//------------------------------// // Getting Into Something // Story: Dead Set on Living // by Radioactive Ultra Donkey //------------------------------// Alex woke up feeling as if a truck had backed over him. In other words, sore and battered.   ‘Worse than 1995,’ he weakly joked to himself as he recalled a beating he'd gotten back then when he was a big-mouthed lad, leaving him feeling similarly broken. He looked around him and found himself in a room with a chequered floor and a green ceiling and dull blue walls. He was lying on a hospital bed next to a window that allowed light inside. He felt immediately sick to his stomach again as he recalled what had happened. Or, what he thought had happened, anyway. He felt concerned that he was going absolutely mad, as nothing of what he remembered could have possibly happened! His mind raced. Where was he? What happened to him? He froze as the door's lock cracked open. The door opened and one of the golden-armoured "ponies" walked in, ogling him nervously with big blue eyes. Behind the pony another followed. This one was armoured, as well, but did not wear a helmet, revealing a lush brown mane. Her hazel eyes looked upon him sternly, but curiously. She cleared her throat silently before speaking. “How are you feeling?” Seeing the two, indeed very real, ponies once more, Alex's heart sank. All of what he remembered did happen, and he felt his common sense escaping him. His heart rate rose in tandem with his now ragged breathing.  The mare must have noticed his condition as she spoke once more. "You are safe," She said, looking visibly worried. "My name is Windy Leaves, Equestrian Ambassador." She then paused, waiting for a reply that never seemed to come. "I'm wearing armour," she continued, looking down at her chest. "I'm not part of the Royal Guard, though. I'm merely wearing it as per procedure." Alex simply looked at her, too occupied with trying to calm himself down. He tried breathing calmly in order to lower his heart rate. It seemed to work, as he was feeling less tense already. "Can you understand me?" the pony asked. Alex nodded, prompting her to continue. “I'm sorry about what happened. I really am,” she sighed. “These are troubled times. I know that's no excuse, but you'll know everything soon enough. Say the word when you're ready, we can't linger here for too long.”   Alex didn't reply and just looked on. He felt as if someone was standing on top of his chest, and felt nearly too afraid to even move.   "We will go to Canterlot, the capital. Is there anything you need before we depart?" the mare asked. She seemed anxious. As if she was just following orders and didn't like them, Alex assumed. "Water," Alex croaked. His mouth parched and his voice sounding comparably. The pony nodded and left he room, leaving Alex alone with the soldier still standing next to the door, now looking straight ahead into nothingness. Alex threw the sheets off of him and checked his body. The places where the whip-like lightning had struck him were neatly bandaged. He touched the patchwork and noted that it didn't hurt at all. He assumed it was a local anaesthetic. They did a good job. The door opened again as the mysterious white mare reentered the room, Shadowed by another pony pushing a small trolley towards Alex's bed. Ontop of the trolley stood some liter worth of water, with a glass to pour it into. "Don't drink too much at a time," the mare warned. "You were unconscious for a while now, so your body might not like it." She cracked a smile as Alex disregarded her and emptied the large chalice without even using the glass, spilling some water as he poured it into his mouth too eagerly. "Thirsty then," the pony smiled wider. "Should have expected that. There's a bucket on the right side of the bed, should you need it." Alex needed to catch his breath from drinking too eagerly. "What's in Canterlot?" he asked. The pony's ears perked up at that; it was the first coherent sentence she heard him utter. "Where am I?" came the next question. "I don't understand." "Canterlot's Equestria's capital. The princesses are there right now. They will want to see you for themselves," Windy answered. "Right now we're in Ponyville's hospital. Some hours flying from Canterlot." She then answered the last remark; "I will try to help you make sense of.." she waved a hoof around, "All of this. I will, yes." she reassured, nodding mostly to herself. Alex simply blinked at her, not knowing what to say. His gaze then found the small window, and he noted it was getting dark outside. "I'm tired," he lied. The mare nodded. "I understand, we will depart in the morning," she said sternly. With a brief movement of her hoof, the guardspony left the room closing the door behind him, leaving windy Leaves with Alex. The mare stepped closer to the bed. "You must know that I have the best of intentions," she spoke. "I hope you do, as well." Then, without waiting for an answer, she turned around and left the room, closing the door gently behind her. Alex sat there for a moment, staring at the closed door. He then looked at the window, but guessed it was too small for him to fit through. He weighed his options, and concluded that there was no way out but through that door. He was certain the door was being guarded, and felt too unsure to do anything but what was expected of him. So Alex tried to sleep. He felt tired, but sleep came difficult. His mind all over the place, the only thing he could think about was what would happen next. Before long morning came. Alex opened his eyes to see his room’s dull ceiling, a dejected wave shot through him. As if he expected to wake in his own bed at home.   ‘No bad dream, good. Last thing I need are nightmares,’ he thought as he stretched his limbs.   Windy and the guard were standing at the same spots they stood the day before. The mare gave him a nod as a greeting. She wasn’t wearing her armour any longer, so Alex had a much better view of her lush, hazel brown mane and alabaster coat. He also noticed that the pony had long fetlocks; the white locks contrasting against her grey hooves.   “I want to wash up” Alex said.   Windy nodded. “I will fetch the nurse.” Before she could leave, Alex spoke. “Point me to a sink, or something. I can walk, do it myself.”   He got out of his bed and stood up, noticing that the pony looked rather interested. She looked at him from head to toe, frowning slightly. It was Alex's deadpan expression that snapped her out of it. “Take a left.”   The man glanced to his left and saw a door, most definitely leading to the bathroom. Inside was a relatively small bathtub, and a door that probably led to a separate toilet. ‘This must be a private bathroom,’ Alex thought, looking around. Kind of pleased with how clean everything was. Though he was confused by the strange lavatory. Or the lack thereof. There was no sink or anything similar, which kind of made sense to him since ponies would have a rather hard time using them.   ‘Water,’ he thought. The only thing he needed was water. After taking a towel and washcloth from a hook on the inside of the door, he peered down at the small excuse of a tub and saw a familiar looking tap with red and blue markings.   With an annoyed groan he lowered himself and gave the red rimmed one a few twists, followed by only one on the blue rimmed one. He plugged the tub and whilst waiting for the water to rise he removed his bandages. The wounds weren’t nearly as bad as he had expected, he felt safe to assume they wouldn't even leave any long-lasting marks on him. He figured that whatever was used on him was meant to subdue, not wound, let alone kill. Shaking his head in frustration, he started washing himself thoroughly. The wash-up did him good, and by the time he was done, he felt refreshed. Entering the hospital room, he saw his clothes laying on his bed, neatly folded. “Your clothes, they’re cleaned up for you,” Windy pointed out. Alex nodded. He walked up to them and held them out to take a look. The pony was right; his clothes were as good as new. He put them back on slowly, especially when he buttoned his shirt. With the bandages removed, the wounds weren't exactly painful, but rubbing all over them in order to get them cleaned up certainly didn’t do much in that regard. The mare looked interested the entire time, definitely curious and taking advantage of the opportunity to see him properly.   Alex stroked the creases out of his shirt. “Could I have something to eat?”   “Of course,” Windy answered and left the room, thus leaving Alex alone with the other pony. The guard didn’t move a muscle, staring blankly at nothingness. Alex couldn’t even see if he was breathing or not. He sighed and sat down on the bed, waiting for Windy to return.   A few moments later, Windy brought in a nurse holding a platter with what looked like toast and a glass of orange juice. Alex nodded as he took the platter. With Windy looking on curiously, he quickly consumed his breakfast and put the empty platter on his nightstand. "You never told me you name," Windy Leaves stated, looking at Alex intently. "It's Alex Mathius," Alex answered, eliciting a nod from the mare. "Good to meet you, Alex," she answered. "You and I will be working together for a while. As I said yesterday, I will answer all and any questions you've got. I'm looking forward to hearing a lot about you, your culture and , well, all of it." She smiled. Alex nodded.   Windy turned and made a head gesture towards the guard, who then left the room without speaking a word. “My guard is going to get word to the princesses that we’re on our way. We will use a chariot.” She then turned and opened the door. Alex followed the white mare into the hallway to see that a rather large group of ponies had gathered at the entrance. She made a gesture to the guards standing at the ready, and all of them walked out. “Everypony, stand back!” one of them yelled. “Don’t interfere with the Royal Guard's business!”   The moment he stepped outside, the murmuring died down completely and the ponies watched with expressions he couldn’t exactly place. It didn’t take but a minute before a formation group of three chariots came flying into view from the distance, each of them pulled by two pegasi. Alex took a good look at what the ponies were pulling behind them. Granted, the white pony had mentioned chariots, but he didn’t expect the things to be exactly that. And even less for them to be flying. The one flying in between the two others looked different. It looked larger, with four wheels instead of two. It actually looked like it would be able to carry him. As the golden things descended for landing, the crowd retreated a bit too eagerly, leaving a spacious area to land on.   "Flying chariots..” he muttered. The surprise lost its effect rather quickly as he pointed himself on the fact of where he was. Realising that this sight was one of the least insane things he'd lived through the past two days, the sight merely caused him to raise his eyebrows.   “Great, hmm? Fastest way to Canterlot,” answered Windy, “It takes getting used to, however. The big one’s ours,” she said, pointing a hoof at the thing in question. She then started making her way towards it, closely followed by Alex.   “What’s this?” asked a guard. He was speaking to one of the attached pegasi. “Where are the rascals?”   The armoured pegasus shrugged. “We were given these things. What you see is what you get. Now hop on, I don’t want to cool down too much.” Just as Alex expected, the guards placed themselves onto the other chariots. The vehicle jolted as the ponies started pulling the thing. Running, while flapping their wings, the chariot built up some consideral speed, leaving the silent crowd behind before eventually lifting off. Alex felt a tingle in his stomach as they ascended in the cold morning air.   ***   By one of the pegasi’s request, Alex had sat down on the bottom of the vehicle. The larger chariot’s bottom and sides were clad in a soft, silk-like purple fabric, making sitting down pretty comfortable.   “So,” he spoke, making the mare's ears perk up. “What am I getting myself into?”   “Relax, Alex,” Windy spoke loudly so that Alex could clearly hear what she was saying over the blowing wind. “The princesses are usually very kind, so I think they just want to learn about your story regarding what happened, and perhaps more than that.”   “Like what?”   Windy gave him a dumbfounded look, “You're a completely new sapient species, Alex! Of course they will want to know all about you and where you're from!” She beamed. “There must be a thing or two to learn about you, your kind, your history and so on!” Seeing her interest, Alex felt interested, and had a slight idea as to the mare’s job. He wondered if he wasn't in over his head, as he was but a cop with an illegal side job. Seeing the human pondering, the pony nodded in understanding. “It's all right, Alex. We’ll see where we get.” Alex nodded. Without Alex realising, a few hourd had passed. Windy sat across of him on her haunches, frantically scribbling in a large notebook. Every once in a while, her eyes wandered towards him as if in thought. Eventually she spoke up once more. “Once we clear that mountain over there, you'll be able to see Canterlot.” She pointed at a small mountain in the distance, which, as they were clearing it, made way for a beautiful sight.   There seemed to be an entire city built onto the mountainside. The gravity-defying towers’ white walls and bright domes shone vividly in the morning sunlight. Said domes seemed to be made out of gold with white, blue, and smaller purple flags, all with sigils, flapping in the wind.   The vehicles started descending towards a platform jutting out from one of the towers, where several guards were visible milling about. They made room as the chariot touched down and soon it was surrounded by a mob of guards.   “Step back,” ordered an older blue unicorn guard with a deep and gravelly voice, making the confused-looking group dissipate. What made this one stand out from the others was his beautiful white armour. A bright golden image of the sun was emblazoned on the chest piece.   “You’re much later than expected,” he said to both Windy and Alex. “However, everything is in order and the...” the unicorn apparently couldn't find the right words for a moment as he looked Alex up and down “...guest can see the princesses at once.”   Relieved, Alex stepped out of the carriage, followed by Windy.   “I’m Warden. Paragon of the Wall of Light and Royal Protector to the princesses themselves,” he introduced himself. His tired tone of voice sounded like he'd said it a thousand times before. His gaze, however, never left Alex and his posture seemed rather tense.   “I’m Alex Matthius.”   The unicorn merely nodded. “Alright, so if you two would follow me, I’ll lead you right to them.” They left the platform and inside the tower the unicorn spoke up again. “So,” he said, “you’ll be the first one besides Shining Armour himself to tell us what exactly happened.” Alex didn't respond as he wasn't sure who the pony was talking to. If Warden expected an answer, he didn’t wait long. “Things have been bad. I hope this’ll clear something up.” Windy responded before Alex could. “Well, I suggest that the captain should stick to summoning shields until he gets his urges in check.” The old guard didn’t answer her in any way. Alex glanced at the mare to see her clenching her lips together. Both knowing that her words weren’t received well. "Captain Shining Armor did what he was asked of him, according to the story he told me," Warden eventually answered. "   The three of them walked through some well-maintained corridors before ending up in a large main hall. This place felt vibrant and alive compared to the relatively spartan corridors they just traversed. Numerous ponies milled about, most of them unicorns. A handful seemed to noticed Alex and stopped, placing themselves on the side of the hall in order to look on from a safe distance. The place was all what Alex expected from a palace and more. Marble floors, marble pillars, red carpet leading up numerous staircases towards a giant pair of doors. It was beautiful. From afar, a grey unicorn drew the veteran guard's attention. Warden walked up to him and started talking about things Alex was too far away for to hear. After a few moments, he returned to Alex and Windy, who were still waiting, looking around in awe.   “The princesses are ready, we're going in,” he said. "You two are coming as well?" Alex asked. Warden nodded. "Yes. I belong to Princess Celestia's right side." Windy took off where he left. “And at the moment, it's my job to stick around to get you acquainted with how our society works.”   Alex nodded. “So you're the guide?” The pony frowned, apparently taken aback by the guess. "No… I mean yes, but only in this instance. When making first contact, it's paramount to know what kind of creature we're dealing with,” she explained. “Otherwise we'd have a war all over again.”   Alex couldn't believe his ears. “There are other sentient species other than yours?” he asked.   “Mmhm. The griffons, to name one, but that's a long story. You should ask me later on about that.”   “All right,” Alex nodded. “And yes, I'm ready.”   The veteran simply nodded at that, and they started the long ascend towards the giant metal double door. Alex looked at the giant golden things and even at a considerale distance could take in the numerous images of ponies, flowery plants and more. What stood out were the two larger depictions in the centre of each of the doors showing creatures with both horns and wings. Connecting the two doors were seven giant sliding locks, which seemed to glow ever so slightly. “This is the throne room door,” informed Warden. “Don’t touch them, there’s spells affecting them.”   Alex didn't even hear Warden's words. Instead, he looked back at the hundreds of stairs they'd just climbed. He knew that the stairs were not only there to signify the importance of whatever laid ahead, but also realised that they would be highly defensible should this place ever be attacked. Essentially creating a quarter-kilometer long uphill battle. Finally looking back at the behemoth doors, he noticed the two gruff-looking unicorn guards siding them. Both wearing the same impossibly white armour as Warden, and both looking twice as mean. The sentries took a lengthy look at the new arrivals until after a short command from Paragon Warden their horns started glowing.   Nothing seemed to happen for a few seconds until the doors started moving. The gargantuan things must have been massive in both size and weight, Alex figured, if the low metallic groaning and creaking were any indication.   Warden led the way and started moving forward, followed by Alex and an increasingly nervous mare. End of chapter three.