//------------------------------// // Sound of Body and of Mind // Story: The Peaceful Warrior: Jedi in Training // by Valiant Knight //------------------------------// Paul awoke and lifted his hands to rub his eyes and keep himself from falling back asleep. As he lifted his head to look around, he saw the same hospital room as the previous days. This time though, he saw it for what it was, rather than what he had believed it was. He looked around saw his hospital room, rather than a dreamscape keeping him trapped in his mind. He saw it, and he thought about his home. He thought about his house, his dog, his job, his friends, and his family. He thought about his… everything. His everything that he had been forced to leave behind. He thought about all of the experiences he would never get to have, like making a family, like visiting New York City, like retiring to a country home in his later years. He had just lost out on over half a life of experiences, and now he was stuck in some ponyland! He thought about it, and he got mad. He just lost it, he started screaming and yelling at the walls, asking, begging, and ordering them. Anything for them to take him back. He just wanted to go home. At some point he looked up and noticed the nurse was in the room, accompanied by the guards, and he saw their expressions of pity. “Get out!” He yelled at them, tears in his eyes. “Get out! I don't want you in here! I just want to go home!” His anger dissolved into sobs as he continued to try and be angry at them. “I just want to go home…” He muttered weakly. The ponies looked at him and backed out of the room, not wanting to disturb him any more. When Paul finally got control over his emotions, he buried his anger and started thinking about his situation. “How can I get home?” He thought, this one prevailing above the others. “Can I ask the ponies? Would they help me after the way I treated them?” Paul got more and more thoughts questioning what to do and how to do it. He sat there thinking, getting overwhelmed by the questions his brain was throwing at him. He suddenly wished that he could walk so that he could go and clear his head. Any physical activity could focus his mind, and hone his suppressed anger, toward getting himself home. Sadly though, he was still bedridden. He hadn't left the bed for the past five days according to the nurse. He also hadn't had any sentient contact with anyone other than the visitors the day before and Nurse Tenderheart who came and brought him food or took him to the bathroom. Paul rubbed his face with his hand, trying to keep his focus. It didn't work however as his mind quickly relapsed into wondering when he would get out of the hospital. “Well if it wasn't for that wooden dog that ripped my arm to shreds, I'd be fine,” he thought. He looked down at his arms where the bandages had been. After a second of staring and wondering what was different, he finally realized. The bandages were off. And not only that. But there wasn't even a mark to signify that it was ever there. No scar. This baffled Paul. His wound had been healed so entirely as to even mend the scar tissue. This made him wonder not only how advanced the medical system was, but also if it had healed him enough to let him walk. He decided to try and stand, then go from there. Paul slowly sat up, then turned himself to hang his legs over the edge of the bed. He put his feet on the ground, slowly putting weight onto each, trying to see if they could actually support him before trusting them entirely. He was finally up, standing on his own two feet for the first time in almost a week. He stood tall and started to look around, but then all of the blood rushed from his head to his legs, making him lightheaded and blacking out his vision for a few seconds. He almost fell over, but took a step to steady himself and was able to keep his balance. Once it passed, he took another tentative step forward, reacclimating to walking after being immobile. He started to gain more confidence and took increasingly larger and faster steps. He was soon walking around the room with normal his stride and gait. Feeling confident in himself now, he strode to the door and opened it, stooping to go through. However, when he opened the door, the guards turned and pointed their weapons at him. After they got over their shock at seeing him up and moving, they put down their weapons and one spoke to him. “I'm sorry sir, but I have to ask you to remain in your room until the nurse can come and clear you for release.” Paul wasn't in the mood for an argument, so he listened to his guards. “Alright, but getting her here now would make this easier on all of us.” The guards nodded to him, and as he closed the door, Star Glow went to go get the nurse. He returned with her in tow a few minutes later, walking in to find Paul laying on the bed. “Hello, nurse,” Paul greeted, sounding as if he'd rather have already left. “Hello, sir,” she greeted in return. “I'm going to get right into the check up, if you don't mind.” “Alright,” Paul said, getting out of bed and standing up. “Go ahead.” The nurse looked both pleased and slightly astonished. “I did not expect you to heal quite that quickly, I expected another day or two at least,” she said as she approached him and began her inspection. She was quickly finished and she was surprised by just how healthy he had suddenly become. She knew part of it was from the healing spells, but they shouldn't have finished quite so quickly. “You seem to be fine,” she said. “I don't see a scratch on you anywhere. I just can't explain how fast it happened.” “That’s odd, I thought I healed so fast because of your treatments,” Paul said. “I can tell you that humans normally would take weeks for that to heal, and it would still leave a scar.” “Well, if neither of us can explain it, then I say that we should just leave it be,” she said. “You seem to be healthy and I think you can leave the hospital today if you want. I will go retrieve your things, follow me.” Paul and his guards followed Nurse Tenderheart through the hallways of the hospital and to the storage room. The nurse went in, grabbed his bag and clothes, and came back out. She handed the human his stuff and continued on. When they arrived at the front desk, Paul paused to put on his shoes, and when he stood up, Tenderheart gave Paul a clip board with a form on it. “I don't expect you to pay anytime too soon, but I want you to be aware that you have a standing balance with this hospital,” she explained. “I see,” Paul said, taking the clipboard. “And how much money is it?” “184 bits,” the nurse answered. “And is that especially expensive?” He asked. “No, not especially, but it is a considerable amount, more than a week’s wages,” she answered again. “Ah, thank you,” he said, giving it back. “I think that you should keep it, because I will lose it or destroy it by accident. Thank you for understanding though.” “Anytime, goodbye for now,” she said. “And to you,” Paul returned as he departed, guards in tow. Paul left the hospital and observed his surroundings. He turned to the guards. “Where does the purple one from yesterday live?” Paul asked them. “Ms. Twilight? She lives in the library, over that way,” Star Glow answered as he pointed towards a massive tree in another part of town. “I see, then let's go that way,” Paul said, taking his large strides towards the tree. As he walked through the town, lost in his own thoughts, Paul didn't notice any of the frightened stares he, a half-clothed biped, was receiving from the locals as he walked through the town, the guards following close behind. He didn even notice the pink pony gasp when she saw him, then disappear off to go do something. After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at a large hollow tree with windows and a door built into the side. A sign outside read “Golden Oaks Library.” Impressively, the tree was still very much alive. Paul stopped and stared for a moment. “Well that just gives a whole new meaning to ‘tree house,’” he said. He chuckled a bit at his own pun. Star Shine walked up to the door and knocked. Paul watched as the door was answered by a small purple reptile. The lizard thing looked surprised to see the guard. “Oh, hello Star Glow,” he said. “What brings you here today?” “Wrong again Spike, I'm Shine,” Star Shine said, eliciting a sigh from ‘Spike.’ “But it's alright. Anyways, I'm here to bring him to see Twilight.” Shine gestured over his shoulder to Paul. Spike peaked around Star Shine to see who it was, but when he caught sight of the six foot human he froze, terrified of the unknown creature. “He's alright Spike,” Shine reassured. “He just has some questions.” “O-okay, if you s-say so,” Spike answered, opening the door to let them in. As soon as Shine and Paul had entered, Spike quickly closed the door and ran to go get Twilight. He wanted nothing to do with the intimidating creature. Paul and Star Shine sat down on the couch in the living room, waiting for the owner of the house to enter. They didn't have to wait long, as Twilight soon entered. She took one look at Paul and her face lit up. “Wow! Spike said that ‘a big scary thing on two legs’ was at the door, but I wasn't sure if it'd be you or not! I just didn't expect you to be up so soon, I mean not that you're sca--” “Ma'am, you're rambling,” Star Shine cut in respectfully. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “What do you need?” “I want to find a way home,” Paul answered. “Simple as that. I was taken from my world and dumped into a new one, full of talking animals no less. Sorry, no offense, it's just that humans are the only ones that talk where I'm from.” “Oh, it's alright,” Twilight answered. “You're just experiencing very intense culture shock. It's to be expected that you slip up. Though, regarding getting home, I don't know if that's going to be possible. If it is, then it will be extremely improbable. “Star Swirl the Bearded theorized that there are an infinite number of universes, each similar to the last, but not quite the same. So essentially, even if breaking the walls of our universe is possible, then finding the one where you came from would be statistically impossible.” “Never tell me the odds,” Paul quoted, feeling no less determined to make it home. “Though that does sound to me like the Multiverse Theory.” “Ooh, I like that,” Twilight said. She pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. “‘Multiverse Theory.’” “So, do you have anybody well versed in the manipulation of space-time?” Paul asked. “Because it sounds like we’d need an expert.” “Well, there are the Princesses,” Twilight said. “They are the most powerful beings on the planet. If they couldn't help you, then I don't know who could. We could go visit them in Canterlot.” “Well then, we’re off to see the wizard,” Paul said. He got up and went to open the door, only to be met with a pink pony running in past him, pushing him outside the door, and closing it behind him. Once Paul recovered, he turned and went to open the door. However, when he opened it, he saw that the lights had been turned off. He opened the door all the way and stepped inside. Suddenly an explosion of light and sound hit him. “SURPRISE!” “Gah! What?!” Paul asked bewildered. The room, in the seconds between leaving and coming back, had been decked out for a party. Streamers, balloons, snacks, cake, everything. It wasn't there, and then it was. “How…?” He asked. “This is your Welcome-to-Ponyville/Welcome-to-Equestria party!” The pink one called as she bounced around. “My name’s Pinkie Pie, what's yours?” “Um, hi,” Paul started. “My name is--” “Pinkie! You can't just do that without warning!” Twilight scolded. “I'm fine with you doing it, just not without at least a few minutes to prepare.” “Sorry Twilight. I just got so excited!” Twilight seemed satisfied with the apology. “Wait,” Paul cut in. “You set all of this up in the dark in under ten seconds, with other ponies in the room?” “Yepperooni!” She exclaimed. Paul sat down and held his head in his hands. “How… How does that even--? What?” He felt contact on his shoulder, it was Shine's hoof. "There’s no explanation for it, she just does impossible stuff. You just learn not to question it.” Paul looked at him. “Yeah, that's gonna take awhile, because that just breaks my brain. It takes everything I ever knew, smashes it with a sledgehammer, then throws it out the window into a woodchipper and burns the pieces before burying the ashes in the deepest hole it can find.” Shine just stared at him, confused. “Uh, okay, if you say so.” Paul stood up and looked at the party decor. “You know what? Whatever. Let's have a quick party, but then it's off to see the wizard.” <<<==>>> Three hours later, Paul, Twilight, Pinkie, and the Stars were on their way to the train station. The guards were going to see the group to the station then return to their posts, and Pinkie would do the same, returning to her job at the bakery. Paul was lost in his thoughts again. “As much as I want to get home, this place isn't so bad to be stuck in,” he thought at one point. “The ponies are friendly and seem to really want to help me home.” As they walked, they had to pass through the market. When they did though, it went silent. All of the ponies in the market stopped whatever they were doing and stared at the strange creature in their midst. Soon though, many of them shrugged and went back to whatever they had been doing before. But an orange mare accompanied by a sky-blue pegasus walked up to the group. “Well howdy there Twilight,” the orange one said in a southern accent. Then she turned to Paul. “An’ you must be the one Rainbow here said she saw. Howdy, I'm Applejack.” “Hello Applejack,” Paul replied. “It's nice to meet you.” “Hi,” the pegasus said. “I'm Rainbow Dash. I, uh… I went to get Twilight when you collapsed at the edge of the town.” “Oh, yeah that. Those wolf things were really tough. The second one didn't go down in the first hit,” Paul responded. “That's what gave me that cut.” “Hold it! You took on not just one, but two Timberwolves? An’ you only got a scratch? You must be one mighty warrior. I reckon I don't know anypony who’s taken on two Timberwolves at once.” “Actually,” Paul started, running his hands through his hair. “It was really just luck. I blindly swung and happened to hit them. I'm lucky to even be alive.” “Wait wait wait,” Twilight cut in. “You killed them by accident? I followed your blood trail back to the two Timberwolves, and when I saw them, I thought you must be some bloodthirsty beast or dangerous warrior! But it was all just luck?” “Yeah, sorry to disappoint, but it was my weapon that saved me,” Paul responded. “Oh, can we see it?” Rainbow asked. When Paul looked hesitant, she gave him the puppy eyes. “Please?” Paul thought about it, leaning towards saying no, but then he saw Pinkie's puppy eyes. "Now that's just cheating," he thought. "Nothing should be able to be that cute." “Fine,” Paul relented, not able to stand the cuteness. “Follow me, we need to get away from the crowd.” The group walked for ten minutes, passing the train station, and making it to a small wooded area outside of town. Paul walked up to a random tree. “Will anyone care if this tree goes away?” He asked. “I don't think anypony will miss this one tree,” Twilight answered. “Especially not if it goes down in the name of science!” “Are you sure? There's no Lorax or anything to be aware of?” He reiterated. “A what now?” Applejack asked. “Don't worry about it,” Paul said. “Just watch this.” He reached his right hand down to his waist pulled out his lightsaber, splitting it into its halves and activating the right hand. “This is a lightsaber,” Paul said. “The blade is made of superheated plasma. Have you heard of the phrase, ‘like a hot knife through butter?’” The ponies nodded. “Well, it really should be ‘like a lightsaber through’--” At this point, Paul made a downward strike on the tree so that it would fall away from the group. “--‘just about anything,’” he finished. The top half of the tree slid downward along the slice and tipped over, leaving the assembled ponies in shock. Paul made a quick level cut across the base of the tree to make it seem like a normal stump. “And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I defeated two Timberwolves by accident,” he stated as he began to walk back to the train station. <<<==>>> After they had recovered from their collective shock, the ponies caught up with Paul as he arrived at the train station. “Wait just a minute!” Applejack called. When she caught up, she turned to him. “Just how does that thing work?” “Well I’m not able to get too far into the specifics,” Paul started, the others arriving. “But as far as I know, some kind of super-mega battery runs absolutely massive amounts of electrical power through a special crystal in the handle, which either turns the energy into plasma, which is then superheated, or somehow produces superheated plasma.” Paul paused here and though for a second. Then he shook his head. “No, I’m least sure of that part really, but I do know that the output is an unlimited beam of pure superheated plasma that loops back into the handle. The final product is a blade that can cut through all known materials. Well, except one really weird creature’s hide, but that doesn't matter. It can cut through any material it might face here.” Applejack looked like she was still stuck at battery, as did everypony else except Twilight and, surprisingly, Star Glow. “Wow! That's incredible! You have forms of electricity?” Twilight asked. “Yes, humans have conquered the earth through use of technology, innovation, and, sadly, no small amount of violence. But let’s save that conversation for a later time. We’re about ready to board the train I think,” Paul said. “But if the Princesses are able to send you home, then we won't have another time to have this conversation,” Pinkie pointed out. “Do you really think that if they can send me home, that they will be able to do it immediately, with no preparation?” Paul asked. “I would guess days of preparation in looking for spells, setting up rune circles, and other various magic-y things. Though, all I know about magic is from fantasy games.” “You do have a point,” Twilight conceded. “Some forms of magic, depending on how powerful or complex, can require a week or more of preparation. If it takes longer than a few days for them to prepare, then we should come back here to Ponyville." “Alright, I like that idea. Let's get on the train and go see some Princesses!” Paul said before turning to the group. “I bid you all farewell until next we meet!” “Goodbye!” The group called as Paul and Twilight walked away to buy their tickets and board the train. As Paul was about to step onto the train, he looked back and saw the group leaving. “May the Force be with you!” He called to them. He boarded the train without listening or looking for a response. He sat down next to Twilight and waited for the train to depart. “Well, anything I should know about the Princesses before we get to the castle?” Paul asked, just looking for something to pass the time. Twilight squeed. It was a rather quiet one, but still a squee nonetheless. "Yay! I get to give you a full comprehensive history of Equestria and the Princesses!" It was then, that Paul knew he had messed up.