//------------------------------// // Awake // Story: This Sun's last Shine // by TheAtheistBrony //------------------------------// He heard the whisper of the tree's branches swaying in the gentle wind. He forced himself to open his dry, crusty eyes. He realized that he was in the woods, laying down on his side. The human had a dizzy feeling. As he attempted to stand, he fell, and it dawned on him that his entire body was like fire and ice, clashing in a feice battle that would not end for a millennia. It was at this moment that the human made a sound. "Uuuuhhhhh..." he groaned. While it was lower than a whisper, the effects were that of an earthquake. The simple act of speaking just that small, pain-filled, sigh, made him want to die right then and there. He thought, 'Water.' Yes, thats what he needed. How he knew what this thing was, was a question for another day. Despite the pain, he rose and stumbled. Ramming his body on a nearby tree, to steady himself. He lifted his head and looked around with his eyes, deathly afraid of the pain overtaking again if he moved his head. Then, steadying himself first, took a step into the forest. The pain seemed to calm down, if only a little. "Keep.........Moving....." He gasped. The man continued for about 7 feet more, until he collasped from exhaustion. But as he felt he was slipping away into unconsciousness once more, he heard a faint growl; or something of the sort. Despite the lingering pain the man was feeling, he forced his body to move. Surprisingly, the pain seemed non-existent. Unsurprisingly however, was the sound of fast feet (or were they paws?) chasing after him, while it growled angrily. "Help!" Was what he wanted his lungs to shout, but it proved little to no avail. For all that came out was a strange coughing sound. Knowing he could not outrun the creature and could not get assistance, he devised a plan. He would try to take shelter in a mess of vines and moss, which were scattered around the dense forest. There was one problom however, the creature was gaining on him. Fast. His legs were already burning and he was slowing down. But just in the nick of time he found an, as fore mentioned, bundle of damp moss and twigs and other things of the like. It was a bit on the left of him. 'Even better.' He thought triumphantly. 'That'll get me out of his sight.' Emboldend, he jumped and rolled into the small pile. However he forgot a small detail, his scent. While the greenery did offer some covering of it, the beast's nostrils were sharp. As the man was getting ready to die, knowing his mistake, he took a glimpse at his adversary. It was a massive beast, which was orangish-yellow and crimson in color. The beast had bat-like ears, a mane and body of a lion, wings, with a scorpion stinger for a tail. The beast must have hurt itself because he looked in pain and very angry. It sniffed the air, wanting to find its victim before it escaped. Suddenly, there was the sound of glass breaking and a burst of flame. The beast seemed frightened and fled the scene quickly. "Is anypony there? Do not worry, I shall treat you fair." A woman-like voice called from the forest. The human was terrified, and joyous at the same time. Terrified because, a woman made fire appear from nowhere and joyous because he was not alone. Besides, she seemed to want to help. Feeling like the most idiotic person in the world, the human stood up. "I'm here......" he was cut off by two things. First being the human's throat was extremely dry, and the second being the person, no not person, zebra? Whom was speaking. She spoke again. "There you are. Come, my home is... not.... far?" Now it was her turn to be stunned. She had never seen a creature so strange before, and she had seen MANY stange things. This however was a first for them both. The pair just looked on at eachother in confusion, trying to make sense of what was happening. The zebra (mabye?) was the first to recover. "I have never seen something like you! Co......." She may have said more, but the human didn't hear, he was too busy fainting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I stared at a wooden ceiling. It seemed like pine, or perhaps oak? It was hard to tell, due to the only light in the room being to my far right. I could smell something burning from that direction too. 'Oh. It must be a bonfire.' I thought happily. 'I can't beieve I fell asleep at it. Yeah, they'd be mad.' I wanted to sleep more as I had that other happy little thought. 'Wait........ Who would be mad?' As this alarming idea formed, I had a horrible splitting pain in my head. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" I screamed in agony. I heard a startled gasp. I, however, did not give it much thought due to me writhing on the floor. "Are you alright? Just lie down, and stop giving me such a fright!" 'Was that a rhyme?' I asked myself. 'Wait, now the pain is gone...... WHAT IS HAPPENING?' I eventually calmed down and opened my eyes. It was then I saw a zebra-like-thingy? It wan't a normal one, I know that much, because it didn't have the usual plain black and white stripes, black eyes, and short verticle mane. This particular zebra had at least five golden rings around her neck and foreleg. It also had strange symbols on it's fur, not following traditional stripes of a zebra, an almost mowhawk-like mane, and huge earings. But the most unusual thing about this zebra was it's eyes. The usual dull, pitch black eyes were replaced by strange human-type eyes and irides that were a combination of dark blue and green. The strange zebra then began to speak. "Are you ok? I wonder why you were brought to me this day..." She spoke the last part of the rhyme quietly to herself. "Wha-... Um.. Who are you?" I spoke uncertainly, not sure if that was the best question I could have asked in this situation. "My name is Zecora. This is my home, surrounded in flora." "Ok then....." I muttered, confusion all too evident in my voice. "Now it is my turn. Who are you; please, I wish to learn." "Oh, alright. Um......... Who am I?" This single realization terrified me more than any I had that day, or whenever that stuff with the lion-bat thing happened. It was hard to breathe. In fact, I couldn't breathe! My pulse was racing and my mind spinning as I tried to remember my past. All that came up was another spliting pain that only sunk it's claws deeper the more I dwelled on the subject. "AAAAAAHHHHHH! GET OUT! OUT!!!!" I cried in agony for the second time today. This went on for about 20 minutes until the pain had been supressed. I had almost forgotten about Zecora, who had been watching the specticle with a panicked expression. "I am so sorry." She said pitifully. "It's fine. I wouldn't know how to help either. However," I continued, "I am concered that you didn't speak in a rhyme, as per the usual." "Well..... I....." She then shrugged uncertainly. "Doesn't matter." I spoke plainly, "The important thing is that I find a way to stop having those pains in my head." "Of course. And..... Um..... You should lie down some.... Morse?" "Just stop." "Ok."