it away. "Though I have to ask... why were you falling from the sky?"
Kid felt a lump in his throat. Would it hurt if he told her the truth? What would he say? "Oh, I just came from another entirely different world. I'm not actually a pony either, but a human. We walk on two legs, have no fur, eat meat, and have animals like you work for us as labor." It would sound like he was either crazy or had an amazing imagination. He went with the safest route and feigned ignorance.
"I... don't know, he said while rubbing the back of his neck. “All I remember is me falling, you catching me, then blacking out." He put on the best straight, poker face he could muster. He was decent at it since he would play cards with Zia and Rucks whenever they took some time to relax. That old man knew how to play though.
“You don’t know?” The Rainbow maned asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes, how many times you want me to repeat my answer? I woke up from falling and don’t remember anything before that,” he stated, crossing his hooves defensively.
“Okay, just calm down. Maybe somepony pulled a prank on you or something.”
“Some prank that is. I almost died!”
“Look, you’re not giving me much to work with,” she pointed out. “So just calm down, all right?” Kid rubbed a hoof between his eyes as if he was rubbing away the stress of the situation. He took several deep breaths before he tried talking again.
“You’re right. I’m sorry about my outbursts. Maybe let’s change the subject. What’s your name?” His visitor seemed shocked at his question.
“Wait, you don't know who I am?"
"Should I be excited?" Kid asked simply. She spread her wings as she talked, making herself look bigger.
"I'm the one and only Rainbow Dash! I’m the fastest flier in all Equestria. Nopony is faster than me!" The Pegasus said pompously. She proceeded to do one more heroic pose before folding her wings. Of course, Kid had never heard of her, he just got here. That didn't stop him having fun with the Pegasus.
“Hmm... nope, sorry. Doesn’t ring any bells.” One of her hooves slid across her face as she let out a frustrated sigh.
“Anyway, my turn to ask a question. I saw your cutie mark when I carried you to the clinic. It’s quite an unusual one. If I had to guess, you earned it by fixing something.” Kid gave her a confused look.
“A... cutie mark? What's that?” He asked, looking around the room for it. Rainbow Dash was once again, surprised. She walked up to the side of his bed and pointed at the cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt on her flank.
"This is a cutie mark. It tells you what your special talents are. Mine involves speed, fast and furious!” She flapped her wings and did a quick circle around the room before landing on the other side of the bed. “That's how I was able to catch you while you were falling. I created a sonic rainboom too, even while flying up. It was so awesome!" She smashed her cheeks together while squealing the last set of words.
Unfortunantly, Kid was half paying attention to notice the amount of adorable happening right next to him. He wanted to throw the sheets from him and look at this cutie mark, but held back the urge. Oh this is just great, I’m naked... at least I still have my bandanna around my neck, he thought, while rubbing it with a hoof.
"How could you not know what a cutie mark is? Everypony learns about them in school or their parents. Unless..." She was peering at him with a stare he couldn't figure out what it meant. Distrust? Confusion?
Kid started to silently panic and he spouted off the first thing that came to mind. "Wait, I can expl-"
"You ran away from your home and school. That's why you don't know what cutie marks are!" She interrupted, pointing an accusing hoof at him. Kid brow furrowed in thought as he put together what the Pegasus was saying. He decided to go along with her story and hung his head dejectedly.
"Yeah."
She smiled proudly at finding it out so easily, but it quickly disappeared. "Oh... but, why? Did something, uh... bad happen?"
"Something like that," he told the bedsheet, trying to avoid eye contact. She easily got the clue that he didn't want to talk about it
"Sorry, didn't mean to talk about something sensitive," she said sadly. However, Kid was grinning slyly in his mind, the fun idea of adding to his fake story crossed his mind. "But... let's just say I had my share of fights. It involved my hoof and a pony that won't be bullying anypony for a while." Did I seriously just say ‘anypony’?
Rainbow Dash grinned at what he said. "I can sympathize. I had my rough times in flight school." Her grin faded as her curiosity returned. "So what's your name?"
"My name? Uh... my name... is..." His bed sheets once again became the most interesting thing in the room as he tried frantically to come up with a name on the spot. He didn't even know what his cutie mark looked like. If he had to guess, names and cutie marks matched in some way for each pony. His chance of tricking the Pegasus this time was very slim since he had no idea what his even looked like.
Rainbow Dash was looking at him expectantly when a loud cough came from the door. The nurse had returned with a cart and was glaring at the Pegasus for pestering her patient. Her voice was stern as she shooed the Pegasus away.
"Rainbow, you have to leave. I need to get his meal ready and I’m sure he wants some time without being... interrogated." She had a knowing look on her face and probably sensed the uneasiness Rainbow Dash was causing, forcing her to to play the hero.
Saved by the nurse, Kid silently sighed.
"Oh, all right. Catch you around, kid. Maybe you can tell me your name after you get out of here." Before Rainbow dash left the room, she held out her hoof. Kid looked at it for a second and copied the motion and she smacked it against his.
I guess ponies have their own form of a high-five. High-hoof? Hoof-five? He dropped the thought as the smell of food became number one priority in the room. The nurse quietly shut the door behind Rainbow Dash and brought the small metal cart to the side of his bed. He noticed a small silver folding tray with a bowl and glass of orange juice on it.
"Here you go, Hun." She placed the tray on his lap, the legs unfolded to not tip over easily. He opened the top to find a small bowl of oatmeal, sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg. It was steaming hot, but Kid didn’t care. Thanking the nurse quickly, he took little time shoving the food into his mouth. He didn't know how to use a spoon with his hooves, so he proceeded to eat straight out of the bowl. Talking ponies that use silverware? This place truly is odd.
Ignoring the searing pain in his stomach and the look of horror on the nurse’s face, he finished devouring the helpless bowl of oats. Looking at the glass of juice for a moment, he grabbed the lip with his teeth and swung his head back, chugging it down. After placing down the now empty glass, he let out a tiny burp. He looked up at the nurse who was still recovering from the display she just saw.
“Oh, uh... sorry you had to see that. Guess I was hungrier than I thought.” Redheart snapped out of her daze after hearing his apology.
“Its alright, Hun. You haven’t eaten for two whole days anyway.” She grabbed a paper towel from the counter and handed it to him. He started to rubbed his face down to get rid of the pieces of oats clinging to his fur. “You sure know how to make a mess, though.” She stood to the side of his bed, with a clipboard out. “So before we get you out of here, we need to know who you are. We tried finding a file on you, but for some reason we couldn’t find one. Like you don’t even exist.” She chuckled at the thought. “Anyway, how about we start with family history. What are your parent’s names?” Kid looked down at the bed sheets somberly.
“I... well...” He paused for a long time. Memories about family were never easy for him to bring up. He always buried it as far as he could, underneath work or fighting monsters in the wilds outside his hometown. He clopped his hooves together, all these questions about his past wasn’t helping his nervousness. He looked at the nurse for a moment and felt he could trust her. The story might sound a bit odd, but hopefully he would be able to explain it as he went. “My mother disappeared a long time ago while I was working.”
“Excuse me? What do you mean ‘disappeared’?” Redheart looked up from her clipboard, her brow in a furrow.
“I wish I knew. One day after I returned from work, she, along with all the money I would send was gone. My mother was very sick and I feared she had deceased, but I couldn’t find her anywhere. Before you ask about my father, I never even met him. He left before i was born. You can imagine it was a very rough life.” Kid felt cold even under the warm blankets, the memories of his past always brought up this chill in his spine. Redheart stared at him, a disturbed look on her face.
“T-that’s horrible!”
“It’s all right,” Kid resonded calmly. “I know my mother loved me, even if I was made fun of by my strange ha‒mane color. That’s all that mattered. Can’t say the same for my father, though.” Read Heart skribbled down several things on her clipboard, but mostly looked at him with concern in her eyes. After asking several more questions and giving back vague answers, she seemed content.
“A-all done,” she said, as if sad it was over. “Just stay here and I’ll have you checked out soon.” As she shut the door, he sat there, thinking over what he said about his parents. It was a rather sad tale to tell.
I really need to stop thinking about the past. It just leads to dark thoughts and sadness. His mental reflex kicked in and started to control his emotions before they got out of control. He would do this regularly whenever his mind wandered about family and loved one’s. He didn’t have the luxury to think of the past post-Calamity. You never knew when an Anklegator could come out of the ground and gobble you up if you didn’t pay attention.
To help ease the bottling of his emotions, he decided to take a peek at this thing called a Cutie Mark. He pushed off the bed sheet and stared at his flank. It was a simple metal cog. However, in front of the cog was his favorite two-handed weapon, the Cael Hammer. Solid gold with It’s long hilt wrapped with white cloth for easier gripping. Along the ‘business end’ for the hammer, a red cloth was wrapped around it. Huh, how ironic. While I’m up, might as well take a look at the rest of me.
Climbing out of bed, he struggled a bit to get used to standing on four legs. After wobbling for a moment, he slowly made his way to a nearby full-body mirror set in the wall. Sure enough he was staring at a light-tan pony with giant brown eyes. His noticeably dirty, white mane was cut short and unkempt, just the way he liked it.
While Kid wasn’t sure if he would be considered “good looking” by other ponies, he did enjoy the similarities of him as a human. Though he was a bit creeped out when he stared into his huge eyes. His curiosity sated, he walked back toward the bed. He was starting to get used to the feeling of walking as a pony. It reminded him of when a baby crawls, except he wasn’t on his knee’s, but on his feet. Settling down in the bed and with nothing else to do until Redheart came back, he drifted off to sleep.
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The very first story I created a long long time ago. (not in a galaxy far away.) Feedback is always appreciated! If something doesn't seem right, let me know ASAP.
Is it wrong that I read all that in Rucks voice?
393347 *This is so awesome! Keep up the good work!
Now, for the feedback: Grammar is fine, vocabulary is fine, capturing the atmosphere of Bastion is amazing... I only have good things to say about this!
397870 Rucks is probably my favorite character Bastion. The people at Supergiant games really did a fine job in choosing him as a voice actor.
Life changing.
Stay frosty!
~Hazard~
397926 Watch those corners!
397928 THEIR EVERYWHERE! Wait until they invade Skyrim! OH SHIT! THEY ALREADY HAVE!
(Points to a chicken on the ground in Skyrim)
THERE!
Stay frosty!
~Hazard~
A few spelling errors here and there, but a good start. also, not to nit-pick, but the 'mace' is actually a hammer. It says that in the game.
397974 Thank you for catching that.
edit: Fix'd
Well chap, bugger me sideways. I liked that. It was different and wonderful, and I am curious as to what you will name him.
397954 You called?
*Me gusta*
Holy Bat-Nuggets Seananners! Fantastic!
havent read yet
cant wait till gas felleas fuck around
I guess it is normal to read this in the voice of Rucks.
I like you you portray the Kid, though at first I thought it was negligent writing rather than a personality trait.
He is shown as very stoic and very down to earth, to the point that he wasn't greatly startled by the changes, took things one at a time, and didn't really theorize what happened.
(Though I think you should have at least mentioned him wandering what happened, and deciding to get to the bottom of it later.)
Other than some grammatical errors, I have a minor gripe in how his Cutie mark was introduced: The gear is the emblem of Caelondia, and that fact should have been mentioned.
The gear also helped him find the Cores, which ties in well to show his talent.
So far, good story.
Omg! I remember this game! And I absolutely loved it to bits. And the art for the covers is absolutely amazing!