Arrival
Oak Ridge was as simple a town as anypony could ever hope for. It sat in the valley of the Green Mountains, between Mount Wicker and Mount Haybale, and was split through the middle by an ancient waterway known simply as ‘The Grand’. The only way to get across The Grand was by boat. The river itself was populated with many floating shops that ponies, zebras and griffons alike all managed. At any given hour, there were at least a hundred boats making their way across, carrying goods and customers alike. The floating shops were diverse enough where one could find wing polish on one boat, books on the one next to it and then across the river find an armory.
It was home to almost 4,000 souls, while roughly another 2,900 kept temporary residence. It was only a two day journey from Fillydelphia, and a three day journey to get to Canterlot, so it was found to be the perfect place for intercontinental mail to be sorted, organized and carried away to its final destination. It was a courier’s town, where all roads passed through.
River Breeze was a simple pegasus, born, raised, and living in a simple town. She often got compliments by residents of Oak Ridge on her well maintained, preened wings, and her eyes, which were a bold, dark emerald green, but she had a difficult time accepting them, often getting annoyed by the attention. She helped run a small wing care store on the river with her older sister. On the days where she didn’t have to work, she found herself hiking up to the peak of Mount Wicker, the taller of the two mountains. Here, she was free to dream about escaping Oak Ridge. She daydreamed about being so much more than just a salespony. Maybe one day she could find the courage to tell her sisters that she didn’t want to live here forever. She would run, maybe get herself a waitress job in a bigger city, and save up enough money to build a home somewhere beautiful. Then she could start up a nature tour where she could expose more ponies to hiking and the beauty of the wilderness. Maybe she’d even meet a stallion that would treat her well, and love her like in the story books she read as a filly.
“Back to it tomorrow, huh?” she sighed as she raised her mug of hot coffee to her lips. River sipped her coffee as she watched Celestia’s sun dip below the horizon. The sky burned a fiery red and orange and faded off into a deep violet. As the stars became visible in the sky, River finished the last sip of her coffee and shoved the tin cup into her worn canvas saddlebag. Emblazoned on the side was a small pin that read “Tomorrow is always brighter,” surrounded by a cartoonish drawing of a unicorn and an earth pony hugging.
River looked up once more into the sky as Luna’s moon took its turn. The stars twinkled in the distance, who knows how far away. “Oh Luna, won’t you give me some sort of opportunity? Some chance where I can get away from here?” River begged, but the still sky revealed nothing. Sighing deeply again, she turned and started her way down the mountain and back home. She still had to make dinner, after all.
TWO DAYS LATER
“These readings are crazy, Spike! I haven’t seen anything like this since… since… Well, ever!” Princess Twilight Sparkle fumbled with the stream of paper being spit out of the machine. “Sweet Celestia, there’s a well of drained magic somewhere and I don’t know where it is!” she cried, running over to another machine in the corner of the Golden Oak Library.
“What? What do all these markings even mean?” The little dragon asked, picking up a wad of discarded paper. It looked to him as if a foal had scribbled all over it with black pen.
“Look, right there.” Twilight pointed to the nearby table. “Those results are the average environmental magic levels in Equestria on a normal night.” She lifted the sheet in front of her and threw it toward Spike. “These are the readings I got this evening. See, the inherent magic levels around two pm are normal, but around seven pm, we were hitting numbers twelve times higher than normal! Then only five or so minutes later it dropped down below the previous average.” She said, turning her attention back to the newest set of results. Spike scratched his head.
“Okay, but what does that even mean?” he asked again, dropping the paper on the floor before approaching and taking a seat on the couch.
“Well, this anomaly is cause for concern. The balance of magic is very fragile. It needs to be kept in check, and whatever this thing is, it just made everything go haywire!” She yelled. Twilight started to hyperventilate, but Spike threw a ball of paper at her. It harmlessly bounced off of her back and fell to the floor.
“Relax, Twilight! Freaking out isn’t gonna help you fix the problem any faster. Just think, if there really is something that's messing up the normal magic levels, how do we find it?”
Twilight took a deep breath.“You’re right, Spike. Freaking out won’t help us.” She tapped her chin. “Hmm, well, I could come up with some sort of spell that I can use as a portable, directional magic sensor or something.” A smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, but disappeared almost immediately, and she groaned. “But there’s no way to know how far this thing even is! It would be easy if it was here in Ponyville, but it could be anywhere! Who knows, it could be on the other side of the planet!” Twilight dropped her head onto the table and covered herself with her hooves. Spike put a claw on her shoulder in reassurance.
“Well, maybe the girls can help you out? Instead of searching, just us two, it could be a six mare and dragon search team! You could cover wayyy more ground doing that.” Twilight turned her head to look at Spike.
“Spike, sometimes I think you might be smarter than I am.” She smiled. “Okay, let’s not waste any time. This could be really dangerous, but I hope to Celestia it’s not.”
“River, you can take the night off,” Sea Breeze called out. “Doesn’t look like we’re getting many more customers tonight, so I think I can handle it.”
River slouched, bored over a large spool of rope next to the piling that anchored their boat to the dock. She sighed before standing up straight.“Ugh, finally. It’s not my turn to cook tonight, so I’m going up to Mount Wicker.” She curtly said, throwing her saddlebag over her back. “I’ll be late again, so don’t wait up.”
Sea Breeze sighed and shook her head. “Two things here: one, why do you even hike? We have wings. We can fly,” she gestured, while extending her own wings to make the point. “And secondly, what do you even do up there? You spend hours and hours up there almost every other day! What could you possibly be doing?” She paused, but then smirked.
River’s face twisted into a frown. “Don’t…”
“Secretly seeing a stallion, hmm?” Sea Breeze cooed.
River leaped onto her sister and started playfully wailing on her with her hooves.“I told you to stop saying that. It’s not true!” she raged. Sea Breeze laughed as she easily deflected each hit.
“Alright, alright. You win. Just be home before it gets too late. And have fun with your little stallion friend,”
River pointed her hoof at her dramatically, wearing a scowl on her face.
“Okay, Okay I'll take it back, sorry!”
Accepting that, River got up off of her sister and then helped her up to her hooves. “And by the way, hiking is fun. That’s why I do it. It’s nice to take a breather every once in a while. Flying isn’t everything,” she reasoned. Sea Breeze stuck her tongue out at her.
“You sound more earth pony than pegasus.”
“Whatever. Just remember that I don’t want any bell peppers in my dinner. See ya.” She waved before hopping onto the dock and trotting towards the mountain.
River sat in her usual spot and sipped her coffee, looking up at the night sky once again. “Oh Luna, won’t you please hear my wishes? Maybe give me a sign?” she whispered. After a few moments, nothing happened, and River started to pack her things away. She looked down at her reflection at the bottom of her tin cup. Her eyes were distant and tired.
“Wait. What’s that?” River snapped her head back up towards the sky. A star sat in a part of the sky that should’ve been empty. It was significantly brighter than the other stars in the sky. “What the?” The star seemed to gradually grow in size, but then she realized that it was actually falling towards the peak of the mountain. River Breeze screamed and frantically looked for a place to take shelter. Seeing a rock formation nearby, she opted to dive behind it in the hope she would survive the impact. Throwing her hooves over her eyes, and cowering behind a boulder, she waited. Some seconds passed, but there was silence. “Did I imagi-”
Suddenly, she was nearly blinded and deafened by a brilliant light followed by a booming crackle. Before she could recover, River was airborne, violently flung backwards by a second explosion. She smacked into the hard rock just as another deafening wave of sound hit her.
The earth-shattering sound rang through the clearing, forcing River to cover her ears from the pain. A few moments passed before she felt safe opening her eyes again. Her vision blurred for a few moments before clearing. Her ears rang, and her entire body hurt. “What in the name of Celestia just happened?” she said out loud, barely being able to hear herself. Trying to get herself up onto her hooves, she stumbled forward, falling face first onto the ground. She groaned before trying again and managing to maintain her balance. Slowly, but surely, her hearing returned as she made her way back to where her campsite had been. She looked around, smelling the air. A very distinct rotting smell lingered, causing her to cringe. Then she noticed it. The crater.
“Jeez. When I said give me a sign, I didn’t mean kill me.”
The crater was massive, and oddly spherical, looking as if a portion of the mountain had been carved out with a giant spoon. As she approached, she noticed that the foliage along the edge didn’t look burnt. A thick veil of fog within the crater made it difficult for her to make out what she was seeing. There was some sort of rock… No. It was a pony in the center of the crater.
“Oh my gosh, uh, HEY! ARE YOU OKAY??” she screamed, standing on the edge of the crater. She hesitated, before lifting her hoof and putting it down on the perfectly-cut stone. Immediately, she pulled her hoof back in surprise. “It’s cold… Freezing, even,” she noted. River took a large breath before stepping all the way into the crater and running up to the mangled pony in the center. The oddly frigid ground stung with every step, but there was no way she was going to let that stop her from saving this pony.
As she came within a few meters of the crater pony, she noticed that it was a pegasus, and with a few more steps she realized he was a stallion. He was all blue; his coat was a muted blue-gray compared to his mane which was a darker navy blue. As her eyes scanned over the body that was covered with cuts and bruises, she noticed that his flank had no mark on it. “What… the?” she began, but shook it off. There was no time to worry about something as small as that. She needed to help this poor stallion. He looked worse for wear.
A gash on one of his legs was her biggest cause for concern. Blood poured out of it at an alarming rate. Acting quickly, River ripped open her saddlebag and emptied the contents on the ground next to him. She found her first-aid kit, thankful that she was always prepared for times like these. She grabbed a wad of gauze and covered the wound before putting as much pressure into it as she could.
“Come on, stop bleeding now, I got you,” she whispered, her coat now stained with the stranger’s blood. After a few tense minutes, the bleeding had slowed down considerably and River relaxed. She noticed that the rising and falling of the stallion’s chest had changed from erratic, when she first got there, to a slow, restful pace. She uncorked a small flask labeled “Feel Fine Brew” and gently lifted the stallion’s head.
“Alright, I don’t know if you can hear me, but drink some of this. It'll help.” She poured a few drops of the dark amber liquid into his mouth, making sure that she didn’t choke him. To her relief, his body unconsciously swallowed it and didn’t inhale it. She slowly and carefully fed him a quarter of the bottle, making sure to pause and make sure he was actually drinking it.
River looked down at herself and noticed that her own hooves were shaking. She had never done something like this before - not to another pony, at least. She had gotten plenty of cuts and bruises herself, but none nearly as bad as that one. River was no earth pony, and definitely lacked the strength to pick up an adult stallion, but fortunately pegasus stallions only weighed about three quarters as much as earth pony stallions due to their lighter bones. It would be an uncomfortable journey back to town especially with the fresh bruises forming on her back, but she would have to manage. She let her thoughts wander before wondering what her sister would think when she brought back this unconscious stallion to town. She could hear her voice already.
“Ohhh, so you WERE seeing a stallion. I knew it! Looks like you were too rough on him, too.” The thought immediately soured her mood. She decided she would kill her if she said anything, and that seemed to satisfy her enough to start her journey back.
Soren’s body ached. It ached worse than it had ever ached before. Barely conscious, he tried opening his eyes, but a blinding light forced him to shut them once again. He groaned and let his head fall to the side. A shuffle caught his attention from somewhere nearby. He attempted to call out, but the words jumbled in his mouth. “Hus ther?”
A clattering sound was heard nearby. He could’ve sworn there was a gasp, and then footsteps into the distance. He heard someone speak, but he couldn’t quite understand what they said. A wave of pain radiated from his side, eliciting another loud groan.
“H-hey…”
Sea Breeze burst into River’s room, startling her. She dropped her mug of apple juice, letting it clunk to the ground and spilling its contents. “Breezie? What the Hay? Haven’t you heard of knocking? Look what you made me do!” she barked, pointing at the mess.
“W-well sorry! It was my turn to cook for the stallion. I was taking some porridge to feed him, and well, he moved! And he groaned! He’s been here for almost two weeks, and we’ve never seen him move like that.” She gestured towards her face, “He opened his eyes, too! Only for a second, but I think he’s starting to wake up.” River’s eyes opened wide as a silence built between the two mares. They stared at each other and then, almost as if they had practiced a hundred times before, simultaneously bounded through the door.
As they reached the guest bedroom, the two mares peered into the room. Sure enough, the stallion was squirming around, groaning and mumbling quietly. River and Sea Breeze exchanged looks before quietly stepping into the room. As they got closer and closer to his bed, his words started to make sense.
“Hello? Is anybody there? Please… Water…”
Hearing this, River immediately trotted over to the side table where a pitcher of water sat. “Shhh, it’s alright, we’re here. Just relax, I’ll give you some water. Don’t move, okay?” she assured him while she picked up the pitcher and poured a small amount into a little porcelain bowl. “Alright, open wide. I’m going to pour this into your mouth now.” It took a moment for the stallion to comply, but he weakly opened his mouth in anticipation. Slowly, River poured some water into his mouth, and then stopped, so he wouldn’t choke.
He swallowed it and managed to say, “more.”
River poured more water into the porcelain bowl and gave him more sips of water, until the pitcher was half-empty. “Alright, that’s enough water for now. Too much at once can be bad for you too, you know?”
Sea Breeze approached the bed, looking at the stallion. “Hey, can’t you open your eyes?”
“Too… bright.”
Sea Breeze nodded and walked over to the window and closed the curtains. The sunlight quickly faded, and the room was left in relative darkness. “How about now?” Sea Breeze asked.
It was still a bit too bright, but he let out a groan, which River interpreted as understanding. Once again, he tried opening his eyes. River watched as the stallion squinted and blinked in her direction. His brow furrowed as he squinted at her. He exhaled sharply through his nose and shook his head as if he wasn’t understanding what he was seeing. He continued to stare at River until she took a step forward and spoke.
“Hey, what’s your name? Can you tell us what happened to you?” Soren’s eyes grew wide, but the stress was too much for him to handle. He fell limp in his bed once again.
“Great, you made him faint. Great work, River,” Sea Breeze jeered.
“Shut up. Just get over here and help me with this.”
It took about twenty minutes before he came to once more, but this time the two mares were prepared. Soren had been propped upright in the bed with pillows on each side to stabilize him. He groaned as he once again opened his eyes to see the two sisters standing by him.
“Look, I know things must be confusing right now, but I need you to stay with me here, alright?” River urged. “I need you to tell me your name if you can. Can you do that?” Soren stared at the two mares for quite some time, but eventually opened his mouth.
“I… My name is Soren. Is this some kind of sick joke?” he asked, genuine confusion on his face. River and Sea Breeze looked at each other.
“Well, nice to meet you, Soren,” River replied. “But what do you mean by a sick joke?”
He eyed them both carefully, slowly shifting his gaze from one to the other and then back. “You… There’s no way you’re real. These have gotta be some sort of animatronics or something, right? Maybe that Discord guy drugged me up real good, huh?”
River stepped back. “Discord!?”
“What, you know him?” he asked, not noticing himself leaning forward.
“Well, no, but I’ve heard plenty of stories of him causing problems over in Ponyville.” River answered honestly, confused by what he meant by if she ‘knew’ him. Of course she didn’t know him. “Do you know him?” she asked.
“Unfortunately,” he sighed. “It seems like he drugged me, and now I’m in a room talking to a couple of animatronic horses. And hey, do you have wings? What are you like, a pegasus or something? And wait... Did you say 'Ponyville'?”
River looked completely lost, so she looked at her sister in hopes that she might be able to explain.
“Um, first of all, we’re ponies,” Sea Breeze said, looking back at River. “And you’re a pony too. In fact, you’re also a pegasus. I don’t understand what you mean by any of this.”
This time it was Soren’s turn to be confused. “What?” With some effort, and pushing through some pain, he looked down at two blue hooves. Soren immediately began to hyperventilate, but River was prepared this time. She reached over and put a hoof on his shoulder.
“Breathe, Soren. Deep breaths, in and out. Once you’re calm I’ll bring in a mirror. I think that you might’ve hit your head. You’re only confused.” He tried to catch himself and slow down his breaths, but felt his breaths run ragged once more. “Come on, In! Out! That’s right.” Soren followed her instructions and his panic slowly faded, but his eyes still glued to his hooves. “Sea Breeze, can you go get a mirror please?” Sea Breeze hesitated, but once River looked her way and frowned, she nodded, and left the room.
“This can’t be real. I- I remember making a deal with Discord… about something.” Soren clenched his eyes shut. “I just know that he wanted me to play a game with him in exchange for whatever he did for me. This is all just part of that. It has to be.” Soren looked down at his hooves and started to hyperventilate again.
“Hey! HEY! Calm down, remember? Deep breaths, that’s right. Good. Soren, I know things are crazy right now. Oh, I just realized that I haven’t introduced myself.” River stepped back so he could see her entire body without having to move his head much. “My name is River Breeze, and I saved you from your crash landing almost two weeks back. And hey, why don’t you close your eyes and just talk for now. That way, we can keep you calm and collected, alright?”
Soren nodded, closed his eyes and leaned back against his pillows once again. “Crash landing?” he said, breathlessly. “I crash landed?” He pulled at his face with his hooves. “This is a nightmare. I don’t know what’s happening! Crash land? Why was I even on a plane?” River patted his shoulder gently as he took it all in. Her presence was oddly soothing. He took a deep breath and then exhaled. “I suppose panicking won’t do us any good right now, huh?”
“No, it won’t.” River smiled. “But I promise it’ll be okay. We’ll have you back on your hooves in no time.” At the mention of hooves, he looked down at his own and snorted.
“It’s nice to meet you River Breeze, and thank you for saving me. You really didn’t have to go out of your way to nurse me back to health.” He sighed. “I apologize for being a burden.”
“No, no it’s okay. Really,” River assured him. “I think you’re just confused right now, and you need some time to recover. And you can just call me River.”
“Why do you keep saying that? I’m not confused. I’m not a- a-” Soren trailed off, not knowing what exactly to call himself.
“Pony?”
“I’m not a pony!” He raised his hooves in the air for emphasis, but regretted it almost immediately when the wave of pain hit him. “Ow!”
“Look, I don’t really know what that means, but we can figure all that out once you’re healed up enough to walk on your own. Ah, there’s Sea Breeze.” Just then, Sea Breeze rolled in a tall standing mirror into the room. It was flipped away from Soren and River, so all they could see was the finished back of the mirror. “Alright Soren, I think it’s important for you to see yourself in the mirror. It might clear up some of the confusion.” She patted his bedside. “I’m right here, so we can take a look together.”
“Alright…” Soren carefully opened his eyes to see River smiling at him, and Sea Breeze with a nervous expression on hers. “Go ahead, flip it. I’m ready.” Soren clenched his jaw in preparation. Sea Breeze flipped over the mirror, revealing to Soren his new form.
“... Holy shit.”
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Hum, well the chapter got published a few minutes after I posted my comment. So the guy is has been bed ridden, and unconscious in her house for the past two weeks it means that they are really far from civilization if she couldn't get him to a doctor, this could be interesting place to explore for a while and helps change the usual HiE setting. From the looks of it Discord absolutely doesn't want anypony to know he was originally a human, the fact that he doesn't sensor clamed that he wasn't a pony before freely means that it's that particular detail that that is important for Discord. I wonder if there are other players in this game(human) in this and that if they are controlled by other important beings and what is at stake in playing this.