Swords, Sorcery and Shenanigans- Ascension
It was another calm and crisp morning in the city of Applewood as the sun fully rose above Equestria, bring the warmth of a normal july morning along with it. Everything was going perfect for those ponies taking the train or Taxi carriage to work. Traffic was smooth, no major holdups of any kind, and nothing out of the ordinary had occurred yet. Why yet? Well, with Equestria and the World of Equis itself being a world with magic, who knows what could happen? Sorcery these days can be very unpredictable.
That was the main thought that had coursed through the minds of many ponies across Equestria due to the recent events that have occurred in the small town of Ponyville. News of what happened (like everyday chit-chat) began to spread far and wide like a burning wildfire. News about three “humans” crash landing around there at different times, each one with powers or abilities that nopony ever saw before or understood for that matter. The first two we’re sisters and with the help of the Elements of Harmony, annihilated a battalion of changelings that wanted to destroy the town (despite unavoidable property damage) and the third one defeated Princess Celestia in a one on one duel when she accused them of being reckless troublemakers.
Even though the actions of these three girls were to protect the town and it’s citizens, many ponies had different opinions and views on the matter once the story reached the Trottingham Press. Many saw them as heroes, others saw them as being vigilantes, while a lot of ponies we’re just plain scared of them. However, one pony in particular didn’t know how to make out the the situation after receiving a letter from one of her friends in Ponyville. It also didn’t help that she was having a pounding headache.
The earth pony named Octavia Melody was right now reading the letter that was sent to both her and her best friend, Vinyl Scratch (Equestria’s one and only DJ-PON3). They were right now in Applewood, Equestria’s home for entertainment and cinematography, because the both of them were invited to record music for an upcoming movie set to debut next year, but the trailer was going to be released during the fall. The executive producer for the film had requested them to try and come up with a track for the film that combined both the classical symphonies of the Cello with the modern day rhythm and pace of an Drum and Bass composition. He even allowed them to work on the track back at their home in Ponyville. However, due to the differences between the two genre’s and also because of the two mares views on each other’s specific musical tastes, this was far from easy to do.
“Letter for Vinyl Scratch.” The mail courier known as Ditzy Doo told the two friends as they decided to have a break outside the recording studio, at the studio’s cafe. Thanking the pegasus, The Cellist flipped the letter over and began to open it. However, her friend didn’t notice this until after she finished reading the front page article of today’s paper. “Hey, what do you got there Tavi?”
“Uhh… A letter for you? Didn’t you notice Ditzy here just now?”
The DJ shook her head as she straightened herself from her relaxed leaning position. “I was reading the paper and what made the front page headlines. Did you hear about the three humans that arrived in Ponyville?” Shortly after asking that, Vinyl folded the paper back up and pointed her finger at the cover image. Even though it looked like a picture composed in Adobe Ponyshop, it still had a clear shot of the girls. The first one was a Red haired pyromancer with a white cloak and fire like claymore that had Rainbow Dash right next to her since she was on one knee, the second had white hair and six metallic… shapes behind her head that were emitting static electricity and the third held a spear and wore a garb that looked like it came for Haysia to the far east.
“Yeah, so? Almost everypony knows about that now.”
“Didn’t we once tell Lyra that if she had “proof” that humans actually existed that she would let us know?”
“More like you told her that-.” Octavia stopped for a moment. She looked at the letter once more. Specifically the sender of the letter.
From Lyra Heartstrings
“Well…” She chuckled a little, pointing out the sender of the letter to her friend and sliding it across the table. “Something tells me that she sent this to rub it in your face.”
“Hang on Tavi,” Vinyl said to her roommate, looking at the envelope like a detective would inspect a clue. “Maybe this was from a few days ago.”
“The Stamp on the letter says Express, Vinyl.”
Looking at it again, The DJ now noticed the red express stamp on top of the mailing stamp on the envelope. Sighing in defeat, she unfolded the letter and began to scan it. “You want me to read it you?”
“Certainly. After all, you made the deal with Lyra and lost. Let’s see what she has to say to you.”
Vinyl groaned a little in defeat after hearing that. “Uhh… Fine.” She cleared her throat, reading the letter out loud from the top of the page.
Dear Vinyl,
Guess what? Remember when I told you about humans all those years ago? Well, I finally have some proof of their existence. You might have heard about it recently in the Trottingham Press or Los Pegasus Times, but what you probably didn’t know was that one of them is staying with me! Her name is Molly and I think you would like some of the things she can do. Anyways, let me know when you’re back in Ponyville so I can introduce her to you
Lyra Heartstrings.
“Well great… That’s one thing I need to look forward too.” Vinyl finished speaking with a sarcastic sigh.
“Heh… In due time Vinyl. Right now though, we should focus on the song we need to do.” Octavia was right. The two of them have been trying for about almost an hour and a half to try and come up with something to no avail. Plus, this was a big opportunity that you would only get once in a lifetime. Something like this meant that failure was not an option.
“Alright, so here’s what we know. Joss Steedon has asked the two of us to combine our talents for a theme for the upcoming movie named… What was it again?”
“Avenge-mares: Age of Coltron.”
“Right, some comic book adaptation.” Octavia continued. “He asked for something in which was pulse pounding and that fit with the theme of Grim, destructive and Intense. Now, how can we do that which combines my cello and your… talents.”
“You mean my turntable?” Vinyl said. Her friends response was just a nod as she tried to think this thoroughly. The DJ knew that living and being with her could be a pain at times. But working with her proved to be just as difficult. The problem was that they couldn’t agree on what could make this work and what didn’t. The white mare sighed as she got up from the table they were sitting at. “I’m going to take a walk. I think I left my shades back at the recording room.”
“Alright, just don’t take too long. Our train leaves in an hour.” The earth pony told her as her roommate picked her headphones up off the table and walked on inside. The time was right about 11:30am and the two musicians were taking the 12:30pm train back to their house in Ponyville. So, Octavia finished with her croissant and took her purse with her as she went to walk around the city.
Meanwhile, Vinyl was making her way through the main hall of ParaSprite studios. She took a left and was going to proceed down the hall to where she needed to go. Something stopped her though. It wasn’t a sign saying Authorized Individuals Only or some security bars since Vinyl and Octavia were already cleared. Instead, it was something she could hear.
She could hear the sound of steps coming from the prop warehouse. Steps? But only a few ponies were actually here today. Unless a filly was sneaking around, then what could possibly be back there? The curiosity of the situation drove her nuts. Should she call the guards? Or should she go find out what’s back there first?
Plan B sounded better in her head. Plus she already told the mare at the front desk that she was looking for something. Not that much of a useful alibi, but it will do. It’s not like she was going to find anything out of the ordinary. Right?
Turns out, ordinary is not what the musician found when she opened the door. Instead, Vinyl almost panicked a little inside her head upon seeing it. A bipedal creature that almost resembled the human girls in the paper. However, this one looked a lot different. For one thing, it definitely did not look like a girl at all.
“Oww… Just where am I?”
Based on appearance and after hearing it’s voice, the Unicorn confirmed that it was a boy that was probably in his teenaged years. His choice of clothing though was what surprised her the most. His pants were grey, but had white covers across half of the pant legs with a steel cap around the knees. He didn’t have hooves, but had feet that resembled an ape, covered in some kind of Grey and black shoe that looked custom made. Belt straps were like almost all over it’s outfit with the most noticeable being on the creature’s half-shirt, waist, and arms to attack to his gloves. A golden disk with a weird symbol was on the right side of his pants and two red tattoo’s were on the boy’s shoulders. Lastly, Vinyl could see his Topaz necklace before the red haired boy turned around and looked straight at her position near the door. Vinyl didn’t even notice the blunt sword he was holding until after the boy turned around.
“Who are you?”
Vinyl said nothing at first. She could tell that the boy was confused, but she was surprised that it could actually speak Equush. “I was going to ask you the same thing. I normally don’t find someone like you in the middle of a studio warehouse just for kicks.”
“Wait… studio?” He looked around with his deep crimson eyes at the room he was in, walking in Vinyl’s general direction while doing so. Almost like a filly going to a museum for the first time. “Where exactly am I?”
“ParaSprite Studios in Applewood.”
“What’s Applewood?”
Vinyl sighed as she was now out in the hall and the boy closed the door behind him silently. “You’re joking right. Applewood… Movie making capital of Equestria? Does any of that ring a bell?” the answer the white mare got was a blank stare like he saw something really disturbing.
“You’re killing me, kid.” Vinyl told the boy, facepalming herself. She sighed, personally a bit frustrated by the recent turn of events. What surprised her the most though was when she saw a circle of magic come out of his palms.
“Okay, that’s… new.” He said as the boy did it a few more times.
“What was that?”
“What was what?”
“What was that circle you just did?” Vinyl asked. Inside her head, she was thinking something. ‘Okay, first it was the outfit, but now this kid knows magic? Today’s been a good day so far, but it had changed from good to weird in the first two minutes I’ve met him! Speaking of which, I don’t even know his name!’ Her train of thought crashed and burned when the DJ heard him speaking again.
“It’s a Rune and honestly, I’m surprised by a lot of things right now.” The tone shifted a little in his voice. “Like the fact that you have a horn on the top of your head.”
“Well, I am a unicorn so-.”
“Wait, what-?”
“I’m a unicorn.” Vinyl told her, noticing a brief change in expression in the boy’s face like he had seen a ghost. “Are you okay? You look like you haven’t seen a Unicorn before.”
He had a nervous grin on his face now. The boy felt rather uncomfortable with the present situation. “Like I said already, I’m surprised by a lot of things right now.”
“Well, let’s redirect our focus a bit.” The DJ said as they walked down the hall to the room she left her well known pair of glasses in. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Nicko. Nicko Nocte.” He answered. “I’m guessing your name is Vinyl Scratch?”
Now the unicorn was surprised. For a moment, it felt like this teenaged boy was somehow a mind reader. “Yes, but how-.”
“The name tag on your shirt.” Nicko pointed out using his free right hand while his left hand held his sword this time. Vinyl looked down, chuckling a little. Seemed like he had an eye for being able to notice things. Especially things that Vinyl either seemed to forget or couldn’t remember in the first place. She closed the door behind her, shades in hand as the two went to the front of the studio. Surprisingly, no security alarms of any kind went off. The mare at the front desk must’ve thought that Nicko was another one of the guests that was with Vinyl.
“So Nicko, can you tell me something?” The white mare asked as the two of them walked across a street when the crosswalk signal turned green. “Would you happen to be a human?”
“Yeah, I am.” Nicko casually replied. “Why do you ask?”
Right about now came Vinyl’s expression of shock and a chill coming down her spine. Of course though, nopony could see her eyes widen due to the shades since the sun was so bright today. The mare still remembered the article from this morning, but had never expected to cross paths with a human. Right now, it felt like Lyra was lurking inside her head with the thought of her saying “I told you so” echoing throughout her mind. Up to the point where she didn’t hear Nicko trying to talk to her.
“Uh hello? Earth to Vinyl?” The human said to her, waving a hand in her cone of sight so that way it would snap her out of the small trance she seemed to be in. It seemed to work when she jolted her head back and then rubbed her eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Y-yeah,” she stuttered, “Just phased out a little.”
“Is something wrong?” Nicko asked.
“... Let’s just say you’re not the only human that has showed up here recently.”
With saying that, Vinyl pointed at a mare who was reading the issue of today’s newspaper. The girl’s on the front cover were the only thing Nicko needed to see to let him know that he wasn’t the only one stuck in the same situation as he was. Come to think of it, each one of those girls were dressed as Elsword Characters. Could this be a simple coincidence? Or was there more to it that he originally thought? During his thinking though, an abrupt shout almost startled the teen, turning around to find a grey mare with a black mane. She wore attire that would resemble someone with high standards.
“Vinyl!”
“Geez… calm down Octavia,” The DJ told the new arrival. “You could scare somepony like that!”
“I’ve been looking for you everywhere-.” The Cellist said before she looked at Nicko. “Who is your friend?”
“I’m Nicko. Nice to meet you.” The teen said as he offered a handshake. Octavia obliged and followed up with a compliment on his manners. However, despite his gestures and his kind actions, the Earth Pony knew nothing about this new… Colt? Well, she thought it was a colt. But something just felt off with this kid.
“Well, Nicko. I’m Octavia Melody. It’s an honor to meet a young colt such as yourself.”
“Colt?” Nicko questioned.
“Why of course. Aren’t you a-.” However, before the cellist could ask her question, Vinyl interjected in between them. Not to be rude. But for another reason.
“Nicko, can I have a word with my friend for a minute?”
“Sure. I don’t mind.” Nicko responded. “I’m just going to go for a nice walk.”
With that, Vinyl pulled her friend to the side as the Rune Slayer began to walk across the street. The two mares decided to be nearby an open book store called “The Page Turner” as a place for just the two of them to talk in private. The Unicorn needed to inform her Earth Pony friend about the current circumstances regarding him. Regarding the fact that he wasn’t at all… ordinary.
“Vinyl, what is wrong? You were acting very rude just now.”
“I know and I’m sorry for that, but I needed to talk to you for a minute.” The DJ insisted. “It’s about Nicko. He’s… not normal.”
“Okay, what about him isn’t normal?” The Grey mare gestured her friend with crossing both her arms in a state of confusion. “You sound like you found out a horrible secret.”
“It might be one.” Vinyl slyly told herself before speaking again. “Remember when I read the article on those Human Girls coming to Ponyville this morning?”
“Yeah? how does that relate to him? He’s a kind colt from the looks of it-.”
“That’s the point that I’m trying to tell you, Tavi!” Vinyl snapped, exhausted a little. “Nicko isn’t a colt. He’s a human.”
“W-what!?” came the shocked reply. She didn’t think that the handsome gentlecolt that she shook hands with earlier was actually a human. Then again, he didn’t have hooves or a tail so those could’ve been signs. But a part of her didn’t want to believe it. That’s when Vinyl began to fill her in on finding Nicko inside the Parasprites studio warehouse and also the small conversation she had with her. The Unicorn also told her about his magic and the “Runes” he could do and also about the fact that he was very unfamiliar with his surroundings. He had no clue at all on where he was or exactly anything in Equestria… but now that left her with one main concern.
“Vinyl… Where is Nicko?”
“Well, he told me that he was going out on a walk…… Oh horse apples.”
For Nicko right now, he was feeling very uneasy. It wasn’t because of the new “ponies” he met, the fact that he woke up in a different world or that he now had the powers of a Rune Slayer. It was more because of how he thought of everything. It was a lot for the young boy to take in. He wasn’t on his home planet anymore, but in a new universe. In a way though, it felt good to be here.
Back on Earth, Nicko didn’t have parents or anyone to really consider family except for his twin brother and best friend. He was seventeen and almost all of his life, the human lived in a orphanage that was set up by a billionaire named Jane… something. Most names, people, places and other things were easy for Nicko to remember but not others. Like a lot of other children and his brother back home, he was on the Autism Spectrum.
Autism is a developmental disability that affects a persons ability to communicate as well as their social skills, way of thinking, and repetitive behaviors. Nicko was lucky that he and his brother weren’t affected that much. The only things that reflect this seemed to be when he stretched his hands or switched things between them like his sword earlier. In speaking with others, he felt more comfortable talking with others that he knew because he knew about their likes and dislikes, interests and how he could be able to talk with them. He had been learning to control these “inconveniences” so that way no one back home would see him as the “weird and short guy.”
Then there was getting called short. Nicko hated it when people referred to him by his height. Despite being only a little above five foot, any insult referring to his height made him furious. The teen preferred to be known by his other characteristics and skills than his appearance. Of course, that didn’t really matter now considering he was in a world of magic, ponies and god knows what else was possibly out there. He was honestly considering maybe writing a little notebook called “The Human guide to the country of Equestria.” With the entire thing being a personal survival guide and the meaning of life being 42.
Now though, on the topic of survival, Nicko was considering a few things that he might need in order to be able to last out here as he laid down against a tall oak tree in the park the human was walking in. The first would be food and water. Unlike some Mages in World of Warcraft or some online game back home, he couldn’t use his magic to make something to eat. He would have to buy something to eat. Which of course brought him to his next thought.
Money.
He overheard from a few ponies he passed in the park use the word called “Bits” and also bought items and valuables with the same thing. Best assumption right now was that these bits were this worlds form of currency and that they don’t accept dollar bills or anything from his pockets.
Speaking of which… What was in his pockets anyway?
Curious, he put his hands inside his pockets and they were greeted by the feeling of leather, cool metal and smooth plastic. Grabbing hold and pulling them out, the red haired human was greeted by the sight of his wallet, his Ipod classic (6th generation, 160gb) and a pair of the current apple earbuds used for the newest Iphones and what not back home. Inside the wallet was what attracted Nicko’s attention. Instead of the thirty bucks he had on him the last time he was home, he actually found a small note.
Check your other pocket.
“Okaaaaay. That’s not creepy at all.” He told himself sarcastically. Checking the other pocket, he now found another piece of paper. This time, a rolled up piece of Parchment that would look like a letter back from Medieval times next to his Android Smartphone.
“Seems like Chivalry is still active here it seems.”
Nicko had noticed several guards dressed up in armor, so he theorized that life was a mix of Middle ages and Modern Times. Beginning to inspect the scroll, he noticed the tag on the letter and was surprised at the header of the letter.
Dear Nicko Nocte,
I’m sending this letter to help assist you in your future endeavours across Equestria. Normally I wouldn’t be doing any favors for just anypony. But then again, you’re not a pony at all. Luckily, I had a little more time to prepare this “Welcome Gift” together for you with some assistance from my father. Do you see the picture of the leather travelers bag below this letter? Put your hand above it and act like you're grabbing it. Doing so will allow you to be able to grab hold of the real object that I placed inside the paper. (Don’t ask me how it works. Explanations are overrated.) I put together a few extra freebies this time since the last human I sent this too was getting chased by a crazed Unicorn.
For one thing, I included a map so you know where you are (Or had a general idea of it.) Another thing is that I traded out your source of currency for some bits. I hope 50,000 is enough to last you a while on your travels or what not. Lastly, I packed some snacks and stuff for you from Sugarcube corner (That’s not important right now so don’t even think about asking me.) Also, there isn’t a need to worry about space because the bag has unlimited storage. I even included some “entertainment” for you whenever you're not busy being a hero and doing hero stuff.
I hope to see you on your adventures, My little human (And no, I’m not referring to your height.) It’ll be great to meet you someday in Ponyville.
Sincerely,
E
P.S. Just as a warning, be on alert for creatures called Changelings. Their queen is pretty ticked after a few humans beat the living crap out of her children and a clone of herself. So the moment she finds out about you, be prepared for anything. They can turn into other ponies to trick you and manipulate emotions.
So basically… at some time, at some place, something will attack you. Maybe, probably, could be happening right now…… But I bet you will do just fine. Fingers crossed!
“O...kay. Guess that helps… I think.” The human told himself, not sure if the message was suppose to help him or make him feel concerned.
Following the letters instructions, he put his hand over the picture of the bag on the bottom of the page and moved his hand upward. Just like the letter said, the bag became real and had the items that this “E” individual described. The first thing Nicko looked at in the bag was the map. On first glance, he noticed that the town he was in to the far west of Equestria.
From what he could tell, this writer was in Ponyville. Looking over the map, he found the town almost at the center of the map. Now, if he knew anything about geography, that is one hell of a distance between point A and point B. But he did see a way to possibly get there. On the map, it showed a river that stretched out between both towns and through a place called the Everfree Forest. It sounded like a good idea to go because not only would he be able to explore and see what this world was like, but also to be familiar with his surroundings.
The second thing he noticed was a book that resembled an ancient tome. Upon further inspection, he found out that this contained all his current skills. Something to invest some time in later.
The only concern he had right now was about these changelings, but he didn’t have enough time to be concerned or see what else was inside. The moment he got up, Vinyl and Octavia had found him and were walking towards him. “Oh hey. Didn’t notice you guys back there.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. Just had to remind Octavia that our train was going to leave soon.” The DJ told him.
“Oh?” Nicko wondered. “Where were you guys going to?”
“Our home in Ponyville.”
‘Well that just made things ten times easier.’ Nicko thought. Then, he proceeded to ask a question to the two musicians. “Mind if I come along? I think I have enough to pay for my own ticket.”
“I don’t see why not.” Octavia replied. “Say, how did you get that bag?” The human looked at Vinyl, then his bag, then back to the cellist as he got back up on his feet. The three of them began to walk down to the station.
“It’s a LOT to explain.”
“I believe we got the time for that.” Vinyl told him, “We won’t be back in Ponyville until tomorrow morning, so we have enough time.”
Nicko liked the sound of that. Grinning and putting his arms to the side like he was a gentleman gesturing ladies first. The two musicians took it as a sign of good will and lead the way to the train station.
However, they were unaware of someone watching the three of them. More specifically, Nicko. This new individual wore black regalia, but had orange belt straps on the left leg and silver plating on the other leg. He was about ten years older than Nicko, but what set this one apart was a few features. This included his black and silver hair, cross necklace, one handed sword, and lastly, a mechanical left arm.
Swiftly, it began to move from rooftop to rooftop. Following the Rune Slayer and his two companions. It moved so quickly that not even the guards could recognize him and mistaken it for a pegasus flying through the air at high speeds. It wasn’t until the bipedal being had to slow down to breath that he almost lost control of the situation and couldn’t see the red-haired boy.
“Come on, where are you?” The individual said to himself. Soon, he caught sight of him again. This time, boarding the train. “There you are.”
Acting reckless again, the tracker jumped and used his arm like a grappling hook to land on the stations rooftop. Upon landing, he moved into a full on sprint and as the train departed, landing on the back of the train’s empty supply car. For being a hitchhiker, the individual was thankful for no one… or nopony for that matter noticing him.
“Well damn, today’s been one hell of a day.” He told himself. “Leo, how is it that you always get yourself into these freaking situations?” Now, the Reckless Fist named Leo Chase just hoped that the Red Haired boy he saw was the person who he thought it was.
Nicko Nocte. His best Friend
End Chapter 1
