//------------------------------// // Unfamiliar Terrain // Story: When Nature Calls // by SwiftEthan //------------------------------// “Ugh...Ow.” Waking up face down on a cold stone floor is not the most reassuring situation to find yourself in after being drugged. “Ah!” I heard Clavicus’ voice ring out from somewhere in the room. “You’re awake! Finally.” I heard him rise, letting me know he had been sitting, or at least crouching down beforehand. "You were out for a lot longer than I was expecting. If you were anything more than a pawn to me I might have started worrying." Charming. "Where are we?" I mumbled, blearily trying to get up. I was relieved to find that I wasn't tied down, so things weren't quite as ominous as I had originally thought, but my limbs were stiff and unresponsive. I attributed that to the after-effects of being knocked out, and looked up at Clavicus. The man, or rather god, in question was advancing towards me down a set of stone stairs. He reached me and knelt down. "Hmm...Not too shabby, if I say so myself." He was examining my face closely. I recoiled slightly. "Do you mind? You're breathing right in my face." He let out a short laugh, before grabbing my head in one hand and hoisting me up. Despite wobbling a little, I managed to not fall back down, much to my relief. Now that I was stood up, I felt…Taller, for some odd reason. “Now, onto the first order of business,” he announced, turning back around and striding back up the stairs. “You may by this point have noticed that the body that you woke up in is not the same as the one you fell asleep in.” Wait, what? Confused, I held my hands up… “WHAT THE F-” I yelled, cutting myself off as the sight truly sunk in. Instead of skin, my arms were covered by smooth tree bark. My hands were no longer hands as such, but rather talons and I now only had three fingers, lacking a pinkie. I looked down at the rest of me. “So this is a dream or something, right?” With that thought in mind, it was much easier to not freak out. Clavicus shrugged. "Sure, if you like. Anyway, You're probably wondering why you're here." I shook my head. "Nope." Clavicus raised his eyebrows. "No? Really? You wake up in a strange place in a strange body, and you're fine with that?" "Well," I sighed. "If it's a dream, then it won't matter because I'll just wake up. If it's not a dream, then there probably isn't much I can do about it, so how about we just skip over all that?" Clavicus considered this, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm...No, I'll tell you anyway. Take a seat," he grinned. "I'll stand, thanks," I muttered. "Well, someone's in a mood. Anyway, welcome," he spread his arms dramatically. "To Equestria!" I stared at him blankly. "Yes, well," he coughed awkwardly. "This land. It is known as Equestria, and you are currently standing in the ancient castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, deep within the Everfree-" "No, wait. Hold on a moment," I cut in, shaking my head. "Royal Pony Sisters? Please, explain." He shrugged. "Oh yeah, Equestria is primarily inhabited by sentient equines. Shocker. Now, moving on." I rubbed the side of my head. What the hell... "Now then, the reason I brought you here..." He paused. "Well, now that I think about it, I guess you were just the first person I came across. Lucky you," he grinned. "A great cosmic game between gods is happening right now, and I wanted in. For this, I needed a piece to represent me. Guess who that is?" He stared pointedly at me. "Right. So if I'm representing you, what do I have to do?" Another thought crossed my mind, regarding my appearance. "And also, why do I look completely plain? In the game, spriggans had a light in their chest, didn't they? Why don't I?" He smiled. "Noticed that, did you? Excellent, that will speed things along. You see, I didn't want to just go ahead and give you all the powers you can potentially wield right off the bat. It's a lot more entertaining for me, and rewarding for you, if you have to earn them." I groaned. "Great. Well, at least I can expect a bunch of stupidly difficult boss fights in future..." Clavicus slapped his forehead. "Why didn't I think of that? That's brilliant! And to think, I was just going to set them out as puzzle rooms," he snickered. "Please tell me you're being sarcastic." "I am. Don't worry, those stupidly difficult boss fights are already out there, waiting for you. I designed them beforehand, and put them in stasis around this world. They will awaken when you get close, so that's when the fight will begin. If you beat them...You will be awarded a power from each one. There are four in total." Four? "Okay. I'm assuming these will have something to do with the different coloured lights that spriggans have? So green, gold, and purple...That's three. What's the fourth one for?" He grinned. "You'll see. Anyway, you should probably get going. The first one isn't too far from here, it's already awake and causing a bit of a ruckus." I glared at him. "You know, usually there are a bunch of grunts to fight before the boss. Or at least a tutorial." His smile vanished. "It would be unwise for you to think of this as a game. However, I would say that you think of this as your tutorial. Now go," he snapped his fingers, the huge double doors at the far end of the hall swinging open quickly. I looked back. "So where-" I was cut off by a crushing force pushing me backwards, sending me flying through the double doors. I sailed over a ravine, and landed in a heap on the other side of it, rolling over the grass before coming to a rest at the foot of a tree. I looked up at the double doors again, just in time to see them closing, with Clavicus waving to me, grinning. As the doors slammed shut, there was a brief flash of light within the castle, and then nothing. I picked myself up carefully, still adjusting to the weirdly long limbs and digitigrade feet. After a few steps, however, I had got the hang of it enough to walk at a comfortable pace. With some steely determination, I held my head high and set off into the ominously dark forest.