> Just Like Me > by Dido > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1: Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Just Like Me” Proofread by Flutter-Shy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 1: Man(e)hattan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The sirens of police cars are being heard from the alleyway where two outlaws are running for their lives, one of them is a female around five foot four, wearing a short black skirt and a black pinstripe vest showing her rather curvaceous figure, her black evening pumps making her look taller. Her hair was blonde and made into short soft curls and her eyes were hazel colored, her name was “Hail Mary” Mary Hayes. The other criminal was a male around five foot nine,  wearing a full black pinstripe suit, fedora and shoes combination showcasing his strong stature. His hair was brown and very short and slightly parted, his eyes were as black as the sky above. His name was “Hal” Hal War-tun and he was a real Valentino. Hal carried a Smith and Wesson M&P .38 special he had stolen from the corpse of a police officer, and a grey duffle bag filled with thousands of dollars. The criminals recently robbed a bank and needed a way out fast, cutting through alleyways seemed to work the best as the police cars were too large to navigate through the narrow alleys.The criminals began to panic as they heard the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching as they encountered a metal chain link fence. “Oh no! We’re trapped, like rats!” Mary yelled in her soft New Jersey accent as they came to a grinding halt. “By the time we both get over that fence the fuzz will be houndin’ our tails. We need a distraction and fast.” Hal said as he began thinking of different ways to get rid of their trail, thankfully, one was immediately obvious. “Sorry toots.” Hal spoke softly as he raised the .38 slightly. Before Mary could react Hal had pulled the trigger, the bullet ripping through her leg causing her to collapse in agony. Given the chance to escape and with the knowledge that time was of the essence, Hal began jumping the fence.         The screams of his girl and the sound of police chatter put a smile on Hal’s face, he could get away with the robbery and keep her share of the money, some might say, he had his cake and ate it too. Alas his victory was short lived as he smacked into a brick wall, he was at a dead end. “Shit!” Hal screamed, “I can’t go back to the slamma’ I just can’t.” Hal panicked and nearly broke down, he knew for sure that they’d rip him apart a in prison. Hal began praying to whatever celestial being would answer. “Please! You gotta’ get me outta’ here!”         Before his very eyes a swirling vortex appeared with hues of black, blue, red, and yellow. With wide eyes Hal silently thanked whatever had given him this opportunity to escape, and jumped into the vortex hoping it was actually an escape route. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------         Hal was thrown out of the swirling vortex and into the same dead end. Hal tried to shake the rising fogginess out of his head but failed, he sat with his back against the brick wall and had begun freaking out again.         “N-no! You c-can’t do this to me!” Hal stuttered, he raised his .38 with shaky hands and aimed it at the end of the alley. With an itchy trigger finger and rising paranoia Hal waited, expecting every moment to be his last. Time passed like treacle, slowly burning through his nerves -- amazingly, nobody rounded the corner. This calmed him somewhat, and he tried to listen over the pounding of his heart; was there actually anyone there? Hal began to calm down as no one had approached him yet.         “Maybe they left? I can’t be getting all scatterbrained like this, I still need a way out.” Hal muttered to nobody in particular before Lowering his firearm and drawing himself to his full height, Hal sensed something was off -- the buildings! They were... Shorter? It hardly seemed possible, but maybe he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings while running for his life. Everything was also slightly more colorful than the dark, grime filled streets he was at only moments ago.         Hal wandered down the alleyway observing his surroundings. Surely they hadn't been this vibrant before? Had the vortex made him taller and given him super-senses? Maybe he had superpowers now.         Hal tried many things to see if he had indeed gotten superpowers only to look foolish and stopped with a small pout. Hal finally jumped the fence and checked for any bulls, dicks, or any other type of law enforcement or investigators. Hals mind began flooding with smoke and fog, he couldn’t think straight and something strange was happening to him.         A mare took an unfortunate route as she seemed to get stuck between a wall and some sort of big, crazy, hairless creature who looked at her in a fit of frenzy.         “What da fuck!” Hal yelled as this small technicolor horse with wings entered his sights, in a frenzy he aimed his .38 at the mare, but something had stopped him.         “Please don’t hurt me!” the mare said shockingly as the creature before her began yelling, “Here Take it!” she threw her coin purse hoping it would satisfy the creature like it would a diamond dog. “Take anything, just don’t hurt me!” she finished with tears forming in her eyes.         Hal began seeing more images in the fog of his brain, his body felt off, he felt stronger as a sudden burst of adrenaline had hit him, something else was wrong though as he stared down. Hal had pitched a tent in his pants with blood flowing fast through his whole body, Hal needed relief fast he felt as if he’d explode if he didn’t.         “Anything eh?” Hal said with a smirk forming on his lips. The mare began to look horrified as the creature in front of her began to undo the buckle and zipper of his pants, his smile ever widening showing his slightly sharper teeth. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------         The mare was in the hospital, it had been ten months since that beast had used her for his own needs, she never wanted to be in this position. She wanted to be a big journalist in the Big Apple, Manehattan. But one random gust of wind had thrown her down a miserable future, blowing those reports down the alleyway that ruined her life.         The mare was now at the end of her pregnancy, she never wanted this life, this child, the abuse, or even the attention of the news that she had worked so hard in to do what she loved. It was all gone now, she could never recover from this, but she sure would try. The newborn’s screams could be heard in the room as the doctors gasped and fainted, all except a doctor with a strange fur coat and yellow eyes, he calmly and coolly delivered the newborn. The sight disgusted the staff, the abomination that was released from the poor mares body. It looked like her attacker, completely naked, no fur, a short brown mane, black eyes, and short black wings. It was half whatever he was and half pegasus, it was an abomination, but the law of equestria forbade her of getting rid of the child as it was a male, a colt.  The strange ratio of male to female had now made her keep this child she never wanted, all because it was male. The mare knew life was going to be tough from now on, it was going to be tough because she knew no one was going to help her, she had to face this problem on her own accord. As she held the newborn hybrid, she cried her eyes out as the snap and flash of a camera went off. She could see the headline already… “Local News Mare Gives Birth To Monster” > Chapter 2: Foalhood > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter Two: Foalhood ---------------------------------------------------------------------- One long year had passed since the newsmare named Fast Learner had given birth to the abomination, She had done everything in her power to get rid of it, but Equestrian Law had forced her to keep it for not only was this “Thing” a male, but also of another species, his kind would be special and other countries would likely give praise for the birth of a new species. Fast Learner had read books, went to meetings and tried her best to learn how to advance in motherhood, true to her name she learned how to care for a foal, but her ability to care for the baby she now had was slowed as it was not a normal foal, nobody she could talk to would even consider it a pony in general. Fast learner had been given a rough time through her life as the child had become even more difficult, almost every week the crossbred child would get sick and require medical attention, along with the being not able to digest some of the normal Equestrian food. The royal pony sisters had given the foal a special doctor, who could find out what’s wrong with just about any species of creature known to Equestria, but the foal too would prove to be most difficult. Fast Learner had to pick a name for the foal soon after it was born, otherwise a name would be given to it along with not receiving benefits. Fast decided that Wild Ace would be an appropriate name for this creature, as she had no idea what this being was capable of. Wild Ace had become even more troublesome as the years had gone by, his diet now found by the specialized doctor, consisted of meats from neighboring countries as well as various fruits and vegetables, putting quite a taxing on Fast Learner. As time stretched longer Wild Ace had begun to fill out his figure more and more. He began to become taller, his brown hair becoming more grown and his wings too were getting full of black feathers.Out in the shadows lurked a bipedal figure who began to stalk the family. Every now and the Wild Ace would be calm enough for Fast Learner to rest for a while giving her some peace.Then came the day that any mother would be proud of, baby’s first words. Fast Learner felt happiness as Ace babbled out the word that resembled “Mama”. Fast’s feelings began to grow more as she grew with Ace, living became more easy for her as she slowly but surely a felt true feeling of maternal love for Wild Ace. Finally accepting that she was in fact Wild Ace’s mother. Eventually Wild Ace began going to school, which was hard as the teachers had to be extra careful and wary with the “special” foal attending the school. Many of the other foals and fillies stayed clear of Wild Ace leaving him to a lonely first few weeks. The foals and fillies began to tease Ace for being different, sending him home crying to his mother who comforted him dearly. On many occasions this had happened and of those times Fast Learner had talked to the School Board to stop the bullying, but the Board had disregarded her pleas and instead focused on other matters. Fast Learner tried many times in the past to expose the corruption in the schools across Equestria, but witnessing it first hoof sent her overboard. Using her assets in the news industry she was finally able to get new ponies into the School Board to help Ace in the long run. Wild Ace did not fare any better in Elementary School, if not worse considering he was the only one of his kind and was subjected to more bullying, cruel jokes, and even shamed by the “beautiful” fillies. One cruel joke involving Hearts and Hooves Day left Wild Ace in tears in front of the whole student body, where they laughed as Ace ran home. Wild Ace began reaching the “Rebellious Age” where his hair began covering his eyes, and wore darker clothing. Ace began to be mischievous and trouble some: staying out late, stealing, getting in fights at school, etcetera. There have been a few times that Wild Ace had been caught by the police vandalizing property and stealing objects. Fast Learner scolded Ace for his actions and also made him return the stolen objects and apologize for the vandalism. At the age of sixteen Wild Ace had been called up to meet the royal pony sisters for an important reason. Ace, as a new species in this land had to become a legalized proper citizen or else he would have to be deported out of Equestria. The trouble making served as no help as the ponies of Equestria thought of Ace as a nuisance and wanted him gone Taking on this huge responsibility cast Ace out of his “Rebellious Age” and awoken something inside him. As time went by Wild Ace had started his path to citizenship seriously, no longer causing fights, ignoring bullies, not focusing on the blooming fillies. Ace was dead set on becoming a proper citizen, doing many community service acts and taking classes to become proper as to not fail, but mainly to not disappoint his mother. Ace knew this could be his chance to show pony kind that the foal who was considered an abomination could be the same as them and show them that they were all wrong. He Needed to do this! > Chapter 3: Adulthood > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter Three: Adulthood ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wild Ace began to set out for his last trip to Canterlot, so much has passed with two years time. Ace learned to fly with his fully developed wings, act polite and like a true gentlecolt be chivalrous towards mares. Ace became an honest and hardworking colt throughout his time training to become a proper citizen. Ace’s diet became more focused on greens instead of meats, and he became attuned with his more mature side. Ace began getting payed in bits for his manual labor in the community and was told about haggling like a true citizen. Many times had Ace met with the royal pony sisters for weekly updates on Ace’s status. The sibling diarchy had planned three more tasks before Ace could be considered a genuine Equestrian citizen; one of which would be coming very soon. Ace walked through the cobblestone streets of Canterlot, trying to steer clear of ponies with heads held high and the occasional cabbage cart. Ace continued down the road until he reached the familiar guards in gold armor that protected the outside of the pristine castle. As Ace reached the door the two golden guards cast their spears in front of the door, positively blocking the passage inside. Trying to maintain his composure and the look of a gentlecolt Ace smiled and bowed his head slightly. “Excuse me fine Sirs, Princess Celestia and her sister are expecting me soon, it is of very high importance that I arrive on schedule.” Ace stated for the guards. The guards looked at each other with a quick glance and turned back over to the patiently waiting Ace. The guards remained unmoved with slightly narrower eyes and a better hold on their polished spears. Ace took notice of the tension between the guards and himself and decided to try again. “Excuse me Sirs, I don’t believe that keeping our princesses waiting for an important figure in Equestrian history is a very wise decision.” ace said a little louder, some confidence laced in his matured voice. The guards only hardened their gaze at Ace and removed their spears at the door only to point them at Ace, who had a somewhat surprised look. One of the guards spoke up, “Listen here Beast, you cannot walk through here polluting our fine city with your filth and diseases that could possibly wreak havoc upon our great populace.” The Guard finished. The other guard nodded and added his own spiel, “Exactly, and if you ever try to impersonate a historical figure around here again; we will personally escort you to the castle’s dungeons ourselves.” The guard finished with a sneer. Wild Ace’s smile faltered for a second, his left eye slightly twitched in annoyance. Ace dropped the gentlecolty act and hardened his own gaze. Ace took a deep breath to control himself and not give in to his temper. “That’s enough, I wish to speak to your commanding officer right at this moment. I will not take no as an answer and you will do as you’re told; do I make myself clear.” Ace commanded loud and sternly. The first guard began to speak up again, “We don’t take orders from filthy beas-” “What’s going on here… Wild Ace?” The figure asked approaching from the side of the castle that lead towards the barracks. Ace sighed and put on his gentlecoltly attitude again, he walked up to the captain of the guard to inform him of the current situation. Shining Armor glared intensely at the guard recruits, but then winked when Ace turned his head towards the front doors. Minutes passed before the captain escorted Wild Ace through the main castle door and through the hallways to the Throne Room, making small talk along the way. Shining Armor and Wild Ace entered the Throne Room and bowed before the princesses. The princesses dismissed the captain of the guard and engaged in many diplomatic, economic, and political conversations with Ace to see how far he had come from the little trouble-making colt he used to be. It was only after these conversations that the princesses had brought up the fiasco that took place outside the castle doors. “What do you mean?” asked Ace incredulously. “Let me repeat myself, but only this last time: Everything was set up, the guards were planted there to try to gain a rise out of you and throw you into an uncomfortable situation that would initiate a fight or flight reaction. Of course that didn’t happen, instead you went above and beyond our expectations by maintaining your composure and trying to gain control of the situation.” Celestia said, turning to her sister for her to add her input. “We are utmost pleased with you, and your behavior Sir Ace, we would like to congratulate you on the passing of our sister’s test.” Princess Luna said with a pleased look upon her face. Wild Ace just stood there flabbergasted at what had just transpired before him; He passed a test? No. He exceeded the test. Ace grew a smile and bowed to the princesses, thanking them. Princess Celestia spoke up again, “I know this is very sudden Wild Ace, but there are two more test that you must perform before you can officially be registered as an Equestrian citizen, this one taking effect immediately. You must go to Saddle Arabia and try to convince the leaders that a treaty is what is best for our countries. We will send our best negotiators with you, in the case that you succeed or fail; you will have passed our test. You will have the rest of the week to get pack and practice your speeches that you will present to the leaders of Saddle Arabia, on the train ride there you will relay your speech to the Negotiators who will help you. Good Luck Wild Ace.” The princess finished, dismissing Ace to the castle’s guest room. Over the next few weeks Wild Ace had worked hard to come up with a speech to win over the Arabian leaders to sign the peace treaty with Equestria. He knew quite a bit about diplomacy but now he had a chance to actually use what he knew to complete his test; Ace only hoped that he could do it. Two more weeks had passed after Wild Ace and his Royal Negotiators had arrived in Saddle Arabia, one grueling week of trying to have an audience with the leaders, and another week of trying to get them to listen. Everything seemed to be falling apart for Ace and his negotiators, none of the leaders had shown signs of acknowledgement towards the treaty, and seemed to only be getting more hostile as time had passed. When Ace was at his lowest with the Leaders of Saddle Arabia, he finally noticed something: There was a lack of water supply and a shortage of females in this country, Ace did the only thing that could’ve worked in his mind. Without consulting his Royal Negotiators; Wild Ace returned to the leaders and began his proposition. A generous supply of water to be transported to Saddle Arabia and Open Borders between S.A and Equestria that could possibly lead to an increase of foal births for both countries to even out their sex ratios. All of this in exchange for a signing of the peace treaty, to Ace it sounded like a win/win scenario. Later in the week Ace and the negotiators had returned with some insightful news for the princesses. “That’s everything I said princess, and their reply, although not concrete, is still a possibility of our countries coming together in more ways than one.” Wild Ace finished his report. The princesses dismissed Ace to his room so they could talk in private. The princesses talked for hours on end before they came to a conclusion: The trip was a success and Wild Ace had outdone himself once again, he went from almost losing what little trust the Saddle Arabians had left for Equestrians, to getting them to consider their own countries safety and how the treaty could possible save them. Wild Ace was truly ready for the final test.