3 - In Which Ned Stark Flees the Premises
Eddard
Eddard Stark awoke in a bright room, staring up at a low ceiling His aching head rested on something soft, a makeshift pillow. It took him a second to remember all that had happened. His discovery that Joffrey was not truly heir to the throne, Robert’s death, Littlefinger's betrayal, the confession, the execution. And then the memories of the the void resurfaced, like an unpleasant dream he could half recall. He remembered what happened immediately afterward, he’d fallen from the night sky, towards a tree in what appeared to be a relatively small town. Alive. I'm alive, and I cannot return to Westeros. I'll likely never see my family again. He closed his eyes again, and realised he was close to tears, closer than he had been since he’d heard of Rickard and Brandon’s death.
When he spoke to the voice in the empty plane, it had not yet sunk in. Now it had. He was stuck in this place, likely for good, while his family was sure to suffer the horrors of war. Wherever he was now may not have had a war for a thousand years, but it was no matter. The idea of living, unable to help his family, trapped in some inescapable ‘paradise’, was as unappealing as having his head chopped off again. At the thought of this, he put his hand to his throat, feeling a thin scar that went all the way around his neck.
He suddenly heard what sounded like a young woman snoring and opened his eyes again, this time glancing about. What he saw confused him thoroughly.
A lavender thing slept soundly next to him. It had four legs, and was clearly equine. It was an oddly shaped, small little thing, and had a design of some sort on its flank, a large purple star surrounded by several white stars, and a horn upon its head as well.
Ned, surprised and confused, inched away from the purple quadraped. What is a pony doing indoors? What is a purple, horned pony doing anywhere? This is too strange. Looking around, he noticed two other things. First, it appeared to be early to mid morning by the amount of light outside through the window. Second, there were books strewn around the room; a small pile of them sat by what appeared to be a child’s bed a meter or so away.
Standing up, Ned nearly hit his head on the ceiling. Ducking, he carefully made his way across the room and picked up the top book next to the bed. Much to his surprise, the title was printed in the Common Tongue; the letters and words all perfectly understandable. The second oddity was the title: On Pony Psychology, Volume IV: Developing a Positive Mindset.
That’s when it clicked. The low ceilings, the small bed—it couldn’t be, but this book title proved it. It was a book written for ponies to read. The concept of intelligent ponies unnerved Eddard. He picked up the next book in the pile and flipped through it. Advanced Abjuration in Theory and Practice: A Guide for Talented Unicorns was apparently a book of highly advanced magic, though he didn’t understand any of the terminology in it. He put down the tome and tried to assess his situation.
A world of magical, intelligent ponies. This is a joke, it’s just ridiculous. I must be mad, or dreaming. Trying to bring himself out of his dream, he pinched his arm.
Nothing happened. Eddard cursed under his breath, careful not to wake the sleeping unicorn. He walked quietly to the stairs leading downwards, towards the door. As he descended, he noticed numerous shelves filled with more books than he’d ever seen in one place. There might be more books here than any one place in Westeros, besides the Citadel in Oldtown, or the Guildhall of the Alchemists in King’s Landing. The shelves appeared to be cut into the wooden walls; in fact, the walls, ceiling, and floor appeared to all have been cut from one massive slab of wood.
Another realization dawned on him. I’m inside a of a tree. Probably the tree I was falling towards after my arrival. It appeared to be night when I fell . . . the unicorn must have brought me inside after I Ianded.
He heard another snore, this time from a corner of the larger central chamber in which he stood. By the side of the room, in a bed smaller even than the one upstairs, was what appeared to be a small, somewhat chubby purple dragon.
A dragon.
Suddenly, he found himself lost in thoughts of the Rebellion, many years ago. The dragon, symbol of House Targaryen, the royal house of Westeros for near 300 years.
I remember when Jon Arryn told me my father and brother had been brutally slain on the orders of the Mad King, and that he wanted to have Robert and I executed as well. I remember returning to Winterfell, to rally the troops against the Targaryens. I remember when Robert slew Prince Rhaegar at the Trident. I remember Jaime Lannister sitting upon the Iron throne, over the dead body of the Mad King, whom he had sworn to protect. I remember the Tower of Joy in Dorne, my friends dying all around me to the blades of the Kingsguard, and I remember my promise to my sister. Eddard realized he was crying. I failed them all. Robert dead. Sansa a hostage, Arya alone in the treacherous streets of King’s Landing. Catelyn a widow. Bran broken, Robb near certainly off to war, and young Rickon will barely be able to remember me. Jon will never know who his true—
The small dragon, still sleeping, burped, distracting Ned from mourning his failures. A green flame came from the Dragon’s mouth, followed, inexplicably enough, by a sealed scroll.
The dragon mumbled, still in his tiny bed. “Twilight, message for you.” It yawned and sat up, eyes still closed. It stretched, and Eddard backed towards the door, unsure what to do. For lack of a better idea, he ran, ducking out the door to the Library and slamming the door behind him. His breathing was panicked and shallow, and he didn’t look back to see if the dragon had seen him.
Eddard found himself in a town, everything smaller than it should be. He didn’t know what to do, where to go, he didn’t know anyone, he didn’t even know the name of the world on which he stood. The streets were largely empty, though he saw a cyan dot moving quickly about in the sky over the other end of town. He wondered if it was pony too.
It was then, as he stood in the middle of the town, that he was spotted. A gray pony with wings flew clumsily towards him, carrying a package. He slowly walked away from it, but it followed him persistently, though kept a safe distance. Ned eventually found a bench by a small park and sat down, exhausted and pushed well beyond his limits from all that had happened. He was vaguely aware of other ponies of all different colors slowly coming out of their houses to go about their business, only to notice him, and observe him from a distance. One of them, a pink one with a fluffy mane, saw him and gasped loudly, then proceeded to run in the opposite direction. He ignored them all. None of them came very close, but many stared, and wondered aloud in the common tongue what he was.
Eddard looked back towards the tree that had housed the purple unicorn and the small dragon. The leaves here may just be beginning to change colors, he thought, but for me, winter is no longer coming—it is already here.
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New chapter up, moar exposition.
Can't wait for Neds meeting with royalty
Remember that time when Fluttershy wound up as a star model for Photo Finish? You can’t just quit being one of the ponies that saved Equestria from Discord. That sort of fame sticks, and I don’t want them being dragged into politics any more than I can help it. They deserve better than that.”
Seems a bit out of character for Celestia to speak of the events as if she was there. She may get letters from Twilight, but who is to say that letter had anything to do about Fluttershy being a model. The reports are about friendship, and the moral of that one was something on the topic of self-discovery. (On just being yourself)
I tried to write a comment yesterday but a system derp ate it... anyway:
1 So, that ceremony after Discord's defeat didn't happen in this reality?
2 I wonder how Ned will react to his first talking cow. He is still wearing a lot of leather, isn't he?
1214322
1 - I'd forgotten about that. I just figured since they don't seem to be treated celebrities most of the time, it's unlikely most ponies know about them being the elements. It's a contradiction of sorts in the show, so I'm just going with the idea that they're not known to be the bearers of the Elements except to very few.
2 - Yes, he is still wearing a lot of leather. And yes, that will come up later. Presumably when he meets Rarity.
1214036
A valid point. But I tend to think Celestia would have noticed if one of the bearers of the Elements suddenly wound up a celebrity for a different reason. In that episode, it was made very clear that Fluttershy had gotten very famous.
1214413 Still doesn't change the fact she speaks of it as if she was actually there. (as well as Luna) It's more of an issue of character POV.
I'm glad its Ned and not Stannis. It would take a veritable army of Pinkies to get that sour Lisa to even crack a smile.
1214424
I'm afraid I don't get that impression when I re-read it. Do you think the rest of the chapter was OK? I'm somewhat concerned this chapter wasn't as good as the last three, due to the fact that I had a lot of exposition to do, and I don't think I'm as good with Luna as a character (yet) as I am with Ned or Twilight.
1214430
If there was an army of Pinkies, Stannis Baratheon would probably declare war on it.
1214473 that much randomness would surely herald the pink apocalypse.
A very nice chapter and some intriguing concepts proposed. The Veil is a nice term to use.
Hope to see more updates. Will Ned become the Chancellor of the Night Court?
Cheers
GM
1215017
Stannis in Equestria? What a terrifying concept. At least it's not Joffrey in Equestria. Though there is significant potential for Tyrion Lannister in Equestria. Sequel, perhaps?
1215166
...I'm not gonna write that one. For that matter, I doubt I'd even read Ramsay Bolton in Equestria.
Two days ago, I finished GoT and went nuts because I still haven't the second book. Some hours later, I discovered this fic. Perfect timing, my good sir
Ned's gonna miss Ice
1221030
This is true, he is.
Also, out of curiosity, is your username a reference to the game Tales of Symphonia?
1221086 Of course. My two favourite characters (plus I resemble them a lot) of one of my favourite games of all times
I wonder how will he react after knowing about Everfree Forest...
1237770
I believe I did put in a spoiler warning. Glad to hear you enjoyed it otherwise, though. I'm finally getting back to working on the next chapter as I post this comment.
I don't really think that a Stannis in Equestria is really all that necessary, considering the kind of person that Ned Stark is. I would remind the other readers that, while he's no sourpuss, Ned has very few expressions that aren't just variations on the serious face. Him and Pinkie interacting is going to be somewhat classic. Also, if he ever meets Blueblood... good lord.
I actually winced when I read that part about his neck being a slight amount out of alignment. That's gonna bother him on those cold nights.
Doctor: What is this?
Ned: Old war wound. Got my head cut off back in Westeros.
Doctor (Staring wide eyed): ...
Ned (shifting uncomfortably): I got better.