//------------------------------// // Displaced // Story: Markings of a King // by Zimprus Nalune //------------------------------// A teenager walked along the shore, alone. His eyes were glued to the ground as he walked, face bearing an expression of misery and disgust. His attitude went completely unnoticed by his mother and sister, who walked directly away from him, as was usual for their fall beach excursions. He hated the beach, he really did. The sand got everywhere, including inside his brand new sneakers. The water was never to his liking, always too cold except for where that one child decided to relieve themselves. And during this time of the year, it was only his jeans, shirt, and trusty North Face windbreaker that kept him from freezing his rear off. The teen zipped up said article of clothing, the winds having performed a sudden change in direction. He briefly wondered what would have caused such a thing, as the wind was usually some degree of consistent, but shook his head and put it down to the distaste the and the cold shared for one another. The teen briefly glanced out to sea, watching as few boats milled back and forth at a sluggish pace. He smiled briefly before falling to the sand which he hated so much, his foot having gone straight into a hole that someone had dug but not bothered to fill back in. He cursed as he fell, landing on the hard fall sand with a solid THMP that sent his vision spinning and generously bestowing a piercing headache. Blinking a few times until his vision refocused, the teen slowly climbed to his feet, noticing how the air had warmed up immensely. So much so, that he began shielding himself from the sun and its warming rays. The teen blinked once his head had settled, looking around himself in confusion. Where did the sun go? The cool beach and ocean that he had been on/next to just a few seconds ago had vanished, replaced with what could only be described as a bleak and endless desert. The only noticeable feature in any direction was the waist-high barbed wire fence that ran as far as he could see, intermittent signs displaying “KEEP OUT” for anyone who cared. “Well… shit,” the teen said aloud. He glanced around once more, then shrugged and began walking, quickly beginning a conversation with himself. “I suppose this ruins my plans for the weekend… What with being in a desert and all.” “Though I suppose it’s interesting to find out that I can in fact disregard time and space, and those shots at the range weren’t miscountings or horrible accuracy.” “I wonder if there are any towns near here. It would really suck if I died out here…” The male raised his hands to his mouth and yelled. “HELLO!” He paused, waiting for a response. With no call in return, he yelled again. “ANY INTELLIGENT LIFE OUT THERE!?” With a disappointed sigh, he turned to the barbed wire fence. Natural human curiosity overcame him as he inspected the metal wires, having never really seen barbed wire up close and personal. He looked over the wire, pulling on it occasionally, testing it for a way over or through as he slowly traveled along the fence. He eventually found a section that was rather loose. Grabbing the upper and lower wires of the fence, the teen spread them apart as far as they would allow. With a frown, he released the wires and took off his windbreaker, tossing it over ahead of him. Nodding, he spread the wires once more and, moving slowly, managed to pass through without injury. Once on the other side, he grinned and nodded. “Good work, me,” he said, patting himself on the back before bending down to pick up his discarded clothing. A bright blue flash at the edge of his vision immediately gained his attention, and he quickly rose to be greeted by the sight of four small, white ponies covered in golden armor as if to mimic the cartoon creations he enjoyed so much. The human couldn’t suppress a chuckle as he looked at the animals, the light mirth quickly turning to full-blown, stomach-aching laughter as he noticed that the owner of the ponies had somehow attached very realistic horns to the quartet, further enhancing the mimicry. “Oh I get it, I’m dreaming!” the teen laughed. “I hit my head on something, and now I’m dreaming!” His laughter immediately ceased when they began talking. “Sarge?” the pseudo-unicorn to the rear piped, its animal lips and vocal chords miraculously creating human-esque sounds. “I don’t think I’ve seen one of these before.” The lead pony grunted before responding. “Don’t matter. You know the rules. It crossed the border, it dies. We don’t need another invasion.” The previously-amused human gaped at the ponies, his eyes confirming that they were in fact unicorns as their horns lit up with gold or blue auras. He sputtered for a moment, holding up his hands and backing away slowly. “Whoa, easy there! Uh, love and tolerance? Friendship is magic? Twenty perce—“ The teen was cut off by several magical bolts flying at him, which he quickly dove to the ground to avoid. Spitting out sand, he quickly rose to his feet and reached into his pocket, pulling out his trusty switchblade and snapping it open with the click of a button. He held it reverse in his hand, quickly getting into a more fight-worthy pose. “Never thought I’d actually fight somebody,” He commented. “Guess I’d better learn.” The unicorns reassessed the situation, surrounding the human as they kept their magic ready and on a hair trigger. The sergeant was the first to attack, launching another bolt at the human while rushing forward to try and pummel him. The teen twisted to avoid the bolt, but only just managed to sidestep and avoid the pony’s front hooves as they kicked out at him. He quickly jumped onto the unicorn, hanging on for dear life as the sergeant began to buck in an attempt to knock him off. But even as the human lost his grip, he managed to bring his knife across the neck of the pony, sending the both of them to the ground. The human coughed and stood up, coming face-to face with the other three unicorns. “Fu—“ *** A ten-strong squad of changelings rapidly closed on the Equestrian boarder, ready to deal with any threat they found on their turf. As they neared the source of the disturbance, they observed three Royal Guards mercilessly beating a strange creature. They felt their queen peer through their eyes, sharing their sight, observing the situation as they did. A flicker of surprise, of recognition, of some long lost knowledge ran through the Hive Mind, and soon their goal was clear by the voice of the queen herself. Save that human! *** The human’s cries of pain continued as the ponies went from inflicting grievous injuries on his body to simply kicking and battering him. His entire body throbbed in agony as ever more abuse was inflicted on him. Several cuts and stabs from a spectral spear one had conjured, burns from magical attacks he had quickly lost his ability to avoid, and the feeling of several bones throughout his body in a state of brokenness, and now the constant demeaning kicks assaulted his rapidly failing consciousness. Beyond his tormentors, the human saw almost a dozen bug-like things descend from the sky, green fire erupting around their bodies as they fell with deadly intent. The unicorns noticed the newcomers almost as quickly, but amidst several shouts and a chorus of buzzes and hisses, their attacks and efforts of resistance were snuffed out in a swarm of blackness. Once the last pony had fallen, the teen looked at his saviors. Their black, twisted forms appeared nothing short of majestic, eyes hiding a bestial intelligence that he could respect. He felt himself becoming weightless as a green tinge filled his vision, and the wondrous buzzing of insectoid wings filled his ears once more. And finally, his body’s painful throbs faded with the world.