//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Awakening // Story: Past, Present, and Future // by Bpkyle777 //------------------------------// “…ey…are y…ay…” Augh, my head. I must’ve set a new record for the number of consecutive head injuries in a row. What is this, my sixth whack to the head this week? “..llo? Ar…oka…?” Someone’s trying to get my attention. I should probably answer them. “Uhh…W-what?” Wow. That was the best I could do? That last blow to the head must’ve done some serious damage then. “I said ‘Are you okay?’” the voice answered. “Y-yeah. I think I just hit my head too hard. Did someone get the license plate number of that bus that hit me?” My muscles were really sore, so I tried to stretch them… And immediately regretted it. My back felt like someone stuck a Taser to a metal pitchfork and shoved it- What, too much? Oh, well then… It hurt a lot. The end. “What? What’s a ‘bus’?” Aww, great. Don’t tell me… I tried to open my eyes only to find the last thing I was hoping to see. “Ponies…” I grumbled. I had hoped I was at least back home. Now don’t get me wrong. I love ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’ as much as the next brony, but let’s just say I’ve been here before… Well, not right here. Right here seemed new to me. Turning my head, I could tell this place was different than where I was a little while ago. I was lying on my back in an open field between some sort of forest and a town that looked like… Ponyville? Whoa. How long was I out? Stop. Rewind. Maybe I should start from the beginning. My name is Zack. I’m 23 years old and a brony… What? Don’t judge me! If you’re reading this, that gives you no room to judge. Anyways, about five months ago, I woke up in Equestria. ‘Yay me,’ right? Well, no. It had technically only been Equestria for a few short years when I arrived, what I guess they would now call 1 B.C. (‘Before Celestia’, btw). I might have brought peace to Equestria and saved the Princesses once or twice. From what I could tell, this looked to be about the time period of the show, though. The white mare standing over me was giving me a funny look, her pink tail flowing in the breeze while her mane was in a bun resting underneath a nurse’s cap. Her cutie mark was a red cross with little hearts around it. In case you haven’t caught on yet, this was Nurse Redheart. “What do you mean ‘Ponies’? You’re a pony too, you know.” I lifted my hoof to my face just to confirm. “Huh. I guess I am.” I was a pony before, but I looked different for some reason. My once Navy blue coat was now burnt orange. A glance upward showed that I while I kept the same messy style of hair and silver streak, it was now brown instead of black. And… wait… “WHERE’S MY HORN!?!” I panicked. I really liked my horn. Nurse Redheart had already started helping me up. I was wincing in pain the whole way. “Horn? You’re a Pegasus, not a Unicorn.” When I finally stood up, I looked back and saw that I indeed had a new pair of wings. They actually looked pretty good, considering having gone through some reality-bending teleportation through time and space. “Wow… You really did hit your head hard if you couldn’t remember that. You might have a concussion.” She instructed me to sit down and began inspecting me for any injuries. “Do you remember your name?” “Uh, yeah. It’s…” I paused for a moment. I knew that ‘Zachary’ wasn’t a very Equestrian name, and had given myself a new name last time, but I couldn’t remember it for some reason. I guess it was time for a new name to match my new body. I looked back at my rump to see if I had cutie mark. I did, but it caused me do a double take. I don’t recall if this was the same mark I had before, but it was odd nonetheless. My butt depicted a solid red circle behind a blue and gold… uh, what was it called… a heater shield, I think. “…Blast Shield.” Creative, right? Don’t ask me why I chose that name. It was all I could come up with on the spot. “Well, Mr. Shield, you seem to be just fine. No concussion or serious injuries as far as I can tell. The pain in your back is probably just some pulled muscle. Although you’re lucky I happened to walk by here on the way to work. Being passed out this close to the Everfree Forest is not safe.” That at least confirms where I am. The white earth pony motioned for me to follow her as she walked toward town. ”What were you doing out here anyway? Did you crash or something?” “Yeah, I must have. I can’t seem remember too much from right before I woke up.” I glanced back at the spot I had woken up from. The ground was a little tousled from what appeared to be some sort of crash. I guess I did fall to the ground. What I was doing in the air to begin with, I have no friggin’ clue. Nurse Redheart smirked at me. “Well, a good blow to the noggin will do that. I’m sure you’ll be fine in a few hours.” I looked back at her as she gave me an inquisitive look. ”Where do you live, by the way? I’ve never seen you in Ponyville before, Mr. Shield.” “Oh, I’m from, uh… Canterlot. I was just visiting Ponyville for a little while, I think.” I honestly had no idea what I was doing near Ponyville. “And call me Blast. My father is ‘Mr. Shield.’” No it wasn’t. It was actually ‘Mr. Hutchins’, but she didn’t need to know that. “What’s your name?” I already knew it but I shouldn’t have let on that I knew more than I should. “Oh, I’m sorry! I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Nurse Redheart. I work at the local hospital. I was actually on my way there when I found you.” “Well, thank you. I’m lucky a cute nurse found me instead some Timberwolf.” At that, she started blushing. I had to hold back a laugh. A white coat really makes a blush stand out more than normal. I had seen it more than once on a certain Princess of the Sun. But I wasn’t lying. She was pretty cute. I looked back toward town and saw that we were almost there. Near the closest edge of town to the right was the hospital. I could tell by the big red ‘+’ on the sign. To the left, a bit closer to the forest, I could see Fluttershy’s cottage. In the distance, I could make out the Town Hall as it stood a good two stories higher than the rest of the thatch-roofed buildings. A bit further I saw a giant tree, which could only be the library. I wonder if Twilight’s there. Oh! That reminds me… I brought a hoof to my head to fake a headache. “Oi, I think I got more sense knocked out of me than usual. I’m sorry, but could you tell me the date?” I needed to find out exactly when I was before I revealed anything I shouldn’t. “Oh, that’s fine. Today is June 18th, 1002 A.N.M., just a few days before the Summer Solstice,” Redheart said. “Do you have somewhere to be? I could point you in the right direction if you want me to.” “No, thank you. I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I said, giving her a warm smile. A.N.M.? Must mean ‘After Nightmare Moon’. We had just arrived at the front of the hospital when she said she had to go to work. “And don’t go crashing into anymore fields,” she snickered. I laughed. “I won’t. I promise. And thank you again for helping me out.” She smiled at me, “It was no problem. Anypony would have done the same.” Maybe in this time period, anyway. She walked into the building, leaving me at the edge of town. I decided to head towards the library. If the time period’s right, this is about two years after Nightmare Moon’s return and fall. I would hazard a guess and say it’s not long after the changeling fiasco, so no revealing the ‘future alicorn princess’ thing. I just hope I’m not around for Pinkie’s Mirror Pool incident. I shivered a bit at the thought. I approached a huge crowd of ponies in what may have been the marketplace. I can probably get Twilight to send a message to Tia for me. I use to be able to myself, but… ahem… no horn anymore. Man, I really liked my horn! Now I have to learn how to use these things. I gave my wings a little shake. They felt weird, but in a comforting sort of way. It was like have an extra set of arms on my back, easier to control than I thought they would be, but I still wouldn’t risk a test flight. I’m sure Tia or Lulu could help me learn to use them. I stopped for a moment. Wow, if I disappeared, then technically Tia and Lulu haven’t seen me in, well, at least a couple millennia! I hope they aren’t upset about me disappearing like that. It’s not like it was my fault. I brought a hoof to my chin. I mean, I don’t think it was. My thoughts were interrupted when a brown earth pony stallion nearly knocked me over, rushing to some unforeseen location. Careful there, Doctor. It’s not like the world is ever in danger around you. I let out a chuckle as I turned back to the wall of rainbow colored ponies in front of me, and my expression immediately fell. “Well,” I frowned a bit, “This’ll be fun.”