Chapter II
Chapter II
My ears perked up at the sounds of someone messing with something cloth-like nearby. I wasn't sure what they were doing, but whatever it was was preventing me from sleeping.
At least, that was what woke me up at first. What was really keeping me up now was the growling in the pit of my stomach and the ache in my muscles. Again, I had to marvel at whatever drug that the ponies had me on. It was keeping my pain down to a minimum, yet at the same time wasn't clouding my mind.
...At least, I didn't think it was clouding my mind. The last time I had been on morphine, I had thought that there had been absolutely nothing wrong with me. In fact, I had believed that I was at the top of my game, despite the fact that both my legs had been broken at the time.
“...Hey, nurse? Is there any chance I could get something to eat?” I croaked as I opened my eyes.
The room was bright, but not nearly at the same, eye-bleeding level it was before. I couldn't decide whether it was because the room's brightness had dimmed, or because my eyes were starting to adjust, but I figured that it wasn't really important at the moment. What was important was the blurry nurse that was making her way over to my bed.
I couldn't really tell what sort of expression she had on her face, but her movements seemed sure enough, so I assumed that she wasn't showing any fear or anything like that. She reached the side of my bed, and her face finally swam into focus, allowing me to make out her expression.
She seemed to be a little worried, though she still smiled despite whatever fears that she might have been harboring. I noticed that she was a pegasus pony with a light blue coat and dark green mane and tail, both of which were cut short. On her head was what appeared to be an old-style nurse's cap, while on her flank was a green line that turned into a seemingly random series of sharp valleys and mountains, before turning back into a single green line again. I didn't want to make any snap judgments, but it looked like the readout of a heart monitor.
She said something in her musical language in the form of a question, though what it was wasn't something I could understand, big surprise there. I just smiled at that, thankful for just the sensation of being able to smile again.
“I really can't understand what you're saying, but I'd appreciate it if I could get some food...” I said softly.
She just smiled at this, and nodded as she waved a hoof in a distinct 'wait' motion. At least, that's how I interpreted it. For all I knew, it meant 'begin shooting fire from your eyes when I say so', but somehow I doubted it.
At any rate, she quickly left the room, despite my lack of understanding. I was then left to my own thoughts for a while, but I was sort of expecting that. It wasn't like the doctor was waiting just outside my room, nor was it feasible that those who could communicate with me would be on call twenty-four seven, especially if I had been unconscious for an extended period of time.
Man, if I was in a month-long coma, I am going to be so ticked off... I thought as the door creaked open again. I turned my head to see who had entered, but was foiled again by my terrible eyesight.
“I sure hope that my new eyes' nearsightedness goes away soon. It's getting old fast...” I said as the blurry yellow and white blob slowly resolved itself into the shape of a unicorn mare. She had a yellow coat, red hair, and appeared to be wearing a white doctor's lab coat.
On her flank I could see what looked like a stethoscope superimposed over a heart. At this point, I was seriously reconsidering my previous assumption that those tattoos were some sort of clan thing. There honestly didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the marks, not to mention that some of them didn't seem to make any sense.
Best to wait until I'm actually able to ask them about it... I thought to myself as the unicorn levitated a clipboard and quill in front of her. She took a couple of looks at me, marked a few things on her clipboard, then nodded to herself as she put it down onto the bedside table next to me.
“Um... you wouldn't happen to be able to do that translation trick that the others do, would you? Because I'm getting kinda hungry, and these straps are starting to chafe a little,” I said nervously as I gave an experimental tug to the straps.
If she had understood my question, she didn't show it, instead opting to give me a soul-searching look as she tilted her head to the side. I wasn't too comfortable with the glare being directed towards me, so I scooted back as much as my restraints would allow me while simultaneously chuckling nervously. “...Um, hi?” I asked her intelligently.
I'm guessing that she found whatever it was that she was looking for, because she said something in that musical language of hers, then proceeded to take some more notes on her clipboard. She then turned and walked over to the door, though she didn't leave the room. Instead, she merely poked her head out and said something to someone on the other side of the door.
She then walked back to the side of the bed and put on her stethoscope, leaning over me to listen to my heart. As she pulled my blanket down, I realized that I was still completely naked. That wasn't really a problem at this point, but it probably would have made me blush had this scenario happened before my capture.
As she made a few more notes on her clipboard, the door opened again. However, at this point it seemed that my eyes had finally started to work properly again, allowing me to see who had entered my room.
I nearly choked when I saw that it was the mare from my dreams.
* * *
“How is he?” Princess Luna asked Doctor Tender Care as the princess entered the room.
“His heart is strong, though he seems to be to be hungry, if the rumbling from his stomach means the same thing for his species that it means for ponies,” Care said as she hung the stethoscope around her neck again.
“Well, then let's see what our friend would like to eat,” Luna said as she charged her horn to cast her translation spell on the recovering ~human~, herself, and Doctor Care.
“What you are?” ~Alex~ asked as soon as the spell had taken effect.
“We have spoken before, though you weren't able to see the last time that we met,” Luna reminded him gently. “My name is Luna.”
There was a brief spark of recognition in ~Alex's~ eyes, though he quickly covered it up as he arranged his face into a more guarded expression. Princess Luna could understand that; despite everything that had happened, he was still essentially at the mercy of an alien species. Who wouldn't feel defensive in that kind of situation? Luna thought to herself
“What do me today?” ~Alex~ asked carefully.
“Well, we were thinking that if you were up to it, we would try to get some food into you. We would also like to run some tests, to see if we can get your body's immune system to stop trying to kill the rest of your body,” Doctor Care said as she marked a few more things on her clipboard.
The ~human~ just gave her a confused look at that, but nodded anyway. “Yes, very hungry. Need food,” he said.
“Well, you haven't had solid food in you for a while, so lets start you on something light and see where we go from there,” Doctor Care said with a nervous smile.
“Yes... Can get arms free?” ~Alex~ asked hesitantly.
Doctor Care thought about this for a second. “I don't see any problem with that. It's been a couple of days since you last lost control of your limbs, so it appears that what we have you on is doing its job,” she said as her horn began to glow.
After a few seconds of her horn glowing, all four of the padded restraints that held the ~human~ down to the hospital bed suddenly released themselves, allowing the ~human~ movement once again. “Thank you,” he said as he started to push himself up into a sitting position.
He was having trouble with that, however, as his strength still hadn't quite returned to him. Luckily, he wasn't alone, and he quickly found himself upright with the help of the two mares in the room. “Thank you twice,” he said with a rueful smile.
“You're welcome,” Doctor Care said as she turned to leave. “I'll be right back, I just need to talk to the nurse for a second to see what we can do about getting you some food.”
He just nodded at that as he watched the doctor go, leaving him alone with the Princess of the Night. He didn't acknowledge her at first, instead taking a moment to examine his arms and chest with his hands and eyes. As he did so, Luna took a moment to examine the ~human~ as well.
Although she couldn't really tell his height from here, she already knew that his full height was around six feet. His face looked... strange, to tell the truth. Not bad, by any stretch of the imagination, nor was it terrifying like his previous face had been. It was just... different.
Where there had once been a gaunt, skull-like appearance, there was now a much fuller look, though his face still looked oddly flat compared to a pony's. His nose was small, looking almost like a tiny button, while his rather small mouth looked almost comical compared to the maw that he used to have. The lips of his mouth were also an odd shade of pink, though why that was was completely beyond her. Above his nose she could see two beady, gray eyes that were filled with intelligence. Oddly enough, his irises did not change size as a pony's did, though his eyes were still incredibly expressive in their own right.
Just above the eyes, she could see two tiny tufts of dark red hair, while on the top of his head was a much larger tuft of hair of the same color. The hair was short and fine, although that wasn't really a surprise, seeing that he had only started growing it about a week ago. She noticed that he also seemed to be developing a bit of red scruff on his new cheeks, lips and underneath his chin.
As her eyes moved down, she saw that his torso was very reminiscent of a minotaurs, though not nearly at the same width or bulk. She winced a bit when her eyes roamed to where his arms connected to his upper body, her sight lingering on the thin, spiderweb-like tendrils of sickly looking gray that emanated from those two points. His arms, which were of the exact same color, looked thin and sickly. This was hardly unexpected, though, because the regeneration magic they had applied hadn't worked on the two artificial limbs. The same went for his legs, too.
Well, that wasn't exactly true. The magic had worked, but his body didn't recognize his arms or legs as part of his body anymore. As a result of this, his body had started attacking his artificial limbs, while simultaneously attempting to grow new ones in their stead.
That last bit had been the fault of the spell, so the doctors had made a judgment call to refrain from removing his limbs like they had done with his eyes when he had started growing a new pair of those. They had also augmented the regeneration spell to prevent him from growing new limbs as well. Their reasoning had been that they thought it would have been too dangerous for the ~human~ had they gone ahead and amputated the limbs.
Their reasoning had been sound. The doctors had thought that ~Alex~ would probably have succumbed to the shock of such a treatment: Not only would he have lost all four of his limbs, his eyes, and a number of the cybernetic enhancements that they had already removed, but his body also had to adjust to the fact that its entire genetic code had been rewritten in a matter of hours.
However, Luna couldn't help but feel that they had saved him from a quick death on the operating table, only to condemn him to a slow and agonizing one as his body slowly killed itself.
“Was out, how long?” he asked as he stared down at his hands.
“About seven days, maybe a little longer,” she told him as she came a little closer.
He nodded at this, though his eyes never left his hands. “It seems... not real. All time spent in forest, so long as monster, but could have got helped,” he said as he lifted his shaking hands to his face. He then smiled, almost as if something funny had just occurred to him. “Why am not strong? Not my arms, fake arms. Stronger than real arms, yet not strong. Not that complain, good that not strong, not hurt pony. Just curious.”
Princess Luna smiled sadly at that. “That would probably be a combination of the drugs in your system and the lack of meat that you've consumed while you were under. We took a look at your unnatural limbs, and it seems that they use the nutrients that are in meat as fuel. You should regain your strength after a couple of meals,” she said as Tender Care came back into the room.
The ~human~ didn't look like he understood what had been said, though he didn't really get a chance to ask about it as the doctor approached his bedside. “There, food is on its way. While we wait, though, I'd like to take a few seconds to perform a simple examination, to see how well you're doing,” Doctor Care said as she levitated her clipboard towards her.
He just nodded at this, and sat docilely as Care began to examine him. Everything was going fine, up until the point where Care started to shine a light in his eyes.
“Wha!” ~Alex~ shouted as he tried to fend of the doctor, his face a mask of fear as he brought up an arm to smack her face out of the way. If he had had his full strength, or if his claws had been unsheathed at the moment, he could have caused some serious damage.
That being said, the most damage he had done had been to surprise the doctor, while simultaneously rolling himself out of bed, pulling the blanket that had covered him off as he went.
“Are you alright?” Luna asked the doctor as she and the mare made their way to the ~human's~ side.
“I am, though I am more concerned with that fear response,” Care said grimly as she gently placed a hoof on the still quivering ~human's~ shoulder.
Luna lied down next to the frightened ~human,~ and gently covered him in a wing. “Shhh...” she hushed. “Its okay, they aren't here. They can't get to you from here.”
After several minutes of this, the ~human~ finally seemed to stop shaking, and his breathing started to level out. “I-I'm apology,” he grunted as he curled up into a tighter ball.
“Its okay, you didn't mean it,” Luna said.
Despite her words, though, Princess Luna knew that it was far from okay. They may have mended his physical wounds, but underneath that pale, hairless skin was a broken spirit.
And that was a far more difficult wound to heal.
* * *
“-I think we should just hand over this alien, hand over the artifacts that you've recovered from the craft, and be done with it!” Silver Back said as he folded his arms. “All they want is their pet monster, right? If we hand it over, they should leave us alone!”
Celestia merely shook her head at that. “There is no way to know that for sure. These aliens have already shown their willingness to pluck innocent people from their homes without cause or provocation. They may leave us alone, true, but they also might enslave us in the same manner that they enslaved the survivor of the crash.”
“Another issue, though none do say: why do our enemies delay?” Mouthpiece Ebela asked curiously. “They strike but once, then retreat. Surely they know we'd be an easy defeat. A week has passed since their last attack, what is the information we lack?”
Silver Back sat back at that, deep in thought. “That is actually a good point. It's been a week since they've tried to recover their property, why do they wait? Are they amassing for a large scale invasion? Are they preparing to bombard us from orbit? What are they waiting for?” He asked with a snort.
Gustaf had remained oddly silent for the past half hour, however. Since his previous statement of how doomed they were, the black and gray griffon had done nothing but listen, almost as if he were waiting for something. Finally, with a sharp rap of his talons, he brought the attention of the other delegates to him. “I want to see it.”
“See what?” Celestia asked curiously.
“I want to see this alien that has caused so much trouble, albeit through no fault of its own,” Gustaf explained. “It is clear that we do not have a full measure of what these aliens are, and what they can do. I suggest that we question this creature as soon as possible, to gain a better understanding of our opponents.”
Celestia shook her head at this. “I can let you see him, but there is a problem with asking him about his time spent among them.”
“What is that?”
“The event has traumatized him, marking his soul with a wound deeper then the most battle-scarred veteran. We might be able to get some answers out of him, but it will take time, far more than what we have available.”
Gustaf nodded at this, then stood up. “I still think it is important to see him with my own eyes. Sometimes the best way to learn the measure of your enemy is to see first hand the fruit of their efforts. I would gaze upon the scars of his soul myself.”
Celestia nodded at this, then smiled sadly. “As you wish, Chancellor, though be careful, he isn't a mindless monster, nor is he a soldier. He is a civilian, and as such, was never prepared for the horrors that has befallen him.”
Gustaf nodded at this. “All the more reason to see what these aliens have wrought. The true measure of an enemy is not how they treat captured soldiers, but how they treat captured civilians.”
“To that, I agree, and would join you my friend,” Silver Back said as he stood up.
Lady Ebela nodded at this. “As would I, though haste we make. With the Oracle, council I must take. Though many of these events, she might be aware, insight and inspiration she may declare.”
After that final statement, the council hall soon emptied itself, leaving behind nothing but the table, chairs, and the echo of fear that they all felt for the future.
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Yeah I do wonder what will happen once the human race finds out what the aliens have done to Alex. I have a feeling the humans will steal the alien's technology and declare war on them.
Not trying to spoil the story... but... I assume the ponies will eventually lop off those artificial limbs and allow the regeneration spell matrix to fully regrow proper human limbs? From the description so far, it sounds like he has advanced necrosis where the limbs attach, and dead-looking things pretending to be limbs, like a living zombie. If it were me, I'd tell the doctors to knock me out and keep hacking away. The rest of him probably resembles one of those bodyfarm clones, all pink, pale and fleshy with veins showing through. Gonna need a bit of drying out after the spell's finished to "cool" and darken into a proper skin tone (heh, sounds like they're baking).
5360149 Would be pretty entertaining to see an endless armada of crudely thrown together ships steamrolling across the galaxy and chasing after aliens.
It happened because the first story is extremely popular. Quite simple, really.
5360287 That's not what I meant. I'm still very confused at how the first story got popular in the first place.
The original first chapter had been thrown together while I was having writer's block, and in the first four days, it had 400+ likes.
I'm still not sure what happened there...
5360299
I would kill to have a story with the ratings that you have. Sadly, my writing sucks and I don't write what others want to read, so I'll be stuck in the "nobody" section of FimFiction.
I like this story alot, and i can quite frankly say that it has an unique feel to it that thrills me everytime I read a new chapter. From "What ive become" to "What ive done" i must say you have done a splendid job at making these stories. I guess theres a reason this got featured the day it came out eh?
5360312 Hey now, dont think like that! I myself think of starting to write but im not too confident in my abilities, yet if you look down on yourself you wont get anywhere so keep on trying and one day you get rewarded for it.
loved it. keep churning these out man!
5360149
IF we get any said tech, of course we would be hostile to the alien races, even if it was the machination of a single rogue doctor.
If you stop writing this...
I will cast a Functional Immortality Spell, rip out your internal organs, AND FEED THEM TO YOU, OVER AND OVER FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY.
You have been warned.
AS i said last time, i hope theres not too much alien-fighting scenes. Oh and good luck on your mid-terms, I'm taking those as well so i know how bad they are.
5360329
Trust me, unless you're confident in your writing abilities, publishing here is going to be a real gamble; a majority of the site's users want stories that are [essentially] written at a college level, and will be quick to tear apart anything that isn't.
I'm not trying to dissuade you from writing and publishing stories, I just wanted to forewarn you of some of the more dreadful things that happen on this site, mostly to new writers.
I was lucky enough that my writing isn't complete garbage (some parts are missing), but it still isn't up to the standards of the more "literary-savvy" users.
Better then bacon... Almost
5360619
5360617
5360548
5360559
Sorry bout that, I have no clue what happened there. you should be able to see it now.
Another excellent chapter. Still surprised that they didn't notice in the combat report that the guards' armor absorbed their projectiles somehow.
5360691 OK now I can see the chapter again but its not showing up in my feed even though this story is in my favorites. Fimfiction is being weird lately...
Sneaky stealth updates. For some reason this didn't show up in my feed.
5360829 For some reason the chapter was taken down by the site. I put it back up, but I have no idea what happened.
5360835 *grumble* FIMfiction wants to keep all good stories to itself *grumbles*
Well, I'm glad this popped up in my feed, or I wouldn't have noticed. It did not show up under my Tracked stories, for some reason.
Good chapter, anyhow.
Oh yeeeaaah! Gettin' All Star Wars in this shit!
While I dont mind more aliens and I'm fine if they play an important role, but he is the main character that you spent an entire prequel building up. Don't forget that is why we are here.
Good stuff. Can't wait for more.
Also, I disapprove of the "F" word in your author's notes. It's a horrible thing to say, and the people who made it a part of the modern education system must have been seriously fucked up to have come up with it.
Our irises don't change size per se, but they do appear to shrink when we widen our eyes, revealing more of the white and making the iris seem smaller in comparison. It's part of the fear reaction, which is why actually shrinking irises are used in cartoons and such.
It's still a good plot point, I just thought you'd like to know.
5361686
You are right in that assessment but the thing that moves more than the iris is the pupil of the eye. This is more a reaction to intense or dim light, but the effect is measurable. The fear instinct also plays an important role in the pupil contraction too.
Good
5360299 You had a unique idea. You showed the main character as both powerful and kind in his first scene, while showing just enough of his pain and past to tantalize the imagination. He immediately put himself in a dangerous position to return someone he never met to their home, but you don't show what happens beyond to suggest the risks that might be there.
The chance to read something new.
A monstrous character who is really a softy.
A dark past full of suffering that is only hinted at.
Future trials where his own nature could drag otherwise good ponies into conflict with him in their misunderstanding.
Despite that, an opening for a positive connection with another sentient being--but one that could be easily ruined for the above reasons.
You showed the tip of something incredible but hid the full extent of it. So we naturally gathered around to see just what the rest of the iceberg would look like.
I think the viewcount, likes, and size of the comments section says enough about what we thought of it.
Good chapter. It will be interesting how he will react to the other species
Good luck for your exams.
5360483 No worries, im going to use my time to learn how to write before i actually publish anything
Oh goodness, what's this? Reasonable and sympathetic politicians?! I must be dreaming!
I seriously wanna hug Alex now, and keep hugging him until he calms down.
Now, I hardly understand why people make the princesses so fond of covering others with their wings. A foreleg hug is firmer and more reassuring, not to mention it puts most creatures's heads close to their chests so they can hear their heartbeat, which for the most part is a soothing sound.
Although I suppose a winghug fits better in this case because it's not as forceful, and it's easier for the receiver to break out of if it feels uncomfortable at any point.
5360197 The doctor and Luna both noted that Alex was too weak for them to do that right off the bat. He'd die if they went any further than what they already did.
5361892
Very good decision. I wish I had done that when I had started out on the site, but that's all in the past now. I made my bed and had to lie in it, so to speak.
Another great suggestion is to take advantage of the multitude of groups on the site dedicated to helping writers improve their craft, and make sure that one's story is the best it can be before publishing it for [nearly] all the world to see.
I'd be more than happy to help you out with your writing should you ever need it; I'm not a consummate professional, but I'm no slouch, either. Feel free to PM me if you'd like with any questions!
Keep em coming.
I knew there was a reason why this went immediately into my favorites even before reading the chapters
So far so good, not absolutely bright, but slowly getting there. Potential for many misunderstandings and shenanigans (and laughs) as well as some bad responses.
Let's see where this will progress! I know I can't wait
5361933 Something that a lot of people don't realize when they write for the equestrian political situation is that equestria has been at peace for 1000 years. This means one of four things:
1: the equestrian nation rules the world. Unlikely, seeing as how there have been delegates from other nations shown in the show, such as the Saddle Arabians (who were not present at the conference, you'll find out why later).
2: The equestrians have nothing that the other nations want. Again, unlikely since every nation has something, even if that something is as small as additional manpower. Not to mention that equestria has already been shown to be a land of promise, overflowing with resources.
3: The other nations are afraid of equestria. While this one is more likely than the other two, it is still not very probably, given that the status quo has been maintained for a thousand years, and if it were fear speaking, the other nations would have struck back a long time ago. Not to mention that Celestia has shown herself as a kind, gracious, fair, and capable ruler.
4: the other nations actually like equestria. This is by far the most likely scenario, given everything we know about the nation and the show. This means that they send their most level-headed representatives to deal with equestria, not to mention that those representatives grow to love the nation as they spend more time within its boarders. Of course, the exception to this is the changling hive, who tried to stage a coup, but they were absent from the conference as well.
Let's hope the politicians don't accidentally remind him of his past with their questions.
"Although she couldn't really tell his hight from here, she already knew that his full hight "
*height
Also...
"not to mention that those representatives grow to love the nation as they spend more time within its boarders."
Hardeeharhar!
5362368 That wasn't criticism, dude. If anything, I'm pleasantly appalled that you managed to nail my headcanon (that Equestrian species are respectful to all and dedicated to doing their jobs well, and that nations don't live on a power struggle to show up the other like our governments love doing) down pat as you did. Congrats on that, honestly.
5362818 I wasn't taking it as criticism, I just figured that that needed to be said, especially after all the terrible "war breaks out between the griffons and equestrians for no reason" fics. Sorry if you felt it was criticism directed at you, but it wasn't.
5362841 We chill, we chill
You're really good at setting up a grim, foreboding atmosphere.
5362975 Thank you! I try.
Man, this is so good! I literally read both the previous story and these two chapters in one go. This is some really well thought out stuff and I am really liking it a LOT so far. I sure do hope this quality lasts, but no pressure XD
Hopefully Alex decides to allow a test of the regrowth spell to fully recover. It would suck but removal of say an arm might be worth a try, lol.
I personaly refuse to read anything with less then 10 chapters. But, I did read the previous story and enjoy it, so I can say for sure once you reach one of the two conditions I will read it
5369375 ummm is that not just one condition?
5369375 You're missing out on a lot of great one-shots, friend.
5370398 I apologise, I did not realise I had not put both criteria in my previous comment. one is that it has ten chapters, the other is that it is complete. if it fills either I will read it so long as I have an interest in it.
5372559 as stated in the previous comment, if it is complete I will read it, even if it has less than ten chapters. although it is true I do not generally like one shots, I have read quite a few good ones.
5373427 but the waiting is what makes it exciting!!
still i know what you are getting at but I cant wait because I love reading
Knight fix some more chapters for this guy he has to read this
5374265 your fun... I like you
Can't wait until that 'priestess' we saw earlier, or the good Captain, makes contact and says 'We're really sorry, it wasn't us, it was them'.