//------------------------------// // 2 - The World Beyond // Story: L.O.V.E. // by VeryEpic //------------------------------// "Sans, wake up! We're going to Grillby's like I promised!" The voice of Papyrus called out to him, however it seemed distant this time. Sans could recall hearing this line each time he had been killed in the previous timelines, but now it was much quieter. The sensation of something cold falling down on him was all that he could feel as he stared into the void, expectantly waiting for the moment he'd wake up in his bed at the beginning of the next reset. Strange. Sans had never felt the cold before. Slowly, more and more of Sans' senses began returning to him. Firstly, his touch, as evidenced by the cold chill he felt all over his body. He had never felt anything like this before. Was this maybe another side effect of the continuous resets? Next, his sense of smell. This was strange, considering Sans lacked the one thing necessary to smell. A nose. The only thing he could smell was fresh air and water, something that definitely wasn't kept in his room. In fact, he thought his room was potentially the least fresh room in the entire underground. After that, his hearing returned to him, and that was the moment Sans knew something wasn't right. He could barely hear himself think over the sound of wind roaring and rain pattering down on top of him. The occasional clap of thunder echoed through Sans' mind as his desperation to wake up grew. What had the kid done? How could they have messed up the timeline that badly already? Lastly, Sans' sight returned to him, but he didn't need that to know that something was very wrong. His eyes opened, and all that he could see was a blank grey canvas moving and shifting, raindrops trickling down his face. "What the-" Sans exclaimed, attempting to lift himself up off the ground. His arms moved to his side and pushed into the ground, but to no avail. Sans came crashing back down into the muddied grass with a splash, only see that his arms were not arms anymore. "What the hell did that kid do?" Sans asked himself, staring at one of his four white legs. Seconds passed, and still Sans wasn't sure how to process what he was looking at. He was no longer a skeleton, and he now had four legs. Sans let out a grunt, reaching both of his front legs to his side as he raised his upper body from the ground. The feeling was foreign to him, but his front legs served as replacement arms decently well. With his head off the ground, he finally could get a decent look at his surroundings. Stretching out in all directions was nothing but fields, every individual blade of grass blowing violently in the wind. With every clap of thunder, a bolt of lighting illuminated the dark grassland with a blinding white light. "Papyrus!" Sans yelled out, but to no response. Like Papyrus was gonna be here. He wasn't even underground anymore from the looks of things. Mustering as much upper body strength as he could, Sans hoisted himself up further, attempting to stand using his hind legs. Thankfully, standing on his two back legs felt much more natural to him, but for some reason he couldn't seem to keep his balance. A strong gust of wind pushed Sans back down to the ground, sending him face first into the mud. He wasn't about to give up just yet, though. Placing his front legs at his sides, he attempted to push himself up from the ground. His hind legs assisted, pushing against the mud and forcing him upwards, eventually ending with him stood on all fours. He had never decided to run around on all fours before, but for some reason it felt like second nature. Now that he was stood up, he could finally get a good look at this new world he found himself in. The fields seemed to continue even further than then originally thought, like an endless blanket. The wind blew against them in gusts, almost making the wind itself visible. Off in the distance, Sans thought he could see a town, yet it didn't resemble any towns that he had came to know. Even then, it looked friendly, at least from Sans' point of few. A mass of brown buildings lay closely compacted together, with what looked to be a large tree as the centre point, giving it an almost magical feeling. Following along from the town, there seemed to be a farm, a large red farmhouse standing proudly in the middle. Orchards of apple trees stretched out for miles around it, merging with the fields. Behind the farm was a strip of trees, seeming to mark the edge of a forest. The trees lined the field all the way up to where Sans stood, blocking him from seeing any further. Thankfully there were a plentiful amount of small hills nearby to the forest's edge, meaning Sans could easily get a vantage point to see over the treeline. Moving one leg forward, Sans took his first step, soon followed by his second. It wasn't easy but even then, it still felt like walking on all fours was the right thing to do. He took his third step, but by the time he moved his leg to make a fourth, a burning sensation overcame him. The pain was bearable, but it caused Sans to begin limping with every few steps. He just hoped the limp didn't send him falling back into the mud yet again. Painstakingly, he walked to the top of the hill. It wasn't particularly steep, however the combined elements of the rainfall and the burning pain made it quite a challenge. The view from the peak of the grass mound was unlike anything Sans had ever seen before. A forest, rain clouds hovering idly above it as water poured down upon it, expanded outwards as far as the eye could see. It was truly magical. Back in the Underground, the only forest Sans had the pleasure of seeing was Snowdin, and that forest was permanently stuck in a snowstorm. Now that he thought about it, almost all of the nature he had seen in the Underground had been artificial. From the stars in the night sky, to the rain in Waterfall, none of it had been the real thing. Even the chill he would occasionally feel in his bones was nothing more than the effects of wind that wasn't really there. Sans had never seen nature in its truest form, and now that he had, he felt... empty. "Heh..." Sans chuckled to himself as he looked at the branches of the trees swaying in the wind, leaves flying through the air like miniature kites. Papyrus should've been here with him now. His friends should've been here with him now, but here he was, entirely alone. The worst part of it was that he didn't even have any idea where he was, or why he was there. Sans was alone with nowhere to go, and no one to turn to. A single tear fell from his eye, but he wouldn't have been able to notice. Tears in the rain just look like all the other raindrops anyway. "I'll see you again, Paps..." Sans vowed, a small smile forming on his face as he looked up to the sky, "I promise..." He didn't like making promises, but this is one he would refuse to break, even if it meant death. Turning away from the forest, his attention locked on the village in the distance. Sitting and contemplating in the rain wasn't going to bring his friends back. His hoofs dragged across the cold, wet grass, stumbling slightly with every limp. The wind continued to howl and the rain continued to fall, and the town only seemed to be slightly closer. Sans' walking began to slow and his breathing began to grow heavy, before he stopped in his tracks completely. He couldn't keep going. Sans wasn't one to give up, but with seemingly no reason to continue, he couldn't help but wonder... Maybe if he died just one more time, everything would go back to normal. Maybe he'd see his brother again, and maybe he'd live the life he had wanted all this time, without the resets. His head lowered down, and he stared into one of the many puddles that swamped the field around him. Even though the water continued to ripple as raindrops poured down, Sans was still able to somewhat make out his reflection, however it was far from the skeleton that he once knew. "What am I?" Sans asked as he stared at his reflection with disbelief. Staring up at him was a pony with a white mane, dirtied with patches of mud. He had a dim blue mane similar to that of a flame, almost akin to a dying ember. The irises of his eyes were grey and colourless, giving him and almost emotionless appearance, and on his rear was a small image of a ketchup bottle. Most shocking of all, sprouting from his back was a pair of white wings, folded neatly despite being covered with mud and dirt. He continued to stare for a second, unable to fully take in what he was seeing. What was happening? How was any of this possible? No amount of resets should cause this much damage. His eyes closed, holding back a flow of tears. Sans had never felt so hopeless before. There was nothing he could do to change things this time other than give up. He'd just let the human do whatever they want with the timeline and hope that eventually he'd get home. His eyes opened, and in his reflection saw Papyrus stood over his shoulder, smiling warmly. Sans didn't turn around. He knew he wasn't real. "You cannot give up yet, Sans!" Papyrus exclaimed, encouragingly, "Just think of what the great Papyrus would do in this situation! Stay determined, and show the world just how great I truly am!" The pain and despair Sans once felt began to burn and wither, replaced by a feeling of courage. Papyrus wasn't really here, but his words had a real meaning. He couldn't give up yet. Using all the strength he could muster, he continued walking against the wind, ignoring the feeling of the rain slamming against him. All he could hear was the wind tearing at his ear drums, but he was too focused to care. Fight through the pain. Stay determined. Soon, he reached the village and let out a sigh. He limped over to the nearest building and leant against the wall, the infrastructure being surprisingly soft and comfy. Sans knew he had to keep going, but... All he wanted to do now was rest, and he fell down to the cold, hard floor, muddied water splashing over him. "Pinkie, remember what Mr. and Mrs. Cake told you about bringing homeless ponies into the shop?" Twilight asked, looking down at the mud-covered Pegasus that was now resting on one of the many tables. "Yeah, but I couldn't just leave him there! Especially not when there's a new friend to be made," Pinkie replied, defending herself. Mr. and Mrs. Cake understandably weren't happy that she had brought a random unconscious Pegasus into the cafe, however they agreed to let him stay as long as the mud left behind was cleaned up. "What was such a stallion doing resting outside in the rain like that?" Rarity asked, keeping her distance from the table he lay upon. "I bet it's because he's a weak flyer. You've got to have some pretty weak wings to get knocked down by some rain," Rainbow Dash answered, crossing her hoofs. "Rainbow, do ya really think now is a good time to mock the poor thing?" Applejack replied, jumping to the sleeping ponies defence. "Hey, I'm just saying," Rainbow retorted, "We even forecasted it, too!" The six ponies gathered around the muddy Pegasus, Rarity keeping just a bit further back than all of the others. As much as she wanted to check if the pony was okay, she also didn't want to risk any mud getting on her mane. "Oh my, look!" Fluttershy exclaimed, looking just above one of the pony's hind legs, "He's injured!" Dangerously close to one of his legs was a relatively large slice, seeming to cut pretty deep into the flesh. A small amount of blood had leaked out onto his otherwise white coat, combining with the mud to form a crimson brown. The ponies weren't sure how they hadn't noticed it sooner. "Okay, I take back what I said. Something else definitely happened to him," Rainbow said regretfully upon seeing the wound. "Pinkie, I think that if you didn't find him, he would've..." Fluttershy explained, stopping herself before she could say the final word. Every one knew what she was saying, either way. "We can fix this, right?" Pinkie asked, turning to Twilight. "We should be able too..." she replied, immediately beginning to look around the room for something that they could use to bandage the wound. Soon, she found a roll of orange and red wrapping paper that was being kept behind the counter. She had no idea what it was being used for, but she hoped that Mr. and Mrs. Cake wouldn't mind her using it, "Rainbow, can you hold his leg up?" Obliging to her request, Rainbow Dash hovered slightly above the ground and gently raised the injured pony's leg up towards her. Twilight's horn began to glow and the roll of wrapping paper rose into the air, gliding over towards the table. Cautiously, it began wrapping around the pony's wound, like an incredibly colourful cast. "Has that done it?" Rarity asked, still maintaining her distance. "Yep, that should do it!" Twilight exclaimed, happily, "It hopefully will have healed in a few days." "Since when were you such a medical professional?" Rainbow teased, releasing her hold on the pony's leg. It fell down quickly, slamming into the table before sprawling out to his side. A wave of pain crashed through him as he felt his leg collide with the table, causing him to jolt upright. "Huh?" Sans yelled as his eyes opened. Seeing six ponies gathered around him, all of which he had never seen before in his life, his natural instincts kicked into overdrive. His four legs began kicking at the table in an effort to put as much distance between him and them as he could, eventually pushing him near to the edge of the table. "Woah! Careful, you're gonna-" Applejack attempted to warn the panicking pony, however he didn't seem to hear as he went falling to the ground. Sans collided with the hard, green floor with a crash, however it was a surprisingly cushioned landing. As a result, it didn't hurt him all that much, but it did leave him a little dazed. "Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked, concern in her voice. Rubbing his head, Sans looked up to the six ponies. The immediate feeling of fear he had felt seemed to have been a primary instinct, as now the feeling had completely subsided. Instead, he felt a warm feeling of safety and belonging, despite never meeting any of them before. "Yeah, I'm fine..." Sans replied, trying his best to give them a smile, but failing. "Ya didn't seem fine when Pinkie first found you," Applejack stated, looking towards the pink earth pony. She cheerfully gave a wave, happy to take the credit, "If it weren't for her, you woulda been toast." "Soggy toast!" Pinkie Pie added. "Heh... Good thing I like toast then, huh?" Sans said, in an effort to cheer himself up. Usually, a cheesy line like that would have lifted his spirits instantly, but he just didn't feel like himself right now. Thankfully, his intentionally unfunny comment didn't go entirely to waste, as he thought he could see a small smile appear briefly on the blue Pegasus' face. Pinkie also had a huge, beaming grin, however that was to be expected. "You had a pretty bad cut on your chest, pretty close to your leg. Do you... Remember how you did it?" Fluttershy asked, timidly. She wasn't sure whether she should be asking such a question so soon, however the curiosity had gotten the better of her. Sans' eyes closed, deep within thought. That burning pain he was feeling back in the field, it must've been the same wound causing it. Could it have been... No... There was no way it should've been possible, but it was the only way Sans could explain it. When Chara had hit Sans with the knife back in the last reset... Could the wound have carried over? "Uh..." Sans said, unable to explain his theory, "A flying accident." "See, I told you it was because he was a weak flyer!" Rainbow exclaimed, proud that her inference had turned out to be correct. "Rainbow, I don't think that's a very good way to make a first impression," Twilight replied, worriedly. "Heh, don't worry about it," Sans said, attempting to get back onto his hooves, "Truth is, I'm not that great of a flyer. I've got other ways of getting around." "Oh yeah? Like what?" Rainbow asked, curious. "Well, maybe if you behave yourself and avoid further insults you'll get to see," Sans replied, winking and shrugging with one hoof. Rainbow Dash shrunk back, defeated, while the rest of the ponies let out a chorus of laughter. Considering he still had no idea where he was, he thought he was doing a pretty good job at making a first impression. Aside from the passing out in the rain with a large slash across his chest. "Seriously, thanks for patching it up for me. I owe you guys," he explained, pointing to Pinkie. He looked down at the gift paper bandage that was partly coiled around his leg, "Not really my colour, though." "You don't owe us anything, Sans!" Pinkie exclaimed, happily. "Yeah, we're just glad that we got to you before... Well, you know..." Twilight added, unable to see the sudden sense of unease that had emerged within him. How did she know his name? He could've sworn he had never told her. Hell, he'd only even been awake for five minutes. There was no possible way he could have told her in that space of time. "Sans?" Rarity asked after a few seconds of silence. Suddenly, Sans snapped back into reality, however the feeling of unease continued to stick with him. "Pinkie, right?" he asked, looking towards the pink pony. She nodded happily, confirming that was her name, "How do you know my..." Sans let out a sigh. "It doesn't matter," he said. Too much weird stuff had happened for one day, so at this point it just seemed normal. After all that had happened, why wouldn't he wake up in a new body in a world full of ponies where one of them just so happened to know his name. "Well," Twilight began, sensing the sudden awkwardness that had emerged within the air, "We know your name now, so it's only right that we share ours! I'm Twilight Sparkle!" "Ah'm Applejack, and this here's Fluttershy," the earth pony stated, pointing at the yellow Pegasus beside her. "I'm Rarity. It's a pleasure to meet you, however you're going to need to wash all that dirt off before I'd be willing to come within two metres of you," Rarity said, maintaining her distance from Sans even now. "Alright, that can be arranged," Sans replied. Having all this dried dirt and blood on him was incredibly uncomfortable anyway. "I'm Rainbow Dash, but I'm pretty sure you knew that already," Rainbow said, proudly, "I'm also the most awesome pony you'll ever meet, no contest." Sans wasn't entirely sure that was true. He knew someone who was pretty awesome, even if he wasn't a pony. He'd even go as far as to calling him great. He could already tell that if he were here, Rainbow would have some pretty fierce competition as to who was the greatest of them all. "And I'm Pinkie Pie!" the pink pony exclaimed, happily. Her overenthusiasm was almost infectious, even managing to raise Sans' mood despite his confusion. "It's great to meet all of you, but there's still something I've been meaning to ask," Sans began, the question playing on his mind. It was something he had been wondering since he had first woken up in the field, rain pouring down on him, "Where am I? I work on every sentry station in the Underground, and I've never seen somewhere like this. It's so much like the surface it's... almost scary." All six of the ponies gave him confused stares. "Sans, I think you need some sleep," Twilight answered with a laugh. Sleep. Sans would've like nothing more than to go to sleep right now, but when he hadn't the faintest clue where he was, it was kinda difficult to find a safe spot to take a nap. "Trust me, I'd love to catch a few Z's as much as the next guy, but..." he replied sincerely. This was the first time in his life since the first few resets had occurred where he felt truly scared, "Honestly, Twilight? I don't know where to go anymore," "You... Don't have anywhere to go?" Fluttershy asked, weakly. Sans shook his head, the very faint blue that there still was left in his mane dimming to a dull grey, identical to the sky outside. "If that's the case," Rainbow interjected, attempting to come up with her own solution to the problem, "Come crash with me for a bit! You can stay until you know where you wanna go. Trust me, it'll be awesome!" "Rainbow, I don't think that he's in a good enough condition to fly at all, let alone in this kind of weather," Rarity added, pointing out of the window to the raging storm outside. Droplets of rain pattered against the glass of the window, and the wind could be heard whistling between the frame and the glass itself. "Yeah, I guess your right. The offer still stands though," Rainbow explained, with a warm smile. "Pinkie, would Mr. and Mrs. Cake be bothered if he stayed with you for a while?" Twilight asked, causing the pink pony to visibly beam with happiness. Sans in the meanwhile, had just decided to remain silent and let them figure it out for themselves. Beggars can't be choosers after all. "Probably not. I'm sure they'd be fine with it since we have a genuine reason!" she replied, happily. "So it's decided, then?" Sans asked, confirming what he had heard. "Yep! Sleepover time!" Pinkie screamed, ecstatically.