//------------------------------// // What a Time to Be Alive // Story: Dawn of a New Day // by Nugget27 //------------------------------// The first thing I noticed as soon as I could feel that I existed, was that my head hurts like hell, and that I wished that I couldn’t feel that I existed or existed at all. The second thing, I am laying on something incredibly smooth, almost like crystals. Lastly, something is laying on top of me, and it’s kinda heavy and squishy.  My eyes shot open and I immediately shot to my feet. “Well, I’m still not human…” I whispered. In fact, I was still the same, stupidly colored yellow furred, black maned pegasus with an ass tattoo of a watch. The thing on top of me let out and ‘oof’ when I pulled out from under it. Low and behold, it was Starlight fucking Glimmer. You know, I could be mad, and I am, but I don’t think Starlight knew that she would become a fucking gravity well while performing some sort of time travel spell. “Aight you asshole, you’re gonna take an extra minute of your time to send me back in time. I had a girlfriend I was hoping to marry and a pet I was hoping to take care of.” I hummed. “Actually I think Blaze might still be around, but I don’t think Luna… is. Oh hi ladies!” So me and Starlight were laying on a table, a round one with some sorta star on it. And there were six chairs. Now get this, in those six chairs, there were six mares. Accompanying those mares was some sort of lizard. They were all staring at me like I wasn’t covered in hair. Also there was a purple one that was an alicorn… Does that mean she’s the new ruler? She’s pretty runt-shaped for an alicorn if Luna and Celestia were anything to go by. Also did that mean Luna was dead? “Hey guys, do any of you have any idea where Everfree City is? I have somewhere to be, and it’s called under Luna’s wing while watching her plan out the night sky for winter.” “Starlight, what did I say about messing with time travel?” The purple one asked. “Not to do it.” Starlight answered with a groan, finally sitting up. “Now I know not to. My head hurts like hay… Oh buck…” Her eyes widened when her eyes fell on me. “So can I go home? Or is that just not an option?” “Who even is this guy? Can’t be anypony too important if everything is still completely normal after he was pulled into the present with Starlight,” the Skittles colored one waved a dissmissitory hoof towards me. Wow, I’m glad I am so important that I’m probably not in any history class books “Hi, I’m Bald Ostrich, once a consort, and coltfriend, of Princess Luna, fought in the Battle of Everfree City, made Luna make some sexy sounds. You know, minor things. I was learning how to make rainbows by flying really fast, I got to make one, but I wanted to learn the exact speed at which I need to be going in order to do so. And without nearly breaking my wings; they’re still sore from doing that.” “Wait, Bald Ostrich? As in Luna’s consort that went missing a year before she turned into Nightmare Moon?” Purple asked. “Holy shit…” I think Luna may actually be dead. “Can you actually send me back right this instant? I could’ve stopped-” “I think if we sent you back, you might mess with our time; you were supposed to go missing or die according to the history books. On another topic… Luna would be happy to see her long lost coltfriend again.” What? “I don’t think you would’ve known; alicorns were quite the mystery back then… But alicorns have very prolonged lifespans. Princess Celestia is still alive, and so is Princess Luna. They live in Canterlot now, the current capital city, but they’re still alive and don’t age.” Huh, I think I heard somebody talk about that place when I first came to Equestria… Fuck, Golden Delicious is long dead, and so is Crab Apple. I never even got to see them again.  “So that just leaves Blaze…” I rubbed my chin. “Well, if you can let Luna know that I do, in fact, exist, then that would be nice. I hope she’s doing alright; did you know that Luna was demonized to all hell? Like straight up, if Celestia is seen as the bringer of everything good in Equestria, Luna was seen as the bringer of everything that’s apparently bad. Like death, disease, I read that plagues were somehow Luna’s fault. Like ponies in the past were fucked up and downright awful towards her, which is probably why she became Nightmare Moon in the first place.” “The… story book just says Luna was jealous! How can you-” “I was literally alive at the time. I’ve seen propaganda that painted Luna in a terrible light. I wanted to kill somebody because Luna would often hear of what’s said about her and cry into my fucking shoulder because of it. I know this is wild to believe, but Luna is a fully functioning adult that can, and is capable of dealing with her own jealousy. Yeah, she was jealous of her sister for being so fucking tall, but she never let that make her evil. No, she was made out to be something demonic, so she became a demon.” I tapped my chin a couple times. “So have you heard of Kitsunes? Had one as a friend, would be nice to know if they went extinct or not; I wanna know because apparently those fuckers can live forever.” “Those still exist, but they live very far away from here. I know of a Kumiho in the Everfree forest that’s been guarding a specific room in the Castle of the Two Sisters. It chases off just about anypony that tries to get into that room to try and loot it. It’s a few hours of walking. I tried to study it, but the thing always chased me off, or simply disappeared before I could go and talk to it.” Huh. I simply chuckled. “What?” “Imma tell you what I told Starlight, your highness, Kumihos will, at a minimum, murder you. If you were actually contacting a Kumiho, you would be dead seven ways to sunday. That’s at a minimum. They will skin you alive for fun if they’re bored enough. You’re lucky I have an idea of who you are talking about; we’re gonna have a visitor coming at any moment now.” I hopped off the table. “I’m gonna go stretch my wings and hopefully get a good, long look at Ponyville. Starlight told me about it and like, it wasn’t a thing a thousand years ago.”  “Wait!” Rainbow opened and raised a hoof. “You’re a pegasus.” Thank you, captain obvious. “And you’re kinda new to Ponyville… wanna have a race?” “Hmm… Meh, fuck it. I’ll probably lose. I’m down.” This is not what I signed up for. Why the fuck is half of town out here to watch me get my ass kicked? Sure, I went on that flying training arc, but I don’t think I’m gonna win. On one hand, I am pretty fast, on the other, I fucking suck at turning. I sat on my ass, just staring at everyone while Rainbow was off gloating about how she’ll probably win. “Alright, Ostrich, are you ready for me to kick your butt?” “Prefer just being called Ostri.” “Ostri. Because I’m feeling generous, all you have to do is make one trip around the outskirts of Ponyville. I have to do it three times,” Rainbow said with the smuggest little smirk. Great, she’s one of those bitches. Cocky asshole.  “Aight bet,” I got up to the starting line with her. “Good luck, Skittles.” “My name is Rainbow Dash!” “Cool. Eat shit,” and the Pink one finally decided to countdown and have us begin. Somehow I was neck and neck with Rainbow, and she was kinda shocked by that. Like she actually did a fucking double take when she noticed that I was keeping up with her. There was no way I could actually talk to her at this speed, so I figured it would be hella fucking funny to just make a rainbow to finish the race. I often did lose some ground whenever I had to turn or bank(Rainbow was a natural; she had some right in being as cocky as she is), but I was fast enough to make up for those turns, and I was picking up altitude in order to perform that rainboom. Though one lap is all I needed to win, so Rainbow really did just fuck herself. Even if she was technically a better flier than I was on pure maneuverability.  I could get her a dildo if those are a thing. After I got high enough, Rainbow completed her first lap, so I started zooming down, faster, and faster, and faster. I could literally feel my wings burning from over exertion; I am going to feel that one tomorrow. One thing led to another, and boom rainbow. A wave of colors blew through the air as I broke the sound barrier… I think. I never really got to measure how fast I was going. Then I won the race thanks to Rainbow fucking herself over. I skidded to a stop on the ground, slowing down just enough… It was a really cool landing. Until my face planted into the ground. Ow. “Sweet Celestia…” I sat back up and shook the dizziness out of my head. “I don’t think I’ve seen anypony other than Rainbow Dash do a sonic rainboom…” Twilight was standing there in shock. And so was the whole crowd for that matter. The Rainbow Dash in question stopped flawlessly next to me, bearing a similar expression to everyone else. However, she was quicker to recover. “That. Was. Totally. AWESOME!” Rainbow pumped a hoof. “That is the first time I ever lost, ever! Haha! I didn’t know you were that fast!” “Rainbow, you do realize what that makes Ostri, right?” “What Twilight?” “He's probably the pegasus that started the Legend of the Sonic Rainboom; it did exist before you were born even if you did popularize and name it. There were reports of something similar to a Rainboom around the time he disappeared.” She slowly turned to me. “I have so many questions! Did you meet Starswirl?” “Oh yeah. That guy. He’s dead, right? Good. Fuck that dude.” Twilight’s jaw dropped. “A racist sack of shit is what he is. Probably a bit sexist, too. Always thought what I was doing was dumb, even if his ideas of honor woulda got everyone in Everfree City murdered. Don’t have heroes kid; they’re all secretly horrible people-” Something tackled me. “Fucking christ, what the… Oh fuck, hey Blaze. You didn’t age at all!” Legit, my fox didn’t age in the slightest; she looked the exact same as she did a thousand years ago. And she was still beautiful.  “What the fuck happened to you, Ostri? One moment I could sense you, and the next you’re gone! No pain, nothing! You simply disappeared!” She mentally shouted inside my head. “You made me worried sick!” Blaze laid down on top of me before she started grooming me. “Thank the Earth that you’re okay… what actually happened to… you.” Her eyes fell on Starlight. “You did something, didn’t you?” “She accidentally sucked me off-” Blaze slapped me with a paw. “Okay, she went home and accidentally took me with her. And now I’m here.” Blaze kept on grooming me. “Are you-” “Shut up. I spent a thousand years mourning you, Ostri. Let me have this.” She glanced at Twilight. “Back off you purple bitch; let me have my moment. My. Stallion. Mine.” Blaze kept on licking me. Twilight slowly started to back away from the angry kitsune. No, Blaze did not cling to me like glue for a few hours. It was more like super glue. She wouldn’t even let me fly because she could sense how much my wings were aching. Later that night, I was laying in a bed in Twilight’s castle. Blaze was laying down on top of me, because ‘I will disappear again’ if she doesn’t. It was honestly pretty nice. I couldn’t call it nostalgic; I basically did this yesterday for me. I idly stroked her, because she was still wide awake, basking in my hooves running through her fur. “You don’t seem as enthusiastic to see me as I thought you would be,” Blaze hummed. “How is… time traveling?” “I wish I could be happier, just rolling and having a very wiggly, excited, magical fox in my arms, but for me, it’s like I saw you just yesterday, Blaze. No time at all has passed for me. I am happy to see you, I’m glad to have you in my company; you’re my best friend after all.” I hugged Blaze’s head. “I love you Blaze… I’m sorry for disappearing on you; I didn’t wanna get zapped into the future.” “I know.” Blaze sighed. “I’m just happy to have you again.” Blaze simply shook her head and nuzzled me. “You still think this old hag looks nice? You are too kind, Ostri.” “You literally didn’t age at all. Of course you look lovely.” “Watch it; Luna may think you’re hitting on me.” We both fell asleep pretty quickly after we curled up together. Just like old times… Blaze slapped me with a tail for that. It was soft and fluffy, so it at least didn’t hurt. The next morning, well night(I’m still nocturnal), I was awoken to the sound of Twilight opening the door. “Ostri! Wake up! Today is Nightmare Night!” I groaned. “C’mon! Luna and Celestia are coming to town to have a look at you. They even sent a letter before hoof. Let me read it for you: “Dear, Princess Twilight Sparkle. I don’t recall the name Bald Ostrich,” my ears found themselves pinned against my ears. I was forgotten. “But I believe seeing this stallion will refresh my memories. Please keep him at the castle, Celestia and I will come visit, as Nightmare Night is tonight anyways. I am looking forward to seeing you again. Signed, Princess Luna.” Huh. “So you might not be the Ostrich that Luna was thinking of, but I can help you adjust now that you’re basically stuck here.” Oh boy. My girlfriend probably won’t remember me. “If Luna forgot you, Ostri, then she is a horrible mate and never truly loved you. You gave her everything when you could, your love, your attention… Everything. If Luna so quickly forgot about you, then find somebody else; there must be somebody you can fall in love with.” Blaze nuzzled me. “And I will make sure you aren’t lonely until your time comes; you deserve at least that.” I wrapped my forelegs around Blaze’s neck. “Yes, Twilight, I am capable of telepathy. You should know this from yesterday.” So after a quick breakfast, I was sitting in the ‘lobby’ of the castle with Twilight and her friends. Each one was dressed in a costume of some sort, probably for Nightmare Night. After I was  told what it was, I was originally mad, until I learnt that Luna actually celebrates it in Ponyville all the time. So it can’t be that bad if she managed to enjoy a holiday that demonizes her. Or rather, celebrates her more demonic form, Nightmare Moon. The doors glowed in gold and dark blue, and soon two alicorns walked in. I recognized Celestia off the bat, even if her mane took a few doses of LSD. Her eyes lit up for a moment when they saw me, which was a good sign. The other alicorn looked kinda like Luna. Except she had very fake fangs, a helmet and regalia similar to Luna’s, except more geared towards being warlike rather than not. After seeing some depictions, I could tell that it was Nightmare Moon… She was oddly beautiful. Horrifyingly so, but she was absolutely stunning. God, if that’s what Luna turned into, firstly Jesus Christ, secondly, I want to cuddle her until she no longer feels what turned her into Nightmare Moon in the first place. I saw them, staring at the sisters while they stared back at me. I waved a hoof, simply remaining silent. “Celestia, good to see you. The fuck happened to your mane?” Celestia chuckled. “It has been one thousand years since I’ve seen you, Ostri, and that’s the first thing you say to me?”  “Look, I just wanna know if you’re doing drugs. No way that mane is natural and I don’t think you can dye a mane that doesn’t abide by physics.” “Ostri! You don’t talk to a Princess like that!” Celestia actually broke into a giggle from her poker face. Ooo, she’s gotten good at that over the years. “It is quite alright, Twilight. We’re good friends.” Celestia then set her eyes back on me. “It is perfectly natural… I suppose. It became this way shortly after you vanished. As for how, I do not know. In your words: ‘magic is bullshit’. What happened to you?” I looked at Starlight. “Remember that one mare that showed up?” “Vaguely. Her colors are vivid in my mind, but her face and mane are long lost to me.”  “Well that mare was Starlight Glimmer. Turns out she was from the future and that she wasn’t lying; she found a way home and it dragged me with her. And so I disappeared. It really sucked too; I think me and Luna were planning on having another picnic together.” I turned to Nightmare Moon. “Speaking of whom.” Nightmare Moon was engulfed in some light. Soon, Luna took her place. My Luna was a bit shorter and her coat was a little darker, but she was my Luna. We stared at each other for a moment. I swear I could see tears forming in those wonderdrous eyes that I found myself staring into so often oh so long ago. Flashes of recognition, her mouth opened and all that came out was a squeak. We were silent. “God damn, Luna. Not even being stuck on the moon for a thousand years is enough to make you not beautiful…” I walked forward. “You do remember me, right?” “I-I do. Golly, how… How could I forget your full name?” “Because my full name was some stupid, really stupid, shit I made up on the spot that I told you to never use. You always called me Ostri, and so did Celestia. So you probably never even got used to remembering my name….” I chuckled. “God, technically it’s been a thousand years since I was once human… My head hurts to think about that now. But I can forget about my own personal gripes if you’d still have me.” “Well…” “You got a new coltfriend?” I cocked my head. “No! Heavens no!” Luna sighed. “I now realize that you and I only really became a couple because I was desperate for some form of affection, and you were in a world that was completely alien to you. We… Only stuck together out of necessity, didn’t we? We both knew that, in some way, that was true, right? I’m… I’m in a much better place now; some of my subjects actually love me. I have friends now, Ostri. I… I’ve been accepted. I never thought it would happen, but it did, and I’m closer to my sister than ever before.” Oh. I see. What a way to break up. I was hoping to propose to this woman at some point. “Okay then…” I let out a long, deep breath. “Cool. Love you too, Luna.” She opened her mouth again. “Don’t, Luna. Just don’t even talk right now. Blaze, what is she thinking right now?” “I can tell it isn’t about rekindling your relationship. I won’t say anymore though.” Very cool.  “Welp. I thought I died, but turns out I traveled across time and space, and I learned that the woman I loved, with every bit of my being, didn’t actually love me! Wow! I am so glad to be alive!” I let out a laugh. “God I shoulda just fell asleep and got eaten by a bear that night…” I bowed. “Well, nice seeing you, Luna. Wish you the best of luck; I still love you despite this, but I don’t think I wanna look at you right now. I’m gonna go find some dead-end job that wants somebody who works night shifts.” With that, I started making my way to the door. I didn’t need to look back to know I was about to be followed. “Blaze, stay in the castle. I need some time alone.” I stepped out into the night and took a flight. I eventually found a random set of ruins in a huge forest near town. I touched the ground and walked inside, only to find… This was home. This was where I lived. Despite it being a thousand years, it was still nice, if a tad bit ran down. I found mine and Luna’s old room. On the floor was a book with glowing ink, I read it and it talked about some voodoo bullshit I didn’t care about. Especially since it was whispering some creepy shit about power. I had no interest in that, so I threw it in the fireplace and lit it with a flint and steel that was nearby. I simply sat on the bed, which was still in pristine condition, staring into the flames. As they burnt the book, I simply sat and stared into nothing, nothing but the contemplation of it all. I never knew what it was like to have a family. I got close, and it got dragged away from me. Then when I had a chance at getting close again it was gone. Simply, Gone. Every single bit of it was just a sweet little eye in my ‘family’s eyes. She, Luna, was no longer family to me. I laid my head on the pillow at the foot of the bed, wide awake, until the sun came up. I didn’t sleep through the day. I just sat there, hoping to die. I was alone again.