//------------------------------// // Awakening // Story: The Secret of Equestria // by Xinamar //------------------------------// Chapter 1- Awakening In a daze I find myself looking up towards the sky. It’s so beautiful watching as the sun shines ever so brightly, and birds hover on by. Did I just wake up? I think to myself as I feel the tall grass surrounding me. Sitting up I look around, and I can see nothing but a seemingly endless stretch of woods. What is this place? I search through my memories trying to remember anything, but instead I am struck with an awful realization. I have no recollection of any previous moments before this one. I can feel myself dive into a panic. Frantically I jolt up onto my feet taking quick glances at everything within my field of view. Nothing but trees and bushes, this place could possibly go on for miles. How could I have gotten here? Looking down at my feet I notice what I’m wearing: a black jacket, jeans, and shoes. This is what I usually wear when I go out. Strange, if I can remember that then how can I not remember anything else? There’s too many things missing to make sense of this. (Sigh)… there’s no need for me to worry about that now. I just need to worry about getting out of here. But which way? Everything looks exactly the same! How do I know which way is the right way to go? Suddenly something catches my eye as a few glimmering lights flutter out from some bushes. They hover around me and I realize what they are, butterflies. One of them lands on my shoulder, and I can see every detail on its sparkling wings. I have never seen butterflies colored quite like this. Their wings were some kind of white that glowed even in the absence of light. Examining it further I believe I can spot some sort of pattern that seems to look like some sort of inscriptions. I continue to stare at it curiously trying to make out exactly what it is, but it flies away. After a moment passes I can feel the serenity I felt earlier return to me as those floating orbs of light drift ever farther from me. Compelled to their magnificence I follow them. Continuing my chase for these creatures of light I lose sight of them within a thick wall of trees, and almost in an instant I snap out of this reverie I was in. Should I still follow them? I don’t know what could lie behind that blanket of trees. Walking ever closer to the trees I notice that no kind of light is present from beyond this point. The only choices that remain are to stay here in the warm and comforting light, or to try and traverse the shadows ahead. However I don’t feel like I have a choice. I need to continue onward into the darkness, but something’s not right. I’m looking into complete nothingness yet I feel nothing. Then I turn my thoughts to the light, I feel like I’m forgetting something that’ll keep me here but what? No matter how hard I think I can’t find a single reason to stay. So with one final glimpse I abandon the light and make my way into the wall of trees. Squeezing through the trees, I hold in my breath to make the narrow opening easier to fit through. With every tree I pass I could hear the sound of rushing water get louder and louder. After I make it through, I’m met with the light again, but this time it almost seems more blinding than comforting. Shielding my eyes I look for the butterflies. However, when I do spot them they’re across a long, shaky, wooden bridge. Its appearance gave me no confidence as it peered over what seems like a huge drop into a river. I peak over the edge to see the actual depth of the drop. From the looks of it if I were to fall there’s no way I’d survive. Again something goes off in my mind that I’m missing. I can’t seem to shake this feeling of whatever it is, but it must be nothing. BANG! Caught off guard I look for the source of the noise. Then something catches my eye. An explosion of color now fills the sky. Fireworks are going off. There’s got to be people over there, people that may be able to help me. I’ve got to cross now! Throwing all other thought aside I race onto the bridge at full speed. In spite of the fact that the bridge immediately started creaking on the first step I keep running. SNAP! One of the boards finally gives way and my right leg falls straight through. Out of instinct I grab onto the ropes holding up the bridge. Again something is missing, I could possibly die and yet I don’t feel anything. Okay Aireal, I think to myself. Just pull yourself up. After some close calls I manage to get myself up out of the hole and walk the rest of the way off the bridge. Taking a couple of seconds to catch my breath, I hear three more explosions. More fireworks that must mean they’re still there. Without anymore thought I continue towards the noise. All of a sudden I am greeted by the butterflies again. They flutter around my face and then fly off, but not in the direction of the fireworks. They got me this far, might as well keep following them. After following them for a minute or two the light starts to fade again. The only thing guiding me is the sight of the glowing butterflies. However they appear to have stopped over something. Crouching down I can see what it is due to the light reflecting off the butterflies and onto the ground. It’s a hole. Something a rabbit could have dug. Seeing a stick I grab it and start poking it down the hole. At first I was only hitting dirt but then I heard a kind of tinking noise. Continuing to move the stick around in the hole I manage to finally hit something solid. I put down the stick and reach inside the hole again. The solid object felt rough and hard. Feeling it with my fingers the object definitely had corners. Trying to get a good grasp on it, the object was really stuck in the dirt. Digging around I then proceeded to try to pull it out again. And to my luck I got it out. Gazing down at it, it appeared to be a box. It was very rusty and covered in a wide variety of markings and symbols. They are reminiscent of the markings I saw on the butterfly’s wings. Feeling a bit cautious as I Lift the lid, it reveals a shiny silver rod. Almost like a handle to a small paint brush. I take it out trying to get a better look at it. It’s nothing I recognize but whatever it is…why is it in a hole deep in the woods? With it in my hand, I look around for the butterflies and can see them flying away from me. They’re actually going towards the fireworks this time. Quickly, I chase after them running through bushes and pushing away tree branches from my face. Finally I make it to the end of the woods. Outside! It feels so good to finally be out of there. I could again see the butterflies in the distance and started running towards them. I also see something else ahead. It looks like a village. But the colors and the structure of the buildings make it look very odd. A very strange village… Fireworks shoot out from somewhere. Some kind of special event must be going on. Running as fast as I can to the town I can see the buildings are getting closer. But I still do not see any people. I reach a path that leads into it and start walking taking great care to try and not miss anything that might tell me where I am. Stopping I wait and I watch for anything that looks remotely human. “Hello?!” I shout, and it echoes throughout the town, but not a single response. This place looks so empty almost like a ghost town. Maybe I shouldn’t go in. It looks like an abandoned old village. All the buildings look like old cottages and the roads are just paths of dirt. I can even see wagons for horses to pull. I don’t think anyone lives here; maybe I should just skip it and try to find a different town. I can feel a slight breeze start behind me, and as I start to back away from the village the wind gets stronger. It’s almost pushing me towards the town. For some reason it makes me rethink my situation. It wouldn’t hurt to go and at least check. As soon as I take my first steps forward the winds instantly stop. I look back feeling a little uneasy, but I continue into the town. Within moments of searching through the town I can hear voices. Walking towards it I could hear that it’s not two or three different voices but possibly a group of them. I reach a street corner and take a look to my right and in an instant my jaw drops. I rub my eyes in hopes it would clear my vision as if what I am seeing is just my eyes playing a trick on me. What I see not too far ahead of me is a large crowd of brightly colored horses, I thought to myself in complete disbelief. They are all standing before a large decorated wooden stage. There’s another horse on that stage dressed like some kind of wizard. As I get a better look at all of them I realize none of them are actually the size of a real horse. They’re more like ponies. I feel as though I need to slap myself to make sure I’m really seeing this. Some even have wings like a pegasus, or even have unicorn horns… What is happening?! Their manes don’t even look like natural hair colors. Pink, red, blue, purple. There’s even one with a mane that looks like a rainbow! I’ve got to be seeing things; these ponies actually look like cartoons. I must also be hearing things, because I can hear them talking. I walk backwards around the corner so that they are out of my sight. I take a breath in and then slowly out. Maybe if I look again they will be gone. I just need to convince myself that they are not really there. I walk back around, and as expected they are still there… That’s it, this isn’t reality. This is just a dream. Yeah, that’s what it is. I must’ve just fallen asleep and this is all just a dream, a really vivid dream. “The Great and Powerful Trixie has returned! Trixie has come to challenge TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” the blue wizard pony yells. “Why should she waste her time with you!? We all know that Twilight’s magic is and always will be better than yours!” the blue rainbow pony yelled back. “Then she should have no problem facing me.” “Why I’m gonna!-” “Rainbow, relax. If Trixie wants a little magic competition, I’ll give her one.” A purple unicorn with a dark purple mane says with her right hoof in front of “Rainbow”. The purple pony, who I’m assuming is named Twilight, steps onto the stage. This is impossible, there’s no way this is happening. I must be dreaming. All of this just has to be a dream. I take a few steps closer towards the crowd of ponies. I’m kind of curious now, but still highly confused. Stopping before any “pony” could see me. I watch the stage waiting for what they’re about to do. The purple unicorn, “Twilight’s”, horn begins to glow, and then vegetation, flowers of many different sizes and colors, seem to grow onto the stage covering every inch of it. All of the ponies are in awe. After, a few seconds it all dissipates into droplets of light that linger in the air. What just happened? Was the only thought that kept crossing my mind. “Okay, now it’s my turn,” says the wizard pony, Trixie. A shadowy glow accumulates around her, as though any existing light near her is either being blocked by something or just destroyed. But I don’t see what she’s doing. Something doesn’t feel right. I look all around, and up in the sky the clouds darken. I can hear thunder crash. Some of the ponies in the crowd run to their homes; however, I’m not going anywhere. I want to see what happens. It begins to rain, the wind starts to pick up, and I could see lightning strike in the distance. Leaves blow all around and into my face as I try to swat them away. I look at the stage again and still see the two ponies standing there. I can’t see Twilight’s face, but I do see Trixie’s and she looks angry, mad even. But still holds a smile on her face. As the storm progressively gets worse the large decorations on top of the stage begin to shake. They look like they’re about to come loose and break off from the stage, I think to myself. And Twilight is directly below them. Suddenly that unidentifiable sensation returns to me, but is quickly pressed back by the urge to act. Pushing myself through the wind I hurry onto the stage. I shove Twilight out of the way as the decorations almost fall on top of her. The wind suddenly stops same for the thunder. Twilight and I are both sitting down on the stage. I am in disbelief to see that both of us are unscathed. Then I look down at my hands with the silver rod in my right one. Did I really do that? It almost didn't feel like I did. It felt strange as if for that one second my actions weren’t really my own. “W-what are you? Did… Did you just save me?” Twilight stutters. Looking away from my hands now and towards her I nod in disbelief. “Hey! Who dares to interrupt our competition?!” Trixie shouts in frustration. I stand up and look straight at her. “Well, what in the world is this? Just who and exactly what are you? ...and what is that you’re holding? Is that a wand? Hmmm… this could be interesting. Well go on. Show us all what YOU can do.” Trixie taunts. Everything grows silent. I don’t know what to do. All of the ponies are watching me waiting for me to do something. I begin to feel very uncomfortable as I can feel myself growing nervous. Then, out from the corner of my eye I see the wand glowing. The aura around it was first purple, then blue, to yellow, now pink. The colors kept changing. The crowd lets out a small gasp at the sight of the wand. How is this happening? I might as well try something, anything would probably help. I bring up the wand and point it at a piece of debris that is to the right of me. The debris is then surrounded by the same colorful aura that is around my wand. Moving my wand back to the front of me, the debris followed. I don’t believe it. It’s actually following my wand. “So you can lift things. Is that all you can do?” Trixie smirks. This is clearly not enough. Compared to what Twilight did and Trixie’s storm, this is nothing. I need to think of something. I wave the wand in a circular motion that ends with a quick point forward. With a burst of speed the debris is launched towards Trixie smashing into her and causing her to fall over and slide on the stage. All of the ponies begin laughing. Trixie gets back onto her hooves with a look of complete murderous intent. “HOW DARE YOU! Okay so you can lift things, well so can I!” Her hat falls off, showing her white mane and blue horn. Just as before a shadowy glow surrounds her, but nothing was moving. Then everything was moving, I look at my feet and realize I’m what’s moving. I move around frantically trying to possibly get myself free. Nothing’s working, I think to myself. She continues to lift me higher, and higher. So high I could see the edge of the village I was in along with the surrounding woods. Then, I stop. I look down, and I can still see all of the ponies. “And guess what!” I barely hear Trixie yell. “I can throw things too!” in an instant I am pulled back by some kind of force and flung through the air. And just as quickly as I was flung, a sharp pain shot throughout the entirety of my body. Pain…pain cannot be felt in a dream. So, that would mean I’m not dreaming, but none of this could possibly be real. Nothing I’ve seen could prove that I’m not dreaming, but the pain I felt was real. Then, I’m not dreaming. And if I’m not dreaming that means I’m about to die. The thought of my body slamming onto the ground, possibly breaking every bone in my body, and dying begins shooting through my mind. I don’t know what to do. Is this really how it all is going to end? …Well if this is how it’s going to end, its one heck of a way to go. I close my eyes to except my fate, but instead of hitting the floor I feel something solid smash into me. Opening my eyes I see the rainbow-maned pony is carrying me. “Don’t worry I gotcha.” she says flying back toward the stage. She lands right next to Twilight and I step back onto the stage. “Are you alright?” I turn my head back towards her and nod. “Ugh! I have had it with these interruptions! It’s about time I end this!” Trixie shouts as she points her horn towards the sky. It again emanates that shadow-like glow. Everything darkens; I look up and see clouds gather over us. Cracks of lightning and thunder soon follow. I look back at Trixie and realize she’s making another storm and if my feelings are correct this one’s not going to just knock down stage decorations. Taking a glance around me, the ponies in the crowd are frantic now all of them trying to escape the danger that is being placed upon them. But that’s not all. Every single one of them has this same expression, even Twilight and the other rainbow pony have it. I can’t identify what it means but if it could cause all this panic amongst the already present chaos. It can’t be good. Suddenly my thoughts are broken with the power of these newly formed winds. They are much worse this time around. I can barely keep my balance, same goes for many of the ponies in the crowd. Even Trixie looks like she’s having trouble. Twilight could have been seriously hurt last time she created a storm. I can’t imagine what could happen with this one. All our lives are possibly at risk. I need to think of a way I could use this wand to protect us, but I don’t even know how to use this thing. But I have to try something. Planting my feet firmly on the stage, I hold up the wand towards the sky. Keeping myself calm, relaxed, and concentrated. The only thing I could think to do was to look upward at it. Like last time the wand began to glow. Meanwhile the wind started to pick up immensely, so much so that the leaves and rain drops were blades to my clothes and skin. I tighten my grip on the wand trying to maintain focus. The wand’s aura starts growing ever brighter and larger. All of a sudden, I’m lost in the light emanating from the wand feeling nothing else but its warmth and comfort. BOOM! A bright beam of light shoots out from it and into the sky. The light begins to fall over us like an enormous glowing bubble. Amazed, I drop my arms and stand in awe of what I did. All of the rain, wind, and thunder are still raging outside of this shield, but I cannot hear any of it. I look at the crowd of ponies. Gasps of astonishment fill the crowd. I look back at Twilight and the rainbow pony. “That. Was. AWESOME!” the rainbow pony yells at me. “How did you do that?” Twilight asks curiously. I have no idea how I’m able to do any this, but watching this spectacle is all so incredible. I then look back towards Trixie, who is standing outside of the bubble in the storm she created. Losing her balance, due to the powerful winds, she falls over onto her side. She looks drenched and miserable, as she keeps struggling to stand back up. Watching all of this I can’t help but feel guilty. I feel like I should help her. Even though she tried to seriously harm Twilight and I. Something inside is telling me to help her. I can’t stand watching this pony struggle to stand only to fall back down. I see her try once more to get up and fall again, but this time she doesn’t stand back up. The debris I threw at her earlier is blown by the wind. Hitting her while she’s still down on the stage. I can’t watch this anymore. I have to help her. I need to try to stop this storm. Seeing how Trixie lost her control of it. I hold up the wand towards the sky once again and begin to concentrate. The wand then begins to glow a bright golden color. Intensifying, the light became so bright to the point where I needed to squint in order to see. After that, another beam of light shot out of the wand, through the shield, and all the way up into the clouds. The light is so bright and continues to become even more so. After a few seconds, the light dies down and everything is clear: the shield is gone, there’s no more rain or thunder, and the wind is back to a slight breeze. Looking up I can see the clear blue sky again along with the bright mid-day sun. I run towards her as she still lies on the ground. Kneeling down I remove the debris off of her. She looks up at me. “Why you… you!-” tears form around her eyes. “You win…” she says placing her head back down. All of the ponies start to cheer. Standing back up I look towards them. They’re all jumping and hollering I even hear what some of them are saying. “That was incredible!”; “What is it?”; “Didn’t you see him save Twilight?!”; “He’s our HERO!” I turn to Twilight and the rainbow pony smiling a little. They then both walk towards me. “Wow that was REALLY awesome! When you made that huge bubble shield and then made the storm disappear! That was so cool! My name is Rainbow Dash. Nice to meet ya!” she shouts excitedly. All of a sudden the crowd’s cheering stops. Twilight and Rainbow dash look confused as all the ponies are looking around frantically. “What’s going on?” “I don’t know… wait, do you hear that?” Twilight asks. I listen closely, and I do hear something not too far away. It sounds like horses trotting. I watch down the road and from around the corner comes four horses, and they all have big pegasus wings. Two of them have spears, while the other ones appear to be pulling a carriage. They come even closer and stop before the crowd. The crowd separates making a path straight to the stage. The two horses with the spears begin walking towards the stage. Both of them are wearing golden armor, but their faces and small parts of their bodies are still visible. “What’s going on? We were sent by her majesty to investigate a disturbance.” One of the horses explains. “They were having a magic duel!” A pony from the crowd yelled. “Who was?” “Those two,” the pony points, “Trixie and… him.” “I see.” The horse then walks onto the stage. “And what exactly happened?” “Well, Trixie challenged Twilight first. Then, she created a storm and those almost crushed Twilight. Then-” Rainbow Dash explains pointing at the fallen decorations. “These here?” The horse says also pointing at debris. “Yeah, but-” “Well then, Trixie I’m going to need you to come with us.” The other horse steps onto the stage and walks Trixie to the carriage. She keeps her head down not saying a word. “And you… whatever you are I’m going to need you to come with us as well.” “What? Why?” Rainbow asks. “Sir, he didn’t do anything wrong he-” Twilight tries to explain. “That doesn’t matter he was involved and needs to be questioned… what is that you’re holding?” he asks turning his attention towards me. I look at the wand then at the horse again. “Hand it over.” Without hesitation I give him my wand. He grabs it with his hoof and puts it in a pouch attached to his armor. “Now move.” He says promptly. All the ponies in the crowd begin to whisper amongst themselves. “But sir he-” Twilight desperately tries to say something. “I said move!” the horse says jabbing my back with the shaft of his spear. I’m so confused. What did I do wrong? He won’t even listen to what Twilight is trying to say. But I don’t want to cause trouble. I turn around and step from the stage as he follows. Walking down the path in between the crowd I see all of the ponies. They all look worried and confused. I can still hear the whispering amongst them. I look back at Twilight and Rainbow Dash. They too look worried, but then turn to each other and start talking. I’m too far away to hear what they’re saying. “Face forward.” The horse behind me commands. I look forward again passing by the last few rows of ponies. I step into the carriage and place myself opposite of Trixie. There isn’t anything to sit on so I sit on the cold wooden floor. Trixie is sitting in the corner with her head buried in her hooves. The carriage begins to move. There’s only one window in this little carriage. I can see the ponies we’re passing by. Their faces full with nothing but worry. Just like me.