Equestria: Awakening

by Fighterx345

Chapter 3: Introductions

Darkness.

...

...

"He almos' burned a hole in Twi's face!"

...

'Wait, voices?...' They sounded distant.

I perked up as I comprehended what was said. 'Are they talking... about me?' I kept listening.

"Applejack, calm down. The point is that he didn't. In fact, he made it in time just to save me, and got hurt himself!"

'Is that... Twilight?'

"Twi, the point is that he's dangerous!""

'That sounds like... Applejack..'

"If he hurts 'imself on accident, what's sayin' he won't hurt anypony else? We couldn' just leave 'im there, but Ah-"

"That's enough out of both of ya'll," a third voice cut in.

'Who's that?... Another Taguel?" The voice sounded deep and masculine.

"Even if he's dangerous, Ah'm not turnin' him away just b'cause of an accident. From what you girls are tellin' me, he took rusponsability fer his actions by savin' Miss Twilight."

'Who is that? He sounds like he's defending me... Gods know what happens to someone convicted of assault around here.' I opened my eyes and looked up to see a wooden roof; it looked like I was in the barn I saw from outside before. The smells and sounds of animals besides the Taguel confirmed my suspicions. It felt like I was lying on a pile of hay. I tried to sit up. 'I've been sleeping a bit too much lately for my liking.'

Twilight looked at me and gasped. "Applejack, Big Mac, he's awake!"

I heard her and kept trying to sit up. "Ghah!"

...before gasping and falling back down, 'Gods, it feels like my back is still on fire!

Twilight stood next to the pile of hay I was lying on. "Robin, try not to move; you got burned pretty badly. What happened back there?"

I was lifting my head to look at her, but I sighed and dropped my head to rest back on the hay.

"I... don't know. Tell me, do you know anything about magic and spells?"

Twilight giggled and nodded. "Of course I do; I'm a unicorn, remember?"

I turned my head, still resting on the hay, and stared at her. "You're a...? Actually, nevermind. What happened was, I was thinking of a certain spell that conjures a fireball, and it sort of went haywire. It launched into the air, and arced down at you. I called to you to move out of the way, but there wasn't enough time, so I had to push you so the fireball wouldn't hit you."

Twilight frowned. "But it hurt you, instead..."

I smiled. "Yeah... Well, accidents happen."

Twilight pondered. "Well, it's clear that you know how to use magic as well. But one question: why were you using a fireball spell?"

It was my turn to ponder. "The thing is, I was just thinking about it. I didn't mean to actually use it. Normally, I'd also need a tome in order to cast it, so I have no idea how it actually happened."

Twilight tilted her head in confusion. "But... you don't need a spellbook to cast a spell you already know."

I didn't know how to respond to this. 'But, but that's never how it works! You need a spellbook that's not completely in tatters in order to cast a spell! Yet, I just did. Gods, none of this makes any sense! What kind of place could alter the very laws of magic itself!? Unless... Dear Naga, why in the hells did I not figure it out earlier?'

Twilight noted the expression of mental frustration on my face. So did Applejack.

"Now listen 'ere pardner, if yer tryin' to cast another of yer magic spell doohickies, you can jus' forget about it while yer in my family's barn."

The red Taguel placed a hoof on Applejack's shoulder, motioning her to calm down.

'...What?' "Oh - no no no, I'm not trying to cast another spell, but I think I've just figured out how I got here." I closed my eyes for a second before continuing. "You see, back in my 'world', per se, there exists a gate of sorts: we call it the Outrealm Gate. When you go through the gate, you are sent to other 'dimensions', so to speak. Normally, they are places much like the one I come from, but they might exist outside of time and space itself, never being an actual part of reality, or my reality, that is. What I'm trying to say is that..."

"This Outrealm Gate caused you to enter our world... But we found you unconscious out on the farm; is that consistent with any of your other journeys through the gate? You also have no other recollection of how you specifically got here in the first place," Twilight interjected.

I thought for a moment. "Well, the gate always transports us to a different place, and I've seen plenty of things before that I've thought of as impossible. Who knows? Maybe the memory loss is just a side effect, or perhaps your big red friend over there gave me a good kick to the head," I joked.

The Taguel gave a deep chuckle. "Nope," he answered. "The name's Big Macintosh, by the way."

I noticed the apple slice tattooed towards his rear.

I smiled. 'At least they're friendly, and their names and tattooes make sense to me now.' "I'm Robin; I'm sure your... friends(?) told you what happened."

Applejack joined in. "Well, we know eachother's names now, but Ah think we've yet ta be properly acwuainted."

She did a little curtsy with four legs. I almost chuckled a little.

"As ya know, Ah'm Applejack. Mah brother Big Macintosh" - she motioned at the red Taguel - "and I run this here farm, Sweet Apple Acres! We provide the best tastin' apples this side o' Equestria. Oh, and by the way, Big Mac doesn't talk much. Heh, I probably just covered everythang he was gunna say."

Big Mac had a faint smile. "Eeyup." The two siblings... nuzzled? I grinned at the display of affection. So did Twilight, who proceeded to speak next.

"And as you also know, I'm Twilight Sparkle. I'm the protegee of Princess Celestia, one of the diarchs of Equestria, but I normally don't mention it much. Applejack's one of my best friends, though Big Macintosh here is a nice stallion, too. He's the one who bandaged you up."

I just noticed that I wasn't wearing my robe; I still had my pants on, but the robe and shirt were gone, replaced with bandages with extra padding around my back.

"What about you?" Twilight asked.

"I'm Robin of Ylisse. I'm the army tactician of the Shepherd's, Ylisse's royal army, and the personal friend of Chrom, the crowned Exalt. I suppose he would be akin to a prince or king in familiar terminology."

Applejack and Big Mac raised their eyebrows at this, while Twilight smiled. "A magically gifted intellectual who's close friends with the crown?" She giggled. "I believe we've found something in common already, Robin. I hope we can become good friends while you're here," She added.

I smiled. "Likewise."

I thought to myself, 'This is significantly less violent than my other trips to the Outrealms. Diplomacy normally doesn't work so well.'

Applejack looked out the barn door. "Uh, Twi? It's gettin' rather late. What should we do about Robin? Normally, I'd invite him to stay in the guest room, but it's not ready after that little incident we had with Trixie. A barn's not the most comfortable place ta sleep, and Ah suppose the library's a bit too far fer him ta move in his current state." She eyed the bandages wrapped around my torso.

I spoke up. "Actually, I may have a solution for that." With some effort and minor pains, I lifted my right hand and held the palm above my chest.

'If an offensive spell could work without a tome...' A green, radiant light shone from my palm and bathed my body in a comforting glow. '...then maybe a healing spell will work without a staff!' I sighed as I felt my wounds heal. The Taguel just stared in wonder. After a moment, the light stopped glowing. 'Now I'm glad I took the time to train up in using staves, at least to the point of using Mend.' I sat up and started unraveling the bandages.

Big Mac's eyes widened and he motioned as if to stop me, until he noticed that my burns were completely healed. Both he and Applejack gaped.

Twilight voiced their thoughts. "Wow... You're just full of surprises!" She exclaimed with glee. Suddenly, my robes - previousiy lying motionless in the corner - began flying at my face, covered in a ghostly purple glow.

"aaAH!" I squealed; then I noticed the robes stopped flying at me a few inches away. I stared at the robes, and then at Twilight. Besides her excited grin being replaced by a look of confusion, I noticed another change: her horn was glowing in the same bright color. Applejack looked like she was holding back giggles; Big Mac was smiling.

'Magic.... right.' I grabbed the robes, at which point the glow faded and gravity resumed its control over them. I looked at Twilight again. "Hah, you're certainly full of surprises as well! I knew you could use magic, but there's no magic like that where I come from."

Twilight laughed. "I thought I'd give you your robes back, but you look like you've seen a ghost, ha!"

She calmed down. "Although, I do mean to ask. Even though you got burned, your cloak was pretty much unharmed. I've hardly ever seen enchantments of this quality before, and some of them are unrecognizable! Do you think I could study it when we get back to the library? You can keep your shirt, though."

After I slipped on my shirt, breastplate, and cloak, I stood up. "Sure, it's the least I could do if you're letting me stay at your home. Since I have no idea where we are, please, lead the way." I bowed with one arm crossing my chest.

Twilight turned to face the barn door and said giddily, "I think we're going to have a great time with you around, Robin." She started half walking, half bouncing to the exit.

I smiled and followed. "I should hope so; thank you, Twilight."

Comments

[butterfield pancake]

MOAR!!! [And I hope some Risen appear]

[that1dude]

Not bad at all, man. Keep it coming.

[butterfield pancake]

You referenced the Outrealm Gate which are how you access the Xenologues [And that you have to pay to play them]

However I still say maybe the ties to the other Shepherds sends them to Equestria as well [But in random places]

[Fighterx345]

2550726 Actually, I referenced "Crisis on Two Equestrias" by RainbowDoubleDash:
"Normally, I'd invite him to stay in the guest room, but it's not ready after that little incident we had with Trixie."
If you haven't read it, Trixie from an alternate universe gets ported to normal Equestria, and of course she's injured and nursed back to health in the Apple residence. It was a very offhand, obscure reference, but I assumed everyone who's played Awakening would know what the Outrealm Gate is, and it's part of the Fire Emblem canon universe, so it's not really a reference to anything else.

[butterfield pancake]

2550908 Oh Man I feel stupid right now [But do you think of the idea of Chrom being in a different part of Equestria?

[Spokes]

Loving this so far but the whole 'no tome no magic' thing, doesn't Robin kill Chrom in the original timeline with a thunderbolt he conjoured without a tome at hand?

[GoldenCyclone4]

4372707 No, he had his Thoron with him.

[Marowak47]

4372707 There is a tutorial before that cutscene where Robin has a Silver Sword and a Thoron. He used the Thoron.