[Perspective: Arrell]
The morning after my training session, we were on the road again. I took a few minutes to show my voice attack and drop shield to Risk, just so he wasn't out of the loop. He took it pretty well, though I think he's still confused about why every time I do the former I say "FUS RO DAH".
That day, I felt as though something was different about all of us. False, rather than being grumpy and irritable, actually seemed patient and caring. Risk, normally lost in thought and only talking when we talked first, was a lot more energetic and kept trying to get conversations going. Me...well, I was quiet. Probably because I was tired.
I hadn't slept at all the night before, and while I'm no stranger to insomnia, I had enjoyed having restful nights for the past...however long I had been in Equestria for. But the previous night, I had been too anxious to fall asleep, unlike False, who was out cold just a couple minutes after lying down. I envied her ability to sleep.
"...then we can stop by Canterlot before heading back to Ponyville," Risk finished something he was saying. "Sound good?"
I blinked and looked up at him. "Huh?"
"I'm trying to plan out our trip a bit more," he explained. "We can't just go to random towns. We need a set order."
"You've been around Twilight too long," I accused jokingly before yawning. "Ugh...I hate coffee, but right now I'd be willing to pay for it."
False looked at my saddlebag. "Why not just drink that can Twilight gave you?" she suggested.
"Because I have no idea what's in it and I don't want to find out it's poisonous."
"I highly doubt it's dangerous, let alone poisonous," Risk laughed. "It was found at your arrival spot in the Everfree. For all we know, it arrived with you and you just didn't notice it."
That suggestion clicked with my brain, as though digging up a memory. I stopped walking, trying to put all focus towards bringing up said memory. Risk and False noticed and stopped as well, looking worried.
Come on...come on...remember...something about the can...
...
Red...
Acting on a hunch, I sat down, pulled out the can from my saddlebag, and looked at it. A familiar tab to open it with was on top. Since I didn't have thumbs, though, I had no idea how to open it.
"Little help with this?" I asked my partners, gesturing to the tab.
Risk picked up a stick, walked over, and pushed it underneath the tab. A little pressure on the other end, and the seal was broken, popping it open. I thanked him and stared at the contents. A familiar dark liquid stared back at me.
"If I die, tell Twilight I'm going to haunt her for this," I said in a completely serious tone. Clutching the can with both front hooves, I held the opening of the can to my mouth and tilted my head back, pouring the drink into my mouth and swallowing it. In a few seconds, I had downed the whole can.
"How was it?" Risk asked. He seemed to say something else, but it became blurred. My vision started fading to black, and I fell to the side into unconsciousness.
[Perspective: Risk Reward]
I watched as Arrell drank for a few seconds. He soon finished and lowered the can from his mouth.
"How was it?" I asked. He started to wobble. "Arrell? ...oh crap."
He fell to the side, eyes closed. The can fell and rolled away, but neither False nor I paid attention to it. We rushed up to our friend's side and began to shake him.
"Arrell! Wake up!" I yelled. "Stop falling unconscious like that! It worries us every time!"
"Is that really the right thing to say right now?" False snapped.
"I don't know!" I looked around in panic. In the distance, I saw a small town – or rather, the rooves of houses in a small town. I couldn't see anything else due to it being far away and off course from our trek to Stalliongrad, but it was better than nothing.
False caught my eye and saw where I was looking. "We need to get him over there," she declared, reading my thoughts. "Help me pick him up."
It took a minute, but we managed to get Arrell onto False's back. I picked up Arrell's saddlebags and the empty can, following False with them to the town at the fastest pace we could go while being weighed down.
We just HAD to encourage him to drink it, I thought to myself in anger. We just HAD to...
[Perspective: Arrell]
I always liked weekends. I didn't have to put up with schoolwork; I could just lounge around on my computer all day. Granted, schoolwork wasn't that bad, but still.
It was about two in the afternoon. I was doing some writing on the computer when I heard a weird noise. I checked my open tabs, but nothing was producing sound. Shrugging, I went back to work, only to hear the same noise a few seconds later.
Confused further, I pulled off my headphones and looked around my room. It seemed normal...except for the ghostlike woman sitting on my bed. I did a double-take, only to see her smile and vanish.
Needless to say, I was pretty freaked out after that.
The next day, I was back on my computer, reading some stories on FIMFiction. Specifically, Chess Game of the Gods stories. I really liked them. I was even considering making my own to submit, but that might take a little while. I already had three other stories to work on.
A familiar sound reached my ears, and I spun back around to see the same woman from the day before. This time, however, she didn't disappear. We stared at each other for what felt like hours before I spoke up.
"What the hell got slipped into my Coke and who the hell did it?"
The woman smiled in amusement. "I am not a hallucination, friend."
"I'm not your friend. I don't even know who you are...or even if you exist."
"You will learn more soon. For now, I need to prepare you." She got up from sitting on my bed and walked towards me. I backed away until my chair was trapped against my desk. I considered fighting, but given how she was somewhat translucent, I had the feeling I wouldn't do much of anything. Or anything at all.
"Back off," I threatened. "I have a Poltergust 3000."
She giggled. "I'm not here to hurt you. I need your help."
"Help with what?"
"You will learn soon. For now, you must be prepared." She reached her arm forward, her hand resting on my forehead. I held my breath and waited for pain. Or death. Whichever came first.
Instead, I saw a quick slideshow of images. They went by too quickly for me to properly examine them, but I could tell it wasn't my life flashing before my eyes. Though the images did seem somewhat familiar.
"Tomorrow," the woman said, taking her arm away. "Wait for me tomorrow." She vanished.
I felt it best to obey the strange ghost lady and wait for her, rather than run away. For some reason, I trusted her. Whether or not that was from brainwashing, I didn't think about.
Soon, she reappeared, again on my bed. It's like that was her spawn point or something. She stared at me seriously.
"It's time," she told me. She got up and walked to my two closet doors. I watched in curiosity as she waved a hand over each door's knob.
"Why did you wave at my closet doors?" I deadpanned.
"Activating the portals," she explained. If one could call that an explanation. "Now, you must make your choice."
"Red pill, blue pill?" I asked.
"In a sense," she replied. She gestured to the door on the left. "Enter this portal, and you will stay here, with all memories of seeing me removed." She moved on to the door on the right. "Enter this portal, and you will join the game."
I just lost the game. "What game?"
"I cannot tell you that right now. You must make your choice."
I looked back and forth between the two doors. On one hand, I could stay here and pretend this whole thing never happened. On the other hand...this woman seemed trustworthy. Plus, the idea of joining some kind of mysterious game was intriguing. I picked up a can of Coke and walked up to the door on the right, opening it.
Inside, instead of my usual closet contents, was a white void. I looked back at the woman, who smiled.
"Hang on," I said. "Yesterday you told me to prepare...I haven't prepared for anything. You never told me what to prepare for."
"I never told you to prepare," she replied. "I said that I must prepare you. And by granting you the knowledge and skills you will need to survive, I have done just that."
"Knowledge? Skills? What?" I was getting more confused by the minute.
"You will learn soon," she assured me. "For now, just remember:
Be not my rook, nor my knight
As a bishop, you shall not fight
Be my king; be the leader of my side
Make your own rules by which to abide
Be not alone, but find a clan
Form a team of the greatest friends you can
For in the end, when disaster arrives
Only teamwork will help you survive."
As she finished, I felt a force push me through the door and into the void. I dropped my unopened can of Coke and watched it plummet through the abyss...with me quickly and partially unwillingly following.
[Perspective: False Front]
The village we stumbled across, while shocked at the sight of a Windigo, was trusting enough to take us to their hospital. It was a rather small area, so there was only one hospital around, and it wasn't very grand. But it would have to do.
Two stallions took Arrell into a small, one-room building while Risk and I waited outside. About an hour passed before we suddenly heard screams of shock. My royal guard instinct kicked in, and I threw open the door, jumping inside the hospital with Risk on my tail.
The two doctors were staring at Arrell, the shock of being scared slowly fading. Arrell was standing up on a small cot, a strange blue aura coming off of him. His drop shield had been cast, seemingly by instinct, but that naturally didn't stop me from stepping through it towards him.
As I got closer to the bed, I began to feel colder. Arrell looked up at me with those blank eyes of his, panting heavily, and stared at me. After a moment, I felt the cold begin to disappear and the drop shield vanished. Arrell seemed to calm down, his breathing returning to normal. He looked at me, then to Risk, then to the doctors, then back to me.
"Arrell?" I spoke hesitantly, almost afraid of setting him off.
"I just remembered..." he spoke, though it seemed to be more to himself than to me.
"You remembered the three days?" Risk chimed in. Arrell shook his head.
"More than that," he answered cryptically. A smirk broke out on his face. "I think it's time to get back to training."
Author's Notes: Yes, that is a Red VS Blue reference in the title. And yes, that was a can of Coke that Arrell drank. And yes, crap is about to get real.