A dusty mirror, reflecting light from someplace unknown, was all I could see in this dark room. Little did I know, a beautiful being, pure black and full of contempt, would rescue me.
A dusty mirror, reflecting light from someplace unknown, was all I could see in this dark room. Little did I know, a beautiful being, pure black and full of contempt, would rescue me...
Made for the fun, pleasure, and enjoyment of (me) my audience!
Current Status: Break over, but sickly. Will continue writing! ☺
An empty Darkness, like an unending ocean, surrounds me. I am a rock, sinking into it, knowing I can only fall....
I lie face-first on the ground; I try to stand, but my legs aren't responding. I attempt to open my eyes, but it is still dim around me. I try to scream for help, but my mouth will not move. My body feels number each second, to the point it hurts to try to move. I raise my head and look around, but only see walls. Tears fall from my eyes.
Where am I?
I look to the center of the room and see a strange oval-shape in the middle. Using my arms, I crawl towards it.As I come closer, it become more prevalent that it reflects some light from someplace I cannot see, making it shine brighter than anything else in this room. I crawl faster, wanting to bask in this light...
I make it to the oval-shape, seeing an unknown being reflected against it. I scream inwardly, slamming the oval with my fist. It shattered... into my fist.
A mirror?
I start to wonder why there is a mirror in the middle of a room, when suddenly the room was brightened to blinding proportions.
A blue-figure shouts at my face at a high volume. My ears are deafened with the acoustics of the room. In an attempt to quiet my ringing ears, I place my hands to them, only to feel water. I pull my hands back to my eyes, and see red.
Blood?
With a mere shout, this demon destroyed my hearing. I wonder if she also broke my legs. I feel my eyes begin to twitch, the light in the room blurring drastically. I try to look for the heavens, but I cannot find up nor down.
Oh, dear lord, help me! I wished this light never turned on! I scream in mental anguish.
The figure approached me as I tried to crawl away, but it was already behind me, still screaming, and attempting to grab me...
Suddenly, a blast of green hits the demon, knocking her down. Another figure steps into the room. The being, I could see, was jet-black; but I felt no fear looking at it... I felt safe. The figure faced towards me with a questioning face. I look to my right, seeing the mirror... seeing me. I was bleeding heavily from the ears; my eyes were blood-shot; and my legs were Gone, replaced by bloody bandages. I look to the figure and said one thing.
"Help..."
My consciousness waned after that, and I blacked out.
Back into the safe and beautiful darkness...
A faint light beats upon my welcomed darkness...
I open my eyes, seeing a few green-colored tubes in my body. I nearly freak out, until I saw the one who saved me. It slept in a couch beside my bed, her horn flowing the green into my body. I stare at it. I stare at a beautiful beast in its slumber...
"Well, hello there!" it said to me, "Why have you been staring at me so much, son of Man?"
"I was thinking about how peacefully you slept," I say, feeling chipper," but I guess I messed that up?" I smile, realizing I felt, not chipper, but faint after losing so much blood.
It just smiled back, her horn glowing a bit greener. I felt slightly healthier.
"What are you pumping into me?" I asked, starting to get tired.
It just points to her horn, "My magic, can't let a fellow non-pony die on my mission."
"Pony? Mission?" I ask.
She just laughs softly, "I will tell you in the morning, for now just rest."
Her horn lights up brighter, and I start to feel light-headed.
"Can you tell me your name, then?" I ask, laying back down into this suddenly comfortable bed.
"I am Queen Chrysalis, the rightful ruler of Eques—"
Huh, its a woman? was my last thought before returning to beautiful slumber...
A fuzzy feeling is around my body as I slumber. My body starts to shine before my eyes and all the magnificent darkness around me starts to disappear, or so I thought. All the darkness actually went to one figure, and that figure suddenly shone an earthly green...
I felt at ease. It feels like Mom...
The light around me was blinding as I woke from my bed. My short legs barely hit the floor, but once they did, I ran. I ran towards a deafening scream, but the moment I arrived a corpse was on the floor and a tall person in white was covered in blood. I screamed and tried to hit the man, but he smacked me against the floor and I returned to darkness...
I jolt awake, feeling wet...
"Mother!" I cried. I was blinded my tears, and felt a light, yet warm, thing wrap around my body. I get closer to the warmth and hold it closely; my mind filled with pain...
I cry into the warmth's thick, yet soft, skin for a few minutes...
"T- thank you, my Queen." I say to her, wiping my tears.
She just smiles and says, "Don't worry about it, child of Ma— I mean, my son."
I smiled at her, going back to my bed...
But then she asked, before leaving this dim room, "My son, what is your name?"
"My name?"
...
"My name... is Christopher, I am 10, I think..."
She frowns a bit, "Well Christopher, get some rest and maybe you'll remember who you really are."
She slowly closes the door, and the room becomes dark. I get out of the bed and walk around...
Walk?
I look down, and see that my legs were, indeed, still gone, but there was a new pair of legs. Oddly shaped stub-legs, at that. I try to walk a bit faster, but feel myself losing balance, so I correct myself.
Maybe life in this darkness isn't so bad, with her protecting me...
I smile and go to the bed, which is pure white, and lay down...
"Happy Birthday!" said my father, smiling at me. The cake in front of me was vanilla, my favorite, and had written on it, 'Happy 11th birthday!'. I smile at my father, but we are both crying inside. It was only a few days after mom's brutal murder, and the criminal was captured in his pitch-black barn by dogs. He lights the candles and we sing the song, as usual, and I make my wish...
I sit down on a table, waiting for the Queen to get done with her morning duties. I play around with a magnet on the table, making it spin around an iron spoon. I flip the spinning object, watching the spoon spin instead. Nearly an hour passes as the Queen finally gets into the room with me. A dish of many types of foods are put in front of me and her by her servants, who look quiet interesting. I see nothing appetizing except some green jello-like substance. I scoop some up, tasting it from the iron spoon.
It was horrible.
"What is this?" I ask, rubbing my tongue.
"That is an acidic food used to melt down hard foods," she takes a sip from a red drink, "you're not supposed to eat it by itself."
She pushed me a plates of black things. I put the jello on it, watching the black things dissolve slowly.
"Why didn't I melt?"
She ponders for a second.
"Let me just say magic, for you probably won't know much else."
"If I can't know that," I say, playing with the black things,"then can I learn about your people?"
She smiles, "Yes, but be prepared for a lecture!"
I nod, watching her exit the room. A minute or two of twirling magnets later, she returns with a bundle of papers.
She pulls one out,"Our country, here relative to Equestria, is intensely small, but it was not always like this."
She pulls out another, but this one is a large scroll of different writings.
"Can you read what this says to me? My eyes are still blurred." I ask her.
"Well, we do not have much time, so I'll just summarize," she coughs, "In the reign of the first few leaders of the Chargers, what we used to be, we were an equine-domestic country, which means we were somewhat part of Equestria. This all changed when the two sisters deified their father's wishes, but I will explain that all later."
"What changed?"
"Well, let us just say that we went from a race of beautiful equines to insect-equines. We went from giving an infinite amount of love to only absorbing it to survive. We even went from a high-ranking part of Equestria to a so-called 'terrorist-organization' because of our endless hunger for emotions!"
The queen looks angry and storms off for a bit. I eat the black things, which have dissolved by now.
They were horrible
...
The Queen and I are going down a hallway after she let out her temper.
"Where are we going?" I say, not wanting to talk about history anymore.
I look around the hall. It is not very decorated, only a grey wall with green gems in random places.
She turns her head to me, "We are going to town, to introduce you to everyone," she smiles, "No need to be nervous."
Meeting new people? If they are like her, than they must be nice, right?
We go down corridor after corridor; I mentally mark the corridors so I do not get lost next time. The gems on the left side of the halls always tilt to the correct direction to leave, I see.
Paying too much attention to detail, I do not hear my queen stop in her tracks, and I bump into her.
"Sorry." I say, blushing.
"It's alright," she grins, "Better smile, for everyone is outside waiting to greet you."
I smile, feeling uncomfortable doing so. I look to my queen and feel relaxed.
"I am ready."
She slowly opens a wall, which turns out to be double doors. This place is a wonderful labyrinth. She motions me outside, and I go... and see hundreds of the same looking beings outside. But even though they look the same, their eyes shined different. Some that looked at me frowned, some smiled (some fake-smiled), and some looked in different places.
Chrysalis whispered, "Go to the podium to your left and give a speech. It is what all new arrivals do."
Speech? What should I...
I look at my queen and her, no, my fellow people and walk to the podium. My face is sweaty and I feel faint, but I stand on the little pedestal behind the podium. I clear my throat.
I guess I should just speak what I think about them?
"Although I felt sneers on me as I walked on stage, I feel welcome." I smile," I see that, throughout the crowd, that you do not look the same at all. You are all a mysterious bunch, but you are all also mysterious individuals!"
Some of the crowd looks slightly shocked. Some just nod their heads. Words flow through my mouth, feeling odd to say. It got their attention, so I roll it down.
"I wish to learn all about you and our queen. I wish to join you all in any trivial matters that combat you, for I..." I point to the sun, blocked out by a green field, "I despise the Sun!"
I look all around, seeing that everyone's attention was on me.
"For us there are only two possibilities: either we remain under the magnificent queen or we come under the rule of the Demons that attacked me mercilessly! This latter must not occur; even if we are small, we are a force. A well-organized group can conquer a strong enemy. If you stick close together and keep bringing in new ponies, we will be victorious over the Demons you call 'Ponies'!" I shout, feeling a large grin emerge.
"Our queen told me all about our need to consume emotions, and that the ponies are the best source of them, but the leaders will not allow us to consume it, even though love is a renewable resource! I do agree that the mind-control that we did in your first attack was going too far, but that is it. I can only recall memories of sadness..."
I tear up, looking to the crowd.
"But even I sympathize with the murderer of my mother." I say quietly, having the front row gasp slightly.
"Their is no Black/White about what we do. What we do is just as 'evil' as them trying to starve our species! It is them or us, and I do not know about you changelings, but I want US to live in either Peace; where we are finally allowed to live together in Equestria, or we conquer them!"
I have no clue what I am saying, but people are cheering for more. I look to the green barrier.
"This would have never happened if the merciless 'Princess' Luna hadn't cursed our kind a thousand years ago! I would have been kind if it wasn't for HER deafening and nearly killing me! We would not be starving if it wasn't for them!"
With their hungry faces, each of them full of compassion, anger, and hope.
"For all of those wishing for a peaceful life with the ponies, say I!" I yell to them.
A loud, resounding answer of yes echoed across the main square of the city. Even my queen answered yes.
"Then we must all follow our queen and hope she makes the right decisions! I, although not one of your kind, pledge my eternal loyalty to out queen, for what she said has changed me for good!"
I begin to walk away to the podium, and our queen walks to me...
What she said to me, huh...
"Why arntsh you eatinsh?" I said to my queen, stuffing myself with eggs.
"Us Changelings do not eat solids like other animals, anymore."
"Anymore?"
She sighs, "I guess I should tell you the reason for our wars now." She gets up and goes to the front wall of the breakfast room. She puts her horn in a small hole in the wall and the wall opens.
wow.
From the wall there was; a large board with papers on it, a stick, and some drawn-pictures. I am short-sighted, so I cannot see them.
She shows me the board first.
On the board was diagrams on changeling bodies (Cool!) and their habits. To breed, a female changeling must be given a special saliva from the queen to eat, activating her egg-laying in a few days. The parent(s) of the child must teach them all of the powers they have in a few years, before they are all forced to be in the military until twenty. Male changelings only are able to produce a few special saliva their whole lives, so it si usually kept for emergencies. Male changelings also live much longer than the females; about two hundred years, so many of them are older than our current queen, who is about one-fifty.
"Queens live for a much longer amount of time, and any female changeling, with enough loving followers, can become one." My queen said to me, pointing to a ripped page on the right of the board.
She pulls out the photos.
"We did not always look like this though," she shows me the pictures, "we used to be the second region,ruled by 'Princess' Luna of Equestria, until SHE cursed us." she grabs the picture to my right in her magic, "This is what my grandmother looked like."
A yellow filly with a heart tattoo on her rear was sitting in the forest. The filly had light-blue hair going down her face, unkempt.
"Why did your leader do such a thing?" I asked.
She looked down.
"Because of the new power she gained, she attacked us with a spell meant to turn us into bugs, but her sister stopped her from casting it all the way and..."
She looks at her body.
"This is what you get."
I sat there, silent.
"We are not at war for that though..." she has a malicious frown on her face, "It is because the spell is irreversible, AND, by law, we were technically at war with the first section of Equestria and 'Princess' Celestia thought her sister was making her soldiers into powerful beasts and..."
"And..."
She tears up, "She destroyed moss covered building, believing them to be barracks when they were, in fact, homes and schools. She had used her light magic for Genocide, and TO PRESERVE HER REPUTATION in 'times of great need' she trapped us in a dark-green dome to prevent us from escaping..."
"How did you get out?"
"We brought a second curse upon ourselves for vengeance. We cast a body-morphing spell on us." She glew green for a moment, and changed into...
Me.
"Am I really that old?" I ask her.
I look like an adult, I even identify myself a one in my eyes, but I do not...
"You'll remember sooner or later." she said, changing to normal.
"Truthfully, we are trying to free the one being capable of reverse this effect."
I stood up from my chair, which squeaks softly as I leave it, my mouth wide open.
What was I going to say?
My queen looked at me with sad eyes, "You want to know why he is locked away?"
I nod, sitting back in my chair, feeling the chair be crushed a it under my weight.
"It is a long story, but here is the gist of it," she inhales,"About a thousand and a half years ago, The King realized something while looking at several other universes. He realized that having this planet as a monarchy would only cause great sadness and anger in due time... But his daughters wanted to remain in power. They used the Elements of Destiny, made by him, and used them against him. They trapped him in something, removed all witnesses by bribing or... elimination, but one."
"Who?"
"Star-Swirled the Bearded's great-grandfather." She looked to the side, "He told our side of the kingdom of what had happened, but told us to keep quiet. He disappeared in due time, and so did his son."
She scowled and turned to the wall. I saw a vague color around her, but could not single it out.
"They adopted and manipulated his clueless great-grandson many years later to see if he could become an Alicorn and assist in keeping their father at bay. The reason is that it seems to slow down his inevitable escape because every Alicorn is forced to take a piece of their father's magic."
I looked at her for a bit, seeing her pain, which is of a white color.
"My queen, what can I do to help free him?" I ask, my face, too, appalled at the trencher at one's own parent.
She looked at me, her beautiful eyes clouded with tears, "You will...
She looked at the crowd of changelings and motions me beside her.
"This human has decided to become one of us indefinitely, and just by looking into his eyes, I have selected his occupation." Everyling in the crowd looks at her and then at me in anticipation to see who gets to work with this master speaker.
Or at least I think that, heh.
"This human shall be joining the Covert Ops. team as an Agent, so would the Covert Ops. Leaders please escort him to the 'Non-Changeling' Division?"
Two changelings, disguised as ponies, wave to me, and I follow them. One is a thin, blue, mare while the other is a buff, green stallion. We go off stage and into a black cart, pulled by two changelings with broken horns...
After dozing off in the cart, the buff stallion woke me up. He held something in front of my face: A pendent.
"Put it on," he said, "and think of me."
Following his orders, however oddly erotic they are, I put on the pendent. I think of him and his form...
And I am engulfed in green flames. I try to scream, but the fire has melted my mouth; I try to run, but my legs are splitting apart; I try to look, but I am blinded.
But that doesn't stop my mind from screaming internally...
Moments pass before I realize I felt no pain. My vision reappeared and I felt small. Very small. I open my mouth to speak with the buff changeling, but he whips out a picture before I can say a word... I stare at the photo, but not of awe; but of fear. The photo moved as I did, the photo looked me straight in the eyes, and that is when I figured something...
This is a mirror. I am of an equine shape, but I see bits and pieces of fur-less parts of me..
"What kind of work am I supposed to do?" I ask, grabbing the mirror, admiring my body.
The thin pony turns to me, "We are going to our headquarters in Canterlot, but because of the failed attempts to raid last time, we are going to invade slowly."
"Failed?"
The thin pony frowns, "Our first attempt was stopped by the Element of Destiny wielders, out second attempt got you and a few valuables, and now we are hoping that this next slow raid will not fail as well."
'"Why did they fail, and why did you do them?" I ask, baffled as to why you would raid the capital, the most defended place, first.
The buff pony turns, slobber on his face, "They failed because we do not want to hurt the ponies. We only abduct them to reveal to them the truth. This raid, however..." he clears his throat, "We are planning to steal the Amulet of The King, an item they have confiscated from some greenhorn."
"What does it do?" I lay the mirror down, too interested in this 'Amulet of the King'.
"The amulet allows any living being to siphon magic from the King, even if he is locked in ice."
I sit there, silent.
The magic of the King? If it took the strongest weapons, ponies, and long planning, how powerful is it?
The thin pony smiles at me, moving to the seat beside me.
He whispers into my ear, "The amulet is the only item capable to free the King."
I whisper back, looking at the now sleeping buff pony, "Then why don-"
"They would never truly lock their own father away, that is dumb. You want to know more about him?"
"Yeah."
"Well then, when we get to the base in a couple more hours, we'll let you read the records."
"Thank you," I look at him,"sir?"
"Streak is my name, but the pony is called 'Blue Harry'."
"What is mine called?"
"Blake's is called Henry Lifter, yours will be decided later tonight."
A few minutes pass, me just sitting in the back.
"How do I change back?"
"Imagine what you look like."
I concentrate on my appearance...
My light-brown skin, My bald head, my eyes...
The moment I think of my eyes, I begin to cry. Flames, burning me down to my bones, surround me, and I hear gasps around me as I burn alive...
My body feels chilled as I wake from the realm of slumber, my body feeling somewhat numb.
I open my eyes, but they feel crusty. I attempt to clean them, but my arm is not responding. I open my mouth and try to speak. A low hum comes out. I hear footsteps.
"I wonder if he is heal-" someone moves towards me, their hooves colliding with the ground in an annoying way, "Hey, buddy."
It's Streak in his pony form, lest I be mistaken..
He removes the towel from my mouth. I pop my jaws, my teeth feeling cold.
"What happened?" I asked, raising my head to watch him unchain me from the bed. He looks at me.
"You shouldn't ever look at the fire when you are changing, it hurts your mind."
"How?"
[clack]
He unchains me, "It makes you go insane for a while because you cannot comprehend it like real changelings."
I rise out of the bed, my long, black legs dangling as I sat on the bed. Streak looks at me.
"You should probably get changed, your clothes are all wet."
I look at my shirt, a charred red color, and start to shiver. I take off my shirt, seeing the pendent beneath it.
"Do you guys have any clothes for me?"
Streak nods, and opens a door. Behind the door was a big, black, block of sludge. He grabs a piece of the sludge.
"Put this on your chest."
Disgusted, I do so. The blob of sludge is cold as it touches my chest, and it suddenly moves. I almost jump, but Streak calmed me down by putting his hoof on my leg. The blob wrapped around me, little specks of green and white converging on my left side. The blob then inflated and stopped.
"A sweater?" I ask.
Streak nods, and goes to the door across from me. He motions me towards it.
"Get ready to meet your team."
He opens the door, pushing me out. I see a table of six ponies eating some hay.
"Hello?"
They all look at me, "So now we even have a human on this team? Are we out of options or some-" said a Dark Blue pony.
"Silence, Manko, the queen herself enlisted him." said a mare. She walks up to me. "Hello and welcome to the C.I.F." She sticks her hoof out. She then realizes I am almost twice her stature, so she stands.
I shake her hoof, "C.I.F.?"
"Canterlot Invasion Force." said a grey-blue pony, "We are led by Miss 'Light Heart', even though she is harsh." The mare stares at him and turns back to me.
"I am Nocturnal, but I was forced to take that identity by him," she coughs, "but, I guess we should do introductions."
I still don't know what my name is, so I think hard for a good name. One that sounds threatening, vicious, yet cunning.
"My name is Allen Nella," I lie, "and I hope to get along with all of you."
The grey-blue pony talks while eating a pie, "I am Lionheart, but my pony name is Soarin— New leader of this nation's air-force."
Wow, we really are dug in deeply...
The dark blue pony looks up from his meal with a frown, "I am a dragon without a real name, so just call me 'Paul Rounder' like the citizens of Canterlot do."
The pony next to him is asleep, so he wakes her up, "Huh, what?"
"Introductions." said Nocturnal.
"Oh, right." she clears her throat," My name is Sprinkled Apple, and I really am a pony."
She hits the guy, eating like a slob, next to her.
"I am just Frank. My pony form, which I am in, is also named Frank." he says, immediately going back to eating.
A refined looking pony looks at me, "Well, I'ma be honerst wit you, my name is Laffy, but my pony name is Muse Isane—Master of Clerssical music," He spat around while talking,"I'm a mule."
Nocturnal turns to me, "There are two more, Kyle and Bart, who are prestigious wandering guards of Equestria. We worked hard to get our positions without getting caught, and so will you."
"How?" I ask.
"Well, what are you good at?" she asks, looking at me.
Hmm... I do not have that many known skills, so maybe it'll help me blend in?
"Giving speeches." I say, remembering how easily I threw together a speech earlier.
"Then I guess it is time to give you a body." She says, a non-fitting grin emerging from her calm body. I feel scared. She looks happier by the second, though, and everyone seemed to giggle for a second.
After an hours of following Nocturnal through the base, we reach a door, pure black as it glows an ominous color. She gets in front of the door, her smile becoming darker.
"Come on in," she says, opening the door, "and see the view."
What I see astounds me: There are hundred, maybe even thousands, of ponies in chrysalises; each and every one of them seeming to be in an endless slumber. Their faces blurred by the semi-transparent glass, yet I could still feel their pain.
"What the hell is this?" I nearly yell, but before I can add anything further, Nocturnal covers my mouth with her hoof.
"Shhh! The citizens are sleeping." She says, a maddeningly large smirk on her face, as if this was normal. I follow orders, and silence, though. She removes her hoof from my mouth, trusting me, and guides me to a door behind a chrysalis. Inside the chrysalis is empty, but it still feels odd.
"Behind this door," she says, her hoof on the handle, "is the pony whose life you are supposed to control as your own on your mission."
She reaches for me in a comforting fashion, "Do your best."
Without a word from me, she shoves me through the door by magic and locks it with a loud clank. Like the rest of the castle, the room is dark, but an ambient green color emanates from the edges of the room instead of them coming from the candles. It is huge, despite being small from the outside, making me think if it was the same for the rest of the rooms.
"So," a voice said in the darkness, "you are to become me, aren't you?"
A grey glow shines in the middle of the room, and the lights turn on a second later. A young colt, with a scroll on his butt, looks at me.
He looks at me for a long time, his eyes unwavering, and I do the same. We sat there for an unknown amount of time...
...
He flinches, "You truly are good," he says, chuckling. But not in a happy way.
"Who are you?" I ask him.
"Isn't it common courtesy to say your name first?" He smirks.
"My name is Alle—"
"No it isn't." He frowns.
"How do you know?"
"Lets say that a liar`s lie is easily perceptible by ponies," he smiles, "who are liars themselves."
I look at him with a quizzical stare, but he doesn't seem to stare back anymore.
"But, " he says," I guess it doesn't matter." He holds out his hoof, "I am a wandering thief, too many fake names to myself, and none real."
I shake his hoof, "How did you get caught?"
"A decade ago, I tried to bribe a guard, but it turned out to be a changeling..." *Cough* "in fact, it is the one right outside." He smiles.
"Her?"
"Yep."
Looking at him closer, I see that he is a pegasus with oddly shaped wings, and his grey fur and mane seem to be dry. He looks at me with his green eyes.
"Can you just change into me already, I do not want to stay awake for too long...?"
"... What is it like, in there?"
he just smiles and sits on the hard floor.
Time passes
I grab the pendent and concentrate on his figure, his voice, and his... weird wings. In seconds, I feel heat around my body, but I keep my eyes closed... and it still burns...
I open my eyes, and the thief is gone, replaced by a mirror. In the mirror I saw the thief, but it was me. I started to think of what I had truly done and I made a revelation.
I had taken his life. Literally...
I look down and see I my four legs on the ground.
I hear the door open, "Come on, we got a job to do!"
I laugh a bit, a tear in my eye, "If only you teach me how to walk straight!"
A long walk back to the dining area and a bathroom break later...
I enter the dining are from the bathroom and see everyone facing a large mirror. I return to the the thief's form.
I open my eyes, and suddenly the mirror became a screen. On the screen was Queen Chrysalis and someone covered in black.
"Ah, you're here Allen, come here for it is time to assign your legal name in Equestria."
The person in covers coughs.
"I am, " He(?) started, "a very strong person within the Equestrian Reserves, which holds all the information on ponies around the nation—from birth certificates to death certificates."
How deep are we?!
"I, seeing your person, have decided on your name, but I want to know if you like it first." He coughs again. "Your name, according to this sheet of paper, is Wright Scribe, aged 30 pegasus. The real name was scratched from this paper, so this is all I got."
Not really creative, but hey...
"Sure, why not." I say.
"Good," He says, rolling up the paper, "now, where would you like to start your job?"
"What is my job. exactly?"
"Your job is to, like us, become a pinnacle of society, for we only need four more to finally free the King: We need the Elected Official Chairpony, you; a leader of the spy agency, Frank; the royal bard, Laffy; and the commander-in-chief of the Equestrian Military, which will be Kyle or Bart." He coughs a few more times.
"Are you sick?"
"No, it is just that... oh, nevermind..." He removes part of the black cover on his (definitely a he) face, revealing he is a gryphon.
"The air in Chrysalis' castle is too stale for even the birds." he jokes at Chrysalis. She frowns a bit.
He breaths in deep, "SO, have you decided?"
Frank keeps on muttering, "Cloudsdale, cloudsdale..."
I look at Frank and ask, "What is Cloudsdale?"
The gryphon in the mirror sighs.
"If you did not know of the cities, you could have said so..." He coughs, "Cloudsdale is the city of Pegasi, which you may be able to win easily because it is usually uneducated work-ponies that live there."
I rub my soft chin....
Holy crap, it is like I finally have a beard!
I keep on rubbing for a bit, and realize everyone was looking at me.
"Er, um... Sure, why not?" I smile, embarrassed.
"All-right~!" Exclaims my queen, "we must hurry and get you there! Nocturnal, you'll be his guide!"
Nocturnal salutes, and the mirror fuzzes out. Everyone else gets up, and puts something in their ears. I am about to question it, when something is shoved into mine.
"Ow!" I say, flinching away.
"Oh, come on, don't be a baby, its just a TK communicator. Very weak magic."
"...?"
"It lets us speak to eachother during the night, for it siphons off Luna's magic and prevents her from entering our minds as we sleep."
"That sounds creepy."
"It is."
"So are we going now?"
"Yeah, use the black soot to make a coat or something—Cloudsdale is cold."
I concentrate, and, out of my Freakin' Eyeballs comes a black liquid that becomes a pure black suit with a green tie. I feel disgusted.
I follow Nocturnal to an elevator of sorts. Polka plays in it. She frowns.And when we arrived onto the 'garage' of this building, I see a carriage and two changelings. As soon as they see us, they change form to strong pegasus ponies and open the door for us.
I was sleeping softly, but I felt a warmth on my cheek, waking me up...
"Come on, we got to go to the legal office!" said Nocturnal.
"Huh?" I said.
"We have to run for mayor remember? Now wipe off that drool on your face."
I wipe, feeling embarrassed.
"But don't I have to live in the city to run it?"
"Nah, ever since Mayor O'venture, any pony can run for office in Cloudsdale. They just have a lot of competition."
She exits the carriage, me following after, making sure I was still in pony form.
"How long does 'it' last?" I said.
"'It' lasts till you do 'it." she said quietly to me, pointing out otherponies.
I first looked at the ponies, then up...
"Holy crap..."
Nocturnal looks at me.
"The city is really floating!"
"Yeah," she said in an odd tone, "no duh."
I watched pegasi fly above me, enjoying the breeze, and I watched the homes of the city wobble...
I then realized that the platform we were on was rising to meet the city.
"Who does all of this?" I asked, confused.
"The clouds were all created and maintained by the Alicorn of air, who is unnamed and hidden somewhere."
"Why is she hiding?"
"Unlike some of the students of the Alicorns, she taught herself how to become an Alicorn... and ponies kept on trying to make her spill the info, even her friends."
"That's harsh."
"Indeed."
A soft noise accompanied the immediate stop of the lift. I follow Nocturnal as she goes to a registry.
"I am Light Heart, and this is Wright Scribe. He wishes to run for the Mayoral election this month."
The buff stallion behind the registry nods to Nocturnal ,and she nods back with a slight smile.
"Go on in, Wright, we will have you go on stage in a moment."
In... a moment?
"I have to make another speech on the spot?" I ask, kinda scared.
"Yeah, I told you that during the ride on over here."
I stare at her.
"You fell asleep before then, didn't you?" She sighs, "Oh well, you just earned yourself less time," she slaps my back, "Lets go to the stage, but meanwhile think of a speech, you fool."
I smiled, embarrassed.
I thought for the hour or so of walking we did to the stage...
"Are you Write?" said an orange mare.
"Yeah, is it my turn?"
"It is your turn in ten minutes, but why not go see the competition?"
"Sure, Miss...?"
"Just call me 'The Chaperon', for my identity is secret for political purposes."
"Oh... alrighty..."
She points me to the current man on stage, a large crowd in front of him, and I get a chuckle for his policies.
"Does this man really think racism is a good thing to do politically?" I whisper to Nocturnal.
"You would be surprised how self-centered some ponies are, but, yeah, the majority aren't racist."
"And remember Pegasi," The politician guy concluded,"Unicorns' spells are no match for the perseverance of a pegasi's body in battle!"
A few obligatory stomps were heard as he stepped off.
"And now," said the Chaperon," Welcome to the stage, Wright Scribe!"
A few bored stomps were heard. I walked to the stage, and looked down. I realized how many of the ponies there were journalists of some kind from their apparel.
"Ahem," I cleared my throat.
"I am Wright Scribe, and I have something to say..."
I comb my hair back, and show a calm demeanor in front of the crowd.
"In my times of nomadic traveling of the world," Lies, Lies Lies, " I have discovered one thing. One revolutionary thing..."
I shed a false tear.
"Within many cities where there is crime, no matter how small, crime starts to skyrocket when nopony is looking. Thieves are capable, and sometimes willing, to go from stealing babbles to stealing lives. I have seen death. I have seen the death of children..."
Wait for response...
There's the shock.
"But from my experiences I have learned one thing... and that is how to get rid of crime, corruption," Hah," and other such things! It is time to get rid of all time, and reach the Utopia!"Of changelings,"Tell me, journalists, what are you truly going to report? Will you report lies and false rumors like criminals, or will you stand by me and write, not for a payday, but for the truth?"
I see some uneasy journalists, and quite a few nodding.
"The truth, my dear fellows, will never be caught as long as we oppose one another in any way. We need to become one powerful nation with many different people. Although we are mostly there, there are still some dirty specks of crime around the nation," I breath in," and it is time to bring a stop to it... By any means necessary."
The journalists are writing, but suddenly get what I was saying at the end, and stare at me.
"Yes, I mean giving the death penalty to ponies who oppose sacred laws, such as murder, without just reason or cause. We should also legalize idiotic things that may be causing the crime in the first place and is harmless." I look at a journalist, "Is there any single item that is illegal in Cloudsdale that is strange to be outlawed?"
He gulped, "There is Magic Crystals, which give even pegasi magic, but they are sometimes used in wea-"
"You do know you can regulate weapons, right? If you have guards and local authorities trained with the crystals, I am sure they can beat any mook who comes along. It will be legalized and regulated if I am to be elected."
I stood up there for hours on end, making promises to do things I WOULD do, but weren't my biggest priority. I was given the most applause, but the voting would be next week...
I still had FIVE more interviews like this to do...
After a few hours pass, Nocturnal leads me to the home of the gate guard of earlier...
"That was exhausting!" she says, opening the door.
"Says you," I say, "...Shouldn't we have knocked?"
"Nah, the guy is almost never home anyways. He gets nightshift and dayshift at the gate."
"Must be harsh."
"Yeah." She yawns.
I rub my right eye, "I guess we should get some sleep."
"... Before that, I have to tell you something."
"What?"
She calmly breathes out, and looks to the side, "I have to leave in the morning to my own influence grab, so you'll be by yourself for awhile."
"... Judging by your movements, how long will be this 'While'?"
"As long as you are not in the most influential spot plausible—being a council member."
"Council?"
"Well, you see, every mayor of a city has a chance of getting elected to the council by fellow mayors, so..."
"I will have to win their trust as well? You gotta be pulling my leg."
"It is orders, and you have to follow."
"Orders from who?"
"Our Queen, of course."
"I—er, um alright then."
She sticks out her hoof, "Don't worry, we'll be in touch."
"It will be hard without your help in this new body, " I shake her hoof, "but thanks."
"Good night, Allen."
"Goodnight, Nocturnal."
She looks at me for a moment, then turns to the door and leaves without closing the door.
And I watched her go...
In the new house, i lay on a bed with the morning's sun shining through a crack in the cloud.
"Good morning!" said a voice behind the crack.
"Wha-?"
A blue pegasus stallion with deep red dreadlocks comes through, "I am your guide, for McStuckup is all tuckered out from gatework."
"Who are you?"
"I am his coworker and roomate, Johnathan Keys, nice ta' met you."
"Nice to meet you,too, Keys." I stick out my han- hoof.
He shakes it, his hands surprisingly stable.
"So, Johnathan, where are we going today?"
"Well, we should go to the town center, for aren't you that guy who came to become mayor?"
"Yeah, is voting done yet," I smirk, "I do not want any more weird conferences."
He rubs his chin.
"Voting should be done next week, at most, for there has been quite a bit of an illness going around."
"Illness?"
"Yeah, it isn't serious, but is very infectious." he frowns.
"How many ponies are afflicted?"
"About a third of the city at most."
A city-wide pandemic? This could actually be useful...
"Keys."
"Yeah?"
"Let's go."
He grins again, "Fine, but put something good on, you are running for mayor."
"*Grumble* not like I'm running for president."
"Of course not, democracy is a pitiful thing."
"er, how so?"
"Well, you see, the only great nation on this planet is Equestria, which is a grand hierarchy where the Princesses and the true princes protect us."
"I am sorry, but I have never heard of 'true princes'."
"Oh, yeah, they don't really teach you about it in school, and is really complicated..." he checks his watch, "Dude, we should go now."
"Er, fine."
I put on a suit with a pure purple tie on it. I slick back my unkempt mane, wash my face, and brush my teeth in the bathroom connected to the room.
"Are you ready?"
*Spit* "Yeah, lets do this."
"Do what exactly?"
He pulls up a small, self flying carridge into the house.
"What I will do everynight, my friend..."
I cough as we get in the vehicle.
"I am going to help this city 'prosper'."
"That's nice."
"Thanks."
...
We sat in silence for awhile, and he let me off to the main center of the town. I smiled at the people, lied through my teeth, made promises empty and not, and tried to gather as much support as possible... Keys came back, like a pet, and returned me home to sleep my night away.
I heard voices in my head, and concentrated on them as I slept. They were the voices of several different changelings around the world , but I tried to find her. I searched frantically, for the entire dream, but did not hear from her...
Then I woke up.
I have been sitting here for an hour or two now, waiting to sleep, but the blasted sun prevented that.
"Good morning!" said Keys through a crack in the wall, somewhat startling me.
"Welcome back Keys." I say, a hint of surprise.
I get up off the chair, "Come in."
He opens the crack, seeing me fully dressed.
"Wow, your already ready to go out to town?"
"What?"
"Well, today, because Mcstuckup told me. I have to help you memorize the town."
"I guess... I should learn the town I will be governing."
"You should, friend. Lets go."
"yeah, 'Friend'."
He pulled the carriage back and we entered...
And we went around the entire city, where he showed me the old rainbow factory, which is now a school for the NEWER one, where he says that its all automated, but maintenance is required around the clock.
He showed me the large cloud tower, made for a royal guest. He showed me the fly-school, which is somewhat abandoned ever since wing-training technology has made it so anyone can fly steadily. He showed me the large cloud streets, which now blanketed the skies, but because of the new magical technology, they have made the clouds invisible to those below; allowing sunlight to touch the floor of the Earth, er , Eque.
There were many other places, but I had grown bored. This city is under-developed compared to the metropolises of my world...
How do I know that? I thought, in the middle of the ride, and continued to think for the rest of the day...
During the day the results will be shown, I lie in my bed, my eyes open.
I look to Keys, who is spending the night since his wife kicked him out.
"Keys, can I ask you something?"
"You already did, but sure." he mumbled, comfortable on the couch near my bed.
"Why did your wife kick you out?"
"Ugh," he groans," she doesn't like the fact that I am out nearly all day with a pony she doesn't know, I guess."
I grin, "You did not tell her about me?"
"Nah, she wouldn't believe me anyways, for not that many pegasi want to move into Cloudsdale anymore, let alone RUN it."
"Why?"
"Well," he leans up from his bed, yawning, "Most pegasi are now enlisting into the royal army or the wonderbolts, for the only other job for us is making the sky over and over again."
"But this land seems so peaceful, why do you need such a huge military?"
"I question that, too, for we already have the Mane 6, a group of the six most powerful ponies in Equestria... when they are together, of course."
"The who?"
he laughs," You really must be a foreigner!"
I blush, "Just tell me, dude."
"The Mane 6 are a group of six ponies who are chosen by the Elements of Harmony to assist in the balancing of the nation's magic."
Doesn't he mean the Elements of Destiny? How much have they deceived the populace?
"Who are they?"
"Well, currently, the Mane 6 are Princess Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie; all of whom are somewhere secret."
"Why?" I say, rubbing my eyes.
"They say that a changeling was caught trying to take the Elements from their save haven in the castle in Canterlot."
"... What was the Changeling's name?"
"We don't know, IT got away."
It?
I get out of bed and head to the bathroom, "Be back in a bit."
I shut the door before he can reply.
I turn on the bathroom light and look in the mirror.
Reflecting back at me was not me, but someone else's body. I cringe at the mirror, and summon the black ooz to make me a suit...
A pure black suit with a green tie wrapped onto me, and I felt disgusted, yet joyful.
I look at the pendent, which is melded at the base of the tie, and see that the insect is gone and is just a green fog of magic. I look in the mirror, and the pendent is not there. I smile, slicking back my mane.
I wink to this form in the mirror, seeing these very deceiving eyes look so soft, and get out.
"Keys, lets go now..." he isn't here.
I look downstairs, and see him eating a bowl of cereal.
"Keys?"
"Oh, we're going now?" he looks at me oddly.
"Yeah, lets go." I say calmly, "sorry for being a bit antsy back there, I really did not feel well."
He says nothing, and opens a hole in the floor. The carriage is underneath, waiting.
"Let's go, man." he says, a bit of a kind smile on his face.
"Yeah, man."
We laugh a bit awkwardly, entering the automated carriage, and do not speak for the rest of the flight...
At the town square, I stand on a podium next to four other ponies on podiums while the current mayor says stuff to the crowd I could care less about.
"And, by your votes, the mayor of Cloudsdale is now..." She opens the letter,"Wright Scribe! Everyone, give some applause to the new mayor! (Mumble)"
I smile softly on the outside, and smirk harshly on the inside.
"Speech! Speech!" everyone chants before me.
"Yes, Mayor Wright, you should make a speech!" Ex-mayor whatsherface says to me.
"Alrighty," I breath in, "Dear ponies of this fine city, I, Mayor Wright, shall ensure that this city shall prosper in a way it has never before! I will make everypony in this city become a part of a larger community—The community of joy and happiness!"
I hear people cheering and jeering for my nonsensical sayings.
"Even though I am, in fact, a foreigner, I have studied the art of (manipulation) social harmony for a long while, and I ensure you all a happy life from henceforth!"
The cheers increase, and the jeers quiet down. I continue to rant on and on for an hour, soon enrapturing everyone in my words of joy and hope...
After that hour of cheers and joy from the crowd, the ex-mayor pulls me off stage and leads me to the mayor's—no, my, office.
"Look, foreigner." She says, after shutting the door," I have no clue of why you just took the one job I knew was secure to me away, but I don't like it. Next election," she says in an angry tone, "I will beat you."
"We'll see about that, liar."
"Liar? I am not the one making these false promises! If I, the Amazing Angroth couldn't make this city enter a golden age, neither can you."
"Such a nice name for a child."
"Shut up!" she says, slamming the desk.
"I will not, for I make no empty promises. I know just how to make this city prosper."
"How, you doof?"
I grin, "You'll see, wench..."
I laugh and then scowl at her.
"Now leave my office."
I see a red vibe escape her body and enter mine, and her eyes turn green for a bit.
"Fine, but do not come running to me..." her eyes start to fade back to normal as she is leaving the room.
I stare at the door, shutting, and blink in horror.
It has been a few days since I was elected and I am doing paperwork at the table in my office, sweating slightly, but not from the work...
Feeling off, I barge into the main hallway of the Mayor Spire thing (which is at the bottom floor along with my office) and see that I am alone in the office. Not that weird, seeing as I only have two assistants and its nighttime already, but that is not what matters. What matters is that there is pain coming from inside my head, and I cannot stop it.
"O-" I hear, popping one of my ears.
"Ob—" A deafening crack runs through my mind... I look up, feeling my ears bleeding, and see my door.
"Why am I here, this is top fl— AHHH!"
I charge into my room, going into my bed, running onto the white cloth sheets used for my bedding.
"Oh, Ben..." repeats in my head over and over, but not in a painful way anymore. I feel like I heard this voice before, so I listen.
Time passes, but no more sound is made. With my ears still bleeding, I curl into a ball and sleep...
"Oh, Benjamin!" a tall woman says to me, her face blurry and indistinguishable to the background.
"Yes, mother?" I say, though I did not say it.
I attempt to move, but my body painfully jerks me back...
I cannot even move my eyes without repercussions.
'I' blink, and suddenly there is a man, dressed in black and green, behind 'my' mother with a knife. I try to look away, and it works. But not in the way I thought...
I see a young boy, covered in blood and sobbing, and a knife in my hand. Sirens are blaring outside, but I do not seem to care. I have to deal with this monster of a child, first. Before I can slit his neck, shotgun shells break through the door, spreading splinters across the living room.
"No, not without him, I ain't going!" I say, jabbing my knife into the child in front of me... but before I could truly truly? kill him, I felt a multitude of bullets pierce my back. I attempt to use what magic I have left, but the bastard child before me has sucked me dry...
I fall to the floor, but, within my last breaths, mercilessly stab the child all over his body... I did this, but then how...?
I see a blinding light above me, a familiar face looking at me with a nice,happy smile, "I am happy you woke up, DREET"
*Dreeet-Dreet!*
"Wha-?"
*Dreet-dreet!*
I turn off the clock, feeling sickly, and get out of bed. Instead of cleaning myself, I just use changeling magic—for ever since the faulty unicorn mayor Reganold, magic-detectors are useless (He kept on breaking them each day).
I head down to my office, silently passing by Juan Daily and Yung Lace, who are both my assistants and the only assistants of the mayor. Their offices are a floor above mine, for some reason.
'Cloudsdale is not a huge city, just a hard one to handle', they keep on telling me when I ask for more assistants.
I laugh hysterically going down the hallway. I laugh, but frown out of fear.
The fear of not knowing who I truly am anymore...
Hours of making decisions of general things pass, but I stop in my tracks when I notice something.
"The Annual Cloudsdale Drift?" I say, reading the heading. Intrigued, I read further.
"Every twenty years, the mayor of Cloudsdale is warranted to move the city to a new location, but only if hte new location is an improvement of the economical stance of the current location." I rub my chin.
I look at my left wall from my desk, and see the large map of this part of Equestria. I move to it. I use magic on the map, for it was in some weird portrait, and watch it move.
"That's both cool and creepy." I say, zooming in to our current location. Right now, we are almost above to a town called Ponyville, which sounds nice, but we are too far inland for any perfect trade. I look to the borders of Equestria, and see something odd. An entire empire within the borders of the country.
"that. That makes no sense, you crazy ponies..."
I look harder, and spot it. The perfect spot.
I zoom in closer to see the landscape to see if any cities were founded there already, but there was none.
An entire forest that grew on its own, like my world, and it was just sitting there... waiting for us to combine our magic with its natural beauty...
"What? This place runs itself, how could it be bad to live in?"
They look at me funny, "You cannot be serious about letting this city go to the most dangerous for—"
"Well," I said, pointing the the books on the floor, "these books on recorded encounters in the Everfree state that that most of the things cannot fly and those that do, like the manticore, are as harmless as a butterfly... as long as you do not go into their nests."
"Well, yeah, but we're am not talking about that." Juan says, his low voice making me sleepy.
"What can you possibly say that could harm the citizens in the SKY?"
"Erm..."
"Exactly."
Yung looks at her watch, "Argh, I guess it is time you explain it to the citizens, for they seem to be mad."
I cringe, "Where do I go this time?"
"Center of town, there is a floating podium waiting for you."
"Fine."
I walk out the fluffy doors, and my hoof falls through a hole in the cloud.
"Dammit." I said, pulling myself up.
I should probably fund maintenance.
I move onto a small, grey cloud with a square at the bottom. I touch the square, and a crackling sound comes from the cloud, and it starts to move on its own power.
I attempt to keep my balance, but as I am not a good flier (nor accustomed to these crooked, wrecked wings), I topple onto my side over and over. I elt like a dummy, laying on the electrical cloud, but it was soft. Very soft... so soft, that I did not realize I had landed, and the citizens just saw me drooling on the floor of the city.
I wipe the drool, and explain nothing as I ran to the middle of town.
...
After pushing through a small crowd of ponies, I made it to my podium. I looked at the angry audience with a big smile.
They were grumbling, moaning, and some even were looking at me with quizzical faces.
"I will now explain why we are going to the Everfree, so if you wouldn't mind..."
They looked at me, their eyes feeling like spears.
"Ahem." I breath in, "The Everfree, as told in the recorded encounters and scientific documents, is one of the most DANGEROUS places to be..."
They look at me, nodding their heads.
"But, they have no mention of any beast that can, literally, rise into the clouds that can harm us. The manticore, proven by the Element of D- ,er , Harmony holder, Fluttershy, to be a seclusive animal and does not interfere with beings that don't interfere with it."
Their faces relax a bit, but one pony says, "But the land there just ain't natural!"
"Natural means it occurs in the universe. Nothing can be deemed unnatural unless it is from a higher plane of existence, so why do you say it is that?"
He looks at me, "I mean, the land does things by itself... it must be sentient or something!"
Many nod their heads.
"I guess none of you took a science class, for I am about to educate you guys on something huge in a few sentences. ALL things, non-living or living, in an environment effect effect one another in ways. Think about it, without ponies in this world, the forces of nature would rule the world and other species would adapt to suit the needs. Tiny plants in water need energy, so they turn deadly gas into breathable gas; bigger organisms need more energy, so they eat the tiny plants; bigger plants find places to escape to on land; organisms follow and eat the plants, but as they grow bigger, they eat eachother, too; and, finally, a species finally becomes the master of the entire world by adaption. WE are the top-species in this world so far, as we have adapted to use magic in a concise way to grow food and protect eachother."
I look to them.
"The land we are going to is perfectly natural, and is absolutely beautiful, so when we make the city... I will ban any kind of building in the forest. That forest is a tiny drop of imperfection in this world, so it would be the best tourist attraction to give this city more citizens, more c-, er ,bits, and a lot more influence on the world-board."
"Influence?"
"Well, you see, if a city becomes indispensible to a country, it is usually funded to such a degree that it can never fail unless the nation fails. It is what Canterlot essentially became, but they were the capital, so its normal."
They all seemed to (somewhat) get the idea, so they smile a bit.
"Who here works at the weather factory/rainbow factory?"
Half the citizens raise their hooves.
"Well, if you go to the Everfree, which has self-regulating weather, you do not need to sell that many clouds to the city. This means that we have more clouds to sell elsewhere, making the company, the city, and, by effect, you more wealthy."
Half the population rejoices as the other half just looks at them odd.
"Yes, and who here is an avid flyer unlike me?"
Most of the other half raise their hooves, excited.
"Well, with the Everfree being self-regulated, again, you do not have to set up a course to train on, you can train essentially all-day without any set-up. This will give you more time to train your wings and to, possibly, become a wonderbolt a bit sooner."
Now everyone is rejoicing and it makes me feel good...
Too good.
After shaking hooves and learning some important ponies in town, I went back to the mayor-tower, which I learned that the citizens called the Behemoth. Odd name, but kind of fits.
I return to my desk and spend the rest of the week doing paperwork... waiting.
I am unable to see, gauze over my face and body. My breathing is impaired, as I lie back in this chair as strangers fiddle with my body. Noises of laughter and joy come from them as they create an abomination in front of me. As they save me.
They have no right to save me...
Before long, I am unable to hear. The noises of the dreaded men has stopped, but I still feel them. I feel them, but I am under some sort of anesthesia, right?
I can only sit and wonder who gave them permission to mess with me.
I am unable to remember their faces. I can't remember much of anything, actually, except for one thing. There is one thing that still swirls in my mind... What's left of it.
I have no right to be saved.
I do not remebar gramar, my thughts ar losing momentim... I... I...
I sit up in my bed, feeling something on my face whilst I sweat furiously. I rub my face, but feel nothing.
I get out of bed, going to the bathroom. In it, I wash my face slowly, not feeling the water touch me anymore. I feel dry, soaked in water.
I look in the mirror in the dark for quite some time.
...
I morph myself to a happier look, but on the inside I was just the opposite. I wave to Yung as she walked to me.
"Mr. Mayor."
"Yes?"
"We are preparing to go to the Everfree forest in a week, for the main wind-turbine exploded because a poor bird flew in." she rubs her eyes, a small amount of tears.
"Well, I will just wait, I presume."
She looks at me funny, but walks away to her office upstairs... somewhere.
I go to my own office and see another large pile of paper work, but these were interesting... so I wrote on a document Yung recommended I used yesterday.
Mayor Wright Scribe I Agree to giving the ex-mayor a small statue in the center square, next to other mayors of the past.
Only because it helped me, for people liked the old mayor. If they liked the old bastard, and they like me, then I become the one with a huge statue in years to come... except that, by that time, I should be in he council.
I agree to renewing the annual Festival for the Gone. I ____ to allowing griffons live within Cloudsdale once more.
Interested, I go to the book cabinet Yung pulled out from the archive vault a half-mile away. I plucked through books, trying to find the time when they banned griffons... and found it quite easily.
Year 5 of the Reign of Princess Sparkle, Mayor (Bigfatbuttbrain) banned griffons from Cloudsdale because Equestia went to war with the Griffon Kingdom at that time. It was highly controversial, and got the mayor some large hatred for some time, but everypony, even the griffons, forgave the mayor. They say 'It would take a small amount of evil to finally make it into the council!'
"What a dick."
I Agree to allowing griffons within Cloudsdale once more. I disagree to the Nation's Pegasus-only event. I Agree to assist in ending male inequality within the nation (Winter Solstice of the 9th Year of P.S.).
"I guess that is this year... Why is my memory of the dates so jumbled dammit..."
I want 70% of our assets to go to Education, 10% to safety, 20% to General Maintenance. I disagree to increasing physical education.
They can work out anywhere... they have wings.
I agree to the trade route to Ponyville and its neighbors. I disagree with trade to the capital (What they sell would be too expensive for us as our current plan stands).
I agree to allow carnivorous behavior that doesn't harm citizens nor yourself.
I run across a great many more of questions, but one of them sticks out...
I think for an hour thinking what I should decide, so I rolled a pair of dice.
I disagree to letting changelings in the town of Cloudsdale.
"Heh."
This continues for till nightfall, where I return to bed... It was only then that I realized why Yung looked concerned, and laughed.
An eternity of darkness spreads around me, and I see a cosmic mane, shining in the eternal darkness. I charge towards it, screaming for it to leave my darkness alone, but then it screams. I feel my dreams and nightmares shatter as she spoke in a loud, yet clear voice...
"I shall learn who you are, human... you are lucky I know not of your disguise you traitor!"
"I am no traitor, you hag!" I yelled, seeing her fade. Her shiny blue helmet cracks, and she looks at me surprised.
"Thats right..."
She looks at me, her mouth in a angry face.
"No!" I say, launching some green blob out of my nand, the same way that Chrysalis did, knocking the demon out...
I wake up, being shook. My face feels wet and my tail is between my legs. I feel no covers.
I open my eyes, seeing Yung. I look at her for a minute, and she looks at me. She looks at me with worry, but her emotion soon fades as I realize her feelings.
"Go to your office, now."
Unemotionally, and unceremoniously, she left the room at a slow pace. I watched her close the doors, tears returning to my eyes. They felt salty and heavy, making me see vague visions before me. They were incomprehensible, and I knew why.
I went to the bathroom and shut the door. I turn back to my human form and stare into the mirror. I place the pendent on the counter.
I finally see what I truly look like. I reach to the reflection of my pale skin, running up to my green eyes and red hair...
...But my eyes are not supposed to be green...
It is the day of the move. Yung does not remember the incident anymore, and I have started to wear the pendent less and less as I go to the restroom.
"This is a wonderful sight." I say to Yung, who is looking at the clouds moving with their own tiny engines.
"It is." She replies, her eyes dazzling...
"This is a wonderful sight." I say again, feeling a bit better.
She just stood there, emotionless.
I went back inside.
...
I go to the bathroom, removing the pendent after shutting the door. I hold it in my hands, searching through the changelings.
I go to Frank.
"Yes?"
"Frank, it's me."
"Well, nice finally speaking to you, amigo."
"Likewise."
"So," he said, his voice rasp, "What do you need?"
"Frank, did you get word that I became the mayor of Cloudsdale?"
"Yes, actually, everyone has."
"... Where are you stationed?"
he fell silent, like he had to think about it.
"I was sent to Ponyville, the home of most of the Main Six, so I could steal the Elements of Destiny when they are put here in the emergency panic."
"Panic?"
"Well, it turns out Nocturnal had to be seen, in a different body, trying to steal the Elements. Of course, though, we have no way of doing that, she just used an illusion potion to trick the guards she DID."
"How... does that work?"
"Well, since the main six reside in Ponyville, they will send their most powerful weapons to the ponies who can USE them."
"So... are they there now?"
"Yeah, I just have to wait a few days for the heist..."
"Erm... can I help?"
"How?"
"Well, you see, Cloudsdale, under my control, is moving to the Everfree."
He fell silent for a second.
"Sure. But you have to listen closely..."
After a few hours of listening to the plan, we both said our goodbyes. Well... it felt like hours in the mind world, but it was not even ten minutes for us to communicate.
I lie in the bed once more. My room is locked with a special force and I am under a pile of covers. I remove the pendent and, for the first time in a while, sleep in my true form...
"Viviere, die, vivere again, Ad infinitum." said a man in a jean-styled outfit. His face was out of focus, but I could hear him clearly.
"What does it mean?" 'I' say, my voice trembling.
"To you? Everything. For you are the first man in which this was successful." he smiled in a giddy way.
"First to do what, exactly?" I say, nervous.
"You are... shush!—" he looks behind me, saluting.
They talk jargon for hours on end.
I attempt to wipe my eyes, but my arm doesn't respond...
"Fuck." I said, the village burning down before me.
"Come on, man, we got to use this at our advantage!" Frank says, carrying the Elements on his body.
I stare blankly for a second, then run after Frank.
How did this go so wrong?
I go towards my room, the guards of my city lightening up seeing it is just me. Hundreds of them surround my office, each with a crossbow.
In my room, the radio I purchased yesterday started to broadcast what was happening... on a talk-show.
"Ponyville, the quaint village that has been the home of the Main or Mane Six, has just been burned down by a-er- dragon? Are you serious?" Mumble Mumble "Wow, that is horrendous. Is it that baby drago- no? Then who is it? Not identified? I thought we had a perfect census of all living..." She was silent for a bit, but mummer was in the background.
"An undead dragon? How... how is that possible? I thought Necromancy was outlawed!" Mummer Mummer "Wow. Just. Wow." silence...
I turn off the radio, contacting Frank.
...
"Yeah?" He said, giddy.
" That wasn't our... right?"
he was silent for a bit.
"Then whose was it? Frank?"
"I have no clue, but, HEY, we got the ELEMENTS. We won regardless."
"I guess... but it is just nagging me."
"Me, too, but I won't let it bother me too much."
"You're returning the Elements to Chrysalis?"
"Yeah, in fact, I am on the chariot ride to our home-base right now."
"Well, you should rest then. You've nearly died so many times during the raid."
"Yeah, but no one will remember my face after seeing that thing."
"Nor mine... I hope."
"Yeah, sorry for ripping your mask."
"It's alright... well, goodnight, I guess."
"Night."
The sound of static fills my ear. I go under my covers, throwing a rock to knock out the candle... and fall asleep...
Hundreds of darkened ponies surround me.each one of them bigger than the last, but all of them having the same build. They bear their teeth, rotten and yellow, at me. They move to me, so I climb on top of a spire. Going through the window, I block it up. The room I am in is dusty and dark, only a single light source in the whole place—the middle. I lay down to take a breather, but then the dark ponies pop through the mirror...
...
It is midday as I am on the top-balcony of the tower. I look down on my worried citizens, each hoping I can save them from whatever harm may come. I wave down to them, a slight smile on my face, and flyers wave back. I am loved here, but unlike other emotions, I cannot absorb love. It disturbs me.
I go downstairs and greet my helpers. We talk for a few minutes, passing time, and suddenly one breaks into a teary fit. Yung crumples to the floor, feeling defeated. She spouts that the country is only getting weaker, while I calm her. While I REALLY calm her down. Her blue magic goes into me, but no one sees the magic go into me. Only unicorns can, apparently.
I tell her to follow me to the upper balcony. I show her the view of the land, everypony feeling dejected and horrible. I tell her to get the speakers that are used during elections and festivals. She nods and goes.
I stare at the sun for a bit, frowning...
...
"Attention citizens of Cloudsdale!" I say through the microphone, amplifying my voice across the booming skies. Everyone stops to listen."
"I, mayor of Cloudsdale, have something important to tell you." My voice booms loudly across the sky.
"I know you are all afraid of death, you are all feeling distraught... so, for the first time in my life, I am taking this dragon into my own hooves."
The crowd was confused, getting closer to me.
"I have decided to form a militia-war-party, seperate from the Equestrian Government, that will take the dragon down. I will select heroes amongst you all to fight the beast." I raise my head, giving my most calm look.
"I may be weak, but I know how to lay to rest an evil being." They all look shocked.
"How do you plan to do this?" one in the front shouts, which others agree.
"Trust me, with a militia at my control, my ingenius plans will bring down the dragon and get rid of all of this dread for good!"
I hear cheering, but hte same guys asks, "Why not let the government handle it? There is more of them!"
"Because. I have read through your country's history, I mean, you guys haven't fought a battle in fifteen years! I, on the other hoof, have."
"When?"
"I, your mayor, was once trapped in a human world."
They all stare at me.
"But- I thought all the mirrors were..."
"They were... but I made one out of interest." I look at the floor, " It was the worst decision I ever made..."
I can feel everyone's sympathy. It makes me queasy.
"So, " I say, fake tears in my eyes, "Who will volunteer as a hero?"
Many ponies raise their hooves, ready to be pawns in my plan...
It has been a few days of planning where to put our training camp.
Five hundred recruits line in front of me, the general, as the other two-hundred less-than-powerful ones clean an open area for the camp. They all salute me, wearing thin armor and an emblem of paper on their sleeves. I call the captains forward.
"Captain Dust!"
"Yes, sir?" said Lightning Dust, an ex-Wonderbolt captain. Her manipulation was the easiest, for all I did was talk her up. It was fun.
"I want you and your Wing of fliers to train on creating tornadoes and destroying them in small amount of time." I say, calmly.
She looks a bit nervous, which is odd, but agrees and leads her Wing out five miles south of here. I turn to another captain.
"Captain Snowflake!"
"Yeah?" he says loudly, though I know he tried to not be so enthusiastically loud.
"I need your Wing to train in assembly. We need armaments in order to defeat the large monstrosity!"
He nods, and his Wing merrily join him as they all leave a mile north of here.
"Captain Cloudchaser!"
"Yes... sir!" she said, backing away from a conversation with her co-captain, Flitter.
"I need your Wing to train in communication. We are not unicorns, so we have to rely on the radios. They are in the spire in the city, second floor." I get out the keys.
"Who will we train with?"
"Your Wing will split into two groups, each with two radios, and try to find any clues of the Dragon's location. Search in Ponyville, first."
She grabs the keys and nods, she gets rounds up her Wing and sets off.
"And," I said, turning around, "my platoon!"
Fifty unicorns and thirty Earth ponies salute me.
"I need you all to practice deconstruction, magical and non magical, of things. Go beat up trees down below and curb-stomp any vile critter in your way... but be benevolent to those that are harmless."
With some questionable looks, the platoon's unicorns lower thier platform to the ground.
"None of you return until the sun is directly upward in the sky, even though it is dawn right now. If you get hungry, the forest is full of food... just stay away from any blue flowers."
They all wave as they are descending. I wave back with a smile.
I look at my pure-black armor (goo), and feel hot.
I pull out my radio and contact Central Tower, which is the spire, and ask for reports.
"Nothing so far," said the pony in charge of the Tower Watch, "We will stay vigilant, though."
"Alright. I am coming inside then, I need to make some plans."
"Ok."
...
At my desk, fifteen piles of blue papers are sorted by category. Land, Air, Water, and the Mix Plans were in the folders. Each one of the plans detailed ways of how to destroy the dragon, no matter where it was, and were all based off the books on dragons I had salvaged from a tree library in Ponyville. It showed me where the weakest bones were, the center of balance was, and even how much an average dragon skeleton weighs (Book on archaeology).
I sigh and lay my head on my desk, exhausted from writing all of these...
We do this daily for a week.
(Bzzt)
"Hello, General Scribe?"
"yeah...?" I answered Tower Watch leader.
"Cloudchaser's Wing found something."
I get up.
"What?"
"They found the Dragon's wherabouts."
I smile, "Where is it?"
He is silent for a second.
"Where is it?" I say, more worried.
"It is in Canterlot."
I am silent.
"How... how are the guards not?"
"They are, but their initial force was too weak, it seems like they may lo—"
"Not on my watch." I make the goo into armor. "Send everyone. Now."
"But we only got a week of training!"
"Come on, man, with my plans, even foals could beat this thing."
"I hope your right, for a few of us are as scared as foals."
I hang up and grab my large bag, sorting the Plan Folders into them.
"Time to exterminate you..." I say, zipping the bag.
I walk out the door, my two personal guards leading me into a carriage...
Fire and destruction litter the streets of the Equestrian capital. Their military is untrained at fighting anything bigger than a looter, so hundreds of them die before my eyes through the binoculars. I have a slight smile as they fall, their blood covering their white coats. I take of the binoculars and set them beside me.
I activate the radio.
"Scouting Wing, do you see the dragon?"
They should be on the other side of the mountain, so the signal is weaker, "Y-ah, it is o- this side,. But hurry!"
"Men, you heard her!"
The thumps of hundreds of strong wings flying cover my ears, reminding me of an actual military. In only a minute, we see the dragon peeking from behind the mountain, slightly smaller than I remembered.
I guess the necromancer's magic may be slightly weaker, so this is a great time.
"Snowflake, send your wing to the ground, we need to contain the beast!"
"Yes sir!"
[thump-thump]
The undead dragon spits humongous fireballs towards Snowflake's wing, but they dodge at break-neck speeds.
"Captain Dust, we need you to create a hurricane around the dragon, its magic for fire seems stronger than I remember!"
"Yes sir, you can count on me!"
[Thump-thump]
"Drivers, let my platoon onto the ground in front of the mountain, we need time to prepare the spells!"
[Huff-Huff, Thump-thump]
As we land, Snowflake contacts us, "We got it captured with the indestructible black lines of stuff you made us, but we do not know if it will hold!"
"I hear you, Snowflake... Dust, how is the hurricane?" I wipe my sweat.
"A few of burned out, but the hurricane is starting soon... wait..."
I feel strong winds blasting me backward. My binoculars slap me in the face.
"Unicorns!"
The wind stops, a rainbow of color around us. A low hum comes from the bubble.
"Earth ponies, carry your unicorn brethren, we need as much of their energy as possible!"
[Urgh, hmmm~]
"Forward march!"
We walk down the tattered streets, cluttered with some dead ponies. Some of them part of Dust's group, making some of the earth ponies tear up in rage. Perfect.
"RAUUUGHHHHH" bellows the dragon in front of us, making the bubble rumble.
"Unicorns... release the bubble, Earth ponies, you know what to do!"
The earth ponies interlock with each other, leg in leg, with the unicorns behind them, as to avoid wind catching them.
"Snowflake, detach the lines in T-4 minutes!" I yell through the radio, the wind starting to pick me up.
I see a wagon wedged into the side of a fallen building. I go in it.
The hurricane picks up the humidity produced by the massive amounts of clouds made by the city that we had not used. The dragon bellows once more, but is more dulled and weaker.
"Dust, get out of there, now!"
"Yes sir!"
[thump-thump]
They flew down here, grabbing the charged unicorns with harnesses they made. This is one of the few reasons I had all unicorns on a diet.
They lift their flight buddies with all their might, and begin to ascend into the hurricane...
[Thump-Thump]
[RAUGHHH—]
The sound of intense magic lasers shatter my ear drums. The light inside the hurricane was of a horrifying measure, coming even through the wagon's cracks. The magic amplifies the hurricane, which causes a large wind to crash into the wagon, knocking me out cold as I hit the floor at 50 mph.
...
I get up, my forehead bloody, and see I am in a hospital bed. i look left and see Snowflake.
"Snowflake, can your group go get the dragon bones?"
He nods, "But where do we put them, sir." He sounded happy, but also sad.
He had lost friends. I scoot away from him, for he should mourn... not be emotionless.
"There is a basement below the Watch Tower/Mayor Spire."
"There is?"
"No..." I smile, "But I am sure everyone belives we should bury this poor sod near us, for he is one of us."
"How is he one of us?"
"Like all of us... we are controlled by a higher power." I smile, "But, soon, I will ensure that no one is controlled like that."
He salutes me, and I finally see he was crying earlier, his eyes red.
"Go on, my friend, and mourn." I close my eyes for a second, "Bury your friends in the Everfree, for it is only there that their bones will never be disturbed by some fiend." I look at him, saddened.
He nods, a tear coming down onto his slight smile.
"Now, if you excuse me, I should sleep... but, first, where am I?"
He thinks for a second, rubbing his large chin.
"We are in the hospital in Cloudsdale, but the name always eludes me." he smiles widely.
He waves goodbye and turns off the light, allowing me the tranquility of darkness.
Blinking a few times, my eyes see some writing on the wall in glow-in-the-dark ink.
'Sleep well, mayor Wright!', 'Get well soon!', 'You're a hero, sir!'...
"A hero, eh?" I go under my covers and feel their silk and linen rubs against my newly clean skin.
...
The moment before I sleep, I feel words come out of my mouth...
It had been a week before I finally left the hospital. Clapping and stomping greeted me as I rolled out of the hospital In the free wheelchair they give patients. I stand up, my fore legs in the air, working up the crowds immense cheers. There is people, supposedly from Canterlot, that are cheering, but I still see a sad blue hue around them. I look up and see a chariot approaching.
The light fluttering of the wings of the royal guards is quite weaker than my ponies. No wonder they died.
I smile at the chariot, lowering onto the ground. On it is the older princess, Celestia, and her student... er... Sparkles.
"Mayor Scribe." The older princess said somewhat sternly.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"You know that, under law, you have committed a heinous crime." She looks at me hard.
I look at her with a smile.
"Actually, in the book of laws, it only mentions that a city can not have a militia as long as it is on Equestrian Land... and I am pretty sure the sky is not land, nor are clouds, for that matter."
She smiles at me, coolly, "What a smart colt you are, sir..."
"You can call me Wright, my liege."
"Well then, Wright, do you mind if we spend a few days in the spire... our castle was obliterated by the dragon and the hurricane that it spawned."
Dust acts inconspicuous, and so does the other members of her wing.
"Yes, my liege, but... " I stutter, "w- who is all coming?"
She rubs her chin.
"Me, my sister, and Princess Twilight will be coming here."
I fake a smile, but scream in fear on the inside. I begin to sweat as I say, "oh... okay."
I turn to my people, smiling wider, "Did you hear that? The Princesses will be visiting our city! We must show them how far we've come!"
"What do you mean?" said Celestia.
"Well, you see, my liege, I did not just create an unstoppable militia, I have also increased revenue of the city immensely, reduced the Anti-griffon act to smithereens, and have started to spend more money on education. According to my citizens..." I look at my army next to their families and Canterlot friends, "I have had the highest approval rating of all city leaders since... ever."
I look at her, "Though I don't like bragging." I chuckle, and so does my audience, who nodded along with all that I had said.
Princess Celestia looks at Princess er, Twilight (NOT Sparkles) and she walks up to me with a scroll with a blue ribbon on it.
"Sir Wright, by the authority of us three leaders, bestow unto you the Scroll of Honor. This scroll has been passed down from each and every pony who has passed for the qualifications of becoming... " she turns to the audience, " a member of the Equestrian Council."
She looks back at me, leaving the crowd so happy yet silent.
"Whenever you wish to join the Council... just send us the scroll." She gives it to me, motioning me to open it.
'Dear Sir Wright,
You have been selected to be a member of the 50th Equestrian Council as the Tactics Adviser on November 23, Year 6 of the reign of Princess Sparkle. You are acquitted of any and all debts to the government, are freed of any suspension prohibiting your flight, and are to be released from questioning if no evidence is given toward you once you become a council member.
We will be awaiting you,
The Princesses and fellow Council Members'
"This is a pretty short message for such a fancy looking scroll." I joke.
"We know, but it should at least look special." Princess Twilight says with a smile.
I roll up the scroll, feeling the parchment in between my hooves. It felt so wonderful.
"We should all be getting sleep, now." I say to everyone, "For the battle that was just fought must still have you tired or in tears." I fake a tear, smiling at the crowd.
They bawl and clap at the achievements we made. I made...
...
I lay in my bed, the covers on my equine body, feeling horrible. The wool scratched my fur, which I am not accustomed to sleeping in, and my head was too big for my pillow. I shake in my bed, sweating and feeling discomfort. My eyes are wide awake, afraid to sleep.
The one who reads dreams is only a floor below me. The one who yelled at me...
["W—t — D—ne]
wait.
I sit up in my bed, my hooves supporting me.
"What was it that she was yelling... ?"
I lay in my bed, removing the amulet around my neck so I can concentrate on thinking, not on discomfort. I think for a long time, and begin to recall something...
A man walks out of the mirror last, approaching me. His face was a blur, but I could see his green eyes staring me down. He smacks me across the face, spouting nonsense about being a traitor.
"I just want to go home!" I cry, my huge, masculine hands covering my face.
"Your home is with us, man." He begins to laugh, knocking me down.
I wrap my hands around his neck, attempting to choke him, but something grabs my leg. I look back, seeing dozens of changelings tearing off my legs with their magic and somepony I know replacing the human.
"Fr—" He zaps me with his powerful magic, knocking me out...
My dream begins to fuzz out, a blue figure appearing before me, destroying the changelings that had harmed me...
I get out of bed, fast. I grab hold of the amulet and nearly slam it into the ground... but something stops me. I put it on, feeling anger. I step out of my room, going downstairs.
I open Luna's room with my key and toss my scroll at her bed's direction lightly. She was already awake and catches the scroll.
"Hello... " She says, "Mr. Wright... are you ready already?"
"I am always ready for a challenge."
She nods and motions me to follow her.
A carriage awaited us at the roof of the spire, Celestia and Twilight exchanging glances after seeing me. They both give Luna a blue-bit.
"You bet on this, really?" I jokingly ask Luna.
She nods, flipping the blue coins in front of Twilight and Celestia.
I sit by Princess Twilight and across from Celestia and Luna.
"So... where to?"
"We are going to go to, " Celestia says with a smile, "a secret place."
"Ooooh, so the council has a hideout." I say with a smile.
"Of course, for when any riot occurs, who will ponies attack first?"
"Riots? I cannot imagine that. Not even my less educated city, which is improving, was that violent."
Twilight laughs along with a royal guard (who silences himself, but still snickers).
"What?"
"Well, " Princess Twilight says with a smile, "riots not of the Equestrian peoples."
"Then of whom?"
"Riots of the nations of the world."
"Why would they... oh. I see."
"Yeah, we do indeed control the strongest military, but they are all in our allied countries for assistance in their wars. If we wanted to start a war, we would have to take the most valuable thing from those naitons away."
"Which is your soldiers?"
"Yep."
"That seems, quite frankly, immensely mean to say to other countries."
"But statistics show that if we removed our soldiers from them, they would all lose the wars they are fighting."
"But, if the army is the strongest, how come my small militia could beat something your guards couldn't?" I blurt out, feeling bad afterwards.
...
Everyone is silent the rest of the ride, not being able to counter what I had said. It must have been embarrassing.
But, it was definitely what needed to be said to prove that I am the best general in this land.
I sit on the highest pedestal of the council room, other than the Princesses, and look around.
On the left was Financial Adviser Immensely Rich, Peacemaker Gecko Kain, Cultural Adviser Charles Wheatly, and a lot of ponies who have just joined the council (hence had no nametags). On the right was the Princesses, Guard Trainer Gerald Shield (Who looks sad), Ambassador Shining Armor representing the Crystal Empire, Magic Warfare Adviser Trixie Lulamoon, and another bunch of new ponies.
"Sir Wright, would you please introduce yourself?" Princess Celestia said.
"I would, actually." I cough.
"Fellow council members, I am sure you have heard of me in the news lately. But let me say something now," pause for suspense, "Most of what they say is most likely wrong because nopony there would dare describe the scene of Cloudsdale's militia final triumph."
I look to the left, "We may have beaten the dragon, but I know that somepony must have been controlling it. Its power was too much for a natural happening, and I am sure Trixie would agree."
She nods.
"Right now, since we are not, ourselves, at war, must train all of our currently at home guards against necromancy. You all know about necromancy, but let me be the first to say the necromancy is NOT an evil magic."
Everyone looks appalled.
"Necromancy, like all magic, is just a tool to edit this eternal universe we currently live in. In my studies from random books of current information, it seems that magic is amplified from feelings. The strongest feeling of all is love..."
Silence.
"Yes. I believe some unicorn of a forbidden amount of magic used love to create these living embodiment of fear and mourning..." I breath in, " I believe we are dealing with someone who lives around Canterlot, for only they, who live in ignorance of most of the outside world, would not realize my army quickly approaching... I mean, we were so easily seeable."
everyone blinks, but nods in understanding.
"I, Wright Scribe, trust in all of you to find this one pony and annihilate him or her."
they look at me funny.
"The necromancer will be brought to me after he/she dies, though, for I have the perfect punishment for them."
"What is it?" said a pony who looked at me with questionable glances.
"I will resurrect the necromancer, and for him or her to tell us who she is working for, if anyone."
They all look at me, disgusted, but all nod in agreement that this plan will work.
"Good, now let us begin on other trivial matters..."
Having been a week since the last meeting, I have finally fully moved into a moderately sized 'house' right outside the Council Building (Which is of a fancy dome design) and neighboring Trixie Lulamoon and Emissary Council Member Shining Armor (Yes, he tells us to call him that, for no reason).
The inside of my 'house' is just these three rooms:
-The bedroom, filled with soft and plushy things. It may seem nice, but I cannot go human in there, for the maids open the doors in the morning to wake me up. The maids are griffons who were caught here illegally, but are allowed a free-citizen pass if they do a half-year of community service. Most of them stay after that, though, for the job pays quite well. Glider, a maid who wakes me up with a feather in my nose each morning, is a nice gal, but mischievous.
-The kitchen/dining room is filled with all sorts of foodstuffs and a big table. The maids clean it, but you have to fork over an extra bag o' bits if you want Leo to cook. Leo is a nice griffon who cooks some great vegetarian dishes, for he is vegetarian himself. He doesn't talk much, though, which makes it uncomfortable to be around him, because his eyes are always focused on what he cooks, it looks like he is showing disapproval at what you say.
-But, most of all, there is the bathroom. Yes, it is indeed a bath room. There is a subsection of toilets, but there is just one big tub, that can fit twelve ponies, a few meters away from the blocked off toilets. The tub is, too, cleaned by the maids, so most of them ask to use the bath if your house is there last shift. The bath is just amazing, for is able to become a hot spring.
The reason that it can become that, though, is because we are in a mountain right next to a volcano. Volcanic glass is found everywhere around here, so you must wear booties if your feet are weak to such things. I always worry about that, unless, like now, I am in the hot-spring-tub-of-awesome.
"Ahh~" I say, sinking into the tub in my human form. I made sure to lock the door this time, because last time a maid walked in here while I was, er, in my happy time with the pony body. I felt violated as she covered her eyes and closed the door...
Thinking about it now, it was pretty funny. I laugh in the tub, seeing that the soapstuff I put in here made bubbles.
I think about random things, blowing bubbles in the palm of my hand... and fall asleep...
All I dream about is the bubbles, floating innocently in the air. The bubbles are glistening in the sunlight as they are moved by the wind towards distant goals...
Then, I realize, the bubbles are not floating, they are actually being pushed by the air. The air is a menace. The air acts like a supporter of the bubble, letting it rise to higher causes, but all the air wants is the air in the bubble. The air, warm and comforting, slowly pushes the bubble into a wall. The bubble, under pressure, pops and releases the air. The air is dank and humid, but free. The air joins the group of air again, but then somepony blows another bubble, trapping the air once more...
"But who is at fault?" Princess Luna said to my pony form in my dream, but my amulet made her blurry and me blurry.
I laugh an ominous laugh that scares me before I say, "Does it really matter who is at fault? History is written by the victors, anyways."
"It doesn't matter how someone felt." I say, curling up, "Even if the victor asks his people to fel sorry for the enemy, they will only grow to resent or forget them in the future..."
Princess Luna looks at my pony form, "Human, why are you with the changelings?"
"I am not. I am just waiting to be free."
"Then, who are you?"
"I would say it, but I feel that is premature. Let us build up our relationship... I have been only seeing you in my dreams for a week straight."
I try to sound as different as possible.
"Then, can I see you?"
"No. The form before you is just your understanding of my current body, but you've never really seen me, so you are replacing all my parts with somepony else you know..."
"So, who do I look like?"
She ponders for a second, "You look like Professor Jan, a colleague of Twilight Sparkle at alicorn school."
"Alicorn school? Professor?" I laugh, "If I was an alicorn, I would be free of this damned curse by now."
"I guess so."
My dream begins to blur.
"Well, I guess it is time for you to go."
"I gu—"
"AHH!" I jump out of the spring. Elda, the maid who saw me doing such things, was pulling me out by the ear. Thank goodness the black ooz gave me my amulet in the middle of sleep.
"Don't you know privacy?"
"Don't ya' know ya' can die in there?" Elda said, a pair of sunglasses on.
"Why do you have sunglasses on?" I said, chuckling.
"Well, I dun' want to see ya' playing with ya' self again."
"Then why not send a male maid?" she lets go of me.
"They all too busy with cleaning the council rooms today..." she hands me my sleeping clothes, "so I was tasked to put everypony in bed."
"Have you been successful so far?"
"Nope."
"Well, then you are now." I put on my sleeping clothes, "Have a dip in the tub, I am gonna sleep. Goodnight."
"Don't drown in your bed, ya'hear?"
"I won't."
I dreamed of the bubbles all night...
"Lets get down to business!" I say to the council, who elected me as the head of today's meeting, " Has anypony gotten any clues on the identity of the necromancer?"
Hector Velp, the communication/spy leader, raises his claw.
"Yes, Hector?"
He pops his jaw, "Well, you see, we have found some hairs of the necromancer."
"What color are they?" I say, everypony else nodding.
"That's the odd part," he pulls out a bag, "they are a rainbow of gray."
He tosses me the bag from my left. I catch it with my odd wings (that I still haven't flown in).
The hairs are all the shades, black to white. I pass the bag along to the left row, who hand it back to Hector.
"Is there anypony of this fur-color in your database?"
"Not anypony," he frowns, "any zebra."
"I thought zebras were only black-white?"
"Well, actually, it is a zebra-unicorn hybrid, which is not that uncommon now a days."
"So, anyone match the description?"
"Not in this country... which means that we may be dealing with an illegal immigrant on our hooves."
"Illegal immigrant?" spouted Trixie, "I thought the guards at the border were thicker than anywhere else?"
"They are, but there is always loopholes, my dear." I say to Trixie, trying to calm her down a bit. I am too far to eat her emotion, though.
She looks at me funny, but sits back in her seat.
"is that all the evidence?"
"So far, yes, but we will stay vigilant, as you always advised."
"Thank you... now for the trivialities."
Everypony sighs, reaching for the stack of paper next to them.
"First order of business, what the fundings should be for the army for next year...
"Mr. Scribe!" Elda said, "An emergency meeting has been called!"
I lay in my soft bed in the center of the room, across from her, and curse silently, getting out of bed. The black ooz flows out my eyes, but the room is too dark for Elda to see.
"Alright, I guess I have no time to clean myself, then." I grab a fedora Count Ingrid. I wave bye to Elda and gallop out of the room at top speed.
...
I am sitting in my chair, many of the council members smiling and cheering, but others seeming confused.
"Sir Scribe?" the Spymaster said to me, grinning, "We got her."
"It was a her?"
"Of course, only female unicorns can hold all that magic, did you not know that?"
"Nope. I never paid attention in school, it was an absolute drag to my tactical mind."
"Er... alright then... Anyways," he coughs, "we put her in quarantine a few miles out of this mountain."
"Why?" I said, a smile on my face, "When she is an honored guest?"
He looks at me with a surprised, and angry, face, "Honored? She has killed hundreds of ponies!"
"Yes, but she failed. I have much to learn from her failures, and much to learn of who she truly is."
"How will you... ?"
"Just bring her into my house, I will be waiting for her." I get up from my desk, "And no guards. I will deal with her if she gets out of hoof."
"How?"
"I will kill her, of course."
"How?" he restates, a much more stern expression on his face.
"Trust me," I said, removing the smile from my face, "If she dares to hurt me, she will die a gruesome death."
...
I am sitting on my bed, playing with the amulet that I turned into a necklace around my head.
[Kachink]
"Finally..." I see her, chained and cuffed.
"Let her free."
"What? Are you mad?" a guard behind her said.
"Of course I am mad, or else I could have never dreamt of fighting a 30 stories dragon like that."
He nods, uncertain. He whips out the keys, beginning the long process of finding which key went where.
I sit there, staring at her, shrugging. She looked angry, yet slightly confused, at how I was acting.
He gives me the key to her mouth-clamp and leaves the room.
"Get out of the house, too. If this woman is capable of killing me, you cannot stop her."
[Thump... Thump]
I locked my door. I turn around to her and grab her clamp. Around her was a purple aura of hatred and confusion...
and then it was gone.
"Who are you?" I say, unlocking her clamp.
Looking at me with dead (heh) eyes, she begins to couch, saying, "I... I am Grave Sparks."
"Who names their child grave?"
"My parents, Dart Sparks and Emilia Sparks."
"Oh, forgot that mind-control makes you do things literally. Erm..."
I concentrate for a second.
"How old are you?"
"I am 35."
"Do you know who I am?"
"You're... the bastard who killed my son."
"So the dragon was your, er , 'son."
"Yes."
"Do you know how mercilessly we murdered him?"
"Yes, and I despise you for it."
I laugh, "By now, you know what I am, right?"
"A changeling?"
"Nope, you omnicidal bitch."
I close the clamp, lock it, and slam her face into the floor. I remove my amulet, returning to my human form.
"I am a murderer, but even I have standards with the deaths of thousands."
I grab her cold, uncaring face and begin to crush it between my fingers, making her bleed from my long, unkempt nails digging into her soft, grey face. She was a beautiful demon. Was, before I grabbed her head and slammed it into my knee, almost breaking her jaw... but I needed her to talk more.
I let her mouth free, hearing her cry. I soak up her tears, fueling me.
"You are not allowed to cry."
"Okay." She said, monotone, but her eyes seemed deep.
"Who do you work for?"
She is silent.
"Who do you work for?"
"I do not work for anypony!"
"Then, WHAT do you work for?" I say, punching her stomach.
In guttural pain, she exclaims, "I- I work for Queen Klora of the Zebra Kingdom."
I smile at her, smashing her into the stool next to the bed, knocking her out.
"Thank you, wench... I'll see you soon." I say, grabbing my amulet.
I change to pony form, the pain of my fists going away...
"Real soon."
After that hour of grand fun, I walk into the middle of the mountain, base, thing and exclaim, "Attention, councilers, it is time to rise?"
My voice reverberated across the chasm, growing slightly lighter for about a minute. In that time, everypony had left there rooms.
"What?" yelled Princess Luna, having been napping in the afternoon.
"Don't what me, Princess. Praise me."
"Why?" she says, quieter.
She walks nearer to me.
"My Princess... it is because we are going to battle!"
"With a group of terrorists?" she exclaimed, shocked.
"Nope." I said, smiling wide, "A country."
The rest of the ponies had surrounded me, asking questions of my decision.
"Who?" asks Princess Celestia.
"The Zebra nation's queen sent the dragon-mare, so this is an act of war."
"But we have had a long-standing truce with them!" Trixie says, outraged.
"Ah, but remember, as long as opinions are different in the world, war shall be waged."
"But, not one of my networks has ever gotten any information from the Zebra Nation of value, and we're the best!" says Hector.
"But who is to say that they do not have spies here?"
"But- but..."
"Ah, before I forget... thank you for bringing her alive, that saved us some time."
"How did you even get her to speak?" said Princess Sparkles(?).
"Well, let us just say I had to use physical means... and that you should get her to a doctor soon."
Princess Twilight looks at me funny, and turn to Shining Armor, who has been contemplating. He is muttering many things, probably trying to tie loose ends.
"But they... unless... but why..." said Shining Armor, slowly descending into silence, but silently exclaiming, "It all makes sense."
"How?" I ask politely.
"Well, the Zebra kingdom has been less willing to trade since we've let meat-eaters into our borders."
"But meat is good."
Everyone stares at me, even more horrified of me.
"What?"
They stare at me, but also seem to be trying to find any reasons not to go to war.
"There is nothing you can say, ponies, for it is time." I say, after nearly ten minutes of standing. I begin walking back to my room, "You may as well rest..."
For diplomacy is dead and war is the only option." I said, my own plan kicking into high gear...
A young, yet strong, zebra salutes me. I look her in the eyes, seeing her crisp, green eyes shine like a fire. We are standing on the cave-wall on the opposite side of the mountain (From my home).
"'Emissary' Zena, an honorable ex-member of the council, we called you here for your expertise."
"What so you need?" she says in a clear voice, enthusiasm coming from her. Thank goodness I can't eat that, for I would have choked by now.
"We need you to train a few trusted zebras to become 'emissaries' like you."
"Why zebras?" she asks, running her hoof through her frizzed mane.
I exhale, looking off to the side, sadly, "The zebra kingdom's queen was the one who sent the dragon personally."
She looks at me, her eyes wide, "How are you sure?"
"Lets just say, " I pop my neck, "I am a great interrogator."
She nervously smiles, "So, what do you plan to do?"
"Oh, don't worry about that for now. Just train your students to get something great."
She smiles, "What?"
"Princess Celestia will let you wish for one thing." She smiles wider.
"One reasonable thing."
Her smile tones down, nodding.
"Are you up to the task?" I ask her, biting into a crumpet.
"Yes, sir!" She smiles again, bigger than before. I feel her happiness, so I quickly back away from her. Wouldn't want her to be a husk.
"The 'emissaries' are in my room right now, they, too, want to destroy the zebra queen for the atrocity she has done."
She nods, grabbing my keys that were dangling on the wall next to her.
I wave farewell, and go into the council room. But, today was a different kind of day than normal. Today was a day of planning.
...
"All rise!" I say, entering the council room, everypony stopping their conversations.
I get to my podium, "All may rest!"
They sit in their chairs.
"War planners Trixie, Shining Armor, Gerald Shield, and myself are going to come up with war strategies while Financial Adviser Immensely Rich, Peacemaker Gecko Kain, Cultural Adviser Charles Wheatly, and the Princesses discuss how many troops, rations, spending-money, and armaments will be available." I breath in from that long sentence, "Anyone disagree say I."
"I." says Council member Reginald Powers, who monitors the power-consumption of the country and its energy sources.
"Why do you say so?"
"I wish to also be with the group discussing foodstuffs and money for the army."
I rub my chin, trying to think of a reason not to let him in.
"That sounds reasonable," I look to the Princesses, "You agree?"
They nod their heads, eating their lunch. It makes me feel weird, for I still have not eaten much since I've come here.
"You may join the group." He looks happy, "Any other disagreements?"
Nopony raises their hooves nor blurts 'I'.
"Alright, then, would everypony regulate their normal duties. If you find something hard, for this is wartime, ask for assistance from someone who needs no help."
They nod their heads, each having a stack of paper on their desks... well, except the emissaries. They only had a sheet or two. The emissaries all seem to be looked at differently now, but I guess that's natural after a friend stabs you in the back, for you'll expect your other friends to do the same.
i get my stack of papers and walk over to Trixie and Shining, who put their tables together so we can work. I pull a pillow from a small cabinet in the floor and sit on it. Trixie, across from me, is helping Shining Armor clean up some papers he spilled under the table.
I wait a bit, and Gerald sits beside me. He smiles softly at me, but keeps his head slightly low. There is not enough sadness to eat, but I hope it doesn't grow.
"Are we all ready?" I ask my team.
They nod their heads, moving their individual stacks of paper to the middle of the double desk.
"Alrighty. First order of business, mapping out possible stratigic points of entry." I say, smiling at Trixie, who had the map.
She happily lays down the map, which takes up the double-desk, and gives of chess pieces to represent war-parties.
"I will explain what the war-parties are so far, for the Princesses should determine a few more." Trixie said, getting everyone's attention.
"Okay, the white knight is the Royal Army, of course, and they are the best at magic, but they are spread across the world currently." Trixie said, putting the white horse into a little silver box. She sets the box on top of the name of the map.
"The dark knight is Princess Luna's elite stealth unit. Their skill is unmatched by even ghosts." She sets the dark knight on the map, "They are presumably in the Griffon Kingdom, which is named 'Griffon's Gate' in their native language."
"That's interesting." I say, looking at Trixie. She smiles a bit more.
She pulls out a white King, "The white king is The Mane Six, but the Elements of Harmony are currently missing, so they are out of the game." She puts the white king back in her satchel.
"The dark King is Discord, but nopony knows where he went."
I was going to ask who Discord was, but it seemed unimportant right now.
"The white pawn and dark pawn are your militia, for they are highly trained for amateurs."
"Why, thank you for the flattery."
"Your welcome," she says, placing the pawns in the silver box., now the Rooks are just the guards for Luna and Celestia." she puts them in the silver box.
"The bishops are the Wonderbolts, who have been trained with 'Liquid Magic'."
"I have no clue what that is." I say.
"Liquid magic is just globs of magic that can e shaped into things like swords, or fired like an arrow."
"I should buy some." I say, rubbing my chin.
"Well, we do not have any in the mountain, so wait until you are out."
"Fine."
She places the bishops in the silver box.
"Now," she says," it is time for shining armor to tell us where some good entry points are."
We all look at him.
he pulls out a sheet of paper from his small stack and shows us a zoomed-in view of the north part of the Zebra Kingdom.
"In the northern part of the kingdom," he says, placing the zoom-in on the original area," It is primarily water. We have a great navy system, but they do not." he points to a beach in the picture, "Omare Beach is a piece of land that we sold to the them some time ago, and is probably the best way to enter by land." he pulls out another sheet, "But, the best way to enter by the sky is from the Eastern side of the Griffon kingdom, where some allied dragons live."
"Will they fight with us?" I say.
"No, for is is mating season and the dragons must stay in their nests. They will let us pass, though, but they despise griffons."
"Why?"
"They are both carnivorous, so they compete for food every now and then."
"Oh... go on, then."
"Well, after we pass through dragon-territory, we should be in Eastern Grove, a forest the is akin to the Everfree but much bigger, which will take a few days to pass through. Though there is not any monsters that attack anymore, for they are being picked off by the dragons."
"Interesting."
"It is."
"Now, after the Grove, there will be a large, treeless, grassland that will be a huge fighting ground before we can truly enter their frontier and their cities."
"How many cities do they have?"
"Hundreds of small villages, dozens of cities, and two capitals."
"Two?"
"Well," he sighs, "They built one capital for their soldiers and the other for their leaders."
"I guess that means that have to take out the entire army first."
"yeah."
I look up, my hooves holding me up, "This is going to be a long war."
"Yes, it is."
"Should we stop this until the Princesses finish up rounding up the army in the first place?"
Every nods, trixie standing up.
"I am going to go to bed, goodnight everyone."
Gerald follows Trixie out, waving slowly.
"So, your married to a princess?" I ask Shining.
"Yeah."
"And your the brother of a princess."
"Yep."
"Does that mean you'll be a princess soon," I laugh, standing up, "Princess Armor?"
He gets up laughing, "maybe, Mare Scribe."
We start walking out the door, "I see what you did there, my princess."
He slightly punches me on the soldier, but he moves a bit slower. I move a bit further from him, so his eyes faded from being green quickly. He looks at me for a second, a blank stare, but then smiles after I am a meter away from him.
I wave goodbye, watching him wave back, and trot to my home, feeling sick.
My radio in my room went off. I shut it off, and prepare to get dressed. Luna wasn't in my dreams tonight, so I guess she, too, is thinking of the war. I hope it doesn't make the moon crash into us.
I laugh, putting on a new pair of pants I found in the closet. my ooz turn into a vest, for I want my chest to breath today. I merrily trot around my room, getting a feel for the new fabric. When I am done stretching the barely fitting pants, I go out of my room.
Elda is cleaning earlier than usual, earbuds attached to her radio. I walk by her, waving, but she doesn't notice.
Out of my home, there is many ponies frantically walking around, trying to find papers that are scattered around the floor of the cave. I pass them by, for they had enough hooves to fix the problem, and enter the council room. Trixie and Shining were at the table, but Gerald was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Gerald?" I ask, pulling out my pillow.
"We don't know, but we got some new from the Princesses." Trixie said, fixing her registered mage hat.
"What is it?"
"Let Shining explain." Trixie said, trying to get a curl to straighten with her hoof.
"Well," Shining began, his breath stinking of some cheap booze, "Ya' sea, it terns out that Celestia is aloowering militia's to be built by anyone."
"Are you drunk?"
"He is," Trixie said, "but its because he hasn't seen his wife or child in a while."
"He's a drunkard?"
"Pretty much, without his wife or his peers around."
"Aren't we his peers?"
"We are his friendly peers, you wouldn't know what its like to be in the army."
I cough, "I am a general."
"Yes, but we are talking about the royal army. You saw the royal guards, who are promoted to the army after serving three years."
"So, they are st—"
"Hell yeah!" Shining said, hugging a passing stallion, "You can never have too much fun in the royal army... even though I am the leader of the guard!"
"How are you the leader of the guard and a member of the army?"
"Well, you see, the leader of the guard is elected for twenty years, and I am nearing meh last days of being just an honorary royal army member."
"Sounds nice."
The stallion, uncomfortable now, tries to push Shining off. Shining is too strong.
"Trixie, if you would." said the stallion, seeming to be a friend of Trixie's.
"Fine, little boy." Trixie says, zapping lighting at Shining's rear. He yelps.
"hehe, " I laugh, " So, how are you two related?"
"Oh, Mrs. Lulamoon has been a great friend of mine since I was a young colt in Ponyville, and probably my closest friend besides my best friend... who is not in this council."
"Who is he?"
"Oh, his name is Snips, and I am Snails, and we have been friends since colt-hood. Using our tactical genius to pretend we were dunb, we tricked all of ponyville to give us money when we grew older. It was a long and slow win, but we suddenly became the richest in Ponyville... excluding the Princess."
"How?"
"Well, let us just say that we had entered a competition with the smartest ponies in the world, and everypony bet against us..." He smiles, "We came in first, only narrowly beating Twilight and her partner, Trixie."
"Hey, why not list me first?" trixie said, rummaging through the silver box.
"Well, sorry to say, but you only answered four of the fifteen questions... though they were the hardest."
"What were they about?"
"Common sense. It seems to be hard for most smart people."
"No wonder they always seem dull in public."
"I know." He said, smiling at me.
"What do you do here?"
"I am the head of international trade, but my job is essentially to steal from other nations as much as I can."
Sounds fun... but I digress." I turn to Trixie, "So, have you found anything else?"
"No," Trixie said, waving Snails goodbye, "but we will being to plan after the Princesses determine our resources."
"Alright... then what should we do today?"
"I think we should all relax on the balcony outside the mountain."
"Balcony? Outside? What?"
"You never went outside?" said Shining, "It is where you can get liquid joy!"
"Oh... well, then we should go to the balcony." I say, feeling like I should probably adventure a bit more.
Trixie gets up, stretching. Her bones pop pretty loudly, which sends shivers down my spine. She motions for me to follow her out the room, and I pull on Shining. Shining allows me to move him, but keeps on saying that I am like his wife.
...
After walking for a few minutes, we come to a double-door on the side of the mountain-cave. Trixie opens it with her key, showing a majestic sight. There was many dressed up members, probably on a date with other members. I presume this because of all the pink smoke around, that I am happy I can't eat. It seems like I would suffocate/choke in here.
"Erm... this seems very different than I expected," I said, looking at Trixie... whose eyes were on me. Did I do something wrong?
"yeah, this is a great establishment, isn't it, Wright?"
"I don care if its a gud establishment," Shining said, walking to the bar across the room, "It has grate service!"
He waves as he trots away.
"So, where are we sitting?" I ask Trixie, her face being blinded by other people's pink smoke. I wish I could turn off this blasted emotion sight.
She points to a door to the left of us, reading something about parties.
"That seems nice." I say smiling. I fix my pendent, feeling a slight crack on it. I feel a bit happier, yet much more scared.
"R-really?" she said, stuttering. i walk to the door, her following.
...
Behind the door was a single table with one-way windows all around. The sight from the windows was astounding, but there was only two seats. Trixie sits on the one seeing the view of the outside, but I also want to see, so I pull my chair beside her.
I can see a yellow hue coming from her, but my body is not absorbing it. Probably from my willpower.
"What I beautiful view." I said, looking at a monstrous tree that Trixie's head was blocking. She ducks her head down, slightly pinked of embarrassment of blinding my field of vision.
She, too, looks out the same window I do, "It is."
I press a small waitor button, and he comes in.
"What would the paar want?"He asks, smiling.
"What would you like?" I asked Trixie, a smile on my face.
"I want..." She looks at a menu, which had some pretty big platters. She points at a random shake, "This one."
I look at her menu as she passes it to me as the waiter jots down her order. Nothing seems appealing.
"I'll just split with her, sir."
He winks at me, probably knows that I wasn't hungry and was in on it. He seemed to know Trixie, anyways.
When he leaves, me and Trixie talk about ourselves and our goals for about half an hour...
...
The shake arrives, two straws in it. I was hoping to have it in two separate vases, but I guess that won't happen.
"You drink first, my lady." I joke, a smile on my face. Her aura goes from yellow to a yellow-pink, feeling the brunt of my joke. I must be a good comedian.
I look to the ceiling as she drank, for the fan was a bit off. I hear her stop slurping.
"Wow, even Trixie find this appalling!" she says, pushing it to me.
"Can't reject a drink like this." I say, sipping from a straw. It has an odd, juicy flavor at first, but then has a meaty flavor.
I smile at her, "This is wonderful."
She is staring at me, eyes open-wide. I look at the straws, seeing that one of them was untouched. I rub the back of my head, smiling. I close my eyes, for a bird that was blocking the setting sun was gone, blinding me.
I feel something soft ad creamy on my lips as a pink aura enveloped me...
A smell of pleasant roses went into my nose, as a stink of sweat and some blood faded away. My nose, in her hair, was about to sneeze, but I stop it. I scoot out from under her, but she was grabbing my pendent. I slowly edged out of Trixie's grasp, getting out of bed. Trixie's bed.
Last night went horribly right, but I felt so dirty doing it. I go into the bathroom, seeing the pendent around my neck in the mirror. It had a large crack down the center, bigger than in the cafe/restaurant thing. I still cannot crush it into dust, though. My face was bed-ragged, but nothing my shape-shifting couldn't handle... but I should be cautious, for what if this thing breaks? Instead, like a normal pony, I use a small amount of gel.
"Scribe?" Trixie said, knocking on the bathroom door. She rambles on about how last night was 'fun' while I brush my teeth. My mouth felt very dirty, but it was indeed fun.
[Gurgle-gurgle]
[Ptoo!]
Feeling clean, I open the door. Trixie walks in, slapping my behind as I leave the room.
"I am going to the council room, Trixie." I say, happy.
"I'll meet you there after I get a shower... I still have no clue why you never broke a sweat."
"If I told you my trade secrets, I would have to kill you." I say, smiling at her from her bed, collecting the pieces of my suit. I laugh to myself, for what I had said was probably true...
...
In the council room, Shining Armor was being comforted by Gerald, who seemed a bit buzzed himself.
Shining sees me. "Hey, look who I— found!" He says, he hoof on his head.
Gerald looked at me, a small smile on his face, "Sorry I missed the last meeting, but I was just getting a drink... and it took some time to come."
"I met him when you two went off somewhere!" Shining said, lifting his hoof off his head.
He stares at me for a second, "Wait, did you two —" He rubs his head.
"Did we what?"
He stares at me again.
"What?" He said, grabbing an orange with his magic. It falls when he starts to roll around the floor in pain.
"Did you forget magic was connected to the brain you drowned?" Trixie said, coming through the door in the ruckus.
She looked beautiful, but something was off...
["Why don't you stop and take a break from drinking?"]
["I do! I have for ten years!"]
I continue to stare at her, trying to figure out what was different. Her hat was the same, so was her cape, but it was something around her. Something was missing...
The aura. I couldn't see it.
"Fuck." I said, outloud.
"Woah, what are you talking about?"
"I... I have something to do... where is Luna?"
"Princess Luna? She is at the balconey with her sister ri—" Trixie said as I ran out the door towards the balcony. I felt the pendent break one more time.
...
I am at the cafe, pushing past the kind waiter and into the personal room. The Princesses stare at me with confused looks, the both of them eating a souffle.
"Princess Luna, I have something to say to you," I close the door, "and it is about this pendent."
They exchange looks, "Yes,? Do you want us to fix it?"
"NO!" I yell, my voice reverberateing through the cafe.
The princesses stare at me with their eyes wide open.
"Just... just be civil about thi—"
[Crack...]
The pendent falls to the floor, shattering. I see fire envelop me, a blue one. It burns... it burns so much...
"What are we going to do about this one?" A changeling said, a buzz saw above my head.
"Well, we could use him..." A love... horrible voice said.
"How, my queen?" he says, his voice a bit chipper for a bastard.
"Well, you know how humans have mages, too?"
"Is he one of them?"
"That and more."
"More?"
"Let us just say that he seems to be more than one mage..."
He starts the buzz saw, "Well then, one new recruit coming up!"
I am conscious throughout this, not even able to be knock unconscious because they stunned me. The grinding of the buzz againt my flesh hurt. It hurt so much that I wished I would die...
Even though, I know, that no matter what insane method I took, I could never die...
I wake up in an infirmary, my face feeling numb.
Somepony walks through the door.
"You should have told us, " Luna said, "That someone had planted a mind-control bomb on you... it would have helped."
She laughs quietly, laying her hoof on my hoof. My hoof?
"Can I see myself?" I say, the gauze muffling my noise.
"Sure, my child, here you go."
She hooves me the mirror as I tear away the gauze with my weak hooves, which seem to be missing some patches of fur. I feel the pain as the gauze rips away some more fur from my face... but I msut be sure.
I look in the mirror, and see the face of the pony-me... but how?
I begin to cry, smiling. My face among the ponies was safe, except for a large burn over my fore-head, so my identity is safe.
I look to Luna, who is smiling at the incapacitated me, and say, "Thank you for saving me."
She nods as another pony, clad in white, strolls in and injects me with something in a vial...
...
I wake up in my bed, a box on the table. I move my weak legs, picking up the box.
"How common is a mind-control bomb as to not attract attention?" I say, seeing a box of disenchanting stickers. I laugh loudly, realizing that I must have been the luckiest being in the Omniverse at that point, so I merrily 'skip' (with a limp) to the council room, beginning business...
...
My dreams, as I am laying next to Trixie, are connected to her for today. I show her nothing of my past, but I show her of what kind of being I am. I show her all the horrifi memories of my past, but with grat concentration, ponify the characters in my memories. It feels good, seeing her tear up at my somewhat-false past, for I finally have someone. Someone to love...
She leaves my dreams, but leaves the gate open. Another being comes in...
"Princess Luna."
"Human... ?"
"Luna, I have to say something to you personally."
"Whatis it?" she says, smiling at me. We have always enjoyed our small talk, but this is odd.
"I am Wright."
She looks at me, laughing.
"What's so funny?"
She wipes her tears, "How do you think you got back into that body, Allen?"
I ponder about it, and feel horrified. I gulp.
"I am sorry, my princess, for what has occurred! I will never speak to the dark hag ever again!"
I bow before her, pleading for my safety.
"Don't worry, my friend, only us two know about this," She said, going towards the gate, "but, if you ever try to contact your queen, you will be executed."
"Why do you trust me?"
"If you were lying about hating your queen, I would know... I am in your mind clearly, after all."
"then what is my punishment?" I say, shrinking in my own dreams.
"Your punishment is that you must obey everything we say without question. You got that?"
Before I could answer, she leaves the room, laughing maniacly.
They were going to use me for something, just like Queen Cry-a-lot. I knew that something was going to go down...
I wake up, a pure white table below me and a blinding light above me. I am wearing a purple gown, and one of those floofy hats. I try to pick myself up with my legs, but they won't move. I look towards where my feet are... were.My body is missing its legs, but another pair is hanging beside me to my left. They look different than my own, but so do my hands. My hands are huge compared to my wrists, and they are of different shades. I lean up, seeing that the walls were red. I breath through my nose, but smell nothing. My nose itches, so I scratch it, but something is plastered over it. I try to see it, but my eyes feel tired and everything becomes more and more blurry.
I attempt to yell bloody murder, but my mouth is stapled together. I pull at the staples, but it only pains my lips. I taste the staples, feeling an iron taste on my tounge. I feel around for my teeth, but a few gaps are found where my front ones should be. I look to my left, downwards, and find a wheelchair. I slowly slide into the wheelchair, feeling my butt colide with something hard on it. I pull it out of my butt-area. It is three name-tags.
'Patient 5—Christopher Mann—Main', said the first one. The picture looked very familiar... was it me? I turn to the next one.
'Patient 6—Allen Travis—'Blue' Matter', said the second one, the picture frightening me. My heart felt like a stone, sinking into the blackest depths of the unending ocean of pain. I throw the card, looking at the next one.
'Patient 1—John Right—Mem.' said the last. The picture was horrifying, but not like the last one. This one was a child. His picture was the one that hit me hard, but I have no clue why.
I put the Christopher one on, feeling that it matched me, and slipped the child's one into a small pocket on the side of the gown. I look at my fingernails, and see a slight tint of red in them, the same color as the wall. I look across the bed, and see somebody (or, actually, their head, but they must be laying down.) I roll across the room, towards the bed, and try to shriek in terror, only hurting my mouth.
The body next to me was a pile of nothing, which a head rested upon. I feel like barfing, but feel nothing come out. I look back to the red wall, blatantly stunned on how much blood was on it. I shake off the fear and roll out the room and into a smaller, darker one.
"Please..." I heard to my right as I entered the room, "No more..."
I reach for a light, but feel a slight heat from behind me.
"No more!" He said, a bright light hitting me, sending me flying into a pitch black hole.
The fall lasted hours, but suddenly trace amounts of light erupt before me. I see pieces of glass as it showered above me, falling under me. It formed a platform, which reflected my body to me. Which reflected the face of Allen at me...
I stare into my mirror, Trixie laying in my bed. I concentrate hard, trying to remember my dream as much as possible. trying to remember who I am; but the longer I stare, the more I realize that I shouldn't be asking who I am.
I should be asking what I am.
I slowly brush the teeth of someone else, and put on my clothes that Trixie politely laid out for me on the hanging rack. I leave the bathroom, kissing Trixie on the head before leaving the room. Elda is cleaning very early in the morning and waves at me as I leave the house.
It is barely even 5:00 am, but I know that Princess Celestia is awake. I trot over to the council room, seeing Luna asleep on the top of a large, golden, throne. I breath in, walking to a wall behind Luna, it having a small decoration on it. I press the decoration, opening the door.
Behind the door was Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight, each rummaging through old documents. Princess Twilight looks at me first.
"Well, look who has come." She said, slightly angry.
"What?" I ask.
"What do you mean what? You nearly offed my teacher!" She said silently, noticing Luna asleep behind me.
"Ex-teacher," Celestia laughs lightly, "and you already know such a weak bomb could not harm me in a lifetime."
"But..."
"No but, Miss Sparkle."
Princess Celestia pulls out a slim paper, "Finally!"
Princess Twilight picks it up with her magic, which is magenta, and nods.
"I see, so that is why your not like that universe."
"Which one?" I say to Princess Sparkle.
"Well, you see, Miss Sparkles old flame lives in a world where people are more 'colorful', unlike your own." Princess Celestia said, smirking at Twilight.
"I trusted you with that!," She sighs, "It may sound odd to you, but your universe of humanity is an odd one."
"How?"
"Well, you see," She puts the paper in front of me, "Your universe is one where magic exists like ours, but has a different usage."
"Different?"
"Your universe, mapped out by Starswirled the Bearded and his alternate counterpart, has a few sentient beings capable of magic, but since they are sentient, they adapt quite quickly." She sighs, "So, magic in your world became obsolete to technology which could give anyone the power to change the world."
"And the mirror?"
Princess Celestia looks at Twilight with a disapproving look.
"You... don't need to know about that."
I feel anger, but then I remembered. I remembered that they owned me. If I fought, they would reveal me to Trixie before she was ready. I already showed her some memories (in a ponified form), but she is still not ready.
I look to Celestia, "What did I look like?"
"What do you mean?"
"What did my human self look like?"
"Shouldn't you already know that?"
"I do, but I do not."
She looks at me with a confused glance.
"I want to know if I look the way I think I look."
"Why would that matter?" Celestia says, looking down at more papers, "You're never going to be in human shape again in this world, are you?"
I look at the ground, "I guess not..." I look to Twilight, "I guess I will meet you all in the next meeting, I am going to the cafe."
"Alone?"
"No." I say, waving goodbye from my masters. I walk out the room, quickly, feeling down. I see Trixie out of the house, cleaning up some papers she dropped. They all had money signs on them.
"What's happening, Trix?" I say, faking feeling happy.
"Not much, really," [huff],"just that my taxes came in."
"Taxes?" I start to pick up some of her papers.
"Yeah, "She picks up the last one, " but even with all of this, I still made a profit."
"Well," I say, with a smirk,"with that profit, do you want to go on a date, bread winner?" I say, feeling a bit better around her. She smiles, but tries to hide it.
"Sure... just wait a few minutes." She says, running to her house with about fifty papers. I kinda wish we never played with her horn, though it felt nice.
I wait in silence, seeing lights of neighbors going on and off, and see Trixie in the distance.
We go to the Cafe, and enjoy hours of stories, tales, and riddles. It helped me somewhat.
Somewhat.
It seems like years ago, but it also felt like tomorrow. My 11th birthday was when my father had bought me a magic knife. The knife channeled my magic, allowing me to create my crafts. My favorite was of a young boy, a mage like me, but something always felt off about it. Unlike my other sculptured, this one was always scaring me.
It felt like it would reach to me and tear out my eyes. I kept watch on it, even on my sick days. When I was my sickest, with a flu, my dad brought it down into the bed with me and my duller knife. He knew my magic would heal my wounds, so he trusted me with it at all times.
I named it, the figure, but I have no remembrance of why I did so. All I know is that the figure, in all its glory, had only a four letter name. Its name, like many of my father's colleagues, was John...
The air in the room is stale, for a boulder had fallen into the hole used for ventilation. Many of the council member's faces were frozen and deadlocked on me. I look over to Trixie, who had made the basic plan with Shining Armor and me this morning. I vaguely remember planning, for Luna did not just ruin my dreams... she woke me up for no reason at all. If only I knew how to use that magic stuff Allen used, though I would not want to meet him anytime soon.
"Attention, council members!" I say, my voice cracking from the immense heat that came from the neighboring volcano. I turn towards the right side, and motion for Trixie and Shining Armor to the podium that Gerald set for us this morning, but has a migraine so he can't join us for this important day.
"As we all know, our team consisting of Trixie, Shining, Gerald, and I have founded an unbeatable plan to defeat the zebra kingdom."
Stomping ensued, but I quiet it down by raising my hoof. "There is a cost, though, and that is to send somepony to the Dragon kingdom as an emissary, and only I can convince such an intellectual group of eons-old to helping us."
They look at me strangely, but listen.
"You all know that I am the best negotiator and interrogator, though none of you shall learn my tricks. My tricks, I shall say, are of manipulation," I look at Princess Celestia, "I always use what I know about my listener against them, making them blindly support me. I know I can not control you ponies, for you are highly intelligent, but dragons? With my info?" I lean on the podium,"They will undoubtedly say yes to whatever I say."
I hear light stomping of those who agree with that sentiment, and silence from others.
"But, I digress, while you guys think of letting me to the Dragon's Nest as emissary, listen to Trixie and Shining Armor, who will show the battle plans if what I do goes wrong," i get off the podium and walk down the small stairs,"If anypony needs me, I will be packing."
I trot fast to the new side-exit that somepony made a day ago. The door is not complete, so it is just covered with a blue fabric. I listen to the loud sounds of the battle plans as I am walking to my home.
"Well," said Trixie, "If Wright fails at leaning the dragons to our side, we have several plans of what to do."
"Yes." Shining said, sound of paper rubbing on his mic.
"The first plan, for the many militias of the land, will be that 'They will be shipped to the small island that we sold to the Griffons, and they sold to the Zebras, which truthfully holds a small bay inside a cliff that only powerful unicorns can enter. We lied about emptying it, for we had anticipated a small quarrel to happen in the Zebra Kingdom and we'd have to lend out aid," she pauses, "but is seems we have to smash them with our hooves instea—"
I shut my door, going into my bedroom. A suitcase lays on it, packed with clothes and goods. A tag lays on it, reading 'Trix'. I smile, laying down on my bed. I look to my light bulb, concentrating on what has happened so far. I make a mental checklist:
1)Something in the human world.
2)Be manipulated by the Changelings and their queen... who may still control me.
3)Somehow have the pendent break into a bomb.
4)Reveal myself to the Princesses.
5)Be manipulated by the ponies.
I think for a second, laughing at my own circumstances.
2.5)Learned about myself and met somepony to love.
"Better," I say to myself, feeling drowsy. I curl into a ball and sleep in the bed that smells like love.
I have just graduated the Magic Academy, majoring in History. History in M.A. is highly different, though, for you learn spells from long ago. I memorized almost every single battle from the ancient shamans vs the voodoo priests to the modern mage vs well, the modern mage. I walk outside, getting a psychic call from Penny's parents, thinking it would be of a congratulations, and it was, just not for me. Ecstatic about learning that my best friends, Lenny and Tracy, have become united in law. Even though they are both older than me, it is still surprising that they are already married at twenty—especially because they always acted like they hated each other. I smile as I am driven home by my parents, who congratulate me on being valedictorian and head mage (for a year,at least).
While my parents are congratulating me, I am psychically communicating with Lenny, who is laughing as he answers.
"Congratulations!" we say to each other, laughing inwardly.
"So, what are you guy's plans?" I say, pretending to listen to my parents.
"Well, we were thinking of having a child in a year or two, but we have decided that we'll be living in Texas."
"Texas as in the Independent country, or the Texas they put on the moon to save the US's land-mass?"
"Texas the country of course! The taxes in the other Texas are insane!"
I laugh a bit, my parents leaving the car at a pit-stop, "So, what will the kid's name be?"
"We haven't decided, but you can throw suggestions."
"Leopolt?" I jest.
"Nothing so silly-fancy my friend," He laughs a bit.
"How about Justin?"
"Not since the Double-10's, 'bro'," He jests back.
"you know that phrase has not been used since the Double-20's, my friend!" I laugh a bit, realizing I laughed out loud. My parents are, safely, out the car.
"Also, we want a boy, so no girly names like yours."
"Yeah, how is Allen girly?"
"No offense, but your name just sounds like a part of a woman."
"Didn't you fail human physiology, Lenny the Tranny?"
"Hey! That was a stage, friend!" he laughs lightly.
"Well... how about Patrick?"
"ugh, nothing from that show that's somehow still alive."
"Its still on?" I say, a bit happier.
"Why?"
I stay silent for a second, "How about Jake?"
"A J- name sounds good, but will it blend with our pretty blandly-named family?"
"Hmmm...." I think, my parents entering the car and handing me a large Texas Ice Tea.
"How about Joshua?"
He shouts something in my ear, "OH you just gave me an idea!"
"What is it?"
"How about John!"
"Just John?"
"Yeah! I can see him now, a fellow mage, John Right!"
My parents caught me at that moment, and snapped their fingers, knowing any loud noise disrupts the communication.
"That sounds fine, but for some reason it doe— gotta go!"
And go I did, right back home...
Dirty air, flowing fast into my mouth, makes me cough viciously.
I wake up in a carriage, a note on my stomach, reading, 'Try your best, Trix, Gerald, and Shining!'. I smile, looking at the one guiding my carriage. It is Elda's brother, but I don't know him enough to speak to him, and some other griffon. I look in my carriage and pick up my suitcase, opening it. I pull out the eye-covers and put them on, letting the moving wind be my music and my world.
...
I feel pushing on my body as I wake up from my dream. elda's brother is looking at me, motioning me to follow.
To my left I see a giant crater, full of dragons and their nests, and they all look intriguing. I see one ginormous dragon rising up, seeing us. Unlike the others, he seems to be very young, but very intelligent.
"Royal guards? Why have you,"he looks at me, "Who are you?" His voice booms, pointing at me.
I turn on the radio on my vest.
"My name [KZRRK], oh, sorry," I cough,"My name is Wright Scribe, and I have something to ask of your kind."
"We are not partaking in your war, that is final."
"Even if they were using an undead dragon for their attack on our city?"
"What does that have to do with us?"
I put my hoof on my face, "So, not only do you allow a nation that probably kills dragons to live, but you allow them to play puppetmaster with their corpses," I pause, "And do you even know how necromancy works?"
"No, but it doesn't concern us."
"It should, for necromancy is when you grab the soul of an ex-living thing, ripping it from where ever it went, and force it back into a body it cannot even control."
The dragon rubs his chin, thinking about it.
"It means that, when you finally die, you are torn from paradise and forced to live in torment as someone's slave."
"No!" he said, screaming it across the crater, "We will not be slaves again!"
"Then fight with us, or be killed by the corpses of your friends by those who you let live!"
He looks at me, "How are you even sure that dragon was killed? What if it was just—"
"Found? That would be much worse, for that would mean they dug up its grave and rip it from its rest for torment and a murder spree!"
The dragon began to realize something.
"But... We worked our whole lives for the permenent peace between all nations!"
"Yeah, it did not seem to stop the Zebra Kingdom from digging up your corpses." I say, my voice stern as possible.
He looks over to his people, his wife, and back to me.
"We will think about this... so follow me."
I start to walk to him, "Can I just ride you? You are giant compared to- woahAH!" He picks me up, flying to the center of the crater.
"When we land, you must be in your hut for a few days, for our meetings last more than just an hour." He says, his face thinking hard.
We land, and he shows me a small hut. I immediately enter and plunge into the bed, falling asleep once more...
I am home, where my mommy and daddy are giving me back my ribbon and diploma after looking at it. I had just graduated from Beginners' Sorcery School, which my parents say is a big deal. But not because it is hard, but because it is rare.
"It is rare to be such a great sorcerer, if one at all!" my father always says when he has the time to be around.
"Why?" I always ask, but then my father goes silent for a bit, and looks outside.
"I don't wish to remember."
But, I do. My father said that the truth lies in the past, and I'll learn soon enough, but I want it now. I take my dad's 'special' keys and go into his study room while he is asleep. There is no forbidden sign, so I guess it is okay.
There, to my left, is a cupboard full of books. It is encrusted in steel, so no one can easily break it, but I have the key. Unlike what it seems, there is only one book in the whole thing. An album. I open it, looking in chrono-something order. I see all my uncles and aunts who are not really related in pictures, but there is someone who catches my attention. He is a white man of a lean build, with paint on his face and grey eyes, who just seems to overtake the whole group in stature. Not physical, for he was quite short, but something made him seem tall. His name is scratched out, so I take out the photo and inspect the picture closer.
His left leg was in a cast, with the names of many women on it, and his pyramidal mustache was somewhat dirty. I flip the photo...
[Ku-Thunk!]
I jolt awake, feeling something push me up. My legs, however, do not move. They seemed to be tied together as i try to wriggle free, to no avail. My mouth is gagged and I am blindfolded, so I just sit and think. Of course, my thoughts are interrupted by those who pony(?)napped me. I can see a slight-moonlight, but it is vague.
They mutter on about random things, though I cannot fully hear them. This must mean I am in a slightly farther away cart, so I begin to think of ways out. Turning human would work, but the only human I can turn into is the child murderer, for I have no clue what Christopher even looks like anymore... is that any better? Yes, I decide, for I am (probably) not him. I try to think of Allen.
I fall deep into my thoughts as I fall into an odd darkness that sucks away the light of the moon. I fall deeper, still, as all the light in the world suddenly exploded in front of me. I watch the light, not scared as usual in my dreams, and see it condense into something scary. I look into it, seeing the reflection of the pony-me. I blink, Allen is there. He looks like he did in his college days, and not like the scarred murderer of the picture. His face, though already wrinkled at such a young age, had only paint to be a 'blemish'. His grey eyes seemed to stare right through me as I looked at him, watching him move as I moved. I touch the mirror, and suddenly Allen blinks and waves at me.
I slip out of the ropes with my lean hands easily, my feet kicking them off. I grab and rip off the cloth that had blinded me and ungag myself. My eyes adjusting, I see a small knife. I pick it up, my muscle memory holding it like both a sculptor... and a killer. I hear the wheel slowing down, probably because they were going to check up on me. I make the vest turn into underpants, for being naked is a no-go.
If I can do transformation magic, what else could I do?
I look at the knife and stare at it for a bit. It begins to glow a grey hue. I look at the dark-grey tarp that seperated me from the exit and see a shadow on it. I crouch as the door slowly opens.
[Spleuch]
My knife melted his neck straight off, his head still moving its eyes as it landed. A leaf falls extremely slowly around me as the pure-black sky and grey moon shine light on me. The body I had killed is engulfed in an inferno, and burns into a black body with bug-eyes. Repulsed, I walk straight up to the front, waiting for him to slowly turn his head. His eyes catch me, but before he could even blink, he died the same way as his friend. I look at their carcasses and return to the mirror...
I wake up, my hooves stepping in blood. I shriek loudly, like a little girl, and realize these were my ponynappers. I look at the trail behind the carriage, and follow it, questioning why I had killed like that. Had I finally gone mad?
...
I arrive at the Dragon Nest in the morning, seeing everyone still asleep. I go to a large pool that the dragon's use to cool down and rinse off. The blood is burned off my body as I slowly slip onto a really hot rock. A few teenage dragons see me covered in blood, but don't question it. They know better than to ask something from someone covered in something's blood, I guess.
After an hour, I feel clean, so I wrap myself up in a cloth and walk on over to my shack. This time, however, I lock the door with the bolt and the key. I begin to lay down, but then a noise echoed across the crater.
["RUUUEGH!"]
I get up, sickened. I look out of my window, seeing not just one of them. There was many, each of different age and size. None of them, though, looked particularly strong... until that one.
I am quickly evacuated, without explaination, by a teenage, female dragon who flies me to the woods where I just came from. She carries me like I am a child to protect, making me think of something. Something that may just get me killed.
I wave goodbye as I run deeper into the forest, remembering where the trail was. I get the knife, which was jammed in the ground, and spit it out. The blood was still encrusted on it. I look on the dead bodies of the ponies, finding something much better than a knife. I found a sword, which is dirty, rusty, and cracked, and pick it up. It is too heavy for this form, so I think.
I fall deep into my thoughts as I fall into an outstanding darkness that sucks away the light of the entire sun. I fall deeper, still, as all the light in the universe suddenly exploded in front of me. I look into the mirror again, seeing the reflection of the pony-me. I blink, Allen is there once more. He looks like he did a few hours ago, but smiling. His paint was of a redder color, though his eyes were still grey. I touch the mirror, and suddenly Allen cracks a large, yet angry, smile...
I open my eyes, free once more. I turn the ooz into underpants and grab the sword. I rub the sharp edge, making it sharper with my mere touch. Looking for what I was summoned for, I see a lot of smoke in the direction heading back from the trail made from the carriage. I pick up the hat of one of the ponies, placing it upon my head. The hat is a fedora, which I always wanted. I let the sword relax on my bare shoulder, pointing my other hand to the ground. After a few second, a small piece of the ground starts to distort, turning into a smaller hump of rock. I distort the rock, shaping it into a shield.
Just like in my history class, I begin to distort other things into the armor that is required for a war-mage. I turn the tree, which felt alive, into a thin, cloth-like, robe. I bend normal wood to fit my shoulders, knees, and put a thin one underneath my chest area. I meld the pieces together, seeing much more smoke coming out of the place beyond the trail. Thinking about it, I remember something about a crater, but I need to know what to do.
I concentrate, going into my mirror. I search through the memories of this body, seeing something awesome. Dragons. Undead ones, too! I mean, they've been extinct since the first year on their world that we landed. I never know you could revive them like this, but maybe the military did. They usually know more about this war stuff, though I am a war-mage.
I open my eyes, sheathing the sword into a small pocket I made on my back. I shift my feet, making the ground shake. I use the false gravity field to make a hunk of dirt pick me up. I lift slowly, for this body feels weird on this thing. The legs were oddly-shaped, but I guess that doesn't matter. I come out of the tree-tops, seeing the dragons far away from me. The undead dragons are being beaten back, but keep on being recreated. I lean forward, having the hunk of dirt float scarily below me, dragging along. I put my hand on the dirt hunk, and it moves faster forward.
In only a few minutes, I had caught up with the undead dragons. I missed killing dragons, but it became banned when they became endangered. Did not stop us, of course. I laugh as I drew nearer to the bones of the dead/alive species, rising higher. I, as small as I am, am not detected as I come from high above one of them. I jump off the dirt hunk, drawing out my sword. Falling steadily at terminal velocity, I make the robe harden into a glider, gliding towards a dragon's skull. I point my sword in front of me, having it pulsate enough to start to make the air around me burn. As I near the dragon's skull, everything becomes grey again. I hear a cracking noise as I penetrate into the skull, grabbing onto a piece of bone as it fell. I put it under me, making it float like the dirt-chunk. I am floating right next to a crystal orb, reaching for it. It shoots a fire-ball at me, but it is too slow now. I take out my sword and slice the crystal in half. I use the following explosion to blast out of the skull and above the dragon armada.
They all look at me, a tiny killer, as they started to become more and more grey. I feel magic flow into me like never before, the same color as the orb. I laugh, disgusted at who I stole the power from. I turn off my false gravity, making the bone plummet. I shaped it like a drill, and make a reversed false gravity. The push from it made the bone-drill made it fall faster than terminal velocity. I jump off of it, gliding towards to another dragon as I see a burst of energy come out of the one hit by the bone-drill's skull.
The one I fly towards spots me, igniting methane in the air towards me. I put the shield in front of me, putting a reverse gravity spell on it, causing the heated molecules to go away from me, rather than at me. Just like the old days, except there is not blood, I hop right into the dragon's mouth and make small inscription on its tooth. I blast my way out, chopping out a different tooth. The dragon starts to claw at its mouth, feeling something wrong, but it is too late.
The tooth implodes behind me, causing me to almost fall off the flying-tooth. I begin to feel sick.
"Damn it, body, I do not want to leave yet!" I say, punching my stomach.
I wield my sword, riding the tooth like a bull, and charge/fall towards a dragon that has landed. It is fighting a living dragon, but the living one is much smaller. The undead one is so big, that it makes this white dragon look like a midget.
[Shatter]
Of course, that only means it is extremely slow, especially compared to my power. As I am in its skull, I look to the orb. I reach to it, but suddenly my color returns. A fireball comes at me, my shield catching fire as it quickly hits it. My sword is getting slower, so I throw it at the orb. The sword embeds into the orb, and a grey aura leaks out. I drink it, the orb turning from an amazing magenta to a dull grey. I watch as the orb slowly explodes, but since I am at the bottom of the skull, I am launched like anything in pressurized air. Out the opening in the left eye. My vision begins to blur, I begin to see my own self, but before I could crash into the ground, I land onto a tooth and inscribe a float spell onto it...
...
I awaken, feeling myself bob up and down. I stretch on my bed and feel myself slip. I open my eyes as I fall onto a bit of grassland, as a giant white thing floated above me. It falls a few seconds later, nearly landing on me. I get onto my hooves, touching the white thing. It feels like bone and has enamel, so it should be a tooth of something. I go to its bottom, seeing a large, straight, cut. The tooth had been rotting.
"How did a dragon's tooth get here? Wasn't I just evacuated to the forest?"
I look around, seeing that I am at the edge of something high. I look over the edge, realizing what I am on. A tepui, or a table-top mountain. I look around, seeing things that remind me of a mountain. Mount Roarima or something. There is only grass and some trees on this tepui, making me feel uncomfortable. I walk around for an hour, feeling no hunger nor dehydration. I still wonder why this body doesn't feel things like that, but oh well. I see small holes in the ground, but there is something odd about the one in front of me.
This one had a square of planks covering it. There is a handle, but the thing seems locked. I stomp on it.
"Wait a moment!" someone says, in the tepui somewhere. I wait a bit.
[clack]
I hear a creak as the door is opened and a dog-like head emerged wearing a top hat and monocle.
"Are you a diamond dog?" I ask, remembering skimming along them while I was still in the spire. This one, though, looks much different.
"No, my dear uh pegasus!" he laughs, climbing out the door," I am Sir Rupert, a Ruby Dog."
"Ruby Dog?"
"yes, my dear, for Diamond Dogs are criminals, what is left of them anyways."
"Left of them?"
"Well, after they tried to ransom one of the mane six of Equestria, Princess Celestia silently killed off most of them."
"Why silently?"
"Oh, for if any one in Equestria ever knew of her lack of mercy, they would squeal until no one sees her as the pinnacle of perfection."
He walks around, "That is why I am here in the first place."
"You are hiding from Equestria?"
"Yes, and I have even founded my own tribe, which you have landed on," he looks at my wings, "somehow with your inferior wings."
"Well, I do not even know how I got here," I look around, seeing only clouds and far away tepuis,"or where is here relative to where I need to be."
"Where do you need to be?" he asks me.
"I need to be at the Dragon's Nest beside the Griffon Kingdom."
He laughs at me in an intense way.
"What's so funny?"
He motions me to follow, still snickering and slightly crying. I follow him into the tepui. The tepui's insides are clean and full of stone and metal, which is surprising. He points to a map on the wall, which is just like the one in the mayor's office, but seems to be map of paper that you move instead of auto-move. I look around the continent of the Griffon Kingdom, but see nothing.
"Look here," he says pointing.
"i can't really be..."
"you are!" he laughs again.
Out in the middle of the ocean is a small island, almost entirely mountainous, that is thousands of miles away from zebra, griffon, and even the pony continents! I bang my head onto the map.
"Is there any way back?"
"Yes, for we do have a port that ships to the griffon kingdom, which you can trek back soon enough."
"Oh thanks the power, how will I repay you?"
He rubs his chin, thinking.
"Would you be a dear and deliver this," he hands me a knife,"and eliminate somepony for me?"
"Why?" I ask, surprised I did not just say no.
"She found out about us, she is a griffon who has killed one of us, and she has even stolen some of our goods from our ships!"
"if she can kill you guys, how could I kill her?"
"i saw that dragon tooth, you scoundrel, I know you are capable."
"Shit."
"Yes," he says walking down a hallway with me following, "the circumstances are always against us."
I just got a promotion from the Hindenburg Science+Magic Institute, all the way to a tester of subjects. My colleagues are all pretty nice, though most are male. My boss, Mrs. Harris, though is not male and is definitely pretty. She just is not nice to me. She keeps on telling me to test the same subject over and over, though it seems wrong.
The subject looks like a man, charred and burned till only his flesh and bones remained, but even our advanced magic can't heal nor hurt him. He just absorbs it all, surprisingly. While he was free, many people were bitten by him, even some kids, and they all had to be put down. Excluding a few children, happily, though.
I haven't been contacting anyone in the last few years, for I have been in this laboratory 24/7. I never leave, not because I can't, but because I won't. I demanded to stay with this subject, for he intrigued me.
Today, however, I am allowed into the cage with the subject. I am wearing a 5-star class power armor, for this man is not just highly dangerous, he is deathly. I sit down at a table across from him, feeling his grey eyes on me. Well, we began to speak to eachother for hours. After the small chat, he leaned close to me and my helmet disappeared.
"My name, my powers, and my place are all yours now. Allen." he said, biting my exposed neck.
...
I like the way I painted the walls, where everything is red. Of course, ever since Allen gave me his name and amazing powers, my sight has been blurring. People are moving slowly, so I push and pull them, but the lightest touch rips them apart. The colors around me even began to grey!
I laugh and laugh, picking up the keys to the hanger that I always wanted to work at. I drag everyone I can see into the cockpit of the Supreme Space Vehicles, which are finally fully manufactured, and immediately learn what everything does. It is all labeled and I had been reading on it so I could test it.
"Can I drive this, finally?" I say, laughing at the heads in the back. No one could handle work, I guess.
Looking in the mirror, I see my normal face, but my mouth is a little charred. I destroy the mirror with a head.
...Years pass with me not realizing what atrocities I have commited, but when I did, I was finally caught.
I thanked the people who caught me as they dissected me before my own eyes....
I am on the docks, a ticket from Ruby in my vest pocket. There is a short line, for only five diamond, er, Ruby dogs are going on the ship, but they are being checked heavily. The sailors, Ruby Dogs as well, pull me out of line to check my things. they remove my vest, taking out the ticket, and stamp it. They look at me in my eyes, turning away with a smile.
I do feel that they are kind, but very strict. Just like Trix... I look down, saddened at the thought that I am far from her. I have no idea if she even knows that I am missing, yet. I smile, realizing that she must be flustered, but feel like laughing about when I return. What would I tell her? Will I tell her that I got lost in the woods and got blasted by a fireball? That seems stupid. And fishy. I will have to think on that.
The sailors lead me to the boat, one of them with a cut across his neck. His body is of a grayer color than that of his fellow sailors, but he is smiling.He motions for me to come closer to him. He points down to a hatch, giving me a small key. Putting the key in my mouth, I go down the short ladder to the hatch. The hatch is made of pure metal, while the rest of the boat seemed to be of wood. Opening the hatch, I walk into the ship. I quickly lock the door behind me, of course, as I observe my surroundings.
The inside of the ship was an odd wood/metal mash up, but it seemed to float quite nicely. I look at my stamped ticket, seeing that I had the Cargo Room, for I am unexpected. I look around for the cargo room, but find that there is two, one on each hallway in this T-shaped format. I go down the left, putting my key in the lock. The lock doesn't match the key, so I trot down the other hallway. This hallway had older-looking wood, but still seemed to work well.
I open my room's door, seeing a large pile of supplies. Not expensive supplies, but supplies nevertheless. I look around for a bed of any sort, finding a plank hanging off the wall. I pop my back, stretch a bit, and place my pillow onto my bed before I lay on it. My door slowly closes by itself, nearly startling me, until I realized that everything was moving. They did not even have a bell to alert when we take off.
I pull closer to the wall, feeling lukewarm, and slowly fall to sleep...
The mirror, shining a face that I recognize slightly, starts to bob up and down. I move left, but so does the mirror. My legs started to feel harder to move, every step taking energy, but I felt fine. I move closer to the mirror, seeing Allen's face. There is string all around his body, which seems to have aged a bit since the last time. He opens his eyes, staring at me. At my hooves.
I look at my hooves, seeing pieces of string around them. I look at my hind hooves, and they're the same way. I look back at the mirror, and Allen has escaped his string trap. Underneath was a body with a large hole over his heart. He coughs a bit, showering blood on the mirror. I turn away, disgusted, as I hear him laugh.
"Ahahah," he laughs," I guess I am not that healthy, eh my good friend."
"Friend?" I say, "To a child-murderer?"
"Oh, don't worry, I had my reasons."
"What could possibly warrant you killing anyone, especially a child?"
"My lawyers would say madness, but I would say that the little shit would have killed me if I let him live."
"WHAT?" I yell, angry at his preposterous response.
"That child's gift would have," he stops, "Well, actually, it is your gift now."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, let us just say that You have a few friends in you."
"What do you mean? You can't?"
"Come on, man. You should have interpreted your own memories by now."
"My memories?" I gasp,"But they are your's and that kid's!"
"They are yours now, just like my body."
"You mean," I say, horrified," I am a puppeteer of living souls?"
"No," he laughs, "You are a damn puppet."
"Whatever do you mean?"
"Well, just who are you?"
"I am..."
...
He laughs, "You see? You only have the memories of the dead, a trapped soul, and the memories you made of being a puppet for royals! that is who you are!"
"NO!" I yell at him, tears coming to my eyes," I am a respected mayor and council member, an honorable lover, and—"
"A cold-blooded killer who doesn't want his own hands dirty, just like me."
I stare at him, tears in my eyes, "No."
"Then who are you?"
I gulp, "I am Wright Scribe, your master."
He looks at me with a smile, "Good."
He turns around, showing me his back, which has a sword, "You're mostly right."
I jump up, awake and sweating. I look at my hooves, seeing double. I feel like barfing out everything inside of me, but don't. I get up from the bed and walk to my door. I open it, seeing that the boat is still dark. Everyone must be asleep.
[Clop-clop-clop]
Someone is running around the ship, hitting the walls. In the darkness, I see a dog-shape. The dog falls, a sharp object coming from it. I close my door quickly, but quietly.
I hear many more deaths around the boat, but my room is locked. I hear commotion, yet i cannot help. I cannot help.
I bury my face into my pillow and cry loudly, thinking of the mirror...
I turn the blob of stuff into underpants once more, even though it is dark. I grab the plank, which is attached to the wall by metal chains, and turn it and its chains into a spear/shield combination of arms. I've been watching through the mirror, seeing as Wright saw these acts of violence. It made me smile, for I know he couldn't handle it without me.
I walk out the door silently, my eyes seeing everything in a bright gray color. I saw figures moving slowly across the hall, but my biggest concern was around the corners. I walk up to a corner of the T-shaped hallway, looking down the right-most hall that faces away from the exit-hatch. There is five griffons there. I listen to their slow conversation, trying to make sense in this slowed time.
I couldn't make much out except for that they are going to sell those alive for ransom and take loot. Just like my old days, except I never allowed anyone to be rescued with money. I take out the spear and shield, etching a circular pattern onto the edge of the spear. I turn around the hall, the Griffons seeing me at the last moment, and thrust the spear. The spear pushed ninety pounds per cubic centimeter on the large bird, splattering them across the wall of the boat. I turn to the dog shapes in the forward hall, left of the exit, and see that the dogs do not look the same as the sailors and are wearing some kind of green clothing. I kill them before they could even move away, watching as their bones are crushed in slow-motion by my magic.
I laugh slowly and deeply, but to them it would be a laugh of the ages. A laugh to be horrified at, had they not been turned into paint for the walls. I see that I knocked open a door with my wind, so I quickly go up the hatch with my key, hearing the slow and happy scream of seeing their enemy lie dead for no reason. On the top of the boat, I see an opposing boat to the left-side of the boat. I run and jump onto it, for they are too slow to easily spot me. All they could really see is a blur traveling at a speed unmatched by any mortal. I quickly alter the circle on my spear with my tooth.
I impale several hundreds of them through the stomach with a new poison invented by man. They screamed a low, slow hum of a scream as their bodies were being eaten from the inside out. I had alter the circle again, using a fire-y explosive strike to break through the hull. I stab thieves all the way throughout the boat, trying to find the captain. Most of what I have killed in the boat were the thieves, but I have accidentally killed a cook. Whoops.
... I feel something from my mind.
When I found the captain, instead of killing her like her crew, I grab her around the chest cavity, stabbing her slightly with a different kind of poison. The magic soaked into her, making her feel immensely tired and unable to move as she fell into my arms, asleep. I carry the thief leader onto the top of our boat, and seeing no one there, think of the mirror...
I wake up in a soft bed, a sailor looking at me, smiling.
"What...?" I say, my head hurting too much to continue.
"Shush, lad, you saved us all back there by doing... whatever you did."
I follow his orders and lay back down, my bones hurting for an odd reason. I look to my left, seeing chains. I almost scream, looking at my hooves, but realize that he chains are not on me. They are on the thief leader... but how did I know her? I think of what I must have done while I was Allen, remembering yelling to stop. I was yelling for him to stop doing something, but I am sure I wanted her dead as much as him.
"Don't worry," the sailor said, "whatever potion you put in her made her unconscious, though I have no clue how you snuck it aboard. And I don't want to know."
I nod, pointing at the lights. He nods, turning them down to the dimmest degree as I laid back down and slept.
I see the mirror once more, but this time, that is not all that is there. There, in my mind, is the thief leader with strings on her hands. Allen stares at me through the mirror and shrugs. I turn back to the griffon responsible for it all and feel a hand on my shoulder. Allen is out of the mirror. I nearly scream, but realize it did not matter. He was in my mind, but had no power unless I told him to do things.
[Smack]
He slapped the griffon, exclaiming, "Who do you think are you?"
"i am Lidia—"
[smack]
"No, I am asking who the fuck you think you are!"
"I am Lidia!"
[Smack]
"You may have been some famous pirate before I came along, but now?" he licks his hand,"You are no one now."
This continues for the duration of the dream, but oddly enough, I smile as she is beaten to the floor. It felt so invigorating, yet wrong to watch Allen.
I look upon myself in the mirror, the third day of me in the comfortable hospital bed. Though my body seems to have been getting progressively worse the longer I let Allen replace me in it, but I fear that I will have to continue using him for now. Right now, Allen is in the mind of the griffon as we sleep. I know not of what he is doing, and I do not want to know. I really do not want to think about it,
I look at my face, knowing that, unlike Allen, I have no idea what my real face looks like.Its odd how the last human body I controlled felt, and still feels with it gone, too. It was not a true human body,for it just did not make sense for me to look like that, so I wonder if it was Chrysalis who put me into that form and why she did so. I can not even remember who I am, for all of my memories are of Allen, Christopher, and the child. I know I can't be Allen, for he is his own entity;Christopher is a probability; and I am sure I am no child. So who was I? Truly, that doesn't matter now, but I want to know. I am Mr. Scribe, renowned member of the war-party, and whatever was on my false biography that the Canterlot Task Force wrote for me.
The mirror starts to blur and haze as Allen appears. I wave at the lunatic as my vision of him fades, too.
I wake up for the fourth time this day, feeling more rested than before. I move my body, bones popping into place. In a few moments, I feel a voice reverberating around the walls, sounding like a horrifying screech. I instinctively jump off the bed, feeling my numb parts slam into the ground, making me tear as run away from the noise at a brisk pace.
"Scribe!" yelled a familiar griffon voice in the hall, the voice gnarled with kind of sickness.
I had made it to the window at this point, immediately jumping out and opening my wicked wings. I harshly glide down fifty stories, narrowly falling into a cart. My wings separated the wind so precisely, that I did not hear my own self land softly. The griffon dragging the cart had on earmuffs, so I just cover myself with a blanket on the back of the cart. I pulled some bags under the blanket, too, so it would look just a bit more natural.
I lay there for an hour or two before I feel the wagon stop moving. I hear wings flap, so he must be leaving to go somewhere. I peek out the blanket, seeing the driver disappearing in the distance. I get out of the cart, bones popping, and look at my surroundings.
Around me are several mountains, each with moderately sized homes on them. Everyone seemed to be inside, not watching, so I take a bag of grain from the cart. I wonder how the griffon that was part of the Canterlot Task Force even found me, presuming that the sailors must have said too much. I make the vest into a saddlebag, carrying the bag of grain in my left side, and trot eastward (the sun was still somewhat rising, so I knew the direction) towards the Dragon's Nest. The Equestrian Kingdom would be too surrounded by secret changelings by the time I get there,so I have to go back where I started.
I find a dirt road down the trail that headed south and had a sign saying, 'Flyer's Rest'. Rest would be satisfactory in a few hours, and it said that the place was only 10 kilometers away. Because I was in a pretty good hospital, I am guessing I am in the mainland. May take a few days to get to an eastern port city, but a lot better than not getting there at all. Of course, I also had to be hidden there, too.
Thinking about it, it seemed that Allen moved me hundreds of kilometers by himself, so could I do that? I don't really know how, though, and I do not want Allen out here again. I casually trot down the dirt road, seeing a slightly dense forest in the distance. Deciduous trees seemed to be wilting currently, leaving a beautiful orange hue in the distance. I gleefully trot to it faster, wanting to see what else could lie on this dirty, misshapen, and yet happy path.
...
An hour or two later, and I am on the edge of a rock that overlooks the beauty of the forest. It's size was mindbogglingly huge compared to what I thought it was. I stare, watching trees blow in the mild wing, letting it wash off some of my sweat. I wasn't fully healed, so my hooves have started to hurt. I sit on the rock for a bit, letting the wind rush past me. I look below the rock, seeing pretty even ground and the road to my left. The road cut through the forest, but seemed to start blending into the grass the further it went. I stare at the large mountains in the distance, remembering that I was supposed to do something for the Dogs.
I was to kill a woman on the northern edge of the Griffon continent who has been blackmailing them for a few months. The name was written on the knife, but I don't have it. Where did I leave it?
I think about the knife for a while, hearing the answer, "I have it."
The answer came from my own mouth, but not from me. I close my eyes, thinking of the mirror...
"What do you mean you have it?" I say to Allen, who is playing with it in the mirror.
"Well, I knew you couldn't possibly handle hunting, so I kept the supply safe for you," he says, smiling.
His voice sends shivers down my spine, "Well, can you hand it here?"
"No," he says with a frown, "you were the one who keeps me bored in here."
He pops his neck, "I want some fun, too."
"Fine."
He did not answer.
"Allen?"
"Hello, Allen?" I say, waving my hoof. He, too, waves his hand matching my motions. I try to open my eyes, but to my horror, see my own reflection in the mirror.
"Finally." I say, rolling my shoulders. I put on underpants, feeling little beads of grain in the underpants. I shake for a bit, getting them out the ooz. The knife falls out the ooz, clattering on the ground. I pick it up, seeing its shining black blade with an engraving on it. I draw a oval on the rock, watching it turn into liquid below me. I sink into it, letting myself be engulfed in it, and wait for it to harden. I open my eyes, rising out of the rock with a full suit of armor. Rock armor, to be precise. I take off my boots and take out the knife and cut a circle on to the inside of both boots. I put the boots on, and focus a short sting of magic into them, watching the human invention of the magic loop make me levitate a bit off the ground before falling back down slowly. I look at the beautifully orange trees for a few moments as they slowly turn a dead gray in my eyes.
When all the color had disappeared, I kick off the ground and slowly rise hundreds of feet in the air. I graft a loop onto my chest as I am falling, putting magic into it as it completes. This loop makes me slow down even more, to the point that it seems like I am flying. I pulse a burst of magic into my feet, which are pointed south, and hear a popping noise behind me. I look down at the trees, which are hit by a burst of air, sending many leaves into the air in magnificent fashion. Of course, in a few seconds, the entire forest is gone from my view. As I travel at a speed faster than sound could muster, I see many griffons nearly collide with me. Happily, I did not splatter a bird onto my windshield helmet. I laugh as I see many rural cities come and go below me, pulsing a burst of magic into my chest whenever I nearly fell. I missed this feeling.
The feeling of being indestructible.
...
I finally smell a slight amount of dead fish and rusty metal. I suck up the magic in my loops, making me fall like a cannonball into the middle of another small forest near the city I was probably instructed to go to. I then send a pulse into my chest loop, making me levitate a few centimeters off the ground. I put my knees and hands on the ground and suck back up my magic. After a few seconds of catching my breath, I stand up. Many small griffons lead by a big griffon in a ranger outfit stare at me. I wave at them, running northward into the forest. i run for an hour or so before reaching an abandoned stone road. I walk onto the road, taking bits of stone to reinforce my armor, and walk to a small house. I read the engraving on the mailbox, seeing that this wasn't the house, but I was on the right street.
I read the knife again. '900 Capital Way, Griffon's Gate'
I go to the house on the left, thinking everyone must be at work or something, and see that this was 899. I go left one more time and reach the house I needed. The house looks pretty, but it was small. I walk into the garden and stand as still as a statue, waiting.
...
I see a griffon walk into the yard and stare at me. This was a male, so it was definitely not him.
"Did my daughter order this ugly thing?"
I stand still, a little mad that he insulted the body of humanity.
He kicks me gently on the leg and immediately regrets it, "Who makes a statue out of sharp rocks!"
I do.
He walks inside, angered, and slams the door. I move to a more hidden part of the yard, behind the fountain, where I could still see the forest. I waited for nearly and hour. Feeling like going to sleep, I hear the snap of twigs. I look to the forest, which has become a bit darker as it is now the afternoon. I watch as the forest had many griffons come out of it, just like I did, and saw that they were all surrounding one griffon. The young griffons, horrified, look at their female ranger for guidance. In the middle of the street, the griffon ranger tried calming them down.
"I am going to go home, so why don't you guys?" she kept saying to the small pigeon-people.
"But we want to stay with you!"
"No! Your parents told you guys to go to your nests before 9:00 PM, and it is already 8:45!"
They all look down in disappointed agreement. Some start to walk off, pulling their respective family members. The female rangers shoos the rest away softly and starts walking into the yard. Wind picks off her hat and it lands in the claws of a little griffon. She turns around to get it.
"Thank you for getting my hat." She says, pulling on it. The child doesn't budge.
He looks at her, horrified,"No!"
"What?" she asks," you don't want to give me my hat?"
She snags it, and suddenly many small griffons shriek at her. She shrugs and turns around, bumping into the armor-less me. She looks astounded for a second, then looks dead. I pick off the witnesses and get back into my suit. I got a map off the ranger, which showed the island, and put it in the ooz. Using its coordinates, however, I plot course back to the Dragons' Nest. I look down as the impending sonic boom made the man of the house come outside. I laughed at what he must have seen.
I wake up on top of a rock overlooking many dragons, my head rattling and my vision blurry. I couldn't really think straight, so I just let myself say things.
"Hello!" I scream at them, having some of them look back at me with surprised eyes. I see many white ponies on the ground, too. I smile.
"So, what is your answer to our call?" I say, a large smirk on my face.
The white dragon, wounded, walks to me. He stares at me with his humongous eyes as I stare back. I wink at him, knowing that he knew about me.
He smiles, "We agree."
And every single dragon rejoiced in agreement, their bloodlust scaring the white ponies on the ground and amusing me.
My head feels ravaged and dark. It throbs harshly against my skull as I sleep in the chariot.
"Can't we get there any faster? I'm dying here!" I yell lightly, my head hurting more.
They say something, but I cannot hear. I knew I shouldn't have let Allen finish my work for me, but I guess agonizing pain is what I get for whatever Allen did.
I close my eyes and take off my vest, laying it on me like a blanket. I can feel the wind rushing through the chariot, which was damaged by a certain undead dragon's missing fireball against an unknown helper, I presume by the burnt wood and charred paint. I snuggle my face into the pillows, comfortable, and drift into sleep.
The mirror shines before me, seeming to be brighter than before. Allen is not in the mirror, however, so I take a good look at my own self. I get closer to the mirror, seeing odd cracks on it. I lean, nearly on the mirror, to read it. It is incomprehensible, but I feel something off about it. I look back into my own eyes, but my eyes are replaced by the face of Allen.
"Boo!"
I jump back, landing on my behind, "I nearly had a heart attack!"
"Too bad you didn't."
I stare at Allen for a moment. I feel something heavy on my chest, most likely anger. His face suddenly turns into one of horrid surprise.
"What is wrong, Allen?"
"You must wake up. Now," He said in a unusually serious tone.
"How? I usually wait for something to wake me up."
"You frothing idiot! I guess I have to do this then... look through the mirror while I finish this."
"Finish what?" I said to Allen's fading figure. I felt pissed at him for stealing my body once more, but I have no power in this situation.
Lights start to flicker within the mirror as I see the pillows...
I look my chest, covered by a burning piece of the chariot. I quickly put on underwear, seeing the devastated home base. I see bones, scattered around the mountain, with the volcano leaking lava in the background. I knew this day would come.
I run into the mountain-cave, seeing corpses everywhere. The corpses, though, are moving. I should have made him kill her. I take out the knife, quickly deconstructing all of the damn walking cadavers, ensuring they were truly down with a vicious blow to the head. They were already slow, but my grayed surroundings made them somewhat immobile. It still disgusted me to see the dead rising, though, so I make sure none of them can rise again. Most of the ponies, however, are weak compared to me.
My surroundings become colorful again as I rest on the door to the council room, the bodies of some twenty ponies around me. I clean off the knife with my teeth, tasting magic. The magic was horrid, but it wasn't the taste, but the implications. This was no normal necromancy...
The bodies that I had just cut down started to rise again.
This was a spell only we knew about and banned years ago. This was the 'Regenerating Soldier' spell that caused too many problems to emerge from the world. Many of the most powerful mages were those regenerating soldiers, though all of them died.
I continue to cut them down, but they are faster now, and start to actually cut my undefended body.
Except one.
My knife, after cutting through so many bodies, has finally shattered from magical overuse. I grab a plank from the ground, smashing bodies over and over. Then I realized something that caused me grief for a moment before being hit in the back hard. I knew there was only one way to fight this now, but I did not like it. I bit my own arm, forming an odd curved-indention in my arm, and pulsed magic into it. My arm started to vibrate at amazing speeds as it disintegrated...
I watch in tears as I watch Allen, but can not blink. An odd magic pulse has been pushing through my body, keeping it still. Completely still as I watch my fellow members be chopped down like butter over and over again, but that is not what horrifies me. What horrifies me is the pony standing in front of me.
With their bodies, like my arm, in tiny chunks around the room, they are not coming back any time soon. I laugh as I pulse magic to the non-existent line, making my arm's pieces fly together in front of me. I grab my disembodied arm, hearing a scream in front of me. I see a blue mare underneath a strong, undead, stallion. The mare, seemingly alive, kept on hitting the stallion with magic, but magic doesn't effect the dead. I walk over there, gleefully hopping I mean, and grab the stallion by the neck.
'Gerald? Oh why Gerald?!'
Forgot I could hear the child. I quickly bit my arm holding him by the neck, making both him and my arm into confetti for the blue mare. She looks horrified.
"Is there anyone else alive?"
She nods, pointing to the council room. I back away from her, salute her, and skip to the door. I stop halfway, though, for I found a sharp rock. I pick it up and continue going to the doors. Approaching them, I knock politely.
"Princesses? It is me." I say, happily.
I hear the movements of many blocks and stones, chairs and stools, and whatever else could assist in blocking doors. They open up and I am greeted with spears in my face.
"What are you!" A white guard said.
"Don't hurt him," the blue mare said, I assume she is Trixie, but I think that Wright is too gone to ask, "He helped me!"
The guard, Shining Arm if I am right, lets me in, but keeps an eye on me. I wish I had really listened to people's names while watching Wright's life. I look at the almost empty council room, full of only ten ponies at maximum. All of them looking familiar, yet none of them questioning me.
"Where are the princesses?"
"They are fighting off the necromancer."
"Where."
"You can't be serious! They will tear you—"
"Where." I say, stronger.
He looks at me, "They are at the volcano."
I swiftly feel the color slip away from me as I swipe a pike from a guard. I salute them, cutting a circle into my skin. I pulse magic into the loop, making me vibrate at speeds incomprehensible to the normal eye. I use this infinite energy to blast me through the ceiling. Rocks, boulders, fossils, and even pure steel shatters as I easily burn through the mountain for only half a minute before popping out at the peak of it. I look to the volcano, launching myself through the air at break neck speeds. Literally.
My bones keep on shattering over and over, but it is not the pain that bothers me, oh no, but it is the fact that I may lose the one job I have kept for quiet some time because of some bitch who I let live. I smash straight into the ground, feet first, letting the top half of my body land near the necromancer. I quickly pulsate, the flesh of mine coming back to me. It looked like they were having an epic battle right near the volcano's spilling peak. No flow was near us, though, so it was not interesting enough. The goddesses and the necromancer, incredibly slowly, look at me. I wave slowly, but still incredibly fast to them. I stare at the necromancer, watching her slowly cast a spell.
Before she could even move her lips to finish her spell, I move in front of her. I pulse once more, vibrating at the speed enough to disintegrate my own body. I give the necromancer some love, for she seemed lonely, and hugged her. Her soft skin felt only my skin for a few seconds to me, but a brief period to her before she burst into flames. She slowly screamed of agonizing pain as I held her, but it seemed she had planted a supreme heal spell on her. I laugh madly, pushing her away from me, her still on fire but her body not allowing death by her own accord. I pull out the pike from my underpants and write a semi-circle on it. I pulse magic on that and stab it into her.
The pike started to drink away her magic, making me laugh. I grab her face, smashing it into the ground like Wright did. Except infinitely harder. I put my thumbs in her eye sockets, pressing them deep into them, and feeling a surge of magic finally rush into me. She went limp before me as my world started to color around me, but quickly went back to grey as I finished drinking her magic. Before she could even hit the ground, though, I cast her own spell on her.
She arose from the dead, and I could hear her pained cries. I rip off her skull, burning off the bottom of the head to create a scab.
"You will be my new pet, my friend."
I think of the mirror for a while, but nothing happens. I think of wright, but all I hear is static. Interesting.
"Does this mean this is my body now?" I say, time speeding back up as my color returned.
I lay, watching the horrors of Allen. I cringe, feel hatred, and nearly puke from his deeds. But, I can't seem to look away.
And why can't I stop smiling?
I turn to the princesses, all three battle damaged, and laugh.
"What's so funny, servant?" Celestia said with her annoying tone.
"Who is the servant, my dear?" I say, juggling the undead necromancer's head. They look at me with disgust.
"you, Wright, are the servant to us princesses... remember the de—"
"Who is Wright? I am no pony, don't you see?" I spin around, somewhat naked except for my undies and that piece of steel embedded into my chest. I pull it out without any pain.
They are about to refute, but I just point and let my world grey. I stab my finger into the ground and write out a short note in a millisecond. I rise hundreds of thousands of feet off the ground and launch myself to the island's general area. I laugh and cackle, repeating over and over what I had wrote...
"Woah, I fell asleep flying?" I say, looking at Wright. He stares at me with eyes of despair.
"How could you?" He said, his eyes bawling.
"What? The body was mine, so I did what I wanted."
"But, what you did was the worst possible thing to do right now!" He complained, not knowing my genius.
"What is so wrong about it?"
"You just can't go declare war on the Equestrians," he whines, " you have ruined everything I ever worked for!" He screamed through our mind, ricocheting off the infinite plain.
"But I already have, my friend," I stick out my tongue, "Deal with it."
He tries to punch the mirror, but I fade away from his view. I was finally the owner and him the subject.
I see the island far in the distance.
"The tepuis look beautiful during the sunset." I say, smiling at my soon-to-be subject's home.
"You bastard!" Screamed Wright, ruining my view.
"Yes, bastards are everywhere, my friend, even in your own head!"
"You can't be serious!" I say, leaning my head against the hard mirror.
I lay in the infinite mind of a lunatic, only a single mirror for comfort. When I look towards the mirror, its cold touch calming me, I feel something weird. I move away from the mirror for a second, looking at my reflection. I stare for what seems like an eternity at every single detail of my reflection, finally seeing something off. I get closer to the small dent in the mirror, seeing a rectangular indentation. Against all good reason, I pull on it, feeling a burst of energy as I do so...
A tear drops from my eye as a piece of dirt flies into it.
I see a never ending darkness emerge from what was once a bright mirror, but there was something else there. I walk over the small bump that is the bottom of the mirror, feeling a hard marble floor. I continue down the marble path for some time, thinking about this place, and see what I had felt. I saw a light, small and powerless, the mist the ethereal darkness. I feel absolute fear, but I edge closer to it, feeling it increasing in its blasphemous size every second I inched near. I start to feel my stomach clenching and gurgling, puking in my own mind once more, watching it fall past the marble floor to the empty floor, yet I am walking on it.
The light had grown to the size of an orange at this stage of my journey, but I felt too sickened to go any further. I lay there, motionless, feeling light vibrations coming from below me, filling me with some emotion I could not comprehend. Worse than horror or terror, as if it was my absolute goal to continue, the emotion filled me up to the brim and clouded my mind.
I ran towards the light, seeing colors far off in the distance.
I land on the tepui I landed on earlier, the dragon tooth still there, and the current leader of the Ruby Dogs is stunned. He stares at me, a fellow bipedal animal, but he is not educated enough to know what I am. I smile a friendly smile, walking to him in a diplomatic matter.
The colors, so magnificent, emblazon my path as I continue to run. I see images, blurred and slightly charred, as I began to slow down. I did not feel exhausted, but my questions of the area only grew the more I looked at them. Looking at the way they are laid out, they look like memories, but, as I got closer, the colors seeped away from the images. I ran to one image that caught my attention, but it seemed to go farther and farther away the more I ran to it, all the while losing color. I stared at a completely colorless picture, seeing it move.
After hours of watching, I knew that these were the memories of someone else caught in my mind, but of whom? The memories showed a dark man in a desert, repeatedly trying to smash a boulder with a rock. The smacks, though inaudible, were making me hear them through my imagination. I was about to go, but, as I went, I heard an explosion from the image. I look back, seeing that the memory was not just of a man trying to break a boulder, but of a man trying to break a boulder off his legs. But then it stopped there, for it seemed that whoever was hunting him had shot his neck, leaving him alive long enough for me to see the killer.
But, for an unknown reason, the killer's face was censored out of the picture. The body, though, was pure white and silky, unlike the blackened man in the memory.
After touching the Ruby Dog leader with my thumb. A surge of pain spikes through my head like an anvil, vibrating my skull at immense speeds. An electrical charge connects between our faces for a fraction of a second, creating a deep bond between us as I shared with him my memories. Thankfully, unlike previous encounters on different worlds, he understood my past and accepted it,
"Never tell anyone, my friend," I say to him, "and never say my real name in front of people."
He nods, knowing that I could obliterate him, but I sense sympathy within him aimed at me. It made me feel sick, letting another creature know of my past, but I really did need a new ally. Allies are easily gained if they can trust you, and if he doesn't trust me completely now, he never will. If he never does, then I would have to rise against him, which is stupid, so I smile at his small sign of sympathy in his eyes.
I am just so happy he cannot see my real memories.
We go into the tepui to start making introductions.
An immense flash of light ricochets across the mirrorrealm, blinding me for a moment before leaving. I think nothing of it, for it must have been Allen doing something, but I do wonder what he is doing to cause that. I shrug, continuing down the path once more, my vision blurred more than it already was.
The path was becoming lighter and brighter the more I went down, and many more images were present. As I look across all of them, I make a startling discovery. The Charred Man was not just Allen and the 'original' one, but also several incarnations from eons past in human society. I walk closer to one of the past Charred Men, the color graying again as I got closer.
After a minute of running, I reached the greyist it could go, leading to yet another motion picture. Unable to move my head once more, I observe the odd picture depicting a darkened man's arms in the main ground. The hands of the man, who must be another previous owner of the Charred Man's gift, seemed to be attempting a spell. Magic flickered through the middle of his fingers, seeming to burn the the man's hands, but it continued. He looks down at his legs, falling over, and seeing his body flood with electricity. The man looks up, shaking his head violently, probably in pain. I feel sympathy for a moment, but then the man stopped moving. I tried getting up, but I guess the memory is not over, so I was forced down.
Darkness flooded the screen, but I knew it wasn't the end. I could not get up, so I waited an hour or two, watching the man open his eyes extremely slowly. The light flickered on an off after opening his eyes, him sitting back up. He looks at his hands, seeing them charred and burnt to a crisp. The flesh is barely hanging on to his visible arm bone. I feel sick, but nothing is in my stomach, as I watch the flesh slowly grow back onto him with small electric shocks coming out. This sight made me turn my head away entirely, realizing that the memory was over.
I walk back out to the hall, questioning if it would be a good idea to continue down this road.
We make it down the hallway of a neighboring tepui, seemingly aged well and carved out in a pretty unique way. Unsurprisingly, it seems that their base of operations, which is in this tepui, had not been used lately. Well, that is going to change today, for we are getting piles of paper out of the back room. We carried them down a the long hall, but he suddenly nudges a wall, showing that some walls move. We entered the cool room, filled with piles of books and large shelves. He told me to dump them on the long table on the northern side of the room, which seemed to be 18 meters long and empty. As we let the papers go onto the table, dust flew into our faces.
"So, how long until we can begin our campaign?" I say, nudging him.
"My bipedal friend, it seems that it will take a few weeks for you to be acquainted with my people. Even though they elected me as leader many years in a row, letting an outsider join us is something big," he huffs, us walking back to get more papers.
"And how will I become acquainted with them?" I ask, touching the dark wall as we walk past it. Sadly, it doesn't move.
We reach the room when he stops rubbing his chin, "You will have to been a good samaritan for some time to gain their trust, but our problems are petty. Nothing a neigh god cannot handle," he picks up a big stack of paper, but not as big as the one I pick up.
"So, what, saving cats from trees?" I say.
"No, my friend," he nearly drops it, but leans on the wall, "you'll have to kill some thieves who've been ravaging our coasts for some time," he coughs, us entering the room. We set the dust flying again, but this time he touches my shoulder.
"Here," he says, giving em a sheet of paper, "this is a map made hastily by one of our sailors. Sadly, he was barely literate and had no sense of maps, but this is what we know from his voyages."
I pick it up, viewing it. It looked like some kindergartner scribbled on paper.
"Any more maps?"
"Yes, but they are all full of lies."
"Lies?"
He pulls out a book from a shelf. A book of maps was opened in front of me, he holds it high. He points to the south-east point of the map, "What is missing from this?"
I look closely at both maps, "The volcano?"
He nods, putting the book back, "Yes, that volcano is wrapped up in heavy Equestrian guards, though it is not really their border."
"This map says it is within the border."
"Remember, he only sailed the sea and went places, he had no time to do such things."
"So, who owns the area?"
"Strangely enough, the Equestrians own that one piece of land, but all the land surrounding it is owned by the renegades."
"Renegades?"
"I'll," he says, picking up his pace to the outside, me following, "tell you later, but we really need to empty out this backroom before night time."
"Why?"
"Because, at night, we hunt."
"Hunt what?"
"You'll see, and I think, you will like it."
I shrug, picking up a bigger pile of blue books.
I sit down, watching another man gain his powers. Unlike the last hundred, he seems to have pale skin. He seems to be wearing a helmet, obscuring our vision. He is pale, yes, but is covered in gunk. Red gunk. He shakes from breathing hard as he continually stabs at a darkened man with his sword, seemingly pure white and glowing. The man he was stabbing was wearing a black sit of armor, but in the end they both fatally wounded one another. The sword, declining the death of the man, blasted him alive with a burst, but something went wrong. The black energy from the man, who seemed to die mourning, stretched across the man. The man screamed at the sword, declaring himself dead, and charged into the forest.
Sadly, the camera still focused on the sword, which was picked up by a woman who was drenched in water as if she had just been swimming, and she shakes her head left and right. She looks to the heavens, dropping a note to the ground reading, 'The Rightful King has died at the hands of a traitor, but his tale will never be forgotten. It will be diluted through time, but, in the end, his name shall echo through time without his sinful wife beside him'. And then the picture froze at the beautiful lady looking at the heavens.
One dark mourning, the wonderful clatter of bones ringing through the dark realm as I kick my feet back and forth.
This chair, reclined in the way of a dentist's table, is my one place of rest. This chair, made of maple wood, is my only living possession. Bones of the fallen surround my chair, being eaten by the corrosive darkness of the world around me. A carcass, permanently skewered onto the chair, is rotting. Bloodless, yet a grey tone seeps from the hole in the chest cavity. A rancid odor spreads around, but not a single person around to smell. A low moan from this tomb escapes my mouth, but no one is around to hear me. I look around the room once more, only seeing pure darkness. Though I feel nothing from my body, I sense a chill going down my spine at all times. I, a godly creature, has become so vulnerable as to lay here, unmoving. I, yet again, try to get up, to no avail. I rest my head back onto the twisted and gnarled wood of my chair, feeling something crawl on my face again.
In this land of make-believe, I see my previous lives. Each of them being a being of undefeatable power, yet each are defeated in the end. Sadly, though, I do not get that blessing like my forefathers. Even in my dreams, I see myself on the chair, but from a different perspective. My rotting corpse, impaled on the legendary sword, lays in the middle of an ever growing bone pile. Many bones continue to rain a few meters behind my body, very slowly filling the room from whatever gets off the bone mountain. Of course, in my waking hours of silence, I cannot see the mountain of those I had slain.
But I feel it growing behind me as my magic is seeped from me.
My mind, diluted with the smut of my actions, asks every mourning, 'How was I caught?'
Hours pass of cleaning up the large planning room, where we plan our rise after I get some game among the people. He pushes me out the room afterwards, telling me to "go on a quest or something to improve the people`s view on me. He never told me how, but he shut the door behind me. I see a few large piles of paper being lifted by sailors, so I help them out. Another couple of hours pass as we dogged up the peace in silence, none of them asking my name.
After finishing up the work in the tepui, I am finally allowed to leave work for a moment to 'find a quest or something that will make me a renowned citizen', which was repeated to me several times by the leader. I did not really listen to what he meant, though. I look around the hall as I am leaving. Though I am of a different species, the people around here seem not to care so much as I pass them down the hall. Each of them smelling of the sea, I could only guess that they were sailors. Probably the ones I saved, since they smelled of stale fish, not fresh fish. One of them opens the door for me, and I nod a thank you to him.
On the outside of the tepui, I see ten or twenty more around me. A dirt path runs from the front of this door, so I follow it. If I am right, it should lead me to a place where there will be people awaiting me. Looking around while on the path, I see that the land seems very fertile, and even see some farmland off to the north. I wonder what the economic situation is here, considering that they did not seem to care much for a boat almost burning down. I mean, as I approached a cross-road, I saw a group of happy sailors, who I feel like I recall. Unlike the Ruby Dogs, these sailors look more rough and old than the others. I wave to them as they pass me, smiling a way I hadn't in a while.
My mind wanders a bit as I walked passed the Ruby Dogs. These creatures, human-like in appearance, were still savages compared to humanity, but in a lovable way. They reminded me of my pet dogs, but smarter. I could get used to this kingdom... if it was a kingdom?
'Would this be a kingdom?' courses through my head for a bit.
'No, not really, but it would be a city-state,' I decided.
Seeing a few large tepuis, each lined with small, cross-shaped, holes in them, I believe they must be protecting the town square-like thing. I scratch what remains of my black mustache as I jog a bit faster, for there is no use in wasting magic here. I look to my left, to the farmland way out there, and see quite a few houses. I never thought their population was large, but oh well.
I arrive at the two tepui opening to the town square, and see beauty. Intricate metallic statues to Ruby Dogs fill the place, as if a cultural boom had happened, and the smell of magnificent food fills the air! I find it amazing that humongous murals pan across the backs of the surrounding tepuis, depicting a starry night and the arrow slits as stars. This is so outrageously stunning, coming from mutts, that I freeze in place.
[Thunk]
I fall face-first into the ground, but my magic prevents me from feeling pain. I almost curse, but I see a hand reach out to me. I take the hand, rising up by my own power, but I don't tell her that.
"Thank you, miss." I say, my voice turned into a kinder one, but still sarcastic. I am angry, but I must behave to the local's wishes to get my deserved treatment.
She, looking pretty young compared to the woman behind her, replies, "You're welcome, and I am sorry, Mister...?"
"Just call me Allen, miss." I say, letting go of her hand.
She look at me inquisitively, "So, what are you?"
The older woman behind her pokes her, "What?" she says.
The older woman facepalms.
She blushes, looking at me, "Oh! I am sorry for not introducing myself," her blushing toned down, "I'm Vanessa Highlands, " she raises her fist, "adventurer supreme!" She looks proud now, making me realize she had armor on and more.
She was a brown Ruby Dog, young yet strong, and had an entire suit of armor and a small shield on her. No weapon, though.
"Well, I am Allen Travis, the herald," I rub my chin, "and I believe I am a better adventurer than you, missy."
She looks at me with sly eyes, "You really think so, human? I've heard of your kind—magicless."
"Then how about a duel?" I say, hoping it would boost my renown to beat a true adventurer. She did look healthy and her eyes were strong, so she must have done some good adventuring.
She was about to say yes, but the old woman interjects, "She would, but she really has to go do her duties as a boun—"
"Shh! I don't like that title!" Vanessa said to the older woman, who then proceeded to roll her eyes.
"How about we do it along the way?" I say, my smile growing, "Money and renown would really help me right now."
The older woman rubs her chin, holding the mouth of the younger woman in an astounding clamp of strength, "It would allow us to take the 3+ group bounties."
"The what?"
"Eh, that's the way all bounties are sorted ever since the black market got into the picture."
"What happened?"
"A great many things, but we have no time to explain such things. Come now, get about 20% of the total revenue."
I rubbed my chin, this time actually pretending, "Sure, why not?"
She motioned me to follow her, letting go of Vanessa's lips. She looked a bit angry, but not at me.
She doesn't speak back to the older woman, and we just walk quietly down another dirt path down a place called "HAMMERFALL" on a sign that showed out direction. It made me feel like I had sentenced myself to something horrible.
Thousands of lives keep on ending before my eyes, each of them going further back in time, and each of them giving me more and more clues as to what is going on here. Sadly, though, there remained only one that was extremely far from me by about a mile or two. It was huge, I was sure of that, for it is still growing after walking a half-mile. The picture grew bigger and bigger as I came closer, but unlike the others, it was already grey from here. I felt odd knowing this face, but I wished to know more. My little boat of knowledge of the origins of the charred man has sailed only a small bit of the large, expansive, ocean of history, and I wish to travel farther. Farther I went, until I finally reached the point of no return, seeing the colors of the picture enraptured me entirely. I could not look away from the face-melting horror that was shown...
A man in regal blue clothing walks around his city, full of amazing sculptures and works of art about the newly discovered book of literature that was translated and spread through the city. Worshipping the many unfathomable gods, gifts and beings began to appear on their island. The amount of things that are changing drew most people mad for some time, but they calmed after a few months of speaking with the visitors from the deep. Many of our women have been given to the visitors as brides, which seemed to give everyone else a great many more of things.
He looks to the sea, holding onto the safety bar from his tower that the kind visitors made him, seeing it teem with aquatic life. The sun was setting, showing a beautiful scene of the visitors and our men playing a good sport on the beach. He smelled the air, which was always crisp now, wishing to read a book at this hour. He picked up the flesh-bound book, reading the many tales within...
He found an odd tale a few hours after midnight, and is astounded by it. It shows many things that make no sense, but do, to him. He walks downstairs to the alchemy lab that was made by the visitors, pouring everything that the book said he needed for a special kind of spell.
A spell to become a god.
Using all of his force, Wright looked away from the scene he felt would happen, but the picture followed him. Wright screams, but nothing comes out.
The regal king drinks half the potion, he laughed, watching as millions of little orbs crawled on his skin. He did not laugh out of good fun. He watched as darkness surrounded him for a few moments, and muffled screams could be heard through the picture.
The picture began to rumble and shake, faster every second, and suddenly snaps into two pictures. Wright began to cry, but he did not know why.
Suddenly, the picture to the right depicted a young man in a robe, running down the stairs. He looks at his king, who seems completely fine. He says things to his king, but the picture cannot create sound. The king shows him the bottle, laughing, and explains something. The young man agrees with his king and picks up the vial. He chugs it down like a drunk, feeling his once beautiful mind shatter into nothingness...
Wright's vision was covered in tears following this point, but he was forced to blink them out a few minutes later.
On the first picture, the king was in mid-air along with his friend, both of them fighting over the volcano. Neither of them seemed to be winning, and their fight was only causing more destruction across the once beautiful city. After a flurry of shining globs are fired from the king, the young man creates an air-shield, sending the globs straight down. Into the active volcano.
[Gurgle...]
The young man looked at the volcano, horrified at what he had done, but was hit by a glob from the king, sending him flying straight up into the sky, the king laughing. The king, no, his entire island being covered in smoke in only a second as it sunk somewhat into the sea. The young man, still loving his king, tried to fly into the smoke to get him, but the smoke ate at his power, as it had been tainted with anti-magic globs, and he began to fall.
His last vision was being burned alive before falling to the bottom of the sea.
Wright then got up from the floor, his tears stopping, and he looked to the blank right picture. He closed his eyes and ran...
After getting a 'Wanted' poster (that she did not show me), Vanessa began talking to a sailor a meter or two away. I looked to the old lady.
"What is your name, miss?"
"Ah thought you would never ask," she said, smiling, "I am Janet, Vanessa's mother."
"She brings her mother on adventures?"
"Think of it as a family tradition, even back when we were just Diamond Dogs."
"That sounds interesting."
"Yeah," she said, coughing a bit, "it is."
I look back to Vanessa, "What is she doing?"
"Just trying to get us a boat to whatever island she chose to raid."
"Raid?" I say, my face turned back to her, surprised, "I thought she was a bounty hunter?"
"She is, but this is the black market we're dealing with," she clears her throat,"they like to hide on random islands, but they are generally easy to take out, for most are ponies or griffons."
"How many have you taken out?"
"Me?" she asks, I nod, "About fifty this year, to give perspective."
"What month is it?"
"I believe it is October."
"Huh," I rub my chin, "how would you react if I said I could kill them all if I wanted to?"
She rolls her eyes, "But then we wouldn't be paid for the kills."
"I guess not," I say, nudging her.
Vanessa walks back to us, "We got a boat!"
'Hopefully this one doesn't get sunk.' I think, smiling at Vanessa.
Erupting into the dark picture, I feel myself be engulfed by its majesty. I feel the fear and pain of eons past, the screams of the disintegration of someone's mind echoing throughout the darkness. It sounds like a dead man, choking for eternity on something. I feel the urge to run to the screams, but I turn away instead, seeing that there is no way out anymore. I feel like my mind is being crushed as the wall-less world somehow seemed to shrink around me. I turn back to the sound of death, running to it. Soundlessly, my hooves strike the ground over and over, making me feel as though I am sinking into the ground, though I know I am moving.
My instincts overtake me, and suddenly I start to swim in midair. It does not work, for there is nothing to drown in, but my mind thinks there is. Which part, I do not know, but I do know that it is horrifying for my own mind to be drowning me. I begin to choke on nothing, waving my hooves rapidly around, trying to find something to climb on, until I felt something. A wall, pure white and layered, had small insects on it. I, like them, crawl up the wall to avoid drowning. Looking at the top of the wall, I see a light in the darkness. Home. I reached the top, seeing that there was a white ladder, made of the same material as the wall.
I climb up quickly, but my hooves fail me as they jab something. A weirdly shaped piece of wall fall with me. I fall onto the floor, feeling something stab my back. I begin to gasp for air, and it was there. I look on my back, pulling out the item in my back. I screech at the sight of the white bone, picked clean by the insects, and stand on all four hooves.
"Ha-uaghh..." something said behind me. I look the way of the sound, but only see a sword. An oddly shaped one, which wouldn't fit in a pony's mouth, if I said so. It did not matter for me, so I returned to the bone-wall.
"How many people died here?" I asked, using the bone that stabbed me for leverage going up the wall. I reached the top, stretching once more out the hole.
More gurgling sounds came from behind me, and I felt the urge again. I attempted to scream, shout, do something against it, but I couldn't resist, no matter how strong my mind was, and jumped off the 20-ft wall again. A bone broke under my weight, making a spine-chilling sound. I cringe, realizing I was in control once more. I walk to the sword, wanting to know what wanted me to go there. I see inscriptions on the sword, getting closer to it. I read the inscription outloud. This language seemed to resonate with me.
"Anax," I said as best I could, skipping a scratched out part, "Moros?"
A vicious howl of the dead echoed through my mind, the smell of eternities of rot blasting through my nose, and I toppled over, covering my ears. the screeching continued, though my ears were closed, and I saw visions.
Horrible visions that I can never elude again...
On the new ship a few miles from shore, Vanessa and I are chatting on the poopdeck, which was surprisingly clean. The ship reminded me of a cargo ship, but quite smaller. She was fully armored.
The sailors, who had some worthless logs, gave them to me.
"You ready?" I ask her, looking out at the sea.
"For what?" She said, drinking her bottle of fresh water.
"The duel."
She looked at me, "But you don't even have a weapon."
I picked up a log, "This is it right here."
"What, are you going to hit me on my," she taps her new helmet, "head?"
"You'll see."
She closes her bottle, throwing it into a bin a few yards away, "Fine, but don't complain to me."
"So, where shall we have it, missy?"
She looked a bit bothered at that. She taps her chestplate armor with her thumb. She looks around, smiling, "How about over by the red crates?"
Like a cargo ship, this ship was full of colorful crates that stored a great amount of goods, "Sure, let me stand here and you walk that 50 yards."
She obliged, probably cocky, and walks on down there. While her back is turned, I make the log into a sword, writing a small '┼' on it, smiling. I turn to her, seeing that she is just turning around herself. She looks questionably at my sword.
"Go in Three," I crouch to the floor, letting the wood mix with my feet a bit, "Two," I pop my neck, which actually spurts a small amount of magic to my back from a tattoo I have, shaped like a smile. It is very small, "One!"
I charge at her as she did to me, but I suddenly stop at the middle and pick up my leg. I stomp, making the entire wood plank vibrate like water while staying intact, making her fall a full ten yards away. Using a slightly different maneuver, I make the wood move me to her in only a few seconds, without even letting the world gray a single bit, and point my sword at her.
"Get up." I said to her, receiving a glare of war from her. I pop my feet, releasing the planks from my feet's grasp, making them return to how they were, which pulls her a bit away from me. She gets up like a true warrior, taking a traditional stance. It looked odd compared to human ones, but it resembled a kind of kenjutsu a friend used to use. I take out my sword, which resembled a Pappenheimer-style rapier with a cross shape on its hilt, and take my favorite stance. We wait for some time, but I get bored watching the grey sky. Moving faster than her eyes, I job her five times in the chest, breaking my rapier, and take her sword. The color of the world returns after I jump a few yards away, her sword in my hand and my broken one in hers.
She looked at me for quite some time, a look of shock upon it.
The floor was warming up from before, the room getting a bit brighter.
"Anaxmoros," I repeated multiple times in this land of bones, laying on the sword in the ground, cowering in fear.
I laugh at the baffled Vanessa, who just looks angrily at me. Not true anger, I know, but one of frustration. She begins to walk over here, but I just toss her her sword. It sailed perfectly, as if gravity was not in effect, which it wasn't, and lands right on her hand a few meters away. She grabs it, but it hilariously pulls her away from me, for its force was too much. I see some sense of admiration of some sort on her face, but it quickly passes when she slams into the wall with the sword. I laugh a bit harder, smiling like I have not in some time, and I feel something off.
Pushing it aside, I quickly walked up to her greyed body, watching her color come back right in front of me. Somehow, she doesn't seem so tall anymore, though she must be a half-foot taller than me. I grab her shoulder in a friendly way.
"So, what do I win?" I smile, "A drink on the house?"
I could always make my own alcohol, but I find this like an excuse to get some information. She nods her head, still frustrated, and walks away from her sword thats embedded into the wall...
"Ah!" I say, slamming down the mug, full of cider, and laugh with my new fellows, each of whom are some good sailors with great stories.
"One day, near the island-nation Hiebe, I encountered the Hubris," Kyle the one-eyed said to us, his collection of mugs putting ours to shame, "The massive ship, composed of pure metal unlike our ships, had seen us in moments and fired upon us."
Everyone leaned in, each of us flushed, as he continued, "In moments, they blasted off our sail and nearly raided our ship, but then the tides of the battle changed," he looks at Vanessa, who was still on her first cider, "literally."
The sailors and I gasp slightly, "What happened?" I ask.
"The Hubris, a pure metal ship that was heavy and near the rocky part of the shore, suddenly collided with the shore-line. The metal dented horrifically, which bewildered us, but we quickly raided their ship as it was nearly sinking," he smiled, holding a piece of pure gold, "from that boat alone, we stole enough money to pay for the entire navy we have now."
"So why did the boat bend so easily?" I ask, making him laugh.
"It turns out, the blasted idiots made the boat out of a normal steel mixture, but had to cut the cost, so they added some cheaper metals, like copper, to the sides and painted them."
I look flabbergasted as we continue down the route of good stories for a few hours or so, but my eyes got foggier every minute...
Vanessa carries me to my room, letting me lean on her. I am unable to form a single syllable, so I just direct her to it. I open the door and she puts me in a chair to rest a bit while she sits on my bed.
"So how did you do that?" she said, " The steal-my-sword thing, not the triple shot."
I almost tell her about how my intense victory happened, my smile smug as a cat, before I am suddenly smitten with a throbbing pain. In agony, I grasp my head and cover my eyes, feeling horrified. I know not of what Wright is doing, but it makes me sick. The pain falls from my head and descends through my body 'till it exits out of my toes. I lay there, nearly unconscious, while I hear the sound of several dogs running coming to me.
"Are you ok?" Vanessa said, more surprised at my pain than at my victory. I only reply by nodding a 'no' to her.
She picks me up very easily, my vision fading to black as she goes.
...
I remember seeing an entire island, prosperous and heavily populated, be obliterated before me. My limitless power was fun to play with, but it made my scenery look much different. While I used this wonderful power, which allowed me to burn down cities who opposed the true deity, it caused me to become incapable of seeing color. I interpret this as an odd change, as it does not add up, for why would a god be color blind? I take no argument to this, for it is just the ways of the gods, and continue to blaze the heathens who dare to disobey me. Like me, their bodies charred in the streets and smelt of a beautiful battle.
Then he came once more. My greatest adversary, yet my closest friend, had different uses of his power. Ever since we were both obliterated a thousand years or so ago, we have traveled the cosmos. We both have followers, but his followers are larger in number for now. His powers, the same as mine, make him my only adversary. We fought, just like all the times we met, but it only caused discord throughout the land. Every mortal in the vicinity was destroyed from out futile fight, but then something even worse happened.
An apprentice to him, younger and with a less-than-pure version of our potion, joined him in attacking me. Little did he know, though, that that was a horrific mistake. I grab the apprentice, a woman who seemed to be my friends consort, and smash my head into hers, releasing a monstrous amount of magic. I see his followers, who were arriving to watch the battle, burn to death. Their large bodies incinerated in moments and light destroying both of the gods' sight.
He charged at me, grinning wildly in madness, as we collided in mid-air, but, at the same time, an odd being appeared. His magic was akin to ours, and the first thing he shouted coming to us was...
"You think ye' be gods?"
He was an equine, one of the species I was destroying in this city, but I knew who he was. He was the false god who claims to be the son of the creator of this universe, Chaos. we ignored him for a moment, continuing our fight, but then he blasted us with an absurd magic. I, the King of this land, felt my body melt just as my adversary's body was colliding into me...
I rise from the floor, seeing that my adversary must have ran, and charge at the son of Chaos. I felt oddly heavy, but my body was moving at twice the speed. My eyes were colorblind as usual, but I could have sworn I had seen colors. It did not matter, though, for the son of Chaos' body was easily decimated by my mere presence. The odd thing ,though, is I did not even move, but I had charged at him. I try to lift my hand, but feel nothing. I turn my head, but only see darkness. I blink a few times, making a horrifying discovery...
That I am living with today, for I, Anaxmoros, am the King of Impending Doom, but it seemed to be my own.
I laugh maniacally, watching my sword rise from the ground once more, "But I will escape my own doom!"
I crawl up the bone mountain, my body turning back to how it should be. My hands easily scale the bone mountain, but I hear the mourning and pain of all my past lives. Sadly, though, I could not help them for now. I made a plan to save my past selves, however it would be intense.
For the first part of it involves finally separating with my friend.
Climbing up the mountain, a cascade of an immense amount of bright lights surround my retinas. Regardless, though, I continued to climb with my strength, watching the lights form into more coherent shapes, but still staying blinding blobs. I wish I could use my magic, but it doesn't seem to work here, for if it did, I would have easily destroyed my prison the moment I awakened. Sadly, though, it did not work out that way.
[Hwa-Zoom!]
The blinding blobs of light stopped cascading, remaining stagnant in a new shape now. A circle, mainly blue and white, and the wall I was climbing changed from bones to some type of stone. It became harder to climb, yes, but the wall actually started to collapse in a cone-like shape. Of course, the cone-like shape became cylindrical after some time, for the world I have arrived in has broken physics.
Mainly because the idiots who dream it up do not know the laws of physics at all.
I finally emerge from the mind-well that connected to my (er, his?) mind. The distorting world around me was beautiful and full of such majesty that I wished to stay. Until I saw the mountain, simply named 'Horror', once more. That mountain, Horror, holds the nightmares of all beings within this universe, but are contained by the dreamed-up gods that keep every sane. I also suspect that that princess who invaded my dream once has something to do in this world.
I hope to never run across her here.
I whip out my sword, 'I.D.', and immediately chopped down a dream tree. The sword cut through the tree like butter, for there is something special about the sword. It, originally, was my weapon as King, encrusted in gold, but then we tested one of our most favorite potions on it. An indestructible potion. Sounds like a good thing for a human, till you realize that your body is also regenerating at a rapid rate, which causes an indestructible disease that kills you. Cancer. Yes, I will never put that potion on myself, but on my sword, it makes it so that the metal cannot be hit with any force. Laws of Physics be damned compared to the majesty of the wizardry in the Tome.
I cut the tree in many pieces, logs, and create a camp. Of course, I need no sleep nor meal, but you must be cautious in the dream world if you one of me. I sit on a log and wait.
[snap]
I put out my campfire and backflip into a tree, for the dreamworld has weak gravity. I crouch in the tree, looking to the direction of the noise, and wait just a moment before, out of the bushes, a couple, a happy pony guard with a beautiful mare, emerged. The guard had on no guard attire other than the silver helmet on his neigh-perfect, silver, coat. The mare, herself, was beautiful, but everything felt off.
Guessing she was the dream, I jumped off the tree. The guard was startled, but the mare noticed nothing. In a moment's notice, I sliced the mare mercilessly in half, her last words vibrating through the air, but she noticed nothing. A blue, happy, ooz coated my sword and I drank it in front of the guard. He stared at me in absolute shock, but before he could touch me in any way, I watched him blink from existence.
He woke up already? Oh well, I eating his dream juice anyway, feeling happy.
Finally done eating that guard's dreams, I get back to cutting down some more trees into logs and the logs into large sticks about the size of me laying down. Hours pass making a few hundred of them, making me work up a quite a sweat. I sit down on the last, uncut, log and relax for a moment, staring at Horror. The mountain seemed distorted, curving and growing annually, as I was relaxing. Its color slowly changed to red, symbolizing that the night has come, and grew to a tremendous size. From its size, I believe that quite a few ponies of this realm are having vicious nightmares. Feeling that I was cooled off and entertained from Horror, I cut the last log. The wooden stakes I made around me, themselves, changed color. They went from their original blue hued brown to a reddish brown. I smiled, cutting the reddest of stakes into pole-shaped objects with a bigger, pointed top. I had made dream javelins, which will aid me in soon battles against whomever protects the dream realm. Even I know that this world is silly, even more silly than the one of just talking horses, but it is a true universe, so I should approach it as such. This world looks like a place of peace, but within that mountain lies a monster. All the trauma of the universe of the awake culminate into one spot of infinite magic called the 'Magical Singularity'. It existed in my universe, so this should not be that surprising, but the mountain is odd. In that world of peace and serenity, it seems that the mountain of Horror is much bigger than one would expect. The pure, unadulterated, fear and trauma in the mountain must be immense to make it at such a colossal height. Although it is not my own world, I feel some sympathy for them. I know I have to do horrible things to them to save them, so that provides some comfort for the atrocities that I will do here.
I will squish their dreams, be they nightmare or not.
I awaken, my head not having nary a beat, and get up to a different pain. A loud yell, increasing in volume, was screaming something about land. I laugh a bit, touching the bed I was laying on, thinking of the small . I turned the cloth and wool of the bed into some light-blue clothing and a white cloak, while I made the metal of the bed into a wicked sword. It is not all that hard to absolutely annihilate the bandits or thieves, but I would like to not look like too much of a monster to these people, for being feared is not a good way for a new leader to be seen. I whistle, watching Vanessa leave the room next to me.
"Hey Allen!" She said, spotting me.
I waved and asked, "Are we heading out now?"
"Yeah," she looked joyful, "it seems they saw us coming in, so they have several griffons on the land to guard."
"How many, exactly?"
"Why, you afraid of getting roughed up?" She asked jokingly.
"No, I am asking how many graves I will have to dig," I say in a serious tone, smiling the same as her.
Her smile faded to a uncomfortable look, but she just shrugged and motioned me to follow. Our swords drawn, we both charged off the boat and onto the sand, seeing our surroundings. Many sailors are fighting off the bandit-griffons, and look like they are winning, so I just laugh. V (as she will be called henceforth) just had a scream of war and went to go kill things. I followed suit, and happily ran at an exceedingly fast pace (magic) to a small group of griffons. Of course, as they are bird-things, they hovered to gain an advantage in battle, usually staying out of a four-legged animal's reach (which is why the two-legged sailors are sorta winning), so they thought I couldn't just fight them on even ground, for I had no wings. They charge me, but I laugh, pointing to the sand. My eyes glow a bit,and suddenly I created a small dust-devil that just terrorized the buzzards, throwing them to the floor and irritating their delicate eyes. I then walked up to their weakened selves and stab at the bases of their wings, leaving them writing in to much pain to adequately get up. I want a few captives, for they are always fun... but I do not need that many. I turn to another group of griffons and do the same as I did to the first group, except one thing. I killed them this time, smiling. You see, these things remind me of chickens, and I was a farmer once—long ago, but I had suddenly, and accidentally, made my magic turn the chickens into giant, deadly, creatures. ...
This battle goes on for a while, but it was mainly one-sided. There was only three fatalities on our side, each of whom was a old sailor, so no one really felt bad. Well, except the elder sailors. Me and Vanessa met up on the center of the beach.
She looked tired, but also a little angry, as if a crab had found her buttocks. "How are you not even sweating? You did more than me!" she exclaimed, throwing her sword into the ground. "Well, no one can touch the Burning Man." "The what?" she asked. "I will explain one day, but just think of it as a title you'd give a criminal." "You got a bounty on you?" "Probably from the Equestrians, and most likely the biggest bounty out there." "We dun' take no Equestrian bounties," she said. She spits on the ground, "Why would it be so big?" "Well, I sorta declared war on them." She stares at me, laughing for a few minutes, while I just stare at her.
She grabs my shoulder, "Are you shittin' me?" "No, for I am fairly certain I would make a better ruler." "I know, for anyone is better than those two dumbells, but," she tapped my forehead after letting go of my shoulder, "how the Tartarus do you think you can become a ruler when, in case you forgot, you are facing an army? I mean, I know you are strong, but..." As she looked concerned to me, it made me feel like caving in a little, "I have more power than you will ever see."
She thinks for a bit as I looked behind me. The sailors were half-way through with their funeral.
"But even with a lot of power, what if the Six catch you?" To this, I laughed a bit before answering," You think those weaklings can catch me?" "What about Discord?" "No way," I say, smiling... who was Discord again? "What about the Princesses?" she asked enthusiastically. I shake a bit, "I am not gonna let them catch me, no," I turn away from her, "I am not gonna let them catch the Burning Man."
Before she can answer, I run more inland, hearing her foot (paw?) steps far behind as I run. I mean, the theives of this island must be weakly defended with their army destroyed...
It is quiet, green, and a horrific scent of cinder in the distance. It smelt like my first home, except without the plethora of manure we needed to feed the grass.
While we ran together, deeper into the forested area that increased in forestation as we drew more inland, we kept low to the ground and quiet. She, crouched down beside me, began poking up her large doggy-ears. She waved her paw for me to follow her into the oddly-high underbrush. I grabbed her back, pushing her and me all the way to a military-crawl position. I also made a small rune on her, and my own, back that made our clothing camouflaged in this green island.
She looked at me quizzically, a look of amusement in her eyes, but, in an event that startled my heart and caused it to beat with joy, we then heard a echoing snap of a twig in this quiet forest.
She watched as I stood up, ran towards the twig-snapper, and say, "Hello."
He looked at me for a second before, with a smirk on my face, I swiped my hands, causing the ground beneath him to turn into large stakes and impale him from both sides of his face. This griffon had a jacket with an insignia on it, which I immediately took and placed upon myself. Because both of our backs are straight, it fit well, I just had to put my arms through the wing-holes. I laughed a bit, remembering that I could just morph it to fit myself, which I did.
Looking closer at the jacket's insignia, which was on the shoulders, I saw what it represented—a pony skull with claws around it. I, enjoying myself, turn the insignia to something different—a world with human hands around it. But not any human's hands, for they were mine, just like this world must be.
I make a peace symbol back at Vanessa, who was lying in a dull shock, and ran even more inland.
The smell of cinder was stronger. It made me so happy~, but not as happy as I became when I saw...
It has been a few days since I had gotten my first dream-wood weapon, so now I have a weapon that truly fit me, an assegai and shield, and a coat of armor made of plated stone.
I feel an odd chill coming from my back, so I turn around. The landscape somewhat disappeared in some places, becoming dark holes. This can only mean one thing—ponies were being killed and their dreams destroyed. I have seen this once and a while, but it usually faded out slowly ending with a glowing beam, but this was just instant destruction. I watch as the void slowly becomes brighter, while the bits of darkness float into other's dreams. I put my head down a bit, seeing the ground below me darkening. I sigh, sliding a few extra sticks onto my back. I put the assegai, which was perfectly shaped as to avoid breaking, in my hands and walk towards less nightmarish places.
I stop in my place though, for I realized something. Luna, princess of the night, will arrive to clean up these lands. I just need to be weary of any who sleep, for even though they are always in a forest, they believe they are somewhere else. Of course, as I am something from out their mind, they comprehend me as an enemy of some sort... Luna will be the same.
I am sure even she experiences nightmares or delusions in these polluted places, and she may believe i am one and attempt to destroy me. Thinking this through, I trudged on to lighter, less lethal, places.
A building, several stories in height, glittered in the distance. Before running to raid it though, I saw a few guards. I think long and hard on how to defeat them all without being hurt myself. I crack my knuckles, having the tree by me catching fire... I smile, remembering another spell.
"Screw stealth."
I hurl a fire ball at a pony and, along with a few guards, watch him burn. I hear screams of terror and anger, seeing the guards look at me. A tall, armored, being with fire brimming in my hands. I take the methane from the air, using forced friction to ignite it, and lit up the guards who looked at me bad while I ran towards them. I laugh, watching their bodies become charred.
After the slaughter, I approached the large building that I liked and stabbed by hands into the sides. The building was a two-story building made of pure cobblestone, but shined in a way I wanted to. I remove the wall, making it into my new armor, and barge into their base, or I believed it was. There were many guards inside, but my cobblestone fists that lit up with fire prevented them from going far.
After killing them all, I find a small pile of loot that he raiders have stolen, and steal it. I place it all into a large bag, made of feathers and charred flesh from my enemies. This loot is, most likely, worth more than any of the contracts that Vanessa pulled. I laugh, looking for more, until I heard a loud screech inside my head. My armor fell apart, collapsing on my body, and I tried my best to stay awake...
I fell for hours, days, or maybe years, and could only think. Of what, I do not remember. But... I remembered myself before slamming into something without pain.
I woke up on top a pile of rubble in, what I presumed, to be the real world again. I smiled, looking leftwards. There was a body of a humaniod dog, and I put on its armor. It was too big, but with a simple handwave, it fit on me perfectly. The things I remember now of my past lives was odd, for I could recall magic used by previous mes, but that does not matter.
I fly upwards, through the roof of the building, and keep on flying until I reached the bottom of this planets mesopause, and looked down on this small world. This small world that is filled with joy and happiness, also has hideous monsters and heinous criminals. Why? Because its leaders are powerless.
I swear to this planet, and all of its inhabitants, that I will save this planet in the one way I know how.
By ruling it.
I woke up from underneath the rubble, melting it into ooz around me. I felt much weaker than before, but that just might be Wizard's sickness from using too much magic. Underneath me was, what I presumed, to be the actual leader of the pirates. He had this look to him. (he also had a nametag that said 'Captain')
I go upstairs, marveling at a weird gap in the ceiling. Well, marveled, because I then saw a big pile of loot. But not any loot!
I saw magical trinkets of all shapes and sizes, each emanating a beautiful aura. I put on the ones I liked, and deconstructed the ones I did not. What I chose was a cool cloak that seemed to have a kind of stelth enchantment. That is funny, because the cloak is extremely decorated—like a true king's cloak should be.
There was also a small crown that must have gone to a king or prince or something, for it was enchanted with a calming spell. Thank goodness, for I needed that after nearly being killed by rocks as a god-like mage.
I gloat lightly, the crown making me feel good and sound nice, and silently exclaim, "A king am I!"
When I was a young king, I felt that the world was taken from me. My father and mother had both died by a band of renegades out in the sea on their anniversary, leaving me and my faithful friend to appease the downtrodden people of my nation. I felt destroyed from the inside, but my face was cold and hard. My servants looked down on my small body, but not with sympathetic eyes. They looked at me with fear.
I was ruthless and, yet, kind. I sat in my chair of stone that was bigger than I until I outgrew it and something happened. The book was found. The book contained many rituals, secrets, and alchemetical enchantments that we had abused. We abused it until I, along with my faithful friend, created the potion that would grant us power equal to our lord. We were fools.
The power consumed my friend and I. The power destroyed my home.
Anaxmoros was my name. This name was given to me by the seer who had close ties with my parents. She told my parents that I would bring only doom to this kingdom... but I tried. I really tried.
But...
The seer only said that I would be the downfall of my parent's kingdom, but not of any future one. I had made my old people happy up until the incident... couldn't I do the same? Now that the incidents are stoppable?
Couldn't I be a king again?
I look down at Canterlot, the sun to my back. She was watching me, I knew, but that is not what I was worried about. I was worried about this urge. This hunger. It burns so much!
I look to my arms, my flaming, blackened arms, and think for hours up in the mesosphere...
I finally found Vanessa, who got trapped in some vine-trap.
"Get me down from here!" she said, below the highest tree-branch.
I hug the tree, fattening and shortening it with my magic, and simultaneously lowering her to the ground. I was not paying attention, though, and she faceplanted onto the jungle floor. I laughed, cutting the vine off her with some teeth.
"So where should we go next?" I said.
She gasped, pointing at what was in my hand.
"What?" I said, "I thought we needed the head to get the bounty?"
I laughed, playing with the head on the boat going back home, but something felt off about me. I felt weak, as if I had an illness, so I went to the bathroom across the hall. It is steamy, for Vanessa had just taken a hot shower, so the mirror was foggy. I wipe away the condensation and look at myself. I look the same as I have always looked, but I felt off. I splash myself with water. It was so cold.
I began to gasp quickly, the mirror fogging up from the heat emanating from my inflamed body. I know what has happened now...
I melt down a hole leading to the top of the boat and fly out. I am shaking as I flew up, feeling him up there somewhere. It is so dark outside, the stars shining bright, but I saw something that shone so bright, it was like the sun. And it was in front of me.
I made the first move, but he was stronger than the weakened me. My fire was not enough against his blinding white fire.
I was hit once by him, and flew for hundreds of miles into a mountain, leaving a dent. I cannot give up. I blast out of the mountain, drawing stone from it to melt into armor, and fly directly at him like a missile. I hit him directly in the head, but he just laughed at me. He laughed, knocking me into the ocean.
I cannot give up.
My fire is gone, so I summon water to flow around me. The cold water wrapped around me, solidifying into ice, and I flew back to him. We collided many times, making clouds of steam every time, but he seemed impossibly hot. After all my efforts, his fire only went out for a second before becoming blinding again. He hit me one more time, and I fell.
A fire that is burning the very fabric of the universe was laid before me. I donned it, becoming a grand villain unlike any of my past lives, and was finally able to beat him. My king and I fought in that town, but it was unlike any other fight. This fight was internal, within me, for it was not only I who donned the title, but my lord.
"The power is mine!" I screamed out loud, fires enveloping everything and everyone around me.
My lordship would not budge from the assault on my mind, my body. I cried flaming tears, fighting my liege, but something happened. We both noticed it, for it was unlike anything before. The King and his Rook fought against a third entity within their shared mind that was unknown until now, and that third entity was terrifying.
That one entity was a child, about the age of six or seven, and was, himself, terrified. Once he gained hold of the body, he began to commit atrocities amongst the land, but we found a way to destroy him. We had to destroy the real him.
Unlike us, he was not meant for this body. His self collided with our self on accident, but that changed things drastically. We killed his body, dying at around the same time, but, again, something had to go wrong. He was still there, and is still there, but I do not know where. All I know is that the kid, whatever he is now, is within my mind...
But, if my friend could escape, then what about the kid?
This realization horrified me as I sat on my porcelain throne, and I quickly finished up and cleaned myself, continuing to think about this. In my dream, Anaxmoros and I both were in our most strongest state, the state of the Burning Man, but we were both incomplete. Could it be that the kid, too, has a piece of our power? Does that mean that the kid is as strong, or stronger, than us? I cannot accept that.
I cannot play around anymore. I need an army to fight both my liege and that kid, before he uses his cunning to get the kid to attack me first...
I lay on soft, moist earth among rubble. With a sigh, I move rocks from atop my immortal body unto the ground, and watched as they rolled down the slight incline. I stood up and looked around. The world appeared to be aflame, but I knew that it was only my sight that showed me this. I wiped my eyes a few times, checking the sky every single time, but it was still red. Unlike the men who killed my parents, I have utterly no control over the power I unintentionally gained from them, so my left arm was always covered in soot and only occasionally burst into flames. After years of being tormented within their mind, seeing their past and their current deeds, I have lost all hope of my survival if I were to be caught by one of them. Within his mind, I always trained and trained because, unlike them, I was mortal... was.
Luckily, though, I still aged. I am now a fit teen, but something feels off. That something is the fact that I cannot die, but I can age. Does it mean I will become ninety and stay ninety,though? Who knows. Perhaps if I killed them and got their strength, I would live forever, but why would I want to live forever, especially in this strange pony-filled world? That would be the dumbest decision ever, for I would be a god with no purpose, although those old people don't see my way.
I rub a bruise I got from the rubble, which is a small reminder that, although I am "immortal", I am not invulnerable. I do possess outrageous strength, but not near enough to combat those old people... alone. I walk into the woods and watched as both of them flew off to, most likely, find a way to kill each other. I wipe my head, relieved, but accidentally burn my forehead when my arm bursts into action. I recoil instinctively and crash into the tree behind me, shaking a few leaves down. Happily, my arm's fire settled down into soot again, so I stood up once more. Looking around, I decided that the best course of action would be to find a boat, maybe the one that one of the old people got on, and smuggle aboard.
I breath in deeply and feel the bottom of my feet catch fire. I am only wearing a pair of underwear, so I have no shoes to incinerate.
With my flaming feet, I blast through the forest, leap off trees that then caught fire, and, soon, made it to the shore, although it was not the one I was going for. Waiting until my feet and arm stopped flaming was my best bet to sneak, so I did, and I saw something interesting. A large boat that had, at most, five ponies guarding it. All of the ponies were unicorns, for they were levitating weapons around, but they were all distracted by small talk. Only one was actually guarding, but she was guarding from a different direction and wasn't even looking my way. This boat seemed to be a small fleet that was going to kill off the bandits here, but sadly those old men got here first.
Crawling on the floor ever so slowly, using my sand-colored skin and tan, leather, undies as camouflage, and the fact that it was getting dark out made it very easy to slip past the guards. Only one seemed to see "something" in the corner of her eye, but she looked away after awhile, probably thinking nothing of it. I continued to sneak until I found a way on-board. A barrel full of fish.
I dumped most of the fish out into the sea, happy that they were still alive, and jumped int of the barrel, the rest of the fish on top of me. I used a small round-shield attached to the ship, that was oddly smaller in diameter than the barrel, to plate the fish on top of my head without it seeming tipped or unfull. Then, after some time, I drifted into the land of sleep, but this time, I was finally free in my own head...
