Starting Life Anew

by Frosty the Batty

Part 1

“Burn in hell!” I scream right before everything goes black. Those damn wackjob scientists and their weird teleportation thing. I may as well be fucking dead since I think the teleporter thing exploded. But… instead of… I don’t know... experiencing what someone would in whatever form of afterlife there is, if there’s any, I feel like I’m falling. Could this be part of whatever happens after death? It could be for all I know.

At this point I realized that my eyes are closed, so I open them. And gaze at the sight of a large forest below me. It manages to stretch beyond the horizon.

*Shit gotta fly!* I extend my wings and stop my descent just as I was about land in some tree. Boy that would’ve be awful if I…

Shaking my head I look for an open space in the treeline to land. It didn’t take long to find an open hole big enough for me to land. As soon as I do I’m almost hit by some pink beam of light, instead it hit a tree, causing a small explosion. I toss aside the many questions that started pilling in my mind and turn to the source of the beam. And what I saw before me left me quite in a stupor.

Right there, less than five feet away from me, are two little horse looking things. One a bright wite with like pink hair, the other, noticeably smaller one, a navy blue with light blue hair, both having a pair of wings on their backs and a horn on their heads. The white one standing in front of the blue one. The former having a determined, yet fearful look on its face and it’s horn giving some light yellow glow, the latter hiding behind the white one in fear.

“L-leave us alone!” The white yelled in a squeaky feminine voice. “I will not let you hurt me or my sister!” The fact that it, or she judging from the voice, talked shocked me even more. It took me a few seconds before I jumbled together a response.

“I-I don’t mean any harm! I don’t even know where I am. Or whatever you two are… What are you anyway?” I put my hands up in a non-threatening way. The white one gets a suspicious look.

“We are alicorns. And how am I supposed to know if you want to hurt us or not?” The white ones asked in a tone that would suggest she’s no older than eight or something like that. “And… What are you?”

*Fair enough.* I thought. “I’m a human. I have no idea what an ‘alicorn’ is. And I have no way to prove I mean no harm. But think of this, if I had ill will against you two. Wouldn’t I have done something already?” The white one ponders this and I sit down, legs crossed to seem less intimidating.

“Hmm… I see your point... Alright, I trust you.” *Alright!* “But I still have my eye on you.” *... Better than nothing.* Just then the blue one stepped out from behind the white one. This whole time it’s staring at me with curiosity more than anything. It still looked pretty scared, but it seemed to be calming down. Then it started walking towards me, a look of pure awe and wonder mixed in with a bit a curiosity.

“Luna! No!” The white held one of its… legs(?) out. “Do not-” Wait, did she just-

“Hold on, sister.” ‘Luna’ said. “I sense no ill intention in this… hooman.” The white one put its leg down. Giving a worrying glance at ‘Luna’ before shooting me a death glare.

“If you hurt a single hair on my sister’s head I will not hesitate to blast you to oblivion.”

“Understood.” I responded. Since I really had no other but to comply I made no sudden moves as Luna put for front legs on my lap, getting a closer look at me. I couldn’t help but mentally ‘d’aaaaww’ at how cute she looked. Yes, I just called an alien horse cute, bite me.

“Never have I seen a… being such as you.” Luna said with childlike wonder. “What are those?” She pointed one of her legs at my hands.

“It’s a hand. Humans use these to grab, lift, pull, push, and carry things.” I slowly lifted up my left hand so she can take a closer look at it. “Oh, my name’s Ember by the way.” At the mention of names Luna’s eyes lit up.

“My name’s Luna! But you already know that. That’s my big sister Celestia!” She points a leg at the white small horse thing. My confusion grows at the mention of Luna’s sister’s name. Luna makes a little sense to me, but Celestia? Well, for all I know I could be on some foreign planet or something.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both. But, can I ask you something?” I look to Celestia. She hesitates but eventually nods. “Where… am I?” Luna takes my hand in her… grip.

“You’re in the land of Equestria. On Equis. Why do you ask?”

“Well, that explains everything.” At her perplexed look I elaborate. “You see, according to what you just said, I come from a different planet.”

“... What?” She deadpans.

“Let me explain. It’s ‘cause I come from a country call the United States of America on a planet called Earth. More specifically New Mexico. Does that sound like some place from wherever this place is?”

“No… I have to admit, those are, interesting names.”

“So are ‘Equestria’ and ‘Equis’.” Celestia smiled wryly.

“Touche’.” I smile back. Just as I do so she flinches, but recovers quickly.

“What?”

“N-nothing… It is just… your teeth.” She sheepishly mutters.

“What..?” I look down at Luna, she’s still admiring my hand. I look back to Celestia, at the mention of teeth I take a look at hers…

Oh… OH… OH!

“Oh...” Awkward silence quickly fills the space between us. “Um… if it helps. I also eat some plants. I don’t just eat… yeah.” So they’re herbivores… good to know.

“Really?” I nod sincerely. “Well, that does help...”

“Ooooooh…” I instantly look down, and Luna was rubbing my hand against her face. And it looks like she’s in pure bliss. Celestia and I look back each other at the same time. Celestia looking at me with confusion and slight suspicion.

“Your guess as good as mine.” I said.

“Oh sister, you must come and feel this! It feels so divine!” (Oh god all the ways that could be taken the wrong way...) Luna rests my hand on her head, being careful not to stab me with her horn. “Um… could you.. what is the word… Oh! Scratch! Could you scratch me there… Please?” She looked up to me with a smile and the beginnings of a blush on her cheeks. Through my peripheral I saw Celestia blushing too.

“Um… Sure?” I agree uncertainly. I begin scratching where she placed my hand and she almost literally fell to the ground, had I not stopped to catch her. She immediately gets back up and pouts at me.

“Why did you stop?”

“You would’ve fell to the ground if I didn’t.”

“Oh. Ok!” She said in a cheery tone. She then scampers over to her sister. A bright smile curving her features.

*Ahem* I clear my throat. “With that out of the way, if you don’t mind me asking, what are you two doing in the middle of this forest?” I look around us, and now I just notice that these trees, if they can even be called trees. Are remarkably different from trees I’ve seen from home. I shrugged it off as being on a different planet and turn back to Celestia and Luna. Speaking of different planets.. is the air here the same as the air back home..?

“Well… We don’t know really, our parents told us to leave the castle and go away as far as we could.”

“Oh… Wait, castle?” Celestia nodded. “You two live in a castle? As in, you’re princesses?” They both nod. Whale then… “Ok.” I really had no way to react to that, I mean. I’m talking to two young royal horses, what more is there to that? That pretty much told me how things work around here. If anything here is even close to human ideology. “And you said your parents told you to leave as far away you can?”

“Yes.”

“Why? If you don’t mind me asking?”

“I don’t mind. Our parents; King Andromeda and Queen Milky Way. Told us a great war is taking place against the Draconiqui.”

“‘Draconiqui’?”

“Oh, um. They are a race of chaotic beings. Each one looking like they are made up of several different animal body parts.”

“Oh, ok. Continue.” *That sounds awfully familiar…* Celestia’s face scrunches up.

“That… that is it. Our parents just told us to leave and find a safe place far, far away.”

“Oh…” *So assuming they’re parents didn’t want them to go back to whatever kingdom they came from, this must be be one hell of a war.* “Alright, where are you two going then?”

“We… really don’t know. We’ve been walking around the Evergreen Forest for about three days now.”

“What? How?”

“Um… We can protect ourselves just fine.” Celestia said.

“Yeah, no kidding.” I turn back to the scorched tree. To which Celestia winces at.

“Sorry...”

“Hey, it’s ok. What was that anyway?”

“It… It was just a stun spell.”

“‘Stun spell’? Like magic?” She nodded. “No way...”

“What? Isn’t there any magic where you come from?”

“No… My people don’t have any magic.” The little horses before me gasp.

“How!? Nothing can live without magic! How do your ponies, I mean, your kind, live without magic?”

“Technology. My people have developed advanced technology to help us with our everyday lives. Machines that can be specified to do whatever we need them to.”

“Wooooah.” They both say.

“Anyway, you mind if tag along with you? I really have no idea what to do with myself since I probably have no way to get back home.” The little horses, or ponies I should say, look at each other, silently deliberating

“Ok. As long as you can help us in any way.” Celestia asks.

“I can do that.” I stand back up and pop a few joints in my back. “Don’t worry, it’s normal for humans.” I say without looking at them. I could practically feel their disgusted faces when I did that. After that, they start walking deeper into the forest. “Hold on you two.” They turn to me. “Can’t you two fly?”

“No, we can’t. At least, not yet.” Celestia answered.

“Oh… Would you like to?” I ask while flaring my wings. “I can carry you two easily.”

“You would!?” Both sisters ask eagerly.

“Of course. After all, I only do this sort of thing with friends.” They pause at the mention of friends. Oh shit, I better not have hit a sore spot…

“Y-you think, w-we are friends?” Luna asked, I nod. Luna, along with Celestia, both start pouting as if they’re going to cry. Shit, shit, shit-

And then they both run up to my and hug my legs. Oh… OH. So they never… Oh.

“Thank you.” Celestia said. “We… never really had any friends before, besides Discord.”

“‘Discord’? Who’s that?” I carefully pull them off my legs, sit back down legs crossed, and set them on my lap.

“He is a friend of ours, a draconequus, we met him a few days before we left the city.” She sniffles and rubs her eye with the end part or her legs, Luna does the same. “Which reminds me, he told us he would try to find us once we got to the forest.” She looks around. “It can’t take him this long to find us...” In the corner of my eye I see Luna look at something behind me.

“Discord?” She whispered, Her sister heard her and turned in the same direction. Then they both light up with overwhelming joy.

“Discord!” They both cheer before jumping off my lap and running to their other friend. I turn my head just in time to see what Discord looks like. And celestia wasn’t lying when she said that draconequi look like someone got some animal parts and stitched them together. The one in front of me reminds of chimeras from Greek mythology. Except he has one head, a goat's head. He has mismatched wings, one looking like a bat’s, the other completely avian. And besides his arms and legs looking like they belong to other animals, his body is thin, looks like it has some scaly texture starting from where head meets shoulders. Luna and Celestia are both hugging him while he just stares at me curiously.

“So you’re Discord?” I asked and he nods.

“Yes, that would be my name. But tell me, who, and what, are you.” His voice… it’s oddly familiar.

“Name’s Ember. And I’m a human.”

“Never heard of them.” He nonchalantly said.

“Well that makes sense since I'm probably the only human on this planet.” He freezes.

“You too?” He asked.

“What?”

“You’re the only one of your kind too?”

“I suppose, but that would mean… The war.” I mutter the last part. “You mean..?” He nods. “... Well, at least you’re not the only one on that boat right?”

“I suppose.” He smirked. I smirk back.

“You know what? I think we’re gonna get along juuuuust fine.”

---

It’s already been a few days since Discord lead us a settlement of more of horse people. He told me they’re ponies but horse people sound better to me. But the ones in this village are not like Celestia or Luna. Neither of them have both wings and a horn. Some don’t even have one nor the other. Celestia explained that since She and Luna are alicorns they get to have both wings and a horn. Which means these ‘regular ponies’ as she called them are under the rule of her parents. So yeah, being an alicorn basically means you eventually get to rule this Equestria place. And if what Discord told me, Celestia and Luna are the only two left in the land of the living. Apparently he saw the aftermath of the very short-lived war. Bodies, both of his kind and alicorns litter the empty streets of the city that once used to house thousands of Alicorns. Must’ve been scaring to say the least for a young mind. I wonder if we should tell the little ones...

Anyway. After a lot of questioning from my end I found out a ton of interesting things. Like for instance, I should be able to use magic like they should, since apparently magic runs through every living being on this planet one way or another. Another is that there is no way I can go back home, something I quickly became indifferent too, I’ve got nothing to go back anyway so might as well spend the rest of my life here.

One other thing is that the sun and moon don’t move on there own. I only asked this because I saw the sun rise shakily to the sky. At first I thought I lost it, but a bit of explanation got me to believe her parents moved the sun and moon. I would list off all the other things I learned but that would take way too long, let’s just say I learned a lot of things about magic, alicorns, and draconoqui.

“You think this is it Celestia?” I asked as the four of hid behind a large bush.

“Yes. I can feel it.” Me and Discord look to each other, both of us mentally asking ‘What?’. “We need to stay here for today.”

“Um… I can see why you want to that. But I think it’s a bad idea.” The little ponies look up to me questioningly. “If the ponies here see two young alicorns, a human, and a draconequus. What would they think?”

“Oh...” I would’ve started to take thing under my control, but Discord snapping his clawed hand interrupted me.

“I got it! I could turn us all into regular ponies!” He said brilliantly. The girls were easily on board, but I had some trepidation to say the least.

“... How?” Was all I could ask.

“Simple!” He exclaimed. “I can just turn us into ponies, with my magic.” He snaps his fingers and my vision briefly turns pink before it goes away as pink clouds. The first thing I notice is that my nose is way more noticeable that it used to be. And there’s brown hair hanging from somewhere… Wait. “And voila! We just act like one big happy family passing through.”

“Alright, I see no flaws in your plan.” He smirks. “But,” The smirk disappears. “won’t the ponies there find it odd that a pony would be stumbling through the place like a drunk?” *God there has to be a better way to phrase that.* The ponified draconequus puts his new hoof to his chin.

“... I do see your point. But that can be easily remedied.” He claps his front hooves and… something in my head changes. I don’t know what he did. But something feels different… I can’t… Oh.

“Did you just..?” The guy nods. I pick up my front leg and wave it around like it was my human arm. “Alright, let’s go then.” I get up from the sitting position I found myself in and head off with the girls in front and Discord by my side. “Oh, and Discord?” I whisper to him and looks to me. “As soon as we’re done with this, you’re turning me back into a human.”

“Hmhm. Or what?” He asked playfully.

“Or else.” I shoot him a death glare in the form of a slight glance to his direction. The shudder I heard told me he got the point.

“Even as a pony you frighten me.”

“I have my moments. Just like last time.” Yeah, the first he managed to piss me off was when he turned my wings into giant hands. After I had my panic attack I nearly ripped Discord’s head off. And I also found out I could turn into the Human Torch if I’m angry enough. “I told you, there is a strict rule about wings where I come from.”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time I decide to prank you again.”

“You better.” I playfully state. I look to him and see Discord smirking right back at me. I also took the time to look him over. As an earth-pony he has a white coat, a dark brown mane and tail that would look better on a death metal drummer, with a set of yellow eyes. Looking to the little fillies in front of us, they pretty much look the same. Except Celestia only has a horn and Luna has her wings.

Taking a look at myself, I have a light brown mane and tail, semi-dark butterscotch fur, and hopefully yellow eyes. God if my eyes are brown I would be officially thee most generic looking one of this group.

And you bet your fucking ass Discord headed my warning about my wings, I’m a pegasus.

Anyway, we make our into the little village and the four of us start looking for some place to eat.

“Over there!” Luna points to a medieval-looking restaurant. There’s a fork and a spoon crossed like two swords hanging right on top of the door.

“You got the… what are they called again?”

“They’re called ‘bits’. And yes I do have the ones we found.”

“Good. ‘Cause I’m getting hungry.”

---

We managed to find a place to stay for the night. Turns out the restaurant was part motel. With what bits we had left we rented out one room. It was ‘standard’, meaning it had one bed, one bathroom, a couch and two chairs. Discord and the girls are taking the bed while I take the couch.

“Ember?” I turn from the window I was staring out of, Discord called me. “Aren’t you going to ‘hit the hay’ as they say it?” I look to his side and see the little fillies already fast asleep.

“I will. Eventually, I just don’t feel sleepy yet.” I turn back to the window.

“Alright, well, goodnight Ember.”

“Goodnight Discord.” A soft ‘pomf’ sound and slight snoring told me he clocked out as soon as head met pillow. *Good.* I thought. *At least they’ll get a night’s rest for once.* Sleeping on dirt and grass isn’t as comfortable as it sounds. *But… damn.* A long sigh escapes my lips. *What happened? I get kidnapped, strapped to some chair, nearly die from whatever was happening with that machine back on Earth. Then I get sent here? To some planet that has magic, ponies, and draconequi? I can’t even begin to think if I lost my mind and all of this is in my head. Or I’m actually on a different planet on the other side of the universe. Hell, who can’t say I’m even in the same universe I was born in!* I shake my head. My ponified head. *Then there’s that.* I look at my reflection on the mirror. *You’re never gonna get back home. As if you had anything to go back to anyway. You were living in a dingy apartment, had a minimum wage job that would get you nowhere. You had absolutely no friends to go to. Sure you had some acquaintances, but they don’t matter, neither do they care!* I huff out a breath. *No, no. On Earth you would just be some guy working a shitty job living in some shitty apartment with a life leading nowhere but downhill.* I turn back to my friends, a small smile adorning my features. *And now, you’re traveling across said pony planet with two alicorns and a fucking chimera as friends. With nothing else to do but go along with the ride.*

“And yet, I find myself smiling.” I whisper to myself. I turn around, head to the couch, and get some much needed rest on the soft, fluffy thing. Which is much better than grass and dirt.

Comments

[Lunara]

I'm interested. But one thing that does bother me is that I can't really figure out what gender and what creature Ember is. From what I can tell its a guy with dragon wings? It's just kind of unclear. But seems good so far!

[Ephedianroyalty]

7208895
You’re officially a dumbass. He has owl wings, as stated towards the beginning, and int he premise thing before the story, it says he’s a man. Also, it’s really late, and Im not actually meaning it when I call you a dumbass.