Echoes of the Ancient

by Wandering Axioms

Act 3.2

3.2

“Welcome home, my son...”

With a stretch of all four of his limbs, Aiden was awake. He took a slow tentative yawn as he rose out of bed to greet the morning sun. Outside, the grass and streets were covered by a very thin layer of frost; Aiden stood up, and felt no more pain in his stomach or anywhere else. The young man sighed with relief that his physical pain had been alleviated and happily looked out the window to see the first early risers in town strolling down the streets to their respective destinations.

Aiden became lost as he gazed at the different sights of an average morning here in Ponyville; an opportunity that he had missed on his first visit. Watching the various kinds of citizens go to and from their homes and places of business made him feel like he was in a small agricultural settlement back in his world.

“Kinda reminds me of Westfallen,” he thought of a small town that was in the middle of being rebuilt along the Gulf Coast over a century after the war. It was the town that stood out in his mind as the town where he first tasted alcohol. He chuckled softly to himself as he remembered Alex’s uncle had a large store of pre-war booze. “The good stuff” his uncle called it.

Aiden popped the thin glass bottle of whiskey open and took a timid whiff. He quickly turned his head up in disgust. “How old did your uncle say this was, again?” Aiden laughed as Alex leaned up against the wall of the cellar.

“Over a hundred and eighty years, my friend,” Alex replied with a smile.

“It smells like nail polish...”

“Then it’s the good stuff.” Alex nodded with approval. Aiden looked back down at the bottle in his hand. With a brief moment of doubt, followed by a shrug, Aiden took in a large gulp from the bottle of spirits. A second later, Aiden’s face was contorted in many different expressions that one would think impossible for a sixteen year old boy to make; all of which expressed displeasure.

“Ugh!” Aiden screamed, spitting and gagging on the bitter liquid. “Ack! God! That’s exactly what I thought nail polish would taste like!” Alex could only hold his side in laughter at the misfortune of his friend.

Looking back on this memory, Aiden couldn’t help but laugh at himself. “God, I can’t believe I’m looking back at only twenty years...that should be reserved for when I’m around fifty. As he looked into his reflection within the window, he brought his left hand up to his chin and scratched at the hairs that had been growing over the past few weeks, slowly tracing along his jawline.

The sound of a hoof softly knocking against the door jolted his attention back to reality. He looked back to see Bon Bon at his door, looking at him with a smile. “Morning, Aiden!” She waved at him after yawning lightly. “Breakfast is ready; come down and join us!” She turned to head back downstairs. “I still have some time before I have to leave for school.”

“Yeah,” Aiden replied, giving his reflection one last gaze. “I’ll be right behind you.” Aiden broke the staring contest he had with himself and followed the cream colored filly down the steps and into the kitchen. The pleasant smell of baked bread entered his nostrils. At the counter was Praline as he prepared a salad for the four of them while Chikki was pulling a tray of baked bread out of the oven. With her teeth...

“Ouch,” Aiden thought as he cringed. Praline then proceeded to set the table; also with his teeth. “Huh, I wonder how Earth ponies were treated in early Equestrian society...” He quickly chased this thought away as he again awkwardly sat himself down at one of the small chairs at the table. These chairs were really little more than very short stools with cushions on them, but the ponies sat on their haunches with their hind legs touching the floor.

Aiden patiently waited for Praline and Chikki to set the table as their daughter sat down beside him. “This looks great, you guys!” Aiden complimented as a plate of eggs and toast was set down in front of him.

“Thanks,” Chikki replied with a smile as she and her husband sat down. The next few moments were met with silence as the four of them ate.

“Hey, Bon Bon,” Aiden paused his eating to ask the foal a question. She looked up at him in acknowledgement, still chewing on some salad. “I was wondering what your cutie mark means; is your talent baking, like your parents?” He pointed at the three candies on her flank.

Both of her parents laughed lightly at his statement. “Sorry,” Praline apologized through his laughter. “It’s just that we’ve lost count of how many ponies have made that mistake.”

“Those are throat lozenges, Aiden; her talent is acting,” Chikki answered Aiden’s question as Bon Bon finished her salad. “She in fact has a role in the school’s Fall play!”

Bon Bon looked up at Aiden and happily nodded in confirmation.

“What’s the play about?” Aiden asked.

“It’s about the days of Star Swirl the Bearded, and the time he spent as a scholar in Canterlot,” Bon Bon answered. “I play as his personal assistant: Garden Tail.”

“I see,” Aiden said after he finished what was left on his dish. “Is rehearsal going well?”

The foal nodded happily once again before returning her attention to her plate. “Speaking of which,” Praline began as he looked back at the clock above the stove. “It seems like it’s about time for you to be off to school,” he said as Chikki set to begin cleaning the table of plates. Aiden lifted his own plate and bowl to help her, while Praline got his daughter’s saddlebag ready.

She waved a quick goodbye with her hoof as her father opened the front door for her. “Goodbye, Mom! Bye, Dad!”

“Goodbye, Sweetie,” Chikki called back while Aiden placed the remaining dishes in the sink to be washed. “Don’t forget to say goodbye to Aiden, too!”

“Goodbye, Aiden,” Bon Bon waved one last time to her human houseguest.

“See ya later, Bon Bon,” Aiden waved back as the filly headed out the door and on her way to school. Aiden smiled as he turned his attention back to helping his host clean the dishes. He shivered slightly as the cool Autumn breeze seeped into the home. As he and Chikki finished cleaning up, Aiden stood tall by a window in the family room, continuing to watch the small village go through its morning routine; mares and stallions of all sizes and colors went to and from their destinations, offering friendly waves to each other, and young foals walked with each other on their way to school.

He saw Bon Bon trot up next to another Earth filly of a light purple color. The two began chatting, and laughter shortly followed.

---

It was at a later point in the morning; the clock above the stove now read 9:21. Throughout much of the day, Aiden stayed back in the kitchen section of the store, while customers who came in to purchase their baked goods would wait in the front room. So far, only three ponies came in this morning to do business, which left the Earth pony couple some free time with their guest.

They had only known each other for a day, but Aiden already felt quite attached to his hosts and their daughter. So much so, that Aiden was willing to ask an important favor of the man; or rather stallion; of the house.

“Hey, Praline,” Aiden asked with a hint of seriousness in his voice.

“Hmm?” The Earth pony hummed to acknowledge Aiden, but did not turn away from an order from a customer he was reading.

“I was wondering; do you have any parchment or something I could write on?”

The stallion turned to him with a smile. “Sure; let me get you a quill and some ink.” Praline then left the room for the living room. He returned a few moments later with the quill and parchment in his mouth. He held the inkwell on his tail...

Aiden sighed and thought to himself: “Don’t question it, Aiden...don’t question it...” Praline set the items down on the counter and was almost ready to return to his work.

“One more thing, Praline,” Aiden said. Praline turned back to him with a raised eyebrow. “I’m writing a letter, you see...to the Princess.” He lifted the blank parchment with one hand and stared at it somberly. “It’s been awhile since she heard from me, and I can imagine she must be terribly worried by now. I was going to ask you to mail it, if it’s not too much trouble.”

Praline nodded in understanding. “It’s no trouble at all, Aiden.” He turned, finally ready to resume his work. “Of course, you might have to wait for a bit,” he said with a laugh. “You are mailing a letter to royalty, after all.”

Aiden chuckled in return. “Thanks,” he said. “I really appreciate it.” The stallion nodded one last time as he returned to his place at the desk, ready for more customers to step in the front door.

Aiden began writing in the meantime:

Dear, Princess Celestia,

You must be worried sick at this point, but I am writing to you now just to alleviate your troubled mind; I am safe. Please, don’t blame yourself for what happened to me in Taotras; surely you only sensed that powerful, otherworldly entity when it emerged from the ruins; just like I only sensed it when I entered that evil place.

Tempest Runner and Night Step must be really shaken up from the experience, considering that both of them are around my age, and neither of them have experienced such violence before. I hope they are able to grow stronger after seeing what happened to the griffins.

Most of all, please assure Lyra that I’m okay. With all due respect, Princess, I think she would be the only one who is more concerned for my safety than you are.

I am staying with a hospitable Earth pony family at the Everfree Sweets bakery here in Ponyville. As far as my knowledge goes, none of the other ponies are aware of my presence; just how you want it. I don’t know how long it will take for you to get this letter, but as soon as you have finished reading it, I ask that you have me escorted back to Canterlot as soon as possible; I don’t know how long I will be able to remain hidden here.

But like I said earlier; please do not worry yourself so much over my safety.

Your friend, Aiden

Aiden read over his letter once. “It’s not much,” he thought with a frown. “But it’s the best I could do on such short notice.” He picked up the parchment and approached Praline.

“Ready to send it?” Praline asked his two legged guest.

Aiden nodded. “Formality isn’t really a priority at the moment; I know that the Princess will agree with me.” He placed it on the counter next to where Praline stood on his hind legs, with his fore hoofs on the countertop.

“Seems like you really know the Princess,” he quietly mused.

“Uh huh,” Aiden replied. “I’ve lived in the Royal Palace for the majority of my time here in Equestria.” He chuckled lightly to himself. “The Princess isn’t as formal as most ponies seem to think.”

“Really?” Praline asked with a hint of surprise in his voice. “I never would’ve thought; I just assumed that somepony who’s been around for over a thousand years would be more...” He looked up at the ceiling, trying to think of what to say.

“Mystical?” Aiden suggested.

“Yeah,” Praline pointed a hoof at him while he leaned over to grab a white envelope in his teeth. He carefully placed the completed letter within the envelope and sealed it. “There you have it, friend,” Praline placed the completed product next to the papers he was working on. “I’ll be sure to deliver it this afternoon.”

“Thanks again,” Aiden sighed as Praline continued looking over his customers’ orders. Aiden once again turned his attention out the kitchen window to watch the thin layer frost on the ground slowly melt, as the sun glimmered through the branches of trees that possessed too little foliage to stop it.

---

The desert sun shone down on the man in armor as those loyal to him searched the wreckage of the building before him. He stood with one arm resting on the other as he stared hatefully at the smoldering ruins. He casted a quick glance towards the five body bags to his left, ignoring the overpowering stench that emitted from them. If anything, that only assured him that his success was closer than ever before. One of his soldiers approached him, interrupting his thoughts.

“Well?” He asked.

Static blared through the biomechanically modified soldier’s helmet before he spoke. “We were unable to find Sergeant Marsh’s body, sir.” The soldier said in a deep, muffled voice. The man grumbled in dissatisfaction to learn that his small militia’s efforts have produced fruitless results.

“Have gas spectrometers turned up anything?” He asked.

“Nothing, sir,” the soldier replied. “If Marsh had died in Detachment 04’s subterranean systems, we would’ve picked up the scent of decay by now.” The man cupped his face in his gloved hands as his loyal soldier continued to fill him in on his options. The past several weeks had been spent on searching for the deceased form of Aiden Marsh. The man cared not whether Marsh was found dead or alive, however.

“He could still be alive, sir,” the Reborn sentry said.

The man grumbled. He could’ve guessed that, mentally scoffing at the drone’s ignorance. The men and women of the Reborn Corps were little more than husks; corpses dug out of the ground and pumped full of various chemicals and implanted with various mechanical augmentations.

“I believe that my former comrade is still alive,” the man mused with a frown. He glanced back at the bags that contained the rotting corpses of his and Aiden’s fellow teammates. He turned back to the sentry.

“Keep searching, bring him back alive if you can; I wish to say a few words to him before he dies.”

The drone gave a mindless salute and returned to the other Reborn sentries in their search. The man turned towards the Western horizon; towards the setting sun. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small dog tag; the small chain that formed the necklace was broken, and the metal tag was filthy.

Holding it up to his eyes, though, as the light of the sun reflected off of the metal, the man could still clearly make out his own name, inscribed into the material:

Lance Corporal Logan Somers

---

Aiden awoke, only to be greeted by a freezing wind sweeping through the house. He sat up from where he laid on the living room couch to hear the front door close. The wind ceased shortly after. The sound of very light hoofsteps indicated that a certain cream colored filly had just returned after a day at school.

Aiden rested his chin in his hands as he panned his vision to the left to see said foal emerge into sight. She had her saddlebags on, her eyes were closed, and she was happily humming to herself. She turned her head to give him a greeting.

“Hello, Aiden,” she waved as she set her saddlebag on the floor by the cold fireplace.

“Hey, Bon Bon,” Aiden yawned as he stretched his limbs like he did earlier this morning. “How was school?”

“It was fine,” she answered quickly before opening her saddlebag. “Say, do you know where Dad is? Mom’s out at the market, so I was wondering if he could help me practice some lines for the play.”

Aiden looked around and blinked his eyes. “Uh, sorry; I just woke up, so I don’t know if he went anywhere...”

“Oh...” the young filly replied as she trotted into the kitchen. Her voice called back to him several seconds later. “He left a note that says he’s going to the post office to deliver some mail...” Aiden’s attention was caught at the mention of that.

“Well,” Aiden began as Bon Bon came back into the living room. “I’d be happy to help you rehearse your lines!” She smiled at his offer.

“Okay; I guess it couldn’t hurt,” she grabbed a few sheets of papers in her mouth and trotted over to where he sat. She released her grip once he had his own on the pages. “Let’s start with scene four; it’s on page thirteen.” She finished as she set her own script on the wooden floor in front of her.

Aiden quickly skimmed over the page quickly, viewing the scene’s introduction:

In Star Swirl’s personal study;

A middle aged Star Swirl the Bearded sits, reading over his notes.

Enter Garden Tail.

The foal looked up at him anxiously. “Ready?” She asked. Aiden nodded.

“Ready,” he replied as they both cleared their throats simultaneously. Aiden began the first line for Star Swirl the Bearded.

“You’re here at a rather late hour,” Aiden began, playing the part of Star Swirl. “Does something trouble you?”

“Nothing at all, sir,” Bon Bon spoke in a surprisingly mature voice; one that would belong to a teenage girl or a young woman (or mare in this case). If Aiden wasn’t looking at her, he would’ve thought she had suddenly matured seven or eight years. “I just came to check on, you, and see if you needed anything.” The actors’ instructions continued after Bon Bon’s first lines.

Garden Tail kicks a hoof against the floor nervously before Star Swirl continues.

“Seems like it might be something more than that,” Aiden and his mediocre acting replied. “Come now, it’s obvious that something is bothering you. What’s wrong?”

“I see,” Bon Bon replied as she continued to display some genuine nervousness. “Well, it’s...” she paused and sighed heavily. “It’s about your apprentice: Nebula.”

Star Swirl chuckles softly. Aiden did as the script said. “I could’ve guessed as much. You haven’t taken your eyes off the colt since the day I took him under my wing.”

Bon Bon stuttered abruptly, before turning her head away from him, blushing profusely. Aiden was quite surprised and impressed at how the filly was able to conjure up a reaction like that by will just for the scene. She stared back at him for a brief moment.

“Uh, your lines are next...”

Aiden quickly shook himself back to attention. “Right! Uh...” He flipped the page and was ready to continue the scene, when he heard the front door open once again. Aiden turned his head to see Praline standing by the entrance, shivering greatly from the frigid wind, which soon snaked its way into the living room.

The small foal started shivering herself before her father closed the door behind him. Praline waved a still quivering hoof at the two of them.

“H-hey, you t-two,” he stuttered with his teeth chattering in a very cartoonish fashion. Aiden just barely stifled his urge to laugh. Bon Bon, on the other hand, laughed openly at her father’s misfortune of being out there in the cold. Praline stamped a hoof on the floor and sighed loudly. “Geez, I feel sorry for Chikki if she’s out there shopping in this kind of weather.” He shuddered at the thought of what his wife must be going through.

Aiden stood up with the script still in one hand. “So, Praline,” he began with a somewhat serious expression on his face. “Did you...”

The stallion nodded. “I got it just in time for it to be shipped off to Canterlot. It should arrive there by tomorrow, but it could be days before the Princess actually reads your letter.” He stopped and frowned. “So it looks like you’ll be stuck here for awhile...”

“At least I’m not alone,” Aiden said, closing his eyes. The stallion looked up at the young man; he only came up to his sternum. “If there’s anything at all that comforts me about being so far out of my element, it’s having someone that I can trust.” He opened his eyes and smiled. “Or rather somepony.”

“You’re saying you trust me?” Praline raised an eyebrow.

“Of course,” Aiden replied. “You and your family graciously allowed me in your home, took care of me when I was injured, and you’ve done an important favor; it’s obvious that you trust me,” he said while pointing a hand at himself. “So I think it’s only fair that I place my trust in you as well...not like I haven’t already in trusting you not to reveal me to the public.” Aiden lowered his hand to his side while he rested his other arm on the head of the couch. He heard the filly’s hoofsteps from below as she stepped up next to her father, who at the moment, was at a loss for words.

“Well...Aiden,” Praline stammered as he scanned the floor, thinking of what he could say next. “That...certainly means a lot to me and my family.” He extended his left forelimb for Aiden to accept. “T-thank you.” Aiden smiled warmly at the father and daughter, and they both smiled back. Without hesitation, Aiden wrapped his fingers around Praline’s hoof and gently shook it; a gesture which he was getting used to exchanging with ponies.

Aiden said nothing, but continued smiling as he released Praline’s hoof. The stallion turned his attention to the filly who stood next to him. “And how was your day, Bon Bon?”

“Today was fine, Dad,” the filly cheerfully replied while affectionately nuzzling her father’s left forehoof. “Aiden helped me with practicing my lines!”

“That’s great!” Praline replied as he made his way into the kitchen. “Guess that’s another thing I should thank you for,” Praline looked back at his human houseguest with a sheepish smile before opening the refrigerator with his teeth. “So,” Praline started. “How about I start with something warm for dinner?”

Aiden happily sat himself down at the kitchen table. The clock over the stove read 4:51 in the afternoon. The Autumn sun had already begun sinking below the horizon, as he heard the door opening again, signaling that Chikki was home as well. He gave Celestia’s sun one last gaze before he became absorbed in the Earth pony family’s conversation about their day.

---

This cold felt different from the Autumn chill he felt earlier this day. He instinctively crossed his arms over his chest in an attempt to keep warmth from escaping his body. Aiden blinked his eyes several times, only to be met with darkness. He brought a hand to his face, trying to clear it of any material that obscured material, when his hand was stopped by something undeniably familiar.

His gas mask.

He placed his other hand on top of his head, to come in contact with the firm, rounded metal that was his helmet. How... He thought incredulously, for he was beyond certain that both of these things were left in the Royal Palace. He quickly wiped his lenses, taking a large amount of dirt off of them.

What he saw was something that horrified even his mind.

Sand was blown about the wasteland by the occasional gust of powerful wind. The atmosphere of this place had a dark, orange hue, and a shriveled up, grey tree jutted out of the sand every now and then. Aiden shivered again before he treaded forward, much to the freezing wind’s protest.

After a moment of painfully slow walking, Aiden fell to his knees and hung his head. “This place,” he thought. “I don’t think it’s simply my mind reliving a memory of the past this time...it feels more like the past is melding with the present...” The extreme cold and relentless wind only further burdened his thought process. “I am here for a reason...am I not?” Aiden looked up, only to be greeted with more sand being blown into his lenses.

“Well!?” Aiden shouted above the roar of the wind. “Why have you brought me to this place!?” He turned his gaze up even further, to meet the pitch black sky. He shouted with all force he thought possible towards the heavens above him. “Where am I!?”

Aiden hung his head once again, trying to catch his breath. From behind him, he heard a voice offer something that resembled an answer.

“Welcome home, my son...”

Comments

[Cades]

To be honest, I completely forgot about this story. It's been so long since I have read it.

[OneWhoSleeps]

Uh oh.

[BioChemicalWolfGear]

well you update slow....so much so that the memory of last chapter almost completely vanished from my mind.

FIX THIS PROBLEM!

[Mister Cider]

Now to wait....

[MrZombert]

This is what I have been waiting all moth for

[Luminous Lead]

As soon as I saw the explanation of BonBon's mark I was furious and insanely jealous that I didn't think of it sooner. Good show!

[Undead_Non-Brony]

dammit. DAMMIT!!!! Why do you hate me dont make me sick big mac on ya.

[Rakdar]

1624017 as in they went sexual in any way shape or form

[Dead_Page]

Interesting. This seems to be the most convoluted plot I have seen on fimfic in quite some time. Impressive, really. After a slew of, admittedly good, comedic fics and syntax genocide, I have to say something this oddly deep and well-thought out piece of equine literature is very much refreshing. I look forward to more of this,

[KingOfTheMuffins]

Holding it up to his eyes, though, as the light of the sun reflected off of the metal, the man could still clearly make out his own name, inscribed into the material:
Lance Corporal Logan Somers

Memory of previous chapters has failed me. Error 9001, activating emergency self-destruct. BOOM!

1628397

Syntax genocide, haha... got a good laugh out of that. xD

[Elderguard]

The acting thing would explain Bon Bon's different voices. Also for some reason I can't help myself but read her lines in this voice.

[fallenpenguin]

You know how I now that a story needs more chapters? When I finish it in less than a day. So, yes, I liked it