The Field Journal of U-Mos: Notes on Equestria

by Brony Tom

Day 2

Day 2

When I rose from my rest on the second day of my presence in this strange land, I glanced at the sky to determine the approximate time of day. The sun was yet low on the horizon, barely peeking over the low mountains in the distance. It was a strange coincidence that the length of this planet’s day/night cycle should be so close to my own. I looked towards my zebra companion’s hut, wondering if she had awoken yet.

As if in answer to my question, I saw the silhouette of a quadruped moving about through one of the hut’s windows. I decided not to disturb her; instead, I hopped down from the tree I was in and strode off a short ways into the woods for my regular exercise. I was unfortunately without my usual training course, but I’d practiced in far worse than the woods.

For today, I settled with twenty wide circles around the hut at full speed, and for extra challenge I did not allow myself to touch the ground, leaping from branch to branch through the trees. Considering my height, it was quite difficult to avoid hitting some of the thicker branches, and I broke a few by mistake whilst sprinting past.

It was interesting to me how fragile these tree limbs seemed to be. Once I completed my run, I picked up one of the thick branches I’d snapped by mistake and tried to break it over my knee. The amount of force I needed to apply was much less than that required to break trees from Aether; I would have to keep my strength in mind for the future, as breaking things by mistake would be a terrible faux pas.

I was about to begin my strength training when my host came out of her hut and spoke at me in a strange tongue. I adjusted my translator to try and accommodate, but to no avail. This language was vastly different from that of the humans.

This revelation struck a small chord of uncertainty in my heart. If this creature did not speak human, then I would likely not be on a human world. In such a case, returning home to Aether could be much more problematic than I’d hoped.

My zebra friend finished speaking, but I had not the faintest idea what she’d said. I touched her mind with my own and sent her the feeling of confusion, hopefully conveying my lack of understanding. She tried speaking again, and I could tell she made many of the same sounds as the previous time. I decided to take a different approach.

“My apologies, friend, but I do not speak your language,” I said. I then repeated my feeling of confusion to her.

This time she seemed to understand, at least by the spark of recognition I felt from her mind. She repeated the gesture that had startled me last night, rubbing one of her hooves against the bottom of her mouth. I felt a measure of deep thought radiating from her, and so I slowly sat down on the ground beside her.

It wasn’t too long before my friend seemed to come to a solution. She gestured at me with both of her front limbs, holding them up in a placating manner. I looked at her thoughts and saw a picture of herself walking towards a town while I stayed here at her hut. I nodded and mentally acknowledged her intent.

The zebra nodded in return and began cantering off into the woods. I made note of the direction she took in case I should need to find either her or the town which she was headed for.

Now that I was once more alone, I began to wonder how I had even come to be in this place; as far as I knew, all of the dimensional chaos following the destruction of Dark Aether had ended over a cycle ago (1). Perhaps something here had drawn me in? That thought, though, left me with a sense of foreboding that I could not shake. Crossing dimensions was not something to be undertaken lightly; we Luminoth understood the hazards of dimensional travel well (2).

If something, or someone, had pulled me across dimensions, I was at a severe disadvantage; that person or thing likely knew all about my and my kind, but I knew nothing of it or this place. I hoped that my current situation was nothing more than a mere coincidence.

Brooding on my arrival here caused the time to fly by rapidly, and before I knew it, the sun had risen to its zenith in the sky. Its light was quite warm, a bit like the heat one would feel in the wastes of Agon Sector (3), though the warmth radiating from this sun almost felt benevolent. I cast that thought aside as silly.

I was beginning to feel the pangs of hunger beginning in my stomach. I had eaten nothing since my arrival yesterday, nor drank any water. Perhaps I should have thought to ask my zebra friend what was edible in these parts. I wondered if anything here was even edible for my kind at all.

That thought once again brought my spirits low. This planet could have any number of hostile bacteria and viruses, so I would have to be quite careful of what I touched, ate, and drank. At least until I had ascertained otherwise, my stay here would have to be intensely clean.

Time continued to pass in fits; occasionally I would be lost in thought for hours, and other times I would be methodically counting away the seconds. Hopefully my hostess would return soon.

Just as my counting of seconds broke the five thousand mark, I felt a powerful, enigmatic presence in the clearing with me. I immediately rose into a defensive stance, straining my senses for more information on this being. A frown creased my face as I felt a few threads of dark power emanating from the presence; if this were an Ing, I had inadvertently brought grave danger to this place (4).

As if it had noticed my unease, the being began circling around the outskirts of the clearing, likely relishing in my tension.

“Dark one, reveal yourself!” I shouted to it. “Your quarrel is with me, let us settle our accounts on the field of honor.”

It did not seem to like the hostility in my voice, as it thrust forward with its mind in an attempt to invade my own. I stood strong against it, weathering its assault like a great rock against the crashing waves of the sea. It continued to assail me, searching for any weak points in my defenses, but I offered it no such weakness.

With a great cry, I unleashed a wave of bright energy, sending the dark one spiralling off into the brush. I prepared to give chase when a voice called out to me in the strange tongue of the natives.
I glanced towards the source and my eyes fell upon the four figures standing at the edge of the clearing, staring at me in varying levels of fear and uncertainty.

The first of the four I recognized immediately as my zebra friend; she was the one who held the most uncertainty. The other three that were with my hostess were built similarly, but with several differences; each of them bore a pair of wings at their side and a long, spiralling horn jutting from their heads. Two of the winged ones were quite tall compared to the zebra, reaching a little higher than my knees.

It struck me then that my zebra friend must have been returning with the other three just as I repelled the dark presence, and had likely been caught in my attack by mistake. I sighed inwardly; this would make discussion with the local authorities much more difficult.

Nonetheless, there was a dark being about, and I could not let down my guard while it threatened myself and my companions. I cast about my senses for its location, but to my surprise I could not find it anywhere, nor even any trace of its presence here. What manner of being was this? It appeared and disappeared at will, assaulted the mind instead of the body, perhaps other tricks that it had yet to show. This would be a formidable foe indeed.

For now, though, I needed to turn my attention to the three newcomers, who were likely the authorities for this area. I could not allow them to get the wrong impression of me, else I risked incurring their wrath and could be forced into conflict with them. I bowed low, as was the custom for my people when expressing gratitude or when in the presence of greater beings.

“Greetings,” I said, making sure to keep my voice as pleasant as possible. Even though they couldn’t understand me, I knew that they were intelligent enough to appreciate the effort. “My name is U-Mos, son of V-Mos, and fifth Sentinel of my people, the Luminoth (5). To whom do I owe the pleasure?”

The three winged-horned ones looked at each other and spoke in their tongue. Oh, how I longed to know what they said! At last, though, the smallest of the three stepped forward. It was close in height to the zebra, and its skin was a very odd shade of purple. Her body was shaped in much the same way as the zebra, so I found it safe to assume that this one was female as well. I saw the horn on her head begin to glow as she spoke.

Instead of hearing the language that I’d grown accustomed to hearing from them, this purple one spoke in gibberish bits and pieces of my own tongue! I marvelled at that, for I had assumed that there would be no translating capability amongst them after my initial contact with the zebra. However, the reality of it set in quickly, and I realized that the purple one’s capacity for converting our languages was quite flimsy at the moment, only sending scattered letters to my ears.

I held up my hands in a gesture asking her to stop. At first, the purple one didn’t seem to understand, but after a few whispered words from one of the tall ones, she ceased speaking and simply looked at me plainly. I pondered what I might do to convey my peaceful intentions, when another of the three horned-winged ones stepped forward.

This one sported a skin of a very dark blue, and unlike the zebra and purple one, the blue one had a billowing font of hair flowing from its head, which fluttered about in a wind that I could not perceive. The blue one also appeared to be shaped as a female, which prompted me to wonder if this society was matriarchal. Such a thing would be most intriguing.

Regardless, this blue female seemed to bear the most mistrust of me, if her defensive body language was any indicator. She said something in her own tongue, and immediately the purple one stepped back behind her. A foreboding feeling settled in my stomach; I sincerely hoped that they would not try anything violent.

The blue one’s horn glowed, and I felt a vast, nigh-impenetrable mental presence pressing heavily against my own. I grunted in surprise, shielding myself against the unexpected intrusion. The other tall one of the three winged-horned ones was saying something to the one pushing against my mind, and not long after I felt the alien pressure against me reduce in intensity.

I breathed a sigh of relief, though I remained wary of the blue one, who continued to keep her mind’s eye just skimming the surface of mine. I felt nothing at all from her, so thick were her mental defenses. I met her continued presence with my own formidable barriers. If this one were in a position of power, I would not be surprised; such mental fortitude was a sure sign of authority.

The blue one still glared at me with distrust, though she retreated to allow the last of the winged-horned ones to step forward. This one bore a dazzling coat of white, and like the blue one before her the white one also had a flowing mane of hair, though in a stunning panorama of colors. I felt a light touch against my mind from this white one, though she retreated into herself quickly, as if inviting me to follow.

Cautiously, I did so, and felt in her thoughts a great deal of worry and concern. My initial response was to wonder what was causing her distress, but it was quickly obvious to me that I was the cause of her concern.

The white one showed me a mental image of herself and the blue one in a grand hall filled with statues and draperies and all kinds of luxury. Accompanying that was a feeling of command, and an image of the blue and white ones leading a great army of armored quadrupeds.

These two must hold a position of great power, indeed, I thought to myself. I was fortunate to have arrived so close to a seat of power that the rulers could come at such short notice.

Following the previous image came a feeling of great peace, and an accompanying image of the army from before beating its swords into plowshares. It would seem that this society was a gentle one, having learned to live in peace with themselves. I wistfully thought of my own people, and how I longed to return to them even after just a day of being away.

The white one then sent to me a final image of a mysterious being looming over her peaceful realm, and she gestured towards me with her mind, as if suggesting that I were the one that threatened their tranquil lifestyle. The way she suggested it, though, it didn’t sound like an accusation, but rather a question:

Are you a threat to our people?

I felt it implied in the simple sentence that if I did prove to be a menace, these three winged-horned ones would have no qualms banishing me or otherwise removing the threat I would have posed.
I most certainly understood their position; was that not exactly what I, as the Sentinel of my people, were also entrusted to do? With that in mind, I resolved that I should explain myself to my hosts, that we might be of accord. I wished no discord between us.

With difficulty, I managed to convey my thoughts to the white one; that I too was the guardian of my people, and that I respected their authority and wished not to tread upon it. She seemed to take an eternity to consider my intentions as I had presented them, and at last nodded her head. I sighed in relief.

She sent another image to me, one of an orange quadruped carrying a basket of small, red fruit-like objects. I felt her associating the image with food and sustenance; I supposed these red spheres must be their primary dietary item. She also presented me with the feeling of lateness and tiredness, and as I glanced into the sky I was amazed to find that it was already close to sunset. How time flies in a strange land!

I nodded my assent and conveyed it to her with a thought. The three winged-horned ones quickly departed after that, leaving me once again with the zebra I’d first met. Beginning to feel the exhaustion of the day myself, I simply gestured to the same tree I’d slept in last night, and she seemed to understand, as the zebra left me to my own devices after that.

It almost saddened me to face the prospect of resting. There were so many questions buzzing in my brain, I couldn’t hold them all. Was this society a matriarchal one, like I suspected? What could the wings and horns mean for the three rulers I’d met? What kinds of powers did they possess? Were the red sphere fruits their only food item? Why did their primary food so closely resemble the Grand Circle? (6)

All this and more I wondered, but I knew that dwelling on it would only deny me rest and solve nothing. With a sigh I sank once again into a rest coma in this strange land of quadrupeds.

Thus ends Day 2

Author's Note:

(1)- I have mentioned the Ing before as a terrible aggressor to my people; their homeland was Dark Aether, a mirror image of my homeworld that was formed after a catastrophic meteor impact. It was later destroyed with the help of a human bounty hunter sent by the federation.
(2)- During the course of our war with the Ing, we could only travel to their world of Dark Aether by passing through dimensional portals. Our first experiments in travel between the two worlds were disastrous, resulting in the loss of many fine Luminoth. We quickly corrected our mistakes.
(3)- Agon Sector was once a fertile plain, but after the impact it was rendered into a scorched, desolate wasteland burning under the heat of the sun.
(4)- Not only are Ing formidable foes on their own, they are capable of possessing other beings and using them as puppets in battle. An Ing in possession of another’s body could wreak terrible surprise attacks against the unwary. We Luminoth were deeply wounded by such attacks at the beginning of the war, both as a nation and as individuals.
(5)- The title of Sentinel is the highest rank of my people, though even within Sentinel there are further social strata. Each Sentinel is assigned as the guardian of one of our grand Temples and the Energy Controller that lies within. The Sentinel who is posted at the Great Temple is considered the leader of the Sentinels as well as the leader of all our people. I hold this title.
(6)- The Grand Circle is our great life-philosophy. It is the collective wisdom of our people, and is represented not only in our art and our law, but even in our very bodies. It is commonly represented with a red circle or sphere, and the shape of a circle or sphere is considered sacred in Luminoth culture.

Comments

[thefluffyone]

Now, I'm not really a fan of stories written in the first person.
That's because the author is usually either too unskilled or too lazy/unwilling to write in the third person.

However, this is one of the few cases where I actually enjoyed the story so far.
It is written in a way that makes me, the reader, know that whenever 'I' is used, it refers to U-Mos, not me.
Many stories in the first person seem to fail in that regard.

The only thing I have to say is that U-Mos seems a wee bit underpowered.
As in,it is implied he has a vast amount of power, as he was able to defend the Grand Temple from the Ing for around 2 centicycles, which we could say is his planet's equivalent of 200 years, however long those years actually are. For all we know it could be the equivalent of 2000 Equestrian years.

So to say he would be weakened from loosing a blast of energy at his unknown stalker seems a bit unfitting, as does his reaction to Luna's attempted mind scouring. That is what she was attempting, yes? Regardless, I don't think he would have had such a reaction as he did. Great surprise at the power Luna wielded, yes, but staggering back from it like a heavy blow? U-Mos seems the type to meet the 'nigh-impenetrable mental presence' with his own unbreakable wall. It seems that Luna didn't actually break through his mental defenses, but still, I would have loved to have seen Luna's face if she realized that U-Mos didn't even stagger from the attack mentally or physically, and that his mind was as impenetrable as her own, if not more so.

Yeesh, I always go on rants about the smallest things. Sorry about that.
Regardless, faved. I wanna see where this goes.

[Brony Tom]

3660012
It's quite understandable. Sometimes it's the little things that can make or break a story.

In any case, I'm glad the first person worked out for you! I tried really hard to get it to feel like U-Mos, because I know exactly how you feel about most first-person fics (that's in fact part of the reason I wanted to write this ).

As for U-Mos being underpowered, I'll admit that you're probably right. He is indeed quite powerful, and I had hoped to show as such in a later chapter. My fear was that if I showed his power this early in the story that it might put off some people. In hindsight, I probably took that a little too far. Thanks for pointing that out. Do you think it's worth a small edit to change that? It wouldn't really affect a whole lot, just that one part.

Lastly, thanks so much for commenting! It's greatly appreciated.

[thefluffyone]

3661048

If all else, just change the part that mentioned that he was weakened after attacking his unknown stalker.

If you wish to leave in the physical staggering when U-Mos was subjected to Luna's attempted mind rape, maybe give the reason that it took U-Mos by surprise, that he had no idea this species was capable of that. It would remove the idea of perceived weakness, while still giving a valid reason as to why he was so staggered.

Of course, maybe a little bit of reaction from Luna when she realizes how well defended his mind is (on par with an alicorn perhaps?) wouldn't be that bad either. But that is completely optional.

And there is no need to thank me for commenting. I really want to see where this story goes.