The Guardian Shadow
Chapter 1
Off to Equestria
In our lives, we are presented with many choices, and these choices define our very existence. You can choose to be evil, you can choose to be good, or you can choose to walk the line between good and evil. I too have had to make choices in my many years of life, some I wouldn't take back no matter what, and some I wish would give anything to reverse, but probably the biggest choice I've ever been presented with, the choice that changed my life, for better and worse, was the choice to come to Equestria, and become a pawn in a very deadly game.
I am Shadow, and this is my tale.
My life has always been pretty simple, wake up, dress, go to school or work, come home, relax, be nerdy, go to bed, and then the same thing over and over again everyday. I've always been content with this kind of life, until one fateful day at the local cafe where I work. The cafe is one of those typical internet cafes you'd see anywhere, people on laptops and phones, a few local gamers, that kind of place. Anyway, I was watching an episode of My Little Pony on my laptop (not really allowed, but no one really cares), when I hear something odd, silence. Now when your surrounded by people talking loudly into phones and yelling at computer screens all day, you tend to get used to all the noise, but silence, that's the last thing you'd expect to hear . I lifted my head up from my laptop to see what was going on, and came face to face with probably the scariest looking woman I've ever encountered.
She looked maybe in her early-to-mid twenties, with shoulder length hair braided on one end and flat on the other. She had gold eyes, pale skin, a torn black t-shirt, torn jeans, and enough gold jewelry on her wrists and neck to put king Midas to shame. But by far the strangest thing were her tattoos, lots of black tattoos going up and down her arms, legs, and face, almost like zebra stripes.
Not wanting to be rude I finally said “*cough* Can I help you mam”, a nervous smile on my face
She just stared at me, looking me over like I was some kind of creature she wanted to take home and put under a microscope. This normally wouldn't freak me out, I've gotten enough stares from people over the years to have learned to ignore it, but this woman just plain scared me. Plus, it seemed like she was judging me, not normal judging, but...like she was deciding whether or not to let me live.
After about five minutes of this, I finally snapped and said “Miss, I have other customers, so if your just gonna stare at me all day, please step out of line” with a just the slightest hint of anger in my voice.
Everyone in the cafe was dead quiet, waiting to see what this strange woman's reaction would be. I have to admit, I was a little afraid she was gonna pull a knife on me and end me right then and there. But instead, she just laughed. She laughed. This woman scares the shit out of me and all my customers, and she has the audacity to laugh!?
After she finished her little laughing fit, I asked “Oh, and what's so funny?”, my anger rising
Wiping a tear from her eye, she finally said “I'm sorry, it's just been a while since anyone spoke to me in such a manner, I just couldn't help but laugh. I apologize for laughing at you, and for disturbing your customers. Let me get a coffee to make up for it” she said, still laughing a little
Dumbfounded, I said “Uh, okay then”, and I went to get her coffee.
Seeing this, everyone in the cafe breathed a sigh of relief and went back to their own devices. As I was making the coffee, I couldn't help but notice that the strange woman was giving a really weird smile. Not a creepy or seductive smile, just plain weird, like she was having an inside joke with herself. As I was giving her the coffee, she suddenly asked “Would you like to go there?”
Confused, I asked “Uh, go where?”
“To Equestria, I saw you watching it on your computer before”
I honestly didn't have an answer. I mean, on the surface Equestria looks like a veritable utopia, minus things like Discord, Nightmare Moon, Queen Chrysalis, and whatever other evil creatures happened to be lurking around in Equestria. The thought did intrigue me though, I mean we've only really been shown what life is like in Equestria, but what about the rest of the world. It would be fun to find out what the rest of Equestria is like.
After mulling over it, I finally said “You know what, I would, I mean what would be so bad”
“But what would you be, would you rather be a pony, or something else?'
I knew my answer immediately “Definitely not a pony, I mean, there great and all, but I'd rather be something different, I don't know, something with magic”
The woman responded with absolute glee at my statement “Oh, wonderful, I guess that's it then”
“What's it then?” I said a little scared
“I've decided, you shall become my champion”
“Champion? For what?” my fear rising in my chest.
“Never you mind, off you go then”
I didn't even get a chance to respond before she snapped her fingers, opening a vortex which sucked me up and sent me hurtling off through time and space. The last thing I saw of my world before the vortex closed was the woman standing there, laughing the kind of laugh that haunts you for the rest of your life.