Equestria: Awakening

by Fighterx345

Chapter 14: Shaken Ties

I was walking down the front steps of the castle, my greaves clapping against the fine stone. It was nearly night time, and I could see the moon peeking over the horizon, bathing Canterlot - No, Mount Prism - in a much softer, humble glow. Several lamps lining the streets were already lit, and smaller contained flames were visible inside homes, leaking out the windows in a serene fluorescence. Some of the light fell upon my cloak, revealing no trace of the previous pink stain of Twilight's experiments. With melancholy, I noted the irony in both the disappearance of the stain, and the dispelling of Equestria and Ylisse being different places.

I absently noted the repetitive patter of my footsteps while I mucked about in my thoughts. There's just too much to take in all at once... Ugh, maybe I can begin sorting out my head after a good night's sleep at Twilight's tree home-- oh gods, Twilight. My eyes widened; my irises inversely contracted. Didn't Naga say we were talking for a whole two hours? Oh geez, where is Twilight? And... what am I going to say to her? That her motherly mentor is actually a several thousand year old deity who metes out justice in small amounts as an absolute overseer for as long as anyone can remember? I pondered that phrase in my head. Actually, Celestia is pretty much the exact same thing, albeit more direct in a leadership role. Maybe I can fudge the truth a little bi-

"Robiiiiiin!!!"

Oh gods...

My suspicions concerning the origin of the voice were confirmed when a very disheveled individual virtually charged towards me. I feared that she would crash into me, but she stopped within casual talking distance (a bit closer than comfortable, actually). Her hair's all messed up and she's practically shaking... Huh, she told me to have faith in the kindness of the princesses but seems to have trouble doing so herself. I was about to start talking to assuage her concerns, but my first few words were flooded by her tsunami of inquiries.

"Oh Celestia - Robin, are you okay - what did the Princesses tell you - did they banish you from Ponyville - or did they find a way to send you back home - are you allowed to keep staying at my home - did they give you a test - did you fail - are they sending you back to magic kindergarten!?" Twilight paused her flow of ideas to breath; before she could resume, I interrupted.

"Twilight, I'm fine!" I voiced rather forcefully. Before she could respond, I placed my index finger mere inches from her face in a shushing motion. "Please, just let me explain." She was still shaking, but closed her mouth and nodded.

I waited a moment to see if she would remain silent. When she did so, I dropped my raised arm and sighed. I quickly ran through my memory and decided what would be safe to tell her. "Okay, it turns out that the Princesses and I are old acquaintances. We didn't recognize each other at first, but we figured everything out."

Twilight nearly exploded. I didn't try to stop her.

"WHAAT? You know the Princesses?! But when -- where -- how did you meet each other?!" To me, it appeared that Twilight was running a thousand different calculations and theoretical situations out in her head, trying to figure out where someone like me would fit into Equestrian history. She suddenly stopped shaking. "Wait..." Twilight lowered her eyes slowly, but her focused pupils betrayed her uttermost focus and attention. Something had connected in her head. She shortly looked back up as if seeing me for the first time. "...Robin, how old are you?"

I bit my lip. Oh geez... Uhh, think, Robin! Well, as long as it doesn't expose Naga and Grima, I'm sure whatever I say is fine...

"I'm... a thousand and twenty-two years old," I blanched.

I mentally fell flat on my face.Good job, genius.

I expected Twilight's mind to shatter, but to my surprise, she stopped panicking and straightened herself out immediately. Even her hair seemed to fix itself instantaneously. "That... makes sense."

It was my turn to be dumbfounded. "I'm sorry, what?"

Twilight nodded, some determination returning to her composure. "It's the one explanation that make sense with what you've told me. Nothing added up before, but with your age, you could have very well met the Princesses before Equestria was dominantly settled by ponies. Albeit you would have been relatively very young, but the earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns were still warring tribes at that point. Does that mean your race was dominant before Equestria was settled?..." Twilight delved into a well of thought. "Equestrian history becomes only speculative past a thousand years ago: before Princess Celestia banished Princess Luna. We only have folklore and children's tales about it. We knew that there must be some undocumented species of creatures that existed then, but I'd never have imagined that a race as intelligent and magically gifted as yours would have existed that long ago, alongside ponies. What confuses me the most, then, is why humans besides you have not survived until now..."

I muttered under my breath, "Well, you have your Princesses to thank for that..."

Twilight snapped to attention because of my voice. Luckily, she didn't seem to have heard my comment, but she looked at me in a different way, probably due to the conclusions she drew from my age.

"You... you're ancient -- you're almost as old as the Princesses themselves!" Twilight grew excited.

Oh Twilight, if only you knew the truth...

"You've been around for over a thousand years! There's so much we can learn from you, you're a living witness to the development of Equestria-"

"No, Twilight."

Twilight stopped. She looked to see a very bitter and resentful thousand-twenty-two-year-old human. She quickly realized she was simply treating me as a primary historical resource, rather than a sentient being.

Rather than the friend I've been: the one she came to know...

"Robin... I - I'm sorry, but it's just-"

"Please, just... stop. We can talk about it when we get back to your home. The Princesses said that I should stay in Ponyville until they prepare my way back. I'll explain what I can but," I sighed, "it's getting late." I looked up to see the sun descending below the horizon. "We should get back to Ponyville."

Twilight bore a melancholy, regretful expression. "...You're right. Okay, Robin. Let's go home." She punctuated with a sad smile that I wished above all else in the world to return, but I just couldn't. Her smile faded, replaced with guilt. We began walking back to the chariot that brought us here, which was now drawn by two bat-winged Pegasi. Their sharp yellow eyes pierced the darkening veil of night like an assassin's discerning knife. No doubt they have night vision with those kinds of eyes, but how in the hells did they evolve like that?

While I stared at the unique ponies, still sorting about my mind, Twilight thought, 'Oh Celestia, how thoughtless can I be?! Robin is... he's a friend, first and foremost. He's acted kindly and responsibly since he's arrived. Just because my preconceived notion of who he was doesn't match with reality, I have no reason to treat him differently. He's a human, not a history book. Still, something's bugging me about his age. How come there's no documentation of humans, considering he's survived until now? And besides...'

I finished Twilight's thought.

...where have all the other humans gone?

Comments

[Raizuo]

Man, I love this game to this day... but to see a crossover that took it in a different direction? I'm impressed

I'd love to see where this story goes from here, I have a feeling that it's going to be a bit interesting.

[Always Breakfast]

While I stared at the unique ponies, still sorting about my mind, Twilight thought, 'Oh Celestia, how thoughtless can I etc etc'

I finished Twilight's thought.

...where have all the other humans gone?

...Why is Robin suddenly psychic?