> Before the Solar > by typervader > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > A new time and a new world > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I slowly awoke from, what I could imagine, being unconsciouses. Not sure how I got this way, but I decided to try and sit up and take a look around. However, my head was aching and my legs were sore. "Ugh." I weakly said, shaking my head. I tried to take a look around, but my vision was blurry and I was unable to hear well. From what I could see, it was a forest. The forest itself didn't seem like one I knew, but it was still hard for me to see. I tried to stand up, doing it very slowly. I was in pain, and was wondering how I got here. "First things first, find out where I am." I thought to myself. I waited until my vision returned. Once my vision returned enough to see, I looked around and saw the forest I was in. It was a forest that was blanketed with trees and I wasn't able to see the sky. It was quiet with no sound, and it smells like wood and leaves. It didn't look like a forest I've seen, but it was dark and hard to tell. "First thing's first Twilight. Find a landmark." I told myself out-loud. I started to walk, trying to find a path to follow, with no luck. I kept walking, trying to remember what happened. I'm just guessing I got here due to something happening, perhaps a prank from Pinkie? My memory was really hazy, and all I see is a bright flash of light, then nothing. I continued to walk until I saw light, which I assumed was the end of the forest. "Thank Celestia", I said under my breath. As I walked towards the end of the forest, my hope was shattered. What I saw, I didn't recognize any of it. At first I thought I was in the Everfree forest, but I realized that this wasn't it. The landmarks were all wrong! I've never seen any of these! I started to panic and hyperventilate. No, this can't be. Where am I? I didn't see this place on any of the maps. Something was very wrong. I then slapped myself. "Calm down Sparkle! Think logically. There has to be a reason for this!" I told myself. I manged to calm down enough to try and think about where I was. However, before I could continue thinking, I noticed a small village. This village was not like any I've seen before. It was very old and rustic, and the buildings were much different then I've seen. It looked, old and out of place, like it was out of time. Maybe who ever lived in this village could point me to where I needed to go. I begun to walk towards the village, hoping to finally get some answers. The area around the village was covered with grass on a plains, and I could see the forest I came out of behind me. Something about this place looked familiar, but very different at the same time. I saw a sign outside the village. It said, 'Aeston'. That must be the name of this village. I entered Aeston, and I saw ponies of all kinds. However, the clothing they were wearing was, strange. It was made of what I thought was cloth, metal, and a bit of other kinds of fabric. I entered the town, but then I realized how bad of an idea that was. "Why is everyone starting at me?" I thought to myself. They were looking at me as if they have never seen an alicorn before. And then it hit me. "What if this village is isolated and they never seen an alicorn?" I thought to myself again. Just then, I saw what I assumed were guards walking towards me. "Buck!" I said and I started to run. They begun to chase after me. \ "What did I do! Why am I being chased by guards? Do they not know who I am?" I questioned while I ran. Maybe it was because I was an alicorn and in a strange town? I begun to look at several signs and I wasn't able to read half of them. I kept running, ducking into an alley way. I hide and saw the guards run past, giving me a short break. I looked on the ground, and saw what appeared to be a newspaper. I wasn't able to read all the words, but one thing caught my eye, a date. It wasn't the right year. As a matter of face, it was over three thousand years before Celestia's reign! "But, how? What? How did I get here. This can't be right?" I said, starting at the date, hoping my eyes were playing tricks on me. To my dismay, it was the truth. I have no idea how I ended up so far back, but it would make sense. The landmarks being wrong, the village looking so old, and being chased by guards for being an alicorn. I needed to get some of my priorities straight. I needed to hide the fact i'm an alicorn if I wanted to get any where without being chased. So, while inside the alley I was in, I looked around for something to cover my wings. The only thing I saw was an old cloak sitting on the ground. It was raggy and old, but also had a hood to cover my face. I quickly put on the old thing and left the alley. There were still guards all over the place, so I kept hidden and kept walking. It was slowly becoming night, which, without the princesses controlling the moon, I had no idea how. But I needed to find a place to sleep. I knew I didn't have any money, but I found a small bridge that I went under for the night. The underside had a small stick, about walking size, and several old boxes and rags. I used the old boxes and rags to make a bad, and I decided I would take this stick with me in order to blend in with my disguise better. I begun to fall asleep, as I knew I would need the energy. I had a very long day beginning tomorrow, and I wasn't sure what was going to happen. > Learning the ropes > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I didn't get much sleep that night. I couldn't stop thinking about Spike and how worried he and all my other friends are. If they even knew what happened in the first place. I was stuck thinking about this until early light when I awoke from the sun's light. I got up and grabbed the small walking stick and made sure my cloak covered my wings before walking out of the alleyway. I noticed more ponies walking around then when I first entered the town. "Ok Twilight. Mental checklist time. First, I am in the year two thousand B.C. Second, I seem to be the only alicorn around here. Third, I think they speak a similar language to me. Finally, I have no bits, no place to stay, and nothing to help me focus on getting home. Heck, I can't even remember how I got here. I need to work on getting a place to stay or a job of some kind." I thought to myself to get my thoughts in order. I deiced to take a look at the buildings in order to see what kind of town I was in. Before I was able to start walking, one of the guards I saw the other day came up to me, "Cuse me Miss? Ye' happen to see this mare around town?" He asked in a strange voice using strange words. I panicked as he showed a picture, rather poor, of me. He didn't notice who I was, so I gave the stallion a reply. "Can't say I have. I am just a traveler? What she do?" I answered, mustering what I could from oldy pony talk from the books I've read. "Well, she seemed to have wings and a horn! We wanted to find out more about her. Personally, I think we were seeing things, but the captain said we need to find her." He explained. "Wings and a horn? That sounds like crazy talk to me." I told him. "If I see her, I will let ye' know!" "Thanks! Save travels to you!" He said before walking off. This cloak is doing a well enough job. I guess I should see if there are any jobs around here. I started to walk down the street, taking a better look at my surroundings. The town was very old looking, and didn't seem to large either. There were a few guards walking around, but there wasn't a big variety of ponies, which was strange to me. I continued walking for some time until I came upon an Inn. "Ye Ponilde Inn" I read on the sign as I walked in. The Inn itself wasn't too big, but it very country like, if could call that a thing. "Welcome! How can we help you ma'am?" The bartender asked me, and so I walked over to him. "I was wondering if you were hiring. I need a job, and if you don't mind, room as well." I told him in my now made-up accent. \ "Well, that would be up to the boss. Let me go get him for you." The big brown and black stallion said, before walking back into the back room. I took a quick look around the Inn, and it seemed to be in good condition. It didn't seem too busy, only seeing a few other ponies around. I took a seat and waited for the stallion to come back. "The boss would like to talk to you first. Just head behind that door if you would." He told me, pointing a hoof towards the door her walked though. I nodded and got up, walking towards the back of the bar. "Word of advice to you." He dragged me in close. "We aren't a normal Inn." He then let me go. Not a normal Inn? I wonder what he meant by that. I went over and knocked on the door. "Hello?" I called out. "Come on in." I heard a feminine voice say. I was expecting some sort of big deep stallion voice. I walked in and I saw a pegasus mare sitting down on the desk. Her mane was a deep green and yellow, her fur a tan color. She had short cut hair. However, her purple eyes is what caught my attention. There was something 'off' about them, like they weren't normal. "Please take a seat." She told me. Her voice was, I'm not sure how to put it. It was, beautiful yet scary. I took a seat, and looked at her. "So you want a job here?" She asked me. "Yea. I'm from out of town, and I need a place to work, and if you can, give me a place to stay?" I asked her, hoping she could help me. "Well. We do need someone to help out around here. Like cleaning rooms, severing meals, anything along those lines. I could also offer you up a small, unused room." She said. I was surprised by this, and how easy this was. I smiled. "I'll take it. When do you want me to start?" I asked her. "How about right now? We will get your room set up for you. And good luck." She said with a calm look on her face. I got up to shack her hoof, then stopped myself. "I won't let you down." I told her. "Before you leave, make sure you talk to the stallion out-front, he will lead you to where you will begin working. I did as she said, telling that same stallion what she said. "Alright then, follow me." He said, leading me to a small room. "You will wait in here until you are called for a job." He then walked out, leaving me alone in this semi-empty room.