As years passed Nero found new a amazing things about the world around her, her favorite thing was The Elements of Harmony, the greatest legend in Equestria. Everyday during, well anytime she would read about the elements. She didn’t really talk to the other ponies at the orphanage. She just studied and read her fiction novels. Nurse Care thought Nero could use somepony to interact with, so she found somepony. They were both around the same age. They were about nine years old. This ponies name was Vinyl Scratch. Yes the DJ many of you all know was an orphan, well at least in this world. The both got along very well as the both enjoyed music. But later on something happened. One day Nero woke up and Vinyl was gone, nopony knew what happened to her she was just gone. She left a note saying not to look for her. She was fulfilling her dream. This took a toll on Nero for the worst. She mainly stayed in her room after Vinyl left, only coming out on normal occasions to do her daily things…
< Five years later >
Nero was in her room reading one of her fiction novels meant for a more older audience.
“Huh, seems like he’s gonna die...” Nero continued to read her gorey novel then got to a spot and stopped “Yep, predictable.” Nurse Care walked in and saw Nero on her bed reading.
“Oh, am I interrupting?” Nero shook her head “Okay good, what are you reading?”
“Oh it’s a novel about this group of ponies traveling to a distant planet because of some distress call they got and then it turns out everypony is dead on that plant and it’s overrun by these alien zombie hybrids.” Nurse Care just stared at Nero
“Wow… sounds, um interesting...”
“Eh...The deaths are so predictable… but it does have a interesting story.” Nurse Care smiled
“Well le-”
“The main character sounds kinda hot.” Nurse Care stared at Nero. “What? Gotta like something other than the blood, guts, and story.” Nurse Care shook her head rapidly then continued her sentence.
“Well, um, Clark would like to see you.” Nero ears pointed up in curiosity. “Come with me.” Nero followed Nurse Care to Feather Pin’s office. Of course Nero just referred to Feather Pin as just Clark, as that was his last name. Once they reached Clark’s office they both walked in.
“There’s my two lovely mares!” Nero and Nurse Care both smiled. “Alright, so Nero you are probably wondering why I had Care bring you here. Aren’t you?” Nero nodded her head. “Well, I am happy to let you know, we found somepony who would like to adopt you!” Nero’s eyes widened.
“Really!” Clark nodded “Who? What’s their name? What do they look like? Are they married?”
“Why don’t you ask her.” Clark motioned for somepony to come in and Nero heard the door behind her open. Nero turned around and saw a light brown unicorn with straight slate blue mane and tail and her cutie mark was a stethoscope wrapped around a writing feather and a clipboard.
“Hello!” The unicorn said “My name is Jane Care. I am a Psychiatrist and I’m Sarah's sister, or as you call her Nurse Care.” Nero turned to Nurse Care and she waved. “So, you like to read I heard?” Nero nodded.
“Yeah, it’s really the only thing I do around here anymore ever since Vinyl left.”
“Oh, that’s right your friend left. I’m sorry, but hey just wait you’ll meet more friends. Some you won’t forget.” Jane walked up to Clark and said something that Nero couldn’t hear. They just whispered a couple things. When they finished they walked over to Nero.
“Well, Nero are you ready to live your life?” Nero nodded then gave Clark a hug. When they finished Nero walked over to Nurse Care, aka Sarah, and gave her a hug.
“I promise I’ll come back and visit.” Nero finished saying goodbye then went to go pack her things…
< A Few hours later >
“So, what do you think?” Nero looked around at Jane’s house. It was big, to say the least. And to say the most, the walls had many paintings and pictures of Jane, what Nero assumed were her parents and friends, and Sarah. Many other pictures had Jane and some child. Nero assumed that these random children were some of Jane’s patients since she is a Psychiatrist. Nero looked around some more and saw some flowers and some books. After looking around Nero looked at Jane
“I like it.” Jane smiled then told Nero follow her as Jane grabbed Nero’s bags and brought them upstairs
“Okay.” Jane said as she set down Nero’s bags in front of one of the many doors that flooded the upstairs hallway. “This here is your room, I haven’t need much use for a guest bedroom but now that we’re gonna be living together I have use for this room.” Nero just looked at the door “Okay, well I got some paper work I gotta file, so I’ll be downstairs if you need me.” Jane walked downstairs and Nero opened the door. When the room was in full view Nero was awestruck. The room was beautiful. Nero’s new room had a little window seat she could read from and look at the beautiful landscape. The room had furniture and even it’s own bathroom, Nero was at home. When Nero got done, admiring her new room. She heard Jane call her name…
< Five years later >
“Surprise!” Nero had just entered her home and she was surprised by Jane, Sarah, and Clark as they had planned a party to celebrate her nineteenth birthday.
“I knew something was up when you guys wanted me to go look at instruments.” Jane came over and hugged Nero.
“How's it feel to be nineteen?”
“Oh, it feels like I’m getting older”
“Wait until your my age.” Nero snickered at Clark’s comment. Then they all had fun watching Nero open Clark’s, Sarah’s, and Jane’s gift they had given her. Clark gave nero a guitar, even though she was a pegasus and may have a hard time playing it she didn’t care. Sarah got Nero a bracelet that had small little green gems in it and a quote. The quote read. True Friends are never apart, maybe in distance, but never in heart. Jane gave Nero and old version of a history book on Equestria. Nero gave each of them a hug for their gifts. After they were done with Nero’s party, Clark and Sarah left and Nero went to her room. When Nero went into her room her attention was drawn to her bed, more specifically what was on her bed. There was a medium sized box wrapped in black and white wrapping. Nero walked over to it and looked at it. When Nero was done trying to guess what it was she opened it. There was a long black box, a locket necklace, and a note. Nero took a look inside the locket and there was a picture already in it. It was Nero’s sister. Nero took a look at the note and it was again another note from her parents, the note read
Dear, Nero
We hope you enjoyed your nineteenth birthday and enjoy this locket, we had one remaining picture of Z for you. The empty slot however is for your special somepony, keep it empty until you find that special pony that makes you happy. And the box. Open it when your special day comes our little moony
Happy birthday, Love Your parents.
Nero began to tear up. She had no idea how she was getting these, or why her parents had these little ‘gifts’ waiting for a time like this. Nero didn’t care, this was amazing.
“Wow, and I thought my gift was good.” Nero turned around and saw Jane in her doorway. Jane walked over to Nero and sat down next to her. “So, that’s Z. Huh, Sarah never really told me much other than she was a zebra.”
“Did you know my parents”
“Not really. Sarah and Clark talked to them more than I did.” Nero looked back down at the letter from her parents. “But what I do know about them is that they loved you and your sister more than anything in the world. And they would never give you two up… even if it cost them their lives...” Jane put her foreleg around Nero. “And I would do the same...”
< A few days later >
“Did this really happen?” Nero and Jane both had just read that a mare in downtown Manehatten had been murdered, by multiple stab wounds to the chest.
“Yes, unfortunately this is the world we live in today. The princesses discover new technology and weapons and the world goes nuts.” Nero just stared at the newspaper they were reading. Jane closed the newspaper and got up. “Well I best be going. I’ll be back in a hour or so.”
“Explain to me why you have to go to work so late again?”
“Just some papers I forgot at work. Don’t worry I won’t be gone long. But by the time I get back you’ll be asleep.” Nero nodded. “Alright goodnight.” Jane kissed Nero on the forehead then headed out. Nero got off the couch then headed up to her room. Nero go into her room and put her necklace and bracelet on her night stand then fell asleep.
Later that night something odd happened, Jane still was at work and Nero was sound asleep, while she was asleep, something strange happened. Nero’s necklace began to glow then it changed it’s color. Her necklace went from neon green to black and white. However this isn’t the only weird thing that happened that night. Nero was having the most bizarre dream she will ever have..
<<O>>
Nero’s dream was a large world filled with tilted floating buildings, signs, and sidewalks. Nero looked around her.
“Hello?” Nero said to the emptiness of floating buildings, signs, and sidewalks. As she spoke her voice echoed throughout the weird world. “Hello?” Nero repeated “Is anypony here?” Nero got the same answer as before, her own echoing voice. Nero sat down and thought to herself. ‘What is this place? Is this my dream?’ Nero then noticed a large bright orange sphere of to her side. She walked over to the sphere and as she got closer Nero could hear fire, but as she looked around she saw no sign of any fire whatsoever. She then realized that the sound of fire was emitting from the sphere, Nero got right up to the sphere… and it spoke to her…
“We are coming, Child of the damned! Our fires will burn all you love!” Nero jumped back, the voice that spoke sounded as if multiple voices were speaking at once each voice similar, but each voice at a different pitch. Nero began to back up from the orb then she ran in the opposite direction of the sphere, before she reached the end of the platform she was on. Nero sat down and closed her eyes, then something shined in her face. Something red. Nero opened her eyes and looked at the shining object, it was her necklace, her necklace was red.
“What? You weren’t red before.” Her necklace changed its colors back to it’s normal neon green color “Alright, whatever this place is starting to mess with me.” After a few minutes of complete silence, Nero’s necklace changed colors… again… this time it changed to a swirl of black and white. “Another color change!? The last one didn’t really bring nice things.” Nero began to look around her for the orange sphere or anything else that is weird and terrifying. She saw nothing and heard nothing. Nero stopped turning around in circles, she just sat there and looked around.
“Are you looking for us?” Nero turned around and saw two floating orbs that seemed to be little white and black fireballs.
“Who and what are you!?” Nero paused “And are you two on fire?” The white orb, who had a mare's voice, spoke first.
“I’m Yin.” The black, stallion voiced orb spoke next
“Yang. And to answer the fire question, no. The whole fire looking thing is just for aesthetics.”
“Oh, but if your names are Yin and Yang, shouldn’t Yin be black and Yang be white?” Yin and Yang stayed silent
“We have tried to figure this out, but we just see ourselves as the little dots on the Yin-Yang symbol”
“Now that we got got the who out of the way, what are you two?”
“We are spirits.”
“Okay, spirits ask me one more question do you two know why you’re here, more importantly, why I’m here?” The two stayed silent for a few seconds. After the silence Yang spoke.
“Well, we do not know the real reason, but I’m gonna go ahead and take a guess and say your necklace brought you here… somehow, and I say that because you said it changed colors. And I only know of one gem out there that can do that… I think… Do I?”
“Um, Yang? Are you alright?”
“He’s fine, it’s just the both of us have been experiencing memory loss.”
“Really? huh, the more I think about it the only things I can remember is the fire that killed my family, the orphanage, and I can hardly remember my sister.”
“Hmm… how odd.”
“Well, anywho as to where we are, this is Limbo.” Nero looked around, then snickered “What?”
“So, Limbo does exist… wow.”
“You didn’t think Limbo existed?” Nero nodded
“Yeah, I’ve only read about it in books and fictional novels.” Nero began to walk around and Yin and Yang followed behind “By the way, my name’s Nero.”
“Nero.” Yin said
“Nero...” Yang said a little quietly. “Nero?” Nero turned towards Yang “I might have just realized why we are here, and I’d really hate to be the bearer of bad news but… You aren’t safe. Something is after you. I don’t know what it is but I can feel it’s power. You must get somewhere safe, somewhere where you know you’ll be protected.” New just looked at the ground and snickered
“Wow, I guess I’ve been on edge for a good reason then.”
“Excuse me?”
“Ever since I left the orphanage I’ve felt like I’ve been watched, by something. Hunted by something. Well if what you’re saying is true and I’m not being paranoid. Then I have a pretty good idea of where to go.”
“Good, now I have a feeling we will be wi-” Yin and Yang disappeared and so did the world around Nero, then she heard a voice speak, Jane’s voice.
“Nero? Nero wake up...”
<<O>>
Nero opened her eyes, she was back in her room. Nero turned to her side and saw Jane trying to wake her up.
“Did you sleep well?” Nero nodded and Jane smiled “Good...” Jane’s smile was short lived however as her smile faded into a worried expression. “Nero, I have to tell you something...” Nero sat up on her bed and looked at Jane.
“Me too Jane.”
“Okay, well you go first.” Nero rubbed the back of her neck.
“I had this.. ‘dream’, where I was in this place called Limbo and these two spirits came and talked to me. One of them told me I was not safe and I needed to get somewhere safe.” Jane looked at Nero with a serious expression
“Wait, you had this… dream?” Nero nodded “Then it has begun...”
“What?”
“Nero, I am going to be honest with you, you are in danger. That fire that killed your parents wasn’t natural disaster. Some… thing… was trying to wipe you and your family out. And if what you’re telling me is true, than a chain of events has been triggered that will lead to the end of the elements, the Princesses, and the end of Equestria. So we need to get you out of here… but where can we take you?” Jane started thinking of places to take Nero while Nero took in what Jane just said.
“Ponyville.” Jane stopped and looked at Nero “The elements of Harmony are in Ponyville, if whatever is after me comes there, the elements will do something.”
“The elements may not be able to stop… him, but it will slow him down. Yes! Okay pack your things.” Nero nodded and Jane ran out of Nero’s room and Nero quickly pack her belongings. Then her and Jane headed towards Ponyville...