Stormy Horizon

by ZauronTheChangeling

1: I Gain Myself a Slave-Master

I groaned. A fairly standard reaction, one might even say stereotypical, to having one’s head split open!

…

…Okay, it wasn’t that bad, but it certainly felt like it.

My blood pounded in my ears in time with my heart, sending pain pulsing through my brain with every beat. It was like a concussion mixed with the world’s worst hangover. Everything hurt, and I felt like I might lose my lunch at any moment. Or would that be dinner? Doughnuts? I realized I hadn’t actually eaten anything before beginning my late-night computer fest. Oops.

I lay there on the hard, sandy ground for a minute or two, trying to catch my breath and recover. You’d be lazy, too, if you were just struck by what felt like the full force of the city’s electrical grid. Not to mention the lights, and the explosion… Come to think of it, was I really alive?

I blinked open one eye and immediately regretted it, the surge of sunlight burning through my brain like a laser beam. Had I ended up outside? It would explain the sand I felt through my oddly fuzzy clothes. It seemed like I was wearing a winter coat whose bottom half was just ripped off, leaving me exposed. My nerves must be fried, then. I felt a flash of annoyance and anger run through me. The whole damn station had just used me as a grounding rod, and the rest of the force was nowhere to be found. I wasn’t even in the hospital!

I groaned again, trying a second time to open my eyes. After blinking a few times, I was able to keep them at least partially open, revealing a strange, purple blur over a sandy gray background. I clutched at my head, slowly pushing myself into a seated position as the sand shifted beneath me. I looked at the purple blur, which was slowly taking some sort of shape. I did a double-take as I realized what it was.

Sitting a couple yards from me, wide eyed and terrified, was a tall, velvet-colored unicorn with a fuchsia mane and tail, broken horn, and no cutie mark. I immediately identified her as Tempest Shadow, real name Fizzlepop Berrytwist, from the My Little Pony movie.

Mlp had been a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine, having been drawn in by fan art and fiction of various qualities. I never told anyone about my love for the show, which worked out well, given that of all of my friends, I’d only actually met one in real life. I had read many a strange fanfiction in which some self-insert fanboy got spirited off to Equestria, sometimes being transformed into a pony or other creature from the show, and immediately started muddling with events.

Seeing the impossible object of thousands of works of bad fiction right before my eyes, I immediately said the most sensible and intelligent thing I possibly could.

“W-wha…?” I stammered. “What the fuck did I drink…?”

Tempest stared at me in disbelief for several seconds, not even breathing as she met my gaze. I narrowed my eyes, not enjoying just being stared at.

“Cut me some slack, okay? I got hit by lightning this morning.” I rolled my eyes and began checking over my form. Turns out the fuzzy sensation I’d been feeling over most of my body was, in fact, fuzz. Fur, technically. I had what looked like a pair of white furry pants over a blue midsection, as well as two white-furred paw-like hands with jagged lightning bolt patterns on the back. In front of me, just under my line of sight, bobbed some sort of yellow… thing. I tried grabbing it, only to wince slightly at the sensation. Whatever it was, it was sensitive. I started to get a theory going, and continued my investigation.

I reached up, running my hand over my head. I felt a soft protrusion at the front, like a cowlick, that sent tingles of static electricity through my fingers when I touched it. I then reached behind me, grasping onto something dangling from my upper back. I pulled it in front of me, revealing a jagged white tail, shaped like an elongated lightning bolt. It was one with which I was very familiar.

“I’m a Zeraora?!” I exclaimed in disbelief. “A Zeraora in Equestria, or wherever the equine hell I ended up, sitting in front of Tempest fucking Shadow herself. And I just so happened to get the ugly-ass shiny version, too?!”

To be fair, I didn’t actually dislike Zeraora’s shiny form. Honestly, it could be a lot worse, and Zeraora was my favorite mythical pokemon, in the running for favorite overall alongside Umbreon. I was just freaking out at the pure insanity of it all.

I’m dead, or in a coma, I thought to myself. That’s it! I got electrocuted half to death, and am now lying unconscious in the hospital dreaming of ponies and my favorite electric type pokemon. None of this is real. None of this can possibly be real!

While I had been having my little existential crisis, Tempest had managed to recover her own faculties, and was now standing on all four hooves, putting on an air of authority. The clear nervousness in her gaze kinda ruined the effect, though.

“Creature!” She bellowed, forcing her voice to remain steady. “Obey my commands. On your feet!”

“Yeah, yeah, give me a second, princess,” I groused, still rubbing my aching head.

Tempest frowned, casting a nervous glance to my side. I took that chance to look around myself, catching sight of what looked like the remains of some sort of summoning ritual. Directly around me was a large, thin, metal ring of some kind, possibly silver or polished nickel. Scattered in all directions around me were piles of ingredients of some kind, including various types of rocks and pebbles, and a whole lot of what looked like salt or ground-up quartz. Was I summoned here somehow? That’s not how pokemon worked, nor how My Little Pony did.

“Man, my brain must be really havin’ a ball tonight,” I muttered to myself. Weirdest coma ever. Also the only one.

“The circle is intact,” Tempest muttered to herself. “It should listen to me.”

“It?” I huffed. “I’m right here, Tempest. I’m a person, and my name is Zach.”

Tempest ignored me, somehow not even reacting to my use of her name. She looked me in the eye and spoke again, with more force this time, “I command you to stand immediately!”

“You really are a bossy one, aintcha?” I grumbled, reluctantly climbing to my feet. “Where are we, anyway?”

I groggily began making my way over to what looked like a doorway. The frame was cracked, and there was sand spilling in from outside. I figured if I could take a look around, I could figure out the setting for this fever dream. As I stumbled out of the circle, Tempest’s bravado melted, her eyes widening in shock and fear once again. Before I knew it, she was backpedaling away from me, horn alight with electric sparks. It took a few moments too long to realize what she was doing.

“Wait, I’m not--!”

I was cut off as a big blue bolt of energy impacted my stomach, sending me flying across the room. I hit the wall with a thud, expecting something to break. However, instead of pain, I felt a rush of power, centered on where she’d struck me and radiating out to suffuse my body. My grogginess faded away, as did most of my pain. I blinked, meeting Tempest’s gaze.

Of course! Zeraora has Volt Absorb, it’s how he gets his electricity, since he can’t produce it himself.

I stared at Tempest for a few seconds, a grin slowly splitting my face. “Dude, that was awesome! It’s like the best cup of coffee in the world, or a shot of caffeine delivered straight to my brain box. Do it again!”

Instead of obliging me like a good little dealer, Tempest continued to back against the wall, glancing around with her eyes as though looking for a way to escape. “I-I command you to stand down!” She tried, shaking like a leaf.

“You know, you were much more badass in the movie,” I said, my grin fading. “This must be before you met the Storm King, huh? I didn’t really look into the comics and stuff much.”

I began walking forward again, then paused, tilting my head at the unicorn. “Wait, can you even understand me, or am I just doing poke-speak to you?”

Tempest looked equally confused, but seemed to gain a little confidence by my pause. “You are my creature,” she said shakily. “You will obey my commands!”

“That answers that,” I said with a sigh. “Ya’d think that my own dream would at least have the decency of giving me speech. I mean, if the stories are true, I may end up spending a lifetime in here before I recover.”

“G-good,” Tempest said, obviously still skeptical. “Now step forward and kneel.”

I looked her over, really taking her in for the first time in High Definition. There was a nasty scar on her face, jagged and poorly healed, running down from her forehead to her cheek, even across her eyelid. She must’ve been real lucky to get that without losing her eye. Her horn was short, ending in a jagged stump only an inch or two away from her head. It reminded me of a broken bone, complete with cracks along what was left of the ridges. Her mane was bushy and unkempt, and her tail wasn’t much better. Without her armor, she looked like a wretched mess.

At that moment, I decided to do something I’d only done as an act of boredom. I decided to show some compassion. Sure, this was probably just some fever dream I was trapped in until my brain got unfried. Sure, she would probably go on to be a strong independent mare who don’t need no stallion, make a series of terrible choices, and eventually end up friends with the Mane Six in Celestia knows how long; but right now she just looked like a scared little girl who needed a friend, and would do anything to get one, even if she didn’t know it yet. Besides, this was my fever dream, and I could do what I want!

Chuckling to myself, I slowly made my way towards her, both hands held up in a disarming gesture, and took a knee in front of her. Even still, I was taller than her, though only just. If she still had a horn we’d probably be about even.

Tempest’s face relaxed somewhat, but still remained skeptical. She cleared her throat, taking a moment to collect herself, then looked at me, her gaze resolute.

“You will accompany me on my travels,” she said, standing a little straighter. “You will serve as my weapon, and my assistant.”

And your friend, I mentally added. Damn, I’m gonna be friends with Tempest Shadow. What a life.

After a few moments, I realized she must’ve been waiting for a response. I nodded once, not sure what else to say. “Zeraora,” I added for good measure.

Tempest returned my nod, then looked back over at the metal circle. “Retrieve that,” she said, gesturing to it. “Then follow me.”

As Tempest made her way out of the building, I stood up and walked over to the circle, picking it up. Turns out it wasn’t a metal ring so much as a fine metal chain; a very large one. I wondered what its purpose was and, if it was made of silver like it appeared, just how expensive it was. Shrugging, I slung the chain over my shoulder like a sash and followed Tempest out into the desert.

Author's Note:

Finally, a new chapter! Looks like Zach's gone and gotten himself involved with Tempest Shadow. What sort of crazy adventures might this duo get up to? Stay tuned and find out!

Comments and criticism welcome; I'm only human.

Comments

[Symphonicdysonince]

Heyo! Glad to see an update! Liking what I see so far, and can't wait to read about the misadventures Zach and Tempest ger up to.

[Aiwhisper]

Only two chapters?

[ZauronTheChangeling]

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Long, unexplained writing hiatus' are a bad habit of mine.