//------------------------------// // A new world // Story: My Little Pony: The Key // by Synesisbassist //------------------------------// Some people say when you die, you go to heaven. Some say you are reborn or reincarnated. I however, can tell you what happened to me when I died. I went to hell. Well, almost hell. It seemed like it as I sat in the small room, staring at the cold, cobblestone wall. I was battered and bruised, the love of my life was dead and my friends were probably dead as well. You know what? How about I start from the beginning of all this.... I died. Well, I'm sure I did. One moment I was fine, then the next thing I knew my leg gave out and I went tumbling down the stairs; most likely breaking my spine upon hitting the bottom and whatever else on the way down. When I eventually opened my eyes, I was in pain. I was cold, disoriented and it Letting out a groan, I rolled over onto my side, my left hand touching the moist ground beneath me. I cracked an eye open to see, well... Nothing but darkness. I blinked a couple of times, trying to get my bearing again. There was a dull pain in my head and I felt a warm, wet sensation run down the left side of my face. I managed to sit myself up against what seemed to be a tree, my mind running a mile a minute as I looked around. My eyes finally adjusted to the darkness and I could make out shapes of rocks, the ground, that figure moving closer, the trees aroun... Wait... What!? Fear set in and I pushed back a little as it came closer. I tried to speak but I was scared stiff. My throat was dry, my jaw locked and I clenched my body. Is this the end? It was then when I saw the reflection of the moons light in the figures eyes before it spoke. "Hello? Umm… W-who are you?” The female voice asked with more curiosity than any kind of aggressiveness. I could only blink a couple times when a faint green glow came from the shape and I went wide eyed at what I saw. It was a white furred face, with big, but friendly, Iight green eyes and a... Horn? The ridged horn glowed a dull green and she looked at my face closer in the new light. Her eyes shrunk to pin pricks, literally, they shrunk and she spoke softly, almost a squeak. “Oh.... Sweet Celestia... Yo-you're...” She was at a loss for words and looked in between wanting to run off, hit me, or just stare at me. She choose the last one. Her eyes returned to normal after a couple blinks and she took in my details. Her eyes lingered on my left eyebrow and her expression changed to a sympathetic one. “You're... hurt.” She said softly and reached out a... Hoof? I guess she was a type of equine, perhaps a type of pony, seeing how small she was compared to me. Anyways, she reached out for me and I flinched, my instincts telling me to not let her touch me. But the tree behind me prevented me from going back any further. I started to breath a little heavy as she came closer. “Hey, it's okay... I won-” “Sweetie!” A hushed voice hissed from behind her, making the white pony jump and eep a little. “What the hay are ya do...” I looked over her shoulder, at the other pony behind this 'Sweetie'. This one was yellow with a red mane and tail. Her orangish eyes looked at me in a mixture of fear, surprise, and... Disbelief? “Oh... Celestia... I-It’s true! The legend of the Key.” Both me and the white unicorn looked at each other in confusion. “The ke...” Sweetie started but she then gasped and fell backwards. “Oh my gosh!” She peddled backwards with her hooves towards the other pony, then I looked between both of them. The yellow pony stepped forward, looking me dead in the eyes. “Hello. Mah name is Apple Bloom. Ah’m the leader of the Equestrian Resistance. Can you understand me?” She said a little slowly and a little shakily, then I nodded. “Can ya speak?” She then asked, her look getting more and more hopeful. I gave a half-hearted shrug and a nod. “Then please, tell us your name.” I noticed Sweetie was looking between the two of us, before her gaze set on me as they waited for me to speak. She got closer and closer to me as she spoke, her eyes darting across my body, her own trembling a little as she breathed harder. I grunted, making sure my throat was clear and I spoke. “M-my name.... Is Tyson Cage.” Sweetie went wide eyed, and Apple Bloom grinned and started to laugh. “Sweetie! I-I can't believe this! He can talk! He...” She trailed off, her eyes snapping to the side and she took up a fighting stance. I noticed Sweetie's horn was glowing slightly and she gasped before whispering urgently “They're close! W-What do we do?” I was confused as Apple Bloom looked at me, taking a moment to debate. “We gotta get em back to headquarters! Send off the signal!” She said only to have Sweetie hesitate and look at her, a scared look on the Unicorns face. “B-But what if it alerts them?” Apple Bloom grit her teeth and gave her a glare that told Sweetie to just do it. “A-alright... Here goes!” She had to concentrate a little and her horn started glowing much more brightly before a small ball of green light shot off and popped in the air. “There! Let's go!” The yellow pony then ran up to me and stuck out a hoof to me. “Come on! We need to go now.” I had a million questions running through my head, such as; what is going on? Who is coming? Why the hell do you need me? But she had no time for questions and took my hand pulling me awkwardly to my feet. “Come on! We need to go!” Sweetie said already on her way away from where we were. I followed, a bit wobbly on my legs but I managed to keep up with the two ponies. We ran in mostly silence, except from breaths, steps and the occasional time they asked if I was ok then... A bloodcurdling scream came from our left and not too far away. “T-That sounded like Flitter!” We all stopped for a moment before Bloom closed her eyes and spoke with gritted teeth. “We need to go.” Sweetie looked shocked and shook her head in disbelief. “What!? But Scootaloo was with her!” Apple Bloom turned to her and we both noticed she was crying, but she was trying to hold it in. “Ah know that! But if he's the key... Their sacrifice will be worth it!” As the two had their little argument, I noticed something move in the darkness. As I looked closer I noticed fangs glisten in the moonlight, with a trace of blood on them. Then, a split second later It went for Apple Bloom, but she reacted at the last moment and kicked the figure sending it to the ground. Sweetie gasped and I noticed the figure roll across the dirt and get to it's... Hooves? It looked to be a kind of pony, but it was mostly black with blue and white eyes. It hissed and showed it's bloody fangs again and then looked at me. It quickly shook it's head, getting its bearings. Then it let out a howl... One that sent shivers down my spine, and still does to this day. Then a searing pain shot up my right arm. Looking at my arm I noticed another one was attached to it by it's mouth. “Fuck!” I yelled out, making Sweetie look at me and she turned a little more white than she was before. I punched it in the face, its grip finally loosening and it fell to the ground. I looked at the mark in my arm; the teeth marks leaked blood heavily and it was almost unbearable as I bent down. “Sweetie Belle! Get us outta here!” Apple Bloom yelled out as she fought off a couple of those... Things. “At last! The one has shown himself!” A distorted voice said from behind us making the three of us turn around and I saw a pony get thrown to the floor. I looked at the poor... Pegasus? She was grey, but her coat was stained with blood, her sort of icy blue mane was also splattered with blood and her eyes looked at me, almost lifeless. She blinked and opened her mouth. “Help... Me...” She croaked out and spat up a little bit of blood. My mouth was dry as her head fell back down to the ground and her eyes closed. I looked up and saw a horrible sight. There was a kind of, well it looked a little like the smaller black things. But this one was huge, almost as tall as me. She looked like a bug/equine hybrid, her green slitted eyes looked me over and she smiled, releasing a chuckle from her mouth that sounded distorted. I was frozen in place when a blot of green light whizzed by my head and almost hit this bug creature. “TYSON RUN!” Came Sweetie’s voice and I quickly snapped back to my senses before something touched my shin. Glancing down, I noticed the pony reaching for me, tears running down her cheek, a desperate look in her eyes, she was clinging to life. I knew what I had to do. I didn’t think, I just acted. I bent down and snatched the injured pony off the ground and took off running, trying to catch up to the other two that already had a head start on me. “Sweetie! Do it!” Apple Bloom yelled while running and the white unicorn’s horn lit up before a green light surrounded the four of us and… All of a sudden, I felt weightless. Then the ground seemed to stop beneath my feet and I rolled to a halt. Making sure not to hurt the pony in my arms. “Tyson!” Sweetie called out for me, her hoofsteps getting closer to me and tried to roll me over. Gasps filled my ears and was quickly followed by mummers from, I presume, other ponies. I opened my eyes to look up into the light green eyes of Sweetie Belle. “I’m fine.” I then remembered the small pony in my arms and quickly sat up. “Are you ok?” I asked, though the answer was clear. She was not. She panted lightly, wincing in pain gently as I moved. Then just as I looked up. THWACK! Pain exploded in the back of my head. It felt like someone cracked me over the head with a baseball bat. “That’s right ya big…. Whatever you are!” Came a tomboyish call from behind me as I half slumped to the side and the pony in my lap fell onto the ground. “Scootaloo stop!” Came Apple Bloom’s voice from behind as this “Scootaloo” pounced on me and started to hit me more. “Big bucking ape!” She yelled as I flipped over and she got me right in the mouth. I snapped and gave her one good shot to her muzzle, then off she went with a yelp. It was a couple seconds before she once again got to her hooves, bloody nose and all. “You’re gonna get it now!!” I was still dazed, my head slightly swaying as I pushed myself up into a half sitting position when the orange blur came at me once more. I closed my eyes and tried to lift my arm to protect myself when another green light flashed before my eyes and… Well it sounded like someone hit a plastic dome and then they fell to the ground. “Stop it Scootaloo! He’s not dangerous!” A muffled groan came from whoever attacked me and they rolled over. “Sweetie! What’s the big idea!? Just look at it!” I slightly winced as she called me “It”. “That thing took Flitter and tried to chase you two down!” But then Apple Bloom stepped in. “He did not! He jus’ might of saved her! So shut yer trap, and we can deal with the dyin’ pony first!” The orange pegasus instantly closed her mouth and looked taken back. Her ears flayed to her head and Apple Bloom approached me. “Ah need a medical team stat!” There was a moment of pause, but soon a couple unicorns slowly and carefully approached me. I then reached out and handed them the injured pony in my arms. They looked hesitant, but soon took her from me and rushed her inside a tent. Then a burning sensation in my arm snapped me back to attention. I looked down and seen blood streaming down my arm and off my fingers. Sweetie Belle took a sharp breath while her eyes looked it over before charging her horn. “This will hurt, but it’ll save you.” With that a small bolt of her aura shot at my arm. It burned even more, the smell of burning blood and flesh filled my nose almost making me sick. The pain was almost unbearable but in a couple seconds it diwndled to a dull throb. I looked down and seen she used it to cauterize the holes to seal them up. Using some wrap she first took to cleaning my arm and then wrapped my wound tight as she could. I stifled a groan and gave a weak smile. “Thanks Sweetie…” “Alright everypony, get back to whatever ya’ll we’re doin’ earlier. You…” She grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. “Come with me. Sweetie, Scoots, follow along. And ah swear, you touch him one more time, ah’ll break yer wings.” She threatened her feathered friend. Scootaloo looked surprised and nodded quickly, shooting a snarl at me when Apple Bloom turned back. But I did as I was told, following the yellow pony to wherever she had planned. We continued to walk the stone halls, ponies seemed to be everywhere in here, most looked rough and wore armour with weapons. But the place we were in seemed to be ancient. Bricks were cracked, moss clung to the walls and a couple old windows still sat untouched. But most were sealed up and lanterns hung from the ceiling. “Where are we?” I asked absentmindedly, the pegasus lightly growling at me, but Sweetie Belle was quick to answer. “We are in the Castle of the Two Sisters. One of the last safe havens left in Equestria.” Glancing down at the white unicorn, she continued to look where she was walking. But she seemed relaxed, compared to earlier at least. “See, the land of Equestria was protected by the Two royal sisters, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Along with… The bearers.” Upon hearing those words, Scootaloo’s ears twitched and she snapped at Sweetie. “Hey! It doesn't need to know about that stuff.” The orange mare glared at me and kept walking, head down before trotting up to Apple Bloom, giving me a small nudge before doing so. What the hell crawled up her ass? The only thing I’ve done is try to stay alive! And I rescued that pegasus! What does she fucking want from me?! “It’s alright Tyson, she’s a little on edge. We all are.” The yellow mare spoke with a sigh. She eyed my arm and bit her lower lip before resuming her gaze forward. I looked down to the white unicorn and tilted my head a little. “Why is that? What happened?” Sweetie Belle was about to open her mouth, but shut it and shook her head before she mouthed. “When we’re alone." I nodded in acknowledgement. We made our way right, and at the end of the long hallway, was a big wooden door. Two white, stallion guards stood outside the door and upon noticing Apple Bloom they stood strong and opened the door for us. “Ma’am!” Both guards said with a salute and Apple Bloom nodded while walking past. “At ease, Ah’d also like to be undisturbed. Understand?” Both stallions nodded and we all walked into what seemed to be an office. In contrast to the rest of what I’ve seen, this was modern. Clean, with a big desk, a map, books, couches, chairs, and a door off to the left as well as to the right. It looked like a planning room to me. Apple Bloom walked over to a large cabinet and opened it up, showing what was a collection of liquor. “Anypony thirsty? Water? Or a drink?” She then proceeded to pull out what looked like a homemade liquor judging from the bottle. “I’ll take a glass of water.” Sweetie Belle kept stealing glances at me, probably making sure I was ok. “Some Vodka and milk for me.” Scootaloo herself stared daggers into me, almost as if she was trying to attack me with her gaze itself. Apple Bloom then looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “O-oh… Umm… Got any spiced rum?” She thought for a moment and looked around inside the cabinet before pulling out the bottle. She poured the glasses, she herself poured what seemed to be cider. I could feel the glare that Scootaloo was giving me right behind me, an uneasy tension in the air. “Alright, sit, all of ya. and here’s yer drinks.” We all took our drinks and sat down, each at one of the four couches around a table. Apple Bloom took a mouthful of her drink and sighed. “Good as always. Now, to the point about you.” She looked straight into my eyes and swished her drink a little. "Him? What's so special about him?" Scootaloo said before taking a mouthful of her drink. "He shouldn't be here." I felt tense so I took a drink of my own, it was strong but tasty. “Just what the hay is it anyways?” All eyes fell to me and I swallowed thickly. “I’m a human.” And no more than a second after I stopped, Scootaloo piped in with a snort. “Yea right! Those are an old mares tale.” I narrowed my eyes at her and our eyes locked. You wanna keep being a bitch and I swear to god… I could feel my blood start to boil, the last thing I needed was blowing my lid so I stayed my tongue. I took a deep breath and continued. “Well it’s what I am. Human, homo-sapien if you will. There are plenty of sciency terms for it. Moving on, I’m from Canada, right on the coast near the Atlantic.” Apple Bloom looked confused. “C-Canada? Atlantic?” I sighed and rolled my eyes while I watched the gold liquid in my glass move as I took a small sip. “The land where I was born, and part of the ocean on my planet. Earth…. Which, judging from your reaction is not this planet." I took another drink and laid my head back, just letting my thoughts run through my head and nerves relax. “So I’m in… Equestria?” Sweetie Belle was quick to pipe up. “Yes, you are. On the planet of Equis. I might be able to figure out how you got here… But I can’t promise a way home.” She then frowned. “Now maybe if Princess Twil-” “I said knock it off!” Scootaloo snarled. “I’ve had enough!” She then slammed her, now empty glass, down. “I wanna know who, and what the buck this thing is!" "Scoots, calm down, it’s all gonna be explained later ok?” Apple Bloom tried to calm the angry pegasus, but she would not relax. A small snort came from Scootaloos nose. “No! I want to know now! It doesn't deserve to be here!” Her wings twitched at her sides as she flicked her mane from her face. I decided enough was enough and stood up, towering over the small pony. “You listen here, you little bitch.” Scootaloo shrunk a little from my size and voice. “I didn’t ask to be here, okay? So why don’t you just back off and leave me the fuck alone!” The both of us had a stare off, Scootaloo’s wings spread wide and she snarled as I bared my teeth. After a couple of moments, Apple Bloom got between us. “We have enough problems without the two of ya goin’ at each others necks! Get some sleep, both of ya. We can settle more out in the mornin’.” Scootaloo snorted and then with a quick snap of her neck walked to the door, pushed it open and left without a word. I untensed my body and Apple Bloom sighed. “Sweetie? Can ya show Tyson here the extra bunk in your wing? Ah need some time to myself.” The yellow earth pony made her way to the large desk and sat behind it and sighed, looking at a small picture frame. Sweetie Belle lit up with a faint blush, stuttering a little before nodding. “S-sure Apple Bloom. F-follow me Tyson.” I glanced back to Apple Bloom for a moment before I followed the unicorn outside and into the hallway once more. Instead of going left, the way we came, we went right and headed down the hallway. The ponies we past stopped to stare at me, sometimes muttering comments under their breaths. “I’m sorry about how Scootaloo acted…” Sweetie Bell apologized, keeping her gaze to the floor. I let out a small sigh. “It was none of your fault. It was her fault.” After a small yawn, I continued. “But she is right… I don’t belong here.” I ran my fingers through my hair, my arm slightly hurning at my movements. Sweetie frowned when I said that. “I know… But you might be able to help us.” Her tone caught my attention, it was a mixture of  begging and sadness… Something happened close to her, I could just tell as her words set into my mind. I stayed silent as we approached a door. “Um… Here we are.” She opened the door, and inside was much unlike the office I was just in. It seemed cozy. Inside were two sets of beds, bunk beds with a small table and some chairs in the room. There also seemed to be some sort of hammock in the corner of the room with an orange mare in it. “Welcome back Sweets, the other two bucked off on me and I....” The mare propped herself up and looked at me, tilting her head to the side. “What the heck is that?” Her fiery orange eyes looked me up and down before she rolled out of her hammock. Sweetie Belle stepped a little to the side. “This, is Tyson.” The pegasus approached me and eyed me curiously, and it allowed me to get a better look at her. Her mane and tail looked slicked back from wind, she had a scar across her left eye, and one that seemed to glance her right wing. She was older, looked like she’s had her share of fights and close calls, but she also looked a little playful. “So what? Is it some sort of pleasure creature? Because I’m hella down for that.” This snapped me back and I blushed hard as did Sweetie Belle. “No Spitfire, he’s here to help in the fight.” This earned a huff from Spitfire as she frowned and pouted. “Well fuck, I’m super pent up.” She then turned and flicked her tail at me. “But if that’s what you want, that’s cool. I’ll just be over here.” With a small jump she crawled back into her hammock. Sweetie Belle flushed red and facehooved. “Please have some restraint… He just got here… He needs some time to adjust.” Spitfire's tail flicked and she huffed. “Still! If ya ever want some fun times, you know where to find me.” Watching me shift in embarrassment she let out a small laugh. “I’m joking with ya, names Spitfire.” I blushed hard and rubbed the back of my head. “S-so… where do I sleep?” Sweetie walked over to the set of beds on the right side of the room and pointed to the lower bunk. “You can sleep there, I hope it’s good enough for now. I’m going to grab a bite to eat, you hungry?” Truthfully I did feel a little famished, but I was way too exhausted to care for hunger. “I’m good for tonight, I’m going to sleep. Night Sweetie Belle… And thanks for everything so far.” I gave her a small smile, one that she returned. “Night Tyson, see you in the morning.” She then left and I sat upon the small bed. It was smaller, but a good enough size and comfy enough for sleeping. It’ll have to do I guess, beggars can’t be choosers. I laid down with a sigh and closed my tired eyes. “Rough day huh?” My right ear twitched and I cracked an eye to look over towards the mare in the corner of the room. “Also sorry about that, it was just a joke… But I can tell you’ve had a rough day, I used to train cadets in a flying academy." She paused for a moment and smiled. Heh, sometimes it feels like none of this ever happened ya know?” Spitfire then let out a sigh and swallowed. “I’ve lost a couple cadets… Those poor souls. They were like my children, cut down at such a young age.” She sniffled and took a shaky breath, clearly trying not to cry. I sat up and looked over at her. “Umm… Sorry to hear that Spitfire.” She cracked a weak smile and wiped her cheeks. “Thanks rookie, mind if I call you that? It’s nice to be able to vent ya know? So where are ya from?” She then sat up and looked at me more. “I’ve never seen anything like you before.” I bit my lip and pondered for a second. Should I tell her? Could it hurt? “Well… I’m a human. Not from around here at all. I’m still trying to figure it out myself, it’s a lot to take in.” She stared at me, studying my face hard and for half a minute or so. “You’re not lying. After years of dealing with cadets, I’ve got a knack for detecting a lie. So you’re all alone huh? Welcome to the crew. Most of us lost ponies close to us. Me? I personally lost my best wing pony, friend… And, my secret love. His name was Soarin, disappeared about a month ago with the rest of his squad. ” Spitfire let out a small sigh. “But…. I feel as if he’s still out there,I just can’t go out on my own.” I swallowed a little, unsure of what to say to the pegasus. “A-are you sure? Like… Umm.” I paused, trying to find my words. Spitfire gave me a weak smile. “I know what ya mean, but we have a connection, he was my second in command and I know him. I can feel his…. His internal magic, what makes him him, ya know? It’s a hard concept to understand I know, but I just know he’s alive.” I sat in silence, unsure of what to say but she beat me to it. “Sorry to bother you, just don’t worry about it. I’ve rambled on enough for tonight, g’night rookie.” And with that she turned and laid back down. I… what? My mind was mixed, thoughts didn’t make sense. Too much was going though and I started to overload. Just sleep… Deal with this shit in the morning. I was exhausted and drained, I was aching and so tired. The millions of things going through my mind were like mere flashes of light in my mind. I just need sleep…. Sweet… Embracive… Sleep… It was then when I fully succumbed to my body and fell into a deep sleep.