//------------------------------// // 1. I am Lelouch Vi Brittania! // Story: The Lie of Living // by The Grimm Reaper //------------------------------// I destroy... the world, ... and create it... anew. As my eyes closed, my consciousness faded away. Everything I'd worked towards had finally born fruit. Focusing all of the world's hatred on myself, Suzaku disguised as Zero had to kill me, dissipating that hatred and allowing the world to focus on more important matters than fighting, such as reconstruction and helping others, thus facilitating peace. That was the Zero Requiem. My consciousness floated amidst a void, similar to being in a sensory deprivation tank. I found myself thinking about Suzaku. It was Strange how our goals were always the same, yet we found ourselves on opposite sides of the board because of differing views on how to achieve those goals. Oh well, it doesn't matter now. I can finally rest in peace, knowing that Nunnally is safe. Suzaku will be good to her, like I'd planned before I found out he was the Lancelot's devicer. Before then, I'd wondered what might become of him and Nunnally. But Euphemia's interference blew that possibility away. Oh, that's right; I never told Suzaku that Euphemia's order to kill all the Japanese was a mistake. He still thinks it was part of some master plan. I doubt it would matter to him anyway. Accident or not, Euphemia suffered at my hands, and everyone else suffered as a result. But that no longer matters. Now, I am dead. And the world is at peace. To my confusion and utter surprise, I regained consciousness. As though waking from a dream, my senses awoke one at a time. First, my sense of sound. The gentle, rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor could be heard. It was an unmistakable sound. My sense of touch came next, and with it, my sense of taste. I could feel my body lying in a bed. It felt as though the mattress was trying to be comfortable but was more focused on being firm, much like a hospital bed. Beyond that, my body felt strange, as though some things were missing, and others were added. A dryness in my mouth alerted me to the fact that I hadn't ingested any liquids recently. Then again, getting stabbed in the chest tends to leave one dehydrated. My sight returned to me, but I didn't open my eyes. All I could see was the darkness with a red tint to it, indicative of sunlight shining upon closed eyes. I took a few moments to consider my situation. I should have been dead, yet I was breathing. It was surprisingly easy too. What disturbed me the most was the fact that there was no pain in my chest, almost as if there was no stab wound. Cybernetics were a plausible explanation if Lord Jeremiah was any indication. But if I'd somehow survived Suzaku's assassination, I doubt the world would waste resources like that on me. Perhaps as a favor to Nunnally, but the fact remains; there's no way I could have survived a sword through the chest. I was about to open my eyes to find out what was going on for myself when I heard the rattling of a doorknob. I decided to feign unconsciousness in the hopes that I could glean further information without having to deal with angry Japanese, Chinese or Brittanians chewing me out, demanding answers, recompense or compensation. The sounds of strange footsteps filled my ears. It was as if a number of people wearing coconuts on their feet had entered the room. One set of hoof like steps stood out from the others, moving away from the crowd to the foot of my bed. No doubt the doctor, he or she sounded as if they'd picked up a clipboard from the end of the bed. A clearing of the throat revealed the doctor's gender. "Patient is a 'John Doe'," he began. The scribbling of pencils over paper to my left told me all about the situation I'd found myself in: The others were either nurses or medical students. As 'John Doe' was the default name given to unidentified patients, they didn't recognize me as the world's enemy, which meant I was safe for the time being. "male Pegasus, estimated to be around seventeen to twenty years of age. Patient was submitted to Ponyville General Hospital and treated for stab wound to torso. Injury is believed to have been sustained during flight. Patient was found near the sight of that freak tornado North of town." Perhaps my hearing hadn't returned to its proper condition after all? No, that didn't make sense. Everything else sounded just fine. The only inconsistency was his description of me. But as I thought about it, my body felt strangely like that of a Pegasus. How I knew that was beyond my comprehension. How was this possible? Then it hit me: Could this be C's world? The collective will of humanity made real? If so, then why would I be anything other than human? Unless, C's world doesn't subscribe to the normal laws of nature that my own does? All sorts of questions filled my head. In the end, I came to the conclusion that C's world - when not turned into a weapon - was an alternate reality. Imagine an encyclopedia of the world and everything in it, then imagine it manifesting, but not in the right order. Perhaps in C's world, mythological creatures like Pegasi were the dominant race in place of humans? The temptation to open my eyes and confirm my theory was torturous, but I wanted more information, and I wasn't sure if I still had my Geass. I tried clenching my fists, only to find that there was no familiar sensation of fingers curling inward. My toes also felt absent. I could feel an extra pair of limbs protruding from my back, but I dared not move anything that might give away my conscious state. With nothing else to do, I listened to the doctor's report of my condition. Aside from a load of medical jargon that went over my head, the only useful information I could glean was that I was to be kept overnight and discharged the following morning. Somehow, my stab wound had been completely healed during my sleep. How long I'd been asleep was uncertain, but it would have had to have been a few weeks at least. Only a few minutes were spent discussing my situation before they all left. I took the chance to open my eyes and inspect my new form. No amount of mental fortification could have prepared me for what I saw. A thin layer of indigo fur covered my entire body. Long, hoofed limbs replaced my arms and legs. When I heard I'd become a Pegasus, I hadn't expected to be so... animated. Carousel ponies were more realistic than me. Speaking of Pegasi, I didn't fail to notice my new limbs, a pair of feathered wings protruded from my back, just beneath the shoulder blades. Controlling them was surprisingly easy, and felt oddly natural. They seemed to be a decent size. The prospect of flying with these wings was as unnerving as it was exciting. Flying in a Knightmare frame was second nature to me, but actually relying on my own power to fly was admittedly terrifying. I looked around the room, noticing the simple white colour scheme assaulting my eyes. It seemed I was alone. Further examination revealed a wall mounted mirror. Removing the bed sheets, I got to my hooves. My posture felt odd, yet somehow natural. This new body would take some getting used to, there was no doubt about that. I'd ridden horses before, and I tried to remember how they walked, how their muscles worked as they moved. Committing the walking pattern to memory, I started slow. The first few steps went without a hitch, but the more I did it, the more I'd trip myself up. Luckily, I hadn't fallen. But the day wasn't over yet. Walking around the room, I soon began to get the knack for walking. I prayed I wouldn't have to run any time soon though. With basic movement out of the way, I turned and made my way to the mirror. It was a simple oval mirror big enough to show a person's bust close up. As I looked into the mirror, a pair of comically large violet eyes greeted me. Those eyes covered the better half of my face. It seemed the longer I spent learning about this place, the more ludicrous everything seemed. The only familiar feature was my light black hair. Even still, the most important question needed to be answered; did I still have the power of Geass? When I died, my power had evolved to the point where I'd become like Mao, unable to turn it off. This promised a terrible situation. If I didn't have my Geass, I'd be defenceless in this unfamiliar world. Alternatively; if I did still have it, then that meant that this new body either reset it or suppressed it, meaning that activating it once again could render me unable to disable it afterwards. Hesitating had proven consequential in the past. Without giving it much thought, I made to activate my Geass. To my mixed relief, both of my eyes began to glow and the familiar mark of Geass appeared within my irises. It was confirmed, I still had Geass. "Moment of truth." I said aloud as I made to disable my power. I hadn't known relief like this since I discovered Nunnally had survived that Fleija Suzaku used. My eyes returned to their normal violet hue. Two possibilities: Either my Geass had been weakened due to me occupying a new body, or my Geass had evolved to a point where I could control it at will once again. The former was more likely, but I was hoping for the latter. There was still so much I didn't know about Geass and what it could do. 'I'm starting to miss C.C.' I thought to myself. "Oh, you're awake!" a voice said, pulling me out of my thoughts. I turned to see an off-white horse with a light pink mane and tail. She had a nurse's cap with a red cross on and a similar symbol on her flank. The nurse proved to be an excellent starting point for information. Redheart explained that I'd been presumably caught in a tornado that went out of control North of the town, and supposedly, a stray bit of debris had impaled me. Of course, I knew better. What I didn't know was that this town was situated between Canterlot - the Capital of Equestria, and the most dangerous forest in the land. The tornado I was supposedly caught in came from there. She mentioned that the weather above the forest maintains itself. This told me that ponies -as I'd come to discover- controlled the weather, pegasi in particular. Redheart also told me that this town was preparing to host a special event known as the 'Summer Sun Celebration'; an annual event that celebrates their monarch's reign. I made sure to sound as though I knew what she was talking about, but it was difficult to know what would seem like a strange topic to be ignorant about. I thought it safest to ask about the town as any out-of-towner would. This gave me knowledge of a few hotspots including a library, bakery and clothing store. Given that the majority of the population saw nudity as a general thing, I couldn't help but wonder how lucrative the clothing business was. But more importantly, there were sources of food and information. The following day, I was discharged from the hospital after a final examination. I was asked to fill out a form with my details. Luckily, I'd seen some of the reception staff 'handle' a pen. Some used their mouths, others used their wings. The unicorns were lucky enough to have telekinesis to write with. The first time I saw the use of magic, I was surprised. I probably should have been more surprised, but my time with Geass - a magical power in its own right - must have desensitised me to it and helped me to get over it quicker. The information wasn't difficult to fill out. It seemed 'Address' was an optional section, but 'name' was mandatory. I considered using my alias; Lelouch Lamprouge, but figured if this was a new world, there was no point in hiding my identity. So I filled out the name section: 'Lelouch Vi Brittania'. As I took my first steps out into this new world, my eyes were assaulted with bright and strong colours. It looked like the background of some sort of paradise poster. There was even a rainbow in the sky... A moving rainbow... headed right for me. Oh no. "Heads up!" a light raspy voice wailed as it got closer. I wasn't willing to go back to hospital, but I didn't want to be responsible for any deaths in this world. I had a clean slate here. 'Let's keep it that way.' I thought. I rose to my hind legs and reached out to try and catch the falling rainbow pony. Not a moment too soon. She flew right into my outstretched hooves and knocked me back with her. We rolled around a little before coming to a halt back inside the hospital. Luckily no-one was hurt. I found myself on my back with a cyan pegasus mare with a multicoloured mane and tail lying on top of me. 'That's one way to enter into the world.' I thought as the rainbow mare stared down at me. "Sorry about that. You're the second pony I've crashed into today. What are the odds?" she said, stepping off and offering a hoof. I took it gratefully and rose to my hooves. Before I could answer, Nurse Redheart stormed up to the mare and began to chew her out. "Miss Rainbow Dash, you should know better than to fly aimlessly around the hospital. You're lucky poor Mr. Lelouch here wasn't seriously injured. We just discharged him and here you come, nearly readmitting him all over again." the nurse was furious. She reminded me of Shirley for a moment. Hoping to avoid reminiscing about the past, I interjected. "Please, nurse. It's alright. It's partly my fault anyway. I chose to catch miss Rainbow Dash instead of moving out of the way." I said, trying to calm the angry Earth pony down. The two mares turned to face me, Redheart with a conflicted expression and rainbow Dash with a sheepish one. "Very well. I'll let her off the hook this time only because no pony was hurt. But I suggest you thank Lelouch properly, Rainbow. He very well may have saved your life at the risk of his own." With that, Nurse Redheart departed to resume her duties. The whole scenario attracted quite a crowd from the patients waiting to see their doctors. To avoid further embarrassment, I motioned for Rainbow Dash to lead the way out of the hospital. Still embarrassed, she lowered her head and quickly walked out with me close behind. When we were back out in the open, she stopped and turned to me, clearly more chipper than before. "Hey, thanks for the save. Redheart's been on my case since that one time I crashed through the Dean of Medicine's office window." she said. 'Just how many times has she nearly killed herself flying?' I thought. "You're welcome. But you've got to admit; she has a point. I mean what if next time you severely wound a patient? You could kill someone. You don't want that kind of baggage, trust me." I replied. Rainbow sighed, looking defeated. "Yeah, I know," she said. "I just don't want to be too far from town. I mean, I'm confident in my flying skills, but when you're practicing new aerial maneuvers, no matter how tallented you are, you gotta be somewhere where somepony can see and get to you. In case the worst happens, you know?" she asked. In that short amount of time, I got a clear idea of who this pony was. She wasn't just some witless thrillseeker. She was smarter than that. Survival often depended on the aid of others. If she were to practice her maneuvers out of sight of anyone, should the worst happen, her chances of being found before she succumbed to her wounds were significantly low. Rainbow Dash was a professional flyer. She just needed a better system. "Perhaps you should take someone with you when you go out flying, that way, it won't matter how far out you go, you'll have a good chance of surviving a bad crash." I suggested. Rainbow Dash thought about it before smiling. "Sounds like a plan, thanks." she replied. A moment later, she was rubbing the back of her head. "Listen, I know Redheart already kinda introduced us, but I just want to give it another try. I'm Rainbow Dash. I captain Ponyville's weather team and some day, I'm gonna be a Wonderbolt." she offered her hoof. I took it with a kind smile. "Nice to meet you, Rainbow Dash. I'm Lelouch Vi Brittania. I actually travelled from beyond Equestria's borders and I'm looking to learn about this land. I'm kinda between jobs at the moment, and I'm not a very strong flyer." I said. My admission was a gamble. Knowing next to nothing about this world, I had to assume there were countries or provinces other than Equestria that housed ponies. It seemed like it payed off. Rainbow didn't seem the least bit confused by my origin. "Well, if you want, I'll help you find a job here in town after the Summer Sun Celebration. I'm so excited! The Wonderbolts are going to be doing an aerial show for the celebration." her personality suddenly shifted to that of an excited child. Or Rivals. I chuckled at her antics. "Sounds good to me." I replied. Rainbow Dash decided to introduce me to some of her friends in town. First stop was a place called Sweet Apple Acres. "By the way, what kind of a name is Lelouch?"