Lockheart
I groggily opened my eyes as the sunlight annoyingly danced across my face, while my brain tried to reboot itself despite the throbbing pain in my head. When my vision finally started clearing up, I wondered why I was seeing a forest scenery that was right in front of me. Just then, slews of sparse memories flashed through my mind. Ponies, video game, chessboard, clouds, fall, spikes, desk, manticore, hole, darkness, theater seats, apples, harmony, chaos, bet, measurements, Alicorn, Changeling, burning... and Discord...
Oh fuck. Now everything started to make sense again. Discord the ‘mad god’ of Equestria had created a game pitting ‘good against evil’ scenario, and I was apparently drafted onto the villain team. I had no idea what it meant for me, but I most certainly didn’t want to find out the conclusion of this insane nightmare.
With the sharp reminder of my situation my head jolted up, the haze of my mind was now clearer, still had a nasty headache, and surveyed my new pony body that Discord oh so ‘graciously’ gifted me with. Awkwardly, I tried pushing away the dark green bangs that were obscuring my eyes with my new stubby hooves…
To my stark relief, I saw that I was still wearing the blue jacket that kept my wings safely hidden underneath, away from any prying eyes. Sure, the black fur might look a little bit sinister…but it can at least pass any casual scrutiny. I clenched my fanged filled teeth as I rubbed a hoof against the gnarly horn that now adorned my forehead.
Like a rabbit, my body tensed up when my flickering pony ears started toon in on noises around, and then I turned my attention at the source... and my eyes widen at what I was seeing.
Oh this wasn’t good… I could hear people panic all around me, some were screaming, a few of them were staring out into the distance, while others were jibbering in shock, but honestly… who could blame them?
Just a few moments ago, they had been humans sitting somewhere comfortably within their homes only to get Discord’s invite, and then suddenly tossed into the heart of Equestria [like a rabbit tossed before a pack of wolves]. Hundreds of ponies, griffons, and other playable races stood around the forest clearing, shouting, or running around in panic. To make things worse, even more people kept on coming… no falling to Equestria as I tried to drag myself away from this place.
Right near the center of the clearing in the forest, people were literally falling from the fucking sky of all things! There was even a small dog pile of people who had yet to get out of the way, as more and more of them that kept joining the madness by either freaking out, or demanding answers from the closest person next to them, regardless of what they knew.
I glanced back at the horde of humans turned into Equestrian creatures, as I felt a shiver up my spine. It was all just one big mass of chaos and madness that was just waiting for some fool to lead them into a bigger disaster!
It wouldn’t take much. I mean all it would take was someone with a loud voice to point a finger so that everyone could have something to focus their rage and confusion on… sort of like an angry mob… an angry mob that has yet to notice me. It wouldn't take long for them to spot the seemingly ‘only’ alicorn in this mess... or how they would quickly turn on me once they found out that I was actually stuck as an evil emotion sucking Changeling.
So, I did what any sane person would do. I brushed the dirt off my coat and bolted to the tree line… only to trip. I tried not to curse as I pushed myself back up again. Whatever magic the Tutorial had that had let me use my new body must have now worn off.
Now that I was left on driving manually, I was stuck trying to get used to the fact that I had went from a two legged species to a four legged one, which was jarring to say the least. My body couldn’t figure out how to run just yet… but I could walk or at least attempt to awkwardly walk/trot quickly, until my body/brain learned how to work these stupid new legs.
I tried clumsily going as fast as I could into the forest, and to be as far away possible from everyone else. I didn’t have an exact idea on where I was going, but it would probably be a lot safer than staying with the rest of this hysterical crowd. The people back there were not good happy carefree ponies who solved their problems with rainbows and magic.
No… they were living breathing human beings who had just been teared away from their lives and dumped in the middle of an unfamiliar forest looking for the first convenient person to blame or vent their frustrations at the first chance they get. I don’t know much about the Everfree forest… but I certainly ‘know’ what would happen to me if I stayed with them.
Discord had previously been so kind to show me a lovely scene of me being roasted over a fire. He might have just been lying to me just for kicks, but the cynic in me very much believed that it would happen if I didn’t listen to Discord’s warning.
I opened up my menu screen and tried to keep my mind occupied as I stumbled… well I crawled through the forest like a toddler.
First things first, I was in a body I didn’t know on how to use it. So, the highest priority on the list was that I needed to do was assess what skills or abilities that I had access to. With a quick click on the skill icon, which I could will it to move somehow. The important thing was that I was able to know what exactly my character overview was.
I was surprised at how many skills were not only available, but also put into this new equine body. I mean flight, telekinesis, magic blast or “magic missile”, changeling disguised (aka fake alicorn disguise) and emotion feed… all set to level one.
While I was passing through the mass of panicking people, I realized as I passed by each one of them... I could actually ‘feel’ their fear, their wrath, and their despair emanating from them. It felt really bizarre being able to discern the emotions all around me, as it fell somewhere in-between being able to sense… and have a scent or ‘taste’ in the air. Sort of like how you can ‘feel’ the odor of a dirty object when you place your hand near it. There are plenty of other terms that could be used, or ‘reasons’ why you can feel the change of air around it, but that’s the best way I could describe it.
Also, you didn’t need super magic emotion sensing bug powers to see that everyone else was either frightened, terrified, or screaming in rage after being torn away from their homes.
Come to think of it, I couldn’t help but wander my attention to my other defining Changeling abilities in my menu, Changeling Disguise. I wondered to myself of what exactly constituted as a ‘disguise’, as I wasn’t entirely sure if it was an actual physical transformation, or just an illusion. My fake alicorn wings under my jacket certainly felt real to me, rubbing on my sides, touching the fabric and everything around it. But then again, it could just be some sort phantom feedback, or something; to make the illusion more complete? If it was actually real, then could it also include clothing or better yet, armor? In the show at least, Changelings somehow seemed to be able to do both...
And, the description in the menu system wasn’t helpful much either, as it just said ‘Changeling Disguise, magical disguise unique to Changelings that allow the user to mimic the shape of a creature of similar size and mass. Can change appearance to blend in a crowd or to impersonate a specific individual. Level 1 currently limits user to only one alternate form.’
Oh Crap! Discord had already used that slot for my current disguise; I need to learn how to do more, fast!
These thoughts continued to dance in my head until I heard the sound of a person screaming, filling my body with dreading terror. I turned towards the source of the screaming, as I was expecting to see an angry mob staring down at me, or someone being chased by a rampaging bloodthirsty monster… Instead, I saw an orange unicorn screaming various curses, as they had just fired off a burst of flames from its horn at one of the nearby trees, and catching it on fire. My wings tensed up under my jacket as I watched the flames consume the nearby leaves and branches as smoke drifted up towards the sky.
At the sight of the scene, I couldn’t help but remember the twisted image Discord showed of me being tied to a post and being set on fire, as I watched more bursts of flames fly forth from the panicking unicorn’s horn, burning everything in it’s path.
I got to fucking go away from here, NOW!!!
I turned back trying to get as far away from the unicorn arsonist, as I opened my menu back open, and examined the rest of my talent tree. Sure, I had a couple of skills… but nothing really fancy… I mean other people might have less skills available, but theirs were more… specialized.
For me, fireball was marked a high level skill, which probably meant that technique was a low level skill available for unicorns… or that the pony in question was allowed to dump a lot of points into their skill tree to let them get that ability early.
I chuckled at the absurdity of it all. I mean… was I going to be burned at the stake or would they tie me up to a tree and just use me for target practice?
I tried to smile as I walked as quickly as I could to go deeper into the forest, as I wondered to myself “Is it cynical to to expect the worst out of everyone, or do I simply just value my own life more than attempting to trust them?”
On those words, I tripped over one of the roots and came crashing down to the ground, with a mouth full of dirt. That’s what I fucking get for paying too much attention to the menu system, and not enough attention to my environment. I awkwardly manage to slowly push myself up, and continued to go forward, albeit more mindful of my surroundings. In the end, it really didn’t matter. All I had to do was just keep running and focus on my own survival. Let someone else try to figure out if we had a re-spawn option.
My wings, for some reason, started to itch as if begging for me to take open them up and take flight. Personally, I didn’t want that as I still didn’t feel like I was far away enough… and in all honesty I didn’t even know how to fly, which kind of rendered them next to useless to me. Besides, I had to stick with the plan.
The plan… the plan… I just had to find a village and then feed on a pony or two. Then, I would just simply keep hiding, or simply move on to another town. Maybe I could find some old people and make them think I was their grandson or something, at least until someone else figured out how to send us all home!
I chuckled nervously as I said to myself “After all… if I’m one of Discord’s pieces, than if I really don’t do anything to get noticed, then that’s one less foe for everyone else to fight!”
Screams erupted in the woods, as I tried to ignore them while I kept on running forward. This was a starter zone anyway, so there shouldn’t be any big nasty monsters trying to rip them apart, if this place follows an RPG level designs, right?. They didn’t have anything to worry about… except each other that is.
“Besides…” I heard myself mutter in dismissal “It’s probably just another person freaking out about accidentally shooting another fireball without any aiming assistance.”
Or, at least I hoped so...
******
The moon was now shining above me, as I kept walking around the dark forest, cringing in fear at every branch I broke underneath my new feet. My stomach growled in complaint, letting me know that it was hungry, as I struggled to keep up the Alicorn disguise whenever I thought I saw a light coming from someone else near me.
There were two thoughts that kept lingering in the back of my mind while I walked through these blasted woods and keeping my faint hopes of getting out of this hellhole in one piece. The first possibility was that the people back home might, hopefully, noticed that I was late to work, and just maybe decide to check up on me at my home. Who knows… maybe someone actually noticed that I had suddenly gone missing, or something.
...
A part of me held some hope that this was all just a crazy dream… but that hope had nearly died out by now , since I was still not waking out of this living nightmare after all these hours. I was cold, hungry, and completely lost in these stupid woods, as I hadn’t figured out how to get out of here.
The second slightly more useful fact that I had learn, was that my Alicorn disguise apparently used some magic… or MP and that being undisguised helped me slowly replenish my strength. Also, using the spell made my stomach growl even louder, making me wonder if I actually had regained any strength or magical power back at all.
I tried to choke down a few berries I had found on a bush I had stumbled across. Apparently emotions were not only used for their primary source of food… but also it was used to fuel their magic. An empty stomach didn’t help my spell casting at all. I forced myself to swallow another few very sour berries, and hoped that those would at least help my stomach a little.
At a distance, I heard someone screamed. I groaned in annoyance as my brain tried to figure out what was going on. Was this bush a trap, had someone found me undisguised, or did I just end up walking in around in a circle, only to end up back in the starting zone again?
Once again, with a wave of green flames passing over me, I managed to summon my Alicorn disguise, and ripped out as many berries from the bush as I could, before getting ready to run. Instead, to both my surprise and horror, I found that the players running towards me weren’t actually after me. No… they were running from a rather large and particularly vicious looking manticore, that was chasing after them, and it was catching up too.
In a split decision, I snapped my wings wide open, flipping open up my jacket and making a small mess in the process, and I tried flying up to a large tree branch. I desperately flapped my wings as hard as I could, acting like an old cartoon character, as I took a deep breath and blew towards the ground trying to will myself go up. Lo and behold, I actually managed to fly under my own power on my first try!
Okay, I was barely managing to rise upward, as I flew like a blind drunk duck into a rather large tree, but I was making some form of progress! My wings ran into a few random branches, before I grabbed onto the closest one that would hopefully support my weight.
I sighed in relief from the harrowing experience, as I tried to calm down as my heart pounded in my head. The tree branch was at least thick enough for me to lie down on my stomach, and hopefully the manticore wouldn’t notice me… they can’t climb up trees and Manticores couldn’t fly… right?
I watched them run towards me, as I was ready to leave this situation all alone. Sure, it was cowardly hiding up in a tree, while they were running for their lives, but I barely knew how to work this strange new body I was stuck with! Besides I wouldn’t be of much help to them anyway.
The Manticore drew closer to them, as a part of me began to wonder if I was about to actually see a re-spawn in action or not.
Would they simply disappear in a flicker of light, or have some pony in a cloak drag their bodies back to the re-spawn point? When I heard them scream in panic again... actually I began to wonder if this would end in a permanent death. The thought send shivers down my spine at just the thought.
Death.
I mean… this was all one big twisted game made by Discord, right? There was no way they would just simply… die?
Say’s the human who magically transformed into a changeling, and is now fleeing for his life?
I flinched at my own retort, as the human turned ponies just came into sight, with the manticore closing in on them. I could hear their feminine voice screaming out in terror, as they tried to outrun the manticore. They were about to die, and I was sitting in a tree, trying to pretend it wasn’t happening.
“Fuck it.” I muttered under my breath, and then screamed as loud as I could “Pew Pew Pew!”
Small bursts of green light flashed down to the manticore, causing it to slow down from either shock of my voice... or the poorly aimed glowing green attacks that nearly hit it. The other two players stood still staring at me in confusion, while the Manticore tried to recover from my sudden clumsy attack.
“What are you waiting for?” I screamed down at them from the top of my perch “Get in the freaking trees already!”
I fired a few more magical blast, as my stomach felt like it was being drained dry, and it was growing with aching in pain of hunger. The Manticore charged at me, forgetting about the other two people, and tried climbing up the tree. Instead, his sharp claws and massive weight only dragged him back down, leaving large claw marks in the base of the tree. I guess those bat wings on their back don’t grant them flight.
Not wanting to find out if the manticore could actually climb the tree, I fired a few more shots at his face. The branches shook form the recoil from my attack , as I kept unleashing my magical barrage at the manticore while he tried to climb up, only for fallen branches, pinecones, and other assorted objects to fall on the manticore’s face, forcing him to retreat, and hopefully find something less annoying to eat.
I tried not to hyperventilate, as I could barely hear anything over the sound of my own beating heart. In just a few moments, the rush of adrenaline would die out, as my body started to feel like crap.
I felt a tap on my shoulder, as something whispered “Thanks.”
So naturally, I screamed nearly falling out of the branch at the sudden shock only to latch onto it, with a rather painful death grip. One of the players helped pulled me back up where I then promptly latched onto the branch, and didn’t dare let go. After all… there was a rather hungry manticore that I had just recently pissed off down there.
I managed to glance upwards, and see two humans turned ponies, as they were staring at me in relief. Without even thinking, my horn started to glow, as I felt my strength returned to my bone-weary body. I could feel the subtle soothing flow of energy flowing into me, then I glanced back at the other two who seemed to start faltering or lose their balance on the tree branch.
I only realized then that I was feeding on them, with the feeling of my stomach was filling up and I no longer felt as dead-tired as before. They on the other hand, didn’t seem to be feeling too good, as I quickly turned it off, before one of them fell out of the tree like I nearly had.
“Sorry!” I quickly shouted “I thought you were about to eat me, or something.”
The first one sighed, as she didn’t seem to have realized what I had just accidently done. “Nervous much?” I simply nodded, then looked what she was wearing and asked “And what kind of armor is that?”
I glanced at her in confusion and tried to will my horn to give us some more light. My horn glowed softly in a green aura, barely illuminating our surroundings. It was a strange feeling, as the spell didn’t seem to drain that much energy… or my horn was on some sort of subtle feed feature that I didn’t know about.
The person in front of me was a Pegasus… a Pegasus wearing something, sort of like a knight's suit of armor, as bits of leather could be seen in between the joints. The boots on seemed to have a griffon theme styled claws. I looked up and saw what looked like tan fur covering her face, as she had a ponytail that dangled from the back of her head.
“What?” I stuttered in confusion “What happened to you? I mean you are a…”
“Human?” She answered back quickly. I could feel her start to worry as she stared at my horn “I mean you’re a…”
“Human turned unicorn” I promptly answered to her lest she start thinking otherwise “Or, did the lack of a cutie mark give that away?”
She turned around staring at her… flank. Hey! Don’t judge me for also staring, I had the only source of light, and she needed to see something so obviously I had to look!
I also just started to notice… that… I could start to notice certain… aspects.
I banished those thoughts from my mind, as that path only lead to madness and possibly my own doom.
To my surprise, she simply groaned in annoyance “There goes my bonuses! What kind of twisted book did that GM dig up!”
“Book?” I muttered back, as I wasn’t sure I had heard that correctly.
I mean, I started up a game only to fall inside a computer. She apparently landed in Equestria from a book? If so then what the heck did she, or her GM, grabbed? Jumanji the pony RPG, or the Necronomicon for beginners?
She turned her head and stared back at me “Uh… it was an rpg game. Story was about some time in the present. Ponies in panic. Adventures being set up… standard stuff. You?”
I tried to smile “Message boards and a flash game. Your friend?”
She blushed for a moment, before slapping her hoof into her face trying to keep calm. She was an earth pony… well to be more precise she looked like a Rarity rip off with a few small edits. Right, no half of her purple hair had been combed over her left eye, and she seemed kind of nervous, which was to be expected after nearly being eaten by a wild animal.
“I’m… a guy.” She slowly replied confusedly … as if even he/she wasn’t sure if he/she was saying it to us or to herself.
It took a few seconds for my brain to comprehend what I had just heard.
“WHAT!” I screamed out loud, nearly causing us all to fall out of the tree.
Hooves were not meant to be used for climbing trees… or without experience in said use of hooves. Wait… how did they managed to get up here in the first place? Did the pegasus fly them both up here, or did they figure out how to climb with hooves? No, focus on what the stallion, who you mistook for a mare is saying!
Rarity rip-off closed her eyes hard “MMO Game. I just made a character to test out the game mechanics, before I made my real avatar, you know? Sort of a just for laughs… now, I’m stuck in the wrong gender.”
I stared at the person in question, as it was official. Apparently I did not have the worst luck in the group so far. Hopefully, I could keep it that way and not be killed by miss Overkill (aka the only ones with weapons and armor) standing right beside her.
Overkill caught me staring at her as she rolled her eyes “Yes, I’m a girl.” She was now staring back at me trying to size me up or something “Message boards?”
I tried smiling, trying my best to make sure that I do not blow my cover as I replied “Ever play mafia? Long story short, I was waiting for night to end, as I read a message board talking about Individuals vs Groups. Then crazy laugh and I’m…” I shrugged as a motioned to myself “now I look like this.”
Overkill shook her head “There has to be more to it than that.”
I noticed the suspicion that emanated from her, as she kept glancing at my non-standard unicorn horn or stare at my mouth… possibly the teeth, since I could feel the hints of doubts; she probably wasn’t sure if it was a trick of the light or if they were actually real.
Oh, and in case you haven’t realized, there was no way in hell was I going to tell her that I was ‘apparently’ one of the villains in the game.
So, I simply lied through my teeth “It was a crazy discussion board about some argument, or bet, between the group mindset of Equestria vs Reality, including the psychological or social differences between humanity and MLP.”
It’s sad to say that comment sounded a lot saner than the actual truth.
I continued my spiel “Some people say a group is governed by the same madness, no matter what group or race they might be. In a panic, we simply follow whoever shouts the loudest, but in MLP “friendship” and their group unity would prevent them from making the same blunders as we would.”
Overkill nodded “And the game?”
I hung my head low and slowly muttered “Survivor… I was playing a survivor trying to hold out, until one of the sides won. Then before I knew it, I was suddenly stuck in a field full of… other people, and I just thought about the stories based off of those games like Mafia.”
Rarity fake shook his/her head as an apparent sign that (s)he didn’t believe me “And what is that Mafia game?” she asked out loud
I took a deep breath, as I prepared to explain it to them “Mafia is a game where a group of players that are trying to figure out who in their party is the ‘villain’, while the villains are trying to eliminate enough players, until there are as many mafi players as there are villagers. Each night, the mafia tries to kill someone. Each day, the entire town picks one person to prosecute… debate if they are a mafia member or a villager. Then depending on the votes, the person picked is either killed or gets to go free… until the next vote to prosecute someone.”
I shook my head “Of course, in stories similar to the game… The real villain is never hiding with everyone else. That leaves all the ‘villagers’ panicking, shouting accusations, and blaming each other… so running away at the time sounded like a good plan… until I got lost. What about you two?”
Overkill rubbed the back of her head “Pony in armor and people panicking? I ran trying to find the rest of my friends… only to run into a manticore. My character, Steel Wings, could solo a manticore with ease…. The real me, not so much.”
I face palmed…hoofed myself. I just saved two people who didn’t need to be saved. Still, at least I got a meal and some information out of it, so it wasn’t a complete waste. Now, I just needed to figure out a better story for the next group I run into, after I ditched these two.
Rarity rip off stood up “I think I got it!” only to nearly fell off the branch (s)he was on “It’s all a game.” Both me and Overkill groaned at her comment “I mean… we all were given clues. She was told about the situation of the land… and you were told about the situation we are in … and I was told about what happened to the land.”
We both stared at her with attention, as I already knew what she was going to say after all… I also bought the mmo game so she probably got the same speech/manual as I did.
“Equestria two hundred years in the past. Princess Celestia disappeared as darkness is slowly returning to the land.” She smiled and pointed at us “We are the heroes who are supposed to fix it which then… leads us home… I hope.”
Wait a minute! Two hundred years in the past? Discord told me it was in the future! Does that mean (s)he is lying or (s)he is actually telling the truth, but if that’s true then does that mean the information given to me was wrong?
Then again I’m trying to apply logic to the fact I was transformed into a magical pony/changeling.
“Brilliant thinking there.” Overkill replied sarcastically “Only question is how? My RPG game says kill, while the TV shows says McGuffin the foe to peace…. Or death, if you’re Sombra.”
Rarity rip off shouted “Hey! You got armor and your gender! I’m still trying to keep mind in balance as I used to have a…”
Her face brightened as she couldn’t finish the line “Stardust wasn’t a… crass pony. Have any of you experienced any… changes?”
I wasn’t the worst one in a long shot.
“Head hurts.” I winced putting my hoof on my temple for emphasis “And, I can’t seem figure out on how to use magic without shouting pew pew. Which probably makes me crappiest unicorn out of everyone who came here.”
Overkill sighed in defeat “Re… Steel Wing. I’m still myself, but now I suddenly know how to fight. I mean… I know how to use my wings and fly, but it’s just that… I don’t fly.” She looked down at the ground trying not to look us in the face “I became the character that I made… but I'm a bit… too much like me… which hinders me.”
Overkill coughed or tried not to cry “I mean, Steel Wings would have charged that manticore, and won… but I was so frightened, I forgot I could fly.”
No one spoke for a couple of minutes, as we tried to sort out everything that had just happened. Before, we could simply push it to the back of our minds, but now... that we were forced to think about it...
Each one of us had a different backstory to how we ended up here, and each story barely made any sense. I have no idea what they went through, or if they even had some sort of tutorial to help them adjust to this place, while I was stuck with Discord’s crazy version.
Of course, that’s where part of the difference between me and them. They actually knew how to use their abilities, while I was struggling to figure out how my own body worked. Then again, the Rarity copy seemed a bit… off, while Overkill seemed more annoyed at herself?
I rubbed my aching head, as none of it made any sense, while I reached into my pocket… only to find it empty. I glanced down at the ground where my fallen berries had landed, and sighed in defeat. At least my stomach wasn’t grumbling anymore.
“Anyone else try to eat any leaves?” I asked out loud and out of curiosity “I had a sandwich and some berries… which I already ate a while ago.”
Both of them shook their head and then stared at the tree branches, as their stomachs started to grumble. Rarity rip off sort of blushed and tried not to make eye contact, as Overkill didn’t exactly seem happy about the prospect of eating leaves.
I felt like groaning, as it seemed like I was apparently the only sane person here, and I was a freaking evil changeling!
I swear, I can hear Discord laughing in the back of my mind!
“Alright then…” I tried figuring out what to do next “Names? I mean we can’t exactly use our old ones… when stuck in a land full of ponies.”
Overkill stared at me in confusion “What’s wrong with our current ones?”
I tried not to face palm “Because currently I don’t know either of your names. Heck my “pony name” was just a random name from the game…” I opened my menu and then face hoofed “And it’s Grim Tale.” I groaned “Apparently a very bad pun at my current fate Miss Overkill.”
Overkill shook her head “It’s Steel Wing! I’m… Does it look like I’m?”
Rarity rip off nodded “You’re the only one in armor that could feasibly kill a manticore. I’m a medic build with herbs and potions. Earth ponies tend to be tanks or medics, and I’m not exactly a fan of tank position. Heck, even the other DPS (Damage Per Second) builds couldn’t solo a manticore at level one.”
Overkill groaned “It’s already stuck didn’t it?”
Both of us glanced at the new title that floated above her head… and I quickly glanced back at my menu, and removed my own title, before anyone saw it. I can’t believe I nearly forgot about it! It was like walking around with a bullseye floating right above my head! Especially with a title like usurper, that just screamed bad guy to any bloodthirsty wanna be do gooders around.
Overkill glanced back to Rarity rip off “And what about you Frank?”
I stared at Overkill “The name is Frank?”
Overkill rolled her eyes “He’s a guy. What else am I supposed to call him?”
“Stardust?” Rarity rip blurted out of nowhere before she off shook her head “No… frank is good… but... talking to other ponies…” She rubbed her temples with a hoof as she raised her voice in frustration “I’m stuck as Stardust now, okay! I hate being stuck as a shy pony who can’t stop blushing, or too shy to swear about how messed up her situation is!”
Both of us shook our head as it was just plain weird. How exactly did you refer to someone who got their gender swapped… and apparently a part of their mind along with it? Well for now, I’ll just have to make sure not to judge a pony by their looks, as Stardust might not be the only gender swapped pony that used to be a human.
Of course, they shouldn’t judge me by my villainish looks either… but it’s also going to be weird trying to remember to refer to him as a ‘him’ since he looks and sounds like a girl...
That’s going to leave a few awkward questions, and probably a few embarrassing conversations in the future. This was simply another reason why I should ditch these two, and continue looking out for myself. I mean they didn’t even really need my help in the first place… so let someone else play hero next time and let's just focus on surviving.
Overkill opened her mouth only to pause for a moment “uh… what is your real name?”
I could feel the hint of suspicion growing once again as I tried not to glare at her “It’s Yadrell, but if you call me Yaddy, or make any jokes about it, I will push you off the branch you’re on.” Of course I was lying, but she didn’t need to know that “What about you?”
Overkill frowned for a moment “I… can’t remember.” We stared at her waiting for her to answer “No really… I’m born in Boston Massachusetts. I have a sister and when I try to remember some of the details… I’m certain “Fillydelphia High” isn’t in the real world.”
Stardust sighed “Better than mine. My father served in the British Navy while my mother worked as a noble’s assistant in Canterlot. My brother is five foot six and my sister is just the cutest pegasus you have ever seen. I know how to field strip a MK47 like the back of my hand, and I know Canterlot like the back of my hoof.”
We both stared at her. I knew Overkill was lying as she didn’t say her real name, for the same reason I didn’t, but Star Dust? She said all of that truthfully, without any hesitation, or lies thrown into the mix, making her the most honest, if confused person in the group right now.
“I…” Know I’m going to regret this. “Did any of you… swear or… get…”
I motioned my hoof across my neck, as they both stared at me.
I shook my head “I swore in the tutorial with “learning magic with Twilight” only to have it changed into a cage match vs a manticore. Yes, I cheated and escaped the cage, before the manticore could kill me… but still.”
Overkill shook her head rapidly “No… I mean… We would know. We almost died, but…”
I sighed and tried to make it clear for her “Hundreds of people were suddenly dumped into strange bodies, that they didn’t understand. Last time I checked, they were panicking and they had no idea what they were doing.”
I closed my eyes “It would easy to be trampled… or picked off by some wild creature and die, almost like what had happened with the manticore with you two a short while ago. I don’t have any memory problems like you seem to have and I haven’t been ‘nearly killed’ since I’ve been here.”
I couldn’t help but glance at the ground beneath us, as I almost expected the manticore to be lurking underneath us “If just swearing normally summons danger than what would an area full of panicking people do? I ran because I didn’t want to know. You stayed to find your friends… I didn’t. I remember my life… but both of you have gaps.”
Overkill shouted “What exactly makes you think that ‘swearing’ summons danger?”
I rose an eyebrow as I said “Really? I swore in the tutorial and each time I did, Discord decided to make the tutorial even more dangerous for me. I saw a unicorn who kept swearing as flames danced wildly about consuming everything around him. I see little reason to believe that Discord wouldn’t pull the same trick outside the tutorial.”
Stardust began to shiver… I really need a term for him/her. Overkill looked worried… and slightly happy. I have no idea why she would be happy, but, then again, I could be wrong.
I tried to smile, hopefully calming them down a little “Then again… we all had different circumstances, which may have possibly given us different results. Tell me… did any of you get asked a question?” They stared at me, as they didn’t understand what I was getting at “I mean… before this all happened… I was asked… What’s the difference between an individual and a group?”
Overkill seemed to stare at me oddly as I stopped smiling. I felt my tongue unconsciously lick my teeth, reminding me that the standard flat pony teeth had been replaced with sharp pointy ones. I’ll need to remember to smile showing less teeth next time.
Overkill shrugged “I’ll bite. I said it’s a matter of perspective. An individual only has to look after one person and focus on their own needs. A group has to look at the group as a whole, and focus on the needs of everyone, instead of just themselves.”
Stardust blinked “Mine was an Individual is a useful perk, but they’re not needed. A group is a requirement in order for life to advance. You can say how “Special” somepony is all day, but without others they will never get far in life.”
We both glanced at eachother, as she didn’t seem to catch the verbal mix up.
I hung my head and replied “I just laugh at the comments.” They stared at me “No really… That was the answer I typed in.”
Alright, it seemed that I wasn’t the only one who was asked that question. My bitter answer gave me a different… the villain team answer came complete with functioning memory and a crazy leader, while the non-cynical or bitter answers gave various degrees of memory loss.
Overkill groaned “So either we “died” and lost a chunk of our memory… or our answers got to pick how fucked up our memories are!”
‘Snape’
She screeched as the branch suddenly, inexplicably, broke underneath her. I reached out to grabbed her hoof… well tried as best as I could, as she grabbed my arm nearly dragging me down with her. Just then, two timberwolves had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, growling and snarling underneath us.
Stardust, for her part, helped me lift Overkill back up, making a note that she was a lot stronger then her delicate figure would suggest, as I tried to find another tree branch big enough for the heavily armored pegasus to be on.
Overkill screamed at me “Why didn’t you grab my arm, and help pull me up!”
I held my hooves up at her “I tried, but I don’t know how to grab things with these stumps.”
Stardust sunk her head into my back as she sounded exhausted “Okay… new Rule… No pony swears.”
Overkill rolled her eyes “You can’t possibly be fucking...”
‘Snape’
We both lunged forward grabbing Overkill before she fell, again, as even more Timberwolves suddenly came out of the woods, just waiting for one of us to fall from the tree. Overkill was now firmly holding me as tightly as she could. I felt my face burn red and I will admit... I never had two girls so close to me like this before. No, I’m not gay… I just never really cared about relationships and so forth.
“New rule…” I tried to move out of their grasp, only to feel a hoof on my back “No… sh… Frigdy Frag.”
I quickly caught myself before I actually swore, and caused something worse to happen, which was kind of hard to picture at the moment. Right now, Overkill was staring at my wings which had popped out of my jacket, as Stardust had her face buried in my back muttering in shock or something.
I will kill whoever made this ‘swear curse’ when I find them, even if I have to beat them to death with my bare hands!
“Grim?” Overkill spoke in confusion as a disconcerting silent pause settle around us, as even the Timberwolves growls seemed to have faded from the background. No one was uttering a word in that brief moment as time just seemed to had stop dead.
I could feel Stardust’s confusion spiraling out as she didn’t know what was going on. I could feel Overkill’s emotions erupt in a blaze of shock, confusion, and doubt. The entire world seemed to disappear from my sense, except for my throbbing heartbeat and for the two people that stood right beside myself, as they realized that something was off about me.
“Don’t kill me with fire...” Was all I could reply, before everything suddenly went dark for me.
******
I yawned opening my eyes as a throbbing pain came from the back of my head. My back felt sore as something heavy was on my chest. I was just starting to prepare myself to tell my cat to get off me before I had to get up… only to see a sleeping face… a pony face instead. In a sudden wave of panic, I quickly scooted away nearly falling out of the tree, as I grabbed the branches before I fell.
I looked up at the skies as the faint trickle of the sun broke through the canopy, telling me it was day time. The soft sounds of birds chirping in the air made me realize just how far away from home I was. The alien sensation of my new limps reinforced themselves, along with the all gnawing fear that came with them.
The memories of the past twenty four hours rushed to me. I had started up that MLP game. The confusion and terror that stuck as my entire world had turned upside down. To make things even worse, I had just managed to blow half of my secret in just one day to two complete strangers!
Maybe I could run away before they woke up.
“Don’t move so suddenly Yadrell.” Overkill yawned as she stared at me.
“Oh…Fu…” I bit on my lip forcing myself not to finish “ffff… It wasn’t a dream. How much did I say last night?”
Stardust pulled a brush out of her saddlebag and replied “Not much. You tried to explain. Overkill freaked out. You got hit in the head, and we just…” She blushed and then quickly glared at the brush she was somehow holding, before she shoved it in the bag “… I hate this!”
I didn’t know what she meant by that as I rubbed the back of my head “Why did someone hit me in the back of my head?”
Overkill closed her eyes as she muttered in embarrassment “I panicked alright.” she looked down, as she obviously felt bad about it in hindsight. Once she looked up and locked eyes with me, she tried to get a good footing on the tree branches, as if preparing for a fight “Now, you better answer our questions right now.”
Keeping an eye on the hoof blades, I smiled nervously at her trying to make sure I didn’t show my teeth. I wanted to make sure that they didn’t try to use me to test the re-spawn theory “I have no idea!”
Overkill nodded her head “Okay then, let's start with this, what’s with the jagged horn, the pointed teeth and to top it off why didn’t you tell us you were an alicorn of all things!”
I felt the nagging sense of her emotions slowly trickle over to me. She was tired… she was uneasy about me… and oddly enough I could feel a sense of fear coming from her. I stared at her face as I could see the damp matted fur and the bags underneath her eyes. She wasn’t staring at me with conviction… but fear.
“Do you realize how insane that sounds?” I snapped back “I just heard a crazy laugh before I got sucked into this mess! I nearly died during the tutorial.”
That glare she was giving me… She wasn’t buying it. I could feel the combination of fear and uncertainty mixing together as she glared at me. She thought I was hiding something and she wasn’t about to let go.
“So the teeth and horn are just part if some sort of cosmetic pack. ” she spoke with dripping sarcasm “You are just your ordinary run of the mill alicorn who just so happens not to have any missing memory problems either!”
She raised one of her clawed boot, was raised against my neck as I began to sweat. If just having a set of wings and a horn got me this much trouble, then just how bad would the Changeling package give me?
I spoke up in a panic, trying to save my own skin “ I… I... started out as a pegasus, who got kicked off a cloud, into a pit full of spikes! Then, after nearly dying, I was turned into a unicorn, just before they threw me into a cage match against a fucking manticore!”
‘Snape’
The branch broke, as I fell to the ground before they could catch me. Lo and behold, the manticore from last night had come back… complete with drooling teeth and pissed off attitude. I wasted no time and screamed at the top of my lungs, as I unleashed my magic shot. I tried to slow my descent, by flapping my wings as the manticore charged at me.
Instead of being torn apart, or being mauled by an overgrown cat, I landed safely on the ground. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Overkill had come crashing down on the Manticore’s back. Overkill had slammed her clawed boots, leaving a bloody gash across its shoulder, as I personally didn’t question why she came down to help me.
The manticore roared, as it managed to dislodge Overkill off itself. The manticore turned around and prepared to maim her, as it now marked her as the biggest threat. Just then, Stardust came falling down from the tree landing on the Manticore’s wounds, causing it to scream in pain, as I tried firing off a few more magic attacks at its face, as I could feel a increasing knot in my stomach.
The manticore ran towards the forest, throwing Stardust from it’s back before it fled from us. Overkill and Stardust cheered in joy, having beat the manticore that had tried to eat them last night. In the middle of their celebration I felt my horn suddenly switch to feeding mode, as it just latched onto the rush of joy both of them were feeling right now. I quickly tried to cut it off, as they turned to face me again, as my body felt a lot better.
Planting my feets into the ground to take a firm stance, I prepared myself for a fight if needed. I didn’t know how my feeding ability worked, but I was now a lot more energised while they probably weren’t feeling any better fighting a manticore, after not having anything to eat.
“Alright…” Overkill huffed slightly in exhaustion “Apparently, fighting is a lot more tiring in real life.”
Stardust grumbled for a moment “It’s worse when the body doesn’t like to fight.”
Overkill glared back at me and roared “Answers. Now!”
“I don’t know anything!” I replied with strength in my voice, taking a ready stance and with magic prepped for back me up if needed it. “I didn’t get to pick anything. Heck, I could have ended up as a freaking breezie! The better question is why you two know more about this whole mess than I do!”
“What?” Overkill shouted, baffle “We know more?”
“You got the intro that tells you what’s happening to us.” I quickly countered as I tried to place her on the defensive “You have equipment. You know how your body works and all the tricks to it. You know a hell of a lot more than I do!”
They stared at me in disbelief. I was loud, angry, and mostly honest with them. Overkill prepared to charge at me, only for Stardust to suddenly stand in between us, holding us off from coming to blows. She stared back at Overkill with a steely gaze not flinching for a moment, but Overkill didn’t stop glaring back at me.
Then, Stardust turned her attention on to me and tried to smile as she attempted to be as nonthreatening as possible “Look… messed up situations aside. Why did you run?”
“From you?” I yelled back, as I motioned towards Overkill’s bloody boots.
Stardust shook her head “No, From the other po..., heh, I mean people. You were alone in that tree and there are a ton of people walking around in these woods. Why were you out here all by yourself of all things?” her eyes looked weary but sharp, why the hell didn’t I see that before?
I chuckled in slight disbelief that they weren’t trying to kill me right then and there “Hello, didn’t you just hear me? Mafia? Stories like this?” I pointed at my gnarled horn and a sharp fanged smile, as well stretching out my wings “The odd one gets the bloody axe first. I don’t know the full story, but I know a death call when I see it.” I yelled that last part out, with my wings completely flared up at its full span reflecting how strung up I was.
Stardust, to her credit didn’t flinch at the display, and waved her hooves at me in a placating gesture, getting me to calm down to be reason with.
Overkill sighed, as she still looked at me bitterly “And the rest? I mean… you’re not tired.”
“And it’s currently keeping you two from killing me.” I quickly countered “Besides, I actually ate something last night!”
Stardust looked back at Overkill firmly but placating “Look, He’s panicked and exhausted, and quite frankly, so are we all.” (S)he then looked back at me with a calming soothing smile, as if trying to reassure me that she didn’t mean any harm “Now, you just keep your wings hidden, until we find a better way to hide them.” hearing that from her, I was stunned in surprise that she was willing to help keep my secret for me instead of getting ready to nail me to a stake like Overkill was.
I blinked in disbelief as Overkill shouted “What?”
Stardust glared back at the human turned pegasus again “Okay then, we are all got the raw end here. I’m stuck with a confused identity. He’s stuck in a body he can’t use. Until we get some real answers, we can’t jump to conclusions!”
Overkill shouted “But he’s hiding something!” Pointing a hoof claw at me for emphasis.
Stardust kept blocking her way again, forehooves stretch out, in case she was at it again. I felt a little bit confused, as just a few moments ago she was acting more like meek Fluttershy than just planting her hoof down and straight up standing up to someone as literally intimidating as Overkill. This wasn’t fluttershy protectiveness, but something you would see closer to Rainbow Dash or maybe Applejack protectiveness.
Seeing that there were no other choices available, I sighed and relented to her question “Alright… When I was asked the question I replied… individuals are smart caring people who can see reason. Groups are just a mass of madness and stupidity. It maybe a pessimistic answer, but one I stand by. How do you think I would have lasted if everyone else saw me as the only alicorn?”
Overkill winced “Alright… I see your point… but why lie to us or not tell us that you got an alicorn package?”
“Because, I didn’t trust you!” I shrieked back at them “I didn’t want to see you two die, but that doesn’t mean I’ll share my life story with you… and yes Yadrell really is my real name.” Which was of course a big fat lie. “What about your stories? Wouldn’t it have been easy to find a someone else wearing armor, when no one else started with any of the fancy gear you're wearing?” I quirked an eyebrow on that last part.
Overkill flinched at getting a taste of her own medicine, as she sheepishly replied “I panicked. I didn’t believe this was happening… I…” She hung her head in defeat “Alright… fresh start.” She held out her hoof “My name is Steel Wing, but my friends call me Overkill.”
I grabbed the hoof… or tried to “How do you even?” She huffed, as I shook my head “Sorry. My name’s Yadrell. Currently I’m trying to stay alive.”
Stardust wore an honest smile “My name is Stardust. I’m from Canterlot…” and then slapped herself in the face “And I should be locked in an insane asylum until I stop going crazy.” She glanced back at me “Personally, I’d give up being able to hold stuff, if it meant being able to talk normally.”
I nodded back to the crazy pegasus and the gender confused earth pony as I replied “Alright. It’s official. We are all crazy people stuck together searching for the insane idiot to beat up, once we figure out who’s responsible for this mess!” I was trying to be serious, but I couldn’t stop a smile from creeping up my face.
Overkill smiled, as Stardust chuckled for a moment, a brief moment.
“Now what about…” Overkill slowly stared until she saw something nearby.
I turned my head and groaned, as the manticore we had previously beaten just came back growling, apparently ready for round two.
“Oh come fucking on!” I screamed out loud “I just got out of a fucking mess, and saved my fucking ass, only to just keep being fucked around by all the bullshit that fills this insane world! Now, get the fuck out of here, you piece of shit, unless you want me to magically skull ript your eyes out with my god damned fucking magic horn!”
The manticore whimpered as it ran away. Stardust and Overkill stared at me in shock for a moment, as they heard my rather long list of swears. I tried to smile, as I felt the ground shake underneath my feet.
“What’s normally found in starter zones?” I asked not even bothered to looking behind me. “I’m going to guess that dragons aren’t part of the course.”
They both nodded.
I smiled “And that’s why I’m stuck as an Alicorn. I broke the system by cheating and swearing… a lot.”
With a roar that would make Godzilla proud, I ran before I could see the dragon as my two new insane partners bolted with me. Sometimes… just sometimes… you have to summon the bigger fish just to avoid being eaten by the smaller ones.
I highly doubt they will ask me any sensitive questions after all this… if we survive that is.