//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Your True Colors // by RainbowSpecOps //------------------------------// Stanislav Rodion (Somewhere in The Everfree) As Stan left the comfort of his prized artillery piece, all he felt was the cold sensation of loneliness and vulnerability. All the noises that motioned through the air around him tried to dilute his hearing from wanting to hear the right things. The birds chirping, thunder in the distance, and the constant swaying of trees were the culprits. What Stan wouldn't give just to hear something call out in Russian for him to investigate. There was nothing he could do but keep pressing into the forest, Stan knew he was going in further, but hadn't a clue how big the actual thing was. Stanislav's soldiers were out there somewhere, determined that he was not in the afterlife, finding someone would be proof of that subject. The only thing he was finding was the light slap of branches and thorns on his body as he pushed forth. He hastened his movement when a large crack of thunder boomed through the forest, the trees were becoming an eminent danger to him. It had happened to Stan before, lightning had once struck only 50 ft away from him, he nearly lost his hearing from that day. Ever since that little incident, forests and heavily vegetated areas always made him go on alert, storm or not. "What kind of forest is this anyway?" Stan said to himself as he passed the odd thorny vines once more, it was darker than it should of been and the birds stopped chirping. He constantly looked around to check for anything that moved in the silhouette of the trees and bushes. Paranoia had found itself in Stan's mind, he felt that something was in the area, searching like he was. Each step he had taken seemed to echo through the trees. The crack and crunch of twigs and leaves filled the air and then some. Being alone in a place he had no recollection of where he was can cause many odd things to occur. For one, Stanislav's senses were running on maximum, so much that he could hear a leaf touch the ground around his feet. If his ears could, they would have perked up and twitched from another noise, this one was the soft patter of rain hitting his body. Stan held his gun close by, ready to be used the second he felt it was necessary. He grasped the bipod of the gun tightly and without hesitation, for the added grip that came with it. Stepping over fallen trees and large brambles so as to not trip over them obviously. He still tried to concentrate on one thing, something was out here with him, Stan was both the hunter and the hunted. 30 minutes later The rain was now a constant shower of water mixed with the erratic lightning bursting all around his figure. The treetops had helped with the rain not soaking him completely through and through, he pushed the lightning topic from his mind. Stan felt more energized as he had seen a clearing up ahead a few minutes back. The ground was thoroughly soaked and was now boggy like a thick swamp, finding firm patches of ground was a struggle. The terrain itself was rather flattened and straightforward, only the growth of plants were obstacles in Stan's little journey. It amazed him how this place seemed to untouched by animals, no tracks or even signs could be found while walking. But the heavy rain that was falling probably had washed such evidence away. Stan had lost his distance from the clearing as he nearly dropped to his death. The sight was amazing and mythological at the same time. Stan laid his eyes on a craggy and gaping chasm. The limitless walls of the ravine were jagged and spiky that would show no mercy to anything that dare pry near them. Stanislav leaned over the cliff to not get vertigo, the endless pit did not have a bottom, or at least it wasn't visible. A broken down and decayed ruin stood proudly through the rain, showing how it withstood the test of time. The place looked like an old castle that hadn't seen visitors in hundred of years. The once grey stone both outside and inside were now covered in thick tendrils of moss, the moss looked like it was stitching together the large fissures that were in the castle. From Stan's point of view, the roof had partially collapsed from the lack of support. "Alright, i'm intrigued." Stan said in disbelief of such a place that still stood before his eyes. He started the short walk over to a rickety bridge that was surprisingly still up and hopefully in use. The rope bridge was very unsafe to even cross, the ropes were frayed and it was missing planks. He pressed his foot onto the planks that were in place, the fact they didn't snap relieved him slightly. Something about the wood intrigued Stan as he leaned in for a closer look, the planks that remained had been recently renewed, freshly placed to be walked on. Stan wondered why you would want to replace a bridge like this to get into ancient ruins that have probably been ransacked by looters long ago. The suggestion did not matter to him as he gingerly set foot into the plank, his next foot onto the nearest plank ahead of him. With each step, it carried him further and further into the open abyss below, a simple mishap would render him non-existent. "Just keep going." Stanislav reassuringly said as the frayed ropes had started to twist and morph into single strands instead of the normal twist they had. "Shit, this thing may have new planks, but the ropes and support stakes are too old!" His weight shifted forward when he ran as fast as he could, avoiding missing planks. Stan needed every precious second to be sure it would give way under his body weight whilst running, controlling the pressure he put on the bridge to help himself. Stanislav was 3/4 of the way across when he heard a sharp snap through the rain, the rope popped up in front of him. His face went to pure shock as he felt the bridge behind him give away, speeding its way towards him as the planks slide off into the grey mist below. Stan tried to keep running but the lack of support on the right side, left it limp and useless. Stan had to act fast and act now, he had no more time as the last plank behind him fell off the bottom part of the ropes. He channeled all his strength and abilities into his built legs, he tossed his gun onto the other side of the bridge, landing firmly on the edge. He found himself airborne when all the energy in his legs was forced out in a controlled point on the supported side of the bridge. The bridge was completely gone in moments after his final leap for survival. The crunch of wooden stakes breaking near the edge, whizzing past his face, added to the reality it was in fact gone. The breath was knocked out of him when both hands grabbed the slice of earth, slamming into the cliff side. Stan's relief was short lived as he had grasped onto a rock, a slippery and smooth rock. His mind then set itself into true survival mode as it forced his adrenaline to pump hard, Stanislav's mind was in a life and death struggle, ever so desperately trying to make Stan stay live. There was nothing he could do, everything that would let him survive involved using on of his hands. Stan started to think that it was end for him, that his foolish judgement led him to his unworthy death by falling. He cursed himself for being so stupid about his decision, why couldn't fate just of swayed him to stay to stay on solid ground. A mental light bulb busted inside his head, exploding in fact. "Swaying!! If I shift my body weight back and forth, I can gain momentum and hoist myself up!" Stan exclaimed from his sheer ingenuity. He started the motion that slowly built energy into his swing. Every second, the momentum grew as he gripped tighter to the rock for the tiniest shred of space to hold onto. Stan built enough momentum in an agonizing 10 seconds of pain as he strained himself beyond his limits, he launched into the air, parallel to the cliff and now above it as well. Stan desperately tightened his grip on the bayonet that had barely seen any use until today. With a single motion, his arm flew wildly into the air after being clinched by both hands. The knife came down in a killing pose at it struck the ground with force, stabbing deeply into the softened soil. Stan didn't waste a moment as he finally drew himself upwards and onto the ground. "Never again..." Stan panted as he lay with his back to the ground, the rain pelted his face hard but felt amazing. Stan lay there as he rewarded himself for living through his sticky situation. With rest back into his body, he hefted himself onward and into the decaying ruins. Stanislav grabbed his PKP Pecheneg, making sure it was in working order as he patted it down and tried drying it off. Stan looked up to the looming castle and only felt a chill run through his body, something was evil about this place just by the sheer abandonment. He walked up the steps only saw a dimly lit hall, rain spattered though the roof and the dust was unbearable. Luna "When will this thing stop." Luna said out into the rain as her frustration was started to boil under her coat and mane. She had been trailing the bipedal creature for half an hour, never stopping once to rest of even look back at her, which was a relief. Luna didn't mind the rain as it fell willingly, soothing her body and chilling her to a calm mood, she loved it in fact. Luna stopped to see that the creature had stopped as well, it looked towards the once royal castle that stood proud long ago. It took in all the details of the ravine and castle, struck by its natural wonder and beauty it had. Luna spread her royal wings and lightly beat them into motion as she took to the skies, landing into a large tree that overlooked the creatures position. "What is your game." Luna whispered in the cool, stirring air as it had started to walk over the bridge. Luna was confused on why it would want to visit the dusty place, other than historical value and the mass amount of books. She suddenly remembered that the creature was not around from here. The question that hit Luna's mind that hardest was how the things might react when it actually sees a land full of talking ponies. Would the thing be hostile or peaceful? Would it know how to react in a difficult situation like that? "No matter how the thing reacts, I must ease the situation if it tries anything rash. It is my duty to protect my little ponies." She proudly stated her role as a princess of the land, Luna's duty was to rule fairly over her subjects and protect them from harm. Luna knew that the creature had intelligence, but the amount of it was unknown for the time being. She knew it there would be advantages and disadvantages to learning more about this new species that befell into this realm. Luna knew she would find out soon enough. Her horn lit up after seeing how well the creature did with the collapsing bridge, showing her satisfaction through magic. Luna's wings flickered up again when she slowly trailed the bipedal creature to the other side of the grand chasm. Stanislav Rodion Stan proceeded into the dank and musty ruins, hoping to find something to help spark his memory or tell him where he was. Many corridors ran through and could be seen from the main hall of the ruins. The integrity was quite false from the outside of the wall, from the inside, it was well preserved and classy given its age was most likely ancient. Stan looked at the blue and gold tapestries that hung from the ceilings and walls, torn and degrading from the constant exposure to the elements all around. He constantly twirled his body all around at the finely hung art as he walked to a pair of thrones in the back of the chamber. Each one of the tapestries seemed to elude him from the fine details into the stitching. The pieces of art all had the sun and the moon sewn into the fabric of each one, yellow ones for the sun and blue for the moon. Stanislav paid close attention to the horse symbols that each one had as well, instinctively thinking about medieval similarities. Non the less, Stan continued to proceed up the steps that lead housed the regal looking thrones. Both were plush but dampened from the beads of rain that gingerly dripped from the leaking roof. Out of the corner of his eye, Stan spotted a small fireplace that was burning lightly in a dry area, hidden behind a large patch of rubble. Stan fixed his attention to the fire as he vaulted over the fallen debris, what he saw next shocked him into utter disbelief. By the fire was a curled up creature, painted the colors of many throughout the averagely sized thing. Stan recognized it as a horse, it looked smaller than it should be if it was an adult, assuming it was a young one at that. On the hind quarters was a tri-colored lightning bolt and a puffy cloud emblazoned into it like a brand or tattoo. Its mane and tail were the exact colors of a rainbow, its coat was a perfect and soft cyan blue. His eyes were only fixated on the gracious wings that were spread out, showing the world their gleaming beauty and mythological wonder. Stan immediately dismissed it as a harsh joke on an animal, leaving it out here to die because it was unwanted perhaps. The fire didn't explain anything, an animal wouldn't stay around a fire too long for the lack of knowledge about it, let alone make it. Stanislav took notice of the puncture wound on the creatures chest, the skin around it was purple and nasty looking. He automatically noted that it was a sting of some kind, something big had caused it. "Animal or not, that needs to be fixed. Lucky you I have a snakebite kit which should work for the same reason here." Stan searched his pockets and finally produced a little rubber suction cup with a small scalpel and a bag of copper colored fluid. He unraveled the small scalpel, "this is going to hurt a little." Stan slowly cut into the blue coat, having it immediately stained by red. Stan worked fast as the blood had begun to lightly pool under the wound area, he applied the liquid to have the venom in the wound rise up to the surface of the wound for easy pickup. He ripped part of a tapestry that lay dormant on the ground to act as a bandage, it was long and thick thankfully. Stan leaned down and grabbed the suction cup while moving the creature into the air, using his arm as support. The blue horse grunted, but the noise wasn't animal like as it actually sounded human. Stan pumped the purple venom out along with the contaminated blood from the unnatural chest cavity. The process only took 10 seconds to accomplish as he tossed the items used. "There goes that." He casually threw it into a dark corner. The products hit off of something soft in the corner, it couldn't be helped as a very soft "ouch" rang from it. Stanislav didn't think about it to much as he began to close up the wound on the animal. He pressed his hand down on the cut with pressure to stop the bleeding, it worked quickly. Without his notice, the animal awoke from its stupor. Its cerise eyes looked to Stan with fear and wonder of what loomed above. It looked down at the claws that were placed on the sting area, a golden piece of fabric quickly circled around. "Thanks..." The voice was feminine but had a scent of tomboy. Stan immediately dropped his mouth and looked at the lips move on the horse. "You spoke English!! Impossible! I'm just imagining things..." Stan tried to rid the thought but it was impossible to even try. He slightly back away. "Nope, your hearing right. It's called Equestrian." The voice corrected him weakly as the nameless creature was still in recovery mode. "What are you?...some sort of monster that preys of ponies?" The animal sounded more serious this time around. "I, I should be ask...asking the same question!" Stan managed to stammer out as the horse flexed its wings. "I am a pegasus pony, named Rainbow Dash." She saved the antics for another time as she could barely move, granted she gave it her best shot. "If you're friendly, i'm friendly." Stan's eyes were twitching as this 'pony' got up and looked to him, it had a sense of defense attributes and intelligence and most likely used its wings to their fullest potential. Sadly her wings didn't look the part as they sagged heavily to the ground from pure exhaustion. "You're... you're wings are real, yes?" Stanislav said out of pure curiosity towards the so called 'pegasus pony' who amazingly could talk. "Yea... why wouldn't they?" She haughtily said but quite turned down, she perked up at the sight behind the creature. "Princess Luna? What are you doing?!" Rainbow Dash tried to yell. Luna's horn was lit up and literally looked up to the bipedal creature as it stood up completely. Stan looked down at the very different pony with a barely visible face of wonder. Luna immediately sensed it and stood down. "If I see intelligent beings like this, then it is clear I do not belong here..." He said as he cocked his head upwards to the leaking roof. Stan clinched his fists and eyes, "my name is," 'BANG', Stan dropped to the floor in an unconscious state. Luna had just used a sleep remedy to lull him to an unbreakable slumber. "Princess! That thing saved me! It could speak our language and got rid of the manticore poison, don't hurt it any further." Rainbow Dash pleaded to the princess not to continue. "Fair Rainbow Dash, I would never hurt a peaceful being such as this, I simply cast a sleeping spell on him to prevent further intervention." Luna said politely to Rainbow Dash who now had a relief on her face. "Him? How do you know?" Rainbow Dash said with odd reasons unknown. Luna giggled a small fit. "I didn't, this thing does have skilled reflexes and honed intelligence, along with the fact he is not from this world. It may take time for him to go back, so in the meantime, I have arranged a form for him more suitable in Equestria." Luna let her horn burn as bright as blue could and they were whisked away into the Ponyville.